This week’s sole wide release is the highly anticipated "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Will the film garner the lion’s share of accolades?
Once "The Lord of the Rings" became a hot cinematic property, it was inevitable that Hollywood would turn to Tolkien’s friend and fellow fantasist C.S. Lewis and give his "The Chronicles of Narnia" for epic big screen treatment. It’s got a built-in fan base, fantastical lands and creatures, and a grand quest. Critics say that although this is no "Lord of the Rings" (what is?), Andrew Adamson‘s film is largely a winner, filled with wondrous, phantasmagoric images, and deft acting. Though there are some complaints about the film’s length (140 minutes) and some quibbles about the CGI effects, the scribes say fans will be pleased with "Narnia"’s adherence to, and in some cases improvement upon, the source material. At 78 percent on the Tomatometer, it’s looking like the season of the "Witch." The "Narnia" series is off to a good start, as the first film is Certified Fresh.
In a completely unrelated note, I want to congratulate both almeisan and Galaxyfilms22 for their correct "Aeon Flux" Tomatometer predictions of 10 percent. As promised, you do indeed win props from Critical Consensus. However, a word of warning: Don’t let the studios know about your Tomatometer crystal balls, because they might go to sinister lengths to get their hands on them. Additional props to rockstarfrank (who I assume is male) for his astute, insightful assessment of "Flux": ‘This will clearly be one of the greatest movies in the history of mankind. I mean the grass attacks, people. The grass attacks!’ Well put, Frank. The grass attacks, indeed.
Recent Children’s Book Adaptations:
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88% — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
75% — Zathura (2005)
83% — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
57% — The Polar Express (2004)
71% — Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
