Decided I needed to seperate my personal blog from leadwithtweets, therefore:
http://leadwithtweets.tumblr.com/
Today's post is already up - about Matthew 6. Sort of. ;-)
Now this blog will probably be abandoned again for a while, though I'm thinking I may start a photo blog on Tumblr because it IS insanely easy to use. Blogger is nearly dead anyway.
-Sarah
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Salty
These daily blog posts aren't going to be anything long or special. Just a few quick thoughts on a verse or a set of verses. It's up to you to read the rest of the chapter.
What to read: Matthew 5
Highlighted in this post: Matthew 5:13
Salt. It's in pretty much everything. Excellent for preservation and seasoning. Commonly found on the table of nearly every American family, right next to the pepper. For some reason, it's in the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I haven't the faintest idea why.
The point is, it's common. Easy and fairly cheap to buy.
It also made Liverpool England's largest sea port due to Liverpool's proximity to the Cheshire salt mines, exporting much of the world's salt in the 19th century. Venice fought and won a war with Genoa over salt. Poland had a large kingdom in the 16th century because of its salt mines, but Germany brought in sea salt (considered superior to rock salt,) eventually destroying Poland's trade. The Roman empire gave their soldiers salarium, special money for buying salt to preserve their food (as opposed to the common belief that they were actually paid with salt.)
(Wikipedia rocks.)
Point is, salt wasn't always as common or cheap as it is now. In fact, it was downright expensive. People treasured it - it meant they could make their food last through hot summers and cold winters, ensuring survival. For salt to go bad would have been a stunning blow.
Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
At the time Jesus said this, salt was valuable. People would have seen the meaning of the metaphor. As salt, we can't afford to lose our saltiness. That saltiness is Jesus Himself. Without Him, we aren't worth anything. We aren't valuable, and we can't DO anything meaningful.
Sounds a little harsh maybe, but it's a fact.
How salty are you?
What to read: Matthew 5
Highlighted in this post: Matthew 5:13
Salt. It's in pretty much everything. Excellent for preservation and seasoning. Commonly found on the table of nearly every American family, right next to the pepper. For some reason, it's in the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I haven't the faintest idea why.
The point is, it's common. Easy and fairly cheap to buy.
It also made Liverpool England's largest sea port due to Liverpool's proximity to the Cheshire salt mines, exporting much of the world's salt in the 19th century. Venice fought and won a war with Genoa over salt. Poland had a large kingdom in the 16th century because of its salt mines, but Germany brought in sea salt (considered superior to rock salt,) eventually destroying Poland's trade. The Roman empire gave their soldiers salarium, special money for buying salt to preserve their food (as opposed to the common belief that they were actually paid with salt.)
(Wikipedia rocks.)
Point is, salt wasn't always as common or cheap as it is now. In fact, it was downright expensive. People treasured it - it meant they could make their food last through hot summers and cold winters, ensuring survival. For salt to go bad would have been a stunning blow.
Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
At the time Jesus said this, salt was valuable. People would have seen the meaning of the metaphor. As salt, we can't afford to lose our saltiness. That saltiness is Jesus Himself. Without Him, we aren't worth anything. We aren't valuable, and we can't DO anything meaningful.
Sounds a little harsh maybe, but it's a fact.
How salty are you?
Read this. Yes, you. I need your help.
About a month ago I figured out that there's something wrong with leadwithtweets. Mainly because it really doesn't require anyone to do anything, and that's not really the point. Leaders are supposed to do things. But leadwithtweets has just become a collection of inspirational thoughts/quotes/verses that I post every day.
So I'm changing things around a bit, and I need your help.
I have lots of ideas for what I want to do with leadwithtweets. I could make them all fit together and make sense fairly easily. Or I could swallow a little pride and ask for some help, which is what I'm doing. It's astonishingly easy, too, since I'm normally the type to try to get everything perfect on my own.
leadwithtweets is about leading the followers you already have. One thing I've figured out over the past couple of months is that you can't figure out how to lead - really lead - without following Christ's example first. So I want to base the new 'format' for leadwithtweets on 1 Cor. 11:1. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." I want this to become our motto; what we say to others both in words and actions.
