Director Renny Harlin has made a Hercules epic with drab, washed-out cinematography, poorly staged action scenes, incompetent acting, bad hair, terrible computer effects, and dialogue that lands more heavily than the title character’s punch. Even at just over 90 minutes it feels much too long. Harlin is way too fond of halting the acting with a slo-mo pause or freeze frame. By the last half hour it was worse than repetitive; it was an infuriating tactic for prolonging the end of the film. Talk about adding insult to injury.
In the first of two 3D Hercules movies scheduled for 2014, “Twilight” hottie Kellan Lutz plays the legendary strong man. Instead of sticking with the perfectly good Labors of Hercules storyline that has captivated audiences for thousands of years, this movie goes straight for the generic sword and sandal epic — there’s the Tessarakonteres with galley slaves whipped to row harder, the battle scenes with soldiers wielding swords and shields, the combat to the death in an arena with thousands of the least persuasive computer-generated audience members ever. There’s some argle bargle about whether our hero will accept his destiny and there’s a love story. There’s even, heaven help us, a going into battle pep talk so beyond Lutz’s capacity that he sounds less like a demigod than like he’s ordering a round of beers for the fellows.
Hercules is the son of Queen Alcmene and Zeus, the leader of the gods. Alcmene has already had a son with her husband, the cruel despot King Amphitryon (Scott Adkins). She prays to Hera for help, and the goddess gives her permission for her husband, Zeus, to give Alcmene another son, who will be half-god and will bring peace back to the kingdom. Amphitryon knows the boy is not his.
We skip ahead 20 years to see Hercules (Lutz) frolicking with the beautiful blonde Princess Hebe (Gaia Weiss). They are in love, but she is pledged to his angry and jealous half-brother, the heir to the throne. Soon, Hercules is sent away on a mission that will turn out to be a trap. He is taken prisoner, sold into slavery, and forced into gladiator-style combat to the death.
The actors were cast for their muscles and fighting skills rather than their acting. That would not be so bad except that they are called upon to spout clunky dialogue in fake — and highly variable — English theater-style accents. But what really takes all the air out of this balloon is its very premise. If Hercules has super-powers and the protection of his Olympian father, it dissipates any dramatic tension or sense of genuine peril. And when the crowd goes wild and starts yelling “Hercules! Hercules!” it is impossible not to think of Eddie Murphy, and wish he would show up to pick up the pace.
Parents should know that this movie includes sword and sandal-style epic action with a extensive fighting and battles, characters injured and killed, also murder and attempted suicide, sexual situation and some sexual references.
Family discussion: Why did Hercules resist his destiny? Why did he give up his special powers for the final battle?
If you like this, try: the original “Clash of the Titans” and Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator”
Rated PG for creature action and peril, and mild rude humor
Profanity:
Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs:
None
Violence/ Scariness:
Dinosaur predator violence and peril, sad death of parents
Diversity Issues:
None
Date Released to Theaters:
December 20, 2013
Date Released to DVD:
March 24, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:
B00HDKJESO
Dinosaur movies pretty much all have the same plot. Unless it is a fantasy like “Jurassic Park,” the story is pretty simple: the dinos have to migrate and there are a lot of encounters and adventures along the way. What separates Walking With Dinosaurs 3D from earlier entries like “The Land Before Time” and Disney’s then-state-of-the-art “Dinosaur” is the beauty and majesty of the great creatures, marred a bit by a jokey script with too much focus on poop and barf jokes, silly winks at the audience about the animals’ “future as an oil field,” and distracting anthropomorphism.
A brief prologue set in modern day has a brother and sister visiting their paleontologist uncle (“Star Wars’” Karl Urban) in Alaska. The girl is excited by the broken tooth found by her uncle and happy to accompany him to the dig to see if they can find more bones. But her older brother is bored. “I’m not really into digging for dead things.” He’d rather text his friends about how lame everything is.
But then a bird (voice of John Leguizamo) appears to explain that “Every fossil tells a story.” He transforms into his prehistoric ancestor, garishly colored with trailing trail feathers and toothy-looking protuberances from his beak, to narrate the story of his friend Patchi (voice of Justin Long), from just after hatching as the runt of the nest to adulthood and becoming a father with his own eggs to guard.
