Review: "Pompeii" an Enjoyable Historical Spectacle

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Pompeii (2014)
Running time:  105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disaster-related action and brief sexual content
DIRECTOR:  Paul W.S. Anderson
WRITER:  Janet Scott Batchler and Lee Batchler, and Michael Robert Johnson
PRODUCERS:  Paul W.S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, and Don Carmody
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Glen MacPherson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michele Conroy
COMPOSER:  Clinton Shorter

HISTORICAL/DRAMA/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kiefer Sutherland, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris, Joe Pingue, Currie Graham, Sasha Roiz, Dalmar Abuzeid, and Dylan Schombing

Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania.  Pompeii and the surrounding area (including another town) were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Pompeii is a 2014 historical drama and disaster film from director Paul W.S. Anderson, perhaps best known for his work on the Resident Evil film franchise.  Theatrically released in 3D, this film is a German and Canadian co-production.

Pompeii is set during the last two or three days before Vesuvius destroys the city.  The film focuses on a slave-turned-gladiator who finds himself in Pompeii and fighting to protect a nobleman’s young daughter from a corrupt Roman Senator, while nearby, Mount Vesuvius rumbles ominously.

Pompeii opens in Brittania in 62 AD.  Roman soldiers brutally wipe out a tribe of Celtic horsemen, and a young Celtic boy named Milo (Dylan Schombing) watches as his parents are murdered.  By 79 AD, the boy is a grown man known as “The Celt” (Kit Harrington), who is a Roman slave and talented gladiator.

Milo is taken to Pompeii during the “Festival of the Vinalia” in order to entertain the crowds.  He has an encounter with Cassia (Emily Browning), the daughter of Pompeii's ruler, Marcus Severus (Jared Harris) and his wife, Aurelia (Carrie-Anne Moss).  Milo and the young woman are drawn to each other.  However, Milo must focus his attention on Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a champion gladiator who wants to use “the Celt” to gain his freedom.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Senator Quintas Attius Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a close ally of Roman emperor, Titus, changes everyone’s plans.  All that planning might be why Pompeii’s people and visitors are ignoring the noise and rumbles coming from Mount Vesuvius, which towers over the area.

In the history of films set in or during the Roman Empire, Pompeii won’t be memorable.  It’s no Gladiator (2000), nor is it even on the level of a recent favorite of mine, The Eagle (2011).  Pompeii is a sword and sandal film that mixes several genres, including action-adventure, romance, the disaster film, the swashbuckler, and the historical, among others.  Each of those genres offers something enjoyable to watch in Pompeii, but overall this film is not well acted, directed, or written.

It looked to me like some of the film’s actors were struggling not to laugh during scenes when they were supposed to convey anger or pain.  Kit Harrington as Milo the Celt is cute, but he is not much of an actor, at least here.  Emily Browning as Cassia is seemingly quite passionate about this film and gives it her best effort.  Why should you watch this movie?  I don't know.

I found myself enjoying Pompeii.  I have always liked Roman Empire movies, so obviously I was going to give this film a chance.  I am glad that I did, but I won’t lie and pretend that this is an especially good film.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, July 08, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: Suspenseful "Taking Lives" is Also Predictable (Happy B'day, Ethan Hawke)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Taking Lives (2004)
Running time:  103 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence including disturbing images, language and some sexuality
DIRECTOR:  D.J. Caruso
WRITER:  Jon Bokenkamp, from a screenstory by Jon Bokenkamp (based upon the novel by Michael Pye)
PRODUCER:  Mark Canton and Bernie Goldmann
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Amir Mokri (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Anne V. Coates
COMPOSER:  Philip Glass

CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of action and drama

Starring:  Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hughes Anglade, and Paul Dano

The subject of this movie review is Taking Lives, a 2004 psychological thriller from director D.J. Caruso.  The film is loosely based on the novel, Taking Lives, a thriller written by Michael Pye and first published in 1999.  Taking Lives the movie focuses on an FBI profiler who is called in by French Canadian police in order to help them catch a serial killer that takes on the identity of each new victim.