But um...why? And how?
(Quick thanks to Sunny and Liberty for letting me bug them with these questions.)
Why should we as Christians follow Christ's example so closely that someone else can follow us? Why not just tell them to follow Christ Himself? What does it mean to follow Christ in the first place? How do we figure out how to follow Christ? How can it be done in an organized way that several types of teens can all understand and do? Say a group of teens wanted to make a difference starting with Twitter. How do they ultimately get others to join them? How do they make sure they're always following Christ's example well enough to set an example for others? How do they LEAD? How to they make people discontent with doing nothing? How do they call others to loving & following Jesus as much as they do? How do they convince people that following Christ is worth it? How do they convince people that leading 9 people is better than following everyone else in the world? How do they make it something worth getting involved in?
This would be a good place to end this post. Let you answer the questions now. But I don't want you to. Not yet.
Part of following Christ means studying and (the tricky part) applying His word. So I'm going to spend the week following Christ before I try to figure out how to lead others. I'm asking you to do the same.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
I've probably read Matthew 5, 6, and 7 about 4 times in the last week. It's Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He covers pretty much everything that His followers need to do. It's good stuff. It's HARD stuff. Loving your enemies, not calling people names, not trying to get revenge, being persecuted in His name, etc. That's just chapter 5. Yep. It’s tough.
So that's the thing we're going to focus on: reading and applying it in normal everyday life. We'll start with Matthew 5 today - move on to 6 and 7, then maybe jump back to 5 or go ahead to 8. We'll see. I'll blog about the chapter we're on every day (if you have a blog, you can, too - or even just post something on Facebook or Twitter about it.) until Friday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are open for you to answer the questions I asked above and send me your ideas. More on how to do that on Friday. For now, we’ll just follow Christ. At the end of the week, we’ll figure out how to tell others to follow us.
So I'm changing things around a bit, and I need your help.
I have lots of ideas for what I want to do with leadwithtweets. I could make them all fit together and make sense fairly easily. Or I could swallow a little pride and ask for some help, which is what I'm doing. It's astonishingly easy, too, since I'm normally the type to try to get everything perfect on my own.
leadwithtweets is about leading the followers you already have. One thing I've figured out over the past couple of months is that you can't figure out how to lead - really lead - without following Christ's example first. So I want to base the new 'format' for leadwithtweets on 1 Cor. 11:1. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." I want this to become our motto; what we say to others both in words and actions.
But um...why? And how?
(Quick thanks to Sunny and Liberty for letting me bug them with these questions.)
Why should we as Christians follow Christ's example so closely that someone else can follow us? Why not just tell them to follow Christ Himself? What does it mean to follow Christ in the first place? How do we figure out how to follow Christ? How can it be done in an organized way that several types of teens can all understand and do? Say a group of teens wanted to make a difference starting with Twitter. How do they ultimately get others to join them? How do they make sure they're always following Christ's example well enough to set an example for others? How do they LEAD? How to they make people discontent with doing nothing? How do they call others to loving & following Jesus as much as they do? How do they convince people that following Christ is worth it? How do they convince people that leading 9 people is better than following everyone else in the world? How do they make it something worth getting involved in?
This would be a good place to end this post. Let you answer the questions now. But I don't want you to. Not yet.
Part of following Christ means studying and (the tricky part) applying His word. So I'm going to spend the week following Christ before I try to figure out how to lead others. I'm asking you to do the same.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
I've probably read Matthew 5, 6, and 7 about 4 times in the last week. It's Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He covers pretty much everything that His followers need to do. It's good stuff. It's HARD stuff. Loving your enemies, not calling people names, not trying to get revenge, being persecuted in His name, etc. That's just chapter 5. Yep. It’s tough.
