Golden Compass "Good Or Bad"

txa1265 said:

I would say that the writing of Pullman's books is definitely better than Harry Potter ... especially after she got to the point where it seemed she had no editor (e.g 200 pages of endless Quidditch World Cup!)

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Book 4 was the last book in which she tried to make the book longer (pagewise) than the earlier book. And she had to put SOMETHING in there...

(I might add that I was thrilled about it when I was 15.)

Übereil

Just to stir this up again, article

THe bit at the bottom grabbed me (about an editorial in a vatican newspaper, bound to be impartial):

The editorial took particular issue with Pullman's vision. "In Pullman's world, hope simply does not exist, because there is no salvation but only personal, individualistic capacity to control the situation and dominate events," it said.

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What definition of hope is there? Can't one hope that ones personal, individualistic capacity to control the situation will be enough? Apologies to all religious types if they agree with the review, but to me that sounds . . .. childish I guess - the only thing worth hoping for is for your magic friend to make it all better and personal competence doesn't even come into it.

That kind of attitude would horrify me . . . one couldn't even feel proud when one had exercised individual capacity to change events successfully as it implies that anything good is just salvation.

Granted, there are times when one is, essentially, fucked unless a bloody miracle happens, but failing that one should be able to hope based on ones own individual merits.

Walp, I saw it. Didn't intend to, but it so happened that the company Christmas party was at the "presidential suite" of a multiplex, which meant we got (1) food, (2) booze, and (3) watch all the movies that were playing from some sound-proofed cabinets at the very top.

I skipped the first one, but watched Golden Compass and I Am Legend.

I didn't like Golden Compass at all. The direction lacked tension, the pacing was plodding, the attempt at a cliff-hanger ending was clumsy, and the actors hammed it up like there's no tomorrow; also the "this worked in LotR so it oughta work here" thing was extremely obvious. I hated Gandalf the Bear, and the whole thing to itself way too seriously. And... the "message" was too bloody obvious; it only annoyed me more that I agree with it.

IOW it's a definite thumbs-down from me. Boring, derivative, badly acted, badly directed, badly paced, badly written. The only redeeming feature was Lyra herself; the young actress playing her was a breath of fresh air in a very stale room.

On the other hand, and much to my surprise, I quite liked I Am Legend: it managed to take every zombie-action-movie cliché and turn it upside down and inside out; it was also damn spooky (not to mention depressing). Will Smith can actually *act,* dammit -- he did some very emotional and tough scenes really well.

I feel I ought to see it anyway, just to show my allegiance to my atheist brethren.

Mhmh..really so bad? I will watch this on dvd.

Just my opinion, as always. Some of my colleagues quite liked it.