The Golden Compass: DVD, Blu-ray Review (2008)

“The Golden Compass”

Chris Weitz's "The Golden Compass" is undeniably a great-looking movie. A very good Nicole Kidman, for instance, is a golden vision of cinematic perfection, slinking with menace through an otherwise imperfect film stymied by a dense script and a chafe, baited ending that offers more disappointment than satisfaction.

Weitz based his script on the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and he used his $180 million budget to create a world that hovers somewhere between the sterility of science fiction and the richness of fantasy. As a result, the movie can be beautiful and harrowing, but too often, also canned and derivative.

In many ways, "Compass" will remind viewers of 2005's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," a superior film that grabbed audiences from the start with its well-rounded characters and the seamless incorporation of its special effects, which were among that year's best.

Though "Compass" follows "Narnia" in that it created something of a stir within the restless Catholic League, which condemned the movie for what it views as atheist undertones, it otherwise is nowhere on par with "Narnia."

What's missing isn't just a sense of magic to the production and a clear idea of all the evil working to undo young Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), who is in possession of the golden compass of the title, an alethiometer used to mine the truth in all things asked of it. What's critically missing is soul, momentum and a lasting element of danger, all of which would have helped "Compass" match "Narnia's" operatic tone.

About the compass of the title. Lyra receives it from her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig, wasted), who instructs her to keep it hidden from Kidman's Mrs. Coulter, a glam tour-de-force who represents the Magisterium (or the Catholic Church--you decide), and who is all about crushing free will in children.

Helping Lyra fight Coulter and the Magisterium is the warrior polar bear Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellen)--whose battle with Ragnar (Ian McShane) allows the movie its much-needed slice of action--as well as the Gyptians, scores of witches and even Sam Elliott as a gun-toting cowboy. And there’s more--too much more, really--with the movie eventually collapsing beneath the weight of all its unanswered questions.

Grade: C+

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep-Movie, DVD, Blu-ray Review (2008)

“The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” DVD, Blu-ray

Based on Dick King-Smith’s novel (he wrote “Babe”), a fine reimagining of the Loch Ness monster legend. The location is the coast of Scotland, the time is World War II, and the action involves what happens when young, lonely Angus MacMorrow (Alex Atel) comes upon a sizable egg that hatches into a slippery, pecular creature Angus names Crusoe.

While Crusoe grows…and grows…and grows...these two form a fierce friendship, which naturally is threatened by those who fear all that Angus has come to love.

On high-definition, the cinematography is especially noteworthy (the movie was shot in new Zealand). As Angus’ parents, Emily Watson and Ben Chaplin easily override the cliches. As for the family befuddled dog, well, he needs his own movie.

Rated PG. Grade: B

View the trailer below:

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising DVD Review (2008)

"The Seeker: The Dark is Rising"

A mess, though you sense while watching it that it could have been tweaked into something more promising had it not been twisted into something so convoluted.

Alexander Ludwig is Will Stanton, a pouty, 14-year-old American boy living in a small British nowhere with a large family of little flavor.

When into his life come the Light and the Dark--otherwise known as good and evil--Will is pressed into action to keep the dark from rising. Or else, you know, evil with reign.

Guiding him through his dull journey are the Old Ones, with Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane, wasted) and Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy, ditto) informing Will that he has special powers (which he rarely chooses to use) and encouraging him to seek out the six signs of light.

To do so, he must travel through time, find the signs in bouts of chaos, and collect them so he can build a defense against the dark side, which is personified by the Rider (Christopher Eccleston).

Trouble is, since Will is the seventh son of a seventh son, with all that implies, pulling away from the dark side proves something of a challenge--just not a very entertaining one.

Read the full, unedited version of this review here.

Rated PG. Grade: C-

Stardust: DVD Review, HD DVD Review (2007)

“Stardust” DVD, HD DVD

Features as many subplots as there are stars in the sky.

Beyond the extra padding, the good news is that much of the movie is inspired fun. Ian McKellen narrates a movie that stars Charlie Cox as Tristan, a young man who lives within the enclosed hamlet of Wall, where he fancies an unpleasant young woman named Victoria (Sienna Miller), who suggests that if he wants her hand in marriage, he’ll bring her a star they watch fall just outside Wall’s walls.