So that's the thing we're going to focus on: reading and applying it in normal everyday life. We'll start with Matthew 5 today - move on to 6 and 7, then maybe jump back to 5 or go ahead to 8. We'll see. I'll blog about the chapter we're on every day (if you have a blog, you can, too - or even just post something on Facebook or Twitter about it.) until Friday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are open for you to answer the questions I asked above and send me your ideas. More on how to do that on Friday. For now, we’ll just follow Christ. At the end of the week, we’ll figure out how to tell others to follow us.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A note.
I really, really really fail at blogging. I know I've established this before, but I thought I'd point it out again.
1) A belated Happy New Year to you all!
2) Worshipping Jesus at Onething with over 25,000 other people was the best way to end 2010 and the best way to start 2011.
3) I'm planning on writing a VDT review to end all other VDT reviews to make up for the fact that I forgot about my anticipation blog posts. Eventually. Maybe when the DVD comes out so I can dissect it and include screencaps.
4) I have not forgotten about leadwithtweets, I simply have lots of exciting stuff planned for this year and it's taking longer to put together than I thought it would. It should be ready by this time next week. I'm stoked about it though, and I'm ready to get other people involved.
5) I feel like I should have 5 things, because 5 is a nice round number, but those are the only 4 things I can think about. Sorry people.
1) A belated Happy New Year to you all!
2) Worshipping Jesus at Onething with over 25,000 other people was the best way to end 2010 and the best way to start 2011.
3) I'm planning on writing a VDT review to end all other VDT reviews to make up for the fact that I forgot about my anticipation blog posts. Eventually. Maybe when the DVD comes out so I can dissect it and include screencaps.
4) I have not forgotten about leadwithtweets, I simply have lots of exciting stuff planned for this year and it's taking longer to put together than I thought it would. It should be ready by this time next week. I'm stoked about it though, and I'm ready to get other people involved.
5) I feel like I should have 5 things, because 5 is a nice round number, but those are the only 4 things I can think about. Sorry people.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
VDT Anticipation, Day 3/4
When I started this, I planned on skipping Thanksgiving, which is why I started a day earlier than 16 days. I neglected to remember that PowerBowl was yesterday and I was going to be there taking photos all day and therefore wouldn’t get anything done. Chapters 3 & 4 are both getting covered today - luckily they’re both about the Lone Islands. I really don’t have much to say about either one - everything I’m finding with this movie comes back to the seven swords and I can’t get past them or think of a new opinion about them.
Chapters 3 & 4: The Lone Islands & What Caspian Did There
After getting captured, Caspian gets sold to Lord Bern, takes over the Lone Islands, rescues everyone else, and is otherwise generally awesome.
The only time I really love Caspian in the book is these two chapters. Other times he usually in the background (odd, since he’s the king) or doing something stupid that forces Edmund to pull rank on him. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but this IS the only time you really see him for the good leader & king that he’s become since his somewhat timid days in Prince Caspian. His diplomatic and strategic skills come into play and he manages to end a slave trade, re-establish his sovereignty, and change the form of government in the Lone Islands without even having a battle. Impressive, really.
If spoilers are anything to go by, the Lone Islands are where we first hear of the seven swords/green mist thing in the movie. The main characters are exploring an abandoned bell tower and find a list of names of slaves that have been fed to the ‘darkness.’ Then slave traders descend from above them and capture them. One of the seven missing lords, Lord Bern, has also been captured by the slave traders and they meet him. After the slaves are freed (through a battle, of course. No Caspian artfully talking his way out of this one.) Lord Bern gives them one of the seven swords that were a gift from Aslan* to protect Narnia.
Yeah, I don’t get it either. I don’t know if I WILL get it until I see the movie. All I know is that this seven swords thing is getting pretty stinking annoying. And, um…that’s it.
I get the need for some sort of continuous plot for VDT, but why does it have to be this far from the book?
*This bit of news just in. Why do 7 Telmarine lords have swords from Aslan?
