Pertaining To Brightly Woven

(Written by Alexandra Bracken.) Sydelle Mirabil is not special. She's a talented weaver, yes, but otherwise is a perfectly normal girl growing up in an arid little town. So when a wizard named Wayland North singles her out as his companion to go on a dangerous journey, Sydelle is surprised and more than a little angry at being taken away from her family. She's isn't prepared to deal with all of North's mysteries and problems - and she's especially not prepared to face an evil wizard like Reuel Dorwan.

Pros: At last, a mainstream teen fiction book with real love! Sydelle and North really care for each other and want the best for each other - their love is not entirely romance. The characters seemed pretty real to me, with enough faults to make them human, but not annoying and childish like a lot of characters in books I've read.

Cons: Well, anytime a fantasy book has "goddesses," it makes me a little nervous. (Not that I see anything wrong with the goddesses in this book per se, after all, who's to say God didn't create many universes, some with guardian spirits?) It's just that the term "goddess" makes me squeamish. *Spoiler Warning* Then there's the part about the prophecy that says an evil goddess will come down in human form and crush the enemies of her followers. Sydelle is mistaken for this goddess - in other words, the goddess didn't come down. Now, this could be read as an insult to Christianity, both because it's an evil goddess who's supposed to come down, and because a not-so-ordinary human was mistaken for this goddess. However, any insult there might be is not blatant enough for me to label this book as "anti-Christian," particularly because the book is actually pretty good.

My Rating: T (sexual references and content)

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On Fairest

(Written by Gail Carson Levine.) Aza is ugly. No, seriously. Dull black hair, sickly pale skin, big bones, garish red lips, and puffy cheeks all combine to make her quite an ugly young lady. But Aza can sing like a lark - and throw her voice to any spot within a reasonable distance, a talent she calls illusing. Unfortunately, her special talent gets her into trouble when the queen finds out about it. Aza is coerced into projecting her singing voice onto the queen's lips during public events - and finds herself increasingly out of her depth, particularly where Prince Ijori is concerned.

Pros: This is a fun adaptation of Snow White. It's set in the same world as one of Levine's other books, Ella Enchanted. The irrepressible, irresponsible fairy Lucinda is back, although she's not in it very much. I really like Prince Ijori, who's a really nice guy, but pretty normal.

Cons: The constant singing is a bit much. (Although I don't really mind their idea that singing can help a sick person heal, because singing is a way of praying.) *Spoiler Warning* Apparently people who spend time in the magic mirror end up in a different place than normal people when they move on to the "afterlife" (so to speak). Which, of course, is utterly ridiculous. But that's only one line in the book.

My Rating: AGC

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Regarding Lady in the Water

Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) is a very nice, quiet man with a stammer. He's the supervisor for an apartment house in Philadelphia, and all the residents really like him. About the only thing that annoys him is a mysterious person swimming in the pool at night, which has happened a lot lately. But then he discovers who the mysterious swimmer is - a beautiful, ethereal young woman named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard). Story is a water nymph - a Narf - from Blue World. All she wants is to complete her mission and leave. But an evil creature the size of a large wolf has pursued her and is bent on killing her no matter what it takes.

Pros: First of all, the whole point of this movie is that everybody has a purpose in life. They may not know what it is they're supposed to do until the moment they need to do it, but there is no such thing as a worthless life. I also love the way God is brought into this movie. Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard both had simply awesome acting performances. And the characters in this movie are great. The various people in the apartment house have very distinct personalities, from the guy who only works out one side of his body to the older lady who tells everybody everything there is to know about her husband.

Cons: Unfortunately, this movie is not as subtle as the other M. Night Shyamalan movies I've seen. There's no need to look for a "deeper meaning" - things are stated clearly and concisely. Though, considering I would never have picked up on a couple things without having them specifically mentioned, I don't have too much of a problem with that. My other problem is that sometimes "the universe" is referred to as being responsible for some things - namely, for directly helping the protagonists. However, things are explained at a later part of the movie as being from God (though that isn't necessarily presented as being the definitive answer; it's just the opinion of a couple characters).

Note: Written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

My Rating: T (frightening images/situations, Story doesn't have much clothing on most of the time)

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Concerning Persuasion

Anne Elliot (Amanda Root) was persuaded to reject Captain Wentworth's (Ciaran Hinds) offer of marriage when she was merely nineteen. He had no money and no connections, and it was deemed wise for young Anne to wait for someone who would be more worthy of her. Eight years later, Captain Wentworth suddenly reappears in Anne's life. They are both still single, but Captain Wentworth appears to have quite gotten over his love for her. Anne suffers in silence as she watches him shower his attentions on a distant relative of hers. But then she meets a new man. Mr. Elliot (Samuel West), her estranged cousin, enters her life and is immediately attracted to her quiet prettiness and gentle heart. Anne quietly accepts his attentions, but somehow she can't quite cut the ties that bind her heart to the navy man she once rejected.

