So first up; I saw Prince Caspian (well, a week ago now - I'm really going to work on getting back into the swing of posting regularly. One hopes.) I enjoyed it. It isn't quite as good as Iron Man, but I was pretty impressed overall. I was never very interested in Narnia; I only saw the first one because someone else was buying the ticket. I went out of that one thinking they did a good job with the special effects, but still not thinking the plot was all that engaging. Prince Caspian, for me, was much more fun because it is much more action based, a bit darker, and a bit less Christian allegory. Aside from Lucy - get thee to a nunnery, girl! Anyways, a few thoughts;
- The plot is a bit all over the place. It felt as if they had to keep cutting things down for length and some continuity got lost. I wasn't always sure where they were going. Overall, it just didn't feel as if the scenes built upon each other in a logical fashion.
- Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep and Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin rocked. And provided a nice change of pace from the court intrigue/ battles that occupy most of the movie.
- The cinematography is super gorgeous. God, New Zealand is beautiful. The flight of Caspian in the beginning is particularly well done.
- I enjoyed the battles. They were oddly bloodless (hello PG rating!), but I thought they were shot well.
- The costumes were kind of odd. I really wish I had a picture of Caspian's final outfit. It's this totally bizarre dress/gauchos thing. I nearly laughed out loud.
- I thought the largest problem were the kids. Not that the actors were bad, necessarily, just that they are incredibly one-dimensional characters. Lucy mopes around for Aslan for the entire thing, Susan doesn't do much aside from a few smoldering glances at Caspian (and one very kickass archery scene), and Peter spends the entire movie more or less being an ass. The writers occasionally give them some nice sibling interaction to work with, but a lot of the time they are just very stilted. I did think Edmund was a huge improvement from the first film and he seemed the most at ease throughout the whole film. And he's supposed to be back in the third installment, right? So that's good.
- Why did they pick a Spanish accent for the Telmarines? You have a boy on a quest to revenge his father's death. Who in the audience isn't going to think, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya..."
- The accent aside, I thought Ben Barnes did a good job. He also has a bit more going on emotionally; being tempted by the white witch, learning about his father, watching his soldiers die, confronting his uncle. And he is very good looking. I remember wondering in Stardust why he wasn't cast as the lead (not that Charlie Cox didn't do a great job, but he doesn't have the same Marquee looks).
Overall, I enjoyed it. It's a good summer blockbuster, and I wouldn't be averse to seeing it again on the big screen.
And linkspam:
Not movie related, but I love it: The new Discovery Channel ad. Mythbusters rocks my world.Also not in movies: 17 enduring Lost mysteries. Aw. I kinda miss Mr. Eko. Also; some more theorizing in advance of the finale.
Australia trailer The photo they have up for it cracks me up. "Can I pet the pretty blond lady? She's all thoft and furry..." As for the trailer, I really like it. The cinematography, music, and fonts are all appropriately epic. I also love that Hugh Jackman gets 2 words.
Badass Russian Wanted trailer
Trailer for the Go-Getter
Sony's new Hot Ticket The important part of this article? The final performance of RENT will be broadcast live in September. Which I will buy a ticket to as soon as they'll let me. I happen to own a copy of the Angel cast's final SF performance and I watch that far more often than the movie (stupid Chris Columbus!). I hope they have a good cast together for that final show. The last time I saw RENT was in NY, and the cast was a bit meh. Still, that was also a Tuesday, and I'm sure the final night will be amazing. It'll be the last time to see Michael Grief's direction live (or live-ish). I still can't believe it's actually closing.
Anyways, as for the discussion into movie theaters turning more and more to live-ish entertainment for revenue, that's a whole other discussion.
Cannes review: Synecdoche, New York I CAN'T WAIT.
Cannes review: The Changeling ditto.
Cannes prizes
David Fincher's potential masterpiece and the Spanish trailer Oh, right. That's the Curious Case of Benjamin Button they're refering to.
Gladys Knight auditions for Pips Robert Downey Jr. is awesome. His absence is funnier than either of the other guys.
Eagle Eye Trailer Meh. I kept expecting Hugo Weaving to show up.
Jake Gyllenhaal is the Prince of Persia Is that the game that had lots of jumping on ledges in dungeons? That was big when we were about in 5th grade. Oh hell YES. Wow.... I remember the spikes of impalement now. I also love the idea of an Oregon trail movie. But not with Emile Hirsch. And can we please call it "I just tried to ford the river and my fuckin' oxen died"?
A new book in praise of cinema's hellraisers
Boy A poster
Lear with Hopkins, Paltrow and Knightley I hated King Lear. And it's the only Shakespeare that I've read where I felt that way. Still, maybe a good cast would improve it for me. Although I think Derek Jacobi would be a better choice than Anthony Hopkins.
Fun movie shirts There are quite a few I like, but none of the ladies tees designs.
From page to screen: The Lovely Bones
Downey Jr to play Hugh Hefner?
Christian Bale signs on for the Terminator trilogie My first reaction to this story was, "Is he out of his mind?!?" Especially considering he isn't yet done with Batman. But here's my guess - this deal has got to set him up financially to keep making things like Rescue Dawn for years and years to come. Or maybe he just really loved the Terminator as a kid.
Awesome: 'Crystal Skull' annoys Russian Communists The one consistent theme I'm hearing from Indy is that Cate Blanchett is awesome, crap accent aside.
No, seriously John. What's up with that beard? At least Sam Mendes is directing- maybe that'll make that rat's nest worth it? Nah...
