Order of the Phoenix: Daniel Radcliffe puts his clothes back on for the best Harry Potter film yet

The Harry Potter film series, so far, has been the one thing that the Harry Potter book series has never been. That is, inconsistent. J.K. Rowling may not have the...most...compelling...prose (readers of the series will get that little joke), but she spins one hell of a yarn.
But film has a way of cementing a world in its viewer's mind, and it's nearly impossible to read the most recent Potter books without picturing Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson in their respective roles. The most fun thing about the film series so far, in fact, is watching the leads and their cohorts grow both as people and (in some cases anyway) as actors.
It's the direction that has led to bumps in the road throughout the film series, and with Order of the Phoenix's David Yates being the fourth director in five films, it's easy to see why. There seem to be two different ways for a director to approach Rowling's material: either as holy writ, not to be changed; or as solid marble to be chipped away at to reveal the masterpiece underneath.

The good news is that Yates and screenwriter Michael Goldenberg have managed to corral the long and twisting story points of the nearly 900 page book and distill it into merely two hours of film time, the shortest Potter to date, and certainly the most exciting. The look and feel of the film are spot on, dark but not dreary as the storm brewing around Harry and his friends grows ever nearer, but not so oppressive that lighter moments like the Weasley twin's great escape from Hogwarts play false. The film is alive, with brilliantly done effects that fill in the edges of Rowling's world and bring you further into the story, rather than detracting from it (for instance, when Harry and Cho Chang share their kiss, the picture of Cedric Diggory that had been slyly grinning at Cho before can be seen scowling).

Harry's world certainly is more disturbing this time around, most specifically because Lord Voldemort has returned. But for most of the film even Voldemort is overshadowed by the smirking pink menace of Dolores Umbridge, brought vividly to life by Imelda Staunton. Her performance is perfect, wheeling from sinister to saccharine on a dime. She leads Harry into her office, filled with pictures of real, adorably mewing kittens and then tortures him by making him write "I must not tell lies" into the back of his hand. Her presence is more frightening, in a sense, than even that of the noseless, serpentine He-Who-Must-Not -be-Named, played by Ralph Fiennes. In Goblet of Fire I had trouble believing Fiennes as Voldemort, Order of the Phoenix gives us a much more terrifying Dark Lord.

The best sections of the film follow Harry and his group of friends as they band together to form 'Dumbledore's Army', learning practical defenses against the dark arts behind Umbridge's back. In these moments we find Harry, not quite the prick he is in the book, stepping forward as a mature hero. Again, having seen all these kids grow up on-screen adds to the genuine feeling of camaraderie between them. And long time followers of the books can feel even more involved with the characters, knowing, for instance why we get that shot of Ginny Weasley watching Harry and Cho after the D.A. meeting (and, I suspect, getting a lump in your throat to see Snape and Dumbledore, knowing what lies ahead).

One thing that is missing from the books are Ron's Quidditch matches, and the "Weasley is Our King" chants that go along with it. In fact, Ron and Hermione are placed on the sidelines for most of the film, and the scenes that they do have are primarily for comic relief or exposition. But the scenes are well handled, and Ron and Hermione's burgeoning romance believable.

As good as Emma Watson (of the eternally flared nostrils) and Rupert Grint are, this is the first Potter film that really feels like a star vehicle for Daniel Radcliffe. Never before have we had so many scenes that relied mostly on his performance to carry us through, and he, like his screen counterpart, steps up excellently. With his willingness to take risks (stripping down for a London performance of Eqqus) and not take himself too seriously (sending up his image on Extras), Radcliffe may have a life well past Harry Potter. Harry lying on the ground fighting with Voldemort inside of his head is not something you could have asked Radcliffe to pull off even two films back, but you believe Harry's struggle and pain. And, as ever, you cheer for him.

