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dancing-lawn · 5 years ago

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A Letter to the Creators of the Netflix Adaptation of Narnia

As some of you may already know, Netflix will be adapting the Chronicles of Narnia. Now, I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. The Magician’s Nephew was meant to be adapted not long after Voyage of the Dawn Treader came out, and that was scrapped in favor of Silver Chair, which is a dead project too. But, if the stars do happen to align and Netflix manages to adapt the series, I will be a loyal fan and supporter of the creators of the TV/film franchise.

Everyone has their own opinions on how the Narnia series should be adapted. Some believe that the religious tones should be enhanced, while others believe they should be lessened. Some want the series to be more gritty and serious, while others want it to be light and child-friendly. Some want to see accurate representation and an expansion of the Narnia universe (what are the other countries like? who is to say that all of Narnia is white, straight, and cis?) while others want it to be an exact adaptation. All of the concerns about Netflix adaptations are valid, especially given the importance of the Narnia series for many children around world as well as the undoubtedly religious aspect of hte series. Taking too many liberties may alienate the Christian community, whilet taking too few will ostracize fans who wish to see the books adapted to fit 21st century political, social, and cultural sensibilities.

I have my own opinions and hopes for the series: mainly, that I would love to be offered a richer picture of the Narnian universe, from what Calormen and Archenland are like, the political and social climate of the Golden Age, to the early reign of Frank and Helen. I think if done right, delving into these aspects will show a new side to Narnia, when it has been seen by most mainstream media as simply a Christian allegory while other fantasy series and given broader platforms and deeper analyses by the average consumer.

But, what I hope above all else that the Netflix production of Narnia captures is the spirit of the series. I believe for many kids who first read the novels, the religious tones go unnoticed. For many, Narnia is arguably the first example of escapism fiction, where children have authority and power, when they usually go ignored and silenced by adults.

Indeed, for C.S. Lewis himself, Narnia was not intended to be first nad foremost a Christian novel. He has said multiple times that he didn’t envision Narnia as allegory, and that he developed the plot and fantasy before he realized the similarities to Christian themes. He created Narnia from a dream of a lamppost and a faun in a red scarf, and it was that dream that carried him through seven books, that saw the birth and death of a world.

Instead, Narnia is an amalgamation of several cultures and themes. He incorporated Celtic fairytales alongside Judeo-Christian themes, as well as Greek mythology and astronomy. C.S. Lewis was a scholar before he was a Christian (he was a strong atheist before meeting J.R.R. Tolkien who convinced him to rejoin the Church) and it is his scientific reasoning that informs much of the series. As a result, to write off the Narnia series as “just” a Christian book, thinly veiled as fantasy, would be false on multiple counts, and I hope the Netflix producers see the series as more than that.

For me, Narnia is not about Christianity or even religion. Instead, Narnia is about rediscovering magic and joy, when all seems hopeless and you have no power or control over your own life. The Pevensie children are sent off to live in the countryside with a stranger after the Blitz, passive actions of their political reality. Still, when they enter Narnia, they encounter the White Witch, who seeks total control over the world. In the world that the Pevensies are brought up in, age equals authority and power; even the older siblings try to control Lucy, and much of the early sibling interaction between Edmund anad Lucy has to do with him seeking authority over his younger sister. The other books, too, show this conflict between children and authority figures: Diggory versus Uncle Andrew, Shasta versus his adoptive father figure, Prince Caspian versus Miraz, Eustace and Jill versus the stifling intellectual environment of their school and families.

What Narnia offers each protagonist is the opportunity to discover their own power and give them the opportunity to control their own narratives. Each character is active in his or her own story, rather than reacting to circumstances beyond their control. Certainly, they have guidance. But, Aslan’s help is rare, and often, the children save themselves. They make mistakes, but they also atone for them and move forward. Narnia shows children that they do have power, even if those around them don’t recognize or appreciate it.

At the same time, the series condemns authority figures and adults for forgetting their inner child. The books are not saying that adulthood is bad (Frank and Helen are positive adult figures, as are Diggory and Polly in later books) but rather, many adults lose the joy, courage, and creativity they once had as children, becoming cynical, shallow, and cruel as a result. Uncle Diggory’s obsession with appearances is mocked, when the Talking Animals mistake him for a tree; Miraz is defeated by his superstitions. The “problem of Susan,” often cited as sexism on Lewis’s part, is another example of this theme: that true maturity means accepting and celebrating the wisdom of childhood.

What a successful Narnia adaptation should do, then, is not preach Christianity or present a meaningless adventure, just for the sake of showing off advanced CGI, but tell us that even in times of darkness, you can still hold onto hope, you can still atone for your mistakes, and you can still have agency over your own destiny. The people around you may belittle and disrespect you, but that doesn’t take away your power unless you succumb to it.

It is hard to keep fighting, to keep having that hope when everyone around you has given up. But what the Narnia series shows us is that we can change the world and we do have an impact. That spirit - of courage, of dedication, of hope - is what I hope that Netflix manages to bring to the screen, above plot minutiae, cool CGI, and Christian allegory.

Narnia was never about playing it safe, finding a home, or having blind faith in a god. Instead, Narnia is about the struggle of finding yourself and believing in something against all odds, and that maintaining hope is not futile or useless but worthwhile and powerful. To Netflix, to Matthew Aldrich, to the incredible cast and crew that will be starting soon on adapting the book series that changed my life, I am excited to see you take on this challenge and show to the world the greatness of the Pevensies, Aslan, and Narnia. Good luck and courage, dear hearts!

#chronicles of narnia #netflix #mine

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temptation-narnia-chronicles · 5 years ago

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Since it's starting to become pretty controversial for fans of the series, I was wondering what your thoughts are on the Netflix Narnia reboot

Thanks so much for asking!

My heart kind of hurts for the history of adapting this series to the screen, honestly. The Walden Media trilogy has a very special place in my heart as that was a big contributing factor for my love of the series, and Andrew Adamson’s vision for LWW in particular is just so breathtaking and perfect to me. I wish we as fans had been given a complete adaptation of the series with this rendition, but I know it’s too late now for that to ever really happen. I feel, in a way, that the fandom got kind of screwed over in this regard, though. While the entire Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series got their own complete film adaptations, Narnia hasn’t been so lucky and the mainstream adaptation from page to screen has been so messy.

I feel like I can’t speak for my opinion of the Netflix adaptation, however, without also addressing The Silver Chair since I’m honestly very uncertain of how both are going to coexist and pan out, and what this means for Narnia as a whole. When it was revealed we would finally be getting a theatrical adaption of The Silver Chair, I was overjoyed, but then with every news update about it I became a little more disenchanted. I trust Joe Johnston and his vision. I trust that he can make this film the best it can be. I trust David Magee with the script, especially considering Douglas Gresham’s very positive opinion on it. I feel like this rendition will bring back something that, admittedly, the Walden films sorely began lacking and that is the sense of faith that so deeply permeates this entire series. However, the way the word “reboot” has been tossed around has always made me wary. I find it extremely difficult to “reboot” the series from the middle, and make it it’s own separate thing without building upon what the previous stories had already established. To me, it’s like a domino effect. The Silver Chair follows Jill and Eustace, who was introduced in VotDT through the Pevensies and had a massive character development arc. Regardless of whether or not The Silver Chair is going to allude to the previous stories or not is a moot point. Without taking the time to actually go through everything that comes before it, I find it extremely hard to successfully reboot The Chronicles of Narnia from The Silver Chair. I’m unsure of the status of all of this as of August 2019, but with news of Netflix adapting the series itself, I’m completely at a loss for how all of this might coincide and coexist with one another.

Which brings us to the matter of Netflix’s adaptation in and of itself. From what I’ve read, I think Netflix taking over could potentially be a very good thing. Potentially. It all comes down to execution. My prediction is that Netflix will do it’s entirely own thing, and start fresh from the very beginning. The Walden media films will completely fall to the wayside and make room for a brand new rendition that will hopefully finally see all seven films adapted. The way this was spoken of, with the repetitive use of the word “universe” in regards to the world of Narnia, has me wondering if we will see original content, as well, such as spin-offs and adaptations based on Narnia. I quite honestly wouldn’t be surprised--after all, CS Lewis himself said that he’s left lots of gaps in Narnia’s timeline in a letter which he addressed to a young girl encouraging her to write her own Narnia stories (which I would link but at the moment I’m feeling kind of lazy). The thought of more Narnia content, something original and inspired, admittedly excites me but maybe that’s just because my own fanfiction endeavors fit that scheme (with From Upon the Golden Thrones detailing the fifteen year reign of the Pevensies that was never touched upon much in the books other than in The Horse and His Boy, but even then the Pevensies are not the main focus). But all of this depends entirely on execution. I really hope that Netflix’s adaptation does not push the prevalence of faith and religious undertones out of the Narnia series. The Walden Media films, I think, failed in that regard or at least in terms of the sequels. Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader certainly don’t retain the same sense of magic and belief that The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe did (and this is coming from someone who isn’t particularly religious myself). I appreciate them for what they are and they will always hold a very special place in my heart, but in terms of their faith to the source material, they definitely could’ve done better (though I will admit that I do think the way Adamson interpreted and altered the Telmarines was brilliant and that he brought a lot of interesting aspects of Telmarine culture to the fore that was otherwise not very much touched upon).

All in all, I expect the Netflix adaptation to be different, but I really hope they tread lightly and do these books justice. I, like so many others, do not want them to try and make this the next Game of Thrones and add unnecessary sex and violence. I hope it will be a sweeping, stunning narrative that takes viewers breath away, but also retain a sense of comfort and attainability and faith and homeyness that I think the books capture extremely well. I feel at home in the Narnia books. I feel welcome and cozy and like there is an entire universe at my feet but that I am also allowed to take things slow and enjoy the little things and appreciate nature and life and love and faith. It’s a sense of trust and safety, like you put your faith in the great Lion and therefore no matter where you go or what happens and whatever fear you may feel, you keep going and don’t fret because he’s there and you always know he would never let anything happen to you that was not destined for you to face without good purpose. I feel like all of that can be an extremely difficult sentiment to capture, especially in film, but I hope that the Netflix adaptation can find a way regardless and bring that same mood to their Narnia rendition that the books have maintained and given their readers all these years.

So basically, the bottom line is that I have hope but I’m also keeping some restraint because I don’t know how they’re planning to go about this and as much as I wish these adaptations will do the stories justice, I just like everyone else will never really know until we get there so until then, I’m going to wait with bated breath, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

#answered asks #narnia #narnia discourse #Anonymous

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madamrogersstorytelling · 6 years ago

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Day 5: Three favourite movies/series

This is quite easy, actually. For change. After suffering for two days with extremely hard topics, I’m very happy about this. I had my answers ready already.

