1. The Golden Compass (3, 528 Theaters, 114 Minutes, Rated PG-13): If you go to see this movie, God will cry a little.
At least that’s what religious right organizations such as the Catholic League would have you believe. They take issue with tone of the books that the movie is adapted from which take a rather dismissive view of religion in general and Catholicism in particular.
So this is where we’ve come to. Theology is being debated not in university classrooms by learned scholars but rather on movie screens with talking polar bears. And talking lions if you believe the Christianity-friendly The Chronicles of Narnia exemplifies the other half of the argument.
Of course, purely on the movie making side of things, one has to wonder how the film makers will adapt the incredibly complex novel to the screen. The His Dark Materials series has a labyrinthine mythology chock full of numerous quirks and foibles, something that does not let itself to the simpler structure of movies.
Now to the predictions. Last week, this is how I called it:
- Awake
- Enchanted
- Beowulf
- This Christmas
- Bee Movie
And this is how it actually turned out:
- Enchanted
- Beowulf
- This Christmas
- Hitman
- Awake
Wow. Audiences really weren’t responsive to Awake at all! I am happy that Enchanted was in the number one spot, however. So, I went 0 for 5 last week, making my 16 week total 35 out of 80 for an average of 43%. Ouch.
What’s my prediction for this week?
- The Golden Compass
- Enchanted
- Beowulf
- This Christmas
- Awake
What do you think?
