"Dawn Treader" treads its way into our hearts
J oshua
K m __________________
"To d efeat the darkness
ou t there, you m u st
d efeat the d arkness inside
y ou rself." C .S. Lew is
in corp orated m an y biblical
them es that created a
collage of sym bolism in the
film , "C hronicles of N arnia:
The V oyage of the D aw n
Treader." The voyage that
L u cy (G eorgie H enley),
E d m u nd (Skandar K eynes)
and E u stace (W ill Poulter)
take, is one that delves
w ith in and requires each
ch aracter to resist evils that
lu rk insid e of them selves.
In the p ast tw o m ovies,
the v illain s w ere the W hite
W itch (Tilda Sw inton)
in "The L ion, the W itch
and the W ardrobe" and
M iraz (Sergio C astellitto)
in "Prince C aspian." In
"The V oyage of the D aw n
Treader," the evil force is a
fog that b rin gs out fears,
strengthens tem p tation s,
and cau ses irration al
feelin gs tow ards peers. The
story line is abou t resisting
tem p tation and evil w ithin.
Positive lessons are
show n throu gh the
characters' p erson al issues.
For exam ple, L u cy shares
a com m on yearning w ith
m any w om en today; to
b e b eau tifu l and to be
adm ired. Lucy w ants to
look ju st like her older
sister, Su san (A nna
P opp lew ell). W ith the help
of A slan (voiced b y Liam
N eeson), this m ovie teaches
that w e should n ot strive to
b e like som eone else.
"The Voyage of the
D aw n Treader" had
som e cheesy parts about
E u stace's dram a and
greed, b u t hey, R eep icheep,
(voiced b y Sim on Pegg) the
m ouse, m ade it p retty legit.
I enjoyed this m ovie, bu t
frankly, m any audiences
these days do n o t go to
w atch the m ovies to be
tau ght lessons abou t life.
Because of this, the m ovie
in m y op inion m ay n ot be
very popular.
O verall, the m ovie in
m y opinion deserves a
rating o f tw o and a h alf
out of five, as it w as
a disap p ointm ent
after having
w atched the first
tw o m ovies.
The first tw o
"C hronicles
of N arnia"
m ovies
had m any
enjoyable
com ponents.
The
anim ated
anim als
and new
w orld of
"The Lion, the
W itch and the
W ardrobe" m ade
it interesting. "C hronicles
of N arnia: Prince
C aspian" w as another
w ell p u t together piece
resp lend ent w ith w ar
and battles. H ow ever,
becau se "The Voyage of
the D aw n Treader" lacked
an evil character, it m ade
the m ovie less interesting
for m e.
This m ovie w ill appeal
to younger audiences, ages,
as long as they d o n 't
feel too cool to learn
another lesson
about life. W hile
the m ovie had
I great scenery,
$10 or $13.50
(3D) for
the m ovie
theaters is
too m uch
to pay. I
suggest
that if
you w ant
to w atch
this
m ovie,
ait for the
rental.
"The Voyage
of the D aw n
Treader" is rated
PG for som e
frightening
sequences of
fantasy action.
Courtesy of Google (mages
"The King Is Dead" justifies Decemberists still going strong
After the triumphant,
theatrical storytelling of
their previous album, the
Decemberists are toning it
down for their latest release,
"The King Is Dead." This
versatile, Portland-based band
has come out with another
strong record with folky tones,
great lyrics and further proof
that Colin Meloy is one of the
became available for free
download on the Decemberists'
website, giving fans a first
look at how the album will
sound. The lyrics, though not
as extravagant as some of their
earlier work, are extremely
well-written. The melody is
very catchy, making it probably
the most radio-friendly
song on the album. The
instrumentation had a lot of
Courtesy of Capitol Records
"The King Is Dead" is the Decemberists' sixth and most recent album.
The band, which hails from Portland, changed its tone from extravagant
to relaxed for this new release much to the delight of listener.
indie rock virtuosos of our
time.
This new project was
promising from the start. On
Nov. 2, one song from the
album, "Down By The Water,"
folk influence; along with the
usual use of both electric and
acoustic guitars, the accordion
and harmonica are prominent.
When REM meets Neil Young,
and it is a fantastic indie sound.
The fans rejoiced after
hearing this preview to the
album, and they had even
more reason to after the
album's release on Jan. 18.
The rest of the album
is very similar to its
aforementioned single. Meloy,
the main songwriter for the
Decemberists, doesn't exercise
his massive vocabulary as
much here as in his last five
albums, but the lyrics of "The
King is Dead" are still well-
crafted and meaningful. One
shining example of this is "June
Hymn," which has stunningly
beautiful lyrics and (at least by
the Decemberists' standards) is
surprisingly minimalist." And
years from now/When this old
light isn't ambling anymore/
Will I bring myself to ride?/I
give my best to Springville
Hills."
The musical tone of "The
King Is Dead" is fun and
generally laid-back. At the
very least, it's more chilled
than their previous albums.
Where "The Hazards of Love"
was hard-rock and "The Crane
Wife" was alternative, "The
King Is Dead" is solidly folk-
rock.
At least four of the
Decemberists' last five albums
are very theatrical and grand;
"The King Is Dead" isn't so.
It's the "going-back-to-our-
musical-roots" album, with its
countryesque instrumentation
and relaxed atmosphere.
The emotions range from
introspective ("January Hymn")
to rebellious ("This Is Why We
Fight") to bouncy ("All Arise!"),
and there's even a song about
coal mining ("Rox in the Box").
The songs are accessible,
genuine and enjoyable, which
is—in a nutshell—everything
good folk-rock should be. Its
orchestration, simple lyrics,
toe-tapping rhythms and
general emotional tones are
all characteristic of this genre.
It's a new direction for the
Decemberists—and it works.
"The King Is Dead" is one
of the first releases of 2011
and for my money, it's one of
the best so far. All fans of the
Decemberists and good indie
rock should check it out, and
all music fans should too. The
Z100 crowd would benefit if
they take a break from Lady
Gaga's dance hits and Taylor
Swift's bubbly pop for a little
bit. Take some time to chill
out to the authentic and local
sound of "The King Is Dead."
This album is available
on the Decemberists' website
(www.decemberists.com) at
$13 for the standard CD, $19
for vinyl, and $165 for the
deluxe box edition. It can also
be bought for $9.99 on iTtmes,
on Amazon starting at $7.99
and wherever music is sold.
I Met the Decemberists
use
B rown
Originating from Portland,
Ore., the Decemberists have
achieved the num ber one
hit record album release and
Jan. 18, the day "The King
Is Dead" was released, I had
the pleasure of meeting the
Decemberists in person.
I went not as a journalist,
but as a fan. They were signing
posters, copies of their new
record and whatever else fans
would bring at Music Millen
nium, the independent record
store on Portland's east side.
I brought my Decemberists
t-shirt that I bought at a con
cert a year and a half earlier.
Emma Kennard, sophomore,
brought her sketchbook with
a pencil-drawn portrait of the
band for them to sign.
My brother, Brice, and I
each asked Colin Meloy, front
man of the band, one question
as he signed our things. My
question was rather geeky:
"What brand of harmonica do
you play?" He replied that he
plays Hohner Marine Band,
to which I recalled that Bob
Dylan plays the same kind.
A geeky conversation about
the brand's merits followed
while all five Decemberists
signed my t-shirt and Emma's
sketchbook.
Brice decided to ask Meloy
what he thought was "the best
thing in life." Meloy gave an
honest and touching answer:
"I have a five-year-old son."
Hands were shaken, things
were signed, and fun was
had by all.