Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes : An Illustrated Filmography, Volume II (1996-2016) [1 ed.] 9781476629858, 9780786496853

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Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes Volume II (1996–2016)

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Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes An Illustrated Filmography, Volume II (1996–2016) Kim R. HolSton and tom WincHeSteR

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina

AlSo oF inteReSt by Kim R. HolSton (one WitH tom WincHeSteR ; one WitH WARRen Hope) Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911– 1973 (2013); The Shakespeare Controversy: An Analysis of the Authorship Theories, 2d. ed. (2009), by Warren Hope and Kim R. Holston; The Marching Band Handbook, 3d ed. (2004); Susan Hayward: Her Films and Life (2002; softcover 2009); Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes: An Illustrated Filmography with Plot Synopses and Critical Commentary, Volume I, by Kim R. Holston and tom Winchester (1997; softcover 2016); The English-Speaking Cinema: An Illustrated History, 1927–1993 (1994); Starlet: Biographies, Filmographies, TV Credits and Photos of 54 Famous and Not So Famous Leading Ladies of the Sixties (1988; paperback 2000)

coauthor tom Winchester died november 1, 2016, while completing the final stages of the manuscript

oRiginAl libraRy oF congReSS cAtAloguing -in-publicAtion DAtA (Volume i)

Holston, Kim R., 1948– Science fiction, fantasy and horror film sequels, series and remakes : an illustrated filmography, with plot synopses and critical commentary / by Kim R. Holston and tom Winchester. p. cm. includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-9685-3 (softcover : acid free paper) ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-2985-8

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1. Science fiction films—catalogs. 2. Fantastic films—catalogs. 3. Horror films—catalogs. 4. motion picture sequels. 5. motion picture remakes. i. Winchester, tom. ii. title. pn1995.9.S26H59 2016 016.79143'615—dc21 96-51433 bRitiSH libraRy cAtAloguing DAtA ARe AVAilAble

© 2018 Kim R. Holston. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. on the cover milla Jovovich in Resident Evil: Afterlife, 2010 (Sony pictures/photofest) printed in the united States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com

to the memory of: thomas e. Winchester (1949–2016), valued friend and collaborator with a first class mind

AcKnoWleDgmentS our grateful thanks for opinions, technical assistance and otherwise stimulating conversation about and insight into the cinema of the fantastic to courtney Holston-phillips, timothy phillips, Warren Hope, Harry Potter enthusiast extraordinaire caroline Williston, Stephen miller, John Reese, bree lankford, michael betz, Jennifer brown, melissa gliniewicz, Robert castle, and chester county library staff Stephanie Sharon, Jessica Williams, Zoey mills, Jamie claxton, Vera orthlieb, and barbara Fried. the microfilm collection at the Francis Harvey green library at West chester university was another resource. As usual, nancy Holston was a most superb sounding board and adviser.

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tAble oF contentS Acknowledgments Preface

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1

Introduction

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tHe FilmS 5 Bibliography Index

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pReFAce this book catalogs and evaluates the theatrical versions of 334 science fiction, fantasy and supernatural horror films released from 1996 through 2016. As with Volume i, movies of merely mental aberration, e.g., Saw, Wrong Turn, are not included. nor are such “thrillers”—or spoofs— as many James bond and other secret agent adventures whose gadgets might lead some to classify them as science fiction. besides sequels, remakes, true series, and now reboots (sometimes equated with “remake,” otherwise considered a reimagining of the original), we include films in which the character that appeared in one film resurfaces in another that is not (yet) a prequel or sequel, e.g., batman in Suicide Squad, or a film in which a character with only one film to his or her credit makes a token appearance, e.g., Ant-man in Captain America: Civil War. our basic criteria for inclusion remain the same as in Volume 1: the progenitor movie must be a live-action, theatrical, english-language sound film. tV movies and tV movie sequels to theatrical films are not included. in our first outing we eschewed most made-for-video/cable films because we didn’t trust their production values and because we had the suspicion—or knew for a fact—that studios had second thoughts about a theatrical release. Although purists at heart, we included a few video-only sequels, series, and remakes. So it is here. if the reader wonders why some bad movies have synopses as detailed or more so than good films, it’s because we have followed the perambulations of the plot. Some plots whisk the audience hither and yon and back again, which may be symptomatic of fuzzy writing, or, in the best-case scenario, the film’s epic qualities, e.g., The Fellowship of the Ring. if a film has been remade since our first edition, we include that original and its sequel, remake or reboot. examples include The Day the Earth Stood Still, Jack and the Beanstalk, The War of the Worlds, 13 Ghosts, The Time Machine, Pete’s Dragon, The Fog, and Escape from New York. We break our criteria with respect to Richard matheson’s novel I Am Legend to include the italian (but starring Vincent price) 1964 version, The Last Man on Earth, followed in 1971 by The Omega Man, and the state-of-the-art-special effects version of 2007. House on Haunted Hill (1959) is at heart a mere murder mystery, but the sequel is not. We include both. often there is a fine line between horror and science fiction and even fantasy. As noted, horror here is supernatural. Fantasy is something that neither happened nor would be expected to occur: magic, myth, and fairytale. Science fiction is possible, even probable. Where does King Kong fit? Science fiction, fantasy or both? Are dinosaurs and mammoths still science fiction? What if, as in Jurassic Park, scientists could resurrect them via DnA manipulation? What of mutants? yesterday they were science fiction. today, maybe. tomorrow? note: full synopses—“spoilers” perhaps in modern parlance—are our rule, as they were in Volume i. this is a historical examination of films that have been released, not teasers in which readers are left with cliffhanger climaxes. it’s often difficult to recall plot elements without rewatching a film, and even otherwise excellent cinema websites rarely provide a movie’s whole storyline. 1

2 • Preface

Note on Reviews in keeping with the changing times and the flowering of the internet with its plethora of websites for every conceivable subject, we cite reviews from the sites devoted to genre movies, e.g., www.chud.com, www.hollywoodgothique.com, as well as more general cinema sites, e.g., www.boxoffice.com, www.cinemaretro.com. on occasion we use such respected encyclopedic guides and surveys as The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, and John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again. As before, 99 percent of the reviews are contemporary with the release of the film. our own rating system is somewhat arbitrary. After all, is ★½ really any better than ★? A film scores some points for not being boring. the ratings are as follows:

★ = poor ★★ = fair ★★★ = good ★★★ bomb = so bad it’s good (a guilty pleasure) ★★★★ = excellent note that a ★★½-star feature, while above the half-way point in a 4-star system—

and acceptable to many reviewers—constitutes for us a disappointment, a film we’d generally not watch twice.

Although we ourselves are “genre” fans, we are fairly indifferent to the videogame scene and thus to films inspired by that realm unless the stories are compelling. We are bored by the pervasive and excessive jumping, spinning and leaping as well as the invulnerability to or quick recovery from horrendous injuries by many of the human characters in those and superhero films. Having seen so many movies, we are less likely to hand out 4-star ratings—but more likely to grant 3½ stars, e.g., The Avengers duo and Guardians of the Galaxy. We certainly understand those who view them as excellent, and upon reflection or a future viewing, might increase the rating ourselves.

About the Arrangement this book is arranged as an alphabetical listing of original films—that is, each alphabetically listed entry is the first in a series, or the original work that spawned one or more remakes. beneath the original film, its offspring are listed in chronological order. Any sequel or remake whose title departs from that the parent film has been cross-referenced to the original (e.g., Freddy vs. Jason see under nightmare on elm Street). these cross-references should prove especially helpful in cases where a sequel or remake attained more recognition than the original. For example, many people are familiar with the 2007 movie I Am Legend, but few may be aware that the novel of the same name was filmed in 1964 under the title The Last Man on Earth. For this reason, anyone searching our i section for I Am Legend will find a cross-reference to its precursors: i Am legend see under the last man on earth. Ditto The Omega Man. those who have trouble remembering exact titles but can recall a “hook” word or phrase— “What were all those films about that nasty kid named Damien?”—will find help in the book’s index (where the entry “Damien” leads the searcher to The Omen remake). Hopefully you’ll find this sequel easy to use and turn to it the way audiences and filmmakers turn to their favorite fantastic subjects: again and again!

intRoDuction Volume i surveyed 64 years of cinema history and identified more than 400 feature films that spawned or were spawned by other movies in the cinema of the fantastic. this volume covers 1996 through 2016 and the pace has quickened: 334 in only 21 years. in addition to “Hollywood’s” desire to wring as much remuneration from a franchise as possible, it has become easier for anyone with a modicum of talent or chutzpah to make a feature-length movie that need not look cheesy. lighter cameras, color film, and cgi (computer-generated imagery) permit a professional look that can shroud a deficient, often nonsensical script. As The Blair Witch Project attests, film students and novices can hit a homerun with limited resources. besides the technical improvements, what have been the trends of the past two decades? (1) Superheroes and superheroines, often based on the characters from Dc and marvel comics, have risen to the fore. (2) Special effects, notably cgi, make the superhero and his exploits look real. A whole panoply of characters—monsters, ghosts, aliens, dragons, and people—plus environments can be realistically created. Special computer-generated effects being what they are, we are in the midst of a golden age of superhero movies. the films themselves run the gamut, bad to good, memorable to forgettable. Superman, batman, Spider-man, these are first-rate blockbusters. there have been a couple of high-dollar misfires. Fantastic Four from 2015 was one, but not many outright flops come to mind in this oeuvre. (3) blood and guts are pervasive, especially in horror movies. the slasher film began with the mentally unbalanced (non-supernatural) killers of Peeping Tom (1960), Psycho (1960), Homicidal (1961), and Blood Feast (1963), but took on distinctly supernatural attributes in series begun by Halloween (1978) and Friday the 13th (1980) and continues today. As befits a conflicted society, it remains permissible to decapitate, hack up and impale characters and receive a pg-13 rating but less than feasible to present nudity, which will necessitate the R-rating that restricts the film to those over 16 (thus cutting into profits).

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tHe fiLMs Absent-Minded Professor

overhead. Weebo goes to sara’s house to make amends for brainard before sara agrees to a sky ride. this is how they save the school from bankruptcy, says sara, but back home Chester offers brainard a deal: he’ll forget the school’s debt if the prof helps him exploit flubber. brainard is not keen on this, and Hoenicker’s goons steal the flubber canister while battering Weebo, who succumbs in brainard’s presence. He tells sara he can’t fix Weebo, can’t bring back the life she was. on the PC, sara and brainard find the female hologram Weebo had created and are told the complete design is in a file. Weebette can be constructed. brainard flies to Hoenicker’s and says he’s willing to sell flubber, but he’s told Hoenicker’s man—Wilson—is working on it. during the ensuing dispute, brainard lets flubber loose whereupon it knocks Hoenicker into his flower pond and is swallowed by Wilson, who then ejects it through his pants. so brainard gets flubber back and the newspaper headline reads, “Professor brainard saves College.” With the help of Weebette, brainard marries sara remotely just before another explosion wrecks his lab. flubber shoots into the air, frightening for the second time a neighborhood child. Reviews: roger ebert called it “pretty slow, flat and dumb.” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, november 26, 1997); the New York Times said it failed to take advantage of robin Williams, who “sometimes seems on the verge of ‘Aladdin’-caliber improvisation…” but is bogged down by a fiancée and various thugs ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, november 26, 1997, p. e8). Analysis: it might behoove someone to delve into our subconscious because here is anthropomorphism run amok. this flubber can respond to questions and perform tasks. for all intents and purposes, it’s sentient. does it have a soul? does Weebo, the levitating, robotic personal assistant have one, too? the film reminds one of Homeward Bound (1993), the remake of The Incredible Journey (1963). rex Allen narrated the latter, i.e., the two dogs and a cat did not speak. in Homeward Bound the animals were voiced by Michael J. fox, sally field and don Ameche. this tact shows a lack of imaginative facility—by the filmmakers and the audience. As Variety might have said, this is strictly for moppets, maybe moppets without imagination or, more accurately, an audience not given the opportunity to use it. for adults who remember the charming original, it is quite unbearable. Who has a basement lab with gamma ray capability?

see Volume i for The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963), two of disney’s very enjoyable and successful comedies with fred MacMurray as the scientist who created the amazing substance that allowed people to jump higher, kick farther and drive cars through the air.

(Walt disney Pictures/Great oaks, 1997; 93 min.) ★½

Flubber

Produced by John Hughes, ricardo Mestres. directed by Les Mayfield. screenplay by John Hughes, bill Walsh. based on a story by samuel W. taylor. edited by Harvey rosenstock, Michael A. stevenson. director of Photography, dean Cundey. Panavision. technicolor. sound, Agamemnon Andrianos. Music by danny elfman. Production design, Andrew McAlpine. Art direction, James e. tocci. set decoration, daniel May. Costumes by April ferry. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by dream Quest images. Cast: Professor Philip brainard (robin Williams), sara Jean reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden), Wilson Croft (Christopher Mcdonald), Chester Hoenicker (raymond barry), smith (Clancy brown), Wesson (ted Levine), bennett Hoenicker (Wil Wheaton), Martha George (edie McClurg), Weebo ( Jodi benson voice), Weebette ( Julie Morrison voice), flubber (scott Martin Gershin voice). Synopsis: Professor Philip brainard is a true absent-minded professor, forgetting to arrive for his wedding to sara reynolds on two separate occasions. He’s about to miss the third because an explosion in his basement lab spawns a green, jelly-like elastomer that divides and propels itself and anything to which it is attached at tremendous velocity. it’s like flying rubber. “it’s flubber!” With brainard a no-show at the church, his unscrupulous academic rival Wilson Croft consoles sara. in his lab, brainard employs gamma rays to control flubber. finally realizing he’s missed his wedding, he attempts to apologize but sara brushes him off. Another problem about to bite him involves bennett Hoenicker, the Medford College student who’s been kicked off the basketball team after getting an f from brainard. Like Croft, bennett’s father Chester is another unsavory fellow who will not stand for this and sends two goons to dig up dirt on brainard. After installing flubber in his car and flying over town, brainard discusses his discovery with his levitating robot, Weebo. Another brainstorm! Attach flubber to the basketball players’ shoes and defeat rival rutland. Chester Hoenicker begins to believe his minions about the strange stuff in brainard’s basement when he sees the professor’s car flying

ALiCe in WonderLAnd see Volume i for Alice in Wonderland (1931), Alice in Wonderland (1933), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1972).

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6 • Alice in Wonderland

(Walt disney Pictures, 2010; 108 min.) ★★★

Alice in Wonderland

Produced by richard d. Zanuck, Joe roth, suzanne todd, Jennifer todd. directed by tim burton. screenplay by Linda Woolverton. based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. edited by Chris Lebenzon. director of Photography, dariusz Wolski. Panavision. technicolor. Music by danny elfman. “Alice” sung by Avril Lavigne. Production design, robert stromberg. Art direction, todd Cherniawsky, Andrew L. Jones, Mike stassi, Christina Wilson. set decoration, Karen o’Hara. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. Makeup by Valli o’reilly. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Additional Visual effects by CafefX. Cast: Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska), Mad Hatter ( Johnny depp), red Queen (Helena bonham Carter), White Queen (Anne Hathaway), stayne, Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover), tweedledee and tweedledum (Matt Lucas), Absolem the Caterpillar (Alan rickman), bayard the bloodhound (timothy spall), tall flower faces (imelda staunton), White rabbit (Michael sheen, voice), Cheshire Cat (stephen fry, voice), dormouse (barbara Windsor, voice), Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee, voice), March Hare (Paul Whitehouse), Charles Kingsleigh (Martin Csokas), Young Alice (Mairi ella Challen), Aunt imogene (frances de la tour), Hamish (Leo bill), Lord Ascot (tim Pigott-smith), Lady Ascot (Geraldine James), Margaret Kingsleigh ( Jemma Powell), dodo bird (Michael Gough, voice). Synopsis: When his young daughter Alice tells her father she sees strange things, he insists they are but dreams that everybody who’s anybody has. thirteen years later that young girl is now 19 and betrothed of a sort to Hamish, a young Lord. she mildly rejects his proposal in front of a gathering of the well-to-do and runs off after a mysterious white rabbit. Peering into a large hole by a tree stump, she falls in. swallowing from a bottle labeled “drink Me,” she shrinks, but a lozenge labeled “eat Me” causes her to grow giant. Unheard by her is someone or some thing arguing with another that this is not the right Alice. drinking a little more, she shrinks to the right size to negotiate a door into a fantastical and colorful world. “Curiouser and curiouser,” she muses as she walks along. she meets that White rabbit in the company of two round fellows, tweedledum and tweedledee, who escort her to Absolem the caterpillar. He explains the oraculum, a compendium showing what she’ll be doing there. she tells herself she’ll wake up, but no, she and her party are attacked by a toothy bandersnatch and playing card-shaped beings. As she flees, a man on horseback finds a scroll, and a large bird swoops down and carries off tweedledum and tweedledee to the castle of the frightful red Queen. stayne, the horseman, arrives with the scroll. it indicates that Alice will kill the Queen’s Jabberwocky. He is given a bloodhound to track the girl. in the forest at night, Alice meets a large cat that can matrialize at will. it takes her to the White rabbit and the Hatter’s tea party near a rundown windmill. Hatter thinks she’s the right Alice and speaks of the return of the White Queen. When horses are heard, Hatter gives Alice another shrinking potion and hides her in the teapot. nevertheless, the bloodhound finds her, but at a word from Hatter lopes off in another direction. After stayne leaves, Hatter places Alice on his hat brim and marches off, telling her of the White Queen’s large garden party. that affair was interrupted by the Jabberwocky and stayne, who took an all-important sword and left a fiery ruin in his wake. back in the present, Hatter and Alice hear a dog and men on their trail led by the red Knight (stayne). running to a large pool, Hatter puts the still miniature Alice on his hat brim and tosses it across

the water. Alice spends the night under the hat before being roused by bayard the bloodhound, who tells her that Hatter has been taken to the red Queen’s castle. Alice must prepare to meet the Jabberwocky. “i make the path!” she cries. With bayard’s help, Alice enters the castle and finds the red Queen playing golf with a flamingo as a club and a hedgehog as the ball. the White rabbit provides Alice with more growth food and she rises rather tall behind the hedge, where the red Queen quizzes her and hears that this visitor is from Umbrage. taken to the court and given suitable clothes, Alice observes tweedledum and tweedledee endeavoring to entertain the queen. A suspicious stayne appears, followed by Hatter, who tells the queen he can improve her headgear. bayard, meanwhile, tells the White Queen about Alice. the queen tells bayard that they now have a champion. in the red Queen’s gardens, Alice finds Hatter’s hat. inside the castle, the red Queen and stayne discuss the past and the king, and the queen says, “she had to do it.” Alice finds Hatter chained to a table making multiple hats. “Have i gone mad?” he asks. Alice responds, “You’re entirely bonkers” but with the caveat that so are all the best people. the White rabbit reluctantly shows her the enclosure where the bandersnatch guards the sacred sword. from dormouse, Alice gives back to the bandersnatch the right eye it had lost during their first encounter. she falls asleep. in the castle, Hatter tries various headpieces on the red Queen, and the latter is quietly told by a lady in waiting that she’d seen stayne telling Alice he liked largeness. back in the enclosure, Alice wakes and observes on the bandersnatch’s collar the key to unlocking the sword. After the creature licks her arm scratches, she procures the key and obtains the sword. Accused by the red Queen, stayne says that Alice is obsessed with him. “off with her head!” the bandersnatch rescues Alice and they find bayard and journey quickly to the White Queen’s castle, where the sword is presented to the monarch. A champion is needed to slay the Jabberwocky. the queen mixes up a concoction and Alice returns to her normal size. in the garden that night, Absolem tells her she is almost Alice now and suggests keeping the sword at hand. the Cheshire cat visits the imprisoned Hatter and admires his hat. in the morning, Hatter and dormouse are sent to the chopping block, but when the executioner swings his axe, Hatter’s hat wafts into the air and Hatter appears beside the red Queen. He informs her of toadies and urges all to rise up. the red Queen cries, “release the dodo bird!” the people scatter as the bird swoops into the courtyard. the Jabberwocky is to be prepared next. Hatter, dormouse, tweedledum, tweedledee, and bayard’s family find safety at the White Queen’s castle, and the Cheshire cat materializes with Hatter’s hat. on the balcony that evening, Hatter tells Alice that the following day will be vastly important. Alice still thinks she’s dreaming, which confounds Hatter, who understands that if that is so, he’s not real. day dawns and the scroll is unraveled. Alice is to be champion, but she runs off and encounters Absolem transforming. before he is completely gone he tells her she is “Alice at last.” she’d called this place Wonderland when she was a child. At the seaside, the red Queen and White Queen’s forces face each other under a darkling sky. sword in hand, Alice comes forth in armor. the red Queen vents her spleen, telling her sister she has right of rule because “i am the eldest!” the armies join battle. Alice, chased up into the ruins of a castle, cuts off the Jabberwocky’s head. A minion of the red Queen announces, “We follow you no more, bloody big head.” the crown is placed upon the White Queen by the Cheshire cat. the red Queen and stayne are banished. Hatter dances. Jabberwocky blood is given to Alice. if she chooses, drinking it will send her home. “You things to do. she drinks the blood. Climbing back out of the rabbit hole and returning to the engagement party, she tells Hamish the marriage is off. With her almost-father-in-law, she discusses creating a

Alien: Resurrection • 7 trade route to China. After all, they already have a foothold in Hong Kong. Later, Alice boards the Wonder and sets sail as a butterfly appears on her shoulder. “Hello, Absolem.” Reviews: The Guardian discovered some fun “but for me the weightless, frictionless, whimsical world of fantasy is often, frankly, dull.” despite the “funkily crepuscular mood…” it was rather conventional (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, March 4, 2010); the New York Times called it “busy, garish and periodically amusing….” Helena bonham Carter was singled out for praise as a character who “rocks the house and the movie.” depp really didn’t have much to do (Manohla dargis, New York Times, March 4, 2010). Analysis: the leading lady seems a curious choice unless the filmmakers consciously chose not to make Alice sparkling. (do we not miss the days of ravishing british beauties like Claire bloom, Jean simmons, dana Wynter and Joan Collins?) Helena bonham Carter is excellent as the red Queen. it can certainly be complimented as an inspiration for adolescent girls to take control of their own destinies.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (Walt disney Pictures, 2016; 108 min.) ★½

Produced by tim burton, Joe roth, Jennifer todd, suzanne todd. directed by James bobbin. screenplay by Linda Woolverton. based on characters created by Lewis Carroll. edited by Andrew Weisblum. director of Photography, stuart dryburgh. Color. Music by danny elfman. Production design, dan Hennah. Art direction, nick Gottschalk, Alex Cameron, richard selway. set decoration, Anna Lynchrobinson, ra Vincent. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks. Visual effects by double negative Ltd. Cast: Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska), Mad Hatter ( Johnny depp), blue Caterpillar (Alan rickman, voice), White Queen (Anne Hathaway), red Queen (Helena bonham Carter), time (sacha baron Cohen), White rabbit (Michael sheen, voice), Wilkins (toby Jones, voice), Addison bennett (Andrew scott), James Harcourt (ed speleers), Zanik Hightopp (rhys ifans), bayard (timothy spall, voice), Cheshire cat (stephen fry, voice), tweedledum/tweedledee (Matt Lucas), Helen Kingsleigh (Lindsay duncan), Aunt imogene (frances de la tour), Lady Ascot (Geraldine James), Hamish (Leo bill), dormouse (barbara Windsor, voice), March Hare (Paul Whitehouse, voice), Princess iracebeth/Young red Queen (Leilah de Meza), Synopsis: 1874: the straits of Malacca. Alice Kingsleigh pilots the Wonder away from pursuing pirates and returns to england, arriving in 1875. to her immense displeasure, former fiancée Hamish has almost talked her mother into selling the family’s shares in the Wonder in exchange for Mrs. Kingsleigh’s house. to further affront her, Hamish offers Alice a job as a clerk. storming out, Alice finds her old butterfly friend Absolem in the greenhouse and follows him into a room with a large mirror above the mantel. When she hears voices at the door, she follows Absolem through the looking glass. Hurrying on at Absolem’s request, she opens a door and falls through the sky into a garden where she reunites with the White Queen, the White rabbit, bayard the bloodhound, the Cheshire Cat, tweedledum and tweedledee, and dormouse. Alice is informed that Hatter is mad, that he’s grown darker. Locating Hatter’s home, Alice discovers that he’s upset over the death of his entire family due to the Jabberwocky. He perks up, thinking she can bring them back. she says no. He responds, “You are not you.” the White Queen tells Alice she can travel back in time if she meets time himself. that way she can save Hatter’s family. but time is pessimistic. nevertheless, Alice steals the Chronosphere and

begins her journey. the red Queen sees what’s happening. time follows Alice, who locates Hatter only to have him fail to recognize her. Meanwhile, iracebeth, the future red Queen, feels insulted when the crown her parents have authorized to be placed upon her rather large head cracks. Her tantrum causes the King to crown iracebeth’s sister Mirana instead. Later, or rather earlier in time, Mirana steals a tart, kicks the crumbs under her sister’s bed and blames iracebeth, who runs off, trips, and rams her head against a clock. Her head swells. Alice learns that Hatter’s family is alive, but after time confronts her, she flees back through the mirror and finds herself incarcerated in an asylum. she turns the tables on the doctor about to inject her and flees to the roof, leaps down onto the top of a carriage and returns through the mirror. she enters a fire scene and sees the Jabberwocky causing havoc before flying away with the red Queen. time soon arrives. Alice perks up Hatter and they enter the red Queen’s castle wherein reside his family—shrunken to the size of ants in an ant farm. the White Queen is captured. time speeds up. the red Queen and White Queen discuss their childhood and that day when the latter accused her sister of stealing the tart. Alice, meanwhile, knows she must replace the Chronosphere before everyone is turned to ash. When her sister says she’s sorry for the tart incident, the red Queen tells her that an apology was all she wanted. Although it seems as if everyone has been turned to ash—even Alice—a spark between the Chronosphere and its proper home causes it to drop and restart time. Alice returns to her home as her mother is about to sign away the Wonder. but her mother reneges and tears up the papers. Alice scans a map of the whole world, and she and her mother, now equals in the company of Kingsleigh and Kingsleigh, prepare to set sail. Reviews: the News Journal complimented some of the visuals but found fault with the daddy issues, Alice’s nonchalance, and scientific explanations (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal 55HOURSPLUS [Wilmington, de], May 27, 2016, p. 4Hr); roger ebert said, “this is not artistry. it’s con artistry.” (Matt Zoller seitz, www.rogerebert.com, May 24, 2016); Entertainment Weekly thought it was a feast for the eyes but bereft of resonance (Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly, June 3/10, 2016, p. 90). Analysis: About five minutes into this feature one has the sense that it’s not going to pick up. And so it is. for all the sailing, running, and flying over hill and dale and forbidding seas, this is a very boring movie.

ALien see Volume i for Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), and Alien3 (1992). see also: PredAtor .

(twentieth Century–fox, 1997; 109 min.) ★★★

Alien: Resurrection

Produced by Gordon Carroll, david Giler, Walter Hill, bill Vadalato. directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. screenplay by Joss Whedon. based on characters created by dan o’bannon and ronald shusett. edited by Hervé schneid. director of Photography, darius Khondji. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by John frizzell. sound, richard bryce Goodman. Production design, nigel Phelps. Art direction, Andrew neskoromny. set decoration, John M. dwyer. Costumes by bob ringwood. special effects supervisor, erik Henry. Alien effects design, Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. original Alien design, H.r.

8 • Alien: Resurrection Auriga has become uninhabitable. elgyn is killed by an alien before ripley shoots it. According to Wren, there are twelve more aliens on board. Although Call says ripley is untrustworthy, Christie maintains that they must stick together. retrieving the crippled Vriess, bound to an armed wheelchair, they head for the freight elevator. ripley senses the ship moving. its destination: earth—in three hours. she opens a hatch to a lab in which human and alien clones float in liquid. strapped to a palette, a woman with some of ripley’s features asks to be killed. ripley obliges with a flame thrower, which she then turns on the glass cases. the ship passes Jupiter. Men are found disembowSynopsis: UsM Auriga, Medical research Vessel, United systems eled. one man, Purvis, is alive but ripley sniffs him and says, “there’s Military. standing Crew: 42, enlisted, 7 science officers. A woman’s a monster in your chest.” How does she know? “i’m the monster’s voice warns, “My mommy always said there were no monsters, no real mother.” for the moment Purvis is allowed to accompany them. Vriess ones, but there are.” scientists aboard the Auriga remove a gruesome is removed from the wheelchair and strapped to Christie’s back. Movfetus from a human female, Host number 8. to their surprise, the ing on, the humans discover their way blocked by water in which they woman seems healthy and is sewn up. Upon awakening, she tries to must submerge and swim to the kitchen. two aliens follow, one killed strangle dr. Wren but is zapped and rendered unconscious. General by Christie, but Hillard is taken. the humans surface in a chamber Perez wants #8 to be terminated as she is/was ellen ripley, who two full of alien pods, and a facehugger springs onto ripley, who manages centuries before tried to destroy the alien creatures his crew and scito tear it off. Wren, first in line up the ladder, escapes on his own after entists are still attempting to breed and tame for urban pacification shooting Call, who falls into the water. Christie’s shells explode the and other dangerous roles. Awake, ripley, a clone of her original self, pods, but one of the full-grown aliens is upon them, climbing the is skeptical they can succeed. docking with the Auriga is The Betty, ladder and grasping his foot. because of Vriess, Christie has trouble Commercial freighter, standing Crew: 6, Unregistered. its captain, getting a good shot until one bullet enters the alien’s brain. However, elgyn, delivers to Perez capsules containing humans in cryogenic sleep its grasp continues and Christie sacrifices himself for Vriess, falling destined to be hosts for the alien pod “facehuggers.” elgyn’s surly crew into the water with the dead alien. At the top of the ladder, ripley and encounters ripley, shooting hoops with uncanny expertise. no one the survivors are astounded to find Call opening the hatch. ripley deseems to notice that her nosebleed begets an acidic smoke on the tects that she’s a robot because “no human is that humane.” Under deck. dr. Gediman antagonizes a full-grown alien through the safety two hours till earth, the survivors are worried about what Wren’s up glass and squirts it with freezing air when it becomes agitated. Annalee to. Call patches in manually to the ship via a line inserted into her arm. Call, elgyn’s girl, sneaks into ripley’s cell with a knife. she wants to ripley urges her to blow the Auriga but give them time to escape on know why ripley has been kept alive. ripley plunges the knife through The Betty. Purvis has a seizure but recovers. With only eighty-six minher palm with no apparent ill effects. Call terms ripley a thing, a lab utes left until they reach earth, Call clears a path to The Betty by openconstruct. Later, dr. Wren labels Call a terrorist, but elgyn and his ing all hatches in between, and she prevents Wren from getting to The crew stand off the soldiers. Meanwhile, two aliens fight each other Betty. ripley learns that Call came here to kill her and asks, “You’re and one is killed, the acid in its blood breaking through multiple levels programmed to be an asshole?” on the way to The Betty, ripley says, of the ship. When Gediman investigates, he is taken. elgyn plans on “i hear them.” the “queen” is in pain. Claws reach up and pull the retreating to The Betty. Perez allows an alien to crawl into an escape grate down. ripley falls into the coils of the alien queen. Meanwhile, capsule with some of his men and tosses in a grenade before the Wren gets the drop on Call but is killed when Purvis charges him, capsule is ejected into space and explodes. Perez is unaware of the his chest exploding and the young alien shooting through Wren’s alien behind him. the communication system announces that the back and head. it is shot to pieces. below, Gediman, encased in the alien nest, explains that there is no longer a host, only “her” womb and the creature inside. in short, there is a human reproductive system in the queen alien. “You are a beautiful, beautiful butterfly,” says Gediman when a totally new creature emerges. Apparently revolted by its birth mother, the newborn monstrosity slashes off the top of the queen’s head. As for ripley, it licks her face. Hearing Gediman, it bites off most of his head. ripley climbs and runs for The Betty, leaping onto the ramp before it is closed. one hatch is not secure so Call goes to fix it but encounters the newborn and takes cover under a grate. distephano arrives but has Newborn alien, Alien: Resurrection (20th Century–Fox, 1997). his head crushed. ripley shows up Giger. digital Visual effects by duboi (Paris), digiscope, and All effects Company, inc. Cast: ellen ripley (sigourney Weaver), Annalee Call (Winona ryder), Johner (ron Perlman), Christie (Gary dourdan), Vriess (dominique Pinon), elgyn (Michael Wincott), General Perez (dan Hedaya), dr. Wren ( J.e. freeman), Purvis (Leland orser), dr. Gediman (brad dourif ), Hillard (Kim flowers), Vincent distephano (raymond Cruz),

AVP • 9 as the newborn latches onto Call and says, “Put her down.” she pets and strokes the newborn, notices the porthole and with blood on her hand from putting it in the beast’s mouth, flings it against the window. the acidic blood eats through and the monster is pulled to the wall and its innards and then its whole skeleton and flesh sucked into space even as its mother, ripley, stares in sorrow and pity. the Auriga blows up in earth’s atmosphere while The Betty enters a beautiful world. “We did it. We saved the earth,” says ripley. What next, wonders Call? “i don’t know. i’m a stranger here myself.” Reviews: Boxoffice observed, “once again, a dangerously dimwitted and erroneously overconfident organization (this time the government, not a corporation) thinks it can breed the double-jawed, acidblooded, perennially murderous aliens to tame and use as weapons.” but the film was good, and “the cloned ripley is just as tough as we remember….” she is also “intriguing.” Her performance and “truly memorable monsters” overcame any scenario deficiencies (Christine James, Boxoffice, november 26, 1997); the New York Times found this entry in the series “the most freakish and macabre to date.” sigourney Weaver had become “the most buff and sexily insolent incarnation of the aliens’ favorite antagonist,…” director Jeunet and cinematographer Khondji provided “an eerie grunge look … and a sometimes ghastly sideshow atmosphere.” overall, however, the story was too murky ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, november 26, 1997, p. e1). Analysis: As of 1996, sigourney Weaver had been noncommittal about essaying ripley in yet another entry in the series. “but making another ALien would only take another four months out of it.” (Alan Jones, “sigourney Weaver: Alien Ass-Kicker, Femme Fatales, october 1996, p. 19.). so she did and the result seems in retrospect mostly a good one, possibly a film that will age well. despite the now clichéd secondary characters—scruffy, amoral bounty hunters/mercenaries/ stevedores-for-hire—several scenes compensate enough to warrant the 3-, if not 3½-star rating. especially affecting is the very tense alien pursuit through water, the pods, the ladder, the shooting of Call, Wren’s escape, Christie’s sacrifice—this is a topnotch action interlude. of course, there’s the “newborn” spawn of the queen alien: a horrible yet pitiable mutant, a cross between human and parasitic super predator. it is difficult not to feel some compassion for this creature as, first his guts, and then his entire body, is sucked through the port into space. note the screenwriter, the future director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon.

(20th Century–fox, 2004; 101 min.) ★★

AVP: Alien vs. Predator

Produced by Gordon Carroll, John davis, david Giler. directed by Paul W.s. Anderson. screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based on characters created by dan o’bannon, ronald shusett, Jim thomas, John thomas. edited by Alexander berner. director of Photography, david Johnson. Color by deLuxe. Music by Harald Kloser. Production design, richard bridgland. Art direction, raymond Chan, stephen dobric, Jindrich Koci, Milena Koubkova, Justin Warburton-brown. set decoration, Peter Walpole. Costumes by Magali Guidasci. Visual effects by MPC, Cinesite, framestore, double negative. Cast: Alexa Woods (sanaa Lathan), sebastian de rosa (raoul bova), Charles bishop Weyland (Lance Hendriksen), Graeme Miller (ewan bremner), Maxwell stafford (Colin salmon), Mark Verheiden (tommy flanagan), Joe Connors ( Joseph rye), Adele rousseau (Agatha de La boulaye), rusten Quinn (Carsten norgaard), thomas Parks (sam troughton), stone (Petr Jákl), bass (Pavel bezdek), Klaus

(Kieran bew), Mikkel (Carsten Voight), boris ( Jan Pavel filipensky), Grid (tom Woodruff, Jr.), scar (ian Whyte). Synopsis: october 3, 2004: A low orbit Weyland Corporation satellite detects unexpected heat on an Antarctic island. the asthmatic Charles Weyland hires experienced trekker Alexa to guide his mining team—and himself—on the island once the Piper Maru ice breaker makes landfall. the satellite images detected not only heat but the outlines of an enormous pyramid under the ice. “this is worth the risk,” says Weyland to a skeptical Alexa. Crossing the ice, the party finds the whaling station abandoned in 1904. it sits atop the pyramid. Just before Weyland’s party arrives, an alien spacecraft drills a 2,000foot, 30-degree tunnel into the ice. finding the tunnel, the humans descend into the pyramid and discover many chambers, one of which they determine to have been used for human sacrifice. the entrance of the humans and the armored space creatures from the alien craft awaken horrendous bipedal, snake-like creatures. though chained, an even larger version begins laying eggs. Against Alexa’s express instructions, her crew becomes separated and one of the men is killed by a space alien. After examining the runes and cryptic symbols on the walls, sebastian determines that the symbols on what is apparently a sarcophagus is an Aztec calendar and that this pyramid was last opened in 1904. now it’s 10/10/2004. sebastian turns the dial and within the sarcophagus are found three strange implements. in what will occur every 10 minutes, portions of the walls begin moving and the humans are soon locked in while cocoons begin disgorging their crab-like monsters. one of the human groups is overcome, their bodies used to foster another stage in the life cycle of the monstrosities, which burst forth from the chest. two of the space aliens and Weyland are killed by the monsters. the space aliens return the favor. Meanwhile, sebastian reveals that thousands of years ago the space aliens landed and taught men to build pyramids. the spacefarers were worshipped as gods and created the ultimate prey in the snake-like monsters. Alexa says the space aliens want those items they found in the sarcophagus; they are weapons. “We’re in the middle of a war.” sebastian says, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” sebastian is taken by the monsters while Alexa kills an alien. the queen alien calls back her minions to help break her bonds. When Alexa presents what is obviously a special gun to a space alien, it understands that some of these humans are worthy predators. it equips Alexa with a spear and a dead monster’s fanged head. Alexa finds and shoots the infected sebastian. she and the space alien escape on a sled pulled to the surface as a bomb explodes and destroys the pyramid. in tribute, the alien marks Alexa’s cheek with the monster’s acidic blood. the queen alien bursts from the ice. in the following fracas the space alien is mortally wounded but not before helping Alexa tie the queen to a collapsing water tower that drags her into the ocean’s depths. As Alexa leans over her expiring ally, other space aliens and their ship materialize. the leader gives Alexa a spear. on the alien craft, the dead warrior’s chest explodes with a baby monstrosity. Reviews: Rope of Silicon said it couldn’t hold a candle to its predecessors. it is “one comical event after another leading up to one of the most ridiculous final acts you will see in a sci-fi thriller.” (brad brevet, www.ropeofsilicon.com, August 13, 2004); the New York Times thought director Anderson was responsible for “solid formal qualities…” that helped put this on a par with “most mindless summer action films,….” He had “spun a dark, handsome, well-designed film… ” but “not, ultimately, a very frightening…” movie (dave Kehr, New York Times, August 14, 2004, p. b17). Analysis: the beginning is languid, perhaps for discriminating viewers who knows that atmosphere and a slow build to shock are

10 • Aliens vs. Predator almost always best. on the other hand, that viewer is already knowledgeable about these aliens, foresees what’s to come, and wants the mayhem to begin. it starts not making sense after the woman produces her alien chest buster. How could all those aliens have been created to attack the predators on the pyramid? How much sustenance was there, even in a less inhospitable Antarctica? How does sebastian know all the stuff he reveals? He’s very convincing, at least to his compatriots, but a pyramid of Mayan, Cambodian and Aztec elements here? the humans don’t act all that rationally and of course split up. Why isn’t Alexa shivering at the end when she has divested herself of her parka? still, the action is good, the final battle between Predator and Alexa and the queen alien better than good, and sanaa Lathan makes a feisty protagonist. it is interesting, perhaps curious, that Lance Hendriksen, who’d played the robot bishop in Aliens, returns as a human character. this Anglo-Czech-Canadian-German Co-Production was filmed at Prague studios, as were a number of international films at the time due to lower production costs. Heralding things to come, the last 10 minutes or so of this film are devoted to incredibly detailed credits.

(20th Century–fox, 2007; 94 min.) ★★

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Produced by John davis, david Giler, Walter Hill. directed by the brothers strause. screenplay by shane salerno. based on “Alien” Characters Created by dan o’bannon and ron shusett and the “Predator” Characters Created by Jim thomas and John thomas. edited by dan Zimmerman. director of Photography, daniel C. Pearl. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by brian tyler. Production design, Andrew niskoromny. Art direction, Helen Jarvis. set decoration, shane Viaeu. Costumes by Angus strathie. Visual effects by [HY*drAU”LX]. Creature effects, Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. Cast: dallas (steven Pasquale), Kelly (reiko Aylesworth), Molly (Ariel Gade), sheriff eddie Morales ( John ortiz), ricky ( Johnny Lewis), Colonel stevens (robert Joy), Jesse (Kristen Hager), tim (sam trammell), dale (david Paetkau)), Alien (tom Woodruff, Jr.), Predator (ian Whyte), darcy (Chelah Horsdal), Curtis (Meshach Peters), buddy (Kurt Max runte), sam (Liam James), Mark (Matt Ward), ray (Chris William Martin), Ms. Yutani (francoise Yip). Synopsis: Aboard an extraterrestrial spacecraft, a snake-like monstrosity erupts from a dead warrior’s body before the ship crashes into the wilderness near Crested butte, Colorado. something attacks buddy and sam in the forest. Meanwhile dallas arrives home, takes a ride with friend sheriff Morales, and meets up with his pizza delivery boy brother ricky. back in the woods, buddy and sam wake, but monstrosities burst from their chests. More “facehuggers” take bums. An extraterrestrial ship lands and its crew blows up the crashed ship. they dissolve a man’s body and a facehugger. sheriff Morales finds his deputy ray hanging in the woods, skinned. in the sewers, an extraterrestrial dissolves alien spawn, but one of those monsters follows, kills some, leaves the sewers and is tracked by an extraterrestrial using its cloak of invisibility. Aliens and its nemeses stalk and battle each other at a factory and cause the lights to fail all over town. ricky and Jessie find dallas and obtain weapons in a store as the town descends into chaos. in the hospital, a pregnant woman births many monsters. the national Guard arrives. At the hospital, dallas and company hope to escape via helicopter so they must protect Kelly, who can fly it. After the town is obliterated by a nuclear bomb, dallas and his friends are found in the bush by the military. A colonel has a case containing predator technology. Ms. Yutani appears.

Reviews: the New York Times found it “a perfectly respectable next step in the series.” the humans had more to do, there were some “classic horror-film bits in among the sci-fi … and even one pretty funny joke.” (neil Genzlinger, New York Times, december 26, 2007, p. e5.]; the Richmond Times-Dispatch found it an “unbelievably unnecessary sequel,…” neither audience nor, apparently, filmmakers care who wins this bout. “the whole purpose of the film is to show people being eaten and otherwise eviscerated.” (daniel neman, Richmond Times-Dispatch, december 26, 2007). Analysis: it’s a bloodfest all right, with typically gratuitous killings, e.g., Jessie. even a kid and a pregnant woman are savaged. the nuclear bomb denouement is reminiscent of the ending of Return of the Living Dead. Are we to believe that the government knew of the predators and aliens before this episode? Who is Ms. Yutani, we ask? Ah, yes, in Aliens, Yutani was a Ceo of the nefarious company wanting to create—and control, hah!—warrior aliens for the military industrial complex.

Prometheus

(20th Century–fox/dune entertainment/scott free, 2012; 124 min.) ★★★½ Produced by david Giler, Walter Hill, ridley scott. directed by ridley scott. screenplay by Jon spaihts, damon Lindelof. based on elements created by dan o’bannon, ronald shusett. edited by Pietro scalia. director of Photography, dariusz Wolski. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Marc streitenfeld. Production design, Arthur Max. Art direction, Peter dorme, Alex Cameron, Anthony Carondelion. set decoration, sonja Klaus. Production design, Arthur Max. Costumes by Janty Yates. original design elements by H.r. Giger. Visual effects and Animation by WetA digital Ltd. Visual effects by fuel VfX, rising sun Pictures, Hammerhead Productions, invisible effects, Prologue films, Lola VfX. Cast: dr. elizabeth shaw (noomi rapace), david (Michael fassbender), Meredith Vickers (Charlize theron), Captain Janek (idris elba), Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), fifield (sean Harris), Millburn (rafe spall), Chance (emun elliott), ravel (benedict Wong), ford (Kate dickie), Mercenaries (branwell donaghey, Vladimir furdik, C.C. smiff, shane steyn). Synopsis: by a waterfall on a distant planet, a humanoid drinks from an odd cup, begins convulsing, and falls into the torrent as his dnA is torn asunder. in 2089, on earth’s isle of skye, scotland, dr. elizabeth shaw discovers cave drawings reminiscent of those around the world in which humans look to the sky. december 21, 2093: scientific exploratory Vessel Prometheus, crew of 17, 3.27 × 10 to the 14th km from earth. destination: Undisclosed. the robot david wakes the crew from hibernation. first up is Meredith Vickers, who learns to her satisfaction that over two years have passed with no casualties. she directs david to wake the others. At a briefing, a Peter Weyland– narrated Weyland Corporation film from June 22, 2091, is shown. Peter is now dead. drs. shaw and Holloway provide an overview of the mission, telling crewmembers and scientists of pictograms throughout the ages showing humans worshipping giant beings now labeled “engineers” because as shaw says, they engineered humanity. Captain Janek takes the ship down to the planet they’ve targeted and lands in the vicinity of a large, unnatural, pyramidal-like mound. the survey team suits up and enters a tunnel. they send off levitating light globes to map the interior from which a holographic representation

Prometheus • 11

Logan Marshall-Green (left), Noomi Rapace (center), and Michael Fassbender (right), Prometheus (20th Century–Fox, 2012).

is created on the Prometheus. someone suggests the planet was being terraformed. Holloway decides he can take off his helmet. reluctantly, shaw and the others follow suit. Ghostly images appear, running by and through them. one kneels at a door and is decapitated. Along with Millburn, the geologist fifield heads back after angrily telling the others he’s not needed for whatever they’re doing. shaw uses a carbon reader on the figure before the door and determines it is 2,000 years old. david opens a portal and inside they find a monolithic face of an engineer as well as odd cylinders. Captain Janek warns the survey crew of an approaching storm, and except for fifield and Millburn, they make it back to the ship, but just barely. in fact, david saves shaw from being blown away. the sample she brought back seems to be a head, but not exactly. it’s a helmet over a head of an engineer. ford injects it to see if the nervous system can be tricked. Yes, but the face becomes so agitated they place it in a chamber where it explodes. david is seen speaking to someone out of sight. Meredith asks what “he” said. “try harder,” responds david. shaw determines that the engineer’s dnA is a match for their own. david, who had been fiddling with the viscous contents of one of the cylinders, gives Holloway a drink but seems to drop into it a sample from the cylinder. Captain

Janek hears pings and sees movement on the hologram of something besides humans in the pyramid. shaw and Holloway make love after deciding that the engineers’ genetic material predated humanity’s. Janek tells Meredith he wonders if she’s a robot and she invites him to her quarters. back in the pyramid, fifeld and Millburn encounter a reptilian creature resembling a cobra that latches onto Millburn, breaks through the suit and into the helmet and his mouth. Cutting the creature, fifield is sprayed with the creature’s blood, which melts his visor. fifield falls into a puddle. in the ship, Holloway finds something odd in his eye. Janek rouses shaw and they go to the pyramid. As Meredith observes from the ship, david opens a portal and finds banks of cylinders in the walls and other engineer figures. He cuts off communication. Millburn is found and his body disgorges something that slithers off. Holloway collapses and shaw calls for a medical team to be ready to quarantine him when they return. david sits in a kind of cockpit and sees visions of the engineers, galaxies and planets. He holds a small globe of earth in his hand. At the ship, Meredith refuses to let Holloway aboard, and he asks to be killed. to shaw’s grief, Meridith does so with a flamethrower. shaw says bloodwork should be collected from all. david agrees and asks if she and Holloway had

12 • Prometheus

Prometheus (20th Century–Fox, 2012).

intimate contact. He uses a machine that indicates she is three months pregnant, which is impossible. it’s not a traditional fetus, david tells her, suggesting she should be put into cryostasis. did ebola kill her father, he wonders aloud? How did he know that? ford tries to wake shaw, who’s playing possum and runs off to the chamber with the emergency Procedure pod where she presses “Penetrating injuries” and has a tentacled creature surgically removed from her abdomen. something’s alive outside the ship and Janek opens the ramp for one of his men to investigate. it’s fifield, rising to attack them. He is finally destroyed by more flame and run over by a vehicle. shaw encounters the aged Peter Weyland, only now removed from cryostasis. He wants to meet his makers, the engineers. one is still alive, says david. shaw disputes Weyland’s contention that the engineers surely can save humans from death. shaw argues that they aren’t what they thought they were and advises leaving, but Weyland says they are so close to answers. shaw suits up while Janek tells her this planet is not the engineers’ home world. this is where they created the destructive material. it’s time to leave. He doesn’t care that one engineer is still alive. His goal is not bringing back to earth any of the shit they’ve encountered. Meredith tells Weyland a king has his reign and must leave. He’s her father and she’s been waiting to take over. david and shaw confer before going to the pyramid. shaw tells Janek there are thousands of the canisters. Janek discovers that there is an alien ship in the pyramid. david goes to the hypersleep chamber. shaw asks him why the engineers were traveling to earth? “sometimes to create one must first destroy.” david opens the sleep chamber and the engineer removes his

helmet and rises. shaw wants david to ask him why he hates them. the engineer rips david’s head from his body, and begins to kill the others. only shaw escapes. Janek readies the ship for departure as the engineer prepares his own ship for take off. outside, running for her life across a plethora of fissures, shaw tells Janek he must stop the alien ship. Janek activates ion propulsion and tells the irate Meredith that if she wants to survive she must exit the ship in forty seconds. she leaves and Janek undertakes a suicide mission, ramming the alien ship, which falls to the ground and crushes Meredith. shaw finds the vehicle that had been part of the Prometheus where she’d had the surgery. flapping around inside that chamber is a tentacled alien grown large. david communicates with her that the engineer is coming her way. As it attacks her, she presses the release for the chamber hatch. the monstrosity within grapples with the engineer and a desperate fight ensues while shaw flees. the humanoid is inexorably ensnared and succumbs. shaw, almost without hope, hears david on the intercom again. He says there are more spacecraft and he can pilot one home. she retrieves his head and the cross he’d removed from her earlier. shaw doesn’t want to go home, she seeks the humanoids’ planet to learn why they created humans but changed their mind and want to destroy them. david doesn’t understand why she wants to do this. because she’s human and he’s a robot, that’s why. on new Year’s day, 2094, she and david set out. back in the rover, the humanoid alien disgorges a hideous creature that reveals its deadly maw and snarls. Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter called it “a visual feast….” With difficulty it combined “its high-minded notions about the origins of

The Amityville Horror • 13 the species and its Alien-based obligation to deliver oozy gross-out moments.” However, it was on the mark for international audiences via “enough visual spectacle, tense action and sticky, slithery monster attacks….” (todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter, May 30, 2012); The Philadelphia Inquirer found it “Weighty, but maddeningly weightless, too.” (steven rea, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 9, 2012, p. d1). Analysis: Problems: (1) the gratuitous killing of Charlize theron’s character. filmmakers seem determined never to let more than two humans survive in these movies, or a human and a robot, (2) too many undefined characters the viewer doesn’t care about, which contrasts with Alien’s minimal cast we all got to know, and (3) characters with an attitude from day one. on the other hand, it is supremely disturbing, a film that stays with you. Certain remembered scenes make you wince, e.g., the plus-man-size starfish-like alien grappling with the engineer, shaw aborting the alien fetus. there is more than a winking nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey, specifically david’s robot, which stands in for HAL 9000. noomi rapace, star of the swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, is makes a very compelling protagonist.

AMitYViLLe Horror see Volume i for The Amityville Horror (1979), Amityville II: The Possession (1982), Amityville 3-D (1983), Amityville 92: It’s About Time (1992), and Amityville: A New Generation (1993). Amityville: The Awakening has been a troubled production, at least in so far as release dates go. At one time it was scheduled for April 2016 but was relocated to January 2017.

(MGM/dimension films, 2005; 90 min.) ★½

The Amityville Horror

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, brad fuller. directed by Andrew douglas. screenplay by scott Kosar. based Upon a screenplay by sandor stern. based Upon the novel by Jay Anson. edited by roger barton, Christian Wagner. director of Photography, Peter Lyons Collister. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Jennifer Williams. Art direction, Marco rubeo. set decoration, daniel b. Clancy. Costumes by david robinson. special Make-Up effects designed and Created by Greg nicotero and Howard berger. Visual effects by Asylum, and industrial Light & Magic. Cast: George Lutz (ryan reynolds), Kathy Lutz (Melissa George), billy Lutz ( Jesse James), Michael Lutz ( Jimmy bennett), Chelsea Lutz (Chloë Grace Moretz), Lisa (rachel nichols), father Callaway (Philip baker Hall), Jodie defeo (isabel Conner), ronald defeo (brendan donaldson), realtor edith (Annabel Armour), Police chief (rich Komenich), emergency room doctor (david Gee), officer Greguski (danny McCarthy), Librarian (nancy Lollar), stitch ( Jose taitano). introducing Chloë Grace Moretz. Synopsis: “based on the true story.” november 13, 1974: ronny defeo shoots six family members after hearing voices instructing him to “Kill them.” deer Park, Long island…. one Year Later: George Lutz and his wife Kathy and his stepchildren Michael, billy and Chelsea discover what appears to be a wonderful old house on the Amityville riverfront. George is astounded at the low price for a residence whose foundations had been laid in 1692. it even has a boathouse. the realtor

finally reveals that murders took place there, but “the house is fine, really.” day 1: the family arrives. that evening George feels cold and goes into the basement to stoke the furnace. it almost seems as if the old clock radio speaks to him. back upstairs, he makes love to Kathy as that clock moves from 3:14 to 3:15 despite being unplugged. over Kathy’s shoulder, George has a vision of a young girl hanging from a rope. He doesn’t feel well and next day begins coughing. Kathy discovers Chelsea talking to an invisible friend, Jodie. When Kathy returns from the grocery store, Chelsea is missing. Kathy and George rush to the boathouse and find their child staring across the river. “Jodie wanted to see the boat,” she explains. that night George wakes up, stares down at the boathouse, and sees one of Chelsea’s balloons emerge from the supposedly locked door. He rushes out, sees an air bubble and thinks Chelsea is drowning. He dives it but finds nothing. Gazing back up at the house, he sees Chelsea and Jodie in the window. Upstairs, he finds Chelsea in bed and does not see Jodie on the ceiling being grasped by adult hands. on day 15, Kathy notes that the letters on the magnetic board spell “Katch ’em & Kill ’em.” Hiring babysitter Lisa, George and Kathy go out to dinner at the italian Kitchen where George says he’s feeling better. back at the house, after telling billy and Michael about the murders, Lisa finds herself locked into a closet with Jodie. the Lutzs arrive home and find the paramedics hauling away a bloodied and gibbering Lisa. billy asks his parents why the children weren’t told about the house’s history. Chelsea tells Kathy that Jodie hurt Lisa. far from being well, George continues hearing voices and seeing visions, sometimes of himself. taking a hot bath, he is grabbed from under the water. His screams attract Kathy, who saves him from drowning. A physician refers George to a psychiatrist. returning home, they find Chelsea on the top peak of the house and just manage to rescue her without being killed themselves. Chelsea says she had to go with Jodie. George takes clothes and a radio to the basement while Kathy expresses her deep concerns to father Callaway. George seems fixated on the axe he uses to chop wood. He watches home movies and sees a demonic face projected onto billy. He uses the axe to kill their dog Harry. next day, Kathy argues that they must leave the house. father Callaway visits and tells Kathy that Chelsea’s doll had been buried with Jodie. Alone, he asks God to sanctify the house and sprinkles the room with Holy Water, which seems to hurt whatever lurks there. inspecting an iron grate in the wall, the priest is beset by a horde of flies, hears “Get out!” and flees. that night George hears dog barks. on day 28, Kathy bursts into the public library and reads microfilm articles about the defeo murders. the words “voices” and “haunted” and the name reverend Jeremiah Ketcham are noted. At home, George breaks through a wall in the basement and finds various chambers and sees or imagines chained people and demons. father Callaway urges Kathy to leave the house. she calls George to warn him but he rips the phone off the wall. Arriving home, she finds George in the boathouse. falling into the water, she is almost killed by the boat’s motor but George regains his senses and pulls her out. in the basement, Kathy finds Chelsea and coffins with their names on them. Armed now, George chases his family onto the roof. billy clobbers his stepdad, sending him off the roof into the muck created by a downpour. Kathy sees a horrible visage in a window. George rises and gets his axe, but Kathy knocks him insensible with the butt of his gun. she and the kids tie up him and drag him onto the boat. When he wakes up out on the water he tells Kathy, “don’t even look at it, Kathy. Let’s get outta here.” Afterword: “After 28 days, the Lutz family fled Amityville. they never returned for their personal possessions.” in the house, standing in the hall, Jodie is pulled beneath the floor. Reviews: The Austin Chronicle found it a “routine remake of a 1979 horror classic” which was “an effective little tingler….” the new film

14 • Ant-Man had an illogical story with unnecessary scenes grafted onto it (Marjorie baumgarten, Austin Chronicle, April 15, 2005); the Chicago Reader used subtextual analysis with reference to the original film, delving into the declining cultural power of the Catholic Church, family values, and the turbulent decade of the sixties. the first Amityville Horror “offered a franker look at the disintegration of conservative family values.” the new version is less subtle and eschews a Catholic context. no help are “pedestrian special effects…” (benjamin strong, www. chicagoreader.com, April 21, 2005). Analysis: oddly enough, ryan reynolds doesn’t have James brolin’s gravitas in the role of George, but the film itself has no gravitas. it’s perfunctory with no real center and nothing we haven’t seen before and therefore don’t much care what happens. there is one really scary part and it’s not supernatural. it’s Chelsea clambering about on the front peak of the house as her parents watch in horror. Question: Why was the dog kept in the boathouse to begin with? it’s the dog who rescues George in the original. Very inexplicable: the parents allowing the trampish Lisa to babysit.

AnnAbeLLe see under tHe ConJUrinG Ant-MAn see also CAPtAin AMeriCA : CiViL WAr (Marvel studios, 2016; 117 min.) ★★★

Ant-Man

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Peyton reed. screenplay by edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul rudd. story by edgar Wright, Joe Cornish. based on the comics by stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby. edited by dan Lebental, Colby Parker, Jr. director of Photography, russell Carpenter. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Christophe beck. Production design, shepherd frankel, Marcus rowland. Art direction, Austin Gorg, Jann K. engel, Cameron beasley. set decoration, Leslie A. Pope. Costumes by sammy sheldon differ. Visual effects by double negative, Luma Pictures, Lola/VfX, Cinesite, trixter, capital t. Visual effects and Animation by Method studios, and industrial Light and Magic. Cast: scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul rudd), dr. Hank Pym (Michael douglas), Hope van dyne (evangeline Lilly), darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey stoll), Paxton (bobby Cannavale), Maggie Lang ( Judy Greer), sam Wilson/falcon (Anthony Mackie), Luis (Michael Pena), Cassie Lang (Abby ryder fortson), Kurt (david dastmalchian), Gale (Wood Harris), dave (tip “t.i.” Harris), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Howard stark ( John slattery), Mitchell Carson (Martin donovan). Synopsis: san francisco, 1989: dr. Hank Pym is ousted from his own company by protégé darren Cross and other board members, including Pym’s own daughter Hope. Meanwhile, scott Lang is released from san Quentin Penitentiary after serving a term for burglary. He is intent on reestablishing contact with his young daughter Cassie but loses his job at baskin-robbins. Hank is invited back to his company by darren, sees the futures Lab and is regaled with darren’s plans for a super soldier called Yellowjacket. scott goes uninvited to Cassie’s birthday party where his ex Maggie is seen with her current beau, police officer Paxton. back in the lab, darren kills frank for ques-

tioning his motives and then has dinner with Hope. scott agrees with his friend Luis’ plan to burgle a rich dude’s safe, but the contents are nothing more than a weird costume or uniform and helmet. He takes them anyway. Unknown to him, Hank observes this burglary from afar. At the lab, darren experiments on a lamb but it turns into a small blob. scott, in the meantime, puts on the strange suit, steps into his bathtub and when he hears his friend arrive presses a button and shrinks to insect size. regaining his true size after a small adventure, he packs up the suit and endeavors to return it but is arrested outside Pym’s house. He is surprised Hank Pym is introduced as his lawyer. scott puts on the suit and escapes jail on a flying ant. He wakes up next morning with Hope looking over him. At breakfast, she and her father explain that they need him to break into the Pym building. they must stop darren from using the Pym particle to create nefarious things. darren now succeeds in shrinking a lamb as Hope looks on in amazement. Pym explains to scott how the suit took control of him, that’s why they need scott. He also explains Hope’s displeasure with him over her mother’s untimely death. scott practices in the suit and learns martial arts from Hope. Pym explains how his wife died, falling between the molecules to stop a terrorist missile. their first mission is a stealth burglary of the Howard stark estate in order to obtain a signal decoy to counteract transmission at the Pym building. during this outing, scott runs into falcon, an Avenger, but escapes with the decoy signal. darren arrives at Pym’s home for a chat. scott and his buddies commence their plan. He will gain access via the water pipes, which aren’t monitored. inside, Hope places the decoy. she and Hank are there as guests. scott and his ants short circuit a lab. darren introduces Hank to various men who want to buy his product, including representatives of HYdrA, which he says is not what it used to be. scott sets an explosive. things go awry between darren and Hank. He pulls a gun, as does Hope and the other men. Hank is wounded after scott sneaks in but with Hope’s help dismantles the bad buys. Carson steals the Cross formula. As scott rushes off after darren, Hank shows Hope a keychain with an army tank on it and says it’s not a toy. in fact, it grows to true size and they crash out of the building down onto the street. darren gets into a helicopter as the building explodes and shrinks. darren becomes Yellowjacket and battles scott. Knocked aside, scott is arrested by Paxton. darren goes to scott’s house to threaten Cassie. scott manages to escape the police car, get to his house, and jump on darren’s back, shorting him out but falling himself into that space between molecules before finally pressing the button that sends him back. At Hank’s, Hope and scott kiss in the hall. Paxton tells scott he can’t send him to jail on a technical glitch. Luis explains the elaborate scam that got scott to agree to burgle the Pym house. Hope is introduced to a prototype suit her mother was to have worn. Hank suggests they finish it for her. “About damn time,” she responds. Reviews: The Telegraph thought the film “inventive and zingy…,” with a superhero “who sweats the small stuff ” (robbie Collin, www. telegraph.co.uk, July 16, 2015); The Atlantic considered it a decent but uneven movie. there was too much daughter-father melodrama and logic gaps. With Marvel’s busy schedule, it was no wonder it lacked the texture of its other superhero films (Christopher orr, www. theatlantic.com, July 17, 2015). Analysis: there are many references to the Avengers and Hydra, thus the necessity to include Ant-Man here. Unlike The Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but like Deadpool, it was not filmed on a truly epic scale. Are we going to get an Ant-Woman? Probably not for the foreseeable future. despite fan requests, black Widow has yet to find a slot in Marvel’s universe. Maybe he doesn’t steal the whole show, but Michael Pena is funny.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me • 15

AUstin PoWers Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (new Line Cinema, 1997; 90 min.) ★★★ Produced by suzanne todd, demi Moore, Jennifer todd, Mike Myers. directed by Jay roach. screenplay by Mike Myers. edited by debra neil-fisher. director of Photography, Peter deming. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by George s. Clinton. sound, Mark Ulano. Production design, Cynthia Charette. Art direction, daniel olexiewicz. set decoration, bob Kensinger. Costumes by deena Appel. Cast: Austin Powers/dr. evil (Mike Myers), Vanessa Kensington (elizabeth Hurley), basil exposition (Michael York), Mrs. Kensington (Mimi rogers), number two (robert Wagner), scott evil (seth Green), Alotta fagina (fabiana Udenio), frau farbissina (Mindy sterling), Mustafa (Will ferrell), Commander Gilmour (Charles napier), Patty o’brien (Paul dillon), therapist (Carrie fisher), random task ( Joe son), Cowboy (tom Arnold), U.n. secretary (brian George), burt bacharach (himself). Synopsis: “1967: somewhere outside Las Vegas”: dr. evil kills off incompetent minions while his nemesis, the british spy Austin Powers, swings with Mrs. Kensington at London’s electric Psychedelic Pussycat swingers Club. Austin discovers and incapacities one of evil’s men masquerading as a woman. that man is killed by evil, who is pursued by Austin and Mrs. Kensington to his Cryogenic freezing pod, which blasts off into space within the bob’s big boy statue. “1997: thirty years later”: At norAd Combat operations Center in Colorado springs, radar picks up an incoming bogie: dr. evil in his big boy. in London, at the Cryogenic storage facility that houses such celebrities as Gary Coleman and Vanilla ice, Austin Powers is defrosted and assigned to Ms. Kensington, daughter of his previous gal pal. “somewhere outside Las Vegas” dr. evil reignites his organization after dispensing with Mustafa. number two has been running the evil empire named Virtucon and fills dr. evil in on what has happened during his absence. for instance, asking nations for a million dollars to prevent a catastrophe is now laughable. on a plane to the states, Austin makes an unsuccessful plea to shag Vanessa. After checking into a Vegas hotel, they go to the casino under the nom de plumes richie Cunningham and oprah. dr. evil, meanwhile, tells the U.n. that unless he receives $100 million he will detonate a nuclear warhead. basil exposition contacts Austin and reveals that Project Vulcan is dr. evil’s plan to drill into the earth’s crust and detonate a warhead. While Austin tries to get information out of Alotta fagina in her hot tub, dr. evil shows off his killer fembots with pistol barrels in their bras. At british Makeshift Headquarters, basil tells Austin and Vanessa to infiltrate Virtucon as tourists. dr. evil undergoes group therapy with his teen son scott. At Virtucon, Austin and Vanessa are captured but escape after blinding their guard with toothpaste and forcing him into a pool of laser-equipped sea bass. Austin encounters the fembots, and his striptease gyrations to the tune “i touch Myself ” cause their heads to explode. the black-clad Vanessa and armed men arrive even as Project Vulcan gets underway. Austin presses the Abort button with a second to go and confronts dr. evil, countering the latter’s attempt at obfuscation with “it’s freedom, baby, yeah!” Alotta appears, holding Vanessa at gunpoint. Austin gets the drop on scott but dr. evil doesn’t much care. number two laments that he ran the corporation for thirty years. before he can detail his proposition for Austin, dr. evil sends

number two to a fiery death as he had so many other lackeys and begins the self-destruct plan. Vanessa karate chops Alotta and with Austin and their men escape the explosion. “three months later”: Austin and the now Mrs. Austin Powers share a bed. basil reveals to them that dr. evil has escaped, Vanessa has been promoted to full agent status, and Austin will be knighted. the man bringing champagne to the room is dr. evil’s Korean assassin random task, but his shoe to Austin’s head causes only momentary pain. Austin uses his penis enlarger to discombobulate the attacker while Vanessa bops him over the head. now at peace, Austin and Vanessa view the night sky, including dr. evil’s orbiting big boy. its freezing occupant vows he’ll get Austin yet. Reviews: the New York Times thought that “only in the mind of Mike Myers is the swinging, go-go private eye a figure in need of reinventing.” but he made the character “an easily acquired taste” in a film “as goofy and throwaway as the ‘brady bunch’ movies, but it has the same winking appreciation of vintage kitsch.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, May 2, 1997, p. C7). VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever called it a “Hilarious spoof of ’60s spy and babe movies.” Myers got “plenty of mileage out of the one-joke premise.” ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson/ Gale, 207, p. 85). Analysis: it’s the best of the three with the most beautiful female companion for Austin in the person of elizabeth Hurley. funniest scene: Austin’s grunting and groaning in the toilet as he takes down an assassin while in the next cubicle Cowboy thinks the noises are the man’s attempt to have a bowel movement and supports Austin’s inquiry, “Who does number two work for?”

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (new Line Cinema, 1999; 95 min.) ★★½ Produced by suzanne todd, Jennifer todd, demi Moore, eric McLeod, John Lyons, Mike Myers. directed by Jay roach. screenplay by Mike Myers, Michael McCullers. edited by John Poll, debra neilfisher. director of Photography, Ueli steiger. Color by deLuxe. Music by George s. Clinton. Choreography, Marguerite derricks. sound, Kenneth McLaughlin. Production design, rusty smith. Art direction, Alexander Hammond. set decoration, sara Andrews-ingrassia. Cast: Austin Powers/dr. evil/fat bastard (Mike Myers), felicity shagwell (Heather Graham), basil exposition (Michael York), number two (robert Wagner), scott evil (seth Green), Young number two (rob Lowe), frau farbissina (Mindy sterling), Mini-Me (Verne J. troyer), Vanessa (elizabeth Hurley), ivana Humpalot (Kristen Johnston), robin swallows (Gia Carides). Synopsis: “Austin Powers, international Man of Mystery, was frozen in 1967 and defrosted in the nineties to battle his nemesis, dr. evil. After foiling his archenemy’s plan to send a nuclear warhead to the center of the earth, Austin banished dr. evil to the cold recesses of space and settled down with his new wife, Vanessa, to live happily ever after. or so he thought…” floating by the space shuttle, the big boy “satellite” in which dr. evil was incarcerated disgorges the criminal in an egg-shaped pod headed for earth. Meanwhile, with In Like Flint plays on tV, Austin enjoys his honeymoon with Vanessa until she goes haywire and explodes. she was a fembot! initially nonplussed, Austin recognizes with some satisfaction that he’s single again. nAto Monitoring facility Guam: determined to make a comeback, dr. evil goes on The Jerry Springer Show to make peace with his son scott only to have a row with a member of the Ku Klux

16 • Austin Powers in Goldmember Klan. Contacted by his former mentor basil, Austin tries to get information from ivana Humpalot, a model working for dr. evil. Her employer by now has set up shop at the top of the seattle’s starbucks tower. His second-in-command, number 2, suggests shifting resources to increase profits via coffee products. dr. evil isn’t too keen on this but very happy to show off Mini-Me, a duplicate 1/8 his own size. scott and Mini-Me don’t get on. dr. evil unveils a time machine that will take him to 1969 where Austin is frozen and helpless. enlisted to steal Austin’s mojo is the enormous scot, fat bastard, who drills into the ice in which Austin is ensconced to suck out the mojo. in 1999, Austin realizes his mojo has been lost. in the secret Projects room, basil reveals knowledge of dr. evil’s time machine and with their own device sends Austin back to 1969. He meets CiA Agent felicity shagwell. escaping assassination, they drive into the “english Countryside” chased by the fez-wearing Mustafa, who is disarmed and shot by a poison dart launched by Mini-Me. before falling from a cliff, Mustafa reveals that dr. evil is hiding in a secret volcano layer. fat bastard arrives at the mastermind’s lair where dr. evil sips Austin’s mojo and dances with frau farbissina before an interlude of love. At the Ministry of defense’s Cryo Chamber, Austin and felicity see Austin’s frozen self. Afterward they do the town, buying mod attire and dancing in the streets. At evil’s lair, the madman and frau farbissina feel uneasy over the previous evening’s liaison and she tells him she’s “late.” scott ap pears from the time machine intent on working things out, but his father is more interested in rapport with Mini-Me. basil sends felicity to seduce fat bastard and implant him with a homing device. dr. evil talks about his plan to extort money by aiming a moon-based giant laser at Washington, d.C. At Piccadilly Circus, Austin meets up with felicity, who tells him about the homing device. tracking a signal to Paddington station, they find fat bastard’s “floater” in the toilet. Upon examination, basil learns that it contains rare vegetable matter from the Caribbean, obviously the location of dr. evil’s hideout. number two tells dr. evil about Mini-Me’s penchant for biting. dr. evil demands from the President of the U.s. $100 billion, which to his chagrin doesn’t exist in 1969. Austin and felicity arrive at the island via sub but are captured forthwith and placed into a room over a molten pit as the floor slowly retracts into the walls. escaping, they use Apollo 11 to follow dr. evil and MiniMe to a moon base. Austin sends Mini-Me careening into space before demanding of his enemy, “Where’s my mojo?” but Austin is put into the predicament of either saving felicity from poison gas or saving the world. dr. evil fires the laser gun but it misses. felicity falls dead. Austin chases dr. evil, who reveals that “Austin, i am your father. no, not really.” Austin learns that he can save felicity via the time portal. ten Minutes Ago: Austin is back to the scenario of saving felicity or the world. but he now has the help of the Austin from ten minutes before. dr. evil once more misses with the laser and felicity is rescued. dr. evil presses the self destruct button and throws the container of Austin’s mojo into the air. it breaks on the floor. the facility is gonna blow! felicity tells Austin he’s had his mojo all along. they enter the time machine as dr. evil’s rocket blasts off. in 1999 London, Austin and felicity receive a special delivery by fat bastard, but he can’t go through with his mission. He says he’s unhappy because he eats and he must forgive himself, but then, who is he kidding? felicity kicks him in the crotch. Austin and felicity dance. “Meanwhile, back in 1969….” Mini-Me is retrieved by dr. evil. on The Jerry Springer Show, the host’s “final thought” is that scott is frau farbissina’s love child. “one month later….”: Austin finds felicity in bed with past Austin, but all is okay. both Austins are the same person. there’s no cheating here. Reviews: the News Journal found the new character, fat bastard,

“ground zero for the film’s wildly funny strain of scatological humor.” fb was “always funny,…” but the other characters were “more hit-ormiss.” overall it was “a raucous if uneven, treat.” (Marshall fine/Gannett news service, News Journal [Wilmington, de], 55HoursPlus, June 11, 1999, p. 4); VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever said “it still works because of Myers’ winking good nature” ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson/Gale, 2007, p. 85). Analysis: it made more than the original despite being half as good, but there are hilarious moments, especially dr. evil going after the Klan member on The Jerry Springer Show with his “f*%#k you!” being blipped. it is distressing to learn that Vanessa was a fembot all along. of course that was just a plot device to dispense with her and give Austin another love interest.

Austin Powers in Goldmember (new Line Cinema, 2002; 94 min.) ★★ Produced by John Lyons, eric McLeod, demi Moore, Mike Myers. directed by Jay roach. screenplay by Mike Myers, Michael McCullers. based on characters created by Mike Myers. edited by Greg Hayden, Jon Poll. director of Photography, Peter deming. Color by fotoKem. Prints by deluxe. Music by George s. Clinton. Production design, rusty smith. Art direction, drew boughton. set decoration, sara Andrews-ingrassia. Costumes by deena Appel. Character Prosthetics Constructed and operated by Kurtzman, nicotero & berger efX Group, inc. Visual effects by Pacific Vision Productions. Cast: Austin Powers/dr. evil/Goldmember/fat bastard (Mike Myers), foxxy Cleopatra (beyoncé Knowles), number two (robert Wagner), frau farbissina (Mindy sterling), Mini Me (Verne troyer), scott evil (seth Green), number three (fred savage), nigel Powers (Michael Caine), basil exposition (Michael York), fook Me (diane Mizota), Mr. roboto (nobu Matsuhisa), Young Austin (Aaron Himelstein), Young evil ( Josh Zuckerman), Young basil (eddie Adams), Young number two (evan farmer), Mysterious disco Man (nathan Lane), Himself/movie Austin (tom Cruise), Herself/movie dixie normous (Gwyneth Paltrow), Himself/movie dr. evil (Kevin spacey), Himself/movie Mini-Me (danny deVito), Himself (steven spielberg), Himself (Quincy Jones), Goldmember in film ( John travolta). Synopsis: “somewhere in Utah”: a shaguar races along the highway and occupants Austin Powers and nixie normous manage to destroy a pursuing helicopter. it’s Austinpussy, a movie directed by steven spielberg with the real Austin consulting on set. “dr. evil’s Hollywood Lair”: dr. evil consults with number 2, Mini-Me, his son scott, and frau farbissina. dr. evil approves number 2’s creation of the Hollywood talent Agency to make somewhat legitimate money, but he has another plan. He shows his crew a photo of Johann Van der smut, a gold-loving dutchman who in the 1970s invented a cold fusion power unit for a “tractor beam.” dr. evil has developed his own “tractor beam” called Preparation H and intends pulling a meteor to earth unless the World organization (Wo) forks over tons of money. However, Austin Powers leads a raid on dr. evil’s hideout and the World organization finds dr. evil guilty and sentences him to a maximum security facility. in London, Austin is knighted by the Queen only to find the festivities compromised by the absence of his father nigel. At Austin’s pad, basil explains Goldmember. At the prison in Geneva, dr. evil is visited by Austin. More information comes to light: british

The Avengers • 17 security Academy—1958: Master Powers and Master evil are students. At graduation, Austin is miffed that his father is a no-show. M.o.d. time travel Hangar—2002: Austin is transported to 1975 in the “pimp mobile.” At studio 69 in new York City, he meets up with foxxy Cleopatra, another agent pissed at his absence. Goldmember appears, skating with elan. Austin finds his dad nigel with a bevy of beauties. foxxy stops Goldmember from shooting Austin, but the dutchman takes nigel to 2002. At Georgia state Prison, frau farbissina visits dr. evil and they discuss his babyhood. she transfers a key to him when they kiss. dr. evil tells the inmates to riot so he and Mini-Me can escape. in 2002, Austin explains the internet to foxy. basil appears and says dr. evil has been located near tokyo. in tokyo bay a giant submarine in the form of dr. evil approaches his new lair at which he consults with his inner circle and details his plan to melt the ice caps and flood earth. nigel tries to get Mini-Me on his side. After touching down at tokyo international Airport, Austin and foxxy go to the Asahi sumo Arena where fat bastard is competing. After the contest they manage to extract information from him. At the lair, scott shows his dad his present: sharks with attached laser beams. Meanwhile, Austin and foxxy visit roboto industries tokyo Headquarters find Goldmember and nigel. A chase through the city ensues, but dr. evil escapes via his submarine. Austin argues with his dad and he and nigel ostensibly go their separate ways. At Austin’s tokyo Hotel, Austin batters Mini-Me unmercifully before learning dr. evil’s surrogate has switched sides. Mini-Me reveals that dr. evil’s tractor beam is almost complete. Austin places his car in submarine Mode and attaches it to the bottom of dr. evil’s craft. dr. evil contacts the World organization and tells them of his plans to have a meteor hit the polar icecap. is he bluffing? no. He aims his cold fusion beam at a satellite. by this time, Austin, foxxy and Mini-Me have boarded the sub. When one of dr. evil’s Japanese confederates asks for a bonus, scotty sends him into the shark pool. in the storeroom, Austin finds a Janitorial staff uniform and gets on Mini-Me’s shoulders to pass himself off as a janitor. He is told he must give a urine sample and have a physical. eventually Austin and Mini-Me are found out and captured, but foxxy gets the drop on dr. evil. nigel appears and explains that dr. evil is Austin’s brother. When nigel’s car exploded, only Austin was thought to have survived, but his brother had been taken by belgians and made evil. scott is disturbed at these revelations. Goldmember appears with an extra key with which he starts to initiate the tractor beam. foxxy stops him, he falls from the catwalk, and dr. evil destroys the meteor in space. At the theatrical premiere of the Austin powers movie, Austin and foxxy watch the end credits revealing John travolta as Goldmember. Afterward they meet the almost svelte fat bastard. Austin kisses foxxy. in his lair near the Hollywood sign, scott cackles over his anticipated revenge. Reviews: the Southland Times thought it was an “action replay and over clichéd…” with extraneous characters to fill up the time. one of the few bright spots were the cameo appearances ( Janette Gellatly, Southland Times, september 21, 2002, section: features, p. 41); the Northern Territory News thought it no more than a recycling of its predecessors. there were some amusing interludes but “almost every gag … is tiresome” (Alice burton, Northern Territory News, entertainment, september 22, 2002, p. 24). Analysis: it made more than its predecessor despite poor reviews. What possessed Mike Myers to think making Goldmember dutch would be a hoot? What was a hoot: tom Cruise and Gwyneth Paltrow. not explained: how dr. evil and Mini-Me actually escaped from the prison. After Austin Powers, Myers continued making juvenilia with much less desirable results. Critically and financially, The Love Guru (2008) was a turkey.

AVenGers the brainchild of stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Avengers made their Marvel comic book debut in 1963.

(Paramount Pictures/Marvel studios, 2012; 143 min.) ★★★½

The Avengers

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Joss Whedon. screenplay by Joss Whedon. story, Zak Penn, Joss Whedon. based on the Marvel Comics by stan Lee and Jack Kirby. “Captain America” created by Joe simon and Jack Kirby. edited by Jeffrey ford, Lisa Lassek. director of Photography, seamus McGarvey. deluxe. fujifilm. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, James Chinlund. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Art direction, benjamin edelberg, Jann K. engel, Greg Hooper, William Hunter, randy Moore. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Costumes by Alexandra byrne. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by HY*drAU”LX, Cantina Creative, Luma Pictures, fuel VfX, evil eye Pictures, trixter. Cast: tony stark (robert downey, Jr.), bruce banner/Hulk (Mark ruffalo), steve rogers/Captain America (Chris evans), thor (Chris Hemsworth), nick fury (samuel L. Jackson), Loki (tom Hiddleston), natasha romanoff/black Widow (scarlett Johansson), Clint barton/ Hawkeye ( Jeremy renner), Agent Maria Hill (Cobie smulders), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), selvig (stellan skarsgård), Pepper Pott (Gwyneth Paltrow), Jarvis (Paul bettany, voice), the other (Alexis denisof ), nAsA scientist (tina benko), Georgi Luchkov ( Jerzy skolimowski), World security Council (Powers boothe, Jenny Agutter, Arthur drabinyan, donald Li), Hulk voice (Lou ferrigno). Synopsis: “What can the humans do but burn?” these are the parting words to Loki of Asgard as he prepares to assert his sovereignty on earth. on that distant planet the Joint dark energy facility is being evacuated because the tesseract, designed to harness energy from space, is acting up and portends destruction. Loki appears, having used the tesseract to transport himself to earth. “i am Loki, of Asgard, and i am burdened with glorious purpose.” He creates chaos and enlists Hawkeye and the scientist selvig in his service even as nick fury makes off with the cube at the heart of the tesseract. However, Hawkeye shoots nick and retrieves the cube. the facility explodes as the antagonists race away. At a dimly-lit chamber in another facility, a red-headed woman tied to a chair is interrogated by a russian officer. she is “the famous black Widow.” Agent Coulson of s.H.i.e.L.d. phones and is told by her she’s about done there, whereupon she uses the chair and her own martial arts expertise to put her interrogators in their place. this woman is natasha romanoff, aka black Widow. she finds dr. bruce banner applying his medical skills in a third world country and convinces him to come in to s.H.i.e.L.d. He can find the cube because he’s oh-so-familiar with gamma radiation. Meanwhile, nick argues with four Counselors, who grudgingly agree to enlist the Avengers to help find and secure the cube. steve rogers, aka Captain America, is approached at a gym and informed of the unlimited energy the tesseract might provide. next up is tony stark, aka iron Man, bantering and flirting with his assistant Pepper Pott in his skyscraper lair. Coulson comes to explain further and takes flight over the ocean with tony and steve. on what at first glance seems to be a gigantic aircraft carrier, the Avengers assemble. the carrier is also capable of flight and ascends into the sky. Loki is located in stuttgart where he’s causing havoc in his attempt to make humanity kneel to

18 • The Avengers

Tom Hiddleston (left) and Chris Hemsworth, The Avengers (Paramount/Marvel Entertainment, 2012).

his wishes. Captain America and iron Man engage him in an inconclusive fight until thor, also of Asgard, arrives and subdues Loki. earth, says thor, is under his protection. iron Man and Captain America get into a scuffle with thor, and when they come to an impasse, agree to take Loki to the ship. thor tells Captain America that Loki’s aim is to bring his army to earth via the tesseract. banner learns that Loki needs iridium as a power source. nick wonders if thor can ferret from Loki the tesseract’s location. Monitored by nick and his crew, black Widow speaks with Loki, reveals some of her life, and asks him to hand over Hawkeye. He wonders if this is love. “Love is for children, i owe him a debt,” she responds. in the command center, steve tells tony that Phase 2 is the building of weapons. bruce chimes in and nick says yes, but only because of what happened a year ago when thor appeared and havoc ensued. Hawkeye and armed men attack nick’s carrier, putting out of commission #3 engine. tony puts on his iron Man suit while black Widow tries in vain to keep bruce from transforming. in his chamber, Loki smiles. Captain America and iron Man begin fixing the engine. black Widow runs from bruce, who in his wrath transformed into the enormous Hulk. to no avail does thor argue with him and they battle it out. the command center perimeter is breached by Hawkeye’s men. Power in engine #1 goes out. iron Man starts the other turbine. thor mistakes a hologram of Loki for the original and is tricked into the chamber. black Widow locates and subdues Hawkeye. Loki stabs Coulson with his scepter and sends thor’s chamber tumbling into the sky, but its prisoner breaks free just before it crashes back down onto a promontory. Loki leaves on Hawkeye’s craft. nick admits that they were going to build an arsenal but

that not all of his chips were bent on that scenario. He tells Captain America and iron Man that heroes are needed even though it’s an “old-fashioned notion.” thor finds his hammer in a field. banner wakes up naked in an old factory and encounters a codger who says he fell in “buck-ass nude.” is he an alien? Hawkeye wakes up and tells black Widow his brain was taken by Loki but he’s okay now. she believes him and seeks her own revenge because she’s been compromised. tony speaks about Coulson with steve, who says Loki needs a power source for his ultimate aim. tony says Loki is a diva who needs an audience. on the roof of the stark building, selvig sets up the device in which the cube will call forth Loki’s army. iron Man finds Loki on his building, takes off his suit, and tells the god that the Avengers will come. Loki throws tony through the window, but his alter ego Jarvis saves his life. selvig’s device begins beaming a ray into the sky, allowing the vanguard of Loki’s army to emerge even as iron Man manages to blast away many of them. thor arrives and fights Loki. black Widow, Captain America and Hawkeye take their warcraft into the fight but Loki damages it and they crash in the street. A dragon-like monstrosity emerges from the portal and wreaks havoc. thor shrugs off the knife wound Loki gives him as his brother jumps onto an alien craft. thor joins his friends on the street and meets bruce, who says, “so this all seems horrible.” Getting angry enough to transform himself into the Hulk, bruce destroys the dragon. Loki demands, “send the rest.” Captain America says they must close the portal. thor uses a blast from his hammer to destroy much of Loki’s army. black Widow is helped by Captain America onto one of the small alien craft, which she flies like a banshee through the city. Meanwhile, nick argues with the Counselors over the advisability or “stupid-ass decision” of using a jet to incinerate new York with a nuclear bomb. Loki chases black Widow, grabs one of Hawkeye’s arrows out of midair, but is attacked by the Hulk and given a good thrashing that leaves him senseless. “Puny god,” states the Hulk. Atop a skyscraper, selvig, come to his senses, tells black Widow to stick Loki’s scepter into the tesseract’s beam to close the portal. nick actually uses a shoulder-held missile to stop one nuclear bomb-bearing jet from taking off, but another succeeds. nick urges iron Man to stop the missile. He has two minutes. black Widow continues poking the scepter into the beam as iron Man latches onto the missile and guides it up into the portal. it looks as if he will sacrifice himself, but he lets go and falls back even as Captain America tells black Widow to close the portal. the Hulk rescues iron Man before he goes splat! Loki crawls to his feet but is in the Avengers’ power. thousands cheer. thor takes possession of Loki and the tesseract. the Counselors deem the Avengers dangerous. Agent Hill asks nick if the Avengers will return. Yes, he replies, because earth will need them. tony reunites with Pepper. on a faraway world a grimvisaged “god” seems to plan another trial for earth and its heroes. tony gathers with his silent pals at the shawarma Palace where their demeanors suggest they are unimpressed with the fare. Reviews: Boxoffice said, “you know what to expect, yet you’re thrilled into smiling.” there was plenty to stare at but the film needed more ambition and character development, especially for the likes of black Widow and Hawkeye. nevertheless, “at least Johansson and renner get to square off in the flick’s best mano-a-mano battle, which is thrilling and wince-worthy because they’re human and evenly matched—everyone else just slams each other against trees.” the Hulk “lumbers away with the movie.” (Amy nicholson, Boxoffice, April 20, 2012); the New Zealand Herald said director Whedon made the superheroes fit together despite disparate backgrounds. it was a “surprisingly snappy 142 minutes…” and “fast-paced, funny, thrilling and well crafted,…” (New Zealand Herald, April 26, 2012); the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette warned that no one would be “bored for even a second.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron • 19

Scarlett Johansson, The Avengers (Paramount/Marvel Entertainment, 2012).

it won’t happen.” it “is the movie comic book fans have been curled up in their parents’ basements fantasizing about for half a century.” the narrative holes and plot issues are but “stylistic speed bumps on the road to scoring the kind of box office knockout summer movies are, unfortunately, all about.” (tony norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 4, 2012); Rolling Stone said, “The Avengers has it all. And then some…. it’s also the blockbuster i saw in my head when i imagined a movie that brought together the idols of the Marvel world in one shiny, stupendously exciting package.” everyone was right, and downey, as star of the Iron Man hits that overshadowed Thor, Captain America and the Hulk movies, “doesn’t hog the spotlight.” ruffalo’s Hulk had “a scruffy warmth and humor … that’s revelatory.” As black Widow, Johansson “has a terrific bit dispatching some russian goons with her hands literally tied behind her back.” essaying worthy nemesis Loki, tom Hiddleston proved the point that “A superhero movie is only as good as its villain,…” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 10, 2012, p. 74); The New Yorker warned that this and all the recent Marvel epics mean audiences must sift “through the rubble of gigantism in search of dramatic life.” At least downey and ruffalo “are damned if they are going to be smothered by a two-hundred-million-dollar b movie.” Certainly it would be fruitless to deny Marvel fans their delight (Anthony Lane, New Yorker, May 14, 2012, pp. 22–23).

Analysis: Marvel fans couldn’t wait and they got what they wanted: action, an excellent villain, humorous asides. some wonder if anyone gets killed in these movies, and it’s an interesting question because not many really do, either because the filmmakers don’t want to show the blood and guts of the civilians caught in the crossfire or they’re setting up sequels. but here there are some compelling dark moments: Coulson’s death, natasha’s veiled regrets about the turn her life has taken. on the other side, perhaps the funniest moment is Hulk swinging and smashing Loki into the floor until he’s insensible. “Puny god” indeed.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron

(Marvel studios/Walt disney Motion Pictures, 2015; 142 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Joss Whedon. screenplay by Joss Whedon. based on the Marvel Comics by stan Lee and Jack Kirby. edited by Jeffrey ford, Lisa Lassek. director of Photography, ben davis. Panavision. technicolor. Music by danny elfman, brian tyler. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, thomas brown, Jordan Crockett, Matthew robinson, Phil sims, Mike stallion.

20 • The Avengers: Age of Ultron set decoration, sheona Mitchley, richard roberts. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by double negative, trixter, Method studios, iola/VfX, Animal Logic VfX, framestore, Cantina Creative, soho-VfX, Luma Pictures, Zoic studios, blur studio, the secret Lab, black Ginger, capital t, Crafty Apes, technicolor VfX. Cast: tony stark/iron Man (robert downey, Jr.), steve rogers/ Captain America (Chris evans), thor (Chris Hemsworth), natasha romanoff/black Widow (scarlett Johansson), bruce banner/Hulk (Mark ruffalo), Hulk (Lou ferrigno, voice), Clint barton/Hawkeye ( Jeremy renner), nick fury (samuel L. Jackson), Ultron ( James spader, voice), Jarvis/the Vision (Paul bettany), Wanda Maximoff/ scarlet Witch (elizabeth olsen), Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron taylor-Johnson), Maria Hill (Cobie smulders), dr. Cho (Claudia Kim), Laura barton (Linda Cardellini), erik selvig (stellan skarsgård), Loki (tom Hiddleston), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Colonel James rhodes/War Machine (don Cheadle), sam Wilson/falcon (Anthony Mackie), Heimdall (idris elba), Ulysses Klaue (Andy serkis), baron Wolfgang von strucker (thomas Kretchsmann), Zrinka (dominique Provost-Chalkley), sokovian (Mariola Jaworska). Synopsis: following tony stark’s lead, the Avengers attack a fortress in sokovia housing strucker’s Hydra research base. despite the interference of a man who runs like the wind and a woman who gains

access to one’s mind, the Avengers are victorious and obtain the allimportant scepter of Loki whose gem facilitates artificial intelligence. back at Avengers central in new York, Agent Hill welcomes tony and tells him about the twins, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, aka Quicksilver and scarlet Witch, who had tried to stymie them in sokovia. the injured Hawkeye is made whole. tony’s alter ego, the program known as Jarvis, analyzes the scepter and discovers something like a code within. tony and bruce wonder if this might be a key to creating Ultron. they have three days before thor will take the gem and scepter to Asgard. tony’s grand goal is to create a coat of armor around the world. When they are gone, the artificial intelligence known as Ultron materializes in the lab and overcomes Jarvis. Ultron begins to build himself a 3d body. At the Avengers party, the partially-finished Ultron appears and tells his hosts that humanity must be allowed to evolve. thus the Avengers must be extinguished. thor knocks him down but he escapes via the internet—with the scepter. steve, aka Captain America, suggests they find him before he’s stronger. back in sokovia, Ultron enlists Pietro and Wanda, telling the latter she will pull the Avengers apart from inside. At a ship salvage yard, Ultron intimidates Ulysses Klaue and finds the vibranium from Wakanda. the Avengers arrive and attack Ultron and his robotic minions. Wanda creates visions in most of the Avengers’ minds. As iron Man, tony calls out “Veronica” to stop the raging Hulk. the Avengers take refuge at a safe house—Hawkeye’s farm. He has a wife, Laura, and children.

Chris Evans (left) and Chris Hemsworth, The Avengers: Age of Ultron (Paramount/Marvel Entertainment, 2015).

Batman and Robin • 21 Who knew? At the U-Gin Genetics research Lab in seoul, Korea, dr. Helen Cho, who’d helped revive Hawkeye after the slovokian affair, is confronted by Ultron and told about a regeneration cradle that will construct a body. back at the farm, bruce tells natasha, aka black Widow, that he must leave. she unsuccessfully tries to seduce him, but he says he can never have a normal life and kids. she admits she can’t either because she was sterilized when groomed as a spy. “still think you’re the only monster on the team?” she asks. in the barn, tony encounters nick fury and they discuss Ultron. At royal Holloway at the University of London, thor asks erik selvig for help. there’s some consolation in that Ultron has been unable to access missile launch codes. fury says their own wit and will can save the world. bruce says Ultron wants to evolve and the key is Helen Cho and whatever is binding vibranium atoms to tissue cells. Ultron is sought at the nexus internet Hub in oslo, norway. erik selvig takes thor to a cave and a pool in which he immerses himself to see the future. in seoul, Wanda reads Ultron’s mind and learns that his endgame is humanity’s destruction. “You’re a mad man,” she says. Ultron blasts Helen and her staff as Wanda and Pietro escape. Captain America finds the wounded Helen, who says the cradle must be transported to tony. the Avengers identify the truck carrying the cradle, and black Widow races after it on a motorcycle but is unsuccessful in stopping it and is in fact captured. Wanda and Pietro help Captain America battle Ultron on a train while tony secures the cradle. Jarvis appears, saying he’d gone underground when Ultron thought he’d disabled him. bio-organics is discussed. tony tells bruce they might as well own the fact that they’re mad scientists. black Widow wakes up in sokovia’s dungeons. the Avengers have a disagreement. thor returns, using his hammer on the cradle to release a red-hued humanoid who tells them he is neither Ultron nor Jarvis, but “i am on the side of life.” they must act now to defeat Ultron. Captain America says they have three minutes to get ready before leaving for sokovia, whose citizens must be immediately evacuated. bruce finds black Widow, and she convinces him they can’t leave the fight. iron Man is told a larger and more powerful Ultron is in the church. Many robotic minions arrive while the non–Jarvis grapples with Ultron. the monster throws a switch that causes the heart of the city to rise from the earth because of the vibranium. black Widow tells bruce, “i adore you … but i need the other guys” as she pushes him off a ledge to make him mad enough to continue the fight. Hawkeye is amused by the situation: “okay, the city is flying. We’re fighting an army of robots. And i have a bow and arrow. none of this makes sense.” obviously Ultron’s intention is for the city to crash back to earth and create mass extinction. nick fury arrives with a repaired Helicarrier and launches transports to take off the citizens. the non–Jarvis helps thor fight Ultron, who takes refuge in an aircraft, firing down on his enemies. the Avengers gather to protect the core. Pietro is mortally wounded protecting Hawkeye and a child. the Hulk carries black Widow to nick before leaping upon Ultron’s craft, knocking Ultron down into the city. scarlet Witch uses her powers on Ultron while thor slams his hammer onto the core. the landmass splits into a million pieces. black Widow uses the monitor to goad the Hulk into reverting to human form, but he turns off the monitor. Ultron meets the non–Jarvis and complains about humanity. the non–Jarvis says there is grace in humanity’s failures, and before Ultron can get close, blasts him. Hawkeye returns to his farm while tony goes to the new Avengers facility in Upstate new York. natasha and nick discuss Hulk’s whereabouts. steve, thor and tony speak of the Mindstone, and thor says he needs to find out what’s coming. steve and natasha prepare to instruct the newest Avenger candidates. on Asgard, thanos realizes that he’ll have to do it himself, in other words, retrieve the infinity stones.

Reviews: USA Today thought it was overstuffed because the director didn’t remember the axiom, “Always leave them wanting more.” in short, tighter editing would not have compromised the pleasures of the spectacle and wit (Claudia Puig, USA Today Life, April 23, 2015, p. d1); the News Journal also considered it “overstuffed…” and “trying to stay light on its feet but gets swallowed up by a larger power: the franchise.” on the other hand, complementing the expected action overload was some wit. As for character backstories, it “pushes further into emotionality and complexity,…” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], May 1, 2015, 55HoursPlus, p. 3Hr); The New Yorker was confounded by “a ball of sparky golden light versus a ball of sparky blue light,…” the “cosmic thingamajig” called a Mind stone, and “molecular functionality,…” (Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, May 4, 2015, p. 62); Rolling Stone extolled director Whedon for “going darker and deeper into the bruised psyches of this dysfunctional family of warriors.” despite “a jumble when the action gets too thick…,” the director recovers to create epic spectacle (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 7, 2015, pp. 64–65). Analysis: there is a surfeit of action thankfully moderated by some tender moments, as when natasha calms the Hulk in the forest and later when she tries to seduce him. Her revelation that she’s been sterilized adds some needed backstory and creates sympathy. there is pathos, too, for Wanda and Pietro, whose families were killed by stark missiles but come to realize that Ultron is the bigger threat. there is tension when we don’t know for a while what happened to natasha when she was swept out of Ultron’s craft. the non–Jarvis, known now as the Vision, is a compelling character. some viewers weren’t engaged until the Avengers took refuge at Hawkeye’s rustic residence and in their conversations became more human.

bAtMAn see Volume i for Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1993).

(Warner bros., 1997; 125 min.) ★★

Batman and Robin

Produced by Peter Macgregor-scott. directed by Joel schumacher. screenplay by Akiva Goldsman. based on dC Comics and batman Characters Created by bob Kane. edited by dennis Virkler. director of Photography, stephen Goldblatt. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by elliot Goldenthal. Production design, barbara Ling. Art direction, Geoff Hubbard. set decoration, dorree Cooper. Costumes by ingrid ferrin, robert turturice. Visual effects, John dykstra. Additional Visual effects by Cinesite, the Chandler Group, Hammerhead, Pacific data images, inc. Cast: bruce Wayne/batman (George Clooney), dick Grayson/ robin (Chris o’donnell), dr. Victor fries/Mr. freeze (Arnold schwarzenegger), dr. Pamela isley/Poison ivy (Uma thurman), barbara Wilson/batgirl (Alicia silverstone), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Gough), Commissioner Gordon (Pat Hingle), dr. Jason Woods ( John Glover), Ms. b. Haven (Viveca A. fox), Julie Madison (elle Macpherson), nora fries (Vendela K. thommessen), bane ( Jeep swenson). Synopsis: At the behest of Commissioner Gordon, a man suits up as batman to foil a new villain, Mr. freeze. Chafing a bit at having only a motorcycle, batman’s young cohort robin follows his leader to the antiquities museum. Mr. freeze has frozen its security guards, and he

22 • Batman Begins and his stooges hold off batman and robin long enough to abscond with a huge diamond. back in the batcave, batman, aka bruce Wayne, discusses Mr. freeze with his butler Alfred, and robin, aka dick Grayson. their new nemesis was once Mr. fries, a scientist who while trying to cure his wife nora of a fatal disease fell into a cryogenic vat and emerged as the villainous Mr. freeze, now accoutered in a diamond-charged metallic suit. Meanwhile, dr. Woodrue uses collaborator dr. Pamela isley’s plant serum “Venom” to turn an unwilling subject into bane, a supercharged and masked brute. isley herself is transformed into “Poison ivy,” a champion of mother earth who kills Woodrue and sets out with bane to bring the plant world back into prime focus. dining with Julie Madison, bruce tells her he’s not the marrying kind. during their meal he has a vision of Poison ivy. robin begins researching ivy and on his monitor observes someone steal a motorcycle from the garage. What ensues is a dangerous race they barely survive. back home, this young woman, barbara Wilson, reveals that ever since her parents died she’s lived dangerously and has made enough money to take her uncle, Alfred Pennyworth, away from his life of servitude at the Wayne mansion. He’s sick, she tells robin, and bruce corroborates that Alfred’s dying. bruce speaks with Alfred, who says he’s seen the best doctors and has no regrets. After all, he’s looked after heroes. robin reports that freeze is on the loose again, and he and batman enter the cell with nora’s body. she might be cured of Macgregor’s syndrome someday, says batman. While freeze freezes the police, ivy uses her mist to mess with batman’s and, especially, robin’s mind. batman and robin encounter bane, and ivy once more mists robin. the police recover but freeze is still more than their match. robin contests batman’s view that ivy’s kiss has mesmerized him and says he’s going solo. ivy disconnects nora and takes her pendant to freeze, telling him that batman killed his wife. freeze is all in for revenge, not only on the Caped Crusaders but Gotham and the world at large. At the Wayne manor, a doctor makes Alfred comfortable. once again robin argues about ivy. barbara goes to Alfred and is given a case for Alfred’s brother Wilfred. At the dedication of a new telescope at Gotham observatory, ivy mists Gordon and takes his keys. At the police station, bane disrupts the bat signal. While bruce and Alfred discuss death, barbara opens her uncle’s case, finds a disk and inserts into the computer. barbara discovers the blueprints for the batcave, its vehicles, and all the other paraphernalia. Meanwhile, freeze is set on using the new telescope’s reflecting crystals to complete his freezing engine. the “robin signal” is projected into the sky. bruce and dick argue over ivy’s spell once again. bruce says they are supposed to be friends, partners, brothers and asks dick to trust him. the observatory is taken over by freeze. barbara enters the batcave and a monitor activates with her uncle’s face and voice telling her he foresaw this eventuality and created something for her. she asks to be suited up. robin confronts ivy in her lair and kisses her, but he has fake lips and is not this time entranced. He has discovered freeze’s intentions to freeze Gotham. batman appears but ivy entangles him in her vines. A black-clad female enters and fights ivy, knocking her into a flytrap. robin emerges from the water he’d been knocked into and learns that this Batgirl is barbara. freeze begins glaciating Gotham. batman needs to combat this by relaying sunlight from one side of the earth to the other via satellites. batgirl and robin defeat bane. the relay works and the city is unfrozen, but freeze has additional tricks up his sleeve, and batgirl must use her computer skills to hold the upper hand. finally knocking freeze down, batman tells him that ivy detached the hose to nora’s container. nora is still alive, and freeze can cure her. freeze gives batman two vials of blue liquid that cure Alfred. ivy is alive in a cell when freeze appears and threatens her. At Wayne Manor, Alfred is walking about, hale and

hearty. dick and barbara and bruce become “partners,” and Alfred says, “We’re going to need a bigger cave.” Reviews: the New York Times thought this fourth entry in the series was “the most frenetically gaudy….” Poison ivy “captures the essence of ‘batman and robin,’ a wild, campy costume party of a movie….” director schumacher “keeps the film as big, bold, noisy and mindlessly overwhelming as possible.” its modus operandi was “delivering nonstop glitter.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, June 20, 1997, p. C1); roger ebert wanted to like it but was nonplussed by its emphasis on special effects rather than an exploration of “the bizarre world of its heroes,…” (www.rogerebert.com, June 20, 1997). Analysis: Batman and Robin is for some the most over-produced movie of all time, by others as the worst film ever. As a purely comic book transferred to the screen, it works. it is more like the tV series of the 1960s than its theatrical predecessors and the ensuing Christopher nolan-directed films. it may strike some as curious that Arnold schwarzenegger receives top billing even though he is the villain, not the title character. remember that George Clooney did not have a long resume at that point and schwarzenegger was The Terminator and star of such other hit and icon-making movies as Conan the Barbarian, Predator, Total Recall, and True Lies.

(Warner bros., 2005; 140 min.) ★★★★

Batman Begins

Produced by Charles roven, emma thomas, Larry franco. directed by Christopher nolan. screenplay by Christopher nolan, david s. Goyer. story by david s. Goyer. based Upon Characters Appearing in Comic books Published by dC Comics. batman Created by bob Kane. edited by Lee smith. director of Photography, Wally Pfister. Panavision. Prints by technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer, James newton Howard. Production design, nathan Crowley. Art direction, susan Whitaker, dominic Masters, Peter francis, Paul Kirby. set decoration, simon Wakefield, Paki smith. Costumes by Lindy Hemming. Visual effects by double negative, Cutting edge, the Moving Picture Company, bUf, rising sun Pictures PtY Ltd, the senate Visual effects, Jim Henson’s Creature shop. Cast: bruce Wayne/batman (Christian bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), ducard (Liam neeson), rachel dawes (Katie Holmes), Jim Gordon (Gary oldman), dr. Jonathan Crane/scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), Carmine falcone (tom Wilkinson), earle (rutger Hauer), ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), flass (Mark boone Junior), thomas Wayne (Linus roache), Martha Wayne (sara stewart), finch (Larry Holden), Judge faden (Gerard Murphy), Loeb (Colin Mcfarlane), bruce, age 8 (Gus Lewis), rachel, age 8 (emma Lockhart). Synopsis: While playing with his friend rachel, young bruce Wayne falls into a dry well and traumatized by bats disturbed by his unwanted presence. Years later, the grown bruce travels the world and finds himself in an Asian prison. one day he meets Henri ducard, who enlists him into ra’s al Ghul’s League of shadows. its mission: destroy corruption and human evil. ducard trains bruce in all manner of martial arts and the student comes to equal his mentor. However, when he learns that the League intends to destroy the cesspool that Gotham has become, bruce rejects ducard. in a fight in the temple, explosives ignite and destroy it, but bruce saves ducard before returning to his city and meeting rachel again, now a lawyer. recalling his youth, he vividly remembers an evening at the opera where distressing bat-like characters caused him to asked his parents tom and Martha if they might leave. exiting into an alley, they were confronted

Batman Begins • 23 by a homeless man who mugged and shot bruce’s parents. bruce was comforted by Police sergeant Gordon. Alone, bruce came under the direct tutelage of the family butler, Alfred. fourteen years have passed since then, and the murderer, Joe Chill, is released from prison in exchange for snitching on big-time mob boss Carmine falcone. About to gun down Chill in the courthouse hall, bruce finds the job done for him by one of falcone’s assassins. discovering what bruce was about to do, rachel condemns him for vigilantism and says his father would not have approved. she drives him to falcone’s hangout to show him the underside of Gotham. bruce confronts falcone, who regales him with the pleasure of being feared before having him tossed into the street. discovering caves underneath Wayne Manor, bruce enlists Alfred in converting them into a sanctuary from which he can engage in his task: destroying evil in Gotham. to that end, he returns to Wayne enterprises, run now by William earle, and from Lucius fox learns of the defense technology his father had created, including a black bodysuit and Christian Bale, Batman Begins (Warner Bros., 2005). an armored car called the tumbler. Hiding his mission from public and private eyes, bruce Maybe someday the real bruce will return. Gordon becomes a lieumasquerades as a playboy while secretly messing with falcone’s optenant in the police department, and while demonstrating for batman erations. He gives rachel incriminating photos. discovering that the searchlight bat-signal, informs him of a new criminal about town, Police sergeant James Gordon is an honest man, bruce slowly insinshowing him a Joker playing card. batman will investigate. uates himself into his sphere. one of Wayne enterprises’ ships is Reviews: The Chicago Tribune said director nolan improved on the robbed of a new weapon, a military microwave emitter. Having been “featherweight ‘batman and robin’” by turning the film into “one of indicted for criminal activity, falcone intimidates psychiatrist dr. the artier, more noir-drenched, psychologically tortured and memoJonathan Crane, hoping he will, as he has done so often, declare him rable of all the recent big comic-book hero movies.” (Michael Wilmtoo mentally ill to stand trial. However, while wearing a burlap scareington, Chicago Tribune, June 14, 2005). the New York Times quipped crow mask, Crane uses a hallucinogen to actually make falcone seem that it would have been appropriate for the Caped Crusader to have insane and has him committed to his own Arkham Asylum. bruce, “dispatched the infernally perky actress,…” [Katie Holmes] rather now as “the batman,” is also hit with the hallucinogen and set afire, than spiriting her to his lair. that aside, the movie was a triumph for but Alfred retrieves him, and fox provides an antidote. Crane infects batman, “the first to usher it into the kingdom of movie myth.” it was rachel with the fear drug he’s been pouring into the city’s water supply. a “tense, effective iteration of bob Kane’s original comic book….” batman comes to rachel’s rescue and after overcoming Crane gives Chalk the success up to director nolan (Manohla dargis, New York him a dose of his own medicine and finds that this evildoer works for Times, June 15, 2005, pp. e1, e7). Boxoffice found it the closest cinera’s al Ghul. batman provides rachel with an antidote and gives her matic incarnation of bob Kane’s 1939 creation, capturing “the very two more vials, one for Gordon and one to be mass-produced for essence of what batman has always been, and why he, more than any Gotham’s citizens. ra’s al Ghul is in fact ducard, and he stole the miother comic book superhero, speaks so strongly to what it means to crowave emitter from Wayne enterprises with plans to vaporize the be human.” (Wade Major, Boxoffice, August 2005, p. 44). city’s water supply by making Crane’s drug airborne. Mass hysteria Analysis: there are moments in some films that are the one point would result. At bruce’s birthday party, ducard lays out his plans, when the film announces its stature, its gravitas. these moments may telling bruce it was a mistake to save him at the temple. His minions not be particularly exceptional in cinema as a whole, but in the context set fire to the manor and a beam falls on bruce. Alfred rescues him of their own film they’re special. recall the great cry of angst in Suand they flee to the cave in time to avoid emulation. ducard places perman (1979), when the Man of steel cries out his pain to the heavens the microwave emitter on a monorail and heads for Gotham’s main as the dying (or dead) Lois Lane lies at his feet. that film, at that mowater source. batman rescues rachel from a mob and reveals his idenment, rose head and shoulders above what it had been just seconds tity before chasing ducard, fighting him on the monorail while before, as Kal-el’s anguish pulls you into the film. this is purely subGordon drives the tumbler beneath the railway, setting off explosions jective, but the moment has endured. Batman Begins provides a similar that destroy the track ahead. Getting the upper hand in his fight with epiphany—again, this is subjective—when the Caped Crusader ducard, batman chooses not to kill his mentor but won’t help save snares a double-dealing cop in an alley, catapulting him up into the him either. As batman glides away, the train with the emitter and darkened overhangs of Gotham City for an impromptu interrogation. ducard crash to ground. bruce fires earle and promotes fox. At the it’s a very grim Caped Crusader who puts the questions to the jaded ruins of Wayne Manor, bruce tells rachel he’ll rebuild. rachel says lawman. “i dunno, i dunno, i swear to God!” wails the terrified cop. his crime-fighting mission is too much for her and she must leave.

24 • The Dark Knight “swear to Me!” snarls the batman in return, jerking the dangling cop up close for some meaningful eye contact. this batman is a feral avenger who doles out justice in a raw and painful way. We’ve already seen his angst—the terrified little boy whose beloved parents lie dead at his feet, murdered by a penny-ante assassin. now, it’s clear he’s ready to go to work! This is the batman artist frank Miller brought to the world a couple decades ago. Much as tim burton’s first batman opus is to be praised—and who could deny nicholson’s Joker or Anton furst’s gothic vision of Gotham City?—this version has to get the nod. Michael Keaton was always a problematic batman. He had a certain moody command as bruce Wayne, but when it came to the title character, the clothes clearly “made the man,” and in that respect the 1989 film fell a few grams shy of verisimilitude. it was also, for an action movie, rather shy of action. the less said about Val Kilmer and George Clooney the better, probably; those Joel shumacher films delivered on the action, but were otherwise nothing special. in this latest effort, Christian bale (despite the fact that he sometimes resembles James brolin) provides the properly ripped body beneath the body armor and there’s no skimping on the action; he launches himself into the fray with convincing authority. Michael Caine’s wry take on butler Alfred is another plus, as is the presence of Morgan freeman and Gary oldman, who gets to play a positive character for a change, first as sergeant, then Lieutenant Gordon. Katie Holmes is the weakest link in the main lineup. she’s supposed to be a feisty and tough district Attorney, but do we see that? someone like Gillian Anderson would have been more convincing, but maybe she would have projected too old an image.

(Warner bros., 2008; 152 min.) ★★★★

The Dark Knight

Produced by emma thomas, Charles roven, Christopher nolan. directed by Christopher nolan. screenplay by Jonathan nolan, Christopher nolan, david s. Goyer. based upon the characters appearing in comic books published by dC Comics. batman created by bob Kane. edited by Lee smith. director of Photography, Wally Pfister. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. James newton Howard. Production design, nathan Crowley. Art direction, Mark bartholomew, James Hambidge, Craig Jackson, steven Lawrence, naaman Marshall. set decoration, Peter Lando. Costumes by Linda Hamming. Makeup Artist, Jenny sharpe. Visual effects by double negative, framestore, buf Compagnie, Cinesite (europe) Ltd. Cast: bruce Wayne/batman (Christian bale), Joker (Heath Ledger), Alfred (Michael Caine), Harvey dent (Aaron eckhart), rachel dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Gordon (Gary oldman), Lucius fox (Morgan freeman), ramirez (Monique Gabriela Curnen), Wuertz (ron dean), scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), Lau (Chin Han), Mayor (nestor Carbonell), Maroni (eric roberts), Mike engel (Anthony Michael Hall), Loeb (Colin Mcfarlane), Chechen (ritchie Coster), barbara Gordon (Melinda McGraw), James Gordon, Jr. (nathan Gamble), Coleman reese ( Joshua Harto), bank manager (William fichtner), Gambol (Michael Jai White), natascha (beatrice rosen). Synopsis: A crew of clown-masked men rob a large Gotham bank, but only one survives—by shooting the others. At night a bunch of fake batmen try to foil some sort of criminal activity in a parking garage but must be saved by the real batman, who captures dr. Crane, now known as scarecrow. batman and Police Lieutenant Gordon

check out the bank vault. Meanwhile, in court, attorney rachel dawes and d.A. Harvey dent prosecute Maroni, new head of the falcone crime empire, but their star witness recants on the stand, telling everyone he is in fact the head of the family. that evening rachel and Harvey share a dinner at an upscale venue when bruce Wayne and his current girlfriend natasha, the prima ballerina of the Moscow ballet, arrive and pull up chairs. bruce owns the restaurant. they discuss batman’s life. Across town, the mobs meet and listen to accountant Lau’s reason for flying to Hong Kong with their $68 million: to keep it safe from the police. the grotesque and seemingly insane Joker appears and tells the mobsters that they are afraid of the night, of batman. He says batman knows no jurisdiction and will pursue Lau to Hong Kong. so let’s kill the batman—now. Unimpressed with this “freak,” mobster Gambol puts a $500,000 bounty on him. the Joker displays bombs inside his coat and walks out. that night dent and Gordon shine the bat signal into the sky. the three discuss Lau and batman says he’ll get him back. Later, bruce and fox debate the tactics involved. A newspaper headline indicates that a billionaire has absconded with the entire russian ballet aboard a “Love boat.” With Alfred taking up the slack amongst the bikinied ballerinas, bruce dives off and swims to a seaplane. Meanwhile, the Joker kills the mobster Gambol for putting the bounty on him. in Hong Kong, fox meets with Lau to tell him his deal with Wayne enterprises is off. fox then tells bruce about the special cellphone that acts like sonar and can locate Lau. bruce as batman grabs up Lau and is skyhooked to a waiting plane. in Gotham, rachel interrogates Lau, who agrees to give up the mobsters in exchange for protection and a plane back to Hong Kong. dent realizes they can prosecute all the mobsters under riCo and agrees. Gordon arrests Maroni and his confederates. the Mayor, dent and Gordon discuss the precarious nature of all this. A batman wannabe is captured by the Joker, who leaves his card on him: “Will the real batman Please stand Up?” Alfred and bruce see this on tV. the Joker says the batman must reveal his identity or else people will start to die. during a party for dent at bruce’s penthouse, rachel is told that the day is coming when Gotham will not need batman. bruce labels Harvey the new face of crime busting. Gordon realizes the dnA they’ve found of the Commissioner, Mayor and a judge confirm the Joker’s targets. the judge is blown up in her car, the Commissioner is poisoned. the Joker invades bruce’s party looking for dent. bruce drags Harvey to safety while the Joker explains to rachel how his face became distorted. batman arrives and overcomes the Joker’s goons. the Joker, however, breaks a window and throws rachel outside and she slides off the roof. batman glides after her and they both survive a landing on top of a car. Harvey confronts Lau in his cell and says he’ll send him to County unless he cooperates. Alfred tells bruce he’s pushed the mob so far they’ve turned to a man they don’t fully understand, and “some men just want to watch the world burn.” At a crime scene, batman drills out a wall piece containing a bullet. Mayor Garcia is next on the assassination list. fox listens to accountant reese tell him the Applied science division of Wayne enterprises has disappeared overnight. reese wants $10 million dollars a year for life not to reveal Wayne is the caped crusader. fox is amused, telling the would-be extortionist that demanding such from a man who pummels criminals to their deaths…. reese slinks off. fox reengineers the bullet scan so bruce can get a print. the funeral for the fallen Commissioner involves masses of policeman, preceded down the street by Mayor Garcia. bruce discovers a half dozen tied up policemen tied up, their uniforms stolen. He also finds a scope pointed down at the funeral cortege—a plant as it turns out because he is the target. He escapes injury, but not so Gordon, who knocks down the Mayor as one of the bogus policemen shoots at him. Gordon is seen to have

The Dark Knight • 25

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (Warner Bros., 2008).

taken the bullet. Harvey enters the ambulance with the shooter and rages at him. Mrs. Gordon is informed of her husband’s death. the bat signal is projected into the sky with no result. Maroni is accosted by batman as rachel learns of Gordon’s death. she tells Harvey that bruce can be trusted and is told in turn to go to his place for safety. Pushed from a fire escape by batman, Maroni survives but with mangled legs. batman tries to get Maroni to cough up the Joker’s location. Maroni says the Joker has no rules, just take off your mask and let him find you. Harvey continues trying to intimidate Gordon’s shooter. batman shows up and says the guy was a former Arkham Asylum patient. He gives Harvey a pep talk and says to hold a press conference where he, batman, will reveal his true identity. bruce goes to rachel and says he has enough blood on his hands. they kiss. Alfred burns records and tells bruce that batman can be the outcast to make the right choice. At the press conference, Harvey tells the crowd, “i am the batman.” He is handcuffed and led away. rachel and Alfred talk about bruce’s sacrifice—to be more than a hero. she gives Alfred a note for bruce when the time is right. she finds Harvey as he’s to be transferred to County as a lure to Joker. the convoy is attacked as batman pursues in the tumbler, which is eventually wrecked. He then takes his motorcycle, but when he has the opportunity to run right into the Joker swerves and falls off. the Joker beats on his nemesis but Gordon, his death a ruse, appears, and the Joker is taken to lockup. the Mayor appoints Gordon the new Commissioner. in his cell, the Joker is beaten by batman even as the criminal says, “You complete me.” And, “You see i’m not a monster, i’m just ahead of the curve.” it is learned that rachel and Harvey have been kidnapped.

their locations are identified. batman says he’ll go for rachel. Harvey manages to make his chair fall over but knocks over a barrel of gasoline that gets on his face. A man in a cell falls to the floor. He seems to have something inside his chest. He explodes and the Joker escapes. batman has actually gone to rescue Harvey, not rachel. Harvey rages against the decision. rachel is killed and though outside, flames hit Harvey’s gas-soaked face. the Joker finds Lau in his cell. Alfred reads the letter rachel gave him. it says she loves Harvey and will marry him and keep bruce as a friend. batman visits Harvey, the left side of whose face is bandaged. Alfred brings breakfast and the note, telling a depressed bruce that things always get worse before getting better, that rachel believed in what they stood for. “she was going to wait for me, Alfred,” says bruce and asks about the note Alfred picks off the tray. “it can wait,” says Alfred. in the hospital, Harvey remembers rachel as a tV news reporter. in a chair beside him, reese tells the audience that the true identity of batman will be shortly revealed. Gordon visits Harvey, noting that he has refused skin grafts and pain medication. Harvey demands that Gordon call him what they’d labeled him at school. Gordon reluctantly replies, “two-face. Harvey two-face.” Gordon asks which men he can trust. in the hall, he encounters Maroni, who agrees to give him “the clown.” in a docked ship, the Joker burns up a giant pile of money and kills Lau. He tells a criminal that all he cares about is money and that he, the Joker, will give the city a better class of criminal. He phones the newsman and says that if Coleman reese isn’t killed in sixty minutes he’s going to blow up a hospital. Gordon orders evacuation of all city hospitals. bruce takes his Lamborghini to intercept the convoy carrying reese.

26 • The Dark Knight Rises the Joker masquerades as a nurse and tells Harvey he’s not a schemer. “i’m an agent of chaos.” bruce crashes into part of the police convoy, and Gordon wonders if he did it on purpose to help save reese. the Joker sets off explosives in Gotham General Hospital. fox learns of a break-in at r&d. tV newscasters urge the populace to leave the city. Harvey shoots Wuertz after asking him who abducted rachel. fox locates bruce in the room of monitors and realizes he’d turned every cellphone in the city into a microphone. He finds this unethical, but bruce convinces him to triangulate and find the Joker’s whereabouts. Gordon and the Mayor talk about taking citizens and prisoners from the city on ferries. Harvey finds Maroni and asks who took rachel before shooting the driver and making the car crash. two ferries, one of civilians, the other of criminals, set out only to learn that the Joker has provided each with a detonator. by midnight, one or the other must press the button that will blow up the opposite ferry. fox determines that the Joker is at the Pruitt building. Gordon’s assistant is forced by Harvey to call Mrs. Gordon. from a rooftop, Gordon can see what he thinks are the Joker’s men in a nearby building. batman arrives and argues that things can’t be this simple and gets two minutes to check it out. He swoops into the Pruitt building and finds hostages, including the Gordons, dressed in clown masks. the Joker unleashes dogs on batman and joins in the fray. out on the convict boat, one of the prisoners request the detonator which he tosses out the window. thus, no fireworks. the Joker is disappointed but has his own detonator. However, batman ejects blades into him and yanks him out over the street. Pulled back up, the Joker says Harvey is his ace in the hole. A sWAt team takes the Joker as batman races off. Gordon finds his family but is knocked down by Harvey who threatens, first, his wife, then his boy. batman arrives. Harvey shoots him but a few moments later is knocked down by batman. both fall through the building to the ground. batman survives but Harvey’s dead. because their real nemesis started this, Gordon says, “the Joker won.” the near future: Gordon presides at a memorial for Harvey before destroying the bat signal. Alfred burns rachel’s note. fox leaves. back in the alley, Gordon tells his son that batman ran off “because we have to chase him.” because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, because he can take it, because he’s not a hero. “He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. the dark Knight.” Reviews: the Star Tribune found it “an elegant, urgent epic that doesn’t just extend the franchise, but deepens it into a film noir morality tale.” (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], July 16, 2008); The Blade endorsed the early move from “comic book action movie…” into a serious examination of the rights of the individual compared to the community. the film also joined the ranks of film noir as evidenced in the likes of Double Indemnity, Chinatown, Body Heat and Road to Perdition. As the Joker, Heath Ledger provided “one of the most astounding acting performances in recent memory.” (nanciann Cherry, The Blade [toledo, oH], July 17, 2008); the Gold Coast Bulletin said only the length could be counted a negative. otherwise it had “stunning visuals, compelling story and great acting….” the buzz around Ledger’s performance was justified (ross Healy, Gold Coast Bulletin, July 29, 2008, section tXt4U, p. 023). Analysis: Ledger’s Joker joined the universe of great cinematic villains and won a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting Actor after his untimely 2008 death via accidental prescription drug overdose. Commissioner Gordon’s semi-soliloquy at the end is very moving. each of the nolan batman films became longer, to their admittedly minor detriment. At the time, The Dark Knight was the maximum opus of the superhero genre. Heath Ledger’s performance was as gripping as anything one could recall; it was the feat of his lifetime and quite up to the de-

mands and standards of many a more “serious” film. Ledger’s “Joker” is as far past nicholson’s as Jack’s was past Caesar romero’s on the eldritch Adam West tV series. everyone’s up to par in this entry, even eric roberts, who is bulked up a bit and brings some necessary gravitas to his relatively small role. the same goes for Gary oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan freeman; all acquit themselves nicely. the “action” in The Dark Knight is unparalleled in this genre, especially in a two-and-a-half-hour film. in its gritty brutality it should be classed with Die Hard or The Rock or other celebrated high-water action efforts. the action is so nearly constant that the few pauses between setups are so pregnant with potential action as to not count as pauses at all, but as springboards into the next setup. Watching on an iMAX screen was a mixed blessing. it was difficult to take in everything that was happening. A traditional screen—even the widest of the wide screens—would have made the spectacle more palatable. it wouldn’t have been the overpowering experience that it was in Charlotte, north Carolina’s discovery Place (a planetarium), but it would have been more easily managed. because the whole movie was not shot for iMAX, in more than a few instances, the curvature of the screen distorted scenes (mostly interiors) filmed with traditional lenses in a curiously curved way that gave things a definitely surreal appearance. it is to be kept in mind, though, that surrealism in a movie of this type might not be a bad thing at all.

(Warner bros., 2012; 165 min.) ★★★★

The Dark Knight Rises

Produced by emma thomas, Christopher nolan, Charles roven. directed by Christopher nolan. screenplay by Jonathan nolan, Christopher nolan. based upon characters appearing in comic books published by dC Comics. batman created by bob Kane. edited by Lee smith. director of Photography, Wally Pfister. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production design, nathan Crowley, Kevin Kavanaugh. Art direction, Joshus Lusby, dean Wolcott, Zack Grobler, robert Woodruff. set decoration, Paki smith. Costumes by Lindy Hemming. Visual effects by double negative, new deal studios, inc. Cast: bruce Wayne/batman (Christian bale), John blake ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt), bale (tom Hardy), selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), Miranda tate (Marion Cotillard), Commissioner Gordon (Gary oldman), Alfred (Michael Caine), fox (Morgan freeman), foley (Matthew Modine), dr. Pavel (Alon Moni Aboutboul), daggett (ben Mendelsohn), Captain Jones (daniel sungata), stryver (burn Gorman), CiA op (Aidan Gillen), special ops sergeant (sam Kennard), Prisoner (tom Conti), thomas Wayne (Linus roache), Mayor (nestor Carbonell). Synopsis: in Africa, the masked bane and his followers hijack and destroy a CiA plane in order to retrieve dr. Pavel, a nuclear scientist. in Gotham, Mayor Garcia laments Harvey dent’s death at the hands of a thug. Commissioner Gordon puts away his prepared speech and instead speaks of the thousand convicts safely housed in black Gate Prison. At Wayne Manor, Alfred gives instructions to the kitchen staff and servers. Alfred meets Miranda tate and daggett, one of Wayne enterprises’ board members. After a server steels a string of pearls from a safe, she encounters bruce Wayne, walking with a cane. she trips him and leaps out the window. bruce tells Alfred the intruder had been looking for his fingerprints. Young officer blake asks Gordon about the death of dent and the absence of the batman. Alfred finds bruce below the manse checking his computer regarding the cat bur-

The Dark Knight Rises • 27 glar, one selina Kyle. Alfred tells bruce he vacations abroad each year and his special place is a café in florence where he fantasizes about one day sitting to table and seeing bruce across the terrace. Alfred admits he really didn’t want bruce to come back to Gotham, which holds only pain and tragedy. officer blake comes upon the scene of a murdered teenage boy. He was from st. swithens, which he learns has not been receiving Wayne enterprises money for some time. He speaks with another teen, Mark, about the tunnels Jimmy entered before his death. selina takes bruce’s fingerprints to her contact, who has no intention of letting her go, but he’s inadvertently signaled the police and she escapes when a sWAt team breaks in. blake shows up as a sniper picks off police. Gordon arrives, spots the manhole escape route and follows. He is captured by bane but manages to roll into the rushing water and is found by blake, who later goes to Wayne Manor and tells bruce about an underground army. He says Gordon needs the batman, and reveals that he’d met bruce at st. swithens. He was an orphan there. He, at least, still believes in the batman. bruce sees a doctor about his infirmities but before leaving rappels down to Commissioner Gordon’s room. At a charity ball run by Miranda tate, bruce dances with the masked selina, who talks about what she had to do to survive. Although he takes back his pearls, she kisses him. fox and bruce confer about losing money on their secret fusion project. What are the options? the machine can’t be turned on, but Miranda tate might help them. “show her the machine,” says fox before apprising bruce of “the bat,” his sophisticated flying machine. bruce begins rehabilitating himself. Alfred tells bruce that bane was trained by ra’s Al Ghul but was banished from the League of shadows. Alfred argues that the city doesn’t need batman’s body, rather his knowledge and resources. bane invades the stock exchange and downloads important financial information. He and his men, though confronted by police, use hostages to get away on motorcycles. batman captures one miscreant but is cornered on a bridge by the police under foley, who wants to achieve fame by taking down the caped crusader, but is unsuccessful on this outing. selina confronts Wayne enterprises board member daggett, talking about her clean slate. Using him as a hostage, she escapes out a window. batman arrives via the bat and takes her off the roof as bane observes from below. batman drops off selina and returns to his cave and argues with Alfred about bane. to bruce, bane is just a mercenary. With much regret, Alfred says he won’t bury bruce and reveals that rachel was going to marry Harvey dent. bruce lets him leave his employ. fox tells bruce he’s broke and that daggett is in charge. Miranda must be shown the reactor. After the board meeting, bane kills daggett. bruce and blake, who suspects that Mr. Wayne is batman, talk about bane being in the tunnels beneath Gotham. bruce visits selina and convinces her to take him to bane’s hideaway. Gordon appoints blake a detective reporting directly to him. Miranda visits bruce at the Manor and spends the night. bruce dons the batman suit and finds selina, who guides him through the tunnels and, traitorously, right to bane. After a long fight, bane breaks batman’s back. He wakes in an underground prison in great pain. A prisoner explains how bane loved the warlord’s daughter and secretly married her. found out, he was exiled and the daughter, pregnant, entered the prison in his stead. Years later the child—presumably bane—escaped. ducard, aka ra’s Al Ghul, appears to bruce in a vision. in Gotham, bane confronts the Wayne board of directors and takes hostage fox, Miranda and another member to the Wayne reactor. Commissioner Gordon, still hospitalized, tells foley to send every available policeman into the tunnels. blake is to chase down daggett. Miranda uses her handprint to prevent bane from killing the other recalcitrant board members, and fox does the same to start up the reactor. Pavel will get it running properly. blake finds barrels of explosives at a construction site. He kills two of

the workers before reporting back to Gordon, who realizes his men have been sent into a trap. Accompanied by his armed legions, bane enters the football stadium and tells the crowd that a new age has come in which they will control their own destiny. simultaneously, most of the bridges connecting Gotham with the outside world are wrecked. two assassins sent to murder Gordon are themselves killed by him as blake arrives. bane continues his harangue about liberating the people. He kills Pavel once the reactor, now a bomb, is armed. this will be mobile and no one will know who the trigger man is. the city jails are opened. back in his prison, bruce is tethered by a long-time inmate to ropes and his back pummeled to correctly re-position the vertebrae and make him whole again. bruce fails on his initial attempts at escape. After being told that he must ascend and leap as would a child—as the only one who escaped succeeded—bruce negotiates the hole. in Gotham, trials are held, the defendants found guilty. some are killed, others exiled, which is also a death sentence because they are sent out onto the thin river ice. Gordon is captured while trying to identify the truck carrying the bomb. sent onto the ice, he is rescued by batman, who then saves blake in a tunnel. An all-out assault on bane’s headquarters is ordered. Gordon takes a tracking device and discovers the truck with the bomb and stops the detonation … for the moment. selina joins batman, her mission to blow a hole in the blocked entrance of a tunnel. batman fights bane in the street and gets the upper hand until Miranda stabs him with a knife and reveals she is the one who escaped the hole, that bane had assisted her, that her father was ducard. she leaves and selina appears and blasts bane. driving the bomb truck, Miranda is eventually forced into a deadly crash. fox barely escapes the flooding of the reactor room. batman attaches the bomb to his craft and zooms from the city out over the ocean. from their perches, blake and the others witness the ensuing mushroom cloud. Gordon reads from A Tale of Two Cities at the private funeral on the Wayne Manor grounds. Alfred is distraught. in the city, a large statue of batman is unveiled. Wayne Manor is to be converted into a home for orphaned and needy children. Alfred travels to that florence cafe and to his surprise and delight sees bruce and selina at another table across the terrace. they smile. Meanwhile, blake, who has rarely used his name robin, swings through a waterfall and enters the batcave. Reviews: the New York Times found it a satisfying conclusion to the director’s trilogy. it combined entertainment—and action scenes “more visually coherent than in his [nolan’s] previous batman films…”—with a welcome complexity in its “overarching, seemingly blunt story of good versus evil.” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, July 18, 2012); the Southland Times found the film’s scale and casting utterly impressive. director nolan’s gave his trilogy “a satisfying, large, complex, yet very human ending.” (Maree field, Southland Times, July 21, 2012); Time waxed enthusiastic over a “mesmerizing climax” for director nolan’s trilogy. Contrasted with The Avengers, this was more adult fare. Academy Award nominations were expected for bale, Hardy and Michael Caine (richard Corliss, Time, July 30, 2012, p. 103). Analysis: We should remember that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and sciences is not ordained by God or the Constitution to nominate for awards only the best. Like other institutions, its members are only human. nevertheless, it is curious that the film received no Academy Award nominations. does Christopher nolan get a fair shake? (While 2010’s Inception did receive a best film Academy Award nomination, nolan failed to get a best director nomination, a sure sign the film wouldn’t win the statuette). the minor negatives here are the length (again) and a rather physically spare nemesis cum ally in Anne Hathaway’s selina Kyle. Gordon-Levitt as robin is a nice touch. Hans Zimmer’s brooding music is a definite plus.

28 • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

(Warner bros./dC Comics/Atlas entertainment, 2016; 151 min.) ★★★ Produced by Charles roven, deborah snyder. directed by Zach synder. screenplay by Chris terrio, david s. Goyer. based on Characters from dC Comics. batman Created by bob Kane, bill finger. superman Created by Jerry siegel, Joe shuster. edited by david brenner. director of Photography, Larry fong. Kodak Motion Picture Products. Music by Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL. Production design, Patrick tatopoulos. Art direction, Lorin flemming, beat frutiger, Greg Hooper, Kevin ishioka, tom frohling. set decoration, Carolyn Loucks. Costumes by Michael Wilkinson. Visual effects by MPC, scanline, Weta digital Ltd., double negative, Method studios, shade. Cast: bruce Wayne/batman (ben Affleck), Clark Kent/superman (Henry Cavill), Lois Lane (Amy Adams), Lex Luthor ( Jesse eisenberg), Martha Kent (diane Lane), Alfred ( Jeremy irons), Perry White (Laurence fishburne), senator finch (Holly Hunter), diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Anatoli Knyazev (Callan Mulvey), Mercy Graves (tao okamoto), Martha Wayne (Lauren Cohan), General Zod (Michael shannon), bruce Wayne as a child (brandon spink), swanwick (Harry Lennix).

Synopsis: Having defeated General Zod and saved the lives of many citizens, superman comes under fire for causing plenty of destruction along the way. the billionaire bruce Wayne is especially troubled. He’d witnessed first hand the chaos and carnage, including the killing and maiming of his employees, including Wallace Keefe. As batman, he had endeavored to quell Gotham’s miscreants, usually without killing them. Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, now living with superman, aka reporter Clark Kent, is also worried. Meanwhile, Lex Corp’s Lex Luthor has been contacted by arms runner Anatoli Knyazev. Luthor asks senator finch to allow him a portion of the Kryptonite found in the indian ocean. He will weaponize it if necessary against any future Kryptonian invasion. Unknown to finch, Luthor gains access to Zod’s corpse and his Kryptonite scout ship. Wayne attends Luthor’s party, sneaks downstairs and plants a device to download data. but another guest, the darkly mysterious diana Prince, steals the device before Wayne can retrieve it. He finds Prince, however, who returns the drive, which she can’t decrypt. He unlocks it and discovers that Luthor is delving into the realm of metahumans, of which Prince is one. Wayne tells his butler and mentor Alfred that he’ll get the Kryptonite and weaponize it in order to fight superman if necessary. While driving his car to obtain the Kryptonite on board the White Portuguese cargo ship, Wayne is stopped by superman, who tells him to cease and desist. Luthor contacts Keefe, not deceased but wheelchair-bound and harboring a grudge against Wayne. At Luthor’s request, Keefe contacts senator finch and elicits her agreement to hold a hearing. At the Capitol, superman explains his actions, but a bomb goes off under Keefe’s wheelchair and most of the attendees are killed. distraught at not having seen the bomb, superman is consoled by Lois. batman steals Kryptonite from LexCorp, builds a stronger suit as well as a special gun and spear. Luthor kidnaps Martha Kent and forces superman to fight batman in order to save Martha, whose name is the same as batman/Wayne’s deceased mother. Lois arrives and smooths things over. batman leaves to rescue Martha, held hostage by Luthor near the river. superman finds Luthor, who has used Zod’s body and his own dnA to create a monstrous creature. superman, batman and the whip-snapping Prince, now in her fighting attire, do battle with the monster until, with Lois almost drowning to retrieve the Kryptonite spear for superman, he stabs the monster. it

returns the favor by impaling him on its own exoskeleton. Under arrest, Luthor tells batman that superman’s death opens the way to alien invasion. in Metropolis, a funeral is held for superman while a private ceremony takes place in smallville. Martha gives Lois an envelope containing Clark’s engagement ring. Wayne reveals to Prince that he plans to create a metahuman team, using information from Luthor’s files. After everyone has left the gravesite, the dirt on the coffin begins to quiver. Reviews: Variety called it a “very long, very brooding, often exhilarating and sometimes scattered epic….” ben Affleck’s caped crusader “is a winningly cranky, charismatic presence even when out of costume.” As spectacle, it “ably blows the hinges off the multiplex doors,… ” (Andrew barker, www.variety.com, March 22, 2016); the Associated Press found it lumbering and humorless ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], March 25, 2016, p. 5Hr); the News Journal fan enlisted to review it was positive. He enjoyed the “film’s venture through bleak, nearly nihilistic outlooks… ” and complimented Affleck and Gadot (esteban Parra, New Journal 55Hours Plus, March 25, 2016, pp. 12Hr-13Hr). Analysis: the mostly negative reviews are curious and perplexing. it almost suggests a vendetta against director snyder or Marvel fans with an animus against dC. Affleck makes a fine batman, his age and heft giving the character bite. in appearance and some mannerisms, Jesse eisenberg seems to be channeling Matthew Gray Gubler of tV’s Criminal Minds. some find his Lex Luthor’s driving purpose just to be evil rather lame and the monster nothing special. it is not quite clear if General Zod’s corpse or just his “dnA” has transformed into this creature. others consider the battle between batman and superman contrived. Why would two superheroes fight each other? (or more than two as in Captain America: Civil War) but they’d duked it out numerous times in the comics, e.g., World’s Finest, no. 143, August 1964, and here there is an attempt to justify batman’s plan to nullify a potentially berserk Man of steel: to save his city. did we know that Gotham was across the river from Metropolis? of course, as in all superhero movies—and such other series as Alien—there is one climax after another. nevertheless, it rates a solid ★★★, maybe even ★★★½.

(Atlas entertainment/dC Comics, 2016; 123 min.) ★★

Suicide Squad

Produced by Charles roven, richard suckle. directed by david Ayer. screenplay by david Ayer. based on characters from dC Comics. edited by John Gilroy. director of Photography, roman Vasyanov. Panavision. fotokem. Music by steven Price. Production design, oliver scholl. Art direction, ravi bansal, Aleksandra Marinkovich, eric Viquez. set decoration, shane Vieau. Costumes by Kate Hawley. Visual effects by MPC, sony Pictures imageworks, digital domain 3.0, Lola Visual effects, ollin VfX, spin VfX, scanline VfX, Hollywood Visual effects. Cast: floyd Lawton/deadshot (Will smith), dr. Harleen f. Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot robbie), Colonel rick flag ( Joel Kinnaman), Amanda Waller (Viola davis), bruce Wayne/batman (ben Affleck), Joker ( Jared Leto), June Moone/enchantress (Cara delivingne), Waylon Jones/Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), sergeant Ames bravo 14 ( Jaime fitzsimons), Lt. G.Q. edwards (scott eastwood), Griggs (ike barinholtz), tatsu Yamashito/ Katana (Karen fukuhara), Monster t (Common), el diablo ( Jay Hernandez), Christopher Weiss/slipknot (Adam beach), Captain boomerang ( Jai Courtney), Jonny frost/Pseudo Joker ( Jim Parrack), Admiral olsen (ted Whittall), dexter tolliver (david Harbour).

Suicide Squad • 29 Synopsis: Government agent Amanda Waller argues that the country must fight fire with fire now that superman is no longer around to protect the citizenry. And if a new superman appeared, would he be as nice to humanity? Amanda wants to release and arm the worst of the worst. in exchange for reduced prison sentences, they can take on whatever terror comes next. these criminals include floyd Lawton, aka deadshot, a hitman, Harley Quinn, the one-time psychiatrist dr. Harleen Quinzel now a wild and crazy gal in thrall to the Joker, the reptilian Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc, digger Harkness, aka boomerang, Chago, aka el diablo, and Chris Weiss, aka slipknot. to help thing along will be dr. June Moone, an archaeologist who once touched an idol that can transform her into the enchantress. When Amanda shows off the enchantress to the powers that be and produces a top secret document she’d stolen from tehran, she is given the go-ahead to form her squad of death dealers to combat metahuman killers. surprising Amanda and her people, enchantress turns on them and transforms her brother Left to right: Joel Kinnaman, Margot Robbie, Will Smith, and Jai Courtney, Suicide Squad into a demon who attacks commuters and be- (Atlas Entertainment/DC Comics, 2016). gins a conflagration in the Midway City subway. gone, enchantress argues for her life but rick crushes her heart and enchantress plans to build a people-killing machine. Meanwhile, the she collapses. dr. Moone breaks free of the witch’s blackened shell. “suicide squad,” commanded by Colonel rick flag, is implanted with floyd and the other survivors are returned to prison, but the Joker, devices to explode if they break the deal. the Joker breaks into Van who survived that helicopter crash, rescues Harley. “Let’s go home.” Criss Laboratories and goads a scientist into disabling the explosive Later, bruce Wayne agrees to work with Amanda in exchange for a device in Harley. the squad arms and dresses at the airport and takes top secret document. the first of two helicopters into the city, a metropolis under some kind Reviews: the News Journal termed it “A ponderous slog with lots of internal siege. Although the first copter is hit and crashes, the squad of explosions and gun play.” everything soon degenerated “into an insurvives. Moving toward the light blazing into the sky, the squad endistinguishable morass.” ( James Ward/Associated Press, News Journal counters reptilian humanoids, the result of enchantress’s spell on hu55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], August 5, 2016, p. 3Hr); Entertainmans her brother savaged. floyd demonstrates his expertise and the ment Weekly thought it was worth a b- but the ferocity of its beginning first group of attackers are routed. entering the ostrander federal flattened out, “spiraling into familiar formulas.” (Chris nashawaty, Enbuilding, the squad follows Harley upstairs. finally el diablo, who tertainment Weekly, August 12 2016, pp. 46–47). hadn’t wanted to use his power of flame ever again, is talked into saving Analysis: Suicide Squad proves that pre-release hype including a the squad from more attackers. in the stairwell, Harley remembers barrage of tV ads can achieve stunning monetary results despite genher first meetings with the Joker and how he dove into a vat to save erally negative reviewers whose only consistent praise was for Margot her—after having convinced her to fall into it in the first place. flag robbie’s Harley Quinn. it’s not a good movie. it is a bad movie? it’s enters a room full of computers—Amanda’s secret ops chamber. resat best mediocre. there are several boring conversations that try but cuing her was the mission? before leaving with flag, she shoots her fail to provide some kind of moral commentary on the squad tech people. Hoping to leave the facility via a copter on the roof, the members’ previous solo criminal actions. ninety percent of the film squad discovers that the Joker is aboard and firing his guns at them. takes place at night. that was once the province of films with lower Harley leaps to a cable hanging from the copter. floyd is ordered to budgets scrimping on special effects or masses of people, as in shoot her, fires his rifle, but misses. on purpose? Amanda orders the Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. this time out it was probably a decopter brought down. it careens past a skyscraper and crashes. Harley cision to give it a certain, batman/Gotham-style look. the film had dropped to a rooftop and rejoins the squad. Amanda’s copter is demonstrates as much as any superhero outing that the audience must shot down by the enchantress’ brother and she is captured by the accept the inherent unreality and view it as a comic transferred to the scaly minions. rick decides to get her back and the squad goes along big screen. supposedly, enchantress (Cara delivingne, at least as sexy and encounters enchantress and her brother fomenting some sort of as robbie) brings down the squad’s helicopter on its approach to Midportal into the sky. el diablo uses his flame powers to battle enway City, but that’s hardly evident. nor is it clear what the Joker’s chantress’ brother on an almost equal footing. one of flag’s men doing in that lab. Why did Amanda gun down her own techies? A porswims through the flooded subway and detonates a bomb that brings tal, a portal, my kingdom for a portal. they’re everywhere—in Thor, down the street under the monster. to stop enchantress, her heart The Avengers. this plot device has become tired. must be ripped out. Harley pretends to be joining her but does the deed. Waylon throws an explosive pack into the portal, floyd shoots it, and the resulting detonation closes the portal. not quite dead and

30 • Bedazzled the devil cries, “Jackie Kennedy! no! Julie Andrews!” stanley finds himself playing croquet at his grand estate where his wife Margaret is edAZZLed oblivious to his presents, which include the Mona Lisa, preferring the company of her hunky harp teacher. Later, stanley discovers the devil, in his human guise as George spiggot, in the bath with Margaret. Bedazzled George tells stanley he’s a hypocrite. stanley says he only wants a (20th Century-fox, 1967; 107 min.) ★★★ chance to be happy. the devil talks about God and his own time in Heaven. “God is very upper class,” he says. At the devil’s pad, stanley Produced and directed by stanley donen. screenplay by Peter is given lodgings for the night and finds Lillian Lust tempting him. Cook. based on a story by Peter Cook and dudley Moore. edited by Clutching him to her bosom, she breathlessly asks, “Can you hear my richard Marden. director of Photography, Austin dempster. Panapores breathe?” the devil appears and Lust leaves for the foreign vision. Color by deluxe. Music by dudley Moore. Production superoffice. stanley wants to be lusted after by Margaret. At George spigvisor, James Ware. Art direction, terence Knight. got’s rendezvous Club, stanley finds himself a pop star but trampled Cast: George spiggot (Peter Cook), stanley Moon (dudley when another, newer star—George—sings his song of ennui. MarMoore), Margaret spencer (eleanor bron), inspector Clarke (Michael garet, in the meantime, is in the morgue with the inspector, and bates), irving Moses (bernard spear), Anger (robert russell), Avarice stanley and George become flies on the wall as the inspector talks (danielle noel), envy (barry Humphries), Gluttony (Parnell Mcabout prior cases, focusing on rape. to Margaret’s relief, stanley’s Carey), Lust (raquel Welch), sloth (Howard Goorney), Vanity body is not on a gurney. George tells stanley to picture country life (Alba), P.C. roberts (Peter Hutchins), Lord dowdy (Michael trubwith Margaret and children. but it’s George, not stanley, who’s married shawe). to Margaret in this scenario. nevertheless, she and stanley have eyes for each other until Margaret breaks it off. now stanley finds himself Synopsis: sitting in a country church pew, short-order cook stanley underwater with George as the latter drills a hole in an oil tanker. He Moon asks God for a little sign of what’s in store for him. He’s tells stanley he’s almost got his hundred billion souls and will enthralled by waitress Margaret spencer, who doesn’t recognize that doubtless get back into God’s good graces and live up there again. cheeseburger specialist Moon moons for her. in his flat, stanley atstanley says he doesn’t want any more wishes. George takes stanley tempts suicide by hanging but fails just as a caped man enters and to an amusement park to hang out with Avarice and Gluttony. back says, “i’m the haunted one, the devil.” He gives stanley a trial wish in George’s bedroom, stanley finds envy in George’s bed smarmily and an ice lolly materializes. stanley agrees to sign the devil’s contract, talking about George. stanley tells George he wants a warm, tender witnessed by sloth, and becomes an articulate, supremely erudite perperson, love forever, and serene surroundings. “Julie Andrews!” sonage who entices Margaret to his rooms where they recline on the stanley finds himself garbed as sister Luna, his habitation a convent floor and listen to brahms. but when he jumps her she screams. He cell in which a picture of a nun is captioned, “big sister is Watching disappears and reappears on London’s postal tower from which the You.” Margaret is there, also a nun. she, stanley and another engage devil sends pigeons to poop on people. Wondering what Margaret is in the initiation ceremony, which involves jumping up and down on doing, stanley gets to hone in on her being rowed around a lake. to trampolines. back in his cell, stanley is visited by Margaret, who says facilitate stanley’s next wish to be powerful and married to Margaret, they must foreswear their mutual attraction. stanley thinks he’s got one more wish, but when he finds George at the rendezvous Club is informed that the ice lolly was actually his first wish. Anyway, George has got his 100 billion souls. Lust dances and George plays the sax. George doesn’t need stanley’s soul anymore so the contract may be burned. George goes to Heaven but finds he’s been fooled. He returns to get stanley’s soul only to find the ashes of the contract and stanley dematerialized. back at the restaurant, stanley asks Margaret for a date, but she’s busy, maybe another time. that’s enough encouragement, but not for George, who angrily cries that he will cover the world with plastic flowers, tV, and sonic booms. God merely laughs. Reviews: the New York Times called it a “pretentiously metaphorical picture,…” At least director donen accomplished “a colorful and graphic job with his visuals.” (bosley Crowther, New York Times, december 11, 1967, p. 65); TV Movies called it “as sacrilegious as The Singing Nun and usually funnier.” Cook-Moore was a good Raquel Welch (standing, right), Bedazzled (20th Century-Fox, 1967).

b

Blade • 31 team and direction was “stylish.” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies: 1975 Edition, new York: signet/new American Library, 1974, p. 38). Analysis: Highly-ranked british comedian and writer Peter Cook may be known primarily in the U.s. for his 1960s partnership with dudley Moore. they initially appeared in the U.K. television show Not Only…But Also. Moore, of course, had a stint as a comedic leading man in Hollywood, most notably as bo derek’s pawn in 10 (1979) and as the besotted Arthur (1981). Bedazzled genially pokes fun at the times and humanity at large. it’s significant as a portrait of the swinging sixties in London.

(20th Century–fox/regency, 2000; 93min.) ★½

Bedazzled

Produced by Harold ramis and trevor Albert. directed by Harold ramis. screenplay by Harold ramis, Peter tolan, Larry Gelbart. based on the 1967 motion picture Bedazzled, screenplay by Peter Cook. edited by Craig P. Herring. director of Photography, bill Pope. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by david newman. Production design, rich Heinrichs. special effects supervision, richard edlund. Cast: elliot richards (brendan fraser), the devil (elizabeth Hurley), Alison Gardner/nicole (frances o’Connor), Carol/Penthouse Hostess (Miriam shor), dan/esteban/brach Jock/sportscaster/ African Party Guest (orlando Jones), bob (Paul Adelstein), Jerry (toby Huss), Priest (brian doyle-Murray), raoul (rudolf Martin), Cellmate (Gabriel Casseus), Lincoln aide (Paul Adelstein), desk sergeant ( Jeff doucette). Synopsis: Pining for cute Alison, nerdy computer tech elliot richards at synodyne (synergy + dynamics) in san francisco meets a beautiful woman playing pool. she claims to be the devil and heard him say he’d do anything to be with a certain woman. He can take charge of his destiny by signing her contract granting him seven wishes in exchange for his soul. After she shows him Alison on the beach with himself, he signs. Wishing to be rich and powerful, he is transformed into a Colombian drug lord. that doesn’t work out—he’s got murderous enemies and an Alison eyeing other men. After visiting Alison’s bedroom to find clues about her ultimate companion, elliot becomes the most emotionally sensitive man in the world. that, too, wears thin. none of his other personas live up to expectations: a super tall but penis-small basketball star, a cultured, erudite toast of the town

Elizabeth Hurley, Bedazzled (20th Century-Fox, 2000).

revealed to be gay, and President Lincoln about to be shot. to revoke the contract, elliot tells the devil he hopes Alison has a happy life. that’s a deal breaker. At his house, elliot hits if off with a new neighbor, nicole, a dead ringer for Alison but nerdier, like himself. Reviews: the New York Times called it “outrageous fun” and commended brendan fraser’s physical transformations. director ramis eschewed the original’s flirtation with blasphemy in favor of piety (A.o. scott, “the devil Made Him do it, didn’t she?,” New York Times, october 20, 2000, p. e25); the News Journal called it “a delightful little farce….” As satan, “Hurley is deliciously wicked…” and uses “her natural beauty and melodic english accent to great effect.” (bill Muller/Arizona republic, News Journal [Wilmington, de], october 20, 2000, p. 8); The DVD and Video Guide 2007 thought it was almost as good as the original thanks largely to Hurley, “who brings the film to life;…” (Mick Martin, Marsha Porter, DVD & Video Guide 2007, new York: ballantine books, 2006, p. 83). Analysis: A fairly pleasant affair while you watch becomes upon reflection a dumb, cop-out movie. the characters brendan fraser elects to become are not compelling. As the devil, the beautiful elizabeth Hurley sports a bikini in one hellish scene when she should have been nude with perhaps flames shielding some of her private parts. but then, nudity hasn’t been much on display on the big screen by leading actresses since the first years after it was permitted under the 1968 Motion Picture Association of America code revision. feminism along with Hollywood’s fear of (1) censorship by conservative politicians, and (2) lost bucks from adolescent audience members unable to view r-rated films holds human nakedness in abeyance even if George du Maurier aptly wrote in Trilby (1895), “there is nothing so chaste as nudity.” it’s rather sad that decapitation and carnage can still get a mere PG-13 rating.

bLAde (new Line Cinema, 1998; 120 min.) ★★½

Blade

Produced by Peter frankfurt, Wesley snipes, robert engleman. directed by stephen norrington. screenplay by david s. Goyer. blade and deacon frost characters based on characters created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. edited by Paul rubell. director of Photography, theo Van de sande. Color by fotokem. Music by Mark isham. sound, Lee orloff. Production design, Kirk M. Petruccelli. Art direction, barry Chusid. set decoration, Greg Grande. Costumes by sanja Mikovic Hays. Makeup effects by Greg Cannom. Additional Make-Up effects and “frost’s death” by Gary J. tunnicliffe/image Animation international. stunt Coordinators, Jeff Ward, Henry Kingi, Jr. digital Visual effects, blue sky/VifX, image savant, digiscope, flat earth Productions inc., Post Logic. Cast: blade (Wesley snipes), deacon frost (stephen dorff), Abraham Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), dr. Karen Jenson (n’bushe Wright), Quinn (donal Logue), dragonetti (Udo Kier), Vanessa (sanaa Lathan), racquel (traci Lords), Mercury (Arly Jover), Curtis Webb (tim Guinee), Pearl (eric edwards), Krieger (Kevin Patrick Walls). Synopsis: 1967: a bloodied, pregnant woman wheeled into a hospital gives birth before dying. Years later a young woman takes a man through a meat-packing plant into a club where blood sprays from the sprinkler system. the fanged throng’s interest in this male human is thwarted by the entrance of a murderous figure in black, the “day-

32 • Blade II walker.” At a hospital the charred body of Quinn, a vampire daywalker had battered at the club, rises and bites dr. Karen Jenson. remembering the woman who gave birth years before, daywalker takes Jenson to a large factory where Whistler injects her with garlic. somewhere in a dark boardroom, deacon frost is told by dragonetti that he poses a danger to the vampire family, but frost maintains that they should rule humans, not hide in the shadows. daywalker, aka blade, goes to a shop where the proprietor dispenses essence of garlic. back in the factory, Karen wakes up and Whistler explains that vampires live under their noses and have the police under their thumb. He and blade wage an ongoing battle to annihilate them. eventually Karen, a hematologist, buys into the story and says she might be able to find a cure. Whistler injects blade with the serum that keeps him from turning bloodthirsty himself. Karen is given a weapon containing garlic and silver nitrate. Meanwhile, to dragonetti’s frustration, frost uses computers to translate ancient texts. At her apartment, Karen is almost killed by the cop Krieger before blade rattles his bones and tells Karen the guy is a familiar, a vampire wannabe. in the police cruiser’s trunk he finds refrigerated blood. Letting Krieger run off, he and Karen stake out the car and when the cop returns follow him to an Asian club. intimidating Krieger again, blade and Karen make their way into a large room of computer banks and another hung with tapestries featuring mystic runes. these have been translated by frost’s computer. finding a monstrous “record keeper” among the computers, blade directs Karen to flash him with a UV lamp to force him to reveal a prophecy involving the coming of La Magma and the blood God. Quinn and his crew attack but with Whistler’s help, blade and Karen escape to the subway. blade tells Karen his life story. His mother had been bitten by a vampire; he is half-human. He was found at age thirteen by Whistler, who concocted the serum that suppresses but does not cure his blood thirst. they know that frost is at the center of whatever is happening in the vampire ranks. blade reveals that he gets a little piece of his life back each time he puts down a vampire. Meanwhile, frost tells Quinn to be patient, he wants blade alive. they take dragonetti to the seashore and let him burn up at sunrise. back at council chambers, frost produces dragonetti’s fangs to demonstrate that he’s now in charge. At Whistler’s abode, blade produces parchment pieces from a tome about the blood God, the Book of Arrabus. Karen demonstrates that when an anti-coagulant is mixed with vampire blood an explosion takes place. she takes a blood sample from blade. Whistler tells her she’s got at most two days before she turns. back on the street, blade encounters a sunblock-wearing frost offering a truce. blade rejects it but can’t keep frost from escaping. Karen says gene therapy might defeat vampirism. the factory is attacked, Whistler wounded, Karen captured. finding Whistler’s savaged body, blade is told that frost wants a vampire apocalypse but needs blade’s blood, the blood of the daywalker, the Chosen one. blade accedes to Whistler’s request for a gun to kill himself. He watches a VHs tape left by frost that tells him to meet at edgewood towers. blade builds bullets and serum before riding his motorcycle to frost’s hideaway. in the white room, blade’s mother emerges from a container. “i came back, eric, that very night,” she says. frost’s men appear, zap blade and take him and Karen into an elaborate facility of ancient design—the temple of eternal night. Karen is pushed into a pit where she meets old friend Curtis, now a monster, but manages to escape. blade is shackled between two monolithic blocks with sharp edges that pierce his skin and cause his blood to flow through tubes over the cylindrical room onto the council vampires and frost. electrical charges blast them, turning them into flying skeletons that pierce frost’s body and make him stronger. blade stabs his mother to release her and hurries to confront frost. He decapitates Quinn while

Karen makes frost’s blonde girlfriend’s head explode with her mace gun. in a swordfight, blade cuts off frost’s arm and splits him in two, but he regenerates. only with the help of the serum hypodermics with which he is impaled does the malefactor explode. taking Karen topside at dawn, blade tells her there’s still a war going on and she can help by making him a better serum. in Moscow, blade prepares to mete out justice to a man attacking a woman. Reviews: roger ebert said it had no “reasoned story line…” but in comic book terms was worthy of consideration. Wesley snipes “understands the material from the inside out…” (www.rogerebert.com, August 21, 1998); the New York Times found “hardly a scene that isn’t drenched in red.” the action scenes could be traced to comic books and Hong Kong. As for hero snipes, he was “an extremely limited actor” who at least had found a comfortable role (stephen Holden, New York Times, August 21, 1998, p. e27). Analysis: A promising beginning gives way to implausible actions or perhaps contrivances to move the story along. for instance, blade lets himself get captured, apparently to … what? Learn what he already knew? How did the vampires find the factory? though charred and mutilated, Quinn keeps coming back. Curiously, there’s not enough blade in Blade until the final confrontation with frost. it’s too long and frequently has a surfeit of verbiage.

(new Line Cinema, 2002; 117 min.) ★★★

Blade II

Produced by Peter frankfurt, Wesley snipes, Patrick Palmer, Amen ra. directed by Guillermo del toro. screenplay by david s. Goyer. blade Character Created for Marvel Comics by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. edited by Peter Amundson. director of Photography, Gabriel beristain. fugifilm. Prints by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami, danny saber. Production design, Carol spier. Art direction, Jaromir svarc, Jan Zazvorka. set decoration, Peter P. nicolakakos. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Prosthetic Make Up/Animatronic fX supervisor, steve Johnson. digital Visual effects by framestore-CfC. Cast: blade (Wesley snipes), Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), reinhardt (ron Perlman), nyssa (Leonor Varela), scud (norman reedus), damaskinos (thomas Kretschmann), Jared nomak (Luke Goss), Chupa (Matt schulze), Asad (danny John Jules), Kouen (Karel roden), snowman (donnie Yen), Lighthammer (daz Crawford), Priest (tony Curran), rush (santiago segura), Verlaine (Marit Vele Kile). Synopsis: At the Pariska blood bank in Prague, Czechoslovakia an edgy donor turns on the employees who are actually vampires. “Vampires. i hate vampires.” Abroad in the city is blade, the vampire hunting daywalker immune to sunlight. intimidating the vampire rush into providing information about blade’s friend and mentor Whistler, blade locates the facility where Whistler is kept in stasis. blade employs an accelerated retro-viral detox injection and awaits the result. fortunately, Whistler can stand the sight of day again and insults blade’s new assistant, scud. blade’s hideout is invaded by two blackclad figures, Asad and nyssa, who, after discovering that they can’t subdue him physically, ask blade to accompany them to the vampire headquarters. blade is welcomed by the vampire overlord and his human attorney. blade’s help is sought to rid the world of Jared, who carries a new viral strain of vampirism and is himself targeting the undead. blade is introduced to a squad previously entailed with hunting him. blade implants a silver nitrate capsule in its leader reinhardt’s head. if he balks, blade has the detonation switch in hand. blade sug-

Blade: Trinity • 33 gests they begin their hunt wherever there is a crowd of vampires and is led into a veritable disco where the creatures of the night dance and do … other things. their enemies— reapers—show up and display their ability to take punishment and keep on running. blade battles Jared to a virtual draw. outside in his van, scud uses a bank of lights to deter his attackers. damaskinos, the vampire overlord, tells his attorney that he will do anything to survive, even sacrifice his daughter—nyssa. blade and his crew follow Whistler to a sewer entrance where one of the reapers is injured and dying, consumed from within through his inability to find fresh blood. Armed with various devices, including UV ray globes to put the kibosh on the reapers in their den should rifles and swords fail, they enter the sewer. separated from the others, Chupa reveals his true stripes and bashes Whistler to the ground. However, Whistler sprays Chupa with a pheromone that attracts reapers who kill Chupa. reinhardt as well has had enough of Wesley Snipes, Blade II (New Line Cinema, 2002). subservience to blade, and after the reapers sans Jared are destroyed says that the device Photography, Gabriel beristain. fujifilm. Prints by deluxe Laboraimplanted in his head would not go off if blade pressed the detonator. tories. Music by ramin djawadi & the rZA. Production design, blade kills scud when he reveals himself as a familiar working with Chris Gorak. Art direction, eric fraser, Patrick banister. set decothe vampires. damaskinos has blade impaled on a bed of spikes, the ration, tedd Kuchera. Costumes by Laura Jean shannon. Visual better to dissect him and duplicate his essence. With Whistler’s help, effects by digital dimension, Giant Killer robots, CafefX inc., Amalblade escapes and is rejuvenated in a pool of blood from which he gamated Pixels inc., Milne fX, Pixel Magic, Hatch fX. emerges and slices reinhardt in half—vertically. Jared in his wrath Cast: blade (Wesley snipes), Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Abigail creates havoc, chasing his father, damiskinos, and with nyssa’s help Whistler ( Jessica biel), Hannibal King (ryan reynolds), danica talos corners him before he can flee in a helicopter. Jared repays his father (Parker Posey), drake/dracula (dominic Purcell), Jarko Grimwood for his condition by biting him on the neck and letting him bleed out (triple H), ray Cumberland ( James remar), sommerfield (natasha on the floor. Jared also bites nyssa before battling blade, who manages Lyonne), Hedges (Patton oswalt), dr. Vance ( John Michael Higgins), to thrust his broken sword into the reaper’s chest at the right angle Asher (Callum Keith rennie), Zoe (Haili Page), bentley tittle (eric to avoid the hard shell around his heart. Jared finishes himself off, bogosian), Chief Martin Vreede (Mark berry). pushing the blade further inside. blade carries nyssa outside, granting her wish to see the sunlight for the first time. Her body slowly disinSynopsis: the syrian desert: from two helicopters three men and tegrates. blade travels to London and kills rush. one woman emerge in combat gear. inside a large pyramid, a daunting Reviews: the New York Times was more complimentary of snipes creature decapitates one of the men. in another realm, blade busts in this installment, calling him “talented enough to convey character what he thinks is a vampire coven in an old factory only to discover through movement,….” the film itself “is a rocking, dexterous piece that at least one of the men was wearing false fangs to draw blade out. of genre-busting tinged with sadness;…” (elvis Mitchell, New York from afar a woman videotapes him. she’s the vampire danica talos, Times, March 22, 2002, p. e12); Total Film said the sequel “ramps up who alerts the police to blade. Whistler, blade’s amanuensis, urges the camp, strobes with a primary colour wallop, has three minutes of him to be more careful. now the cops, not just vampires, must be conexposition and a truly grisly antagonist.” overall it was a “bullseye!” tended with. Whistler gives blade an effervescent inhaler to facilitate (www.totalfilm.com, May 29, 2002). his life-saving injections. talos confronts a seriously dangerous indiAnalysis: An improvement on Blade, this installment features vidual and tells him her vampire brethren need him to kill blade. that several frightening and sometimes disgusting scenes, e.g., dissecting night a woman is antagonized by a group of male vampires but reveals a reaper, the reaper jaws that open like those of Predator, the slicing herself as a vampire killer and routs her attackers. the fbi raid blade of reinhardt. and Whistler’s hideout, killing Whistler but not before he triggers a fiery end to the facility. blade is captured outside and at the station interrogated by psychologist dr. Vance, who injects his prisoner to Blade: Trinity control him. blade realizes Vance is a “familiar.” talos and her crew (new Line Cinema, 2004; 113 min.) ★★★ arrive but so does Hannibal King and Abigail Whistler, who fight off the vampires and the police and roll away with blade. At their hideout, Produced by Peter frankfurt, Wesley snipes, david s. Goyer, Lynn blade meets other like-minded vampire hunters calling themselves Harris. directed by david s. Goyer. screenplay by david s. Goyer. the nightstalkers. talos, who survived King’s attack, is furious about blade Character Created for Marvel Comics by Marv Wolfman & losing blade. blade is told by Hannibal that dracula, known also as Gene Colan. edited by Conrad smart, Howard e. smith. director of

34 • The Blair Witch Project dagon, now drake, has joined the game. this creature was born perfect. His recent incarnation was found in iraq. blade agrees with Hannibal and Abigail that if they start putting the kibosh on the vampires’ human familiars they will find the vampire controllers. Chemical specialist sommerfield has created a virus that will take down all vampires but they must have drake’s dnA. After inspecting new weapons designed by the nerdy Hedges, the three seek and harass familiars until one inadvertently gives up dr. Vance. However, when they arrive at his office they find drake standing beside his dead body. drake uses Hannibal as a shield before leading blade on a rooftop chase. Kidnapping a baby, drake keeps blade at bay. When he tosses the infant into the air, blade catches it, thus giving drake time to escape. blade and Abigail discover one of drake’s blood farms, where homeless people are kept comatose while being drained. Meanwhile, masquerading as Whistler, drake invades the facility where sommerfield and Hedges are continuing to do their best to monitor the vampires. they are killed, Hannibal taken. When Abigail becomes distraught over sommerfield’s death, blade tells her to “Use it!” she screams her grief. While Hannibal is interrogated and tortured by danica and her minions and drake taunts Zoe, blade and Abigail arm themselves. A video left by sommerfield explains that the serum that will kill drake and the vampires might be deleterious to blade. Abigail trains with her bow. silver infused air enters the vampires’ facility along with blade and Abigail, who free Hannibal and destroy the vampires one—or half a dozen—at a time. Hannibal handles danica while blade does mano a mano swordplay with drake. eventually Abigail gets a good shot at drake with her special serum-filled dart, but drake plucks the arrow from mid-air. However, when he drops it, blade retrieves it and jabs it into drake’s chest. His dying words to blade are, “but remember this—sooner or later the thirst always wins.” Abigail, Hannibal find blade before Cumberland and the police arrive. As blade rides his motorcycle into the city, Hannibal’s voice is heard indicating that the war never ends. Reviews: iGn liked the introduction of humor and the exceedingly hot Jessica biel. overall it “is just good old bloody fun, plain and simple.” ( Jeff otto, www.ign.com, december 7, 2004); the New York Times called it “a choppy, forgetful, suspense-free romp that substitutes

campy humor for chills.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, december 8, 2004, p. e5). Analysis: the blood farm is offsetting but more disturbing is drake’s murder of sommerfield. dominic Purcell as drake/dracula is a tad off, that is, he is not tall or intimidating enough to play the darkest of dark lords. the martial arts scenes are well done but a bit overlong.

bLAir WitCH this is generally considered the original of what has become known as a “found-footage” movie, i.e., film purportedly real and discovered after the fact. some see the italian Cannibal Holocaust (1980) as the originator of this type of film, but did anyone see that upon release? everybody saw The Blair Witch Project. see also PArAnorMAL ACtiVitY.

(Haxan films/Artisan entertainment, 1999; 87 min.) ★★★

The Blair Witch Project

Produced by Gregg Hale, robin Cowie. directed by daniel Myrick, eduardo sanchez. director of Photography, neal fredericks. screenplay by daniel Myrick, eduardo sanchez. edited by daniel Myrick, eduardo sanchez. director of Photography, neal fredericks. Processing by Colorlab. Music by tony Cora. Production design, ben rock. Art direction, ricardo r. Moreno. Cast: Heather (Heather donahue), Mike (Michael Williams), Josh ( Joshua Leonard), Mary brown (Patricia decou), interviewees (bob Griffith, sandra sanchez, Jim King, ed swanson).

Synopsis: Prologue: “in october of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.” 1994: Heather, Josh and Mike gather their camping gear and video cameras and drive to burkittsville, formerly blair, Maryland to investigate the legend of a witch said to have savaged children, many in the 1940s, some in the basement of her house. Are the woods still haunted? to the students, Mary brown, holding a bible, relates the story of a rather hairy woman grabbing her arm many years before. After a night in a motel, the three filmmakers spend day 2 trekking into the forest. the older of the two fishermen they encounter says he once saw a misty figure in the woods. the moviemakers wonder how this relates to Coffin rock, where Heather reads from a book about five men tortured there. the bodies disappeared before they could be buried. in the morning, Josh says he heard cackling in the night. Heather’s map is inspected before the journey continues. After a difficult creek crossing via logs, they find a tree with rocks tied into it as well as clusters of rocks on the ground. this seems to be the primitive cemetery they’d heard about. that evening they erect their tent and huddle around a campfire. they hear something like twigs breaking out in the dark. the mission ostensibly over, the threesome begin trekking out in the rain next day. However, they Jessica Biel, Blade: Trinity (New Line Cinema, 2004). become confused and camp at dusk. in the night

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 • 35 you not only empathize with the increasingly frantic threesome, you feel as if you are lost in the woods with them.

(Artisan entertainment/Haxan films, 2000; 90 min.) ★★

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

Produced by bill Carraro. directed by Joe berlinger. screenplay by Joe berlinger, dick beebe. edited by sarah flack. director of Photography, nancy schreiber. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Carter burwell. Production design, Vince Peranio. Art direction, rob simons. set decoration, susan Kessel. Costumes by Melissa toth. Cast: Kim (Kim director), Jeff ( Jeffrey donovan), tristen (tristine skyler), stephen (stephen barker turner), erica (erica Leerhsen), sheriff Cravens (Lanny flaherty).

Heather Donahue, The Blair Witch Project (Haxan Films, 1999).

Synopsis: A prologue informs the audience of the fictionalized nature of a blair Witch saga based on public records, MdtV broadcasts, and interviews. some names have been changed. summer, 1999: Kurt Loder of MtV and film critic roger ebert speak independently about the blair Witch phenomenon. some residents of burkittsville, Maryland make hay with the attention while others wish the thrill seekers would go home. “one Year earlier”: At the burkitt County Psychiatric Center, the staff deals with a young man. on friday, november 12, 1999, that young man, Jeff, takes four blair Witch devotees into the woods to retrace the steps of the original filmmakers. Kim dresses like a Goth, stephen and tristen are serious researchers, and erica is a self-styled nature-loving witch. Camping within the ruins of a stone house, Jeff points out that there is a tree where none existed before. He sets up his cameras to record any strange occurrences. Another group of devotees arrives. they include two Chinese and one German tourist. they are fobbed off on the Coffin rock area. in the morning, stephen’s research papers are found sliced and scattered. Kim tells Jeff to dig in the corner under some rocks to find some old videotapes. At Jeff ’s home in an old factory in Jericho Mills, they view the tapes. erica points out that the tree is not on the film! tristen and stephen see a young girl. on one tape a naked woman appears. it’s erica but she has no remembrance of cavorting in the nude. driving to a store for beer, Kim is given the cold shoulder by a customer and a clerk. on the way back she swerves into a tree to avoid hitting seven children. the van still runs and she gets back to Jericho Mills, where she thinks she sees Jeff in an electric chair. When Jeff looks outside next day, his

they hear strange noises again. in the morning they discover three rock piles that were not there previously. Heather can’t find her map. Although they agree this is “not cool,” Josh says that if they don’t get back on time somebody will look for them. Mike admits to kicking the map into the stream because it hadn’t helped them. they find stick figures in the trees. “no redneck is this creative.” that night they decide to go without a fire so as not to attract attention. they hear voices in the woods and run out to investigate but find nothing. next morning they discover that Josh’s pack is missing and its goocovered contents strewn about the campsite. during the day they find that they’ve hiked in a circle and are crossing the stream by the same logs. Josh films Heather’s breakdown. Mike, who had been giving her a hard time, says he’ll take the first watch that night. Josh goes missing. the following night they again put up the tent and hear the cries of … Josh? they call and search for him to no avail. in the morning Heather pulls apart a small bundle of sticks in front of the tent and discovers cloth and blood and what might be human flesh. the ensuing night Heather turns the camera on her face and apologizes for getting them into this mess. she says, “it is my fault,” that she was naïve, and “i’m scared to close my eyes. i’m scared to open them.” she and Mike hear voices again and take the cameras into a derelict house. is Josh upstairs? no. downstairs? Heather chases Mike into the basement, finds him standing oddly in the corner. the camera drops to the floor. Reviews: the New York Times commended the filmmakers’ imagination. they’d made something out of nothing with an amazing game plan and transformed “a near-total absence of resources into a creative advantage.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, July 14, 1999, p. e1); Rolling Stone said the moviemakers had used “limited resources and made a film that will creep you out of your skin.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 30, 1990). Analysis: filmed at seneca Creek and Patapsco Valley state Park in Maryland on a proverbial independent filmmakers shoestring, The Blair Witch Project became an overnight sensation, one of the biggest sleepers of all time and an inspiration for future “found footage” movies like Paranormal Activity. Like that future series, the “you are there” Kim Director, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2 (Haxan Films, 2000). with normal people strikes a chord. in this instance,

36 • Blair Witch van is fairly destroyed. Where is erica? stephen posits collective delusion as the cause of their problems. sheriff Cravens phones and tells Jeff to watch tV. the bodies of five hikers have been found at Coffin rock. Cravens advises Jeff not to leave the county. in Jeff ’s desk, Kim finds detailed files about herself and the others. Jeff has no recollection of building this dossier. Jeff hears dogs, sees them outside, but when he gets a gun they are gone. erica is found in the closet, standing but dead. Kim agrees with tristen that everything’s backwards. they watch the tapes in reverse and discover that they undertook some witchy ceremony in the woods. tristen tells her chums, ‘You’re all gonna fuckin’ die.” she adds that “tristen’s gone” and after wrapping rope around her neck and goading stephen, is pushed to her death. on tV, Jeff, Kim and stephen are shown being arrested for murder. stephen tells the authorities to watch the tapes, but they show Kim stabbing the clerk, Jeff dragging erica into the closet, and stephen hanging tristen. Reviews: Total Film found it too self-referential to its predecessor and forgot to scare. it was “just a prosaic haunted-house movie with goth-rock shadings.” (www.totalfilm.com, october 27, 2000); New York considered it needless expansion of the franchise base. What was scary was that it, like many other modern horror films, carried too much “academic baggage.” (Peter rainer, New York, november 6, 2000); Analysis: it’s rather confusing to have the main story interrupted so often by scenes at a clinic, police station, and in the past. What’s a dream, a hallucination, real? Yet it’s not terrible.

(Lionsgate, 2016; 90 min.) ★★

Blair Witch

Produced by roy Lee, steven schneider, Keith Calder, Jess Calder. directed by Adam Wingard. screenplay by simon barrett. edited by Louis Cioffi. director of Photography, robby baumgartner. technicolor. Production design, thomas Hammock. Art direction, sheila Haley. set decoration, Kate Marshall. Costumes by Katia stano. Visual effects, Pilot Light VfX, shutter Punch VfX. Cast: James ( James Allen McCune), Lisa (Callie Hernandez), Ashley (Corbin reid), Peter (brandon scott), Lane (Wes robinson), talia (Valerie Curry). Synopsis: Attempting to kill two birds with one stone, James, Lisa, Ashley and Peter aim to make a documentary for their class that may also give closure to James, who’s sister Heather was lost in the woods around burkittsville, Md a number of years before. Lisa is goaded into coming and brings a drone. they also have GPs phones to keep them from becoming lost. they hook up with Lane and talia, who know all about the legend of the blair Witch. Almost immediately, Ashley cuts her foot crossing a stream. over a nighttime campfire, the six discuss the legends. Lane and talia talk about an 1809 book that recounted the story. the “witch” was strung up in the woods after many locals had disappeared. in the morning they find the strange, hand-tied wooden figures hanging in the trees that had come to light after Heather’s disappearance, but it turns out that Lane and talia made these in order to keep the squad inspired. brandon is furious and chases Lane off. the others decide to walk in a circle back to the campsite. Ashley’s wound has not improved and they must stay the night. Lisa’s drone rises into the air but crashes somewhere in the forest canopy. Hearing voices and noises, Peter investigates and is felled by a tree. Lane and talia reappear and say they’ve been mucking about, lost, for five days. How is that possible? Lane runs off again,

but talia stays, gorging on food. More stick figures are found in the trees. Ashley becomes hysterical and upon raging at talia, breaks the figure containing some of talia’s hair, at which point talia collapses. Ashley runs off but her foot and leg are so infected she must stop and extract something gross from her calf. she spots the drone high in a tree and climbs for it, only to fall to the ground and be dragged away by an unseen presence. James and Lisa have heard her screams, rush around, and find the rumored house that no one else could locate. James goes inside, hoping to find Heather. He thinks he sees Peter standing in a corner of one of the moldy rooms. Lisa sees a figure in the woods and rushes inside. Lane knocks her down, opens a trapdoor, and drops her into a kind of cellar. the only escape seems to be via human-size earthen tunnels with roots protruding into them. she crawls into one and eventually breaks back up into the house by using a knife with which she drives off Lane. she sees another disturbing figure but is found by James. bright light beams flash through the windows, and James realizes they must stand in the corner and not look ‘else the witch will have them, but thinking Heather is nearby, he turns and disappears. Lisa thinks she hears him, turns and … the camera drops to the floor. Reviews: The Guardian found “respectful homage…” to the first film’s tropes, but the actors seemed to be just that—acting—which made it more difficult to accept their horror. overall, it was “efficient if unadventurous.” (Mark Kermode, www.theguardian.com, september 18, 2016); Time’s reviewer wrote at some length on the original film and how this was “a true sequel,…” but in the final analysis, wasn’t all that scary (stephanie Zacharek, Time, september 26, 2016, pp. 53–54). Analysis: As it begins one groans, foreseeing the unbearable lightness of … being. However, while not good, it moves at a fast clip and the finale inside the abandoned house is a fright fest. the thought of crawling through the dirt tunnels to who knows where is incredibly disturbing. Would it be better to be caught by the witch than to get stuck underground?

CAPtAin AMeriCA see also tHe AVenGers (Marvel entertainment/Paramount, 2011; 124 min.) ★★★

Captain America: The First Avenger

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Joe Johnston. screenplay by Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. based on the Marvel Comic by Joe simon and Jack Kirby. edited by robert dalva, Jeffrey ford. director of Photography, shelly Johnson. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, rich Heinrichs. Art direction, Phil Harvey, Jason Knox-Johnston, dean Clegg, Paul Kirby, Phil sims. set decoration, John bush. Costumes by Anna b. sheppard. Visual effects and Animation by double negative. Visual effects by Lola/VfX, framestore, the senate Visual effects Limited, fuel VfX, trixter, Look effects, Whiskytree, inc., Luma Pictures. Cast: steve rogers/Captain America (Chris evans), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Johann “red skull” schmidt (Hugo Weaving), Colonel Chester Phillips (tommy Lee Jones), James buchanan/”bucky” barnes (sebastian stan), Howard stark (dominic Cooper), dr. Armin Zola (toby Jones), timothy “dum dum” dugan (neal Mcdonough), dr. Abraham erskine (stanley tucci), Cabe Jones (derek Luke), nick fury (samuel L. Jackson), Heinz Kruger (richard Armitage), Jacques dernier (bruno ricci), senator brandt (Michael brandon), Private Lorraine (natalie dormer).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier • 37 Synopsis: in an arctic environment, men in parkas find a shield inside a vintage crashed aircraft. back to March 1942, tonsberg, norway: nazi officer Johann schmidt locates the tesseract and its cube so necessary for the future of his organization known as Hydra. in 1943 new York City, the skinny, asthmatic steve rogers tries to enlist in the U.s. Army despite always being labeled 4f. to his displeasure, his pal Jim “bucky” barnes is shipping out. both visit the Modern Marvels Pavilion at the World exposition and see a car that Howard stark almost makes levitate. observing steve trying to enlist, dr. Abraham erskine asks if the young man wants to kill nazis? steve replies that he doesn’t like bullies and amazingly is given a 1A designation. in a mountain fastness in europe, dr. Armin Zola and schmidt work on a power that can affect the outcome of the war. it involves the cube of light. back in the states, steve meets Agent Peggy Carter and Colonel Chester Phillips. there’s talk is of a new breed of super soldier. steve undergoes training and learns a little from dr. erskine of the nazi schmidt and Hydra. back in new York City, steve is taken by Peggy into a secret facility where he receives micro-injections that facilitate cellular change and is placed in a metal contraption from which he emerges taller and exceedingly well muscled. A spy shoots dr. erskine and steve leads the chase, finally capturing the nazi who bites his cyanide capsule and cries, “Hail, Hydra!” schmidt, meanwhile, takes Hydra out from under Hitler’s shadow, zapping the fuhrer’s representatives with his latest guns. behind the lines, steve finds himself used as a war bonds pitch-man, but in italy in november 1943 is harassed on stage by G.i.s. Agent Carter pays him a visit and reveals that his friend bucky’s unit was decimated by schmidt’s men. Carter accompanies steve on a plane piloted by Howard stark. steve parachutes behind enemy lines and secretes himself on a truck heading to schmidt’s facility. He tells the Allied prisoners there that he’s Captain America. the prisoners make a break and schmidt observes steve. He tells dr. Zola they’ve been outmaneuvered and packs up the cube. steve finds bucky in a stupor. schmidt calls out to steve and they have a brief fistfight. Pulling off the human mask he’d worn to conceal his bright red head, schmidt says both of them have left humanity behind. He escapes in a plane. Led by steve, the PoWs make their way to Allied lines. bucky yells, “Hey! Let’s hear it for Captain America!” steve recalls a map at schmidt’s facility and identifies Hydra sites for the military, then takes some of the former prisoners on a mission to destroy it. steve is now equipped with a vibranium shield. bucky is lost when he and steve enter one of schmidt’s trains. Captured, dr. Zola schmidt believes he travels in the footsteps of the gods. in fact, schmidt has raised quite a corps of super soldiers and is intent on getting across the Atlantic. on his motorcycle, steve finds Hydra headquarters, faces his nemesis and survives when three of his men break in, followed by Agent Carter and other soldiers. now schmidt, with the cube, is really intent on taking the offensive. destination: new York City. With Carter along for the ride, Colonel Phillips drives Zola’s car after schmidt’s super plane. steve manages to get aboard but in fighting schmidt’s minions, falls off onto a small aircraft. schmidt tries to bring it down with his turret guns, but steve makes it back into the larger craft and engages in another battle with schmidt during which the cube is dislodged. schmidt picks it up only to be consumed, and the cube melts through the deck. steve takes the controls but can barely keep the plane from continuing on its westward course. radio contact is lost. V-e day comes, the war in europe is over. Kids like steve play on the streets of brooklyn. steve wakes up hearing the radio playing a 1941 dodgers-Phillies game. He’s in a recovery room in new York City. He runs into times square before being surrounded. A black man with an eye patch tells steve he’s been asleep for 70 years. “i had a date,” says steve.

Reviews: the St. Joseph News-Press gave Chris evans’ performance “deserves solid marks….” Hugo Weaving “looks the part of red skull and captures the villain’s pompous and sophisticated qualities.” Compliments went to the dialogue, not too “squeamish…” as in some superhero movies and to naturally-occurring laughter (shea Conner, St. Joseph News-Press [Mo], July 22, 2011); the Taos News found this filmization of a comic book superhero “actually entertaining.” Kudos went to the transformation of the skinny steve into the robust Captain America (rich romancito, Taos News [nM], July 28, 2011). Analysis: one can quibble with some liberties taken with the World War ii setting—the historical events and weaponry seem a bit askew, but there were black infantry fighting in italy during the war. still, it probably looked or seemed more plausible as a comic. there are some nice humorous asides. Captain America would make a big leap forward in the sequel.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Marvel studios, 2014; 136 min.) ★★★★

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Anthony and Joe russo. screenplay by Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. based on Captain America by Joe simon, Jack Kirby. edited by Jeffrey ford, Matthew schmidt. director of Photography, trent opaloch. technicolor. Music by Henry Jackman. Production design, Peter Wenham. Art direction, beat frutiger, Kevin isioka. set decoration, Leslie A. Pope. Costumes by Judianna Makovsky. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by scanline VfX, Luma Pictures, inc., trixter, Cantina Creative, Perception, Lola VfX, the embassy, Whiskytree inc., rise Visual effects studios, Logan, sony Pictures imageworks, inc., technicolor, Capital t. Cast: steve rogers/Captain America (Chris evans), natasha romanoff/black Widow (scarlett Johansson), nick fury (samuel L. Jacison), Alexander Pierce (robert redford), bucky barnes/Winter soldier (sebastian stan), sam Wilson/falcon (Anthony Mackie), brock rumlow (frank Grillo), Maria Hill (Cobie smulders), Kate/Agent 13 (emily VanCamp), Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Agent Jasper sitwell (Maximiliano Hernandez), Councilwoman Hawley ( Jenny Agutter), Councilman rockwell (Alan dale), Councilman singh (bernard White), Councilman Yen (Chin Han), dr. Arnim Zola (toby Jones), smithsonian guard (stan Lee), Jack rollins (Callan Mulvey), senator stern (Garry shandling). Synopsis: Marking time at s.H.i.e.L.d. headquarters in Washington, d.C., steve rogers, aka Captain America, meets Middle east war vet and Para-rescue man sam Wilson on his daily runs. during one jog steve is picked up by natasha romanoff, aka black Widow of s.H.i.e.L.d. Mission: save hostages on a ship in the indian ocean. Locating the ship by night, steve drops to the deck, followed by natasha, brock rumlow and other armed men. in the fracas, during which steve saves natasha from a grenade, they extract information from the ship’s computer hard drive. back in d.C., at the triskelion, s.H.i.e.L.d. Headquarters, steve confronts nick fury about the dual nature of the mission. nick says it’s all about compartmentalization. He doesn’t ask steve to do things he’d be uncomfortable with. that’s for natasha, she’s comfortable with everything. nick shows steve three enormous “helicarriers,” propelled by repulsor engines. these monstrosities give s.H.i.e.L.d. a leg up on terrorists and rogue states. steve is not so sure about the ethics of all this and visits the aged agent Peggy Carter. nick discovers that he can’t access any of the s.H.i.e.L.d. files. He gets Alexander Pierce to delay Project insight,

38 • Captain America: The Winter Soldier i.e., deployment of the helicarriers. driving through town in his sUV, nick is ambushed and escapes to steve’s apartment. He hands over a flash drive before collapsing from a sniper’s bullets. Calling for paramedics, neighbor Kate reveals herself as Agent 13, detailed with guarding steve. At the hospital, steve, natasha and Maria Hill watch as the surgeons unsuccessfully try to save nick’s life. steve hides nick’s flash drive in a vending machine. He himself is ambushed in an elevator by rumlow and his men, but he incapacitates them all. returning to the hospital, he finds that the flash drive is not in the vending machine. natasha appears beside him. she’s got it. He’s mad and wants to know what’s going on. “i only act like i know everything,” she counters. He and natasha use the stored information in the flash drive to find Camp Lehigh, an abandoned U.s. Army restricted Area in new Jersey beneath which lies the strategic Homeland intervention enforcement Logistics division. they power up vintage computers and on a monitor hear and see Hydra’s Arnim Zola, the German scientist who became a parasite within s.H.i.e.L.d. now only his mind exists: 200,000 feet of databanks. steve and natasha are in effect inside his brain. He reveals the nefarious plans of the infiltrated s.H.i.e.L.d., which will use an algorithm on nick’s flash drive to achieve its purpose. steve and natasha barely escape a missile strike on the bunker. Meanwhile, Alexander Pierce finds a man sitting in the shadows of his home. When the housekeeper returns and sees them conferring, Pierce shoots her. steve and natasha take refuge in sam’s apartment and ponder who could launch a domestic missile strike. it must be Pierce and some accomplice. they kidnap Agent sitwell and intimidate him into revealing the harm that Zola’s algorithm can cause. As they ride along, they are attacked by the masked man in black as well as a rejuvenated rumlow and friends. steve knocks off the man in black’s mask and discovers that it’s bucky barnes, his wartime buddy captured by the nazis. steve, natasha and sam are finally surrounded and tossed into the back of a van from which they escape by blowing a hole in the floor. they find their way to a s.H.i.e.L.d. bunker and discover that nick is alive. He’d taken toxin b to slow his pulse and simulate death. natasha is treated for a bullet wound to her shoulder. in a lab, “the Winter soldier,” the one-time bucky barnes, is reprogrammed to do the bidding of Hydra, now s.H.i.e.L.d., in the person of Alexander Pierce. At the center of this new threat are the helicarriers that are almost ready for deployment at their Potomac river dock. Pierce plans to use the modern dreadnoughts to kill millions of people in and around Washington, d.C. it is better to sacrifice 20 million people to save the future happiness and security of the planet’s 7 billion inhabitants. natasha says they must stop the launch by breaching the helicarriers and substituting their own targeting blades. steve makes the case with nick that s.H.i.e.L.d. has been totally compromised. from the smithsonian, steve recovers his old Captain America uniform. Pierce meets in person with the Council, presenting each with a badge to provide unrestricted access to the triskelion. steve’s voice is heard over the intercom informing employees of the infiltrators. if any are still loyal, they can join him. rumlow and his thugs are unsuccessful in taking over the control room due to the actions of Agent 13 and her people. rumlow engages sam in a running fight. steve’s prime opponent is the brainwashed and genetically modified bucky. steve, natasha, and sam Wilson work together along with still loyal s.H.i.e.L.d. agents to destroy the helicarriers. After natasha, masquerading as Councilwoman Hawley, reveals herself and pummels Pierce, he gets the drop on her. Her badge is actually an explosive device that will put a hole in her as it just has other Council members. Her back to Pierce, natasha uses her own, non-lethal remote to activate the badge and drops to the floor. before Pierce can reboot his remote, nick plugs him twice. sam beats off rumlow and escapes the

conflagration by jumping into the helicopter piloted by nick and is grabbed by natasha before he can slide out the opposite door. rumlow survives as well but only in a much altered state. bucky, meanwhile, has shot steve who nevertheless manages to insert a new targeting blade that causes the three helicarriers to blast each other out of the sky a second before they would have annihilated millions. on one of these disintegrating craft, bucky is pinned by falling beams. steve pulls his one-time comrade from the wreckage as the remains of the helicarrier crash into the river. steve sinks into the Potomac, but bucky drags him to shore before trudging off. natasha represents the Avengers at a Congressional hearing during which she in particular is threatened with incarceration in a penitentiary for past and present sins. natasha counters that those who complain of the recent destruction and would restrict their ability to fight evil organizations like Hydra will not do so. they need them. she leaves the room. Wearing a hoodie, nick stands at his gravesite, confers with steve, and welcomes sam to the team. natasha walks up with a document for steve, kisses him on the cheek and leaves. sam wonders when steve will begin looking for bucky? the answer: now. Reviews: The Guardian thought it a distinct improvement over Thor—The Dark World. this film’s protagonists “are suddenly grappling with real-world issues…. it’s exhilarating to see.” Acting and charisma-wise, Chris evans was no robert downey, Jr., and occasionally bland. “burning brighter is scarlett Johansson, whose black Widow has fun chipping away at the Captain’s old-school earnestness and trying to fix him up with a date. Having played the voluptuous female mascot in this boys’ club for so long, Johansson at least gets to be an actual character this time.” (steve rose, The Guardian, March 20, 2014). the New York Times liked the “kinetic start” but bemoaned the typical blockbuster sin, “an excess of plot.” Captain America himself seems rather too adjusted to his state in the contemporary world (Manohla dargis, New York Times, April 3, 2014, p. C1). in spite of all the excellent action, new character introductions, and excellent cast with gravitas provided by redford and Jackson, the Associated Press gave it only ★★½ stars, wondering if it was a “good” movie. its “shelf life” seemed doubtful ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55 Hours [Wilmington, de], April 4, 2014, p. 3). Entertainment Weekly called it “the first superhero film since the terrorist-inflected The Dark Knight that plugs you into what’s happening now.” Although “action-fantasy prose, not poetry” like The Dark Knight, it has “a hellbent vitality to its paranoia.” (owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, April 11, 2014, p. 38); Rolling Stone urged the summer blockbusters in the works to “get cracking. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is every rousing, whup-ass thing you want in an escapist adventure. there was also a bit of depth. Human frailty was the prime focus” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, April 24, 2014, p. 64). Analysis: When there are constant effects, none seem special. but CGi has come so far as to allow plenty of daylight action, and this is a fast-moving, action-filled extravaganza with most of the mayhem needful within the context of the plot. Contrast with extraneous action scenes in Iron Man 2. there is continuity with other Marvel films. A thoroughly surprising scene involves Councilwoman Hawley using martial arts to dismantle Pierce and revealing herself as natasha in disguise. the common question about these films is, should they be taken as comic books or must there be more depth, e.g., a focus on contemporary socio-political issues? An intriguing question that can be asked about this and many another superhero movie is: do any of the main characters die? the chaos and punishment meted out would suggest a positive response but … only Pierce of the dastardly villains is truly dispatched—and he wasn’t essential to series continuation. stars evans, Johansson and Jackson visited China to promote the film,

Captain America: Civil War • 39 where it became a smash, playing on 40 percent of the screens. it was a giant success in north America as well and widely considered the equal of The Avengers. As some reviewers observed, scarlett Johansson’s black Widow finally became an important cog in the Avengers pantheon, not merely mascot eye-candy. fans have been vociferous in calling for a stand-alone black Widow movie. Marvel has countered that the schedule is full for the foreseeable future. More’s the shame. Johansson is black Widow.

(Marvel entertainment, 2016; 146 min.) ★★★½

Captain America: Civil War

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Anthony and Joe russo. screenplay by Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. based on the Marvel Comics by Joe simon, Jack Kirby. edited by Jeffrey ford, Matthew schmidt. director of Photography, trent opaloch. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Henry Jackman. Production design, owen Paterson. Art direction, Gregory s. Hooper, david scott. set decoration, ronald r. reiss. Costumes by Judianna Makovsky. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic, Method studios. Visual effects by trixter film, rise/Visual effects studios, double negative, Lola/VfX, Luma Pictures, Cinesite, Cantina, sarofsky. Cast: steve rogers/Captain America (Chris evans), tony stark/ iron Man (robert downey, Jr.), natasha romanoff/black Widow (scarlett Johansson), bucky barnes/Winter soldier (sebastian stan), sam Wilson/falcon (Anthony Mackie), Wanda Maximoff/scarlet Witch (elizabeth olsen), Cliff barton/Hawkeye ( Jeremy renner), Vision (Paul bettany), t’Challa/black Panther (Chadwick boseman), Clint barton/Hawkeye ( Jeremy renner), Peter Parker/spider-Man (tom Holland), Lieutenant James rhodes/War Machine (don Cheadle), scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul rudd), sharon Carter/Agent 13 (emily VanCamp), Zemo (daniel bruhl), May Parker (Marisa tomei), everett K. ross (Martin freeman), brock rumlow/Crossbones (frank Grillo), secretary of state thaddeus ross (William Hurt), King t’Chaka ( John Kani), Howard stark ( John slattery), Maria stark (Hope davis), Synopsis: 1991: brainwashed bucky barnes, a former World War ii serviceman, is sent by Hydra to retrieve a special suitcase and leave no witnesses. this he does in the night, killing the couple whose car contained the case of apparently vital ingredients. the present: in Lagos, nigeria, steve rogers, aka Captain America, sam Wilson, aka falcon, natasha romanoff, aka black Widow, and Wanda, aka scarlet Witch, stake out a lab containing biological agents. their vigilance is rewarded when a band of wellarmed men attempt to steal a deadly agent. brock rumlow, a turncoat Captain America had met in the past, is the leader. When caught by Cap, he attempts to detonate himself. scarlet Witch endeavors to defuse the situation but in so doing causes great devastation to a nearby high-rise. this is but the latest incident in which the Avengers have caused loss of life to innocent bystanders, and U.s. secretary of state thaddeus ross confronts these enhanced beings about their vigilantism. He shows them the sokovia Accords, a document laying out oversight of the Avengers. tony stark, aka iron Man, is for it,

but Cap trusts his own judgment. A rift begins in the ranks of the crime fighters. At Peggy Carter’s funeral, where sam and Cap, one of the bereaved pallbearers, sit near the front, sharon, aka Agent 13, who’d looked out for Cap during the time nick was wounded by a sniper (barnes), gives the eulogy. Peggy was her aunt. on the way out Cap encounters natasha, who despite their differences, came to the funeral out of respect and affection. As the sokovia Accords are to be ratified in Vienna, a bomb blast results in the death of many, including King t’Chaka of Wakanda. His son, t’Challa, watching security footage of bucky barnes placing the bomb, vows vengeance. natasha urges Cap to stay away, but sharon gives Cap special information. Cap and falcon track bucky to bucharest but are arrested along with t’Challa, now in a black panther suit. Meanwhile, Zemo finds the book with the words that trigger bucky’s murderous depredations. Masquerading as a psychologist, he breaks bucky free. Attempting to stop bucky’s escape, Cap manages to secure his one-time pal after both fall with a helicopter into a pool, in a sense repaying bucky for his own rescue from the Potomac after the helicarrier crash. bucky identifies Zemo as the Vienna bomber. bucky’s purposeful crash into the car carrying tony’s parents in 1991 is recalled. Cap’s immediate goal is to find the secret Hydra base in siberia where other “winter” soldiers are kept. stark is given 36 hours by ross to get barnes. tony, Peter Parker, and Hawkeye invade the Avengers’ HQ and scarlet Witch incapacitates Vision. Cap and sharon kiss. Cap, falcon, scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, team up while tony, natasha, t’Challa, James rhodes, and Vision gather and pull in Peter Parker, aka spider-Man. the one-time friends confront each other at the Leipzig airport and engage in a battle royale. Ant-Man grows to giant size. spider-Man uses his webs. Pursuing Cap and bucky, rhodes is injured and partially paralyzed. on the ocean, a huge prison now confines falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Wanda. tony discovers that bucky was framed and goes off on his own to siberia. He joins Cap and bucky and discover the tanks in which other winter soldiers have been shot by Zemo. in his protected enclosure, Zemo reveals that they caused the death of his kin in sokovia. He also says that it was bucky

Scarlett Johansson, Captain America: Civil War (Marvel Entertainment, 2016).

40 • Carrie who killed tony’s parents. they were carrying the winter soldier ingredients in their car in 1991. A maddened tony severs bucky’s metal arm but steve smashes tony to the floor. t’Challa captures Zemo and rather than exact his own revenge, intends taking him to the authorities. Later, rhodes manages to walk a little courtesy of tony’s special braces. Cap frees his people from the underwater prison and with bucky finds safety in Wakanda, granted asylum by t’Challa. bucky chooses to return to cryogenic sleep until such time as a real cure is found for his condition. Later, Peter examines with glee the wrist bracelet given him by tony that projects the spider-Man signal onto the ceiling. Reviews: the News Journal called it “an engaging, lively, and just flat out fun use of the characters….” A possible unnecessary plot device was daniel bruhl’s Zemo. it was “rather intimate for a superhero movie.” (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal 55HRSPlus [Wilmington, de], May 5, 2016, p. 3Hr); Entertainment Weekly viewed it as the third—and best—entry in the Avengers series. the shifting alliances were deftly handled (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, May 13, 2016, pp. 38–39); Time was impressed with the decision to eschew nonstop action and wisecracks. overall it was “blessedly light on its superhero-booted feet.” (stephanie Zacharek, Time, May 16, 2016, p. 52). Analysis: it begins with a bang and rarely lets up. Like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there is more depth to these superheroes and heroines. reason battles with emotion. easy answers are hard to come by. friendship is at risk. real life intrudes.

CArrie (United Artists, 1976; 97min.) ★★★★

says the first sin was intercourse. next day in poetry class Carrie compliments football jock tommy ross’ poem. “it’s beautiful.” but the teacher belittles Carrie. Under his breath, tommy says of the prof, “You suck.” in the gym, Coach Collins tells the girls they did a shitty thing the day before, and Chris is pissed when informed that they are receiving one week’s detention to be served on the field. in the library, Carrie finds The Secret Science Behind Miracles and becomes fascinated by telekinesis. sue, seemingly with regrets about the way they’d treated Carrie, urges her boyfriend tommy to ask Carrie to the senior Prom. He finally agrees, but when tommy asks her in the library, Carrie runs off. Coach Collins finds Carrie, who believes the invitation is a trick, but the coach thinks tommy might really have meant it and urges Carrie to stop beating herself up. Coach Collins confronts tommy and sue, who says going with tommy would be a good thing for Carrie and that she and tommy don’t care what others will think when they see him escorting Carrie into the gym. At Carrie’s front door, tommy convinces Carrie to accompany him. by night, billy nolan and his chums and Chris go to a farm where billy kills a pig. At Carrie’s house, Margaret is told of the prom. she understands that the boys are sniffing around like dogs, and tells Carrie she’s not going. not to be denied, Carrie uses her newfound powers to shut the doors and says, “And things are gonna change around here.” on prom night, Margaret repeats her threat to keep Carrie home, but her newly confident daughter uses her power to knock her onto the bed—twice. While tommy drives Carrie to the prom designated “Love Among the stars,” sue leaves her family’s dinner table. At the prom, Carrie reluctantly agrees to dance. sue sneaks in behind the stage. the vote for King and Queen has been fixed and tommy and Carrie receive the honors. from under the stage, Chris and billy observe the proceedings. sue notices a rope leading to a bucket above the stage but is unable to convince Coach Collins something’s amiss and is locked out of the gym. After tommy

Carrie

Produced by Paul Monash. directed by brian dePalma. screenplay by Lawrence d. Cohen. based on the novel by stephen King. edited by Paul Hirsch. director of Photography, Mario tosi. Prints by deluxe. Music by Pino donaggio. Art direction, William Kenny, Jack fisk. set decoration, robert Gould. sets by “get set.” Costumes by rosanna norton. Makeup by Wesley dawn. Hair stylist, Adele taylor. special effects by Gregory M. Auer. Cast: Carrie White (sissy spacek), Margaret White (Piper Laurie), sue snell (Amy irving), tommy ross (William Katt), Chris Hargenson (nancy Allen), billy nolan ( John travolta), Miss Collins (betty buckley), norma Watson (P.J. soles), Mr. fromm (sydney Lassick), Mr. Morton (stefan Gierash), freddy (Michael talbot), the beak (doug Cox), George (Harry Gold), frieda (noelle north), Cora (Cindy daly), thonda (dierdre berthron), ernest (Anson downes), Kenny (rory stevens), Helen (edie McGlurg), boy on bicycle (Cameron dePalma). Synopsis: “You eat shit,” Chris tells Carrie when she flubs a return during a volleyball game at bates High school. in the locker room, Carrie goes crazy when blood starts running down her legs. she doesn’t realize it’s her first menstrual period. the other girls taunt her until Coach Collins stops their harassment. in the office to receive a dismissal slip, Carrie becomes agitated when the Principal keeps calling her Cassie. the ashtray flips into the air and onto the floor. At Carrie’s home, her mother Margaret tells a neighbor she is doing the Lord’s work in these “godless times.” When Margaret learns of Carrie’s period she says, “You’re a woman now.” she strikes her daughter and

Piper Laurie (top), Sissy Spacek, Carrie (United Artists, 1976).

The Rage: Carrie 2 • 41 kisses Carrie, Chris jerks the cord and pig’s blood spills onto Carrie’s head while the bucket knocks tommy to the floor. Carrie perceives everyone laughing at her and uses her powers to shut all the exits, turn on the fire hose, electrocute the principal, and even cause a prop to crush Coach Collins. Carrie leaves the conflagration and on the way home causes billy’s car to crash and burn with Chris inside. At home, Carrie bathes and asks her mother to hold her. instead, Margaret stabs her in the back. Crawling away, Carrie propels knives and sharp kitchen implements into her mother, who dies as if Christ on the cross. the house begins to implode and catches fire. dragging her mother into the prayer room, Carries’s head falls back as the house sinks into the ground. At the snell house, sue tosses in bed. she goes to the White property where a simple cross lies in the ground on which someone has scrawled “Carrie White burns in Hell!” she kneels to place flowers on this memorial and a hand reaches up and grasps hers. she screams and wakes in her bed, holding onto her mother. Reviews: roger ebert called it “an absolutely spellbinding horror movie,…” the character Carrie was not the typical horror movie teen. the final chaos is the natural outcome of what’s gone before.(www. rogerebert.com/reviews/carrie-1976); the New York Times termed it “often wrong but not dull,….” director de Palma style was pre– raphaelite, the scenes of carnage “too mannered and elegantly draped to be scary.” Although there was “universal overacting…,” sissy spacek was “very effective” (richard eder, New York Times, november 17, 1976, p. C24); The Connoisseur’s Guide to the Contemporary Horror Film thought it was “An exceptionally well-controlled, superbly acted thriller….” on the other hand, the finale had the director “reaching out for some grandstand trickery…” (Chas. balun, The Connoisseur’s Guide to the Contemporary Horror Film, Albany, nY: fantaco books, 1992, p. 16); Variety termed it “a modest but effective shock-suspense drama…” (derek elley, Variety Movie Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, p. 96). Analysis: everything clicks: the cast, the sense of doom, the high school holocaust. the trailer tagline: “if you have a taste for terror, you have a date with Carrie.” Carrie was stephen King’s first published novel (1974) and the first of many of his books to reach the big screen. the film was director de Palma’s and spacek’s entrance into the big leagues. spacek would win a best Actress Academy Award for Coal Miner’s Daughter in 1980. John travolta had only a year to wait before Saturday Night Fever took the country by storm.

(red bank films/United Artists, 1999; 104 min.) ★★½

The Rage: Carrie 2

Produced by Paul Monash. directed by Katt shea. screenplay by rafael Moreu. based upon characters created by stephen King. edited by richard nord. director of Photography, donald M. Morgan. Panavision. Prints by deLuxe. Music by danny P. Harvey. sound, steve smith. Production design, Peter Jamison. Art direction, Geoffrey s. Grimsman. set decoration, Linda spheeris. Costumes by theoni V. Aldredge. special Makeup effects designed and Created by thomas r. burman, bari dreiband-burman. digital Visual effects Created by Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company. Cast: rachel Lang (emily bergl), Jesse ryan ( Jason London), Mark (dylan bruno), barbara Lang ( J. smith-Cameron), sue snell (Amy irving), eric stark (Zachery ty bryan), boyd ( John doe), Mr. Lou stark (Gordon Clapp), Monica Jones (rachel blanchard), tracy (Charlotte Ayanna), brad ( Justin Urich), Lisa (Mena suvari), Chuck (elijah Craig), Arnie (eddie Kaye thomas), Little rachel (Kayla Campbell).

Synopsis: After barbara Lang suffers a mental breakdown, her young daughter rachel goes to live with foster parents. At bates High school, she pals around with Lisa. during a discussion in english class of Romeo and Juliet, rachel tells the teacher she doesn’t believe in love, but jock Jesse counters with an analysis the teacher appreciates. Lisa, who’d confided in rachel that she’s slept with one of the jocks, jumps off the school’s roof. rachel’s distress is communicated to the school lockers, which swing open seemingly of their own accord. teacher sue snell consoles rachel, who says, “i don’t cry.” rachel works at a photo-processing shop and prints out Lisa’s batch which reveals that eric stark is the boy who’d made Lisa one of his conquests before dumping her. she refuses to turn over the photos to Mark, another of the jocks. He tries to butter her up with promises but she says she’s a dyke. A policeman, sue and rachel discuss the photos. sue says eric was guilty of statutory rape because he is 18, Lisa was 16. the policeman wonders if sue is trying to save a girl who died 20 years previously. Jesse has intercourse with tracy but is repulsed when she says Lisa was nobody. At her home, rachel is perplexed by objects that levitate. After her basset Walter is hit by a car, she mysteriously causes Jesse’s car to stop and its windshield shatter while she gathers up the injured dog. Jesse drives rachel to the all-night vet who provides an optimistic prognosis for Walter. At a diner, rachel and Jesse find common cause and a connection. sue reviews rachel’s file and tells the girl she had her own horrible experience in high school and spent time in the Arkham sanitarium where Mrs. Lang still resides. A cup inexplicably falls off the table. rachel confronts eric, and at football practice a policeman shows eric photos of himself with Lisa. Home alone, rachel is harassed by Mark and eric, who turn off the electricity. rachel uses her power to close a window on eric’s arm. At school, Jesse asks for another date and rachel agrees. sue gives rachel a test and the paperweight explodes. sue recalls Carrie White bathed in blood. Meeting at the lake and jumping into the car when it rains, rachel tells Jesse he can make his own path. they kiss. she’s never done it and wants it to be special. she’d also like a gift of daisies. sue goes to Arkham and asks rachel’s mother who her daughter’s father is. there may be a genetic disorder in the family. barbara Lang says children are terrifying and reveals that ralph White was rachel’s father. sue takes rachel to the ruins of the original high school. rachel says she knows a little about Carrie White while sue pictures the fire Carrie started two decades previously. telekinesis was the trait passed down from the father—to Carrie and to rachel. eric is grilled by the police about Lisa’s suicide. His attorney father gets him off the hook for the time being. tracy is pissed when she sees Jesse talking to rachel. Mark tells Jesse they should remain friends. Assisting rachel with lipstick in the department store, Monica says she must come to the big party at Mark’s. Mark tells Jesse to bring rachel so he can apologize to her. Jesse present daisies to rachel and they make love at the lake house. sneaking into her bedroom next morning, rachel is slapped by her stepfather and grounded. on game day, sue goes to Arkham and asks barbara to tell her where rachel’s father is. she’s worried rachel might harm herself or others. sue sneaks barbara out of the sanitarium. in the 4th quarter of the game at which a college scout is present, Jesse goes down. rachel hears this on the radio and rushes to the stadium and onto the sidelines. but Jesse has recovered and catches the winning td pass. Monica drives rachel to the party while tracy tries to seduce Jesse. “swank” is rachel’s term for Mark’s house and pool. Mark and his conspirators show rachel a notebook, a “black book” of female conquests, including those by Jesse. she pictures Lisa’s suicide and eric insults the dead girl. A VHs tape of Jesse having sex is the last straw, and rachel falls to the floor before using her power to close all the doors. she rises, transformed, lines appearing and lengthening on

42 • Carrie her body. A fire starts. sue arrives but is killed before she can open the doors. barbara does make it inside and prays. Mark breaks open a case holding spear guns. He shoots a flare onto rachel and she falls into the pool, but she pulls him in and he’s knocked out by the pool cover. rachel uses a spear to break through the tarp. “the devil’s in you!” cries barbara. now rachel believes she has no one. “Let me die.” Jesse calls to her, but rachel makes the ceiling fall on tracy. Jesse expresses his love, and she pushes him to safety as more ceiling collapses on her. to save him from the flames, she then thrusts Jesse onto the pool tarp. one year later at Kings University, Walter woofs and the shutters swing open. rachel comes into the room and kisses Jesse, but it’s a midnight dream. Reviews: roger ebert thought emily bergl did well “under the circumstances,…” but the film was a mere shadow of the original (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, March 12, 1999); Entertainment Weekly Online said it was “better than it really deserves to be.” Most of that could be attributed to emily bergl, portraying the heroine “with a nicely sulky empathy, equal parts hurt and hope.” (ty burr, www.ew. com, March 19, 1999). the New York Times said it had credible acting and one good scare. otherwise, it was a standard b movie, an “Uninspired update with video cameras, sexual frankness, margaritas and tattoos.” (Anita Gates, New York Times, March 12, 1999, p. e29). Analysis: Like Ashley bell in The Last Exorcism, emily bergl makes this sequel to Carrie watchable. other than she and Amy irving, the cast has only a modicum of gravitas, which helped make the 1976 Carrie the fine film it was. this could have benefited from a larger budget that, for instance, would have put more spectators in the stadium stands. the reappearance of sue snell from the original Carrie provides continuity.

Ms. desjardin, the principal, and even her father. Her suspension from the track team and prom stands. in the lavatory, Carrie breaks the mirror through the force of her will, and on the web she looks up “Magic Powers.” in class, tommy calls her poem awesome. one of the moms goes to the laundry and compliments Margaret on an item she had sewn while unknown to her, Margaret is cutting her arm. in the gym, sue is repentant. At her home, Carrie reads up on extrasensory powers and levitates books off the bed. sue asks tommy to invite Carrie to the prom, but Carrie thinks it’s a cruel joke. even desjardin thinks something’s fishy, but Carrie relents after tommy pesters her. Carrie tells her mother about the prom, and Margaret responds that boys are like dogs and “He’ll hurt you.” enraged by her mother’s call to pray for forgiveness, Carrie levitates Margaret. Meanwhile, Chris schemes with billy, who kills a pig for its blood. decorating the gym for the prom, sue runs to the lavatory to throw up. Carrie makes her prom dress even as Chris and billy sneak into the gym to position a bucket over the stage. When Margaret again tries to dissuade Carrie from going out, she is thrust into the closet. Carrie finally agrees to a slow dance with tommy. Margaret starts breaking out of the closet. sue senses something’s wrong and goes to the gym while the vote is being fixed for King and Queen to give tommy and Carrie the honor. on stage, Carrie is doused with pig’s blood while tommy is knocked to the floor by the falling bucket. Chris has the video of Carrie shown on a screen. After finding that tommy is dead, Carrie unleashes her

(MGM/screen Gems, 2013; 100 min.) ★★

Carrie

Produced by Kevin Misher. directed by Kimberly Peirce. screenplay by Lawrence d. Cohen, robert Aguirre-sacasa. based on the novel by stephen King. edited by Lee Percy, nancy richardson. director of Photography, steve Yedlin. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, Carol spier. Art direction, nigel Churcher. set decoration, Peter nicolakakos. Costumes by Luis sequeira. Visual effects by Mr. X inc. Cast: Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz), Margaret White ( Julianne Moore), sue snell (Gabriella Wilde), Chris Hargensen (Portia doubleday), billy nolan (Alex russell), tina (Zoë belkin), tommy ross (Ansel elgort), Heather (samantha Weinstein), nicki (Karissa strain), Ms. desjardin ( Judy Greer), Principal Morton (barry shabaka Henlsey), Lizzy (Katie strain). Synopsis: Writhing around on a bed and screaming, a woman gives birth and almost kills the baby with scissors. Years pass and the child, the teenage Carrie White, is a high school outcast because of her meek demeanor. After water volleyball class, Carrie has her first period in the locker room. frightened by the blood, she screams and asks for help. the other girls laugh and throw tampons at her. the physical education teacher Ms. desjardin slaps her to quiet her down. in the principal’s office, desjardin says she’s sorry. Carrie’s mother Margaret arrives and takes her daughter home. A fanatical, literal-minded Christian, Margaret rants about sins of the flesh and guilt. Carrie tries to convince her mother that she’s making stuff up, it’s not in the bible. nevertheless, Margaret drags Carrie into a closet to repent. Chris posts to the web video of Carrie in the shower and is taken to task by

Chloe Grace Moretz, poster art for Carrie (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2013).

Bride of Chucky • 43 wrath on everyone in the gym, making the doors close, starting fires and even knocking desjardin to the floor. outside, Carrie appears in front of billy’s car, stops it from ramming her and levitates it into a gas station and causes a fire. there are survivors back at the gym, including desjardin and sue. Carrie goes home and washes off the blood in her bathtub. she can’t find her mother. When she does, her mother relates her past, how she was taken by a man and how she should have killed Carrie when she was born. Cradling Carrie, she stabs her in the back. Carrie tumbles down the stairs but rises to send kitchen knives into her mother, securing her to the wall before lowering her to the floor. sue arrives and is told by Carrie that she’s carrying a girl child before being knocked from the imploding house. on Carrie’s tombstone is scrawled in red, “Carrie White burns in Hell.” Reviews: Hollywood Gothique thought Moretz “makes a game effort,…” but was miscast. she was “too obviously pretty, and looks too much like a confident young woman … to convince us that she is a shy introvert victimized by her peers.” even modern “CGi hijinx,…” failed to deliver “the visceral punch of the old film’s mechanical effects.” (steve biodrowski, www.hollywoodgothique.com, october 20, 2013); People said it “doesn’t make much of an argument for its existence.” the cast was fine but the movie chugged along until “the limp restaging of the most infamous senior prom in pop-culture history.” (People, november 4, 2013, p. 36). Analysis: the updating takes the form of texting and video via smartphone. otherwise it’s almost a scene-for-scene remake. even though it is r-rated as was the original, this version has no nudity and tones down the language that made the 1976 version raw. to second one reviewer, on the face of it Chloë Grace Moretz is too pretty to play this character. for a change, most of the actors are not far removed from high school. Moretz was only 16 when the film was released. in the original Amy irving was 23, nancy Allen, 26, William Katt, 25, John travolta, 22. Maybe it was their ages, but that crew had more gravitas.

CHiLd’s PLAY

Cast: tiffany/tiffany doll ( Jennifer tilly), Chucky (brad dourif, voice). Jade (Katherine Heigl), Jesse (nick stabile), Chief Warren Kincaid ( John ritter), damien baylock (Alexis Arquette), david (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Lt. Preston (Lawrence dane), norton (Michael Louis Johnson), Maid (Kathy najimy), diane ( Janet Kidder), russ ( James Gallanders). Synopsis: A policeman extracts a black plastic bag from Locker 22408 at the Lockport Police department evidence depository and phones a woman to say he’s got what she wants. At the rendezvous, he has his throat cut by a woman in sexy attire. At the home of her uncle, Police Chief Kincaid, Jade is picked up by david, but it’s a cover for her real boyfriend Jesse, hiding in the backseat. to their consternation, Kincaid has sent a policeman to pull the car over. Meanwhile, tiffany has arrived at her trailer with her black bag contents: a mangled doll. sewing it up and replacing the missing eyes, she places it inside the pentagram she’s chalked on the floor and begins incantations based on the book Voodoo for Dummies. but her chants seem in vain. Her chum damien arrives, intent on making out with her. instead, the doll named Chucky comes to life and smothers him. Chucky tells tiffany he’s pleased she hasn’t let herself go. tiffany tells Chucky she’s never removed his ring. He says it was taken from one of the women he killed. tiffany is shocked. she’s been misled. Chucky hasn’t wanted to marry her. He says he wants to get out of this doll’s body, but now tiffany has second thoughts, locks him in a playpen, and cries herself to sleep next to damien’s body. out by the bridge, Chief Kincaid arrives and takes Jade away, calling Jesse trailer park trash. next morning, tiffany asks Jesse to put a trunk into her car. tiffany provides Chucky with a female doll, but while she takes a bath, Chucky saws out of the playpen using the new doll’s ring. He electrocutes tiffany and with a voodoo spell transfers her body into the girl doll. When Chief Kincaid plants marijuana to incriminate Jesse, Chucky and tiffany respond by blasting him in the head with nails propelled by an airbag. He is not dead, however, and Chucky uses his knife for the coup de grace. Jesse tells Jade he’s being paid handsomely to transport two dolls to Vegas. Jade and Jesse get married. Another couple enters

see Volume i for Child’s Play (1988), Child’s Play 2 (1990), and Child’s Play 3 (1991). Curse of Chucky was a 2013 direct-to-video film from Universal Home entertainment.

(Universal, 1998; 89 min.) ★★½

Bride of Chucky

Produced by david Kirschner, david Gilroy. directed by ronny Yu. screenplay by don Mancini. based on original characters. edited by david Wu, randolph K. bricker. director of Photography, Peter Pau. Color by deluxe. Music by Graeme revell. title song Performed by rob Zombie. Production design, Alicia Keywan. Art direction, James McAteer. set decoration, Carol Lavoie, Mike Harris. Costumes by Lynne MacKay. Chucky and tiffany dolls Created by david Kirschner. Chucky and tiffany dolls Puppet effects Created by Kevin Yagher. Visual effects by Gajdecki Visual effects, nerve effects, inc.

Jennifer Tilly, Bride of Chucky (Universal, 1998).

44 • Seed of Chucky their room. the woman steals Jade’s money but tiffany sees the theft, goes to their room and tosses a bottle into the glass ceiling, which sends its shards down onto the miscreants. Jade and Jesse watch tV and realize they are wanted for the disappearance of Kincaid. david arrives with information but begins to think they are killers. Jade wonders about Jesse, Jesse about her. david finds Kincaid’s body in the back of the rV, takes a gun and demands that Jesse let him out. Upon seeing the dolls come alive, he backs onto the highway to his death. Armed, Chucky makes Jesse drive off and shoots out the tires on a pursuing police cruiser. Acquiring another vehicle, they head for Hackensack, nJ. Jade convinces tiffany that Chucky is not to be trusted and the dolls fight. Jade secures tiffany in the oven while Jesse knocks Chucky from the vehicle. Chucky quickly regains the initiative and orders Jade to the grave of Charles Lee ray, kills a man who’s opened it up, and makes Jade jump down, open the casket and remove the allimportant amulet that will facilitate Chucky’s transference back into a normal person. still alive but in Jesse’s control, tiffany is traded for Jade, but Chucky tosses a knife into Jesse’s back. Jade removes it. Chucky and the fire-charred tiffany exchange tender greetings before tying up Jade and Jesse and beginning an incantation. tiffany, however, stabs Chucky in the back. Although seemingly mortally wounded, Chucky rebounds and stabs tiffany in the chest. Jesse knocks Chucky into the grave as Lt. Preston arrives. He is shocked by the vision of the maniacal doll in the grave and lets Jade shoot it. Chucky says he’ll be back, he always comes back even though dying is a bitch. Lt. Preston sends Jade and Jesse away and pokes tiffany, who disgorges a horrible baby that springs onto the detective’s face. Reviews: the New York Times called it “comic Grand Guignol…” but joined other sequels that lost “the heartbeat of inspiration long before they die of box office anemia.” (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, october 17, 1998, p. b16); VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever found the human characters “undeveloped and rather useless.” However, there was some fun because the filmmakers knew this was not to be taken seriously ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson Gale, 2007, p. 150). Analysis: it is funny, if not funny enough, especially the dolls bashing each other with shovels, the hockey mask and full-face mask from friday the 13th and Halloween, respectively. How did Jesse survive the knife in the back?

Seed of Chucky

(rogue Pictures/david Kirschner Productions, 2004; 87 min.) ★★½

Produced by david Kirschner, Corey sienega. directed by don Mancini. screenplay by don Mancini. based on characters created by don Mancini. edited by Chris dickens. director of Photography, Vernon Layton. Color by deluxe. technicolor. Music by Pino donaggio. Production design, Peter James russell, Cristian nicolescu. Art direction, Judy farr. set decoration, dan toader. Costumes by oana Paunescu. Chucky, tiffany and Glen dolls dolls Created by david Kirschner. Animatronic Characters and effects by tony Gardner. Lead Puppeteers, Peter Chevako, Patrick Comerford. Cast: tiffany/Herself ( Jennifer tilly), Chucky (brad dourif, voice), Glen/Glenda (billy boyd, voice), Himself (redman), Pete Peters ( John Waters), Joan (Hannah spearritt), Himself (tony Gardner), stan (steve Lawton), Psychs (Keith-Lee Castle), santa ( Jason flemyng), Lawyer (nicholas rowe), Claudia (bethany simons denville), Claudia’s mum (stephanie Chambers), Claudia’s dad

(simon James Morgan), fulvia (rebecca santos), Guy J. Louthan (don Mancini). Synopsis: At the international Ventriloquist’s Competition in Glastonbury, england, the dummy child Glen performs as part of PsYCHs & sHitfACe. Glen knows there’s something missing in his life, namely his parents. He escapes from his handler and journeys to the states, meets his parents Chucky and tiffany, and joins them as they follow actress Jennifer tilly, who bemoans the dearth of good film roles. After stumbling on a decapitated technician who had been dismantling tiffany, Jennifer finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Glen is aghast that his parents are psychopathic killers, but they more or less agree to stop. Jennifer wants to play the Virgin Mary in redman’s film, but when he comes to dinner tiffany disembowels him. Jennifer recalls an addiction counselor on the phone who said rome wasn’t built in a day. Chucky tracks down Pete Peters, a paparazzi who’d photographed him masturbating. Pete is killed when a jar of sulfuric acid falls from a shelf and melts his face. back at Jennifer’s, Chucky knocks her out, ties her to the bed, and with tiffany’s help, inseminates her. during her labor Jennifer calls former girl friday Joan, who rushes over only to be set on fire by a suddenly maniacal Glen/Glenda. Jennifer’s chauffeur stan is also killed with a knife to the chest. Jennifer’s pregnancy is short and she produces two adorable twins, a boy and a girl. Chucky argues that he can’t change his stripes. “i am Chucky, the killer doll, and i dig it!” following Jennifer to the hospital, the dolls argue and Chucky loses control as tiffany uses the mystical amulet and incantations to attempt possession of Jennifer. Chucky puts his axe into tiffany’s forehead. Glen turns the tables, chopping off Chucky’s arms, legs and head. five years later during the twins’ birthday party, Jennifer, her eyes ablaze like tiffany’s, kills the nanny. transference is complete. Glen, who seems to have taken over the twin son, receives a package that contains Chucky’s right arm, which latches onto his neck. Reviews: Chicagoreader.com called it a “rudely funny splatter comedy…” ( J.r. Jones, chicagoreader.com, november 12, 2004); Total Film said it foreswore “coherence in favour of complete and utter insanity,….” it was funny, however, and “not without a certain charmless charm” (www.totalfilm.com, May 13, 2005). Analysis: Like Bride of Chucky, it’s a flat-out satire of itself and on that level is amusing. one especially laugh-producing scene has Chucky running pop songstress britney spears off the road and relishing the ensuing fiery crash while mocking spears’ 2000 hit, “oops! … i did it again.” incoherence does raise its head when one attempts to summarize the story. Why exactly did Chucky and tiffany want to inseminate Jennifer? they didn’t know twins would result. it’s a case of arguing or making sense of it in retrospect because there’s not that much verbal exposition during the film. one assumes this or that is a reason for the actions.

CHroniCLes of nArniA C.s. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia Christian allegorical novels were published between 1950 and 1956. Lewis and J.r.r. tolkien were members of the inklings, an informal group of literary and fantasyminded minded folk who met regularly in the 1930s and 1940s, and you can see how they influenced each other. the are seven narnia books and thus far three film versions. A fourth is rumored to be in the works.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe • 45

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Walt disney Pictures/Walden Media, 2005; 143 min.) ★★★

Produced and directed by Andrew Adamson. screenplay by Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. based on the book by C.s. Lewis. edited by sim evan-Jones, Jim May. director of Photography, donald M. McAlpine. Panavision. Prints by technicolor. Music by Harry Gregson-Williams. Production design, roger ford. Art direction, Jules Cook, Karen Murphy, Jules Cook, Jeffrey thorp. set decoration, Kerrie brown. Costumes by isis Mussenden. special Makeup and Creatures by Howard berger and Gregory nicotero. Creature and Visual Concept design, Armour and Weapons by richard taylor. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studios. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks, inc., and by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley), Peter Pevensie (William Moseley), edmund Pevensie (skandar Keynes), susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell), White Witch (tilda swinton), Mr. tumnus ( James McAvoy), Aslan (Liam neeson, voice), Professor Kirke ( Jim broadbent), Ginarrbrik (Kiran shah), father Christmas ( James Cosmo), Mrs. Pevensie ( Judy Mcintosh), Mrs. Macready (elizabeth Hawthorne), oreius (Patrick Kake), General otmin (shane rangi), Mr. beaver (ray Winstone, voice), Mrs. beaver (dawn french, voice), Mr. fox (rupert everett, voice), Wolf (sim evan-Jones, voice).

castle and is imprisoned in an ice dungeon near Mr. tumnus, who in short order is turned to ice by the White Witch. When the wolves begin ripping apart their lodge, Mr. and Mrs. beaver guide the children into a tunnel from which they emerge and trek toward the castle. beavers and the Pevensies rush across a frozen river as a sleigh comes on strong behind them. the White Witch? no, a kindly-looking gent who might be father Christmas. He has presents: for susan a bow, for Lucy a vial of fire flower juice that can heal the injured, a sword for Peter. He predicts an imminent spring and as he heads off calls out, “Long live Aslan!” the wolves catch up with the beavers as they try to cross an ice-bound river. Peter uses his sword to break the ice beneath their feet and they shoot down the river on an ice flow. With edmund in tow, the Witch finds her wolves bringing in Mr. fox whom she turns to ice after questioning. the beavers and children arrive at Aslan’s camp and confront the King, a noble lion. After the meeting, while susan and Lucy enjoy the sunshine, two wolves attack. the children climb into a tree. Aslan arrives and with his paw holds down one of the wolves while Peter kills the leader. Centaurs dispatched to find and bring back edmund are successful. soon a meeting is arranged with the White Witch, who arrives at Aslan’s camp with her entourage and demands the return of edmund. she and Aslan confer in private and Aslan emerges from the tent to announce that the Witch has agreed to renounce her claim to edmund. However, there is a condition no one knows about. Aslan wanders away from camp and Lucy and susan follow. Aslan enters the Witch’s realm, is taunted and knocked down and his mane shorn by the Witch, who then stabs him. When the Witch leaves with her minions, Lucy and susan go to Aslan’s body. they send a message via the trees that the Witch’s army is on the march. now mindful of impending attack, the fully-armored Peter, now the leader in Aslan’s place, waits as the Witch’s army surges forward. on a cliff to the rear, edmund readies the archers. Large predator birds drop heavy rocks onto the oncoming horde although some of

Synopsis: during World War ii, the Pevensie children are evacuated by their mother to the manor house of Professor Kirke, whose housekeeper Mrs. Macready admonishes them to be quiet. during a game of hide and seek, young Lucy conceals herself in a large wardrobe. backing through the clothes into a snowy forest, she meets Mr. tumnus, a clove-hooved faun who takes her to his well-furnished cave. When she returns to the manor, her tale of this adventure is disbelieved by her siblings. one day the youngest brother edmund goes with her but later denies to Peter and susan that he did so. A day comes when the children realize they’ve garnered Mrs. Macready’s ire and flee into the wardrobe. All four find themselves in Lucy’s wondrous world. but Mr. tumnus is not to be found, and his residence has been ransacked. they meet a talking beaver who takes them to his lodge. Mr. beaver reveals that Mr. tumnus has been taken to the Witch’s home, yet there is hope because Aslan, King of the whole wood, has returned and is on the move. Additionally, there is a prophecy that two sons of Adam and two daughters of eve will end the evil times. Unseen by the others, edmund sneaks out, wanders through the wood and spots a gleaming castle in the distance. its resident, the White Witch, who also claims to be Queen of the World, looses her wolves to find the children. the wolves encounter Mr. fox, Left to right: William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, and Anna Popplewell, The Chronwho dissembles, but edmund enters the icles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media, 2005).

