Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix vs The Heart Of The Game

I have never seen the previous Harry Potter movies, and I haven’t read the books. But here I am, having just viewed the fifth movie in the series. It’s an odd thing, I assume, starting a movie series in the middle, but then I seem to remember doing it once before: Oh yeah, Star Wars. I started that one with part four, and did just fine.

If there’s another movie The Order of the Phoenix reminds me of, it’s Star Wars (please don’t ask which one. The Star Wars one.) Harry wants to join his mentor’s order of wizards, he’s trying to understand more about his father, he’s headed down a path where maybe he’ll succumb to darkness, he gets to kiss a girl.

I have no idea what happened last time, but this time, Harry is in trouble. He’s been caught using his powers around someone without powers, and faces expulsion. The opening sequence is so nightmarish I thought it must certainly be, you know, a nightmare. It wasn’t, so if you ask me, powers were in order. Luckily, the tribunal agrees, and Harry rejoins his friends in school. I’m sure some of you can tell me who Harry’s friends are, but not having any prior experience with them, my only choice was to call them things like Twins, Other Twins, White Hair, Baby Anne Heche, Future Tall British Character Actor, and The Girl Who Isn’t the Other Girls.

Because this is part five (of seven), there is more plot than anyone new to the series could ever process. The basics are: At school, Harry is faced with a new professor, a sweetly superior, new-rule-making Dolores Umbridge, who is played by Imelda Staunton in the film’s finest performance (when you see who else is here, you’ll get how impressive that is). Staunton, like Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, pulls off that rare feat: the middle-aged star-making performance. Umbridge is pure evil, trying to distract the students from the fact that there is darkness in their midst. Her after-class punishments are nothing shy of torture, and she’s not above ruling the faculty with an iron fist as well.

And that’s not all. Harry believes that his arch-villain, Voldemort, is still alive and creepy and breathing through his mouth. No one believes Harry, and he’s being plagued by nightmares of Voldemort, leading Harry to wonder if he might be evil someday himself. Voldemort is played by an unrecognizable Ralph Fiennes. Dude is scary, all snakey and clawed and thunder-voiced. I never understood why some kids call Voldemort “He Who Must Not Be Named” and other kids just call him Voldemort, or why it would be so unbelievable that someone horrible and undead-lizardish might not be easily killed. By the time Harry and his mentors Dumbledor and Sirius (Michael Gambon and Gary Oldman) take on Voldemort, any questions newcomers like me might have fade away. Voldemort is joined by Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter—are you keeping track of these actors?), a crazed Nazi/Death-Eater/Dominatrix who hates Harry, and Lucius Malfoy, who I learned nothing about other than he has white hair and stands next to Bellatrix. Maybe I should see part four?

I saw The Order of the Phoenix in IMAX 3-D, so my impression of the effects and cinematography are probably a little biased. Everything looks great. It’s hard to believe that this is the first film directed by David Yates. He’s taken a book roughly eight-hundred pages, and turned into a two-hour fantasy movie perfect for people like me. People who can’t read.

There are people out there who are opposed to the world of Harry Potter (although not here, right? If so, beat it. Seriously.) I think people opposed to the world and fun of Harry Potter are those afraid of fun in general, and also of change, curiosity, progress, imagination, and I dunno, great British actors or something. It’s the same kind of people who think girls should just sit around and giggle into pink telephones all day. It might seem like a leap, but I’m recommending you watch The Heart of the Game.

The Heart of the Game is a documentary about the coolest girls’ basketball team in the country, the Roosevelt Rough Riders, who do for mad sports skills what Harry Potter does for magic: make you believe it could make a difference. These girls are cocky, funny and badass in a way that you can only see in the truly talented.

Two of my movie weaknesses: sports documentaries like Hoop Dreams and Murderball, and us-against-them dramas like The Insider and Erin Brockovich (or their teen siblings, which are usually set in high schools, and have to do with “issues” like dancing. I love how parts of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix reminded me of The Breakfast Club and Footloose). The Heart of the Game embodies both of my weaknesses perfectly. The Roosevelt Rough Riders aren’t necessarily underdogs. They go to the state finals practically every year, and they have a rabid fan base. They’ve also got a coach that is like all of Harry Potter’s mentors and villains rolled into one. Bill Resler believes in the girls and pushes them hard to play like wild animals. While other teams might use “Teamwork!” or “Defense!” to break a huddle, Resler’s girls chant “Draw blood!” and they mean it. Resler’s only game plan is offense. The Rough Riders steal the ball, however they please, and full-court press as fast as they can, sometimes tripling their rivals’ scores. The girls rock, riding the constant adrenaline rush of their own bad-ass-itude. They’re like baller versions of Harry Potter, with endless stamina and self-esteem.

Except for Darnellia Russell. Darnellia is perhaps the most talented of the players—scouted by the WMBA while still in her early teens—but she’s pregnant. What Darnellia does for her baby, her education and basketball is the heart of The Heart of the Game, and it is absolutely riveting to watch. The Heart of the Game was directed by Ward Serrill. I can’t wait to see what he does next. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you already know there’s more than one kind of high school. Watch The Heart of the Game, and you’ll see there’s more than one kind of magic as well.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: A
The Heart of the Game: A