I mean, it was a mummy movie. It was a good film independent of its source. It that looks like Lawrence of Arabia on steroids in a lot of ways – Brendan Fraser talking about The Mummy (1999)
It has been 85 years since the release of the first film titled The Mummy. Now we get another movie with this title, as the first installment in the Universal “Dark Universe.” Part of the plan was to set up the films to come in this newly launched universe and that is part of the reason the film doesn’t work well.
The movie opens during the Crusades as crusading knights from England locate a large ruby in Egypt. They take it back to their homeland and bury it with some of their fallen comrades in a secret underground tomb. The ruby is hidden in the casket of one of the dead.
Fast forward to the present day and we watch as a construction project discovers that secret tomb. Enter “Doctor Henry Jekyll” (Russell Crowe – The Man With the Iron Fists) who takes control of the scene. We learn the story of the ruby’s origins. It was part of a dagger created by Set, the Egyptian God of Death and given to “Princess Ahmanet” (Sofia Boutella – Star Trek Beyond). She was set to become the ruler of Egypt until her father was blessed with a newborn son. After killing her entire family she was about to use the dagger to kill her lover, which would allow Set to assume human form. She was caught and her punishment was to be mummified. If this sounds a lot like the 1999 version of the story, don’t worry. It should.
At roughly the same time, “Nick Morton” (Tom Cruise – Oblivion) and “Chris Vail” (Jake Johnson – Jurassic World), two U.S. Special Forces operatives are working on a mission in Iraq when they discover the tomb of Ahmanet. This brings archaeologist “Jenny Halsey” (Annabelle Wallis – Grimsby) to the site to investigate. After she examines the tomb and deduces that it was constructed to keep Ahmanet within, “Colonel Greenway” (Courtney B. Vance – Office Christmas Party) orders the sarcophagus loaded onto a cargo plane.
Something goes wrong on the flight to England, thanks to Ahmanet. The plane is going down and in what may well be the first and last unselfish act of his life, Nick gives the only parachute to Jenny and tosses her from the plane. He awakens in a morgue filled with other dead bodies. Once he manages to get to the office of Dr. Jekyll he learns that in opening the sarcophagus of Ahmanet he was cursed and there is no way to ever lift that curse. If Ahmanet is able to reunite the dagger with the ruby, she will use it to kill Nick and that will give his body to Set to inhabit.
Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in ‘The Mummy’
There are two main problems with this take on The Mummy. It fails to strike the balance found in the 1999 version between action and comedy/cleverness. It is also too wrapped up in establishing the background of the Dark Universe for the films to come that will involve other monsters. Tom Cruise is a gifted actor when you can pry him away from the action/adventure films that seem to take up all of his time and effort these days. There was speculation that some of the problems with The Mummy were due to his micromanagement of every detail in the making of the film. Given how good he has been in so many outstanding films, made by gifted filmmakers, that’s hard to swallow.
Superman (Henry Cavill) stands tall in ‘Man of Steel’
The reboot of the Superman film franchise, Man of Steel hits the big screen with frenetic energy, astonishing visuals and some outstanding acting and writing. After the disappointing Superman Returns in 2006, it was a real treat to see this film. Written by David S. Goyer from a story he and the director of the Batman trilogy, Christopher Nolan; came up with, we see the origins of the Man from Krypton and how he came to be on Earth.
Krypton’s civilization is threatened by the destruction of their world and “Jor-El” (Crowe) has foreseen this. He tries to warn the ruling council but they won’t listen. Nor will the supreme military leader “General Zod” (Michael Shannon) who tries to take power in a coup d’etat. To preserve the race, a codex is stolen by Jor-El and put into a spaceship along with the newly born “Kal-El”. Jor-El’s wife Lara manages to get the ship launched toward Earth before Krypton meets its end. And in the end of the planet is Zod’s new beginning, as he and his co-horts are freed from the Phantom Zone by the planet’s destruction. He vows to find the ship, child and codex no matter how long it takes.