Chapters 3 & 4: The Lone Islands & What Caspian Did There
After getting captured, Caspian gets sold to Lord Bern, takes over the Lone Islands, rescues everyone else, and is otherwise generally awesome.
The only time I really love Caspian in the book is these two chapters. Other times he usually in the background (odd, since he’s the king) or doing something stupid that forces Edmund to pull rank on him. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but this IS the only time you really see him for the good leader & king that he’s become since his somewhat timid days in Prince Caspian. His diplomatic and strategic skills come into play and he manages to end a slave trade, re-establish his sovereignty, and change the form of government in the Lone Islands without even having a battle. Impressive, really.
If spoilers are anything to go by, the Lone Islands are where we first hear of the seven swords/green mist thing in the movie. The main characters are exploring an abandoned bell tower and find a list of names of slaves that have been fed to the ‘darkness.’ Then slave traders descend from above them and capture them. One of the seven missing lords, Lord Bern, has also been captured by the slave traders and they meet him. After the slaves are freed (through a battle, of course. No Caspian artfully talking his way out of this one.) Lord Bern gives them one of the seven swords that were a gift from Aslan* to protect Narnia.
Yeah, I don’t get it either. I don’t know if I WILL get it until I see the movie. All I know is that this seven swords thing is getting pretty stinking annoying. And, um…that’s it.
I get the need for some sort of continuous plot for VDT, but why does it have to be this far from the book?
*This bit of news just in. Why do 7 Telmarine lords have swords from Aslan?
All photographs and quotes are property of thier respective honors. Blahblahblah.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
VDT Anticipation, Day 2
Chapter 2: On Board the Dawn Treader Description of the point of Voyage, Reepicheep/Eustace animosity, Eustace's journal, and the Dawn Treader
A note on timing and locations: I forgot to mention in the last post that it seems like the time between PC and VDT in the movies is longer than the year portrayed in the book. Not to big of a deal, especially if the writers did it to explain why Edmund and Lucy both look significantly older. Also, Peter went to America with Susan - supposedly with their parents if the filmmakers followed that part of the book. I understand shoving Peter in with Susan. Explaining that he was studying with professor Kirke would be a lot of time spent on a character that really isn't in the movie.
Point of VDT book: Caspian made an oath on his coronation day that he would find 7 lords that his uncle sent off to explore the Eastern Ocean (get rid of them, in other words.) Reepicheep is tagging along because he wants to find Aslan's country. VDT chronicles the looking and finding of the lords and also that longing for Aslan's country. On the way, they encounter 2 stars, some Dufflepuds, a dragon, and a pool that turns stuff to gold.
Apparent point of VDT movie: Caspian originally sets out to find the 7 lords*. That is, until they get to the Lone Islands and discover that slaves are being fed to the Dark Island/darkness/green mist (OMG Lady of the Green Kirtle?!?!?) that seeks to steal the light and goodness from the world. To stop this evil darkness, they must recover the 7 swords of the 7 lords (who aren't even Narnians, BTW, so how do their swords apply to this???) and unite them at Aslan's table.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't really sound like the book. Besides being downright cheesy**, the whole seven lord's swords thing is completely WRONG for a Dawn Treader movie. The thing about VDT that makes it a favorite of the series (up there with the Horse and His Boy, which interestingly enough doesn't have much of a point to it besides longing, this time for Narnia. The 'Save Archenland" plot comes in later.) is that it's a simple story without an overarching plot and no evil to be defeated. It represents the heart of what the Chronicles are about - wanting Aslan above all else. The sea serpent and the Dark Island are mere detours on the way to the real climax, finding the end of the world and Aslan's Country.
Eustace/Reep: Eustace grabs Reep's tail, Reep demands satisfaction (a duel,) and Eustace refuses on ground of being a pacifist. Really happy about the fact that the filmmakers recognized this part of the book. Both the mutual hatred that Eustace and Reep share and the subsequent friendship during and after Eustace's time as a dragon seems to have been left intact.
