The TV Addict 

THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Chris Weitz had a hefty task ahead of himself when he set out to adapt Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass,” the first in the sprawling, rich, and layered “His Dark Material” series. I certainly don’t envy him the job, but then again, given the series’ ambitions I wouldn’t have recommended it for feature film adaptation to begin with. Sadly the film provides a perfect example of how not to adapt a novel. Weitz remains loyal to the original source material in the wrong ways. Instead of capturing the spirit of the book, he excises its best scenes and elements, and desperately tries to stitch them together into a cohesive film narrative, creating a Frankenstein monster instead: something that resembles a proper film, but isn’t. It doesn’t help that the film becomes bogged down by excessive exposition, noble – but foolish – attempts to somehow find a way to convey the numerous laws of Pullman’s universe. In the end the film is really something of a soulless experience, devoid of the fantasy, joy, and wonder material like this should easily elicit.

Overall rating: C-

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Through the delicate and assured handling of the material by screenwriter Ronald Harwood, director Julian Schnabel, and Mathieu Amalric, this true-story about former ELLE magazine editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby struggling to live with a body that is paralyzed but for one eye – through which he learns to communicate through blinking - accomplishes a rare feat in films about handicapped people overcoming their physical or mental limitations: it remains inspirational, heralding the perseverance of the human spirit, without ever becoming melodramatically cloying or over-sentimental. The reason it succeeds is because it never panders to Bauby’s condition, but instead uses it as a daring symbol for the way all of us have some form of handicap, some way in which we are trapped within ourselves. In other words, instead of distancing us from Bauby through our inability to relate to his position, it in turn becomes universally relatable. The film illustrates through one man’s unique physical condition (at the beginning this happens literally, as we see his surroundings through his eyes) the way in which we all – with the proper amount of aspiration and self-reflection – can learn to overcome our own entrapments, discover a new sense of the possibilities of life and love, and become something greater. If that’s not a genuinely inspiring and universal message, I’m not sure what is.

Overall rating: A-

27 DRESSES
Since I’m pretty much in complete agreement with the review of the film that was posted here a few months ago, so I’m just going to go ahead and link you to it, and throw my own personal grade on it.

Overall rating: B