Chuck's Top Ten Movies of 2005 - Number 6

We continue with the top ten movie list of 2005, courtesy of renowned movie watcher, collector, and critic, Chuck Fournier. Here's Chuck's number 6 review:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
I've been waiting to see this movie for quite awhile. I had heard of the books before, but had never given them a chance until a special friend of mine talked me into reading them. I am very thankfull she did, because they are some of the best books I've ever read. I read them during the time I discovered that they were planning on making a movie of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". I had heard from several people at the time that a movie version wouldn't work, and I was sceptical myself after having read this awesome book, but having now seen the film, I'm totally amazed and suprised that it exceeded my expectations.

This is a magical story of a group of children who discover a world inhabited by talking animals and other mythical creatures in an old wardrobe. In this world (Narnia), they learn that they are part of an ancient prophecy that will lead them to fight the evil White Witch who has taken over Narnia, and to deliver the land out of a hundred-year winter.

People who have read this story see it as a great fantasy adventure - a classic tale of the battle between good and evil. Others (such as myself) see it as something more. The writer of these books was a brilliant and famous Christian philosiphor named C.S Lewis. He wrote these books as an allegory to Christianity, and did so to make it easier for children to grasp and understand the Christian message. This is no doubt a children's story, but it is amazing how much of Lewis's ideas and philosophies are in these novels.

Having said that, the main reason why I've been so taken by these stories is because of the allegory behind them. Aslan the lion, who is the Christ figure in all of the stories, is such a powerful character to me. The other characters were memorable also, especially the youngest of the children, Lucy, and the two talking beavers.

There are a lot of talking animal characters in this movie who are vivid and detailed, and my biggest worry about this film was whether or not the artists could really pull off the CGI, especially for Aslan, since he would be the greatest challenge. In reading the book and seeing how they describe Aslan, I knew they would have to find a good animator to pull him off because if they couldn't properly portray Aslan, the whole movie would fail miserably.

Thankfully, they did a perfect job on Aslan and the other CG characters. Each character was so full of life, and worked perfectly with the child actors, who also did an amazing job in the movie, especially the actress who played Lucy. Soooooo cute! Lucy and Aslan were the highlights of the movie for me.

As for the story, I thought they did an excellent job of putting the book on the big screen. They couldn't fit in everything of course, but everything I wanted to see in the movie was there. If you are looking for an entertaining and touching family movie, or if you like fantasy films, then you won't be disappointed with "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Chuck's Top Ten Movies of 2005 - Number 7

We continue with the top ten movie list of 2005, courtesy of renowned movie watcher, collector, and critic, Chuck Fournier. Here's Chuck's number 7 review:

Batman Begins
After the horrible failure of Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin, Warner Bros decided to do something unthinkable in Hollywood today - make an unusually smart comic book movie with a lot of depth. In other words, make the Batman movie that they should have made in the first place.

This film isn't a comedy out to please a general audience. This is a serious, intelligent, and thoughfully written story. Don't get me wrong - I love Tim Burton's two movies, especially Batman Returns, but Batman Begins is the first movie that fully explores one of comics' most famous heroes with accuracy and class.

The story explores Batman's origins - how Bruce Wayne's life was changed from childhood, growing up in fear and hatred because of the death of his parents. Then later, trying to take on the criminal underground himself, only to be thrown in prison and then brought under the wing of a mentor who would train him in the ways of combat, stealth, and the pursuit of justice.

This is a Batman who is a tough, ruthless bad ass, and not some campy joke. I loved how he was written, and how well he was portrayed by Christian Bale. The other characters are also very well written and acted, and there are some respected stars in supporting roles, including Micheal Cane, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, and Gary Oldman.

Hollywood has finally done Batman justice by taking him back to his comic book roots, and making an epic and entertaining action movie that was this summer's best.

Chuck's Top Ten Movies of 2005 - Number 8

We continue with the top ten movie list of 2005, courtesy of renowned movie watcher, collector, and critic, Chuck Fournier. Here's Chuck's number 8 review:

King Kong
Academy award winning Director Peter Jackson has wanted to make this film for a long time. Now, after making Hollywood millions of dollars with the Lord of the Rings trilogy and giving himself quite a name in the process, he's been given the chance to make this massive movie. This three hour epic is quite a spectacle from start to finish.

The story begins in depression-era New York, then moves from there to a mysterious island filled with giant insects, dinosaurs and of course, Kong himself. The first hour of the movie is mostly character development, and the story of how and why they leave New York to search for this lost island.