Have modern film audiences seen everything?  Are they too jaded?  Sometimes I think they are, and sometimes I don’t.  Still, if films like Taking Lives are any indication, someone thinks film audiences, if they haven’t seen it all, have seen a lot.  Perhaps, a directors and screenwriters feel impelled to employ every twist and turn of a plot or story to shock the audiences into thinking, “Gee, I’ve never seen that before!”

In Taking Lives, Angelina Jolie is Illeana, an FBI profiler on loan to the French Canadian police in Montreal.  She is trying to track a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.  When the police turn up Costa (Ethan Hawke), an alleged witness to one of the killer’s crimes, Illeana has an important lead in finding the illusive murderer, but when she begins to have strong feelings for Costa, she ends up getting dangerously closer to the mystery killer than she ever intended.

The film is competently directed, enough so to make it a standard and maybe a bit clunky, by-the-book thriller.  The acting is somewhat suspect.  In some scenes, Ms. Jolie hits her stride and without a word of dialogue, she’s able to transform Illeana from the typical, cardboard cutout FBI girl detective into a serious investigator with creepy insight into the mind of a psycho killer.  At other moments, her performance is pedestrian, and the only thing left for the viewer is to enjoy her beauty and admire those magical lips.

Taking Lives has some genuinely suspenseful and terrifying moments, but early in the film it starts to be a little too obvious who the killer really is and everything else becomes poorly disguised red herrings.  Taking Lives isn’t all that bad; it’s actually quite intriguing in a few places.  However, it’s not necessarily worth a trip to the theatre, but it’ll probably make a fairly decent rental.

5 of 10
C+

Updated:  Wednesday, November 06, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Disney's "The Wild" is Mild, Cute Kid Stuff

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Wild (2006) – computer animation
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Steve “Spaz” Williams
WRITERS: Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, and Mark Gibson & Philip Halprin; from a story by Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin
PRODUCERS: Beau Flynn and Clint Goldman
EDITORS: Scott Balcerek and Steven L. Wagner
COMPOSER: Alan Silvestri

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ACTION and ADVENTURE/DRAMA/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner, Richard Kind, Greg Cipes, and Patrick Warburton

The subject of this movie review is The Wild, a 2006 computer-animated film. It was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and was produced by the now-defunct, Canadian computer animation company, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation (a part of C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures). The film is of note for its similarities to DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar (2005).

When his son, Ryan (Greg Cipes), an sullen pre-teen lion cub, is mistakenly shipped out of the country, Samson (Kiefer Sutherland), the star lion at the New York Zoo, chases the ship across the ocean with his friends: Benny (Jim Belushi), a savvy and streetwise squirrel; Bridget (Janeane Garofalo), an independent-minded giraffe; Larry (Richard Kind), a dim-witted anaconda; and Nigel (Eddie Izzard), a smart aleck koala in toe. They eventually trek the ship to an island with a highly active volcano. Here, Samson and his friends are confronted by something new to them – a dark foreboding jungle – the wild.

Disney apparently had been preparing for the day that their relationship with Pixar Animation Studios, the makers of such computer animated smash hits as the Toy Story franchise, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, among others, might end. However, Disney and Pixar announced their merger a few months ago (as of this writing), but before the happy nuptials, Disney had produced two computer animated feature films independently of their esteemed partners at Pixar. The first, Chicken Little, debuted early last fall. Mid-April 2005 sees the arrival of the second film, The Wild.

The Wild has some high quality computer animation, not Pixar quality, but as good films such as Blue Sky Animation’s (Fox) Ice Age and PDI’s (DreamWorks) Shark Tale. The opening scenes – a fantasy/dream sequence – are electric and alive. The texture and fur on the animals, especially on Samson, Benny, and Nigel is superb. When the narrative reaches “the wild,” the movie comes alive in a world of diverse, vibrant, and rich colors. The characters move with fluidity and grace, and the action sequences are as good as Pixar’s work up to Monster’s Inc.

