Friends, I hope you had a good weekend. On Saturday, 17 May 2008, Janice and I met Sara F. & Josh C. at the AMC Framingham cineplex for The Chronicles of Narnia [2]: Prince Caspian. The fantasy movie was entertaining enough for fans of C.S. Lewis' children's books, but it shared some of the source material's flaws.

Prince Caspian follows two plot threads, which have been altered only slightly from the novel. In the first, the title character realizes that his usurping Uncle Miraz intends to kill him (shades of Shakespeare's Hamlet) and flees into the forest, where he finds the mythical creatures that his people, the Telmarines, have nearly driven to extinction.

In the second track, one year after the events in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the four Pevensie children are having difficulty adjusting to their mundane lives back in World War II-era London. They are magically summoned back to the world of Narnia by Prince Caspian and learn that about 1,300 years have passed since they were kings and queens of the once-peaceful realm. The youngsters must learn to work together in the name of wise lion Aslan to defeat Miraz and his armies.

The film's acting, production design, and special effects are all very well-done. The young actors have grown but retain their charm from the first film. William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, and Georie Henley return as Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, respectively, and they are joined by the soon-to-be teen heartthrob Ben Barnes as Caspian (see photo).

The conquistador-style Telmarine newcomers, led by Sergio Castellitto as Miraz, were appropriately imposing. Veteran character actors Warwick Davis and Peter Dinklage are good as dwarves Nikabrik and Trumpkin, and cameos by Liam Neeson as Aslan, Tilda Swinton as the white queen Jadis, and Eddie Izzard as swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep again steal the show.

The costumes, castles, and creatures (including centaurs, satyrs, and gryphons) are arguably better realized than in Weta Workshop's previous efforts in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of a few years ago. The mountains, forests, and beaches of Poland, the Czech republic, Slovenia, and New Zealand are also spectacular. (Full disclosure: I have a shelf's worth of reference books on Lewis and the movies.)

As in many adaptations of classic literature, the focus shifts from character development to set-piece battles that were often mentioned only in passing originally. The action scenes are well-choreographed, but as with the book, there is a lack of narrative momentum. I have fond memories of a BBC live-action Narnia miniseries, which was somewhat less polished. We'll see if changing directors can make Voyage of the Dawn Treader more compelling, a strategy that has worked for the "Harry Potter" franchise.

The movie has its weak points, but I disagree with several critics who disliked Prince Caspian and don't appreciate the genre. Any similarities between Prince Caspian's animated trees and similar flora in Middle Earth or The Wizard of Oz are to be expected, since Lewis was friends with fellow author and professor J.R.R. Tolkien and drew inspiration from similar sources as L. Frank Baum.

Overall, I liked Prince Caspian more than other recent juvenile fantasy flicks, such as The Golden Compass, but I wonder if Disney should continue pushing the allegory-heavy series. I'd give this movie a 7 or 8 out of 10, or a solid B, while I'd give The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a B+/A-. The newer movie was rated PG for violence.

So far, Iron Man is the movie to beat for me this summer. Speed Racer and Prince Caspian were decent, but this coming weekend, I plan to screen Indiana Jones [4] and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In the coming months, we have Kung-Fu Panda, Incredible Hulk, Hellboy 2, Dark Knight, X-Files 2, and Mummy 3 to look forward to!

Friends, I hope you had a good weekend. Congratulations to Brian & Melissa F. on the birth of their daughter Alison Lynn!

On Saturday, 10 May 2008, Janice and I caught an early matinee of Speed Racer at the AMC Chestnut Hill multiplex. Although the anime-based movie hasn't done as well as Iron Man in terms of box-office returns or reviews, we enjoyed it.

Based on Japanese manga (comic books) and the influential 1960s cartoon, Speed Racer follows its titular hero (played by Emile Hirsch) through several key automobile races on tracks of escalating difficulty, from a giant roller coaster and a dangerous Mad Max-style cross-country rally to the international Grand Prix.

The film breaks up these races with flashbacks to the hero's childhood and interactions with his family and friends, as ably played by John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Christina Ricci, among others. Matthew Fox was properly mysterious as the renegade Racer X, who may or may not be Speed's brother. I was pleased to see Peter Fernandez, who worked on the animated series, as an announcer. Even Speed's younger brother Spritle and simian sidekick Chim-Chim are tolerable, as they mostly play pranks on villainous sponsor Mr. Royalton.

