Movie #400 - The Legend of Zorro

The Legend of Zorro

2005 - Rated PG - 2 hr 9 min
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell, Adrian Alonso, Michael Emerson, Shuler Hensley, Alberto Reyes

I kinda wish I could watch The Mask of Zorro before watching this one, it's sequel. But the rules say alphabetical, so who am I to argue?

Anyway, having seen both movies several times, there was no problem watching them backwards -- or several weeks apart.  Here, Zorro and family are 10 years in and there's trouble brewing in his marriage.  Zeta-Jones divorces him, he barely knows his little boy, and the new step-dad prospect is also the bad guy.  Dun dun DUN!

So, Antonio Banderas reprises his very fun interpretation of the masked avenger and makes this one just as enjoyable as the first time around.  Sure, it's no black-and-white TV show, but the integrity, the sword-fighting, and the charm of this iconic character are well preserved and very much alive.  Lots of fun to watch :)

PS - I just hit 400 movies!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Movie #347 - A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale
2001 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 12 min
Director: Brian Helgeland
Starring: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Alan Tudyk, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, James Purefoy

Heath! I miss Heath Ledger!

Once I got over my initial grief, I remembered how mixed my feelings were about this movie. It has all the right things to make it a fun story with a great cast. But the random rock music and the "beautiful" chick who really isn't that pretty... ugh. It's got it's weak points. And I think a lot of people discredit it completely for these shortcomings.  In truth, Ledger's great and the story is a heartwarming one.  It's no worse than any other adventure/comedy/light period movie.

Except for the damn rock music.  It almost seems like they tried to hard to make it unique, when they didn't need to at all.  For what it's worth, I actually don't despise this movie. It's not a favorite, but it was fun to revist and see Heath's effortless acting at play once again.

Movie #297 - The Illusionist

The Illusionist
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Neil Burger
Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewell

A little bit of misdirection goes a long way, as illustrated by this film about an illusionist.  The love story at the center (Norton and Biel) is strong and drives the whole plot, even without you realizing it at first.  I won't give too much away, but all the magic stuff is just gravy.  Fun to watch, sure, but this is really a story about love.

Rufus Sewell doesn't add much more than his usual sinisterness.  And Paul Giamatti does well as the main investigator and narrator.  The Austrian accents really get me down, since no one seems to be able to do them very well.  It doesn't enhance the story, just makes it harder to understand the dialogue.  Overall, this isn't the strongest movie based on magic nor is it the strongest performance given by any of the four main actors.  But for its originality, I like it.

Movie #144 - Dark City

Dark City
New Line Cinema
1998 - Not Rated - 1 hr 40 min
Director: Alex Proyas
Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt

What's up, creepy movie? I see you have a pretty cool cast (even if Kiefer has a super annoying over-breathy speech thing as Dr. Schreber). I also see that you use of the word "dark" is not only symbolic, but also an accurate description of the lighting used in each shot.  At times, you look like a black and white film.

Mike loves this movie and I think it's a pretty cool concept.  Heavy, but cool.  Messed up memories that are planted in your head in a nightmare world, plus telekinetic aliens who want our souls.  That's twisted. Who comes up with these things? Oh, this director guy wrote it, so I bet he's pretty messed up.

Watch this one for something thought provoking, just don't get up to get the popcorn without pausing it. You'll be really confused if you miss even a moment.