Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom : Where The Dinosaurs Are The Good Guys

Here's a great summer movie, with all the thrills to be expected from Jurassic Park, but a bit more thoughtful than most.  I expected the whole film to be about getting the dinosaurs off the now volcanic island, but it was so much more.

Mustache twirling villains aside, there were questions about whether the dinosaurs should be saved, or allowed be allowed to be made extinct again.   You can easily imagine how such debates would go in today's world, even after the disastrous events in the park a few years ago.  Because we love those dinosaurs, do we not?  Particularly T-Rex.  Always try to save T-Rex if you can.

Great cast, my favorite being Maisie Lockwood played by Isabella Sermon.  Best little girl in a movie, ever.  So smart, quick and brave.   If I were small and watched this movie, I'd want to be her.   I think she'll inspire a lot of girls watching this film.

She's great in all her scenes, but in one near the end she makes the right decision, and changes the world.  Go Maisie go.   Let's hope the next film stars Maisie.

Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049 is a fitting sequel to the original Blade Runner film.  The world feels much the same, the stakes are similar when it comes to the lives of the Replicants.  The way they're hunted down and "retired" is familiar.  The guilt of the detective hunting them is much the same, though since he is a Replicant himself, you'd think it shouldn't be.

I haven't seen anything else with Ryan Gosling that I recall (though La La Land is in my To-Be-Watched Pile), and there is something of a teddy bear in his looks, particularly his eyes.  As his story unfolds, he maintains a childlike aspect that makes him relatable and you have to root for him.

In another era, you would be certain he would make it out of the film alive, but you never feel that way here.  At a certain point, he feels disposable.

Harrison Ford needed far more screen time.  He stepped comfortably back into the role of Deckard, and from previews, I hoped he and Gosling's character would spend some time as a kick ass team.  I liked his dog, and vote for him being a real dog.

Robin Wright's character was a surprise, and great to watch.  I haven't seen House of Cards because---politics---so I kept thinking, Oh, Buttercup.

Luv, the super efficient Replicant Secretary/Researcher Slayer seemed ripe for a redemption arc, you just know deep inside she would have liked things to be different.

Jared Leto, in the first thing I've seen him in, was creepy.  He seems invariably creepy in interviews.  I saw a quote from him that he isn't the villain of the piece.  Hmmpf.

Gosling's live in Electronic Girlfriend was quite charming and layer upon layer, who is real, who gets to live, she definitely deserved a chance.

Several storylines and plots are set up for sequels, I hope the stories get told.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the story of a young Irish girl who leaves home for a new life in Brooklyn, New York when life seems to offer her nothing in her small Irish town.

Sick on the voyage across the ocean, terribly homesick as she struggles to adjust to life in a new country where she still seems to have nothing and noone, she meets a young man one night at a dance.

He's completely charming, and falls for her almost immediately.  Spending time with him and taking night classes at a local college give her confidence and a feeling of place.

A tragedy at home returns her to Ireland, where she doesn't reveal that she married her young man before leaving Brooklyn.

Everything she didn't have when she left home is suddenly presented to her.  With her bookkeeping certificate she has a temporary job.  She meets a young man she likes who has very good prospects.  She loves spending time with her friends and her mother.  Letters from America go unopened.

It seems she might leave the life she had in America behind to live this wonderful new life at home.

I haven't seen such a sweet movie in a very long time.  Saoirse Ronan is luminous in the role of Eilis Lacey.  The music, the costuming, the portrayal of life in the 40s, all just stunning.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Mockingjay Part 2

Saturday night, popcorn, and the last of the Hunger Games films, that's the way to live.  Mostly it was nice to see the characters a final time.  Everyone of them was so well realized.  To think before it all began, I didn't like any of the choices for the actors.  Wrong once more.

Jennifer Lawrence is always wonderful to watch, but she has been transcendant in the role of Katniss Everdeen from her first moments on the screen.  Here she finishes her heroic journey and emerges triumphant.

That said, while the movie was full of nail biting scenes, explosions, and incredible effects, I thought that dramatically and emotionally it would have been best if Mockingjay had not been split into two films.

Random Thoughts:

President Snow-deliciously evil, though I don't like evil as a rule.  Bad, bad Evil.

Peeta!  Sweetheart of the world.  Great scenes where he just went nuts.

Gale in the books seemed to be more ardently bent on the any means necessary approach.  He had more conscience about his actions here.

