Fun with Franchises: Favorite Images from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

One of the recurring features that we do in Fun with Francises (a feature within a feature) is, after we finish watching a film, we go through and pick out our favorite images from that film. These images could be anything from really famous images from the film or franchise, really beautifully composed shots, shots that are funny to us because of the facial expressions being made in them or because of what we said about them in the article in which they appeared, or simply because they have boobs in them.

What we usually do is, just how we watch the films, Colin and I go in separately and pick out about ten to fifteen shots that we really liked. Then we compare lists, and whichever ones we both picked automatically go on our final list. And everything else we talk through and discuss why we like them, and eventually we’re left with a final list of ten images we liked the best, along with ten honorable mentions, which were also as good, but just missed out on making the list proper.

It’s not very complicated (like most things we do here on B+ Movie Blog), and is just a way for us to point out shots that we really liked in the films, especially since we tend to pick stuff that’s not always on the beaten path. (We also don’t officially rank the list of shots. We just put them in chronological order. Simply picking them is hard enough. We don’t want to make our lives any harder. Plus, we’re lazy.)

That said — here are our favorite images from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

I begin this article, as I always do, pointing out the same shit I always point out.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any candles in this one (though I thought about it). Nor will there be an exterior shot of Hogwarts (though I will point out, but not link to, that there is a gorgeous extreme long shot of the school in this film that does not feature in any of the other films, and it’s the only time we see the school from that far away).

Today, I take this time (because they didn’t fit in the article and are clearly an indulgence of mine that have to be indulged) to point out something I think this film does very well and interestingly, which is coloring. That is to say — I love how they incorporate color into this movie. Specifically in a shot like this. I love how the whole thing is bathed in green, and the touches of red on the houses, and the yellows of the lights. It’s interesting as hell, and is the kind of thing I will obsess over during a movie. Then there’s a shot like this. I will always link to a shot that manages to work in all the primary colors via lighting or some other interesting method. This is brilliant. And this is without even analyzing how they did it (as the student of color that I am) — Harry’s blue shirt and the blue outside the window, anchored the yellow in between, and the red accents in between that — it’s gorgeous. And just simply — within the frame you have blue, yellow, red. Cold, Blue light outside, warm yellow light inside, and then the reds being lit up by the light. Absolutely gorgeous. Then there’s this shot, which I like because it has the same primary colors, and also wonderfully frames Hermione by the door. And then there’s the green stripe on the bottom of the painting… man, it’s gorgeous.

(Not to mention, that is also the “The Prime Minister said today that he was completely satisfied” shot. “That makes two of us.”)

Then, two other quick things to get out of the way, before we can begin the beguine:

This shot and this shot. I love them. I don’t really know what the fuck they are — I pulled them out of a quick series of shots as Harry is going all schizo and having his weird jerk off visions. But I love them. They just stick out to me more than 95% of the shots in this movie, and they had to be mentioned.

And finally, this shot. Because I love a shot that distorts my perspective. Looking at this shot out of context, you’re not really sure whether you’re upside down, or under an overpass, or what. It also has that weird fish cam/tunnel vision thing going on, and I really like that. If we didn’t have so many shots we wanted to include, I’d have put this on the list. But since it was mostly an indulgence on my part, I left it here.

Now let’s actually get started on the list (which I love that it’s getting longer and longer each time we do it. I really don’t give a fuck anymore):

1. The defense rests. Fabulously.

We both chose the first shot, of Dumbledore with his arms out, like, “Motherfucker, please.” Which is, in a single image, him being like, “We all know this entire trial is bullshit and the fix is in,” as well as him being like, “Motherfucker, I’m Dumbledore.” He knows he got this shit won. It’s just completely badass.

And I felt I should also throw in the shot afterwards of him with his hands like that, because it’s just a super gay pose, and that’s fantastic.

Colin:

I was on board with this shot, but mostly with this whole scene. Courtroom movies are my weakness, so obviously anything like one in a franchise movie is going to be welcome. I was really into this shot, mostly because it reminds me of Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. We all know that pose. At any rate, the most important part of this scene is that justice was served.

