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Reviews
Eragon (2006)
This movie had such potential...its a shame it was treated in this haphazard way
When will movie studios begin to respect the public? Just because fantasy genre films are popular does not mean that we, the fans will turn any film into a blockbuster just because it has a dragon in it. The movie has to be good. I read Eragon, and I enjoyed it. I was able to overlook the Tolkien/Star Wars similarities due to the fact that the author was so young when he wrote it. The story was not bad, though it was certainly not original - I have read worse. Anyway, upon seeing the previews, and what appeared to be fairly laudable CGI, I went to this movie in great anticipation, considering that this year has been devoid of Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and even Harry Potter, in the hopes that I would have a couple of hours to escape from this world. I was wrong. Even having read the book, I was often left puzzled and disgusted with this films "lack" of a cohesive story line. Some of the characters were completely unrecognizable from the book - only their names were the same. The scenes do not flow smoothly. In fact, the scenes skip about so badly that you wonder what the film editor was smoking while he/she worked on this cinematic travesty. Jeremy Irons was the only shining moment in this film, but even he could not save this movie. It seems to have been so slipshod. The acting was wooden, and even poor in some cases. The editors did not even attempt to make the story enjoyable or even cognitive. Again, do studios think that fantasy fans will pay to watch anything over and over so long as it has a dragon, or some other mythical creature in it? The answer is NO, and the box office numbers and reviews speak for themselves. The movie did tolerably well on its opening weekend, but by the second, it dropped out of site. Only those who have not scene it are buying tickets now. The movie does not warrant a second viewing, rather they should be refunding ticket sales to viewers who saw it the first time. Again, it is terribly sad to see a fairly enjoyable story meet such a dreadful cinematic demise. Where have you gone, Peter Jackson?????
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
The storyline is contradictory, just like the book
I confess that I was hoping for a bit of alteration from the story in this film, as is the case with many films, but unfortunately there was little deviation. My problem with the storyline is not a religious argument, so much as the fact that the entire point that Dan Brown's story is trying to push is very contradictory. First of all, the Da Vinci Code follows the notion that Christ was not divine, he was merely human - his divinity was a contrivance of the Catholic Church. Secondly, the holy grail is not a cup, it is the bloodline of Christ and Mary Magdalene. Fine, let's run with this theory for a moment. If Christ was not divine, then should we (humanity) care who he was? If we don't care who he was, then why should we care who Mary Magdalene was or their descendants? Again, I'm not prompting a religious debate over which theory is right, I am saying that Dan Brown's argument does not make sense. While Brown is trying to argue that truth in religion lies in the "divine feminine" as was often believed in ancient pagan (and I do mean as in non-Christian, and not in the satanic sense of the word) religions. Even if this is the case, the divine feminine was based around the miracle of fertility, conception, and reproduction - not around one woman, which brings us back to the question of what was the big deal about Mary Magdalene and her children if she was married to just another mortal man by the name of Jesus? The point is, Dan Brown wrote a book that contains a conspiracy theory that makes very little sense if reason is applied to it. To make this into a movie would merely put faces on the characters of this weak argument - which is precisely what it did. The conclusion is that this is a mediocre film about a mediocre book.
The Weather Man (2005)
Forecast: Cloudy and Abysmal
This film was a major disappointment. The previews made it appear as though it would have a dry witty sense of humor about it. However, what unfolds is a long depressing film with very little content. Even the brilliance of Michael Caine could not save this one. This is the sort of film that has you checking your watch after only 30 minutes. All of the humor in the preview is the sum of the humor in the movie - all the good lines are there. The one highlight in the film is the Spongebob Balloon drifting by the hotel window that cage is staying in. Not only is this film depressing, vulgar, and tasteless - it is also very long. There are at least two hours of my life that I will never get back.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Harry at his best
I thought that this was by far the best of the Harry Potter films. Yes, they had to reduce certain parts of the story in order to make the film and acceptable length, but the editing was done well. The only short coming to the film was the fact that the director left out a scene in which the characters announce that the Order of the Phoenix is being called up to fight Voldemort - however, this omission does not hurt this film the way that the omission of the explanation of the names on the Marauder's Map hurt the third film. Apart from this being the only real shortcoming, this film exhibited a higher level of humor, truly British in its nature. The fact that Mike Newell is the first British Director most likely has some part in this. I found that the theatre resounded with laughter on numerous occasions throughout the film. The characters also seemed to blend together in a more seamless manner than they have before. I feel that it would be in the film maker's best interest to keep Newell on for the remainder of the series. This is the best acting thus far that I have witnessed on behalf of the younger actors. The only recommendation that I could make would be to include the adult characters more. Such wonderful actors are cast in the supporting role - I would love to see them with more air time.