Here is yet another perfect example of what should have been a really interesting concept as a baseline for a great sci-fi movie. Instead we get a story that initially hooks you but then loses focus and eventually drifts off into absurdity. The tip off should have been the fact that to gain any traction, this movie had to have Peter Jackson's name attached to it (as producer); because most of us have never heard of anyone else in this film.

WETA studios (provider of the outstanding effects for the ‘Lord Of The Rings' trilogy) provides the special effects, but with mixed results. While the alien craft and other devices are presented in good detail, the real star of this movie has to be the rendering of the alien creatures themselves. Unfortunately, the film neglects to make full use of this as not all of the features/characteristics of these beings are ever explored. Other effects, such as the alien weapons, are a bit over the top, inflicting hits that turn targets into water balloons - only a lot messier.

Director Niell Blomkamp had chosen to start off the film with a documentary format, but halfway through the move he has to switch gears and revert to a more standard mode and drops all pretense of that angle - but again switches back when the story allows. The results are a bit convoluted and confusing. The film jumps right in with a background primer on how a huge alien space ship came to a stop several hundred feet above Johannesburg, South Africa, and we're told that for 3 months it sat there doing absolutely nothing. At that point it was decided to launch an exploration mission to get inside the craft. Once inside, investigators find a large group of aliens huddling inside and in poor condition. A decision is made to off-load them and they are quartered in an area designated as ‘District 9'.

From this point the movie goes on to draw parallels with greed, exploitation, stereotyping, cultural dominance, prejudice, and population control - all very weighty subjects to be sure. However, in ‘District 9' all we get is some broad brush strokes, and no real substance on any of these topics. You could easily compare the aliens with any oppressed race/culture that has ever existed in our society; unfortunately the film takes none of these moral topics anywhere. The film also falls into its own trap by presenting us with standard cookie-cutter characters like the bad-ass military leader who believes in shooting first and asking questions later, to the shady Operations chief with his own hidden agendas and a total lack of scruples.

‘District 9' reminded me a bit of ‘Cloverfield' (camera work) and also ‘The Fly' (mutation as a subject), but doesn't rank nearly as high as either of those IMHO. Were it not for some huge plot holes (that you could practically fly a spaceship through) and the mixed format, I might have enjoyed this a bit more. The film did set itself up perfectly for a sequel, and current box-office buzz may promote interest in churning one out, but here's hoping that it never gets off the ground.

District 9 Official Site

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‘Snow Falling On Cedars' (1999) was derived from a masterful novel of the same name, set against real-life American history and penned by first-time writer, David Guterson. Director, Scott Hicks (‘Shine' 1996, ‘Hearts In Atlantis' 2001, ‘No Reservations' 2007), has skillfully brought this original story to the big screen. The story is set in a fictional small town of San Piedro located on the coast of Washington State. The main part of the story occurs during the period leading up to and just after World War II. The community of San Piedro includes a population of Japanese families that work, live, and play side by side with their Anglo neighbors.

As the story opens, just after the end of the war, a well-respected local fisherman is found dead in his own nets. Refusing to believe that this could be anything but murder, a likely scapegoat is found in another local fisherman, Kazou Miyamoto (Rick Yune, ‘The Fast And The Furious' 2001, ‘Die Another Day' 2002), who also just happened to be involved in a land dispute with the victim. Miyamoto is not helped by his upbringing that has taught him to be stoic in the face of adversity, thus coming off as cool and uncaring to the jury at his trial.