I haven’t seen all his works yet. I’m kinda new to his filmography anyway, but I’m going to watch everything (I tend to do that with all my favorite actors). So this list may change some time later, but let’s not care about that yet, let’s focus on his works I actually have seen.

1. Jackie & Ryan (2014)

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann

Starring Katherine Heigl, Ben Barnes, Clea DuVall, Emily Alyn Lind

“A modern day train hopper fighting to become a successful musician, and a single mom battling to maintain custody of her daughter, defy their circumstances by coming together in a relationship that may change each others lives forever.”

I’ve said it a few times now, but Ryan has a special place in my heart. I said in my post ‘Madamrogers Storytelling’ that I had this one moment I realized many things; that moment was after seeing this movie. It was a little over a month ago.

Ryan made me realize that if there is a thing I want to do, something I want to accomplish, something I hold dear... I should not get stuck. I have to go towards it, no matter what. I think I somehow can identify with Ryan; I don’t write songs or play music, I write stories. There is still the same agony, the same will to succeed and being able to do what you love. And I’d love to have that same kind of courage as Ryan has, that same way of approaching life.

There are two moments that make me cry. They always make me cry; I’ve watched the movie like five times now and those moments still make me cry. They’re both because of Ryan’s words. In the first one he says to Jackie: “He is not going to take Lia from you. Because you won’t let him.” He sounds so sure, so strong and reassuring that I take it. Something happens inside me. The other moment is when Ryan says: “I always ask myself where am I gonna go next, how am I gonna get there.” I’ve taken that. I ask myself that quite often now. And it helps. I can tell you, it truly helps.

I love Ben in this film. Ryan is so kind, a bit shy, helpful, strong and inspiring character, and Ben’s way of portraying him goes right into my heart. I realized his talent during this film. He tells so much without even saying a single word. I can feel all the emotions he’s showing. And don’t even get me started with his singing voice! I’ve always loved men who sing and play an instrument, especially a guitar. There is something about the way a guitar changes a person; they may be this nice person without it, but when they take a guitar, they change completely. They become deeper, more tender, there is something extremely beautiful in them, more than before. I love all the songs in this film, but Southbound. I fell in love with it during the first note and never stopped falling.

I cannot say that I’m a friend of romantic movies. Especially romcoms make me feel quite bad because they often show love and life so wrongly, like both of them were full of roses and laughter all the time. I’m a bit cynical, to be honest. The reason may be that I’ve never actually been in love. I like honest, meaningful movies that have no fear of showing life and love the way they really are. I have nothing against romance in movies, don’t get me wrong. I just want it to be realistic. And in Jackie & Ryan, this ugly and cruel side of life is shown. Not exactly so clearly, but it’s still there under all those layers. You can see it. I like it how friendly and kind this movie is at the same time as it’s honest and shows you that if something bad happens, often something good comes after it. It’s like when winter dies and spring begins. People’s choices matter. This movie is not just a romantic movie. This is, like Ben said in an interview, a movie about people. I’ve seen that people don’t like it because nothing happens in it. In my opinion, quite a lot happens. This is one of my Go To movies and I’m happy that I found it. It always makes me feel better. I believe in myself. Would probably need someone like Ryan in my life, someone so inspiring and someone who isn’t afraid of telling me the truth. But, for now, this movie’s Ryan will do.

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Directed by Michael Apted

Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter

“Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.”

I’m actually glad that I watched Narnia films as an adult. I knew what Narnia was as a child, I probably got to know it around the same time as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings but never really watched the movies or read the books. I remember getting this book with a movie cover from a book club. I forced my mom to let me keep it, and gladly I succeeded because I found the book a few weeks ago and it made me so happy. There were happy tears involved. That was the moment I remembered I had wanted to see the film. I also remembered looking at Caspian when I was just a girl and thinking ‘there is something in that one’. Never saw the film, sadly.

But a while ago I sat down and watched these movies (with my mom, actually) and I just fell in love. Especially with this third one. Why am I glad that I watched these films as an adult and not as a child? Mostly because nostalgia hurts me instead of actually making me happy. I remember how much better life was back then. (It hurts to look at Ron Weasley sometimes... He was my first fictional crush.) And because now I have a place I can go, the place I got to know as the person I am now. I have Hogwarts, Middle-earth and all the other worlds I’m not letting go of, but this feeling that there is a place for me. It’s funny, really. The ending song of this movie is just so beautiful. There is a place for us. This movie reminds me of that; there is a place for me. I just haven’t found it yet.

I also love Caspian’s character. I find similarities with myself. Funny enough, my mom even calls me Caspian sometimes (that’s because I have similar hair as he had in Prince Caspian, but mom said once that we’re quite similar in a way). He seems like someone who could make you feel better in mere seconds. The way he speaks, the way he is, and also his hugs must be the best ones in all Narnia. I could go for one of those right now. He is exactly like a person I’d respect. And I respect him, even when he’s just fictional. But he’s a King anyway. And Ben as Caspian, so beautiful. I could say the same things as I did when talking about Ryan, but he has so many emotions in his eyes and body. The way he holds his hand could tell more than a sentence.

We’ve had this common joke “let’s go to Narnia” with my mom long before we even saw the films. But now, after watching them, the joke is even more common. It’s not even a joke anymore. And I know that till the end of my days, these movies and Caspian will remind me of my mom.

3. The Punisher (2017)

Marvel

Created by Steve Lightfoot

Starring Jon Bernthal, Amber Rose Revah, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ben Barnes

“After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle became a vigilante known as "The Punisher" with only one goal in mind, to avenge them.”

I suck at watching Marvel’s tv series. I’ve seen almost all the movies of MCU and the new X-Men films and Deadpool, but these tv series I’ve pretty much neglected. I tried to watch Daredevil back in the day but didn’t continue. Then, through my dear friend @accio-rogers, I found out about this show and that Ben Barnes is starring in it as a man called Billy Russo (I had no idea who Billy even was). I went to check the series from IMDb and saw that the main role was played by Jon Bernthal, who I had seen before in The Walking Dead. This started to feel like a safe choice, and during the same day I started to watch it. I was also having an awful summer flu back then, so what else could I have done than watch Netflix? Nothing. Didn’t have energy for anything else.

Turned out that this choice affected on me more than I could’ve expected.

This was the series which made me fall in love with Ben Barnes.

I probably have said this before, but instead of hating him, I love Billy Russo. I find him interesting. He is psychological, he has an interesting backstory. And I’ve always been interested in psychology, so I love this kind of characters. I don’t love everything he does or all his choices, no. No, no. I think he really is a bad man, but in this very interesting, captivating way. I’m unable to hate him. I understand why people hate him or refuse to write soft and sweet things about him. But still, in my deepest thoughts, hopes and fantasies (that came out wrong) - and probably headcanons - I can see that Billy really has a softer side. He is a psychopath, but maybe there is a side of him that is a bit softer? Maybe all of this is just his way of protecting himself? We know he had a tragic childhood. There must be tons and tons of armor on him, he has made stone walls around himself. Maybe there is someone else under those. No one, not even him anymore, can break those walls and armors. I’m more than willing to accept the fact that he is just a psychopath, as well. It makes him interesting.

There is something about Ben playing the bad guy. He is so bad, but you cannot hate him. Billy is the perfect example. He is almost like a perfect villain. And the way Ben portrays him is magnificent: so much emotions in a blink of an eye. He’s phenomenal, a masterpiece. Billy Russo is my favorite antagonist of all time; he has this certain energy that makes him a bit frightening but likeable at the same time. He is well written. Full of layers and psychology. I cannot wait to see where Billy’s (or should we call him Jigsaw now?) story goes in season 2.

_________

If I could’ve list four, Westworld would’ve been the fourth. I spent quite some time finding out do I actually love or hate Logan; decided eventually that I love him, that hottie-naughty cowboy. And I’m only in season 1! Yikes.

Happy Ben Barnes week!

@benbarnesweek

#benbarnesweek2018 #ben barnes #ben barnes appreciation week #day 5

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doverstar · 6 years ago

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PART TWO. 002 - Caspian/Lucy. \\ 003 - I don't think you said a single word about Edmund your whole previous post, so, Edmund!

I didn’t say anything about Edmund, but of course he’s wonderful!

How great are you, Charlai, that you would send me a follow-up? You’re so cool.

002 | Lucian (The Chronicles of Narnia)

When I started shipping them: The other day. I’m not kidding. Like two days ago, I was talking to my sister after having just finished re-reading The Last Battle (my favorite book in the series) and gushing about how I ship Tirian with Lucy, and she immediately responded with her deep love for Lucy/Caspian, and proceeded to explain how it made sense. I went on with my not-exactly-in-order re-reading of the series and read some pieces of The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader and…yeah. She’s right. SO cute.

My thoughts: He’s this lovely golden-haired boy king who is so polite and so chivalrous and hardcore, and technically he’d probably be Lucy’s age (though ALSO technically, she’s like generations older than him from Narnia’s viewpoint?). And he’s already in awe of the Queens and Kings of Old (Pevensies). Lucy is so darling and faithful and strong in the best ways, and how can he not be attracted to her? SHE’S THE ONLY GIRL ON THIS BOAT, YOUR HIGHNESS, YOU DON’T MEET A GIRL LIKE THAT EVERY DY-NA-STY. And if it hadn’t been for Lilliandil (daughter of a frickin’ STAR, Caspian’s cold future queen), and had Lucy stayed in Narnia a bit longer, I am confident they would have made an easy, sweet couple who never did anything wrong, ever. And I also have been listening to True Like Your Name by Steve Moakler, and that’s now their ‘song’ to me. I’m such an ear of corn.

What makes me happy about them: I think I just wrote about half of it up there (oops), but while Peter and Susan are not characters I could really ship with anyone (I can’t even handle well-made, believeable OCs, I just don’t ship them, no matter who it is, which is a bummer) I can easily ship Lucy with someone. And Edmund, though I can think of few people for him in Narnia’s map. Lucy apparently was the Queen of Old who every Narnian prince wanted for their king (I know Susan had suitors, too) and Caspian clearly has desirable qualities. I just think they’d be so adorable. Thank you, sister, for endearing me to them. This is all your fault.

What makes me sad about them: Lucy has to leave and live a dull life in our world, and Caspian meanwhile lives a lifetime in Narnia, marrying Lilliandil and dying nice and old, and for Lucy that’s just, what? Five years have gone by? Since the last time she saw him? They don’t see each other again till they’re in Aslan’s Country, and that’s no place to be concerned with flighty, silly things like romance. Ew. But yeah, it sucks that they were torn apart like that. It would be more painful, though, if Lewis had given us many hints between the two. Luckily, we were spared.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: STOP MAKING THE CHILDREN KISS. THEY HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT. HAVE SOME SELF-CONTROL. Also, I know it’s hard not to be jealous of Lilliandil, but Lucy is better than that. Caspian would never leave his country, his people, to go with Lucy to England. And guys: neither of them would blame Aslan. That’s what’s dangerous about writing for Narnia with a ship that canonically doesn’t make it. Lucy would never be angry with Aslan for ‘separating them’. And Caspian wouldn’t either. If Aslan says it’s time to go, you go. Lucy especially. She goes. Aslan is more important than her crush! One of the biggest parts of Lucy’s character is her relationship with Aslan. She represents the faithful Christian. Make her the faithful Christian, and she’ll be accurate.

