The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Saturday, the 31st-I returned the car today in the middle of a downpour. Daryl and I then went to see The Chronices of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because that's what you do in LA when it rains--and then also when it doesn't rain. Daryl didn't like it as much as he liked the Lord of the Rings series, but I was a big fan of the books and really liked what they did with the backstory here. Although I do have to say that I really liked the BBC miniseries version, even though the effects were terrible. Here the effects were better, but not seamless. They did fill out some of the backstory, which I thought was good and the casting was really well done. Tilda Swinton has said that she's "prepared for a lifetime of small children slowly backing away from her." and I think that's an accurate prediction based on her performance as the White Witch. And the kids all did a fine job of acting. I didn't quite get the awe that I had when I read the books, but they did a great job making you believe that beavers can talk. The movie also brought up a bit of oddness that I never noticed when I read the book, like, what is Father Christmas doing in this story? It really is a hodgepodge of myths. Beware of Turkish Delight!

I'd like to mention, also, that our window is leaking and the apartment is freezing. We have no insulation and at night it can get down to 40 degrees, which is cold, I don't care what you say. I bought slippers and I walk around with a blanket wrapped around me. Oh, and the heater, while it may work, when we turn it on, the smoke alarm goes off. Incessantly. Apparently, you've got to "burn off" the gunk that's on the heater and then it won't set off the alarm, but in the meantime, the alarm will go off and it will also stink up the apartment something awful. Yeeeuuuuck. So we just don't turn it on.