With a genuine actor on board, and a director who knows what he's doing signed for at least one more picture, the series is well poised to take on all the dark territory that Rowling has plotted ahead for it.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: A-

Matthew Guerrero

Misspent Youth Faking Up a Rampage: The Pumpkins (or two of them, anyway) return with Zeitgeist

Nearly ten years ago the Smashing Pumpkins split up in grand, messy fashion; with always dramatic frontman Billy Corgan proclaiming "We died for rock and roll. It will mean something twenty years from now." So while waiting for those twenty years to pass, Corgan fulfilled all the requirements for the fading rock star:

Decent album with second, awkwardly named band (2003's Mary Star of the Sea by Zwan)? Check.
Embarrassing book of ::ahem:: 'poetry'? Check.
Head scratching electronica-infused solo album? Check.
Whiny public appeal to former bandmates? Check and check.

So now Corgan returns to the Pumpkins name, with 'just glad to have a gig' Jimmy Chamberlain in tow on Zeitgeist. The problem is, there are a dozen other bands out there doing the old SP shtick, and some of them (My Chemical Romance with last year's Black Parade) are doing it just as well as the Pumpkins at their height. So Zeitgeist comes out into a musical world that's not asking for it, manufactured by a man who's not so much growing up as growing old.

The album that results is all sound and fury, signifying precious little. Oh, there are highlights ("Doomsday Clock" is good rockin' fun), and echoes of Corgan's guitar-god youth (the made-for-shredding "Tarantula"), but for every brilliant solo there is a weak lyric, messy vocal, and twelve songs that pretty much all sound the same.
Beginning with 2000's Machina and the internet only Machina II, Billy seemed lost in his head and unsure. And instead of using that insecurity to his advantage like on the soul-bearing Siamese Dream, he hid behind meaty power chords and Jimmy's brilliant drumming. Most of Zeitgeist's tracks follow the same pattern.

Not that any of the songs are terrible, it's just middle-of-the road, uninspired alt-rock. "Seven Shades of Black" and "Bleed the Orchid" would be more at home on something by Collective Soul or Seven Mary Three. And the album's vaguely political stance seems more like a piggy-backing nod to Green Day's career-rejuvenating American Idiot than any genuine patriotic rage.

Billy seems to need collaborators to push him, or at least to add a different dimension to his sound. He may have played most of the guitar and bass tracks on Siamese Dream, but James Iha got co-writing credit on that album's "Mayonaise" , maybe the finest moment of the Pumpkin's career. And in Zwan, surrounded by supremely talented musicians, Billy seemed freer and more at ease than ever before (or since).

So for the casual rock fan it may be good crashing fun, but to Pumpkinheads a warning: this is not what we've been waiting for. Take heart, though, at the example of another huge band that split up and reunited to ever-greater success; it took Aerosmith two lukewarm albums before it struck gold again with Pump.
There's always hope that someone as talented as Billy can take the guitars back down to ten and produce a truly mature classic. He's got ten more years to make good.

The Smashing Pumpkins; Zeitgeist: C+


Stop reading this blog and download this track immediately:

"Tarantula". For three minutes and fifty-one seconds, it's 1995 again. Ranks with the best songs in the SP canon.

Matthew Guerrero

We Have to Go Back, Kate:LOST Season Three in review

The first episode of the Third Season of LOST was A Tale of Two Cities and, for LOST fans, it was definitely the best of times and the worst of times.
There's no way around it, LOST lost steam this season, the wacky scheduling didn't help (a six episode 'mini-series' and then three months off the air before 16 straight episodes), but the larger problem lie in the heart of the show itself, characters that we knew and loved took a back seat to new people and locales. The same thing happened with the Tail-Section survivors last season, but by the ninth episode, things were back to status quo. It took sixteen episodes this year for Jack to make it back to camp. The show suffered as a result, and once all our regulars were reunited you realized that the chemistry of the cast cannot be taken for granted. As soon as Jack got back, it was our show again.
This is not to say that this season was horrible, as some have claimed. On an individual episode basis, the show still delivered (with a few glaring exceptions), but the show seemed to lack a steady overall direction, and the flashback sections of each episode seemed less and less important to the development of the characters.

And then, Jack showed up with a strange new beard.