Poor sweet Prim.

Julianne Moore's Alma Coin was silkily Evil.  She could seem so convincing.  I loved the moment when she met her arrow of doom.  Muahhahaha.

I had forgotten what the Mutts looked like.  Icky.  Reminiscent of something else I've seen lately, that I cant put my finger on.  Maybe something from Grimm.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

I'm glad to have caught this at the theater, though late in its run.   The Mission Impossible movies are perfect for the giant screen and mega-sound systems.

Warp speed action, light humor throughout, incredible stunts...bring on the popcorn and a large red Icee.

The "rogue nation" of the title is an organization called The Syndicate.  It seems to be behind disasters and assassinations all over the world.

Led by a classic reedy villain type named  Solomon Lane, the organization has recruited "officially dead" operatives from every intelligence organization on earth.

Even with the resources at his disposal he can't get through security to reach a certain bit of information he wants.  He needs Ethan Hunt and the IMF, and he sets in motion a convoluted plan to get them involved.

One of the things I like about these films is that it is a pleasure to see how the IMF team works together.  While Ethan is the brains behind the operation and the front man, he'd never get any of his schemes off the ground without this group.  They're just perfect clockwork.

I loved Ilsa Faust, the very best female agent I've ever seen, and I just kept thinking she needs her own movie.  Slick, smart, brave, ten steps ahead of everyone though she appears ensnared, man, she was so perfect.

Saturday Night At The Movies: World War Z: Zombies Never Disappoint

In preparation for the return of Walking Dead next week, I watched this zombie fest.

Brad Pitt reluctantly leaves his family to try to find a cure for the rapidly spreading Zombie Apocalypse.

He travels to South Korea and then Jerusalem and Wales looking for answers.

For a former Operative of some sort, he seems to have more luck than talent.  I'd expect a bit of Chuck Norris or Mission Impossible but nope, just a worried looking guy just barely avoiding swarms.

The zombie swarms were impressive and frightening.  Instead of shambling dead creatures, zombies here moved like lightning.  They swarmed over walls like piles of insects.

Pitt's character is motivated by his desire to keep his family safe.  His love for them and desire to keep them safe is completely believable. He was very likeable and I was rooting for him all the way.  

I almost feel guilty saying it, but his wife and kids were so annoying.  The little girls kept wandering off, the wife was bored and kept calling him and setting off the zombies.  

A charming bit was Peter Capaldi as a scientist working for WHO.

D.O.A. at the Movies: Maze Runner

Maze Runner

I watched all the clips of The Maze Runner movie, and follow the Maze Runner Trilogy and the author James Dashner on Facebook.  I had a few concerns going into the film:

I didn’t like that Teresa and Thomas couldn’t speak telepathically, though in retrospect I can see where that complicates things in a two hour movie.

 

From the clips, I didn’t think I’d like the actor playing Thomas, he seemed kind of gravelly voiced and flat.  In fact, Dylan O’Brien as Thomas completely nailed Thomas and his confusion as he entered the Glade and it’s world, and he had the honesty and vulnerability of Thomas in the book, so I was really pleased.

I really liked the portrayals of Alby, Newt, Minho, Chuck and Gally.

I didn’t care for the Teresa character, but having read the entire book series, I think I just don’t like her as a character so I was swayed by that.

I would like to have seen more time spent on the really well organized society the boys created.  More time could have been spent in the Maze itself.

The way out of the Maze and the final battle there was way cooler in the book, and I think they should have stuck with that.

Since they were varying from the book in so many places, they could have altered Chuck’s fate, right?  Sometimes the film version can have a happier ending than the book.

Filming is already set for the sequel : The Scorch Trials to come out in late 2015.  That was a great adventure, and I can’t wait to see how they bring it to the screen.

Saturday Night at the Movies: Man of Steel

Superman is my all time favorite super hero.  Those are the first comics I collected, buying them for ten cents apiece from a drugstore rack.

To my teen self he was handsome, he was romantic (though I always preferred Lana Lang over Lois Lane), and he always triumphed over the bad guys.  His heart was huge enough to encompass all humanity.  He was clever and always outwitted even the most brilliant opponents.

Superman had two sets of loving parents.  There was a terrible sadness inherent in his life at the loss of Jorel and Lara, and then Jonathan Kent.  The man who can do anything can't have what he loves most.