Pros: It's a wonderful love story. It's also funny, with many, many lines straight out of the book. Amanda Root is my ideal Anne Elliot. Samuel West is absolutely perfect as Mr. Elliot. They could have picked a handsomer Captain Wentworth than Ciaran Hinds, but otherwise he's great.

Cons: Lady Russell (Susan Fleetwood) and Mrs. Clay (Felicity Dean) are both horrible. Lady Russell looks like she has short hair (short hair! In a Regency period story!) and Mrs. Clay is not nearly pretty enough.

My Rating: AGC

In Relation To The Blind Side

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) is a big, big boy. When the football coach at a Christian private school spots him playing basketball, he immediately decides he needs this young man on his team. That leads to Michael's enrollment in the school, despite his low grade-point average. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), who has two children who attend the same school, spots him and discovers he has nowhere to sleep at night. Being a southern firecracker who always gets her way and always does the right thing, Leigh Anne brings him home - supposedly just for the night.

Pros: I was pleasantly surprised at how much God was mentioned in this movie. It's refreshing to watch a Christian movie that wasn't put out by a low-budget Christian studio. I liked all the main characters, especially the little boy S.J. (Jae Head), who was a scream. There were some very funny parts. I had heard that the filmmakers used Michael's story as a "prop" for showing the Tuohys's goodness, but I thought the movie was equally about Michael and the Tuohys.

Cons: Personally, I don't think Quinton Aaron is a particularly good actor. There were one or two very cliche lines.

My Rating: MT (sexual and drug references)

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Concerning The Bourne Identity

A young man (Matt Damon) is pulled out of the Mediterranean Sea by a group of fisherman. He's been shot in the back twice, is wearing some kind of hypothermal suit, and has a little metal thing with a Swiss bank account number in his hip. Never have the fishermen encountered anyone so mysterious. Who is he? What is he doing there? He doesn't know. He can't remember anything. But Conklin (Chris Cooper), the head of a secret CIA program, knows. The mysterious young man is Jason Bourne, a CIA agent who was sent on a top-secret mission - and failed. When his superior puts the pressure on, Conklin has to "clean up" the mess made by the Jason's failure. In other words, Jason had better put on his gloves, because he's in for a nasty fight.

Pros: First and foremost, this is a great action movie! Coming in at a close second, Matt Damon is really a great actor, and Franka Potente is perfect as Marie, the young lady who ends up joining forces with Jason. I love watching Jason's transformation from a guy wrapped up in his own problems, who's aware of everything except the feelings of the people around him (namely, Marie), to a guy with a heart. Conklin is funny in spite (and, yes, partly because) of his bad language.

Cons: The fighting isn't always one hundred percent realistic, although that's sort of splitting hairs.

Note: If you get the "Explosive Extended Version," just watch the theatrical movie. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two is the final scene, and the theatrical version is much better.

My Rating: T (sexual content, language, violence)

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Pertaining To The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) Pevensie are miserable. Their parents went off to America, taking their older siblings with them and leaving Edmund and Lucy behind in England. To be more specific, leaving them behind at their aunt and uncle's house - to live with their cousin, Eustace Clarence Scrubb (Will Poulter), a boy who almost deserved his name. But when the painting in Lucy's room magically transports the siblings - and their cousin - into Narnia to join now-King Caspian's (Ben Barnes) adventuresome voyage, life suddenly looks a lot brighter.

Pros: They got Aslan right! In the first two movies, little line tweaks messed up his character a little, but in this one... he was perfect. I was very pleased with how much was similar to the book, and with how much was changed. I love a lot of the elements of the book, but it bothered me that there wasn't really a drive behind the voyage. In other words, I really wished there was a more urgent objective other than sailing around looking for the lost lords. And the movie added that. Will Poulter was an awesome Eustace, and was definitely the best part of the movie! Also, a pre-release trailer showed Peter and Susan back in Narnia - but that part never made it into the theater version of the movie. I could really go on and on about what I liked; just suffice it to say I liked everything that didn't make it into my "cons" list.

Cons: Georgie Henley isn't a real great actress, although she's great at screaming. Another thing that bothered me is the rating. Now, I love movies that are intense or creepy (well, to a certain point, anyway), but this movie deserved a PG-13 rating for scariness and creepiness. There were little kids in the theater I went to who were crying by the end of the sea serpent scene. I love the scene; I just don't think it's appropriate for little kids. Also, what about Caspian and Ramandu's daughter?! She was awesome, but there's supposed to be a bit more than "I hope I see you again!" Grr.

Note: Based on the book by C.S. Lewis.

My Rating: T (gross and scary sea serpent, battles)

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