From the beginning of Through the Looking Glass, you realize something's amiss: this hyper-depressed Jack doesn't seem to fit in with his timeline as we know it. By the end of the episode, you know it's Kate coming out of that car by the runway. But that doesn't make you any less giddy at the prospect: the show is now flashing forward.
This is not only brilliant from a story-telling standpoint, it essentially saved the show. My only hope with the flash forwards, and the continuing island story is that by Season Five or Six, they come looping into one another, Memento style.

But it's not just the last episode that was brilliant, LOST's writers, directors, and actors proved their worth to their fans, their detractors, and (most importantly) ABC with a May sweeps run of episodes that rank among the show's finest. In The Brig, Sawyer finally confronts, in brutal fashion, the man the he's been chasing all his life. The scene where he wraps the chain around Cooper's neck and screams "You wanna see hell?!" may be LOST's most intense moment ever. But the next week, we had the show's best cliffhanger yet when Ben shoots Locke and leaves him to die in the mass grave that holds the remnants of the Dharma Initiative. The following episode was a long goodbye to one of the show's most loved characters, as Charlie considered his mortality, counting down his 'greatest hits', a genuinely moving episode, not a mere set-up for the finale.
And what a finale. The best episode of LOST ever; from Jack's head-spinning flash forward, to Charlie's death, to Hurley's rescue of the folks at the beach, to Jack's pummeling of Ben, every minute is gripping.

So here's a look at where we are, three seasons into a show that can still be called the best on network television.


JACK
We lost track of Jack for a large part of the middle of the season, and that was part of the reason that the season drug. Because as often boring and prickish Jack can be, he's our guy. And his role as a leader on the island came under fire after his stay with the Others and his trust in Juliet. Not much was fleshed out about Jack's past in the flashbacks, so little in fact that the necessity of flashbacks at all was called into question.
After the finale, we know why we've seen no great tragedy or secret in Jack's past; we've been watching the great tragedy in Jack's life. His role as leader to the survivors and whatever mistake it was he made in getting them off the island. Credit to Matthew Fox for scaling back the 'crazy Jack face' he relied on so often in Season Two. Season Three Jack is, like Season One Jack, someone you'd want believe in, even if he struggles to believe in himself.
And I loved future Jack with his chia-beard. Especially in his SUV blaring Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" on the way to the funeral of...somebody (apprentice? another Locke in the casket clue?). Future Jack and the way he bounces off his fellow 815 survivors has suddenly made LOST fun again.


LOCKE
Welcome back the wild-card, welcome back the hunter, welcome back the potential psychopath. We believe more in this John, but what (still!) is his connection to the island? And why did he have to ace poor, beautiful Naomi like that?
Locke in the coffin makes the most sense, because no survivor would want to attend his funeral after witnessing him attempt to keep them on the island, and especially Kate who was admonished by Locke for being a bad person the last time she saw him before he joined with the natives. And who would attend John's funeral? He has nobody.
Although, it seems unlikely that John will ever leave the island. And even if everyone else gets off, it will be through John's eyes that we learn the island's remaining secrets, like the nature of the bad ass Smoke Monster.


SAWYER
Instead of great relief at finally accomplishing his life's mission, after James Ford killed the man whose name (and life) became his own he became even darker and more withdrawn, killing Tom in cold blood and snapping at Kate's notion of a pregnancy.
But did he really kill the right man? He has a history of that kind of mistake, after all. And the island can conjure up pretty much anyone it wants. The island gives you want you want: so of course Locke's dad shows up, and when faced with Sawyer he tells him what he wants to hear. Was the real Anthony Cooper the 'real Sawyer'? We may never know.
And all this after Sawyer was coming to a kind of peace with his role in the camp. In the last few episodes, Josh Holloway brought a depth to the character that he never had before.


KATE
All the big question marks for Kate's character lie ahead. Is she with Sawyer? Someone else? And why didn't she end up with Jack? Perhaps because thanks to the island's super-sperm count, Sawyer did indeed knock her up?
Kate served mostly as a grounding presence for the show this season, a familiar face to bounce off of the Others, and go running through the jungle tied to Juliet.
Oh, and why is Future Kate free? She did kill a man, you know.


