Weekly reviews #002

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - 3.0 / 10

Every year during the holiday season at the end of December, I search for a christmassy movie to watch. This has more to do with a cosy and magical atmosphere than actual Christmas spirit, which I couldn't care less about. Mostly I choose for something I've watched before; a Chaplin film, the original Tolkien trilogy or the Harry Potter series for example. This year I made the mistake to watch the three Narnia adaptations. What a mess! Just like Tolkien before him, C.S. Lewis was inspired by Christianity, but unlike Tolkien the Christian symbolism in Lewis' novels is not subtle, nor used as a mere background for the struggle between good and evil. The Narnia novels and movies are pure Christian propaganda. This makes them reprehensible because of that very fact, but as works of art or entertainment they aren't much better. You may forgive the awful childish acting in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because it can be seen as endearing. You may understand the absence of blood in the action sequences because it is a necessity for an "all ages" rating. But as a director you can anticipate on those things. And not, like in this movie, give unbelievable lines to those young actors and make them go around slashing and stabbing without any drop of blood to be seen. Result: zero credibility. The first in the Narnia series doesn't even begin to compare to wonderful fantasy films like Stardust, Bridge to Terabithia, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings or even The Golden Compass (which was according to some, probably righteously, an atrocity compared to the book - but as a movie it stands head and shoulders above this Narnia crap). Given the epic imagery, soundtrack and dialogue it nevertheless aspires to be exactly like them. Unfortunately, the only thing epic about this movie is its fail.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) - 2.0 / 10

Even worse than the first Narnia film, Prince Caspian must be one of the most amateurishly acted movies I've seen in ages. While in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you can forgive the child actors of finding their way in the acting world, discovering an own style and making authentic emotional expressions combined with their memorized lines, it is much harder to forgive them for it when there's almost no improvement to be seen three years later (except for maybe Georgie Henley). On the other hand, just like with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint it takes some time to adjust. For them it also took two Harry Potter movies to get the acting really going. Sadly it makes Prince Caspian hard to watch. There are no James McAvoy and (almost) no Tilda Swanton to cover things up this time. We get Peter Dinklage instead, but that nearly suffices. Especially with Ben Barnes doing a ridiculous Spanish accent. The storyline again is smothered by Christian symbolism and the cinematography by ridiculously bad blue screen effects. The result again is an awful picture that irritates more than it amuses.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) - 1.0 / 10

Exit Susan and Peter, enter Eustace. Two of the main protagonists of the previous two movies are replaced by a new one. Just like in the books. But at what price? Will Poulter may have a very characteristic face (which is a good thing), but is one of the worst child actors I've ever seen. On top of that Ben Barnes again plays Prince Caspian (who is almost unrecognizable compared to the previous film) but with no Spanish accent whatsoever. The story feels more like a Pirates of the Caribbean quest this time. With no succes, even if the green and blue screens aren't as ugly as in Prince Caspian. These kind of kiddie movies are too predictable, moralistic (the Christian symbolism in this one isn't even remotely subtle anymore) and boring to entertain almost anyone. Or that's what I should hope. Reality proves me wrong. Unfortunately. Maybe that's why hideous films like Eragon, In the Name of the King and The Sorcerer's Apprentice find an audiance. I can't speak for The Water Horse, The Seeker, The Spiderwick Chronicles and Inkeart (I haven't seen them), but something tells me it'll be more of the same (just like Seventh Son, which will be released next year). Maybe I should really reconsider watching the Percy Jackson movies, which I was planning to do next year...

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) - 8.0 / 10

Finally! It has been almost two years since I've seen an anime movie that moved me. A Ghibli production, I should've known. While The Wind Rises did almost nothing for me, Isao Takahata's swan song maybe even trumped his debut (Grave of the Fireflies). It's almost impossible not to compare Hayao Miyazaki's final film to the one of Takahata. Both are founding fathers of Studio Ghibli and both announced their retirement in the same year. But unlike Takahata, Miyazaki's last work was a bit too much history and a bit too little fantasy. Something I really adore in Ghibli productions. Over all I like Miyazaki better than Takahata exactly because of the fantasy aspect in their works. Now the rolls are reversed: Miyazaki showed us his take on the interbellum in Japan through the eyes of Jiro Horikoshi, while Takahata brought us a captivating vision of one of the oldest Japanese folktales: "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" from the 10th century. His drawing is primitive and almost the antipode of Miyazaki's more refined style. Because of that I suppose some people will find this too childish or even amateuristic. I see it as an authentic and functional (an old tale requires not too sophisticated drawings) asset to this movie. For me it probably wouldn't have worked any other way. Last year I was a bit disappointed by the lack of truely majestic anime (referring to Wolf Children and A Letter to Momo) and after seeing The Wind Rises I gave up hope for this year too. Now that I've seen The Tale of Princess Kaguya, I again look forward to some new anime productions; Hiromasa Yonebayashi's When Marnie Was There in particular!

The Boxtrolls (2014) - 6.5 / 10

There weren't too many good English animation movies this year. The Lego Movie made an impression on me on a more philosophical way and I fairly enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon 2, but I think that's it. So when I heard Laika Entertainment (Corpse Bride, Coraline and ParaNorman) made a new production, it immediately got my attention. Not because Laika guarantees to bring us quality, but because I like their stop-motion approach. Over all I prefer it more than CGI. Although the screenplay of The Boxtrolls isn't that original (and actually the mid-credits scene is the best one of the whole film), it appeals to my inner child a lot. Especially the helpers of Archibald Snatcher (the bad guy) are fantastic. With the familiar voices of Ben Kingsley, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Elle Fanning, Toni Collette and Simon Pegg, The Boxtrolls pleases audiences of all ages. For more original English spoken animation flicks, I guess I'll check out Cheatin', Rocks in My Pockets and Song of the Sea though.

The Drop (2014) - 7.5 / 10

There are so many reasons why a movie buff needs to see The Drop. It's James Gandolfini's last picture after his unfortunate death. It's Michaël R. Roskam's (Rundskop) second feature. It also has Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts in it. The story is written by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and Shutter Island). The cinematography is managed by one of Belgium's finest: Nicolas Karakatsanis (Linkeroever, Lost Persons Area, Rundskop, Violet and Welp). And, above all, when it comes to Belgian presence in Hollywood, The Drop transcends The Loft on every level. Especially the atmosphere (Roskam and Karakatsanis = win!) combined with Hardy's brilliant acting (together with Locke one of his best!) make an exceptional movie experience. Storywise it could've been a bit more interesting though. Just like Mystic River it's all too conventional for my taste. The moral ambiguity of Gone Baby Gone or the psychological twist of Shutter Island had a more enduring effect. While I love The Drop for its dreary mood, the narrative had more potential. Nonetheless a movie that I can highly recommend!