It’s a dangerous task--outside is a world fraught with dark magic--but Tristan agrees and soon, he’s off to find his star, which turns out to be the lovely Yvaine (Claire Danes), with whom he embarks on a string of romantic adventures.

While none of this is as memorable or as good as "The Princess Bride," which remains a hallmark of the genre, "Stardust" has a strong enough cast to cast you above its unnecessary complications.

The actors are, in fact, having such a grand time of it here, you might find yourself enjoying the movie more for the energy they bring to their performances than for all the machinations that hurl them together. Features amusing co-starring turns by Peter O’Toole (overcome by the wardrobe department), Michelle Pfeiffer as a witch, and Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing pirate.

Rated PG-13. Grade: B

Read the full review here.

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising: Movie Review (2007)

Just between us--you're in a bad movie.

(Originally published 2007)

Directed by David L. Cunningham, written by John Hodge, 98 minutes, rated PG.

"The Seeker: The Dark is Rising" is based on the second in Susan Cooper's award-winning series of books, all unread by me, though given their longevity and popularity (the first appeared in 1965), one assumes the books have a linear quality that hooks and captivates those who come to them.

Too bad those elements are missing from the movie.

Director David L. Cunningham based his film on John Hodge's frenetic, uneven screen adaptation and what he has on his hands is a soulless mess, though you sense while watching it that it could have been tweaked into something more promising had it not been twisted into something so convoluted.

Several things are at work against it, from Geoffrey Rowland and Eric Sears' scattershot editing, which feels as if they cut the movie by tossing it into a Cuisinart, and Hodge's script, which disappoints in how many plot points it either glosses over or leaves unanswered.

The film stars Alexander Ludwig as Will Stanton, a pouty, 14-year-old American boy living in a small British nowhere with a large family of little flavor. When into his life come the Light and the Dark--otherwise known as good and evil--Will is pressed into action to keep the dark from rising. Otherwise, you know, evil with reign.

Guiding him through his journey are the Old Ones, with Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane, wasted) and Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy, ditto) informing Will that he has special powers (which he rarely chooses to use) and encouraging him to seek out the six signs of light. To do so, he must travel through time, find the signs in bouts of chaos, and collect them so he can build a defense against the dark side, which is personified by the Rider (Christopher Eccleston).

Trouble is, since Will is the seventh son of a seventh son, with all that implies, pulling away from the dark side proves something of a challenge--just not a very entertaining one.

Sure, he comes up against any number of battles as he secures each amulet of light, but it's never a compelling struggle or, for that matter, a believable one. The movie makes it all too easy for him. You never once fear for Will's life or question whether he'll come through. He just does. And then he just does so again.

Worse is the film's timing. Cooper's books may have been conceived long before the "Harry Potter" franchise took root, but the comparisons can't be helped--they might as well be a cow bell clanging in the theater--and as such, they unhinge the movie, ironically shedding light on just how dim this film about light and dark really is.

Grade: C-

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Movie & DVD Review (2002)

Hot tempers, pimples amid the spells

(Originally published 2002)

Imagine suffering the sort of hellish childhood Harry Potter has had to endure--the murder of his parents by the vicious Lord Voldemont, the feeling of being unwanted and unloved by his abusive relatives, a lightning bolt scar on his forehead and, when this review was originally written in 2002, the official condemnation of Maine's own Jesus Party.

Sure, that last one is worth a snort and a giggle, but when you add it all up, the totality of Harry's situation is enough to make any Muggle feel like a Mudblood.

Mr. Potter's gift--and the main reason he remains so popular--is that he has the courage to carry on in spite of life's potholes, rising above the seemingly insurmountable lows of his situation to scale new highs on his way to becoming a young man.

Getting there has been a tough scrabble, for sure, one peppered with a host of obstacles, such as giant spiders run amok, a towering serpent with a mean bite and a chess game gone berserk. But as "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" proves, it's an imaginative, often entertaining journey into self-realization that's been well worth the trip.

As the film opens, young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasely (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn that evil is looming deep within Hogwarts' Chamber of Secrets. Just what that evil is won't be revealed here, but it's potent and it's dark, just colorful enough to spark dread in any 8-year-old while keeping their parents pleasantly entertained.

