Review: DragonHeart

From March 2005.

DragonHeart

Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery. PG-13.

Action/Adventure/Fantasy

In the tenth century, evil lurks. It is in the hearts of kings and the sons of kings. The question is: what or who put it there?

Who is this Bowen, Knight of the Code, fencing with wooden swords, teaching Einon the son of the King? Oh, it is Dennis Quaid; I recognize the crinkles when he smiles. He is wholly devoted to his student, serving the wicked king because of his love for the boy.

In a twist of events, the cruel and avaricious king is slain. The prince is mortally wounded.

To save the prince’s life, Bowen and the Queen bring him to the cave of the dragon. Treachery is afoot. A life is saved, two lives are– you guessed it– forever intertwined.

Einon immediately follows in the steps of his father, the cruelty even worse than that of the former king. Bowen is cheated, bitter, living in exile, slaying dragons for lucre out of hatred for the dragon who cursed the young king.

Along the way, Bowen meets Gilbert of Glockenspur. He is played by Pete Postlethwaite, an amusing priest and poet. (Postlethwaite is far more believable here than in his psychopathic madness seen in Sharpe’s Company. He still carries the hint of insanity, but this time, he’s harmless. Harmless, that is, unless he’s armed.)

Bowen one day meets his match in a talking dragon who sounds rather like Sean Connery. We are then treated to a mild case of scoundrel-turns-honest. Bowen must finally face the wickedness of the king who will not die as long as the dragon lives. Will he go Han Solo?

DragonHeart is a strange mix of genre.   In addition to the PG-13 rating, there are other concepts young minds aren’t ready to interpret. These include making a deal with a devil. There is also the theme of one determining the value of another person’s life. We receive a [sanitized] version of male to female violence. There is cruelty and murder used to show the despicable evil of one character.

Don’t confuse with Braveheart, although we do have Sean Connery’s Scottish lilt poking through at times.

CFI: 0

Rental Value: $2.50. Think “rainy afternoon” fare. Not a date movie unless your date likes Star Trek, Hitchhiker’s Guide or Zorro. (I confess.) No raging hormones in this one, Quaid’s dimples notwithstanding. But I was referring to teenager dates, anyway.

[Initially when I wrote this review, I put the value as $1.50, but I increased it due to inflation.]

Review: the OLD Journey to the Center of the Earth

This review is from 2005, the movie long before Brendan Fraser.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

We grew up watching this movie, one of those that got frequent Saturday afternoon slots, not to mention “The 4:30 Movie.” Back then, we loved the saga of the duck Gertrude, were amazed by the giant lizards. Although I could giggle with the adults when we saw him in the kilt, back then the opportunity to see Pat Boone shirtless was lost on me. 

James Mason reappears as another Jules Verne scientist, this one not as crazed and self righteous as Captain Nemo. Driven, yes, but more personable.

Kid rating: my seven year old watched the movie with the ceaseless question, “Will the duck be all right?” punctuated by “Oh, no!” and again, “Will the duck be all right?” I had forgotten what happened to Gertude. Mea culpa. After the movie, we talked about movies being pretend and Gertrude really wasn’t ever in danger, which helped.

Romance: beats me how they could spend a year underground and still be speaking to each other. There is a tender scene in the sand, well done with restraint on parts of actors and directors. (If you’re looking for it, you see some untanned flesh, but so mild by today’s standard you wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t told you. A big contrast to Liz Taylor’s sprawling in Cleopatra! Blech.)

I don’t quite understand the forest of giant mushrooms. Any sensible person (other than a hobbit) knows you don’t just walk up to mushrooms and eat them! Evidently these weren’t amanita, nor were they hallucinogenic. Did Verne use mushrooms for –er– medicinal purposes? I don’t know. 

It was a fun flick from memory lane, overall acceptable for 10+ year olds (due to suspense and peril). Parents could use the movie to discuss fidelity to one’s sweetheart. They could also use it to springboard kids into the concept that scientists aren’t automatically boring. Honor and betrayal concepts in the storyline also merit discussion. 

Recommendation: Kind of a goofy movie, but fun. I don’t think it will kick teenage hormones into overdrive, so not too bad for a date movie. Then again, there is Pat Boone. 

Catch Me If You Can: a review from 2005

Here's one of my reviews from 2005.

Catch Me if You Can

PG-13 for crime and sex.

Based on a true story of a boy who rips off two nations, CMIYC is intriguing fare. It’s a Spielberg, so there is a lot of detail but without as much of Spielberg’s once-typical gadgetry. One can’t but help admire the chutzpah of this kid, and his marvellous mind which enables him to carry off his numerous identities.

In truth, I had little respect for Leonardo DiCaprio until this movie. He performs the age range of his character well, manages to look the “all American boy.” He has greater presence and believability than in The Man in the Iron Mask. I wonder if it is because he might be a truly nice person and is uncomfortable with playing harsh characters like the spoiled king. That, or he’s truly a jerk and can’t carry off playing himself. [I hope it’s because he’s a nice person.]

I liked Tom Hanks as the G-man. (Strange, seeing the aging of an actor. It appears he doesn’t resent his own aging and subsequent changes in casting.) Under this agent’s prickly exterior is a kind man who would be a good father if he ever got a second chance. You get the feeling he would be a good father for the lost boy who has trapped himself in his own deception. If he can only catch him.

Crime and sexual situations abound, but Spielberg does give DiCaprio heart. 

There is actually no violence! Guns, yes, some unlovely images, but no one getting shot.

DiCaprio plays substitute teacher, pilot, lawyer, MD. A few of these just don’t work well. The pilot, however, does. It’s the persona with the most screen time, and I find it effective.