The film frequently shifts to past events and we learn that at the core of the story is character, Ishmael Chambers, who as a young lad had become smitten with Hatsue; who is now married to Kazou. Their grown up roles are played by Ethan Hawk (‘Training Day' 2001, ‘Before The Devil Knows You're Dead' 2007) and Youki Kudoh (‘Memoirs Of A Geisha' 2005 , ‘Rush Hour 3' 2007). As youngsters they begin to realize that their relationship is not acceptable to those around them; and the events around Pearl Harbor further doom any future they may have envisioned. We witness the entire Japanese population of San Piedro being shipped off to the Manzanar internment camp. While Ishmael never wavers in his love for Hatsue; she cannot bear the improbability of their future and breaks off the relationship with a crushing letter to Ishmael. Serving in the army when he receives this message, he becomes despondent and is gravely wounded; eventually losing an arm. As the story shifts back to the present, most of the Japanese residents have returned to San Piedro and are trying to rebuild their shattered lives in an atmosphere of paranoia and prejudice. Ishmael is still attracted to but also bitter towards Hatsue, but may be in a position to affect her fate.

Max von Sydow (a pedigree too huge to cite here) plays the curmudgeonly lawyer assigned to defend Kazou and nearly steals the show with some great lines. But the other ‘star' here is the cinematography; handled by Robert Richardson. ‘Snow' did not garner any Oscars, but was nominated in this category by the Academy and a few other organizations. Hicks also contributes by employing a number of effects and shots that add to the mood of this film. The script is richly layered with themes and subplots and is really faithful to the novel it is based on. This is a rarity in my experience, and I usually dismiss that connection altogether when considering such films. "Snow' delivers a real period look and feel and gives you characters that you can actually be interested in. Given the romantic angle, it could possibly qualify as a date-movie as well. This is one movie that shouldn't leave you cold.

Official Site: http://www.snowfallingoncedars.com/main.html

 

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‘The Hurt Locker’ is a soldier’s eye view of the current war in Iraq and follows a team of U.S. Military bomb technicians in an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit as they serve out their final 40 days in that country. Director, Kathyrn Bigelow (‘K-19: Widow Maker’, ‘Point Break’, ‘Blue Steel’, and ‘Near Dark’) chose to film this in a cinéma vérité style; giving her work the look & feel of a documentary. This approach works much better here than the stylized special effects and slow motion sequences that have been routinely applied to other similar films. The result is a very graphic, in your face, presentation of conditions on the ground for the soldiers being depicted here.

According to author, Mark Boal (who was an embedded journalist in Iraq for two weeks in 2004), the title, ‘The Hurt Locker’, refers to the place you’ll end up if the bomb you’re working on goes off. As the story begins to unfold, we are introduced to a new team leader, Staff Sergeant William James, played by Jeremy Renner (‘The Assassination of Jesse James’).  Sgt. James has a quirky ritual of collecting souvenirs. Each of these souvenirs comes from one of the 800+ devices he has disabled that could have killed him. Renner’s portrayal is both cool and intense. His actions invite both scorn and respect from the other two members of his team. That team is rounded out by Anthony Mackie (‘Eagle Eye’, ‘We Are Marshall’) as Sergeant JT Sanborn, and Brian Geraghty (‘Jar Head’, ‘We Are Marshall’) as Specialist Owen Eldridge. While Sgt. Sanborn is a by the book, play it safe type of soldier, he conflicts constantly with James’ cowboy approach to their mission. Specialist Eldridge is the one member who is openly struggling to maintain his sanity in all these brushes with death.

Bigelow also treats the viewer to a number of cameo appearances by several actors. Sgt. Matt Thompson played here by Guy Pearce (‘Traitor’, ‘The Time Machine’), starts the story out as the team’s leader. His early demise serves to immediately punctuate the hazards of the tasks at hand. We also see Ralph Fiennes (‘In Bruges’, ‘The Constant Gardener’) as the leader of a military contract team that gets pinned down in the desert. David Morse (‘The Negotiator’, The Green Mile’) does a quick turn as a gung-ho Colonel that praises Sgt James actions and methods, much to the dismay of the rest of his team.

Reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s ‘Black Hawk Down’ (2001), ‘The Hurt Locker’ appears very realistic, but instead of capturing a specific scenario, we get a focused look into three individuals dealing with the pressures of their situation over the course of time. I think it also gives the viewer a better feel for what conditions must be like for our real-life troops who are currently serving duty in this war. The film wasn’t 100% perfect for me, however. I thought the use of a military counselor doing a ride-along with the team was very cliché and all too predictable.