The episodic storyline that ensues crams in as much of the book's more dramatic elements as possible while, in the process, sacrificing almost all of its subtlety, just as in the last film. Indeed, director Chris Columbus' focus is less on the book's more introspective moments than on the sort of crowd-pleasing scenes that tend to make a nearly three-hour movie seem more like two hours. Aiding that cause is production designer Stuart Craig, whose rich, beautiful sets are complex and interesting even during those moments when the film is neither.

Fortunately, “Secrets” allows Columbus the opportunity to freshen the pot with Rowling’s new characters, from Kenneth Branagh’s Gilderoy Lockhart, a preening wizard whose ego knows no bounds, to Jason Isaacs’ duplicitous Lucius Malfoy and the bathroom-dwelling Moaning Myrtle (Julie Walters Henderson), a dead girl with a hot temper who steals each scene she’s in.

With Robbie Coltrane back as Hagrid, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape and Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, it’s Richard Harris’ posthumous performance as Prof. Albus Dumbledore that gives the film its unexpected emotional weight and its bittersweet undercurrent. The actor, who died three weeks before the film’s theatrical release, effortlessly grounds the movie, balancing Columbus’ frequently hysterical mood with the stalwart calm and reserve it needs.

Grade: B+

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Movie & DVD Review (2005)

Growing pains

(Originally published 2005)

The new Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” is the first film in the series to mark a turning point in terms of quality of direction and storytelling. The movie is little more than a bridge, connecting the three previous Potters to the final installments yet to come. That might be enough for some, who will delight in the film’s handful of undeniably terrific scenes. But for hardcore fans of the series, the movie might leave them wanting.

Following the excellent last film, “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Goblet” leaches further into the dark throes of adolescence, which complicates the proceedings considerably.

Working from Steve Kloves’ script, director Mike Newell deepens the questions raised in “Azkaban” by wondering what magic exists during one’s teen years--an awkward time, to say the least, in which bodies change, sexuality awakens and disillusionment takes hold.

Many will argue that there is plenty of magic to be had when you’re, say, 14 years old, as is the case with Harry and company. Rowling would agree, particularly in matters of friendship and of the heart. But as childhood waxes into adulthood, Rowling also sees the inherent dangers of such a time, the uneasiness of it, as well as its fragility.

For her characters, whose turbulent lives are likely less envied now than they were at the series’ start, this shift into adolescence is compounded exponentially. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) must not only deal with the onset of pimples, mood swings and hormones, but also with evil forces they don’t understand and with powers they have yet to fully realize. While carrying a wand and learning the occasional magic trick might have initially sounded fun to some, the “Potter” franchise has shown both to be a considerable liability.

That’s certainly the case here. With the exception of the scenes foreshadowing Lord Voldemort’s inevitable appearance toward the end, the movie mainly is concerned with the Triwizard Tournament, in which Harry mysteriously finds himself competing in spite of the fact that he’s three years younger than the required age limit. Nevertheless, the Goblet of Fire has coughed up his name as a contestant, which leads to three potentially deadly competitions between older students from Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons.

It’s the deadly part that helped “Goblet” to earn its PG-13 rating. Some of the images likely will be just enough to push a young mudblood over the edge. Parents of those children who warmed to the less-violent first films might want to take note should their junior or little miss be of the timid sort--“The Goblet of Fire” has blood up its sleeve, and it isn’t afraid to spill it. Here is a movie in which nearly dead children are chained to a watery deep, where they might drown if not reached in time, and where one unlucky person finds herself rooted to a rather disturbing, smothering undoing.

Older fans will dig those scenes, not to mention Harry’s harrowing battle with a fire-breathing dragon, which is so well done, it raises the bar for computer-generated special effects. And everyone should enjoy the introduction of Brendan Gleeson’s Mad-Eye Moody, which is a high point, as is the budding love affair between Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and the towering Madame Maxine (Frances De La Tour), the headmistress of Beauxbatons, who resembles Lily Tomlin, but on steroids. She’s fantastic, as is the return of the washroom-dwelling Moaning Myrtle, a dreadfully flirty girl someone could have a good time with if she weren’t quite so creepy and, well, quite so dead.