Puzzling is the presence of Martin Sheen. You’d think with all his “West Wing” mileage, he’d either be a more important character or left out of the film entirely. His role as a southern lawyer amounts to a dog and pony show compared to his role as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now. A no-name actor would have been far less of an embarrassment. But hey, actors gotta eat, too, I guess.

CMIYC is long, over two hours. I’m still trying to decide whether it glorifies or downplays dishonesty. I do not recommend it for minors, due to sex and dishonesty.

Anastasia review

Here is another review I wrote in the 1990's or "aughties." I introduce my CFI, the chewed Fingernail Index.

Anastasia

with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner

This was a funny and interesting version of the fairy tale – or is it fact?– of a lost Russian princess. 

Anastasia isn’t focused on the transformation of pauper to princess. It is there, but understated. Credit the editing process? This is not Sandra Bullock becoming Miss Congeniality. Nor is this the controlling Rex Harrison relentlessly forcing Audrey Hepburn into his Fair Lady. We gradually learn less about Anna by our time spent with her and more about the general (played by Yul Brynner) by what isn’t said about him. Indeed, perhaps more important than Anna’s simoultaneous ascent and descent is the general’s subtle progression.

  During her encounter with the Dowager Empress, the observer is treated to varying stages of acceptance for the mysterious girl. Unlike The Snows of Kilomanjaro (sp?), where we miss the crux of Gregory Peck’s salvation in his brief introspective whisper, (did he actually say any words there?), we do not miss the connections established between Anna Karen and the Empress. The coughing bit was a little much, but it confirmed rather than proved, if one might be allowed the distinction.

In an interesting twist, the true theme and high concept of love and acceptance is hidden through the whole movie until the fateful encounter between Anna and the woman she would call “Grandmama.” This is the whole point of the movie and we fortunately do not miss it.

Catty corner:

Ingrid Bergman looks a whole lot older than twenty six. It must have been the ten years in and out of asylums after the Russian royal family was murdered. She does sound Slavic when she speaks, very much like that delightfully exotic lilt of my Bosnian coworkers’. Just think: someone did accents before Meryl Streep. Therefore we can forgive the weariness in Anna’s eyes.

Yul Brynner looks a little young for his lofty title. Then again, how old was Yul Brynner? I don’t think he ever aged. And he sports some cool leather boots. Perhaps this reveals my own bias. I was, at four years old, the youngest of the princesses in our high school play The King and I. Our Siamese king was Michael Leslie, who later went on to be in The Wiz and Little Shop of Horrors. At least  I think he went on to Broadway from Manasquan. Manasquan is also the alma mater of another actor who was in the first movie of Little Shop of Horrors. What was his name? Oh yes, you may have heard of him: Jack Nicholson.

Mom’s corner:

Commendable (and rare in today’s entertainment world) is how the general restrains himself. There’s one zinger of a line where the general confesses his restraint, without actually saying it.  And there is the guitar scene. It doesn’t have the electricity of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed sharing the telephone, but it is seasonably warm, if not hot.

Chewed Fingernail Index:

0.

Recommendation:

If you’re going to spend some money and time on pseudo-historical entertainment, don’t waste it on Disney’s version. Rent this one. It’s safe for ten and up, but probably boring for the younger children. Anastasia has some amusing characters that add sugar and spice, which teenagers might enjoy. 

A Touch of Mink

As I haven't blogged much lately, I'm dusting off some movie reviews I wrote years ago. This one is from 8/8/99.

A Touch of Mink
Young single woman meets handsome, rich, worldly fellow. Young single woman feels she must prove her worth by losing virginity with handsome, rich, worldly fellow. A typical '90's theme? This time, however, it's Doris Day and Cary Grant.
The movie is funny in the way The Seven Year Itch is funny. It was interesting to step backward a few decades to see how Hollywood handled premarital sex then. In thirty (now 40) years, people have moved far, far from blundering into doing the right thing. In that way, this comedy is sadly sobering.
Don't let teenagers watch this one without a lot of discussion with parents afterward. There are many choices these people make, each worth noting. Not every young woman is as fortunate as this character. If your kids want to watch "Pretty Woman" (which I HATED), rent this one instead. It doesn't have graphic sex and doesn't have Julia Roberts or Richard Gere, three compelling reasons.

On another note, my hubby has challenged me to pick apart Ben Hur. Ouch! ALL RIGHT. Too violent and Charlton Heston really isn't that good of an actor. There, I've said it. But where else do you get a fabulous exchange like this?
      "If you were not a bride, I should kiss you goodbye."
      "If I were not a bride, there would be no goodbyes to be said."
Ben Hur is still my favorite flick.

shameless self promotion !!!!!!

Yep, I've taken the plunge into new waters. I posted (The Song of) Deborah and Muddy Skye on studios.amazon.com.
Deborah isn't yet open to the public; I wanted to see how "she" does on her own merit. I forget how many years I spent working on Deborah. I worked on her after my play Rizpah and screenplay Jeremiah and between the would-be computer generated Crows and my first thriller, Muddy Skye.
Muddy Skye, on the other hand, I wrote in about two weeks. I joke about "selling out" by writing a thriller rather than a biblical epic. Because I'm less emotionally involved in it, I posted it for the world to see. (I copyrighted it first; only $35 via copyright.gov. Writers: check it out!)
Writing Skye, I realized that I don't have much of a stomach for the depraved, so my "bad guy" is rather weak. At least that's what my first reviewer said. I'm ok with that. It's comforting to know that I don't quite have what it takes to be a bad guy.

So I guess it's time to write another biblical epic.