If anything, Dumbledore is Mayella in the actual version.

I also want to mention, Colin and I both linked to this shot in our shot lists:

I felt this was worth mentioning, since it’s a very memorable shot and looks great. (And also sets up for another shot in Deathly Hallows Part 2 with the dementors flying overhead. Which technically makes it thematically relevant. So it’s really a great shot on a lot of levels. Including the level from which it was shot.)

(There was really no way to make that pun cleanly. I still had to take the shot, though.)

Oh, also, while I’m here, I’d like to mention this shot, since I do love me some symmetry.

Oh, and I guess I should mention this as well, since Colin and I both really loved this one as well:

And now, we’re already going off the rails (like we haven’t already… four shots in #1. What is this, Dallas, 1963?), and it’s only #2. But there are so many absolutely glorious Voldemort faces in this movie that it was absolutely impossible to stick to just one. So, Voldemort is getting his own rapid fire set of shots, because they’re too good to not:

2. Voldemort’s Faces

This was originally going to have its own spot, but again… lack of room. So it’s going here because it fits.

Still, this is one of my favorite shots in the entire franchise. Because fucking look at it.

Colin:

I like this because of his suit. Honestly, I’ve always liked the character of Voldemort, but the robes don’t do it for me. It makes him less cool to me. I get how he probably wants to wear wizard’s clothes, or whatever, but look at this suit! It’s fresh to death.

Also, I’m gonna refrain from comment on most of these, since they completely speak for themselves, and I just want to revel in the glory that is these faces:

Colin:

This looks like a Taco Bell commercial to me. Someone enjoying something spicy.

I envision Voldemort making a sound in this screenshot that’s something of a cross between a Howard Dean scream and the “Won’t Get Fooled Again” yell.

Colin:

Okay, yes. First, the color. I love him bathed in this red light, cause it makes him look less sickly. But mostly it’s just that excellent mouth. He doesn’t look real. Did they CGI his mouth bigger, or something? Cause damn.

Total Black or White pose.

Colin:

Again, with the mouth. I think Voldemort’s best when he’s yelling or gasping or whatever. Whatever gets his mouth open, really.

Colin:

The man sure does enjoy being evil.

Colin:

But things don’t always go according to plan.

This image is fucking hilarious to me. I will always include a shot of Voldemort wearing people clothes.

Colin:

Hah! He thinks he’s “people!”

I didn’t include that phrase because I knew I could count on Colin to say it.

MUSIC VIDEO TIME!

(I love that I’m getting another shot at this.)

OH YEAH.

Colin:

I can really only think of Chris Brown’s Wall to Wall video when I see this.

Oh, we’re not done.

Colin:

And this is Sean Garrett in the Wall to Wall video.

People my age are so happy right now

Colin:

I’m still seeing Chris Brown. But that’s unfair to Voldemort, really.

Fuck him.

Who says it just has to be a funny face?

I love this image. He’s standing over Harry, all the sand (that sand…) is suspended in the air, and he’s just saying, “You’re a fool, Harry Potter. And you will lose everything.”

It’s a great scene and a great line. One of my favorite scenes in the franchise. Seriously, everything from Sirius’s death to this moment in this movie is absolutely perfect.

Colin:

Really, anytime someone is enjoying their evil-ness-ness-ness this much, you can’t help but share in it.

And now back to the list…

3. All By Myself

Colin and I both chose this shot. I chose the first one, he chose the second one. I couldn’t decide which I liked better, so I went with both. So you get soup and salad today. But, I think we can all see why this is a gorgeous shot and belonged on this list.

Colin:

This is as close to The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford that this movie was gonna get, so I went with it. I like a nature shot with a solitary figure. 

The one thing that bugs me about this shot is that the sleeves on his jacket are too big for him.

Oh, but guess what, folks… we’re back to another special segment. Because it’s time for another edition of:

4. Hermione’s Reactions

“Did I just say ‘Looney Lovegood’?”

