Light On Dark Water

Has anybody seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader yet? And if so what did you think?

We watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night. This was the third time I'd seen it, and my reaction overall is more or less the same as when it first came out: flawed but pretty good. I wish I hadn't just a day or two ago heard Liam Neeson's (voice of Aslan) inane remarks about Jesus, Mohammed, etc.  It's been a long time since I read the books, so maybe my memory is wrong, but I don't recall Susan being as whiney and petulant in the book as she's portrayed in the movie. I haven't seen Prince Caspian.

Maclin Horton
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28 responses to “”

  1. Janet Cupo

    MacBeth thinks it stinks. 😉 She says they change the whole plot.
    AMDG

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  2. Mac

    Oh, too bad. I guess the fact that I didn’t see Prince Caspian is an indicator of my lack of enthusiasm for the first one.

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  3. Craig

    I’ve been watching the reviews with a sinking feeling. It sounds like they did change the story quite a bit. Ebert thought it was decent, but he didn’t mention anything about the book’s wonderful ending, which makes me think the filmmakers down-played it. Steven Greydanus, at Decent Films, also liked it, which keeps me from losing hope just yet. Most other reviewers have thought it middling.
    Quite a few reviews comment on the Aslan-Jesus connection, which is made quite explicit in this book (and film): “In your world, I am known by another name.” Some reviewers seem irritated by the ‘preachy’ tone. Most also make the mistake of thinking that this is allegory.
    I haven’t seen anyone acknowledge the artistic appropriateness of that scene. In the book, at least, it happens on the shores of Aslan’s country, where we no longer see through a glass, darkly, but face to face. It is fitting that the shadowy and indistinct relationship which otherwise obtains between Aslan and God should become clearer and more obvious in such a context.

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  4. Mac

    What did you think of the other two (assuming you saw them)?
    It is true that the books themselves are to some degree “preachy,” especially in the eyes of those who don’t agree with the preaching. In general I think that’s much more true of the first book than the others, though.

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  5. Francesca

    Christopher Howse was quite positive in the Telegraph
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8194777/Monopods-and-the-peeling-of-Eustace.html
    It is my favourite of the Narnia books.

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  6. Janet Cupo

    It’s my favorite, too. That’s why I don’t want to see it messed up. A couple of people at the CSL Society meeting who had seen it really hated it. They completely changed the undragoning of Eustace. Apparently, he more or less earned it.
    AMDG

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  7. Janet

    If this is allegory it is not quite clear [undragoning] what it represents. Baptism in a way, though Lewis believed in the efficacy of infant baptism.
    Well, it’s fairly inconceivable that Eustace received infant Baptism.
    AMDG

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  8. Janet

    Francesca,
    Are you sure this is a positive review? All the positive things he says seem to refer to the book.
    AMDG

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  9. Mac

    Dawn Treader is my favorite, too. I haven’t read any reviews except the Howse one below, as I tend to avoid reviews of movies I plan to see. I agree that Howse seems to be talking more about the book than the movie (and about American evangelicalism)–at any rate he isn’t very definite in his opinion of the movie.
    I think I’ll see the movie, but I want to read the book again first. It’s been quite some time since I did, and I’m hazy about some parts of it, like the dragoning and undragoning of Eustace.
    I thought Lucy and Edmund were just about perfect in the LWW movie. Peter and Susan were ok, but then as my wife pointed out they’re really not that well developed in the books, either, especially Susan. Perhaps the filmmaker made Susan more obnoxious in an effort to define her more clearly.

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  10. Craig

    To answer your question, Mac, I’ve seen both of the previous films. I liked them both, but not so much as to see them again. Prince Caspian I thought was slightly better than LWW. I have been looking forward to this third film, but I don’t know what to think now. I suppose I’ll just have to see it.
    I don’t know if you have the option of seeing it in 3D or not. I have read that the 2D version is preferable: brighter colours, clearer contours, and an overall better viewing experience. Although one reviewer for a local newspaper commented that the 3D was the only thing that kept him entertained during the movie.

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  11. Mac

    I’m not sure whether it’s showing in 3d here or not. I don’t know if any special projection equipment is required, but Avatar appeared in 3d. I’d probably pick 2d anyway. 3d seems so gimmicky though I suppose in 10 years or so it will be pretty standard.

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  12. Craig

    The only convenient way for me to see it is in 3D, which is another reason why I am hesitating.

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  13. Janet

    The current 3D movies don’t bother me as much as the older ones, but I still would rather to never see another 3D movie. Maybe if they could develop some kind of technology where you didn’t have to wear those glasses it would be ok, but I don’t know.
    I’m so indecisive. I keep saying, “Alright, that’s it. I’m definitely not going.” Then I waiver. The thing is that it’s almost surely beautiful and, as I said on another thread a while back, I want to SEE it–and on the big screen.
    AMDG

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  14. Mac

    I think I’ll go. Probably not till the weekend. If 3d is the only possibility I may not be able to talk my wife into going. She’s so young, and yet so unprogressive.

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  15. Francesca

    Howse seemed measured. I meant it was positive at least in the sense that he didn’t say the movie was terrible. Perhaps I meant un-negative.
    I watched Boewulf in 3D a few years back and had a headache for days afterward. Never again.

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  16. Janet

    3D is all I seem to be able to find, however, one of the reviews I read said that most of the movie is not filmed in 3D and you can take your glasses off to watch it.
    AMDG

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  17. Mac

    Yeah, “un-negative” is a better description. I actually wondered if he was trying to avoid saying what he thought about the movie.

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  18. Janet

    You know, that remark about the queen could be taken in more than one way.
    AMDG

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  19. Francesca

    You are right about the remark about the Queen. I hadn’t taken that in. When I read it in the (real physical) newspaper, I got a warmer impression. It isn’t anywhere near a positive review.

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  20. Francesca

    I enjoyed the 1st one but I thought Prince Caspian was terrible. I was really hopeful this one would be good because it’s my favourite.

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  21. Mac

    I suppose I ought to see Prince Caspian, just for completeness. I must say I’m happy to think that the Queen loves the Narnia books.

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  22. Craig

    I read that the film was shot in 2D, and then “converted” to 3D in post-processing. I am told that such ‘post-processing’ results in a lower quality 3D image than would result from directly filming it in 3D.
    I can’t see how it would be possible for it to look normal without the 3D glasses, if the image is actually in 3D. The 3D effect results from binocular image projection: two images of each scene are projected simultaneously, from slightly different angles. If you’re not wearing the 3D glasses, it just looks fuzzy.

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  23. Francesca

    The thing is, I think the movie had a positive review elsewhere in the Tel, so Howse could only say something negative in a backhanded or ironic way, so as not directly to contradict the other chap. I’m trying to remember if that review appeared the day after Charles and Camilla were set upon by rioters. In that case, the comment about the Queen could have been about that.

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  24. Janet

    Craig–I think the man was saying that the only certain scenes were changed to 3D. I wish I could remember where I read that review. Now I might have to go just to try this out.
    AMDG

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  25. Craig

    Too bad we can’t all go together!

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  26. Mac

    It would have to be 2D, since Francesca says “never again” to 3D. Which is ok with me.
    Btw, Francesca, how are people in general reacting to those riots? Seems like people threatening Charles and Camilla at close range would provoke a reaction. or maybe no reaction is needed–I mean, are people sympathetic to the rioters?

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  28. Mac

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    Reply

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