Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Overview

• Director: Chris Weitz
• Company: New Line Cinema
• Release Date: December 7, 2007 (USA)
• Rating: PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence
• Runtime: Approx. 113 min.
• Website

Synopsis

There is a world where witches rule the northern skies, where ice bears are the bravest of warriors, and where every human is joined with an animal spirit who is as close to them as their own heart.

But this world is dominated by the Magisterium, which seeks to control all of humanity, and whose greatest threat is the last remaining Golden Compass and the one child destined to possess it.

Twelve year-old Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) lives an extraordinary life as a ward of distinguished Jordan College. Tearing unsupervised through the streets on mad quests for adventure with her loyal friend Roger (Ben Walker), Lyra is accompanied everywhere by her daemon, Pantalaimon (voiced by Freddie Highmore) – a small, ever-changing animal that serves as a constant voice of reason.

But Lyra’s world is changing.

Her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), is embarking on a trip to the Arctic Circle to investigate a mysterious element intriguingly called Dust, but the Magisterium would go to any lengths – including shutting down Jordan College – to stop him.

At the same time, rumors of children mysteriously disappearing and being taken north become terrifyingly real when her best friend Roger goes missing. Lyra swears to go to the ends of the earth to rescue him, and when a new figure appears at the college – Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), a beguiling scientist and world traveler – she sees her best chance to get away.

But Lyra finds that she has been drawn into a trap designed to take from her the one thing she possesses that the Magisterium desperately seeks – the Golden Compass. Given to her as a gift by the Master of Jordan College (Jack Shepherd), it is a mystical, powerful device that can tell the truth, reveal what others wish to hide and foreshadow – and even change – the future.

At that moment, Lyra realizes that she will have to break away from Mrs. Coulter and embark on her own journey to rescue Roger and stop the Magisterium. But fate puts her in the company and protection of a tribe of seafaring Gyptians led by Lord Faa (Jim Carter), Ma Costa (Clare Higgins) and Farder Coram (Tom Courtenay).

Banding together an unlikely alliance with the Gyptians, the mysterious witch Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green) and Texas airman Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), Lyra is flung into an adventure that will take her over sky and ocean, to the wilds of the icy north, where she gains a powerful ally in a great armored bear named Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), who pledges to serve her in her campaign until she prevails.

A great war is coming – one that threatens not only Lyra’s world but all the parallel worlds waiting just beyond the northern lights. With her band of friends and allies, and the power of the Golden Compass, Lyra will need all her skill and all her courage, to stop it.

New Line Cinema presents The Golden Compass, an epic fantasy adventure starring Oscar® winner Nicole Kidman (The Hours), newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, Sam Elliott (We Were Soldiers), Eva Green (Casino Royale) and Daniel Craig (Casino Royale). Based on Philip Pullman’s best-selling and award-winning first novel in the
His Dark Materials trilogy, the film is adapted and directed by Academy Award® nominee Chris Weitz (About A Boy).

The Golden Compass is produced by Deborah Forte and Bill Carraro, with executive producers Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne. Toby Emmerich, Mark Ordesky, Ileen Maisel, Andrew Miano and Paul Weitz also executive produce.

The distinguished cast also includes Academy Award® nominee Tom Courtenay (The Dresser), Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park), Jack Shepherd (Charlotte Gray), Ben Walker (BBC’s “Sweeney Todd”), Simon McBurney (The Last King of Scotland), Jim Carter (Shakespeare in Love), Clare Higgins (Stage Beauty), Magda Szubanski (Happy Feet) and legendary actor Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

The film also features voices of Oscar® nominee Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters, The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Oscar® winner Kathy Bates (Misery, Titanic), Oscar® nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient), Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Golden Globe winner Ian McShane (TV’s “Deadwood”).

The creative behind-the-scenes team is led by Emmy-winning director of photography Henry Braham, BSC (Waking Ned Devine, Flyboys); Academy Award®-winning production designer Dennis Gassner (Bugsy, Road to Perdition); editors Peter Honess, A.C.E. (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Anne V. Coates, A.C.E. (an Oscar® winner for Lawrence of Arabia and four-time Academy Award®-nominee – Becket, The Elephant Man, In the Line of Fire, Out of Sight) and Kevin Tent, A.C.E.; Oscar®-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (Emma, L.A. Confidential); and Oscar®-nominated senior visual effects supervisor Michael Fink (X-Men 1& 2, Constantine). The score is by Oscar® nominee Alexandre Desplat (The Queen).

The film also features the work of property master Barry Gibbs (Oliver Twist, Hannibal Rising), Oscar®-winning makeup and hair designer Peter King (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and stunt coordinator Paul Jennings (Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible).

The Golden Compass (rated “PG-13” by the M.P.A.A. for “sequences of fantasy violence”) will be released worldwide by New Line Cinema on December 7th, 2007.

This “anti-Christian” film had religious critics raving about the strong sentiments it expressed. In a “parallel world,” there are many similarities that speak regarding the world as we know it. This review will see how deep these dark ties run. Is this movie just another fantasy flick, or is it dark, subliminal messaging?

Compliments

The Golden Compass jumps right into the story, launching quickly into the main storyline. The movie made the parallel world unique in that it did look like “our world,” but there were subtle differences. It seemed to take place in the past, yet there was some modern-appearing technology. The visual effects were alright. The movie did an adequate job portraying various animals and creatures, and a polar bear fight was quite mind blowing. A key feature was that it created quite an intriguing atmosphere because of its twisted environment. Lastly, the movie presented a strong emphasis on the truth and finding it.

