procrastination blues

I keep taking study breaks to listen to the Spamalot cast recording. Why am I doing this? I didn't even think it was that good of a show. It was so inferior to the film. The songs weren't as good as I'd hoped, and yet.......

...Once in every show there's a song that goes like this,
It starts off soft and low, and ends up with a kiss
Oh where is the song that goes like this?
A sentimental song that casts a magic spell
They all will hum along, we'll overact like hell
Sing me the song that goes like this.
Now we can go straight into the middle eight
A bridge that is too far for me
I'll sing it in your face while we both embrace
And then we change the key!..

I don't get it, but it's like a guilty pleasure thing. Oh, and before I forget, I present to you the official mascot of Arts Deux:


It is Virginia Woolf, and she is beyond tipsy.

She will also be contributing to this blog on a regular basis, you can e-mail her at virginny.woolf@gmail.com.

I'm gonna have a talk with her about all these terrible biographies that I'm being forced to read. Good grief, it's tough. The good thing is that, after tomorrow, I can never open this stupid packet again.

Oh! And my download of The Golden Compass will be complete!

I know that I've written a lot about how much I was looking forward to the film, and now that I've seen it, I should post a general review.

First and foremost, the film had a flawless production quality; the cast, the CGI, the sets, the costumes, the atmosphere, all were created so perfectly and flawlessly that I have no qualms about it. When you're going to see a movie based on a book that you're in love with, it doesn't really matter if they get the story completely right, just that the look of the film and the faces of the characters matches what's in your mind. And everything was perfect, especially Dakota Blue Richards, the girl who "beat out" thousands of other girls to get the coveted part of Lyra. She was perfect-her voice, her movements, her reactions, every bit of her the perfect embodiment of her character. This was a big deal because she's completely unknown; we could at least have faith in the other cast members, who all have a considerable amount of well-documented acting chops (Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliot, Ian McKellan, and a blink-and-you-miss-him Christopher Lee). With them, of course, I have no comments. Kidman was particularly spot-on as the metallically sweet Mrs. Coulter, and since this is Kidman's first villainous role, it was especially juicy, and she stole every scene that she was in. Elliot, too, commanded the camera, proving that he is the only person in the world who could pull off a stereotypical Texan and make it seem heartwarming and genuine. Everyone else? Perfect perfect perfect. The Aletheiometer was done well, though the "going inside the machine" sequences dried out after the second time, seeming much too formulaic. But the script, as far as dialogue goes, was well written enough to get the story across, to explain the importance of dust, et. al.

The only real problem I had with the film was that obvious involvement done on the part of the New Line producers. Where they were more than happy to give Phil Jackson a three hour minimum film, The Golden Compass clocks in at barely two hours. The film, which begins at a perfect pace with Lyra's life in Oxford (the best part of the film, for anyone who's read and loved the books), picks up a faster and faster pace, using more transitional shots than conversational ones, shifting the plot without leaving time to think. His Dark Materials is a coming of age story, and what gives those strength is the in-between bits, showing the characters slowly fitting into whatever new pair of shoes or boots they have. I understand taking those parts out for the sake of time in a film, but when it's such a short time...well, it doesn't make much sense. Equally unsettling is the pointless decision to cut the last part of the film, which encompassed three chapters of the book, one of the best climaxes I've ever read and what I was really hoping for. The even put parts of the scenes in the trailers, but removed them from the film in order to save them for the beginning of The Subtle Knife, which is again a bad choice. Much of the film, especially the exposition and the stressing of Dust and a multiverse, seemed to be for setting up the second film so that they can jump right into the action, which is good; those who have read the entire trilogy will recognize the opening "portal" as the one that Will travels through from our world into Citágazze. There's rumor of a possible Director's Cut of the movie to be released to DVD, which would be a longer version and include some of the in-between scenes. Even though Philip Pullman says that saving the last part of The Golden Compass for the beginning of The Subtle Knife was a good idea, a good portion of the trilogy's fans are up in arms about the choice, so maybe that'll rub off on the studio.

So yeah, the pacing could have been better. There's a debate going on with those who have reviewed the film on BridgeToTheStars.net about whether or not the Magesterium was portrayed correctly. My thoughts? Yes and no. The depiction of London as one giant St. Peter's Cathedral and the long robes of the Magesterium's officials, as well as Fra Pavel's (Simon McBurney, as if he wasn't British enough) rosary beads constantly in his palm and his denouncement of Asriel's decision to find other words where there is no God as "Heresy". But the Magesterium is also depicted as a "big bad wolf" sort of organization, like the shadowy figures behind a terrorist cartel or the Emperor in Star Wars. This, I think, is done to prove how wrong it is, but it also takes away from its strength by pigeon-holing them as such. Some criticize that the role of the Magesterium as the Church has been downplayed; despite the fact that it is never really explained in depth as being a completely religious organization until the second book. I personally think that it was done well, though I have a few qualms about them constantly referring to the importance of "the last Aletheiometer...also known as The Golden Compass", which they probably say about seven times in the film. No one ever calls it "The Golden Compass", and the Aletheiometer is not as important as Lyra is. Her fate, of course, is not to be the person who can read the Aletheiometer, but the person who ends the Authority and stops death. Hopefully that will be more important in the next film, which I hope doesn't take three years to make.

Final verdict? 4.5/5

Now I really have to get back to work (dammit) on this Woolf final (dammit dammit) before getting to bed so I can get up for work. Whooee. Can't wait to be getting myself home, nope.