Comments | ravenclaw42: more than we'd expected, less than we'd hoped

ravenclaw42

more than we'd expected, less than we'd hoped

Dec 07, 2007 22:33

Spoilers.

I have mixed feelings about the Golden Compass movie. It was good. Solid. I hope it does make kids want to read the books. ( The books are better, as is usually the case. )

Comments 9

terioncalling December 8 2007, 17:40:32 UTC

Well...I am intrigued by the books now. But the whole "zomg, its against the CHURCH, kill eeeeeet" thing...what is with that? Because of that crap, the whole of Gat's side of the family got warned off going to see it.

Why, oh why, can't people just appreciate movie's - and books - as they are and not find the meaning in them or whatever then blow the whole shebang out of proportion? DX

And that is uuber suckage on the ending.

ravenclaw42 December 11 2007, 07:35:17 UTC

Oh, read the books. They're so good. And the books are very much against organized religion, but they're utterly, utterly for personal spirituality. The Archbishop of Canterbury is actually a big advocate of Christians reading these books to reaffirm their personal relationships with the divine -- the books make you question the benefit of taking orders, of believing what people tell you to believe, but they also make you understand what is really valuable. The obvious things that people somehow miss -- love, hope, perseverance, growing into yourself ( ... )

tiggymalvern December 11 2007, 04:20:05 UTC

We were really shocked and puzzled by the way they ditched the ending too - WTF? The film just sort of drifts off into a bland nothingness with no real 'Wow.' A film like that needs a big wow ending that leaves people desperate to see the sequels, and it was left to fizzle out ( ... )

ravenclaw42 December 11 2007, 07:51:13 UTC

I don't really see how the ending of Golden Compass (the book) is any different from the ending of the first LotR movie. You could transpose Sam & Frodo's dialogue onto Lyra and Pan as they walk onto the bridge of light, and almost have the exact same ending. And it's not as if the Rings movies did poorly. Granted, I know that because the Compass people aren't filming all three at once, it's different... the next one depends on if this one succeeds or not, etc etc. But I just think they aren't trusting their audience enough. And since it's a big epic that I'm emotionally attached to in the first place... I find it hard to like the movie if I feel like the people who made it didn't trust me ( ... )

WTF Revisited mark_mimi December 11 2007, 04:58:58 UTC

Okay, first just let me say that the idea of Iorek as a peppermint flavored candy had me rolling. And as we are on Iorek, I shall start here. To quote my fab manager at the movies "WTF!?! did that bear seriously just rip off the other one's jaw and eat his throat?" At which point I leaned over and said, "Yes. But at least they cut the part where he eats the heart." Seriously, though Pullman's inclusion of graphic violence, painted in a heroic light has troubled me for some time and it was no different with the movie ( ... )

Re: WTF Revisited ravenclaw42 December 11 2007, 08:22:45 UTC

Mmm, you know how our opinions differ. Truce. ^_^.

Graphic violence: I always read these books as a sort of intentional inverse of the perfect children's fairytale. So I never thought Pullman painted violence in a heroic light. Because Lyra likes the violence, and she isn't painted in a heroic light -- she is, in his own words, unimaginative and manipulative. I liked the violence of Iorek because it showed how alien he was, not because it was supposed to be desirable ( ... )

Re: WTF Revisited mark_mimi December 11 2007, 20:34:33 UTC

Ha...who would have thought that I'd prefer a happy ending and you the bittersweet...I am such a sad little sappy fangirl. You know we will never agree on anything and that is what is very cool about us.

As to your soapbox, rant on my friend. I totally agree with the age-marketing thing. I run into the same problem with YA books. Gossip Girl anyone?

Lastly, *yay* thanks very much in advance for the Christmas present. I'm so excited to see it!

Re: WTF Revisited ravenclaw42 December 12 2007, 01:48:11 UTC

It's a different present than the one I told you, so it'll be a surprise. :D It's soooo much fun. I'm gonna make one for myself, but slightly different. Hah, have fun trying to figure that one out. *lips sealed*

mark_mimi December 12 2007, 04:46:33 UTC

You are seriously evil! I'm never going to guess what it is and you know it ( ... )