46 • The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian the avians are shot down by arrows. edmund leads a charge and both armies join. back at the sacrifice site, Lucy and susan start to leave their friend but hear a crash, turn and see the block on which Aslan had rested torn asunder. Above, under the arch, appears the lion in his full glory, mane and all. He says that death can be turned back by a willing victim with no treachery in him. the girls ride Aslan back to the Witch’s compound of frozen creatures. Aslan breathes on them, and the first restored to life is Mr. tumnus. they continue to the battle site where the fight goes against Peter’s forces. in fact, seeing edmund stabbed, Peter pursues the Witch as Aslan and his reinforcements rush into the enemy. Knocking the Witch onto her back, Aslan stands over her for a moment before lowering his jaws. Lucy uses her potion to revive edmund. the battle won, his folk refreshed, Aslan leads the children to the four thrones: two for the new kings, two for the new queens. Later, Lucy observes Aslan wandering alone on the beach far below. Mr. tumnus says they’ll see him again. time passes and the children grow and ride into the forest, finding the lamppost that once signaled their entrance into the world of narnia. they leave their mounts, clamber through the brush, and fall into a wardrobe and emerge as the children they were long ago. the Professor is there and wonders what’s happened? Peter says he wouldn’t believe it. “try me,” the Professor counters and tells Lucy that when she least expects it she and her siblings might enter narnia again. Reviews: The Guardian called it “a triumph. it is gorgeous to look at, superbly cast, wittily directed and funny and exciting by turns…. i can’t see how it could be done better. Perhaps Mel Gibson would have preferred Aslan to be whipped with barbed wire for 30 minutes before the main event, but Adamson handles it with finesse.” (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, december 1, 2005). While it wasn’t as sublime as The Lord of the Rings, the New York Times thought this first installment in the Chronicles saga kept intact the book’s spirit and captured “both the mythical power of Lewis’s tale and, even better, its charm.” (A.o. scott, New York Times, december 9, 2005, p. e1). Analysis: the Christian allegory is not particularly obvious until Aslan gives himself up to the Witch, is laid low, has his mane cut off, his body stabbed, and later rises. it might be a bit intense for younger children, what with Mr. tumnus and others turned to ice, the goblinlike minions in the Witch’s army, and the scourging of Aslan—a truly affecting scene. tilda swinton makes a Witch you can truly despise and her demise (for the moment) is very welcome.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Walt disney Pictures/Walden Media, 2008; 150 min.) ★★★

Produced by Mark Johnson, Andrew Adamson, Philip steuer. directed by Andrew Adamson. screenplay by Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. based on the book by C.s. Lewis. edited by sim evan-Jones, Josh Campbell. director of Photography, Karl Walter Lindenlaub. Color by deluxe and technicolor. Music by Harry Gregson-Williams. “the Call” written and sung by regina spektor. Production design, roger ford. Art direction, david Allday, Phil sims, stuart Kearns, Jiri sternwald, Matt Gray. set decoration, Kerrie brown. Costumes by isis Mussenden. Visual effects by the Moving Picture Company, framestore-CfC, WetA digital Ltd., Wellington, new Zealand, scanlineVfX Munich–Los Angeles. Cast: Prince Caspian (ben barnes), Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley), edmund Pevensie (skandar Keynes), Peter Pevensie (William Moseley), susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell), Miraz (sergio Castel-

litto), trumpkin (Peter dinklage), nikabrik (Warwick davis), dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass), General Glozelle (Pierfrancesco favino), Glenstorm (Cornell s. John), Lord sopespian (damian Alcazar), Prunaprismia (Alicia borrachero), Lord donnon (Predrag bjelac), Pattertwig the squirrel (Harvey Gregson-Williams, voice), trufflehunter (Ken stott), Peepiceek (sim evan-Jones, voice), bulgy bear (david Walliams, voice), Arterius the minotaur ( Josh Campbell), reepicheep (eddie izzard), White Witch (tilda swinton), Aslan (Liam neeson, voice), Asterius (shane rangi). Synopsis: Upon the birth of a son to his aunt and uncle Miraz in the land of telmarine, young Prince Caspian is roused by an old man and told to flee the castle and given a horn to blow if in dire need. from a closet he observes crossbowmen loose their bolts into his bed. riding into the woods, he is knocked from his horse and dragged away by little people. in 20th century wartime London, Lucy, edmund, Peter and susan Pevensie prepare for school but on the tube platform a wind rushes in and the quartet find themselves on a sunlit beach. narnia, no doubt. they discover a vast ruin and suspect they once lived there. except for susan’s horn, they find their swords and susan’s bow. back in telmarine, Miraz’ soldiers return from the wood with, not Caspian, but trumpkin, one of the little men now condemned by Miraz as narnian vermin waiting to attack the kingdom. in narnia, the badger trufflehunter and the dwarf nikabrik speak with Caspian. narnians are supposed to be extinct, says the Prince, who admits he’s running away from his uncle. this changes things, says trufflehunter, who shows Caspian the calling horn. in the telmarine castle, Caspian’s tutor dr. Cornelius, the old man who’d helped him escape, is arrested. General Glozelle and Lord sopespian discuss Miraz’ orders. Miraz asks when the bridge into narnia will be completed. He knows of the prophecy regarding the son of Adam and aims to prevent it from coming true. rescuing trumpkin, the Pevensies row down the river and learn of the telmarine invasion. After debarking on a sandy beach, susan must use an arrow to kill a wild bear attacking Lucy. Caspian enters the forest with the dwarf and trufflehunter. they are attacked by Miraz’ crossbowmen who are foiled by a large, saber-wielding mouse named reepicheep. four centaurs arrive. At a forest conclave, Caspian is grilled. trufflehunter tells the angry crowd that narnia was ever at peace when a son of Adam was the king. Caspian argues that together they can succeed in preserving their land. Meanwhile, Miraz’ bridge is slowly spanning the river. Lucy claims she saw Aslan across the divide, and while the others nap, Lucy enters the forest and meets the lion. in answer to Lucy’s question about why he hadn’t appeared earlier, he says nothing ever happens the same way twice. she wakes up. Was the meeting with Aslan a dream? Continuing their journey, the company is shocked when the earth gives way and Lucy falls, but it’s but a few feet and leads to a way down. they meet Caspian and Peter engages him with his sword until it is learned who Caspian is, and the narnians realize who they are. they proceed to a plain on the other side of which rests an old pyramid. Centaurs with horns greet them as they enter the underground chamber. After discussing events in a great hall, torches are lit to facilitate further exploration the ruin, which includes a room with a broken altar and an image of Aslan on the wall. Peter says it’s up to them now. outside, a sentry spots telmarine scouts in the woods. Peter advises a sneak attack on the telmarine castle and the centaur leader agrees. Lucy, however, thinks there’s a third way between attack and holing up in the pyramid. the narnians under Peter’s leadership enter the castle as edmund signals with his flashlight from a turret on which he’d been deposited by an eagle. At first the battle goes the narnians’ way, but eventually Miraz has crossbowmen loose their bolts into the courtyard, even killing

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader • 47 their own men. A minotaur holds up the portcullis to let narnian survivors escape, but many are trapped, which leads later to a dispute between Caspian and edmund as to who bears responsibility. if Caspian hadn’t wasted time rescuing dr. Cornelius, if Peter and his siblings hadn’t abandoned narnia…. trumpkin is brought in more dead than alive but resuscitated by Lucy’s elixir. Miraz’ bridge is almost completed as Miraz takes the mantle of kingship. in the pyramid, nikablik tells Caspian of a way to win with creatures who held Aslan at bay for a hundred years. one creates an icy gate behind which is the White Witch. Against his wishes, Caspian has his palm cut. if the Witch can but touch her hand to his blood she will be released. Peter arrives in time to hold Caspian’s hand back, and behind the frozen gate edmund thrusts a spear through the Witch and she disappears. trumpkin kills the traitorous and misled nikablik as he tries to murder Lucy. the telmarine host and its siege train arrive. informed by Caspian that there remain rules despite Miraz’ despotic rule and that he is subject to traditions, Peter challenges Miraz to single combat. Miraz somewhat reluctantly agrees, knowing General Glozelle and Lord sopespian might welcome his defeat. the contest begins even as Lucy rides into the forest, escorted partway by susan, who uses her bow on pursuing soldiers. Caspian comes to her rescue. Miraz loses the combat with Peter although the latter is wounded during the duel. susan and Caspian return. Caspian refuses to kill Miraz, but Lord sopespian uses an arrow to murder him and call to the troops that treachery has befallen their king. the telmarine siege engines hurl round balls into the narnian ranks. High on the side of the pyramid, susan directs the archers against the oncoming telmarine cavalry. eagles carrying the dwarves shoot arrows into the telmarine ranks but are also shot down by bolt-propelling machines. Underground pillars are broken, the earth collapses, and the telmarine cavalry tumbles down and are overwhelmed by the narnians. General Glozelle orders the telmarine infantry to advance. still riding through the forest, Lucy is saved by Aslan from a telmarine. “things never happen the same way twice, dear one,” says the lion, who calls forth the forest, which marches to the battlefield to turn the tide. Lord sopespian calls a retreat to the bridge where they can destroy the narnians. it’s not to be. summoned by Aslan, a water giant rushes down upon them, destroying the bridge and sopespian. the telmarine army is destroyed, its survivors rounded up. Aslan meets Caspian and trumpkin for the first time. reepiceek is at death’s door but revived by Lucy’s elixir. Aslan gives the telmarines the option of going to the island from which their ancestors came. General Glozelle and several others take it and disappear through the space between a large tree’s double trunk. susan kisses Caspian before leaving. in short order the Pevensies are back in the tube station and boarding the train for school. Reviews: The Guardian found it “entertaining, value-for-money stuff … though in my view some of the magic has gone, perhaps simply because the interest of the narnia series itself declines exponentially as it progresses towards the very uncomfortable, theologically strained finale in the seventh and last volume.” (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, June 26, 2008); Total Film found the human characters just as dull as in the previous episode. Yet the youthful target audience would appreciate the “polish and professionalism, if not a whole lot of passion.” in the action sequences. Most necessary but lacking was a “truly booable baddie.” (www.totalfilm.com, June 26, 2008). Analysis: there’s much here reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, e.g., orcs attacking Helm’s deep and Minas tirith, while here the telmarine ranks advance on the pyramid; the rushing river spirit that overwhelms the enemy; the dwarfs; the eagles.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (fox 2000 Pictures/Walden Media, 2010; 113 min.) ★★★ Produced by Mark Johnson, Andrew Adamson, Philip steuer. directed by Michael Apted. screenplay by Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely, Michael Petroni. based on the book by C.s. Lewis. edited by rick shaine. director of Photography, dante spinotti. Color by deluxe. Music by david Arnold. song: “there’s a Place for Us” Written and sung by Carrie Underwood. Production design, barry robison. Art direction, Karen Murphy, Mark robins. supervising Art director, ian Gracie. set decoration, rebecca Cohen. Costumes by isis Mussenden. Visual effects by MPC, the senate Visual effects. Animation and Visual effects by framestore. Visual effects and Animation by Cinesite Ltd., the Mill. special Make Up and Creatures by Howard berger and Greg nicotero and Knb efX Group. special thanks to Pauline baynes, 1922–2008. in Memory of Peter Apted. Cast: Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley), Peter Pevensie (William Moseley), edmund Pevensie (skandar Keynes), susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell), Prince Caspian (ben barnes), eustace scrubb (Will Poulter), drinian (Gary sweet), Lord bern (terry norris), Lord rhoop (bruce spence), Coriakin (billie brown), Liliandil (Laura brent), Auctioneer (Colin Moody), White Witch (tilda swinton), tavros (shane rangi), rhince (Arthur Angel), Gael (Arabella Morton), Gael’s mum (rachel blakely), Aslan (Liam neeson, voice). Synopsis: to edmund Pevensie’s displeasure, he and Lucy must live with their irritating and snobbish cousin, eustace scrubb. edmund can’t even join the military, he’s too young. Yet he’s commanded armies—in narnia. they examine a painting of a sailing ship on the high seas and agree it looks like something from that amazing realm. it is. the painting begins leaking water and soon the room is full. edmund, Lucy and eustace rise to the surface and find themselves aboard the Dawn Treader, Prince, now King Caspian’s ship. He informs his guests that narnia is at peace but that he seeks the seven narnian lords exiled to the Lone islands by his dead uncle Miraz. Going ashore, Caspian and edmund are overcome by slave dealers and thrown into a dungeon while Lucy and eustace are put on the block for the highest bidder. fortuitously, the dungeon is home to Lord bern, one of the seven lords, who tells Caspian and edmund how slaves are sacrificed to a green mist in the ocean. Caspian’s crew appear in disguise and rout the slave dealers. Lord bern gives Caspian a special sword, which he in turn presents to edmund. When they come to another island, Lucy is kidnapped by invisible creatures who make her retrieve a visibility spell from the realm of the magician Coriakin. in a book of incantations, Lucy finds a page much like a mirror in which she pictures herself as lovely as her sister susan. she rips it out and hides it in her clothing. Coriakin appears and the once invisible creatures begin jumping away. they are hardly dangerous, after all. in his inner sanctum, Coriakin unrolls upon the floor a giant map and informs his guests that at their peril they must place the seven swords on Aslan’s table on the island of ramandu. this will defeat the green mist. on the Treader, Lucy uses the page from the incantation book to become beautiful—and reenter the modern world looking like her sister. Her brothers don’t remember narnia and she returns to the Treader. Appearing in a large mirror on the ship, Aslan warns her about doubting her own worth. on another island, edmund extracts one of the necessary swords from a pool that turns everything to gold, including humans who fall in. not long afterward, edmund and Caspian discover another blade in a canyon of jewels and golden treasures. eustace had been there before them and filled his pockets, but now seems to have

48 • Cinderella been killed. However, when a dragon lands on the Treader’s mast and reepicheek stabs it with his sword, the creature is found to be eustace! He’d let temptation get the best of him. eustace becomes invaluable in using his tail to drag the Treader out of the doldrums. ramandu: the voyagers find Aslan’s table and the missing lords who seem to be under an enchantment. All swords but one are placed on the table. Help arrives in the form of the star they’d been following, which transforms into the beauteous Liliandil, who directs them toward dark island. on the seashore is Lord rhoop, the last Lord, seemingly unbalanced and swinging his sword. A sea serpent appears and attacks the ship. eustace endeavors to help but is wounded by the half-crazed rhoop and flies off. Aslan appears and removes the sword from his side, changes him back into the boy, and sends him back to ramandu to place the sword on the table. on this missing piece a ray from above releases the swords’ lost power and imbues Peter’s blade, which edmund has in his possession, with force to slay the serpent. the Lords revive, the mist disperses, and the freed slaves row toward the Treader. Gael spots her mother, leaps from the ship, and swims to her. Her father follows. eustace tells edmund and Lucy he’s sorry for having been so mean. they, Caspian and reepicheep row through a white, flower-filled sea to the shore of Aslan’s realm. beyond the shore a mountainous, ever roiling wave astounds them. Aslan tells them his country lies beyond the wave and that they may go there, but if they do they may not return. Caspian walks to the wave and touches it. He returns to his friends and says he is King and his people need him. reepicheep, on the other hand, is desirous of seeing Aslan’s land and paddles up and over the wave after a tearful goodbye to his companions. Aslan’s roar opens a portal in the wave into which edmund, Lucy and eustace can make their way home. Aslan says they will know him by a different name in their world. in response to eustace’s question, he says, “narnia may yet have need of you.” entering the portal, Lucy, edmund and eustace rise to the surface of their water-filled room, which soon leaks back into the painting of the Dawn Treader. eustace places the painting back upon the wall, and three leave the room at the call of his mother. Reviews: The Guardian said it “arrives with confidence and bravado intact—the entire expected stew of cod-medieval adolescent derringdo, attention-grabbing special effects, and sledgehammer moral lessons with nakedly religious overtones.” (Andrew Pulver, The Guardian, november 30, 2010); the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal found moral lessons inserted in a patchwork manner. “they don’t always fit, but the heart’s in the right place.” Violence was rather sanitized (M. scott Morris, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, december 16, 2010). Analysis: the violence is toned down. the city on the Lone islands and its inhabitants seem much like something from a 50s or 60s movie, i.e., actors and extras not especially convincing as dwellers in a different world. overall, however, it’s satisfying and offers some affecting scenes, e.g., the wave leading to Aslan’s world, the painting of the Treader.

CindereLLA see Volume i for The Glass Slipper (1955), Cinderfella (1960) and The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976). Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), Ella Enchanted (2004), and A Cinderella Story do not contain supernatural fantasy elements.

(Walt disney Pictures, 2015; 105 min.) ★★★

Cinderella

Produced by simon Kinberg, Allison shearmur, david barron. directed by Kenneth branagh. screenplay by Chris Weitz. based on disney’s Cinderella Properties and the fairy tale Written by Charles Perrault. edited by Martin Walsh. director of Photography, Haris Zambarloukos. Prints by fotokem. Music by Patrick doyle. Production design, dante ferretti. Art direction, Anthony Caron-delion. set decoration, francesca Loschiavo-ferretti. Costumes by sandy Powell. Visual effects by MPC, rodeo Visual effects Company. Cast: ella/Cinderella (Lily James), Lady tremaine (Cate blanchett), Prince Charming (richard Madden), Cinderella’s mother (Hayley Atwell), Cinderella’s father (ben Chaplin), fairy Godmother (Helena bonham Carter), the King (derek Jacobi), Grand duke (stellan skarsgård), Anastasia (Holliday Grainger), drisella (sophie Mcshera), Captain (nonzo Anozie), Young ella (eloise Webb), Synopsis: Young ella delights in the loving household of her mother and successful merchant father, who is often away on business. ella’s mother falls ill while her daughter is still a young girl, but before she dies tells ella that magic does exist and urges her to be courageous and kind. this ella takes to heart and when years later her father broaches the possibility of marrying the widowed Lady tremaine, ella welcomes her stepmother and her two daughters. but when ella’s father dies on one of his many business trips she is sore put to retain her equilibrium. Lady tremaine tells ella that her daughters Anastasia and drisella live in confined quarters, and ella volunteers her larger bedroom for the two. Her stepmother is pleased and says that ella can thenceforth live in the attic. At least friendly mice reside there, away from the mean cat Lucifer. Under the profligate Lady tremaine, the income of the estate dwindles and the servants are let go. An uncomplaining ella, smudged from fireplace ashes and labeled Cinderella, takes up the slack. riding in the woods, ella encounters a large stag and urges it to rush away from the horns that signify pursuing huntsmen. she meets a charming young huntsman who is much taken with her and agrees to let the stag go. this fellow who tells ella to call him Kit is in fact the Prince. “Kit” tells his ailing father of the “country girl” but the King wants his son to marry royalty so as to assuage any fears by the citizens that all will remain normal when their overlord passes away. nevertheless, the Prince is granted permission to invite all and sundry to a great ball. the Prince hopes to find his country girl amongst the attendees. on the night of the festivities, which ella is intensely excited about, her stepsisters wreck her mother’s pink dress, the one ella had hoped to wear. With no suitable attire, she is not permitted to attend the ball, but in the garden she encounters a crone who turns into her fairy Godmother. this flibbertigibbet does possess magic, turning ella’s ripped dress into a truly splendid blue gown, adding sparkles to her hair, and as a final touch, providing glass slippers. to get to the palace, two lizards are turned into footmen, the goose into the coachman, and the mice into white steeds. the coach itself is a large pumpkin transformed into a golden vehicle. Her fairy Godmother warns ella that she must leave the ball before the midnight knell. At the palace, the Prince is introduced to several potential spouses. the King’s adviser, the Grand duke, favors the Princess Chelina of Zaragoza. in any case, when the Prince spots the resplendent “country girl” on the steps, he gives her the first dance. not cognizant that this young lady is Cinderella, Lady tremaine urges her girls to get out there, but the Prince and ella elude them and make their way to the Prince’s secret garden. As the clock signals the midnight hour, ella races off, encounters the King and tells him what a marvelous son

Clash of the Titans • 49 he has, and makes her way to the coach. failing to stop her, the Prince finds a slipper on the staircase. rushing homeward, ella’s magical coach and attendants revert to their normal form and she is thrown from the careening vehicle. back home, she hides the remaining shoe under the floorboards. before his death the King tells his son he may marry anyone he wishes. Upon hearing that Kit, now King, seeks the maiden who can wear the glass slipper, ella goes to retrieve hers only to find Lady tremaine has discovered it. When ella refuses demands to grant her stepmother and stepsisters grand favors if she marries Kit and becomes Queen, the Lady tremaine breaks the slipper. ella is unmoved by her stepmother’s complaints about losing her own husband and position in society and wonders aloud how the Lady tremaine became so mean. With Cinderella locked in the attic, the Lady tremaine reveals all to the Grand duke and asks to become a Countess when the new King marries a presumably royal princess. However, Kit’s mission proceeds, with the Grand duke and the Captain searching the land for she whose foot fits the remaining glass slipper. At ella’s manor, they hear someone singing in a high tower whose window was opened by the mice. Having masqueraded himself as one of the Grand duke’s men, Kit reveals himself and asks the Captain to investigate. When they locate ella, the Lady tremaine tells the Captain that she is her daughter. ella counters that this is not true and the Captain agrees. Her stepmother grabs her arm and calls her a wretch. downstairs, ella meets Kit and says she will marry him if he will have her as she is, a plain country girl. He is only too pleased to comply. in the hall, ella observes her stepmother upon the stairs and says she forgives her. the fairy Godmother’s voice says that the Lady tremaine and her daughters as well as the Grand duke left the kingdom never to return. ella and Kit marry to the great pleasure of the citizens of the kingdom. Reviews: Entertainment Weekly commended costumes and casting, especially Cate blanchett’s most excellent tormenter (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, special double issue 2015,p. 83); the News Journal thought it “touching, visually stunning, and very satisfying.” ( Jocelyn noveck/Associated Press, News Journal 55 Hours Plus [Wilmington, de], March 13, 2015, p. Hr4). Analysis: disney updates its 1950 animated classic with this sumptuous live-action version of the classic fairy tale. for a change, it’s not bloated. one can feel some sorrow for Cate blanchett’s Lady tremaine as she too lost a husband but never found the strength to be kind. Comparative and superlative errors: everything today—and apparently in the fairytale world, too—is “more,” e.g., “more happy” rather than “happiest,” and “more cozy” rather than “cozier.” Arghh!

CLAsH of tHe titAns (United Artists/MGM, 1981; 118 min.) ★★½

Clash of the Titans

Produced by Charles H. schneer, ray Harryhausen. directed by desmond davis. screenplay by beverley Cross. edited by timothy Gee. director of Photography, ted Moore. Metrocolor. Music by Laurence rosenthal. Production design, frank White. Art direction, don Picton, Peter Howitt, Giorgio desideri, fernando Gonzalez. Costumes by emma Porteous. special Visual effects, ray Harryhausen. Cast: Perseus (Harry Hamlin), Ammon (burgess Meredith), Andromeda ( Judi bowker), Zeus (Laurence olivier), Hera (Claire

bloom), thetis (Maggie smith), Aphrodite (Ursula Andress), Poseidon ( Jack Gwillim), Athena (susan fleetwood), Hephaestus (Pat roach), Cassiopeia (siân Phillips), blind witches (flora robson, Anna Manahan, freda Jackson), thallo (tim Pigott-smith), Calibos (neil McCarthy), Acrisius (donald Houston), danae (Vida taylor), Huntsman (Harry Jones). Synopsis: King Acrisius of Argos condemns his wife danae and her child Perseus to the sea. Perseus is Zeus’ son and he is angry, demanding that Argos be destroyed. “Let loose the Kraken!” Acrisius is killed, his capital shattered by the underwater monster. but danae and Perseus have not drowned and Zeus’ son grows to manhood. still, the goddess thetis is furious and vows that the beauteous Andromeda of Joppa, she who spurned thetis’s now gruesome son Calibos, will suffer. Perseus encounters Ammon, an old seer of sorts who knows his story. Zeus discovers thetis’ goals and has Perseus accoutered with a magical shield and sword and a helmet of invisibility. in Joppa, Perseus enters Andromeda’s bedchamber and witness a giant vulture take her soul and fly off. With Ammon’s help, Perseus tames the winged horse Pegasus and follows the vulture. in a miasmic swamp, Calibos denies Andromeda’s plea to release her soul. seeing footprints in the earth, Calibos attacks the invisible Perseus, who manages to escape. Andromeda’s mother, Queen Cassiopeia, asks if any new suitors will approach. Perseus takes the challenge and asks for the riddle the correct answer to which will give him Andromeda’s hand in marriage. Meanwhile, Calibos prays to thetis’ statue that the Kraken will destroy Joppa. When, at the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda the statue of thetis falls, it is taken as a sign that Andromeda must be sacrificed to the Kraken lest the city be destroyed. Perseus undertakes a journey to find three blind witches. Calibos captures Pegasus. Zeus asks for an owl to help Perseus and a metal simulacrum is created: bubo. the bird leads Perseus to the shrine of the witches, who, cowed by this demigod, reveal that the Kraken may be destroyed by the head of Medusa. At the edge of the Underworld, Perseus and his men are piloted to an island by a shrouded skeleton. After killing a two-headed dog, they enter Medusa’s lair. one man is killed by Medusa’s arrow, another turned to stone by her visage, but Perseus uses his sword and a reflection in his shield to gain the upper hand and decapitate the monstrosity. Calibos obtains the head in a bag but is unsuccessful in his attempt to kill Perseus with giant scorpions and is himself killed. bubo finds Pegasus while Zeus, despite misgivings, authorizes the release of the Kraken. Mounted on Pegasus, Perseus arrives at Joppa, shows Medusa’s head to the Kraken and turns it to stone. it is done, Perseus has won. Reviews: the New York Times said the entertainment value would have been greater if the story had remained on Mount olympus. there were many adventures but little wit. it was “profligate in its use of talented people who are not particularly at home in this sort of film, though they all pay sertious [sic] attention to their work.” it was “efficiently” directed (Vincent Canby, New York Times, June 12, 1981, p. C6); Creature Features said the film gathered steam when stop-motion pioneer ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion creatures came alive. its paean to the mythological Greek gods was “purely squares-ville.” ( John stanley, Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Movie Guide, new York: boulevard books, 1997, p. 90). Analysis: it’s an acceptable fantasy, better than, say, The Three Worlds of Gulliver, but not up to The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. it is of course an oddity, what with olivier, bloom and smith among the cast. it was also an unexpected hit, and “release the Kraken!” remains, as sheldon ( Jim Parsons) of tV’s The Big Bang Theory (season 6, episode 1, 2012) stated, a decree that never gets old. Genre fans must cringe

50 • Clash of the Titans when hearing that Critic Canby called ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion creatures “puppets.”

(Warner bros./Legendary Pictures, 2010; 106 min.) ★★½

Clash of the Titans

Produced by basil iwanyk, Kevin de La noy. directed by Louis Leterrier. screenplay by travis beacham, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi. based on the motion picture Clash of the Titans directed by desmond davis and written by beverley Cross. edited by Martin Walsh, Vincent tabaillon. director of Photography, Peter Menzies, Jr. Panavision. technicolor. Music by ramin djawadi. Production design, Martin Laing. Art direction, ross bradshaw, James foster, Christopher Lowe, Patricio farrell, Peter James. set decoration, Anna Pinnock. Costumes by Linda hemming. Visual effects by framestore, the Moving Picture Company, Cinesite, flash film Works. Cast: Perseus (sam Worthington), Zeus (Liam neeson), Hades (ralph fiennes), Calibos/Acrisius ( Jason flemyng), io (Gemma Arterton), Andromeda (Alexa davalos), Athena (izabella Miko), Apollo (Luke evans), solon (Liam Cunningham), spyros (Pete Postlethwaite), Marmara (elizabeth McGovern), Cassiopeia (Polly Walker), Aged Cassiopeia (Katherine Loeppky), Prokopion (Luke treadaway), draco (Mads Mikkelsen), ixas (Hans Matheson), ozal (Ashraf barhom), Kucuk (Mouloud Achour), sheikh suleiman (ian Whyte), eusebiios (nicholas Hoult), Kepheus (Vincent regan), Medusa (natalia Vodianova). Synopsis: “the oldest stories ever told are written in the stars.” before men and Gods there were the titans, but Zeus toppled those beings and installed himself, Poseidon and Hades as overlords. Zeus ruled the heavens, Poseidon the sea, and Hades, to his chagrin, the underworld. He’d created the monstrous Kraken to deal with their parents and for future eventualities. Mankind grew restless under the Gods. from a casket afloat in the sea, a fisherman retrieves a baby and its dead mother. the boy grows to manhood and one day aboard ship he and his family witness soldiers of Argos topple a monumental Zeus statue from a headland. Hades appears in his majesty and destroys the soldiers and sinks Perseus’ ship. Again, his family is killed. on olympus the Gods debate mankind’s status. Hades asks Zeus to let him handle the situation. back on Argos, the boy who’d lost his mother and surrogate parents in the sea—Perseus—is taken to the palace where the king has proclaimed the kingdom of Man. His daughter Andromeda offers Perseus a cup. the Queen, Cassiopeia, claims they are gods now, but Hades appears. A woman in the crowd stops Perseus from trying his sword on the God. Hades says that in ten days he will unleash the Kraken on Argos unless Andromeda is sacrificed. “destruction or sacrifice.” in a veiled way, Hades indicates to Perseus that he is Zeus’ son and thus a demigod. Perseus is tortured by the King’s men but the King intervenes to ask if Perseus can save the kingdom? Andromeda says no one should die for her. io, the woman from the crowd, visits Perseus in his cell and explains that she has been cursed with agelessness and confirms that he is the son of Zeus. the former king Acrisius learned of Zeus’ impregnation of his wife and ordered the death of her and the babe. they were placed in the casket and sunk at sea. io has watched over him and says he was born to kill the Kraken, after which he has the ability to strike at Hades. they must find three witches to assist them. Meanwhile, Hades visits the imprisoned Acrisius and turns him into the hideous and preternaturaly strong Calibos, his weapon against Perseus. in the forest, draco instructs Perseus in swordplay: focus, be one with the sword, keep your

balance. by night, Perseus finds a glowing sword forged on olympus, but he intends to fight as a man and gives the sword to draco. next day Perseus comes upon several winged, white horses plus a rambunctious black stallion calmed by io. she says it’s a message, they are watching. Calibos attacks and while draco manages to sever a hand, the villain escapes. following the blood trail to a ruin, the men are set upon by giant scorpions. the ugly but friendly Jinn arrive, take control, and cure Perseus of the poison a scorpion injected into his arm. to no avail, draco urges Perseus to use the special sword. the Jinn and Perseus’ party employ the tamed scorpions as transport and find the witches, who are blind but for one eye on a shared stalk. How might Perseus kill the Kraken? Medusa’s gaze. find her across the river styx. Zeus introduces himself to Perseus and offers him sanctuary on olympus. Perseus refuses but takes the golden disk the god proffers. one of his men gives him a shield made from part of a scorpion’s carapace. the leader of the Jinn skims the golden disk across the river styx to pay Charon the ferryman for passage. rowed to a desolate land, Perseus’ troop enters ruins and hears a woman’s laughter. draco is wounded by an arrow, another falls, yet another turned to stone. More laughter. Perseus and the Jinn run. the Jinn confronts Medusa and although he is turned to stone he has gained time for Perseus to employ his shield and sword to decapitate the monster without looking directly at her. outside the caverns, Calibos impales io and Perseus does the same to him. the dying io tells Perseus it is the time of the eclipse, thus the awakening of the Kraken is nigh at hand. io dissipates into the ether. the black steed arrives and Perseus flies to Argos while on olympus Hades says it is time for the mortals to pay. Zeus relents: “release the Kraken!” on Argos, Andromeda awaits her sacrifice. back on olympus, Zeus reminds Hades that there is still a demigod in Argos. Hades goes forthwith to the city and with flying beasts tries to foil Perseus, but helped by two surviving members of his crew, Perseus climbs to Andromeda’s perch. from his sack he extracts the head of Medusa and turns to stone the gigantic Kraken. As it crumbles, Andromeda falls into the sea. before Perseus can rescue her, he deals with Hades, sending him back into the underworld. diving into the sea, Perseus retrieves Andromeda. they are awakened on the beach by the stallion. boats are coming. Perseus tells Andromeda he cannot be the King and flies into the sky to the site of his earthly mother and father’s death. Zeus comes to congratulate his victory. they agree that Hades will be seen again but now the people know they can stop him. Zeus warns Perseus that men will worship him but not to journey through life alone. io appears. Reviews: Rope of Silicon found it as silly as the original, but in a good way. it was as “enjoyable as the diversion it’s meant to be.” on the negative side, the studio was fleecing audiences by offering a 3d version and had made a superior blunder by showing the Kraken in the previews (brad brevet, www.ropeofsilicon.com, April 1, 2010); the News Journal said it “likely will lure moviegoers chiefly by its digital effects (which are largely quite good but forgettable) and its promise of 3-d spectacle (which disappoints altogether)…. His [ralph fiennes] part is surely the best in the movie and he’s clearly having fun” ( Jake Coyle, News Journal [Wilmington, de], April 2, 2010, p. Hr8). Analysis: CGi replaces ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion technique for this remake of the 1981 film. As usual in a “superhero” movie, there is an excess of extraordinary jumping, even from non-gods. the film was quite ridiculed at time of release. the giant scorpions were especially called out as nonsensical. Upon a second viewing it seems rather … fair? there are some pleasures: the brief appearance of the mechanical owl from the first film, Medusa (how could that be messed up?), the Jinn, and draco, at first a thuggish naysayer but a man who

Cloverfield • 51 dies nobly after giving Perseus the opportunity to kill Medusa. Alexa davalos is an appropriately comely princess, as was Judi bowker in the original. As with The Day the Earth Stood Still, one wonders why someone felt the need to remake the 1981 original? Was it simply felt that ray Harryhausen’s supposedly hoary old special effects needed to be updated with computer enhanced graphics? Perhaps bad sequels would be better than mystifying remakes.

(Warner bros./Legendary Pictures, 2012; 99 min.) ★★½

Wrath of the Titans

Produced by basil iwanyk, Polly Johnson. directed by Jonathan Liebesman. screenplay by dan Mazeau, david Leslie Johnson. story by Greg berlanti, david Leslie Johnson, dan Mazeau, and the 1981 screenplay by beverley Cross. edited by Martin Walsh. director of Photography, ben davis. technicolor. Music by Javier navarrete. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, Mark swain, Mike stallion, stuart Kearns, tom brown, Paul Kirby, Jordan Crockett. set decoration, Lee sandales. Costumes by Jany termime. Visual effects by MPC, framestore, Method, nvisible, Pixomondo, the senate. Cast: Perseus (sam Worthington), Zeus (Liam neeson), Hades (ralph fiennes), Andromeda (rosamund Pike), Ares (edgar ramirez), Agenor (toby Kebbell), Hephaestus (bill nighy), Helius ( John bell), Korrina (Lily James), Mantius (Alejandro naranjo), Apollo (freddy drabble), Athena (Kathryn Carpenter), Clea (sinéad Cusack). Synopsis: Zeus is heard speaking of Perseus defeating the Kraken and saving humanity but choosing to live life as a man. Yet the Gods’ time is ending and Perseus has a destiny to fulfill. Living in a fishing village with his son Helius, Perseus is visited by his father Zeus, who asks for his help in the calamitous times a coming. Zeus says that without men’s prayers the Gods lose power, and if they lose, Cronos will escape his bonds. Yet Perseus says, “i will never leave my son.” nevertheless, he dreams of a cataclysm. Zeus, meanwhile, meets Poseidon and they enter the Underworld at Hades’ request. Zeus wants Hades’ help to rebuild the walls of tartarus and contain Cronos, but Hades has made a deal with Zeus’ son Ares to loose Cronos, who will allow them a measure of control over humanity. At Perseus’ village, the earth erupts and disgorges monstrous creatures, including a two-headed, fire-breathing biped that is finally burned in its own flames. Clea stitches up Perseus and tells him these are not normal times. Perseus and Helius seek Zeus on the Mountain of idols only to find the sanctuary desolate. Poseidon arrives and reveals that Zeus has been captured and that Perseus must venture to the Underworld to free him with Poseidon’s half-god son Agenor. Poseidon turns to stone and crumbles. Armed with his trident, Perseus flies on Pegasus to the armed camp of Queen Andromeda, who holds the “thief ” Agenor in bondage. Perseus persuades her to release him and also convinces Agenor he is indeed the son of a god. they take ship for the island which Agenor, aka the navigator, says holds the entrance to the Underworld. on the island, Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor and a few men are attacked by a group of Cyclops. finally Perseus, having knocked one out, brandishes his trident and the others realize with whom they are dealing and call off their attack. in the Underworld, Ares pummels Zeus until stopped by Hades. Cronos is drawing power from Zeus. Perseus and his company find Hephaestus, who forged Poseidon’s trident. He tells Perseus the presumed whereabouts of Zeus even as Zeus asks Hades what he fears most. oblivion is his answer. As Perseus approaches the giant monolith that leads to the Labyrinth and thence

the Underworld, Ares appears because Andromeda’s maidservant Korrina had mistakenly prayed for his help. Korrina is killed by Ares, but Perseus, Andromeda and Agenor enter the Labyrinth and engage in a long and perilous trek. Perseus saves Andromeda from being crushed, sees the son he knows can’t be real, and kills a devil-like man. down below, Zeus asks Hades to forgive him for being banished. Ares attacks Hades. Perseus finds Zeus and uses the trident to free him as Hades hacks off Ares’ arm. Leaving the Labyrinth, Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor and Zeus make it to the battle camp. “Cronos will come for me,” says Zeus. “fight for your son.” they need the thunderbolt on Ares’ back. they have the trident and pitchfork. Perseus prays to Ares to meet him at the temple of the Gods. Meanwhile, Andromeda prepares her army’s defense against Cronos, the immediate goal to hold him back as long as possible. the army is attacked by demons with two legs but four arms and two heads. Hades comes to Zeus in the tent and calls to him. “brother. brother. i do forgive you.” Zeus raises his hand, Hades takes it and Zeus revives. “You look ten thousand years younger,” says Hades. they combine to have fun at Cronos’ expense, destroying the demons in their path. Perseus and Ares fight until Perseus stabs Ares with the sword given him by his son and then chokes Ares into insensibility. Ares turns to stone and disintegrates. Cronos rises from the mountain in flame. Perseus combines the trident, pitchfork and thunderbolt and flies upon Pegasus toward the titan. Zeus has been holding back Cronos with his own power. riding down into Cronos, Perseus lets loose his weapon and Cronos erupts. returning to camp, Perseus is told by Hades that his father awaits him. Zeus says there will be no more sacrifices and no more gods. “Use your power wisely, Perseus.” He turns to stone and fragments. Hades says, “All my power is spent. Who knows, i might be stronger without it.” Agenor meets Helius and Perseus kisses Andromeda. on an eminence, Perseus hands his sword to Helius. Reviews: Boxoffice said it “delivers blockbuster bluster with singleminded blandness.” its raison d’être was “cacophonous fight sequences … primarily inspired by video games.” (nick schager, Boxoffice, March 28, 2012); The Hollywood Reporter noted more action and better effects than its immediate predecessor, yet it was “a relentlessly mechanical piece of work that will not or cannot take the imaginative leaps to yield even fleeting moments of awe, wonder or charm.” (todd McCarthy, www.hollywoodreporter.com, March 28, 2012); Analysis: Action scenes are too long. Why must the hero always take so much physical abuse—and come back for more? Why is Perseus always having his sword knocked from his hand? in short, too much punishment is meted out even if Perseus is a demigod. there are a couple humorous lines. Cronos is a special effect.

CLoVerfieLd (Paramount, 2008; 84 min.) ★★★

Cloverfield

Produced by J.J. Abrams, bryan burk. directed by Matt reeves. screenplay by drew Goddard. edited by Kevin stitt. director of Photography, Michael bonvillain. Panavision. Color by deluxe. “roar!” (Cloverfield overture) by Michael Giacchino. Production design, Martin Whist. Art direction, douglas J. Meerdink. set decoration, robert Greenfield. Costumes by ellen Mirojnick. Visual effects by double negative. Creature Animation and Visual effects by tippett studio. Animatronic effects by Creature Character engineering. Creature designed by neville Page.

52 • 10 Cloverfield Lane Cast: rob Hawkins (Michael stahl-david), Lily ( Jessica Lucas), Hud (t.J. Miller), Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), Jason Hawkins (Mike Vogel), beth Mcintyre (odette Yustman), Lt. Colonel Graff (Chris Mulkey), staff sergeant Pryce (billy brown), Command Center officer (tim Griffin), Lei (Lili Mirojnick). Synopsis: A camcorder found in what once was known as Central Park reveals details of a May 22 party and its interruption by a devastating attack on the city. the film begins on April 27 with rob Hawkins waking his girlfriend beth and learning that she’d never been to Coney island. May 22: rob is the subject of a going-away party. He’s moving to Japan. initially reluctant to take possession of the camera, Hud willingly complies when he finds that Marlena will be a guest. Hud soon turns his camera to a city-wide disturbance. Power outages caused by an earthquake? the partygoers are shocked when the head of the statue of Liberty bounces along the street. Hud’s camera catches glimpses of something huge roaming the caverns of the city and strange things falling off of it. rob enters an electronics store, grabs a phone and calls beth. she’s been injured. rob, Hud, Marlena and Lily head toward beth’s apartment. Along the way Marlena is bitten by a small, crab- or spider-like creature. in a national Guard field hospital, she is escorted into a contamination tent. Hud, rob and Lily scream as a burst of blood onto the tent side indicates Marlena’s demise. Climbing the steps to her apartment, they discover beth impaled in the upper shoulder and chest area by a rebar. finding their way to rescue helicopters, Lily escapes while a monster damages a second helicopter which crashes into Central Park. May 23: As Hud is killed by the monster, rob and beth take the camera and hide under a bridge. rob turns the camera on himself, says it’s 6:42 a.m. and that bombs are falling. A distraught beth doesn’t know what to say when he turns the camera on her. bombs rain down and the couple are killed. the camera switches to Aril 27 and the Coney island outing. Hardly noticeable on the film is an object plunging into the sea. Reviews: the St. Joseph News-Press said there wasn’t much fuss to be made despite “the noteworthy special effects combined with the choice to capture an attack from one person’s perspective…” (blake Hannon, St. Joseph-News-Press, January 18, 2008); the Santa Fe New Mexican thought the shaky camera would turn off some viewers and was certainly problematic for an entire film. on the other hand, using one person’s point of view that made the film “extraordinarily claustrophobic,…” was a plus. Catching clear glimpses of the monster for but seconds at a time was also to the film’s credit as the unseen was often more horrifying than the seen (dmeng Zhangchai, Santa Fe New Mexican, february 15, 2008, teen Page d-2–1, d-2). Analysis: the handheld camera work is not that off-putting and does lend authenticity to the creepy proceedings. it was a wise decision to keep the monster unseen for most of the film. there are moments of shock, as when Marlena seems to explode on the other side of the tent wall. Are we to think that the bite infected her and an alien leaped from her chest? it’s not a great film, but Cloverfield is one of those movies that lingers in the mind.

Art direction, nick Hiatt, John sanchez. set decoration, Michelle Marchand. Costumes by Meagan McLaughlin. Visual effects by Kelvin optical, inc. Cast: Michelle (Mary elizabeth Winstead), Howard stambler ( John Goodman), emmett ( John Gallagher, Jr.), Jeremy (Matt Vairo), neighbor (Cindy Hogan), state trooper #42 ( Jamie Clay), driver (douglas M. Griffin), Woman (suzanne Cryer), ben (bradley Cooper, voice). Synopsis: A woman packs her bags and drives north out of baton rouge. she does not answer her beau ben’s phone call pleading with her to come back. in the night she is hit and run off the road, apparently by another car. she wakes up in a spare, cinderblock cell, a tray of food on the floor, her arm attached to an iV, and her right leg in a cast. More perturbing is that she’s chained to the wall. she unplugs the iV and draws her cellphone over, but there’s no reception. A burly middle-aged man appears and tells her she needed fluid because she was in shock after the accident. He rescued her and discovered from her wallet that her name is Michelle. He hands her crutches. Why haven’t the police been called? there’s no one to call. there’s been an attack—maybe biological, maybe nuclear. fearing this day of reckoning, the man, Howard stambler, built a bunker under his farmhouse near Lake Charles in which he can survive for a year or two. All her friends are gone. she’s skeptical. she meets emmett, his left arm in a sling. He tells her he helped construct the bunker and when the attack came he forced his way inside. stambler shows Michelle the lay of the land: his private room, the kitchen, dining area, cupboards of food and drink, the shower. When she gets back most of her mobility, she climbs a ladder and is allowed through an airlock into an entrance way to peer out a small, thick glass portal and sees the two dead pigs Howard had mentioned. After an altercation, she says she’ll behave. but she’s stolen his keys and reneges on her promise, smashes him in the face with a bottle and climbs again, this time observing a car that wasn’t there before. A frantic, disfigured woman presses her face to the glass and roars for access, but Howard’s arguments prevail and Michelle does not open the outer door. Howard confesses to Michelle that he had crashed into her car because he’d been driving like a maniac to the safety of this bunker. He says that whoever—the russians or the Martians—unleashed the holocaust and took out the population centers will now institute round two, a ground sweep. When the power seems to have a problem, Michelle crawls through the air duct

(Paramount, 2016; 105 min.) ★★★½

10 Cloverfield Lane

Produced by J.J. Abrams, Lindsey Weber. directed by dan trachtenberg. screenplay by Josh Campbell, Matthew stuecken, damien Chazelle. story by Josh Campbell, Matthew stuecken. edited by Kevin stitt. director of Photography, Jeff Cutter. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by bear McCreary. Production design, ramsey Avery.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, 10 Cloverfield Lane (Paramount/Bad Robot, 2016).

Conan the Barbarian • 53 to restart the generator. the three residents of the bunker play table games. Michelle and emmett discuss a photo of Howard’s so-called daughter brittany. Michelle thinks he killed her and tells emmett they should try to get Howard’s gun and tie him up. she’s not convinced that there aren’t people up top, especially when she discovers that the girl in stambler’s picture is not his daughter. Michelle and emmett use one of Howard’s books to begin constructing a sterile suit and gas mask that will allow her to investigate the outside world, but Howard finds out. He shows them a canister of liquid that eats up anything organic submerged in it. He tells them he knows what’s going on, and emmett takes the blame. Howard thanks him then shoots him dead. discovering the makeshift gas mask and suit, Howard goes on the rampage. Michelle clobbers him with a bottle, shoves shelving onto him, and spills the toxic chemical before donning the makeshift suit and making her way through the ductwork to the other ladder and the surface. behind her an electrical fire has started. she climbs out into the cornfield-surrounded farmstead. nothing seems amiss. she can’t immediately get Howard’s truck to start and climbs onto its roof. in the distance is an aircraft of some sort. explosions from the bunker attract her attention as they do the aircraft. she hides in a shed. some strange being appears and she runs toward the farmhouse, but the aircraft rises over it and begins spewing out a thick green mist. she retrieves her mask and gets in the car, but the alien craft latches pulls it skyward. Making a Molotov cocktail, Michelle waits for the creature or whatever it is to open its maw and hurls it inside, causing an explosion. Her car is dropped to earth and the aircraft careens away. taking another car, Michelle roars off through the cornfield road to the highway. the radio comes to life with a plea for people with medical experience to come to Houston. the citizens have retaken the southern seaboard. Michelle briefly debates her decision. she’s run from things all her life but now turns for Houston. Reviews: Indiewire found “a lean premise, but it’s rich in texture.” (Kevin Jagernauth, “the Playlist,” http://blogs.indiewire.com/the playlist/review, March 10, 2016); GQ praised the focus on “the old horror tenet of the unseen and unspoken being infinitely more terrifying than anything made explicit.” ( Joshua rivera, www.gq.com, March 11, 2016); The News Journal thought director trachtenberg patiently built this confined world and the performers inhabited it well. Perhaps the shift in gears during the film is a tad jarring (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], March 11, 2016, p. 4Hr); USA Today called it “a well-crafted affair….” it mixed the components of an intimate stage production with “the white-knuckled tension of a cracking good Twilight Zone episode.” the payoff was “exceedingly well played,…” (brian truitt, USA Today Life, March 11, 2016, p. 1d). Analysis: Hooray! Mary elizabeth Winstead is back for another go with aliens after giving a great account of herself vs. The Thing (2011). Again, she shows pluck and intelligence trying to decipher John Goodman’s Howard stambler: survivalist, murderer, nut, or all three. one must commend the filmmakers’ decision not to have an alien pop up in the back of her car at the finale. of course, her change of heart decision to head for Houston to help those fighting the invasion is consistent with prior comments about her penchant for evading life’s brickbats. there are several shocking and unexpected scenes, especially stambler murdering emmett. there’s one humorous scene: standing on the pickup truck roof, Michelle watches the strange aircraft approach and slowly realize it’s not your ordinary earth plane and exclaims in frustration, “C’mon!” Although some might argue against any overt picturing of aliens, one is reminded of 1957’s Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon). some wanted the demon never to be shown, but what fun would that have been? this film also puts

one in mind of The Terminator in its tightness and leanness. Contrast with the spectacle of Terminator 2 or Cloverfield itself.

ConAn tHe bArbAriAn see Volume i for Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), and Red Sonja (1985).

(Lionsgate/nu image films, 2011; 113 min.) ★★

Conan the Barbarian

Produced by danny Lerner, John baldecchi, boaz Les Weldon, Henry Winterstern. directed by Marcus nispel. screenplay by thomas dean donnelly, Joshua oppenheimber, sean Hood. based on characters created by robert e. Howard. edited by Ken blackwell. director of Photography, thomas Kosss. Color by deluxe. Music by tyler bates. Production design, Chris August. Art direction, Antonello rubino, James steuart. set decoration, Judy farr, Valya Mladenova. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Visual effects, Worldwide fX, sofia, bulgaria and shreveport, Louisiana. Cast: Conan ( Jason Momoa), Khalar Zym (stephen Lang), tamara (rachel nichols), Marique (rose McGowan), Corin (ron Perlman), Ukafa (bob sapp), Young Conan (Leo Howard), Lucius (steven o’donnell), Artus (nonso Anozie), fassir (raad rawi), fialla (Laila rouass), ela-shan (said taghmaoui), remo (Milton Walsh), Wild Man (borislav iliev), Young Marique (ivana staneva), Akhun (nathan Jones), narrator (Morgan freeman). Synopsis: barbarian tribes rise up against he who would don the mask of power and dominate the world. each tribe takes a piece of the mask and hides it, but comes an age when it is recovered piece by piece. the last shred is found by Khalar Zym’s witch daughter Marique beneath the floor of the Cimmerian hut belonging to Corin. she is told that once the pureblood is found, nothing can stop Khalar from resurrecting his beloved wife. onlookers are Corin and his son Conan. Watching his father immolate himself, Conan vows revenge. Growing to manhood as a thief and warrior, Conan attacks even when he need not, as at the Zingaran slave Colony. With his booty of willing women, he and his chief Artus revel in Messantia. When guards enter seeking a one-eyed man, Conan lets himself be captured in order to get close to the captain, the man whose nose he had severed when his village was attacked. Conan overwhelms the guards and that enemy, learns of Khalar Zym and lets those who’d suffered kill the captain. At the shaipur Monastery, the master sees a man, a warrior to take his daughter tamara to her birthplace. Khalar and his now grown daughter Marique enter the monastery with their troops, but tamara escapes with Conan’s help. in the monastery, Khalar seeks the pureblood, killing or mutilating those female monks who are not the one Marique needs. remo, one of Khalar’s lieutenants but now Conan’s prisoner, tells his captor that tamara is the pureblood, but she says that line died out. At shaipur ravine, Conan catapults remo into Khalar’s land ship with a message to come alone to shaipur bay outpost. Khalar arrives, and with the help of Marique, uses sorcery to create ghostly figures that attack Conan. dispatching them but wounded, Conan and tamara cause an explosion and leap into the sea and swim to Artus’ ship. Conan tells Artus to take tamara to safety, he must return to avenge himself on Khalar Zym. Attacked by Zym’s men in the dawn, Conan and his crew beat them off. After Conan leaves the ship, Artus gives tamara a map and urges her to follow and give it to Conan. Meet-

54 • Conan the Barbarian for her sacrifice. Conan battles water serpents and Zym’s minions. from a parapet he observes a procession in the distance. Within a cavern by the shore, Zym cuts tamara’s chest and leaks blood on his mask. Conan attacks, the earth opens, tamara and the wheel fall but become stuck. Khalar leaps down to battle Conan. tamara gets loose and finds Marique. so does Conan, who severs her hand before tamara causes her death by impalement. When tamara stops her fall by latching onto a chain, Conan pulls her up in time to continue his battle with Zym and sends him careening into the pit. Conan and tamara ride along a beach to her home. “till we meet again,” says the barbarian, who returns to the ruins of his village. He recalls his father and the making of his sword. Reviews: Total Film called it a “tiresome reboot,…” the plot was “swollen.” Jason Momoa was “an anonymous, characterless hunk….” stephen Lang and rose McGowan, on the other hand, provided some necessary spice (neil smith, www.totalfilm.com, August 16, 2011); the Winnipeg Free Press thought Jason Momoa “seems more like the authentic real deal” of Howard’s creation. even better was rose McGowan, making “Marique, a perverse fiend one minute, and an affection-seeking daddy’s girl the next.” there was “a substantial philosophical backbone of nietzschean nihilism and even a touch of satire.” in sum, this reboot was “perfectly acceptable b-movie entertainment. but by its lack of ambition, it proves that, sometimes, less isn’t more.” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, August 19, 2011, section: Movie reviews, p. d5). Analysis: Can we expect any more than a simplistic revenge film with simplistic characters? At least there is a pack of villains worthy of Conan’s blade. it’s a bloodfest par excellence. the head bashing, bone crushing, and blood spurting is in keeping with a frazetta calendar or a robert e. Howard book cover, but the amount of mayhem is mind-numbing or nauseating depending on one’s outlook. never have so many crashed through so many decks, cages, and “land ships.” it seems initially odd that the slave girls of the early scenes are topless, as is tamara during her lovemaking session with Conan. it is evident that the filmmakers knew they’d need the r rating for the truly excessive violence and realized they might as well include nudity. As observation shows, in the United states a bare breast in a film is cause for the r rating, which studios are not keen on having as it prevents a large portion of the populace from attending. Normal violence receives the Conan the Barbarian poster art (Lionsgate, 2011). PG-13 rating.

ing the barbarian savior, tamara wonders about his life. does he not question it? “i know not and i care not. i live, i love, i slay, and i am content,” says he. they kiss and mate. Leaving the sleeping Conan, tamara is captured in the forest and meets Marique, one of whose metal fingernails Conan discovers as he tracks his erstwhile bedmate. At Khor Kalba, Khalar Zym’s fortress, Marique tastes tamara’s blood. it is pure and will facilitate resurrection of Zym’s dead wife. in Argalon—City of thieves—Conan locates the one-eyed robber ela shan, who unlocks a secret entrance at Khor Kalba. As they make their way into the fortress, tamara is spread-eagled on a wheel in preparation

The Conjuring • 55

tHe ConJUrinG The Conjuring

(Warner bros./new Line Cinema/safran Company, 2013; 112 min.) ★★★

Produced by tony derosa-Grund, Peter safran, rob Cowan. directed by James Wan. screenplay by Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes. edited by Kirk M. Morri. director of Photography, John r. Leonetti. Prints by technicolor. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, Julie berghoff. Art direction, Geoffrey s. Grimsman. set decoration, sophie neudorfer. Costumes by Kristin M. burke. Visual effects by Pixel Magic. Cast: Lorraine Warren (Vera farmiga), ed Warren (Patrick Wilson), roger Perron (ron Livingston), Carolyn Perron (Lili taylor), Andrea Perron (shanley Caswell), nancy Perron (Hayley Mcfarland), Christine Perron ( Joey King), Cindy Perron (Mackenzie foy), April Perron (Kyla deaver), drew thomas (shannon Kook), brad Hamilton ( John brotherton), Georgiana Moran (Marion Gayot), Judy Warren (sterling Jerins), father Gordon (steve Coulter), bathsheba sherman ( Joseph bishara), debbie (Morganna bridgers, aka May), Camilla (Amy tipton), Mrs. Walker (Carmella Gioio), Catholic priest (George t. Zervos), Maurice (Christof Veillon).

the circling mirror under the lid of the jack-in-the-box and sees a boy behind the glass-paned door behind her. the girl had said she had a friend named rory. outside, by an old tree, Lorraine sees a girl hanging from a limb over ed, who sees nothing. the Perrons say they knew nothing of the past residents. ed says the house needs a cleansing, an exorcism. Lorraine reveals she observed a dark entity in the home as soon as she entered it. it’s feeding off the family. she uses photos and past information about a salem witch, finding that a woman named Walker had a boy named rory. the woman killed herself, and many other suicides happened in the area. the cassette player comes on and weird voices and cries are heard. the clock stops again. the Warrens bring in officer brad Hamilton and drew to set up cameras. the cellar door opens and the camera goes off. it’s 9:18 and ed, Lorraine, and drew enter the basement but find nothing. After the family breakfast next morning, Lorraine hangs out sheets. ed leaves. Menacing clouds rush in, and a sheet detaches itself and flies up to a second floor window before being whisked away. A figure is seen in the window. Lorraine runs inside even as Carolyn is attacked and from her attacker receives blood from its mouth into hers. she tells Lorraine she’s okay. roger and the kids return to the house and find ed working on one of the cars. that night, after brad is attacked. the camera goes off. Cindy is spotted sleepwalking with an unseen companion. she goes upstairs and her door slams. downstairs, drew is listening to the mike in Cindy’s room and says someone else is in there with Cindy. ed and roger break in but can’t find anyone until ed uses ultraviolet light to track footprints to the closet. behind it is a broken piece of wall. Cindy is retrieved. April says to Lorraine, “that’s where rory hides when he’s afraid.” Lorraine crawls into the bowels of the house, finds toys, asks ed for the jack-in-the-box, and places it next to the other toys. she then finds a noose. Her foot goes through the floor and she falls deep into the house. ed rushes downstairs, pounding on the walls to locate her. Climbing to her feet in the basement, Lorraine opens the jack-in-the box and uses her flash to scan the room. someone’s behind her she doesn’t see, but when she turns back a woman’s face confronts her. the legs of a hanging woman appear. Lorraine

Synopsis: Annabelle Case—Year 1968. in the apartment of two young nurses, a man and woman listen to their description of Annabelle, a doll the girls believe possessed by the dead Annabelle Higgins. they speak of the time they returned home and found a note on the floor: “Miss Me?” they tossed the doll in a dumpster but it reappeared. ed and Lorraine Warren tell the girls that what they’re dealing with is not a ghost, rather something inhuman, something demonic. the film of this event comes to a conclusion and the audience listening to the Warrens begin questions. 1971—Harrisville, rhode island: the Perron family moves into a new home, but their dog sadie won’t enter it. April, the youngest daughter, finds a kind of jack-in-the box. sadie is found dead. Monroe, Connecticut—Warren’s Home: ed Warren shows a visitor his room full of haunted and cursed relics. the creepy doll Annabelle rests in a glass case. back at the Perrons, a somewhat hidden basement contains a dust-covered piano and other junk. the kids begin feeling their legs pulled in their sleep. Carolyn hears noises. A leering figure leaps from a stand-alone closet onto one of the girls. Massachusetts Western University–Wakefield: the Warrens are approached by Carolyn, who convinces them to come to her home. she’d listened intently as ed showed a film of Maurice, a french-Canadian who’d been abused as a child and had been infested by a dark spirit. He later killed his wife and committed suicide. ed answered questions about exorcism and described the three stages of demonic activity: infestation, oppression, and possession. the Warrens agree to Carolyn’s request. At her home, she talks about the clocks stopping at 3:07 every afternoon. roger mentions the three claps on the wall. ed and Lorraine check out the basement. ed asks Carolyn about bruises on her arm and she says Vera Farmiga, The Conjuring (New Line Cinema, 2013). it’s probably an iron deficiency. Lorraine stares at

56 • Annabelle runs, is choked by something pulling on her necklace, but makes it upstairs to ed. the necklace remains on the banister. “it possessed the mother who killed the child!” exclaims Lorraine. “she’s feeding off of us.” nancy is then pulled by her hair across the room and this is stopped only by shearing off her hair. outside, now daytime, roger packs his family into the station wagon. At the pond, Lorraine has a vision of her daughter Judy floating by under water. she calls home. All is seemingly okay. in town, ed and Lorraine approach a priest about performing an exorcism. He states the rules, which seem daunting, but time is of the essence, and he agrees to facilitate the process. At the Warrens, Judy wakes up perturbed and walks about the house, calling for nana. rushing back to her room, she screams as something pounds on the door. Annabelle the doll turns its head from the chair in which it sits. nana wakes up but can’t get into the room. the Warrens arrive and break down the door. ed checks his artifact room and finds Annavbelle still in her case. roger returns to the motel with groceries only to find that Carolyn roared off with Christine and April. He calls ed. Lorraine says she possesses the mother, meaning Carolyn, to kill the child. roger jumps into the VW bus and Lorraine is adamant that she’s accompanying ed back to the Perron house. brad also arrives and uses his shotgun to blast open the front door. in the basement, Carolyn is choking Christine. Where’s April? the men drag Carolyn to the front door but her body sports scars and bruises. Lorraine says the witch will kill her if they remove her from the house. Carolyn is pulled from their grasp and ends up being hurled around in the basement. Again, where’s April? Lorraine flings a sheet over Carolyn, and the men use rope and handcuffs to secure her to a chair. drew hears April under the kitchen floor and begins breaking in. With father Gordon too far away to be of help, ed conducts the exorcism himself and sends Lorraine to the car for the necessary book. reciting in Latin, ed tries to make the demon leave Carolyn, who is writhing beneath the sheet. she levitates the chair and turns upside down and crashes to the floor. roger tells the demon to let his wife go. “she’s already gone,” responds the demon, which causes a gun to go off. the men leap away in time to avoid the bullet. Carolyn escapes into the bowels of the house and finds April. ed cries, “bathsheba! by the power of God i condemn you back to Hell!” that face appears on Carolyn’s. Her hand on Carolyn’s head, Lorraine urges her and roger to fight the demon, to remember her family and their time on the beach. Carolyn throws up. she has rejected possession. in the daylight, April gives Lorraine the necklace. At the Warrens, ed places the jack-in-thebox in his room of evil artifacts. Annabelle is seen in her case. Leaving the room, ed finds Lorraine telling him they are needed for consultation on a case in Long island. Postscript: “diabolical forces are formidable. these forces are eternal, and they exist today. the fairy tale is true. the devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow.”—ed Warren Reviews: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it wasn’t The Exorcist “but it gets the jittery job done.” Maybe nightmares wouldn’t be dished up, but there were chills and gasps to be had (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 18, 2013); Entertainment Weekly said it provided “a genuine sense of bump-in-the-night dread.” the shocks never felt cheap (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, July 26, 2013, p. 52); Analysis: it initially seems like any other Amityville, Insidious or Last Exorcism entry, and it’s hard to swallow ed Warren’s matter-offact spiel about demons given at a college campus or keeping a room full of haunted and demonic bric-a-brac without properly securing it from his young daughter, but … The Conjuring has something. squeaking doors, clapping, and pounding provide chills and generate a sense of foreboding. the extended Exorcist-like battle comprising the finale

is nerve-rattling. Without demonologists on hand, one would be in a bind. Would you think to and be able to cover your maniacal wife with a sheet and rope her to a chair while she’s screaming her head off and resisting? the prime cast of Wilson, farmiga, taylor and Livingston is an upgrade for a demon flick like this, and Lili taylor had previous experience being haunted in 1999’s The Haunting. taylor does a great job being possessed during the finale. What is it about sheets that cause chills? the creepiest scene may be the sheet that Lorraine watches fall from the clothesline, stiffen and momentarily hang in mid-air before flying up to the house before being whisked away, revealing in the window a strange personage. the most unsettling scene in Paranormal Activity 3 was the short, motionless, sheeted figure across the room.

(new Line Cinema, 2014; 99 min.) ★½

Annabelle

Produced by Peter safran, James Wan. directed by John r. Leonetti. screenplay by Gary dauberman. edited by tom elkins. director of Photography, James Kniest. digital intermediate by fotokem. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, bob Ziembicki. Art direction, doug Cumming. set decoration, Kris fuller. Costumes by Janet ingram. demon design and special Make-Up effects by Greg nicotero, Howard berger. Visual effects by fuse fX. Cast: Mia (Annabelle Wallis), John Gordon (Ward Horton), father Perez (tony Amendola), evelyn (Alfre Woodard), sharron Higgins (Kerry o’Malley), Pete Higgins (brian Howe), detective Clarkin (eric Ladin), dr. burgher (ivar brogger).

Synopsis: “since the beginning of civilization, dolls have been beloved by children, cherished by collectors and used in religious rites as conduits for good and evil.” two nurses speak about their fear of a certain doll: “We are beyond terrified.” santa Monica, CA: one Year earlier: After attending church, the pregnant Mia and John Gordon are given a ride home by their neighbors. the neighbors had lost a child. that evening in their bungalow, Mia sews and John studies for his physician examination while in the background coverage of the sharon tate–Labianca murders is on the tV. Later, John presents Mia with the large doll she’s been looking for and which she places with her collection. that night Mia is awakened by what seems to be an altercation next door. she asks John to go over while she calls the police. she is then stabbed in the side by a crazed man. John fends off him and an equally demented woman. the police arrive and shoot the man. the woman, her throat cut, is found dead in the next room, cradling the doll Annabelle. tV coverage suggests the murderous duo were members of a cult. After a brief stay in the hospital, Mia returns home. When the mobile in the children’s room begins moving and the sewing machine operating on its own, Mia asks John to dispose of Annabelle, which he drops into a trashcan. An investigator visits and admits that the pair that attacked Mia were indeed members of a satanic cult. “Crazy people do crazy things,” he says and says he’ll dig deeper if they want, but Mia declines his offer. that night John puts popcorn on the burner. next morning it’s still there but puffs up until it explodes and starts a fire. Mia is taken to the hospital and gives birth to Leah. she tells John their house seems to be cursed and she can’t return. He agrees. Pasadena, CA: the Gordons move into the Palmeri Apartments. they attend father Perez’s church. While unpacking, Mia discovers Annabelle and says she’ll keep it because it was a gift from John. Later, a white-clad female figure carries Annabelle around the apartment and Leah begins crying. Mia sees no one. taking Leah

The Conjuring 2 • 57 downstairs, Mia converses with two children coloring on the stairway. staring in the old towne books window, she notices The Devil’s Welcome and The Book of Symbols. evelyn, the owner and a tenant at the Palmeri, greets Mia. on the steps at home, Mia finds the colored pages on which had been drawn a truck crashing into a baby carriage. John says he can come home early from the hospital the next night and they can have some adult conversation. but he’s late and Mia is terrorized by a small figure that runs through the apartment. Learning of Mia’s fears, John says it might be the result of postpartum depression. Mia insists she’s not crazy. father Perez is consulted and tells them to be united, they will come out stronger from their predicament. next day John is introduced to evelyn. Mia goes by herself to the basement trash area and hears a baby crying and sees a carriage. A hand grabs and bloodies her arm. the elevator malfunctions and she must use the stairs. the investigator returns and speaks privately to Mia about the Higgins Case and shows her a picture of the Higgins girl, named Annabelle. What was the motive for the attack on her, asks Mia? there had to be a reason. the investigator says they wanted to conjure up the devil, demons or the tooth fairy, who knew? they were “disciples of the ram.” Mia sees a disturbing picture of the symbol that has been scratched on her arm. At the bookstore, Mia confides in evelyn that she thinks her family is haunted by a ghost. evelyn says it’s not a ghost, rather inhuman spirits that never existed in the flesh. they want a soul. Mia is shown evelyn’s locket with a picture of her daughter ruby who died in a car accident. back at the Palmeri, a trash truck crashes into her baby carriage, but Mia had already had Leah in her arms. in the apartment, the mobile begins to move and books fall about Leah. the door to the nursery closes, and Mia looks underneath only to see Annabelle fall on the other side. she uses a chair to break the doorknob and get to Leah. Annabelle rises into the air. John arrives and calls father Perez, who comes over and says demons just can’t take souls, they must be offered. He takes Annabelle. outside the church he sees a white-clad figure. opening the door, he is pulled back into the street. the figure picks up Annabelle. John watches over father Perez at the hospital. in the apartment, evelyn reveals how she was responsible for her daughter’s death through inattention. father Perez wakes up and asks the doll’s whereabouts? He says he saw the evil’s presence. it wants to take her soul. not Mia, but Leah! At the apartment there’s a knock at the door. Mia answers only to find a false father Perez. the door slams. the record player comes on, cups rattle. Leah is missing, the dolls bloodied. evelyn is attacked by something on the ceiling and knocked into the hall. on the nursery ceiling are words like “s o U L.” Mia screams at Annabelle and throws it around the room. she picks up what she thinks is Leah, but it’s another doll. “Y o U r s o U L” is scrawled on the window panes. John arrives home and helps evelyn break back into the apartment. Clasping Annabelle, Mia is about to jump out the window but grabbed by John just in time. instead, evelyn grabs up Annabelle and leaps to her death. six Months Later: father Perez prays that whoever finds the doll will seek help. A woman buys Annabelle. “Annabelle now sits in a glass case inside the artifact room of ed and Lorraine Warren. it is blessed by a priest twice a month.” Plus, “the threat of evil is ever present … we can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed.—Lorraine Warren.” Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter found “cheap jolts….” the screenplay was haphazard, the story “so generic and formulaic….” in short, “Annabelle is no Chucky.” (frank scheck, www.hollywood reporter.com, october 2, 2014); Variety considered the scares “cheap but periodically effective….” nevertheless, it was “a cut-rate spinoff…” (scott foundas, www.variety. com, october 2, 2014); the

News-Journal said this prequel lambasted the audience too quickly with its scares. to its detriment, it eschewed The Conjuring’s “nice, slow burn…” (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett, News Journal55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], october 3, 2014, p. 5). Analysis: this is a mostly dopey, fairly boring possession film. Annabelle herself is almost not the key component and disappears for sizable stretches of time. Unlike Chucky, she doesn’t speak or run around, but then, she’s a conduit a demon seems only sometimes to inhabit. recreating 1969 is well done, e.g., the Manson murders, the tV with rabbit ears, a rotary phone, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In on tV, metal trashcans, instant popcorn, the turntable, and the Association’s “Cherish,” a #1 single from 1966.

The Conjuring 2

(new Line Cinema/evergreen Media Group/dune entertainment, 2016; 134 min.) ★★½

Produced by rob Cowan, Peter safran, James Wan. directed by James Wan. screenplay by Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan, david Johnson. story by Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan. edited by Kirk M. Morri. director of Photography, don burgess. Kodak Motion Picture Products. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, Julie berghoff. Art direction, A. todd Holland. set decoration, sophie neudorfer, Liz Griffiths. Costumes by Kristin M. burke. Visual effects by soHo VfX, Hy*drau”lx, Cosa VfX. Cast: Lorraine Warren (Vera farmiga), ed Warren (Patrick Wilson), Peggy Hodgson (frances o’Connor), Janet Hodgson (Madison Wolfe), Margaret Hodgson (Lauren esposito), Anita Gregory (franka Potente), billy Hodgson (benjamin Haigh), Johnny Hodgson (Patrick McAuley), Maurice Grosse (simon Mcburney), Peggy nottingham (Maria doyle Kennedy), Vic nottingham (simon delaney), bill Wilkins (bob Adrian), demon ( Joseph bishara), demon nun (bonnie Aarons), Crooked Man ( Javier botet), father Gordon (steve Coulter), Judy Warren (sterling Jerins), Constable Heeps (Annie Young), Constable Peterson (elliot Joseph). Synopsis: Amityville, new York, 1976: ed and Lorraine Warren try to sum up a murder spree but during a séance Lorraine sees a hideous nun and witnesses ed being impaled. London, 1977: enfield Grammar school. Janet Hodgson and her siblings Margaret, billy and Johnny head home to their mother Peggy. Janet shows Margaret a homemade ouija board, but it doesn’t work for them. Janet helps billy’s language problems by cranking a turntable to watch the Crooked Man dash around while they recite the song. one evening, billy becomes frightened when his toy fire truck rolls itself from the tent he’s erected at the end of the hall. the tV goes haywire. A voice cries, “My house!” back in the states, ed paints the portrait resembling the nun of Lorraine’s imaginings. Lorraine makes ed promise that they won’t take on any new cases. back at the Hodgson’s nottingham residence, the police investigate whatever is going on in the house because even Peggy is convinced something’s amiss. tV reporters cover the story, especially after Janet evidences signs of possession. one night Janet wakes on the ceiling and observes the apparition calling himself bill Wilkins leave the living room chair and traipse about the house. by this time the Warrens have allowed themselves to be sent to the scene by father Gordon, but only to observe and report back, not to get deeply involved. At a pub the Warrens discuss the case with paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse and academic skeptic Anita Gregory. After many sessions that seem to confirm that Janet is indeed periodically possessed, Maurice shows the Warrens and

58 • The Crow Anita film in which Janet throws furniture about the room. this suggests fakery and compromises the whole case. Aggrieved, Peggy sends everyone away, but on the train ed drops two tapes and sees them form an X on the floor. He has Lorraine help roll them onto the recorders, and they discover that played together they confirm that Wilkins is under the control of some more malevolent demonic force. in the rain they drive hurriedly back to the Hodgsons and find Janet locked in the house. the tree in the front yard splits from the wind, resulting in a tall spike below the windows. When ed tries to break in the front, a sofa is thrust against the window. He enters through the flooded basement. the door closes on Lorraine and neighbor ed. Vic goes for an axe in the shed but still has trouble so ed goes on alone to help Janet. Lorraine procures her bible from the car. she realizes she’d scratched a name in it: VALAK, the demon that controls Wilkins. ed finds Janet on the top floor and grabs her before she can jump from the window and impale herself on the stump. Lorraine finally squeezes through the back door and finds her way upstairs. the demonic nun appears and thrusts her against the wall, but Lorraine shouts the name VALAK and sends it back to hell. she rushes to the window and grabs ed before he and Janet fall to their deaths. Later, ed gives Janet his necklace with the crucifix, telling her he needed it when he was young, now she should have it and maybe someday present it to someone else in need. back home, ed places that spinning Crooked Man toy in his collection that includes the doll Annabelle. Upstairs, he and Lorraine dance to elvis’ “Can’t Help falling in Love.” during the end credits, photographs of the real Warrens and Hodgsons are shown. Reviews: the News Journal complained about the length and the omission of the first film’s petrifying suspense in favor of loudness, “more demons, more jump scares, more creepy antique toys and, thankfully, more ed and Lorraine Warren…” (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], June 10, 2016, p. 3Hr); The Indian Express gave it a 2-star rating. it thought director Wan “lets it all fizzle out…” with “maudlin details…” although he did well framing “a normal, run-down house as a warren of possible horrors.” (shalini Langer, Indian Express, http://indian express.com, June 12, 2016); Entertainment Weekly gave it a b+ but considered it proof of the law of diminishing sequel returns. it was too long by at least half an hour (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, June 17, 2016, p. 53). Analysis: the sequel received generally favorable reviews despite having little audiences hadn’t seen previously and running at least a quarter hour too long. Perhaps it was director Wan’s technique that thrilled. one might quibble that the Hodgson house is inherently less scary than a single house in the woods or separated from its neighbors as in The Amityville Horror or The Conjuring. A couple of the background songs could have been heard in 1977 although they came earlier. elvis’ “i Can’t Help falling in Love” was from the Blue Hawaii 1961 soundtrack, which is employed in the film, but the bee Gees’ “i started a Joke” traces its history to their 1968 album, Idea—not an album shown in the film. Composer Joseph bishara continues his secondary role as demon impersonator. see: Insidious, The Conjuring and Annabelle.

tHe CroW the comic books also spawned a 1998 Canadian tV series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, and two direct-to-video sequels: The Crow: Salvation (2000) and 2005’s The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which did have a one-week theatrical showing in seattle.

(Miramax/Crowvision, inc., 1994; 102 min.) ★★★

The Crow

Produced by edward r. Pressman, Jeff Most. directed by Alex Proyas. screenplay by david J. schow, John shirley. based on the Comic book series and Comic story by James o’barr. edited by dov Hoenig, scott smith. director of Photography, dariusz Wolski. Color by deluxe. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Alex Macdowell. Art direction, simon Murton. set decoration, Marthe Pineru. Costumes by Arianne Phillips. fight Choreography by brandon Lee and Jeff imada. digital Compositing by Motion Pixel Corporation. Miniature Photography by dream Quest images. Cast: eric draven (brandon Lee), officer Albrecht (ernie Hudson), top dollar (Michael Wincott), sarah (rochelle davis), t-bird (david Patrick Kelly), Myca (bai Ling), shelly Webster (sofia shinas), darla (Anna thomson), shank (Angel david), tin tin (Laurence Mason), funboy (Michael Massee), Grange (tony todd), Gideon ( Jon Polito). Synopsis: A city on devils night before Halloween: to police officer Albrecht’s disgust, a scurvy gang breaks into the apartment of an engaged couple, eric draven and shelly Webster, kills the man and rapes the woman, who later dies. besides Albrecht, their only other mourner is young sarah, skateboarding enthusiast. on a rainy evening, eric rises from his grave, seeks and finds his wedding ring at the pawn shop, which he destroys, and tracks tin tin into an alley. After shrugging off a bullet, he stabs the miscreant with his own knives. Albrecht is on this case, too. the power behind the gang that killed the couple isn’t that concerned at the loss of tin tin—yet. Albrecht muses on the killing and the murder of shelly and eric while the latter’s resurrected self targets funboy. After rescuing sarah from being run over in the street, eric enters funboy’s room where the scumbag is shooting up and messing with sarah’s mother. eric dares funboy to shoot him through the hand, which he dutifully does. eric cries out but the wound quickly closes up, and a second shot to the body doesn’t stop eric from plugging funboy in the leg and dragging him into the bathroom. While the water showers down on funboy, eric tells sarah’s cowering mother to tend to her daughter. she grabs some clothes and rushes out. Meanwhile, top dollar, the power behind t-bird and the other miscreants, is consulted by Grange. eric visits Albrecht, and placing hands on his face, sees the pain shelly suffered. eric is moved that Albrecht stayed with her in the hospital until she expired. eric takes out t-bird by taping him into his car’s driver’s seat, fixing the pedal, tossing in a bomb, and watching it explode over the river. top dollar convenes his minions to plan another devils night extravaganza of disorder, chaos and anarchy because that’s fun. eric won’t let that happen, and although he’s blasted many times he blows away top dollar’s team. Albrecht helps eric escape in his car as the police arrive. eric finds sarah at the grave and gives her shelly’s wedding ring on a chain. He finds top dollar in a church where Grange shoots the crow that seemed to be necessary for eric’s resurrection. Albrecht kills Grange. top dollar’s moll Myca has the crow and is about to shoot eric when the bird pecks her eyes and she falls to her death. While sarah hangs onto the rooftop for dear life, eric and top dollar engage in a life or death battle. top dollar pierces eric with his sword, but eric places his hands on his enemy’s head and forces him to experience unbearable pain before tossing him through the window and onto the horns of a gargoyle. sarah tends to the wounded Albrecht while eric and the injured crow go to shelly’s grave. eric sees shelly approach and they kiss. As the crow flies above the city, sarah’s voice intones that love survives.

The Crow: City of Angels • 59 Reviews: the New York Times called it “definitely a genre film. it is a dark, lurid revenge fantasy and not the breakthrough, starmaking movie some people have claimed.” (Caryn James, New York Times, May 11, 1994, p. C15); Video Movie Guide 1997 called it “a genuinely gripping, comic-book horrorthriller.” (Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, eds., Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 234). Analysis: the dark, forbidding city—apparently based on detroit but filmed in Wilmington, nC, and Los Angeles—prefigures the cities of the Underworld franchise. Graeme revell’s score is a plus. Michael Wincott’s top dollar is a fine villain. Lee, son of martial arts expert and actor bruce Lee, had been killed shortly before finishing the film by an improperly loaded prop gun. the film is dedicated to brandon and eliza.

The Crow: City of Angels (Miramax/dimension, 1996; 84 min.) ★★

Brandon Lee, The Crow (Crowvision/Edward R. Pressman Film, 1994) artwork.

Produced by edward r. Pressman, Jeff Most. directed by tim Pope. screenplay by david s. Goyer. based on the comic book series and comic strip by James o’barr. edited by Michael n. Knue, Anthony redman. director of Photography, Jean Yves escoffier. color. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Alex Mcdowell. set decora tion, Kristen Pratt. Costumes, Kristen everberg. Visual effects, robert roger dorney. Cast: Ashe (Vincent Perez), sarah (Mia Kirshner), Judah (richard brooks), Curve (iggy Pop), Kali (thuy trang), noah (ian dury), nemo (thomas Jane), spider Monkey (Vincent Castellanos), danny (eric Acosta), sybil (tracy ellis), Grace (beverly Mitchell). Synopsis: A man and boy fall into the water as a crow soars over the nighttime city and a woman’s voice intones it is a place for restless souls for whom a crow may show the way to peace. in her bed, a woman dreams of a man in a long, black coat, of cocaine addicts and a gun. she takes a shower and sinks into a squatting position. is this a city of angels? no, victims. sarah, the woman, meets and walks with the homeless Grace. in his lair, Judah tells his druggie minions that they succeed because of his single-mindedness. He shoots up basil to verify he’s been giving him the straight scoop. He says all have their pleasures. “Mine is the pain of others.” sarah goes to her job at noah’s tattoo parlor. Halloween is approaching and he gives her a small skull gift inside of which is a note: “Life is just a dream on the way to death.” sarah admits to strange dreams and gets into her car as a crow appears. At the dock, she sees the man in black rise form the drink. Judah is told by his seer sybil that death returns from the vale of tears and is coming for him. sarah tells the man in black that in her dreams she saw him and his son shot. He runs off, finds the garage workshop where he and his son danny bonded, and looks over his son’s drawings. sarah learns his name is Ashe. He wants to make his killers pay. she paints his face, and he leaves and blows up spider Monkey, one of his former tormenters. A giant image of a crow is seen on the street. Judah observes depravities in his lair. At the tattoo parlor, sarah gets the drop on one of Judah’s men and forces him out. she gets in her

car again, sees the crow on the hood, and gets out to unsuccessfully shoot it. Ashe kills nemo in a sex parlor, enters a makeshift church, and learns that the “day of the dead” is approaching. He meets Grace. sybil tells the gang that their nemesis doesn’t feel pain and the crow is his source of power. that must be severed, that’s his vulnerability. Ashe appears at sarah’s pad and notices the ring she says belonged to a friend. He wonders what happens to him when his mission is finished. “You go back,” she says. Judah tells Curve to find the girl who gave Ashe the crow. Kali tortures noah. Ashe tells sarah his wife left him with danny. He has to finish what he started, and by implication she understands they can’t make love. He takes his motorcycle to the dock and dives into the water, retrieving his son’s body and burying it properly. Judah’s gang invades sarah’s home. Ashe arrives and throws Kali through a window to her death. At Judah’s joint, amidst the crowd of revelers, Curve sees Ashe, who opens fire and is unfazed when a group of men shoot back. Ashe chases Curve into the night, blowing him off his motorcycle by putting a bullet in the gas tank and pulling the almost lifeless body into the city’s river cum sewer to let him float away. sybil wakes sarah at Judah’s. Judah tells sarah she’s the birdseed that will attract Ashe. As the crow observes her so does Ashe, who rushes to the scene, making his way through the day of the dead revelers and climbing the building to Judah’s apartments. the crow had been captured and pinned down with daggers. When Judah stabs it in a vital area, Ashe falls from the building onto a tent. He’s only a man now, reveals sybil. Judah tastes the crow’s blood. Ashe sees his son, who says if he gives up now they won’t be together. As Judah confronts Ashe, a murder of crows soar around the building. sybil tells sarah they are souls crying for people they have lost. Judah drags Ashe through the crowd while sybil releases sarah and hands her a dagger. Judah tries to hang Ashe but sarah arrives and thrusts the dagger into her kidnapper. He returns the favor. Ashe pushes Judah onto a metal spike but it hardly fazes him, and he calls down the crows to penetrate Judah and carry him off. Ashe cradles sarah’s body and carries her into the church. outside, Grace thanks him and learns that he’s going to a better place. A crow with a ring in its beak is seen. As Ashe walks off with danny, the female voice says that sometimes love is stronger than death.

60 • Daredevil

Mia Kirschner, The Crow: City of Angels (Dimension Films, 1996).

Reviews: the New York Times described it as a “rip-and-run sequel,…” bereft of action, less stylish than its predecessor, and “utterly devoid of energy and shock value.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, August 31, 1996, p. 16); VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever said it had plenty of kink and flash but was confusing and devoid of substance ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson Gale, 2007, p. 224). Analysis: the lovely, wasp-waisted Mia Kirschner is the most compelling character in this unsatisfying and rather horrible follow-up to The Crow. she conveys the distress of growing up in this ever-dark realm in which as a child she provided succor to eric draven—although this is never stated flat out. the keys to her identity are the ring she bears and her name, the ubiquitous sarah. (it’s always sarah in these films. see, for instance, The Terminator, The Exorcist: The Beginning, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.) Kirshner deserved a better and longer big-screen career.

dAredeViL Daredevil

(Marvel enterprises/new regency Pictures, 2003; 103 min.) ★★

Produced by Gary foster, Arnon Milchan, Avi Arad. directed by Mark steven Johnson. screenplay by Mark steven Johnson. edited by Armen Minasian, dennis Virkler. director of Photography, ericson Core. Color by deluxe. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, barry Chusid. Art direction, Justin scoppa, Jr., James e. tocci. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Costumes by James Acheson. special Visual effects by rhythm & Hues, inc.. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Visual effects by Pixel Magic. forum Visual effects. Cast: Matt Murdock/daredevil (ben Affleck), elektra natchios ( Jennifer Garner), bullseye (Colin farrell), Wilson fisk/Kingpin (Michael Clarke duncan), franklin “foggy” nelson ( Jon favreau), Young Matt (scott terra), Karen Page (ellen Pompeo), ben Urich ( Joe Pantoliano), Wesley owen Welch (Leland orser), nick Manolis (Lennie Loftin), nikolas natchios (erick Avari), father everett (derrick o’Connor), Jack Murdock (david Keith), Jose Quesada (Paul ben-Victor).

Synopsis: from a church steeple under a full moon, a masked man clutches a cross and surveys the city below. before long, the man crashes through the roof and lands near the altar. A priest comes forward and removes his mask. flashback to the man as boy: Matt Murdock grows up in new York City’s Hell’s Kitchen with his over-thehill prizefighter father, Jack. Jack tells Matt to ignore the bullies, hit the books. one day Matt stumbles on his father acting as a mobster’s enforcer. As he races form the scene, the toxic liquid from a punctured biohazard barrel pours onto Matt’s face, blinding him. Curiously, the accident allows Matt to hone his other four senses and the city becomes his playground. With his cane, he dismantles the bullies. Jack goes back into training and after winning some bouts is told to take a dive. As Matt urges him on, Jack levels his opponent but afterward is beaten to death by goons. Matt will seek justice. now: Jack has become an attorney in league with franklin nelson. one day he meets elektra natchios, who is about as good at martials arts as he is. she’s the daughter of nikolas natchios, who want to get out from under the thumb of mob boss Wilson fisk, aka Kingpin, who will have none of it and summons from england the fellow called bullseye. this assassin even kills a talkative old woman on the plane by lodging a nut in her throat. Meanwhile, in new York, as the costumed law enforcer daredevil, Matt combats evil and says as much to himself as anyone, “i’m not the bad guy.” franklin urges him to attend the black and White ball, but Matt is not game until he meets elektra and takes her to the rooftop. there, in the rain, he can see her beauty. With his acute aural senses, he hears trouble somewhere below, but elektra convinces him to stay with her and they make love. He and franklin attend the ball and meet ben Urich, who writes about urban myths, and fisk. Matt and elektra dance. After an altercation between fisk and Mr. natchios, elektra elects to accompany her father in his limo, which is attacked by bullseye driving a motorcycle. Matt as daredevil arrives on the scene and knocks bullseye for a loop only to have his cane taken and sent hurtling into Mr. natchios’ chest. elektra picks up a gun and fires at daredevil. Matt rages at home and visits the priest. even an ominously smiling fisk attends natchios’ funeral, where elektra tells Matt she wants revenge. Matt responds, “stay. stay with me. Please.” it begins to rain. fisk sends bullseye after elektra, and by extension, daredevil. believing that he is responsible for her father’s death, elektra confronts and wounds daredevil and removes his mask. He claims innocence and urge her to hide. too late! bullseye has found them. elektra gives a good account of herself but is cut in the throat and stabbed in the gut by the assassin. she crawls back to daredevil before dying. regaining his strength and stumbling off before the police arrive, he tracks and kills bullseye after a vicious battle. on to fisk’s abode! the Kingpin readies himself and indeed seems to gain the upper hand before daredevil smashes his knees. reflecting upon true justice, he does not kill the miscreant, who vows revenge. ben Urich types an article revealing Matt Murdock as daredevil but upon consideration, deletes his expose. outside, he spies daredevil on the roof opposite and says, “Go get ’em, Matt.” daredevil nods. “Hell’s Kitchen is my neighborhood. i prowl the rooftops and alley ways at night, watching for the darkness. forever in darkness. A guardian devil.” Reviews: Within the context of the comic book superhero universe, which he summarizes, roger ebert thought Daredevil was “actually pretty good.” it provided one’s money’s worth and a bit of fun (www. rogerebert.com, february 14, 2003); Variety considered daredevil a pretender, not a bona fide superhero, and resembled too closely spiderMan. the setting was purposefully dark but lacked the “stylistic elan…” of The Crow or Dark City. the heaviness of the score with accompanying rock music was not a plus (www.variety.com, february 14, 2003). Analysis: Although the last third or so strains credibility even

Dark Shadows • 61 within its comic book universe, daredevil is not the deplorable dud with which common wisdom has labeled it. on the other hand, it is not big enough. sometimes we might yearn for a more intimate superhero epic, but this is not it. it does smack of spider-Man and almost as much, batman. the most interesting actor in this bunch is Colin farrell, who has had a most interesting career: leading man, second lead, supporting player, e.g., Phone Booth, Alexander, In Bruges, Fright Night.

Elektra

(20th Century–fox/regency enterprises/Marvel enterprises, 2005; 97 min.) ★★

Produced by Arnon Milchan, Gary foster, Avi Arad. directed by rob bowman. screenplay by Zak Penn, stu Zicherman, raven Metzner. based on the Marvel character by frank Miller. edited by Kevin stitt. director of Photography, bill roe. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Christophe beck. Production design, Graeme Murray. Art direction, eric norlin. set decoration, Peter Lando. Costumes by Lisa tomczeszyn. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studios, rainmaker, Pixel Magic. Cast: elektra ( Jennifer Garner), Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic), Abby Miller/the treasure (Kirsten Prout), Kirigi (Will Yun Lee), roshi (Cary-Hiroyuki tagawa), stick (terence stamp), typhoid (natassia Majthe), stone (bob sapp), tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Kinkou (edson t. ribeiro), McCabe (Colin Cunningham), deMarco ( Jason isaacs), Young elektra (Laura Ward), Mrs. natchios ( Jana Mitsoula), Mr. natchios (Kurt Max runte). Synopsis: throughout time, good and evil have battled each other, sometimes in the shadows. in our time, those following Kimagure (the good who can see the future and perhaps raise the dead), confront those who use the dark arts, the Hand. both vie for a special motherless daughter to turn the tide against the other. resurrected from death by the blind master stick, elektra learns the martial art of Kimagure, but to her surprise is turned out because she can’t control the rage caused by her mother’s death. According to stick, she doesn’t know the Way. she often experiences visions of a veritable devil in her mother’s bedroom. the Hand, meanwhile, has been unable to find and draw into its orbit this special female. roshi, leader of the Hand, gives leave for his impatient son Kirigi to tackle the problem. Assisted by her handler McCabe, elektra becomes a contract assassin, killing deMarco despite his high tech security team. she then rents a house on the coast and soon learns that her neighbors, Abby, a pest of a 13-year-old girl, and her father, Mark, are her targets. she prepares to use a bow to terminate them but can’t bring herself to perform her mission. instead, she takes them to stick for help. she and her charges then go to McCabe, but they have been tracked by a hawk, which guides to the residence Kirigi and a select group of the Hand: stone, tattoo, typhoid, and Kinkou. McCabe is killed, but elektra, Abby and Mark escape via a tunnel and race through a cornfield into the woods. but they are followed. elektra crushes stone with a tree, and typhoid grabs elektra and kisses her, drawing out her life force. she collapses into the leaves. However, Abby reveals herself as “the treasure,” she who can tip the balance in the ultimate war between good and evil. she uses a necklace to deflect her attackers and along with the special knife Mark retrieves from the ground, destroys Kinkou, but Kirigi looks to overpower her until stick and his white-robed ninjas arrive. Kirigi leaves to fight another day. stick revives elektra and takes her, Abby and Mark to his compound, where he explains

that Abby is a new “treasure,” as elektra herself once was. Abby begins learning Kimagure and challenges elektra, but is defeated. elektra challenges Kirigi to one-on-one combat for all the marbles. At the old estate where the battle is to occur, Kirigi’s black-robed ninjas invades the premises only to be blown up by the alert elektra. in the great hall, elektra is unable to discern Kirigi amongst the flapping sheets covering the furniture. Abby arrives to help and she and elektra burst through a window and run into the maze. Abby is taken down by tattoo’s snakes but elektra breaks tattoo’s neck and the snakes disappear. Although almost killed again by Kirigi, elektra finally sends him to his doom in a well. but there’s still typhoid to contend with and elektra throws her sai on target through the maze and typhoid is no more. Abby is comatose, however, but elektra places her healing hands on her brow and torso, much as had stick done to resurrect her years before. Abby awakes. Later, Mark kisses and says adieu to elektra, who in the garden meets stick and says she doesn’t want Abby to be like her. He counters that elektra didn’t turn out so bad and that Abby’s life will be what she makes of it. elektra walks from the scene. Reviews: the New York Times said it was a “dreary spinoff ” of Daredevil and gave comics a bad name (Manohla dargis, New York Times, January 14, 2005, p.); The Daily Record found the villains superior to the heroes in an un-inventive film whose fight scenes were “too fast and too sloppy to satisfy.” (Alan Morrison, Daily Record [scotland], January 21, 2005, section: features, pp. 54–55). Analysis: the negatives: Although she has been resurrected from the dead and is now a supernatural entity with superior martial arts and running abilities, elektra has a most difficult time warding off the evildoers and needs help to vanquish them. no outrage is expressed when Kirigi reneges on his promise to engage elektra in single combat with no stooges present. the positives: there’s a nice mix of day and nighttime shots, and the Pacific northwest, in this case british Columbia, scenery seems always to be a plus (see Twilight). the battle of the sheets is somewhat thrilling even if we realize by then that elektra will be taken down and need someone else (Abby) to save her. terence stamp lends gravitas, as always.

dArK sHAdoWs see Volume i for House of Dark Shadows (1970) and Night of Dark Shadows (1971). the afternoon tV series that inspired them ran from 1966 to 1971.

(Warner bros., 2012; 113 min.) ★★½

Dark Shadows

Produced by Graham King, Johnny depp, Christi dembrowski, david Kennedy, richard d. Zanuck. directed by tim burton. screenplay by seth Grahame-smith. based on the television series created by dan Custis. story by John August and seth Grahame. edited by Chris Lebenzon. director of Photography, bruno delbonnel. technicolor. Music by danny elfman. Production design, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, Jason Knox-Johnston, neal Callow, dean Clegg, Philip sims, Christian Huband, richard selway. set decoration, John bush. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. Visual effects by MPC, Method studios Vancouver, the senate, bUf, Mattes and Miniatures. “dedicated to the Memory of dan Curtis.” Cast: barnabas Collins ( Johnny depp), elizabeth Collins stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer), dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena bonham Carter), Angelique/Angel bouchard (eva Green), Willie Loomis ( Jackie earle

62 • Dark Shadows Haley), roger Collins ( Jonny Lee Miller), Victoria Winters/Josette duPres (bella Heathcote), Carolyn stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz), david Collins (Gully McGrath), Mrs. Johnson (ray shirley), Captain Clarney (Christopher Lee), Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper), Coat Check Girl (Charlotte spencer). Synopsis: Liverpool, 1760: the Collins family, including the young barnabus, sail for Maine to build a fishing empire. they take 15 years to construct their imposing manse, Collinwood. As he grows to manhood, barnabus spurns Angelique, who uses a spell of dark magic to crush his parents. barnabus finds his true love, Josette, but she too is put under a spell and leaps from the nearby promontory. barnabus dives down, crashes on the rocks but survives. Above him lurks Angelique, who’d cursed him to endless suffering as a vampire! Angelique leads the townsfolk and buries barnabus alive. 1972: As “nights in White satin” plays, Victoria Winters arrives by train to answer the “Governess Wanted” ad. elizabeth Collins shows Vicki around the imposing but slowly disintegrating Collinwood. she meets elizabeth’s teenage daughter Carolyn, and young david, roger Collins’ son. Also inhabiting the manse is dr. Julia Hoffman. As she unpacks, Vicki finds herself visited by a spectral figure—Josette. she leads Vicki down the hall, circles the chandelier and falls backward through the floor. Meanwhile, construction men unearth a coffin and are attacked and killed by its occupant, barnabus, who makes his way home to Collinwood.

He puts the groundskeeper Willie under his spell. elizabeth Collins stoddard thinks this visitor is a jokester or a scam artist, but he eventually convinces her that he is the original barnabus Collins whose immense portrait hangs in the great hall. And yes, he’s a vampire, but they need not fear him. He leads elizabeth to a hidden room of great wealth, and she agrees he may stay. At breakfast, he tells Julia that he is barnabus Collins iii. roger informs him that the family has lost most of the fishing bus iness. Angelique, now Angie of Angelbay fishing, discovers that barnabus is loose and goes to Collinwood to verify this disturbing event. He calls her a “succubus of satan.” she says the people of Collingsport are her people now. barnabus tells elizabeth that Angie is a witch and she responds that he must continue the fight. With some of that hidden treasure, barnabus supervises the restoration of the manse and the rebuilding of the Collins Canning Company, using his mesmeric powers to get Captain Clarney on his side. barnabus agrees to let dr. Hoffman analyze him and she succeeds in hypnotizing him. Afterward she confronts elizabeth with the news that barnabus is indeed a vampire. barnabus asks Carolyn how to court a woman in this age. that would be Vicki. Carolyn advises him to change his approach. He’s just too stiff and proper. He joins a group of hippies to learn about modern youth but ends up killing them. dr. Hoffman works to purify barnabus’ blood. He compliments her, she seduces him. Victoria joins him for a walk along the seashore. At the Angelbay board meeting, Angie says the bouchard women slaved for

Left to right: Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote, Johnny Depp, Jackie Earle Haley, Gully McGrath, Jonny Lee Miller, and Eva Green, Dark Shadows (Warner Bros., 2012).

The Day the Earth Stood Still • 63 two centuries to outdo the Collins family and won’t give in now. but barnabus will not sell to Angelbay. nevertheless, he and Angie make violent love and wreck the room. He then tells her he can never succumb to her again. she retorts that she’ll destroy him. dr. Hoffman continues the blood purification. Vicki wakes from a dream, sees Josette again, and follows her into the hall. barnabus proposes a ball to bring back the old days. Carolyn says balls are passé, they should have a happening. barnabus is okay with this. Get Alice Cooper. barnabus does and says she’s the ugliest woman he’s ever seen. on the balcony, barnabus speaks with Victoria, who feels she can tell him anything, namely that something had pulled her there to Collinwood. When she was a child her folks had sent her away because she was different—cursed. she saw things other children did not. she escaped by rope from the asylum and eventually was directed to the “Governess Wanted” advertisement. in an enticing red dress, Angie crashes the party and spots barnabus kissing Victoria. Meanwhile, dr. Hoffman is found using barnabus’ blood to make herself immortal, therefore always lovely. Unwilling to forgive this treachery, barnabus bites her neck and drains her blood. Willie helps him dump her at sea. back at the manse, barnabus finds roger looking for things to steal and gives him a choice: remain and become a proper father for david or leave to do his thieving and live a selfish live elsewhere. roger chooses the latter. After barnabus saves david from the falling chandelier, he catches fire but seems none the worse for wear, yet Victoria shuns him. barnabus demands Angie release him from his curse. Yes, he killed dr. Hoffman, the workmen and some young people but he was compelled to. Angie offers to rule side by side, otherwise she’ll put him back in his box. His counter-proposal is to kiss his posterior, but when he opens the door to leave is thrust into a coffin. Angie starts a fire at Collins Canning. david releases barnabus. Angie uses a tape of a conversation with barnabus to rouse the police and townsfolk. At the manse, barnabus tells them he will leave willingly as long as Angie goes with him. “she’s a witch,” says elizabeth. inside, elizabeth shoots Angie, but the slugs are shrugged off, and she makes portraits bleed and statues come to life and threaten the Collins family. Carolyn attacks Angie after revealing that she’s a werewolf, but Angie had caused that and pushes her aside. finally, Angie herself is thrust into the chandelier. barnabus tells her the curse is that she can’t love, at which point she removes her heart and offers it to him before expiring. barnabus finds her on the promontory where she says she’ll grow old, he won’t. there’s only one way to surmount the obstacle, but he says no until she drops from the cliff. He soars after her and bites her on the way to the rocks. she becomes a vampire. the curse on barnabus has been lifted. beneath the waves the waterlogged dr. Hoffman opens her eyes. Reviews: Christian Science Monitor said it “isn’t bad, exactly, just blah.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 2012); Chud.com blames the script for a lack of overall tone, thus barnabas making nice “one minute, he’s murdering innocent townspeople in cold blood the next.” is this barnabas to be laughed at or condemned? danny elfman’s music was just about the only element worth complimenting (tim Kelly, www.chud.com, May 11, 2012); the New York Times said that none of the cast wore “their ghoulishness as lightly or winningly as Johnny depp.” He made “a bewitching corpse….” there was justification enough “for such an ephemeral enterprise” in director burton’s “exquisite detail work, his playfulness and macabre wit…” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, May 10, 2012); The Florida TimesUnion said depp brought “solemn fun to his pointy-fingered, death’s pallor role….” nevertheless, it didn’t compensate for a poor storyline (Matt soergel, Florida Times-Union [ Jacksonville), May 11, 2012). Analysis: A promising first third gives way to rather boring ex-

changes between barnabus and Angelique. it becomes less and less satisfying. there are cute segments, e.g., when barnabus slaps the back of the tV on which the Carpenters are singing “top of the World” and demands, “reveal yourself, tiny songstress!” depp is good, and recapturing 1972 in songs, cars and language works—with Superfly playing at the town theater—but the film can’t find the right mix of comedy and drama. A quite ridiculous scene that could have played better in an Addams family movie is when, in the midst of a mob confrontation in front of Collinwood, Angie plays a cassette tape incriminating barnabus in murders and everyone believes her—as if they could even hear her from beyond the police car barricade. it is perhaps a measure of the overall problem that some viewers might forget that the original Dark Shadows tV series and the two feature films were hardly silly and might instead think of or wish this was an Addams family film. in fact, eva Green is channeling Joan Cusack in The Addams Family: the capitalistic femme fatale.

tHe dAY tHe eArtH stood stiLL The Day the Earth Stood Still (20th Century-fox, 1951; 92 min.) ★★★★

Produced by Julian blaustein. directed by robert Wise. screenplay by edmund north. based on a story by Harry bates. edited by William reynolds. director of Photography, Leo tover. Music by bernard Herrmann. Art direction, Addison Hehr, Lyle Wheeler. set decoration, Claude e. Carpenter, thomas Little. Costumes by travilla. Makeup by ben nye. special Photographic effects, fred sersen. robot by Melbourne A. Arnold. Cast: Klaatu (Michael rennie), Helen benson (Patricia neal), Professor Jacob barnhardt (sam Jaffe), tom stevens (Hugh Marlowe), bobby benson (billy Gray), Gort (Lock Martin), Mrs. barley (frances bavier), Army doctor (Lawrence dobkin), Mr. Harley (frank Conroy), Platoon leader (Harry Lauter), Commentators (H.V. Kaltenborn and drew Pearson as themselves), General (Millard Mitchell, voice), Military Police Captain (House Peters, Jr.), Harley (frank Conroy), Colonel (Carleton Young), Major General (fay roope), brady (tyler McVey), Mrs. Crockett (edith evanson), Major White (robert osterloh), Mr. barley ( John brown), Hilda (Marjorie Grossland), interviewer (Glenn Hardy), Government man ( James seay), sentry (stuart Whitman). Synopsis: Across the globe, radar picks up something traveling through the sky at tremendous speed. that something is a saucer-like spaceship that lands in Washington, d.C. A silver-suited, human-like being emerges to confront the crowd and military forces surrounding the ship. When this visitor snaps open a strange device, an edgy G.i. shoots him with his .45. suddenly the onlookers are aware of a new presence—a large robot who disintegrates the military’s weapons, including artillery and tanks, with a beam from his unvisored “eye.” the visitor tells Gort the robot to desist and is taken to Walter reade hospital where Mr. Harley, the President’s representative, mildly interrogates him. the visitor, Klaatu, wants to speak with representatives of the entire world, not merely one authority figure. it becomes clear to Klaatu that he must mingle with the populace to get a real sense of what citizens think and feel. He escapes his confinement and takes a room at Mrs. Crockett’s, where young bobby benson thinks this stranger calling himself Mr. Carpenter is probably a fbi man tracking the visitor from outer space. At next morning’s breakfast, the boarders

64 • TheDay the Earth Stood Still military track them down and shoots the alien. following his instructions to go to Gort if something like this occurs, Helen tells the robot, “Gort. Klaatu birada nikto.” Gort carries her inside the ship and leaves, retrieves Klaatu’s body from the jail and revives him in the ship. Klaatu tells Helen that Gort does not have the power of life and death but can restore life for some unspecified period of time. Professor barnhardt informs the assembled notables outside the ship that the military has asked them to leave, but the ship’s portal opens. followed by Klaatu and Gort, Helen walks into the crowd. Klaatu tells his audience that Gort has been created to police the planets and that he wields unlimited and terrible power. in conclusion, he issues a warning: “it is no concern of ours how you run your own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. the decision rests with you.” Klaatu signals goodbye to Helen, reenters the ship and departs. Reviews: the New York Times was unimpressed, using terms like “fable of such absurd assumptions…,” “lukewarm philosophy,” and “tepid entertainment….” (bosley Crowther, New York Times, september 19, 1951, p. 37); two decades later The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV was more positive: “the prevailing, literate calm of this picture makes it even more provocative and amusing now than in its initial release. And the picture is smooth indeed, neatly-played and wryly-twisted here and there amid all the conversations (too many), and a welcome relief from the typical, blaring, comic-strip hashes of this genre.” (Howard thompson, ed., The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle books, 1970, p. 55); Leslie Halliwell thought it “impressive rather than exciting…” but conducted with “the maximum of sober conviction.” (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 177); The Phantom’s Ultimate Video Guide said it “still stands tall as one of celluloid sci-fidom’s early greats.” it was one of the few liberal-oriented films of the McCarthy witchhunt era (the Phantom of the Movies, The Phantom’s Ultimate Video Guide, new York: dell Publishing, 1989, p. 288). Analysis: for baby boomers too young to have seen it in a 1951 theater, its presentation on tV on Saturday Night at the Movies in 1962 was much anticipated and the film relished. the robot policeman Gort, in contrast to one reviewer’s dismissal, made an indelible impression on young minds. Curiously, it was released the same year as The Thing from Another World— with both soundtracks employing the theremin. the “intelligent—and deadly—carrot” of The Thing was of course at odds with Michael rennie’s benevolent Klaatu, but both arrived in saucers and caused a measure or more of panic. After the Ufo sightings of the late 40s, it was natural for moviemakers to grapple with the subject, and these two movies were, oddly enough, the high water mark in that golden age of science fiction film generally considered to encompass 1950 to 1956. in his survey and analysis of director robert Wise films, sergio Leeman was one of the few to point out that this cautionary tale came along when cinematic science fiction was almost solely the province of saturday matinee serials. it was also made when television was eroding the theatrical film audience, and fox studio head darryl Zanuck chided Wise for what was felt to be too many shots around the breakfast table but relented when Wise provided a detailed explanation for the necessity of the setups (serFilming Gort the robot, The Day the Earth Stood Still (20th Century-Fox, gio Leeman, Robert Wise on His Films: From Editing Room to 1951). Director’s Chair, Los Angeles: silman-James Press, 1995).

muse on what the visitor has in store for them. bobby’s mother Helen argues that Klaatu might be frightened. After all, he was shot as soon as he stepped out of his spacecraft. When Helen’s beau tom stevens shows up, it appears that Helen has no babysitter for her son, but Carpenter offers to chaperone bobby. in fact, bobby can show him the city. Helen hesitantly agrees and bobby and Carpenter visit Arlington national Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. Carpenter asks bobby who the smartest person in the world might be and bobby proposes Professor barnhardt, who lives nearby. they find his house and Carpenter enters equations on the Professor’s chalkboard he is certain will intrigue the scientist. barnhardt sends for Carpenter, who reveals that he is Klaatu. After hearing that the spacefarer is prepared to take drastic measures against a planetary civilization developing nuclear rockets, barnhardt proposes a conclave of scientists and other prominent persons. Carpenter agrees. that evening bobby follows Carpenter to the spacecraft, where he signals Gort with a flashlight. the robot knocks out the two guards and Klaatu enters his ship and communicates with others of his race. When Helen arrives home, bobby tells her Mr. Carpenter is the spaceman. tom goes to Carpenter’s room and finds a diamond on the floor similar to those Carpenter had given to bobby. Carpenter visits Helen at her job and endeavors to explain. While they are in an elevator, the power cuts out. He tells her he caused this power outage to occur all over the world for a half hour. it is a demonstration to facilitate the meeting. tom takes the diamond to jewelers who are astounded by their unique quality. He tells Helen that Carpenter is indeed the spaceman and that he’s going to turn him in to the authorities. Helen is aghast and warns Carpenter, but the

Deadpool • 65

(20th Century-fox, 2008; 104 min.) ★

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Produced by erwin stoff, Gregory Goodman, Paul Harris boardman. directed by scott derrickson. screenplay by david scarpa. based on the story by edmund north. edited by Wayne Wahrman. director of Photography, david tattersall. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by tyler bates. Production design, david brisbin. Art direction, don Macaulay. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Costumes by tish Monaghan. Visual effects & Animation Created by WetA digital Ltd. Visual effects by flash film Works, Cinesite (europe) Ltd., Cos fX films, [HY*drAU*LX], digital dimension. Cast: Klaatu (Keanu reeves), dr. Helen benson ( Jennifer Connelly), regina Jackson (Kathy bates), Jacob benson ( Jaden smith), Professor barnhardt ( John Cleese), Michael Granier ( Jon Hamm), John driscoll (Kyle Chandler), Colonel (robert Knepper), Mr. Wu ( James Hong), dr. Myron ( John rothman), rouhani (sunita Prasad), William Kwan ( Juan riedinger), tom (sam Gilroy), isabel (tanya Champoux). Synopsis: 1928, Karakorum Mountains, india: a climber chips away at a mysterious globe that reveals … what? Later he finds a sort of bandage on his hand. Princeton University, Present day: Astrobiologist dr. Helen benson joins other scientists and engineers on a helicopter to ft. Linwood Military Academy, new Jersey. they are apprised of an extraterrestrial object speeding for earth, specifically Manhattan. fears of a comet that would essentially destroy all of humanity are forgotten when what appears in Central Park is a giant, swirling sphere from which emerges a humanoid. As benson reaches out to touch it, a shot rings out and this visitor from space falls to the ground. An “automaton” of great height appears and with a ray from its face disables the army’s weaponry. the wounded creature’s “Klaatu barada nikto” mollifies the robot. surgery is performed and reveals a soft coating over a quite human-like being. “this body will take some getting used to,” says the alien designating himself as Klaatu, who tells the secretary of defense that he represents a group of civilizations and wants to speak with representatives of all of earth. frowning on his incarceration and interrogation, Klaatu escapes but collapses at the train station. Helen and her son Jacob assist him, however, and drive him from the city. back in Central Park, a drone attack on the sphere is thwarted by the robot. Klaatu tells Helen, “i came to save the earth.” in a Mcdonald’s, Klaatu consults with Mr. Wu, an alien who has been living on earth for decades and despite humanity’s failings and impending destruction elects to remain. At a pond in new Jersey’s Highlands, another sphere appears, heralding others around the world which attract animals. Klaatu now says he will save earth, not humanity, even after meeting with world-famous physicist burkhardt and complimenting bach’s music. At the Mt. Weather flash facility in bluemont, Virginia, scientists attempt to drill into the robot, which had been encased in metal. this being is Gort: genetically organized robotic technology. on tV, Jacob sees a photo of Klaatu, labeled as an escaped convict. Klaatu argues that humanity lacks the will to change, but barnhardt counters that this is humanity’s moment, on the brink, that will cause change. Helicopters approach and during his run through the woods with his mother and Klaatu, Jacob signals the craft. Klaatu uses his powers to destroy two of them while Helen is captured by the third. in Virginia, Gort destroys the facility. secretary Jackson gives Helen the freedom to try and convince Klaatu to desist. At the cemetery where Jacob’s father is buried, they make a truce. Helen arrives to comfort her son and thus Klaatu sees the other side of humanity. nevertheless, a “wind” of pestilential, metallic-like

insects has begun to roar over the land, destroying man and his creations. in Manhattan, Klaatu finds temporary shelter for Helen and Jacob under a park bridge. Jacob has been infected by the plague but Klaatu draws out the infection. Klaatu marches into the maelstrom and reaches the sphere, touching it and stopping the plague. electricity fails over the world. Helen and Jacob stare at the sphere. “it’s leaving,” Helen says. “no, he’s leaving,” replies Jacob. Reviews: Boxoffice found it a “dreadful remake.” As with other reincarnations of classic 1950s sci-fi films, the difficulty lay in “how to reinvent the stories—all of which capitalize to varying degrees on Cold War anxiety—for a post–Communist context.” (Wade Major, Boxoffice, december 12, 2008); Chud.com opined that although there were some “interesting science fiction concepts” and the film wasn’t a fantasy accoutered in “scifi drag,” it was nevertheless patently awful (devin faraci, www.chud.com, december 12, 2008). Analysis: Count the ways this remake fails utterly to improve on the original or in any sense is a good film: a sphere, not a spaceship; the first appearance of the alien Klaatu at night, not day; a sad-sack kid who actually wants the alien to be captured; a Gort the military doesn’t take seriously enough and tries to drill into and doesn’t appear after it destroys its captors; the absence of a “burned-out cinder” farewell speech by Klaatu. there is absolutely no heft to this version and most of the characters lack depth. Professor barnhardt ( John Cleese) appears only once. Kathy bates’ secretary of defense is the standard modern movie bureaucrat who can’t see the big picture. in an earlier time, the presentation of the message would be termed “hamfisted.” Lest we forget, the original’s bernard Herrmann score was a key ingredient in its other-worldliness.

deAdPooL see also X-Men Deadpool

(20th Century–fox/Marvel entertainment, 2016; 106 min.) ★★★½

Produced by simon Kinberg, ryan reynolds, Lauren shuler donne. directed by tim Miller. screenplay by Paul Wernick, rhett reese. based on Deadpool by fabian nicieza, rob Liefeld. edited by Julian Clarke. director of Photography, Ken seng. Panavision. color. Music by Junkie XL. Production design, sean Haworth. Art direction, nigel evans. set decoration, shannon Gottlieb. Costumes by Angus strathie. Visual effects and Animation by digital domain, Atomic fiction, Weta digital Ltd. Visual effects by rodeofX, Luma Pictures. Visual effects and Previsualization by bLUr studio. Cast: Wade Wilson/deadpool (ryan reynolds), Vanessa (Morena baccarin), francis/Ajax (ed skrein), Weasel (t.J. Miller), Angel dust (Gina Carano), Colossus (stefan Kapicic, voice), negasonic teenage Warhead (brianna Hildebrand), blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Weasel’s wife (rachel sheen), recruiter ( Jed rees), dopinder (Karan soni), strip club dJ (stan Lee). Synopsis: With pistols and swords, a masked man in red and black confronts a convoy of bad guys on a bridge. Who is this fellow seemingly invulnerable to gunfire? two years ago Wade Wilson was an exspecial forces man hired for hazardous missions. He and others at sister Margareta’s bar had their chances of surviving posted on a blackboard kept up to date by Weasel. one evening, Wade met Vanessa, who worked at a strip club, they hit it off, and got married. Life was rosy until Wade discovered he was wracked with cancer. He was ap-

66 • Death Race 2000 proached by a strange, smiling young man promising a cure. With regret at leaving Vanessa without explanation, Wade allowed Ajax, aka francis, and Angel dust to undertake radical experiments that mutated him, providing great power and invulnerability but left his face a hideous mess. eventually Ajax revealed that Wade would not be a superhero, rather a super-slave to the highest bidders. breaking free, Wade battled Ajax and caused a fire. impaled with a rebar, Wade was left to die in the fire, yet he survived. With his awful visage, he felt he could not return to Vanessa. He could, however, track francis under the moniker “deadpool,” based on the bar’s blackboard pool. He lived with Al, an aged blind woman. the present: deadpool kills or mangles everyone in the convoy except the man on a motorcycle— francis. He gets the upper hand eventually, gutting his nemesis with a sword. At this point, Colossus and negasonic teenage Warhead arrive from the X-Men manse. Colossus tries to persuade deadpool to join their ranks. during the conversation, francis escapes. Colossus handcuffs himself to deadpool, who cuts off his hand, which regenerates that night as he sits at home with Al. francis and his cronies go to Weasel’s bar and learn about Vanessa. A call from Weasel alerts deadpool and he goes to the strip club where Vanessa is serving drinks. still hesitant about revealing himself, he takes too long to decide and finds that Vanessa has gone outside and been kidnapped by francis. Aligning himself with Colossus and negasonic, deadpool finds francis and Angel dust and their associates at a helicarrier scrapyard. Colossus has a most difficult time with Angel dust and is only victorious due to negasonic’s help. during the fracas, the supports holding the helicarrier are weakened, and deadpool, Vanessa and francis begin sliding to their presumed death. deadpool secretes Vanessa in the tank in which she’d been imprisoned, which saves her when it falls to the yard below. deadpool defeats francis and learns that his cancer was not destroyed. Colossus makes a speech about being a real hero and sparing his enemy, but deadpool plugs francis in the head. He reveals his ugly face to Vanessa. she’s shocked but happy to kiss him. After the credits, deadpool tells the audience to go home. Reviews: the New York Times humorously wondered if the film was being sold so vigorously because the “studio has started to pay on commission.” the filmmakers certainly knew “how to keep the machine oiled and humming.” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, february 12, 2006, p. C8); the News Journal found the “cheeky, self awareness” of its opening quickly faded. it didn’t graduate past fifth grade humor even though fifth graders wouldn’t be able to see this r-rated film (Lindsay bahr/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], february 12, 2016, p. 4Hr); Time thought ryan reynolds fit the bill and the “sentimental hokum” was the best element in the film. the action was not “gratifying, and the repetitive plot mechanics don’t help.” in the end this “spiky antidote to super-hero oversaturation,… ” only impaled itself (s.Z., Time, february 22/29, 2016, p. 114); Empire was mostly positive, terming it “a fun, if patchy, alternative to the current glut of ‘the world is about to end unless we do something comic-book films.” ( Jonathan Pile, Empire, April 2016, p. 049); SFX called it “loud, obnoxious, defiantly puerile and mostly good fun.” (Will salmon, SFX, May 2016, pp. 94–95). Analysis: the opening credits are bogus, e.g., “some douchebag’s film,” “Produced by Asshats,” “starring God’s Perfect idiot,” “A british Villain,” “A Gratuitous Cameo.” those credits, backed by Juice newton’s version of “Angel of the Morning,” set the tone for this intentionally hilarious superhero movie. However, the in-jokes that encompass even the Marvel Universe begin to wear thin by the end and make the film seem longer than it is. Would deadpool’s cut at negasonic teenage Warhead when he likens her to the buzz-cut sigourney

Weaver in Alien 3 have been used if that movie hadn’t been from fox? it is one of those films that one may consider excellent one day but less than meets the eye the next. ryan reynolds finally hit pay dirt with this character. Morena baccarin, of tV’s V, is a lovely and forceful leading lady. in the scheme of things, the budget for this outing was low, and in fact there are only a few sets and fewer people with seemingly no police available to ameliorate the carnage. it is startling that an r-rated film would pull in so much loot, especially with a superhero most people never heard of. Conceivably, the trailer and web buzz created anticipation. Lucy (2014) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) were other r-rated sci-fi movies that beat the odds and became big successes.

deAtH rACe Death Race 2 (2011) and Death Race 3: Inferno (2013) are direct-tovideo films.

(new World Pictures, 1975; 80 min.) ★★★

Death Race 2000

Produced by roger Corman. directed by Paul bartel. screenplay by robert thom, Charles Griffith. story by ib Melchoir. edited by tina Hirsch. director of Photography, tak fujimoto. color. Music by Paul Chihara. Art direction, robinson royce, b.b. neel. Costumes by Jane rum. special effects by richard MacLean. special optical effects by Jack rabin and Associates. Cars designed by James Powers. Cast: frankenstein (david Carradine), Annie smith (simone Griffeth), Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (sylvester stallone), Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Matilda the Hun (roberta Collins), nero the Hero (Martin Kove), Myra (Louisa Moritz), Pete (William shephard), Cleopatra (Leslie Mcray), Junior bruce (don steele), Harold (Carle bensen), Grace Pander ( Joyce Jamison), thomasina Paine (Harriet Medin), Mr. President (sandy McCallum), Laurie (Wendy bartel), Mechanic ( John Landis). Synopsis: it’s time for the annual transcontinental road race in which the contestants win points by running over pedestrians on their way from new York to new Los Angeles. favorites include previous winner Machine Gun Joe and frankenstein, two-time champion and survivor of the 1995 pile-up back in shape after various limb replacements. He clothes himself in black to hide his scars but reveals to nurse Annie, his new navigator, that his face is not deformed. Via tV, Mr. President, who has served the nation since the Crash of ’79, signals the start of the race from his summer palace. Hushed up is potential trouble caused by dissidents, including Mrs. thomasina Paine. Her daughter is Annie. the race begins. Joe takes out a workman using a jackhammer while Calamity runs down a would-be bullfighter. frankenstein refuses to ride into a group of wheelchair-bound men and women outside Mercy Hospital. it’s euthanasia day, and he rolls off the road and kills nurses instead. the first car taken out by the rebels is that of nero and his navigator Cleopatra. thomasina goes on tV to promote her army of resistance. Matilda the Hun kills two guys at a makeshift roadblock while Joe adds to his score with a man hanging a frankenstein banner. the first leg of the race ends in st. Louis where the racers and navigators enjoy massages and dinner. frankenstein meets a fan club member, Laurie. frankenstein and Annie dance in their bedroom and make love. dropping his glove on

Death Race 2000 • 67 the road next morning as the race begins again, frankenstein drives in a circle to retrieve it and in so doing purposefully runs over the deacon who’d blessed the race. fifty points are awarded for this novel murder. out in the country, frankenstein runs down Laurie. Why? because she’d stood there to show she loved him. frankenstein mows down a guy dressed like himself before turning the car over to Annie. While Joe rides into a stream to kill a fisherman, Matilda cuts down Calamity Jane’s navigator. At a fake detour, Matilda rolls off a cliff to her death. Annie pretends she missed running over a boy by accident, but frankenstein seems to realize that Annie has ulterior motives. the second pit stop is Albuquerque. reporter Grace Pander memorializes Matilda on tV. Mr. President tells the populace that the french have been sabotaging the race. Joe harasses Annie but frankenstein arrives and beat shim up. He and Annie make love again. before the final stArt, Calamity Jane praises frankenstein and tries unsuccessfully to do the same to Joe, who scores his own pit crew. Attacked by motorcyclists, Calamity is initially successful in warding them off only to roll over a mine, blowing the car and herself to smithereens. A plane buzzes frankenstein. Annie has been rendered comatose by a drink and cannot assist the pilot, who is one of the rebels, in his mission and the plane crashes into a cliff. Annie wakes up beside frankenstein and stares out over the western landscape. He says he wants her help to blow up Mr. President with a grenade secured in his glove. Moving on, frankenstein closes in on Joe, who releases oil that briefly slows but does not stop his rival. Annie tosses the glove with the grenade into Joe’s car and it goes up in smoke. now frankenstein wonders how he’s going to kill Mr. President. on a temporary platform, Mr. President waits to give frankenstein his accolades. only it’s Annie in frankenstein’s mask and Newspaper advertisement for Death Race 2000 (New World Pictures, 1975). cape who steps to the fore. However, she is prevented from assassinating Mr. President by a shot from thomasina, who didn’t recognize her granddaughter in her film…. fast-paced fun.” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies, 1979–80 disguise. frankenstein pops up behind his steering wheel and drives Edition, new York: signet/new American Library, 1978, p. 159); into the platform, causing it to collapse and kill Mr. President. the Movies on TV found it “A quasi-classic exploitation film,…” that crowd roars its approval. Later, during frankenstein’s wedding to worked well on various levels. the director pandered to the masses Annie, Grace quizzes him on the future. He’s restoring free elections while maintaining a level of sophistication (steven H. scheuer, ed., and minority privilege. thomasina is appointed Minister for domestic Movies on TV: 1982–1983 Edition, new York: bantam books, 1981, security. to announcer Junior bruce’s consternation, frankenstein p. 165). abolishes the race and runs over the reporter. Analysis: before The Hunger Games there was The Most Dangerous Reviews: the New York Times found the targets easy and belabored. Game and … Death Race 2000. Joyce Jameson’s Grace Pander is effie its statements about government and revolution were superficial. in trinket, Mr. President is President snow. the race contestants are essence it was about autos as instruments of brutality (New York Times, wined and dined and massaged during pit stops. the winner is an inJune 6, 1975); The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film said, “this carternational hero. it’s more than a fine example of cinematic exploitatoonish fantasy-comedy remains a popular favorite while its serition: blood, breasts, bottoms and characters on the edge. it’s a black ous and expensive model, Rollerball, is forgotten.” (Michael Weldon, comedy and a car race movie with prescience and a warning about toThe Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, new York: ballantine books, talitarianism. there are jabs at the french, thus predating conservative 1983, p.); TV Movies called it an “outrageous tongue-in-cheek action complaints about french fries when france didn’t join the coalition

68 • Death Race against iraq in 1990. the cinematography is outstanding. it’s funny that as soon as the racers leave new York City they are obviously in a western state, not new Jersey or Pennsylvania, and they arrive in st. Louis in no time at all. but after all, this is an 80-minute film.

(Universal, 2008; 105 min.) ★★

Death Race

Produced by Paula Wagner, Jeremy bolt, Paul W.s. Anderson. executive Producers, roger Corman, don Granger, ryan Kavanaugh. directed by Paul W.s. Anderson. screen story and screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based on the film “death race 2000” produced by roger Corman. edited by niven Howie. director of Photography, scott Kevan. Color by technicolor. Music by Paul Haslinger. Production design, Paul denham Austerberry. Art direction, nigel Churcher, Michele Laliberte. set decoration, Paul Hotte. Costumes by Gregory Mah. digital Visual effects by Mr. X inc. Cast: Jensen Ames ( Jason statham), Warden Hennessey ( Joan Allen), Coach (ian Mcshane), Machine Gun Joe (tyrese Gibson), Case (natalie Martinez), Pachenko (Max ryan), Ulrich ( Jason Clarke), Lists (frederick Koehler), travis Colt ( Justin Mader), Gunner ( Jacob Vargas), Grimm (robert Lasardo), 14K (robin shou), Joe’s navigators (benz Antoine, danny blanco Hall, Christian Paul). Synopsis: in 2012 the United states economy is in ruins and unemployment at an all-time high. Corporations run the prisons for profit. to keep the masses quiescent, cage matches between prisoners are broadcast, but boredom sets in and a new event is created: Death Race, televised to millions of subscribers from terminal island where Warden Hennessey rules with an iron fist its tougher-than-tough inmates. despite not being a miscreant, Jensen Ames, who’d lost his job at the steelworks and that very night found his wife dead on the kitchen floor, is convicted of murder because he had a knife in his hand. His background as an elite race driver puts him in a unique position at terminal island, and he is asked to impersonate the fourtime death race driver known as frankenstein. the public thinks that driver is recovering from injuries but he is in fact dead. However, as frankenstein wore a mask anyone can do the same, even Jensen. He is supported by a crackerjack team of grease monkeys which includes Coach, who presumably could have left the joint but knows there’s nothing on the outside for him. He explains the intricacies of the race, including the roadway circles designating whether roadblocks will pop up in front of the cars as well as what weapons are triggered for the drivers and their female convict navigators to employ against their competitors. there are three stages to the race over three days. obviously competitors are eliminated along the way. Jensen’s navigator is Case, who was the previous frankenstein’s navigator until she recognized he wasn’t going to finish in one piece and ejected herself into the air and parachuted to ground. the race begins. during stage 1, Grimm is pulverized. Afterward, because he suspects foul play by the authorities, Jensen tells Hennessey he won’t participate in stage 2. she shows him pictures of his baby, due to become the child of other parents. if he wins this race, which would be #5 for frankenstein, he wins release. that night, after learning from the monitor on his wrist that Pachenko murdered his wife, Jensen tries to kills him but is deterred when Ulrich incapacitates him with a stun gun. stage 2: Jensen gets his revenge on Pachenko, driving him to ground and then breaking his neck. back in the race, the drivers discover what Hennessey has been hiding the dreadnought, a monster truck equipped

not only with machine guns but flame throwers. Jensen and Machine Gun Joe team up, trip a roadblock and watch from their rearview mirrors as the truck crashes and goes up in flames. Hennessey is not pleased. “that’s entertainment,” Coach says to himself. that night Machine Gun Joe accosts Jensen and in their conversation seems to suggest that there is no frankenstein. stage 3: Ulrich places a bomb under Jensen’s car. Hennessey presents Jensen with signed papers for his release if he survives and wins. but, she theorizes, he might be better served to remain on terminal island. Perhaps he’s not daddy material. the race begins with only Jensen and Machine Gun Joe the participants. As they speed along it becomes clear that something has been agreed upon. Machine Gun Joe launches missiles at a building wall and both cars break through and off the track, heading for the causeway. Hennessey sends up helicopters but only manages to corner the frankenstein car. but it’s Case in frankenstein’s outfit who emerges, hands up. she’d told Jensen her release papers had already been signed. in spite of the outcome, the tV audience ate up the race, and Ulrich brings a box to Hennessey’s office, saying the accolades are already pouring in. the bomb Ulrich had placed under Jensen’s car is in the box and Coach detonates it. “damn,” he says. “i love this game.” six Months and 2000 Miles Later, santa rosalia—Mexico: Case arrives to find Machine Gun Joe and Jensen fixing cars. Jensen has his baby. Reviews: Wired.com said it was no masterpiece but got “the job done as a dark, eye-gouging revision of the campy cult classic.” (Lewis Wallace, www.wired.com, August 22, 2008); Deep Focus Review complained about many things, from its cheap videogame origins to the degradation of women characters. What was Joan Allen doing here? (brian eggert, www.deepfocusreview, August 23, 2008). Analysis: don’t look too deep or you’ll find problems, e.g., Case had her release papers, yes, but does anyone think that facilitating Jensen’s escape would nullify that action? Warden Hennessey must have had plenty of time on her hands to learn about Jensen’s racing experience and release the convict Pachenko to kill his wife and frame Jensen. that beggars belief. nevertheless, it’s an action film for an undiscriminating action-film crowd. especially fulfilling is Jensen’s dismantling of Pachenko in the garage, where he smashes everything at hand onto him.

deAtH tAKes A HoLidAY (Paramount, 1934; 79 min.) ★★★

Death Takes a Holiday

Produced by emanuel Cohen, e. Lloyd sheldon. directed by Mitchell Leisen. screenplay by Maxwell Anderson, Gladys Lehman. based on the play by Alberto Cassella. english Adaptation by Walter ferris. director of Photography, Charles Lang. technical effects, Gordon Jennings. Cast: death/Prince sirki (fredric March), Grazia (evelyn Vena ble), duke Lambert de Catolica (sir Guy standing), Alda, Countess di Parma (Katherine Alexander), rhoda fenton (Gail Patrick), duchess stephanie (Helen Westler), Princess Maria (Kathleen Howard), Corrado de Catolica (Kent taylor), baron Cesaria (Henry travers), eric (G.P. Huntley, Jr.), fedele (otto Hoffmann). Synopsis: After enjoying themselves at a village festival, the duke and his entourage drive home. on the way Grazia senses a darkness following the speeding car. this blackness envelops the second car,

Meet Joe Black • 69 which clips a wagon, tossing the owner into the road. He and his donkey are unhurt, however. At the Villa felicitá, the duke’s son Corrado beseeches Grazia to announce their engagement and marriage. she says she loves him but there’s something out there she must find. shortly thereafter a scream from the fountain area reveals that Grazia has collapsed. Carried inside, she says something cold and terrible accosted her: a shadow the moon shone through. Later that evening the duke is visited by a black-shrouded specter that reveals that he is the point of contact between eternity and time: death. He desires to spend a three-day holiday there to observe and be part of humanity. He must be welcomed, his wishes granted. He will not be a menace. there is one condition: he must be treated as a mortal and no one is to show fear. “not afraid!” he demands. the duke tells the specter that another friend has yet to arrive, Prince sirki. death reveals that this nobleman will not arrive in this life and that he will take on that guise. When he leaves he is shot at, but the duke tells his guests it might have been Prince sirki’s messenger and urges them not to become upset when the nobleman arrives. in his earthly guise, the newcomer charms Alda and rhoda, but upon taking the stairs to his suite passes Grazia, who seems to enchant him. next morning he attends her in the garden before accompanying the duke’s guests to auto and horse races, ensuring the crashes and spills do not result in deaths. out in the wider world, passengers survive shipwrecks and fires. death is not on duty. At the casino the Prince wins big and afterward speaks with Cesaria about war and love. Later he is accosted by the flirtatious rhoda and kisses her. she exits in a huff after determining that the Prince is merely analyzing her. during the last night of the Prince’s visit, Alda reveals she’s been waiting for someone like him. His protest elicits only, “try me.” He makes her look into his eyes to see the real being. she becomes hysterical, calls for eric, and warns the others. the duke tells his guests, especially Corrado, not to antagonize their visitor. Meeting Grazia on the patio, Prince sirki confirms feelings of love. they dance until Corrado interrupts them. taking him to the side, Grazia gently, lovingly rebuffs him, rejoins Prince sirki and calls him, “My love, my love.” the Prince explains himself to the duke and his family. Her mother and Corrado plea for Grazia’s life. the response: “one lover must always lose.” Grazia appears and says, “i must stay with him always.” He tries to dissuade her, telling her he had meant this visit only as a jest. she realizes it became something more. Prince sirki reverts to his shroud as time runs out on his holiday. Grazia tells him she’s always seen him as he really is. He responds, “then there is a love which casts out fear, and i have found it, and love is greater than illusion, and as strong as death!” Grazia accompanies death into his kingdom. Reviews: the New York Times praised director Leisen and called it “an impressive picture, each scene of which calls for close attention.” (Mordaunt Hall, New York Times, february 24, 1934); Leslie Halliwell found it of some interest but a bit pretentious and rather slow for contemporary audiences (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 183). in his seminal and often harshly critical An Illustrated History of the Horror Film (new York: G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1967, pp. 86–87), Carlos Clarens considered it bereft of “a definite dramatic stance; it is superficial, fashionable, and theatrical….” it “founders between the conventions of romanticism and those of old-fashioned circuit theatrics.” Analysis: While it probably would be considered a smidgen stagey by today’s standards—and certainly by post–baby boom audiences with no familiarity with or interest in early sound, black and white, cinema—Death Takes a Holiday contains much to appreciate, from the menacing darkness following the racing cars to the sly sense of

humor that begins to permeate the film when Prince sirki arrives and comments on humanity’s weird rites and foibles (Perhaps the duke’s grand salon—certainly among the cinema’s most grandiose parlors— is a commentary on excess). this contrasts well with his occasional rages when he feels slighted. in this version of the story, more women vie for Prince sirki’s attentions and the duke has no health issues. it is of course only half as long as 1998’s Meet Joe Black.

(Universal, 1998; 178 min.) ★★½

Meet Joe Black

Produced and directed by Martin brest. screenplay by ron osborn, Jeff reno, Kevin Wade, bo Goldman. suggested by the Play “death takes a Holiday” Written by Alberto Cassella and Adapted by Walter ferris and the Motion Picture screenplay by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman. edited by Joe Hutshing, Michael tronick. director of Photography, emmanuel Lubezki. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by thomas newman. Production design, dante ferretti. Art direction, robert Guerra. set decoration, Leslie bloom. Costumes by Aude bronson-Howard, david C. robinson. Cast: Joe black/Young Man in Coffee shop/death (brad Pitt), bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), susan Parrish (Claire forlani), drew ( Jake Weber), Allison Parrish (Marcia Gay Harden), Quince ( Jeffrey tambor), eddie sloan (david s. Howard), Jamaican woman (Lois Kelly-Miller). Synopsis: As Allison prepares his 65th birthday extravaganza, her media mogul father bill Parrish has a physical breakdown after hearing a voice say “Yes.” recovering, bill joins his younger daughter susan, Allison’s husband Quince, and young board member drew for a helicopter ride into new York City. While bill conducts a board meeting, susan strikes up a conversation in a coffee shop with a handsome and engaging young man. she remembers her father’s statement that lightning might strike. this was in reference to what he doesn’t perceive between her and drew: fire and excitement. After his meeting, bill drops to his knees after again hearing “Yes” and “Yes is the answer to your question.” Leaving the coffee shop, susan fails to see the young man struck by two cars. recovering, bill senses someone at the front door and enters the library, meeting a handsome young man looking exactly like the fellow susan chanced upon in the coffee shop. the visitor says, “i want to have a look around before i take you.” bill finally asks, “You’re death?” this is affirmed. He took the body of the man in the coffee shop and now invites himself to dinner. susan arrives last and is astounded to see “Joe black” at the table. Later, Joe finds susan at the pool and tells her he has a certain function to perform and there’s no room for much else. bill introduces Joe to the board of directors, informing drew in particular that the merger is off. His company is not for sale. When he and Joe leave, drew wonders with exasperation, “Who is that guy?” Joe flummoxes susan by visiting her at the hospital where she’s interning. they are interrupted by a woman seeking care for her aged relative in a wheelchair. While susan has the young woman fill out paperwork, Joe converses in Caribbean island lingo with the older woman, who realizes he is death. After her initial fright, she implores him to help ease her pain. He reluctantly agrees and she smiles. bill asks his children to come to dinner again and again. After one of the meals, susan asks Joe to kiss her, which he awkwardly does. Jake convenes a secret board meeting to inform the members that bill’s decision to nix the merger means dire consequences in this modern world. summoned by the board, bill learns that at drew’s urging they have invoked Article 19 of the corporate charter.

70 • Divergent He’s to be forcibly retired. bill is followed by Quince and eddie, who says they can reverse the situation. susan meets Joe at the pool and seduces him. Later, from the stairs, bill spots them in the hall, obviously on excellent terms. After susan leaves, bill lashes out at Joe, who admonishes him to be careful. Visiting the hospital with flowers, Joe learns that susan isn’t on yet and gives the bouquet to the Jamaican woman and accedes to her request for permanent relief. back at bill’s, Joe tells his host they’ll leave after the party. Allison and her father come to a heartfelt understanding. she doesn’t care that susan is his favorite. He’s a good man everybody loves. they embrace. Quince tells Joe of his culpability in assisting drew convince the board of a merger necessity. Joe tells him to come clean with bill, he’ll forgive him. He’s right. bill confronts Joe and tells him he’s stealing susan. Joe says he will have her. bill tells him to reveal himself to her and let the chips fall where they may. Joe goes to susan. “You’re someone else,” she concludes. He says, “susan, thank you for loving me.” Joe tells drew they know he’s a mole. He has been doing like work. He’s from the internal revenue service and has been investigating him. this intimidates drew, who agrees to tell the board that the merger is off. bill dances with susan and tells her not to worry about what might happen. He has no regrets. during the fireworks, bill joins Joe and they walk off through the gardens. susan follows, stopping when Joe returns, now much like the fellow in the coffee shop. “What do we do now,” susan asks. “it’ll come to us,” replies the man. they turn and hand in hand walk toward the fireworks. Reviews: the New York Times termed it a “somnolent, emotionfree weepie,…” it was “so long that every character regrettably wears out his or her welcome.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, november 13, 1998); roger ebert thought it contained some very good elements, “and a lot of other elements besides.” it was “a meditation on the screen presence of brad Pitt.” Hopkins, forlani, Harden, and especially tambor were up to the task. nevertheless, to the film’s detriment the ending was full of “farewells, reflections, confessions, reassurances, reconciliations, partings and surprises.” (www.rogerebert. com, november 13, 1998). Analysis: it is romance writ large, but is this the only major theatrical film that could become better, possibly excellent, by excising a whole hour (out of an astounding three)? Many episodes and conversations are interminable. nevertheless, it has it’s moments, e.g., the peanut butter scene, Jake’s “Who is that guy?,” susan’s mystification at finding Joe at the dinner table (Wait for it, wait for it!), bill seeing and listening to death through the frosted glass in the library, Joe soothing the island woman in her own language, Joe needing bill’s assistance with a tie, “death and taxes.” the performers are uniformly believable in their roles. An actor of Hopkins’ gravitas holds it all together. thomas newman’s score is a huge plus.

diVerGent this series is based on Veronica roth’s popular young adult novels set in a dystopian Chicago: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012) and Allegiant (2013).

Divergent

(Lionsgate/summit entertainment/red Wagon entertainment, 2014; 139 min.) ★★½

Produced by douglas Wick, Lucy fisher, Pouya shabazian. directed by neil burger. screenplay by evan daugherty, Vanessa tay-

lor. based on the novel by Veronica roth. edited by richard francisbruce. director of Photography, Alwin H. Kuchler. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Junkie XL. Production design, Andy nicholson. Art direction, Andrew Max Cahn, Chris Cleek, A. todd Holland. set decoration, Anne Kuljian. Costumes by Carlo Poggioli. Visual effects by scanline VfX, soho Vfs, and Wormstyle. Cast: beatrice Prior (shailene Woodley), four (theo James), Jeanine (Kate Winslet), natalie (Ashley Judd), eric ( Jai Courtney), Marcus (ray stevenson), Christina (Zoë Kravitz), Peter (Miles teller), Andrew (tony Goldwyn), tori (Maggie Q), Caleb (Ansel elgort), Max (Mekhi Phifer), Will (ben Lloyd-Hughes), Al (Christian Madsen), Molly (Amy newbold). Synopsis: A hundred years after a devastating war, Chicago is insulated from the surrounding world by a monolithic concrete and steel fence. respectable citizens of the semi-rundown metropolis belong to one of five factions: erudite, Amity, Candor, dauntless, and Abnegation. the factionless become so by choice or accident. And then there are the outcasts called divergent. beatrice “tris” Prior and her brother Caleb are expected to joint their parents natalie and Andrew in Abnegation at the time of choosing. tris, however, has second thoughts only heightened when a pre-choosing test gives her options: Abnegation, erudite or dauntless. At the Choosing Ceremony, she selects dauntless, the protectors of the citizenry, and begins a 10-week course of basic training in martial arts and weaponry after being the first of her initiates to take the plunge from a rooftop onto an unseen net many floors below. the instructors are rough, especially eric, but four gives her tips on fighting and surviving. tris meets tori, who’d given her the Choosing pre-test and this time provides tris the birds tattoo she wants. the initiates are taken to the remote edge of the city, to the wall on the other side of with the Amity faction grows and harvests for the body politic. back in the Pit, Jeanine, a mature woman who seems intent on overturning erudite as the ruling faction, congratulates tris on her decision to join dauntless. However, for every step up, she is thrown back and falls below the line that will have her graduate into the next round. eric, in fact, lets it be known that she’s out. but, dauntless in her soul, she runs for the train taking the initiates to the war games and is helped aboard by four. the games are akin to “capture the flag” and two teams, battle each other with neuro-stem dart guns. tris leads four up the ferris wheel, eric is immobilized, and tris captures the flag. tris makes the second round. While loading trucks, she is signaled by her mother, who tells her she’s in danger. she knows tris is actually divergent. the next step in tris’ initiation is injection with a serum that will produce mental images four can observe. she will face her worst fears. four advises her to slow her heart rate and be brave. in her “dream,” she’s beyond the wall, surrounded by a swirling mass of birds, is stuck in a morass, and dives down into water to escape. she finds herself in a glass box being filled with water but she breaks the glass with her finger. four doesn’t believe her when she says her aptitude test indicated Abnegation and tells her dauntless members do not break glass like that. tris finds her brother, who tells her she can’t go back to Abnegation and believes that erudite should be in charge. Jeanine tells tris her human nature is the enemy. she wants to count on tris to enforce the law. back at dauntless headquarters, tris is attacked and but for the help of four would have been thrown into a crevice. next day she tells four that erudite is planning to overthrow Abnegation. four connects himself to tris to help her seem dauntless in the next serum test. Afterward they kiss. “i don’t want to go too fast,” she says. next day he shows her erudite loading computers and cognitive transmitters that will be used to create an army. final testing arrives and tris passes. she and the other initiates

Insurgent • 71 are injected but tris doesn’t become a mindless drone like the rest. on the train, tris discovers that four has also sloughed off the effects of the injection. they are offloaded at Abnegation housing, where the residents are rousted out by the gun-toting dauntless drones. there’s no one at tris’ house. eric, suspicious of four, is instrumental in capturing him and tris. Jeanine tells tris they will create a lasting peace while instructing her minions to get rid of tris, who is separated from four. About to be shot, tris is rescued by her pistol-wielding mother. she realizes Mom was once dauntless. during their run, natalie is killed. tris finds other Abnegation members, including her dad and Caleb. she says she must infiltrate dauntless headquarters and wake the initiates. she, her dad and several others take the train, jump to the rooftop and then down onto the net. Her dad is killed but tris finds the control room and releases four. He attacks her, however, and she’s caught again by Jeanine’s crew. four is directed to kill her, but she won’t shoot him and he can’t shoot her. Jeanine tries to have all Abnegation families killed, but tris pins her hand to a monitor with a knife, injects her and makes her shut down and wipe the mind-control program. dauntless lowers their weapons. Jeanine recovers, attacks tris but is knocked out. on a train heading to the wall, tris tells four her parents are dead, that now they have nothing, no home, no faction, that she doesn’t know who she is anymore. Reviews: Rolling Stone considered it a faithful rendering of the book but so flat it “couldn’t stir palpitations in shutins.” the movie “ignites only indifference.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, March 20, 2014); the News Journal thought it was “a big, clunky slog of a movie, desperate to cash in as a successor to ‘the Hunger Games’ as a franchise….” shailene Woodley was the best component (bill Goodykoontz/ Gannett news service, News Journal [Wilmington, de], March 21, 2014, p. 3); Time found this post-apocalyptic saga so very familiar and better executed in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. it seemed to come from “a young-adult novel action-movie template.” (Mike ryan, Time, March 31, 2014, p. 58); People praised the chemistry between Woodley and James, and it was “a solid substitute” for those requiring a Hunger Games fix (Alynda Wheat, People, March 31, 2014, p. 39). Analysis: What hath Twilight bequeathed? A spate of postapocalyptic—or nowadays dystopian—sagas at the core of which is a teenage girl (sometimes boy; see The Maze Runner and The Giver) at war with herself and her society. think The Hunger Games, of course. As for its post-holocaust environment, check out Logan’s Run (1976) for comparison. Walled off from a presumed-world of—gods and monsters—the main character(s) eventually break free and investigates that secret world. And a good thing, too. A mysterious wilderness is always more attractive and suspense-creating than a megalopolis. eventually the character is educated about the larger world, triumphs and begins to create a new, more human or humane society. Another comparison with Twilight is the interjection on the soundtrack of songs at moments significant for the heroine’s evolution, but it becomes cliché. it seems increasingly contrived to show tris’ longing for and achievement of freedom, e.g., the ride on the wire across the city, skirting or going through skyscrapers. A minor gripe: like many movies with multiple significant characters, it’s difficult to know who is who unless they clearly are called by name, and often this does not occur. tris and her chums put themselves at risk too much, as when she runs into the open ahead of her mother and of course is spotted

Divergent poster art (Summit Entertainment, 2014).

by pursuers. she is caught too often, and like a James bond movie receives the dope on what exactly is going on from the villain, here Kate Winslet. it’s as if the audience is too dumb to have understood by then what was up erudite’s sleeve. some scenes are too long when they should be bang-bang.

Insurgent

(Lionsgate/red Wagon entertainment/summit entertainment, 2015; 119 min.) ★★

Produced by douglas Wick, Lucy fisher, Pouya shahbazian,. directed by robert schwentke. screenplay by brian duffield, Akiva Goldsman, Mark bomback. based on the novel by Veronica roth. edited by stuart Levy, nancy richardson. director of Photography, florian ballhaus. technicolor. Music by Joseph trapanese. Production design, Alec Hammond. Art direction, Jay Pelissier, Michael H. Ward. set decoration, Kathy Lucas. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. Visual effects by Luma Pictures, Animal Logic VfX, Method studios, iola/ VfX, Crafty Apes, Capital t.

72 • Allegiant Cast: beatrice Prior (shailene Woodley), four (theo James), Peter (Miles teller), eric ( Jai Courtney), evelyn (naomi Watts), Caleb (Ansel elgort), Jeanine (Kate Winslet), Christina (Zoë Kravitz), tori (Maggie Q), Marcus (ray stevenson), edgar ( Jonny Weston), Johanna (octavia spencer), Max (Mekhi Phifer), Lynn (rosa salazar), Marlene (suki Waterhouse), Jack Kang (daniel dai Kim), Hector (emjay Anthony), factionless Army (robert dane Goodwin), edward (ben Lamb). Synopsis: Having broken the bonds of the city, the divergents tris, four, Caleb and Peter are given sanctuary by Amity residents. but when Peter starts a fight with four and tris, Johanna tells them they have one day to leave. before they can pack up, the compound is invaded by security personnel sent by Jeanine, who has obtained the strange box that only a divergent like these four can open and reveal the secrets of the founders. Led by eric who is alerted by Peter, dauntless soldiers chase tris, four and Caleb through forest and field until the divergents clamber onto a train headed for a city. inside the car are factionless members who demand that the new arrivals leave. After a vicious fight and standoff, four reveals that his name is tobias eaton. this revelation calms their adversaries who’ve been looking for him. Jumping from the train as they reach the city, the divergents are taken to evelyn, tobias’ mother who’d left her abusive husband. four/tobias never got over it and wants nothing to do with evelyn. He, tris and Caleb head into the city center, but Caleb leaves after complaining that he’s not made for a revolution. tris and four are captured by Candor and brought before Jack Kang, who is talked into giving them a trial then and there as opposed to what tris says would be a kangaroo court with erudite and Jeanine. four and tris are given a truth serum. both pass but tris admits to having killed Will in selfdefense, thus appalling Christina, one of the dauntless members residing with Candor. during the night, eric and his dauntless compatriots attack Candor, grab tris and discover that her divergence quotient is 100%. Jeanine was right. but eric is shot down in an ambush by four and his men. now working for Jeanine, Peter provides the ruthless erudite leader with insight into tris’ character. A sim serum promoting their own suicide has already been given to various dauntless members who act robotically and announce that tris must be turned over to erudite lest more die. one of the three does fall to her death. that night, after making love with four, tris heads for erudite. Placed in the room with the founders box and attached to cables that have killed other divergents, tris finds herself with her mother, flying over the city, then with four. Apparently dying, she is rolled away only to awaken as Peter helps four escape his cell. Peter changes the security clearance so that four can break into the room with the founders box. tris opens it and sees a simulation of one of the founders, who tells them that the people in the city are the experiment and that the divergents are the true voice of humanity. now that the box has been opened, it is time for all to leave the city and return to humanity. Jeanine tries to have four and tris executed and the box buried but armed factionless members turn the tables. the populace also sees the founder and hears her message and begin streaming toward the wall and a new life beyond. As Jeanine stares from her cell, evelyn approaches from behind, tells Jeanine she will never know what’s out there, and shoots her in the head. Reviews: the News Journal commended the leads but complained that this and its predecessor were “content to eke out a rigid, lifeless fable in drab futuristic environs.” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], March 20, 2015, p. Hr3); Rolling Stone appreciated the upsurge in action and a new spark in the acting but that in its attempt to rival The Hunger Games it never

lost “the stale odor of the also-ran.” (Rolling Stone, April 9, 2015, p. 61). Analysis: this is one of those films in which the characters often speak in such low tones you can’t, for instance, decide if they said yes or no in a particular situation. there are several exposition (if you can hear it) interludes that slow the story to a crawl. As with other futuristic films, the novels are probably better at creating what on film often looks like someplace you’d rather not visit for one second and also make it seem more believable. naomi Watts is virtually unrecognizable in dark hair. special effects are frequently impressive. it’s another of the subgenre that can be termed “movies with skyscrapers with holes in them.” especially noteworthy is the dry and green Chicago river, with thousands of people streaming along to the wall and the other humanity.

Allegiant

(aka The Divergent Series: Allegiant; Lionsgate/red Wagon entertainment, 2016; 121 min.) ★★½

Produced by Lucy fisher, Pouya shahbazian, douglas Wick. directed by robert schwentke. screenplay by Veronica roth, Adam Cooper, bill Collage. based on the novel by Veronica roth. edited by stuart Levy. director of Photography, florian ballhaus. color. Music by Joseph trapanese. Production design, Alec Hammond. Art direction, scott dougan, Alex McCarroll. set decoration, Kathy Lucas. Costumes by Marlene stewart. Visual effects by Animal Logic VfX, bUf, rodeo fX, Method studios, Luma Pictures, soHo VfX, Crafty Apes, lola/VfX, fusion Ci studios. Cast: tris (shailene Woodley), four (theo James), Peter (Miles teller), Christina (Zoë Kravitz), evelyn (naomi Watts), tori (Maggie Q), Caleb Prior (Ansel elgort), david ( Jeff daniels), Johanna (octavia spencer), Matthew (bill skarsgård), Hollis ( Joseph davidJones), edgar ( Jonny Weston), romit (Andy bean), nita (nadia Hilker), Jack Kang (daniel dae Kim), Marcus (ray stevenson), sarah (rebecca Pidgeon), natalie (Ashley Judd), Max (Mekhi Phifer), Synopsis: As the newly factionless citizens of Chicago approach the surrounding wall, they are blocked by order of evelyn. it’s not wise to venture into the unknown. in the city, as tris watches, Max, one of the late Jeanine’s soldiers, is given a truth serum and admits to murdering citizens. He is executed by pistol. tris sends four to extract her traitorous brother Caleb from his cell, which raises suspicions with the guard. but tris, four, Caleb, tori, and Christina manage to break through evelyn’s roadblock and make the wall. shooting grappling hooks to the top, they are initially foiled by the electrified fence, but tris rappels back down and sets an explosive device on a generator truck, detonating it as pursuing vehicles arrive. to tris’s grief, tori is shot and killed atop the wall. the others rappel down into what is soon a forbidding landscape of red-hued water and sand. it might be radioactive. they encounter an invisible wall but are let through on orders by david, head of the bureau of Genetic Welfare. At his enclave at what was once the Chicago airport, he tells tris she is “pure,” the others are damaged. He and his cohorts created Chicago to restore humanity. His organization needs to read tris’ code to help improve everyone. He says they will eventually visit the Council. in the meantime, four chaffs while Peter and Caleb learn to use view screens to keep tabs on what’s going on in Chicago. evelyn is in conflict with Johanna, and war between the two is imminent. four demands to accompany romit and nita on a mission to the fringe, which to four’s and Christina’s displeasure involves kidnapping children from this impure community. tris finally gets to accompany david to the

Mary Reilly • 73 Council at Providence, another mecca of green on the blasted heath. tris is uneasy with the Council’s plans. back at david’s enclave, she, Caleb and Christina take david’s aircar and escape. Meanwhile, four is helped by Matthew to elude romit, who was obviously going to kill him. four treks toward Chicago with a card that allows him to get through the force field. Matthew tells tris that four left him behind, which four told him would indicate to her that such was not true and that four was okay. tris, Christina and Caleb enter Chicago even as Peter, assigned by david to muck up things, shows evelyn how she can use a gas to make memories disappear. in a secure cell, evelyn listens to tris and four argue that she must reverse it. tris thinks she can stop it another way but is shadowed by the voice and image of david, telling her she has no chance. Peter shoots and wounds evelyn even as the gas is released into the city. Caleb returns to help, and tris succeeds in reversing the gas. out in no man’s land, Peter rants to the world at large about his deal with david and watches as a pod flies by and crashes into the force field. back in Chicago, peace is restored and tris sends an optimistic message to the inhabitants. Chicago is theirs now; there will be no more manipulation, no more fracturing of the populace. standing behind her but unseen is david’s image. Reviews: ign.com considered the story “abysmal,…” with characters who “are mouthbreathing idiots.” (Max nicholson, www.ign.com, March 16, 2016); the New York Times rated it “A flaccid blend of eugenics, purloined children, memory-wiping gas and laughably unlikely scuffles,…” Woodley and spencer seemed detached ( Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, March 17, 2016); The News Journal complained that this entry was, as is Hollywood’s wont, a weak bridge between Insurgent and the real finale next year (bill Goodykoontz, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], March 18, 2016, p. 3Hr). Analysis: As with Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games, roth’s third book was split into two to make more money. The Divergent Series: Ascendant is scheduled for a 2017 release, but there has been talk of turning it into a kind of tV movie! After the poor reviews and less than sterling grosses for Allegiant, the studio seemed to have lost confidence in theatrical success for Ascendant. one wonders if the executives have had reservations about splitting the final book into two movies as Allegiant underperformed on its opening weekend. several inconsistencies: despite being shot, naomi Watts’ character is up and stumbling out the door with very little assistance. the red gas seems to have enveloped much of the city but not to have caused lasting damage, i.e., erased memories, before being retracted.

dr . JeKYLL And Mr . HYde see Volume i for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951), Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), The Nutty Professor (1963), The Mind Benders (1963), I, Monster (1970), Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1975), Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980), Altered States (1980), Dr. Jekyll’s Dungeon of Death (1982), Jekyll and Hyde … Together Again (1982).

(tristar, 1996; 118 min.) ★★★

Mary Reilly

Produced by ned tanen, nancy Graham tanen, norma Heyman. directed by stephen frears. screenplay by Christopher Hampton. based on the novel by Valeria Martin. edited by Lesley Walker.

director of Photography, Philippe rousselot. Color by technicolor. Music by George fenton. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Michael Lamont, Jim Morahan. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes, Consolata boyle. transformation effects by Animated extras, the Computer film Company, Jim Henson’s Creature shop, Peerless Camera Company. Cast: Mary reilly ( Julia roberts), dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde ( John Malkovich), Poole (George Cole), Mrs. Kent (Kathy staff), Mr. reilly (Michael Gambon), Mrs. farraday (Glenn Close), Annie (bronagh Gallagher), bradshaw (Michael sheen), sir danvers Carew (Ciarán Hinds), Haffinger (Henry Goodman). Synopsis: dr. Henry Jekyll’s new housemaid Mary reilly learns that her mysterious employer had conducted many lectures on the premises and is now consumed by private experiments in his basement laboratory. Henry has his own concerns about Mary: the scars from bite marks on her hands and neck. she reveals that as a child her abusive father locked her in a closet with a rat in a sack. Her conclusion that joblessness and drink released some other person inside her father interests Henry. He gives Mary a note for Mrs. farrady that requires a mere Yes or no reply. Mrs. farrady is a madam, and she agrees to provide lodging for Henry’s thus far unseen assistant. by night, Mary investigates her employer’s laboratory, hoping to catch sight of the assistant. she is caught in the act but not reproached. Presently, Mary meets the disturbing Mr. Hyde and accompanies him to a slaughterhouse to obtain entrails for research. Mary is sent to Mrs. faraday’s again, this time to view a room of bloody bedclothes. Mrs. faraday wants more from Henry to keep mum about whatever crime the mysterious Mr. Hyde committed. Unknown to Mary, Mrs. faraday comes to Jekyll’s lab and is killed by Hyde. on her way to make arrangements for her mother’s funeral, Mary is accosted and kissed by Hyde. back at her employer’s, she finds the police interrogating the staff about the gruesome murder of sir danvers Carew. she admits of no suspicions but recognizes the broken walking stick that was apparently used on sir danvers. Hyde reveals that he and Jekyll are one and the same via Jekyll’s potion. Jekyll sends Poole to the chemist to analyze a vial. in the lab, Hyde injects himself with the antidote and his other body attempts to break free. the resultant Jekyll crawls onto the operating table, upon which Mary reclines with him after he dies. Later, preparing to leave, she looks at the body, which seems to have transformed once more into Hyde. Reviews: the New York Times thought “Mr. Malkovich’s insinuating presence gives the film an eroticism it otherwise lacks.” roberts appeared “sheltered and maidenly as only a high-priced movie queen can,…” and provided “a solemnly repetitive performance without much spark.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, february 23, 1996, p. C18); roger ebert thought it worked because it understood Gothic melodrama. on the other hand, the protagonist “is a threat primarily to himself (and to victims we care little about).” Malkovich and roberts acquitted themselves well (www.rogerebert.com, february 23, 1996). Analysis: it is atmospheric and moody with several horrific episodes: the sacked rodent, the murder of sir danvers, Mary’s discovery of her mother’s sitting body in a cupboard much like that in which her father had tormented her, the transformation scene near the end. it is interesting to see Ciarán Hinds as a relative youth and trace his career arc into the powerful, unscrupulous head of an extra governmental organization in Race to Witch Mountain, Caesar in the Hbo series Rome, the troubled sam daily in The Woman in Black, the wildling leader Mance rayder in Hbo’s Games of Thrones. His was the voice of Pabbie in Frozen.

74 • The Nutty Professor

(Universal/imagine entertainment, 1996; 95 min.) ★★½

The Nutty Professor

Produced by brian Graser, russell simmons. directed by tom shadyac. screenplay by david sheffield, barry W. blaustein, tom shadyac, steve oedekerk. based on the Motion Picture Written by Jerry Lewis and bill richmond. edited by don Zimmerman. director of Photography, Julio Macat. Color by deluxe. Music by david newman. Production design, William elliott. Art direction, Greg Papalia. set decoration, Kathryn Peters. Costumes by Ha nguyen. special Makeup effects by rick baker. special Visual effects by the Computer film Company, inc., Light Matters inc., rhythm & Hues studios, Gravity. Cast: sherman Klump/buddy Love/Lance Perkins/Papa Klump/ Mama Klump/Grandma Klump (eddie Murphy), Carla Purty ( Jada Pinkett), dean richmond (Larry Miller), reggie Warrington (dave Chappelle), Harlan Hartley ( James Coburn), Jason ( John Ales). Synopsis: Wellman College is sent into an uproar and dean richmond furious when thousands of hamsters escape from Professor sherman Klump’s lab. As much as he’d like to rid himself of sherman, whose activities have consistently caused wealthy donors to defer their contributions, richmond has Harlan Hartley on tap for a $10 million dollar gift and harangues sherman to ensure that particular donation comes through. sherman has developed a formula for reconstructing human dnA, or at least that’s the goal. A hamster on the formula has shown excellent results losing weight. new chemistry graduate student and teacher Carla Purty introduces herself to sherman, and he is smitten. even with his enormous weight, sherman summons the courage to ask her for a date. she’s only too happy to take him up on his offer and accompanies him to the scream where to Carla’s chagrin, comic reggie Warrington makes fun of sherman’s appearance. deciding to become a guinea pig himself, sherman downs some of his formula and becomes thin and outgoing. this “buddy Love,” as sherman calls himself, intrigues Carla and they return to the scream. this time it’s reggie who finds himself taken down a peg by buddy, who ends up tossing him into the piano. to his shock and distress, sherman’s assistant Jason discovers what’s going on. At the ritz, buddy convinces Harlan that his serum will revolutionize human dnA. buddy outrages Carla when she finds him having spent the night with three women. buddy as sherman tries to destroy the serum but buddy had hidden some in his diet shakes. it is buddy at the alumni ball who demonstrates how the serum works. in the lab, Jason notices that the testosterone levels in the serum are astronomically high and rushes to the ball. buddy fends him off, but sherman fights his way to the fore and explains to the crowd that he thought buddy was a good person to be, that everyone admired buddy. He knows now he was wrong and must accept the fact that although he can lose some weight, he’s always going to be a big man. Carla chases after him and brings him back to the tent and they dance as Harlan gives dean richmond the check and recognizes sherman’s genius. Reviews: the New York Times found Murphy very compelling and believable both as the overweight Klump and the “thin, loud and nasty alter ego named buddy Love.” that second character owed something to Jim Carrey’s manic performance in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, from the same director ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, June 28, 1996, p. C5); The Washington Post called it “an uneven but hilarious remake… ” even with the smutty jokes, and Murphy “brings a tenderness and dignity to the performance that he has never shown before.” (rita Kempley, Washington Post, June 28, 1996). Analysis: this is a remake of the excellent 1963 Jerry Lewis film

of the same title with the immortal tagline: “Please do not reveal the Middle of this Picture.” Murphy is excellent, particularly as sherman. He’s not an absent-minded professor, or at least not in the same league as robin Williams in Flubber. the movie moves briskly along. the negative aspect is the over-reliance on toilet humor. it is curious that the language didn’t elicit an r rating. it’s PG-13. it won an Academy Award for best Makeup, 1996. the Wellman campus was actually UCLA, Westwood. (Universal/imagine entertainment, 2000; 106 min.) ★★

Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps

Produced by brian Grazer. directed by Peter segal. screenplay by barry W. blaustein, david sheffield, Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz. story by steve oedekerk, barry W. blaustein, david sheffield. edited by William Kerr. director of Photography, dean semler. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by david newman. Production design, William elliott. Art direction, Greg Papalia. set decoration, John Anderson. Costumes by sharen davis. special Makeup effects, rick baker. Animatronic Hamster Puppets Created by Alec Gillis and tom Woodruff, Jr., Amalgamated dynamics, inc.. special Visual effects by double negative, syd dutton and bill taylor, illusion Arts, inc. digital Visual effects by C.o.r.e. digital Pictures. Cast: sherman Klump/buddy Love/Granny Klump/Mama Klump/ Papa Klump/Young Papa Klump/ernie Klump/Lance Perkins (eddie Murphy), denise Gaines ( Janet Jackson), dean richmond (Larry Miller), Jason ( John Ales), Mr. Gaines (richard Gant), Mrs. Gaines (Anna Maria Horsford), Leanne Guilford (Melinda McGraw), ernie Klump, Jr. ( Jamal Mixon), Chantal (Wanda sykes), Claudine (freda Payne), bright student (nikki Cox), Willie (sylvester Jenkins), Zeke (ralph drischell), nosy neighbor (Kathleen freeman). Synopsis: Professor sherman Klump remains haunted if not possessed by his alter ego, buddy Love. He talks to a therapist after dreams of a wedding to colleague denise Gray is scuttled by buddy. sherman is thwarted in real time when asking for denise’s hand in marriage by residual buddy effects. He decides to take drastic action, goes to his lab and rather than ingesting his formula, uses gene extraction to hopefully remove the buddy bug from his body. His assistant Jason finds him on the floor and tells him how dangerous this act was, but sherman now has the courage to propose to denise and she accepts. Jason takes buster the basset to the lab, where out of Jason’s sight and hearing the dog breaks a beaker labeled “Abnormal Gene extraction.” A strand of buster’s hair floats onto the glistening liquid and a hand rises. dean richmond tells sherman and denise that Phleer Pharmaceuticals has proposed a $150,000,000 investment in sherman’s youth formula. sherman and denise attend a showing of Cape Fear only to be accosted by buddy, who pickpockets sherman’s wallet and the Phleer proposal. sherman takes action to hide his formula. He and Jason figure that buster’s hair and thus his dnA activated the formula on the floor and produced buddy. buddy meets Leanne Guilford, President of Acquisitions at Phleer. she’s interested in his proposal and agrees to meet later. sherman loses his aplomb in class and at the lab Jason tells him he’s also losing his faculties. sherman hides the formula in his parents’ garage fridge. Arriving to pick up his wife Mama Klump at Chantal’s House of Loveliness, Papa Klump is inadvertently insulted and storms out. At denise’s parents, sherman makes a fool of himself. Papa Klump drinks some of sherman’s formula, regresses a couple decades and goes out on the town. finding himself in a fight with old Willie in an alley, he is spotted by buddy, who realizes the

Doctor Strange • 75 formula is at the Klumps’ home. Papa drinks some more but that only distresses Mama. sherman dreams of trying to destroy an asteroid with a nuclear bomb and extinguishing the earth instead. At denise’s shower at the Klumps, buddy is discovered by Granny Klump, who thinks he’s the male stripper she hired. He escapes her clutches with the formula, leaving behind some mixed with fertilizer. in a parking garage, buddy confronts sherman but rushes off when he sees a cat. the Klumps prepare to watch sherman’s presentation to Phleer on tV. the demonstration goes awry when the rodent grows to monstrous size and terrorizes the audience. sherman is fired. Jason reveals to sherman that his brain is deteriorating, and sherman breaks off the wedding. At the construction site where Papa works, sherman realizes how he and buddy can literally get back together. dean richmond discovers him at the lab and accompanies him to Phleer Pharmaceuticals where they find buddy making his presentation. back in the lab, denise sees on sherman’s computer screen “Gene extraction Complete” and “brain dysfunction detected.” she races to Papa. When sherman produces a small ball, buddy goes wild, finally catching it only to discover it was injected with youth formula. He becomes a toddler and races off, changing into a liquid and eventually sinking into a fountain in the train station. sherman thinks there’s nothing to be done. denise consoles him, but her tear drops on the formula and into the fountain water which begins glistening. she and Papa force sherman to drink the “dirty water” and he regains his intellectual powers. sherman and denise marry. Reviews: The Sunday Mail called it a “dismal offering…” with no laughs, the humor, such as it was, hanging on a huge, flatulent rodent (Chris bartlett, The Sunday Mail [brisbane, Australia], december 17, 2000, section: features, p. 72); the New York Times thought parts were extremely funny and Murphy quite excellent in all his characterizations. but it was half a movie with too much broad humor that compromised Murphy’s efforts (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, July 28, 2000, p. e14). Analysis: it begins with some coarse sight gags and continues with fart jokes. it slows in spots and could have been cut by about 10 minutes. the extended story, in its nonsensical science—a combination of Absent-Minded Professor/Flubber and the original Nutty Professor— and eschatological humor, fails them. eddie Murphy and make-up artist rick baker are the masters of disguise.

doCtor strAnGe Doctor Strange

(Walt disney studios/Marvel studios, 2016; 115 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by scott derrickson. screenplay by Jon spathis, scott derrickson, C. robert Cargill. based on the Marvel comic by stan Lee and steve ditko. edited by sabrina Plisco, Wyatt smith. director of Photography, ben davis. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Michael Giacchino. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, Jim barr, thomas brown, Jordan Crockett, Mike stallion, Mark swain. set decoration, John bush. Costumes by Alexandra byrne. Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic, framestore, Method studios, lola/fX, Luma Pictures, rise Visual effects studios. Cast: dr. stephen strange (benedict Cumberbatch), Mordo (Chiwetel ejiofor), Christine Palmer (rachel McAdams), the Ancient one (tilda swinton), Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), Wong (benedict Wong), Jonathan Pangborn (benjamin bratt), dr. nicodemis West

(Michael stuhlbarg), Lucian/strong Zealot (scott Atkins), brunette Zealot (Zara Phythian), blonde Zealot (Katrina durden), thor (Chris Hemsworth). Synopsis: in Kathmandu, Kaecilius and his zealots steal pages from a book belonging in the library of the Ancient one. this female sorceress of indeterminate age follows the thieves but cannot prevent Kaecilius himself from escaping into another dimension. in new York City, the arrogant but extremely talented neurosurgeon stephen strange miffs onetime girlfriend dr. Christine Palmer. on his way home, strange is inattentive and crashes his car. Helicoptered to the hospital, his life is saved, but his raison d’être—his hands—are mangled. the operations that save them are not enough to let him continue his own high level surgeries. frustrated by the slowness of his recovery, he is put onto Jonathan Pangborn, who suffered a traumatic spine injury but after traveling to the east returned a new man. Pangborn suggests that strange visit Kamar-taj in nepal. saved by the hooded Mordo from muggers in the back alleys of Kathmandu, he is guided to Kamar-taj, home of the Ancient one, a bald woman. At first hesitant to help this arrogant sob, the Ancient one finally agrees and shows strange the astral plane and the Mirror dimension. study will facilitate his transformation, and he uses the library of ancient texts under the guardianship of Wong. strange learns of the sanctums that protect earth from harm. they are located over new York, London and Hong Kong. the Ancient one and her coterie of sorcerers make it their task to keep these sanctum spells in place. Meanwhile, Kaecilius aim to use the stolen pages to summon dormannu from the dark dimension. the London sanctum is destroyed and strange returns to new York. in battling Kaecilius, a case containing the Cloak of Levitation is broken and the cape attaches itself to strange, who needs that to fend off his more experienced and equally determined opponent. Mordo and the Ancient one arrive. Kaecilius stuns strange and Moro with the revelation that even the Ancient one uses the power of dormannu. Mortally wounded, the Ancient one indicates that strange, too, must break the rules if he hopes to best Kaecilius. she dies despite the ministrations of strange and Christine. Hurrying to Hong Kong, strange and Mordo find the city in turmoil, simultaneously collapsing and twisting into the sky. dormannu is at work. strange uses the amulet called the eye of Agamotto and turns time around, thus restoring Wong and other citizens of Hong Kong to life. for the moment, Kaecilius and his remaining zealots are confounded. true victory is achieved when strange enters dormannu’s dark dimension, where he creates a time loop in which he and the demon are stuck. eventually dormannu agrees to leave earth alone if strange will call off this mind-numbing and debilitating spell. Kaecilius and his followers are sucked from earth into the dark dimension. indignant at the knowledge that the Ancient one dabbled in the dark arts, Mordo leaves. strange returns the eye of Agamotto, which Wong labels an infinity stone, to Kamar-taj. end Credits: strange tells thor that he will help him find his father odin and dangerous half-brother Loki if they will return to Asgard. thor is all in with that. Mordo locates Pangborn and pulls his astral being from his body, telling him there are too many sorcerers. Reviews: the New York Times found it imaginative, full of strong characters, cinematically seductive, and witty. it owed a debt to 2010’s Inception, M.C. escher’s graphic art, and rube Goldberg’s oddball machines (Manohla dargis, New York Times, november 3, 2016); Entertainment Weekly thought the vaguely otherworldly air of both benedict Cumberbatch and tilda swinton fit well with their movie characters. Underneath the “secrets of the east mumbo jumbo and psychedelic special effects,…” the film was formulaic, but it had wit and unlike

76 • Dracula, Dead and Loving It many another Marvel product contained both brain and eye candy (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, october 24, 2016); Rolling Stone said benedict Cumberbatch was “the creative spark that ignites this bracing new entry in the Marvel cinematic universe.” its “visual splendor and wit…” hearkened back to The Matrix and Inception (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 17, 2016, p. 60). Analysis: two or more views of the Avengers building in the distance, the infinity stone reference, and the end credits sequence featuring thor necessitate inclusion of Doctor Strange in this book. not to mention that strange will return, says Marvel. it’s an engrossing film, and the pacing provides little time to quibble over the hocuspocus lectures and alternate dimension narrative. (Most moviegoers will certainly remember the contorting buildings of 2010’s Inception.) Many incidents elicit audience giggles and laughs, e.g., the Cloak of Levitation’s antics, dormannu’s exasperation over strange’s endless encores trying to convince the demon to leave earth ‘else he will spend eternity harassed by this befuddling sorcerer.

doriAn GrAY see under tHe PiCtUre of doriAn GrAY drACULA see Volume i for Dracula (1931), Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Son of Dracula (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Horror of Dracula (1958), The Return of Dracula (1958), The Brides of Dracula (1960), Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Blood of Dracula’s Castle (1969), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Scars of Dracula (1971), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1973), Son of Dracula (1974), Old Dracula (1975), Love at First Bite (1979), Dracula (1979), Dracula’s Widow (1988), The Monster Squad (1988), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). see also, in this volume: bLAde: trinitY.

Cast: dracula (Leslie nielsen), renfield (Peter Macnicol), Mina seward (Amy Yasbeck), Lucy Westenra (Lysette Anthony), Jonathan Harker (steven Weber), dr. seward (Harvey Korman), Gypsy (Anne bancroft), Professor Van Helsing (Mel brooks). Synopsis: in 1893 thomas renfield arrives in transylvania from London to sign over Carfax Abbey to one Count dracula. the townsfolk are aghast that their visitor would dare to go to the castle, and a gypsy woman sells renfield a crucifix. Walking to the castle, renfield is perplexed by the Count’s ability to recover from a hard fall and by proceeding up the grand staircase without becoming entangled in spider webs as he himself is. in the night, two voluptuous women make their way to renfield’s bed until rousted out by dracula, a vampire. renfield becomes the Count’s slave and guards his coffin on the ship Demeter bound for england. At the opera, dracula ingratiates himself with Professor Van Helsing, dr. and Mina seward, Jonathan Harker and Lucy. Later, from his abbey he observes Lucy in her bedroom. observing the observer, she disrobes provocatively. Changing into a bat, dracula arrives at Lucy’s bedside, flings his cape over her, bites her neck, and laps up her blood. When Mina discovers Lucy listless and pale and dr. seward notices strange puncture marks on her neck, dr. Abraham Van Helsing is summoned. He announces a vampire attack. seward and Harker place garlic bulbs all over the room. to no avail. Lucy is enticed from her room and in the garden meets her doom, later seductively approaching Harker, who is saved by Van Helsing. following Lucy to her coffin in the mausoleum, Van Helsing gives Harker a mallet and stake which he drives into Lucy’s heart. As Van Helsing takes cover, blood spurts up and inundates Harker. Meanwhile, dracula has taken Mina to Carfax Abbey and initiates the process of turning her into his vampire bride. back at the seward residence, Mina sports a choker that makes Van Helsing suspicious. He removes it from her neck and spots the telltale puncture marks. He proves she’s under a vampire’s sway with a small crucifix that burns its image into her palm. Count dracula is identified beyond doubt as the vampire when, after dancing with Lucy at a ball, his image is

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (Gaumont/Castle rock entertainment/brooksfilms, 1995; 90 min.) ★★½

Produced and directed by Mel brooks. screenplay by Mel brooks, rudy de Luca, steve Haberman. story by rudy de Luca and steve Haberman. based on characters created by bram stoker. edited by Adam Weiss. director of Photography, Michael d. o’shea. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by Hummie Mann. Production design, roy forge smith. Art direction, bruce robert Hill. set decoration, Jan Pascale. Costumes by dodie shepard. Visual effects by dream Quest images.

Steven Weber (left), Lysette Anthony, Dracula, Dead and Loving It (Castle Rock Entertainment, 1995).

Dracula 2000 • 77 unseen in an immense mirror. becoming wise to the trick, dracula grabs Mina and crashes through a window. renfield is loosed in hopes of locating dracula’s lair. the Count and Mina are tracked to a cell where Harker and seward break down the door. dracula throws Harker into the wall and knocks seward down with a beam. Van Helsing finds a large cross on the floor and momentarily confounds the vampire while Harker picks up a jagged piece of wood he tries to thrust into dracula’s heart. but the vampire gains the upper hand until a beam of sunlight shoots through the window slats. Van Helsing breaks off more slats and dracula begins smoldering, but just as he seems to be meeting his doom he turns to a bat and escapes to the rafters. renfield opens a piece of the roof and inadvertently destroys his master, who crashes to the floor and turns to dust. Harker finds Mina restored. renfield gathers up the remains of his master, placing the dust in the coffin and poking holes for eyes and running his hand along to create a mouth. but seward tells him he is his own man again, but when he calls for him to follow, he says, “Yes, master.” Van Helsing, last to leave, opens the lid and has the last word for his nemesis. Reviews: Variety said “it never really cuts loose and goes for the belly laughs.” it “seems positively understated.” on a positive note, Peter Macnicol was a revelation as renfield ( Joe Leydon, Variety, december 17, 1995); the New York Times was more upbeat, calling it a “slight but amusing new parody.” Leslie nielsen and Peter Macnicol acquitted themselves well as did Amy Yesbeck who provided Mina “the right comic loftiness.” Lysette Anthony is slyly funny and so alluring…” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, december 22, 1995, p. C35); Video Movie Guide thought it poked appropriate “fun at Coppola’s pompous Bram Stoker’s Dracula,…” while paying tribute to Lugosi’s interpretation of the Count and Hammer studios’ later modifications (Mick Martin, Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 308). Analysis: Contrary to critical lambasting, the film has much to recommend it: dracula climbing down a wall head first, which is a homage to Christopher Lee in Scars of Dracula, and channeling Lee in Dracula A.D. 1972 when this incarnation scoffs that his human antagonists could play their brains against his; dracula’s dream of becoming human and welcoming the sun in the garden where young folk picnic and he deigns to drink some wine (“i never drink—wine. oh, what the hell, let me try it. it’s good!”); Harker telling Lucy she’s dead (“but Lucy, i’m engaged to Mina. And you’re dead.”); renfield surreptitiously gobbling insects while breakfasting with dr. seward; the ball guests aghast to see Mina flying around the room in the mirror; the face renfield creates in dracula’s dust; the last word competition between dracula and Van Helsing.

Dracula 2000, aka Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (dimension films, 2000; 99 min.) ★★½

Produced by W.K. border, Joel soisson. directed by Patrick Lussier. screenplay by Joel soisson. story by Joel soisson, Patrick Lussier. edited by Patrick Lussier, Peter devaney flanagan. director of Photography, Peter Pay. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, Carol spier. Art direction, elinor rose. set decoration, Peter P. nicolakakos. Costumes by denise Cronenberg. Makeup effects, Gary J. tynnicliffe. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues, and Computer Café, inc. Visual effects supervision, erk Henry. Cast: simon sheppard ( Jonny Lee Miller), dracula (Gerard butler), Abraham/Matthew Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer), Mary Heller ( Justine Waddell), solina ( Jennifer esposito), Marcus (omar

epps), Lucy (Colleen Ann fitzpatrick), trick (sean Patrick Harris), nightshade (danny Masterson), eddie (Lochlyn Munro), Valerie sharpe ( Jeri ryan), dax (tig fong), father david (nathan filion). Synopsis: 1897: the Demeter arrives in england with all but one of the crew slaughtered. the lone survivor walks into the night. 2000: London. At Carfax Antiquities, simon sheppard shows owner and his employer Matthew Van Helsing a crossbow he’s secured for the collection. simon asks Matthew about his grandfather Abraham but is dismissed as having heard too many legends. After hours, Marcus and his gang, their mission facilitated by employee solina, break in and enter a vault containing an incredibly well-sealed coffin. booby traps impale two gang members and blood leaks into the coffin. the others take the coffin as they assume something very, very valuable must lie inside. Van Helsing hears a disturbance and discovers the plundered vault. “God help us all.” in new orleans, a young woman, Mary Heller, awakes from an awful dream and is consoled by her friend Lucy. back in London, Van Helsing tells simon the police must not be involved. flying over the ocean, the gang finds that the coffin hardly contains gold, rather a desiccated body wearing a mask and covered in leeches. it rises and attacks the crew. solina is enticed into the creature’s embrace and Marcus’ bullets cause only minor flesh wounds. in new orleans, Mary continues to visualize horrible events and visits her friend, father david. He’s of little help. followed at a distance, Van Helsing arrives at the airport. tV reporter Valerie sharpe and her cameraman are the last to leave the scene of a plane crash and are attacked by the lone survivor. Van Helsing prepares to confront his enemy and loads a special rifle with extra-long silver bullets. With simon’s help, he dispatches one of the “undead” and causes solina to flee. Van Helsing relates the true story of the vampire. dracula is not a myth, to which simon responds, “this is the fucking Twilight Zone!” Van Helsing maintains that dracula is not in new orleans by accident. in fact, dracula senses someone else in the world like him: Mary Heller. she tells father david, “He wants me, he wants my soul.” from the rooftops, dracula observes Mardi Gras before joining the throng. He finds solina incarcerated at the police station. While she savages the detective, he takes care of the doctor. Mary, Van Helsing’s daughter, is now on his and simon’s radar. At Mary’s home, dracula seduces her friend Lucy. simon finds Mary and talks to her about her father. not long afterward, Marcus attacks him but simon manages to slice off his head. “never, ever, fuck with an antique dealer!” At Mary’s, Van Helsing comes a cropper against dracula, and when Mary arrives she finds his dead body impaled under the bed. Lucy, solina and Valerie sharpe arrive and taunt her. simon rescues her for the nonce, shooting a silver bullet into the pursuing wolf only to watch it transform into a host of bats. Mary says, “i’m part of dracula” and simon gives her a crucifix with a silver spike hidden within. they read up on the legend and realize that the lost language of Aramaic is the key. dracula appears again and simon holds off the vampire by opening a bible and letting the pages create a flame on his body. Unperturbed, dracula follows Mary to a cemetery and disappears with her in front of simon. encountering the vampire women in the crowded streets, simon manages stabs Valerie before solina knocks him out. on a church rooftop next to a neon sign of Jesus, dracula tells Mary he’s had to suffer like no man before. He bites her on the neck and they levitate as he shows her his past. He was Judas iscariot! Later, dracula speaks to the sign and says he will give the people what they most crave: “all the pleasure you’ve denied them—forever.” Held by solina and Lucy, simon is to be Mary’s first victim but instead she severs Lucy’s head and stabs dracula. With shears, simon decapitates solina. Mary wraps wires from the Jesus sign around dracula’s neck but they both fall over

78 • Van Helsing the side of the building. nevertheless, she rises from the pavement. the sun comes up and torches dracula. Later, Mary continues reading her father’s journal and realizes that, even if dracula’s soul is merely ashes, she is now their keeper and she will contain them. Reviews: the New York Times was distraught to find the likes of Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller dignifying “this sewage.” As dracula, Gerard butler “radiates a certain suave self-assurance, but his is no head-turner.” the film was “crammed with gore.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, december 23, 2000, p. b18); Film Ex thought it had a “bone-headed plot, but … manages to come up with enough of its own ideas and surprises to make it warrant a viewing… . Plummer is terrific as Van Helsing, but i sat watching and wishing they had gotten Christopher Lee to essay the role, as the film managed to generate a fun, Hammer-esque feel.” (robert freese, Film Ex, Winter 2001, p. 5). Analysis: it’s not dreck. in fact, it poses a novel idea for dracula’s ancient lineage. it has humor. Who would have predicted that Gerard butler would lead the spartans in 2007’s 300. He looks about 18 here. Jonny Lee Miller is almost unrecognizable as well. Check out nathan filion of tV’s Castle as the priest.

(Universal, 2004; 131 min.) ★★

Van Helsing

Produced by stephen sommers, bob ducsay. directed by stephen sommers. screenplay by stephen sommers. edited by bob ducsay, Kelly Matsumoto. director of Photography, Allen daviau. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Allan Cameron. Art direction, steve Arnold, Keith P. Cunningham, Giles Masters, tony reading, Jaromir svarc. set decoration, Cindy Carr, Anna Pinnock. Costumes by Gabriella Pescucci, Carlo Poggioli. special Makeup effects Created by Keith Vanderlaan’s Captive Audience Productions, inc. special Makeup Created by Greg Cannom. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), Anna Valerious (Kate beckinsale), Count Vladislaus dracula (richard roxburgh), Carl (david Wenham), frankenstein monster (shuler Hensley), dr. Victor frankenstein (samuel West), igor (Kevin J. o’Connor), dr. Jekyll (stephen fisher), Mr. Hyde (robbie Coltrane voice), Alleera (elena Anaya), Velkan Valerious (Will Kemp), Cardinal Jinette (Alun Armstrong), Verona (silvia Colloca), Marishka ( Josie Maran), top Hat (tom fisher). Synopsis: transylvania, 1887: dr. Victor frankenstein creates his monster at the behest of Count dracula in the latter’s castle. no longer needing the doctor, dracula disposes of him, but at his own risk, for the monster knocks him into the fireplace and carries his creator’s body to the windmill which is set afire by maddened townsfolk. A regenerated dracula and his vampire brides panic the people as the monster and maker sink into the flaming rubble. one year later in Paris, a mysterious man puts an end to dr. Jekyll. this avenger is Gabriel Van Helsing, who has few memories of his life and does the bidding of the “order” in Vatican City. He and they are the last defense against evil. Van Helsing’s new assignment is to travel to romania to help the Valerious family destroy Count dracula. equipped with seriously lethal devices like a multi-dart shooting crossbow, Van Helsing takes weapons expert Carl on his journey. in transylvania, Velkan Valerious tries to capture a werewolf but falls from a precipice into a river as his sister Anna watches in horror. Upon arrival, Van Helsing is dismissed by Anna as just another untrustworthy stranger when

dracula’s brides swoop down and wreak havoc until Van Helsing finally snuffs out one harpy-like bride with a bolt dipped in holy water. Anna says he is the first to kill a vampire in over a century and tells him that vampires have never struck during daylight before. Velkan appears but has been bitten by the werewolf and will become one himself upon the full moon’s rising. Anna maintains that dracula has a cure for lycanthropy. As Van Helsing and Anna enter the restored castle’s nether regions, Velkan is strapped down for experimentation. After Van Helsing thrusts a stake into dracula’s chest he finds that the Count knows him, they have a history together. fighting off dracula’s slaves, Anna releases her brother. she and Van Helsing flee as Velkan transforms and is ordered by dracula to destroy them. before they fall into a watery cavern beneath the old windmill, Anna tells Van Helsing no one knows how to kill dracula. the frankenstein monster still roams beneath the windmill and tells them his goal is “to exist.” He says he’s the key to his father’s machine, to life itself. Van Helsing tells Anna that evil does not infect this thing though it is capable of evil, thus it might be of help to them. securing the monster in a carriage, Van Helsing sets out for rome but is ambushed in the forest by dracula’s remaining brides and Velkan. the monster saves Van Helsing, and later Anna finds her expiring brother. “i will see you again,” she says. in the melee Van Helsing has been bitten. A vampire bride takes Anna to dracula in budapest. Van Helsing can ransom Anna for the monster. the place: a masked ball. during the affair, Van Helsing swings down into the hall via trapeze and scoops up Anna. Unperturbed and heartened by igor’s capture of the monster, dracula sends his revelers after Van Helsing and Anna, but Carl’s jar of combustibles saves the day. finding themselves in the river below the castle, Van Helsing, Anna and Carl watch as igor rows the monster away. because of his bite and now his anger, Van Helsing almost transforms into a lycanthrope. recovering, he, Anna and Carl go to Castle frankenstein and discover that all the lab equipment has been moved. they unlock the mystery of the door, which opens to a mirror that they walk through into a wintry landscape and dracula’s abode. they capture igor and find the monster imprisoned in a block. the monster cries out that there is a cure for Van Helsing. Carl adds that only a werewolf can kill dracula. the plan is for Carl to find the cure by midnight lest Van Helsing transform. dracula enters the lab and has the monster lifted into the lightning storm. Carl and Anna find the hypodermic with the serum that can save Van Helsing. igor escapes, however, and locks in Anna and Carl. A vampire bride taunts Anna, who knocks over the bottle of viscous liquid that for the moment disfigures the creature. Meanwhile, Van Helsing releases the monster just as dracula lets loose his horde of bat creatures. igor is sent spinning into the depths by the monster. Midnight arrives and Van Helsing turns into a werewolf and battles the bat creature dracula has become. Anna finally manages to stake the bride, turning her to dust. dracula tries to convince Van Helsing that he can give him back his life, his memories. Van Helsing finally savages his nemesis and as the Count expires so too do his bat creatures on the wing. As the werewolf, Van Helsing attacks Anna but in her death she has injected him with the serum. the werewolf Van Helsing picks her up and howls. by day the man lights a funeral pyre at the seaside, which Anna had said she’d never seen. out on the water, the monster poles away on a makeshift boat. Van Helsing sees images of Anna and her family in the sky before riding away with Carl. Reviews: Rope of Silicon said the anticipation withered quite fast and “is a black mark on all those involved,….” What was up with a PG-13 rating for werewolves and vampires? (brad brevet, www.rope ofsilicon.com, May 7, 2004); The Nelson Mail said it “manages to be dumb, cheesy, messy, repetitive and hysterical.” it was also “boringly

Dracula Untold • 79 long…, with feeble tongue-in-cheek humour and much silly joking.” (The Nelson Mail [new Zealand], october 11, 2004, p. 19); the New York Times said that by its conclusion it “has almost completely run out of ideas and inspiration.” there were “warmed-over allusions and secondhand thrills.” it was “sloppy, sometimes amusing…” (A.o. scott, New York Times, May 7, 2004). Analysis: it’s not unwatchable but it is tediously overlong. from the time of its release this big-budgeted extravaganza became a joke, tarnishing the name of our favorite vampire hunter. the cartoonish and unbelievable jumping around is so typical of modern superhero, “kung-fu” and even western (The Lone Ranger, 2013) films. What’s the deal with the flying vampire brides having no breasts, that is, no nipples? it’s a concession to feared censorship, of course, or an r rating that would prevent younger audiences from attending. on the other hand, there are some who view this as an intentionally flat-out comedy. but unless you’re Mel brooks or Woody Allen behind the project, studios couldn’t or wouldn’t sell it that way or, perhaps, give the go-ahead to the filmmakers. it did make money.

(Universal/Legendary Pictures, 2014; 92 min.) ★★

Dracula Untold

Produced by Michael de Luca. directed by Gary shore. screenplay by Matt sazama, burk sharpless. based on characters created by bram

stoker. edited by richard Pearson. director of Photography, John schwartzman. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by ramin djawadi. Production design, françois Audouy. Art direction, david doran, Heather Greenlees, Michael turner. set decoration, Paki smith. Costumes by ngila dickson. Visual effects by framestore. Cast: Vlad (Luke evans), Mirena (sarah Gadon), sultan Mehmed (dominic Cooper), Master Vampire (Charles dance), ingeras (Art Parkinson), dumitru (diarmaid Murtagh), brother Lucian (Paul Kaye), Cazan (William Houston), Captain Petru (noah Huntley), simion (ronan Vibert), shkelgim (Zach McGowan). Synopsis: A boy’s voice reveals that in 1442, 1,000 transylvanian Christian boys are wanted by sultan Mehmet ii. this is nothing new. the boy’s father, known as “Vlad the impaler,” had once been such a hostage and will one day become known as dracula. in the forest, Vlad examines a turkish scout’s helmet washed downstream from broken tower Mountain. He and a few of his trusted lieutenants investigate and inside a cave find crushed bones and skulls before being attacked by a ravenous beast. only Vlad survives to ride back to Castle dracula. it seems that a vampire inhabits the cave and must reside there till another can take his place. Vlad asks his brother to guard this secret. to his wife Mirena, Vlad says he wants only peace but Mehmet ii’s emissaries arrive at easter and demand the 1,000 boys to reinforce the sultan’s janissary corps for the siege of Vienna. Visiting the turkish encampment, Vlad says to take him, but Mehmet

Luke Evans, Dracula Untold (Universal, 2014).

80 • Escape from New York demands his son instead. Meeting Mirena and his son, Vlad hears the boy say he’ll go, but Vlad kills the turkish party come to take him. Vlad climbs broken tower Mountain and inside the cave meets a pale man and drinks of his blood. Vlad now has three days to suffer through a transformation before he can—if he can—return to normal. Vlad finds his hearing and sight becoming quite acute. His castle under siege, he uses his newfound super speed and strength to destroy the turkish army before telling his people they must flee to a monastery high in the mountains where they will be safe from cannon fire. Mehmet initiates his campaign as Vlad plans guerrilla warfare. With much effort, he overcomes his need to feed on human blood. He cuts a tent flap to reveal to Mirena that sunlight scorches him but says he needs only two more days before he’ll be restored. Making for the monastery, Mirena and her people are ambushed, but Vlad comes to the rescue. At the monastery, Lucian confronts Vlad and lets in light. the people set fire to Vlad’s tent, but as night falls he appears and chides them. “You are alive because of me!” Mirena responds, “this is not who you are.” in the chapel, Vlad asks for the strength to endure his trial. on the parapet with his wife, Vlad can “see” the approaching turkish host and realizes that sunrise will compromise his powers. Vlad sends forth a great swarm of bats to savage the turkish army as he himself seeks Mehmet. but the sultan has gained access to the monastery and taken up Vlad’s son. Mirena is pushed to the ledge and falls even as Vlad leaps to save her, but too late. dying, Mirena tells Vlad to take her blood so he can save their son. With this act the cave vampire will be released from his curse. Vlad approaches and bites various subjects who have been mortally wounded and converts them into vampires. they attack Mehmet’s forces. in Mehmet’s tent, Vlad finds his power endangered by silver coins on the floor. but he rallies and defeats Mehmet, biting and killing him. Vlad takes his son through the camp, his vampires craving the boy’s blood. Vlad impales one and a man holding a crucifix takes his son. “He is safe now, Mirena,” says Vlad. sunrise destroys the vampires and Vlad collapses. A boy’s voice says the turks never captured the capitals of europe and that he is his father’s legacy. flash forward to the modern world. dracula approaches a woman who resembles Mirena. they are observed by the vampire who converted Vlad, who to himself says, “Let the games begin.” Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter lumped it with I, Frankenstein as a misconceived misfire. director shore evinced “little flair for the action sequences,…” the screenplay was “muddled…” (frank sheck, Hollywood Reporter, september 30, 2014); the News Journal called it a “tepid origin tale…” and a bore. “the action sequences are rushed and muddy,…” A plus was Charles dance as the master vampire (barbara Vandenburgh/Gannett, News Journal [Wilmington, de], 55 Hours+, october 10, 2014, p. 5). Analysis: it’s not the disaster tepid box office and critics considered it. but it is too dark, in the literal sense. it’s difficult to see what’s going on in the forest or battlefield. from real to reel: early on broken tower Mountain looks like a true earthly eminence, but soon after it is obviously an effect. Although some of the history is correct, Mehmet ii was not done in by Vlad/dracula. their duel is historically silly, and dominic Cooper looks nothing like the representations we have of Mehmet. the first siege of Vienna by the ottomans wasn’t until 1529. Why is Charles dance’s vampire following dracula at the end? He’d wanted out of his curse. one suspects the studio hoped for a sequel. Luke evans has gravitas—here and in the second and third The Hobbit films, but this is not a worthy steppingstone to full-fledged stardom.

dredd see under JUdGe dredd esCAPe froM neW YorK (AVCo embassy, 1981; 99 min.) ★★★

Escape from New York

Produced by Larry franco, debra Hill. directed by John Carpenter. screenplay by John Carpenter, nick Castle. edited by todd ramsey. director of Photography, dean Cundey. Panavision. Metrocolor. Music by John Carpenter, Alan Howarth. Production design, Joe Alves. Assistant Art direction, Chris Horner. set decoration, CLoUdiA (rebar). Costumes by steven Loomis. Make-up by Ken Chase, ben douglas. special effects, Pat Patterson, eddie surkin, Gary Zink. special Visual effects, new World Venice. Cast: snake Plissken (Kurt russell), bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), Cabbie (ernest borgnine), Maggie (Adrienne barbeau), President (donald Pleasence), duke of new York (isaac Hayes), brain (Harry dean stanton), rehme (tom Atkins), secretary of state (Charles Cyphers), taylor ( Joe Unger), Girl in Chock full o’nuts (season Hubley), romero (frank doubleday), Cronenberg ( John strobel). Synopsis: After the United states’ crime rate escalated to 400 percent in 1988, Manhattan was turned into a maximum security prison, its inmates free to do whatever they chose. in 1997, snake Plissken is to be incarcerated there when the President’s plane is skyjacked and crashes into a skyscraper. fortunately, an escape pod saves the executive. Manhattan police chief bob Hauk makes a deal with a reluctant snake to track and retrieve the President in exchange for freedom. Using a glider to land on one of the World trade Center roofs, snake has less than 24 hours to accomplish his mission. the President must at least remotely speak at a Chinese-russian-U.s. summit, and snake needs to have the pinhead-sized lozenges injected into his artery deactivated or they will explode. He finds the pod and begins his quest, hiding from what a young woman in a Chock full o’nuts store calls the “crazies” seeking food. she is pulled through the floor, but he escapes and finds Cabbie and his taxi and is driven to Maggie and brain, the latter a so-called pal who’d left him during a job. snake, brain, Maggie and Cabbie eventually locate the President, but the “duke of new York” plans to use him to leave the city. snake is captured but gets free after killing a hulking brute in a boxing rink. With brain and Maggie’s help, he secures the President. Hauk dispatches helicopters to the 69th street bridge to extract snake and the President. A mine explodes and kills brain. in a rage, Maggie takes a pistol from snake and fires at the oncoming duke. to no avail. she is run over. At the wall across the bridge, the President is pulled to safety. the duke tries to gun down snake but the President fills the duke with bullets before letting snake climb up. Hauk’s man deactivates the explosives in snake’s arteries, and Hauk offers him another job somewhere, sometime. Reviews: the New York Times called it a “brutal, very fine-looking suspense melodrama….” it was the director’s “most ambitious, most riveting film to date.” it seemed “to be some kind of hallucinatory editorial” on urban blight (Vincent Canby, New York Times, July 10, 1981, p. C6); Creature Features considered it one of the director’s “best, moving at a roadrunner’s pace as escapist fantasy.” ( John stanley, Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide, new York: boulevard books, 1997, p. 169).

Evil Dead • 81 Analysis: the cast is exemplary but the film could have used a bigger budget, and some of the gunplay is not especially well choreographed. on the other hand, director Carpenter probably sought a low-grade exploitation look. one initially wonders why brit donald Pleasence was chosen to play the President, but remember that he was dr. Loomis in Carpenter’s Halloween series. in retrospect, we see barbeau preparing here for her intelligent, spunky, dishabille heroine of 1982’s Swamp Thing. it’s a shame her character was killed off, but that’s the way with these films. Usually only one person or one person and a cyborg or a child are allowed to make it to safety.

(Paramount/rysher entertainment, 1996; 101 min.) ★★

Escape from L.A.

Produced by debra Hill, Kurt russell. directed by John Carpenter. screenplay by John Carpenter, debra Hill, Kurt russell. based on Characters Created by John Carpenter and nick Castle. edited by edward A. Warschilka. director of Photography, Gary b. Kibbe. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by shirley Walker, John Carpenter. Production design, Lawrence G. Paull. Art direction, bruce Crone. set decoration, Kathe Klopp. Costumes, robin Michel bush. Visual effects by buena Vista Visual effects. Cast: snake Plissken (Kurt russell), Commander Malloy (stacy Keach), Cuevo Jones (George Corraface), Map to the stars eddie (steve buscemi), Utopia (A.J. Langer), brazen (Michelle forbes), Hershe/Carjack (Pam Grier), taslima (Valeria Golino), President (Cliff robertson), Pipeline (Peter fonda), surgeon General of beverly Hills (bruce Campbell), skinhead (robert Carradine). Synopsis: in 1998, in the wake of general societal unrest, the U.s. Police force was established. A would-be President said God would take vengeance on Los Angeles, a den of iniquity. August 23, 2000: a 9.6 earthquake on the richter scale wrecks southern California, separating Los Angeles from the mainland. the Constitution is amended by the new President, who gets a life term and moves the capital to his home in Lynchburg, Virginia. L.A. Island becomes a deportation site for anyone found guilty of immorality, and directive 17 mandates that anyone losing citizenship must be transferred there. 2013, noW: snake Plissken, the notorious criminal guilty of 27 moral crimes, is transferred to L.A. and given a choice by Commander Malloy: receive a pardon by rescuing the President’s daughter Utopia, who is holed up in L.A. after stealing a black box with a device to compromise the world’s energy supply. otherwise, snake will die from the Plutoxin 7 virus that infected him when a female guard scratched his hand on the way in. the Peruvian revolutionary Cuevo Jones now has access to the black box. His goal is to lead an invasion of the mainland from L.A. snake examines his weapons and suits up. He takes a one-man submersible onto the island and heads for the Hollywood bowl. He finds the last member of the original rescue team being used as target practice by Cuevo’s men. taslima aids snake in locating Cuevo but the initial meeting goes awry. Captured, snake and taslima are prepared for weird experiments by the surgeon General of beverly Hills, but snake breaks free and with taslima shelters in a sewer. exiting near Cuevo’s hideout, taslima is shot and killed. Map to the stars eddie lends snake a hand but knocks him out with a fun gun. Meanwhile, the President wants Malloy to initiate an air strike, but the Commander says no, snake may still be alive and on the case. taken to Cuevo, snake is placed on a basketball court in a stadium and given a short time to make 10 points. He succeeds but Cuevo tries to shoot him anyway. snake escapes, helped by more tremors. Utopia, wildly

dressed, is Cuevo’s escort but she follows snake, as does eddie. snake is separated from the others and runs into the surfer dude he’d met when he first landed on the island. the duo surf into the city on the remnant of a tsunami. snake sees eddie, manages to fling himself onto his car and makes him take him to Hershe, aka Carjack, in the Queen Mary. Hershe knows snake from past adventures. they plan to obtain the black box and escape via helicopter. they hang-glide from the ship into the city, firing down into Cuevo’s host, and snake battles Cuevo hand to hand. With Utopia and Hershe, snake takes off in the chopper, but Cuevo damages it with a hand-held rocket launcher. before it crashes, Utopia and snake leap to safety. snake radios Malloy, and they show up with the President. time’s up for snake but the virus was a fake. the President sends his daughter to be electrocuted and takes his place behind a podium facing a tV camera. trying to kill Plissken, Malloy discovers that snake has turned the tables. now he is a hologram. the World Code is activated and satellites shut down energy on the planet. Utopia is saved. “Welcome to the human race.” Reviews: the New York Times opined that “sardonic moments go a long way toward keeping afloat a hopelessly choppy adventure spoof that doesn’t even try to match the ghoulish surrealism of its forerunner.” As this film portrayed Los Angeles, it was “surprisingly unimaginative.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, August 9, 1996, p. C5); Creature Features thought this “half-crazed, goofy remake…” was better than the first ( John stanley, Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide, new York: boulevard books, 1997, p. 168). Analysis: few waves were made by this sequel that becomes more cartoonish as it careened to the anticlimactic finales. it’s a real stretch to believe that Cuevo’s ragtag army poses a threat to the U.s. Where did the inhabitants of the island get food—or the lingerie and hairspray and makeup worn by the voluptuous denizens of the large red light district? rodeo drive was so well stocked? sets and effects were excellent but action choreography less satisfying. the black box and hand-held devices seem like McGuffins although the satellites are triggered by one. by that time the viewer can make neither head nor tail out of these items. Who has what?

eViL deAd see Volume i for The Evil Dead (1983), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1993).

Evil Dead

(tristar Pictures/filmdistrict/Ghost House Pictures, 2013; 91 min.) ★★★

Produced by bruce Campbell, sam raimi, robert G. tapert. directed by fede Alvarez. screenplay by fede Alvarez, rodo sayagues. based on the film The Evil Dead, screenplay by sam raimi. edited by bryan shaw. director of Photography, Aaron Morton. Color. Music by roque baños. Production design, robert Gillies. Art direction, Jennifer Ward. set decoration, roger Guise. Costumes by sarah Voon. Prosthetic effects, Main reactor. VfX by PrPVfX (Auckland, n.Z.). Cast: Mia ( Jane Levy), david (shiloh fernandez), eric (Lou taylor Pucci), olivia ( Jessica Lucas), natalie (elizabeth blackmore), teenager (Phoenix Connolly), Harold ( Jim McLarty), old woman (sian davis), rednecks (stephen butterworth, Karl Willetts), Abomination

82 • Exorcist Mia (randal Wilson), demon (rupert degas, voice), Professor Knowby (bob dorian, voice) (Cheryl sandweiss, voice), inca (Grandpa the dog). Synopsis: At a north woods cabin, Mia undergoes an intervention planned by friends and her brother to wean her off drugs. initially okay with the idea, Mia soon wishes to leave, but when the dog ferrets out a trapdoor and they investigate, things take a turn for the worse. Mia crashes the car attempting to avoid the image of a young woman. floundering in the water, Mia is entangled in tendrils a snake-like vine that runs up between her legs before her crew comes to her aid. eric examines a strange book filled with grotesqueries. the dog is found dead. because the river has flooded, Mia can’t be evacuated and is sedated. Waking, Mia fires a pistol at david. “You’re all going to die tonight.” she is locked in the basement. eric postulates witchcraft as the cause of their problems. When eric finds olivia mutilating herself, she stabs him with a knife and syringe. He bashes her in the skull. natalie climbs down into Mia’s cell, but when she tries to climb back out is pulled back into basement. david secures the trapdoor. eric fails to burn the book. natalie thinks she must kill Mia to save her soul. olivia’s hand distorts and she cuts it off with a meat cleaver but that doesn’t work. david is not sure they must kill Mia. olivia shoots staples at david and eric, severely injuring the latter. david and eric go to the jeep. eric says dying wouldn’t be so bad. “i just don’t want to become the devil’s bitch.” david prepares to burn the cabin, then hears Mia singing in the basement. “i can’t do this.” Lighting strikes. in the basement, eric rescues david from drowning at Mia’s hands despite being impaled by her. david inoculates Mia. eric dies. david buries the still living Mia, who tells him their mother waits for him in Hell. david digs Mia up and uses electricity to try and revive her. thinking her dead, he starts to leave but is called back. she’s standing. inside, eric attacks david. Mia sets the cabin on fire. With a chainsaw, Mia severs the legs of the olivia demon. “feast on this, motherfucker!” the body is sucked into the earth. Mia stumbles off to a new dawn but the evil book remains on the ground. Reviews: The Philadelphia Inquirer called it “a stunning, in-yourface remake….” the “in-camera and physical props rather than CGi bespoke a filmmaker honoring the original film (tirdad derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 2, 2013); The Record said it was not a mere cashing in on its predecessors. “this outrageously bloody, violent picture really is one from the heart—a spiked, thorny, bleeding heart.” (rene rodriguez/Miami Herald, The Record [Kitchener/Cambridge/ Waterloo, on], April 4, 2013); the Winnipeg Free Press said it “could never be called ‘ferociously original.’ but it at lest delivers on the ferocity.” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, April 6, 2013); the American News wondered if in this film’s “failure to shock,” the viewer had become desensitized to on-screen horror? it inspired “more tedium than terror” because it featured all the mayhem one expected (American News [Canada], July 11, 2013). Analysis: it is difficult to compose a synopsis that doesn’t sound ridiculous. it’s nice to hear the cicadas. Was the Mia-david-mother backstory really necessary? nobody bleeds to death despite losing volumes of blood. filmed down Under.

eXorCist see Volume i for The Exorcist (1972), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), and Repossessed (1990). the original 1973 film was re-released in 2000 with 11 extra minutes.

Exorcist: The Beginning

(Morgan Creek/dominion/Warner bros., 2004; 114 min.) ★★½

Produced by James G. robinson. directed by renny Harlin. screenplay by Alexi Hawley. story by William Wisher, Caleb Carr. based on the movie The Exorcist, screenplay by William Peter blatty. edited by Mark Goldblatt, todd e. Miller. director of Photography, Vittorio storaro. technicolor. Music by trevor rabin. Production design, stefano ortolani. Art direction, eugenio Ulissi, Andy nicholson. set decoration, Carlo Gervasi. Costumes by Luke reichle. special Visual effects and Character Animation by Meteor studios. Visual effects by radish, elements studios, digital dimension, KleiserWalczak. Visual effects and CG Animation by Pixel Magic. Cast: Lankester Merrin (stellan skarsgård), sarah (izabella scorupco), father francis ( James d’Arcy), Joseph (remy sweeney), Major Granville ( Julian Wadham), Chuma (Andrew french), sergeant Major (ralph brown), semelier (ben Cross), father Gionetti (david bradley), Jefferies (Alan ford), bession (Patrick o’Kane). Synopsis: on some ancient battlefield littered with the bodies of the slain, a survivor picks from the hand of a fallen compatriot a small artifact with a grim, not entirely human face. Cairo, egypt—1945: At the behest of semelier, archaeologist and former priest Lankester Merrin journeys to an epoch-old, recently uncovered and entirely intact east African church. Among the statuary inside is an upside down Christ swinging above the altar. A nearby cemetery is said to contain the bodies of those who died of plague. one survivor, bession, went mad. Merrin finds him in the st. John’s sanitarium in nairobi and watches the man slit his throat. back at the dig, the doctor, sarah, is accosted by the pustular manager Jefferies. Young Joseph interrupts, saying, “He’s coming for you.” Merrin comforts sarah before ascending that very night into the church, finding tunnels to a temple wherein stands a large statue of distinctly demonic mien. While Merrin is thus busied, a woman in the village gives birth to a maggoty child, and the oft drunk Jefferies is attacked by … something. Merrin returns to the compound where the power has gone out. When it is restored, sarah notices blood on the floor and on herself. she tells Merrin there’s something evil about. He says evil is in all people and tells her the temple beneath the church seems to have been used for human sacrifice. that night he continues to dream of nazi war atrocities. Later, he and sarah find what appear to be Jefferies’ remains. Merrin wonders if all the workers died of plague, who buried them? british troops under Major Granville arrive to prevent possible violence by the villagers who are now distrustful of the archaeologists and what they’ve uncovered. the tribal leader says that evil has returned. the stillborn baby is cremated, which causes Merrin to wonder exactly who’s buried in the cemetery. After finding nothing in the coffins, Merrin accosts father francis and learns that during the byzantine emperor Justinian’s time, an army advanced from the west to locate this site but turned on themselves. only one survived. in 1893, several priests disappeared there. believing young Joseph to be the source of the evil afflicting the community, tribesmen conduct a ceremony that to sarah’s horror will undoubtedly lead to his death. Havoc ensues as a sandstorm approaches. Major Granville enters the church and finds Jefferies’ body being eaten by a crow. He returns to his tent, examines his butterfly collection, and realizing something horrible is approaching, especially after a butterfly emerges from his mouth, blows his brains out. the tribe attacks the troops. in the holocaust, the troops turn on each other as had happened centuries before. Merrin, still reeling from memories of the war and electing to point out townsfolk for execution

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist • 83 in order to save a child, searches for sarah and sees a photo of her and semelier. father francis returns to the church and begins an exorcism over Joseph. Merrin arrives and finds father francis’ body, takes his Holy Water and stole, and proceeds deep into the dig, finding Joseph and … sarah, who is actually the possessed one. she/the devil taunts Merrin but he soldiers on and eventually drives the spirit from sarah although she dies. Merrin and Joseph find their way out and discover the bodies of soldiers and tribesmen. in rome, Merrin tells semelier he couldn’t discover what he wanted and says he is no longer Mr. Merrin, rather father Merrin. Reviews: The Washington Times found it insulting to its audience and “a stupefyingly awful fright fest” (Christian toto, The Washington Times, August 23, 2004, section: Life-Arts etc.; Movies, p. b05); The Daily Record thought skarsgård carried the film that was “far better than the African antics of Exorcist II: The Heretic.” it actually had “a thick vein of intelligence running through the blood and violence… ” (Alan Morrison, Daily Record [scotland], october 29, 2004). Analysis: Grim and increasingly bloody as it is, skarsgård holds it together through questionable circumstances like a climax that goes on too long and Major Granville’s decision to shoot the chief and instigate a bloodbath. setting most of the proceedings in Africa is not optimal. The Exorcist’s house in Georgetown, in a modern and supposedly non-superstitious era, is more disturbing. robert Castle wrote that “the wisdom of choosing a prequel rapidly dissipates as the first version of The Beginning, directed by Paul schrader for $30 million, was scrapped by the producers…. in fact, the tortuous production history of The Beginning could have been less so had the producers realized that schrader, like boorman [Exorcist II: The Heretic], was more of an auteur than action director and would inevitably dwell on the psychologically rich father Merrin and ignore scaring the bejabbers out of film audiences.” the makers of The Beginning failed to recall that Exorcist II: The Heretic had become one of the great reviled movies of the 1970s. “one nearly suspects the devil possessing a producer every decade or so to make another Exorcist film, despite the poor critical and box office results of all the sequels.” Exorcist: The Beginning was “revived too many years after the series had died.” it targeted a new generation, an amnesiac generation…” that “will never be sure which is the real ‘beginning,’…” The Exorcist sequels are “a law unto themselves and cannot be counted out. A Hollywood satan is a persistent devil.” (robert Castle, “A sequel too far.” Film Ex (spring, 2005): 1–4).

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (Warner bros., 2005; 116 min.) ★★

Produced by James G. robinson. directed by Paul schrader. screenplay by William Wisher, Caleb Carr. edited by tim silano. director of Photography, Vittorio storaro. color. Music by trevor rabin, Angelo badalamenti, dog fashion disco, trevor rabin. Production design, John Graysmark. Art direction, stefano ortolani, Marco trentini, Andy nicholson. set decoration, Alessandra Querzola, eli Griff, Lisa Chugg. Costumes by Luke reichle. special Make-Up effects by Knb efX Group. Visual effects by Proxima s.n.l., eden fX. Cast: father Lankester Merrin (stellan skarsgård), father francis (Gabriel Mann), dr. rachel Lesno (Clara bellar), Cheche (billy Crawford), sergeant Major (ralph brown), Jomo (israel Aduramo), Chuma (Andrew french), Kessel (Antonie Kamerling), Major Granville ( Julian Wadham), emekwi (eddie osei). introducing billy Crawford.

Synopsis: Holland, 1944: father Merrin must choose townsfolk to be shot in retaliation for a German soldier’s death. sacrificing himself will not do, and he reluctantly points out those to die. british east Africa, 1947: Merrin is an archaeologist working somewhat to his regret under the orders of Major Granville at a 5th century byzantine church where none should exist. the young father francis is on site to prevent keep desecration. When not at the dig, Merrin tries to entice the cripple Cheche to the compound’s doctor, rachel, who had spent some time in a German concentration camp. finding Cheche unconscious one day, Merrin carries him to the hospital to have his leg re-set by a doctor from nairobi. When the church is fully uncovered, father francis feels that it was built to contain something below. they find a crypt and evidence of human sacrifice. driving back to the compound, Merrin and father francis observe an odd site: cattle-eating hyenas they themselves killed. driver Chuma tries to explain. Local tribal elders want the excavation stopped. Major Granville arrives with a detachment to oversee the dig and prevent looting, but two of his men enter the church by night and are next day found dead, one of them decapitated. furious, Granville shoots one of the tribe and demands the killers be brought forth. Merrin slugs Granville, who later commits suicide. on the positive side, Cheche is mending at a tremendous pace and more children appear in father francis’ school. However, Jomo enters the room, wounds francis and kills some of the children before being shot. Jomo had sought to prevent his tribe from fu rther contamination by the new religion. francis takes Cheche to the church to baptize him. However, the demon within the boy comes to a fuller power, turning Cheche into a more complete but intimidating being. francis, meanwhile, has retrieved a copy of the Roman Ritual for exorcism. An earthquake seals the doors to the church, confining rachel and Cheche. the sergeant-Major won’t accede to Merrin’s request to unseal the doors until light. At that time francis is found tied to a tree, riddled with arrows. Carried inside, he says Merrin must conduct the exorcism. A small earthquake separates the stones at the church’s entrance and Merrin enters, finds a discombobulated rachel and the possessed Cheche. returning to the compound, Merrin dons his priestly garb. back in the church, the demon shows Merrin that day in war-time Holland, but in this scenario Merrin takes the pistol from the nazi officer and shoots him. nevertheless, the soldiers gunned down everyone, including Merrin. now, Merrin undertakes the exorcism even as the tribesman prepare to attack the soldiers and rachel seemingly considers suicide. Merrin succeeds in cowing the demon and restoring Cheche. no battle occurs between the tribe and the british soldiers and rachel does not kill herself. the tribe’s old chief tells Merrin the demon will continue to harass him. Merrin observes francis’ humble grave before meeting rachel and tells her he’s returning to rome. she asks him to write to her. He walks into the courtyard. Reviews: roger ebert found it “drenched in atmosphere and dread, … but it also has spiritual weight and texture,…” (roger ebert, www. rogerebert.com, May 19, 2005); Boxoffice said director schrader aimed for “a more contemplative take on Man’s culpability in creating and propagating evil,…” but the script “falls somewhere between lip service and full thematic complexity.” this was an “obviously dead franchise.” (Mark Keizer, Boxoffice, July 2005, p. 59). Analysis: déjà vu: are we watching a remake of the previous entry? Almost. Production company Morgan Creek had no confidence in Dominion and opted to have renny Harlin make Exorcist: The Beginning before finishing up and releasing Dominion. Curiously, The Exorcist worked partly because of the novelty of the ancient Middle eastern demon Pazuzu setting up shop in the modern district of Columbia’s Georgetown neighborhood. to repeat, generally the urban

84 • Fantastic Four environment is less successful in creating suspense and horror than the rural. see Friday the 13th and Predator, for example. the fact that Dominion and its immediate predecessor are set in a sunny tropical clime (but not a jungle, which would be scary) mitigates some of the power of the story. the dearth of real fireworks during the final exorcism assuredly left many audience members cold.

fAntAstiC foUr in a “Letters to stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby]” in an early sixties issue of The Fantastic Four, a reader fantasized about a possible fantastic four movie and posed some interesting casting. Gregory Peck would make a perfect Mr. fantastic, the reader thought, while tuesday Weld would be equally acceptable as the invisible Girl. troy donahue would heat things up as the Human torch and neville brand as the thing would be ideal. (We can imagine Peck hooting at such a casting suggestion.) Johnny Weissmuller was the suggested “star” to portray Marvel’s famous anti-hero, the sub-Mariner, even though Weissmuller was well past his prime by that time.

(20th Century-fox, 2005; 106 min.) ★★½

Fantastic Four

Produced by bernd eichinger, Avi Arad, ralph Winter. directed by tim story. screenplay by Mark frost, Michael france. based on the Marvel comic book by stan Lee and Jack Kirby. edited by William Hoy. director of Photography, oliver Wood. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by John ottman. Production design, bill boes. Art direction, don MacAulay. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Costumes by Jose fernandez. special Visual effects by Giant Killer robots, Meteor studios, sW digital, soho VfX, Composite image systems, Pixel Magic, HYdrAULX. Cast: reed richards (ioan Gruffudd), sue storm ( Jessica Alba), Johnny storm (Chris evans), ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Victor Von doom ( Julian McMahon), Leonard (Hamish Linklater), Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington), debbie Mcilvane (Laurie Holden), ernie (david Parker), Jimmy o’Hoolihan (Kevin Mcnulty), nurse (Maria Menounos), ned Cecil (Michael Kopsa), Kenny “Cowboy Kenny” bartram (himself), ronnie renner (himself). Synopsis: Physicist reed richards convinces former classmate, the supercilious and arrogant but rich and famous Victor Von doom, to sponsor his trip to Von doom’s space station. there, richards, the siblings sue and Johnny storm, plus ben Grimm will study an onrushing cosmic cloud thought to be a modern-day version of prehistoric clouds that might have affected human evolution. disaster strikes when the cloud appears sooner than expected and engulfs ben on a spacewalk. While rescuing him, the others are also blasted—but not killed. back on earth, each discovers a special power granted by the cosmic particles. richards can extend his arms to unthinkable distances, sue can become invisible, Johnny can set himself on fire and later fly, while ben, having taken the full impact of the cloud, has turned into an rock-like monstrosity with exceptional strength. His visage prevents ben’s fiancée from continuing their relationship, even after he stops a fire truck about to drop from a bridge. now known to the public as the “fantastic four,” the superheroes and heroine begin to experiment on themselves in richards’ baxter building laboratory. Von doom himself, initially less affected by the cosmic storm, is be-

ginning to turn into metal. His latent but hardly hidden meanness has not abated, rather increased as he convinces ben to enter a chamber to restore his human form while using the voltage created in the process to increase his own powers. He dons a metallic mask to become doctor doom and unsuccessfully tries to kill Johnny with a shoulder fired missile, but he gets the drop on sue until ben arrives and turns back into “the thing.” richards, who also had been almost killed by doom, joins the others to create a swirling heat cloud. doom emerges only to find ben breaking open a hydrant and with richards’ help freeze him in the middle of the street. the crowd goes wild. Later, ben tells richards he’s okay with his new body, especially as his new girlfriend Alicia, is blind and can’t see his strangeness. sue accepts richards proposal of marriage. doom’s body is placed in a storage container and slipped in between a plethora of others on a ship apparently headed for Latveria. Reviews: Rope of Silicon thought some story, much humor and lots of action overcame its liabilities. Chris evans was the standout (brad brevet, www.ropeofsilicon.com, July 8, 2005); the Winnipeg Free Press said it was “a little bit of this, a little bit of that, with the sum total not adding up to much. essentially a b movie writ large,…” (Glenn Whipp, Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 2005, p. 1). Analysis: Compared to future superhero films, this is a distinctly lesser production across the board: cast (with not enough significant subsidiary characters), effects, story. it’s not bad, it’s fair. note Chris evans in his first superhero role, to be superseded in the next decade by his numerous Captain America outings: the second Fantastic Four outing, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War.

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (20th Century-fox, 2007; 92 min.) ★★½

Produced by Avi Arad, bernd eichinger, ralph Winter. directed by tim story. screenplay by don Payne, Mark frost. story by John turman, Mark frost. based on characters created by stan Lee, Jack Kirby. edited by Peter s. eliiot, William Hoy. director of Photography, Larry blanford. Prints by deluxe. Music by John ottman. Production design, Kirk M. Petruccelli. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Art direction, daniel t. dorrance. Costumes by Mary Vogt. digital Visual effects designed and Created by WetA digital Ltd. Visual effects by the orphanage inc. special Visual effects by Giant Killer robots, Hammerhead Productions Ltd. Cast: reed richards/Mr. fantastic (ioan Gruffudd), susan storm/ invisible Woman ( Jessica Alba), Johnny storm/Human torch (Chris evans), ben Grimm/the thing (Michael Chiklis), Victor Von doom/dr. doom ( Julian McMahon), Alicia Masters (Kerry Washington), General Hager (Andre braugher), silver surfer (doug Jones; voice, Laurence fishburne), Captain raye (beau Garrett). Synopsis: A silvery object jets away from a distant planet enduring a fiery death. on earth, acclaim has softened somewhat the fantastic 4’s concerns about their varied super powers, but sue is a bit miffed by reed’s obsession with his scientific experiments to the exclusion of wedding planning. she is even more put out when she leads General Hager to her fiancée’s bachelor party and finds him dancing up a storm, so to speak, with other hot women, using his elastic properties to wow them and the crowd. in the kitchen, General Hager asks reed to help identify what’s going on across the world: large, perfectly circular holes have appeared as well as snow on the pyramids and ice in a Japa-

Fantastic 4 • 85 nese cove. Publicly, reed declines, but he secretly builds a tracking device for the military. Meanwhile, in a cavernous room, a cloaked figure has his metal mask broken from his face. reed and sue’s wedding day arrives, but before the ceremony is consummated on a skyscraper roof full of guests, the silver object the military had been tracking zooms over the city and causes a power outage. the news helicopter filming the wedding loses power and is prevented by ben and sue from crashing into the guests, including Alicia. Johnny flames and pursues the silver object, finally catching up to it in space, where the silver humanoid grabs him by the throat and sends him falling back to earth. Just in time he regains his flying abilities and manages to survive a crash into a Middle eastern sand dune. back with his companions, Johnny touches ben and they exchange powers. Johnny’s molecular structure has apparently been modified. He and ben switch back. His investigation convinces reed that the next crater will appear in the thames river. repairing to London with General Hager, the fantastic four prevent the giant ferris wheel from falling into the river, which in short order becomes a dry wasteland. Later, Johnny overhears reed tell sue they can give all this up once the current problem is solved. He tells ben, who’s irate. on Greenland’s russell Glacier, doom confronts what Johnny had indicated was a silver man on a silver “surfboard.” doom suggests that together, they can do whatever they want. the “silver surfer” will have none of it. thwarted, doom proposes to General Hager that he join the fantastic four to defeat the alien. reed develops a device to separate the surfer from what obviously is his power source: the surfboard. in Germany’s black forest, the surfer tells sue he must continue his mission to destroy worlds. Working together, the military and the fantastic four manage to sever the surfboard from its rider. the alien is sequestered in siberia where sue uses her invisibility power to approach him in secret and learn exactly what his mission is: to precede and identify planets fit for a cosmic force that engulfs life-bearing worlds. His family is held in bondage to make him do this. doom kills Hager and steals the surfboard. boarding a special aircraft, the fantastic four and the surfer pursue their erstwhile ally to shanghai and engage him in battle. Using various powers, Johnny slows doom down and ben uses a crane to knock him into the river. the silver surfer recovers his board and tells reed to tell sue was right, there’s always a choice. Assisted by Johnny, the silver surfer soars into the oncoming maelstrom. inside the cosmic entity, the silver surfer says he will no longer do its bidding and uses his power to cause the thing to implode. reed and sue get married although the ceremony is briefly interrupted by a phone call indicating that Venice is sinking into the Adriatic. the fantastic four head out in their special aircar for the new adventure. Reviews: the Star Tribune was utterly negative. it was “a dull slog no avalanche of razzle-dazzle digital hooey can camouflage. it’s not even entertaining camp.” (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], June 15, 2007); the Arizona Daily Star did not think it was “fantastic” but did claim it was “thrilling, engaging and totally adequate….” Moreover, it was “a fitting antidote for that scatterbrained downer known as Spider-Man 3.” (Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star, June 16, 2007). Analysis: At www.hitfix.com, August 10, 2015, roth Cornet and donna dickens engage in a spirited and humorous debate as to the merits of Silver Surfer versus its progenitor, but even more so, the 2015 reboot. At least Silver Surfer was fun, the reboot dour. this is an accurate view. A common—and irritating—device to create tension in such films is an authority figure bolloxing up the proceedings. Here it’s Andre braugher’s General.

(20th Century–fox, 2015; 100 min.) ★★

Fantastic 4

Produced by Gregory Goodman, simon Kinberg, robert Kulzer, Hutch Parker, Matthew Vaughn. directed by Josh trank. screenplay by Jeremy slater, simon Kinberg, Josh trank. edited by elliot Greenberg, stephen e. rivkin. director of Photography, Matthew Jensen. Color by technicolor. Music by Marco beltrami, Philip Glass. Production design, Chris seagers. Art direction, douglas Cumming, brian Kane, Miguel López-Castillo, Clint Wallace. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Costumes by George L. Little. Visual effects by MPC, Pixomondo, rodeo fX. Visual effects & Animation Created by Weta digital Ltd. Cast: reed richards (Miles teller), susan storm (Kate Mara), Johnny storm (Michael b. Jordan), ben Grimm ( Jamie bell), Victor Von doom/dr. doom (toby Kebbell), franklin storm (reg e. Cathey), dr. Allen (tim blake nelson), Mr. Kenny (dan Castellaneta), reed as a boy (owen Judge), ben as a boy (evan Hannemann). Synopsis: oyster bay, new York, 2007: young reed confounds his science teacher by telling him he’s creating a bio-matter transmitter, aka a teleportation device. Classmate ben Grimm believes in reed and they work together in reed’s garage. seven years later they demonstrate their device at a science fair, and it works. franklin storm of the baxter foundation hires reed to work with his daughter susan, son Johnny and the sometimes recalcitrant Victor Von doom on a fullscale device that will teleport, first, a chimp, and then, humans. it works on the chimp, who comes back in one piece. reed, Johnny, ben and Victor are up next and find themselves in a bleakly beautiful landscape. some sort of incandescent liquid traces its way across the plains and hills, and when the foursome plant an American flag in the soil they cause a rupture that has them running for their lives. Victor doesn’t make it, and the others are transformed when the teleporter explodes upon their arrival back on earth. reed can elongate himself at will, Johnny is a flame who can fly, and ben looks like a human rock. susan, also injured in the lab explosion, can fly via an impervious bubble in which she encases herself. reed flees, hoping to learn how to go back and rescue Victor. retrieved by ben from his hideout in Panama, reed joins the others at Area 57. in league with baxter and the government, Johnny and ben had been putting the kibosh on international criminals. reed focuses his attention on retrieving Victor. He is found but his features are barely human, and he is intent on doing damage to worthless humanity by initiating a process in the other dimension that will create an earth-devouring black hole. After Victor kills franklin, reed, sue, Johnny and ben work in concert to confound Victor’s efforts. back on earth, the newly self-christened fantastic 4 convince the authorities to let them work together at their own speed and are sent to a secret mountaintop facility. Reviews: the New York Times said that, “despite the dogged efforts of its talented young cast, has nothing.” (A.o. scott, New York Times, August 7, 2015, p. C5); The Atlantic called it “a dull, sour, claustrophobic mess:…” (Christopher orr, www.theatlantic.com, August 8, 2015). Analysis: this was generally considered a reboot that no one desired, and it is curious that it wasn’t given extra special treatment to distinguish it from the 2005 and 2007 films. Compared to X-Men and The Avengers, other Marvel films with a core group of superheroes, this is paltry indeed. it seems rather confined, even underfunded. it is not a sterling entry for Miles teller, who came to the fore in Divergent and scored big in Whiplash. the tepid opening weekend grosses caused some pundits to cite superhero fatigue. others trashed the director.

86 • Final Destination

finAL destinAtion (new Line Cinema, 2000; 90 min.) ★★½

Final Destination

Produced by Warren Zide, Glen Morgan, Craig Perry. directed by James Wong. screenplay by Glen Morgan, James Wong, Jeffrey reddick. story by Jeffrey reddick. edited by James Coblentz. director of Photography, robert McLachlan. Color by deLuxe. Music by shirley Walker. Production design, John Willett. Visual effects, Ariel Velasco shaw. Cast: Alex browning (devon sawa), Clear rivers (Ali Larter), Carter Horton (Kerr smith), Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke), Agent Weine (daniel roebuck), tod Waggner (Chad e. donella), Agent schreck (roger Guenveur smith), billy Hitchcock (seann William scott), bludworth (tony todd), terry Chaney (Amanda detmer), George Waggner (brenden fehr), Larry Murnau (forbes Angus), Christa Marsh (Lisa Marie Caruk), blake dreyer (Christine Chatelain). Synopsis: After boarding flight 180 for Paris, Alex browning has a vision—or a dream? He pictures the plane catching fire, explosions, and passengers sucked into the sky. trying to convince his friends that this is going to happen, Alex finds himself in custody in an airport passenger lounge with a few classmates unintentionally linked to his erratic behavior. one of them, Claire, seems to understand that Alex is not kidding. in fact, the plane takes off and explodes almost immediately. Alex becomes something of a pariah in his community. Can he foresee more devastation? does he cause it? Alex’s chum tod, oblivious to a stream of water from a leaking toilet, slips and is strangled on a clothes wire. suicide? no, says Alex, who theorizes that he and those who were taken off the plane were remained in death’s sights. this is only reinforced by a visit with Claire to tod’s body in the funeral parlor where the mortician bludworth regales them with talk about “death’s sadistic design.” terry is next to die, run down by a bus, followed by the teacher Valerie Lewton, injured by flying metal in her house, then by a falling knife, finally by the house’s explosion. because Alex was trying to warn her and entered the house, the fbi wants to question him again. With Claire’s help, Alex hides out at her cabin near Jones beach state Park. Gathering up Carter and billy, they drive around town until Carter figures he might as well get himself killed on his terms. He speeds to the train tracks, where Alex rescues him. billy, meanwhile, is decapitated by a piece of flying metal thrown up by the train. back in Claire’s cabin, Alex rigs it to cheat death. However, the fbi find his location, and he flees. Meanwhile, Claire is almost electrocuted at her house. Alex arrives and attempts to circumvent death for her by killing himself with the electric wire. He is knocked unconscious but not killed. six months later, Alex, Carter and Claire are in Paris, trying to put the past behind them. After all, they “won” according to Carter. but an electric malfunction leads to the crash of a large neon sign heading straight for Carter. Reviews: roger ebert was disappointed but found this “dead teenager Movie” a bit more original and possessed of “mordant humor.” (www.rogerebert.com, March 17, 2000); the New York Times termed it “leaden…” and a “heavy-handed fable about death and teenage illusions of invulnerability.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, March 17, 2000, p. e14). Analysis: it’s well photographed and interesting. in short, not bad, though perhaps permeated by too much electricity and flying metal.

it’s problematic that the teen audience this targeted would get any of the in-joke character names, e.g., Val Lewton was the producer of wellregarded 40s horror films like I Walked with a Zombie, Max schreck was the actor who played 1922’s Nosferatu.