A washed-up movie director, who is all but fired from a small studio in New York, makes a last ditch effort in producing his dream movie by conning a famous playwrite (Jack Driscoll, played by Adrien Brody) and vaudiville actress (Ann Darrow, played by Naomi Watts) to come with him on a run-down ship in search of a mysterious island to complete his wondrous epic. This first hour is ok, and it builds the anticipation for the main star of the movie - The giant ape himself.

The moment the ship reaches the island, the rest of the movie is non-stop adventure and excitment. The natives kidnap the actress, intending to sacrifice her to Kong. When the ship's crew discovers what has happened, they embark on a mission to find and rescue her. Unfortunately, as soon as they encounter the natives and try to free the heroine, Kong takes her and runs off. The movie then splits into two stories: One story follows the rescue team, trekking through the jungle, fighting and running from the various beasts, and trying to find Ann.

The other story is that of Kong and Ann. Now kidnapped, and at the mercy of this giant ape, Ann makes an escape attempt but soon finds it impossible to do so. She becomes desperate and tries to distract him by doing her vaudiville routine, juggling rocks, and dancing. It sounds corny, but it's actually quite charming and Kong gets a kick out of it. Soon Ann manages to escape, but doesn't get far before finding even more trouble with some giant centipedes (truly creepy) and a few T-rexes.

Kong jumps in to save her and there is an AMAZING battle between him and the three T-rexes. After Kong saves Ann, there is a friendship that develops between them that is actually very touching. It all sounds ridiculous having a relationship between a woman and giant ape, but it works, and the reason why it works is the performance by Naomi Watts and the performace/effects-work of Kong. Kong isn't just some big animal. You sense that he has real feelings, and you quickly grow to care for him.

Like I have already mentioned, this film is epic. The jungle world where most of the story takes place is so alive and majestic. From the giant creatures, to the lush landscapes and waterfalls. There are moments of true beauty in this film. The scenes in New York are also very memorable including the famous Empire State Building sequence. Watching this movie was a very entertaining, exciting, and moving experience.

Chuck's Top Ten Movies of 2005 - Number 9

We continue with the top ten movie list of 2005, courtesy of renowned movie watcher, collector, and critic, Chuck Fournier. Here's Chuck's number 9 review:

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The Star Wars films are the most profitable and most popular movies ever made, and years after the original trilogy was released in the late 70's and early 80's, George Lucas stunned fans by announcing an all new prequel trilogy. These films would outline the back story of the original trilogy, showing how Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, turned to the dark side of the Force and became Darth Vader. Fans actually camped out in front of theaters for days waiting to see Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, and it was THE movie to see in 1999.

While I didn't camp out for days to see it,it was by far the most anticipated movie I've ever attended. After seeing The Phantom Menace, I was, unfortunately, disappointed. The main problems were the kid who played the young Anakin, and of course, Jar Jar Binks. I also thought the movie to be juevenille, with poor dialogue and bland performances.

These problems aside,there was definately a lot that I did like about it. I loved the visual look of the film. The scale, the detail... There hasn't been anything close to the epic scope and beauty of this film. It also had some great action sequences; the climactic light saber duel being the best. I thought the score was some of composer John Williams' best work. In the end, with my disappointments, I did enjoy the film and went to see it several times.

A few years later Episode 2 was released, promising to be less for kids, with a grown up Anakan falling in love with Padme from the first movie. This installment had a more complex storyline, involving political struggles in the republic and a deception uncovered by the Jedi. It also featured the start of the Clone Wars, mentioned in episode 4, which was very impressive and exciting to watch.
Episode 2 had a battle scene with hundreds of Jedi fighting battle droids, which was a real treat, and the best suprise of all in the movie was a lightsaber duel between Yoda and the villian, Count Dooku.

My only problem with this film was the love story between Anakin and Padme. I didn't feel the love they had between them as much as I wanted to, and again I think the problem was bland writing. The film did, however, show the struggle Anakin has with his feelings and emotions, which would be the root of how things change for him in the future. In the end I enjoyed the film and thought it much better than the first.

Now, 3 years later, the final installment, the last Star Wars movie ever, has been released. This is the movie that fans have truly been waiting for, including myself. This is the movie that finally shows what happens to Anakin in making that fatefull decision to turn to the Dark Side. It shows how the Galactic Republic begins on the road to becoming the Galactic Empire, and presents all of this with TONS of action, scope and drama.

This film is by far the best of the three prequels, and while it still suffered from shallow writting, there was enough development in the characters from the past movies to get me into the drama of what was happening. Anakin's betrayal and decent into evil involved a lot of complex variables, but ironically, in the end, it was his attachment to what he deeply cared about that was his downfall.

