Talk, Talking A Lot, But It's Still Talk

I really shouldn't have, by the way, given that I have a Stats exam that I really should be worrying about more than I am, but there's nothing I can do about that now.

The movie was...okay.  I thought it was cast extremely well, and the special effects were good.  I also thought it was funny that this movie was a bit of a reunion for actors from Lord of the Rings and Casino Royale.  But (of course there's a but) I really hated the way it ended.  I just didn't think that was where it should have been cut off - it wasn't even the ending of the book!  Now I'm afraid that they'll rush everything in the beginning of the second movie (which they have to make now). 

I don't know.  I just think it was a bad decision.  It would have been so much cooler if it had ended the way the book did.  And since it was the end that bothered me, I walked away with these really negative feelings about the movie even though it was pretty good for the most part.  Of course, whenever I see a book made into a movie, it always seems like everything's rushed because I'm used to having all these insights into the thoughts of the characters as they're doing things.  I felt like they glossed over some of the political intrigue, and I just don't see how they're going to keep the Church out of all three movies (although they did a good enough job calling it the "Magisterium" and eliminating any really obvious religious symbols, like crucifixes.)

I also thought it was weird that they switched around the Svalbard and Bolvangar scenes.  I can understand that the battle with the Tartars might be a little more climactic than the fight between Iorek and Iofur Raknison, but not that much - they could have definitely extended the Battle of the Bears (okay, that was bad).  And since I don't think the Tartars were connected with the bears - weren't they affiliated with Bolvangar? - it made no sense for them to deliver Lyra to Raknison.  I think they would have been better off leaving the scenes in their original order, because it also seemed stupid for Iorek to be all, "I am king!  So let's go somewhere completely different RIGHT FUCKING NOW."

I mean, come on.  It just doesn't work like that.

Anyway, those were the only major problems I had with it.  I thought Nicole Kidman kicked ass, and I loved Lee Scoresby's character - he was always one of my favorites in the books.  And it's always great to be able to see things that are sometimes hard to picture while reading - the constant presence of the daemons, the alethiometer, and so on.  But overall it fell a little short of my expectations, which was disappointing.  The previews made it look much better than it was.

Oh, well.  Maybe Subtle Knife will be better - at least Will will be in that one.  Although (and this is going to sound so mean, not to mention pedophilic), I hope the guy cast as Will is a mite easier on the eyes than the kid who plays Roger.   Not because  I think  he should be really attractive, but we do have to look at him for a while and it would be nice if he didn't look like he was fused with a beaver in the womb. 

...That sounds so superficial and cruel.  *shame*  But seriously people, I mean to say.

I don't know if pedophilic is a word, by the way.  Is it a word?  I don't feel like looking it up just now.

Okay, I'm getting tired. Time to end the cut.