The Fortress of Solitude!  A place to go when he just needed to be alone and think or contemplate or solve some problem.  Everyone needs such a place.

Krypto and Supergirl!  Two beings who were like him, relieving the intense loneliness of being of a different people than the ones here who he loved and protected.

In this movie Clark is bullied throughout his life, the guy who is too gentle to fight back.  He lives drifting from low paying job to low paying job.

In his past is Kevin Kostner as a gruff laborer who does not accept Clark's abilities and he demands he hide them.  He wants Clark to stay his hand and not save others who are in danger, even himself, just to hide who Clark is. 

Ten seasons of Smallville's John Schneider, a warm, loving man who sought to protect his adopted son, but who always guided Clark to do the right thing, to make the choices that helped others even at the risk of exposing Clark's identity, that is the core of Jonathan Kent's character.  A generous decent man representing a humanity worth saving.

Martha Kent played by Diane Lane?  A straggly beaten down woman.  A fit mate for Costner's Jonathan but not the emotional core of warmth, strength and goodness that is Martha Kent.

Theoretically they did this because....?  They wanted to emphasize the otherness of Superman.  So Jorel and Lara and Krypton (which was awesome) get more screen time.  

Jorel as played by Russell Crowe is smart, swashbuckling, incredibly wise, and the man has a bright vision of Kal as someone who can lead the human race to greatness, even as his own world crumbles.

He has love enough for his son to send him away with the key to a future Kryptonian race embedded in his small body. Jorel is able to appear on earth to help guide his son intellectually, morally, strategically.

Enter General Zod, escaped from the Phantom Zone with his crew of evil unfeeling cohorts.  Bent on destroying Kal in revenge for his being imprisoned, and determined to harvest the future of Krypton from Kal's dead body.  Because that is what he was bred to do.

Lois Lane.  I've never liked her since my early comics days.  Selfish, nothing in her tiny head but getting the next story.  Played by many actresses in various repellent ways as befits the character.  Supposedly Superman is drawn to her beauty and bravery.   Only Teri Hatcher on Lois and Clark has made her appealing.

Until now, in a real surprise to me, Amy Adams plays a strong, determined Lois who is warm, loving, accessible.  Who you want to root for not smack.  She was able to be what Diane Lane's Martha was not, an embodiment of all that can be right with humanity.  She reaches out to this lonely, sweet super being and represents something worth saving at any cost. 

Henry Cavill as Superman is a surprisingly vulnerable person, determined to do the right thing just as he should be.  When he tells a general he is an American, and he grew up in Kansas, for heaven's sakes, we know he is in truth as much one of us as he is that other alien species represented badly by Zod.

All in all, a better reboot than I expected from previews.  I think they have a solid ground to build on.  Will we see Jorel again?    Why not send Zod back to the Phantom Zone with his cohorts instead of the old "snap"?  Let's have lots more of Laurence Fishburne's Perry White.   Rebuild the Kent farm so it doesn't look like it is so broken down, yech.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Oz the Great and Powerful

I finally got around to watching Oz the Great and Powerful.  I hadn't seen it in theaters because I didn't like James Franco as the lead and the "romantic storyline" emphasized in trailers really did not seem like the Wonderful Land of Oz.

The plot has small time carnival player Oz schmoozing his way through performances with a new young woman frequently playing the part of an audience member who assists him in his tricks.  He gives them a pep talk before the show and "his grandmother's music box" (of which he has a seemingly endless supply in his pockets) to show how captivated by them he is.

A show goes awry when a little girl in a wheelchair asks him to fix her legs so she can walk again.  She believes in him, she says.  Stopped mid-speel, he is a bit annoyed and hasn't a quick and slick answer for her except no.  The audience, filled with an unusual amount of rowdy and disbelieving farmers, demands that Oz help her.

As they toss objects at him, he flees the stage, only to have the circus strongman chase him as well on behalf of another circus performer (his wife) lovingly holding a music box.

Safe for a moment in his wagon he is visited by a girl who he has more than the usual connection with, but he fobs her off with his tale of dreams of being a Great Man rather than a Good Man.

In crashes the Stongman, Oz disappears through an escape hole in the floor and he's off to climb into a beautiful balloon with Oz emblazoned on it.  Cue the tornado to whirl him to Oz.

