Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

It's Oklahoma winter weather doing what it does best, that little thing called "winter mix" by our local weathermen. Freezing rain, a touch of snow, thunder and lightning, and trees creaking and cracking under the weight of all that ice. Kids (of all ages) are glued to the TV, practicing alphabetizing and watching to see if their school district will be closed Monday morning.

Did Big Omi and I let this stand in our way of our very first date night since the birth of Little Omi? No way, José! Even thought we had to scrape the ice off the car 3 times (and for the last one, Big Omi had to climb in the car from the back hatch because the locks had frozen), it was sure worth it. We saw The Golden Compass. We are big fans of the book, and the movie didn't disappoint. The casting was very good, the costumes and production design were wonderful, and the overall adaptation was well done. Fans of the book should be prepared for the movie to end a bit earlier than the book does, but it's understandable why they had to lop off the cliffhanger (and a bit of a downer) ending for moviegoers. Obviously if a sequel happens (there are three books in the series) they will put the ending at the beginning of the next one. Thumbs up.

Big thanks to L and Grandma, ace babysitters!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Golden countdown

photo credit: Laurie Sparham/New Line Cinema
The movie version of the Phillip Pullman novel The Golden Compass opens December 7, and Big Omi and I are so excited to go. My dad originally recommended the book, which is part of the His Dark Materials trilogy, when we were visiting him way back in 2001. Without going into a lengthy book review, I'll just say it's the only book I've ever owned that I've given away to a friend who expressed interest in reading it, because I just hoped someone else would read it so we could talk about how great it is.

While I was somewhat worried when I read there would be a movie version, I have to say after seeing the trailer that I'm totally on board. Nicole Kidman is going to make a perfect Mrs. Coulter, the icy villainess/mother figure to our plucky heroine, Lyra. Plus, Ian McKellan as the voice of the armored bear Iorek Byrnison! Sam Elliott as cowboy-hot-air-balloon-aviator Lee Scoresby! Hooray! Even Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel isn't too bad, even though I imagined him to be darker. I guess Daniel Craig is reinventing dark-haired characters one by one.

P.S. Check out that beautiful bonnet on Lyra. I'm excited for the costumes in this movie, too.
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