 

I noted that this movie was actually a 2008 release and ‘The Hurt Locker’ has spent some time on the Film Festival circuit prior to it’s very recent nation-wide release. I was disappointed to see it has yet to catch on with moviegoers (not even in the current top ten) and hope it gets the attention it deserves. To be sure, this film has several violent and graphic scenes and is not for everyone, and the ‘R’ rating should be respected for any parent even considering this film for a teenager. For those of you who are trying to get a better sense of what this war is really like, ‘The Hurt Locker’ delivers.

 

Official Movie Site: http://thehurtlocker-movie.com/

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 I have to confess to this great affinity for films that are considered ‘off-beat'; ‘Fargo' (1996) is a personal favorite. In addition to that gem, the Coen brothers have provided us with other great titles in this genre, such as ‘Raising Arizona' (1987), ‘The Big Lebowski' (1998), and ‘No Country For Old Men' (2007). There are a few other directors who've worked in this category; Quentin Tarantino, whose directorial credits include ‘Reservoir Dogs' (1992) and ‘Pulp Fiction' (1994), immediately comes to mind. Other films of this type seem to have been one-shot entries for directors such as John Herzfeld, who offered us ‘Two Days In The Valley' (1996).  Director Chris Nolan made his initial foray into the genre with his first full-length feature film ‘Following' (1998). He followed that up with what I consider to be one of the best (but less appreciated) films that are part of this category, ‘Memento' (2000).

 

Lets start with the film's premise. What if you lost the ability to form any new memories? I'm not talking about "Where are my keys?" or "Where did I leave my glasses?" type memory lapses - I mean full-blown anterograde amnesia. This is a real medical condition that is either brought on by cerebral trauma or can potentially be drug-induced. The disease itself is still being studied and is not well understood, but researches have learned that afflicted patients do suffer from varying degrees of forgetfulness. Taken as a concept for a film, most Hollywood-type directors would opt for an easy application; case in point: ‘Fifty First Dates' (2004), a light comedy featuring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Fortunately for those of us who prefer something a bit more thought provoking, we have ‘Memento'.

‘Memento' started out as a short story written by Chris' brother, Jonathan, titled ‘Memento Mori'. Both Chris and Jonathan took the original concept & character and added a complex story line where the main character (suffering from the aforementioned condition) is trying to avenge the brutal murder of his wife; an attack that also led to his current condition. Guy Pearce (‘L.A. Confidential', ‘Traitor') plays this lead character, Leonard Shelby, to full effect. Employing a set of memory aids, such as notes, Polaroids (with even more notes on them), and a freaky set of tattoos, Leonard works diligently at his task during every waking hour. Supporting him in his mission is Teddy Gammell, played by Joe Pantoliano (numerous acting credits include ‘Running Scared', ‘La Bamba', and ‘The Matrix'), whose motives are never quite clear. But then, there's much here that isn't obvious, hence this film requires your full attention and has to be viewed several times to catch all the details that director Nolan has packed into this offering.

 

Beyond the quirky premise, Nolan also took a bold step in how the movie is edited. To accentuate the memory angle, he has chose to present his story in short scenes, but these scenes are arranged in reverse order. While some may find fault with this (or even be annoyed by it), I felt that it really gives the film a signature touch and makes it even more intriguing. There are DVD editions that I believe offer the ability to play the scenes in order, but I don't feel that gives any added value if you're looking for something that is unusual to start with. Chris Nolan has gone on from this movie to helm other great films such as ‘Insomnia' (2002), The Prestige (2006) and the two latest Batman films, ‘Batman Begins' (2005) and ‘Dark Knight' (2008).

 

I really liked the fact that this film can generate a lot of conjecture, and the story doesn't follow some overused plot line. Given Leonard's condition, we, as the viewer, have to question everything his character believes to be true. There are many great tag lines, and some wry observations on reality, both perceived and remembered. One quote from Leonard (on burning some mementos from his wife) sums up his situation: "Probably burned truck loads of your stuff before. Can't remember to forget you." Whether you agree this film is great, average, or lousy, I can guarantee you won't forget it!