Landing in Oz, he is met almost immediately by a beautiful woman in a red velvet hat and jacket with tight black leather pants.  As quickly as you can say Anachronism the movie has problems. 

Doe-eyed Theodora, a witch who seems knowing yet helpless, falls for Oz immediately and plans to be his queen.  Our slick showman is happy to produce a music box and dance the night away with her, but of course he has no attachment.

Off to the Emerald City which has been watched over by Theodora's blatantly evil sister Evanora since the tragic death of the former Wizard King.

 

The Land of Oz does have some wonders to behold.  Colors are sharp and practically scream look here, look here.

The first view of the Emerald City, done with technology that should be wondrously advanced since 1939 looks like a cheap backdrop painting.  Once in the city, you just see the throne room, no tour on the way to the palace to take in the beautiful city as seen for the first time through the eyes of newcomer Oz.

Later as he is finishing a tour given by Evanora you see the city at night from a height and it looks huge and complex.  It just isn't the introduction to this place which is the heart of Oz that it should have been.  

The great wonder that captivates our showman is a treasure room full of gold and jewels.  It is the contemplation of having this treasure that motivates our con man to leave the city at night, flying monkey companion Finlay in tow, to kill the "evil" witch Glinda.

The illusions Oz produces with the help of "tinkers" are really a great bit of showmanship, worthy of a humbug wizard.    I liked the explanation for how Oz became a face in a cloud manifest, seen by few.

The only person Franco has any chemistry with in the film is the China Girl.  I don't know why but in every scene he has with her, he is warm and charming and he connects to another human being, even though she is made of china. 

Saturday Night at the Movies: It's ALWAYS a Good Day to Die Hard!

We went to see A Good Day to Die Hard last night.  Despite reviews from critics (aka The Bozo Patrol) we knew we would like any Die Hard movie.   From the franchise one and three are our favorites.  

This installment has John McClane heading off to Russia to get his boy out of jail.  Time to warm up the explosions!  He arrives to "rescue" John Jr. right in the middle of a complicated attempt from an opposing faction to extract political prisoner Yuri Kamarov from a trial.  As the explosions begin John rushes in and tries to save his kid.  His kid, who turns out to be CIA is supposed to grab the prisoner and run to safety with him. 

Yipee Ki-Yay, like that goes well.   Soon John Jr. and the political prisoner are off on a fantastic chase scene through the streets of Moscow with bad guys (aka Scumbags) chasing in an armored vehicle and John Sr. chasing them in some sort of Jeep like truck.

Jack (aka John Jr.) apparently detests dear old dad, and his interference here doesn't help.  Soon father and son are working to get the Russian prisoner and his secret files out of the country.  I must say Jack takes a beating and you can feel his pain, while John is there all bloody and beaten and looking like he's rested and ready to hit the beach.

I didn't care for Jai Courtney who plays Jack in the previews but he turns out to be a perfect son for hard ass John.  He even calls him dad in a dire moment.  Then claims he didn't say that at all. Wouldn't be cool for a McClane man, nooo.

My favorite scene is at a safe house where the baddies break in and Jack and Yuri duck and dodge while John stands there blasting away with a gun.  Mr. Unstoppable.

Bust a move, guys!

D.O.A.'s Favorite Films of 2012

These were my favorite films this year:

1.    The Hunger Games

I went in not liking any of the casting and fearing they wouldn't get anything right.  Every character was perfect and I was drawn into the world as soon as the movie began.  I think they captured the essence of the games and the sickness of the society that promoted them.  I loved all three books and look forward to seeing the rest of the trilogy on film.


2.    The Hobbit

Brave Hobbit!  The original Hobbit adventurer was Bilbo, who finds his comfortable home invaded by dwarves and a wizard one day.  Despite his protests that he wants no part of any adventure he is soon on the road in their company, showing uncommon bravery for a person of any size.   I love the dwarves for their humor and determination.  Thorin Oakenshield is a great character.  It was nice to see Gandalf be a little less sure of himself.   The Goblin King was gloriously horrid.  Ack that fleshy beard of his....Radagast the Brown and his fleet of rabbits!!!!