Things I look for in fanfic: Like every fanfic I actually read, the characters had better sound like themselves. Caspian doesn’t say yeah. He says yes. Lucy doesn’t say great. She says hurray. She’s from the 1940′s, or 50′s. And he’s from a medieval magical land. Also, like I said, I don’t love reading fics that don’t understand the characters. I feel like (I could be wrong) the best way to write for Narnia (if you’re brave enough to tackle it at all) is to write it with the knowledge that this is a Christian story, with Christian themes throughout. Caspian and Lucy are not gonna be all over each other. Aslan is not just some magic kingly lion. He’s the Lion. He’s supposed to be Jesus. If you’re going to put him in there at all, be darn careful how he’s portrayed, even if he’s just mentioned.

My wishlist: I would like for Caspian to magically become fair-haired, the way he’s supposed to be, in the film adaptation of The Last Battle, please? That’s all I can realistically want. Ben Barnes is fantastic. But he never looked like Caspian to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Caspian already ended up with Lilliandil, which I guess is fine. We wouldn’t have The Silver Chair if he hadn’t, so I’ll live. And Lu is a good Christian girl who don’t need no man. …But we all know Tirian is enchanted with her, so I wouldn’t mind that!

My happily ever after for them: Chillin’ in Aslan’s Country for eternity with their dearest friends. OHHHH, FISH FISH I GOT MY WISH.003 | Edmund Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)

How I feel about this character: Edmund is the emotional pinnacle of character development in the series. C.S. Lewis made the perfect redemption story, especially geared towards children, with this one character. First book he’s a little snot–a traitor–and he acts so believably miserable and awful. Like he’s the worst he could be for his age (probably 9 or 10). And he thinks such hateful thoughts and he does such wretched things and he goes through crap for it as consequences. And then he’s rescued by Aslan’s people and he has one conversation with the Lion and it changes him forever. And the Witch comes and is like, yo, he’s a traitor and I get to kill him, and Edmund’s scared but he just keeps watching Aslan’s face, and he’s okay. And Aslan dies for Edmund, in his stead. And Edmund freaking breaks the Witch’s wand in the fight for Narnia (9 or 10 years old and he does this) and doesn’t let anybody stop him, and gets wounded for it. Then he becomes King Edmund the Just (JUST!) and he reigns Narnia with so much wisdom and quiet confidence. And in the rest of the series he’s just divine. He loves his family, believes Lucy when nobody else does, and at the slightest mention or hint of Aslan, he’s excited and joyful and ready and it’s so ENDEARING. Like, he is hard to like when you first meet him–not likeable at all, actually–and the change that is evident after coming into contact with Aslan is so beautifully done! And in Prince Caspian? When Edmund follows Lucy to Aslan, always willing to believe the Lion is really there? AND ASLAN SAYS “WELL DONE” TO HIM?

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Actually, some people ship him with Lilliandil and I’m okay with that. Not that she deserves him or anything. And some people apparently also go with Jill Pole/Edmund, but Jill is much too young for him? No. Also, excuse you, Jill would get with Eustace if she were with anybody–

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: I love his relationship with Aslan. And Lucy. And Peter. (That last one especially in the films.)

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don’t like shipping him with Caspian, get behind me, tainted brains. How dare you defile them like that.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish he could have had more scenes on his own with Aslan–just like Lucy. At least after he was saved. But like I’ve said before, no real complaints. It’s all too wonderful.

Favorite friendship for this character: I like his relationship with Caspian! It’s so easy and genuine. But also with Trumpkin, his D.L.F.

My crossover ship: I bet if I really thought about it, I could find one. Maybe Edmund/Hermione? YIKES, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT. I like thinking what Edmund might be like fancying some girl, but the girl would have to be pretty spectacular, and I can’t think of a worthy one.Thank you, Charlai. You’re a golden friend!

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unnursvanablog · 4 years ago

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All the movies I watched in 2020.

Not a long list, because I am much more of a tv show person than a movie person. Months can pass and I suddenly realize I have not watch any movies.

The Farewell: An amazing and quiet little family story. The premise of this movie is so simple, yet it works so well. It's just amazing.

Hustlers: I liked it very much, and yet I have very few words to say about it for some reason.

Jojo Rabbit: Funny, sincere and thoughtful all at the same time. I really enjoyed it and how Taika Waititi uses humor to tell his stories. It's just so masterfully done.

Memories of Murder: Interesting and exciting, but by no means my favorite Bong Joon Ho movie. I am not that into crime-thrillers, so that might be it.

Little Women: Made me cry, just like all the other adaptations of Little Women. It was a new and interesting way to tell a very classic story. I really liked it a lot.

Portrait of Lady on Fire: A really interesting story. It hooked me right from the start. I loved how slow and quiet it was, yet so impactful.

The Hustle: I had to google what movie it was, because I had forgotten it. Says it all about that movie, huh? I do not like the humor that Rebel Wilson has and this movie is just riddled with that.

Gone Girl: It was interesting, but I did not find it that entertaining.

P.s. I Still Love You: I forgot this movie was released this year. Not as cute or fun as the first one. I felt like it lacked some of the charm the first one had. Not as re-watchable.

Tune in for Love: I loved this little romance story. I remember really enjoying it, yet I have very little to say about it.

Monsters: The idea was there, but the result was not up to par with what I had hoped. A decent popcorn flick, but it's often difficult to turn a monster movie into something more than just an empty battle-sequences with monsters with a interesting narrative, in my opinion.

Harry Potter 4: I watched it with my little niece after she finished the book. Idk, I still love this film. (also, this was before Terfy Rowling was a thing)

Guns Akimbo: I thought Daneil Radcliffe was really funny in it, it had some great dark humor, but gun fights is just something I get bored watching.

Emma: It delivered on everything that the trailer had promised me; Colorful, funny and a little weird. I really enjoyed it.

1917: I could quite see why people find this film amazing. It was beautifully shot. The story didn't really captivate me.

Bright Star: I found it a little too slow in parts. Beautiful to look at though.

Stardust: Ah, the perfect fantasy movie in my opinion.

The Great Battle: I had to google what movie this was, so it was not that memorable. An okay war movie, did not relate to the characters that much and it felt a little too long.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1984: They changed the story a little from the book and made the husband a little less of a jerk to me. Did not have quite the same effect as the book did, but it was still good.

Time to Hunt: I got pretty bored while watching this movie. Watching some boys in a gang and their fraudulent activities and gunfights between them and the bad guys is just not something I usually enjoy watching.

The Fellowship of the Ring: Ah, what a classic. These movies age so well.

Eurovision: Fire Story: I liked the songs, I hated the story and Will Farrel and I do not have similar type of humor. I just find him boring and obnoxious.

Hamilton: It was incredibly cool and well-executed, I did find my attention slip a couple of times, as it is very long. Can I see why people have been hyping this up all these years? yes. Seeing this live would have been amazing.

Two Towers: What can I say? These are amazing movies that age so well. I enjoyed this so much. I don't do a lot of re-watching, so when I do and I enjoy it it feels like a treat.

The Love Birds: Had to google it, so not that memorable. A good comedy, but nothing really outside of the box.

Return of the King: Seeing this movie in theaters was amazing! I cried my eyes out during the ending, and it's really amazing how well these movies age.

Prince Caspian: My favorite Narnia movie. It doesn't follow the book very well, but I like it so much.

Old Guards: I loved the backstories and the more mythical part of the story behind it all. But gun fights just aren't exciting for me to watch. The last part was all that.

#Alive: I found the first half really interesting, but the second half ends up being a pretty typical zombie movie that I've seen so many times before.

The Odd Family - Zombie on Sale: Omg, this movie. I loved it! How it mixes humor and horror without neither of those elements overshadowing each other or anything was amazing. I had an incredible time watching it, I liked pretty much all of the characters, I laughed out loud a few times (and that is rare for me) and the story managed to be really exciting on top of that. What a good movie!

Train to Busan: This movie is kinda amazing no matter how often you watch it. There is just something that really works in this movie. It takes advantage of the genre it is set it, the space where the stories takes place, and does something new with it. The plot is great, it's intense and sad when it needs to be. A fun time!

Penninsula: oh boy.... this movie was an empty thriller that adds nothing to the movie that came before it and nothing new to the zombie-horro-genre. It truly was everything that Train to Busan wasn't. It was not good.

Seel Rain: This is such a good thriller. The performance of the actors is really good, it has some humor, it has some heart, and it even managed to surprise me on a second watch.

Steel Rain 2: I loved the beginning and the middle of this movie, as the relationship between the three presidents who are stuck in a submarine together was really fascinating and fun to watch. When the plot looses that element it becomes rather a formulaic thriller. Yoo Yeon Seok is the best part of the movie.

Mulan (1998): I love this movie, by far one of the best Disney movies. I watched it in English this time, so some of the jokes were not as funny to me in English as they are in Icelandic... in my memory.

Mulan (2020): oh my, this was something. All the warmth, all the emotions and all the humor from the original film was just not present in this one. It just seemed so empty.

The Mummy: It's weird to watch a movie that is so beloved, it's quotes a lot, but it's not a part of your nostalgia so something about it feels lost to you. There is this pressure to like something that is so well loved, and often I have seen references to these movies and I feel like I have already seen it, when I finally see it. I liked it well enough, but I also felt this disconnect to it.

Double Worlds: She looked much more fun that it was. The plot was not good, nothing that happened seemed to matter and for me it seemed just pretty empty and full of CGI that looked cool enough but didn't add a thing to it.

The Craft: It's always nice when you watch a well-loved film and you really enjoy yourself while watching it.

Coraline: I can't believe it took me so long to watch this movie. I still knew the story quite well even though I had not seen it so little about it surprised me.

The Divine Fury: I thought it was a little too long and a bit all of the place at times. I thought it started well, but by the end I was getting pretty bored.

The Babysitters Guide to Monster Hunting: I thought it was silly but in a way that kinda works for this story. Good fun, if you do not dig too much into the plot.

The Personal History of David Copperfield: Dev Patel is awesome in this role and the tone of the film itself is rather whimsical, which I enjoyed. Judging by the trailer, I expected it to be funnier, but we can't have everything.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: This movie is a classic. At least for people my age. Everything about it just kinda works: The humor, the story, the characters, battles. She's just so good.