 

Movie Site: http://www.otnemem.com/pub_site.htm

Related Site: http://www.otnemem.com/

 

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Sorry about the unintended hiatus, I seemed to hit a rare combination of personal disasters and a dearth of movie titles that actually piqued my interest. Once I got clear of the calamities on the home front, I scanned the current listings for something interesting to see. I intentionally avoided the new Harry Potter film, because I think we’ve all been beaten to death with the ensuing hype. I tried to get my better half interested in ‘The Proposal’, but she just wasn’t in the mood for anything Sandra Bullock-ish. Then the listing for ‘Orphan’ caught my attention and I proclaimed I was going with or without her! She’s a sucker for a good thriller, or at least the promise of one – so it was a done deal. Personally I had to wonder as I had not heard much buzz on this or seen much in the way of promotion. My gut feeling was that it was probably truly bad, or was just ‘flying under the wire’ as a box-office near miss. I was willing to investigate!

 

For starters, we have Jaume Collet-Serra in the driver’s seat as the director. He last helmed ‘House Of Wax’ (2005), and his sophomore effort in ‘Orphan’ shows a lot of professional growth. I noted a lot of the outdoor scenes were shot during overcast or snowing periods, which kept the mood of the story dark as well. Relative newcomers, Alex Mace (story) and David Johnson (screenplay), deliver a script that is mostly tight and on track throughout.

 

The story involves a couple, Kate and John Coleman, who already have two children, but after Kate (Vera Farmiga) suffers a difficult still birth, decide to add a third child via adoption. Central to the film is the mystery that eventually deepens around the young girl they end up selecting. The story begins to resemble ‘The Good Son’ (Macaulay Culkin, 1993), but other elements such as alcoholism and infidelity are added to the mix, making this a lot more complicated than expected.

 

Vera Farmiga (‘The Departed’) does an excellent job as a troubled mother who is wrestling with her personal demons, but always puts her children first. Her portrayal is only marred in one scene by a reaction that comes off as a bit over the top, but I blame the script more than the actress. Peter Sarsgaard (‘Skeleton Key’, ‘Jar Head’, ‘Flight Plan’) as the husband, John, also plays well off of Vera’s character. The spotlight is really on Isabelle Fuhrman, as Ester, the adoptee in this story. A relative unknown, she does a terrific job of switching from charming waif to a malicious witch in a blink. She has a couple great one-liners that are delivered perfectly. Aryana Engineer has quite a challenge as she plays existing daughter Max, who is deaf. Turns out that Aryana is not deaf herself, but she is proficient with sign language because her real-life Mom is. Rounding out the immediate cast is Jimmy Bennett (‘Star Trek’, ‘Evan Almighty’) as the son, who initially bears the first hint of Ester’s potential wickedness.

 

While one could find fault with a few elements in the storyline as delivered, ‘Orphan’ does NOT opt out for the standard Hollywood thriller ending (ok, not completely anyway) and builds slowly and deliberately with additional twists. For the most part, ‘Orphan’ also avoids the fake scares, but when it does tweak the thrill-meter, some of the scenes are pretty intense. The Mrs. take on this one? She confided that it was a lot better than she was expecting. For my part, I definitely agree!

 

Official 'Orphan' movie site: Click here

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  Back in 2005, when I first learned of this project from Magnolia Pictures (‘Man On A Wire', ‘Romulus, My Father'), I was a little dismayed to learn that it was coming out initially as a limited release film. In fact, it was so limited, I found myself driving all the way over to West Newton, Massachusetts, for a first-run screening. After that, I kept checking to see if it would hit any of the local theater chains, but it didn't. It was that good, I wanted to see it again - thank goodness for DVDs. Hence, I'm willing to bet most of the folks reading this may have not seen, or even heard of ‘The Worlds Fastest Indian' [TWFI].

