...But... it wasn't good =|

Next thing we'll be talking about Eragon... please don't mention Eragon :(

I thought it was a decent kids movie.

I guess I could accept that sentiment

Yeah.

If I had to vote for best fantasy kids movie, it wouldn't be Harry Potter or Narnia. It would be Bridge to Terabithia.

Well, maybe it's not technically a fantasy movie since it's all clearly in the kids imaginations. But it's a really good and surprisingly poignant film that handles some serious issues without pulling any punches, it's an honest kids movie and you don't see a lot of those anymore.

I don't know, I read the book Bridge to Terabithia when I was a kid and I literally balled my eyes out in it and thought it was the most fantastic thing I'd ever read. As a young'un it's not often that you enjoy reading let alone be so moved by something at such a young age. So when I saw the movie as an adult I was a little disappointed that it didn't have the same effect.

It did have some corny music montages and stuff. But overall I liked it and how it balances the fantasy world with the struggles the boy has to put up with in real life, it didn't feel manipulative and came off as very sincere. It's beautifully shot too, it's the last film to feature cinematography from Michael Chapman, who worked on Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

I thought the two kids in the lead did a really good job, Zooey Deschanel as the teacher and Robert Patrick (the liquid metal guy from Terminator 2) as the boy's dad were good too.

The shockingly tragic climax just kinda came out of nowhere (we're talking about a big WTF moment here), but that's how a lot of tragegy occurs in real life.

I love Harry Potter, I'm not gonna lie. Alan Rickman is the best in the whole series imo.
Plus Ian ****ing Brown is in the third movie!

i can agree with that...alan rickman totally makes every movie he is in. robin hood? galaxy quest? dogma? the list is endless...

The Eragon movie was the only movie I have ever fell asleep watching in the theaters...if that tells you anything.

Off-Topic but almost relevant: I didn't see the Golden Compass movie. Thoughts on it?

Entertaining but non-essential. I wouldn't recommend anyone pick it up unless they have some sort of special interest in it. Stardust which came the same year (2007), although a little cutesy, is a lot more entertaining with a better and more interesting cast. Michelle Pfeiffer for example makes an interesting witch in that one. At least more interesting than Golden Compass' Nicole Kidman. ;)

As for the topic, obviously the LOTR movies beat the Harry Potter films. Peter Jackson's movies are all brilliant I think while the only HP movie which comes close to brilliance is The Prisoner of Azkaban.