The Call: A really interesting storyline and the idea behind it is really cool. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it surprised me a few times, although I found the ending a bit confusing.

The Prom: The decent musical. I found it rather sweet, the songs were fun and most of the actors in it were nice. I had a fun time watchin it.

Jingle Jangle: A very cute family Christmas movie. I adored the costumes and the sets. The songs were really good. I thought it dragged on a bit sometimes, but it was still really cute and wholesome.

Guernsey Litarary and Potato Peel Society: This is just a really well made costume drama. I was not bored to watch it again.

Parasite: It's just as spectacular to watch this movie the second time watching it, or third, as it was watching it for the first time. The sequence of events is so gripping that it had me on the each of my seat as I was excited to experience all those things again.

#movie review #Movie Reviews #out of all of my end-of-the-year reviews I struggle with this one the most #I don't feel like I have too much to say about most of the movies I watch #compared to tv shows or books

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years ago

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The Weekend Warrior January 31, 2020 – THE TRAITOR, THE RHYTHM SECTION, GRETEL AND HANSEL, OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORTS

Last week was fairly pitiful, relly, but that doesn’t mean this weekend is gonna be much better. At least Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen exceeded my original expectations despite its fairly moderate theater count, and Universal’s The Turning is the studio’s latest horror film to bomb as 1917 continues to do well-deserved big business, crossing the $100 million mark. Actually, most of the movies this past weekend got a nice bump on Saturday, possibly due to the crappy weather across the country. This weekend won’t be so lucky.

Before I get to the wide releases, only one of which I’ll have seen by the time you read this, I want to instead draw attention to one of this week’s limited releases. Marco Bellochio’s THE TRAITOR (Sony Pictures Classics) was Italy’s selection for the Oscars and deservedly so, but it wasn’t even shortlisted in the new “International Film” category, which is a real shame. It stars Pierfrancesco Favino as Tomassso Buscetta, part of the notorious Palermo-based Casa Nostra crime family, responsible for much of the heroin trade in the early ‘80s. After Buscetta flees to Brazil with his wife (Maria Fernanda Candido) and large family in 1981, he’s eventually arrested by the Brazilian authorities and deported back to Palermo where he turns informer and works with Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Alessi) to try to take out the Sicilian mob family.

I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this film is, even if you go in cynically believing you already know everything about the so-called “MAFIA” from watching Goodfellas or “The Godfather” movies. You can tell that Bellochio really did his research into the life of Buscetta, and then had the wise move of hiring Favino (who I met on the set of Disney’s Prince Caspian, of all things!). Favino embodies Buscetta in a way similar to Edgar Rodriguez in Olivier Assayas’ Carlos, as the film covers almost three decades of his life, much of it in paranoia for turning on his criminal brothers.

The movie has a few lulls, most notably during the lengthy courtroom/trial scenes that are unlike anything you’ll ever have seen before or after – they’re complete madhouses – but the movie also delivers in quieter dialogue scenes, particularly those between Favino and Alesi. It’s amazing to think that someone responsible for so many deaths, both by his own hand and by heroin addiction, could be turned into a bonafide hero, but it’s hard to deny how brave Buscetta must have been for being involved with the takedown of the Casa Nostra for over a decade.

Bellachio has made a film that’s on par and sometimes even better than Scorsese’s The Irishman, and he does that in an hour less, too! Seriously, if you’re into crime films and want to know more about the reality of how the authorities deal with it, The Traitor is a must-see. It opens at the Film Forum and Lincoln Center in New York on Friday as well as The Landmark in L.A.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled program…

This week’s wide offerings don’t seem particularly strong with Blake Lively starring in the political thriller THE RHYTHM SECTION (Paramount), along with Jude Law. Directed by Reed Morano, I wasn’t able to figure out what the movie was about from the trailer, but apparently, Lively plays a woman trying to get revenge on those who caused the plane crash that killed her family. Really, I don’t know much more about this movie except that it was supposed to come out last year sometime before being moved to this weekend in January, which may end up being a better slot for it, that is, if anyone cares to see Lively in this kind of role. But since I have seen it, here’s my review…

Mini-Review: I’ve never really been a huge Blake Lively fan, but it’s impossible to deny her talents as you watch her playing a glammed-down junkie-hooker who transforms herself into a hired assassin. I’m not sure there are many other actors in Hollywood who could pull off such a role in what’s a pretty decent “Bourne”-inspired revenge thriller. (The irony is that the movie is produced by EON, the producers behind the Bond movies, something that could be credited for achieving ssthe movie’s world-spanning storytelling.)

Lively plays Stephanie Patrick, a woman whose parents and siblings died in a plane explosion. There years later, she still feels responsible since she didn’t get on the plane with them, and she’s hit rock bottom until a journalist (Raza Jeffrey) finds her to tell her that the crash wasn’t an accident, instead a target of a terrorist bomber. Stephanie believes him enough to go with him but when he ends up dead, she goes looking for his mysterious source in Scotland, who turns out to be Jude Law, an ex-MI6 who trains her to kill, giving her information about the responsible terrorist ring, “U-17.”

It’s a fairly simple story, adapted by Mark Burnell from his own novel, but it’s also the type of story that could go horribly wrong – see Jennifer Garner’s Peppermint for proof. A lot of credit has to be given to filmmaker Reed Morano, who gives The Rhythm Section such a distinctive look and tone without ever losing sight of the tension needed for a movie like this to work.

The movie does start out a bit slow, so it requires a bit of patience until Law shows up, and there’s some fun interaction there, but it’s definitely more of a drama than it is an action movie, so you should go in with that in mind. After being trained, the film starts following Stephanie, as she takes the guise of a dead assassin and dons different looks to go on her deadly missions. Sterling K. Brown also brings a lot to the film as another one of Stephanie’s contacts.

Ultimately, The Rhythm Section is a better movie than many will be expecting, a solid political thriller that isn’t the thing we normally get from a wide studio release in January. The pacing and some of the artier choices by Morano might not make it the most accessible film to everyone, but there’s no denying how it effectively pulls you in with the story and Lively’s performance.

Rating: 7/10

If that isn’t your cup of tea, there’s also the horror-fantasy GRETEL AND HANSEL (U.A. Releasing), directed by Oz Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter) and starring It’s Sophia Lillis in a decidedly different horror role, but obviously, she gets the top billing in this take on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, which I’m not 100% sure will be screened for critics. (At least I wasn’t invited to see it, so what else is new?) I can see how this might interest people more than last week’s The Turning, but it just doesn’t feel like that many people will feel the need to go to the movies.

Oh, it’s also Super Bowl weekend. I literally have no idea who is playing and I’ve made other plans Sunday night, but it always tends to affect box office business on Sunday due to the Super Bowl parties and the fact that people might want to sit at home and watch TV commercials and movie trailers rather than go to the actual movies. (Shrug emoji.) Either way, Sony lucks out with a third weekend at #1 for Bad Boys for Life, something that certainly wouldn’t happen in any other time of the year.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this…

1. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) - $17 million -50%

2. 1917 (Universal) - $9.5 million -40% (up .2 million and one place)*

3. The Rhythm Section (Paramount) - $9.3 million N/A (down .7 million and one place)*

4. Gretel and Hansel (U.A. Releasing) - $7.6 million N/A (up .4 million)*

5. Dolittle (Universal) - $6.7 million -45% (down .3 million)*

6. The Gentlemen (STXfilms) - $5.9 million -45% (up .3 million)*

7. Jumanji: The Next Level (Sony) - $4.6 million -37% (down .2 million)*

8. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Lucasfilm/Disney) - $3 million -48%

9. The Turning (Universal) - $2.8 million -60%

10. Little Women (Sony) - $2.5 million -45%

* UPDATE: A few updated prediction based on actual theater counts including 1917 getting more theater this weekend that should help it retain second place over Black Lively’s The Rhythm Section. Also, Orion Pictures is pushing Gretel and Hansel into almost 3,000 theaters, so it should be good for fourth place unless Rhythm Section doesn’t click or connect with Lively’s fans.

LIMITED RELEASES

It’s always exciting (at least to me) when the annual OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS (ShortsTV) are released theatrically, since it gives everyone (at least in select cities) a chance to see all the shorts that were nominated, and it gives you a little more chance to do well at your office Oscar poll. This year’s selection has a much shorter run than usual, since the Oscars will be held on February 9, about ten days after the short films are made available, so don’t drag your feet on these. I rarely get to watch many shorts over the course of the year, unless I’ve been called to be a juror at a film festival, so it’s nice to at least get to see 15 shorts every year that are considered the best of the best.

I tend to be most interested in the animated shorts, and besides the five nominees, this section will include a few “highly commended” films. I’m pretty sure everyone who sees Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver’s Hair Love is gonna love it, as it follows a young African-American girl’s attempts to tame her unruly afro with the help of her father. It’s such a wonderful short with a beautiful ending, and in my opinion, it’s also the best-looking of the nominees, maybe since it uses a more traditional animation style than the other films. I would be shocked if this doesn’t win the Oscar.

Kitbull, one of Disney’s Sparks Shorts involves the relationship between a cute black kitten and a pitbull, a nice wordless film in the Pixar vein. It’s too adorable not to be considered as a possible spoiler in this category. sThe French animated short Memorable from Bruno Collet deals with a painter suffering from dementia, and it uses a fairly unique stop-motion look and style. On the other hand, I found the style used in the Czech film Daughter from Daria Kashcheeva to be rather jarring as it deals with the relationship between a father and daughter trying to heal, while the Chinese animated short Sister by Siqi Song actually deals with a similar topic as the fantastic short-listed docOne Child Nation, although it also uses a somewhat strange style. (Actually, I didn’t realize that Sister was stop motion, but I went to a dinner where I got to meet Ms. Song’s “actors.”)

The doc shorts tend to be the longest of the three groups with shorts ranging from 20 to 40 minutes, so these will often be broken up into two programs for viewing.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a Girl) clearly has the most self-explanatory title of the doc shorts, and it’s also the most likely to win, not only due to its memorable title but also the adorable little girls in bright-colored dresses who attend “Skateistan,” a school for girls who aren’t allowed to be outside due to Afghanistasn’s strict Muslim rules. (This is shown as part of Program A along with Life Overtakes Me.)

MTV’s St. Louis Superman, directed by Smriti Mundra and Sami Khan, is probably the most likely as a spoiler in this category, as it follows Ferguson activist and state rep Bruce Franks Jr. as he tries to fight back against gun violence both on the political floor and as a battle rapper.

The Korean doc In the Absence documents a horrifying ferry accident that kills hundreds while the proper authorities drag their heels in saving people, while the Swedish doc Life Overtakes Me, directed by John Haptas and Kristein Samuelsons, deals with refugee children in Sweden who, in the grips of trauma, get an illness called Resignation Syndrome, so it’s also quite timely.

