So, did Jesus clean himself with his tongue also?

Yesterday, I was still stewing over getting my boss' foot up my ass on Thursday. By the time closing time rolled around, I was caught up on my work, leaving very little for the boss to complain about even though that didn't stop him from doing it anyway. So I left, not to be back anytime before Monday morning.

I went to see Chronicles of Narnia Friday night. I vaguely remember reading the book when I was a kid, and I've always regarded it as the poor man's Lord of the Rings. The movie was very well done, but it wasn't what I consider a great movie.

I generally don't mind films and books that borrow from specific mythologies, however I do ask that the author/filmmakers at least try to be subtle about it. I lost so much faith in George Lucas the moment he pulled that virgin birth crap in Episode I. I was willing to forgive the flaws in the Matrix until I saw the sequels, when the whole thing turned into Eastern Philosophy For Dummies.

For Narnia, I blame the marketers of the movie. By targeting the church crowd, offering pastors information packets so they can tie in the movie into their sermons, offering church groups free or discounted screenings, etc., I'm surprised the tagline for the movie wasn't "By the way, the lion is supposed to be Jesus."

Maybe I'm just getting burned out on fantasy films. Looking back on it, I think Lord of the RIngs may have been the high water mark. King Kong had a little of that same magic, but it wasn't the same. Neither was Narnia. While I'm glad that the technology has advanced so much that these classic stories can have new life in film, I think we're starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Then again, I'm still pretty psyched about the DaVinci Code and Sin City 2 (the latter opens a day after my 30th birthday).

I can't be too critical about it, seeing as it is primarily a kid's movie. However, I've noticed in recent years just how homogenized family entertainment has become. You know who I miss so much in times like this? Jim Henson. I recall films like the Muppet Movie, Labrynth, Dark Crystal...films with enough eye candy to capture the kids' imaginations while at the same time putting enough in there for the adults to make them want to buy it on DVD and actually want to watch it themselves instead of just let it babysit the kids for a couple hours.