DESMOND
I was perfectly happy with Desmond saying 'Brotha' all the time because he was, you know, Scottish. But not so, according to the Catch-22 flashback. He was going to be a monk, you see. Or, a 'brother', if you will.
Whatever.
I am so glad, silly flashback aside, that Michael Ian Cusick made the regular roster and survived last season's hatch explosion because I think he's one of the better actors on the show. And I like Des, and I like Penny, and I like that love story so much, cheesy as all hell though it may be.
Desmond seeing the future is an interesting twist, and I liked how he played off of Charlie, maybe it's just the 'fun with accents' thing, but I thought Michael and Dom Monaghan worked great together.
But what happens with Desmond after he gets off the island and reunites with Penny? Will he be willing to go back with Jack, or will comfortable, cowardly Des take over?


SAYID
Sayid's flashback in Enter 77 was a great part of a bad episode, probably the highlight of the middle of the season, especially Naveen Andrew's performance.
Sayid stepped up a bit in importance during Jack's absence and had one of the season's great, camera winking lines: ("How do you know to go North?" "By the way the light hit Eko's stick at his funeral.")
Also: during the finale, when Jack thinks Ben is about to kill Sayid, Jin, and Bernard, you heard the Iraqi Sayid Jarrah saying over Ben's walkie "We do not negotiate with terrorists." Ha!


SUN & JIN
Sun and Jin's arc over the season, while a minor note, was well played. From Sun unwittingly setting holy hell on Sawyer by killing Danny's woman, Colleen; to Jin's confrontation with a man that he doesn't know slept with his wife; to Sun's weeping acceptance of her fate as she finds out that the baby is Jin's.
Just another example of the show's ability to keep characters in the background most of the time, and then pack a wallop with them when the spotlight's on.


JULIET
An excellent addition to the cast, and really the first new character since the pilot episode with real depth and motivation (well, there was Mr, Eko, but, well...). Her back story was well fleshed out, and she may be the largest piece of the 'why is future Jack a mess?' puzzle.


HURLEY
Oh, maybe he didn't do much this season but we like Hurley. And we learned that Cheech Marin was his dad! No wonder he's so screwed up and ran to the comfort of Apollo bars and ranch dressing. But Hurley's episode was great fun, and his VW bus rampage through the camp in the finale was pure, crowd-pleasing bliss.
I wonder: what happens to sweet old Jabba after he gets off the island and back to his millions of dollars?


CLAIRE
She's Jack's sister. She has a baby. Charlie loves her.
That's pretty much all we know or need to know about Claire, but every once in awhile you get hints at greatness from her character. I think Emilie De Ravin is capable of more, maybe her flash forwards will give her more purpose, especially as Aaron grows up.


BEN
Oh, thank you.
Michael Emerson is the sickest fuck that you ever had a blast watching be the heavy. Evil is so much fun, especially in his theater-ready delivery. And Ben's flashback was fascinating, even if we still don't know who or what Jacob is.
And how evil is Ben Linus? Does he, in his own twisted way, really have the best interests of the survivors and his own people at heart? Future Jack certainly seems to think he's made a mistake getting off the island, just like Ben said he would.
And, after all, he gave he order to pretend to kill Sayid, Jin, and Bernard.
Who is he really, at his core? I'm more interested in that mystery than the four-toed statue.


CHARLIE: R.I.P.
He was expendable, sure. And had they chickened out of killing Charlie after half a season of build up, fans probably would have given up on the show for good.
But what a way to go.
There is a moment right before Charlie dies, when he's already completely underwater, after he's given the message 'NOT PENNY'S BOAT' to Desmond. He nods, and Des nods, and Charlie realizes (maybe for the first time) that he's really going to die. It's amazing acting from Dom Monaghan, particularly while submerged. And then he floats back, crosses himself, and Charlie Pace dies.
It hits harder than you ever would have expected. We'll miss you, mate.