(This is part of that great series of shots of Hermione being mortified. This is why we love her.)

Colin:

Another thousand yard stare kinda shot.

“Bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“You dumb cunt…”

Colin:

Mike’s covering these pretty well.

To be fair, I covered them exactly the same way in the articles. So I’m still awesome, but I’m just not awesome right now. I was awesome in the articles and am just now reminding everyone that I’m awesome.

(Lord knows I don’t do that enough.)

This is more a moment that I love, but I had no room for it elsewhere. I love the idea of two people whisper-arguing in public when everyone can hear them and when everyone knows they’re arguing. I’m a huge fan of that. (Also, I love that it reminds me of those jokes I made underneath the shots in this scene, which, you’ll just have to read the article to find out about. I’m… a huge fan of how that scene turned out in the articles.)

Colin:

This is some shit I could never pull off. I don’t dare whisper in front of people. You have to commit ritual suicide if you’re caught.

Hermione’s breaking the rules, and the floogates are open.

This face.

Ron’s telling her he’s going to take it easy on her. This is her reaction.

Colin:

“Fuck with me. See what happens.”

Gunfighter.

Colin:

This REALLY makes me want a Harry Potter western.

I don’t even have to say anything.

Colin:

This is SERIOUSLY evil. I would be afraid if I were them.

This also qualifies as that moment I point out in every one of these, where they have a moment with just the three of them. They knew it for this one, which is why they link back to it later when Harry goes all Zuul.

Not really a Hermione face, but it fits, and I had no room for it elsewhere. I just really love this shot. I love the broken glass image on its own, and I really like it here. That’s really all I have. I just love it.

She’s just been picked up by a giant (which Colin greatly enjoyed), and now she’s telling it to put her the fuck down. And it listens to her. What else can you say?’

Colin:

She got some authori-tay. Respect it.

Yeah… I’m just gonna leave that one right where it is.

Colin:

Rape noise.

I promise that was the last rapid fire one in the top ten. (Cannot promise that’s the last one for the article.)

5. The Dumbs Supremacy

Colin and I both love that first moment. “I make doors open, motherfucker.” Because the doors just open on their own and he just walks out. Probably one of the most badass Dumbledore moments in the franchise.

The second one I made sure was on this list, because there are few moments in this franchise I identify with greater than this shot. I took a look at this and went, “Wow, that’s a really great position to be in.” Because he’s covered from the back, and everyone’s gonna ambush him up front. So he’s totally in a defensible position right now. Which is terrific. (This is how my brain works. This is also probably why I get along so well with Shiho.) Also, how badass is it that these people are coming to throw him in Azkaban and he’s just chilling on his desk like that, waiting for him? Complete badass moment, and arguably more badass than what he does next. All the badassness that’s in this scene in the book is in this single shot right here in the movie.

Colin:

Symmetry is a nice thing. But mostly it’s just a badass entrance. Double doors open, Dumbledore’s scopin’.

I’d also like to mention this shot, which I love because it has both Dumbledore being defensively sound as well as being a great shot, angle-wise. I love when they put the camera in a place you never see it, because it gives you a different perspective on the space. We’ve only really ever seen his office from the front, or the side or something. But never from the back. (Insert joke here.) (And… here.) So I really love this shot. It had to be mentioned. (Plus it also sets up what will happen later, but showing us where Fawkes is in relation to all of this. So this motherfucker actually is completely set up for shit to go down right now. It’s quite a brilliant shot, now that I think about it. In fact, it’s so good:

Bam. It just made the article. See how that works? Because I don’t give a fuck. What’s one more shot?

6. This shot

This is such a quiet, beautiful moment. I like to isolate these when I can. The shot pretty much speaks for itself. This entire scene is a quiet, beautiful scene, between Sirius and Harry, and gives him the depth necessary to make his death mean something. (I could have used a few more like that, but I won’t quibble.) And, like I said, the shot speaks for itself as to why I love it so much. You know what it is and you know what he’s thinking. Which is the key to a great shot.