Lastly and definitely not least is Walk, Run, Cha-Cha, the New York Times doc short directed by Laura Nix (Inventing Tomorrow), that’s a beautiful story of a couple who were separated by the Vietnam War but reunited years later and are now dancing together in California. It’s a beautiful film and story that might not be as groundbreaking as some of the others but is still quite wonderful and romantic.

At least the live actions shorts are more consistent in their timing with movies between 15 and 25 minutes, but they also offer equally international offerings.

The Neighbor’s Window is three-time Oscar-nominated documentarian Marshall Curry’s first narrative effort, and it deals with a Brooklyn couple with two kids who get neighbors across the street who seem to enjoy a bit of exhibitionist sex, making them feel older. It’s a nice dramatic short that allows Curry to use The National’s music once again. (As I learned when I interviewed himin 2010, he’s friends with singer Matt Beringer.) The film takes a sad turn towards the end, but it’s a fine foray into narrative filmmaking and also, a strong PSA about buying drapes.

Bryan Buckley’s Saria takes place at a Guatemalan orphanage for girls where the title character wants to escape with her older sister to America. It’s actually based on the true story of a fire at the Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala that took 41 lives in 2017 but from the viewpoint of these young teenagers. The movie is not necessarily about the fire as that happens at its very end, though this is definitely my favorite short of this group, dealing with a lot of tough (but extremely timely) issues, so I honestly think it might win the Oscar in this category.

Oddly, there are two shorts that take place in Tunisia and involve shepherds (sort of) with Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood involving a father whose son Malik returns home from Syria with a new wife. I found this one to be pretty dull and not particularly worthwhile. Slightly better is Yves Piat’s Nefta Football Club, whichfollows two boys who find a mule carrying drugs. (That is, an actual mule, not a person acting as a mule.) It’s a decent short with a fairly comedic ending, but I don’t think it has much of a chance of winning either.

The Belgian short Une souer (translated as “A Sister,” not to be confused with the animated short Sister) by Delphine Girard involves a kidnapped who makes a phone call to an emergency service and tries to make her whereabouts known without giving it away to her assailant. It’s a pretty decent thriller that does a lot in a short amount of time (about 16 minutes), but I don’t see this as something that might win the Oscar.

You can catch the Oscar-Nominated Shorts in select cities starting today and then slightly wider starting Friday, and then they’ll be available via streaming next week on Tuesday, Feb. 4

Julia Garner from “Ozark” stars in Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT (Bleecker Street), a movie about a young woman named Jane, who is working as an assistant at a busy New York distributor/production house based in the Tribeca area that couldn’t possibly be referring to the Weinstein Company, could it? I had pretty high expectations for this film, having heard about it as far back as last year’s Sundance where it premiered, and yes, while it is extremely timely, the cinema verité method that Green uses to tell the story of Garner’s character doesn’t make for a particularly interesting movie other than a few interactions, like one with Matthew Macfadyen as the company’s HR person when Jane reports her worries about the boss’ actions (nothing done to her, mind you). I do like Garner as an actor though, and I can’t wait to see what else she does post-“Ozark.”

At least the next film put up by its country for the Oscars’ “International Film” category was shortlisted, but it’s nowhere near as good as The Traitor (in my opinion). The Russian Oscar selection, Kantemir Balagov’s BEANPOLE (Kino Lorber), starring Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina as nurses Iya and Masha, working at a veteran’s hospital in Leningrad shortly after World War II. Iya is an extremely tall, lanky blonde woman referred to as “Beanpole” (hence the title) who also has a condition where she’ll freeze up at the most ill-opportune times. She’s taking care of a young child, who most presume to be her son but is actually Masha’s illegitimate son. The problem with this movie is that 20 minutes into it, something absolutely horrifying happens, and it just goes downhill from there. It’s not a bad movie but it’s one that’s really hard to watch, especially as Iya decides to do something to help her friend Masha, for reasons I don’t really want to spoil. Anyway, if you thought the sex scenes in the Brazilian offering Invisible Life were awkward and uncomfortable to watch, you haven’t seen a thing!

Hitting the Quad Cinema on Friday, the Laemle in L.A. on Feb 7 and other cities to follow is the Guatemalan film José (Outsider Pictures), directed by Li Cheng, and starring newcomer Enrique Salanic as the title character, a closeted gay man who lives with his mother in Guatemala City, surviving on selling sandwiches at bus stops. Unfortunately, Salanic was denied an entry visa, so he won’t be able to attend the film’s New York premiere, but Li Cheng will be doing QnAs at the Quad all weekend.

Also, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is getting a “black and white” release this weekend, because… well, who knows why anyone does anything anymore?

STREAMING AND CABLE

If you weren’t at Sundance, you can sit back, chillax and watch the Taylor Swift doc Miss Americana on Netflix (as well as in select theaters but who would want people to know that they’re a Taylor Swift fan? So just stay at home and watch it since Netflix won’t report its box office either way.) There’s also the new Norwegian superhero series Ragnarok, which launches its first season this Friday and that might be more my speed.

Hitting Disney+ this week is Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, which I still haven’t seen, as well as a few other movies. Also, Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel will debut on HBO this Saturday night, and “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci’s new series “Avenue 5” will premiere its pilot on HBO’s streaming platforms starting Friday.

REPERTORY

Before we get to the usual theaters, I’m thinking of adding a few new ones (well, not that new as they’ve been around for ages), for instance, the Anthology Film Archives, which is pretty much in my neck of the woods are having a series called “The Devil Probably: A Century of Satanic Panic” starting on Friday night, complete with an appearance by Lucien Greaves, spokesperson and co-founder of the Satanic Temple, who will hold a black mass ritual and give a lecture before showings of Benjamin Christensen’s Häxan and Penny Lane’s 2018 doc, Hail Satan? (which is about Greaves.) Other movies in the series include The Black Cat (1934), The Seventh Victim (1943) and classic thrillers Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Race with the Devil (1975), as well as Terrence Fisher’s The Devil Rides Out (1968). (This week, the AFA is also showing late founder Jonas Mekas’ 1962 film Guns of the Trees with other Mekas works at least through Thursday!)

NITEHAWK CINEMA (NYC):

Okay, we might as well initiate another new addition, the Brooklyn theater with two locations, one in Williamsburg and the other in Prospect Park. The Williamsburg will be showing David Slade’s excellent 2005 film Hard Candy, starring Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page on Friday night as well as L.A. Story, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah on Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday night, Prospect Park will screen Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining(1980) but mostly will be focused on new films.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled rep theaters, including my personal fave…

METROGRAPH (NYC):

The Metrograph is beginning a theatrical run of a 35mm print of Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film New York, New York, starring Bobby De Niro and Liza Minelli, and while it’s the closest thing to a musical Scorsese has directed, it acts more as a biopic for the writing of the classic song, “New York, New York”… kinda. This was not my favorite movie when I first saw it in theaters as a kid, and it hasn’t improved that much with age although this is a great era for Minelli, just a few short years after she won the Oscar for Cabaret. (That was one of the main reasons I saw it when it first hit theaters.) It also should be of interest to those who want to see De Niro when he was young enough to look like his de-aged self in his latest collaboration with Scorsese in The Irishman. But if you thought that movie was long then this movie’s 2 ½ hour run-time is also a killer.

I was pretty thrilled this last weekend to see so many young people enjoying the movies of Hal Hartleyat the Metrograph’s retrospective, and this weekend, it will continue with Hartley’s best-known trilogy starting in 1997 with Henry Fool, which was followed up with Fay Grim (2006)(which I wasn’t a big fan of) and 2014’s Ned Rifle(which I never saw). This weekend will also see Hartley’s The Girl from Monday (2005) and a number of shorter films.

Another series starting Friday is To Hong Kong with Love, for the theater’s continued Lunar New Year, celebration, which runs through the month of February. This weekend we get Peter Chan’s Comrades: Almost a Love Story from 1996 and Christopher Doyle’s Hong Kong Trilogy from 2015.Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxcontinues on Thursday with another screening of Edward Yang’s 1991 film A Brighter Summer Day. On Saturday night, the Safdies are presenting a screening of Adam Sandler’s The Wedding Singer from 1998.

This week’s Late Nites at Metrographis Brian de Palma’s Scarface (1983), starring the one and only Al Pacino! Also, THIS WEEKEND, Playtime: Family Matinees is showing Taika Waititi’s excellent 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople on Saturday and Sunday morning, so I expect to see you all there, at least on Saturday, which is when I’m attendings.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

As mentioned last week, tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” is something called Killer Nun, and there’s also a sold-out Big Lebowski Movie Party. Next Tuesday, the Alamo is showing Michael Haneke’s 2002 film The Piano Teacher, starring Isabelle Huppert, and then “Terror Tuesday” is the 1977 horror film, The Sentinel. (Apparently, the Anthology isn’t the only New York theater on a satanic kick.) Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is the “Lone Wolf and Cub” classic Shogun Assassin from 1980. (There will be two showings… one at 7pm and another at 9:30!) Also, on Monday, you’ll have another chance to see Takashi Miike’s Audition (1999), although that’s also almost sold out.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds’ afternoon classic is Sidney Lumet’s 1976 classic Network, and then Weds and Thurs. nights, you can see a triple feature of Orca (1977), Nightwing (1979) and the horror film Prophecy (1979),which is a pretty amazing trilogy. Friday’s “Afternoon Classics” is Friday the 13thPart V: A New Beginningfrom 1985. Friday night’s Midnight offering is Tarantino’s Django Unchainedwhile the weekend Kiddee Matinee is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from 2001. Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdomwill screen as a matinee on Monday.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The Forum’s “Black Women” series continues this week with a number of movies including Dorothy Dandridge in Island in the Sun (1957) on Friday, Tarantino’s Jackie Brown on Saturday, along with Pam Grier’s classic Foxy Brown, which inspired it. Sunday is The Color Purple and more through the weekend, including Hal Ashby’s 1970 film The Landlord screening on Sunday and Monday night. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr is The Incredible Shrinking Man from 1957 in a 4k restoration.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

The Egyptian has been busy screening Oscar movies, trying to get some Academy members in to see them before voting next week. Cinematic Void 2020 continues this weekend with the Giallo film Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (1977) on Friday, then Joe Dante’s 16mm spotlight screens This Is Not a Test (1962) on Saturday, and then the Marx Brothers comedy Horse Feathers shows on Sunday in 35mm, and then that afternoon, they’ll screen Putney Swope, the 1969 film directed by Robert Downey Sr. and My Dinner with André (1981).