The part I was sure would be left out, Eustace's journal: YAYYAYYAYYAYYAYYAYYAYYAY!!! I can't believe this actually ended up in the movie. I was positive that it would be deemed too uncinematic for the movie and be cut out, but it wasn't. Still not sure if we'll see any of his journal entries on the Dawn Treader, but it's there at the beginning of the movie and that's good enough for me. It'll be a good introduction to the character & how he thinks, similair to what Lewis did in the first chapter of the book.
The Dawn Treader:
They. built. the. ship. It doesn't look like I'd pictured it. It looks better. They didn't minimalize the details, they didn't make the sail not purple, heck, they even threw in a lamp-post for good measure. It looks incredible, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen. *Which weren't even mentioned in the movie of Prince Caspian. That's going to be really hard to explain. I don't think Andrew Adamson (directed the first two movies, but not directing VDT) thought ahead much when making PC. I'm not saying that he intentionally screwed Michael Apted (director of VDT) up, but I don't think he thought things (like Suspian or not mentioning the vital plot point of VDT) through as thoroughly as he would have if he'd know he was also directing VDT. Just my two cents.
**I can't believe I'm complaining about cheesiness in a movie about a 2-foot tall talking mouse and a kid that gets turned into a dragon.All photographs and quotes are property of thier respective honors. Blahblahblah.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
VDT Anticipation, Day 1
Introduction: I’m blogging about one chapter of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (& the relevant tv spots/trailers/reports etc.) every one of the 16 days until the movie comes out.
P.S. If you notice any typos or grammatical errors, let me know so I can fix them. I use commas in all the wrong places and like long sentences, so I’m sure there’s some here.
P.S. If you notice any typos or grammatical errors, let me know so I can fix them. I use commas in all the wrong places and like long sentences, so I’m sure there’s some here.
Chapter 1: The Picture In The Bedroom.
“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
Lewis starts VDT off with what is quite possibly the best character description in the series. Not just the first sentence, but the next 3 paragraphs are dedicated to talking about Eustace’s family, lack of friends, likes, and dislikes. You know without even seeing him interact with others that this kid is messed up, especially once you find out that he doesn’t like his cousins, our returning heroes, the Pevensies.
Only two of the Pevensies are present in Dawn Treader. Peter is studying for an exam with Professor Kirke, and Susan is in America, leaving Edmund and Lucy to stay with the Scrubbs. To brighten up an otherwise dull summer, Edmund and Lucy find themselves back in Narnia via a picture of a Narnian ship. The problem is that Eustace manages to come along, becoming nearly as miserable as everyone who has to put up with him.
Most of this post of just thoughts on the cast & characters because there isn't much that happens in this chapter. The transition from England to Narnia seems to have been done well (besides the cheesy "Edmund, the painting!" line.) This clip has been cut down and edited as well, so it'll be longer in the film.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1650777079860
Characters/Cast:
Lucy Pevensie - Georgie Henley
I’m going to be honest; I never loved Georgie. For that matter, I’m not terribly fond of Lucy either. She doesn’t annoy me like Aravis or Susan, but she’s definitely no Jill. I tolerate her since she’s the one who led everyone to Narnia in the first place, otherwise I could deal without.
Georgie was good in the first film, but I kind of lost her in Caspian. That’s partly because of the material she was given. Lucy has some downright cheesy lines, and Georgie did better than most would have. But something was still missing. I don’t know what, but based on the clips we’ve seen so far, she figured out it for VDT. She’s much more believable.
Edmund Pevensie - Skandar Keynes
I forgave Skandar for having dark hair within the first half hour of Wardrobe. He played my beloved Edmund, my favorite character, well enough that I didn’t care that he looked all wrong for the part. I still don’t. One of my biggest problems with PC was that Edmund had a grand total of about 5 lines. He’s only there to put Peter in his place once and then trash-talk Miraz. However, they got those 5 lines right - they’re perfectly in character for Edmund in a movie where 3 of the 5 main characters aren’t. (Peter, Susan, and Caspian, if you were wondering.)
