Movie Reviews

I meant to write a review of Pride and Prejudice after seeing it when I went home for Veterans' Day weekend, but somehow time got away from me and I never got around to writing it. When I went home for Christmas, I went to see Narnia with my family. So I figure it's about time to write the reviews...

Pride and Prejudice
I liked it, but I think it had more do do with my love of the story itself than any admiration for the acting or creative license taken. Though I thought Keira Knightly did a good job as Elizabeth, my favorite actress for this part will always be Greer Garson, who's quick wit and sharp tongue in the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice is the reason I fell in love with Jane Austen's books. No one can ever play Mr. Darcy the way Colin Firth did, so Matthew MacFadyen did not have a chance with me. The background and landscape were done much better than the A&E version and Mr. Darcey's proposals to Elizabeth were done in a more romantic setting. I was not quite sure why the movie was rated PG. The only part of the story that is at all risqu'e is the Lydia affair, which this version barely addresses. I suppose to be politically correct, they did not want to get into the fact that an unmarried woman, living with a man is wrong. This change is actually detrimenal to the story because it changes Mr. Darcy's actions from great sacrifice to a kindness, of which any rich man is capable. Like I said in the beginning, I liked it, but it does not compare with the book.

Narnia
C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, so when I heard Disney was making a movie of "The Lion, the Which, and the Wardrobe," I was both excited and disappointed... excited because I love to see a good book turned into a good movie, and disappointed because I hate to see a good book turned into a bad movie. I was afraid that Disney would destroy the whole thing by taking out the whole spiritual side of the story. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised that all the important parts were left in, though some of my favorite scenes were left out. The death and resurrection of Aslan were done very well, and the idea of the innocent dying to save the sinner was crystal clear. For those looking for spiritual meaning in the movie, it will be evident. However, for those who are merely going for the sake of entertainment, the deeper meaning will be lost on them. It will be just another movie about witches and supernatural powers, like Harry Potter, or anything else in that line.