Edward Johnson is a professor of archeology leading an
expedition of students in the excavation of a 14th century French
castle. Two days after he goes missing from a meeting with the
excavation’s investors, a note is discovered written in his hand,
dated 1357. The investors admit to having built a time machine and
send the students to rescue him.
Timeline
PG-13
HH (The “H” represents a star)
Directed by Richard Donner
Starring Paul Walker, Billy Connolly
Edward Johnson is a professor of archeology leading an expedition of students in the excavation of a 14th century French castle. Two days after he goes missing from a meeting with the excavation’s investors, a note is discovered written in his hand, dated 1357. The investors admit to having built a time machine and send the students to rescue him.
Underproduced, blandly acted and poorly scripted, Timeline’s only redeeming moments come in its medieval battle re-enactments, making it a must for fans of Renaissance Faires and a future rental for everyone else who wisely spent their moviegoing dollars seeing ‘The Last Samurai’ instead.
The Missing
R
HHH
Directed By Ron Howard
Starring Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones
Maggie is a “healer” who’s struggling to raise her two daughters on the hardscrabble range of 1880’s New Mexico. When outlaws abduct her oldest daughter, Maggie begrudgingly reunites with her estranged father to track them.
The Missing is a departure for the famously sentimental Howard, and employs a variety of disturbing imagery to convey the harshness of life in the Old West. It wisely avoids assigning morality to its characters based upon race; Caucasians and Native Americans are equally likely to be good or evil. Overall, The Missing combines the elements of a good crime story with a sweeping western.
The Haunted Mansion
PG
H
Directed by Rob Minkoff
Starring Eddie Murphy, Terrence Stamp
When realtor Jim Evers receives a late-night call from a man who wishes to sell his 19th century Louisiana mansion, he senses the sale of a lifetime and takes his wife and kids to check the property out. A rainstorm traps his family there for the night, where they discover countless ghosts, eerie goings on and a personal link to the mansion’s past.
In this latest film spin-off of a Disney ride, director Minkoff attempts to alternate between scary and funny, but mostly ends up with a boring muddle. Is it too late for Murphy to fire his agent?
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
PG-13
HHH
Directed By Peter Weir
Starring Russell Crowe
While Napoleon wreaks havoc throughout Europe, Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey and the crew of the H.M.S. Surprise are sent to chase the Archeron, a privateer flying under French colors. The Surprise is itself surprised by the Archeron and takes heavy damage from the privateer, which is faster, heavier and better armed. Lucky Jack vows revenge, chasing the Archeron across two oceans.
Like most historically themed dramas, Master commits the sin of being overlong, a sin that can be forgiven in light of its sweeping cinematography, outstanding sound editing and heart-pounding battle scenes. See this one on the big screen.
Elf
PG
HHH
Directed By Jon Favreau
Starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel
As an orphaned baby, Buddy crawls into Santa’s sack and is unwittingly transported to the North Pole, where he is raised as one of Santa’s elves. Thirty years later, Buddy discovers his parentage and treks to New York City to meet his real father and bring Christmas spirit back to the Big Apple.
“Elf” is a fun, albeit early, entry into this year’s Christmas movies. It will be most appreciated by those who appreciate Ferrell’s particular brand of overenthusiastic slapstick. Kids will howl over the non-stop goofball chaos and parents will be pleasantly surprised by the lack of potty humor.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
PG
HHH
Directed By Joe Dante
Starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin
Tired of playing second fiddle to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck decides to leave Warner Brothers for good. Humorless executive Kate gladly accommodates him, instructing security guard DJ to show Daffy the door. Daffy quickly picks up a new occupation by Joining DJ in the hunt for a mysterious diamond.
Back in Action does a great job of maintaining the frantic pace that made the original Warner Brother’s cartoons great. In fact, most viewers will probably find the gag rate a bit challenging to keep pace with. Kids will enjoy the general zaniness while adults should appreciate the numerous in-jokes and celebrity cameos.
The Matrix Revolutions
R
HHH
Directed by the Wachowski Brothers
Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Ann Moss
In the third and final installment of The Matrix, the citizens of Zion battle the swarms of machine invaders as Neo heads to the Machine City to battle the ever more powerful Agent Smith. In the process he must make a bargain with the machines to end the war.
The storytelling that became somewhat convoluted in Reloaded is entirely secondary to the action in Revolutions. In trading its philosophical butter for guns, The Wachowskis have successfully created live-action anime. Revolutions may be an unsatisfying conclusion to an ambitious trilogy, but it’s still an entertaining sci-fi action flick.