I’m slightly terrified of what they’ve done to the character this time. Bringing back the White Witch again (more on this in a couple days) means there’s definitely going to be at least SOME Edmund-centric material. In fact, it seems like part of the plot depends on him. “The sword you carry must be laid at Aslan’s Table,” and all that. I’m just not sure if it’s accurate. The first trailer had a Peterly line about “Squirt? I’m a king!” I’m afraid his entire character arc in this film is going to be all proving himself and resisting the Witch (who’s practically dead…but hey, who ever heard of a witch that really died?)
…yeah, there WILL be more about this. I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
King Caspian X - Ben Barnes
Ben ditched the accent & the greasy hair, grew a beard, and dressed up like a Jedi to play Caspian in VDT. I like it. I liked him in PC, actually. The fake accent annoyed me quite a bit, but I thought the acting and characterization was pretty good. He gets the job done - he isn’t perfect for the role, but as far as PC was from the book, Ben did well. I don’t have anything else to say about him in VDT. It’ll be a passable adaptation of the character and I don’t expect to hate him.
Ramandu’s Daughter (LILLIANDIL ARGH) - Laura Brent
Minus the name, I like her. She isn’t exactly how I pictured the her, but I think she’ll be like Ben Barnes - good, not great and not awful. I still don’t like the fact that they named her or that her father seems to be non-existent or that she seems to be a star and not a star’s daughter. But whatever.
Drinian --Gary Sweet
I have a feeling that Gary Sweet is going to be this film’s Pierfrancisco Favino (General Glozelle.) The one character that I don’t give much thought to that is given depth with a good performance. I just expected him to be a little less…old, honestly. I always pictured him closer to 25-ish.
Reepicheep - Simon Pegg.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.
…yep.
I loved Eddie Izzard as well. I didn’t think anyone could do Reep better.
Oh, hi there, Simon Pegg! I was wrong! What?!?!?!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1415925568612&oid=124949960873825&comments
See? He's perfect.
Aslan - Liam Neeson
Perfect, IMO. Nothing else needs to be said.
Eustace Clarence Scrubb - Will Poulter
Saving the best for last.
I didn’t like Will first time I saw the picture of him. I fact, I believe I made some comment about him looking like a fish. I watched the trailer for Son of Rambow and hated him. Yet again, I appear to have been wrong. He seems spot-on perfect in every clip, trailer, and tv spot. Dragon!Eustace looks just as good. I think they nailed this one. Every line I’ve seen is perfectly delivered, every gesture is perfectly timed, and every expression is perfectly dramatic.
Oh, and he acknowledged that his hair color is wrong for the part, because Eustace is supposed to have dark hair. Excellent.
Tomorrow: Chapter 2, more about Reep and Eustace, and the Dawn Treader herself.
All videos belong to 21st Century Fox and Walden Media
“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
Lewis starts VDT off with what is quite possibly the best character description in the series. Not just the first sentence, but the next 3 paragraphs are dedicated to talking about Eustace’s family, lack of friends, likes, and dislikes. You know without even seeing him interact with others that this kid is messed up, especially once you find out that he doesn’t like his cousins, our returning heroes, the Pevensies.
Only two of the Pevensies are present in Dawn Treader. Peter is studying for an exam with Professor Kirke, and Susan is in America, leaving Edmund and Lucy to stay with the Scrubbs. To brighten up an otherwise dull summer, Edmund and Lucy find themselves back in Narnia via a picture of a Narnian ship. The problem is that Eustace manages to come along, becoming nearly as miserable as everyone who has to put up with him.
Most of this post of just thoughts on the cast & characters because there isn't much that happens in this chapter. The transition from England to Narnia seems to have been done well (besides the cheesy "Edmund, the painting!" line.) This clip has been cut down and edited as well, so it'll be longer in the film.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1650777079860
Characters/Cast:
Lucy Pevensie - Georgie Henley
I’m going to be honest; I never loved Georgie. For that matter, I’m not terribly fond of Lucy either. She doesn’t annoy me like Aravis or Susan, but she’s definitely no Jill. I tolerate her since she’s the one who led everyone to Narnia in the first place, otherwise I could deal without.