AERO (LA):

Thursdays “Films of Marty and Bob” matinee is Mean Streets (free to Cinematique members), and then on Friday, it’s “Ford vs. Capra” as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Young Mr. Lincoln (both from 1939) screen as a double feature. Saturday is a “Ford vs. Spielberg Double Feature” of The Searchers (1956) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Sunday is a suitably-timed “Super Dust Bowl Double Feature” of Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath (1940) with 1942’s The Ox-Bow Incident.

MOMA (NYC):

This week’s Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmonare Glengarry Glenn Ross (1992) on Weds, Costa-Gravas’ Missing (1982) on Thursday and the 1995 film The Grass Harp. MOMA is also doing an “American Indies, 1980 – 1989” series that will screen Charles Burnett’s My Brother’s Wedding (1983) and Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies and videotape (1989) on Weds, John Waters’ Polyester (1981) and Bette Gordon’s Variety (1983) on Thursday, Jarmusch’s Stranger than Paradise (1984) and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) on Friday, as well as the Coens’ Blood Simple, Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing and Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames over the weekend.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) will screen on Thursday as part of FilmLinc’s New Wave event for new members in their 20s and 30s. Oh, you young people get all the good stuff and yet, you still complain about everything. What’s up with that?

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: Hindsight is 2020s is James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day yet oddly, the other two ongoing series are taking off this weekend. I wonder why. Or maybe they’re just showing some of the same-old-same-old like The Shining, Suspiriaand reshow of Cuaron’s Children of Men. (Plus they’re showing the Oscar-nominated shorts and other Oscar nominees in many theaters.)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

In conjunction with its 2001: A Space Odysseyexhibition, MOMI has a series called “Influencing the Odyssey: Films that Inspired Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke,” this weekend showing Metropolis (1927), Forbidden Planet (1956), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Ikarie XB1 (1963). 2001: A Space Odyssey will also screen again on Saturday.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

This week’s Nicolas Cage offering on Weds is 2002’s Windtalkers, which I remember liking even though it’s probably not good. They’re also showing Cage’s Gone in 50 Seconds remake (co-starring Angelina Jolie) on Thursday.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Ooo… this Friday night’s midnight screening is a good one, one of my favorite movies of the last decade,Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), starring Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is also in next week’s wide release)!

Next week, Margot Robbie stars in Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, and honestly, that might be one of only two or maybe three times I type out that annoyingly-long impossible-to-remember title!

#TheWeekendWarrior TheRhythmSection TheTraitor OscarNominatedShorts Movies Reviews GretelAndHansel

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nylonsandlipstick · 8 years ago

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Hey! It's dryadsofnarnia (Tumblr won't let me ask from a side blog 🙁)! What are your thoughts on Suapian?

ok so i absolutely love suspian although i understand why some people don’t ship it.i really like that the writers of prince caspian threw in the romance because they executed it well (in my opinion) and it makes sense. they’re both young and attractive kids going through a lot in their lives, and it makes sense that there would be some sort of flirtation going on to distract themselves from the whirlwind that has become their lives and to just make them feel like normal kids.

i know that a lot people complain about how undeveloped the relationship was but i personally don’t think they were undeveloped. susan and her siblings were in narnia for a week at most, also there was a raid and a battle being planned and then happening, so there wasn’t much time to fully focus on a relationship when that wasn’t the main point of the film anyways. they didn’t have much time to have a full on romance full of love, susan and caspian, but it’s obvious they had some crushing going on which is refreshing. they weren’t trying to get every second they could to make out or anything, they were just trying to be next to each other and flirt a bit. it’s cute because you see them being kids and just having a crush on someone. even the kiss at the end wasn’t too romantic, it seemed rather innocent and something like some kids with crushes on each other would do.

i really love them outside of the film too. i wish they had also been written in by lewis. their personalities work well with each other. caspian is a bit more hot-headed than susan but she can cool him off, although both being rather hard-headed there would be some clashing but they’re rather reasonable people who would have eventually sat down and talked things out. i totally ship ramandu’s daughter with caspian but she didn’t get much of a personality in the books or film so it’s a ship out of obligation for being canon and one from where i’ve basically had to make up ramandu’s daughter’s personality enough to be shipable with caspian. if susan and her siblings had stayed in narnia a little longer after the war at aslan’s how, there definitely would have been some romance between susan and caspian. they really complement each other and work well with each other.

i feel like if we’d gotten more of them, we would have seen a really cute couple. we’ve got coravis but it’s that love/hate relationship that’s full of bickering rather than banter which just feels overrated and overused (ex: hermione and ron, gale and katniss, america and aspen and a bit with maxon, etc) and it gets boring after a while and leads to toxic relationships being seen as cute because some writers don’t know the difference between a normal relationship’s bickering and a relationship that outright fights and emotionally abuses and manipulates each other. susan and caspian would have been a sweet relationship that would’ve been refreshing. caspian is hot-tempered but he’s a sweet kid and he would have respected susan with whatever she asked of him. and susan is gentle and loves romance (i doubt she pushed aside every suitor in sight and i bet she actively looked for a man to marry) but she also speaks her mind (example being every situation in which her siblings do something they definitely should not have done). they would have been good and healthy.

anyway, before i just end up going on a three-page tangent about how much i love suspian, my opinion on suspian is that it’s great and i love it and i want so much more of it.

#susan pevensie #caspian x #suspian #text

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the-scot-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Scrolling through Twitter one afternoon, I stumbled upon an amazing little feature by blogger Liam McNally – he had posted a text post with a number of different film titles from each year of his life. Bloody brilliant.

So I’ve decided to give it a go. I’ve been on this wonderful planet for almost 19 years now, and although I wasn’t alive for the release of Jurassic Park, there have been a fair few phenomenal films in my lifetime.

This is my longest post to date – I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. (2730 words – bloody hell).

1998: Pleasantville

Oh my God. I didn’t realise how difficult this post was until I searched ‘1998 films’ into Google. The Trueman Show, Saving Private Ryan and The Wedding Singer all in the one year? God, anyone alive and kicking back then must have been having the best year of their lives.

But despite the 10 minute long decision process, I’ve decided on Pleasantville. I watched it when I was very young and hadn’t ever worn a bra, much less watched anything like that bath scene. Despite my mortified eyes however, the film will always be one of my favourites. I remember seeing the main character for the first time and just constantly thinking god, this is a weird film for Spiderman and Elle Woods to be in.

1999: 10 Things I Hate About You

Again, this year is bloody difficult. The Iron Giant, The Mummy and Toy Story 2 – they just don’t make films like them anymore. Although I wasn’t a fan of Star Wars Episode 1 – it has to be one of my least favourites. Anyway.

10 Things I Hate About You was one of the first chick-flicks I ever watched. I knew Heath Ledger as ‘the strangely cute singing guy from that movie’ before I knew him as the Joker. I felt like I related to Kat – I wasn’t big on getting a boyfriend, and I was pretty much destined to be a wee bit strange since birth. Plus her name is so cool.

2000: X-Men

At the time of watching, I was right into Harry Potter. I loved the idea of special schools dedicated to supernatural people – it made my own secondary school even more boring. I’d often just sit in class and daydream about being able to fly or have the ability to imitate people.

But in all honesty, the one person I was most envious of was Quicksilver. And not because I wanted to save the world or any of that pish. No. When I sat in my third year physics class, the smells from the cafeteria always decided to sneak up the vent and attack my nostrils. I would get so unbelievably hungry, and my stomach would always tell my classmates just that. So I used to daydream about running faster than time, sprinting down into the dining hall, grabbing a steaming hot spicy chicken panini (and maybe some soup, if I could manage) and munching it before heading back up to class. Yeah – I wanted superpowers so I could eat my lunch early.

2001: The Princess Diaries

AH. I’ve got a feeling film directors are deliberately messing with me right now. Legit, I had a look at the films from 2001, and I was floored. What an amazing year. The first Harry Potter movie came out this year – the beginning of an absolute era. Shrek debuted as well – but I was always slightly offended when people heard my Scottish accent and compared me to a giant green ogre when I travelled abroad. The first Lord of the Rings film came out as well – see what I mean about them messing with me?

But despite all of my favourite film franchises beginning in this year, I gotta say, the Anne Hathaway/Julie Andrews combo that is The Princess Diaries absolutely stole my heart. I had never related to a character more – I had frizzy hair, buck teeth, oversized glasses and a tendency to prioritise spending time with my cat over hanging out with real-life friends. So when she went through her beautiful princess transformation, I was floored. I mean, I’m still waiting for that to officially happen, but I’m still holding out hope that I have a long lost relative that’s gonna tell me I’m a princess (no, not you mum).

2002: The Pianist

Originally, I had written the first Spiderman as my favourite film of 2002. But that quickly changed.

The first time I watched The Pianist, I was 13 years old in a stuffy history classroom. I still hold the belief that this was definitely not the right time to watch this film. It felt as though my teacher didn’t have any material to convey how horrific the Holocaust really was, and so instead she stuck on one of the most distressing and hauntingly beautiful films of all time. I didn’t fully appreciate it back then – I cried when I watched the horrors that took place in the ghettos, and got even more upset when immature people around me started to laugh.

But I watched it for a second time a few years later. Although I cried again, I gained a much deeper understanding of the film. I still listen to the soundtrack when I want to write a particularly moving or sad chapter of a book. The film has such a disgusting beauty to it, it is astounding – it makes me question my morals when I say it is one of my favourite films.

2003: Peter Pan

Again, there were so many amazing films this year – I can’t explain my guilt at not choosing Finding Nemo or the last instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

But I found my first love in the live-action remake of Peter Pan. Just a few years after it was released, I found myself watching it time and time again. I was young, and there was a boy with messy hair and a fairy to keep him company. Honestly, I was head over heels. I grew to absolutely despise Wendy Darling. How dare she take away my Peter, with her stupid bow and annoying accent. And the fact that Lucius Malfoy was Captain Hook just made it that little bit better.

2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

You’re lying if you say that this isn’t one of your favourite films.

Again, it was tricky not choosing The Incredibles or Mean Girls – even The Notebook made it to my shortlist. But the way the Weasley twin’s hair sat and the introduction of the marauders just made my life complete. Except for Pettigrew. Fuck you, Pettigrew. I’d read the book before I saw the film, and while I was slightly disappointed with the previous two, I didn’t stop talking about PoA for months. In fact, I still talk about it. It’s great.

2005: Sky High

This year was going to be beautifully simple – I absolutely love Star Wars Episode III. In fact, it was possibly the only film I was certain of when I started this post. But, never the less, I looked at the list of 2005 films anyway, and was reminded of the best thing I’ve ever watched. Ever.

Remember earlier in the post when I said that I frickin LOVE schools for supernatural people? WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN. I watched Sky High recently with my friend Ross, and even although the acting was abysmal and my cringe levels were off the chart, I couldn’t help but smile. As if the flying school bus wasn’t enough, the euphoria I felt when Will and Warren won Save the Citizen was something I don’t think I’ll ever feel again.

