Sunday, December 11, 2005

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA




Fantasy adventure

BACKGROUND
Written in 1950 by C. S. Lewis, this classic tale is the first of a seven-volume series, which collectively have sold more than 85 million books in 29 languages. Lewis, a lecturer in medieval and Renaissance literature at Oxford and Cambridge, became well known as a Christian apologist for his radio shows and books Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and The Screwtape Letters. As a diversion he also wrote a fantasy series and some science fiction to convey his delight in the joy and mystery of the human adventure.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
William Moseley: Peter, a responsible teenager and the eldest of the Pevensie children
Anna Popplewell: his sister Susan, the most serious of the lot
Skandar Keynes: Edmund, the typical “younger brother”
Georgie Henley: Lucy, the youngest of the four
Jim Broadbent: Professor Kirk
James McAvoy: a faun named Mr. Tumnus
Tilda Swinton: the wicked White Witch
Liam Neeson: Aslan, leader of the Forces of Good

REVIEW
Set in a magical place, the Kingdom of Narnia, where it is winter year round and no Christmas, this is a story of good and evil, of truth and betrayal, of temptation and moral strength. With state of the art CGI, the mystical characters come to life. The acting for the most part is excellent (except for the one scene with the two girls and Aslan up on the mountain) and the scenery is stunning. What is missing though is some serious editing since it runs almost 2½ hours.

CLASSIFICATION
for battle sequences and frightening moments.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
While Edmund is with the White Witch drinking hot chocolate, several drops remain on the corner of his mouth. Seen from over his shoulder, these drops have disappeared only to reappear when the shot reverts back to viewing him from the front.

P.S.
Despite the absence of any really gory moments, the movie with its scary wolves and other fearsome animals is not suitable for really young children (five and under?) or those prone to having nightmares.

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