The movie is basically about an older man who has spent nearly a lifetime tinkering with his 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle in a quest to see just how fast he could make it go. His ultimate goal: to travel to the famous Bonneville Salt Flats and set a world land speed record. To truly appreciate what a great film TWFI really is, you should first watch the included bonus feature, ‘Offerings To The God Of Speed'. This 1971 documentary on Burt Munro and his exploits was directed by Rodger Donaldson, who many years later would direct TWFI. Only after watching this documentary will you get a true sense of what a great job Sir Anthony Hopkins does of playing this real-life character for the film.

After directing ‘Offerings', Donaldson went on to have a great career as a film director (‘The Bounty', ‘Cocktail', ‘Dante's Peak', and ‘The Recruit' are included in his resume), but he never let go of the idea of making a full-length film about his earlier subject, Burt Munro. While the story does center on Burt's quest and his motorcycle, it isn't strictly a motorcycle movie. TWFI is also a great family film because it mixes elements of humor, adversity, drama, and the human spirit.

Sir Anthony Hopkins (‘Silence Of The Lambs', ‘Legends Of The Fall', ‘Nixon' among MANY others) plays Burt so effortlessly; you immediately buy into every aspect of this character. Hopkins' portrayal gives his subject a degree of eccentricity, without coming off as too comical or just plain loony. The only other cast member you may recognize in TWFI is Paul Rodriguez as Fernando; an affable used car salesman; and possibly Christopher Lawford as performance driver, Jim Moffett. The real hoot of a performance comes from Chris Williams, as Tina, a transvestite motel clerk who gives Burt a short course on American culture.

The film is based on real events and locations, and most of it is fairly accurate, right down to the actual tools used by Burt to modify his bike with. There is also some great footage of other speed vehicles (picture rockets with wheels) of the era that were brought in for the film. The scenery of both New Zealand and the Bonneville Salt Flats are both captured to full effect by Donaldson. The DVD includes additional features such as ‘The Making Of...'; a piece on Burt's home town of Invercargill; commentary from the director, Rodger Donaldson; and deleted scenes. If you're a car or bike ‘nut', I'm sure you'll enjoy this film, but I'm willing to bet anyone can find something to like here. Now go snag this DVD - fast!

Official Site: http://www.worldsfastestindianusa.com/

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If nothing else, ‘Public Enemies' is beautiful to behold. While not as moody as ‘The Road To Perdition' (2002), this film evokes the era about as well. Directed by Michael Mann (credits include ‘Hancock' and ‘Last Of The Mohicans'); this film looks back into the height of America's gangster past (circa 1933) and provides rich visual details such as period aero planes (a Ford Tri-Motor for you gear-heads out there), steam trains, many vintage cars, and period set pieces such as Chicago street scenes. Fortunately for us moviegoers, ‘Public Enemies' offers so much more.

Depp as Dillinger

To start with, we get a one-two acting punch from Johnny Depp (as them main character, John Dillinger) and Christian Bale (as Melvin Purvis). While both actors approach their respective roles with equal intensity, the two characters they portray couldn't be anymore different. Depp's Dillinger is played with a bit of restrained swagger and strong self-assuredness but the actor also lets us see a vulnerable side to this iconic criminal when he hits his personal lows. Bale delivers a slightly tentative Purvis who makes up for any shortcomings with his determination and is nearly relentless in his pursuit of his quarry. There is no doubt in Johnny Depp's box-office bank-ability (and he certainly adds to that fact in this film), but Christian Bale seems to be entering into the same territory given this and his other recent performances (‘Terminator Salvation', ‘Dark Knight'). It's a shame the story doesn't allow these two share more interactive screen time than it does.

Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis

The surprise performance here has to be Marion Cotillard (‘A Good Year', ‘Big Fish') as Mary Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, Dillinger's girlfriend during most of the time covered in the film. Even though we know as viewers where this is all going, we can't help but get caught up in her emotions and difficulties as things play out. Equally impressive is Billy Crudup (‘Watchmen', ‘Almost Famous' and ‘Big Fish' as well) as the self-promoting J. Edgar Hoover. As he is trying to build his empire at the FBI, Crudup leans heavily on Bale's character to do his bidding in ways that often conflict with the latter's own intended approach to apprehending this Public Enemy #1.

