Series | The Movie Rat

61 Days of Halloween- Halloween (2007)

Posted on October 29, 2011 by bernardovillela

Most holidays worth their while encompass entire seasons, such as Christmas, for example. However, as you may have noticed there is a corporate push every year for us to think about the next holiday even sooner. While this has many negative side effects I figure I may as well embrace it.

Since Labor Day is really only good for college football and movie marathons cinematically it is as significant as Arbor Day, which means the next big day on the calendar is Halloween and we can start looking toward it starting now.

Daily I will be viewing films in the horror genre between now and then and sharing the wealth. Many, as is usually the case, will not be worth it so for every disappointment so I will try and suggest something worth while as well.

Halloween (2007)

Daeg Faerch in Halloween (Dimension)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween is one of the most confoundingly schizophrenic horror films in the history for the genre. Rarely, if ever do you see unabashed greatness and miscalculation fight so mightily with each other for screen time.

You have here such juxtaposition such that I’ve revisited the film several times. A great film is rarely as compelling and fascinating as one that squanders greatness somewhere along the way and this film does that perhaps in more spectacular fashion than almost any film.

The film follows Young Michael for 35 minutes. Most of those minutes are riveting, even when there are shortcomings it is still engaging because it is brand new material. The mistake in this film was to ever age Michael.

I am not arguing that Zombie needed to be beholden to the continuity of the original series. It would just have been a much more effective tale had you examined Michael further and left him right on the brink of what he was about to do on Halloween. There was a room for it. You could’ve witnessed the trial shown more of him being responsive to Loomis before he shuts down. He could create more havoc in the institution.

And conversely the sequel could be a condensed version of all that he and Laurie go through with a lot of the fat trimmed out. However, for what the film does decide to do there are still areas where execution could’ve been better.

The first 35 minutes of the film are the epitome of horror and here’s why it gets under your skin and makes you so terribly uncomfortable: A case in point would be Michael’s first kill. You sympathize completely with Michael due to the bullying Wesley subjects him to. However, when Michael gets his revenge his assault is so brutal it’s stomach-turning. So you’re left with this unease and ambivalence that is just jaw-droppingly horrific. The same can be said for his disposal of his family. It’s not necessarily that there is even sympathy for the victims so much that his killing is so brutally assured that it’s bone-chilling.

A lot of that is conveyed through the iconic performance by Daeg Faerch. Sadly, I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened this way but I am quite certain that if Faerch hadn’t been around, this film ought not to have been made at all. Much like is Spielberg hadn’t seen Haley Joel Osment he would’ve delayed A.I. indefinitely. It’s that kind of performance a coupling of character and actor that works so well it’s rare and truly a sight to see. Think of the great antagonist horror performances of the last 25 years and this one is on par with if not better than they are.

Look at it this way, Michael is being given a face and voice in this film after nearly 30 years of silence. That is a massive undertaking for an actor. A hard role to live up to and much less excel in.

Now for me to say the wheels come off simply because the original started being rehashed would be unfair, it is a remake after all. It is how the rehash is executed that makes it not work.

Laurie Strode and her friends need a different tone. They didn’t talk and act all that much different than the Myers family. Half of which Michael killed and we wanted him too. There needs to be some added virtues to Laurie that make us want to root for her.

This is the alternate universe of a horror film where our baser instincts come to the surface. Michael is who we are most familiar with. He is the star, he will not die. There has to something special about a character to make us really want them to escape his clutches. If you’re just a foul-mouthed skank no different than the sister he killed except that you never met him why should I care?

Look at Laurie Strode in the original, yes, her friends talked frankly about sex and drug usage and things of that ilk but Laurie was honestly embarrassed by some of the talk. She kind of went along with her friends but she was not the fornicating-when-she-should-be-baysitting type. That’s why we identify with her. Not only is she an innocent but we like her better than her friends and if we want the friends to live it’s only for Laurie’s sake.

So the type of characters Laurie and her friends are is a problem. Unfortunately, so are the actors playing the parts. There is such a wild inconsistency in the quality of performance in this film that it makes it nearly impossible for it to succeed. You run the gamut from Daeg Faerch and Malcolm McDowell to Sheri Moon Zombie and Scout Taylor-Compton.