(new Line Cinema, 2003; 90 min.) ★★

Final Destination 2

Produced by Warren Zide, Craig Perry. directed by david r. ellis. screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber, eric bress. story by J. Mackye Gruber, eric bress, Jeffrey reddick. based on characters created by Jeffrey reddick. edited by eric sears. director of Photography, Gary Capo. Color by Alpha Cine Motion Picture Laboratory, Vancouver, bC. Music by shirley Walker. Production design, Michael bolton. Art direction, James steuart. set decoration, Louise roper. Visual effects, Pixel Magic, digital dimension, Cinema Production services, inc. Cast: Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook), Clear rivers (Ali Larter), officer thomas burke (Michael Landes), evan Lewis (david Paetkau), tim Carpenter ( James Kirk), nora Carpenter (Lynda boyd), rory ( Jonathan Cherry), Kat (Keegan Connor tracy), eugene dix (t.C. Carson), shaina (sarah Carter), isabella Hudson ( Justina Machado), frankie (shaun sipps), Administrator (Christina Jastrzembska), biker (don bell), Mr. bludworth (tony todd), dano (Alex rae), Mr. Corman (Andrew Airlie), brian Gibbons (noel fisher), Mrs. Gibbons (Chilton Crane), Mr. Gibbons (Alfred Humphreys), dr. Kalarjian (enid-raye Adams). Synopsis: on the one-year anniversary of the crash of flight 180, Kimberly Corman and her friends set out for daytona beach. driving south on a rain-slicked interstate, Kimberly has a premonition of a catastrophe and attempts to convince officer burke of an impending pile-up. A logging truck cruises by and crashes. At the police station where those who were waiting behind Kimberly on the on ramp are interviewed, all are reminded of flight 180 and deaths of all occupants, including those who’d gotten off the plane beforehand. one still lives in a sanitarium: Clear rivers. others who’d been on the on ramp start to die. fleeing a fire in his apartment, evan Lewis is impaled by a fire escape ladder. office burke searches the net for more information about flight 180. Kimberley finds Clear in the stoneybrook institution, to which she’d committed herself. Kimberly accuses her of cowardice for staying in the padded room, but later she has second thoughts, but not before Kimberly and burke fail to warn the Carpenter mother and son in time and watch tim Carpenter crushed by a falling plate of glass. Clear takes Kim and burke to bludworth’s funeral parlor where he’s preparing evan for cremation. Pressed, he says a new life might nullify death’s wishes. they recall a pregnant woman on the ramp, and burke uses his police skills to track the woman’s van. before they find her, a meeting takes place at Kim’s. nora, eugene, Kat and rory attend, but except for rory, leave despite the warnings. However, eugene returns after nora is decapitated by the elevator. He tries to shoot himself in the head with a revolver but the gun won’t fire despite being fully loaded. isabella Hudson, the pregnant woman, is detained at a police station but her water breaks and the deputy is in a quandary but drives her to the hospital, on the way almost crashing into Kim, burke and Clear. during that drive, rory, Kim, burke and Kat realize that they’d cheated death in the past. eugene is injured but Kat is killed when a firefighter triggers the air bag that propels a shard of metal into her head. rory is sliced into three pieces by flying fence wire. isabella gives birth and all seems

Final Destination 3 • 87 fine, but it might be that isabella might not have been scheduled for death on the highway. eugene and Clear are killed in an oxygen explosion. Kim decides to stop the process by driving herself in an ambulance into the lake. burke dives down. Lakeview Hospital: Kim is resuscitated. Later she and burke attend a picnic at the Gibbons residence, where Mr. Gibbons says his son brian escaped death when he was pulled from in front of a van, but the grill blows up and with it goes brian. Reviews: Film Ex said the fun, as with the first film, was “picking up the clues of death’s design and trying to figure out which characters are going to have their tickets punched next.” those deaths were “spectacularly bizarre and shocking.” the cast was good (robert freese, Film Ex, Winter 2003, p. 4); the News-Journal found the action scenes “nothing short of spectacular, which makes it easy to ignore the mediocre acting and an uninspiring script that closely follows the original’s template.” she warned anyone who’d ever been in an auto wreck to stay away (sheila norman-Culp/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], January 31, 2003, p. 5). Analysis: it’s somewhat confusing but has good, gruesome death scenes. the final one, with the teen’s arm landing on the picnic table in front of his mother seems at odds with the tone of the film. A.J. Cook would soon find a niche on tV’s long-running Criminal Minds while david Paetkau would be part of the team on the Canadianlensed Flashpoint.

(new Line Cinema, 2006; 93 min.) ★★½

Final Destination 3

Produced by Craig Perry, Warren Zide, Glen Morgan, James Wong. directed by James Wong. screenplay by Glen Morgan, James Wong. based on characters created by Jeffrey reddick. edited by Chris Willingham. director of Photography, robert McLachlan. Color by deluxe. Music by shirley Walker. Production design, Mark s. freeborn. Art direction, tony Wohlgemuth, nancy ford. set decoration, Mark Lane. Costumes by Gregory b. Mah. Visual effects by soho VfX, digital dimension. Cast: Wendy Christensen (Mary elizabeth Winstead), Kevin fischer (ryan Merriman), ian McKinley (Kris Lemche), erin (Alexz Johnson), frankie Cheeks (sam easton), Jason Wise ( Jesse Moss), Carrie dreyer (Gina Holden), Lewis romero (texas battle), Ashley freund (Chelan simmons), Ashlyn Halperin (Crystal Lowe), Julia Christensen (Amanda Crew), Perry (Maggie Ma), Amber (ecstasia sanders), devil (tony todd, voice), bludworth ( Jody racicot). Synopsis: At a carnival where McKinley High school seniors celebrate their forthcoming graduation, Wendy uses her digital point-and-shoot camera to record images for the yearbook. some of those images disturb her. About to ride on the devil’s flight rollercoaster, she senses catastrophe and gets out along with some of

her friends before it leaves the platform. A leaking hose and other malfunctions lead to several deaths, including that of her boyfriend Jason. Attempting to console Wendy, Kevin tells her that six years previously a high school french class was killed when a Paris-bound plane crashed on takeoff. one student had a premonition and exited the plane with some others before takeoff, but they died later, one by one. At home, Wendy tells her sister Julie that she should have done more to prevent the deaths. Meanwhile, Ashley and Ashlyn, gal pals who’d gotten off the coaster, are scorched to death in a tanning salon when events beyond their ken cause their beds to become locked while the temperature soars. After their funeral, Wendy tells Kevin that her fear is like a cold and terrifying presence always with her. she shows him photos from the past as well as her own at the carnival to prove that something uncanny is taking place. they attempt to fix the order of future deaths. frankie would be next and in fact has his head penetrated and sliced in a car accident at a fast-food restaurant drivethru. football star Lewis’s head is crushed in a gym accident. even though Wendy and Kevin reach ian and erin at the lawn and garden where they work, erin is killed by a staple gun. ian was skipped, says Wendy, because she and Kevin had intervened. but Kevin is up next. Wendy discovers that her sister Julie was ahead of her on the coaster and races to the park where the McKinley tri-Centennial celebration is taking place. that’s where Julie went to enjoy the fireworks and where Kevin is part of security. Kevin saves Julie from strangulation by rope when a tethered horse breaks loose. the girl who’d been next to Julie on the coaster is impaled. Wendy saves Kevin and says they must get away from ian. He is severed when a sign on a cherry picker falls. five Months Later: on a subway car, Wendy has a premonition and plans to get off only to have Julie enter the car before she can exit. to their surprise, Kevin is also on the train. A rat chewing on discarded candy is electrocuted and causes the track to separate and the train wreck, killing everyone but Wendy, injured and lying in

Left to right: Amanda Crew, Ryan Merriman, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Final Destination 3 (New Line Cinema, 2006).

88 • The Final Destination the middle of the track. A moment later another train speeds around the corner. Reviews: MovieCrypt.com said it was suitable for fans who liked it “r-rated, over-the-top,…” (Grim d. reaper, http://moviecrypt. com, february 12, 2006); The Age said it “has roughly the same straightforward yet perplexing plot as its predecessors.” the characters’ demises were “fast, surprising and gruesome, inviting as much amusement as shock.” on a serious level, the movie was “honest about the terrifying absurdity of death.” ( Jake Wilson, The Age [Melbourne], April 27, 2006); Analysis: it’s a fairly satisfying and swift moving entry in the series. Mary elizabeth Winstead makes for a compelling heroine as she would later in The Thing and 10 Cloverfield Lane. (new Line Cinema, 2009; 82 min.) ★★

The Final Destination

Produced by Craig Perry, Warren Zide. directed by david r. ellis. screenplay by eric bress. based on characters created by Jeffrey reddick. edited by Mark stevens. director of Photography, Glen MacPherson. Prints by deluxe. Music by brian tyler. Production design, Jaymes Hinkle. Art direction, scott Plauche. set decoration, raymond Pumilia. Costumes by Claire breaux. Visual effects, Hybride, CafefX, Amalgamated Pixels, inc., Zoic studios. Cast: nick (bobby Campo), Lori (shantel Vansanten), Janet (Haley Webb), Hunt (nick Zano), George (Mykelti Williamson), samantha Lane/MiLf (Krista Allen), MiLf husband (Phil Austin), Mechanic Andy (Andrew fiscalla), Mechanic’s girlfriend Lottie (stephanie Honoré), racist Carter daniels ( Justin Welborn), racist’s wife (Lara Grice), Cowboy Groves ( Jackson Walker), Kid #1 (William Aguillard), Kid #2 (bendan Aguillard). Synopsis: At the Megatech 300 Memorial race, nick has a vision of deadly crashes and vehicles that spill over into the spectator stands. escaping from the impending doom with his girlfriend Lori and friends Hunt and Janet, he hashes things out at the death by Caffeine coffee house. the tV news reveals that 52 were killed at the speedway, and nick and Lori attend the memorial service, meeting security guard George, who asks nick about that day. that evening the overt racist who’d insulted George drives to his house in his tow truck, intent on placing a cross in his yard. events do not go as planned and the winch cable drags the miscreant down the street, the friction of the chain setting him on fire. soccer mom samantha Lane, who in nick’s vision died when a car engine shot from the track onto her, is killed when a mower kicks up a stone into her eye while she’s at the hairdresser. nick and Lori have Janet and Hunt over to the apartment and bring up past events they’ve looked into that resemble what’s going on, the flight 180 disaster being one. Hunt and Janet are told that even the survivors were killed—in the order they should have been if they’d remained in place. nick thinks intervention or breaking the chain of deaths could work to save themselves. He takes Lori to the racetrack where George shows them video of the crash. nick says if they can keep that mechanic who was in the stands with them from being killed, the chain will be severed. but while they try to convince him of impending doom at the garage, he is killed by a large canister propelled out of the bay. nick realizes that Hunt and Janet should stay away from water, but Hunt is himself sucked through a pool drain, and Janet is almost decapitated by her car roof at the car wash before Lori and nick rescue her. George gives up and will be at peace with whatever happens; he’ll be with his dead family. nick and Janet, however, think

the chain is broken and go to George, who’s been unsuccessfully trying to kill himself all day. Lori says saving Janet broke the chain. but while bobby packs for a trip he sees that an unidentified survivor of the raceway crash has been identified as “Cowboy” Groves, still in hospital. nick and George race to the hospital only to witness Groves’ demise when an overflowing therapy tub falls through the ceiling and crushes him. outside, George is run over by a truck. At the mall theater where they are watching Love Lays Dying, Lori has a premonition, as does nick, who is racing to the theater. A fire in an upper floor construction site spreads and creates explosions that result in Janet’s death by impalement. A chain reaction causes fire, and a falling escalator out in the mall sucks Lori into the gears. but no! in reality, nick is still on his way to the theater. Although wounded by staples, he manages to turn on the sprinkler system to stop the fire. two Weeks Later: at the coffee house, nick wonders if the three had been destined to be there at that moment. Just then an out of control truck blasts through the window. Reviews: Horror Movie A Day thought 3d for this was appropriate and commended it for “how strictly it sticks to the established formula,….” it also had humor. nevertheless, the template for the series showed strain (http://horror-movie-a-day.blogspot.com, August 23, 2009); the New York Times was not impressed with this entry because 3-d seemed to substitute for the wit and “dodging” in previous entries ( Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, August 28, 2009). Analysis: if this was starting the franchise, it would probably seem better. it could be a comedy, what with the ever more outlandish deaths and the over-the-top explosions from simple beginnings. if things were this easily set on fire or susceptible to detonating in real life, well…. it’s hard to imagine any pool drain having such suction to ingest a person. this is only believable in outer space films such as Alien: Resurrection, when a portal is compromised and the monster, its innards ripped out, is compressed and sucked into space. the opening credits reminds us of the previous film via animation of the deaths. it’s another product placement film, this time for Pepsi and nokia.

(new Line Cinema, 2011; 92 min.) ★★½

Final Destination 5

Produced by Craig Perry, Warren Zide. directed by steven Quale. screenplay by eric Heisserer. edited by eric sears. Music by brian tyler. director of Photography, brian Pearson. Prints by deluxe. Production design, david r. sandeffur. Art direction, sandi tanaka. set decoration, Caroline George-Kohne, Melissa Grace olson. Costumes by Marie Melawson. Visual effects by Prime focus, soho VfX, Cosa Visual effects. Cast: sam Lawton (nicholas d’Agosto), Molly Harper (emma bell), Peter friedkin (Miles fisher), Candace Hooper (ellen Wroe), olivia Castle ( Jacqueline Macinnes Wood), nathan (Arlen escarpeta), isaac Palmer (P.J. byrne), dennis (david Koechner), William bludworth (tony todd), Agent Jim block (Courtney b. Vance). Synopsis: on a bus heading to a Presage Paper company retreat, sam senses peril. the bridge they are crossing and under repair starts to crack. Cables break. Candace falls and is impaled on a passing ship’s mast. the bus goes over the side. sam and Molly run and make it to safety. no, this is a vision, but events turn over and he insists everyone exit the bus. sam and Molly, followed by Candace, run as the center of the bridge collapses. How did sam know? He tells Agent Jim block he had a vision. officially, high winds are blamed for the catastrophe

The Fog • 89 that took the lives of seventeen Presage employees. At the cemetery service, a mysterious black man says, “death doesn’t like to be cheated.” sam visits Molly, who tells him to take the Paris job. At a gymnastics meet, Candace’s back is broken in a freak accident, and Peter is distraught. isaac is next to die in a massage parlor when he’s a victim of fire and a falling object. the mysterious man who keeps popping up is the coroner. He explains the “game.” Peter says it’s coming after the rest of them. olivia dies next, crashing through a window at the eye doctor after water shorted a cord instrumental in her laser surgery. Agent block is told by sam that he and his friends weren’t supposed to survive the bridge catastrophe. sam and Molly determine the order of deaths. roy is killed at the factory. Peter says they must figure it out; it’s kill or be killed. Peter, sam and Molly confront the coroner, who tells them they must kill someone who was not scheduled to die on the bridge. dennis is killed by a flying wrench.

sam tells his chef that he’ll take the Paris gig. Peter intends killing Molly, knocks down sam, and shoots Agent block. sam impales Peter and gets block’s life. two weeks later, about to leave for Paris, Peter observes a kid carted off the plane before it catches fire and crashes. Reviews: the Winnipeg Free Press said, “it is only the quality of the mayhem that distinguishes one fd from another.” this one was, however, better than the others in that realm. “it’s savage stuff. How odd it is that it is also so likable.” (randall King, Winnipeg FreePress, August 12, 2011); MovieCrypt.com thought it was second only to the original and made excellent use of 3d (Grim d. reaper, http://moviecrypt. com, August 31, 2011). Analysis: it’s a competent series finale (?), nothing more. it is famous for the poster that was banned in britain, the one with the rebars protruding from a skull. that poster announced, “it’s not if, it’s when.” Warner bros. argued that the poster would not engender “excessive fear or distress.” However, 13 complaints from parents caused britain’s Advertising standards Authority to remove it from buses and the Underground (Mark sweeney, “final destination 5 poster banned,” www. theguardian.com, december 7, 2011).

tHe foG (AVCo-embassy, 1980; 89 min.) ★★★

The Fog

Produced by debra Hill. directed by John Carpenter. screenplay by John Carpenter, debra Hill. edited by tommy Lee Wallace, Charles bornstein. director of Photography, dean Cundey. Panavision. Metrocolor. Music by John Carpenter. Production design, tommy Lee Wallace. Art direction, Craig stearns. sets by Get set, inc. Costumes by bill Whitten, steven Loomis. Make-up by dante Palmiere, ed ternes, erica Ulland. special Makeup, rob bottin. special effects, richard Albain, Jr., A & A special effects. special Photographic effects, James f. Liles. Cast: stevie Wayne (Adrienne barbeau), father Malone (Hal Holbrook), Kathy Williams ( Janet Leigh), elizabeth solley ( Jamie Lee Curtis), Mr. Machen ( John Houseman), nick Castle (tommy Atkins), sandy fadel (nancy Loomis), dick baxter ( James Canning), dan o’bannon (Charles Cyphers), Andy (ty Mitchell), Al Williams ( John Goff), tommy Wallace (George “buck” flower), blake (rob bottin), bennett ( John Carpenter).

Final Destination 5 poster art (New Line Cinema, 2011).

Synopsis: edgar Allan Poe: “is all that we see or seem, but a dream within a dream?” on April 21, as a campfire crackles on California’s Antonio bay beach, old Mr. Machen tells attentive children the legend of the Elizabeth Dane, a clipper ship that a century before wrecked off spivey Point. in town, the community’s adults listen to the soothing voice of KAb radio’s stevie Wayne as she provides news and music from her perch in an old lighthouse. in the church, father Malone is surprised when a piece of the stone wall falls onto his table and reveals a recess in which he finds the Journal of Father Patrick Malone. the former clergyman

90 • The Fog wrote about sinking a clipper ship to take its cargo of gold and thwart Captain blake’s hope to start a leper colony nearby. on the highway, would-be artist elizabeth hitches a ride with nick and they end up in bed together. out on the water, the Seagrass’ crew watches in astonishment as a formidable sailing ship passes by in an unusually dense fog. they do not have the opportunity to tell anyone because ghostly figures skewer and otherwise put an end to their lives. nick hears a knock at his door and sees a dark figure standing outside. the clock strikes, he opens the door, and finds—no one. At the lighthouse, water seeping from the dAne sign shorts out a tape player. stevie hears a menacing voice speaking of those who must die. elizabeth accompanies nick to the harbor and onto the boat searching for the Seagrass. they find it seemingly abandoned until a body falls from a cupboard. in town, Kathy Williams prepares for the town’s 100th anniversary celebration. After an autopsy on the body from the Seagrass, that body arises to terrify elizabeth but falls to the floor when she screams. Weatherman dan o’bannon phones stevie to warn her of an incoming fog bank. opening the door to a knock, he is killed by ghostly figures. Alarmed by the fog moving ceaselessly across the beach and into town, stevie warns the citizens and screams for her son to get out of their house. However, although the housekeeper and Andy secure the windows and doors, a knock entices the housekeeper and she is pulled into the fog. Hearing stevie’s cries for help on the truck radio, nick and elizabeth rescue Andy just in time and roar back into town. the fog rolls on and stevie urges everyone to seek safety in the old church. nick, elizabeth, Andy, Kathy and nancy arrive almost simultaneously and find father Malone resigned to suffering from the curse his grandfather had brought upon Antonio bay. nick reads the journal while father Malone and Kathy retrieve a golden cross from behind the stone wall. Malone realizes part of the gold from the Elizabeth Dane was melted down and turned into this. As the ghosts invade the church, Malone carries the cross toward them, telling the spirit of blake to take him. blake takes hold of the cross and it begins to glow. At the lighthouse, stevie scrambles to the upper reaches, slipping and sliding while fending off her supernatural attackers. When father Mal-

one falls away from the glowing cross, blake and the spirits attacking stevie disappear. back on the air, stevie advises ships at sea to be ever wary of incoming fog. in the church, fog again appears and blake decapitates father Malone. Reviews: roger ebert said it had “style and energy,…” but fog wasn’t a good enough villain and the plot needed more modicums of sense. still and all, director Carpenter was talented, he just needed a better story upon which to focus his “considerable directing talents.” (www.rogerebert.com, february 5, 1980); Movies on TV thought it was mostly a “crackerjack ghost story,…” (steven H. scheuer, ed., Movies on TV: 1982–1983 Edition, new York: bantam books, 1981, p. 228); Video Movie Guide 1990 called it an “almost” movie, “a nice try but no cigar.” (Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1990, new York: ballantine books, 1989, p. 917); The A-Z of Horror Films called it an “Amiable, old fashioned scare story, very competently handled…” (Howard Maxford, The A-Z of Horror Films, bloomington and indianapolis: indiana University Press, 1997, p. 99). Analysis: there is something frightfully relaxing about John Carpenter’s film, his first theatrical movie after 1978’s Halloween. A few days before the premiere, roger ebert interviewed barbeau, asking her about her stage and tV career, her marriage in 1979 to Carpenter, and of course The Fog, which was her first theatrical movie. she said the experience was not pleasant as the fog was made of water and kerosene and smelled up the joint. it was difficult to create it, more onerous to remove it. the actors sometimes needed to walk backwards; the film was reversed later (roger ebert, “interview with Adrienne barbeau,” www.rogerebert.com, february 3, 1980).

The Fog

(Columbia/revolution studios/debra Hill Productions, 2005; 100 min.) ★

Produced by debra Hill, david foster, John Carpenter. directed by rupert Wainwright. screenplay by Cooper Layne. based on the film written by debra Hill and John Carpenter. edited by dennis Virkler. director of Photography, nathan Hope. technicolor. Prints by deluxe. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Michael diner, Graeme Murray. Art direction, Catherine schroer. set decoration, rose Marie Mcsherry. Costumes by daevina danyluck, Clare McLaren, Christine Coutts. Visual effects by HY*drAU*LX. Makeup and Character effects designed and Created by schminken studio inc. “in Loving Memory of debra Hill.” Cast: nick Castle (tom Welling), elizabeth Williams (Maggie Grace), blake (rade sherbedgia), brett spooner (deray davis), stevie Wayne (selma blair), father Malone (Adrian Hough), Kathy Williams (sara botsford), Andy Wayne (Cole Heppell), Machen (r. nelson brown), dan ( Jonathon Young). Synopsis: in the past, off Antonio isLeft to right: Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Janet Leigh on set of The Fog land, oregon, a clipper ship is set ablaze. today: After a successful fishing (Avco Embassy, 1980).

I, Frankenstein • 91 trip for their two clients aboard the Seagrass, nick and spooner have difficulty reeling in the anchor. Unknown to them, the anchor has dislodged parts of a sunken ship. on the island, residents prepare to honor their four founders with an impressive statue. nick is unimpressed. driving his truck that night, nick stops for a lone woman trudging along and discovers elizabeth, his girlfriend come home after rambling far and wide. Later, the old coot Machen shows her a pocket watch he found on the beach. it has engraved on it a set of scales. At sea, spooner, sean and two party girls come to grief when a thick fog envelops the ship, accompanied by a ghostly clipper ship. nick drives elizabeth to her mother’s but there is no special welcome and elizabeth goes to nick’s place. taking a launch out to the Seagrass, nick and elizabeth find the two girls and another fellow savagely murdered. spooner is located in the freezer, but alive. the police think he’s the culprit. Wondering about the watch and the crazy happenings about town—like the smashed windshield of nick’s truck as they drove along—elizabeth goes into the morgue where sean’s body rises and approaches her before collapsing. she proceeds to the library to investigate town history. in the boathouse, she falls into the water, losing spooner’s video camera that had revealed that not spooner but something else had murdered the others. Climbing out of the water, elizabeth pulls some stonework from the wall and discovers a journal by father Malone. it explains how the four founders of the Antonio island community boarded the Elizabeth Dane and set it afire, taking its gold to build and to attract settlers. While on the phone with dan at the weather station, stevie hears his cries for help as he steps outside into the fog. she phones her home, where her son Andy is hiding in a bedroom after his housekeeper was killed by a spirit. nick and elizabeth hear stevie’s cries on the radio and race to her home, rescuing Andy. Leaving her lighthouse station, stevie is attacked, her car tumbling into the sea. she manages to extricate herself and swim to the surface and at the town hall reunites with Andy. the spirits attack the building and those inside who are the spawn of the men who burned the Elizabeth Dane and its leprous crew. elizabeth finds herself outside, confronted by the leader of the spirits, who kisses her. she transforms into a lady in white, obviously the wife of blake, and disappears into the mist with him and his fellows. on the radio next day, stevie, with Andy by her side, suggests that something definitely happened in the fog. Perhaps the spirits wanted revenge, perhaps justice, or maybe just a home. nick is at sea, tossing the journal into the deep. Reviews: the New York Times liked the ignoring of some horror film rules and noted that it was geared toward teens, with some of the details of the original film changed (Anita Gates, New York Times, october 15, 2005, p. b8); MovieCrypt.com was curious about enough people remembering the original to give cause for a remake, and one with an aimless script and often bad effects (Grim d. reaper, http:// moviecrypt.com, october 16, 2005). Analysis: the inconsistencies one could brush aside in the original surface here in full force and leave the viewer aghast at the loopiness of the story. A fog of vast proportions spawning the spirits? spirits projecting mayhem across town even before the fog gets there? What of the coincidences, such as elizabeth finding the journal after nearly drowning? Was that planned by…? in any case, its location hardly above the water for nigh on a hundred years would almost certainly have rendered it a soaked and illegible piece of pulp. it is disappointing that stevie abandons the lighthouse, thus the scary incident from the first film in which she fights off spirits on the roof. the lighthouse should play a key role. it does not here. Lest it be forgotten, the first film featured actors with gravitas: Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, and John Houseman. even those relatively new to the big screen (Adrienne barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis) were arresting.

frAnKenstein see Volume i for Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), Frankenstein—1970 (1958), Frankenstein’s Daughter (1958), The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Jessie James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter (1966), Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), Lady Frankenstein (1972), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973), Blackenstein: The Black Frankenstein (1973), Young Frankenstein (1974), Frankenstein Island (1981), The Bride (1985), The Monster Squad (1988), Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound (1990), Frankenhooker (1990), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994).

I, Frankenstein

(Lionsgate entertainment/Hopscotch features, 2014; 92 min.) ★★ Produced by tom rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, richard Wright, Andrew Mason, sidney Kimmel. directed by stuart beattie. screenplay by stuart beattie. based on a screen story by stuart beattie, Kevin Grevioux. based on the graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux. inspired by the character created by Mary shelley. edited by Marcus d’Arcy. director of Photography, ross emery. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by Johnny Klimek, reinhold Heil. Production design, Michelle McGahey. Art direction, simon McCutcheon. set decoration, rolland Pike. Costumes by Cappi ireland. special Make-up effects designed and Created by Make-Up effects Group. Visual effects by iloura, Luma Pictures, Cutting edge, rising sun and Method studios. Cast: Adam (Aaron eckhart), dr. terra Wade (Yvonne strahovski), Charles Wessex/Prince naberius (bill nighy), Leonore (Miranda otto), Gideon ( Jai Courtney), Zuriel (socratis otto), Victor frankenstein (Aden Young), Keziah (Caitlin stasey), ophir (Mahesh Jadu), Helek (steve Mouzakis), dekar (Kevin Grevioux), Carl Avery (nicholas bell), barachel (deniz Akdenz). Synopsis: A lonely figure carries from the wilderness Victor frankenstein, who in 1795 created the “living corpse without a soul.” His now lifeless body is being returned to his home. After burying the body, the creature is set upon by demonic beings, one of whom he kills but others of which are destroyed by gargoyles come to life. the creature is taken to a great cathedral and chained. Leonore, high queen of the Gargoyle order, interrogates the creature and explains that her society was created by the Archangel Michael to battle satan’s demon legions. she names her prisoner “Adam” and asks him to stay, but after selecting two blessed rods as his weapons, he departs. two centuries pass before Adam returns to a modern world. in this era, dr. terra Wade uses a rat to demonstrate a resurrection sequence for Mr. Wessex, who in truth is Prince naberius, lord of the demons. A gargoyle grabs up Adam and takes him back to the cathedral to be berated by Leonore. naberius learns about dr. frankenstein’s 1793 record book, which Leonore has secreted in the cathedral, and sends his minions on a mass attack. Many are killed but Leonore is captured. Gideon, Leonore’s trusted factotum, exchanges frankenstein’s book

92 • Victor Frankenstein for Leonore. Adam follows and discovers thousands of human corpses while in the lab naberius presents frankenstein’s journal to dr. Wade. back at the cathedral, Leonore is told that 16 gargoyles were lost. Gideon reckons this the creature’s fault, but Leonore tells him to find Adam. Adam enters dr. Wade’s lab. the alarm goes off and naberius’ slaves appear. “Leave him be,” commands naberius, who endeavors to ingratiate himself with the intruder. “i seek my own answers,” replies Adam, who crashes through the window and lands on a subway car. Having read his maker’s journal, he follows dr. Wade home and tells her she’s working for demons that are storing human corpses. Attacked by naberius’ right-hand man, Adam uses one of the sacred daggers to dispatch him. dr. Wade retrieves the journal and ministers to the wounded Adam, who says he must go to Leonore and tells Wade, “i’m a monster.” she responds that is only true if he behaves like one. naberius discovers that the journal is missing even as Wade finishes reading it. Adam reveals he killed Victor’s wife and that Victor froze to death. dr. Wade asks if he wants her to fulfill Victor’s plan to create a mate. she phones her assistant Carl to arrange a meeting. this is considered a mistake by Adam, who gives dr. Wade a dagger. At Central station, Carl reveals that he had to tell dr. Wade everything was okay. she’s detained. Adam informs Leonore of naberius’ plan to animate corpses and that he must protect a human. she urges him to retrieve the scientist and she’ll send him wherever he wants to go. but from Gideon, she asks for the creature to be destroyed. Adam is attacked and impaled by Gideon but ascends and finds the dagger dropped by dr. Wade. naberius strangles Carl so the doctor will have to assist him in bringing Carl back to life. reanimation of the corpses begins even as Adam is burning the journal. He approaches the cathedral and leads the gargoyles to naberius’ compound. the Prince of the demons says he has many residences all over the world and that Adam will become one of his creatures. one of the demon spirits infiltrated the corpses enters Adam but fails to make him a demon. Adam destroys naberious by carving a sacred symbol on his torso, and his facility collapses in flame. Leonore rescues Adam and dr. Wade. Later, overlooking the city from a rooftop, Adam pledges to defend humanity. “i, frankenstein.” Reviews: Hollywood Gothique equated it with a videogame. Although the action was “nicely rendered,…” the story kept interrupting things “even though it’s pretty obvious that the story doesn’t really matter.” the whole thing was predicable (steve biodrowski, www. hollywoodgothique.com, January 25, 2014); Total Film bemoaned the lack of subtlety, calling it a “knuckle-headed fantasy.” ( James Mottram, Total Film, April 2014, p. 47); the Winnipeg Free Press thought it had the template of Underworld, “Just substitute ‘demons’ and ‘godly gargoyles’ for the vampires and werewolves,….” there was “creative ingenuity…” in production design, but all was compromised by “phoneybaloney gravitas, and zero humour,…” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, January 25, 2014, p. G9); Total Film called it a “knuckle-headed fantasy.” subtlety was sacrificed to CGi and only bill nighy was having a good time ( James Mottram, www.totalfilm.com, January 31, 2014). Analysis: it is painful to find Gideon a standard, clichéd naysayer. How did his spirit rise into Adam if that gargoyle spirit had risen skyward? reasons for Adam to hunt demons are rather shaky. How are the gargoyles and their demonic enemies not evident to humans? As he had as Viktor in the Underworld series, bill nighy must have had heaps of fun as the villainous naberius. it’s based on a graphic novel, thus moves at a frenetic pace, which is probably a blessing. does that grant dispensation for favorable big-screen reviews? in several ways I, Frankenstein reminds one of The Spirit: darkness, humans basically oblivious to the unnatural characters in their midst, comic book origin,

and cinematic outcome: not good. the audience must accept this, like batman’s Gotham, as some alternate world or else….

Victor Frankenstein

(davis entertainment/tsG entertainment, 2015; 110 min.) ★★

Produced by John davis. directed by Paul McGuigan. screenplay by Max Landis. edited by Andrew Hulme, Charlie Phillips. director of Photography, fabian Wagner. color. Music by Craig Armstrong. Production design, eve stewart. Art direction, oliver Carroll, tom Weaving. set decoration, Michael standish. Costumes by Jany temime. Visual effects by MPC, nvizible VfX. Cast: Victor Von frankenstein ( James McAvoy), igor (daniel radcliffe), Lorelei ( Jessica brown findlay), inspector roderick turpin (Andrew scott), rafferty (bronson Webb), barnaby (daniel Mays), finnegan (freddie fox), elder frankenstein (Charles dance), Prometheus 1 (Guillaume delaunay), Prometheus 2 (spencer Wilding). Synopsis: An unnamed young hunchback is the butt of jokes and victim of cruelty at barnaby’s Circus. Unbeknownst to his fellows, he has a first-class mind and he studies human anatomy, especially that of Lorelei. When this trapeze artiste falls one evening, he rushes into the ring and with the help of a gentleman spectator restores her breathing. impressed with the hunchback cum clown’s medical knowledge, the gentleman asks him to leave the circus and work for him. it’s easier said than done, as barnaby doesn’t want him to leave and locks him in a cage. the mysterious gentleman, Victor frankenstein, opens the lock and the two flee, but a circus worker is killed, not by frankenstein but accidentally by a fellow employee. nevertheless, inspector turpin must investigate. frankenstein names his young assistant igor and determines that his hunch is merely an unusual abscess and drains it. Add a brace and igor is soon walking upright. frankenstein lets igor roam the main floor of his home while he enters a basement where one day he reveals to igor the results of his experiments. He has used dead animal parts to fashion a creature with a chimpanzee head and the body of a … lion? electricity renders it conscious but nasty, and it must be killed. igor encounters the recovered Lorelei and she is much taken with his appearance at the club where Victor gets himself into trouble by imbibing too much. He is not pleased with Lorelei’s skepticism over the little he reveals about his experiments. inspector turpin visits Victor’s home and says he will return with a warrant. He knows there’s something down below. He never gets the warrant but breaks in anyway. Victor and igor take up residence at a seaside castle where Victor produces, with igor’s help and lightning, a very large man made of body parts is produced, but in a few moments even Victor realizes this is not a man. He and igor finally kill it upon remembering that both of the hearts they’d embedded in its chest need to be punctured. turpin, no longer an inspector because he’d not used a search warrant before entering frankenstein’s laboratory, is killed in the melee. Victor escapes and writes to igor that he’s free for the time being yet in the future might call on him for further assistance. for the nonce, however, igor can enjoy life with Lorelei. Reviews: The Wrap was irritated by the filmmakers failure to merge the serious and comedic as well as “the aggressively CGi’d period London,…” (Alonso duralde, www.thewrap.com, november 24, 2015); the Winnipeg Free Press found it “overly charged.” McAvoy’s doctor was played “at an emotionally hysterical pitch that gets old quickly.” by contrast, radcliffe’s igor kept his head “in the storm of

Freaky Friday • 93 overacting and digital flotsam…” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, november 27, 2015, p. d2). Analysis: despite the explosions, the earnest performances (and who is anxious to criticize McAvoy and radcliffe?), a rather impressive monster, and the opulent look, it is all somewhat boring. the funniest comment is frankenstein’s that he wants the recreated man to h ave a flat head. Why? because he likes it. it’s too bad such remarks couldn’t have been employed in a full-out comedic approach, but as some have noted, we were treated to that in Mel brooks’ Young Frankenstein.

freAKY fridAY (buena Vista/Walt disney Productions, 1976; 95 min.) ★★

Freaky Friday

Produced by ron Miller. directed by Gary nelson. screenplay by Mary rodgers. based on the book by Mary rodgers. edited by Cotton Warburton. director of Photography, Charles f. Wheeler. Color by technicolor. Music by Johnny Mandel. song, “i’d Like to be You for a day” Words and Music by Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn. sung by barbara Harris and Jodie foster. Production design, tom McCrory. Art direction, John b. Mansbridge, Jack senter. set decoration, robert benton. Costumes by Chuck Keehne, emily sundby. Makeup, robert J. schiffer. Hairstyles, Gloria Montemayor. special effects by eustace Lycett, Art Cruickshank, danny Lee. Cast: ellen Andrews (barbara Harris), Annabel Andrews ( Jodie foster), William Andrews ( John Astin), ben (sparky Marcus), Mrs. schmauss (Patsy Kelly), boris Harris (Marc McClure), Harold Jennings (dick Van Patten), Virginia (Vicki schreck), Charles dilk (sorrell booke), Mr. Joffert (Alan oppenheimer), Coach (ruth buzzi), Coach betsy (Kaye ballard), Mrs. Murphy (Marie Windsor), Mr. Jackman (fritz feld), Lucille Gibbons (brooke Mills). Synopsis: on friday the thirteenth, thirteen-year-old Annabel Andrews has teen angst. she considers her young brother a creep and her life all out of whack despite being an expert water-skier, captain of the school’s field hockey team for that day’s playoffs, and trusting her father, a Pr man. Her mother, ellen, is another matter, always advising her on this or that agenda. Annabel complains to classmate Vicki on this score, and when she and ellen simultaneously wish they could switch places for a day, it happens. While Annabel/ellen goes to school, ellen/Annabel attends to household chores but can’t get anything right. At school, Annabel/ellen has no better luck negotiating classes and harassing boys. only when she presents detailed information on the Korean conflict in history class does anyone take notice. At home, neighbor boy boris tells ellen/Annabel that Annabel may be a bad seed. Annabel/ellen can’t convince friend Virginia she’s not the same person. At the hockey game, Annabel/ellen is singled out by the opposing coach for torment and scores into the wrong net. Her dad calls home to urge his wife to make food for his presentation at oceana Marina. ellen/Annabel flubs the turkey and ben messes up boris’s chocolate mousse. At least Annabel/ellen has her braces removed, gets a new hairstyle, and buys smart clothes before her girlfriends scarf her up for that afternoon’s aquacade. At the lake, ellen/ Annabel is fooled into skiing and parasailing, and she succeeds in wowing bill’s prospective clients. Meanwhile, Annabel/ellen, boris and ben race there with the food, but everything goes awry and their VW bug ends in the drink. ellen/Annabel and Annabel/ellen have a

heart to heart and they exchange bodies. As Annabel prepares to go out with boris, she and her mother hear with horror bill and ben talk about changing places. Reviews: the New York Times found the car chases amusing but thought the “jokes are chasing the reactions,…” (richard eder, New York Times, January 29, 1977, p. 11); TV Movies thought Harris and foster “make this exceptional disney fare, even though Mary rodgers’ script winds up with formula slapstick chase.” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies 1979–80 Edition, new York: signet, 1978, p. 236). Analysis: it’s mildly entertaining, more for kids than adults or even young adults. Questions are many: Why was Max the bassett being carried around and transferred from person to person? Why were there no referees at the hockey game? Why would ellen/Annabel open the door to the school darkroom and turn on the light? Why couldn’t ellen/Annabel type? Most importantly, why and how did ellen and Annabel change places? barbara Harris seems to be playing Annabel as a drunk.

(Walt disney Pictures, 2003; 96 min.) ★★★

Freaky Friday

Produced by Andrew Gunn. directed by Mark Waters. screenplay by Heather Hach, Leslie dixon. based on the book by Mary rodgers. edited by bruce Green. director of Photography, oliver Wood. Panavision. technicolor. Music by rolfe Kent. Production design, Cary White. Art direction, Maria baker. set decoration, barbara Haberecht. Costumes by Genevieve tyrrell. Makeup, Christina smith. Hairstyles, barbara Lorenz. Cast: tess Coleman ( Jamie Lee Curtis), Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan), ryan (Mark Harmon), Grandpa (Harold Gould), Jake (Chad Michael Murray), Mr. bates (stephen tobolowsky), Maddie (Christina Vidal), Harry Coleman (ryan Malgarini), Peg (Haley Hudson), Pei-Pei (rosalind Chao), Pei-Pei’s mother (Lucille soong), evan (Willie Garson), boris (Marc McClure), stacey ( Julie Gonzalo), dottie robertson (dina Waters). Synopsis: dr. tess Coleman, psychologist, has a big day coming up: her marriage to ryan. she doesn’t need the aggravation of her fifteen-year-old daughter Anna. in school, Anna gets an f on her George orwell paper from Mr. bates and detention for complaining. A second detention comes her way after she bonks stacey on the back of the head with a volleyball. More pleasant is Anna’s meeting with hunk Jake. At home, Anna practices with her garage band and learns that they have an audition for the Wango tango show the next evening, the night of her mother’s wedding rehearsal. What to do? during dinner at a Chinese restaurant, owner Pei-Pei’s mother gives Anna and tess special fortune cookies that cause them to wake up on friday morning having exchanged bodies. running into each other to supply a jolt and hopefully restore normalcy, they fail. it’s some kind of “Asian voodoo,” says Anna/tess. After Anna/tess goes to school and tess/ Anna to her office, they plan to return to the Chinese restaurant and switch back. on the way to her office, tess/Anna gets a makeover via clothes and hair. in Mr. bates lit class, there’s a pop quiz and bates accuses Anna/tess of overreaching in her analysis of Hamlet. she finally realizes that bates had once asked tess out in high school. throwing this fact in his face, she realizes she won’t get any more detentions from him. Her girlfriends can’t figure Anna/tess out. Anna/tess and tess/Anna return to the restaurant where Pei-Pei’s mom urges them to recall what the cookies said. At a parent-teacher conference, tess/Anna meets with her son Harry’s teacher and learns that Harry

94 • Friday the 13th actually does like his big sister because he wrote a paper titled, “Why My big sister’s the Greatest.” At school before the big test, Anna/tess tries to reconcile with stacey, who then asks her to sit beside her. However, when stacey has Anna look at her notes, she tells the proctor that Anna is cheating. detention again. At home, tess/Anna, ryan and Grandpa prepare for the wedding rehearsal dinner. but before that, tess/Anna is taken to speak about her book, Through the Looking Glass: Senescence in Retrograde, on The Dottie Robertson Show. Meanwhile, Anna/tess sneaks out of detention only to meet Jake, who reveals he works at the school and then takes her through the teacher’s lounge to the file room to finish her test. finding stacey’s test, Anna/tess erases much of the answers and scrawls, “i’M stUPid!” on it. back at the tV studio, tess/Anna finally gets the hang of things and charms the audience. Jake thinks she’s cool and to Anna/tess’s detriment, becomes enamored of her. over latte, Jake and tess/Anna have a heart to heart before she leaves for rehearsal. While dressing, tess/Anna is given a talking to by Anna/tess. At the swanky restaurant, Anna/tess reads the fortune cookie message to tess/Anna. they need to be selfless to return to normal but begin arguing. Maddie and Peg appear and try to kidnap Anna/tess for the Wango tango audition two blocks away at the House of blues. this is unnecessary as ryan tells Anna/tess to go and then forces tess/Anna to cheer on her daughter. because Anna/tess can’t play bass or sing, tess/Anna does so from offstage and the band is a hit. back at the rehearsal, Anna/tess asks tess/Anna to tell ryan to postpone the wedding. He’ll wait if he understands. tess/Anna agrees and begins her toast, but tremors begin and the switch occurs. Anna says she’s so excited to be there. next day at the seaside wedding, Jake apologizes for being stupid and wants to rewind. Pei-Pei’s mom appears with two fortune cookies that portend a switch between Harry and Grandpa, but her daughter puts the kibosh on that. Anna joins her friends onstage. Reviews: Time considered it “an agreeable sitcom masquerading as a movie,….” the mother-daughter switch “gimmick is cleverly, weightlessly played out.” (richard schickel, Time, August 18, 2003, p. 62). the Northern Territory News called it “the sunny surprise of the school holiday season,” and “a deftly-handled remake….” Jamie Lee Curtis was well cast and Lindsay Lohan “genuinely appealing…” (Vicky roach, Northern Territory News, september 26, 2003, p. 028). Analysis: it’s smoother than the original, or perhaps more adult. tess’s emotional toast and interrupted speech to ryan when the switch occurs is quite moving.

freddY Vs. JAson see under A niGHtMAre on eLM street fridAY tHe 13tH see Volume 1 for Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th, Part II (1981), Friday the 13th, Part III (1982), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th, Part VII—The New Blood (1988), Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), and Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993).

(new Line Cinema, 2001; 93 min.) ★★½

Jason X

Produced by noel J. Cunningham. directed by James isaac. screenplay by todd farmer. edited by david Handman. director of Photography, derick Underschultz. Color by deluxe. Music by Harry Manfredini. Production design, John dondertman. Art direction, James oswald. set decoration, Clive thomasson. Costumes by Maxyne baker. Visual effects by toybox. Cast: rowan (Lexa doig), Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder), KAYeM 14 (Lisa ryder), Professor Lowe ( Jonathan Potts), Janessa (Melyssa Ade), tsunaron (Chuck Campbell), sergeant brodski (Peter Mensah), Kinsa (Melody Johnson), Azrael (dov tiefenbach), dr. Wimmer (david Cronenberg), Crutch (Philip Williams), fat Lou (boyd banks), Adrienne (Kristi Angus), Waylander (derwin Jordan), briggs (dylan bierk). Synopsis: At the Crystal Lake research facility, Jason Voorhees awaits Cryogenic suspension. However, dr. Wimmer tells rowan he wants him “soft,” not frozen, and moved to the scranton facility because Jason’s ability to regenerate tissue is very important. Jason has other plans and escapes after killing Wimmer and the guards. When rowan locks him in a freezer, Jason stabs her through the wall. time passes until a spacecraft arrives, finds the frozen humanoid and rowan. they are carried through a maelstrom to the waiting craft on which rown is resuscitated via cell reconstruction. Upon awakening, she discovers that it’s 2455 and she’s aboard the Grendel, a Class 4 transport ship. Professor Lowe learns that the other body is Jason Voorhees and worth a fortune. While Adrienne autopsies Jason, he wakes up, grabs her and freezes her head before smashing it. on the operating table he discovers a surgical instrument much like his beloved machete. dr. Lowe, meanwhile, tells rowan they’ll soon be at earth two. she warns him about Jason, who was initially executed in 2008. He must be contained. Jason is roaming the ship. He kills tony and two men playing a kind of holographic video game. sergeant brodski plans to kill Jason despite dr. Lowe’s proposal to share money with him by keeping the monster alive. brodski and his men find Jason and blast away, but in the smoke he vanishes and continues his murderous rampage, hurling one crew member onto a screw device, breaking one’s neck, and slashing a woman’s throat. briggs is impaled. brodski himself is stabbed twice through a wall. As the Grendel prepares to dock with the Solaris, Jason kills the pilots and the Grendel crashes through the larger ship, setting off explosions that eventually result in catastrophe for the Solaris. the Grendel continues on, the surviving crew members believing another ship is bound to come to their rescue in this high traffic lane. Jason confronts dr. Lowe, takes back his machete and…. dr. Lowe’s students, the android KAY-eM 14, and rowan plan escape via shuttle. rowan finds brodski, who is still alive. the engineer Crutch is enlisted to pilot the shuttle but is killed at the controls. trapped in a tunnel, rowan, Janissa and Waylander are saved for the moment by KAY-eM 14, who uses her weapons and martial arts to severe Jason’s arm and leg. “Who’s your momma!” brodski is patched up but the hull is bleeding oxygen because of the collision with the Solaris. Another ship contacts them. it’s 4 parsecs or 45 minutes away. they don’t have that much time. Jason is scanned by the resuscitation machinery and recreated via synthetic cellular replacement. Meanwhile, explosive charges are set to severe the ship from a pontoon keeping it from speed. Jason, now half android, beheads KAY-eM 14. the rescue craft arrives, but Jason breaks causes Janissa to be sucked into space. brodski goes eVA to open the escape tunnel hatch. A diversion causes Jason to think he’s

Friday the 13th • 95 back at Camp Crystal Lake. rowan retrieves KAY-eM 14’s head. brodski tackles Jason and both speed toward earth 2. A guy and girl see a shooting star which lands in a lake. Apparently surviving atmospheric incineration, Jason’s mask (and more?) sinks to the lake bottom. Reviews: the News Journal gave it a half star, calling it a paint-bynumbers manner by special-effects veteran Jim isaac,….” the entire series was “utterly unimaginative…” and “mind-numbing…” ( Jack Garner, “the real horror is that ‘Jason X’ got produced,” News Journal [Wilmington, de], April 26, 2002, p. 5). the New York Times opined that the series’ longevity was based on “the freudian simplicity of the premise ( Jason is the prowling superego, punishing adolescents for their sexual impulses), along with the almost absurd lack of definition of the protagonist (his symbol, the white plastic hockey mask is that of a total blank),…” (dave Kehr, New York Times, April 26, 2002, p. e14). Analysis: some viewers expressed the opinion that Jason, like Pinhead (see: Hellraiser: Bloodline) and his cronies are not meant for space, but halfway through this film it becomes apparent that this is a flat-out and quite funny parody of and/or homage to not only past Jason movies, but various genre films, including It, The Terror from Beyond Space ( Jason breaking through successive hatches), Alien (rattling chains in the ship’s bowels), The Terminator (the mutated Jason at end), Aliens (smart-talking android), and Alien: Resurrection ( Janissa pulled into space). for a change, more than one person survives although one wishes Melyssa Ade’s Janissa could have joined their ranks.

Friday the 13th

(new Line Cinema/Paramount/Platinum dunes, 2009; 97 min.) ★★★ Produced by sean Cunningham, Michael bay, Andrew form, brad fuller. directed by Marcus nispel. screenplay by damian shannon, Mark swift. based on characters created by Victor Miller. edited by Ken blackwell. director of Photography, daniel C. Pearl. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Jeremy Conway. Art direction, John frick. set decoration, randy smith Huke. Costumes by Mari-An Ceo. special effects Make up supervisor, scott stoddard. special effects Coordinator, John Milinac. Cast: Clay Miller ( Jared Padalecki), Jenna (danielle Panabaker), Whitney Miller (Amanda righetti), trent (travis Van Winkle), bree ( Julianna Guill), Chewie (Aaron Yoo), Chelsea (Willa ford), Wade ( Jonathan sadowski), Lawrence (Arlen escarpeta), Mikey (nick Mennell), richie (ben feldman), officer bracke (richard burgi), old Lady (rosemary Knower), donnie (Kyle davis), Gas station attendant (Chris Coppola), nolan (ryan Hansen), Amanda (America olivo), Young Jason (Caleb Guss), Pamela Voorhees (nana Visitor), Jason Voorhees (derek Mears). Synopsis: June 13, 1980, Camp Crystal Lake: A crazed lady is decapitated by a frightened, machete-wielding younger woman. Crystal Lake, Present day: five campers enter the deserted facility looking

Friday the 13th (New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, 2009).

96 • Fright Night for a rumored “crop.” during the night, Wade recalls the story of Jason and his demented mother. While taking a whiz, Wade spots some weed but is overcome by a large figure lurking in the woods. Whitney and Mike have in the meantime discovered derelict cabins and found a pendant with the photo of a woman resembling Whitney. they also find Jason Voorhees’ bedroom. back in their tent, Jenna and richie are making out big time when they hear something outside. richie investigates and discovers Wade’s slashed body. the killer drags Jenna from the tent, wraps her in a sleeping bag and hangs her over the fire. richie rushes back to camp but is caught in a trap. in the cabin, Mike discovers burnt candles and within a hole in the wall a woman’s head. the door slams and from beneath the floorboards a machete pierces Mike. Whitney runs back to the campsite, but before she can release richie, the killer plants his machete in the young man’s head. friday the 13th. 6 Weeks Later: A sUV carrying four guys and three gals pulls up at the outpost. Clay, arriving on a motorcycle, posts flyers about his missing sister, Whitney. Later he is pulled over by a familiar policeman who says it’s useless to continue the search. the authorities did their job. there was no car and no witnesses. the sUV arrives at trent’s family’s luxurious lakeside home. Meanwhile, Clay shows his flyer to an old woman at an isolated house. she says Whitney’s dead and that outsiders bring trouble. the locals want to be left alone, “and so does he.” Clay has no luck showing his flyer to a farmer fixing a wood chipper. from trent’s house, Chelsea and nolan leave for an outing. Clay shows up at the lodge, and after trent turns him out, he tells Jenna he’d going to the other side of the lake. back at the barn, the wood chipper guy hears something upstairs and investigates. for his trouble he is slashed in the neck by a large man from whose head he pulls the sack concealing his face. About to restore his covering, the killer spots a hockey mask, puts it on and looks in an old mirror. on the other side of the lake, Clay and Jenna find a GPs while out on the water nolan and Chelsea engage in topless waterskiing. After she falls into the water, nolan takes an arrow through his head, and the uncontrolled boat injures Chelsea, who makes her way toward shore only to see a man in a hockey mask with … a machete. Hiding under the dock fails to prevent her from being stabbed in the cranium. At Camp Crystal Lake, Clay and Jenna enter the cabins but hide when the hockey mask guy—obviously the Jason of long ago—returns carrying a large bag over his shoulder. He sees Clay’s knapsack and is suspicious but can’t find anyone. fleeing, Jenna stumbles on a tripwire which alerts Whitney, chained in the killer’s underground lair. the killer enters and tosses her Clay’s knapsack. While he sharpens his machete, Whitney finds her brother’s flyers and a phone which she takes apart to help unlock her shackles. she discovers Mike’s body before pushing up the trapdoor and running into the woods. At the lodge, Chewie goes to the toolshed while trent and bree get it on upstairs. Jenna and Clay arrive and call the police. the killer observes trent and bree copulating, but before he can do anything about that spots a light in the toolshed and takes a screwdriver to Chewie’s throat. to Whitney’s grief, just as she is about to bang on the lodge window, Jason grabs her up again. Mark finds Chewie’s body in the toolshed, encounters Jason, and is axed in the back before he can reach the lodge. inside, Clay and the others hear Mark’s cries for help, but they fear a trap and remain stationary. After thrusting Mark all the way onto the axe head, Jason climbs on the roof. Upstairs, bree is impaled on animal horns. the cop who spoke with Clay earlier arrives and for his trouble is stabbed through the head. trent locates a pistol before he, Clay and Jenna rush out the door. bree’s body is tossed from above onto the police car. While running into the woods, trent loses his gun. A pickup pulls up and though initially suspicious, trent approaches. Jason appears from the woods and impales him on the truck before it speeds

off. Clay and Jenna find themselves back at Camp Crystal Lake. Whitney hears them and screams. they find the trapdoor to the underground lair but Jason follows and they flee. Jenna is killed as Clay and Whitney climb to relative safety through an overturned vehicle, but Jason pummels Clay while Whitney hides. Clay recovers and with Whitney flees through the rain to a barn where he grabs a hook. Jason enters and in the fracas the wood chipper is turned on. distracting Jason with her locket, Whitney tells him he can stop. Clay wraps a chain around the monster and he’s yanked into the air before being pulled partway into the chipper. Whitney rushes over and jams the machete into his chest. “Jason, say hi to mommy—in Hell!” next day on the dock, Whitney watches as Clay pushes Jason’s body into the lake. His mask comes off as he sinks to the bottom. Whitney drops the locket into the water. Jason bursts up through the deckboards. Reviews: A New York Times article on the film and its makers commented that this overhaul was being called a reboot. because of the series’ popularity with its fans, the films are given “a level of scrutiny that was once the exclusive purview of Kremlinologists and talmudic scholars. this, despite a mythology-chronology that resists mental organization.” As usual with movies of this ilk, “less is never more,…” ( John Anderson, “retrofitting that Hockey Mask,” New York Times, february 8, 2009); With tongue-in-cheek insouciance, the official NYT review said the Jason franchise “has spawned approximately 500 sequels,….” surprisingly, this reboot succeeded “with vicious aplomb, … with a gleeful sense of fun” (nathan Lee, New York Times, february 12, 2009). Analysis: this is a surprisingly able remake—or reboot—with a lot going on and quite a good pace. the characters aren’t as dumb as some, and one must remember that Jason, like Michael Myers, is essentially an unstoppable force even if you have a gun. Jason’s underground labyrinthine lair is a plus. derek Mears is big enough to provide gravitas. Prerequisites for a legitimate r-rated fright film are much in evidence: violence and nudity. one supposes the rising from the depths of Jason at the end is for those who’ve never seen these films. otherwise it was totally unnecessary.

friGHt niGHt see Volume i for Fright Night (1985) and Fright Night Part 2 (1988).

(dreamWorks sKG/touchstone, 2011; 106 min.) ★★★

Fright Night

Produced by Michael de Luca, Alison r. rosenzweig. directed by Craig Gillespie. screenplay by Marti noxon. story by tom Holland. based on the film Fright Night written by tom Holland. edited by tatiana s. riegel. director of Photography, Javier Aguirresarobe. Prints by deluxe. Music by ramin djawadi. Production design, richard bridgland. Art direction, randy Moore, James f. oberlander. set decoration, K.C. fox, nancy Molleur. Costumes by susan Matheson. special Make-Up designed by Howard berger and Greg nicotero. Visual effects by Luma Pictures, shade fX, Pixel Magic Visual effects, Hammerhead Productions, inc. Cast: Charley (Anton Yelchin), Jerry (Colin farrell), Amy (imogen Poots), Peter Vincent (david tennant), Jane brewster (toni Collette), ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Mark (dave franco), doris (emily Montague), Jay dee (Chris sarandon), bee (Grace Phipps), Ginger

Ghost Rider • 97 (sandra Vergara), Adam (Will denton), ben (reid ewing), Cara (Chelsea tavares). Synopsis: While tV ads promote occult expert cum magician Peter Vincent, a family is savaged in a Las Vegas housing tract. next day, Clark High school student Charley says goodbye to his mother Jane and heads off to school with his hot girlfriend Amy. Curiously, Adam is missing from his class. odder still, nerdy ed convinces Charley to accompany him to Adam’s house, where they crawl through the dog door and find no one home. to Charley’s astonishment, ed tells him that his new neighbor Jerry is a vampire. this is true. Jerry attacks his date doris, a stripper Charley knows, biting her on the neck. sneaking around, Adam encounters Jerry, who savages him. Charley enters Jerry’s house and finds doris sequestered in a hall of cubicles. He pulls her out and they make their way outside. it’s now morning, the sun is up, and to Charley’s horror, doris explodes on the front lawn. Charley investigates vampirism, and acting on ed’s recommendation, visits Peter Vincent during a show rehearsal. Vincent is a jerk. At home, Charley Left to right: Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, and Anton Yelchin, Fright Night (DreamWorks, is visited by Amy, who’s increasingly irked by his 2011). obsession with … something. He’s been fashioning Analysis: it’s a solid remake with some exciting, unexpected scenes, a stake in his room. When Jerry knocks at the door, Charley makes notably the explosion on the lawn of the recently vampired doris who sure his mother doesn’t go. A vampire can’t enter a home unless Charley thinks he’s saved. A pleasant surprise is that it’s not obviously invited. she doesn’t know what Charley’s up to until Jerry goes into set up for a sequel. A second surprise: Amy doesn’t revert. in short, their backyard, digs up the power line and causes a fire. He shouts that several people survive. they can’t keep him away if the house burns down. they go to the garage and roar off with Jerry in pursuit, first on a motorcycle, then in his truck. during one stop, another driver is killed by Jerry. Jane runs Jerry down but nothing seems conclusive until Jane jams a CenHost ider tury21 sign into his back, leaving him to contort and flail about as they drive off. Jane collapses and is taken to the hospital. Peter Vincent, meanwhile, looks over the illustrations Charley left at his apartments Ghost Rider and from a safe extracts a picture of something similar and horrifying. (Columbia/Crystal sky Pictures/Marvel studios, 2007; He calls Charley over and gives him some advice. back at the hospital, 114 min.) ★★ Charley begins to plan, and with Amy returns to Peter’s place when the occultist calls. ed, now a vampire, makes a “delivery,” battles Produced by Avi Arad, steven Paul, Michael de Luca, Gary foster. Charley but is finally dispatched via axe and stake. but Jerry has directed by Mark steven Johnson. screenplay by Mark steven entered and pursues Charley and Amy downstairs to a rave. Jerry Johnson. based on the Marvel comic. edited by richard franciscarries Amy off. Charley buys supplies and goes to Jerry’s place. Peter bruce. director of Photography, russell boyd. Panavision. Color by assists. Under the structure they find vampires, some of whom attack Cinevex Melbourne. Music by Christopher Young. Production design, Peter while Jerry fends off Charley’s weapons and thrusts him into Kirk M. Petruccelli. Art direction, richard Hobbs. set decoration, Amy’s arms, but Charley stabs her now-vampiric self while Peter, desuza Maybury. Costumes by Lizzy Gardiner. special Visual effects spite his wounds, blasts more holes into the ceiling to let in sunlight. and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. in his flame-retardant suit, Charley chains himself to Jerry, and Peter Cast: Johnny blaze/Ghost rider (nicolas Cage), roxanne lights him up as he latches onto the vampire, who finally succumbs simpson (eva Mendes), blackheart (Wes bentley), Caretaker/Carter to flame, light and a stake properly thrust into his heart. the vampire slade (sam elliott), Mack (donal Logue), Young Johnny blaze (Matt infection departs Amy and Peter for Jerry’s decaying figure. At Peter’s, Long), Mephistopheles (Peter fonda), barton blaze (brett Cullen), Charley and Amy get down to some serious smooching. team blaze (tony Ghosthawk, Hugh sexton, Marcus Jones, Matt Reviews: Boxoffice said it “retains its predecessor’s sturdy narrative norman), Captain Jack dolan (david roberts). foundation:….” Moreover, the script “acknowledges vampiric lore Synopsis: the West was built on legends and “this is the legend (and Twilight’s lameness) without ever devolving into insider-baseball of the Ghost rider.” every generation has one who collects on the smugness.” (nick schager, Boxoffice, August 18, 2011); the Tulsa devil’s deals. once a rider outran the devil to prevent collection. some World thought Colin farrell made a fine vampire. the film was more legends are true. in the here and now, Johnny blaze and his father barconcerned with entertaining than grossing out an audience. it “struck ton thrill carnival audiences with death-defying motorcycle stunts. a good balance of laughs and fangs.” (Kim brown, Tulsa World, August After a show, Johnny meets roxie and carves “J & r foreVer” on 19, 2011).

G

r

98 • Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance a tree. roxie says she’s being sent to live with her mother but agrees to run off with Johnny next day. However, after Johnny reads a letter revealing his dad has terminal cancer and encounters a strange man proposing health for his father in return for a deal, he agrees and seals the Pactum Pactorum with a drop of blood. Johnny wakes up and finds his dad as healthy as a horse. However, barton suffers a mortal injury at the next show. Johnny hears laughter and after falling off his chopper on the highway, again meets that strange dude who says, “You’re no good to me dead.” Johnny leaves town—without roxie. Years later, as “Mr. invincible,” Johnny blazes a trail of action, often crashing but surviving. Meanwhile, a dark-haired, pale young man enters a saloon and creates mayhem. At his warehouse, Johnny plays the Carpenters’ “superstar” and tries to watch tV while Mack says how freaked out he is by Johnny’s actions. Johnny wonders if people can get a second chance? back at the saloon, the dark man (blackheart) kills the last waitress and calls forth russell and two others, proposing they get that contract for san Venganza and take this world one city at a time. What of Mephistopheles? blackheart says never to mention that name. Johnny prepares for the “touchdown Jump” and tells himself, “You can’t live in fear.” tV reporter roxane “roxie” simpson appears and interviews Johnny. Afterward, Johnny tells Mack her appearance was a sign. He then makes a 300-foot jump over six black Hawk helicopters and continues on to the interstate, catching up with roxie and making—and breaking—a dinner date. the young man in black and his boys meet Mephistopheles, who tells them they must deal with his rider despite “blackheart” being Mephistopheles’ son. At home, Johnny talks to himself in the mirror, saying he deserves a second chance. His hands glow and steam, precursor to an entire body transformation into a flaming skull face. Mephistopheles produces a super chopper and tells Johnny to find and destroy blackheart. if he succeeds, he’ll return his soul. finding blackheart, Johnny disposes of one minion with his rope of fire. At dawn, Johnny becomes himself again in front of his father’s tombstone. A man with a shovel calls to him: “Mornin,’ bonehead.” He tells Johnny he’ll transform again so get used to it. He recalls that 150 years before at san Venganza the last ghost rider was afoot. He is surprised that Johnny is after blackheart, who’s waiting for the end of days. Johnny reads up on that and endeavors to control his possessing spirit. roxie comes over and apologizes. they kiss and she asks him to explain himself. “i sold my soul to the devil,” he says and she leaves. Having found his license plate at the scene of a crime, Police Captain dolan arrests Johnny. After grilling him, they lock him in a cell with some less than friendly felons, but he transforms, breaks out and retrieves his chopper. blackheart, meanwhile, asks the priest at st. Michael’s Church for the san Venganza contract. Chased by police, Johnny rides up and down buildings and on top of the river in his escape. He disposes of another of blackheart’s minions. Having seen a motorcycle going up and down the face of a building, roxie comes to believe Johnny’s story. realizing that roxie is Johnny’s weakness, blackhart bides his time. the cemetery caretaker reveals himself as Carter slade, the previous Ghost rider. He says blackheart needs the contract. Johnny realizes that roxie is in danger. roxie finds the arcane books Johnny’s been consulting. Grabbed by blackheart, roxie becomes a pawn between Mephistopheles’ son and Johnny. now it’s a trade: the contract for roxie’s life. the caretaker produces the san Venganza contract from within his shovel shaft. He urges Johnny to remain unpredictable. He summons his special horse and both head out for san Venganza 500 miles distant. “stick to the shadows” is the man’s advice. When the caretaker rides off, Johnny finds himself passing through a ground fog and stunted trees. Attacked from the swamp, Johnny transforms and defeats yet another of blackheart’s slaves. in san Venganza, Johnny fights blackheart as rosie

watches. the sun rises and blackheart accepts the contract. “All of you, come to me. My name is legion.” but Johnny grabs blackheart and tells him to feel the pain of the innocents. blackheart is destroyed. Mephistopheles congratulates Johnny and says he’ll have his life back. “no, i’m gonna own this curse and i’m gonna use it against you. Wherever innocent blood is spilt it’ll be my father’s blood, and you’ll find me there, the spirit of vengeance, fighting fire with fire.” back on their special hillside, roxie asks where Johnny will go? He tells her he has to make the best of what he is. Reviews: the New York Times thought nicolas Cage should have fired his manager for plopping him into this. His character was “more funny than frightening.” ( Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, february 17, 2007); santa fe High school junior Jason shain provided a review for the Santa Fe New Mexican, calling the film “not near as bad as it could be.” it had good acting for the most part and though the story was confusing and the effects nowhere near Harry Potter standards, it was enjoyable ( Jason shain, Santa Fe New Mexican, february 23, 2007, p. e-4). Analysis: in retrospect, it seems almost a conscious parody of itself, and we concur that it is not insufferable or a disaster despite several scenes for which Cage could be easily satirized. it is, after all, based on a comic. What happened to sam elliott’s Carter? the ending was set up for him to ride in on his stallion. Perhaps he saw that there were not enough evildoers for Johnny and roxie to need his assistance. the urban scenes seemed domestic enough, but there was something odd about the scenery of the other locales. it could have been filmed in bulgaria … or Venezuela. (investigation reveals the whole thing was made in and around Melbourne, Australia.) overall, though, it’s a halfway decent “popcorn” flick; it delivers about what you’d expect and little more. funny, though, it still seems an odd film for nicolas Cage. He’d had a pretty good run the last few years, and you’d figure Ghost Rider to be somewhat below his status. Maybe he thought a Corman-style b movie would be fun.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

(Columbia Pictures/Hyde Park entertainment/Marvel Knights, 2012; 96 min.) ★½

Produced by steven Paul, Ashok Amritraj, Michael de Luca, Avi Arad, Ari Arad. directed by Mark neveldine, brian taylor. screenplay by scott Gimple, seth Hoffman, david s. Goyer. story by david s. Goyer. based on the Marvel comic. edited by brian berdan. director of Photography, brandon trost. deluxe color. Music by david sardy. Production design, Kevin Phipps. Art direction, serbon Porupca, stephen dobric, Adi Curelea. set decoration, dominic Capon. Costumes by bojana nikitovic. Visual effects by iloura. Cast: Johnny blaze/Ghost rider (nicolas Cage), roarke (Ciarán Hinds), nadya (Violante Placido), ray Carrigan ( Johnny Whitworth), Methodius (Christopher Lambert), Moreau (idris elba), danny (fergus riordan), Grannik (spencer Wilding), Kurdish (sorin tofan), terrokov ( Jacek Koman), benedict (Anthony Head), Vasil (Cristian iacob), Krakchev ( Jai stefan), Young Johnny (ionut Cristian Lefter). Synopsis: eastern europe: a man on a motorcycle arrives at a fortress to discuss the danger surrounding the young boy hiding there. Moreau, the messenger, is correct, because an attack on the fortress begins. Moreau tries to signal nadya and the boy that he is trying to help them but they drive off in a car. He follows on his chopper but it flies off the road via a bullet into his tire. Johnny blaze is in the vicinity,

Ghostbusters • 99 hiding out from himself as much as the duplicitous devil, with whom he made a deal to save his father. now he preys on the wicked. Moreau, who’d been saved from death by a tree, comes a’callin,’ telling Johnny he’s trying to save the boy from roarke. in exchange for his help, Moreau’s people can lift Johnny’s curse. nadya and danny, meanwhile, are followed and captured by ray. As the Ghost rider, Johnny arrives and wreaks havoc with ray’s crew, but danny disappears during the chaos. Johnny wakes in a hospital and when the nurse leaves steals some drugs and takes off. roarke contacts ray and speaks with danny on the phone, causing the boy to collapse. roarke says he uploaded a firewall into danny’s mind so that he can’t be found. Johnny locates nadya, secures his bike on the back of her flatbed, and discusses roark’s presumed plans. danny causes ray’s van to crash and for a few minutes is free but twists his ankle and is once more in ray’s clutches. during a fighting match, Johnny and nadya interrogate Vasil about ray’s whereabouts. finding danny, nadya witnesses ray using a bunker buster missile on Johnny, who shrugs it off and creates havoc in ray’s camp. Joining nadya and danny, Johnny says Moreau will find them. back at the scene of the carnage, roarke finds ray under a slab of stone. Virtually dead, ray is given a second chance and the power of causing decay in whoever he touches. Johnny explains to danny that whatever he touches when he’s the rider changes too, thus the flaming chopper. Moreau catches up and they find a sort of monastery in a weird landscape and meet Methodius. Johnny confides in Moreau that when he made that deal with the devil, he did it for himself, not his father. He couldn’t let him go naturally because he was selfish. Johnny enters the tunnels, starts twitching, becomes blinded, and to his temporary relief, loses his immortal self. Methodius turns on his guests, saying the boy must be destroyed because his power cannot be contained. during the sacrifice, ray appears and uses his power of decay on the monks, including Methodius. danny is once again kidnapped. Moreau says roarke will project himself into danny. At remote Uzak Gokten, turkey, roarke sedates danny before the nefarious ceremony. observing from their hiding places among the rocks, Johnny, Moreau and nadya firm up their plans. that evening nadya takes down guards with her sniper rifle as Moreau and Johnny invade the compound. from high in the amphitheater, Moreau begins gunning down the robed figures. Johnny tries to wrest danny from roarke while ray attacks Moreau. As sunrise approaches, danny spouts flame into Johnny, making him the Ghost rider once again. roarke flees with danny in tow. Johnny’s chopper arrives and he gives chase as nadya follows. ray shows up but Johnny manages to do him in. Johnny causes roarke’s vehicle to crash and with his chain sends the monster to Hell. As nadya arrives on the scene, Johnny pulls danny from the wreck. returning to normal, Johnny lays his skeletal hand on danny to wake him. Reviews: the San Diego Reader gave it zero stars. “the film establishes a set of ground rules, the first being there are no ground rules.” (scott Marks, San Diego Reader, www.sandiegoreader.com, february 18, 2012); the Winnipeg Free Press said “Vengeance is a bad movie sequel so bad it’s good—a bad movie that’s almost a great bad movie.” Many of the jokes were on target. Cage was “in on the joke.” (roger Moore, Winnipeg Free Press, february 18, 2012, p. G6). Analysis: Cage’s transformation scenes here are even more open to parody, what with his laughable facial expressions, grunts and groans. Violante Placido makes for a spunky and very attractive sidekick. if this were r-rated, as in days of not-so-yore, she’d doubtless have a shower or lovemaking scene a half hour into the film. Actors must act and that must be why Ciarán Hinds and idris elba took this assignment. As one watches ray use a missile on Johnny, one realizes this is truly a comic book on screen. Ciarán Hinds gets to mouth two

of the most ubiquitous lines in cinema—fall back comments when nothing else comes to mind: “i don’t understand” and “don’t touch me.” fYi: this entry was filmed in romania and turkey.

GHostbUsters see Volume i for Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989).

(sony Pictures, 2016; 116 min.) ★★★

Ghostbusters

Produced by Amy Pascal, ivan reitman. directed by Paul feig. screenplay by Katie dippold, Paul feig. based on the 1984 film written by dan Aykroyd, Harold ramis. edited by Melissa bretherton, brent White. director of Photography, robert d. Yeoman. color. Production design, Jefferson sage. Art direction, Audra Avery, Lorin flemming, iain Mcfayden. set decoration, Anya Lebow, Leslie A. Pope. Costumes by Jeffrey Kurland. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks. Visual effects by MPC, iloura, Zero VfX, furious fX, Legend fX, instinctual. Cast: Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), erin Gilbert (Kristen Wigg), Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), Patty tolan (Leslie Jones), Kevin (Chris Hemsworth), Martin Heiss (bill Murray), Cabbie (dan Aykroyd), Uncle bill (ernie Hudson), desk clerk (Annie Potts), Mayor bradley (Andy Garcia), Jennifer Lynch (Cecily strong), ed Mulgrave (ed begley, Jr.), tour guide Garrett (Zach Woods), rowan north (neil Casey), Harold filmore (Charles dance), bennie (Karan soni), rental agent (Katie dippold), rock star (ozzy osborne), Agent Hawkins (Michael Kenneth Williams), Agent rorke (Matt Walsh), Gertrude (bess rous), Graffiti artists (nate Corddry). Synopsis: new York City’s Aldridge Mansion Museum guide Garrett tells visitors about the slayings of sir Aldridge’s servants in 1894. the authorities were unaware that daughter Gertrude did the deed because she was locked in the cellar and fed through a slot in a metal door. At closing time, Garrett has his own encounter with the supernatural. Across town in her university’s main hall, erin Gilbert prepares for the anticipated lecture when she secures tenure. ed Mulgrave pops up with a copy of her 460-page book, Ghosts from Our Past, and implores her to visit the Aldridge Mansion. erin hardly hears ed’s tale of ghosts because she’s furious with co-author Abby for keeping their book in the public eye. she finds Abby and her eccentric assistant Holtzmann in the Paranormal studies Laboratory of the Kenneth P. Higgins institute of science. Learning that erin has been asked to investigate the Aldridge, Abby is eager to take on the task. As ed and Garrett observe from across the street, the three women enter the mansion. erin steps on some green goo and Abby’s spirit-detection meter begins rotating. the basement door opens and the spirit of Gertrude Aldridge floats free and slimes erin before exiting the building. Her university’s dean shows erin a video of these ghostly proceedings before firing her. Web comments cause Abby to be canned by administrator thomas shanks. Meanwhile, in the seward subway station, ticket taker Patty tracks a man into the tunnel and encounters a spirit. rowan, the nerd she’d followed, enters the Mercado building, telling himself he will become the bully. Abby and her chums investigate renting the 8 Hook & Ladder building but it’s $21,000 per month. instead, they take up residence above a Chinese restaurant and immediately interview and hire as their receptionist the doofus

100 • The Grudge hunk Kevin. Patty shows up and asks the women to come with her to the subway. the ghost is still there. Using their ionization weapons with short proton bursts, they knock the spirit into an oncoming train. Patty joins the crew and brings her mortician uncle’s hearse to serve as transport. erin reveals that she saw a ghost when she was eight years old. on tV, dr. Martin Heiss tells the host he doesn’t believe these women have found spirits. Along with her compatriots, Abby is called to the rage revenge fest concert where a mannequin chases her until the others turn their weapons on it. it transforms into a flying demon and flees to the stage where it’s viewed as part of the show. eventually the women suck it into a ghost-holding metal box. A skeptical dr. Heiss arrives at the lab, and Holtzmann opens the box to show him the demon, which knocks him through the window. the ghost hunters are summoned to the mayor’s office and told Homeland security is on the case. they must pretend it’s all a hoax in order to avoid mass hysteria. back in the alley near their lab, Holtzmann shows off new, improved weapons. Using a map, they identify ghost sightings. drawing straight lines between the sites, they realize a vortex is being formed. in the Mercado basement they find imprisoned ghosts and meet rowan. back at the lab, Abby is knocked out. erin realizes rowan planned it. Where’s Abby? she’s possessed. Patty straddles her and slaps the spirit from her body. “the power of Patty compels you!” rowan then enters Kevin and erin tries to warn the mayor of impending doom. Kevin/rowan goes to rowan’s lab and releases all the ghosts. erin encounters slob ghosts in a taxi. Kevin/rowan puts a spell on soldiers come to put a damper on the situation. Abby, erin, Patty and Holtzmann start blasting the spirits, including a giant one that isn’t especially vulnerable to their beams. Abby is pulled into the forming portal, but erin attaches herself to a hook and cable, dives in, and rescues her. both emerge with white hair, but the soldiers are released from the spell. Holtzmann jokes to erin and Abby that it’s 2040 and the President is a plant. tV newscasters wonder what went down? the mayor pooh-poohs a supernatural explanation. As the women toast each other over dinner, the mayor’s factotum appears with news that they can have all the resources they desire to continue their investigations. they set up in the 8 Hook & Ladder building, where Holtzmann introduces her mentor. outside, Patty’s mortician uncle arrives to complain about her modification of one of his hearses. Across the city, lights proclaim i LoVe Gb. Reviews: the Philadelphia Inquirer found the effects simultaneously cheesy and excellent and not intrusive. the lady ghostbusters brought “a spirit of spontaneity to their interactions.” (steven rea, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 13, 2016); the News Journal called it a “spirited reboot… ” and complimented the leads with their “easy, electric chemistry…” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], July 15, 2016, p. 3Hr); Time commended it as a noble summer comedy, “an affable, inventive riff…” on the original (stephanie Zacharek, Time, July 25, 2016, p. 64). Analysis: this was the third big science fiction film of the season to take heat even before it hit the big screen. in March, Batman v Superman was criticized for pitting two good guys against each other and perhaps for not being a Marvel studios movie. in July, Independence Day: Resurgence took lumps for even existing, for product placement, and for not having Will smith back. Ghostbusters seemed to stir misogynist elements in the population. What’s with the current penchant for pratfalls supposed to make us laugh uproariously? it’s pervasive in modern comedies, even this same year in Daddy’s Home and another McCarthy comedy, The Boss. the effects are topnotch, but isn’t that de rigueur for all these modern Class A productions— and smaller opuses, too? All in all, this Ghostbusters is a pleasant affair, and if there is a feminist subtext, it is subtly rendered.

tHe GrUdGe the U.s.-produced Grudge films were based on Ju-On, a 2002 Japanese movie. Critical comments were mixed but generally negative for The Grudge 3, a 2009 sequel that went direct to video. More than one commentator expressed perplexity that the studio had allowed the franchise to nosedive into oblivion so fast. A Blastr writer expressed surprise that the entire series had any success and that Grudge 3’s direct-to-video release “is a reassuring sign that its inexplicable popularity is finally waning.” (“review: The Grudge 3 proves that some franchises really do deserve to die.” www.blastr.com, May 12, 2009).

(Columbia/Ghost House Pictures, 2004; 92 min.) ★★★

The Grudge

Produced by sam raimi, robert tapert, taka ichise. directed by takashi shimizu. screenplay by stephen susco. based on Ju-On: The Grudge written and directed by takashi shimizu. edited by Jeff betancourt. director of Photography, Hideo Yamamoto. Color by deluxe. Music by Christopher Young. Production design, iwao saitô. Art direction, Kyoko Yauchi. set decoration, tatsuo ozeki. Costumes by shawn Holly Cookson, Miyuki taniguchi. digital Visual effects by big X. Cast: Karen davis (sarah Michelle Gellar), doug ( Jason behr), susan Williams (Kadee strickland), Matthew Williams (William Mapother), Jennifer Williams (Clea duVall), Peter Kirk (bill Pullman), emma Williams (Grace Zabriskie), Maria (rosa blasi), Alex (ted raimi), nakagawa (ryo ishibashi), Yoko (Yôko Maki), toshio (Yuya ozeki), Kayako (takako fuji). Synopsis: “When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage…. A curse is born. the curse gathers in that place of death. those who encounter it will be consumed by its fury.” Japan: As his incredulous wife watches, Peter Kirk plunges to his death from their highrise balcony. switch to Yoko, a young woman attending the seemingly demented older woman emma. investigating strange noises upstairs, Yoko is dragged up into the attic. When Yoko can’t be found, Karen is asked to substitute. While preparing to vacuum, Karen discovers a taped-up closet. inside is a small boy and black cat. she also finds a journal with drawings and photos, including one from which a woman’s face has been removed. downstairs, both Karen and emma see a black-haired specter. switch to the day emma and her son Matthew and daughter-in-law Jennifer Williams were first shown the house. shortly afterward, emma is found staring upward and unable to speak. When Matthew goes to work, Jennifer shops and upon returning home sees a child’s footprints on the floor and the cat. she goes upstairs to investigate. Matthew finds the house a mess when he arrives home. Upstairs, Jen is in bed staring at the ceiling. A little boy pops up and screeches at Matthew. switch forward to Karen’s boss Alex, who finds her shivering in a corner of the Williams house. inspector nakagawa shows Alex photos of Matthew and Jennifer. Alex mentions that Yoko is missing. Going upstairs, nakagawa finds Matthew’s and Jennifer’s bodies in the attic along with what appears to be a human jawbone. At the hospital, Karen is unsure of what happened and learns an old woman passed away in her sleep. there’s something about that house. Across town, susan Williams, working late, tells security about strange noises. While she watches the guard on his monitor, a black woman shape materializes in the hall. susan rushes home to her highrise, failing to see the mysterious boy on each

The Grudge 2 • 101 floor as the elevator ascends. When she sees Matthew through her peephole, she opens the door. He’s not there. she flees to her bed but the specter woman appears and drags her “under.” in the hospital, nakagawa learns from Karen of the journal. she tells him that boy in the house called himself toshio. nakagawa shows her pictures of the family that previously lived in the house. toshio was the son. nakagawa tells Karen that Matthew apparently killed his wife, then himself. the inspector is told that susan Williams is missing. He watches the surveillance tapes of her office and sees the specter. Karen leaves the hospital and meets up with roommate doug. on the train she sees the woman specter’s face in the window and at home feels fingers in her hair while showering. Alex, leaving for the day, sees a boy on the stairs, then a young woman shambling along. Yoko? Her face distorts, Alex screams. Karen uses the internet to learn that the original Japanese Ryo Ishibashi and Sarah Michelle Geller, The Grudge (Columbia, 2004). family in the house died, the father killing wife and child in 2001. she notices a sepahis demise, well, now that’s weird and perhaps not even logical within rate story about the death of Peter Kirk. Karen locates Peter’s wife the story’s own confines, its own internal logic. and asks questions and looks at photos that include a young woman. switch back to Peter. He has love letters from Kayako, the mother of toshio. He goes to her house and finds him hanging over the tub, pulls him out and carries him to the couch. He finds ripped family photos The Grudge 2 and hears the cat. He fails to notice the boy opening his mouth wide. (Columbia/Ghost House Pictures, 2006; 102 min.) ★½ back to Karen, meeting nakagawa on the rooftop of the police station. He reveals that three detectives died investigating the murders in the Produced by roy Lee, sam raimi, robert tapert. directed by house and tells of the death the Japanese say can become an takashi shimizu. screenplay by stephen susco. based on Ju-on: The inescapable part of a house. returning to the residence, the inspector Grudge written and directed by takashi shimizu. edited by Jeff betakes gas cans to burn it down but finds a boy over the tub. someone tancourt. director of Photography, Katsumi Yanagishima. Color by from behind drowns the inspector. Karen finds a voicemail from deluxe. Music by Christopher Young. Production design, iwao saitô. doug, who reveals that Alex and Yoko are dead. she rushes to the Art direction, Akio Kikuchi, tomoko Kotakemori. set decoration, house to find doug. switch to Peter, who is seen by Karen. the tatsuo ozeki. Costumes by Kristin M. burke, Miyuki taniguchi. digmissing piece of the family photo is found—many of them, in fact. ital Visual effects by big X. Peter checks the attic; a woman falls out. Karen follows him to the Cast: Aubrey davis (Amber tamblyn), Allison (Arielle Kebbel), door. she hears knocking, sees a father killing his cat, his child and trish ( Jennifer beals), eason (edison Chen), Jake (Matthew Knight), his wife. downstairs, she finds doug on the floor. the specter appears Lacey (sarah roemer), Vanessa (teresa Palmer), Karen (sarah on the steps. Karen uses her lighter to ignite the gasoline cans. Michelle Gellar), Miyuki (Misako Uno), Kayako (takako fuji), However, the house is saved. As the injured Karen prepares to view toshio (oga tanaka), bill (Christopher Cousins), Mrs. davis ( Joanna doug’s body, a croaking woman specter appears behind her. Cassidy), takeo (takashi Matsuyama), nakagawa Kawamata (Kim Reviews: The Daily Record said director shimizu “decided to regurMiyori), folklore expert (Zen Kajihara). gitate rather than redevelop” his own work—sometimes shot for shot….” nevertheless, this english-language version of Ju-On was Synopsis: When a man tells his wife during breakfast that he’s fed “marginally more coherent this time around.” (Alan Morrison, Daily up with her absences, she pours grease on his head and smashes him Record, november 5, 2004). The Southland Times thought it was brilwith the frying pan. Move to the international High school in tokyo. liantly directed. Less focus on character development, as here, returned Vanessa and Miyuki tease Allison and take her to an abandoned house the “intense focus on scariness…” that should be the horror film’s raithey say is haunted and curses anyone who goes inside. Allison relucson d’être. thus the plot “really doesn’t matter (and nor should it)” tantly enters the small room below the attic and finds a journal with (Southland Times, december 4, 2004, p. 3). an eye staring at her. she breaks out after seeing a woman’s face and Analysis: the label of incoherency is mildly valid. this is caused hears her screech like a cat. Pasadena, California: Aubrey davis is told by the juxtaposition of current characters with those dead but still apby her mother that she must go to Japan and bring back Karen, who pearing. it becomes marginally more sensible when we see sarah had been accused of setting a fire that killed her boyfriend doug. in Michelle Gellar’s Karen with bill Pullman’s Peter and his apparent the tokyo hospital, Karen tells Aubrey she has to get out to stop her. knowledge that she’s there but perhaps not seen by … his ghost? on to herself she says, “bre, don’t go in that house.” shackled to her bed, the other hand, if he’s dead at that point and she’s seeing him before Karen watches the room lights flicker. breaking free, she flees to the

102 • Guardians of the Galaxy roof but is grabbed from behind and her body crashes to the pavement as Aubrey and the young journalist eason are leaving. eason sees a strange woman. in Chicago, trish and till arrive at the brownstone where they hope to begin a new life. Jake, the young son, is angry that they are there and tells trish he won’t call her mom. she’s okay with that. Later, in the hallway, Jake hears sounds and observes some neighbors walking slowly down the hall. He doesn’t see the little boy sitting by their door. back in Japan, Allison sees a black cat and a young boy under her desk. in the locker room, she is taunted by the blonde Vanessa, who in her shower is alarmed to see black hair on the floor. spotting a dark-visaged woman, she runs away. Her chum Miyuki goes to her American boyfriend Michael’s place but is grabbed from behind and disappears. eason watches a video of the late inspector nakagawa speaking about the separate murders in the house Karen set ablaze. eason hears croaking and sees a strange image on the video. there seems to be some presence in his room. Aubrey visits and says she knows eason pulled her sister from the fire. He tells her why Karen did what she did. He’s been experiencing similar visitations. that fire changed something. things are getting worse. Aubrey wants to go with eason to that house. back in Chicago, Jake hears voices, investigates and follows a hooded figure to the trash where newspapers are collected. next day, Jake observes newspaper pages covering the windows of the strange neighbors. When bill arrives home, he asks who trish is speaking with on the phone. she says it’s just nate. bill has been clenching his hand so hard on his keys that he’s drawn blood. back in tokyo, Vanessa is called to the school office where Allison is already seated. she is told Miyuki is missing. Allison races out of the room, chased by the administrator. Vanessa texts Miyuki to no avail. A spirit appears and Vanessa runs to a phone booth, calling Miyuki but hears only croaking. there’s a boy in the booth and a woman. Vanessa is strangled by the black hair. Across town, eason enters the damned house and upstairs rips the tape from a door. outside, Aubrey sees some visage in a window. eason goes to the room with the journal and sees that eye. Aubrey enters the house, feels something grabbing her arm, but is escorted back out by eason. they take the journal to eason’s folklore expert friend who shows them books about channelers or, in American parlance, exorcists. in one book is a drawing of a dark woman spouting hair from her mouth. it is learned that takeo’s mother, a channeler, extracted evil spirits and fed them to her daughter. eason says they must find takeo’s mother. While Aubrey dozes at eason’s, he enters his darkroom, checks his photos, and develops one from which the dark-haired specter emerges and grabs him by the head. Aubrey finds him sitting in a corner and flees when the woman spirit appears. back in Chicago, Jake’s sister Lacey is shocked to find her girlfriend drinking from a bottle of milk and throwing it back up. she returns to her apartment and finds that Jake is distraught over a fight between trish and bill. Later, Jake hears noises on the other side of the wall and goes over to that apartment. in one room he finds the hooded woman cutting off her hair. He sees strange eyes looking through the newspapers on the windows and takes refuge in Lacey’s room. bill wakes up late. trish is at the wall listening to something. she returns to the kitchen and continues frying breakfast. back in tokyo, Allison tells the principal she wants to go home. the principal says she went to the house and that Vanessa and Miyuki are okay, they’re right there in this room. they appear. Meanwhile, Aubrey takes the train and bus to Kunomori and finds Kayako’s mother, Mrs. Kawamata. she failed to see the boy toshio in the window of the bus, but the mother begins to realize that Aubrey carried the evil with her. it was never about the house, says the mother. foolish Kayako was murdered by her husband. now, in a rage, Kayako wants all to suffer. Her rage will grow and destroy everything it touches. there is no end-

Takako Fuji, The Grudge 2 (Columbia/Ghost House Pictures, 2006).

ing. Kayako kills Mrs. Kawamata and Aubrey flees. back in Chicago, Jake and Lacey find their apartment dark. in tokyo, Aubrey calls her mother and tells her Karen is gone and that this has to end. she returns to the house and follows what seems to be Karen’s figure upstairs. in Chicago, Jake finds his dad’s body and Lacey drowned in the tub. trish appears in the tub and says it’s time for his bath before she is pulled under. Jake runs into the hall and sees the hooded figure fall to the floor. in tokyo, Aubrey sees Kayako’s murderous husband and has her neck broken by the spirit. in Chicago, Jake approaches the fallen figure. it’s Allison. she says she was followed. Grabbed from behind, her hoodie falls to the floor. A few moments later a dark-visaged specter appears in the sweatshirt. Reviews: The Guelph Mercury found “a couple of good jumps here and there but we’ve seen this all before.” the movie was more titillation than fear-inducing (Christy Lemire, Guelph Mercury [Canada], october 14, 2006, section: Movies, p. C9); The Times thought it was confusing with “mostly boring exposition and empty suspense in a franchise that shows how Asian horror is all style and no logic.” After a while the viewer doesn’t care anymore (ian Johns, Times [London], october 19, 2006, features: reviews, p. 17). Analysis: this proves that once was enough. it’s a maddening film. if these spirits are as inhospitable and unstoppable as Kayako’s mother suggests, the whole world would be consumed. so we know there’s no sense in investing any of our hopes in any character. As it progresses, the audience, as The Times reviewer correctly observed, loses its ability to care. the creepiest scene has Kayako emerging from the developing tray in eason’s darkroom.

GUArdiAns of tHe GALAXY the sequel will appear in 2017 and thus did not make this book’s cutoff point. the movie is included here because the characters the Collector and Carina appear in Thor: The Dark World. not to mention that Howard the duck is one of the Collector’s exhibits.

(Marvel studios, 2014; 121 min.) ★★★½

Guardians of the Galaxy

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by James Gunn. screenplay by James Gunn, nicole Perlman. based on the Marvel Comic book by

Guardians of the Galaxy • 103 dan Abnett, Andy Lanning. edited by fred raskin, Hughes Winborne, Craig Wood. director of Photography, ben davis. Panavision. technicolor. Music by tyler bates. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, Mike stallion, Mark swain, tom brown, Jordan Crockett. set decoration, richard roberts. Costumes by Alexandra byrne. Visual effects by framestore, MPC, Luma Pictures, Method studios, Lola VfX, Cantina Creative, sony Pictures imageworks inc., CosA VfX, secret Lab, rise/Visual effects studios, technicolor VfX. Cast: Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe saldana), rocket (bradley Cooper, voice), drax (dave bautista), Groot (Vin diesel, voice), ronan (Lee Pace), Yondu Udonta (Michael rooker), Korath (djimon Hounsou), nebula (Karen Gillan), Corpsman day ( John C. reilly), nova Prime (Glenn Close), the Collector (benecio del toro), Carina (ophelia Lovibond), Meredith Quill (Laura Haddock), Kraglin (sean Gunn), denarian saul (Peter serafinowicz), Grandpa (Gregg Henry), the broker (Christopher fairbank), thanos ( Josh brolin), Howard the duck (seth Green, voice).

Dave Bautista (left), Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Studios, 2014).

Synopsis: 1988, a hospital: before a distressed young boy’s mother passes away, she presents him with a wrapped present. rushing outside, the boy finds himself under the lights of a strange hovering aircraft. 26 Years Later: the boy, now the grown Peter Quill, steals an orb on the abandoned planet Morag. However, others are after this object, including Korath, whom Quill eludes, and the blue-toned female, Gamora, dispatched by Quill’s ostensible pirate boss Yondu Udonta, who’s put a 50k bounty on him. on The Dark Aster, a Cree warship, ronan, to her sister nebula’s displeasure, sends Gamora to retrieve the orb. on Xandar, the Capitol of the nova empire, bounty hunters rocket, a cybernetically engineered raccoon, and Groot, a sentient tree of sorts, plan on capturing Peter, but Gamora arrives and dukes it out with Peter until Xandarian security forces under Corpsman day arrest all four and send them to the Kyln, a high security prison. Meanwhile, nova Prime argues via visual transmission with a Cree empire representative about honoring a treaty. After speaking with thanos via remote video, ronan visits his imperious master in person. He sends necrocraft ships to find the orb. Peter and his crew enter Knowwhere, which Gamora explains is the gigantic severed head of an ancient celestial being now being mined for various organic substances. finding the Collector, who’d been busy berating his assistant Carina for improperly cleaning his cases of collectibles, they learn of the orb’s origin and the infinity stones that grant super powers to those fit to contain them. Carina reaches out to grasp Peter’s orb and the facility is torn apart by an explosion, as is Carina. Gamora makes sure the orb closes on the stone and says they must take it to nova Corps. ronan arrives and incapacitates drax, whose family was killed by ronan. Groot revives the big man as ronan and his minions pursue Peter and Gamora. eventually Gamora is blasted from her ship and the orb sucked up into nebula’s craft. Peter risks his life to save Gamora. on The Dark Aster, ronan opens the orb and lets the stone infuse himself with its power. ronan informs thanos that he’s going

to destroy Xandar and then come for him. Yondu finds Peter and threatens to kill him. Peter retorts that when he was a child, “You abducted me, man!” Gamora tells Yondu they must warn Xandar of its peril and retrieve the infinity stone. Peter tells Yondu that they have a ringer, namely Gamora, who can disable ronan’s control room security. she also knows ronan’s vulnerabilities. Yondu is okay with this as long as he’s getting some remuneration out of the exercise. rocket arrives and reluctantly agrees to join in the suicide mission. their number one priority is to keep ronan’s orb from the surface of Xandar. the plan is for rocket to blast a hole in The Dark Aster, then board with Yondu. Peter says they’ll contact Corpsman day to inform nova Prime of the plan. nebula spots the ravagers approaching The Dark Aster. in the battle, Yondu’s ship is disabled and goes down. He signals that he’ll be there when it’s all over. nebula tells ronan the hull has been breached and rushes to defend the ship as the security shields go down on ronan’s habitat. Peter makes his way into The Dark Aster. the nova squadron builds a blanket around ronan’s ship but he eventually breaks it. rocket helps blast enemy ships out of the air from above the city. on the ground, Yondu whistles forth an arrow that kills ronan’s soldiers come to capture him. While The Dark Aster bombards Xandar, Gamora and nebula brawl. Korath and his men attack the Guardians, but drax kills Korath and Groot destroys many more as nebula falls from the ship onto a smaller fighter craft. Gamora severs the control cords keeping ronan safe, but he is not easy to defeat. nevertheless, so severely damaged is The Dark Aster that it begins dropping from the sky. to protect his friends, Groot surrounds them with a ball of organic growth which rocket realizes is killing the creature but will save them when the ship crashes. on Xandar, the Guardians, save Groot, survive the crash. ronan confronts Peter, who does a dance to distract him. rocket blasts ronan’s hammer, releasing the orb for Peter, who opens it and begins a process of seemingly deadly infusion from the infinity stone within, but as Peter sees his mother, Gamora takes his hand, as do the rest of his friends. they survive and Peter throws out a beam that destroys ronan. Yondu is

104 • The 3 Worlds of Gulliver characters could be just as attractive as iron Man, thor or Wolverine. the 1970–1980s pop songs infusing the film are mondo. Various lines stick in the mind, e.g., rocket’s, “You got issues, Quill.” it’s likely “i am Groot” will become a staple of genre lore.

GULLiVer’s trAVeLs Gulliver’s Travels was a 1939 Max and dave fleischer animated version. no cinema rendition seems to truly capture the spirit of Jonathan swift’s 1726 satire and has been used almost exclusively by filmmakers as a vehicle for children.

(Columbia/Morningside, 1960; 100 min.) ★★

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver

Produced by Charles H. schneer. directed by Jack sher. screenplay by Arthur ross, Jack sher. based on Michael Rooker, Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Studios, 2014). Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan swift. edited by raymong Poulton. director of Photography, Wilkie Cooper. eastgiven the orb, or so he thinks. Peter has the real one and gives it to mancolor by Pathé. super dynamation. Music by bernard Herrmann. nova Prime, who congratulates him and his friends for their sacrifices. songs: “Gentle Love, “ “What a Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful Peter learns that his mother was terran but his father was something fellow is Gulliver.” Lyrics, ned Washington, Music, George duning. else. drax tells Gamora that while ronan is no more, he was a puppet. Production design, Luis roberts. Art direction, derek barrington, it’s thanos he must kill. on their rebuilt ship, Peter unties the present Gil Parrendo. Costumes by eleanor Abbey. Visual effects by ray Harhis mother had left him. it’s another cassette with her favorite music. ryhausen. in a pot rocket had secured, a sliver of Groot sings along. in his lair, Cast: dr. Lemuel Gulliver (Kerwin Mathews), elizabeth ( June Yondu lets curiosity get the better of him and opens the shell to find thorburn), reldresal (Lee Patterson), Gwendolyn ( Jo Morrow), … a troll doll. nova Prime has secured the true orb. the Collector, Glumdalclitch (sherry Alberoni), emperor of Lilliput (basil sydney), smarting from the virtual destruction of his lab, is consoled by his flimnap (Martin benson), empress of Lilliput (Marian spencer), spacesuit-wearing canine while a large duck-like being downs liquor and wonders aloud why the Collector lets the dog lick his face? Reviews: Rolling Stone called it “funfun-fun.” it had “a wild-card energy and a throwaway charm…” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 31, 2014); The Telegraph was enthusiastic about how it played by “old, half-forgotten rules; trimming out the clutter and crossreferencing for snappy, streamlined, saturday-cartoon fun.” (robbie Collin, www.telegraph.co.uk, August 1, 2014). Analysis: Although Marvel executive Kevin feige was giving out the dope on what Empire described as a “space comedy” in 2013 (Ali Plumb, “exclusive: Marvel Chief Kevin feige on Guardians of the Galaxy,” www.empireonline.com, August 30, 2013), it seems safe to say that most people knew next to nothing about it before its premiere and amazing first weekend box office take. Marvel was on such a role that it seemed nothing could deter audiences. Plus, it was good. Pundits realized that second-tier Marvel Kerwin Mathews, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (Columbia, 1960).

Gulliver’s Travels • 105 Minister of Lilliput (Alec Mango), Lord bermogg (Peter bull), Queen of brobdingnag (Mary ellis), King brob (Gregoire Aslan), Makovan (Charles Lloyd Pack), shrike (Waveney Lee), Captain Pritchard (noel Purcell). Synopsis: Wapping, england, 1699: elizabeth tries in vain to keep her betrothed, dr. Lemuel Gulliver, from sailing aboard the Antelope to the east indies to make his fortune so they can live in decent circumstances. she stows away on the ship, but during an argument on deck, Gulliver is washed overboard, waking on the island of Lilliput as a giant amongst pygmies. Weakened from his ordeal, Gulliver is tied to the sand by the Lilliputians until he blows away a storm and convinces the emperor that he will help them in exchange for their assistance building a boat to return to england and elizabeth. He becomes a citizen but learns that the emperor expects him to crush their enemies. Gulliver does have influence with reldresal, the new Prime Minister, who like himself only wants peace and marriage to Gwendolyn, daughter of Lord bermogg. flimnap, who had sought the Prime Minister’s role, reveals reldresal’s involvement with Gwendolyn. Gulliver rescues reldresal from imprisonment and tells the emperor he will stop the war. He swims to blefuscu and pulls that kingdom’s fleet out to sea. for this the emperor presents Gulliver with the “nardac” medallion but orders him to kill all his enemies. Although the empress was on his side, Gulliver angers her by spitting wine onto a fire that accidentally drenches her. Gulliver fails to reason with the emperor and shoves off past blefuscu to brobdingnag where he finds that he is the miniature man. the girl Glumdalclitch gathers him up and takes him to the King, who also has elizabeth. the Queen convinces the King to allow Gulliver to stay. elizabeth tells Glumdalclitch she washed up here when the Antelope sank. Playing coy with Gulliver, elizabeth convinces him to implore the King to marry them, which is done. during their honeymoon, elizabeth tells Gulliver the King will meet all of their needs. Gulliver beats the King at chess, something his minister Makovan never did or was allowed to do. to Makovan’s displeasure, Gulliver cures the Queen’s stomach ache. Makovan tells the King that Gulliver is a witch, and in Makovan’s laboratory Gulliver uses science to confound the minister, who urges the King to destroy the alien. the King releases the miniature, but to Gulliver, giant crocodile he nevertheless manages to kill. Glumdalclitch runs off with Gulliver and elizabeth, placing them in a basket and flinging them into a brook and thence into the sea. Gulliver and elizabeth wake on a beach and to their delight discover they are back in Wapping and race to their house. Reviews: the New York Times found it “colorful” and “a forthright visualization…” of swift’s novel. Political elements were omitted in favor of the adventure and fantasy that would attract children. some of the excellent effects did cause some fright. it treated “a classic without condescension or burlesque.” (eugene Archer, New York Times, december 17, 1960, p. L19); The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV commended “quite a bit of technical skill—clever trick photography and elaborate sets in good color…” (Howard thompson, ed., The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle books, 1970, p. 197); Leslie Halliwell said it was an unexciting “flat treatment…” (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 776); Variety found the satire “considerably softened and drastically romanticized, but enough of its telling caustic comment remains.” the visuals and ray Harryhausen’s superdynamation process plus bernard Herrmann’s score were exemplary (derek elley, ed. Variety Movie Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, p. 618).

Analysis: there’s not much opportunity for ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion effects to impress and the whole affair is rather boring. the Lilliputian costumes look like leftovers from an Arabian nights saga, with the emperor’s headgear smacking of a caliph’s. there is some attempt to translate swift’s message.

Gulliver’s Travels

(Arrow film distributors/Valeness/belvision, 1977; 81 min.) ★★

Produced by derek Horne, raymond Leblanc. directed by Peter Hunt. screenplay by don black. based on the novel by Jonathan swift. edited by ron Pope, robert richardson. director of Photography, Alan Hume. eastmancolor. Music by Michel Legrand. Lyrics by don black. Production design, Michael stringer. Art direction, norman dormer. set dresser, Peter Howitt. Costumes by Anthony Mendleson. Cast: Gulliver (richard Harris), Mary (Catherine schell), father (norman shelley), Character voices (norman shelley, Meredith edwards, Julian Glover, bessie Love, Murray Melvin), reldresal (rod taylor, voice). With david Prowse. Synopsis: bristol, england. 1699: surgeon Lemuel Gulliver spares a copper for an old lady on the docks as he makes his way home to his brother, complaining vociferously about Gulliver’s plans to go to sea rather than set himself up properly in London. Gulliver tells Mary he’s been assigned to the Antelope, upon which he will achieve his goal of finding new people and places. Mary supports his decision. not long at sea, the ship founders in a violent storm. Gulliver wakes on the shore where small people have secured him to the sand with twine. He asks the General to feed him before he’s transported to the emperor’s city. food is duly provided and Gulliver is wheeled across the land and into the city. the emperor seems a jolly fellow and tells Gulliver he’s in Lilliput, “the most powerful nation in the world.” Gulliver is introduced to his consort and his son, Prince enormo. Climbing into Gulliver’s palm, the emperor gets a splendid view of his empire. Gulliver himself marvels about this strange, miniature world. As he wanders about, several archers ding him with their arrows. He is merely amused, but the General says they’ve committed unpardonable infractions and must be executed. the emperor consults with his council, most of whom want Gulliver killed. but reldresal, diplomatic minister, urges the emperor to spare Gulliver for he may aid Lilliput. the people sew Gulliver a gigantic, multi-colored robem and he pledges fealty to the empire. He displays the contents of his pockets: watch, comb, tinder box, snuff box, mirror, coins, and pistol. the emperor sends all but the gun to the museum; that goes to the arsenal. Carnival day arrives, and in Lilliput that means those seeking positions at court compete in various athletic endeavors to win them. the General and the Admiral remain adamant that Gulliver must be killed, but reldresal demurs. the emperor frees Gulliver because he might be of assistance against their enemy, the rulers and people of blefuscu. Gulliver gives a beautiful young woman a ride to her fiancée and learns that she is fearful that her betrothed might be killed in the coming conflict over eggs. the General tells the Admiral they must take the law into their own hands even as reldresal supervises the removal of Gulliver’s leg chains and allows Gulliver the right to take a walk. the General and Admiral have situated his pistol to fire upon him but the ball merely drops the barrel onto the ground. When he returns, Gulliver is told by reldresal that war is imminent. the cause is those eggs. the opposing kingdoms can’t agree on which end to break. Gulliver says he will stop, not win the war. He gathers hawsers and

106 • Gulliver’s Travels wades across the gulf to blefusco, where he is peppered with arrows but ties all the enemy ships together and drags them back to Lilliput. the emperor grants him the title of nardac. the Lilliputian ruler tells Gulliver they can now attack blefuscu and destroy it. He convenes another meeting of his ministers and agrees to welcome blefuscu’s President. reldresal is informed by Gulliver that he wishes to leave and tells the giant they found one of the Antelope’s longboats on the shore. the President of blefusco invites Gulliver to visit his homeland. reldresal warns Gulliver of a plot to kill him. the emperor is told of the conspiracy and promotes reldresal. Gulliver prepares his boat and hoists sail. on the open sea, he is aghast when a giant lifts his boat from the water. Reviews: John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again called the direction static. swift’s political satire was summarily dealt with in this mostly children-oriented movie ( John stanley, John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again, 4th rev. ed., Pacifica, CA: Creatures at Large Press, 1994, p. 169); Video Movie Guide 1997 said the story was compromised by the use of animation and liveaction (Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: balantine books, 1996, p. 446). Analysis: Like the same year’s Pete’s Dragon, this version of swift’s tale is a mix of live-action and animation, but whereas in Pete’s there was but one cartoon figure, in this there are many, e.g., the Lilliputian populace. it’s a curious project, with top-of-the-line people at work: editor and director Peter Hunt (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), composer Michel Legrand (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Thomas Crown Affair), and actor richard Harris, who’d had previous experience sailing the seas in Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and Hawaii (1966). He also sings here as he had a decade previously in Camelot (1967) and with the massive hit single “MacArthur Park.” one would not expect them to make such a small-scale children’s movie in the late 1970s. “A happy event for the whole family” proclaimed the ad. ironically and certainly surprisingly, an animated belly dancer displays not only her navel but her breasts.

Gulliver’s Travels

(20th Century-fox/dune entertainment/davis entertainment, 2010; 85 min.) ★½

Produced by John davis, Gregory Goodman. directed by rob Letterman. screenplay by Joe stillman, nicholas stoller. based on the novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan swift. edited by dean Zimmermann, Alan edward bell. director of Photography, david tattersall. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Henry Jackman. Costumes by sammy sheldon. Production design, Gavin bocquet. Art direction, rob Cowper, rod McLean, Philip Harvey. set decoration, richard roberts. Visual effects by Weta digital Ltd., Hy*drau*lx, scanline VfX, Pixel Playground, inc., Geon studios Pvt Ltd. Cast: Lemuel Gulliver ( Jack black), Horatio ( Jason segel), Princess (emily blunt), darcy (Amanda Peet), General edward (Chris o’dowd), King theodore (billy Connolly), Queen isabelle (Catherine tate),

Synopsis: After a decade in the New York Tribune mailroom, Lemuel Gulliver can’t envision a bright future. nor can he bring himself to ask travel e ditor darcy for a date. but he hatches a plan to become a travel correspondent by cobbling together sections of various travel articles. darcy is impressed and sends him to bermuda, from there to take a boat into the bermuda triangle to see what pops up. What pops up is a vicious storm and a whirlpool that drives Gulliver off the grid onto a beach, where he is roped down by the minuscule population of Lilliput. breaking temporarily free, he is recaptured and taken to the palace, called a spy, and chained in a cavern where he meets another prisoner, Horatio, incarcerated because he dared court the Princess. Under the iron thumb of martinet edward edwardian, Gulliver is made to do hard labor, but when the kingdom’s enemies land and attempt to kidnap the Princess, Horatio sets him free to save the lady. Gulliver also impresses by putting out a fire by peeing on it. King theodore honors him at a royal banquet. Gulliver tells the royals he’s the President of the island of Manhattan. He is told the army will find his boat so he may return to his land. in the meantime, the Lilliputians, great builders, construct a seaside residence for their hero. to thwart edward, Gulliver instructs Horatio in the art of courting the Princess. the soldiers discover Gulliver’s busted boat and undertake to fix it. Gulliver finds his cellphone and several nasty messages from darcy, who’s realized he was a fraud. she says she’ll have to get a boat and do the story. Gulliver is forlorn, as is the Princess. edward confronts King theodore about Gulliver hanging around, but Gulliver is put in command of the army with edward as vice general. the enemy armada arrives but Gulliver wades out and disperses it. He has the Lilliputians build a new times square and broadway. edward uses the schematic from Gulliver’s boat to construct a giant robot, within which he mans the controls and duels Gulliver. Gulliver concedes defeat, telling the Princess he lied Jack Black, Gulliver’s Travels (20th Century–Fox, 2010). about his life back home. He is sent to

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later • 107 the island where the Lilliputians dare not go and finds himself a miniman in a land of giants. Worse, he inhabits a dollhouse until Horatio arrives and with a parachute they scoot back over the sea to hopefully rescue darcy, who like Gulliver had washed up on the shore. Although edward has equipped his robot with electricity, Horatio pulls the plug and Gulliver bests his nemesis. the King gives Horatio permission to wed his daughter and darcy kisses Gulliver. Gulliver moderates between the two warring kingdoms and sings, “War, What is it Good for?” He and darcy return to Manhattan where he becomes a globetrotting travel writer. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor thought it unbelievably bad, “ a movie of such stupendous uninspiration that, watching it, i didn’t know whether to be affronted or hornswoggled. Movies this monumentally dreadful, after all, don’t come along every day.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, december 21, 2010); Basil & Spice said the children in attendance “were constantly heard laughing at the jokes and slapstick comedy.” ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, december 29, 2010). Analysis: it’s weak and stupid but mercifully short. there’s too much time before the adventure begins. Why would anyone take a small boat out into the ocean for a couple weeks without stocking it with food and water?

HALLoWeen see Volume i for Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).

John, she exclaims that she wants: “one day, this day!” for his part, John is fed up with her paranoia about an incident in her past. back at school, Keri teaches her course on Frankenstein. Afterward, she gives John permission to go to Yosemite, but he’s got other plans: hanging out with Molly, sarah and Charlie. After the buses leave, ronny the security guard investigates a truck idling outside the gate. He doesn’t see a figure entering the compound. While the kids are making dinner and making out, Keri reveals to Will that her real name is Laurie strode and that “My brother killed my sister when she was seventeen.” she faked her death, changed her identity and moved west. Will is familiar with the story of serial killer Michael Myers. the mysterious figure that entered the compound has disabled the phone line and kills Charlie and sarah. investigating, John and Molly meet the killer, fight him off and flee. discovering their predicament, Will asks what they can do. “try to live,” Laurie responds. After mistaking ronny for Michael and shooting him, Will is impaled. Laurie uses a fire extinguisher canister to slow Michael and bolts from the house. she finds John and Molly and tells them to get the police. Yanking a firefighter’s axe from the wall, she yells, “Michael!” in a confrontation, she swings the axe into his arm and stabs him with a flagpole. then, battling with knives, she manages to push him out the window. ronny appears, only slightly wounded, and drags Laurie away. the authorities arrive, find Michael’s body and put him in a body bag. stealing the truck he’s been placed in, Laurie drives down the mountain. When Michael unzips himself she brakes and he is thrown through the windshield. she roars into the rough and is thrown free. the truck pins Michael against a tree. He reaches out for Laurie. she extends her own hand as if in pity but uses the axe to decapitate the monster.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (dimension films, 1998; 86 min.) ★★★

Produced by Paul freeman. directed by steve Miner. screenplay by robert Zappia, Matt Greenberg. based on characters created by debra Hill and John Carpenter. edited by Patrick Lusser. director of Photography, daryn okada. sound, Jim tanenbaum. Music by John ottman. “Halloween theme” by John Carpenter. Production design, John Willet. Art direction, dawn snyder. set decoration, thomas reta, dawn swiderski. Costumes by deborah everton. Cast: Laurie strode/Keri tate ( Jamie Lee Curtis), Will (Adam Arkin), John tate ( Josh Hartnett), Molly (Michelle Williams), Charlie (Adam Hann-byrd), sarah ( Jodi Lyn o’Keefe), norma ( Janet Leigh), ronny (LL Cool J), Michael Myers (Chris durand), dr. Loomis (tom Kane, voice), Jimmy ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Synopsis: Langdon, illinois, october 29, 1998: the door is ajar at the strode home and a nurse investigates, getting help from some teen boys, including Jimmy, soon found with a skate implanted in his face. Attacked by a knife-wielding, masked figure, the nurse uses a poker in defense but to no avail. As police and emergency personal arrive, a car leaves the driveway. summer Glen, California, Halloween, 1998: Keri tate runs the private Hillcrest school where her son John is turning 17 and wants to go with the class to Yosemite. Highway 139, northern California: A mother and son stop at a rest stop where only one car is parked. exiting the facility, they find their truck stolen. Hillcrest school: Keri announces that the buses to Yosemite leave at 4:15. she won’t be going, nor teacher and boyfriend Will, with whom she lunches in town as trick-or-treaters begin early. Upon running into

Michelle Williams, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (Dimension Films, 1998).

108 • Halloween: Resurrection Reviews: Variety commended Jamie Lee Curtis’ “psychologically damaged victim, nearly unlikable control freak, self-mocking wit, avenging action superhero….” the Panavision images evoked “rather than blatantly imitate the mood in John Carpenter’s 1978 original.” (dennis Harvey, Variety, www.variety.com, August 3, 1998); the New York Times found some fun in LL Cool J’s security guard and Janet Leigh as a school staffer, but there were no surprises regarding who would survive. the return of Jamie Lee Curtis was seen as “more marketing trick than moviegoer treat.” (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, August 5, 1998, p. e5). Analysis: this has plenty going for it: the isolated ranchero-style school with courtyards, balconies, halls and terraces. by night it’s a veritable haunted house. oddly enough for a slasher film, four people survive Michael’s onslaught. the cast is the best of the series: Curtis, Arkin, LL Cool J (as semi-comic relief), and three young thespians in training: Josh Hartnett (his official introduction), future Academy Award-nominee Michelle Williams, “And Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jimmy.” What would we do without Carpenter’s theme? Cinematic in-jokes: slasher victim Janet Leigh as a school administrator, the vintage car, ronny’s use of the word “Psycho.”

manages to come back with a chainsaw. A fire is started. “trick or treat, motherfucker!” cries freddie. “burn, motherfucker, burn!” in the morgue, Michael’s eyes open. Reviews: the New York Times found few “opportunities for invention left in the played-out formula.” it remained securely affixed “to the iron-clad rules of the teen slasher genre.” (dave Kehr, New York Times, July 13, 2002, p. b16); VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever gave it a bone and one-half. there was nothing new. everyone knew “Michael Myers has been killed about 957 times in this franchise,…” ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson Gale, 2007, p. 397). Analysis: this compromises the good feelings of the previous entry. Years after its release it had not risen in favor. Joshua dean in “Worst Horror Movies ever Made: Halloween: resurrection” (www.slasher studios.com, June 25, 2012), contended it was made only to make a buck, gave Jamie Lee Curtis “a wicked mess of a cameo…,” had a laughable plot, and in short was “an utterly ridiculous attempt at undoing H20’s perfect ending….”

(dimension films, 2007; 109 min.) ★★★

Halloween (dimension films, 2002; 86 min.) ★★

Halloween: Resurrection

Produced by Paul freeman. directed by rick rosenthal. screenplay by Larry brand, sean Hood. edited by robert A. ferretti. director of Photography, david Geddes. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by danny Lux. Art direction, david MacLean. set decoration, Johanna Mazur. Visual effects, neo digital imaging; Amalgamated Pixels, inc.; Computer café; digital dimension. Cast: freddie Harris (busta rhymes), rudy Grimes (sean Patrick thomas), Laurie strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis), sara Moyer (bianca Kajlich), nora Winston (tyra banks), Michael Myers (brad Loree), bill Woodlake (thomas ian nicholas), Myles barton (ryan Merriman), Jim (Luke Kirby), donna Chang (daisy McCrackin), Jenna danzig (Katee sackhoff), Professor (rick rosenthal). Synopsis: Laurie strode has been in the Grace Anderson sanitarium since decapitating a man three years previously. that fellow was not, as she’d supposed, her brother, the psychopath Michael Myers. He had changed places with a paramedic. now, Laurie, who hides her pills and doesn’t speak, sees Michael through her window. He gains entrance, kills guards, and pursues Laurie to the roof where she falls to her death. Her last words for Michael: “i’ll see you in Hell.” Haddonfield University: sara listens to a lecture on Jung’s “shadow” before learning that she and two friends have been picked for dangertainment team participation in a reality internet show at the old Myers house. When sara has misgivings, the producer freddie convinces her to stay because she’s the real deal the internet audience wants, and fear is good. Myles barton is sara’s internet buddy. in the Myers home, Michael impales a camera guy on a tripod leg. the participants enter the house, equipped with mini-cameras. they find Michael’s baby chair. the interlopers are methodically killed off. donna pulls up a trapdoor leading to a “sadistic playpen” area and is impaled on a metal spike. Pulling down the attic steps, Jen is decapitated. the cook is stabbed after a good fight. Watching from afar on the internet, Myles realizes something’s amiss and communicates Michael’s positions to sara. freddie encounters Myers and uses martial arts techniques to temporarily ward him off. Knocked outside and hanging from a cord, Michael cuts the cable and stabs freddie, who

Produced by Malek Akkad. directed by rob Zombie. screenplay by rob Zombie. based on a film written by John Carpenter and debra Hill. edited by Glenn Garland. director of Photography, Phil Parmet. Music by tyler bates. “Halloween theme” by John Carpenter. Production design, Anthony tremblay. Art direction, t.K. Kirkpatrick. set decoration, Lori Mazuer, stephanie Ziemer. Costumes, Mary McLeod. special effects, rachel Leigh Arnold. Visual effects, Jamie baxter. Cast: dr. samuel Loomis (Malcolm Mcdowell), Laurie strode (scout taylor-Compton), deborah Myers (sheri Moon Zombie), sheriff brackett (brad dourif ), Annie brackett (danielle Harris), Michael Myers, age 10 (daeg faerch), Michael Myers (tyler Mane), tommy doyle (skyler Gisondo), Princess (nikki taylor Melton, deven streeton), Lindsey Wallace ( Jenny Gregg stewart), Judith Myers (Hanna Hall), ronny White (William forsythe), Principal Chambers (richard Lynch), Janitor ismael Cruz (danny trejo), Cynthia strode (dee Wallace), Mason strode (Pat skipper), Paul (Max Van Ville), Lynda Van der Klok (Kristina Klebe), baby boo (sydnie Pitzer, Myla Pitzer, Lela/stella Altman), Morgan Walker (Udo Kier), dr. Koplenson (Clint Howard), noel Kluggs (Lew temple), steve Haley (Adam Weisman), Larry redgrave (tom towles), Zach “Z” Man Garrett (bill Moseley), Patty frost (Leslie easterbrook), stan Payne (steve boyles), deputy Charles (richmond Arquette), nurse Wynn (sybil danning), officer Lowery (Paul Kampf), big Joe Grizzly (Ken foree), bob simms (nick Mennell), Wesley rhoades (daryl sabara), derek Allen (Micky dolenz), Chester Chesterfield (sid Haig). With Courtney Gains. Synopsis: Haddonfield, illinois, october 31: deadbeat ronny White harangues the long-suffering deborah Myers and her children, the teenage Judith, 10-year-old Michael, and even the baby. only deborah puts food on the table, but she’s a stripper. At school, Michael is bullied. some of his possessions, like the dead cat in a bag, cause Principal Chambers to suggest psychiatric evaluation. deborah is aghast. Meanwhile, Michael takes revenge on one of his taunters, beating him to death with a tree limb. back home, wearing a mask, Michael duct tapes the drunken ronny into his chair and cuts his throat. With an aluminum baseball bat, he bashes in sister Judith’s boyfriend and stabs

Halloween • 109 Haddonfield, illinois, october 31: While things seem normal for teenage Laurie strode, Michael has arrived and digs up the full-face mask and his blade. in the library, Laurie observes a strange figure across the street and later, as she and her girlfriends Annie and Lindsey walk home. in the dilapidated Myers house, Lindsey and her boyfriend are making love when they are killed by Michael. Loomis suspects his erstwhile patient is in town and buys a .357 Magnum. While Laurie babysits tommy, who is very interested in boogeymen, her house is invaded, her mom and dad killed by Michael. Loomis says to sheriff brackett, “evil is here. Walking amongst us.” Michael finds Annie and her boyfriend, kills the latter, savages the former. brackett reveals that after the massacre in the Myers house, he placed the baby with a family in a nearby town. that baby is Laurie. Michael is after her. Laurie finds Annie still alive and calls the police. the children tell Loomis about Laurie and the boogeyman, and Loomis runs down the street. in a basement, Michael compares the photo of himself and his baby sister with Laurie. He puts down his knife and removes his mask. Laurie grabs the knife and stabs him. donning the mask once more, he chases Laurie into an unfilled swimming pool. Loomis arrives just in time to shoot him. Laurie asks, “Was that the boogey man?” Michael reappears, incapacitates Loomis, and takes Laurie into the house. she breaks free but falls with Michael from a second floor balcony onto the ground. she retrieves Loomis’ gun. At first there are only clicks, then one bullet finds its mark. Reviews: Film Threat commended director rob Zombie for respecting the original and found Michael’s lengthy backstory “truly the strength of this film….” the second half, however, didn’t quite jive with the first or sometimes make sense. “What suburb in the U.s. will allow a 6…8[qm] man in a mask, with a knife and/or bloody hands, to stand out in the open and go unnoticed except by his eventual victims?” nevertheless, along with the first two, this was the best of the franchise (Mark bell, filmthreat.com, september 1, 2007); the New York Times equated director Zombie’s depiction of Michael Myers with brian de Palma’s Carrie. despite various pleasures, “the film’s obligation to serve up the expected body count prevents Mr. Zombie from laying the groundwork for the explosion of tragic feelings that the movie’s finale deserves.” (Matt Zoller seitz, New York Times, september 1, 2007). Analysis: More or less told from Michael’s perspective, this is a quality entry reboot … or remake? note the bit parts by sybil danning, sid Haig, Leslie easterbrook, and Udo Kier. As Laurie, scout taylor-Compton screams her head off more and perhaps louder than Jamie Lee Curtis did in the original, and this ramps up the viewer’s horror. Compliments to rob Zombie for not following slasher convention—Annie was permitted Tyler Mane and Danielle Harris, Halloween (Dimension Films, 2007).

her multiple times. He does not harm the baby. Mom arrives home, finding police, rescue personnel and carnage. “smith’s Grove, eleven Months Later”: dr. samuel Loomis attends to Michael in this sanitarium where as he grows to manhood, the janitor is his only friend. He advises Michael to “live inside your head.” Michael continues making masks and stabs a nurse with a fork. back home, after watching home movies of better days, his mother takes her own life with a pistol. “fifteen Years Later”: Michael has grown exponentially. dr. Loomis tells him he hasn’t spoken in fifteen years and he, Loomis, must leave for good. He goes on the lecture circuit, speaking of the blackness in the eyes of a psychopath. At smith’s Grove, during a cell transfer, Michael breaks his chains and slaughters the guards, even the janitor. Loomis is notified. Killing a trucker in a restroom, Michael moves on.

110 • Halloween II to survive Michael’s onslaught. Why wasn’t ismael? the major difference between this and the original is the time allotted (a half hour or so) to filling in Michael Myers’ juvenile history, including his multiple murders and time spent with dr. Loomis at the insane asylum. director Zombie paces things well and provides enough scares of his own to be taken seriously as a horror movie guy. He takes the violence, nudity, and general bad taste farther than Carpenter did (or could have) in the 70s. Ultimately, though, Carpenter’s “less is more” 1978 original continues to be the one to go with, hands down. it’s like tom savini’s Night of the Living Dead (1990). George romero got there with the goods first.

(dimension films, 2009; 105 min.) ★★

Halloween II

Produced by Malek Akkad, Andy Gould, rob Zombie. directed by rob Zombie. screenplay by rob Zombie. edited by Glenn Garland, Joel Pashby. director of Photography, brandon trost. technicolor. Music by tyler bates. “Halloween theme” by John Carpenter. Production design, Garreth stover. Art direction, timothy “t.K.” Kirkpatrick. set decoration, Lori Mazuer. Costumes by Mary McLeod. Makeup, douglas noe. special Makeup, Wayne toth. Visual effects, Jamie baxter, Custom film effects. Cast: deborah Myers (sheri Moon Zombie), Laurie strode (scout taylor-Compton), Young Michael (Chase Vanek), sheriff Lee brackett (brad dourif), dr. Maple (Caroline Williams), dr. samuel Loomis (Malcolm Mcdowell), Michael Myers (tyler Mane), Annie brackett (danielle Harris), Coroner Hooks (dayton Callie), Gary scott (richard brake), nurse daniels (octavia spencer), night Watchman buddy (richard riehle), barbara Collier (Margot Kidder), nancy Mcdonald (Mary birdsong), Mya rockwell (brea Grant), Uncle Meat (Howard Hesseman), Harley david (Angela trimbur), deputy Webb (bill fagerbakke). Synopsis: At a sanitarium, adolescent Michael Myers tells his mother about a dream in which she and a white horse appear. fifteen Years Later: sheriff brackett stops a bloodied Laurie strode on a rainy street. At the scene of carnage, bodies are bagged, including a large one taken away in an ambulance. the vehicle hits a cow, the driver is killed upon impact, and the other decapitated by the revived body in the bag. At the hospital, as the Moody blues’ signature song “nights in White satin” plays on a tV, nurses are killed and Laurie flees, taking refuge in a guard shack. the murderer follows, now equipped with a fire axe. but this is but a dream and Laurie wakes up. october 29th, two Years Later: at sheriff brackett’s house, Laurie complains about her therapist to Annie brackett, who like herself survived a previous attack by Michael Myers. At the therapist’s office, Laurie is told that because Michael’s body was never found he’s living in her head. Laurie admits to being angry with Annie despite having indirectly caused Annie’s scars. Meanwhile, dr. samuel Loomis, another survivor of the maniac’s depredations, speaks at a convention and is angered when audience members ask if he feels responsible for the deaths and if Michael will kill again? He responds, “Michael Myers is fucking dead!” bedecked in white, Michael’s mother walks to a barn, announcing, “Michael, Halloween is coming.” on a backcountry road, two good ol’ boys and one’s daughter encounter a mysterious figure and beat him to the ground. When their back is turned, he rises, puts on his mask and viciously murders his tormenters, impaling the driver on antlers secured to the front of the truck. While sheriff brackett has dinner in his home with daughter Annie and Laurie and can’t fathom

that his daughter doesn’t know who Lee Marvin was, Michael sits outside and sees his mother again. she says she’s not really there, but this is another of Laurie’s dreams. october 30th: Michael enters Haddonfield. Loomis is also in town, filming to promote his book. Laurie has yet another dream, this time of duct taping Annie to a chair. she tells her therapist she’s not strong enough to handle this and needs more prescriptions. back at the brackett’s, she argues with Annie. At a strip joint, Michael visits murder on the proprietor, a stripper and a disgruntled male employee. october 31st: sheriff brackett has a bad feeling. still on tour, Loomis speaks about his book The Devil Walks Among Us and is accosted by a man whose daughter was killed by Michael. Annie tells Laurie her dad is looking for her, but Laurie could care less and drives off to friend Mya’s place. she reveals “i’m Angel Myers, Michael Myers’ sister.” but what the hell, let’s party. she, Mya and Harley dress up and head into town. Michael kills Harley in the back of a van. the deputy guarding the brackett home is surprised and killed by Michael, who again savages Annie inside. When Laurie and Mya arrive they find Annie still alive, but not for long. Mya is stabbed. running into the dark, Laurie flags down a car, but the driver is killed and the car upended by Michael. He carries the unconscious Laurie to a shack where police and Loomis, who’d been watching the news on tV, converge. Against the sheriff ’s orders, Loomis runs to the shack to “draw out” Michael. but he’s killed. Michael is shot full of holes and when Laurie emerges and picks up his knife, she too is killed. down a sterile, white hall come Michael’s mother and the white horse. staring from her bed, an increasingly grim smile on her face, is Laurie/Angel. Reviews: the Hamilton Spectator termed it “a thinking person’s Halloween II, and that isn’t always a good thing.” it successfully blended atmosphere and gore but “lacks the strong vision and memorable carnage of Zombie’s masterpiece, The Devil’s Rejects.” (Peter Hartlaub, Hamilton Spectator, August 29, 2009); The Washington Post said it was the time-honored formula but “cannot fail to please.” it succeeds in its aim: “scaring the flipping flip out of you.” (ruth McCann, Washington Post, August 29, 2009). Analysis: the screaming that was a hallmark of director Zombie’s first Michael Myers outing continues unabated. it is rather disconcerting to have dr. Loomis become a very unsympathetic character. More disturbing is the demise of Annie, who survived the previous rampage. this leaves a bad taste in the mouth, as did the killing of Alice in Friday the 13th, Part 2 after surviving the first film. While it is okay to show young Michael, adult Michael’s face should never be revealed, and here it is, and it’s just the mug of a squirrely old dude. if you’ve got to show it, make it horrible. Michael, like Jason, is a monster. When Jason’s face was shown it was horrible. What assurance have we that rifles and shotguns will keep Michael down? they never did before. filmed in Covington, GA, and new Milford, Ct.

HArrY Potter J.K. rowling’s seven novels about the orphaned wizard-in-training Harry Potter, published between 1997 and 2007, became a literary phenomenon, a series that engaged children and adults and in the opinion of teachers and librarians spurred reading. the film versions began in 2001, the same year that other british fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings, witnessed its first live-action feature film. if any film series deserves major kudos for continuity, this is it. the cast remained essentially the same except for Michael Gambon replacing richard Harris as dumbledore when Harris passed away. for the most part

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone • 111 the people behind the camera stayed the course. there was some consternation over Chris Columbus being chosen to helm the first and second entries, probably based on his penchant for successful but saccharine “family values” films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone and Nine Months. Columbus was probably chosen as a safe bet to maintain the basic storyline of the novels. the edgy directors came later.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Warner bros., 2001; 152 min.) ★★★½

Produced by david Heyman. directed by Chris Columbus. screenplay by steven Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by richard francis-bruce. director of Photography, John seale. Panavision. technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Michael Lamont, Andrew Ackland-snow, steven Lawrence, Lucinda thomson, Peter francis, simon Lamont. set decoration, stephanie McMillan. Costumes by Judianna Makovsky. Visual effects by sony Pictures imageworks, inc., industrial Light and Magic, Mill film Limited, rhythm & Hues, the Moving Picture Company, Cinesite (europe) Limited, the Computer film Company, smoke & Mirrors. Creature and Makeup effects, nick dudman. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), Albus dumbledore (richard Harris), Professor McGonagall (Maggie smith), Madame Hooch (Zoë Wanamaker), Professor snape (Alan rickman), Professor Quirrell/Voldemort (ian Hart), draco Malfoy (tom felton), Mr. ollivander ( John Hurt), dudley dursley (Harry Melling), Uncle Vernon dursley (richard Griffiths), Aunt Petunia dursley (fiona shaw), nearly Headless nick ( John Cleese), Professor flitwick (Warwick davis), Mrs. Weasley ( Julie Walters), oliver Wood (sean biggerstaff), Mr. filch (david bradley), neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis).

and from Vault 713 Hagrid takes a small packet that he keeps on his person. At ollivanders, Harry is presented with a magic wand and is told that it contains a phoenix feather. A second such feather resides in the wand belonging to … someone else. Hagrid arrives with a birthday present of an owl. As they dine later, Harry asks Hagrid if the wizard who gave him the scar on his forehead killed his parents. Hagrid admits that Voldemort, a wizard who rose to power during dark times, did the deed. but for unknown reasons, Voldemort’s attempt on Harry’s life caused his power to break and his reign of darkness to recede. the wizarding community lives in uncertainty, fearful that he may be alive and seeking to return to power. Hagrid takes Harry to the train station, telling him to go to Platform 9 and ¾. observing some other boys charge into a pillar and disappear, he follows and finds himself staring at the Hogwarts express 5972. He shares a compartment with ron Weasley and meets Hermione Granger. When the train stops, Hagrid greets them and takes them to the boats that deposit them at the mysterious and immense Hogwarts castle cum boarding school. Professor McGonagall tells them they will be sorted into Houses. Harry meets draco Malfoy, a boy with a nasty streak. Led into a long room, Harry and the newcomers are greeted by Albus dumbledore and the sorting begins. Hermione, ron, and Harry are selected for Gryffindor, the House associated with valor and bravery. following a feast, Harry and the others are led to their quarters. next day Harry and ron are late for McGonagall’s class. in Professor snape’s Potions class, Harry admits to not knowing the answers to snape’s questions. Later, in the dining hall, owls drop packets for all. Harry reads a newspaper report that Gringotts had been broken into, Vault 713 in particular, but that vault had already been emptied. outside, flying lessons begin. After neville Longbottom breaks his wrist and is taken to the infirmary, draco picks up neville’s remembrall globe. Harry flies up and reclaims it despite being warned not to fly yet. nevertheless, his initial expertise has McGonagall taking him to oliver Wood. Harry is obviously a “seeker” in the game of Quidditch. Harry learns that his father James was also a seeker. Heading for their quarters, Harry, Hermione and ron find the stairway directing them

Synopsis: the white-bearded, robed Professor dumbledore is greeted by Professor McGonagall on Privet drive, where the large and rather hairy Hagrid joins them. the latter hands over a baby, who dumbledore says must grow up here at the dursleys “until he is ready.” to the babe dumbledore says, “Good luck, Harry Potter.” Years pass and Harry continues to reside in a cupboard under the stairs because his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and their son dudley are mean-spirited. during an excursion to the reptile House, Harry finds he can talk to a burmese python. soon thereafter owls begin delivering letters to 4. Privet drive, Little Whinging, surrey, but Uncle Vernon never lets Harry open one. infuriated, he takes the family to a windswept isle, where Hagrid arrives with a cake for Harry’s 11th birthday. “You’re a wizard, Harry.” Harry opens a letter of acceptance from the Hogwarts school. Hagrid takes Harry from the Muggles— non-magical folk—and goes to London. At a pub in diagon Alley, Harry finds himself greeted with some awe. At Left to right: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Gringotts bank, Harry withdraws funds, Stone (Warner Bros., 2001).

112 • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets elsewhere and they enter the forbidden third floor and find a monstrous three-headed dog. After they escape, Hermione says the dog was obviously guarding something. next day the game of Quidditch is explained to Harry. After practicing levitation in Charms class, Hermione hears ron disparaging her and doesn’t come to the Halloween feast because she’s crying in the bathroom. Professor Quirrell appears to announce a troll loose in the school. dumbledore plays down the import while Harry and ron run to warn Hermione, but the troll gets to her first. nevertheless, ron and Harry manage to knock it out. Hermione admits to guilt in having the troll appear and is docked 5 points by McGonagall while ron and Harry are given 5 each. Harry notices that snape has ripped pants. An owl delivers a nimbus 2000 broom to Harry at dinner. in the first Quidditch game, Harry seals the victory over slytherin by catching the snitch. Hagrid tells Harry that the three-headed dog is fluffy, mentions the name nicolas flamel, but won’t say more. At Christmas time many of the students go home, but Harry stays to use the library in hopes of finding out more about nicolas flamel. on Christmas day he opens a package containing an invisibility Cloak. that night, wrapped in the cloak, Harry ventures into the restricted area to look up flamel. He finds snape intimidating Quirrell and then sees his parents in a mirror. When Harry brings ron to the mirror, ron sees himself holding the Quidditch Cup. Later dumbledore appears and tells Harry that the mirror “shows us nothing more or less than the deepest and most desperate desires of our heart.” When his classmates return, Harry is informed by Hermione that the sorcerer’s stone that must lie beneath the trapdoor can turn metal to gold and create an elixir of life. they tell Hagrid they think snape is after the stone. Au contraire, says Hagrid, snape is one of those protecting it. spying on them through the window, draco and sees the birth from an egg of a dragon Hagrid calls norbert. Malfoy informs on his classmates, and Professor McGonagall deducts 50 points each from Harry, Hermione, ron and draco for being out at night. All also get detention, which consists of having Hagrid take them into the forbidden forest. Hagrid says a unicorn was killed and finds the blood of another. they must find the wounded beast. Harry discovers it being feasted on by a cloaked figure, which approaches Harry only to be thwarted and run off by firenze, a centaur. it seems to Harry that the cloaked figure must have been Voldemort. Hagrid arrives with Hermione and ron. back in the dormitory, Harry tells his friends that Voldemort needs the elixir of Life in an attempt to regain power by attaining health and immortality. Hermione tells Harry that he can’t be harmed as long as dumbledore is around. Wanting to tell dumbledore of their adventure and revelations, they are told by McGonagall that he is away. they find a harp used to keep the three-headed dog placid, but it wakes after they open the door. they drop down only to find themselves entangled in plant coils. Hermione tells them to relax. she falls into a tunnel, followed by Harry. but a struggling ron must be helped via Hermione’s use of sunlight. exploring, they find flying keys. Harry suspects the one with the broken wing is the one he needs and captures it. Proceeding to a giant chessboard, they realize they must play to get across. ron directs the game and sacrifices himself so Harry can checkmate the opposite side. on his own, Harry meets Quirrell at the mirror and finds that this Professor is not the mild and meek professor of the past, but a willing pawn of Voldemort, whose incorporeal spirit has attached itself to Quirrell’s body. flames prevent Harry from escaping, and Voldemort offers to bring forth Harry’s parents in exchange for the sorcerer’s stone in Harry’s pocket. Harry refuses. Quirrell fails to strangle Harry but instead crumbles to dust from Harry’s touch. A misty figure rushes through Harry and escapes. Harry wakes in the infirmary and is visited by dumbledore, who says the stone has been destroyed

but that Voldemort has the ability to return. He tells Harry that love permeates his skin. Harry reunites with ron and Hermione. in the dining hall, dumbledore awards extra points to Hermione for her intellect, ron for his mastery of chess, and Harry for pure nerve and courage. neville also receives points for standing up for the right thing. thus does Gryffindor win the House Cup. the term over, the train about to leave, Harry bids adieu to Hagrid, who gives him a book on the cover of which are pictured Harry’s parents and himself as a baby. Reviews: Rolling Stone labeled it an industry, not a movie. effects were fine and the youthful, no-name children and talented adult supporting players “All to the good.” director Columbus “stays hat-inhand faithful to the book. smart move, putting a cash cow in the hands of a man who knows how to milk it.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 13, 2001); Boxoffice called it a “remarkably faithful adaptation of J.K. rowling’s googol-platinum-selling children’s book…” and extolled cast, set decoration, costumes, make-up and special effects. backstories necessarily had to be ditched to cram everything into the time allotted (Boxoffice, January 2002, p. 60). Analysis: there was no little amount of distress when it was learned that Chris Columbus was hired to direct, and afterward for staying too close to the novel. but he doesn’t destroy it. Maggie smith’s Professor McGonagall seems to owe much to her eccentric teacher in 1969’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. for the United Kingdom and india, the book’s true title held over for the film: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. U.s. citizens would be perplexed by that, right? note: in the books, Harry’s father James was a “Chaser,” not a “seeker.”

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner bros., 2002; 161 min.) ★★★

Produced by david Heyman. directed by Chris Columbus. screenplay by steven Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Peter Honess. director of Photography, roger Pratt. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Andrew Ackland-snow, Mark bartholomew, Peter francis, John King, steven Lawrence, Lucinda thomson. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Lindy Hemming. Creature & Make-Up effects by nick dudman. Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic, Mill film, the Moving Picture Company, framestone—CfC, Cinesite (europe) Ltd. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth branagh), Hagrid the Giant (robbie Coltrane), Albus dumbledore (richard Harris), Professor McGonagall (Maggie smith), nearly Headless nick ( John Cleese), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), draco Malfoy (tom felton), Professor snape (Alan rickman), Professor flitwick (Warwick davis), Uncle Vernon (richard Griffiths), Aunt Petunia (fiona shaw), Mrs. Weasley ( Julie Walters), Mr. Weasley (Mark Williams), Moaning Myrtle (shirley Henderson), Aragog ( Julian Glover), Professor sprout (Miriam Margolyes), tom riddle (Christian Coulson), Madam Pumfrey (Gemma Jones), Argus filch (david bradley), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), dobby (toby Jones, voice). Synopsis: Harry and his owl are miserable at his Muggle home, their incarceration made all the more unbearable when the strange little dobby arrives and tells Harry he should not return to Hogwarts. He makes a ruckus that disrupts Uncle Vernon’s little party for his betters, and Harry is locked in his room until ron and his brothers arrive in a flying car, rip from the window the newly installed grate, and

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban • 113 gather in Harry, his owl and his trunk. they go to the Weasley homestead where Mrs. Weasley uses ron to show Harry how to transfer from their fireplace to diagon Alley. Missing the preferred grate, Harry falls in with some rough-looking men and women until Hagrid arrives and takes him to Gilderoy Lockhart, a wizarding author who presents Harry with his own books. Gilderoy is to conduct the defense Against the dark Arts course. Harry meets draco’s father Lucius Malfoy for the first time and that wizard disparages ron’s dad. At Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione and ron learn about the mandrake plant in Herbology class and find themselves under attack by mischievous Cornish pixies in defense Against the dark Arts. Later, in a hallway, Harry hears voices and after meeting up with Hermione and ron, sees on the wall a message in blood about the opening of the Chamber of secrets. Hanging from the ceiling is the apparently dead Mrs. norris, the cat belonging to caretaker Argus filch. draco and his faction insinuate that Harry killed the cat. dumbledore is not so hasty and determines that Mrs. norris is Petrified, not dead. Hermione asks Professor McGonagall about a Chamber of secrets and it told that upon the founding of Hogwarts a thousand years ago by four great wizards, a monster was placed in the Chamber to be opened by his heir, salazar slytherin, who hoped to keep no one but Purebloods—only those children with magical parentage—from the school. McGonagall reveals that despite several searches, no one has found such a cloister. in a Quidditch game, draco and Harry battle each other in chasing the snitch as a rogue ball tries to stop it. Hermione blasts it with her wand. dobby reappears and tells Harry bad things will continue to happen and he shouldn’t have returned to Hogwarts. Gilderoy and snape demonstrate how to fend off attackers, and then draco duels Harry, each in turn sending the other flying. When Harry demonstrates his ability to speak with a cobra, he is again marked as strange, perhaps the heir of salazar slytherin. After two more boys are found Petrified, suspicion naturally falls on Harry, and Professor McGonagall escorts him to Professor dumbledore’s rooms. dumbledore tells Harry he doesn’t think he’s done any of the mischief. After Moaning Myrtle, the spirit of the girl’s lavatory, causes the water to overflow, Harry finds the waterlogged diary of one tom riddle. When he writes questions in it, words in answer appear. Harry is spirited through the diary into dark halls and stairways, on one of which he encounters young tom, who is told by dumbledore that things are going badly at Hogwarts, and yes, it might need to be shut down. Harry follows tom, who confronts Hagrid, acting as if the latter is responsible for a girl’s death. He uses his wand on a chest and a large spider jumps out and scurries away. Hurled back into his room, Harry learns that Hermione is the latest victim of Petrification. He and ron confront Hagrid but before they can get answers, dumbledore arrives, followed a few minutes later by Lucius Malfoy with a signed document to the effect that dumbledore is no longer in charge. Harry and ron observe it all from beneath Harry’s father’s cloak of invisibility and hear dumbledore and Hagrid give them coded tips as to what happens next. Harry and ron follow Hagrid’s instructions to follow the spiders, which they dutifully do and venture into the dark forest where a giant arachnid verifies that he is not the monster that killed a Hogwarts student. nor did Hagrid open the Chamber of secrets. He is not about to let these students go, however, as his legions of spiders need fresh meat. Help comes in the form of the car ron had used to rescue Harry from his uncle. back at Hogwarts, dumbledore tells Gilderoy to find the Chamber and rescue Ginny Weasley despite the presence of the basilisk, a giant snake. because Harry can speak the snake’s language, he can open the entrance to the Chamber below the lavatory. the recalcitrant Gilderoy is pushed in first, followed by Harry and ron. thinking to make his way topside, Gilderoy grabs ron’s patched up

wand and attempts a spell against Harry only to have it backfire and knock him silly. However, some of the tunnel collapses, dividing Harry from ron. Harry finds the unconscious Ginny as well as tom riddle, who reveals himself as Voldemort. the basilisk is released but dumbledore’s Phoenix flies in and renders it sightless. Harry escapes its jaws only to have it return to the main room where he’s been confronting riddle/Voldemort. but the talking hat that the Phoenix had dropped encases a sword with which Harry kills the basilisk but not before it broke off a tooth in his arm. to riddle’s consternation, Harry stabs that tooth into his diary, thus destroying riddle. the Phoenix heals Harry’s wound and pulls Harry, ron and Ginny from the Chamber. At Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy is aghast that dumbledore has regained his old position. Harry is unperturbed by Malfoy’s threats and in the hall gives the diary to dobby, Malfoy’s mistreated servant. Within its pages is a sock for dobby, which means the creature is free from subservience to Malfoy. Lucius tries to use his magic on Harry, but dobby uses his own to knock Malfoy down the hall. during dinner, Hagrid arrives and thanks Harry, Hermione and ron for believing in him. dumbledore stops exams and the students rejoice. Reviews: the Daily Local News complained about the length but found it fun nevertheless. director Columbus “manages a bit more idiosyncrasy…” than in the first outing (david Germain/Associated Press, Daily Local News [West Chester, PA], november 15, 2002, p. 5); The Guardian said the director and screenwriter “have contrived an ultra-faithful page-by-page translation…” of the novel “that’s actually as unreflective and uncomplicated as ever.” it was entertaining to be sure, but “as comforting as nursery food and as devoid of artistic depth as a sports event.” (Peter bradshaw, www.theguardian.com, november 15, 2002); the New York Times did not envy director Columbus the duty of adapting such well-loved novels for the screen. that said, the pacing was less than desirable, the scenes moving in a “plodding, unvarying rhythm.” nevertheless, it was a film in which one could not be “too terribly disappointed.” (A.o. scott, New York Times, november 15, 2002, p. e1); the News Journal said it was “more magical…” than Sorcerer’s Stone. the young performers were comfortable in their roles and gave them depth. overall, it was “terrific fun, a sequel with more self-assurance than most original films can muster.” (Marshall fine/W. Chester, nY Journal News, News Journal [Wilmington, de], november 15, 2002, p. 5). Analysis: there are sections not germane to the dramatic thrust that lengthen the film, e.g., classes in mandrake, classes with Lockhart, but they nevertheless provide background of substance. there are frightening moments, as when the spiders chase Harry and ron in the car. Harry grows nicely into his role as hero. it is consistently entertaining if a bit long.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Warner bros., 2004; 142 min.) ★★★½

Produced by david Heyman, Chris Columbus, Mark radcliffe. directed by Alfonso Cuarón. screenplay by steve Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by steven Weisberg. director of Photography, Michael seresin. technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, steven Lawrence, Alan Gilmore, Gary tomkins, Alex Walker. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. special Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special effects by the Moving Picture Company, framestore-CfC, Cinesite (europe) Limited, double negative, baseblack, northern Lights Post. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma

114 • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Professor Lupin (david thewlis), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), Professor severus snape (Alan rickman), Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), sirius black (Gary oldman), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), draco Malvoy (tom felton), Uncle Vernon dursley (richard Griffiths), shrunken Head (Lenny Henry), Cornelius fudge (robert Hardy), Aunt Marge (Pam ferris), Aunt Petunia (fiona shaw), dudley dursley (Harry Melling), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), stan shunpike (Lee ingleby), tom the innkeeper ( Jim tavare), Mrs. Molly Walters ( Julie Walters), Professor sybil trelawney (emma thompson), Madame rosmerta ( Julie Christie), Wizard (Warwick davis). Synopsis: back at the dursleys during school break, Harry practices under the sheets with his wand, pretending to be asleep when Uncle Vernon bursts in to see where the light is coming from. When dinner guest Aunt Marge makes disparaging remarks about Harry’s parentage, Harry becomes enraged and causes her to bloat up and float into the sky. He takes his trunk and leaves. A mysterious bus makes an emergency stop and takes Harry to the Leaky Cauldron where Cornelius fudge goes leniently with him for using his magic outside of school. Gathering with other Hogwarts-bound students, Harry is informed by ron’s father that murderer sirius black has escaped Azkaban prison and is probably intent on finding Harry. on the train to Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione and ron share a compartment with a strange figure apparently sleeping in the corner. When the train loses power on a bridge and a frightening apparition opens the compartment door and focuses on Harry, the stranger leaps up with his wand to force back what the students learn is one of the dementors charged with keeping sirius black incarcerated. the man is Professor remus Lupin, the new defense Against the dark Arts professor. Hagrid is elevated to Care of Magical Creatures teacher and takes his class into the woods to meet a hippogriff named buckbeak. Hagrid explains to Harry how to ingratiate oneself with this four-legged, winged creature, which takes Harry on a ride over the lake and countryside. draco Malfoy has less luck and is injured. After the fat Lady of the portrait is found hiding in another painting, she tells dumbledore that sirius black has invaded the grounds. Harry learns that sirius was his parents’ friend and his own godfather. Harry, Hermione and ron go to Hagrid’s to see if anything can be done to save buckbeak, under threat of execution due to draco’s father. While talking to Hagrid, Harry is nicked by a pebble thrown through the window. When dumbledore, Cornelius fudge and the executioner arrive, Harry, Hermione and ron hide outside behind the pumpkins before climbing back up the hillside to witness the execution of buckbeak. A large black dog leaps over Harry and Hermione and drags ron underground beneath the daunting willow tree. initially foiled in their attempt to follow, Harry and Hermione eventually make their way to ron and then learn that the dog is sirius and that Professor Lupin is a werewolf—and sirius’ friend. snape appears to complicate things but Harry uses his wand to knock him out. it is revealed that ron’s pet rat scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew, who was thought killed by sirius black. Lupin turns scabbers back into Pettigrew, a servile wretch Harry saves from being killed by Lupin and sirius. He wants to take him to the castle to prove sirius’ innocence, but back above ground sirius and Harry converse while looking up at the majestic castle. When the full moon appears, Lupin lets go of Pettigrew as the curse of the werewolf takes hold. sirius races back and grabs hold of Lupin but cannot keep him from transforming into the beast, and Harry is too late to prevent Pettigrew from changing into scabbers and running off. sirius changes into the dog to save Harry from Lupin but is injured in the fight. Harry, ron and Hermione

are in a deep fix but a howl from the woods below distracts the werewolf who lopes off. Harry searches for sirius and finds his unconscious body beside a pond that turns to ice as the dementor swoops in and begins sucking out sirius’ soul. Harry fails to keep the dementors at bay with his wand, but help arrives in the form of a white stag whose magic disperses the dementors. the vision disappears before Harry can determine if it is his father. back at Hogwarts, dumbledore indicates that Harry and Hermione might save a couple lives if…. Hermione understands and rings Harry and herself with her necklace on which hangs a time-turner. ron is left behind due to his injured leg as they retreat in time and return to Hagrid’s. Hermione throws stones through the window, breaking a vase and hitting Harry in the back of he head. this is the same pebble that Harry had felt when all three were previously speaking with Hagrid about buckbeak. the noise they’d heard behind them in the forest as they hid behind the pumpkins was that of Harry and Hermione who are now leading buckbeak into the woods. When Hagrid, the executioner and Cornelius come outside and find the hippogriff gone, dumbledore says that of course Hagrid is not at fault, they all saw the chained beast when they entered the cottage. dumbledore dismisses the executioner and stays for tea. from the woods, Hermione makes that howl that had and does now distract the werewolf. buckbeak appears just in time to fend off Lupin’s attack on Harry and Hermione. rushing to save sirius and the other Harry at the pond, Harry realizes that it was not his father who used the Patronus spell to save him and sirius from the dementors; it was his own time-traveling self. sirius tells Harry that maybe someday they can live together. He mounts buckbeak and smiles down at Hermione. “You really are the brightest witch of your generation.” back at Hogwarts, dumbledore brushes off whatever Hermione and Harry are about to tell him. Harry finds that Lupin, a bit under the weather, is resigning. Harry’s chums reveals that they mistakenly opened a package for him. it is a brand new firebolt broom he takes into the courtyard and flies into the air at tremendous speed. Reviews: Rolling Stone complimented it as the best Potter to date and a film that could stand on its own regardless if a viewer had not read the books. especially noteworthy was director Cuaron, creating “a triumph by bringing lyricism, laughs and dark magic to the party.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 27, 2004); Common Sense Media said director Cuaron “kept the best of the first Potter films and enriched it with his own splendid vision, meshing perfectly with the tone of the story and the increasing complexity of the themes and characters.” (nell Minow, www.commonsensemedia.org, november 21, 2004). Analysis: Hermione is actually the key character here as she has the magic charm that will take them back in time, and she knows what to do when she’s there, keeping Harry from messing things up. the film picks up the pace when this time travel element is added. Michael Gambon replaced richard Harris as dumbledore. After a significant acting—and singing (“MacArthur Park,” 1968) career, Harris had passed away in 2002 at the age of 72. Gambon was a worthy substitute.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner bros., 2005; 157 min.) ★★★½

Produced by david Heyman. directed by Mike newell. screenplay by steve Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Mick Audsley. director of Photography, roger Pratt. technicolor. Music by Patrick doyle. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Mark bartholomew, Al bullock, Alan Gilmore, Gary tomkins, Alexan-

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix • 115 dra Walker. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. special Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by framestore-CfC, the Moving Picture Company, double negative, Cinesite (europe) Ltd., buf, rising sun Pictures, Animal Logic. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Lord Voldemort (ralph fiennes), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), severus snape (Alan rickman), Cedric diggery (robert Pattinson), Wormtail (timothy spall), bartemius “barty” Crouch, Jr. (david tennant), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), fred Weasley ( James Phelps), George Weasley (oliver Phelps), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), Amos diggery ( Jeff rawle), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), draco Malfoy (tom felton), Viktor Krum (stanislav ianevski), rita skeeter (Miranda richardson), sirius black (Gary oldman), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), fleur delacour (Clémence Poésy), filius flitwick (Warwick davis). Synopsis: A night watchman investigates the light in an old house and finds two men talking to someone hidden in a chair as a large snake slithers down the hall. detected, the man is killed. Harry wakes from this dream, if dream it is, to find Hermione urging him and ron to arise. they join ron’s father and other Hogwarts students and venture into the dark, meeting Amos diggery and his son Cedric. they use magic to transport themselves to the Quidditch championships, but the night is rent with horror as black-robed, pointy-hat wearing specters stomp through the tent city and set it afire. Harry falls and is left behind during the melee. He recovers his senses and sees in the near distance a man he realizes means him harm, but Amos and his friends and administrator barty Crouch take him to Hogwarts. dumbledore introduces the new defense Against the dark Arts teacher, Alastor Moody, who has one artificial eye. to everyone’s surprise and joy, the triwizard tournament is to be held at Hogwarts and will include one champion each from Hogwarts, the durmstrang institute, and the all-female beauxbatons Academy of Magic. those who wish to compete must place a slip of paper with their name into the Goblet of fire. dumbledore pulls three names: Cedric diggery from Hogwarts, fleur delacour from beauxbatons, and Viktor Krum from durmstrang. but a fourth slip of paper containing Harry Potter’s name raises from the Goblet. this is highly unusual. Harry swears he didn’t put in his name and he is also under 17, but dumbledore and Crouch agree that Harry may compete. His decision to do so riles ron. Hagrid invites Harry—in his father’s cloak of invisibility—and olympe Maxime, headmistress of beauxbatons, to accompany him into the forest where are revealed caged dragons. the first task in the tournament will be retrieval of a golden dragon’s egg from the beast’s lair. Prior to the contest, Hermione flings herself on Harry and is caught on film by the journalist rita sketer. the first three contestants succeed as does Harry after summoning his broomstick and leading the dragon on a hair-raising chase out of the arena and around Hogwarts. A respite before the second challenge is a ball to which Viktor invites Hermione, who appears resplendent in her gown, but the sour attitude of Harry and ron causes her grief. the second task takes place on the lake. Given what seems like a patch of moss—but is actually a rare plant called Gillyweed—by Moody, who claims it will permit breathing underwater for an hour, Harry finds himself with webbed feet. fighting off undersea creatures, Harry brings to the surface not only ron but also Gabrielle, the younger sister of the beauxbatons champion, fleur. because of his heroism he is awarded 2nd place. back at Hogwarts, Harry looks into a small column of water—

a Pensieve, which holds memories—and finds himself falling into a past trial of igor Karkaroff, who reveals to barty Crouch, sr., that his own son was an adherent of Voldemort. in the third trial, the contestants must enter a gigantic maze and find the triwizard cup, the first to touch it becoming the winner. it doesn’t take long for Harry to find fleur unconscious, apparently knocked insensible by Viktor. He sends up the signal that help is needed. Viktor appears, seemingly cursed and aiming his wand at Harry. Cedric uses his wand to render Viktor unconscious, and Harry prevents him from killing him because Viktor is bewitched. Cedric is entangled in roots but Harry saves him and they locate and touch the shining cup simultaneously. to their amazement, they find themselves in a graveyard Harry had seen in his dreams. Wormtail, aka Peter Pettigrew, is there and killed. Harry looks on, helpless in his confinement by one of the graveyard statues. Wormtail uses a bone and cuts Harry for his blood to summon from the depths the devilish Voldemort, who after haranguing Harry about his parents, engages him in a magic wand duel. the spirits of Harry’s parents lend support and Voldemort is foiled. in the few seconds he needs, Harry grabs Cedric’s body and transports himself back to Hogwarts. Cedric’s father is consumed by grief and the entire community mourns the loss of a fine student. Moody takes Harry to his rooms and reveals that he had placed Harry’s name in the Goblet. As he tries to kill Harry, dumbledore, snape and McGonagall burst in, disarm Moody, and force him to drink a potion that turns him into his real self: barty Crouch, Jr., the man Harry had seen in his dreams aiding Voldemort. the real Moody is found at the bottom of a magical chest. barty is to be sent back to the prison at Azbakan. the durmstrang and beauxbatons visitors leave Hogwarts. Reviews: Rolling Stone thought the franchise continuing to improve. director newell was good at the action sequences. “freud would have loved this Goblet. With the cast getting looser and the mind games kinkier, it’s hard to resist.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 17, 2005); Common Sense Media said this first PG-13-rated film in the series was “not for nothing. Harry and friends are 14 now and growing up fast,…” (Cynthia fuchs, www.commonsensemedia.com, March 22, 2006). Analysis: Another episode where one is carried swiftly to the climax, this time involving the evil dark lord Voldemort. note that in the books both durmstrang and beauxbatons are co-educational. the pace is swift, and well it should be, as it has the Herculean task of cramming 636 pages worth of material into a 157-minute movie. Many subplots from the books were cut, most out of necessity, but some to the confusion of viewers who have not read the series. the tone is darker, the stakes are higher, and as a whole the film succeeds in balancing the magical, and fantastical challenges Harry faces with the more relatable pangs and pitfalls of adolescence as the trio matures.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner bros., 2007; 138 min.) ★★★½

Produced by david Heyman, david barron. directed by david Yates. screenplay by Michael Goldenberg. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Mark day. director of Photography, slawomir idziak. technicolor. Music by nicholas Hooper. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Mark bartholomew, Alastair bullock, Martin shadler, Gary tomkins, Alex Walker. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. special Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by double negative, the Moving Picture Company, framestore-CfC, rising sun Pictures, Cinesite (europe) Ltd., baseblack Ltd., Machine effects Ltd.

116 • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Left to right: Rupert Grint, Evanna Lynch, Matthew Lewis, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Bonnie Wright, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros., 2007)

Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), Alastor “Mad-eye” Moody (brendan Gleeson), Lord Voldemort (ralph fiennes), sirius black (Gary oldman), remus Lupin (david thewlis), Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), Molly Weasley ( Julie Walters), fred Weasley ( James Phelps), George Weasley (oliver Phelps), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), Percy Weasley (Chris rankin), neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), dudley dursley (Harry Melling), Piers ( Jason boyd), Malcolm (richard Macklin), Cornelius fudge (robert Hardy), severus snape (Alan rickman), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), draco Malfoy (tom felton), dolores Umbridge (imelda staunton), sybil trelawney (emma thompson), bellatrix Lestrange (Helena bonham Carter), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), Mrs. Arabella figg (Kathryn Hunter), Aunt Petunia dursley (fiona shaw), Uncle Vernon dursley (richard Griffiths), Mafalda Hopkirk ( Jessica stevenson, voice), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), nymphadora tonks (natalia tena), Kingsly shacklebolt (George Harris), elphias doge (Peter Cartwright), emmeline Vance (brigitte Millar), Kreacher (timothy

bateson, voice), Amelia bones (sian thomas), Vincent Crabbe ( Jamie Waylett), Cho Chang (Katie Leung), Gregory Goyle ( Josh Herdman), Luna Lovegood (evanna Lynch), Argus filch (david bradley), filius flitwick (Warwick davis). Synopsis: sitting on a swing in the field near the dursleys, Harry is bullied by cousin dudley until a forbidding sky causes them to run into a tunnel beneath the motorway. Attacked by dementors, Harry uses his wand and Patronus spell to save himself and dursley. Arabella figg appears helps them back home. because dursley is insensible, Uncle Vernon blames Harry. Alastor Moody, nymphadora tonks, and Kingsley arrive and on broomsticks fly up the thames into London and a building that extends itself to provide entrance. Harry is welcomed by Mrs. Weasley and on his way upstairs sees sirius and Lupin in a room at the end of the hall. He encounters Hermione and the Weasley children. they use one of the “extendable ears” on a string to try and make out what the adults downstairs are saying. finally summoned, Harry and sirius embrace. over dinner they talk about the Daily Prophet, which is attacking Harry. Lupin says Cornelius fudge’s mind is warped by fear. sirius says Voldemort is recruiting his army and may be seeking something he didn’t have last

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince • 117 time. Arthur Weasley takes Harry to the Ministry to face the charge of using his magical powers in the Muggle world. Arabella testifies on his behalf, as do dumbledore and Harry. despite fudge’s obvious unwillingness to accept the possibility of Voldemort’s return, Harry is acquitted by a show of hands. before heading back to school, Harry is shown a photo by sirius of the original members of the order of the Phoenix, including Harry’s father. from the Hogwarts train station, Harry, Hermione, ron and the somewhat mysterious Luna are transported to the school in a carriage. over dinner the students discover that dolores Umbridge is the new defense Against the dark Arts teacher, but in Harry’s class she says she will not instruct them in any spells of a combative nature, and she labels Cedric’s death an accident despite Harry’s adamant claim to have witnessed his murder. At Umbridge’s insistence Harry writes, “i must not tell lies” on a piece of paper, but his hand becomes tainted with his own blood. Hermione and ron advise him to tell dumbledore but he demurs. in the forest, Harry encounters the barefoot Luna watching rarely encountered hoofed beasts called thestrals. Luna seems to suggest forming a group to counter Umbridge’s power. McGonagall confronts Umbridge, who refuses to back down and issues the first in a long line of proclamations nailed to the wall by Argus filch. Umbridge extends her purview and dismisses sybil trelawny from her long-time post. dumbledore intervenes, agreeing that Umbridge has the right to dismiss the teacher but not to banish her from the school. As much as he tries, Harry finds it difficult to get dumbledore’s attention. At first reluctantly but with fudge’s Daily Prophet lies about sirius goading him on and sirius’s spirit materializing in the fireplace to inform him that Voldemort is on the move, Harry begins to attract a group of students to “dumbledore’s Army.” Hermione is excited about breaking the rules, and neville discovers a hidden chamber in which they can plan and practice. Harry says it’s as if Hogwarts wants them to fight back. in the chamber, Harry teaches “dumbledore’s Army” defensive spells using their wands. the only bright spot during the term is Cho Chang. Harry was smitten and now has his first kiss. but he begins dreaming again and has a vision of Arthur Weasley being attacked and witnessing it as if he is the perpetrator. Harry finally explodes in front of dumbledore and cries, “Look at me! What’s happening to me?” dumbledore has snape instruct Harry so as to resist Voldemort’s intent to control the boy’s mind—an art called “occlumency.” Harry has Christmas dinner at the Weasley’s as a smiling sirius looks on and later shows Harry a room in which his family tree has been painted on the walls. He’d offered this, his parents’ house, to dumbledore for the order of the Phoenix. one of the portraits on the wall is of the deranged bellatrix Lestrange. Harry says he feels angry all the time. sirius argues that all people have both light and darkness within them. back at Hogwarts, Hagrid has returned to his cottage. Harry, ron and Hermione race there and hide from Umbridge, who tells Hagrid he might want to think about not unpacking. Hagrid tells Harry he’d visited the Giants to enlist their aid in any future conflict. beatrix, imprisoned at Azkaban, escapes with some death eaters. Umbridge finds Harry’s secret room and he and his confederates are confined. fudge arrives. dumbledore takes responsibility. fudge says there will be conspiracy and sedition charges against him and he will be taken to Azkaban. dumbledore says there is no way that’s happening. A fiery phoenix flies into the chamber; dumbledore raises his arms to merge with it and disappears. Umbridge becomes Headmistress and promulgates an increasing number of rules. Hagrid takes Harry, Hermione and ron into the woods to meet his half-brother Giant, Grawp. snape, now instructing Harry, antagonizes his charge as he tries to make Harry discipline his mind. He says life isn’t fair. Harry sees his father bullying snape. When the “o.W.L.s in Progress” tests are held, the

Weasley twins fly in on broomsticks and create fireworks. Harry sees Voldemort telling sirius he needs the prophecy. Harry, Hermione and ron agree they are in this together. Umbridge has Harry tied to a chair and slaps him. When asked for a certain potion to facilitate Harry’s confession, snape says Umbridge has used it all up on other students. foiled on that score, Umbridge decides she’ll use the Cruciatus Curse, but Hermione tricks the woman by saying she knows where dumbledore has his secret weapon. Umbridge follows Hermione, Harry and ron into the forest where she is attacked by Grawp and carried off by the centaurs. Luna suggests they fly on thestrals to the Ministry of Magic in London to try and save sirius. there Harry finds the prophecy orb in which swirls a fog and from which a voice says, “He shall overpower the dark Lord.” Lucius Malfoy and Lestrange appear. Lucius says Harry’s vision of sirius’ torture was but a dream. He wants the orb, which apparently will reveal why Voldemort couldn’t kill Harry when he was a child. Harry hands over the prophecy but Moody, Lupin, nymphadora and Kingley arrive and rescue Harry’s friends. sirius defeats Malvoy but is killed by Lestrange. Harry chases her and hovering over her hears a voice telling him that she deserves to die. Voldemort shows himself, as does dumbledore, who tells “tom” he was foolish to come there. the two engage in an epic battle of will and magic. Having been knocked to the floor and taunted by Voldemort, Harry manages to recover his faculties and tells the dark Lord, “You’re the weak one, and you’ll never know love or friendship, and i feel sorry for you.” the atrium begins to collapse and Lestrange escapes. Voldemort leaves as Cornelius fudge arrives and realizes the dark Lord has indeed returned. the daily Prophet proclaims, “dUMbLedore, Potter VindiCAted.” fudge is removed as Minister, and Umbridge is removed from her position. back at Hogwarts, dumbledore tells Harry he’d kept his distance from him during the semester in order to prevent Voldemort from learning of their connection. Harry recalls the prophecy: “neither can live while the other survives.” Voldemort must kill him or he must kill Voldemort. Luna tells Harry she’s sorry about the death of his godfather, sirius. As the Hogwarts express gains steam, Harry and his chums realize that their friendship can overcome Voldemort. they have something worth fighting for. Reviews: Northern Territory News commended the production values but said “it lacks the jaw-dropping moments and shear magic that marked the earlier films.” (Northern Territory News, July 15, 2007); Bright Lights Film Journal bemoaned a dearth of cleverness and thought Umbridge should have presented even more of a challenge to Harry. it was a shame that Harry, heretofore managing to save himself, had to rely on others (Alan Vanneman, Bright Lights Film Journal, July 24, 2007). Analysis: one’s hackles rise as the smarmy Umbridge incites in the viewer feelings of alarm and anger. When will she get hers? Her reign at Hogwarts smacks of totalitarianism. We must assume that the centaurs returned Umbridge to the authorities after…? Yes, and she’s back in power at the Ministry during books 6 and 7. the magic match between dumbledore and Voldermort is indeed titanic. one wishes for more screen time for nymphadora tonks—what a name! it’s up there with Peregrine took of The Lord of the Rings, a film series running concurrently with the Potter saga from 2001 to 2003.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner bros., 2009; 153 min.) ★★★

Produced by david Heyman, david barron. directed by david Yates. screenplay by steve Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Mark day. director of Photography, bruno delbonnel.

118 • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Panavision. technicolor. Music by nicholas Hooper. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Alastair bullock, sloane U’ren neely, Gary tomkins, Hattie storey, Martin schadler, Martin foley, Molly Hughes. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. special Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by the Moving Picture Company, double negative, rising sun Pictures, Cinesite (europe) Ltd., framestore, Luma Pictures. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), fenrir Greyback (dave Legeno), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), draco Malfoy (tom felton), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), severus snape (Alan rickman), Molly Weasley ( Julie Walters), Lord Voldemort (ralph fiennes), bellatrix Lestrange (Helena bonham Carter), George Weasley (oliver Phelps), fred Weasley ( James Phelps), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), Professor Horace slughorn ( Jim broadbent), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), Lavender brown ( Jessie Cave), dean thomas (Alfred enoch), Luna Lovegood (evanna Lynch), Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), draco Malfoy (tom felton), narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), Wormtail (timothy spall), Waitress (elarica Gallacher), Cormac McLaggen (freddie stroma), Marcus belby (Marcus Knox), twin Girls (Amber evans, ruby evans), blaise Zabini (Louis Cordice), Pansy Parkinson (scarlett byrne), Vincent Crabbe ( Jamie Waylett), Professor filius flitwick (Warwick davis), neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), remus Lupin (david thewlis), nymphadora tonks (natalia tena), Madam Pomfrey (Gemma Jones), Cho Chang (Katie Leung), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), Katie bell (Georgina Leonidas). Synopsis: With bellatrix Lestrange hovering about, severus snape promises draco Malfoy’s mother narcissa that he will help her son survive a mission Lord Voldemort wants him to undertake. Harry is at that time reading the Daily Prophet in a subway luncheonette and spies dumbledore across the tracks. the Hogwarts headmaster whisks Harry to the residence of Horace slughorn, former teacher now persuaded to return. dumbledore tells Harry that slughorn will try to “collect” Harry, make him one of his special students. At the Weasley home, Harry meets up with Hermione and ron, and before going back to Hogwarts they visit a magic shop where Harry picks up some Peruvian instant darkness Powder. He is not successful on the train in spying on draco, who uses a spell to knock him out of the ceiling and cover him until Luna releases him. At Hogwarts, snape is now defense Against the dark Arts teacher while slughorn resumes his position teaching Potions. Having found an old book titled Advanced Potion Making property of the Half Blood Prince that contains notations for spells, Harry is in good stead in slughorn’s class where he wins a bottle of felix felicis, a “Liquid Luck” potion. dumbledore shows Harry his Pensieve in which he sees the memories of those who’d dealt with tom riddle, the young man dumbledore had recruited from Wool’s orphanage. Harry learns that slughorn had taught riddle, aka Voldemort, and knows something of paramount importance that Harry is entailed with ferreting out. draco, meanwhile, is drawn to an old cabinet in an old chamber. After a Quidditch match, Harry, Hermione and ron walk to a pub and on the return watch as Katie is pulled into the air and dropped into the snow. Hagrid picks her up. McGonagall and snape inspect the necklace found on the path nearby. After a slughorn dinner, Harry stays behind and asks about riddle. in another Quidditch game, ron excels, seemingly due to a potion Harry only pretended to put into his drink. to Hermione’s distress, ron kisses Lavender brown. At a Christmas party, snape reveals that

dumbledore has been traveling. Harry, ron and Hermione take the train to the Weasley home and consult with Lupin about what to do about Voldemort’s machinations. bellatrix appears, taunting Harry, who chases her into the field, followed by Ginny, another girl and Lupin. they are attacked and form a circle, using their wands to ward off incoming spells. Upon returning to the house, they find it in flames. Harry uses the Pensieve to see riddle arguing with slughorn and other students. dumbledore appears and says what he’s viewed is a lie. slughorn must be persuaded to reveal his true memory. they must not fail in this. When slughorn gives ron an antidote to the love potion that’s made Lavender brown his obsession, ron falls to the floor and foams at the mouth. Harry puts something into his mouth to make him breathe and he’s taken to hospital. When he wakes up he says Hermione’s name and Lavender rushes off. Later, Harry and draco match wands, leaving Harry’s schoolmate nemesis on the floor bleeding profusely. snape arrives and saves draco. Ginny tells Harry he must get rid of his potion book. it must be hidden from him. Harry opens the closet that had intrigued draco and a small black bird flies out. Ginny takes the book, hides it, and kisses Harry. Harry drinks the felix felicis and feels “excellent.” He visits slughorn in his greenhouse and later entices him to Hagrid’s cottage. on the way they see a giant dead tarantula, a friend of Hagrid’s. in the cottage, Hagrid and slughorn get drunk. the professor reveals that long ago a lily petal from Harry’s mother had been dropped into a bowl of water and became a fish. Harry urges slughorn to be brave. Using his wand, slughorn removes the true memory of tom riddle and places it in a vial that Harry takes to dumbledore. it reveals that riddle had asked about Horcrux, or black magic, intuiting that it would be possible to gain immortality by concealing a part or parts of one’s soul in various objects. dumbledore is perturbed by the revelation but gathers his strength and guides Harry across a forbidding sea to a fissure in a great rocky wall. in the cavern is a lake. Using his wand to identify the chain below the surface, dumbledore has Harry pull in a boat with which they make their way to a small crystal-like island containing a pedestal atop which is a receptacle containing a dark liquid. dumbledore says he must drink all of it and that Harry must force him to finish it if he objects. even after one cup, dumbledore becomes changed but Harry accomplishes the task and finds a locket in the bowl, another of the Horcruxes. regaining his senses, dumbledore uses flame to destroy the inferi, the hideous, manlike creatures raised from the lake and pulling Harry under. back at Hogwarts, draco opens the mysterious cabinet. Atop the Astronomy tower, dumbledore tells Harry he must find snape, but in the meantime to go below and no matter what happens remain silent. snape appears next to Harry and signals silence as above them draco tells dumbledore he must kill him, but his courage fails. it is left to snape to do the deed in the presence of bellatrix and other death eaters. dumbledore falls to the courtyard. bellatrix makes a shambles of the dining hall on her way out. Harry follows snape to Hagrid’s cottage, set ablaze by bellatrix. snape uses his wand to incapacitate Harry, who hears the wizard intone, “You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? Yes, i’m the Half blood Prince.” during dumbledore’s funeral, McGonagall raises her wand to the sky and all the students follow suit, thus dissipating Voldemort’s hideous visage in the clouds. Later, after McGonagall tells Harry he has people in whom he can confide, Harry, Hermione and ron mull over their predicament. Harry produces the locket inside which is a note from the mysterious “r A b” telling Voldemort that he has the real Horcrux and will endeavor to destroy it even though he die in hopes of Voldemort meeting his adversary in mortal form. Hermione chides Harry for thinking he’s in this alone, and the three stare silently over the river.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 • 119 Reviews: The Blade found it dull and bereft of “high-wire tension…,” an obvious set-up for the big showdown finale. nevertheless, emma Watson shone “in her moments of tearful heartache.” (Kirk baird, The Blade [ohio], July 15, 2009); Rolling Stone kept up the praise for “a triumph of visual wonder and emotional storytelling.” the actors excelled. “radcliffe’s growing maturity as Harry gives the role a touching gravity.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 14, 2009). Analysis: one must pay close attention to this entry, what with the flashbacks explaining how tom riddle came to Hogwarts and turned into the evil Voldemort. there are many scenes in darkness and it is difficult to see who’s who and understand what’s transpiring. this might be the film in the series that would be better viewed after reading the book. Curiously but of no real importance is that in the film’s book Advanced Potion Making, there is no hyphen in the inscription by that Half blood Prince, namely snape. there are dull stretches, as when ron is smitten with Lavender brown, but this is mostly compensated for once bellatrix leads Harry into the field, dumbledore takes Harry across a veritable river styx, draco opens the gate to their enemies, and snape casts his spell on dumbledore and reveals he is the Half blood Prince.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (Warner bros., 2010; 146 min.) ★★★★

Produced by david Heyman, david barron, J.K. rowling. directed by david Yates. screenplay by steve Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Mark day. director of Photography, eduardo serra. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Alexandre desplat. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Al bullock, Mark bartholomew, Gary tomkins, Hattie storey, nicholas Henderson, Martin foley, Molly Hughes, Christian Huband, Kate Grimble, Peter dorme, Ashley Winter. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. Visual effects by MPC, double negative, Cinesite, framestore, baseblack, rising sun Pictures. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Lord Voldemort (ralph fiennes), severus snape (Alan rickman), Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), draco Malfoy (tom felton), Minister rufus scrimgeour (bill nighy), Vernon dursley (richard Griffiths), dudley dursley (Harry Melling), Petunia dursley (fiona shaw), Molly Weasley ( Julie Walters), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), fred Weasley ( James Phelps), George Weasley (oliver Phelps), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), bill Weasley (domhnall Gleeson), nymphadora tonks (natalia tena), Mr. Granger (ian Kelly), Mrs. Granger (Michelle fairley), bellatrix Lestrange (Helena bonham Carter), dolores Umbridge (imelda staunton), narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), Wormtail (timothy spall), death eater Yaxley (Peter Mullan), Pius thicknesse (Guy Henry), Antonin dolohov (Arben bajraktaraj), thorfinn rowle (rod Hunt), Alastor “Mad-eye” Moody (brendan Gleeson), remus Lupin (david thewlis), ollivander ( John Hurt), Luna Lovegood (evanna Lynch), Xenophilius Lovegood (rhys ifans), Kreacher (simon Mcburney, voice), neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), Cormac McLaggen (freddie stroma), Lavender brown ( Jessie Cave), twin Girls (Amber evans, ruby evans), dobby (toby Jones, voice), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), rita skeeter (Miranda richardson), fenrir Greyback (david Legeno), bathilda bagshot (Hazel douglas), Gregorovitch (rade serbedzija), fleur delacour (Clémence Poésy).

Synopsis: At the Ministry of Magic, rufus scrimgeour makes it plain that they will hold to their tenets. Meanwhile, Harry is left behind at the dursleys as they depart from dangerous threats. Hermione, likewise, is in a precarious position and uses her wand to delete her image from family pictures before setting out alone. At Malfoy Manor, Lord Voldemort gathers his sycophantic allies and welcomes the last to arrive, snape, who informs the gathering of Harry’s whereabouts and immediate future. Voldemort says he cannot kill Harry with his wand because Harry’s is a twin. He asks for Lucius’ wand, which he breaks easily. Above the long table in a state of stasis floats a Hogwarts teacher. Voldemort drops her to the table and sends his immense snake toward her. the order of the Phoenix gathers at Privet drive. Harry reluctantly agrees to let them help him and the others are turned into duplicate Harrys. two by two they leave the house only to be ambushed immediately. After a harrowing ride in Hagrid’s motorcycle, Harry reaches the burrow, but Mad-eye Moody doesn’t make it. nor does Hedwig, Harry’s owl. George Weasley is seriously injured. in the night, Harry packs up but ron discourages him from leaving on his own. scrimgeour arrives with dumbledore’s Will. ron is given the deluminator to show him the light when he needs it, Hermione The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry the first Golden snitch he won at Quidditch to remind him of his perseverance and skill. Also, the sword of Godric Gryffindor has been allocated to Harry. Hermione argues that the sword came to Harry in the Chamber of secrets years ago. the problem is that no one knows its present whereabouts. the wedding of bill Weasley and fleur delacour is held under a tent, but the festivities are interrupted when a message arrives that the Ministry has fallen. soon they too come under attack. Hermione uses her powers to whisk Harry, ron and herself into London and refuge at Grimmauld Place. While planning their next course of action at a luncheonette, they are attacked by two men. Harry and his compatriots gain the upper hand. Walking on, Hermione expresses distress that the cake she and Ginny made for Harry’s birthday was never to be seen. they take refuge in the house that expands. its sirius’s house, Grimmauld Place. Harry sees Voldemort torturing an old man and learns that the elder Wand was stolen by rAb, regulus Arcturus black, sirius’ brother. Harry wakes and goes to sirius’ room before being called by ron to enter regulus’ room. He stole the real Horcrux. the house elf Kreacher appears and under interrogation says he tried but failed to destroy the locket. then Mundungus fletcher came and took away many things. Meanwhile, out on the Hogwarts express, death eaters search for Harry, who is now “HArrY Potter UndesirAbLe no. 1.” At the Ministry, dolores Umbrage squeaks with pleasure when the new minister, Pius thicknesse, who tells the employees they have nothing to fear when they present themselves for “evaluation.” the elf dobby appears to Harry, reminding him of his duty to protect him. they capture Mundungus fletcher, who reveals that the locket they seek is in the possession of dolores. Harry, Hermione and ron transform themselves into Ministry officials and gain access to the headquarters. Hermione knocks out Umbridge and yanks the locket from her neck. the three make their escape despite changing back to their normal selves. escaping to a forest, Harry picks up the locket and sees Hermione ministering to an injured ron, who’s bleeding profusely from his left arm. With a magic balm, Hermione restores the arm. they create a tent and unsuccessfully attempt to destroy the locket, which remains impervious to their spells. Holding the locket, Harry sees Voldemort and Gregorovitch, a renowned wand-maker, who says a teenage boy once stole the elder Wand from him. in her reading, Hermione reaches the conclusion that the sword of Gryffindor is the only thing that can destroy the Horcrux. Angry over what he perceives as Harry’s attention to Hermione, ron leaves. in the tent, to a tune

120 • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 on the radio, Harry and Hermione dance slowly. next day Harry tries to make sense of his Golden snitch and a mysterious inscription. And then there’s the symbol in the Tales of Beedle the Bard. Harry wants to go to Godric’s Hollow in case the sword is there. in the town, Harry and Hermione find the tombstone of Harry’s parents. inside magical historian bathilda bagshot’s house, bathilda, wearing a locket, turns into a giant snake, and Harry and Hermione fend it off before escaping via magic. in their safe place, Harry sees his broken wand, and Hermione unsuccessfully tries to mend it. He takes Hermione’s wand and the locket and stands guard until a brightly shining doe leads him to a frozen pond, where Harry discerns what appears to be a sword at the bottom. Harry dives in to retrieve the sword but only survives when ron reappears and pulls him to safety. A wraith appears with Voldemort’s voice and an enraged ron charges the specter with the sword and destroys the locket, thus putting paid to another Horcrux. ron finds his way back only to be pummeled by Hermione for leaving them. she wants her wand. ron has the remains of the Horcrux he destroyed plus the sword of Gryffindor. He tells Hermione he heard her voice like a whisper in a deluminator, clicked it and created a ball of light that floated into his chest. He knew he could find them. that night ron gives Harry a makeshift wand. Hermione appears and says, “We need to talk.” Her book suggests they must find Xenophilius Lovegood, father to Luna, and they trek to the Lovegood home. Luna’s seemingly daft father begins explaining the deathly Hallows as Hermione reads from her book. there were three brothers who encountered death, who granted one the elder Wand, the most powerful of all. that brother was killed for it. the second brother received the ability to resurrect loved ones but his lost love felt she didn’t belong in this world. that brother took his own life to be with her. the third brother wandered far and wide and death could not find him. one day this brother gave his young son the Cloak of invisibility and joined death. these then were the deathly Hallows. Harry and his companions agree that they must leave. Luna’s father is distressed by … something, and that turns out to be an attack from the sky by Voldemort’s black wraiths. Grabbing each other’s hands as the home collapses, Harry, Hermione and ron find themselves in a forest but soon surrounded by men in black—death eaters. Hermione uses a spell to distort Harry’s face so the death eaters won’t recognize him. Meanwhile, Voldemort learns that the elder Wand is in the earth with … dumbledore. Harry and ron are shoved into Lucius Malfoy’s cellar and encounter Luna and Mr. ollivander, the wand-maker. Harry is wracked by pain upon hearing Hermione’s screams as she is tortured by bellatrix. dobby appears to save Harry and his friends. Harry and ron incapacitate Wormtail and climb from the dungeon to the main chamber and listen to bellatrix grill their former dungeon mate goblin as Hermione lies insensible on the cold floor. Harry and ron rush up and fight Lucius Malfoy and bellatrix with wands, but bellatrix holds Hermione hostage with a dagger to her neck. Harry and ron drop their wands, and Lucius begins to summon the dark Lord, but dobby, high on the chandelier, sends it crashing to the floor, almost killing bellatrix. With Hermione now in their circle, dobby uses his spell to whisk them to a deserted beach, but this “free elf ” has been mortally wounded by the sword bellatrix threw at him as he was using his magic. dobby dies happy in Harry’s arms and is buried without magic in the dunes. Meanwhile, Voldemort opens dumbledore’s grave, removes the elder Wand from his hand and sends a blazing beam of light into the night sky. Reviews: roger ebert called it “a handsome and sometimes harrowing film,…” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, november 16, 2010); the Christian Science Monitor said the director had displayed “a good, solid, workmanlike integrity….” radcliffe and company “have

an admirable junior-league gravitas.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, november 18, 2010). Analysis: the saga rushes toward its conclusion almost but not quite unrelieved by any humor. that humor occurs when dobby tells bellatrix he didn’t try to kill, just maim or cause her grievous injury. dobby’s death signals the tone the story will increasingly take: a battle for souls in which even the survivors are bitterly wounded in flesh and psyche.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Warner bros., 2011; 130 min.) ★★★★

Produced by david Heyman, david barron, J.K. rowling. directed by david Yates. screenplay by steve Kloves. based on the novel by J.K. rowling. edited by Mark day. director of Photography, eduardo serra. technicolor. Music by Alexandre desplat. Production design, stuart Craig. Art direction, Al bullock, Mark bartholomew, Gary tomkins, Hattie storey, nicholas Henderson, Martin foley, Molly Hughes, Christian Huband, Kate Grimble, Peter dorme, Ashley Winter. set decoration, stephenie McMillan. Costumes by Jany temime. Visual effects by double negative, the Moving Picture Company, Cinesite, framestore, baseblack, rising sun Pictures, tippett studio, Lola Visual effects, Gradient effects, Union Visual effects. Cast: Harry Potter (daniel radcliffe), Hermione Granger (emma Watson), ron Weasley (rupert Grint), Lord Voldemort (ralph fiennes), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), severus snape (Alan rickman), Albus dumbledore (Michael Gambon), bellatrix Lastrange (Helena bonham Carter), Minerva McGonagall (Maggie smith), neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), Molly Weasley (Julie Walters), Ginny Weasley (bonnie Wright), fred Weasley ( James Phelps), George Weasley (oliver Phelps), Arthur Weasley (Mark Williams), bill Weasley (domhnall Gleeson), Percy Weasley (Chris rankin), Helena ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald), Lucius Malfoy ( Jason isaacs), narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory), draco Malfoy (tom felton), twin Girls (Amber evans, ruby evans), Luna Lovegood (evanna Lynch), nymphadora tonks (natalia tena), Professor sybil trelawney (emma thompson), fleur delacour (Clémence Poésy), Griphook/ Professor filius flitwick (Warwick davis), ollivander ( John Hurt), bogrod ( Jon Key), Aberforth dumbledore (Ciarán Hinds), Ariana dumbledore (Hebe beardsall), seamus finnigan (devon Murray), Lavender brown ( Jessie Cave), Leanne (isabella Laughland), Katie bell (Georgina Leonidas), romilda Vane (Anna shaffer), Cormac McLaggen (freddie stroma), dean thomas (Alfie enoch), Cho Chang (Katie Leung), nigel (William Melling), Padma Patil (Afshan Azad), Professor Horace slughorn ( Jim broadbent), blaise Zabini (Louis Cordice), Madam Pomfrey (Gemma Jones), Professor Pomona sprout (Miriam Margolyes), remus Lupin (david thewlis), Pius thicknesse (Guy Henry), Giant (Phil Wright), scabior (nick Moran), fenrir Greyback (dave Legeno), Lily Potter (Geraldine somerville), James Potter (Adrian rawlins), Young Lily Potter (ellie darceyAlden), Young James Potter (Alfie Mcilwain), Young severus snape (benedict Clarke), Young Petunia dursley (Ariella Paradise), Young sirius black (rohan Gotobed), Wormtail (timothy spall), rubeus Hagrid (robbie Coltrane), sirius black (Gary oldman), scorpius Malfoy (bertie Gilbert). Synopsis: Voldemort raises the elder Wand to the sky while in shell Cottage, bill and fleur’s home, Harry asks the goblin Griphook to help him enter the vaults of Gringotts. Griphook, who admits that Harry is a rather unusual wizard, requires the sword of Gryffindor in

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 • 121 exchange. Harry consults with wandmaker ollivander about various wands, including draco Malfoy’s, now in Harry’s possession. ollivander says, “the wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter.” Pressed, he admits that Voldemort tortured him to reveal the location of the elder Wand, but he’s not sure the dark Lord has yet found it. Harry says he has and ollivander is less than sanguine about Harry’s chances. in reply, Harry says, “Well i suppose i’ll have to kill him before he finds me, then.” With ron, and Hermione masquerading as bellatrix, Harry follows Griphook deep into the Gringotts vault and from a mountain of cups locates the right one, the Hufflepuff Cup. reneging on his promise, Griphook takes the cup and the sword. He says he didn’t promise to get Harry and his companions out. now a dragon and security guards block their way. Hermione leaps onto the dragon’s back, breaks its shackles, and joined by Harry and ron rides the beast as it climbs from the vaults into the main accounting room, thence to the outside and freedom in the sky. over a lake, Harry, ron and Hermione drop off. Under the water, Harry sees Voldemort. After gaining the shore, Harry tells his companions, “He knows.” they must get to Hogwarts. Voldemort seems wounded and tells his confidants the boy is dangerous. the sword of Gryffindor evaporates from the dead body of Griphook. Harry, Hermione and ron whisk themselves to the village near Hogwarts. Voldemort’s minions are on their trail but the three find refuge below ground with dumbledore’s brother Aberforth. Harry says they need to get into Hogwarts and find the last Horcrux and convinces the skeptical Aberforth that they can succeed. A woman in a mirror, Ariana, Albus’ and Aberforth’s sister, retreats and soon neville Longbottom emerges from behind. He takes them through the new, secret tunnel into Hogwarts where Harry is enthusiastically welcomed by students in hiding. He tells them there is something they must find to defeat You Know Who. it’s small and easily concealed. Luna offers the opinion that it might be the diadem of Helena ravenclaw. Ginny arrives and says snape knows Harry was in Hogsmeade. At Hogwarts, snape summons students and teachers into the great hall and warns them that punishment will come to those who help Harry Potter or know anything about him and refuse to divulge it. from the crowd Harry steps forward and berates snape for killing dumbledore. When snape draws his wand, McGonagall inserts herself between him and Harry and uses her wand to push him back and back until he becomes a wraith and escapes by crashing through the high stained glass window. some girls begin to scream and Voldemort’s voice is heard telling the students that if they turn Harry over to him they will be rewarded and Hogwarts left alone. they have one hour to make their decision. A girl from slytherin wonders why no one is taking Harry, but the rest support him and McGonagall has slytherin sent to the dungeons. Luna follows Harry up the staircase while McGonagall uses a spell to rouse stone soldiers for the castle’s defense. she and other teachers cast a spell that encases Hogwarts in a protective shell she knows cannot stop but can delay Voldemort and his army. Luna demands that Harry stop his pell-mell race up the stairs, telling him he must talk to someone who’s died. she will know about the diadem, and that she is Helena ravenclaw. this ghost is angry over tom riddle’s dark magic, but Harry endeavors to convince her he will destroy the diadem once and for all. she finally tells him it will be found in the place where everything is hidden. Voldemort approaches Hogwarts and orders his minions to use their wands. the first volley fails to dent the protective screen. Within, all are at the ready: the Weasley twins, neville, everybody. ron and Hermione find the Chamber because ron had heard Harry talking in his sleep. neville, meanwhile, watches a death eater charge stymied by the shell. ron pulls a large tooth from the skeleton of some monstrous beast, presents it to Hermione, and she brings it down on the cup. Voldemort feels the

pain, as does Harry. ron and Hermione kiss. Voldemort recovers and uses the elder Want to send a beam into the Hogwarts screen, which begins to crumble. neville flees across an enclosed bridge as the death eaters follow. the bridge behind them collapses and only neville survives. ogres, meanwhile, battle the statue soldiery on the main bridge. Harry meets up with Ginny and they kiss. draco has found his way into the castle and picks up two of his chums. followed by draco, Harry finds himself before the blank wall leading to the Chamber of secrets. inside, staring at the treasure trove, Harry discovers a small coffer containing the diadem. draco and his pals confront him. draco wants his wand back but Hermione and ron drive them off. during this confrontation, the diadem is knocked up into the mass of treasure. Harry and Hermione climb and retrieve it as ron rushes back, pursued by a mass of flame. draco and his pals climb to escape it, but one falls to his death. Harry, Hermione and ron mount brooms, rescue draco and his remaining follower, and gain the entrance. Harry strikes the diadem and kicks it back into the fiery chamber. Voldemort reels and says to his snake, “Come, nagini, i need to keep you safe.” Harry realizes the snake is the last Horcrux. in Voldemort’s camp, Lucius Malfoy suggests that the attack should be called off in favor of focusing on finding the boy. Voldemort says no, the boy will come to him. find severus. Harry says he knows where Voldemort is. in the courtyard, Harry, Hermione and ron find ogres and spiders battling their friends. finally a gathering of the wizards casts back the attackers. snape comes to Voldemort. Concealed, Harry, Hermione and ron conceal themselves and listen to a conversation between the two. “You killed dumbledore, severus,” says Voldemort and orders nagini to kill snape. After Voldemort leaves, Harry rushes to the dying snape, who indicates that Harry is to obtain his tears. Hermione has a vial into which they flow. in the courtyard, amid a scene of unspeakable carnage, Voldemort’s voice is heard ordering his followers to retreat. He accuses Harry of sacrificing his friends rather than confronting him directly. Come to the forest. Harry drops the tears into dumbledore’s Pensieve and sees many, often distressing, things, including two young girls on a hillside. one accuses the other of being a freak. A boy appears from a tree to console the insulted girl: Harry’s mother, Lily. Later, Lily is killed by Voldemort. Harry sees snape speaking with dumbledore and learns of a curse that will kill the old wizard. dumbledore tells snape to kill him and mentions that a curse rebounded from Voldemort onto the baby Harry. “A part of Voldemort lives inside him,” says dumbledore. thus the boy must die, but snape reveals he cares for the child. Voldemort himself must do the deed. Harry tells ron and Hermione he’s going into the forest and explains he can hear the Horcruxes. first, the snake must be killed, “and then it’s just him.” in the forest, Harry examines a small round object—the snitch with the resurrection stone inside—and says he’s ready to die. He bites it and it opens, revealing a small floating pyramid. He closes his hand over it and sees his mother Lily, his dad, remus and sirius black. they vow to stay with him in the coming trial but will be invisible. Voldemort and bellatrix wait for Harry. Hagrid, secured by ropes, wonders why Harry has come. Voldemort shoots a beam from his wand at Harry, who “wakes” in a long, high and very bright room that reminds him of Kings Cross station. dumbledore is there as well as a shriveled, small creature: the remains of Voldemort. dumbledore and Harry walk along and converse. Harry realizes a part of Voldemort lives within himself. Harry is the Horcrux Voldemort never meant to make. Harry rhetorically asks if the snake is alive and Voldemort in possession of the elder Wand. “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it,” says dumbledore. He confirms that Harry’s mother’s patronus was a doe, like snape’s. dumbledore prepares to leave when Harry wonders if all this is in his head. Yes, but it can still

122 • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them be real. in the forest, draco’s mother examines Harry’s body and pronounces him dead. At Hogwarts, neville sees Voldemort, nagini and his death eaters approach and Hagrid carrying Harry’s body. “Harry Potter is dead!” exclaims the dark Lord, who urges all to put their faith in him. Join or die. Lucius and his mother call draco forth. neville stumbles forward, not to join Voldemort but to pronounce that it doesn’t matter if Harry’s dead, he still lives inside them all. Harry falls from Hagrid’s arms and begins a duel with Voldemort. neville spies the sword of Gryffindor. the duel continues. nagini approaches ron and Hermione. Molly destroys bellatrix. Voldemort hits Harry, who lures him to the parapet, calling on “tom” to finish it. Grabbing him, they fall and then fly around the castle before crashing into the courtyard. nagini follows Hermione and ron but is decapitated by neville with the sword. near the bridge, Harry and Voldemort duel with wands, but Harry knocks Voldemort’s into his own hand as the dark Lord dissipates into the air. Later, on the stone bridge, Harry, ron and Hermione discuss the importance of the elder Wand. ron suggests that now that Harry has it there’s nothing they can’t do, but Harry snaps it in two and throws it out over the abyss. 19 years later: Harry and Ginny, Hermione and ron, and even draco take their children to the station and run into the column, arriving at the Hogwarts express, engine 5972. Harry tells his son, Albus severus Potter, that even if he is selected for slytherin House, it is not such a bad thing and he can make that House better. the companions who’ve survived so much can smile as their offspring leave on their own Hogwarts wizarding adventure. Reviews: Boxoffice thought Hermione and ron got short shrift but loose ends were tied up and the film was full of incidents. by now the series had made audiences really care. the characters had become their own (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 13, 2011); the New York Times found it a “grave, deeply satisfying final movie in the series.” As with others in the series, “scale never overwhelmed the extraordinary characters,…” Heartily commended were the dragon, fiennes, Gambon, smith and rickman (Manohla dargis, New York Times, July 13, 2011); Kenneth turan told Morning Edition that it was one of the best entries in the series. Consistency included appropriate budgets (renee Montagne, Morning Edition (nPr), July 14, 2011); the St. Joseph News-Press said it “delivers an experience not only befitting the most anticipated movie of the summer but also the culmination of a beloved book series and multibillion-dollar film franchise.” director Yates backed the sense of dread with “powerful emotion…” (Kevin Krauskopf, St. Joseph News-Press, July 14, 2011). Analysis: there’s so much going on and there’s one climax after another, making it sometimes difficult to know exactly who was killed, who merely wounded. the last hour and more must be the longest finale in film history, but it is so well done it is no bother at all. What happened to Lucius, draco and his wife? obviously a reading of the novels would help with some of this but obviously not all as filmmakers take liberties and have time constraints. the parallels with Lord of the Rings continue. Michael Gambon’s dumbledore, without cap, looks amazingly like ian McKellan’s Gandalf; the elder Wand and other Horcruxes smack of the one ring; Harry resembles frodo in appearance and life-threatening mission; the sword of Gryffindor is akin to Aragorn’s blade; and of course there’s magic. ralph fiennes becomes one of the screen’s great villains. there are emotional moments, as when the dragon gains its freedom, when Harry’s friends confront slytherin, when McGonagall rouses the statues to defend the castle, and, of course, when the heroes and heroine stand side by side on the castle bridge for the last time, their moral and ethical choices made and ultimate evil destroyed for the nonce.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Warner bros., 2016; 133 min.) ★★½ Produced by david Heyman, steve Kloves, J.K. rowling, Lionel Wigram. directed by david Yates. screenplay by J.K. rowling. edited by Mark day. director of Photography, Philippe rousselot. technicolor. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, stuart Craig, James Hambidge. Art direction, toby britton, Peter dorme, Martin foley, Hayley easton street. set decoration, Anna Pinnock. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. Visual effects by framestore, double negative, MPC, rodeo fX, Method studios, imagine engine, Cinesite, Milk Visual effects, secret Lab. Cast: newt scamander (eddie redmayne), Porpentina “tina” Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Jacob Kowalski (dan fogler), Queenie (Alison sudol), Credence barebone (ezra Miller), Percival Graves (Colin farrell), Gnarlack (ron Perlman), Mary Lou barebone (samantha Morton), Chastity barebone ( Jean Murray), Modesty barebone (faith Wood-blagrove), Henry shaw, sr. ( Jon Voight), seraphina (Carmen ejogo), Henry shaw, Jr. ( Josh Cowdery), Lestrange (Zoë Kravitz), Langdon shaw (ronan raftery), red (dan Hedaya), Grindelwald ( Johnny depp). Synopsis: 1926: As an unseen wizard known as Grindelwald creates havoc in new York City, young newt scamander arrives by ship from britain. At Customs, he whispers “Muggle Worthy” to something endeavoring to get out of his suitcase, and when the Customs official opens it, there’s nothing unusual inside, certainly not newt’s niffler, a platypus-like creature with a penchant for gathering bright objects, including bank coins. it soon escapes and while tracking it down, newt is hailed by Mary Lou barebone, head of the new salemers, a group devoted to putting an end to modern day witchery. Another “no-Maj” (human), Jacob Kowalski, complicates things by inadvertently acquiring newt’s suitcase and leaving the visitor with his own, which contains scrumptious pastries he’d hoped to use as collateral for the bakery he hoped to open with a bank loan. following newt is the suspicious tina Goldstein, low-level member of the Magical Congress of the United states of America. she grabs up newt and takes him to the President of MACUsA, seraphina, who can’t be bothered. High level Auror Percival Graves is more interested and asks to look in the suitcase, which to newt’s surprise contains pastries. newt and tina locate Jacob and take him to the apartment she shares with her sister, Queenie, an expert mind reader who flirts with the stunned no-Maj. Graves, meanwhile, reveals that if the child possessed by an obscurus is found, all will be well in the city. rather than obliviate Jacob and thus kill his memory of these strange happenings, newt takes lures him into the suitcase and a magical realm—or two, or three. newt points out an obscurus, a dark, ever-changing cloud within a globe. the immediate task at hand, though, is to gather up the niffler and the erumpent. they do so but tina confines newt and Jacob in the suitcase and takes it to MACUsA, where seraphina and the leading wizards are debating what to do about the unknown force periodically but quite often creating chaos in the city. senator Henry shaw, Jr., has been killed. not only newt and Jacob, but also tina is confined in cells. Graves asks them about the obscurus and a child host and wonders why Albus dumbledore is so fond of newt. nevertheless, newt and tina are sentenced to death. tina is hoisted over a vat of white liquid and told it won’t be unpleasant. However, Queenie read tina’s mind and arrives to facilitate her sister’s escape, which is also helped along by newt’s swooping eagle. With Jacob in tow, they flee. in the meantime, Mary Lou’s disturbed son Credence finds a wand under his younger sister Modesty’s bed. Mary Lou thinks it belongs to Cre-

A Haunted House • 123 dence, but Modesty reveals that it’s hers. the obscurus appears, destroys the house and kills Mary Lou. Graves locates Credence and asks him to find Modesty, the child he believes is key to the prophecy. Meanwhile, newt, tina, Jacob and Queenie enter a dismal pub and make a deal with the goblin proprietor, Gnarlack. they need to find dougal, an invisible creature, and newt offers his bowtruckle to Gnarlack in return for information. However, Graves and his people enter the speakeasy. Gnarlack had ratted out newt, but he and his friends escape and find dougal, an escaped occamy, and put it back in the suitcase. Locating Modesty, Graves incurs Credence’s enmity with insults. it’s Credence who is actually possessed by the obscurus, and he goes on the rampage before newt finds him in the subway and talks him back into human form. to protect their own, seraphina orders Credence’s death, but Graves contends that they should stop hiding from the Muggle world. in a harsh battle, newt defeats Graves, who when arrested is revealed as Grindelwald, the dark Wizard. sending thunderbird aloft into rain clouds with a special concoction, newt obliviates the entire city, and, on the orders of seraphina, Jacob, who

says he doesn’t mind. newt leaves Jacob a suitcase of occamy eggs as collateral for the loan that will allow him to build his bakery. tina is reinstated as an Auror and she and newt part at the dock. newt says he’ll return with his book. Queenie visits Jacob’s bakery, and although he can’t remember his adventures in the wizarding world, he seems to have some recollection of her. Reviews: the News Journal found “a refreshingly light tone competing with the sinister themes,….” the feeling that something was missing was probably inevitable, what with the Harry Potter experience looming over all ( Jocelyn noveck, News Journal 55HOURS PLUS [Wilmington, de], november 18, 2016, p. 4Hr); USA Today said it was “a confident and surprisingly funny adventure that’s more charming than most of the eight Harry Potter films.” (brian truitt, USA Today, november 19, 2016). Analysis: Critics were mostly positive for this Harry Potter prequel, but it doesn’t have the Potter magic and features more than a few dull, even boring interludes. Cutting out 13 minutes of the 2 hours 13 minute film might have negated this—or maybe 23 minutes, assuming the end credits are 10 minutes long. Compared to Hogwarts and Harry’s wizarding world, the new York City of 1926 is less potent. Yes, it was Johnny depp into which Colin farrell’s Graves was caught and transformed into Grindelwald.

HAUnted HoUse A Haunted House

(Automatik entertainment/baby Way Productions, 2013; 86 min.) ★

Produced by Marlon Wayans, rick Alvarez. directed by Michael tiddes. screenplay by Marlon Wayans, rick Alvarez. edited by suzanne Hines. director of Photography, steve Gainer. fotokem. Music supervisor, Andy ross. Production design, fred Andrews. set decoration, Jim Mees. Costumes by Ariyela Wald-Cohain. Chainsaw VfX. Cast: Malcolm (Marlon Wayans), Kisha (essence Atkins), rosa (Marlene forte), dan Curnney (david Koechner), bob (dave sheridan), Chip, psychic (nick swardson), father Williams (Cedric the entertainer), Jenny (Alanna Ubach), steve (Andrew daly), ray-ray (Affion Crockett), Young Kisha ( Jordenn thompson), Kisha’s father ( J.b. smoove), Kisha’s mother (robin thede).

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them poster art (Warner Bros., 2016).

Synopsis: Marlcolm welcomes girlfriend Kisha’s move into his house despite the multitudinous boxes suggesting she’s a hoarder, an urn containing her father’s ashes, and the fact that she runs over his dog in the driveway. to take the edge off, Malcolm begins their cohabitation by filming with his video camera. Kisha thinks there was a ghost in her previous abode. it seems to have followed her because of bumps in the night and falling pots. neighbors Jenny and steve provide their own disturbing insinuations to the pair. once Malcolm and Kisha come to believe that there just might be a spirit in the house, they contact the psychic Chip, who mostly

124 • A Haunted House 2 wants to entice Malcolm to a five guys mud wrestling party. dan, of cable tV’s Ghost Guys series, teams up with father Williams, an excon who accidentally shoots housekeeper rosa before joining everyone in securing the demonic Kisha in a blanket and slamming her with whatever is at hand. it seems to work—for a while, but on night #21, after Kisha returns to normal, she rises at 2:19 a.m., watches Malcolm for a while and walks into the hall. there’s a crashing sound and she calls to Malcolm, who reluctantly goes into the hall only to be propelled back across the bedroom. Kisha creeps up over his body and attacks the camera. Later, Malcolm wakes up and thinks Kisha and the demon are gone, but she’s not and he’s pulled into the hall. Reviews: Screen Rant failed to appreciate the jabs at mainstream horror films because they were “lazily strung together, while all the sex and drugs humor is boring,…” (sandy schaefer, http://screenrant. com, January 11, 2013); The Sun-Herald thought Marlon Wayans had too much talent to be wasting it on “A painfully unfunny, overly familiar send-up of horror franchises.” it “offers nothing that its cousin Scary Movie V did so dreadfully barely a month ago.” (ed Gibbs, SunHerald [sydney, Australia], June 2, 2013, first ed., section: Unwind, p. 8). Analysis: this is one of those films not screened for critics, and no wonder. it’s a coarse and crude send-up of The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity films, and even that parody of parodies, the Scary Movie canon. there are a few chuckles, e.g., “Mandingo Party,” and the final exorcism of Kisha with many of the now-hallowed Exorcist trimmings. it’s short but seems long.

A Haunted House 2

(Automatic entertainment/Wayan bros. entertainment, 2014; 86 min.) ★★

Produced by Marlon Wayans, rick Alvarez. directed by Michael tiddes. screenplay by Marlon Wayans, rick Alvarez. edited by tim Mirkovich. director of Photography, david ortkiese. technicolor. Music by Jesse Voccia. Production design, ermanno di febo-orsini. Art direction, Jennifer sharp. set decoration, Marina starec. Costumes by Ariyela Ward-Cohain. Visual effects by Ghost town Media. Cast: Malcolm Johnson (Marlon Wayans), Megan ( Jaime Pressly), Kisha (essence Atkins), Miguel (Gabriel iglesias), noreen (Missi Pyle), becky (Ashley rickards), ray-ray (Affion Crockett), Wyatt (steele stebbins), Professor Wilde (rick overton), ned (Hayes MacArthur), Agouhl (dave sheridan), father Williams (Cedric the entertainer). Synopsis: Malcolm and his cousin ray-ray try to dispose of Malcolm’s possessed girlfriend Kisha and find assistance in the form of a tree into which they crash their car before fleeing the scene. Malcolm moves into a white neighborhood with his new girlfriend Megan and her two children, the teenage becky and younger Wyatt. However, paranormal events begin again. Wyatt speaks with a secret, invisible friend named tony. Malcolm has sex with a large doll he finds in the house. He watches found footage video and observes a hideous man trying to hang three people. He contacts Professor Wilde who says Malcolm’s got a really nasty, babylonian demon on his hands named Agouhl. Having learned that Malcolm lost a dog, Megan buys him another, but he doesn’t realize that’s what’s in the box in the hall. He suspects something horrible and batters and shoots the box. A seemingly Kisha shows up and speaks with Megan. Malcolm explains things to Megan afterward. next door neighbor Miguel brings Malcolm a

rooster to be sacrificed to exorcise the demon, but the rooster seems possessed itself and Malcolm engages in a furious fight before tossing it into the ceiling fan. trying to get rid of the doll, Malcolm is distressed when she keeps reappearing. He watches more videotape and sees Agouhl accidentally set himself on fire. Malcolm finds father Williams at a church lecture where Williams shanks the lecturer. Malcolm hires ned and noreen swanson, “Purveyors of the Paranormal,” who say he is now the problem, Megan could have moved out at any time with no ill effects. As it is, however, a kind of séance is undertaken. in the basement, Wyatt finds a possessed becky. Malcolm, Miguel, the swansons, father Williams and Megan confine her in a sheet and tie her to a chair. during a lengthy exorcism during with father Williams shoots himself, becky escapes and runs upstairs. she vomits red gunk into Malcolm, which he finally expels. Case closed? ned takes the doll. night #15: the demonic Kisha appears. Later ray-ray and his crew find Malcolm on the basement floor, but he’s alive. A sheeted figure comes down the stairs: Kisha. Reviews: Screen Rant found some scenes worthy of a “guilty chuckle,…” but “most of the rest of the comedy is either too meanspirited or sexist/racist/homophobic to enjoy as irony, or even simple dumb fun.” (sandy schaefer, http://screenrant.com, April 18, 2014); Variety complained about its technical shortcomings, incredibly puerile humor, and essential plotless-ness (Andrew barker, www. variety.com, April 18, 2014). Analysis: it’s at least as offensive as the first but there are enough funny cuts at society at large, including the Kardashians, and other scenes (burying himself in the dog grave, the gas masks, Professor Wilde and the Mandingo Party, the incompetent demon Agouhl) to grant it a fair rating. Homages to Sinister, The Exorcist, The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Last Exorcism, and Paranormal Activity come fast and furious.

tHe HAUntinG (MGM/Argyle enterprises, 1963; 112 min.) ★★★★

The Haunting

Produced and directed by robert Wise. screenplay by nelson Giddings. based on the noel The Haunting of Hill House by shirley Jackson. edited by ernest Walter. director of Photography, davis boulton. Panavision. Music by Humphrey searle. Production design, elliot scott. set decoration, John Jarvis. Makeup by tom smith. Costumes by Maude Churchill, Mary Quant. Claire bloom’s Clothes by Mary Quant. special effects, tom Howard. Cast: eleanor Lance ( Julie Harris), theodora (Claire bloom), dr. John Markway (richard Johnson), Luke (russ tamblyn), Grace (Lois Maxwell), Mrs. dudley (rosalie Crutchley), Mrs. sannerson (fay Compton), Mr. dudley (Valentine dyall). Synopsis: Hugh Crain’s Hill House has stood for 90 years, but “Whatever walked there walked alone.” Crain’s wife died in a coach accident before reaching the house. His second spouse succumbed after falling down the stairs. Hugh himself expired on a visit to england, leaving his daughter Abigail to inhabit the home with her nurse. Upon Abigail’s death, her later companion inherited the manse but committed suicide by hanging. now distant relatives in boston reluctantly allow anthropologist dr. John Markway license to stay in the house with special assistants plus Luke, due to inherit the property. Markway is determined to investigate the possibility of supernatural activity in Hill House. the rather mousey eleanor Lance is one of the

The Haunting • 125 special assistants invited to help Markway, but she barely gets there in a car whose ownership she shares with her brother-in-law. this getaway seems like something she’s been waiting for all her life. Caretaker dudley gives her a hard time at the gated entrance but finally reneges and lets her pass. An icy woman ushers her into the imposing dwelling and tells her of dinner and breakfast times and how she leaves at night so if eleanor screamed there would be no one to hear. the sophisticate theodora, aka theo, arrives, uses eleanor’s nickname of nell, and thinks they should explore their surroundings. they get lost. nell feels the house is alive. theo says, “it wants you, nell. the house is calling you.” they find dr. Markway, who explains he’s been waiting, but the door closed of its own accord and that there are no square corners in the house and all doors are off center. Luke appears and at dinner Markway explains his fascination with the supernatural. He reveals the criteria he used to gather this small group, which was to have been larger before others opted out. theo has esP, as a duke University experiment proved. nell had poltergeist experience when she was ten and was pelted by unexplained showers of stones. Luke is skeptical. the four take their ease in the sitting room where theo beats Luke at gin. eleanor goes into the hall and screams. At the staircase she had a “feeling.” that evening theo calls nell to her room when she hears a mysterious pounding. nell hears it too and they clutch each other as it closes in on their door. eventually nell opens the door only to find Markway and Luke walking by. they heard nothing, said they’d been following what they thought was a dog. Markway says that henceforth they should not be separated. next day nell tells Markway about her life attending to her invalid mother. she means to stay here because she knew that someday something extraordinary would happen. As the others take breakfast, Luke comes in and leads them to the hall wall on which has been scribbled, “HeLP eLeAnor CoMe HoMe.” nell is distraught. during an afternoon tour they come upon a massive family portrait in stone: the Crains and companions, including a dog. in the library, whose smell deters nell, they find a winding staircase which Markway identifies as the scene of the companion’s suicide. outside on the verandah, nell is prevented from falling backward by Markway. “Like sisters,” says theo when Markway asks her to move in with nell. she convinces teetotaler nell to drink brandy and paint her toenails. nell says she never wants to leave. Markway calls from the hall and they all gather on a genuine “cold spot” before the heart of the house: the nursery where Abigail lived her whole life. Later, in her room, nell hears a man’s voice and a child crying and stares at a wall decoration that seems to be a grotesque face. she tells herself she’ll not condone hurting a child. she screams and shows theo her hand, curled as if it were being held. next day Markway jots down each time the harp makes music and tells nell this is not superbut preternatural, meaning a phenomenon that might someday be deciphered. nell describes the previous night, and Markway tells her they’ll experience fear only until they figure out how things work. nell wonders, “suppose the haunting is all in my mind?” Markway argues that this can’t be so because there are other people here. Luke reads from a quite horrendously illustrated book Crain put together in 1873. next day it will be the house’s 90th anniversary. theo taunts nell, who leaves the room. Markway tells theo to go after her. theo tells nell she’s making a fool of herself over Markway. Markway’s wife Grace unexpectedly arrives and sends the car away. she’d brought her overnight bag and is unmoved when John warns, “it’s a deadly serious place.” Grace beds down in the nursery. Markway tells nell and theo to spend the night in the parlor with himself while Luke monitors the second floor. Luke comes in to take a swig of liquor and the door slams shut behind him. the pounding begins, theo turns cold, and the door bends inward. the presence leaves for the second floor. nell runs

through the hall and upstairs and enters the nursery, followed by the others. Grace is missing. nell says to herself, “i’m disappearing inch by inch into the house.” she dances through the statue room, enters the library, and climbs the rickety staircase. Markway follows her to the landing. As he takes her hand to lead her down, she turns and sees Grace’s face in a trapdoor. back on firm ground, nell says Grace has taken her place. Markway puts nell in her car and Luke takes his position in the passenger seat, but when he gets out to retrieve the gate key nell roars off. she can’t control the steering and crashes into a tree at the same time she sees a white- clad figure running across the road. Markway arrives at the scene and finds nell dead. Grace appears and blames the house for making her get lost. Markway says there was a presence in the car with poor nell. theo suggests that maybe nell was not so poor. Luke stares back toward the house and says, “it oughta be burned down and the ground sowed with salt.” Reviews: the New York Times thought the film’s only purpose was “to make your blood run cold.” otherwise “there is really no point to it,…” (bosley Crowther, New York Times, september 19, 1963, p. 23); Variety commended direction and acting but found the screenplay “opaque in spots.” the house itself was the star (derek elley, ed., Variety Movie Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, pp. 258–259). Analysis: Critical opinion at the time was rather lukewarm for what has become a seminal haunted house film based on what is considered one of the modern masterpieces of the genre. the New York Times, for instance, failed to see what is now recognized as subtext: repression and lesbianism. this is most evident when Luke reaches for theo’s necklace and playfully asks, “tell me, when are you going to show me your esP?” theo cries, “Keep your hands to yourself!” Markway inquires, “What’s going on?’’ Luke replies, “More than meets the eye.” theo is not married. she tries to loosen nell up. nell calls her one of nature’s mistakes. in Robert Wise on His Films, Wise explained why they had to shoot in england, how they devised a light dolly with a hand-held camera to roll up the spiral staircase, why he had to sign a document not to ever complain about the yet-to-be-perfected 30mm Panavision lens because of distortion (which he wanted for several scenes), and the use of “a strong prop man on the other side [of the door] who would push it and move it. that’s all it was and it scared the hell out of everybody.” (sergio Leemann, Robert Wise on His Films: From Editing Room to Director’s Chair, Los Angeles: silman-James Press, 1995, p. 177).

(dreamWorks Pictures, 1999; 114 min.) ★★

The Haunting

Produced by susan Arnold, donna Arkoff roth, Colin Wilson. directed by Jan de bont. screenplay by david self. based upon The Haunting of Hill House by shirley Jackson. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, Karl Walter Lindenlaub. eastman film. Prints by technicolor. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production design, eugenio Zanetti. Art direction, Martin Laing, troy sizemore. set decoration, Cindy Carr. Costumes by ellen Mirojnick. special Visual effects and Animation by tippett studio. Additional Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Make-Up and Animatronics by K.n.b. efX Group, inc. Cast: dr. david Marrow (Liam neeson), theo (Catherine ZetaJones), nell (Lili taylor), Luke sanderson (owen Wilson), Mr. dudley (bruce dern), Mrs. dudley (Marian seldes), Mary Lambetta (Alix Koromzay), todd Hackett (todd field), Jane (Virginia Madsen), dr. Malcolm Keogh (Michael Cavanaugh), Lou (tom

126 • Hellboy irwin), Hugh Crain (Charles Gunning), rene Crain (Kadina Halliday), Carolyn Crain (Hadley eure). Synopsis: eleanor, aka nell, is excited to see a newspaper ad for paid “research subjects” to be studied by dr. david Marrow, who is interested in the dynamics of fear. nell is the first to arrive at the imposing Hill House, followed by theo, a self-confident stunner, and Luke sanderson, who rubs theo the wrong way. dr. Marrow and his assistants Mary and todd make their appearance. Marrow reveals that he needs his subjects to be isolated, thus Hill House, built in the 19th century by Hugh Crain for an anticipated but never to be real family. After dinner, Mary is struck in the eye by a broken piano wire and rushed to the hospital by todd. that evening nell and theo have a fright when something in the hall rattles their doors. Later, asleep, nell is unaware that a child spirit has climbed into her bed. When she wakes and sees it talking to her she’s not perturbed. but she is disturbed by something huge in her walk-in fireplace. dr. Marrow and Luke investigate and are almost crushed by a giant flue in the shape of a face, but that’s not what nell says she saw. next day Marrow shows nell a sort of greenhouse, which she loves. in reply to his conclusion that she’s been put upon all her life, she tells him she could be a victim or a volunteer. she elects to be a volunteer. Via visions of a woman hanging in the greenhouse, voices from childrens’ sculptures, an old book, and the ash pit beneath the fireplace that contains bones and a skull, nell believes she has been called to the house to save the poor factory children Hugh Crain invited to and kept incarcerated in his abode. she climbs the spiral staircase in the greenhouse, followed by Marrow, who narrowly escapes death when the staircase falls apart. Marrow reveals to the increasingly disturbed theo and Luke that his goal was actually the study of group fear and hysteria. nell tells theo that Hugh Crain’s second wife was Carolyn, nell’s great great grandmother. When nell is found pinned to her bed by spikes that fell from above, Marrow begins to understand that the house has a life of its own. it’s time to leave but they can’t unlock the gate. nell says they won’t be allowed to depart. Luke is decapitated in the fireplace by the swinging flue. Marrow refuses to give up. nell fends off a griffin statue come to life and later, separated from Marrow and theo, enters the grand hall, looks up the staircase and sees Hugh Crain’s giant portrait flip up and disgorge the spirit itself. Marrow and theo arrive and nell protects them from the spirit, taunting it, telling it everything’s always been about family and she will now set free the mill children he’d lured into his house. Her guts and aura cause carvings to come alive and take Crain’s spirit into their possession even as the children and nell’s spirit rise to a better world. in the morning, the dudleys arrive to unlock the gate. staring at them from the other side are Marrow and theo. Mr. dudley receives only silence when he asks Marrow if he got what he came for. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor said it had “attractive stars and deliciously spooky setting.” However, it couldn’t decide if it was “an out-and-out thriller, a psychological drama, or a systematic demonstration of the latest computer-generated effects.” in fact, “the sheer sumptuousness of its creepy-crawly set designs” was the overarching reason to see the film. Lili taylor was the other reason (david sterritt, Christian Science Monitor, July 23, 1999, p. 15); the New York Times called it “lavish and at times scary…” (New York Times, July 23, 1999, p. e13). Analysis: What was implicit in 1963 becomes explicit here, and not to any viewer’s benefit other than those who do not care about or are incapable of using their imagination. it’s merely special effects grafted onto the original. showing a griffin come alive, a skeleton rise from the ashes, and giant hands reaching from the wall gives the spook

element less gravitas than the unseen horrors of the first. there’s really no depth to the characters or the film as a whole. the friction between Claire bloom’s theo and Julie Harris’ nell in the original is downplayed. the finale, with nell extolling the benefits of family to the spirit of Hugh Crain, is worthy of a Chris Columbus movie. As would become the case in two years with Thirteen Ghosts, the house is the star.

