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As an RPG fan, The Lord of the Rings trilogy land (Middle Earth) is often the universe where the games are played. However, the books that made me a roleplayer- that opened my imagination- were the Chronicles. Therefore, I anxiously awaited this movie to see the characters of my imagination brought to cinematic life. And it’s true that my nostalgia brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.

The film shows a brilliant fantasy texture with bright colors and gorgeous scenery. The wide array of creatures was stunning and interesting. I loved all of the big cats in battle, and seeing them bearing down on the camera as they rushed into battle made my heart pound. In the final battle, am I the only one who saw Chewie?? Was Chewbacca in Narnia as an homage to the fantasy genre?

But arguably the best part of the film was Lucy Pevensie (played by Georgie Henley). This little actor delivers a variety of emotions without bringing the film to a syrupy consistency. Her massive amount of screen time could have broken the film, but she played the part very well. The part of Saint Peter- I mean, Peter (played by William Moseley)- tends to be a bit foppish and reminded me of mama’s boy Wesley Crusher. One of my favorite actors, Liam Neeson, voices the Lion; his voice was too much Liam and not enough Lion. I think that lack of voice range was intentional, drawing on Neeson’s long history as the protagonist in many films and evoking a quick audience affection for the just Lion.

Tilda Swinson plays the White Witch’s bipolar nature very well. Her costuming was artful, though occasionally it looked a bit like the material was made of handmade paper or the remains in my lint trap. The costume for the major battle, with its lion’s mane and headdress, was the best costume of the film.

I almost hate to mention the following because I’m sure this movie’s creators are already tired of hearing it: doubtless many reviews will draw parallels to the LoTR film trilogy. And yes, at first glance, there are many similarities. I do think that some of the shots were too similar to battle scenes from LoTR, but then, all open-field battles and all fantasy films will be compared to LoTR as the gold standard for many years to come. As for plot similarities, they both draw on the New Testament, so hello, of course there will be similarities. Not only that, but the book authors are contemporaries, so writing style and theme comparability are expected. The Christian symbolism is alive and well and obvious throughout Narnia.

The Narnia books are shorter and less complex fare that translates very well into a feature film with very little cut from it. Despite the obvious parallels other films, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe stands alone as an excellent fantasy film for children, with something for older viewers as well.

[rate 3.5]

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“The play’s th’ thing!” While Shakespeare’s play within a play may have been one of the first, Adaptation. seeks again to use the theatre as both means and end. Nicholas Cage surprised me with his effective performances as the Kaufman twins. The best part of his performance is that unlike many people who play twins, Cage does not make them into charicatures; each twin has a wide range of emotion and reaction. The special effects that put the two in the same room or car are also very well done. But a note to the author: I can’t stand split screen. It’s not the author’s fault, but I spend more time looking at the actor and effects and lose the scene’s meaning as a result. A touch of adult attention defecit on my part. Sometime’s I’m just a monkey looking for a shiny toy, easily distracted.

Where was I? Oh, right.

The story focuses on a screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, with terrible writer’s block and a horrible case of personal inertia. I’ve been there. He’s staring at a blank page and decides to use coffee as a reward when he has typed something. I have had the same thought, using an artificial carrot on a stick to propel myself forward on an otherwise unrewarding task. As the movie unfolds, the choppy and confusing style at the beginning make complete sense: we are the test audience for the screenwriter’s failed attempts.

Every performance is very well executed, delivering the movie in a way that can’t be done by lesser actors. The film’s mockery of Hollywood, of writers, of itself is so interwoven that sometimes it’s hard to tell where the sarcasm ends. At one point in the film I questioned if Charlie’s twin Donnie had taken over and was writing the ending. The constant mockery is also a clever way to excuse any of the things that don’t work. If one doesn’t like a visual effect, such as starting the movie with voice on a black screen, the film’s authors can claim it was part of the entire idea of a poorly written movie. The story, the actual tale about flowers and the orchid thief, was a perfectly ordinary Hollywood piece. Only the book within a screenplay within a movie revives the interest.

The characters and erratic plot connections are dark and Magnolia-esque, but the device is successful…and no frogs this time.

[rate 3.0]

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I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to this movie even though I watched it at home. I had seen bad reviews, and the reviews were right. Like many action movies with no real plot, the premise revolves around one individual having a serious lack of both morals and knowledge of consequence. It also contains the requisite Nice Guy who Bites It.

WARNING: This paragraph will ruin the plot (if you want to call it that) if you haven’t seen the movie. Jamie Foxx, revered as a chameleon of an actor with the ability to display a multitude of tragic emotions as well as comedic range, dies by being fooled into crashing into a mountain. His performance (driven by a bad script) was so flat that I didn’t feel sad when he died, though he was a main character. I was too busy questioning how one of the top three pilots in the entire navy crashed head-on into a mountain with a little provocation by a droid ship.

The special effects looked very good, but the soundtrack was weak in content and delivery: the music was forgettable and did not use the full range of the surround sound capabilities. Air Force One is still my reference standard.

One saving grace: Jessica Biel looks incredible and was fun to watch.

Don’t waste your rental fees or Netflix time.
[rate 0.5]

IMDb Description

Let me start by saying that Nick Nolte is IMHO one of the most annoying actors on the planet. Like Tom Cruise, he cannot be mercuric enough to meld into a role: even when the film is fantastic, you still know it’s Nick Nolte, not his character. Not so in this film. This is Nolte’s best performance, and there were many moments when I forgot the actor and saw Colonel Oliver instead.

Joaquin Phoenix delivers a strong performance as one of the minor characters. He is a journalist risking his life to document the situation in Rwanda. It is a testament to the skill of the writing and direction that the character, though he has little screen time, is fully developed and the audience understands him and his personal struggles. He delivers the line that affected me most: when speaking to Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), he says (I’m paraphrasing here) that he’s afraid that people will see what is happening in Rwanda on the evening news, they will say “how terrible,??? and they will do nothing. It’s a chilling line… and it’s true.

Speaking of Cheadle, this is an actor with serious range. I’ve almost always enjoyed his films, and this is no exception. He plays the role as a brilliantly understated man. He could have made the role into an angst-ridden, larger-than-life martyr. The brilliance is that it shows how Rusesabagina starts as a complex and intelligent man, and accepts his role as savior to first his neighbors, then savior to over a thousand people.

My favorite impression of the film is that the people attempted to maintain normalcy even though everything was falling apart. When under extreme stress such as cancer, individuals stop caring how they look. One of the first signs of remission is when the patient starts combing their hair or wearing makeup: they have hope for the future. While wearing a shirt and tie in the face of genocide may seem frivolous, it is this very attempt at composure that allows the hotel staff and guests to maintain it.

The colors, bright and brilliant at first, become muddied as the film progresses, and show their brilliance again in key scenes. The costuming was perfect and the texture of the film is fluid. The sound of the African songs filled the room with deep bass and incredibly moving rhythm. The theme song in particular displayed a great range of highs and lows, with rhythm that begs the audience to stand up and move…just like the film itself does.

I went into my home theatre to be entertained and came out wanting to change the world. While Rwanda may not be in the ruin it was at the time of this film, Sudan and many other parts of subSaharan Africa desparately need help. Closer to home, Haiti struggles under corruption.

I will not watch the evening news and do nothing.

[rate 4.0]