3.   Lincoln

I just saw this today (12/29/12), but it moves right up the list.  A portrait of the last four months of Lincoln's life it shows him as everything you ever thought he was and more.  A storyteller, legal minded, precise, folksy, humanitarian to his deepest soul, honest to a fault when he chose to be.  I was taken by what a deep philosophical mind and soul he had.  His family problems with his wife and eldest son made him more endearing.  The political maneuvering in the House over the 13th amendment was really interesting to me who hates politics.  I knew the amendment passed but it certainly looked like an impossible task.  I wonder if representatives today toss out such amazing personal insults at each other in the course of debate. Historical movies with bad endings for the hero are hard for me to take.  I'm glad the film cheated and didn't show the assassination of Lincoln.  I had come to just love him over the length of the film and wouldn't have been able to look.

Here is a fun article showing the actors in the film and the real photographs of the historical figures.  Uncanny except for one person.  I spent time after the movie looking up Thadeus Stevens, Lincoln and Mary Lincoln to get an idea of what what their real lives were like.  Incredible lives.


4.   The Dark Knight Rises

I haven't minded the many actors playing Batman in recent years.  The character has sufficient depth so that he can be played with many subtle variations.   The character is almost understated compared to the villains who inhabit his world.  Bane of the Dark Knight rises wasn't an enjoyable villain for me.  He seemed to have the upper hand for most of the film and I'd prefer a fair fight.  Still, there were twists to the plot that made it a great Batman tale.   Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was a fine addition.   Albert, alas, of little faith.


5.   The Avengers

I had seen the movies of the individual characters and particularly liked Thor and Iron Man.  The Hulk was a pleasant surprise as a really intelligent, sensitive Bruce Banner who fought his big green demon.  I loved seeing them all working together.  Captain America stands out also as a man out of place in time but still determined to fight evil.  Just a very solid, noble guy.




6.  Prometheus

The film had so many echoes of Alien despite its being a prequel.   The aliens were so perfectly without emotion or care for what the old results of one of their experiments (us, presumably) might have to offer.  We were of no interest whatsoever.  The nasty spawning cave dwellers who had killed many of the super aliens...now THOSE were something.  It makes you wonder if they had just seen in early man the potential for a weapon.  To use against what?   Elizabeth Shaw, the tiny but insanely tough archeologist is luminous as she does extraordinary things to survive.

 

7.  Cloud Atlas

This convoluted tale within a tale running over multiple time periods is something I'm eager to see again to find what I missed as I struggled to figure out the plot.  And who was who when.  Lots of action, adventure and romance.

 

8.   Skyfall

I don't think Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever or that this is the best Bond movie ever, as the reviews have had it.   I think Craig is cool and suave but a bit humorless.  I did like his backstory and his attachment to Q.  As always, I like a hero who never swerves from doing what is right and what he is supposed to do.   I thought the villain whose name escapes me because he was such a cipher was again, too smart, had everything planned to the T, no failures to his plots, blah blah.


9. John Carter of Mars

Great adventure film. Pure golden age science fiction.  Spectacular bringing to life of an alien world and civilization.  The film should have been called a Princess of Mars after the Edgar Rice Burroughs book or at least John Carter of Mars after the character.   They felt this would not appeal to some audiences so they called it John Carter, told noone what the movie was about in any marketing, and complained about how much it cost to make.

View a trailer that shows the wonders of the film and the rich historical significance of Burroughs' story at http://thejohncarterfiles.com/

Saturday Night at the Movies: Cloud Atlas

I wasn't sure I'd like the movie because it looked like something that would all end tragically, across varying timelines.

The story has six timelines and it jumps randomly (it feels random) between them.  I don't think because of the way it is structured you understand that these are the same individuals over time making choices for good or ill that carry down the halls of time with them and change what happens to them in their next incarnation.

A couple of people stand out for always being evil (Hugo Weaving's many characters) or always good (Halle Berry's character, Bae Doo-Na, Susan Sarandon) others go back and forth between good and evil.

I'd like to see it again to straighten out the character stories over time.  Because the overall message was one of hope and good triumphing, I liked the film enough for multiple viewings.

The most compelling tales were :

One in Neo Seoul 2144 with a "fabricant" who is made self aware by rebels.  She broadcasts a message of hope, love and humanity for all times.

Zachary (a member of a mostly savage tribe victimized by an even more savage tribe) and Meronym (one of the last of an advanced race) in a post apocalypic time struggle with ignorance, brutality and hope.

Robert Frobisher, a talented musician struggles to create a piece called the Cloud Atlas Sextet whose musical message of transcendant love ripples throughout time.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows

This week's movie from my unviewed movie pile is Sherlock Holmes a Game of Shadows. 

