Golden Compass review
Dec. 7th, 2007 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theatokosYesterday was a horrible day - it was as if a thief came in the night and stole my personality, all of my energy, and any initiative I had ever had. I did manage to muster up some strength to attempt some normality. I did the dishes, lit candles, put on some Christmas carols and made my favorite comfort food (home made mac n cheese). And then watched 2 hours of Scrubs and a special holiday Top Chef, and finished Doctor No, one of my least favorite Bond novels.
Today was a much better day. I did some yoga, read some theology, hung out with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pwilk, and saw The Golden Compass with Adam, after which he took me to a vegan restaurant for dinner.
Compass is gorgeous, truly gorgeous, with mostly seamless CG effects. Much of the movie is set in the arctic north and I love glaciers, so it was extra visually pleasing to me. And the polar bears are pretty awesome.
The acting is strong - and who doesn't just love Sam Elliot? Nicole Kidman is also excellent - I think she possesses a coldness that makes her so compelling in this role.
However, this film isn't very good. The book is so complicated that the film is nothing but exposition. During the middle of the movie most of the scenes are 30 seconds long as they bounce back and forth across plot points. Sadly, most of the story involving the witches was cut. There is just too much in the first book alone and it makes for a crowded, rushed movie. It's hard to really care about the characters or feel the stakes of what's happening.
I was personally annoyed with the way the Magisterium guards were designed to look like Nazis. The main Magisterium character also has a bit of a Hitler aesthetic. Pullman's bitterness toward the Catholic Church makes me roll my eyes, much as I'm sure non-Christians do when reading Narnia stories.
The best part of the film is Dakota Blue Whatshername who plays Lyra. She is superb. Child actors are generally too saccharine or mediocre; I generally abhor child acting. Lyra is delightful - she carries her role with a youthfulness that never tips over into cloying, she carries herself with dignity, and she is jsut plain gorgeous to look at. And no, that's not creepy in the slightest.
Basically, I don't think you'll be visually disappointed with The Golden Compass, but don't be sad if you miss it on the big screen.
Today was a much better day. I did some yoga, read some theology, hung out with
pwilk, and saw The Golden Compass with Adam, after which he took me to a vegan restaurant for dinner. Compass is gorgeous, truly gorgeous, with mostly seamless CG effects. Much of the movie is set in the arctic north and I love glaciers, so it was extra visually pleasing to me. And the polar bears are pretty awesome.
The acting is strong - and who doesn't just love Sam Elliot? Nicole Kidman is also excellent - I think she possesses a coldness that makes her so compelling in this role.
However, this film isn't very good. The book is so complicated that the film is nothing but exposition. During the middle of the movie most of the scenes are 30 seconds long as they bounce back and forth across plot points. Sadly, most of the story involving the witches was cut. There is just too much in the first book alone and it makes for a crowded, rushed movie. It's hard to really care about the characters or feel the stakes of what's happening.
I was personally annoyed with the way the Magisterium guards were designed to look like Nazis. The main Magisterium character also has a bit of a Hitler aesthetic. Pullman's bitterness toward the Catholic Church makes me roll my eyes, much as I'm sure non-Christians do when reading Narnia stories.
The best part of the film is Dakota Blue Whatshername who plays Lyra. She is superb. Child actors are generally too saccharine or mediocre; I generally abhor child acting. Lyra is delightful - she carries her role with a youthfulness that never tips over into cloying, she carries herself with dignity, and she is jsut plain gorgeous to look at. And no, that's not creepy in the slightest.
Basically, I don't think you'll be visually disappointed with The Golden Compass, but don't be sad if you miss it on the big screen.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 04:52 am (UTC)Glad today was better than yesterday.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 05:01 am (UTC)Top Chef
Date: 2007-12-08 04:58 am (UTC)Re: Top Chef
Date: 2007-12-08 05:01 am (UTC):)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 01:54 pm (UTC)So we'll hit the mid-day show for half-price.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-08 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-10 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-10 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-10 07:51 pm (UTC)but it didn't feel like a cliffhanger, it just left us hanging. like lotr, each movie ended with a cliffhanger, because it is a trilogy, but each movie still felt complete and full and like it could stand on its own. you didn't want it to stand on its own because you wanted to know what was going to happen next, but the movies didn't feel incomplete. this one made us feel like: "that's it? the movie is over already?" and we've read the books.