A lot of people I've talked to have said that he turned too easily and too fast to the Dark Side, but for me, it seemed realistic. After all, Palpatine was a big influence in his life, Anakin was arrogant and rebellious, and he also struggled
with fear, which is a huge weakness. Yoda said in Empire Strikes Back that once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. In saying
that, I think that once someone makes that decision to "sell their soul" to the devil, there is no easy turning back. In your mind you've done too much and have gone too far. You accept your decision and only fall deeper into evil.

The moment Anakin becomes Darth Vader, the movie takes a very dark turn. Vader helps Palpatine (Darth Sidius) kill all of the Jedi and helps tie up all of the loose ends that are in the way of Paplatine becoming emperor. During the slaugher of the Jedi, Obi Wan and Yoda manage to escape and try to defeat the Sith before it's too late, and it's this third act of the film that is the most dramatic and powerful. Fans have waited YEARS to see the fatefull lightsaber duel between Obi Wan and Vader that caused Vader to become the cyborg you see in the later films. With all that anticipation, it ended up being much better than what I had imagined. By far the best sword fight I've seen in a movie. John William's
music also added much to the sequence, making you feel the sadness of what was happening: Two friends as close as brothers fighting to the death.

As this duel is taking place, there is another major battle happening: The duel between the Sith Lord Darth Sidius and the most powerfull Jedi in the galaxy,
Yoda. When I heard about this fight, I wanted to see it almost as much as the Vader/Obi Wan fight (since Yoda kicked so muck ass in episode 2!)

The fact is that Yoda has a lot of cool crowd pleasing scenes in this film and you get to see him at his very best. Yoda brandishing a lightsaber in episode 2 was the coolest thing I've ever seen in a Star Wars movie, and when I saw him began to fight, the whole crowd in the theatre said a collective "holy S". Well that fight was nothing compared to the duel he has with Darth Sidius. Very exciting, and Lucus did a good job intercutting between the two lightsaber duels. The duels eventually end with Yoda escaping and Obi Wan of course defeating Vader. The scene that shows Darth Vader injured to the point of death, and the last words spoken between him and Obi Wan was one of the most dramatic and powerfull scenes in the whole Star Wars saga.

This movie is the most darkest of all the Star Wars movies, but it does end with a glimpes of hope with the birth of the twins, Luke and Leia. After seeing this film, I see Vader in a different light - Not simply an evil, twisted cyborg, who I found hard to believe would come back to the light side of the force, but a tragic character that has a humanity to him; someone who you can see come back from the darkness.

This movie helped flesh out and frame the original trilogy, making them better for me. I grew up watching the Star Wars movies, and they have become a very big part of my life by influencing my imagination and faith. I'm glad that Lucus has finally finished his saga he began almost 30 years ago.

The prequels are still not better than the original trilogy, but I do consider all six movies to be one story, as Lucus himself said he intended. If you are a Star Wars fan and for some crazy reason haven't seen episode 3 yet, then get off your butt and check it out. It's pretty cool.

Chuck's Top Ten Movies of 2005 - Number 10

Courtesy of renowned movie watcher, collector, and critic, Chuck Fournier, we bring you his top ten movie list of 2005. We also apologize for the lateness of this post. Now, here's Chuck's number 10 review:

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

I'm not sure what kind of a movie I would call this exactly. There are some horror elements in the movie and I think some people would assume it's a horror movie but it's not. I think of the film as a courtroom drama - A case involving the death of a young woman who was left in the hands of a local priest.

The priest is charged for the death of Emily Rose because of his apperent irrisponsibility in taking care of her when she became seriously ill. The prosecuter claims that he ignored the diagnosis made by doctors about her mental health, and instead of keeping her on the proper medication, tried to help her by other methods.

The defence argues that The priest was in fact helping her by not putting her on the medication, since the priest believed that she was not suffering from mental illness, but was in fact possesed by a demon.

Now you can see how this can get pretty interesting, especially since the movie is apperently based on a true story. The movie was unbiased, and offered both sides of the argument. It didn't take sides with the priest's beliefs, or the prosecuters position. It offers the evidence and lets you decide what is going on.

The performances where very well done and the characters well written. I was glad they didn't go over the top with the demon-possesed element of the movie. That's all been done before. Instead it's portrayed realistically, but at the same time, it's pretty damn scary. You feel so sorry for this poor woman and wonder how it got so bad that it leads to her death. You also feel for the priest, who honestly believes he was doing the right thing.