You also get small and at times distracting appearances by many actors who have made a splash in the history of horror films. Had this been a completely original tale that may have been less of an issue. Dealing with an iconic character and story it’s unwelcome.

Poor acting is forgivable to an extent in a horror film if the situation remains scary and interesting enough but quite frankly the film gets long in the tooth. It’s not necessarily that in a series you can really get pre-conditioned to a running time but frankly the Halloween films typically clock in a just over 90 minutes for a reason: that’s all you need. Whether the theatrical cut (109 minutes) or unrated (121) it’s too long, for the given story. It really makes me wonder what the edited Brazilian cut (83) plays like.

Then of course you have the ending. The open ending that isn’t quite open and has about five too many screams in the mix. It may be the greatest anti-climax of an ending that any film in the series has. Even the follow up has a better, more coherent and effective capper than this despite the fact that its even worse. After nearly two hours a screaming close-up is really not the taste I want left in my mouth. It literally could’ve been almost anything else and it would’ve been better.

5/10

61 Days of Halloween: Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Posted on October 29, 2011 by bernardovillela

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

As per usual this installment started with scenes of the previous films spliced in, here however they finally get creative with it and have it be more montage style and less blatant exposition as it also shows several memorable kills right off the bat to get the audience’s appetite whetted for what’s to come.

The film also picks up immediately with the paramedics and police clearing the scene of the latest massacre. In a very nice touch the film actually takes a breath once the camp is empty anew and lets us realize that this was just the scene of chaos and now it’s as if nothing happened, all we hear are the crickets. It’s perhaps the best of the few masterful strokes this film has. It’s a film that eventually trips itself but that was a great moment.

The dialogue throughout most of the film is nothing short of a train wreck. Couple that with much overacting and it’s difficult to have sympathy for many of the characters who Jason is about to slay.

There are too many characters in the equation in this film, especially considering how it ends. You meet the Jarvis family, then a group of teens going to a cabin in the woods (cue the score from Evil Dead: The Musical) and the twins they meet and then a Jason hunter. Now I am well aware that this is a body count franchise but the time could’ve been alloted differently. Shorter teen & twins intro, shorter canoodling sequence, get them killed build the Jarvis family and the “Jason hunter” who will factor greatly in the film.

There are, in the end, too many balls in the air that don’t really have any bearing on the end of the film or the main thrust of the film. Again these things can still happen but they were either too long or repetitive. There is some bad random 80s dancing, randomly found silent porn which is watched for too long, a lot of cattiness both of the male and the female variety that can all be avoided.

While the end with Jason being fooled by Tommy and Tommy’s turn are wonderful truly masterful strokes there is prior stupidity that undercuts its effectiveness. The main sticking point is this: Trish is frantic when she finds out Jason’s loose and has to get home to protect Tommy. She returns home in a panic to confirm he’s fine. She is informed their mom is missing. Even though “The Hunter” insists she stays home while he finds her and Jason she insists on going…which leaves Tommy, who she was just so panicked about, alone again…come on man! It’s the simplest fix in the world and it wasn’t fixed and just took me out of the moment. Suspension of disbelief, gone.

The end does manage to be effective. If you like the series and are a completist definitely view it but it was hanging on by thread to liking it but that lapse in logic lost me.

4/10

61 Days of Halloween- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Posted on October 18, 2011 by bernardovillela

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Danielle Harris in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (Universal)

So here you have the return of Michael Myers to the Halloween series. For my opinion of the nomenclature issues that faced Part III and how I loved Part III regardless go here.

One thing that is worth noting about the Halloween series is that their pace of production has frequently fallen behind that of the Friday the 13th series and perhaps event the Nightmare on Elm Street films, which has allowed I believe for a greater consistency. In fact, I heartily applaud the recent decision to postpone plans for Halloween 3D due to scheduling so it can be done right as opposed to fast.

What is interesting is that this film marks the beginning of the Jamie Lloyd section of films. Much like the Friday the 13th films had their Tommy Jarvis sections.

This edition starts with Michael being transferred anew. More precautions are taken but adding to his legend this does do any good and he manages to get out.

Typically, the Halloween films worked hard to give Michael legitimate reason to get out and go on a rampage. Sometimes they worked a bit too hard trying to explain and you wonder how he knew but at least he was given motive and is not merely a killing machine.