While not a perfect film (there are a number of anachronisms that occur throughout the movie), I felt that ‘Public Enemies' was very entertaining and satisfying to watch. If you're a history buff, you should be caught up in the somewhat accurate portrayal of the era. If you're looking for an action film, there's a fair amount of that here too. It even qualifies as a ‘date' movie, given the romantic angle. I don't want to jinx it, but I'd be very shocked if this film didn't at least garner a few Oscar nominations. ‘Public Enemies' should be #1!

Public Enemies Offical Site: http://www.publicenemies.net/

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OK, you’ve run out of ideas for NetFlix selections, or maybe you’ve got an Amazon.com gift card burning a hole in your pocket… My suggestion? How about a classic sci-fi DVD? The title I have in mind is the 1972 movie, ‘Silent Running’. While certainly no award winner or box office titan, I think this particular film is still remarkable for a number of reasons.

 

Preceded by a more notable film, Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’(1968), ‘Silent Running’ is a more traditional sci-fi drama directed (and produced) by Doug Trumbull. Mr. Trumbull also served as special effects photographic supervisor on the ‘2001’ project and expanded on those special effects for ‘Silent Running’. ‘So, big deal’, you might think – actually, in that era it was. There was no CGI, or Industrial Light & Magic to digitally conjure up all the required images - shots of vehicles in space at that time were achieved through the use of models. The models used for this film were reported to be about 26’ long and took months to fabricate. In addition to having to custom build them, the filmed sequences using these models had to be shot perfectly for the expected realism; lest these scenes come off like some of the campier space films of the 50’s (picture pie tins bouncing along on strings clearly visible in each frame).

 

The Domes On Valley Forge 

The film primarily takes place on the space freighter, ‘Valley Forge’, which is carrying several large greenhouse type domes containing the remnants of some of Earth’s last forests. The Valley Forge is part of a convoy of identical ships carrying similar cargo out toward Saturn. While the reason for this particular destination is never made clear, it doesn’t detract all that much from the story line. Hey, it is science fiction, right? On the ‘Valley Forge, the crewmen are assisted by three robots, named Huey, Dewey, and Louie, to maintain the environment inside the huge dome. Early on, the entity responsible for managing these space-going sanctuaries decides that they should be destroyed. The story plays out from there.

 

In another innovation for this film, Trumbull used three actors, who were lower limb, double amputees, for simulating the three service robots. He had special suits created for each of these actors and while these suits were boxy looking, there is no mistaking that they must have been an early inspiration for George Lucas in creating R2D2 for his own ‘Star Wars’ franchise.

                                                                                 

Bruce Dern and Robot Assistants

Actor, Bruce Dern, plays the main character in the film, Freeman Lowell. Dern has made a career out of playing supporting roles and has the dubious honor of being the only actor that ever killed John Wayne (1972, ‘The Cowboys’) in all of the ‘Duke’s’ westerns. In Silent Running, one of his few leading roles, Bruce gives a dramatic performance of a man torn between duty and his love for the trees he has been entrusted to care for. While appearing to be bordering on insanity, Dern’s character becomes locked in a battle to save the same trees he’s been ordered to destroy. ‘Silent Running’ is truly a classic science fiction film that also carries a strong message.

 

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067756/

'Silent Running' on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running

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I am so glad that Pixar and Disney studios decided to kiss & make up. ‘Up’ is yet another hit that they can add to their track record. I have to confess that the little kid inside of me has always been attracted to good animated films and I don’t always get to play my grandparent card as a pretext to go to one of these showings. Fortunately, Pixar has seen fit to deliver a product that plays well on many levels, so there’s no stigma associated with the ages of viewing audience.

