Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

"Because there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

-Aslan

Dawn Treader is flawed from the opening shot. The film skips over what is perhaps the best opening line of any novel. "There was once a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." Instead, we are treated with a stunning 3-D shot of a cathedral, then exposition establishing the war, and some clumsy business showing us Edmund's desire for duty and Lucy's for beauty. I suppose that such a commercial movie demands some exposition tying it to the other films for uninitiated audiences, but one of the strengths of the book was that it stood so well on its own. Lewis' humorous description of the Scrubb family opens the book with a healthy dose of satirical social commentary. This turns into the subtle underlying message of the book; that modernism has destroyed our senses of wonder and creativity. This message is still relevant, but is largely abandoned for one of "faith and family". While some Christians may appreciate this, it will leave a sour taste in the mouths of most viewers.

Director Profile: Edgar Wright

Edgar Wright is one of the most exciting young filmmakers working today. His caffeinated, but literate visual style could take on Quentin Tarantino himself in a film reference contest. Yet Wright is not QT. Tarantino reveres his predecessors, speaks their language. Wright turns everything upside down, fast forwards over the dull bits, puts a punk soundtrack in the background, and manages to make a joke of the whole thing. No other filmmaker's visual language is as full of humor as Wright's. Half the jokes he makes are so intricate or bizarrely self-referential (or British) that they are lost upon audiences (or at least me).

Out of this world: Moon

Gerty, is there someone else in the room? 

- Sam Bell

I will admit that when I first heard the premise of Duncan Jones' Moon, I was less than overwhelmed. One guy in a space (moon) station with only a deep-voiced robot to keep him company. You see, there's this film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even if you haven't seen it you know that Hal can't let Dave do that. The raucous praise given it was enough, however, to get me past my trepidations and see this film. I was not disappointed. 

Review: Inception

What's the most resilient parasite? An idea.

-Cobb

I have seen Inception three times. It still confuses me. However, this is a good thing. To say the film is a puzzle or a maze is an understatement, because we don't even know the true nature of the puzzle we are attempting to solve by trying to understand this film. Reading through many different interpretations of the film, I would like to say that no one has a complete idea of what the film truly is. There is a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio's character Cobb asks Ellen Page's Ariadne to draw him a maze in two minutes that takes longer than one minute to solve. Christopher Nolan spent ten years writing this puzzle of a film, and I wouldn't expect anyone solve the real explanation of the film (if there is one) within the first two weeks of its release.

B*Team! Assemble!!

Many have heard the calling. Few earned the title to be...
Part of the B*Team (that... did not flow as well as I hoped...)
Well, the blog team has been assembled and is ready for action.
Time for the roll call:
Ben, Blackthorne, Esq., Libby H, J. Bernard Muyskens, Joseph Matheson, Nate S, and yours truly, Peter Schipper.
We hope to bring you the very best in movie entertainment!

The B*Team

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and feel free to contact us at yetanothermovieblog@gmail.com

Character Intro: J. Bernard Muyskens

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the internet...All right, I'm going to admit it: I haven't seen Jaws, but then again it turns out that Libby isn't the last member of the YAMB team after all, so really, anything can happen. Yes, it's just like a surprise twist ending, however better as it comes at the beginning of the blog, rather than at the end. My name is John, or as my associates call me: J. Bernard Muyskens, and I haven't been dead the whole time (I may have been dreaming, though). Over my eighteen years I have become an accomplished scientist, athlete, and public-speaker, but those days are behind me. I used to be able to run long distances without stopping, orate for seven minutes a speech I had prepared in thirty, and had a great deal of knowledge regarding cellular biology and volcanoes; this is all behind me. I am now a movie reviewer.

Born and raised in the humble Midwestern city of Grand Rapids, MI, it seemed I was destined for a bland and unexciting childhood in the town that Time magazine could only describe as "well-churched." Then everything changed. I spent a year in Manhattan while my parents were taking a sabbatical, doing research at Columbia University. During this year I learned the ways of the street from the proverbial school of hard knocks. I owned that city. I owned it hard. Then I had my fourth birthday. The cake was train-shaped. It was delicious. Unfortunately, I got in a fight with some tough characters. My mother got worried and sent me to live in California. I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror if anything I could say that this cab was rare but I thought man forget it yo homes to Bel-Air. I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8 and I yelled to the cabbie yo homes smell ya later.

Looked at my kingdom I was finally there to sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel-Air. It was there that I learned the art of chilling, and also being a bro. See above photograph of the author displaying the traits of a chill California bro, yet retaining his hardened street edginess common to former residents of New York City. After that I just walked the earth, you know, like Caine in Kung Fu.

Well, now you know my life story, and possibly in more detail than I would like. My name is pronounced "mice-skins", and in Dutch means "Little mouse". I am also obsessed with music to an even greater degree than I am obsessed with movies, so expect to see some reviews of the soundtrack, etc.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Sincerely,

J. Bernard Muyskens