If the release of the book Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows in a week in a half is the main course, the release of The Order of the Phoenix movie today is merely an appetizer. While the acting is better, I enjoyed the G.O.F. and P.O.A. movies more. O.O.T.P is a very cliff notes version of the book and feels down right short. However, the movie is still an enjoyable ride, but unless you have read the book (and can recall what's not in the movie) at times the scenes in the movie won't make as much sense or have the power they should without the overall context. This is most true with the whole Cho Chang plot line which is not fully fleshed out and quickly tacked onto the film. On the other hand, the Ginny's crush on Harry is handled subtly and done very well throughout the movie. J.K Rowling has repeatedly stated that she make sure that the movies focus on things that will be important in later books. Thus, the scenes with Ginny in them are most interesting to me. It seemed in the movie even more then in the book they went out of their way to demonstrate that when it comes to Defense Against The Dark Arts and dueling Ginny is the most powerful out of any of Harry's peers. Next Wednesday, when I make my official book 7 predictions I am definitely going to take that fact into consideration. As for other side characters, every scene with Alan Rickman's Snape, Emma Watson's Hermione, and Evanna Lynch Luna Lovegood is fun to watch. On the other hand, I almost feel bad for Rupert Grint's Ron who has not really been given much to do in the series since the second book. In the end, the movie much like the book, is a place holder story to set up the last two installments while illustrating a bureaucracy is slow to change.