‘Narnia’ a masterful, epic film likely to launch new franchise

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In theaters

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE, directed by Andrew Adamson, written by Ann Peacock, Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, 135 minutes, rated PG.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” startles with the intensity of its violence, which is surprising given its PG rating; the dramatic pull of its characters, which grab hold from the start; and the seamless incorporation of the special effects, which are among the year’s best.

From director Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the script with Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, this stirring epic based on C.S. Lewis’ children’s book is filled with masterful touches that resonate. It likely will launch a new Disney franchise, so there is every reason to take note if what’s to come is anywhere near as good as this.

As the film opens, we’re in the midst of World War II, the place is London, bombs are exploding and the blitz is on, with the four Pevensie siblings – Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) – being whisked out of their home by their mother for the safety of the countryside.

There, in the large manor house to which the children retreat, they allegedly will be safe from war. But when the youngest child, Lucy, steals into a room that holds a wardrobe hidden beneath a tossed sheet, curiosity leads her inside, where she finds beyond the mass of fur coats a magical world of great beauty and greater danger. The danger rests in the wicked Valkyrie warrior, Jadis (Tilda Swinton) – the formidable White Witch with the bleached skin, the black eyes, the jagged icicles for a crown – who has put the kibosh on Christmas throughout this netherworld called Narnia.

This most bitter, hateful of queens has turned Narnia into a snow-white wonderland frozen to its core, with its inhabitants – talking animals, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, and any number of other assorted beasts, particularly two chatty, lovable beavers – eager to defeat her.

To do so, they will need the help of the Pevensie children, who must dig deep within themselves to find the necessary mettle to join forces with the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) and his army. A ferocious war ignites, with the White Witch rising to her full power and the Pevensies unable to escape their share of tragic consequences or some difficulty thanks to Edmund, who goes wrong in ways that won’t be revealed here.

Alongside the trilogy to which it will be compared – Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” series – “Narnia” stands tall, building to an almost operatic tone. The comparisons are fitting since Lewis was a close friend of Tolkien’s while each was teaching at Oxford. For those who have read the books, seen the movies or both, you have to wonder what was in the water at Oxford during the 1950s, when each man was crafting his tale. Whatever it was – likely a hallucinogen given the subjects at hand – when you fall into the worlds they created, you come away grateful for it.

Grade: A

On video and DVD

THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, directed by Judd Apatow, written by Apatow and Steve Carel, 111 minutes, rated R.

The funniest, most affectionate and – as it happens – dirtiest comedy of the year turns out to be “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” an outrageous movie from Judd Apatow that stars Steve Carell as Andy Stitzer, a doe-eyed neophyte in need of some serious manscaping who has gone a stretch longer than most when it comes to having sex.

The film’s opening shot proves that impotency is hardly the reason behind Andy’s virginity. When we first see him, he’s crossing the screen in a pair of boxer shorts that reveal – how to put this delicately? – a flower in full bloom.

And yet the way Stitzer carries himself belies such boxer short bravado. Shoulders rounded, face drawn, spirit wounded, he shuffles to the washroom in a haze. Outward appearances suggest that Andy could be the big man on campus, for sure, but everything else in his life suggests that somewhere along the road, he lost his way.

Andy is the good nerd – the pop-culture pick-upon you come to love; his insecurities and neuroses are human and recognizable, which is the key reason the film works as well as it does. His job at the electronics superstore Smart Tech is joyless dreck, every bit as unsatisfying as his life, but that’s soon to change. When his co-workers, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco) and Cal (Seth Rogen), invite him to a game of poker, they stumble upon the root of Andy’s angst.

He isn’t the serial murderer everyone has always assumed him to be. Instead, he’s just a shy, 40-year-old virgin humiliated by his situation. It’s a revelation that embarrasses Andy, but which gives these emotionally stunted yet well-meaning men reason to get organized. They want Andy to know what they believe – sex is good, sex is your friend – and so it’s full speed ahead to turn him into a new-age Lothario.

The film is a deceptive sleight of hand. It sounds as if it’s purely low-brow, which it certainly is in parts, but not in total. No comedy this consistently laugh-out-loud funny could only be the result of sex jokes – after 10 minutes, they’d lose their punch. The energy would evaporate. Nobody would bother to light up.

Purists will scoff at the idea that a picture so good-naturedly raunchy could also be bright and smart, but “Virgin” proves them wrong. The movie is expertly conceived, acted and written.

Grade: A

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

The Video-Dvd Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl In 3-D – D-

The Amityville Horror – C-

Batman: Animated Series Vol. 4 – B+

Batman Anthology – A-

Batman Begins – A

Bride & Prejudice – B

The Brothers Grimm – D-

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – A-

Cinderella Man – A

Crash – D

Cypher – C+

The Devil’s Rejects – B

Dukes of Hazzard – D

Empire Falls – C-

The Exorcism of Emily Rose – C+

The 40-Year-Old Virgin – A

Garfield and Friends Vol. 5 – B

Guess Who – C+

Gus Van Sant’s Last Days – B-

Happy Endings – C+

Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection – A+

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – B-

Hostage – C-

The Interpreter – B+

The Island – C+

Kicking and Screaming – C

Kingdom of Heaven – B-

King Kong: Collector’s Edition – A

Kung Fu Hustle – A

A Lot Like Love – D

Madagascar – D

March of the Penguins – A

M*A*S*H: Season 9 – B

Melinda and Melinda – B

Million Dollar Baby – A

Millions – A-

Monster-in-Law – B-

Mr. & Mrs. Smith – B

The Mummy Collector’s Set – B-

Must Love Dogs – C+

Robots – C-

Sahara – C-

Serenity – A-

Sin City – A-

The Skeleton Key – B

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – B+

Upside of Anger – B

Unleashed – C-

Valiant – C-

War of the Worlds – B+

The Wedding Date – B