HeLLboY (revolution studios/Columbia, 2004; 122 min.) ★★★

Hellboy

Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Mike richardson, Lloyd Levin. directed by Guillermo del toro. screenplay by Guillermo del toro. screen story by Guillermo del toro and Peter briggs. based Upon the dark Horse Comic by Mike Mignola. edited by Peter Amundson. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. Color by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, stephen scott. Art direction, James Hambidge, Peter francis, Marco bittner rosser. set decoration, Hilton rosemarin. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. digital stunts and Creature effects by tippett studio. Visual effects by the orphanage, eden fX, Café fX, HiMAni Productions, black box digital. special Visual effects by fantasy ii film effects. Cast: Hellboy (ron Perlman), trevor broom ( John Hurt), Liz sherman (selma blair), John Myers (rupert evans), tom Manning ( Jeffrey tambor), Grigori (Karel roden), Abe sapien (doug Jones; david Hyde Pierce, voice), Young broom (Kevin trainor), ilsa (bridget Hodson), Agent Clay (Corey Johnson), Kroenen (Ladislav beran), sammael (brian steele). Synopsis: Written in Des Vermis Mysteriis, page 87: “in the coldest regions of space, the monstrous entities ogdru Jahad—the seven Gods of Chaos—slumber in their crystal prison, waiting to reclaim earth … and burn the heavens.” in 1944, nazis combined black magic and science to stoke their war machine. october 9, scotland: U.s. Army soldiers guided by Professor broom raid a secret installation in scotland where a mysterious cloaked figure, Grigori, ilsa, and Hitler’s best assassin Kroenen attempt to open a portal to the seven Gods. G.i. grenades put the kibosh on the endeavor and Grigori is sucked into the portal and the assassin impaled, but broom thinks something might have come through from the other side. He’s right. A small, red, monkey-like biped chatters at them from a ledge before coming down for a baby ruth. broom says they’ll call him Hellboy. As time passes, newspaper headlines often call into question or, alternately, maintain such a creature’s existence. Professor bloom has other issues. He’s visited the Lexington oncology Center and his face registers bad news. John Myers arrives from Quantico, VA at the bureau for Paranormal research and defense in newark, nJ. He is directed to an underground complex and observes a man-like creature floating in water. it’s Abraham sapien, a curious creature enamored of raw eggs. Professor broom apprises Myers of the thule society and the spear of Longinus for which Hitler searched. Hitler died in 1958, says broom. Myers is then introduced to Hellboy, now a large, red humanoid with a tail and two protuberances on his forehead. He seems weary of his position but loves baby ruth bars. Code red! A demon is on the loose in the local library. in a garbage truck, Hellboy is transported to the scene of the crime and shoots the demon before it resurrects itself and escapes. Hellboy pursues and electrocutes it in the subway by using his body to conduct electricity. “i’m fireproof. You’re

Hellboy II: The Golden Army • 127 not.” Liz sherman is an inmate at the bellamie Psychiatric Hospital’s Minimum security Unit. broom and Myers are informed by Abe what’s really going on. Abe senses that broom is very sick and tells Myers not to tell Hellboy. Hellboy misses Liz at the bureau. she’s trying to learn where her blue flame power comes from. some organic acid from the demon, which laid three eggs, burns Hellboy. Myers finds information on Liz, who seems to be some kind of an arsonist. Gregori, who wants her on his side, visits her but she resists him. broom says rasputin is back in the form of Gregori, and Myers can help Hellboy when he is gone. back in the subway, Abe detects a pulse and tells Hellboy, “You lead a charmed life.” diving into the water beneath the city, Abe is chased by a demon while other demons take down two fbi agents. Hellboy is attacked and falls with a demon into the subway. Abe escapes his pursuers, but Agent Clay is sliced up by that nazi assassin, who feigns death. Abe says Clay will make it. Liz returns to the bureau. broom examines the dust that emanated from the assassin’s body when Clay shot it. He also examines pieces of paper that seem to direct them to Moscow. over coffee with Myers, Liz confesses to being confused about her feelings for Hellboy, who’s following them, jealous of Myers. the assassin rises and suits up. Gregori appears to broom and shows him a future of desolation. the assassin stabs broom. Hellboy arrives and cradles his mentor and father figure. Liz consults with Abe after broom’s funeral and tells Hellboy she’ll go to Moscow, too. Hellboy, fbi agent tom Manning, Myers, Abe and Liz arrive at Volokolanisk fields outside Moscow. Under the mausoleums at a huge cemetery are miles of passages and booby traps. the assassin is found, impaled and crushed. demons attack. Cornered, Liz has Myers strike her and incite her power. she flames out the attacking demons and the eggs. ilsa and Gregori secure Myers and Hellboy as Gregori reads from an old book. ilsa tells Hellboy he’s the right hand of doom. Gregori sucks out Liz’s soul. An eclipse begins. Hellboy says the words, grows horns and opens a portal to the gods. “remember who you are!” shouts Myers, tossing Hellboy a rosary that burns into his palm. Hellboy breaks off his horns and the portal closes. He stabs Gregori and picks up Liz. Gregori brings forth a tentacled god that deposits Hellboy into its maw, but an internal explosion destroys it. Hellboy revives Liz and they kiss in flames. Reviews: Boxoffice said that despite obvious similarities to del toro’s Blade II, it was “an engaging supernatural action film that makes only superficial missteps on its way to a familiar but well-executed finale.” (Wade Major, Boxoffice, May 2004); The Southland Times found it an unconvincing cobbling of Men in Black and Spawn.” it was “a pastiche of concepts—none of which seems to pay off.” (Michael buick, The Southland Times, August 7, 2004, section: features—entertainment, p. 3). Analysis: it’s interesting and competent with an amiable demon working for us, but the second installment is better. Mexican-born director del toro would soon crash into the elite with Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). He told an interviewer in 2013, “Hellboy is as personal to me as Pan’s Labyrinth. they’re totally different, and yes of course you can like one more than the other, the other one may seem banal or whatever it is that you don’t like. but it really is part of the same movie. You make one movie.” ( Jason Gorber. “Gorber’s epic Guillermo de toro interview, Part 2.” http://screenanarchy.com, January 15, 2013.)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal, 2008; 120 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Mike richardson, Lloyd Levin. directed by Guillermo del toro. screenplay by Guillermo del toro.

story by Guillermo del toro, Mike Mignola. based on the dark Horse Comic book Created by Mike Mignola. edited by bernat Vilaplana. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. Color by deluxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, stephen scott. Art direction, Csaba stork, Anthony Caron-delion, Mark swain, Paul Langier. set decoration, elli Griff. Costumes by sammy sheldon. Creature and Makeup effects designed by Mike elizalde. Visual effects and Animation by dougle negative. Creature effects Created by spectral Motion. Cast: Hellboy (ron Perlman), Liz sherman (selma blair), Abe sapien (doug Jones), Prince nuada (Luke Goss), Princess nuala (Anna Walton), tom Manning ( Jeffrey tambor), Johann Krauss ( John Alexander, James dodd; voice, seth Macfarlane), Professor trevor broom ( John Hurt), Young Hellboy (Montse ribe), King balor (roy dotrice), Wink (brian steele), bag Lady ( Jeanne Mockford). Synopsis: “in 1944 a team of paranormal researchers, together with the Us Army, rescued a strange creature during a classified mission off the coast of scotland. secretly adopted, the creature now lives among us. it loves candy and tV. Code name: Hellboy.” douglas Army base, new Mexico, Christmas eve, 1955: the young Hellboy tells his caretaker Professor bloom that he wants to wait up for santa. bloom reads aloud about ancient times when elves, ogres, goblins and men lived together before man decided to enlarge his dominion. the master of the goblin blacksmiths offered to build the elf King balor a mechanical Golden Army. A magical crown would allow him control over the 70 × 70-member host. Calling for a truce in the war with men, balor broke the crown into three, keeping two for him but relegating one to the magical forest beings. balor’s son Prince nuada did not believe in man’s promises but the army was locked away, waiting. now, in the present, nuada and his ogre companion Wink enter blackwood’s auction house in Manhattan, killing all and securing the partially complete crown. in trenton, nJ at the bureau for Paranormal research and defense, tom Manning shows a top secret document to Abe sapien. Abe pooh-pooh’s tom assessment that Hellboy loathes him, revealing that Hellboy, or “red” to his girlfriend Liz, is having domestic trouble. Liz is in fact on fire due to her anger. An emergency clang indicates the necessity for action in downtown Manhattan, where Hellboy and others search blackwood’s, finding only the remains of the people eaten by small “tooth fairies.” Liz reveals to Abe that she’s pregnant. When the fairies attack, Liz flames them, inadvertently knocking red through a window and onto a car where civilians realize the government has been lying about his existence. At the east side railyards, the King’s chamberlain and the Prince’s twin sister welcome nuada and Wink. His father tells nuada he has broken an ancient truce. nuada threatens to use the Golden Army but his sister objects. the King orders his son’s execution but nuada kills the King and secures the crown—except for his sister nuala’s piece. down in trenton, the strangely robotic Johann Krauss arrives to help tom Manning whip things into shape now that Hellboy’s existence has been confirmed. He resurrects a tooth fairy with his ectoplasmic essence and learns that the troll Market beneath the brooklyn bridge is key to solving the latest mystery. Putting heat on a fake bag lady, Hellboy, Abe and Krauss find the gate and gain entrance via Krauss’ ectoplasmic smoke. Abe encounters Princess nuala as she scans a map for the location of the Golden Army. Meanwhile, Hellboy deals with Wink, finally sending him to be crushed and mangled by mammoth spiked rollers. nuala shows Hellboy and his friends the map and her piece of the crown. nuada confronts the group and produces a sort of golden egg with a lump of green inside that he tosses onto a grate. it falls into the sewer and grows into a tentacled immensity, an “elemental,” a giver and destroyer of life, a forest god. Hellboy deals with this creature while rescuing a baby, shooting and stopping its

128 • Hellraiser: Bloodline rampage despite nuada’s warning that if it is killed there will not be its like again. When it falls, spores emanate from it and rise into the sky, amazing Liz and the others. Liz tells the police and citizens they were just trying to help but taunts from the crows cause her to flame up until red calms her. At home Liz attends to red’s facial scratch and says she needs to leave for a while and think. While examining her map, Princess nuala tells Abe she likes him. Krauss confronts red about obeying orders and tells him his temper is his fatal flaw. red slugs him and breaks the glass on his cranium. Krauss’ ectoplasm enters the lockers and slams the doors open and shut on red. red discovers that Abe is in love with nuala. Using liquor to assuage their despair, both begin singing “Can’t smile Without You.” the sound of the duet reverberating throughout the facility dumfounds Liz, nuala and Krauss. nuala realizes her brother is near, burns the map and hides the crown piece in a book. nuada understands the cylinder containing the map is key. When it is rolled across the table the map is imprinted in the wood. He Selma Blair and Ron Perlman, Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal, 2008). checks the blue books for the crown piece. nuala pushes an alarm and Hellboy arrives to the elemental is brought down and from its death the street and buildfight the Prince, who stabs him with his sword cum spear, breaking ings become green and spores float into the air as Liz looks on in wonoff a sliver in his chest. Abe can’t remove the sliver without risking der. there are numerous humorous scenes: The Creature from the damage to Hellboy’s heart. tom watches as Abe finds the book with Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein on tV, the lockers pummeling the crown piece. Using the map, Abe and the others see a link to Hellboy, barry Manilow’s “Can’t smile Without You.” see ron Perlnorthern ireland’s Giants Causeway. Antrim, northern ireland: a man’s Easy Street (The Hard Way): A Memoir (2015) for insight into goblin calls upon a stone giant, who rises and reveals an entrance into both films’ genesis and making. the earth wherein resides the Golden Army. the goblin, Liz and Hellboy enter. Hellboy collapses. He hears that he will destroy the world if he lives. Liz reveals that red is to be a father. He regains his strength and they walk past the sleeping Golden Army and climb steps to face eLLrAiser both Prince and Princess. Abe tosses the crown piece to nuada. the crown completed, nuada places it on his head. the Golden Army see Volume i for Hellraiser (1987), Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), arises and nuala tells them to kill the intruders. Hellboy shoots and and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992). the Hellraiser films that went destroys many, as does Krauss. but the soldiers fix themselves. Hellboy direct to video are: Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), Hellraiser: Hellseeker challenges nuala for over lordship of the soldiers. Hellboy is the son (2002), Hellraiser: Deader (2005), Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005). Hellof a prince of Hell, says the Princess. Hellboy wins the fight but won’t raiser: Revelations (2011) seems to have been made super fast and prekill nuada. However, his sister stabs herself and the Prince collapses, miered in one theater before going to dVd. it did not feature Pinwarning Hellboy of demons who will tire of him. Abe rushes to the head. Princess, who presses her hand to his. nuada turns to stone and dust. nuala also becomes as stone. Liz melts the crown and thus the Golden Army. outside, tom’s agents quit. Hellboy says he dreams of a yard where his child will play. Liz holds up two fingers: twins. Hellraiser: Bloodline Reviews: Chud.com found the experience “so unbelievably believ(dimension films/trans Atlantic entertainment, 1996; able that i was left feeling happy.” it was not “another superhero movie. 85 min.) ★½ it’s a superhero film, a great cinematic endeavor.” (brad Witzel, www. chud.com, July 10, 2008); The Hamilton Spectator called it “the equal Produced by nancy rae stone. directed by Alan smithee. screenof the original…, although perhaps a little noisier.” street battles were play by Peter Atkins. edited by rod dean, randolph K. bricker, Jim very creative and Hellboy II provided “a genuinely new kind of place Prior. director of Photography, Gary Lively. Panavision. Color by Cfi. to look at;…” (roger ebert, Hamilton Spectator, July 11, 2008, section: Music by daniel Licht. Production design, ivo Cristante. Art direcGo, p. G18); the Winnipeg Free Press video review is too good not to tion, Jack edjourian, bruce robert Hill, Ken Larson, Carol Lavoie. cite, to wit, the film’s “fabulously animated preface…” as a foretaste Costumes by dayna Cussler, eileen Kennedy. Chatterer beast and of a movie “incongruently touched with poetry.” it “never indulges in Additional Make-Up effects by Kavin Yagher. space sequences Cregratuitous superhero wankery.” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, ated by blur studio. Additional effects Created by Kevin Yagher Pronovember 13, 2008, section: Video reviews, p. 8). ductions, inc. Analysis: there is indeed some poetry in the film, especially when Cast: Phillip L’Merchant/John Merchant/Paul Merchant (bruce

H

Down to Earth • 129 ramsay), Angelique/Peasant girl (Valentina Vargas), Pinhead (doug bradley), rimmer (Christine Harnos), bobbi Merchant (Kim Myers), Genevieve L’Merchant (Charlotte Chatton), Jacques (Adam scott), duc de L’isle (Mickey Cottrell), Synopsis: in 2127, armed men and the woman rimmer board space station Minos. Aboard the station ( John) Merchant warns rimmer that he’s captured Hell and tells the story of a puzzle box his ancestor built in france hundreds of years before. in the story a comely peasant girl is strangled by a magician but resurrected as Angelique, who stabs the toymaker, Phillip L’Merchant. His box had opened the gates to Hell. in Paris in 1996, Angelique sees the portrait of John Merchant and realizes the bloodline continues. in new York City, John receives an architectural award. Angelique appears, discomfiting him. she finds one of the puzzle boxes. When a man opens the box at her direction he is grappled by chains and pulled into an opening from which Pinhead emerges. “Hell is more ordered since your time, Princess. And much less amusing.” Angelique introduces herself to John. “We have a destiny together.” John dreams of making love to her. security guards are met by Pinhead who says, “i am pain” as they are grappled and fused. Angelique visits John, reminds him of the past when they were good together. He agrees. Reviews: Variety complimented the effects but savaged the acting and the series’ descent into “grotesqueries and sadism.” (Variety staff, www.variety.com, december 31, 1995); the New York Times said it “becomes disjointed as it clumsily skips around in time between the 18th, 20th and 22nd centuries. Although it succeeds in crudely outlining the fable of a magic toy box and the demonic secrets carried down in the bloodline of its inventor, it is otherwise incoherent….” the only acting was by bradley’s Pinhead (stephen Holden, New York Times, March 9, 1996, p. 17). Analysis: Proof that this is a somewhat slapdash affair lies in writing a summary, even with plentiful notes. it hardly makes sense. Alan smithee is the catchall name for directors who’d rather not be named. some think it’s Kevin Yagher. it’s hardly up to Clive barker’s standards.

Here CoMes Mr . JordAn see Volume i for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), Down to Earth (1947) and Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Down to Earth

(Paramount/Village roadshow Pictures, 2001; 87 min.) ★★½

Produced by sean daniel, Michael rosenberg, James Jacks. directed by Chris Wertz, Paul Weitz. screenplay by Chris rock, Lance Crouther, Ali Leroi, Louis CK. based on the film Heaven Can Wait screenplay by elaine May and Warren beatty. from a play by Harry segall. edited by Priscilla nedd friendly. director of Photography, richard Crudo. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Jamshied sharifi. Production design, Paul Peters. Costumes by debrae Little. Art direction, John i. Kasarda. set decoration, beth Kushnick. Cast: Lance barton (Chris rock), sontee Jenkins (regina King), King (Chaz Palminteri), Keyes (eugene Levy), Whitney daniels (frankie faison), Cisco (Mark Addy), Winston sklar (Greg Germann), Wanda (Wanda sykes), Mrs. Amber Wellington ( Jennifer

Coolidge), Phil Quon ( John Cho), Apollo MC (Mario Joyner), Joe Guy (Arnold Pinnock), Gospel singer (bryetta Calloway), Charles Wellington (brian rhodes). Synopsis: delivery boy and stand-up comedian Lance barton dreams of participating in the Apollo theater’s final amateur night, but this seems a pipe dream after being booed and swept off the stage at a preliminary audition. inattentive on his bike, he is run over by a truck and finds himself at the gates of heaven where King and Keyes discover that he’s really not due there until november 17, 2044. King likes Lance’s spunk and proposes putting him in another person’s body, one that is not yet dead but will be in short order. that person is millionaire Charles Wellington, murdered in the tub by his wife Amber and board member Winston sklar. As Wellington, one of Lance’s first duties is to contend with sontee Jenkins, who promises a battle royale over Wellington’s decision to shut the doors of the brooklyn Community Hospital. Lance tells Amber and Winston he knows they tried to kill him, but hey, no hard feelings, just move on. He informs his housekeepers they’ll get a 200% raise and tells the butler and chauffeur Cisco to just be himself, and they watch bet together. Lance still wants to get one of the five spots on the Apollo’s final amateur night and practices his material at the Comedy shack—as the white dude Charles Wellington. Much taken with sontee, Lance courts her and tells Keyes he wants a better body. outside the hospital, Lance reverses Wellington and the board’s decision about the hospital. Henceforth the motto will be, “shot in the Head, You Got a bed.” during a date at Gray’s Papaya, sontee tells Lance she sees somebody else in his eyes. Lance convinces agent Whitney daniels that he is Lance. He does get the final spot at the Apollo, but at a benefit picnic he is gunned down after telling sontee that if someday she meets another guy she won’t forget him. Lance tells King he will take the consequences of going back again in another body. King offers him the body of comedian Joe Guy. Whitney recognizes the transformation. At the Goodbye Apollo Party, King and Keyes tell Lance that he won’t remember sontee. Yet King has a good feeling. As Joe Guy, Lance encounters sontee and says he feels like he knows her. Reviews: Variety called it “a pretty sloppy comedy with a very light sprinkling of laughs or even chuckles.” (todd McCarthy, www.variety. com, february 15, 2001); the New York Times said the supporting players were fine, as was the “outsize, swoony score.” there were “sly touches,…” overall, however, the film “falls short.” Chris rock was still finding himself as an actor and his fan base wouldn’t get “the same acidulous funkiness that he brings to his stand-up,…” (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, february 16, 2001, p. 23). Analysis: Perfunctory is one term to describe what probably needed another quarter hour of character development and exposition. rock isn’t as wild and funny as he would shortly become. As with Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), the filmmakers can’t stick to a scenario. occasionally we see Lance when we should be seeing Wellington. the funniest scene is a middle-aged, paunchy white dude (Lance as Wellington) rapping in a diner to the mystification of the mostly black crowd.

HiGHLAnder see Volume i for Highlander (1986) and Highlander 2: The Quickening (1991). A tV series with Adrian Paul ran from 1992 to 1998. diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels, also set in scotland with a time-travel twist, became a tV series in 2014.

130 • Highlander: Endgame

(Miramax films/dimension films, 2000; 95 min.) ★

Highlander: Endgame

Produced by Peter davis, William Panzer. directed by douglas Aarniokoski. screenplay by Joel soisson. story by eric bernt, Gillian Horvath, William Panzer. based on characters created by Gregory Widen. edited by Christopher blunden, Michael n. nue, robert ferretti, tracy Granger, rod dean, donald J. Paonessa. director of Photography, doug Milsome. Color by deLuxe. Music by stephen Graziano. Production design, Jonathan Carlson. Art direction, ben Zeller. set decoration, Merry beth noble. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. sword Master, f. braun McAsh. special effects by effects Associates Ltd. Visual effects by threshold digital research Labs. UK. Cast: duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul), Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), Jacob Kell (bruce Payne), Kate/faith (Lisa barbuscia), Methos (Peter Wingfield), Joe dawson ( Jim byrnes), Jin Ke (donnie Yen), father rainey (donald douglas), rachel ellenstein (sheila Gish), Heather MacLeod (beatie edney), Caiolin MacLeod ( June Watson), rachel #1 ( Jessica Mann), rachel #2 (Abigail Kinsbury), rachel #3 (Candace Hallinan), Lachlan/edge (Adam Copeland). Synopsis: “in the days before memory, there were the immortals. We were with you then. And we are with you now. We are driven by the endless fight to survive in a game which knows no limit of time or place. We are the seeds of legend. but our true origins are unknown. We simply are.” new York City, 10 Years Ago: Connor MacLeod warns protégé duncan MacLeod to watch his back. entering Connor’s apartment, rachel is killed when she answers the phone and triggers an explosion that rips the place apart. the sanctuary, Present day: in a large chamber a man in an iron mask lies strapped to a table. Glencoe, scotland, 1555: Harassed by his neighbors, Connor leaves his wife Heather to check on his mother, only to find her uncared for by anyone. Connor is put in a cell, his mother on a pyre for being a witch. Connor breaks free but too late to save his mother. He does almost accidentally kill a monk with his sword. the present: Jacob Kell’s immortal minions attack the sanctuary. inside, he beheads men strapped to tables. duncan practices his martial arts but senses something amiss, and in London he receives a warning phone call from a woman. He meets his friend Methos to discuss current events. Kildare, ireland, 1712: Connor and duncan assist two women in a carriage waylaid by phony toll takers. new York City: duncan explores Connor’s wrecked apartment. ravenna, italy, 1631: Connor instructs duncan in swordplay. new York City: duncan meets his wife Kate, now known as faith, and is attacked by immortals under Kell. eventually shot, he falls through a window onto rebars below, but he’s carted off immediately in a n.Y.C. Coroner van. Waking, he finds himself grilled by an “observer immortal,” who says that rule changes necessitate becoming involved. He injects duncan. Glen fruin, scotland, 1625: duncan rises from a blood-soaked battlefield at the request of Connor. the present: Joe dawson and Methos reveal more about Kell, who has 661 confirmed immortal kills, more than double duncan’s—and Connor’s. At an immortal cemetery, Connor and duncan encounter Kell and his lackeys. Kell bests Connor in a duel but does not kill him. duncan eyes faith and recalls their early days of wedded bliss. back in new York City, they meet and mate and duncan recalls killing her to make her an immortal. Kell has a meeting with his trusted lieutenants, including faith. He kills Jin Ke, whose body language if not actual speech has expressed reservations about this life. duncan meets Connor on a rooftop and they duel until duncan kills his mentor. He meets and duels Kell at a construction site, finally getting the upper

hand and sending his nemesis’ headless body hurtling from scaffolding into a pool of water. scotland: duncan stands over Connor’s tombstone. in new York, he returns to faith, or Kate. Reviews: the New York Times said the largesse of exposition that resulted in confusion put it on a par with the play of the same name by samuel beckett. flashbacks were endless and there was a lack of consistency “with its own phony past.” the action scenes were another matter: “it’s nice to see mindless violence back in a b picture, where it belongs, and the swordplay is impressive.” (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, september 2, 2000, p. b15); Entertainment Weekly gave it a d+ for dumb dialogue and characters “schlepping from one badly-lit, cheesily art-directed, peat bog-colored century to another,…” (Lisa schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly, september 15, 2015). Analysis: fans of Highlander, which seem to have an impressive number of adherents, and action aficionados, might like this. for others the descriptors they could draw upon include claptrap, malarkey, baloney. Mostly though, the word that best describes this is: incomprehensible. What was duncan injected with and for what purpose? it seemed to wear off quite fast.

tHe Hobbit After the success of The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, each december for the ensuing two years Middle earth enthusiasts waited with baited breath for the next installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. they foresaw with misgivings the end of the series and could but only hope that filmization of The Hobbit would fill the void. it took almost a decade.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (new Line Cinema, 2012; 169 min.) ★★½

Produced by Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner, fran Walsh, Peter Jackson. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by fran Walsh, Philippa boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del toro. based on the novel by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by Jabez olssen. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Kodak Motion Picture Products. Music by Howard shore. song: “song of the Lonely Mountain” Performed by neil finn. Production design, dan Hennah. Art direction, Andy McLaren, brad Mill, brian Massey. set decoration, ra Vincent, simon bright. Costumes by Ann Maskrey, richard taylor, bob buck. Armour, Weapons, Creatures and special Makeup by richard taylor/WetA Workshop Ltd. Cast: Gandalf (ian McKellen), bilbo (Martin freeman/ian Holm), thorin oakenshield (richard Armitage), Gollum (Andy serkis), Galadriel (Cate blanchett), balin (Ken stott), elrond (Hugo Weaving), frodo (elijah Wood), saruman (Christopher Lee), dwalin (Graham Mctavish), bifur (William Kircher), bofur ( James nesbitt), bombur (stephen Hunter), Kili (Aidan turner), oin ( John Callen), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), nori ( Jed brophy), dori (Mark Hadlow), ori (Adam brown), radagast (sylvester McCoy), thror ( Jeffrey thomas), Azog (Manu bennett), Great Goblin (barry Humphries), necromancer (benedict Cumberbatch), fili (dean o’Gorman stevens). Synopsis: the hobbit bilbo baggins takes pen to parchment to set the record straight for his nephew frodo on his adventures 60 years ago. erebor, the Lonely Mountain, had been the home and hoard of the dwarfs until came the gold-craving firedrake from the north,

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey • 131 smaug. nothing could stand against the dragon and the dwarfs fled. one day bilbo was visited by a strange man in gray, Gandalf the wizard, who required bilbo for an adventure. soon afterward a band of dwarfs descended on bilbo’s residence and proceeded to empty his larder. thorin oakenshield, heir to the kingdom of erebor, was the last to arrive. signs indicated that it was time to take action. After all, no one had seen smaug in decades. it was time to reclaim their heritage and bilbo, against his better judgment, signed on as a burglar. With Gandalf and thorin in the lead, the small company ventured east. bilbo learned more of thorin, especially of rallying the dwarfs to defeat an orc host. thorin used an oak limb to ward off the weapons of the orc leader Azog and prove his claim to lead. When two ponies went missing, bilbo discovered that mountain trolls took them. bilbo was captured and the trolls threatened to pull him apart if the dwarfs did not put down their weapons. As the trolls began to roast their captives, bilbo kept them talking until sunrise and the appearance of Gandalf. the trolls turned to stone. Locating their nearby cave, Gandalf and thorin found elvish blades, and a short one was given to bilbo. radagast the brown arrived in a state of agitation, telling Gandalf of evil at large in the wood and of seeing the necromancer in the ruins of dol Guldur. radagast drew off orcs riding wargs for a time but they were eventually cornered and retreated into a cave with Gandalf. elves attacked and drove off the orcs. Gandalf led the company through the defiles to rivendell where elrond deciThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (New Line Cinema, 2012) poster art. phered the mystic ruins on thorin’s map. the key to entering erebor was Goblin, and helped the dwarfs escape. thorin was flabbergasted when a secret entrance. At a conference with elrond, saruman and Lady bilbo caught up to them. Azog and his warg-riders chased the Galadriel, Gandalf produced the Morgul blade radagast had found. company into trees on a precipice. thorin confronted Azog and was it belonged to the Witch-king of Angmar. in private, Lady Galadriel saved from being killed when bilbo launched himself onto an orc orpromised to aid Gandalf if he should call upon her. in the Misty Moundered to behead the dwarf. Using flaming pine cones, Gandalf set the tains, the dwarfs were captured and taken to the Great Goblin. Using wood and some wargs afire and spoke to a moth. Come to the rescue his skill at silence—and his blade—bilbo kept from being captured were the eagles, which carried the lifeless body of thorin and the but found himself in the presence of a strange creature who seemed others to a rocky outcrop. Gandalf used his powers to revive thorin, to feast on goblins. they engaged in a game of riddles, which bilbo who gave thanks to bilbo for his heroics. in the distance they spied won. Hoping to remedy the situation, the creature retired to his island erebor, the Lonely Mountain. bilbo voiced the opinion that the worst lair only to discover that his “precious” has been lost. bilbo realized was behind them. from a mountain of gold inside the mountain, a the ring dropped by the creature as he was dragging away an orc caused massive snout appeared and an evil-looking eye opened. such consternation, and he made his escape. At one point he accidenReviews: The Philadelphia Daily News warned that it would play tally put the ring on his finger and learned that he could not be seen. best for “only a billion or so people.” there was “aggrandizement…” instead of dispatching the creature with his sword, bilbo leaped over and a sense “of detachment,…” not to mention too leisurely a pace. him and gained the light. Meanwhile, Gandalf arrived, killed the Great

132 • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Whereas the Lord of the Rings trilogy made Middle earth seem “like a lost chapter in medieval european history…,” The Hobbit “treats fantasy as fantasy, and its supernatural factions are less readable as human proxies.” (Gary thompson, Philadelphia Daily News, december 14, 2012); The Guardian found the introduction of the dwarfs way too long but liked freeman’s bilbo and the “measured pace…” (Philip french, www.theguardian.com, december 15, 2012); The New Yorker found “much to relish here.” Martin freeman and richard Armitage were to be complimented (Anthony Lane, “the Current Cinema: ring Cycle: Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth,” New Yorker, december 17, 2012, pp. 88–89). Analysis: it is apparently now impossible to make a gentle fantasy film, or one that would wow a mass audience. the pacing is off, with the extended feast at the beginning losing audience goodwill. Upon a second viewing, however, the film looks better. or, we can see where it should have been edited down to make a tighter, more compelling adventure. in the orc/goblin world, the Great Goblin might have done well as father Christmas. the most thrilling scene is the rescue by the eagles of Gandalf, bilbo and the dwarfs from the orcs and flaming trees. these raptors are the somewhat unsung heroes of both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies.

(Warner bros./new Line Cinema, 2013; 161 min.) ★★★½

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

fry), beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), smaug/necromancer (benedict Cumberbatch), radagast (sylvester McCoy), Alfrid (ryan Gage), sigrid (Peggy nesbitt), tilda (Mary nesbitt), Azog (Manu bennett), bolg (Lawrence Makoare). Synopsis: At the Prancing Pony in bree on the borders of Hobbiton, the dwarf thorin oakenshield has an unexpected meeting with the wizard Gandalf, who urges him to gather his folk, return to erebor, retrieve the Arkenstone, symbol of royalty, and claim his ancestral throne. twelve months later Gandalf, thorin and his dwarf compatriots plus the hobbit—and burglar—bilbo, are on a mission to return thorin to his rightful position as King Under the Mountain far to the north. on their trail are orcs led by the monstrous one whose arm had been severed by thorin. Working at the behest of a nameless master, this orc, Azog, is found by bolg, who says their lord demands his presence. bolg is tasked with killing the dwarfs once they leave their temporary refuge with the skin-shifter beorn against whom even Azog is hesitant to pit himself. in his guise as a tall, whiskered man, beorn tells his visitors he dislikes dwarfs but hates orcs and provides Gandalf and company with mounts to take them to the forbidding forest of Mirkwood. before leaving their company, Gandalf warns them to remain on the byway lest they stray and never find it again. nevertheless, they become confused and all but bilbo, surveying the distant erebor from the forest canopy, are captured by giant spiders. the resourceful hobbit uses his special ring to become invisible to the arachnids. drawing them off, he cuts free his friends in time for them to arm themselves and fight back. defeating the spiders with the help of wood-elves, including Legolas and the elf-maiden tauriel, the dwarfs are taken to the elf king thranduil where thorin accuses him of shirking his duty to help them when the dragon attacked erebor. thranduil shows him scars in battle with such creatures and imprisons thorin’s company.

Produced by Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Jackson, fran Walsh, Zane Weiner. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by fran Walsh, Philippa boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del toro. based on The Hobbit by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by Jabez olssen. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Kodak Motion Picture Products. Music by Howard shore. “i see fire” Performed by ed sheeran. Production design, dan Hennah. Art direction, simon bright, Andy McLaren. set decoration, ra Vincent, simon bright. Costumes by bob buck, Ann Maskrey, richard taylor. Armour, Weapons, Creatures and special Makeup by WetA Workshop Ltd. Visual effects and Animation Created by WetA digital Ltd. Cast: Gandalf (ian McKellen), bilbo (Martin freeman), thorin oakenshield (richard Armitage), Legolas (orlando bloom), tauriel (evangeline Lilly), smaug (benedict Cumberbach, voice), Lady Galadriel (Cate blanchett), balin (Ken stott), bifur (William Kircher), bofur ( James nesbitt), oin ( John Callen), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), Kili (Aidan turner), fili (dean o’Gorman), dwalin (Graham Mctavish), bombur (stephen Hunter), dori (Mark Hadlow), ori (Adam brown), nori ( Jed brophy), thranduil (Lee Pace), bard (Luke evans), Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (New Line Cinema, 2013). Master of Laketown (stephen

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies • 133 tauriel finds herself drawn to Kili and engages him in conversation. With hobbit stealth, bilbo frees his friends and leads them into the bowels of the elf stronghold and access to a waterway. ensconcing themselves in barrels, bilbo and the dwarfs float free—for a time. When the elves discover their escape, a water gate is closed, but its guardians are attacked by bolg and his orcs. opening the gate, the dwarfs float safely away but know they will be tracked. they meet bard, a fisherman and capable archer who reluctantly smuggles them into Laketown. At dol Guldur, finding that the tombs of ancient evil overlords are empty, Gandalf confers with radagast about the perilous state of Middle earth before leaving to find bilbo. in Mirkwood, thranduil interrogates a captured orc who tells tauriel the arrow that struck Kili poisons him. After tauriel leaves the chamber, thranduil beheads the orc, telling Legolas he’d learned all he needed. A darkness is come and the gate must be secured. no one must come or go, but Legolas discovers that tauriel has already entered the forest with bow and blade. Approaching Laketown, bard conceals the dwarfs in barrels topped with fish lest they be found by the Master of Laketown’s odious factotum, Alfrid. When revealed, thorin promises the Master and people of Laketown that all will share in the wealth of the mountain once the dwarfs reclaim their heritage. At the urging of Gandalf, radagast leaves to warn Galadriel of impending events. on the mountain, bilbo and the dwarfs find the presumed hidden doorway but the sun sets without revealing the keyhole. the dwarfs trudge away, but bilbo will not give up and when the moon arises sees the keyhole. thorin returns and they open the doorway. bilbo as burglar enters the mountain and meets the dragon smaug, rising from his sleep beneath the treasure. bilbo employs his ring to escape immediate death. back in Laketown, Kili suffers from his wound while bard shows his son the special bolt that might be used to good effect on a dragon. At dol Guldur, Gandalf holds off evil spells as long as he can, identifying the image of sauron and witnessing the march of his host before being caged above the abyss. While bilbo and smaug parry as the Arkenstone continues to fall just out of reach, bolg and other orcs traverse the roofs of Laketown where bard is now imprisoned. the orcs attack bard’s home only to be beaten off by tauriel and Legolas. Using an incantation and special plant, tauriel ministers to Kili. in the caverns, thorin finds bilbo and confronts smaug. escaping into a distant chamber, they discover the petrified bodies of their kin. thorin vows not to die cowering in such a place. in Laketown, after a desperate but inconclusive battle with bolg, Legolas follows the orc on horseback. in the caverns, the dwarves think the furnaces might help them against smaug if only they can rekindle them. thorin goads the dragon into using his fire-breath to ignite the furnaces, from which flow molten gold. Using great spouts of water, smaug’s flame is extinguished. smaug tells bilbo all of this trouble must have originated in Laketown and he will pay them a visit. bilbo can watch them die. thorin reveals a giant golden dwarf statue that seems to mesmerize the dragon until it breaks apart, molten gold rushing upon and drowning the beast— for but a few moments. smaug rises in fury, breaks through the front gate and flies into the air, shedding his golden mantle. from his cell, bard warns the people of the imminent calamity while observing from afar, bilbo asks, “What have we done?” Reviews: the Hindustan Times summarized reviews in The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, NPR.org, Entertainment Weekly and Dailymail that praised this second installment (durga M. sengupta, Hindustan Times [new delhi], december 13, 2013); the St. Joseph News-Press recognized the specific problems for The Hobbit series, especially “problems bleeding over from the first installment,… ” leading to “a serious identity crisis.” no standout characters were found yet “there are still moments of greatness.” subplots mitigated

the pleasures provided by bilbo and Gandalf (Andrew Gaug, St. Joseph News-Press [Mo], december 13, 2013); Entertainment Weekly ranked it better than its predecessor, “more grandly somber … with forces of boldly intense and unified malevolence.” And “Jackson’s direction is spiky and majestic,….” Creating a new character in tauriel worked. the attraction between her and Legolas added “some badly needed heat to the woodlands.” the dragon was “a marvel, gargantuan yet balletic,…” (owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, december 20, 2013, p. 46). Analysis: this middle episode is the best of this trilogy. smaug is a wonderful creation, and bilbo’s tête-à-tête with the firedrake is tense. the running fight between the orcs, dwarfs and elves is exciting. the least effective scenes involve Laketown and its people. As in The Two Towers, the commoners seem perhaps a bit too clean. nor do we care that much about them. evangeline Lilly’s spunky and beautiful tauriel, a character not in the book, is nevertheless a welcome addition.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Warner bros./new Line Cinema, 2014; 144 min.) ★★½

Produced by Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner, fran Walsh, Peter Jackson. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by Phillipa boyens, fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del toro. based on the novel by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by Jabez olssen. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Kodak Motion Picture Products. Music by Howard shore. song: “the Last Goodbye” Performed by billy boyd. Production design, dan Hennah. Art direction, simon bright, Andy McLaren. set decoration, simon bright, ra Vincent. Costumes by richard taylor bob buck, Ann Maskrey. Armour, Weapons, Creatures and special Makeup by richard taylor and WetA Workshop Ltd. Visual effects and Animation Created by WetA digital Ltd. Cast: bilbo baggins (Martin freeman), Gandalf (ian McKellen), thorin oakenshield (richard Armitage), bard (Luke evans), Legolas (orlando bloom), tauriel (evangeline Lilly), Azog (Manu bennett), Galadriel (Cate blanchett), balin (Ken stott), dwalin (Graham Mctavish), bifur (William Kircher), bofur ( James nesbitt), bombur (stephen Hunter), fili (dean o’Gorman), Kili (Aidan turner), saruman (Christopher Lee), elrond (Hugo Weaving), old bilbo (ian Holm), dain (billy Connolly), oin ( John Callen), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), nori ( Jed brophy), dori (Mark Hadlow), ori (Adam brown), Alfrid (ryan Gage), radagast (sylvester McCoy), Azog (Manu bennett), Master of Laketown (stephen fry), beorn (Mikael Persbrandt), bain ( John bell), sigrid (Peggy nesbitt), tilda (Mary nesbitt), bolg ( John tui), smaug/necromancer (benedict Cumberbatch, voice). Synopsis: the dragon smaug burns Laketown but is fatally wounded by a bolt launched into his only vulnerable spot by bard. Watching from afar are bilbo and thorin’s dwarves. With smaug destroyed, thorin feels he has indeed regained his heritage and inside the ancient dwarf city discovers illimitable wealth, veritable rivers of gold, but not the Arkenstone. He does not know that bilbo has possession of that valuable object, which he took as his 14th share of the treasure promised for embarking on the quest to help thorin regain the dwarves’ ancient seat. it is soon realized that the dragon’s demise will attract unwanted attention. the elves Legolas and tauriel head north to scout out the one-time dark fortress of Angmar. Meanwhile, the wizard Gandalf escapes from captivity with the help of the Lady Galadriel and the wizard saruman. the elvish queen loses some of

134 • House on Haunted Hill her power in a confrontation with sauron’s warriors. bard leads those who’ve escaped the Laketown furnace to dale, there to winter. He hopes thorin will honor his pledge to share the mountain’s wealth, but thorin is overcome by an overweening pride. even when an elvish army arrives to claim its own share, he remains unperturbed. A dwarf army led by his cousin appears, but before they can join battle with the elves, Azog’s grim orcs appear en masse. elves and dwarves join forces with the remnant of Laketown’s men, plus bilbo and Gandalf, but it still seems a losing proposition until thorin finally regains his composure and lends his support. dale is attacked by the orcs. it is not until the great eagles and the bear-man beorn swoop and rush in that the tide is turned. Upon the peak from which Azog directed the armies, thorin battles the hideous captain. the monster is killed but takes his enemy with him. Legolas kills Azog’s second-in-command. tauriel loses her dwarf admirer Kili. bilbo leaves for the shire, accompanied by Gandalf, who says he knows bilbo has a special ring. bilbo enters bag end alone and finds that his possessions are being auctioned off. He straightens pictures and fumbles in his pocket for…. Reviews: USA Today thought that though it might well have been whittled down by a half hour, it was the best Hobbit film, “featuring more spectacular action scenes as well as the series’ most emotionally resonant moments.” (Claudia Puig, USA Today, december 17, 2014, Life, p. 4d); The Inquirer said it “takes the climactic conflagration and turns it into a giant-screen videogame of clashing CGi legions, of di-

alogue as hoary as it is hilarious.” it was neither human nor Hobbit scale and was “all about overkill.” (steven rea, The Inquirer [Philadelphia], december 17, 2014, pp. C1, C8); Total Film thought it was a wise decision to keep smaug’s demise for the beginning of this installment and found the battle “endlessly inventive,…” (richard edwards, Total Film, february 2015, pp. 44–45). Analysis: the virtually constant action of this third installment in the series exposes the peril of making three movies out of one book. two films, maybe, not three. individual action scenes go on far too long, especially thorin vs. Azog. Again, the influence of superhero movies raises its head, with protagonists never tiring, avoiding certain injury and death again and again. there are open issues as the battle winds down: did the eagles and beorn totally destroy the new orc army without help from dwarves, men and elves? Why wasn’t beorn identified and given more upfront action? the cowardly Alfrid is an unnecessary character, used for comic relief and as someone we love to hate, but he’s a clichéd minion. What happened to him, anyway? bilbo seems subservient to thorin in screen time. on the positive side, the effects are state of the art and there are various new monstrosities.

HoUse on HAUnted HiLL (Allied Artists, 1959; 75 min.) ★★

House on Haunted Hill

Produced and directed by William Castle. screenplay by robb White. edited by roy V. Livingston. director of Photography, Carl e. Guthrie. Music by Von dexter, richard Kayne, richard Loring. Art direction, david Milton. set decoration, Morrie Hoffman. special effects, Herman townsley. Cast: frederick Loren (Vincent Price), Annabelle (Carol ohmart), Lance schroeder (richard Long), ruth bridges ( Julie Mitchum), dr. david trent (Alan Marshal), nora Manning (Carolyn Craig), Watson Pritchard (elisha Cook), ruth bridgers ( June Mitchum), Mrs. slydes (Leona Anderson), Jonas (Howard Hoffman).

Evangeline Lilly, poster art for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (New Line Cinema, 2014).

Synopsis: screams, creaking doors, and chains preface the face of Watson Pritchard, warning, “the ghosts are moving tonight.” the face of frederick Loren follows and previews a haunted house party at which the guests arrive in hearses. this was planned by frederick’s wife Annabelle, who no longer wants to attend a party that has gotten out of hand. frederick has invited a disparate crew of people, promising each $10,000 if they can stay in the house from midnight till 8 a.m. Lance, ruth, nora, david, and Watson are those guests who in one way or another need the cash. Prior to their meeting with frederick, a door mysteriously closes and a chandelier falls to the floor. Upstairs, frederick and Annabelle engage in what appears to be an ongoing tête-à-tête of insults. Annabelle says, “darling, the only ghoul in the house is you.” downstairs, Watson tells the others that people have been killed in this house and some heads never found. frederick informs the questioning dr. trent that he merely wonders what people will do in this situation? Pritchard conducts a tour and points out a bloodstain on a ceiling. drippings appear on ruth’s hand but she shrugs it off. in the wine cellar, Pritchard reveals a still viable acid bath in the floor. A dead rat is tossed in to prove it. the rodent’s skeleton rises to the surface. Lance and nora confer in private. A door shuts on Lance, the lights fade, and nora sees a white-haired crone in another room. she runs upstairs for help. Lance lies half unconscious

House on Haunted Hill • 135 on the floor, and dr. trent bandages him up. Lance and nora investigate the room. the crone appears again, terrifying nora as it practically floats across the floor. Annabelle comforts nora by telling her not to go anywhere by herself, danger lurks. frederick convinces Annabelle to attend the party—by pulling on her hair. nora finds a hideous head in a box and is grabbed by a man and told to come with him “before he kills you.” the man was merely the servant, the crone his blind wife, says frederick. by now locked in, the guests are provided pistols secreted in miniature coffins. Pritchard leads the guests upstairs for the night. in his room he charges his gun. dr. trent takes notes, sees the doorknob turn but finds no one in the hall. ruth’s hand is dripped on again. Lance goes to nora’s room and talks about frederick killing Annabelle. exploring on his own, Lance is locked behind a sliding door. As a storm rages outside, lights go out in nora’s room. A thick rope enters and wraps around her feet as the image of Annabelle appears. the rope disentangles itself and disappears as does Annabelle. nora takes her pistol and runs into the hall where she sees Annabelle’s hanged body. When a hand reaches around the door, she runs downstairs where the organ begins playing. she continues into the basement. Upstairs, trent goes to frederick’s room and learns that both heard the organ. He tells frederick to search downstairs while

he does that floor. After all, somebody’s in distress. trent goes to Annabelle’s room and tells her everything’s working well, the perfect crime because nora’s bound to shoot frederick in the basement. Annabelle removes her hanging harness. trent tells her to come down when she hears the shot. Lights dim in the cellar and nora does in fact shoot frederick before running off, screaming her head off. trent appears and opens the acid vat. All the lights go out, there is a cry in the dark. in her nightgown, Annabelle arrives and sees a skeleton arise from the vat and stalk her around the room. frederick’s voice: “Come with me, murderess, come with me.” she backs to the vat, and the skeleton pushes her in. frederick steps from the dark with the winding machine that controlled the bones. Meanwhile, Pritchard, nora and ruth rescue Lance from his chamber. nora says she shot frederick, but they find him alive in the cellar. He’d put blanks in nora’s gun. He reveals the affair conducted by Annabelle and trent and says he struggled with her and she tripped into the vat. He’s ready for justice to determine if he’s innocent or guilty. Pritchard looks at the cinema audience: “they’re coming for me now, and then they’ll come for you.” Reviews: Leslie Halliwell noticed “some (unexplained) gruesome moments; the most outlandish of its producer’s cheapjack trick films…” (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000

House on Haunted Hill lobby card (Allied Artists, 1959).

136 • House on Haunted Hill English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 343); The A–Z of Horror Films found “more energy than sense in this camp exploitation piece,… but it’s enjoyable enough.” (Howard Maxford, The A-Z of Horror Films, bloomington and indianapolis: indiana University Press, 1997, p. 138). Analysis: Like The Fly (1958), Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) this was a seminal fright film for baby boomers. Unfortunately, seen as an adult, it doesn’t measure up. first, it’s not supernatural. second, it’s contrived. third, it’s dull. fourth, some of it doesn’t make sense, e.g., Pritchard’s final warning about the ghosts coming for him now, then for us. there were no ghosts! one surmises he can’t accept that.

House on Haunted Hill

(Warner bros./dark Castle entertainment, 1999; 96 min.) ★½

Produced by Gilbert Adler. directed by William Malone. screenplay by dick beebe. story by robb White. edited by Anthony Adler. director of Photography, rick bota. Panavision. technicolor. Music by don davis. Production design, david f. Klassen. Art direction, richard f. Mays. set decoration, Lauri Gaffin. Costumes by Ha nguyen. special effects Make-up, shannon shea, Howard berger, Garrett immez. special effects, bellissimo/belardinelli effects, inc. digital/Visual effects, 4 Ward Productions. Ageless Apparition designed by dick smith. Cast: stephen Price (Geoffrey rush), evelyn stockard Price (famke Janssen), eddie (taye diggs), dr. donald blackburn (Peter Gallagher), Watson Pritchett (Chris Kattan), sara Wolfe/Jennifer Jenson (Ali Larter), Melissa Margaret Marr (bridgette Wilson), dr. Vannacutt ( Jeffrey Combs), Carl schecter (Max Perlich), Male nurse (dick beebe), twisted nurse (slavitza Jovan), Channel 3 reporter (Lisa Loeb), Channel 3 cameraman ( James Marsters), Price’s secretary ( Jeannette Lewis), Girl on wires ( Janet tracy Keijser), Himself (Peter Graves). Synopsis: the Vannacutt institute for the Criminally insane stands long and tall on an oceanside cliff, but on october 11, 1931, the inmates revolt against the sadistic surgeon. Pathé news reports, “HosPitAL of Horror. All but five Perish.” decades later, on tV’s Terrifying But True, Peter Graves discusses the “surgeon gone mad.” stephen Price, fun ride impresario of such rollercoasters as terra incognita, rents the house for his nasty wife evelyn’s birthday party. it’s a funny thing, but the guests she wanted were not invited. nor were the substitutes stephen selected. the five that show don’t even know evelyn. nevertheless, caretaker Watson Pritchett gives everyone the lowdown on the house, and Price decides to go on with his plan: whoever stays the night will receive a cashier’s check for $1 million. the lockdown via metal plates begins and even Pritchett, who says the house is alive, is entombed for the evening. to attempt a lockdown reversal, eddie proposes locating the gears in the basement. Price shows his guests a coffin within which are miniature coffins, each containing a pistol. eddie takes his and with Jennifer and Pritchett goes below, avoiding falling masonry and eyeing with distaste weird, cased skeletons. Price locates his technician who says he did not instigate the lockdown. Was it evelyn? eddie and company discover the electroshock room and a semi-circular chamber to treat schizophrenia. Jennifer reveals that her real name is sara. but where did eddie get to? she sees him and follows. He won’t talk and jumps into a large container of blood. she tries to extract him then sees him outside the

pool. dr. blackburn, meanwhile, says he’ll stay or find a way out. What happened to Melissa, who was videotaping the house and goings-on? she’s down in the operating room and to her astonishment sees Vannacutt and his assistants on her camera screen. they look back at her. she turns and is confronted by past inmates. Upstairs, the guests hear her scream of horror and a search locates a camera and blood trail but no Melissa. to Price’s horror, when evelyn taunts him with a pistol and fires it, a real bullet passes his head. When he finds his technician again, the man’s face has been ripped out. After evelyn’s dead body is discovered in the electro-shock room, eddie and blackburn lock Price in the schizophrenia capsule. When eddie leaves, blackburn switches on the rotating images, but Price dons goggles that help him deal with the room. When a framed document with pictures of the Class of 1931 is found, sara realizes she and the other guests are related to these people. Pritchett says the house made the guest list. blackburn returns to evelyn’s body, kisses her and injects her with atropine. it was a ruse. What of Melissa? did Price kill her? evelyn says no, but they must shoot him because they need another body. that said, she stabs blackburn to death. eddie, sara and Pritchett find Price missing from the container. they do find blackburn’s head, however. A bloodied Price shows up and sara shoots him multiple times. When the others leave, evelyn approaches Price’s body only to learn that he’d been wearing a bulletproof vest. He throws her through a wall and to his surprise a nebulous darkness possesses her. fleeing upstairs, Price warns the others but Pritchett is consumed. in the attic, Price pushes levers to start pulleys and gears to open the house but it’s too late for him. Cornered, eddie yells at the creature that he had nothing to do with the previous mayhem, he was adopted. He and sara escape onto a ledge as the darkness recedes. they discover the envelope containing the million dollar cashier checks with the note on front, “for those who survive the night.” for sara a question remains: “How do we get down from here?” Reviews: Cnn.com said it “is campier than it is frightening.” Geoffrey rush chewed scenery to great effect and the audience might get some pleasure out of guessing who will survive (Paul Clinton, www.cnn.com, october 29, 1999); the New York Times called it “a sorry reincarnation … of its predecessor. both could be labeled “junk” (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, october 30, 1999, p. b18). Analysis: How? What? Why? these are unanswered questions that spring into one’s mind upon viewing this supernatural version of the original. How did the stained glass in the ceiling survive the 1931 conflagration? Characters act stupid, e.g., evelyn and blackburn hatching the end of the scheme as if they couldn’t possibly be interrupted. Another problem is that all the women resemble each other: Janssen, Larter, Wilson. the house is wasted macabre. its dark, creepy essence would better serve another film and rates the half star. note: Return to House on Haunted Hill was a 2007 direct-to-video release.

HoWArd tHe dUCK (Universal/Lucasfilm, 1986; 110 min.) ★

Howard the Duck

Produced by Gloria Katz. directed by Willard Huyck. screenplay by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz. based on the Marvel Comics character “Howard the duck” Created by steve Gerber. edited by Michael Chandler, sidney Wolinsky. director of Photography, richard H. Kline. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by John barry. Production design, Peter Jamison. Art direction, blake russell, Mark billerman.

Hulk • 137 set decoration, Phil Abramson, Gary Heider. Costumes by Joe tompkins. Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: Howard the duck (ed Gale, tim rose, steve sleap, Peter baird, Mary Wells, Lisa sturz, Jordan Prentice), Howard the duck (Chip Zien, voice), beverly switzler (Lea thompson), Phil blumburtt (tim robbins), dr. Walter Jenning ( Jeffrey Jones), Lieutenant Welker (Paul Guilfoyle), ronette/Cherry bomb (Liz sagal), Cal/Cherry bomb (dominique davalos), K.C./Cherry bomb (Holly robinson), Voice of the Cosmos (richard Kiley), Carter (Miles Chapin). Synopsis: relaxing in his armchair on a distant world, Howard the duck is suddenly propelled across the cosmos to earth. Gathering his wits in a dark alley, he is stunned by events and takes refuge in a trashcan. He emerges when he hears a commotion. Cherry bombs’ beverly switzler, who’d just performed at a low grade rock concert in a low grade venue, is being accosted by two unsavory dudes. Using the martial art of Quack fu, Howard maims and chases off the miscreants. beverly takes Howard through the rain to her digs. next day, concealing her strange companion in a large trash bag, she drags him to her scientist chum, Phil blumburtt, who is ecstatic to meet this visitor from another world. Howard goes to the ohio bureau of employment services and obtains a job in a massage parlor, but he’s soon fired. He stumbles onto another of Cherry bomb’s venues and engages in a bar fight with beverly’s manager, using his skills to win and extract from the manager a statement that he is no longer the group’s impresario. Phil arrives and pulls a feather from Howard. While fooling around in bed, beverly and Howard are found by Phil, Carter and dr. Jenning from dynatechnics. Howard is told the laser spectroscope missed its interstellar target and hit Howard’s world instead. An energy inversion dragged Howard to earth. A single feather fell into the lab. Maybe, says Jenning, they can send Howard home. this frustrates Phil, who dreams of fame with Howard. Jenning says Howard must leave that night if he’s to succeed. Phil drives Carter, bev and Howard to dynatechnics only to find an explosion has taken place. A detective lieutenant shows up and arrests Howard, but bev gets the keys and unlocks him. Jenning shows, says he’d blacked out. He, bev and Howard drive to Joe roma’s diner where Jenning acts increasingly erratic and speaks of the dark overlords. the laser spectroscope can be used to import from the nexus of sominus other dark overlords. some yahoos start a fight but Jenning finishes it. With the code for the spectroscope in hand, Jenning takes bev away in a truck. Howard releases Phil from the police car, and they steal an Ultralight aircraft to elude the police. Jenning, meanwhile, stops at a nuclear plant to infuse himself with more power. At dynatechnics, he shackles bev beneath the spectroscope. Howard and Phil outrace the police to dynatechnics and use the neutron disintegrator to blast Jenning, who returns to his normal self. However, the dark overLord that had inhabited his body has not been destroyed, merely converted into its seemingly natural state: a giant scorpion-like monstrosity. it incapacitates beverly and Phil, but Howard uses the disintegrator again, quashes the monster and destroys the spectroscope despite the knowledge that he will not be able to return to duckworld. Howard becomes beverly’s manager and accidentally ends up rocking the house during a concert. Reviews: the New York Times observed that satire was pushed aside via demons and effects, making the title character “dispensable in his own movie.” (Caryn James, New York Times, August 1, 1986); Video Movie Guide called it “An extremely rotten egg.” (Mick Martin, Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 506); John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again called Howard’s costume and make-up phony. Also egregious was that

Howard was dumb when he should have been smart ( John stanley, John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again, 4th rev. ed., Pacifica, CA: Creatures at Large Press, 1994, p. 189). Analysis: Why Howard the Duck in this book? He had a sort of cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) as a member of the Collector’s menagerie, but pay attention or you’ll miss him. Howard the Duck is correctly judged a notorious misfire from the Lucasfilm stable. because the story is inane, the action boring and time-wasting and, especially, the dialogue trite, it can’t even qualify for the three star bomb rating, i.e., so bad it’s good.

tHe HULK (Universal/Marvel enterprises, 2003; 138 min.) ★★½

Hulk, aka The Hulk

Produced by Gale Anne Hurd, Avi Arad, James schamus, Larry franco. directed by Ang Lee. screenplay by John turman, Michael france, James schamus. story by James schamus. based on the Marvel Comic book Character Created by stan Lee and Jack Kirby. edited by tim squyres. director of Photography, frederick elmes. technicolor. Music by danny elfman. Production design, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, Greg Papalia. set decoration, Cheryl A. Carasik. Costumes by Marit Allen. Visual effects supervisor, dennis Muren. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: bruce banner/Hulk (eric bana), betty ross ( Jennifer Connelly), General ross (sam elliott), Glenn talbot ( Josh Lucas), david banner (nick nolte), david as child (Paul Kersey), edith banner (Cara buono), Young ross (todd tesen), Harper (Kevin rankin), Mrs. Kranzler (Celia Weston), bruce banner as teen (Mike erwin), security guards (Lou ferrigno, stan Lee, regi davis, Craig damon), President (Geoffrey scott), national security Advisor (regina McKee redwing). Synopsis: desert base, 1966: david banner conducts dnA sequencing experiments on assorted species with the hope of creating super strong people—soldiers, perhaps. However, General ross denies permission to experiment on human subjects. instead, banner makes himself the guinea pig. soon afterward he discovers that his wife is pregnant. Continuing his experiments, david is eventually found out and stopped but goes wild and starts the fail safe system. His wife takes young bruce under a table before being ushered into the bedroom for an argument with david. Years pass and the teenage bruce, living with the Kranzlers, has nightmares. After college he takes a position at the berkeley nuclear biotechnology institute, working with former girlfriend betty ross. they “disperse nanomeds” into a frog and irradiate it with gamma rays only to watch the amphibian explode. Glenn talbot appears, asking betty to come on board with his company. General ross, betty’s father, is presented with a report about her lab. Leaving work late, betty discovers a new janitor. Later she recalls seeing a mushroom cloud when she was a small child. bruce observes a strange man walking several dogs staring at his house: the janitor. At the lab, bruce sacrifices himself for a co-worker, taking a strong dose of gamma radiation, but next morning he tells betty, “i’ve never felt better.” Yet his nightmares continue. the janitor visits the hospital, tells bruce his name is banner and that bruce is so much like his mother. this man is his father david, locked away for thirty years. General ross meets betty for lunch and she says she doesn’t know the facts about “Kranzler.” she’s disappointed he just didn’t want to

138 • The Incredible Hulk see her again. bruce has a nightmare about his mother and a knife. Angered, he turns into a large green monstrosity, wrecking the gamma sphere and bursting from the building. next day betty finds bruce in her home. Her father and his men arrive. betty visits david, who tells her the world will not tolerate his son’s existence. He steals her scarf. General ross tells bruce he had to have seen “it” when he was four years old. david shows his dogs betty’s scarf and phones bruce, who observes Glenn outside. When he comes in they fight and bruce becomes Hulk again. betty hears strange noises outside her cabin and finds a green giant, who beating off mutant dogs sent to kill her. bruce returns to normality. stepping from the cabin after breakfast, bruce is darted and carried by helicopter to a remote desert laboratory, much of it underground. An angry General ross speaks with betty. david banner’s house is surrounded by the military while at the lab he is infusing himself with radiation. His hand turns scaly, then blue. At the desert base, betty is allowed to walk outside with bruce and talk about repressed memories. Glenn talbot pushes General ross into the background and ups the ante on the experiments, prodding bruce with electricity, an attempt at making him angry so they can extract his special cells. that doesn’t quite work and bruce is attached to hoses and placed in a tank of water. david confronts betty in her house and says he wants to see bruce for one last time before he himself is put away forever. He’d only tried to help bruce, to improve him, and to go beyond God’s boundaries. He speaks of his wife and how he’d tried to kill bruce but accidentally stabbed her even as a mushroom cloud rose in the distance. in his tank, memories come to light and bruce goes ballistic, becomes Hulk, and escapes the facility while attacked by helicopters and tanks. Hulk makes his way to san francisco, perching on the Golden Gate bridge where he is again shot at by aircraft directed by General ross. Hulk actually saves one jet from crashing into the bridge by jumping on it and forcing it to fly beneath the structure. General ross orders the pilot to fly Hulk into the stratosphere. the dearth of oxygen causes Hulk to fall into the bay where more missiles are directed at him, but he escapes, emerging from the sewers beneath the san francisco streets. Helicopters appear, one carrying betty. Hulk calms himself and reverts to his human form as betty embraces him. Attached to a chair in a hangar, bruce is visited by his father, who says he needs bruce’s strength. He bites the electric cable designed to incinerate bruce if things go awry and becomes a nebulous monstrosity. bruce breaks free, becomes Hulk, follows and battles his dad at a lake. the more they fight the more energy david takes form bruce. finally Hulk cries out, “take it all!” david is consumed. Jets attack. As bruce, he floats in the lake. one Year Later: in her lab, betty takes a call from her father, who says that bruce couldn’t have survived that jet attack, but if he did would she tell him? she says no but why would he need her to reveal anything, her phones are tapped, her computer hacked. in the south American jungle, bruce dispenses medicine to a needy populace. A rebel commander arrives to confiscate all the medicine. from under his hat, bruce smiles grimly and warns, “You wouldn’t like me when i’m angry.” Reviews: the News Journal thought director Lee was not the right choice. He “behaves like a concert pianist who’s been handed a banjo and nevertheless tries to twang away at a beethoven sonata.” (bill Muller/Arizona republic, News Journal [Wilmington, de], June 20, 2003, p. 5); Rolling Stone found things to love but thought director “Lee wants to do everything with this film. He rubs archetypes together to create a mythic spark.” However, “he’s chasing more inner demons than one creature feature can handle.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, June 20, 2003). New York said director Lee “openly embraces the deep-dish emotionalism associated with modern-day comic-book superheroes.” this might even be “serious mythmaking.” it was prob-

ably “the most elegantly shot, and certainly the most disturbing, of the recent fantasy films.” (Peter rainer, New York, June 23, 2003) Analysis: it’s hard to pinpoint the reason this fails to make the grade as a solid 3 or 4-star superhero movie. Perhaps it is too serious. the only comic relief comes at the very end when bruce tells the rebel leader to beware of his anger. Has sam elliott ever been this mean? His grim General ross and nick nolte’s half-crazy scientist are humorless, and both mistreat their offspring. is the subtext mental abuse of children? Another somewhat negative is that the Hulk, despite looking appropriately massive and “hulkish,” just moves wrong, like he has no mass at all! He moves like disney’s Tarzan, which was okay in that because the film was animated. this is where stop-motion animation might have it over CGi. the older stop-motion stuff moves slow enough to lend its characters (usually of exaggerated size) credibility. Unless one is appealing exclusively to comic book aficionados and gamers, there is or should be a balance between action and character development in these films, and this often achieves that. but Hulk would have benefited from the deletion of about a quarter hour. this is a common failing of many modern films, whether of the fantastic or a more realistic genre such as Crime, Mystery & suspense. they are not Lawrence of Arabia or War and Peace. When bruce is flown across a presumably southwestern United states desert the music is distinctly “Arabian.” What was up with that? Jennifer Connolly is filmed with a loving touch, but why does she have short hair in the first half and flowing locks in the second? time does pass, but…? frederick elmes’ cinematography is outstanding. the filmmakers couldn’t achieve the required verisimilitude in the effects—primarily the physics—they were trying to portray. the Hulk’s on-screen antics just look too “cartoony” to be believable and are too inconsistent with the live action visuals of the film. When big Greenie hoists up some load obviously weighing in at impressive tonnage, he makes the effort seem … effortless! Contrast this with the sequence in Superman Returns in which the Man of steel stops that crashing jumbo jet. that was an impressive feat, and one with which the viewer was heavily invested emotionally.

(Universal/Marvel enterprises, 2008; 112 min.) ★★★

The Incredible Hulk

Produced by Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd, Kevin feige. directed by Louis Leterrier. screen story and screenplay by Zak Penn. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee and Jack Kirby. edited by John Wright, rick shaine, Vincent tabaillon. director of Photography, Peter Menzies, Jr. Panavision. Prints by technicolor. Music by Craig Armstrong. Production design, Kirk M. Petruccelli. Art direction, Andrew M. stearn. set decoration, Carolyn Loucks. Costumes by denise Cronenberg, renee fontana. special Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studios. Visual effects by soho VfX, [hy*drau*lx], image engine, Lola/VfX. Cast: bruce banner (edward norton), betty ross (Liv tyler), emil blonsky (tim roth), samuel sterns (tim blake nelson), Leonard (ty burrell), General “thunderbolt” ross (William Hurt), Major Kathleen sparr (Christina Cabot), security guard/Hulk voice (Lou ferrigno), stanley (Paul soles), Milwaukee man (stan Lee). Synopsis: in the rio de Janeiro slum called rocinha, a man sits in his home with his dog and monitors his pulse. by day he works at a bottling plant, in his off hours as “Mr. Green” he learns how to control his temper and communicates via encrypted email with “Mr. blue.” His goal is to cure his condition. to his dismay, Mr. Green is tracked

The Incredible Hulk • 139 via a bottle into which some drops of his blood had fallen and which a Milwaukee resident had opened, taken a swig, and fallen to the floor. General ross supervises the insertion into rocinha of a picked team headed by emil blonsky. Alerted to their presence by his dog, Mr. Green, aka bruce banner, packs up and flees into the maze that is the rocinha slum. tracked to the bottling factory, bruce’s pulse grows to 200 per minute, thus causing a reaction in his body that transforms him into a powerful and very large green humanoid. not having been apprised of this potential development, blonsky is shocked by the being’s appearance and seeming imperviousness to sedating darts. After the mission is unsuccessfully terminated, ross tells blonsky that the green being was banner. bruce wakes up in the jungle and hitches a ride to Chapas. Meanwhile, General ross reveals to blonsky that banner had experimented on himself and as far as he’s concerned is property of the U.s. Army. bruce arrives at Culver University, Virginia and sees elizabeth “betty” ross holding hands with a man. At stanley’s Pizza the proprietor, a good friend of bruce, tells him the man is a head shrink but a good guy. Pretending to be a pizza delivery man, bruce enters the University lab and endeavors to contact “Mr. blue.” Late at night, betty and the shrink Leonard go into stanley’s. bruce steps into the parlor before realizing betty is at the counter. she sees him but he skips out the back. she runs into the alley but he’s hidden himself behind a dumpster. Later, as he trudges down a rain-soaked highway, bruce finds betty pulling up behind him. At her home, bruce reveals that her father, General ross, wants to weaponize the compound in his body. ross extracts a blue liquid from a Cryosync capsule. bruce tells betty he has to move on. blonsky volunteers to suffer painful injections into his bone marrow and deep muscle in order to confront bruce when he transforms. next morning bruce and betty are walking across campus when they are found by ross and his men. bruce runs into the library and across a glass-enclosed connecting bridge only to be locked in. When gas canisters are launched through the glass and bruce sees betty being dragged to the ground, his pulse rate climbs and he turns into the monstrous creature that had escaped ross in brazil. He’s impervious to the weapons brought to bear until waves from two cannons almost render him unconscious. but he recovers and kicks blonsky into a tree even as a helicopter gunship begins peppering him. He shields betty from the flames and carries her off. Leonard tells ross he now understands why betty never spoke about her father. betty wakes up in a cave, frightened by the giant green face staring at her. back in the military hospital, blonsky is treated for his numerous wounds. bruce returns to normal, and he and betty go to a motel. bruce coughs up the “data” he’d swallowed when he was about to be captured. betty returns from a shopping trip with clothes. on tV two sophomores talk about being eyewitnesses to the campus battle between the military and some thing they label a “Hulk.” news reporters say the search for this thing is taking place in the smoky Mountain national forest. bruce and betty begin making love but he stops because his pulse rate is rising. blonsky recovers and says he’s ready for round three. bruce identifies the location of samuel sterns and sets out in a truck. He tells betty he doesn’t want to control it, rather to “get rid of it.” blonsky receives another injection. bruce and betty take a boat to new York City. they find dr. sterns—“Mr. blue”—who wonders if they can provide an antidote or a true cure for bruce. blonsky starts to change, gets in the helicopter and says he feels like a monster. sterns begins the procedure that starts to transform bruce, but betty calms him down and be becomes bruce again. ross’s men arrive at sterns’ lab. bruce says the gamma technology must be destroyed. Against orders, blonsky rushes into the building. bruce is darted. betty tells her father, “don’t ever speak to me as your daughter again.” blonsky intimidates sterns into

giving him another injection which turns him into a monstrous being who rampages through the streets. ross, with betty and bruce, has his helicopter turned around. bruce thinks he must handle the situation and falls from the copter, hitting the pavement and transforming into the Hulk. A vicious battle between Hulk and the blonsky monster results in the latter being defeated by a chain around his neck. Hulk runs off. on Liberty island, betty examines a photo of bruce on her camera. bella Coola, british Columbia: bruce posts an envelope to betty and meditates. drinking down his sorrows in a bar, General ross is visited by tony stark who says we need to put together a team. “Who’s we?” asks ross. Reviews: the Richmond Times-Dispatch found it “bigger-strongerfaster” than its predecessor but suffered in comparison to the same summer’s Iron Man because this failed to provide “wit and heart.” (Christy Lemire, Richmond-Times-Dispatch, June 13, 2008); Rolling Stone commended the cast but thought the director kept them “slaves to the thrills.” Moreover, the film resided in the shadow of Iron Man (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, June 13, 2008); USA Today found it “reasonably entertaining, mostly because of edward norton’s engaging portrayal….” Yet again, it couldn’t hold a candle to Iron Man, the various Spider-Man films or Batman Begins (Claudie Puig, USA Today, June 13, 2008). Analysis: this reboot begins with a pulse-pounding, hard-charging chase through the rocinha slum that delivered the goods. simply put, The Incredible Hulk is better than The Hulk. it clearly earns a place in the surprising number of really outstanding films in the then recent batch of superhero genre efforts, to stand along side Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, Iron Man, and The Dark Knight. Although the original was often tedious, events here are executed at a good clip, yet the film never moves too fast and doesn’t seem rushed. the action scenes are frequently breath-taking and even hair-raising. the CGi effects are altogether more persuasive this time around. they were less convincing in The Hulk and almost constantly taking one “out of the moment” with their unnaturalness and simple lack of realism. there was a failure to convincingly create the appearance of real physics in play, and few if any of the “big” action scenes suggested a true largesse of mass. the scene in stanley’s Pizza where betty spies bruce is compelling as is their reunion in the rain. Hurt’s General ross is just about as fierce and sociopathic as sam elliott’s in the 2003 Hulk. in sum, The Incredible Hulk manages to stand on its own two feet, despite the seeming short shrift it was given once The Dark Knight arrived in theaters. one had the sense that Marvel was setting the scene for a Major event in the near future, and one wonders who dropped the ball with The Fantastic Four? Possible in-joke: “Mr. blue” was also a (different) character in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, in which tim roth played “Mr. orange.”

tHe HUnGer GAMes suzanne Collins penned this trilogy of successful young adult books that appeared in print between 2008 and 2010. in keeping with the modern studio trend of breaking the final book in a series into two movies (think 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and 2012’s Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part II), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, the third book, was split in half. this is not generally done for artistic considerations but rather from a desire to milk every penny from a franchise as possible.

140 • The Hunger Games

(Lionsgate, 2012; 142 min.) ★★★½

The Hunger Games

Produced by nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik. directed by Gary ross. screenplay by Gary ross, suzanne Collins, billy ray. based on the novel by suzanne Collins. edited by stephen Mirrione, Juliette Welfling. director of Photography, tom stern. technicolor. Prints by deluxe. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, Philip Messina. Art direction, robert fechtman, Paul G. richards. set decoration, Larry dias. Costumes by Judianna Makovsky. Visual effects by Pixomondo, digiscope, Whiskytree inc. Visual effects & Animation by rhythm & Hues studios. Cast: Katniss everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mallark ( Josh Hutcherson), Primrose everdeen (Willow shields), Caesar flickerman (stanley tucci), President snow (donald sutherland), seneca Crane (Wes bentley), effie trinket (elizabeth banks), Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss’ mother (Paula Malcomson), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), seneca Crane (Wes bentley), Claudius templesmith (toby Jones), Venia (Kamiko Gelman), flavius (nelson Ascensio), Hob Vendor (sandra ellis Lafferty), octavia (brooke bundy), rue (Amandla stenberg), Cato (Alexander Ludwig), Clove (isabelle fuhrman), Marvel ( Jack Quaid), Portia (Latarsha rose), thresh (dayo okeniyi), Glimmer (Leven rambin).

The Hunger Games poster art (Lionsgate, 2012).

Synopsis: After a hunt by bow that nets a bird she trades for a ball of yarn and receives as a bonus a Mockingjay pin, Katniss everdene and her young sister Primrose speak of the coming Hunger Games, a bloodletting participated in by two representatives from each of the 12 districts of Panem. As residents of these down-and-out enclaves are constantly told, the sacrifice of these young “tributes” had been deemed necessary after a rebellion against the central government many years in the past. to Katniss’ horror, the garishly attired and pasty-faced effie trinket pulls from a bowl Primrose’s name. Katniss leaps into the aisle and volunteers to take her sister’s place. Her request is granted and she joins neighbor Peeta Mellark in a long train journey to the Capitol. Along for the ride is Haymitch, their boozy “mentor” who in short order comes to realize that Katniss has the latent ability to win the Games. He and Cinna turn their section 12 recruits into attractive, compelling contestants. Katniss finds her world turned upside down in more ways than one. Peeta admits during an interview by Caesar flickerman that he’s had a crush on her. After two weeks of martial arts training, Katniss and 23 others stand on pedestals awaiting the signal to run for the woods. Haymitch had urged her not to rush for the trove of supplies in the field even if a bow was visible. she’d risk early death by the others. she watches tributes fall to the stronger, grabs up a pack and runs for cover, tying herself for the night onto a tree branch. she forms a bond with the young rue, and they strive to stay clear of an alliance that includes Peeta. Cutting a branch on which hangs a giant tracker jacker wasp nest, she disperses her pursuers and takes the bow and quiver from the girl who fell victim to the jackers’ poison. she loses rue, however, to one of the young men just before she ends his life with an arrow. As the residents of district 11 watch, Katniss covers rue with flowers and raises her fingers to salute them, causing them to riot against the security forces. President snow is none too pleased and indicates his displeasure to Crane, telling him he does not like underdogs. Haymitch suggests to Crane that a focus on young love would do nicely. Katniss hears the announcement that the rules have changed and if the final two tributes are from the same district, both will win and survive. she finds the injured Petta and leads him into a cave. While he sleeps she heads back to the cornucopia where the remaining tributes will find what they desire most. before Katniss can grab up the #12 sack she is jumped and almost killed by Clove but saved by thresh in tribute to rue. the medicine in the sack saves Peeta’s leg and life and they head back toward the clearing, along the way hearing the cannon reports that indicate the deaths of the other tributes. but Crane has used his technicians to create real carnivores who chase Katniss and Peeta to the cornucopia. they climb away from the beasts only to find Cato, who threatens to break Peeta’s neck. Katniss finally looses an arrow that hits its mark and sends Cato into the maws of the ravenous beasts. Katniss uses one more arrow to end his suffering. At dawn she and Peeta slide to the ground only to hear an announcement that the rules have changed once more and only one can survive. Peeta offers himself up but Katniss produces the poison nightlock berries and they plan to commit suicide together. Crane’s agitated voice tells them to stop; they are co-winners of the 74th Hunger Games. President snow calls for Crane and leaves nightlock in a bowl for his use. Haymitch warns Katniss that she’s created enemies. snow muses on these developments. Reviews: Rolling Stone called it “a winner.” it “radiates a hot, jumpy energy that’s irresistible.” Although it sought the “PG-13 harness to ensure profitability,…” and like the novel could have had a tarantino edge, it “gets your pulse racing.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, March 21, 2012); Commonweal was mostly upbeat, extolling the screenplay for corralling “all these themes and parallels with great care, never al-

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire • 141 lowing topicality to become insultingly explicit or to detract from the suspenseful action.” if there was little depiction of the realm of poverty from which Katniss hailed, “close-in camerawork and fast editing…” during the games themselves made up for it. nevertheless, the bloodthirstiness of many action films “is out of place in this movie.” Additionally, this film joined the list of famous films that resorted “to manipulative narrative twists.” (richard Alleva, “sentimentalized barbarity,” Commonweal, May 4, 2012, pp. 21–22). Analysis: is this richard Connell’s 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game for the dystopian set? this post-apocalyptic future is better realized than that of Divergent. Lawrence makes for a strong heroine, vulnerable but eminently capable. Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz are perfect in their roles as trainers and mentors. once again, donald sutherland essays a super conservative character. think back to when in the 1960s and early 1970s he was so often the radical—or a basket case: Die! Die! My Darling, The Dirty Dozen, M.A.S.H., Kelly’s Heroes.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate/Color force, 2013; 146 min.) ★★★★

Produced by nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik. directed by francis Lawrence. screenplay by simon beaufoy, Michael debruyn. based upon the novel “Catching fire” by suzanne Collins. edited by Alan edward bell. director of Photography, Jo Willems. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, Philip Messina. Art direction, robert fechtman, Adam davis. set decoration, Larry dias. Costumes by trish summerville. Visual effects by double negative; rodeo fX, Montreal; fuel VfX; Hybride; Cantina Creative; Whiskytree inc. Visual effects & Animation Created by WetA digital, Ltd. Cast: Katniss everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta ( Josh Hutcherson), President snow (donald sutherland), ripper (taylor st. Clair), Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), Caesar flickerman (stanley tucci), effie trinket (elizabeth banks), Johanna ( Jena Malone), finnick (sam Claflin), Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip seymour Hoffman), Primrose everdeen (Willow shields), Katniss’ mother (Paula Malcomson), Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), beetee ( Jeffrey Wright), Mags (Lynn Cohen), Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Marvel ( Jack Quaid), octavia (bruce bundy), flavius (nelson Ascencio), Gloss (Alan ritchson), Cray (Wilbur fitzgerald), Wiress (Amanda Plummer), Annie (stef dawson), romulus thread (Patrick st. esprit), snow’s granddaughter (erika bierman), Cashmere (stephanie Leigh schlund). Synopsis: returning from the woods where she’d bagged a rabbit but spoken to Gale, Katniss finds President snow in her home. revealing that rebellion has occurred, snow asks Katniss to be, if not his friend, his ally, and to pretend she and Peeta are truly in love during the forthcoming victory tour. on the train, Haymitch tells Katniss and Peeta that the rest of their lives must be this romantic sham. Katniss and Peeta agree to an “engagement.” during the tour Katniss becomes emotional when she sees rue’s image behind the

crowd. she veers from effie’s set script to tell the audience of how she wished she could have saved the young girl. An old man raises his hand in a soon familiar salute. security men take him away. back home, Gale is flogged by romulus thread, head of an armed force sent to intimidate sector 12. thread even knocks Katniss to the ground when she intervenes, but Haymitch informs him of her status and indicates it would not be wise to kill Gale and the two Victors of the recent games. back at the Capitol, Plutarch Heavensbee, new Hunger Games planner, tells snow how they can control Katniss, in short, institute the third Quarter Quell, a special 75th anniversary Games to be participated in by past Victors. Haymitch could be included but Peeta volunteers instead. Haymitch tells Katniss the tributes are not pleased to be forced into mortal combat again and she can make allies. At the pre-game ceremonies Katniss spins in her wedding gown made special by Cinna, flames encompass her, and the gown turns to black with the wings of a mockingjay. President snow is not pleased. to further complicate matters, Peeta indicates that a baby is on the way. As Katniss enters the tube to rise to the arena, she sees Cinna beaten and dragged off. the arena turns out to be a jungle, the starting point necessitating a swim to the weapons. it turns out that Katniss and Peeta do have allies, including the elderly Mags and her protector finnick. they make it from the beach to the forest and use a small tube Katniss says was parachuted in by Haymitch to retrieve water from a tree. Continuing on, an unseen force field knocks Peeta insensible but finnick resuscitates him. their next ordeal is a poisonous, burning fog, and when Peeta needs help and Katniss can’t carry him, Mags turns and sacrifices herself. Katniss, Peeta and finnick slide down an incline and heal themselves with stream water. eluding a group of large mandrills and with the help of another tribute, Katniss and her companions make it back to the beach where they find beetee, Wiress and the saucy Johanna, who’d earlier stripped in front of them in an elevator. Wiress, disoriented and dehydrated, nevertheless manages to convince them that the water and the spokes emanating from the island are a clock. thus they can figure out what and when the next problem will arise. Watching from the Capitol, Heavensbee has the “clock” modified by

Jena Malone on set, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate, 2013).

142 • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 spinning it. Katniss falls into the water despite valiant efforts by Johanna. nevertheless, they survive and kill Cashmere and Gloss, who’d attacked them. beetee devises a plan to use his coil of wire to electrocute any other tributes that come to the water or the damp sand. this entails attaching the cord to the distant tree that is struck by lightning twice a day. Johanna and Katniss unroll the wire while finnick, Peeta and beetee stay at the tree. However, Johanna knocks Katniss down and cuts the tracker out of her arm. When finnick shows up, Katniss almost kills him. Watching from afar, President snow wills her to loose her arrow, but she doesn’t. finnick recalls Haymitch’s admonition to remember who the real enemy is. Attaching the cord to an arrow, Katniss shoots it up to the invisible dome, causing a power outage. the Capitol can no longer see them. Katniss is knocked to the ground as parts of the dome fall around her. she wakes in an aircraft next to beetee, grabs a syringe and investigates, finding Haymitch, finnick and Heavensbee. the latter tells her the revolution has begun. they are flying to section 13. As for Peeta and Johanna, they were captured and are en route to the Capitol. Waking after being sedated, Katniss is told by Gale that her mother and sister are okay but that section 12 no longer exists. Reviews: Rolling Stone said it “is spectacular in every sense of the word.” even the “frustratingly abrupt…” ending had to be forgiven (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 15, 2013); the News Journal considered it less a sequel than a remake, with a bigger budget and a Katniss who dominates. Yet it was given only 2½ stars ( Jake Coyle/ Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], november 22, 2013, pp. 2–3). Analysis: What’s better than a forest for this most dangerous game? A jungle. it is more engrossing than the first with a well-imagined world. there are many compelling characters, especially Jena Malone’s Johanna, whose spunkiness reminds one of Ashley Greene’s Alice Cullen in the Twilight series. Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, and Jeffrey Wright also enhance the film.

Hoffman), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Cressida (natalie dormer), Primrose everdeen (Willow shields), finnick odair (sam Claflin), effie trinket (elizabeth banks), boggs (Mahershala Ali), Johanna Mason ( Jena Malone), Katniss’ mother (Paula Malcomson), Caesar flickerman (stanley tucci), Messalla (evan ross), Annie (stef dawson). Synopsis: Katniss, finnick and beetee are ensconced in district 13, rebel headquarters under the presidency of Alma Coin. the facility extends far underground, the better to resist air attacks by the Capitol’s “Peacekeepers.” Katniss is overjoyed to find her sister Prim and mother. Coin tells Katniss her combats have led many citizens of Panem to riot and strike. When asked to become the Mockingjay, the symbol for the rebellion, she refuses, ranting that they left Peeta and Johanna to be captured. Plutarch convinces Coin that Katniss should be shown the ruins of district 12. only the Victor’s house remains among the skeletons and skulls of thousands. from her home Katniss retrieves some mementos and her cat buttercup. this horror and the sight of Peeta on tV complaining that he and Katniss never intended to foment rebellion, makes Katniss agrees to become the Mockingjay as long as Peeta and the other Victors will be rescued from the Capitol. Her other condition: Prim gets to keep buttercup. Under Haymitch’s continued mentoring, Katniss dons the special suit the murdered Cinna had made for her. Cressida and her film crew follow her around and in district 8 she witnesses the horror of snow’s ordered air raid on the hospital. With beetee using his technological skills to hack into the Capitol’s tV broadcasts, Katniss gives vent to her feelings and decision to lead the revolt. district 7 lumbermen use mines to massacre a troop of Peacekeepers. After viewing district 12 again, Katniss sits by a river singing “the Hanging tree,” put on tape by Cressida. soon afterward the Capitol’s hydroelectric dam is damaged by rebels. Peeta again appears on tV, this time interviewed by Caesar flickerman. As the interview comes to a close, Peeta manages to warn viewers of an impending attack on district 13. everyone there descends to the bunkers as loud thumps suggest the earth above is taking an incredible

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay— Part 1 (Lionsgate/Color force, 2014; 123 min.) ★★★

Produced by nina Jacobson, John Kilik. directed by francis Lawrence. screenplay by Peter Craig, danny strong. Adaptation by suzanne Collins. based upon the novel Mockingjay by suzanne Collins. edited by Alan edward bell, Mark Yoshikawa. director of Photography, Jo Willems. Panavision. fotokem. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, Philip Messina. Art direction, Andrew Max Cahn, Priscilla elliott, Lauren Polizzi. set decoration, Larry dias. Costumes by Kurt and bart. Visual effects by double negative, MPC, the embassy Visual effects, inc., Cantina Creative, scanline VfX, Pixomondo, rising sun Pictures, Lola/VfX, skulley effects. “in Loving Memory of Philip seymour Hoffman.” Cast: Katniss everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson), Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), President snow (donald sutherland), President Almal Coin ( Julianne Moore), Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip seymour

Natalie Dormer, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (Lionsgate, 2014).

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part II • 143 pounding. but no radiation is reported. surviving the attack, Coin decides against revealing their own weaponry but allows a special team including Gale to sneak into the Capitol and from the tribute center rescue Peeta, Johanna and Annie. Peeta and the others are rescued but when he meets Katniss tries to strangle her and is stopped only when boggs knocks him out. it is obvious Peeta has been “hijacked,” i.e., tortured and brainwashed. tracker jacker venom played its part. Plutarch tells Katniss they are doing everything they can to restore the real Peeta. Reviews: the News Journal thought considered it “a pretty good movie that probably could have been a better one.” the caveat relates to splitting the book into two, resulting in more money but a dilution of the product. the actors “really sell the movie.” (bill Gooodykoontz/ Gannett, News Journal [Wilmington, de], november 21, 2014, p. 3); Entertainment Weekly said that because of the studio’s “pretty cynical business plan,…” to split the last of suzanne Collins’ trilogy into two à la Harry Potter and Twilight, it “seems needlessly padded.” this also led to fewer grand outdoor shots in favor of a confining bunker (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, november 28, 2014, pp. 52–53); Total Film said director Lawrence “mounts a punchy, well-paced treatment of a tricky novel.” (Kevin Harley, Total Film, february 2015, p. 56). Analysis: the key flaw if flaw it is—they shouldn’t have broken the third book into two movies—is that much of the action takes place below ground. no forest or jungle. on the other hand, the explosions over their heads as Capitol forces attempt to destroy the sector are frightening. Are those nuclear bombs going off? one character says there’s no radiation detected, so maybe they’re just “bunker busters.”

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part II (Lionsgate/Color force, 2015; 137 min.) ★★★½

Produced by nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik. directed by francis Lawrence. screenplay by danny Craig, Peter strong. Adaptation by suzanne Collins. based upon the novel Mockingjay by suzanne Collins. edited by Alan edward bell, Mark Yoshikawa. director of Photography, Jo Willems. Panavision. fotokem color. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, Philip Messina. Art direction, Andrew Max Cahn, Priscilla elliott, Wolfgang Metzchan, Lauren e. Polizzi, steve summersgill. set decoration, Larry dias, Mark rosinski. Costumes by Kurt and bart. Visual effects by skulley effects, exceptional Minds, Magnopus. “in Memory of Garry bailey.” Cast: Katniss everdeen ( Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mellark ( Josh Hutcherson), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), effie trinket (elizabeth banks), Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip seymour Hoffman), President Alma Coin ( Julianne Moore), finnick odair (sam Claflin), Cressida (natalie dormer), Commander Lyme (Gwendoline Christie), Johanna Mason ( Jena Malone), Caesar flickerman (stanley tucci), Minister Antonius (robert Knepper), President snow (donald sutherland), Messalla (evan ross), Primrose everdeen (Willow shields), Pollux (eldon Henson), boggs (Mahershala Ali), Lt. Jackson (Michelle forbes), beetee ( Jeffrey Wright), Commander Paylor (Patina Miller), tigris (eugenie bondurant), Claudius templesmith (toby Jones). Synopsis: After her neck brace is removed, Katniss observes through two-way glass her sister Prim speaking with

a confined Peeta, who screams that Katniss is a monster. Plutarch Heavensbee says this is nothing more than a conditioned response. Katniss meets with President Coin and tells her snow must pay. Coin maintains that before attacking the Capitol head on they must control district 2, and Katniss is sent forward to fire up the troops. on the journey to the front Katniss kisses Gale, but it’s so impersonal he says it doesn’t count. At a briefing on mode of attack, it is agreed that the rebels need the arsenal within the fortress. Gale suggests blocking egress from the fortress but not the railway tunnel. At the tunnel, Katniss begins revving up the troops when a train approaches. it stops and the people disembark. Katniss says that snow is the only enemy of them all. she is seized by a man with a pistol but convinces him to give it up. but someone else shoots her down. by remote hookup, snow observes this at a meeting of his councilors. snow says the outer blocks of the capital will be evacuated and the rebels lured in. every camera must be on to capture their defeat. Minister Antonius is poisoned for his incompetence. because her suit is impervious to normal bullets, Katniss survived the attack and recuperates in hospital with a bitter Johanna. Katniss meets Peeta, now rather subdued. Coin tells Katniss to rest although Mockingjay wants to be with the troops. she attends a wedding and dances and again speaks with Johanna about getting away from here and killing snow. she stows away on a supply craft and when she disembarks is recognized immediately by the troops. observing from afar with Heavensbee, Coin decides this is their plan after all. Commander Paylor addresses the troops. Cressida and her ostensibly noncombatant camera crew follow Katniss, filming her as she accompanies officers boggs and Jackson in their cautious advance into the Capitol, using the “Holo,” a special holographic device to detect “Pods”: mines, hidden machineguns and assorted booby traps that make this, according to finnick, the 76th Hunger Games. Peeta shows up and Katniss warns boggs that her former friend remains untrustworthy. boggs tells her to beware of President Coin, who sees her as a threat in a free election. boggs is killed but with his dying breaths indicates that Katniss should take his Holo. A flood of viscous black liquid forces the squad up into an abandoned building. Lt. Jackson is miffed about not having the Holo but is con-

Natalie Dormer (left) and Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II (Lionsgate, 2015).

144 • Independence Day vinced to let the matter drop when Cressida tells her Katniss is right to have it. they move on but from another building witness the Peacekeepers kill the wounded squad member and one of the women volunteers left behind. on a tV screen, snow’s mouthpiece Caesar flickerman tells his audience of Katniss’ presumed death in the battle. Coin breaks into the capital’s broadcast to inform the people that Katniss’ vision will be realized. Cressida leads Katniss and the rest of their crew to refuge in a small fashion shop run by tigris. she shows them a trapdoor leading to a tunnel to avoid more Pods and booby traps. However, ferocious pale humanoids attack and kill some of the squad, including finnick. on the monitors, snow offers safety and protection for citizens who come to his inner sanctum. Katniss unlocks Peeta’s handcuffs. she and Gale join the crowd of refugees arriving at snow’s palace. rebels attack and chaos ensues. Gale is separated from Katniss, presumably captured by the loyalists. A hovercraft appears and drops small parachutes that explode over the crowd. Prim is one of those medics rushed forward to assist the wounded, but she’s killed in follow-up explosions. nevertheless, the rebels gain the victory, and after recovering from the bomb concussions, Katniss is escorted by effie trinket into the palace she knows so well. Gale reveals his support for Coin. Katniss is allowed to see snow, sequestered in his greenhouse. He is unexpectedly cheery and tells her Coin planned the parachute attack to discredit him and attract his loyalist forces to the rebels. Coin meets with the surviving Victors and tells them she’s interim president. to the shock and dismay of some, she proposes that in lieu of mass retaliation against loyalists, a symbolic Hunger Games can be held using snow’s minions. to some of the group’s surprise, Katniss agrees and Haymitch goes along with her. Unsurprisingly, Johanna is okay with this plan. once more attired as the Mockingjay, Katniss walks deliberately toward snow across the palace courtyard as thousands watch. snow has been roped to a pillar. behind and above him Coin makes a speech. initially aiming at the smiling snow, Katniss raises her bow and lets her arrow fly into Coin, who tumbles from her rostrum onto a marble block below. snow is gleeful, but the throng rushes past Katniss to tear him apart. Haymitch reads a letter to Katniss form Heavensbee to the effect that the voice of reason, Commander Paylor, is currently in charge and that Katniss will be pardoned in the near future. Haymitch escorts Katniss back to her community, which in practical terms means her Victor’s home, the only house standing. Waking from a nap, she hears something and finds their cat buttercup in the kitchen. in a rage, she tells the cat to leave, Prim isn’t here anymore. slowly she calms herself and cradles buttercup. After a bird hunt, she encounters Peeta planting flowers. Later, she wakes up and goes to Peeta’s room and they comfort each other. time passes. on a hillside, Katniss cradles a newborn while watching Peeta play with another child. Reviews: the New York Times commended the layered character of Lawrence’s Katniss, faulted Hutcherson and Hemsworth as insipid, and called donald sutherland “invaluable.” there were some jolts, as when Lawrence and the “sensationally raw Jena Malone…” take it to a realm “where heroes and villains give way to something like life.” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, november 20, 2015, p. C1); USA Today thought it had the best action episodes of the series but dished the script with its “clunky arena metaphors and corny dialogue…” (brian truitt, USA Today, november 19, 2015, p. 1d); the News Journal considered it dull and lacking in vibrancy but obviously geared toward fans of the trilogy ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], november 20, 2015, p. 3Hr); Rolling Stone complimented Lawrence for bringing it alive when “the series gets winded pimping old tricks,….” Part 2 lets the series “go out in style. sweet.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, december 3, 2015, p. 69).

Analysis: back on track with the booby-trapped Capitol as an arena for past Victors to negotiate on their way to President snow’s residence, the fourth episode in the series provides a goodly amount of action interspersed with a few overlong expository episodes. this is probably padding necessary because of splitting the novel Mockingjay into two movies. the final conquest of the Capitol is somewhat abrupt. that is, an expected ground defense never materializes, presumably because the loyalists turned against snow when he was accused of parachute bombing of civilians. but all the loyal soldiers couldn’t have learned of that so fast. other issues: Prim was killed in the bomb attack at the palace gate, but it was a bit contrived to have her be a medic at that crucial point. of course, contrivance is much of art—and life. What were and who created those ferocious pastyhued humanoids ambushing Katniss’ squad as they neared snow’s redoubt? Mutants? (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground dwellers? see C.H.U.D. in Volume i). once again Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone (seen too little; she deserved kicking more ass), Philip seymour Hoffman, elizabeth banks, natalie dormer and others help immeasurably.

i AM LeGend see under tHe L Ast MAn on e ArtH indePendenCe dAY (20th Century–fox, 1996; 145 min.) ★★★½

Independence Day

Produced by dean devlin. directed by roland emmerich. screenplay by dean devlin and roland emmerich. edited by david brenner. director of Photography, Karl Walker Lindenlabub. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by david Arnold. Production design, oliver scholl. Patrick tatopoulos. Art direction, Jim teegarden. set decoration, Jim erickson. Costumes by Joseph Porro. Alien Creature effects designed and supervised by Patrick tatopoulos. Cast: Captain steven Hiller (Will smith), President thomas J. Whitmore (bill Pullman), david Levinson ( Jeff Goldblum), Connie spano (Margaret Colin), first Lady Marilyn Whitmore (Mary Mcdonnell), Julius Levinson ( Judd Hirsch), Jasmine dubrow (Vivica A. fox), General William Grey (robert Loggia), russell Casse (randy Quaid), secretary of defense Albert nimziki ( James rebhorn), Marty Gilbert (Harvey fierstein), Major Mitchell (Adam baldwin), dr. brakish okun (brent spiner), Miguel ( James duval), Alicia (Lisa Jakub), troy (Giuseppe Andrews), dylan (ross bagley), Patricia Whitmore (Mae Whitman), Captain Jimmy Wilder (Harry Connick, Jr.). Synopsis: July 2: seti in new Mexico and space Command at the Pentagon pick up an object 550km in diameter cruising past the moon. Most surprising and perturbing is that it’s slowing down. After speaking with his wife Marilyn, who’s away in L.A. on business, President Whitmore receives a call about the incoming object. in new York City, david Levinson plays chess with his father Julius, who wants his son to move on from his divorce from Connie. back in d.C., the President consults with his advisers. the incoming object has disgorged smaller pieces, which are about 15 miles in diameter. these objects spread around the world. Approaching one off the west coast, an AWAC plane is consumed by a fireball. the President elects to re-

Independence Day • 145 main in the White House even as what appears to be an alien craft approaches the city. david watches on tV his exwife Connie, the President’s press secretary. out in L.A., Captain steven Hiller wakes up and sees one of the alien craft from his window. Computer expert that he is, david determines from signals that there’s a countdown in progress. through Connie he gains access to the White House and explains satellite disruptions and the hidden signal that implies an attack. A helicopter approaches an alien ship and is destroyed. the President opts to leave the White House and only barely escapes to the airport in Air force one as the alien ship uses a ray to destroy the city. the same destruction is being visited upon other cities, and Hiller’s wife, son and dog barely escape death. July 3: russell Casse, a washed-up flyer and boozehound, drives his trailer across the desert. A U.s. jet counterattack on the alien ships fails; their missiles can’t penetrate a cloaking screen and smaller alien attack craft shoot down most of Will Smith (left) and Jeff Goldblum, Independence Day (20th Century–Fox, 1996). the jets. Hiller causes his pursuer to crash, ejects from his own plane and and steven fly the alien craft into space and enter the mother ship, discovers the wrecked alien craft nearby. A hideous creature begins dock and upload the virus but can’t release the ship and are resigned to emerge but he knocks it out with a well-aimed punch. “Welcome to being casualties. Area 51 comes under attack. the jets engage the to earth.” the secretary of defense urges the President to launch a large ship but the first missile doesn’t break through the shield. but nuclear strike. david rants that such an event would lead to a nuclear the second does and the rest of the jets deliver their ordnance. the winter and the President demurs. Julius talks about Area 51 and an larger ship prepares its primary weapon but russell, his missile malalien spaceship found in the 1950s. Hiller drags the alien there as Air functioning, roars up into the center of the beam. “Hello boys, i’m force one lands. the President meets dr. okun and is shown three back!” the detonation rips the alien craft apart. Meanwhile, Hiller dead aliens in watery containers. then—the ship itself. the President and david wave to an alien in a control room, then shoot a missile asks david to consult with the scientists. Hiller learns from the Presinto it. there’s a 30-second delay during which they disengage and ident that his wife may have been caught up in the L.A. conflagration. fly out. “Must go faster!” cries david. “elvis has left the building!” andr. okun operates on the new alien, discovers its true nature and finds swers Hiller as they exit into space before the mother ship disintethat it can telepathically damage humans. it strangles him and says, grates. All around the world the alien ships come down. the President “release me.” the President asks if they can coexist and it replies, “no greets his daughter and with Connie and steven’s wife and Julius roll peace” and “die.” on the President’s orders, Major Mitchell and others out in the desert to pick up Hiller and david from their wrecked craft. use their pistols to shoot through the glass and kill the alien. the Pres“Happy fourth of July, daddy,” says Patricia. ident says he saw the creature’s thoughts. they are like locusts that Reviews: roger ebert wondered why the humongous alien ship travel from planet to planet, using up resources and moving on. “nuke didn’t, for instance, cause some tidal waves on earth? And why did ’em,” says the President. stealth bombers approach the alien craft the aliens feel it necessary to send out small—and unattractive—craft above Houston and one delivers the bomb, but like the missiles it to engage our fighters? He called the film a retread of innumerable does not penetrate the alien shield. Hiller finds his wife and son, who 1950s alien invasion movies. As for the multitudinous characters, all had happened upon the President’s wife, who had been injured in the wore an invisible label denoting their role. it was only timidly imagiattack. the President gets to see her again but the doctors can’t stop native (roger ebert, www. rogerebert.com, July 2, 1996); the New the bleeding. He consoles their daughter Patricia. July 4: Julius gives York Times said “the film has a genial, it’s-only-a-movie attitude that a pep talk to david, who has a brainstorm. He uses a computer to presets it apart, quite emphatically, from other blockbuster action movies.” pare the Area 51 alien attack craft for flight. Hiller volunteers to fly it. it was “a joyful relief from the bullying intensity of pseudo-scientific the plan: deliver a computer virus to the mother ship and take down action.” (Caryn James, New York Times, July 21, 1996, p. ii9). the shields of all the alien craft, then attack. With so many pilots killed, Analysis: this is a film that generated plenty of buzz long before the military asks if anyone of the trailer entourage has flying it appeared on the theaters and raked in mucho dinero. (Although a experience. russell does and is given a crash course in jets. the Prescoworker of one of this book’s authors was dumbfounded that this ident gives a stirring speech, telling his listeners that there can be no film “blew America’s socks off for a month last summer,” and chirped, more petty squabbles among humans. “today we celebrate independ“Give me a hundred million dollars, and let me make a science fiction ence day.” A pilot himself, the President takes up one of the jets. david

146 • Independence Day: Resurgence extravaganza.”) it is a science fiction epic slightly compromised by the straining of credibility, e.g., russell learning to fly a jet in what seems like a few minutes, the failure of a nuclear warhead to break the alien ship’s shield. Many viewers were perturbed that the President’s wife had to be a casualty. bill Pullman’s Independence Day spiel is something people still remember and will wait to hear whenever it appears on tV. the Will smith-Jeff Goldblum duo worked exceedingly well. it is odd that there have been few comments on the parallels between Independence Day and the 1983 television mini-series, V, which was touted as being the most expensive tV movie of its day. the opening of Independence Day resembles the first 20 minutes or so of V. Giant saucer-shaped craft appear and hover over the earth’s major cities in both. the effects are similar in both. special effects-wise, V weathers the passage of time well enough. there’s none of Independence Day’s awesome pyrotechnics, but then V’s plot never called for that. on the other hand, V has the typical television banalities and stereotyped characters, and it’s exceedingly choppy and episodic. other than Marc singer and robert englund, virtually nobody from this heralded miniseries went anyplace in particular. one noteworthy small role was the aged paleontologist Arch Quinton. to most he must have been just some old coot affecting an irish brogue, but aficionados of film in all its incarnations will remember him as the ubiquitous character actor of innumerable feature films and television series, especially westerns and for good measure the hero in the so-bad-it’s good 1957 science fiction opus, The Unearthly. that would be Myron Healey. Independence Day plays better on video than it did in the theater. beyond the visual impression being better overall (especially when one originally viewed it in an unpleasantly dim multi-plex screen), the film just seems to come off better on the small screen. overall, though, it’s just okay— like Twister and a number of other effects-laden movies.

Independence Day: Resurgence (20th Century–fox, 2016; 120 min.) ★★★

Produced by dean devlin, roland emmerich, Harald Kloser. directed by roland emmerich. screenplay by Carter blanchard. based on characters created by dean devlin and roland emmerich. edited by Adam Wolfe. director of Photography, Marcus forderer. Color. Music by Harald Kloser, thomas Wanker. Production design, barry Chusid. Art direction, Lauren Abiouness, ravi bansal, Mark Hofeling, Caty Maxey, Christa Munro, eric sundahl, Clint Wallace. set decoration, Jay Hart. Costumes by Lisy Christi. Visual effects by scanline VfX, MPC, image engine, Cinesite, Luxx studios. Visual effects and Animation by Weta digital, digital domain. Cast: Lieutenant Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth), david Levinson ( Jeff Goldblum), Captain dylan Hiller ( Jessie t. Usher), sam ( Joey King), President Whitmore (bill Pullman), Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe), dr. brakish okun (brent spiner), Charlie Miller (travis tope), dr. Catherine Marceaux (Charlotte Gainsbourg), General Adams (William fichtner), Julius Levinson ( Judd Hirsch), dikembe Umbutu (deobia oparei), President Lanford (sela Ward), Jasmine Hiller (Viveca A. fox), rain Lao (Angelababy), floyd rosenberg (nicolas Wright), secretary of defense tanner (Patrick st. esprit), Agent Matthew travis (Gbenga Akinnagbe), officer ryan Collins (ryan Cartwright), Commander Jiang Lao (Chin Han), bobby (Garrett Wareing), secretary of defense (Patrick st. esprit), General Grey (robert Loggia). “in Memoriam robert Loggia.” Synopsis: it’s been 20 years since the nations of the world allied to defeat an alien invasion, and a memorial celebration for the honored

dead will be presided over by President Lanford. one of the celebrants will be Captain dylan Hiller, whose father had been instrumental in defeating the aliens but is now deceased. the moon: space defense station. Although Lieutenant Jake Morrison managed to stop a mechanical catastrophe, he’d disobeyed orders from Commander Jiang and is grounded. United nations research station, Central Africa: david Levinson, who’d paired with steven Hiller to destroy the alien mother ship two decades previously, meets up with Catherine Marceaux at warlord dikembe Umbutu’s base of operations near the only alien craft still intact. dikembe says he learned how to fight and kill the alien survivors by targeting their weak spots: the back. Catherine directs david’s attention to a round symbol with a line into it found on the rocks. When david goes with dikembe to the alien craft he asks when the lights came on. inside the ship they see a blinking green light and david realizes it’s a distress signal. Meanwhile, power surges occur on the moon base, which welcomes the international Legacy squadron led by Captain Hiller. included among the others is rain Lao, daughter of Commander Jiang Lao. in the cafeteria dylan slugs Jake, who’d been responsible for his near death some time before. Area 51, nevada: dr. brakish okun wakes from a 20-year coma. far out in the solar system, the saturn defense base has vanished. in Africa, dikembe tells david of visions. back on the moon, the soil starts being pulled up into a whirlwind and appearing from nowhere is a globe. Although david urges no action be taken, President Lanford authorizes an attack, which destroys the globe. david remains adamant that it “wasn’t them,” i.e., the original aliens. Lt. Morrison arrives to take david and dikembe to the moon while david’s father hawks his book at a retirement home. the aging and infirm President Whitmore goes missing from his room and daughter Patricia is concerned. the celebration begins in Washington and Whitmore appears and tries to warn of an impending attack but falls victim to ill health himself. Will the combination of human and alien technology that has allowed humanity to create new weapons be enough to foil the invaders a second time? those invaders appear over moon base in a new ship 3,000 miles in diameter, surrounded by a force field that prevents human weapons from having the desired effect. earth’s orbital defense system is activated but destroyed as the alien craft enters earth’s atmosphere and begins sucking up buildings, planes and people before crashing them back to earth. President Lanford is taken to the nuclear bunker in Wyoming. out above the Mid Atlantic ridge, a salvage crew bemoans the fact that they might not be able to recover $100,000,000 from a sunken ship. back on the coast, Julius fishes from the Lucky Star. While Area 51 in nevada is used as a rallying point, dylan tries to save his physician mother back east only to watch as her hospital collapses. the monstrous alien ship lands, covering most of eastern north America. back at Area 51, dr. okun draws strange symbols on the walls of his room. the captive aliens have been restive but seem to be celebrating. Whitmore makes himself a guinea pig to learn more. “she has arrived,” he mouths before dikembe kills the creature. back in new York, the Lucky Star a beached wreck, a car full of teenagers heading west rescues Julius. Jake, with the help of Charlie, had grabbed up a strange metal item left on the moon after the first alien craft was destroyed and brings it to Area 51. it comes to light that the interior of the new alien craft houses a queen, that it is in fact a hive. out at sea, the aliens use a plasma drill on the ocean bed to break into the earth’s core, suck out the molten material, and essentially destroy the planet’s magnetic fields. fighters are scrambled for retaliation. President Whitmore recovers in the hospital. dylan looks at a photo of his family as he prepares for the coming battle using cold fusion warheads. the salvage ship is asked to monitor the drill. dr. okun tries to cut into the device Jake and Charlie brought

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull • 147 from the moon. the fighters attack the ship, but it becomes apparent to Whitmore that the queen alien baited them. inside, the fighters and bombers lose power and crash. the Wyoming facility is attacked and all are killed. okun uses his special saw to break into the strange machine. At Cheyenne Mountain, General John Adams is sworn in as the new President. dikembe begins to translate the odd symbols written on okun’s wall and realizes the first sphere to appear on the moon was from a race inimical to these aliens. “their enemy is our ally.” okun pries open the device and a white sphere rolls out. Jake and dylan elude aliens within the giant craft. from the sphere a female voice says she is the sole survivor of her race and that she has developed technology hidden on another planet that can be used against the marauding race. However, the queen of that race seeks her. the plan is to hide the sphere and lure the queen to a false one, and then use the cold fusion weapons. At sea, the salvage ship reports that the core will be breached in one hour. to Patricia’s alarm, Whitmore aims to fly one of the fighters in the coming battle. outside Las Vegas, Julius and his teenage rescuers commandeer a school bus from Camp Jack rabbit and head onto the salt flats. inside the alien craft, Jake, dylan, rain, and Charlie steal alien fighters. General Adams broadcasts a stirring speech to the world. Whitmore takes the throttle of the decoy plane as Area 51 is attacked. His daughter Patricia takes one of the fighters. out on the flats, david is appalled to see his father rumbling up in the bus. Aliens breach Area 51’s Cell block 5. the monstrous queen alien emerges. from the ship at sea comes news that only six minutes remain until the core is breached. Although Whitmore is successful in his suicide mission to blow up the alien craft, the queen survives via her own energy shield and rumbles across the salt flats. Patricia’s plane crashes. nevertheless, she had broken the alien queen’s shield and dylan and Jake target its vulnerable back, killing it. the drilling stops and the mother ship rises. Jake and Patricia embrace and Catherine kisses david. dr. okun reveals that the sphere wants to take the fight to the harvester aliens’ home world, and he looks forward to kicking ass. Reviews: the Hindustan Times went deep into reactionary political subtext after calling it “a devastatingly dumb film.” the actors “barely register.” (rohan naahar, Hindustan Times, June 24, 2016); Times & Citizen acknowledged “planetary sized plot holes” and the lack of character development in favor of “human vs alien visually incredible thrills….” overall, it “is decent fun summer blockbusting fare.” (Matt Adcock, Times & Citizen [U.K.], June 27, 2016). Analysis: As they had back in the spring with Batman v. Superman, reviewers were almost wholeheartedly harsh. some of the negativity seems related to overt commercialism. twentieth Century–fox took heat for its use of Jeep Grand Cherokees in the African sequences, not just for obvious product placement but because actor Anton Yelchin had been killed when his Jeep rolled into him on June 19, 2016. However, taken as “just a movie” and a paean to summer saturday matinees of decades past, we can mostly forgive the strained credulity, scientific hooey, clichéd characters and incidents, and comic relief. How did Julius and the kids get from new York to the western plains and deserts in the blink of an eye? (see Death Race 2000 for a similar scenario). What were the chances he and the bus would stumble on his son david in the midst of the salt flats and the oncoming alien queen’s craft? While it’s not overlong at two hours (fancy that), the back and forth of the second half is trying. Again, while we do get some aliens roaming about and engaging humans in firefights, the opportunity for tanks and artillery and close-in combat was lost—again. does anyone not want some of that?

indiAnA Jones see Volume i for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). for those who might consider these adventure films, note that a significant supernatural element pervades each one.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount/Lucasfilm, 2008; 122 min.) ★★½

Produced by frank Marshall. directed by steven spielberg. screenplay by david Koepp. story by George Lucas, Jeff nathanson. based on Characters Created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, Guy Hendrix dyas. Art direction, Luke freeborn, Lauren Polizzi, troy sizemore, Lawrence A. Hubbs. set decoration, Larry dias. Costumes by Mary Zophres. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Props Created at stan Winston studio. Cast: indiana Jones (Harrison ford), irina spalko (Cate blanchett), Mutt Williams (shia Labeouf), “Mac” George Michale (ray Winstone), Marion ravenwood (Karen Allen), dean Charles stanforth ( Jim broadbent), Professor oxley ( John Hurt), dovchenko (igor Jijikine), General ross (Alan dale), taylor ( Joel stoffer). Synopsis: the nevada desert, 1957: a military convoy arrives at a security gate and its members promptly shoot down the guards. these are russians, as Professor indiana Jones and his associate Mac discover when released from the trunk of a car. taken to an immense building inside of which the number 51 is writ large, indy meets irina spalko, who tells him he must determine the location of a particular box. With gunpowder flung into the air to be drawn toward the metal box, they locate it and the strange corpse inside. indy learns that Mac is a traitor. While the russians are distracted, indy skedaddles through a maze of crates. Chased by irina’s men, indy escapes the building after a rocket sled ignites and carries him and an attacker toward the wall. After commandeering a truck, he abandons it and treks overland to a fake town; a test site for a nuclear explosion that sirens indicate is imminent. He takes refuge in a refrigerator and survives, is picked up by the U.s. authorities, scrubbed down, and interrogated by fbi agents. General ross temporarily mollifies them and indy is released. back at his college, indy discovers that dean stanforth had to resign in order for indy to keep his own post. it’s the era of paranoia and reds are perceived under every rock. on a train out of town, a young man on a motorcycle signals indy. indy debarks and learns from Mutt Williams that Howard oxley found a crystal skull in Peru and was kidnapped along with his mother, Marian. indy relates the story of the crystal skull of Akator. With a letter from Marian as their guide, indy and Mutt evade soviet agents and fly to Peru. in a mental institution of primitive age, they find wall and floor carvings made by oxley. they use the symbols to locate the tomb of the Conquistador francisco de orellana and discover a skull. However, as they progress inland irina’s russians once again capture them. An apparently blind and mentally unstable Professor oxley is also in their clutches. More importantly for indy, Marion ravenwood is there and she reveals that Mutt is indy’s son, Henry Jones iii. irina has indy strapped to a chair

148 • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Left to right: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBoeuf, and Karen Allen, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount, 2008).

and forced to look at what she says is an alien crystal skull with psychic power. Her aim is to find Akator and more skulls and thus gain an advantage in world affairs for her nation. After coming out of his trance, indy manages to gather his chums and run into the jungle, but he and Marion fall into a sort of quicksand. As they argue and sink, Mutt throws them a lifeline, but it is a rat snake, and indy, with his snake phobia, is hesitant to latch onto it but finally does. it’s too late not to be caught by irina, however. in their truck, indy disables their guard and engages in a running battle through the jungle and on a cliff face during which the satchel containing the skull grabbed and re-grabbed until Marion takes indy, Mutt, and ox off the precipice, into a tree and down to a river. from there they wash over three waterfalls, only losing their craft at the last one. they find a temple and inside 12 huge crystalline figures and a 13th without a skull. that’s the one in their bag. irina arrives with her minions. ox speaks Mayan to the 13th after the skull is virtually sucked onto the spine of one of the giant figures. He says the creature wants to give them a gift, but indy is skeptical. “i’ve got a bad feeling about this.” As the 13 creatures merge into one alien, the cavern begins to crumble and a portal to another dimension opens above them. indy and company rush away but Mac is lost when he stops to loot. irina, who wants to learn from these creatures, has her eyes set aflame, and she is sucked into the other dimension. indy .

and his crew find a kind of well and when water rushes in from below are carried to the daylight where they watch the pyramid disintegrate and from below a huge saucer rise and disappear. into space? no, into the space between spaces, says ox. Mutt wonders, “i don’t understand. Why the legend of a city of gold?” indy says knowledge was their treasure. back at the college, indy’s name is being inked onto his door: Associate dean. He marries Marion as Mutt stands by and in the aisle picks up indy’s hat only to have his dad spirit it out of his hands. Reviews: The Blade called it “solid entertainment,…” that “delivers the goods” if one wants to revisit the old characters and meet new ones (nanciann Cherry, The Blade [oH], May 21, 2008); the New York Times thought it came “alive only in isolated segments,….” otherwise it was a lot of noise and energy but no “sense of rediscovery,… ” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, May 22, 2008). Analysis: Coming full circle: the south American jungle at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the end (maybe) here, back in the jungle. the prolonged chase/fight in the jungle is exciting if silly and seems to owe something to the nonsensical action scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, notably that water wheel rolling downhill as Jack sparrow and engage in a sword duel atop it. some have wondered if the finale was cribbed from Tarzan and the Lost City because in that little-seen 1998 film the ape man follows unscrupulous

Insidious: Chapter 2 • 149 adventurers through a tunnel to a lost world in which a huge pyramid dominates the landscape, a chieftain of some sort turns into a giant cobra, and the leader of the marauders is infused with a beam from above much like irina in Crystal Skull.

insidioUs (Alliance films/filmdistrict, 2010; 103 min.) ★★★

Insidious

Produced by Jason blum, steven schneider, oren Peli, steven schneider. directed by James Wan. screenplay by Leigh Whannell. edited by James Wan, Kirk Morri. director of Photography, John r. Leonetti, david M. brewer. fotokem. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, Aaron sims. Art direction, Jennifer spence. set decoration, Charlie Leal. Costumes by Kristin M. burke. special Makeup effects, fractured fX, inc. Visual effects by spypost, A fotokem Company. Cast: Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson), renai Lambert (rose byrne), dalton Lambert (ty simpkins), elise rainier (Lin shaye), specs (Leigh Whannell), tucker (Angus sampson), Lorraine Lambert (barbara Hershey), foster Lambert (Andrew Astor), doll Girl #1 (Kelly devoto), nurse Adele/doll girl #2 (Corbett tuck), nurse Kelly (Heather tocquigny), dr. sercarz (ruben Pia), father Martin ( John Henry binder), Lipstick-face demon ( Joseph bishara), old woman (Philip friedman), Long-haired fiend ( J. Larose). Synopsis: Prologue: a grotesque face appears in the window of a boy’s bedroom. the film: renai Lambert and her teacher husband Josh have moved into a new home, but in short order their world is turned upside down when their pre-teen son dalton falls inexplicably into a coma. three months later he is brought home, still comatose. dalton’s brother says he sees dalton walking around at night. strange knockings, voices and visions disturb the family. renai shows Josh a bloody handprint on dalton’s sheet. she comes to believe the house is haunted. Josh’s mother Lorraine helps them move to another house. More visions and noises, including the song “tiptoe through the tulips,” cause renai to speak with father Martin. Lorraine has a different idea and the psychic elise is called in, along with her confederates specs and tucker, who use cameras to detect nonhuman activity. elise tells the family that dalton is capable of astral projection. His spiritual body is not here. it’s not the house that is haunted, it’s dalton. At present he’s in what elise calls “the further,” a world beyond ours full of tortured souls. some are malevolent demons that want to possess us. Josh wants to halt this nonsense, but relents after he discovers pictures of another world on dalton’s wall. elise and her compadres return with cameras and fit elise with what to the uninitiated looks like a large gas mask. she asks dalton to follow her voice. dalton expresses fear of “the man with fire on his face.” the demon insults elise. “dalton” appears in the room and the men are flung around. Afterward Lorraine and reveals that Josh underwent similar travails when he was eight-years-old. she produces photos in which a robed woman seems to be spying on him. According to elise, this woman is a parasite. elise says Josh is the only one who can bring dalton back. the next session begins following elise’s admonition to Josh not to draw attention to him. He closes his eyes, relaxes, listens to the metronome, and soon leaves his body. elise’s voice and a lantern guiding him, Josh enters the previous house and the dark of the other world. He hears sobbing and encounters various comatose people. in the attic he sees

the red door from dalton’s paintings. He is unsuccessfully attacked because elise says he is stronger and alive. on the other side of the door Josh finds his son chained to the floor. the cloven-hoofed demon is watching. elise informs her friends that “He needs to find us” and tells renai to call for him to follow her voice. Josh succeeds in reentering his body and dalton comes into his as well. elise seems a little uneasy and takes a picture of Josh. He strangles her. renai returns to the room and finds the camera and the image of a demon. “i’m right here,” says Josh as he puts his hand on her shoulder. Reviews: Film Threat called it “a good, old-fashioned scarefest….” it was to be applauded for flipping standard haunted house procedure (Mark bell, www.filmthreat.com, April 1, 2011); Fresh Air determined that the movie was mimicking the “Paranormal Activity feel—a lot of bumps and thumps and entities half-glimpsed—but with glossier production values, and louder music. some effects were “reminiscent of Poltergeist and a feeling of déjà vu: been-there, been-bombarded-bythat.” (david edelstein, Fresh Air [nPr], April 1, 2011). Analysis: despite owing inspiration to Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity and the 1962 “Little Girl Lost” episode of tV’s The Twilight Zone, Insidious is an engrossing, often frightening film. the characters act rationally in the face of the irrational. specs and tucker, seemingly in for comic relief, contribute fine, serious moments. Was it necessary to have Josh strangle elise? that’s part modern nihilism, part what audiences have expected for years, and part the necessity for a sequel. interesting trivia: Patrick Wilson will play the spirit-hunter in The Conjuring and its sequel. barbara Hershey plays his mother here: Lorraine. His wife in The Conjuring is named Lorraine.

(filmdistrict/stage 6 films, 2013; 106 min.) ★★½

Insidious: Chapter 2

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by James Wan. screenplay by Leigh Whannell. story by James Wan, Leigh Whannell. based on characters created by Leigh Whannell. edited by Kirk M. Morri. director of Photography, John r. Leonetti. technicolor. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, Jennifer spence. Art direction, Jason Garner. set decoration, Lori Mazuer. Costumes by Kristin M. burke. special Makeup fX, fracturred fX, inc. Visual effects by Pixel Magic fX. Cast: Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson), renai Lambert (rose byrne), dalton Lambert (ty simpkins), elise rainier (Lin shaye), Lorraine Lambert (barbara Hershey), Carl (steve Coulter), specs (Leigh Whannell), tucker (Angus sampson), foster Lambert (Andrew Astor), Young Carl (Hank Harris), Young Lorraine ( Jocelin donahue), Young elise (Lindsay seim), Young Parker (tyler Griffin), Young Josh (Garrett ryan), Parker Crane’s mother (danielle bisutti), old Parker/bride in black (tom fitzpatrick), detective sendal (Michael beach), Long-haired fiend ( J. Larose), Jessica (brooke Peoples). Synopsis: Prologue: the Lambert residence, 1986. elise and assistant Carl consider the young Josh Lambert, recent photos of whom show a shrouded figure in the background. elise begins a psychic session that puts Josh inside his dreams and walks around the house as Josh’s voice tells her when she’s “warm” or, very hot in front of his bedroom closet. When elise’s arm is scratched she attributes it to a parasite and tells Mrs. Lambert they can suppress Josh’s ability to astral project himself. time goes by and Mrs. Lambert is questioned by police about the death of elise. forensics will determine who strangled her. At Mrs. Lambert’s house, where the grown Josh, his wife renai and their three children are now living, renai finds strange things happening again:

150 • Insidious: Chapter 3 piano music from the parlor, the baby Cali on the floor, a mysterious figure in the hall. despite this and his mother’s similar concerns after seeing a shrouded figure in the mirror, Josh maintains there is absolutely nothing to worry about; elise was killed by a demon, not him. Meanwhile, elise’s compatriots tucker and specs enter her home and watch the “Lambert, Josh, 1986” videotape. Lorraine asks tucker and specs for their help and at elise’s home she is shown the 1986 tape in which the adult Josh is seen behind the child Josh. back home, renai receives the detective’s call that the bruises on elise’s neck did not match Josh’s hands. renai hears Cali crying, the door slams on her and when she gets in can’t find the child. A mad-looking woman knocks renai down. Lorraine, meanwhile, meets Carl, elise’s former partner, who uses dice to contact elise. the message from the other side indicates they should go to our Lady of Angels Hospital, specifically the closed east wing where Lorraine had worked. Lorraine reveals an encounter between an old man, Parker Crane, and young Josh, and then meeting Parker in the elevator only to be told that he died the day before. Josh is told that he must kill; otherwise he’ll waste away. renai finally wakes up and finds that Cali is okay. Josh tells her to relax, that the spirits want what we have—life, so ignore them and they’ll leave. they hear the piano but no one’s there. specs and tucker break into Parker Crane’s house. there’s a horrific smell and a boy spirit is seen and heard. they leave when they are told, “You can’t be in here.” back home, dalton is awakened by some figures in the room, not his brother foster. dalton jumps back into bed and his real body and is consoled by renai. back at Crane’s, Carl uses his dice to learn why elise brought them there. M-o-r-s, Latin for death. Lorraine discovers a huge portrait of the lady who’d attacked renai leaning over the young Josh. Carl and company realize that whoever they’ve been communicating with is not elise. she is “M-A-t-e-r M-o-r-t-i-s, mother of death, the mother of Parker Crane. in a hidden room they find shrouded figures and newspapers with articles about the “bride in black” who killed 15. Upon touching the face of a shrouded figure, tucker learns that the child Parker wore a dress to murder his mother. now Parker wants his childhood back. renai arrives home but doesn’t go in when Lorraine appears and speaks of the danger from Josh. they drive away. With a wire under his coat, Carl enters the house and speaks with Josh. When he’s attacked, specs and tucker leave their van to help him but are incapacitated by Josh. Carl, now in the nether world, is found by Josh and told that Josh/Parker is trying to kill his body. they have to find elise. When they do, elise fends off demons attacking Josh. she’s seen the better place but has returned to help. Meanwhile, Lorraine and renai look for Carl and Josh but find the false Josh, who attacks them just before the boys arrive home. dalton uses a baseball bat to temporarily down the false Josh, and he and brother and mom barricade themselves in the basement. the good Josh, elise, and Carl go through the red door and find the child Parker and his maniacal mother, who uses her powers to thrust elise and Carl back into the hall. in the basement, dalton tells his mom he can go into the dark and find his real dad. He employs the can and wire he and his brother had used to communicate in the bedroom and finds the red door. revived, specs unsuccessfully tries to do in Josh in the basement. elise, in her realm, batters Parker’s mom in time to keep the bad Josh from killing specs. elise sends Josh and Carl back. re-entering his body, Josh convinces renai he’s really back. A new day begins. there will be no more astral traveling by Josh or dalton. Carl conducts a session to let the darkness drift away. tucker and specs go to another house to see the teenage Alison. the younger child sees a lady behind her sister. it’s elise, who spots something in the corner. “oh, my God!” Reviews: Cinefantastique observed absurdity, especially when wife

and mother aren’t more skeptical when the husband “can blithely dismiss the supernatural—after all the havoc it wrecked on their family in the previous film.” there were some interesting ideas, in particular supernatural powers given to non-evil characters (steve biodrowski, www.cinefantastiqueonline.com, september 13, 2013); the St. Joseph News-Press considered it more “a suspenseful thriller with a few supernatural elements” rather than a genuine horror movie. rarely did it provide “truly lasting scares….” Viewers were advised to see the original first (shea Conner, St. Joseph News-Press [Mo], september 13, 2013). Analysis: As at least one reviewer observed, having Josh easily convince his wife and mother that newfound fears are unwarranted compromises this entry. on the other hand, it has you on edge and keeps moving, so much so that without notes one would be hard put to provide a coherent synopsis. there’s a nice first movie recap scene in which we see Josh answer the knocks on the door only to find no one there. it’s the other, lost Josh trying to make contact. Later, Josh explains that he played the piano to attract renai’s attention. At least there is closure for the Lamberts even if the finale shows elise’s shock in the house of her next subject.

(focus features/blumhouse, 2015; 97 min.) ★★

Insidious: Chapter 3

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli, James Wan. directed by Leigh Whannell. screenplay by Leigh Whannell. director of Photography, brian Pearson. Color by fotokem. technicolor. Music by Joseph bishara. Production design, Jennifer spence. Art direction, Jason Garner. set decoration, Lori Mazuer. Costumes by Ariyela WaldCohain. Visual effects, Legion studios. Cast: sean brenner (dermot Mulroney), Quinn brenner (stefanie scott), elise rainier (Lin shaye), specs (Leigh Whannell), tucker (Angus sampson), Maggie (Hayley Kiyoko), Hector (Ashton Moio), Carl (steve Coulter), Alex brenner (tate berney), Lillith brenner (ele Keats), neighbor (Anne bergstedt Jordanova), bride in black (tom fitzpatrick), nurse (Amaris davidson), Harry ( Jeris Poindexter), Mel (Phil Abrams), dead junkie (Anna ross), teenage boy (taylor John smith), ernesto (ruben Garfias), Jack rainier (Adrian sparks), demon Who Can’t breath (Michael reid MacKay), Lipstickface demon ( Joseph bishara). Synopsis: Against her better judgment, psychic elise rainier agrees to help Quinn brenner contact her late mother. After being injured by a car and limited to a wheelchair during her recovery, Quinn has curious visions. Quinn’s harried father sean finally comes around to his teenage daughter’s request, especially after she is found on the floor and is adamant that something threw her there. elise, Quinn and sean conduct a sort of séance, and when elise leaves her body for the other world she is attacked and almost strangled to death by a female spirit. Carl, an old friend of elise, tells her she must help Quinn because elise is alive and more powerful than the spirits. enlisting tucker and specs of spectral sightings to monitor the house with their detectors and cameras, elise once more ventures into “the further.” this time cords restrain Quinn because she’d become possessed and tried to kill herself with an X-acto knife. elise beats off her female attacker, realizes the figure that claims to be her husband is a demon, and rescues Quinn from the spirit wearing an oxygen mask. outside the brenner home, elise tells tucker and specs they should go into business together. At home, elise feels at peace and bids goodnight to her dog, but a grinning demon’s face appears beside her.

The Invasion • 151 Reviews: Variety thought it dull prequel. “is this a job for an exorcist, or merely Mr. Clean?” (scott foundas, www.variety.com, June 3, 2015); rogerebert.com extolled Lin shaye for investing her character with more range than the typical horror film heroine. the movie itself was effective, with “a substantial emotional undercurrent” (Christy Lemire, www.rogerebert.com, June 5, 2015). Analysis: this prequel does little more than set the stage for the other two films in the series. one expects some shocker ending, but it should have concluded when elise, tucker and specs walked down the street arm in arm. Lin shaye’s character is the lynchpin of the series.

inVAsion of tHe bodY snAtCHers see Volume i for Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), and Body Snatchers (1993).

The Invasion

(Warner bros./Village roadshow Pictures, 2007; 99 min.) ★★★

Produced by Joel silver. directed by oliver Hirschbiegel, James Mcteigue. screenplay by dave Kajganich, Wachowski brothers. based on The Body Snatchers by Jack finney. edited by Joel negron, Hans funck. director of Photography, rainer Klausmann. Panavision. technicolor. Music by John ottman. Production design, Jack fisk. Art direction, Caty Maxey, James truesdale. set decoration, Leslie frankenheimer, Maria nay. Costumes by Jacqueline West. special effects Make-Up, edward e. french. Visual effects by hy*drau*lx, LoLA VfX, and scanline. Cast: Carol bennell (nicole Kidman), ben driscoll (daniel Craig), tucker Kaufman ( Jeremy northam), oliver ( Jackson bond), dr. stephen Galeano ( Jeffrey Wright), Wendy Lenk (Veronica Cartwright), dr. Henryk belicec ( Josef sommer), Ludmilla belicec (Celia Weston), Yorish (roger rees), Gene (eric benjamin), Pam (susan floyd), Carly (stephanie berry), richard Lenk (Adam Lefevre), Joan Kaufman ( Joanna Merlin), belicec’s aide (Alexis raben). Synopsis: the space shuttle Patriot breaks apart during an unscheduled reentry and pieces are scattered from dallas to Washington, d.C. tucker Kaufman of the CdC arrives at one of the debris fields, and when a young girl hands him a piece of metal finds his hand pricked. during his sleep his body undergoes a frightening transformation that leaves him ostensibly the same—in his outward form. tucker’s ex-wife Carol bennell, a psychiatrist, receives a call from tucker that he wants to see their son oliver. dr. ben driscoll drops her off near her office. Her 9 a.m. client is Wendy Lenk, who says, “My husband is not my husband.” Carol prescribes a new medication. it’s trick or treat night and one boy is attacked by a dog, but there is little to show for it but a kind of slime on the boy. ben’s medical compatriot is dr. Galeano, who begins a microscopic analysis of the strange goo. Many citizens come down with what tV commentators term a “dangerous flu Virus.” At a press conference, tucker tells the public that inoculations will keep it at bay. Attendants with coffee and water spit into the containers. on the street Carol observes a homeless man having convulsions. At the office she meets Mr. Lenk looking for his wife. she’s outside the building, as Carol learns from a phone call, and upon learning that her husband is inside leaves to pack. that night Carol

drops oliver off at tucker’s house, on the way witnessing a woman run over by a police car. the police act very strangely toward her, Carol tells ben, who is her escort at a fancy belicec-hosted dinner party that includes the russian Ambassador Yorish. At tucker’s, oliver tells his friend Gene during a videogame match that there’s something wrong with his father. tucker makes hot chocolate for oliver. back at the dinner, Yorish pontificates on the history of civilization to which Carol responds that consciousness is changing. back home, Carol is surprised when a man comes to the door telling her he’s a census taker. she’s skeptical and soon learns why: he tries to break in. she foils him and calls the police but all circuits are busy. on her way to work Carol observes people walking stiffly on the street, and in her office and finds many appointment cancellations. she calls Wendy but gets her husband, who claims all is fine. At ben’s lab she learns from dr. Galeano that the spores on the shuttle wreckage are not viral, but virallike: an intelligent entity reprogramming itself. Ludmilla calls Carol in fright over Yorish. Carol and ben find Yorish in bed, seemly undergoing cellular condensation. touched in what they believe is reM sleep, he awakes and attacks Carol, crawls into the hall and convulses. Carol leaves to retrieve oliver but is confronted by tucker, whose his colleagues spit on her and say she’ll be the same when she awakes. she escapes to the Metro, where a rider urges her not to show emotion, they can’t determine who is one of them if you remain calm. fleeing into the tunnel, she finds a maintenance room and a pistol with which she shoots the janitor. outside, she pretends to be one of the new breed and observes the police rounding up citizens. encountering Gene’s mother Pam, Carol tells her she had her inoculation the previous evening. she observes a couple atop a building that leaps to their death. At ben’s, dr. Galeano communicates with them that they must find their way to fort detrick, which is in lockdown. Galeano urges them to stay awake and avoid reM sleep. first, Carol insists on finding oliver. A night of horror ensues. Carol observes Wendy being taken but wonders why she hasn’t been transformed yet. At her office she checks Wendy’s records and finds that she had AdM as a child. And oliver had chicken pox and might be immune to the alien plague. Via a text, oliver tells Carol he’s at tucker’s mother’s house in baltimore. When Carol tells ben she’s been contaminated he says she can easily go a week without sleep. Making her way to baltimore, Carol discovers that her mother-in-law and Gene have been modified. she pretends she is the same until she can grab oliver and escape. Hiding in a basement off an alley, she uses a hammer to incapacitate tucker. she and oliver hole up in a pharmacy where she almost falls asleep. When she won’t wake, on her previous instruction, oliver injects her chest. she wakes and washes off markings on her face. ben arrives but he’s not ben. He recalls their vacation in Aspen and how she’d wished people could be as placid as trees. When he lets transformed people out of the employees only room, she shoots them and plugs him in the leg. Commandeering a car, she engages in a wild chase across the city to the parking garage dr. Galeano is directing her to from a helicopter. scientists at fort detrick have devised a vaccine and it is sprayed over contaminated areas. the alien disease has no real defense mechanism. At home, Gene has been cured. ben, too. Carol recalls Yorish’s words about a world without conflict, a world in which we would cease to be human. Reviews: the San Francisco Chronicle thought that “there is something about this story that speaks to the experience of life.” it connected “on a gut level in two ways, political and existential.” it didn’t “coast on the work of previous versions.” Jeffrey Wright was especially notable as the researcher who deciphers the alien spore (Mick Lasalle, www.sfgate.com, August 16, 2007); The Record said it wasn’t as horrible as word had it. “it’s a moderately compelling sci-fi action

152 • Iron Man movie with a handful of scary scenes—though nothing at all special, and only a shadow of the original or even its 1978 remake” (William Arnold, The Record [Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo], August 20, 2007, section: Arts, p. b4); The Sunday Telegraph said reports labeled it “a dog. A flop. A tragedy. An abject failure—or so we keep hearing.” there was no preview copy for critics and the film was pulled from the theaters in a week. The Sunday Telegraph reviewer was reduced to noting supremely negative comments from rottentomatoes.com (debbie schipp, The Sunday Telegraph [sydney], March 9, 2008, section: features, p. 116). Analysis: this was a financial flop and excoriated if not almost totally ignored, but how many critics even saw it? it is a solid sci-fi suspense film although one yearns for pods. Anyone familiar with its predecessors knows that most of the people Carol comes into contact with as the saga moves forward will have been transmuted. the only surprise is Jeffrey Wright’s dr. Galeano, who is not infected. if nicole Kidman is the original’s becky driscoll, she at least survives, as becky did in the book but not the classic 1956 movie. it’s a credit to Jack finney that his original tale can withstand so many re-tellings, even if it’s don siegel’s 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers that remains “the Little b-Movie that Could!” everything’s updated in this current version, including today’s attitude. recall how siegel’s film was “seen” as being an allegory of this and that, from creeping Communism to the evils of fluoridation. The Invasion is festooned with all sorts of references to iraq, western politics, the bush Administration’s supposed indifference to the victims of Katrina, and numerous other things that take us out of the moment. As with siegel’s film (and subsequent iterations of finney’s story), the pod beings present a rationale for their “culture” being superior to native humanity! A rather elegant one, too, when one hears daniel Craig’s soliloquy to Kidman as to how mankind would be better off mimicking a stand of contented poplars than pursuing its present insane course to extinction. that earns Craig an elegant bullet to the kneecap. Actually, “pod culture” is a misnomer here since our beloved pods never make an appearance. one preferred method the replicated folk use to infect us natives is to puke on us. the most compelling reason for sitting through The Invasion is just to see who emerges unscathed at the end. Considering today’s trends, it’s no surprise. surprise might be the order of the day if one even cares how it turns out. At any rate, it’s a good production with decent performances. Kidman and Craig make a nice couple. the youngster playing nicole’s kid, for once not a dolt, isn’t an eyesore or a nuisance. there’s considerable action and the film moves at a brisk pace, even if one grows impatient waiting for the wrap-up.

iron MAn (Marvel enterprises/Paramount, 2008; 126 min.) ★★★½

Iron Man

Produced by Avi Arad, Kevin feige. directed by Jon favreau. screenplay by Mark fergus, Hawk ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee, don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. edited by dan Lebental, Glen scantlebury. director of Photography, Matthew Libatique. Panavision. fotokem. Prints by deluxe. Music by ramin djawadi. Production design, J. Michael riva. Art direction, richard f. Mays, suzan Wexler. set decoration, Lauri Gaffin. Costumes by Laura Jean shannon, rebecca bentjen. Physical iron Man suits and Makeup effects Created by stan

Winston studio. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic, the orphanage, inc. Visual effects by the embassy. Cast: tony stark (robert downey, Jr.), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), James “rhodey” rhodes (terrence Howard), obadiah stane ( Jeff bridges), Christine everhart (Leslie bibb), Yinsen (shaun toub), raza (faran fahir), Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), General Gabriel (bill smitrovich), Abu bakaar (sayed badreya), William Ginter riva (Peter billingsley), Major Allen (tom Guinee), Jarvis (Paul bettany, voice), Hogan ( Jon favreau). Synopsis: A military convoy crossing the desert is ambushed and tony stark of stark industries kidnapped. Las Vegas, 36 Hours earlier: tony is known as a genius, a Mit summa cum laude who runs his late father Howard’s empire and is to receive the Apogee Award. to “rhodey” rhode’s dismay, tony is in the casino gambling. reporter Christine everhart asks tony if the weapons he creates make him a merchant of death. He responds that he’s preserving freedom, carrying a big stick as it were. they spend the night together and in the morning she wanders about his luxurious Malibu home and meets his assistant Pepper Potts. tony takes a plane to bagram Air force base, Afghanistan to supervise a missile system demonstration. that’s when his convoy is ambushed and he wakes up in a cave cum makeshift hospital. Yinsen, another captive, has removed the shrapnel from his body, implanting an electromagnetic device in his chest to keep the shards from migrating to his heart. Abu bakaar and the terrorist leader raza order tony to make them a missile from the various weapons they’ve stockpiled. He refuses, is tortured, relents, and with the help of Yinsen creates a miniature arc reactor that facilitates not the construction of a new and deadly missile, but a suit of impenetrable armor. Yinsen buys tony time for last minute adjustments and before expiring tells the arms maker not to waste his life. Using flame-thrower arms, tony creates havoc in the camp before flying off and crashing in a sand dune where rhodey finds him. back in the states, tony tells Pepper he must have a cheeseburger before the press conference. Agent Coulson tells Pepper he needs to debrief tony. At the conference tony talks about his father and says his eyes have been opened. to the horror of his collaborator obadiah, he plans to shut down stark industries’ weapons division. tony improves on the device Yinsen had implanted in his chest and has Pepper remove the first and insert the latter before he has cardiac arrest. At the airbase, rhodey expresses little interest in tony’s plans. back in the desert, raza finds the remains of tony’s armored suit. obadiah tells tony the board wants him out, claiming he has Ptsd. tony continues his experiments with the help of his virtual assistant Jarvis. He improves on the metal suit built in the desert and after several abortive attempts successfully ascends into the night sky. At a charity fundraiser, tony dances with Pepper, meets Agent Coulson and is shown horrible photos by Christine. stark weapons are being used by murderous groups in the Middle east. in his suit of armor, tony flies to the scene and saves many villagers, killing the terrorists and destroying a tank. back at edwards Air force base, the radar team observes a bogie flying their way. rhodey is consulted and he contacts tony even as two f-22 raptors are scrambled to shoot down the Ufo. Accidentally damaging one of the planes, tony saves the pilot whose parachute didn’t open. back in the desert, obadiah meets raza, wondering why tony wasn’t killed earlier. raza shows him the crude iron Man suit he’s been constructing. A dozen good ones could rule Asia, he says. obadiah uses a handheld device to incapacitate raza and has his men gunned down. obadiah phones his people in sector 16, telling them he needs a prototype, chop-chop. tony asks Pepper to go to his office, access the mainframe and download shipping manifests that might be in the ghost drive. He’s certain

Iron Man 2 • 153 obadiah has been dealing weapons under the table. Concerned for tony’s well being, Pepper threatens to quit until tony convinces her he’s right. she accomplishes the mission despite obadiah’s unexpected presence. After she leaves he checks the computer and realizes she’s obtained damaging information. in the lobby Agent Coulson approaches Pepper, now only too happy to have his assistance. obadiah berates his scientists for their negative attitude. He finds tony, incapacitates him with his device and removes the palladium unit in his chest. tony manages to get to the elevator and in the lab, with a robot’s help, inserts into his chest the original cardiac implant. obadiah, his suit equipped with tony’s palladium unit, goes on the rampage. tony lures him high into the atmosphere where ice causes him to short out and fall back to earth. but he’s not done and tony instructs Pepper to wait for instructions at the lab. When at tony’s urging she throws the right switches the arc reactor shoots a beam into the sky. obadiah’s power is shut down and he is killed. rhodey preps tony for a press conference designed to tell the journalists that he is not “iron Man,” but he reneges and says, “truth is, i am iron Man.” At night, in his living quarters, tony encounters a black man with an eye patch: nick fury. the visitor tells tony they must discuss the Avengers initiative. Reviews: the Associated Press found a real man of an imperfect life “more relatable” than such superheroes as spider-Man who gained super powers from non-human sources. As for downey’s interpretation of tony stark, “he’s absolutely riveting.” (Christy Lemire, News Journal [Wilmington, de], May 2, 2008, p. Hr4); The Anniston Star said Hollywood had created “the best template i’ve seen for generic comic book movies.” downey and Paltrow were excellent ( John dietrich, Anniston Star [Alabama], May 8, 2008). Analysis: there is something thrilling about the first, makeshift iron Man suit. Here comes the Golem, the savior. Paltrow has never been better than as the industrialist’s Girl friday who may or may not but should become romantically entangled with her boss. tony’s Jarvis will morph into the Vision in The Avengers films.

natalie rushmore appears with papers to sign. While he and Pepper look over the documents, tony’s boxing partner Hogan takes on natalie only to find himself flat on his back after she demonstrates lightning moves. tony is impressed. At a congressional hearing, tony is interrogated by senator stern, who wants the iron Man technology turned over to the government. tony says that ain’t happenin', he’ll confront threats to the nation on his own terms. Justin Hammer shows films of similar robotic technology around the world, but tony says no one will succeed in duplicating his success for decades. Meanwhile, in russia, ivan Vanko, the man who’d been angered that his father hadn’t become the first iron man, creates his own version. At the Grand Prix of Monaco, after belittling Justin Hammer as the journalist Christine everhart listens in, tony takes the wheel of the stark enterprises car. Pepper’s horror at this development is compounded when a strange man appears on the track wielding lightning like whips. it’s Vanko and he causes many cars to crash, including tony’s. When Hogan and Pepper pull up, tony retrieves his iron Man suit and gives battle, defeating Vanko. He questions the russian in jail. Vanko tells him his father and he have caused misery with their weapons. in addition, his father had discovered the iron Man technology on his own. While tony and Pepper fly back to the states, Vanko breaks out and meets Justin, who has a business proposition. tony researches his own father to make sense of Vanko’s story. rhodey tells tony his suits will be confiscated unless he gets on top of the situation. tony collapses; his palladium is losing its power and is in itself poisonous. At

(Marvel enterprises/Paramount, 2010; 124 min.) ★★½

Iron Man 2

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Jon favreau. screenplay by Justin theroux. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee, don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. edited by dan Lebental, richard Pearson. director of Photography, Matthew Libatique. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by John debney. Production design, J. Michael riva. Art direction, suzan Wexler, Michael e. Goldman. set design, ernie Avila, Andrew birozell, sharon davis, noelle King. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic, double negative. Visual effects by Pixel Liberation front, fuel VfX, Perception, evil eye Pictures, Lola/VfX, [Hy’drau”fx], Goat Visual effects. Cast: tony stark (robert downey Jr.), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), ivan Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey rourke), natalie rushmore/natasha romanoff (scarlett Johansson), Lt. Col. James rhodes (don Cheadle), nick fury (samuel L. Jackson), Justin Hammer (sam rockwell), senator stern (Garry shandling), Hapy Hogan ( Jon favreau), Himself (bill o’reilly), Jarvis (Paul bettany, voice) Synopsis: At stark expo, tony regales the adoring crowd with rosy forecasts. in Moscow, a man dies and another rails at the world because the dead man could have been iron Man. He had built a similar technology. in private, Pepper tells tony to calm down. He mollifies her by saying she’ll take over the company someday. new employee

Scarlett Johansson, Iron Man 2 (Paramount/Marvel Entertainment, 2010).

154 • Iron Man 3 Hammer’s facility in Queens, Vanko improves Hammer’s prototype robotic drones. tony tells natalie it’s hard to get a read on her. to impress on tony the gravity of the situation, rhodey dons another suit and gives tony a hard lesson. nick fury appears along with natalie, whose true name is natasha romanoff. she injects tony with lithium dioxide to stave off his deterioration. tony says he’s tried other elements but has thus far not succeeded in curing himself. Agent Coulson arrives to keep an eye on tony. tony studies Arc reactor diagrams and watches a home movie of his father, who says his greatest creation is his son. sneaking out on Coulson, tony goes to Pepper, now deep in the job of stark enterprises Ceo. back at the lab, tony goes into “hardware mode” and with Jarvis’s help synthesizing the new element, inserts it into his chest. At the Hammer expo the Hammer/Vanko drones are introduced and go on a frenzy of destruction. tony arrives as iron Man and finds rhodey, suited up, controlled by Vanko. Meanwhile, Hogan drives natalie to Hammer’s building where both, but mostly natalie, beat off Hammer’s security force, access the computers and return to rhodey control of his suit. tony and rhodey team up to destroy Vanko, but he’s set a trap: explosions around the city. tony rescues Pepper just in time. she says she’s resigning but they kiss. Later, tony reads The Avengers Initiative. Preliminary Report. natasha labeled him a narcissist, and nick says they’ll only use him as a consultant for now. tony agrees as long as nick provides a service: senator stern must present the heroism awards to himself and rhodey. Later, in the new Mexican desert, Agent Coulson phones someone to say they’ve found it: thor’s hammer. Reviews: Rolling Stone said robert downey, Jr., made up for all the “unnecessary clutter. too many stunts, too many subplots, too many villains jammed in from the Marvel Comics universe, too many romping, stomping, clanking iron armies.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, April 30, 2010); the Las Vegas Review-Journal found a vexing “conflict between heart and hardware.” it had “more than a few interminable patches…” (Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 7, 2010); the News Journal said it “includes repeated instances of characters walking away from a massive fireball without looking back. because looking back is for wimps…. And robert downey, Jr., so irresistibly verbal and quick on his feet in the first film (and in pretty much every film he’s ever made), seems to be on autopilot…. narratively, ‘iron Man 2’ is a mess … the focal point of the movie … remains murky…. but the big, shiny action sequences … too often look cartoony” (Christy Lemire, News Journal [Wilmington, de], May 7, 2010, p. Hr20). Analysis: it’s fine when you’re in the theater but recedes from the memory five minutes after you’ve exited. What’s with the flying drones shooting at iron Man? their weapons have no effect and seem an easy way to add mindless action. natalie’s (black Widow’s) takedown of Hogan in the boxing ring and her hallway fight are the best action sequences. the latter is preceded by a throwaway line but the film’s funniest moment: arriving at Hammer headquarters, Hogan comes around the front of the car as a black leather-clad, armed-to-theteeth natalie exits the back seat. Hogan is understandably perplexed: “What are you wearing?”

(Marvel studios/Paramount, 2013; 130 min.) ★★★½

Iron Man 3

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by shane black. screenplay by drew Pearce, shane black. based on the Marvel Comic book Created by stan Lee, don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. edited by Jeffrey ford, Peter s. elliot. director of Photography, John toll. technicolor. Music by brian tyler. Production design, bill brzeski. Art direction, Jay Pelissier, Alan Hook, brian stultz. set decoration, danielle berman. Costumes by Louise frogley. Visual effects & Animation Created by WetA digital Ltd. Animation & Visual effects by digital domain. Visual effects by scanline VfX, trixter, framestore Method studios, fuel VfX, Cantina Creative, Luma Pictures, the embassy. Cast: tony stark (robert downey, Jr.), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Colonel James rhodes (don Cheadle), Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), Maya Hansen (rebecca Hall), trevor slattery (ben Kingsley), Happy Hogan ( Jon favreau), brandt (stephanie szostak), savin ( James badge dale), Jarvis (Paul bettany, voice), President ellis (William sadler), Harley Keener (ty simpkins), Vice President rodriquez (Miguel ferrer), bill Maher (himself), bruce banner (Mark ruffalo).

Iron Man 3 poster art (Paramount/Marvel Enterprises, 2008).

The Island of Dr. Moreau • 155 Synopsis: during the 1999 new Year’s eve party in bern, switzerland, tony stark parties with chauffeur and security chief Happy Hogan and Maya. He is slightly disturbed thinking the old days may come back to haunt him. He politely brushes off Aldrich Killian, a rather wild-looking fellow with a proposal about Advanced idea Mechanics. Present day, Malibu, California: tony dons the new Mark 42 iron Man suit while the tV shows images of terrorist activities fomented by the Mandarin. Colonel rhodey shows his suit newly named the iron Patriot. tony can’t seem to sleep. Aldrich Killian appears, now more nattily attired and head of extremis. He takes Pepper into a hologram of his brain. on their date night, tony tells Pepper he can’t sleep so he tinkers. He says there is one thing he can’t do without: her. in bed together, he dreams of falling out of some sky portal. He imagines an iron Man appearing in the bedroom and causes it to fall apart. the Mandarin has Grauman’s Chinese theater bombed. After following suspicious characters, Happy is injured and taken to the hospital. tony tells reporters he’s going to bring down the Mandarin. tony’s robotic assistant and seer Jarvis recreates the Mandarin’s blast site and tony uses holograms to identify a pair of dog tags on the pavement. the doorbell rings. it’s Maya, revealed to Pepper as a botanist who admits to having had a one-night stand with tony. their conversation is interrupted by a missile attack via helicopter. it’s Pepper who is placed in the suit, and she helps Maya as tony’s lair collapses into the sea even though he manages to destroy two of the three choppers once he ensconces himself in a prototype suit. With Jarvis’ help, tony escapes the undersea wreckage and flies off to rose Hill, tennessee where he receives aid from Harley, who takes him into his absent father’s old workshop. tony leaves a message for Pepper that she hears when she notices a flashing light in an iron Man helmet. Maya tells Pepper her boss, Aldrich Killian, may be working for the Mandarin. tony barely survives an attack by bogus Homeland agents. the Mandarin breaks into the tV airwaves to threaten the President. Maya tells Pepper she regrets working for Aldrich. After using his mechanical skill to fashion a makeshift suit, tony finds the Mandarin in a Miami compound, disables the guards and confronts the terrorist, in reality a british actor named trevor, a front for the real villain, Aldrich. tony is captured, though, and Aldrich shows him Pepper, secured in another site and about to become one of the extremis victims. Aldrich himself has the ability to turn himself into a fiery being. turning on Aldrich, Maya is shot and killed. Aldrich’s men are slowly breaking rhodey out of his suit. tony calls on Jarvis to restore his suit but it comes piecemeal. in rhodey’s suit, Aldrich commandeers Air force one and the President. tony arrives, finds crew and Presidential aids falling into the sky and manages to rescue all 13, dropping them into Miami waters even as Air force one explodes above them. tony and rhodey track Aldrich to a huge oil tanker where President ellis is to be immolated on live tV. Many iron Man prototypes arrive, sent by Jarvis, and fight off Aldrich’s minions. tony finds Pepper and during an encounter with Aldrich severs the villain’s left hand. nevertheless, tony can’t completely prevail and is horrified when Pepper falls into a fireball. However, her extremis trials seem to have saved her from a fiery death and she arrives in the nick of time to put the final kibosh on Aldrich. tony tells Jarvis to obey the Clean slate Protocol, which entails destruction of the various prototypes flying around the ship. on Christmas morning the Vice President is arrested. He’d hoped his treason would pay off in a cure for his disabled child. tony undergoes surgery to remove that shrapnel from his chest. Happy wakes up. Harley finds his workshop turned into a state-of-the-art lab. tony tosses his chest arc reactor into the sea, saying to himself that they can take his house and tricks but “i am iron Man.” Later he relates this story to a bored bruce banner.

Reviews: The New Zealand Herald was surprised to find this the best of the franchise, complementing the “humble but hilarious original” with “sheer spectacle…” (New Zealand Herald, April 24, 2013); the Star-News said the money spent was evident, with the effects “all you’d expect from a summer blockbuster.” the “generous dollop of humor…” was an additional treat, and there were some “genuine surprises,…” (ben steelman, Star-News [Wilmington, nC], May 1, 2013). Analysis: she turned on Aldrich but was it necessary to kill off Maya? Why not have her wounded? it’s at best a tenuous argument that she’d be competition for Pepper. the final battle aboard the ship may go on a bit longer than necessary. it is unclear just what the extremis stuff is, as it is unclear how Pepper survived the fall into the flames. that is, in the film no one explains that her exposure to extremis inured her to fire. but it’s a rollicking ride with some excellent action sequences and images, e.g., Air force one diving down and exploding in the distance behind tony as he gathers in the falling passengers.

isLAnd of Lost soULs see Volume i for Island of Lost Souls (1933), Terror is a Man (1959), and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977).

(new Line Cinema, 1996; 95 min.) ★½

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Produced by edward r. Pressman. directed by John frankenheimer. screenplay by richard stanley, ron Hutchinson. based on the novel by H.G. Wells. edited by Paul rubell. director of Photography, William A. fraker. Music by Gary Chang. Production design, Graham “Gracie” Walker. Art direction, ian Gracie. set decoration, beverley dunn, Lesley Crawford. Costumes by norma Moriceau. Makeup, Mike smithson, Lance Anderson. special Creature and Make Up effects, stan Winston. Visual effects by digital domain. Cast: dr. Moreau (Marlon brando), Montgomery (Val Kilmer), edward douglas (david thewlis), Aissa (fairuza balk), sayer of the Law (ron Perlman), M’Ling (Marco Hofschneider), Hyena-swine (daniel rigney), Azazello (temuera Morrison), Majai (nelson de la rosa), Assassimon (Peter elliott), Lo-Mai (Mark dacascos), Kiril (William Hootkins), Waggdi (Miguel López), boar Man (neil Young), bison Man (david Hudson), fox Lady (Clare Grant). Synopsis: in the Java Sea, two men fight for survival on a rubber lifeboat. one is taken by a shark, the other, trying to climb back into the raft, is smashed back into the water by a third man. the sailing craft Ombak Penari picks him up, and passenger Montgomery learns that the plane crash survivor is United nations representative edward douglas. At the island where a certain Moreau resides, Montgomery tells douglas his best bet is to come ashore rather than trust the Ombak Penari’s scurvy crew to transport him to civilization. douglas is assured that he can radio for help. Montgomery drives to the compound and deposits douglas in the main house where in his wanderings he discovers that dr. Moreau is a nobel Prize Winner. on a verandah the graceful dancing of a lovely young woman named Aissa entrances him. “she’s a pussycat,” says Montgomery, who reveals that Moreau has lived here for 17 years. He urges douglas to remain in the main house “for your own good.” He is actually locked in but manages to pick the

156 • Jack and the Beanstalk lock. entering another building, he finds various animal species in cages and men performing some sort of surgery on a man—or an animal? spotted, he runs and is led by Aissa into the jungle where they meet the strange creature calling himself Assassimon. in an encampment further on, douglas observes another man-like creature haranguing others of its ilk, telling them, “but we are men, are we not?” the father comes: Moreau himself, a large man in a flowing white mu-mu, pallid, his head covered. Aissa is his daughter. He tells douglas he fuses animals with human genes. douglas considers it satanic. nevertheless, dinner will be at eight after Moreau’s piano recital. At dinner Moreau discusses the devil and says he has discovered his essence through his microscope. He, Moreau, will refine the human species. the devil is a tiresome collection of genes; Lucifer is no more. He has in fact almost created a refined creature. the rabbit Montgomery ordered served for dinner disturbs Moreau. the island’s inhabitants are not to eat meat, but Lo-Mai has done so and is confronted. in a surprise move, Azazello shoots and kills Lo-Mai, who is cremated. Hyena pulls the skull from the ashes, and then notices a strange device that he realizes he too has implanted in his chest. He tears it out, no longer at the mercy of the father’s remote control. Montgomery tells douglas that endorphins and hormones keep the creatures from retrogressing. Montgomery discovers that Hyena has removed his implant and a hunt is undertaken. douglas can’t use the radio because Montgomery has extracted a crucial element. douglas learns that Aissa is not like him. After pouring water into Moreau’s conical “caloric converter” headgear, she says, “i’m changing.” Led by Hyena, other beast-men enter the main house, examining the piano and other objects. Moreau arrives, conciliatory, and plays Rhapsody in Blue, which momentarily soothes the visitors. However, his statement that “You are, you are my children” and that pain is necessary because law is necessary, turns them against him. “Pain no more,” says Hyena as he and his fellows savage Moreau. douglas drives them off with his pistol. Moreau is cremated as his loyal followers grieve. douglas tells Aissa she is special, but she says she needs a special serum to halt regression. the increasingly erratic Montgomery tells douglas he destroyed the serum. the beast-men pour gasoline on the dock and set it ablaze. Montgomery dresses as Moreau but is shot by Azazello and Hyena. Aissa releases the caged animals as Hyena and his rebels drive into the compound, starting more conflagrations. douglas and Aissa hide, but Azazello and the other arrive and hang Aissa. Hyena says he is now the law and shoots Azazello. He uses Moreau’s remote to control his followers. douglas says, “You are a god” and here must be a God number one. Hyena is mortally wounded and lurches into the flaming building. douglas tells the sayer of the Law that he’ll come back with help, but the sayer says they must be what they are. douglas makes off in his makeshift catamaran. back in civilization, he observes man’s inhumanity to man. “And i go—in fear.” Reviews: the New York Times said, “Mr. brando’s performance will be deemed interestingly audacious only by those who found ‘Apocalypse now’ too sane.” director frankenheimer “has little success in keeping Wells’s story from verging on incoherence.” it only aspired to “inadvertent fun.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, August 23, 1996, p. C8); The Santa Fe New Mexican considered it “no more chilling than the first movie adapted form the work, the 1933 feature Island of Lost Souls,….” but the “ironic casting of Marlon brando in Laughton’s role is a stroke of mad genius.” As long as brando was on the screen and not, as occasionally the case, absent in favor of Val Kilmer, it was worth a look” ( Jon bowman, Sante Fe New Mexican, August 30, 1996, p. 30). Analysis: Island of Lost Souls (1933) remains the most frightening version of Wells’ very disturbing tale, and one reason is the nighttime

setting. Much of this as well as the 1977 version are shot in bright sunlight. there are two scenes that compromise the film: (1) Moreau’s first appearance as the pasty-faced, lampshade-wearing, mu-mu draped grotesquerie, and (2) after Moreau’s murder when most everything is anticlimactic. there seems at this point to have been a desire for guns and explosions—to make this an action movie? it was an extremely troubled production, like brando’s other south seas film, Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). in both cases the first director was fired. Here it was richard stanley. Val Kilmer, going through a divorce, seems to have been the main personnel problem, not brando. in his memoir, Easy Street (The Hard Way), ron Perlman provides an educating, frequently hilarious, and hardly rancorous account of the making of this ill-fated film.

JACK And tHe beAnstALK Jack and the Beanstalk from Avalon family entertainment did premiere at the newport international film festival in April 2010, but it was on dVd that May. directed by Gary J. tunnicliffe, it was a true children’s movie with Colin ford as Jack and future leading lady Chloë Grace Moretz as his savior and helper Jillian. Various noteworthy actors had roles, including Wallace shawn, Chevy Chase, James Karen, Gilbert Gottfried, and Christopher Lloyd. the filmmakers merged the classic tale with funny modern references to create a cute, whimsical, family-friendly saga. While adults can enjoy it, it is certainly geared for what Variety might have called the “moppet” audience. Contemporary reviews were few and mostly negative, only confirming that in this day and age a low-budget, special effects-light film receives no traction or accolades and next to no theatrical distribution. there was a time when films like this would be perennial matinees at your hometown Congress, Lyric, or Apollo theaters.

(exclusive Productions/Warner bros., 1952; 70 min.) ★★

Jack and the Beanstalk

Produced by Alex Gottlieb. directed by Jean Yarbrough. screenplay by nat Curtis. story by Pat Costello. edited by otho Lovering. director of Photography, George robinson. Modern story in sepia tone. fantasy in super Cine Color. Music by Heinz roemheld. Art direction, McClure Capps. set decoration, fred McLean. Costumes by Jack Mosser, Lloyd Lambert. Photographic effects, J.r. Glass. special effects, Carl Lee. Cast: Jack (Lou Costello), dink/dinkelpuss (bud Abbott), the Giant (buddy baer), Giant’s Housekeeper (dorothy ford), darlene/ Princess eloise (shaye Cogan), Arthur/Prince Arthur ( James Alexander), Jack’s mother Mrs. strong (barbara brown), the King (William farnum), donald Larkin (david stollery), dancer ( Johnny Conrad), Patrick the Harp (Arthur shields), farm animals (Mel blanc, voice). Synopsis: Arthur arrives at his girlfriend’s house only to learn that she can’t find a babysitter for her eight-year-old brother, donald. Luckily, an employment agency provides one in the form of Jack, who arrives with his “agent” dink. Jack begins reading Jack and the Beanstalk but when he nods off, donald takes over. in the fairy tale, Jack provides water for the Princess eloise and tells her the Giant has taken everything from the village, including all the food. Against his wishes but at his mother’s urging, Jack sells Henry the cow to Mr. dinkelpuss the butcher for five magic beans. they actually produce a giant beanstalk, which Jack climbs to hopefully retrieve the Giant’s latest booty: the

Jack the Giant Killer • 157 antics.” (o.A.G., New York Times, April 8, 1952, p. 35); The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV commended the iconic comedy duo for attempting something new, but there was “little in the way of light satire or fun.” (Howard thompson, ed., The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle books, 1970, p. 104). Analysis: Past their prime and best films at Universal, the once immensely popular comic duo Abbott and Costello tried a different direction here and deserve credit for the attempt. nevertheless, it’s a primitive, low-budget affair suitable only for very young children and historians, soon to be archaeologists, of the cinema.

Jack the Giant Killer

Produced by robert e. Kent, edward small. directed by nathan Juran. screenplay by orville H. Hampton and nathan Juran. story by nathan Juran. edited by Grant Whytock. director of Photography, david s. Horsley. technicolor. fantascope by Howard A. Anderson. Music by Paul sawtell, bert shefter. Art direction, fernando Carrere. set decoration, edward G. boyle. Costumes by david berman. special effects, A.J. Lohman. special Photographic effects, Howard A. Anderson. stop-motion animators, Wah Chang, Gene Warren, tim baar, Jim danforth, tom Holland, david Pal. Cast: Jack (Kerwin Mathews), Princess elaine ( Judi Meredith), Pendragon (torin thatcher), Garna (Walter burke), imp (don beddoe), sigurd (barry Kelley), King Mark (dayton Lummis), Lady Constance (Anna Lee), Peter (roger Mobley), scottish captain (robert Gist), Chancellor (tudor owen), boatswain (Ken Mayer).

Left to right: Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Shaye Cogan, James Alexander, and Dorothy Ford, Jack and the Beanstalk (Exclusive Productions/Warner Bros., 1952).

Princess and Henry. He also aims to avenge his father and come back with nellie, the hen who lays golden eggs. dinkelpuss accompanies Jack and they arrive at the Giant’s kingdom of rock and fog and spy his castle. on the way to the Giant’s lair Jack sings “i fear nothing.” Knocking a bear insensible, the Giant captures the interlopers and forces them to work as servants. Jack takes food to the Princess, and in another cell, the Prince. neither wants the other to know they are royalty. in the gardens, dinkelpuss builds catapults to help them escape while Jack accidentally drops gunpowder in the chicken food, which in a 22-egg omelet explodes in the Giant’s face. the Giant places Jack on a spit to roast for his breakfast, but Jack is rescued after the Giant is knocked out and chained by dinkelpuss and the Prince. the front door is locked but Jack uses the chandelier so the Princess, Prince and dink can swing through the high window. the Giant breaks his shackles and chases Jack. they engage in a sword fight and the Giant ends with a bucket on his head. dinkelpuss, the Prince and Princess catapult over the castle walls, but Jack forgets to climb on the remaining bent tree and must climb out. Chased by the Giant, Jack makes it to the beanstalk and follows his friends down. As they approach the ground, dink accidentally drops the Giant’s jewels to the people, and nellie returns to Jack’s mother. the King arrives to find his daughter safe and sound. Jack shows up, followed by the Giant. Cutting down the beanstalk causes the Giant to fall into the earth “clear through to China.” the townsfolk dance and sing and Jack is given a crown. in the present day, Jack wakes only to have donald crown him with a pitcher. donald’s sister and Arthur arrive home and Jack leaves, reprising “i fear nothing.” Reviews: the New York Times was mildly complimentary about famed but aging comedy legends Abbott & Costello taking a new tack. nevertheless, it fell short of “distinguished slapstick comedy,…” but they’d left “behind the dreary routine of inane stories and meaningless

(edward small Productions/United Artists, 1962; 94 min.) ★★½

Synopsis: exiled to tarquin isle by the wizard Herla, the black Prince Pendragon schemes to return and rule Cornwall. Calling himself elidoris, he arrives unannounced on the day the Princess elaine wears the coronet signifying her future status as Queen. Elidoris gives the Princess a miniature castle music box from which emanates a homunculus that dances on the tabletop. that night, while the Princess sleeps, Pendragon looks in her window and magically opens the music box. the homunculus emerges and grows to room size, stomping off with the Princess despite being wounded by guards. the young farmer Jack follows the giant to a ship, prevents Pendragon’s minion Garna from casting off, and leads the Princess into a mill. from an upper window, Jack lassoes and chokes the giant. the King learns that Jack’s father served the royal house as an archer. Jack is knighted and takes the Princess to the terrace where she kisses him. the King examines old records revealing Pendragon’s terrors and asks sir Jack to protect the Princess by escorting her to a convent in normandy. but Lady Constance uses the raven Gaunt to send a message

158 • Jack the Giant Slayer to Pendragon. At sea, the Princess is sorry she must hide and expresses love for Jack. from afar Pendragon watches as his hideous witches attack the ship and kidnap the Princess. Jack can’t convince the crew that she was indeed royalty in disguise and is thrown overboard. the dead captain’s son Peter leaps in to save him. back on tarquin isle, the Princess is chained to the wall as her captor summons demons of the dark. A scepter appears from his cache of jewels, and Pendragon uses a spell to turn the Princess into an alluring witch before once more presenting himself at King Mark’s court. He demands the King abdicate in favor of his daughter, who will be Queen of Cornwall with him the power behind the throne. the King has one week to decide. forcing her to look in a mirror, the King learns that Lady Constance has been a servant of the dark lord. she begs for and receives forgiveness. At sea, Jack and Peter are picked up by sigurd the Viking. While sigurd has not seen the witches, his irish leprechaun imp in a bottle has done so and gives Jack three magic coins that in return for his freedom will assist Jack in his quest to rescue the Princess. reaching tarquin isle, Jack climbs alone to the castle, gaining unexpected entrance when the imp turns a skeleton’s hand into a whip to make the five armored guards go up in smoke. to Pendragon’s amazement, Jack’s sword prevents the magician’s spell from taking effect. once again the imp has helped. Pendragon says the Princess is held in roman ruins on the other side of the island. Actually, the Princess is hiding behind the throne and is ordered by Pendragon to find the secret to Jack’s invulnerability. she and Garna rush to the ruins ahead of Jack and Garna shackles her to the wall. releasing her, Jack takes her to the boat and shows her the bottled imp. she doses his flagon with a potion that knocks him out, but when she touches the imp’s bottle she burns her hand, drops it, and it rolls into the drink. returning with water, sigurd and Peter find Jack insensible. Pendragon captures them but where is the imp? to find answers, Pendragon turns sigurd into a dog and Peter into a chimpanzee. the Princess is then ordered to make Jack talk before the sand in an hourglass run out. of course Jack doesn’t know the whereabouts of the bottle. the Princess reverts to Pendragon’s witch and Jack tells her to look in the mirror to break the spell. she won’t because she wants to be Queen of all england. Peter breaks out of the cage and unties Jack, who smashes the mirror and causes the Princess to revert to her normal form. Pendragon uses his crystal ball to watch his erstwhile captives flee. on the beach, the imp washes ashore, but Jack neither sees the bottle nor hears the calls. Pendragon summons a two-headed giant, but Peter finds the bottle, and the imp uses the last spell to draw forth from the deep an immense serpent that in a desperate fight kills the giant. Jack and company take ship as Pendragon pursues them in dragon form. Knocked into the sea, Jack clambers back aboard and mounts the dragon’s back. He is carried aloft but finally is successful with his sword and he and the dragon crash into the sea. Pendragon dead, his castle implodes. the spell on Peter and sigurd is broken, and Jack breaks the bottle to release the imp, who dons his golden boots and leaves on a rainbow. “to england and home,” says Jack before kissing his beloved. Reviews: the New York Times called it “shrill and clumsy….” Acting and dialogue were awful (New York Times, July 26, 1962, p. 17); TV Movies thought the “Marvelous special effects…” made it “a lot of fun” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies: Special Edition Prepared Exclusively for Movie Book Club Members, new York: signet, 1969, p. 238); Leslie Halliwell called it “A very creditable fairy tale…” with good acting, special effects and atmosphere (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s, 1977, p. 382). Analysis: Pair this on a saturday matinee with the same year’s The Magic Sword for a children’s fantastical double feature. of course this

wouldn’t fly now, it’s too small and unsophisticated, and the animation and stop-motion effects are dwarfed by contemporary CGi. some have called it a rip-off of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, what with stopmotion effects, actors Kerwin Mathews and torin thatcher, and director Juran. or it’s a pastiche of Beauty and the Beast and many another fairytale. Jack has no beanstalk to climb but does ascend a craggy island, and the leprechaun’s spells via coins fill in for the beans. Most notable are the costume and headgear worn by torin thatcher and Judi Meredith when she’s transformed into the witchy princess. Gazing upon her golden orbs and ruby red lips, one would welcome ensnarement.

Jack the Giant Slayer

(new Line Cinema/Legendary Pictures, 2013; 114 min.) ★★½

Produced by neal H. Moritz, david dobkin, ori Marmur, bryan singer, Patrick McCormick. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie, dan studney. story, darren Lemke, david dobkin. edited by John ottman, bob ducsay. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. Color by technicolor. Music by John ottman. Production design, Gavin bocquet. Art direction, Peter James, Gary tomkins, rod McLean, Phil Harvey, Mark Harris, Phil Harvey, sophie Hervieu. set decoration, richard roberts. Costumes by Joanna Johnston. Visual effects by digital domain, MPC, soho VfX, rodeo fX, tata elxwi Ltd. (VCL), Gener8. Cast: Jack (nicholas Hoult), isabelle (eleanor tomlinson), elmont (ewan McGregor), roderick (stanley tucci), Crawe (eddie Marsan), King brahmwell (ian Mcshane), Uncle (Christopher fairbank), brother Abel (simon Lowe), bald (Mingus Johnston), General entin (ralph brown), old maid ( Joy Mcbrinn), blacksmith (Chris brailsford), old Ham (Warwick davis), Panto erik the Great (Craig salisbury), badger (Lee boardman), General fallon (bill nighy), General fallon’s second head ( John Kassir). Synopsis: in their separate realms, Jack, the peasant boy, and isabelle, Princess of Cloister, are read to by their father and mother, respectively, the tale of a giant beanstalk and the dangerous giants who by King erik’s melting down of a dark heart and mixing magic into this crown relegated them to their kingdom between Heaven and earth. the crown was buried with erik. 10 Years Later: As he grows to manhood, Jack must labor under his uncle because his father has died. He takes his horse and cart to the city to sell but is talked into trading the horse for some special beans by brother Abel. the monk is pursued by the King’s men and killed by roderick after torture. to roderick’s pleasure, the crown, now hidden in a flowerpot, was not found by brother Abel. but the beans? the adventurous isabelle leaves the castle and takes refuge in Jack’s cottage during a rainstorm. one of his beans has fallen into a crack on the floor and rainwater initiates a sprouting into a mammoth beanstalk that carries the cottage into the air. Jack initially climbs to the window but falls away and must reveal to the King that his daughter has been thrust into the heavens. the King’s trusted lieutenant elmont leads the rescue attempt. roderick, betrothed to isabelle, is one of the climbers but he has nefarious plans and causes some of elmont’s men to fall to their death. Coming out onto a plateau above the clouds, the quest’s survivors track isabelle’s marks on trees. elmont, Jack and Crawe, who’d split off from roderick, find their first Giant, who captures elmont and Crawe. Jack follows them even as roderick removes from his sack the magic crown to cowl two other Giants. in the Giants’ lair, isabelle has been impris-

Jeepers Creepers • 159 oned in a hanging cage and questioned by General fallon, the twoheaded spokesman and self-styled leader of the Giants. elmont and Crawe are brought in. Crawe is eaten in front of isabelle. Jack picks up a sort of egg. roderick enters the cavern and makes all the Giants kneel before him. Jack finds and frees isabelle and they find elmont in the kitchen, wrapped and about to be cooked. Jack manages to drop a knife into the Giant chef, who backs against a wall and is thus killed. the three humans flee the den. elmont and Jack use a beehive to enrage and cause a sleeping Giant to fall from the plateau. elmont sends Jack and isabelle on their way and they fall into an underground stream while he waits for and kills roderick. the falling Giant crashes to earth, causing the King to order the severing of the beanstalk. it crashes to earth, reaching as far as the castle. elmont falls into the moat while Jack and isabelle swing on a vine into a hayrick. General fallon takes the crown from the dead roderick and sees four beans and tosses them into the stream, from which they begin creating more giant beanstalks. the Giants jump onto them and bend them toward the earth. in Cloister, Jack bids adieu to isabelle but is first to spy the descending Giants and rides pell-mell after the King’s entourage as the giants storm after him, catching up and killing many of the soldiers. the King, isabelle, Jack and some others make it across the drawbridge and into the castle just in time. elmont has used his time to prepare for the assault, having boiling oil poured into the moat and set ablaze with fiery arrows. General fallon leaps and grabs the drawbridge only to be pierced with arrows. the siege continues. the King entails isabelle with lighting the beacon to warn the other kingdoms, and she leads Jack through the castle only to be set upon by General fallon, crashing up through the floor. Jack manages to toss his last bean into the Giant’s maw. A new beanstalk sprouts within fallon. As the Giants enter the courtyard and elmont and the King prepare for battle, Jack appears wearing the crown taken from fallon. the Giants must kneel. “And so returned the Giant hordes…,” and Jack and isabelle married. As for the crown, over the centuries it was transformed until it became, in secret, the support for the Crown of england, kept behind glass in the tower of London. Reviews: SFGate determined that its mission was monetary profit rather than engaging “viewers on an enduring artistic level.” the “marketable defeats the unpredictable at every turn.” (www.sfgate.com, february 28, 2013); Entertainment Weekly was not sanguine about such films because “all seem to take place in the same digitally glossy, generically medieval storybook mud kingdom.” they offered some “fun and frenetic creature-feature eye candy…” but little else. this effort, despite being made by bryan singer of X-Men fame, “feels like it could have been made by anyone.” ewan McGregor was essentially wasted. “He has the snap, the valor, the film needs at its center.” (owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, March 8, 2013, pp. 62–63); The New Yorker said director singer “has produced a square but vigorous 3-d show that combines digital fantasia with something like the Hollywood medievalism of ‘ivanhoe,” complete with busy court life, rowdy townspeople, and vats of boiling oil” (david denby, The New Yorker, March 18, 2013, p. 87). Analysis: bigger is not always or usually better. it’s an uneasy mixture of horrible events (people being stabbed, crushed, eaten and falling to their deaths) with some lighter moments. the final siege is only a little less impressive than the siege of Minas tirith in The Return of the King. it actually makes one pine for a historical epic with, perhaps, Vikings, romans or Huns. ewan McGregor seems to take time off from starring roles to lend support in this and Star Wars films. did stanley tucci choose to channel Christopher Guest in The Princess Bride? the reading of the tale to the young Jack by his father is also reminiscent of that film.

JeePers CreePers Jeepers Creepers

(MGM/United Artists/American Zoetrope/Cineranta, 2001; 90 min.) ★★★

Produced by barry opper, tom Luse. directed by Victor salva. screenplay by Victor salva. edited by ed Marx. director of Photography, don e. fauntleroy. Panavision. Color by fotoKem. Music by bennett salvay. Production design, steven Legler. Art direction, Kevin egeland. set decoration, barbara Peterson. Costumes by emae Villalobos. Makeup & Creature effects, Make-Up & Monster studios. Visual effects supervisor, bob Morgenroth, e+MC2 digital. Cast: trish (Gina Phillips), darry ( Justin Long), Creeper ( Jonathan breck), Jezelle Gay Hartman (Patricia belcher), sergeant davis tubbs (brandon smith), Cat Lady (eileen brennan), Waitress beverly (Peggy sheffield), Manager ( Jeffrey William evans), Man at jukebox (Patrick Cherry), trooper Gideon ( Jon beshara), trooper Weston (Avis-Marie barnes), Cellblock officer (steven raulerson), roach (tom tarantini). Synopsis: driving his sister trish home from college across a flat but pleasingly green rural landscape, darry is astounded when a ramshackle old truck roars up on their tail and practically runs them off the road. Continuing on, they spot a man dumping what look like shrouded bodies down a large tube. before they know it, the truck is upon them again, roaring up from the grove where they’d witnessed … what, exactly? driven off the road this time, darry convinces trish they must go back to see exactly what was being dumped. Parking near what seems once to have been a rustic church and peering down the yard-wide corrugated tunnel slanted at about a 60-degree angle into the ground, the siblings are shocked by rats and trish loses her grip, releasing darry, who slides down onto the dirt floor of a dim chamber. He opens a shroud and finds a young man, his chest stitched up. before he can explain he expires. out by the road, trish observes a truck heading their way. thinking it is the maniac driver returned, she jumps in the car and attempts to back up, but it’s not that truck. darry appears at the window, frightening her. traumatized himself, he constantly mumbles as they drive for help. Pulling into a gas station cum diner, they have difficulty convincing the locals they need help. eventually two policemen arrive and follow darry and trish back to the scene of the supposed crime. but as they near their destination the police hear something thump on the roof of their car. A large, white-haired figure in long black coat kills them both. stopping to see what’s up, darry and trish observe this demonic figure eating the tongue of a decapitated head. they flee to a farmhouse where an old lady fires her shotgun at a strange figure in the field but when she trundles back inside is killed by the monster. trish and darry race to their car, back up and eventually manage to run down the monster, rolling over it several times to make sure. but as they look back, a large wing emanates from the body. they head back to the Poho County police station where trish calls their parents. A black woman named Jezelle, identified by a policeman as a psychic, tells them the thing following them arises ever 23rd spring and feeds on whatever portion of a human’s anatomy attracts it. in fact, the creature has regenerated itself and entered the station, feeding on a prisoner before advancing to the main floor where it grabs both siblings. Upon smelling them, it carries darry into the sky despite trish’s pleas to take her instead. next day Jezelle enters the station and is asked by trish if her dreams are ever wrong. Jezelle says she’s just a crazy old woman. outside, for a brief

160 • Jeepers Creepers 2 instant, trish finds hope in the sky but it’s just a crow that flies to a derelict factory inside of which darry has been stripped and strung up. His eyes are gaping holes from which the monster peers out. Reviews: the New York Times called it “a cannier-than-average teen horror movie,…” that unfortunately becomes “a noisy carnival attraction once its designated monster finally materializes.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, August 31, 2001, p. e23); Total Film considered the first half hour featured “a genuine sense of jeopardy, a twitching tension, a droning dread of what’s to come.” it all went downhill afterward. “Verdict: identikit horror kablooey.” (www.totalfilm. com, october 26, 2001). Analysis: despite the green fields shining in the sun, a sense of dread soon destroys that mood. it premiered hardly more than a month before Joy Ride, another possibly Duel-inspired saga of danger on the highway. the bat-like creature is an original. there are moments of humor as when trish decides to roll over the monster several times because once never works, an obvious reference to other horror movies.

Jeepers Creepers 2

(MGM/United Artists/American Zoetrope/Myriad, 2003; 104 min.) ★★★½

Produced by tom Luse. directed by Victor salva. screenplay by Victor salva. based on characters created by Victor salva. edited by ed Marx. director of Photography, don e. fauntleroy. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Production design, Peter Jamison. Art direction, nanci b. roberts. set decoration, Linda spheeris. Costumes by Jana stern. special effects Makeup, brian Penikas. Visual effects and Animation by the orphanage, inc. Cast: Jack taggart, sr. (ray Wise), Creeper ( Jonathan breck), deaundre “double d” davis (Garikayi Mutambirwa), scott braddock (eric nenninger), Minxie Hayes (nicki Aycox), rhonda truitt (Marieh delfino), Andy “bucky” buck (billy Aaron brown), Chelsea farmer (Lena Cardwell), izzy bohenj (travis schiffner), bus driver betty (diane delano), Coach Charlie Hanna (thom Gossom, Jr.), billy taggart (shaun fleming), Jack taggart, Jr. (Luke edwards), darry ( Justin Long). Synopsis: “every 23rd spring for 23 days it gets to eat.” day 22: While tying up scarecrows on his father Jack’s farm, billy is attacked by one of them, which drags him through the cornfield before sprouting wings and carrying him off as the pursuing Jack and brother look on helplessly. day 23: a bus carrying a high school basketball team and cheerleaders blows a tire. A 4-pronged and very sharp device is the culprit. At the farm, a dagger left by the abductor flies of its own accord into a post. Jack begins creating a special spear. Perhaps a harpoon? With the tire fixed, the bus continues on. Minxie has visions of two young men in the fields trying to warn her about something. the creature stalking them flings another homemade shuriken into a tire. this time there’s no fixing it and flares are put out, but Coach Hanna seems to disappear before the passengers’ eyes. before long the driver diane is whisked away. taggart and his older son hear the bus broadcasting that they need help and tell the bus they’re on their way, but which way, east or west? inside the bus, scott argues that they should make for the farm he thinks he sees across the fields. the others are hesitant. the monster shows itself and jams up the doors, front and back. Minxie tells the kids about the 23-year cycle in which the monstrosity menacing them comes out to feed. taggart comes upon the wrecked car that had passed the bus. As the creature breaks a hole

in the bus’s roof and grabs Andy by the head, rhonda thrusts a javelin up into the monster’s chest, then into and through its eye socket, rendering it inert, but when the kids begin running across the field it revives and flies after them. the taggarts arrive, find Minxie wandering in the road, and pull up behind the bus. Jack uses his Post-Puncher 500 modified into a harpoon launcher to fend off the monster. Attached to the harpoon, the monster flies back and forth, its strength so great it pulls the pickup around and eventually overturns the bus. in an abandoned truck, double d, rhonda and izzy try to escape. After forcing rhonda to jump from the cabin, izzy purposefully jams on the brakes, causing the creature to fly over double d and through the cab. the truck flips over and double d is thrown clear. the creature recovers but cannot fly. it smells the injured double d and begins hop-frogging it after him. As it grapples with the boy, taggart harpoons it in the head and with another shaft stabs it 35 times in the chest despite Minxie’s contention that it can’t be killed. twenty-three years pass and two young men and a girl pay the $5 to see a kind of demon attached to beams up in the hayloft. it is labeled in paint, “bat out of Hell.” beside his Post-Puncher 500, Jack taggart, sr., sits in a chair at the barn entrance, staring up at the monster he’d put to temporary rest 23 years before. its hibernation will terminate in two or three days. Reviews: the News Journal thought it less than the original although the lighting and cinematography were admirable. the larger cast gave the viewer no one on whom to focus (randy Cordova/Arizona republic, News Journal [Wilmington, de], August 29, 2003, p. 9); the A.V. Club thought it was better than the original with “more minimalist horror and b-movie craftsmanship….” the Creeper “represents the next evolutionary step for flesh-devouring beasties.” (nathan rabin, www.avclub.com, september 2, 2003); Boxoffice found the increased number of bodies and “some punchy action moments,…” in the bus were not enough to recapture “the level of suspenseful tension that made the original stand out in the crowded field of similarly themed flicks.” (Michael tunison, Boxoffice, november 2003, p. 125); roger ebert thought it had “a first-class creature, a fourth-rate story, and dialogue possibly created by feeding the screenplay into a pasta maker.” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/jeepers-creepers-22003); Total Film said the leads were “plastic…” and the film lacked tension (www.totalfilm.com, february 1, 2004). Analysis: this is a surprisingly effective movie. Although some of the protagonists make poor decisions, for the most part they act reasonably. some of the dialogue on the bus is disjointed, smacking of what the characters might say in real life in such a crazy situation. in a nice twist for this type of movie, most of the menaced characters survive, but why wasn’t rhonda there at the end? one guesses she’s recovering from her leap from the truck. the creature did not take her. note: Jeepers Creepers 3, aka Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral might or might not ever get made. if so, it seems likely to go the direct-tovideo route.

JoUrneY to tHe Center of tHe eArtH Journey to the Center of the Earth (20th Century-fox, 1959; 132 min.) ★★★

Produced by Charles brackett. directed by Henry Levin. screenplay by Walter reisch and Charles brackett. based on the novel by Jules Verne. edited by stuart Gilmore, Jack W. Holmes. director of Photography, Leo tover. Color by deLuxe. Color Consultant,

Journey to the Center of the Earth • 161 Leonard doss. Music by bernard Herrmann. Art direction, franz bachelin, Herman A. blumenthal, Lyle r. Wheeler. set decoration, Joseph Kish, Walter M. scott. Costumes by david fflokes. Makeup, ben nye. Hairstyles, Helen turpin. Visual effects by L.b. Abbott, James b. Gordon, emil Kosa, Jr. Cast: Alec McKuen (Pat boone), Professor/sir oliver Lindenbrook ( James Mason), Carla Goteborg(Arlene dahl), Hans belker (Peter ronson), Jenny Lindenbrook (diane baker), Count saknussem (thayer david), dean (Alan napier), Groom (robert Adler), Professor Peter Goteborg (ivan triesault).

inburgh. Most of the novel’s key elements are kept or slightly modified for the film. for instance, in the book, boiling water atop lava ejects the heroes from the volcanic chimney, not just lava. there are prehistoric creatures in the book, notably those in the underground sea. Young audiences at the time were mildly perturbed that the giant lizards were actual reptiles, not the work of a stop-motion effects maestro like ray Harryhausen

Journey to the Center of the Earth

(new Line Cinema/Walden Media/Warner bros., 2008; Synopsis: in edinburgh, newly knighted Professor oliver Linden93 min.) ★★½ brook receives a gift from his students: a very old piece of lava. during experiments on it, an explosion uncovers a plum bob that belonged Produced by beau flynn. directed by eric brevig. screenplay by to an explorer named saknussem. it is determined that saknussem Michael Weiss, Jennifer flackett, Mark Levin. based on the novel by voyaged into the earth. Lindenbrook aims to follow his lead and his Jules Verne. edited by steven rosenblum, Paul Martin smith, dirk student Alec McKuen accompanies him to iceland. their trek is inWestervelt. director of Photography, Chuck shuman. fujifilm. Prints terrupted by a kidnapping, concocted by stockholm professor Peter by deLuxe. Music by Andrew Lockington. Visual effects by Meteor Goteborg, who apparently wants the glory of discovery for himself. studios. Hybride, frantic films. With the help of Hans, oliver and Alec escape and find Goteborg Cast: trevor Anderson (brendan fraser), sean Anderson ( Josh dead. His widow Carla insinuates herself into the expedition, now inHutcherson), Hannah Ásgeirsson (Anita briem), Max Anderson ( Jean cluding Hans and his duck Gertrude. descending into a volcano, they Michel Paré), Professor Alan Kitzens (seth Myers), elizabeth ( Jane survive flooding, heat, boulders, and an initially unseen enemy, Count Wheeler), old Man (frank fontaine). saknussem, who is intent on becoming famous for journeying into the earth’s core. After their tribulations they find an inner ocean and Synopsis: trevor Anderson is aghast when his missing brother’s prehistoric dimetrodons. on a raft they come to a vortex, which oliver plate tectonics science lab at the Maxwell Anderson Center is destined believes is the actual center of the earth. flung to shore, they discover for closure. Compounding his distress is his task of entertaining his what appears to be the sunken city of Atlantis. An updraft suggests a brother’s 13-year-old son, sean. in a box of his brother’s possessions chimney to the surface and they use gunpowder to dislodge a boulder, trevor finds a fully notated edition of Jules Verne’s novel A Journey to which in turn creates earth tremors and a lava flow. Aboard a giant the Center of the Earth. on his computer a new blip indicates that iceceremonial cup, oliver, Alec, Carla and Hans—Gertrude had been land may be the site of a volcanic tube stretching into the earth’s eaten by the Count who himself was crushed—are propelled to the mantle. trevor and sean head for iceland, meet guide Hannah Assurface, this time in a Mediterranean volcano near stromboli. Pulled geirson and follow her up a mountain where a lightning strike disturbs from the sea by fisherman and in Alec’s case by nuns when he’s found rocks and imprisons the three. “Awesome!” cries sean as they use carts in a tree, the explorers return to edinburgh, where Alec marries Jenny, to ride into a mineshaft lit by a still functioning generator. diamonds oliver’s niece, and oliver himself seems destined for marriage to Carla. and other jewels are found as well as volcanic tubes. the three fall Reviews: the New York Times didn’t care for the “conventional” and slightly dull characters or the giant reptiles, which “are grotesque without being good.” only children would appreciate “this foolish film.” (bosley Crowther, New York Times, december 17, 1959, p. 51); John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again thought director Levin showed style and that “Light-hearted touches contribute to the entertainment.” the subterranean sets were impressive ( John stanley, Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again, 4th rev. ed., Pacifica, CA: Creatures at Large Press, 1994, p. 210). Analysis: How odd it now seems that Pat boone shared top billing with James Mason, boone’s name on the favored left. it shows how popular the pop star was at the time. the film was a favorite of the baby boom generation and holds up or brings back the memories of those days. Like the following year’s The Time Machine, it has charm, possibly due to keeping the period flavor. As can be expected, neither a woman nor a duck accompanied the protagonists in Verne’s novel, and Professor Lidenbrock Left to right: Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem, Journey to the Center of the (not Lindenbrook) was from Hamburg, not ed- Earth (New Line Cinema, 2008).

162 • Journey 2: The Mysterious Island through ice and eventually land in water. Above them in the tube are bioluminescent birds that they follow through a tunnel into a vast cavern with a lake and waterfall. to trevor it’s the center of the earth. they pass giant mushrooms and a human habitation—of the Lidenbrock of Jules Verne’s novel. While Hannah inspects gear, trevor and sean peruse Max’s notebook. beside an inland ocean, trevor builds a cairn over his brother’s body and reads from Max’s diary about his love for sean. Max’s journal reveals this is a giant air pocket surrounded by magma. A problem: the temperature is rising. Maybe there is a river and geyser on the other side of the ocean that can lift them to the surface. sean points to the diary’s description of the raft they must build. Using a makeshift kite as their sail, they take ship. during a storm, ferocious fish launch themselves onto the raft but are batted away and finally driven off by antediluvian creatures resembling plesiosaurs. the kite breaks free and takes sean into the sky. He awakes on a beach. one of the bioluminescent birds guides him into a cleft. Up the beach, trevor and Hannah seek sean. Carnivorous plants attack the duo. sean continues following the bird, drops his swiss Army Knife but discovers it floats in a magnetic field. “Magnetic rocks?” He crosses a great chasm on floating rocks. Meanwhile, Max and Hannah see a river and think a geyser may be inside a cave in the distance. sean follows the bird and finds the skull of some giant creature. trevor tells Hannah to go to the river while he continues searching for trevor. A living dinosaur chases sean. trevor hears the commotion and rescues his nephew. the dinosaur falls through weak earth. trevor and sean find a boiling river. Hannah shows up paddling the lower jaw of a dinosaur. the three fall into a volcanic tube but become stuck. Magma rises from below. is it too late for the geyser? trevor uses a flare to ignite magnesium on the wall and in the ensuing disturbance, after cool water drops onto the magma; a new geyser propels them to the surface. they land in a vineyard and slide down the slope of what they recognize as italy’s Mt. Vesuvius. trevor kisses Hannah. back at the lab, Hannah, sean and trevor talk of a Christmas vacation. sean has one of the bioluminescent birds in his possession. Reviews: The Telegraph found it a pleasant surprise “with an endearing sense of its own limitations.” it was “a brisk little b movie for the digital age… ” (tim robey, www.telegraph.com.uk, July 11, 2008); reviewing the 3-d version, the Winnipeg Free Press found the effects made the film “see-worthy,” but the script was not special (randall King, Winnipeg FreePress, July 11, 2008, section: Movies-reviews, p. d3). Analysis: How could the protagonists fall thousands of miles without a scratch—and pop out of Mt. Vesuvius on a prehistoric jawbone and shoot down the volcano’s side with no ill effects? but that’s what 3-d is for, right? if you go in knowing this, the film is more fulfilling than other family films of a fantastic ilk.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Produced by beau flynn, tripp Vinson, Charlotte Huggins. directed by brad Peyton. screenplay by brian Gunn, Mark Gunn. story by richard outten, brian Gunn, Mark Gunn. based on the novel by Jules Verne. edited by david rennie. director of Photography, david tattersall. Prints by deluxe. Music by Andrew Lockington. Production design, bill boes. Art direction, bruce robert Hill. set decoration, Gary fettis, Chuck Potter. Costumes by denise Wingate. special effects by Vince Acree. Visual effects by scanline VfX, Pixomondo Visual effects, MPd, trixter film Gmbh, and iCoVfX. Visual effects and Animation by Method studios Vancouver. Cast: Hank (dwayne Johnson), sean Anderson ( Josh Hutcherson), Alexander Anderson (Michael Caine), Gabato (Luis Guzmán), Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens), Liz (Kristin davis), Jessica (Anna Colwell), Cop (stephen Caudill), tour Guide (branscombe richmond), Hockey player (Walter bankson). Synopsis: sean Anderson has difficulty relating to his stepfather Hank or living in dayton, ohio. After breaking into a governmental satellite facility to retrieve the entire message he’d heard on his radio, he convinces Hank that Jules Verne’s “mysterious island” is real and his grandfather Alexander Anderson is marooned there, specifically near the south sea island of Palau. After discussing the issue with Liz, Hank takes sean to the Pacific, where they reluctantly ride with helicopter pilot Gabato and his comely daughter Kailani. A storm and a waterspout force them down but on the sought-for island. they enter a cave and emerge into a verdant jungle full of miniature as well as giant animals. When a monstrous lizard chases them from its eggs, sean’s grandfather Alexander rescues them and escorts them to his commodious tree house. next day Alexander leads his visitors to an ancient city covered in foliage. it’s Atlantis! According to Alexander, every 140 years it sinks below the sea and is due to do so again in 14 years. He tells sean that when they get back they’ll be on the cover of Time. Hank, an ex–navy man and code breaker himself, observes and smells the water, says it’s very salty and predicts the island will sub-

(new Line Cinema/Walden Media, Left to right: Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens, Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, and Michael 2012; 94 min.) ★★½ Caine, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (New Line Cinema, 2012)

Judge Dredd • 163 merge in only three or four days. sean says they must find the submarine Nautilus, and they think they can after Kailani wriggles down into a burial chamber where the mummified body of Captain nemo clutches his journal. Alexander reads the journal and discovers that the Nautilus is on the other side of the island. the quickest but most dangerous path lies through the mountainous center of the island, but they take it. the volcano erupts gold flakes and sean is distressed they can’t spend the time to collect a fortune. Alexander shows them how to ride giant bees but they are soon attacked by enormous birds. they escape but sean must have his dislocated ankle popped back into place. Away from camp, Kailani and her father discuss possible college for her. next day the water continues to rise. Gabato goes missing. Alexander tells Hank to take sean, find the Nautilus and meet them on the shore while he and Kailani seek Gabato, whom they realize has gone for the gold. Hank and sean discover that the Nautilus is under their feet but also under water. they devise two breathing devices and descend into a cavern, escaping a giant electric eel only to find that the submarine’s batteries are dead. “now, who’s up for adventure?” says Hank, who dons a diving outfit and with a spear attached to a metal line, harpoons the eel and thus recharges the batteries. As the island crumbles and Alexander, Kailani and Gabato flounder in the sea, the Nautilus rescues them. speeding away from the crumbling island, Hank loads and sean fires a torpedo to break up a giant boulder that would surely crush them. six months later Kailani arrives for sean’s birthday party in dayton. Her father is back in Palau conducting tours on the Nautilus. Alexander arrives and jokes (?) that their next adventure could be based on another Verne novel, From the Earth to the Moon. Reviews: the New Zealand Herald called it “a light-hearted indiana Jones–style adventure in which its cast isn’t afraid to have fun.” (New Zealand Herald, January 21, 2012); The Canberra Times knew the kids would love the 3-d and find the rock “really cool, and they’d be correct. He is.” (Canberra Times, January 21, 2012, p. 28); The Buffalo News liked the plant life and critters. “the cast couldn’t be less pretentious….” it was too bad the biggest monster on the screen was the script ( Jeff simon, Buffalo News, february 10, 2012); the Tulsa World knew it was family oriented, “which means it’s exciting, but it’s not edgy. it’s funny, but it’s not too smart.” A plus was the “hilarious banter,…” between dwayne Johnson and Michael Caine (Michael smith, Tulsa World, february 10, 2012). Analysis: the short label would be “inoffensive family entertainment.” Like its predecessor, reasons for actions and events are mostly illogical, the goals impossible to achieve—or survive. Grand conclusions and decisions are based on little evidence. but the movie rockets along in its short length, a good thing for children and adults alike. the 3-d works, and the creatures are well done and integrated very well with the humans. the scenes of vast valleys and waterfalls and cliffs do seem like special effects. remember the almost lost art of matte painting? Could this, like disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) or Mysterious Island (1961) be made as a period piece in today’s world? (see Volume i).

JUdGe dredd (Hollywood Pictures, 1995; 96 min.) ★★★

Judge Dredd

Produced by Charles Lippincott, beau e.L. Marks. directed by danny Cannon. screenplay by William Wisher, Jr., steven e. de souza.

story by Michael de Luca. based on Judge Dredd by John Wagner and Carlos ezquerra. edited by Alex Mackie, Harry Keramidas. director of Photography, Adrian biddle. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, nigel Phelps. Art direction, Kevin Phipps, don dossett. set decoration, Peter Young. Costumes by emma Porteus. Visual effects by Mass. illusion. Computer Animation by Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company. Judge dredd Armour Costume designed by Gianni Versace. Cast: Judge Joseph dredd (sylvester stallone), rico (Armand Assante), Judge Hershey (diane Lane), Herman “fergee” ferguson (rob schneider), Judge Griffin ( Jürgen Prochnow), Chief Justice fargo (Max von sydow), dr. ilsa Hayden ( Joan Chen), Judge evelyn McGruder ( Joanna Miles), Cadet nathan olmeyer (balthazar Getty), Warden Miller (Maurice roeves), Hammond (Mitchell ryan), block thug ( James remar), Pa Angel (scott Wilson), Central (Adrienne barbeau), narrator ( James earl Jones). Synopsis: in the 3rd millennium, giant metropolises house scores of millions unable to survive in “the Cursed earth.” A police force known as Judges patrols these cities to uphold order and crush street savages. Having served his prison term, Herman “fergie” ferguson is returned to Mega City where a “block War” is taking place. from high in a building, a criminal taunts the police: “Hey dredd, come and get us!” He does and the malefactor is hurled from the window. for being in the wrong place at the right time, fergie is sentenced on the spot to 5 years in prison. Meanwhile, Judge Griffin tells Judge fargo that a stricter code is needed. fargo calls for patience. After all, there are 65 million residents; growing pains are normal. fargo asks dredd, his protégé, to return to the Academy to teach new recruits ethics. out at the Aspen Penal Colony, Warden Miller hands rico a package containing a gun. Miller is shot. At the Academy firing range, dredd tells his students that only “the Law” counts. At the end of a Judge’s life he or she takes law to the lawless in “the Cursed earth.” Judge Hershey tells dredd she has friends and another life. He admits to having once had a friend, but “i judged him.” rico arrives in Mega City and obtains weapons at Gieger’s bazaar. He’s going to war. the first victim: journalist Hammond. the supposed murderer: dredd. the evidence: dnA that allows his gun to be fired only by him. Hershey thus fails in her defense. because fargo believes in dredd and will retire soon to the Cursed earth and is therefore entitled to a last wish, dredd is sentenced to the Aspen Penal Colony. rico is ecstatic and resuscitates a large robot to help with his plans. Griffin asks rico to initiate chaos so that the Council will be forced to turn to “the Janus Project.” over the badlands, the ship carrying dredd and fergie is brought down by a rocket from a band of halfwits led by “Pa.” dredd labels his captors pirates, scavengers and scumbags—and cannibals. dredd and fergie turn the tables on their captors and encounter Justice fargo, who is knifed by Pa’s prosthetically-enhanced son. dredd electrocutes him. back in Mega City, Hershey and a cadet discover that an image of dredd was faked. dredd tells fargo about that and the Janus Project. dredd also learns that rico is his brother, hence the dnA that convicted him. He feels his whole life was a lie. Griffin is implicated. He welcomes rico to Janus, where he meets Miss Hayden and is told to instigate disorder. dredd and fergie gain access to Mega City through an incinerator vent. Judges begin being assassinated, and Griffin proposes use of the Janus Project, which entails Accelerated birth incubators to create adult Judges fast. rico shoots tribunal members before dredd arrives. rico flees. Griffin shoots himself in the arm, pretending that dredd did it. dredd and fergie are chased through the city. dredd convinces Hershey he’s not part of the mayhem. to Griffin’s consternation, rico provides his blood and dnA to create

164 • Dredd the new Judges, and rico’s robot kills Griffin. the containers are almost ready to disgorge the new Judges and rico tells dredd he must choose. fergie disrupts the robot’s connections by yanking on wires in its neck. Hershey fights and kills Hayden as dredd corners rico in the head of the statue of Liberty, finally sending him tumbling to his death. Vindicated by Central, acclaimed as a hero, dredd is offered the position of Chief Justice, but he says no, he’s a street Judge. Hershey kisses him as he once again takes up his cycle. Reviews: roger ebert considered stallone perfectly cast “because he’s smart and funny enough to pull it off. the screenplay gives him little help, however,…” (www.rogerebert.com, June 30, 1995); Total Film found it unworthy of its british comic origin. it was guilty of “Hollywood schmaltz and dull plotting…” ( James White, totalfilm.com, february 1, 2000); Analysis: this plays better upon a second viewing when one grasps its tongue-in-cheek comic book simplicity. How else to explain the over-the-top acting of Armand Assante, the stoic stallone, the pithy one-liners? the excellent production design reminds one of Total Recall. rob schneider seemed vastly annoying but on a subsequent viewing was less so and did have some funny lines. it’s curious that scott Wilson and James remar are uncredited as they provide gravitas to their villainous characters.

(Lionsgate, 2012; 98 min.) ★★★

Dredd

Produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon reich, Alex Garland. directed by Pete travis. screenplay by Alex Garland. “Judge dredd” created by John Wagner and Carlos ezquerra. edited by Mark eckersley. director of Photography, Anthony dod Mantle. color. Music by Paul Leonard-Morgan. Production design, Mark digby. Art direction, emelia roux Weavind, Christophe dalberg. set decoration, thomas olive. Costumes by Michael o’Connor, diana Cilliers. Visual effects by Prime focus, London; baseblack, London; Mill film, London. Cast: Judge dredd (Karl Urban), Judge Cassandra Anderson (olivia thirlby), Control operator 1 (rachel Wood), Kay (Wood Harris), Ma-Ma, aka Madeline Madrigal (Lena Headey), driver (Porteus Xandau), Caleb (Warrick Grier), Hostage (emma breschi), Chief Judge (rakie Ayola), Zwirner ( Jason Cope), Passenger (Andile Mngadi). Synopsis: America is an irradiated wasteland, “the Cursed earth” surrounding Megacities which themselves are bedeviled with poverty and crime. Megacity 1, population 800 million, stretches from boston to Washington, d.C. only one thing fights for order, the Judges who are trained in the monumental Hall of Justice. in sector 13, Judge dredd pursues narcotic-hazed criminals and causes their van to crash. one escapes into a shopping area and takes a hostage, but dredd calls “hot shot” and guns him down. in the Hall of Justice, dredd profiles and assesses rookie Judge Cassandra Anderson, whose psychic abilities could make her an asset. in the high-rise known as Peachtrees, a woman known as Ma-Ma tells her minions to skin and kill three men. their bodies are dropped to the atrium, and when dredd and Anderson arrive Ma-Ma orders a lockdown of the entire building. dredd is unimpressed and continues on while Ma-Ma sends Caleb and his men after the Judges. barely escaping from Gatling gun-like shells, dredd and Anderson take Kay captive, and Anderson uses her psychic powers

Dredd poster art (Lionsgate, 2012).

to get into his head. she learns of the slo-mo narcotic ring run by MaMa. dredd patches into the building’s intercom and says Ma-Ma is not the law, he is the law. He uses his incendiary shells and Ma-Ma tells Caleb to call 911. four Judges in cahoots with Ma-Ma are called to kill dredd and the rookie in exchange for 1 million credits. dredd’s ammo runs low, but he manages to kill the leader of the assassins. Anderson, captured by Kay, is about to be shot but her gun explodes, tearing off his hand and killing him instead. the woman Judge tells Ma-Ma she’ll take care of Anderson. dredd finds the slo-mo lab, shoots two security men and encounters two of the assassin Judges. Using a High ex shell, he blows the head off one while Anderson meets her “backup” but understands the woman is a killer and takes her down. Meanwhile dredd is injured by an armor piercing shell. before the assassin can finish the job, Anderson shoots him. dredd uses his field dressing to stitch himself up. they find Ma-Ma’s computer programmer but let him go after Anderson “sees” his horrible past at her hands and tells dredd the guy is a victim. Ma-Ma attaches a device to her arm with two prongs that dig into her skin. if she’s shot and her heart stops, the transmitter will trigger an explosion that will take out the top 50 levels of Peachtrees. but dredd puts a bullet in her gut and says he suspects the signal won’t be able to go through yards and yards of concrete. He throws her through the window to her death on that atrium floor where the affair began. dredd helps the wounded Anderson outside. Her assessment is over and she

Jurassic Park • 165 hands him her badge and walks off. dredd tells his supervisor, “she’s a pass.” Reviews: AP said it “offers a fully realized world with both intensity and tension.” However, it became wearying, but maybe that was the point (Christy Lemire, AP Top News Package, september 20, 2012); the Manawatu Standard said it countered perception as a substanceless action fest by trapping viewers “in a terrifying story with only one way out,…” (Katy breheny, Manawatu Standard, october 10, 2012, p. 013). Analysis: this south African/british film is more claustrophobic, less shiny and grimmer than its predecessor, but as with the first there are humorous asides, though perhaps black humorous should be the term. the Judges’ uniforms are less ostentatious, but that’s probably the intent. some of the killings are shocking or perhaps merely sui generis. Karl Urban, who played eomer of the rohirrim a decade before in The Lord of the Rings, never removes his helmet. there are far fewer characters than in its progenitor and no venturing into the Cursed earth. it is unusual to have the hero not captured at least once. A non-sci-fi movie of a skyscraper where the criminals are foiled by one policeman is, of course, Die Hard (1988).

JUrAssiC PArK (Universal/Amblin entertainment, 1993; 127 min.) ★★★

Jurassic Park

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald r. Molen. directed by steven spielberg. screenplay by Michael Crichton, david Koepp. based on the novel by Michael Crichton. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, dean Cundey. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by John Williams. Art direction, Jim teegarden, John bell. set decoration, Jackie Carr. Costumes by sue Moore. full Motion dinosaurs by dennis Muren. Live Action dinosaurs by stan Winston. special dinosaur effects, Michael Lantieri. full Motion dinosaurs and special Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: dr. Alan Grant (sam neill), John Hammond (richard Attenborough), ellie sadler (Laura dern), dr. Malcolm ( Jeff Goldblum), Wu (bd Wong), Arnold (samuel L. Jackson), robert Muldoon (bob Peck), dennis nedry (Wayne Knight), tim Murphy ( Joseph Mazzello), Lex Murphy (Ariana richards), donald Gennero (Martin ferrero), dodgson (Cameron thor), Harding ( Jerry Molen), rostagno (Miguel sandoval). Synopsis: on isla nublar 120 miles west of Costa rica, a Jurassic Park gatekeeper is killed while trying to unload the contents of a large metal crate. At the Mano de dios Amber Mine in the dominican republic, attorney donald Gennero seeks dr. Alan Grant, “a digger,” but he’s to be found in the badlands near snakewater, Montana, supervising students looking for dinosaur fossils, especially the man-size and presumably vicious Velociraptors. John Hammond arrives via helicopter to make Grant an offer he can’t refuse—and to get insurance companies to comply with his request for coverage. Meanwhile, at san Jose, Costa rica, dennis nedry acquires a shaving cream container with a false bottom. back at isla nublar, Grant, dr. ellie sadler, and dr. Malcolm view a 10,000-volt, fenced park. Grant’s first view of the park’s residents—genetically engineered dinosaurs—is of an immense

brachiosaurus. Awestruck, he is told a t-rex also inhabits one of the paddocks. the visitors are shown a film at the welcome center where it is explained that seminal to recreation of the prehistoric reptiles was extraction of blood from mosquitoes preserved in amber. those mosquitoes had fed upon the beasts and now, voila, “dino dnA.” With some misgivings, Grant observes the hatching of a velociraptor. the gamekeeper, robert Muldoon, comments that all the beasts should be destroyed. He says raptors had tested the fences and learned. At lunch, Gennero speaks of a financial windfall when the park is opened, but dr. Malcolm is disturbed by a lack of humility in the park’s creators. there is danger in genetic manipulation. there appears to have been no discipline in attaining the knowledge, thus no responsibility is taken. Hammond defends his scientists. Grant doesn’t jump to conclusions but wonders if they have the slightest idea how to coexist. Hammond’s grandchildren tim and Lex arrive. despite an oncoming tropical storm, in the control center Arnold initiates a tour for Grant and the other visitors in two ford explorers. nothing is seen at the tyrannosaurus paddock and the visitors move on. Grant and company examine a sick triceratops, and sadler wonders if it ate poisonous vegetation? Although the storm is upon them, sadler elects to stay with the triceratops while Grant, Malcolm, the kids and Gennero return. back in the control center, computer expert dennis initiates his plot to steal embryos, hiding them in the shaving cream can. this necessitates shutting down security and phone lines. taking a jeep, dennis skids off the road. the t-rex breaks through the neutralized fence and kills Gennero hiding in a latrine. Grant and Lex use wires to descend a wall into the paddock while the t-rex knocks the vehicle with tim inside over into a tree. Meanwhile, dennis is blinded and killed by a man-size dinosaur. sadler and robert find the injured Malcolm and hoist him into their jeep. He urges, “Must go faster” as the t-rex chases them through the jungle. rescuing tim, Grant and Lex climb a tree and attract giant herbivores. back at the park restaurant, Hammond talks to sadler about his humble background, which included a flea circus. He expresses some concerns about dependence on automation. next time … sadler argues that the only thing that matters now is the lives of the others. At dawn, Grant, Lex and tim

Sam Neill, Jurassic Park (Universal, 1993).

166 • The Lost World: Jurassic Park begin walking across a savannah only to find a herd of camel-size dinosaurs stampeding toward them. the t-rex appears, and while it gobbles up a small dinosaur Grant and his charges escape. back at the control center, Arnold thinks they can restore power by throwing the circuit breakers at the other end of the compound. Malcolm uses the radio to help sadler and robert follow in Arnold’s track, but robert is killed in the jungle while sadler finds Arnold’s arm in the bunker, his remains after a velociraptor attack. Grant leads the kids to the restaurant before searching for the others. While eating desert, Lex and tim are accosted by velociraptors and hide in the kitchen before hooking up with Grant and sadler. sadler had managed to restore electricity and the phones are working, but they must flee from the velociraptors by climbing into the kitchen ceiling. Crawling through a duct to the main room, they climb down onto a t-rex model, followed by a velociraptor. surrounded by the man-eaters, they are saved when the living t-rex barrels into the court and attacks the smaller predators. in a jeep, Hammond drives Grant, sadler, Malcolm, and his grandchildren to the helicopter and safety. As they fly above the waves, Grant observes pelicans—descendants of the dinosaurs. Reviews: the New York Times called it “a true movie milestone, presenting awe- and fear-inspiring sights never before seen on the screen.” However, the novel’s finale obviously was changed to set up a sequel ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, June 11, 1993, pp. C1, C10). roger ebert wished that spielberg had followed his successful Jaws modus operandi, i.e., holding the dinosaurs back for a time to build suspense. the prehistoric creatures were indeed impressive but the film lacked “a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values.” (www.rogerebert.com, June 11, 1993). Analysis: John Williams’ score is, as usual, important to the sense of wonder upon seeing the prehistoric creatures. there are frightening scenes, notably the first attack by the t-rex on the two vehicles and the velociraptors loose in the kitchen. Although an immense success, the film is hardly flawless. the human characters often act in ways reminiscent of those in an old b movie, e.g., walking out on the savannah in broad daylight, running from the rover instead of sitting still. the “kid thing” also grates. Unnecessary is the subplot in which Wayne Knight’s character steals embryos for sale. of course his loss of the container sets up a sequel. this plot element reminds one of the Paul reiser character working for a corporation in Aliens. Modern filmmakers are never content with one compelling storyline if two or three can be shoehorned in. one wonders why spielberg et al. did not opt for bigger stars. it suggests that spielberg and other directors turn over actor selection to casting directors and/or decide for expense sake to hire non–A listers for epics. of course in the modern American cinema the concept, more than stars, sells the movie.

(Universal/Amblin entertainment, 1997; 129 min.) ★★½

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Produced by Gerald r. Molen, Colin Wilson. directed by steven spielberg. screenplay by david Koepp. based on the novel The Lost World by Michael Crichton. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by John Williams. Production design, rick Carter. Art direction, Jim teegarden, set decoration, Gary fettis. Costumes by sue Moore. full Motion dinosaurs and special Visual effects by industrial Light and Magic. full Motion dinosaurs, dennis Muren. Live Action dinosaurs, stan Winston, special dinosaur effects, Michael Lantieri. Cast: ian Malcolm ( Jeff Goldblum), sarah Harding ( Julianne Moore), roland tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), John Hammond

(richard Attenborough), Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard), nick Van owen (Vince Vaughn), Kelly Curtis (Vanessa Lee Chester), dieter stark (Peter stormare), Ajay sidhu (Harvey Jason), eddie Carr (richard schiff), dr. robert burke (thomas f. duffy), tim ( Joseph Mazzello), Lex (Ariana richards), Carter (Camilla belle). Synopsis: A party on the beach of isla sorna 87 miles southwest of isla nublar is interrupted by an attack on a young girl by a host of tiny birdlike reptiles. back in the U.s., dr. ian Malcolm is summoned to the palatial residence of John Hammond, creator of Jurassic Park where Malcolm and others spent a harrowing time escaping—or not—genetically-created prehistoric beasts. Hammond has already sent paleontologist sarah Harding to isla sorna, which he tells ian had been used as a birthing and nurturing location for the dinosaurs on isla nublar. because sarah is ian’s girlfriend, he reluctantly agrees to join videographer nick Van owen and field equipment expert eddie Carr on an expedition to isla sorna. Hammond told ian he needed public opinion on his side or else his nephew Peter Ludlow would turn everything upside down at inGen in an attempt to make money. With a composite van and all-terrain vehicle, ian and his comrades debark on isla sorna and find sarah photographing a pod of stegosauruses. returning to the van, ian discovers his adopted daughter Kelly hidden aboard. now he’s got someone else to worry about. Helicopters appear overhead, some carrying trucks and other vehicles. it’s Ludlow and his team commanded by big-game hunter roland tembo, who wants to bag a t-rex. they begin by catching various dinosaurs for shipment back to san diego. nick and sarah manage to release the creatures by night and in so doing wreck the camp. nick finds a young t-rex with a damaged leg that sarah thinks she can fix. High up in a cage, eddie and Kelly see movement in the jungle. the t-rex parents want their baby back. ian descends and rushes back to the vans. nick and sarah release the baby but shortly thereafter find the van being pushed to the lip of a precipice. When the dinosaurs leave, eddie descends and attempts to keep the van from dropping to the rocky coast far below. While stabilizing the situation, he is killed by both t-rex parents. the van eventually falls to the shore, but ian, sarah and nick had managed to latch onto ropes and cables and are helped by tembo and Ludlow’s men. sarah says they must depart this t-rex hunting ground. there’s a village of sorts with radio equipment some distance away. the problem getting there will not be t-rex interference but the vicious velociraptors. A t-rex does chase them, however, before velociraptors close in. behind the main party, ian, sarah, nick and Kelly are untouched at first and nick finds the old Jurassic Park complex. they radio for help as they continue eluding velociraptors. A helicopter arrives and from the air they see that roland has captured a t-rex using sedation darts. back at inGen near san diego, Ludlow has a nighttime press conference during which it is learned that the s.s. Venture won’t answer its radio and is headed directly toward their oceanside location. this is the ship with roland’s t-rex, which manages to escape from the hold to terrorize suburban san diego. ian and sarah realize the key to subduing the adult t-rex is to locate the infant and lure it back to the ship. this they do, placing it in a car and letting it cry to attract its parent. Placing it in the ship’s hold, they jump overboard. Ludlow is not so lucky and is killed by the t-rex. back on board, sarah fires a sedative into the t-rex as ian closes it back in the hold. A tV reporter covers the dinosaurs’ return to the island and interviews John Hammond. Reviews: echoing his views from Jurassic Park, roger ebert complained that spielberg should have “reimagined the material,” not as a box-office sequel but from the perspective of those actually viewing dinosaurs. it was even more perfunctory than the first one, quickly

Jurassic Park III • 167 become another monster movie (www.rogerebert.com, June 6, 1997); the New York Times found it “an all-stops pulled, edge-of-your-seat adventure film….” but it was “structurally out of kilter.” it was like Jurassic Park, “much better at pop myth-making and spectacle than it is at character or plot development.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, May 23, 1997, p. b1). Analysis: Again, there are tense, suspenseful moments, e.g., the trailers hanging over the cliff, the velociraptors converging in the field on the fleeing troop of humans, the velociraptor attack in the compound. but some of these scenes go on too long, and in the end the film becomes rather silly and unbelievable, more so than the existence of the dinosaurs. Check the homages to 1933’s King Kong latent in the ship called the s.s. Venture and earlier when schiff and Chester see the jungle moving. Using the infant t-rex to attract its parent is something of a tribute to 1961’s Gorgo. in-joke: a movie theater with a poster showing Arnold schwarzenegger as King Lear and robin Williams in Jack and the Beanstalks. one also detects a spielberg trope: using a child to make a point about family togetherness. early on things happen too fast. there isn’t enough camera equipment or weapons. Why didn’t Postlethwaite see Goldbum and company waving at them when they flew over? How was the observation cage raised so high in the jungle? What exactly killed the crew of the Venture? Velociraptors? Where did they get to?

(Universal/Amblin entertainment, 2001; 92 min.) ★★

Jurassic Park III

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Larry J. franco. directed by Joe Johnston. screenplay by Peter buchman, Alexander Payne, Jim taylor. based on Characters Created by Michael Crichton. edited by robert dalva. director of Photography, shelly Johnson. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by don davis. original themes by John Williams. Production design, ed Verreaux. Art direction, doug Meerdink. set decoration, Kate sullivan. Costumes by betsy Cox. Animation and special Visual effects, industrial Light & Magic. Live Action dinosaurs, stan Winston. Cast: dr. Alan Grant (sam neill), Paul Kirby (William H. Macy), Amanda Kirby (téa Leoni), billy brennan (Alesssandro nivola), Udesky (Michael Jeter), eric Kirby (trevor Morgan), Cooper ( John diehl), nash (bruce A. Young), Mark (taylor nichols), ben Hildebrand (Mark Harelik), enrique ( Julio Mechoso), ellie (Laura dern), Cheryl (sarah danielle Madison), Hannah (Linda Park). Synopsis: “isla sorna. 207 Miles West of Costa rica. restriCted.” A man and boy parasail into the fog and before their now unmanned boat crashes onto offshore rocks, the man detaches the line and he and the boy swoop further inland. back in the U.s., dr. Alan Grant visits his compatriot ellie, now married with children. they discuss dinosaur intelligence, Grant concluding that the antediluvian reptiles were—and are—smarter than primates. the anterior chamber of their brains is the key. Later Grant describes the creatures John Hammond created for isla

nublar as “theme park monsters.” Grant returns to his dig near fort Peck Lake, Montana and from billy brennan learns what has been detected by scanning a raptor skull: a small resonating chamber. Paul and Amanda Kirby arrive and over dinner use the promise of research funding to persuade Grant to be their guide on a plane ride over isla sorna. Paul says he has friends in high places and they will be permitted to make the flight. As Udesky’s plane skims the island and herds of herbivores are seen, Grant becomes perplexed when his sponsors feign indifference. the next surprise is that the plane lands. severely agitated, Grant is kept in place via a sedative by Cooper, a mysterious man in dark glasses sitting in the back of the plane. it transpires that the Kirby’s are looking for their son eric and his parasailing partner ben. Grant’s worst fears are realized when a large raptor emerges from the jungle and takes Cooper. the pilot nash can’t stop the plane from being damaged and it barely makes it aloft before crashing and coming to rest in a tree. the sail-backed raptor attacks it and the fuselage breaks up and everyone ends up on the ground. running pell-mell through the forest and glade, the humans witness a battle royale between a t-rex and the other monster. the t-rex is killed. safe for the moment, Paul explains to Grant that his son eric has been missing for eight weeks. Musing on this information and the fact that the raptor that attacked them is a spinosaurus Aegyptiacus, Grant also learns that Paul is something of a fraud. He runs a paint and tile store and has no friends in government. trekking along, they find the parasail and wrapped in its folds ben’s skeleton. Udesky discovers Amanda’s video camera eric took on his trip and learns that he was alive when he and ben landed in the jungle. they soon find clutches of raptor eggs and then locate a large compound within which are incubators and cylinders containing embryonic dinosaurs. to their distress, a velociraptor appears. they manage to contain it but it calls for help. rushing from the compound through a herd of herbivores. Udesky is wounded and presumed dead but the raptors have actually used him as a trap Amanda almost falls for, literally. Grant is surrounded but gas grenades are tossed by an unseen hand into the clearing to disperse the raptors. A camouflaged human guides Grant into the wreckage of a van and reveals himself to be eric Kirby. Leaving

Jurassic Park III (Universal, 2001).

168 • Jurassic World this sanctuary, Grant and eric spot a boat far below in an inland stream. they soon meet the others at the original electrified fence. Hearing the faint sounds of a satellite phone, they realize it was the dead pilot nash’s, but it’s now inside the spinosaurus, which chases them into the abandoned command center. resting, Grant finds in billy’s lucky pack velociraptor eggs his student had taken with the “best intentions.” Grant is sure the raptors know they have the eggs. they must get to that boat. descending a fenced-in metal staircase, they encounter pteranodons, one of which carries off eric. Having saved the parasail, billy uses it to swoop after the flying reptile and rescue eric from the raptor’s nest and hungry offspring. billy, however, finds himself stuck on a cliff side before disconnecting and falling into the river to disappear under an attack by the pteranodons. Grant, Paul, Amanda and eric swim to the boat and push off downstream, Paul getting the engine to start. they pass giant herbivores on the shore. that night they hear a phone, go ashore and find it in a large fecal mound. back on the boat, spooked bonitoes swim by. the engine is restarted and Grant tries to call ellie with the phone. from the water emerges the spinosaurus. taking refuge in a metal cage, the humans are soon submerged. back in the U.s., ellie realizes that the garbled message on the phone means Grant is in trouble. on isla sorna, Grant and the others swim out of the cage. Paul climbs onto a crane to distract the spinosaurus while Grant dives down and finds the flare gun he uses to set afire the boat’s leaking fuel. the spinosaurus stomps off. Paul appears from the crane wreckage. in the jungle the humans are surrounded by velociraptors. one smells Amanda’s head. she asks for the two eggs from billy’s pack and places them on the ground while Grant blows into that model of a resonating chamber. this confuses the raptors that take the eggs and leave. reaching the beach, Grant realizes ellie received his message because military landing craft roll ashore. in a helicopter, Grant finds the injured but hardly dead billy. As the chopper flies toward the carrier, a small flock of pteranodons is seen over the ocean in search of a new home. Reviews: the New York Times considered the animals intelligent because “they were bright enough to turn down much of the dialogue that the human actors have to speak.” nevertheless, “it succeeded in its obvious mission of putting a smile on the audience’s face.” (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, July 18, 2001, pp. e1, e6); Boxoffice said it lived up to expectations, with “dinosaurs chasing people for a merciful 88 minutes.” (Boxoffice, september 2001). Analysis: such illogical and crazy goings-on in this film suggest the filmmakers secretly were making a comedy. How else can we explain téa Leoni using a bullhorn, screaming her head off, and running willynilly into the forbidding jungle? it’s hard to imagine audiences not going wild at that point. nobody scouts ahead; none look over their shoulders, as they should be doing every other second. even those who know they will land and begin searching for lost people in a lost world limit resources for the jaunt. once more, it’s a family values film with a son commenting on his parents’ less than ideal home while he should be giving the paleontologist more insight into how he’s stayed alive and how they will do so in future. on the other hand, as a chase film it delivers shocks and excitement, e.g., the spinosaurus smashing through the fence just when we thought it was meandering back into the jungle, the metal stairs breaking apart and falling into the canyon ahead of Grant, the velociraptor looking through the water cylinder at Amanda. Most compelling and magical is the final scene in which the pteranodons fly off over the ocean seeking a new home in our world. if one wonders at the spinosaurus swimming underwater, its antediluvian kin are thought to have lived on land and in water.

Jurassic World

(Amblin entertainment/Legendary Pictures, 2015; 124 min.) ★★★½

Produced by frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley. directed by Colin trevorrow. screenplay by rick Jaffa, Amanda silver, derek Connolly, Colin trevorrow. story by rick Jaffa, Amanda silver. based on characters created by Michael Crichton. edited by Kevin stitt. director of Photography, John schwartzman. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by Michael Giacchino. “Jurassic Park” theme by John Williams. Production design, edward Verreaux. Art direction, Christa Munro. set decoration, ron reiss. Costumes by daniel orlandi. Visual effects by industrial Light and Magic. Additional Visual effects by image engine design, inc., Hybride, Vurtuos, Ghost VfX, base fX, 32ten, Level 256, Avery fX. Cast: owen Grady (Chris Pratt), Claire dearing (bryce dallas Howard), simon Masrani (irrfan Khan), Vic Hoskins (Vincent d’onofrio), Gray Mitchell (ty simpkins), Zach Mitchell (nick robinson), Lowery Cruthers ( Jake Johnson), dr. Henry Wu (bd Wong), barry (omar sy), Karen Mitchell ( Judy Greer), Hamada (brian tee), Zara Young (Katie McGrath), scott Mitchell (Andy buckley), Paddock supervisor (eric edelstein), Vivian (Lauren Lapkus), Jimmy buffett (himself), Jimmy fallon (himself). Synopsis: Gray and his older brother Zach leave for Costa rica’s isla nublar, sight of the original Jurassic Park, now a popular destination for thousands of thrill-seeking vacationers. improved genetics by inGen have produced many prehistoric creatures roaming secure paddocks and observed from trams or in the case of the monstrous water dwelling Mosasaurus, at a seaWorld-like pool. behind the resuscitation of John Hammond’s dream is billionaire simon Masrani, who funds the park and dr. Wu’s ongoing genetic experiments. Manager of the site is Claire, the aunt of Gray and Zach, nephews she hasn’t seen in some years. Caught up in the park’s operations, she turns them over to her assistant Zara. observing with interest the genetics is security chief Hoskins, who slowly reveals his plan to use velociraptors as soldiers. Also on hand is owen Grady, not a full-fledged employee but allowed to interact with the raptors. He rescues an attendant from their jaws and claws and shows that he can communicate and be their pal—up to a point. He and Claire have a history—one date. the main thing keeping Claire from visiting her nephews is the necessity of convincing investors to help fund the park. it requires new and exciting dinosaurs every few years to hold the public’s interest. the latest ad-

Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World (Universal, 2015).

King Kong • 169 dition to the corral is indominus rex, a wholly new dinosaur developed from tyrannosaurus dnA and … privileged information. it lurks alone until the heat sensors can’t detect it and owen and two others enter the compound, see scratches on the 40-foot-wall and think it might have climbed out. not so. its intelligence is such that it pretended it had escaped and even concealed its own body heat. owen survives its attack, not so the others. breaking out of its paddock, the indominus wreaks havoc on the other animals as it approaches the human area of the park. A nighttime attack by men with stun guns fails, and Hoskins’ military force fares little better. to Claire’s horror, Gray and Zach were traversing the savannah in a seemingly impenetrable globe when the emergency took place. the indominus attacks and breaks the globe but they flee into the forest and leap from a waterfall into the pool below. owen and Claire discover that the boys have survived. Hoskins convinces owen that his raptors are key to preventing further loss of human life, many of the park visitors having been attacked by flying reptiles from the aviary smashed open by the indominus. reluctantly, owen agrees and with a companion on a separate AtV, races into the jungle beside his semi-tame velociraptors. to his astonishment and horror, the indominus communicates with the raptors and they turn on the men, who barely escape. Meanwhile, the boys have found the original Jurassic Park facility and using a battery start up a vehicle and race toward safety. they meet up with owen and Claire only to be in harm’s way again after one of the raptors kills Hoskins. outside, two raptors confront the humans. owen attempts to pacify them and is helped when the indominus appears and the raptors turn and attack it, allowing the humans to escape. Claire uses a flare to attract the attention of the old t-rex just as the indominus arrives. in the ensuing battle, both suffer grievously, but the mosasaurus lurches out of the pool and pulls the indominus down into the water. next day, the island now its own private domain, the t-rex bellows from atop a human structure. Reviews: Cinema Retro found the effects suitably “impeccable; the dinosaurs seem as alive as their human co-stars.” the film provided the audience with what it came for: a host of prehistoric beasts (Mark Cerulli, Cinema Retro, www.cinemaretro.com, June 10, 2015); Variety said leading man “Pratt is effortlessly engaging….” Jurassic Park was still the better film, however. Jurassic World was “a giant wind-up machine that’s all roar and precious little bite.” (scott foundas, www. variety.com, June 10, 2015); the News Journal thought it was “an ugly, over-saturated movie; CGi has run amok here as much as dinosaurs.” bryce dallas Howard was the most convincing human. “it’s not a subtle performance—she keeps her heels throughout—but her transformation is the most convincing in a film full of dubious evolutions.” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], June 12, 2015, p. 4Hr); io9 thought it was fun but would lead to “a lot more pandering sequels.” (Charlie Jane Anders, http:// io9.com, June 22, 2015); Entertainment Weekly said it paled in comparison to Jurassic Park, but “it’s easily the franchise’s most thrilling sequel yet.” despite the lack of character development, the film worked (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, June 19, 2015, p. 47). Analysis: What else could be expected of a summer spectacular? it has plenty of bang for the buck and makes halfway sense. Pundits carped that dallas bryce Howard’s character, despite her managerial position, evinced too many clichéd elements, especially her heels. but this footwear that she never removes even in forest or debris field, and despite being ribbed about her “ridiculous shoes” by Chris Pratt, could be a real or subconscious homage to past genre heroines in heels and smart attire fleeing monsters and aliens. think susan Hart with her giant pocketbook and heels traipsing over hill and dale to escape The Slime People (1963). some things irk more than Howard’s shoes: Vin-

cent d’onofrio channeling that Paul reiser character from Aliens in thinking he can create a race of controllable super soldiers. As with Aliens, this clichéd plot element is unnecessary but par for the course. screenwriters still seem to think this is the only way to escalate the fright and suspense. Aren’t savage xenomorphs and living dinosaurs frightful enough? one can shake one’s head over the decision to send men into the jungle by night, where they naturally fare poorly.

KinG KonG see Volume i for King Kong (1933), Son of Kong (1933) King Kong (1976), and King Kong Lives (1986).

(Universal/Wingnut films, 2005; 187 min.) ★★½

King Kong

Produced by Jan blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, fran Walsh, Peter Jackson. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by fran Walsh, Philippa boyens, Peter Jackson. based on a story by Merian C. Cooper and edgar Wallace. edited by Jamie selkirk, Jabez olssen. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, Grant Major. Art direction, simon bright, Joe bleakley. set decoration, dan Hennah, simon bright. Costumes by terry ryan. special Makeup, Creatures and Miniatures by richard taylor. special Make-Up, Creatures, Weapons and Miniatures by Weta Workshop Ltd. “this film is dedicated with love and respect to the original adventurers of skull island: Merian C. Cooper, ernest b. schoedsack, Willis H. o’brien, Max steiner, robert Armstrong and … the incomparable fay Wray. they continue to inspire all those who follow in their footsteps.” Cast: Ann darrow (naomi Watts), Carl denham ( Jack black), Jack driscoll (Adrien brody), bruce baxter (Kyle Chandler), Jimmy ( Jamie bell), Kong (Andy serkis), Captain englehorn (thomas Kretschmann), Preston (Colin Hanks), Hayes (evan Parke), Choy (Lobo Chan), Herb ( John sumner), Mike (Craig Hall), skull island pole vaulter (terence Griffiths). Synopsis: despite the depression that continues to grip the nation, new York City is bustling with activity and Ann darrow makes her meager living on stage, sometimes as a Chaplin-like comedienne. Another resident of the metropolis is Carl denham, moviemaker trying to interest studio bosses in his latest footage. they are unimpressed and he overhears them decide to buy the footage and not fund his latest scheme: a steamer to the far east to find an exotic … what, exactly? denham absconds with his film reels and tells Preston to ready the ship for departure; he’s got to find his leading lady. thus does Ann enter the picture. Her theater has been closed. After ripping up the producer’s card that might get her a gig in a burlesque house, she is accosted by denham, who buys her a meal and by throwing around the writer Jack driscoll’s name, convinces her to join him on a voyage. that evening the principals, including Jimmy, the leading man of the as yet unnamed film, board the Venture and under Captain englehorn float away from the dock just as the studio money men and police arrive. Caught on board is driscoll, writing more script for denham. the Venture proceeds and denham begins making test reels of Ann on deck. she ingratiates herself with the crew, showing them how to dance. driscoll has eyes for her and she for him. Just as englehorn suggests turning back and receives a radio signal to turn around, some-

170 • King Kong thing is sighted in the fog. through luck and slowing the engine, the Venture is not damaged but founders on a savage coastline. While englehorn’s men try to dislodge the ship from an overhanging mass, denham, Ann, driscoll and other film crewmembers row to shore, or rather to a cavernous entrance to the interior where they spot an immense wall. they stumble into a desolate village that for the most part seems to have been abandoned hundreds of years before. However, a child appears, soon followed by denham a mass of threatening islanders. they kill Mike and are about to press their attack when englehorn arrives and shoots enough to make them flee. Making it back to the now seaworthy ship, they can’t leave because Ann has been kidnapped. two boats disembark for the island where the inhabitants have attached Ann to posts and lowered her across a chasm beyond the wall. Arriving in the village, denham sees the strangest sight of his career: a gigantic gorilla carrying Ann inland. fifteen men volunteer to go after her. stumbling on a herd of large prehistoric herbivores, the men find themselves in a stampede when small meateaters attack. several of denham’s party are killed, including his camera assistant. Meanwhile Kong, the name for the huge ape, has put Ann on the ground where she plays possum but can’t escape. After the stampede, bruce says he’s leaving. Jack accuses him of cowardice, but

King Kong poster art (Universal, 2005).

some others accompany bruce to the rear. Ann entertains and impresses Kong with her dancing and acrobatics. While Kong is distracted she runs off. denham, Jack and the others come to a giant log across a deep chasm. Kong arrives, manhandling the log until it and they fall into the abyss. some are not killed because of the thick vines that cushioned their fall. Ann sees a feeding carnivore and is chased by another, but it is killed by a tyrannosaurus, which chases her as it tries to gobble down its first meal. Kong enters and fends off or kills three of the beasts even as he and Ann fall into another chasm. Afterward Kong puts Ann on his shoulder and ambles off. Jack wakes up and sees a succession of giant insects, arachnids and crustaceans crawling toward them in the dusk. Kong and Ann have settled onto an overlook from which Ann observes the setting sun and says, “it’s beautiful.” Kong seems to agree. back in the chasm, men are killed and devoured until englehorn and bruce and the others return and use their tommy guns to kill the attackers and pull the survivors to safety. Jack ends up on the other side of the gorge and sets out to continue the rescue mission. denham is confident Ann will be found, even more sanguine about the ultimate outcome of their adventure. He tells englehorn the chloroform they have in abundance will come in handy. Jack finds Ann asleep in Kong’s right hand. He unsuccessfully endeavors to wake her, but Kong is frustrated in his efforts to grab Jack when batlike creatures assault him. While his attention is concentrated on the flying beasts, Ann and Jack try to lower themselves on a vine. finally ridding himself of the bat-things, Kong begins pulling Ann and Jack back up to the plateau, but they latch onto the wing of one of the bat creatures, which glides down and deposits them in the river. Kong is mightily angry at the loss of his pet. At the wall, Preston takes a machete and cuts the rope that lowers the bridge for Ann and Jack. Kong leaps across the crevice but englehorn’s men are ready with grappling hooks, netting and chloroform. nevertheless, Kong breaks free and follows Ann and Jack to the waiting boats. denham breaks another bottle of chloroform on Kong’s head and he’s finally subdued. denham claims all will be rich. in new York City, the Alhambra City is a sold out venue for those wishing to see the eighth Wonder of the World. Ann is not there, rather performing as a chorus girl at the de Luxe theater. Jack, berating himself for not verbalizing his love for Ann, rushes to the Alhambra in time to see a substitute Ann and cameramen disturb the chrome-chained Kong, who breaks his bonds. Kong recognizes Jack and chases him up past the loge into the balcony, but Jack escapes. in the street, Kong picks up a succession of blondes only to toss them aside when none turn out to be Ann. outside the de Luxe, Ann hears sirens and rushes down the street. Kong continues battering cars and trolleys until Jack attracts his attention from a tax. He follows and eventually wrecks it, but before he can kill Jack he sees a white-gowned figure slowly walking down the middle of the street: Ann. He carries her into Central Park and they enjoy comradeship on the ice until an army unit finds them and shells Kong. At dawn, atop the empire state building, Kong manages to destroy several of the biplanes that are machinegunning him. to Ann’s sorrow, the beast finally gives in to his injuries and slides away into a chasm of the metropolis. Jack climbs to the top and he and Ann embrace. below, denham tells onlookers that no, the planes did not destroy Kong, beauty did. Reviews: despite some slightly broad performances, a few longueurs, and a slackening of narrative early on, The Guardian thought such inactive segments were necessary “to clear a space around that gobsmacking final scene,….” the film exceeded the 1933 version by “the power of a hundred.” Audiences would be

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider • 171 in the palm of director Jackson’s hand (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, december 8, 2005); Film Threat extolled the CGi Kong as “the most amazing computer-generated character to date.” And, “Here is a movie that celebrates the heyday of adventure cinema even as it embraces technology’s bleeding edge.” (Peter Vonder Haar, Film Threat, december 14, 2005). Analysis: one can sympathize with director Jackson for wanting to remake with modern techniques what was his favorite film, but there’s just too much wrong with this to rate it excellent or even solidly good. state of the art effects with more dinosaurs do not recreate the charm of the original. Attention to depression-era detail doesn’t automatically result in atmosphere, which is what classic Hollywood films had in abundance, whether adventure or western. the original movie used about a half hour to pave the way to skull island. this one takes three-quarters of an hour. director Jackson said the 1933 version was his favorite film. for some fans, casting of the major roles was problematic. Was 36-year-old naomi Watts suitable as Ann darrow? shouldn’t Ann be, say, in her early twenties and full-figured? scarlett Johansson, Michelle Williams and Katheryn Winnick would have fit that bill. (to be fair, fay Wray was 33 when the original was released.) Watts does do a commendable job communicating with Kong without yelling out insults designed to make the audience guffaw. As with The Lord of the Rings, Jackson seems—justifiably from his perspective— intent on using down Under actors and actresses whenever possible. for instance, Cate blanchett in the LotR trilogy, Miranda otto in the second two. According to Peter sibley’s Peter Jackson: A Film-maker’s Journey, while Kate Winslet had been rumored for the part, Watts was the only one really considered for the role. the other main actors, Jack black and Adrien brody, were chosen, met and cast with little further ado. Moviemakers’ penchant for experience, a name or some other element generally trumps proper character age down Under and in Hollywood. but was that necessary for the film’s success? no. After LotR, Jackson wouldn’t need box office stars. not that he had A-listers in LotR. Wouldn’t Johnny depp have made a fine Carl denham? skull island’s beaches and rocky coastline are ugly rather than mysteriously beckoning. to impart a sense of dread? obviously Africans or African-Americans could not play the islanders as they had in the original, but what mixed breed do we have here? they seem like an aboriginal Caribbean voodoo cult. thus no noble noble Johnson to welcome the visitors and their white goddess. A modern film composer mainstay, James newton Howard scored the film, but it cannot eclipse Max steiner’s for the original, which was probably the first fully symphonic score for a major Hollywood sound film. several of steiner’s cues are in fact used during the introduction of Kong in the Alhambra. this was obviously a tribute to the original film and composer. What were those bat-like creatures and why did they attack Kong? Were they flesh eaters rather than insectivores? All the action scenes go on way too long. there’s no build-up for the islanders being smitten with Ann and going out to the ship for her, and using pole vault technique to get there is nonsensical and laughable.