On the other hand, the script is dust bowl dry and sandpaper scratchy, from the beginning until the heroes reach “the wild.” By then, it would almost be too late to save the movie, except the film’s action and the array of creatures during the last third of the story reach a fever pitch. Most non-Pixar computer animated features generally fail in the story department, and this one barely gets an average grade. In fact, The Wild is embarrassingly (for Disney) similar to DreamWorks late spring 2005 hit, Madagascar. Both films have a lion in an identity crisis as the lead character. Both films also have New York Zoo creatures suddenly tossed back into their jungle (or “wild”) habitats after a forced Atlantic Ocean voyage.

As nice as the film looks, the voice acting is not so nice a listening experience. Kiefer Sutherland’s distinctive voice is lost in a poor character. In fact, Samson is often just the straight guy to Jim Belushi’s Benny, a good character well played by Belushi. Eddie Izzard’s unique vocal style, which works best when he’s on stage doing standup comedy, is neutered as the voice behind a cartoon character. Izzard’s performance here is a good example of why it is not always a good idea to get well-known screen and TV actors to do voice over work for animation. Sometimes a big movie star’s voice and acting style just doesn’t work without the face, so the studios would do better hiring actors who specialize in doing voiceover work for animation.

Overall, The Wild is a B-movie computer animated feature because of story and character, but its technical quality is noteworthy. I’d like to see director Steve “Spaz” Williams and his crew give it another shot, but like the makers of Chicken Little, there may be no place for them at the new Disney, now that Pixar will be calling the cartoon shots for the famed movie studio long into the foreseeable future.

5 of 10
B-

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Review: 1993 Version of "The Three Musketeers" is Surprisingly Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 87 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Three Musketeers (1993)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG for action/violence and some brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: Stephen Herek
WRITER: David Loughery (based upon the novel by Alexandre Dumas père)
PRODUCERS: Roger Birnbaum and Joe Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Semler
EDITOR: John F. Link
COMPOSER: Michael Kamen

HISTORICAL/ACTION/COMEDY with elements of drama and adventure

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O’Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry, Rebecca De Mornay, Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Wincott, Paul McGann, Julie Delpy, and Hugh O’Conor

The Three Musketeers is a 1993 swashbuckling comedy film from Walt Disney Pictures. It is based upon Alexandre Dumas père’s 1844 novel, also entitled The Three Musketeers.

The film opens on young d’Artagnan (Chris O’Donnell) who arrives in Paris with dreams of becoming one of the Musketeers, a band of men sworn to protect and serve the King of France, as his late father was. However, the king’s minister, Count Richelieu (Tim Curry), has just disbanded the Musketeers. This is part of Richelieu’s plot with the Duke of Buckingham of England to overthrow King Louis XIII of France (Hugh O’Conor). Richelieu wants to become the new king after the coup, and he also plans to take Queen Anne of Austria (Gabrielle Anwar) as his queen.

Through a series of misadventures, d’Artagnan joins the three best Musketeers: Athos (Kiefer Sutherland), Porthos (Oliver Platt), and Aramis (Charlie Sheen) to stop Richelieu’s evil plot. First, they must intercept Richelieu’s spy and secret agent, Milady de Winter (Rebecca De Mornay), from delivering a signed treaty to the Duke of Buckingham. However, it seems as if the entire country is set against d’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers as they try to save King and Country.

When this version of The Three Musketeers debuted back in November 1993, I was too much of a snob to see it. To me, it seemed like it was going to be nothing more than trash, but 18 years later, I enjoyed watching it. However, it turns out that I was right about some of my misgivings. Three of the four lead actors: Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O’Donnell are just awful, with the lone exception of quality being Oliver Platt’s largely comic performance. Even Tim Curry is way more over the top than he needs to be, while Julie Delpy’s Constance is hardly in the film. Rebecca De Mornay actual makes the most of her scenes and turns in quite a nice performance as the femme fatale, Milady de Winter.

Early in the film, either because of the direction (by Stephen Herek) or the editing, the pace of the film is clumsy and awkward. Then, as the story goes on, the film settles into being a rousing adventure with a delightful comic mood. The film’s art direction and set decorations make this a surprisingly beautiful film, and the English and Austrian shooting locations offer viewers some lovely scenery. Plus, there is even a cool song for the soundtrack, “All for Love” sung by Bryan Adams, Sting, and Rod Stewart (written by Adams, film composer Michael Kamen, and Robert John “Mutt” Lange).