This also begins the section of the films where Loomis starts fighting wars on two fronts. One with the medical establishment who does not take his warnings seriously enough and with the cops who place blame on him for being Myers’ doctor.

While it may strike some as a little convenient that Loomis hitches a ride with a preacher it is an interesting little interlude that lends some depth to the film. While in any other context the preachers warnings and admonishments might seem a little absurd in the context of Michael Myers they make perfect sense.

While we do see Jamie teased some at the beginning there is not enough of a connection established to her such that we identify enough with her. So we want for her to escape from Michael’s clutches only because she is an innocent and not because we know her.

This film also tries to create this E.T.-like symbiosis between Michael and Jamie that doesn’t quite work. It’s a bit of a leap of faith.

This is also where the series starts to make cross-film tricks. In the first Halloween you knew he got away. That was the shocking twist at the end. Here there was little evidence to suggest survival except that you knew there’d be another movie.

The twist here will be lightened in the next film. Of the pair this is clearly the better film as this chapter of the tale doesn’t close as successfully as the previous one.

6/10

61 Days of Halloween- Masters of Horror: Family

Posted on October 7, 2011 by bernardovillela

Masters of Horror: Family

Masters of Horror: Family (Starz Productions)

The Masters of Horror series, when it was on the air, was a valuable and important addition to the horror genre. It frequently employed those who had made their name in the genre and subsequently had made it better. It also allowed them through these tales running approximately an hour to push the envelope, explore new ground and to pack quite a punch in this odd little running time that sits just past the feature film mark.

John Landis’ film Family is a perfect example of how this series allowed those who worked on it to excel. This material finds the director in top form. The material is two-sided allowing Landis to explore both the humor and horror of a situation. It tells the tale of a loner (George Wendt) who has a very strange way of building a family.

The film cuts well and uses audio creatively to help bring the world playing out in the protagonist’s mind out into the open so we can all see it. A world which is convincingly conveyed by George Wendt.

The film like a few in the series has an interesting twist at the end which is carried out with some panache and a few scares. The effects work is decent if inconsistent they do drive home the sick process this character goes through.

This series as a whole is worth checking out if you are unfamiliar with it and John Landis’s Family should be one of the first films you look for.

8/10

61 Days of Halloween- Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering

Posted on October 6, 2011 by bernardovillela

Naomi Watts and Mark Salling in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (Dimension)

Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is an absolute dud. If it wasn’t for some of the performances this film might rank lower in the annals of the franchise than it does. It is seriously sluggish throughout and never gets anywhere fast.

The most notable thing about this film is that two of its more prominent players have gone on to bigger and better things and you can see why Naomi Watts and Mark Salling (Glee) are so much better than the parts they play and the film they’re in that they scarcely lift it up but merely make their portions of the film somewhat tolerable.

To get a sense of the issues that this film faces there is yet another noteworthy performance in this film and it is that of Karen Black. It’s actually a shame to see someone like Karen Black in a film like this and it made me think of the Family Guy joke about her just a little bit different, not as an obscure reference but in an obscure film.

This also one of the films in the series wherein the child prophet (Josiah played by Brandon Klayla) is missing through a large majority of the film. Rather than write him scarier he’s disfigured with bad prostheses and doesn’t invoke as much fear as he should, however, he is behind the eight ball due to his screen time.

This film also suffers from the fact that it’s the one that does the most to try and absolve the children of being evil. The corn and its disease plays a major role in this film and though some of the hospital scenes are the better ones in the film it’s a perpetuation of an unfortunate development in the series that thankfully dies after this film.

While this film does only somewhat better in juggling a blossoming romance and a horror story it misses the boat. The problem is romances are exciting and new and you “have” to watch the courtship and have it detract from the reason you’re watching the film, to be scared. Yes, it could help you connect to these characters and raise the stakes but it also introduces a lot of artifice and room for easy exposition, life stories as exchanges and so forth. Whereas in the original, the remake and the latest installment one of the stronger elements in all of them is that the couples have an existing relationship. They have a history they talk, debate, bicker and fight and you learn about them in a more subtle way and have a better chance of rooting for them because they are together and want to get out go on a honeymoon, have kids and what have you. Marriages, and/or committed relationships have more permutations, interest and conflicts than star-crossed love stories.