Our hero is Patchi, a Pachyrhinosaurus (thick-nosed lizard), whose early run-in with a predator leaves a hole in his frill that helps us identify him as he goes from hatchling to adolescent to adult. He is a cheerful, curious, friendly vegetarian, a bit in the shadow of his alpha male older brother, Scowler (voice of Skylar Stone). Their father is the pack leader who shows the rest of the tribe the way when it is time to migrate. But along the way there is danger, especially from predatory meat-eaters who find the plant-eaters delicious. Patchi’s parents are killed (off-screen) protecting their young. Scowler takes over via head-butt battle, and it looks like he may take over the pretty female Patchi likes as well (Tiya Sircar as Juniper). Will brains triumph over brawn?
Kids in the audience seemed to enjoy the slapstick and potty humor and it is possible that it tempered the scarier themes. It will certainly make fans of the television series happy, and, I hope, inspire curiosity about the real stories that fossils tell. Viewers with more serious interest in dinosaurs will want to take advantage of the Blu-Ray’s “Cretaceous” option and skip the human voices.
Parents should know that this film has dinosaur-era violence, characters in peril, injured and killed, sad deaths of parents, and potty humor.
Family discussion: Why did Patchi and Scowler make different choices? Which was your favorite kind of pre-historic creature and why?
If you like this, try: the television series and visit your local natural history museum to learn more about dinosaurs
Here’s a summary of the first film to get you up to date in case you skipped it or don’t remember: Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), the title character, is accompanying a brave group of dwarves on a quest that will take them to the mountain lair of an angry dragon named Smaug who sleeps on an endless pile of stolen gold and jewels. In part one, they made it part of the way there. Part two begins in the midst of the action. They are still far from their destination but every step is treacherous and every stage in the journey brings more trouble. Middle Earth is deeply troubled by its divisions. Dwarves and Elves do not trust one another.
Martin Freeman returns as Bilbo, whose epic travels inspire an inner journey toward meaning and purpose. We see his struggle when he cannot bring himself to tell Gandalf (Ian McKellen) the truth about what he found. He wants to tell the wizard about the magical golden ring he discovered. But when the moment comes, and he can only say that what he found in the cave is his courage. That is an intriguing statement, partly true, partly self-evidently false as he does not have the courage to tell Gandalf about the ring. But as we know from the Ring trilogy, part of the power of that plain gold band is the way it works on those who — at least temporarily — possess it. Perhaps it is the ring that tells Bilbo to keep the secret.
But Bilbo, reluctant to join the dwarves in part one, is fully committed now, so in that sense he has found his courage, and finding it, now sees himself differently. And it is that inner journey that holds the story together amidst the arrows and giant spiders and swashbuckling and guy with bird poop on his head and portentous statements like, “The fortunes of the world will rise and fall but here in this kingdom we will endure” (when we know they will) and “This forest feels as though a dread lies upon it” (when we know it does), and “It’s not our fight” (when we know it is).
Purists may object to the insertion of a brand-new character, but Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, a warrior elf, is such a welcome addition that even Tolkein should be glad to add her to the cast. And then, finally, there is Smaug, a scary monster who can see where humans, hobbits, dwarves, and elves cannot. Benedict Cumberbatch, in his fifth major film appearance this year, provides the voice of ultimate predatory evil, and a cliffhanger that leaves us eager for the final chapter.
The intricacy of the detail everywhere you look is more than gorgeous. It lends a timelessness to the story. It tells us that there is a history here, that the people who created these structures intended them to be permanent and beautiful. The fight scenes, staged as well or better than any other this year, are more than graceful violence. They, too, communicate a seriousness of purpose and meaning that these characters bring to their lives — and inspire in ours.
Parents should know that like the other “Lord of the Rings” films, this one includes intense and sometimes graphic fantasy violence with monsters (dragon, giant spiders), weapons, fights, and constant peril, and characters are injured and killed.
Family discussion: What title would you pick for yourself? Why does Bilbo agree to get the Arkenstone? Why doesn’t he tell the truth about the ring?
If you like this, try: the book by J.R.R. Tolkien and the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy
Daniel Ferguson told an audience that making his extraordinary 3D IMAX film about Jerusalem required four years and “thousands of cups of tea.” It took four years. But he was able to persuade Muslims, Christians, and Jews to allow him to film the most sacred places of the city. He attended seders and Shabbat dinners, Easter celebrations, and Iftar dinners. His goal was to challenge assumptions, and “overcome fatigue,” to show “the same spots with different narratives.” While it was daunting to try to fit 5000 years of history into 45 minutes, he knew that “the best IMAX films are poems in honor of their subject.”
