Compared to "LOTR," its plot is really very simple. Well, to begin with, "The Lion" is really more accessible as a book. It was written by Christian writer C.S. Lewis for his goddaughter so kids can really enjoy it, as compared to the ramblings of Tolkien’s "LOTR" that most readers will find tedious. And in fairness to Adamson, who’s also from New Zealand like Peter Jackson, he does succeed in preserving the book’s original appeal for the silver screen. (This was actually already made on TV in 1988, along with three other books of the seven-novel "Chronicles.") He makes very little changes in the story, maintaining its magic, menace and mystery by making the film more visually appealing through special effects, but without really changing the narrative at all to retain its sense of wonder.

The story tells us about the magical land of Narnia and its mythic creatures who are led by a lion called Aslan (voiced with great warmth and authority by Liam Nesson). Actually, talking animals is no longer that surprising today after animated films like "The Lion King" and "Madagascar," and here even beavers (Ray Winstone and Dawn French) and a worldly fox (Rupert Everett) talk and interact with human characters like they were really born with a voice box. But we still to get to believe them as Adamson adroitly captures the essence of why Lewis puts them in his book. Indeed, those who have read the book will appreciate the movie more and the way the book’s major parts are portrayed in it, like the icy castle of the White Witch (Tilda Swinton, the androgynous angel in "Constantine") that has become so cold and dreary and the forest around it that slowly turns into green with Aslan’s impending return.

The story starts with the four Pevensie children being sent from Finchley, London, to the mansion of their uncle (Jim Broadbent) in the countryside to avoid the Blitz of the Second World War while their dad is fighting against the Nazis. These are Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley.) The screenplay gets to define them better in a manner only briefly sketched in the novel. The eldest, Peter, wants to fight in the war against Germany even if he’s too young and it’s the war against the White Witch that gives him the adventure he desires.

Susan is the most rational among the siblings while Edmund is the one who gets easily seduced by the witch because of his greediness for sweets. But the most endearing kid is Lucy, the youngest child who, while playing hide and seek with her siblings, discovers the winter wonder world of Narnia behind the wardrobe. Narnia is under the evil spell of the White Witch who imposes on it a "100 year winter without Christmas." Its savior will be four children and who else could they be but the Pevenzie kids. We just wish all the four kids have more attention-grabbing screen presence. The boys are okay, but they should have chosen girls who are more photogenic.

But no doubt the film is a visual treat, offering majestic scenery that is simply gorgeous to look at. The battle scenes are played like a richly colored tapestry, inspired by the fluttering penants of Laurence Olivier’s "Henry V."

Tilda Swinton’s White Witch is impressive, delivered not in the usual highly theatrical manner of screen villains but with an icy, cold-hearted detachment and that makes her all the more scary. You’d really wish she got a more spectacular punishment in this movie. Also outstanding is James McAvoy as the faun, Tumnus, who becomes Lucy’s best friend when she gets to Narnia. McAvoy invests his role with tender compassion and he doesn’t look predatory at all even when he starts to hypnotize Lucy to put her under his spell.

The whole film is not as intense and scary for younger viewers the way "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is. It also manages to honor its original writer by conveying the film’s religious messages without being overly preachy, like Aslan’s sacrifice to save lives and being resurrected a few days later to regain his kingship.

* * *

STAR CINEMA proves that the playdate immediately after the Metro Manila Filmfest is still profitable. After the local film industry hit a slump, movie producers avoided this, but now that "Don’t Give Up On Us" is a blockbuster, we’re sure that next year, they will be encouraged to release more new films right after the festival.

"Don’t Give Up On Us" is a well made romantic comedy-drama. Although it is actually just a predictable formulaic by-the-numbers love story about the usual rich girl meets poor boy, loses him then gets him back, it still works mainly because the lead stars are so good in their respective roles. Judy Ann Santos and Piolo Pascual play two people coming from totally different worlds who fall in love with each other knowing they have to give up a lot to make their love affair work.