The other huge issue with this film is indicated by the subtitle, The Gathering. There’s not much more to it than that. It’s likely if not the most, one of the most anticlimactic films in the series. In the other ones, even those that aren’t good, at least deliver a compelling climax, in conception anyway.

I frequently write about the last image, shot and/or scene of a film being very important. After a film such as this one you want that scene to something quick and simple and hopefully not open, I’ll grant it that this one wasn’t an open end but still kind of a gimmicky one but unfortunately fitting considering what preceded it.

3/10

61 Days of Halloween- Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest

Posted on September 27, 2011 by bernardovillela

Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest

Daniel Cerny in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (Dimension)

After having watched Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice I was considering devising a system wherein I gauged the painfulness of these films by which body part I’d rather punch repeatedly for 90 minutes than having sat through that film. Thankfully, I never got around to hatching those plans because along came Children of the Corn 3: Urban Harvest.

One thing I will say right off the bat is that this film unquestionably wins the award for the worst subtitle of any of the Children of the Corn sequels, while it is accurate it is also terrible and makes you think this film will be a lot worse than it is.

The fact of the matter is I love this film. I might even go so far as to use the annoying variant “lurve” if I could distinguish the difference in usage. Anyway, that is not to say that this one is perfect or better than the first but there’s a spark of creativity here, a flair and embracing of the concept in this one you don’t get in other films in the series. It’s also a little out there and in that way it is to an extent the Halloween 3: Season of the Witch equivalent in this series.

The connection to the original film is really a chronological one, a narrative one. This film uses the same scenario as two; orphaned children in need of care and handles it so much better than the previous film. Here you get a focused situation: Eli (Daniel Cerny) and his brother Joshua (Ron Melendez) come to the big city from Gatlin. The religion and the cult are on the road in a big city and are about to get a big foothold.

What also sets this sequel apart is that it features its antagonist prominently makes him someone you can understand when you hear him preach and speak but also makes him vile enough that you aren’t upset if he’s defeated. Stories from the Bible and quoting of scripture is used very effectively in the film through Eli making the cult seem like something that makes sense. If the children seem justified in their ritual of killing adults and sacrificing themselves it makes them that much more frightening. Understanding a killer’s mind can be a terrifying thing. If a horror film makes you understand that, it’s a winner.

The conveyor of the message in this tale, that is more religious than most, is equally important. Daniel Cerny may not have had the longest or most prolific career as a child actor but he did find two roles he was very well suited for that are quite memorable: Eli and the Demon in Demonic Toys. There’s something intangible about his performance. He’s just scary. He doesn’t have the widest range or convey them all emotions equally well, however, at least he can handle dialogue and he can get angry and headstrong. It’s the kind of performance that might best be labeled as great yet inconsistent.

Kills are not something you’ll hear me discuss too much in this series. The Children of the Corn series as a whole isn’t filled with creative deaths it doesn’t really fit the slasher mold. Not only does this film have some jaw-droppingly effective and creative kills but quite a few of them. Which leads to another element of a successful horror film: no one seems safe.

The tone is set early on in the teaser scene. It reveals how these children were orphaned and Eli’s true nature and we know it all along and his brother doesn’t. The film carries that secret for a while but then it also is keeping from us, which it spills later on.

Another way in which this film kind of reminded me of the third Halloween film is in the handling of the corn itself. Now, here there is a subplot of the corn being somewhat supernatural and malevolent. It seemingly selectively can take down the infidels. The visuals of those deaths paired with the tag at the end make it very similar but it’s also the best handling of this development in the story. After the next film this notion vanishes entirely.

In short, this is the one direct sequel (as opposed to any remakes), that as soon as I was done watching it I could see myself gladly viewing again. It also proves how bad a place to watch a film basic cable is because I’ve seen parts of many of these films and the Halloween films there before getting the DVDs and they make the experience so much worse. This sequel truly is one worthy of its predecessor and is a blast to watch.

8/10

61 Days of Halloween: Children of the Corn II- The Final Sacrifice

Posted on September 27, 2011 by bernardovillela

Ryan Bollman in Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (Dimension Films)

When dealing with a series, like I am currently or have in the past, I will tend to lean towards something akin to Franchise Criticism. I will focus on the continuous narrative thread and other things pertaining to the franchise. My opinion of each individual film I will try and compartmentalize but there will be commentary along the lines mentioned above because it is necessary to gauge the franchise as a whole which I will do later on.

