Narnia
Spoilers ahead.
Well, I've watched it (Hah! Earlier than others!)...and I don't know quite what to say. Did I like it, or didn't I? It's hard to tell, really. I mean, I really do regret reading a lot of reviews before I got a chance to watch it...because now I don't know what to think. The reviews have kind of blindsighted me, in a way, to give an overall opinion for myself. Sucks.
So I'll just say what I think about some parts. I'll start with the kids.
I thought they were alright. They were very true to the book, although Lucy wasn't quite what I expected, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Her voice is not saccharine at all, and I didn't mind the short hair...it was actually very cute. The others were fine, although Susan did get too annoying sometimes. What I didn't like was when they'd fight, you didn't quite get the feeling of siblings quarreling, but maybe it's just me.
Narnia was very nice, and very scenic, although Lantern Waste at the start did look a bit small, which I know the filmmakers tried to avoid...but it did get claustrophobic in a way. With the talking animals, it was very weird looking at them. You kind of imagine a sort of Dr. Dolittle when you're watching them. With some animals, the voices worked fine, like with the beavers, but I didn't quite feel the wolves' voices. I also didn't like Aslan's voice. Liam Neeson's okay and all...but it's just not right for me. It didn't feel right...and I've said it to others before.
With the war, I didn't really have a problem with it. Sometimes, it was nice, sometimes it wasn't. When some critics would comment that there was absolutely no blood and carnage, I thought to myself that they wouldn't show anyone killing anyone at all. I was wrong. They'd slay each other and stuff but you wouldn't feel it, because there was no blood. Even when Jadis killed Aslan, he wasn't bleeding where the sword went. It's kind of hard to explain. Also, you couldn't distinguish who's who, like which side is which. Sometimes, you can...but sometimes you can't, either. It got confusing at times.
Tilda Swinton was good for the part of Jadis, the white witch, but sometimes she became less malevolent than she's supposed to be. When she confronted Edmund, that's when you can really feel her, and her stares were very piercing. Although, I would've imagined her to be taller...so you could feel that she was a head above the rest and therefore more powerful...and she was only really fitting for the snowy background.
There was another thing I had a problem with... I honestly don't remember how Jadis was killed, but when Aslan killed her, it was vile. They didn't show it, but it looked like he ravaged her face, and like he was going to eat it. It felt so weird to me.
Also, near the end...I laughed so hard...because the older Peter sort of looked like Nick Lachey. It was so weird. Also...another weird thing was Mr. Tumnus and Lucy. You'd think they were a couple or something.
After saying all that...I guess I liked the movie...but it's not really really really good. I honestly expected a bit more, and the movie could have been so much better.
Interesting tidbit: Did you know in France, the title of Narnia is "Les Croniques de Narnia: L'Armour Magique". Well that's what I can remember from what I watched anyway. There's no lion or witch...just "magical wardrobe." Yep...I can understand a bit of French if I want to.