Movie #411 - The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

2006 (TV) - 1 hr 32 min
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Starring: Noah Wylie, Bob Newhart, Gabrielle Anwar, Jane Curtain, Olympia Dukakis, Lisa Brenner, Jonathan Frakes, Erick Avari

More Noah Wylie, but a new chick this time.  And she's a professor, so she can actually argue with him about things and keep him on his toes.  She also happens to be Fiona from Burn Notice. Hey there.

The rest of the cast is back, but Nicole just isn't there anymore.  Okay. She must've been filming Lost, right? So we've got Newhart and Curtain, and a stubborn Excalibur trying to kill Noah Wylie just because. And now there's a shady "uncle" and a little more backstory about the dad.  The journey to Solomon's Mines was just as fun as the first movie's adventure, but again, the real story here was more specific to Flynn Carter's personal journey.  Unravelling those mysteries, and seeing the "uncle's" true colors were more engaging for me.

But it's a fun adventure, so if you like that kind of geek-ery, this one's for you.

Movie #361 - The 13th Warrior

The 13th Warrior
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich, John DeSantis, Clive Russell, Omar Sharif, Erick Avari, Tony Curran

I'm not a huge Beowulf fan, I have to admit. So the idea of yet another retelling of this age-old epic was bumming me out.  Even if it does star Antonio Banderas. Even if it was written by Jurassic Park genius Michael Crichton.  Add the director of the Die Hard franchise and you'd think I'd be sold.

What does win me over on this movie is the concept of the re-imagined tale, the story behind the myth viewpoint. A kind of Wicked makeover for The Wizard of Oz.  Told from the perspective of an unlikely compatriot to Beowulf (who gets a new, weird name in this version), the Grendel myth has real roots... it's a cult-like group that is raising hell.  Kill 'em and you're the hero.  Simple enough. 

There's nothing revolutionary here, but it's still appealing in a new way.  This is one version of the epic that turns things just the right way and reexamines them in a way that's more interesting.  Okay, Crichton? You got me.