don't break ranks if one of us is killed.

"There is nothing out there, dear!"

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX:  Much better than the disappointing fourth, the fifth installment deviates some from the details of the book (including abandoning the phrase Dumbledore's Army, which I think was a good change, and eliminating the controversy of Percy Weasley choosing the Ministry over his family, which I think was a poor change) but makes sure the overall message gets across.  The book was my favorite in the series because of its political undertones - the Order of the Phoenix is a secret society of wizards and witches originally grouped together to oppose Voldemort.  It was and is secret because first of all, the Ministry of Magic (the government) denies at all costs that Voldemort has returned, and second, there's some evidence that Voldemort may have already infiltrated the Ministry.  This movie finds Hogwarts under siege by a paranoid Minister Cornelius Fudge and placed under the tight, scary supervision of the very pink, perky, and proper Dolores Umbridge.  There's all sorts of hidden commentary here about the public school system, the right to civil disobedience and ensuing accusations of treason, and the way an ineffective government deals with threats - deny everything, as the X-Files taught.  There's some stuff that's left out, but overall watching the teens form a sort of Weather Underground when many of the adults appear to have switched to the dark or at least blind side, lulled by bureaucratic red tape and rigid rules, was fascinating and empowering, at least to this youth struggling with apathy and helplessness in the face of too many world problems that adults don't seem to try to fix. 

On other notes, there is much less sap and pop in this movie than in the fourth, starting with the appearance of the skeletal winged horses, the thestrals, who look nothing like My Little Pony (unless it's My Little Apocalypse Pony).  Romance is "embarassingly minimalist", to quote Thom Yorke, and even the familiar stand-by-your-friends tripe gains shades of deeper complexity now that the stakes have been dramatically increased.  No more playground games, as Harry tells his cohorts, evoking an eerie similarity to Les Miserables' own captain of the student revolt, Enjolras: "It is time for us all to decide who we are - do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now?  Have you asked of yourselves what's the price you might pay?  Is it simply a game for rich young boys to play?  The color of the world is changing day by day."  Since I've done some research into student protest as a catalyst of social change in Southeast Asia, this is all very interesting to me.  Harry is less of an emo kid here - even when he does complain that no one understands and snaps at his friends, you sympathize, especially when you see that Harry's angst is understanding itself at last - as he tells Sirius Black, he's terrified that he's turning bad.  Harry has always had identity issues, but the creepy growing similarities between him and Voldemort are probably the most provocative. 

The directing and cinematography here has taken a great step up, making it feel more like a real movie instead of just a ride for young Potter fans.  The final battle at the Ministry of Magic is done very nicely, as is the opening sequence of supposedly stray dementors attacking Harry and Dudley in the drought-ridden but stormy suburbs.  As far as the acting goes, it's the same old mixed bag - Daniel Radcliffe has improved (maybe it was the script all along?), Emma Watson fails, Rupert Grint is fine, the adults are great.  Major props go to Evanna Lynch, who plays my new favorite character, Luna Lovegood, with a perfect strange aloofness, and Helena Bonham Carter, who makes Sirius' deranged cousin Bellatrix Lestrange downright terrifying. - Highly Recommended.