 

Much like ‘Wall-E’ before it, ‘Up’ tackles some pretty heavy subject matter here such as death, grieving, and infertility (infertility hits a new high – or low depending on your perspective); but the delivery is such that it comes across well to the broader audience. I tried to note reactions of the younger set in the audience of the showing I attended and I don’t think much of it was lost on the littler ones. The sad parts were just that, sad; and the funny parts were generally hilarious. The story moves along well and there is no requirement to analyze the weighty topics all that deeply.

 

Ed Asner and his on-screen altr-ego, Carl

 

Ed Asner lends his voice as Carl Fredricksen, the lead character. After seeing this, I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing this! He totally nails the cranky old guy routine. Christopher Plumber also contributes as an adventurer from the past who has sort of gone off the deep edge. He does a great job of switching between being noble and villainous.

John Ratzenberger continues his streak of voicing a secondary role- see if you can pick him out while watching.

 

True to form, Pixar’s animation is top-notch. I attended the 3-D showing and didn’t think the added visuals were that big of an impact [only a fraction of the sequences are actually in 3-D]. Watching this in the regular format would be just as satisfying. If you pay attention to the details, you’ll get a sense of the degree of craftsmanship that goes into a Pixar film. They are little things, like proper shadow rendering and surface details that all generally go unnoticed, but contribute to the overall quality of the animation. You’ll need to re-watch any Pixar DVD several times and focus only on such details to get a full appreciation of this.

 

The only beef I had with the movie is that I wished that Pixar had not shown one the funnier bits in the trailers that preceded the movie – that’s where there’s a knock on the front door AFTER the house is in the air. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I mean; if not, you’ll enjoy the surprise. Like all the previous Pixar films, ‘Up’ has a moral or two to absorb, but it doesn’t come off as preachy. Here is yet another film adults can take their kids to and not be bored themselves – or be selfish and see it without the kids!

 

 

Official Site:

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/

 

 

 

 

Jordan Nagai and his character Russell    

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The much-anticipated film follow up to Dan Brown’s ‘DaVinci Code’ is actually a prequel to that best selling novel, but the ‘Angels & Demons’ script is deftly tweaked to come off as cinematic sequel instead.

Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon in 'Angels & Demons'

Ron Howard (yes, our beloved ‘Opie’ for those of us old enough to remember Andy Griffith and that special place called Mayberry) again takes the reigns as director. David Koeep (‘War Of The Worlds’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’) and Akiva Goldsman (‘DaVinci Code’ and ‘I Am Legend’) are onboard as the writers. The only other really familiar face here is, of course, our hero, Robert Langdon (aka Tom Hanks).

I was all ready to be enthralled by this promising thrill ride, but in a very short period of time I was disappointed. Mr. Hanks is forced to run around continually spouting various trivia and facts to provide pertinent historical back-fill for all of the frenetic goings on around him. While quite necessary, it gets tedious very quickly. Also, the plot involves Hanks and the ‘good guys’ racing from location to location in and around the Vatican in a vain attempt to stop a series of executions. These scenes become predictable as the group shows up just seconds too late to avert the mounting body count each time. I also thought that, given the religious theme, the movie had a surprising amount of carnage in it.

Ewan McGregor's Father Patrick McKenna

 

Ewan McGregor is cast as Camerlengo, Patrick McKenna, and does a fair enough job of it early on, but again, the script takes some absurd turns and R. Howard & Co. opts for mayhem and special effects instead of something more intriguing. I realize the movie is only following the book, but I thought it came off as too over-the-top on screen. Ron Howard does do justice to the various locales with some great shots of the recognizable landmarks, but it’s not enough to offset the all-too-familiar script. – ‘DaVinci Code’ rehashed is more like it. Most of these films, like ‘National Treasure’, play out well the first time, but it takes a certain level of increased creativity to pull it off multiple times. Even the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise is beginning to look a bit like a retread after too many trips to the well. As I said, I had high hopes for this film, but really felt it fell far short of it’s potential. More like angles and dimness than a riveting ‘whodunit’…

Official Site: http://angelsanddemons.com/

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