I co-owned a column on The Bridgetine (school paper) last year. I am simply to criticize, while my co-columnist apprehends. (See why Bipolar?)

This is the unedited version of my article:

POLE OF CYNICISM
By: Marielle Justine Ching

I have no high expectations whatsoever when I first walked into the movie house. This fifth issue is the one I least like, and that I concluded that the movie won’t surpass the very respectable previous ones. The first two movies, I thought, were the best of the series mainly due to Richard Harris' dead-on portrayal of Dumbledore and screenplays that closely followed the original books. Though the third and fourth movies were very artistic and theatrical, I couldn't really connect to them in the way I had with the books. They glossed over many of the little things that made the Harry Potter series so magical in the first place, focusing on a select few plot lines and limiting dialog to only what was necessary to further the story.

The movie felt more like a perplex mosaic, a semi-complicated puzzle through which the scenes are subdued and tossed at the viewers faster, finishing in a confrontational finale. Pacing has certainly been an issue, leaving fans feeling incoherent, and those new to the series confused as to what exactly is going on. In this respect, Order of the Phoenix was very similar to the previous two movies. As a Hollywood film, it deserves praise, bringing this amazing world to the big screen, telling a compelling tale, and keeping the viewers glued to their seats for the duration of the movie. However, to the die hard fans of the books, you will undoubtedly be disappointed (though, to confess, I am not of the “die-hard” ones)

Many scenes that one would think invaluable to the story have been cut, replaced by the hasty filling in of plot holes. And while it pains me to ignore some of my favorite scenes from the book being left on the cutting room floor (St. Mungo's, Harry's Quibbler interview, the Quidditch fight, etc.), I realize that yes, not everything could be included in the movie. But in this watered down version of the book, there seems to be something missing. We still have all the drama and excitement, but some of the magic just seems to be gone.

NOTE: Since this column imply the bipolarity of things, it is mandatory to have 2 connotative sides, the positive as well as the negative. I was evidently assigned to construct this negative opinionated article and I neither have violent reactions nor any objections with the movie. (please don’t hate me. :P)