Georgie was good in the first film, but I kind of lost her in Caspian. That’s partly because of the material she was given. Lucy has some downright cheesy lines, and Georgie did better than most would have. But something was still missing. I don’t know what, but based on the clips we’ve seen so far, she figured out it for VDT. She’s much more believable.
Edmund Pevensie - Skandar Keynes
I forgave Skandar for having dark hair within the first half hour of Wardrobe. He played my beloved Edmund, my favorite character, well enough that I didn’t care that he looked all wrong for the part. I still don’t. One of my biggest problems with PC was that Edmund had a grand total of about 5 lines. He’s only there to put Peter in his place once and then trash-talk Miraz. However, they got those 5 lines right - they’re perfectly in character for Edmund in a movie where 3 of the 5 main characters aren’t. (Peter, Susan, and Caspian, if you were wondering.)
I’m slightly terrified of what they’ve done to the character this time. Bringing back the White Witch again (more on this in a couple days) means there’s definitely going to be at least SOME Edmund-centric material. In fact, it seems like part of the plot depends on him. “The sword you carry must be laid at Aslan’s Table,” and all that. I’m just not sure if it’s accurate. The first trailer had a Peterly line about “Squirt? I’m a king!” I’m afraid his entire character arc in this film is going to be all proving himself and resisting the Witch (who’s practically dead…but hey, who ever heard of a witch that really died?)
…yeah, there WILL be more about this. I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
King Caspian X - Ben Barnes
Ben ditched the accent & the greasy hair, grew a beard, and dressed up like a Jedi to play Caspian in VDT. I like it. I liked him in PC, actually. The fake accent annoyed me quite a bit, but I thought the acting and characterization was pretty good. He gets the job done - he isn’t perfect for the role, but as far as PC was from the book, Ben did well. I don’t have anything else to say about him in VDT. It’ll be a passable adaptation of the character and I don’t expect to hate him.
Ramandu’s Daughter (LILLIANDIL ARGH) - Laura Brent
Minus the name, I like her. She isn’t exactly how I pictured the her, but I think she’ll be like Ben Barnes - good, not great and not awful. I still don’t like the fact that they named her or that her father seems to be non-existent or that she seems to be a star and not a star’s daughter. But whatever.
Drinian --Gary Sweet
I have a feeling that Gary Sweet is going to be this film’s Pierfrancisco Favino (General Glozelle.) The one character that I don’t give much thought to that is given depth with a good performance. I just expected him to be a little less…old, honestly. I always pictured him closer to 25-ish.
Reepicheep - Simon Pegg.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.
…yep.
I loved Eddie Izzard as well. I didn’t think anyone could do Reep better.
Oh, hi there, Simon Pegg! I was wrong! What?!?!?!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1415925568612&oid=124949960873825&comments
See? He's perfect.
Aslan - Liam Neeson
Perfect, IMO. Nothing else needs to be said.
Eustace Clarence Scrubb - Will Poulter
Saving the best for last.
I didn’t like Will first time I saw the picture of him. I fact, I believe I made some comment about him looking like a fish. I watched the trailer for Son of Rambow and hated him. Yet again, I appear to have been wrong. He seems spot-on perfect in every clip, trailer, and tv spot. Dragon!Eustace looks just as good. I think they nailed this one. Every line I’ve seen is perfectly delivered, every gesture is perfectly timed, and every expression is perfectly dramatic.
Oh, and he acknowledged that his hair color is wrong for the part, because Eustace is supposed to have dark hair. Excellent.
Tomorrow: Chapter 2, more about Reep and Eustace, and the Dawn Treader herself.
All videos belong to 21st Century Fox and Walden Media
All quotations and page photographs taken from the 2009 edition of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) published by Barnes & Noble, Inc,. by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers (ISBN: 978-1-4351-1715-0)
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