Here we have Sherlock going against Moriarty in a deadly match of twisted minds.  The two characters have so much in common yet one has chosen good and one evil.  That is my take on things anyway.

This film was slower and darker than the original.  It seemed that there was no way Moriarty could lose the battle, yet he did at the last. 

The only humor in this one derived from the "bromance" between Holmes and Watson, which wasn't enough to carry the film.

Throughout, it seemed as if everything weighed against Sherlock and company which creates for me an uncomfortable viewing experience, I always want to know that there is hope and that the bad guys have some flaws.  It just seemed Moriarty and his sharpshooter couldn't be beaten, and somehow the ending did not lift the gloom that permeated the film.

Hoping the next is lighter and a more clever mystery.

Saturday Night At The Movies: Super 8

I finally had the chance to watch Super 8.  Set in 1979 with good old rock playing throughout, it follows a group of kids who are the film crew and stars of 8mm films produced by a wildly creative teen named Charles Kaznyk.

Charles has been working with his pals on a zombie movie which he plans to enter into a film competition.  He decides the film needs a bit of heart so he asks lovely Alice Dainard to play the wife of his film's detective.

Sneaking out at midnight to get just the right mood, they film in the light of an oncoming train.  As they work only Joe Lamb notices a truck racing to intercept and crash head on into the train.  Suddenly the train crashes and explodes, sending everyone running.  They barely recover from their shock when they are forced to flee by the arrival of a swarm of Air Force troups.

The train, as it turns out, is a military train and it was carrying odd radioactive cubes and something else, something that soon begins to turn the town into a wreckage of metal and wiring.

I love a good escaped alien film.  The kids were so smart and yet they did incredibly dangerous things to further the zombie film and then to find one of their own who has gone missing.

The romance that happens between Joe and Alice, two kids with a shared heartbreak, is sweet.  The suspense that builds as the escaped creature becomes more desperate and destructive is excellent. 

The generosity of Joe and eventually his hard, careworn, policeman father makes it possible for everyone to escape the burdens they have been carrying for too long.   I like a good happy ending.

The full cut of Charles' zombie extravaganza plays at the end of the film during the credits.

John Carter (of Mars)

I went into the film not expecting too much given the varying reviews and my impression from trailers.

What a great movie. I just loved it. It had action, adventure, sense of wonder, and romance!




It follows a civil war captain named John Carter as he is recruited by the the local fort to help fight Apaches. His stellar war record makes him seem key to the local efforts.

While he was off doing heroic deeds in the Civil war, his family suffered and he has vowed not to take part in someone else's wars again. He wants to find gold and get rich and that is it.




As he is caught in a fight between soldiers and natives he rescues the man he had just fought to escape and they find safe temporary harbor in a cave. The cave is all John has been looking for and more. It is filled with gold and strange spider symbols. Out of nowhere, a man materializes and attacks John. John shoots him and grabs an amulet from the dying man who is muttering something in an unknown language.

Suddenly John is lying on his back in a very strange desert. Things only get stranger as he finds he can (after many stumbles and hard landings) jump very high and very long distances.

He comes upon a nest of hatching squalling eggs with bizarre green creatures coming forth. Unfortunately for John, the guardians of the eggs, the Tharks, arrive in all of their tall green four armed glory.




He becomes a pawn among these creatures who wish to use him to fight their enemies. John doesn't take to being recruited by these creatures any better than he liked being railroaded by the soldiers on earth.

Enter Deja Thoris, drop dead gorgeous, guns blazing from her amazing airship, swords ready when she is shot down. John can't help but go to her aid and soon they are fighting side by side.




This tale of a planet torn by strife plays out wonderfully. Grand battles, incredible feats of strength and daring leaps by our hero. The villains are almost likeable in some cases--I felt a bit sorry for Sab Than, also a pawn of sorts in the grand scheme of the calmly evil Therns.




I really liked having Edgar Rice Burroughs as Carter's nephew Ned frame the story. He was such a good kid, and well deserving of his uncle's fortune and trust.




The ending left plenty of room for a sequel, which I'd love to see asap.

See a good movie, get the good trailers! Tons of good upcoming trailers: Prometheus looks action packed, Madagascar 3!!!!!!!! You got to move it move it....and The Avengers looks just TOO GOOD.