He talked to me about making the film, choosing the music, finding the three girls to represent the three religions of Jerusalem, and working with narrator Benedict Cumberbatch.
Let’s start with the music.
Michael Brook is the composer. We did license some music, obviously, but I would say 85 percent of it is Michael’s. And Michael has done all kinds of different films. He had done music for “Into the Wild,” the Sean Penn film and “The Fighter,” “Heat,” “An Inconvenient Truth.” He did the film about Palestinian Statehood, State 194. He did “Perks of Being a Wallflower.” He’s incredible. Michael’s background is he worked with Real World, Peter Gabriel’s label, so he knows all kinds of musicians. We worked with Michael on “Journey to Mecca,” and what’s great about Michael is he didn’t do a sort of typical era pastiche thing. Obviously, we have some sort of typical belly dance tunes or whatever to kind of play to that and make it fun for kids but I think what’s great is that Michael was able to find a musical language that was actually culturally, religiously, and maybe even emotionally somewhat neutral. Because the hard thing about music, frankly the hard thing about the film in general, but the music is the ultimate microcosm for this is Jerusalem is never one thing.
It’s a total leap off a cliff because the music could be too spot-on. I think both Michael and I struggled with the music. He’d send me a cue and I would say, “It’s gorgeous but for another movie.” “It’s too exuberant,” you know? I need something that has a bit more darkness in it, that has something that’s unsettled that sort of searching. How do you compose for that? It’s a totally abstract concept and yet we went back and forth. We tried to have a unified theme as well, sort of a Jewish return theme. The notes were very subtle and in fact, they were largely in the same key and all kinds of layers to work on a sort of subliminal level to convey the synchronicity between traditions.
Your narrator, Benedict Cumberbatch, is excellent. He seems to be everywhere this year.
We had a lot of narrators thrown at us and we needed someone who was sort of neutral in a way. I didn’t really know his work that well. I started to watch “Sherlock,” and I really got into it. He’s young; he’s sort of up-and-coming so he was the first one we reached out to. We thought of a woman’s voice, that was our first choice and, in fact, we had a woman in our initial trailer. But the reality was we had three girls and Dr. Jodi Magness and so everyone said, “You need a male counterweight to this.” We heard Benedict sort of doing books on tape and we thought, “Wow! This guy could do something understated, wouldn’t be bombastic about it, he’s an actor, and he’s a voice actor. Because the images were so big. Benedict was able to play the mystery and be respectful, and it’s like the kind of nuance when we do a line like Prophet Mohammad’s travel on a miraculous journey. I mean you could do that line like he did a reading and said, “No, that sounded far too fairytale. Let me do that again,” and he knew the nuance. He would make little tweaks and changes. He came totally prepared. He had notes all over the script, he’d seen the cut so many times. And he said, “Oh yes, this is where Farah comes in. Let me do this. How about a bridge like this?” It was amazing. He gave me at least four takes for every line. They were all totally different.
It’s a little poignant in the end where the girls say “Maybe someday, we would meet.”
I think it’s very poignant. We filmed alternate endings just because as a filmmaker, you should have everything in your back pocket. We were worried about audiences would be very upset with that as an ending. And I’ll be honest. We actually let the shot play a little longer in the earlier cut and our test audiences absolutely hated it. Do you know what it was? It was the fact that they literally passed each other and the audience said, “Oh my God! You took me through this whole time and you went and punched me in the stomach.” And it wasn’t my intent. It was just that was for me was the reality. It was the tragedy of the city that these girls have similar interests, they look the same. They have the same food. Yeah, that’s the point. And so the casting was somewhat deliberate for that. And yet there is no natural opportunity for them more so between the Arab Christian and the Arab Moslem because similar language and they would live a bit closer to one another but nonetheless, not as much as you would think. I mean there are coexistence programs in Jerusalem that’s fantastic. A lot of them funded from outside.
Have the girls seen the movie?
Only one girl has seen the movie. The Moslem girl, Farah, saw it in Houston. She’s studying in Dallas. She’s studying Genetic Engineering. It’s amazing because I meet her when she was 15. And now she’s just turned 18. And she’s so mature. Anyhow, Farah loved the movie. So I was so nervous. She wrote me to say the ending is perfect because we filmed so many different versions of it like we had a scene where the girls talked and they had a conversation. And it was thrilling, and interesting, and they would say things like “I thought you had to always wear that headscarf?” “No. No. I only wear it when I go to the mall.” “Oh really?” “And I thought you were not allowed to wear jeans. Don’t all Jews have to be in black and white?” “No! Are you kidding?” “Are you Orthodox? What are you?” It was really interesting. “What kind of Christian are you?” “Well, it’s complicated. My father’s Greek Orthodox, my mother’s Catholic.” It was like, “What? How does that..?” So that was like another movie. It could have gone on and on and on.
