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!
