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Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
 Posted - 12/08/2005 : 06:59:06 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
What?!?!? That's just insane.
It would have been funny enough if it was just one paragraph - but it was basically the gist of the whole review. |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2005 : 03:19:54 AM
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I don't need to tell you it makes no sense at all. If the "Because the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many..." line is anti-socialist, it would mean the Vulcans, which are presented in the Trek universe as one of its most intelligent species, are socialists, hence they tend to believe in the opposite. Hardly Reaganite propaganda.
About "The Cronicles of Narmia", I won't speak about it without having seen the film first. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2005 : 8:03:19 PM
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Ah, my local newspaper reviewer, while not as bad as Polly, has nice gems like this in the review:
And Santa shows up, but like some militia nut, arms the kids with knives and arrows, then leaves to spread good will; seriously, what was that about?
Needless to say, he gave it his next to lowest rating. Of course, he also raved about "Syriana" which has more suitable political leanings. It may be a good film, I just don't know.
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
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PaulaJohnson
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 12:33:21 AM
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I gotta admit, Santa showing up in the book always kinda jarred me. Kind of a "What the...?" moment. But my six-year-old daughter loved it. Which is probably the point.
She loved it in the movie, too. Although I think she was a little thrown that Santa wasn't fat, jolly, and dressed in bright red like the Santa in Krug Park who's lap she sits in every year.
The movie was very well done, in my opinion, by the way. Although I always pictured Aslan kind of glowing after his resurrection. He seemed oddly normal afterwards in this. And some silly little changes from the book that I thought were unnecessary ('twas an errant cricket ball through a window, and not a tour group like in the book, that sends all four into the wardrobe). But whatever. Still good stuff.
I came, I saw, I was really too tired to deal with it so I just went to bed. |
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KurtVon
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
387 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 5:39:00 PM
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In the book it specifically says that the Narnia Santa is not as fat as the Santa of Earth. And yeah, it's a little odd, but it does add a nice pause in the middle o the book.
I thought the movie was very well done, and followed the book remarkably faithfully. Basically, I'd say like the book == like the movie 99% of the time. There were a few minor changes which jarred me a bit, but they fit well and, if anything, made the allegorical nature of the story even more subtle.
The only part I didn't like were the eight stoned high-school seniors three rows in front of us who laughed like Ed MacMahon on antidepressants any time anything even vaguely amusing happened on screen. I sware nobody would smoke pot if they could see how dumb they look when doing it -- but that's another thread.
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Edited by - KurtVon on 12/11/2005 4:49:09 PM |
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The Waffle Man
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Oman
491 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2005 : 5:08:40 PM
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What's so weird about Santa showing up? We're talking about a dimension that exists in the back of an old wradrobe.
Anyway, Ms. Toynbee is way over the top there, and I say that as somebody who doesn't really like the original book or the original religion.
Mainly, I don't understand how four children becoming kings and queens isn't the meek inheriting the earth.
I do agree with this, though;
quote:
When [Edmund] comes back down with the sacred lion's breath upon him he is transformed unrecognisably into a Stepford brother, well and truly purged.
The kids in that book are duller hen a beige room. They eat their veggies, obey adults, and are always the perfect model of childhood innocence. Blech. Edmund may be a big fat jerk, but at least he has a personality trait beyond "The oldest".
I guess I've just gotten to be too much of a contrarian to enjoy The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe anymore. I mean, when the kids ask Aslan why he has to go and die he gives them the equivalent of "Because I say so". Any children's book that includes those four dread words without any examination earns my great distrust.
"Mom, all the other kids are asking why my daddy didn't show up at the school play.
"I'm sorry hon, you were created through an unholy form of human mitosis."
"GRR! KILL!"
-Ecchi Attack
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The Waffle Man
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Oman
491 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2005 : 5:10:40 PM
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Oh, also, somehow most people miss the Christ allegory as children. I'd venture to say that 92% of people asked would say they missed it.
Which always seems odd going back as an adult, because it's about as subtle as Godzilla.
"Mom, all the other kids are asking why my daddy didn't show up at the school play.
"I'm sorry hon, you were created through an unholy form of human mitosis."
"GRR! KILL!"
-Ecchi Attack
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Culfy
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
United Kingdom
113 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2005 : 5:51:45 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by The Waffle Man
Oh, also, somehow most people miss the Christ allegory as children. I'd venture to say that 92% of people asked would say they missed it.
Which always seems odd going back as an adult, because it's about as subtle as Godzilla.
I do remember reading it for the third time annd suddenly thinking "Hang on - Aslan, the creator of the world, dies for another's sins in a particularly humiliating way and is resurrected. Reminds of something, but I can't quite put my finger on it"
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Notes from a small cavy
www.culfy.blogspot.com |
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Prankster
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
727 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 01:00:00 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by The Waffle Man
Anyway, Ms. Toynbee is way over the top there, and I say that as somebody who doesn't really like the original book or the original religion.
I prefer the remake of the religion.