One thing to note with the Children of the Corn films is that there is a very distinct aspect about them which acts as a double-edged sword; it is that many times in the sequels you will see a new wrinkle, fact or other bit of information added to the mythos and you’ll think to yourself “God, I hope they don’t continue this strain.” The double-edged sword part is that they usually don’t. The good of that is that stupid subplot never rears their head anew, however, that does hurt the continuity of the series. With each installment you need really only know the basics and can walk in cold, which by my definition makes it a bad series. While there are a few occasional highlights be it a moment, performance or a whole film I cannot contradict myself there. Most of these films will receive failing grades yet it was oddly enjoyable to watch them all for two reasons: one, the basic premise is one I love and I am addicted to series. I can’t help it.

As for Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice not only does it hold the distinction of being the most premature false ending to a horror franchise but it’s also pretty darn lousy. It’s not the worse but but perhaps runner-up in the franchise pecking order.

Firstly, the film lets the cat out of the bag so to speak; the massacre in Gatlin has been discovered and it’s now on the news. This in and of itself isn’t an issue, however, the way it’s handled is. The focus of the narrative is bifurcated between reporter John Garrett (Terence Knox) and his annoyingly dysfunctional relationship with his equally annoying and whiny son Danny (Paul Scherrer) and his relationship with Lacey (Christie Clark).

Oh yeah, there’s also Micah (Ryan Bollman). He’s the new preacher and how Danny nearly gets lured into the cult is one of the few things that comes close to working in this film. The acting is terrible all around in this film it is without doubt the worst in the series. Micah is good for some random evil glares and when he gets a chance to finally be mean it’s fine but many sequels in the series put the antagonist (read the Preacher Boy) too far away from the center of it all.

The film plays at love story for quite a while and despite the fact that Lacey is in with the cult the tension surrounding their relationship is never really elevated. Michah’s involvement only increases when he’s actively trying to get Danny involved. It’s also one of the sequels that seemed to feel uncomfortable in its own skin meaning that instead of trying to lay a good foundation of drama there were times it tries too hard to be something it’s not, in this case, a star-crossed romance.

This also marks the beginning of the shifting of location of this series. The horrors in Gatlin were discovered. Many children, presumed innocent, are now orphaned and in need of foster care. Many people in Hemingford, the closest town up the road, offer to take them in. Here’s where bad writing and acting combine to really take the film down another notch: several times they refer to the orphans as a whole as “the sweet, innocent children of Gatlin, (or some such rot) there is not a time this line is uttered where it doesn’t sound insincere. I’m not speaking about audience omniscience, meaning we know they’re really evil so we chuckle, I mean the line reading itself sounds like the actor is being sarcastic or comedic so suspension of disbelief is most difficult.

One thread that does develop hear that dies hard is the notion of disease, mental or physical, is brought into the equation as a possibility, which is unforgivable because it changes the nature of the films. Essentially the film is in not so many words is trying to play the psychotic, cultist, religious zealot children off as victims. However, one thing I do appreciate later on is that it is treated as a white elephant, meaning it’s a concept so big it can’t just be dropped from the series but needs to be gradually written out. Franchises would benefit from story editors because not many changes were handled that smoothly.

Then you have the characters, yeah, those guys. Despite the efforts to develop them I don’t like them. If the audience is going to identify with anyone it’s the kids trying to run away not the father, not the way he’s written. So here you have it again the most annoying permutation of horror film you don’t really like anyone and you know that in all likelihood they’re gonna walk away at the end and you’d rather they be dead.

Few horror films, as a franchise, really survive in their most earnest form: if the villain wasn’t the protagonist to start eventually they become them because they’re who the movie is named after and the characters seem to get dumber, more disposable less identifiable, therefore what do you want to happen to them in a horror film, a piece of entertainment designed to feed on your baser instincts? Kill them. All I’m saying is few far between are the effective, affable protagonists later on in horror series. The constant gives you comfort and a twisted ending gives you pleasure from time to time.

