The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian Tagged Articles at Cinematical

White Dog
Samuel Fuller's follow-up to The Big Red One was shelved by Paramount Pictures before its scheduled release in 1982 because of fears that its premise -- a white dog has been trained to attack black people -- would stir up more controversy than box office. Fuller was understandably outraged; in his autobiography, A Third Face, he wrote: "The studio has used me as a scapegoat for their lack of determination and courage." The film, co-written by Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential), with a score by the legendary Ennio Morricone, later received acclaim when it was released in Europe but never received a home video release in the US and has rarely been seen here. Kristy McNichol plays an actress who adopts the dog; Paul Winfield is as an anthropologist who tries to reverse the training. The Criterion Collection DVD includes a featurette with Hanson, producer Jon Davison, and Fuller's widow, plus a print interview with the dog trainer and essays by J. Hoberman and Armond White. I'm buying, but even if you're not a huge fan of Samuel Fuller, you'd want to check it out. Rent it.

Step Brothers
Combining Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, and Mary Steenburgen under one roof, Step Brothers mines familiar territory with sharp timing and plenty of belly laughs. Mine is, admittedly, a distinctly minority opinion. Available on DVD (single-disc rated, single-disc unrated, two-disc unrated) and Blu-ray, with an audio commentary by Farrell, Reilly, director Adam McKay, and a score by Jon Brion. Other features include deleted scenes and alternate takes, a gag reel, 'making of,' and a couple of gag featurettes. Rent it.

Much more on Wanted, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian after the jump, plus Indies on DVD, Blu-ray Picks, and Collector's Corner.

After the disappointing box office of both Speed Racer and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian last month, it's apparent that May was too busy a month for all its blockbusters to succeed. Last week, Eric D. Snider initiated a discussion about Caspian's release date and many of our readers agreed that it should have been released in December, or any other month, for that matter. Couldn't it have been a success in February or October, too? As part of an initially popular franchise, you'd think it could stand to be released anytime of the year.

Earlier today, I responded to an interview in which two cinema industry honchos argued that big movies should be released 12 months in the year. Or, at least, the summer movie season should begin earlier, in April. Imagine, the first blockbuster of the year being released on Easter weekend. Or, when Easter is in March, April Fool's Day weekend. Unfortunately, the month doesn't have any Monday holidays with which to capitalize on a three-day-weekend release, but a two-day weekend didn't seem to hurt Iron Man's enormous opening.

One commenter on my earlier post noted that moving the summer season up to April will only make that month the busiest release month, just as May is currently. But there's a good chance Hollywood will recognize, after May 2008, the benefits of staying spread out. Plus, Memorial Day weekend will continue to be prime real estate, so tentpoles might be better spread out, as they should be according to their name (imagine going camping and placing all your literal tentpoles in one corner).

What do you think? Should the summer movie season begin earlier? Or is it just fine as is? Or did you think it actually began on April 18 with the release of the fantasy martial arts flick The Forbidden Kingdom?

One thing I've noticed about most epic sci-fi/fantasy stories is that they're essentially about war, albeit disguised and softened with weird monsters, robots and other creatures with funny names. There's usually a bad guy (with a really sinister sounding name) who wants to take over the world or something similar, and a reluctant hero -- plucked from his comfortable, yet mundane home -- who has to stop him. The trick is to make it all fun. Because let's face it, we humans love war. If we didn't there wouldn't be so many movies and books about war, as well as -- you know -- real wars. (More specifically, I think, we love watching them, rather than fighting in them.) The Lord of the Rings trilogy worked so well because Peter Jackson projected his own twisted glee into every frame; he loved making those movies and it showed. The characters felt an anxious anticipation toward the battle, like a buildup, and the battles themselves were explosive releases. The new film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second in an unfortunately ongoing series, treats war as if it were already played out, rather than happening before our eyes. It's a dead dog dull bore of a movie, but that won't stop it from making a fortune. (See also Jette's review.)

Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game everyone in Narnia was talking about a thousand years from now! Last week we asked you to dust off that pimpin' fedora and come up with a caption for a photo from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- which, for those who've been counting down the seconds (looks away in shame!), hits theaters in less than one week! Congrats to Anthony T. (who won the first three Indiana Jones films on DVD) for a caption that was, well, a real hidden treasure.

1. "We've finally made it to the tomb of the ... Goddammit Nicolas Cage!!!! What are you doing here?!!" -- Anthony T.

2. "Unbeknownst to the two adventurers, the shadowy figure behind them had just enough silly string left to seal their doom..." Sean A.