Colin:

I didn’t really notice this shot, to be honest, but I do enjoy Gary Oldman all the time.

I also want to give a shout out to this shot as well:

Colin and I both singled this out while watching the film, how much we loved this moment. It only felt right to include it in the articles. And since the other shot was a nice, human moment, this felt like the right place for it.

I just really love this, since you get a real human side to the twins here you don’t get anywhere else. Everywhere else they’re the comic relief, but here, you actually see them be really nice to a first-year, and we see how this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back in terms of how they get themselves expelled. Which works hand in hand with this shot, which is great as well, in terms of imagery and in terms of how much of a cunt she is.

Colin:

This is exactly that — a human moment. Without stuff like this, Umbridge wouldn’t have been as bad as she was. We’ll see in the next franchise we do how sometimes filmmakers forget to make us care about the little people and how the movies suffer for it.

Dobby’s a double little person.

7. “Hey kids… wanna buy some drugs?”

Hey kids… wanna buy some drugs?

Colin:

Yes. He got that boomslang skin.

8. This shot.

This is one of my favorite shots in the franchise, and I shouldn’t have to say anything more than that. You should know why this is here without it.

Colin:

Swingin’ like her DICK.

9. You Just Got Incepted

This is a moment that’s absolutely hilarious, and it’s something I didn’t notice until Colin pointed it out in his notes. Harry’s having this real nice moment, thinking about his parents, and you think it’s a happy memory, and then all of a sudden, “Feeling sentimental?” — boom, Snape just shows up. It’s fucking hysterical.

Colin:

Snape pops up and your dream is over. That’s happened to me before.

I’d also like to point out a few other Snape moments in the film that I really liked. Specifically this shot, which looks like Snape is ready to pimp slap the shit out of Harry, this shot, which provides an angle of Hogwarts we haven’t seen before (and is a beautiful image to boot), and this shot, which is arguably Snape’s biggest badass moment in the film. He shows up to say that he has no more veritaserum, and Harry tries to get him to help by saying, “He’s got Padfoot at the place where it’s hidden,” and you think, “Oh, man, finally… someone knows, and someone’s going to help,” and Umbridge asks Snape what that means, and he just goes, “…no idea,” and just walks out. It’s one of those moments that just needs to be followed with the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme because it’s so funny.

10. This face.

This might be the greatest reaction in the history of cinema.

Colin:

Seriously, though. LOOK at that. He could be looking at a magnificent ass. But no, he’s about to get merc’ed.

And then, since it is Gary Oldman, and since we both also love these shots, I’m just gonna put them in, rather than link to them, since we do love him, and he’s awesome:

In context, this is great, since Molly says if they keep talking, they might as well induct Harry into the Order right now, and he says he wants to be in the Order, and he leans back like, “See?”, which comes off as him being like, “Look at this kid. I knew I loved him, fucking right he wants to join this shit,” and then he winks at Harry, which is what we’re seeing here. But, just as a shot, it’s really funny to look at. Because what he could be doing right now has so many possibilities, I don’t even want to choose one.

Wink! Booze.

That’s a nice way to close out a top ten.

– – – – – – – – – –

And now for our honorable mentions. I’ve noticed that this one is very character-based. So we’re just gonna do the first half of the honorable mentions as straight characters. Example:

• Tonks

“Don’t call me Nymphadora!”

I love this. I love that her hair turns color when she’s angry.

Also.. you know she’s into that freaky shit.

Colin:

Still ain’t freaky enough to please the wolf.

She want the dick.

Is it weird that I’m incredibly attracted to this woman? Not even necessarily the actress, I’m just talking about the character. I have no idea why. I just… am.

Colin:

She can change shape and stuff. I guess that’s attractive? I dunno why she doesn’t have more fun with it, but it’s pretty cool. She ain’t no Madam Rosmerta.

Speaking of Madame Rosmerta, don’t forget…

They are here for the gang bang.

