The film industry was hungry for fantasy franchises after the success of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and while Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series didn’t seem an obvious choice, there was certainly potential in its alternate dimensional vision and chosen one narrative. But despite the presence Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and cgi polar bears, Chris Weitz’s muddled effort, renamed The Golden Compass, failed to ignite the imagination of audiences and critics, bombing at the box office and sinking any hopes of the sequel it shamelessly set up. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they desperately try to find direction in this mess of YA steampunk, talking animals and confused world-building.