The movie is fairly "bleh". Feels like a contractual obligation, in the manner of the first Harry Potter movie. The power of the source material carries it for the first hour, then it turns into a fairly boring video game. As with many books, the plot isn't all that important compared to the tone and the "feel", which I thought didn't come through too well. With LOTR it felt at least expected that you'd get CGI armies and creatures, but to me Narnia calls for the services of the Henson creature shop. The feel was too cold, and it was trying too hard to be LOTR jr.
It wasn't *that* bad, of course, but I always loved the books (despite being a practicing satanist) and my standards are really high for any adaptation.
---
Check out my online comics at [URL]http://www.phantasmictales.com[/URL]! |
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Dirk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 12:37:36 PM
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Good grief, I just got back from the IMDB message boards. They were discussing the religious aspects of the film, too... let's just say they were far less genteel than the posts here.
I agree with Prankster... "Narnia" was really trying to be a "lite" Lord of the Rings, especially with the "epic battle sequence" at the end. It also seemed rather rushed to me. As much as I'm starting to despise the Peter Jackson-style four hour epics, I think "Narnia" could have profited from a little extra time. It seemed as though Aslan was only in the film for about five minutes, which kind of lessened the emotional impact of his death.
What really stood out for me was Tilda Swinton's performance as the White Witch. She was entertaining in "Constantine" (which is more than I can say for the rest of that movie), and I thought she was the real standout actress in "Narnia".
Is the inevitable sequel in the works yet? |
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Ubiq
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 2:34:26 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Dirk
Is the inevitable sequel in the works yet?
I think I heard that Prince Caspian is already underway.
As far as the film being rushed goes, the book was far worse about that. The biggest complaint I have about the Narnia series is that several of them (The Silver Chair in particular) build up your expectations and then simply end like Lewis simply wanted to write a book that was such and such a number of pages long and then stopped regardless of whether the story was complete.
BM: I should have mentioned this at the beginning. I solve my problems with violence. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 2:58:22 PM
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As far as the film being rushed goes, the book was far worse about that.
I agree with you there. The books move at a quick clip. That's one reason I'm baffled by complaints about the battle. I thought they did a good job of fleshing out the battle and giving some believability that they could lose. Otherwise, the story is over a lot sooner.
I also have a problem with people saying they were trying to be LOTR lite. The book has a battle. So the battle not tacked on to the movie, just fleshed out some more. The rest of the story is pretty faithful to book. I would say the similarities are more due to the similar genre than to an overt attempt to be something it is not.
I thought the movie was good.
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
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Ubiq
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 4:01:01 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
I agree with you there. The books move at a quick clip. That's one reason I'm baffled by complaints about the battle. I thought they did a good job of fleshing out the battle and giving some believability that they could lose. Otherwise, the story is over a lot sooner.
Yeah, the Chronicles of Narnia series produces a different challenge than the Harry Potter series. In the latter, the directors have to decide which material to excise in order to make the book fit into a single film; in Narnia, they have to decide what material to add to make the story long enough to fill the movie.
The battle in the book takes a mere three pages and was fleshed out quite nicely in the film.
quote:
I also have a problem with people saying they were trying to be LOTR lite.
That sort of thinking amuses me in the same way that complaining about how War of the Worlds ends. The blame for such lies with the writer of the original book, not with the filmmakers who are being faithful to the work that inspired them.
Narnia seems Tolkienesque? Well, that's probably because Lewis was a major fan of Tolkien, so any faithful work based on his series is going to reflect that.
It wasn't really a two way street though.
quote:
Originally posted by J.R.R. Tolkien
It is sad that 'Narnia' and all that part of C.S.L.'s work should remain outside the range of my sympathy, as much of my work was outside his. Also, I personally found Letters to Malcolm a distressing and in parts horrifying work. I began a commentary on it, but if finished it would not be publishable.
BM: I should have mentioned this at the beginning. I solve my problems with violence. |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 8:29:46 PM
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I would think in some ways it would make it easier since you don't have rabid fans complaining about what was taken out and combined. I thought the intro with the bombing was a good addition for the movie.
Based on the quote you provided, it sounds as though Lewis had issues with some of Tolkein's work as well. I just look at it as they were writing for different age levels and audiences.
The ROPe gives you three options, convert, submit, or die. There is a fourth, resist. |
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Ubiq
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - 12/19/2005 : 11:04:28 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Terrahawk
I would think in some ways it would make it easier since you don't have rabid fans complaining about what was taken out and combined. I thought the intro with the bombing was a good addition for the movie.
Oh, it's definitely easier than trying to excise material. The biggest problem is making sure that the added sequences fit the overall tone of the rest of the work. I also thought that the introduction was well-done and actually bothered to cover something the book only vaguely hinted at.
quote:
Based on the quote you provided, it sounds as though Lewis had issues with some of Tolkein's work as well. I just look at it as they were writing for different age levels and audiences.
I've heard elsewhere though that Lewis loved the LotR. Tolkien seemed to think otherwise though that might have been in reference to some of his more scholarly writings.
BM: I should have mentioned this at the beginning. I solve my problems with violence. |
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