Juday is Abby, an organized, workaholic career woman who wants to be vice president of the ad company she works for by the time she’s 30. In contrast, Piolo as Vince is an easy-going folk singer in a small pub in Baguio who’s pretty contented with his life and does not have any other lofty ambition in life.

Abby’s brother, Samuel (Marco Alcaraz), is about to marry her friend, Sabina (Cheska Garcia), but the latter backs out at the last minute and runs away with Rabbit (Paolo Paraiso) to Baguio. Abby hies off to Baguio with the intention of coercing Sabina to go on with the wedding. It’s there that she meets Vince, who happens to be a friend of Rabbit. Like other cute first meetings in romantic films of this sort, their initial introduction to each other is marred with hostility. But Abby has no choice but to ask Vince to help her locate the whereabouts of Rabbit and Sabina. Vince refuses but his mom (Rio Locsin) personally requests him to accompany Abby and they use Vince’s vehicle in going to Sagada where Rabbit has a house.

The film becomes a road movie at this point. Along the way, they keep on fighting and bickering with each other, but if you’re familiar with this kind of love story, you know very well that they will eventually end up in each other’s arms. Some other things happen on their way to Sagada. The car has a flat tire, it rains and they help some of Vince’s friends to harvest some heads of cabbage in a hurry, they attend the wedding of some natives, Abby gets drunk with the local drink called tapuy, and one thing leads to another. Abby and Vince spend the night together and you know Cupid’s bow has hit them both hard.

They succeed in finding Sabina and Rabbit and, as maybe expected, Sabina refuses to return to Manila as she’s already pregnant with Rabbit’s child. Vince drives Abby back to Manila. They know they’re in love with each other, but they come from such divergent backgrounds that a lasting romance is unthinkable for Abby.

Up to this point, we can’t help but be carried away by the narrative flow. But how the conflict between the leads is resolved is not totally satisfying for us. We won’t go into details on how they did it so as not to spoil things for you, but we feel that after the very detailed way of developing their love affair, the resolution is a bit rushed and, as such, it comes out quite unconvincing. It feels like they hurried things up just to end the movie.

It cannot be denied, though, that the movie is largely entertaining. The comic scenes work, particularly that scene where Abby is calling someone on her cellphone while inside a small roadside toilet and Vince opens the toilet door, hits her accidentally, and she drops the cellphone into the toilet bowl. Most of the obligatory pa-cute scenes also work, like that scene in the rain while they’re harvesting cabbage in the muddy fields.

In the dramatic scenes, Judy Ann has mastered the art of shedding tears effortlessly and with utmost restraint. Piolo stands out in two scenes. One is inside the restaurant after they return to Manila where he fervently grabs Juday’s hand and tells her "Mahal kita" with so much conviction. The other one is after they’ve parted ways and he stops by a gas station. This scene has no dialogue and it shows Piolo with his back to the camera and you can feel his tortured feelings inside because even his back is acting.

The film could have been like "Prime," also about two lovers who are so very different from each other but given a realistic bittersweet conclusion. Both movies have an epilogue showing the lovers meeting again in a cafe after sometime. In "Prime," Uma Thurman and Bryan Greenberg look at each other and Uma just smiles at her former lover for the last time. But "Don’t Give Up On Us" is obviously made to please the fans of the Juday-Piolo love team, so it has the usual saccharine happy ending that’s the rule rather than the exception in local romances.

A big asset in the movie are the locales used as the backdrop of the Juday-Piolo romance, particularly the fabled Banaue rice terraces and the rustic scenes shown while they are on their way there. You suddenly get the itch to go to Ifugao province to have a personal look at the rice terraces. Aside from the good performances of the leads, Rio Locsin gives adequate support as Piolo’s mom, as well as Hilda Koronel and Tommy Abuel as Juday’s parents. The movie is not meant to win awards but it accomplishes its intentions of pleasing hopeless romantics, especially the admirers of the Juday-Piolo love team.