Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007 David Yates)

Who's Michael Goldenberg?* I thought Steve Kloves wrote them all? I don't know what he was doing instead but nothing was released then with his name on.

David Yates' first in the series is a big improvement on The Goblet of Fire. It has more great sets by Stuart Craig (the green tiles of the Ministry of Magic, styled on a public toilet in a railway station) and wonderful photography by Slawomir Idziak (A Short Film About Killing, Three Colours: Blue) and editing by Mark Day. It has a focus - a simple story. (I probably would have left out the malevolent house elf). Nicholas Hooper scored it. The special effects (supervised by Tim Burke) are wonderfully shiny - love the fireworks of it all - the way all the proclamations shatter and fall to the ground, the duel in the Ministry.. Ginny's proving to be a rather adept wizard.

Helena Bonham-Carter makes an impressive debut. Plus Imelda Staunton, beautifully evil.

Next up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Brexit, Part 1.

* There's no point asking these questions if you don't answer them. He wrote Jodie Foster Contact, P.J. Hogan's Peter Pan and Green Lantern.