Movie #357 - Last Action Hero

Last Action Hero
1993 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 10 min
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Austin O'Brien, Art Carney, Tom Noonan, Anthony Quinn, Ian McKellan, Mercedes Ruehl

Boy Movie Alert!  This is a total 90s boy movie.  Ugh.

Ok, it's cool in that the action scenes kick total butt.  Rad.  Also, who doesn't love a good Ah-nold movie rife with Terminator references, right? 

But a magic movie ticket that transports you into the movie? I don't know guys.  This premise is a bit thin.  (I know, this from the chick who likes Lake House. Fine).  It is pretty funny that the characters in the movie don't know they're not real... not until one Arnold meets the other on the red carpet. Eek!  And oh look, Maria Shriver!

It's a cool idea if you're a boy (or nostalgic about when you loved this movie as a young boy) and the action scenes are pretty good. End of story.

Movie #283 - The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass
2007 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 53 min
Director: Chris Weitz
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellan, Eva Green, Sam Elliott, Ian McShane, Christopher Lee, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kathy Bates

First thing's first, this movie is not as good as the book. More so than usual.  I mean, the book is always better. But in this case, the changes and edits they made in the screenplay really messed up the story line.

If you haven't read these books, I highly recommend them.  The Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman establishes a fantasy world that's truly unique.  The daemon/souls, the parallel worlds, the alethiometer.  I loved these books even as an adult.  And I wish the movie had done a better job so they'd make all three.  The first one isn't even the best one. 

While the movie is fine as a stand-alone, it's a poor substitute for the book.

Movie #151 - The DaVinci Code

The DaVinci Code
Columbia Pictures
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 29 min
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno, Ian McKellan, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina

Finally the prequel movie (or sequel book) to Angels & Demons has come up on the way.  I know it's almost cliche these days, but I'm a fan of Robert Langdon and his adventures, as well as his token female adventure partner.  Actually, I like Sophie the most of the two of them.

So here we are on the hunt for DaVinci's clues across Europe, uncovering deep and dark Christian secrets, and blowing the lid of the life of Christ.  Interesting to think how much of this is true - which many speculated when the book first hit shelves, but that's long since died down.  Now, most people just enjoy it for the adventure and the mystery of it all. 

Some argue that the movie's too long. Maybe it is. But with book to movie adaptations, there's no pleasing everyone.  Overall, I think this captures the tone of the book, which is the part we all like, which makes this a good adaptation in my opinion.