the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch and the wardrobe.2305hrs
Listening to:
Alex Parks - Honesty (2005)An excellent album from a refreshing female vocalist... perfect for a rainy night like this.
Earlier today, we caught one of our last movies of 2005:
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)agent s.
had been anticipating this C.S. Lewis adaptation for a few months now;
I even bought her the novel to read on her Japan trip. As for me, well,
I'm no fantasy fan, nor am I big on animal films, or worse still, films
with talking animals. So it was with a healthy dose of skepticism that
I walked into the cinema.
The
story begins in 1940s England, where children are being sent to rural
parts of the country to avoid bomb raids during the war. Among these
are the Pevensie kids: (from left) Lucy (Georgie Henley), Susan (Anna
Popplewell), Peter (William Moseley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes), who
now have to live in a huge mansion with an elderly professor.
It
is in this mansion that little Lucy stumbles upon a wardrobe one day,
and this magical wardrobe leads to the magical world of Narnia. There
she meets Mr Tumnus (James McAvoy), a part human-part goat creature.
However, what she does not know is that Mr Tumnus is supposed to bring
her back to the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton).
The
White Witch has put a spell upon Narnia for a hundred years now, making
it permanently frozen in wintertime. According to a mysterious
prophecy, the only ones who can save Narnia from this icy fate are "two
sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve". Guess who? ;)
Unwillingly,
the Pevensies are drawn into battle with the White Witch and her
troops. Luckily for them, they have most of the animal kingdom on their
side - rhinos, cheetahs, a beaver named, erm, Beaver, and most
importantly, king of the jungle Aslan the majestic lion (voiced by Liam
Neeson).
The
story was originally written as a children's book, and as such the
storyline is a simple good-versus-evil type thing. However, I would not
recommend bringing your kid brother/sister for this movie, as it gets
pretty dark and violent in some parts.
But for me, the best
parts of the film had to be the scenes where the children interacted
with the talking animals. The beavers and Aslan, in particular, seemed
so life-like! Such is the wonder of animatronics and CGI nowadays. (y)
I
must also say that all four young leads do an admirable job of holding
the film together. There's something about British kids and their crisp
accents that make them very charming... heheh :P
Thankfully,
the movie is not as long as its title, and the crescendo scenes of epic
battle between Aslan's forces and the White Witch's troops will keep
you on the edge of your seat until the credits roll after just over two
hours in the cinema. All in all, a highly enjoyable film! Now I want to
read the other six books in the Narnia series. ;)
Lester's rating: 4.5/5 stars!