Superman (Henry Cavill) and Lois Land (Amy Adams) share a moment in ‘Man of Steel’
We are shown the origins of “Clark Kent” (Henry Cavill) in a non-linear way, with flashbacks to his childhood when he is developing and trying desperately to conceal his powers. “Jonathan Kent” (Kevin Costner) and his wife “Martha” (Diane Lane) found the ship with the infant inside and raised him as their own son. We watch him struggle to master his abilities and refrain from doing things that would disclose he is from another world.
In saving reporter “Lois Lane” (Amy Adams), Clark unwittingly sets a chain of events in motion. She wants to tell the story, without disclosing his identity. Her editor, “Perry White” (Laurence Fishburne) refuses to run it. So she leaks it on the internet. Then General Zod shows up looking for the son of Jor-El to take back the codex and to kill his rival’s child.
Michael Shannon is ‘Zod’ in ‘Man of Steel’
Let’s go over the few minor negatives first. This is a film that could have been ten to fifteen minutes shorter, and might benefit from slightly lowered volume at two or three brief instances. Long-term fans of Superman may not like the costume re-design, or other insignificant changes to the storyline or characters. None of these detract from what’s excellent here.
Crowe raises the bar very high should anyone ever attempt another reboot of this franchise, surpassing even the performance of the late Marlon Brando back in 1978. Cavill is well suited to the task of portraying the superhero, both physically and emotionally. Amy Adams is an excellent Lois Lane and one hopes she will return to the role in the inevitable sequel. There isn’t any actor in the cast who gives a performance that makes Man of Steel any less effective than it is. The visuals are extraordinary and the action scenes just rivet the viewer’s eyes on the screen. This is a winner.
Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg and Jeffrey Wright in the mayor’s office in a scene from ‘Broken City’
For nearly ten years now there is a “black list” published annually in Hollywood. It supposedly contains the best “unproduced” scripts out there. Broken City was on this list for several years until it finally escaped from “development hell” … but perhaps it should have been left there.
Broken City is a story that is so formulaic it belongs on a chalkboard in a chemistry class rather than on the big screen.
Russell Crowe is “Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Hostetler”, the mayor of New York City. When the film opens, NYPD detective “Billy Taggart” (Mark Wahlberg) is in the aftermath of a shooting he was involved in. New evidence comes to light just before the judge is about to rule that there isn’t a case to be made against him, but the Mayor and “Chief Carl Fairbanks” (Jeffrey Wright) of the NYPD decide this evidence isn’t going to see the light of day. Taggart’s days as a cop are over. His crime was shooting the man who avoided prosecution for raping and killing a woman on a technicality.
Catherine Zeta-Jones stars in ‘Broken City’
Seven years later, Taggart is a struggling private investigator and living with his girlfriend “Natalie Barrow” (Natalie Martinez), who happens to be the sister of the victim of the aforementioned rape/murder.
Suddenly there’s a call from the mayor, shortly before an election in which he and his opponent, City Councilman “Jack Valliant” (Barry Pepper) are running neck and neck. He wants to pay Taggart $50,000 to find out who his wife, “Cathleen” (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is having an affair with. Half now and half later. Taggart manages to get photos of Cathleen with Valliant’s campaign manager. He is approached by Cathleen, who tells him there is more going on here than meets the eye, but the Mayor demands the photos he’s paid for.
In short order, the campaign manager is murdered.
Director Allen Hughes is flying solo here, not co-directing with his brother Albert and we’ll never know if Albert’s absence is where this film went wrong. It probably isn’t. The problems here were on the written page and merely compounded by focusing on shots of the NYC skyline rather than on fleshing out weak plot elements. The storyline involving Taggart and his girlfriend is clearly the worst of those. Perhaps parts of it are still lying on the floor in the cutting room, waiting to be inserted back in for clarity.
This is an excellent cast. Crowe and Zeta-Jones are both Oscar winners, Wahlberg has been nominated for an Oscar and other members of the film’s players are all talented people. There’s just not a whole lot for them to do. Jeffrey Wright has some good moments as a police chief and later, police commissioner. Crowe, Wahlberg and Zeta-Jones are all limited by how their characters were created but they are clearly doing their best.
