We saw Golden Compass on Christmas day. It was thrilling, which I rarely say about a film that's almost entirely filmed in front of a green screen. You really will believe that warrior polar bears are fighting bureaucrats and witches and bands of gypsies at the North Pole! Can't say fairer than that, can you?
No, really, it's an excellent fantasy film. It's also the first installment of a series, which means the first half was entirely exposition. If you go, and you haven't read the books yet (like me), don't go back out for popcorn until about the 1:00 mark. Many, many questions were not answered, though. I expect the next installment will really cook.
Find your own daemon, and play around with the alethiometer on the official movie website.
That's a great website, isn't it? I haven't seen the movie yet, but I just finished reading "The Golden Compass" and am now well into the 2nd book ("The Subtle Knife"). The books are excellent!
Posted by: Tonya | December 27, 2007 at 08:35 AM
So, I heard that the Golden Compass books are like the atheist response to the Chronicles of Narnia, and as such, aren't as successful in their indoctrination efforts. Which is to be expected of a philosophy that defines non-belief as its central tenet. I still want to see the movie though.
Posted by: maya | December 27, 2007 at 01:48 PM
The philosophy of the movie was preserving free will and defeating totalitarianism. If you liked it in Matrix and Lord of the Rings, you'll love it here!
Posted by: pam | December 27, 2007 at 09:03 PM