L ArA Croft (Paramount/Mutual film Company, 2001; 100 min.) ★★

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Colin Wilson. directed by simon West. screenplay by Patrick Massett, John Zinman. Adaptation, simon West. story by sara b. Cooper, Mike Werb,

Michael Colleary. based on the eidos interactive Game series developed by Core design. edited by dallas s. Pruett, Glen scantlebury. director of Photography, Peter Menzies, Jr. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Kirk M. Petruccelli. Art direction, Jim Morahan, david Lee, dave Allday, su Whitaker. Costumes by Lindy Hemming. digital Visual effects and Animation by Cinesite (europe) Ltd. special effects supervisor, Chris Corbould. Cast: Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), Manfred Powell (iain Glen), Lord richard Croft ( Jon Voight), Alex West (daniel Craig), Wilson (Leslie Phillips), bryce (noah taylor), distinguished Gentleman (richard Johnson), Mr. Pimms ( Julian rhind-tutt), Hillary (Christopher barrie), Young Lara (rachel Appleton), Assault team Leader (robert Phillips). Synopsis: entering what appears to be an ancient tomb via rope from on high, a woman in black puts the kibosh on a menacing guardian robot known as simon that turns out to be a mere challenge prepared by her technician bryce. Lady Lara Croft then takes a shower. in Venice, a mysterious council wonders if Mr. Manfred Powell can keep his promise to deliver a certain key in one week, before a planetary alignment on May 15 that will not occur for another 5,000 years. they need the key to obtain a certain triangle, actually its two halves. May 15 is not a good day for Lara because that’s when her father Lord Croft went “Missing in the field,” as his tombstone on the premises indicates. she uses the estate telescope to scan the heavens and muse on the impending alignment and that night dreams of her father speaking of the celestial calibration. Waking, she walks through the house and upon hearing an unusual ticking breaks open a wall into a secret chamber. she takes a crated clock to bryce and inside they find “the all seeing eye.” Motorcycling to a London auction, she tells Wilson the “eye” is running backward and might fit into something like a key. Her father had spoken of the “triangle of Light” that would control time. Lara has rather less time for Alex West, a former compatriot, sometimes archaeologist. Phoning Lara at the estate, Wilson advises her to contact Manfred Powell, lawyer and archaeologist. she shows Powell photographs of the clock. back home, while she exercises like a trapeze artist above the main hall, armed men steal the eye despite losing many of their number to Lara. While she, Mr. Pimms and bryce clean up, a delivery man arrives with a book in which she finds a letter from her father in which he wrote of an ancient people worshipping a meteor and its secret icon contents. the city of these folk was destroyed and the triangle was split in half. At the tomb of the dancing Light in Cambodia, the first half must be found lest the illuminati obtain it for nefarious purposes. in fact, both halves of the triangle must be located and destroyed. When Lara arrives in Cambodia she finds Powell and West breaking down the temple’s massive door. Lara gains access another way. West thinks the immense swords are key to the triangle, but Lara discovers a wall carving that she is sure is more important. Powell tosses her the eye, she places it in the wall and a battering ram is unleashed that breaks open a carving near the giant Kali-like statue. A strange liquid sprays out and soaks the large monkey guard statues, rendering them animate and dangerous, as is the giant statue that Lara finally manages to tumble into ruble. Grasped by a flying monstrosity, she escapes into the jungle and is accosted by West at the waterfall. He won’t shoot her and she dives to the pool below and later paddles a boat to a village and phones Powell. He urges her to come to Venice. After all, they can do nothing separately if he has the clock, she the triangle piece. At a monastery, Lara prays and learns from a monk that he knew her father. the tea she drinks heals her flesh wounds. in Venice, Lara tells Powell he’s with

172 • Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life the illuminati, which he suavely denies. He again suggests they be partners in the search for the triangle of Light. He says Lord Croft was himself an illuminati and knows she wants another life with her father. the triangle grants the power to undo the past. Lara finds West and tells him they can’t remain friends if he crosses her. Lara and Powell place their objects in a small chest and take helicopte rs to an ancient siberian city, a “dead zone” where phones and motorized vehicles can’t run. bryce secures dogsleds and they enter a tunnel and make their way to a large chamber in which giant metal globes circle an even larger one. they must find the eye, cries the head illuminati as the eclipse and final alignment of the planets begins. West and Lara climb onto the smaller globes to get to the larger, which they believe holds the key. Placing the clock on the large globe, Lara is momentarily sucked into it before being ejected with the other triangle piece. the head illuminati chants about uniting past and present but is shot down on orders from Powell. When Powell brings the triangle pieces together, nothing happens. He throws his knife into West’s chest and the man falls into the water beneath the globes. Powell tells Lara she can save him, and she shines a gun laser site on the wall and tosses the clock into the air. small pieces float around, one of which she determines is key to the triangle, and outraces Powell up a large pyramid to secure the finished triangle. she meets her father, who says he wanted to protect her, that’s why he never spoke of his involvement in the illuminati. He says they can’t change time; she must give time back and destroy the triangle. He’ll always be with her. they touch fingers. time is reversed and West brought back to the moment before the knife struck him. the alignment ends. Lara causes the knife to impale Powell but he extracts it and taunts her, telling her that her father had begged for his life. He shows her a locket with a portrait of a woman. she tells West to get the others and leave. At first confronting each other with pistols, Powell says, “no guns.” they fight, she wins and takes the locket as the chamber crumbles and water gushes in. finding a dogsled, Lara makes skis and is pulled at breakneck speed down a tunnel to safety. back at Croft Hall, Lara visits her father’s marker. back inside the manse, Pimms and bryce present her with pistols and a regenerated simon on which she can practice her skills. Reviews: the New York Times’ review for potential younger audiences warned parents about the violence, even if unrealistic. Angelina Jolie’s lips provided the title character with “an indelible sang-froid… ” (New York Times, June 22, 2001, p. e10); Entertainment Weekly summed it up as a film in which the audience never felt a stake. “We’re watching powder-blast gymnastic overkill in a vacuum.” (Entertainment Weekly, July 20, 2001, p. 47). Analysis: the action scenes beggar belief. once again, men with automatic weapons can’t hit anyone. And while Lara is human, she has almost supernatural physical abilities. of course, it’s videogame stuff. it would seem that this is the second videogame-inspired feature film with a sequel. Mortal Kombat apparently was the first. Compliments go to the initial siege of the Croft estate. security devices were in place and made it very difficult for interlopers to get to the eye. it is of course interesting to see daniel Craig pre–James bond. Where do Lara Croft, Underworld’s selene and Alice of Resident Evil get those pistols?

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (Paramount/Mutual film Company, 2003; 117 min.) ★★

Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin. directed by Jan de bont. screenplay by dean Georgaris. story by steven e. de souza, James V. Hart. based on the eidos interactive Videogame by Core

design. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, david tattersall. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Kirk M. Petruccelli. Art direction, James Morahan, dennis bosher, Paul Kirby, Alan tomkins, frank Walsh, su Whittaker. set decoration, sonja Klaus. Costumes, Lindy Hemming. Visual effects and Character Animation by the Moving Picture Company, London. Visual effects by Jim Henson’s Creature shop. Cast: Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), terry sheridan (Gerard butler), bryce (noah taylor), Jonathan reiss (Ciarán Hinds), Kosa (djimon Hounsou), sean (til schweiger), Hillary (Christopher barrie), Chen Lo (simon Yam), Xien (terence Yin), nicholas Petraki (daniel Caltagirone), Village leaders (Lenny Juma, raymond offula, Hezron Ajuala). Synopsis: A wedding on the cliffs of santorini, Greece, is rudely interrupted by a quake that sends boulders and debris into the sea, there to uncover ancient ruins. in fact, as Lara Croft discovers while leading Greek divers to the site, the artifacts were prized possessions of Alexander the Great buried by volcanic eruption. While Lara works to retrieve a glowing orb from a large statue in an air-filled underwater grotto, several men with spear guns kill her friends and wound her. she manages to shoot some and others die as the chamber collapses, but a few escape with the orb. Her underwater vehicle and oxygen tank damaged, Lara cuts her wrist to attract a shark, punches it in the snout, grasps its fin, and is carried to the surface where she hangs onto her boat’s debris and activates a wrist beacon. finding herself atop a submarine, Lara encounters her associates Hillary and bryce. Meanwhile, Jonathan reiss entertains his own associates aboard a private plane, killing one—a traitor to his plans—with poison. He has developed an accelerated form of ebola and also branched out into archaeology. Landing in Hong Kong, reiss learns that Mi6 is on the trail of Chen Lo, who took the orb. At Croft Manor, buckinghamshire, Lara duels Hillary with staffs as bryce loads her pictures of the orb. she wants them to find reference to every orb mentioned in Greek texts. A helicopter lands with two Mi6 agents who tell Lara that Chen Lo deals in anything and everything on the black market and sent a message to reiss. Lara knows reiss is a nobel Prize winner but is told his creations are at the center of bio-terrorism. He’s a modern day dr. Mengele, says one. “Pandora’s box,” murmurs Lara, and asks the agents how life began. she says that 2,500 years ago an egyptian pharaoh found the cradle of life in a box that brought life to earth, but at that moment all that remained was anti-life, or plague which decimated the pharaoh’s army. His son took the box to the ends of the earth and Alexander found it during his invasion of india. it began killing his men so he had it returned to the cradle of life. Where is it now? Alexander hid the map to its location: the orb. if he finds the box first, reiss will unleash a weapon of ultimate dread. one of the Mi6 men reveals that Her Majesty wants Lara to find the box. she needs someone to find Chen Lo and the shay Ling: terry sheridan, a royal Marine turned mercenary. Lara duly retrieves her former comrade in arms and lover, telling him Mi6 will restore his citizenship and identity if he helps her find the shay Ling. she pilots a stealth-like plane into China, letting it crash as she and terry parachute out, meets a woman she knew who kept her motorcycles in working order. Lara and terry set off along the Great Wall and later by foot. Meanwhile, reiss is trying to get the orb from Chen Lo. Lara and terry are captured by the shay Ling and meet Chen Lo, hoping to make a better deal than reiss. However, negotiations break down and Lara fights Chen Lo amidst a plethora of terracotta warriors. Getting the upper hand, Lara takes a medallion from her adversary before killing him. finding terry, they make their escape to shanghai where reiss appears in a helicopter

The Last Exorcism • 173 intending to retrieve the orb. during a shoot-out, Lara plants a tracking device on the chopper and follows reiss to Hong Kong. she and terry find reiss’ lab. she sends images of the orb to bryce, not realizing that reiss and his stooges have taken bryce captive. fleeing with the orb, Lara and terry don gear atop a high-rise and glide like flying squirrels to safety and take ship. Pretending she’s open to some lovemaking, Lara handcuffs terry and asks why he didn’t shoot reiss. He counters that she’s afraid of letting her guard down. she leaves the ship on a dinghy and sends bryce final images of the orb. Within it she begins to see images of Africa. in Kenya, Lara meets up with Kosa and they find a tribe who warn of the burden she carries. if she continues on to the Cradle of Life she must pass the guardians. on the trek they are attacked from above: reiss again. Captured, Lara and Kosa are dragged into a forbidden land where nebulous creatures begin picking off reiss’ men. Lara gets the orb again and drops it into a hole that causes the monsters to dissipate, but the earth collapses, and reiss jumps in after her. terry follows. Lara sees “Pandora’s box” in a pool, which in short order becomes the grave of reiss, who melts away. terry bandages Lara’s arm and she kisses him. He’s perplexed when she says to leave the box alone. He won’t and she shoots him. Lara begins to open the lid but stops and sinks it back in the pool. to Kosa and his tribe she says, “some things are not meant to be found.” she gives the medallion to the chief, meets bryce and Hillary, and they drive away. Reviews: the News Journal said although the story was marginally better than that of the first film, the movie’s “trappings fail to measure up to Jolie’s flashy persona.” (david Germain/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], July 25, 2003, p. 5); The Age found pleasure in the action, especially “the collapsing underwater temple … is a spectacular scene of chaos.” such pleasures were mitigated by continued emphasis on this aspect rather than a story that merely succeeds in reaching te- Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism (Lionsgate/Strike Entertainment/StudioCanal, dium (Philippa Hawker, The Age [Melbourne], septem- 2010). ber 25, 2003, section: A3, p. 10); The Nelson Mail equated Gurland. director of Photography, Zoltan Honti. edited by shilpa its pluses with the first outing: “Angelina Jolie, action and exotic loKhanna. Music by nathan barr. Production design, Andrew bofincations.” nevertheless, it had a plodding story “with little wit or origger. inality.” as well as a humorless and totally invulnerable leading Cast: Cotton Marcus (Patrick fabian), Caleb sweetzer (Caleb character (david Manning, Nelson Mail, March 8, 2004, section: feaLandry Jones), nell Marcus (Ashley bell), iris reisen (iris bahr), tures—opinion, p. 17). Louis sweetzer (Louis Herthum), Pastor Joseph Manley (tony bentAnalysis: it really is all surface. doesn’t anyone know how—or do ley), John Marcus ( John Wright, Jr.), shana Marcus (shanna forrestudio executives demand longer and longer films—to edit anymore? stall), Justin Marcus ( Justin shafer), Logan Winters (Logan Craig the multitude of minions is crazy. Ciarán Hinds’ character might be reid). traced to bond’s nemesis Goldfinger, intimidating his cronies by sacSynopsis: Cotton Marcus, child preacher turned reverend, allows rificing one during a meeting. a film crew to follow him to a farmstead in ivanwood, Louisiana. Although Cotton no longer believes in demons, he does consider himself a healer. At the farm, Cotton confirms that animals have been mysteHe Ast XorCisM riously killed. by nell, the farmer’s amiable teenage daughter? Caleb, nell’s brother, does not welcome Cotton. nell’s father Louis tells Cotton that the demon Abalam has possessed nell. After presumably exThe Last Exorcism orcising the demon, Cotton and his crew discover an uncommunica(Lionsgate/strike entertainment/studioCanal, 2010; tive nell in their motel. A blood test at a nearby hospital detects 87 min.) ★★½ nothing amiss. back at the farm, Cotton recommends a psychiatrist and visits Pastor Joseph Manley to see if he can convince Louis that Produced by eric newman, eli roth, Marc Abraham, thomas A. nell needs therapy. in the night nell “drowns” her doll. she is found bliss. directed by daniel stamm. screenplay by Huck botko, Andrew

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174 • The Last Exorcism, Part 2 to be pregnant. suspicion devolves onto her father but she says it was Logan at the diner. nell kills a cat in the barn. Louis demands another exorcism or else Cotton must skedaddle. nell acquires a knife. Cotton agrees to a second exorcism. in the barn nell goes through a series of horrific contortions. Louis is finally convinced that nell is pregnant and needs psychiatric help. Cotton enlists the reverend Manley’s assistance before leaving town, but upon meeting Logan at the diner, discovers that this presumed father of nell’s baby is gay. Cotton and crew return to the now deserved farmhouse with disturbing runes and signs painted on the walls. Hearing voices, they venture into the dark and find Louis tied up and the reverend conducting some sort of black mass. it appears that nell is giving birth, but to what? the crew wants to leave but Cotton raises his cross and walks toward the fire, aiming to save nell. the crew flees but are cut down, the cameraman by a blade-wielding Caleb. Reviews: The Gazette said it “positively purred” for most of the time but in the final quarter “completely, utterly, absolutely, unquestionably, indubitably ruined any good feelings i had for it with a diabolically stupid ending.” (brandon fibbs, The Gazette [Colorado springs], August 26, 2010); Chud.com complimented the acting but said that while it was ostensibly in The Blair Witch Project “shaky cam” mode, it would disappoint some people because it was “not exceedingly scary or laden with great horror moments….” Yet it might have a long shelf life as “as a story well told.” (nick nunziata, www. chud.com, August 27, 2010). Analysis: inexplicably, this film engenders a more favorable opinion after watching it than while it plays. Perhaps that pertains to Ashley bell’s ingratiating nell. the Blair Witch handheld camera is initially irksome.

(strike entertainment/studioCanal, 2013; 88 min.) ★★

The Last Exorcism, Part 2

Produced by Marc Abraham, thomas A. bliss, eric newman, eli roth. directed by ed Gass-donnelly. screenplay by damien Chazelle, ed Gass-donnelly. story by damian Chazelle. based on characters created by Huck botko, Andrew Gurland. edited by ed Gassdonnelly. director of Photography, brendan steacy. color. Music by Michael Wandmacher. Production design, Merideth boswell. Costumes by Abby o’sullivan. Cast: nell Marcus (Ashley bell), Gwen ( Julie Garner), Chris (spencer treat Clark), Calder (david Jensen), Cecille (tarra riggs), frank Merle (Muse Watson), Louis (Louis Herthum), daphne (erica Michelle), Mo (sharice Angelle Williams), Lily (boyana balta), Pastor ( Joe Chrest). Synopsis: After the horrific occurrences at her farm, the now fatherless and homeless nell finds herself at deveraux, a new orleans facility for troubled adolescent girls. Knowledge of her predicament obviously has preceded her when she is asked, “did you escape from a cult?” the doctor in charge aims to make her stay successful. initial success is compromised when nell begins hears voices on the radio. “it’ll kill us all,” she says, and, “He is still out there,” meaning the demon Abalam. but later she says, “dear Abalam, i’ve decided you’re not real.” she progresses, has a job cleaning a house and finds a friend in Chris. nevertheless, she continues to hear entreaties such as, “He knows where you are.” she tells Chris she was pregnant. “At least i thought i was.” the image of her father appears, warning her that Abalam can roam free if he can seduce her. one evening she rises into the air during sleep. the doctor tells her that the cult doesn’t define

her, “only your actions do.” events overtake her, however, and she leaves a house soon engulfed in flames. driving through town, fires spontaneously erupt in her wake. Reviews: iGn.com was perplexed that it eschewed what made the first film work (found footage, interesting cast, slow buildup) in favor of formula and “predictable jump scares.” (Gregg Katzman, www.ign. com, March 1, 2014); the Tulsa World found it very boring and humorless. “if not for nell’s presence, the cash-grab sequel would be wholly unwatchable.” beyond nell, the filmmakers were unable “to build suspense or create believable characters…” (Michael smith, Tulsa World, March 2, 2013.) Analysis: it was not previewed for critics. in a different world Ashley bell would receive an Academy Award nomination for her guileless and innocent nell. Without her these films would have little impact.

tHe L Ast MAn on eArtH richard Matheson’s famed 1954 novel I Am Legend was several times mined by filmmakers.

The Last Man on Earth

(Produzioni La regina/Associated Producers/American international Pictures, 1964; 86 min.) ★★½

Produced by robert L. Lippert. directed by Ubaldo ragona, sidney salkow. screenplay by William f. Leicester, Logan swanson (richard Matheson), Ubaldo ragona, furio M. Monetti. based on the novel I Am Legend by richard Matheson. edited by Gene ruggiero, franco silvi. director of Photography, franco delli Colli. Music by Paul sawtell, bert shefter. Production design, Giorgio Giovannini. set decoration, brunello serena, Ulloa. Costumes by Angiolina Menichelli. Makeup, Piero Mecacci. Cast: dr. robert Morgan (Vincent Price), ruth Collins (franca bettoia), Virginia Morgan (emma danieli), ben Cortman (Giacomo rossi-stuart), Kathy Morgan (Christi Courtland), Governor (tony Corevi), tV reporter (Hector ribotta). Synopsis: “Community Church. the end Has Come” is a sign in a seemingly unpopulated 1968 metropolis. Yet at least one living man is resident: dr. robert Morgan, survivor of a virulent plague that has turned many people into the walking dead intent on destroying him. Morgan himself has been scouring the city for these night dwellers and stakes their hearts before dropping them into a fire pit. to no avail does Morgan use his ham radio (“KoKW calling. Come in.”) to find more uninfected humans. between bouts of killing the vampires and protecting his house with mirrors and fresh garlic, Morgan reflects on the plague’s beginnings when he worked at the Mercer institute of Chemical research. Most distressing are memories of his daughter and wife, late victims of the plague. even a dog that promises companionship dies. one day he encounters a young woman, ruth, who reveals that she and some others have been taking a plague-preventing serum. but those others are out to destroy him, this man who kills. during a vampire attack on Morgan’s house, ruth’s erstwhile companions arrive, shoot the infected and pursue Morgan to a church where after a valiant fight he is impaled. With his dying breath he calls the black-garbed men “freaks” and claims he is the last man. Reviews: the New York Times said Vincent Price was “stumping

The Omega Man • 175

Vincent Price, The Last Man on Earth (Associated Producers, 1964).

around an earthly wasteland and tangling with a gang of zombies, most of whom he skewers. Case closed.” (Howard thompson, New York Times, september 3, 1964); The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film thought it had “an undeserved bad rep.” it certainly was an inspiration for 1968’s Night of the Living Dead and “a terrifying look at the last of a dead race.” (Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, new York: ballantine books, 1983, p. 416). Analysis: Was George romero influenced by the stark black and white cinematography of this low-budget, italian-lensed feature? the setting is seemingly the U.s. but obviously many of the buildings and apartment blocks are ancient/monumental/modern sterile. it’s oddly compelling although critics at the time gave it short- or no shrift.

(Warner bros., 1971; 98 min.) ★★★

The Omega Man

Produced by Walter seltzer. directed by boris sagal. screenplay by John William and Joyce H. Corrington. edited by William Ziegler. director of Photography, russell Metty. Panavision. technicolor. Music by ron Grainer. Art direction, Art Loel, Walter M. simonds. set decoration, William L. Kuehl. special effects by A. Paul Pollard. Cast: robert neville (Charlton Heston), Lisa (rosalind Cash), Matthias (Anthony Zerbe), dutch (Paul Koslo), richie (eric Laneuville), Zachary (Lincoln Kilpatrick), Little girl ( Jill Giraldi),

Woman in crypt (Anna Aries), tommy (brian tochi), family members (de Veren bookwalter, John dierkes, Monica Henreid, Linda redfearn, forrest Wood), Last boy (steve Goldstein). Synopsis: to the tune “A summer Place,” a man in a red sports car traverses the empty streets of a large metropolis. After stopping to fire his machinegun at a shape in an upper floor window he continues on, a flat tire perturbing him but little. He merely walks into a used car emporium and takes another, crashing it through the showroom window back onto the street. He sloughs off his anguish at the sight of a silent salesman bent over a table and a voluptuous pin-up on the March 1975 wall calendar. At a movie theater he starts the projector and watches Woodstock, mouthing the dialogue and telling himself they don’t make movies like that anymore. Upon leaving the theater the man is agitated to see the sun sinking into the west and says to himself they’ll be out come nightfall. racing home, he remotely opens his garage just as the robed and hooded figures he dreads spring an ambush. He speeds into the garage and brakes, throwing one of his attackers from the car. He machineguns him and others who follow. Lowering the garage door, the man uses a fire extinguisher to douse the flames on the front of the car, starts up his generator and takes an elevator to his fortress. by night he cannot leave lest he confront “the family” led by Matthias, a former news reporter who covered the biological holocaust that wiped out most people and turned the others into night dwellers intent on living a non-technological existence.

176 • I Am Legend only this man in the fortress, Colonel robert neville, has been spared. He remembers finding an antidote. during one of his daylight outings he comes across a normal woman but can’t corral her. Later he is captured by the “family” but the woman, Lisa, and her compatriot, dutch, free and take him to their hideout with some children outside the city. Young richie has been infected but neville cures him with a serum made from his blood. recovered, richie wonders why neville and Matthias can’t live in peace. He goes to Matthias but for his trouble is killed. intent on revenge, neville attacks members of the family but is captured again. He discovers that Lisa has become infected. escaping with her, he is speared by Matthias. dutch arrives next day and retrieves the serum and Lisa. neville expires in the park fountain, a man who may have saved humanity. Reviews: roger ebert found the ghouls “incompetent and illcoordinated,…” but some humans more intriguing, especially the “engagingly brash…” rosalind Cash. the film slowed after a good motorcycle chase and a confrontation with the ghouls in a wine cellar (roger ebert, wwwrogerebert.com, January 1, 1972); the New York Times praised the “vivid, sweeping panoramas of a lifeless metropolis.” Also praiseworthy was rosalind Cash, “a doll with no nonsense about her.” there was “good, slam-bang suspense” in the middle third but “the climax is as florid and phony as it can be,…” (Howard thompson, New York Times, August 14, 1971, p. 13). Analysis: it was a shame that the promise of the opening—the dead city with various decomposed, desiccated corpses uncovered by neville providing a frisson—wasn’t maintained. Yet the music was terrific, most of the action excellently choreographed, especially those times Heston fires a smith & Wesson M76 9mm machinegun. Critics liked rosalind Cash’s brashness but it also seemed too “with it.” (see Charlton Heston’s The Actor’s Life: Journals, 1957–1976 for how Cash ended up in the role after Judy Pace and diahann Carroll were considered). it is a film of its time, what with Lincoln Kirkpatrick’s “brother” told by Anthony Zerbe’s Matthias to forget the past after he accuses their nemesis neville of living in a “honkie paradise.” Like Heston’s Soylent Green, it seemed a bit under-budgeted. As the end

approaches, contrivance rears its head. there is obvious religious imagery when Heston becomes a dying Christ figure, passing on the serum to create a new society. (in The Actor’s Life, Heston muses on how this imagery might or might not work.) it is interesting to remember that a decade previously Heston was El Cid, and even three years before was on top of the cinematic world in Planet of the Apes. All in all, however, this has a certain charm and is worth repeat viewings.

(Warner bros./Village roadshow, 2007; 101 min.) ★★★

I Am Legend

Produced by Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, david Heyman, neal Moritz. directed by francis Lawrence. screenplay by Mark Protosevich, Akiva Goldsman. based on the screenplay by John William and Joyce H. Corrington. based on the novel by richard Matheson. edited by Wayne Wahrman. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, naomi shohan. Art direction, Howard Cummings, bill skinner, Patricia Woodbridge. set decoration, George detitta. Costumes by Michael Kaplan. Creatures designed by Patrick tatopoulos. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Visual effects by Cis-Hollywood. Cast: Lt. Colonel robert neville (Will smith), Anna (Alice braga), ethan (Charlie tahan), Zoe neville (salli richardson), Marley neville (Willow smith), Mike (darrell foster), tV personality (April Grace), Alpha Male (dash Mihok), Alpha female ( Joanna numata), sam the dog (Abbey, Kona), dr. Alice Krippen (emma thompson).

Synopsis: during a 2009 tV interview, dr. Alice Krippen answers that yes, she has found a cure for cancer. in 2012, new York City is a virtually uninhabited desert with weeds and trees infesting the city. one man and his German shepherd samantha roar through the metropolis in his sport scar. this man, robert neville, seems intent on bringing down one of the many deer roaming the streets, but when a lioness springs upon his quarry and a male lion and cub appear he decides not to fire. At home in his fortress-like Washington square walkup, neville makes chow for himself and sam. He has constant flashbacks that haunt him, especially one about unsuccessfully trying to get his wife and daughter Marley to safety off Manhattan when the island was to be quarantined. they were killed in a helicopter crash even as missiles were hitting the bridges. Krippen’s VK virus had indeed gone viral and turned people and dogs into rabid-like beings that could not withstand the light of day and rampaged after nightfall. neville, a doctor, and sam were immune. neville hopes to find an antidote. in hopes of locating other survivors somewhere, he broadcasts each noon, telling anyone who can hear him that he can be found at south street seaport. in his lab he tests various serums on rats, but only one seems to go into remission. following another The family in retreat, The Omega Man (Warner Bros./Walter Seltzer Productions, 1971).

Lawnmower Man • 177 vincing effects. someone recently made the point that there’s almost deer, sam enters a dark building. With increasing trepidation, neville always a quality about the post-apocalyptic tale that just draws one follows, his rifle at the ready. He finds sam cowering under a desk and into the telling. it varies, of course, but even those relatively budgetshines his light into the recesses where he has a brief glimpse of pale starved b-movie examples from earlier days (Five, Target Earth, or figures. He and sam race for the street and the sunlight, only barely Panic in Year Zero, for instance) manage to exert a fascination for us. escaping the human monsters on their tail. neville snares a female I Am Legend is clearly not meager in the budget department, and one from the subset of humanity and begins experiments on her. but marvels at the convincing degree of urban devastation the production neville himself is caught when he steps into a pool of water only to portrays. it moves fast and efficiently and the acting really can’t be find himself whisked into the air. Cutting himself free with only faulted. Yet on the whole it is unremarkable. How many times have minutes to go before the sun sets, he falls and impales his leg. He we witnessed these survivors/survivalists holding off the ranks of the crawls back toward his vehicle with sam, but infected dogs chase them. ungodly on a blasted and deserted earth? Legend doesn’t say or do He manages to shoot them but sam is injured. back at his safe house, anything a dozen other films haven’t already done many times over. neville is distressed when the serum he injects into sam doesn’t work. He strangles her as she tries to savage him. on a pier that night, he runs down the rabid humans but is almost killed himself and would be if not for the entrance of Anna, who drives him to his home. she AWnMoWer An and the young boy ethan had come up from Maryland on their way to what she says is a colony of uninfected people in Vermont. she was originally on a ship from south America but at a port the infection Lawnmower Man began. she thinks God has informed her of the Vermont colony. (Allied Vision, 1992; 107 min.) ★★★ Aghast, neville reminds her that most of humanity is dead and there is consequently no god. to their dismay, the infected humans led by Produced by Gimel everett. directed by brett Leonard. screenplay one particularly violent one enter Washington square, heading for his by brett Leonard, Gimel everett. edited by Alan baumgarten, Lisa home. neville sets off a minefield but more of the monsters arrive, bromwell. director of Photography, russell Carpenter. Color by climb the walls and break in, forcing neville, Anna and ethan to take deluxe. Music by dan Wyman. Production design, Alex Mcdowell. refuge in his basement lab. He discovers that the female he’d been exArt direction, Chris farmer. set decoration, Jacqueline Masson. Cosperimenting on shows signs of recovery and takes a vial of her blood. tumes by Mary Jane fort. special Visual effects Conceived and suHe gives that to Anna and sends her and ethan into a small tunnel pervised by brett Leonard and Gimel everett. special effects by Paul while he takes a grenade and rushes at the leader of the monsters. Haines. Virtual reality simulation sequences and digital Live Action Anna and ethan do indeed find a Vermont colony of immune people Computer Graphic effects by Angel studios and XAos, inc. and give them neville’s vial, the serum he said would produce the anCast: Jobe smith ( Jeff fahey), dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce brostidote. nan), Marnie burke ( Jenny Wright), sebastian timms (Mark bringelReviews: the San Jose Mercury News noted that this was yet another son), terry McKeen (Geoffrey Lewis), father francis McKeen ( Jeattempt to get Matheson’s novel right, but didn’t quiet succeed. it remy slate), Peter Parkette (Austin o’brien), director (dean norris), “soon devolves into yet another special-effects laden zombie movie.” Carla Parkette (rosalee Mayeux), Caroline Angelo (Colleen Coffey), the opportunity to be something more than a monster film was ed Walts ( Jim Landis), Lieutenant Goodwin (troy evans). missed after a “promising setup,…” (bruce newman, San Jose Mercury News, december 12, 2007); The Buffalo News said, “the first 45 minSynopsis: When a chimpanzee he’d trained to kill using Virtual reutes … are so good i’m going to forgive the movie for everything that ality breaks free and kills lab security personnel, dr. Lawrence Angelo happens after the zombies take over.” Will smith was “superb… ” ( Jeff simon, Buffalo News, december 13, 2007); the New York Times extolled Will smith’s characterization and found the film best when he was on his own. However, there was a “third-act collapse into obviousness and sentimentality,…” (A.o. scott, New York Times, december 14, 2007). Analysis: the promising beginning gives way to typical CGi overkill, with the “zombies” acting like the goblins and orcs of The Fellowship of the Rings in their ability to scale walls and columns with superb aplomb. they can also jump and run at high speed and chew ceilings apart. Why? this isn’t a Return of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead remake. Charlton Heston’s neville in The Omega Man was better prepared for the onslaught although in that film the enemy were not so numerous or possessed of superhero attributes. dog lovers must shy away from this film. none of the film versions really adheres closely to the particulars of Matheson’s novel. in this iteration, smith immerses himself more thoroughly into his character than in most of his films. He comes off neither as a superhero nor a wise-ass, but rather as a biologist cum survivalist who’s over his head in a momentous disaster, and doing his best to fix it. I Am Legend Pierce Brosnan (left) and Jeff Fahey, The Lawnmower Man (Allied Vision, gets the job done by virtue of its compelling scenario and con- 1992).

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178 • Lawnmower Man II: Beyond Cyberspace finds himself in a bind. He’s asked to take time off but can’t shake his convictions that he’s on to a revolutionary discovery. He’d wanted to use his techniques on a human. now that’s on hold. His wife leaves him. Meanwhile, Jobe smith, a mentally-challenged yard man working for terry McKeen, is observed by Angelo, who is hardly cognizant that father McKeen has been virtually torturing Jobe for imagined infractions. Angelo finds Jobe a willing subject for his mind-expanding serum and encasement in cyber suits at Virtual space industries. the results are so astounding that Angelo says to himself it’s as if he’s discovered a new planet. As Jobe increases in self-esteem and attire, Angelo’s neighbor Marnie takes notice and seduces him. in the Vsi lab, Angelo’s boss timms wonders how much longer he can keep these tremendous advances secret. A side effect of the drugs causes Jobe to clutch his head while at a diner to which he’d brought young Peter. timms’ offsite director asks him to use the original formulas employed on chimps on Jobe so timms switches vials on Angelo. soon Jobe can move things with his mind. He takes Marnie to the lab for her own cyber suit experience. for Angelo, he levitates a chair while timms observes from above. Jobe says he’s reclaiming mankind’s lost abilities and tries to get into Angelo’s head. At home, Angelo records developments and worries about Jobe’s twisted insights. Going to the lab by himself, Jobe injects himself with multiple doses and at the church sets father McKeen on fire. He confronts service station owner Jake and gets into his head, telling him they’ll be no escape ever. Jobe sends his lawnmower to kill Peter’s abusive father and tells Angelo he’s going to help him purge the planet by projecting himself into the Vsi mainframe. Jobe secures Angelo as the director sends men to kidnap Angelo, but Peter frees him even as Jobe does away with the kidnappers and some of the Vsi guards. Angelo hacks into the mainframe and cuts off egress for anyone entering it. terry drives Jobe to the Vsi gate and is killed by a guard Jobe makes commit suicide. inside, Jobe digitizes timms. Angelo arrives courtesy of Peter’s mom. Jobe enters the cyber sphere as Angelo positions bombs he’d found in the director’s van. Angelo enters the virtual world and tries to reason with Jobe, who’s desperately trying to escape but constantly finds “ACCess denied.” When he hears Peter in the facility, he sends Angelo to save him. Angelo and Peter barely escape as Jobe finally discovers “ACCess GrAnted.” Angelo plans to go underground to continue his research. Accompanied by Peter and Carla, they ascend the stairs and hear the telephone. All over the world phones start ringing. Reviews: the New York Times found the effects “very loud but, after a while, the noise and the lights induce a torpor that is quite soothing.” (Vincent Canby, New York Times, March 7, 1992, p. i20); Video Movie Guide 1997 extolled the “mind-blowing special effects… ” (Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 609). Analysis: nowadays the Virtual reality of this film looks quaint, but it was only 1992. note the similarities with Lucy (2014), in which scarlett Johansson acquires super powers via drug packets that burst inside her. she, too, enters the virtual world. it also foresees the villain of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, who also wants to cleanse the planet of fallible humanity. “dedicated to the Memory of our Co-Producer Milton subotsky.” in 1964 subotsky had co-founded with Max rosenberg Amicus Productions in britain. Genre fans welcomed such Amicus offerings as Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Torture Garden, Scream and Scream Again, The House that Dripped Blood, and Tales from the Crypt.

Lawnmower Man II: Beyond Cyberspace (new Line Cinema, 1996; 93 min.) ★★

Produced by Keith fox, edward simons. directed by farhad Mann. screenplay by farhad Mann. story by farhad Mann, Michael Miner. edited by Joel Goodman, James d. Mitchell. director of Photography, Ward russell. Panavision. Color by Consolidated film industries. Music by robert folk. Production design, Holger Gross, ernest H. roth. Art direction, John Michael Kelly, Vincent reynaud. set decoration, Alexander Carle. Visual effects Created by farhad Man. Visual effects by Cinesite. digital Visual effects by todd-Ao digital images. Cast: Jobe smith (Matt frewer), dr. benjamin trace (Patrick bergin), Peter Parkette (Austin o’brien), dr. Cori Platt (ely Pouget), Jennifer (Camille Cooper), shawn (Patrick La brecque), Jade (Crystal Celeste Grant), travis (sean P. Young), Homeless kid (Mathew Valencia), Jonathan Walker (Kevin Conway), Young Peter (trever o’brien), Homeless lady (Molly shannon), senator Greenspan (richard fancy), security chief (ellis Williams), Guillermo (Castulo Guerra). Synopsis: Jobe smith is resurrected from the ruins of the lab from which he had entered the virtual realm. “Los Angeles: the future”: Peter Parkette, now a motherless teen, lives with his pals under the city where they play virtual reality games. they enter the virtual world, sometimes calling the dog Harvey to insert a mini-disk to help them return. Meanwhile, the restored and legless Jobe tells Peter to find dr. benjamin trace. during a tour of the Virtual Life institute, Jonathan Walker informs senator Greenspan that the virtual realm is now an actual place. Peter finds trace a virtual hermit. His interest piqued, trace goes to the kids’ hangout and observes but declines to enter Vr and speak with Jobe in person. He does communicate with him via the monitor and tells him he’s insane. Hardly miffed, Jobe sends a subway train careening toward the kids’ abode, but trace and the kids manage to escape via a manhole as gas fires erupt. dr. Platt is accosted by trace, who apparently was a one-time flame. on her own, she comes around to investigating Walker, who has Jobe hack and crash senator Greenspan’s plane because the politician failed to support their plans. trace and Peter break into the lab and steal what they think is the Chiron chip. However, Walker kept the real chip elsewhere. by remote hook-up, Walker lets the President of the United states become involved in cyberspace. trace contacts Walker to warn him of Jobe’s ultimate intentions once global interface is achieved, but Walker is not swayed. Jobe sends a helicopter down into trace’s house but trace and the kids escape yet another fiery conflagration. Jobe creates worldwide chaos and designates Walker a terrorist. Cori and the kids plan to steal the Chiron chip while trace confronts Jobe. in the cyberworld, trace and Jobe fight with swords and the interface is stopped, Jobe entering a swirling cylinder before collapsing onto the floor. Walker appears, grabs Peter and demands the Chiron chip. in a fight with trace, he falls and is electrocuted. Peter kneels by Jobe and says, “Let’s go home.” Reviews: the New York Times called it a “peppy if silly specialeffects movie…” (stephen Holden, New York Times, January 15, 1996, p. C16); Video Movie Guide 1997 called it a “supposed sequel” in which nothing made sense (Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 609). Analysis: so Jobe, who’d been labeled insane by trace and had murdered people by proxy, ends the film alive and on a high note: his old self, i.e., mentally-challenged! the PG-13 rating suggests perplexity as to the film’s target audience: adults or videogame-playing teens? normally the foul language would get it the r rating. if it was indeed

Left Behind • 179 intended for kids, it’s a botched attempt that one could imagine being a Goonies or Journey to the Center of the Earth. When released on video it was titled Lawnmower Man: Jobe’s War.

tHe LeAGUe of eXtrAordinArY GentLeMen see under tHe PiCtUre of doriAn GrAY Left beHind there are two legitimate (theatrical) movies, Left Behind (2000), and Left Behind (2014), and two direct-to-video releases: Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002) and Left Behind: World at War (2005). the basis for these “faith-based” films are tim LaHaye and Jerry b. Jenkins’ 16 “end times” novels traced to a form of Christian fundamentalism.

Left Behind

(Cloud ten Pictures/namesake entertainment, 2000; 96 min.) ★½

Produced by Peter Lalonde, Paul Lalonde, Joe Goodman, ralph Winter. directed by Vic sarin. screenplay by Alan Mcelroy, Paul Lalonde, Joe Goodman. based on the novel Left Behind by Jerry b. Jenkins, tim LaHaye. edited by Michael Pacek. director of Photography, George Jiri tirl. color. Music by James Covell. Production design, Arthur W. Herriott. Art direction, Jim Phillips. set decoration, susan Young. Costumes by sharon Mcdonell. digital Visual effects by Calibre digital Pictures. Cast: buck Williams (Kirk Cameron), rayford steele (brad Johnson), Chloe steele ( Janaya stevens), bruce barnes (Clarence Gilyard), Chaim rosenzweig (Colin fox), nicolae Carpathia (Gordon Currie), Hattie durham (Chelsea noble), Jonathan stonagal (daniel Pilon), Joshua Cothran (tony de santis), dirk burton ( Jack Langedijk), ivy Gold (Krista bridges), Ken ritz (neil Crone), steve Plank (thomas Hauff), Pastor Vernon billings (t.J. Jakes), Alan tompkins (Philip Akon). Synopsis: in a field of wheat growing in what was a desert, Gnn correspondent buck Williams interviews israeli scientist Chaim rosenszweig, extolling his formula as a veritable miracle. As they speak about the benefits for mankind, squadrons of military jets from iraq and syria fly towards Jerusalem. some drop to strafe the wheat field. After taking cover in a bunker, buck decides he must cover the unexpected air raid and goes outside to discover that the jets are exploding midair—but not from a counterattack by the israeli air force, which can’t even get off the ground. in Chicago, after a testy goodbye to his wife, son and daughter Chloe, pilot rayford steele travels to new York where he’s scheduled to fly a plane to London. About to enter the Gnn building, buck is contacted by dirk burton and shortly thereafter meets him at the usual place and listens to crazy talk about plans to form one currency and the stonagal-Cothran scheme for world domination via control of the food supply. dirk says rosenzweig may be okay but the financiers stonagal and Cothran are not. buck is a passenger on rayford’s plane. flight attendant Hattie tells rayford she’s accepted a job at the United nations and implores him to leave his wife to be with her, but he declines. buck and Hattie are instru-

mental in calming passengers when many find that their loved ones have disappeared, leaving only their clothing behind. rayford turns the plane back to new York. the country is in an uproar. People have disappeared en mass. from rayford, buck gets a tip on Ken ritz, a friend who can fly him back to new York in his prop-engine plane— for $25,000. Chloe steele comes upon an auto accident scene, has her car stolen, and trudges toward home. there, rayford discovers his wife, son and daughter missing. A curfew necessitates that buck stay in the house with rayford. Chloe arrives courtesy of a military jeep driver, finds some consolation from her father and takes buck to the airport. He wants to find his rather nutty informant dirk. back in Chicago, rayford finds Chloe at school and they discuss the momentous events. in the local church, rayford finds their young pastor bruce distraught that he wasn’t taken with the others. He senses he really didn’t believe and that’s why he’s been left behind. He and rayford watch a video in which the reverend billings explains that those not taken in the rapture must endure seven years of hardship. buck arrives in new York City and discovers his friend dirk has been murdered. He remembers the man’s watch and extracts a small computer disk. A sniper fails to kill buck. With some friends, buck uses the disk that confirms dirk’s previous rant that there is a plan afoot to bankrupt the United nations and control the global food stores. Hattie arrives at rayford’s home only to be turned away. He is now totally committed to God and to his family, or what’s left of it. flying back to Chicago, buck meets his CiA contact Alan tompkins, who is killed when his car explodes. buck takes refuge with rayford. Wounded from the blast, buck is taken to a makeshift hospital. He is shown the reverend billings tape but is not quite ready to give credence to the pronouncements and returns to the U.n. to warn Chaim about the grand conspiracy by his so-called friends. Chaim shows buck the plans for the new temple in Jerusalem and buck finally believes in God and learns that nicolai Carpathia, the U.n.’s new secretary-General, is the Antichrist. At a security Council–like meeting attended by buck at nicolae’s invitation, both stonagal and Cothran are shot and killed by the secretary-General, who designates the 10 delegates who will control 10 realms under his aegis. He convinces them—but not buck—that stonagal killed Cothran and then turned the gun on himself. the press eats up nicolae’s story but buck, entering a church, knows the world is due for those prophesized seven years of turmoil. Reviews: Dove said that despite “a few stilted scenes and occasional awkward dialogue” it was powerful and captured an audience’s imagination (Phil boatwright, www.dove.org/review/3155-left-behindthe-movie/); the New York Times said it was “filmed in the clunking kitsch style of a 1970’s made-for-television disaster movie.” it did capture the appeal of the novel although it wasn’t scary and had “schoollevel acting….” it was recommended as an alternative to 1991’s The Rapture (stephen Holden, New York Times, february 2, 2001). Analysis: Here is a simplistic (conspiratorial) view of good and evil and the way the world works. Posing a crop growing formula for all terrain and available to all would not annihilate ancient animosities. Would a global currency? nicolai Carpathia’s takeover of the United nations is far-fetched unless one believes that he has supernatural powers, which he might possess but is hardly in evidence unless we suppose he used telepathic power, which didn’t work on buck. (nicolai reminds one of randall flagg in stephen King’s 1978 novel The Stand.) buck does express some reservations early on about the influence of a higher power and biblical teachings only to have them countered and to come round later on. there is also a nod to other religions, namely islam, or the “Arabs” here. one might laugh at the scenes where the only evidence of the departed is their clothes. A vision of these naked folks soaring skyward is a bit disconcerting.

180 • Left Behind

(entertainmentone/Phase 4 films, 2014; 111 min.) ★½

Left Behind

Produced by Paul Lalonde, Michael Walker, ed Clydesdale. directed by Vic Armstrong. screenplay by Paul LaLonde, John Patus. based on Left Behind by tim LaHaye and Jerry b. Jenkins. edited by Michael J. duthie. director of Photography, Jack Green. color. Music by Jack Lenz. Production design, stephen Altman. Art direction, Jeremy Woolsey. set decoration, barbara Haberecht. Costumes by Abby o’sullivan. special effects supervisor, Kevin Hannigan. Cast: rayford steele (nicolas Cage), Chloe steele (Cassi thomson), buck Williams (Chad Michael Murray), irene steele (Lea thompson), Hattie durham (nicky Whelan), raymie steele (Major dodson), shasta Carvell ( Jordin sparks), Melvin Weir (Martin Klebba), simon (Quinton Aaron), neighbor woman (Laura Cayouette), dennis (Gary Grubbs), Kimmy (stephanie Honoré), Chris smith (William ragsdale), Pastor bruce barnes (Lance e. nichols). Synopsis: new York City–based PanCon pilot rayford steele can’t make his own birthday, and his daughter Chloe, just arrived home from college, aims to confront him at the airport after insinuating herself into a conversation about religion between news correspondent Cameron “buck” Williams and a young woman. Meeting her father, Chloe is suspicious of a female airline attendant who’d come up the escalator with him. they argue over her mom, irene, who’s become something of a religious fanatic. she needs more consideration, says Chloe, arguing that her dad shouldn’t leave. He retorts that he’s got a job and that Chloe is at college. buck overhears the conversation and tries to console Chloe when rayford boards his plane, the same one taking buck to London. Chloe gives buck the two tickets to a U2 concert she’d been given by an airport employee to give to her dad and asks him to hand them to her father. At home, Chloe tries not to belittle her mother and takes her brother raymie to the mall. suddenly, as she hugs her brother, he disappears and she’s left with only his clothes. she’s not alone. throughout the mall customers are panicking over the disappearance of their companions. More confusion ensues as driver-less cars go out of control and a small plane crashes onto the street. on rayford’s plane a similar event occurs. Among those vanishing are co-pilot Chris, flight attendant Kimmy, and all the children aboard. rayford is in a pickle as ground communication stops and passengers demanding answers try to break into the cockpit. they are held back by buck and flight attendant Hattie, the woman Chloe had seen and correctly guessed was having an affair with her dad. Another problem appears in the form of a plane bearing down on the PanCon. rayford swerves in time to avoid a head-on crash but his right wing is clipped. Leaking fuel catches fire. rayford knows that will stop but the loss of fuel might be critical, and he turns back to new York. After checking the hospital for her mother and brother and finding chaos and a maternity ward bereft of babies, Chloe returns home. she retrieves her mother’s necklace from the shower. At church, she finds Pastor bruce barnes, who says his flock has been taken to Heaven. Why not him? because he only mouthed the words. on the plane, rayford comes to a similar conclusion after examining Chris’ and Kimmy’s belongings. He starts to believe his wife irene was correct. Unglued by events, Chloe climbs to the top of a bridge but as she is about to jump her cellphone rings. it’s buck on the plane. rayford tells Chloe that a short conversation with air control reveals that he can’t land at the new York City airfields because there is no open runway, but his fuel is dangerously low and he won’t be able to make syracuse. Chloe climbs down, races across the bridge and finds an abandoned motorcycle. she rushes to the airport, transfers to a

truck, batters signs and roadblocks from the runway under construction, and provides her dad with the coordinates. the plane’s fuel exhausted, the plane glides toward the runway illuminated by an explosion caused by Chloe. With the elevators inoperable, rayford is not very confident he’ll be able to slow the plane before it goes off the runway, but he does—just in time to avoid smashing into a fuel truck. All the passengers safely debark. observing fires in the distance, buck says it looks like the end of the world, but Chloe says it’s just the beginning … of the end. Reviews: the New York Daily News faulted the lack of big-time special effects, in particular the airplane scenes “seemingly shot in someone’s basement.” (elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News, october 1, 2014); USA Today said this was not the movie that “could explore humanity’s faith and foibles in an enlightening fashion.” Contrary to recent outings, in this nicolas Cage was “relatively understated…” (brian truitt, USA Today, october 2, 2014). Analysis: the global conspiracy/antichrist elements have been ditched for a tighter story that can fit into the airplane disaster subgenre, and as with some of those films many of the characters are stereotypes—and irritating beyond belief. Here it’s the little person with the giant chip on his shoulder, the frantic mom who grabs a gun presumably from the air marshal’s bag, the slightly dimwitted old lady. As noted by critics, nicolas Cage is restrained. As in the original, the Chloe character begins with well-reasoned doubts but apparently comes to believe Heaven is where her mom and brother are residing. it sets up for a sequel, but if it comes, one doubts it will be with Cage and this acting crew. it made little money.

tHe Lord of tHe rinGs “this is the program!” was co-author tom Winchester’s response to one who lumped all modern fantasy movies together as “programmed fantasy crap.” indeed, J.r.r. tolkien’s novels seem as much the inspiration for those fantasy films that preceded Peter Jackson’s movies as his series led to future movies in the genre. oxford don J.r.r. tolkien’s fantasy masterwork, generally viewed and presented as a trilogy, was published in 1954–55. reaction was positive but the craze for anything tolkien was years in the making. Houghton Mifflin obtained U.s. rights, but it was the ballantine paperbacks that fueled the fire in the 1960s. The Fellowship of the Ring appeared in 1965 and by 1970 had gone through 29 printings and was ubiquitous on bookstore shelves and revolving racks in department stores. (Ace got into trouble for releasing an undated The Fellowship of the Ring paperback.) Houghton Mifflin also published a hardbound boxed set in 1965. ballantine released tolkien’s Smith of Wootton Major & Farmer Giles of Ham in 1969. (that year Henry n. beard and douglas C. Kenney of the Harvard Lampoon rolled out Bored of the Rings via signet. thus had Lotr made it.) robert foster’s A Guide to Middle Earth, also for ballantine, appeared in paperback in 1974. open Court published A Tolkien Compass edited by Jared Lobdell in 1975. ballantine published david day’s A Tolkien Bestiary as a large hardback in 1979 and a revised edition that year of J.b. Post’s 1973 An Atlas of Fantasy with the 8-page “the Worlds of J.r.r. tolkien.” the brothers Hildebrandt produced immensely popular calendars in 1976, 1977 and 1978. thus was interest high enough for animator ralph (Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic) bakshi to conceive and make a 1978 rotoscope-animated Lord of the Rings that covered the first half of the trilogy. but it didn’t catch on, thus nixing its continuation. in 1980 rankin-bass produced an animated tV and children’s-oriented version of The Return of the King.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring • 181 barbara strachey’s Journeys of Frodo: An Atlas of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was a ballantine hardback in 1981. Animation seemed till then the only way to properly film the trilogy, what with the plethora of hobbits, dwarves, elves, goblins/orcs, wolves, giant eagles and spiders, speaking and walking tree-tender ents, nazgul, a balrog. not to mention the murky forests, wide rivers, forbidding mountains, fortresses and lairs of both good and evil men and wizards. Perhaps the stop-motion animation of ray Harryhausen and Jim danforth would work, but think of the time and expense. not to worry, personal computers were in the offing. Videogames appeared. Graphics continually improved, and then, at last, CGi (computer-generated imagery). but it was not exactly Hollywood that took advantage. Wellington, new Zealand-born director Peter Jackson (Braindead, Meet the Feebles) had the gumption and drive to make a deal with new Line Cinema to film the trilogy simultaneously, and in new Zealand. it paid off commercially and critically.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (new Line Cinema/Wingnut films, 2001; 178 min.) ★★★★

himself as the evil one’s physical form fled. but isildur was betrayed by the ring and killed. As his body floated down the stream, the ring slipped into the depths and was not found for hundreds of years. the creature to become known as Gollum found it one day and thenceforth was he transformed, living within mountain fastness’s, becoming ever more obsessed with the ring that made him invisible and an expert stalker of the unwary. to his chagrin, a hobbit named bilbo baggins happened by and the ring left Gollum for this new owner. sixty years later Gandalf the Grey, a wizard of renown, visits the shire, home of the peace loving and less than adventurous hobbits. bilbo baggins of bag end is celebrating his birthday and reveals to Gandalf that he will be off to find somewhere to finish composing his adventures. Gandalf convinces him to leave the ring behind for his nephew frodo, which he reluctantly does. frodo finds himself in possession of bag end and the mysterious ring. Gandalf warns him of a dark force gaining ascendance in the east and urges him to leave. frodo’s companion sam Gamgee accompanies him as do Merry and Pippin. Having found and tortured Gollum, sauron realizes that the ring lies somewhere to the West and sends his dark riders, the nazgul, to track it down. Meanwhile, Gandalf rides to saruman, another pow-

Produced by barrie M. osborne, Peter Jackson, fran Walsh, tim sanders. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by Peter Jackson, fran Walsh, Philippa boyens. based on the novel by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by John Gilbert. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. super 35 Widescreen. Color by deLuxe. Music by Howard shore. song: “May it be” Music and Lyrics by enya, nicky ryan, roma ryan. sung by enya. Production design, Grant Major. Art direction, Joe bleakley, Phil ivey, rob outterside, Mark robins. set decoration, dan Hennah, Alan Lee. Costumes by ngila dickson, richard taylor. special Makeup, Creatures, Armor and Miniatures, taylor/WetA Workshop Ltd. digital Visual effects, WetA digital. Cast: Gandalf (ian McKellen), frodo (elijah Wood), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (orlando bloom), Gimli ( John rhys-davies), Arwen (Liv tyler), Gollum (Andy serkis), Lady Galadriel (Cate blanchett), elrond (Hugo Weaving), Merry (dominic Monaghan), Pippin (billy boyd), saruman (Christopher Lee), boromir (sean bean), bilbo baggins (ian Holm), Celeborn (Martin Csokas), Haldir (Craig Parker), Voice of the ring (Alan Howard), everard Proudfoot (noel Appleby), sauron (sala baker), Mrs. Proudfoot (Megan edwards), Witch-King (brent Mcintyre), elendil (Peter Mackenzie), farmer Maggot (Cameron rhodes), rosie Cotton (sarah McLeod), isildur (Harry sinclair), barliman butterbur (david Weatherley), sam (sean Astin). Synopsis: in a past age of Middle earth were forged great rings of power for men and elves. Yet one ring of even greater potency of which they knew not was forged by the dark Lord, sauron. Using this for evil, sauron’s malevolence spread until the races of men and elves gathered and assaulted his fortress. As victory was in their grasp, sauron himself appeared, wearing the ring and smiting his foes. Yet isildur, in rage at the death of his father the King, cut off sauron’s hand and took the ring for

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring poster art (New Line Cinema, 2001).

182 • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring erful wizard, who may know more of what is to come. However, saruman has come under the sway of sauron. After a vicious battle with Gandalf, saruman secures his staff and imprisons him atop his tower from which he can only watch with horror the despoliation of the land about, the uprooted trees hurled into fire pits that saruman’s hideous orcs use to make armor and weapons and creatures in their own image but even more powerful and evil. on their trek, frodo and his companions elude the dark riders and find temporary safety at the sign of the Prancing Pony in bree. they meet the mysterious “ranger” named strider, who warns frodo to be more frightened that he already is. Collapsing to the floor in the inn, the ring falls onto his finger and frodo disappears. immediately the dark Lord’s all-seeing eye hones in on frodo and the dark riders come calling but strider has taken the hobbits to another hostelry. back at saruman’s tower, Gandalf uses a moth to send a message and when saruman appears to give him a second chance to collaborate, escapes on the back of a giant eagle. strider leads the hobbits off road but the dark riders find them and frodo is pierced by a poisoned blade. strider beats off the riders and predicts that frodo will become as the nazgul if the poison cannot be extracted from his wound. Appearing suddenly in the woods is the elf princess Arwen, who takes frodo on her horse and outruns the riders to the river. she chants a spell that causes a flood that washes away the nazgul. in elrond’s abode of rivendell, frodo is cured and wakes to find Gandalf at his bedside. After greeting his other friends, frodo meets new arrivals: boromir of Minas tirith, Gimli the dwarf, and Legolas the elf. At elrond’s bidding, they have come for a council, the result of which is the volunteering by frodo to take the one ring into Mordor and cast it into the fires of Mount doom. boromir will go on the journey though he wishes the decision had been to use the ring for their benefit. Gandalf argued that none of them could control it, that it seeks its maker sauron. the journey begins but saruman can sense and see the party and blocks their mountain path with an avalanche. Gimli’s wish that they take passage through the Mines of Moria comes true, but contrary to the dwarf ’s expectations, within the first chamber of this ancient dwarf realm are only desiccated bodies. in a small chamber they find a book written as the dwarfs fought desperately and ultimately unsuccessfully to keep out the orcs—and something else. After Pippin accidentally knocks various items, including a skeleton, into a well and thus causes unwanted noise, the party are attacked by orcs and a cave troll. frodo takes a spear to the chest but remarkably is unhurt. His undergarment of mithril saved him. rushing from the chamber, the party is eventually cornered by a host of orcs. in the cavern’s distance a fiery light appears and the orcs disperse. Gandalf leads the fellowship pell mell toward the bridge at Khazad-dum where an abominable demon from the underworld, the balrog, is sent crashing into the depths. on its descent it lashes out with his fiery whip and pulls Gandalf into the abyss. outside the mines, the grief-stricken fellowship is marshaled together by strider and continues to the woods of Lothlorien, where dwell other elves, including the Lady Galadriel. frodo gazes into a water mirror, where he sees fire and murder in the shire. Galadriel says he perceives things that were and are and might be if he does not succeed in his quest. she presents him with light from earendil’s star to guide his way. the broken fellowship takes boats but is tracked by saruman’s “fighting UrukHai,” his new orc spawn. during a stop, boromir attempts to convince frodo to give over the ring, but frodo slips it on and disappears. boromir immediately regrets his actions. the camp is attacked by saruman’s orcs while frodo makes his way to the river, intending to go on alone. boromir is killed by the Uruk-Hai leader but strider decapitates the monster and the others are routed or killed but not before making off with Merry and Pippin. strider knows frodo has chosen

to go alone. but not quite. sam tries to swim out to the boat and is saved from drowning by frodo, who realizes sam must accompany him. back on shore, strider tells Legolas and Gimli that they have their own mission: to track the orcs and rescue Merry and Pippin. on the opposite shore, frodo and sam leave and soon find themselves observing the fires of Mt. doom in the far distance. Reviews: the Financial Times’ astute film critic was engaged and impressed, calling director Jackson’s “film of the unfilmable is as close to great filmmaking as an epic-sized pop-mythological kiddyflick can get.” The Fellowship of the Ring “makes Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone seem like low-budget children’s television.” (nigel Andrews, “the other ring cycle catches fire,” Financial Times, the Arts, december 14, 2001, p. 17); The Age found it “good but not great.” it began “slowly and ponderously,….” it was a half hour too long. its “main saving grace … is its astonishing visual showcase,….” the filmmakers seemed more geared toward tolkien fans. that said, “the action payoff is worth it” ( Jim schembri, The Age [Melbourne] Entertainment Guide, december 28, 2001, p. 8); Time found it an admirable cinematic rendition of a “favorite fable” with “a vigorous life of its own— grandeur, moral heft and emotional depth.” (richard Corliss and richard schickel, Time, december 31–January 7, 2002); Boxoffice said some “stumbles and fumbles” hardly mattered because Jackson “has captured something of the depth, breadth, and melancholy grandeur of tolkien’s vision.” (L.J. strom, Boxoffice, february 2002). Analysis: A portent of things to come were tV ads months in advance of the premiere that surprised a public unaware that the tolkien movies were being made in new Zealand. When the ads did appear the sight of that line of wanderers led by a wizened, bearded man in a wide-brimmed, pointed hat fairly had some jumping out of their chairs. “say what, somebody’s filmed The Fellowship of the Ring?” And Jackson got 99% of it right. The Fellowship of the Ring is a great film. there are a number of sequences that one would have liked to linger over. Certainly any tolkien lover could easily endure 20 minutes of footage at the Prancing Pony, for instance, or a full half-hour at rivendell. that, even, for the Council of elrond. these scenes, among others, have been ones we’ve re-read over the years. the entire journey to rivendell, for that matter, just seemed to hurry past at an exaggerated clip, almost as though strider and the halflings made it over a long weekend. Wasn’t the Hobbiton to rivendell distance something like 900 miles (300 leagues?). the biggest problem presented by a film like this can be in handling the passage of time. didn’t quite a spell pass between bilbo’s birthday departure and frodo’s own leaving, something like years? in the film it seemed that their respective journeys were only days (or maybe weeks) apart, snippets of dialogue notwithstanding. nevertheless, Peter Jackson’s movie was done the way it had to be. in truth, the two hours and fifty minutes pass incredibly quickly. Has 170 minutes ever gone by so swiftly? in a perfect world, The Lord of the Rings would probably be six films, not three. remember that each volume of LotR comprises two books, and book one ends at the ford leading into rivendell, not with the breaking of the fellowship. A film following that pace would have a place for tom bombadil and Goldberry (one could picture Christina Aguilera as the forest nymph), farmer Maggot, barliman butterbur, and even fatty bolger. no matter, though. What we have is about as close to perfection as we’re ever likely to see. thankfully The Fellowship of the Ring wasn’t much sanitized for children. there are at least two decapitations and many skewerings by Legolas’ arrows (orlando bloom’s elf caused girls to swoon). none of the liberties Jackson takes with tolkien’s tale is very bothersome. one can only quibble with the elimination of the barrow downs, and the goblins in the Mines of Moria having the ability to ascend and descend huge columns like ants. some

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers • 183 might find Arwen’s “warrior princess” stance too much, but it was nicely handled. While purists might have liked to see Glorfindel save frodo at the ford, the idea that elrond’s daughter fears not to defy the nazgul is not a bad thing. Liv tyler is an appropriately comely Arwen. in fact, there’s little to take issue with concerning the casting. even the callow-ness of the hobbits that was to be feared from the earliest trailers never really materialized. Wood, Astin and the rest took no getting used to at all. As Galadriel, Cate blanchett was appropriately cool and detached and her performance right on target. each performer nails his/her character perfectly, obviously, but some of the casting is truly inspired. Will it be possible henceforth to imagine someone other than ian McKellen as Gandalf, or saruman not being Christopher Lee? (on March 16, 2002, ian McKellen hosted Saturday Night Live on U.s. tV and quipped that he’d become an action figure). Howard shore’s majestic, operatic, curiously and happily idiomatic score was commanding aplenty, without ever taking center stage— which, we’re told, film music must never do, although one can easily disagree. none of shore’s previous efforts would give one the notion that he was so appropriate a compositional choice for LotR. serendipity or inspired genius? Maybe he just rose to the occasion. He certainly delivered. the film is lyrical and expansive, the pastoral alternating with the epic. the tonal picture seemed idiomatic and compelling. some have bemoaned the lack of singing, which figured plenty in the books. Perhaps the filmmakers thought folk today might consider that corny. there are perhaps allusions to orff, who wrote big, basically simple, bombastic choral music, and any music that adopts those traits would naturally be compared to him (which was said about bernstein’s Mass some decades ago). At any rate, shore seems to have provided LotR with the big, sweeping, spacious, symphonic treatment that it demanded. one could have imagined england’s ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) scoring LotR, if the film had been made back in the day. Vaughan Williams seems ideally capable of the tremendous emotional shifts a score like LotR would require, from Vesuvian violence and pounding rhythms to the quiet pastorals and introspective mood pieces. nobody could really capture the english pastoral essence like Vaughan Williams (except maybe delius), and as anybody who has experienced his Sinfonia Antarctica (inspired by his score for the 1948 movie Scott of the Antarctic) or the ballet Job knows, his command of the epic and grandiloquent was unquestioned.

Synopsis: the fellowship was broken but not destroyed. Gandalf was pulled into the abyss by the balrog’s whip, but he latched onto his sword and battled the demon as they fell. finally landing on a peak, the wizard cast down the monster. Meanwhile, frodo and sam continue toward Mordor, Gollum on their trail. they capture this creature once known as smeagol and convince him to lead them to sauron’s realm. on another path, saruman’s orcs carry Merry and Pippin ahead of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, but the threesome make headway only to discover that eomer, outcast from rohan via the treachery of Wormtongue, his father King theoden’s toady, has destroyed the orcs and burnt their carcasses. examining the scene, Aragorn detects sign that Merry and Pippin crawled away into fangorn. Within that mysterious wood, the two hobbits meet treebeard, an ent, herder of trees. He is not sure who these small beings are but says the wizard will know. When Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli come upon this wizard they discover that it is Gandalf, transformed by his travail from Gandalf the Grey into Gandalf the White. He summons the white stallion shadowfax, and leads the way to King theoden’s rocky fortress. He uses his staff to draw from theoden’s body the spirit of saruman. the King banishes Wormtongue and accepts the fact that saruman’s orcs and bad men are abroad but chooses not to engage them. rather, he leads his forces toward Helm’s deep, thinking it invulnerable to attack. Gandalf tells Aragorn to go with theoden and to look for him in a few days’ time. Unknown to them, frodo and sam are progressing through a swamp, avoid detection by a black rider upon a flying monstrosity, and arrive at the black Gate, frodo all for following a large troop of soldiers inside. sam and Gollum hold him back. Gollum says there is another way. King theoden’s people, many of them women and children, are attacked by warg-riding orcs and Aragorn falls from a cliff, apparently into the river far below. Arwen is asked by her father elrond to go into the West. if she stays with Aragorn he will die a mortal’s death and she will wander alone. elrond hears the voice of Galadriel tell him that elves once had an alliance with men; perhaps it is his duty to reinstitute it in these dire times. Merry and Pippin argue with treebeard about lending their support, and he calls a convocation of his fellow ents. the immediate result of their pow-wow is only to confirm that these hobbits are not little orcs. it is only when treebeard takes the hobbits south and discovers how saruman has ravaged his own countryside that the ents enter the war. they attack saruman’s

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (new Line Cinema, 2002; 179 min.) ★★★★

Produced by barrie M. osborne, fran Walsh, Peter Jackson. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by Peter Jackson, fran Walsh, Philippa boyens, stephen sinclair. based on the book by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by Michael Horton. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Music by Howard shore. Production design, Grant Major. Art direction, Joe bleakley, Phil ivey, rob outterside, Mark robins. set decoration, dan Henah, Alan Lee. Costumes by ngila dickson, richard taylor. special Make-Up, Creatures, Armour, Weapons and Miniatures by WetA Workshop Ltd. new Zealand. Cast: Gandalf (ian McKellen), frodo (elijah Wood), sam (sean Astin), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (orlando bloom), Arwen (Liv tyler), Gollum (Andy serkis), saruman (Christopher Lee), Galadriel (Cate blanchett), Gimli/treebeard ( John rhysdavies), Pippin (billy boyd), Merry (dominic Monaghan), theoden (bernard Hill), eowyn (Miranda otto), faramir (david Wenham), eomer (Karl Urban), Wormtongue (brad dourif ), elrond (Hugo Weaving).

Andy Serkis as Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line Cinema, 2002).

184 • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King domain, breaking a dam and flooding his subterranean foundries as the evil wizard watches in horror. Having been captured by faramir and the men of Gondor, frodo and sam wonder how to continue their journey. At frodo’s urging, faramir spares Gollum. faramir comes to realize that the ring about frodo’s neck is the one ring that can give him and his men victory. sam tells him such thoughts came to faramir’s brother boromir and destroyed him. A nazgul appears overhead and although frodo knows that if he puts on the ring sauron will see him, finds himself compelled to do so. However, sam knocks him down before he can. back in rohan, Aragorn’s steed finds his almost lifeless body on a shoal. slowly mounting, Aragorn rides for Helm’s deep, on the way spotting the massive host of Uruk-Hai that saruman had unleashed to destroy rohan. At Helm’s deep, he is given by Legolas the necklace Arwen had forced him to keep when he said she must leave Middle earth with her kin. Unexpectedly, an elfish army sent by elrond arrives to lend support. the orcs in great numbers appear and lay siege to the fortress, finally breaching the wall with large spiked balls containing an explosive powder created by saruman. retiring into the cavern, Aragorn tells theoden they can ride out in a last attempt to win victory. in the light of a new day Aragorn espies high on a hillside Gandalf and the horsemen of eomer, who charge down upon the orcs. blinded by the light and Gandalf ’s staff, they are broken and destroyed. At osgiliath, faramir believes sam’s tale and allows the hobbits to proceed, with Gollum their guide. As the three pass into the wilderness, Gollum scampers ahead, dueling with himself over appeasing his “master” or throttling him. He concludes that he need not do anything, “she” will take care of the hobbits and he will retrieve his “precious.” Reviews: this time the Financial Times’ critic found the going slower but the spectacle impressive. He continued to wonder if Liv tyler was auditioning for a soap commercial and said that McKellen and Christopher Lee “prove there is no ham like british ham,….” on a more positive note, elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen had “become, in the best sense, part of the landscape.” (nigel Andrews, “Journey to the black gates of Mordor,” Financial Times, december 13, 2002, p. 14); Rolling Stone said the Helm’s deep siege “ranks with the greatest battles in film history.” As the middle chapter of the trilogy, there was no beginning or end “but Jackson keeps the action percolating.” Gollum was key to the battle between good and evil (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, december 18, 2002); the Northern Territory News identified “hope” as the overarching theme of both this and its predecessor. it cited pre-release opinion that the film’s fortune would ultimately depend on the computer-generated Gollum. “if this is indeed the case then the film is a flat-out success.” (Paul dyerin, Northern Territory News, december 27, 2002). Analysis: The Two Towers is a grand film. it carries the story forward probably as well as tolkien’s novel. some may be a tad disappointed that director Jackson didn’t wrap things up with Gandalf and company’s confrontation with saruman at isengard (as Professor t did in his book), but we suspect Jackson’s approach—to save that moment for the next film—makes better dramatic sense. Also, it perhaps adds to the drama to show more friction (not that it’s a lot) between frodo and sam as they progress into Mordor and the ring’s vile influence increases. A preview of shelob would not have been minded, either. observations criticizing Jackson’s emphasizing the “romance” between Aragorn and eowyn would appear overstated. this may be more in the perception of the viewer than anything overt on Jackson’s part. didn’t the eowyn of the book show great admiration for him, the kind of esteem depicted in the film? not quite romance. Andy serkis’s Gollum? the digital magic that brings smeagol into graphic existence is phenomenal. it relegates even the mighty Yoda to has-

been status. How could one take issue with serkis’s performance and the technology that gives it legs? Gollum simply emerges as a real, live character. better, perhaps, than anyone could have imagined. the viewer simply accepts this pathetic creature as readily as the “live” members of the cast. roger ebert insisted that the hobbits were relegated to the background in the movie, but again, as with Fellowship, it’s hard to confirm that. Merry and Pippin, perhaps. their part in the story isn’t emphasized here to the extent that it is in the book, but the essence of their contribution is largely intact. if memory serves, most of the Merry/Pippin/treebeard scenes in the book were largely dialogue. obviously, the battle of Helm’s deep is the centerpiece of Jackson’s The Two Towers; everything leads to and focuses on it. but frodo’s and sam’s trek into Mordor carries considerable dramatic weight, too, perhaps more real drama than the frequently-over-thetop heroics involved with the battle in rohan. but, since roger gave the film only two and a half stars, it’s obvious that he had further issues with it. Howard shore’s music again provides admirable support for the on-screen goings-on. there was more original music than expected, doubtless owing to the opening up of the story and the growing expanse of geography covered. With The Return of the King, shore will have an impressive opus indeed. Whoever said that this trilogy would be the Holy Grail of genre films, a triumph of fantasy film making without parallel, was correct. The Return of the King will sadly represent the end of an era. As the movie concludes, one feels a sense of melancholy. We see the end in sight. not until the following december, true, yet we perceived the sense of loss that would overcome us when this breathtaking trilogy concluded. Can one have reservations about The Two Towers? Maybe quibbles. the battle of Helm’s deep is impressive, living up to the superlatives audiences have heaped upon it. it might be a little too drawn out, however, and weakened by the abundance of reckless heroics by Aragorn. Maybe that’s necessary for modern audiences. As was Legolas’s shield-surfing down those stone steps while he loosed deadly arrows at the orc invaders. Was that meant to appeal to the Venice beach crowd? or was it just felt to be cool? (it was a gasp-inducing sight, and the crowd went wild). on the other hand, the elf’s failure to stop the flame-brandishing orc from reaching the powder kegs secreted beneath the deep’s wall was highly effective. Legolas nailed him every time, but the determined goblin just kept coming! if one may wish the battle shortened, it may be ironic to complain that a longer “rescue” by Gandalf and eomer’s riders would be welcomed. the riders of rohan should have delivered fierce carnage to the orcs, one where the result would have been a more compelling and obvious rout of the Uruk-Hai. not that Jackson’s version is terribly lacking, but more balance is desired. (We’d like to know how Gandalf and the horsemen who made up the front rank of the rescuing force managed to survive that wall of pikes the Uruk-Hai presented to them! the resurrected Mithrandir’s magic, perhaps?) but this is only a minor blemish. in sum, we’ll never see a better version of The Two Towers than this. Although the explosive balls used to breach the wall at Helm’s deep seem a pandering to audiences in love with explosions, something like this occurs in the book, and the resulting chaos of flying rocks and ladders and figures—orc and human—is mightily impressive.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (new Line Cinema/Wingnut films, 2003; 201 min.) ★★★★

Produced by barrie M. osborne, Peter Jackson, fran Walsh. directed by Peter Jackson. screenplay by fran Walsh, Philippa boyens, Peter Jackson. based on the book by J.r.r. tolkien. edited by Jamie

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King • 185 selkirk, Annie Collins. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Kodak Motion Picture film. fujifilm. Prints by deLuxe. Music by Howard shore. “into the West” sung by Annie Lennox. Production design, Grant Major. Art direction, Joe bleakley, simon bright, Phil ivey, Mark robins. set decoration, dan Hennah, Alan Lee. Costumes by ngila dickson, richard taylor. special Makeup, Creatures, Armour, Weapons and Miniatures by WetA Workshop Ltd., new Zealand. digital Visual effects designed and Created by WetA digital Ltd., Wellington, new Zealand. Cast: Gandalf (ian McKellen), frodo (elijah Wood), Aragorn/strider (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (orlando bloom), Arwen (Liv tyler), Gollum/smeagol (Andy serkis), saruman (Christopher Lee), Galadriel (Cate blanchett), samwise Gamgee (sean Astin), Pippin (billy boyd), Merry (dominic Monaghan), Gimli ( John rhys-davies), elrond (Hugo Weaving), faramir (david Wenham), King theoden (bernard Hill), eowyn (Miranda otto), eomer (Karl Urban), bilbo baggins (ian Holm), boromir (sean bean), denethor ( John noble), Witchking (Lawrence Makoare), Celeborn (Marton Csokas), King of the dead (Paul norell), Voice of the ring (Alan Howard).

Miranda Otto as Eowyn (“I am no man!”) vs. the Witch King of Angmar, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, 2003).

Synopsis: While angling, a hobbit is pulled into the water by a large fish and finds a golden ring in the streambed. fascinated by the discovery, his friend smeagol wants the ring for himself as a birthday present. they argue and fight and smeagol commits murder to acquire the ring, not realizing until he puts it on that it will transform him into a loathsome creature feasting on raw fish and hiding in the dark places of the world. in the present, frodo, sam and Gollum rest before continuing across a blasted heath toward Mordor. With the battle of Helm’s deep won, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ride to saruman’s realm and discover Merry and Pippin alive and well. the ents have confounded and cornered the wizard in his tower. When Pippin discovers a large orb in a pool of water, Gandalf takes possession and covers it over. At edoras in the land of rohan, Pippin is drawn to the orb in the wizard’s sack but when he looks into it during the night discovers something staring back at him. He is felled. Gandalf quickly covers this Palantir, which saruman had used to communicate with sauron and which that dark Lord employs to learn what transpires beyond Mordor. Gandalf realizes that sauron has seen Pippin and thinks he is the hobbit carrying the one ring. He takes Pippin to Minas tirith. during her journey from rivendell, Arwen has a vision of Aragorn and a young boy and returns to rivendell to confront her father elrond. He realizes she is losing her power and will become mortal. the sword that was broken is reforged. to Gandalf ’s displeasure, Pippin reveals to denethor, the steward of the kingdom, that his son boromir died defending him. He vows fealty to denethor. Gandalf tells Pippin that in the coming battle sauron’s forces will be led by the Witch-King of Angmar who had stabbed frodo early in the hobbits’ journey. Minas Morgul is his lair, at which frodo, sam and Gollum have arrived. Gandalf tells Pippin to climb to the watchtower and start the fire to signal sentinels across Gondor to light their own beacons and call others to arms even as orcs cross the river into osgiliath.

elrond goes to Aragorn in theoden’s camp to present him with the reforged sword Anduril, urging him to shake off his ranger persona and regain his true status. eowyn doesn’t understand Aragorn’s decision to leave on the eve of battle. He tells her he can’t give her what she desires and rides off with Legolas and Gimli into the defile beneath the dwimorberg. theoden tells eowyn she must return to edoras to help defend it. the rohirrim mount and head for war. At Minas tirith the orc army surges slowly but inexorably across the plain with catapults and siege towers, and when denethor proves incompetent, Gandalf knocks him insensible and takes charge. both sides use catapults on the other. in a large cavern, Aragorn meets the spirit king and his Army of the dead, those who were consigned to his netherworld by isildur of Gondor when they broke faith. the ghost king threatens Aragorn but the reforged sword fends off the specter’s blade. At Minas tirith, faramir’s horse drags his arrowriddled body through the gate. osgiliath is abandoned and Gandalf rides out and uses his staff to impede the nazgul flying above the retreating horsemen. frodo, sam and Gollum watch a huge army march past their hiding place as overhead flies the Witch-King. faramir, realizing that his father would rather he died than boromir, agrees to denethor’s suicide mission to attempt to recapture osgiliath. At Minas Morgul, Gollum convinces frodo that sam is a liability and frodo tells his friend to leave. At Minas tirith, faramir leads horsemen against the orcs as denethor has Pippin sing to him. elrond tells Aragorn that Arwen is dying and will not long survive. Her life is tied to the fate of the ring. He reveals that corsairs sail at sauron’s command, thus Gondor is to be attacked in two places and needs more men. Aragorn has a vision of ghost-like figures. Gollum leads frodo to a forbidding tunnel into the rock. scrambling and falling, sam finds the lembas bread he realizes Gollum discarded and turns around. Abandoned by Gollum, frodo finds bones and giant webs. Gollum attacks him but is beaten off. frodo sees a vision of Galadriel speaking of the phial containing the light of earendil’s star. He uses it

186 • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, 2003).

to fight off a giant spider. Meanwhile, night brings no peace to the defenders of Minas tirith and a wolf ’s head battering ram splinters the gate. Gandalf cries to withdraw to the second tier. Having disposed of Gollum for the moment, frodo sees sauron’s tower in the distance but is poisonously pricked by the spider. sam finds him cocooned and insensible and must use his sword to wound and drive off the spider—the “she” Gollum had muttered under his breath. orcs arrive and take frodo’s body. At Minas tirith, denethor plans a flaming burial for faramir. A horn is heard. it’s theoden and the rohirrim, many thousands strong. eowyn, obscured by her helmet, rides with Merry. they charge into the orc lines, wreaking havoc. in the city, Pippin urges Gandalf to stop the burial of faramir, who yet lives. Gandalf intervenes and denethor, himself afire, flings himself from the parapet, thus ending the line of stewards. the orc army is joined by the corsairs of the south. they bring Mumakil, gigantic, multi-tusked, elephantlike creatures. nevertheless, theoden’s men charge and bring down many of these beasts. Legolas climbs upon one and topples the howdah and uses his arrows to cause the creature to crash to earth. inside the city, Gandalf comforts Pippin. nazgul appear and unhorse theoden. More ships arrive at the harbor but to the discomfiture of waiting orcs, disgorge Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the ghost warriors, who sweep all aside. Protecting her father, eowyn faces the nazgul

lord and is told by him that her no man can kill him. removing her helmet, she shouts, “i am no man!” and plunges her sword into the witch lord’s face. He shrivels and collapses. eowyn comforts her dying father. sauron’s army defeated, Aragorn releases the ghost warriors from their oath and they dissipate. Pippin finds Merry, wounded but alive. in an orc tower, frodo wakes. sam takes advantage of orcs fighting among themselves to rescue him. frodo says all is for naught as he no longer has the ring—but sam does. its power undiminished, he somewhat reluctantly returns it to the ring bearer. they dress in orc armor and make their way toward Mount doom. in the city, Gandalf says that frodo has passed beyond his sight. He says that 10,000 orcs lie between frodo and his goal but proposes to draw that army away by massing at the black Gate. facing Mordor, Aragorn harangues his troops. there may be a day when men fail to do their duty, but this is not that day. He leads the charge toward the orc horde that had emerged and surrounded his army. Ascending Mt. doom, frodo finds an entrance to a precipice overhanging a fiery furnace. the giant eagles arrive and attack the nazgul. frodo holds the ring over the abyss. it draws sauron’s eye as well as that of Gollum, who wrests it away by biting off frodo’s finger, but he falls into the pit with his “precious.” As the ring melts away in the lava, sauron’s tower comes crashing down, Mt. doom erupts, the earth splits, and the orcs flee. frodo and

Herbie: Fully Loaded • 187 sam run from the precipice. falling exhausted on a rocky outcrop as lava flows by, they are rescued by Gandalf and the eagles. frodo wakes in a fine bed to find Gandalf observing him. Merry and Pippin come in and jump on the bed. then appears Gimli, followed by Legolas, Aragorn and sam. Later, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor by Gandalf. “now comes the day of the King!” elrond is there and reveals that Arwen is, too. Aragorn kisses her. When all bow to their new ruler, he calls the hobbits to stand and bows to them. thus the fourth Age of Middle earth begins. the hobbits return to the shire, sam marries, and frodo begins writing The Lord of the Rings. four years pass when frodo takes bilbo to the harbor for his journey into the West. to the surprise of Merry, Pippin and sam, frodo is also taking the journey. sad of heart, sam watches the ship sail slowly away. He returns to his family, which now includes two children, goes inside, and closes the door. Reviews: Morning Edition commended director Jackson for not letting the battles to end all battles subvert the emotional connection audiences had with the characters. the new creatures such as the Mumakil, were thrilling (Kenneth turan, Morning Edition [nPr], december 17, 2003); Rolling Stone found some of the CGi effects less than excellent and no romantic heat between Aragorn and Arwen. nevertheless, the filmmakers “deftly crisscross the film’s many plot strands.” the trilogy was “a colossus on the march into screen legend.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, december 17, 2003); New York thought it thoroughly and excellently brought the trilogy to an end. it was in fact “without parallel as a sustained piece of fantasy-fiction adaptation.” (Peter rainer, New York, november 22, 2003). Analysis: it won 11 Academy Awards—in every category in which it was nominated. At the regal Cinema in Wilmington, delaware the opening day’s afternoon showing found students from Concord and brandywine (!) High schools yelling, “Viggo, i love you!” and at the conclusion, “i have to pee!” everyone was choked up when frodo bid goodbye and sailed into the West. We knew we would not see its like again. the extended edition dVd had 50-some minutes added, but this didn’t seem to compromise the film. All the new footage was noticeable, but somehow the added material didn’t make it seem padded at all. it did make it seem more complete, of course. Among the definite pluses: closure given to saruman and Wormtongue (which also clarified the appearance of saruman’s Palantir in the dirty water outside orthanc), the Mouth of sauron, more incidents on the Pellenor fields, a longer stay along the Paths of the dead. the two disks of extras were up to the standards set by the previous sets. the lengthy segment on the score informs us that Howard shore toured with a 2-hour Lord of the Rings “symphony.” it is surprising that modern audiences would sit patiently for a 2-hour opus of any sort, but two hours of shore’s opus might be the ticket. of the interesting notes is that Jackson and company came close to having a mano-amano confrontation between Aragorn and sauron. in fact, in the Aragorn versus the huge armored troll fight at the Gates of Mordor, that troll was originally sauron. Ultimately (and thankfully) the idea was scrapped as being too “demeaning” to the heroism of Aragorn. that heroism was sufficiently displayed in all three films without resorting to this kind of departure from the original texts. While the idea of seeing sauron as a “beautifully handsome being” (as the predestruction-of-numenor sauron was described by tolkien) is intriguing, the ending as Jackson filmed it is to be preferred. the extra disk(s) are full of nostalgic reflections by cast and crew. not surprising considering how we ourselves felt a bittersweet nostalgic twinge with the closing of the film enterprise.

tHe LoVe bUG see Volume 1 for The Love Bug (1968), Herbie Rides Again (1974), Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), and Herbie Goes Bananas (1980).

(Walt disney Pictures/buena Vista, 2005; 95 min.) ★★½

Herbie: Fully Loaded

Produced by robert simonds. directed by Angela robinson. screenplay by thomas Lennon, robert ben Garant, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar. story by thomas Lennon, robert ben Garant, Mark Perez. based on characters created by Gordon buford. edited by Wendy Greene bricmont. director of Photography, Greg Gardiner. technicolor. Music by Mark Mothersbaugh. Production design, daniel bradford. Art direction, david s. Lazan. set decoration, don diers. Costumes by frank Helmer. Visual effects by entity fX, Cis Hollywood, industrial Light and Magic. Cast: Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan), ray Peyton, sr. (Michael Keaton), trip Murphy (Matt dillon), Kevin ( Justin Long), ray Peyton, Jr. (breckin Meyer), sally (Cheryl Hines), Crash ( Jimmi simpson), Charisma ( Jill ritchie), Larry Murphy (thomas Lennon), Crazy

Lindsay Lohan on set of Herbie: Fully Loaded (Walt Disney Pictures, 2005).

188 • Mad Max: Fury Road dave ( Jeremy roberts), beeman (e.e. bell), Jimmy d. (Patrick Cranshaw), Monster truck driver ( Jim Cody Williams), Juan Hernandez (Peter Pasco), Miguel Hernandez (Mario Larraza), themselves ( Jeff Gordon, dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, tony stewart, stuart scott, Allen bestwick, benny Parsons). Synopsis: Volkswagen #53’s glory days are gone and he’s sent to Crazy dave’s scrap & salvage, where “We Put the Cash in Crash.” While waiting for his turn in the crusher, the VW “bug” finds himself purchased for $75.00 as a present for Los Angeles University graduate Maggie Peyton, whose racing car crew chief father ray Peyton, sr., is happy she’ll be off to new York and a career beyond race car driving, at which she excelled. in the glove compartment of #53 is a note that perplexes Maggie: “Please take care of Herbie. Whatever your problem, he’ll help you find the answer.” More to her astonishment is that Herbie accelerates and takes off without her lifting a finger or foot and rolls into Kevin’s Custom Car shop. one of her high school classmates, Kevin goes for a drive with Maggie and they end up at a car exhibition where nextel Cup Champion trip Murphy is hawking his videogame. in Herbie’s trunk Kevin finds an old racing helmet and uniform that Maggie dons after trip’s car squirted oil on her top. When Herbie takes control and scratches trip’s car with his mirror, the spectators demand a street race. to almost everyone’s surprise, Herbie wins. Later, at his shed, Kevin expresses skepticism that the car drove itself over the finish line. At home, Maggie’s dad ray wants her to promise no more street racing. she tells him Kevin’s friend Max was driving Herbie and it was a one-shot deal. At trip Murphy racing inc., trip watches video replay of the race and requests a rematch, a two-day event in which the top two cars after day one will race each other for all the marbles. As hoped for, at trip Murphy’s sudden death showdown, Herbie and trip’s car are the top two. Watching videotape again, trip spots long hair under the helmet of “Max.” Maggie accepts his invitation to take his car for a spin. While she’s gone he examines #53. When Maggie returns he proposes that the race be for “pinks,” in other words, the cars themselves. Having gotten wind of the deal, Herbie purposefully loses the race. As Maggie removes her helmet, trip calls her an amateur who choked. she tells Kevin she never should have done it. Herbie is taken away by trip’s crew. to retrieve Herbie, Maggie must brave the pit at Jimmy d.’s demotion derby. incredibly, she launches Herbie into the air and onto a monster truck, causing the tires to come off. Arriving with the battered Herbie at Kevin’s, Maggie says she’s been a jerk but he must help Herbie. When ray Jr. qualifies for the nextel race but crashes his car, he advises turning over the job to Maggie. Her dad says it’s not going to happen, he doesn’t want to lose her like he lost her mother. she counters that on the inside she’s her dad and racing is in her blood. Maggie, Kevin, ray Jr., and his crew revamp Herbie and enter the 500-mile race at California speedway. before the race Maggie has a moment alone with Herbie. on his tV, ray sr., sees his daughter on the track. Herbie manages to do well until an oil leak forces him into a pit stop, where the other drivers also stop before the imminent end of the race. Passing trip’s car by going horizontal on the fence, Herbie wins by a hood. ray sr., who’d come to the track, is proud of Maggie, but trip goes ballistic, saying the VW is possessed. Maggie kisses Kevin. At home, ray sr., gives a lecture to Herbie and sally’s VW. Reviews: ComingSoon.net thought the screenwriters stayed faithful to the Herbie character and Lindsay Lohan acquitted herself well in a saga where the VW is the star. on the negative side, the writers didn’t come up with anything really new and at the same time failed to capitalize on what made the older films work: cross-country races (scott Chitwood, www.comingsoon.net, June 21, 2005); Boxoffice found it

overloaded with nAsCAr ads and other company endorsements, hampered by an unsubstantial story and a nonsensical plot, and “very minor-league special effects…” (bridget byrne, Boxoffice, August 2005, p. 45). Analysis: Yes, the product placement ads are egregious. otherwise, this is a surprisingly likable, cute, family-friendly film with good pace and a winning performance by Lohan.

MAd MAX see Volume i for Mad Max (1979), Mad Max II (aka The Road Warrior, 1982), and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

(Village roadshow/Warner bros., 2015; 120 min.) ★★★★

Mad Max: Fury Road

Produced by doug Mitchell, George Miller, P.J. Voeten. directed by George Miller. screenplay by George Miller, brendan McCarthy, nico Lathouris. edited by Margaret sixel. director of Photography, John seale. Panavision. color. Music by tom Holkenborg, Junkie XL. Production design, Colin Gibson. Art direction, shira Hockman, Janni Van staden, Marko Anttonen. set decoration, Lisa thompson. Costumes by Jenny beavan. Visual effects by iloura, Method studios. Cast: Max rockatansky (tom Hardy), imperator furiosa (Charlize theron), nux (nicholas Hoult), immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-byrne), rictus erectus (nathan Jones), toast (Zoë Kravitz), Capable (riley Keough), splendid (rosie Huntington-Whiteley), the dag (Abbey Lee Kershaw), Miss Giddy ( Jennifer Hagan), Coma-doof Warrior (iotA), fragile (Courtney eaton), People eater ( John Howard), bullet farmer (richard Carter), Valkyrie (Megan Gale), organic Mechanic (Angus sampson). Synopsis: A voice: “My name is Max. My world is fire and blood.” once he was a cop. Across a bleak and arid landscape Max rockatansky flees his own past and the savage and slavish minions of immortan Joe, who controls the water supply. Captured by Joe’s gang, he is strapped to the front of a souped-up vehicle as Joe races across the desert after imperator furiosa, a trusted lieutenant gone rogue. in fact, she is shepherding a half dozen of Joe’s wives to a “green” land somewhere beyond the horizon. breaking free, Max finds himself in league with furiosa and, eventually, nux, the hero wannabe who would love to die in the service of immortan Joe and enter Valhalla. furiosa tells Max she’s made a deal with motorcycle-riding outlaws to provide gas in return for safe passage, but that plan falls apart. nevertheless, they explode a portion of a canyon that temporarily keeps immortan Joe’s legions at bay. escaping the choppers, furiosa, Max, and the women speed on while nux makes a deal with Joe. Joe catches up to furiosa. His pregnant wife foils most attempts to stop the truck but falls off and is run over. Coming out of the canyons, furiosa keeps going east and discovers more motorcyclists, but these are older women. they know her from her childhood and explain that there is no more green land. Max poses a plan to retrace their steps and get to Joe’s Citadel before he knows what’s happening. there they will give the people what they want: “green,” water and food. However, Joe has reformed his troop and gives chase. Carnage ensues and Joe and nux are killed, furiosa gravely injured. Max uses his blood to keep her alive and they arrive at the Citadel, toss Joe’s body onto the sand, and gain the support of the populace. Max leaves before the celebration has

The Matrix • 189 hardly begun. He nods up at furiosa, she down at him. Where must we go…. We who wander this Wasteland in search of our better selves?— The First History of Man. Reviews: the News Journal called it “an exceptional, fearless and poetic masterpiece that’s primed to become a modern classic.” Charlize theron stole the show “as the steely-eyed, one-armed, and aptly named furiosa.” (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], May 15, 2015, p. 4Hr); The Philadelphia Inquirer termed it “a biker movie, a spaghetti western, a post-apocalyptic dystopian action pic, a tale of female empowerment…, a bosch painting made scary 3d real, a Keystone Kops screwball romp, and an auto show from hell.” theron’s furiosa was the prime mover, “the literal and figurative driver of this vehicle.” (steven rea, The Inquirer Wknd, May 15, 2015, p. W4). Analysis: Unlike The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which was all action but wearying, Mad Max: Fury Road is all action but riveting. Like The Terminator (1984), it’s spare and concentrated. Heavens to betsy, theron’s furiosa survives. Compare that with Prometheus, where her character was gratuitously killed off. Why didn’t she get an Academy Award nomination? because she’d already won? because it was a sci-fi movie? because she didn’t have many lines? the soundtrack was a plus.

Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Bros., 2015).

MArY reiLLY see under dr . JeKYLL And Mr . HYde tHe MAtriX The Matrix

(Warner bros./Village roadshow Pictures, 1999; 136 min.) ★★★★

Produced by Joel silver. directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. screenplay by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. edited by Zach staenberg. director of Photography, bill Pope. Color by Atlab Australia. Prints by technicolor. Music by don davis. Kung fu Choreography, Yuen Wo Ping. Production design, owen Paterson. Art direction, Hugh bateup, Michelle McGahey. set decoration, tim ferrier, Lisa “blitz” brennan, Marta Mcelroy. Costumes by Kym barrett. Manex Visual effects LLC, bullet time, dfilm services, Animal Logic film. Cast: thomas Anderson/neo (Keanu reeves), Morpheus (Laurence fishburne), trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Agent smith (Hugo Weaving), the oracle (Gloria foster), Cypher ( Joe Pantoliano), tank (Marcus Chong), Apoc ( Julian Arahanga), Mouse (Matt doran), switch (belinda McClory), dozer (Anthony ray Parker), Agent brown (Paul Goddard), Agent Jones (robert taylor). Synopsis: Police and special agents converge on a building in which a woman in black searches a computer. she receives a call to get out. When the agents arrive and find the police have entered the building, one of them berates the chief, indicating that his men are already dead. the woman in black does dispose of the police and leads an agent in a chase across the rooftops, making incredible leaps to other buildings in order to escape. Later, at a party, she finds thomas Anderson, known online as neo, and introduces herself as trinity. she says she knows he’s looking for Morpheus and … the Matrix. At the computer company where he works, Anderson is told to shape up. He receives a package from which drops a small phone. it rings. it’s Morpheus telling him he’s about to be arrested. Morpheus guides his escape but Anderson can’t bring himself to leap to a scaffolding and is captured and interrogated. Agent smith causes his mouth to freeze shut and implants a “bug” in his abdomen and … neo wakes up. A dream? A phone rings. it’s Morpheus again. “You are the one, neo.” He urges him to go to the Adams street bridge. there neo finds trinity, switch and Apoc. trinity extracts the bug from his abdomen. in Morpheus’ sanctuary, neo is asked if he believes in fate. no, he wants to be in control of his life. Morpheus says he knows neo is maddened by his inability to understand what is wrong with the world. it’s the Matrix. it’s everywhere and the world has been pulled over his eyes to blind him to the truth: he is a slave. the Matrix is a prison for the mind and he must see it for himself. Morpheus proffers a blue and a red pill. the blue pill will allow neo to remain as he is. the red pill will allow him to learn the truth. neo gulps down the red pill, takes a seat and is connected to various devices. the mirror to his right seems to morph. He

190 • The Matrix puts his finger through it. His body is slowly covered by a metallic sheen. He screams and finds himself bald, in a vat, attached to many tubes and visited by a spider-like machine. He breaks free and slides away into a pool and pulled back to Morpheus. “Welcome to the real world.” While neo’s muscles are rebuilt, Morpheus tells him is might be 1999 but perhaps closer to 2199. He is given a tour of Morpheus’ ship and meets other crewmembers. He is secured in another chair and a device is inserted into the metal opening now in the back of his head. Morpheus tells him this is the construct, a loading program. He’s inside a computer program, the mental projection of his digital self, and is shown the world that was and the world today: a desolate landscape. Morpheus explains that mankind had celebrated the birth of A.i., artificial intelligence that spawned a race of machines. When mankind realized its peril it was too late. even though man succeeded in cutting off sunlight that powered the machines, the machines found their energy in the electric power that resides in all humans. Humans are now grown for this purpose and when they die their liquefied remains are fed to the machines. so the Matrix is a computer-generated dream world designed to control humans. neo wants out and comes back to the ship. Morpheus tells him of a man from inside the Matrix who freed the first of the humans. After his death the oracle prophesied the return of a like individual. tank, very excited to have met

The Matrix poster art (Warner Bros., 1999).

neo, tells him about the underground haven Zion. tank is to be neo’s operator. His first mission: combat training. Learning martial arts, neo fights Morpheus and later tries but fails to leap from one building to another. on a street tour—another training program—neo learns of the “Agents” who pursue free humans. tracked, Morpheus has his ship’s power turned off to keep the squid-like machines known as sentinels from detecting it. Crewmember Cypher advises neo to run from Agents whenever one appears. Cypher meets Agent smith and turns traitor, promising to deliver Morpheus. When the crew again enters the Matrix, Cypher leaves a phone in a trash bin to signal the Agents. Morpheus takes neo to the oracle, ostensibly a middle-aged black woman making breakfast in a small kitchen. she thinks neo has the gift but is not “the one.” He’s waiting for something, she says. nevertheless, she knows Morpheus believes neo is the one who will sacrifice himself for him. Morpheus is captured after a fight with Agent smith. Cypher kills Apoc and switch and thinks he’s killed tank back on Morpheus’ ship, but tank was only wounded and blasts Cypher before he can unplug trinity. she manages to get back into her body. neo tells tank he can save Morpheus and with trinity’s assistance breaks into the building where he’s being tortured by Agent smith, his brain slowly but surely giving up its secrets. Killing security men, neo and trinity place an explosive and then grab onto elevator cables to rise to the roof. trinity says she’ll be able to pilot the helicopter there and they drop to the floor where Morpheus is held, and neo begins blazing away at Agents smith, brown and Jones. Morpheus breaks his shackles and heads for the broken window. shot in the leg, he obviously won’t succeed in jumping into the chopper so a tethered neo leaps toward him and grabs on as trinity whisks them away. However, smith manages to put several holes into the chopper that compromise its integrity. trinity flies to a balcony where Morpheus drops to safety. Meeting up again, Morpheus asks trinity if she now believes in neo? from a subway station, Morpheus and trinity gain their ship, but Agent smith finds neo. After a furious battle, smith gains an edge and carries neo onto the subway tracks. in the nick of time, neo leaps back up onto the platform while the train strikes smith. However, a few moments later another train arrives and smith emerges to continue the fight. Meanwhile, sentinels begin slicing into Morpheus’ ship. Morpheus says they have five minutes for neo to fend off smith and get to a phone site that will bring him back to the ship, which will allow Morpheus to throw the red switch and gain safety. in the subway, smith shoots neo. trinity speaks to his body in the chair and tells him he can’t be dead because she loves him. in the subway station, neo rises and runs at smith, entering and destroying his body. two other agents run away. Morpheus throws the switch that renders the sentinels inactive, and neo returns to his real body and kisses trinity. in a phone booth on a sunlit street, neo tells whoever or whatever is listening that it is afraid of them because they will show the people a world without it. neo emerges from the booth and flies aloft. Reviews: the New York Times called it “a furious specialeffects tornado…” in which the Wachowski brothers “stylishly envision the ultimate in cyberescapism,…” it might “baffle anyone with quaintly humanistic notions of life on earth,…” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, March 31, 1999, p. e1); Film Ex concluded, “if its medium is the message, The Matrix itself would be perfect for anyone living in the Matrix of its story.” (sara neves, “nature and technology in 12 Monkeys and The Matrix,” Film Ex, spring 2001, p. 8).

The Matrix Reloaded • 191 Analysis: The Matrix was not the first big movie attempting to delve seriously into the dimly perceived but rapidly approaching age of computer programs and virtual reality—from the viewpoint that such technology might overwhelm humanity. it had antecedents in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), WarGames (1983), Tron (1982), and Terminator 2 (1984). but they didn’t have a hero with super martial arts skills, and those attributes and the slo-mo filming of much of the action was a revelation. Hugo Weaving, soon to be elrond in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becomes rather ionic as a “man in black.” (Men in Black had come out in 1997, but those fellows worked for humanity, not against it). Later films venturing into this territory include Her (2013), Transcendence (2014), and Lucy (2014). of course there’s the neo-as-Christ angle: a savior killed (by Agent smith) but restored (by trinity) via declaration of love for humanity.

The Matrix Reloaded

(Warner bros./Village roadshow Pictures, 2003; 138 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Joel silver. directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. screenplay by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. edited by Zach staenberg. director of Photography, bill Pope. Kodak and fujifilm Motion Picture Products. Music by don davis. Production design, owen Paterson. Art direction, Hugh bateup. set decoration, brian dusting, ron reiss. Costumes by Kym barrett. fight Choreography by Yuen Wo Ping. Visual effects by bUf Compagnie, esC entertainment, Giant Killer robots. Cast: neo (Keanu reeves), Morpheus (Laurence fishburne), trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Agent smith (Hugo Weaving), niobe ( Jada Pinkett smith), oracle (Gloria foster), Persephone (Monica bellucci), seraph (Collin Chou), Zee (nona Gaye), Keymaker (randall duk Kim), Commander Lock (Harry Lennix), Link (Harold Perrineau), seraph (Collin Chou), twins (neil rayment, Adrian rayment), Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), Ghost (Anthony Wong), Councillor Hamann (Anthony Zerbe), the Architect (Helmut bakaitis), bane (ian bliss), Councillor West (Cornel West), Captain roland (david roberts), Captain soren (steve bastoni), Councillor dillard (robyn nevin). Synopsis: trinity lays waste security men but is shot by an Agent, but it’s just one of neo’s dreams. He wakes with her beside him. they attend Morpheus, who confers with other humans such as niobe about sentinels drilling into the planet to destroy Zion. Agents arrive but neo routs them. With Link at the controls of the Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus, neo and trinity make their way to Zion. Morpheus confers with Commander Lock, who seems to have a grievance against him. Apparently they both desire niobe. Councillor Hamann arrives to defuse the situation. Morpheus says it’s only a matter of time until victory is achieved. As neo is separated from trinity, he finds people giving him many gifts. Link finds Zee, who expresses trepidation over his dangerous activities. Morpheus addresses the multitude, telling them they must shed their fear because after a century of warfare, “We are still here!” A great cheer goes up and the people celebrate. neo and trinity sneak away and make love. neo has a vision of her falling and being shot, but he won’t tell her of this fear. she tells him she’ll never let go. An Agent in disguise as bane enters the picture. neo and Hamann confer by night as Hamann shows him the inner workings of the engineering level. Later neo is handed a device from a man who tells him it’s from the oracle. it’s time to go. Zee gives Link a

necklace for good luck. bane can’t find the right moment to stab neo. Mouse rushes up and gives neo a gift from the orphans: a spoon. Lock is furious that the Council has overridden his wishes and allowed the Nebuchadnezzar to conduct its own mission. Hamann tries to mollify him. neo is transported into the Matrix where he meets seraph. before admitting neo to the oracle’s presence, seraph engages him in a fight to make sure he is the one. neo meets the oracle on a bench as she feeds pigeons. He’s surmised that she’s not human, nor is seraph, but programs. Why is he there? to understand why he already made his choice. the oracle says they’re all there to do what they’re there to do and to get to the future. neo says he’s seen the door of light and something bad happening to trinity, but admits he doesn’t actually see her die. the oracle tells him that if he fails, Zion will fall. He must reach the source, the mainframe, but needs the Keymaker who is held prisoner by an old and dangerous program, the Merovingian. When they part, the oracle says, “You’ve made a believer out of me.” Agent smith tells neo their new connection is mystifying, no doubt for some reason. He killed neo but something happened and he was destroyed. now he’s no longer an Agent of the system, he’s unplugged, a new man, apparently free, but they are there because they are not free. Purpose defines and binds us, he says. He thrusts his hand into neo’s chest to take his Purpose, but neo does not succumb. they fight and more and more smiths enter the fray until neo flies aloft to escape. neo is unplugged and says that somehow smith found a way to copy himself. At Zion, Commander Lock speaks to the Council. they agree that he can prepare to meet the invasion but ask for volunteers from two ships to seek out the missing Nebuchadnezzar. Captain soren and Captain niobe volunteer. neo, trinity and Morpheus gain access to the effete Merovingian, who spars with them over choice, cause and effect. He denies their request to meet the Keymaker. However, his alluring wife Persephone promises access to the Keymaker if neo will kiss her as if he loves her—as he would kiss trinity. she wants to remember this small thing. neo complies and Persephone leads them to the Keymaker, toiling away in a small cell. When they leave they encounter the Merovingian and his minions. the Keymaker says he won’t go back and rushes off, followed by Morpheus and trinity while neo beats off the Merovingian’s thugs. Morpheus and trinity endeavor to destroy two shape-shifting twins chasing them. trinity manages to get the Keymaker to a car and then picks up Morpheus. neo flies after trinity. Morpheus is directed by Link to the Winslow overpass and the freeway, which is dangerous but necessary for escape. in addition to the deadly twins, an Agent chases trinity, who takes the Keymaker on a motorcycle. Morpheus fights the Agent atop a truck and falls onto a car driven by niobe before returning to the fray. As Agents drive trucks toward each other, neo arrives and carries Morpheus and the Keymaker to safety. the Keymaker reveals the plan to destroy the city’s power, especially a key building. trinity reluctantly agrees to neo’s request not to participate. the power is switched off, but the Keymaker is mortally wounded by gunfire from multiple Agent smiths. before dying he gives neo a key and tells him he will know which door to open. neo finds himself in a room of multitudinous monitors displaying his own image and meets the Architect of the Matrix, who tells him this forthcoming destruction of Zion will be the sixth. neo suggests that the machines will suffer. the Architect responds that there are levels of survival. neo has two choices: try to save trinity or save humanity. the Architect knows neo will go to trinity. neo issues a warning: “if i were you, i would hope that we don’t meet again.” the Architect responds, “We won’t.” neo swoops down and rescues trinity, taking her to a rooftop where he extracts a bullet from her chest and inserts his hand to restart her heart. back on the Nebuchadnezzar, neo endeavors to

192 • The Matrix Revolutions explain the problems and perhaps the futility of what has been predicted. A bomb sent by a sentinel is detected. trinity, Morpheus, neo and Link exit the ship just in time to avoid being blown to bits. neo puts up his hand and stops pursuing sentinels before collapsing himself. At a conference on another ship, Captain soren tells Morpheus, Link and others of his suspicions that someone has infiltrated their world to prevent a successful attack on the drillers and sentinels. neo recuperates on a table while behind him lies another man, also asleep. “to be concluded.” Reviews: the Daily Local News found the effects “mind-melting” and the action scenes “spine-cracking,” the equal of anything from directors George Lucas, James Cameron or Peter Jackson. some actionslowing exposition will doubtless be made right in the next installment (Colin Covert/Minneapolis-st. Paul tribune, Daily Local News [West Chester, PA] Weekender, May 16, 2003, p. 4); New York appreciated some “stupendous” action sequences but complained that there was “more than twice as much philosophic bull as before—and there was plenty of that the first time around.” (Peter rainer, New York, May 26, 2003). Analysis: Yes, there is philosophical gobbledygook, first from the Merovingian, second and more from the Architect, but that doesn’t detract from one’s enjoyment. there’s rip-roaring action again, and— hope.

The Matrix Revolutions

(Warner bros./Village roadshow Pictures, 2003; 129 min.) ★★★ Produced by Joel silver. directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. screenplay by Andy and Larry Wachowski. edited by Zach staenberg. director of Photography, bill Pope. Panavision. Kodak and fujifilm Motion Picture Products. Music by don davis. Production design, owen Paterson. Art direction, Hugh bateup. set decoration, brian dusting. Costumes by Kym barrett. fight Choreography by Yue Wo Ping. Visual effects by bUf Compagnie, Cis Hollywood, esC entertainment, Giant Killer robots, sony Pictures imageworks, tippett studio. Cast: neo (Keanu reeves), Morpheus (Laurence fishburne), trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Agent smith (Hugo Weaving), niobe ( Jada Pinkett smith), the oracle (Mary Alice), Persephone (Monica bellucci), sati (tanveer K. Atwal), bane (ian bliss), seraph (Collin Chou), Zee (nona Gaye), Mifune (nathaniel Lees), Commander Lock (Harry Lennix), Link (Harold Perrineau), the trainman (bruce spence), Captain roland (david roberts), rama Kandra (bernard White), the Kid (Clayton Watson), Captain Mifune (nathaniel Lees), the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), Ghost (Anthony Wong), the Architect (Helmut bakaitis), officer Wirtz (Genevieve o’reilly), Cas (Gina torres), Kamala (tharini Mudaliar), Councillor Hamann (Anthony Zerbe), Councillor West (Cornel West). Synopsis: the digital neo is missing. Morpheus and trinity find the oracle, who doesn’t quite look like she used to. she says she made some choices and sends seraph to help them retrieve neo, who is stuck on an underground train platform with a family of three, including the young girl sati who tells him they are going to Machine City but that he won’t be allowed to accompany them. the trainman will see to that. that personage is a scruffy fellow who nevertheless has the power to knock neo down and keep him from entering the train car. After it leaves, neo runs up the track only to find himself where

he started. seraph accompanies Morpheus and trinity back to the Merovingian. during the confrontation, trinity puts a gun to the program’s head and says he’ll help them or all will die right then, right there. on the platform, neo welcomes trinity with an embrace. neo goes to the oracle, who says the power of the one extends back to the source, that the Architect wants to balance equations while she wants to unbalance them. she sees death for all unless smith can be defeated, because he won’t stop. He is neo’s opposite. Whatever is to happen will happen that night. bane, the man who’d been on a table near neo, wakes up. neo returns to his body on the ship. seraph takes sati from the oracle’s home but not before Agent smith and his duplicates arrive. smith confronts the oracle, who seems resigned to whatever will happen. “You are a bastard,” she says calmly. smith loses his cool before accomplishing his mission: grabbing the oracle’s arm and turning her into yet another duplicate. bane can’t remember anything. niobe’s unmanned Logos is found but she appears unharmed. Commander Lock informs the Council of developments. Zee makes shells. the Kid is granted permission by Captain Mifune to fight in the forthcoming battle. Captain roland, niobe and Morpheus prepare to blast a hole for niobe to get back to the dock. she tells a skeptical roland there is a support line that will facilitate her movements. neo walks in and says he knows what he has to do: take one of the ships to Machine City. niobe says he can have hers and she’ll pilot the Hammer. Why? “i believe in him.” bane stabs officer Wirtz. niobe prepares to leave. Link says goodbye to trinity, neo to Morpheus. on the Logos, bane grabs trinity. she breaks free and they fight. on the Hammer, officer Wirtz’s body is found. obviously bane is on the Logos, but nothing can be done at this point. Getting control of trinity again, bane makes neo put down his weapon, but trinity breaks free and switches off the lights. electric cables blind neo, but he can still see and knocks bane’s head off. on Zion, Commander Lock orders the armed APUs into position. niobe encounters sentinels but gets to the tunnel. the APUs form up as a digger breaks through into the cavern. Zee and another woman use rockets on the digger while APUs blaze upward at swarms of sentinels. A digger collapses from another round of rockets and another falls into the dock area. niobe’s ship is attacked. Zee and her companion launch more rockets but the other woman is killed. niobe pilots the Hammer through the mechanical line and Lock orders the gate opened. Captain Mifune is killed but the Kid takes over the APU and heads for Gate 3. the Hammer is two minutes out. Zee blasts a sentinel trying to stop the Kid, who shoots loose the chain to open Gate 3 as the Hammer approaches. once in the cavern, it unleashes a torrent of current that destroys the sentinels. Link finds Zee. Lock is angry that the Hammer also made all their own hardware unusable. sentinels return to the dock and men blow the tunnel. At a Council meeting, Morpheus says neo is doing what he thinks he must do. neo and trinity fly over fields of humans raised to supply electricity for the Machines. back at the dock, there is an estimated two hours before the machines will break through again. neo and trinity are attacked, but neo keeps the sentinels at bay with his force. sentinels glom onto the Logos so neo tells trinity to go up and over. trinity observes with awe sunlight and blue sky. reentering the cloud cover, the Logos crashes and trinity is impaled on metal wreckage and expires. A digger falls into the dock. neo climbs from the Logos and faces a colossal digital face and makes a pitch for coexistence. What’s in it for the machine? neo will destroy the renegade program known as Agent smith and his host of clones. Agreed. the sentinels are halted. neo is attached to electrical cables and sent forth to find Agent smith and his clones. neo and smith face each other in the rain. smith opines, “the purpose of life is to end.” A cataclysmic battle between the two ensues. neo seems beaten and

The Maze Runner • 193 smith tries to convince him—or himself—that all is an illusion and it’s pointless to keep fighting. “Why?” neo answers, “because i choose to.” suddenly distraught, smith tells neo to get away from him. He strikes neo, his hand going into his adversary, but neo transforms into smith’s image. “it is over,” says smith, but the attached neo near the Machine sees a bright light, and the new smith flares up and explodes. All the duplicates go down. the original smith cracks and explodes. neo is released from the cables. the Machine says, “it is done.” the sentinels leave Zion and the Kid relays the information to the throng and tells Councillor Hamann that neo did it. niobe embraces Morpheus. A black cat approaches a sleeping sati. the Architect finds the oracle on a riverside bench. He says the other humans will naturally be freed. she says that peace will last as long as it can. sati and seraph find the oracle. sati, who has created the wonderful sunrise to honor neo, wonders if they’ll see him again, and the oracle thinks that’s quite possible. did the oracle know all this would transpire? no, but she believed. Reviews: All Things Considered couldn’t fathom the point. “this movie pretty much just wants to fight, something it declares repeatedly, if not always grammatically.” Water effects were salient. it was a relief that this saga had come to its conclusion, “not that the ending is satisfying or persuasive.” (bob Mondello, Michele norris, All Things Considered/nPr, november 5, 2003); The Nelson Mail said it “burns a slow fuse to a visually spectacular, pyrotechnic blast of action that will entertain at times, appropriately bewilder a bit and ultimately even disappoint.” the trilogy ended with “much sound and fury plus Messiah symbolism.” (david Manning, Nelson Mail, April 5, 2004, section: features—opinion, p. 17).

Analysis: if it were not for the seemingly multitudinous climaxes and baffling rationale for neo’s powers, this would receive more favorable ratings. trinity’s death might also have left a bad taste in the mouth. What exactly happened to neo? did he, like Lucy (2014) merge with the technology? despite the obtuseness, it remains a fine action film with suspense and frightening villains.

MAZe rUnner The Maze Runner

(20th Century–fox/temple Hill entertainment, 2014; 113 min.) ★★★½

Produced by ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey. directed by Wes ball. screenplay by noah oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, t.s. nowlin. based on The Maze Runner by James dashner. edited by dan Zimmerman. director of Photography, enrique Chediak. Kodak Color. Music by John Paesano. Production design, Marc fisichella. Art direction, douglas Cumming. set decoration, Jon danniells. Visual effects, factory VfX. Cast: thomas (dylan o’brien), Alby (Ami Ameen), newt (thomas brodie-sangster), teresa (Kaya scodelario), Chuck (blake Cooper), Gally (Will Poulter), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), frypan (dexter darden), ben (Chris sheffield), Ava Paige (Patricia Clarkson)., blondie (Alan tudyk), Ponytail ( Jenny Gabrielle).

Dylan O’Brien, The Maze Runner (Twentieth Century Fox, 2014).

194 • Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials a stock brute shoved in to provide conflict, but he has some nuance Synopsis: A young man in a service elevator finds himself deposited and is not a complete jackass. surprisingly, the introduction of a female into a verdant world known as the Glade to its other inhabitants—a is not used to inflame the adolescent boys. for some reason—aescollection of several dozen other male adolescents. He is told that thetics?—one wishes the grievers were made of flesh and bone, not once a month a new boy appears. the Glade is surrounded on four metal. sides by monumental and unscalable walls. for three years the boys have tried to decipher their predicament, but under the leadership of Alby and Gally have almost resigned themselves to their meager existence. supplies do arrive via the elevator and they have learned some Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials small bit of agriculture. Yet there is a small wish to escape as evidenced (20th Century–fox/Gotham Group/tsG entertainment/ by a select few who are designated runners. When the immense gates temple Hill entertainment, 2015; 132 min.) ★★★ open as they do on a regular schedule, the runners rush in and go as far as they can during the day to learn the maze’s secrets. to avoid the Produced by ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Lee stolman, murderous grievers, they return before the gates close. during a Marty bowen, Joe Hartwick, Jr. directed by Wes ball. screenplay by wrestling match rite of passage with Gally, the newbie remembers his t.s. nowlin. based upon the novel by James dashner. edited by dan name: thomas. He is fairly adamant about challenging the state of Zimmerman. director of Photography, Gyula Pados. color. Music by affairs and antagonizes Gally, who wants to stick with the status quo. John Paesano. Production design, daniel t. dorrance. Art direction, some others, like newt and runner Minho, lean toward thomas’ halfbilly W. ray, bjarne sletteland. set decoration, Kelly berry. Costumes formed plans. After Alby is stung by a griever during his run and resby sanja Milkovic Hays. special Visual effects and Animation Created cued by thomas, things really start to change. Alby, like ben before by WetA digital Ltd. him, becomes violently ill and must be restrained. Another new Cast: thomas (dylan o’brien), Minho (Ki Hong Lee), teresa wrinkle occurs when teresa is the next newbie. in her hand is a cryptic (Kaya scodelario), newt (thomas brodie-sangster), frypan (dexter note about being the last of her kind. With Alby out of commission darden), Winston (Alexander flores), brenda (rosa salazar), Jorge and over Gally’s objections, thomas is enlisted as a runner. Minho (Giancarlo esposito), Aris Jones ( Jacob Lofland), Ava Paige (Patricia shows thomas a detailed mockup of the Maze and explains that he Clarkson), Janson (Aidan Gillen), Mary (Lili taylor), Vince (barry has walked every inch and there seems no way out. With Minho, Pepper), Ponytail ( Jenny Gabrielle). thomas explores the maze, crushes a griever and retrieves a strange cylinder that eventually allows them to decode the maze. back in the Synopsis: thomas recalls being left by a woman with Ava Paige Glade, teresa produces two hypodermics thomas thinks might be when he was a child. now he’s grown and with several compatriots an antidote to Alby’s disease. they are. Plans go forward for more desurvived the Maze and a virus. they find refuge in a large modern fatailed investigations. events rapidly unfold. Grievers are sent into the cility run, or at least protected by Janson, who each day calls the names camp and kill many of the inhabitants, including Alby. Gally is conof similarly immune young people scheduled for relocation, apparently vinced thomas is responsible for all the trouble and designates him to farms. but after being show bodies on gurneys by Aris, thomas is and teresa for sacrifice. However, Minho, newt and many others side soon convinced that Janson and this WCKd facility do not have their with thomas. Gally and a small group of sympathizers remain in the best interests at heart. this is confirmed when he finds a lab with weird Glade while thomas and Minho lead the others into the Maze. Although some are killed, most find their way to a laboratory and view on a monitor Ava Paige, who explains that they had been undergoing a test. the sun had scorched earth and billions had been killed. the resident of the Glade were to be some sort of salvation for humankind. thomas is thus confirmed in his dreams that he and teresa once worked in this laboratory. Armed men in black arrive and take thomas and the rest into a helicopter and fly them over the maze. Unknown to them, the presumably dead Ava tells her cohorts that more of the test subjects have survived than she’d envisioned. but that was only Phase one. Reviews: the Associated Press said that while there was nothing inherently unsound, the film did not distinguish itself “from its dystopia brethren.” its “mysteries are boringly explained.” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, september 17, 2014); the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette compared it unfavorably to The Hunger Games. Loose ends compromised it. the actors were good (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, september 19, 2014). Analysis: How can a movie with humongous walls go wrong? think King Kong. it was time for a large-scale wall/maze movie. the characters are Left to right: Jenny Gabrielle, Dylan O’Brien, and Rosa Salazar, Maze Runner: The Scorch compelling, even Gally who could easily have been Trials (20th Century–Fox, 2015).

Men in Black • 195 creatures in cylinders and comatose people being drained. He convinces his chums to make a break. Grabbing up teresa from one of the labs, they elude Janson and his guards and escape into the desert where they discover an abandoned complex in which virally infected humans try to kill them. they flee into the scorch, a world of broken cities half covered in sand. their goal: safety with something called the right Arm. Winston, injured by one of the zombie-like creatures, knows he will become one of them, asks for and is given a pistol by newt. As the six cross a sand dune they hear a shot behind them. Waking up during one nighttime stop on their way toward the mountains, thomas observes a storm approaching from behind even as he sees lights in the distance. rushing for the safety of another presumably inhabited facility, Minho survives a lightning strike. inside the first building they are taken to Jorge by brenda, passing chained, zombified “Cranks.” initially Jorge hangs his visitor upside down in an effort to extract information and make a profit. soon thereafter Janson’s men attack and thomas and brenda are separated from the others. Jorge’s explosives facilitate their escape and they make it into the wilderness to the right Arm where they meet Mary, who says thomas was her informant at WCKd. brenda, infected by a Crank, is almost shot by Vince, but Mary intervenes and uses some of thomas’ blood as a stopgap measure, saying it won’t cure brenda, she’ll need more. Mary had left WCKd over methods used to find a cure. signaled by teresa, who believes WCKd is only interested in curing the virus that has savaged the planet, Ava Paige arrives with Janson, shooting up the camp and Mary and telling thomas WCKd is working for the common good. thomas, Vince, Jorge and brenda turn the tables and force Janson and Ava to flee on their flying craft, but Minho is one of the immune ones they take with them. thomas is no longer eager to find a safe haven, rather to return to WCKd and rescue Minho while taking down Ava and Janson. Reviews: The Free Lance-Star thought the surfeit of action, although very good, was compromised by a lack of a proper narrative. it was also too long (rob Hedeit, Free Lance-Star [fredericksburg, VA], september 18, 2015); the News Journal surmised the planned third film might “provide a layer of meaning to the frenzied action here.” Plot development was lacking (bill Goodykoontz, News Journal [Wilmington, de] 55HoursPlus, september 18, 2015, p. 5Hr). Analysis: the first Maze Runner had the verdant glade, the wall and the maze. this has air ducts, tunnels, a mall (a mall!), escalators, skyscrapers askew and to be climbed, and a desert. the outdoor settings, as in the first, were welcome. Various film series and remakes change the scary and unknown outdoors for a less frightening urban arena. Critics wanted more exposition but sometimes an action movie can be … action. there is a fine line such films must tread, of course. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was wearying, but Mad Max: Fury Road was exhilarating. Perhaps it was thomas’ innumerable “Go, go, go!” admonitions that got the critics’ gruff. it is a trifle too long and the episode in the decadent lounge could have been excised. it was pleasing to encounter two female characters of virtually equal import worth rooting for: teresa and brenda.

Men in bLACK (Columbia/Amblin entertainment, 1997; 98 min.) ★★★

Men in Black

Produced by Walter f. Parkes, Laurie Macdonald. directed by barry sonnenfeld. screen story and screenplay by ed solomon. based

on the Malibu comic by Lowell Cunningham. edited by Jim Miller. director of Photography, don Peterman. Panavision. Prints by technicolor. Music by danny elfman. sound, Peter f. Kurland. Production design, bo Welch. Art direction, thomas duffield. set decoration Cheryl Carasik. Costumes by Mary e. Vogt. Alien Make-Up effects by rick baker. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: K/Kay (tommy Lee Jones), J/Jay (Will smith), Laurel (Linda fiorentino), edgar (Vincent d’onofrio), Zed (rip torn), Jeebs (tony shalhoub), beatrice (siobhan fallon), rosenburg (Mike nussbaum), Van driver ( John Gries), Jose (sergio Calderon), Arquillian (Carel struycken), Mikey ( John Alexander), Morgue attendant (david Cross). Synopsis: After subduing an extraterrestrial among illegal immigrants on a bus, Agents K and d employ a neutralizer to wipe out the memories of the incident from the other passengers and the border patrol. Agent d calls it quits and retires. Agent K witnesses the speed with which a nYPd officer follows what K knows is an alien, who, cornered, drops from a building to his death. After interviewing the nYPd officer James edwards, Agent K tells his boss Zed that edwards is a potential replacement for the retired Agent d. Although his memory of the interview and revelations about aliens on earth is erased via neutralizer, edwards has K’s business card and decides to undergo tests to join Mib, Men in black, a secret organization monitoring alien visitation and providing cover for extraterrestrials who behave themselves. Many are fleeing enemies in space. An alien lands on a farm and takes the skin of the farmer edgar and leaves the man’s wife for new York City in a Zap-em truck, identifies the jeweler rosenburg as the Arquillian leader who has something he wants and kills him and his contact. Having concluded the case of an alien leaving the city and finding that his wife was giving birth—to a large tentacled alien— Agents K and J are on the case. K tells J a nasty “bug” was responsible for the murders. At the morgue coroner Laurel helps them. inside rosenburg’s body is a dying Arquillian, who reveals that the galaxy is on orion’s belt, whatever that means. frank the Pug, an informant alien in dog guise, concludes that something really small, like a marble or jewel is what the edgar alien is seeking. it’s on the rosenburg cat’s collar. As an Arquillian spaceship approaches earth and demands of Mib the return of the jewel or else—earth’s destruction—the bug gets the collar and takes Laurel hostage, proceeding to an old fair site and what appear to be mere left over saucer- like structures. they are in fact alien craft. dropping Laurel into a tree, the bug prepares to take flight but is shot down by J. the bug divests itself of edgar’s skin, grows huge, ingests the Mib guns and K, and begins climbing to the second saucer. seeing cockroaches on the ground, K begins crushing them, causing the bug to descend. Just as it is about to savage J, it is blown apart by K, who’d retrieved his gun inside the alien’s gut. the “galaxy” jewel is found, the Arquillian attack averted. K asks J to neutralize him; it’s time for retirement. J reluctantly does so and later sees Kay on the cover of a newspaper with the headline, “MAn AWAKens froM 35-YeAr CoMA! returns to girl he left behind.” Reviews: the New York Times enthused about its visual style, considering it “extraordinarily ambitious….” the film was “sneakily subtle…” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, July 1, 1997, p. C9); Rolling Stone called it “a playfully hip and hilarious comedy….” solid characters helped immensely (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 2, 1997). Analysis: the story, such as it is, is merely a prop for the banter between deadpan K and boisterous J and the barbs poking fun at late 20th century culture and various personages. Pair with Ghostbusters

196 • Men in Black II in a double feature. both are comedic and feature weapons the ammunition of which is left to the audience’s imagination.

(Columbia/Amblin entertainment, 2002; 88 min.) ★★½

Men in Black II

Produced by Walter f. Parkes, Laurie Macdonald, steven spielberg. directed by barry sonnenfeld. screenplay by robert Gordon, barry fanaro. based on the Malibu Comic by Lowell Cunningham. edited by steven Weisberg, richard Pearson. director of Photography, Greg Gardiner. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, bo Welch. Art direction, Alec Hammond, sean Haworth, tim Wilkins. set decoration, Cheryl Carasik. Costumes by Mary e. Vogt. Alien Make-Up effects by rick baker. special Animation and Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic. Additional Visual effects by tippett studio. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studios. Cast: K (tommy Lee Jones), J (Will smith), serleena (Lara flynn boyle), scrad/Charlie ( Johnny Knoxville), Laura Vasquez (rosario dawson), Zed (rip torn), Jeebs (tony shalhoub), Agent tee (Patrick Warburton), ben ( Jack Kehler), newton (david Cross), Hailey (Colombe Jacobsen), Motorman (Peter spellos), Agent M (Michael Jackson), new York guy (Lenny Venito), frank the Pug (tim blaney, voice), Peter Graves (himself), Mib autopsy agent (nick Cannon), Martha stewart (herself), Lauranna (Linda Kim). Synopsis: on tV’s Mysteries in History, episode 27, host Peter Graves shows recreations of alien landings and speaks of a special agency entailed with handling the situation. in fact, the Mib does exist and Agent J of Mib can’t seem to find a suitable partner after his mentor Agent K retired. Agent t tried too hard and was in it to be a hero and received the neutralizer treatment himself. While Zed discusses Agent J’s disillusionment with his partners, the alien serleena comes to earth to retrieve the Light of Zartha despite protestations from the likes of the two-headed scrad that it was never kept on earth. When a pizza joint owner is killed, Agent J investigates. it was an alien who ran the shop. His waitress Laura saw serleena spout tentacles and kill him. Agent J is much taken with Laura and declines to neutralize her after revealing the presence of aliens and his agency’s mission to keep them in line. J is informed that K, now postmaster in truro, Massachusetts, may be the key to locating the Light of Zartha. With frank the Pug in tow, J makes a valiant effort to neutralize and convince K that his employees at the post office are aliens and that he once was a top operative at Mib. When serleena and scrad break into the Mib facility, the denaturalizing of K is aborted. He and J get themselves flushed out onto the street and make their way to Jack Jeebs, who attempts to use his deneuralizer to fully apprise K of his history. K explains that he left himself clues before being neutralized. Leaving Laura in the penthouse of the worm aliens, K finds the key to a train station locker. inside are tiny aliens who worshipped him. they provide him with a video store membership card. At the store, K is given the VHs tape that shows him and other Mib agents meeting Queen Laurana as she attempted to give them the Light of Zartha. serleena arrived and killed Lauranna but erroneously followed a spaceship that K had indicated housed the Light. there now exists only a small window of hope to get the Light off earth before it destroys the planet. At the worm guys’ penthouse, J and K find the inhabitants in various states of disrepair after serleena broke in and kidnapped Laura, whose bracelet holds the Light of Zartha. J and K and the worm guys launch an attack on Mib headquarters and engage in a battle with ser-

leena and her minions. Pursuing J, K and Laura in aircraft zooming through the city, serleena is eventually lured into the subway and engulfed by “Jeff,” a fanged monstrosity with whom J had a history. Atop a skyscraper with the statue of Liberty visible in the harbor, Laura, who just might be Lauranna’s child via K, is urged to enter a special ship and leave in order to save earth. serleena in the guise of Jeff appears and grabs up J but K puts an end to her with his special pistol. it is apparent that J must neutralize many of the city’s citizens who witnessed the lights, spaceship, and “Jeff.” Reviews: Morning Edition said the filmmakers made a “good faith attempt” to duplicate the smartness and funniness of the original but failed. the “mix is wrong, bearings have been lost, the balance is off.” (Kenneth turan, bob edwards, Morning Edition/nPr, July 3, 2002); New York found some of it charming and the interplay between Jones and smith “good vaudeville.” but pacing and continuity were hardly on display. oddly, it was the humans who’d become “more alienlike.” (Peter rainer, New York, July 8, 2002). Analysis: it’s not up to the first’s standards but comes fairly close, making it watchable and cute in its asides and the fun poked at humans and events. it’s the general plot that lacks novelty.

(Columbia/Amblin entertainment, 2012; 106 min.) ★★★

Men in Black 3

Produced by Laurie Macdonald, Walter f. Parkes. directed by barry sonnenfeld. screenplay by etan Cohen. based on the Malibu comic by Lowell Cunningham. edited by don Zimmerman. director of Photography, bill Pope. deluxe color. Music by danny elfman. Production design, bo Welch. Art direction, Maya shimoguchi, Kasra farahani, W. steven Graham. set decoration, susan bode tyson. Costumes by Mary Vogt. Alien Make-Up by rick baker. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Cast: Agent J (Will smith), Agent K (tommy Lee Jones), Young Agent K ( Josh brolin), boris the Animal ( Jemaine Clement), Agent o (emma thompson), Griffin (Michael stuhlbarg), Colonel edwards (Mike Colter), boris’ girlfriend (nicole scherzinger), Jeffrey Price (Michael Chernus), Young Agent o (Alice eve), Mr. Wu (Keone Young), obediah Price (Lanny flaherty), Andy Warhol (bill Hader), tV monitor aliens (Lady Gaga, tim burton). Synopsis: the alien boris, aka boris the Animal, a moniker he detests, escapes his lunar prison and returns to earth. His goal: the death of Agent K, who’d shot off his left arm back in 1969. K and his partner J arrive at headquarters for a memorial service for the late Zed. Agent o is now in charge. boris makes his appearance there in new York and from a music storeowner acquires the device that will allow him to go back in time to kill the man who took his arm, i.e., K. K and J, meanwhile, are investigating illegal food shipments to Wu’s diamond Garden seafood restaurant, and after a fracas with various aliens, K finds Wu pinned to the wall. J is outside, chased by a monstrous alien fish he finally renders insensible. on the roof K and J find boris, who fails to impale them with his darts but does knock them to the street below. they survive the fall via the door they were holding onto. Looking down from above, boris proclaims, “but you’re already dead.” J can’t get much out of K on the whole boris thing and tries to learn more using computers at headquarters. He learns that on July 15, 1969, the alien roman the fabulist was killed by boris at Coney island. K arrested boris at Cape Canaveral on July 16, 1969. Agent o and J discuss the situation. At home, J phones K just before the latter retrieves a weapon from his cache and waits in his living room. Whatever comes

Mortal Kombat • 197 causes him to disappear from his easy chair. When J comes calling a mother and child are living in what had been K’s apartment. J craves the child’s chocolate milk and back at headquarters gulps down more as he talks to o about K’s whereabouts. she shows him a bust of K, dead for 40 years. the computer reveals that K was killed at Cape Canaveral in 1969. noting that K wore Aqua Velva, J convinces o that he had been K’s partner. o says all this might be the result of a temporal fracture, partially confirmed by J’s headaches relieved by drinking chocolate milk. o tells J that obadiah Price figured out time travel but that it was made illegal. A boglodite craft enters the solar system. there’s no defense because boris had jumped back in time and killed K. obadiah’s son must be found, and J must travel back in time to kill boris. With boglodite craft hovering overhead, J goes back in time to the Coney island of 1969, but K zaps J. back at Headquarters, the younger (2012) K has J placed into a large neutralizer but J gets a reprieve. K knew roman and wants to know exactly who J is. they drive to a bowling alley and intimidate the alien owner. At “the factory” they encounter Andy Warhol, in actuality Agent W. they also meet Griffin, who expounds on time travel and all possible futures. boris appears but is chased. over pie in a diner, J realizes what to do next: find Griffin. He’s at shea stadium reliving the “Miracle Mets” of 1969. Griffin sees so many futures. He has the Arcnet. He’d lost his planet and doesn’t want such destruction to happen to earth. boris zooms by on a motorcycle and grabs Griffin. Although their car is a shambles, inside are two strange gyroscopic vehicles that K and J take to the globe in Queens. the contemporary boris, meanwhile, meets and argues with the boris of ’69. K retrieves Griffin, who has the Arcnet in his skull and gives to K. Having a short amount of time to reach Cape Canaveral, with Griff in tow, J and K zoom south via jet packs. security personnel pose a problem, especially when at Griff ’s urging they are told the truth about the mission. the interlopers are deemed nuts until Colonel edwards is convinced of their aims. He leads them to the launch tower where in a matter of minutes the rocket will take astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the moon. the contemporary as well as the 1969 boris have also arrived and prove a major obstacle to the agents’ plan to place the device atop the rocket that will create the Arcnet above earth and thus frustrate boglodite plans, but boris is sent plummeting to the base of the rocket, and K manages to attach the Arcnet to the nose cone before taking the astronauts’ rescue line to the beach. J also escapes the blastoff. in space, the nose cone breaks off as scheduled and the Arcnet deploys its protective shield around the planet. one boris appears from the tunnel leading to the blastoff site and kills the Colonel, but K kills him, as J had once urged. As J watches from a dune, K tries to explain what’s happened to the Colonel’s young son, who is in fact the young J. J finds himself back on the skyscraper and goes to the diner where the contemporary K wonders why J was late. Griffin is sitting nearby and foresees havoc from an incoming asteroid until K returns to pay the tip. Reviews: The Washington Times found it “an exercise in competence—amiable, enjoyable and entirely forgettable.” (Peter suderman, Washington Times, May 25, 2012, p. 2); The Guardian found it “moderately enjoyable…” with “some amusing fun of a conventional sort… ” (Philip french, www.theguardian.com, May 26, 2012). Analysis: there’s enough fun, but what were those darts boris used to kill people? How were they propelled? didn’t they deplete his body? the non-explanation reminds one of Ghostbusters, which dispensed with any real description of their weapons’ components and ammo.

MortAL KoMbAt this seems to be the first live-action, feature-length, english-language film—with a sequel—based on a video game, which was released in 1992.

Mortal Kombat

(new Line Cinema/threshold entertainment, 1995; 101 min.) ★

Produced by Lawrence Kasanoff. directed by Paul Anderson. screenplay by Paul droney. edited by Martin Hunter. director of Photography, John r. Leonetti. Color by foto-Kem. Prints by deLuxe. Music by George s. Clinton. Production design, Jonathan A. Carlson. Art direction, Jeremy A. Cassells. set decoration, susan L. degas. Costumes by Ha nguyen. fight Choreographer, robin shou. Visual effects and Computer Graphics imagery by r/Greenberg Associates West, inc. Visual effects by buena Vista Visual effects. Goro Creature effects by Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. Cast: Lord rayden (Christopher Lambert), Liu Kang (robin shou), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby), shang tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki tagawa), sonya blade (bridgette Wilson), Princess Kitana (talisa soto), Kano (trevor Goddard), scorpion (Chris Casamassa), subZero (françois Petit), reptile (Keith H. Cooke), fighting Monk (Hakim Alston), Art Lean (Kenneth edwards), Master boyd (Peter Jason), Chan (steven Ho), Grandfather (Lloyd Kino). Synopsis: A man in black engages in martial arts with a mere boy and kills him. “Your brother’s soul is mine!” exclaims the man as Liu Kang wakes and reads a Western Union telegram: “Liu Kang. brother dead. return Home. Grandfather.” in Hong Kong, shan tsung, the murderer of Liu’s brother, tells Kano to make sure sonya blade is on a particular ship. on a Los Angeles movie set, martial arts action hero Johnny Cage meets Master boyd, who tells him to go to Pier 40 and take a boat to Hong Kong for an important tournament. departing, Johnny fails to notice that Master boyd transforms into shang tsung. the temple of Light, China: Liu Kang is met by his grandfather and is skeptical about the man’s talk of saving the world and his role as the chosen one. Lord rayden appears and tells Liu he’s still running away. When Liu leaves, rayden says there’s no one else they can send for Mortal Kombat. Chai Wan bay, Hong Kong: Johnny, Art Lean and Liu prepare for the adventure while sonya searches for Kano. A ship shaped like a dragon docks. sonya gets aboard and below sees shang tsung, whose ninja-type slaves arrive but are tossed aside by Lord rayden, god of lightning. He tells Johnny, Liu and sonya their sacred mission is to defend earth in “Mortal Kombat.” if shang and his minions win this 10th round, earth is doomed. “the fate of billions will depend upon you. Heh, heh, heh, heh. sorry.” A skull symbol in the sky signals shang that “it has begun!” the boat arrives at a rocky island. Climbing to the pinnacle, Johnny and Liu notice a woman they are told is Princess Kitana. shang welcomes the competitors to a feast and informed that Prince Goro is the current champion. Kano is told by shang to humiliate but not kill sonya when he has the chance. Princess Kitana, 10,000 years old, must not be allowed to join with the earthlings. At the following day’s initial contest, Liu defeats his opponent, whose soul is taken by shang. sonya uses her legs in a vice grip to defeat her opponent. Walking through a forest, Johnny is attacked and during the fight enters another world where he finally defeats his opponent, setting aflame this manlike but supernatural

198 • Mortal Kombat: Annihilation creature. on the beach, Princess Kitana dispenses advice to Liu. Later, in a dark chamber while rayden looks on, Liu destroys his supernatural opponent with a bucket of water. shang tells the four-armed Goro it’s time to compete, and he kills Art with shang taking the man’s soul. sonya asks Lord rayden how to overcome Goro. only their own fear can defeat them is rayden’s response. Meditating on the beach, Liu sees his brother Chan’s death. Johnny lures Goro from the ring, where he’d disabled him with a crotch blow, and knocks him into an abyss. shang abducts sonya and bears her into a vortex. rayden can’t follow but Johnny and Liu can. Princess Kitana congratulates Liu and shows him the dead world of her emperor father, whose champions had lost 10 Mortal Kombats. she tells Liu he’ll encounter three challenges in the black tower and to face his worst fear. sonya refuses to fight shang even though he says she must in order to save earth. Princess Kitana berates shang for his inability to follow the rules. shang challenges Johnny but Liu challenges shang to Mortal Kombat. Liu dismantles the dead warriors shang produces before shang turns into Liu’s brother Chan. but Liu says, “i am the chosen one,” sending shang hurtling down to impalement on spikes. As shang dies, light shoots in the air and spirits appear. Liu sees his brother’s spirit then tells the others they can go home. At the temple of Light the emperor appears, come for their souls. “i don’t think so,” says Lord rayden. Reviews: the New York Times said it “might be described as mythological junk food…” with such frenetic action and so little dialogue as to negate the proposed allegory that the combatants must face their deepest fears (stephen Holden, New York Times, August 19, 1995, p. i11); Video Movie Guide called it “Yet another tiresome video-gameturned-film,….” As for the plot, it was “stolen shamelessly from Enter the Dragon,…” (Mick Martin, Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 723). Analysis: indeed, this is no Enter the Dragon in spite of superficial similarities, notably the competition on a remote Asian island that attracts competitors from around the world. such illogical and ridiculous goings-on here are difficult to accept. suggestions to the contrary, there are no rules to the competition. supernatural vs. natural? Christopher Lambert seems to be mocking himself. it made money and the theme music enjoyed some success.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (new Line Cinema, 1997; 95 min.) ★★★bomb

Produced by Lawrence Kasanoff. directed by John r. Leonetti. screenplay by brent V. friedman, bryce Zabel. story by Lawrence Kasanoff, Joshua Wexler, John tobias. based on the Videogame Created by ed boon and John tobias. edited by Peck Prior. director of Photography, Matthew f. Leonetti. Color by fotokem. Prints by deluxe. Music by George s. Clinton. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, nathan schroeder. set decoration, simon r.s. Wakefield. Costumes by Jennifer L. Parsons. Visual effects by KleiserWalczak Construction Company, the digital Magic Company, Hollywood digital images, flat earth Productions, inc. Cast: Liu Kang (robin shou), Kitana (talisa soto), rayden ( James remar), sonya blade (sandra Hess), Jax (Lynn “red” Williams), shao-Kahn (brian thompson), shinnok (reiner schoene), sindel (Musetta Vander), Jade (irina Pantaeva), Motaro (deron Mcbee), sheeva (Marjean Holden), nightwolf (Litefoot), Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad), ermac ( John Medlen), rain (tyrone Wiggins), Cyrax/scorpion/noob saibot ( J.J. Perry), baraka (dennis Keiffer), sub-Zero (Keith Cooke Hirabayashi), smoke (ridley tsui Po Wah).

Synopsis: Although Liu Kang and his friends under the leadership of Lord rayden defeated shang and saved earth, peace was but brief before a portal opened and shao-Khan and his extermination squads arrived to announce that in six days’ time the world would be theirs. shao-Kahn breaks Johnny Cage’s neck and Lord rayden whisks Liu, Princess Kitana and sonya away in order to fight another day. Liu and Kitana take a sphere through underground passages to find nightwolf, but when they stop they are attacked and Kitana abducted. shaoKhan’s father is irritated that his son did not destroy Lord rayden. Lord rayden and sonya return to the surface, where sonya finds Jax on an operating table oblivious until awakened that his arms are now encased in super strong metal. from another sky portal an extermination squad descends and tries but fails to kill sonya and Jax. in his abode, shao-Kahn appoints sindel his new general. Liu passes nightwolf ’s tests to prove his mettle and worthiness to lead the fight against shao-Kahn. in a desert, sonya and Jax beat off a masked woman and a rock formation come to life. Lord rayden enters the eternal temple and asks the gods about the future. they reveal that shao-Kahn must be destroyed in order for earth to survive. Will Lord rayden sacrifice his immortality to save the humans? it is revealed that shao-Kahn is rayden’s brother. rayden had defeated him in combat but could not bring himself to kill him. now shao-Kahn kills rayden. Liu takes on shao-Kahn, Kitana her mother, Jax the centaur, and sonya a ninja. After Liu turns into a griffin and shao-Kahn a hydra, the other gods step in and contain shao-Kahn’s father and call for what should have occurred all along: mortal kombat. Liu bests shao-Kahn, who along with his father are swept from the scene while Liu, sonya, Jax, Kitana, and her mother return to the earthly plane. rayden appears, now a god himself. “be there for one another. You’re a family now,” he tells them. Reviews: the New York Times called it “deadly dull.” it suggested need for a new rating designation: “A (adults admitted only when accompanied by a simple-minded 10-year-old).” (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, november 22, 1997, p. b10); Entertainment Weekly called it “fragmented and monotonous,…” and “as debased as movies come.” (Entertainment Weekly, www.ew.com, december 5, 1997). Analysis: even James remar, substituting for Christopher Lambert as Lord rayden, can’t save a film that is laughable from the get-go. it’s as if the filmmakers decided to make a film so stupid and with such portentous dialogue that it deserves the “so bad it’s good” appellation and be suitable for parody on tV’s Mystery Science Theater. Why do the humans stand around so much, waiting while their compatriots take a beating? What’s with all the posing? nightwolf tells Liu that this time there won’t be any rules? say what? Were there rules for the previous combatants? no! A supernatural, eight-foot, four-armed being vs. mortals? Again to be stressed is that there were prima facie no tenets to which they must adhere. even those of us who are content with merely competent acting will notice its absence.

tHe MUMMY see Volume i for The Mummy (1933), The Mummy’s Hand (1940), The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), The Mummy’s Curse (1945), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), The Mummy (1959), The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), and The Mummy’s Shroud (1967).

The Mummy • 199

(Universal/Alphaville Production, 1999; 125 min.) ★★½

The Mummy

Produced by James Jacks, sean daniel. directed by stephen sommers. screenplay by stephen sommers. screen story by stephen sommers, Lloyd fonvielle, Kevin Jarre. edited by bob ducsay. director of Photography, Adrian biddle. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production design, Allan Cameron. Art direction, tony reading, Giles Masters, Clifford robinson, Peter russell. set decoration, Peter Howitt. Costumes by John bloomfield. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic, Cinesite, and Pacific title/Mirage. berton. Cast: rick o’Connell (brendan fraser), evelyn (rachel Weisz), Jonathan ( John Hannah), beni (Kevin J. o’Connor), imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), egyptologist ( Jonathan Hyde), Ardeth bay (oded fehr), Warden (omid djalili), Curator (erick Avari), Pharaoh seti (Aharon ipalé), Anck su namun (Patricia Velasquez), Hook (Carl Chase), Henderson (stephen dunham), daniels (Corey Johnson), burns (tuc Watkins), Winston Havelock (bernard fox).

ever opens the book. they open it. rick, evie and Jonathan open their sarcophagus and find a dark, only partially decomposed skeleton that’s still “juicy.” reading the scratches on the inside of this coffin, they realize its inhabitant was buried alive. but “death is only the beginning.” As evie uses the puzzle-box key to open the book of the dead, the “mummy” screeches and a plague of locusts descend on the ruined city. taking shelter in the crypts, burns sees something and screams. beetles invade the tunnels and in her escape evie falls back through a hidden door and confronts the mummy. He’d taken burns’ eyes and tongue and calls evie his Anck su namun. rick pops up, shoots the creature, and flees with evie. the Magi tells them no mortal weapon can kill the creature, but they enter the tomb to do what they can to confound it. it attacks rick’s erstwhile companion and more recent nemesis, the weaselly beni, but discovers the human can help it recover other sacred jars. rick and his crew leave for fort brydon in Cairo. evie argues that they must stop the mummy because it’s everyone’s problem. burns finds himself with beni and imhotep, who needs more of burns’ body to continue resurrecting himself. flames descend from the sky and rick and evie encounter imhotep, who disappears in a cloud of dust. At the Museum, Ardeth bay consults with the curator, and they reveal to evie that they are part of an ancient society that has kept vigil at the tomb for three thousand years. evie is to be imhotep’s sacrifice. An eclipse occurs, yet another sign of imhotep’s resurrection. rick finds beni ransacking his stash and realizes imhotep is nearby. the monster kills another tomb raider to retrieve one of the jars. then another falls victim. imhotep is almost completely rejuvenated. He begins to kiss evie in her room that night but rick forces him to flee by showing him a white cat. soon, however, a mob of imhotep’s new slaves appears in the streets. translating hieroglyphs, evie realizes they must retrieve the Golden book inside the statue of Anubis. they crash their car through the mob but are eventually cornered. imhotep arrives and lures evie with the promise that he will spare her friends, but he tells his minions to “Kill them all.” the curator is killed but the rest escape. rick, Jonathan and Ardeth bay are flown out to Hamunaptra as imhotep, evie and beni arrive. imhotep causes the plane to crash but only the pilot is killed. imhotep sends more mummies against his pursuers. in the treasure room, rick, Jonathan

Synopsis: egypt, 1290 bC: Pharaoh seti i’s high priest imhotep engages in an illicit relationship with seti’s mistress, Anck su namun. found out, the woman kills herself. on his way to torture and a kind of death, imhotep cries that he will resurrect her. Using the black book of the dead, he almost succeeds but is interrupted during the process. His tongue is torn out, wrapped in linen, dropped into a sarcophagus, and covered with large carnivorous beetles. He is laid to rest in the City of the dead, Hamunaptra. if he were ever to rise from his tomb, imhotep would be a disease on mankind. Hamunaptra, 1923: desert tribesmen overwhelm rick o’Connell and his sizable army as the Magi watch from afar. backed to a statue, he is saved when the riders precipitately exit. He hears voices and watches a face form in the sand. three years later rick is languishes in a Cairo prison when librarian evelyn of the Museum of Antiquities buys his freedom in return for leading her and her brother Jonathan to the almost mythical City of the dead. Jonathan had found a small box containing parchment, and evelyn realized it was seti i’s cartouche. After shipping out from Giza Port, the three encounter some wild and wooly Americans and an egyptologist also intent on finding Hamunaptra. blackgarbed men board the ship and a vicious battle ensues, leaving the craft afire. Ashore, rick and company find camel transport and once again encounter the westerners, now on the horses they’d rescued from the ship. Ardeth bay of the Magi observes these events. At sunrise the city of Hamunaptra is found. descending into a chamber, evie sets up ancient mirrors and they discover a tunnel. Leaving the cowboys to their devices, she and rick locate a more promising chamber beneath the base of Anubis’ statue that contains a sarcophagus. evie places the puzzle-box key on it as the camp is attacked by Ardeth bay, who tells them they have one day to leave. evie shows rick a locket and says she’s here because she’s proud to be a librarian. next day the cowboys find a the book of the dead and a large jar that contains the organs of Anck su namun. Rachel Weisz, and Brendan Fraser, The Mummy (Universal, 1999). “death will come on swift wings” to who-

200 • The Mummy Returns and Ardeth bay are attacked while evie is secured to a slab next to the body of Anck su namun. Jonathan locates and unlocks the Golden book of Amun ra, and summons a ghostly chariot that rides off with imhotep’s soul. A sword thrust by rick causes the body to fall into a black pool and disintegrate. “death is only the beginning.” beni accidentally initiates closure of the tomb and is trapped inside with the hungry beetles. outside, rick, evie and Ardeth bay survive the collapse of many pillars and other structures. Camels ho! seen in the bedroll of one is a shining treasure. Reviews: Film Ex said, “it takes two loud, flashy hours of special effects hoopla to get to the big effects show-down climax and i must say, it’s one heck of a ride…. so what, you ask, does all this do for the Advancement of Mummies in the Movies? Well, uh, nothing. except maybe establish old rag-boy as a major league box office draw when he has the proper budget and advertising.” (robert freese, Film Ex (spring 1999): 6–7); Sight and Sound said it “over-eggs the pudding” with just too many disasters and a disregard for logic and skimped on creating “the atmosphere, mystery and romance…” of Universal’s original (Kim newman, Sight and Sound, July 1999, p. 48). Analysis: Good but not good enough? no, just fair. it seems a combination of Romancing the Stone and indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. it’s too flippant and too silly to be frightening. Action is all, and too much goes on for far too long. A lost opportunity for suspense and fear was the sequence where rick and evie run into the tomb to escape the locusts, burns sees something, the beetles go on the rampage, and the yet-to-be-regenerated imhotep confronts evie.

(Universal/Alphaville, 2001; 130 min.) ★

The Mummy Returns

Produced by James Jacks, sean daniel. directed by stephen sommers. screenplay by stephen sommers. edited by bob ducsay, Kelly Matsumoto. director of Photography, Adrian biddle. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Allan Cameron. Art direction, Anthony reading, Giles Masters. set decoration, Peter Young. Costumes by John bloomfield. Visual effects Creature and Makeup effects, nick dudman. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic. Additional Visual effects by the Computer film Company, digiscope. Cast: rick o’Connell (brendan fraser), evelyn (rachel Weisz), Ardeth bay (oded fehr), Jonathan ( John Hannah), Anck su namun (Patricia Velasquez), scorpion King (dwayne “the rock” Johnson), imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), Alex o’Connell (freddie boath), Lochnah (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), izzy (shaun Parkes), Curator (Alun Armstrong), Pharaoh (Aharon ipalé), showgirl (donna Air), Mountain of flexh (trevor Lovell). Synopsis: thebes—3067 bC: the scorpion King’s vast army wages war on egypt but a seven-year campaign leaves it defeated and pushed into the desert. the scorpion King makes a pact with Anubis, giving the dark god his soul and eternal service in return for life and victory. egypt—1933: rick o’Connell, his wife evelyn, and their son Alex explore a tomb while three ruffians sneak in behind them. After seeing a vision, evelyn opens a door to a hidden chamber. rick finds an amulet that opens a small chest in which lies a gold Anubis bracelet. the tunnel starts to flood and collapse but rick, evie and Alex escape. the ruffians had run out and reported to Hamunaptra—City of the dead, now site of an immense dig. they find the body of imhotep. the three ruffians appear and reveal the bracelet is on its way to London. in england, at rick’s estate, evie says the bracelet is the key to

the oasis of Ahm shere. two cars arrive, disgorging those who would take the bracelet in what evie has discovered is the Year of the scorpion. Alex opens the chest and the bracelet locks onto his arm. He sees a vision of ancient egypt. the thugs who mistake him for rick accost rick’s friend Jonathan. A large black man confronts evie and Alex but Ardeth bay appears to help. nevertheless, the chest—and evie—is taken after a vicious swordfight. from Ardeth bay’s photo, Alex recognizes the leader of the interlopers as a museum Curator. He reveals that he has the bracelet. Ardeth bay warns that this could initiate an apocalypse and that they have only seven days until the scorpion King rises. He must be killed. the Curator and his men plan to resurrect imhotep to stop this. At the british Museum, rick and Ardeth bay arm themselves. Ardeth bay notices a mark on rick’s arm that signifies protector of man. in a courtyard below, evie is prepared for sacrifice as the Curator reads from an ancient book and resurrects imhotep. the mummy breaks free of his confines and asks the year. “the Year of the scorpion.” the Curator’s female associate appears. she seems the resurrected Anck-su-namun, beloved of imhotep. He says he will bring her soul back from the Underworld. the Curator and Lock-nah open the chest only to discover a baseball trophy inside. rick swings in to rescue evie from a fiery sacrifice and his bullets set fire to crates of formaldehyde as Ardeth bay uses his machinegun from above. imhotep calls forth four mummies that chase rick, evie and Ardeth bay to the double-decker bus commandeered by Jonathan and Alex. they defeat the mummies but Alex is kidnapped. imhotep says he will go to Ahm shere and doesn’t much care if his enemies have the scepter of osiris. He will regenerate and have no need of it. Ardeth bay tells rick the bracelet protects Alex. in Cairo, the Curator says the army of Anubis will make imhotep invincible. imhotep perceives Alex as the chosen one. rick, evie and Jonathan arrive at Magic Carpet Airways run by izzy and find Ardeth bay with commanders of the 12 tribes of the Magi. they set out on a reconnaissance mission. rick and his crew take izzy’s dirigible across the desert, racing imhotep, who soon is restored to his human form. At Karnak, Alex briefly escapes. on the dirigible, evie hears a voice and has visions of a past life where as nefertiri, daughter of Pharaoh, she mock fought Anck-sunamun and later watched imhotep and the woman assassinate her father. Landing at Karnak, rick and Ardeth search the area and find Alex’s tie and other clues. Ardeth bay sends via his falcon Horus a message to his massive army. in a canyon of the blue nile, imhotep raises a wall of water to inundate the dirigible, which speeds up and escapes to the oasis of Ahm shere before crashing. imhotep’s column is attacked by skeletal pygmies as are rick and Ardeth bay. rick retrieves Alex and Ardeth bay kills Lock-nah. Alex tells his mother, Jonathan and rick that they must get him inside the golden pyramid before the sun strikes it. Confounding the pygmies, they make it and the bracelet falls from Alex’s hand. Anck-su-namun appears and stabs evie, who dies. the Curator picks up the bracelet and runs inside. When imhotep and Anck-su-namun follow, a dark spirit leaves him with less than supernatural powers. imhotep concludes that Anubis wants him to fight as a mortal. the Curator inserts his arm into a recess and begins the process of awakening the scorpion King. outside, Ardeth bay and his army arrive. Alex realizes the book Anck-su-namun was carrying can help them resurrect his mother. rick fights imhotep after the latter bangs a gong to announce his presence. Ardeth bay’s army engages the host of Anubis. evie returns to life and fights Ancksu-namun. rick and imhotep watch a door open to reveal the scorpion King, now half man, half giant scorpion whose first victim is the Curator. Ardeth bay’s army is triumphant over the enemy but a new and greater host rushes toward them. rick uses the tattoo on his arm to read symbols and tells Jonathan the scepter can be transformed into

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor • 201 the spear of osiris. imhotep grabs it from thin air before rick does the same and then stabs the scorpion King, who disappears along with the army about to crash into Ardeth bay’s men. evie pulls rick from the crevice to the Underworld but Anck-su-namun refuses to do the same for imhotep and runs, only to fall into a pit of bugs. the pyramid begins sucking in the surrounding land, and rick and the other survivors climb to the top and leap into izzy’s dirigible. out over the desert, rick waves to Ardeth bay. Reviews: the New York Times said “may be the least original motion picture ever,…” and that was saying a lot. it was equated with an average pop boy band: having an audience doesn’t make equal quality. the slam-bang, non-stop action made indiana Jones films seem like Henry James (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, May 4, 2001, p. e20); Rolling Stone termed it “rancid summer cheese.” it “doesn’t deliver a damn thing worth preserving.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 4, 2001). Analysis: Mainstream critics considered it flapdoodle while almost all reviews in genre publications were favorable, but this is an overlong, insufferable piece of supernatural fluff with way too much ridiculous and interminable action. in retrospect, it’s a warm-up by director sommers for Van Helsing. the filmmakers must have expected audiences to have seen the first installment because there is hardly any background provided about the comic book-like characters, who should question everything that transpires but take all in stride. Apocalypse? of course. raising a mummy from the dead to put the kibosh on the scorpion King. easy. Avoiding machinegun bullets at close range. no sweat. it is an indiana Jones saga gone horribly wrong.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Universal; 2008; 112 min.) ★

Produced by stephen sommers, bob ducsay, sean daniel, James sacks. directed by rob Cohen. screenplay by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar. edited by Joel negron, Kelly Matsumoto. director of Photography, simon duggan. Color by technicolor. Music by randy edelman. Additional Music, John debney. Production design, nigel Phelps. Art direction, Jean-Pierre Paquet, nicolas Lepage, real Proulx, david Gaucher. set decoration, Martin Kazemirchuk, eve boulonne, Philippe Lord, daniel Carpentier. Costumes by sanja Milkovic Hays. Visual effects and Animation by rhythm & Hues studios. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Cast: rick o’Connell (brendan fraser), emperor ( Jet Li), evelyn o’Connell (Maria bello), Jonathan Carnahan ( John Hannah), Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh), Ming Guo (russell Wong), Alex o’Connell (Luke ford), Mad dog Maguire (Liam Cunningham), Lin (isabella Leong), General Yang (Chau sang Anthony Wong), roger Wildon (david Calder), narrator (freda foh shen). Synopsis: Civil wars wrack ancient China until a ruthless king becomes emperor and seeks dominion over death. General Ming is dispatched to find the witch Zi Yuan, who tells the emperor she knows where to find the secret of eternal life. escorted by Ming, she travels to the realm’s western border and finds a loosely bound volume of mystical secrets. back at the emperor’s court, she asks if she might spent her life with General Ming. but Ming is drawn and quartered and Zi Yuan wounded with a knife. she flees with the volume of secrets. the emperor begins to bleed and he and his soldiers solidify. Zi Yuan had placed a spell on them. she rides away knowing the curse must never be lifted. oxfordshire, england, 1946: rick o’Connell and wife evie try to settle down after the war and their adventures in

egypt. they think their now grown son Alex is at college but he’s actually in ningxia Province, China, unearthing an immense tomb of soldiers and the emperor on a chariot. booby traps kill some of the trespassers and a woman in black attacks Alex. back in oxfordshire, the o’Connells are offered an assignment by the government: courier the eye of shangri-La to the shanghai Museum as a sign of goodwill between britain and China. they agree. After all, evie’s brother Jonathan runs imhoteps, a shanghai nightclub. rick and evie encounter Alex, who complains that they haven’t been a family in a long time. Paramilitary outpost Western China: General Yang is happy the o’Connells have arrived in China with the eye of shangriLa, and he tells his soldiers their ancient emperor will soon be resurrected to stabilize the country. At the museum, rick and evie find Alex and on display the emperor’s chariot hauling his sarcophagus. Professor roger Wilson is given the eye and hands it over to General Yang. they are in cahoots. the eye contains the elixir of life but a drop of blood from a person of pure heart is needed to release it. that person is evie. spying on the proceedings, Alex and Lin swing down to save his parents. but evie’s finger is cut and blood dropped on the eye. Lin stabs the corpse in the chest and takes a pendant. However, the corpse is a decoy and the emperor is actually the chariot driver. breaking free of his shell, he breathes fire and drives his team out into the street as Alex and Lin hold on underneath. rick and evie give chase in a truck of fireworks. rick leaps onto one of the chariot’s horses. the general picks up the pendant that was dropped. the emperor gets away. in Jonathan’s nightclub, Alex tells rick he had control of the situation. evie says Wilson manipulated them. Lin says the emperor must be stabbed in the heart with the dagger she carries. Her mother had put a curse on him long ago. time is running out. if the emperor reaches shangri-La and drinks from the Pool of eternal Life, his army will rise. if the diamond be placed on the Golden tower it will guide the way for the emperor. Lin can take them to shangri-La. rick enlists Mad dog Maguire to fly them into the Himalaya. the emperor, meanwhile, is welcomed to the Paramilitary Camp. After Maguire’s plane barely makes a safe landing in the wilderness and rick’s party departs, Mad dog radios rick that another plane landed below his. After a night camp, rick locates the Gateway to shangriLa, accessed by a rope bridge. General Yang’s men arrive and a shootout ensues. Lin calls on Yetis to help them while Jonathan attempts to light a fuse to topple the tower. the emperor drives off the Yetis with sounds they do not like and throws a fireball at Alex. He gains the tower and places the orb to point the way ahead. Alex prepares to sling dynamite at the tower, but the emperor throws a sword his way that rick takes in the back. the dynamite explodes, causing an avalanche that even the emperor cannot hold back. He loses the diamond and is knocked from his perch. Yetis return and shield rick and his party from the snow. evie says that rick’s only chance at life is to get to shangri-La. they find the entrance and Lin’s ageless mother, Zi Yuan, who saves rick. the emperor finds General Yang and they proceed. Zi Yuan says the Yetis found and saved her— 2,000 years ago. she says that if the emperor gets to the Pool he will raise his army. furthermore, he will have the ability to become a hideous creature. Lin tells Alex she’ll live forever and will not be able to watch him age and die. Alex and rick make up. Zi Yuan needs one more sacrifice: Lin’s immortality. the emperor arrives, disables Zi Yuan and Lin, steps to the Pool and drinks, becoming a three-headed, fire-breathing serpent before carrying Lin off. Maguire flies rick and his party back, hoping to beat the serpent to the tomb where the terracotta Army will be awakened. there is some consolation, says Zi Yuan, in that it will not become indestructible until it crosses the Great Wall. Under that wall the emperor buried and cursed his enemies.

202 • The Scorpion King she will call them forth. the serpent arrives at the dig and summons his army, addressing the troops while Zi Yuan calls upon the dead thousands in and beneath the Great Wall. the one-armed General Ming rises to lead them. Meanwhile, Alex frees Lin. the emperor orders his host to loose arrows and attack. Ming’s soldiers are but little discomfited by having shafts through their skeletons. Zi Yuan and the emperor engage in a sword duel. Mortally wounded, Zi Yuan manages to extract the dagger from her foe’s belt. Maguire and another pilot pass overhead, shooting down into the melee. the emperor becomes a furry monster and lopes off to the Wall, where he becomes normal again. Lin takes the dagger from her mother, and then rick gets it and with Alex rides a motorcycle to the Wall. the emperor uses floating balls to draw back Ming’s skeletons until Alex blasts them. As the emperor again transforms into a monster, rick jumps on his back and stabs him. Yang attacks evie but he and his paramour are crushed in mill-like wheels. rick taunts the emperor: “fight like a man!” they do. finally rick manages to stab his enemy with the broken blade of the dagger and the emperor disintegrates and explodes. General Ming knows “the emperor is dead!” He and his skeleton army crumble and float away as dust. Later at the imhoteps club, the survivors enjoy music and dancing. Jonathan exits with the diamond. “soon after, mummies were found in Peru.” Reviews: the Irish Times considered it a “cheerless, risible nonepic….” it possessed “a kind of aggressive, energized boredom.” (donald Clarke, Irish Times, August 8, 2008); Kent & Sussex Courier Series said it “may be full of eastern promises, but it doesn’t deliver on any of them.” the action sequences lacked oomph, the script was pedestrian and predicable, and the banter was “sluggish…” (damon smith, Kent & Sussex Courier Series, August 15, 2008, p. 8); The Newcastle Herald found it comprised of “creaky stunts…” and “thudding oneliners.” it “arrives dead on its feet.” ( James Joyce, Newcastle Herald [U.K.], september 12, 2008, section: news, p. 37). Analysis: it’s hard to believe but this is even more farfetched and idiotic than the last entry. What’s with the “Paramilitary outpost”? Why not “Military,” they were fully uniformed and armed soldiers, and there were lots of those in China in 1946. one wonders if their general who wanted to resurrect the emperor was nationalist or Communist Chinese? How did Lin get into the tomb? she couldn’t have been living there before Alex detonated the entrance, right? Why did Zi Yuan need Lin’s immortality? As with Pirates of the Caribbean, this series is all about excess—and the supernatural. the interminable chases, battles, explosions, mystical baubles, and superhuman leaping by humans becomes wearying. John Hannah provides too much comic relief. this entry is for undiscriminating audiences, videogame buffs, and those who perceive it as an outright comedy. While the ★★★ Bomb rating might seem applicable to this and its immediate predecessor, each are painful to watch and cannot be granted that “guilty pleasure” rating. Here’s a thought: break them into episodes with cliffhanger endings and show them in sequence before the main film. sadly, this serial concept can’t be done today.

(Universal, 2002; 92 min.) ★★

The Scorpion King

Produced by sean daniel, James Jacks, Kevin Misher, stephen sommers. directed by Chuck russell. screenplay by stephen sommers, William osborne, david Hayter. story by stephen sommers, Jonathan Hales. edited by Greg Parsons, Michael tronick. director of Photography, John r. Leonetti. Panavision. Color by fotokem. Music by John debney. Production design, ed Verreaux. Art direction, doug J.

Meerdink. set decoration, Kate J. sullivan. Costumes by John bloomfield. Visual effects and Animation by CfX/dAs WerK. Visual effects by r!ot. Cast: Mathayus, the scorpion King (the rock/dwayne Johnson), sorceress (Kelly Hu), Memnon (steven brand), balthazar (Michael Clarke duncan), Philos (bernard Hill), Arpid (Grant Heslov), takmet (Peter facinelli), thorak (ralph Moeller), Jesup (branscombe richmond), King Pheron (roger rees), Queen isis (sherri Howard), Chieftain (Conrad roberts). Synopsis: before the age of the pyramids, a horde from the east led by swordsman par excellence Memnon swept over the land. At a meeting of the remaining free tribes, the nubian leader balthazar decries sacrificing more of his men. Hooded figures arrive: Akkadians, skilled assassins, including Mathayus. His brother is killed attempting to murder Memnon. Although Memnon’s sorceress has a vision that Mathayus shall not die by Memnon’s hand, Mathayus is buried up to his head in the sand for fire ants to consume. A horse thief beside him escapes and saves Mathayus. Memnon tells the sorceress he will bring obedience to the land that will last a thousand years. Mathayus gains access to the city of Gomorrah and meets Philos, who has been experimenting with a magic Chinese powder. Mathayus has little time to spare as he is found out and must escape, first into Memnon’s harem, then into the sorceress’ bath. He takes her from the city to the Valley of the dead. Memnon sends men to retrieve the woman and kill her abductor, but a sandstorm aids Mathayus in luring the men into caves where he dispatches them. Unfortunately, the leader stabs him with Memnon’s arrow dipped in scorpion venom. the sorceress works her magic to save Mathayus, telling him that if he lives scorpion venom will flow through his veins. Mathayus sends to Memnon via hawk a medallion sure to signify that retribution is in the offing. At an oasis, balthazar confronts Mathayus and they duel. Mathayus wins but spares the nubian and they form an alliance. the sorceress returns to Memnon, which pleases his soldiers. Memnon, however, no longer trusts the woman and forces her to undergo a test involving deadly snakes even as Mathayus, the horse thief, balthazar and his women warriors enter Gomorrah along with Philos, who directs placement of his magic powder. Mathayus encounters and duels Memnon. Mathayus takes an arrow in the back protecting the sorceress but has enough strength to remove the arrow and kill Memnon as Philos’ powder is ignited. Watching Memnon fall from a ledge into the fire, his soldiery bows to Mathayus. “Hail to the King!” balthazar leaves the city, telling Mathayus, “remember, nubian eyes will be watching you, scorpion King.” Reviews: the News Journal called it “a brisk, amiably silly fist-fest.” With this entry, the rock became the natural heir to Arnold schwarzenegger. Glitzy effects were subdued in favor of “stunts, swordplay and bare-knuckle combat.” (david Germain/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], April 19, 2002, p. 5); the New York Times said it might “look like a movie, but it feels like a food fight.” the audience was urged to cancel critical thinking (stephen Holden, New York Times, April 19, 2002, p. e20); Reel Film Reviews called it “goofy, silly, and even a little campy—but most of all, it’s just fun.” (www.reelfilm.com, April 19, 2002); Analysis: the action scenes are too long, but one cannot be too harsh on this prequel to The Mummy series. it seems certain that everyone knew this was a cornball epic, a silly slice of pre-historical Conanesque derring-do with the fantastical or supernatural element being the sorceress’ visions and her ability to save Mathayus. this scorpion King is hardly the nasty dude presented previously in The Mummy Returns.

Nanny McPhee Returns • 203

nAnnY MCPHee (Universal/studioCanal, 2005; 2006 U.s; 97 min.) ★★★

Nanny McPhee

Produced by tim bevan, Lindsay doran, eric fellner. directed by Kirk Jones. screenplay by emma thompson. based on the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna brand. edited by Justin Krish, nick Moore. director of Photography, Henry braham. fujifilm. Music by Patrick doyle. Production design, Michael Howells. Art direction, Lynne Huitson. set decoration, Philippa Hart. Costumes by nic ede. Hair & Make-Up design, Peter King. Visual effects by framestore CfC. Cast: nanny McPhee (emma thompson), Cedric brown (Colin firth), evangeline (Kelly Macdonald), simon (thomas sangster), tora (eliza bennett), Lily ( Jennifer rae daykin), eric (raphael Coleman), sebastian (samuel Honywood), Christianna (Holly Gibbs), baby Agatha (Hebe barnes, Zinnia barnes), Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury), Mrs. blatherwick (imelda staunton), Mrs. Quickly (Celia imrie), Mr. Wheem (derek Jacobi), Mr. Jowls (Patrick barlow), Vicar (Adam Godley), nanny Whetstone (Claire downes), Letitia (elizabeth berrington). Synopsis: Mr. Cedric brown’s seven children try the patience of a succession of nannies of distinction employees. simon, the eldest, remains angry over his father’s inability to provide attention to the clan upon their mother’s death. in any case, says brother eric, nannies are an evil breed. Having heard a mysterious voice intoning, “the person you need is nanny McPhee,” Cedric reads the same in a newspaper article headline. to his and housekeeper evangeline’s surprise, a rather ugly woman knocks on the door and says, “Your children need me.” in the kitchen where the siblings are wreaking havoc, the visitor is unperturbed and through the force of her personality and a crooked cane tapped on the floor, quiets the mob and sends them to bed. “When you need me but do not want me then i must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then i have to go.” simon says they’ll never want her. nanny McPhee tells Cedric that the children must respond to five lessons. Lesson #1 is going to bed when asked. next day the children are told to rise and shine for lessons at nine. simon tells his siblings that this nanny cowed them the night before through hypnotism. they feign measles and Cedric is informed that they will spend the day in bed, nanny McPhee granting their wish by using her cane to cast a spell restricting their movements. Cedric leaves for his undertaking business, Midgewaller & sons, where he receives a letter from Aunt Adelaide to the effect that he must marry by month’s end or else his allowance will be terminated, the family disrupted. At home, nanny McPhee gives simon a detestable medicine. evangeline tells nanny McPhee that Lily is teaching her to read. from Mrs. blatherwick the cook, nanny McPhee procures a broth the children do not care for. back at Midgewaller, Cedric looks up a past client and potential wife, Mrs. Quickly. At home, nanny McPhee taps her cane to permit the children leave their beds after they say please. to their astonishment, one of the warts on her face disappears. Cedric is informed that Lesson #2 is complete: to get up when told. next day a telegram reveals that Aunt Adelaide is to visit that very sunday. Cedric asks nanny McPhee to help but she reminds him it’s her day off. At simon’s instigation, the children dress up the donkey, pig and basset hounds in their own sunday clothes. Adelaide hardly notices because of her poor eyesight. she tells Cedric that she will take one of his chil-

dren off his hands and educate her. it looks like it will be Christianna, but at the last moment evangeline volunteers to impersonate one of Cedric’s children. At bedtime the children thank nanny McPhee. Another wart disappears. Lesson #3—to get dressed when told—is complete. during an outing at the seashore, nanny McPhee tells the children that a Mrs. Quickly will be coming to tea and that she cannot interfere with affairs of the heart, but perhaps simon can talk to his father. When that happens, Cedric tells his son that he doesn’t understand the adult world. “You never listen!” counters his son, seeks out nanny McPhee, and is reminded that she doesn’t take sides. However, she will let them do whatever they have to do. Mrs. Quickly, or “Aunt selma” as she suggests the children call her, arrives, a blowsy and halfuncouth woman. the children barely succeed in disrupting the meeting but send Mrs. Quickly packing. Cedric gathers the children and tells them of the total ruin that seems imminent and how they might be split up. the children implore nanny McPhee, who advises simon to “think.” Mrs. Quickly returns upon learning that Cedric is a financial catch, and Cedric proposes. At bedtime he tells the children he won’t withhold information in future. Lesson #4, this one concerning Mr. brown, is thus concluded: to listen. on the wedding day, selma tells the children changes will be made and breaks Agatha’s rattle, the special one from their real mother. Aunt Adelaide arrives with a transformed evangeline in tow. she is now her adopted daughter. simon asks nanny McPhee for help. she says that Lesson #5 is to do as told. He thinks and says to himself, “believe, beehive,” and his siblings pretend to be attacked by bees, which throws the whole affair into confusion. A pastry fight develops and selma rumbles off. Aunt Adelaide says she doesn’t break her word and will take evangeline back with her despite the fun she was having throwing cake. Cedric tells Adelaide that he will marry by month’s end and his wife will be: evangeline. nanny taps her cane and snow falls in August. Her errant tooth disappears, and she causes evangeline to be swelled out in a true wedding dress. “You are the end of the story,” nanny tells her in reference to a book the young woman was trying to read earlier. nanny McPhee’s face is totally transformed. A new rattle drops from the sky into Agatha’s hands. Reviews: AP Online was pleased the film did not become treacly and found it “surprisingly funny.” the cast was very good. even “a stupid-looking dancing donkey isn’t the worst-tasting medicine to swallow.” (Christy Lemire, AP Online, January 27, 2006); The Hamilton Spectator thought the title character resembled Mrs. doubtfire more than Mary Poppins. Children would probably like it. “one of those british family movies where the happy ending arrives after many happenings.” (roger ebert, Hamilton Spectator, January 27, 2006, section: Pop Culture, p. G10). Analysis: the film has a rather appealing color scheme, halfway between real and fantastical. there’s something about the finale that is very moving. is it the transformation of evangeline’s dress with the snowflakes falling or the transformation of nanny’s face and form? Perhaps both.

(Universal/studioCanal, 2010; 109 min.) ★★

Nanny McPhee Returns

Produced by Lindsay doran, tim bevan, eric fellner. directed by susanna White. screenplay by emma thompson. based on the Nurse Matilda characters created by Christianna brand. edited by sim evanJones. director of Photography, Mike eley. color. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, simon elliott. Art direction, bill Crutcher. Costumes by Jacqueline durran. Make-Up and Hair

204 • Night at the Museum design, Peter King. Animation and Visual effects by framestore. “in Memory of Alison elliott.” Cast: nanny McPhee (emma thompson), isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), norman Green (Asa butterfield), Vincent Green (oscar steer), Megsie Green (Lil Woods), Uncle Phil Green (rhys ifans), Mrs. docherty (Maggie smith), Mr. Green (ewan McGregor), Cyril Gray (eros Viahos), Celia Gray (rosie taylor-ritson), Lord Gray (ralph fiennes), Mr. Algernon docherty (sam Kelly), Miss topsy (sinead Matthews), Miss turvey (Katy brand), blenkinsop (daniel Mays), sergeant Jeffreys (nonso Anozie), enemy Pilot (toby sedgwick). Synopsis: While her husband is away during the war, isabel Green “copes” with her young children on a country farmstead. Complicating matters is her husband’s brother Phil, who holds half ownership in the farm and is in arrears. He ascertains that if there are no piglets and no tractor, isabel must sell the property. Meanwhile, the children’s cousins arrive: Celia and Cyril Gray, well dressed and eminently proper compared to isabel’s urchin-like clan. isabel works in town at Mrs. docherty’s shop and has a difficult time keeping it ship-shape because Mrs. docherty has a habit of putting goods in the wrong containers, such as pouring syrup into drawers. At her wit’s end, isabel hears voices telling her, “the person you need is nanny McPhee.” she hears it again as she approaches home amidst darkening skies and swirling leaves. to her further amazement, a crone-like lady knocks and announces herself as nanny McPhee. finding the Green battling the Gray children, this nanny taps her cane to make them stop, and the children find themselves unable to control their bodies, and they halt their shenanigans. nanny McPhee tells isabel there are five lessons and Lesson #1, to stop fighting, is complete. one of nanny’s warts disappears. in the children’s bedroom, nanny says, “When you need me but do not want me, then i must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then i have to go.” needing but unwilling to share beds with their cousins, the children calm down when a goat, a cow and a baby elephant sneak into their room. nanny thus loses another wart as the children welcome the animals. Phil sneaks onto the property and lets the piglets loose, hoping their loss will lead isabel to sell the farm. Cyril thinks nanny McPhee is a secret weapon that used gas to calm them down the night before. Mr. edelweiss, a black bird, shows nanny the hole Phil used to release the piglets. the children search for the critters, which nanny makes it hard to catch, as she needs time for events to unfurl. Phil meets farmer Macreadie coming to buy the piglets and tells him they are missing, but the farmer insists on driving Phil to the farmhouse. to Phil’s consternation, the children have recaptured the porkers and isabel collects much-needed funds from the farmer. nanny McPhee indicates that Lesson #3, helping each other, has been completed. Going through her things, isabel recalls her wedding. she takes the family as well as Mr. and Mrs. docherty on a picnic. nanny McPhee reveals that the medals she wears are for courage, kindness, resolve, imagination, enthusiasm, basketwork and leaps of faith. Uncle Phil shows up with a telegram to the effect that isabel’s husband has been killed in action. norman tells Cyril he can feel it in his bones that the War office got it wrong, his father is still alive. With nanny at the helm of a motorcycle with a sidecar, Cyril guides them to the War office where Cyril’s father Lord Gray is one of those in charge. At first incredulous at norman’s effrontery, he comes around and learns that Mr. Green is only M.i.A.—Missing in Action. Plus, there is no record of any telegram being sent to isabel. it dawns on norman that Uncle Phil made it up. they rush back to the farmstead even as Phil urges isabel to sell the property. With her magic cane that norman taps on the road, the baby elephant steals the pens with which

isabel could sign the document. An enemy plane drops a bomb by mistake, and that prevents isabel from signing as well. the huge bomb failed to explode but if it does it will wipe out the barley crop. Megsie is instrumental in snipping the wires and Mr. edelweiss, at nanny McPhee’s instigation, eats the putty around the green wire so Megsie can cut it and render the bomb inert. Lesson #4—to be brave, is complete. Mr. edelweiss has become a huge ball filled with putty. nanny taps her cane, causing the bird to belch and shoot around the barley field, knocking down the crop while harvesting it at the same time. the bomb itself is carried up and away. Mrs. docherty asks nanny McPhee if she’s off again. Yes. Her medals appear on the children. isabel runs after her, crying that the children might not need her but she does. Mrs. docherty shows off the baby rattle she had as an infant. Appearing on the hillside near nanny McPhee is Mr. Green, his arm in a sling. the family is reunited. nanny McPhee looks back, her face now totally transformed. Lesson #5—to have faith—is complete. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor found the film “smoothly directed…” and emma thompson “radiates magisterial fustiness… .” Maggie smith and ewan McGregor deserved more time (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, August 20, 2010); Basil & Spice thought it excellent, perfect for children. it was well directed and cast ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, August 20, 2010); the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it felt like a nice old dress: “oddly dated.” What with the competition from Kung Fu Panda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “parents and grandparents might like it more than their young charges.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 20, 2010). Analysis: this is not a film for adults, but adults with children are a different matter. it is much broader and more slapstick than Nanny McPhee. the cake fight near the end of that film becomes a chase through mud and “poo” early in this movie. the canisters and assorted containers urging isabel to find the governess seem like the animate vessels from disney’s Beauty and the Beast. some scenes seemed padded. the mix of fantasy and reality leaves much to be desired.

niGHt At tHe MUseUM (20th Century–fox/1492 Pictures, 2006; 108 min.) ★★½

Night at the Museum

Produced by shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael barnathan. directed by shawn Levy. screen story and screenplay by robert ben Garant, thomas Lennon. based upon the book by Milan trenc. edited by don Zimmerman. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. technicolor. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Claude Paré. Art direction, Michael A. diner, bridget McGuire. set decoration, Lin Macdonald. Costumes by renée April. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues, Lola VfX. Visual effects and Animation by the orphanage. Cast: Larry daley (ben stiller), rebecca (Carla Gugino), Cecil (dick Van dyke), Gus (Mickey rooney), reginald (bill Cobbs), teddy roosevelt (robin Williams), nick daley ( Jake Cherry), dr. McPhee (ricky Gervais), Jedidiah (owen Wilson), octavius (steve Coogan), erica daley (Kim raver), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Ahkmenrah (rami Malek), Christopher Columbus (Pierfrancesco favino), taxi driver (Charlie Murphy), sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), neanderthals (dan rizzuto, Matthew Harrison, Jody racicot), don (Paul rudd), debbie (Anne Meara), Merriweather Lewis (Martin Christopher), William Clark (Martin sims), easter island Head (brad Garrett, voice).

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian • 205 Synopsis: Unemployed new Yorker Larry daley, always thinking he’s about to strike gold with the next big thing, finds his ex-wife and son nick extremely concerned that he might have to move again. He realizes he needs a fallback plan, namely a job. the employment bureau sends him to the natural history museum where security chief Cecil shows him the ropes. that night Larry finds his world turned upside down when the tyrannosaurus rex skeleton comes to life. He slowly comprehends that it’s not trying to bite him, rather wants him to throw a bone it can fetch. the dinosaur is not the only entity come to life. African mammals, Attila the Hun, sacajawea with Lewis and Clark, the easter island statue, a mammoth, moose, and a Capuchin monkey join in the festivities. Add a blowgun-wielding tribe, a roman legion and cowboys from three dioramas. Cowpoke Jedidiah leads his men in felling their Gulliver and making a toy train engine run into his noggin. riding to Larry’s rescue is teddy roosevelt. He explains that during a 1952 nile expedition a magical tablet was found and each evening when the sun departs the creatures in the museum arise. they must confine themselves to the museum lest they turn to dust when the sun comes up. in the morning, Cecil, Gus and reginald return. Larry meets his son. the museum manager dr. McPhee is angry about the mayhem that occurred in the night. determined to learn more about this crazy situation, Larry reads up on the museum and its contents in books and online. the second night he provides gum for the easter island statue and fire for the neanderthals. the Capuchin continues to give Larry a headache by stealing his keys. the monkey opens a window and a neanderthal escapes. teddy tells Larry he should stay on as night guard. Larry sees the open window and outside, the caveman turning to dust at dawn. next morning nick observes dr. McPhee firing Larry, but it’s only temporary. during the day Larry meets the docent rebecca, who’s writing her thesis on sacajawea. He tells her not to give up on it. Larry learns that the magic tablet was stolen by Cecil and his cronies, to whom it gives renewed energy. nick gets it back. running into the egyptian wing, Larry and

nick find the mummy Ahkmenrah coming to life. back in the lobby, chaos reigns but Ahkmenrah speaks Hunnish and calms the barbarians. Larry explains that he must get the tablet back by morning and uses sacajawea’s tracking ability to find Cecil, who’s stolen it. octavius and Jedidiah and teddy and rexy chase Cecil in his stagecoach and retrieve the tablet. teddy, actually a wax mannequin, is put back together and Ahkmenrah uses the tablet to return everyone to the museum before dawn. rebecca, heretofore incredulous that Larry would try to pull a fast one, arrives and sees that sacajawea is indeed alive and a great resource for her scholarly paper. teddy tells nick his father is a great man. because of dinosaur tracks found in Central Park and cave paintings in the subway, dr. McPhee fires Larry but rehires him when the night’s events attract masses of people to the museum. At nick’s school, Larry tells the class about his job. At the museum the exhibits celebrate to the tune, “september.” Reviews: The Blade found it little more “than a cute holiday blockbuster here.” (Christopher borrelli, The Blade [ohio], december 22, 2006); the Richmond Times-Dispatch said it built up to some funny moments. Along the way, however, ben stiller “lives down to expectations.” He certainly sounded like himself as did owen Wilson, with ricky Gervais coming on like his character in the british tV series, The Office (daniel neman, Richmond Times-Dispatch, december 23, 2006). Analysis: it’s very silly: everyone understands everyone else despite their origins in different epochs, the diorama people would never have been alive, that wouldn’t have been Attila’s actual corpse, humans as a significant component of a natural history museum.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (20th Century–fox/1492 Pictures, 2009; 105 min.) ★★½

Produced by shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael barnathan. directed by shawn Levy. screenplay by thomas Lennon. based on characters created by robert ben Garant, thomas Lennon. edited by don Zimmerman, dean Zimmerman. director of Photography, John schwartzman. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Claude Paré. Art direction, Grant Van der slagt, Michael diner. set decoration, Lin Macdonald. Costumes by Marlene stewart. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studios, Café fX, inc., the Moving Picture Company, digiscope. Cast: Larry daley (ben stiller), Amelia earhart (Amy Adams), Jedidiah (owen Wilson), Kahmunrah/the thinker (Hank Azaria, voice), ivan the terrible (Christopher Guest), napoleon (Alain Chabat), teddy roosevelt (robin Williams), octavius (steve Coogan), dr. McPhee (ricky Gervais), George Armstrong Custer (bill Hader), Al Capone ( Jon bernthal), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Ahkmenrah (rami Malek), “American Gothic” farmer (robert thurston), Kissing nurse (Alberta Mayne), Kissing sailor (Clifton Murray), Left to right: Mizuo Peck, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller, and Rami Malek, Night at the Museum: oscar the Grouch (Caroll spinney, voice), darth Vader (thomas Morley), Albert Secret of the Tomb (20th Century–Fox, 2014).

206 • Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb einstein (eugene Levy, voice), easter island Head (brad Garrett, voice), Cherubs (Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, nick Jonas, voices), brandon ( Jonah Hill), daley’s assistant (ed Helms), George foreman (himself), tuskegee airmen (Keith Powell, Craig robinson), sailor ( Jay baruchel), docent (Mindy Kaling). Synopsis: Larry daley has become a success with various home help devices, his newest a glow-in-the-dark flashlight which he pitches on tV with another unexpected successful entrepreneur, boxing legend George foreman. Paying a visit to his old haunt, the Museum of natural History, he discovers much of its contents being crated for permanent storage at the smithsonian institution. in their stead will be holographic representations. Jedidiah the cowboy, sacajawea, Attila, and others have one last fling at life and tour the museum before returning to their crates. teddy informs Larry that he’ll remain for the time being. Using his son’s web-searching expertise, Larry finds his way to the smithsonian’s underground vaults, locates the magic tablet stolen by dexter the Capuchin monkey, and to his displeasure finds the sunset activating it. the problem is that the pharaoh Kahmunrah and his guards have been awakened and are threatening the new arrivals holed up in a storage container. Kahmunrah is Ahkmenrah’s older brother, angry that his sibling gets all the attention. now Kahmunrah will be able to rule the world by raising his army of the dead. Larry is loath to give up the tablet and tells Kahmunrah they need the Cube of rubik to turn his enemies to dust, but it’s only a ruse. from a large crate Larry releases a giant octopus and leads the egyptians on a merry chase through the halls of the smithsonian in league with the adventure-seeking Amelia earhart. they enter the photograph of a sailor kissing a girl on the streets of new York at the end of World War ii. Kahmunrah’s men follow but are swallowed up in the crowd as Larry and Amelia return to the present and turn the photo to face the wall. needing more men, Kahmunrah enlists ivan the terrible, napoleon and Al Capone. despite having George Armstrong Custer and his motorcycle on his side, Larry is caught. but Kahmunrah has forgotten the combination to the tablet. He places Jedidiah into an hourglass and gives Larry an hour to decipher the tablet. He and Amelia encounter the speaking bust of teddy roosevelt, who translates the tablet. the combination is at the Heart of Pharaoh’s tomb. they head to the sculpture Gallery but the thinker is of little use. they need einstein at the Air and space Museum. Meanwhile, octavius plans to enter the White House for aid, but a squirrel scarfs him up. Larry and Amelia seek aid from Abraham Lincoln but are stymied in their quest for the combination. on to the Air and space Museum. the einstein bobble heads tell them that Pi is at the center of the pyramid. that’s the answer! they take the Wright brothers’ plane back to Kahmunrah, who uses the tablet to bring forth his hawk-headed minions. they gain the upper hand on Custer and Attila and their cohorts until Lincoln appears. the minions’ spears bounce off and many run away. Lincoln leaves, his work done. Larry uses his flashlight to battle the sword-wielding Kahmunrah while Amelia employs the tablet to unlock the portal. Kahmunrah is pushed back into his netherworld. Amelia flies Larry, the Huns, the cavemen and Jedidiah and octavius back to the Museum of natural History in new York. bidding farewell, Amelia says she’s had the adventure of a lifetime and heads back to d.C. Larry tells teddy roosevelt that, sure, the returnees can’t hide in the basement forever, but he has a plan. He sells his company and uses the proceeds to buy the museum and institute truly live-action exhibits with Attila and Ahkmenrah entertaining children, and rexy frightening bored teens. A female visitor looks much like Amelia but tells Larry she’s not related and asks him to guide her to the Hall of Miniatures.

Reviews: the Las Vegas Review-Journal said it was far from Grade A but was “an occasionally clever, frequently funny and generally lively adventure.” the many inaccuracies had to be forgiven “in the name of goofy cinematic fun.” (Carol Cling, Las Vegas-Review-Journal, May 22, 2009); the Star Tribune said it was “a cute, kid-friendly, wacky comedy, with monkeys.” However, adults would find it lacking in hilarity. Gervais stole the show, which only served to show “how flabby and lifeless the bulk of the film is.” (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], May 22, 2009). Analysis: it’s just as silly and stupid as the previous entry. A tablet that gives life to miniatures, full-size wax figures (who come alive with the knowledge of their living pasts, no less), giant statues, paintings, fossils—or replicas, well, it takes a mighty suspension of disbelief for adults to enjoy the proceedings. Why ivan the terrible? because the name sounds dangerous? Al Capone? napoleon seems an odd choice to present as a dastardly human being unless all generals are game. Amelia flies her biplane to nYC in about an hour, it seems. Was it already fueled? Hank Azaria’s Kahmunrah is quite funny and obviously channeling boris Karloff from The Mummy (1932).

(20th Century–fox/1492 Pictures, 2014; 97 min.) ★★½

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Produced by shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Mark radcliffe. directed by shawn Levy. screenplay by david Guion, Michael Handelman, thomas Lennon. story by Mark friedman, davie Guion, Michael Handelman. based on Characters Created by thomas Lennon, robert ben Garant. edited by dean Zimmerman. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. Color by technicolor. Music by Alan silvestri. Production design, Martin Whist. Art direction, Catherine ircha, nigel evans, sandra tanaka. set decoration, Peter Lando. Costumes by Marlene stewart. Visual effects by MPC, Method studios, digital domain, Cinesite, Lola VfX, Zoic studios. “in Loving Memory of Mickey rooney. And for robin Williams. Magic never ends.” Cast: Larry daley (ben stiller), teddy roosevelt (robin Williams), Jedidiah (owen Wilson), octavius (steve Coogan), sir Lancelot (dan stevens), tilly (rebel Wilson), dr. McPhee (ricky Gervais), nick daley (skyler Gisondo), Ahkmenrah (rami Malek), Attila (Patrick Gallagher), sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), Merenkahre (ben Kingsley), shepseheret (Anjali Jay), Cecil (dick Van dyke), Gus (Mickey rooney), reginald (bill Cobbs), Archibald stanley (Matt frewer), easter island Head (brad Garrett, voice), Camelot Arthur (Hugh Jackman), Camelot Guinevere (Alice eve). Synopsis: egypt, 1938: a joint U.s.-U.K. expedition hurriedly removes the contents of a heretofore hidden tomb before a storm ruins the excavation. Local residents warn the archaeologists that taking the contents and the tablet of Ahkmenrah will have dire results. in present day new York, Larry daley and his Museum of natural History cohorts, the exhibits that come alive by night due to the spell of the Ahkmenrah tablet, supervise a gala to celebrate renovation of the Hayden Planetarium. the affair begins with a bang but goes horribly wrong as the Ahkmenrah tablet sports an unhealthy green patina. this turns teddy roosevelt and the other beings that come alive by night into less than congenial hosts. At home, Larry is displeased that his teenage son nick is hosting his own party. they discuss what college nicky should apply to, but Larry’s son wants a year off, arguing that his dad never went to college. tabling the issue for the moment, Larry finds former museum night watchmen Cecil, Gus and reginald

Dawn of the Dead • 207 at a retiree’s home. Cecil is the boy who accidentally fell into the tomb in 1938. He tells him that Ahkmenrah’s parents were shipped to the british Museum. they know the tablet’s secrets, according to Ahkmenrah. With dr. McPhee’s mixed blessing, Larry, nick and Ahkmenrah take the tablet to London. to Larry’s shock, the crate also contains teddy, Attila, Jedidiah, octavius, sacajawea, dexter the Capuchin, and Laaa, that new member of the neanderthal exhibit commissioned by dr. McPhee in Larry’s image. Guarding the entrance, Larry, nick, and their friends make their way through the museum, assisted by a resurrected sir Lancelot in keeping a triceratops at bay. Jedidiah and octavius fall through a grate into the ventilation ducts and dexter is sent in pursuit and saves them from the erupting Mt. Vesuvius in the Pompeii exhibit. Larry and company find the egyptian section and Ahkmenrah is reunited after 4,000 years with his father Merenkahre and mother shepseheret. Merenkahre is convinced to explain the golden tablet, which was created by his sorcerer after Ahkmenrah’s birth in order to keep the family together through eternity. it is losing its power because it needs light. Larry attempts to use moonlight to restore it but Lancelot steals it. it’s his Holy Grail. He takes a horse and rides through London. Larry and Laaa are confined in a kitchen by the guard tilly. finally Laaa charges the door and breaks the window with his noggin. Gathering his cohorts, Larry takes them on a bus ride to find Lancelot despite his son’s warning that there are eight million citizens in London. Lancelot arrives at Camelot, a theatrical production, and rushes to the stage where he encounters King Arthur and Guinevere, in actuality Hugh Jackman and Alice eve. Confounded by their explanation that they aren’t real medieval people, he goes on a rampage, using his sword to make mincemeat of the set. out in trafalgar square the lion statues come alive but Larry uses his flashlight to distract them. He and his friends locate Lancelot and chase him to the theater’s roof. teddy starts to freeze up and dexter expires. Lancelot comes to his senses and gives Larry the tablet, whose panels are turned to the right coordinates and upon which the moon shines. returning to the british Museum, teddy and his exhibit friends tell Larry the tablet must remain here, and Ahkmenrah, too. they are resigned to nonexistence in new York. Upon leaving, Larry tells tilly that the following evening she will have the best night of her life. back in new York, Larry says goodbye to his friends. three years pass and a british Museum traveling exhibit hits town. tilly shows dr. McPhee the tablet and proves its power by taking him out to the lobby where all the exhibits are partying. Across the street form the museum, Larry smiles. Reviews: the Chicago Tribune thought it was “more determinedly heartfelt than the first and not as witty as the second (and best).” it was a bittersweet farewell to both Mickey rooney and robin Williams, both of whom died in 2014 (Michael Phillips, http://my.chicagotrib une.com, december 18, 2014); The Telegraph said the excitement of the opening frames was not maintained throughout, and the series failed to grasp the brass ring as “timeless children’s entertainment.” (robbie Collin, www.telegraph.com.uk. december 18, 2014). Analysis: there are some fine moments compromised by anticlimaxes and several conversations that stop the action dead, including mundane musings on fatherhood. that and the feel-good ending might be attributed to one of the producers, Chris Columbus, director of Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire. Might not the film have had more gravitas if at the very least we weren’t apprised that the exhibits at the british Museum made a tour that took them to the U.s. where everything got to boogie? the best scenes: Larry, teddy and sir Lancelot in the M.C. escher Relativity lithograph, which was not overdone; the emotional “death” of dexter; sir Lancelot’s frustration at the showing of Camelot when Hugh Jackman and Alice eve try to convince him

they aren’t the real Arthur and Guinevere, rather actors, at which time Jackman goes into his fierce X-Men Wolverine pose.

niGHt of tHe LiVinG deAd see Volume i for Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Return of the Living Dead, Part II (1988), Night of the Living Dead (1990), and Return of the Living Dead III (1993). Diary of the Dead (2008) and Survival of the Dead (2009) played at film festivals had none or infinitesimal theatrical play dates and went to video.

(strike entertainment, 2004; 101 min.) ★★★½

Dawn of the Dead

Produced by Marc Abraham. directed by Zack snyder. screenplay by James Gunn. based on Dawn of the Dead by George A. romero. edited by niven Howie. director of Photography, Matthew f. Leonetti. Color by deluxe. Music by tyler bates. Production design, Andrew neskoromny. Art direction, Arvinder Grewal. set decoration, steve shewcuk. Costumes by denise Cronenberg. special Makeup effects, david Leroy Anderson. Visual effects, Mr. X inc. Cast: Ana (sarah Polley), sergeant Kenneth Hall (Ving rhames), Michael ( Jake Weber), Andre (Mekhi Phifer), C.J. (Michael Kelly), steve (ty burrell), terry (Kevin Zegers), bart (Michael barry), norma ( Jayne eastwood), Luda (inna Korobkina), tucker (boyd banks), nicole (Lindy booth), Monica (Kim Poirer), frank (Matt frewer), Andy (bruce bohne), Glen (r.d. reid), Luis (Louis ferreira), bloated woman (ermes blarasin), Chips (blu, dog), televangelist (Ken foree), sheriff (tom savini). Synopsis: Upon finishing her shift at a suburban Milwaukee hospital, nurse Ana returns home to her husband Luis only to discover via tV that some sort of plague is causing havoc in the community. the neighbor girl Vivian comes into the bedroom and attacks Luis. despite Ana’s attempts to stop the flow of blood from his neck, Luis dies—but comes back to life and chases her outside. the whole neighborhood is in an uproar, witnessed by Ana as she drives away and crashes into a tree. Kenneth, a police sergeant on his way to meet his brother at fort Pastor, reluctantly lets her tag along. they pick up some others along the way: best buy tV salesman Michael, smalltime hood Andre and his pregnant wife Luda. entering the seemingly deserted Cross roads Mall, they encounter and kill a security guard, victim of whatever illness is turning people into bloodthirsty zombies. three other security guards, including the irritable C.J., take the new arrivals’ guns and sequester them until it becomes obvious they must work together. for the moment survival is the goal, but Ken desperately wants to get to fort Pastor. on the roof, they spot a man on the roof of a gun shop. Making signs, they communicate with Andy. A large truck careens into the parking lot and backs up to a loading dock. inside are nicole and her father frank, a large injured woman they cart via wheelbarrow, norma, steve, tucker, Monica and Glen. the woman in the wheelbarrow dies but comes back to life and is be shot. frank had his skin punctured earlier and is quarantined until he too becomes a zombie and is put out of his misery. Andre hides his wife Luda away, ostensibly just to make her pregnancy better, but she’s infected and secured to her bed. she gives birth but is killed by norma, who is then shot by Andre. the baby that just minutes before had

208 • Land of the Dead come into the world is found to be a monstrosity and killed. When steve mentions in passing that they might battle their way to the lake and take his boat to an isolated island, the others go for it and equip two shuttle buses in the basement, where nicole befriends a dog she calls Chips. strapping on his back pouches with food for the starving Andy, Chips is lowered into the howling mass of zombies who show little interest in the dog, and Andy’s whistle attracts Chips to his dog door. However, a zombie crawls in behind. nicole crashes the delivery truck into the gun shop and hides. Using the sewers, C.J. gains access to Andy’s shop, but he’s been turned and must be terminated. nicole and Chips are rescued and guns and ammo taken, but more are lost on the return. in two buses the survivors break out of the basement parking lot and crash through the zombie throng, at one point almost coming to a stop. C.J. ignites a propane tank in the midst of the slavering mob, and the caravan moves on into town before one bus goes out of control and Glen and Monica are accidentally killed by chainsaw. Ana shoots the infected steve. Ken, Ana, nicole, terry, Chips, and Michael make it to the docks, C.J. having sacrificed himself and used another exploding propane tank to facilitate the others’ escape. Having sustained a slight but deadly wound from a zombie, Michael elects to remain behind with his pistol. out on the lake Ana hears the gun’s report. Arriving at a distant island’s old wharf, Chips jumps out and heads into the brush whereupon zombies rush the new arrivals. Reviews: Film Ex was skeptical going in but found that despite flaws, “it’s also a creepy, entertaining, and often comic film. Most importantly, it’s scary, which is why i left the theater a fan.” (Liz Pysar, Film Ex, Winter, 2004, pp. 5–7); The Guardian review was tepid. director snyder had to be given some credit in his debut, and there was some fascination with the remake but “very few moments when it is scary at all.” Ving rhames was the only one with “real character.” George romero’s zombie films were better, “if only because he made us smile as well a shudder, sometimes at the same time.” (derek Mal-

colm, The Guardian, March 25, 2004). teenage James Ventin found it a worthy remake and reviewed zombie aficionados’ views on the slow (the original) vs. fast (the remake) undead. Ventin thought zombie makeup on real people vastly superior to films in which computergenerated graphics are used for monsters ( James Ventin, News Journal [Wilmington, de], April 2, 2004, p. e4). Analysis: With internal tributes to George romero’s films (Ken foree as the televangelist, tom savini as an on-screen sheriff, a boutique called Gaylen ross), director snyder crafts a worthy remake of the 1978 film. Prefiguring World War Z (2013) is the scene where the shuttle buses make their way through an shocking mass of the undead. Like The Thing or The Blob, you know you can’t have your skin broken by your antagonist lest you lose your humanity. this is a prime part of the horror. Ving rhames always lends gravitas to a film, as he does here. it was pleasant to see Michael Kelly’s C.J. develop into a hero after initially playing such a jerk we wanted him killed off. the characters make mostly reasonable decisions. the ending is a bit of a downer although we don’t know for sure if our crew manages to reembark from the dock before the zombies reach them.

(Universal/Atmosphere Pictures, 2005; 93 min.) ★★

Land of the Dead

Produced by Mark Canton, bernie Goldmann, Peter Grunwald. directed by George romero. screenplay by George romero. edited by Michal doherty. director of Photography, Miroslaw baszak. Color by deluxe. Music by reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek. Production design, Arv Grewal. Art direction, doug slater. set decoration, Marlene Puritt. Costumes by Alex Kavanagh. special Make-Up effects, Greg nicotero, Howard berger, Knb efX Group, inc. Visual effects by sPin. Cast: riley denbo (simon baker), Cholo deMora ( John Leguizamo), Kaufman (dennis Hopper), slack (Asia Argento), Charlie (robert Joy), big daddy (eugene Clark), Pretty boy ( Joanne boland), foxy (tony nappo), number 9 ( Jennifer baxter), butcher (boyd banks), Photo booth zombies (simon Pegg, edgar Wright), Machete zombie (tom savini).

Dawn of the Dead (Strike Entertainment, 2004).

Synopsis: some time Ago: the zombie apocalypse. today: High rollers control cities and send raiding parties into the interior to confiscate drugs, food and booze. riley is a marauder who’s fed up with the mission. His compatriot Cholo agrees that quitting might be a good idea as long as he can retire to his own luxurious pad. on riley’s last night raid he spies zombies acting strangely at a service station and tells Cholo they might be starting to think. back in the city he rescues slack, a hooker who was thrust into a cage with two zombies. His slowwitted, scarred chum Charlie blows away the guy running the show, a dude who owed riley a car. in jail, riley learns more than he wants from slack. Cholo, meanwhile, delivers booze and cigars to

Freddy vs. Jason • 209 Kaufman, a big shot high-rise dweller, the ostensible ruler of the city. When the big man tells Cholo that no, he won’t be able to secure such wonderful accommodations in the near future, Cholo leaves, followed by Kaufman’s security guard entailed with taking Cholo out. but the tables are turned and the henchman is incapacitated. Cholo “requisitions” dead reckoning, the armored and missile bearing truck and threatens to use the missiles on Kaufman’s tower unless he receives $2 million by midnight. Kaufman has riley brought from his cell. riley agrees to track down Cholo because he doesn’t want innocent people hurt if Cholo has to carry through on his threat. With Charlie, slack and three others from Kaufman’s guard, they set out in a jeep for the Mount Washington area and confront Cholo. Meanwhile, a zombie host led by a large fellow who seems to understand that lights in a building across the river mean something, cross underwater and begin creating havoc. Kaufman gathers his millions and tries to escape but is attacked by Cholo and turned into a zombie after being bitten. the gas the big zombie had poured into and around Kaufman’s car catches fire, killing Kaufman and Cholo. from a distance riley observes the zombies marching on, looking for their own place in the world. Reviews: AP said director romero had stuck to the basic rules of the subgenre and that the main difference between this and its predecessors was that it had actors “you’ve actually heard of.” (Christy Lemire, AP Online, June 22, 2005); the Santa Fe New Mexican called it a mere retread, the same movie he’d made thrice previously. Making the zombies rather intelligent is odd and brings the story “perilously close to stupid change in the zombie-human dynamic.” (sean Anderson-branowitzer, Santa Fe New Mexican, July 8, 2005, pp. d2–1, d-2). Analysis: this is a curious zombie outing. not bad, not exactly good. do we find it interesting that the seed of intelligence is germinating in these zombies’ brains? dennis Hopper’s Kaufman is not that bright in that he relies on just one chauffeur to get him out of the skyscraper and to safety. He should have had a better back-up plan. Hopper, simon baker and especially John Leguizano do lend some gravitas to the film. the zombie-fascinating fireworks scene is amusing. Most takes place at night, a mixed blessing. dark lends an air of creepiness, of course, but zombies are 24/7. one wonders if director romero was paying homage to The Colossus of New York (1958) by filming zombies shambling underwater.

A niGHtMAre on eLM street see Volume i for A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994).

(new Line Cinema; 2003; 97 min.) ★★

Freddy vs. Jason

Produced by sean s. Cunningham. directed by ronny Yu. screenplay by damian shannon, Mark swift. based on characters created by Wes Craven and Victor Miller. edited by Mark stevens. director of Photography, fred Murphy. fujifilm. Prints by deluxe. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, John Willett. Costumes by

Gregory b. Mah. Visual effects supervisor, Ariel Velasco shaw. Visual effects, Cinesite, Pixel Magic, digital dimension. Cast: freddy Krueger (robert englund), Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger), Lori (Monica Keena), Will rollins ( Jason ritter), Kia Waterson (Kelly rowland), Charlie Linderman (Christopher George Marquette), Gibb (Katherine isabelle), Mark davis (brendan fletcher), dr. Campbell (tom butler), deputy scott stubbs (Lochlyn Munro), Jason’s mother (Paula shaw), trey ( Jesse Hutch), bobby davis (Zack Ward). Synopsis: because no one remembers him, freddy Krueger can’t continue terrorizing citizens. He has a brainstorm: employ another resident of Hell to get the blood while he gets the glory: Jason Voorhees. As Jason uses a machete on his first new victim, a nubile girl having just skinny-dipped in the lake, the image of his mother appears and tells him he’s been sleeping. now he must rise and live again. Mom is actually freddy in disguise. 1428 elm street: on a dark and blustery, night three young women and two guys make out until Jason begins his rampage. A couple policemen remember freddy but try to hush it up. Lori is confused and begins dreaming about freddy. freddy accosts blake, whose pal was killed, but the monster is not yet strong enough to perpetrate evil himself. At the Westin Hills psychiatric hospital, Will and Mark escape with the mission of preventing more carnage. Lori is told that pedophile freddy had been burned to death by their parents. researching microfilmed newspapers at the springwood Library, Will and Mark discover that these incidents were covered up. While a rave takes place in a cornfield, Lori’s friend Gibb wanders in search of trey and finds herself in some farm structure where she’s terrorized and eventually killed by freddy. Meanwhile, Jason attacks the rave but is set on fire. Lori and her friends drive off and Will explains what he and Mark discovered. He says he saw her dad kill her mom. Lori learns that her father consults at Westin Hills. freddy kills Mark and cries, “freddy’s back!” Lori thinks they can use fire to handle freddy and water to confound Jason. she and company discover that the experimental drug Hypnocil has been used to suppress dreams and at Westin Hills they find teens kept in a comatose state to prevent them from dreaming and being killed. Jason attacks but is injected and falls to the floor. regaining consciousness later, he engages in a knock-down, drag-out battle with freddy that leaves him debilitated, but Lori and her friends take the body to Camp Crystal Lake. Lori sleeps in order to encounter freddy and have Jason take him on again. in her dream, Lori is at sunny Crystal Lake and witnesses the harassment of young Jason that results in his drowning. back in the van, Kia gives Jason mouth-to-mouth to revive him to fight off freddy. Jason does wake but the van crashes. freddy attacks Lori, who yells, “Wake me up!” she sees freddy kill her mother and receives wounds in the dream world. A fire wakes Lori and Jason finds freddy. After killing the taunting tia, Jason hears Lori tell him freddy killed his mother. As Jason and freddy slice each other up on the dock, Lori and Will set it ablaze. swimming back to the dock later, Will and Lori see freddy approaching, but Jason impales him on his own severed arm. Lori cuts off freddy’s head. “Welcome to my world, bitch!” next day Jason emerges from the lake carrying a machete in his left hand, freddy’s head in his right. freddy winks. Reviews: the News Journal bemoaned a lack of style and what should have been a firecracker confrontation between two slasher kingpins. it was no more than “an unrepentant gore-fest with little personality or flavor.” (bill Muller/Phoenix republic [Wilmington, de], August 15, 2003, p. 5); The Nelson Mail thought fans of such films would appreciate the clash between two horror icons. director ronny Yu “mixes humor with the usual horror-style mayhem. Who

210 • A Nightmare on Elm Street wins? to be honest, it doesn’t really make any difference.” (david Manning, Nelson Mail, february 16, 2004). Analysis: is this actually a parody? At least they use the signature Friday the 13th “hissing” musical motif. some of the visuals are excellent, such as Jason seen from overhead stomping through the corn and setting it ablaze. on the negative side, things happen so fast you can’t identify the plot holes until later. for an instant we thought Gibb was going to survive, but she came out of her locker too soon. What were we thinking, only one or two survive these films and Gibb wasn’t the protagonist. it is curious that in a film soon recognized as lacking in depth (what a surprise!), one wants it to move to the mayhem quickly. to get it over with, perhaps.

(new Line Cinema; 2010; 95 min.) ★★

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, bradley fuller. directed by samuel bayer. screenplay by Jackie earle Haley, eric Heisserer. story by Wesley strick. based on characters created by Wes Craven. edited by Glen scantlebury. director of Photography, Jeff Cutter. Kodak color. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Patrick Lumb. Art direction, Craig Jackson. set decoration, Karen frick. Costumes by Mari-Ann Ceo. Makeup, Karen Lynn. Cast: freddy Krueger ( Jackie earle Haley), nancy Holbrook (rooney Mara), Quentin smith (Kyle Gallner), Chris fowles (Katie Cassidy), Jesse braun (thomas dekker), dean russell (Kellan Lutz), Alan smith (Clancy brown), dr. Gwen Holbrook (Connie britton), nora fowles (Lia Mortensen), Young Chris ( Julianna damm), Jesse’s father (Christian stolte), Creepy Girl #1 (Katie schooping Knight), Creep Girl #2 (Hailey schooping Knight), Creepy Girl #3 (Leah Uteg), dean’s father (Kurt naebig), Young dean (Max Holt), History teacher (don robert Kass),Young nancy (Kyra Krumins), Young Jesse (brayden Croyer), Marcus Yeon (Aaron Yoo). Synopsis: At the springwood diner, dean tries to explain his frightful dreams to Chris. As if controlled by an unseen force, he slits his throat. At dean’s funeral Chris sees a young girl with her dress slashed. At home, waitress nancy nods off briefly, failing to see something in the wall behind her. Chris’ mother tells her to forget about that child, but Chris goes into the attic above the garage and discovers photos, dolls and a slashed child’s dress. the light comes on and a hideous man who says, “remember me,” accosts her. she wakes up. At school Chris sees a clawed hand in her textbook and screams, waking herself up. she runs home to elm street and is about to continue her investigation into the past when her airline attendant mother tells her she must fly to London. Chris’ ex-flame Jesse reveals that he too is having the same dream. they settle down for the night, but Chris wakes, hears her dog rufus barking and goes outside to find him clawed to death. back inside, she wakes up and goes into the bathroom but is tossed around the bedroom and killed. Jesse is arrested for her death. At Powell’s book store, Quentin bones up on the effects of sleep deprivation but falls asleep and sees the man with the clawed hand. Meanwhile, Jesse makes bail but in the hall comes to a dead end, hears Chris, and sees children and a monster man who impales him. Quentin gives nancy pills to keep her awake as they discuss their predicament. nancy asks her mother Gwen if she had some connection with the other kids. Gwen makes a phone call and tells someone that nancy is starting to remember. After snow falls in nancy’s room, she walks to the badham school and meets the killer. A phone wakes her up. it’s Quentin. they find photos of their elementary school class. Gwen

tells nancy she wanted her to forget what happened at the hands of fred Krueger, the school gardener. she tells nancy her dreams are repressed memories, but nancy tells Quentin they have to find the other kids in the picture because memories don’t kill you. At school, Quentin almost drowns during swimming practice. nancy, meanwhile, examines her class photo. Many have died rather mysteriously. Quentin tells nancy their parents set fire to the building where they’d cornered the child molester freddy. Quentin tells his dad they killed an innocent man. Quentin and nancy agree to find the preschool. Attacked in the dream world boiler room, nancy manages to rip off a piece of freddy’s shirt before waking. After being treated for her wounds at the hospital, nancy finds Quentin. they crash their car after seeing freddy in the road, but they find the school and the maintenance room, “his” room as well as a hidden chamber with objects that make Quentin realize freddy was guilty after all. nancy remembers being taken there by fred. she goes to sleep on purpose. Quentin finds himself in the dream world boiler room and is slashed but survives. As nancy is about to expire, Quentin injects her with adrenaline from the pharmacy. With a sharp piece of metal, nancy slashes freddy’s throat. “You’re in my world now, bitch!” At home, nancy thinks all is well until freddy appears and drags her mother into the hall mirror. Reviews: Basil & Spice observed that “there is no suspense when freddy is always there, around every corner, every time.” ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, April 30, 2010); the News Journal said, “now, we have a reinvention of the first movie—let’s not call it a remake, that would be crass…. by now, though, the novelty has long since worn off, and cheap, generic scares are all that are left.” (Christy Lane, “‘nightmare’ fresh out of suspense,” News Journal [Wilmington, de], April 30, 2010, pp. Hr11-Hr12). Analysis: We miss robert englund. Jackie earle Haley does not have his … gravitas. He seems smaller in stature, and the facial makeup a tad less scary. in short, there’s nothing new, nothing to see here.

tHe nUttY Professor see under dr . JeKYLL And Mr . HYde tHe oMeGA MAn see under tHe L Ast MAn on e ArtH tHe oMen see Volume 1 for The Omen (1976), Damien: Omen II (1978), and The Final Conflict (1981).

(20th Century–fox, 2006; 111 min.) ★★

The Omen

Produced by John Moore, Glenn Williamson. directed by John Moore. screenplay by david seltzer. edited by dan Zimmerman. director of Photography, Jonathan sela. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Prints by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, Patrick Lumb. Art direction, Martin Kurel, Katerina Kopicova. set decoration, Patrick “Paki” smith. Costumes by George

Ouija • 211 L. Little. Visual effects by Cinesite (europe) Ltd. special thanks, richard donner. Cast: robert thorn (Liev schreiber), Katherine thorn ( Julia stiles), damien (seamus davey-fitzpatrick), Mrs. baylock (Mia farrow), nanny (Amy Huck), Keith Jennings (david thewlis), father brennan (Pete Postlethwaite), Vatican observatory priest (Pedja bjelac), Cardinal fabretti (Carlo sabatini), Pope (bohumil svarc), father spiletto (Giovanni Lombardo radice), bugenhagen (Michael Gambon), tabloid reporter #3 (Harvey stephens). Synopsis: A Vatican observatory priest notices an unusual comet speeding through space and after doing research in the library tells a Cardinal of its import. the Cardinal informs the Pope and his council that doom is upon them. Also in rome, U.s. embassy official roger thorn rushes to the hospital where his wife Katherine has given birth, but father spiletto tells him the child died. He has a proposition: an unwanted baby was born at the same time. Why not secretly make the boy their child—and not tell Katherine. roger agrees and the child is named damien. Just as roger is about to be transferred to england to work as the Ambassador’s right-hand man, the Ambassador is killed when a fuel truck rolls into his car. roger is promoted to Ambassador and takes up residence in a large manse. on one of damien’s birthdays the nanny, who had been mesmerized by the sight of a large black dog, hangs herself from the roof after crying out to damien that it’s all for him. A new nanny, Mrs. baylock, is somewhat reluctantly hired. roger is miffed when she allows a rottweiler into his son’s room. on the way to church, damien has a fit and attacks Katherine. Katherine dreams of being confronted in her bath by a small masked figure and is further dismayed when during a school outing at the zoo all the other children shun damien. father brennan warns roger about impending evil. Watching the Ambassador all the while is paparazzi Keith Jennings. father brennan makes another attempt to rouse roger, and in the rain under a bridge, the priest tells roger that Katherine is pregnant and that roger must act lest damien kills them both. After their conversation, brennan rushes off into the storm, climbs a fence into a church courtyard, and finds the door locked. Lightning strikes the spire, breaking off a metal spike that impales him. Katherine is in fact pregnant and also almost killed by damien, who runs into the stool she’s using to water flowers. she survives her fall into the main hall but the baby does not. Photographer Jennings shows roger various pictures in which a strange streak appears aimed at those now dead: roger’s nanny, father brennan. roger and Jennings visit the now grotesque father spiletto, who directs them to a graveyard in subiaco where they discover a jackal’s skeleton in the grave of damien’s mother and the skeletal remains of roger’s own son in the other. A large hole in the child’s skull indicates that the baby was killed. Guard dogs chase off roger and Jennings. Mrs. baylock worms her way into Katherine’s room and kills her by injecting air into the iV line. in Megiddo, israel, roger learns of Katherine’s death and voices his opinion that damien must die. He and Jennings meet bugenhagen, who tells roger he must kill damien with a series of spikes making the sign of the cross on his body. roger has second thoughts but is told that he himself is in danger. He flies to London, lures damien’s dog into a trapdoor and fights off Mrs. baylock. He takes the struggling damien into his car and runs down a sledgehammerwielding Mrs. baylock. the guards at roger’s estate chase him to a church and shoot him as he is about to impale damien. At the stateside funeral of both roger and Katherine, the President holds damien’s hand. the boy turns and smiles slyly. Reviews: The Blade bemoaned any sense of levity and the “lack of imagination to see past the splatter into more ominous territory.” the cast was excellent but the audience, not the characters, had more in-

formation about what was going on (Christopher borrelli, The Blade, June 6, 2006); the Santa Fe New Mexican found the secondary characters more compelling and the movie worthwhile “if you, like me, enjoy tacky horror flicks. it features one of the creepiest (and whitest) kids i’ve seen in a while and some gratuitously violent scenes.” ( Jason shain, Santa Fe New Mexican, June 30, 2006). Analysis: realizing not long into the proceedings that this is mostly a carbon copy of the 1976 version, a slight sense of boredom ensues. As with many a horror film, when one looks closely and thinks rationally the proceedings and their world import seem rather over the top. to paraphrase physicist richard feynman, the stage—the universe— is too big to presuppose humanity deserves such scrutiny. despite the digital age upon us, as usual in tV and film the photographer maintains kinship with the past via a traditional darkroom and the chemicals in which to develop and print his photos. it’s more dramatic to see photos appear in the tray, one supposes, but how long can this last? At least in this instance they are transferred to a computer monitor for detailed examination. Question: how did Mrs. baylock so easily kill Katherine? note that Harvey stephens, the original damien, plays a reporter here.

oUiJA Ouija

(Universal/Platinum dune/blumhouse Productions, 2014; 89 min.) ★★½

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, bradley fuller, Jason blum, bennett schneir. directed by stiles White. screenplay by Juliet snowden, stiles White. based on the Hasbro Game Ouija. edited by Ken blackwell. director of Photography, david emmerichs. technicolor. Music by Anton sanko. Production design, barry robison. Art direction, Jeremy Woolsey. set decoration, Kristin V. Peterson. Costumes by Mary Jane fort. Visual effects by rez-illusion, Legion. Cast: Laine Morris (olivia Cooke), sarah Morris (Ana Coto), trevor (daren Kagasoff ), isabelle (bianca santos), Pete (douglas smith), debbie Galardi (shelley Hennig), doris Zander (sierra Heuermann), doris as a child (sunny May Allison), Paulina Zander (Lin shaye), Mother (Claudia Katz), Mrs. Galardi (robyn Lively), nona (Vivis), Mr. Morris (Matthew settle), Young Laine (Afra tully), Young debbie (Claire beale), Young sarah (izzie Galardi). Synopsis: two young girls, Laine Morris and debbie Galardi, play around with the ouija board game. debbie tells Laine to never play alone and always end by moving the planchette to Good bye. to begin, one must say, “As friends we gather, hearts are true. spirits near we call to you.” Years pass. Laine tries to entice debbie to a party, but her friend begs off and stays home, playing ouija by herself despite her original admonition that it must be played by more than one. something bothers her, however, and she consigns the board to the fireplace flames before using a cord of holiday lights to hang herself in the foyer. Her friends, including Laine, her sister sarah, debbie’s boyfriend Pete, isabelle, and Laine’s boyfriend trevor, are totally freaked out by the demise of their good friend. Mrs. Galardi asks Laine to check on the house while she and her husband are away. Laine shows the ouija board in debbie’s closet to trevor. He tries to convince her that debbie’s death was not her fault. Later, Laine entices sarah, trevor, and isabelle to debbie’s house. Pete shows up unexpectedly and joins in the “game.” Laine asks if there’s a presence. the planchette moves.

212 • Ouija out. Whoever they are contacting is not debbie. it’s d C. Looking through the eye of the planchette, Laine sees debbie with a sutured mouth. A message on the board tells them to run because Mother’s coming! At her home, Laine places a flash drive into her computer and watches debbie talk about cleaning out her attic and finding the ouija board. Laine and sarah watch debbie play the game by herself and see Hi friend appear. isabelle returns home from her job and while flossing her teeth is attacked and pulled from her feet and dropped, her head hitting the sink. At school, Laine is told about grief counseling options. trevor tells Laine the spirit is coming for them all. Laine tells Pete that debbie woke up something and she needs his help to find out what. At debbie’s house, Laine climbs into the attic and finds old photos and a doll. Her flashlight rolls away. something might be there. downstairs, she and Pete examine the photos that seem to be from the late 1940s or early 1950s. those in the pictures must still be connected to this house. Pete researches the web and discovers newspaper articles about a missing 10-year-old girl, doris Zander, who was never found. Her mother was suspected of killing her. there’s another girl mentioned, doris’ sister Paulina. Laine locates her in the Hoover state Care Psychiatric Hospital and excites the wheelchair-bound woman by telling her she has photos of the family. Laine says she saw the sister with stitched up lips. Mother did that, says Paulina. she was into medium-ship, séances and spirit boards. she needed a vessel to give the spirits a voice and that was doris, but something snapped in the woman’s psyche and she went insane. doris never left the house, their mother killed her. the spirits remain in the house. she tells Laine she saw the spirits because she’d opened a channel via the spirit board. the spirits are getting stronger and will be hard to stop. Mother had a secret room in the basement. Paulina urges Laine to find that room and doris’ body and sever the stitches and hope she can deal with Mother. While Laine and sarah make their way to the basement, trevor finds himself jerked away. Laine and sarah open a grate and Laine crawls into the secret room, finding the body under wraps. sure enough, the lips are stitched up. At the other end of the tunnel, sarah is suddenly pulled away. Laine begins cutting the stitches off as Mother appears. debbie shows and screams and Mother disappears. sarah recovers and sees trevor. Where’s Laine? she’s on the floor but gets up and covers the body. At Laine’s house, sarah goes on the computer. Peter sees debbie at his house, then, apparently, doris, and is possessed. trevor texts Laine about Pete. Laine visits Paulina again and realizes the woman lied. Mother tried to stop the horror; it was Paulina who heard the voices. before she can be restrained, the highly animated Paulina tells Laine that doris is coming for her. nona the housekeeper urges Laine and sarah to break the connection to the spirit world. the board is merely the conduit. both it and the body must be destroyed. At debbie’s, trevor is lured to the pool by the girl he thinks is sarah, falls backward onto the cover, flounders, and sinks into the water. inside, Laine finds trevor standing against the wall with his mouth stitched shut. He disintegrates like water. Laine tells sarah they must get the board. in the basement, they light the furnace. sarah is sucked into the hidden room while Laine uses the board to stop the spirit from possessing her sister. the spirit Olivia Cooke (left) and Ana Coto, Ouija (Universal Pictures, 2014).

does it have something to tell them? it spells Hi friend. Laine asks who’s trying to contact them and the planchette goes to d, for debbie. isabelle is totally discombobulated. When they conclude this round and say Good bYe, the lights in the house go out. sarah says it’s just a game. staring into the mirror in the living room, Pete is propelled against it. trevor escorts Laine to her house and tells her they’ve accomplished their mission. nona the housekeeper finds the ouija board and tells Laine to stop seeking answers from the dead. trevor bicycles into a pedestrian tunnel and sees Hi friend chalked on the wall. isabelle sees the greeting scrawled on her iced-up car window, and Pete finds it carved on his desktop. At her house, Laine finds the front door open and retreats with sarah to a closet. out in the bedroom Hi friend shows on the computer screen. next day, Laine says debbie is trying to reach them. they play ouija again and this time recite the opening words together. Laine asks if there is a presence there and to make itself known. How about a sign? debbie? the empty chair slides away from the table. Continuing the game, Laine and her companions learn that debbie did not kill herself. Who, then? Pete asks a question about his first date with debbie and mentions the Lookout. the answer is incorrect. He never took debbie to the Look-

Ouija 2 • 213 crawls from its lair and eyes Laine from across the board. it grabs her arm and begins to turn it, but debbie’s spirit arrives and takes Laine’s arm and turns it back. sarah throws the desiccated body into the furnace and Laine tosses in the board, and the spirit facing Laine evaporates. At her house, Laine inspects photos of trevor and other lost friends. sarah wonders what happened to the dark spirits in that poor little doris. Laine finds the planchette and looks through its eye. Reviews: The Washington Post found the cast believable and the film seductive, but it went off the rails into standard fright film tropes and, unlike the game, left nothing to the imagination (Michael o’sullivan, Washington Post, october 23, 2014); the Pittsburgh PostGazette said it successfully targeted the teen and PG-13 audience. those familiar with The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead and The Conjuring might be underwhelmed or laugh at some of the effects (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, october 24, 2014). Analysis: it’s surprising that it took so long for filmmakers to latch onto the iconic board game as a fright film’s raison d’être. (An ouija board played a small part in 1960’s 13 Ghosts.) Also remarkable is that the result is almost good even as it incorporates elements of such films as Final Destination and Paranormal Activity. it holds the interest, features sympathetic and rather intelligent characters, and is mercifully short. on the negative side: how, exactly, did the spirit produce a new ouija board after the original was consumed in the flames? is it not unbelievable—and silly—that a spirit can suture shut the mouths of the living? (Upon a second viewing, however, the explanation is more palatable even though we wonder about the technical aspect of stitching up a person’s lips. Maybe Mother was a nurse).

