The Golden Compass ***
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Ian McKellan (voice), Eva Green, Jim Carter, Sam Elliott, Freddie Highmore (voice)
Director: Chris Weitz
Running Length: 1:53
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Lyra Belacqua (Richards) is an orphan. Her only living relative is Lord Asriel (Craig), a powerful and respected man. She lives at a college, and one day Ms. Coulter (Kidman) is there attending a meeting. Ms. Coulter picks Lyra to take a trip with her up north. Although excited to see the ice bears, she is reluctant to leave when her best friend Rober (Walker) is taken away by the Gobblers, a mysterious group of people stealing children. Before she leaves, the Master of Jordan College gives her an alethiometer. She is told it will reveal the truth of things to her, but she must not tell Ms. Coulter about it. When life with Ms. Coulter turns out to not be not what she expected, she runs away to look for her friend Roger. Lyra though, may be the child of the witches’ prophecy, and destined for greater things.

There is more to “The Golden Compass” than this, and it all moves pretty fast. In fact, the film could have used an extra 15-20 minutes of running time to feel less rushed. Religious undertones from the novel have all been removed, and it will be interesting to see how they continue to pull this off if the final two films in the trilogy get made. Richards is good as Lyra, bringing her sassiness and enthusiasm from page to screen successfully. Kidman is perfect as the evil Ms. Coulter. Craig has limited screen time but gets the job done as well. Aside from the running time, the other problem is the lack of an ending. The end was chopped off to give it a happier ending, and presumably the footage will show up in the next film if it gets made. Without it though, the film feels a bit incomplete. “The Golden Compass” is not a movie for everyone, and fans of the book may find themselves disappointed. Still, it is worth seeing.

Casino Royale ***1/2

Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino
Director: Martin Campbell
Running Length: 2:24
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Two kills, and James Bond (Craig) has been elevated to double-O level. M (Dench) feels that he is not ready, sends him on his first mission anyway. His job is to find Le Chiffre (Mikkelsen), a supplier of terrorist money, and shut him down. When Le Chiffre enters an exclusive poker tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro, Bond enters as well to prevent him from winning. Even with the help of Vesper Lynd (Green), a treasury agent, Bond may have his hands full, as Le Chiffre sets his eyes on removing Bond from the picture permanently.

“Casino Royale” is a successful reboot of the James Bond franchise. As different as night and day from “Die Another Day”, “Casino Royale” does almost everything right. Daniel Craig is perfect as Bond, maybe even the best ever. He is a rough around the edges “blunt instrument” that has a ways to go before he is the James Bond we know. Grounded in reality, “Casino Royale” also does away with most of the gadgets one would expect from a Bond movie. The supporting cast all do a good job in a movie that is all Daniel Craig. This is not your father’s Bond…this is better.