I've viewed a lot of films lately and decided to share my thoughts on some of them. :)
Čarodějův učeň (Krabat) – I first heard about this 1977 Czech fairy tale film in a book,
The Enchanted Screen, and eventually found it on
youtube. It is an original tale about a poor boy that becomes a prisoner of the evil magician and works at his mill. The artwork/style is stunning and unique, and the music lovely. The film is quite wonderful, with understated storytelling – no subplots or big bangs so speak found in most movies – little actual dialogue, and no explicit violence that for me made Krabat all the more touching and memorable. This is now one of my favorite fairy tale films
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Way back when the ’05
Pride and Prejudice first came out, I thought as a period drama standing on it’s own two feet it was great, but was lacking as an adaptation of the book. That is pretty much how I feel about VODT. The first ten-ish minutes of the film were excellent with the reentrance of Lucy and Edmund, and the introduction of Eustace Scrubb, and then Narnia. Eustace was one of the highlights of the film for me. He was Eustace. And his friendship with Reepicheep was quite touching. It was interesting how Lucy’s jealousy of Susan and her longing to be beautiful was handled, focusing on a different aspect of it than in the book. I was so glad Aslan’s comment about being in the Pevensies’s world was included! That whole last minutes of the film was wonderful, my favorite part along with the beginning. Oh! And David Arnold’s score was magnificent.
My main problem with VODT is the premise of the voyage. When Eustace, Lucy, and Ed meet up with Caspian, he is indeed seeking the lost seven lords. But that takes a back seat when they learn about the evil mist and that it can be defeated by bringing the seven lords’ swords to Aslan’s table. I personally thought it wouldn’t be a problem to have the driving force of the book – quest for the lost lords – be the same for the movie. Yet once again, it seems the whole point of being in Narnia has to do with saving it. …From evil that is not really an evil to Narnia, just has the potential to be someday. Evil green mist! I still don’t get it. And Edmund…he pained me. It seemed sort of like he was Peter in PC, with how different he was, and not exactly for the best. *shakes head sadly*
Tangled – Such a great film. Moving and funny. Awesome story, characters, animation, and music. It was like going back to the Disney classics. Gothel I think is right up there with Ursula as my favorite villain. She was not complex, a fully drawn character. And Donna Murphy’s voice! I could listen to “Mother Knows Best Reprise” for hours. Wow. I loved how Eugene was sort of a nod to the actor Errol Flynn in
The Adventures of Robin Hood. There were definitely similarities between the two. A new Disney favorite.
Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (1984) –
The Body in the Library was my introduction to the great Miss Marple, and made me an Agatha Christie fan. This film adaptation features Joan Hickson as Miss Marple who solves the baffling case of an unknown murdered girl discovered in the library of the Bantrys. At over two and a half hours, the mystery was flushed out well with its twists and turns building suspense and wit, and the characters were all nicely developed. Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple was splendid, who at first glance seems a bit withdrawn but has a sharp mind and brilliant wit. The supporting cast likewise turned in fine performances. The script is good, and is quite faithful to Christie’s novel. Despite knowing how it all went down, I was drawn into the suspense, and enjoyed seeing it all unfold.
Marple: The Body in the Library (2004) – Maybe if I had not watched this and the 1984 versions of
The Body in the Library back-to-back I might have liked this a little bit more than I did. It is much shorter than the 1984 version, causing the mystery to be crammed and rushed, with characters never really established. While the sets and costumes were quite lovely, there was too modern a feel to the whole thing. The script was lacking despite some occasional humor. Most of the cast’s performances were strangely over the top. Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple was too cheeky and smug for my taste. This adaptation was pretty faithful to the book until the very end when suddenly the identity of the murderer was changed, and a lesbian affair was thrown in. WHY?? Also, having Miss Marple spell the whole thing out to the police before the murderer was apprehended sucked out all the suspense in the end. I think I’m going to stick to the older Miss Marple adaptations. This newer version did not cut it.
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