‘The Golden Compass’ vs. Religion: An Opinion

Posted by David Onda Categories: New Line, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Religious, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Books, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews

We saw The Golden Compass this weekend. I’m a guy who loves movies. And as such, I set out Friday night to go see what was supposed to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the holiday season. I saw The Golden Compass despite negative critical response and Catholic protests and without reading any of the three Philip Pullman books off which the film is based. The film was dazzling, imaginative and certainly innovative. After having seen the movie I checked out the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (as well as a few anti-Compass sentiments online) and simply could not believe the garbage I was hearing.

I saw the movie. I watched the fuzzy talking animals. And I tried, with little success, to connect the dots and see how this film was so evil. I tried to pick out the atheistic sentiments. And I tried - really, really tried - to put myself in the Catholic League’s shoes. And honestly - what is the big freakin’ deal?

Ok, I get it - Philip Pullman isn’t exactly going to win “Christian Of The Year.” The allegory within his His Dark Materials trilogy is not exactly what one might call “God friendly.” But why, in a country based on the principals of religious freedom, is this man, this movie, and everyone behind it, being vilified? I’ve read the arguments and I understand what they are saying, but for the life of me (and with all personal religious beliefs set aside),  I can’t understand how this one film is going to be detrimental to society?

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This Week on DVD: October 9, 2007

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, IFC Films, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

• 28 Weeks Later:  starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne
• Evan Almighty:  starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman
• Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Edition):  starring Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams
• Reign Over Me:  starring Don Cheadle, Adam Sandler
• Rise: Blood Hunter:  starring Lucy Liu, Robert Forster
• Surf’s Up:  starring Shia LeBeouf, Jeff Bridges
• Twilight Zone: The Movie:  starring Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow
• You Kill Me:  starring Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni

Click here to see the TV-On-DVD options for this week.
Click here to see the new titles released on HD DVD and Blu-Ray.

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Box Office Breakdown:  Almighty Only Does Alrighty

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Political, Religious, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Question: When is being the #1 movie just not enough? (Hint:  You have three chances to answer this question correctly).

Answer(s):

1. When the critics don’t really have anything good to say about you
2. When you made less than 1/2 of what your predecessor did on opening weekend
3. When it cost over $175 million just to create you

Apparently having God on your side doesn’t guarantee you heavenly box office numbers.  Evan Almighty, the follow-up to 2003’s Bruce Almighty, failed to bring in a large congregation this past weekend.  Although it did better than the rest of the flock, it’s $32 million take paled in comparison to Bruce’s $68 million opening.  And then there’s that glaring $175 million bill…

Of course, we shouldn’t feel so badly about Steve Carell’s career.  I have a feeling that God is providing for him in other ways.

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How Mighty is Evan?

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Universal, Sequels, Comedy, Casting, New Releases

The early reviews are in – how does Evan Almighty stack up against its Jim Carrey counterpart? Morgan Freeman is back as God, and Steve Carell (who is hilarious) will play…well, he’s sort of playing Noah. And this time, it’s all about the ark. The huge-budget comedy takes an age-old story and shoves it, forcibly, right into everyone’s faces. It’s already a stale story – everybody totally already knows everything about the ark.

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Read More | Variety

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