I thought the movie did a decent job of showing the value of family as the drivers grappled with gadget-driven competition, commercialization, and ninjas. In case you haven't realized by now, this is a children's movie, similar to Disney/Pixar's Cars, not Ben Hur or even Talledega Nights. At two hours, it was a bit long for that audience, but still relatively fast-paced.

Speed Racer's hyperkinetic, color-saturated cinematography reminded me more of the live-action adaptations of Dick Tracy or Thunderbirds than of the Wachowski brothers' cyberpunk hit The Matrix. The computer-generated backdrops are similar to those in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow or Beowulf, but for a younger audience, not unlike Spy Kids.

The tricked-out Mach 5 race car looked sleek (see above), and the soundtrack pays homage to the cartoon. Fans of the original or of anime in general should like the live-action Speed Racer, which was rated PG for some violence and language. I'd give it about a 7 or 8 out of 10, or a B+.

On a related note, I finally caught the comedy Surf's Up on cable television. It was part of Hollywood's recent penguin craze, which included March of the Penguins and Happy Feet. I thought the computer-aided animation and soundtrack were solid, and the talking animals were cleverly written. Now, if only we wouldn't get such spates of lost cities; insect, bird, or rodent flicks; or singing princesses.

While we didn't get together with Thomas K.Y. and Sara F. & Josh C. for Stardust this past weekend, we did get a lot of yard work done. I also saw trailers for the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie pilot and the Lego Indiana Jones and Lego Batman video games. We also enjoyed ensemble period drama Cranford on PBS's "Masterpiece Classic." Tonight is the final session (for now) of the D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy group.

First off, I'd like to again offer my condolences to Bob R. on the passing of his mother and Brian D.H. on the recent death of his father. In addition, I'd like to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day.

Friend and fellow blogger Steve M.R. and others have cited recent articles discussing the current fuel crisis. While we haven't yet seen the lines, rationing, or unrest of the 1970s oil crises, our dependence on polluting fossil fuels from politically unstable parts of the world is still a problem. I plan to blog separately on foreign policy.

Will U.S. suburbs disappear and be replaced by megalopoli or bucolic decentralized towns? Not overnight. Our society has placed a high value on the automobile, so rebuilding railways or re-examining land-use planning priorities will face cultural and institutional resistance. Having recently watched An Inconvenient Truth and Who Killed the Electric Car? it's hard to be hopeful.

In addition to such painful changes, misguided policies are aggravating or at least not mitigating human-caused environmental damage and climate change. Sure, one can say that evolution and so-called global warming are merely theories to describe complex biological and climate processes, but I think we can do more based on science than on blind faith.

For example, federal subsidies for ethanol production have led to the planting of corn as a cash crop, to the exclusion of other crops or of using it for food and feed (illustration above from Mother Jones). It's bad enough that perfectly arable and fertile land is being paved over for endless strip malls and "McMansions," but the U.S. has even been pushing corn on parts of the world where indigenous crops (such as rice or wheat) would better feed the local population. The subsidies are partly a reaction to the presidential primary primacy of states such as Iowa and the clout of agribusiness, despite any rhetoric of our tradition of family farms.

Speaking of the current race, despite missteps and scandals during her husband's administration, Hilary Clinton is the only candidate who has seriously tried to address the rise in health care costs. However, I've been disappointed at the negative campaigning between her and Barack Obama, which I hope will soon be resolved. The two Democrats' platforms are closer than their camps or personalities will admit, but Obama's lead is growing.

I was at the Democratic National Convention in Boston four years ago when Obama spoke, so I can personally attest to his charisma and promise of change. Those who are upset by his former pastor's inflammatory comments underestimate the persistent problem of racism and its effects on everyone. On the other hand, as we've seen with Gov. Deval Patrick here in Massachusetts, optimistic slogans won't balance the budget or deal with deteriorating infrastructure. At the moment, nearly any moderate or liberal would be preferable to the current administration or McCain.

As I told college chum Ron J.K., I strongly disagree with John McCain's stances, including his hawkish attitude toward the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, his flip-flops on torture and taxes, and his tepid support of environmental protection. I urge all concerned citizens, regardless of affiliation, to get informed and vote.

Thanks again to co-worker Ken G. for inviting me to his Cinco de Mayo party this past Monday. I enjoyed meeting his friends from school, theater, and contra dancing, as well as playing pool, air hockey, and video games at the Jillian's in Worcester, Massachusetts, I also had a productive "Conscious Communication" class at work yesterday.

