Nice Digs

With low expectations, I went to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" tonight.

I was completely surprised at how good it is -- and thrilling. This is no movie for little kids -- it had me jumping in my seat a couple of times.

Two brothers and two sisters shipped out of London to escape the bombings of war find themselves staying at a mansion in the country, out of harms way. By accident they find a secret entrance to a far away land at the back of a wardrobe in a spare room.

An epic battle between good and evil ensues -- and they find themselves in the middle of it. I don't think I'll ever forget the image of Tilda Swinton, as the White Witch, riding a chariot pulled by two enormous polar bears.

There's been a lot of press lately about the Christian allegories in C. S. Lewis' story. And since I was looking for them I certainly saw them (a sacrifice to redeem the sins of others, resurrection, etc.) But if I hadn't read about them beforehand I think they might have just gone over my head. I would have been too wrapped up in the intense story unfolding on the screen.

I went to The Bridge -- Cinema De Lux for the first time to see the movie. It's alongside the San Diego Freeway in Westchester at the Howard Hughes Center. (By the way, isn't it odd that the San Diego Freeway doesn't actually go to San Diego?) It's one of those theaters that charges a couple of dollars more than others, but is REALLY nice inside. And at this time of the year, I appreciated that it's not part of a major shopping mall.