Epically Bland

‘Compass’ can’t find its head, but it’s not that bad

(Dec. 13, 2007) Previews

Opening Friday, Dec. 14, is I Am Legend, yet another version of the apocalyptic 1954 novel by Richard Matheson. Will Smith is the military’s virus guy, taking over the role previously played by Charlton Heston (The Omega Man, 1971) and Vincent Price (The Last Man on Earth, 1964). It seems some really nasty virus has wiped out life on Earth except, possibly, Robert Neville, and the film follows his daily routine in a deserted Manhattan that is being reclaimed by the wild. Besides foraging for sustenance, he sends out daily signals in hopes of finding other survivors. Smith is usually an interesting actor. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. 110 m. At the Broadway, Fortuna, Mill Creek and the Minor.

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With the failure of The Golden Compass to rack up big box office numbers last weekend, the next great hope is the family comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks, which is based on the 1980s TV cartoon series about a group of chipmunks who sing 45 rpm records at 78 rpm speed. Jason Lee (TV’s My Name Is Earl) plays David Seville, creator of the computer-generated creatures. Presumably, the music has been updated. Rated PG for some mild rude humor. 98 m. At the Broadway, Fortuna and Mill Creek.

José (Mexican actor Eduardo Verástegui), the star of Bella, is a chef in his brother’s Mexican restaurant in Manhattan, but when waitress Nina (Tammy Blanchard, The Good Shepherd) is fired for tardiness, José quits as well. When Nina reveals that she is pregnant, José tries to talk her out of having an abortion and helps her find a new job. José’s selfless actions may be influenced by an event in his past. The film won a People’s Choice Award at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing images. 101 m. At The Movies.

Reviews

THE GOLDEN COMPASS:The Golden Compass is a film that is both impressive and disappointing. Based on the first novel of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, published in England in 1995 as Northern Lights, the film is adapted and directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy).

I have not read any part of the trilogy, but having done some research and talked to a few acquaintances who have read the books, I gather the original is widely seen as “anti-Christian,” although the author denies any such agenda. In a recent interview by Time magazine, he said in part, “I wouldn’t want to be a part of any movement that had an agenda. Any position I take is that of a storyteller who says, ‘Once upon a time, this happened.’”

Nonetheless, groups such as the Catholic League for Religious and Spiritual Rights have condemned both the books and the film even though the latter is “watered down.” In an ABC news article by Emily Friedman posted on its website on Dec. 8, 2007, a spokesperson for the Catholic League said, “Every single religious character is a terror in these books,” said McCaffrey. “There isn’t one who isn’t. And the heroes of the book — the children — are taught that churches are all the same and that they obliterate good feelings.”

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