I seriously don't understand why this movie isn't connecting with some people. It finished well at the box office on it's first weekend, but besides that point, what a great movie! I knew nothing about the story beforehand. I like Hollywood films, documentaries, indies, foreign films, whatever. I love fantasy/adventure movies, but I usually like them when there is more than just the escape factor. I liked the Harry Potter series; but it's all fun escape and whimsy. I was not a lover of the LOTR series. I felt that those movies were really, really long B movies that they kept trying to pass over on us as qualified A movies because of way too much emphasis on meaningful moments and melodrama and self-importance.
The Golden Compass, for me, rises above the rest because it's not only a swift and fantastic adventure film, but it's really about something. It's for everyone, not just kids. I think most of the negative reviews I've read are just wrong and cynical. And I think that's because so many people think that religion and politics should not be brought up in an "entertainment". The underlying themes of many reviews is, "Please don't make us think!", and that's too bad because this is clearly one of the best movies of the year.
First, it's a beautiful movie to watch and I like that the use of special effects are effective and efficient without being too good, if you know what I mean. Having said that though, there are sequences and little moments that leave you breathless, like when Lyra's daemon embodies a rat and races down a table, jumps off, and quickly morphs into a butterfly when Lyra's got to hide in a closet. And I especially loved the idea of the "daemons" and how they are used in the movie as a sort of sub-conscience and a close confidant of the characters, especially the children, who are precisely at an age where they demand truth and ask big questions and are beginning to flirt with the power of their free will.
Some have said that movie rushes along too quickly. I'm glad for that. This movie is very economical, and it leaves you grasping at points, but I love it because it isn't aware of itself. Unlike LOTR, it has no idea that it's really about epic themes. The characters simply move along, following their values and acting upon their natures.
I was in heaven when the song that plays over the end credits was written and performed by Kate Bush. It clearly reminds us of some of those great songs from other adventure films like Annie Lennox's song in Bram Stroker's Dracula, Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and that song for the Never Ending Story.
Dakota Blue is a find. She's smart and precocious, never poses or panders to us, and fills out the role superbly. It came as a surprise to me how much I was choked up several points in the film when she extends empathy to one of the character's in particular, when she could have chosen to just move on, and how she expresses gratitude in a late scene in the movie.
Read the bad reviews, and then read the good ones, and then go see this movie for yourself. It'll entertain and thrill you, but more than that, it will curiously conjure up feelings of your youth. Exhilarating!
The Golden Compass, for me, rises above the rest because it's not only a swift and fantastic adventure film, but it's really about something. It's for everyone, not just kids. I think most of the negative reviews I've read are just wrong and cynical. And I think that's because so many people think that religion and politics should not be brought up in an "entertainment". The underlying themes of many reviews is, "Please don't make us think!", and that's too bad because this is clearly one of the best movies of the year.
First, it's a beautiful movie to watch and I like that the use of special effects are effective and efficient without being too good, if you know what I mean. Having said that though, there are sequences and little moments that leave you breathless, like when Lyra's daemon embodies a rat and races down a table, jumps off, and quickly morphs into a butterfly when Lyra's got to hide in a closet. And I especially loved the idea of the "daemons" and how they are used in the movie as a sort of sub-conscience and a close confidant of the characters, especially the children, who are precisely at an age where they demand truth and ask big questions and are beginning to flirt with the power of their free will.
Some have said that movie rushes along too quickly. I'm glad for that. This movie is very economical, and it leaves you grasping at points, but I love it because it isn't aware of itself. Unlike LOTR, it has no idea that it's really about epic themes. The characters simply move along, following their values and acting upon their natures.
I was in heaven when the song that plays over the end credits was written and performed by Kate Bush. It clearly reminds us of some of those great songs from other adventure films like Annie Lennox's song in Bram Stroker's Dracula, Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and that song for the Never Ending Story.
Dakota Blue is a find. She's smart and precocious, never poses or panders to us, and fills out the role superbly. It came as a surprise to me how much I was choked up several points in the film when she extends empathy to one of the character's in particular, when she could have chosen to just move on, and how she expresses gratitude in a late scene in the movie.
Read the bad reviews, and then read the good ones, and then go see this movie for yourself. It'll entertain and thrill you, but more than that, it will curiously conjure up feelings of your youth. Exhilarating!