The problem is it took like two minutes and the whole film is not like a talkie movie so you had to find the same way to do that in a way it was more poetic, more cinematic, and frankly more poignant because the girls were good sports and they did everything that I asked but sometimes they would be uncomfortable.” So I had to find like a neutral place where they can all be there and even then, we started filming early in the morning. So it was really tricky, I think, especially in the old city because I think a lot of Israelis are sort of ambivalent about the old city. They feel like it isn’t the safest place so they have to be careful. They stick within a quarter and I was forcing them. I’ve maintained such a careful line where I have not stepped in the political camp and I don’t feel comfortable to do that. All I hope is that a film like this could just reframe the dialogues so that one could say, “I didn’t know your narrative before.” And that was really it. And that was my way of doing without getting into checkpoints, suicide bombing, and the heaviness of all that which the great films have been made about it but that isn’t the market for this. I firmly believe that.
I’ve been in it but I don’t think I’ve seen it on film before.
No. Western crews’ generally not allowed. I mean look, they would say flat out, “How do we know this isn’t like some propaganda film?” And so we had done a film in Mecca which helped. We were very honest about our mandate, who we were. I was Canadian. I’m not Israeli, I’m not Palestinian. I don’t have any stakes other than my job is to entertain and educate National Geographic brand is tremendously helpful. The IMAX brand is tremendously helpful. We brought key stakeholders to Paris, to London to see other films we’ve done. And I think the museum is a place like Smithsonian that carries so much weight for these kinds of permissions. So people say, “Wow! This is not just a television documentary or one of. Let’s take a chance on this” so people really put their necks out like if this doesn’t work, I’m going to lose my job. There was risk and heaviness. People invite me to their families, their homes. And these countless cups of tea would be over meals and it would just be like there’s no contract. It’s just a handshake. Don’t screw this up.
It was the same way with every community; Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, I mean Evangelical, Sunni, Even Shia, I mean even if there’s no market, try and weave a line where you get what you’re looking for at a picture, so if you’re Christian, you get to walk in the footsteps of Jesus but then you get to learn something about another community that’s outside your comfort zone.
I think it was very wise to focus on the three girls because they’re young and they’re the future.
And each one of those girls is curious about the other. That was the key for me. Even if they said things about “I grew up… I hate the other” Honestly, there was some of that and I said, “Why?” “I’m not sure. I inherited this.” And they’re willing to have that and that was honest for me. I didn’t get kids who were so politically correct that they were involved in coexistence, whatever the new dramatic tension. Anyhow, that was important for me.
It must have been a challenge to use the IMAX equipment in these locations.
We shot with five different camera systems. The IMAX camera itself and three of the cameras like bigger than a washing machine. It sounds like a machine gun. The film magazines are just three minutes and take ten minutes to load. So if you’re doing the Via Dolores procession which is once a year, sometimes you need three cameras at once. We filmed in Digital 3D, we had lightweight system, we built new rigs to put it on the body and have the person walk with the camera attached to them on steady cam so we could do all the Western Wall stuff and in the streets. So it was a lot of problem-solving. And then there was, “Okay, we got to get underground” so we need a lightweight night kind of low light cameras so that would be another set of test: How little light can we go? Can we go candlelight? A lot of testing, a lot of research and development which is the cool part about making IMAX films which is like taking a camera to space, taking a camera underwater, taking a camera to Jerusalem.
What did you learn from living there that you didn’t learn from all your research trips?
Oh, goodness, just the daily rituals and the idea of the ritual of having the three Sabbaths for example. I love that. I actually really love that because I was always invited somewhere else. Friday, Shabbat dinner was fantastic or meals in the West Bank or in East Jerusalem or something. And always so welcoming, and that’s the thing. Obviously I had the unique vantage point. I’m a filmmaker but I was curious and people had stories to tell.