Another intruiging character is the lawyer defending the priest, played by Laura Linney. A very strong, experienced, and bold woman that, while working on the case, begins to question her own motives in defending this man.

This is a very intelligently written story with strong characters and acting. It was a powerful movie, and I think it will generate some interesting discussion for those who see it as more than just another horror/possession story.

Da Vinci Code Trailer Online

If you've never heard of The Da Vinci Code, then you obviously don't read. The novel has been on best-seller lists long enough for Christians to read it, get upset about it, publish other books refuting it, have their refutations attacked, and then publish more refutations to the refutations of their refutations. Some people get a little upset when you start messing with the story of Jesus, and then use it to sell fiction.

The story itself is like Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with bad theology. It's a "Paganism for Dummies" story, wrapped in clothing that loosely resembles Christianity, with a fun adventure thrown into the mix. If you can suspend your belief in any modern Biblical scholarship, and tell yourself that this is only a fictional story, designed to plant itself on best-seller lists for as long as possible, then you might enjoy it.

The movie trailer, just released, looks very slick. It comes complete with albino monks, naked and dead senior citizens, that girl from Amelie, and Tom Hanks. The movie itself is set for release on May 19, 2006 (which is, incidentally, the day I'm planning to get married).

I'm sure this movie with cause more religious controversy than people who hate Narnia. But then again, that always helps with ticket sales.

Narnia Soundtrack - Christian and Heathen Versions

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe opens in North American theatres on December 9th, and for those of you who love movie soundtracks, you may be interested to know that there will be two versions available: One that is music taken straight from the movie itself, and one that is done by Christian music artists, and is listed as being "inspired" by the movie. You can find the Christian soundtrack here, and the heathen version here.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that this is the first time that a secular movie has found itself with a second soundtrack of Christian music. Wait, I must correct myself - The Passion has a similar soundtrack counterpart available. Here is the movie soundtrack, and the Christian "inspired" version.

It makes me wonder if this will start a trend within the Christian music industry of releasing these "inspired by the movie" CDs, in order to get some extra promotion for Christian artists who are hoping to ride the coattails of a movie's success. Personally, I'd love to see a Christian soundtrack for Fight Club, Kill Bill, or even Harry Potter. Any song suggestions?

One Way Ticket to Hell and Back - The Darkness

I have never listened to The Darkness, except what I've heard by them on the radio. With a band and album name like this, you'd expect them to be some sort of death-metal group, but their latest single (and also the title track from their newest album) is upbeat and catchy.

I'm not about to do a review of their album here. Like I said, I've only heard what's on the radio. However, I do want to point out one thing. If you're going to "Hell and back", there's no way that you're doing that on a one-way ticket. Going somewhere and coming back from that place requires a two-way ticket. Sorry to break it to you, The Darkness.

Maybe "Two Way Ticket to Hell and Back" sounded to lame, and "One Way Ticket to Hell" didn't fit the required number of syllables for the music. Either way, I can't hear this song on the radio without thinking about the discrepancy. And now you won't be able to either.

Nickelback - Photograph: Very Overplayed

Is there anyone else out there who is sick of hearing Photograph by Nickelback on the radio every 8 minutes? I thought it was catchy the first 30 or 40 times, but now, it's become annoying. I don't want to "Look at this photograph" any more.

I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that at least once per day, I hear this song being played simultaneously on more than one station at a time, and I listen to only six stations, and two of those 90% of the time.

There are reasons why we're hearing this song so much, especially in Canada. First of all, Nickelback is a Canadian band, so in playing them, radio stations can fulfill their Canadian content requirements. Second, this song is doing very well in the charts worldwide, including landing a number 9 spot for two weeks in the China Top 20! I didn't even know they were allowed to play Nickelback in communist countries!

Finally, well, I don't really have a third reason as to why we're hearing Photograph so often, but having three reasons seems to make a stronger argument than just two. The point is, Canadian or not, my "Nickelback box" is full. Let's move on, everybody. I hear Neil Diamond's new album is good.

Superman Trailer Online!

For those of you who have been looking forward to seeing the superpowered man in blue tights and a red cape on the big screen again, the new teaser-trailer for Superman Returns has been released, and can be found at the official site.

I gotta say, my interest has been peaked for this film. The trailer shots look beautiful, and the names and budget behind this movie are BIG. Like a basketball player in a Japanese grocery store. That's big.

Please leave a comment, and tell me what you think about how this movie looks. I think it's going to be sup...er... I mean, great.