Ouija 2

(Universal/Allspark Pictures/blumhouse Productions, 2016; 99 min.) ★★

Produced by Michael bay, Jason blum, stephen davis, Andrew form, bradley fuller, brian Goldner. directed by Mike flanagan. screenplay by Mike flanagan, Jeff Howard. based on the Hasbro game Ouija. edited by Mike flanagan. director of Photography, Michael fimognari. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by the newton brothers. Production design, Patricio M. farrell. Art direction, Alberto Gonzalez-reyna. Costumes by Lynn falconer. Visual effects by rezillusion, VfX Legion. Cast: Alice Zander (elizabeth reaser), Lina Zander (Annalise basso), doris Zander (Lulu Wilson), Marcus (doug Jones), Mikey (Parker Mack), father tom Hogan (Henry thomas), Mr. browning (sam Anderson), Jenny browning (Kate siegel), ellie (Halle Charlton), ellie’s mother (ele Keats), dr. fuller ( John Prosky), roger Zander (Michael Weaver), betty (Alexis G. Zall), Paulina Zander (Lin shaye). Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1967: fortune teller Alice Zander puts Mr. browning in contact with his dead wife, Mary, who is at peace in her world. it’s all a mild scam, of course, but the widowed Alice tells her teenage daughter Lina she’s doing her clients a favor. sneaking out to visit ellie, Mikey, and betty, Lina sees the ouija board game with the instructions never to play alone or in a graveyard and always say goodbye. ellie’s irate mother interrupts the game and Lina leaves. Alice comes across the board game in a store and buys it to enhance her business. she magnetizes the planchette so she can manipulate the answers. Her nine-year-old daughter inspects the game and looks through the eye of the planchette and says, “Who are you?” At night, Lina’s blanket is pulled from her body. doris begins talking about her

new friend. Coming home one day, Alice finds a notice of foreclosure on her door. doris uses the board to ask her late father about foreclosure and learns that there is money behind the wall in the basement. now, says Alice, they can keep the house and also use the mysterious ouija to do what they’ve previously only pretended to do, and she informs Lina that her grandmother was a fortuneteller, too. father Hogan asks Lina why doris has missed school and is told that Alice and doris are “working.” doris begins seeing a disturbing figure through the planchette and upon looking into a mirror becomes possessed. in the schoolyard, doris makes a bully who was about to use his slingshot on her, fire into his own face. Alice meets to discuss doris with father tom Hogan, who had entered the priesthood after his wife died. Mikey meets up with Lina and they kiss. Lina observes doris writing on lined paper and wonders why daddy would change doris—and have her sew shut the mouth of a doll? Lina takes the papers that seem to be written in Polish to father Hogan, who thinks one of the nuns knows Polish. father Hogan arrives at the Zander residence and plays ouija with Alice and doris. Upstairs afterward, father Hogan tells Alice and Lina that doris was channeling bad forces, not his dead wife Gloria. Mikey shows up downstairs and is directed by doris to the basement wall where the “treasure” was found. there are bones within the chamber. Heading back downstairs, Lina realizes evil spirits are watching them. in the foyer, she, father Hogan, and Alice are horrified when Mikey’s hanged body falls from above. they hear voices from the basement and decide to burn the ouija board in the furnace. finding the bones behind the wall, Lina says they’ve been playing in a graveyard all along. father Hogan crawls into the secret chamber, finds doris and becomes possessed. Lina sees her dad and understands that she must sew doris’ mouth shut to stop the voices and hence the evil inhabiting the house. Alice, meanwhile, has been shackled by doris in the basement chamber. despite an onslaught of demons, Lina manages to sew shut doris’ lips. However, after Alice breaks free, Lina, who had been rendered unconscious and whose ears had been privy to doris’ evil words, stabs her mother, who as she expires, sees her husband and doris. two months later Lina tells a doctor her family was never alone and will never be alone again. in her cell, Lina pulls up the rug and uses her own blood to create a makeshift ouija board. the doctor walks by, thinks he’s seen more than one figure in the cell, and backs up. His investigation is thwarted when he is beset by doris crawling along the ceiling. Reviews: edgeMedianetwork was pleased with the opening reels but faulted the director for resorting to “repetitive jump scares created by impossibly loud sound effects or by cutting to something scary that doesn’t even have a reason for happening.” (Kevin taft, http:// boston.edgemedianetwork.com, october 18, 2016); The Guardian said it did “just enough to climb over the low bar of expectation.” it was better than the first but ended with “schlocky incoherence.” (Mike McCahill, www.theguardian.com, october 18, 2016); The Hollywood Reporter said it was “infused with psychological complexity and nuanced characterizations,…” it was “visually sumptuous,…” (frank scheck, Hollywood Reporter, october 18, 2016); the New York Times extolled young Lulu Wilson’s performance and called the film “deliciously creepy…” (neil Genzlinger, New York Times, october 20, 2016). Analysis: it’s a prequel whose story is supposedly clarified by Lin shaye’s Paulina Zander in an explanatory end credits sequence, but that sequence was omitted from the theatrical print viewed by one of this book’s authors. Critics were much kinder to this than Ouija. We wonder why and agree with those who discerned the unreasonableness of several scares.

214 • Paranormal Activity

PArAnorMAL ACtiVitY (solana films, 2007; 86 min.) ★★★

Paranormal Activity

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by oren Peli. screenplay by oren Peli. edited by oren Peli. director of Photography, oren Peli. Cast: Katie (Katie featherston), Micah (Micah sloat), Psychic (Mark fredrichs), Amber (Amber Armstrong), diane (Ashley Palmer), exorcism nanny (Crystal Cartwright), Lt. randy Hudson (randy Mcdowell), richard ( James Piper). Synopsis: september 18, 2006: Micah explains to girlfriend Katie that he bought the handsome video camera to capture on film any weird shit—or the kid next door peeking in the window. next morning, Katie finds her keys in the center of the kitchen floor. Later the psychic Katie had contacted comes and asks questions about the duo. Katie and Micah have been living together for three years. she’s an english major, he a stock day trader. the psychic explains that simple house noises are often the source of strange events. Katie reveals that when she was eight-years-old she saw a shadowy figure in her room. A fire destroyed her house and the cause was never identified. from the age of thirteen, “things” increased: flickering lights, water turning on of its own accord, scratching on the wall, whisperings, hearing her name. the psychic tours the house and tells Katie his expertise is with ghosts, not non-human demons, and advises them to contact dr. Johann. the psychic says they can’t run from whatever it is. Katie accepts the information. on the night of september 20, the bedroom door creaks open. Katie and Micah observe this on the camera next day. on the night of september 22, Katie wakes suddenly, and she and Micah investigate a bang from downstairs but find nothing. in the morning Katie feels creeped out. Micah proposes using an ouija board to communicate with the “thing,” but Katie is against it. on the night of september 30, there are frightening noises downstairs. next morning Katie expresses concerns about the continued filming. Micah uses a microphone to try to detect … whatever. on the night of october 2, Katie is scared, wakes, stands by the bed and is eventually found by Micah sitting in the swing out back. When he goes upstairs to get a blanket he finds the tV on. Katie appears with no recollection of standing by the bed or going outside. Micah tells her to stay strong. When Micah procures an ouija board, Katie becomes upset. After they leave the house the board catches fire. Upon returning, Micah realizes that something new has been imprinted on it. before going to bed on october 4, Micah sprinkles powder in the hall. footprints are later found and the attic ceiling door is askew. Micah climbs up and finds a picture of a younger Katie in the insulation. Katie says it was taken 15 years ago but it makes no sense to her. she wants to contact the demonologist but he’s out and she wants the psychic to come back. on the night of october 5, there is the sound of footsteps on the stairs and the bedroom door slams. but there’s nothing there. next day they hear a noise upstairs. the framed portrait of Katie and Micah in the hall is broken. Katie says she feels something breathing on her. the psychic returns but is immediately overpowered by a feeling that causes him to leave. He says he’s doing more harm than good. on the night of october 6, the hall light comes on, and then goes off. Katie sees a shadowy shape and feels breathing by the bed. next day she is distraught. they see the shadow figure when watching the film. Micah finds a website about a woman who experienced similar events in the 60s. she had an exorcist. but these visitations seem random. on the

night of october 7, Katie is pulled from the bed and into the hall, but Micah gets her back. next day Katie wants to leave and Micah proposes a hotel room for the night. Later he finds Katie lethargic, sitting on the floor, her thigh bleeding. He burns the photos in the fireplace. now Katie doesn’t want to leave. “it’s better if we stay.” on the night of october 8, Katie stands by the bed at 1:27 a.m. the sheet falls from Micah and Katie stares down on him before going into the hall and screaming. Micah rushes out. the outburst stops, then suddenly Micah’s body flies across the room toward the camera. Katie appears and crawls toward the camera, a maniacal look in her eyes. Postscript: “Micah’s body was discovered by police on october 11th, 2006. Katie’s whereabouts remains unknown.” Reviews: A Film Threat reviewer said that making such “mock documentary/found footage” films let moviemakers tell a story frugally. “it’s cheaper, and it allows for a grittier realism that sometimes works. Paranormal Activity succeeds with flying colors.” (felix Vasquez, Jr., Film Threat, January 20, 2008); the Star Tribune called it “a diabolically effective essay in irrational horror…. in this bland domestic environment, occult occurrences are doubly freaky.” (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], october 9, 2009). Analysis: Cheap thrills. there is a refreshing naturalness to the film and to Katie featherston’s performance, especially in front of the camera (us). it is akin to Ashley bell’s achievement in The Last Exorcism. it’s rather curious that youthful audiences would cotton to a movie with such a leisurely pace. such is the verisimilitude of this movie that no credits appear. Who needs them? there is no music score and the house requires little set decoration or art direction. the film was shown at the 2007 screamfest film festival, the 2008 slamdance film festival, and had a limited release in 2009.

(Paramount/solana films, 2010; 91 min.) ★★★

Paranormal Activity 2

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by tod Williams. screenplay by Michael r. Perry, Christopher Landon, tom Pabst. story by Michael r. Perry. based on the film Paranormal Activity, screenplay by oren Peli. edited by Gregory Plotkin. director of Photography, Michael simmonds. color. Production design, Jennifer spence. Costumes by Kristin M. burke. Cast: daniel rey (brian boland), Ali rey (Molly ephraim), Kristi rey (sprague Grayden), Katie (Katie featherston), Hunter rey (William Juan Prieto), Micah (Micah sloat), brad (seth Ginsberg), Martine (Vivis Colombetti), surveillance camera expert (david bierend). Synopsis: in Carlsbad, California, the rey household welcomes baby Hunter into the family. Katie, Kristi’s sister, arrives to see the new addition. she tells them that Micah “wasn’t up for hanging out today.” While the family is out, the house is wrecked. daniel has security cameras installed. night #1, August 7, 2006: the pool light goes out. time passes, Hunter is walking, and housekeeper Martine senses spirits. night #2, August 8: Hunter begins crying at 1:32 a.m. Katie visits again on August 9, “60 days before the death of Micah sloat.” Kristi tells Katie she feels as if whoever trashed the house is still around. night #3, August 9: Hunter stands in his crib. next day a picture of the teenage Katie is found in the photo album. night #5, August 11: Martine investigates strange sounds. the German shepherd barks at Hunter’s bathroom. daniel arrives home to find Martine making signs to ward off spirits. she leaves his employ. Ali, daniel’s teenage daughter by his first wife, tells him Martine wasn’t hurting anyone.

Paranormal Activity 3 • 215 night #8, August 14: As Kristi comforts Hunter, the door to the hall swings slowly open. next day daniel finds a dead bird near the pool. night #10, August 16: in the kitchen a pan inexplicably falls to the floor. When Kristi hangs it up it falls again. during the day Micah arrives and says he really likes daniel’s camera. daniel says they apparently have a ghost. Katie is closed-mouth about strange things that took place when she and Kristi were kids. After Kristi wonders why the pool cleaner is out of the water each morning, they watch videotape and discover that it climbs out of its own accord. night #12, August 18: Hunter and Abby the German shepherd stare toward the window. next day daniel and Kristi go out, leaving Ali to care for Hunter. she and her boyfriend play with an ouija board. At 11:06 p.m. Ali is awakened on the couch by a presence. Hearing noises outside, she looks through the peephole, sees nothing, thinks it’s her boyfriend and goes outside. the door slams behind her. Hunter is pulled across his crib. He is next seen on the floor. He goes downstairs, opens the door to the basement and returns upstairs. daniel and Kristi arrive home. Where’s Ali? she tries to explain but her dad is fed up. next day Ali investigates ghosts and demons on the web. demons often want a family’s first-born male child. Ali shows daniel the tape of the door closing but he dismisses it as the result of the wind. night #17, August 23: Ali is freaked out when she films the toy train moving around the house of its own accord. next day Katie returns and tells Kristi they must leave this thing be. Alone in the kitchen, Kristi is spooked when all the drawers and cabinets open. she flees upstairs. “Leave me alone!” Ali discovers that Hunter is the first male child in the family in decades. night #19, August 25: the basement door opens; Abby investigates and is injured by … something. daniel and Ali take Abby to the vet. Kristi hears noises and is dragged from Hunter’s room to the basement, reappearing in a somnambulistic state. next day daniel can’t get Kristi out of bed and he goes to find Abby, leaving Ali in charge. she finds strange scratches on the basement door and a bite mark on Kristi’s thigh. she calls her dad. she and her father watch the tape of Kristi being dragged through the house. daniel calls Martine, who arrives to use whatever powers she has to stop the horror. When daniel approaches Kristi with a cross she attacks him. the lights go out. dad pursues Kristi and Hunter to the basement and eventually gets them back upstairs. He burns that photo of Katie. “three Weeks Later”: After a visit to her sister’s, Katie drives home to Micah. “Micah Was Killed on october 8, 2006.” october 9, 2006, evening: Katie arrives and breaks daniel’s neck and tosses Kristi against the wall and takes Hunter. “Ali returned from a school trip and found the bodies of Kristi and daniel rey on october 12, 2006. Katie and Hunter’s whereabouts remain unknown.” Reviews: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it was not as disturbing as the 2009 original but “is 95 percent prequel, 5 percent sequel and pretty much 100 percent creepy….” there are “some true goose-bump moments and something of a lapse in logic if you’ve seen the original.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, october 22, 2010); the New York Times found the rudimentary aesthetic and concept of the original “rigorously enforced” in this prequel/sequel. it was entirely appropriate for midnight showings. “the hunger for cold, dead chills is usually best indulged in the company of warm, living bodies.” ( Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, october 23, 2010, p. 4); the Taos News found “the fright factor ramped up by placing the scary scenario within the context of a typical American family:….” the filmmaker was obviously knowledgeable about what scared an audience (rick romancito, Taos News, october 28, 2010, p. Z-37-1). Analysis: Here’s a prequel and sequel that provides more visual fright scenes than the original. Maybe the spookiest is watching the pool cleaner climb from the water.

(Paramount/solana films, 2011; 83 min.) ★★½

Paranormal Activity 3

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by Henry Joost, Ariel schulman. screenplay by Christopher Landon. based on the film Paranormal Activity, screenplay by oren Peli. edited by Gregory Plotkin. director of Photography, Magdalena Gorka. Color by deluxe. Production design, Jennifer spence. Art direction, david Wilson. set decoration, Kelly berry. Costumes by Leah butler. Visual effects, Hammerhead Productions. Cast: Julie (Lauren bittner), dennis (Chris smith), Katie (Chloe Csengery), Kristi ( Jessica brown), Grandma Lois (Hallie foote), randy rosen (dustin ingram), Lisa ( Johanna braddy), Adult Katie (Katie featherston), daniel (brian boland), Adult Kristi (sprague Grayden), Hunter (William Prieto), ida (Paltoon Cheng), Party magician (eddie Medrano), Crying bridesmaid (rebecca delgado smith), bailey (bailey brown), tucker (tucker brown), Kids ( Jessica berger, Hayden sosa, Asher rowland, saige Gernhauser). Synopsis: Carlsbad, California, March 2005. Katie arrives at her sister Kristi’s home bearing a bunch of family VHs tapes. August 2006: the home has been ransacked but the only things missing are those tapes. santa rosa, CA: september 1988. Youthful Katie has a birthday party while dad dennis films the proceedings. that evening mother Julie smokes a joint while dennis films her. After setting the camera on a tripod, they begin some sex play, but something’s amiss. the bed begins shaking. earthquake! Watching the video afterward, dennis thinks he sees something in the dust falling from the ceiling. He sets up other cameras around the house. night #1, september 10, 1988: Kristi gets out of bed and speaks to someone off camera. next day dennis asks about this incident and Kristi says she was talking to toby. Julie tells dennis kids have active imaginations. night #5, september 14, 1988: the hall light blinks on and off. Julie wakes dennis, who goes out back to see if the girls are okay in their tent. they seem fine but Julie insists they come inside. the following day Julie’s mom talks with her about having a son. dennis affixes a camera to a fan base to traverse from entrance hall to kitchen. night #8, september 17, 1988: Kristi climbs onto the dining room table. Katie wakes up and tells her to return to bed. next day, while painting, Kristi tells her dad that toby is right there next to them. dennis inspects the book Malevolent Entities, “borrowed” from the library by his assistant randy. randy says these beings always want something. night #10, september 19, 1988: Julie goes into the kitchen and is shocked when a light in the foyer shatters. next day Kristi has a tea party with her bear doll teddy ruxpin and … toby. Her dad learns that toby tells her secrets. she says when she put her hand on toby he didn’t like it. Katie tells Kristi only babies have imaginary friends. Climbing into the low closet in her room, Katie is shut in until Julie arrives and the door opens. the babysitter Lisa arrives as Julie and dennis take a break. Katie asks Lisa to recite a ghost story. Later Lisa goes downstairs to study at the kitchen table. behind her a short, sheeted figure appears but collapses to the floor when she turns. Checking on the girls, Lisa feels a strong breath of air on her face. When Julie and dennis arrive, Lisa makes a hasty exit. next day dennis and randy watch the tape and are thunderstruck. night #13: september 22, 1988: Kristi stands in her parents’ bedroom doorway for a long time. back in her room she says she doesn’t want to talk anymore and goes back to sleep. next day dennis checks the kids’ room closet and finds strange markings on the walls and ceiling. randy comes to watch Katie while Julie and dennis take the feverish Kristi to the hospital. Katie insists they play bloody Mary, which involves reciting that name three times in front of a mirror in

216 • Paranormal Activity 4 the dark and summoning a ghost. something scratches randy’s torso. there is noise in the hall. the door shakes. Katie becomes severely frightened. When dennis returns, randy leaves—for good. He advises dennis to watch the tape. dennis shows Julie a 1930s photo of a “coven.” Katie chases Kristi upstairs and runs into an invisible presence and has her hair pulled. When the distraught Katie rushes downstairs, Julie says they must stop filming. night #14, september 23, 1988: the bedroom tV turns on while dennis is in his office downstairs. in the girls’ room Katie wakes up. Kristi says toby is there. Katie’s blanket is pulled from the bed and she’s dragged around the room. Kristi cries for toby to stop, she’ll do what he wants. next day Julie tells Kristi there is no toby. After going to the door and finding no one there, Julie returns to the kitchen. What happened to the table and chairs? they fall from the ceiling. dennis and Julie pack up the kids for grandma’s in Moorpark, CA. Kristi says toby is real. that night Julie thinks the noises seem to be her mother rumbling about. she investigates. dennis takes the camera. the girls are not in the bed. He sees a figure in a door window. the unicorn painting is on the floor and strange symbols adorn two walls. Crossing a covered walkway and opening a door, he encounters gaunt figures and races back inside. Julie, hanging from the ceiling at the top of the stairs, is propelled onto him. Kristi appears. she and her dad lock themselves in. Leaving their refuge, dennis sees what appears to be Katie hunched at the bottom of the steps. As he closes in on her she turns, snarling, and he is knocked onto his back. the camera continues to record from the floor. Grandma appears. Crawling toward the stairs, dennis is assaulted and killed by the invisible force. Grandma takes the girls upstairs. Camera screen goes static. Reviews: Chud.com found it a satisfying exploration of the origins of the saga. Horror fundamentals were observed to good effect (brad slager, www.chud. com, october 24, 2011); Film Threat countered some reviewers, maintaining that it was not “more unsettling, more cleverly crafted or more entertaining any way you cut it. Paranormal Activity 3 is simply more of the same.” it was “basically Poltergeist minus the weird old short woman.” (rick Kisonak, Film Threat, october 25, 2011). Analysis: incredibly, this third entry in the series maintains the quality of the first two. it may be a minor mistake to show those demonic people at the end when most of the chills have worked by letting the audience imagine the demonic creatures. the most frightening scene is when the camera traversing foyer and kitchen picks up a smallsheeted figure in the former, which we only vaguely recall seeing until it appears unexpectedly behind Lisa in the kitchen.

(Paramount/solana films, 2012; 88 min.) ★★★

Paranormal Activity 4

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by Henry Joost, Ariel schulman. screenplay by Christopher Landon. story by Chad feehan. based on the film Paranormal Activity, screenplay by oren Peli. edited by Gregory Plotkin. director of Photography, doug emmett. fotoKem and deluxe color. Production design, Jennifer spence. Art direction, Jason Garner. set decoration, Lori Mazuer. Costumes by Leah butler. Visual effects and Animation of industrial Light and Magic. Cast: Katie (Katie featherston), Alex (Kathryn newton), ben (Matt shively), Wyatt nelson (Aiden Lovekamp), robbie (brady Allen), doug nelson (stephen dunham), Holly nelson (Alexondra Lee), sarah (Georgica Pettus), tara (Alisha boe), derek (brendon eggertsen), friend of robbie’s mother (Constance esposito), shadow

boys (ty dawson, Jonah Pasco), referee (rightor doyle), soccer coach (tamara bersane). Synopsis: in september 2006, Katie takes a necklace to her nephew Hunter at his home in Carlsbad, California. “on october 9, 2006, Hunter rey was abducted. Katie and Hunter’s whereabouts remain unknown.” november 1, 2011, Henderson, nevada: Young Wyatt nelson participates in a soccer game as mother Holly and her sister lend support. they observe a boy of Wyatt’s age watching the game and walking along the street later. At home, Alex is visited by her techie expert boyfriend ben. At the playhouse that night they find not only Wyatt inside but also robbie, the strange boy who turns out to live across the street with his mother. When the mother is taken away in the night, the nelsons take the boy in for what Holly says will be only about four days. ben shows Alex video of robbie entering her room at night and lying behind her. back in the playhouse, Wyatt tells Alex that robbie’s friend is in the corner. during their impromptu “space dance party,” Alex, ben and Wyatt fail to notice a nebulous childlike figure on the couch next to robbie. night #1, november 6, 2011: Alex hears noises and finds robbie downstairs. something weird is picked up by ben’s camera, but next day Mr. nelson thinks the video is only something Alex and robbie made up to fool him. ben fixes the house computers to record events 24/7. night #3, november 8, 2011: robbie and Wyatt wander the house. After school next day, Alex discovers toys scattered along the upstairs hall in a line to Wyatt’s bedroom closet. downstairs, she barely escapes injury when the hall chandelier crashes to the floor. Alex tells her mother that robbie brought something into the house. night #6, november 11, 2011: Alex crosses the street, camera in hand, to check out activity at robbie’s house and encounters a smiling woman. Alex says, “sorry, wrong house.” He tells ben about the incident. Upstairs, they find that robbie has drawn odd figures on Wyatt’s flesh. night #7, november 12, 2011: An invisible presence speaks to one of the boys. next day Alex shows ben a circle/triangle symbol in the sand and on Wyatt. from the web they learn of the three stages involved in a demon entering a host. At one point there must be the sacrifice of an inviolate being. ben jokes that that is Alex. As Holly makes a meal, her large knife disappears. from her window Alex spots robbie enticing Wyatt across the street. she follows and enters the house and to her consternation finds robbie’s mother Katie in residence. she tells Holly that Katie did not look as if she’d been sick. night #9, november 14, 2011: Watching tV from the couch, Mr. nelson hears voices. the missing knife falls tip first into the table. His exhausted wife doesn’t understand what doug tries to explain. next day Alex grills Wyatt about robbie’s mom, who apparently said his other family needs him back. night #10, november 15, 2011: Wyatt listens to something only he can see. A small, nebulous presence follows him downstairs. Wyatt tells the presence he’s not Hunter. next day, during his bath, Wyatt is pulled under the water for a considerable amount of time but finally emerges, apparently none the worse for wear. night #11, november 16, 2011: Wyatt goes into his closet and then into Alex’s room. Her blanket is whisked from her and her sleeping form rises into the air. next day “HUnter” is found scribbled on Wyatt’s closet door. Wyatt says his name used to be Hunter. night #12, november 17, 2011: Her parents out for the evening, Alex is on the computer with ben while downstairs a hazy woman’s figure rises from the couch. Alex hears the garage door open and investigates and soon finds herself locked in the garage. the car turns on and spews carbon monoxide. Alex breaks the car window with a golf club and backs the car through the door to save herself. “Aunt Katie,” the woman presence, asks “Hunter” to open the closet door because, “You’re almost ready.” Alex tries to make her parents

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones • 217 understand what occurred. Later her father asks her to come to dinner with him. Holly investigates noises in the living room. A book falls to the floor, she feels breath on her, and is flung into the air and dropped. Katie comes downstairs followed by Wyatt/Hunter. ben arrives and goes to Alex’s room where Katie breaks his neck and drags him into the closet. Alex and her dad return and see Katie taking Wyatt across the street. doug follows while Alex phones ben. she hears his phone from the closet and discovers his body and is thrust out into the bedroom. Across the street, doug is flung around, and Alex arrives and finds a demonic Katie and is set upon by a coven of ghostly women. Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter said it recycled elements from previous films in the franchise as well as more famous horror movies. the plot was basically “a series of setups followed by frightening payoffs.” ( Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter, october 17, 2012); Cinefantastique Online thought it magnified the original films weaknesses and reduced “the strengths to ephemeral puffs of smoke…” (steve biodrowski, www.cinefantastiqueonline.com, october 20, 2012). Analysis: How did Hunter become Wyatt? that is, how did the nelsons adopt him? Had he escaped from Katie? these conundrums aside, the film is hardly less compelling than its predecessors. it’s a shame the resourceful Alex had to be sacrificed at the last.

(Paramount/blumhouse Productions, 2014; 84 min.) ★★★

Paramount Activity: The Marked Ones

Produced by Jason blum, oren Peli. directed by Christopher Landon. screenplay by Christopher Landon. based on the film Paranormal Activity, screenplay by oren Peli. edited by Gregory Plotkin. director of Photography, Gonzalo Amat. fotokem and deluxe color. Production design, nathan Amondson. Art direction, William budge. set decoration, Julie ochipinti, teresa Visinare. Visual effects and Animation by Atomic fiction. Cast: Jesse Arista (Andrew Jacobs), Hector estrella ( Jorge diaz), Marisol Vargas (Gabrielle Walsh), irma Arista (renee Victor), evette Arista (noemi Gonzalez), Cesar Arista (david saucedo), Ana sanchez (Gloria sandoval), Arturo Lopez (richard Cabral), oscar Lopez (Carlos Pratt), santo ( Juan Vasquez), Young Kristi ( Jessica tyler brown), Micah (Micah sloat), Ali rey (Molly ephraim), Katie (Katie featherston), Young Katie (Chloe Csengery). Synopsis: Upon graduating Lincoln High school in oxnard, California on June 12, 2012, Jesse attends his graduation party and admires his friend Hector’s video camera. during the evening Jesse is told of strange sounds and talk coming from a downstairs apartment. oscar emerges from the apartment in question, ignores questions and leaves. Hearing weird wailing through the vent in Jessie’s bedroom, Jesse and Hector affix a cable to the camera, lower it through the vent and observe a comely naked woman allowing an older woman to paint something on her skin. is the neighbor a witch? once more oscar leaves the apartment and the police arrive and haul out in a body bag Ana, the prime resident of the apartment. A gunman is sought. oscar? Jesse and Hector sneak inside and in a closet find a journal and videotapes, one of which is labeled Katie and Kristi, 1988. Later Jesse relates a dream and shows blood on his arm and in his bed. His dog Chavo runs from him. in the journal someone has written about building a door to unholy places. there’s a symbol on the drawing of a woman. there’s a map. Marisol says the word “demon.” Later, after playing basketball, Jesse and Hector are accosted by two thugs who are flung

into the air when they attack the duo. Playing the battery-operated Yes-no game known as siMon, they are flabbergasted by the responses. Later Jesse demonstrates his ability to bend over backward without falling, skateboard wildly without injuring himself, and inflate an air mattress with one blow. He and Hector crash a party, pick up two girls and take them to Ana’s apartment. When Jesse leaves to find condoms, Penelope discovers a trapdoor, is gripped by an arm but gets away. oscar climbs out and tells Jesse he was changed, that’s why he killed Ana, and because Jesse has the mark he must kill himself before he hurts others. oscar commits suicide by leaping from a building. Jesse and Marisol descend into the basement and wade through plastic sheeting. they find a photo of Jesse as a baby and another with his mother Maria, Ana and Lois. oscar is in another picture. there are symbols on the walls. they hear someone upstairs, ascend, and catch a glimpse of a woman leaving. they show the photo of the three women to Cesar and sister evette Arista. Was mom into witchcraft? in the bathroom Jesse pulls stringy stuff from around his eye. He and Marisol visit Arturo at Ana’s and view newspaper clippings of kidnappings. Ali rey is pictured in an article. At a supermarket Jesse goes berserk when a guy starts talking to Marisol. When the owner threatens Jesse with a baseball bat, Jesse easily takes it from him. Later Jesse and Marisol play siMon again. Yes, it wants something from him. returning to Ana’s apartment, Jesse hears his dog and investigates, finds two young girls and flees. He is attacked. in the morning Hector asks why “Meus” is printed on Jesse’s bedroom wall. Jesse tells Hector he is not his best friend. Hector phones Ali rey, and he and Marisol meet her at a park. she tells them of marks and covens and a ritual after which Jesse will be alive but not him. At Jesse’s place he makes his dog writhe on the ceiling. Grandma irma seeks mystical help. during the cleansing the lights go out, the next room becomes distorted, and Jesse floats in the air. At first hiding, Hector, irma and Marisol find Jesse on the floor and put him to bed. in the morning irma continues the cleansing. Hector hears noises, can’t find Jesse, then discovers him at the top of the outside steps and irma lying in a pool of blood at the bottom. Losing track of Jesse, Hector and Marisol use Ali’s map to pinpoint his location. on the way Hector’s car conks out, Jesse appears and drags Hector into the street. Marisol clubs him with a baseball bat. A sUV hits the car and Jesse is taken. Arturo and his chum agree to help Hector and Marisol find Jesse and arm themselves. in the night, they enter a house and are accosted by demonic women. outside, Arturo shotguns two of them. Marisol is separated from Hector and her body crashes into the floor in front of him. A white-haired woman appears. Hector runs and finds himself near the room with a pentagram and candles on the floor. Jesse chases him. A woman appears and walks slowly into the kitchen. When Hector approaches her, she turns and screams for Micah. Micah rushes from upstairs to her assistance. Hector runs away but is attacked. An old lady looks down and shuts off the camera that had fallen to the floor. Reviews: The Huffington Post said that while it had its flaws it was “a shot in the arm for this series….” it praised the decision to go from “airy suburbs to overcrowded working-class apartments,….” Adding humor was also a plus (Andrew barker, www.huffingtonpost.com, January 3, 2014); iGn found it superior to Paranormal Activity 4 but less than Paranormal Activity 3. it expanded the series—literally—by going outside (eric Goldman, www.ign.com, January 3, 2014). Analysis: this is yet another quality outing for the filmmakers of this series. it pays not to ask for the ultimate goal of the demons— in this or most any fright fest. do they think ahead? Can they think beyond their own coven? World domination seems beyond their ken.

218 • Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (Paramount/blumhouse Productions, 2015; 95 min.) ★★

Produced by Jason blum. directed by Gregory Plotkin. screenplay by Jason Pagan, Andrew deutschman, Adam robitel, Gavin Heffernan. story by brantley Aufill, Jason Pagan, Andrew deutschman. based on the movie Paranormal Activity by oren Peli. edited by Michael Aller. director of Photography, John rutland. technicolor. Production design, nathan Amondson. Art direction, nick ralbovsky. set decoration, erin boyd. Costumes by Lisa Lovaas. Visual special effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic. Cast: ryan fleege (Chris J. Murray), emily fleege (brit shaw), skyler (olivia taylor dudley), Katie (Chloe Csengery), Leila fleeg (ivy George), Mike (dan Gill), Coven woman (Maria olsen), Hunter (Aiden Lovecamp), Kristi ( Jessica tyler brown), returnee (nathan brewer), father Gary todd (Michael Krawic), Kent (don McManus).

the demonic toby—much like a tree until the end—is somewhat frightening. nevertheless, there are more questions than answers despite the scuttlebutt that this would wrap up the series with explanations. As in many of these possession movies, we wonder about the demon’s endgame. He or she is very inefficient or perhaps mentally unable to function at a high level on the earthly plane.

PerCY JACKson Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (20th Century–fox/dune entertainment/1492 Pictures/ fox 2000 Pictures, 2010; 118 min.) ★★½

Produced by Karen rosenfelt, Chris Columbus, Michael barnaSynopsis: santa rosa, CA, september 1988: After watching a man than, Mark radcliffe. directed by Chris Columbus. screenplay by contort and die on the floor, an old woman takes two young girls upCraig titley. based upon the novel by rick riordan. edited by Peter stairs to meet Kent and learn how they fit into the very important Honess. director of Photography, stephen Goldblatt. Panavision. future plans of “toby.” november 27, 2013: in santa rosa, ryan and Color by deluxe. Music by Christophe beck. Production design, emily prepare for Christmas with their young daughter Leila. ryan’s Howard Cummings. Art direction, dan Hermansen, ross dempster. brother Mike pays an unexpected visit and is welcomed into the house. set design, Joe May, doug Girling, Jim ramsay, rodrigo segovia, Jay An attractive blonde, skyler, is also spending time with emily and Mitchell, Peter bodnavus, Joe Wolkovsky. Costumes by renee April. ryan. Mike opens a box and discovers a decades’ old movie camera Animation and Visual effects by digital domain. Visual effects by and a bunch of VHs tapes made by previous residents. ryan looks at the Moving Picture Company, Luma Pictures inc., Pixomondo, trixsome and comes to the crazy conclusion that Katie, the young girl on ter, rise Visual effects berlin, rhythm & Hues studio, evil eye Picfilm, is not only predicting the present but also actually looking into tures. the house, which was built on the ruins of another. Leila begins talking Cast: Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), Grover (brandon t. Jackto the unseen toby and the camera picks up strange, often-nebulous son), Annabeth (Alexandra daddario), Luke ( Jake Abel), Zeus (sean images and a bit later a hideous face. When a priest is summoned, bean), Mr. brunner/Chiron (Pierce brosnan), Hades (steve Coogan), Leila tries to bite him. He returns with a plan, not of exorcism but of Persephone (rosario dawson), Athena (Melina Kanakaredes), sally extermination. skyler marks out a pentagram on the living room floor. the priest says they must entice the demon toby into the middle of the sign and send him back to Hell. but the plan goes awry as the priest is pulled from the room and skyler is possessed and vomits burning, lethal liquid onto Mike. ryan has a large gnarly hand thrust through his back and out his chest. Keeping the camera on, emily chases Leila upstairs and enters a tunnel in her daughter’s wall where once a large mirror hung. she finds Leila but her neck is broken by toby, who takes Leila’s hand and walks off. Reviews: Variety compared it unfavorably to its predecessors as it lacked spark and concluded with “hoary exorcism tropes and CGi fantasies…” (Andrew barker, www.variety.com, october 23, 2015); the Times of India said it “does not really deliver the excitement that horror film fans seek” (reagan Gavin rasquinha, Times of India, http://timesofindia.indiatimes. com, october 30, 2015). Left to right: Alexandra Daddario, Logan Lerman, and Brandon T. Jackson, Percy Jackson and the Analysis: it’s mercifully short and Olympians: The Lightning Thief (20th Century–Fox, 2010).

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief • 219 Jackson (Catherine Keener), Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), Gabe Ugliano ( Joe Pantoliano), Medusa (Uma thurman), Mrs. dodds/fury (Maria olsen), ferryman ( Julian richings). Synopsis: A trident-wielding being emerges from the sea and walks the streets of a modern city to find the god Zeus, who accuses the son of this man—his brother god Poseidon—of stealing his lightning bolt. if it is not returned posthaste there will be war. switch to an adolescent boy impressing his friend Grover by holding his breath under water for seven minutes in the Yancy Academy pool. At home, this aquatic prodigy named Percy Jackson complains to his mother sally that his dyslexia has not abated. With Grover and other classmates, Percy attends a museum lecture by Mr. brunner. He hears a voice that says everything is about to change. sequestering Percy in a room, substitute teacher Mrs. dodds changes into a hideous flying thing that demands the lightning bolt. Mr. brunner saves Percy from this fury, tells him he is in danger, and gives him what looks like a common pen that he claims will save him in times of distress. sally tells Percy they must leave for “the camp” and that all this is about his father. their car crashes and a bipedal monster comes calling. they run to the entrance of Camp Half blood, but sally is stopped by an invisible wall, is grabbed by the monster and disappears. Percy remembers his pen, it becomes a sword, and he kills this “minotaur.” He wakes up on a cot in the camp’s infirmary. it’s three days later, says Grover, who reveals himself as a satyr with furry, cloven hooves. Percy is also like him, a demigod, and this camp is where he will learn to be a hero and warrior. Mr. brunner is also there—a centaur, half man, half stallion named Chiron. He reveals that Percy’s father is Poseidon and that Percy poses a threat to Zeus and Hades. everyone assumes he is the lightning thief, but Chiron thinks someone’s using him to foment strife. before journeying to olympus to explain, Percy must undergo training. Luke enlists Percy on his blue team and after seemingly knocked out by Annabeth, daughter of Athena, Percy gains strength from water, defeats her and captures the red team’s flag. At a nighttime feast, Annabeth tells Percy their parents hate each other whereas she has mixed feelings about Percy. suddenly a winged demon appears in the fire—Hades, who demands the lightning bolt and will give Percy his mother in exchange. Chiron tells Percy to stick to their plan or else he and his mother will be killed when it’s found he doesn’t have the bolt. Percy heads out for the Underworld and is soon joined by Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth leads them to Luke, whose father Hermes is the Gods’ messenger. Luke gives Percy winged sneakers and explains that there are three special pearls in the United states. by crushing one underfoot and picturing your destination, you will go there. Luke also gives Percy his favorite shield. the quest begins at Auntie em’s Garden emporium outside Atlantic City. Percy finds gold drachmas in a fountain. Grover soon realizes that the statues in the gardens are human figures turned to stone by Medusa! the serpent-headed monster duly appears but Annabeth, Grover and Percy avert their eyes. Percy uses his cellphone to track Medusa but the monster eventually grabs him. Annabeth drives a pickup into the nursery, knocking Medusa down. While Medusa examines Percy’s cellphone, he decapitates her. they must take her head with them because the eyes still work. they find a pearl on Medusa’s wrist. Using their map, they drive to nashville and stop at a motel where Percy goes to the bottom of the pool to relax. He uses water to heal wounds on Annabeth’s arm. Grover calls them to the room to watch tV. Gabe Ugliano, Percy’s stepfather, is putting out false information about sally and Percy’s absence. on the road next day, they come to “the Parthenon” in a park and find a giant statue of Athena whose crown contains another pearl. At night, Annabeth uses darts to incapacitate the cleaning crew and guard. in his

flying sneaks, Percy ascends and breaks off Athena’s pearl. five men arrive and become a five-headed hydra. Using his mastery over water to create a flood, Percy uses Medusa’s head to turn the hydra to stone. At the Music City diner, the three watch a tV broadcast showing a single, massive storm cloud moving toward the U.s. they head for Vegas to retrieve the third pearl. entering the Lotus Hotel & Casino, they are given flower-shaped food that makes them happy while dulling their senses. “Why are we here?” asks Percy. “to have fun,” replies Annabeth. Percy hears a voice telling him not to eat more of the flower food. He sees the pearl on a roulette wheel, wakes Grover and Annabeth from their stupor, beats off pursuers, and drives off in the showroom car. Annabeth realizes that the casino was the lotuseaters’ habitat. driving to Los Angeles, they find a secret passage in the hillside below the famous Hollywood sign. inside are skulls and a ferryman who accepts drachmas to pole them to the Underworld. Persephone greets them and guides them to Hades, who explains how he was banished here. As he’d said before, he’ll trade Percy’s mother for the bolt. it turns out that the bolt is in the shield Luke gave Percy. Persephone uses the bolt on Hades and then gives it to Percy, telling him a war of gods would leave her here forever. she says that with only three pearls, one of Percy’s company must stay. that’s sally. but as the “protector,” Grover takes her place. they step on the pearls and find themselves at the empire state building in new York. Luke appears and tells them he wants olympus to crumble. He takes the bolt and flies off with Percy in pursuit. in an engagement over the city, Percy emerges victorious, and he, Annabeth and sally take the elevators to olympus. Percy and Annabeth return the bolt to Zeus, who says, “Let there be peace.” Athena tells Annabeth she’s proud of her. Percy’s request to Zeus that Grover be returned to them is granted. Poseidon tells Percy he is grateful but Percy says he made his quest to save his mother. Poseidon explains that he was becoming human when he was with sally, and Zeus passed a law forbidding contact. they shake hands. sally says she kicked Gabe out of the apartment and tells Percy he belongs with the heroes at the camp. Chiron tells Percy he is his favorite student because he followed his instincts and demonstrated grace under pressure. Annabeth and Percy mock duel again. back at sally’s apartment, Gabe returns to pick up his stuff and sees a note on the refrigerator: “do not oPen tHis refriGerAtor Under AnY Condition! EVER! no MAtter WHAt!! PerCY.” He ignores the warming and finds Medusa’s head in the fridge. Reviews: Basil & Spice thought it was “an excellent comedy for the entire family.” director Columbus “did a terrific job with directing the many younger stars….” there were no bad performances. special effects were “well-crafted…” ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, february 15, 2010); the Christian Science Monitor gave it a b-. “the whole thing is piffle, but it moves fast enough to stay entertaining.” (Andy Klein, Christian Science Monitor, february 15, 2010). Analysis: this slightly overlong film—the conversation between Poseidon and Percy at the end could have been shortened—is Clash of the Titans set in modern times. internal credulity is strained during the training scenes when the teams attack each other with swords but no one is killed. there are amusing moments, such as Medusa’s head in the fridge and using Lady Gaga’s “Poker face” in the background during gambling. Anyone who notices going in that this was directed by Chris Columbus knows what’s in store: a slightly sophomoric paean to family values, like all his films. (Who, exactly, is against family values?)

220 • Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (20th Century–fox/dune entertainment/1492 Pictures/tsG entertainment/fox 2000 Pictures, 2013; 106 min.) ★★ Produced by Karen rosenfelt, Michael barnathan. directed by thor freudenthal. screenplay by Marc Guggenheim. based on the novel by rick riordan. edited by Mark Goldblatt. director of Photography, shelly Johnson. Panavision. Color by efilm. Prints by deluxe. Music by Andrew Lockington. Production design, Claude Paré. Art direction, dan Hermansen, Kirsten franson. set decoration, shane Vieau. Costumes by Monique Prudhomme. special Make-Up effects designed and Created by Alec Gillis and tom Woodruff, Jr. Visual effects and Animation by rhythm & Hues studios. Visual effects by Method, Prana Animation studios, inc., the embassy, scanline VfX. Cast: Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), Annabeth (Alexandra daddario), tyson (douglas smith), Grover (brandon t. Jackson), Clarisse (Leven rambin), Luke ( Jake Abel), Chiron (Anthony stewart Head), Mr. d (stanley tucci), tereus (Connor dunn), thalia (Paloma Kwiatkowski), Hermes (nathan fillion), Young Annabeth (Alisha newton), Young Grover (bjorn Yearwood), Young Luke (samuel braun), Young thalia (Katelyn Mager). Synopsis: seven and a half years ago four half-blood children ran for sanctuary at Camp Half blood. three made it when thalia gave her life to save them. Zeus, her father, gave her a new life as a tree and protective barrier around the camp. now, many half-bloods and demigods enjoy safety within the enclave and engage in various forms of training, including an obstacle course in which Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, helps a fellow in distress and thus loses the latest game to the obnoxious Clarisse. it only serves to make Percy muse if he was a one-hit wonder despite saving olympus and the world. to the consternation of all, a “god’s spawn” breaks through the barrier. not to worry, it’s another seed of Poseidon—tyson, a one-eyed Cyclops. More barrier action ensues and a mechanical bull invades the compound. finally Percy stabs his sword into its guts and it explodes. Hearing a voice, Percy encounters his erstwhile friend Luke, who, before disappearing, mentions a prophecy and says Chiron and other camp leaders only push the kids around. investigation of the broken barrier reveals that the thalia tree had been poisoned. Percy says Luke did it and asks Chiron about the prophecy. He is sent to an attic, meets the spirit of delphi, and is shown the past before olympus, when his spawn killed the maniacal titan Cronos: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. the remains were sent to tartarus, but times have changed and only a half-blood can defeat the resurrected titan. Annabeth and Grover talk to Mr. d about a quest to retrieve the golden fleece in the sea of Monsters, aka the bermuda triangle. to their consternation as well as Percy’s, Mr. d sends Clarisse and another satyr to do the deed. Percy tries to warn Clarisse about Luke. Later, Percy and Annabeth ask Grover to accompany them on their own quest. tyson, too, joins the group, explaining that he will be able to talk with the giant Cyclops Polyphemus. Although Annabeth doesn’t like tyson, she sprays him with “Mist” that gives him another eye. the four find themselves in a taxi, a “chariot of damnation” according to Annabeth. three blind women in the front seat use one portable eye to guide them. they reveal more about the prophecy, namely numbers. Percy and his friends are dumped in Washington, d.C., because they run out of drachmas. Grover is abducted by half-bloods who’d turned against the others. Like Percy, Luke needs Grover to guide him to the fleece. entering the olympic Parcel store, Percy meets Luke’s father Hermes. disap-

pointed in his son, Hermes gives Percy a box sealer that’s really a matter eliminator and cylindrical wind machine. At the Chesapeake, tyson asks Poseidon for help. A giant seahorse arrives and transports them to Luke’s yacht where they are cornered. Luke reveals that Grover was sent ahead and that he needs the fleece, too. He has a large casket in which rest Cronos’ remains. He wants to destroy olympus and the world. Percy’s greetings from Luke’s father fall on deaf ears. incarcerated below, Percy uses his powers over the sea to rock the yacht, allowing Annabeth to grasp the pack containing the tape gun, which Percy uses to disintegrate the bars. it’s day topside as Percy, Annabeth and tyson fight off Luke’s minions and escape via an inflatable boat with the wind cylinder creating propulsion. Annabeth reveals that her aversion to tyson can be traced back to the creature that killed thalia: a giant Cyclops. the inflatable is pulled into a vortex, and Percy finds his party and debris from the bermuda triangle within the stomach of some strange beast. Also there is Clarisse and her “zombie” crew. Using the cannon on Clarisse’s ship, Percy gives the beast a stomachache and Clarisse pilots the ship to the surface. seeing a strange grid on the sea, Percy realizes they are map lines, and the numbers given him by the blind cab drivers reveal their destination: an island encircling an abandoned amusement park: Circeland. boarding the Plummet of death ride, they arrive in the lair of Polyphemus, where masquerading as a female Cyclops, Grover attends the monster. Percy grabs the fleece and leads his company to safety, blocking Polyphemus with a giant boulder. but Luke and his companions appear. tyson jumps in front of Percy, takes the dart shot by Luke and falls into the water. Luke has Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Clarisse roped up. Annabeth tells Percy to write a new destiny. Luke puts the fleece on the casket while Percy finds his pen that becomes a sword, loosens himself and battles Luke. tyson returns—the water restored him. “He rises,” says Luke as the casket explodes, but he is popped into Cronos’ mouth. Percy wounds Cronos in the foot as his body continues to be restored. “i make my own destiny!” He leaps onto Cronos’ chest, jabbing his sword into the titan’s chest and ripping him apart. Luke and Grover fall free as Cronos is sucked back into the casket. the tail of one of the monster’s deadly dog-like creatures, however, stabs Annabeth. Percy revives her by covering her with the fleece, which is then given to Clarisse to display at Camp Half blood. she puts it on thalia’s tree and the barrier is restored. Percy tells Chiron a destiny might not be as bad as he thinks. Called to thalia’s tree, Percy finds thalia reborn. this daughter of Zeus might be salvation, or … destruction. Reviews: the Winnipeg Free Press called it a “bland sequel…” and “largely lacklustre.” nathan fillion as Hermes “is the movie’s brightest spot…” (Claudia Puig, Winnipeg Free Press, August 9, 2013); Entertainment Weekly praised the CG monsters but thought the story too formulaic and gave the film a b- (Entertainment Weekly, August 16/23, 2013, pp. 94–95). Analysis: the child-parent bond or lack thereof is again the message. the funniest scene is the Plummet of death ride where the car’s occupants sing, “it’s a small World.” otherwise the humor is standard fare. one wonders if adults would have found this compelling when they were teens?

Peter PAn the most famous feature film version is doubtless Walt disney’s 1953 animated feature, Peter Pan. on stage, Mary Martin became the iconic Pan in 1954. this was occasionally broadcast on tV with great success. Parallel film Productions broadcast a two-part mini-series,

Hook • 221 Neverland, on the syfy channel in 2011. the 2014 Peter Pan Live! tV version with Allison Williams was considered odd because of Christopher Walken’s Captain Hook interpretation.

(tristar/Amblin entertainment, 1991; 142 min.) ★★

Hook

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, frank Marshall, Gerald r. Molen. directed by steven spielberg. screenplay by Jim V. Hart, Malia scotch Marmo. story by Jim V. Hart, nick Castle. based upon the original stage play and books written by J.M. barrie. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, dean Cundey. Panavision. Color by deluxe. technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, norman Garwood. Art direction, Andrew Precht, thomas e. sanders. set decoration, Garrett Lewis. Costumes by Anthony Powell. special Visual effects, industrial Light & Magic. Cast: Peter banning (robin Williams), Captain James Hook (dustin Hoffman), tinkerbell ( Julia roberts), smee (bob Hoskins), Granny Wendy Angela darling (Maggie smith), Moira banning (Caroline Goodall), Jackie banning (Charlie Korsmo), Maggie banning (Amber scott), Housekeeper Liza (Laurel Cronin), tootles (Arthur Malet), inspector Good (Phil Collins), Pockets (isaiah robinson), Ace ( Jason fisher), rufio (dante basco), thud butt (raushan Hammond), Young Wendy (Gwyneth Paltrow).

in the Lost boys’ camp, rufio trains Peter in swordplay. Hook, meanwhile, ingratiates himself with Jack. Peter and his crew infiltrate a baseball game at the port. After being hit in the head by a ball, Peter sees his young image in a pool of water, then finds a hidden passage leading to rooms burned by Hook. tinkerbell is there and Peter begins to remember that she brought him to neverland and taught him to fly. He recalls soaring back to London and finding that his original family had forgotten him. flying to the Lost boys’ camp, Peter is presented with his sword by rufio. He visits tinkerbell, grown to human size. she says she loves him but he responds that he loves Moira and his children. flying to Hook’s ship, Peter finds Jack dressed as the Captain and saying this is his home. Peter is captured in a net but the Lost boys board the ship and free him. rufio engages Hook in a sword duel but is stabbed. before dying, he tells Peter he wishes he’d had a dad like him. Maggie prevents Peter from killing Hook, who produces a hidden sword, but with tinkerbell’s help the giant, stuffed crocodile falls onto the Captain. Peter leaves thud butt in charge of the Lost boys and returns with Jack and Maggie to modern London. to Moira’s surprise, the children are back in their beds. Peter wakes outside in the snow. Climbing the downspout, he greets the children and his wife and tosses his portable phone out the window. Giving tootles some pixie dust, he watches with pleasure as he flies above the metropolis and tells Granny Wendy that to live is an awfully big adventure. Reviews: roger ebert said it lacked wit and was unable to “re-imagine the material, to find something new, fresh or urgent to do with the Peter Pan myth.” sets were substandard, the final swordfights inept (www.rogerebert.com, december 11, 1991); the New York Times said it “is too much; yet the charm of the barrie original has not been entirely lost.” it was “overwhelmed by … complicated exposition, by … big busy nonsinging, nondancing production numbers and some contemporary cant about rearing children and the high price paid for success.” (Vincent Canby, New York Times, december 11, 1991, p. C3). Analysis: it’s overlong, including several individual scenes, such as the ending when Peter is back in London. if you didn’t know this was a spielberg vehicle, you’d guess it was another Chris Columbus family

Synopsis: to the distress of his wife Moira, son Jack and daughter Maggie, Peter banning has difficulty juggling work and family responsibilities. taking the family to London to stay at Granny Wendy’s, Peter is told by Moira in no uncertain terms, “You are missing it.” speaking at the hospital where Wendy is having a wing named after her, Peter tells the audience that she was responsible for finding a family to adopt him when he was orphaned. back at Granny’s, the aged tootles wakes up crying, “Hook!” When Peter arrives he finds a blade tacking a note to the children’s bedroom door: “dear Peter, Your presence is required at the request of your children. Kindest personal regards, JAs Hook.” tootles says Peter will have to fly to save Maggie and Jack. Granny Wendy tells Peter he must make himself remember in order to foil Hook’s plans and retrieve his children. Granny shows him book illustrations. He is Peter Pan. in the children’s room appears a tiny fairy, tinkerbell, who sprinkles magic dust on Peter, wraps him in a blanket and flies him off to neverland. once there he masquerades as a one-eyed pirate to spy on Captain Hook. When Jack and Maggie are deposited on the deck of Hook’s galleon in a cargo net, Peter unmasks, and although he still seems uncomfortable as Peter Pan, Hook’s right-hand man smee proves his heritage through a document and a scar. Peter is unable to fly up to save his children and smee says he’s forgotten everything. tinkerbelle tells Hook she’ll whip Peter into shape in three days and then Hook can have his war. Peter is pushed into the drink where mermaids surround and kiss him. Hoisted from the water to a rocky eminence, Peter meets the Lost boys led by rufio, who is peeved that Peter has returned. back on Hook’s ship, smee tells his capDustin Hoffman (left) and Robin Williams, Hook (TriStar, 1991). tain that he can make Peter’s children like him.

222 • Peter Pan values fixation. some think director spielberg copped out by having the stuffed crocodile fall and kill Hook rather than let Peter skewer him.

Peter Pan

(Universal/Columbia/revolution studios, 2003; 113 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Lucy fisher, Patrick McCormick, douglas Wick. directed by P.J. Hogan. screenplay by P.J. Hogan and Michael Goldenberg. based upon the original stage play and books written by J.M. barrie. edited by Garth Craven, Michael Kahn. director of Photography, donald M. McAlpine. Panavision. technicolor. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, roger ford. Art direction, Alicia Maccarone, Michelle McGahey. set decoration, Kerrie brown. Costumes by Janet Patterson. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks, inc. Visual effects by r!ot. Parrot and Crocodile Animatronics by John Cox’s Creature Workshop. Cast: Peter Pan ( Jeremy sumpter), Wendy (rachel Hurd-Wood), Mr. darling/Captain Hook ( Jason isaacs), Aunt Millicent (Lynn redgrave), smee (richard briers), Mrs. darling (olivia Williams), John darling (Harry newell), Michael darling (freddie Popplewell), tink (Ludivine sagnier), tootles (rupert simonian), slightly (theodore Chester), tiger Lily (Carsen Gray), nana (rebel).

Jason Isaacs and Rachel Hurd-Wood, Peter Pan (Universal/Columbia/Revolution Studios, 2003).

Synopsis: Aunt Millicent expresses some astonishment at the tomboy-like Wendy darling, who makes up stories and mock swordfights with her brothers John and Michael. she detects a kiss in her niece’s yet-to-be 13-year-old lips and tells her father she must come under her tutelage. for his part, Mr. darling must make small talk at work and rise in the organization so that Wendy will make a good match someday. At school, Wendy would rather draw a picture of the strange boy who’d invaded her house. found out, she is reprimanded and a letter is sent to her father. Wendy chases the letter carrier, but as happened previously, nana the st. bernard scuttles Mr. darling’s plans to ingratiate himself with his boss by chasing Wendy and creating havoc. At home, Wendy finally meets the flying boy from neverland, the motherless Peter Pan who has lost his shadow at the darling residence but has it sewn back on by Wendy. sprinkling the faerie tink’s pixie dust on the darling children, Peter leads them toward neverland, where there be mermaids, Lost boys and pirates. Caught in the ice off neverland, Captain Hook’s ship is freed when the ice melts. Hook realizes Peter has returned, the Peter who caused him to lose his right hand to a crocodile. spotting Pan, Wendy, John and Michael spying on them from a cloud, he has his crew fire cannon balls at them. Wendy is sent reeling and Peter sends tink after her while he circles the ship and taunts Hook. John and Michael fall from their cloud perch into a jungle pond. the mischievous, jealous tink tells the Lost boys to bring down the white Wendy bird with an arrow. Wendy falls into a glade. Peter arrives to find that she is not dead; her “kiss” medallion took the arrow and merely knocked her unconscious. they build a house around her, and when she wakes the boys ask her to be their mother. she says she’ll do her best. out of the pond, John and Michael run from the sound of roars. in a cavern they knock on what they think is an odd rock, but a huge eye opens and they charge back into the wood where they are caught in a trap and whisked into the air, hanging upside down, staring at a wild indian. it’s tiger Lily, soon captured by Hook. When he threatens to hurt her, John and Michael reveal their whereabouts. All are taken to a watery cavern and secured to a rock where skeletons attest to the fate of others. Peter gives Wendy a sword and learns that she can use it. He flies off to contest with Hook, mimicking the Captain’s voice to get smee and his chum to release John, Michael, tiger Lily and the teddy bear. Hook, meanwhile, has heard Peter’s voice and is exploring in Wendy’s vicinity. When he goes back into the cavern he finds his prisoners released and shoots smee’s chum. Peter appears and duels Hook. When the Captain seems to have gotten the drop on him, Peter says, “to die would be an awfully big adventure.” He escapes for a moment, only to be captured in a net and falls into the water where he uses a knife to cut himself free. Hook then sees his second nemesis approaching: the crocodile. When smee and other pirates escape and hear Hook screaming, smee says, “it’s all a bit tragic really isn’t it?” At the indian camp a hero is reborn: the teddy bear whose head had been chopped off. in the forest Peter shows Wendy dancing faeries. she asks or rather tells him that he must have loved in the past. He denies it. distressed, Wendy retires to her little hut and wakes to find the cabin and herself aboard Captain Hook’s ship. Presenting himself as a fine fellow, Hook learns that Wendy had dreams of being a pirate herself: red-Handed Jill. Peter flies back to the darling house and observes Mrs. darling asleep by the open window. He closes it, wanting to keep Wendy in his realm. Mrs. and Mr. darling open the windows but don’t see Peter. back in neverland, Wendy is telling well-received stories to the pirates but to her horror John can’t remember their father’s name. in Peter’s kingdom, Wendy tells him that she is red-Handed Jill and says she and the boys want to return to her world. “if you wish it!” replies Peter. tink gets loose. Wendy and the boys are captured. Hook drops poison into a cup while

Pete’s Dragon • 223 Peter sleeps but tink drinks the potion and insensible. on the ship, Wendy witnesses a storm. on shore, Peter cries over tink, “i do believe in faeries!” the darlings back in London as well as Wendy and the boys take up this call. tink revives. the storm passes and Peter takes his sword even as Wendy is made to walk the plank. Peter rescues her and duels Hook, who uses pixie dust to give himself the power of flight. When Peter is knocked to the deck, Wendy hovers above and kisses him. Peter is transformed and flies into the sky, retrieves his sword and tackles Hook again. eventually Hook cannot think of more good things to keep him above the ocean—and the crocodile—and with a final “done for” falls into the reptile’s maw. Peter sets sail in the sky for London where the darlings are reunited and the Lost boys find a new home, even one who is adopted by Aunt Millicent. Peter and tink watch from the window. He tells Wendy he’ll come back to hear stories about himself. Wendy will tell her story to her children, her children to theirs and on and on. “for all children grow up—except one.” Reviews: roger ebert praised a version of the classic that “takes its story very seriously indeed, … and even allows a glimpse of underlying sadness” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, december 24, 2003); the New York Times commended director Hogan’s style that was “a perfect mixture of wide-eyed wonder and slightly melancholy sophistication.” of the performers, rachel Hurd-Wood impressed mightily in a role calling for precocity, action, the surrogate mothering of the Lost boys, and romance (A.o. scott, New York Times, december 25, 2003, p. e5). Analysis: this is an overlooked treasure that was swamped by its release date one week after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. it has action, adventure, and humor. rachel Hurd-Wood is a delight as Wendy. she has “the look” but admitted to not being driven to be a movie star. she could also have made a terrific Alice in Wonderland. richard briers as smee is hugely funny with his observations and one-liners.

Pan

(Warner bros./ratpac-dune entertainment, 2015; 111 min.) ★★½

Produced by Greg berlanti, sarah schechter, Paul Webster. directed by Joe Wright. screenplay by Jason fuchs. based on characters introduced by J.M. barrie. edited by Paul tothill, William Hoy. director of Photography, seamus McGarvey, John Mathieson. technicolor. Music by John Powell. Production design, Aline bonetto. Art direction, roderick McLean, Philip Harvey, Mark scruton, bertrand Clercq-roques, Gavin fitch, Arwel evans. set decoration, dominic Capon. Costumes by Jacqueline durran. Visual effects by scanline, framestore, MPC, rising sun Pictures, Wolf & Crow. Cast: Peter Pan (Levi Miller), blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), Hook (Garrett Hedlund), tiger Lily (rooney Mara), Mary (Amanda seyfried), Mermaid (Cara delevingne), bishop (nonso Anozie), Mother barnabus (Kathy burke), smee (Adeel Akhtar). Synopsis: A baby is left by his distraught mother at a London orphans’ home. some years later, during World War ii, Peter and his compatriots are fed little and much put upon by the women running the orphanage. strangely, boys begin disappearing, snatched from their beds and pulled into a levitating pirate ship belonging to blackbeard, as Peter learns when he too is taken and transported to neverland. in the pirate’s lair a host of boys mine the walls in search of pixum, the magical fairy dust. Peter meets Hook, older but also entailed with

doing blackbeard’s grunt work. they escape and meet tiger Lily and her tribe. Peter learns that his mother had come this way, had in fact been a warrior killed by blackbeard. Peter is told he can fly, or rather that he must fly lest the prophecy not be true, in which case he will be killed. blackbeard and his scurvy crew invade the realm and take most of the tribe captive. Peter, tiger Lily and Hook escape and float down a river where mermaids rescue them from a crocodile. Hook restores an abandoned ship, flying off with Peter and tiger Lily to prevent blackbeard from finding the home of the fairies, to which he’d found the map. Peter and tiger Lily approach the gate but blackbeard is upon them and reveals that the key is the pendant around Peter’s neck. He uses it and takes his ship through, assuming he will now live forever. A fairy communicates with Peter, and Hook arrives in another ship, battling blackbeard. tiger Lily also has her own set-to with the pirate. When Hook falls into the abyss, Peter finds he can fly and rescues him. fairies en masse along with Peter defeat the pirate crew and their captain. back at the orphanage, Peter takes every one of the boys onto Hook’s ship and they sail for neverland. Reviews: Entertainment Weekly considered it gauche and dorky with dialogue to cause groans ( Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly, october 16/23, 2015, p. 93); the News Journal was mostly complimentary, observing that it was “directly aimed at children, specifically boys with limited attention spans.” Levi Miller was excellent as Pan ( James Ward/Gannett, News Journal 55HoUrsPlus [Wilmington, de], october 9, 2015, p. 4Hr). Analysis: this is a prequel (although it brings the action to World War ii!) to the well-known saga of the flying boy who doesn’t grow up, but even with blackbeard as main villain, it’s hard to separate him from Peter’s nemesis, who in this outing is his chum. one also expects Wendy to show up even though as time passes we know there won’t be time to fit her and her brothers in. in keeping with the contemporary penchant for outrage when Caucasian performers play non– Caucasian roles, rooney Mara’s native American tiger Lily took some flack. this irritation would surface again regarding tilda swinton in Doctor Strange (2016) and scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell (2017).

Pete’s drAGon (Walt disney Productions, 1977; 128 min.) ★★★

Pete’s Dragon

Produced by ron Miller, Jerome Courtland. directed by don Chaffey. screenplay by Malcolm Marmorstein. story by seton i. Miller, s.s. field. edited by Gordon d. brenner. director of Photography, frank Phillips. Color by technicolor. Music by irwin Kostal. Choreography by onna White. songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. song: “Candle on the Water” sung by Helen reddy. Production Manager, John bloss. Art direction, John b. Mansbridge, Jack Martin smith. set decoration, Lucien M. Hafley. Costumes by bill thomas. special effects, eustace Lycett, Art Cruickshank, danny Lee. elliott Created by Ken Anderson. Animation director, don bluth. Cast: Pete (sean Marshall), nora (Helen reddy), dr. terminus ( Jim dale), Lampie (Mickey rooney), Hoagy (red buttons), Lena Gogan (shelley Winters), Miss taylor ( Jane Kean), Mayor ( Jim backus), Merle (Charles tyner), Willie ( Jeff Conaway), Grover (Gary Morgan), Paul (Cal bartlett), fishermen (Al Checco, Henry slate, Jack Collins), Captain (Walter barnes), elliott (Charlie Callas, voice).

224 • Pete’s Dragon Synopsis: Lena and Merle Gogan and their half-washed sons track runaway Pete, who’s been riding elliott, a friendly dragon that can disappear at will. Pete is an orphan and indentured servant Lena demands perform the hard tasks at her farm. Pete eludes the Gogans and journeys to the coastal village of Passamaquoddy. When elliott appears before Lampie, the man rushes into the tavern to inform his brethren. they don’t believe him and his daughter nora drags him home. At the lighthouse where she and Lampie live, nora sees a young boy walking on the beach and climbs down to see what he’s up to. He and elliott take refuge in a cavern. elliott hides as nora enters and convinces Pete to come to her home for leftover chowder. once there, he grills her on her life. she’s not married, her love having sailed over the horizon more than a year before. Pete tells her he has a dragon friend who might be able to find her fellow. next morning Lampie sees the boy and realizes he’d been with the dragon. nora, yet to believe in such a creature, calms her dad. Meanwhile, dr. terminus and his assistant Hoagy roll into town in a crazy contraption, something between a car and a carriage. the townsfolk remember this snake oil salesman but are soon put under his spell again and buy up his cure-all elixirs. back in the cavern, Pete shows elliott his new clothes and a portrait of nora’s lost love. He asks elliott to put on his thinking cap and try to find him. nora accompanies Pete to school but it’s a disaster when invisible elliott rings the bell outside and Pete tries to stop him only to find Miss taylor thinking he is causing the ruckus. When she puts a dunce cap on him and doesn’t realize that he didn’t pull the chair out from under her and threatens him with a yardstick, invisible elliott crashes through the wall and carries Pete away. Meanwhile, drunken Lampie tells dr. terminus and Hoagy that he’s seen the dragon. terminus is skeptical but to get a drunken Hoagy out of his hair sends him with Lampie to the cavern, where indeed there is a sleeping dragon. Hoagy convinces terminus of this fact and the mountebank conceives a plan to capture elliott and make money. Arriving in town are the Gogans, who try to retrieve Pete from the rowboat he’s in with nora and Lampie, but elliott swims under the water and tips them into the drink. terminus makes a deal with the Gogans. they can have Pete if they help him capture elliott. Hoagy tells Pete that elliott needs him but when he gets to the wharf is secured by the Gogans. rushing to his rescue, elliott finds himself covered in nets. However, he breaks free and saves Pete from the fleeing Gogans. terminus’s decision to fire the harpoon gun at elliott goes awry and when the harpoon slices through the roof he goes with in as his foot was caught in the cable. next day nora is reunited with her lost love, Paul, whose original ship had sunk off the Carolinas. nora, Paul, Lampie and Pete head for the lighthouse, whose wick elliott had reignited to help Paul land successfully. Pete breaks off to speak with elliott, who tells him he has to leave to help another child in trouble. Pete reluctantly accepts the loss of his friend. Reviews: the New York Times called it “the most energetic and enjoyable disney movie in a long while.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, november 4, 1977, sec. iii, p. 1); Variety waxed enthusiastic about the charming title character (Variety, december 31, 1976); John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again called it a “superb disney musical-comedy…” with a lovable title character and excellent direction ( John stanley, John Stanley’s Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again, 4th rev. ed., Pacifica, CA: Creatures at Large Press, 1994, p. 295). Analysis: Viewed today, this seems a quaint relic of a bygone Hollywood. except for the animated elliott, it’s a full-blown, live-action musical when the genre was moribund. (the last big reserved-seat roadshow and musical was 1972’s Man of La Mancha.) Helen “i Am Woman” reddy sang “Candle on the Water,” which received a best

song Academy Award nomination. As dr. terminus, charismatic entertainment industry veteran Jim dale (britain’s Carry On series, singer, lyricist for “Georgy Girl”) provided another voice and terpsichorean pizzazz. three years hence he’d win a tony for the broadway production of Barnum, and he narrated the Harry Potter audiobooks. if the dancing strikes a chord, it’s by onna White, who choreographed 1968’s best Picture Academy Award winner Oliver!

(Walt disney Productions, 2016; 102 min.) ★★★½

Pete’s Dragon

Produced by James Whitaker. directed by david Lowery. screenplay by david Lowery, toby Halbrooks. based on a story by s.s. field and seton i. Miller. edited by Lisa Zeno Churgin. director of Photography, bojan bazelli. color. Music by daniel Hart. Production design, Jade Healy. Art direction, Ken turner. set decoration, simon bright. Costumes by Amanda neale. Visual effects & Animation by Weta digital Ltd. Visual effects by double negative, Crafty Apes, Peerless Camera Company. Cast: Pete (oakes fegley), Pete as an adult (Craig Hall), Grace (bryce dallas Howard), Grace’s father (robert redford), Jack (Wes bentley), Gavin (Karl Urban), natalie (oona Laurence), sheriff dentler (isiah Whitlock, Jr.), Carruth (tim Wong), bobby (Phil Grieve), Mom (esmée Myers), dad (Gareth reeves). Synopsis: His mother and father drive five-year-old Pete into the north woods on an adventure, but when they swerve to avoid a deer the car is upturned and the adults killed. Pete takes his picture book, Elliot Gets Lost, and enters the forest. Wolves surround him but a heavy growling makes them turn tail. there’s something larger than a wolf in the woods: a green dragon that befriends the boy. six years pass. in Millhausen, an old wood carver tells children that sometimes dragons get lost and might even be in the nearby forest. His park ranger daughter Grace says she never saw one. back in the woods, Pete cavorts with elliot and climbs into his aerie to gaze across the endless vista of trees and mountains. one day he finds Grace and takes her compass and keys, examining them in the cave beneath his tree. Grace drives to the logging camp to berate her husband Jack and, more to the point, brother-in-law Gavin for their logging practices. Grace’s daughter natalie spies Pete in the trees and chases him to his tree house. she climbs up but both fall and Pete is knocked out. Grace finds them. elliot tracks them to the logging camp and accidentally knocks down a tree. Gavin suggests to his buddies that they go hunting. Pete wakes up in the hospital while in the hall Grace consults the doctors. Pete unlatches the window and makes his way through town, calling for elliot. Grace finally corners him and takes him home. Pete mentions elliot. in the forest, Gavin and his pals find elliot, who can become invisible, and learn posthaste that they are no match for him and are chased from his domain. the sheriff calls Grace with news about Pete’s parents: the victims of that car crash years ago. elliot finds Pete in Grace’s home but doesn’t alert him to his presence. Pete shows Grace his drawing of a dragon. Grace talks to her father about similar drawings on his wall and about something he saw in the forest when he was a child. Grace has second thoughts about turning Pete over to social services, gets her dad, and with natalie follows Pete into the woods and meet elliot. Lurking in the woods, Gavin and his men sneak up on the group, dart elliot, and use a flatbed to transport him to a warehouse. Pete and natalie sneak inside and free elliot before Gavin can show the sheriff his prize. elliot becomes invisible, but is finally seen by the sheriff when Grace’s father drives the truck through

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen • 225 the door and leads the police on a chase into the country. regaining most of his powers, including the ability to spout flame, elliot destroys a bridge but saves Grace and Jack from falling to their death. He swoops up from the mist and into the sky, Grace and Jack on his back. in the distance a helicopter can be seen, so elliot flies off with Pete. Pete knows he can no longer live in the forest despite elliot’s reminder that he can become invisible. back at Grace’s, they watch elliot disappear into the mist. the narrator says that magic does exist and Pete and his new family trek into the wilderness meet elliot and see him and other dragons cavorting in the sky. elliot now has his own family. Reviews: the News Journal was enthralled with this huggable dragon and complimented the filmmakers on eschewing “storytelling gymnastics or a greatly nuanced family adventure.” (brian truitt/USA Today, News Journal [Wilmington, de], August 12, 2016, p. 3Hr); Entertainment Weekly warned parents about the opening disaster for Pete and his family before saying no one would “find a sweeter family film for the waning days of summer.” tear ducts would be triggered and the sentimentality and manipulation wouldn’t matter one wit (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, August 19/26, 2016, p. 94). Analysis: As robert redford’s character says, there’s magic here. one chokes up at various scenes, as when Grace, natalie and her grandfather see elliot emerge from the cave. the 1977 version was a musical. the concession to that here is songs sung as background. Although there is the clichéd conflict between loggers and environmentalists, it is not overdone, and the ostensible villain played by Karl Urban, while thought by some to be inconsistent, can be viewed as merely a flawed human. incredibly in this day and age, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. reviews and internet synopses tell us this is set in the late 1970s, but if you’re not checking vehicle styles you’ll never know it.

tHe PiCtUre of doriAn GrAY see Volume i for The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and The Secret of Dorian Gray (1970).

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

(Angry films/international Production Company/ 20th Century–fox, 2003; 110 min.) ★½

Produced by don Murphy, trevor Albert. directed by steven norrington. screenplay by James dale robinson. based upon the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin o’neill. edited by Paul rubell. director of Photography, dan Laustsen. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by trevor Jones. Production design, Carol spier. Art direction, James McAteer, James f. truesdale, elinor rose Galbraith, Jindrich Koti, Marco bittner rosser. set decoration, Peter P. nicolakakos. Costumes by Jacqueline West. special Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by double negative, digiscope, Computercafe inc., Pixel Magic, VCe.CoM/Peter Kuran, r!ot, Giant Killer robots, engine room, Howard Anderson Company, Custom film effects, Asylum. Animation and Visual effects by tippett studio (“the dante beast sequence”). digital Visual effects and Computer Animation by Cinesite (europe) Ltd. Creature effects by steve Johnson’s edge fX, inc. Cast: Allan Quatermain (sean Connery), Captain nemo (naseeruddin shah), Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), dorian Gray (stuart

townsend), dr. Henry Jekyll/edward Hyde ( Jason flemyng), rodney skinner/invisible Man (tony Curran), tom sawyer (shane West), M/Moriarty (richard roxburgh), dante (Max ryan), nigel (david Hemmings), sanderson reed (tom Goodman-Hill), Synopsis: London, 1899: Police are confounded and some killed trying to prevent a bank of england robbery by a tracked metal vehicle operated by men in German military garb led by a masked man. britain blames Germany. berlin, 1899: A Zeppelin plant is set ablaze by men in british military garb led by the same masked figure. Kenya: sanderson reed approaches Allan Quatermain for help defusing the situation in europe that threatens to burst into a world war. After a group of men with strange automatic weapons and iron vests invade his realm and begin shooting his friends, Quatermain heads for London, where he meets sanderson reed’s superior, M, and Captain nemo, a Hindu of some renown. Using a transportation device he calls an automobile, nemo takes Quatermain, skinner, a man who’s developed a serum to induce invisibility, and Mina Harker to the residence of dorian Gray. during a conversation with Gray, more gun-toting men appear and are only defeated with the help of tom sawyer and his trusty Winchester rifle. taking nemo’s submersible Nautilus, they venture to Paris to pick up dr. Jekyll and from there proceed to Venice just in time to prevent the total destruction of the city during a series of explosions Quatermain discovers were implemented by M, otherwise known as the fantom. back at the Nautilus, dorian mortally wounds the first mate ishmael, who nevertheless manages to reveal to nemo Gray’s perfidy. Pursuing dorian in his escape pod, the League members listen to a phonograph record on which M reveals his plan to sell to the highest bidders the superhuman formulas he’s extracted from members of the League. bombs secreted aboard the ship by dorian begin exploding and only dr. Jekyll, as the brutish Mr. Hyde is able to prevent the sub from sinking. skinner, invisible, is aboard dorian’s craft and signals the others via Morse Code. the Nautilus speeds to the Amur river in Asia, and the League members trudge across the frozen waste to M’s lair, an ornate structure in which his captive scientists develop his formulas and weapons. Meanwhile, Quatermain and tom follow M, revealed to be sherlock Holmes’ nemesis Professor Moriarty. Mina confronts dorian and despite being stabbed in the chest, manages to literally pin dorian to the wall before uncovering his portrait. the hideous image is unbearable to the immortal, who disintegrates as the picture transforms into his handsome, human self. nemo and Hyde free the scientists and just manage to beat off dante, M’s lieutenant who grows into a monstrosity upon drinking one of M’s formulas. skinner’s explosive devices bring down Moriarty’s lair. sanderson reed, who’s taken the invisibility formula, holds tom but Quatermain disposes of him even as he takes a knife in the back by Moriarty. Using his cape to float down to the ice, Moriarty flees across the wasteland until, with Quatermain’s calming influence, tom shoots him from afar. His valise of formulas sinks into the icy depths. in Kenya, Quatermain is buried beside his son as a witch doctor performs a ritual nearby. tom places his Winchester on the grave as a storm— or the witch doctor’s mumbo-jumbo—brings on…? Reviews: the New York Times thought director norrington “is bound and gagged by the need of ‘League’ to be quick and glib.” (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, July 11, 2003, p. e1); roger ebert was brutal, noting the “incomprehensible action, idiotic dialogue, inexplicable motivations, causes without effects, effects without causes, and general lunacy.” (www.rogerebert.com, July 11, 2003). Analysis: A steampunk-inspired Victorian adventure becomes increasingly nonsensical, ridiculous, and painful. Who could have built Moriarty’s immense lair in the frozen wasteland? Where did they get

226 • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl food? Would all of those fleeing scientists fit on the Nautilus, which in any case wasn’t that close? it isn’t immediately evident that the second invisible man is sanderson reed. dorian’s picture is, sad to say, not hideous enough, and it should have been larger. Who knew Mr. Hyde was a Victorian version of the Hulk? Although it would be a cruel event to sit through, this could be double-featured with Van Helsing.

PirAtes of tHe CAribbeAn the inspiration for this mega-series is the entirely enchanting, nonbombastic, attraction that opened at disneyland in 1967. the unintended consequence of the franchise is that never again can there be a pirate movie that is purely adventure. Containing voodoo, the living dead, fantastic creatures, and spells, the Pirates films meet all the qualifications to be designated horror/fantasy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

(Walt disney Pictures/Jerry bruckheimer films, 2003; 143 min.) ★★★

Produced by Jerry bruckheimer. directed by Gore Verbinski. screenplay by ted elliott, terry rossio. screen story by ted elliott, terry rossio, stuart beattie, Jay Wolpert. based on Walt disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” edited by Craig Wood, stephen rivkin, Arthur schmidt. director of Photography dariusz Wolski. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Klaus badelt. Production design, brian Morris. Art direction, donald b. Woodruff, James e. tocci. set decoration, Mark Hitchler, William Hiney, darrell L. Wight, Greg Hooper, domenic silvestri. Costumes by Penny rose. Make-Up effects by Keith Vanderlaan. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Additional Visual effects by boy Wonder, Cis, digiscope, Gray Matter fX, Method. Cast: Captain Jack sparrow ( Johnny depp), Captain barbossa (Geoffrey rush), Will turner (orlando bloom), elizabeth swann (Keira Knightley), Commodore norrington ( Jack davenport), Governor Weatherby swann ( Jonathan Pryce), Pintel (Lee Arenburg), ragetti (Mackenzie Crook), Lt. Gillette (damien o’Hare), Mullroy (Angus barnett), Murtogg (Giles new), Cotton (david bailie), bo’sun (isaac C. singleton, Jr.), twigg (Michael berry, Jr.), Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin r. Mcnally), Koehler (treva etienne), Anamaria (Zoe saldana), Mr. brown (ralph r. Martin), estrella (Paula Jane newman), butler (Paul Keith), Young Will (dylan smith), Young elizabeth (Lucinda dryzek). Synopsis: sailing to Port royal, the young elizabeth swann spots a boy on a raft, the only survivor of a shipwreck. His name is Will turner and he has in his possession a skull-faced gold medallion. the adult elizabeth is not privy to the arrival in harbor of a man who will greatly affect her life. in his rowboat, this unsavory-looking man salutes rotting carcasses near the sign, “Pirates. Ye be Warned.” the boatman is a pirate himself, Jack sparrow. When elizabeth falls from the parapet into the sea he rescues her, observing that she has a gold medallion. the Commodore is unimpressed with Jack’s heroics and he’s locked up after he momentarily escapes and engages in a sword duel with Will turner in the latter’s blacksmith shop. A band of bloodthirsty pirates aboard the Black Pearl sails into the harbor to pillage. Captured,

elizabeth invokes the pirate code of parlay and is taken to Captain barbossa. she produces the medallion and threatens to drop it into the sea. A deal is struck: the medallion for … life, but not a return to Port royal. Meanwhile, Will makes his own deal with Jack and releases him from his cell. Using an upturned rowboat, the two walk underwater and board the unmanned Interceptor, its crew having gone to the Dauntless, which Jack sabotaged by damaging the rudder. He and Will head to tortuga, where Jack will acquire a crew. Aboard the Black Pearl, elizabeth dines with barbossa and is told of 882 cursed pieces of Aztec gold pilfered by Cortez. Her medallion is the last piece for which barbossa yearns. it and some blood will reverse the curse upon him. Where is the blood to come from? elizabeth. “i feel nothing,” says barbossa, who shows his real self: a skeleton, and tells elizabeth, “You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss turner. You’re in one.” on Jack’s now fully manned ship, Will is given more information by crewmembers about how Jack escaped the island on which barbossa had sequestered him. they arrive at the island where barbossa and his men have gone ashore and enter a large cavern full of swag, including the aforementioned chest of Aztec gold. barbossa cuts elizabeth’s palm, the blood drops onto the medallion, and the medallion is dropped into the chest. did it work? barbossa shoots one of his men but nothing happens. elizabeth is knocked out. Will sneaks in and rescues her. Jack is surrounded and parlays. Jack knows the person whose blood is needed to revoke the curse: Will turner, son of the pirate bootstrap bill. back on Jack’s ship, elizabeth gives will the coin that was his father’s. the Interceptor sails away but the Black Pearl closes in and a sea battle ensues. Will is trapped below deck looking for the missing medallion. Jack notices that barbossa’s monkey has it. barbossa secures the coin and the Interceptor is blown up. What of Will? He’s escaped and clambers aboard the Pearl, threatening to shoot himself and prevent the curse from being revoked. barbossa says to name his terms, and Will asks freedom for elizabeth and Jack’s crew. barbossa reneges, however, and elizabeth and Jack walk the plank off a nameless cay. finding his cache of rum, Jack gets drunk. but elizabeth sets fire to the barrels, knowing the smoke will bring Commodore norrington and the Dauntless. elizabeth asks norrington to spare Jack as a wedding gift for her. on the Pearl, Will learns that his father was strapped to a cannon and sent by barbossa to davy Jones’ Locker. the Commodore arrives at the island after barbossa takes Will into the cavern and prepares to sacrifice him over the chest. Jack goes ashore, interrupts barbossa, and tells him if he plays his cards right he can have two ships, his own and the Dauntless, whose men are coming ashore in rowboats. Jack pledges to sail under barbossa’s command. the skeleton crew walks underwater and climbs aboard the Dauntless. elizabeth has meanwhile rowed off, leaving her father and his own small skeleton crew aboard. back in the cavern, Jack supplies Will with a sword while he fights barbossa. Aboard the Pearl, elizabeth aims to free Jack’s crew. in the cavern, barbossa stabs Jack, but sparrow turns into a skeleton like barbossa. elizabeth returns to the cavern. Jack shoots at barbossa but the bullet goes through and wounds Will, who drops the newly bloodied coin into the chest. barbossa feels a chill and drops over. so does his crew fighting on the Dauntless. back at Port royal, Jack is to be hanged, but with a well-aimed sword Will prevents his execution. the Governor intervenes. Jack falls into the ocean as his ship appears. the Commodore remains silent as the Governor posits that pirates might just be the right course at this moment. the Commodore releases Will and says Jack only has one day’s head start. Will and elizabeth kiss. Jack is pulled aboard the Black Pearl. Reviews: The Guardian called it “the work of people who like pirate movies and don’t think the genre beneath them, and it is arguably the best of its kind since The Crimson Pirate 50 years ago.” (Philip french,

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest • 227 www.theguardian.com, August 9, 2003); Rolling Stone was one of the few naysayers, deploring its “unconscionable 143 minutes…” and burying depp (“comic dynamite”) “in briny clichés.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, August 21, 2003). Analysis: based on the charming disneyland and disneyworld amusement ride, this is a revelation—at first. Johnny depp’s wild interpretation of Jack sparrow earned him an Academy Award nomination. the funniest scene with depp may be the earliest: we assume he’s in the crow’s nest of some large galleon sailing to harbor, but he’s actually in a rowboat. it’s overly long. one wonders what the filmmakers were thinking when comic relief Lee Arenberg’s Pintel knocks on the governor’s door and shoots the servant dead. that was gratuitous and hardly in keeping with a disney film, but who noticed? And who noticed the insanity of fighting a supernatural skeleton crew that could not be defeated with mere swords and bullets?

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

(Walt disney Pictures/Jerry bruckheimer films, 2006; 105 min.) ★★

Produced by Jerry bruckheimer. directed by Gore Verbinski. screenplay by ted elliott, terry rossio. based on characters created by ted elliott, terry rossio, stuart beattie, Jay Wolpert. edited by stephen rivkin, Craig Wood. director of Photography. dariusz

Wolski. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production design, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, William Ladd skinner, bruce Crone, William Hawkins. set decoration, Cheryl A. Carasik. Costumes by Penny rose. Make-Up effects, Ve neill, Creative MakeUp Concepts. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic. Additional Visual effects by Asylum, the orphanage inc., Method, Cis Hollywood, Pacific title and Art studio. Cast: Captain Jack sparrow ( Johnny depp), Will turner (orlando bloom), elizabeth swann (Keira Knightley), norrington ( Jack davenport), davy Jones (bill nighy), Governor Weatherby swann ( Jonathan Pryce), Pintel (Lee Arenberg), ragetti (Mackenzie Crook), Gibbs (Kevin r. Mcnally), Cotton (david bailie), bootstrap bill (stellan skarsgård), Lord Cutler beckett (tom Hollander), tia dalma (naomie Harris), Captain Hector barbossa (Geoffrey rush). Synopsis: on her wedding day, elizabeth and Will are arrested by Lord beckett for conspiring to set free pirate Jack sparrow. As for Jack, he’s shot himself out of a coffin in the sea and joined his former crew, now disgruntled by lack of booty. Jack has a plan of sorts. With a piece of cloth emblazoned with the symbol of a key, he stakes his future and makes sail. Meanwhile, Will is brought to beckett and told the east india trading Company needs him to contact Jack. in return for Jack’s compass, beckett will through letters of marque make Jack a legitimate privateer of the Crown. on the Pearl, Jack encounters in the hold bootstrap bill, Will’s supernatural father. bill tells Jack that davy Jones sent him and puts the black spot on Jack’s hand. this will guide davy

Johnny Depp and cannibals, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Walt Disney Pictures/Buena Vista, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, 2006).

228 • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End to him if he’s on the sea, which Jack now tries to avoid—because of davy and a leviathan called the “Kraken.” this beast does in fact destroy a ship that fished Jack’s hat out of the ocean. back at Port royal, Will tells the incarcerated elizabeth that charges will be dropped if he deals with Jack. elizabeth’s Governor father is skeptical, but Will leaves for tortuga. on the way he is forced to swim to shore where the Pearl is grounded. Will spots the ubiquitous parrot before being captured by cannibals, whose temporary god is Jack. back at Port royal, the Governor gets elizabeth out of jail and insists that she leave the island. but she aims to find Will and Jack. on the dock, the Governor sees a man stab another. elizabeth, who wants to negotiate at the point of her pistol, accosts Lord beckett. He tells her there is more than one important chest, not just that one on isle de Muerta. He signs the letters of marque and she leaves. Captive with the rest of Jack’s crew, Will learns that Jack’s days as a god are numbered. in fact, he is tied over a spit but escapes when the tribe rushes off to recover Will and the crew members who’ve escaped their circular wooden cages and made their way to the Pearl at high tide. Jack makes it to the ship where Will demands Jack’s compass and the pledge to sail to Port royal. Jack is amenable if in return Will helps find the key pictured on the cloth. Masquerading as a man, elizabeth sails from Port royal. Meanwhile, the Pearl makes land and sends rowboats up river to Jack’s erstwhile female companion tia dalma. she tells Will he has a destiny about him. she is given Captain barbossa’s undead monkey in exchange for the location of the key. but that key is aboard the Flying Dutchman. tia gives Jack a jar of land to help prevent him from being found by davy Jones. finding the wrecked Flying Dutchman on a nighttime, windswept sea, Will is captured by davy Jones, a mollusk-faced monstrosity. Jack appears and bargains. davy says Jack is worth one hundred souls. Jack insists Will come with him, but that’s not going to happen unless in three days Jack collects those souls. on to tortuga. for her part, elizabeth uses her dress as a ghost to point this crew toward tortuga. Meanwhile, Jack recruits more men, including the former Commodore norrington. elizabeth appears. the fellow who stabbed a man on the dock in Port royal spies on the proceedings. on davy’s ship, Will meets his father. davy makes bootstrap lash Will and he reluctantly does so. Will shows bootstrap the cloth. A weird figure in the wall tells them of a dead man’s chest and to steal the heart. back in Jack’s realm, elizabeth is shown his unique compass. it provides a heading to what presumably is the desired treasure chest. At Port royal, Lord beckett demands the Governor’s loyalty in exchange for removing his chains. on davy’s ship, Will and bootstrap play davy in a game of dice deception. if Will wins he gets the key that davy has around his tentacled neck. Will and bootstrap lose, but at least they know the location of the key, and while davy dozes at his organ, Will secures it and promises his dad that he’ll wrest him from davy’s clutches. Will manages to find the ship on which elizabeth sailed tortuga and sees her dress. davy spots the ship and the Kraken breaks it in half. Will dives into the sea to save and climbs aboard davy’s ship. Jack and elizabeth row to shore with norrington and use the compass to find the spot to shovel. davy observes from afar but can’t go onto land and takes his ship under he waves. Jack finds a chest with documents and a smaller chest inside as Will arrive and says he’s going to kill Jones. At the point of his saber, Jack prevents him from prying open the smaller chest because if Jones is killed, who will call off his beast? Will draws elizabeth’s sword and norrington draws his own and a three-way duel begins. norrington says he gets his life back if he gives beckett the chest. Unknown to them, some of davy’s crew emerges from the sea and chase elizabeth, Pintel and ragetti, who have the chest. one of the monster crew grabs up the chest, but Jack retrieves and unlocks it and finds davy’s beating

heart. breaking off his duel with Jack, Will and norrington continue their duel on a waterwheel rolling toward the beach where elizabeth has her hands full battling the monsters. After the wheel crashes into the water and turns on its side, norrington finds the chest as well as the heart. Pursued into the jungle, he drops the chest in order to escape. davy’s ship rises beside the Pearl, on whose deck Jack displays that jar of dirt before accidentally breaking it. Will directs effective fire to keep the Kraken at bay but says to abandon ship. Jack is already rowing away. the Kraken damages the vessel, but Jack returns and uses a flintlock to ignite gunpowder that blows off some of the monster’s tentacles. Will sees elizabeth kiss Jack but doesn’t realize she did it while chaining him to the mast. she joins Will and other crewmembers in a rowboat. “Hello, beastie,” says Jack as the Kraken rises up to engulf him. the ship is taken to the depths as davy observes, but when he becomes suspicious, orders the chest to be opened. nothing! “damn you, Jack sparrow!” At Port royal, norrington presents beckett with davy’s heart. returning to tia dalma’s village, Will and the others tell her they will do anything to save Jack. that way involves … Captain barbossa, appearing with his mischievous monkey. Reviews: Newsday found it acceptable as a “sprawling live-action, feature-length cartoon…” (Gene seymour, Newsday [Melville, nY], July 6, 2006); The Wall Street Journal thought it was a half hour too long and “more of a megabudget meander over land and sea than a story with a dramatic structure.” ( Joe Morgenstern, Wall street Journal, July 7, 2006). Analysis: the action becomes progressively loopier, and despite all the excitement there’s way too much unnecessary and highly confusing exposition. the small chest, the key, the letters of marque, davy Jones’ heart. bargaining, negotiating. What’s it all about? even a Philadelphia radio sports show host recognized that these were not pirate movies, “they’re monster movies.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

(Walt disney Pictures/Jerry bruckheimer films, 2007; 169 min.) ★

Produced by Jerry bruckheimer. directed by Gore Verbinski. screenplay by ted elliott, terry rossio. based on characters created by ted elliott, terry rossio, stuart beattie, Jay Wolpert. based on Walt disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” edited by stephen rivkin, Craig Wood. director of Photography, dariusz Wolski. Panavision. Prints by technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production design, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, John dexter. set decoration, Cheryl A. Carasik. Costumes by Penny rose. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic, digital domain. Visual effects by Asylum, Method, Cis Hollywood. Cast: Captain Jack sparrow ( Johnny depp), Captain Hector barbossa (Geoffrey rush), Will turner (orlando bloom), elizabeth swann (Keira Knightley), davy Jones (bill nighy), sao feng (Chow Yun-fat), tia dalma/Calypso (naomie Harris), Governor Weatherby swann ( Jonathan Pryce), Pintel (Lee Arenberg), ragetti (Mackenzie Crook), Cotton (david bailie), Gibbs (Kevin r. Mcnally), bootstrap bill turner (stellan skarsgård), Cutler beckett (tom Hollander), Admiral norrington ( Jack davenport), Captain teague (Keith richards). Synopsis: While Cutler beckett hangs a host of pirates, including women and children, Captain barbossa, elizabeth swann, Will turner,

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides • 229 and tia dalma search for Jack sparrow, who’s a prisoner in davy Jones’ netherworld locker, a desert in which Jack stomps around the Black Pearl with many duplicates of himself and spies a rock that turns into a crab. While Jack deals with his delusions, barbossa and company sail to singapore to enlist the pirate lord sao feng in their quest. Although beckett’s marines attack the lair, barbossa has better directions to davy Jones’ locker. Will has a secondary purpose: rescue his father from perpetual imprisonment on davy Jones’ Flying Dutchman. they find Jack and the Black Pearl, sailing across sand dunes courtesy of an army of crabs. Convincing Jack they are not illusions, his rescuers take ship and enter the real world after the ship flips over and submerges everyone for some minutes before righting itself. feng makes a deal to obtain elizabeth, thought to be the goddess Calypso, but davy Jones kills feng during an attack. elizabeth is freed by Admiral norrington, who himself is run through by Will’s father. At shipwreck Cove, barbossa tries to convince the other lords to release Calypso. Jack’s vote is instrumental in making elizabeth a co-equal pirate lord. tia dalma is actually Calypso, once davy’s lover, and is imprisoned in davy Jones’ brig. Calypso is brought on deck and roped up but grows to the height of the mast before disintegrating and her pieces falling into the sea. the Dutchman and Black Pearl wage a battle in the maelstrom. during the chaos, barbossa marries Will and elizabeth. Jones’ heart is punctured after he stabs and kills Will. Will goes down with the Dutchman but rises as its captain and along with the Black Pearl, blow beckett’s Endeavour to smithereens. Later barbossa takes the Pearl but Jack is not aggrieved. He has the map to the fountain of Youth and sets off in his dinghy. Will must sail the seas for 10 years, but he and elizabeth consummate their marriage. “ten Years Later”: elizabeth and her child stare into the distance from a promontory and see a flash of green indicating Will’s return. Reviews: the Akron Beacon Journal thought it wasn’t bad and tied up loose ends. in fact, it was better than #2. it was too long by far, however, with a “climactic, stunt-laden battle scene that feels longer than most movies.” (rich Heldenfels, Akron Beacon Journal [oH], May 24, 2007); The Wall Street Journal critic termed it a “cruel and unusual punishment of a ponderous pirate saga, 168 minutes long, with more doldrums than ‘the rime of the Ancient Mariner.’” Johnny depp remained the series’ saving grace ( Joe Morgenstern, “depp floats, Plot Walks Plank in Messy ‘Pirates 3,’” Wall Street Journal Weekend Journal, May 25, 2007, pp. W1–W2); the Nelson Mail considered it “mainly a special effects extravaganza—which is just as well, because the story is an incoherent yo-ho-ho mess,…” (david Manning, Nelson Mail, november 26, 2007). Analysis: With a story that is impossible to describe in any detail to those who have not seen it, this is the poster movie for how excess CGi compromises the entire affair. Questions abound: our Jack sparrow hunters start out in singapore? How’d they get there? they sailed around the Horn? davy Jones’ ship blasted to smithereens all those in the british fleet? Where did that take place? And why? What’s with the stones turning into crabs? And Jack’s duplicates. And pulling the ship across what looks like salt flats. Why are these movies so darned long? Aren’t they ostensibly for teens? if the filmmakers would reveal that all this takes place in a parallel universe where most of the characters can survive almost anything, the malarkey could be accepted, but as it stands it’s downright tortuous.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

(Walt disney Pictures/Jerry bruckheimer films, 2011; 143 min.) ★★

Produced by Jerry bruckheimer. directed by rob Marshall. screen story and screenplay and story by ted elliott, terry rossio. suggested by the novel by tim Powers. based on characters created by ted elliott, terry rossio, stuart beattie, Jay Wolpert. based on Walt disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” edited by david brenner, Wyatt smith. director of Photography, dariusz Wolski. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production design, John Myhre. supervising Art director, tomas Voth. set decoration, Gordon sim. Costumes by Penny rose. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by MPC, Cinesite, Cis Hollywood, rising sun Pictures, Method, HY*drAU*LX. Cast: Captain Jack sparrow ( Johnny depp), Angelica teach (Penelope Cruz), Hector barbossa (Geoffrey rush), blackbeard (ian Mcshane), Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin r. Mcnally), Philip (sam Claflin), scrum (stephen Graham), Captain teague (Keith richards), syrena (Astrid bergès-frisbey), Groves (Greg ellis), Gillette (damian o’Hare), spaniard (Óscar Jaenada), Lord John Carteret (Anton Lesser), Prime Minister Henry Pelham (roger Allam), tamara—first Mermaid (Gemma Ward), King George (richard Griffiths), society lady ( Judi dench). Synopsis: two fishermen haul from the sea the body of a bearded codger, who opens his eyes. Cadiz, spain: the fishermen present their mysterious catch to the King and mention Ponce de Leon. found in the old man’s possession is a book that contain directions to the fountain of Youth. one of his captains is prepared to sail on the morrow to verify the location. London, england: Jack sparrow’s first mate Gibbs has been mistaken for the skipper himself and is hauled to the dock. the crowd hopes for a guilty plea and public execution, but masquerading as the chief judge, Jack condemns Gibbs to penal duty. outside, Jack and Gibbs enter the armored carriage Jack says will take them to the dock and a new ship, but the driver has been paid more by the authorities, and Jack and Gibbs are captured. Jack is taken before the King, who can’t bear the thought that the spanish ruler will find the fountain of Youth. Captain barbossa, now a peg leg, appears. He’s in the King’s service. Jack leaps from a window, falls onto a carriage and makes his escape. in a pub he meets Captain teague, who points to a group in the corner who have a ship captained by … Jack sparrow. during a sword duel with the impostor, Jack finds it is none other than Angelica, a former lover. soldiers burst in and Jack and Angelica escape into the sea. Jack’s rescue is short-lived as he is shanghaied onto the ship of Angelica’s father, blackbeard the infamous sea rover. Among his crew are “zombies.” strapped high on the mast is the clergyman Philip. interrogated by barbossa, Gibbs promptly sets afire the all-important map, thus ensuring his safety as he has the details in his head. barbossa sets sail, passing a spanish squadron that seems not to notice his ship. Jack foments a mutiny that fails but does lure blackbeard from his cabin. blackbeard knows of the prophecy that a one- legged man will kill him; therefore the fountain of Youth is paramount for his well-being. Jack is an important cog in the quest. blackbeard has constructed a voodoo doll of Jack and his poking and fire applied to it cause Jack pain and another reason to assist the buccaneer. on his ship, barbossa harangues the unruly crew who are afraid of temptress mermaids at Whitecap bay. onward! back on blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge, Angelica shows Jack the Black Pearl, miniaturized but still afloat in a bottle, one of blackbeard’s trophies. At Whitecap bay mermaids do attempt to lure blackbeard’s men to their doom, but the one Philip calls syrena is captured and placed in a water-filled glass case. Her tears are key to proper use of the fountain’s water once it is discovered, but they need to elicit them, a difficult task. trekking inland, they come to a chasm. Jack is forced to

230 • Planet of the Apes leap down into the river while the rest circumvent the chasm. Jack finds Ponce de Leon’s landlocked ship and barbossa, who’s beaten him there on foot after the mermaids destroyed his ship. they clash over the box presumably containing the two chalices that are key to immortal life, but they are not in the box. they do find a map. blackbeard threatens Philip, but to no avail can he make syrena cry. Philip’s throat is cut and he’s tossed into the bush. Jack, Gibbs and barbossa sneak up on the spaniards and steal the chalices, but they are captured. in the bush, the injured Philip awakes and finds syrena, who sheds a tear that blackbeard obtains. Jack and barbossa are tied to trees but Jack gets loose, climbs his tree, escapes and retrieves the chalices. next day, using his compass, Jack finds the entrance to the fountain grotto and rings the chalices together. nothing at first occurs but then water rushes over the floor of the cave, engulfing everything. Jack climbs on scrum and pokes the overhead water and is sucked up into the fountain of Youth, followed by Angelica and the rest. barbossa and his men appear to arrest blackbeard. in the ensuring melee, Philip is wounded and crashes off into the jungle. the spaniards arrive in numbers and take the chalices. “only God can grant eternal life,” says the leader, who stomps on them and tosses them into a pool. He orders his men to destroy the grotto. barbossa stabs blackbeard with his poisoned blade, and Angelica is accidentally cut by it. syrena appears to Philip and gives him the chalices. Jack runs to the remnant of the fountain for its life-giving water and puts one of syrena’s tears in one, hoping to save Angelica, which he does when blackbeard drinks from the wrong cup and is torn apart by a storm of swirling water. syrena pulls Philip into her underwater grotto. Jack rows Angelica to an isolated island. barbossa, meanwhile, takes control of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. “the Crown served me well, but now by the Gods of sea and sky, make way for tortuga!” Jack and Gibbs have obtained the bottle containing the Black Pearl and discuss how best to release her from her prison. trudging along the beach, Jack tells Gibbs, “i have no say in it, Gibbs. it’s a pirate’s life for me. savvy?” on her island, Angelica stares forlornly out to sea but perks up when that voodoo doll of Jack floats to shore. Reviews: the Boston Herald said it was “a retreat of tropes we were tired of after the first three films.” the action was “uninspired and notably pared down. between unlikely chase sequences and PG-13 sword battles, the characters have nothing to do except bore one another (and the audience) half to death explaining the plot.” in sum, “this ship has sailed.” ( James Verniere, Boston Herald, May 20, 2011); the Christian Science Monitor found it a pleasant surprise that “this sequel isn’t altogether incomprehensible.” As for the now iconic Jack sparrow, depp “mostly mugs.” it was hoped he’d return to the “real world. He’s turning into a stunt actor.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 2011). Analysis: this entry in the ongoing Jack sparrow saga is shorter than the earlier ones but still too long, with any number of times when it could have been terminated only to lumber on. there are boring interludes, as when Jack and Angelica verbally spar and the captured mermaid and her human protector confess their love. isn’t barbossa already immortal? And the zombies, like the dead pirates of the earlier films, can’t be killed by bullets and swords, right? Aren’t the chalices and maps and tears and other bric-a-brac mere McGuffins? Why was it assumed that Jack knew the location of the fountain? Why hadn’t he gone there previous to this adventure? Why did he have to jump into the chasm?

PitCH bLACK see under riddiCK

PLAnet of tHe APes see Volume i for Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

(20th Century–fox, 2001; 125 min.) ★½

Planet of the Apes

Produced by richard d. Zanuck. directed by tim burton. screenplay by William broyles, Jr., Larry Konner, Mark rosenthal. based on a novel by Pierre boulle. 1968 Planet of the Apes theatrical Motion Picture Adapted by Michael Wilson and rod serling. edited by Chris Lebenzon. director of Photography, Philippe rousselot. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, sean Haworth, Philip toolin. set decoration, rosemary brandenburg. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. special Makeup effects designed and Created by rick baker. special MakeUp effects by Cinovation/rick baker Crew. special Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic, Cis Hollywood. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues studio, Asylum Visual effects, Pacific title & Art studio. Cast: Lt. Leo davidson (Mark Wahlberg), thade (tim roth), Ari (Helena bonham Carter), Attar (Michael Clarke duncan), Limbo (Paul Giamatti), Krull (Cary-Hiroyuki tagawa), daena (estella Warren), sandar (david Warner), Karubi (Kris Kristofferson), tival (erick Avari), birn (Luke eberl), thade’s father (Charlton Heston), Commander Karl Vasich (Chris ellis), senator nado (Glenn shadix), bon (freda foh shen), Lt. Colonel Grace Alexander (Anne ramsay). Synopsis: Aboard the UsAf Oberon, space research station, 2029, Lt. Leo davidson prepares the chimpanzee Pericles for a jaunt into a nebulous, mysterious cloud. When Pericles’ pod loses communication with the Oberon, Leo, without permission, takes another pod in pursuit. entering the cloud, he is tossed and turned and crashes into a deep pool on a verdant planet. bursting the hatch, he swims to the surface and yanks off his burning jacket. in the jungle a bearded man and a young woman, soon joined by others being chased by apes, confront him! Leo is rounded up with the others and taken to ape town. for the most part he remains mum, observing, getting the lay of the land. Ari, a female ape, detects something special in this human and has him assigned to her abode. thade, a prominent leader desirous of Ari’s affection, is told by two of his minions that they’ve found something curious in the jungle and show him the track through the bush the crashing ship made. He kills them. Leo breaks from his cage, releases some other humans, and convinces Ari and Krull to help them escape. Causing consternation as they rush through the ape habitations and later the military encampment by a river, they reach the forbidden land and discover Leo’s spaceship. because of its nuclear fuel, power still exists and aural and visual recordings reveal an attack on the humans. “Modern” humans appear in numbers. they’ve heard of Leo and want him to lead them against the apes. He devises a plan, and when thade sends forth the first wave of his army, turns on the spacecraft’s propulsion drive to knock out the attackers. the humans rush out to kill those trying to regain their feet. thade and the rest of his army advance. in the midst of the battle a ship lands. it’s the pod Leo had followed into the maelstrom and now disgorges Pericles, who gives him the thumbs-up sign. the apes believe Pericles is simos, their revered ancestor, but thade injures him and follows Leo into the spacecraft. Having been given some little familiarity with a human

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes • 231 handgun by his dying father, thade secures a pistol but is flummoxed when he tries to shoot Leo by an impenetrable screen Leo causes to fall between them. thade’s trusted general Attar turns against him. Leo feels he must return to earth and takes the pod, reenters the cloud and crashes in the reflecting pond in Washington, d.C. to his shock, the statue in the Lincoln Memorial is of an ape progenitor—thade! Police and federal authorities arrive. Reviews: Entertainment Weekly made a negative comparison between the original’s “grizzled self-righteousness, the nearly totemic overacting, of Charlton Heston.” and the generic hero portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in this version. the film itself lacked imagination (owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, July 8, 2001); the News Journal found it “a stimulating popcorn adventure that’s only slightly darker and just a little bit edgier than most high-end summer blockbusters.” only the ending, with director and writers striving to outdo the original’s shock conclusion, is a negative ( Jack Garner/Gannett news service, News Journal [Wilmington, de], July 27, 2001, p. 4); Analysis: from director tim burton one would expect more than a weak remake/reboot of the original that too quickly immerses the audience in conventional satire of human mores and current events. the first appearance of the apes doesn’t measure up to the shock of their horseback arrival in the original. for most of the time it’s dark, either night or in jungle. Contrast with the original’s singular desert landscapes and sun-lit ape city. it’s perfunctory. Wahlberg’s character makes ridiculous decisions after not much thought, like riding through the ape encampment and setting fire to sundry tents. there are contrived scenes of tension, as when the boy’s horse falls and won’t get up as the first wave of the ape army approaches. Leo’s compulsion to return to earth so quickly is rash. What are good in the movie are danny elfman’s theme, Helena bonham Carter as Ari, and the mannerisms of the chimps. insignificant trivia: this was released in 2001. the original was released in 1968, as was 2001: A Space Odyssey. both were big hits and stirred a renewal of cinema science fiction that would receive its greater reawakening in with Star Wars in 1977.

(20th Century–fox, 2011; 105 min.) ★★★½

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Produced by Peter Chernin, dylan Clark, rick Jaffa, Amanda silver. directed by rupert Wyatt. screenplay by rick Jaffa, Amanda silver. suggested by Pierre boulle’s novel Planet of the Apes. edited by Conrad buff, Mark Goldblatt. director of Photography, Andrew Lesnie. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Patrick doyle. Production design, Claude Paré. Art direction, Grant Van der slagt, dan Hermansen. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Costumes by renée April. Makeup, Victoria down. Visual effects & Animation by Weta digital Ltd. Additional Visual effects by G-Creative, Atomic Arts, soho VfX, Lola VfX. Cast: Will rodman ( James franco), Caesar (Andy serkis), Charles rodman ( John Lithgow), Maurice/Court Clerk (Karin Konoval), Caroline Aranha (freida Pinto), rocket/bright eyes (terry notary), buck (richard ridings), Koba (Chris Gordon), Cornelia (devyn dalton), Alpha ( Jay Caputo), John Landon (brian Cox), dodge Landon (todd felton), steven Jacobs (david oyelowo), robert franklin (tyler Labine), Chief John Hamel (ty olson), rodney ( Jamie Harris). Synopsis: in the jungle a captured chimpanzee is boxed for shipment to the United states where scientist Will rodman is using chimpanzees to determine if ALZ-112 can improve brain function. Will

has a vested interest in the success of the experiments because his father Charles has been diagnosed with dementia. results are better than expected, so much so that Will convinces steven Jacobs he should present his findings before the board. Coincidentally and to everyone’s shock, bright eyes, the chimp who demonstrated superior abilities, breaks out of her cage and eludes her handlers until she is shot in the boardroom. Lab tech franklin is ordered by Jacobs to euthanize the other apes. He reluctantly complies but finds a baby chimp in bright eyes’ cage. Will takes the infant home and his father names him Caesar. it becomes quickly apparent that Caesar’s mother passed on her intelligence to her offspring. several years pass and Caesar evidences more intelligence while Charles deteriorates further. Will decides to give his father ALZ-112, and it works—for a time. More years pass and Caesar wonders about his place in the human world, signing his questions to Will. When Caesar intervenes in a confrontation between the airline pilot neighbor and Charles, now immune to the ALZ-112, the chimp is relegated to John Landon’s supposed haven for apes that includes an orangutan that also can sign, and a gorilla. Will convinces Jacobs to test ALZ-113 on people, revealing how well his father had done on ALZ-112. it’s too late for Charles, who dies. At the lab, franklin inhales the new airborne mixture and becomes ill. At Will’s home, franklin sneezes near the neighbor. Will and his girlfriend Caroline bribe Landon to reclaim Caesar, but the ape refuses to budge from his cell. He has formed a plan. breaking out on his own, he goes to Will’s home and steals canisters of ALZ-113 with which he infuses the ape preserve. Confronted by dodge, the hateful handler, Caesar yells “no!” and causes dodge’s electrocution. He and the other apes break free, release their brethren at the lab and at the zoo and head for Golden Gate bridge. Having taken Caesar to the redwood forest north of the bridge when the ape was young, Will drives that way, making it across the bridge even as the ape host foils police trying to stop them. Koba, a chimp Caesar had ousted from his pride of place, is given the mission of kicking the downed helicopter off the bridge, which carries Jacobs to his death. to Caesar’s grief, the gorilla that’d wrecked the helicopter dies from his wounds. When Will arrives in the forest and tells Caesar he will take care of him back home, the chimp says he is home. Will accepts this fact. Later, as the airline pilot walks through the airport to his plane, blood drops from his nose. A map shows what appears to be the worldwide spread of the virus. Reviews: Rolling Stone was unprepared for a film that “rises and, at times, even soars.” it could not have been so without modern technology (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, August 4, 2011); the Winnipeg Free Press said the screenplay “makes its points without belaboring them, and leaves most of the heavy thematic lifting to the actors. James franco was good, John Lithgow better” (Katherine Monk, Winnipeg Free Press, August 5, 2011, section: Movie reviews, p. d4). Analysis: Can one suppose that the serum that enhanced the apes’ brains also gave them extra jumping, climbing and scurrying abilities? other than that, the only negative element is the over-the-top nastiness of the chimpanzee rescue facility employees. one guesses they chose to make the keeper so bad to compensate for the apes’ revenge, but it was reminiscent of other sci-fi films with gratuitous segments, notably Terminator 2: Judgment Day, when dr. silberman and his assistants treat sarah Connor in unconscionable ways just so they could add even more revenge action when she escaped.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

(20th Century–fox/Chernin entertainment, 2014; 130 min.) ★★★½

232 • Poltergeist Produced by Peter Chernin, dylan Clark, rick Jaffa, Amanda silver. directed by Matt reeves. screenplay by Mark bomback, rick Jaffa, Amanda silver. based on characters created by rick Jaffa and Amanda silver. edited by William Hoy, stan salfas. director of Photography, Michael seresin. Prints by fotokem. Music by Michael Giacchino. Production design, James Chinlund. Art direction, Aaron Haye, William Hunter, scott Plauche. set decoration, Amanda serino. Costumes by Melissa bruning. Visual effects & Animation Created by Weta digital Ltd. Cast: Caesar (Andy serkis), Malcolm ( Jason Clarke), dreyfus (Gary oldman), Koba (toby Kebbell), ellie (Keri russell), Carver (Kirk Acevedo), blue eyes (nick thurston), Alexander (Kodi smitMcPhee), rocket (terry notary), Maurice (Karin Konoval), Cornelia ( Judy Greer), foster ( John eyez), Kemp (enrique Murciano), Ash (doc shaw), Grey (Lee ross), finney (Keir o’donnell). Synopsis: A man-made simian flu wipes out most of humanity. A congregation of apes, including their leader Caesar, builds a home in the forests and mountains north of san francisco, where humans immune to the flu also try to survive. A small group led by Malcolm trek into the wilderness to locate a dam and possibly start it up to deliver hydroelectric power to the city. surprised by some apes, Carver wounds one, thus calling down the wrath of Caesar and his ape legions. However, Caesar knows that not all humans are bad and tells these to leave in peace. this does not sit well with Koba, an ape Caesar rescued from human experimentation. After Malcolm tells dreyfus about the encounter, the humans find apes in force at their gates. despite the warning to remain where they are, Malcolm and his band drive back into the hills. Alone, he visits the ape encampment. Koba would kill him but his hand is stayed. Caesar is shown the blocked dam and agrees that Malcolm’s small group can restore it. dreyfus is aghast that Malcolm considers the apes their equals. Meanwhile, Koba and two of his admirers enter the city and report back to Caesar the location of an armory. When Caesar refuses to start a war, Koba fights with him but loses. the dam is restored, which means future electricity and power for the radio transmitters. Maybe other humans are out there. Koba returns to the city, kills two humans and back in the woods shoots Caesar and intimidates other apes into attacking the city en masse. After an initial repulse, the apes achieve success and make the humans prisoners. Malcolm and ellie find the wounded Caesar in the

forest and nurse him back to health. His son blue eyes returns to the fold and informs Caesar of the apes imprisoned for being too close to him. recovering his strength, Caesar enters the city and battles Koba once more even as dreyfus prepares to blow up the tower where they are located. Malcolm can’t stop him and the explosion kills humans and a number of apes. When Koba, hanging from a girder, says that apes do not kill apes, Caesar knows it’s a ruse and lets him fall to his death. the other apes gather round Caesar. Malcolm, having survived dreyfus’ suicidal blast, warns Caesar that other humans will arrive in force, that war is coming. Caesar responds that the war has already begun. Reviews: the Miami Herald wondered why despite its big-budget, fantastic action and “the most jaw-dropping CGi effects to date “it feels sluggish and long-winded,…” and telegraphed situations. thus the writing, which wouldn’t impress “even 8-year-olds…” was what made it “cartoonish…” (www.miamiherald.com, July 10, 2014); Entertainment Weekly complimented director reeves’ images and Andy serkis’ Caesar. He, in fact, outdid any of the human characters in his emotional range and physicality (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, July 18, 2014, pp. 46–47); the News Journal found it a franchise enhancer, “a dark film, daringly so,…” (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett, News Journal 55 Hours Plus [Wilmington, de], July 11, 2014, p. 3); Rolling Stone was impressed with “the rousing first hour.” it was “dynamite entertainment,…” Andy serkis as Caesar gives a “triumphant performance…” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 31, 2014, pp. 74–75). Analysis: Andy serkis continued his evolution from Middle earth’s Gollum to intelligent simian of our impending apocalypse. Maybe it is a bit obvious in its demonstration that both ape and human display good and bad attributes. symptomatic of something is the answer Keri russell gives when asked the name of her dead daughter. You would say that this is a future, dystopic film, therefore ellie’s deceased daughter’s name should be sara/sarah, and you’d be right. think Linda Hamilton in The Terminator in other straight science fiction films there are Annasophia robb in Race to Witch Mountain and Mariah bonner in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Horror films also have their share of sarahs: Mia Kirshner in The Crow: City of Angels, izabella scorupco in The Exorcist: The Beginning and Ali Larter in House on Haunted Hill. in the fantasy realm, Jessica Chastain plays sara in The Huntsman: Winter’s War. (sarah means princess or noblewoman in Hebrew.)

PoLterGeist see Volume i for Poltergeist (1982), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986), and Poltergeist III (1988).

(MGM/Ghost House Pictures, 2015; 93 min.) ★★½

Poltergeist

Andy Serkis (left) and Nick Thurston, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (20th Century–Fox, 2014).

Produced by sam raimi, robert G. tapert, roy Lee. directed by Gil Kenan. screenplay by david Lindsay-Abaire. based on the 1982 Motion Picture entitled Poltergeist, screenplay by steven spielberg, Michael Grais, Mark Victor, story by steven spielberg. story by steven spielberg. edited by Jeff betancourt, bob Murawski. director of Photography, Javier Aguirresarobe. technicolor. Music by Marc streitenfeld. Production design, Kalina ivanov. Art direction, Martin Gendron. set decoration, Patricia Larman. Costumes by delphine White.

Predators • 233 Visual effects by soho VfX, bUf Canada and Paris, framestore, shade VfX. Cast: eric bowen (sam rockwell), Amy bowen (rosemarie deWitt), Kendra bowen (saxon sharbino), Madison bowen (Kennedi Clements), Griffin bowen (Kyle Catlett), Carrigan burke ( Jared Harris), dr. brooke Powell ( Jane Adams), sophie (susan Heyward), boyd (nicholas braun).

the 4-star original’s cast of Craig t. nelson, Jobeth Williams, James Karen and Zelda rubenstein is not bettered. there are more spirits/skeletons seeking a way out, but they hardly make up for the frightening, misty poltergeist of the first. this ending has nothing on the nervous laughter from the audience at the finale of the first when nelson shoves the motel tV out onto the balcony.

Synopsis: the bowen family moves into a new home after eric redAtor loses his job. son Griffin is uneasy in his top floor room with a skylight view of a creepy old tree, and his older sister Kendra would rather be see Volume i for Predator and Predator 2. see in this volume Alien back with her friends. Young Madison is initially okay because she for AVP: Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. finds a friend in the closet. the previous residents seem to have had a clown fetish because there are many clown dolls and puppets. events soon take a turn for the worse. When eric and Amy leave for a night Predators out, Kendra is almost sucked into a gooey black hole in the laundry (20th Century–fox, 2010; 107 min.) ★★ room, a doll attacks Griffin, and Madison walks into her closet and disappears. the tree breaks the skylight and pulls Griffin outside Produced by robert rodriguez, John davis, elizabeth Avellan. diwhere his returning parents see him being shaken. Kendra tries to exrected by nimród Antal. screenplay by Alex Litvak, Michael finch. plain these events and says she can’t find Madison. the tV comes on based on characters created by Jim and John thomas. edited by dan and they hear a distorted voice, but it’s her. At the college department Zimmerman. director of Photography, Gyula Pados. Panavision. of the paranormal, Amy and Griffin ask dr. brooke Powell and her Color by deluxe. Music by John debney. “Predator” theme by Alan team to help them retrieve Madison, who is apparently prisoner to silvestri. Production design, steve Joyner, Caylah eddleblute. set disturbed spirits seeking the light. With their cameras and detection decoration, david s. Hack. Costumes by nina Proctor. special Makedevices, Powell, boyd and sophie begin tracking Madison in her Up and Creature effects, Greg nicotero, Howard berger, Knb efX netherworld. eric knows that the community was built on a cemetery Group, inc. Visual effects by HYbride, Ubisoft digital Arts. but is sure the bodies were removed. Unable to rescue Madison, dr. Cast: royce (Adrien brody), edwin (topher Grace), isabelle Powell calls in Carrigan burke, noted paranormal expert as well as her (Alice braga), stans (Walton Goggins), nikolai (oleg taktarov), former husband. throwing a length of thick rope into the closet, he Cuchillo (danny trejo), Hanzo (Louis ozawa Changchien), tells the family to wait for Madison to fall through the portal that apMombasa (Mahershala Ali), noland (Laurence fishburne), tracker pears in the living room ceiling. While the family and investigators Predator (Carey L. Jones), berserker/falconer Predator (brian discuss the next step, Griffin runs upstairs and uses the rope to enter steele), Classic Predator (derek Mears). the other world and eventually finds Madison before they both fall from the ceiling onto a mattress in the living room. they are revived Synopsis: six heavily armed men and one woman plus one unin the bathtub. the family packs up, but the evil is not done with them, armed man find themselves dropped into an unfamiliar jungle. Acoverturning the sUV and pulling it inside the imploding dwelling. coutered like a mercenary, royce takes charge. At least he has a plan, Carrigan risks his life to help them escape. driving to another house for sale, the bowens beat a hasty retreat when the realtor mentions an aged tree in the yard. Reviews: Variety said that “even when one is inclined to admire the cleverness with which the remake revisits and reincorporates ‘Poltergeist’s’ themes, it’s hard to pinpoint a single moment where it improves on them, and the aura of inessentiality hangs thick over the proceedings.” (Andrew barker, www.variety.com, May 19, 2015); the News Journal praised “Kenan’s overall improvements to the movie’s visual style….” He and cinematographer Aguirresarobe eschewed “shock value and jump scares,…” in favor of “far more fluid sequences…” ( Justin Lowe/Hollywood reporter], News Journal 55HoursPlus [Wilmington, de], May 22, 2015, p. 4Hr). Analysis: it’s not a bad movie, but it’s perfunctory and the definition of a needless remake in that there’s nothing new other than the drone sent into the void, and it omits the swimming pool and the Labrador retriever. Louis Ozawa Changchien (left), Predators (20th Century–Fox, 2010).

P

234 • The Purge and the rest follow. Among the group are nikolai, a soldier who’d been in Chechnya, the Mexican cartel hit man Cuchillo, an fbi Most Wanted in stans, the African death squad soldier Mombasa, and the Yakuza, Hanzo. isabelle is the woman. the other is the nerdy edwin. the group soon discovers that they are no longer on earth, as evidenced by a sky full of closely orbiting planets and a sun that doesn’t move. Attacked by savage, boar-size quadrupeds, they kill some and others back off at the behest of … what? Cuchillo goes missing and is found in a clearing, his back to them and asking for help. they know it’s a trap and move on. isabelle shoots Cuchillo to put him out of his misery. from the trees something watches and learns their voices. the group finds an encampment full of rotting carcasses of various creatures plus one alien, tied up. royce advises tracking the trackers, creating fields of fire and luring the enemy into their gun sights. not all goes as planned. Mombasa is killed and the others flee and fall into a lake before being found by noland, dropped 10 “seasons” ago and hiding out in a derelict spaceship. He’s a bit touched and is soon trying to smoke them into unconsciousness or death. one of the master aliens blows him up. the rest flee the ship but are tracked. nikolai takes out the alien and himself with a grenade. stans is killed. isabelle reveals that in ’87 a black ops team went into the Guatemalan jungle, found something, and that only one made it out. Hanzo decides to use the samurai sword found in the ship to take on another pursuing alien. they kill each other. edwin is injured in a trap. isabelle stays with him while royce leaves to find a ship to take them off the planet. He releases the bound alien, who designates the ship. royce heads that way while this alien does battle with the master—and loses. the victor imprisons edwin and isabelle in a pit and destroys the ship. edwin reveals himself to isabelle as a psychopath. but royce never got onboard. He pulls the practically comatose isabelle and edwin from the pit and uses edwin as a booby trap to almost kill the alien. finally, he flummoxes the alien with a ring of fire, taunts and batters it, and with isabelle’s good shooting kills it, chopping off its head. in the morning parachutes appear in the sky. royce and isabelle turn away and walk off in hopes of getting off “this fucking planet.” Reviews: Basil & Spice thought fans of the series would appreciate the return to a milieu so well employed for terror in the original ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, July 10, 2010); The Blade said it was an “able reboot…” that “successfully resurrects the series from the clunky, campy, messy state in which it had devolved.” it was “all about the action.” therefore backstory was secondary (Kirk baird, The Blade [toledo], July 9, 2010). Analysis: “Move on, there’s nothing to see here” might apply to this pure action piece that, like Predator 2, offers little in the way of explanation. Why bother to set it on an alien planet? it borrows from Predator the hip-side Gatling gun and the fall into a lake and pays homage to Alan silvestri’s excellent theme. there’s no build-up, though. the humans are way too noisy and occasionally walk in the open. they use up too much ammunition too fast, playing only lip service to conservation. You knew Grace was going to turn out to be a mole or something bad; that’s the way with all these films (see Paul reiser in Aliens). this is not a smart crew. the two stars are for action and movement, not intelligent characters. one expects more from a producer with the pedigree of robert rodriguez. Adrien brody would at first glance seem somewhat short in the machismo department to be playing a superlative super-soldier conscripted to be fodder for the alien predators, but he’s adequate.

ProMetHeUs see under ALien tHe PUrGe The Purge

(Universal/blumhouse Productions/Platinum dunes, 2013; 85 min.) ★★½

Produced by Jason blum. directed by James deMonaco. screenplay by James deMonaco. edited by Peter Gvozdas. director of Photography, Jacques Jouffret. color. Music by nathan Whitehead. Production design, Melania Paizis-Jones. Art direction, nick Plotquin. set decoration, Karuna Karmarker. Costumes by Lisa norcia. Makeup, steve Costanza. Visual effects by Method studios. Cast: James sandin (ethan Hawke), Mary sandin (Lena Headey), Charlie sandin (Max burkholder), Zoey sandin (Adelaide Kane), bloody stranger (edwin Hodge), Polite leader (rhys Wakefield), Henry (tony oller), Mrs. Grace ferrin (Arija bareikis), Mr. Call (tom Yi), Mr. ferrin (dana bunch), Mr. Halverson (Chris Mulkey), Mrs. Halverson (tisha french), Synopsis: America, 2022. Crime and unemployment in the United states are way down. Why? because once a year citizens are permitted to hunt down human prey, as often as not the poor and helpless, thus to release aggression and purge their souls and create a better society. James sandin is a purveyor of security systems that are supremely necessary on the night of the purge, March 21. between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. it is worth’s one life to be outside. Zoey sandin bids goodbye to her boyfriend Henry and joins her father, mother Mary and younger brother Charlie at dinner. Upstairs afterward, she finds that Henry has not left the house. He wants to have a man-to-man talk with James about his relationship with Zoey. Watching the street from a monitor, Charlie discovers a black man on the run and upon hearing his plaintive cries for help, disarms the security system and lets him in. simultaneously Henry comes down the stairs and starts shooting at James, who returns fire and kills him. the black man disappears. soon afterward a band of young people approaches the house and demands the black man. Using his self-made roaming robot, Charlie finds the intruder and indicates that he should hide in his closet. but Zoey tells Charlie she’s going to hide in his secret spot, which leads to her capture by the intruder. James wounds the man and ties him up preparatory to dragging him outside in exchange for his family’s lives. but Mary eventually says, “it’s so wrong.” the intruder tells James to send him outside to save his children. James has a change of heart: “We’re gonna fight.” the vigilantes tear off the security door and invade the house. James manages to kill several of the interlopers with a shotgun and an axe but is knifed by the vigilantes’ smooth leader. the black man saves Mary and she finds James on the stairs. Zoey plugs the leader of the murderers. neighbors arrive but only to savor the moment and to cleanse themselves by killing the sandins. James is already dead. However, the black man shoots one of the men. Mary tells him to spare the others and they wait till morning when she lets them go. Reviews: Variety said the “plodding trajectory seems all too bland,…” although there were “moments that recall higher-toned dystopian fiction….” Cult status was not ruled out (www.variety.com, June 3, 2013); the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it “a bloody horror movie masquerading as thriller and social commentary….” in spite

The Purge: Anarchy • 235 of “intriguing questions” and “a claustrophobic, moody atmosphere… ” it devolved into a “sickening series of killings.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 7, 2013). Analysis: if it’s not social commentary it’s less than smart. the sandins make many bad decisions, separating and getting snuck up on as we’ve seen a million times in movies and on tV. Why didn’t James have a panic room? Why did he make Charlie hide in the basement rather than help with defense? Why did they take so long to look for Zoey? Why did Zoey hide under her bed? Why did Mary come out from her hiding place rather than waiting for the intruders to come to her? it had the potential to join such movies as Straw Dogs and Skyfall with the compelling scenario of using wits and ingenuity to “hold the fort.” You just want to yell at the screen and tell the characters to be more alert.

(Universal, 2014; 103 min.) ★★½

The Purge: Anarchy

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, Jason blum, brad fuller, sebastien K. Lemercier. directed by James deMonaco. screenplay by James deMonaco. based on characters created by James deMonaco. edited by Vince filippone, todd e. Miller. director of Photography, Jacques Jouffret. technicolor. Music by nathan Whitehead. Production design, brad ricker. Art direction, Matthew Jacobs. set decoration, Missy Parker. Costumes by Hala bahmet. Visual effects, Method studio, the VfX Legion. Cast: sergeant (frank Grillo), eva sanchez (Carmen ejogo), shane (Zach Gilford), Liz (Kiele sanchez), Cali (Zoë soul), Carmelo Johns (Michael K. Williams), tanya ( Justina Machado), Papa rico ( John beasley), big daddy ( Jack Conley), diego (noel G), barney (Castulo Guerra), the stranger (edwin Hodge), Lorraine (roberta Valderrama), Mrs. Crawley (Lily Knight), thomas Hearst ( Jeremy fitzgerald) donald talbot, new founding father (dale dye). Synopsis: “America, 2023: Unemployment is below 5%. Crime is Virtually non-existent While every Year fewer and fewer People Live below the Poverty Line.” it’s 4:34 p.m. on March 21 and the annual Purge will begin at 7 o’clock. Citizens begin barricading themselves in during the 12 hours of legally sanctioned murder. these include waitress eva and her daughter Cali, a lone man in black loading weapons in his apartment, and shane and Liz, still out driving. on tV, new founding father donald talbot explains the beneficent effects of the Purge. spreading the opposite word is the black militant Carmelo Johns, who urges resistance against this immoral carnage. While eva and her daughter Cali prepare dinner, eva’s father leaves and enters a limo. out on a bridge, the power steering fails on shane’s car. back at eva’s, Cali finds her grandfather’s note telling them he’s agreed to be a martyr so that they can have $100,000. He is at that moment in a room surrounded by machete-wielding men and women. At eva’s building, men in military gear kill diego, who had broken in and threatened eva and Cali with rape and more. the soldiers drag the women out to a large truck and big daddy. but the man in black, cruising the metropolis, spots them and against his better judgment interferes, killing the soldiers and apparently big daddy. He leads eva and Cali to his car in which he finds shane and Liz taking refuge. big daddy, though wounded, rises and riddles the car with armor-piercing shells from his tripod-mounted machine gun. Although the car is armored it, some bullets penetrate the engine and render the vehicle inoperable. eva says that a friend can provide a car, and on foot they cross town with six hours in the Purge remaining. eventually they find

a few moments of safety in the subway, but shane is wounded when gun- and flamethrower-toting miscreants ride their modified vehicles into the tunnel. four hours, thirty minutes until the end of the Purge. At eva’s friend tanya’s apartment, the man in black learns that there is no car to be had. eva told him that so he’d save them. He somewhat mysteriously reveals that he needed a car for his son. Lorraine, drunk and angered at infidelity, starts shooting and kills her sister tanya. the others exit before more soldiers surround the building. despite making it over the fence, they are captured, but by the man in the white mask who’d been shadowing them all evening. but he is not a soldier or a purger. However, they find themselves sold to a group of wealthy citizens who have created an indoor maze in which high bidders gun down the defenseless folks sequestered there. the man in black kills a player and gets his night vision goggles and a weapon and kills more. the mistress of ceremonies, watching from behind bulletproof glass, calls for reinforcements, but Carmelo Johns and his men invade the premises. Killed in the fray, shane only inspires Liz to stay and do her own purging. the man in black, eva and Cali leave. Although the Purge is coming to an end, the man in black has time to get to the Hearst house. He explains that Mr. Hearst ran over and killed his son and deserves to be punished. inside the house, Mr. Hearst is rousted from bed and tormented and threatened with a knife. A few minutes later eva and Cali watch their friend come out the front door only to be shot by big daddy, who stares down at “sergeant” and tells him that he and his men have had to take up the slack because ordinary citizens weren’t killing enough people. there are no heroes. Mr. Hearst, who sergeant had not murdered after all, then shoots him in the head. With eva and Cali, Hearst drives the seriously wounded Sergeant to the hospital. “March 22–7:09 AM. 364 days Until the next Annual Purge.” Reviews: The Boston Globe said “it mixes social commentary with relentless assaults on the senses.” there was some cause to commend the director/screenwriter’s attempt at dealing with violence but it was “ham-fisted…” (Loren King, www.bostonglobe.com, July 17, 2014); Miami.com said it tossed out the original’s “sly and disturbing message…” about future societal problems in favor of “a straightforward quest….” it did focus on class and race but it became a sermon and “very close to being an utter bore.” (rener, www.miami.com/print, July 17, 2014); the News Journal gave it one star, calling it a minor improvement on its predecessor but thought its cultural critique was handled extremely poorly. the subtext on big weaponry was merely “unimaginative gun porn…” and “hypocritical.” (Kerry Lengel/Gannett, News Journal Fifty Five Hours Plus [Wilmington, de], July 18, 2004, p. 5). Analysis: is it more exploitative than its predecessor? Maybe, maybe not. is it now possible to make a no-message (or only sub textual message) exploitation or low-budget theatrical action film? think such Andy sidaris movies as 1973’s Stacey with Anne randall and 1979’s Seven with William smith. surprisingly, the transfer of the action to a large urban environment rather than the more confined suburban house and immediate neighborhood of The Purge does not really dilute the suspense as generally occurs when a sequel moves from, say, the jungle (Predator) to the city (Predator 2), or from the small town of santa Mira (1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers) to the metropolis of san francisco (1977’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Why was the power steering line cut on shane and Liz’s car if the menacing folks constantly on their trail were actually good guys, as they proved in the end? Maybe some other jokers caused it? Why did shane and Liz run down the middle of the street when they left their car? After exiting tanya’s apartment building and being captured, Cali asks, “How did you find us?” How, indeed?

236 • The Purge: Election Year

(blumhouse Productions/Universal, 2016; 105 min.) ★★½

The Purge: Election Year

Produced by Jason blum, Michael bay, Andrew form, brad fuller, sebastian Lemercier. directed by James deMonaco. screenplay by James deMonaco. edited by todd e. Miller. director of Photography, Jacques Jouffret. color. Music by nathan Whitehead. Production design, sharon Lomofsky. Art direction, david blankenship. set decoration, Vanessa Knoll. Costumes by elisabeth Vastola. Visual effects by Method studios, Pixomondo, rez-illustion, fusefX, the Molecule, Wolverine VfX. Cast: sergeant Leo (frank Grillo), Charlene “Charlie” roan (elizabeth Mitchell), Joe dixon (Mykelti Williamson), Marcos ( Joseph Julian soria), Laney rucker (betty Gabriel), earl danzinger (terry serpico), Minister edwidge owens (Kyle secor), Chief Couper (ethan Phillips), Caleb Warrens (raymond J. barry), Uncle sam (roman blat), dante bishop (edwin Hodge), Harmon James (Christopher James baker), dawn (Liza Colón-Zayas), rondo ( Jared Kemp). Synopsis: eighteen years after a purger killed her siblings and parents, Charlene “Charlie” roan runs for President against edwidge owens. the number one priority on roan’s platform is elimination of the annual Purge, which she labels a blot on the nation’s soul. she has plenty of support because many citizens now believe that the Purge is not to rid society of undesirables and make the nation stronger, rather a scam by the nffA (new founding fathers of America) to increase corporate—and their own—wealth. As Purge night approaches, roan’s chief security man Leo is intent on securing her in her home, especially as restrictions on killing certain classes of society have been lifted. in his deli, Joe dixon tells his employee Marcos that roan hasn’t a chance in hell of being elected, but Marcos argues that if she wins florida she should exceed the 270 electoral College votes she’ll need. A tV news reporter interviews foreign tourists intent on participating in the Purge and perhaps exporting it to their countries. in Joe’s deli, his long-time friend Lanny rucker confronts two teenage girl thieves. forced to return a candy bar, they say they’ll be back. dante bishop, a black activist, goes on tV to complain about the nefarious effects of the Purge on poor people. the nffA is outraged by all this, agreeing that they must do what it takes to keep power. After all, it’s in the nature of things that “some cannot have.” Purge night arrives and Joe and Marcos take up positions on the roof to beat off anyone intending to loot his store. Laney, meanwhile, drives around d.C. in a seemingly neutral triage van. When lockdown occurs, roan admits that she’s scared as hell. A car lighted like a Christmas tree pulls up at the deli and disgorges those wild teen girls. Marcos enrages one by shooting her in the ear, but she and her chums leave. in roan’s house, Leo’s right hand man is seen doctoring the video surveillance of the premises and letting in masked assassins. Leo realizes something’s amiss and uses a trapdoor to move roan out of the house. Wounded in the alley by a shot from a window, Leo nevertheless detonates a briefcase bomb that kills some of the assassins and his turncoat buddies. A drone follows them for a time but with roan’s assistance Leo shoots it out of the air. Attacked by purgers they thought dead, they are tasered but rescued by Joe and Marcos. Marcos tells roan she can win the election by winning florida. taking refuge in the deli, they are about to become victims of those teenage girls, who’ve gained reinforcements in a second brightly-lit car. Using chainsaws, the miscreants begin breaking in both from the front and rear. Providentially, Laney rolls up in her triage wagon and runs down the girls. Joe, roan, Leo and Marcos jump into the wagon and skedaddle. destination: the secret underground triage center. However, the as-

sassins led by earl know where they’re going because the bullet in Leo’s chest has a tracking device. fire from the copter kills rondo, a young man Laney was trying to help. realizing the bullet in his chest is leading the assassins to him, Leo extracts it. Laney drives the van to an underpass to avoid detection, but a large group of black men surround it. Luckily, Joe knows this gang. He was once one of them. they need Laney to work on one of their injured members. in return, they ambush the two assassins earl sent after roan. the van arrives at the triage facility and while being properly patched up, Leo is introduced to the activist dante and his lieutenant, Angel. Joe wants to return to protect his deli. Leo inspects the facility and when dante leaves gets into a command center where pictures of the new founding fathers are plastered on the wall. He and roan realize that dante intends assassinating the entire cabal, but she can’t be part of this. it would taint her presidency. she is determined to stop dante but when she heads out in Laney’s van with Joe, Marcos and Leo, the van is crashed into and she’s captured by earl’s men and dragged to a church where edwidge owens is hosting a ceremony attended by founders and other high level personages. “Purge to purify,” he calls out and they echo him. Leo finds dante in tunnels beneath the church and tells him they are now on a rescue mission. in the church, Harmon James acts the part of priest and prepares a man and roan for sacrifice. Leo, dante, Joe, Laney and Marcos sneak into the balcony, and Marcos kills Caleb Warrens with a head shot even as he prepares to slice roan’s throat. All hell breaks loose as the nffA’s security man shoot back with automatic weapons. dante and his men blow them away and roan is rescued. dante intends to kill edwidge but roan’s plea stops him. “You better fuckin’ win,” dante tells her. Leo finds earl and some of his men in the garage. Mortally wounded, dante rams a car against earl’s men, and, their ammunition expended, Leo and earl go at it mano y mano. Leo emerges victorious. Harmon Jones appears with a shotgun, and he and Joe kill each other. May 26, two months later: roan leaves the voting booth. soon thereafter she learns that she’d won florida and consequently the election. Marcos paints Joe’s deli, now his. Reviews: Rolling Stone thought its raison d’être was “a sort of comeone-come-all chance to rage against the machine.” the film’s “only real stance—besides be sure to vote in november—is that America is violence.” (david fear, Rolling Stone, June 29, 2016); The Playlist thought this entry’s plot was the first that made sense. it had smoother action and quick cutting created disorientation. Like John Carpenter’s Escape from New York and They Live, there was “satirical social commentary all wrapped in a grimy, b-movie package.” (ryan oliver, http://playlist.net, July 4, 2016). Analysis: 18 Years Later. since when, exactly? Has Leo, formerly “sergeant,” aged 18 years? He doesn’t look like it. if not for some (not a lot) dumb decisions the characters make, this and its predecessors would rate the 3-star rating. it’s a close call. the r rating is as much for coarse language as the violent gunplay. important in such films is a villain with gravitas, and terry serpico fills that bill. it’s often pleasant to find an actor more often than not portraying a villain (see: James remar) on the right side of the law. thus we encounter frank Grillo as the protector whereas in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War he is one of the Avengers’ prime adversaries.

resident eViL Resident Evil: Degeneration was a 2008 CG animation feature also known as Biohazard: Generation. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is scheduled for a 2017 release.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse • 237

Resident Evil

(screen Gems/new Legacy films/davis films, 2002; 100 min.) ★★

Produced by bernard eichinger, samuel Hadida, Jeremy bolt, Paul W.s. Anderson. directed by Paul Anderson. screenplay by Paul Anderson. edited by Alexander berner. director of Photography, david Johnson. film stock by Kodak. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design and Costumes, richard bridgland. Art direction, Jorg baumgarten. set decoration, Penny Crawford. Makeup by Hasso Von Hugo. special Visual effects supervisors, richard Yuricich. Cast: Alice (Milla Jovovich), rain (Michelle rodriguez), one (Colin salmon), Matt (eric Mabius), spence ( James Purefoy), Mr. White (stephen billington), Kaplan (Martin Crewes), red Queen (Michaela dicker), Lisa (Heike Makatsch), Clarence ( James butler), J.d. (Pasquale Aleardi).

the cop away. “He’s mutating, i want him in the nemesis program.” Alice is quarantined but breaks free and in the daylight of a trashed metropolis, The Raccoon City Times headline blares, “the dead Walk.” Alice picks up a rifle. Reviews: the New York Times found its “frantic staccato style … more game-oriented than cinematic.” in keeping with its comic bookcomputer game lineage, the characters were stick figures. As in many horror movies, the opening scenes are the scariest. despite the mayhem she encounters and dishes out, Jovovich “remains remarkably unscuffed.” (stephen Holden, New York Times, March 15, 2002, p. e22). Boxoffice said (Boxoffice, May 2002, p 60); roger ebert called it an amalgamation of Dawn of the Dead and Ghosts of Mars and a 1star affair (www.rogerebert.com, March 15, 2002). Analysis: All in all, it’s rather sketchy and owes inspiration (other than to the sony Playstation video game first released in 1996) to various sci-fi and horror thrillers, notably Aliens, zombie films, and even Mimic. if it wasn’t so derivative another half star might be awarded. except for the street scene at the finale, there are no expansive vistas. it’s mostly set underground tunnels and labs, which does not necessitate large-scale sets. it’s appropriate for this type of film but suggests no super budget.

Synopsis: While a deadly virus decimates the lab at Umbrella Corporation below raccoon City, a woman wakes in a shower trough with little memory of why she’s there. she dresses and explores the mansion and finds a note: “today all your dreams come true.” drawers contain guns. Masked men invade the premises and take the woman and a policeman with them. they find the ostensible husband of the woman but reveal that she was a security plant, the marriage a fake. Resident Evil: Apocalypse they proceed into the Hive, where the red Queen computer has (Constantin film/screen Gems, 2004; 94 min.) ★★½ gone homicidal and instigated mayhem. the masked men are a team designed to shut her down. the woman, Alice, sees a strange creature Produced by Paul W.s. Anderson, Jeremy bolt, don Carmody. diinside a container. Lasers kill part of the team. A holographic red rected by Alexander Witt. screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based Queen warns them to leave but they shut off power. rain is bitten by on Resident Evil by Capcom. edited by eddie Hamilton. director of one of the infected. Periodically Alice sees past events. the monPhotography, derek rogers, Christian sebaldt. Panavision. Color by strosity in the container breaks out. Alice fights off the infected people deLuxe. Music by Jeff danna. Production design, Paul denham and dogs. Lisa, the cop’s sister, appears, infected. the cop tells Alice Austerberry. Art direction, nigel Churcher. set decoration, steven he’s really trying to divulge illegal genetic, viral research, and Lisa was essam. Costumes by Mary McLeod. special Makeup effects for to smuggle out a sample of the virus. Alice says they must turn the nemesis, Paul Jones. special effects supervision, Alison o’brien. red Queen back on in order to escape. the tvirus reanimates the body, says a voice. to the utility tunnels. fleeing the infected, Kaplan is separated. the creature is roaming. Alice pictures the lab and technicians. “there’s a cure!” she was actually going to steal the t-virus. spence, her “husband,” recalls starting the plague. brandishing his pistol, he tells Alice they can make it out and have money. He says the t-virus is on the train. A body rises from the water but spence shoots it and flees, locking in Alice and company. the computer voice says spence isn’t getting away. in fact, the monster kills him. the voice explains that now that it has tasted spence’s dnA it will mutate and does so immediately. Alice axes the monitor. Kaplan reappears and they head to the train. Alice takes a container of t-virus. spence, now a crawling infected being, is axed by Alice. on the train they inject rain with the antivirus. the monster attacks the train but is dispatched, dragged along below until it goes up in friction-created flames. the train stops and Alice and company are back in the mansion. the cop says the corporation is guilty but falls over from his wounds at the hands of the monster. Lab techs in white suits appear and take Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Constantin Film/Screen Gems, 2004).

238 • Resident Evil: Apocalypse Cast: Alice (Milla Jovovich), Jill Valentine (sienna Guillory), Carlos olivera (oded fehr), Angela Ashford (sophie Vavasseur), dr. Charles Ashford ( Jared Harris), sergeant Peyton Wells (raz Adoti), Major timothy Cain (thomas Kretschmann), L.J. (Mike epps), terri Morales (sandrine Holt), nicolai (Zack Ward), nemesis (Matthew G. taylor), dr. isaacs (iain Glen). Synopsis: Alice reviews the outbreak of the t-virus in the Hive where she had been part of security, in fact chief of security. the virus had killed people, but they didn’t stay dead. now scientists reopen the Hive to determine the cause. Above ground in raccoon City a supposedly beautiful day turns sour as scientists opening the door to the Hive are attacked. Umbrella Corporation big wigs detain important people as the virus spreads. the city is sealed, and even some cops left in the lurch. “13 Hours Later” there are killings across the city. disgraced policewoman Jill Valentine arrives at the station and begins shooting in the head the infected detainees she knows are incurable and supremely dangerous. dr. Ashford tells security people he won’t leave the city until his daughter is found. roaming the city, Alice gathers up more weapons and clothing. Jill and a few others hide in a church only to find hideous mutations stalking them. Alice arrives and eliminates the monsters with bullets and martial arts expertise. out on the streets, policeman Carlos olivera and two of his comrades escape when the rest of the force is overrun. Having hacked into the surveillance system, dr. Ashford watches them from his computer. in a cemetery, those literally rising from the grave attack Alice, Jill, sergeant Wells, and newswoman terri Morales. the Umbrella Corporation activates the nemesis Program, unleashing a hideous armed

Sienna Guillory, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (Constantin Film/Screen Gems, 2004).

and armored bipedal monster. the creature does significant damage to a group of armed men. L.J., perceived as a minimal or no threat, is spared. Alice says she hardly feels human anymore. Ashford contacts them by street phone, revealing he can get them out of raccoon City before a tactical nuclear bomb is used to wipe out the virus-infected populace. in exchange he wants them to find his daughter Angela, who survived a vehicle crash. the nemesis attacks Alice’s group and she lures it away. finally it is ordered to “disengage.” Carlos and his crew are also enlisted by Ashford to help find Angela. both groups meet but terri is killed searching for Angela in the basement of the junior high. Angela meets Jill and they escape infected, mutated K-9 dogs. Policeman nicolai is killed in the action. Alice creates an explosion that blows up the dogs and part of the school. Alice reveals that she and Angela have been infected on a massive scale but are not contagious. the container dropped by a helicopter contains anti-virus, which is given to Carlos, who’d been bitten. Ashford phones and says an escape helicopter will arrive in 47 minutes at City Hall. Ashford is found out by the Umbrella Corporation executive. At City Hall, Alice and company dismantles guards and enter the helicopter. inside the copter Alice remembers things and says they must hurry. nemesis approaches and Major Cain has Alice and her pals subdued, telling Alice she must fight nemesis to prove who is the superior creation. He shoots Ashford to make her do it. Alice wins the battle, impaling nemesis but then realizing this creature is the mutated Matt, the policeman who’d been with her when the first outbreak began. Cain tells Alice she’s bonded with the t-virus on the cellular level. she’s evolved. extracting himself from the broken metal on which he’d been impaled, nemesis turns on Cain and his men and downs two helicopters before being crushed in the debris. infected citizens break through and Cain is tossed to them and attacked by Ashford, now an undead. A missile streaks overhead. in the copter, as the airborne nuclear blast wave spreads outward, a piece of metal comes loose and impales Alice. Carlos yells, “We’re going down!” the copter is found in the mountains but only Alice’s body is discovered. news reports in raccoon City tell of the film Alice made incriminating the Umbrella Corporation, but soon that is called a hoax and Jill and Carlos are sought by the authorities. three weeks later in a medical facility, Alice is “purged” and according to dr. isaacs geometrically increases in abilities. Alice sees her past. “My name is Alice and i remember everything.” Using physical strength and a form of mind control, she breaks free. Jill and Carlos, with fake documents, take her along with Angela into the sUV driven by L.J. isaacs recovers and tells the guard by phone to “Let them go.” thus is “Program Alice activated.” Reviews: the New York Times commended inventive action sequences by former second-unit director Witt (dave Kehr, New York Times, september 10, 2004); the Daily Record found it much scarier than its progenitor. it expanded the video game’s nightmare world (Alan Morrison, Daily Record, october 8, 2004). Analysis: Why exactly was the nemesis told to destroy the 12 armed men? to see if it could? Why did Jill send terri into the basement to look for Angela? that is, why did they split up? sienna Guillory is a welcome addition to the series. it is almost unheard of to have two kick-ass heroines in one movie, and the film deserves kudos for that as well as having both survive. our paranoia and modern fascination with conspiracies by organizations come to the fore in these films. ten years later, in 2014’s Lucy, scarlett Johansson will play another female character imbued with mind-blowing mental and physical capacities.

Resident Evil: Afterlife • 239

Resident Evil: Extinction

(Constantin film/resident evil Productions, 2007; 94 min.) ★★★

Produced by Paul W.s. Anderson, Jeremy bolt, bernd eichinger, samuel Hadida, robert Kulzer. directed by russell Mulcahy. screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based on Resident Evil by Capcon. edited by niven Howie. director of Photography, david Johnson. Prints by deluxe. Music by Charlie Clouser. Production design, eugenio Caballero. Art direction, Marco niro. set decoration, barbara enriquez bejarano. Costumes by Joseph Porro. Creatures designed and supervised by Patrick tatopoulos. Visual effects supervisors, dennis berardi, evan Jacobs. Cast: Alice (Milla Jovovich), Carlos olivera (oded fehr), Claire (Ali Larter), dr. isaacs (iain Glen), betty (Ashanti), Mikey (Christopher egan), K-Mart (spencer Locke), slater (Matthew Marsden), Albert Wesker ( Jason o’Mara), L.J. (Mike epps), Chase (Linden Ashby), otto ( Joe Hursley), Synopsis: A woman in a shower trough wakes and notices scars on her body. she dresses and wanders, recalling a disaster. A door closes, deadly lasers are aimed her way, and she leaps into the ductwork and emerges in raccoon City Hospital. she uses a cart to breach an invisible barrier but is then hit by shrapnel and killed. dr. isaacs tells his technicians to take a blood sample and get rid of the body. outside in a desolate landscape the body joints a mass of other duplicates that proved unworthy. the voice of Alice speaks of the t-virus infecting the world and not only killing people but creating barren wastelands. A motorcyclist roars across the landscape while other survivors also are on the move. Alice battles nasty humans and mutated dogs and takes to the road again. Meanwhile, Claire redfield leads a convoy of buses and other vehicles toward … safety. Among her crew are Alice’s friends Carlos and L.J. back underground at the Umbrella Corporation, dr. isaacs says he will create a serum from Alice’s blood and train the undead to become a docile workforce. “Project Alice” is the highest priority. At a gas station, Alice uses a crossbow on “stevie” and inside discovers a cryptic notebook. the convoy, meanwhile, stops at a hotel and dispatches some undead. back in the lab, dr. isaacs injects an undead and the creature seems to understand what a cellphone is, as well as a camera, but it regresses and kills two techs. Alice reads in he notebook about an Alaska realm where there is no infection. dr. isaacs listens to a child hologram talk about activity in the desert. Alice trudges across the dunes. At the hotel, a massive murder of crows gathers. they’ve been contaminated by eating infected flesh and attack the humans. Many of the people are killed until Alice arrives and uses her mental powers to fry the birds. the teen known as K-Mart introduces herself. the dead are buried. Alice to Carlos, who wonders why Alice left, introduces Claire. she was being tracked, broke into Umbrella Corporation, and compromised the satellite surveillance capabilities. employing new satellites, dr. isaacs tells the Ceo Albert Wesker that he can track Alice and company. Claire is skeptical decamping to the north, but Carlos says the people need some hope. they vote for Alaska. Having been wounded, L.J. periodically checks his chest. it’s not healing. entering Las Vegas, the convoy finds a windswept, sand-covered travesty of a city and is attacked by a host of undead. from space, Alice is “shut down” for a few moments before regaining her powers. At the Umbrella Corporation command center, Alice can’t keep dr. isaacs from escaping in a helicopter and injecting himself with the t-virus. He is sentenced to liquidation and is shot but rises as a tentacled monstrosity. Meanwhile, Alice, Carlos and K-Mart observe copters in the compound. Carlos needs more anti-

virus, but he knows it’s too late. He facilitates entry into the compound by driving a truck through the undead and causing it to explode. Alice puts K-Mart and the others on copters but stays to take care of business. Underground, the hologram girl tells Alice dr. isaacs has mutated due to Alice’s blood and the t-virus. the girl has contained isaacs in a lower level—for now. “Alice, good luck.” Alice discovers many bodies and her duplicate in a bubble. she wounds isaacs with a knife and the duplicate falls out of the bubble and expires. Alice tracks isaacs into the “mansion” and battles him, tentacles and all. she uses her mental powers to hurl him back but he has mental powers, too. the “dead” Alice awakes. isaacs proclaims, “i am the future.” Alice responds, “no, you’re just another asshole.” the other Alice uses the laser grid to slice up the isaacs monster. Umbrella Corporation Headquarters can’t contact the north American facility. Alice says she’d coming for them with some of her friends. the two Alice’s will be accompanied by an army of Alice’s, now in bubbles. Reviews: the Winnipeg Free Press found it an amalgam of numerous other movies, including The Road Warrior. Milla Jovovich was “indomitably foxy….” she was, in fact, the only reason to watch these films because her “fashion-model good looks never get in the way of her ability to kick ass. she so deserves a better franchise than this.” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, september 22, 2007); The Hollywood Reporter considered it more of the same, with a rudimentary plot. However, it would please genre fans and did have the compelling Jovovich and company “kicking a lot of zombie butt.” it had “brisk action sequences…” (frank scheck/AP, Hollywood Reporter [http:// www. hollywoodreporter. com/ review/ resident- evil- extinction158006], september 23, 2007). Analysis: non-genre fans reading any detailed synopsis would find this incomprehensible, but despite illogical elements (barren wastelands caused by the t-virus, legions of expendable lab techs and security personnel) this is the best Resident Evil so far, with a good juxtaposition of indoor and outdoor scenes. there are fine action sequences and significant villains. the undead makeup is better here. besides The Road Warrior allusions, there is an obvious debt to The Birds and Species.

(Constantin film/screen Gems, 2010; 97 min.) ★★½

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Produced by Paul W.s. Anderson, Jeremy bolt, don Carmody, bernd eichinger, samuel Hadida, robert Kulzer. directed by Paul W.s. Anderson. screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based on Resident Evil by Capcon. edited by niven Howie. director of Photography, Glen MacPherson. Color by deLuxe. Music by tomandandy. Production design, Arv Grewal. Key set decorator, Cal Loucks. Costumes by denise Cronenberg. Visual effects supervisor, dennis berardi. digital Visual effects, Mr. X inc. Cast: Alice/narrator (Milla Jovovich), Claire redfield (Ali Larter), bennett (Kim Coates), Albert Wesker (shawn roberts), Angel (sergio Peris-Mencheta), K-Mart (spencer Locke), Luther (boris Kodjoe), Chris redfield (Wentworth Miller), Crystal Waters (Kacey barnfield), Kim Yong (norman Yeung), Jill Valentine (sienna Guillory). Synopsis: After a savage woman attacks a man in tokyo, a voice speaks of scientists who’d worked underground to create the t-virus that started a plague whose victims didn’t stay dead. “four Years Later”: At the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters in tokyo, snipers and security are overwhelmed by a succession of Alice clones, using martial arts, weapons and, in the real Alice’s case, telekinetic powers. the Umbrella Corporation Ceo Albert Wesker flees to a helicopter

240 • Resident Evil: Retribution only to find the real Alice onboard. However, he neutralizes her with an injection. Yet in the tussle, attention is diverted and the copter crashes on Mt. fuji and Alice stumbles away. “six Months Later”: Alice flies a small plane into the wilderness, seeking Arcadia, Alaska. Landing, she finds a host of other small planes and in one the notebook she’d given K-Mart. Alice continues recording herself and comments on a video camera. Where are all the people? A crazed woman appears. it’s Claire redfield. binding Chris’s hands, Alice flies south. When Claire regains her senses, Alice suggests that she’d been injected with something to cause memory loss. on May 6 Alice lands her plane on the roof of a skyscraper, helped by the small group of people there who rig a cable to stop the plane from going over the far edge. one of the men is the buff Luther, whom she vaguely recalls from some past time. these survivors also want to go to Arcadia, but their Arcadia is a ship off the coast. Luther shows Alice around the building, which was a prison. A man named Chris is kept incarcerated, but he promises a way out and eventually his proposal is accepted. Chris tells Claire he’s her brother, but Alice says her memory loss is why she doesn’t remember. Chris shows them an Urban Pacification Vehicle. Great, but they need weapons. to get to the armory they swim underwater and come up into the room. Chris and Alice succeed but Crystal is taken by the undead. on top, bennett flies away in the plane. battling off the undead, Alice and company realize they must negotiate a tunnel and storm drain to reach the sea. A humongous, face-obscured humanoid assists the undead and almost kills Alice and Claire until Alice blows its head off with her sawed-off shotgun loaded with quarters. Alice and Claire find Luther in the tunnel and make it to the storm drain just as Luther is taken. Alice, Claire and Chris take a small boat to the Arcadia and discover that it’s a front for the Umbrella Corporation with their friends and others in tubes waiting for experimentation. Albert Wesker is also on hand with bennett as his latest henchman. A battle royale ensues after Alice is informed that Wesker will feast on her to become the ultimate survivor. He keeps coming back but is apparently finally destroyed by Claire and Chris. on deck, Alice and company watch a copter take off. it’s Wesker, but there’s a timed explosive on board that destroys his craft. on shore, Luther appears at the end of a tunnel and watches as military copters head out to sea. in one is Jill Valentine, a spider amulet affixed to her chest, who tells her soldiers they are in for the fight of their lives. Reviews: Basil & Spice concluded, “there will be no resolution of this chapter of the never-ending, depressing series about the end of the world and the rise of the flesh eating Zombie nightmares.” it was less than the first three entries ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, september 12, 2010); The Nelson Mail found it more style than substance, with the characters one-dimensional as befit the videogame roots. exciting action scenes and 3d made it watchable (david Manning, The Nelson Mail, november 11, 2010, p. 12). Analysis: there are some very good action sequences, e.g., Alice coming toward the camera, undead rushing toward her, their heads exploding from her shells. the slo-mo fracas involving Wesker, Alice, Claire and Chris is reminiscent of The Matrix. Was it necessary to kill off Kacey barnfield’s character, and so soon? this gratuitous killing tarnishes the franchise’s previous modus operandi of keeping multiple heroines safe. the humongous, faceless humanoid was a creepy element. He, or it, was just another unforeseen consequence of the t-virus, one presumes.

(Constantin film, 2012; 96 min.) ★★

Resident Evil: Retribution

Produced by Paul W.s. Anderson, Jeremy bolt, don Carmody, samuel Hadida, robert Kulzer. directed by Paul W.s. Anderson. screenplay by Paul W.s. Anderson. based on Resident Evil by Capcon. edited by niven Howie. director of Photography, Glen MacPherson. deluxe color. Music by tomandandy. Production design, Kevin Phipps. supervising Art director, dan Yarhi. set decoration, steve shewchuk. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Makeup, Jo-Ann Macneil. Visual effects by Mr. X inc. Visual effects supervisor, dennis berardi. Cast: narrator/Alice (Milla Jovovich), Jill Valentine (sienna Guillory), rain (Michelle rodriguez), barry burton (Kevin durand), Albert Wesker (shawn roberts), becky (Aryana engineer), todd/ Carlos (oded fehr), Leon s. Kennedy ( Johann Urb), James “one” shade (Colin salmon), Luther (boris Kodjoe), Ada Wong (bingbing Li), sergei (robin Kasyanov), tony (ofilio Portillo). Synopsis: narrator Alice summarizes her role as security for the Umbrella Corporation before falling from a ship and waking in a nice bed with a loving husband and daughter becky getting ready for school. of a sudden, craziness ensues as crazed humans attack. Community chaos! then, at Umbrella Prime, Alice awakes to be grilled by Jill Valentine, now under the control of the Umbrella Corporation. the main computer becomes disabled, during which time Alice dons her cat suit and escapes to the outside, taking a pistol from a cop car. As undead attack, Alice flees into a building, using a chain and bullets and martial arts skills to stop the attackers. finding herself at Umbrella Central Control, she gains more arms from a weapon kiosk. Ada Wong, who reveals neither she nor Albert Wesker work for Umbrella any longer, attacks her. Ada had killed everyone in Central Control. Jill’s voice tells her minions that there’s a traitor at large. Wesker says everything so far is a simulation and that Umbrella sold biological arms to various nations. this particular facility is in the straits of Kamchatka off the siberian coast. A strike team will assist in rescuing Alice. that team includes Leon and Alice’s old chum Luther. they set charges to destroy the facility and venture below to find Alice. Wesker says the red Queen will do anything to capture her. in the new York “environment,” the red Queen unleashes two humongous, faceobscured humanoids with giant axes that Alice destroys with fire. in the Moscow environment, the strike force is attacked. Alice and Ada enter the suburban environment, the rendezvous point. Alice finds her duplicate from the beginning of this adventure. the Umbrella Corporation imprinted memories on these people. Upstairs, Alice dispatches an undead. the child becky appears. Her daughter, apparently. Ada says none of this is real. outside, rain, Carlos and Jill arrive. Alice and becky flee at Ada’s insistence. the strike force begins losing members. Alice and becky meet a different rain in the train station. A giant monster takes another of the strike force. Alice arrives and in a car they flee into the subway and reconnect with rain and becky. Alice dons her special glasses to locate the escape route: tracks to a service elevator to the submarine pens. the red Queen dispatches more “biohazards.” the giant monster reappears and takes becky and rain is killed. Luther and Leon remain under siege. Alice finds becky in a cocoon. she shoots the monster and finds some explosives in another cocoon, and soon after uses one to finally destroy the monster. the strike force’s explosives go off, but Luther and Leon had accessed the elevator and make it to safety topside. seawater crashes down onto the simulated environments. Alice, Ada and becky meet up with Luther and Leon and take a crawler across the ice. but a submarine conning tower breaks through the ice and disgorges Jill and rain, who is injected with a parasite that gives her super powers. she fights Luther and Leon while Alice has a knockdown, drag-out with Jill, only concluded when Alice tears the controlling amulet from Jill’s chest and

Pitch Black • 241 destroys it. Alice has to fight rain and breaks the ice with bullets. rain falls through and is captured by the undead. A helicopter arrives to take Alice, becky, Jill, Ada, Luther and Leon to the Capitol building in Washington, d.C. Albert Wesker is in charge, now working for humanity’s sake. After injecting her again, he tells Alice he’s given her back her gifts. she has work to do: stop the red Queen from destroying all life on earth. it’s humanity’s last stand. Undead hordes and dragons besiege the Capitol. Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter considered the series mindnumbing but commended the visuals that here so very well replicated the videogame progenitor (frank scheck, Hollywood Reporter, september 14, 2012); Newsday called it “essentially a video game you don’t even have to play.” it did confirm, however, that the actresses were “living fetish objects,…” superior to game avatars except in acting ability. there were “nifty visuals…” but an incoherent script (rafer Guzman, Newsday [Melville, nY], september 17, 2012). Analysis: Are the female stars fetish objects because they wear black cat suits? it can’t be because of sex—there is none. nudity? that only occurs when Alice wakes up—repeatedly in these films—in a shower trough. one might just as well contend that the female protagonists are savvy and as tough as the men. the true fetish involves guns, usually small arms that sometimes defeat the enemy, sometimes not. in any event, this entry goes way overboard. Why are the shooters always running out into the open? How can the protagonists take such punishment? the action scenes are too long. We suppose one of the injections Alice had somewhere along the line prevented using her telekinetic powers in this film. it’s real comic book/videogame stuff. no one is ever safe, and it goes on and on ad nauseam.

riddiCK Pitch Black

(Universal/Polygram filmed entertainment/interscope Communications, 2000; 107 min.) ★★★½

Produced by tom engelman. directed by david twohy. screenplay by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, david twohy. story by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat. edited by rick shaine. director of Photography, david eggby. Color by Atlab QLd. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Graham “Grace” Walker. Art direction, ian Gracie. set design, Jacinta Leong, Martin Ash. Costumes by Anna borghesi. Visual effects, Peter Chiang. Creatures design, Patrick tatopoulos. digital Visual effects by double negative Ltd. and the Magic Camera Company. Cast: riddick (Vin diesel), Carolyn fry (radha Mitchell), Johns (Cole Hauser), imam (Keith david), Paris (Lewis fitz-Gerald), shazza (Claudia black), Jackie (rhiana Griffith), Zeke ( John Moore), owens (simon burke), suleiman (Les Chantery), Hassan (sam sari), Ali (firass dirani). Synopsis: Among the civilians aboard a space ship is a convict who surmises that in cryosleep the primi-

tive side of the brain doesn’t shut down. there is a long time between stops, a long time for something to go amiss. the problems begin when tiny meteors or comet dust penetrate the hull, killing the captain and leaving Carolyn fry in charge. Hemorrhaging air, the ship is guided into the atmosphere of a strange planet. in order to survive, fry purges various compartments, some containing civilians in cryosleep. When the ship crashes, crewmember owens is mortally injured. the convict, riddick, who’d escaped from a maximum security prison, must be incapacitated by Johns but later gets free and ventures off into the dusty landscape. the survivors need to find water on this desolate planet toasted by three suns. While some look for riddick, others spy what appear to be trees and upon investigation discover a canyon full of the bleached bones of some gigantic animals. they also find a prior human installation powered by the suns. fry is ecstatic to find a skiff, a small spacecraft in seemingly good condition. Zeke, one of imam’s followers, crawls into a tunnel and is dragged away. When riddick shows up, Johns thinks he killed the young man. to fry, riddick describes the surgical shine job that explains his weird eyes and warns her that she’s got more to worry about than himself and advises her to “dig deeper” to find Zeke. With imam holding a line attached to her, fry enters an underground chamber. seeing a shaft rising to the light, she begins to climb but her line is grasped by something. Her cries for help rouse the others and she is pulled up. it is obvious some creature got Zeke. riddick is given a deal by Johns and allowed to wander free. they find water and begin work on the ship they hope can take them away. riddick tells his companions that the people who worked here were killed. Ali explores the Coring room. His desiccated body later found, the result of an attack by small flying creatures that disappear down a well at the bottom of which are other human skeletons. fry determines that 22 years have passed since the Coring room was used. Using a three-dimensional planetary model, she discovers that an eclipse had occurred. Johns argues about riddick with fry, who wants to trust the convict. fry checks the skiff ’s hull integrity. riddick tells her he’s worth a lot alive and that Johns is just a Merc. fry observes Johns injecting morphine or something into his eye and berates him for not providing the drug for the suffering owens before he died. to everyone’s distress, the eclipse begins. they strive to recover the power cells and other supplies from the downed ship. As darkness descends, hordes of flying beings ascend into the sky from the tall sand cones. shazza is killed, then, in the facility,

Pitch Black (Polygram, 2000).

242 • The Chronicles of Riddick Hassan is taken. Johns kills one of the creatures that seem to navigate by sound or radar. Using a cutting torch, two hand lights, flares and bottles filled with gas, the humans try to reach the skiff. Paris, the antiquities dealer, is killed. Crossing the bone field, Johns tries to make a deal with riddick to reduce weight on the skiff by sacrificing Jackie. instead, riddick and Johns fight it out and when riddick backs into the dark, Johns is impaled and his head engulfed in the maw of a large flying creature. riddick spurns imam’s suggestion to pray. Continuing on, they observe some of the creatures killing each other. When rain starts dousing the lit bottles, riddick laughs, “Where the hell’s your god now?” After lodging in a tunnel fry, imam and Jackie, who is actually a menstruating girl attracting the creatures, riddick proceeds to the skiff and begins powering it up. fry appears and convinces him to return for imam and the girl. riddick is injured in the process but fry is impaled and carried off into the night sky. “not for me! not for me!” cries riddick. in the skiff, riddick shuts down, waiting for a mass of creatures to gather round the jets, which he turns on to scorch them. Jackie is told by riddick to say he’s dead when they get home. Reviews: Entertainment Weekly thought it was “Weirdly cool, cooly weird,….” it was “so jaunty, so limber, and so visually self-assured that art peeks through where crap has traditionally made its home.” (Lisa schwarzbaum, www.ew.com, february 18, 2000); Film Ex found it “spare and mostly satisfying…. there’s some humor, a hard edge, interesting characters and judicious use of big special effects: a stunning eclipse of three suns.” (Kim Holston, Film Ex, Winter 2000, p. 12). Analysis: the eclipse is worth the price of admission, but the entire film is compelling, the action judiciously rendered, riddick a very interesting anti-hero. the initial crash is great. it is not the Aliens ripoff it might seem at first glance. diesel does the character of riddick justice, possibly because the character is tailor-made for him. riddick is neither the typical hero nor anti-hero. no heart of gold has he. Unflappable, cynical, he lives strictly for the moment, never looks back, always looking out for number one. He is an accomplished pilot, and a seeming virtuoso at any and all forms of human combat. His favored weapon is a short, sturdy knife, with which he frequently dispatches opponents bearing ordnance of much higher caliber. for a fairly bulky fellow, he can run like the wind; like newman of tV’s Seinfeld, he can “climb like a ring-tailed lemur.” some piddling negatives: Why was imam so little disturbed by the deaths of his compatriots? did fry need to die to give riddick some humanity?

(Universal/radar Pictures, 2004; 119 min.) ★★★

The Chronicles of Riddick

Produced by scott Kroopf, Vin diesel. directed by david twohy. screenplay by david twohy. based on characters created by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat. edited by Martin Hunter, dennis Virkler. director of Photography, Hugh Johnson. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Graeme revell. Production design, Holger Gross. Art direction, Kevin ishioka, Mark W. Mansbridge, sandi tanaka. set decoration, Peter Lando. Costumes by ellen Mirojnick, Michael dennison. Visual effects by rhythm and Hues studios, double negative, Hammerhead Productions, inc., new deal studios, Pacific title and Arts studio, the farm West, Cobalt fX, Cis Hollywood, and industrial Light and Magic. Cast: riddick (Vin diesel), Lord Marshal (Colm feore), dame Vaako (thandie newton), Commander Vaako (Karl Urban), Aereon ( Judi dench), Kyra (Alexa davalos), the Purifier (Linus roache), the Guv (Yorick van Wageningen), toombs (nick Chinlund), eve Logan (Christina Cox), imam (Keith david), irgun (Mark Gibbon),

toal (roger r. Cross), Ziza (Alexis Llewellyn), Lajjun (Kim Hawthorne), Merc pilot (terry Chen). Synopsis: Prologue: a woman’s voice speaks of the necromongers and their search for an Underverse ruled by the half-alive Lord Marshal. His evil must be found by another kind of evil. Meanwhile, on U.V. system Planet 6, toombs and his crew in a small aircraft pursue a man across a jagged ice field. there’s a 1.5 mil bounty on this man: riddick, who turns the tables on his tormenters and takes the ship to Helion Prime to confront his one-time companion, now presumed enemy, imam. imam says there are no simple answers and riddick asks who must be killed to get the payday off his head. imam identifies what appears to be a comet but is in reality the armada of the necromongers, the “world enders” who conquer and destroy entire planetary systems. An appearance by a female member of the mystical elemental race seconds imam. it would appear that a furyon, of which race is riddick, can pose a threat to the necromongers. imam’s daughter Ziza asks riddick if he’s going to stop the new monsters. the necromongers arrive and wreak havoc. imam is killed. With dame Vaako by his side, Lord Marshal watches his spokesman known as the Purifier tell survivors that they must bow down and become necromongers. the Lord Marshal and his minions will correct the mistakes of the Humanverse, and he pulls the soul from one dissident to prove his point. riddick infiltrates the necromongers and dame Vaako offers to take him to the inner sanctum. “it’s been a long time since i smelled beautiful,” he tells her. His plans are put on hold by the arrival of toombs and another crew, who capture him by net. dame Vaako tells her husband, the trusted Commander Vaako, that important things are in the offing. the elemental consults with the Lord Marshal. in the igneon system Planet of Crematoria, riddick is dropped into an underground chamber with convicts and other undesirables. riddick is aided by Kyra, the grown Jane he’d met previously and helped escape from a hellish world of nighttime predators. back in the Lord Marshal’s lair, dame Vaako speaks with the elemental and later tells her husband of a prophecy that Lord Marshal would be killed by a furyon. on Crematoria, man-size, feline-like creatures are turned loose on the inmates. Although chained up, riddick uses his eyes to soothe a savage beast. “it’s an animal thing.” Getting loose, he argues with Kyra about their past. the control chamber is sent to the surface for fresh air. Meanwhile, Vaako’s ship approaches. toombs and the jailers argue and come to blows while riddick climbs and finds that the sled to the surface has been irreparably damaged. Getting the goods on toombs, riddick, Kyra and several other prisoners aim to commandeer a spacecraft. time is of the essence if they hope to reach the ship before the sun rises and bakes them in 700-degree heat. on the way they shelter behind rocks on a wall and riddick rescues Kyra. the necromonger ship lands. “shit! i hate not being the bad guys,” cries Kyra. in the resultant fight between necromongers, Crematoria guards and riddick’s men, Vaako watches as riddick is presumably killed. the Purifier pulls riddick’s body to safety and reveals that he was a furyon before being converted to a necromonger. He tells riddick the Lord Marshal will make Kyra one of them and offer the same to riddick. He hopes he won’t listen and walks out into the maelstrom and is scorched into ash. on Helion Prime, the Lord Marshal honors Vaako. the elemental says odds are good that riddick is alive. dame Vaako tells her husband that riddick is there and urges him to give the furyon his chance to at least wound the Lord Marshal. riddick confronts the Lord Marshal, who presents the new Kyra. riddick cuts the Lord Marshal with a blade and the two go mano y mano. Kyra is killed in the fight, but riddick eventually triumphs. to dame Vaako’s grief, he, not her husband is deemed the new leader of the

Riddick • 243 dVd adds about 15 minutes of footage to the theatrical version. the necromongers. Commander Vaako utters, “You keep what you kill.” additions are mostly minimal, but none of them are exactly trivial. As riddick sits upon the throne, the elemental wonders what comes one sequence might be unnecessary and perhaps an unwise decision; next. it ads a deus ex machina element to an otherwise outstanding Reviews: the Winnipeg Free Press praised the “grandly gothic sequence, and it might be reckoned a blemish. beyond the embellstyle….” it was “a big, satisfying summer movie with darker underishments, there are some other alterations from the theatrical print, tones than usual.” (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, June 11, 2004, particularly the film’s conclusion, which might also be controversial. p. 4); the New York Times called it “all bulk and no definition.” Leading As david twohy remarks, this director’s cut concludes in a way that man diesel was “a walking domination fantasy.” (stephen Holden, is both ironic and more tragic than the theatrical print … and it does New York Times, June 11, 2004). Analysis: it’s dirty, gritty, sweaty and moves briskly. (Planetary indicate one possible direction a third riddick might take. it doesn’t conquests occur swiftly and easily in sci-fi movies.) Again, why— quite rate an additional ½ star, but upon reflection it might. well, we know why, but we don’t like it—is the woman in riddick’s life (Alexa davalos) killed, as radha Mitchell was in Pitch Black? overall, it’s one of the decade’s best examples of “space opera.” The Riddick Chronicles of Riddick is more in the “sci-fi-action-epic” line than Pitch (Universal/one race films, 2013; 119 min.) ★★★ Black. both film types work equally well with riddick, about whom we learn something more this time around than in the previous film. Produced by Vin diesel, ted field, samantha Vincent. directed Chronicles works well as a sequel and displays good continuity. there by david twohy. screenplay by david twohy. based on characters are substantial ties to the earlier film, with the (few) survivors having created by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat. edited by tracy Adams. director key roles in the second. the story has “legs.” it carries riddick to of Photography, david eggby. Panavision. color. Music by Graeme several worlds displayed in well-realized and fabulous alien landscapes. revell. Production design, James C. nemec iii. Art direction, Jean Unlike Pitch Black, which was filmed in Australia, using that country’s Andre Carriere. set decoration, daniel Carpentier. Costumes by si“outback” to serve as the desert planet locale, the sequel is largely a monetta Mariano. Visual effects by Mokko, Method, oblique fX, en“green screen” opus (filmed in Vancouver). thanks to that technique, tity, Proof, Modus, and Comen. Creature design, Patrick tatopoulos some spectacular alien landscapes are effectively and convincingly Cast: riddick (Vin diesel), dahl (Katee sackhoff), santana ( Jordi created. Colm feore struts and pontificates in a manner worthy of a Mollá), boss Johns (Matt nable), diaz (dave bautista), Moss bond villain. Karl Urban (fresh from The Lord of the Rings: The Return (bokeem Woodbine), Lockspur (raoul trujillo), Vaako (Karl Urban), of the King) is menacing in his own right. thandie newton (Crash) Vargas (Conrad Pla), Luna (nolan Gerard funk), falco (danny is most excellent eye-candy, and makes an excellent dame Vaako. blanco Hall), nunez (noah danby), rubio (neil napier), santana’s Chronicles is a sweeping epic along the liens of Dune, but it’s more inprisoner (Keri Lynn Hilson), Krone (Andreas Apergis). teresting and less pompous. it has a number of memorable sequences Synopsis: Across a barren landscape crawls an injured man, who and set pieces, but one in particular is extraordinary. near the constraightens his mangled leg in a crevice. A pack of large, vaguely canine clusion of the second act, there’s an action scene wherein riddick and a couple allies take on nearly two dozen necromongers in one of those kamikaze efforts that should surely have been suicide. this sequence rises far above what is customary with its tour-de-force stunt work, editing and choreography. this stunning encounter is so magnificent that it nearly overshadows the film’s remaining action sequence, in which riddick has his obligatory mano-a-mano confrontation with feore’s Lord Marshal. neither this nor Pitch Black seemed to garner much praise at the time of their release, either critically or at the box office. but they weather well. both are pretty solid movies with good action, interesting plots, memorable characters, and impressive production values. they may have missed the mainstream hit list, but it would not be surprising if they didn’t turn out to be “cult masterpiece” material before all’s said and done (like Carpenter’s The Riddick poster art (One Race Productions, 2013). Thing). note: the “director’s cut”

244 • The Ring predators force him to take refuge in a rocky pond. Leaving the water, the man approaches high cliffs and sees steps on the other side of waterholes inhabited by snakelike creatures that pull one of the canines into the water. the man—riddick—recalls being labeled the new Lord Marshal of the necromongers. Commander Vaako really wanted “transcendence” and sent riddick to look for his home world furya. now riddick is marooned and wonders how to get past the creatures in the water, climb the steps and find a more hospitable environment. He helps a canine pup, which becomes his companion. Using the poison of the water creatures to become immune, riddick kills one creature with a bone implanted with a claw, then an even larger creature, and with the pup in his arms makes the steps and comes out into a more appealing realm. the pup grows quickly. in the distance riddick spots some kind of habitation and investigates. An emergency beacon is activated and a space crew identifies riddick as the current occupant. it lands and disgorges heavily armed men. the woman prisoner is turned loose to reduce weight for the return trip but is shot down by the leader, santana, who shouts that he’s going to bring back riddick’s head in a box. A second vessel arrives commanded by Johns with a crew that includes the woman sniper dahl. both commanders agree to lock up their ships’ power nodes lest riddick steal one. soon two of santana’s men are dead, one missing. dahl wounds riddick’s companion. investigating, some of the men enter a cavern and blast away at a human figure that turns out to be the missing falco. Cleaning up back at the facility, as dahl hears noises. Johns and his men return. dahl is okay but “fAir trAde” has been printed on the box holding the nodes. santana opens the locker while riddick lounges on the roof. Moss is captured by riddick, who buries the nodes as his quadruped companion alerts him to a coming storm of gigantic dimensions. “Look south,” says riddick as he walks into camp, dropping his weapons. Johns wants answers to a decade-old problem. the quadruped attacks santana and is killed. dahl brings riddick down with sedative bullets. He’s chained up but warns santana. As the rain begins, Johns grills riddick about his son’s death. santana prepares to kill riddick. because of the rain and the puddles it creates, the serpents are everywhere. two men are immediately taken down. Johns agrees to riddick’s deal: he’ll show Johns the nodes and each will get one. before going, the still shackled riddick balances santana’s machete on his foot then kicks it across the bay, slicing off santana’s head, which falls into the box riddick kicks over. riddick and Johns fire up the air cars even as Vargas is killed by a poisonous bite from a small serpent. riddick tells Johns he didn’t ghost his son, who was a morphine addict. As with most Mercs, he looked okay to the casual eye. riddick says he has no reason to lie. diaz attacks Johns, then riddick, who slices his head. in battling the serpents, riddick sustains a claw to the chest. Johns takes riddick’s node as well as his own and returns to his ship to see if it works. riddick cauterizes his wound and climbs a rocky outcropping to keep the serpents at bay. dahl descends on a cable to rescue him. Above the clouds two ships leave the area, with riddick in one. Reviews: the Tulsa World considered the whole series ridiculous. this entry was uneven although there were compensations in Katee sackhoff ’s “sneaky chemistry with diesel’s sexist-pig….” in general, what with diesel as producer, “anything can be revived to keep someone happy.” (Michael smith, Tulsa World, september 7, 2013); Although its overall rating was C+, Entertainment Weekly found it encouraging that the franchise returned to the smaller scope of “the smart and stylish Pitch Black” and stressed suspense over bombast (Keith staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly, september 13, 2013, p. 55). Analysis: What’s not to like?—riddick making it believable that he can best his enemies, human and alien antagonists, a Katee sackhoff

shower scene (albeit briefly), the effects, the score. Like its predecessors, its pace is unflagging.

tHe rinG the two U.s. films were inspired by Ringu and Reisen, two Japanese movies released in 1998. (the novel Ring had been published in 1991.) At the time of this writing, a third U.s. entry in the series, Rings, has been pushed back to a 2017 release.

(dreamWorks Pictures, 2002; 115 min.) ★★★

The Ring

Produced by Walter f. Parkes, Laurie Macdonald. directed by Gore Verbinski. screenplay by ehren Kruger. based on the novel “the ring” by Koji suzuki and on the Motion Picture “the ring” by the ring/the spiral Production Group. edited by Craig Wood. director of Photography, bojan bazelli. technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production design, tom duffield. Art direction, Patrick M. sullivan, Jr. set decoration, rosemary brandenburg. Costumes by Julie Weiss. special Make-up effects, rick baker. special Visual effects and ring Videotape by Method studios. Visual effects by Pacific title & Arts studio, rhythm & Hues studios, and Asylum. Cast: rachel Keller (naomi Watts), noah (Martin Henderson), Aidan (david dorfman), richard Morgan (brian Cox), ruth (Lindsay frost), dr. Grasnik ( Jane Alexander), Katie (Amber tamblyn), becca (rachael bella), samara Morgan (daveigh Chase), beth (Pauley Perrette), babysitter (sara rue), Anna Morgan (shannon Cochran), teacher (sandra thigpen). Synopsis: teenager Katie dies after telling her friend becca that she watched a videotape that supposedly leads to the viewer’s death. After gathering up her son from school, where the teacher says that Aidan has been drawing disturbing pictures, newspaper columnist rachel Keller takes him to Katie’s funeral. Her mother ruth can’t comprehend why Katie’s heart gave out. there was also something awful about Katie’s face. Katie’s boyfriend Josh seems to have killed himself the same night Katie died. rachel decides to investigate and drives to shelter Mountain inn, checks into Cabin 12—where Katie and her friends had stayed—finds the videotape, and plays it. she sees static, a chair, a burning tree, a centipede, fingers in a box, and a woman at a mirror who later jumps from a cliff. thursday, day 1: rachel has her ex-husband noah take her picture that shows her with a vastly distorted face. He watches the tape, and rachel asks him to look into its origin. At work she watches it again. friday, day 2: rachel and noah continue their examination of the tape. saturday, day 3: rachel visits Katie’s friend becca in a sanitarium. Watching the tape again on her own, rachel sees a lighthouse and to her astonishment, picks a fly off the screen, a fly that had seemed to be in the film. sunday, day 4: rachel uses the library to identify Moesko island Lighthouse and Anna Morgan as the woman in the mirror. did she commit suicide? Monday, day 5: noah sees his distorted face on a store’s tV monitor. rachel catches Aidan beginning to watch the tape and stops him. in time? tuesday, day 6: rachel learns more about Anna Morgan, a horse trainer. some of her horses mysteriously drowned. on a ferry to the lighthouse, seemingly disturbed by rachel, a horse breaks out of its van and jumps off the ship and is killed by the ferry’s propeller blades. Meanwhile, to find more information, noah breaks in to the psychiatric hospital where Anna Morgan died and finds birth records and

The Ring Two • 245 strange, x-ray-like drawings of horses and people. At the Morgan home, Mr. Morgan tells rachel to let it be. she leaves and finds dr. Grasnik, who reveals that when the Morgan child was taken from the island things got better. back at the Morgan house, rachel finds drawings and watches a tape of Morgan’s adopted daughter samara being interrogated by a therapist. the girl says the pictures she draws just appear. Mr. Morgan comes in and knocks rachel to the floor, picks up the tV and heads upstairs. rachel follows, shouting about Morgan’s treatment of his daughter. He floods the bathroom and electrocutes himself. Later, rachel and noah enter the barn and climb into the loft containing an old tV and assorted toys. Morgan apparently sequestered samara there. behind the wallpaper they discover a tree design similar to the one on the tape. Wednesday, day 7: noah and rachel rip up the carpet in Cabin 12 and chop up the floor. rachel survives a fall into the well underneath, but a hand grabs at her. rachel has a vision of a woman approaching a child at the well, putting a bag over her head, and shoving her in. Was samara insane? “she was still alive,” rachel says to herself. samara floats to the surface and decays in rachel’s arms. rescued by authorities, rachel is told by noah that it’s over, that samara will be buried. noah wonders how long samara stayed alive in the well. “seven days,” replies rachel. rachel retrieves Aidan, and the following day he asks why she set samara free? At noah’s the tV comes on, showing the well in the field. samara emerges, her face shrouded with dark hair, crosses the field, and crawls out of the tV. rachel, feeling something’s wrong, arrives, finds noah in a chair and screams. At home she breaks the tape in fury only to find a copy under the bed. she and Aidan collaborate on watching the tape to find out what samara wants and why they’ve survived. Aidan says samara will never stop and asks, “What about the person we show it to? What happens to them?” Reviews: the New York Times called it “impassive and cold….” it objected to naomi Watts’ unvarying “tight-jawed anxiety….” it promised but failed to deliver the requisite scares (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, october 18, 2002, p. e1); the Hamilton Spectator found it well crafted but “teeters right on the edge of the ridiculous.” it went beyond contrived “into the dizzy realms of the absurd.” (roger ebert, Hamilton Spectator, october 18, 2002). Analysis: the story is definitely macabre although very farfetched. As shanna edwards opined in a 2016 analysis of this Americanized version of Ringu, the “gray rainy backdrop of seattle provided a perfect setting,….” it became a very well regarded remake (shanna edwards, “the ring: A HorrorHound retrospective,” HorrorHound, March/ April 2016, p. 35).

(dreamWorks sKG, 2005; 110 min.) ★★★

The Ring Two

Produced by Laurie Macdonald, Walter f. Parkes. directed by Hideo nakata. screenplay by ehren Kruger. based on the novel The Ring by Koji suziki and the motion picture The Ring by the ring/the spiral Production Group. edited by Michael n. Knue. director of Photography, Gabriel beristain. Kodak Motion Picture film. Prints by technicolor. Music by Henning Lohner, Martin tillman. Production design, Jim bissell. Art direction, Christa Munro. set decoration, Lauri Gaffin. Costumes by Wendy Chuck. special Make-Up effects by Cinovation studios, inc. Visual effects by rhythm & Hues, Hammerhead Productions, inc., and digital filmWorks. Cast: rachel Keller (naomi Watts), Aidan Keller (david dorfman), Max rourke (simon baker), dr. emma temple (elizabeth Perkins), Martin savide (Gary Cole), evelyn (sissy spacek), Jake

(ryan Merriman), emily (emily VanCamp), betsy (Kelly overton), doctor ( James Lesure), samara Morgan (daveigh Chase), evil samara (Kelly stables). Synopsis: Jake asks emily to watch a videotape while he’s out of the room. Agitated over a handprint on his arm, he waits for the two minutes that will determine his fate. A pal on the phone tells him that now emily must find someone else to watch the tape. but emily had covered her eyes and screams when she opens them and sees Jake. Meanwhile, rachel Keller and her son Aidan move from seattle into Astoria, where she’s obtained work at the Daily Astoria to, as she tells Max rourke, have more time with Aidan. When a police report comes in with the news of a young man’s death and a girl hiding in the basement, rachel investigates. sneaking into the ambulance, she zips open the body bag and to her horror but only minimal surprise discovers a distorted face. When she begins to re-zip the bag the body rises up— or does it? Perplexed, she tells herself, “We only made one copy.” she finds emily at the police station, learns the girl did not watch the tape, and wonders where it is. she returns to the house, finds the tape in the machine and drives to the seashore to set it afire. At their new home, Aidan wakes and finds that his remote won’t turn off the tV. A viscous, dark fluid begins flowing across the room and Aidan is pulled into the tV, but it’s a nightmare and one he doesn’t fully describe to rachel. they visit a flea market where Aidan goes into the restroom and takes pictures of a girl in the mirror. driving home, they are attacked by a herd of deer. rachel discovers that Aidan’s temperature has fallen by five degrees. she sees a girl at the wall. When a tree image begins growing up onto the ceiling, rachel flees to her office with Aidan. He tells rachel that she hears everything except when they sleep. Max offers to put them up at his home. While Aidan takes a bath he really doesn’t want, rachel returns to her house for medicine. she finds Aidan’s camera and checks the digital images, seeing that girl in the mirror. At Max’s house, the door to the bathroom closes and water flows out into the hall. rachel arrives, finally gets the door open and discovers water—on the ceiling! it falls. rachel is gripped by the girl, but manages to break free and rush Aidan to the hospital. she shows Max the camera images and explains that samara wants to be Aidan. she asks Aidan’s sleeping form how to help her. He grabs her arm and she has a vision of samara and Anna. dr. temple, a psychiatrist, suspects that rachel is the cause of Aidan’s condition and forces her to leave. rachel goes to the Washington state department of Adoption to determine if samara was adopted. returning to the Morgan house, she finds a realtor who thinks she’s there to buy it. While he’s outside placing signs, she descends into the basement and discovers numerous deer antlers and a book in which someone has drawn a plethora of pictures. it also contains newspaper clippings including one article about a daughter in a bathtub. back at the hospital, Aidan tells dr. temple he wants mommy. He uses his mental powers to make the shrink inject herself, thus incapacitating her while he dresses. Meanwhile, rachel learns about evelyn, samara’s birth mother. she’d said that something came from the water to take the child and she unsuccessfully tried to kill the baby to save it. rachel locates evelyn in a sanitarium. evelyn knew she was coming. others had come before. evelyn said she tried to kill her baby because it told her to. rachel wants to know what she did to deserve this horror. “You let the dead get in,” says evelyn. What should rachel do now? “be a good mother.” Aidan arrives at Max’s house. Max tries to take Aidan’s picture but Aidan tells him not to. When rachel arrives, Aidan calls her “Mommy” rather than his standard “rachel.” Where’s Max? rachel finds him dead in his truck, his face distorted. inside, Aidan tells rachel that she must kill him to send samara away. she wakes up and

246 • RoboCop finds Aidan watching tV. “i never sleep,” he says. she dopes his jelly sandwich with sleeping powder and prepares a bath. she pushes him under and samara rises in the form of water before falling apart. rachel revives Aidan. they hear the tV. investigating, rachel is pulled into the tV and the well she’d previously visited on the Morgan farm. Looking up, she sees that the cover is partially open and begins climbing the jagged wall. samara emerges from the water and follows. rachel makes it out first and closes the cover. “i’m not your fucking mommy!” trudging through a birch forest, rachel comes to the precipice from which Anna Morgan leaped into the sea. she hears Aidan’s voice and comes to her senses and real life. “she’s not coming back,” she says, adding, “Just call me rachel, at least for a while.” Reviews: the Newcastle Herald said “the frights come in mostly obvious places and the plot machinations are tenuous.” the director “has dumbed down for his Hollywood debut by ditching cryptic visuals for special effects flourishes.” ( James Joyce, Newcastle Herald, March 25, 2005). Boxoffice liked its “exorcist” angle, and while the “creepy set pieces … don’t make much narrative sense,…” the thrills were delivered (tim Cogshell, Boxoffice, May 2005, p. 38). Analysis: it’s on a par with the first. the herky-jerky climbing technique of samara in the well is weirdly disturbing, perhaps even hairraising. does it make internal sense? Maybe, but it’s frequently difficult to hear and understand the characters. their faces are turned away, they whisper, talk in low tones. this is especially true when rachel questions evelyn in the sanitarium.

roboCoP see Volume i for RoboCop (1987), RoboCop 2 (1990), and RoboCop 3 (1993).

RoboCop

(MGM/Columbia/strike entertainment, 2014; 108 min.) ★★★

Produced by Marc Abraham, eric newman. directed by Jose Padilha. screenplay by Joshua Zetumer. based on RoboCop by edward neumeier, Michael Miner. edited by daniel rezende, Peter Mcnulty. director of Photography, Lula Carvalho. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Pedro bromfman. Production design, Martin Whist. Art direction, Patrick banister, Gregory s. Hooper, david scott. set decoration, Cal Loucks. Costumes by April ferry. Visual effects by framestone. Visual effects and Graphics Animation by Method studios. Cast: Alex Murphy ( Joel Kinnaman), dr. dennett norton (Gary oldman), Clara Murphy (Abbie Cornish), raymond sellars (Michael Keaton), rick Mattox ( Jackie earle Haley), Pat novak (samuel L. Jackson), tom Pope ( Jay baruchel), Liz Kline ( Jennifer ehle), Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams), Chief Karen dean (Marianne Jean-baptiste), senator Hubert dreyfus (Zach Grenier), david Murphy ( John Paul ruttan), Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow), General Monroe (Matt Cook), Jerry White ( Jordan Johnson-Hinds). Synopsis: on tV’s The Novak Element, host Pat novak extolls the promise of robotic policemen and machines to pacify overseas populations as well as our own criminal elements. senator Hubert dreyfus wants nothing to do with this, fearing it will lead to unforeseen mischief. novak supports detroit-

based omnicorps chief raymond sellars, who has been funding the development and manufacture of nonhuman security services. on the ground, detective Alex Murphy and his partner Jack Lewis find their mission compromised by those they believe to be dirty cops. At omnicorps Headquarters, tom Pope tells sellars and Liz Kline that they must score with public opinion to defuse dreyfus’ objections and legislation against robotic law enforcers. sellars suggests that they put a product on the street that has a conscience. it may be that dr. dennett norton can achieve this end. Meanwhile corrupt cops consult with big time crime boss Antoine Vallon, who gives the go ahead to kill detective Lewis. they also attach an explosive device to Murphy’s car, which causes fourth degree burns over 80 percent of his body and severs his lower spine. dr. norton consults with Clara Murphy about what his techniques can do to save her husband. three months pass and Murphy is awakened and shown what is beneath the suit of armor he now wears: lungs and heart but little else. Murphy says he’d like to die, but norton argues that Clara consented to this, that he’s received a second chance. After various tests and trials, including brain surgery to make him a bit more tractable, Murphy is pitted against weapons expert Mattox and his men. software is reckoned the key to his success. back on the beat, Murphy becomes greatly agitated during uploads and collapses. sellars directs norton to decrease the dopamine in Murphy’s brain, which causes Murphy to act rather like a zombie. sellars tells norton to keep Clara at a distance from her husband. Murphy rides out on his motorcycle, targeting and putting an end to criminals such as John biggs. sellars tells Mattox he will actually oversee Murphy. on The Novak Element, Pat discusses the impending senate vote to rescind the dreyfus Act. back in detroit, Vallon is distressed that he can’t move his drugs with this roboCop on the beat. Clara manages to confront her husband on the street and he slowly begins to understand. His dopamine levels increase. He captures Vallon’s associate Jerry White and learns the location of Vallon’s hideout. Vallon prepares for him with high-powered weapons and infrared glasses, but Murphy triumphs. back at the police station, he identifies the two crooked detectives as well as Chief Karen dean. Mattox shuts Murphy down. on tV, Clara complains about the inhuman treatment her husband has received. sellars’ reaction is to wonder what’s bigger than a hero? Mattox answers, “a dead hero.” norton is summoned and told Murphy will never be a normal man. in the bigger picture, because of

Joel Kinnaman and Abbie Cornish, RoboCop (Strike Entertainment, 2014).

Rollerball • 247 norton’s advances, no policemen will die again. to agree to sellars’ request, norton asks for 10 years of funding and largesse for Murphy’s family. the dreyfus Act is repealed. Kline brings Clara to sellars. norton and his assistant work to wake up Murphy even as sellars tells Clara her husband died from a seizure. norton removes the transmitter in Murphy’s head so Mattox can’t shut him down. Learning that Murphy is headed his way, sellars retires to the omnicorps roof to await a helicopter. He has Clara and david brought up when he hears they are in the lobby. Murphy crashes his motorcycle through the glass into the building and dismantles some of the robot walkers even though he must shoot off his prosthetic arm to free himself from one that’s fallen on him. detective Lewis and his men arrive, and when Murphy can’t shoot Mattox because he’s programmed not to terminate a red Asset, Jack does it for him. on the roof, Murphy tells sellars he’s under arrest, but sellars is also a red Asset. sellars threatens him and his family with a pistol. slowly regaining his humanity and James Caan (left) and John Houseman, Rollerball (United Artists, 1975). power of action, Murphy manages to shoot sellars even as he is wounded. in the lab, Murphy is placed Cast: Jonathan e. ( James Caan), Moonpie ( John beck), bartholoin a new suit, this time a white one. He meets Clara and david. on mew ( John Houseman), ella (Maud Adams), Librarian (ralph The Novak Element, Pat rails against the President’s failure to endorse richardson), Cletus (Moses Gunn), Mackie (Pamela Hensley), repeal of the dreyfus Act. daphne (barbara trentham), executive ( John normington), rusty Reviews: Total Film found this reboot possessed of both big ideas (shane rimmer), Japanese doctor (burt Kwouk). and lighter episodes. overall it was “an exciting, pacey and thoughtful sci-fi actioner.” (richard Jordan, www.totalfilm.com, february 5, Synopsis: in the not-too-distant future, after the Corporate Wars, 2014); Fangoria said it was “not an instant classic like Paul Verhoeven’s humankind is fixated on the game of rollerball in which two teams 1987 original,…” but “succeeds as a confidently told science-fiction race around a slanted indoor track and try to toss a metal ball into an thriller cleverly and intelligently reconceived to reflect modern conaperture. there are rules and referees but much license is granted the cerns.” (Michael Gingold, Fangoria, february 12, 2014). Entertainment contestants. Carnage is expected. Captain of the Houston team, Weekly asked, “Why do a remake of RoboCop that’s only half as good? Jonathan e. is king of the game and warmly congratulated by Mr. … it’s as if the comic-book action poetry of the original has been enbartholomew after their victory over Madrid. He tells Jonathan of the cased in a suit of generic armor.” (owen Gleiberman, Entertainment pending celebration of his 10 years in the game and asks him to come Weekly, february 21, 2014, p. 41); SFX was of an opposite opinion. to his office next day where this hero is nonplussed to learn that the While not a classic like the original, “it is an excellent, intelligent sf board would like him to retire. bartholomew tells him to take a couple drama. it’s one of the boldest Hollywood reboots we’ve seen yet,…” days to decide but he is a bit put out that Jonathan doesn’t jump at (Andrew osmond, SFX, April 2014, p. 92). the opportunity. After all, the Corporations haven’t asked for much Analysis: this is a worthy remake. the battle in the darkened halls from the people. they have security and games. At his ranch, Jonathan at Vallon’s drug warehouse is excellent. the revelation that Murphy brushes off his girlfriend Mackie who’s told him she’s been asked to the man has only lungs and a heart is not for the squeamish. but does leave the residence. Jonathan confides in his trainer Cletus his anxiety the film stick in the memory? in some sense it is cartoonish or, about being asked to retire. Cletus feigns lack of interest. After all, perhaps, simplistic. remember when Michael Keaton was on the other Jonathan has access to the Luxury Centers and a Privilege Card. nevside? “i’m batman.” ertheless, Jonathan pursues his investigation by going to a facility purported to be a library, but the clerk tells him the books have all been transcribed and edited. Possibly Geneva has the actual tomes he seeks. oLLerbALL back at his ranch, Jonathan watches a video recording of a woman, ella. A new woman appears as Mackie’s replacement: daphne. back at their training facility, the Houston team learns about rule changes Rollerball for the next game. there will be no penalties. in private, the manager (United Artists/Algonquin, 1975; 129 min.) ★★½ tells Jonathan it doesn’t matter what he wants. An Asian-looking man arrives and warns the team about the forthcoming tokyo contest in Produced and directed by norman Jewison. screenplay by William which the Japanese will doubtless employ karate and other martial Harrison. edited by Anthony Gibbs. director of Photography, douglas arts techniques. there might be deathblows. Moonpie has no slocombe. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music Conducted by Andre concerns. brute force will carry the day. bartholomew honors JonaPrevin. Production design, John box. Art direction, robert Laing. than with a grandiose party where the Multivision documentary highCostumes by Julie Harris. special effects, sass bedig, John richardlighting his 10-year career mesmerizes the audience. Jonathan again son.

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248 • Rollerball consults with Cletus, who tells him that the executive directory is angry with the old man. “they’re afraid of you, Jonathan. All the way to the top, they are.” bartholomew tells Jonathan not to play again. As partygoers use a pistol to set fire to pines on the back forty, Jonathan demands concessions, chiefly to see his wife ella. bartholomew says he can stop Jonathan from playing in tokyo, but Jonathan prepares to leave for Japan, eschewing the private helicopter to the airport in order to travel with the team. As the tokyo contest looms, bartholomew’s voice intones, “Corporate society is an inevitable destiny.” enjoying a sauna with Moonpie, Jonathan tells himself he’s going to a computer center. As for the upcoming game, he advises Moonpie to stay close. tokyo scores the first goal, Jonathan the second, but he injures his arm. Moonpie, disregarding Jonathan’s warning, finds himself ganged up on and given a horrible jab to the back of the neck, rendering him unconscious. Jonathan goes on the warpath, knocking the helmet off an opposing player and scoring again. some spectators fling themselves onto the track, but the game continues and one of Houston’s motorcycles catches fire, as does the driver. Jonathan visits Moonpie in the hospital, learning that he’s brain dead but refuses to sign a document to detach him from life support. He has him shipped back to the states with Cletus while he continues to Geneva. Meanwhile, bartholomew speaks to the directory about his intransigent competitor. the game was made to show the futility of individual effort. this Jonathan has thwarted. “He must lose.” the unanimous answer from the directory is, “AffirMAtiVe.” in Geneva, Jonathan meets an elderly librarian who rips up a computer card and says the entire 13th century has been deleted. All books have been transcribed but the memory pool known as “Zero” can answer Jonathan’s questions. However, it refuses to say anything substantive about the Corporate Wars, giving out “negative” to the question about the decision makers. the librarian cries, “You have to answer!” and kicks and squeezes it to no avail. back at his ranch, Jonathan greets ella. Her current husband is a city engineer. she has a son and a cat. they ride horses and walk in the woods, and ella tries to convince Jonathan that comfort is freedom. she urges him to get out before…. Jonathan visits Moonpie in the hospital, telling the comatose man that he’s so stubborn it scares him and that he, Jonathan, is probably going to die. Houston vs. new York is the next game, viewed on site by bartholomew. there will be no time limit, no substitutions, and no penalties. the game is as advertised, with Jonathan the last man standing and throwing in the only, winning goal. the crowd goes wild, chanting his name. bartholomew leaves while Jonathan circles the track. Reviews: the New York Times suggested that as satire it would have worked, but it wasn’t satire. “it’s not funny at all and, not being funny, it becomes, instead, frivolous.” (Vincent Canby, New York Times, June 26, 1975, p. 34); TV Movies called it a “disappointing drama…” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies, 1979–80 Edition, new York: signet/ new American Library, p. 584); The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film called it a “mostly dull science-fiction dud,…” with “ponderous classical music.” (Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, new York: ballantine books, 1983, p. 597. Analysis: it’s as simplistic as any other futuristic film of the era— and has the same look. think Logan’s Run (1976). there are many problems. Are the audiences doped up? How else could they be in awe of this less than compelling, rather boring game held in an indoor amphitheater? And the final game: no time limit? did anyone tell the players they’d all be dead or severely injured by the time the last one scored a goal? there are way too many meaningful glances. Yet—the film is important for its prescient view of corporations controlling sport and life. Most significant, perhaps, is the “library” of the future: no books, for they’ve been “transcribed” but whole centuries lost. A

computer, aka “memory pool” is entailed with providing answers but fails to do so. teacher and poet Warren Hope said that in the future there would be no need to burn books. one need only depress a key to make their existence unknown. Rollerball validates this view. Upon viewing it in 2016, Hope said, “i’m doing my bit to keep the memory of the 13th century alive despite the memories of the computers of the future by having my World Lit i students write essays describing the second circle of Hell as depicted in dante’s inferno. even if as the it man in Rollerball said the 13th century was only dante and some corrupt Popes, it deserves its little place in the panorama of the past. Rollerball has the look and sound of a dubbed bulgarian production, no?”

(MGM, 2002; 98 min.) ★

Rollerball

Produced by Charles roven, beau st. Clair, John Mctiernan. directed by John Mctiernan. screenplay by Larry ferguson, John Pogue. based on the short story and screenplay by William Harrison. edited by John Wright. director of Photography, steve Mason. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by eric serra. Production design, norman Garwood, dennis bradford. Art direction, Helen Jarvis. set decoration, Hilton rosemarin. Costumes by Kate Harrington. Visual effects by Pixel Magic, Panopoly, r!ot, digital.Art.Media, Pacific title & Art studio. Cast: Jonathan (Chris Klein), Petrovich ( Jean reno), Marcus ridley (LL Cool J), Aurora (rebecca romijn-stamos), sanjay (naveen Andrews), denekin (oleg taktarov), serokin (david Hemblen), Coach olga ( Janet Wright), english announcer (Paul Heyman), Halloran (Andrew bryniarski), Katya (Kata dobo), Komo (Vitali Makarov), Michael “the Assassin” (Mike dopud), Japanese announcer (toshiro ito), slipknot (themselves). Synopsis: After getting in trouble with the police for devil-maycare toboggan-like skateboarding through the streets of san francisco, Jonathan takes up his chum Marcus ridley’s invitation to join him in rollerball games held in Central Asia. Jonathan soon becomes an audience darling and highly paid competitor. but he’s not keen on the increasingly violent nature of the game, especially the sucker punch to one of the team members that lays the guy out on the track. Jonathan and team captain Marcus discover that the man’s chinstrap had been severed. Jonathan brings this to the attention of impresario Petrovich, who says he’ll investigate. but he and his cronies are really only interested in upping the ante and profits on a game whose worldwide viewership increases the more violence it displays. returning to the locker room, Jonathan finds the haughty Aurora coming on to him. they make love. the team moves on to Azerbaijan, then to Mongolia. Helping save Aurora on her motorcycle leaking fuel and about to explode from a cigarette an opposing team member purposefully dropped on the track, Marcus careens up and over the track. in the hospital, he smiles and says he’s okay, but he’s pretty sure Petrovich is going to kill him and Jonathan. With Aurora’s help, they make for the russian border, but Marcus is shot by one of Petrovich’s henchmen and Jonathan chooses to go back. He makes a deal with Petrovich. He wants a cut of the profits, not the straight $100,000 Petrovich offered. Plus, he demands that no harm comes to Aurora and to have her taken out of the country. Petrovich reneges, trading Aurora to the team that will battle Jonathan’s in a no-holds-barred contest. some of the opposing team has extra sharp scoops and Jonathan is severely injured, but he grabs the rollerball and throws it through the glass at Petrovich,

Movie Title • 249 who stumbles downstairs and unsuccessfully tries to unlock his guns before Jonathan confronts him. the entire arena is in an uproar as they have been informed and can see for themselves that Jonathan was to have been killed. Petrovich is shot by one of his own men, who is then blown away by Jonathan. Aurora finds Jonathan and they seek medical care and her bed. Reviews: the New York Times said it lacked entertainment value and was “just as boring and as obvious…” as the original (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, february 8, 2002); roger ebert called it “an incoherent mess, a jumble of footage in search of plot, meaning, rhythm and sense.” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, february 8, 2002). Analysis: it’s not evident that this takes place in the future, but it’s based on the same short story and the screenplay of the 1975 film. that movie was a masterpiece compared to this, which is all surface pyrotechnics with little explanation of how rollerball became a phenomenon. As before, the game is not compelling and rather stupid, and in this incarnation the viewer can hardly tell who’s winning or what the rules are, probably because there never really are any. this is a film that along with some legal troubles derailed director Mctiernan’s career after the big successes of Predator, Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October.

sCArY MoVie the first entry in this satirical series seems to have no supernatural elements other than a brief reference to The Blair Witch Project.

(Miramax/dimension films, 2000; 88 min.) ★★½

Scary Movie

Produced by eric L. Gold, Lee r. Mayes. directed by Keenen ivory Wayans. screenplay by shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, buddy Johnson, Phil beauman, Jason friedberg, Aaron seltzer. edited by Mark Helfrich. director of Photography, francis Kenny. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by david Kitay. Art direction, Lawrence f. Pevec. set decoration, Louise roper. Costumes by darryle Johnson. Prosthetic & Animatronic effects designed and Created by flesh & fantasy inc. digital Visual effects Created by threshold digital research Labs, in Association with ibM Corporation. Cast: Cindy Campbell (Anna faris), bobby Prinze ( Jon Abrahams), ray (shawn Wayans), shorty (Marlon Wayans), buffy Gilmore (shannon elizabeth), Gail Hailstorm (Cheri oteri), drew decker (Carmen elektra), Greg (Lochlyn Munro), brenda Meeks (regina Hall), doofy Gilmore (dave sheridan), Kenny (dan Joffre), sheriff (Kurt fuller), Principal squiggy (david L. Lander), Miss Mann ( Jayne trcka), Mr. Campbell (rick ducommun), Himself ( James Van der beek). Synopsis: Voluptuous teen drew decker is stalked at her house, run over by her father’s car, and murdered by a knife-wielding person in an edvard Munch “scream” mask. next day, high schoolers Cindy, buffy, brenda and their guys join others at the school to memorialize drew. tV news reporter Gail Hailstorm seeks to make hay from the murder and tries getting news from buffy’s doofus brother doof y Gilmore. Cindy recalls that drew’s murder occurred on the anniversary of a night when she and her chums ran over and killed a man. Although he was not much injured, they were oblivious and tossed him off a dock. Gail grills doofy about drew’s death. in class, Cindy finds

a note: “i KnoW WHAt YoU did LAst HALLoWeen” and when she thinks of making out with bobby, reads a second note: “no bitCH! i’M tALKinG AboUt tHe GUY YoU KiLLed!” the sheriff in Principal squiggy’s office grills Cindy about drew. in the boy’s locker room, Greg finds a Polaroid of himself, namely his small penis. He goes berserk and confronts his pals. He punches and kicks Cindy for suggesting they go to the police. in the “teen beAUtY PAGeAnt,” buffy wears the sash of “Miss fellatio.” she goes into hysterics as she sees Greg being stabbed up in the balcony. she is given rousing applause. in her bathtub, Cindy gets a call from bobby, then two more from the killer. He’s in the house. He chases her around but she thwarts him and calls 911: “White Woman in trouble.” bobby climbs through the window again. He’s carrying a knife and Cindy suspects he’s the killer and is sent to jail. the killer calls shorty before phoning Cindy again. bobby is cleared. A police conference is held. in the girl’s locker room, buffy gets a call. no, it’s for Cindy. the physical education teacher, Miss Mann, warns the girls to stick together. in the locker room, buffy is sliced up and decapitated. in the night, the killer chases Gail into the woods. brenda and ray attend Shakespeare in Love and view a preview of Amistad II. After attacking in the men’s room, the killer takes his seat and stabs brenda. At a wild party at her house, Cindy and bobby make love in her bedroom. Meanwhile, shorty and his comrades welcome the killer, who joins in the rapping while smoking from a bong, then slices up shorty’s pals before finding Cindy and stabbing bobby, who stumbles downstairs after the fleeing girl. shorty arrives and is shot by bobby. He tells Cindy it was only ketchup on his shirt. ray appears, in league with bobby. bobby says he’s gay and starting a new life. He copycatted the serial killer. ray hauls in Cindy’s dad, who’d been roped and gagged. ray stabs bobby to throw suspicion elsewhere. the killer stabs ray in the back, however, and chases Cindy until she gets her mojo in gear and knocks him through the window. Cindy unties her dad. the police wonder where the killer’s body is, and Cindy is taken to the police station. the police had found david Keegan, the guy Cindy and her pals had run over and dumped in the drink. the killer can’t be him. Cindy wracks her brain and comes to the conclusion that it has to be doofy. in fact, doofy has removed his dumbbell disguise and leaves town with Gail. in the street, Cindy and the sheriff find doofy’s pack that contains the murderer’s mask. screaming her anger and frustration to the heavens, Cindy is run down by a car. during the end credits shorty explains how to survive and asks us to wish him luck. He and his chums then grab and run from the convenience store. Reviews: the New York Times considered it a reimagining of the Scream movies “as gross-out comedy.” there were some laughs to be had but they were “the sort you may look back on with embarrassment.” (A.o. scott, New York Times, July 7, 2000, p. e8); roger ebert found it generally fine and said, “All of the usual critical categories and strategies collapse in the face of a film like this.” (www.rogerebert. com, July 7, 2000); Analysis: the obvious, and often coarse, jokes infiltrate this teen gross-out movie poking fun at I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Matrix, The Karate Kid, The Blair Witch Project, and most notably, Scream. there are, of course, some hilarious moments anyone can enjoy, e.g., the killer trying to hide under a carpet and rushing down the stairs to avoid the piano Cindy pushed at him, Cindy’s Karate Kid “crane kick.” Although it’s not supernatural, Porky’s (1981) might have been another inspiration for this film. Scary Movie was so successful it spawned a franchise.

250 • Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 2

(dimension films/Wayans bros. entertainment, 2001; 83 min.) ★★½

Produced by eric Gold. directed by Keenen ivory Wayans. screenplay by shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Alyson fouse, Greg Grabianski, dave Polsky, Michael Anthony snowden, Craig Wayans. edited by Peter teschner, tom nordberg, richard Pearson. director of Photography, steven bernstein. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music supervision, randy spendlove. Production design, Cynthia Charette. Art direction, Cat smith. set decoration, robert Kensinger. Costumes by Mary Jane fort, Valari Adams. Visual effects by Pixel Magic, digiscope. Cast: Cindy (Anna faris), ray (shawn Wayans), shorty (Marlon Wayans), Alex (tori spelling), Hanson (Chris elliott), Professor (tim Curry), theo (Kathleen robertson), buddy (Christopher K. Masterson), brenda Meeks (regina Hall), father Mcfeely ( James Woods), dwight (david Cross), father Harris (Andy richter), Megan Voorhees (natasha Lyonne), Mrs. Voorhees (Veronica Cartwright), Hell House Ghost/Huey Kane (richard Moll). Synopsis: At the Voorhees residence, partygoers sing ribald songs around a piano played by father Harris. suddenly Mrs. Voorhees daughter Megan appears in her nightdress and begins peeing on the floor. Mrs. Voorhees knocks her to the ground. father Mcfeely is summoned but upon his first view of Megan—tied to her bed, her head revolving 360 degrees—tries to exit. father Harris drags him back to perform an exorcism, with everyone eventually spouting bile onto the others. switch to college: Cindy bemoans her lack of gravitas to shorty, who gives her lessons in how to be cool. but she’s not ready for a new relationship with buddy, who then gives her a wedgie. Cindy takes advantage of Professor oldman’s experiment: hanging out in Hell House, one time residence of Hugh Kane. Arriving first at the mansion, Cindy encounters a coarse parrot and Hanson, the weird caretaker who grosses everyone out as he licks and probes the dinner turkey, mixes the potatoes with his deformed hand and coughs on the

dessert. besides the Professor and his wheelchair-bound assistant dwight, the other guests include the hot theo, Cindy’s “friend” buddy, and her former classmates ray, shorty, regina, and Alex. exploring the mansion, Cindy and buddy find a hidden chamber full of papers and books and a portrait of Mrs. Kane. A spirit accosts Alex in her sleep. she likes it. ray fools around with regina. Cindy encounters a black cat with which she engages in a vicious fight. ray gets the upper hand in an altercation with a clown. Cindy reads a journal in bed and, possessed herself, puts the make on the Professor. Meanwhile, shorty is saved by his friends from the giant weed he’d accidentally created. in the kitchen, Cindy reveals what she’s learned about Kane. buddy follows the Professor to the basement and overhears his dialogue with dwight. Upstairs, he upsets the others by telling them a poltergeist may inhabit the manse. theo endeavors to get information from dwight and obtains his keys. the Professor follows a spirit woman to his doom. dwight produces special goggles and pistols to locate and shoot the spirits. Cindy and regina dispose of a skeleton. A falling chandelier kills Alex. the spirit woman comes on to shorty. buddy and Cindy are locked into a pantry. theo and dwight explain things. While battling the Kane spirit, dwight falls from a window. Cindy uses a Caterpillar to break out. in the kitchen, Hanson opens shorty’s brain. theo, Cindy and regina head down into the basement. At the bottom of the steps they find themselves in their underwear and retreat, only to return as a sort of “Charlie’s Angels” trio to confront Hanson. fortunately, dwight has survived his fall. Cindy battles Hanson with a variety of martial arts techniques. dwight tells the others in the main hall that they must lure the ghost onto a special metal platform. Cindy volunteers and at the appropriate moment is knocked off by ray and dwight. Kane is immersed in a bright beam and carried aloft. shorty appears. “two Months Later…” Cindy talks to the parrot she rescued from the mansion and then to her father on the phone. When buddy appears she knocks him down as repayment for all the times she’d suffered like treatment at his hands. outside, the concession man is Hanson, but a car kills him. in his auto, shorty takes advantage of the spirit woman from Hell House. Reviews: slantmagazine.com said the screenwriters “have successfully reduced the film to incoherent sketch comedy.” Much was “an insufferable hodgepodge…” (ed Gonzalez, www. slantmagazine.com, July 2, 2001); The Guardian contended the writers had “exhausted their tiny bag of tricks,…” the first time around (Andrew Pulver, www.theguardian.com, september 7, 2001). Analysis: it’s marginally better than the first. there are three very funny sequences. first, the opening exorcism highlighted when James Woods’ priest sees the possessed Megan spinning her head and stating, “f___k this!” second, Cindy’s knock-down, drag-out fight with the black cat. third, butler Hanson contaminating the dinner with his hand, tongue and mucus. At the end of Scary Movie, Cindy was presumably killed when run down in the street. As critics have noted, there’s no explanation for why Cindy is here none the worse for wear. Casting was upgraded with the addition of Kathleen robertson, tim Curry, Chris elliott and Veronica Cartwright.

(dimension films, 2003; 84 min.) ★★★

Scary Movie 3 Anna Faris (left) and Kathleen Robertson, Scary Movie 2 (Dimension Films, 2001).

Produced by robert K. Weiss. directed by david Zucker. screenplay by Craig Mazin, Pat Proft. based on the charac-

Scary Movie 4 • 251 ters created by shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, buddy Johnson, Phil beauman, Jason friedberg, Aaron seltzer. edited by Malcolm Campbell, Jon Poll. director of Photography, Mark irwin. Color by deluxe. Music by James L. Venable. Production design, William elliott. Art direction, William Heslup. set decoration, rose Marie Mcsherry. Costumes by Carol ramsey. special effects by Amalgamated dynamics, inc. (Gillis/Woodruff Crew); digiscope LLC; yU+Co, Hollywood; riot; Composite image systems; Custom film effects, Kleiser-Walczak; digital film Group. Cast: Cindy Campbell (Anna faris), Mahalik (Anthony Anderson), tom (Charlie sheen), George (simon rex), President Harris (Leslie nielsen), trooper Champlin (Camryn Manheim), brenda Meeks (regina Hall), CJ (Kevin Hart), becca (Pamela Anderson), Kate ( Jenny McCarthy), father Muldoon (darrell Hammond), John Wilson (d.L. Hughley), Agent thompson ( Ja rule), Aunt shaneequa (Queen Latifah), Cody (drew Mikuska), the Architect (George Carlin), orpheus (eddie Griffin), ross Giggins ( Jeremy Piven), Annie (denise richards), sayaman (Ajay naidu), sue Logan ( Jianna ballard), Michael Jackson alien (edward Moss). Synopsis: blonde numbskulls becca and Kate scare themselves silly over mysterious phone calls. After finding Kate, her face distorted, and her head falling from her body, becca is attacked by a figure in the tV. “20 miles west of Washington, d.C.” farmer tom Logan and his brother George track strange voices into the cornfield and find a circle of stomped down corn. from above, the corn has been carved to say, “AttACK Here.” Cindy Campbell, now a news reporter, covers the crop circle story, or attempts to. Her boss wants a strip club expose. she picks up from school her nephew Cody, whose teacher is Cindy’s friend brenda. George arrives to retrieve his niece sue, and Cindy is smitten. George tells them to come to the rap battle that evening. Although white and a seeming doofus, he acquits himself very well but when he pulls up his white hoodie, the pointed top makes him look like a Klansman, and he is tossed out. Meanwhile, Cindy visits brenda, who was scared of a cursed videotape. brenda fakes seizures, nose bleeding, and a burning hand to shock Cindy, but when brenda goes into another room the tV comes on and disgorges a white-gowned girl, her face shrouded in long black hair. they fight to the death—brenda’s. After receiving a phone call that brenda is dead, tom encounters the neighbor who’d crashed into and killed his wife Annie. He recalls the incident. Annie had been sliced in half and the truck was keeping her alive. At brenda’s wake various people, including Mahalik, get the idea that she can be resuscitated. they shock the people in attendance with their miscalculated ministrations. Later, Cindy watches a strange videotape featuring a ring and a woman in black. she receives a phone call with bad reception, the exasperated caller asking, “Can you hear me now?” Mahalik sends Cindy to the psychic, Aunt shaneequa, who watches the video and gets into a setto with the woman on the screen. At Cindy’s house, Cody watches the videotape, followed by another phone call warning Cindy that she has “seVen dAYs” to live. At the Logan farmhouse, tom finds a white-sheeted figure on the floor that rises up as the spitting image of Michael Jackson. they fight each other with tom getting the upper hand and dropping his enemy from the window. only his nose is left behind. on the lawn, tom and George find a kind of Michael Jackson costume and see the cornfield stir. At the station, Cindy considers Cody’s portrait before changing the teleprompter so that newsman ross Giggins announces the presence of an evil videotape. in Washington, d.C., the President is apprised of the possible presence of aliens. Cindy, in the meantime, researches lighthouses, hoping to find the one she’d seen on the videotape. Curlesco island Lighthouse on

the Chesapeake bay looks like it. in residence is the “the Architect,” father of tabitha, the little girl on the video he and his wife adopted. He explains that she was evil and he and his wife drowned her in a well. tabitha had imprinted her evil on the tape. Moreover, recent alien sightings might mean that tabitha summoned them. the Mother teresa Community Awards affair turns violent when President Harris thinks anyone in the room might be an alien in disguise. ross says he’s going to show the videotape to the public at large. Cindy goes to the Logan farm where she, tom, Mahalik, George, Cody and sue barricade themselves in the basement. Using the reflection on a large knife slid under the door, they see aliens. Mahalik, tom and George take shovels and go outside. the President arrives, as do Ufos. the aliens reveal that they too want to find tabitha and break the curse since they’d intercepted the broadcast. back in the basement, Cindy axes open the floor and finds the well from the videotape. tabitha appears and grabs a chainsaw. Cindy counters with a leaf blower before trying to mollify the spirit. Providentially, President Harris accidentally knocks tabitha back into the well. All is well as Cindy and George marry. driving off, they realize they’ve forgotten Cody. they back up and stop just in time to avoid hitting him. However, another vehicle runs him down. Reviews: iGn.com thought that the addition of actors simon rex, Jeremy Piven and Camryn Manheim added some punch to the series. it was “big, dumb fun…” (www.ign.com, october 23, 2003); USA Today said it was the first movie to exploit Michael Jackson’s scariness and an improvement on both predecessors (Mike Clark, http:// usatoday30.usatoday.com, october 23, 2003). Analysis: Another mishmash parody? of course, but the viewer is eager to see what potshots come next. some of the best scenes are the rap-battle and the girl from the tV. it parodies The Ring, Scream, Children of the Corn, the King of Pop, Mother teresa, tV news, alien invasion. it’s tighter and more coherent that the previous two.

(dimension films, 2006; 83 min.) ★★

Scary Movie 4

Produced by robert K. Weiss, Craig Mazin. directed by david Zucker. screenplay by Craig Mazin, Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft. story by Craig Mazin. based on the characters created by shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, buddy Johnson, Phil beauman, Jason friedberg, Aaron seltzer. edited by Craig P. Herring, tom Lewis. director of Photography, thomas e. Ackerman. Panavision. technicolor. Music by James L. Venable. Production design, Holger Gross. Art direction, William Heslup. set decoration, rose Marie Mcsherry. Costumes by Carol ramsey. special effects by Café fX, inc., entity fX, Pixel Magic inc., synthespian studios, inc. Cast: Cindy (Anna faris), brenda (regina Hall), tom ryan (Craig bierko), Henry Hale (bill Pullman), Mahalik (Anthony Anderson), Holly (Carmen electra), ezekiel (Chris elliott), CJ (Kevin Hart), Mrs. norris (Cloris Leachman), oliver (Michael Madsen), shaquille o’neal (himself ), dr. Phil McGraw (himself ), President baxter Harris (Leslie nielsen), rachel (Conchita Campbell), tom Logan (Charlie sheen). Synopsis: basketball legend shaq and tV psychologist dr. Phil find themselves chained in a lavatory. A nasty-looking visage on a monitor informs them they have two minutes to escape. Making a basket will facilitate it, but shaq has difficulty with the three throws until one piece of masonry goes through the makeshift net. they obtain their hacksaws but are perplexed. dr. Phil realizes the saws

252 • Scary Movie 5 won’t sever the chain. shaq says their captor wants them to saw off their feet. dr. Phil makes the mistake of sawing off the unchained foot. Meanwhile, humanity fails to realize it is being watched from space. Puzzled by his high-rise surroundings and three blondes in his bed, tom Logan prepares to commit suicide but is interrupted by the arrival of Cindy, who removes his container of sleep Aid. not realizing this, tom downs a bunch of Viagra pills, which causes his pants to swell. trying to beat back this unwelcome visitor, he falls to his death from the balcony. At the docks, tom ryan falls asleep at his crane and causes a bit of chaos. At a bar he meets up with Mahalik and CJ. Mahalik recalls in his mind his camping trip tryst with CJ. At his home, tom ryan meets up with his ex-wife, who turns over to him his teenage son and younger daughter. Cindy takes a job at City Home Health services, which entails caring for the aging, non-verbal Mrs. norris at her Japanese-style home. Cindy fails to see the floating black stuff on the ceiling or realize that her boss is trying to submerge a strange boy in the bathtub. Looking out the window, she sees brian splitting duraflame logs next door. outside, she is accidentally beaned by brian’s baseball. in her shower, a black hand assists Cindy. she observes the weird male kid and explores the attic after accidentally washing Mrs. norris with bedpan urine. outside again, she is beaned by tom’s football. Cindy reveals her bittersweet days in the boxing ring, especially the time she became responsible for her husband George’s death. she and tom kiss. dark clouds gather, the wind picks up, and lightning strikes. A gigantic iPod-like device arises from the street, followed by triPods—alien killing machines. in bad Japanese, Cindy speaks with the strange boy inhabiting the house. He knows the secret to defeating the invaders: “the answer is within my father’s heart! follow the blood….” she transcribes a red message on the wall and flees the house. she and brian separate. President Harris, attending an elementary school reading program, is informed of the alien invasion. Cindy finds brenda, previously assumed dead, and shows her the notes that are key to stopping the aliens. Mahalik and CJ beat off zombies. brian and his kids have their car stolen. Cindy and brenda discover the commune that may be key to their mission. its leader Henry may be the father of whom the strange boy spoke. Masquerading as members of the community, Cindy and brenda are nevertheless found out and told they may never leave. Henry dismisses ominous sounds in the distance, telling his people that there is a truce with those invaders living beyond their own borders. Meanwhile, President Harris makes a disastrous speech at the U.n. tom and his kids trudge through the woods with others and come upon a battle with the triPods. His son robbie rushes forward to help. A man resembling Michael Jackson provides succor to the little children, including rachel, until she and tom find refuge in the home of a gun-toting man. back at the commune, attacking red-robed figures are unmasked as pranksters. Henry suffers a “heart attack,” i.e., a knife wound from the blind ezekiel. Henry reveals that toshio, his strange-looking son, was accidentally killed during Cindy’s boxing match. When ezekiel knifes Henry again, he expires. in the meantime, tom and rachel learn more about oliver, the man who’d taken them in. He says the aliens must have a weakness and says they’ll build their own triPods—with four legs. but tom and rachel are grabbed up by tripod tentacles, and in short order both Cindy and brenda are dropped into the same chamber and quickly find themselves in the lavatory where dr. Phil and shaq had been sequestered. Given a scalpel by the face on the monitor known as billy, Cindy is directed to excise from behind her right eye the literal key to their survival. it turns out that that eye is false so she extracts the key and unlocks their bonds even as brenda is spun through the wall to meet billy and Zoltar. tom is imprisoned in an iron maiden, but billy, toshio’s real father, has a change of heart when he observes tom’s

selflessness. He calls off the invasion and says anyone can hold a grudge but he can forgive. He’s sorry for killing millions. triPods begin toppling in the city. tom and his kids meet up with his ex-wife, who’s now married to an old coot. tom appears one month later on the oprah Winfrey show and bounces around the stage, shouting, “i love Cindy Campbell!” Cindy arrives and is tossed about. even oprah, who’d been trading good-natured punches with tom, has her wrists broken. Reviews: The Guardian found the series’ “continuing success … as terrifying as any of the movies it claims to parody.” As dimwit Cindy, Anna faris inserted “humour-free gormlessness…” into “weirdly disconnected scenes…” (Andrew Pulver, www.theguardian.com, April 7, 2006); The Blade identified the problem with what should have been a laugh riot not with a “decline in quality, but the fact that audiences aren’t as attentive as they used to be. Scary Movie 4 doesn’t have anything to say about the movies it satirizes because the audience doesn’t see the self-importance in the first place.” (Christopher borrelli, The Blade [ohio], April 14, 2006). Analysis: the specific movies parodied are Saw, Brokeback Mountain, The Grudge, and War of the Worlds. Zombies appear briefly. it’s possessed of some funny segments, notably the shaq-dr. Phil sequestration, and as usual the viewer wants to see what’s next, but it doesn’t live up to its predecessors, especially Scary Movie 3. A unique scene is the urine bath Cindy gives Mrs. norris. is it funny or just disgusting?