Still, there’s no denying that too much of “Goblet” is just filler stringing us along to the all-important ending. Finally, in the last quarter of the film, we get the goods. Harry faces in person the man responsible for murdering his parents and who has long been determined to kill him--the vicious Voldemort, who is played by an unrecognizable Ralph Fiennes with the sort of sauce and vigor that almost makes you forget that this overly long, episodic movie has been the weakest of the series.

Grade: B-

Harry Potter and the Scorcerer's Stone: Movie & DVD Review (2001)

A franchise takes flight

(Originally published 2001)

After all the hype, the escalating expectations, the sold-out shows, the lines (the lines, good grief, the lines), and the crackling sense of hysteria that continues to border on the uncontainable, Chris Columbus' adaptation of J. K. Rowling's first novel, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," cast its spell on audiences over the weekend--to the delight of Muggles everywhere.

In what's easily the biggest event movie since 1999's "Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace" (Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor" doesn't come close), "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is two-and-a-half hours of rollicking adventure, magic, wizardry and fun.

From the start, the film plunges audiences into a world so richly atmospheric and imaginative, so grand in scale yet absolutely specific in detail, its $125 million budget seems like the bargain of the year.

Or at least it will when the film finishes breaking box-office records.

Rising to the overwhelming task at hand, Columbus (“Home Alone,” “Stepmom,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”) has created a good deal of magic of his own.

He’s captured the tone of Rowling’s novel and brought it to life. That’s no small feat, but when you see the movie, it’s clear how much the director has toiled and worried over everything, from Steve Kloves’ snappy script to Stuart Craig’s Academy-Award worthy set design and Judianna Makovsky’s superb costumes.

The work paid off. With the exception of Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, who was disposed of in the book but not in the movie, every major scene, defining moment and element seems to be here--the moving staircases, the towering trolls, the thrilling game of Quidditch, the frumpy Sorting Hat, the three-headed dog, the Mirror of Erised, the heart-stopping game of chess and hidden Platform 9 3/4.

Given the movie’s lengthy running time, there are moments when it feels a bit long in the wand. But considering the alternative--removing key scenes at the risk of disappointing the book’s 100-plus million fans--Columbus wisely respects Rowling’s vision and her much-publicized concerns that the movie mirror her words.

For those who have been locked beneath a stairwell of their own for the past several years, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is the story of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), a bespectacled orphan with a lightening bolt scar on his forehead whose parents were murdered by Lord Voldemont, a man so evil, his name is rarely spoken.

Raised by his vicious, verbally abusive relatives--Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw), Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and their piggish son, Dudley (Harry Melling)--Harry discovers on his 11th birthday that he’s no mere mortal but a wizard.

Swept away by the gentle giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), he eventually lands at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he befriends two classmates, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), makes an enemy out of the spoiled little brat Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), and learns things about himself and the world that promise to forever change his life.

Indeed, as Hagrid warns Harry early on, “Not all wizards are good, Harry--some of them go bad.”

With Maggie Smith as Prof. Minerva McGonagall, Richard Harris as Hogwarts’ headmaster Dumbledore, Alan Rickman as Snape, Ian Hart as Prof. Quirrell and John Hurt in a brief yet terrific performance as the wandmaster Ollivander, “Harry Potter’s” all-British cast gets to the root of what made the book work so well--its relationships.

The child actors, in particular, are very good. As Harry, Radcliffe seems tailor-made for the part, easily resembling the books’ illustrations and Rowling’s physical descriptions.

But just as important is that he also captures the essence of what makes Harry Harry--his anxieties and fears, his sense of wonder and sadness, his courage, naivete, humility and heart.

With newcomers Grint and Watson at his side, these three make an entertaining trio as they go about their adventures and try to keep the Sorcerer’s Stone out of the wrong hands. Their bond is one of the movie’s best assets, certainly the soul of the story, and it’s to Columbus’ great credit that their friendship doesn’t seem manufactured for the screen. If that genuineness lifted the book, it also ignites the movie, a sequel of which, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” is already shooting for a 2002 release.