2006: Pan’s Labyrinth

I feel like if I choose any film other than this, my Spanish teacher would kill me. Again, it’s another film that we watched at way too young an age in my opinion. Sure, it looks all mystical with fairies and creepy monsters with eyeball hands, but it has this underlying story-line of the horrors of war and escapism that you can’t fully understand until you’re a bit older.

I watched it again when I was 17 and studying Advanced Higher Spanish, and knew the film as ‘El Laberinto del Fauno’. I could go on for 20 minutes about this film and its director (which I did by the way, in the final exam).

2007: Ratatouille

WHAT A FILM BTW. I’ve always loved Disney – my sister and I would spend nights staying up way past our 8pm bedtime watching Aladdin and Peter Pan, with a fair few stolen After Eight mints from my mum’s bedroom too. This film just completely blew me away – the animation was new and cool and it was set in PARIS.

Even now, ten years later (omg ten years wtf) I still think about the scene where Remy combines the cheese and grapes, and little fireworks and swirls form in his mind. I once ate a McDonald’s chip and then took a sip of my strawberry milkshake, and legit I’m pretty sure that’s what happened in my mind.

2008: The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian

Enter stage left – my second love. At the age of nine, Prince Caspian had everything I could ever want in a guy (or so I thought). He had a sword, long hair, an accent I had never heard before and he fought Peter Pevensie (I seem to hate a whole lot of Peters).

I thought it was the coolest combination of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, and it was while watching this that I began to have a crisis about my true Hogwarts house. I had always thought myself a Gryffindor – I had the scarf, the pens and the egotistical ‘I’m-better-than-you’ attitude that all young Gryffs seem to adopt. But I found myself siding with Edmund Pevensie about a whole lot of things. I didn’t fully accept Slytherin as my true house till a good few years later.

2009: Star Trek

I watched Star Trek before I even touched Star Wars, and I was absolutely hooked. It was what introduced me to science fiction, really. After Star Trek, I moved onto Doctor Who, and although I couldn’t really get into the Star Trek TV series, I found my love of sci-fi growing.

It was my love of Star Trek that caused me to accidentally find Star Wars. My brother would constantly go on about C3PO and lightsabers, and I decided very early on that it wasn’t for me. But after trying (and failing) to find Star Trek online, I accidentally found Star Wars instead, and thus began my love of the Skywalkers and giant wookies named Chewy.

2010: How To Train Your Dragon

Other than Aladdin, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was one of my first (of many) cartoon crushes. I thought he was the most adorable lil guy ever – he was clumsy, dorky, and absolutely loved animals. He was perfect. I thought the animation was absolutely incredible, and the Scottish accents were just a bonus. I much preferred being compared to Gerard Butler than a green ogre, in all honesty.

And don’t even get me started on how he looked in How To Train Your Dragon 2 – oaft.

2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two

HPDHP2 is right up there with the Prisoner of Azkaban. I remember heading to the midnight release of the last Harry Potter book – I was decked out in a Scream robe that we’d stitched a Gryffindor badge onto, with curly hair that reached my shoulders. And yes, I won the costume contest. But I remember staying up that night and reading the book until 7am, and having to head to school the next day without a wink of sleep. And yet I didn’t care – I had just finished the last book in a series that completely shaped my childhood.

So when the movie hit the cinema screens, I was praying that I wouldn’t be disappointed like I was with some of the others. And apparently, my prayers were answered. Even although the Deathly Hallows is split into two parts, I always consider them the one film. And it’s most certainly my favourite.

2012: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This film really got to me. I bundled up in warm clothes to see it in the cinema with my friend Ailish, and it was the first ever film I had cried at. I’d read the book before hand and cried my eyes out, but the severity and meaning of the story didn’t hit me until I watched the film. Logan Lerman and Emma Watson were two of my favourite stars at the time: I knew Emma from Harry Potter obviously, whilst Logan stole my heart as Percy Jackson.

But what struck me most was the way I related to these characters. I often found myself standing next to the wall in school dances, watching people having a good time but being physically incapable of joining in – it was as if my feet were constantly glued to the floor. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone in this, and it lead to me being able to open up to my guidance teacher about my struggles with anxiety.

I also wrote about the original book in my piece ’13 books to help get over a break up’ – check it out.

2013: The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug

When the making of the Hobbit was first announced, I was ecstatic. But my excitement somewhat wavered when I heard they were turning into three films. It was a small book – tiny in comparison to the three Lord of the Rings texts – how on earth would they stretch this wonderfully small work into three different films?

And yet somehow, they managed it, and subsequently made one of my favourite films of all time. Why, you ask? The barrel scene.

2014: Guardians of the Galaxy

Not gonna lie, this one was a toss up between the hilarious Chris Pratt and the absolutely adorable Baymax. But, as much as I love Disney’s tale of superpowers and love therapy in Big Hero 6, it didn’t win this year for me. The best thing about the film is without a doubt the soundtrack – even four years later, I still listen to it when I wanna get psyched.

I wanted to cosplay as Gamora for last year’s MCM Comic Con in Glasgow so bad, but then I realised that I’d more than likely sweat off the green body paint and the leather would more than likely get quite uncomfortable.

2015: Star Wars – The Force Awakens

Up until 2015, I was losing interest in Star Wars. I’d watched the films countless times, but as much as I adored them, I couldn’t stop thinking about the shabby effects. So when Finn, Poe and Rey lit up my local cinema screen in December 2015, it was as if I was born again. I suddenly dived back into the world of lightsabers and gun-wielding Wookies, and I genuinely haven’t looked back since.

And although I cried my eyes out when that thing happened, I agreed with it – it was about time.

2016: Finding Dory

I actually travelled Australia for a month last year – I left school and just decided to get away from everything and everyone for a little while. So after I met my brother and we began to explore Sydney, we decided what better place to watch the latest instalment in Finding Nemo than the place where it’s set??

I was slightly disappointed to find out that Nemo and Dory did not, in fact, stay in Sydney for the duration of the film, but even so – it was just amazing.

I was going to write a segment for 2017 but then I realised – I legit haven’t watched any new releases yet. I’ve simply not had any time. And yes, that means that I haven’t even watched the new Beauty and the Beast. For shame.

But even although I haven’t watched anything yet, there are tonnes of films that I’m looking forward to – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Spiderman Homecoming, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi to name a few.

Hey, maybe I’ll revisit this post at the end of the year and add in my favourite film.

I’m tagging the fantastic Emily and Lucie in the ‘Film for every year of my life’ tag.

What are your most loved films from these years? Do we share any favourites? Or do you think my choices are just downright wrong? Let me know!

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18 films in 18 years: My favourite stories since I was born was originally published on Ellan

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joshuabeck1001 · 8 years ago

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Why Peter Pevensie Struggles in “Prince Caspian”

(Previously published on my old blog, the GEEK BELIEVER. This version has been editied.)

I watch a ton of of movies. Like, seriously, a ton. I watch them, I rewatch them. I study them. I read too much into them. I know way too much about them. But sometimes, I see something more in them. I see a message in them.

The movie I’d like to talk about today is Prince Caspian. Of course, being a C.S. Lewis story, it isn't hard to find Biblical subtext, as the series was built on Biblical allegory. But that only means that I don't have to search hard for something to talk about. And, of course, this isn't a current movie by any regard; the Narnia movies have pretty much been forgotten at this point, and Prince Caspian itself was never considered the high point of the franchise. And, to be honest, Caspian was never my favorite of the series. But, to be fair, I have always watched this franchise as I watch all of my favorite fantasies, from Harry Potter to The Lord of the Rings, with my magic filter on; I watch them as fantasies. I watch them for fantastical stories of magic and adventure. And compared to the adventures of Harry and Frodo, Narnia was just never quite as good (even though The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe being one of my favorite books as a child). But despite all that, I got the hankering to watch them again, and when I watched Caspian I noticed something that I hadn't before.

If I had to say why Caspian is the weakest part of the series, I would have to say it is the absence of God in that story. In comparison, Wardrobe and Dawn Treader have a lot more of God/Aslan, especially the former, telling a version of Christ's sacrifice for mankind. But God, and Aslan, are noticeably absent in Prince Caspian, for the majority of the film. And it was this, subconsciously, that made me dislike the middle movie a little, why it became my least favorite of the series. But rewatching it this time (and I actually watched it twice this time) I began picking up on the subtle undertones of the narrative; it was intentionally written for Aslan to be absent. It is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful allegories in the series, because of this.

Let's look at Lucy and Peter. Lucy, in the series, is the steadfast believer. She never questions Aslan, she never doubts him or anything she experiences in Narnia. Peter, along with his brother and sister, always questions, always doubts. When our heroes arrive in Narnia, they are met with a very different Narnia than the one they left behind. Over a hundred years has passed. Their old castle is in ruins, a new power rules the land, and the Narnians are all but gone. As they try to find their way through this unrecognizable world, they try to follow a remembered path, but find that the bridge they seek has long since collapsed, making their way impassable. It is then that Lucy, looking to the other side of the river, exclaims that she saw Aslan. But when everyone looks, they see nothing. Peter Dinklage even remarks "Do you see him now?" in his condescending, Peter Dinklage-y tone.

But the moment that really struck me was Peter's response. Peter, High King of Narnia, has a bit of an ego on him this entire movie. He even introduced himself to Dinklage's Trumpkin as "Peter the Magnificent", much to the amusement of his siblings. But at this moment, Peter asks Lucy why he didn't see Aslan. "Why wouldn't I have seen him?" Why wouldn't Aslan, the creater of Narnia, present himself to the High King of Narnia?

"Maybe you weren't looking." That's Lucy's response. And that line works well enough in the context of the scene; Peter wasn't looking in the same direction as Lucy when she saw Aslan. But this one line sets up the tone for the rest of the film. Peter didn't see Aslan, because he isn't looking for Aslan. He isn't seeking him. If Aslan wants Peter, Aslan should come to him.

Lucy, the unwavering believer in these films, knows Aslan is always near, and is fervently looking for him, waiting for him, seeking him. Peter, on the other hand, is trekking through Narnia as if he owns the place (which, technically, he does, as Aslan said in the previous movie, “Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia,” meaning whenever these children pop up, they are automatically the highest authority, under Aslan). Peter is blinded by his own desires, noble as they might be, to notice if Aslan is nearby.

It is in this scene that Peter makes the decision to go his own way instead of Aslan’s. Faced with a chasm that they seemingly cannot cross, when Lucy see’s Aslan on the other side, she tells them that Aslan wants them to follow him. But Peter didn’t see Aslan, Peter doesn’t believe (this entire franchise would move a lot faster if people believed Lucy when she said something), and Peter decides to lead them in another direction. And, sure enough, several minutes later, they realize that there was a hidden path to lead them safely across the gorge. If only Peter had followed Aslan, despite not seeing him.