There’s none of that here. After I saw this film I lamented on Twitter about deciding to place the original film last in my viewing order thinking it’d be all downhill until got there. This series like so many has its peaks and valleys. This is a chasm, not quite an abyss, we will get their but its rather painful to endure.

2/10

The Trouble with The Magician’s Nephew

Posted on March 23, 2011 by bernardovillela

The Chronicles of Narnia (Scholastic)

So yesterday the beans were finally spilled that it will be the Magician’s Nephew that is the next book in The Chronicles of Narnia that will be adapted into a film. Now I had been one of a select group of fans who had adamantly supported The Silver Chair as the next book that should get adapted and not just for continuity’s sake, as Eustace, played by Will Poulter, in the only character that crosses over to that book from Dawn Treader.

The fact that this debate exists is interesting and indicative of a few things that are unique about the Narnia series as opposed to other fantasy properties.

First, it needs to be acknowledged that the chronology was always likely to be fractured. Those seeds were sewn by C.S. Lewis himself. For it was Lewis himself who wrote The Magician’s Nephew after the other six installments and pleaded, mostly to no avail, that it be read before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As a child I did not read it as such. When the first film was about to be released I searched for information on reading order and finally took the tales in properly.

Of course, we all know The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first film and subsequently that the producers decided that it was to be the Pevensie tales would be told first. Whereas in other fantasy properties you typically have a continuity in the personages populating the tale. Lewis, however, is true to the name of his series and this series are about the stories and about the land rather than a particular lead or group thereof.

If one adheres to Lewis’s reading plot the books that have been adapted thus far are numbers two, four and five. The decision to go to The Magician’s Nephew, an origins tale, at this point is a curious one on a few accounts.

Firstly, I find it a bit of a curious business decision. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader just crossed the $400 Million mark in international box office receipts and it is a film that took the somewhat unusual path in this day and age of building by word-of-mouth. Due in part to the disappointment most felt in Prince Caspian it didn’t break out of the box strong but had staying power when people realized this one is very good indeed.

With a franchise redeemed, at least in a financial sense, it would seem like the most obvious decision in the world to go next to the one tale that had any sort of connection.

Will Poulter in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (20th Century Fox)

Furthermore, it needs to be noted that while the film doesn’t make it explicit I assumed Will Poulter is playing quite a few years younger than he is in Dawn Treader. Given some time off he may not look the part of Eustace as much as he does now. Not that I think he’d be replaced but it just might seem a bit awkward or need a bit of a re-write when the Silver Chair‘s time does come.

With this sort of momentum I even entertained the wild fantasy that funding would be sought for both potential next films to shoot simultaneously and release one shortly after another. The fact of the matter is the remaining volumes need not all have the same director as each has its own sensibility.

Pipe dreams aside, personally I would’ve liked Silver Chair next not just because I prefer that story but because it made more logical sense. The series has already pleasantly surprised me in two of its three installments so I am more than willing to withhold judgment but as I said it strikes me as odd.

With Narnia being by its very nature a more fragmented series it does raise some doubts as to what its cinematic future is. Let us assume the tale works as well as possible and the marketing draws in enough fans new and old, then what?

After The Magician’s Nephew the books that remain are: The Horse and His Boy, book number three, a more introspective tale than any of the others. It always struck me as having a Carol Ballard’s Black Stallion vibe, which would make it rather an artistic venture and as such it’s a gamble. I can’t see the producers gambling twice in a row so I predict this book would be the 6th film of the series.

The Silver Chair being the runner-up this time around would thus be the 5th film adapted and naturally The Last Battle would close out the series.

If films four and five connect then I think it’d be safe to assume they could afford a gamble and a closing chapter.

When it started there were no guarantees, and there still isn’t, that this series would see completion. It’s an older property than the other big budget films and has Christian overtones, which do not appeal to some but it’s never been about that to me it’s been about great storytelling.

In conclusion, I do like The Magician’s Nephew and definitely think there’s potential there with new cast members and story which re-examines some familiar motifs. I am just not sure it was the right choice as the next film. However, if it does well this series will be one step closer to following in Harry Potter‘s footsteps, proving you can plan a massive series and achieve it. If you consider that I believe two of the first three Narnia installments trump Potter it is very exciting news regardless of which novel they chose to adapt next.