(dimension films/Weinstein Company, 2013; 86 min.) ★

Scary Movie 5

Produced by david Zucker, Phil dornfeld. directed by Malcolm d. Lee. screenplay by david Zucker, Pat Proft. edited by sam seig. director of Photography, steven douglas smith. Color by technicolor. Music by James L. Venable. Production design, Clark Hunter. Art direction, timmy o’brien. set decoration, traci Kirshbaum. Costumes by Keith G. Lewis. Visual effects by Atmosphere Visual effects, solid MtL, Laurence berkani, Zoic studios, rez-illusion. Cast: Jody sanders (Ashley tisdale), dan sanders (simon rex), Kathy (Grace Whitton), Lily (Ava Kolker), Aidan (dylan Morris), Maria (Lidia Porto), dr. Hall (darrell Hammond), Ja’ Marcus (snoop dogg), d’Andre (Mac Miller), Kendra brooks (erica Ash), Heather darcy (Molly shannon), barbara Morgan (Heather Locklear), Pierre ( J.P. Manoux), Christian Grey ( Jerry o’Connell), Charlie (Charlie sheen), Lindsay (Lindsay Lohan), blaine fulda (Katt Williams), dom Kolb (ben Cornish), Mal Kolb (Kate Walsh), Mia (sarah Hyland), Martin (terry Crews), Mrs. brooks ( Jasmine Guy), Janitor (Usher). Synopsis: Charlie and his bedmate Lindsay, both wearing law enforcement tracking devices for various infractions, enjoy a night together until an unseen spirit throws Charlie across the room and his apparently possessed companion rises into the air. “Charlie’s body was discovered by police on May 15th. His corpse didn’t stop partying until May 23rd.” the authorities searched for Charlie’s three missing children and out of habit arrest Lindsay Lohan. A narrator tells the audience there is a large reward for finding the children. during a walk, the dudes Ja’ Marcus and d’Andre find a cabin in the woods and the three missing children: two crab-walking girls and the baby. Ja’ Marcus has big ideas for how to use the reward. At the sanders home, Jody is happy to fail her pregnancy test, but finds herself in charge of Charlie’s children because her husband dan is their uncle. Kathy tells Jody she and her siblings want “Mama.” Maria, the superstitious house-

The Shaggy Dog • 253 keeper, blesses the baby. dan works for Martin at the Genetic Primate research Center and his formula i-13 has radically increased the chimp Caesar’s mental faculties. At the sanders home, Jody tells dan how her mother had been obsessed with ballet, and in fact Jody had been born on stage. dan shows her a flyer for the upcoming local production of Swan Lake and urges her try out. Audition she does. the ballet impresario uses the over-the-hill Heather darcy to instruct his charges. night #2: March 9th, 2013: “Mama did it,” says Kathy about the vandalized house. Maria suggests contacting the psychic blaine fulda. dan, meanwhile, installs cameras around the house but injures himself and is taken to the hospital—twice. Kathy warns Jody about an accident during ballet class and advises her not to open the closet door. Jody hesitantly disobeys and finds Maria on the toilet. night #3, March 10th, 2013: nothing happens. that day Jody meets her understudy Kendra as well as the janitor, who shows off his dancing skill. night #4, March 11th, 2013: Again, nothing much. Psychic fulda arrives. He acts shady and in the end is dragged off by an unseen entity. night #5, March 12th, 2013: Partying vacuum cleaners trash the pool area. Maria tries to exorcise the house and is fired but not before engaging in a knock-down, drag-out fight with dan on the front lawn. At the lab, visitors observe Caesar playing chess with three other chimps simultaneously. dan arrives but is followed and attacked by Maria. during the ruckus, the apes get loose and rush into the streets. At ballet rehearsal, Heather antagonizes Jody. At home, Kathy speaks of being visited in a dream. dream extractor dom Kolb arrives and attaches a suitcase-sized machine to Jody, and later to Kathy. Jody dreams of visiting Christian Grey’s playboy pad and watching boxer Mike tyson clobber Grey. At home, she dreams of dom’s wife Mal, and later of a spooky room and an old book with the words “Gort Klaatu barada nikto” inside. she learns that Mama wants to take the children home. Jody determines that the “evil book” must be in a cabin in the woods. Caesar is brought home by dan and Kendra beats him up. night #6, March 13th, 2013: Jody and Kendra go to a bar. dan comes home and sees Lily in a box, but it’s a dream. Kendra accompanies Jody home and online they identify the wicked book and learn of a “woman reading evil book in cabin.” A newspaper headline proclaims, “Missing Children found in Cabin.” they locate the cabin and the young religious folk sharing songs and good cheer. in the cellar they find a book in which is written, “don’t read this!” and “Gort Klaatu barada nikto.” the curse begins, but not for Jody and Kendra. rather, the four upstairs are possessed and begin mangling themselves. Checking the book again, the two visitors find that the curse ends with one word, “AdUndA.” once again, the four upstairs who’d regained a semblance of normality, are possessed, then return to normal, then become possessed when Jody says “Gort…” again. Jody returns home and with dan watches videos of the house. distracted, they don’t see Caesar battling with “Mama.” Caesar is carted off but it transpires that his ape allies masquerading as humans are driving. Jody remembers the cliff in the book. the demon appears. dan and Jody drive to the cliff. she says she loves the girls. Lily saves Jody and Mama falls from the cliff into a hot tub containing a shark during Ja’Marcus’ pool party. Swan Lake is performed, and at Jody’s suggestion Kendra dances the swan queen. Reviews: the Star Tribune said it was “low on coherence but high on slapstick (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], April 11, 2013); Newsday found it “so feeble, so grindingly uninspired that it may set a comedy record: 85 minutes without a single laugh.” (rafer Guzman, Newsday [Melville, nY], April 13, 2013); Cbs (Philadelphia) thought the entire franchise was terrible and that this entry “lived down to the standards set by its immediate predecessor.” (bill Wine, http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com, April 18, 2013).

Analysis: this was one of those films not given a special pre-release press screening, which generally means the studio expects scathing reviews. it deserved them. even at its short viewing time it is virtually insufferable, looking like it was made on the cheap and without much concentrated thought. one can imagine a writers’ roundtable in which everyone threw in everything but the kitchen sink. but with six years between it and its immediate predecessor one would expect jabs at more movies than what it does tackle, which include the Paranormal Activity franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Cabin in the Woods, Evil Dead, and The Black Swan. Although simon rex returns (still a doofus but a different character), Anna faris’ Cindy is missed.

sHAGGY doG see Volume i for The Shaggy Dog (1959) and The Shaggy D.A. (1976).

(Walt disney Pictures/buena Vista, 2006; 92 min.) ★★

The Shaggy Dog

Produced by david Hoberman, tim Allen. directed by brian robbins. screenplay by the Wibberlys, Geoff rodkey, Jack Amiel, Michael begler. based on The Shaggy Dog screenplay by bill Walsh and Lillie Hayward and The Shaggy D.A. screenplay by don tait. edited by ned bastille. director of Photography, Gabriel beristain. technicolor. Music by Alan Menken. Production design, Leslie Mcdonald. Art direction, daniel t. dorrance. set decoration, ronald r. reiss. Costumes by Molly Maginnis. special Animatronic effects by stan Winston studio. Cast: dave douglas (tim Allen), dr. Kozak (robert downey, Jr.), rebecca douglas (Kristin davis), Ken Hollister (danny Glover), Josh douglas (spencer breslin), Carly douglas (Zena Grey), Larry ( Jarrad Paul), Justin forrester ( Joshua Leonard), forrester’s attorney (Anabelle Gurwitch), trey (shawn Pyfrom), dr. Gwen Lichtman (bess Wohl), Lance strictland (Philip baker Hall), Lori (rhea seehorn), baxter (Craig Kilborn), Janey ( Jeanette box). Synopsis: over a rural village in some mountainous country hovers a helicopter, its crew intent on capturing a dog known as the “Ageless Wonder.” in a nearby monastery a boy beckons a sheepdog from amongst the praying monks. As he chases a ball, the dog is netted and captured by the helicopter crew. back in a United states suburb, attorney dave douglas prosecutes Justin forrester for breaking in and setting fire to a research facility. soon douglas will be running for district attorney and likely will receive support from one of his witnesses, dr. Kozak. in the Grant and strictland lab, Kozak shows the wheelchairbound Lane strictland the dog from the monastery. this creature lives seven years for every human year and is thus 300 years old. if they can isolate a certain gene, people might live to 700. Protestors gather outside, including dave’s eleventh grade daughter, Carly. While this transpires, “shaggy” escapes from the lab and is found by Carly and trey, who take him to Carly’s where he promptly bites dave. Animal control takes shaggy away. dave begins talking strangely, dreams of chasing cars, wants to run in the park, and at breakfast plunges his face into the cereal bowl. back in the courtroom, he demonstrates equally odd behavior. While visiting shaggy at the pound he turns into a duplicate and runs off down the street. soon afterward lab techs find shaggy. dave the dog races home, but the kids won’t let him spell out “i AM dAd” with scrabble letters. trying to type on the computer with a pencil in his mouth doesn’t work either because they close the

254 • Silent Hill lid. dave’s wife rebecca puts him in the garage for the evening. in the morning dave is his old self. At the office, he tells Ken he had food poisoning the day before. during a parent-teacher meeting dave feels compelled to rush outside and chase a cat. in the garage overnight, dave becomes human once more and goes to Ken’s house to tell him Kozak is hiding something. but Ken has him taken him off the case. turning into a dog again when he asks a homeless person to toss a stick, dave uses air ducts to enter Grant and strictland and observes Kozak pretending to inject strictland with the blood of shaggy. He’s using a drug to subdue him and make others think he has dementia. by the time he recovers in a few months, Kozak will have reaped the accolades and rewards of discovering the anti-aging substance. At home, rebecca wakes to find dave’s note about explaining things soon. Carly tells her brother Josh their parents are splitting up, but this time dave as shaggy does manage to spell out “i AM dAd” with scrabble letters. Carly realizes that shaggy bit dad. running out the door, dave as shaggy is shocked and kidnapped by Kozak’s lab techs. Kozak wants to run tests to learn how dave changes. dave as shaggy nips Kozak’s finger and he begins scratching his head. the real shaggy indicates he’s from tibet and that meditation might help them. it works; dave becomes human again and with the help of the other animals breaks free. Yet the lab techs once again electro-shock dave. this time the snake and chimp work together to shock the techs and free dave. He calls rebecca and tells her to meet him at the courthouse. He gets Ken to reinstate him on the case and calls Kozak back to the stand where he becomes agitated during under questioning about genetic mutation. Using a policeman’s club, dave has Kozak fetch it—and grow a tail. He is arrested. dave plans a trust fund to help the lab animals, and on the courthouse steps he tells rebecca they’ll vacation in oahu. it is there, before returning to tibet, shaggy shows his surfing skills. Reviews: The Blade commented upon family movies in which amazing occurrences have little effect on the people involved, finding it weird that “the characters and the world they live in have grown so jaded to astonishing sights you can’t even get a decent bug-eyed spittake anymore.” Moreover, “there’s not a surprising moment,…” (Christopher borrelli, The Blade, March 10, 2006); Boxoffice called it a “wannabee franchise…” and “a competent slab of PG entertainment that hits a target set way too low” (Mark Keizer, Boxoffice, May 2006, p. 46 [r-45]). Analysis: As usual in modern, family-oriented fantasy films, little logical explanation is offered, in this case for the transformation of dog to man and vice versa. (turning into a dog because a stick is thrown?) Also typical in such films is that criminality controls the plot. of course there’s the cliché of a husband realizing he should pay more attention to his wife and children. that said, the target audience fond of dr. dolittle probably enjoys it. Adults will find it amusing until the last third or so, when it goes off the rails. for instance, lab techs shocking dave and agreeing with Kozak that murder is fine with them, and shaggy surfing at the end. this might be the nadir of robert downey, Jr.,’s career before being resurrected as Iron Man in 2008.

siLent HiLL (tristar Pictures/davis films, 2006; 126 min.) ★½

Silent Hill

Produced by samuel Hadida, don Carmody. directed by Christopher Gans. screenplay by roger Avary. based on the game created by

Konami. edited by sébastien Prangère. director of Photography, dan Lausten. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by Jeff danna. Production design, Carol spier. Art direction, elinor rose Galbraith, James McAteer. set decoration, Peter nicolakakos. Costumes by Patrick tatopoulos, Wendy Partridge. Makeup by Paul Pattison. special effects, Laird McMurray film service. Cast: rose dasilva (radha Mitchell), Cybil bennett (Laurie Holden), Chris dasilva (sean bean), dahlia Gillespie (deborah Kara Unger), sharon dasilva/Alessa ( Jodelle ferland), Anna (tanya Allen), Christabella (Alice Krige), officer thomas Gucci (Kim Coates), sister Margaret (eve Crawford). Synopsis: Where’s sharon? Her mother rose dasilva rushes from her house and hauls her child back from the brink of a waterfall as sharon cries, “silent Hill!” back home, dad Chris tells rose they’ll find a way through this. rose tells sharon she sleepwalks. the two doze under a tree before driving off. Chris can’t raise rose on the phone while he views on the web “Ghost towns of America,” including silent Hill, West Virginia. At a gas station and convenience center, rose finds that the road no longer goes through to silent Hill. on the phone with Chris, it is learned that sharon is adopted. rose continues on and is pulled over by a female motorcycle cop, but rose speeds away when she sees a cut-off to silent Hill. she skids, bangs her head and wakes up in a snow shower. Where’s sharon? rose runs up to the sign, “Welcome to silent Hill.” in the abandoned town she follows a child running across the street. A siren wails. it becomes inexplicably dark, and rose uses a lighter to guide her way. Hideous child-like forms appear and grab at her before flaming out. she faints. in the daylight, rose finds herself in a bowling alley with Johnny Cash’s “ring of fire” playing on the jukebox. it’s still snowing. she runs up the street to a jagged cliff. A scraggly woman tells her, “We’ve all lost our children.” Meanwhile, a mechanic tells Chris he has not seen his wife but talks about coal fires burning underground. back at silent Hill, rose returns to her sUV, leaves a message for Chris on her cellphone, and tries unsuccessfully to start the vehicle. the female policewoman, Cybil, shows up, handcuffs rose, and says she’ll find the child. they begin walking away from silent Hill. Chris can’t get to the town because officer Gucci stops him at a bridge and explains that they’ve found his wife’s sUV. back outside silent Hill, Cybil encounters the precipice. they spot a figure beyond a fence on their side: a weird human-like creature that menaces them and is shot by Cybil. rose runs back into town, gets her handcuffed hands around to her front and locates the Midwich elementary school. she finds a flashlight. Meanwhile, Chris and Gucci drive through town. Chris learns that in 1974 there was a fire that killed many townsfolk whose bodies were not found. that was the end of silent Hill. rose rambles about the school and chases after a girl. in the lavatory she finds a hideous body strung up in barbed wire and flees from a crawling monstrosity. Chris and Gucci enter a dilapidated building. Chris tells Gucci he felt his wife’s presence. Cybil arrives; they survive a giant blade, and find young Anna. trailing along with them, Anna talks of refuge in the church. Chris breaks into the brahams Archives and examines 1974 files. He finds a photo of the girl who looks like his daughter sharon— Alessa. Anna talks of witch hunters. rose discovers room 111 behind a large painting and jumps across a chasm to the next building. she sees a crouching, crying girl who could be sharon’s twin. the girl raises her arms and begins to burn. Anna warns Chris that darkness is coming and they must shelter in the church. dahlia appears and warns them not to go inside. A monster tears up Anna. inside, Christabella appears. she is the leader. back at the toluca County orphanage, Chris can learn nothing about his child from sister Margaret. Gucci

Silent Hill: Revelation • 255 speaks of fanatics messing up that girl thirty years ago. He wants Chris to go home. Christabella asks rose and Cybil how they got there? she says that faith is the only truth. she sees sharon’s portrait in rose’s locket and calls her a witch. rose is sent down in an elevator to confront the demon while Christabella’s groupies beat Cybil. in the bowels of the building, rose eludes faceless monsters and walks into a brilliantly lit chamber, encountering Alessa. scenes at the orphanage are recounted. Christabella is termed evil. Alessa was burned. “i am the reaper,” says Alessa. Her satisfaction—revenge. rose seems possessed by the girl. Upstairs, Christabella prepares to cleanse sharon, who saw Cybil immolated. rose arrives, tells the people Christabella was wrong, there was no apocalypse, and Christabella has sinned. Christabella stabs rose, who falls and spews out blood that expands and destroys the pyre. A bed holding a hideously burned figure rises from the pit. tentacles emerge and Radha Mitchell, Silent Hill (Davis Films, 2006). grab Christabella and her followers. Alessa climbs from the pit. the healed rose tells J. bassett. screenplay by Michael J. bassett. Adaptation, Laurent Hasharon not to look, but she opens her eyes briefly and sees a smiling dida. based on the game created by Konami. edited by Michele ConAlessa. next day dahlia is found alive. rose takes sharon to the sUV roy. director of Photography, Maxime Alexandre. Panavision. techand leaves silent Hill. At home she observes Chris asleep on the couch, nicolor. Music by Jeff danna, Akira Yamaoka. Production design, but he can’t see her. Alicia Keywan. Art direction, Anthony ianni. Costumes by Wendy Reviews: roger ebert extolled the visuals but what about the diaPartridge. Makeup by sabine fevre. Visual effects by Mr. X inc. Crealogue, the needless back-stories, and the townsfolk who “are dead, i ture design, Patrick tatopoulos. guess.” (www.rogerebert.com, April 20, 2006); The Daily Record Cast: Heather Mason/Alessa (Adelaide Clemens), Vincent (Kit found the set design “enough to freak out an unsuspecting audience.” Harington), Harry Mason (sean bean), Leonard Wolf (Malcolm Mcthe videogame’s “distinctive mood mostly survives its transfer.” (Alan dowell), Claudia Wolf (Carrie-Anne Moss), douglas Cartland Morrison, The Daily Record [Glasgow, scotland], April 21, 2006, sec(Martin donovan), dahlia Gillespie (deborah Kara Unger), red tion: features, p. 50); the New York Times said, “the plot would take Pyramid (roberto Campanella), rose dasilva (radha Mitchell), a half day to describe,…” packed as it is with ghosts, witchcraft, and travis Grady (Peter outerbridge). religious fundamentalism (nathan Lee, New York Times, April 22, 2006); the Winnipeg Free Press bemoaned a continuing big-screen Synopsis: Pursued by hooded beings, a young woman races across trend of turning videogames into movies. even able director Gans carnival grounds and begins to burn up. no, it’s a dream. Harry Mason, couldn’t complement the praiseworthy visuals with a decent story the woman’s dad, consoles Heather, says the dreams will fade once (Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, April 22, 2006). they settle into their new home. but Harry is stabbed from behind. Analysis: notwithstanding Mortal Kombat (1995), this might be no, that’s a dream. At breakfast, Harry presents the soon-to-be 18the worst movie inspired by a videogame. the background explaining year-old Heather with a sleeveless white jacket for her birthday. After sharon’s condition and rose’s mission to Silent Hill is superficial. At Heather leaves for school, Harry retrieves a box with documents and two hours plus, the film is too long and way too complicated. rose photos. in the mirror, he sees his missing wife rose, who says she’s often runs around, shall we say, stupidly? What’s with crossing those trapped there and that he should protect Heather because they will metal beams with hardly any reconnaissance? effects are fine but nothcome for her. After rose dissipates, Harry sees the child sharon. she ing we’ve not seen before. Music, or rather sound effects, is good and wonders what happened. on the street, Heather watches a homeless ghoulish. radha Mitchell and sean bean deserve better. What are we man transform into something hideous. A man tells her he thinks he to make of Alice Krige’s big screen career? she makes a fine spook in knows her. At school, Heather tells her new classmates that she won’t 1981’s Ghost Story, basically disappears from our ken until she essays be around long. in the hall after class, students disappear. Heather the deliciously seductive but eminently dangerous borg queen in sees a small girl being harassed in one classroom and an armless crea1996’s Star Trek: First Contact, fades away again, and resurfaces here. ture coming toward her. then—normalcy. Vincent, another new student, tries to ingratiate himself with her. outside, Heather sees that man who thought he knew her and calls Harry to say she’s being folSilent Hill: Revelation lowed. Waiting to meet Harry in the mall, Heather observes balloons (open road/davis films, 2012; 94 min.) ★½ that read “Happy birthday Heather” on one side, “Happy birthday Alessa” on the reverse. the strange man corners her and says he’s Produced by samuel Hadida, don Carmody. directed by Michael

256 • Silent Hill: Revelation cent’s goggle-masked guardians. Heather helps him escape and learns Martin, a private investigator hired to track her down by “the order.” that the amusement park leads to the sanctuary. Vincent argues that He calls her sharon but can’t explain much else because he’s attacked Heather’s father would want her to leave, to be safe, but she says if you and carried off. Heather flees to the police and sees Martin’s body love someone you never give up. the park comes alive. Vincent exrolled out on a gurney. in her bloody black leather jacket she finds a plains that the goggle-men are “the brethren” who believe breathing note for “sharon dasilva/Heather Mason.” Vincent catches up with the air would destroy them, which is exactly what happens when her. she leaves Harry a voice mail. despite telling him she sees strange Heather pulls the mask from one. on the carousel, Heather meets creatures, Vincent says she’s “goofy fun.” At her home, “CoMe to Alessa, who says she gave Heather life to live her own dreams. she is siLent HiLL” is painted on the wall in blood. she and Vincent extold that Harry is not her father. Heather cries, “Go to Hell!” but Alessa amine the contents of the strange box, including a medallion with a says they are already there. the carousel sinks into the ground as missing side, also a pistol. the police arrive and Heather and Vincent Heather grabs Alessa. they are one and Alessa disappears in flame. flee. He drives while she opens the “for sharon” envelope that urges Heather finds Harry and Claudia and asks, “What do you want from her not to go to silent Hill. the man her father had killed was a me?” Claudia says, “You have delivered us.” And, “You are the savior.” member of “the order.” they enter West Virginia and learn that silent Vincent is there. they won’t let Harry go, his blood will feed the newHill was originally a prison colony built on native American ground. born god, according to Claudia. Heather was chosen to resurrect the According to Vincent, religious zealots ran the town for the past one god, which would let these people cleanse the world. When Heather hundred years, waiting for a child who would help in the resurrection lets her touch the seal, Claudia becomes a demon and battles the man of their god. Alessa is the child who could summon demons. Crossing in the pointy iron mask until she is decapitated. As Heather, Vincent a bridge, they come to Jack’s inn and spend the night. Vincent advises and Harry leave the town, they notice that the ashes have stopped against continuing on. Heather dreams of Alessa and mayhem. When falling. dad is not so sanguine about the state of affairs, telling Heather she wakes up she says they can’t go any further. Vincent reveals that he must stay and find rose. Heather and Vincent thumb a ride with he is a child of the order whose task was to find Heather. Yes, some a trucker. Passing them on the way to silent Hill are cop cars and a silent Hill residents can leave for a time. the order can’t be free until bus. Ashes commence falling again. Alessa is destroyed. Heather is required to make that happen. Heather’s Reviews: the New York Times said it “reduces its human players to dad is kept below ground. they need the other half of the medallion, plastic action figures in tired genre settings.” there was some clever which Vincent says can be had via his crazy grandfather Leonard. Vinuse of 3d for bloodletting sequences (Andy Webster, New York Times, cent is attacked, Heather knocked out. she awakes on the floor and october 26, 2012); the Winnipeg Free Press observed “considerable takes the medallion and pistol. outside, ashes fall as she walks down atmosphere” but complained that Adelaide Clemens wasn’t allowed the road into silent Hill. People stare at her from windows, a bell to be “a smart, funny, intellectually lively character….” the film resounds, and a church appears in the mist. Heather passes men on pyres and in her mind sees the burning. she encounters Alessa’s mother, sembled many “Canadian dramas: it’s joyless and dour.” Was that any who tells Heather she’s special, she could survive the fire, but that only way to celebrate Halloween? (randall King, Winnipeg Free Press, ocleads to their damnation. Alessa did not die in the flames but suffered tober 26, 2012, section: Movie reviews, p. d5); Newsday said it was and was filled with rage. Her powers grew. she placed her remaining “in a league of its own” as far as an impenetrable plot went. the chief culprits were an “incoherent script and plodding direction.” (rafer good element into the orphan child—Heather. only she feels love. Guzman, Newsday [Melville, nY], october 28, 2012). the order thus has a way to destroy Alessa. Heather can’t save her Analysis: A plethora of convenient contrivances to move the story father without damning herself. As darkness falls, Heather hides in a room of mannequins. A naked woman on a table is transformed into a mannequin. Heather finds a young woman of her own age but in flight from a multiheaded spider-thing, that woman is dragged away. Meanwhile, Vincent confronts his mother, Claudia. Harry is shackled nearby. Vincent is sent to the asylum to be “cured.” Heather emerges from the air duct at brookhaven Asylum where she finds Vincent’s uncle, the blind Leonard Wolf, in cell s12. He tells Heather that Claudia is more corrupted than he. Heather gives him the medallion, which he inserts into his flesh to connect with the other half. He transforms into a demon and Heather’s bullets have no effect. He knocks her down but she extracts the medallion and he explodes. Arms from cells grab at Heather until the metal-headed humanoid arrives with his axe and lops off their appendages. Heather escapes into another labyrinth and sees Vincent on a gurney. the faceless nurses kill VinKit Harrington and Adelaide Clemens, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (Davis Films, 2012).

Sinister • 257 along make for a supremely frustrating film. for example, Vincent’s spiel that silent Hill residents can get out for a while. We know his mission, but what of the others who get out on leave? do they take joy rides or track other girls for their ceremony? no, that can’t be it. How about “the brethren,” the goggle-masked men who stupidly roll Vincent into the room of deadly nurses? that’s just a way to have the nurses create more destruction. it’s sharon/Heather they want. What really is the point of all this? Anyone could make it up, cobble together a storyline to move the players from A to Z and create grotesqueries of various stripes to frighten the audience. in a way, there is too much explanation this time, which actually is a revelation that the whole affair is crazy. As with the first in the series, this could single-handedly wreck the witchery/child possession subgenre. it certainly makes a good case for ceasing production of such movies. Heather’s needling of Vincent sums up such films: “How can you live like this? this darkness. those creatures.” needless to say, the students in Heather’s class all look too old to be there.

sinister Sinister

(summit entertainment/Alliance films, 2012; 110 min.) ★★★

Produced by Jason blum, brian Kavanaugh-Jones. directed by scott derrickson. screenplay by scott derrickson, C. robert Cargill. edited by frédéric thoraval. director of Photography, Christopher norr. technicolor. Production design, david brisbin. Art direction, John el Manahi. set decoration, sarah dennis. Costumes by Abby o’sullivan. Visual effects by fUse fX. Cast: ellison oswalt (ethan Hawke), tracy ( Juliet rylance), sheriff (fred dalton thompson), deputy ( James ransome), trevor (Michael Hall d’Addario), Ashley (Clare foley), e.M.t. (rob riley), Anchor (tavis smiley), reporter ( Janet Zappala), stephanie (Victoria Leigh), bughuul (nick King), Professor Jonas (Vincent d’onofrio). Synopsis: As true crime writer ellison oswalt, his wife tracy and his children Ashley and trevor are moving into a Pennsylvania ranch

Ethan Hawke, Sinister (Summit Entertainment, 2012).

house, the sheriff arrives to vent his displeasure over a past book that did not depict the police favorably and might have cost people their lives. After the sheriff leaves, ellison considers the tree in the backyard before going into the attic and finding a box of home movies and a projector. His wife tracy tells him she hopes this new book will succeed like Kentucky Blood. in his office, ellison posts photos of a dead family and begins showing himself the movie featuring a family hung on a tree limb. He jots down questions such as “Who made the film?” and “Where’s stephanie?” Another movie shows a family fishing, then a woman and man bound and their mouths taped over. Creaking in the attic interrupts the “Pool Party ’66” movie. He finds trevor in a box and beginning to scream. it seems trevor has had similar spells previously. the boy doesn’t recall the incident next day. returning to the pool party film, ellison watches family members strapped to chairs and pulled into the water. further investigation reveals a strange visage in the water. the film breaks but ellison uses Google to show him how to fix and transfer it to his Mac. After the first day of school, tracy argues with trevor about drawing on the classroom white board four people hanging from a limb. Continuing to watch the home movies, ellison spies a door on which a strange symbol has been drawn. He recalls the 1998 “st. Louis family Murders” and that Christopher Miller went missing. the lights go out and he takes the flash—and a knife—to investigate. He climbs the attic steps and sees a snake. inside a shoebox lid he finds drawings of a family and a “Mr. boogle.” Paramedics are called after he falls through the floor into the hallway. the police deputy stays behind and asks if he can help ellison in his literary project in exchange for mention in the Acknowledgments. ellison agrees and asks for the street address of the family murdered in st. Louis. ellison watches his own tape of an interview in which he said justice, not fame and fortune, was what he wanted from his work. returning to his Mac to inspect the home movies, he spots a face or something in the woods. the next day he fails to see the picture of a strange man move on the monitor but does recall hands on his shoulders when he was in the attic. that night the projector is found running with the hanging family on the screen. from the window, ellison thinks he sees someone in the bushes and goes out with his flash and a bat. He finds trevor and carries him inside. When he returns for his flash a vicious dog appears. He does not see the murdered family members behind him. tracy argues that they should leave, but ellison maintains that this is his big chance, his In Cold Blood. the deputy drops off some documents, and ellison tells him the murders seem ritualized, not those of a serial killer. only one child was taken from each of the murdered families. the deputy directs ellison to Professor Jonas. by remote hookup, Jonas explains that the symbol on the door is an ancient babylonian pagan deity known as bughuul, a creature who consumed the souls of children. When the projector begins running again on its own, ellison is walking around the house, oblivious to the children shadowing him. in her room, Ashley sees a girl put her finger to her lips to indicate silence. tracy discovers that this house was where the tree hangings took place and confronts ellison, who tells her that writing is what gives his life meaning. surveying the attic again, ellison encounters bughuul and recoils into the hall. the projector falls to the floor, and ellison burns it and the movies in the backyard. He tells tracy they must leave—now. the sheriff pulls them over for speeding but omits a ticket when he learns they are going for good. At their new huge home, ellison enters the attic and once again finds films and a projector. He threads the film. the deputy phones to provide disturbing news about the families that had been massacred and where they’d lived. it seems the ellison family fits into the killer’s timeline. Watching the hanging family movie again, ellison sees stephanie enter the

258 • Sinister 2 frames and play beneath the dead people. He collapses, foaming at the mouth and wakes with his mouth shut and his arms bound. Ashley appears with an axe. “don’t worry, daddy. i’ll make you famous again.” the hall is covered with drawings in blood, and bughuul takes Ashley into a picture. Reviews: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it “made me jump, slightly, twice and gave me goose bumps twice, which is more than most movies.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, october 12, 2012); screenrant.com praised character development and its “‘found footage’ rarely disappoints.” on the other hand, any observant moviegoer would note the predictability of some scenes as well as the modern tendency to have children conduct the nastiness (ben Kendrick, www.screenrant.com, october 12, 2012). Analysis: some therapists find it disturbing for contemporary society that children are often portrayed on screen as maniacal, and this film does nothing to assuage their fears. the film is a warm-up of sorts for Hawke, who also defends his home—and doesn’t survive—in the following year’s The Purge. one anticipates with some glee tracy’s conniption over learning that her new home was the scene of the crimes ellison was investigating. Keeping bughuul at arm’s length is appropriate. Having his visage move on the Mac screen behind ellison is a nice touch, a little thing that causes a chill. it is reminiscent of the tiny-sheeted figure in Paranormal Activity 3—a little thing but as capable of producing terror as a “jump scare.”

(Automatik entertainment, 2015; 97 min.) ★★½

Sinister 2

Produced by Jason blum, scott derrickson, brian KavanaughJones. directed by Ciarán foy. screenplay by scott derrickson, C. robert Cargill. based on characters created by scott derrickson and C. robert Cargill. edited by timothy Alverson, Ken blackwell, Michael trent. director of Photography, Amy Vincent. fotokem. Music by tomandandy. Production design, bill boes. Art direction, Merje Veski. set decoration, erika Hood. Costumes by stephani Lewis. special effects by Legion studios, temprimental films. Cast: deputy so-and-so ( James ransome), Courtney Collins (shannon sossamon), dylan Collins (robert daniel sloan), Zachary Collins (dartanian sloan), bughuul (nicholas King), Clint Collins (Lea Coco), dr. stromberg (tate ellington), Milo (Lucas Jade Zumann), Peter (Caden M. fritz), father rodriguez ( John beasley), ted ( Jaden Klein), emma (Laila Haley), Peter (Caden M. fritz), Catherine (olivia rainey), state trooper shermer (Howie Johnson). Synopsis: temporarily living on a farmstead near the abandoned Westminster Church with his brother Zach and mother Courtney, young dylan Collins has horrific dreams and pictures a ghoul-like figure in his closet. Milo, a boy of similar age, appears at night and convinces dylan to watch home movies of families being tortured and killed. Milo says one per day will prevent dylan from having his dreams. the former deputy who gathered information for writer ellison oswalt arrives, intent on burning down the farm until he discovers that Courtney and her boys are in residence, more or less on the lam from her abusive husband Clint. When Courtney determines that the visitor is harmless, she invites him to stay for dinner, and later, after they’ve had a few drinks, to sleep on the couch before he leaves to visit dr. stromberg. the former deputy had proven his worth by staring down a state trooper and Courtney’s ex who was trying to take the boys without a court order. At night dylan is enticed into the basement by Milo to watch the “Kitchen remodel” home

movie in which the parents are electrocuted. in the morning at dr. stromberg’s office, the ex-deputy is shown a ham radio that plays sounds from a norwegian family’s ordeal. back on the farm, Zach, jealous that Milo ignores him, beats dylan. Milo shows his favorite movie, his own: “sunday service.” A family is strapped down, upside down kettles affixed to their midsections and rats placed inside to eat their way out. Zach is now welcomed into the group. Milo says, “You did what we needed you to do.” the boys’ father arrives with documents and tells Courtney they can be a family again. she goes with him to protect the boys but at their first dinner watches the violent side of her ex when he smashes mashed potatoes into dylan’s face. When the deputy comes along, Clint beats him and tells him never to come back. dylan texts the deputy: “Help us.” Zach manages to subdue his father, mother, and dylan, securing them on posts in a cornfield. He succeeds in setting fire to Clint, but the deputy saves Courtney and dylan, and they flee a scythe-wielding Zach, ending up in the house where the spirit children help Zach find them. but bughuul locates him, places his hand on his shoulder and causes him to decay as the house itself starts to burn. the deputy, Courtney and dylan watch from outside before driving to the deputy’s motel to gather up his things. the ham radio is unaccountably there and the face of bughuul materializes. Reviews: Variety called it a dumb and lame retread (Andrew barker, www.variety.com, August 19, 2015); rogerebert.com found it close to being good but overall “an ungainly combination of two different narratives.” (simon Abrams, www.rogerebert.com, August 20, 2015). Analysis: the sets are few: city church, farmstead, cornfield, and suburban home. Counting bughuul, there are only five major adult characters, two children. there are several shocking scenes, e.g., a boy appears in bed next to dylan, alligators leap from the water to snap onto victims hanging head down. the most unsettling element of the movie involves the issue of using children as characters who savage people and watch gruesome scenes of murder and torture.

snoW WHite Snow White and the Three Stooges (Chanford, 1961; 107 min.) ★★

Produced by Charles Wick. directed by Walter Lang. screenplay by noel Langley, elwood Ullman. based on a story by Charles Wick. edited by Jack W. Holmes. director of Photography, Leon shamroy. Cinemascope. Color by deluxe. Music supervised and Conducted by Lyn Murray. Art direction, Jack Martin smith, Maurice ransford. set decoration, Walter M. scott, Paul s. fox. Costumes by renie. special Photographic effects, L.b. Abbott, emil Kosa, Jr. Cast: snow White (Carol Heiss), Moe (Moe Howard), Larry (Larry fine), Curly-Joe ( Joe derita), Queen/Gypsy Matilda/Witch (Patricia Medina), Count oga (Guy rolfe), Hordred (buddy baer), King Augustus (edgar barrier), Prince Charming/Quatro (edson stroll), Captain (Peter Coe) Synopsis: the Queen of fortunia dies, leaving the citizens bereaved and the King alone to raise his child, snow White. At the behest of his people, the King remarries, but this new Queen loves to look into the mirror and be considered fairest of them all. to the Queen’s chagrin, snow White becomes a lovely young woman, an ice skater and favorite of the people, and thus a threat. in league with Count oga, after the King dies the Queen plots to increase her power and

Mirror Mirror • 259 sequesters snow White in a cell. beyond the castle the handsome Quatro shows the three stooges his ventriloquist abilities. they take him aside to explain things of which he is unaware, namely that when he was a child they saved him from a throttling at the hands of the giant Hordred. bumping his head, Quatro never remembered that incident from his youth. the Queen, meanwhile, wants snow White dead and Hordred is told to drive her into the woods and kill her. He cannot commit the dreadful deed and tells snow White to flee. After entangling herself in the undergrowth and being menaced by a large wild cat, she takes refuge in an empty cottage, falls asleep and is found by the stooges and Quatro. At the castle, Hordred gives Count oga a small chest he says contains snow White’s heart. on his way out of the royal quarters, oga inspects Quatro and the stooges and is satisfied they just might provide suitable entertainment for the Queen. the Queen discovers that the chest contains not snow White’s heart, but that of a pig. it’s the torture chamber for Hordred, who admits to letting snow White flee and says that when he was to have tossed the youth Prince Charming into the river three mountebanks waylaid him. the Queen sends a detachment to the cottage. Apprehending danger, the stooges and snow White hide in the woods while Quatro, thinking he has nothing to fear, greets the guards and is arrested. in the castle an old woman who’d been the young Prince’s caretaker tells the Queen the Prince has a crescent birthmark on his chest. this Quatro has. He is taken to the dungeon. the stooges enter the castle and overcome the three bakers, taking their place to infiltrate the keep and release Quatro. Quatro is wounded by an arrow and presumed dead. the stooges overhear the Queen asking about snow White. escaping, Curly-Joe grabs Count oga’s sword. two guards sympathetic to Quatro find that he breathes and carry him to safety. At the cottage, the stooges grab up snow White and race away in their carriage, eluding the Queen’s men and shoving the carriage into the sea to pretend all were killed. When more guards appear on horseback, Curly-Joe wishes they could be carried to the highest mountain peak in the world. this occurs. snow White realizes Curly-Joe has Count oga’s sword of Power. He wishes for a nice warm home and they are transported to such. Moe admits that Quatro has been killed. outside, snow White imagines skating with her dead love. At the castle a distraught Queen asks the mirror if she remains the fairest one. no, snow White yet lives and is fairer. the Queen tells the mirror she has no rancor against snow White and would like to know where she is. the mirror shows her. “How to get my hands on her?” the Queen asks herself and makes Count oga mix a potion that changes her into a witch, complete with flying broom. in the meantime, the recovered Quatro rouses the citizens and leads an attack on the castle. in a swordfight with Count oga, the sorcerer is forced over the battlements into a vat of boiling oil. At snow White’s cottage, the Queen/Witch appears in the guise of an old gypsy woman. snow White takes a bite of a proffered apple and falls into a deep sleep. returning from a hunting trip, the stooges see the witch overhead, engage her in conversation and inadvertently but happily make a wish that causes her to crash and burn. the stooges find snow White and place her on a palate. A wish on the sword doesn’t revive her. Using the magic mirror to locate snow White, Quatro, now King, hurries to the stooges’ home, and his heartfelt pleas revive the Princess to whom he’d been betrothed as a child. Reviews: the New York Times called it “pictorially lavish, beautiful and tasteful from start to finish.” (Howard thompson, New York Times, July 1, 1961, p. 9); TV Movies called it a bomb and when the stooges weren’t around—and that was often—“rather stodgy. even kids won’t be thrilled with it.” (Leonard Maltin, ed., TV Movies: Special Edition Prepared Exclusively for Movie Book Club Members, new York: signet, 1969, p. 426).

Analysis: it’s for children and a fan of figure skating as Heiss was the 1960 olympic women’s champion. the cinematography is topnotch, which is no surprise what with Leon shamroy behind the camera. shamroy was for many years a fixture at fox. in two years he’d film Cleopatra and win his fourth Academy Award. some of the action is also good. the film suffers from too few scenes with the stooges but there are compensations in Patricia Medina’s malicious Queen and Guy rolfe’s evil but not unlikable Count oga. He is not so perfidious as his Prince Grigory in 1962’s Taras Bulba, when he betrayed Yul brynner’s freedom fighter and had his arm chopped off in retaliation. A point should be scored for the use of “mountebanks” and “clodhoppers.” edson stroll had been a bodybuilder but did have a career in film and, mostly, tV. it’s a trifle too long.

(relativity Media, 2012; 106 min.) ★★

Mirror Mirror

Produced by ryan Kavanaugh, bernie Goldmann, brett ratner, Kevin Misher. directed by tarsem singh. screenplay by Marc Klein, Jason Keller. story by Melissa Wallack. edited by robert duffy, nick Moore. director of Photography, brendan Galvin. Panavision Color by deluxe. Music by Alan Menken. Production design, tom foden. Art direction, nicolas Lepage, Jean-Pierre Paquet, real Proulx. set decoration, Jille Azis, Martine Kazemirchuk, daniel Hamelin. Costumes by eiko ishioka (“in Loving Memory of eiko ishioka”). special effects by Prime focus india, tippett studios, rodeo fX, barXseven VfX, Modus fX, newbreed Visual effects, Mokko studio, Comen VfX. Cast: snow White (Lily Collins), the Queen ( Julia roberts), Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer), brighton (nathan Lane), butcher (Martin Klebba), baker Margaret (Mare Winningham), King (sean bean), baron (Michael Lerner), napoleon ( Jordan Prentice), HalfPint (Mark Povinelli), Grub ( Joey Gnoffo), Grimm (danny Woodburn), Wolf (sebastian saraceno), Chuckles (ronald Lee Clark). Synopsis: “once upon a time…” the King’s daughter snow White lived in a happy kingdom, but her mother died in childbirth. the King sought a new mate to raise his child. When invaders roamed the surrounding countryside, the King left his favorite dagger with snow and road off never to be seen again. ten years passed and…. snow’s 18th birthday is at hand but her stepmother the Queen could care less. she is told her realm is destitute, partially from taxes to fund galas. Her attendant brighton suggests merging kingdoms. At this time Prince Alcott and his attendant are approaching through the forest. However, they are waylaid by what seem to be giants but turn out to be seven dwarfs on stilts. in the castle, the kitchen’s baker Margaret, who’s polished it for her birthday, gives snow back her dagger. Meanwhile, the Queen makes her way to two nondescript dwellings floating on the lake to consult her magic mirror, which urges her to marry someone rich. in the forest, snow finds Prince Alcott hanging from a tree and cuts him loose before continuing her little adventure. brighton presents Prince Alcott to the Queen, who plans a great ball. More taxes will fund it. snow encounters the poor townsfolk before returning to the castle, crashing the ball and asking the Prince for his help. the Queen is furious that snow showed herself, but snow tells her she is the rightful leader of the kingdom. the Queen orders brighton to kill snow in the woods, but brighton tells snow her father was a good man and lets her live, showing the Queen various meats to prove snow was killed. in the woods, snow wakes surrounded by seven dwarfs. she tells them she’s the King’s daughter and they agree

260 • Snow White and the Huntsman to let her spend one night there. Abroad to collect more taxes, brighton is ambushed by the dwarfs who when they return to their lair find that snow has prepared a lovely dinner. she tells them their loot is actually the people’s gold and that she will stand up for them. she returns the money to the townsfolk and insists that the dwarfs are the true heroes. back at the castle, the Queen and the Prince dine alone. He is informed that snow is dead. brighton tells the Queen the taxes have been stolen. the dwarfs train snow in swordsmanship, urging her to use her sweet look to advantage and employ deception to win. snow soon gets the chance to prove her mettle when the Prince arrives and doesn’t recognize her in her hunts-woman garb. they engage in a duel, trading barbs until the dwarfs vanquish the Prince’s men. once again the Armie Hammer and Lily Collins, Mirror, Mirror (Relativity Media, 2012). Prince returns to the castle in a state of undress. the Queen revisits the mirror and is told that if she uses magic to fulfill her desires Snow White and the Huntsman there will be a price to pay. she gives the Prince a love potion; only (Universal, 2012; 127 min.) ★★½ it’s a Puppy Love potion that makes him act like a dog. nevertheless, he agrees to marry the Queen. snow is sad to hear it. the mirror queen Produced by sam Mercer, Joe roth. directed by rupert sanders. sends two nasty puppets against snow and the dwarfs but their strings screenplay by evan daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini. are severed. the Queen’s wedding is to take place in a pavilion on the story by evan daugherty. edited by Conrad buff, neil smith. director ice. snow plans to leave the kingdom but the dwarfs intercede. they of Photography, Greig fraser. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by crash the wedding before the Queen arrives and once more take the James newton Howard. Production design, dominic Watkins. Art guests’ clothing. snow abducts the Prince and the dwarfs sense a spell. direction, John frankish, stuart rose, Andrew Ackland-snow, Alastair finally snow resorts to the kiss of true love and it works. Yet a “beast” bullock, oliver Goodier, david Warren. set decoration, fainche Macstalks them, a dragon of sorts wearing the necklace of the Queen. Carthy. Costumes by Colleen Atwood. Visual effects by double negWhen snow uses her dagger on the necklace the dragon becomes the ative, the Mill, bluebolt, [HY*draul’LX], Lola/VfX, baseblack. King. the Queen pays the price for using magic and ages. the King Cast: snow White (Kristen stewart), ravenna (Charlize theron), presides over the wedding of his daughter and the Prince. A cloaked the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), William (sam Claflin), finn crone appears and gifts snow with an apple, but she refuses to eat it. (sam spruell), beith (ian Mcshane), Muir (bob Hoskins), Gort (ray “Age before beauty. it’s important to know when you’ve been beaten. Winstone), nion (nick frost), duir (eddie Marsan), Coll (toby Yes?” the mirror opines, “so it was snow White’s story after all.” Jones), Quert ( Johnny Harris), Gus (brian Gleeson), duke Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor said director singh disreHammond (Vincent regan), King Magnus (noah Huntley), Queen garded plot and narrative for “extraordinary visual imagination….” eleanor (Liberty ross), Mirror Man (Christopher obi), Greta (Lily the affair was erratic and confused by the insertion of elements from Cole), Anna (rachel stirling), Lily (Hattie Gotobed), snow White Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast (Andy Klein, Christian Science as a girl (raffey Cassidy), ravenna as a child (izzy Meikle-small), Monitor, March 30, 2012, pn.PAG); the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ravenna’s mother (Anastasia Hille), finn as a child (elliot reeve). thought it took itself too seriously. As snow White, Lily Collins “overplays the sweetness and underplays her metamorphosis.” (barbara Synopsis: “once upon a time…” a princess had a daughter, snow Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 30, 2012). White, who was adored by the kingdom, but a harsh winter left the Analysis: Who is the audience for this retelling of the fairy tale? mother dead. A dark army then appeared, vanquished by the King teens? of exactly what age? there are a good many asides and remarks who rescues from seeming captivity the beautiful ravenna. However, of modern mien that would go over the head of young children. the on their wedding night she complains, “i was ruined by a King like violence is bloodless. nathan Lane’s mission to play the woodsman you once” and “Men use women.” she stabs him and lets her brother entailed with killing snow is, well, not going to be serious. overall it’s finn and her soldiery enter the castle. snow White witnesses the carpretty shallow but maybe on the surface fairy tales are shallow? it’s nage and unsuccessfully tries to flee with her friend William. A large also a trifle boring for adults. Creepy scene: the Queen rising from mirror is brought to ravenna, who asks, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, the lake. who’s the fairest of them all?” the mirror becomes liquid gold and

The Huntsman: Winter’s War • 261 turns into a hooded figure that announces that ravenna is fairest. With that, the land and hope die. snow White is imprisoned in the tower. Years pass and a young woman is incarcerated in a nearby cell. two men trying to ambush a supply train are captured and brought to ravenna, who has completed her life-giving immersion in milk. the younger stabs her but to little effect and is killed by her invisible power. staring into the mirror, she tells her brother her power fades, but he presents her with Greta, from whom she takes youth. the mirror tells her that one has come of age who is fairer: snow White. ravenna plans to take her heart and gain immortality. snow uses a rusty nail to slash finn and flees the castle through a chute into its underbelly. from a rocky cliff, she leaps into the ocean, scrambles ashore and finds a white stallion. After visiting a destitute village, she is chased across a blasted heath by finn, ending in a mire where the stallion bogs down. nor can finn cross and snow enters a forbidden land of bugs, misty figures, bats, and grasping trees. back at the castle, ravenna shows her frustration at having no power in the dark forest. she tells finn to find someone who can hunt snow. in the village, finn comes upon a drunken huntsman who agrees to track the girl in exchange for the restoration to life of his late wife. “A life for a life,” states ravenna. snow is captured but when the huntsman hears finn say no one can raise the dead he takes snow and absconds. snow makes a deal with the huntsman: 100 gold pieces to help her. At the duke’s castle it is learned that the Princess lives. William, young snow’s friend, learns of her predicament after ambushing ravenna’s minions and joins finn’s party. the huntsman instructs snow in protecting herself and conducting a lethal knife thrust. Attacked by a troll, snow cowls it. Coming to a marshland, snow and her companion discover women in small boats who take them to their lakeside huts. the men are gone to the wars. the huntsman becomes cognizant that his charge is the Princess, snow White. the village is attacked and set afire by finn. the huntsman takes snow away. back at the castle, the aging ravenna recalls a blood spell that protected her. in the forest a group of dwarfs capture snow and the huntsman. When snow says, “My father was King Magnus,” a dwarf responds, “i see an end to the darkness.” the dwarfs, snow and the huntsman flee finn and his riders, passing through a cavern into a luxuriant world of fairies where the next day snow encounters a white stag that bows and blesses her. A dwarf says, “she is life itself. she will heal the land. she is the one.” but an arrow pierces the stag, which rears up and dissipates. finn chases snow but the huntsman impales him on a jagged tree trunk. back at the castle, ravenna goes into convulsions. When the dwarf Gus takes an arrow and dies, snow is given his sword and fealty promised her. William, now divesting himself of ravenna’s minions, says he regrets not finding her sooner. she understands, saying they were only children, and reveals that she feels but sorrow for ravenna. taking an apple from William, she falls ill. this William is ravenna’s creation. the huntsman wakes the real William as ravenna turns into a flock of crows. At the duke’s castle, snow’s body lies in state. the huntsman kisses her and leaves, not realizing snow has taken breath. As William argues with his father that they should leave the protection of the walls and attack ravenna’s castle, snow appears. “i can kill her,” she tells the courtyard crowd. Accoutered in heavy armor, snow leads the army forth and directs the dwarfs to the chute from which they emerge and raise the portcullis. As the duke’s men invade the courtyard, ravenna looks down with disdain from above. snow gains the keep and confronts her nemesis even as William, the huntsman and their men battle the Queen’s demonic humanoids. At first ravenna has the advantage. “You cannot defeat me!” but snow manages to thrust her dagger home. only by fairest blood is the spell undone and bloods drops onto snow’s breastplate. ravenna crouches below the mirror, aging

Charlize Theron’s evil Ravenna emerges from her rejuvenating bath, Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal, 2012).

and expiring. snow gazes into the mirror, seeing only herself. As she is crowned Queen, she observes in the crowd a cleaned-up huntsman smile knowingly. Reviews: The Guardian equated it with Mirror Mirror in its attempt to fix what wasn’t “broken: the poignant clarity of snow White being betrayed by a non-mother and then having to be a quasi-mother to seven little people. that is far too babyish and needs to be sexed up, or rather teen-abstinenced up. the result is tangled and overblown.” (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, May 31, 2012); Rolling Stone considered it vastly superior to Mirror Mirror and said Kristen stewart morphed successfully “from a skittish girl into a determined warrior princess.” However, director sanders dropped the ball “just when the story starts cooking.” the film was “definitely a missed opportunity.” (Rolling Stone, June 21, 2012, p. 85). Analysis: it’s larger and darker than Mirror Mirror but is similarly only fair. Upon reflection, one realizes it was made to attract an adolescent teen, especially female, audience—Kristen stewart’s admirers from the Twilight series. this militates against a truly edgy, bloodier and perhaps more erotic film—and r rating, which would be anathema to the studio seeking maximum profits. A big flaw is that this snow White is most definitely not more beautiful than the wicked Queen. Another is that everybody has an attitude. there are needless conversations that make it too long. We know what’s going down. some scenes are needless, as when ravenna is circled by a swirling mass of birds. there seems a definite attempt to mimic the ambiance of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, what with the trekking across scenic countryside (ireland and england’s Lake district), the music with dwarf song, the dwarfs themselves, the troll, the bogs. some of the dialogue is ripe for parody, e.g., “death has favored you.” Question: why did William join finn? He couldn’t have searched on his own? it’s primed for a sequel in that snow White is not marrying her prince but eying a spruced up Huntsman during her coronation.

The Hunstman: Winter’s War (Universal, 2016; 114 min.) ★★½

Produced by Joe roth. directed by Cedric nicolas-troyan. screenplay by evan spiliotopoulos, Craig Mazin. based on characters created

262 • Species by evan daugherty. edited by Conrad buff iV. director of Photography, Phedon Papamichael. deluxe color. Music by James newton Howard. Production design, dominic Watkins. Art direction, Andrew Ackland-snow, John frankish, Jourdan Henderson, James Lewis, Luigi Marchione, tom Whitehead. set decoration, dominic Capon. Costumes by Andrew Hunt. Visual effects by double negative, Pixomondo, the Mill, digital domain. Cast: eric/Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), ravenna (Charlize theron), freya (emily blunt), sara ( Jessica Chastain), nion (nick frost), Gryff (rob brydon), Mrs. bronwyn (sheridan smith), doreena (Alexandra roach), Leifr (sam Hazeldine), tull (sope dirisu), William (sam Claflin), Pippa (sophie Cookson), Young eric (Conrad Khan), Young sara (niamh Walter), Young tull (nana Agyemanbediako), Young Pippa (Amelia Crouch). Synopsis: before eric the Huntsman was enlisted by snow White to save her kingdom from ravenna, that evil woman had gained her domain by killing the king. Her sister freya fell in love with a man betrothed to another and they planned to marry in secret outside the castle. Arriving in the park, freya spied a fire in the turret where the child they’d spawned was in its crib. freya rushed back only to discover the baby dead, the father apparently the murderer. freya lost faith in love and took a retinue to the north, where she created a kingdom of ice with herself as “the ice princess.” sending her soldiers to conquer adjacent lands, she had boys and girls kidnapped and given training in the martial arts. Grown to adulthood, they were sent forth as Huntsmen to further expand freya’s realm. eric and sara were among these children. besides carrying out the bloodshed, their only debt to freya was to renounce love. nevertheless, eric and sara fell in love. found out, they were free to consummate their love if they could fight their way to each other through other Huntsmen. When their prowess indicated success, freya threw up an ice wall between them. through the ice eric saw sara stabbed to death. He was tossed into a river. seven years passed during which time eric, who survived the currents, helped snow White defeat ravenna. now it is learned that the Magic Mirror has been stolen on its way to a realm known as sanctuary. Albeit reluctantly at first, eric takes on his journey the dwarfs nion and Gryff, who think they can help track whoever stole the mirror. When accosted by freya’s loyal Huntsmen, eric survives when sara appears and beats off the attackers. she’d like to kill eric as well, telling him he left her when they’d vowed never to separate. He can’t make her realize freya had tricked them. reluctant compatriots, they and the dwarfs are pulled into the air in a net constructed by the feisty female dwarfs bromwyn and doreena, who soon agree to join in the search for the mirror. eric is informed that goblins are probably the culprits and after crossing a rope bridge and passing dead goblins, sees the mirror. A huge goblin attacks. the dwarfs grab the mirror, draping it so it can’t cast a spell, while eric and sara fight the goblin. eventually eric breaks its neck, but other goblins arrive. eric pushes sara ahead of him across the bridge, stopping to chop the cords. Almost killed, he pulls himself up on their side. on the verge of sanctuary, freya and her Huntsmen confront eric and sara. doreena and nion are turned to ice and sara ordered to launch an arrow into eric, which she does. After freya leaves, Gryff and bromwyn pull the arrow from eric’s chest. He is alive, saved by the medallion he’d told sara he never removed. He realizes she intentionally aimed her arrow at that. she never missed. in freya’s palace, she uses the mirror to restore ravenna to a semblance of life. eric and his dwarfs arrive at the castle. bromwyn and Gryff enter disguised as the captive children while eric scales a rocky outcrop and leaps across to a roof within the castle walls. the arrow he looses at freya is caught by ravenna. some of the Hunts-

man’s allies join eric and sara. freya again creates an ice wall between herself, ravenna and the Huntsmen. Arguing with her sister, freya learns that ravenna caused the death of her child because the Mirror had indicated it would grow more beautiful than her. freya battles ravenna, is finally impaled by one of her sister’s tentacle-like black spikes, but has enough life to freeze the Mirror. eric it shatters it with his axe, and ravenna breaks in pieces. Victory is won but is it really the end of the story? Reviews: The Hollywood Reporter thought it modestly entertaining, the costumes fabulous, but there was nevertheless “something ineffably dispiriting about it.” (Leslie felperin, www.hollywoodreporter. com, April 4, 2016); the News Journal said it “plays musical chairs with focus and tone.” it skimped on sets compared to Snow White and the Huntsman (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal 55HRSPlus [Wilmington, de], April 22, 2016, p. 3Hr); Analysis: not that Snow White and the Huntsman was all that compelling, but it had more going for it. this is indeed a bit deficient in sets. one wouldn’t expect Jessica Chastain in this action-fest, but like benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange—and before that as Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness—it seems that everyone wants or is talked into climbing on the superhero/fantasy bandwagon. in various articles Viggo Mortensen reveals that he took on the character of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy because his son urged him to. the salaries are probably tempting as well.

sPeCies (MGM, 1995; 111 min.) ★★★

Species

Produced by frank Mancuso, Jr., dennis feldman. directed by roger donaldson. screenplay by dennis feldman. edited by Conrad buff. director of Photography, Andrzej bartkowiak. Color by deluxe. Music by Christopher Young. Production design, John Muto. Art direction, dan Webster. set decoration, Jackie Carr. Costumes by Margo baxley. Computer display Graphics and special effects by Mann Consulting, Alex Mann, Harold Mann, eric bigas. Visual effects by boss film studios. sil designed by H.r. Giger. Cast: Xavier fitch (ben Kingsley), sil (natasha Henstridge), Press Lennox (Michael Madsen), stephen Arden (Alfred Molina), dan smithson (forest Whitaker), Laura baker (Marg Helgenberger), Young sil (Michelle Williams). Synopsis: At U.s. Government Labs, fitch directs technicians to pump cyanide into a sealed enclosure in which a seemingly adolescent female has been confined. but this female breaks out and escapes the compound. she lives on the run, stealing clothes, food and money— and aging and periodically transforming into a hideous, tentacled creature. fitch enlists the aid of various experts in their fields to track what is actually an alien creature created from dnA directions received from space in 1993. Press provides the muscle for the eggheads whose job is to destroy “sil” before, as Laura observes, she mates and births deadly offspring. Press says that “she’s the cure, we’re the disease.” dan realizes that sil is an amoral predator after finding bodies she’s left in her wake and warns the team that she’s not afraid of them. in fact, she tracks them and mates with the unsuspecting Arden, killing him after copulation. Laura warns that sil could reproduce at any time and who knows how many eggs will hatch? tracked into the L.A. sewers, sil kills fitch, sequesters herself and gives birth to what outwardly is a normal

Spider-Man • 263 human baby. that infant grows incredibly fast and transforms into another sil alien. others are birthed as well. Press, dan and Laura kill them all, or so they think. A rat that ate a piece of a dead alien discharges an incredibly lengthy tongue, gobbles up another rodent and…? Reviews: the New York Times said there were some “mordant scenes…” and the director “keeps the film moving. but there is only so much suspense he can generate from this stock story and familiarlooking special effects.” the sil was reminiscent of the gut-buster in Alien (Caryn James, New York Times, July 7, 1995, p. C3); Video Movie Guide 1997 gave it a “Good” rating, said it was fun for its intended audience, but faulted plotting and characterization (Mick Martin, Marsha Porter, Video Movie Guide 1997, new York: ballantine books, 1996, p. 1008). Analysis: it’s a whizz-bang ride, maybe a little too fast with characters often too nonchalant about what’s transpiring and neglecting to take extra precautions. At the end, the three human survivors think they’ve killed all the aliens. really? they didn’t check every corner of those sewers, didn’t call in the flame-thrower squad to cleanse them. if scarlett Johansson’s man-devouring alien of 2014’s Under the Skin resembles sil to some degree, Species owes its own heritage to other sci-fi films, from Alien to The Terminator (for example, “You’re terminated, motherfucker!” becomes “Let go, you motherfucker!”). sewers are always good locations—and here sometimes resemble the ducts tom skerritt and sigourney Weaver traversed on the Nostromo in Alien. there should have been more background on the team. these days we know all about “behavioral analysis units.” How much did we know in 1995? disturbing: the scenes of the sil creature … in the zygote?

(MGM, 1998; 93 min.) ★½

Species II

Produced by frank Mancuso, Jr. directed by Peter Medak. screenplay by Chris brancato. based on characters created by dennis feldman. edited by richard nort. director of Photography, Matthew f. Leonetti. Color by deLuxe. sound, steve nelson. Music by edward shearmur. Production design, Miljen Kreka Kljakovic. Art direction, Mark Zuelzke. Costumes by richard bruno. special effects, steve Johnson XfX, inc. Visual effects by digital Magic. original species design, H.r. Giger. Cast: Press Lennox (Michael Madsen), eve (natasha Henstridge), Patrick ross ( Justin Lazard), dr. Laura baker (Marg Helgenberger), dennis Gamble (Mykelti Williamson), Colonel Carter burgess, Jr. (George dzundza), senator ross ( James Cromwell), Cromwell (Peter boyle), Anne sampas (Myriam Cyr), darlene (Kim Adams), dr. orinsky (baxter Harris). Synopsis: in Mars orbit, the spacecraft Excursion disgorges a lander. After collecting soil samples, Commander Patrick ross returns to the mother ship. before landing on earth, the three- person crew experiences a seven-minute blackout—immediately after viscous goo emanated from soil sample cylinders and flowed toward the cockpit. on earth a man in an asylum cries that he told them not to go. elsewhere on earth, dr. Laura baker deals with “eve,” a clone of the murderous alien sil. eve seems tractable but is kept imprisoned. eve wonders if she is only a lab animal, but Laura tells her she took this job to make sure she’s not. Meanwhile, the Excursion crew is feted, especially Commander ross, scion of senator ross. the Commander is a ladies man and sometimes has two at once, and in one of his copulatory escapades begins transforming into a hideous monstrosity. one of his mate’s abdomen swells and bursts. eve senses these events. ross guides two

young children to an isolated barn and soon after tells his father that he knows something’s wrong and he’s scared. the senator says he’s just spoiled. in a lab, a container breaks, releasing a goo that flows to the wall. soon dr. orinsky is killed. Colonel burgess presses press Lennox, who with dr. baker had dealt with the original sil, into service. “Press, we’ve got another fuckin’ alien on the loose.” A million tax-free dollars is an inducement. At the Garberville Psychiatric institute, Cromwell reveals to Press and Laura that a billion years ago aliens from the Magellanic Cloud visited Mars and destroyed its life. He warns that the military has its own agenda. but Colonel burgess accepts Laura’s concerns and says, “test Patrick first.” they can’t find him. Anne, the female astronaut, gives birth to a grotesque being as Press and Laura, who freezes the woman and the alien that has withdrawn inside her. Astronaut Gamble, on the other hand, has no contaminated alien blood because, as learned later, he has a genetic flaw the alien can’t handle. Meanwhile, ross blows off his head after finding his girlfriend dead at his hands. from below the porch, Gamble witnessed the suicide—and the regeneration of ross’ head! ross goes on a whore-hunting rampage to produce more alien “children” he secretes in the barn. Laura is worried about a chrysalis stage that leads to adult aliens. there is a move to “wake up” eve’s dormant alien genes so she can track ross. she wants to help and sees what ross sees. After abducting a woman in a supermarket, ross is captured by Press and Gamble and seems totally at ease with being taken to the lab, where eve is in heat. ross escapes. Laura thinks she has the solution—infect the aliens. senator ross finds his son at the old barn and says he’ll take him to Johns Hopkins, but Patrick kills him. eve tells Laura she won’t help capture ross. in the barn, ross assists the children enter the chrysalis stage, hanging from the rafters in pulsating cocoons. eve breaks out and regenerates after being shot. Press and Laura track her to the old ross estate and find the chrysalises. eve and ross mate. the ross creature endeavors to infect eve via a tentacle into the mouth but is killed after Press uses a pitchfork tainted with Gamble’s blood. the eve creature’s alien body returns to her human form. Gamble is Medevac’d out. A cat jumps on eve’s body and sees one of the “children.” eve’s body begins to erupt. Reviews: the New York Times called it “a blood-drenched, headblasting, leaden-footed, logic-bashing sequel…” (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, April 11, 1998, p. b13); VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever summed it up with a rhetorical question, “Can they please stop making this movie again?” (Craddock, Jim, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever, farmington Hills, Mi: thomson Gale, 2007, p. 840). Analysis: it’s almost silly, more so than the first. it’s intimated that the military has ulterior motives, like creating sil soldier creatures. this is a steal from Aliens, of course. (As noted, Hollywood loves to insert add needless subplots and complications in already compelling stories.) the human characters this time out are hardly quick on their feet— literally, taking valuable time to get anywhere. You just knew they’d have an ending setting up a third film, but that didn’t happen. it’s a shame. there is good stuff here, but execution and logic are missing.

sPider-MAn (Columbia/Marvel enterprises, 2002; 121 min.) ★★★½

Spider-Man

Produced by Laura Ziskin, ian bryce. directed by sam raimi. screenplay by david Koepp. edited by bob Murawski, Arthur Coburn.

264 • Spider-Man director of Photography, don burgess. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, neil spisak. Art direction, tony fanning, scott P. Murphy, stella Vaccaro. set decoration, Karen o’Hara. Costumes by James Acheson. special Visual effects by sony Pictures imageworks. Additional Visual effects by digiscope, Pixel Magic. Additional suit and Mask design by Alec Gillis and tom Woodruff, Jr. Cast: Peter Parker/spider-Man (tobey Maguire), Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten dunst), norman osborn/Green Goblin (Willem dafoe), Harry osborn ( James franco), ben Parker (Cliff robertson), May Parker (rosemary Harris), J. Jonah Jameson ( J.K. simmons), Maximilian fargas (Gerry becker), Joseph “robbie” robertson (bill nunn), Henry balkan ( Jack betts), flash thompson ( Joe Manganiello), General slocum (stanley Anderson), dr. Mendel stromm (ron Perkins), Hoffman (theodore raimi), bone saw McGraw (randy savage), betty brant (elizabeth banks), Wrestling promoter (Larry Joshua), the burglar (Michael Papajohn), Cop ( Joseph d’onofrio), Wrestling announcer (bruce Campbell). Synopsis: slightly geeky new York City high school senior Peter Palmer lives with his Aunt May and out of-work Uncle ben. He has eyes for his literal girl-next-door Mary Jane Watson, but she’s dating big lunk flash thompson. before entering a museum on a field trip, Peter is introduced by his upper-class chum Harry osborn to his father norman, scientist and owner of oscorp. inside the museum Peter points out to Harry that the atrium’s electron microscope is the largest on the east coast. Mary Jane is more interested in the spider exhibit and notes that one of the genetically enhanced arachnids is missing. in fact it has spun a web above Peter, drops down and bites his hand. Meanwhile, at oscorp, norman tries to convince his military backer General slocum that his performance enhancer does work. fearing loss of his contract to Quest, norman tests his drug on himself, entering a compartment and using the green serum CX.00009 to unleash a green mist. Afterward he loses control and kills his assistant. next day Peter discovers that his body is more toned and shortly thereafter that he can produce and shoot webs across the room. Harry finds his father on the floor of his office. Assistants tell norman his assistant was murdered. in the school cafeteria and hall, Peter dismantles bully and MJ’s beau. outside in an alley, he finds he can climb a wall it with ease, create very long web strands and swing between buildings. He meets MJ and they talk about the day’s events. scanning the car ads

Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man (Columbia, 2002).

in the newspaper, Peter sees a model he might just buy if he can stand three minutes in the ring with wrestler bone saw McGraw, and in secret he creates a costume. Uncle ben drives him into town, thinking Peter is going to the library. Peter brushes off his uncle’s advice about becoming a man. Having created a blue and red outfit, he enters the wrestling venue and to his dismay is introduced by the announcer of what turns out to be a cage match as “spider-Man” rather than his preferred “the Human spider.” He wins the match but can’t collect the $3,000 because he was only in the ring for two minutes. Chagrined, he watches disinterestedly as a thief steals the promoter’s money. Waiting for his uncle outside, Peter sees a crowd gathering. they’re looking down at ben, victim of a carjacking. His uncle dies and Peter tracks the killer, cornering him in an abandoned building. before he can decide whether to kill him himself, the thief trips and falls through a window to his death. At home Peter and May console each other. As his alter ego, norman flies on a large hover board to the Quest test site and fires flame that kills the scientists and General slocum. Peter, Harry and Mary Jane graduate. Harry introduces his dad to Peter. Harry sees MJ break up with her bully boyfriend. newspaper articles begin to appear with such titles as “Masked Man foils robbery,” “Gunmen found trapped in Goo,” and in The Daily Bugle, “WHo is sPider-MAn?” J. Jonah Jameson, head honcho at The Daily Bugle, wants good photos of the public’s savior. Meeting MJ outside the Moondance diner, Peter hears that she’s acting, but she soon relents and shows him her waitress uniform. Harry tells his dad that Peter needs a job and norman is only too happy to make calls, but Peter wants to make it on his own, which pleases norman. Peter takes photos of himself at crime scenes and uses them to get a freelance photography job at the Bugle. ousted as Ceo of the company he created, norman takes vengeance on the board, appearing in times square and blasting the balcony on which his board, Harry and MJ are watching a parade. Peter appears as spider-Man and interferes, saving MJ and others. norman sees the newspaper headline, “oscorp board Murdered,” and his mirror image says, “We killed them.” Jameson makes up the name “Green Goblin,” who appears and intimidates him. enter spider-Man, but the Green Goblin uses a mist to sedate him, takes him to a rooftop, and regales him with the possibility of working together. such power they’d have. He exits, letting spiderMan mull over the possibilities. because of the destruction caused by the two, “Wanted” headlines appear. After a conversation with MJ after she fails an audition and she tells him she’d been told to get acting lessons, Peter spots miscreants tailing her. He follows and gives them the heave-ho. He runs into an alley and dons his mask. MJ finds her savior hanging upside down, and she slowly pulls down his mask to uncover his chin and lips and kisses him. spider-Man arrives at a fire to save a baby and finds the Green Goblin inside. they engage in a rip-roaring fight but Peter wards off his nemesis. May cooks a thanksgiving dinner at Harry’s where MJ, now Harry’s girlfriend, norman and Peter are guests. this is norman’s first meeting with MJ. A cut on Peter’s arm confirms his suspicions. norman leaves the apartment, in the hall telling Harry to use MJ and toss her aside. the Goblin goes to Peter’s house and frightens May so much she must be hospitalized. After visiting May, Peter reveals to MJ that he knows spider-Man well and pretending his words come from the avenger, tells MJ how her eyes are demonstrative of her goodness. Harry observes Peter and MJ and tells his father about it. the Green Goblin deposits Mary Jane atop the Queensboro bridge and when spider-Man arrives poses him a dilemma: save MJ or a tramcar full of children? spider-Man manages to do both before battling the Goblin in an abandoned building. finally spider-Man gets the upper hand although the now unmasked Goblin begs forgiveness even while positioning his glider to loose

Spider-Man 2 • 265 spikes into spider-Man’s back. spider-Man bends out of the way and the spikes impale and kill norman. At his father’s funeral, Harry vows vengeance against spider-Man while MJ tells Peter she loves him. He responds that he’ll always be there for her—as a friend. He walks off remembering Uncle ben’s words about great responsibility being inextricably attached to great power. Reviews: ign.com thought it demonstrated “unfulfilled promise.” but it was “about as good as a comic-to-film adaptation gets.” (KJb, www.ign.com, May 2, 2002); Rolling Stone considered it a very appropriate action film to begin the summer season. it was “unapologetic fluff…” but unlike The Scorpion King had “a mind, a heart and a keen sense of fun…” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 3, 2002); New York thought tobey Maguire was a good fit “to play a kid with a dual existence:…” and “for a while, at least, the mundaneness of the enterprise is somewhat refreshing,….” However, director raimi seemed more intent on duplicating Chris Columbus’ Harry Potter scheme, namely to protect “the franchise by keeping everything as palatable as possible” (Peter rainer, New York, May 6, 2002). Analysis: in the realm of what if, an actress who could also have essayed Mary Jane to great effect was the ebullient and cheery Jessica Corbin of tech tV’s The Screen Savers. she was literally the spittin’ image of the comic book Mary Jane from the 1960s. she’s one of those gorgeous redheads who’s also spunky and dramatic enough to handle the part. it is regrettable that sam raimi wasn’t a viewer of this computer-related cable show. be that as it may, the upside-down Maguire-dunst kiss in the alley has become rather iconic.

(Columbia/Marvel enterprises, 2004; 127 min.) ★★★½

Spider-Man 2

Produced by Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad. directed by sam raimi. screenplay by Alvin sargent. screen story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Michael Chabon. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee and steve ditko. edited by bob Murawski. director of Photography, bill Pope. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, neil spisak. Art direction, steven A. saklad, thomas P. Wilkins, Jeff Knipp, tom Valentine. set decoration, Jay Hart. Costumes by James Acheson, Gary Jones. doc ock Animatronic Construction, edge fX/steve Johnson. Visual effects designed by John dykstra. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Cast: Peter Parker/spider-Man (tobey Maguire), Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten dunst), Harry osborn ( James franco), doc ock/dr. otto octavius (Alfred Molina), May Parker (rosemary Harris), J. Jonah Jameson ( J.K. simmons), rosalie octavius (donna Murphy), John Jameson (daniel Gillies), dr. Curt Connors (dylan baker), Louise (Vanessa ferlito), Joseph “robbie” robertson (bill nunn), Green Goblin/norman osborn (Willem dafoe), ben Parker (Cliff robertson), Mr. Aziz (Aasif Mandvi), Hoffman (ted raimi), Miss brant (elizabeth banks), snooty Usher (bruce Campbell), raymond (daniel dae Kim). Synopsis: Living alone in a crummy apartment, Peter Parker continues to keep alter ego spider-Man secret from girl next door Mary Jane while in a low-key manner fighting crime across the city. He makes ends meet by delivering pizza and selling photos to the Bugle, run by the irascible J. Jonah Jamison. Peter has other troubles: getting to his college classes on time and making sure Aunt May can pay her bills and remain in her house. At his birthday party, Harry osborn asks Peter if he’d tell him whom spider-Man was if he knew? Meeting

Mary Jane as he takes out the trash one evening, Peter is hard put to resist her charm. Her face is plastered on a billboard and acting success might just be around the corner. When he doesn’t respond to her somewhat veiled entreaties, she tells him she’s seeing someone, and it’s not Harry. Harry introduces Peter to dr. otto octavius, the latest super scientist at oscorp. Peter was in fact writing a paper about him and learns of his experiments with fusion. on his way to the theater to see MJ in The Importance of Being Earnest, Peter must don spiderMan togs and foil criminals escaping the police. When he does get to the theater the usher won’t let him in because it’s started. outside, he waits for MJ only to see her go off with another man. At her home, MJ gets a call from Peter but refuses to talk, only listening to his excuses for not attending the show. soon dr. octavius is ready to demonstrate his fusion device, which consists of a metal tentacled harness. An inhibitor chip attached to the back of his neck will curtail any foul-ups—supposedly, but a power surge leads to havoc. Metal shoots across the room. octavius’ wife is killed. spider-Man shuts down the power after saving Harry, who says that doesn’t change anything. surgeons plan to amputate the tentacles attached to octavius, but these arms seem to have a life of their own and wreak havoc even before the surgical saw touches one. in this symbiotic relationship, octavius hides in a dilapidated riverside structure where he concludes that he really wasn’t wrong about his experiments. He vows to renew them, but he needs money and robs a bank where Aunt May and Peter were unsuccessfully trying for a loan. Aunt May is grabbed by octavius and followed by Peter as spider-Man, who retrieves his unscathed aunt. His powers of creating webs failing him, Peter determines to become normal, attends classes and seeks to renew his admittedly fragile relationship with MJ even though she’s engaged to astronaut John Jameson, son of the Daily Bugle editor. A trash collector finds spiderMan’s outfit in an alley and sells it to the newspaper. Peter tells Aunt May how he was responsible for his uncle’s death: because he didn’t stop the robber when he had the chance. Aghast at these revelations, she leaves the room. the crime rate soars without spider-Man on the case. octavius demands more tritium from Harry, who agrees as long as octavius kills spider-Man. He tells octavius he can find spiderMan through his friend Peter. in a diner, MJ questions Peter about his new course and asks if he loves her. He says no but she asks him to kiss her and leans across the table. At that moment an ominous sound on the street alerts Peter to danger and he flies across the table and carries MJ to the floor as a car smashes through the window and over their heads. it’s octavius, who kidnaps MJ, telling Peter to inform spider-Man she’ll be returned if he meets him on the West side tower at 3:00 p.m. the fight that begins on the tower ends on an elevated train, which an unmasked Peter manages to save from crashing into the river. debilitated by the effort, he is carried into the car. one passenger looks down and says, “He’s just a kid.” two boys present him with his mask. “We won’t tell nobody,” says one. “it’s good to have you back, spider-Man,” says another. octavius appears and carries spider-Man off, depositing him on Harry’s couch before taking the tritium. Harry grabs a small decorative sword, unmasks spider-Man but drops the sword upon viewing Peter. Peter wonders where MJ is. she’s in octavius’ lair. spider-Man arrives as the scientist finishes work on his fusion core, which begins to suck in metal. subduing octavius in the river below his lab, he asks how to shut down the reactor. regaining his humanity, octavius tells his appendages, “Listen to me now!” He says the core is self-sustaining but it might be possible to drown it in the river. the ceiling begins to collapse on MJ. Without his mask, Peter saves her. octavius cries, “i will not die a monster!” and takes the core into the river while Peter and MJ swing to a crane. Peter says he can’t be with MJ because he’ll always have enemies and

266 • Spider-Man 3 she’ll be in danger. He lowers her to John on the dock. Meanwhile, Harry sees his father in a full-length mirror and is told he’s alive in his son. “Avenge me!” Harry says no and breaks the mirror, finding behind it a chamber with the Green Goblin mask and green serum. Having second thoughts about her wedding to John, MJ sends him a note of consolation and runs across town to Peter’s apartment. “i had to do what i had to do,” she says. they can’t live half-lives. “i love you. so here i am standing in your doorway. i’ve always been standing in your doorway.” Peter accepts the situation, hears a siren and rushes off as MJ leans at the window, her expression one of … quiet dread? Reviews: roger ebert said, “now this is what a superhero movie should be…. it’s not camp and it’s not nostalgia, it’s not wall-to-wall special effects and it’s not pickled in angst.” it was the best superhero outing since 1978’s Superman and outdid the first Spider-Man. director raimi demonstrated “classical workmanship:…” (roger ebert, www. rogerebert.com, June 29, 2004); The Atlantic thought the dialogue “almost never rings true to life.” it seemed “intended to convey moral gravity.” the spider-Man/Mary Jane relationship was “badly fumbled.” (Christopher orr, The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com, december 7, 2004). Analysis: When it was released it could legitimately claim to be the best superhero film ever. spider-Man fans must surely agree that it was dead on target. no other superhero film captured the essence of the characters, setting, and spirit of its title the way Spider-Man 2 did. none of the superman or batman films did that until Batman Begins, and none of the lesser efforts (The Crow, Spawn, The Punisher) even came close (although sam raimi’s Darkman was perhaps a contender). Although Jessica Corbin would have made a splendid Mary Jane, Kirsten dunst illustrates in Spider-Man 2 that she does have what it takes to bring Mary Jane to life. it is definitely more concerned with moral dilemmas and the trials of young love than overloaded with effects, and that’s good. dr. ock is certainly a creature that stretches credibility, but of course this is comic book land. the best scenes are in the diner when the kiss that will prove Peter’s love for MJ is interrupted by octavius, the battle on the elevated train, and MJ standingin-the-doorway, a cinematic trope. see Hedy Lamarr in White Cargo, Jean simmons at the gate in Great Expectations, elizabeth taylor at the study in A Place in the Sun, scarlett Johansson at the bedroom in Under the Skin.

(Columbia/Marvel studios, 2007; 137 min.) ★★★½

Spider-Man 3

Produced by Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Grant Curtis. directed by sam raimi. screenplay by sam raimi, ivan raimi, Alvin sargent. story by sam raimi, ivan raimi. based on the Marvel comic book by stan Lee, steve ditko. edited by bob Murawski. director of Photography, bill Pope. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by Christopher Young. original Music themes by danny elfman. Production design, neil spisak, J. Michael riva. Art direction, Christopher burian-Mohr, david f. Klassen, dawn swiderski, suzan Wexler. set decoration, Leslie A. Pope. Costumes by James Acheson, Katina Le Kerr, Clare Hallworth, nina Hallworth. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks, inc. Cast: Peter Parker/spider-Man (tobey Maguire), Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten dunst), Harry osborn/new goblin ( James franco), flint Marko/sandman (thomas Haden Church), eddie brock/Venom (topher Grace), Gwen stacy (bryce dallas Howard), May Parker (rosemary Harris), J. Jonah Jameson ( J.K. simmons), emma Marko (theresa russell), dr. Curt Connors (dylan baker), Miss brant (eliz-

abeth banks), Captain stacy ( James Cromwell), Joseph “robbie” robertson (bill nunn), Maître d’ (bruce Campbell), Hoffman (ted raimi), Penny Marko (Perla Haney-Jardine), norman osborn/Green Goblin (Willem dafoe), ben Parker (Cliff robertson), Ursula ditkovich (Mageina tovah), dr. ditkovich (elya baskin), Man in times square (stan Lee). Synopsis: “People really like me,” says Peter Parker to himself, watching children watching him on the times square jumbo screen. the city is safe and Uncle ben would be proud. What’s more, Peter’s top of his class at school. He considers a ring in a shop widow. that evening he attends a performance of Manhattan Memories starring Linda Curtis, solomon Abrams, and his flame, Mary Jane Watson. Harry is also in the house, from his box seat observing with a sly smile Peter in the first row. on the sidewalk afterward, Harry, who asks if he can bring his father back to life, rebuffs Peter. backstage, Peter tells MJ she was great. At his palatial mansion, Harry emerges from the green mist that had imbued his late father with extraordinary powers. Lounging in a web between two trees in the park, Peter and MJ stare up at the heavens. “i love you so much. i always have,” says Peter. behind them something crashes into the earth and discharges crawling black goo that latches onto the back of Peter’s motor scooter. in an alley a man runs from the police and finds his daughter Penny asleep. His wife doesn’t want him there; he’s an escaped convict. “i had good reason for what i was doing, and that’s the truth,” says flint Marko. He’s just had bad luck. Peter tells Aunt May he’s going to propose to MJ. she urges him to make it special and gives him her wedding ring. on the way home Peter is attacked by Harry on his hover board. Peter uses a web strand to knock him down into an alley. Harry is severely injured and Peter takes him to the hospital. Police Captain stacy learns that Marko is on the run. He’s chased to the Particle Physics research facility where he falls into a sand pit. the scientists fire up for demolecularization, which tears Marko apart but endows him with the power to become a sandman. At the hospital Peter is told that Harry will be okay but has some memory loss. Who knows how long it will last? Marko rises as a sandman. Peter examines the ring he intends giving MJ that evening at restaurant Constellation. she reveals she received bad reviews for Manhattan Memories. the police scanner interrupts their talk and Peter rushes off. before MJ leaves she hears something but doesn’t investigate what is that black goo behind the desk. spider-Man arrives at the scene of a construction crane gone wild and rescues model Gwen stacy as Captain stacy observes from below and learns that the photographer next to him, eddie brock, is dating Gwen. brock tells spider-Man that from now on he’ll be taking his pictures for the Daily Bugle, and to Peter’s consternation brock makes his pitch to J.J. Jameson. Jameson says whoever gets a photo of spider-Man with his hand in the cookie jar will get the open staff position. Peter accompanies Harry home. MJ learns she’s been canned. she doesn’t tell Peter when she meets him at the site of the celebration where spider-Man will be given the key to the city. in another part of town Marko is spotted and chased by police. He becomes a giant sandman in a truck transporting sand. back at the celebration, Gwen speaks from the rostrum. Harry meets up with MJ and is told she was let go. He says he once wrote her a play. spider-Man shows up and shows off. He kisses Gwen much like he’d smooched with MJ in that dark alley. MJ feels horrible. the sandman arrives and flies off to an armored car but finds spider-Man waiting for him. they fight but Marko gets away. that evening at restaurant Constellation, Peter explains that Gwen is his lab partner. this does not mollify MJ. “that was our kiss.” next day at the police station, Captain stacy informs Peter and May that Marko had evidently confessed to a cellmate that

Movie Title • 267

Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man 3 (Columbia, 2007).

he, not his accomplice, killed Peter’s Uncle ben. Peter recalls the night of the murder and is angry that the wrong man was chased down and died. MJ goes to Peter’s apartment and says she’s worried about him. she wants to be there for him, but he says he needs no help. she responds that everyone needs help sometimes. the black goo climbs onto Peter when he’s in bed. He awakes on the side of a building wearing a black spider costume. He takes a piece of the goo to his professor who says it looks like it needs to bond with a host to survive and that it might be difficult to unbind it so don’t touch it. back home, Peter dons the black suit and pursues Marko to a bank and into the subway tunnels. they fight and Marko falls into a puddle. His antagonist opens valves and flushes him away. outside, Peter brushes his hair to give him a decidedly darker look and returns to his apartment. He tells Aunt May that he didn’t propose to MJ. she tells him his uncle wouldn’t want him to live with revenge in his heart because it would turn into something ugly. MJ gets a job as a singing waitress at the Jazz room. she phones Harry, asking for his company. Ursula, daughter of Peter’s landlord, tells Peter he should continue trying to phone MJ. MJ goes to Harry, who tries to cook a meal. they dance “the twist” in the kitchen and then kiss. she’s sorry about everything and leaves. Harry sees himself in the mirror, hears his father and recalls seeing Peter as spider-Man kill his dad. He begins to remember his recent fight with Peter. His dad’s voice tells him to make Peter suffer and to start with his heart. He kidnaps MJ and tells her he won’t hurt Peter if she obeys his wishes. Ursula informs Peter that MJ is on the phone. MJ asks him to meet her at the bridge in the park. He brings her peonies but she upsets him by saying, “it’s not working. You and me.” furthermore, “i’m lonely. You aren’t there for me.” He shows her the ring but in an agonized voice she says, “there’s someone else.” she walks off. in a restaurant, Peter tells Harry about the episode and Harry says he’s the someone else. in his apartment, Peter looks at the chest containing the black costume. He confronts Harry at his home. While Harry uses various weapons against him, Peter argues that Harry’s dad despised him. Harry resorts to throwing a circular grenade at Peter, who grabs it in midair and hurls it back. it explodes on the

wall behind Harry. Meanwhile, Jameson fires brock when his photo of spider-Man is deemed a fake. dr. Connors calls Peter and tells him the black goo seems like something from a chondrite meteorite found in the ’70s. it has the potential to amplify the characteristics of its host, especially aggression. Peter gets the open staff job at the Daily Bugle. in the city, Marko emerges from the sewers. Peter takes Gwen to the Jazz room and begins playing the piano as MJ tries to sing. He dances with Gwen—in intimate fashion. Gwen then guesses the truth. “that was all for her?” she tells MJ she’s sorry. MJ asks Peter, “What’s wrong with you?” told to leave, Peter becomes irate and bounces the bouncer and in the altercation knocks MJ down. He climbs into a steeple and rages against his alter ego whereupon the black goo leaves his body, falling onto brock below and transforming him into a sharp-toothed monstrosity. brock kidnaps MJ when she enters a taxi and places the taxi in a net between two skyscrapers. Peter asks Harry to help him. Harry declines—at first, but shows up on his board to keep sandman at bay while spider-Man dukes it out with brock and saves MJ from another deadly fall. but Harry has been stabbed and mortally wounded. spider-Man uses reverberating rods to contain brock and the black goo separates itself from him. outside the circle, brock cries out as Peter throws an explosive ball at the monster and rushes into the circle to be consumed in the explosion. sandman, in his guise as Marko, tells spider-Man he didn’t want this, that he didn’t have a choice. “We always have a choice,” replies Peter. Marko explains about his dying daughter, how he needed money and how when his partner in the robbery rushed up, he shot his uncle by accident. “i’ve done terrible things, too,” says Peter. Marko says only his daughter is left to him. “i forgive you,” says Peter. Marko takes on his sandman persona and flies off through the city. Peter rushes to Harry’s side where he’s being comforted by MJ. Harry says, “You’re my friend” before passing away. At Harry’s funeral, Peter follows MJ as she walks off. Peter’s voice is heard saying that we always have a choice to do what’s right. MJ is singing “i’m through with Love” at the Jazz room when Peter arrives and proffers his hand. she takes it and they embrace.

268 • The Amazing Spider-Man Reviews: The Blade commented at some length on “a series more enamored with characters and melancholy than special effects and spectacle….” director raimi infused them with admirable ambition. this installment was “not rushing through cheap exposition to get to the next action scene,…” (Christopher borrelli, The Blade, May 4, 2007); The New Yorker identified one great scene and considered the rest a shambles “because it makes the rules up as it goes along.” (Anthony Lane, www.newyorker.com, May 7, 2007). Analysis: While it’s too long, the non-pyrotechnic episodes when Peter mulls over his transformation, his thirst for revenge, the choices humans have, and his treatment of MJ make this emotionally affecting. However, in having more of everything, it seems to tip the scales too far, and having more than one super-villain—one bane of the (pre– Batman Begins) Batman films—automatically earns the film a demerit. it is curious that a film with an already inflated budget (which seems to be so much a given it’s seldom even mentioned) would bother to give even very minor cameos to “name” and “semi-name” actors. With Spider-Man 3, theresa russell and bruce Campbell are given what amount to throwaway roles. they’re small change, but how about James Cromwell? He’d become a definite player at that time, yet he was on board more or less to voice only three or four lines!

The Amazing Spider-Man

(Columbia/Marvel entertainment, 2012; 136 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, Matt tolmach. directed by Marc Webb. screenplay by James Vanderbilt, Alvin sargent, steve Kloves. story by James Vanderbilt. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee, steve ditko. edited by Alan edward bell, Pietro scalia. director of Photography, John schwartzman. deluxe color. Music by James Horner. Production design, J. Michael riva. Art direction, n.C. Page buckner, Michael e. Goldman, Paul sonski, suzan Wexler. set decoration, Leslie A. Pope. Costumes by Kym barrett. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Cast: Peter Parker/spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), Gwen stacy (emma stone), dr. Curtis Connors (rhys ifans), Captain George stacy (denis Leary), richard Parker (Campbell scott), ben Parker (Martin sheen), rajit ratha (irrfan Khan), May Parker (sally field), flash thompson (Chris Zylka), Mary Parker (embeth davidtz), Jack’s father (C. thomas Howell), Jack ( Jake ryan Keiffer), Helen stacy (Kari Coleman), school librarian (stan Lee), Young Peter (Max Charles). Synopsis: Playing hide and seek with his parents, young Peter Parker discovers a ransacked study. His parents, richard and Mary, bundle him up, pack up a few things, and drive to the home of Peter’s Uncle ben and Aunt May. His parents disappear. Years pass. At Midtown science High school, Peter is something of a nerd, his extracurricular interests being skateboarding and photography, and observing Gwen stacy from afar. trying to stop harassment of another student by flash thompson, he is himself beaten up. Gwen defuses the situation. While fixing a pipe in the basement, Peter discovers his father’s briefcase. Although it seems to be empty, further examinations reveals cryptic documents and a picture of his father with the one-armed Curt Connors, now a researcher at oscorp. Masquerading as another student touring the company where Gwen is a guide, Peter listens to Connors and can’t help but answer one of the scientific questions. breaking away from the other students, Peter is bitten on the back of his neck by a genetically modified spider. on the subway, Peter finds

he has the power to leap and stick to the roof of the car and to beat off a bunch of toughs. At home he gorges on leftovers while searching the web for information on arachnids and his father’s work. After discovering his dad’s decay rate Algorithm in his notes, Peter visits Connors at his home and shows him the algorithm. back in school, Peter taunts flash with the basketball and leaps over him to score and break the backboard. summoned to school, Uncle ben chides Peter for wanting to get even and asks him to pick up Aunt May that evening. His uncle spots Gwen and tells her she’s on Peter’s computer and that he’s his probation officer. Peter practices on his skateboard, climbing walls and swinging on chains. Visiting Connors at the lab again, Peter is shown the Ganali device that theoretically could be loaded with whatever mixture desired and spread over the populace. He is also shown a computer model of a lizard regenerating its tail. Peter is so engrossed he doesn’t answer Uncle ben’s cellphone message. A mouse regeneration takes some time but finally succeeds. Connors has Peter hold a real mouse while he injects it with his serum. At home, Peter is confronted by his uncle and berated for not picking up Aunt May. He demands he apologize to her and tells him he’s a lot like his father. furthermore, he has a responsibility, not a choice to do the right thing. Angry, Peter cries out that his father abandoned him. so much for responsibility. He rushes out, slamming the door so hard the glass shatters. observing a robbery at a deli and convenience store, Peter chooses to do nothing, and the robber shoots Uncle ben on the street. Aunt May is shown a sketch of the culprit, who has a star tattoo on his wrist. At school Peter throws flash against the lockers, but his former tormenter only wanted to tell him he’s sorry about his uncle. Peter searches the city for the murderer but soon realizes he must do his hunting in disguise. After falling into an abandoned wrestling arena and seeing a wall-sized portrait of a wrestler’s mask, he designs something similar and begins his vigilantism, securing criminals for the police. Connors is urged by his backer ratha to begin human trials using the serum based on the Parker algorithm, but he refuses. ratha says it could be used on veteran’s hospital patients. ratha tells Connors that since he has the formula, there’s no need for Connors’ consent and he must shut down and clear out his office. At school Gwen invites Peter to dinner and he makes his entrance via the fire escape. back at the lab, Connors injects himself. Peter is meanwhile engaged in a rancorous dinner conversation with Gwen’s policeman father, Captain George stacy, over the advisability of letting this so-called spiderMan assist the police. George thinks Peter is deluded about how things work. out on the rooftop, Peter and Gwen kiss. When sirens are heard, Captain stacy leaves, and Gwen watches Peter leap off the roof. in the form of a giant lizard, Connors finds ratha on the Williamsburg bridge and retrieves the serum. in his spider-Man role, Peter saves many people, including one man’s young son. He can’t catch up with the lizardman who has wreaked havoc on the bridge. Connors reverts to his human form. in addition to the mysterious “dinosaur” on the loose, spider-Man is sought by police. Aunt May looks at Peter suspiciously. sitting on the school bleachers, Peter shows Gwen a spider in a vial. He says he can’t lay low. At Connors’ lab, Peter asks the doctor how a predator would track a reptile? Connors says reptiles are generally at the top of their food chains. What about their vulnerabilities? As he leaves, Connors tells Peter, “Wonderful things are coming. Wonderful things.” Peter tells Captain stacy that Connors is a victim of his own cross species genetic experiments. stacy has Peter escorted out but tells his staff to dig up all they can on Connors. Peter observes small lizards scurrying down into the subway and realizes Connors is in the sewers. donning his spider-Man guise, Peter enters the sewers and spins webs before resting to await movement. He doesn’t wait long. Connors has transformed again into the lizard monster. He and spider-

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 • 269 Man fight and the former barely survives. from a camera on the wall, lizard-man Connors realizes Peter is spider-Man. Peter goes to Gwen’s and she ministers to his injuries. He tells her he has to fix it, he’s responsible because his father had been working on the serum Connors now uses for evil purposes, or in Connors’ estimation, to enhance humanity. the lizard-man breaks into the school and fights with Peter, who saves Gwen before his adversary flees. from the sewer, Peter phones Gwen and tells her to go to oscorp and find the blue serum, the antidote. Peter finds Connors’ sewer lab and watches him on his computer talk about a world without weakness. He knows he must get to oscorp tower. Captain stacy takes a helicopter to the tower while his men shoot down the lizard-man seeking entrance. As they poke the presumed dead figure, the creature rises and sprays them with green mist that initiates their own reptilian transformation. At the lab Gwen keys the machines to produce the antidote in eight minutes. Although wounded by the police and stunned, spider-Man convinces Captain stacy that he must be allowed to go to oscorp tower. Gwen has pulled the lockdown emergency switch, but the lizard-man breaks through and finds her in the closet holding the Ganali device. she lights a can of hairspray that keeps her safe, but the monster grabs the Ganali. the construction manager whose son was saved by spiderMan on the bridge orders his crane operators to move their machines into a position to facilitate spider-Man’s route to oscorp. the lizardman inserts his green vial into the Ganali but spider-Man temporarily stymies him by breaking open a canister of liquid nitrogen and by Captain stacy blazing away with a shotgun. spider-Man climbs the tower as the lizard-man wounds stacy. At the Ganali device, Peter removes the green vial and replaces it with the glue antidote that is launched into the sky and bursts over the city. the lizard-man regresses and falls. the topmost part of the tower collapses and Connors prevents Peter from falling. Peter finds the dying Captain stacy who makes him promise not to involve Gwen in his crime-fighting mission. Peter goes home, bedraggled and worn, hugged by Aunt May to whom he gives the eggs he’d once promised to buy. Peter is a no-show at her father’s funeral, but Gwen shows up at Peter’s door. He says he can’t see her again. About to exit, she turns and tells Peter she knows her father made him promise not to involve her in his dangerous world. Aunt May tells Peter he should have no doubts about being the good man he is. Peter listens to his Uncle’s voicemail on which ben tells him he owes the world his gifts but must learn how to use them. Peter comes late to class and sits in his seat behind Gwen. He tells the teacher he won’t be late again, but she tells him not to make promises he can’t keep. to Gwen he whispers, “Yeah, but those are the best kind.” A smile begins to cross Gwen’s face. At night spider-Man is seen swinging over the city. in his dark cell, Connors is visited by or has a vision of a strange man who says they can leave Peter alone— for now. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor perceived no real reason for the reboot other than a commercial one. “still, it could have been worse.” Garfield contrasted for the better with tobey Maguire by being “surly and rebellious and twitchy…” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, July 2, 2012); the Tulsa World thought it was “frequently amazing.” it provided a better experience than the first in the series and eminently superior to the “lousy” Spider-Man 3. Garfield provided an infectious exuberance (Michael smith, Tulsa World, July 3, 2012); The Star found it “a gritty and gripping tale that should win new fans and bring back old ones.” the Lizard was the best villain yet. the actors were on target (Clark Leonard, The Star [shelby, nC], July 9, 2012). Analysis: the funniest scene is the fight in the library between ifans’ lizard-man and spider-Man as the librarian (stan Lee) is obliv-

ious to the havoc because he’s wearing headphones. Gwen’s sojourn in the tower, hiding in the closet as the scaly creature enters, is quite reminiscent of a scene in 1958’s It! The Terror from Beyond Space. she throws the switch to slow the monster from getting into the lab and employs a can of hairspray to keep her nemesis at bay when she’s in the closet. in It! an injured rocket crewmember uses an acetylene torch to prevent the alien from snatching him up. A lizard-man here, Welshman rhys ifans is a chameleon in his professional career: Hugh Grant’s goofy chum spike in Notting Hill, the 17th earl of oxford (aka “shakespeare”) in Anonymous, and Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. spinning the sewer web was a nice touch.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

(Marvel enterprises/Columbia Pictures, 2014; 142 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Avi Arad, Matt tolmach. directed by Marc Webb. screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, roberto orci, Jeff Pinkner. screen story by Alex Kurtzman, roberto orci, Jeff Pinker, James Vanderbilt. based on the comic book by stan Lee, steve ditko. edited by Pietro scalia. director of Photography, dan Mindel. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by Hans Zimmer and the Magnificent six. featuring Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr. Production design, Mark friedberg. Art direction, richard Johnson, Kim Jennings. set decoration, susan bode tyson. Costumes by deborah L. scott. electro Makeup effects by Greg nicotero, Howard berger, Knb efX Group. special Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks. Visual effects by MPC. Cast: Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), Gwen stacy (emma stone), Max dillon/electro ( Jamie foxx), Aunt May (sally field), richard Parker (Campbell scott), Mary Parker (embeth davidtz), dr. Kafka (Martin Csokas), Aleksei/rhino (Paul Giamatti), Green Goblin/ Harry osborn (dane deHaan), donald Menken (Colm feore), felicia (felicity Jones), dr. Ashley Kafka (Martin Csokas), Young Peter (Max Charles), Graduation guest (stan Lee). Synopsis: scientist richard Parker loads his computer with sensitive information and with his wife Mary take a private jet. Unfortunately, as richard uploads more information, the co-pilot pulls a gun. in the ensuing fracas Mary is shot but richard eventually manages to transmit. the pilot is dead and a bullet through a window ensures a crash into the ocean. time passes and the teenage Peter Parker, living with his Aunt May, continues his battle against crime as spiderMan. As Midtown science High school graduation day unfolds, Peter foiling a plot to steal plutonium. As he works to stop the hijacked trucks, he must save people in harm’s way, including Max, an osCorp employee whose birthday it is. Peter arrives at graduation just in time to accept his diploma, kiss Gwen stacy, and be congratulated by Aunt May. that evening he meets Gwen outside a Chinese restaurant, where she’s celebrating with her family. He tells her he can’t get images of her dead police captain father out of his head or the promise he made not to involve her in his dangerous missions as spider-Man. they profess love for each other but Gwen can’t handle this situation and returns to her family alone. Meanwhile, Harry osborn, scion of norman, visits his terminally-ill father and learns that his degenerative illness is genetic. Harry hands over a device he insists will enable Harry to continue his work. norman dies and Harry becomes osCorp Ceo, immediately appointing low-level board member felicia as the one to whom all other board members must report. Harry has been

270 • Movie Title

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Marvel Enterprises/Columbia, 2014).

apprised of employee Max’s predicament: while attempting to fix an electrical problem, he’d fallen into a vat of modified electric eels. Plausible deniability can be cited if explanations are necessary. Peter arrives to check up on Harry. they walk and talk at the waterfront while being spied on by osCorp employees. Peter says he has a relationship but it’s complicated. in his chamber, Max rises, grabs some clothes and heads out into the city. Peter meets Gwen and they make rules for staying friends. Gwen says she has a great chance to study at oxford. Peter senses something miss and is suddenly gone. in time square, Max had removed a grate in the street and grabbed the electric cables. the police arrive and although Max says his condition is not his fault, fire their guns. spider-Man attempts to talk Max down, but a sniper shoots Max, who goes berserk. spider-Man works to contain him, eventually stopping him with a fire hose. before going home, Peter has a few words Gwen. in his room, Peter looks at a “device,” identifies the word “roosevelt,” and further investigates his parents’ work at osCorp. Gwen is targeted by osCorp and she leaves her desk, runs into Peter, and they hide in a maintenance closet. she reveals that she’d met Max but that his files have been erased. Peter tells her Harry wants some of spider-Man’s blood to cure himself but that it’s too risky. Peter causes a distraction so Gwen can escape. in the elevator she meets Harry. He knows she’s in that complicated relationship with Peter and tells her he needs her to clarify his choices. At the ravencroft institute for the Criminally insane, dr. Kafka shocks Max, who tells him he is now electro! Meanwhile, Peter finds Aunt May in his room, observing his wall filled with photos and information about his parents. He knows she’s hiding something. she cries, “You’re my boy!” but reveals that years before government men had come and spoken

of his father’s genetic research and that he was a traitor for money. spider-Man visits Harry and tries to explain the danger of a blood transfusion. “You’re a fraud, spider-Man!” yells Harry. Peter finds Gwen at the oxford University office and tells her about the lies tarnishing his parents’ reputation. Gwen leaves for her interview. back home, Peter rages and breaks things. tokens fall to the floor. He does more research on “roosevelt” and discovers it was the name of a disused subway stop that President roosevelt used to keep people from knowing of his polio. felicia goes to Harry and tells him that although all of the spiders had been killed, their extracted venom is located in the “special Projects” area. one of osCorp’s board members tells Harry he’s been fired for criminal actions. At the roosevelt subway stop, Peter uses a token to make car 6688 rise and power up. He sees on a computer screen “download Complete” and listens to his father explain how norman osborn had worked a deal with a foreign national to create bio-weapons and falsify charges against himself. Harry goes to ravencroft as Peter continues listening to his dead father talk about how the human dnA injected into the spiders was his own, thus only his bloodline can help osCorp replicate his experiment. At ravencroft, Harry releases electro after making a deal in which electro will help him in exchange for revenge against spider-Man. Harry tells electro to use all of the city’s power and spider-Man will come to him. security arrives but electro breaks free. dr. Kafka is subdued. in the meantime, Peter listens to a phone message from Gwen about summer classes in england. electro helps Harry take down the board member who’d fired Harry. “the grid is all yours,” says Harry, whose essence goes into the city’s power via wires in the floor. taking the board member to the special Projects area, Harry has him inject him with the

Star Trek: First Contact • 271 special venom and he is transformed. in a metallic costume, he sets out on an air-sled. stuck in traffic, Gwen sees a giant “i Love You” web on a bridge and is scooped up by spider-Man. “i choose you,” says Peter. He will follow her to england. the city’s power goes out. Gwen says she can help restore the grid. spider-Man destroys electro while Gwen enters oscorpower and resets the grid. Harry then swoops in and reveals he knows spider-Man is Peter. He takes Gwen but loses a vicious fight with spider-Man. falling into the bowels of a building, Gwen is almost snatched to safety by one of spider-Man’s webs but hits her head on the concrete floor and is killed. Peter is bereft and spends many a day at Gwen’s gravesite. Harry, imprisoned at ravencroft, receives a strange visitor with plans for the future. they need a team, including the criminal Aleksei. At home, Peter watches Gwen’s graduation speech on his computer. she stresses the need for hope. Aleksei, encased in a metallic shell resembling a rhinoceros, enters the city. A young boy in a spider-Man costumes confronts him. the real spider-Man arrives and charges his new nemesis. Reviews: in the opinion of The Guardian, the filmmakers played well with a story that is essentially about “gawky youth and surging powers.” the tone was “skittish and fresh.” Andrew Garfield was perfectly cast (Xan brooks, The Guardian, April 8, 2014); the Hindustan Times considered it overlong and possessed of too many villains “but it is a textbook comic superhero film.” it worked because of the leads, the effects and “its emotional core.” ( Jyoti sharma bawa, Hindustan Times [new delhi], May 1, 2014); the News Journal gave it a mere two stars. “there are too many explosions, too many break-ups-andmake-ups, too many villains. And not enough heart.” (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett news service, News Journal 55Hours [Wilmington, de], May 2, 2014, p. 4); The New Yorker was at most lukewarm, wondering if using an adjective like “amazing” in the title might suggest a smidgen of irony. the main character seemed to be “going backward,” never getting on with his life and spending much time moping (Anthony Lane, NewYorker, May 5, 2014, p. 84); People found the stars ingratiating, their chemistry authentic. Jamie foxx was “unconvincing as nerdy oscorp drone Max dillon,…” but on target as villainous electro. nevertheless, there were too many bad guys and none had enough time to shine fully. the “emotional climax doesn’t soar as it should,…” (Alynda Wheat, People, May 12, 2014, p. 45). Analysis: there are lots of laugh-inducing action at the beginning and a few humorous asides later on before the tale turns grim with Gwen’s death, which is a truly heartrending scene. the finale was a set-up for a sequel but none had arrived at the time of this book’s completion. With a reboot of the franchise in the works, tom Holland appeared as spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War.

director of Photography, Matthew f. Leonetti. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production design, Herman Zimmerman. Art direction, ron Wilkinson. set decoration, John M. dwyer. Costumes by sarah shaw, Christine Heinz. Make-Up designed and supervised by Michael Westmore. special Visual Animation and Visual effects by industrial Light & Magic. digital Visual effects by Pacific ocean Post digital film Group. digital Visual effects by Vision Art. borg effects Created by todd MAsters Co. Cast: Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick stewart), Commander William riker ( Jonathan frakes), Lt. Commander data (brent spiner), Lt. Commander Geordie La forge (LeVar burton), Lt. Commander Worf (Michael dorn), Counselor deanna troi (Marina sirtis), dr. beverly Crusher (Gates Mcfadden), borg Queen (Alice Krige), Zefram Cochrane ( James Cromwell), Lily sloane (Afre Woodard), Lieutenant Hawk (neal Mcdonough), Vulcan (Cully fredricksen). Synopsis: stardate 50893.5: Captain Jean-Luc Picard awakes and awakes from dreams of borg infestation to learn humanity’s mortal enemy has in reality invaded federation space. to his crew’s consternation, the Enterprise has been ordered to the neutral Zone to counter any moves the romulans might make during this time of crisis. Commander riker, aka number one, says Picard’s familiarity with the borg would be better used in direct contact with the invader, but orders are orders—until the borg ship, an intricate black cube, fights off federation ships and Picard takes it upon himself to speed to the scene. the borg ship has been damaged and Picard tells the other ships to direct their fire to a seemingly innocuous spot. it works, the

stAr treK see Volume i for Star Trek—The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II— The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and Star Trek: Generations (1994).

Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount, 1996; 111 min.) ★★★

Produced by rick berman. directed by Jonathan frakes. screenplay by brannon braga, ronald d. Moore. edited by John Wheeler.

Alice Krige as the Borg queen, Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount, 1996).

272 • Star Trek: Insurrection borg ship begins exploding, but a large sphere exits before complete destruction. the Enterprise follows it into a time warp that takes both ships to the earth of 2063. Picard realizes the borg intend stopping “first contact” between humanity and an alien, spacefaring race and that he must prevent this at all costs. After a third world war, Zefram Cochrane was the man who piloted a rocket into space, thus signaling the extra-terrestrial capability of humankind, and at this point is preparing that launch using a converted ballistic missile in a Montana silo. the borg ship fires on the site. Commander riker, Commander Geordie La forge, Counselor deanna troi and dr. beverly Crusher beam down to earth wearing 21st century clothes so as to be inconspicuous as they search for Cochrane amid the chaos. Picard discovers that when his ship’s shields were down borg transferred to his craft. Armed search parties are dispatched and eventually engage the robotic minions of the borg. the cybernetic Lt. Commander data is captured but tells the voice interrogating him that he is a unique life form that cannot be deciphered. on earth, Cochrane is alive—drunk and hitting on deanna. Using his telescope to show him the Enterprise above, riker convinces him that they are indeed from another time and place and says Cochrane must pilot the rocket into space. on the Enterprise, Lily, Cochrane’s compatriot injured in the borg attack and from radiation, wakes and escapes into the bowels of the ship, coming out to confront Picard, who soothes her fears. Picard rejects Worf ’s suggestion to destroy the ship, but Lily reminds him of the fixated Captain Ahab of Moby Dick. He activates the self-destruct system, apologizing to Worf. Picard won’t leave without data and finds the borg queen. despite the gift of skin, data turns on the queen, causing a coolant tank to rupture and corrode her. Cochrane’s warp flight succeeds. Vulcans land and share the celebrations with Cochrane as the Enterprise crew looks on. Reviews: Variety called it “a smashingly exciting sci-fi adventure… ” (Variety, www.variety.com, november 17, 1996); the New York Times said the series “had morphed into something less innocent and more destructive than it used to be, something the noncultist is ever less likely to enjoy. its “convoluted plot will boggle all but hard-core devotees.” nor did it have “much visual novelty…” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, november 22, 1996, p. C3). Analysis: Assuming the audience knows most or all of the backstory, this no-nonsense entry gets right to the nitty-gritty. Jerry Goldsmith’s main theme is hardly less exciting than his original. Alice Krige,

the compelling spirit of Ghost Story who seems to retire from our view for decades at a time, makes an intimidating and frightful borg queen. overall, this is a more than solid addition to the canon.

(Paramount, 1998; 100 min.) ★★½

Star Trek: Insurrection

Produced by rick berman. directed by Jonathan frakes. screenplay by Michael Piller. story by rick berman, Michael Piller. based Upon “star trek” Created by Gene roddenberry. edited by Peter e. berger. director of Photography, Matthew f. Leonetti. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. theme from “star trek: the Motion Picture” by Jerry Goldsmith. theme from “star trek” tV series by Alexander Courage. Production design, Herman Zimmerman. Art direction, ron Wilkinson. set decoration, John M. dwyer. Costumes by sanja Milkovic Hays. Make-up by Michael Westmore. Visual effects by blue sky/VifX, PoP film and PoP AniMAtion. special Visual effects by santa barbara studios. Cast: Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick stewart), Commander William riker ( Jonathan frakes), Lieutenant Commander data (brent spiner), Lieutenant Commander Geordi La forge (LeVar burton), Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael dorn), dr. beverly Crusher (Gates Mcfadden), Lieutenant Commander deana troi (Marina sertis), ru’afo (f. Murray Abraham), Gallatin (Gregg Henry), Admiral dougherty (Anthony Zerbe), Anij (donna Murphy), sojef (daniel Hugh Kelly), Artim (Michael Welch).

Synopsis: While secretly observing the residents of the ringed planet bak’u, the android data loses control and becomes visible— and dangerous. Admiral dougherty and his guest tell Captain Picard, hosting a party for new members of the federation, of this misfortune from the son’a. in fact, dougherty’s ship was attacked by data’s. Captain Picard convinces dougherty to give him time to rein in the android. the landing craft Picard and Lt. Commander Worf take down from the Enterprise is attacked by data, but Picard manages to sneak up and attach itself beneath the android’s craft. After taking advantage of an anomaly to beam data onto their ship, Worf incapacitates the android. beaming down to the planet, Picard converses with the inhabitants, seemingly happy to live their lives in peace, the children gamboling amidst the sunny meadows, the adults making bread and forging the simple implements they need to survive. At a lake, data detects and reveals the holographic representation of the bak’u village. Picard saves from drowning the bak’u woman Anij, to whom he feels a great attraction. He learns that metaphasic variations from the planet’s rings are responsible for granting a measure of immortality to the bak’u. this is what the son’a want, especially the commander ru’afo, who takes constant injections to remain alive. Geordi’s eyes are healed; he no longer needs implants. in space, dougherty and ru’afo confront Picard, who is told the federation’s Prime directive does not apply to the mere 600 people on bak’u. Picard takes up weapons while riker and Geordi speed off in the Enterprise in hopes of securing a stay of transference for the bak’u inhabitants. two son’a ships pursue it. drones attack the bak’u and their human helpers. some are hit and transferred to Patrick Stewart and Donna Murphy, Star Trek: Insurrection (Paramount, 1998).

Star Trek: Nemesis • 273 the son’a ship. “We’re through running from these bastards!” riker tells Geordi and turns the tables on their pursuers, destroying one and damaging the other. Meanwhile, data discovers a water way through caverns that may help the bak’u find respite in more distant caves. Anij is hurt in a collapse but is stabilized by Crusher. on ru’afo’s ship, Picard maintains that the son’a and bak’u hail from the same stock. despite dougherty’s insistence that they abort the mission, ru’afo incapacitates and “stretches” him. With the help of data, Worf and ru’afo’s second in command Gallatin, Picard foils ru’afo’s plans even as the Enterprise returns. the self-destruct on the son’a Collector destroys the ship and ru’afo as Picard beams away. Gallatin is reunited with his bak’u mother. Picard bids adieu to Anij and he and the other six Enterprise members return to their ship. Reviews: the New York Times considered it hokum that worked because of “the series’ unquestioned belief in basic human benignity. it is a conviction that can’t be faked, and when expressed with a light touch, as it is here, it can be seductively appealing.” (New York Times, december 11, 1998, p. e14). roger ebert heard that the filmmakers couldn’t agree on the true thrust of this film, and in keeping with that found it “inert and unconvincing.” Many questions needed to be answered, e.g., why didn’t the peaceful ba’ku volunteer to give the gift of immortality to the federation? (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, december 11, 1998). Analysis: it might seem slightly tepid but it has some compensation in the humorous troi/riker bubble bath/shaving scene, the abortive-romance between Picard and Anij, and the decision by Gallatin to turn traitor to ru’afo and not get killed for his actions. it all adds to the adventures of spacefarers we love.

Jean-Luc Picard wishes the couple well on their forthcoming honeymoon on betazed. the gala is interrupted when a positronic signal is picked up from Kolarus, third planet of the Kolaran system. this can only mean an android is signaling. Arriving on Kolarus, Picard, data and Worf find a duplicate data in pieces. Attacked by humanoids on all-terrain vehicles similar to theirs, they fight their way back to the landing ship and retire to the Enterprise. the android dubbed b-4 is reassembled and found to be a sort of data prototype. starfleet communication from Admiral Janeway results in Picard undertaking a diplomatic mission to romulus. A reman named shinzon has become Praetor, assisted by his Viceroy. When Picard teleports to the ship of prey Scimitar, he discovers that shinzon looks like he himself might have 20 years earlier. shinzon says peace is his aim. He cuts his hand and hands the knife to data. dr. Crusher examines the blood that reveals shinzon as Picard’s clone. shinzon consults with Commander donatra, hoping she will inform him of any treason in the romulan ranks. shinzon reveals to Picard that liberation of the remans is his purpose. Geordi detects the presence of super-radioactive thalaron on the Scimitar. the spirit of shinzon’s Viceroy appears to deanna as she engages in lovemaking with William. b-4 is transported to the

(Paramount, 2002; 116 min.) ★★★

Star Trek: Nemesis

Produced by rick berman. directed by stuart baird. screenplay by John Logan. story by John Logan, rick berman, brent spiner. based upon “star trek” Created by Gene roddenberry. edited by dallas s. Puett. director of Photography, Jeffrey L. Kimball. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production design, Herman Zimmerman. Art direction, Cherie baker, donald b. Woodruff. set decoration, ronald r. reiss, John M. dwyer. Costumes by bob ringwood. Make-up designed and supervised by Michael Westmore. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain, Venice, CA. Animatronic data effects by steve Johnson’s XfX Group; syd dutton and bill taylor of illusion Arts, inc. Cast: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick stewart), William riker ( Jonathan frakes), data/b-4 (brent spiner), Geordi La forge (LeVar burton), Worf (Michael dorn), deanna troi (Marina sirtis), dr. beverly Crusher (Gates Mcfadden), shinzon (thomas Hardy), Viceroy (ron Perlman), senator tal’aura (shannon Cochran), Commander donatra (dina Meyer), Commander suran ( Jude Ciccolella), Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Computer (Majel barrett, voice), Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). Synopsis: All but Commander donatra of the romulan imperial senate is killed by particles from a mysterious green beam. Meanwhile, William riker and deanna troi celebrate their nuptials while data sings “blue skies” and

Star Trek: Nemesis poster art (Paramount, 2002).

274 • Star Trek Scimitar and downloading begins. Little is found when beverly scans deanna, who insists she was violated. Picard is unexpectedly whisked to the Scimitar and a sample of his blood taken. shinzon via b-4 thinks he now knows the exact location of all the federation ships, but b-4 is actually data. He releases Picard and they escape in a scorpion Class A Attack flyer. beverly is sure shinzon is aging dramatically, his cells breaking down. only Picard can save him. Picard realizes that shinzon’s ultimate goal is to destroy humanity via thalaron but that he needs more of Picard’s blood. “All hands, battle stations.” the Scimitar attacks and shinzon hails Picard, meeting him as a hologram. Picard argues that shinzon, as the human he is, has the potential to become better. After shinzon retires, a space battle begins, and two romulan ships arrive and assist the Enterprise. deanna lends her mind to find and damage the cloaked Scimitar. shinzon sends a boarding party to secure Picard and it engages in a firefight with riker, Worf and other Enterprise crewmembers. riker follows the Viceroy into the bowels of the ship. Picard does what shinzon does not expect: rams the Scimitar. nevertheless, the Scimitar is not completely incapacitated and reverses engines to separate from the Enterprise. riker kicks the Viceroy to his death below. shinzon orders his ultimate weapon deployed. Picard takes a rifle and teleports to the Scimitar. Geordi opens the shield to let data launch himself into space and land on the Scimitar. Picard impales shinzon on a piece of metal. data arrives and slaps onto Picard’s chest a mini-teleportation device that sends his captain to the Enterprise while he fires his phaser at the thalaron cylinder. the Scimitar explodes into a million pieces. on the bridge of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc, deanna, riker and Geordi realize that data sacrificed himself. Commander donatra communicates her willingness to send help. Later, Picard makes a toast “to absent friends.” back over earth, Picard wishes riker well on his mission as captain of The Titan. Picard speaks to b-4 about data, telling the android that data evolved, that he embraced change. When b-4 begins singing “blue skies,” Picard smiles. Reviews: Slant thought it had “an unusual amount of subtext working to its advantage.” it was “genuinely intriguing and its plot points have been nicely woven together in a compelling fashion.” (roxanne blanford, www.slantmagazine.com, december 11, 2002); The Hamilton Spectator said that this 10th entry proved the series was “out of gas.” incredibly irritating was the ongoing problem of Enterprise shields going down. “Maybe they should get new batteries.” in sum, it was time to consider jumping the series a millennium into the future to produce stories that recapture a sense of wonder (roger ebert, Hamilton Spectator, december 13, 2002); the News Journal considered it “fairly smart and involving” even if overly familiar and the plot “old hat.” ( Jack Garner/Gannett news service, “new ‘trek’ boldly goes where fans have gone before,” News Journal [Wilmington, de], december 13, 2002, p. 5); The Age said tom Hardy’s shinzon made a worthy nemesis for Picard but that the movie “feels as if it’s going through the motions.” Action was rather limp (Philippa Hawker, The Age [Melbourne], february 6, 2003). Analysis: this entry in the canon gets a bum rap. it’s consistently entertaining with some spectacular space action, notably the ramming by the Enterprise of the Scimitar. the close-up phaser weapon firefights are less convincing. More injuries should have been sustained. it is amazing that the star ships can take so much damage and yet they still run. the segments in which the Viceroy enters troi are effective. it’s hard to believe this thomas Hardy is the same person playing bane in The Dark Knight Rises and the titular character in Mad Max: Fury Road. As some have suggested, he is an acting chameleon.

(Paramount, 2009; 127 min.) ★★★

Star Trek

Produced by J.J. Abrams, damon Lindelof. directed by J.J. Abrams. screenplay by roberto orci, Alex Kurtzman. based upon “star trek” created by Gene roddenberry. edited by Mary Jo Markey, Maryann brandon. director of Photography, dan Mindel. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Michael Giacchino. Production design, scott Chambliss. Art direction, Keith Cunningham. set decoration, Karen Manthey. Costumes by Michael Kaplan. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Additional Visual effects by digital domain, svengali fX, Lola VfX. “in Memory of Gene roddenberry and Majel barrett roddenberry.” Cast: James t. Kirk (Chris Pine), spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe saldana), sarek (ben Cross), Montgomery “scotty” scott (simon Pegg), sulu ( John Cho), Captain/Admiral Pike (bruce Greenwood), dr. Leonard “bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin), nero (eric bana), spock Prime (Leonard nimoy), George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), Amanda Grayson (Winona ryder), Winona Kirk ( Jennifer Morrison), Gaila (rachel nichols), Captain robau (faran tahir), James t. Kirk as a boy ( Jimmy bennett), spock as a boy ( Jacob Kogan), Admiral richard barnett (tyler Perry). Synopsis: Attacked and fairly disabled by a gigantic spaceship, Captain robau of the U.s.s. Kelvin agrees to parlay aboard the alien craft only to be killed by nero. back on the Kelvin, George Kirk orders evacuation and remains aboard to protect the escaping pods, thus sacrificing his life. His wife gives birth on one of the pods. A few years later in iowa, the young and impetuous Jim Kirk destroys a family car while on the planet Vulcan the young spock, spawn of a Vulcan father and human mother, ponders his future. Years pass. Jim Kirk is invited by Captain Pike to join starfleet and live up to or exceed his father’s actions. A self-styled ladies man, Kirk enters the Academy and almost immediately puts the make on Uhura. rebuffed, he settles for her roommate Gaila. Although Kirk is a top starfleet student, his actions in a battle simulation provoke Commander spock to question his ethics in a hearing interrupted by an emergency on Vulcan. seven starships are dispatched and although Kirk was to have remained behind, his friend dr. McCoy uses a medical regulation to get him aboard the U.s.s. Enterprise. He convinces Pike they are sailing into a trap. Arriving at Vulcan, they find the other ships shattered. their own shields prevented such damage. Aboard a romulan craft, nero spots the Enterprise and asks Pike to come aboard to discuss the situation. before leaving, Pike has Kirk, sulu and olson eject into the Vulcan atmosphere. their mission: disrupt the giant drill the romulans are using to penetrate the planet. it’s disrupting starfleet communications. Although Kirk and sulu succeed, it is too late to prevent nero from sending a container of red liquid into the Vulcan core to create a black hole. spock unsuccessfully attempts to save his mother. Vulcan is destroyed with perhaps 10,000 survivors. on the romulan ship, Pike is questioned and a slug dropped into his mouth to latch onto his brain stem and force him to answer nero’s questions about federation protection grids. nero heads for earth. ranting to spock that they must be unpredictable, Kirk is sent to the ice planet delta Vega, where after being chased by two monstrosities he encounters an aged man bearing a distinct resemblance to someone he knows. “i am spock,” says the mysterious stranger, who endeavors to explain how in the future he failed to save nero’s planet and his people from a supernova. nero is obviously deranged. spock leads Kirk to a starfleet facility where they meet Montgomery scott and a short alien fellow or perhaps mascot.

Star Trek: Into Darkness • 275 trans warp beaming is the subject, and scotty thinks they can beam onto the Enterprise as it chases nero’s ship. they do. Purposefully antagonized by Kirk, this spock tries to strangle him but realizing his mistake turns the ship over to him. spock’s father sarek helps convince him to return to the bridge and help Kirk. Chekov thinks he can put some people on the romulan ship by exiting warp space near saturn’s moon titan. this is accomplished as the romulan ship drops the drill into earth near san francisco. Uhura kisses spock goodbye as he and Kirk beam to the romulan ship. spock commandeers the small Vulcan craft while Kirk fends off nero. spock breaks the drill’s connection with its mother ship. Kirk unties Pike. spock parries nero’s weapons with help from the Enterprise and uses red matter to create a black hole. nero says he’d rather go into the singularity with his ship than surrender—and does. the Enterprise barely survives the pull of the black hole. the future spock meets his younger self and explains this apparent anomaly. on earth, Kirk is honored and given command of the Enterprise. Pike, in a wheelchair, has been promoted to Admiral. Reviews: roger ebert thought it was fun despite the lapses in science and logic. He pointed out a common oddity in such films: “nobody is as astonished as they should be.” (roger ebert, www. rogerebert.com, May 6, 2009); the Star Tribune said it brought fresh air to a musty franchise, offering “compelling new angles on iconic science fiction characters,….” Advances in effects were never so obvious (Colin Covert, Star Tribune [Minneapolis], May 7, 2009). Analysis: this is generally considered a franchise reboot because of its alternate timeline in which we watch a young James t. Kirk, spock (spock Prime will appear in the next entry) and the other crew of the Enterprise begin their training to “boldly go where no man has gone before.” it is therefore something of a reimagining of the source that is considered another hallmark of the reboot. it has good pace and humor. the time travel explanations are so much folderol. Who concocted the “red matter?” What about that slug in Pike’s body? is that why he lost the use of his legs? one guesses it was removed. Perhaps multiple viewings would answer these questions.

(Anjini taneja Azhar), ensign brackett (Amanda foreman), spock Prime (Leonard nimoy). Synopsis: on the primitive planet nibiru, Kirk allows the inhabitants to observe the U.s.s. Enterprise rise from the ocean and soar to the volcano in which spock has set a device to quiet the mountain. but there’s trouble: his lifeline to safety has been broken. not to worry, Kirk saves him at the risk of his own life. At starfleet Headquarters in san francisco, Kirk is demoted and spock reassigned. Kirk’s infraction: in order to rescue spock, he had revealed the presence of the Enterprise to a non-technological society and thus breached the federation’s Prime directive. Admiral Pike takes command of the Enterprise. in London, 2259.55, to save his daughter Lucille’s life, starfleet officer thomas Harewood makes a deal with John Harrison. in return, he detonates an explosive in the Kelvin Memorial Archive. When starfleet admirals and captains gather to discuss the recent bombing, Harrison attacks the conclave and Pike is killed. Kirk, second-incommand, damages Harrison’s aircraft, but the criminal escapes via teleportation to the Klingon home world of Kronos. Kirk and spock, along with dr. Carol Marcus, the daughter of Admiral Alexander Marcus, prepare to take the Enterprise to Kronos and terminate Harrison

Star Trek: Into Darkness (Paramount, 2013; 132 min.) ★★★½

Produced by J.J. Abrams, bryan burk, damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, roberto orci. directed by J.J. Abrams. screenplay by roberto orci, Alex Kurtzman, damon Lindelof. based upon “star trek” by Gene roddenberry. edited by Maryann brandon, Mary Jo Markey. director of Photography, dan Mindel. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Michael Giacchino. Production design, scott Chambliss. Art direction, ramsey Avery. set decoration, Karen Manthey. Costumes by Michael Kaplan. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by Pixomondo. Cast: Kirk (Chris Pine), spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe saldana), Carol (Alice eve), John Harrison/Khan (benedict Cumberbatch), Admiral Pike (bruce Greenwood), scotty (simon Pegg), sulu ( John Cho), Uhura (Zoe saldana), bones (Karl Urban), Marcus (Peter Weller), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), thomas Harewood (noel Clarke), rima Harewood (nazneen Contractor), Lucille Harewood

Star Trek: Into Darkness poster art (Paramount, 2013).

276 • Star Trek Beyond using 72 top-secret photon torpedoes. scotty resigns and Chekov takes his place. surrounded upon arriving on Kronos, communications officer Uhura parlays with the Klingons, but that goes poorly and a firefight breaks out. Harrison appears and helps Kirk and afterward shows him a man in cryogenic stasis within a torpedo tube. the other torpedoes presumably contain the rest of Harrison’s entourage, asleep for 300 years. Genetically engineered for superior intellect and savagery, Harrison had been forced into exile. He reveals Admiral Marcus’ plan to initiate a war with the Klingons. “My name is Khan,” says Harrison. Marcus’ ship appears and demands Khan, but Kirk goes into warp drive. destination: earth. incredibly, Marcus manages to intercept him in warp drive. the Admiral transports Carol to his ship against her will and refuses to make a deal with Kirk. Aboard Marcus’ ship, scotty initiates sabotage. Kirk and Khan enter Marcus’ ship. Meanwhile, spock contacts the future spock, who warns him about Khan and how he and Kirk once defeated him. Khan is indeed untrustworthy, as he takes command of Marcus’ ship after killing the Admiral. Kirk proposes an exchange, and he, Carol and scotty are beamed back to the Enterprise. but the torpedoes he sends to Khan are bereft of Khan’s crew, instead armed and detonated. Khan’s ship crashes in san francisco bay while aboard the Enterprise Kirk risks his life by entering the radioactive core to realign it. spock tracks Khan on foot and battles him aboard construction aircraft, finally getting the upper hand and only prevented from killing him by Uhura, who says Khan is their only hope of saving Kirk. bones uses Khan’s blood to create a serum to regenerate their dead Captain. Khan is once again put into deep sleep. Months later the repaired Enterprise is re-dedicated with Kirk at the helm, spock his first officer and their five-year mission scheduled “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” Reviews: the Daily Telegraph expressed concern that director Abrams was innovative at recycling but hadn’t provided anything audiences didn’t already know. the film was “wittily derivative within a circumscribed format.” (tim robey, Daily Telegraph, May 10, 2013, p. 24); The New Zealand Herald offered that it “stands in the shadow of the best-regarded Trek film of them all, 1982’s Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.” the plot engendered a hollow feeling. on the other hand, director Abrams “keeps things moving forward always,…” (New Zealand Herald, May 12, 2013); the St. Joseph News-Press said the cast “are given meatier roles, as they have been embroiled in inner turmoil.” After impressive action sequences the story kicked in with benedict Cumberbatch, essaying Commander John Harrison “with incredible, stoic menace…” (Andrew Gaug, St. Joseph News-Press [Mo], May 16, 2013). Analysis: the cast, effects, action, and some humor make this a worthy entry in the franchise. director Abrams thought that in retrospect it lacked a central question to drive the story and they’d bungled the revelation that Harrison was Khan ( Jonathan dornbush, “J.J. Abrams was “frustrated by his Star Trek Into Darkness choices” (www. ew.com, december 17, 2015).

(Paramount, 2016; 120 min.) ★★★½

Star Trek Beyond

Produced by J.J. Abrams, roberto orci. directed by Justin Lyn. screenplay by simon Pegg, doug Jung, roberto orci, John d. Payne, Patrick McKay. based on the television series Star Trek created by Gene roddenberry. edited by Greg d’Auria, dylan Highsmith, Kelly Matsumoto, steven sprung. director of Photography, stephen f. Windon. deluxe color. Music by Michael Giacchino. Production design, thomas e. sanders. Art direction, steve Christensen, denny dugally,

natasha Gerasimova, dan Hermansen, Andrew Li, Harry e. otto, Lauren e. Polizzi, Jeremy stanbridge. set decoration, Lin Macdonald. Costumes by sanja Milkovic Hays. Visual effects by Atomic fiction inc., Kevin optical inc. Cast: Captain James t. Kirk (Chris Pine), Commander spock (Zachary Quinto), Krall (idris elba), Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe saldana), Montgomery “scotty” scott (simon Pegg), Jaylah (sofia boutella), Commodore Paris (shohreh Aghdashloo), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), dr. “bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), sulu ( John Cho), ensign syl (Melissa roxburgh), Keenser (deep roy), syl (Melissa roxburgh), orion girl (fiona Vroom), Manas ( Joe taslim), Kalara (Lydia Wilson), Keenser (deep roy), Synopsis: not quite successful as temporary peace ambassador to an alien race, Captain Kirk returns to the Enterprise. it’s stardate 2263.2 and the crew’s 966th day in space. Landing on the man-made planetoid Yorktown for provisions, Kirk is told by Commodore Paris that he might just become a Vice Admiral. spock receives less welcome news. His father, Commander spock, has died. He puts off telling Kirk, who’s in a funk wondering what exactly he and his crew are trying to accomplish. they are virtually burned out. An incoming vessel is hailed and its occupant, Kalara, claims her ship was attacked beyond the nebula. she needs help to rescue the rest of the crew. Kirk is happy to get the job. After all, the Enterprise is perhaps the only star fleet ship capable of negotiating the nebula. but it’s a trap, for when the Enterprise exits the nebula and sights the planet; it is attacked by a swarm of small ships. despite its shields, the Enterprise’s warp drive rockets are severed from the saucer and humanoid aliens under Krall force their way into the ship. Kirk orders sulu to take them back into the nebula. Krall’s looking for the Abronath, the artifact with which Kirk had tried to mollify those other aliens. the Enterprise is unable to reach the nebula under impulse drive, and Krall has its undercarriage severed from the saucer, which crashes into the planet after the crew escapes in pods. Most are captured by Krall’s legion. Kirk learns that Kalara lied. she’s with Krall. Where’s the Abronath? Uhura tells Krall that Jim will come for them, and he says he’s counting on it. bones locates spock, injured with a piece of metal still in his right abdomen. bones extracts the metal and cauterizes the wound. scotty meets an alien woman named Jaylah who’s been keeping in the shadows since her father and others were killed by Krall. Her home is actually the hulk of the long lost starship U.s.s. Franklin. Kirk finds the crashed saucer portion of the Enterprise and after a battle with Kalara and other Krall minions, causes the saucer to tilt over and crush the perfidious Kalara. Uhura and sulu find the Magellan Probe and send a signal to starfleet, unaware until Krall finds them that their message was compromised. Krall has actually accessed starfleet files. He disputes Uhura’s contention that there is strength in unity by torturing two of her crew. spock reveals to bones that his father had died. “fear of death is what keeps us alive,” says bones. one of Jaylah’s traps grabs Kirk and Chekhov. released, they enter the Franklin. Meanwhile, Krall is given the Abronath so he will not torture others. this device is the missing piece of a weapon that can essentially destroy an entire population, such as exists on the Yorktown. from there Krall intends taking his fight to the federation as a whole. the frontier will now push back. Kirk and his small band free the crew, beaming them to the Franklin, which must be fitted to fly and intercept Krall. following Krall’s fleet, spock and McCoy are transported into one of Krall’s drones, dispense with the occupants, and decipher the inner workings of the “swarm.” broadcasting music on VHf, the Franklin confounds and destroys the drones. Krall escapes. Uhura and Kirk discover in their ship’s logs that Krall was balthazar edison, the Franklin’s captain

Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace • 277 who thought he and his crew had been purposefully stranded in the nebula. His life had been prolonged via alien technology, which also created the scaly skin and visage with which he confronted Kirk. With the Abronath in his possession, Krall enters the Yorktown’s ventilation system, intent on using his weapon over City Plaza, but Kirk, who’d piloted the Franklin into the planetoid, sends the ship up through the man-made lake to block Krall’s initial plans for destruction. on foot, Kirk follows and engages in hand-to-hand combat with Krall, who tells him, “We changed, we had to.” Leaping into the low gravity slipstream, Kirk follows Krall and manages to have Krall sucked into space. spock and bones rescue Kirk before he too is whisked to his death. Kirk finds that the Vice Admiral position remains open to him but what would be the fun in that? spock examines a small box containing heirlooms, including a photograph of his father and the rest of the original Enterprise crew. Unexpectedly, Kirk is given a birthday party. Jaylah is accepted into starfleet Academy. A new Enterprise is under construction. Reviews: Entertainment Weekly gave it a C+, calling it “more fun than deep….” it lacked the big ideas and existential musings creator Gene roddenberry tackled (Chris nashawaty, www.ew.com, July 15, 2016); the News Journal called it a “pleasingly episode-like installment.” Unlike other summer blockbusters, “not everything is quite so much of a life-and-death issue…” ( Jake Coyle, News Journal 55HOURSPLUS [Wilmington, de], July 22, 2016, p.3Hr). Analysis: it grabs you from the outset with humor aplenty, and action—terrific action. the effects are splendid, often disturbing, as when the Enterprise is cut into pieces. one recalls that World War ii footage of a bomber over europe filmed from above as a wing is severed at the fuselage by flack. one might quibble over the Abronath, the latest of a plethora of devices—mostly in fantasy films—that somehow are key to a race’s existence. it’s almost magical. it can’t just be nuclear, right? the chief charm of this ongoing series lies in the repartee between the crew and the vision of a tremendous future for humankind. the Yorktown planetoid—its citizens, its buildings, its parks—show us what we might be if sociopathic politicians and fundamentalist fanatics don’t blow us up. the original tV and film series spock, Leonard nimoy, had died on february 27, 2015, and this film was “in Loving Memory of Leonard nimoy.” Chekhov was played by Anton Yelchin, an actor (Like Crazy, Terminator: Salvation, Fright Night) still on the rise. in a freak accident, he was crushed by his sUV and died on June 19, 2016, at the age of 27. “for Anton” accompanied the tribute to nimoy over the end credits.

Produced by George Lucas and rick McCallum. directed by George Lucas. screenplay by George Lucas. edited by Paul Martin smith, ben burtt. director of Photography, david tattersall. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by John Williams. Production design, Gavin bocquet. Art direction, fred Hole, John King, rod McLean, Phil Harvey. set decoration, Peter Walpole. Costumes by trisha biggar. special Visual effects and Animation, industrial Light & Magic. Creature effects, nick dudman. Visual effects by dennis Muren. Cast: Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam neeson), obi-Wan Kenobi (ewan McGregor), Queen Padme Amidala (natalie Portman), Anakin skywalker ( Jake Lloyd), shmi skywalker (Pernilla August), Yoda (frank oz voice), senator Palpatine/darth sidious (ian Mcdiarmid), sio bibble (oliver ford davies), Captain Panaka (Hugh Quarshie), Jar Jar binks (Ahmed best, voice), Mace Windu (samuel L. Jackson), darth Maul (ray Park; voice, Peter serafinowicz), ric olie (ralph brown), Chancellor Valorum (terence stamp), boss nass (brian blessed), saché (sofia Coppola), Viceroy nute Gunray (silas Carson), sabe (Kiera [sic] Knightly).

stAr WArs see Volume i for Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). nowadays it’s Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (20th Century-fox/Lucasfilm, 1999; 136 min.) ★★½

Star Wars: Episode 1—The Phantom Menace poster art (LucasFilm/20th Century–Fox, 1999).

278 • Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones Synopsis: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” the Galactic republic is engulfed in turmoil as evidenced by the trade federation’s decision to blockade naboo while on Coruscant the Congress of the republic engages in endless debates. the supreme Chancellor secretly dispatches two Jedi Knights to learn more. Qui-Gon tells his apprentice obi-Wan Kenobi that he’s optimistic, but on naboo an invasion fleet disgorges droids to wrest control from Queen Amidala. With the help of the Gungan Jar Jar binks, Qui-Gon and obi-Wan meet with the Gungan leader boss nass in his insulated city beneath the sea. Although he’s not anxious to help the aboveground dwellers, he tells Qui-Gon he might achieve some success by venturing through the planet’s core to naboo. While Qui-Gon and his crew elude ever more gigantic underwater predators, the droid army rolls into the capital and confronts Queen Amidala. Qui-Gon and company rescue her and flee toward Coruscant with hopes the republic can provide redress. A damaged hyper drive necessitates landing on tatooine where Qui-Gon and obi-Wan meet the young Anakin, slave to Watto. Meanwhile, darth Maul is ordered by his master darth sidious to pursue and capture Amidala. back on tatooine, the Jedi Knights take shelter from a sandstorm in Anakin’s home and learn of the boy’s pod-racing expertise. Perhaps he can win the next big race and thus acquire the funds to buy hyper drive parts from Watto. Qui-Gon realizes that Anakin, whose mother shmi says he has no father, has special powers, that the force is strong within him. race day arrives and Jabba the Hutt welcomes the fans. Anakin, aka skywalker, wins and Qui-Gon gets the hyper drive generator as well as Anakin’s freedom. His mother is not so lucky, but she allows Anakin to make the decision to leave and become a Jedi. out in the desert near the repaired spaceship, darth Maul attacks Qui-Gon but escapes into the ship. Qui-Gon suspects his attacker was after the Queen. the ship arrives on Coruscant where senator Palpatine and supreme Chancellor Valorum await. Qui-Gon leaves to meet with the Jedi Council. Palpatine tells the Queen that the senate probably won’t act in naboo’s favor. After all, bureaucrats are in charge now. Although she knows Chancellor Valorum has been naboo’s best supporter, the Queen will soon ask for a vote of no confidence. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon tells the Jedi Council that a sith has been found and also that he’s encountered a divergence in the force that hovers around young Anakin. He wants to train him as a Jedi. Meeting with Anakin one-on-one, Yoda detects fear and says fear is the path to the dark side. As this transpires, senator Palpatine is nominated to succeed Valorum and the Queen elects to return to naboo. the Jedi Council remains skeptical about training Anakin. Yoda says his future is clouded. instead, Qui-Gon makes Anakin his apprentice because obi-Wan is ready for the final trials to become a Jedi. Qui-Gon tells Anakin of the mid-chlorians that inhabit their bodies and are key to his future as a Jedi. Qui-Gon’s most imperative mission is to unravel the mystery of the sith. As his ship heads for naboo, the hologram of darth sidious informs Viceroy nute Gunray that his apprentice darth Maul will soon arrive. Landing in a forest on naboo, Jar Jar seeks help from the Gungans, now rousted from their underwater home. Qui-Gon says they can’t use their own power to help reinstate the Queen. Confronting boss nass, the real Queen steps forth in front of her decoy and successfully begs for help. Amidala says the Gungan army’s attack is but a diversion while she and her entourage enter the city and capture the Viceroy. the key to success is knocking out the droid control ship orbiting naboo. Joining battle on a vast plain, the Gungans initially ward off the federation droids with a force field. in the city, Amidala’s pilots commandeer craft and race toward the control ship. Anakin finds himself involved, along with the droid r2-d2, and they are instrumental in helping the Queen move on into the palace. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and obi-Wan find themselves using

their lightsabers against darth Maul’s light staff. in space, Anakin’s ship is hit, but he guides it into the control craft. below, the decoy Queen distracts the Viceroy. darth Maul, in the meantime, has mortally wounded Qui-Gon only to have obi-Wan recover his mentor’s lightsaber and send the sith spiraling down into the depths of the palace. inside the droid control ship, Anakin fires his guns that begin a chain reaction that leads to its destruction. the dying QuiGon tells obi-Wan to train the boy. the Queen tells the Viceroy to return to the senate. senator Palpatine congratulates obi-Wan and tells the Queen peace and prosperity is at hand. Yoda accepts obi as a Jedi but perceives grave danger in Anakin skywalker as his apprentice. Qui-Gon’s body is burned in a funeral ceremony. Mace tells Yoda the mysterious man guiding things is a dangerous sith, but in Queen Amidala’s capital all seems right with the world. Reviews: roger ebert thought it “an astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking.” (www.rogerebert.com); the New York Times called it “only a movie.” it was “up to snuff.” At least Lucas “still champions wondrous visions over bleak ones and sustains his love of escapist fun.” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, May 19, 1999, p. b1). in a retrospective review upon the release of a 3d version in 2012, The Guardian’s Peter bradshaw reminded us that it was greeted in 1999 as “the biggest, dampest squib of modern times … a soulless, passionless film whose only real effect was to smudge the happy memories of the three originals.” in 2012 it “seems flat rather than actually objectionable: there is something almost exotic in its intricate dullness, and characters like Jar Jar are now too boring to be offensive” (Peter bradshaw, www.theguardian.com, february 9, 2012). Analysis: this is the most controversial of the Star Wars canon, condemned by many for apparent racial stereotyping in the personage of pseudo-tribal Jar Jar binks and the evil Viceroy’s pseudo-Asian speech. Getting mixed reviews overall was an understatement although there has been some attempt to rehabilitate it. it is pure space opera that will appeal to younger viewers. After watching this at the Clayton theatre in dagsboro, delaware, one of this book’s authors was asked by his teenage nephew what part he liked best. the author was at a loss because there was no part he especially admired. not to disappoint, he designated the underwater chase. (in 2016 he admitted this to his nephew.) the lightsaber/staff fight between Qui-Jon/obiWan and darth Maul is too long. Qui-Gon said he and obi-Wan were not at liberty to help the Queen retake her throne but did in fact assist her immensely.

Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (20th Century-fox/Lucasfilm, 2002; 142 min.) ★★★½

Produced by rick McCallum. directed by George Lucas. screenplay by George Lucas, Jonathan Hales. story by George Lucas. edited by ben burtt. director of Photography, david tattersall. Panavision. CineAlta. Music by John Williams. Production design, Gavin bocquet. Art direction, Jonathan Lee, ian Gracie, Phil Harvey, Michele McGahey, fred Hole. set decoration, Peter Walpole. Costumes by trisha biggar. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: obi-Wan Kenobi (ewan McGregor), Anakin skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Padme Amidala (natalie Portman), supreme Chancellor Palpatine (ian Mcdiarmid), Mace Windu (samuel L. Jackson), Jango fett (temuera Morrison), Count dooku (Christopher Lee), boba fett (daniel Logan), shmi skywalker (Pernilla August), senator bail organa ( Jimmy smits), Cliegg Lars ( Jack thompson), dorme (rose byrne), sio bibblre (oliver ford davies), Zam Wesell

Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones • 279

Ewan MacGregor, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (20th Century–Fox/Lucasfilm, 2002).

(Leanna Walsman), C-3Po (Anthony daniels), r2-d2 (Kenny baker), dexter Jettster (ronald falk), Yoda (frank oz, voice), Jar Jar binks (Ahmed best, voice), Captain typho ( Jay Laga’aia), Watto (Andrew secombe, voice), dex diner bounty Hunter (sara elizabeth Joyce). Synopsis: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” there is unrest in the Galactic senate due to several thousand disaffected solar systems. Count dooku heads the separatist movement and the Jedi Knights are hard pressed to keep peace and order. senator Padme Amidala, the former Queen of naboo, is returning to the senate to vote on the critical issue of raising an Army of the republic to assist the overwhelmed Jedi. When her ship touches down on Coruscant an explosion kills her decoy. the new Chancellor Palpatine meets with the Jedis. Yoda says he can’t foresee the future. Padme arrives and says she thinks Count dooku is at fault. Mace is skeptical. Palpatine suggests the Jedis provide a security detail for Padme in the persons of obi-Wan and his now grown apprentice Anakin skywalker, who take their mission of protection as license to investigate the assassination plot. events move swiftly when an airborne droid inserts two poisonous slugs into Padme’s room. Anakin slices them in half while obi-Wan leaps through the window onto the droid and is carried through the city’s busy air lanes. Anakin gives chase in an air car, catching obi-Wan when the assassin in another vehicle breaks his connection to the droid. Anakin leaps onto the assassin’s car and forces it to

crash land. on the ground he is reunited with obi-Wan, who says, “Why do i get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?” Capturing the assassin, they try to learn exactly who the bounty hunter was who hired her, but a toxic dart zaps her. the Jedi Council now agrees that the bounty hunter must be found. Mace tells Anakin to take Padme to naboo. in private, Chancellor Palpatine gives Anakin a pep talk, forecasting a future in which Anakin will be the greatest Jedi of all. Meanwhile, obi-Wan, Yoda and Mace discuss Anakin. Mace tells obi-Wan to remember the prophecy that his apprentice is the only one who can bring the force back into balance. Padme tells Jar Jar binks to take her place in the senate. obi Wan goes to a diner and from dex learns that the toxic dart that killed the assassin originated on the planet Camino, where the inhabitants are expert cloners. obiWan can’t locate Camino in the archives and goes to Yoda, one of whose young students suggests information about Camino may have been erased. but only a Jedi could do that. “Meditate on this, i will,” responds Yoda. Anakin and Padme arrive on naboo. they are told that nute Gunray, despite several trials, remains Viceroy of the trade federation. out in space, obi-Wan finds Camino. He is greeted by one of the tall, thin inhabitants and meets the Prime Minister, who says they’ve been expecting him for a long time and that 200,000 “units” are ready. obi-Wan is told that in the past a Jedi who has since died made the deal to create a clone army for the republic. on naboo, Anakin and Padme kiss, but she regrets it. back on Camino, obi-Wan learns that the new clones are superior to droids. Jango fett was their

280 • Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith original host, and he’s here. on naboo, Anakin and Padme frolic in a vast, verdant meadow framed by immense waterfalls. He desires a system where politicians meet and make decisions and act. People should be made to agree by someone wise. this sounds like dictatorship to Padme. “if it works,” he says. on Camino, obi-Wan meets Jango fett and his son boba. When obi-Wan retires, Jango tells his son they are leaving. on naboo, Anakin reveals to Padme that he is in agony over her. she says it’s not possible for them to have a romantic relationship for he’s a Jedi, she’s a senator. on Camino, obi-Wan tells r4 to make contact with the Jedi Council and informs them of the army and Jango. they instruct obi-Wan to bring them Jango. on naboo, Anakin has a nightmare. Later, on the terrace, Padme finds him meditating. He saw his mother in a dream, she’s in pain, he must find her. Padme elects to accompany him. on Camino, obi-Wan unsuccessfully prevents Jango from fleeing. on tatooine, Anakin and Padme learn from Watto that he sold Anakin’s mother years before to a farmer named Lars. Meanwhile, obi-Wan tracks Jango via a homing device on fett’s ship. during the pursuit, Jango mistakenly thinks he causes obi-Wan’s ship to explode in an asteroid field. Landing in an isolated spot on Geonosis, obi-Wan observes many federation ships. Anakin and Padme, in the meantime, find his mother’s homestead and her second husband Cliegg, who lost his leg when the tusken raiders took her a month before. Anakin leaves Padme with these good people he races off across the desert. obi-Wan enters a cavern and overhears Count dooku speak with nute Gunray about a treaty. the Jedi will be overwhelmed, the republic will agree to any demands. back in the tatooine wilds, Anakin finds his mother, who dies in his arms. in his wrath he unleashes his rage on the nomads. Yoda seems to sense this and tells Mace young Anakin is in pain. returning to Padme with his mother’s body, Anakin wonders why he couldn’t save her and says that someday he will be the most powerful Jedi. now obi-Wan holds him back, but in future he keep people from dying! recalling his actions against the nomads, he tells Padme, “i killed them. i killed them all.” At his mother’s funeral, Anakin promises he won’t fail again. r4 brings a holographic message from obi-Wan revealing Gunray’s part in the assassination attempts. Mace urges Anakin to protect Padme while the Jedis take care of dooku. Padme tells Anakin they must help obi-Wan. Count dooku seems pained when obi-Wan, captive, does not agree to help him despite the revelation that the republic is under the influence of a sith Lord, darth sidious. on Coruscant, Mace and Yoda observe a senate debate in which emergency powers are given to supreme Chancellor Palpatine. He says he loves democracy and will lay down his powers when the situation is stabilized. for now he will create a grand army of the republic to counter the separatists. Yoda tells Mace he will visit Geonosis to see this clone army while Mace moves to save obi-Wan. Padme and Anakin arrive on Geonosis, enter a tunnel and are attacked by living creatures as well as machines. r2-d2 saves Padme from molten metal. eventually Jango fett and his allies surround Anakin and Padme. While waiting to be taken into the arena, Padme tells Anakin she does love him. in the arena obi-Wan is already chained to a pillar. on the next two Padme and Anakin are secured and left to the depredations of three distinctly different but equally horrific beasts as Count dooku, nute Gunray and other lieutenants observe from on high. Padme unlocks her shackles and climbs to the top of the pillar, using the chain to ward off her adversary. obiWan and Anakin also break free and battle the ferocious beasts until the Jedi Knights arrive and stave off the droids sent into the arena. Mace decapitates Jango fett as his son boba watches. Count dooku calls down to surrender but aircraft arrive with Yoda. beyond the city massed armies do battle. dooku leaves, taking with him on his speeder the design for the ultimate weapon. obi-Wan, Padme and Anakin go

in pursuit but Padme and a soldier fall from their craft onto a sand dune. obi-Wan convinces Anakin to stay where he is, Padme would want him to find dooku. in a cavern, obi-Wan and Anakin engage in a lightsaber duel with the Count, who slices off Anakin’s right arm. Yoda appears and gives dooku all he could ask for before the Count escapes into another aircraft. Padme arrives. dooku makes rendezvous with darth sidious and says the war has begun. Later, on Coruscant, after Anakin leaves for naboo, obi-Wan, Mace and Yoda discuss the fact that dooku has joined the dark side. obi-Wan feels the clones were important in their victory, but Yoda disagrees. “begin the clone war has.” Chancellor Palpatine and various senators observe the Army of the republic. on naboo, Anakin, now with a metal right arm, and Padme wed as r2d2 and C-3Po attend. Reviews: the Financial Times reviewer said he didn’t want series fans to think he considered it a good film, but he was impressed, calling it “a truly bonkers movie. A work so glorious in its inanity, so spectacular in its philosophical and political overreachings, so wacko in its special effects, that it makes Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace seem a cogent chamber drama. i loved every minute.” (nigel Andrews, “2002: another space odyssey,” Financial Times, May 16, 2002, p. 11). the Wall Street Journal said the film felt like “a crazily intricate contrivance cobbled together by precocious robots.” the fabulous special effects are just too fabulous, as if industrial Light and Magic want to show they can do anything ( Joe Morgenstern, “Gone to the dark side: flashy, Contrived ‘Clones’ Lacks force of the original,” Wall Street Journal Weekend, May 17, 2002, pp. W1, W14); New York found it “a smoother ride…” than Phantom Menace but “still a distant third… ” behind Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps quibbling over faults was not in order because such films “aren’t really meant for adults—or at least not for this adult.” nevertheless, it was to be commended as “the sort of movie we once loved and then outgrew. of course, if it was even better, we wouldn’t feel as if we’d outgrown it.” (Peter rainer, New York, May 20, 2002). Analysis: John Williams score has never been better and highlights the various and very exciting action sequences, from chases in air, space, tunnel and cavern to the fight between Jango fett and obiWan, to the arena, to the pitched battles on the plans of Geonosis. there is an overall sunny feel to it even if there are darker venues and interludes. there are predictors of things to come, as in Anakin’s murderous rage after his mother’s death and obi-Wan’s “Why do i get the feeling you’re going to be the death of me?” Who wouldn’t want Yoda to save the day? everyone gets time. this is space opera at its very best. some viewers have complained that the film looked fake, but the fact is that virtually nothing in the star Wars movies is real … hell, it’s literally all fake. Why shouldn’t some of it look fake. And yet, never has the most outlandishly, fantastically unreal looked so convincingly and persuasively substantial.

Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith (20th Century–fox/Lucasfilm, 2005; 140 min.) ★★★½

Produced by rick McCallum. directed by George Lucas. screenplay by George Lucas. edited by roger barton, ben burtt. director of Photography, david tattersall. CineAlta. fujifilm. Music by John Williams. Production design, Gavin bocquet. Art direction, ian Gracie, Phil Harvey, david Lee. set decoration, Piero di Giovanni, richard roberts. Costumes by trisha biggar. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Cast: obi-Wan Kenobi (ewan McGregor), Padme (natalie Portman), Anakin skywalker (Hayden Christensen), supreme Chancellor

Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith • 281 Palpatine (ian Mcdiarmid), Mace Windu (samuel L. Jackson), Count dooku (Christopher Lee), C-3Po (Anthony daniels), re-d2 (Kenny baker), Yoda (frank oz, voice), senator bail organa ( Jimmy smits), Queen of naboo (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Queen of Alderaan (rebecca Jackson Mendoza), nute Gunray (silas Carson), Captain typho ( Jay Laga’aia), tion Medon (bruce spence), Governor tarkin (Wayne Pygram), Commander Cody (temuera Morrison), Jar Jar binks (Ahmed best), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), darth Vader (Gene bryant), General Grievous (Matthew Wood, voice). Synopsis: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….” the republic is crumbling under attacks by the sith lord, Count dooku, and heroes arise on both sides. evil abounds. boldly has the droid General Grievous invaded the capital of the republic and kidnapped the Galactic senate’s Chancellor Palpatine. After a desperate battle above the planet, two Jedi Knights, obi- Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin, manage to take their flyers into Grievous’ command ship. With the help of the droid r2d2, they make their way to Palpatine and encounter Count dooku, who engages them in a lightsaber duel. After obi-Wan is knocked unconscious, Anakin in his fury gets the drop on dooku and against his better judgment and the Jedi code—but at Palpatine’s urging—kills the renegade. finding their way to the bridge, the Jedis, Palpatine and r2d2 face off with General Grievous, an imposing droid. outnumbered, Grievous breaks the ship’s glass and escapes, leaving obi-Wan and Anakin to pilot the craft to the ground. the Jedi Knight Mace Windu welcomes Palpatine and says finding Grievous will be the Jedi’s highest priority. Anakin finds Padme and they embrace. she’s pregnant. Grievous, meanwhile, arrives at his lair and contacts the sith Lord sidious, who says the end of the war is near and that soon he will have a new and more powerful apprentice. in their habitation, Anakin and Padme speak of the future. she wants to have her baby in the lake country of naboo. Anakin dreams and on the terrace and at her insistence tells Padme of his nightmare that she dies in childbirth. she wonders if obi-Wan can help. no, says Anakin, they don’t need his assistance. but he does seek guidance from Yoda, who says, “the fear of loss is a path to the dark side,” and “train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” When more executive powers are given to Palpatine, obi-Wan tells Anakin to be wary of the Chancellor. Palpatine asks Anakin to trust him and to be his eyes and ears at the Jedi Council. Although the Council agrees that Anakin may sit with them, they do not grant him the role of Master. Yoda says they must use the Wookies to find Grievous. obi-Wan tells Anakin he is too close to Palpatine and that the Council wants him to report on Palpatine’s actions. the Jedi’s allegiance is to the senate, not one man. Later, obi-Wan recalls for Yoda and Mace the prophecy that Anakin will renew the force, but Yoda says the prophecy might have been misread. Anakin tells Padme of his troubled mind. she says that the republic might not be what it seems and worries about the loss of democracy. Anakin visits Palpatine and is informed that Grievous’ location has been determined. furthermore, Palpatine reveals that the Council wants control of the republic. He knows they asked Anakin to spy on him. More importantly for Anakin’s concerns, he is told of a sith who could overcome death for loved ones. At the Jedi Council, Yoda says Grievous must be caught on Utapau but not by Anakin, but by obi-Wan. back on Coruscant, Anakin tells obi Wan he’s been arrogant because of frustration with the Council. obi-Wan sympathizes and urges patience. “obi-Wan, may the force be with you.” obi Wan precedes a battle fleet to Utapau. on Coruscant, Padme tells Anakin that obi-Wan is worried about him. Anakin admits to feeling lost. “i want more. i know i shouldn’t.” He tells her he’s found a way to save her. Mace tells Anakin to report obi-Wan’s success in locating

Grievous to Palpatine, but Mace senses a plot to destroy the Jedi. the dark side surrounds Palpatine. “Great care we must take,” says Yoda. Anakin tells Palpatine he feels excluded by the Council and is told they don’t trust hm. He must break the thread of lies. to know all, one must study the dark side. only thus can Anakin save his wife from certain death. Anakin realizes Palpatine is the sith lord and pulls his lightsaber, but Palpatine says to know the power of the dark side will save Padme. Meanwhile, obi-Wan chases Grievous to a flyer and finally destroys him. back on Coruscan, Anakin tells Mace, who will now ask the Chancellor to give up his emergency powers. Anakin reveals that Palpatine is the sith lord. Mace knows they must move quickly but urges Anakin not to participate. Anakin hears Palpatine’s voice telling him that if he’s destroyed so to will Padme’s child. Council members confront Palpatine but he says, “i am the senate.” He kills three Jedi but when Mace is about to overcome him, Anakin chooses Palpatine and Mace is shocked out over the city. “What have i done?” Anakin asks himself. fulfilling his destiny, says Palpatine. Anakin says he will do what he’s asked as long as Padme’s life is saved. He pledges himself to Palpatine’s teachings and is told, “A powerful sith you will become. Henceforth you shall be known as darth Vader.” they agree that the Jedis are enemies of the republic. Anakin is to lead soldiers to the Jedi temple. Afterward, nute Gunray will be wiped out and the galaxy will have peace. battle still rages on Utapau where Commander Cody is unauthorized under order 66 to terminate obi-Wan. A cannon blast sends obi-Wan and his beast into the drink. other Jedis across the galaxy are also killed. Yoda feels it and turns the table on two soldiers about to assassinate him. the Wookies lead him away. Anakin confronts the children apostle in the Jedi temple and unleashes his lightsaber. Padme cries when C3Po tells her Anakin is at the temple. senator organa manages to escape. obi-Wan swims to the surface. Yoda says goodbye to Chewbacca and leaves the planet. organa plans to warn other Jedi of their peril. obi-Wan takes Grievous’s ship from the sinkhole into space and activates emergency Code 913. organa’s hologram warns obi-Wan. on Coruscant, Padme embraces Anakin and asks what the smoke from the Jedi temple means. He says the Jedi Council had become traitors and that he will not betray the republic, his loyalty being to the Chancellor and senate. He must go to the Mustafar system to end the war. Yoda and obi-Wan gain access to the temple and find the bodies, even of the younglings, while in the senate Palpatine tells the senators of the Jedi threat. on Mustafar, Anakin kills nute Gunray and his entourage. Palpatine declares the first Galactic empire for a safe and secure society. Padme responds, “this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.” obi-Wan watches security recordings at the temple and learns that Anakin killed the younglings and has become Palpatine’s apprentice. “destroy the sith, we must,” says Yoda, adding that now Anakin is consumed by “darth Vader.” He urges obi-Wan to use his feelings to find him. obi-Wan visits Padme and reveals the extent of Anakin’s conversion to the dark side. she realizes obi-Wan has been entailed with killing Anakin. He tells her he knows Anakin is the father of her child. Padme takes ship to Mustafar. there, Anakin reports in to Palpatine. Padme arrives and embraces him and tells him of obi-Wan’s charges and how he wants to help them. Anakin counters that they needn’t run away. He’s more powerful than the Chancellor. she’s aghast and is knocked insensible by Anakin as obi-Wan appears. While Anakin thinks he’s brought peace to the empire, obi’s allegiance is to democracy. “only a sith deals in absolutes.” they begin a duel to the death. back on Coruscant, Yoda confronts Palpatine. it’s a draw of sorts but Yoda leaves via organa’s air car. Palpatine senses Anakin’s dilemma. disrupting the machinery on Mustafar, obi-Wan and Anakin duel in the presence of uncontrolled lava flows until obi-Wan

282 • Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens slices off Anakin’s legs and the rising lava sets him on fire. Palpatine arrives and rescues what’s left of his body. obi-Wan has taken Padme to Yoda and organa, and in a medical center she delivers twins before dying. Across the galaxy, Anakin is being put back together and rises, his face and head now encompassed in a black mask. Palpatine tells him that in his anger he killed Padme. Yoda, organa and obi-Wan speak of taking Padme’s children into hiding. organa will take the girl, obi-Wan the boy to tatooine. Yoda tells obi-Wan that one who returns from the dead will help him: Qui-Gon! in space, darth Vader views an incomplete, artificial planet. As night closes in on tatooine, organa presents Padme’s girl to his wife while obi-Wan observes the boy and his foster parents. Reviews: The Sun commended the return of darth Vader and Lucas’ successful tying up of series threads. some of it was “relentlessly dark.” (Grant rollings, The Sun [U.K.], May 9, 205, p. 23); AP Online said it “represents a welcome return to the ideas and the spirit that made his [George Lucas] original ‘star Wars’ a pop-culture juggernaut 28 years ago.” (Christy Lemire, AP Online, May 15, 2005). Analysis: the birth of darth Vader. Who wasn’t waiting for that scene? in sum, one has to be comfortable with this entry in the canon. it’s not perfect; that damn “tarzan yell” by Wookies is heard again and is just as annoying as it was in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. but this is a trivial complaint in this worthy conclusion to the epic space opera. the tongue-in-cheek exchanges between obi-Wan and his now more mature apprentice seem more appropriate this time around. it makes one wish that we could be party to some of their adventures between episodes ii and iii, the adventures that cemented their relationship before a forbidden marriage and sith treachery messed it up. Without going overboard, Lucas makes a number of subtle connections between this episode and the next one in the series. toward the end of the film, obi- Wan, Yoda, and senator organa stroll down a familiar corridor of an equally familiar space vessel. it’s the spacecraft in which Princess Leia flees the imperial destroyer at the beginning of episode iV, and the corridor is the same one in which darth Vader makes his first on-screen appearance. Yoda drops a clue as to how “departed” Jedi can communicate with the living. And, of course, we’re on hand for the birth of Luke and Leia. John Williams’ score for Revenge is most noteworthy, as always. His evolution as a composer is very evident in this series of films. over the decades his voice has both deepened and broadened. of particular interest in Revenge is the way he inserts themes used in earlier installments at just the right moments to call up those memories from the series’ past and future. With all said an done (for 2005), Lucas’ double trilogy is a unique and impressive accomplishment. if episodes i–iii are plagued with more problems than the earlier trilogy, it’s no big deal. it might just take another revamping to bring the original trilogy (episodes iV, V and Vi) fully into the fold technologically. there’s one sequence in the 1977 film that begs to be re-staged: the light-saber duel between obi-Wan and his former padawan. As it stands, this combat—in the context of the 1977 film—is okay, since it served largely as a distraction for Luke, Leia, Han solo and the ‘droids to make their escape off the death star. but viewed in the larger sense of being a follow-up to the hugely dramatic swordfight in Revenge, it’s brevity and lack of Jedi/sith bravura seems all the more colorless and clearly fails to fill the dramatic bill, when one considers the history of the two combatants. (Lucas obviously sees this as an issue also. He addresses it in his commentary on the episode iV dVd, stating that the contest’s “stiffness” is attributable to the age and injuries of the duelists; both are old and no longer physically up to the acrobatic swordplay of their youth. Perhaps, but consider the age of Yoda and Count dooku; they were centuries old and their respective combats brought down the house! And bear in mind

that only about 20 years separate episodes iii and iV. both Vader and obi-Wan should have been capable of better fireworks than we see in episode iV.) the 28 years spanned by the Star Wars experience surely seems to have sped by. the double trilogy has come full circle and all the major threads have been tied up neatly. for all the shortcomings to be found in the films, it’s been a fun ride. Lucas succeeded in what he set out to do in creating a worthy homage to those wonderful saturday matinee serials he loved as a kid. He’s given the kid in all of us something to love as well.

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (Lucasfilm, 2015; 135 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, bryan burk. directed by J.J. Abrams. screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt. based on characters created by George Lucas. edited by Maryann brandon, Mary Jo Markey. director of Photography, dan Mindel. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by John Williams. Production design, rick Carter, darren Gilford. Art direction, James Clyne, James Collins, rob Cowper, Peter dorme, Hayley easton-street, Jo finkel, Mark Harris, Kevin Jenkins, Ashley Lamont, Mary Mackenzie, Andrew Palmer, oliver roberts, stuart rose, stephen swain. set decoration, Lee sandales. Costumes by Michael Kaplan. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Creature effects by neal scanlan. special effects by Chris Corbould. Cast: rey (daisy ridley), finn ( John boyega), Han solo (Harrison ford), Luke skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia (Carrie fisher), Poe dameron (oscar isaac), Kylo ren (Adam driver), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Maz Kanata (Lupita nyong’o), supreme Leader snoke (Andy serkis), General Hux (domhnall Gleeson), C-3Po (Anthony daniels), Lor san tekka (Max Von sydow), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), Unkar Plutt (simon Pegg). Synopsis: Luke skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared and his friends and foes—members of the first order—are desperate to find him. on the planet Jakku, resistance fighter pilot Poe dameron obtains a map that should lead to skywalker but he must hide it in the droid bb-8 when his base is attacked by first order stormtroopers commanded by Kylo ren. Captured, Poe is eventually coerced by ren’s powers into revealing that the droid has the all-important map. A disgruntled stormtrooper Poe named “finn” helps him escape, but their fighter is damaged and crashes on Jakku. finn can’t find Poe and the ship sinks into the sand. encountering the young woman rey at a tent city, finn, she and bb-8 escape on an old craft, the Millennium Falcon. in space Han solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca, who’d flown the ship many years before, board the falcon? rey learns that Luke went into seclusion after trying to restore the Jedi order and of a student turned to the dark side. the Falcon is in turn boarded by competing groups who are distracted by dangerous critters while rey and the others escape to takodana where Maz Kanata can help them reach the resistance. finn decides to skip town. rey finds Luke’s lightsaber, has disturbing visions and runs off. Meanwhile, supreme Leader snoke authorizes General Hux to use their super weapon capable of destroying planets and tells ren he must kill his father in order to fully embrace the dark side. takodana is attacked and rey captured but ren discovers that she has as much power as he does and cannot be coerced into divulging the whereabouts of bb-8 and the all-important map to Luke’s location. she uses a mind trick on a stormtrooper guard to escape. Han, Chewbacca, bb-8 and finn, who’d thought better of fleeing, arrive at the resistance base on the planet d’Qar and meet

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story • 283 the robot C-3Po, the inactive r2-d2, and General Leia organa, mother of ren. His father: Han. finn is reunited with Poe, who leads fighters against the first order’s base as Han, Chewbacca and finn enter unseen and find rey. ren kills Han with a lightsaber even as the charges set by Chewbacca begin to explode, thus assisting Poe’s flyers only semi-successfully firing on the base. ren chases rey and finn into the forest as the collapse of the base creates earth tremors for miles. After ren bests and severely injures finn in a lightsaber duel, rey takes up the task and wounds ren, but the coup de grace is prevented when the earth separates between the two. back on d’Qar, Leia meets rey and they mourn Han’s death. r2-d2 powers up and produces the rest of the needed map that will aid in finding Luke. After bidding farewell to a comatose finn, rey and Chewbacca fly the Falcon to the planet where on an island’s jagged peak rey finds a hooded figure that turns and reveals himself as Luke. she offers him the lightsaber. Reviews: the New York Times commended director Abrams with foreswearing clutter by returning to basics. the “pace remains fast without being overly frantic.” it was almost for everyone, true believers and casual fans alike (Manohla dargis, New York Times, december 17, 2015, p. C7); the News Journal said it delivered the goods and was “a heck of a lot of fun to watch.” the “generic blockbuster mode” was held in check (Lindsey bahr/Associated Press, News Journal 55Hours Plus [Wilmington, de], december 18, 2015, p. 5Hr). Analysis: even if we didn’t know we were pining for this episode Vii, it’s emblematic of our fondness for the originals that several scenes bring a lump to the throat, e.g., the appearance of Han and Chewbacca, the meeting between Han and Leia, the mangled helmet of darth Vader, rey offering the lightsaber to Luke. Let us merely quibble again with the ease with which—in almost all big-budget science fiction films—a planet—or a death star—may be destroyed.

voice), General draven (Alistair Petrie), General Merrick (ben daniels), General dodonna (ian Mcelhinney), Grand Moff tarkin (digitized Peter Cushing performed by Guy Henry), Princess Leia (ingvild deila). With Carrie fisher. Synopsis: Galen erso continues his work for imperial weapons developer Krennic on the death star after his wife is killed and daughter Jyn goes missing. Growing up under the tutelage of the rebel saw Gerrera, she enters womanhood with a chip on her shoulder. encountering Captain Cassian Andor, who’s been fighting the empire since he was six, at rebel Alliance Headquarters, Jyn convinces him and the robot K-2so to help her find her father. Unknown to her, Andor’s true mission is to kill Galen before the death star can be completed. Jyn and her companions fly to Jedha, the empire’s Kyber crystal mining site and find saw, who shows Jyn a hologram of her father obtained from imperial pilot turned traitor bodhi rook, on whom saw used a hideous creature to read his mind. the image of Galen tells Jyn he’s implanted a bug into the death star’s data bank on scarif. When Grand Moff tarkin orders director Krennic to demonstrate his super weapon on Jedha’s capital, Jyn and her companions, now including

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

(Lucasfilm/Walt disney Pictures, 2016; 133 min.) ★★★½

Produced by simon emanuel, Kathleen Kennedy, tony to. directed by Gareth edwards. screenplay by Chris Weitz. story by John Knoll, Gary Whitta. based on characters created by George Lucas. edited by Jabez olssen. director of Photography, Greig fraser. deluxe color. Music by Alexandre desplat. original theme by John Williams. Production design, doug Chiang, neil Lamont. Art direction, Alex baily, robert Cowper, Jordana finkel, Lydia fry, Ashley Lamont, stuart rose, steven Lawrence, Helen Xenopoulos, oliver roberts, steven swain. set decoration, Lee sandales. Costumes by david Crossman, Glyn dillon. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by VfX on-site. “in Memory of Chris bayz.” Cast: Jyn erso (felicity Jones), Captain Cassian Andor (diego Luna), Galen erso (Mads Mikkelsen), K-250 (Alan tudyk), director Krennic (ben Mendelsohn), saw Gerrara (forest Whitaker), Chirrut (donnie Yen), baze Malbus ( Jiang Wen), bodhi rook (riz Ahmed), Mon Mothma (Genevieve o’reilly), senator Jebel ( Jonathan Aris), bail organa ( Jimmy smits), Lord Vader ( James earl Jones,

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story poster art (Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Pictures, 2016).

284 • The Stepford Wives the blind warrior Chirrut imwe and his well-armed protector baze Malbus, escape just in time. saw elects to remain and go down with the city. tarkin removes the death star project from Krennic, who plans to take up the issue with the emperor. the emperor’s factotum, Lord Vader, is not disposed to mollify Krennic. Moving on to the planet eadu, which contains the empire’s research and mining facility, Andor decides against assassinating Galen, who tells Krennic he did indeed infect the death star’s vital innards. rebels begin bombing the facility and Galen is killed as he reunites with Jyn. Jyn fails to convince senators and generals to institute a general attack to obtain the death star’s schematics, but Andor, K-2so, Chirrut, Malbus, rook and a small cadre of rebels join Jyn and board a stolen imperial cargo shuttle. “May the force be with us,” says Jyn as they leave for scarif. When contacting the air controllers for permission to leave, rook uses “rogue one” as the code for the ship. on scarif, while Jyn and Andor search the monumental building wherein lie the schematics, the other rebels create diversions. When the Alliance learns of this, a battle fleet is sent to help, but a shield prevents close-in bombing of the planet until rook finally manages to transmit plans and the Alliance’s hammerhead ship pushes an imperial battle cruiser into another, which crashes through the shield. While K-2so holds off stormtroopers, Jyn remembers that her father had called her “stardust,” which is the secret to finding and opening the data bank. However, Krennic seems poised to stop them until Andor zaps him. Jyn transmits the death star plans to the Alliance command vessel. the death star appears from hyperspace and at tarkin’s order, fires into the planet. on the beach, Jyn and Andor embrace as a maelstrom of rock and earth rushes their way. Lord Vader attempts to recover the plans on an Alliance vessel only to see a smaller rebel ship escape with them. onboard, Princess Leia smiles and says the rebels who gave their lives on scarif have given all the rest hope. Reviews: Foreign Policy considered it “a magnificent and heartening addition to the canon.” Looking beyond the sci-fi trappings, by showing the real effects of combat on people it was in the same league as such traditional war movies as The Dirty Dozen, The Big Red One, Platoon, and Saving Private Ryan (“Hunter,” http://foreignpolicy.com, december 21, 2016); Philly.com thought it wasn’t great, nor was it a disaster. it was, however, derivative, and “a tepid if fairly competent prequel of sorts…” to 1977’s Star Wars (tirdad derakhshani, www. philly.com, december 21, 2016); Wired.com thought it was a good film that also needed to be evaluated with the politically “toxic journey that was 2016” in mind. this was “Star Wars on its darkest timeline.” it was also a good movie (Angela Watercutter, www.wired.com, december 21, 2016). Analysis: it’s almost all combat but works well enough, with several amusing asides from our new favorite android, K-2so. besides the principals, there are many compelling characters, including Chirrut and baze. the action scenes are excellent for the most part, with a couple reminiscent of those in 1998’s World War ii saga, Saving Private Ryan, e.g., the stormtrooper “tank” entering the city and being attacked from the ground and the tops of buildings. (Has anyone noted that the stormtroopers’ armor isn’t worth a penny in protecting them against even low caliber weaponry?) some reviewers compared the film’s story with the moral (or immoral) conduct of the 2016 U.s. election. did any note that a woman runs the show in both 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (daisy ridley), and here (felicity Jones)? A bit of controversy surrounds the use of a digital Peter Cushing, reprising the role of Grand Moff tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope. disney did obtain permission.

tHe stePford WiVes The Stepford Wives

(Columbia/Palomar Pictures international, 1975; 115 min.) ★★½ Produced by edgar J. scherick. directed by bryan forbes. screenplay by William Goldman. based on the novel by ira Levin. edited by timothy Gee. director of Photography, owen roisman. Color by t.V.C. Music by Michael small. Production design, Gene Callahan. set decoration, robert drumheller. Costumes by Anna Hill Johnstone. Cast: Joanna eberhart (Katharine ross), bobby Markowe (Paula Prentiss), Walter eberhart (Peter Masterson), Carol Van sant (nanette newman), dale Coba (Patrick o’neal), Charmaine Wimpiris (tina Louise), ed Wimpiris (franklin Cover), dr. fancher (Carol rosson), ike Mazzard (William Prince), ted Van sant ( Josef sommer), Kim (Mary stuart Masterson), Amy (ronny sullivan), Claude Axhelm (George Coe), Marie Axhelm (toni reid), nettie the maid (dee Wallace), Welcome Wagon lady (Paula trueman), raymond Chandler (robert fields), Marie Ann stravios (barbara rucker), Mrs. Kirgassa (Martha Greenhouse), Mrs. Cornell ( Judith baldwin), Mr. Cornell (Michael Higgins), Carole Mallory (Kit sunderson), Market manager (Kenneth McMillan), Cop ( John Aprea), doorman (tom spratley). Synopsis: Joanna eberhart is not exactly enthusiastic about her husband Walter’s decision to move her, their two young children and fred the dog to the rural confines of stepford Village. Although she’s a budding photographer of such new York City street scenes as a young man carrying a mannequin, the thing she’ll miss most is noise. shortly after arriving at their large home, Walter finds neighbor Carol Van sant presenting him with a casserole. not long afterward Joanna sees Carol’s husband feeling her up in the garden. After telling this to Walter, he reveals that there’s a stepford men’s club he’d like to join. in the supermarket parking lot, Joanna and Walter observe a minor car accident that causes Carol to hold her head and keep repeating that she’s all right. Joanna notices that the ambulance doesn’t take Carol in the direction of the hospital. in contrast to the rather vacuous women like Carol, bobby Markowe is a free spirit. bobby’s only been there a month and has yet to figure the place out, especially the “creepy men’s association.” those men meet at Joanna and Walker’s home. Upon turning to see dale Coba in the kitchen, Joanna is told, “i like to watch women doing little domestic chores.” during the meeting, famous artist ike Mazzard draws a portrait of Joanna, paying particular attention to her eyes. A pool party at dale’s soon follows and Carol once again begins repeating herself and must be escorted away. Later, Carol tells Joanna and bobby that she’s dealing with an alcohol problem. they meet Charmaine, another new resident who loves tennis, as does Joanna. she agrees to join in what she calls a bitchin’ but Joanna terms a consciousness-raising session. Claude Axhelm asks Joanna to record her voice. it’s his hobby. during the bitchin’ session, Joanna tells the women her husband knows more about the law than about her, and Charmaine reveals that she thinks her husband doesn’t really love her. one evening, while Joanna walks the dog, Walker shows the men the bedroom he’s created for … Joanna? When fred runs up the drive of the Men’s Association, Joanna follows and encounters the policeman who explains the necessity of security in such a well-to-do community. Joanna learns that Carol had been president of the defunct women’s club. in new York, Joanna becomes depressed when the

The Stepford Wives • 285 Atkinson Gallery is negative about her photographs. While she’s gone a pickup truck takes fred away. Joanna discovers that Charmaine’s tennis court is being converted into a swimming pool. Charmaine tells her and bobby that ted hated tennis and she wants to please him. bobby tells Joanna that she suspects there’s something in the water turning the women into drones. Joanna has a former lover who’s a chemist. she and bobby go to the city and learn that there is nothing special in the water. bobby wants to leave stepford. so does Joanna and Walter agrees, but not right now, in August. bobby and her husband go away for a Plaza Hotel date while Joanna babysits. the next time Joanna encounters bobby she’s wearing a frilly blouse and puttering about the kitchen. Walter tells Joanna she might be wise to see a psychiatrist. Joanna finds a woman shrink and tells her, “it’s so awful. if i’m wrong i’m insane. And if i’m right it’s worse than if i’m wrong.” the psychiatrist tells her to take the children and she’ll contact her in a few days. back home, Joanna finds the children missing. she sneaks out in the rain to bobby’s and stabs her in the abdomen. there’s no blood but bobby begins repeating herself. back at her house, Joanna strikes Walter with a poker and is told the children are at the Association. there she meets dale, who says Charmaine has the children. He tells her she’s had the wrong idea, what’s coming is just another stage. she wonders why? “because we can.” it’s perfect for us and you, continues dale. she runs but the doors are locked. she finds a bedroom with fred and a vanity where sits a duplicate of herself. its eyes are strange, its breasts larger than hers. the duplicate rises, smiling but winding a stocking in its hand. At the market, Charmaine and Carol and bobby and Joanna shop for their families. Reviews: the New York Times thought director forbes ignored the satiric nature of the story. the humor “is presented with such facetiousness one almost feels embarrassed to watch.” (Vincent Canby, New York Times, february 13, 1975, p. 43); Variety commended ross’ “assured performance…” and called it “a quietly freaky suspensehorror story” (derek elley, ed., Variety Movie Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, p. 575). Analysis: it’s a tad too long and a smidgen less than good. there seems to be a question about what happened to Joanna. People generally don’t recall if she was replaced by a robot or became a robot. it seems evident that having stabbed bobby and drawn no blood and having the weird pseudo-Joanna approach her with a stocking to obviously strangle her, the wives were indeed robots. of course, where were the bodies of all these women secreted? Who was the scientist in the bunch who was creating them and how? We never see a laboratory. Perhaps we are to surmise that one or more of the tech companies in the vicinity are aiding and abetting the shenanigans. Ultimately, the question is, what man of these types would want an evercompliant slave? there’s apparently subtext involving women’s liberation in the 1970s. the novel and its characters probably seemed more believable.

(Paramount/dreamWorks, 2004; 93 min.) ★½

The Stepford Wives

Produced by scott rudin, donald de Line, edgar J. scherick, Gabriel Grunfeld. directed by frank oz. screenplay by Paul rudnick. based upon the book by ira Levin. edited by Jay rabinowitz. director of Photography, rob Hahn. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by david Arnold. Production design, Jackson deGovia. Art direction, Peter rogness. set decoration, debra schutt. Costumes by Ann roth. Visual effects and Animation by tippett studios. Visual effects by Whodoo efX, inc.

Cast: Joanna eberhart (nicole Kidman), Walter Kresby (Matthew broderick), Claire Wellington (Glenn Close), bobbie Markowitz (bette Midler), Mike Wellington (Christopher Walken), roger bannister (roger bart), Jerry Harmon ( Jerry Marshall Grant), dave Markowitz ( Jon Lovitz), Pete Kresby (dylan Hartigan), Kimberly Kresby (fallon brooking), sarah sunderson (faith Hill), Herb sunderson (Matt Malloy), ted (robert stanton), Hank (Mike White), Charmaine (Lorri bagley), Vic stevens ( Jason Kravits), Marianne stevens (Colleen dunn), Larry King (himself). Synopsis: Joanna eberhart, the “hardest working woman on tV,” speaks to ebs network affiliates in a large auditorium and shows them snippets of future programs such as Balance of Power and I Can Do Better! but when one of the latter show’s cast members enters the auditorium and starts shooting, Joanna is fired. Husband Walter, who quits his VP job at the network and moves wife and two children to a gated community in stepford, Connecticut where Joanna can recover from her nervous collapse, comforts her. the effervescent Mrs. Claire Wellington shows them their beautiful home and drives Joanna around the community. to Joanna’s surprise and consternation, the workouts engaged in by a bevy of beautifully coiffed housewives—Claireobics—is accomplished in lovely dresses and heels. At the 4th of July celebration, Joanna meets author bobbie Markowitz and architect roger bannister. during square dancing Joanna observes sarah sunderson go into a spinning tizzy, collapse and apparently have her head twisted by Mike Wellington. At home, Walter tells Joanna he can’t take her behavior any longer and the marriage is over. she tells him he’s right about everything. exchanging her black duds for a pink dress and apron, Joanna tells bobbie they should visit sarah. entering the sunderson house, they hear lovemaking upstairs and run away before noticing that the sarah who comes down the stairs is walking in stiff, robotic fashion. At the Men’s Association, Walter and the others use remotes to engage robot vehicles in battle. Walter tells Mike this is the way life should be. bobbie and Joanna attend a book club meeting and find that Claire wants to speak about Christmas Keepsakes and Collectibles and yearns to celebrate the birth of Jesus. At the Men’s Association, Mike asks Walter how Joanna is fitting in. the men laugh when Walter says he thinks she’ll change with the times. ted’s wife demonstrates turning a credit card in her mouth into $20 in ones. ted presses a control device to make his wife close her eyes and remain still. in an attempt to fit in, Joanna bakes a zillion cupcakes while Walter and dave Markowitz attend another meeting. bobbie and Joanna follow and sneak into the Men’s Association, finding family portraits of all the members. After they leave, roger is shown to a room and told to look down. for a couple days bobbie can’t locate roger and finds his gay apparel in the trashcan. At City Hall, Jerry Harmon, roger’s partner, introduces roger as the next candidate for state senate. roger is now all staid and suited up. “You can’t stop stepford!” becomes the rallying cry of the multitude. Joanna packs up and tells Walter that bobbie is leaving, too. she’ll pick up the kids at camp. Walter agrees to move the next day. that night Joanna wakes to see rover presenting her with a sort of remote control device with “Joanna” inscribed on it. on her Mac, Joanna learns that sarah had been Ceo of trans-Global Airlines. the other wives also had impressive work credentials. What gives? Going to bobbie’s, Joanna discovers that her friend has become a prim and proper housewife. is it drugs? brainwashing? When Joanna learns that her children aren’t at camp, she drives to the Men’s Association. there’s a new family portrait featuring her beaming self. Walter tells her she’s always beaten him at everything, that he and these men, “We married wonder woman….” Mike shows Joanna a promotional film detailing how women enter a

286 • Superman female improvement system capsule where nano chips are inserted into their brains. “Welcome to the future.” Joanna wonders if this is what Walter really wants and is angered to hear Mike say the men thought of it first. Mike presses controls to raise from below a slab on which rests Joanna’s duplicate. facing each other across the thing, Joanna and Walter descend. At the supermarket, Claire, sarah, Marianne, bobbie and the other stepford Wives are joined by Joanna. At a Men’s Association party to honor the new citizens, Mike and Claire waltz. Later Joanna dances with Mike as Walter sneaks below to the secure area—a room full of female images in tubes. Walter presses the controls and nano-reversal is begun. Upstairs, the women come out of their robotic haze as Claire cries, “it’s an apocalypse!” Walter tells Mike that Joanna never was a robot; he couldn’t do it because she wasn’t just a science project. Joanna knocks Mike’s head off. He’s a robot, “a stepford husband.” As a distraught Claire tries to reattach Mike’s head, she says she herself is real, that all of this was her project to provide romance and beauty and make men men. she had been a brain surgeon and genetic engineer but found Mike with Patricia and killed them. “You’re insane,” says Joanna. Claire kisses Mike’s head and is electrocuted but before expiring manages to crawl back to the head. six months later Joanna, bobbie and roger are interviewed on Larry King. it’s not about perfection, Joanna tells the host. back in stepford, the men do the grocery shopping. Reviews: All Things Considered found the lack of suspense compensated for by humor “until it self-destructs in the final reel.” (bob Mondello, All Things Considered/nPr, June 11, 2004); the Winnipeg Free Press thought this “overcrowded” version quite senseless. it wasn’t a thriller, a drama or social satire (Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, June 11, 2004, p. 1). Analysis: frank oz probably had a field day, but it’s crazy, not horrifying. it’s over the top but not in a very pleasing way. Can we make any correlations between Kidman’s role in this and Invasion (2007)? When ted’s wife takes a credit card in her mouth and spits out dollar bills, well, that’s insane and impossible unless she is a stone cold robot specially fitted to make change.

sUiCide sQUAd see under bAtMAn sUPerMAn see Volume i for Superman and the Mole Men (1951), Superman (1978), Superman II (1981), Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).

(Warner bros./Legendary Pictures, 2006; 154 min.) ★★★

Superman Returns

Produced by Gilbert Adler, Jon Peters, bryan singer. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by Michael dougherty and dan Harris. story by brian singer, dan Harris. Michael dougherty. based on characters created by Jerry siegel and Joe schuster. edited by elliot Graham, John ottman. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by John ottman. Production design, Guy Hendrix dryas. Art direction, damien drew, Lawrence A. Hubbs, Catherine Perez-Mansill, John Pryce-Jones, Charlie revai. set decoration, brian dusting. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Visual

effects by rhythm and Hues studios, framestore-CfC, frantic films, the orphanage inc., rising sun Pictures, Photon VfX, Pixel Liberation front, eden fX. Cast: Clark Kent/superman (brandon routh), Lois Lane (Kate bosworth), Lex Luthor (Kevin spacey), richard White ( James Marsden), Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey), Perry White (frank Langella), Jimmy olsen (sam Huntington), Martha Kent (eva Marie saint), Jorel (Marlon brando), stanford (Kal Penn), Jason White (tristan Lake Leabu), brutus (david fabrizio), riley (ian roberts), Grant (Vincent stone), Gertrude Vanderworth (noel neill), bobbie-faye (Peta Wilson), bo the bartender ( Jack Larson). Synopsis: When astronomers discover the remains of superman’s home planet, its survivor disappears. Concurrently, the paroled Lex Luthor inherits a fortune from an elderly woman. He motors into the north and finds superman’s fortress of solitude. More importantly, as he tells his moll Kitty, the crystals within this haven can do almost anything. the visage and voice of the long dead Jor-el waits to explain. At Ma Kent’s farm, her found-son Clark, aka superman, crashes back to earth. He recalls his youthful days learning to jump and fly. He is soon back at the Daily Planet, greeted with glee by cub reporter Jimmy olsen. He learns that his co-worker Lois has a child and meets the asthmatic boy, Jason, and Lois’ fiancé richard. Lois leaves to cover a space shuttle launch from inside the 747 transporting it. experimenting with a crystal in his palatial home, Lex accidentally shuts off all electricity on the east Coast, including plane and shuttle power. When power is reclaimed, the shuttle inadvertently blasts off, searing the 747. As the plane plunges toward earth, superman arrives and just barely manages to bring it to a soft landing in a baseball stadium. thousands cheer! still wrestling with the loss of Lois to another, superman ascends and views earth from space and hears his father’s voice urging him to help the humans, who want to be a great people. distracted by a woman named Kitty who’s lost control of her car, superman is late to the robbery set in motion by Luthor. Lex himself has stolen kryptonite from a museum. superman takes Lois into the sky for some heart-to-heart conversation. she says too much time has passed and that richard is a good man. superman flies to his fortress of solitude only to find the crystals missing. Assigned by Perry to cover superman again, Lois and Jason surprise Luthor on his yacht, The Gertrude. Lex sets the yacht in motion, effectively kidnapping Lois. He produces a green cylinder and when Jason seems put off by it, questions Lois as to the boy’s father. “richard,” she says quietly. offshore, Luthor has his men fire the cylinder into the sea. A chain reaction begins on the seabed that will create a new landmass and flood much of north America. Luthor will intimidate the world into doing his bidding. it concerns him not that millions, even billions will be killed. superman senses what’s happening and helps new Yorkers survive the first undersea and underground tremors caused by the crystals. richard arrives in a seaplane just in time to temporarily rescue Lois and Jason, but when land rises up and pushes the yacht into the sky, superman saves them from drowning or being crushed as it breaks in two and falls back into the sea. superman helps richard pilot the plane away, but when Lois wakes, tells richard they must go back. superman confronts Lex on the new landmass but discovers that the kryptonite in the rocks and the sharp one in Lex’s possession debilitate him. Lex stabs him with a shard and watches him fall into the sea. Lex, Kitty and his other minions escape by helicopter. sinking beneath the waves, superman hears the words of his father. He recovers enough to swim to the surface where Jason spots him from richard’s seaplane. Lois dives into the water and pulls him to the plane and extracts the kryptonite shard from his body. flying high, superman regains power from

Superman: Man of Steel • 287 criminals led by terence stamp in Superman II except with more fire the sun, dives into the ocean and lifts the new landmass from the water ’n’ brimstone). one of those Martian invasions might be the trick. and takes it into space. Meanwhile, Kitty, horrified at Lex’s plans to kill Lex Luthor needs some time off. between Gene Hackman and Kevin so many people, disposes of his crystals. He and she are marooned on spacey, he’s been given enough of the load to carry. “this Picture is an island with no gas for the helicopter. enervated by his injury and dedicated with Love and respect to Christopher reeve and dana strain of carrying the landmass into space, superman falls from the reeve.” Christopher, the beloved superman of 1978 and its sequels, sky into Metropolis. Hospitalized, he receives a visit from Lois and had died on october 10, 2004. Jason. Lois whispers into his ear. Later, at her apartment, superman visits Jason as the boy sleeps and tells him of his own father’s guidance. He says Jason will be different but will not be alone. outside, he floats in the air and confirms for Lois that “i’ll be around.” He flies into space. Superman: Man of Steel Reviews: The Blade found it “as ambitious and heartfelt as it is dis(Warner bros./Legendary Pictures/syncopy films, 2013; appointing and sort of a drag.” bosworth was too young and guileless 143 min.) ★★★★ and routh had too few lines (Christopher borrelli, The Blade [oH], June 28, 2006); the Toronto Star said it didn’t quite mesh the grandProduced by Charles roven, Christopher nolan, emma thomas, daddy of superheroes with today’s messy and violent world, but it did deborah snyder. directed by Zack snyder. screenplay by david s. transcend “the general flock of Hollywood’s flying men by making the Goyer. story by david s. Goyer and Christopher nolan. based upon question of its own existence its main order of business.” (Geoff Pevcharacters appearing in comic books published by dC entertainment. eree, Toronto Star, June 28, 2006, section: entertainment, p. e01). superman created by Jerry sigel and Joe schuster. edited by david Analysis: overall, Superman Returns is a good summer film. the brenner. director of Photography, Amir Mokri. Panavision. Color by production as a whole is quite lavish—we’ve clearly progressed to the deluxe. Prints by technicolor. Music by Hans Zimmer. Production point that it begs the point to say that producers can make anything design, Alex Mcdowell. Art direction, Chris farmer. set decoration, look as good as they want to—and the acting is on a par with that. Anne Kuljian. Costumes by James Acheson, Michael Wilkinson. noel neill and Jack Larson are displayed more prominently than Visual effects by WetA digital Ltd., double negative, MPC, scanline they’ve been in any of the modern superman films, and that’s a good VfX. thing. those nods to ancient history (after all, neill “pioneered” her Cast: Clark Kent/Kal-el (Henry Cavill), Lois Lane (Amy Adams), role as Lois Lane nearly 60 years ago) are heart-warming. for all that, Jor-el (russell Crowe), General Zod (Michael shannon), Jonathan though, the film never quite makes it up to the heights hoped for. one Kent (Kevin Costner), Martha Kent (diane Lane), Perry White (Lauthing it lacked was the absence of effort (except in the early jet crash rence fishburne), faora-Ul (Antje traue), Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet episode) made by the Man of steel whenever he had to do the most Zurer), Colonel nathan Hardy (Christopher Meloni), dr. emil Hamilfabulous things. He just struck a manly pose and held it for the ton (richard schiff), General swanwick (Harry Lennix), Clark Kent duration of the scene … those many scenes. there was a pre-premiere at 13 (dylan sprayberry), Clark Kent at 9 (Cooper timberline). interview by a dC artist or writer who mentioned the fact that one of the early hurtles they had was making superman believable by holdSynopsis: Kal-el is born to Jor-el and Lara while the planet Krypton ing back on those super powers of his. the majority realized this when is dying. the leaders refuse to acknowledge that mining the core is in the course of his adventures, superman literally extinguished a supernova with his super-breath … like blowing out a candle on a birthday cake! He doesn’t do anything quite that outlandish in Superman Returns, but his feats were clearly heading up in that direction. Again, holding the excellent jet crash scene in abeyance, it would have been appreciated if there were some show of effort on brandon routh’s part when performing these super feats. that may have been at the instruction of those in charge, but it was still a misfire. recalling the generous amount of pre-release hoopla generated by the film, one must keep reminding oneself that while actually watching it, one might come close to nodding off. there’s still the issue of putting this most super of superheroes up against common thugs like cat burglars and generic “terrorists.” Give this super man someone with boots as big as his own. something could have been done with the trio of super villains (akin to the trio of Kryptonian Left to right: Amy Adams, Henry Cavill, and Antje Traue, Man of Steel (Warner Bros., 2013).

288 • Superman: Man of Steel the cause although Jor-el makes an impassioned plea to let him save those who can be transported to another habitable planet: earth. the council is unmoved but General Zod and his rebel cadre appear and kill one of the council members. Jor-el is skeptical that his one-time good friend Zod has the best interests of the people at heart and refuses to join the rebellion. He escapes on his dragon-like beast, acquires the skull-like “Codex” and places it in the capsule that will nourish Kal-el on his journey to earth. Zod fails to prevent the launch but kills Jor-el. the rebellion is put down, Zod and his immediate followers condemned to a virtual eternity of prison in space. Jor-el’s prediction about the destruction of Krypton comes true and after sealing her husband’s body in a sarcophagus, Lara resignedly watches as the columns of flame erupt and the planet is destroyed. Kal-el’s craft arrives on earth. Years pass. the baby has become a man working on a fishing trawler when an oilrig catches fire. to the astonishment of his comrades and the men on the rig, he breaks open the hatch and, seemingly aflame, holds up the tower until a helicopter can conduct a rescue. He falls into the sea with the tower and in a comatose state recalls his childhood and the day he realized just how different he was from the other school children. Clark is the name his mother Martha and father Jonathan gave him upon finding the strange craft on their farm. After Clark rescues his classmates when their school bus suffers a flat tire and ends up in the river, Jonathan warns Clark to keep a low profile because the citizens of earth are not ready for such a being in their midst. now, in the arctic, with the key that Jor-el had placed in his own smaller craft, Clark enters an extraterrestrial ship uncovered by the military. Also scouring the ship is Lois Lane, a Daily Planet reporter who must be rescued from the craft’s security drones by Clark. Lois has been severely injured but with his eyes, Clark cauterizes her wound. back at the Daily Planet, Lois’ plea to Perry White to publish her account of the alien craft and alien rescuer falls on deaf ears. Clark has meanwhile been greeted by a hologram, or “shadow” of his father who describes his home planet’s fate and tells Clark he can be a boon, a guide to mankind. even as Clark dons the suit Jor-el had pointed out to him and learns to fly, Lois is investigating his youth and locates the Kent farm. Clark appears. He recalls the tornado that swept his dad away, telling Lois his father knew it was not yet time for him to reveal his true self. At the Daily Planet, Lois is berated for taking it upon herself to continue what Perry White had forbidden. she says her leads hadn’t panned out and she’s through with the story. in short order, however, Perry will change his tune as General Zod arrives on earth and demands of the military that they turn over the other alien, Jor-el. Clark walks into a church and speaks with the young pastor about what to do. the pastor asks what Clark’s gut tells him. the fbi arrests Lois, but Clark as Kal-el arrives and asks to see her. in handcuffs, he talks to her and then, breaking his bonds, tells General swanwick and dr. Hamilton that they cannot control him, but he is not their enemy. in the desert, Kal-el and Lois await the arrival of Zod’s craft. Zod also wants Lois, who volunteers to enter the alien craft after faora-Ul equips her with a breathing mask. inside the ship, Kal-el is weakened by its atmosphere and falls to the deck. He finds himself at his home with Zod telling him that when Krypton was destroyed, the forces sequestering Zod and his associates in the Phantom Zone became inoperable. Zod created a hyper drive and sought out Krypton’s colonial outposts only to find them bereft of life. they took armor and weapons and headed for earth. Kal-el learns that on Krypton his father Jor-el stole the genetic template for the race in order to make the planet live again. Zod wants that Codex so he can restore their race on earth. Kal-el sinks into a mass of skulls before waking up and learning from Zod that he killed his father. Meanwhile, Lois uses the s command device to produce the Jor-el hologram, which

assists her in shooting several of Zod’s companions and directs her to an escape capsule she launches before faora-el can stop her. Having eluded his captors, Kal-el is told by Jor-el that he can rescue Lois. Kal-el speeds after the capsule, extracts her before impact, and deposits her in a cornfield before flying off to protect his mother and the farm, under attack by Zod, who is looking for the Codex. Kal-el dives into Zod and both are propelled across the fields and into the town. His mask come off, Zod has trouble breathing earth’s atmosphere, and is carted off. faora-Ul and a large companion fight Kal-el even as Colonel Hardy leads planes and helicopters in a machinegun and rocket attack on them. taking down Hardy’s helicopter, faorael approaches him and when he produces a knife and she hers, says, “A good death is its own reward.” Kal-el and a rocket arrive simultaneously and the injured faora-el is taken aboard Zod’s ship. Kal-el returns to his mother. she’s okay. Lois arrives and says she knows how to defeat Zod. on his spacecraft, Zod says he was exposed to a temporary weakness. His science officer says Jor-el took the Codex but that it is not a particular object now, it is the dnA of a billion people lodged in Kal-el. Zod seems heartened to learn that Kal-el need not be alive when they harvest the Codex. Zod orders deployment of the world engine, the first over the indian ocean, and the second over new York. dr. Hamilton realizes the passage it is making through the earth increases the planet’s mass and spreads particulates into the atmosphere. it’s Kryptonian terraforming. Humanity will be exterminated. Lois explains that the capsule Kal-el arrived in is powered by the “Phantom drive” and, as dr. Hamilton realizes, can create a singularity, or black hole, if it is dropped on the world engine over new York. Lois and Hamilton accompany Colonel Hardy in a C-17 while Kal-el flies to the indian ocean where he is attacked by giant, tentaclelike things from the machine. back in new York, the rockets fired by jets at the world engine veer off course. Zod finds Jor-el’s hologram speaking to him: “My son is twice the man you are and will finish what we started. i can promise you that.” Zod vows to harvest the Codex from Kal-el’s corpse. Kal-el breaks free of the tentacles and flies into the earth. back in new York, Perry White leads some of his people from their offices as buildings crash and burn. Kal-el arrives in the nick of time to save Perry by destroying the world machine. Colonel Hardy nears Zod’s ship but Lois has trouble inserting the command device into Kal-el’s capsule. faora takes a capsule to the plane while Hamilton manages to plunge home the command device. it’s too late for Zod’s ship and Colonel Hardy tells faora-Ul. “A good death is its own reward.” Lois falls out the back of the plane but is saved by Kalel. on the ground, Zod confronts Kal-el, who is told that he, Zod, was raised with one purpose only: to secure Krypton’s survival. Humankind is of no account. their battle rages through new York City until, finally, Kal-el breaks his enemy’s neck. Lois rushes to him and they embrace and kiss. in the desert, Kal-el brings down a surveillance drone, angering General swanwick. Kal-el says he didn’t appreciate being spied on. He will help humans on his own terms. While visiting his father’s grave, Kal-el learns from his mother that Jonathan definitely foresaw his achievements. He tells her that he’s getting a job. As Clark Kent, he joins the staff of the Daily Planet and is welcomed by a smiling Lois. Reviews: the New Zealand Herald said it wasn’t perfect but “still emerges from the rubble as a fine, thrilling superman movie.” it “smartly reworks the legend and promises great things from the coming franchise.” (New Zealand Herald, June 27, 2013); Time said it “looks different from other superhero movies. it has some of the gritty physical authenticity one associates with documentaries. the whole movie is shot with a handheld camera…” (Lev Grossman, Time, June 17, 2013, pp. 50–53).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows • 289

see Volume i for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993).

collapse of the tower, the turtles give splinter the mutagen and he recovers. engaging in a potentially romantic conversation beneath an overpass, April and Vern are interrupted by the turtles in a new, souped up van. by accident they blow up Vern’s van before rolling off, singing “Happy together” as April smiles. Reviews: the News Journal said it “was not a cause for celebration.” it had “often ridiculous dialogue and story.” An “absurd coincidence… ” propelled the plot (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett, News Journal55 Hours Plus [Wilmington, de], August 8, 2014, p. 6); Entertainment Weekly said it was “a reported $125 million effects parade with a crippling identity problem.” the ransom plot was “dumb-as-nunchucks… ” (Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly, August 15, 2014, p. 56). Analysis: remember, this is entertainment for kids and kids who grew up with the turtles. so, after a two-decade big screen hiatus, it might be unkind to call it “mindless entertainment.” there are few surprises but some chuckles, as when raphael keeps bringing up the Youtube video with a cat “playing ‘Chopsticks’ with chopsticks!”

(nickelodeon/Paramount, 2014; 101 min.) ★★

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Analysis: A high-powered opening grabs the attention. it is a welcome relief to find that the Kryptonians are not invulnerable to our military. even though they seemingly can’t be killed, they can be deterred and knocked about. Henry Cavill looks the part. russell Crowe lends gravitas to Kal-el’s father. Antje traue is a fitting confidant to Michael shannon’s General Zod. the always-appealing Amy Adams has her own superpower or special effect. Like sandra bullock—and naomi Watts in King Kong—she specializes in characters 10 to 15 years her junior, e.g., Enchanted (2007).

teenAGe MUtAnt ninJA tUrtLes

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, brad fuller, Galen Walker, scott Mednick, ian bryce. directed by Jonathan Liebesman. screenplay by Josh Appelbaum, André nemec, evan daugherty. based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Characters Created by Peter Laird, Kevin eastman. edited by Joel negron, Glen scantlebury. director of Photography, Lula Carvalho. Panavision. fotokem. Music by brian tyler. Production design, neil spisak. Art direction, Miguel LópezCastillo. set decoration, debra schutt, Lisa Crivelli scoppa. Costumes by sarah edwards. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. “in Memoriam Jack Mongovian, iLM Years 1981–2014.” Cast: April o’neil (Megan fox), Vern fenwick (Will Arnett), Leonardo (Pete Ploszek; voice, Johnny Knoxville), Michelangeo (noel fisher), raphael (Alan ritchson), donatello ( Jeremy Howard), shredder (tohoru Masamune), splinter (tony shalhoub, voice), sacks (William fichter), bernadette thompson (Whoopi Goldberg), Karai (Minae noji), taylor (Abby elliott), Synopsis: Under the aegis of the intimidating martial arts master shredder, the foot Clan, so named for their habit of stepping over and on citizens, terrorize new York City. sacks of sacks industries promises to work with the police to ameliorate the situation. Meanwhile, budding reporter April o’neil sees a mysterious creature foil a foot Clan theft on the docks. one of the Clan tells his master shredder about the strange being who stopped their depredations. back in the sewers, four teenage, human-sized, mutant and very intelligent turtles—Michelangelo, raphael, donatello, and Leonardo—wonder what their mentor and ninja sensei splinter will do if he finds out they went above ground. He does learn of this infraction and makes them undergo a form of torture. April o’neil is persistent and learns of these mutant crime fighters. she also tracks down sacks, who had worked with her late father, and he is considerate. the turtles take April to splinter, who explains the mutagen her father created. As it transpires, sacks is in league with shredder and plans to release a mutagen over the city to kill millions. shredder attacks the turtles’ lair and incapacitates splinter, but the turtles escape to fight another day, that that day is with April at sacks’ wilderness mansion. once again they are bested and barely survive a chase across snowfields by the foot Clan. Gaining safety in the city sewers, they climb atop a skyscraper and do battle with shredder and halt the release of the mutagen. sacks is killed and apparently shredder, too. surviving the

(Gama entertainment Partners/nickelodeon Movies/ Paramount, 2016; 112 min.) ★½

Produced by Michael bay, Andrew form, scott Mednick, Galen Walker. directed by dave Green. screenplay by Josh Applebaum, André nemic. based on characters created by Peter Laird, Kevin eastman. edited by bob ducsay, Jim May. director of Photography, Lula Carvalho. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Martin Laing. Art direction, Miguel López-Castillo. set decoration, debra schutt. Costumes by sarah edwards. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by iola/VfX. Cast: April o’neil (Megan fox), Casey Jones (stephen Amell), raphael (Alan ritchson), Michelangelo (noel fisher), Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), donatello ( Jeremy Howard), Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), Chief Vincent (Laura Linney), Vernon fenwick (Will Arnett), shredder (brian tee), splinter (danny Woodburn), splinter (Peter d. badalementi; voice, tony shalhoub), baxter stockman (tyler Perry), Karai (brittany ishibashi), bebop (Gary Anthony Williams), rocksteady (stephen farrelly), bartender (dean Winters), Carmelo Anthony (himself), Krang (brad Garrett, voice). Synopsis: the crime-fighting teenage Mutant ninja turtles observe a new York Knicks basketball game from above the court and become irritated when Vernon fenwick is honored at halftime for his role in putting the kibosh on the evil shredder’s nefarious plans. reporter April o’neil, who also contributed to capturing shredder, is tackling another case, namely tracking dr. baxter stockman. He seems to be onto something that will aid shredder, who escapes via teleportation from policeman Casey Jones during a prison transfer even though the turtles tried to prevent his escape. shredder makes a deal with a tentacle alien. Chief Vincent takes over the case. Casey goes to the Horseshoe bar searching for clues. splinter, the turtles’ mentor, says they must be unified. shredder finds dr. stockman. April observes the transformation via mutagen of rocksteady and bebop into a warthog and a rhino. she makes off with some of the mutagen. Casey, in hockey mask and wielding a stick, helps her and is informed of the turtles’ existence. the police have obtained the vial. donatello suggests that if he and his brothers take the serum, they will become human and not have to live in the sewers and hide all the time. Vern

290 • Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines helps April break into the lab and retrieve the mutagen. rocksteady and bebop are sent to brazil to acquire another piece of the alien Krang’s portal device. the turtles take another plane and from the cargo bay leap onto rocksteady’s jet that crashes in a jungle river where both sides fight for the container but the animal men retrieve it. in new York, the turtles observe the opening of Krang’s portal. Vern shows an initially skeptical Chief Vincent film proving that dr. stockman and shredder are in cahoots. Krang turns on shredder and freezes him. the parts of Krang’s technodrome speed from the portal and begin fitting together. the turtles decide not to take the mutagen and prepare to stop construction of the technodrome. With Casey distracting rocksteady and bebop, and April and Vern defeating shredder’s female minion Karai, the turtles take on Krang and force him to return to his dimension although he promises to return. Chief Vincent speaks at a ceremony on Liberty island where the turtles are given the keys to the city. she tells them that humans will accept them now. they can be normal. but the response it, “normal. What fun is that?” Reviews: Entertainment Weekly thought it wasn’t any smarter than its immediate predecessor but was more fun because it didn’t take itself as seriously (devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly, www.ew. com, June 2, 2016); by contrast, the Hindustan Times thought the 2014 film had more humor. there were worse superhero outings but “this one, if not intelligent, is at least entertaining enough to make you not look at your watch more than twice, maybe” (soumya srivastava, Hindustan Times, June 3, 2016).

Analysis: Kids like the nonstop action, adults not so much. Like the first in the modern series, one fights to stay awake. Another portal as significant plot device? egad!

tHe terMinAtor see Volume i for The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was a 31episode tV series airing on fox between 2008 and 2009. sarah Connor was played by Lena Headey.

(Warner bros./C-2 Pictures, 2003; 110 min.) ★★★½

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Produced by Mario f. Kassar, Andrew G. Vajna, Joel b. Michaels, Hal Lieberman, Colin Wilson. directed by Jonathan Mostow. screenplay by John brancato, Michael ferris. story by John brancato, Michael ferris, tedi sarafian. edited by neil travis, nicholas de toth. director of Photography, don burgess. Color by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, Jeff Mann. Art direction, Mark Zuelzko, beat frutiger, Andrew Menzies, shepherd frankel. set decoration, Jay r. Hart. Costumes by April ferry. Visual effects supervisor, Pablo Helman. terminator Make-Up and Animatronic effects, stan Winston

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Warner Bros., 2003).

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines • 291 studios. special Visual effects and Animation, industrial Light & Magic. Cast: terminator (Arnold schwarzenegger), John Connor (nick stahl), Kate brewster (Claire danes), t-X (Kristanna Loken), robert brewster (david Andrews), scott Mason (Mark famiglietti), dr. Peter silberman (earl boen), betsy (Moira Harris), Chief engineer (Chopper bernet), Aide (Chris Lawford). Synopsis: Living off the grid but still edgy, his sleep disturbed by nightmares, John Connor relates his past and the war between man and machines. in beverly Hills, a strange globe disgorges a nude woman who commandeers a car and clothes and identifies her primary targets. At a department store, Kate brewster speaks on the phone with her Air force officer father about her pending marriage to scott Mason. General brewster has other concerns at that moment, namely a big-time computer virus that might or might not be compromised if he lets skynet go online. in the desert, another globe appears and releases a nude man. in town, John breaks into an animal hospital and steals Phenobarbital. Meanwhile, the alien man enters the desert star Club. it’s Ladies night and the male stripper on stage is a physical match for the mysterious stranger who takes his “macho man” duds. the woman from the globe begins killing her targets. Kate receives a call to hurry to the animal clinic. she meets a client with a sick cat and finds John waving a gun at her. she overpowers him and his paintball gun and locks him in a cage before realizing that they went to West Hills Junior High together. they hear glass break and Kate investigates and sees a young woman murder her client. A man in black who shoves her into the back of her truck and introduces himself to John saves Kate from the same fate. “John Connor. it is time,” says the man, who is momentarily weakened when the regenerated murderess catches up to them. distracted by police and firefighters, the woman uses her technological powers to control their vehicles and commandeers a mobile crane, chasing John and Kate across town. recovered from his injuries, the man in black pursues on a motorcycle, climbing onto the crane’s hook and surviving the woman’s attempts to destroy him. eventually the hook falls to the street, catches at a manhole and causes the truck to flip over, apparently crushing the driver. reuniting with John, the man in black, obviously a new t-101, is asked if he remembers him. not exactly, but he has the same job of protecting him. Katherine, too, she’ll be in the resistance, says the t-101. they’ve only postponed Judgment day. the t-101 reveals that the woman terminator, the tX, is very capable of dealing with his kind. released from the back of the truck, Kate berates John but learns that they had made out at a high school party. Meanwhile, the tX kills Kate’s fiancée scott and takes his form. At Greenlawn Cemetery, the t-101 enters the mausoleum and stops at the vault designated “sarah Connor 1959– 1997. no fate but What We Make.” He opens the coffin that contains various weapons, not a corpse. John tells Kate his mother died of leukemia in Mexico. the police arrive and Kate rushes out to be quizzed by the psychiatrist dr. silverman. Loading up, the t-101 walks out carrying a coffin with John inside and blasts police vehicles. the t-101 tells John they must retrieve Kate, who will one day be his wife. Kate has been running across the cemetery and to her surprise encounters scott, only it’s really the tX. the t-101 launches a grenade at her and a new chase is on. escaping with his charges, the t-101 transfers from their now roofless hearse to a mobile home. Kate’s father can shut skynet down, but the t-101 says it’s Judgment day and they must escape flee into Mexico. John threatens to shoot himself unless they find General brewster and have him close skynet. finally the t101 agrees. the t-101 had been reprogrammed by the resistance, by Kate in fact, who’d sent it back to save her and John. it is learned that

John is killed by a t-101 on July 4, 2032. At his command center, General brewster is aghast at his computers’ failure. the tX infiltrates the center as brewster decides to allow skynet to take control and hopefully destroy the virus with which they’ve been dealing. but that backfires and skynet becomes self-aware. the tX shoots brewster before the t-101 knocks her into an elevator shaft. Access codes to stop skynet are in brewster’s safe. the t-101, John and Kate realize they must fly to Crystal Peak in the sierra nevada. the tX returns and in the restroom engages in a ferocious fight with the t-101. the tX gets the upper hand, practically knocking the t-101’s head from its body and stabbing her finger into it. racing through the center and avoiding murderous drones and vehicles, Kate and John power up a magnetic field and immobilize the tX, which strives to avoid disintegration. reaching the hangar, John and Kate are set upon by the t101, which had replaced its head, but with its system corrupted, now wants to kill them. John asks, “What is your mission?” to ensure that they survive is the answer. the t-101 shuts itself down. Kate pilots the plane to Crystal Peak while the t-101 restarts itself. At their destination, Kate and John use an access panel and their codebook to open the massive inner portal. A helicopter crashes into the tunnel with the tX, but a second, larger copter follows with the t-101, which slides under the door to prevent it from falling back down. Kate and John squeeze inside while the damaged tX screeches its displeasure. the t-101 shoves an explosive device into the tX’s mouth. the remains are crushed with the t-101. in only five minutes the missiles will launch, but the great cavern reveals its unexpected secret. it’s not skynet, rather a secure facility full of 30-year-old computers designed for the President if a nuclear war were to start. John and Kate realize there’s no stopping Judgment day. they hear a voice on the radio from Montana Civil defense. John answers as he holds Kate’s hand. they realize there was no central core to be shutdown, it was software that infected the computers. their destiny was not to destroy the system and stop the apocalypse, but merely to survive it. John’s voice is heard: “the battle has just begun.” Reviews: the News Journal detected an “element of spoof ” in schwarzenegger’s portrayal. despite plot holes that came with the time-bending territory, the shock and awe of the terminator’s return (for a reported cost of $175 million) gave audiences their money’s worth (Anthony breznican/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], July 2, 2003, p. e6); the Northern Territory News called it “one of this year’s most hyped, yet least anticipated, films.” Yet there was “something there that saves this movie from being nothing more than an opportunity to cash in on its past success.” However, the darkness of the first two entries had been “diluted with a dash of sunshine.” (Chris Cater, Northern Territory News, July 20, 2003, p. 45); The Nelson Mail said it was “taut, exciting, compelling and entertaining, well worth the 12-year wait to get it on screen.” on the other hand, the plot was superficial and silly and there was a superfluity of special effects. All in all, though, it was “an unpretentious roller-coaster action thrill ride.” (The Nelson Mail, november 24, 2003, p. 21). Analysis: Comedy-drama is a venerable, if rarely discussed, cinematic subgenre, hard to pull off in a balanced way—and rarely if ever in science fiction. Yet Terminator 3 does it, balancing humor with jitters over a very possible apocalypse. naturally there are the schwarzeneggerisms, lightly modified: “she’ll be back,” “i’m back.” Plus a new one: “talk to the hand.” Add danes’ “You are terminated!,” a variation on Linda Hamilton’s “You’re terminated, fucker!” in The Terminator. Laugh out loud scenes include dr. silverman, who in Terminator 2 had quite a handful with sarah Connor, recalling with confusion those days and upon witnessing another man in black, running from the carnage, the sparkly shades the t-101 tries on but discards, danes’

292 • Terminator Salvation Kate bouncing around in the truck and her incredulity at what’s happening. Yeah, right, the man in black is a robot from the future! Add to that stahl’s John in the bulletproof coffin, the hearse with the roof ripped off, and the restroom fracas in which the t-101 smashes a urinal over the tX’s back and dunks her head in a toilet. Apart from the humor, there are gasp-inducing scenes, in particular the tX driving the mobile crane that takes out telephone poles and drags the t-101 through buildings.

(Halcyon, 2009; 115 min.) ★★★

Terminator Salvation

Produced by Moritz borman, Jeffrey silver, Victor Kubicek, derek Anderson. directed by McG. screenplay by John brancato, Michael ferris. edited by Conrad buff. director of Photography, shane Hurlbut. Panavision. technicolor. Music by danny elfman. Production design, Martin Laing. Art direction, troy sizemore. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Costumes by Michael Wilkinson. terminator Make-Up and Animatronic effects by John rosengrant. Visual effects, Charles Gibson. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic, and Asylum. Cast: John Connor (Christian bale), Marcus Wright (sam Worthington), blair Williams (Moon bloodgood), dr. serena Cogan (Helena bonham Carter), Kyle reese (Anton Yelchin), star ( Jadagrace berry), barnes (Common), Kate Connor (bryce dallas Howard), Virginia ( Jane Alexander), General Ashdown (Michael ironside), General Losenko (ivan Gvera), Morrison (Chris browning). Synopsis: Longview state Correctional facility, 2003: dr. Cogan visits Marcus Wright before his scheduled execution for his part in the deaths of his brother and two cops. “early in the 21st Century, skynet, a Military defense Program, became self-Aware. Viewing Humanity as a threat to its existence, skynet decided to strike first. the survivors of the nuclear fire Called the event Judgment day. they Lived only to face aA new nightmare…. the War Against the Machines. to Hunt down and eradicate Humans, skynet built terminators. As the War rages on, Leaders of the Human resistance Grow desperate. some believe one Man Holds the Key to salvation. others believe He is a false Prophet. His name is John Connor. the Year is 2018.” John Connor leads an attack on a skynet desert communications site below which he finds bodies and humans in cages. topside, skynet craft arrive and decimate the humans. John makes his way to Command Headquarters on a submarine controlled by General Ashdown. He is optimistic about defeating skynet because it has an off switch. John is given codes. the offensive will begin in four days. Meanwhile, Marcus Wright has escaped his fate and wanders the desert. John listens to a cassette tape on which his mother sarah urges him to find and protect Kyle reese or else he, John, can never be. return to Marcus, who enters a destroyed city and is fired on by a t-600 terminator. A young man saves him. Kyle reese. “What day is it, what year?” Marcus asks. it’s 2018. “What happened here?” the young man answers, “Judgment day happened.” subsisting on coyote meat, Marcus learns about the resistance. He makes a radio and they hear John’s pep talk. Marcus wants to head north but Kyle argues against it as san francisco is skynet Central. Marcus and Kyle meet Virginia and other barely surviving humans, but a giant robot attacks their habitation. barely escaping captivity, Marcus finds blair Williams, a resistance pilot who’d ejected from her damaged jet. she says he needs to see John Connor. When a scurvy human bunch threatens Marcus and blair, Marcus overcomes them all. over a campfire, he

says to blair, “i’m not a good guy.” she responds, “You are, you just don’t know it yet.” not far away in the Valley of death, John disables a skynet vehicle. Marcus and blair enter a forest minefield. they find John but after an explosion that incapacitates Marcus, it is revealed that he has a prosthetic limb and a hybrid nervous system. He’s a cyborg of sorts. Marcus says Kyle reese is on the transporter. blair knows that Marcus is not the enemy. John listens to his mother’s tape again and realizes that if Kyle is killed during the bombing of skynet headquarters, it means John’s own father is dead. Marcus and blair briefly escape but in a confrontation with John, Marcus maintains he can get him into skynet. “i’m the only hope you have.” Marcus is given a transmitter. General Ashdown doesn’t want to abort the assault on the word of a possibly half-human and relieves John of his command. His men don’t agree and stand down. “i’ll be back,” John tells blair. Marcus enters skynet Perimeter’s north Gate, locates Kyle, and transmits information to John. Marcus is detained and finds dr. Cogan’s image on a monitor telling him all of this has been programmed. He’s an infiltration prototype. General Ashdown’s sub’s position is identified and it is destroyed. Cogan tells Marcus, “You killed John Connor.” John, meanwhile, confronts a naked terminator and in the terminator manufacturing room, John discovers nuclear fuel cells and sets them to explode after Marcus appears and saves him from being killed. A t-800 punches Marcus in the chest, stopping his heart. As a helicopter lands to rescue the prisoners, the t-100 is halted, first, by molten metal, and then, freezing gas. John pounds Marcus’ chest to try and revive him. the t-800 recovers and thrusts a rod through John. but the electrical shock John had administered to Marcus worked and he breaks off the terminator’s head. they make it to the helicopter as the nuclear cells detonate behind them. in the triage tent, Kate Connor wonders if John’s heart can take the trauma. nearby, Kyle receives the resistance coat. John tells him, “You earned it.” Marcus tells Kate to take his heart for John. “everybody deserves a second chance. this is mine.” there is a storm on the horizon, the war will continue. What sarah Connor said may continue holding true: “there is no fate but what we make.” Reviews: The Blade found it to be “a loud bore.” it wasn’t fresh and only entertaining for a half. excitement wasn’t sustained (Kirk baird, The Blade [toledo], May 20, 2009); the Star Tribune said it “explodes, coming at you like shrapnel.” Unlike Cameron’s first two Terminator films, “this is a powerfully dumb movie.” (Colin Covert, Star Tribune, May 21, 2009). Analysis: it’s certainly not as poor as most critics thought although there are instances of “dumbness,” like the wholly unsanitary triage tent where the heart transplant was to be conducted. in 2015, after Terminator: Genisys appeared, at least one Terminator franchise aficionado weighed in at length on Salvation’s behalf, labeling it a “film that confidently broke the formula….” in short, it delivered on the unfulfilled promise of its predecessors to show a bleak future in depth (Matt Gohn, “Why terminator salvation is the 2nd best terminator film, http://stereochampions. com, July 8, 2015.) the film was designated “in Loving Memory” to John r. Kubicek sr., and special effects and make-up wizard stan Winston (Terminator 2, A.I).

(Paramount, 2015; 125 min.) ★★★

Terminator: Genisys

Produced by david ellison, dana Goldberg. directed by Alan taylor. screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier. based on characters created by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd. edited by roger barton. director of Photography, Kramer Morgenthal. Pana-

The Thing • 293 vision. fotokem. Music by Lorne balfe. Production design, neil spisak. Art direction, Andres Cubillan, Mara LePere-schloop, Jeffrey Mossa, Greg Papalia, david scott, dawn swiderski, Mark robert taylor. set decoration, Jay Hart. Costumes by susan Matheson. Visual effects by double negative. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic. Cast: “Pops”/Guardian (Arnold schwarzenegger), sarah Connor (emilia Clarke), John Connor ( Jason Clarke), Kyle reese ( Jai Courtney), Alex (Matthew smith), o’brien ( J.K. simmons), Miles dyson (Courtney b. Vance), Cop/t-1000 (byung-hun Lee), Lt. Matias (Michael Gladis), detective Cheung (sandrine Holt), Young o’brien (Wayne bastrup), Young sarah (Willa taylor), Young Kyle (bryant Prince), Young John Connor (douglas smith). Synopsis: in 2029, as pockets of humanity battle the monolithic computer system skynet and its robotic minions. John Connor has plans to prevent skynet from ever gaining the upper hand and sends Kyle reese back to 1984 to protect his mother sarah Connor. even as Kyle spins and levitates inside the time machine, he sees the hand of a terminator close over John’s mouth. in ’84, Kyle has no trouble finding sarah, already in survival mode. they escape a terminator posing as a policeman. to Kyle’s astonishment, sarah’s guardian is none other than another terminator she calls “Pops.” even more difficult to wrap one’s head around is the appearance of John, or as they soon discover, the cyborg John. Kyle convinces sarah they must use Pops’ new time travel machine to go through to 2017, not 1997, to thwart skynet. they encounter John, but Pops blasts him. A few moments later he rises up. He’s a terminator. they temporarily disable him with a Mri machine. Pursued by John, they manage to make him fall into the water bay Golden Gate bridge. the police arrest Kyle and sarah but the sympathetic o’brien helps them escape. After a helicopter chase that ends at the Cyberdyne facility, John and Pops battle it out within the latter’s time machine. John throws Pops out but cannot himself escape the explosive charges set by Kyle and sarah that blow up the Cyberdyne facility and by extension skynet. Kyle and sarah escape. Pops reappears. they go to young Kyle’s home where Kyle tells this younger version of himself to always remember, “Genisys is skynet.” Kyle, sarah and Pops ride off into a future not yet set. Unknown to them, an electrical ball beneath skynet remains intact and appearing next to it is a sort of hologram man. Reviews: Rolling Stone said it “fires on all action cylinders….” schwarzenegger still had what it takes to kicking ass (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, July 1, 2015); The News Journal thought it was “a naked money grab aimed at rejuvenating a flagging franchise.” schwarzenegger “provides much of the appeal of this otherwise purposeless redo.” ( Jake Coyle/Associated Press, News Journal 55HoursPlus, July 3, 2015, p. 3Hr); USA Today thought it was boring and confused. schwarzenegger was the best special effect (brian truitt, USA Today, July 4, 2015, p. 5b); Entertainment [Week] called it a “decent-looking, mildly diverting mess that doesn’t make a lick of sense.” (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Special Comic-Con Double 2015, July 10/17, 2015, pp. 88–89). Analysis: Most critics were harsh but it’s a decent summer sci-fi actioner with schwarzenegger in good form with his eerie cyborg smile and such homage lines from the past as “i’ll be back.” on the other hand, maybe some new iconic lines could have been devised. it might be a film that looks less than acceptable as time goes by. the time travel explanations are gobbledygook. there’s no time to try deciphering during the film, and it’s even more difficult after leaving the theater.

tHe tHinG see Volume i for The Thing from Another World (1951) and The Thing (1982).