Grade: B 3/4

The Fountain: Movie, DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray Review (2006)

Pretty...dull

(Originally published 2006)

Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain" is high-concept, metaphysical trash that shoots for the heavens--literally--but which likely will leave some wondering how they paid eight bucks to walk through the doors of hell.

Aronofsky ("Pi," "Requiem for a Dream") wrote and directed this long-delayed film as if he just tossed back a few hallucinogenic mushrooms--and then tossed back a few more. His film is so lofty, confusing and pretentious, it floats free from the director's grasp into a haze of computer-generated imagery that's lovely to look at, for sure, but which comes to mean nothing. Almost every frame of this movie is designed to achieve a kind of tidy physical symmetry while the busy plot, poor thing, is left to molder in soft focus.

The movie features three interweaving story lines, none of them satisfying because none does what Aronofsky intends them to do--form a meaningful, cohesive whole. Oh, you can see the connections--they're written all over the screen--but are you moved by them the way Aronofsky intends to move you? Maybe if you're from the Mayan underworld Xibalba--but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The film stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in three roles, which in brief go like this--in the 16th century, Jackman is the hirsute Spanish conquistador Tomas, who is charged by the beautiful Queen Isabella (Weisz) to find the Fountain of Youth in Central America. Why? One suspects because Chanel or Lancome had yet to set up shop, but there are other reasons, which we'll leave for you.

In the present, Jackman is the scientist Tommy, who is fighting to stop the "disease of death" from killing his ill wife, Izzi (Weisz), who is suffering from a brain tumor. To do so, he also will need to find the key to eternal youth in an effort to keep her alive. This is the most fully realized and potentially interesting part of the movie (it features Ellen Burstyn as Tommy's boss), though Aronofsky squanders it by making Tommy and Izzi so irritatingly dull, and by interrupting their story with that of another.

Cut to the 26th century, where Jackman now is Tom, a bald bloke who floats in a bubble and eats bark from the Biblical Tree of Life. Trippy? Sure, particularly since he sails around space in the lotus position and comes to have a thing for flowers best not revealed here.

So, what does it all mean? On some obscure level, Aronofsky seems to be probing how life blooms within the not-so-absolute process of death, but it's never made clear in the malaise of undercurrents that sink the show, and only the most curious and patient will care.

In this movie, we're not offered the red pill or the blue pill to ponder the meaning of life, death, the afterlife and alternative universes. Instead, we're offered thick white sap from a breathing hairy tree. Best not to lap it, as Tom does--and best not to see the movie.

Grade: D+

Pan's Labyrinth: Movie & DVD Review (2006)

Through the maze of one harrowing childhood

(Originally published 2006)

Guillermo del Toro’s excellent new film, "Pan’s Labyrinth," is a violent, enthralling children’s movie made for adults.

Let’s underscore that. As much as the movie appears to be for children — and as much as it has to say about childhood — it is not for children. Its backdrop is a fascist nightmare that bleeds horror with an ease that’s unsettling.

On one level, the film is about the wonders of childhood, but on a deeper, more profound level, it’s about the risks inherent in childhood, which can be dire, particularly where fantasy is involved.

From del Toro’s own script, the film understands that for a child thrown into emotional turmoil, fantasy often is the only reasonable, accessible escape. The trouble is that for those who do give themselves over to it, unwittingly or not, the borders between what’s real and what isn’t can become dangerously blurred.

Such is the case for the film’s 10-year-old lead character Ofelia (the marvelous Ivana Baquero), who in 1944 Spain finds herself fatherless in the wake of that country’s civil war, uprooted from her home and now on a journey to Northern Spain with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil).

Carmen is the recent wife of fascist leader Capt. Vidal (Sergi Lopez), a vicious man who instills in Ofelia such fear, she retreats into what at first appears to be the comparative safety of a fairy-tale world. But when it becomes clear to her that her mother is so ill, she might not live through the pregnancy, and when Ofelia realizes that Vidal routinely is murdering those rising up against him and his political beliefs, her fairy-tale world takes a turn into darkness, with the faun Pan (Doug Jones) repeatedly offering her choices that threaten her life.

With its broad echoes of "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," not to mention the bleakest works by The Brothers Grimm, the movie also scores in a subplot involving Vidal’s doctor (Alex Angulo) and housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu). Each are anti-fascist insiders working against Vidal’s regime, which heightens the suspense as their game of chess is played out.

