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Reviews
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
A fan of Narnia who was not impressed
Perhaps when I went into the cinema to watch this movie I had set my expectations too high. After all, the book has been my favourite thing to read since i was about nine and I was nineteen when the movie came out. However just because i was older does not mean i love the book any less; i can read it whenever i have a minute because the story is just so gripping. Sadly this did not transfer over to the movie.
Firstly i have to say that the casting of the children was a terrible one. Not a single one of them could act and the compassion i feel for their book counterparts was lost on them. They all seemed very wooden and unable to put any feeling into what they were doing.
I also felt that they start of the movie seemed very long. Too much time seemed to be spent setting the scene in this world rather than focusing time on the events of Narnia. There was also a lack of focus on Edmund and the enchanted food Jadis gave him. I can't recall anyone mentioning the potency of the magic in the food, making Edmund seem even more of a brat than he is in the book (and I'm an Edmund fan). Jadis herself seemed like a total wash out, unable of striking any kind of fear into anyone making Edmunds scene in the battle when he broke her wand losing its importance.
Another scene that annoyed me as I am such a fan of the book was when the characters are fleeing from the beaver's house and Maugrim is seen chasing them and eventually trapping them on the ice. When the heck does that happen? One of the things I always liked about the book when they are fleeing from the secret police is that the reader never knows how close behind they are. The wolves aren't seen but you get the feeling that they're close. Instead we have a really lousy scene of Peter making a prat of himself (which he just seemed to do a lot in the movie) Saying all that, the visuals were very good. Seeing Aslan and the beavers made for very interesting watching and are perhaps the only high points of the film. That and the costumes and scenery. It was hard to stomach when Liam Neeson did such a good job providing Aslan with a voice, and was then cast along a group of children whose whiny voices and forced acting made me want to leave the cinema and come back when the animals were on.
If you've not seen it, don't bother. I would recommend reading the book as it explains far more in a much more pleasant way or watch Prince Caspian, because despite the children still being shocking actors, that movie isn't half bad.
The Return of the Native (1994)
Not bad...but the last 20 minutes REALLY spoilt it
I gave it an 8 out of 10 primarily for the fact that it had a lot to live up to and on the whole did it well.
**WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD**
So here are the good bits: The cast were superb. I couldn't have cast anyone better myself than Catherine Zeta Jones for Eustacia Vye, she fitted the role perfectly. Damon Wildeve and Clym Yeobright I also felt were very successful at living up to Hardy's original characters, and the rest of the cast were equally good. Most of the first hour was good, though a lot of the lines were completely created and not taken from the original text, it did stick to the original book quite sufficiently. It included the mummer's play which I felt certain they'd leave out, and the gypsying event that Eustacia attends was done very well. Also, Clym and Eustascia's courting was done nicely.
Now for the negatives: Up until Mrs Yeobright's death I quite liked it. Even though Wildeve's and Thomasin's wedding was completely messed up (Clym shouldn't have been there, Eustacia should have given Thomasin away - which I would have like to have seen, Susan Nunsuch shouldn't have stabbed Eustacia then etc) and Clym and Eustacia's meeting wasn't true to Hardy (there was no bucket incident I'm afraid)it was still overall good. Then Mrs Yeobright died - OF A HEART ATTACK!!!! When did Mrs Yeobright die of a heart attack???? I felt that it was an important detail that she died from exhaustion and was stung by an adder - as by using the adder fat to rub on the wound, Clym - the modern man - was shown reverting back to old, superstitions and remedies. But no...it was from a heart attack. And It wasn't just little Johnny who was there to witness it...it was the whole of the heath! This definitely lost dramatic impact as the climatic line when Johnny burst into the abandoned mud hut "she told me to tell you I'd seen the face of a broken hearted woman cast off by her son" was really underplayed. And then after this it all went down hill. Clym didn't rave and whine, and wasn't seen as pathetic. We didn't grow distant from him as we do in the book, and our sympathies weren't entirely with Eustacia as they should have been. Eustacia and Clym's relationship didn't show a dramatic decline, and so when Eustacia left, it seemed a bit melodramatic as they weren't really arguing at all. Thomasin never gave birth to little Eustacia, a poignant irony disappointingly left out (and whilst I remember there was no such issue with money - no guineas, no inheritance for Wildeve -not even any gambling and glow worms.) And the ending just took the biscuit. In the book I cried when Eustacia and Wildeve died, no I didn't, I literally sobbed! When watching this I was nearly reduced to laughing it was just so bad! The whole stormy heath scene was terrible! Eustacia had no soliloquy ("I have been blighted and injured and crushed by things beyond my control!
) so it wasn't such a loss when she died and Wildeve's lyrical line "O! My darling!" was excluded so his tragic hero image was completely absent. There was no build up, no climax, nothing. I felt really disappointed by this point. And just when I thought the ending couldn't possibly get any worse, along comes Eustacias ghost! Cue me dieing myself! Unfortunately very cheaply done, it possessed no sentimental value and on the whole was just quite hilarious - a future note for director Jack Gold, don't use that one again.
Thankfully though it missed most of book six - After courses out
which to be perfectly honest is a dreadful read!
So it sounds like I hated it
just to make clear I didn't hate the whole of it just the ending. Perhaps in future I'll stop it before Mrs Yeobright dies.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
In one word, absolutely superb!
Okay, so that's 2 words, but the film was awesome, it was incredible. I've always wanted to see phantom of the opera as a stage piece, but never really did anything about it; so I was delighted when I saw it was coming out at the cinema. However, I thought that Hollywood would spoil it like it does so many other great story lines. How wrong could I have been! Everything from the acting to the singing to the scenery was absolutely magnificent! Each of the actors were outstanding, even brookside star Jennifer Ellison, though she didn't have a huge role, played her part very well. Emmy Rossum who played Christine has to be credited the most. The only other film I've seen her in is 'The Day After Tomorrow' which she isn't terrific in so I didn't expect her to be beyond average, but for a young actor she excelled! She sung beautifully, even to the extent when I questioned myself if it was really her singing. Another truly memorable performance was by the phantom, Gerard Butler. His voice was outstanding! I was completely awe-struck by it, and his acting was no less then brilliant!
My favourite part of the movie however had to be the music and the delightful way it was presented and sung! It was so intense and powerful, I nearly crying at the music alone (the ending did make me cry but I won't spoil it for you if you haven't already seen the film!)I loved it so much, the following day that I watched the film I went out and bought the soundtrack and I haven't stopped listening to it yet. Overall, the movie was amazing, Andrew Lloyd Webber's input is shown makes it a memorable and extraordinary piece of work. I give it a 10 surely, maybe even an 11 and I am definitely going to see it again!