lati Reviews

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

An enjoyable fantasy film

[7/10 · 29 June 2006]

I haven't read the Narnia books so I didn't know what to expect about the movie. Surprisingly, The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe was an enjoyable and lovely picture. It was not the best fantasy film I have seen but I liked it very much.

The story was very typical but well-made and compelling. There were some very impressive and touching scenes although some of them were too scary for kids. It's same with Potter movies: they're meant for children but sometimes, at their scariest moments, you start to think if they're really suitable for kids. Or maybe I just overreact. Anyway, this movie really made a huge impact to me.

Especially I liked the warmth of the story. It was visually stunning and good-looking but it also had a heart and a soul. I really cared the characters and felt sadness and joy when they felt it too. That's something that you don't find the Potter movies. Also the world of Narnia was charming and full of the sense of wonder. It was very easy to me to be wrapped up in this magical land of miracles.

Kids were good in their roles. Also Tilda Swinton was excellent as the White Witch. I liked the way she played the role: no shouting or exaggerating looks but unassuming and well-balanced performance which made her character very scary. Instead, Jim Broadbent was just the annoying professor.

However, the movie was not perfect. I think it was quite over-long. Especially in the middle of the movie story didn't seem to move on. Also some of the funny lines were unnecessary and even stupid. I was not satisfied the ending. It was too over the top. (Okay, this is the fantasy movie but still it was too silly, even for fantasy!)

Some of viewers have criticized The Witch,etc. because its Christianity. Well, I'm not a devout Christian and I don't like too religious movies. Still, I didn't feel Narnia's Christianity irritating or too preaching. I think it was well integrated to the story and filmmakers didn't underline it too much. Besides, the movie can be watched even without thinking its Christian message.

Conclusion: The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe is better than most of Potter movies but cannot match the LOTR -trilogy.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

The best of the Potter movies but not perfect

[7/10 · 27 June 2006]

Three first Potter movies were disappointments. The first two were just boring and the third one was imbalanced. So, I didn't expect much of the Goblet of Fire. Surprisingly it appeared to be a quite good movie.

The best thing about TGOF is that it's a coherent and straightforward picture. The story just doesn't jump from scene to scene without even trying to make a complete and logical movie. That was a problem with the three first picture. But in TGOF story moves on easily and it's well-built and understandable. Of course they have had to delete many of the characters and story lines, but I think is a good thing. The world of Harry Potter may now seem more limited than in books but the movie works better when there are no too more subplots and filmmakers can concentrate to the main story.

The movie is action-packed and there are none boring moments. Although it's over 150 minutes long, it never felt too long and that's a good thing about movies that are as long. The critical points of the story are made well and effectively. Especially I like the Yule Ball scene. It captives funny and understandably the first steps on relations between teenager boys and girls, when their hormones are running and the opposite gender are beginning to be interested in but they're still too inexperienced to handle this.

Of course, TGOF has its flaws.It's still too superficial view to the world of Harry Potter. It also suppose that viewers have read the book so it does not explain well some very important moments. The ones, who have not read the novel, may be very lost when watching picture. I was also disappointed about ending. It was just too easy. In the book, end was dark and it makes you shiver. In the movie, you just felt that nothing important really happened. Also characters act like everything that happened really meant nothing.

I am very unsatisfied the young actors. Radcliffe is still monotonous as Harry, and Watson and Grint overact. The adult actors instead are good in their roles. Two of them deserves a special mention: Gleason is hilarious as Moody and Fiennes is a marvelous Voldemort. He apparently scares the hell out of kids.

In conclusion, TGOF is the best Potter movie but not the perfect one. The book is, again, much much better.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

Jolie rules!

[7/10 · 3 December 2001]

Ok, Tomb Raider may not be the greatest action film I have seen but it still is a quite good movie. Although it has borrowed the elements from Indiana Jones -films and its story is very flimsy, Tomb Raider was a fast-moving and enjoyable picture which has a great and striking action scenes. The best thing in a whole movie was of course Angelina Jolie. She did a great work as Lara, not only portraying her as a

hard-boiled fighter but also a sensitive woman. So, although movie is typical and imperfect, it is watchable especially for Jolie and

action sequences.