Exquisitito!

The fifth film in Warner Brothers' adaptation of author J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is, pardon the play on words, magical. Director David Yates and screenwriter David Barron have crafted the best film of the series since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. 

That said, the film feels wrong as a summer release and left me feeling it would have been much better as a late fall/early holiday release.  I’m curious to see how it performs in this otherwise crowded summer cinema season. Sequels, after all, don’t appear to be holding up very well at the box office this summer, at least here in the U.S.

Daniel Radcliffe returns as the boy wizard in Warner Brothers Pictures
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Image copyright© Warner Brothers.

Curl Up and Dye

New Line Cinema’s take on the hit Broadway musical Hairspray is excellent. It's a first rate production but it unfortunately defangs John Waters’ original cult classic even further than the musical stage version did. Waters' feature knew that segregation was bad; this new version tells you over and over again that segregation was, like, a really bad idea. The PG rating is the big giveaway that Hairspray is now really just a kids’ movie.

The cast, including Zac Efron in his first major post High School the Musical appearance, is great. The only real question is if the audience will embrace John Travolta in the really uncharacteristic role of Edna Turnblad. More than one person has lamented the exclusion of Harvey Fierstein who played the part in the original Broadway production. Hairspray could follow in the dance steps of The Producers and RENT and tank at the box office if not positioned properly over the next few weeks. A shame really since it's a much better film adaptation than either of the other two films. A low turnout for Hairspray may also damage the prospects for such stage-to-screen hopefuls as Wicked and anything from the Sondheim repertoire, shades of Xanadu.

Why is this man smiling?
John Travolta stars as Edna Turnblad in the New Line Cinema
presenstaion of Hairspray.
Image copyright© New Line Cinema