Take two parts Star Wars, two parts Lord of the Rings, one part Dragonheart, and a dash of Harry Potter, mix well, servers as many as will pay. That seems to have been the formula for the genesis of Eragon, the latest attempt to create a fantasy film franchise based on a popular novel. Sadly, it doesn't have enough verve and vigor to inspire much passion. Eragon is, essentially, a 95 minute trailer for the second film. By the time the end rolls around, it doesn't feel like we got anywhere, it is just beginning to pick up steam and it's over.
Before you ask, no, I have not read the novel, and no, I have no real intention of ever doing so. It isn't that I don't read or anything like that, I just don't care for fantasy novels. Films are a different beast. I do give much credit to author Christopher Paolini, who wrote the novel, the first of a trilogy, when he was 15 or 16, and published at 17.If you have seen Star Wars or Lord of the Rings you are going to see a lot of similarities here. The farm boy is the "chosen one" believed to be able to lead a rebellion against a corrupt and evil king and his dark minions. There is the wise man who knows just what lessons he needs to learn to put him on the right track, there are the hordes of bad guys hot on their trail, the boy must overcome his own self confidence to realize his destiny, I had the distinct feeling I had seen all of this before and better.
The narrative sputters along, consisting of mostly exposition and very little motion. There is background of who the dragon riders are and their connections to their dragons, a quick recap of how the king came to be in power, and a bit on the rebellion. The whole project is held back by a poor script that failes to develop any meaningful relationships between any of the characters. I found myself not really caring what happened to them, there was no emotion behind their actions, so why should I feel anything for them?The dialogue is clunky, and many of the lines a kind of hard to wrap a tongue around to deliver believably. Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich do an admirable effort of making their roles interesting, but it looked like they knew they were in a poor movie and were just having a little fun with it, Malkovich in particular.
Eragon chronicles Eragon's discovery of the egg, subsequent dragon hatching, and their journey to find the Varden (a rebel group opposing the evil king). Their journey is a dangerous one as King Galbatroix (wrap your tongue around that and make it sound believable) sends his right hand man, Durza, and his henchman off to bring back the head of the rider. It is the first chapter of the Hero's Journey.When the film ended, with its tease of a second film, I couldn't help but think "That's it?" It was like this was only moving the pieces around the board rather than putting them into any real action. The story is over before it begins, and I didn't care.
What Eragon lacks in story and characters, it attempts to make up for in special effects and set design. The dragon effects look very good and are easily the centerpiece of the movie. The movement slook natural and the digital creation blends nicely with the live action. Overall, the movie does have a good look to it, with some good costume designs and location shooting. That is, except for the big sweeping pans over the mountains which brought about memories of Lord of the Rings, while being infinitely more dull looking.
Stefen Fangmeier (what a name for a fantasy film director) made his directorial debut here, after working as a visual effects supervisor on such films as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Dreamcatcher, having begun his career working on T2. Judging by those films, and the effects work here, it would seem he is much better suited to special effects. The script was written by Peter Buchman, and feels like a chopped up mess. Clunky lines and a sever lack of character development hamper everything. His only credit prior to this is Jurassic Park III, which was a big step up from this.
Bottomline. The movie feels incomplete, sections of story are mysteriously missing and the flow feels off. I had hoped to like the film but it has a been there, done that feel. It is a half baked retread of what has come before. The effects and sets are good, but not enough to save it.
Not Recommended.
Meliah Rage, now there is a name that I haven't heard in...... Well, let's just say it has been a long time since I have seen this band name pop up, and even longer since I have heard any music from this Boston based metal outfit. They are one of those bands that have seemingly been around forever, but that I cannot recall what the sound like, or any details about them, for that matter. I read that this incarnatio of the band features all of the original band members, save for vocals, where Paul Souza takes up the duties.
Musically, the album is a solid entry in the category of traditional metal. There is nothing extreme here, but it also doesn't try to have a style that tries to mimic what is already out there. Sure, you may find some touches of recent styles here and there, but nothing that overwhelms the metal ethic that comes through. The Deep and Dreamless Sleep has more in common with old school Metallica than it does Opeth, or even modern Metallica!
The mere mention of Super Mario Brothers is probably enough to trigger the 
The Accursed are putting it all out there. This disk captures a raw and primal sound that pays notice to their melodic/technical abilities as it displays an energy that is intimate and unproduced. There is a distinct lack of that "studio" sound that can cover up mistakes or create a sound that cannot be reproduced live. The production quality of Seasons is definitely above that of the typical demo, but it also has a "live in the studio" feel. This is the sound of a band that itches to take it to the stage.
As Two Cents cleared their gear, the excitement began to grow. Bury Your Dead was setting up to play, and they have been growing in notoriety since the release of their latest, Beauty and the Breakdown. This is a band that injects a little humor into the normally humorless hardcore genre with their fairy tale inspired song titles, and the Tom Cruise inspired cuts from their last album. They opened up with what may be my favorite song from them, the first song off of Beauty, "House of Straw." As soon as the song hit, the crowd went nuts and the band was in constant motion running back and forth across the stage, to say they had a kinetic presence would be an understatement. One of the guitarists and the bassist would do spin kick jumps and swing their instruments around their body in unison. They were on the small stage moving about, making it feel like a stadium. The crowd was going in insane, a few pits formed for the kids to go about their spin kicks and windmill punches.