EKO: R.I.P.
Maybe he was a prick on set, but surely he could have stuck around a little longer? Eko was a great character, he played off of Locke brilliantly. I thought he was important to the future of the show, but I guess he did prove again that the monster is not to be underestimated.


MICHAEL & WALT
So hands up, who thought the producers were lying, or at least vamping, when they said they had Walt's growth 'accounted for' in the overall arc of the show?
I certainly did, but with the flash forwards it all makes sense now. Oh, but what becomes of Michael after the survivors get off the island, and reveal his dirty little secret? Or are they not able to? Jack said he was 'sick of lying'. Lying about what?
And apparently many people think that's Walt in the casket, but why would Kate be so adamant about not attending poor little Walt's funeral?
Seeing how these guys play into the future storylines of the show is something I'll be anxiously awaiting in Season Four.


EPISODE RATINGS

A Tale of Two Cities
We meet Juliet and see the Other's camp for the first time; meanwhile Jack keeps crying and makes a witless escape attempt. Good job, buddy.
A


The Glass Ballerina
We officially learn that Sun is in fact a slut and that 'Henry Gale' is actually Benjamin Linus. To celebrate the revelation, Ben takes Jack to a baseball game.
A


Further Instructions
Placeholder Locke flashback; Boone with inexplicably long hair; bad CG polar bears.
B-


Every Man for Himself
Ben tortures a bunny. A bunny! Fucker.
A-


The Cost of Living
Wherein we learn absolutely nothing new about Mr. Eko, and then he dies. Boo.
C-


I Do
Mid-Season cliffhanger, whatever that means. Not a bad one, though: "Kate, dammit, run!"
A-


Not in Portland
Trippy Clockwork Orange videos and people shooting other people (Juliet icing Danny) with no apparent motivation? LOST is back!
B+


Flashes Before Your Eyes
Better than you thought it was, but yes, confusing. You're not the only one checking your watch.
B


Stranger in a Strange Land
Give me a tattoo, damn you! Worst. Episode. Ever.
D-


Tricia Tanaka is Dead
Advances the story in zero ways, but so damn fun nobody notices.
A


Enter 77
First episode in a long time where the flashback (Sayid's) was much better than the on-island stuff. And what's up with Locke?
C-


Par Avion
Can be summed up in one of two sentences, depending on what kind of person you are: 'Yes, Claire is Jack's sister.' or 'Goth Claire is yummy.'
B-


The Man from Tallahassee
Locke's dad pushes him out of a window. Ok, he's a dick, we get it. Amazing acting by Terry O'Quinn, just amazing.
B-


Expose
Poochie's dead!
Unloved newbies Nikki and Paolo kill each other, which ironically breathes new life into the show.
A


Left Behind
What's this? Kate episodes can be entertaining? Go on.
B+


One of Us
Juliet's evil. No, she's not. Wait-yes she is. Oh, ummm...help.
A-


Catch-22
Desmond and Charlie do a little male bonding in the woods.
B-


D.O.C.
Sun's baby really is Jin's, which means she's going to die, but that she's happy. So now I feel bad for calling her a slut before.
B+


The Brig
So this is what sweeps are all about! Sawyer meets the man of his dreams. "You wanna see hell??!!"
A-


The Man Behind the Curtain
Ben goes from sadistic little weasel to Adolf Hitler. Great, great cliffhanger with Locke in the mass grave.
A


Greatest Hits
Dom Monaghan makes us care about Charlie for the first time since he kicked smack.
A+


Through the Looking Glass
More exciting, intelligent, mysterious, and inventive than any blockbuster film in years. This is what television can be.
A+


LOST; Season Three: B+

Matthew Guerrero

New Comic Roundup: All Star Superman & Thor

ALL STAR SUPERMAN #8:
Us Do Opposite
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely

All-Star Superman has been the best superhero title on the shelves since it began at the end of 2005 (nearly two years in we're only at issue #8, this is what modern comic fandom is like). With each issue you can see Grant Morrison and collaborator Frank Quitely pushing each other to the limits of their creativity, and that certainly continues here. There's only one problem with issue #8:

You can't understand half the fucking thing.