• Luna

I love how completely aloof she is all the time. How she has no idea what’s going on in front of her. She doesn’t even hear Hermione call her “Looney Lovegood,” and she randomly says the word “Hungry,” out of nowhere, instead of saying, “I’m hungry,” and then she talks about pudding.

It’s no secret that Luna is one of my favorite characters in the franchise, and that I think that her casting goes top three, with Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter (and arguably this can be considered even better casting, since they cast this part so well that they actually expanded on the role in the movies because they realized how fucking good Evanna Lynch was in it).

I love everything about this character.

Colin:

This is her saying some shit that makes a shit ton of sense, and Harry hadn’t thought of it before. And she’s all, “See? I’m crazy, but also…not! Time to feed this weird, scaly pegasus some raw meat!”

Her face here is great. This is her Sun Tzu moment, where she basically says exactly what Voldemort is doing but poses it as a hypothetical of, “Well, this is what I’d do.” It’s like that moment in The Happening where they run into that guy who manages to completely say exactly what’s going on in the movie, but then follows it up with, “I’m gonna get some hot dogs. You guys like hot dogs? I love hot dogs.” That’s what Luna does. She’ll say something really prescient and then follow it up with, “I’m gonna get some pudding,” so you don’t take it seriously, even though that’s exactly what’s going on.

Seriously, I love this character.

She skips. The end.

Colin:

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be weird. Weird people (and old LPs) skip.

Colin:

I still keep thinking Chris Brown.

This is seriously one of the creepiest images in the film for me. Why… why does there need to be blood? I — I can’t even look at this, I’m so disturbed.

• Ginny

I feel like all I can say right now is, “She want the dick.”

Colin:

She’s a ho. Didn’t you know?

This one’s more about the moment than the expression. This was the moment in the films where I went, “Wow… that’s actually really good.” Because, while watching the films, they didn’t address Ginny at all in them. So to have this moment, where Hermione’s talking about Harry and Cho, and they work in a Ginny moment where she’s all sad that Harry likes Cho and is gonna get with her was really terrific at the time. Because they ignored her until this point, so to give her that moment of being upset because she has a thing for Harry was really nice. And the fact that they did it in a single shot was nice too. They might have fucked up this relationship in the films, but this moment was one of the good ones.

Colin:

This is where I was still happy. He was stoked about Cho, and so was I. Clearly they’re setting up the Ginny thing, but I can pretend that’s bullshit.

Goddamn. She wanna get fucked.

Almost Hermione’s gunfighter face, but different. Hermione’s got the true gunfighter face. This one’s more the, “Yeah, I know that was great. I know you want some of this” face. Hermione’s will always be best, but I do appreciate this one as well.

• Filch

He’s a ghost ghost ghost ghost ghost.

Colin:

That’s what I said.

My “Precious”… sweets.

Colin:

He’s totally doing a Gollum thing here, and if you don’t see it you’re just not looking.

Colin:

Those of you who’ve seen porn will be familiar with the Asian girl having been tortured or being under duress face.

That was blurred out of my version.

It’s the combination that he’s actually tilting a painting and fucking with the people inside it and the obscene amount of joy he’s taking from it that make this shot a necessity in this article.

Colin:

That’s just so fucked up. I can’t believe you can just tilt them out of their frame.

And finally…

• Filius Flitwick, Baddest Motherfucker at Hogwarts

(I really hope that’s what his business card says.)

Colin:

This bitch can’t be serious! You know who the fuck I am?!

Colin:

It’s so great that he does this, cause he taught them everything they knew.

Just gonna throw it out there… kind of diluted by him looking around afterward, worried that people saw him. That’s not how a badass operates.

And now back to the usual honorable mentions…

• Fight the pow..ch.

I chose the first one, Colin chose the second one. I completely forgot the second one even existed, so I’m very happy for him choosing it. It’s actually funnier than mine. But I had to keep “fight the power” because it’s so funny/racist to me.

Colin:

Come on, that’s hilarious. And he’s a Ravenclaw.

• Umbridge Sucks Owl Cocks

Colin chose this one. I love the look on her face. She’s such a cunt.

