The Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian (Theaters)

chronicles_of_narnia_prince_caspian_ver2The Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian was an excellent sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which was released nearly three years ago. Far darker than its predecessor, Prince Caspian begins one year after (1300 Narnian Years) Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy have returned from their first adventure in the magical realm.

Visually, this film is stunning. The CGI work was incredible and the “Old Narnians” looked very realistic. The storyline is fairly straight forward and I feel that most kids should find it easy enough to understand. What really took me by surprise was the amount of violence Disney allowed in the film. I recall at least one decapitation, a bit of blood, and at least one sequence which a child screamed. However, this film is a far cry from the violence in films such as the Lord of the Rings and I would still highly recommend it to any parent who’s child is above the ages of seven or eight years old.

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The Golden Compass (Theaters)

golden_compassThe Golden Compass fell short of being epic as New Line Cinema had billed it to be. I have not read any of the books yet, but from the reviews I’ve read so far, not many fans of the literary work were happy with its production and screenplay.

I did however enjoy the movie despite several of its setbacks. What saved this film from a harsher review was the cinematography and special effects. The polar bears were amazing and looked ready for war with their battle armor and bold chivalrous stature. The other CGI creatures also looked very realistic and they moved seamlessly throughout the film with their human counterparts.

The two areas that hurt this film were its storyline and score. The storyline seemed broken and full of holes. Some of the critics who read the book mentioned the film was rushed and left out many important parts. Based on those statements, I can see why I felt this movie lacked so much. The score was also terrible. Epic films always have incredible music to go along with it, but this film had a lackluster one, I can’t say that I remember any of the songs performed during the course of the movie.

Since this film was based on several books, I figure that the story will continue on as a trilogy. The filmmakers definitely need to take a good look at the reviews and work on improving the next two movies. The concept is very promising and I expect to follow this to the end. Lets hope this trilogy lives up to its expectations.

Pathfinder (DVD)

pathfinderIf your into hack and slash films with lots of gore and guts you might enjoy this movie. I am pretty biased when it comes to films such as these and I do own most of the B-rated films of this genre.

Visually, Pathfinder is an excellent film. Although the Viking costumes were completely inaccurate, they were very elaborate and detailed. The scenes of the film captured the rustic beauty of old America and the battles were thick with decapitations and splatted CGI blood.

The rest of the film is quite a different story. The plot was very weak, the acting was pretty horrible, and the dialogue was definitely the worst part of the entire experience. I honestly think that some of my 5th graders could probably come up with better dialogue than what was used in this film.

My verdict? I enjoyed this film for what it was. As I mentioned earlier, I’m pretty biased when it comes to these types of movies and this one will definitely be added to my growing DVD library. If your looking for great acting and a solid storyline, I suggest you rent something else. Pathfinder will just lead you to disappointment.

Synopsis:

It is America, circa 1000 AD. A Native American woman finds a lone living boy on board of an abandoned ship, filled with frozen dead bodies. She takes him back to the village to allow the chief to decide on the child’s future. Cut to 15 years later, the boy is now a 25-year old man, embraced by the Native Americans who raised him as one of their own. On one ordinary day, while he is away on a hunt, his tribe is attacked and almost entirely wiped out by those who had left him behind, the Vikings. Upon his return, the ferocious Nordic warriors capture him and force him to guide them to the other Indian villages. Feeling a profound connection to his Native American tribesmen, the young hero vows revenge against the Norsemen, going against his own origins. His tremendous fighting skills combined with a detailed knowledge of the surrounding terrain, aid him in his struggle against the odds. He becomes a savior for his people and falls in love with the Native American chief’s beautiful daughter in the process.