Formula is great to feed a baby when nursing isn’t the choice. But unless it’s really well executed, it has no business being on the big screen.
Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and Marius (Eddie Redmayne) find love in a France at war with itself in ‘Les Miserables’
It’s simple. You’re either for or against Les Misérables, the epic musical that broke records on the London, New York, and regional stages around the world. In an exercise of hubris, bravery or naïveté, Tom Hooper, his King’s Speech Best Director Oscar still in possession of its original sheen, has elected to helm the long-awaited film adaptation. Full disclosure: I’m a lover of the show’s music and performance opportunities, and a hater of its book, full of contrivance and unearned relationships. I dreamed a dream that that Hooper could be the man to use this adaptation as an opportunity to clean up some of the narrative debris from the show. Alas, I was on my own in that hope.
Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) finds redemption by raising young Cosette (Isabelle Allen)
Misérables, is, of course, itself an adaptation of the 1862 Victor Hugo novel in which intertwining lives from all the classes were affected by the 1832 student uprising. The stage show, originally directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, featured the music of Alain Boublil and the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg (with English-language lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer), and the music – pabulum to some, haunting ethereality to many more – represented something of a watershed. It’s noteworthy that while the show arrived at the tail end of musical theatre songs receiving radio airplay, Misérables remains the one show ever to have had not one, but two numbers (“I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own”) performed live on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, as significant a measure of the show’s reach as the millions of tickets, recordings and translations it received.
In addition to the two aforementioned musical numbers, other beloved tunes include “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” and “One Day More.” The music could be accused of being mawkish (are you surprised? The show’s title literally translates to “the miserable people,” but Nunn and Caird’s stage production married spectacle and novel techniques – a revolving stage, a barricade forming itself before our eyes – with the emotion of the show’s songs and plot points to create a fully dimensional experience. The tableau of having the entire ensemble march in unison created a sense of solidarity despite their individual suffering. Giving time for the live orchestra’s music to swell and allowing for audience applause created a call-and-response sensation that made Misérables a rousing, soaring experience.
Samantha Barks’ Éponine’ deserved more attention than she gets in ‘Les Miserables’ by both the man she loves, and the film’s director
Hooper has embarked on a semi-stunt with his much-ballyhooed decision to have his actors perform live instead of lip-syncing to studio recordings (Note: Peter Bogdanovich and Alan Parker have also done this, in At Long Last Love and The Commitments, respectively; stage cast recordings have also always done this.) It’s much ado about rather little. The verisimilitude of getting to hear actors reach for an occasional breath doesn’t add much dimension, but Dominic Gibbs’ sound design is pristine and it allows several of the film’s trained musical performers, like Samantha Barks as Eponine, daughter of crooked innkeepers the Thénardiers (Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, both returning from Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd and channeling much of that film’s dark humor), Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, the leader of the revolution, and Eddie Redmayne as Marius, a conflicted student caught between his beliefs and newfound love for the blandly sweet Cosette (a tremulous, wide-eyed Amanda Seyfried), to emphasize the power of the music. Two child actors, Isabelle Allen and Daniel Huttlestone, are also naturalistic and moving.
I have been kind so far. But at some point, like Marius choosing red over black, I, too, must show my true colors. Hooper has taken the show’s onstage warmth and turned it cold by filming the good guys in Misérables in loving, tight close-up, often at odd acute angles, and the baddies with a distorted fisheye lens at wide angles to accentuate their grotesquery. Occasionally, cinematographer Danny Cohen will zoom out of Eve Stewart’s claustrophobic production design just to remind us that we are indeed, watching a movie. The result isn’t just elementary and redundant. The isolated close ups preserve their status as distinct lonely hearts in our minds eye. They cut characters off from one another right when they should appear together, a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Russell Crowe delivers an off-key performance as Javert
Yes, it’s a tall order to adapt Misérables. The source material comes with its own flaws, and many of its assets come geared to the stage. But the show, so full of muscle mass onstage, feels larded down on screen. Hooper’s film is glacially paced yet still hurtles through event after event, making it difficult for anything to resonate and raising many questions for those unfamiliar with the show’s plot, condensed here by William Nicholson. What motivates the students’ rebellion in the first place? Why is Marius so instantly smitten with Cosette after just one look? Why, too, does the main martyr Jean Valjean (a struggling Hugh Jackman) view Marius as a surrogate son? And why is police inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) so zealously devoted to his pursuit of Valjean, even after the former convict has become a respectable, productive businessman and mayor?