Colin:

It’s the stirring the tea without looking that does it for me. She’s so stern and rigid, yet she keeps smiling and stirring the tea. Evil bitch.

I chose another image from this scene as my choice, which is why we worked the two of them in as a pair:

Just the look on his face and the pink wall of cats behind him was too good to pass up.

Two more things I’d like to mention:

This shot, which I love for symmetry and color reasons. The pink walls are a really great touch. As a single image, it’s quite beautiful. Composition, color, symmetry — great shot.

And this shot. It’s just… the smile on her face… and there’s a knife on the desk. Why does she have a knife? What is a knife doing there?

“She showed me the knife!”

It’s just so boggling and amazing at the same time that it’s hilarious to me.

• Ministry Madness

Colin chose this one. Since, as we know, he loves a good “Y’all are surrounded” shot.

Colin:

The man’s not wrong. Wait til we get to Moria.

I chose another moment from this scene to single out:

Harry shoots him IN THE FUCKING FACE!

AT POINT BLANK RANGE.

WHILE RUNNING!

That’s so funny to me I can’t even put into words how funny that is.

I also love a shot before this, when the dude flies up to him, because it actually looks like he’s about to ask him if he’s accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior. But him shooting him in the face is too good to pass up.

I’d also like to point out that later, this same dude is shown using his wand like a six shooter, and as we all know, I will never pass up a good western image.

Oh, I’d also like to mention this shot. I think it’s a great composition. I’m glad I gave it a shout out in the article, since otherwise I might have overlooked it here.

Colin:

I swear that’s Zach Galifianakis. 

•  Harry after Sirius’s death.

Colin:

I’m sorry, but out of context it looks like Lupin’s doing something south of the border right now.

I like that he’s actually giving the moment the reaction it deserves. (Plus it’s totally this moment.)

I chose this image instead:

Which I love because it really sets the tone for what the rest of the sequence (and the rest of the franchise, even) is going to be. He just takes off after Bellatrix, ready to fucking to kill her. It’s completely silent, you just hear him running and her yelling like a child, taunting about how she “killed Sirius Black, and he just runs up to her and just starts fucking Crucio’ing her. It’s such a dark moment for a franchise that started with chocolate frogs. And this look from Lupin really brings it home, because he knows that Harry is so upset that he’s ready to kill, and the last thing he wants is for Harry to go down this path of killing and all that. He was trying to hold him back for his own good, not his own safety. (Though, yes, also his own safety.) So I really like this shot. Because this motherfucker is ready to kill.

• Wizards Duel

We love a good wide shot. Plus it’s Dumbledore vs. Voldemort. And the colors. It’s really the total package in terms of thematic relevance, composition, and just plain, “That shit looks good.”

Colin:

These shots pop up every time. They always look good, as Mike said, but I don’t know if I’d rank it in the top ten because there are so many like it.

I’d also like to mention this shot while I can, because the shot itself is absolutely incredible. It starts from Dumbledore, moves from him, to his wand, to the stream coming from his wand, all the way along the stream and over to Voldemort on the other side. It’s a brilliant shot, and one of my absolute favorites in the entire franchise. Too bad it doesn’t work as a single image, because that shit would have been on here in a heartbeat.

– – – – –

And, of course, a bonus entry, because we all but have to at this point (especially since she goes away after this) — here is your moment of Cho (or as I like to call it, “Cho Yeah!”):

Colin:

I like this bitch’s jawline. So sue me.

Colin:

This is nice, cause it’s a look most guys have given or received. That, “I’m about to get it in!” “SHIT yeah, you are!” exchange that goes on behind a girl’s back while you’re with her. It’s subtle (not so much Ron) and that’s why it’s awesome.

And then he got it in Ginny.

The end.

So that’ll do it for our favorite images.

Now I’d like to leave you all with one very important, completely necessary message:

“I can’t feel my legs!”

– – – – – – – – – –

Tomorrow is Final Thoughts, and then Monday we start Half-Blood Prince.

(See the rest of the Fun with Franchises articles here.)

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