This theme carries throughout the movie. In a later moment, Lucy has to remind Peter who actually defeated the White Witch, him, or Aslan. And as they rush into battle, Peter shouts a rallying cry, “For Narnia!” And even this line screams of Peter’s growing disconnection from Aslan, for in the previous movie, the same call he made was, “For Narnia! And for Aslan!” Even when I first saw Prince Caspian in theaters, I remember that the lack of Aslan’s name at this moment stood out to me, even if all the other Biblical subtext didn’t. And that’s Peter’s problem throughout the entire movie: He’s trying to do everything by himself, and he’s not looking to Aslan, or for Aslan, for guidance.

This resonates in our lives. If we try to do everything ourselves, without God, we fail more often than we succeed. If we live our lives not seeking God, not looking for Him, we will never hear Him speak, and we will never see His path for us. So many people wonder why God isn’t affecting their lives, why they can’t see proof of God’s existence, of His power, His miracles. And that’s because they are waiting for God to show Himself to them. They aren’t seeking Him out.

Just like Aslan, God wants us to follow Him. He wants us to seek Him out, to see Him, to hear Him.

But in order to see God’s presence, in order to hear Him speak to us, we need to actively seek Him. We need to be looking for Him. If we aren’t looking, how can we see Him when he appears? If we aren’t listening, how can we hear Him when he speaks?

As one of my friends recently put it, if you don’t pick up the phone, how will you hear who’s talking? If we don’t pursue God, how will we find Him?

If you aren’t seeing God in your life, is it because He’s not there? Because He’s abandoned you? Or because you aren’t looking for Him, seeking His will?

And just because we don’t see Him, or we don’t hear Him, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t follow Him. Even if all we hear is silence, we should strive to follow God, no matter what, without question. It is only when we question, when we take a step back, when we choose not to follow Him, but go our own path, that we stumble and fall.

Think of God like a job. If you need a new job, do you sit on your couch and wait for someone to call you and say you’re hired? Or do you go out and apply for jobs and have interviews? Think of God like dinner. Do you sit at the table and wait for food to just appear? Or do you get up and prepare the food, or go out to a restaurant? The point is, there is work to it. God won’t just show up in our lives. We need to work to seek Him, to find Him, to listen to Him, to obey Him. We can’t be passive Christians. Being a follower of Christ is an active sport. We need to look for Him.

Peter finally sees the need to seek out Aslan instead of waiting for Aslan to come to him. After trying to do everything on his own, resulting in disaster. There’s a scene midway through the movie where several characters trick Caspian into summoning the White Witch to fight King Miraz. Caspian almost succumbs, but not before Peter knocks him out of the way. Peter, seeing the White Witch reaching for him from a wall of ice (acting as a portal for her spirit to reenter Narnia), almost loses himself and considers freeing her, seeing no hope in the battle they are about to be forced into, and seeing her as possibly his last hope. But she is thwarted, and the ice is shattered, and behind it, looking down on Peter, is a stone carving of Aslan himself.

It is only in this moment that Peter realizes the need for Aslan, and begins seeking Aslan, sending his sisters to find him while they attempt to hold off the opposing army. It is at this moment that the tables turn in favor of Peter. It is only here that he begins to succeed.

Only when we seek God will we have victory.

Peter is also a warning. It isn’t enough that we seek God and follow Him. Peter is a prime example of how Christians can lead people astray, if they aren’t following God. When Peter says “I think it’s up to us, now,” all of the siblings, including a reluctant Lucy, go along with him, instead of holding steadfast in their trust of Aslan. We have to be careful, as Christians, to make sure we are setting a good example for others, believers and non-believers alike. We cannot lead those who look to us astray, even if our intentions are good.

I love this franchise. I’ve read a few of the books, and I’ve watched all of the movies. Oddly enough, before I watched Prince Caspian the other day, it was my least favorite in the series. After rewatching all three movies, I can honestly say it is my favorite one, because it spoke to me, it spoke to what I am going through right now.

I am currently in the middle of some sort of resurgence of my faith. I’ve been reading a Bible study focusing on hearing God’s voice, on seeking him out. That I had the urge to watch Prince Caspian out of the blue, despite knowing it was my least favorite, and it having a message that fell directly in line with what I’m learning in the Bible, is no coincidence. It is God, speaking to me. I am starting to look for him, and He is starting to appear to me. In the movies I watch, in the books I read, in the conversations I have. When we seek God, everything falls in line. It is truly amazing.

Trust me, I am still struggling. And life is a struggle, a constant fight against the temptations of sin and the Devil, not unlike the temptations of the White Witch. And it is only through a closeness, a dialogue with Christ that we can fight it and win. Otherwise the struggle will consume us, and we will lose more than we gain.

“Why wouldn’t I have seen him?” “Maybe you weren’t looking.”

Look for God, and you will find Him. It’s that simple. Don’t expect God to come to you when He wants you. You have to want Him, you have to look for Him. Being a believer is not a spectator sport. Seek Him, in all that you do.

Fun Fact: The writers of the three Narnia movies, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, also wrote another famous trilogy of movies, Captain America, the third (and best) of which, Civil War, is now on Blu-Ray.

Extra Tidbit: One of my other favorite moments in this franchise is in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when they reach the shores of Aslan’s Country. Aslan tells Lucy and Edmund that this is the last time they will be in Narnia. Lucy asks if they will ever see him again in our world, to which Aslan replies, “Yes. But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

#narnia #c.s. lewis #prince caspian #the lion the witch and the wardrobe #aslan #peter pevensie #lucy pevensie #god #jesus #bible

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thecoroutfitters · 5 years ago

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A few years back, reporter and journalism teacher Erika Hayasaki traded a couple of e-mails beside me wondering why there weren’t more visible Asian US long-form article writers within the news industry. After speaking about several of our own experiences, we figured an element of the problem wasn’t just deficiencies in variety in newsrooms, but deficiencies in editors who worry enough about representation to proactively just take some authors of color under their wings.

“There has to be much more editors out there who is able to behave as mentors for Asian United states journalists and provide them the freedom to explore and flourish,” we published. Long-form journalism, we noted, is a craft that is honed in the long run and needs patience and thoughtful modifying from editors who care — perhaps perhaps not no more than exactly exactly what tale will be written, but additionally that is composing those stories.

We additionally listed the names of some Asian US article writers who have been doing a bit of actually great long-form work. Aided by the Asian United states Journalists Association meeting presently underway in Atlanta, Georgia (if you’re around, come express hello!), I desired to share with you a few of my personal favorite long-form pieces compiled by Asian US article writers within the last few years that are few.

1. In A perpetual present (Erika Hayasaki, Wired, April 2016)

Susie McKinnon features a seriously deficient autobiographical memory, this means she can’t keep in mind information about her past—or envision what her future might look like.

McKinnon may be the very first individual ever identified with a disorder called seriously lacking memory that is autobiographical. She understands loads of information about her life, but she does not have the capacity to mentally relive any one of it, the manner in which you or i may meander straight back inside our minds and evoke a particular afternoon. She’s got no episodic memories—none of these impressionistic recollections that feel a little like scenes from a film, constantly filmed from your own viewpoint. To modify metaphors: think about memory as being a favorite guide with pages that you come back to once more and once again. Now imagine access that is having to your index. Or perhaps the Wikipedia entry.

2. Paper Tigers (Wesley Yang, New York mag, might 2011)

Wesley Yang’s study of the stereotypes of this Asian American identity and just just just how Asian faces are identified ignited a number of conversations about how precisely we grapple with this upbringings and learn how to survive our very own terms.

I’ve for ages been of two minds about any of it series of stereotypes. Regarding the one hand, it offends me personally significantly that anyone would want to apply them in my opinion, or even to other people, merely on such basis as facial traits. Having said that, in addition it generally seems to me personally there are a complete great deal of Asian individuals to who they use.

I want to summarize my emotions toward Asian values: Fuck filial piety. Fuck grade-grubbing. Fuck Ivy League mania. Fuck deference to authority. Fuck humility and effort. Fuck harmonious relations. Fuck compromising money for hard times. Fuck earnest, striving middle-class servility.

3. How exactly to compose a Memoir While Grieving (Nicole Chung, Longreads, March 2018)

Nicole Chung contemplates loss, use, and working on a novel her late father won’t get to see.

I’ve never quoted Czeslaw Milosz to my parents — “When a writer exists into a grouped household, the household is finished.” — though I’ve been tempted a few times.

But I wasn’t actually born into my adoptive family members. As well as for all my reasoning and currently talking about use through the years, for many my certainty I had never really considered how my adoption — the way I joined my family, and the obvious reason for our many differences — would tint the edges of my grief when I lost one of them that it is not a single event in my past but rather a lifelong story to be reckoned with.

4. Unfollow (Adrian Chen, The Latest Yorker, November 2015)

Just just How social networking changed the thinking of the devout member of the Westboro Baptist Church, which pickets the funerals of homosexual males and of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Phelps-Roper found myself in a extensive debate with Abitbol on Twitter. “Arguing is enjoyable whenever you think you’ve got most of the answers,” she stated. But he had been harder to obtain a bead on than many other critics she had experienced. He had browse the Old Testament in its Hebrew that is original had been conversant into the New Testament also. She was amazed to see which he signed all their websites on Jewlicious because of the handle “ck”—for “christ killer”—as if it had been a badge of honor. Yet she discovered him engaging and funny. “I knew he had been wicked, but he had been friendly, therefore I ended up being specially wary, as you don’t desire to be seduced out of the truth by way of a crafty deceiver,” Phelps-Roper stated.

5. Just what a Fraternity Hazing Death Revealed About the Painful seek out A asian-american identification (Jay Caspian Kang,the latest York occasions Magazine, August 2017)

Jay Caspian Kang reports from the loss of Michael Deng, an university freshman whom passed away while rushing an Asian United states fraternity, and examines the real history of oppression against paper writing service Asians within the U.S. and just how it offers shaped a marginalized identification.

“Asian-American” is just a mostly meaningless term. No body develops speaking Asian-American, nobody sits down seriously to food that is asian-American their Asian-American parents and no body continues on pilgrimages back once again to their motherland of Asian-America. Michael Deng and their fraternity brothers were from Chinese families and spent my youth in Queens, and additionally they have actually absolutely nothing in accordance beside me — an individual who was created in Korea and spent my youth in Boston and new york. We share stereotypes, mostly — tiger mothers, music classes while the unexamined march toward success, but it is defined. My upbringing that is korean discovered, has more in accordance with this associated with the young ones of Jewish and West African immigrants than compared to the Chinese and Japanese into the United States — with who I share just the anxiety that when certainly one of us is set up from the wall surface, one other will likely be standing close to him.

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