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Reviews
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Spoilers
The first half of the movie was great, except for a few unnecessary shots. I was worried how they were going to handle Mr. Tumnus' attempted abduction of Lucy without making him seem like a molester, but the actor had the right stuff and managed to make the scene work. Lucy's meeting with Mr. Tumnus under the lamppost is one of my favorite parts in the book (no moralizing, just magic) and is probably one of the best scenes in the movie.
The Beavers were wonderfully realized. They're warm human characters and the voice acting was appropriate (although the Cockney threw me off at first). I didn't like Maugrim quite so much. He looked like a run of the mill wolfdog when he should've looked like an epic foe, and his voice was distracting. I wish they'd borrowed the wolf from The Neverending Story.
My interest flagged after the kids met the lion. Up until then, there was lots of magic and nice touches (the dryad made of petals smiling at Lucy, who has a knack for looking amazed). Is it wrong that I think Aslan is the most uninteresting part of the story? Wouldn't a more appropriate allegorical stand in for Jesus be a lamb? Wouldn't it be a better scene for the kids to finally meet Aslan only to find out that the hope of Narnia is just a lamb? Aslan is mighty and everyone loves him, but Jesus had no power in the world as a carpenter's son and no influence outisde a small band of fickle followers. No one in the story doubts or denies Aslan until he's already cold and dead. I also wish the director spent less time showing us battle and more time showing us the Witch's cold charm, Edmund's moral struggle, Aslan's joyful resurrection, and the children interacting with the creatures from Narnia. In the book, the battle was just a way of wrapping things up, it wasn't the payoff (Aslan's resurrection was the payoff).
Powder (1995)
Ambitious but predictable and overstuffed
This is another film about a strange young outsider trying to survive in a world full of intolerant conformists. A lot of people have noted a similarity between this movie and Edward Scissorhands, a movie I loved. I really wanted to like this movie, too, but "Powder" just didn't have the same appeal. Powder is a teenager who has been living in his grandparents' basement all his life because his family was ashamed of him for being different. As an outsider, Powder is a quadruple threat- he's an albino, he has strange powers over electricity, he's super-intelligent and he's apparently a homosexual. The movie has too much ground to cover and doesn't explore any of these in depth. Edward only has scissors for hands, but the movie exploited this one quirk in amusing and clever ways. It isn't long into the movie before Edward makes use of his "handicap" by trimming topiaries, creating beautiful ice sculptures, cutting hair, making shish-kabob, etc. Meanwhile, Powder is the most singularly gifted man in history and all he does is freak out his classmates with his spoon-bending parlor tricks. Where Edward wants to be helpful, Powder just wants to show off.
You would think that a guy who has lived all his life in a basement would be incredibly child-like and naive about the ways of the world. Thankfully, his grandparents had enough books on the family farm to keep the intellect of a super-genius busy. Again, I have to compare this movie to Edward Scissorhands. Edward really seemed like a clumsy, bewildered innocent stepping into the light for the first time. Powder comes across as your average maladjusted teenager who thinks his problems are unique. He's every kid in the high school "gifted" program who ever got his head dunked into a toilet. He's the kind of obnoxious idealist who gives impassioned, sanctimonious lectures on whatever happens to arouse his moral outrage. And he certainly complains a lot. At least Edward was quiet.
Anyway, the rural townspeople react with predictable intolerance. Insert pitchfork-wielding mob here. Add locker room homophobia.
All in all, this was an ambitious film that just had too much on its plate to deal with in a satisfying way.
The Kingdom Chums: Little David's Adventure (1986)
"Hey! That's my Yarmulke!"
This is a very odd little movie. Christopher is skeptical and believes in Science. Little Mary Ann believes in Jesus and helps wounded birdies. Sauli is a clumsy, spineless Jewish kid with a big nose and glasses. He is picked on by bullies. A magical star or something transport the gang back to Olden Times to meet the movers and shakers of the Bible. The kids meet Jesus, who is represented by a lion in a bathrobe, and Magical Moses, who is represented by a gay tiger in a purple magician's hat. Moses sounds somewhat like Jeremy from "The Yellow Submarine". Jesus and Moses sing a duet. Then a sheep tries to eat Sauli's yarmulke.
Then the kids meet young David, who provides the rest of the movie's musical numbers. David is a panda dressed up like a ninja. I don't know if it's a **SPOILER** to mention that David kills Goliath, but there you go. Seeing the events of the Bible unfold gives Christopher a renewed faith in the Book. Seeing awesome Jews in action gives Sauli the confidence to give those bullies the what-for. Mary Ann doesn't learn anything because she was already perfect.