3. "Geez, Dr. Jones. I know I told you I'd help you clean out your attic, but I'm going to need more than $10 an hour..." -- Pete M.

See full image and all captions


This week we're all returning to the land of Narnia in honor of the highly-anticipated sequel to The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. We're not asking you to take out the villains and save a prince, mind you, but we would like a funny caption for the photo below. In return, you see, three lucky winners will be awarded one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian cast-signed poster, one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack and one Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian illustrated "making of" book. You know the drill ...



Read the official rules for this contest

It's been two-and-a-half years since we watched the Pevensie children come to life on the big screen in Disney's splashy adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but for the characters, only a year has passed between those adventures and the ones in the new movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Well, time is funny like that when you're dealing with the magical land of Narnia, as the storyline of this movie amply illustrates.

The structure of events in the movie is actually an improvement on the C.S. Lewis book, opening with a captivating chase scene as young Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) attempts to escape from his Uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellito). Miraz has been scheming to steal Caspian's throne and now wants him dead. But Caspian's tutor gives him a magical horn, the horn of Queen Susan, to summon help in time of need. When Caspian blows the horn, suddenly Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter are pulled out of a London Tube station (which was the first scene in the book) and into a world of wild, wooded ruins that turns out to be Narnia, thousands of years after they've left. However, Caspian thought he was summoning kings and queens, not British children, and how can these kids help him regain the throne and help Old Narnia? And where is Aslan the Lion in the middle of all this?

Yes, I imagine right about now the folks at Marvel Productions are sporting grins wide enough to swallow their own ears. Iron Man held the number one spot for two weeks in a row, taking in $177 million since its release last week, making it the top grossing film of 2008 so far. The superhero blockbuster pulled in more than last week's two new releases combined, with Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz's comedy What Happens in Vegas edging out the Wachowskis more family-friendly adaptation of Speed Racer. Here's the final tally.

1. Iron Man: $51.1 million
2. What Happens in Vegas: $20.1 million
3. Speed Racer: $18.5 million
4. Made of Honor: $8.1 million
5. Baby Mama: $6.2 million

Just one solitary new release for this week. Will it be enough to dethrone Marvel's golden avenger?

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
What's It All About: A year has passed since the events of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but when the Pevensie siblings return to the world of Narnia, they find that 1,300 years have gone by and the land is under the tyrannical rule of King Miraz, though young Prince Caspian is the rightful heir to the throne.
Why It Might Do Well: Being the sequel to a successful flick ($65 million opening weekend with a total of $744 million worldwide) and the only major release hitting U.S. theaters this week, things are looking good for the Narnian economy. And the 88% fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com can't hurt.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I suppose if another Grand Theft Auto game should suddenly come out...
Number of Theaters: 3,800
Prediction: $65 million

MySpace has posted this striking second trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which hits on May 16th. It's actually shorter than the first one, with much more of an emphasis on action and effects; I'd guess they're planning to keep showing the first trailer before family films and try to use this one to pique adult interest. If it weren't for the PG rating, I'd think some of this would be pretty scary -- and hell, it still might be. If nothing else, the film is a near-lock to make a whole lot of money; it may compete with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for this summer's box-office title. `

Am I allowed to go around calling this movie The Passion of Aslan, the Jesus Lion? Because I really enjoyed doing that for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe back in 2005.

(Pictured above: Glenstorm, an honorable Centaur and an astronomer charged with watching the skies for portents.)

Moviefone has put up a whole character guide for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (featuring exclusive looks at five new characters). Unlike The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this is a book with a huge cast. The four Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) return to Narnia. But where only a short time has passed in our world, it is more than a thousand years later in Narnia, and a race of people called the Telmarines have invaded and ousted the natives. All of the characters you grew to love in the last story are long dead. Except Aslan, of course, but that's to be expected if you know your religious allegory!

So, Moviefone has gotten together with director Andrew Adamson to walk you through the new faces you'll be seeing -- and not a moment too soon, as this film opens on May 16. Audiences will be surprised, hopefully pleasantly so, by what a different story Prince Caspian is from its predecessor. Caspian is a story of conquest and rebellion -- the villains in this film are also a far cry from the White Witch. The Telmarine King Miraz and his lordly allies, Glozelle, and Lord Sopespian, are entirely human, their maliciousness owing more to Shakespeare than dark magic. Which isn't to say there aren't otherworldly elements here -- a Werewolf also seeks to lure Caspian into a dangerous alliance. But this is a story of dynasties and politics, a real turnaround from what was tackled in Wardrobe. It throws you as a child reader, but I think the real world elements may be more appealing to adult audiences in this film.