The stage was torn down and reset for Hatebreed, playing a homecoming of sorts. The drummer is from this town, and was a good friend of mine growing up. It was great to finally get the chance to see him play live. The last time I saw Hatebreed live was nearly 10 years ago and before he joined the band. As soon as they hit the stage, there was this incredible roar from the crowd. I knew Hatebreed was big, as one of the upper echelon of hardcore bands, but I never could have imagined this reaction. They opened with "To the Threshold" and the attack never let up. Jamey Jasta led the mayhem with his growled vocals, while Matt Byrne attacked the drums so hard he actually broke the skin on his snare, fortunately he had a backup for just the occasion.
The crowd calmed down, ever so slightly, as we gathered our strength for the powderkeg whosefuse has been lit. Killswitch Engage came to the stage with nothing resembling the rockstar ego. Guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz (in his Mastodon tank top, shorts, cape and aqua shoes) stood on the side of the stage trading licks and squeals on their respective axes as the roadies got the rest of the equipment set up. Then the lights went down, the rest of the band took their places and the show began.
This week's pick signifies the end of an era. A library of films spanning more than twenty years, and featuring one of the greatest martial artists ever put on film. It is said to be the culmination of his life's work. This week's pick is Jet Li's Fearless. It is the final wushu film that Jet Li will make. He has said this marks his retirement from this style of film. Do not fear, he will still make films, just not of this style any more, meaning no more films like Hero or Once Upon a Time In China. It is a shame, but this is a fine note to go out on.
Jet Li's love song to wushu is a very good film. It flirts with the greatness that I hoped it would, but never quite crosses over to the other side. That said, watching it on DVD, I have found myself liking it more than I had when I saw it theatrically. It is a wonderful story of self discovery that had a great impact on a nation. Jet Li has delivered a wonderful film that he hopes encapsulates all that he has hoped to achieve in the genre. It is a highwater mark for martial arts action and drama.
Jet Li's Fearless is broken down into three distinct stages. Each one having a different tone and representing a different period in the life and development of Huo Yuanjia. The film begins with a prologue of sorts, showing him as a young boy. He is stricken with asthma, therefore disallowed by his father to learn wushu. He taught himself, and reached a point where he vowed never to lose again. He set himself the goal of being the best fighter around. This leads to a cocky young man who lets his pride get the better of him which leads to the death of his family.
The final third of the movie has Huo returning home and finding his people in trouble, they are facing hard times. The Europeans and Japanese have been carving out their own foothold on the nation, undermining the Chinese. Huo agrees to enter a tournament pitting him against four other champions from other countries. Huo accepts the challenge, seeing it as an opportunity to demonstrate the new him as well as give back to the country that is falling apart from within.
The film was directed by Ronny Yu (The Bride with White Hair, Bride of Chucky) and he has succeeded in bringing the story to life. The movie has a nice balance of action and drama, giving the needed weight to what is going on in the country and with Huo Yuanjia. The film has nice cinematography, excellent fight choreography from Yuen Woo Ping, and a first rate score from Shiugeru Umebayashi.
Apocalypto is a movie that has intrigued me from the start. I was curious to see how Gibson would follow up The Passion of the Christ. I thought that last film was an incredibly moving work, painstakingly constructed and inbued with an amazing devotion. Whether you liked that film or not, you have to agree that it was probably an emotionally exhausting experience. How does one follow up something like that? For one, he decided to stay within the realm of dead languages, yet he did step away from the controversial subject matter that drew so much attention two years ago. The resulting film is invigorating, exciting, violent, bloody, and surprisingly accessible.
From the start, I was hooked. It was not what I expected, but it was told in such a dynamic way that I could not help but be drawn in for the ride. Apocalypto may be set during the dying days of the Mayan empire, but the story is one that is recognizable across cultural barriers, and across film history. The story is standard B movie pulp, but it is delivered with such a driving kinetic energy from a director who understands how to layer it together that the material is raised beyond its roots.
The story is a simple one, chronicling the journey of a man ripped away from his family, and his attempts to get away from his captors and return to their side. Wrapped around this simple center is a tale that could be pointed towards the dangers of organized religion or perhaps the way a society that is weakened from within will fall that much easier to outside forces, perhaps it is working as allegory for our current political situations. More likely, I see it as a sort of coming of age story centering on the growth of Jaguar Paw. At the film's outset he is still learning his place in the village, sort of living in the shadow of his father. He is someone who is unsure of his own skills and place among his people. The film takes him on a journey where he discovers the strength that he has inside of him and what he can draw upon from his surroundings. He digs deep down and finds the power necessary to take the control and stand up for what he believes in. It is quite a powerful journey.
Clocking in at nearly two hours and twenty minutes, it moves briskly. It is fast paced and never boring. Mel has crafted an action film that delivers. If you are looking for an historical drama about the Mayan civilization, you would be better served looking elsewhere. Which brings me to the idea of accuracy. I have no idea how much went into the accuracy of the setting, but I would like to think that they made every effort to make it as real as they could.
Charlotte's Web seems like the perfect material to stage a big family movie around. I have great memories of the book, by EB White. When I was just a young one, learning to read, Charlotte's Web was my favorite book. Why, I could not say, but there was something magical about the story. The tale of thr runty pig just got itself lodged in my brain, to where I would read the book over and over and over again. I eventually grew out of that phase and have not visited the book in a probably a good twenty years. Now, here we are faced with a new movie, and I am helpless in avoiding it. I am drawn to it, like a moth to a flame, I had to see if it could rekindle those memories of long ago.
As I sat down in the darkened theater, I was a little bit excited, even at my advanced age, in anticipation of a family movie. As I sat there watching it play out in front of me, I kept waiting to feel that magic I did when I read the book so many years ago. Sadly, the magic never came. Occasionally there would be a flicker, an on-screen glimmer of hope that threatened to ignite those long forgotten feelings, but it would just as quickly die down to a glowing ember.