There isn’t much else to say. In most ways, this 1993 version of The Three Musketeers is just an average Hollywood flick, but I like it.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
1994 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actor” (Chris O'Donnell)

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Review: "The Lost Boys" is Eternally Youthful and Forever a Winner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 142 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Lost Boys (1987)
Opening date: July 31, 1987
Running time: 97 minutes
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Joel Schumacher
WRITERS: Janice Fischer & James Jeremias and Jeffrey Boam, story by Janice Fischer & James Jeremias
PRODUCER: Harvey Bernhard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Chapman
EDITOR: Robert Brown

HORROR/COMEDY

Starring: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Edward Herrmann, Bernard Hughes, Kiefer Sutherland, and Dianne Wiest, Jamison Newlander, Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth, Alex (Alexander) Winter, and Chance Michael Corbitt

“Sleep all day. Party all night. It’s fun to be a vampire.” was the tagline to The Lost Boys, a Joel Schumacher film that heavily re-imagines J.M. Barrie’s classic play and novel, Peter Pan. The film was a minor hit back when it was released in 1987, but the film has become even more popular (even a kind of cult hit) through its release on home video and later DVD, and its numerous appearances on various cable TV channels. The Lost Boys also cleverly tweaks and twists some classic vampire myths, folklore, and legends – including some that were invented by Hollywood.

Financial troubles force recent divorcee Lucy Emerson (Dianne Wiest) and her two teenage sons, Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam Emerson (Corey Haim), to move to Santa Carla, CA (actually filmed in Santa Cruz, CA) to live with her father (Bernard Hughes). At first, her younger son, Sam laughs off the rumors of vampires in Santa Carla that he hears from the two brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan Frog, (Jamison Newlander) who run their parents comic book shop on the Santa Carla Boardwalk. However, when Michael starts acting strange (stays out all night, sleeps all day, and tries to attack Sam) and showing classic signs of vampirism, Sam joins forces with the Frog Brothers to find and destroy the head vampire, which she free Michael of the vampire’s curse. Meanwhile, Michael has fallen for a half-vampire teenager named Star (Jami Gertz) and promises to help her and half-vampire boy, Laddie Thompson (Chance Michael Corbitt), for whom she cares. He’s also fallen in with a quartet of brash, teen vampires led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland).

I’ve seen The Lost Boys so many times, and I’m such a big fan that I don’t know if I can fairly review it for a viewer who hasn’t seen it. Heck, I’d recommend it to anybody. What do I like about it? Hmmm, where to start? It’s a fun, comic horror film, and puts a hip, cool spin on vampires – as they relate to Hollywood productions. It was not quite an MTV-type movie, but it did tap into the early to mid-80’s youth, cultural zeitgeist, if only to get some nice establishing shots of Santa Carla’s youth. Tapping into the style of young people in the mid-80’s also resulted in some flashy costumes of The Lost Boys’ teen characters. Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and Jamison Newlander looked as if they’d step off the set of a Lionel Richie video (for either of the songs “All Night Long” or “Dancing on the Ceiling”). Jami Gertz and the Lost Boys (even the little half-vampire boy, Laddie) have mounds of big hair to go with the puffy shirts, faux Pirates of Penzance costumes, and Amadeus-vomit-leather ensembles. Somehow, it all looks and feels right – especially the handsome and alluring Kiefer Sutherland who plays a kind of teen rebel/pied piper vampire. He’s the real Peter Pan in this Lost Boys set.

As far as the filmmaking goes: Thomas Newman’s score is a smooth, crisp, and tight suite of music to suggest creepiness. The rewrites that director Joel Schumacher demanded of the original script (and likely done by Jeffrey Boam) turned the story into a tight little thriller with a slight fairy tale feel to it. Once upon a time, two boys and their mother moved to a town of vampires… and everybody was hip, cool, and now.

8 of 10
A

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