Criticism

A major criticism is that from the beginning, the movie is stringent regarding information, which becomes more confusing as the story is played out. Although the visual effects were adequate, they seemed fake, contributing to an overall childish and extra-fantastical look to the movie, even though that might have been the intention of the movie and the books, which is not consistent with the PG-13 rating. As for the score, there was nothing too special. I would agree that the Magisterium resembled the Catholic church in some ways and that it seemed very overpowering, I do not see much harm in that. The Catholic church did, at one time, resemble a power-hungry behemoth.

Conclusion

In terms of anti-Christianity, I truly think that the movie has minimal sentiments. In fact the golden compass itself resembles prayer and faith in some ways. I think that the reason why critics spoke against The Golden Compass is because the author of the Golden Compass books, Philip Pullman, a strong atheist, spoke out explicitly against Christianity. The first Golden Compass movie seems mild in comparison to Pullman’s words and intentions, but the creators of the movie stated that they would not be so moderate in the sequel. Overall, I think The Golden Compass seems like a childish fantasy movie. The anti-Christian message is minimal, and a good, strong sense of truth is emphasized. Just be careful next time around.

Ratings

• Acting: 8/10
• Cinematography/Photography: 9/10
• Morality: 9/10
• Plot/Storyline: 7/10
• Music/Score: 8/10
• Overall: 8.2/10

Overview

• Director: Andrew Adamson
• Company: Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media
• Release Date: May 16, 2008 (USA)
• Rating: PG epic battle action and violence
• Runtime: Approx. 144 min.
• Website

Synopsis

The characters of C.S. Lewis’s timeless fantasy come to life once again in this newest installment of the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, in which the Pevensie siblings are magically transported back from England to the world of Narnia, where a thrilling, perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage awaits them.

One year after the incredible events of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.

The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. With the help of the kindly dwarf, Trumpkin, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz’s tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land.

Directed once again by veteran director Andrew Adamson, screenplay by Andrew Adamson & Christopher Markus & Staphen McFeely and produced by Mark Johnson, Andrew Adamson and Philip Steuer, the film reunites the original cast and creative team behind the blockbuster first film in the series.

Once again, this film depicts one of C.S. Lewis’s great novels like never before. Good and evil battle it out, but this time, the line is not all black in white. In comparison to the first movie in the series, Prince Caspian has both more war and battles scenes and more humor and jokes. Also, this movie is much more dark, with sinister plots of insurrection.

Compliments

This is actually quite a beautiful film that features awe-inspiring landscapes and beautiful, lush, green land. The war and battle scenes are not quite as vast as those in the first movie, but just as entertaining with many new features, including an awesome, more regimented army that marches together, creating a powerful effect. Close combat is fast and exhilarating, yet the good thing is that, like in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the blood and gore is kept at a bare minimum, an extremely good thing for today’s industry. This film does a good job in evoking emotions during scenes of defeat and sorrow, and creates a great sense of nobility and honesty in many characters. Also which is nice is the action and consequence sequence in the film. It showed that pride leads to destruction, whereas humility and faith in others (Aslan) leads to success. As for the music, although the film used many of the same tracks as its predecessor, the music unifies the series and works effectively for the film as a whole. The special effects were very nice with such generations which animated water and plants. Lastly, this film once again portrays the lion, Aslan, as a noble, powerful entity, a role rightly so.

Criticism

Although the movie follows the novel to an extent, it travels off on tanglents many times. For an example, Hollywood set up a romance between Prince Caspian and Susan which was never even hinted at in the book, and the relationship barely goes anywhere. Also, much of the acting seemed fake and even cheesy at someplaces, giving the movie a much more childish sense than it needed.

Conclusion

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a pretty good movie. It is not as good as the first in the Narnia series, but it does have some good highlights. Overall, the excessive humor and the acting does bring the movie down a little, but the lessons presented in the movie are quite good.

Ratings

• Acting: 8/10
• Cinematography/Photography: 10/10
• Morality: 10/10
• Plot/Storyline: 8/10
• Score: 9/10
• Overall: 9.0/10

Overview

• Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
• Company: Metanoia Films
• Release Date: October 26, 2007 (USA)
• Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing images
• Runtime: Approx. 91 min.
• Website

Synopsis

One moment can change your life forever. An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when a series of events unfold that bring his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she’s unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down… until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day to an unforgettable experience.

Bella is one of those few good movies which have something good to say. When a man is convicted of involuntary manslaughter, his life is turned around. Dejected, he begins to value life unquestionably, and when his co-worker becomes pregnant and want to abort, he tries to dissuade her with all his ability.

Compliments

This film emphasizes the importance of honesty, perseverance, and ultimately, life. Struggling with adoption and abortion, it presents a true story realistically and traverses the hardships in life. The cinematography is very artistic and well done, and the acting is superb. Eduardo Verástegui does an excellent job portraying the emotion that is required for a film like this. Unlike many modern films, Bella presents the Latino culture as close knit and family-oriented. It paints a very noble picture. Originally produced by a small, independent film company, Metanoia Films, it took some time before this film appeared in theaters, but once out, received many well-deserved prestigious awards and recognitions.

Criticism

There are some parts that are a little fragmented and confusing.

Conclusion

Overall, Bella is both an artistic and authentic film that promotes a positive outlook and good moral values.

Ratings

• Acting: 10/10
• Cinematography/Photography: 10/10
• Morality: 10/10
• Plot/Storyline: 9/10
• Score: 9/10
• Overall: 9.6/10