Scary wolves, snow monster, peril, sad death of parents
Diversity Issues:
Strong female characters
Date Released to Theaters:
November 27, 2013
Date Released to DVD:
March 17, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:
B00G5G7K7O
Smart, exciting, funny, sweet, tuneful, and gorgeously animated, the Oscar-winning “Frozen” adapts Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale into a story of two sisters kept apart by a scary secret. Scary wolves, an enormous snow monster, a perilous journey, a warm (yes)-hearted snowman, a loyal reindeer, a sleigh ride, a sensational ice castle, and a little romance keep things moving briskly, but it is the relationship of the sisters that makes this movie something special. There’s a surprisingly strong emotional connection.
The king and queen of Arendelle love their two daughters, Elsa and Anna, and the girls are best friends. Anna loves to ask her big sister to “do the magic,” because Ilsa was born with the special power to create snow and ice. But an accident almost becomes a tragedy, and the trolls who heal Anna remove her memory of her sister’s gift.
Their parents lock the gates around the castle and keep the girls apart. They tell Elsa to “conceal it, don’t feel it.” They want to protect her from those who might be afraid of her ability and protect those she might hurt as she grows up and her gift becomes more powerful. She wears gloves all the time and stays in her room. Anna wanders the castle alone, singing to the paintings, with no one to talk to. Although she no longer remembers the details of their former closeness and the time they spent together, she is devastated that her sister will not see her.
Their parents are lost at sea, and three years later Elsa (Broadway star Idina Menzel) is about to be crowned queen. Anna (Kristen Bell of “Veronica Mars”) is overjoyed to be seeing her sister and excited about meeting the people who will come through the gates that are opened at last. She is charmingly awkward, having had no opportunity to learn any social skills, but that does not seem to matter to the very handsome Prince Hans (Santino Fontana), who proposes just a few hours after they meet. Anna is overjoyed.
But Elsa forbids the marriage and when Anna objects, her frustration and fury explodes, turning the balmy summer into a frozen winter. Elsa runs away, locking herself into a dazzling palace made of ice in the mountains. Anna follows, sure that she can make things right if she can just talk to Elsa about what is going on. And that is where the adventure begins. She meets a rough-hewn ice harvester named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff of “Glee”) and his reindeer Sven and a sunny-spirited, warm-hearted, and familiar-looking snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad of “Thank You for Sharing”). And when they get to the ice palace, things do not turn out the way she expects.
Human animated characters tend to be bland-looking, but the voice talents have enormous spirit that gives them a lot of life. Broadway stars Menzel, Groff (“Spring Awakening”), Bell (“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”), and Gad (“The Book of Mormon”) make the most of a tuneful score featuring the Oscar-winning “Let It Go.” The songs are beautifully acted as well as sung. Highlights include an adorable ode to summer from Olaf, who is not quite clear on the physical properties of snow as temperatures rise, Kristoff’s “duetted” ode to reindeer with Sven (he sings both parts), and Menzel’s powerful “Let it Go.” Bell’s sweet voice is lovely as she sings to the paintings in the castle about her longing for people and then exalts in her love for Prince Hans. There is also a charming ensemble with trolls singing about how we’re all in our own way “fixer-uppers.”
The animation is everything we hope for from Disney, one “how did they do that?” after another, with ice and snow so real and so touchable you may find yourself zipping up your parka in the theater. But the effects and action are all in service of the story, with a contemporary twist that is as welcome as summer’s return.
NOTE: Be sure to get to the theater in time as one of the highlights is the pre-feature short, starring a vintage Mickey Mouse voiced by Walt Disney himself. It is a masterpiece of wit and technology that must be seen a couple of times to fully appreciate. And be sure to stay through the end of the credits for an extra scene re-visiting one of the film’s most powerful characters.
Parents should know that this film include characters in peril, some injuries and action-style scares, monster, the sad deaths of a mother and father, some potty humor, and kissing.
Family discussion: What’s a fixer-upper? Why did Elsa’s parents tell her not to feel? Why was she afraid of her power? Why didn’t her parents want anyone to know the truth, and how did that make Elsa and Anna feel? Who do you think is a love expert?
If you like this, try: “Tangled,” “Brave,” and “The Princess and the Frog”
Director Renny Harlin has made a Hercules epic with drab, washed-out cinematography, poorly staged action scenes, incompetent acting, bad hair, terrible computer effects, and dialogue that lands more heavily than the title character’s punch. Even at just over 90 minutes it feels much too long. Harlin is way too fond of halting the acting with a slo-mo pause or freeze frame. By the last half hour it was worse than repetitive; it was an infuriating tactic for prolonging the end of the film. Talk about adding insult to injury.
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