Some of Hooper’s choices could have distilled the intersecting stories instead of making them murkier. And when it comes to the starrier members of his cast, Hooper doesn’t so much as direct his actors as merely unleash his camera on them. An off-key Crowe offers no illumination, and Jackman, one of the harder-working performers in Hollywood, is defeated by Hooper’s mandate that he sing in quavering half-voice instead of his glorious full register.
Anne Hathaway’s performance screams ‘notice me’ as she belts out ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ as the doomed Fantine
Of course, one gets the impression that some of these choices were beyond Hooper’s control. Misérables reeks of studio interference. How else to explain the scenic re-shuffling that enhances Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) presence and diminishes that of Eponine, who should remain the tragic face of the entire work? The reversal of fortune that sends her from spoiled Thénardier daughter to broken-hearted street urchin was the most palpable example of life’s cruelty in both Hugo’s novel and the stage production. Removing her from a critical late scene to give the saintly Fantine more time is an outright flaw. Disposing of that insults the audience and makes for a lesser release at the end, not mention belying a not-too-hidden agenda regarding Hathaway’s awards hunger.
Samantha Barks’ Éponine should have been the face of ‘Les Miserables’ tragic tale
And Hooper’s one-take on Hathaway’s “I Dreamed a Dream” stands out from the others in the film, which is otherwise full of motif reprisals and rhyming couplets. That, combined, with Hathaway’s heavy-handed delivery (she pushes too hard so often – for example, on the climactic lyric involving “what it seeeemed” – and on a song this precise, that matters), it puts the audience at an immediate remove. It’s a stark contrast to the work of everyone, including Allen and Huddlestone. The celebrity seems intent on stepping outside the performance to say “See what I’m doing here!” (see also Sean Penn in I Am Sam); it’s her version of a Victor Cruz touchdown victory dance. Everything about her labored effort screams “Notice me!,” but the point is that her character is already resigned to the fact that no one ever will. Even the attention-starved Kardashians would watch her and think, “That’s over-the-top.”
Much of this criticism is for naught. The die-hard fans will love the chance to hear their beloved songs again and fresh audiences may love to see their stars sing, regardless of their effect. But despite the characters plights, Misérables should remain an uplifting experience. In opting for a slavish realism, Hooper has weighed the musical down in grime, grit and grimace, and the result is hollow, lacking in soul. Dramatic for the sake of being dramatic, a too-serious Misérables forgets the importance of being earnest.
Russell Crowe is a hard-hitting Englishman in ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’
There’s a certain logic problem with the notion of a slave, freed by his owner and yet forced to flee because of an accident, ending up shipwrecked on the coast of China. In other words, leave your disbelief at the door, because that is how RZA’s “Blacksmith” came to be in Jungle Village in China, making weapons for the clans that war on one another there. Along the way he spent time with monks, learning patience and inner strength, both of which he will need as the story progresses.
The Man With the Iron Fists is a collaboration between RZA and Eli Roth and springs from the former’s infatuation with Kung Fu films and Asian philosophy. Aided by an un-credited Quentin Tarantino, the duo came up with a film that is thoroughly enjoyable and truly action-packed, provided you can suspend disbelief prior to taking your seat.
The Blacksmith is in love with “Lady Silk” (Jamie Chung), who toils in the brothel known as the Pink Blossom, owned and run by “Madame Blossom” (Lucy Liu). They want to save enough money to leave Jungle Village. Fate intervenes when the Governor arranges to have the Lion clan’s leader, “Gold Lion” (Kuan Tai Chen), guard a shipment of gold being sent to provision troops fighting far from the capitol city. However Gold Lion’s subordinates “Silver Lion” (Byron Mann) and “Bronze Lion” (Cung Le) decide this is time for a change in leadership and plan to take the gold for themselves, aided by a shadowy figure.