After seeing the well-received Iron Man this past weekend, the Boston-area social/gaming groups are trying to figure out when to see the next genre movies, such as live-action anime Speed Racer. In related news, Marvel Studios is planning more adaptations of its popular comic books, including films and cartoons.

Fellow blogger Steve M.R. has noted the announcement of Guillermo Del Toro as planned helmer of a cinematic adaptation of The Hobbit. Peter Jackson, who directed the "Lord of the Rings" (LotR) trilogy, will be producer. We'll see if Del Toro, who directed the excellent Pan's Labyrinth and the upcoming Hellboy II: The Golden Army, can bring his brand of dark fantasy to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth while still respecting the somewhat more child-friendly tone of the book. I'm also uncertain of whether a "bridge" movie between The Hobbit and the already-released LotR movies is a good idea.

Lucasfilm is airing a preview of the Clone Wars computer-animated theatrical movie (which will launch a television series on the Cartoon Network) tonight shortly before 8:00 p.m. It will also tease the Lego Indiana Jones video game with Raiders of the Lost Brick at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, 10 May 2008. After the latest trailers, I am looking forward to the fedora-wearing archaeologist's continued adventures on the big screen later this month.

Fellow genre film fans, I'm pleased to report that Iron Man gave a strong start to the summer movie season and is one of the more faithful live-action adaptations of a comic book superhero that I've seen.

On Saturday, 3 May 2008, Janice and I drove out to near where I work in Framingham, Massachusetts. We had lunch at Joan & Ed's Deli, stopped by Barnes & Noble in Shopper's World, and briefly walked through the Natick Collection. We also took advantage of "Free Comic Book Day" at Bedrock Comics and Newbury Comics.

Janice and I then met gamers Beruk A., Sara F. & Josh C., and Thomas K.Y., as well as my co-worker (and fellow blogger) Ken G. and four of his friends at the AMC Framingham multiplex. Most of us later had dinner at Curry Leaf, an Indian restaurant.

Iron Man features the origin story of the armored Avenger, combining pop-culture sensibilities, a dash of science fiction, and superheroic fisticuffs for an entertaining two hours. Like Nicholas Cage in Ghost Rider, Robert Downey Jr. brings his own quirky personality to the role of troubled inventor Tony Stark, whose experiences on the battlefield change him from a weapons merchant to a one-man army defending the innocent.

Stark is aided by Gwyneth Paltrow as the comely and smart Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard as long-suffering Air Force Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, and even director Jon Favreau as chauffer Happy Hogan. Iron Man's eventual adversaries include terrorists and Jeff Bridges (Tron, Starman) as sometime mentor Obadiah Stane. Of course, Stan "the man" Lee makes a cameo.

Much of Iron Man is setup, showing the man inside the powered suit of armor, but there was enough humor and action to keep the movie from dragging. As a reader of Marvel Comics, I was pleased to see the shout-outs to that publisher's fictional universe, including references to SHIELD, War Machine, Stark's later problems, and the Avengers (stay after the credits).

As co-worker Lucas M. and other reviewers have noted, Iron Man only whets our appetite for more. The technology and special effects were also excellent, especially as Stark tests the flight capabilities of his suit. (Robert A. Heinlein depicted similar armor decades ago in his classic military SF novel Starship Troopers.) The heavy metal soundtrack, from AC-DC's "Back in Black" in the opening to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" at the end, is appropriate.

I also thought that the movie did a decent job of showing the real selflessness of U.S. soldiers and airmen as well as the moral quagmire of providing weapons to groups that often turn on their patrons. Stan Lee and company created Iron Man during the long Viet Nam conflict, but the story is unfortunately still relevant during our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although Stark must overcome his own inner demons before he can fight evil as Iron Man, the movie is mercifully free of the adolescent angst that weighed down the Spider-Man or X-Men trilogies and isn't as fantastical as Superman Returns or even Batman Begins (although I am looking forward to the animated Gotham Knight and cinematic Dark Knight). On the other hand, this movie also inspired me to return to my D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. superhero scenarios and the City of Heroes online game!

This movie was rated PG-13 for violence, and I'd give about an 8.5 out of 10 or an A-. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes action movies, comic books, or the actors involved. I'm pleased that Iron Man has done well at the box office so far, because I think it deserves to be successful.

We also saw several previews, including some promising ones for Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones [4] and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, all of which open this month! We also have Hellboy II, Mummy [3], Incredible Hulk, and another Harry Potter to look forward to!