‘Angels & Demons’: Goggle Maps Would Be Easier!

Ron Howard’s (The DaVinci Code, Apollo 13) ‘Angels & Demons’ begins where ‘The DaVinci Code’ left off (although in Dan Brown’s books – Angels & Demons is the first Robert Langdon adventure) – with the Roman Catholic Church once again in peril because of mistakes it has made in the past. This time it is the dark and mysterious ‘Illuminati’, a group of intellects who were long ago banished (and often tortured) by the Church during its early history. Shortly after the death of the Pope, our hero, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned by the Vatican for help. The Illuminati have kidnapped the four ‘preferred’ Cardinals (Papal Candidates) and have threatened to kill one per hour with the final hour culminating in the destruction of the Vatican by a bomb made from stolen ‘anti-matter’ (or God-particles).

Nothing in the story actually makes sense, but Ron Howard does a great job in keeping everything moving along in lighting fast time – so much so that we really don’t care. His mistake in ‘The DaVinci Code’ does not go unlearned in ‘Angels & Demons’. In ‘The DaVinci Code’ Howard went to great lengths to convince us of the authenticity of the film; in ‘Angels & Demons’ – he is simply having fun.

The cast has a lot of fun as well, unlike the first Langdon film, Hanks has plenty of scene stealing dialogue to chew into – delivering each fascinating line with gusto and authority. At one point he shouts; “I need a map of all the churches of Rome!” – which brings a chuckle considering the enormity of the request, yet Hanks brings the line with a straight face.

While the film runs a bit long – the plot has plenty of fun twists and turns to keep you interested. Preposterous as they may be, the action and the constant guessing will keep you from noticing. At some point though – you may find yourself wondering why Langdon just didn’t whip out a laptop and Google Map the next location of the next church – or better still, you would think that most of the amped up Italian police cars would have GPS units in them! Instead, we are left to rely on ancient poetic text and statues pointing to the sky and West! But then again – if all you had to do was Google Map the route, what use would you have for a Harvard Symbols Expert?

A fun, lively film – pure escapism and a great summer flick! Go enjoy this 3 star edition of the next Robert Langdon adventures!

‘Star Trek’: Boldly Going Where No Man Has Gone Once Again!

No doubt, even the most ardent Trekkie hated the last Star Trek installment ‘Nemesis’ – and the box office proved as much as it was a commercial dude. Which is why it took nearly 7 years to get the JJ Abrams (Mission Impossible III) exhilarating reboot of the Star Trek franchise off the ground; not satisfied with simply retelling the Star Trek tale – Abrams recreates the mythology breathing new, exciting life into characters that have long become icons of pop culture.

A wayward band of Romulans , Trekdoms favorite baddies, with their home planet destroyed by a Super Nova, lead by Nero (Eric Bana) are on time traveling revenge trip seeking the destruction of Vulcan and Earth, whom they blame for the destruction of their planet. This often used time travel trick effectively sets up the reboot of the Star Trek mythos. Their time traveling causes shifts in the past which remake Star Trek history and change the very characters that Trekkies have come to know and love.

Hugely enjoyable – Abrams has remodeled a Star Trek full of character and grit. Each role is perfectly cast – with each actor making the roles their own yet keeping enough of the spirit of the original Star Trek to keep the die-hards happy. Chris Pine is an excellent Kirk, a brash, bold troubled youth in this retelling – where ‘No’ is never an option and defeat is not a word he is familiar with; even as he is being beaten to a pulp by a group of Starfleet Cadets during the introduction of his character. Even more amazing is Karl Urban as Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy, who has some of the most crowd pleasing lines and channels DeForest Kelly (the original Dr McCoy) flawlessly – yet still making it his own character. Zachary Quinto as Spock is nearly a twin for Leonard Nimoy (who has a major role in this version) and plays the part of an emotional Vulcan well. All of the performances are spot on and enjoyable, the only thing that is missing is the camp that many Trek fans have come to know and love – something that Abrams has thankfully left out of the equation.

This is a beautifully shot film – the ships are gleaming and filled with wondrous technology. The action is fast paced but not overwhelming, Abrams has a true eye for well paced sequences that do not overpower the viewer. Better still; Abrams has made a Star Trek film for the masses – one that does not need to be seen by Trekkies alone. You can safely go enjoy this film as a new fan as well as a die hard fan. This is the first and possibly best summer blast! This is the blockbuster to see – several times even. The Star Trek series has been given a new lease on life and JJ Abrams is its savior! 4 Stars

‘Wolverine’: All bark, some bite – not much else…

‘Wolverine’: All bark, some bite – not much else…
By: Robert Sieger

I have admitted this before – I am a fan boy! I love my comic books – I grew up on them and still have them lovingly stored in moisture proof bags with acid free backing boards; most if not all of them in MINT condition. Wolverine has always been my favorite character – the feral mutant with healing abilities and claws of bone that protrude on command from the top of his hands. One of the more tragic Marvel Comics characters – a loner who for revenge of a lost love subjected himself to military experiments that bonded his human skeleton with a metal compound called Adamantium, making him virtually indestructible.

Hugh Jackman has struck career gold with the Wolverine character. Any fan of the X-Men comic books can see the immediate resemblance and thus far – through the three X-Men movies and now ‘Wolverine’ – Jackman has done a good job staying true to the nature created in the Marvel mythos. However, director Gavin Hood (Rendition) has opted to forego character development and slip directly into hyper-kinetic explosions and action sequences. Hood has a fantastic flair for visually outstanding action sequences; from the very opening montage of the credits we are bombarded with one action-packed image after the other. Each is flawlessly choreographed, framed and paced to keep the heart skipping at just the right beats. But in todays film world when you have Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ series to live up to; simple fast paced action sequences are not enough to make a good hero film.

Wolverine is a complex, edgy character and worthy of a deeper study. In the Marvel series Wolverine is a man possessed by many inner demons, a dark past than spans decades (since in essence he is virtually immortal) – unfortunately Hood has reduced this intriguing character to a plastic action figure placed squarely in the center of explosions and mayhem. Even the other mutants spotlighted in the film are given only shadowy backgrounds – simply in the film as foils or punching bags for Jackman. Even the ever intriguing Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth, Wolverine’s step-brother, fails to live up to the potential he deserves. In Hood’s world he is reduced to a growling beast rather than a fearful adversary as in the Marvel version.

Don’t get me wrong as popcorn movies go – this version is a blast! It is a wild ride worthy of a bucket of corn and a large soda (don’t worry it only clocks in around 107 minutes). While I am sure this film will be a blockbuster (Jackman has already signed on for the sequel and make sure you stay until the end of the credits there is at least two different Easter Eggs depending on the print the theater gets) – I am hoping the next director will add some character development.
So go ahead – sink your claws into this 2 ½ Star early summer blast!