In the end, "Pan’s Labyrinth" is one of last year’s best films, a movie that’s so good — so richly imagined, satisfying and real in spite of Eugenio Caballero’s beautifully surreal production design — that it will be nominated for the Academy Award it might just win: Best Foreign Language Film.

Grade: A

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Movie & DVD Review (2005)

Rhymes with witch

(Originally published 2005)

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" startles with the intensity of its violence, which is surprising given its PG rating; the dramatic pull of its characters, which grab hold from the start; and the seamless incorporation of the special effects, which are among the year's best.

From director Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the script with Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, this stirring epic based on C.S. Lewis' children's book is filled with masterful touches that resonate. It likely will launch a new Disney franchise, so there is every reason to take note if what's to come is anywhere near as good as this.

As the film opens, we're in the midst of World War II, the place is London, bombs are exploding and the blitz is on, with the four Pevensie siblings--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--being whisked out of their home by their mother for the safety of the countryside.

There, in the large manor house to which the children retreat, they allegedly will be safe from war. But when the youngest child, Lucy, steals into a room that holds a wardrobe hidden beneath a tossed sheet, curiosity leads her inside, where she finds beyond the mass of fur coats a magical world of great beauty and greater danger.

The danger rests in the wicked Valkyrie warrior, Jadis (Tilda Swinton)--the formidable White Witch with the bleached skin, the black eyes, the jagged icicles for a crown--who has put the kaputs on Christmas throughout this netherworld called Narnia.

This most bitter, hateful of queens has turned Narnia into a snow-white wonderland frozen to its core, with its inhabitants--talking animals, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, and any number of other assorted beasts, particularly two chatty, lovable beavers--eager to defeat her.

To do so, they will need the help of the Pevensie children, who must dig deep within themselves to find the necessary mettle to join forces with the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) and his army. A ferocious war ignites, with the White Witch rising to her full power and the Pevensies unable to escape their share of tragic consequences or some difficulty thanks to Edmund, who goes wrong in ways that won't be revealed here.

Alongside the trilogy to which it will be compared--Peter Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series--"Narnia" stands tall, building to an almost operatic tone. The comparisons are fitting since Lewis was a close friend of Tolkien's while each was teaching at Oxford. For those who have read the books, seen the movies or both, you have to wonder what was in the water at Oxford during the 1950s, when each man was crafting his tale. Whatever it was--likely a hallucinogen given the subjects at hand--when you fall into the worlds they created, you come away grateful for it.

Grade: A

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: DVD & Movie Review (2004)

A foreboding sense of darkness this way comes

(Originally published 2004)

In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," the childlike whimsy of the two previous Potters is dead, replaced by an encroaching loss of innocence and a foreboding sense of darkness. The result is a new punch of life for the series.

Bleeding into every corner of this accomplished third installment in J.K. Rowling's popular run of novels is a greater presence of evil. That may make for less jaunty entertainment, but it also makes for greater measures of depth and intrigue.

Unlike its predecessors, this Potter doesn't feel pressed to satisfy audiences with kitschy thrills and wide-eyed wonderment.

As directed by Alfonso Cuaron ("The Little Princess," "Y Tu Mama Tambien"), who takes the reins from Chris Columbus, "Azkaban" makes a clear statement: kiddie time is over, folks. Time to get down to the real meat of the story and deal with the ugliness Harry must face as he and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, are vaulted deeper into Rowling's uneasy mystery.

Based on a screenplay by Steve Kloves, the film opens with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) once again dealing with his vicious relatives, the Dursleys.

After casting a spell that leaves his Aunt Marge (Pam Ferris) flying high like a blimp, Harry is off to Hogwarts. There, he learns that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) - the murderous lout who helped Lord Voldemort kill Harry's parents - has escaped from Azkaban prison and might be out to kill Harry.

Worse for Harry is that Azkaban's prison guards - a menacing crew of soul-sucking ghouls called the Dementors - have taken to the skies in an effort to find Black. This naturally leads them to Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), who must rely on themselves and on each other to survive the impending doom.