When last we saw our hero, he was trapped on the Bizarro homeworld, Htrae (Earth backwards, get it?) with little hope of escape; the first true cliffhanger in the series so far. At the start of #8, Supes strolls through Htrae (my brain hurts just looking at that word) with Zibarro, a genetic freak to his people, and a sensitive soul: "Must only Zibarro see the beauty is a sunset?...I'm as trapped here as you." he tells Superman. In Zibarro's plight, the issue finds its greatest strength. By the end, with Superman almost literally melting away, his powers leaving him one by one, it is Zibarro who we pity as he says, "there only seems to be room for one on your rocket ship."
The final moment, with Zibarro waving goodbye to Superman as he heads back to Earth is genuinely poignant, but retains some of the wicked sense of humor we've come to expect from Morrison and Quitely: notice that the Bizarro statue of liberty lying there, Planet of the Apes style, is holding half a pair of nunchucks.
But the problem here, again, is that you can't follow half the dialogue. Oh, the plot is perfectly clear (even if it seems that Supes should have figured out that whole reverse psychology thing from the beginning), it's the Bizarro language that is practically impenetrable. A typical exchange: "Me no sad now me no different from all! Me want responsibility! And me am no sick of Superman insults!"
Grant is clearly having fun here, and after careful deciphering you can follow along, but it seems a little more trouble than it's actually worth. But the Bizarro national anthem (naturally, a twisted version of our own) is pure hilarious genius.
If Grant gets a bit carried away, it's Quitely who grounds the issue. His touch with expression and posture is unparalleled, and that gift lends power and weight to the scenes of a weary Superman leaning on the resigned Zibarro for strength. And check out Quitely's Lois Lane, learning of Superman's illness (an illness which started waaaaay back in issue #1, almost two years ago like I said):She's furious, terrified, and vulnerable all in one shot. You can practically see her holding back tears. All-Star Superman may be a bit confusing this time around, but it's still capable of rare beauty.

All Star Superman #8: B+


THOR #1
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Oliver Coipel

The comics world had pretty much forgotten about the mighty Thor. Ragnarok had come and gone and Asgard, home of the most depressing mythology in world history, was gone. Then came Civil War, and Thor's exciting, Goliath killing cameo. Ok, so it was a clone (or something), but the fact remained: we liked seeing the great blonde mullet head again. And though the real Thor would never use his powers in the same way as his deadly clone, the Civil War moment underscored the bad ass nature of those powers.


So, naturally, we have a relaunch now. J. Michael Straczynski seems, like his character, energized and reborn from the Civil War. His Amazing Spider-Man books were the best of the Civil War tie-ins by far, and the first issue of the new Thor is rollicking fun. In a sense, JMS is the perfect writer for the new project, because with a god at his disposal, he'll have carte blanche to go wild with the kind of supernatural hokum that derailed much of his Spidey run. And he's having fun, obviously: "It is not for the gods to decide whether of not man exists--it is for man to decide whether or not the gods exist." Oooh, deep!
But the star of the book is Oliver Coipel, just one of Marvel's Murderer's Row of young artistic talent (along with Steve McNiven and David Finch, Marvel may soon have the kind of artistic explosion that DC had with writers like Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and Grant Morrison back in the 80's). Coipel was the only reason the read the dreadfully disappointing House of M, and he has a crisp and vibrant style with action.
The issue is entertaining, if muddled, but a good deal better than your typical relaunch. Instead of overwhelming us with exposition of where Thor is and has been all this time, JMS uses his character's confusion to his advantage, as we watch Thor struggle back to life. Mark Morales on inks and Laura Martin on colors add a lot to the issue, the thunderbolts crackle with power and the monsters are rendered with disgusting detail.
It's a fun issue, and a wide-open world for these two well matched collaborators.

Thor #1: B

Matthew Guerrero