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| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian : 4 of 5 | |
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5.20.2008
8:12 AM | Link |
 I've been looking forward to the next film in the Narnia series from the moment I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so I made sure to see this movie with my pal Melinda as soon as I could! Prince Caspian is a much different movie than the first Narnia tale, since it takes place 1,300 years after the first film (of course, the Pevensie children have only aged a year back in our world), and the magical Narnians have been nearly exterminated by the Telmarines, essentially regular, non-magical humans. The four children arrive at the call of Prince Caspian, a young prince who is destined to overthrow his evil uncle and reunite Narnian magic with humanity. The movie adds quite a bit to the original book, mostly in a new castle siege battle, but this is a exciting and dramatic scene that also sets up an interesting conflict between Peter and Caspian. The children do a great acting job again and still look quite young (good thing they filmed this one quickly!), and the many CG characters are cool and lots of fun, especially the flamboyant mouse Reepicheep! The appearance of the White Witch is nice and creepy, too. Of course, the special effects are wonderful during the final tension-filled battle, but overall, this Narnia movie is missing the warm-hearted magic of the first film. Part of that is simply due to the nature of the CS Lewis story, but I also think the filmmakers purposely tried to create a much darker movie. The first movie made me cry tears of both sorrow and joy, but Prince Caspian only provided action (and quite a bit of bloodshed). Of course, I'm still a fan and enjoyed the film, but given the choice to watch either movie again, I would definitely be reaching for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on my DVD shelf.
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| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe : 5 of 5 | |
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11.22.2006
10:46 PM | Link |
 I'm still making a valiant effort to watch old DVDs before the Christmas gifts start rolling in, and it was great to see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe again (which I bought so long ago). Of course, the movie itself was fantastic (as I've said before), and it was fun to watch it with the special Narnia Fun Facts on, which pop-up at various times during the story with trivia about CS Lewis and Narnia in general. I enjoyed all the material on the bonus DVD, mainly because I learned so many new details about the movie. Did you know the carvings on the wardrobe itself tell the story of the first book, The Magician's Nephew? I didn't even realize that Jadis wears Aslan's shorn mane into battle, either! The behind the scenes coverage was nice, too - it was interesting that they shot the film in continuity, and used different techniques to get genuine reactions from the children (Lucy was blindfolded so when she first steps into the snowy woods of Narnia, it's really the first time she has seen it). There are several nice documentaries of different lengths, but unfortunately the biography of CS Lewis is unbelievably short. Watching this movie again really makes me want to continue with the books (I only got halfway in my re-reading), and now I want the next Narnia movie to be released quickly!
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| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian / C.S. Lewis : 3 of 5 | |
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1.23.2006
11:08 PM | Link |
 I'm an official Narnia fan now, since the wonderful movie convinced me to start reading all the books! It was fun to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because the film images were so fresh on my mind, but I think it was even more interesting to read Prince Caspian since I could conjure up how everything looks with my imagination. The story isn't as magnificent as the first book, but it's still a fascinating tale with lots of subtle foreshadowing and metaphors that are fun to discover. Once again the four Pevensie children are swept into the world of Narnia, only to discover they have arrived many, many years after their original adventure! The first part of the book is a long flashback (told by a new dwarf character) about the downfall of Old Narnia by the Telmarines, who have driven the forces of magic into hiding and turned Narnia into a boring place. Fortunately young Prince Caspian believes the stories of Aslan and the four Kings (our heroes), and so must become the rightful king and restore Narnia to it's former glory. That's about all I can tell without revealing the story. There are plenty of wonderful scenes with Aslan and some great details about links between Narnia and our world! I can't wait to start the next book!
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| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe / C.S. Lewis : 4 of 5 | |
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12.28.2005
6:21 PM | Link |
 Since I enjoyed the new Narnia movie so much (I've seen it twice now), I really wanted to read the entire series of books (if I remember right, I've read a few of them, but it was so long ago!). I was really happy that my pals Chris & Eliza bought me this set for Christmas, and I took The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with me to Oklahoma City. It was so much fun to read the story with the movie so fresh in my mind, so I could see where certain scenes were slightly rearranged to enhance their excitement on the big screen. I really enjoyed Lewis' comments to the reader, also, just like he was telling a bedtime story. There's some controversy over the correct order of the books, since they were written and published in a certain order, and then re-ordered into Narnia chronological order for this set (which makes this story actually the second book). I think I'm going to read them in the published order, since that seems to be the order the movies will follow (and I don't mind jumping around in time if it makes things more interesting). There are several quaint illustrations that really add to the storybook quality of the tale, along with a map of Narnia and a complete list of characters (most of which I haven't heard of yet). This is definitely a quick read, so I'm excited about the other six books waiting for me now!
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| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe : 5 of 5 | |
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12.10.2005
6:12 PM | Link |
 I'm so excited that Disney snatched up this great series of stories, which I read so long ago that I can barely remember what happens! I've read lots of CS Lewis, but these stories are unique because they can be enjoyed purely as thrilling adventure fairy tales (if you want to enjoy the Christian metaphors in the story, that's up to you). To start the saga, two brothers and two sisters discover an entire fantasy world by stepping through an old wardrobe (the transition from brushing up against coats and then snow-covered tree branches is really cool). There are fantastic creatures everywhere, from fawns to centaurs, as well as talking animals, such as beavers and horses. Of course, there's a magnificent talking lion, too - Aslan is a CG wonder, and he looks so fantastic and full of emotion. The child actors do a pretty good job, especially Lucy, who is just adorable and definitely the most believable of the bunch. The White Witch is exceptionally creepy, too! There are some excellent battle scenes, and of course a big coronation ceremony to swell your heart. The music is good, too - it seems like they were definitely trying for that ethereal Enya sound from Lord of the Rings, but who can blame them? I'm really looking forward to the next films in the series, and now I want to re-read the books!
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