Several new characters add zest to the already saucy mix, including Emma Thompson as the bumbling Prof. Sybil Trelawney, David Thewlis as the mysterious Prof. Lupin and Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, who begins the movie as something a wee bit different than how he ends it.

Also giving the film a lift, quite literally, is the Hippogriff, a grand, mythical cross between a horse and a bird. Harry's first flight with the beast is the movie at its best, an exhilarating high point only matched by a stormy game of Quidditch.

Returning to the fold are Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape and Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, all of whom anchor this grim, grainy-looking film with an air of familiarity. Michael Gambon's dry turn as Prof. Albus Dumbledore gives the movie an unexpected, bittersweet undercurrent.

Gambon took over the role for Richard Harris, who died three weeks before the last film's release. He's just right here, a nice addition to a cast of characters charged with the hell that is their adolescence, with no recourse but a handful of "spellsand" - in this movie, a helpful dose of time travel - to see them through it.

Grade: A-

Eragon: Movie, DVD & Blu-ray disc Review (2007)

Tolkien lite.

This mediocre fantasy movie based on Christopher Paolini’s best-selling novel encourages comparisons to the “Lord of the Rings” series, which is part of its problem. Too much of it is derivative. The dialogue is SPAM.

That said, the film is technically accomplished, with excellence achieved in the digital creation of the dragon Saphira (voice of Rachel Weisz)--she's a beauty and her flights with Eragon (Edward Speleers), the boy who found her, are the movie at its best.

With John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle, Edward Speleers and Jeremy Irons. Directed, rather fittingly, by Stefan Fangmeir.

Rated PG. Grade: C

Stardust: Movie Review

"Stardust"

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Neil Gaiman, based on his novel, 122 minutes, rated PG-13.

The new Matthew Vaughn movie, "Stardust," seems to have as many subplots as there are stars in the sky. Connecting them is easy enough, but this great-looking, well-acted fairy tale could have been a lot leaner and narratively cleaner had it used one of its many swords to trim the fat from its script.

Neil Gaiman based the screenplay on his illustrated novel and approached "Stardust" with the idea that what worked well within the pages of a book would work well on-screen. It’s tough to blame him — the sourcebook is a winner. But as a film, "Stardust" just as easily could have been titled "Starburst."

Beyond the extra padding, though, the good news is that much of the movie is inspired fun.

Ian McKellen narrates a film that stars Charlie Cox as Tristan, a young man who lives within the enclosed hamlet of Wall, where he fancies an unpleasant young woman named Victoria (Sienna Miller), who views Tristan as a bumbling curiosity.

Though she has eyes for another man — a prickly snob with money and power — Victoria is so amused by Tristan’s attention, she agrees to marry him if he brings her a star they watch fall just outside Wall’s walls. She gives him one week. Otherwise, her hand will be clutched by another in marriage.

Though leaving Wall is prohibited because of the dangers involved — outside is a world fraught with dark magic — Tristan agrees. Soon, he’s off to find his star, which turns out to be the lovely Yvaine (Claire Danes), with whom he embarks on a string of romantic adventures.

Squeezing around them is a hive of competing story lines. There’s the dying king of Stormhold (Peter O’Toole, overcome by the wardrobe department), whose remaining three sons are vying for his crown and who will stop at nothing, including murder, to get it. (The king’s other four sons, all dead, are in a kind of black-and-white purgatory; they prove the movie’s comic highlight.)

There’s Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer, scoring again after her excellent turn in "Hairspray"), a wrinkled old witch who is determined, along with her two sisters, to capture Yvaine and feast on her heart. Doing so will restore their youth in ways that Botox, for instance, simply couldn’t.

Finally, there’s Capt. Shakespeare (Robert De Niro), a cross-dressing pirate who takes to Tristan and Yvaine in ways that guide them through some of the dangers that befall them. One of the chief threats is Prince Septimus (Mark Strong), who needs the necklace Yvaine wears in order to become king, and who joins the cavalcade of evil that gathers to fell her.

While none of this is as memorable or as good as "The Princess Bride," which remains a hallmark of the genre, "Stardust" has a strong enough cast to cast you way above its unnecessary complications. The actors are, in fact, having such a grand time of it here, you might find yourself enjoying the movie more for the energy they bring to their performances than for all the machinations that hurl them together.

Grade: B