Our picks for what to watch this week include a shocking true story, a second season with lots of unanswered questions, and a murderous musical episode.
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Title: The Golden Compass (2007)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Nicole Kidman | ... | Mrs. Coulter | |
| Daniel Craig | ... | Lord Asriel | |
| Dakota Blue Richards | ... | Lyra | |
| Ben Walker | ... | Roger | |
| Freddie Highmore | ... | Pantalaimon (voice) | |
| Ian McKellen | ... | Iorek Byrnison (voice) | |
| Eva Green | ... | Serafina Pekkala | |
| Jim Carter | ... | John Faa | |
| Tom Courtenay | ... | Farder Coram | |
| Ian McShane | ... | Ragnar Sturlusson (voice) | |
| Sam Elliott | ... | Lee Scoresby | |
| Christopher Lee | ... | First High Councilor | |
| Kristin Scott Thomas | ... | Stelmaria (voice) | |
| Edward de Souza | ... | Second High Councilor | |
| Kathy Bates | ... | Hester (voice) | |
It was no ordinary life for a young girl: living among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College and tearing unsupervised through Oxford's motley streets on mad quests for adventure. But Lyra's greatest adventure would begin closer to home, the day she heard hushed talk of an extraordinary particle. Microscopic in size, the magical dust--discovered in the vast Arctic expanse of the North--was rumored to possess profound properties that could unite whole universes. But there were those who feared the particle and would stop at nothing to destroy it. Catapulted into the heart of a terrible struggle, Lyra was forced to seek aid from clans, 'gyptians, and formidable armored bears. And as she journeyed into unbelievable danger, she had not the faintest clue that she alone was destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle... Written by Krista
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I am about 2 thirds of the way through the book when I decided to go to the limited engagement sneak preview of The Golden Compass. I feel that the film exceeded my expectations regardless of the structure change made by the film adaptation.
The story was changed moderately, but not too much to take away from the mood of the book, and was in no way detrimental to the flow of the story. Otherwise, this movie was a roller-coaster ride from beginning to end! The effects exceeded my expectations. The flow of the daemons in the film was almost completely convincing, however there were times when the speech of the animals had that typical "computer animated falseness" that you see in the cg cartoons. Other than some minor CG blemishes, the realism is some of the most convincing I have seen! The polar bear is completely lifelike and the animal morphing I felt was simply spectacular.
The flow of the film is very fast, which is a negative and a positive. While it really leaves us guessing or feeling unfulfilled in some of the crucial story elements, it also sets the pace for an exhilarating fast-paced adventure story that keeps you on the edge! The broad range of characters prevents the film from truly developing the characters that we really WANT to know. Since the book is a 3 part series, hopefully these characters will develop further in the next 2 films.
I must say that there were several parts in this film that surprised me, considering this is marketed as a family film. This is a dark film. This could frighten some small kids. I feel this film definitely belongs in the pg-13 rating, and might even be a bit much for a 13 year old for the more sheltering type parents. Not only can it be conceived as very violent, there are some very adult themes that could be considered questionable.
Overall, this is a film I would like to see again, and I am DYING to see the next film in the series. I walked out of this film excited, satisfied and wanting more. Might want to leave the young ones at home, but you won't regretting fighting for front row seats on a Friday night for this flick.