ENCHANTED VS THE GOLDEN COMPASS

2007 isn't really a very good year for me in terms of movie-watching. Normally, every week I see a good movie as long as there's a good one that's being released, but this year is different. It took me about 2 months to see another movie. It's either I had no time, money or date. I guess we'd also have to add the fact that there really aren't a lot of good movies that came out this year. A lot of average films and only a few outstanding movies... heck even Harry Potter wasn't that awe-inspiring.

Fortunately though, since this is the time where we got our 13th month pay, I had a little money to spend for my other love... cinema!!! The last couple of days I got to see the 2 films that have been highly recommended for me to watch. Enchanted and The Golden Compass.

Ever since the success of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, fantasy films became very popular. A lot were disappointing, but there are a few that actually delivered. Now that film outfits are so keen on turning books into movies, so as not to be disappointed I decided to just skip the books and jump into the film immediately before deciding to read the book.

I am not going to compare the two as they are really different movies. One's light and the other's more epic. But both are equally amazing experiences to see.

ENCHANTED

This quirky tale of a fairy tale princess who was thrown into the real world is the type of film stressed out yuppies like me should be watching. It's funny, sweet (without the chickflicky sort of feeling) and satisfying to watch. It's a kid's movie but it's not the type where you'll be embarassed once you get spotted seeing in the cinema.

Giselle was about to be wed to Prince Edward, but unfortunately his stepmother (as per every other fairy tales) don't want her to be the next queen. So the queen pushed Giselle in a well that is actually a gateway to our realm. That's where she met Robert, a single father who stopped believing in fairy tales.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

This is part one of a trilogy from a novel that I have never heard about. It's heavily controversial because people are saying that the film is actually anti-semitic (no idea what that means). I've seen it, and I really can't see how this contradicts our belief in God, or maybe I'm not really that smart to read between the lines.

It's about this girl Lyra who can read the signs on the Golden Compass (an item which reveals the truth) and her quest to save the children from the evil that is Mrs. Coulter and the Magisterium. I love this film because of the effects and the daemons and the polar bears and the witches and Nicole Kidman. And oh yeah, James Bond was actually in this film.

Both are good fantasy films.

Enchanted: 9/10

The Golden Compass: 8/10