Review: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER

The Narnia films have served as child-friendly option to Lord of the Rings; that is what they are and they are honest about it. The first two books (or second and fourth depending the order you prefer) had a very straight forward formula: there is trouble in a magical kingdom, human kids are magically transported there, they face great odds followed by an epic battle, and Aslan appears at the very last minute to save the day; Voyage of the Dawn Treader, however, is quite different. The third (or fifth) book is more of a travelogue across a sea of wonders than the battle for the kingdom, like its predecessors were. And I can understand why adapting this installment would be a greater challenge than the first two. Sadly, the filmmakers did not live up to the challenge. By collapsing the story to serve formula, and not taking the time to appreciate the world of Narnia like its predecessors Voyage of the Dawn Treader turns out to be a very unimaginative film. This is very disappointing because the book is possibly the most imaginative and surreal of the whole series.

Review: ROBIN HOOD

Ridley Scott’s new version of the Robin Hood story has a little bit of Gladiator, a little bit of Kingdom of Heaven, a little bit of Saving Private Ryan, a little bit of Elizabeth, a little bit from The Patriot and a little bit of King Arthur, but almost nothing related to Robin Hood. The film is certainly well made but this is not what I was expecting.