Gold Lion’s son “Zen Yi, the X Blade” (Yune) learns of his father’s death and vows to avenge him. The new Lion leadership knows they cannot defeat him so they engage “Brass Body” (WWE star Bautista), who is impervious to the blades of Zen Yi, to kill him. He is defeated in combat but escapes before being killed and the Blacksmith and Lady Silk rescue him. They plan to nurse him back to health. The Lions torture the Blacksmith to learn the location of Zen Yi and when he won’t talk, cut off his forearms to prevent him from making any weapons ever again.
Jamie Chung in ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’
This is when the Englishman, “Jack Knife” (Crowe), who has been hanging out at the Pink Blossom and enjoying all of its delights, steps in. He helps the Blacksmith and ends up assisting in the process of forging the new forearms that give Blacksmith the “Iron Fists” of the title. Then revenge and control of the gold becomes the focus of all of the key characters. Time is of the essence, because a large force of elite government troops is en route to re-take possession of the governor’s gold and get it to the North.
Modern music, sunglasses, and other touches mix modern times with an older era. This isn’t a new concept (A Knight’s Tale comes to mind), but it’s done well in The Man with the Iron Fists. The storyline and its multiple character arcs are easily followed, interesting and hold the viewer’s attention. The acting by Crowe, Yune, Mann and Lucy Liu is first rate. The always excellent Gordon Liu has a brief role that would have benefitted from expansion.
Unfortunately, while RZA delivers a good directorial debut, his biggest mistake was casting himself in the title role. He just doesn’t have the acting chops yet to carry a lead, even in a ‘fu’ film. And while the fight sequences are brilliantly choreographed and were clearly well executed in filming, the editing and close-ups in how they ended up on screen is less than optimal.
Some added suspension of disbelief is required. The Blacksmith’s iron fist feature flexible fingers, something that wasn’t possible in that era, and is still problematic even today. The weight of two such appendages forged of heavy iron would require incredible strength and balance just to walk or do anything ordinary, let alone engage in unarmed combat. But these issues can be easily ignored in favor of the exciting action that the audience is treated to.
The homages to masterpieces of martial arts are a treat. A quick mirror scene and the notion of the Blacksmith, Jack Knife and Zen Yi working together are reminiscent of Enter the Dragon. RZA himself says that his use of music was inspired by the late Isaac Hayes. The typical aerial, wire work reminds us of countless masterpieces of Chinese martial-arts movies.
This is a fun film… as long as you don’t think too hard about the logic.
Russell Crowe may be stepping into Marlon Brando’s shoes as Superman’s dad in ‘Man of Steel’
The cast of the latest big screen adventure for the man in blue tights has been just plain stellar so far, and could get even better.
Variety reported on Wednesday that Robin Hoodhimself, Russell Crowe, is chatting with Warner Bros. about taking on the role of Jor-El. The famed father of Superman himself, Clark Kent (a.k.a. Kal-El), is a role famously played by Marlon Brando in the Christopher Reeves films (one for which he scored a big paycheck for appearing onscreen for only a few minutes).
It isn’t clear what kind of role Jor-El would actually play in the reboot. Although he’ll likely be seen only in flashbacks or some-such story-telling device, Crowe is a good fit.
Casting such a recognizable star is a nice homage to the Superman tradition. Smallville did something similar, casting Terrance Stamp as the voice of Jor-El in that series. Not exactly a star with the same stature as Brando, Stamp played Zod in the first two Reeves movies.
Julian Sands played a young version of Jor-El in the series. Although again not exactly a well known star, genre fans no doubt were familiar with the Warlock actor.
Personally, I like the touch of possibly having Crowe in there. He’s a strong actor and a great counter-point to Kevin Costner, who will play Superman’s adopted father, Pa Kent.
Crowe would be joining Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, Michael Shannon as General Zod, and Henry Cavill as the title superhero.
