 January
2006
This month's reviews:
Three Worthwhile New Movies.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and
the Wardrobe lives up to most of the recent hype. It has the
sweep of The Lord of the Rings and contains many
goose-bump-inducing moments. Narnia dramatizes the essence of
the gospel of Jesus Christ in a compelling way.
During the German bombing of England in World War II, four
British children are sent by their mother to stay at a mansion in
the countryside. While the children are playing hide and seek in the
house one rainy day, they discover that a mysterious wardrobe
upstairs is the gateway to the strange and enchanted land of Narnia.
Once they conquer their disbelief, they become warriors in the
battle between good and evil. They meet many sympathetic characters
and eventually come to know Aslan the Lion, who represents Jesus.
They also encounter Jadis the wicked Witch, who represents evil.
I have a few quibbles, mostly with the acting. For one thing, not
all of the children are strong or convincing actors. For another,
the Witch is simply not evil enough. Overall, though, the film is
right on target. The scene where Aslan is killed on a stone slab is
powerful and moving; the splitting of the stone table parallels the
splitting of the Temple curtain in Christ’s crucifixion.
My recommendation is to go and see the picture and then
read the book (all seven books) if you haven’t. However, Narnia
contains violence and may not be appropriate for anyone under ten.
Rating: 3
stars
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice, based on Jane Austen’s
nineteenth-century comedy-of-manners novel, recounts aristocrat Mr.
Darcy’s courtship of Miss Elizabeth Bennett, whose parents are
trying valiantly to marry her off. Darcy and Elizabeth are
fascinating people who have their own unique ways of dealing with
their lives and circumstances. Both are admirable characters who
speak their minds and hold true to their principles.
When Darcy and Elizabeth first meet, there is an attraction
between them, but they can also hardly stand each other. Elizabeth
shows herself to be an independent soul and not a malleable girl who
can be manipulated by others. Darcy has a memorable line in which he
says, “I have not the gift of easy conversation.” In other words,
he’s not good at small talk. That’s all right, though; we all have
different gifts and don’t have to be all things to all people.
Recommendation: See the movie, and then read the book.
Both are inspiring commentaries on our need to do the right thing
while being just ourselves.
Rating: 3 ¼
stars
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a fascinating look at the lives and
careers of Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter. It’s more a love
story than an in-depth history of the performers’ musical journeys,
but you’ll probably like the movie if you’re a Cash fan.
The film opens when Johnny is about eleven years old, and he and
his older brother are going fishing. The brother is killed, and
their father, who loves the older boy more, blames Johnny and lever
lets him forget it. This negativity on his father’s part is an
albatross on Johnny’s back and is a partial cause of his later
excessive behavior and addiction to prescription medications.
What the picture doesn’t emphasize is that Cash eventually became
a committed Christian. Much more could have been made of his
conversion. Nonetheless, Christianity is respected and not
denigrated. One of the movie’s best lines occurs when a pastor tells
Johnny in Pharisee-like fashion that his church backers won’t
support his going to Folsom Prison and associating with the worst
kinds of criminals. Cash responds, “Then they’re not Christians.”
The beauty of Walk the Line is that it’s a story of
redemption and healing: Johnny comes to faith (implied but not
shown), kicks his drug habit, and forgives his father. Joaquin
Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon give awesome performances—the best I
can remember in a long time. They do all their own vocals and are
the characters they portray.
Warning: Not for children or younger teenagers.
Rating: 3 ½
stars
|
|
Index of movie
reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)
Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is
a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as
Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News
(West Side newsletter) since 2002.
If you have comments or questions
about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at
dramachap@msn.com.
Ratings are expressed in
increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb
Criteria for determining the ratings:
- Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values,
including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
- Quality of the acting
- Originality
- Unity of the entire picture
- Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight
Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
|