(Morgan Creek/Universal, 2011; 103 min.) ★★★

The Thing

Produced by Marc Abraham, eric newman. directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. screenplay by eric Heisserer. based on the story “Who Goes there?” by John W. Campbell. edited by Julian Clarke, Peter boyle, Jono Griffith, frank J. Urioste. director of Photography, Michel Abramowicz. Panavision. color. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, sean Haworth. Art direction, Patrick banister, Jeremy stanbridge. set decoration, odetta stoddard. Costumes by Luis sequeira. special Makeup and thing effects b Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. digital Visual effects by Mr. X inc. Cast: Kate Lloyd (Mary elizabeth Winstead), sam Carter ( Joel edgerton), dr. sander Halvorson (Ulrich thomsen), Adam finch (eric Christian olsen), derek (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Griggs (Paul braunstein), edvard (trond espen seim), Jonas (Kristofer Hivju), olav ( Jan Gunnar roise), Karl (Carsten bjørnlund), Juliette (Kim bubbs), Lars ( Jorgen Langhelle), Henrik ( Jo Adrian Haavind), Colin ( Jonathan Lloyd Walker), Peder (stig Henrik Hoff). Synopsis: Antarctica, Winter 1982: At a norwegian scientific base a tracked vehicle falls through the ice and discovers…? American paleontologist Kate Lloyd is approached by dr. Halvorson to come to the norwegian facility and lend her expertise. What she discovers beneath the ice is a huge metallic craft estimated to have crashed a hundred thousand years before. More significantly perhaps, its occupant exited the craft. that alien is frozen in the ice, but there is equipage to cut around it and bring the block to the base. Against Kate’s advice, Halvorson has a hole drilled through the ice into the body to obtain a tissue sample. He tells his people that the cellular composition is unique and they will be immortalized as the discoverers. When derek has a second look at the slowly melting ice the creature within breaks free—into the ceiling. Halvorson forms several groups to search for it. Lars’s dog is found horribly mangled and one of the humans is impaled by a tentacle and dragged into the maw of a horrendous creature before it can be burnt with a flamethrower. it becomes evident via Kate’s microscopic investigation that the alien’s cells mimic human ones. sam Carter and derek elect to take their helicopter back to another base before the approaching storm grounds them, but Kate waves them back. she suspects they carry infection, and she’s right. Griggs splits apart and attacks olav. Kate watches as the chopper loses control and crashes beyond a distant ridge. Alone with Juliette Kate finds the woman beginning to transform and flees. Peder uses a flamethrower to kill the Juliette monstrosity as well as Karl, who’d been impaled and was being ingested. What other human might be infected, an alien in disguise? Having survived the chopper crash, sam and derek stumble into camp and are put into isolation. Kate uses a flashlight to examine team members’ teeth for fillings because the alien cannot assimilate metal. some are eliminated from consideration, others have porcelain fillings and are separated for the moment. When Lars and another go to get the Americans they find them missing. Lars appears to be taken. Peder is urged to flame sam and derek, but before he can make up his mind is shot by the latter. transformations continue, and Kate and sam are pursued by and pursue one of the

294 • 13 Ghosts creatures and flame it out in the snow. Halvorson rides off in a snowcat and Kate knows they must catch him before he spreads the infection to another base or … elsewhere. they find the snowcat near the entrance to the under-ice spacecraft. Carrying grenades, Kate and sam become separated. Kate observes a cylindrical mass of flashing and ever-changing symbols and is chased by the Halvorson alien. she eludes it, finds sam and tosses a grenade into the alien’s maw. At the snowcat, Kate reveals to sam that she knows he’s infected because he’s wearing his earring on the wrong ear. she flames him and enters the other snowcat, sitting there as the wipers move back and forth. Later a small helicopter lands at the ruins of the base. Lars appears with his rifle and has the pilot take him up to pursue the dog rushing across the snowfields. Reviews: Total Film found the effects impressive and Mary elizabeth Winstead fine in the sigourney Weaver of Alien mold. it was a step up from other recent terror films. on the down side was a lack of suspense. nevertheless, it was “A solid, reverential riff on a horror/ sci-fi masterpiece.” ( Jamie Graham, www.totalfilm.com, november 28, 2011). Screen Rant said, “the imitation of a good movie still results in a fairly suitable (if flawed) copy.” (http://screenrant.com, october 14, 2011). Analysis: there’s nothing radically new here but that which is new is good: Mary elizabeth Winstead as the intelligent heroine and an exploration of the interior of the alien craft. Who wasn’t pining for that? the story is inherently spine tingling, and this rendition keeps the audience on edge throughout. How in the world would we survive? We’d need a Kate Lloyd. there are flaws: ill-armed and without much planning and with small flashlights, Halvorson and his crew venture out at night to seek an alien with the power to break free of a block of ice and leap up through a ceiling. Here Ulrich thomsen takes a cue from robert Cornthwaite in the original film, but the Air force guys in that had seen the creature being attacked amongst their dog pack before suiting up for the chase. Why would Lars keep his dog in a pen in a separate building? if anyone suspected this was a prequel to John Carpenter’s version, the helicopter dog chase during the end credits confirms it. Have others wondered how a tentacled alien could build and pilot a metal spacecraft? it bears some thought. in this sense, the 1951 film with a humanoid-shaped alien is certainly defensible. overall, this version is not a bad prequel. it gets a star for that and another for its overall good performances by a largely unknown cast of scandinavians—and decent CGi effects. somehow, the fact that its effects got something of a thrashing from the fanboys in the audience is something of a mystery since they were pretty decent (rob bottin’s effects in Carpenter’s original got their share of complaints, too). Where the film stalls is that it still plays more like a remake than anything else. How could it not? Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece already showed us the advent of a sled dog, being inexplicably pursued by a pair of desperate or insane norwegians obviously hell bent on killing the animal. Where the prequel starts virtually remaking Carpenter is in the long middle section when the monster bursts loose from its block of ice and starts running amok throughout the compound and turning the norwegians into thing-fodder. the ensuing scenes are an orgy of goo and gore. everything happens with such a blitzkrieg of violence that the identities of the victims are simply a blur. sure, it’s horrific, but the feeling of horror doesn’t have a real chance to gestate. that’s what’s missing: in Carpenter’s film that atmosphere of horror is given the opportunity to come to a slow boil. the producers of this latest film would have been well advised to study JC’s technique; much was sacrificed in pursuit of hot-action pace. in all the confusion, little bits of plot do manage to give just enough lip service to the fact that the film is indeed a prequel. the fire-axe driven into the wall when

Mac and Carter first explore the norwegian camp is explained, as well as the suicide found exsanguinated in the radio room (shown in a deleted scene on the dVd). regardless, it hardly adds up to much of a prequel no matter how you look at it. the best of these is probably the final sequence that starts even as the end-credits begin to roll, where the two norwegian survivors—the two that appear at the beginning of Carpenter’s film—take off in a chopper and pursue the mutt escaping to American Camp 31. overall, this version is competent but unremarkable.

13 GHosts Producer, director, screenwriter and sometimes actor, William Castle found his oeuvre during the horror film resurgence of the late 1950s. His spin was to have a gimmick, e.g., the buzzing seats of 1959’s The Tingler, the skeleton coursing above the audience in 1959’s House on Haunted Hill, the “fright break” of 1961’s Homicidal. in 13 Ghosts the gimmick was the “special Ghost Viewer” (called on the ads illusiono), actually oddly shaped 3d glasses. When “Use VieWer” appeared on the screen audience members who wanted to see ghosts were to look through the red strip. for those who didn’t relish seeing spirits (whoever those might be!), look through the blue strip. the glasses did work, that is, you could better see the specters if you did use the glasses. Castle himself laid all this out before the actual film started.

13 Ghosts

(William Castle Productions/Columbia, 1960; 85 min.) ★★

Produced and directed by William Castle. screenplay by robb White. edited by edwin bryant. director of Photography, Joseph biroc. eastman Color scenes by Pathé. Music by Von dexter. Art direction, Cary odell. set decoration, Louis diage. Photographic Color effects by butler-Glouner inc. Cast: Cyrus Zorba (donald Woods), Arthur “buck” Zorba (Charles Herbert), Medea Zorba ( Jo Morrow), benjamin rush (Martin Milner), Hilda Zorba (rosemary deCamp), elaine Zacharides (Margaret Hamilton), Van Allen ( John Van dreelen), dr. Plato Zorba’s ghost (roy Jenson), Messenger (david Hoffman), Himself (William Castle). Synopsis: While lecturing about prehistoric creatures and the nearby La brea tar Pits to visitors at the Los Angeles County Museum, Cyrus Vance is called to the phone. His wife Hilda informs him that their furniture is once more being repossessed. it seems the professor just doesn’t make enough money, but he did remember to buy his young son buck a birthday present, the book Ghost Stories. during the party a telegram arrives from attorney benjamin rush. At his office the next day, Cyrus learns that his uncle, dr. Plato Zorba, had passed away and left his house to him. ben refreshes Cyrus’ memory about his uncle dabbling in the occult and jokes that ghosts go with the house. old Plato also left Cyrus a strange box that contains a pair of queer glasses. Visiting the distinctly imposing residence, rush meets Cyrus’ comely daughter Medea and tells her his ghosts destroyed Plato. buck produces an ouija board he’d found in a secret compartment. they ask if there are ghosts in the house. the platen moves to “Yes” and signifies 13. the platen floats through the air to Medea!

Thirteen Ghosts • 295 Later, moans are heard; are they just the wind? Cyrus finds a double door leading to a chamber with files. Putting on the odd glasses, he sees flaming images, including a skeleton. the number 13 is imprinted on his hand. At the museum’s Paleontology department, Cyrus consults with Van Allen, who’d read the book in Latin that Cyrus found in his house. He explains that Plato had perfected an ultraviolet ray and captured 11 ghosts. Plato himself would be the 12th ghost. Hilda calls, demanding Cyrus return home, where he finds the kitchen in shambles, items levitating and making a royal mess. buck tells his parents that Amelio killed his wife. He’s learned some of this from the witchy-looking housekeeper, elaine. Hilda urges Cyrus to take the family away. elaine admits the house can be a burden, even a curse. she shows Cyrus Plato’s bedroom, said he died of suffocation by spirits. Alone in the room, Cyrus watches a candle levitate and reveal a knob on the bed. When he turns it the canopy lowers. At midnight ben brings Media home from their date. in Martin Milner (left) and Donald Woods, 13 Ghosts (Columbia, 1960). her room, Media encounters a hideous, decayed man. next morning, buck explores the basement and finds a steamer trunk that belonged to the lion tamer Thirteen Ghosts shadrack the Great. opening a cage and donning the glasses, buck (aka Thir13en Ghosts; Warner bros./Columbia/dark Castle sees a lion and the headless shadrack attempting to put his head in entertainment, 2001; 91 min.) ★½ the beast’s mouth. After sliding down the banister to the living room, buck finds two $100 bills in a small cavity. When buck reveals this to Produced by robert Zemeckis, Joel silver, Gilbert Adler. directed ben, the attorney tells him they will find the treasure supposed to be by steve beck. screenplay by robb White, neal Marshall stevens. edin the house but not to tell anyone else. ben advises Cyrus to move, ited by derek G. brechin, edward A. Warschilka. director of Photogbut a planned séance run by elaine takes place. she calls for dr. Plato raphy, Gale tattersall. Color by Command Post/toybox West. Prints Zorba. Cyrus puts on the glasses and sees Plato leave his portrait. ben by technicolor. Music by John frizzell. Production design, sean Hararrives and tells buck to go to bed while he plans their next move. greaves. Art direction, don Macauley. set decoration, dominique Cyrus is entered by the spirit of Plato and hears “thirteen, thirteen.” fauquet-Lemaitre. Costumes by Jenni Gullett. Visual effects and Anthe spirit returns to the portrait. elaine says death walks the home, imation by Cinesite. but it turns out that the apparition that frightened Media is ben, who Cast: Cyrus Kriticos (f. Murray Abraham), Arthur Kriticos (tony carries the sleeping buck to Plato’s room and starts the canopy falling. shalhoub), Kalina oretzia (embeth davidtz), Kathy Kriticos (shanA true ghost appears and the stunned ben is forced to replace buck non elizabeth), dennis rafkin (Matthew Lillard), benjamin Moss on the bed and is thus suffocated. Later, Cyrus counts the money buck ( Jr bourne), bobby Kriticos (Alec roberts), Maggie bess (rah had discovered in panels below the banister. elaine says the spirits digga), damon (Matthew Harrison), Cyrus’ assistant ( Jacob rupp), have been released but tells buck they’ll be back. the glasses rise into dana newman/Angry Princess (shawna Loyer), billy Michaels/first the air and explode. born son (Mikhael speidel), Jimmy Gambino/torso (daniel Reviews: The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV called it “A Wesley), susan LeGrow/bound woman (Laura Mennell), Jean Kritisimple, old-fashioned haunted-house yarn,….” its “persevering quaintcos/Withered lover (Kathryn Anderson), royce Clayton/torn prince ness…” was welcome (Howard thompson, ed., The New York Times (Craig olejnik), isabella smith/Pilgrimess (Xantha radley), Harold Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle books, 1970, p. 194); shelburn/Great child (C. ernst Harth), Margaret shelburne/dire Leslie Halliwell called it “a childish thriller…” (Leslie Halliwell, Halmother (Laurie soper), George Markley/the Hammer (Herbert liwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new duncanson), ryan Kuhn/Jackal (shayne Wyler), breaker York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 766). Mahoney/Juggernaut ( John de santis). introducing rah digga. Analysis: today’s audience would rate it lame and boring, but at Synopsis: A truck and sUV convoy enter an automobile graveyard the time of release it was, if not the best movie ever made, a fair way by night and disgorge Cyrus Kriticos and his employees. With psychic to spend a saturday afternoon. red herrings: the creepy guy who dedennis rafkin’s help, Cyrus plans on capturing a ghost in his odd livers the telegram, Van Allen as potential ne'er-do-well. none of this cube. the mission succeeds in a way, but many of his men and Cyrus covers up the suspicion that Martin Milner’s lawyer is on the make himself are killed. Later, ben Moss, who tells him his uncle Cyrus has even if we don’t want to believe it. the 2001 remake was on the right bequeathed him a house, visits Arthur Kriticos, whose wife Jean was track but failed in execution. killed in a fire and saw his finances go to pot. With his young son

296 • Thor bobby, his older sister Kathy, and housekeeper Maggie, they visit the unusually strange house in isolated Willow Grove. dennis rafkin shows up, posing as a power company employee who shortly tries to convince Arthur to get out of this joint. He says he’d helped Cyrus pursue ghosts. Meanwhile, ben finds a suitcase full of money but he’s tripped a lever that opens various enclosures where Cyrus’ ghosts were incarcerated. one naked woman with a knife pursues ben, who is sliced in half by closing glass panels. Arthur and dennis try to find Kathy while bobby and Maggie escape. Kathy and Maggie are found but not bobby, who hears a voice telling him not to go into the cellar that dennis tells Arthur houses Cyrus’ ghosts. Although bobby sees his dead mother, Cyrus captures him. When Kathy puts on the spectral viewer glasses, she is attacked by a ghost and only saved by the timely intervention of Kalina oretzia, who tells Arthur she’s in the spirit reclamation business and hopes to release from their captivity Cyrus’ ghosts. it all goes back to basileus. Kalina says they can find safety in the library. it is revealed that Arthur’s wife Jean is the 4th ghost. the house is actually a machine, says Kalina, with 12 trapped spirits. their energy powers the machine that will open the “eye of hell.” it sees the past and the future, and whoever has it controls all. eleven are set free, but 12 are needed. A willing human sacrifice is required to stop the progress of the machine. the 13th ghost will short circuit the process. Arthur would have to trade his life for his children. With an inscribed glass panel, Arthur and dennis keep at bay ghosts while looking for the children. Kalina finds the gears and wheels running the house and knocks out Maggie as Cyrus appears. Kalina gives him the audiotapes of the spells. Meanwhile, two ghosts kill dennis. Cyrus tells Kalina to put Arthur’s children in jeopardy while he plays spells and makes ghosts gather around Kathy and bobby. Cyrus causes Kalina to be crushed between glass panels and confronts Arthur, who will be the thirteenth ghost. However, Maggie has recovered, stops the tapes and throws a switch that starts a chain reaction. Cyrus is attacked by the ghosts and tossed into the gears. dennis’s ghost appears with advice for Arthur, namely to rescue his children. Arthur jumps between the blades just before the house is destroyed. He, his children, and Maggie escape. Reviews: AP Online thought the opening incredibly stupid and the plot negligible. However, the glass house was “truly memorable.” (sheila norman-Culp, AP Online, october 25, 2001); the Northern Territory News said it was much scarier than other horror films. the house and special effects were seminal for this aspect (edwin edlund, NorthernTerritory News [Canada], december 16, 2001, section: entertainment, p. 24). Analysis: the house is indeed fascinating, but questions arise: Why do the spectral viewers precipitate ghost attacks? Why do flares deter ghosts? Why does Arthur constantly state the obvious? there are a couple good humorous asides, e.g., Maggie asking, “did the lawyer split?” and Arthur exclaiming, “do something for chrissake! We’re running out of corridors here!”

tHor (Paramount/Marvel entertainment, 2011; 115 min.) ★★★

Thor

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Kevin branagh. screenplay by Ashley edward Miller, Zack stentz, don Payne. story by J. Michael straczynski, Mark Protosevich. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby. edited by Paul rubell. director of

Photography, Haris Zambarloukos. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Patrick doyle. Production design, bo Welch. Art direction, Kasra farahani, Luke freeborn, sean Haworth, A. todd Holland. set decoration, Lauri Gaffin. Costumes by Alexandra byrne. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Visual effects by bUf, fuel VfX, Luma Pictures, Whiskeytree inc., evil eye Pictures. Cast: thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (tom Hiddleston), Jane foster (natalie Portman), erik selvig (stellan skarsgård), odin (Anthony Hopkins), darcy Lewis (Kat dennings), Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), frigga (rene russo), King Laufey (Colm feore), Volstagg (ray stevenson), Heimdall (idris elba), Hogun (tadanobu Asano), fandral ( Josh dallas), sif ( Jaime Alexander), isabela Alvarez (Adriana barraza), Coulson’s man with bow ( Jeremy renner), Man with eye patch (samuel L. Jackson), Pickup driver (stan Lee). Synopsis: outside Puente Antiguo, new Mexico, Jane foster, erik selvig and darcy Lewis stare into the night sky. Jane thinks she’s found an anomaly and sure enough she has. something akin to an extraterrestrial spaceship floats in, and Jane tells darcy to gun their van toward a swirling maelstrom of sand. suddenly a man appears and bounces off the van. He’s not dead. Ad 965: some legends are real. odin, ruler of Asgard, defeats Laufey of Jotunheim and his minions, thus foiling the frost Giants’ plan to conquer earth. time passes and odin is nigh to passing on his kingship to thor, his first-born son. to odin’s displeasure, thor is full of himself and keen to take offense, especially after some frost Giants enter Asgard and attempt to steal the casket that is the key to the Asgardians’ power but are killed by a giant automaton. thor suggests journeying to Jotunheim to teach the frost Giants another lesson. ignoring the truce between Asgard and Jotunheim, thor secretly undertakes this mission accompanied by several friends and his brother Loki. thor wields his hammer wonderfully well yet the frost Giants are numerous and threaten to overwhelm the small band. in the nick of time odin arrives to quell the situation and exile thor and his hammer to earth. Unseen by him or the earthlings, a flash of light behind them signifies something else has crashed to ground. Mystified by his transfer to this other world and by Jane foster, he is taken to the hospital from which he breaks out until once again hit by Jane’s van. Meanwhile, thor’s hammer has been found in the desert, but despite the efforts of the locals it cannot be pried from the ground. A man in black arrives and stares down at the pit, phoning someone to say he’s found it. As thor makes himself at home with Jane and her associates, Loki is learning from odin that he was taken as a babe from Jotunheim. during their heated confrontation, odin collapses. At a diner, thor overhears a man talk about a satellite found in the desert 50 miles west. As thor plans to go to the site, Jane discovers that Agent Coulson, the man on the ridge, is corralling her equipment. on Asgard, Loki takes charge and tells thor’s friends he’s now King. on the brink of war with Jotunheim, they must stand together. on earth, eric peruses a norse mythology book for children. Jane drives thor to what is now a government site. on Asgard, odin’s wife frigga, standing over odin’s comatose body, tells Loki that no matter what, he is their son. in the desert, thor breaks into the facility but cannot lift the hammer and allows himself to be captured. back on Asgard, the sentry god Heimdall stares into space. on earth, Jane argues with erik about the idea of a space bridge. Coulson interrogates thor. Loki appears to thor and tells him odin is dead and that their mother forbids his return. on his way out Loki unsuccessfully tries to lift the hammer. After erik retrieves thor, Agent Coulson tells his men not to capture but rather shadow them. in a bar, over boilermakers, thor says he will never hurt Jane. in Jotunheim, Loki offers

Thor • 297 Laufey a deal: come and kill odin and retrieve the casket. Heimdall assures Loki that the Gatekeeper will obey him. He tells Heimdall not to allow anyone to open the bifrost. on earth, thor brings a drunken erik back to Jane’s trailer and gives her the notebook he’d taken from the compound. He explains the nine realms of the cosmos. on Asgard, thor’s friends argue over what to do. they agree to find thor and Heimdall lets them use the bifrost. Coulson’s instruments detect their arrival on earth. finding that the quartet has gone to earth, Loki dispatches the automaton to take vengeance. thor welcomes his friends and learns that odin yet lives. Loki freezes Heimdall. in the desert, Coulson observes a strange mass of swirling clouds and the appearance of the automaton. shooting fiery rays from its eye sockets, it enters town. thor confronts it, saying to Loki that there’s no necessity to take innocent lives. the automaton knocks thor down. Jane hovers over his presumably dead body. odin wakes and releases thor’s hammer, which launches itself into space and into thor’s hand. now in his traditional raiment, thor is told by Jane, “it’s a good look.” thor pulls the automaton into the maelstrom before returning to tell Coulson he can be his ally as long as he returns Jane’s equipment. on Asgard, Loki welcomes Laufey and his band. back on earth, thor and Jane stand near the circle from which thor and his friends hope to return to their realm. Heimdall breaks free of his ice cage and creates their path. thor tells Jane he will return. frigga is unsuccessful in protecting odin’s body but Loki uses his staff to kill Laufey. thor appears. Loki turns on the weapon with a beam to destroy Jotunheim and thor tries to stop this annihilation of a race. they battle on a bridge. thor finally gets Loki down and keeps him there with the hammer on his chest, then realizes he can only stop the beam by using it to break the bridge. Loki attacks him again, but odin arrives and grabs onto thor and Loki below him. Loki voluntarily lets go and falls into the abyss. At a feast on Asgard Thor poster art (Paramount Pictures/Marvel Entertainment, 2011). thor mourns Loki’s demise and pines for Jane. overlooking their realm, thor admits to his father that he has much to learn. odin says he’s already proud nearly all facets.” Hemsworth was “solid…” but Hiddleston was “a bit of him. Approaching Heimdall, thor wonders if earth is lost to them. flat,….” Portman’s “constant swooning over thor becomes awkward “no, there is always hope,” replies the Gatekeeper. Jane is even at that to watch.” (Kevin Krauskopf, St. Joseph News Press, May 6, 2011); moment searching the cosmos for her strange visitor. Later, erik enters Rolling Stone called it “a guy movie unafraid of showing its feminine an ill-lit, labyrinthine facility and meets a black man with an eye patch. side.” director branagh was commended for using action to define that man says he’s heard about the new Mexico incident and shows character (Peter travers, “battle of the sexes,” Rolling Stone, May 26, erik a case containing some latent power. How to tap it? Loki is seen 2011, p. 91). next to erik and says, “Well i guess that’s worth a look.” Analysis: there’s a nice leavening of humor, e.g., thor getting hit Reviews: the St. Joseph News-Press called it “merely average in by Jane’s car twice, darcy volunteering to give him mouth-to-mouth

298 • Thor: The Dark World resuscitation, the local yokels attempting to lift thor’s hammer. natalie Portman is arguably a bit too puny and slightly built if not androgynous to stir the passion of he-god thor. this often happens in movies of the fantastic, e.g., Winona rider in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Kristen stewart in Twilight. note that the man with the bow aiming at thor in the desert is Jeremy renner, Clint barton/Hawkeye of forthcoming Avengers movies. And of course samuel L. Jackson is the here-unnamed nick fury of s.H.i.e.L.d. the music score and sound effects are excellent.

Thor: The Dark World

(Marvel studios/Walt disney studios, 2013; 112 min.) ★★½

Produced by Kevin feige. directed by Alan taylor. screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, stephen Mcfeely. story by don Payne, robert rodat. based on the Marvel Comic book by stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby. edited by dan Lebental, Wyatt smith. director of Photography, Kramer Morgenthal. Panavision. technicolor. Music by brian tyler. Production design, Charles Wood. Art direction, Julian Ashby, thomas brown, Jordan Crockett, Matt robinson, Mike stallion, Hayley easton street, Mark swain. set decoration, John bush. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Malekith Created by Walt simonson. Visual effects by double negative, Luma Pictures, Whiskytree, Perception. Visual effects and Animation by Method studios. “in Memory of don Payne.” Cast: thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (tom Hiddleston), Jane foster (natalie Portman), Malekith (Christopher eccleston), erik selvig (stellan skarsgård), Heimdall (idris elba), odin (Anthony Hopkins), Algrim/Kurse (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Volstagg (ray stevenson), darcy Lewis (Kat dennings), fandral (Zachary Levi), Hogun (tadanobu Asano), sif ( Jamie Alexander), eir (Alice Krige), frigga (rene russo), the Collector (benicio del toro), ian boothby ( Jonathan Howard), Carina, the Collector’s assistant (ophelia Lovibond), richard (Chris o’dowd). Synopsis: in a distant age, when the nine Worlds converged, the Asgardians under odin’s father bor defeated the dark forces of Malekith, a dark elf, whose desire was to send all nine realms back into a dark void. When the Asgardians stole the malevolent Aether he hoped would facilitate this, Malekith left the field with a few trusted lieutenants. bor decided that the best course of action was to bury the Aether where no one would ever find it. the present: on Asgard, Loki is locked away for his treason while on Vanaheim his brother thor leads Asgardian forces in battle to stabilize that world. After he smashes a rock giant the enemy bow in defeat. thor’s father odin is pleased that at last all nine Worlds are at peace. He tells his son he has earned respect and gratitude and can take the throne. thor is not yet ready to do so but does attend a great feast. Although it is apparent that sif would like to be his consort, thor gently lets her down. in London, Jane foster’s date with richard is not going well. Her friend darcy interrupts with news of a discovery. Meanwhile, out at stonehenge, erik selvig, their scientific associate, has been running around naked, trying to convince people of … what, exactly? With darcy’s new “intern” in tow, Jane drives to an abandoned factory where children have discovered a levitating car and some sort of invisible teleportation device into which one might throw, say, a shoe, and have it reappear a few seconds later—or not. Walking off to check the screen on her phone, Jane finds herself in a dark realm wherein lies a stone column from the middle of which emanates a strange red light that

spills onto and into her. Malekith awakes from his deep sleep. “the Convergence returns.” on Asgard, the Gatekeeper Heimdall tells thor the Convergence is coming. thor asks if he can see Jane, but of a sudden she is not visible. Jane wakes and discovers that five hours have passed. she is angry that darcy called the police. After all, they alone had discovered a “stable gravitational anomaly.” thor appears and takes Jane to Asgard while on svartalfheim, Malekith tells Algrim the Asgardians will suffer, and “i will reclaim the Aether.” on Asgard, various women who suggest she might not survive the soul forge infusing her body examine Jane. odin wants Jane to be sent home, but when a guard touches her and is knocked down it is realized something is amiss. He takes thor and Jane to the relic room and examines a volume concerning dark forces predating the universe. Jane may have that inside her. the book also contains the tale of Malekith, powerful stones and the Aether, which can change matter into dark matter. Meanwhile, Algrim sacrifices himself on Malekith’s dagger in order to serve his lord. Malekith inserts a red orb into the wound of the now mighty Kurse. on Asgard, frigga, or her image, speaks with Loki, who exclaims of odin, “He’s not my father!” thor and Jane kiss on a balcony before frigga appears and is introduced the earthling. in the dungeons, Loki plays with a round object when Kurse, just imprisoned, extracts the orb from his body, causes an explosion and foments a prison break. He stops at Loki’s cubicle, gives him a few moments of attention, and passes on. thor arrives and cows the prisoners. Heimdall senses approaching danger and rushes to the palace, unsuccessfully trying to encase it in a protective shield. Malekith’s craft crashes through. Malekith kills frigga before thor arrives and scorches the right side of his face. With his hammer, thor knocks Malekith and Kurse off the balcony, but there’s a ship waiting for them. frigga’s funeral much resembles a Viking inhumation as she is laid on a small boat that an arrow sets afire before it goes over the cataract. in Asgard, Jane watches Aether approach in the sky. odin is told the palace shield can’t be fixed and they are powerless against another attack. thor says they must do something. odin is adamant that any invasion will be countered and he will win. thor and Heimdall confer and decide to risk charges of treason. Loki is another power on Asgard and he must be enlisted in the fight. Using, first, Malekith’s original ship, then, with Jane, a small Asgardian craft, they enter a cavern and Malekith’s dark world. Malekith say, “the Aether has found its way home.” thor is mistrustful of Loki but seems to accept his brother’s “trust my rage.” in London, darcy and ian succeed in getting erik released from a mental institution. outside they see a flock of birds disappear and reappear. back on Malekith’s world, Loki stabs thor, cuts off his hand, and throws Jane at Malekith’s feet, asking in return the opportunity to watch Asgard’s demise. remembering Loki from the dungeon, Kurse tells Malekith he is an enemy of Asgard. Malekith raises Jane into the air and sees earth. When he releases her and she drops to the ground, thor yells to Loki, who restores his arm. thor’s hammer returns and he blasts the Aether, which explodes into tiny red shards that float skyward. Malekith suddenly ingests the Aether, and Kurse produces an explosive ball that thor prevents from sucking away Loki. Malekith’s ship disappears. Loki is surrounded but fights off Malekith’s soldiers and stabs Kurse, who in turn presses his body to his so that he too is impaled—but not before Loki places his explosive ball on Kurse, who explodes. thor rushes to the expiring Loki. thor and Jane retire to a cave where Jane says she saw Malekith on earth. she hears her phone and finds richard on the other end. simultaneously she finds the keys that were used in the teleportation portal back in that factory. that means there is a portal back to earth. she and thor meet up with darcy and erik. on Asgard, odin is told that a body was found: Loki. in London, Jane and her chums discuss convergence,

The Time Machine • 299 and erik plots out its nexus: Greenwich. When Malekith’s ship arrives, thor attacks. Jane uses her device portal mine to move darcy and her associate ian out of harm’s way. thor’s hammer returns to him. A beast from the dark World is unleashed on earth. thor finds himself in the Underground. the nine worlds are converging and Malekith raises his arms to create a swirling Aether maelstrom. thor enters it as Jane uses her device to help him sever Malekith’s right arm. the hammer returns again and is smashed down on Malekith. His ship starts to topple over but actually falls on Malekith in the dark World. on Asgard, odin and thor discuss the recent calamity. thor would rather be a good man than a great King. Wryly, odin says, “Go, my son.” With his back turned to his father, thor does not see odin turn into a smiling Loki. during the end credits Volstagg and sif present the Collector with a small container of what appears to be Aether. He says he will keep it safe but when they leave says to his assistant Carina, “one now, five to go.” Reviews: for The Guardian it “delivers a hammer-blow of boredom to the back of the head.” Part of the problem was that tom Hiddleston’s Loki was sidelined (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, october 31, 2013); the Tulsa World considered it Marvel studios’ “first cinematic blunder.” The Avengers set the bar high, but this went “below the bar and sometimes into lowbrow.” the energy quotient was “so low that apparently someone mistook ‘dark world’ to mean ‘brooding, lethargic world.’” (Michael smith, Tulsa World, november 9, 2013). Analysis: there are several references to what thor’s been doing, e.g., back in new York quelling an alien invasion. see The Avengers. it’s got its share of standard and unwelcome little scenes, e.g., Jane losing control and slapping people and hardly able to control her passions. one guesses it was love at first sight of thor. note that Carina also appears in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). once again Alice Krige returns to the big screen but merely stands around and says a few words. How did Loki show up here after falling into the abyss in Thor? fan opinion is that he created an illusion of himself or employed magic, which allowed him to circumvent the bifrost bridge and leave Asgard. the funniest moment may be when Loki transforms his image into others as he walks beside thor on their way out of the palace. this includes appearing as Captain America.

tHe tiMe MACHine (MGM/Galaxy films, 1960; 103 min.) ★★★½

The Time Machine

Produced and directed by George Pal. screenplay by david duncan. based on the novel by H.G. Wells. edited by George tomasini. director of Photography, Paul C. Vogel. Metrocolor. Music by russell Garcia. Art direction, George davis, William ferrari. set decoration, f. Keogh Gleason, Henry Grace. Makeup, sydney Guilaroff, William tuttle. special effects, Wah Chang, Gene Warren, Jim danforth. Cast: George (rod taylor), david/James filby (Alan Young), Weena (Yvette Mimieux), dr. Philip Hillyer (sebastian Cabot), Anthony bridewell (tom Helmore), Walter Kemp (Whit bissell), Mrs. Watchett (doris Lloyd), talking rings (Paul frees, voice), eloi men (bob barran, James skelly), eloi girl ( Josephine Powell). Synopsis: on december 31, 1899, four men gather for dinner at the timepiece-laden London home of their inventor friend George. their host shows up late in a state of dishabille. After downing a glass

of wine, he launches into an incredible tale, begun the week before when he had regaled the same dinner guests with his theory of the fourth dimension—time. “time changes space,” he’d maintained and produced an exquisitely rendered miniature “contraption,” as some guests designated it. they were perplexed by its planned disappearance. only david filby put any credence into the “trick” and after the others had gone urged George not to do anything hasty. during the ensuing week, George tested his full-scale model and traveled into the future. His first stop was in september 1917, where he met filby’s son James, who told him his father was killed in the war a year before. saddened, George continued on to June 19, 1940, and found another conflict occurring, this time in the air. next stop, August 18, 1960. sirens were sounding and the now aged James filby urged George to enter a shelter because the “mushrooms will be spouting.” He spied an atomic satellite zeroing in, followed by an explosion and volcanic eruptions. George only just made it to the machine in time and rushed headlong into the future, halting on october 12, 802,701, thrown from the machine onto the grass adjacent to a monumental stone building topped by a stern sphinx. He began to explore and found chattering, happy-go-lucky people gamboling by a river. He rescued a drowning girl who her compatriots ignored. she wondered why he saved her? As the sun set, she hastened to take him inside another building. in the daylight one of the male eloi took George to a library, but all the books were crumbling to dust. George was furious that the labor of centuries has been left to rot and vowed to return to his time to die among men. but his machine was missing, its tracks leading to the closed doors of the sphinx. As night approached, he noticed something moving in the bushes. Weena revealed the existence of Morlocks, who provided the eloi with food and clothing. George prevented Weena from being dragged off and lit a campfire to keep the Morlocks at bay. next day he was led to a sort of well and heard machinery under the earth. Weena took him to a building wherein were found “talking rings.” When they were twirled like a top a voice revealed that a centuries-long war had ended but the earth had become so polluted that some had ventured into its bowels while others decided to take their chances in the sunlight. George returned to the well and began a descent, but sirens sounded and Weena disappeared. He climbed back up and tried to find her but she had been imprisoned within the sphinx. According to one of the eloi males, it was now “All Clear.” George returned to the well and underground found the pulsing machinery he’d heard above. More disturbing were the skeletons—evidence of cannibalism. soon the sacrificial eloi appeared, herded like animals. George grabbed a whip from a Morlock and momentarily intimidated them, but it was his matches that saved the day. He lit his makeshift torch and with the help of the eloi, made his escape. He’d started a fire and he and the eloi watched as explosions wracked the subterranean caverns and the ground collapsed. After a conversation with Weena, George was informed that the sphinx was crumbling. the doors had been opened. therein lay his machine! He entered, the doors closed behind him, and he had to beat off Morlocks in time to start the machine. He went back, back to January 5, 1900, his machine appearing in the garden. His guests don’t believe this story even though he is the worse for wear and the flower he shows david is unique. the guests leave but filby returns. inside, he hears strange whirring and breaks into George’s workroom only to find—nothing but skid tracks to the garden. filby realizes the machine had been in the sphinx in the future but must have been dragged back inside by George. He will obviously want to appear in Weena’s time outside the sphinx. filby ponders what he took with him to create a new society. the housekeeper notices three gaps on the shelves. filby wonders aloud what three books one would take. He tells the housekeeper that

300 • The Time Machine

Rod Taylor, The Time Machine (MGM, 1960).

George might or might not return. “You see, he has all the time in the world.” Reviews: the New York Times considered the drama “creaky and a bit passé.” filming in color, however, polished and burnished the saga (bosley Crowther, New York Times, August 18, 1960, p. 19); there was “expert use of color, lending excitement to green eyes and even Victorian wine glasses, the striking sets and the make-believe expertise, under the direction of producer George Pal, provide intriguing tang. rod taylor is a non-nonsensical hero,…” (Howard thompson, ed., The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle books, 1970, p. 199); Leslie Halliwell thought the excellent period recreation and “an undeniably charming machine,…” were let down by a dull future, even with Morlocks (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, 1977, p. 781); The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film thought it “a wonderful version of H.G. Wells’ amazing story…” (Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, new York: ballantine books, 1983, p. 719). Analysis: Australian-born rod taylor’s career had been ramping up for several years. in The Time Machine he had the lead role and

made the most of it. opined Cinema Retro, “even with its ropey timelapse effects and stilted script final act, it still knocks the socks off the turgid remake, and the Morlocks are still, amazingly when you actually look at these tubby guys in blue make-up running around, the stuff of nightmares. taylor proved himself a reliably solid hero, albeit in the everyman role—a character you could identify with. He conveyed amazement, frustration, fear and anger in as plausible a manner as the film could allow.” (steve saragossi, “rod taylor: everyman Hero,” Cinema Retro, Winter/new Year 2011, p. 15). As with disney’s 1954 version of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the previous year’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, the time period of the novel was kept, thus the Victorian charm of the film. Perhaps this was what the New York Times critic meant by calling it “passé,” but it wasn’t passé to the youth of the time who had acquired the novel through elementary school book clubs. russell Garcia’s music score captured the bittersweet choice of the time traveller and of those viewers who wish they could duplicate his journey—in that machine. it won the Academy Award for special effects.

Total Recall • 301

(Warner bros./dreamWorks, 2002; 96 min.) ★★

The Time Machine

Produced by david Valdes, Walter f. Parkes. directed by simon Wells. screenplay by John Logan. based on the novel by H.G. Wells. edited by Wayne Wahrman. director of Photography, donald McAlpine. Panavision. technicolor. Music by Klaus badelt. Production design, oliver scholl. Art direction, Chris burian-Mohr, donald Woodruff. set decoration, Victor J. Zolfo. Costumes by deena Appel, bob ringwood. Morlock Makeup effects designed and Created by stan Winston studio. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Visual effects by syd dutton and bill taylor of illusion Arts. Visual effects and Animation by Cinesite. Cast: Alexander Hartdegen (Guy Pearce), Mara (samantha Mumba), david Philby (Mark Addy), emma (sienna Guillory), Kalen (omera Mumba), Uber-Morlock ( Jeremy irons), Vox (orlando Jones), toren (Yancey Arias), Mrs. Watchit (Phyllida Law), flower store employee (Alan Young). Synopsis: in turn of the 19th century new York City, Professor Alexander Hartdegen drops his chalk at the behest of his friend david Philby, changes and meets emma at the ice rink. He proposes marriage, but a thug robs them at gunpoint. emma won’t give up her ring and in a tussle is shot and killed. four years later Alex worries david by his reclusive nature. After david leaves, Alex unveils the machine through which he travels back to that night emma was killed. but this time a cart crushes her. Alex doesn’t understand. “Why can’t i change it?” He takes another time travel trip in 1899, stopping on May 24, 2030, to read a sign advertising “Lunar Leisure Living.” At the new York Public Library he encounters a hologram, information Unit 114, which argues that one cannot travel into the past. back in his machine, Alex moves on to 2037 and finds ruins caused by manmade lunar detonations that even then are causing earth’s neighbor to break apart. back in his machine, he is jostled and knocked unconscious and wakes up in the year 802,701. His bruises are tended to by the comely Mara and her young brother Kalen in their primitive but homey abode on the side of a chasm. Mara speaks some english based on the “stone language” of still existing signs. Alex tells her he’s from the past. A horn signals the coming of night. Above them is the moon, now in pieces. Alex learns that the villagers pull up their boats at night as a safety precaution. He dreams of a white face and a disturbing monument in the jungle. Mara tells him they all have such dreams. He wonders about the lack of old people. better left unsaid, says Mara. Alex is taken to a verdant land of elementary windmills and ovens. With Mara, Alex goes off to check his machine. While there, Mara asks him to go and take Kalen with him. A horn sounds again and Mara runs. she and the rest of the tribe are set upon by hideous humanoids blowing poison darts. Mara is pulled into one of the sand pits from which the creatures emerged. Alex is astounded to realize that resistance is incomprehensible to these people. Alex tells Kalen they can save Mara and is led to a cavern into which he descends and from a mechanical globe once more meets information Unit 114, who reveals that there are now two races, one above, the eloi, one below, the Morlocks. An eloi who escaped told him about the latter. What next? Alex must “Just follow the breathing.” topside, he goes to the gaping maw monument and inside finds operating machinery, ovens and … Morlocks. He observes bloody hooks and falls into a pit of bones and gore. Captured, he encounters an albino Morlock of more human mien. this creature explains that his race escaped underground when the moon broke apart. His caste controls the others via cerebral

abilities honed over the eons. some of the eloi are not eaten but kept for breeding. Pulling Alex to him, he shows the time traveler his study where he sees emma and their children. the time machine appears, lowered into the cavern. the Morlock tells Alex to leave, but Alex sits in the machine and asks for his watch, a ruse to get hold of the Morlock. in a fierce fight as they travel rapidly forward, the Morlock hangs from the machine and disintegrates. returning to Mara, Alex is attacked by Morlocks, but he puts the watch into the gears and runs from the tunnels with Mara before the explosion rips apart the Morlock lair. “oh, it’s all right, it was only a machine,” says Alex. back in new York, Philby quizzes Alex’s housekeeper about his whereabouts. Who knows? After Philby leaves, Mrs. Watchit says, “Godspeed, my fine lad. Godspeed.” Reviews: Profiling H.G. Wells and his world-view, the New York Times found this version of his novel “a colorful new film version of Wells’ scientific romance,….” it jettisoned, in typical Hollywood fashion, the book’s political and social elements and built up the romance and special effects (Lewis beale, New York Times, March 3, 2002, section 2, p. 18); roger ebert described it as “witless…, with the absurdity intact but the wonderment missing” (roger ebert, www. rogerebert.com, March 8, 2002). Analysis: it begins promisingly—except for the change of locale from London to new York City! What was the reasoning? the basic framework is Wellesian but despite the author’s descendant directing, the film veers off course. there’s a kid. there’s a hologram. there’s Mara, not Weena. there’s no high Morlock in the book, nor an emma. How can a Morlock erupt from a sand pit? How can a Morlock drag down a human into said pit without both suffocating? Wouldn’t the sand just keep falling in? these are like the Martian pits in Invaders from Mars (1953). Why do the Morlocks often leap and bound like quadrupeds? their unique loping mode of locomotion is interesting, but their faces are reminiscent of something terry Gilliam might devise; it is not bad but takes one out of the moment. this is a saga that demands epic treatment, and filmmakers should base the time traveler’s final stop on the cover of the 1957 berkley books paperback. in the final analysis, this remake was virtually invisible.

totAL reCALL (tri-star/Carolco Pictures, 1990; 113 min.) ★★★

Total Recall

Produced by buzz feitshans, ronald shusett. directed by Paul Verhoeven. screenplay by ronald shusett, dan o’bannon, Gary Goldman. inspired by Philip K. dick’s short story, “We Can remember it for You Wholesale.” edited by Carlos Puente, frank J. Urioste. director of Photography, Jost Vacano. technicolor. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Production design, William sandell. Art direction, José rodriguez Granada, James tocci. set decoration, robert Gould. Costumes by erica edell Phillips. special Makeup effects designed and Created by rob bottin. special Visual effects, dream Quest images. Additional optical effects, industrial Light & Magic. Character Visual effects, rob bottin. Cast: douglas Quaid/Hauser (Arnold schwarzenegger), Melina (rachel ticotin), Lori (sharon stone), Vilos Cohaagen (ronny Cox), richter (Michael ironside), George/Kuato (Marshall bell), benny (Mel Johnson, Jr.), Helm (Michael Champion), dr. edgemar (roy brocksmith), bob McClane (ray baker), dr. renata Lull (rosemary dunsmore), Harry (bobby Costanzo), ernie (david Knell), tiffany

302 • Total Recall (Alexia robinson), tony (dean norris), thumbelina (debbie Lee Carrington). Synopsis: Lori Quaid comforts husband doug when he wakes from a dream of a perilous adventure on Mars, one of several in which he encounters a brunette beauty. Lori is blonde. determined to be somebody rather than merely a jackhammer operator, doug signs up with rekall, inc. for an “ego trip” to Mars from which he’ll return with “first class memories,” according to rekall representative bob McClane. doug elects to become a spy. but the implanting of the device to facilitate the excursion hits a snag and dr. Lull informs McClane that there’s been a schizoid embolism. doug is convinced his enemies are coming. it appears that he’s already been to Mars and someone has erased his memory. Leaving the facility, doug is menaced by erstwhile friend and co-worker Harry and his henchmen, whom he kills or otherwise disables. rushing home, he informs Lori that he’s in danger. Lori pulls a gun and says she’s not his wife, just a memory implant. “sorry, Quaid, you’re whole life is just a dream.” He subdues her and escapes, blasting his way onto a subway car. Meanwhile, Vilos Cohaagen, who heads up the federal Colony’s mining operations on Mars, tells his enforcer richter that he wants Quaid alive for re-implementation. A call to Quaid’s rundown hotel room informs him of a suitcase outside. Upon opening it at the cement factory, he finds a man looking like himself on the monitor inside. He is told how to get to Mars and “fuck up” Cohaagen. Quaid extracts the tracking device in his skull via a device thrust up his nose and before long arrives at the Mars Hilton. Quaid escapes richter and his men and finds his contact Melina at the Last resort club. Melina calls him Hauser and wonders why he didn’t contact her. dr. edgemar arrives and tells Quaid he’s really not standing there. He’s a free form delusion. edgemar asks Quaid to swallow a pill that will return him to reality, but when sweat forms on edgemar’s face Quaid shoots him. in a running battle with Lori and richter’s goons, Quaid kills his one-time wife. richter is not happy. benny the cabbie drives Quaid and Melina back to the Last resort, where richter creates mayhem until Cohaagen instructs him to pull out of sector G. the area is sealed and oxygen cut off. Quaid, Melina and benny enter a tunnel where they discover the skeletons of past workers and learn that benny is a mutant. Quaid is taken to the rebel alliance’s leader, Kuato, a baby-like projec-

tion in a man’s chest. Kuato says man is defined by his actions, not his memory and asks Quaid to open his mind to him. Killing Kuato, benny reveals himself as one of Cohaagen’s men. Cohaagen says rebel resistance has been wiped out thanks to Quaid. on a monitor, Hauser tells Quaid he wants his body back. Confined to machines that will wipe out his memories, Quaid breaks free and rescues Melina. they make their way to the alien reactor that would produce air for the planet if Cohaagen let it. Quaid kills benny. richter and his men try to kill Quaid but are flummoxed by his hologram-self. on an open service elevator, Quaid and richter duke it out with the latter falling to his death after his arms are severed. Quaid starts the Martian oxygen machinery after Melina wounds Cohaagen. All three are sucked from the installation onto the Martian surface. first out, Cohaagen suffers oxygen deprivation and dies in agony. Quaid and Melina only just manage to hold on until the blue-sky atmosphere is actualized. Quaid and Melina take advantage of the situation to embrace. Reviews: the New York Times considered it “a thunderous tribute to its star’s determination to create, out of the unlikeliest raw materials, a patently synthetic yet surprisingly affable leading man.” the film itself was “a vigorous, super violent interplanetary thriller…” ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, June 1, 1990, p. C10); roger ebert commended schwarzenegger’s performance as a “confused and frightened innocent,…” key to making the film “more than simply an action, violence and special effects extravaganza.” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert. com, June 1, 1990); Analysis: it’s a heap of fun despite the vicious beatings and shootings that prompt enough grunts, shrieks and howls for a half dozen movies. Jerry Goldsmith’s score adds immeasurably. schwarzenegger has a worthy adversary in Michael ironside. (Has anyone ever noticed that ironside resembles Jack nicholson?)

(Columbia/original film, 2012; 118 min.) ★★

Total Recall

Produced by neal H. Mortitz, toby Jaffe. directed by Len Wiseman. screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, Mark bomback. story by ronald shusett, dan o’bannon, Jon Povill, Kurt Wimmer. based on “We Can remember it for You Wholesale” by Philip K. dick and the film, Total Recall. edited by Christian Wagner. director of Photography, Paul Cameron. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by Harry GregsonWilliams. Production design, Patrick tatopoulos. Art direction, Patrick banister. set decoration, Carolyn Loucks. Costumes by sanja Milkovic Hays. Visual effects by double negative. Cast: douglas Quaid/Hauser (Colin farrell), Lori (Kate beckinsale), Melina ( Jessica biel), Matthias (bill nighy), Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen (bryan Cranston), Harry (bokeem Woodbine), Marek (Will Yun Lee), McClane ( John Cho).

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, Total Recall (Tri-Star/Carolco, 1990).

Synopsis: Prologue: “At the end of the 21st century global chemical warfare left earth nearly uninhabitable. Living space is now the planet’s most valuable resource. only two territories remain: the United federation of britain and the Colony. Workers for the Colony travel through the planet each day on the only transport possible: ‘the fall.’” A woman gives a man a gun as armored men attack them. the man is subdued by a sort of light rope but promises to find her.

Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV • 303 douglas Quaid wakes up and is comforted by his wife Lori. she receives a call about another terrorist bombing at the Glide train. According to tV journalists, the bombing style points to Matthias as ringleader. Was the man known as Hauser involved? doug sees an ad for rekall, a company that provides great memories. He travels to the Ufb where his job is creating synthetic policemen who keep Vilos Cohaagen’s world in order. When doug fails to get the promotion he’s expected, he enters the red light district and signs on with rekall. However, before the procedure can be completed he is labeled a spy and pursued by federal police. At home, he tells Lori about his predicament but finds her rather unsympathetic to the point of trying to crush him in her arms. she now has a british accent and reveals herself as a member of Ufb intel. she says his memory has been replaced. there is no douglas Quaid. He runs away. Using the phone within his hand, he learns that he must find a certain key. With a glass shard, he removes the phone and heads for first bank while Cohaagen tells Lori to terminate her husband. At the bank, doug retrieves a safe deposit box with cash and ids. A data file indicates that he’s not the man he thinks he is. doug’s false face fails in a security scanner and he fights his way free, rescued by a woman he almost recognizes. it’s Melina. injured, Melina is carried by doug to a room where he discovers the key is a piano key. A hologram appears telling him he is Carl Hauser. doug/ Carl was to infiltrate Matthias’ group but a woman changed him. Cohaagen, not the rebels, did the recent bombings. Cohaagen wants to level the Colony and rebuild with synthetics. trying to leave, they are cornered in the lobby, and doug’s erstwhile co-worker Harry reveals himself as one of Cohaagen’s men. He tries to convince doug that Lori is his wife and did not try to kill him and urges him to shoot Melina. instead, doug shoots Harry and with Melina in tow makes his way into the old London “no Zone” and meets Matthias. doug says he wants to help and allows himself to be placed in a chair and monitored. However, Cohaagen’s image appears and synthetics attack, capturing doug, Melina and Matthias. With Lori accompanying him, Cohaagen tells doug he’s a double agent and is given a second chance. they’ll bring the old him back in a couple hours. “And meanwhile, i have an invasion to lead.” With help from the fellow he originally saw on a monitor, doug escapes. outside, the citizens are told to expect an invasion of 50,000. doug rescues Melina but is captured again by a black robot. However, explosive charges he planted earlier detonate and begin the inexorable destruction of Cohaagen’s massive troop carrier. doug stabs Cohaagen as the carrier collapses. Melina tries to wake doug. Later, doug does arise and discovers that the Melina in front of him is actually Lori. in the ensuing fracas, he shoots her. the real Melina arrives with hope for a better future. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor found this reboot merely “a big-screen video game.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, August 3, 2012). the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said beckinsale and biel were given more screen time than their 1990 predecessors and that the early scenes promised to best the original. to the contrary, “it introduced and then largely abandoned all sorts of provocative ideas about memory, identity, reality, fantasy and even anarchy.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 3, 2012). Analysis: it’s not as much fun as the original, which featured Arnold schwarzenegger’s trademark humorous lines. is there an in-joke based on Anthony Zerbe’s Matthias and his “family” in The Omega Man in having bill nighy’s Matthias in charge of an alliance of discontents in a future, very desolate earth? (Who would want to live there waiting for a possibly nonexistent savior?) What about the lady we incorrectly think is doug in disguise going through security? that is an almost outrageous nod to the former film and its audience. Another joke: farrell reading an ian fleming novel. it becomes increasingly frenetic

and confusing, early and excellent pursuits followed by one interminable chase. it is one of those films in which one is astounded at the rounds of ammo that are fired and never hit anyone of importance. Why didn’t rekall ask doug to pay for their services? As the story progresses, it is difficult to determine if the protagonists are in the Ufb or the Colony. How do they get back and forth? by air, low earth orbit, or through the center of the earth? How did Lori and Cohaagen get to the no Zone undetected? How did doug know where Cohaagen sequestered Melina? beckinsale is a composite of Lori and richter in the first version, biel of Melina and the cabbie benny. What was with the looks Lori had near the end? she could have gone straight. it was set up that way. she didn’t like Cohaagen. one could see her putting the kibosh on him rather than Quaid/Hauser. A positive element is the set of old London, a smoggy wreck. the light lassos are a nice touch, and there can be no complaint about two equally seductive feminine leads.

toXiC AVenGer see Volume i for The Toxic Avenger (1985), The Toxic Avenger, Part II (1989), and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989).

Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (troma entertainment, 2001; 108 min.) ★½

Produced by Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz. directed by Lloyd Kaufman. screenplay by trent Haaga, Patrick Cassidy, Gabriel friedman, Lloyd Kaufman. edited by Gabriel friedman. director of Photography, brendan flynt. technicolor. Music by Wes nagy. Production design, Alison Grossman. Art direction, Maus drechsler, Ali Grossman. Costumes by nives spaleta. special effects designer, tim Considine/direct effects. Cast: toxic Avenger Melvin (david Mattey), toxic Avenger (Clyde Lewis, voice), sarah/Claire (Heidi sjursen), sergeant Kabukiman/ evil Kabukiman (Paul Kyrmse), Chester/Lardass ( Joe fleishaker), sergeant Kazinski (dan snow), tito (Michael budinger), Ms. Weiner (debbie rochon), sweetie Honey (Lisa terezakis), Pompey (barry brisco), Mayor Goldberg (ron Jeremy), Kinky finkelstein/Gynecologist (Corey feldman), tex diaper (trent Haaga), evil Melvin (Mark torgi), Amortville Police Chief (rick Collins), narrator (Peter Parker). Synopsis: “this is the real sequel.” the diaper Mafia invades the tromaville school for the Very special on its celebrate Mexicans day and massacres most of the students. tito and sweetie Honey escape with the help of the toxic Avenger, who has an evil twin. dr. flem Hocking explains to his bevy of beautiful helpers how this happened. toxie takes tito and sweetie Honey to the dump only to find that his pregnant wife sarah and their shack are gone. in town there is an anti– toxie rally where the Mayor introduces various homegrown superheroes he hopes will stop toxie’s madness. the evil toxie finds his doppelganger’s residence while the real toxie runs after a pickup dragging a black man down the road. He catches up only to find the black man’s head the only thing left. it wants help to retrieve the body. At the shack, sarah doesn’t know that evil toxie is the one talking to her. evil toxie kills the Mayor and crushes the superheroes while toxie kills evil Kabukiman. toxie is told by tito and sweetie that he can return to his dimension by clicking the red shoes they give him.

304 • Transformers “there’s no place like tromaville.” troxie and sweetie wake up in the shack and learn that sarah has been hospitalized. they are also informed of evil toxie, who fights his good twin at the hospital even as good and evil twins battle in sarah’s belly. toxie vanquishes his nemesis and sarah has her 60-lb. child—and a second who’s the spitting image of sergeant Kabukiman. fin. Reviews: Variety said it fit spectacularly well with troma’s raison d’être of “take-no-prisoners offensive satire.” (Lisa nesselson, www. variety.com, June 24, 2001); the New York Times thought the “takeno-prisoners humor … is very funny,…” but eventually a bit exhausting (stephen Holden, New York Times, november 2, 2001, p. e29). Analysis: one must be of a certain mindset to enjoy or bear this, and a rating is superfluous if not impossible. it has something to offend everyone in its blood and gore, nudity, foul language, and fun at the expense of the police, pregnant women, tV news people, politicians, Mexicans, the mentally and physically handicapped. it is selfconsciously crude, coarse, and sometimes amusing. it even played the 2001 Cannes film festival.

man. based on Hasbro’s transformers Action figures. edited by tom Muldoon, Paul rubell, Glen scantlebury. director of Photography, Mitchell Amundsen. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Prints by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Jeff Mann. Art direction, sean Haworth, beat frutiger, Kevin Kavanaugh. set decoration, Larry dias, rosemary brandenburg. Key Costumes, nancy Collini, barron Kellogg. special Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Visual effects by Asylum. Cast: sam Witwicky (shia Labeouf), Mikaela banes (Megan fox) Captain William Lennox ( Josh duhamel), UsAf tech sergeant epps (tyrese Gibson), Maggie Madsen (rachael taylor), Agent simmons ( John turturro), defense secretary John Keller ( Jon Voight), Glen Whitman (Anthony Anderson), tom banachek (Michael o’neill), ron Witwicky (Kevin dunn), Judy Witwicky ( Julie White), Miles ( John robinson), bobby bolivia (bernie Mac), Captain Witwicky (W. Morgan sheppard), optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, voice), Megatron (Hugo Weaving, voice).

Synopsis: before time began there was the Cube, which could create harmonious worlds, but others began to forge evil. War ranged over the planet and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. the galaxy was searched until earth was discovered, but it was already too late. At a UsAf base in Qatar, a mysterious helicopter lands and metamorphoses into a giant robot that wreaks havoc and steals computer files. back in the U.s., 11th grader sam Witwicky makes a presentation in history about his great grandfather’s journey to the arctic shelf. Afterward, sam’s dad buys him a souped up car at bolivia’s Auto sales. in Washington, d.C., secretary of defense John Keller reveals that the network was hacked and a strange sound was heard. Young, technological savvy citizens are enlisted to help with signal analysis. Meanwhile, sam drives to a lakeside party to try and make time with hottie and car enthusiast Mikaela, who does allow him to drive her home. the next hack occurs on Air force one, when a radio Cd player converts into a robot, trying to glean information about Project iceman. the civilian hackers detect this hack and convince the Pentagon to break the connection. After David Mattey and Heidi Sjursen, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger 4 (Troma Entertain- disabling secret service men, the robot re-transforms ment, 2000). into a radio and when the plane lands gets into a car and uses the computer on board to locate sam. that night sam’s car drives off and he follows by bike to a train yard and sees a large robot shining a light into the sky. the police arrive and take sam to the station for interrogation. Meanwhile, the secretary rAnsforMers of defense is informed about the computer virus. Maggie unsuccessfully tries to convince them that they must consider the implications originally transformers were toys co-produced in 1984 by Hasbro of quantum mechanics. the secretary wants hard evidence. in Qatar, and takara tony. their popularity led to comics, videogames, a tV a sort of giant metallic scorpion attacks Captain Lennox and his men. series, and films, including a 1986 animated feature, The Transformers: Planes scramble and blast the monster, which sinks into the sand. The Movie. back in d.C., Maggie takes a classified computer card to hacker wiz Glen Whitman. He finds something about Project iceman on the card just as the fbi raids the house. At home, sam observes his car returnTransformers ing. He takes his bike to escape and sees Mikaela. A police car trans(dreamWorks/Paramount, 2007; 144 min.) ★★½ forms into a robot that asks sam if he is 217. Mikaela is knocked over on her motorbike. A small, vicious robot attacks sam but is Produced by Lorenzo di bonaventura, tom desanto, don temporarily stopped by Mikaela with an electric saw. sam thinks the Murphy, ian bryce. directed by Michael bay. screenplay by roberto robots are Japanese. A car robot approaches and changes into a car orci, Alex Kurtzman. story by John rogers, roberto orci, Alex Kurtz-

t

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen • 305 again. sam and Mikaela get inside. the small robot transforms into sam’s cellphone, which they pick up off the road. After being insulted, sam’s car kicks them out, drives off but returns as a swankier vehicle. outside the Griffith observatory, sam and Mikaela watch strange fireballs course through the sky. these items become various vehicles. optimus Prime of Cybertron introduces himself to sam as the leader of these Autobots that include bumblebee and Jazz. bumblebee is the yellow car guardian. sam is told the Autobots must find the Allspark before Megatron does. sam is shown Megatron and his decepticons and informed that sam’s grandfather Captain Witwicky found Megatron in the ice, where the robot had crash-landed before he could retrieve the Cube. Captain Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron’s navigation system. sam holds the key to earth but must find his grandfather’s glasses on which the Allspark coordinates are imprinted. Maggie and Glen are interrogated. sam goes home to search for the all-important glasses. the cellphone robot transforms. optimus Prime’s associates accidentally knock out the community’s power. Agent simmons and other fbi men arrive at sam’s to find out what he knows about aliens. optimus Prime and his cohorts stop the fbi convoy and take the weapons. they convert into cars as fbi help arrives. Helicopters lasso bumblebee. optimus finds the glasses. tom banacheck of sector 7 tells defense secretary Keller that the virus being used to shut down communications stems from extraterrestrial beings whose picture was taken by the beagle 2 Mars rover. they shut down communications because they know humans have weapons that can hurt them. new attacks are coming. Captain Lennox and his team are picked up at nellis Air force base, joined by Maggie, Glen, sam and Mikaela, who are taken to a secret facility beneath Hoover dam. Meanwhile, optimus Prime uses the glasses to determine that the Allspark is 230 miles away. the decepticons must know this, too, reason the Autobots. What of bumblebee? He is brave and must fend for himself, says optimus. they must destroy the Cube even if it means uniting its power with the spark within optimus’ chest. they cannot let the humans pay for their mistakes. back at the dam, the decepticon mini explores. banacheck tells sam they need to know all he knows. He makes a deal: his info for his car and the expunging of Mikaela’s juvenile record. He and the others are led into a huge cavern and see a giant robot found in the ice in 1934. sam tells them it is Megatron. the small decepticon informs his masters of the find. A decepticon flies to the dam and the man-size robot infiltrates the facility. sam says he must have his car and Captain Lennox intervenes. Agent simmons remains a stumbling block until the secretary of defense steps in. bumblebee is released, goes to the giant cube and touches it, retrieving a smaller cube. Captain Lennox says they must take this to Mission City 22 miles away. Megatron breaks free. With Maggie and Glen’s help, simmons and the secretary fire up an old radio to alert the Air force. optimus’ convoy joins sam. A street battle ensues and bumblebee is injured. He gives sam the cube and Mikaela connects bumblebee to a pick-up truck. Megatron battles optimus as Mikaela and bumblebee create havoc fighting other decepticons. sam climbs to a roof for helicopter extraction but Megatron corners him. optimus catches sam when he falls. He tells sam that if things go awry, he must insert the Allspark into his chest. sam inserts Allspark into Megatron rather than optimus, which brings him down. “We are in your debt,” says optimus. bumblebee is granted permission to stay with sam. secretary Keller terminates sector 7, and the destroyed decepticons, including Megatron, are dropped into the depths of the sea, there to be crushed by the pressure. optimus says that with Allspark gone, they cannot return to their planet. thus they must make their home on this new world, where they will hide in plain sight, watching and protecting. this message he sends into space for any other Autobots among the stars.

Megan Fox and Shia LeBoeuf, Transformers (DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures, 2007).

Reviews: iGn thought it was not only bay’s best film, “but one of the few instances where it’s okay to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it’s undeniably also a whole lot of fun.” (todd Gilchrist, www.ign.com, June 29, 2007); The Blade concluded that function followed form in that, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers’ purpose is extending the brand. director bay “is embracing his own cheapness, whether he understands it or not.” Like some other high-end summer blockbusters, it was “high on concept, soulless to the core,…” (Christopher borrelli, The Blade [oH], July 2, 2007). Analysis: there’s some undeniable beauty in the noise and visuals. it’s a perfect summer actioner—for teens. What’s with those mountains in the Arctic? the actors playing the 11th graders are naturally too old. Labeouf and fox were 21 when the film opened. Unsurprisingly, it’s about a half hour too long.

(Paramount/dreamWorks sKG, 2009; 150 min.) ★★½

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Produced by don Murphy, tom desanto, Lorenzo di bonaventura, ian bryce. directed by Michael bay. screenplay by ehren Kruger, roberto orci, Alex Kurtzman. based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action figures. edited by roger barton, Paul rubell, Joel negron, tom Muldoon. director of Photography, ben seresin, Clint skene. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Prints by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. featuring Linkin Park. Production design, nigel Phelps. Art

306 • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen direction, Julian Ashby, Jon billington, sean Haworth, naaman Marshall, iain Mcfayden, ben Procter. set decoration, Jennifer Williams. Costumes by deborah L. scott. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Visual effects by Asylum. Cast: sam Witwicky (shia Labeouf), Mikaela banes (Megan fox), sideways/William Lennox ( John diMaggio), Major Lennox ( Josh duhamel), UsAf Master sergeant epps (tyrese Gibson), simmons ( John turturro), Leo spitz (ramon rodriguez), ron Witwicky (Kevin dunn), Judy Witwicky ( Julie White), optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, voice), sideswipe (nolan north, voice), Megatron (frank Welker, voice), Jetfire (Clive revill, voice), bumblebee (Mark ryan, voice), the fallen ( James Arnold taylor, voice), ironhide ( Jess Harnell, voice), Alice (isabel Lucas), national security Adviser theodore Galloway ( John benjamin Hickey), Professor Colan (rainn Wilson), General Morshower (Glenn Morshower).

the decepticons who’d escaped destruction during the search for Allspark. Young sam Witwicky, who’d been instrumental in that battle, is leaving for college and tells his guardian Autobot bumblebee he must remain behind. What of Mikaela banes, his hot girlfriend and motorcycle enthusiast? sam asks her to protect a piece of Allspark. A plethora of mini-decepticons sneaking around spies this item in her bag. Meanwhile, on the island of diego Garcia, the Autobots’ home base and the Air force’s nest facility, new Presidential liaison Galloway confounds the military and optimus Prime with accusations. optimus says he and his crew will return to space if they are asked but what if Galloway is wrong about decepticons wanting only to find Autobots? in space, the decepticon soundwave infiltrates a military satellite and learns of the nest site and that Mikaela has a shard of Allspark. Arriving at college in Philadelphia, sam moves into his dorm room with some techno geeks, including Leo. His car shows up. on diego Garcia, a canine-like decepticon releases ball bearinglike spheres that regenerate into a man-size decepticon that steals the Synopsis: 17,000 bC: the race of men encountered robots from belarger Allspark shard. observing and listening from space, the fallen sends his minions to find Megatron under the sea. Megatron rises yond. today: Major Lennox leads a special forces unit tracking down from the ocean and flies into space to consult with the fallen. sam must be found, his shard obtained. At college, sam becomes unaccountably agitated and makes a spectacle of himself in science class. Alice, a blonde seductress, follows him to his room even as Mikaela arrives with the shard after having bested the small spy decepticon known as Wheelie. furious, Mikaela stomps off until she hears a tumult in sam’s room and discovers that Alice is a decepticon. sam breaks free and flees with Mikaela. Captured by Megatron, sam finds his body poked and probed until optimus and his friends arrive. sam rushes into the country, as do the Autobots and decepticons. optimus is incapacitated during the running battle but sam escapes. the fallen orders an invasion. Galloway strips Lennox of his command, telling him the nation’s armed forces will make a plan and win as it always has. finding that the former sector 7 Agent simmons now runs a butcher shop, sam also learns that their former nemesis is a fount of knowledge about aliens on earth. With Wheelie under Mikaela’s control, they resurrect the seeker known as Jetfire, who transports them to egypt in search of the tomb of the Primes and the Matrix hidden so many years ago. if he obtains it, the fallen will “harvest” earth’s sun, thus destroying humanity. simmons manages to communicate with Major Lennox, who gathers the Autobots and flies to egypt in time to slow down the decepticons until sam thrusts the restored Matrix into optimus’ chest. optimus flies to the pyramid upon which the fallen is about to destroy the sun with the Matrix stolen from sam. now also possessing part of Jetfire’s life force, optimus destroys the fallen and forces Megatron to retreat. on an aircraft carrier, optimus asserts that his kind and humanity have lived and will live together. Reviews: Chud.com thought it a very weak sequel with no pacing and “interminable filler scenes,…” (devin faraci, www.chud.com, June 24, 2009); Film Comment called the plot “a hot mess of male wishfulfillment and esoteric exposition delivered at the speed of a Gatling gun… .” there was certainly “not more than meets the eye.” (Paul brunick, www.filmcomment.com, July/August 2009). Analysis: the visuals once again are mesmerizing and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen poster art (DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures, overwhelm the story, such as it is. the final battle is 2009).

Transformers: Age of Extinction • 307 endless. How come nobody sees all these robots roaming around early in the film? one must groan when national security Adviser Galloway makes his appearance. this character is a modern movie trope: the human whose purpose is to insert more tension than actually needed, and he is a character easy to hate.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Paramount, 2011; 154 min.) ★★½

Produced by don Murphy, tom desanto, Lorenzo di bonaventura, ian bryce. directed by Michael bay. screenplay by ehren Kruger. based on Hasbro’s Transformers by Action figures. edited by roger barton, William Goldenberg, Joel negron. director of Photography, Amir Mokri. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Color by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, nigel Phelps. Art direction, Julian Ashby, benjamin edelberg, Kevin ishioka, ben Proctor, James f. truesdale. set decoration, Jennifer Williams. Costumes by deborah L. scott. Visual effects & Animation by industrial Light & Magic. special Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Cast: sam Witwicky (shia Labeouf), Lennox ( Josh duhamel), Carly (rosie Huntington-Whiteley), simmons ( John turturro), Mearing (frances Mcdormand), epps (tyrese Gibson), dylan (Patrick dempsey), ron Witwicky (Kevin dunn), Jerry Wang (Ken Jeong), Judy Witwicky ( Julie White), bruce brazos ( John Malkovich), dutch (Alan tudyk), buzz Aldrin (himself ), General Morshower (Glenn Morshower), bill o’reilly (himself). Synopsis: When ages ago the freedom-loving sentient robots known as Autobots were engaged in a desperate and possibly final battle against the evil decepticons, one Autobot ship was sent into space with a cargo that could alter the conflict’s outcome. sadly, it was damaged by decepticon missiles and crashed on earth’s moon. United states sensors picked up this impact. President Kennedy was informed and kicked into high gear the space race. it was planned that when Apollo astronauts touched down on the moon in 1969 they would briefly lose radio contact with earth. during that period they found the alien craft, most definitely of intelligent origin, and brought back what they thought was important. in the early part of the 21st century, sam Witwicky, a verifiable hero as human liaison with the Autobots that have visited earth and even then were hiding in plain sight, can’t find a job. His girlfriend Carly is optimistic. He is much put out when his parents arrive early. As he’d feared, sam’s dad is disappointed that sam is not headed to work but rather to yet another job interview. Meanwhile, optimus Prime and other Autobots assist Major Lennox in tracking decepticons to the Chernobyl nuclear site. sam finally gets a job and optimus and other Autobots fly to the moon and in the wreckage of the giant spacecraft find sentinel Prime, who led the Autobots before optimus. He is brought back to earth for restoration. national security Adviser Mearing antagonizes sam by calling him a mere messenger. sam contacts seymour simmons, now wealthy but willing to help decipher the mystery surrounding the deaths of astronauts and the hiding of cosmonauts. After sentinel goes on the rampage, it becomes clear that he is a willing plant by the decepticons, who needed optimus to resurrect him so he can use the teleportation device known as the Pillars for a space bridge. Carly’s boss dylan Gould reveals that the decepticons will use the Pillars to transport Cybertron to earth. the authorities agree to exile the Autobots back into space but the rocket is brought down by decepticon fire. However, the Autobots had hidden themselves and were not destroyed.

Chicago becomes sentinel’s ground zero for using the Pillars to transport Cybertron. sam, Carly, Lennox and other former nest members get to the city and join up with optimus Prime, bumblebee and other Autobots. braving destruction, they electrocute dylan against a Pillar and after a savage, virtually city-destroying battle, bring low sentinel and Megatron and prevent the Pillars from doing their job. sam and Carly express their undying love for each other. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor said the long-lived triumph of marketing transformers and the movies do not portend “the death of civilization as we know it, although they surely signal the death of movies with any kind of coherence.” thank goodness the script “has occasional wisps of lucidity, and bay delivers—over delivers—on the mayhem.” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, June 29, 2011); The Guardian said that the first half hour was atypical, with “tiny moments of calm.” However, it burst forth afterward “into the same headbanging, eardrum-brutalizing action-fest as the other two films,…” (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, June 30, 2011). Analysis: Keep repeating: it’s about toys and it’s for adolescent boys, it’s about toys and it’s for adolescent boys, it’s for…. to attempt to relate the plot to anyone is an exercise in futility except, perhaps, for adolescents. the merging of humans and CGi effects is seamless, but the final battle in Chicago is wearying. this time out frances Mcdormand has the John benjamin Hickey role of national security Adviser who creates more needless tension. Also unnecessary was the fight in the russian club. Megan fox did not return, apparently due to comments she made about director bay working the crew as if he were Hitler. she moved on to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Perhaps the most ingratiating character in these films is John turturro’s seymour Hicks, a stumbling block for sam in most of the first movie but a key facilitator in the second two.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (Paramount, 2014; 157 min.) ★★½

Produced by don Murphy, tom desanto, Lorenzo di bonaventura, ian bryce. directed by Michael bay. screenplay by ehren Kruger. based on Transformers by Hasbro. edited by William Goldenberg, roger barton, Paul rubell. director or Photography, Amir Mokri. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by steve Jablonsky. Production design, Jeffrey beecroft. Art direction, steve Cooper, benjamin edelberg, ben Procter, david scott, William Ladd skinner, Mark Walters. set decoration, rosemary brandenburg, Andre King, Calvin tsoi. Costumes by Marie-sylvie deveau. Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light & Magic. Visual effects by Method. Cast: Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), tessa Yeager (nicola Peltz), Joshua Joyce (stanley tucci), Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), Hound ( John Goodman), drift (Ken Watanabe), shane dyson ( Jack reynor), James savoy (titus Welliver), su Yueming (bingbing Li), darcy tirrel (sophia Myles), Lucas flannery (t.J. Miller). Synopsis: spacecraft fly over a primordial planet, sweeping antediluvian beasts before them. today: texan Cade Yeager, a Mr. fix-it and jack-of-all-trades, buys an old truck unaccountably found in a derelict movie palace. through his on-again, off-again business restoring this and that, he hopes to send his daughter tessa to college, but if he can’t afford the rent on his ranch…? in the Arctic, darcy tirrel is shown the metallic remains of what appears to be a monster. Hovering over all minds is the recent devastation of Chicago caused by the transformer war. With government officials suspicious and using their own death-dealing transformer Lockdown, even the well-

308 • Tron meaning Autobots are now in hiding. in Washington, Harold Attinger tells a presidential emissary that everything is fine; the war with transformers is almost over. He believes implicitly that only humans should exist on earth. in secret he travels to the Arctic and meets the leader of the evil transformers, hoping to shore up their contract. back at the Yeager home, after having a heart-to-heart discussion about her future with tessa, Cade discovers that the truck he bought is actually an Autobot. in fact, it is optimus Prime, injured in an ambush set by humans. He can be completely restored by the other Autobots, but Cade knows optimus needs his help to find them. Attinger, however, pinpoints the Yeager property as optimus’ hideout and sends James savoy and his armed cohort to do whatever they must to capture or kill the Autobot. Hiding beneath the barn floor, optimus hears the deadly threats to his new human friends and goes on the rampage. fortuitously, tessa’s boyfriend shane arrives in his car and whisks Cade, tessa and Lucas away, leading the CiA cars on a hair-raising chase through cornfields and into town before eluding them. optimus, again as a truck, takes them into the desert and puts out a call to all Autobots. four are left and welcome him back. He says he vowed never to kill a human but whoever threatened Cade and his family will die. they conclude that Chicago holds the key to their future, especially the Ksi complex where Joshua royce dismisses darcy’s conclusions about how the dinosaurs really died 65 million years ago and shows her “transformium,” a new, rare metal that can be turned into anything upon command. first up, the robot they call Galvatron. Attinger arrives for a consultation with Joyce, who tells him that there are problems, namely Cade, who has scanned an employee’s card to gain admittance and scope out Ksi. eventually he is detected and caught, but the Autobots come to the rescue and confront Joyce, who tells them he can make better transformers. optimus refuses to kill Joyce and leaves. Joyce and Attinger send Galvatron and stinger after them. to Joyce’s consternation, innocent civilians are trapped in the crossfire out on the highways. optimus is injured by Attinger’s main “asset”—a huge hovering craft that disgorges Lockdown. optimus and tessa are netted and taken aboard as Cade watches the ship leave for Chicago where Lockdown gives Attinger and Joyce the “seed,” payment for obtaining optimus. racing back into the city in bumblebee, Cade and shane and the surviving Autobots enter the spacecraft. tessa is found while the Autobots unlock the anchors and attach the ship to skyscrapers. bumblebee again saves the humans as they climb down cables to the buildings. the other Autobots find a small ship they detach from the mother ship before Lockdown knows it’s gone. At Ksi, Joyce rants but is confronted by optimus and Cade and given a good talking to. it seems to work because later, when he meets with Attinger, he is reluctant to hand over the seed. Attinger threatens him, but he escapes to Hong Kong where Cade, optimus and the other Autobots battle Galvatron and his minions even as Lockdown sucks up metal into his craft in search of the seed. Cade, shane, tessa, Joyce, su and darcy barely survive. optimus calls forth and tames the legendary warriors, who crush Galvatron’s forces before he engages Lockdown in a fierce one-on-one battle. Cade, shane and tessa are instrumental in assisting optimus and destroying Lockdown. Attinger is killed. Viewing the victory of the Autobots from above the harbor, Galvatron vows to continue the fight. optimus leaves his Autobots on earth and flies into space with the seed, intent on finding the Creators. Galvatron is for all intents and purposes Megatron! Lockdown realizes he’s lost his cargo and orders a return to earth. Reviews: the Miami Herald extolled the visuals but not its dumbness, exceeding length, “redundant dialogue…” and “at least 847 car chases,….” Wahlberg, at least, had some success against the bad robots rather than merely running for cover (rene rodriguez, www.

miamiherald.com, June 27, 2024); the News Journal complained of the length and such illogical goings-on as humans wanting the good robots destroyed. it and its progeny would nevertheless succeed “as long as 10-year-old American boys and international audiences crave empty movies that go boom” (scott bowles/USA Today, News Journal [Wilmington, de], June 27, 2014, 55 HoursPlus, p. 3). Analysis: Yet again the stunning cinematography and effects overwhelm the actors. it is perhaps necessary to create tension and keep the story going for optimus and the Autobots to get slammed and/or captured from time to time, but it’s still irritating. stanley tucci fills in for John turturro as a character you love to hate until he comes around and becomes a hero. in fact, it is rather unusual to have tucci, Li and Myles on their own in an extended chase sequence. there are several hair-raising scenes, e.g., Cade, shane and tessa scurrying around on Lockdown’s massive prison ship, Cade battling savoy on Hong Kong high-rises. it is a shame these unbelievable fight scenes are interminable. it’s the cinema of excess.

tron Tron

(buena Vista/Walt disney Productions, 1982; 96 min.) ★★★

Produced by donald Kushner. directed by steven Lisberger. screenplay by steven Lisberger. edited by Jeff Gourson. director of Photography, bruce Logan. super Panavision 70. technicolor. Music by Wendy Carlos. Production design, dean edward Mitzner. Art direction, John Mansbridge, Al roelofs. Costumes by elois Jenssen, rosanna norton. Conceptual Artists, syd Mead, Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Peter Lloyd. Visual effects Concepts by steven Lisberger. Visual effects supervisors, richard taylor, Harrison ellenshaw. Cast: Kevin flynn/Clu ( Jeff bridges), Alan bradley/tron (bruce boxleitner), ed dillinger/sark (david Warner), Lora/Yori (Cindy Morgan), dr. Walter Gibbs/dumont (barnard Hughes), ram (dan shor), Crom (Peter Jurasik), Peter/sark’s Lieutenant (tony stephano), Warriors (Craig Chudy, Vince deadrick). Synopsis: After dispatching another participant in the netherworld of videogame giant enCoM, sark, aka ed dillinger, tells Master Control that he needs better competition. “Master C” is more concerned with independent programmers breaking into the system. this includes Alan bradley, whose tron program is almost up and running. in one of the labs, Lora and dr. Gibbs successfully digitize an orange. Lora tells Alan that dillinger also wants to locate flynn, a past employee who is trying to hack into the system. At flynn’s videogame emporium, Alan and Lora learn that flynn, not dillinger, created “space Paranoids” and other games for which dillinger took credit. back at enCoM, Master C reveals that he is bored with corporations and intends hacking into the Pentagon. flynn, Alan and Lora enter enCoM, but Master C discovers flynn and digitizes him, making him one of the players in the deadly games. Master C tells sark he’s sent him a “User.” When flynn refuses to kill one of his competitors, sark allows the man to fall and perish through dissolution. flynn meets Alan, aka tron, and via Life Cycles escapes with ram. floating “demon” veh icles and tanks are sent in pursuit. tron says he must get to the input/output tower to communicate with his User, Alan. tron is separated from flynn and ram. the latter is injured after a tank blast and his dying words are, “Help tron.” tron finds Yori, whose

Movie Title • 309 User is Lora, and they locate dumont, “the Guardian.” He allows tron to pass. tron learns that he must get his Code disc into the heart of Master C to achieve freedom even as sark has initiates the Logic Probe. sark has dumont carted off. flynn reunites with tron and creates a beam to help them escape. Although sark intercepts them, flynn tells Lora he still has the power to defeat sark. Master C detects a presence and has sark battle tron, who destroys one enemy only to face another, giant sark created by Master C, but he wipes it out as well. Meanwhile, flynn jumps into the beam emanating from Master C and hurls in his Code disc. Master C explodes. All the towers light up. back in the human lab, flynn is himself again and retrieves his program for space Paranoids. dillinger goes to his office and on the monitor sees that flynn is now deemed creator. on a rooftop during a sunny day, flynn arrives via helicopter to greet tron and Lora. As night falls, the city’s lit byways and buildings resemble a videogame maze. Reviews: the New York Times said it owed something to Alice in Wonderland and Journey to the Center Jeff Bridges and Cindy Morgan, Tron (Buena Vista/Walt Disney Productions, 1982). of the Earth. it had some spectacle and was “beautisomething happened—a miracle. Kevin leaves and … disappears. ful—but dumb.” none of “the old-fashioned virtues—plot, drama, clarHis company, encom, is in turmoil. Kevin’s friend Alan bradley mainity and emotion…” were in evidence ( Janet Maslin, New York Times, tains that Kevin is not missing. sam grows to manhood, harboring July 9, 1982, p. C8); Starlog found it disappointingly dull and lacking anger over his father’s departure. Although he is the most important in heart. on the positive side, it fully delivered on the pre-release toutshareholder in encom, he loves to disrupt proceedings and hacks the ing of the special effects (ed naha, Starlog, november 1982, pp. 102– system to allow os12 to be used free. Alan tells sam he was paged 106). from his father’s old office in flynn’s arcade. At flynn’s, sam turns inAnalysis: At a mere 96 minutes, there’s no time for much character serts a coin into the tron machine and locates a door leading to a sort development, which was the general criticism. in-joke: the sign in of office and laboratory. As he types on the keyboard, a laser gun Alan’s office: “Gort Klaatu barada nikto.” the reference is, of course, shoots him in the back and transports him to another world where to the immortal lines that seemed to signify many things in 1951’s The he is initially considered a Program. in a huge pyramidal structure he Day the Earth Stood Still. one might quibble about the lack of security is forced to battle other Programs with the disk that is normally atcameras at enCoM. tached to his back. A slight injury produces blood that indicates that he is a User, not a Program. He is taken to a man who looks like his father but its not. nor is he a good guy. With the help of the beautiful Tron: Legacy Quorra, sam escapes the Grid and meets his real father in a mountain (Walt disney Pictures, 2010; 125 min.) ★★★½ hideaway. back on the Grid, Clu, Kevin flynn’s doppelganger he created when he came to the Grid, awaits his creator’s next move. Kevin Produced by steven Lisberger. directed by Joseph Kosinski. screentells sam about the miracle of isomorphic Algorithms, who were “proplay by edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz. story by edward Kitsis, Adam foundly naïve, unimaginably wise.” they were “bio-digital jazz, man!” Horowitz, brian Klugman, Lee sternthal. based on characters created Clu, however, staged a coup. tron, Kevin’s old friend, fought for him by steven Lisberger, bonnie Macbird. edited by James Haygood. dibut was never seen again. the more Kevin fought, the more powerful rector of Photography, Claudio Miranda. Kodak Motion Picture film. Clu became. Clu had the “isos” killed. the Portal closed on Kevin, Music by daft Punk. Production design, darren Gilford. Art that’s why he couldn’t come back to sam. Kevin’s disk is important as direction, sean Haworth, robert W. Joseph, ben Procter, david scott, it would let Clu get out, and Clu doesn’t dig imperfection. He would William Ladd skinner, Grant Van der slagt. set decoration, Lin Macdestroy the world. sam yearns to get Clu into his world and destroy donald. Costumes by Michael Wilkinson. special effects Costumes him with a keystroke. Quorra tells him they can seek help from Zuse by Quantum Creation fX, inc. special Visual effects and Animation and to that effect they return to the city and a skytop club run by by digital domain. Castor. Gem, one of the women who’d introduced sam to this world, Cast: Kevin flynn/Clu ( Jeff bridges), sam flynn (Garrett Hedappears. it turns out that Castor is Zuse and he offers help getting lund), Quorra (olivia Wilde), Alan bradley/tron (bruce boxleitner), across the sea of simulation to the Portal. Clu’s minions and rebels Castor/Zuse (Michael sheen), Gem (beau Garrett), Jarvis ( James start a fight. Quorra loses an arm and goes into shock. Kevin arrives frain), rinzler (Anis Cheurfa), sirens (serinda swan, Yaya daCosta, and tells sam, “We do it your way. full on sprint to the Portal. if we elizabeth Mathis), bartik (Conrad Coates), Masked dJs (daft Punk), beat Clu there we have a chance. Let’s get outta here.” He uses Quorra’s sam flynn, age 7 (owen best), Half-faced man (Yurij Kis), richard disk to help restore her, revealing that she’s the last iso, the miracle he Mackey ( Jeffrey nordling). spoke of that could change everything in the real world. He replaces her disk and her arm regenerates itself. but she’ll need to reboot. Clu Synopsis: 1989: Kevin flynn tells his son sam about tron and arrives at Castor’s tower and is told Kevin died in the elevator. Castor racing and how they built a new Grid. Kevin called his program Clu.

310 • 28 Days Later hopes Clu will give him control of the city in return for Kevin’s disk, but after Clu leaves the tower explodes. Quorra wakes and while Kevin mediates, reveals to sam that his father had saved her during the purge of the other isos. Clu and his minions catch up. Kevin, sam and Quorra go below and discover repurposed people in chambers. Clu is building an army. to remove herself from the equation, Quorra gives her disk to sam and steps out to fight tron! tron wins and takes her away. Clu uses Kevin’s disk to see him. As an army of drones forms below them, Clu confronts Quorra, who tells him he doesn’t belong with the Users. the vehicle moves forward toward the distant Portal. sam argues with his dad. Kevin finds another craft while sam, after disabling a guard, enters the bridge, cows Clu’s minion and takes his father’s disk, the master key. He fights tron and takes Quorra to sam. sam returns the disk to his dad. Quorra takes the controls and they head for the Portal. Clu arrives on his bridge, destroys his minion and with several of his Programs creates individual ships to chase Kevin. from the rear turret, sam blows away most of the pursuers. tron ap-

pears and Kevin cries, “tron, what have you become?” He need not have worried. tron crashes his craft into Clu’s. “i fight for the Users!” As tron falls away, Clu recreates his vehicle and takes up the pursuit. the Portal is imminent and Quorra stops the damaged ship. she, Kevin and sam run up the steps and find Clu waiting. “this is mine,” says Kevin. Clu argues that he did everything asked but Kevin retorts that perfection is unknowable. “i’m sorry.” Clu knocks Kevin down. Quorra catches up with sam and the pathway back to Kevin retreats. Clu wonders why Kevin has helped sam. “He’s my son!” Clu runs and leaps to the other side but Kevin uses his power to draw him back and become one and explode. sam raises Quorra’s disk above him into the maelstrom. sam finds himself back at flynn’s and meets Alan, who says he was paged. sam tells him he is the Chairman of encom now and that he, sam, is taking back the company. “What’s next, sam?” asks Alan. “i guess we’re supposed to change the world,” replies sam. outside, on a motorcycle, sam and Quorra ride into a new dawn, a new day. Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor expressed astonishment at a sequel hardly worth making. there wasn’t much artistry to be found. “everything looks sleek, but who’s buying?” (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, december 17, 2010); Basil & Spice found it an unexpected improvement on the first, “a pretty decent science fiction flick.” ( James r. Holland, Basil & Spice, december 18, 2010). Analysis: Tron Legacy was promoted with a bit more hullabaloo than its predecessor but didn’t make the waves disney expected. nevertheless, we aren’t keen on financial grosses as a measure of quality. Tron Legacy is quite thought provoking and compelling, helped by daft Punk’s music score. some of the sets, notably the dining and bedroom areas are reminiscent of those at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. there are a couple stupid scenes before getting to the Grid, e.g., the encom guard walking out on the beam above the street, the taxi driver swerving back and forth to shake sam from his roof. Why not just stop? A few minutes could be trimmed from the conversation Quorra and sam have while Kevin meditates.

28 dAYs L Ater (fox searchlight, 2002; 112 min.) ★★★★

28 Days Later

Tron: Legacy poster art (Walt Disney Pictures, 2010).

Produced by Andrew Macdonald. directed by danny boyle. screenplay by Alex Garland. edited by Chris Gill. director of Photography, Anthony dod Mantle. Color by technicolor. Music by John Murphy. Production design, Mark tildesley. Art direction, rob Goorwood, Patrick rolfe, denis schnegg. set decoration, fanny taylor. Costumes by rachel fleming. special Visual effects by clear. Cast: Jim (Cillian Murphy), selena (naomie Harris), Hannah (Megan burns), Major Henry West (Christopher eccleston), frank (brendan Gleeson), Mark (noah Huntley), infected priest (toby sedgwick), Jim’s mother (emma Hitching), Jim’s father (Christopher dunne), Mr. bridges (Alexander delamere), bridges’

28 Weeks Later • 311 daughter (Kim McGarrity), infected child ( Justin Hackney), Private Clifton (Luke Mably), sergeant farrell (stuart McQuarrie), Corporal Mitchell (ricci Harnett), Private Jones (Leo bill), Private Mailer (Marvin Campbell). Synopsis: A break-in at the Cambridge Primate research Centre leads to unintended consequences. Having been injected with “rage,” the freed chimps attack and infect the humans. Jim wakes naked in a hospital. no one is around, inside or out. donning scrubs, he explores a desolate London, enters a church and is attacked by a priest and chased by others until two people in masks and dark clothing rescue him by setting fire to their pursuers and blowing up a portion of the city. Jim’s rescuers are selena and Mark, who provide what explanation they can of the holocaust. during the day they travel. Attacked by the infected, Mark is cut, and selena hacks him to death with a machete, telling a horrified Jim that the virus would turn him into a raging beast within seconds. outside, they see flashing lights on a distant highrise. Chased there by more virus-infected humans, they find frank and his teenage daughter Hannah. the four grudgingly agree to leave the city although they know the people sending a radio message from Manchester may be dead or gone. they load up a taxi and to Jim’s displeasure frank takes them through a tunnel choked with cars and junk that causes a flat. A host of rats portends the rush of the infected that are only just left in the dust through frank and Hannah’s alacrity in changing the tire. on the way north Jim has to use his bat on a young boy who attacks him. during another stop a drop of blood falls from a corpse into frank’s eye. He must be killed. reaching an apparently abandoned roadblock outside Manchester, they are saved from the infected by Major West and his soldiers. Jim and the others are taken to a palatial estate around which Major West has placed barbed wire and a minefield. Although Jim and selena and Hannah get showers and food, something seems amiss. West confides in Jim that he’d promised his men women because women were the future. otherwise there was none. sergeant farrell is not pleased and tries to keep the other men from their planned rape. An attack from outside keeps the women safe for the moment. Jim and farrell are taken into the woods to be killed but Jim escapes, returns and frees Private Mailer, the infected soldier West had chained up to see how long an infected person could survive before starving. now Mailer roams the grounds, attacking and infecting soldiers and creating havoc. Jim finds selena and Hannah and they make their escape. 28 days later: by a lake they pull out sheets spelling H e L P as a jet flies low above them. Reviews: The Guardian equated it with britain’s “classic small-screen post-apocalypse fantasies from the 1970s and 1980s….” digital video enhanced special effects. it was “a muscular, virile piece of film-making from boyle.” (Peter bradshaw, Guardian, october 31, 2002); New York approved of the new “sprinting…” walking dead. it “acquires a dread that seems unnervingly contemporary.” Like romero’s original Night of the Living Dead, the small budget helped create “a more intimate brand of horror, one we can’t explain away by pretending we’re watching the same old well-oiled Hollywood malarkey” (Peter rainer, New York, June 30, 2003). Analysis: 28 Days Later is a quasi-spin on George romero’s “living dead” franchise, but it has more plot to it than romero’s zombie scenarios. set in england, it owes as much to John Christopher’s postapocalypsism as anything else. the premise is not hugely novel, but it’s handled about as well as could be, with scenes of carnage everywhere among the eerie isolation. it’s never established whether or not this infection has spread beyond britain. the movie is shot digitally, not on film, and that could have some bearing on its highly crisp, even contrasty look. the views of a depopulated London are striking, the

color palette amazing, e.g., the multi-colored buckets set out on the roof to capture rainwater. the quick, frequently jarring editing also enhances things, giving the situation a nervous energy bordering on panic. the cast is mostly unknowns, which adds considerably to the suspense. the characters are resourceful.

(20th Century–fox, 2007; 100 min.) ★★½

28 Weeks Later

Produced by enrique López-Lavigne, Andrew Macdonald, Allon reich, bernard bellew. directed by Juan Carlos fresnadillo. screenplay by rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos fresnadillo, e.L. Lavigne, Jesus olmo. edited by Chris Gill. director of Photography, enrique Chediak. technicolor. Prints by deluxe. Music by John Murphy. Production design, Mark tildesley. Art direction, Patrick rolfe, denis schnegg. set decoration, Michelle day. Costumes by Jane Petrie. digital special effects by Animal Logic, Lipsync Post, rainmaker Animation & Visual effects UK, the Mill, the senate Visual effects, rushes, Chocolate Lab, framestore Cfd, Prime focus. Cast: don (robert Carlyle), scarlet (rose byrne), sergeant doyle ( Jeremy renner), tammy (imogen Poots), Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), Alice (Catherine McCormack), stone (idris elba), sally (Amanda Walker), Jacob (shahid Ahmed), Geoff (Garfield Morgan), flynn (Harold Perrineau). Synopsis: After fighting off a few of the many rage virus victims besieging his english country residence, don scrambles out a window, leaving his wife behind, and runs to a motorboat. Her face in the window already haunts him. Across britain the virus abates. A U.s.-led nAto force decamps in London. don greets the return of his children tammy and Andy from their vacation in spain. He’s sort of a facility manager. scarlet, a Major and medical officer for nAto, is upset that children are already being brought into the city, even if it’s only in a well-secured enclave. Her superior stone assures her the plague is over. she’s not so sure. tammy and Andy sneak out of the enclave, take a motorbike and find their old home in the city. Upstairs, Andy finds his mom. she’s survived. tracked by soldiers, the three are returned to the enclave where Alice is tested by scarlet. the woman seems to be immune to the virus although stone is ready to kill her; don visits his children and is castigated through the window of their quarantine room for letting their mother fend for herself. When don visits Alice, she kisses and infects him. He in turn spreads it to others, and military snipers begin shooting down the virus victims chasing the uninfected. but stone orders the snipers to kill everyone they can. bombing runs and chemical weapons are also authorized. sergeant doyle disobeys the order to keep shooting uninfected civilians and helps a group escape the holocaust. His buddy, helicopter pilot flynn, tells him to meet him at the stadium. on the way most of the party are killed and so is doyle when he sacrifices himself to get a car going with scarlet, tammy and Andy inside. Pursued by an attack helicopter, they make it to the Underground. Leaving the car, they descend but tammy and Andy fall and scarlet has a hard time finding them. she is attacked and killed by don, who grabs Andy but is shot by tammy. As was his mother, Andy seems immune to the virus. He and his sister make it to the stadium and are flown from the city and out over the Channel. 28 days Later: a mob of infected people runs toward the eiffel tower. Reviews: AP Online thought it was a “woeful sequel…” with “a strained story and a barrage of turgid action….” it was not the fun show zombie movies should be. in fact, the zombies “are relegated to

312 • Twilight second-banana ghouls,….” the humans here are “little more than lunch meat. the sequel has a nasty spirit and unlike the original, has no sense of humor, and often, no sense at all” (david Germain, AP Online, May 8, 2007); The Blade conjectured that all contemporary horror films were thinly veiled analyses of the war in iraq and 9/11. this was full of nihilism, the first 11 minutes incredibly upsetting. despite haunting images, the sound was what left you reeling (Christopher borrelli, The Blade, May 11, 2007). Analysis: How did don live to stumble on his children in the Underground? Are we to assume that flynn’s helicopter flew to Paris and, perhaps, that Andy infected people there? or were the Parisians already infected? these questions combined with such scenes as the murder of scarlet by rifle butt is why the film isn’t rated higher. it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. the quality of the behind-the-scenes production and acting can’t make up for that. imogen Poots got to handle other unsavory characters in Fright Night (2011).

t WiLiGHt sAGA remarkably, like suzanne The Hunger Games Collins, stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Like Titanic and The Hunger Games, the Twilight Saga seemed tailored for the adolescent female audience. it is said that innumerable teenage girls saw Titanic multiple times, thus its rise to a billion dollars plus boxoffice take. one suspects the same held true for Twilight. there have been grumblings from “people on the street” that Kristen stewart was not the perfect choice to bring bella to the screen. one of this book’s authors once heard a female library patron complain, “she ruins everything!” some of the other actors/characters are more compelling.

Twilight

(summit entertainment/temple Hill entertainment, 2008; 122 min.) ★★★

Produced by Wyck Godfrey. directed by Catherine Hardwicke. screenplay by Melissa rosenberg. based on the novel by stephenie Meyer. edited by nancy richardson. director of Photography, elliot davis. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by Carter burwell. Art direction, Christopher L. brown. set decoration, Gene serdena. Costumes by Wendy Chuck. Visual effects by industrial Light and Magic, Cis Vancouver. special Visual effects, rez-illusion. Cast: bella swan (Kristen stewart), edward Cullen (robert Pattinson), Carlisle (Peter facinelli), Charlie swan (billy burke), billy black (Gil birmingham), James (Cam Gigandet), Jacob black (taylor Lautner), renee (sarah Clarke), Phil (Matt bushell), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), emmet Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Victoria sutherland (rachelle Lefevre), tyler (Gregory tyree boyce), eric ( Justin Chon), Mike newton (Michael Welch), Jessica (Anna Kendrick), Angela (Christian serratos), rosalie (nikki reed), Laurent (edi Gathegi), Jasper ( Jackson rathbone), Mr. Molina ( José Zúñiga), Waylon forge (ned bellamy), High school administrator (trish egan). Synopsis: Junior high school student bella swan leaves Phoenix to live with her police chief dad Charlie in forks, Washington, population 3,120. At forks High, bella meets various students, including Jacob, eric, Mike, Jessica and Angela. noticing an atypical boy across the cafeteria, she is told he’s edward Cullen, whose family includes dr. Cullen. they are originally from Alaska. When bella is seated next to edward in Mr. Molina’s biology class, he becomes perturbed. Mean-

while, a security guard at the Grisham Mill is killed, apparently victim of an animal attack. edward, absent for some days, returns to class and introduces himself. in biology he and bella win the “golden onion” prize. Although he’s many paces away, edward rushes over in time to stop a skidding van from crushing bella. she knows there’s something mysterious going on, and on a school daytrip edward tells her they shouldn’t be friends. At the beach known as the Push, edward is a no-show. Jacob says his family is descended from wolves. Waylon forge is found dead. bella Googles legends. While shopping in Port Angeles, bella is intimidated by toughs who in turn are intimidated by edward. At a restaurant, edward tells bella he knew what those guys were thinking, but he can’t read bella and reveals he doesn’t have the strength to stay away form her any longer. At the police station, dr. Cullen says an animal killed Waylon. bella reads of the “Cold one” and other demons and how they possess speed, are undead, and drink blood. in the woods, edward confesses that he is a vampire. He’s been 17 for “a while.” bella is not afraid. Putting her on his back, he speeds up the mountains into the sunlight, where his skin glistens like diamonds. “i’m a killer.” she doesn’t care. “We only hunt animals,” he says. edward introduces bella to his family. Alice is very friendly, rosie pissed because bella endangers the family. edward reveals that he doesn’t ever sleep. in her room, they make out but don’t go all the way. edward introduces himself officially to her dad. He takes her to a family baseball game where they use their super speed and strength to amazing effect. three strangers appear: Laurent, Victoria, and James. James smells that bella is human. edward takes bella away, says they must kill James and burn his body. Alice drives bella back to Phoenix while the others lure James into the woods. but James gets wise to the ploy and escapes to Phoenix, where he phones bella to insist she come to her old ballet studio to save her mom. As James taunts and hurts bella, infecting her arm, edward arrives and in his rage secures James until other Cullens appear and dispose of him in the flames. edward sucks James’ venom from bella’s arm. bella awakes in the hospital and is told she fell and broke her leg. edward says Victoria ran off. back in forks, bella, in a boot cast and blue dress, accompanies edward to the “Casino Monte Carlo” prom. Jacob tells bella his father wants her to break up with edward, but she and edward dance in the gazebo, observed by an unseen Victoria. Reviews: Rolling Stone thought the special effects left much to be desired though understandable on a mere $37,000,000 budget. on the plus side, “the love story has teeth.” stewart and Pattinson provided “genuine romantic ardor.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 21, 2008); Bright Lights Film Journal said “it’s ridiculously mopey, yet it’s also brooding, purple and relatively un-headacheinducing….” Appreciated was that Kristen stewart’s bella “is not humiliated and bullied on her first day of school in a strange new town,….” bella is “a legitimately weird, but sulky character … boys are important, but sulky poetry and drawings in her notebook are as well.” (erich Kuersten, Bright Lights Film Journal, october 28, 2009). Analysis: it’s surprisingly acceptable, even for adults. Kristen stewart’s bella continues the tradition of Winona ryder in Bram Stoker’s Dracula: a human short on voluptuosity and the gravitas one would deem necessary to attract a hot male vampire.

(temple entertainment, 2009; 130 min.) ★★

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Produced by Wyck Godfrey. directed by Chris Weitz. screenplay by Melissa rosenberg. based on the novel by stephenie Meyer. edited by Christopher Lambert. director of Photography, Javier Aguirre-

The Twilight Saga: New Moon • 313 sarobe. Panavision. deluxe color. Music by Alexandre desplat. Production design, david brisbin. Art direction, susanna Cogdognato, Catherine ircha. set decoration, Leslie beale. Costumes by tish Monaghan. Wolf Animation by tippett studio. special Visual effects by Prime focus LLC. Cast: bella swan (Kristen stewart), edward Cullen (robert Pattinson), Jacob black (taylor Lautner), Gran (Christina Jastrzembska), Charlie swan (billy burke), Mike (Michael Welch), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Jessica (Anna Kendrick), eric ( Justin Chon), Angela (Christian serratos), Victoria sutherland (rachelle Lefevre), Jasper Hale ( Jackson rathbone), sam (Chaske spencer), rosalie Hale (nikki reed), Mr. berty (russell roberts), Aro (Michael sheen), Caius ( Jamie Campbell bower), James (Cam Gigandet), rogue vampire (Curtis Caravaggio), dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter facinelli), felix (daniel Cudmore), Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), esme Cullen (elizabeth reaser), emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), demetri (Charlie bewley), billy black (Gil birmingham), Laurent (edi Gathegi), Jane (dakota fanning), Harry Clearwater (Graham Greene), Synopsis: bella swan is tormented by dreams, especially one in which she makes her way through a throng of red-robed figures to a meadow and meets her grandmother. edward Cullen appears and they walk toward “Gran,” who speaks like bella. on her birthday her father Charlie gives bella a photo album and a camera with which she snaps away at her pals. edward makes an appearance but is interrupted by Jacob, who gives bella a dreamcatcher. edward’s sister Alice invites bella to the Cullen house. in class they watch a film version of Romeo and Juliet. edward speaks about suicide and mentions the Volturi in italy, later explaining they have a respect for the law—a few laws at least—and keep secret their existence. He tells bella only she can hurt him. What of Victoria? not to worry, Alice will see Victoria coming. bella gets a paper cut that causes Jasper to go berserk, and even Ashley is thrown into a bit of consternation at the sight of human blood. Carlisle bandages and comforts bella, who tells edward she doesn’t believe Carlisle or the others are damned and asks edward to change her, she’s not worried about her soul. she requests a birthday kiss. not long afterward, edward tells bella the Cullens must leave because people are beginning to wonder why Carlisle doesn’t seem to age. bella is distraught, says she wants to come along. edward balks. “You’re just not good for me.” trying to follow him into the woods, she falls unconscious and is later brought to her father by sam. edward leaves and throughout the autumn bella is depressed, tossing and screaming in her sleep. she sends unanswered emails to Alice and writes that her pain reminds her that edward did exist. distressed by his daughter’s dreams, her dad wants her to live with her mother in Jacksonville. she protests and goes shopping with Jessica. After seeing a zombie movie, she takes a ride with a motorcycle tough hanging around one eyed Pete’s bar, but she sees edward’s image warning her and she returns to Jessica. in her head, bella tells Alice she’ll seek out danger if that’s what it takes to see edward. she finds two motorcycles in disrepair and takes them to Jacob, who astounds her with his ability to lift them easily out of the truck. Helping him restore the cycles makes her feel alive but she continues to dream. one day she sees sam cliff diving and Jacob says they are in some kind of competition. While riding the cycle, bella sees edward’s image again. After watching the movie Face Punch, Jacob tells bella he won’t let her down. He develops a fever and leaves. When bella visits him, Jacob looks different. He’s cut off his long hair and has a tattoo. He tells her to go away and not to blame sam, blame the bloodsuckers. “Look, bella, we can’t be friends anymore.” returning to the meadow, bella encounters Laurent, who came to do Victoria a favor: kill bella. Huge wolves appear and drive him

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment, 2009).

off. bella tells her father she saw wolves, maybe they’ve been responsible for hikers’ deaths. Jacob climbs in her window to say he can’t reveal his secret. in a dream bella sees the wolves and edward. Later, confronting sam’s crew, she insults one who becomes a wolf. Jacob transforms into a wolf and fights him to a draw. on the beach, Jacob reveals he has the werewolf gene but only kills vampires. He’d chased Victoria back to th e Canadian border. returning to forks, Victoria attacks Harry but is chased to the ocean by the wolves. on the cliff, bella tells the image of edward that she’s going to jump if that’s the only way she can have him back. Under the water she sees a red-haired woman swimming toward her, knocks her head on the rocks, and becomes unconscious. Jacob pulls her ashore. back home, Alice tells bella she’s never met anyone engaged in more life-threatening idiocy. When Jacob shows up, Alice gives him and bella some privacy. Alice tells bella that edward is going to the Volturi to kill himself. Alice and bella fly to italy and find edward, who says she’s everything to him. they kiss. the vampire Jane incapacitates edward but can’t faze bella. edward fights felix at the master Volturi’s command. bella says to kill her, not him. “You don’t know a thing about his soul.” Alice tells the master that she’ll change bella. back in forks, bella welcomes edward, who tells her he’d only left to protect her and give her a normal life. He swears he won’t abandon her again. With the other Cullens, bella asks for a vote about changing her. Most vote yes. in the woods, edward thanks Jacob for keeping bella alive when he couldn’t. Jacob reminds him of the treaty and that it will be broken if any of the vampires bites a human. bella tells Jacob she loves him but will choose edward. Jacob turns into a wolf but bella stops the impending fracas. bella has edward agree to make things right in three years. He has one condition, and then, forever: “Marry me, bella.” Reviews: the Christian Science Monitor said it “is not wonderful.” the allusions to romeo and Juliet were many, “but greatness by association has never been less plausible.” there was too much exposition (Peter rainer, Christian Science Monitor, november 20, 2009, p. 17); The Florida Times-Union said it was for diehard fans only. otherwise it was “a long, melodramatic slog, hardly scary at all and missing the offbeat touches and disorienting passion that made the first so surprisingly enjoyable.” the title was a tip-off: the filmmakers “were all taking this far too seriously.” (Matt soergel, The Florida Times-Union, november 20, 2009).

314 • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Analysis: full-blown teen angst is on display in the series’ second and explication-heavy entry. one can imagine many adolescent girls in tears when edward says he must leave and does. one of the best scenes is the agitation of the vampires when bella cuts her finger. Ashley Greene’s compassionate and spunky Alice continues to be the saga’s most appealing character. she may nowadays be termed twee. it becomes apparent that the deep green, overcast Pacific northwest is as much a star in the series as the actors.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

(summit entertainment/temple Hill entertainment, 2010; 124 min.) ★★★

Produced by Wyck Godfrey, Karen rosenfelt. directed by david slade. screenplay by Melissa rosenberg. based on the novel by stephenie Meyer. edited by Art Jones, nancy richardson. director of Photography, Javier Aguirresarobe. Panavision. technicolor. Prints by deLuxe. Music by Howard shore. Production design, Paul d. Austerberry. Art direction, nate fredenburg, Jeremy stanbridge. set decoration, shannon Gottlieb, rose Marie Mcsherry. Costumes by tish Monaghan. Visual effects by tippett studio, image engine, Hatch, Lola VfX, Wildfire Visual effects, Prime focus, Cis Hollywood, rodeo fX, Hammerhead Productions, savage Visual effects.

Cast: bella swan (Kristen stewart), edward Cullen (robert Pattinson), Jacob (taylor Lautner), Alice (Ashley Greene), riley (taylor samuel), eric ( Justin Chon), Mike (Michael Welch), Jasper Hale ( Jackson rathbone), rosalie Hale (nikki reed), emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Angela (Christian serratos), dr. Carlisle (Peter facinelli), Charlie swan (billy burke), Jessica (Anna Kendrick), sam Uley (Chaske spencer), Victoria (bryce dallas Howard), Leah Clearwater ( Julia Jones), Mr. biers (Paul Jarrett), Mrs. biers (iris Quinn), renee (sarah Clarke), embry Call (Kiowa Gordon), Quil Ateara (tyson Houseman), Jared (bronson Pelletier), Paul (Alex Meraz), emily (tinsel Korey), billy black (Gil birmingham), sue Clearwater (Alex rice), Cold one (Peter Murphy), seth (booboo stewart), Quileute warriors (William belleau, Justin rain), beautiful vampiress (Monique Ganderton), Jane (dakota fanning). Synopsis: After leaving a diner on the dark docks, a young man is bitten by an unseen assailant. forks, Washington: bella swan studies for a test while making out with edward Cullen in a beautiful meadow. He wants her to marry him but she wants to be changed first. back home, bella’s dad Charlie mulls over newspaper accounts of murders and disappearances. He tells bella she will no longer be grounded at night if she sees some of her other friends, like Jacob. Jacob, however, doesn’t return her calls, and edward warns her about going to the reservation to see him. Alice senses trouble ahead. bella and edward fly to florida to visit her mother, who recognizes the intensity of the

Left to right: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Elizabeth Reaser, Jackson Rathbone, and Peter Facinelli, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit Entertainment, 2010).

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I • 315 affair. back in forks, Alice and the Cullens wait in the forest to catch Victoria but trespass on the wolves’ land. bella and edward return. Jacob takes bella on a motorcycle ride and tells her the history of the pack. He warns her that edward, whose family isn’t even alive, has his hooks in her. the young man bitten on the docks creeps around bella’s home and edward knows it. At the Cullens, consensus is that someone’s orchestrating this. Jacob confirms trespassers. the Cullens and the wolves take turns watching over bella. While edward helps hunt, Jacob takes her to a council. the native Americans always had magic in their blood. At some time in the past a “cold man” and “cold woman” were dispatched, but there remain cold ones and something terrible is coming. More violence rocks the seattle docks. the Cullens tell bella that when newly christened, vampires are uncontrollable. someone seems to be creating an army of “newborns.” the Volturi? Charlie tells bella about the disappearance of forks resident riley biers. edward tells bella he knows the consequences for her if she is changed. Jacob tells her she must understand her options. He loves her and wants her. she just won’t admit it. He’s going to fight for her and she won’t have to change to be with him. He kisses her. she tries to slug him but hurts her hand. At the Cullens, rosalie says she doesn’t hate bella and recalls her past life and a savage attack by her drunken lover royce and his friends. Carlisle found her battered body, changed her, and she took her revenge. she is sad that she is “frozen, never moving forward.” she tells bella that once she’s changed she’ll want blood as much as edward. in seattle there is havoc, witnessed with approval from afar by the Volturi. forks High has its graduation and at Alice’s big party Jacob apologizes for bella’s sprain and gives her a bracelet with a self-made wolf charm. Alice sees that a decision has been made and in four days the newborns will come for bella. the wolves will assist in defending her and practice defensive strategies with the vampires. the wolves learn that young newborns are stronger than the Cullens and cautioned not to let the newborns get their arms around them. Jasper reveals that he was in the Confederate army and recalls meeting Maria on his way to Galveston. she changed him. He became second in command and trained newborns, but Maria never let them live past one year. He disposed of them. He was her puppet till he found Alice. bella dreams of the intruder and a newborn army and Victoria hiding behind them. she’s right. riley and Victoria are conspiring against her. edward agrees with bella that they’ll be more vulnerable apart. Jacob’s odor will mask bella’s scent so he carries her from the meadow where the confrontation will occur. After a discussion with Alice, bella asks her dad why he didn’t remarry. she says, “edward is old school.” And, “dad, i’m a virgin.” bella goes to the Cullens where edward gives her a bracelet. she asks if his condition for marriage is to change her himself? she wants to give herself to him and they engage in heavy kissing but there is no consummation. edward says he will protect her soul and gives her his mother’s ring. in seattle, Victoria tells riley he has the numbers to defeat the Cullens. Afterward they can feed. in the woods, bella leaves drops of her blood on trees to discombobulate the newborns. Again, Jacob carries her to the secret campsite. riley and his companions rise from the water off forks. that night Jacob holds bella’s shivering body. edward and Jacob hash out their issues. Jacob says bella loves him, too. edward says he won’t force bella into anything. there’s snow on the ground in the morning. After checking the woods, Jacob returns only to hear that bella has agreed to marry edward. bella is distraught and orders Jacob to “Kiss me!” edward says, “You love him.” bella: “i love you more.” edward: “i know.” in the meadow, the newborns confront the Cullens and rush to battle. the wolves appear and give the Cullens the extra muscle to destroy their enemies. At the campsite, Jacob bites off riley’s arm. edward tried to reason with riley, telling him Victoria

has been using him. edward decapitates Victoria with a bite to the throat and burns the body. He hears Alice’s call and returns with bella to the meadow where the Volturi appear. Jacob has some of his bones crushed by a vampire, and sam says they’ll take him home to recuperate. the Cullens try to give asylum to a young member of the newborns, but felix is ordered by Jane to destroy her. the Volturi do not continue the battle. bella goes to Jacob, who’s been treated by Carlisle. Jacob tells bella of edward, “He’s not as perfect as you think.” And, “i’m exactly right for you, bella.” He says he needs time to mend “but i’ll always be waiting.” August 13: in the meadow, edward tells bella, “You’re giving away too much.” bella: “You’re wrong.” she says she’s always felt out of step.” And it’s not all about him. they’ll have to tell her dad. edward puts the ring back on her finger. Reviews: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette found that director slade lent “a fresh eye to the ‘twilight’ franchise and does several things right.” He used the Pacific northwest to advantage and provided “kinetic energy and surprise” in the action sequences. the larger budget was evident (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 30, 2010); Rolling Stone said and the films lacked the fire of the books. “it’s the lucrative audience of pubescent girls that is being coddled.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, June 29, 2010). Analysis: there are not quite as many expository segments as in New Moon. the newborns vs. Cullens/wolves battle is exciting. the viewer feels a thrill when the wolves appear. of course the story is contrived to work at the heartstrings of adolescent girls—and guys— but remains valid. they have conflicted feelings, want to be loved, feel out of step. Howard shore’s music is a real plus, and the Pacific northwest environment once more lends some grandeur to the proceedings. Humorous comments help, too. one can argue that bella has her own supernatural component that makes her so attractive to everyone.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I (summit entertainment, 2011; 117 min.) ★★

Produced by Wyck Godfrey, stephenie Meyer, Karen rosenfelt. directed by bill Condon. screenplay by Melissa rosenberg. based on the novel Breaking Dawn by stephenie Meyer. edited by Virginia Katz. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. Color by deluxe. Music by Carter burwell. Production design, richard sherman. Art direction, daniel flaksman, Lorin fleming, nate fredenburg. set decoration, david schlesinger. Costumes by Michael Wilkinson. Visual effects by Lola/VfX, spin VfX, Wildfire Visual effects, Mr. X inc., soho VfX, engine room LLC, Hydraulx VfX, Modus fX , Comen VfX, Pixel Magic, Cebas Canada. Cast: bella swan (Kristen stewart), edward Cullen (robert Pattinson), Jacob black (taylor Lautner), rosalie (nikki reed), Alice (Ashley Greene), Jasper Hale ( Jackson rathbone), dr. Carlisle (Peter facinelli), Charlie (billy burke), renee (sarah Clarke), edward Cullen (Kellan Lutz), billy (Gil birmingham), Leah ( Julia Jones), sam Uley (Chaske spencer), sue Clearwater (Alex rice), Jessica (Anna Kendrick), seth (booboo stewart), esme Cullen (elizabeth reaser), eric ( Justin Chon), Mike (Michael Welch), Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), Caius ( Jamie Campbell bower), Phil (ty olsson), Angela (Christian serratos), rachel (tanaya beatty), Jared (bronson Pelletier), embry (Kiowa Gordon), Quil (tyson Houseman), Paul (Alex Maraz), emily (tinsel Korey), Claire (sienna Joseph), demetri (Charlie bewley), eleazar denali (Christian Camargo), Carmen denali (Mia Maestro), irina denali (Maggie Grace), tanya denali (MyAnna buring), Kate denali (Casey Labow), Minister Weber (Angelo renai), bianca (Ali faulkner), felix (Alex Cudmore), Aro (Michael

316 • The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 sheen), Kaure (Carolina Virguez), Gustavo (sebastiao Lemos), renesme (Mackenzie foy, Christie burke). With stephenie Meyer. Synopsis: A distraught Jacob, a relatively happy Charlie swan, and a genuinely delighted mother receive invitations to the wedding of bella swan and edward Cullen. At bella’s home, edward tells her it’s not too late and relates his early days as a vampire, when he went out hunting human blood. He recalls watching a horror film [Bride of Frankenstein], tracking a woman through the theater and attacking a human stalker. bella says they were monsters. “so am i,” he retorts. bella says she can become a vampire because he did. edward leaves for a bachelor party while bella dreams of her wedding that becomes a nightmare of dead people and edward in a bloody tuxedo. the real ceremony goes without a hitch, even when vampire cousins arrive and one complains that they killed Laurent. After toasts and dancing, edward escorts bella outside to Jacob. He says he was in northern Canada. He becomes distressed, intimating that a wedding night with edward will kill her. sam and his companions arrive and defuse Jacob’s anger. edward and bella honeymoon on an island near rio and make love for the first time. next morning edward brings to bella’s attention scratch and bite marks. she’s not concerned. they travel to a beautiful waterfall and play chess at the house. bella begs him to make love to her again but he’s reluctant. back home, Jacob tells Leah that edward will kill bella. While edward is out hunting on the mainland, bella cooks some chicken and throws up. she’s missed her period and is pregnant and her belly is already showing. How can that be? they pack up and edward says, “Carlisle will get that thing out.” bella: “thing?” About to leave at the airport, bella calls rosalie and asks for her help. back in Washington, Jacob learns from Charlie that bella is extending the honeymoon. but bella and edward are already home and she reveals her pregnancy to Jacob. Alice can’t read bella’s future. rosalie says it’s just a baby. edward tells Jacob that Carlisle can turn bella at the last minute. edward asks Jacob to ask bella to change her mind. in return, if bella dies, Jacob will get to kill edward. Jacob tells bella her baby is a killer and he’s not sticking around to see the outcome. He races off as a wolf. At a lumber mill the wolves argue and Jacob defies sam before leaving. Jacob and seth warn the Cullens about sam. Leah, seth’s sister, arrives and joins Jacob’s crew. Carlisle says bella’s fetus isn’t compatible with her body and at its growth rate will give her a heart attack. she argues with edward. Jacob comes back to comfort her. blood from Carlisle’s medical stock turns the tide, and bella begins to recover. edward apologizes for his anger and feels bella’s belly, telling her the baby likes the sound of her voice. He’s like her, good and pure. Jacob calls a powwow with some of his former family but it’s a ruse to let Carlisle and renee leave to obtain more blood. bella collapses and the baby, renesmee, must be delivered. she’s fine but bella lapses toward death. Jacob says he won’t kill edward because living with the knowledge he caused bella’s death is enough punishment. edward bites bella at various spots on her body, seemingly to no avail. sam tells billy that bella’s dead, “it” killed her. He takes his compatriots to the Cullens. Jacob sees the baby and realizes he can be her friend. A battle between the wolves and edward, Jasper and Alice is resolved when Jacob emerges from the house. “stop, it’s over. if you kill her you kill me!” edward realizes that Jacob imprinted with the baby, thus “they can’t hurt her. their most absolute law.” At sunrise bella’s body is cleaned and prepared for burial. but internally things are happening. bella opens her … red … eyes! (during the end credits, Carlisle’s message about his family having another member is brought to the Volturi. the leader says, “they have something i want.”) Reviews: Rolling Stone considered it the worst of the series to date,

being “sexless, bloodless, padded and plodding….” Making two movies from the book seemed a way for the studio to “bleed more bucks out of the audience,….” even first-rate director bill Condon couldn’t save it (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 17, 2011). Analysis: it’s a bit lethargic and the bella-edward-Jacob triangle becomes wearying, but it’s all to engage love-struck teenage girls, one presumes. it is unclear just why sam and his wolves plan to break the treaty with the Cullens and attack the house. the songs are somewhat distracting—the better to sell a Cd? the conclusion takes too long. the stewart’s corpse makeup is excellent.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2

(summit entertainment/temple Hill entertainment, 2012; 115 min.) ★★★

Produced by Wyck Godfrey, Karen, rosenfelt, stephenie Meyer. directed by bill Condon. screenplay by Melissa rosenberg. based on the novel Breaking Dawn by stephenie Meyer. edited by Virginia Katz, ian slater. director of Photography, Guillermo navarro. Color by deLuxe. Music by Carter burwell. Production design, richard sherman. Art direction, Lorin flemming, nate fredenburg. set decoration, david schlesinger. Costumes by Michael Wilkinson. Visual effects by Hydraulx—santa Monica and Vancouver, Lola VfX, Zoic studios—Los Angeles and Vancouver, rodeo fX—Montreal, Canada, Pixomondo, spin VfX, Method studios—Vancouver. Cast: bella swan (Kristen stewart), edward Cullen (robert Pattinson), Jacob black (taylor Lautner), Aro (Michael sheen), esme Cullen (elizabeth reaser), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Jasper Hale ( Jackson rathbone), rosalie Hale (nikki reed), Jane (dakota fanning), emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz), Charlie swan (billy burke), sam Uley (Chaske spencer), renesmee (Mackenzie foy), irina (Maggie Grace), Caius ( Jamie Campbell bower), Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl), santiago (Lateef Crowder), felix (daniel Cudmore), demetri (Charlie bewley), Vasilii (billy Wagenseller), Alec (Cameron bright), sasha (Andrea Powell), tanya (MyAnna buring), Kate (Casey Labow), Carmen (Mia Maestro), eleazar (Christian Camargo), Amun (omar Metwally), stefan (Guri Weinberg), Vladimir (noel fisher), Kebi (Andrea Gabriel), tia (Angela sarafyan), benjamin (rami Malek), sue Clearwater (Alex rice), Leah ( Julie Jones), seth (booboo stewart), senna (tracey Heggins), dr. Carlisle (Peter facinelli). Synopsis: bella awakes, sees her room in incredible detail and is greeted by edward. He is impressed by her newfound physical strength. before she can see renesmee she is told she must get her bloodlust under control. she and edward run through the forest and spot a deer, but bella also sees a rock climber. edward deters her from attacking the human and she returns to the deer only to have a mountain lion in the way, which she kills. At home, Jacob reveals that his imprinting on renesmee was not intentional. After her fury subsides, bella allows Jacob into the house. Alice presents bella with a key to a woodland home. “Vampires don’t sleep,” bella tells edward and they make love in their new abode. in italy, irina reports Aro that “the Cullens have done something terrible.” back in the U.s., Alice reveals that, “they’re coming for us.” Why? renesmee is thought to be an immortal child. such children must be destroyed because they can’t be taught, will wreak havoc, and thus pose danger to vampires. to ameliorate the situation and avoid battle, edward says they must ask their friends to witness the confrontation. Alice and Jasper disappear, leaving a note for bella via sam that the Volturi will come when the first snow sticks. the denali are told that renesmee is warm, has

Underworld • 317 blood, and was created when bella was still human. in egypt, Carlisle and esme have no trouble convincing benjamin to come to the states. senna and Zafrina arrive from the Amazon. Wolves will help. bella is found to possess a shield that can be used as a defensive measure. Vladimir and stefan come from russia with grievances against the Volturi. it is said that Aro always creates “evidence” to slaughter a coven. Where is Alice? bella practices with her shield to protect others and tells renesmee that Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice ran away to keep them safe. edward tells bella he has a bad habit of underestimating her. she burns The Merchant of Venice and Alice’s note as per her inscription inside the book. bella and Jacob take renesmee to visit Charlie, who now has a girlfriend. At Alice’s note’s urging, bella visits J. Jenks and is given a passport for Jacob to take renesmee out of harm’s way. bella crafts a note to renesmee. the snow begins to fall as presents are opened at Charlie’s. bella tells renesmee to stick with Jacob no matter what happens the next day. on a snow-covered field, Carlisle’s family and allies plus the wolves confront the Volturi line of battle. He tells Aro that renesme is not an immortal and Aro takes his hand to determine the truth. bella projects a shield. Aro agrees that renesme is “Half mortal, half immortal.” irina is brought forth and admits her mistake. she is beheaded and tanya blinded. bella uses her shield to protect edward from Jane’s spell. Carlisle says no law has been broken, but Aro says the humans could still destroy them with technology. the child’s future is uncertain. Alice and Jasper return with evidence the child won’t pose a risk. Aro takes her hand to see if it’s true, but he won’t change his decision and the battle begins during which Aro decapitates Carlisle. After all the carnage it is revealed that this was Alice’s forecast of what would occur if they did fight. Aro himself would be destroyed. Carlisle’s Amazonian duo explains a 150-year-old man in their company. He drinks blood and eats human food as well. Aro says there is then no danger. “We will not fight—today.” the allies part, the russians disappointed that they couldn’t destroy Aro. edward is glad renesme has Jacob as protector. Alice sees a good future. in the forest meadow, bella shows edward visions of their past and her love “forever.” Reviews: Rolling Stone was gleeful that the series was dead because all of the films were “redefining cinematic tedium for a new century.” As for this entry, “there’s a smidge of twisted energy in the final chapter as if everyone is relieved to be done with the damn thing.” still, there was some action this time, “made especially hilarious by tacky special effects.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, november 15, 2012); Entertainment Weekly said it “sags in the middle but then gathers momentum, like the vintage monster-movie showdown it is.” (owen Gleiberman, “the twilight saga: breaking dawn—Part 2,” Entertainment Weekly, november 30, 2012, p. 55). Analysis: it’s all idyllic, adolescent romance. As usual in the series, the orchestral music creates a mood. bella’s sighs and huffs become irritating. the battle between the Volturi and our heroes is exciting if for some a cop-out when it is only a potential future. there is suspense here and foreboding. Upon consideration, one finds that beyond the three principal characters, several of the supporting players remain as or more compelling, notably Ashley Green’s Alice and Peter facinelli’s Carlisle. the end credits, reviewing the saga, are great.

UnderWorLd this vampire/lycan (werewolf) series became a very successful franchise despite generally unfavorable reviews. Genre fans liked it, and of course the lovely Kate beckinsale attracted discriminating audi-

ences. originally set for an autumn 2016 release, Underworld: Blood Wars, also with beckinsale as selene, was rescheduled for 2017.

Underworld

(Lakeshore entertainment/screen Gems, 2003; 121 min.) ★★★

Produced by tom rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, richard Wright. directed by Len Wiseman. screenplay by danny Mcbride. story by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, danny Mcbride. edited by Martin Hunter. director of Photography, tony Pierce-roberts. digitalscope. digital filmlab. Music by Paul Haslinger. Production design, burton Jones. Art direction, Kevin Phipps, Csaba stork. set decoration, Malcolm stone. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Creatures designed and supervised by Patrick tatopoulos. Visual effects and Animation by framestore CfC London. Cast: selene (Kate beckinsale), Michael Corvin (scott speedman), Lucian (Michael sheen), Kraven (shane brolly), Viktor (bill nighy), singe (erwin Leder), erika (sophia Myles), Kahn (robby Gee), raze (Kevin Grevioux), dr. Adam Lockwood (Wentworth Miller), Amelia (Zita Görög), soren (scott Mcelroy), sonja ( Jazmin damak). Synopsis: Perched above a metropolis by night, a black-clad woman muses on the war between her kind—vampires, and lycans—werewolves. Although centuries had passed and the lycan leader Lucian had been laid to rest, more powerful lycans had arisen. dropping to the street upon observing a human followed by lycans in human guise, the woman and a male companion engage in a subway shootout that leaves the vampire man dead. the woman finds special bullets in the pistol of a lycan she killed, but before she can determine anything else a large lycan charges her. she uses sharp metal disks to halt him for the time being. Meanwhile, at a lycan underground nest, Lucian appears, hardly dead at all. the woman in black, selene, arrives at the estate where reside her coven of vampires. she displays the new bullets, which could have been stolen from the military. Current coven leader Kraven dismisses selene’s concern that there may be dozens of lycans hiding in tunnels. A video on a computer monitor reveals that the human selene saved is hospital worker Michael Corvin. selene drives to this Michael’s residence just as lycans invade his building. Lucian corners Michael in an elevator and although shot by selene, manages to bite the man and thus acquire his blood for testing while ejecting selene’s bullets from his body. He gives chase on foot but is foiled by selene and Michael. However, the car flies into the river. Michael pulls selene to the surface and revives her. back at the lycan lair, Lucian gives the blood capsule to his medical minion. Michael, in the meantime, begins dreaming or perhaps hallucinating and escapes from the estate. Kraven becomes even angrier with selene and slaps her. selene practices with her pistols, and Kahn gives her a gun with bullets copied from the lycans. these contain silver nitrate and will enter the lycans’ bloodstream. While Kraven meets Lucian to discuss their secret arrangement, selene examines old texts and is especially interested in “the fall of LVCiAn” chapter. erika informs selene that Michael had been bitten by a lycan. Michael arrives at the hospital but his coworker brings in the police. in a chamber within their manse, selene opens a manhole-sized cover in the floor and Viktor’s coffin rises. she bites her wrist and drips blood onto the desiccated occupant, hoping he will hear her plea. she believes that Lucian is alive and in league with Kraven. Having escaped the police, Michael returns to the estate and calls for selene. Having been informed that Viktor has risen, Kraven goes to the chamber, as does erika to tell him that Michael is

318 • Underworld: Evolution lycan. “What’s this ruckus?” asks the voice of Viktor, now attached to tubes of blood. out and about, selene fills Michael in on the war between vampires and lycans. back at the estate, Viktor tells Kraven he must let selene come to him. “summon Markus,” he adds. Kraven reveals that Markus remains below and that Viktor has been awakened a century ahead of schedule. in a presumably safe house, selene explains to Michael her family’s deaths and reveals that Viktor drove off the lycans and made her a vampire to avenge her family. Michael demands to go with selene but as she kisses him, she chains him up. she warns him that when the moon is full the following evening he will change. she gives him a gun with a silver bullet just in case he wants to end it. she returns to the estate, watched from outside by armed lycans. Kraven fails to prevent selene from going to Viktor but from the control room watches and listens to the conversation. Viktor expresses concern that he was awakened before Marcus, and although she is as a daughter to him, selene must be judged. erika hears Kraven tell a man that he can’t afford to have selene, his future queen, run off with that lycan again. He tells Kahn to pick up Amelia at the train station. Amelia heads a second coven. Her train is attacked by lycans and she is killed, her blood drained. erika goes to selene with her pistols and selene once again rides into the night. erika tells Kraven that selene escaped. Kraven wants Michael’s head. Although selene releases Michael and they survive another lycan attack, Michael is captured by the police. in the car, Michael transforms. Kraven goes to the fully restored Viktor and tells him selene escaped. selene appears with Lucian’s scientist to prove that the lycans are combining the bloodlines of vampire and lycan. Michael fits into this scheme because in the 5th century his ancestor, Corvinus, survived a plague and became the first true immortal. of his two children, one was bitten by wolf, the other by a vampire. Viktor dismisses this as a legend. the scientist says the Corvinus strain in human descendants is dormant but has been transmitted to Michael. Kraven leaves unnoticed before Viktor can get his hands on him. the scientist reveals that Amelia and Michael’s blood will combine for a half-vampire, half-lycan super being. Viktor lands a mortal blow to the scientist. Lucian, who withdraws some of his blood, has taken Michael. Michael hallucinates and sees Viktor whipping Lucian and letting sunlight scorch his own daughter, sonja, as payment for loving him. Lucian injects himself. Kraven arrives and confers with Lucian. selene, Kahn and others arrive attack. Kraven shoots Lucian in the back with a bullet containing silver nitrate. raze, the lycan who’d originally followed Michael, discovers Lucian’s body and goes berserk. Lucian revives. selene frees Michael. Kraven shoots Michael but he begins transforming. Kraven tells selene that Viktor killed her family. Lucian stabs Kraven in the leg and tells selene to bite Michael to make him stronger than both. Kraven plugs Lucian again while selene accomplishes her mission. Viktor arrives and tosses selene into the wall, grabs Michael and throws him down into a watery chamber. selene confronts Viktor: “it wasn’t the lycans it was you.” Viktor admits the fact but says he gave her immortality. selene wonders how he could kill his own daughter and he responds that an abomination was growing in her womb. Viktor takes a sword with the idea of killing Michael. Kraven is knocked into the water with Michael. A battle royal ensues as vampires shoot Michael and Viktor knocks selene down. He tries to strangle Michael, but selene procures the sword, leaps into the air and slashes down. As she watches his astonishment, half his head slides off. Lycans back off into the shadows. selene picks up a medallion. Later, she wonders about the consequences of that night, knowing the two vampire covens will be restored and Marcus resurrected to take the throne. there will be anger and retribution sought and she will become the hunted. Reviews: the News Journal compared it to The Matrix Reloaded

because it featured “a droning, endless barrage of humorless people in black dusters moving in slow-motion while firing big guns into tile walls.” beckinsale was “too uncertain, too dainty, to soft” to be a fullyfledged action heroine (Anthony breznican/Associated Press, News Journal [Wilmington, de], september 19, 2003, p. 9); Rolling Stone gave it cursory attention, finding that Kate beckinsale “looks fetching in fangs and black vinyl,…” but had no real rapport with scott speedman. overall it was a “rusty blade.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, september 19, 2003); the Nelson Mail did not care who won the war in a film where style trumped substance. it incorrectly predicted that no sequel would be made (david Manning, Nelson Mail, May 31, 2004, p. 19). Analysis: Critics were not prescient about a film that created a franchise, and their negative reviews did not matter. the film was a hit and until The Twilight Saga the most financially successful of all vampire film franchises. it’s comic/graphic novel stuff, of course, but well made, with exciting action sequences, e.g., selene spinning in the hall, guns blazing at the floor to create a circle so she can fall away from the lycans; slicing off Viktor’s head at an angle. A negative: Kraven has only one expression, that of rage. there is only one moment of humor: the voice of Viktor asking, “What’s this ruckus?”

Underworld: Evolution

(Lakeshore entertainment/screen Gems, 2006; 106 min.) ★★★½

Produced by tom rosenberg, Gary Luccesi. directed by Len Wiseman. screenplay by danny Mcbride. story, Len Wiseman, danny Mcbride. based on characters created by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, danny Mcbride. edited by nicholas de toth. director of Photography, simon duggan. Prints by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design and Creatures designed and Created by Patrick tatopoulos. Art direction, Chris August. set decoration, Lin Macdonald. Costumes by Wendy Partridge. Visual effects by Luma Pictures, ntroPiC, furious fX, and CAfefX inc. Cast: selene (Kate beckinsale), Michael (scott speedman), Markus (tony Curran), Corvinus (derek Jacobi), Viktor (bill nighy), Andreas tannis (steven Macintosh), Kraven (shane brolly), William (brian steele), Amelia (Zita Görög), soren (scott Mcelroy), samuel ( John Mann), Lucian (Michael sheen), erika (sophia Myles), Pierce (rich Cetrone), taylor (Mike Mukatis), Young selene (Lily Mo sheen), selene’s father (Andrew Kavadas), selene’s sister (Kayla Levins). Synopsis: eight centuries ago a blood feud developed between a vampire ruling class and rebellious werewolves known as lycans. Legend says it began with the immortal sons of Alexander Corvinus: Markus, bitten by a bat, and William, bitten by a wolf. Markus became a vampire leader. William, in turn, was the first and most powerful lycan. Ad 1202: Markus Viktor, and their associates, including Amelia, pursue William through a devastated village, fighting off lycans all the while. William is cornered. Viktor tells Markus that his sympathy for his lycan brother is misplaced but will allow for William’s imprisonment, not death. flash forward. selene recalls six centuries of loyalty to the vampire coven, but Viktor had betrayed her. now only Michael, the half vampire-half lycan, is her helpmate in her goal of finding Markus before the traitor Kraven locates him. However, Kraven is on the spot and with his minions opens Markus’ crypt only to find blood had dripped inside. Markus is now a bat-creature who impales them all. before decapitating Kraven, Markus bites him and sees what has transpired between Viktor and selene during his sleep. sailing through

Underworld: Evolution • 319 off the pendant he’d found on Viktor and Michael gathers it up. Leaving Markus floundering in the road, selene and Michael make their way into an old factory just as the sun rises and begins to scorch selene’s hand and cheek. secreting her in a container, Michael finds a medicine cabinet. but it’s not necessary. selene has begun healing and they make love. Meanwhile, Corvinus’ men drop from a helicopter and set bombs in the safe house selene and Michael had used. selene holds up the pendant and sees the past, revealing to Michael that she’d held this when she was a child. they need Andreas tannis, she says. He’d been the coven’s official historian until he’d been exiled three hundred years before. Andreas exists inside a mountain hideaway with a bevy of vampire beauties. When he spots selene approaching on his monitor, he trips a door and she drops into a tunnel. Her pistol did not fall with her, and she must use her knives to kill two of Andreas’ trained lycans. Michael, transformed, follows and rescues her. she finds more pendants in Andreas’ possession and Michael asks him why Markus is after these items. Andreas says some history is based on truth, some of deception. Viktor once was human and Markus was the first true vampire. He came to Viktor’s deathbed, promising immortality in exchange for help defeating William’s uncontrollable, ravenous werewolves. in one of Andreas’ tomes is an illustration of men loyal to Alexander Corvinus, “the father of us all.” selene’s father built William’s prison. that’s why selene sees her younger self holding the pendant, the key to William’s cell. Her father knew too much. now selene herself is the map and Markus knows that the key to finding William is in her blood. selene and Michael leave for an unnamed city, leaving Andreas to be killed by Markus after learning that one pendant was with Viktor, the other with selene. by biting Andreas, Markus sees all that transpired, including selene’s current plans to visit Pier 17 and one Lorenz Macaro. on his ship, selene learns that Lorenz is actually Alexander Corvinus. He examines her pendant and says he is Michael’s forefather. selene asks for help to clean up the mess, to defeat his sons, and to keep William dormant. Markus arrives and impales Michael on iron fittings. during his fight with selene, her blood drips into his mouth and he sees the past. He flies off and she attends to Michael, dripping blood onto him in a seemingly vain hope of revival. Markus, meanwhile, back into human form, makes his way to his father, Alexander, who tells him they are mere oddities of humanity. Markus takes Viktor’s pendant and impales Alexander, telling him a true god has no father. the ship’s helicopter returns, and Alexander tells them to find the girl. she’s comes up from below. “You are the last hope left,” says Alexander and cuts his wrist, his blood his last legacy. “What will i become?” she asks before tasting it. “the future,” he responds. the helicopter takes selene and Michael’s body as Alexander sets off explosives that destroy the ship. Markus makes his way into tunnels beneath a forbidding castle and uses the pendant to open the way to William’s coffin. Hovering above the castle, selene remembers a water entrance and descends from the helicopter with Alexander’s armed men. Markus, meanwhile, releases William, a huge lycan. selene finds the empty coffin and takes the pendant that opened it. Both photographs: Kate Beckinsale, Underworld: Evolution (Lakeshore Entertain- she and her men find and attack William. she in turn is attacked by Markus but uses a shotgun to fend him off ment/Screen Gems, 2006). a dark sea on a modern ship, Corvinus is shown scenes of Amelia and Viktor’s death and the coven’s manse afire. He announces that the coven was never Markus.’ He examines the bodies of Lucian and Viktor, and upon wielding a scalpel on the latter, removes a pendant below the skin. As for Markus, he too is using the computer monitors at the manse to locate Michael’s hideaway. With selene off on her mission, Michael ventures into a dingy bar cum restaurant but chokes on human food. His picture appears on the tV but to no avail security men try to detain him. selene returns and forces Michael to drink blood from her wrist. After grilling her about what Viktor might have been hiding and other secrets she’s keeping, Markus attacks her. Michael fends him off using her pistol. He and selene commandeer a truck and make a break, but Markus flies after them. selene shoots

320 • Underworld: Rise of the Lycans before locking him in the crypt. Up in the helicopter, Michael hears selene speaking about his powers. in the castle, selene tells her men they can at least slow William down with their bullets. she uses explosives but William escapes and now must kill the men who are turning into lycans. Michael leaps from the helicopter to assist. escaping from the crypt, Markus yanks on a chain to haul the helicopter down into the castle. Michael fights William as selene contends with Markus on a rope bridge at the end of which the helicopter blades continue to whirl. Michael breaks off William’s head. Although Markus manages to impale selene, she quickly withdraws that body part and uses it to stab upward from Markus’ neck into his head and push him into the chopper blades. As a human, Michael comes to selene. the sun rises but does not bother her. on the rope bridge they kiss. selene’s thought are of the unknown and dangerous chapters ahead, but for now she looks at the light with new hope. Reviews: The Record found this sequel “more visually inspired, muscularly made…” than the first of the series. it wondered if Kate beckinsale was throwing her career away by engaging in these fantastic films, “but that was premature—no one had seen Van Helsing yet. Yet Underworld made her a star with goth geeks and boys who peruse lad mags, and she hasn’t been near Henry James or William shakespeare since.” nevertheless, the director was to be complimented and “the action sequences, while overedited, are like a dream of how a liveaction comic book should be.” there is a “cool eroticism.” it was evidenced when selene allowed Michael to suck blood from her wrist to keep him alive. this was hotter than the “obligatory lovemaking,…” (Wesley Morris, The Record [Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, ontario, January 24, 2006); the Guelph Mercury thought the supposedly vicious and cunning characters more in the mode of The Simpsons’ tV series’ itchy and scratchy. incredibly, the body count exceeded the number of characters. overall, however, “there is a certain slippery glamour and creativity in Underworld Evolution that is streamed into style, look and fashion.” too bad the storyline was “rag tag…” (rebekah theodore, Guelph Mercury [ontario], January 28, 2006). Analysis: this is a sequel better than the original. Action scenes are spectacular, especially the climax in the castle. (A castle with a rope and slat bridge? What could better conjure up saturday matiness of ages past?) some are quite tense, notably selene falling into the tunnel to confront lycans without her pistols. there is a lot going on, and that’s good: Corvinus in his ship on the periphery but coming on strong, Markus a splendid, menacing bat-creature, selene trying to save Michael. Plenty of gore—and one “fuck”—generate the r rating. Curiously, although there’s a lovemaking scene between selene and Michael, someone felt duty bound to choreograph it so that strategically placed hands and arms obscure nipples. nietzsche might say, “bald kommt die nacht keine sterne hat.” Perhaps this was the work of director Wiseman, beckinsale’s husband since 2004. beckinsale was nude in Haunted (1995, U.s. release 1996).

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

(Lakeshore entertainment/screen Gems/sketch films, 2009; 92 min.) ★★½

Produced by Len Wiseman, tom rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Len Wiseman, richard Wright. directed by Patrick tatopoulos. screenplay by danny Mcbride, dirk blackman, Howard McCain. story by Len Wiseman, robert orr, danny Mcbride. based on characters created by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, danny Mcbride. edited by Peter Amundson. director of Photography, ross emery. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Paul Haslinger. Production design, dan Hennah.

Art direction, Gary Mackay. set design, Will Crooks. Costumes by Jane Holland. “sonja” Costume by Wendy Partridge. Creatures designed and supervised by Patrick tatopoulos. Visual effects by duran duboi Paris, Luma Pictures, intelligent Creatures, elementfX Marin County, CA. Visual effects and Animation by furious fX. Cast: Lucian (Michael sheen), Viktor (bill nighy), sonja (rhona Mitra), tannis (steven Mackintosh), raze (Kevin Grevioux), Coloman (david Aston), nobleman’s wife (Geraldine brophy), nobleman (Mark Mitchinson), fearful Lycan (Leighton Cardno), Young Lucian (Alexander Carroll), orsova (elizabeth Hawthorne), death dealer ( Jason Hood), Luka (tania nolan), sabas (Craig Parker), Janosh (tim raby), Young sonja (olivia taylforth), Kraven (shane brolly), Xristo ( Jared turner), selene (Kate beckinsale). Synopsis: in the two decades that have passed since the creation of death dealer vampires and werewolves, Viktor has increased his bloodsucker army to fight the vicious and infectious breed unable to take human form again—until one, Lucian, was born of a beast but grew to manhood in human guise and stronger than his parent. Lucian has been Viktor’s prisoner since birth and is constrained by a collar, made to labor as a blacksmith weapon maker. When Lucian was young but very powerful, Viktor asked his young daughter sonja if they should make more. one day, when humans were thrust into Lucian’s cell, instead of devouring them, he turned them into a new race of immortals lycans—part werewolf, part human. Viktor thought they could be harnessed to work as slaves. Years pass and the death dealers debate the issue of ravening beasts multiplying on their borders. one rider is pursued to the castle gate. the lone pursuing werewolf is killed by Lucian, who thereby saved sonja, now a fully-grown woman and member of the council she barely acknowledges. Viktor urges her to learn the dance of politics and demonstrate more fealty to the family. during a council meeting Coloman argues that the wolf menace must be dealt with soon. Perhaps a privileged class under Lucian would work to fend off the monsters. What does sonja think? she’s not there, rather mating with Lucian. she asks Lucian if he feels nothing when killing werewolves, but he argues they are mere beasts. He wonders if she’d accompany him if he freed himself from his collar and left the castle. He says they are both offspring of Corvinus. tannis observes sonja leaving Lucian’s lair. A carriage with slaves trailing behind approaches the realm but is ambushed by werewolves. Lucian had warned sonja but she’d ridden out anyway. Unlocking his collar, Lucian rushes forth and turns into his lycan form, cowing the werewolves. Viktor is not happy and consigns him to slavery after 30 lashes. Coloman complains that such treatment will lead to a slave revolt. near Lucian’s cell are the prisoners who had accompanied the carriage, one of whom, raze, revives him with water. Lucian tells raze that the werewolves were the spawn of William. raze is perplexed that they obeyed Lucian. sonja sneaks to Lucian’s cell and tells him tannis wants something from them. in the council chamber the area nobles offer tribute and make a plea to do something about the werewolves, but Viktor kills their spokesperson. Meanwhile, Lucian rouses his cellmates. “We are not animals!” but they can be lycans. sonja recalls being given her pendant by Viktor when she was a child. she threatens tannis, who admits to knowing she’s consorted with a lycan. He indicates that he’d like one of the 12 council seats if she gives hers up. in return, he opens Lucian’s cell. she tells Lucian he must leave at sunrise and she will meet him by sunset near the river. tannis tosses Lucian a key. Viktor has raze and others taken to a cell to be bitten by werewolves, which he says will be a gift. Lucian says Viktor will use them for his protection and tells raze there’s a new life awaiting them beyond the walls. He lures and kills the man who whipped him

Underworld: Awakening • 321 and institutes a prison break. Many are trapped, but Lucian, raze and some others make the woods. Viktor is apprised of Lucian’s escape and stares across the plain until the rising sun forces him back. raze tells Lucian he can gather more men from the noble’s estate. Lucian declares that the men can have freedom or immortality. in the castle, Viktor discovers a loose grate, visits sonja and asks if she helped Lucian escape. she denies it but he bites her and in so doing sees her relationship with Lucian. He condemns her treason. she admits she loves Lucian, and he stomps off, telling guards she is not to leave her rooms. Luka rides into the woods to inform Lucian that sonja has been arrested. He’s sure she’ll be killed and tells raze to keep the men together or lead them if he does not return. He enters the castle and kills sonja’s guards. Viktor is not surprised. He has his men drop flaming brands and combustibles through the grates to prevent the lovers’ escape. one exit seems open, but when Lucian and sonja leap up and through they find Viktor and his men waiting. While Lucian brawls with Viktor’s men, the chief death dealer engages in swordplay with his own daughter. When she gets the drop on him, sonja tells Viktor to call off his men for the sake of his grandchild. she claims it a miracle union of the bloodlines. Viktor, however, deems it an abomination and when turning the tables on her with a hidden knife has her and Lucian dragged to the council hall. Viktor says his daughter’s past glory does not exonerate her and the council votes for execution. she is chained upright to a post while Lucian is chained and whipped before her and witnesses her death by sunlight. Viktor mourns and later goes to sonja’s charred body and removes her pendant. transforming, Lucian makes his way to the castle walls and howls into the night. the werewolves, raze and the half-humans heed his call and assault the castle. raze removes the darts from Lucian and is told to free the others in the cells below. Viktor berates tannis for collecting scrolls before going into battle in the courtyard. As Lucian approaches, Viktor uses the trap grate to descend. Lucian follows and thrusts his sword into Viktor’s mouth and out the back of his head. the vampire lord falls into the water below. Lucian goes above to watch the sunrise over his victorious army. raze says, “Lucian, it is finished.” Lucian replies, “no, this is just the beginning.” He folds a pendant into his palm. out at sea, Viktor, his mouth bloodied, enters one of the coffins tannis had removed from the castle. in the future, crouching above a darksome city, selene muses on her life and the voice that tells her she reminds Viktor of sonja. Reviews: Rope of Silicon said that while it wasn’t “an absolute travesty,…” it was repetitive and provided nothing new (brad brevet, www.ropeofsilicon.com, January 23, 2009); the New York Times called it “formulaic entertainment…” but extolled Michael sheen for taking “his monster duties seriously:….” His performance was a saving grace in the overedited fight scenes (Manohla dargis, New York Times, January 24, 2009, p. C13). Analysis: it was filmed in new Zealand, but it’s so overcast and dark it might as well have been a studio set anywhere on or beneath earth. it looks like it was shot entirely as if through a blue-tinted screen. Viktor is just too mean in this outing whereas in the others he was often sympathetic. of course, this is a prequel. He softened with age, perhaps. the same goes for the vampires, nastier here than later. We feel great sympathy for the lycans. the blood surely does fly. Although these are original screenplays, they obviously owe inspiration to graphic comics. this one continues the trend of falling into under-castle streams and puddles. it’s a tad less substantive than what came before; otherwise it could receive the 3-star rating. Question: could the werewolves/lycans be werewolves/lycans without a full moon? Although she’s making a token appearance here, Ms. beckinsale is clearly pleasant on the eyes, and as we

know, babes-in-leather, kickin’ ass and takin’ names is always a good time-passer.

Underworld: Awakening

(Lakeshore entertainment/screen Gems/sketch films, 2012; 88 min.) ★★½

Produced by Gary Lucchesi. directed by Måns Mårlind, björn stein. screenplay by Len Wiseman, John Hlavin, J. Michael straczynski, Allison burnett. story by Len Wiseman, John Hlavin. based on characters created by Kevin Grevous, Len Wiseman, danny Mcbride. edited by Jeff Mcevoy. director of Photography, scott Kevan. Color by deluxe. Music by Paul Haslinger. Production design, Claude Paré. Art direction, Gary Myers, Martina Javorova. set decoration, shane Vieau. Costumes by Monique Prudhomme. Prosthetics and Creature fX by Mastersfx, inc. Visual effects by Luma Pictures, Mokko, Celluloid Visual effects berlin, sPinVfs, Look effects, fido, rodeo, ntroPiC, faction Creative. Visual effects and Animation by furious fX and Atomic fiction, inc. Cast: selene (Kate beckinsale), dr. Jacob Lane (stephen rea), detective sebastian (Michael ealy), david (theo James), eve (india eisley), Lida (sandrene Holt), thomas (Charles dance), Quint, Lane’s son (Kris Holden-ried), officer Kolb ( Jacob blair), olivia (Catlin Adams), Antigen scientist (Wes bentley), Michael (scott speedman). Synopsis: selene recalls the endless conflict between creatures hidden from human view and how she was turned into a machine of vengeance. times have changed, however. elders have been killed and a new darkness cloaks the land. Humans discovered the nonhuman species and created tests to determine who was clear of infection. Ultraviolet rays and silver nitrate are used on the vampires and lycans. Martial law has been declared. Antigen’s dr. Jacob Lane says there is no cure. selene finds Alexander Corvinus’ ship but it’s also in the sights of the authorities. selene’s hybrid lover Michael is shot and falls into the sea. selene dives in to rescue him, but a depth charge separates them and she wakes up in a cryo-chamber. breaking out and gathering her black garb, she returns to the pier, which has been closed for a dozen years. Meanwhile, detective sebastian interviews dr. Lane, who maintains that there has been no break from his laboratory. sebastian knows better because his partner printed out a picture of selene flying the coop. selene asks an Antigen scientist about hybrids and cures. Although he says he’s the one who let her escape, she drops him to his death. selene meets david, who’d seen her escaping and says he’s one of her kind. He further informs her that concealed lycans are riled up by something. they find a cowering girl and take her away in a van with three ravenous lycans in pursuit. one bites the girl before she splits its head open. the girl says she is subject 2 and freed selene. she sees images through selene. selene bites her and sees the lab. dr. Lane argues with a female assistant about the blight the hitherto hidden creatures have become. beneath a dam, david screws in a pendant to gain access to the lair of his father thomas and others trying to weather the human storm. A woman slashes her wrist and gives blood to the girl, who was not healing from the lycan bite. selene promises to leave with the child when she gains strength. Alone, selene grieves as she remembers Michael. david tells her she’s a fighter who can teach them how to survive. the girl wakes up, investigates her surroundings and meets thomas, who says he knows exactly what she is. As selene comes to grips with the knowledge that the girl is her daughter, lycans burst in. selene saves david’s life and leaves the girl with him while she tries to fight off a monstrous lycan. Knocked

322 • Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms insensible and covered in rubble, she rises to find the survivors cleaning up, but the girl has been taken. selene realizes this daughter is the last direct descendant of Alexander Corvinus. finding david apparently dead, she slices open his chest, cuts her hand and inserts it to restart his heart. At the Metro Police station, selene tells detective sebastian about the lycan attack. in the labs, the disgruntled assistant confronts dr. Lane again and learns that he is one of a new, silverimmune species. Lane’s son is also one of these superior lycans. selene’s daughter is now part of the equation, secured to a gurney for tests. Meanwhile, sebastian and selene arrive at Antigen where selene walks in through a hail of bullets and places explosives in an elevator shaft. Lane’s son tells his father to move the girl. selene finds Michael’s body in a cryo-chamber and shoots a hole in it to let him out. Grappling with a lycan, both fall down an elevator shaft. Above, Lane’s son yanks on a chain that sends the elevator hurtling down. selene uses her pistols to weaken the elevator floor so that its weight falls around her. As sebastian stops Lane’s van in the parking garage, Lane’s son transforms into a monstrous lycan and chases selene. the girl wakes up and takes on Lane, ripping open his throat. david arrives to lend a hand. selene continues to fight Lane’s lycan son, eventually jamming her hand into his human form’s chest. He says he heals immediately. that’s what she wanted because she’d inserted a grenade and he is blown to smithereens. the injured sebastian says he’ll buy time for selene to escape. selene can’t find Michael in the lab, but her daughter sees him on the roof. for selene, the lycans will rebuild and hunt for Michael, but the vampire coven will survive and reclaim their world. Reviews: the Manawatu Standard admitted to its “visceral appeal,…” but thought there might be a tad too much blood for some. it was certainly not for the squeamish. the “thudding, thrumming soundtrack,…” the black-clad vengeance-seeking beckinsale, and monster y monster fights were strengths (Katy breheny, Manawatu Standard [new Zealand], March 8, 2012); The Southland Times welcomed a new threat to the vampire-werewolf oeuvre in the form of humans. the 3d version was, however, unnecessary (nicole Gourley, Southland Times, March 24, 2012, p. b8). Analysis: this one used Vancouver, british Columbia for the city shots. there is some gratuitous violence, as when selene drops the helpful scientist to his death. Much of the bloodletting is in fact unnecessary. david’s family might confuse audiences. Are they merely regular vampires rather than death dealers? some thought beckinsale had become too thin, but who could really tell? A gaseous fog enveloped her as she broke from the cryo-chamber, and she was soon and for the rest of the movie in her black vinyl cat suit. in a homage to the first film, selene shoots out another circle to save herself from imminent destruction, this time going up instead of down.

UniVersAL soLdier Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms (1998) and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business (1998), both with Matt battaglia, went direct to video.

(tristar/Carolco Pictures, 1992; 103 min.) ★★

Universal Soldier

Produced by Craig baumgarten, Allen shapiro, Jean-Claude Van damme. directed by roland emmerich. screenplay by William Malone, John fasano. based on characters created by richard rothstein,

Christopher Leitch, dean devlin. edited by Peck Prior. director of Photography, Michael A. benson. Panavision. Color by technicolor. Music by don davis. Production design, david Chapman. Art direction, John frick. set decoration, donnasu sealy. Costumes by Jennifer L. bryan. Visual effects, ralph Maiers. set Construction and Unisol truck by Modul inc. Cast: Luc deveraux/Gr44 ( Jean-Claude Van damme), sergeant Andrew scott/Gr13 (dolph Lundgren), Veronica roberts (Ally Walker), Colonel Perry (ed o’ross), Woodward (Leon rippy), Garth (tico Wells), dr. Christopher Gregor ( Jerry orbach), Gr76 (ralph Moeller), Motel owner (robert trebor), Gr55 (“tiny” Lister, Jr.), Charles (drew snyder), Lieutenant (Gene davis), Gr61 (simon rhee), Gr86 (eric norris), John devreux (rance Howard), Mrs. devreux (Lilyan Chauvin), Waitress ( Joanne baron), Vietnamese girl (trini tran), Vietnamese boy (tai thai). Synopsis: Vietnam, 1969: G.i. Luc deveraux tries to prevent the obviously unhinged sergeant Andrew scott from killing a Vietnamese boy and girl, but after stringing human ears on a necklace scott shoots the boy and tosses a grenade after the girl even as Luc is pulling her from the village. He and scott then shoot each other. nevada desert, Present day: A large prop plane lands and disgorges an immense van from which emerge a squad of oddly equipped soldiers including Gr44 (deveraux) and Gr13 (scott), just awakened from a cooling compartment. they are dispatched to a dam where terrorists are holding tourists hostage. With seemingly superhuman powers and aplomb, the squad takes out the terrorists. tV reporter Veronica roberts sees a story and follows these special soldiers back to their origin. she finds a man in a freezing container, but she is detected via video cameras. Gr44 has a psychotic break, remembers the carnage in Vietnam, and prevents Gr13 from killing her. they escape in her car and stop at the Lucky Motor Court for gas and a working phone. in the motel room Veronica learns from the tV that she’s been labeled a criminal. she also discovers that Gr44 must cool down in ice and fills the bathtub for him. Gr13 arrives but Gr44 crashes through the walls with Veronica in tow and makes it to a car. Gr44 cuts the tracking device from his leg when they stop for gas. Gr44 and Veronica enter the van and obtain documents. When they return to their car they find Gr13 in the backseat. to prevent being strangled, Gr44 jams on the brakes and sends Gr13 through the windshield. Ash fork, Arizona: in a restaurant, Gr44, looking like a deadbeat, dismantles local yahoos and the owner with his martial arts skills. tyler, Utah: in the Unisol van, the increasingly crazy Gr13 injects and kills Garth with the serum that controls himself. Clinton, Utah: Veronica and Gr44 learn from dr. Gregor about the creation of the Unisol soldiers: dead men returned to life and programmed for hazardous missions. dr. Gregor tells Veronica that Gr44 and the others had their bodies hyper accelerated. in short, dead flesh was turned into living flesh. Gr13 has “Aggressive traumatic recall.” Veronica argues with Luc that he’s not dead! they are arrested and placed in a police bus, but the convoy is chased and almost completely destroyed by Gr13. Gr44 and Veronica take control of the bus and lead the van to a canyon where it goes over the cliff and explodes. Gr44 had jumped clear, and he and Veronica commandeer a police car. Meraux, Louisiana: Gr44 is Luc deveraux and he’s now home with his mother and father, but Gr13, sergeant scott, finds him. Until he manages injects himself with some of the serum the Unisols need regularly, Luc is no match for scott, who tosses a grenade after a fleeing Veronica. Luc impales scott on a farm machine, turns it on and grinds him up. “You’re discharged, sarge!” Veronica is found alive. Reviews: the Chicago Reader found the script not very intelligent

Universal Soldier: The Return • 323 but “there’s something satirically suggestive about the theme that justifies the dumb-ass expressions that Van damme and Lundgren come up with.” Plus, “there’s a fair amount of action bravura, scenic spectacle, and deadpan humor to go with the obligatory nonsense.” ( Jonathan rosenbaum, Chicago Reader, July 16, 1992); the New York Times said Rambo, to which this film might be paying homage, “actually looks good in comparison….” dolph Lundgren “may well be the only man in the universe who can make Mr. Van damme look like an actor” ( Janet Maslin, New York times, July 10, 1992, p. C17). Analysis: An appropriate set-up in ‘nam followed by the attack on the terrorists at the Hoover dam years later is followed by increasingly ridiculous scenes and actions. How come Gr44 forgot how to eat? How did Gr13 track Gr44? How did Gr13 survive the van’s fall into the canyon and find Gr44 in Louisiana? on the plus side, Ally Walker makes a spunky and intelligent femme lead. “in Memory of Clarence Holter.” He worked in transportation.

Universal Soldier: The Return (tri-star Pictures, 1999; 82 min.) ★

Produced by Craig baumgarten, Allen shapiro, Jean-Claude Van damme. directed by Mic rodgers. screenplay by William Malone, John fasano. based on characters created by richard rothstein, Christopher Leitch, dean devlin. edited by Peck Prior. director of Photography, Michael A. benson. Panavision. Prints by deLuxe. Music by don davis. Production design, david Chapman. Art direction, John frick. set decoration, donnasue sealy. Visual effects by CrC digital. robotics and special effects Make-up by Knb. Cast: Luc deveraux ( Jean-Claude Van damme), seth (Michael Jai White), erin (Heidi schanz), dylan Cotner (Xander berkeley), romeo (bill Goldberg). Captain blackburn ( Justin Lazard), Maggie (Kiana tom), General radford (daniel Von bargen), Hillary (Karis Paige bryant), sergeant Morrow ( James black), squid (brent Hinkley). Synopsis: the ryan-Lathrop Military Weapons research facility contains poison gas, toxic chemicals, and … a man. out in the bayou a couple are chased through water and over land until the exercise is terminated. Luc and Maggie, the pursued, were from the Unisol laboratory, where the wounded romeo is healed under the supervision of the computer setH. one of the special soldiers goes berserk and attacks Luc. it’s a delta Unit malfunction. the defense budget is being cut and Unisol is to be terminated. seth is concerned. Luc’s daughter Hillary asks him why her mom had to die. He doesn’t know. in secret, setH is dabbling with mind control, and Hillary tells Luc setH is not himself. erin, KtX reporter, investigates the facility. setH’s minions are operational and to stop them a code is needed to shut down setH, who uses the geeky squid to enhance his abilities. four Unisol soldiers attack. it is apparent that setH is adapting and nothing can stop him short of breaking the code. sergeant Morrow and his rangers prepare to enter the building as setH prepares his bio-enhanced body. “super Unisol online.” setH announces, “the time of man has ended.” Luc and the rangers enter the building and set explosive charges in the generator room. injured, Hillary is diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. Luc needs an independent computer and rides a motorcycle with erin to find one at a strip club, where he must first beat off the bouncers. romeo is on their trail and hears a phone message about Hillary’s whereabouts. Luc confronts squid, learning that the geek gave setH a body, tweaking it with nanotechnology and devising a thought matrix brain. in his super-Unisol body, setH goes

to Hillary while Luc knocks romeo through a hospital window onto a car. Yet romeo is not dead. setH tells Hillary he made a body for himself and takes her from the room. outside the lab, General radford tells erin they are going to blow up the whole facility and will keep the toxic chemicals from spreading. Maggie appears, now a brainwashed Unisol, forcing Luc to blast her. setH tells Luc he can cure Hillary in exchange for the code. Luc shoots him but he comes back. A computer says the code has been terminated. After a knockdown, drag-out fight, Luc manages to freeze setH, who crumbles into dust. the rejuvo-bath cures Hillary. romeo waits and Maggie revives. romeo and other Unisols are on the march. the explosives don’t go off until Luc fires into the main device, creating an inferno. Reviews: the New York Times had fun with its review, pointing out the lapses in logic and foolishness of the enterprise. Why, for instance, was our hero never hit by “eight gazillion bullets…”? if action was your desire, however, this had it (Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times, August 21, 1999, p. b12); VideoHound gave it two bones out of 4 (“May be perfectly delightful for certain tastes. A waste of time for others.” it was Van damme’s needed reversion to a proven formula ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever 2008, detroit and new York: thomson/Gale, 2007, p. 946). Analysis: this is a movie for undiscriminating action fans. for others it borders on the insufferable. it also has its share of bad acting,

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Universal Soldier: The Return (TriStar Pictures, 1999).

324 • Universal Soldier: Regeneration and we’re not talking so much of Van damme. there is gratuitous violence—not the violence itself, rather the unnecessary insertion of action scenes when none are needed. Also gratuitous is the strip club scene. What kind of guns are they using? they seem too boxy for human use. of course the ammunition never runs out. the reemergence of Maggie as a Unisol: who saw that coming—or wanted it? What of the techie terms such as rejuvo-bath and thought matrix brain? that sounds like something out of Logan’s Run. oddly, despite the constant action there are talky scenes, such as those between General radford and erin that make a mere 82-minute film seem like 182. it’s hard to see radford, played by daniel Von bargen, who died in 2015, without thinking of his recurring role on tV’s Seinfeld as the incompetent Mr. Kruger of Kruger industrial smoothing. setH is an obvious reference to HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

(aka A New Beginning; foresight Unlimited/signature Pictures, 2009; 97 min.) ★★★½

Produced by Craig baumgarten. directed by John Hyams. screenplay by Victor ostrovsky. based on characters created by richard rothstein, Victor ostrovsky, dean devlin. edited by Jason Gallagher, John Hyams. director of Photography, Peter Hyams. Color by deluxe. Music by Kris Hill, Michael Krassner. Production design, Philip Harrison. Art direction, rossi bakeva, Valya Mladenova. set decoration, Plamen Milanov. Costumes by sonya despotova, elitsa taseva. Visual effects by Gotham digital fX, inc. Cast: Luc deveraux ( Jean-Claude Van damme), nGU (Andrei Arlovski), Andrew scott (dolph Lundgren), Commander topov (Zachary baharov), Captain Kevin burke (Mike Pyle), Colonel John Coby (Corey Johnson), dr. Porter (Garry Cooper), dr. Colin (Kerry shale), dr. sandra flemming (emily Joyce), General boris (Aki Avni), dimitri (Yonko dimitrov), ivana (Violeta Markovska). Synopsis: the Ukrainian prime minister’s children are kidnapped by topov’s dissidents, aka terrorists, and held hostage in the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant. topov demands the release of incarcerated comrades within 72 hours or else he’ll further disrupt the plant via explosives and release radiation once more into the air. Assisting topov’s men is a super Unisol developed by dr. Colin. initially successful upon invading the plant, the U.s. and Ukrainian soldiers as well as four original Unisols resuscitated by dr. Porter are eventually killed or beaten back by Colin’s seemingly indestructible creation. Meanwhile, dr. sandra flemming is facilitating the Unisol Luc deveraux’s rehabilitation. Unfortunately for him, when the nGU takes down the other Unisols, it becomes necessary to cancel his pathway to normal life, and against his wishes is given injections to regenerate his killer instincts. dr. flemming makes sure she’s on hand to soothe him before he’s inserted into the Chernobyl plant. Meanwhile, his wife informs the Ukrainian Prime Minister that she will never forgive him if he doesn’t back down and retrieve their children. Captain burke, ordered not to engage, enters the plant through a wide pipe. dr. Colin and his assistant tend to another nGU, Andrew scott, who is asked various questions, such as “You often contemplate the complexity of life.” Colin is bothered by his affirmative reply. Luc is given another injection and engages in target practice. the Prime Minister authorizes the release of the 110 prisoners and topov shuts off the detonator with 35 minutes to go. dr. flemming tells Luc. back at the facility, topov finds dr. Colin not exactly pleased with the developments, and scott kills topov. Perplexed by the “complexity of life” question, scott

also kills Colin. the kidnapped children run past them and meet Captain burke. scott restarts the detonator. the nGU finds bodies. Luc is outfitted to go. the nGU follows the Captain and the kids. Luc shoots and knifes his way forward through the facility. the Captain is attacked by the nGU and puts up a good fight but is nevertheless killed. Luc finds the kids cowering in a corner as scott brandishes a knife. An extended fight ensues and Luc and scott end up outside, falling from a catwalk. Luc shoves a pipe into scott’s forehead and shoots a bullet through it. Luc injects himself with a booster shot. He finds the kids but the nGU finds them. Luc eventually manages to pull up the detonator and shove it in the back of the nGU. Again, Luc finds himself falling from a parapet, this time onto a bunch of larger pipes. He stumbles away, falls and looks back to see the nGU disintegrate as the detonator goes off. Luc looks up at the kids and slowly runs off. back in Langley, Virginia, dr. Porter enters a cryogenic chamber at boone Unlimited to examine clones of Captain burke. Reviews: The Times of India thought no one cared anymore for the star’s “antics….” the whole thing was “ketchup and kitsch.” (nikhat Kazmi, Times of India, April 16, 2010). An excellent rundown of the entire Universal soldier series with high praise for this entry is found in Wil Jones’ “the birth, death and regeneration of the Universal soldier movies,” www.denofgeek.com, August 22, 2014. Analysis: the initial hostage-taking scene is a well choreographed and harrowing action piece, as is the invasion of the Chernobyl facility by the soldiers attempting to rescue the hostages. You’d expect a downswing after that, with gratuitous violence, bad decision-making, poorly executed mayhem. You’d be wrong. it keeps up the pace with good if sometimes disturbing action, as when Arlovski pummels victims again and again and again and Lundgren gets a pipe to the forehead and a bullet that blows off the back of his head. Having deveraux, scott and the nGU stalking the complex simultaneously engenders quite a bit of tension and excitement. it’s a horror movie as much as science fiction. the Unisols and nGU are frankenstein monster-like. dr. Colin [as in Colin Clive’s dr. frankenstein in the 1930s Universal films?] is their creator. the battle between the nGU and deveraux, taking them through walls and falling from catwalks might seem a bit over the top but it’s exciting stuff. the film was released theatrically around the world, but in the U.s. seems to have gone direct to dVd.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

(foresight Unlimited/Magnet releasing, 2012; 114 min.) ★★★

Produced by Moshe diamant, Craig baumgarten. directed by John Hyams. screenplay by John Hyams, doug Magnuson, Jon Greenlagh. story by John Hyams, Moshe diamant. based on Characters Created by richard rothstein, Christopher Leitch. edited by John Hyams, Andrew drazek. director of Photography, Yaron Levy. Color by deluxe. Music by Michael Krassner, Wil Hendricks, bobin Vining. Production design, nate Jones. Art direction, Jeremy Woolsey. set decoration, Andrew W. bofinger. Costumes by Kim Martinez. Visual effects by terminal fX, Post Matters. Cast: John (scott Adkins), Luc deveraux ( Jean-Claude Van damme), Magnus (Andrei Arlovski), Andrew scott (dolph Lundgren), sarah (Mariah bonner), special Agent Gorman (rus blackwell), bouncer (tony Jarreau), earl (Craig Walker), Larry (Andrew sikking), dr. timothy brady ( James duMont), dr. su (david Jensen), ron Castellano (dane rhodes), emma (Audrey P. scott), nurse Claudia (sigel diamant).

The War of the Worlds • 325 Synopsis: Honoring his young daughter’s middle-of-the-night request to find the monsters in the house, John does: black-garbed men who beat him unmercifully and shoot his wife and daughter. the ringleader lets John see his face. After nine months in a coma, John wakes and is questioned by fbi special Agent Gorman and shown a picture of the man he recalls killing his family: Luc deveraux, once a decorated serviceman, now a deserter. Gorman makes a phone call and says, “Put the plumber to work.” the plumber is a bearded man working for nMP. John is released from the hospital, taking his effects, meager as they are. the homemade bracelet reminds him of a birthday party. At home he recalls the good times. the “plumber” goes to a whorehouse and kills most of the women and their johns before a whitehaired man injects something into his neck and says, “You will serve him.” the man sees an image of Luc. John receives a phone call from isaac and then finds him dead in his apartment. He sees a photo of two doctors and a Violet’s Cabaret matchbox. While driving, he listens to a message about stem cell insertion. At Violet’s he tries to elicit answers from the stripper but Violet is angry and won’t cooperate. in the men’s room, John is injected by the plumber and watches the plumber become Luc. tossed out on his keister by bouncers, John tracks sarah to her motel room where he tries to get answers but is attacked by the axe-wielding plumber. John gets the axe and cuts off half of the man’s foot before escaping with sarah. in some dimly lit facility, the white-haired man who’d injected the plumber tells his acolytes about their future serving a nameless man and how they will multiply! Meanwhile, John bandages his hand from which several fingers were severed by his attacker. sarah wonders if he knows her and concludes that he doesn’t. she tells him he drove a truck down by the docks and they’d spent a night in a shack by the river. in the bathroom, John sees Luc in the mirror and his daughter being killed. He wakes up and contacts Gorman, telling the agent he can’t remember anything but that he sees things: deveraux, for instance. He’s had two visions, he guesses. Gorman tells him many agents have disappeared over the past three years. one was spotted on the docks, probably with deveraux, who seems to be brainwashing men and forming a separatist group. He’s used mind control to access John’s psyche, but the fbi will find him. the plumber’s foot mends as he recuperates in Luc’s lair. one of the others picks a fight with him but when he gains the upper hand the others gang up on the attacker. Luc arrives and puts him out of his misery with a gunshot. John goes to the docks and meets Mr. Castellano, his face deformed, apparently from a run-in with John. John is shown images of isaac’s apartment and the man who killed him: John! “You’re fucked, John,” says Castellano. driving off, John and sarah are rammed by the plumber and chased through town until both vehicles crash. John and his attacker fight through a sporting goods store until John, going into a super combative mode, bashes his opponent in the head with a baseball bat. He and sarah take a passing car from a stunned motorist and find their way to that shack in the woods, where they meet John’s doppelganger. it was he who killed isaac. John asks who the guy in the photo is. His opposite rambles on about getting sick and hearing voices in his head about finding the truth. He says his thoughts are not his own, that he was drugged to set himself free. He was told to find isaac and obtain the container to send upriver. then he met sarah and realized there was another life, that he’d become a slave to him. He didn’t think he was supposed to meet sarah. John talks of his family. His opposite tells him to go to the river; they’ll come for him and make him forget the pain. the duplicate embraces sarah but his hand on her neck begins to squeeze hard, and he makes an attempt to drug her but is shot by John. “You’re just like me,” says the expiring duplicate. John has sarah remove the device in his neck. she drives off as he goes to the river

and is taken by a flat-bottomed boat to an underground hideout, sits in a chair and is met by the two doctors in that photo. the chief says he’s hardly more than three months old. He complains of the discomfort in his head that they say is caused by resistance. they can solve that and begin drilling into his skull, but John sees his family and goes berserk, killing any and all he meets in the corridors and rooms, including the white-haired man. He encounters Luc himself and after a long fight, kills him. “Always—another John,” says Luc as he expires. John takes a van and meets Agent Gorman, who says John can become truly free, but John tells him he killed his family. no, says Gorman, Luc did that. but John says he, Gorman, put Luc up to it and shoots him in the head. from the van steps a duplicate Gorman. John drives away, picturing his family. Reviews: The Atlantic called it “a damn fine piece of action filmmaking by any measure.” (ian buckwalter, www.theatlantic.com, november 30, 2012); the New York Times said that although the script was deficient, the director provided “a feverish ferocity on a minimal budget.” the film thus delivered the promised “sweat, guns and fisticuffs…” (Andy Webster, New York Times, november 29, 2012). Analysis: rather farfetched—if there is even a sensible plot—it nevertheless maintains some internal plausibility. the hyper-violence, nudity, and foul language will turn off some—but not the target audience. Viewers must keep reminding themselves that these soldiers are super soldiers impervious to dirt and infection and capable of regenerating appendages. if they were humans they’d not be able to shed so much blood, have their feet and fingers severed, or experience head trauma from fist, baseball bat, chair, concrete, or drill and keep on coming. How did they replicate, anyway? the martial arts and chase scenes are excellent. Questions: how did the soldiers reproduce and why did Luc go so bad—and give up in his fight at the end? nick Antosca of The Paris Review answers some of these questions. He was mightily impressed, penning a retrospective piece in december 2013 that made a—some might find astounding—thoughtful case for calling it the best movie of 2012. it was what a Jason bourne saga set in Louisiana would be if directors Werner Herzog, david Lynch and david Cronenberg had teamed up. After some festival showings it had a limited U.s. theatrical release.

VAn HeLsinG see under drACULA WAr of tHe WorLds (Paramount, 1953; 85 min.) ★★★

The War of the Worlds

Produced by George Pal. directed by byron Haskin. screenplay by barré Lyndon. based on the novel by H.G. Wells. edited by everett douglas. director of Photography, George barnes. Color by technicolor. Music by Leith stevens. Art direction, Hal Pereira, Albert nozaki. set decoration, sam Comer, emile Kuri. Costumes by edith Head. special Photographic effects by Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Paul Lerpai, ivyl burks, Jan domela, irmin roberts. Astronomical Art, Chesley bonestell. Cast: dr. Clayton forrester (Gene barry), sylvia Van buren (Ann robinson), General Mann (Les tremayne), dr. Pryor (bob Cornthwaite), dr. bilderbeck (sandro Giglio), Pastor Collins (Lewis Martin), sheriff (Walter sande), dr. duPrey (Ann Codee), General Mann’s

326 • The War of the Worlds humanity’s survival. Having been separated, forrester locates sylvia in a church as an alien craft crashes into a nearby building, a hatch opens, and a limb of one of its occupants hangs limp. “it’s dead,” says forrester as bells begin tolling. the Martians were no match for nature’s smallest creatures—bacteria. Reviews: the New York Times considered it “an imaginatively conceived, professionally turned adventure,….” director Haskin made Synopsis: Pine summit, California: a blazing light in the sky sugit “suspenseful, fast and, on occasion, properly chilling.” (A.W., New gests a large meteor is crashing into earth, but what townsfolk and York Times, August 14, 1953, p. 10); The New York Times Guide to three Pacific tech scientists camping out discover in the crater is no Movies on TV complimented producer Pal, “who has filmed the H.G. generic rock from space. After the brush fires surrounding the intruder Wells story with real flair and excitement,…” (Howard thompson, come under control almost everyone leaves, but three remain and ed., The New York Times Guide to Movies on TV, Chicago: Quadrangle watch as a sort of manhole cover unscrews and a cobra-shaped metallic Press, 1970, p. 211); Leslie Halliwell thought the “spectacular battles tube or appendage emerges and surveys the area. Approaching the scenes…” were compromised “once the cardboard-characters open pit, waving white to signify friendship, the three men are incinerated. their mouths.” (Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide: A Survey of other lights are seen in the sky and soon the authorities realize that 8000 English-Language Movies, new York: Charles scribner’s sons, earth is under attack, presumably from spacefarers from Mars. elec1977, p. 834); TV Key Movie Guide found it fascinating by virtue of tromagnetic energy fields protect the hovering alien craft that use the “Magnificent special effects….” the plot was simple but “trickery’s their death rays to confound the military, even jet bombers. dr. forthe thing.” (steven H. scheuer, ed., TV Key Movie Guide, new York: rester, one of the Pacific tech scientists, and sylvia, who teaches library bantam books, 1966, p. 382); Variety called it “a socko science-fiction science at UsC, hide in her family’s home and observe the alien craft feature, as fearsome as a film as was the orson Welles 1938 radio inand their tV camera-like antennae. sylvia goes into hysterics when a terpretation of he H.G. Wells novel.” (derek elley, ed., Variety Movie hideous, three-fingered hand is placed upon her shoulder. forrester Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, pp. 657). drives it off and they flee before the homestead is destroyed. A worldAnalysis: for purists, the relocation of H.G. Wells’ invasion from wide panic ensues as Martians land everywhere. At the Pacific institute britain to California was problematic, as was the use of alien flying of science and technology, forrester displays the “electronic eye” craft rather than the tripods with tentacles so wonderfully rendered he’d broken from a tentacle back at sylvia’s home. He also has a cloth by Lou Cameron two years later in the 1955 Classics Illustrated (#124) with some Martian blood, which looks primitive under the comic version. microscope. After a U.s. “flying Wing” drops an atom bomb on a pod it was possible to keep period settings as disney demonstrated with of alien craft to no effect, General Mann shouts, “it didn’t stop them! 1954’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Journey to the Center of the Guns, tanks, bombs! they’re like toys against them!” the aliens adEarth (1959), and even with George Pal’s The Time Machine (1960). vance on a Los Angeles quickly becoming the scene of panic and lootin any case, Pal’s version of The War of the Worlds is one of the key ing. the scientists believe the Martians’ anemic blood may be key to films of the original golden age of science fiction cinema if not on a par with, to name a few, The Thing from Another World, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Them!, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Forbidden Planet. some are a bit skeptical that an atom or hydrogen bomb would not suffice to destroy invaders. see also on this score Independence Day, which tells the same story but with less heart. Possibly because of its smaller cast and compactness, The War of the Worlds leaves a more lasting impression. While inserting a computer virus into an alien craft hovering over earth may seem implausible, especially in the short timeframe used in Independence Day, there is some implausibility in the Pal film as well. A race capable of interplanetary travel and particle beam warfare is suicidally ignorant of microbiology? if so, that shortsightedness is attributable to the original H.G. Wells novel rather than to Pal’s scriptwriter barré Lyndon. the movie was rerun at 9 p.m. on August 22, 1967, on nbC and given a halfpage “tV Close-Up Guide” write-up in TV Guide. besides the two large-scale movie versions of H.G. Wells’ famous novel, there was a barely remembered CanadianAnn Robinson and Gene Barry fleeing from the aliens, The War of the Worlds (Paramount, 1953). American tV series between 1988 and aide (Houseley stevenson, Jr.), radio announcer (Paul frees), Colonel Heffner (Vernon rich), Wash Perry (bill Phipps), Alonzo Hogue (Paul birch), salvatore ( Jack Kruschen), ranger (robert rockwell), Policeman at pit (Henry brandon), narrator (sir Cedric Hardwicke).

War of the Worlds • 327 1990. the continuity between it and the 1953 film was quite good. the episodes made strong references to preceding installments, and reference to dr. Clayton was frequent, as it should have been: he’s the foster father of dr. Harrison blackwood ( Jared Martin), the nominal star of the show. Ann robinson was a semi-regular who showed up a few times. this series might be the only tV series “sequel” to a movie original. With a first-class production, some really decent writing, and a decent cast it might have taken hold. As it stands, it barely warrants a footnote in tV history.

(dreamWorks, 2005; 115 min.) ★★★

War of the Worlds

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson. directed by steven spielberg. screenplay by Josh friedman, david Koepp. based on the novel by H.G. Wells. edited by Michael Kahn. director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski. Panavision. fujifilm. Prints by technicolor. Music by John Williams. Production design, rick Carter. Art direction, douglas Meerdink, Andrew Menzies, norman newberry. set decoration, Anne Kuljian. Costumes by Joanna Johnston. special Visual effects and Animation by industrial Light and Magic. Hero Weed and Live Action Crashed tripod effects and stan Winston studio. Cast: ray ferrier (tom Cruise), rachel ferrier (dakota fanning), robbie ( Justin Chatwin), Mary Ann (Miranda otto), Harlan ogilvy (tim robbins), Vincent (rick Gonzalez), Julio (Yul Vasquez), Manny (Lenny Venito), bartender (Lisa Ann Walter), Grandmother (Ann robinson), Grandfather (Gene barry), tim (david Alan basche), narrator (Morgan freeman). Synopsis: A narrator reveals that alien intelligences have been observing earth, studying us as we would microbes. on the new Jersey docks, crane operator ray ferrier finishes his day and arrives home to find his ex-wife Mary Ann berating him for being late by half an hour. While she and her boyfriend are spending the weekend in boston, ray is to care for their teenage son robbie and daughter rachel. After Mary Ann leaves, ray tells rachel to order dinner because he needs some sleep. When he wakes up he learns that robbie has taken his car. He doesn’t have time to be angry because a strange storm springs up, focusing the neighborhood’s attention on what appear to be lightning strikes. suddenly all power fails, including car batteries. the street buckles and a gigantic, tripod-like structure rises from the earth to spray a deadly ray on the populace. ray gathers up robbie and rachel and commandeers the sUV he’d told the mechanic might run if the solenoid was replaced. it does. in the nick of time ray escapes from a buckling bridge and the destruction of his block. He hopes for safety in Mary Ann’s home but that’s an illusion. A jet airliner crashes in the yard. A news team informs him of worldwide attacks and show him a videotape of how the alien masters of the tripods entered their underground machines via the “lightning.” Moving on toward boston, ray has difficulty keeping

robbie from rushing off to join the military. Just before arriving at a Hudson river ferry crossing their sUV is taken from them. they board the ferry as tripods appear. the ferry is sunk but ray and his family survive. tanks and jets and Marines engage in a hillside battle with the aliens despite the humans’ seeming inability to penetrate force fields shielding the tripods. ray can’t prevent robbie from rushing into the melee and retrieves rachel from a couple that thought she was alone. spotting a man holding aloft a rifle, ray and rachel enter the basement of his farmhouse. Harlan ogilvy is the owner and perhaps a bit touched. He proposes they do what the aliens did to them, fight from below. When one of the tripod tentacles with an eye explores the basement, the three elude it as they do several of the aliens themselves. but next day Harlan makes ready to attack and ray leaves rachel in one room while he goes into the other to shut Harlan up by killing him. the tripods have gathered around the farm, and ray observes a tentacle dropping a man to the ground before another seems to suck out his blood. this may have something to do with the red tendrils all over the grass and window ledges. After ray chops and mangles another probe, rachel runs outside and is whisked up into a basket-like cage within the tripod. ray follows and sees a man sucked up into what looks like some organic vacuum. it is clear the aliens desire human blood. When the prisoners attempt to keep another of their number from being sucked up, ray pulls the pin on a belt of grenades and lets that be drawn up instead. the explosions destroy the tripod and it falls to earth. ray and rachel make their way on foot to boston. spying a tripod with birds sitting atop it, ray realizes the energy shields are inoperative and alerts a soldier. rocket launchers are used to bring the tripods down. ray and rachel approach Mary Ann’s house, and to their surprise robbie has found his way there ahead of them. ray and robbie embrace. Mary Ann mouths, “thank you,” and ray stands alone in the street as his children head into the house. the narrator concludes that while humanity’s weapons were no match for the aliens, earth’s microbes, with which humankind had come to terms over the millennia, left the invaders defenseless. Reviews: Boxoffice found the entire affair “heart-racing, jaw-

War of the Worlds (DreamWorks, 2005).

328 • Willard dropping, knuckle-biting, date-grabbing adrenaline.” (Christine James, Boxoffice, August 2005, p. 43); Total Film noted that in his typical style, director spielberg “may let sentiment gush in come the trite, twee conclusion….” the film was uneven, not so surprising in a mere 10-month shooting schedule. nevertheless, there was exhilaration (www.totalfilm.com, July 1, 2005); roger ebert called it “a big, clunky movie….” the alien invasion was not so interesting (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/war-of-the-worlds-2005). Analysis: the true strength of this film is that it conveys as well as any the terror of being virtually helpless in the face of an alien invasion. the creation of a semi-dysfunctional family on which to center the story is not what purists would desire, but it works, forcing us to imagine how we’d provide for our children during a holocaust. the family values angle is not new with spielberg (see E.T. and others) but is not as overwhelming as it would be under the guidance of a Chris Columbus. there’s a good mix of daylight and nighttime shots. As ray, tom Cruise gives one of his better performances. ray and his kids are clearly the focus of the story. We follow his every move, for better or worse. And his moves are as often as not blunders, but not unbelievably so. events sweep ray and his kids along as they likely would if this were a “real” occurrence. few if any of ray’s actions are heroic in the theatrical sense. Hasty or foolhardy, perhaps, but considering the gravity of what’s happening, he merely does what he can to keep things as safe and rational as possible for his kids as they trek for the supposed and relative safety of boston. this approach might not be the best for yarns like War of the Worlds, but it’s the approach of choice for director spielberg. the film’s very magnitude necessitates an epic telling. in narrowing his focus, spielberg constrained what needed to be a sweeping narrative, making it seem almost a sort of backdrop to ray’s Awful Weekend. through transient dialogue we hear, rather than see, that the invaders have “whipped the world’s strongest nation in two days,” when a visual montage would seem the way to go. one rumor says europe is wasted; another claims it was untouched. Unlike the Pal version, we never see anything to indicate what’s happening outside new Jersey! Everything is seen from ray’s point-of-view. that’s okay for a story set during WW ii or in some other well-known historical epoch, but for one placed at a beachhead of one of a multitude of assaults by extraterrestrials, it might have been wise to see some evidence of the invasion’s scale. Paris in ruins, big ben toppled, the Kremlin razed … something! You know … War of the Worlds and all. not that spielberg scrimps on the devastation. death and destruction are doled out generously, and the horrific detail is plentiful without being sickening. nothing of the intentions of the invader is left to the imagination. this is the “rout of humanity” sir Cedric Hardwicke spoke of in the earlier film. Motivation may be conjectural, but the alien juggernaut is clearly out to remove “humanity” from all lists of terrestrial fauna. the director depicts all this with the kind of grainy, “overexposed” photography that lends it that semi-documentary look. special effects are cutting edge, of course. While there have been complaints about the appearance of the invaders themselves, it was satisfactory. in a nod to the ’53 film, they aren’t totally different from Pal’s: their long arms still terminate in a hand with three sucker-tipped fingers. the tripods have a biomechanical look this time around which isn’t surprising. they stride through the countryside with an organic grace, in their otherworldly reptilian way. there’s nothing wrong with this, although for many the stiff-legged mechanical tripods of the 1955 Classics Illustrated comic continues to be the go-to image. John Williams’ score is not immediately recognizable: quite unlike his rousing Korngoldian fanfares of the 80s or the elegiac majesty of much of his work so evident since the 90s. it is quite effective, though, with martial timpani and horns and lots of driving, ostinato rhythms. War of the

Worlds seems short for spielberg at just under two hours. even so, it’s well balanced. telling the story the way he did, anything more would probably have seemed like padding. if not for the finality of the film’s ending, it might have been wide open for a sequel … far more so than Jurassic Park. Gene barry and Ann robinson have cameos as Miranda otto’s parents, which was a nice touch. it is gripping entertainment, very well acted and masterfully produced. but in the long term, War of the Worlds may be just a competent remake of a classic film, clearly better than the “remakes” that preceded it, e.g., Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Independence Day. but Wells’ masterpiece still awaits a definitive cinematic telling.

WiLLArd see Volume i for Willard (1971) and Ben (1972).

Willard

(new Line Cinema/Lionsgate studios, 2003; 100 min.) ★★½

Produced by James Wong, Glen Morgan. directed by Glen Morgan. screenplay by Glen Morgan. based on a screenplay by Gilbert ralston. based on the book Ratman’s Notebooks by stephen Gilbert. edited by James Coblentz. director of Photography, robert McLachlan. fujifilm. Music by shirley Walker. song “ben” Written by Walter scharf and don black. Performed by Jackson 5 and Crispin Hellion Glover. Production design, Mark freeborn. Art direction, Catherine ircha. set decoration, Mark Lane. Costumes by Gregory Mah. Visual effects and Animation by Centropolis effects, LLC. Animatronic effects by the Character shop. Animals Provided by boone’s Animals for Hollywood. Cast: Willard stiles (Crispin Glover), Mr. Martin (r. Lee ermey), Cathryn (Laura elena Harring), Mrs. stiles ( Jackie burroughs), Ms. Leach (Kimberly Patton), Mr. Garter (William s. taylor), Colquitt (edward Horn), George foxx (Gus Lynch), Janice Mantis (Laara sadiq), detective boxer (david Parker), officer salmon (ty olsson). Synopsis: Willard lives with his aging mother and works at his father’s firm now owned by Mr. Martin, a hard taskmaster. Heeding his mother’s contention that there are rats in the basement, Willard finds them, including a white one he names socrates. A large black rat he subsequently calls ben. Constantly berated for lateness or other infractions by Martin, Willard finds some sympathy from new employee Cathryn. not realizing that her son is speaking to rats, Willard’s mother thinks he’s going to put her away, falls on the basement steps and dies. Mr. Garter, representing the estate, informs Willard that there are arrears owed and that his best bet is to sell the house. Willard observes Garter speaking and shaking hands with Martin. Cathryn stops by to check on Willard and gives him a present to keep him company: a cat. He places the cat inside without inviting in Cathryn. the cat realizes it cannot cope with the mass of rodents infesting the house and to no avail tries to escape. Willard becomes increasingly suspicious of ben, who seems to have preternatural powers of escaping his wrath and appearing in rooms Willard thought he’d secured. At work, Willard shows Cathryn a letter informing him of his termination. Confronting Martin, Willard fails to realize that secretary Ashley has discovered socrates in the supply room. Martin stabs socrates to death while Willard stands helpless in the doorway. enlisting ben’s help, Willard

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory • 329 leads a mass of his rodent followers to the company where Martin is chased into an elevator and torn apart. not fully trusting ben, Willard begins killing the rats, but ben survives and turns the remaining rodents against Willard, who unsuccessfully tries to break through a barred window. outside, Cathryn observes what seems to be a mentally unstable person. rushing up the spiral staircase, Willard encounters ben and tells him they can work together again but is bitten in the face and falls into the mass of rats ascending the staircase. As Cathryn sees the silhouette of a large rat behind a window screen, Willard’s own silhouette appears, screams and smashes the rodent. the bedeviled nerd finds himself in a mental institution befriended by another white rat he says will assist him in the future. they must only bide their time. Reviews: Film Ex considered the casting of Crispin Glover and r. Lee ermey inspired. in a film full of chilling segments, the elevator scene was the best. the movie would best be consumed “on a dark night when the rats in the walls are restless.” (robert freese, Film Ex, Winter, 2003: 4–5); the News Journal identified it as “Part remake and part sequel to a b-grade 1971 thriller,….” of prime interest is Crispin Grover, who “might be the most unnerving screen nerd since norman bates.” ( Jack Garner/Gannett news service, News Journal [Wilmington, de], March 14, 2003, p. 9); VideoHound gave it two bones, calling it a “mostly soulless remake” but given some punch by Crispin Glover ( Jim Craddock, ed., VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever 2008, detroit and new York: thomson/Gale, p. 989). Analysis: A very watchable movie, it would merit a 3-star rating if only it had more depth. it’s as if the filmmakers knew many audience members would be familiar with the story from the previous entries. Crispin Glover does hold it all together. the music score, notably what seems like an accordion, also helps set the tone. sets are minimal: Willard’s house, the office and hall, the parking lot, the exterior of Martin’s house. the original Willard, bruce davison, who was less of a creepy nerd than Glover, is seen in several portraits. the finale is reminiscent of that of Psycho. Here we see Willard petting a new white rat and saying he couldn’t hurt anything and they must bide their time. for what?

Glen, Angelo Muscat, Pepe Poupee, Marcus Powell, Albert Wilkinson). Synopsis: school’s out and the children rush to bill’s Candy shop for sweets and bill’s rendition of “Candy Man.” Watching through the window is Charlie, about to pick up the newspapers he sells to help his mother and both sets of grandparents make ends meet. on his route he passes the Wonka candy factory and is informed by a peddler that no one goes in, no one comes out. Grandpa tells Charlie that the factory was locked up tight after Willy Wonka discovered spies intent on stealing his secrets. Who, they wonder, is helping Wonka make his chocolate? during his science class Charlie hears the radio broadcast news about Wonka’s contest: five people finding golden tickets in their candy will be entitled to a lifetime’s supply. Wonkamania unleashed! Augustus Gloop of dusselheim, Germany, is the first winner. Charlie gets a bar for his birthday but sadly discovers no ticket. Veruca salt is adamant that she obtain a ticket, and her father uses his female employees to open 19,000 bars per hour. finally a ticket is found. the third winner is Violet beauregarde of Miles City, Montana. A strange man whispers something in her ear. the fourth ticket goes to Mike teevee in Marble falls, Arizona. reports about a fifth winner in Paraguay are nothing more than a gambler’s hoax. With found money, Charlie buys a bar and finds a ticket. the mysterious Mr. slugworth tells Charlie he will make him rich if he brings from the Wonka factory an everlasting Gobstopper. Wonka’s ticket entitles one other family member to join the winner at Wonka’s and Charlie takes Grandpa. the nattily dressed Willy Wonka greets his guests and has them sign a contract before entering the nerve center, the Chocolate room where a liquid chocolate waterfall mixes his product. Charlie learns that the little people helping Wonka run the business are known as

WiLLY WonKA Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Wolper Pictures Ltd., 1971; 100 min.) ★★★½

Produced by stan Margulies and david L. Wolper. directed by Mel stuart. screenplay by raoul dahl. based on his book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. edited by david saxon. director of Photography, Arthur ibbetson. technicolor. Music and Lyrics by Leslie bricusse and Anthony newley. Musical supervision, Walter scharf. Production supervisor, Pia Arnold. Art direction, Harper Goff. Costumes by Helen Colvig. special effects by Logan r. frazee. Cast: Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder), Charlie (Peter ostrum), Grandpa Joe ( Jack Albertson), Violet beauregarde (denise nickerson), Veruca salt ( Julie dawn Cole), Mr. salt (roy Kinnear), Mr. beauregarde (Leonard stone), Mrs. teevee (dodo denney), Mike teevee (Paris themmen), Mrs. Gloop (Ursula reit), Augustus Gloop (Michael bollner), Mrs. bucket (diane sowle), bill (Aubrey Woods), Mr. turkentine (david battley), Mr. slugworth (Gunter Meisner), the tinker (Peter Capell), Mr. Jopeck (Werner Heyking), Winkelmann (Peter stuart), oompa Loompa (rudy borgstaller, George Claydon, Malcolm dixon, rusty Goffe, ismed Hassan, norman Mc-

Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Wolper Pictures, Ltd., 1971).

330 • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory oompa Loompas. drinking from the river of chocolate, Augustus falls in and is sucked into a pipe before pressure moves him up and out of sight. A boat manned by oompa Loompas transports the winners on a wild ride to the inventing room, where Willy advises them not to touch anything. He displays an everlasting Gobstopper, which can be sucked but never gets smaller. He gives them to the children, telling them they must keep them for themselves. Violet won’t stop chewing candy that is in itself a full-course dinner and bloats up into a blue ball. she is rolled away to the Juicing room. before following the others from a room with fizzy lifting soda, Charlie and Grandpa take drinks and rise into the air, burping to get down and rejoin the others. Willy shows his guests enormous geese that lay golden eggs. Violet demands one for her but falls down a shoot into the garbage room. Mr. salt dives in to rescue her. Willy takes Charlie and his grandfather and Mike teevee and his father on the Wonkamobile to a room where they dress in special coats and observe Wonkavision and the transformation of a Wonka bar into a million pieces before it is reconstituted as a bite-size bar. Mike wonders if this can be done with people and to his father’s distress has himself miniaturized. only Charlie and Grandpa are left and Willy points to the exit. Grandpa thinks this is rather abrupt and follows Willy into a room where every decoration and furnishing is one-half of its original size. Upon asking when Charlie gets his lifetime’s supply of chocolate, Grandpa is told he and Charlie broke the rules by drinking the fizzy lifting soda. Grandpa calls Willy a crook, a thief and a swindler, but when Charlie returns his candy to Willy he is told, “You did it!” He’d done a good deed. slugworth appears; he’s really a Wonka employee. Willy takes Charlie and Grandpa into his Wonkavator, which can go any which way. Charlie presses a button and they blast from the factory into the sky. Willy says he’s giving Charlie the factory because he is trustworthy, honest and loving. Reviews: roger ebert thought it might be the best of its type since The Wizard of Oz. it was “a genuine work of imagination.” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, January 1, 1971); Boxoffice called it “delightful….” there was even “some sharp satire aimed at television.” the children were good and “Wilder’s Wonka will create strong empathy among exasperated adults who undoubtedly would like to deal with misbehaving children in his gleeful way.” (Boxoffice, June 14, 1971, p. 69); Variety called it “an okay family musical fantasy…” that was “Handsomely produced…” (derek elley, ed., Variety Movie Guide, new York: Prentice Hall General reference, 1992, p. 675). Analysis: this is a charming concoction to be relished by both children and adults. Many prefer Gene Wilder’s sly but essentially goodnatured entrepreneur to the darker Johnny depp creation. When Wilder died due to complications from Alzheimer’s on August 29, 2016, it was learned that he’d eschewed the public eye in his later years because he didn’t want children who knew him as Wonka to be distressed by his debilitated condition.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

(Warner bros./Village roadshow Pictures, 2005; 115 min.) ★★★

Produced by brad Grey, richard d. Zanuck. directed by tim burton. screenplay by John August. from the book by roald dahl. edited by Chris Lebenzon. director of Photography, Philippe rousselot. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Prints by technicolor. Music by danny elfman. Production design, Alex Mcdowell. Art direction, Leslie tomkins. set decoration, Peter Young. Costumes by Gabriella Pescucci. special Makeup effects Artist, Colin shulver. Visual effects by

the Moving Picture Company, framestore-CfC, Cinesite (europe) Limited, digital domain. Cast: Willy Wonka ( Johnny depp), Charlie bucket (freddie Highmore), Mrs. bucket (Helena bonham Carter), Mr. bucket (noah taylor), dr. Wonka (Christopher Lee), oompa Loompa(s) (deep roy), Grandpa Joe (david Kelly), Mrs. beauregarde (Missi Pyle), Mr. salt ( James fox), Violet beauegarde (Annasophia robb), Veruca salt ( Julia Winter), Mike teavee ( Jordan fry), Mr. teavee (Adam Godley), Mrs. Gloop (franziska troegner), Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz), Little Willy Wonka (blair dunlop), Grandma Georgina (Liz smith), Grandma Josephine (eileen essell), Grandpa George (david Morris), narrator (Geoffrey Holder). Synopsis: trucks loaded with Wonka chocolate bars leave the factory, their cargoes destined for new York City, London, Cairo, and tokyo. near the factory in a crooked house live Charlie bucket with his mother, father and two sets of grandparents. He is about to become very lucky. Grandpa Joe tells Charlie about Willy Wonka’s factory on Cherry street and how spies tried to steal his recipes with the result that Willy shuttered the factory. so who now makes the chocolate? the world is thrust into a frenzy when it becomes known that Willy Wonka has inserted golden tickets into five special Wonka bars for the finders to be given an inside peak at the factory. one finder will get something extra. Augustus Gloop discovers the first ticket in dusseldorf, Germany. in buckinghamshire, Veruca salt gets the second. Charlie, meanwhile, receives his birthday present—a Wonka bar that has … no ticket. next day Charlie reads in the paper that Violet beauregarde in the U.s.A. has found the third ticket. And in denver, gamer Mike teavee finds the fourth. Meanwhile, Charlie’s dad loses his job to automation. Grandpa Joe has a coin for Charlie to buy one more Wonka bar, but no ticket is inside. At the Wonka factory gate, Charlie hears two men say a kid in russia found the fifth and last ticket. turning for home, Charlie finds a 10-pound note and buys one more Wonka bar after a newspaper headline proclaims, “russian ticket a fake.” Charlie’s is a winner. He can take one family member with him and he selects Grandpa Joe. At the factory on february 1st, the winners meet Willy, in top hat and goggles. they enter a fantastic world about which Willy urges them not to become overexcited. He explains the waterfall that mixes his chocolate and the edible nature of everything in that first room. the visitors observe the cocoa beanloving and mischievous oompa Loompas, willingly imported from Loompaland to provide the workforce. Augustus gets carried away and falls into the chocolate river and is sucked into a tube. the oompa Loompas dance and sing and Augustus becomes unstuck. Willy tells Mrs. Gloop to head to the fudge room to find her son while he takes the others on a pink boat deeper into the recesses of the factory. Pressed by Charlie about his childhood, Willy recalls Halloween and how his dentist father, dr. Wilbur Wonka, tossed all the candy into the fireplace. Continuing on, Willy stops in the inventing room where everlasting Gobstoppers are being made. Violet tries the item that is a three-course dinner and turns blue, then purple, then violet as she swells into a giant blue berry. the oompa Loompas sing and with her mother’s help roll her off to the Juicing room to be squeezed. Charlie asks if Willy can remember the first candy he ever ate. it was a ball of chocolate that did not burn in the fire. that prompted him to seek more varieties. in the nut sorting room, where trained squirrels do the work, Veruca decides she must have her own squirrel. despite being told they are not for sale, she climbs down and attempts to take one. However, the squirrels overcome her, determine that she is a bad nut and shove her into the garbage chute, destination: the incinerator. Willy tells Veruca’s father he just might be able to pull her out. As the

Race to Witch Mountain • 331 oompa Loompas sing, a squirrel knocks Mr. salt into the chute. At least the incinerator is not working that day. the remaining guests are taken aboard an elevator. Mike teavee says all of the fantastical sights and sounds are rather pointless, but in the television room he is at first skeptical, then amazed that a bar of chocolate can be teleported from one end of the room to the other. Mike has himself transported and his dad pulls out his miniature son from the second television. Willy tells the oompa Loompas to take him to the taffy Puller to stretch him out. only Charlie is left: the big winner. Above the factory and town, Willy’s elevator hovers until Charlie points out his house and they crash through the roof. Willy tells Charlie he’s going to give him the entire factory. A few months previously Willy had a revelation while examining a silver hair from his head. Charlie will be his heir. the least awful child wins. but Charlie will not be able to take his family. Charlie says he wouldn’t do that for all the chocolate in the world. Willy leaves and things go better for the buckets as Charlie’s dad returns to work as repairman for the machine that took his job. Willy undergoes therapy. one day as Charlie is polishing a man’s shoes on the street he finds that the man is Willy. they speak about families. Charlie says he’ll go with Willy to see his father. At dr. Wonka’s, Wilbur doesn’t recognize his son until he looks into his mouth and finds perfect teeth. He’s also kept scrapbooks devoted to his son’s exploits. they hug. Charlie then accepts Willy’s proposition to run the company. Willy joins the buckets for dinner. “in the end Charlie

bucket won a chocolate factory but Willy Wonka had something even better: a family. And one thing was absolutely certain: life had never been sweeter.” Reviews: AP Online called it “A big studio film that really works.” it exceeded the original (“a quaint relic”) and was “the sort of visual feast burton was born to make.” freddie Highmore had chemistry with depp and Kelly (david Germain, AP Online, July 15, 2005); The Hamilton Spectator said it succeeded despite Johnny depp’s enigmatic performance. He reminds us of Michael Jackson and we suspect his motives (roger ebert, Hamilton Spectator, July 15, 2005, section: Pop Culture, p. G12); the News Journal thought director burton had created “an instant classic with broad appeal.” Veering off track into original territory was welcomed, but Willy’s conversion from nefarious to benevolent at the end rang somewhat false (Lauren-Alice Lamanna, News Journal [Wilmington, de], July 15, 2005, p. 5); The Southland Times thought the depp and director burton combination again well worthwhile, with freddie Highmore “adding a counterpoint of sweetness and light, which gives the film a nice balance.” only an unnecessary backstory marred this version (Southland Times, september 10, 2005, p. 3). Analysis: observation (or criticism?): Christopher Lee was 83 when this film appeared and his character seems more likely to be Willy’s grandfather than father, but this is common in films and tV. Perhaps there is a dearth of actors in the mid-range. overall, the film seems fine while you are watching it, and the musical numbers are spectacular and the songs catchy. However, it is also a movie one rather quickly forgets. for some of us at least, the original sticks more in the memory. depp’s Willy is played as rather insane until he undergoes therapy and reunites with his dad.

WitCH MoUntAin see Volume i for Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and Return from Witch Mountain (1978).

(Walt disney Pictures/Gunn films, 2009; 98 min.) ★★

Race to Witch Mountain

Produced by Andrew Gunn. directed by Andy fickman. screenplay by Matt Lopez, Mark bomback. story by Matt Lopez. based on the book Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key. edited by david rennie. director of Photography, Greg Gardiner. Color by deluxe. Music by trevor rabin. Production design, david J. bomba. Art direction, John r. Jensen. set decoration, Patrick Cassidy, Kara Lindstrom. Costumes by Genevieve tyrell. special Character effects designed and Created by Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. Cast: Jack bruno (dwayne Johnson), sara (Annasophia robb), seth (Alexander Ludwig), dr. Alex friedman (Carla Gugino), burke (Ciarán Hinds), Matheson (tom everett scott), Pope (Chris Marquette), Carson (billy brown), dr. donald Harlan (Gary Marshall), tina (Kim richards), sheriff Antony (ike eissinmann), siphon (tom Woodruff, Jr.), eddie Cortez (Cheech Marin), Junkyard the dog (buck).

Johnny Depp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow, 2005).

Synopsis: dr. burke is called in when a Ufo crashes in the desert outside Las Vegas. in the city, cab driver Jack bruno is exasperated by his clients: two men in Star Wars storm trooper costume and dr. Alex friedman, female professor giving a lecture about life on other worlds at the Ufo space expo. His next fares are even more amazing: two

332 • Movie Title teens, sara and seth, who offer him a large sum of money to drive them to the Ufo crash site. before they get there burke’s caravan is on them, but seth materializes in the road, causing burke’s car to crash. bruno takes the kids to a rundown cabin and follows them inside and into a secret passage behind a refrigerator that opens on a veritable jungle. sara extracts a strange device from some large pods. An armored humanoid appears and chases them back to the cab and pursues them in a flying craft, which is destroyed when a train crashes into it as it follows the cab into a tunnel. Jack learns that the humanoid is an assassin called siphon. sara and seth reveal themselves as aliens, and sara proves it by levitating items. burke surveys the train wreckage from the air, and siphon is revealed to be still alive. At a restaurant in stoney Creek, waitress tina helps Jack and his charges escape burke. seth tells Jack to take them to burke’s base of operations, where their ship will be found. burke learns that Jack’s cab has been spotted in Vegas. Jack finds dr. friedman and convinces her to join the crew after sara levitates her Macbook. seth shows them other worlds and reveals he and sara came to earth because their planet was dying. the strange device is the key to preventing their own military from winning the day and invading earth. from Ufo expert dr. Harlan they learn that the spacecraft would have been taken to Witch Mountain. Jack and his entourage escape both burke and siphon in the casino. spying on the facility at Witch Mountain, seth and sara are rendered unconscious by darts. burke says he’ll tend to them and sends Jack and Alex back to Vegas. seth and sara are strapped to tables to be examined in depth. returning, Jack and Alex worm their way through a secret tunnel into the facility as siphon does the same. While siphon is fights the soldiers, Jack and Alex release the kids and find the spacecraft. negating the bullets of burke’s men, the four enter and power up the craft, knocking siphon for a loop although he manages to enter the ship. in a battle with Jack, his mask is ripped off to reveal a hideous face. He is knocked down and out and disintegrated by the swirling vortex beneath the ship. the kids give Jack and Alex devices with which they can communicate with them if necessary. seth and sara enter the ship and leave earth. during the end credits Jack and Alex are seen at a book signing promoting Race to Witch Mountain: A True Story. Reviews: The Gazette said it was poorly directed and written just as incompetently. Action scenes were “incoherent…” (brandon fibbs, The Gazette [Colorado springs], March 12, 2009); The Record said this “loose remake…” of 1975’s Escape to Witch Mountain “breathes a larkish spirit into a sci-fi chase….” the film “has some of the charm of the crackpot assemblies spielberg put together for Close Encounters of the Third Kind,….” especially worthy of praise was Annasophia robb, “spellbinding … perfect casting….” the children’s chemistry with dwayne Johnson made the film “consistently friendly and enjoyable…” (Michael sragow, Record [Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, on], March 13, 2009, section: Arts, p. C5). Analysis: Here’s another dwayne Johnson film targeting children and on that level it’s passable. note that Kim richards and ike eisenmann (here eisinmann) have brief appearances as different characters. they were the kid stars of the original two 1970s films. the burke character has become a cliché: high-level governmental functionary intent on securing aliens and their craft even if it means incarcerating or killing civilians. Why would his minions shoot at the cab? Why did the ship crash in the first place and why did the kids not use their dematerialization, levitation and power of knocking things around more? naturally Annasophia robb’s character is named sara.

WiZArd of oZ see Volume i for The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Wiz (1978) and Return to Oz (1985). Tin Man was a 2007 tV mini-series.

(Walt disney Pictures, 2013; 130 min.) ★★½

Oz the Great and Powerful

Produced by Joe roth. directed by sam raimi. screenplay by Mitchell Kapner, david Lindsay Abair. story by Mitchell Kapner. based on the works of L. frank baum. edited by bob Murawski. director of Photography, Peter deming. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by danny elfman. Production design, robert stromberg. Art direction, Andrew Jones, ian Mcfaden, John Lord booth iii, Meghan rogers, domenic silvestri. stefan dechant. set decoration, nancy Haigh. Costumes by Gary Jones, Michael Kutsche. special Make-Up effects by Greg nicotero, Howard berger. Visual effects and Animation by sony Pictures imageworks inc. Visual effects by Luma Pictures, digiscope, evil eye Pictures, Method studios. Cast: oscar diggs ( James franco), Glinda the Good/Annie (Michelle Williams), evanora (rachel Weisz), theodora (Mila Kunis), frank/finley (Zach braff), Master tinker (bill Cobbs), Wheelchair girl/China girl ( Joey King), Winkie general (stephen r. Hart), Knuck (tony Cox), May (Abigail Leigh spencer), Audience skeptic (ted raimi), Winkie gate keeper (bruce Campbell), strongman (tim Holmes), strongman’s wife (toni Wynne). Synopsis: Kansas, 1905: A traveling circus features among its attractions oz the Great and Powerful, actually oscar diggs, a mildly effective magician who tells the admiring Annie that he wants to be a great man—Houdini and edison in one. fleeing the strongman because of a dalliance with his wife, oz climbs into a balloon, cuts the cables and is whisked off—into a tornado. He implores the heavens, “i promise! i can change!” After slowing down, speeding up, and sinking and being dragged along a treacherous river, he comes to still water. on the bank is a young woman in shiny black pants and a rather large hat that tells him he’s in oz. When he says people call him oz, she says the prophecy has come true, he is the one to save the people and become King. “You are the wizard, aren’t you?” they hide from unseen minions of a Wicked Witch, and theodora, his lovely guide to this realm, describes how her sister chased the Witch from the emerald City. oz gives theodora a music box, and they dance around a campsite and kiss. next day they find a talking, flying monkey in a trap, free him and take him on as oz’s servant, finley. As they approach the emerald City, theodora says she’ll be oz’s Queen. they find a carriage waiting and are escorted into the city by soldiery and welcomed by theodora’s sister, the royal adviser evanora, who tells her sister that this oz is an oaf, maybe an impostor. Proof is needed. evanora shows oz the royal treasure room and tells him he must defeat the Wicked Witch before becoming King. this entails journeying to the dark forest and stealing the Wicked Witch’s wand. He and finley set out, find a village of giant shattered tea service and a doll-like girl with broken legs. oz uses glue to put her back together and she joins the crew as “China Girl.” After eluding carnivorous plants, oz and company spy a shrouded figure who turns out to be Glinda the Good, sister of theodora and evanora. Glinda, somehow familiar to oz, informs him that evanora is the true Wicked Witch and has bamboozled theodora. in her magic ball, evanora watches this meeting. When theodora sees this and learns that evanora had spent the night with oz, she becomes

The Wolfman • 333 distraught. evanora sends her flying baboons to destroy oz. in the cemetery, Glinda explains how she’s waited for this great wizard form Kansas to make things right. When the baboons and Winkie soldiers appear, Glinda creates a fog to hold them back. Using magic bubbles, Glinda, oz, finley and China doll pass through a magic wall to Glinda’s city. she realizes that oz is not the wizard savior her people were expecting, but “Can you make them believe?” Again, theodora sees oz in the magic ball and asks evanora to make her heart stop hurting. evanora gives her a green apple. After biting into it and her heart begins to become impenetrable, theodora realizes that her sister is the wicked one. As her heart withers, theodora transforms into a hideous, green, black-garbed crone who wants oz to see what he’s done to her. Meanwhile, Glinda and oz meet farmers, tinkers and Munchkins, their prospective army, but an army forbidden to kill. theodora breaches the magic wall, Michelle Williams, Oz the Great and Powerful (Walt Disney Pictures, 2013). taunts the people and throws oz around the square. she warns that she will return with too many.” (Chris nashawaty, “oz the Great and Powerful,” Entertainevanora and flies off on a broom. Although oz claims he’s just a con ment Weekly, March 15, 2013, pp. 42–43); The New Yorker called it “a man, Glinda convinces him that there must be a reason he’s here and prequel with an uneasy, parasitic relation to the famous movie that it that they can succeed in wresting control of the emerald City from is supposed to lead up to.” franco’s “reflexive self-deprecation comes her villainous sisters. When oz tucks in China Girl for the night, she off as a gutless kind of cool, and it sinks this odd, fretful, uncerasks if he grants wishes and says she’d like to have her family back. He tain movie like a boulder.” (david denby, “Kids’ stuff,” New Yorker, tells her about thomas edison, who made the impossible real. He March 18, 2013, pp. 86–87). has an epiphany and shows Glinda his Mastering Magic book. He can Analysis: Here is yet another well-cast, lavishly produced fantasy use trickery. in the emerald City, the Winkie guards are harangued that just can’t make the passing grade. Almost, but not quite. it has to show no mercy in the coming conflict. oz uses the little person moments and is not boring although it could have been cut by 10–15 Knuck to facilitate entrance into the city. outside, Glinda creates a minutes. What is it about modern films that even if set in some fantasy fog through which her army marches forward. the flying baboons atworld can’t get the crowd scenes right? Costumed appropriately for tack these soldiers only to find that they are scarecrows moved by the story, the people nevertheless seem artificial, modern, not true winches and wires. the baboons fall asleep in the poppy fields, but denizens of this other world. when the fog lifts two still conscious monkeys capture Glinda and take her into the city square where Winkie guards surround her. China Girl has her wand, however. Glinda tells evanora to get out while she can, but her evil sister blasts her with green light and urges Glinda to He oLf An give up. oz’s balloon appears overhead, apparently leaving the land, but the Wicked Witch’s fireball brings it down. but oz is not within, he has entered the city in a specially outfitted carriage and with the see Volume i for The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Master tinker’s help uses a projector to show his enormous visage in Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), smoke in the square. outside the city walls the farmers and Munchkins Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), and The Monster Squad send fireworks into the sky using oz’s black powder. China Girl em(1988). ploys Glinda’s wand to free her, and she tells the Wicked Witch to be gone but return if she ever recovers her goodness. inside, Glinda confronts evanora, who reveals she killed their father. they fight in the The Wolfman air and on the floor until Glinda rips off her sister’s emerald necklace (Universal/relativity Media, 2010; 103 min.) ★½ and evanora becomes a hag and is banished. next day Glinda reads a missive from oz, who declares the land forever free. the Master Produced by sean daniel, benicio del toro, scott stuber, rick tinker works with oz to prepare for the day the witches might come Yorn. directed by Joe Johnston. screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, back. oz invites Glinda behind the curtain and tells her he has all he’s david self. based on the 1941 screenplay by Curt siodmak. edited ever wanted. by dennis Virkler, Walter Murch. director of Photography, shelly Reviews: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said it “never soars or touches Johnson. Panavision. color. Music by danny elfman. Production dethe heart in the way the 1939 original did and still does; it’s downright sign, rick Heinrichs. Art direction, John dexter, Phil Harvey. set boring at times.” (barbara Vancheri, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 8, decoration, John bush. special Makeup effects, rick baker. Visual 2013); Entertainment Weekly thought the leads “fairly one-note.” As effects by the Moving Picture Company Ltd., double negative Ltd., with other contemporary films, “the film is stuffed with three endings Peerless Camera Company Ltd.

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334 • The Woman in Black Cast: Lawrence talbot (benicio del toro), sir John talbot (Anthony Hopkins), Gwen Conliffe (emily blunt), ben talbot (simon Merrells), Gwen’s maid (Gemma Whelan), Lawrence as a child (Mario Marin-borquez), ben as a child (Asa butterfield), solana (Cristina Contes), singh (Art Malik), inspector francis Aberline (Hugo Weaving), butcher (Malcolm scates), Colonel Montford (nicholas day), dr. Lloyd (Michael Cronin), Maleva (Geraldine Chaplin), Gypsy boy (oliver Adams), Gypsy (rick baker). Synopsis: Written in stone: “even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers at night, may turn to a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” blackmoor, england, 1891: an unknown assailant savages a man abroad in the woods. At talbot Hall, ben talbot’s fiancée writes brother Lawrence that he must come to help find ben. When he arrives, his father sir John talbot tells Lawrence that ben’s body was discovered in a ditch. in town, Lawrence sees ben’s mutilated corpse and at the tavern overhears townsfolk speak of a fell creature roaming the countryside. Could gypsies be responsible? one fellow mentions Quinn, who was savaged 25 years previously. After that murder silver bullets were cast and citizens stayed inside on nights of the full moon. At talbot Hall, Lawrence gives ben’s ring and a small frame with her portrait to Gwen. When he brings a strange medallion to sir John’s attention, his father says that ben had acted as intermediary with the gypsies to ensure they did not commit crimes in the area. in the hall, Lawrence hears voices and his name and opens a door and very vividly recalls his childhood. one evening he’d left his bed, ventured into the gardens and found his father holding his dead mother, a shaving knife beside her. After ben’s funeral, Lawrence tells Gwen that when his mother died he was put into an asylum before being shipped off to America. He still wants to learn exactly what happened to his brother. the moon rises in its full splendor as Lawrence rides into the gypsy camp and meets Maleva, to whom he shows the medallion and inquires about his brother. Men on horseback with evil intent interrupt their meeting. the gypsy sentry stumbles into camp, his back ripped apart. “the devil!” cries one man as a loping creature tears through the encampment, killing indiscriminately. firing his rifle at the thing, Lawrence catches sight of it silhouetted on a hill. it seems to be chasing a gypsy boy. He follows, rests by some ancient monoliths and is attacked from above. Men arrive and drive off the creature. Maleva sews up Lawrence’s wounds despite the girl who says it is better to let him die. taken by cart to talbot Hall, Lawrence recovers under the care of Gwen and dr. Lloyd. Visiting the long-time dog’s-body singh, Lawrence asks, “do you believe in curses?” He opens a small case. “silver. i didn’t know you hunted monsters.” inspector francis Aberline, recently in charge of the ripper case, arrives and in a somewhat heated interview asks if he can have someone examine Lawrence’s wounds. At the lake with Gwen, Lawrence has a strange feeling and hears approaching horses that belong to townsfolk anxious to incarcerate him. Having been bitten, he must be cursed. brandishing his shotgun, sir John drives them off. After successfully urging Gwen to leave talbot Hall, Lawrence follows sir John into the family crypt and learns that “the beast will out.” sir John reveals that he is a werewolf. Pushed and locked out of the chamber, Lawrence turns into a snarling beast. All citizens hear the unearthly howls. from the pit into which his hunters had driven him, Lawrence leaps to kill his tormenters. next day the police take Lawrence to the Lambeth Asylum in London, where he’d spent time after his mother’s death. He is strapped to a chair and dunked into water, given injections and electric shocks. sir John visits and tells his son of his adventure in the Himalaya when he was bitten by a feral boy. sir John did kill Lawrence’s mother. singh locks him

up during every full moon. After his father leaves, Lawrence is wheeled into an observation auditorium where some expert declaims that the full moon has no power over the man. Lawrence breaks free and visits mayhem upon the crowd before fleeing and eluding inspector Aberline. next day, Gwen in her shop finds the once again human Lawrence. she tells him she can find a way to stop his torment. When Aberline arrives, she says she hasn’t seen Lawrence. she reads up on lycanthropy and “Ancient Gypsy Lore.” Lawrence treks back to blackmoor as Gwen journeys there by train and horse. she locates Maleva, who encourages Gwen to set Lawrence free. Aberline arrives with his picked crew. At talbot Hall, Lawrence finds singh’s dead body and confronts sir John. After a rancorous meeting they both transform into werewolves and battle until Lawrence kicks his father into the fireplace where he is engulfed in flames and his head falls off. Lawrence pursues Gwen into the woods. At the waterfall she halts the onslaught of the hideous beast that once was Lawrence and shoots him with her pistol. He reverts to his human form as the police come upon the scene. “it had to be this way,” Lawrence tells Gwen before expiring. the wounded Aberline looks toward the moon. Reviews: The Guardian thought del toro eminently suitable to play the lycanthrope. “that rugged face is wolfy enough.” overall, it “had a jerky, muddled narrative….” the transformation scene couldn’t compete with that in 1981’s An American Werewolf in London (Peter bradshaw, The Guardian, february 11, 2010); the Northern Territory News called it “a somber yet ultimately silly take on the 1941 classic,… ” and “none of it adds up to much” (Cary darling, Northern Territory News [fort Worth, tX], february 13, 2010, p. 44). Analysis: there’s something to be said about classic Hollywood movies and not just in the horror genre: they had atmosphere. think of, for instance, Dodge City (1940) and other Western barroom scenes with the smoke, piano music, and masses of cowpokes and dancehall gals. recall the fog, stunted trees, cemeteries and mausoleums of the Universal horror films. Color and CGi rarely provide that ambiance. such is The Wolfman, a retelling of the 1941 film. these werewolves jump higher and run faster than their predecessors. that’s part of the movie’s problems. they are superhero, well, super bad guys (recall the Van Helsing werewolf ). this film goes overboard with the bloodletting and decapitations. it moves fast but seems slow, and one wishes for it to be over before it’s halfway done. What’s new is sir John talbot being a werewolf and a lunatic one to boot. it is filled with many meaningful looks. it is perplexing that sir John’s dog samson failed to shun him as it did Lawrence. Another plus for the first film was an amazing cast: Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude rains, ralph bellamy, evelyn Ankers, bela Lugosi, Warren William, Patrick Knowles, and perhaps most fundamentally, Maria ouspenskaya as the gypsy seeress, Maleva.

tHe WoMAn in bLACK The Woman in Black

(Cross Creek Pictures/Hammer/Alliance films/Cbs films, 2012; 95 min.) ★★★

Produced by richard Jackson, simon oakes, brian oliver. directed by James Watkins. screenplay by Jane Goldman. based on the novel by susan Hill. edited by Jon Harris. director of Photography, tim Maurice-Jones. Panavision. Kodak Motion Picture film. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, Kave Quinn. Art direction, Paul Ghirardani, Kate Grimble. set decoration, niamh Coulter. Costumes

The Woman in Black • 335

Daniel Radliffe, The Woman in Black (Cross Creek Pictures/Hammer Films, 2012).

by Keith Madden. Hair and Make-up design, Jeremy Woodhead. Visual effects, filmgate, and Union VfX. Cast: Arthur Kipps (daniel radcliffe), samuel daily (Ciarán Hinds), Jennet Humfrye (Liz White), fisher Girls (emma shorey, Molly Harmon, ellisa Walker-reid), stella Kipps (sophie stuckey), Joseph Kipps (Misha Handley), nanny ( Jessica raine), Mrs. elizabeth daily ( Janet Mcteer), Mr. bentley (roger Allam), nursemaid (Lucy May barker), Girl on train (indira Ainger), doctor (Andy robb), fisher (shaun dooley), Mrs. fisher (Mary stockley), Victoria Hardy (Alexia osborne), Lucy Jerome (Aoife doherby), Mrs. drablow (Alisa Khazanova), nathaniel drablow (Ashley foster). Synopsis: during teatime with their dolls, three young girls are drawn to the window and jump to their deaths. Years later, in London, Arthur Kipps explains to his son Joseph that he must be away for a few days on business. At the solicitor’s office where he works, Arthur is briefed on his mission to locate all documents belonging to the recently deceased Mrs. Alice drablow of eel Marsh House. on the train into the northeast, Arthur recalls the birth of his son—and the death of his wife stella. At his destination, samuel daily gives Arthur a ride into town in the only car in the county. A surly innkeeper provides Arthur with an attic room at the behest of his wife. next day Arthur receives more curious looks and at solicitor H. Jerome’s office is handed legal documents relating to Mrs. drablow. Arthur is told he need not journey to the drablow manse, but he offers money to a carriage driver to take him to eel House, isolated across marsh flats that are swamped by the tide twice a day. inside the dread-inspiring house Arthur finds documents secreted here and there. He discovers that in 1899 Alice drablow’s seven-year-old son nathaniel drowned in the marsh, his body never recovered. Hearing noises upstairs, he investigates and finds a crow and its nest. from the window he sees a female figure in black. Venturing into the fog, he hears horses and screams but finds nothing tangible, but in his mind he sees a carriage mired in the muck. His carriage chauffeur from the morning returns and takes

him back to town where he intends informing the constable of the screams. but he finds himself in the presence of some young children, including Victoria Harvey, who has swallowed lye. she dies in his presence. At the inn, the proprietor’s wife shares a drink with Arthur and advises him not to return to the drablow manse, rather to go home to his son. Arthur finds sam at the mausoleum in which his son is buried and takes sam up on his invitation to dinner. Mrs. daily speaks of her dead son and begins carving on the table. she is given medication to calm her. sam asks Arthur if he believes in that spiritualism stuff? regarding his dead wife, Arthur says he does. sam warns him to beware of charlatans and chasing shadows. As he occasionally does, in his mind’s eye Arthur sees a woman in white—his wife. the next day at H. Jerome, Arthur finds a young girl locked in the basement. As sam drives Arthur through town, the father of the girl who drank lye states that Arthur saw that woman, meaning the specter in black. the innkeeper taunts sam regarding the death of his own son. Continuing on to the drablow estate, Arthur says he will work through the night. sam sends his dog along to keep Arthur company. Arthur lights candles and lamps and tries keys on a door. He finds a nathaniel drablow trunk full of papers and sees a hand on a windowpane and a face on a zoetrope. on one of the papers he reads, “she will haunt me to the grave.” the dog barks and Arthur goes into the woods to nathaniel’s grave. About to re-enter the house, Arthur sees a face in an upstairs window. He can’t locate anyone but discovers oversize playing cards that have to do with Jennet Humfrye and her child. in a photo he identifies the woman in the window and hears accusations of letting the child drown in the mud, unforgiveness, and “rot in hell.” A document reveals that Jennet died in 1889 at the age of 30 of “self murder”—by hanging. A door opens behind the dozing Arthur but the dog’s bark alerts him. He investigates creaking upstairs but can’t open the door from which the sounds originate. He acquires an axe but now the door is open. A rocker is in motion and swivels of its own accord. He considers a wall with large letters. something is taped over: “YoU could have saved him.” from a window Arthur observes a figure

336 • The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death rising from the muck near the cross marking nathaniel’s death site. He touches the window and sees a screaming woman’s face. the dog barks at the front door but when Arthur opens it no one is there. He sees children in the woods. He turns and follows wet footprints back up to that room where the music box monkey is now playing. Arthur sees the specter of a woman hanging herself. in his bedroom something is under the sheets. He runs downstairs and finds sam at the door. in the daylight he is driven into town while being told that even the rational mind can have tricks played upon it. finding the Jerome building aflame, Arthur rushes into the basement to rescue the girl he’d observed previously. He sees the woman in black and watches the girl bursts into flames. He learns that she was Lucy Jerome, locked up by her parents to protect her. it’s friday and Arthur visits Mrs. daily at the mausoleum. she says that whenever the specter is seen, tragedy occurs. so many children have died after her appearance. How, wonders Arthur? because they took her boy away, she takes their children. she saw you, she’s coming. sam takes Arthur to the telegraph office but it’s closed. Arthur feels he must stop his son and nanny from arriving for their promised weekend outing, and he develops a plan to obtain peace by reuniting Jennet with her child. roping himself to sam’s car, he ventures into the virtual quicksand around the cross, dives down and finds the carriage. sam pulls it to the surface. With the body of Jennet’s son, Arthur leaps to safety as the carriage sinks. sam wants to bury the boy quickly. but first, says Arthur, they must make sure the mother can find her child. He places those cards around the body and drapes it with a crucifix. Arthur turns on the music boxes. sam briefly sees his son nicholas. A dark permeates the hall beyond Arthur’s room and he survives an attack. He and sam open Jennet’s grave and place inside the body of her son. At the mansion a voice can be heard: “never forgive.” Joseph and the nanny arrive at the train station and while Arthur speaks with sam, the boy climbs down onto the track, mesmerized by the light of the oncoming train—or the woman in black. Arthur jumps down, grabs up his son and…. sam and the nanny step closer to see. Arthur wonders where sam is. Joseph asks, “daddy, who’s that lady?” Arthur replies, “that’s your mummy.” the reunited family walks into the fog as the specter watches. Reviews: the New York Times found it edgy, “and without the usual vivisectionist imagery.” daniel radcliffe’s eyes, freed from his Harry Potter mop, were used to excellent effect (Manohla dargis, New York Times, february 2, 2012); Entertainment Weekly said it was “An oldfashioned, tastefully constrained supernatural thriller.” (Lisa schwarzbaum, www.ew.com, february 6, 2012); The Guardian found the plot skeletal but thought radcliffe had taken the right step away from the Potter universe (Xan brooks, www.theguardian.com, february 9, 2012). Analysis: A spare and satisfying addition to the haunted house oeuvre, it’s a successful return to the big screen for the venerable Hammer production company.

(Alliance films/da Vinci Ventures, 2015; 98 min.) ★★

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

Produced by tobin Armbrust, richard Jackson, simon oakes. directed by tom Harper. screenplay by Jon Croker. story by susan Hill. edited by Mark eckersley. director of Photography, George steel. color. Music by Marco beltrami, brandon roberts. Production design, Jacqueline Abrahams. Art direction, Claudio Campana, Andrew Munro, toby riches. set decoration, Jille Azis. Costumes by Annie symons. Visual effects by bluebolt. Cast: eve Parkins (Phoebe fox), Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory),

Harry burnstow ( Jeremy irvine), Woman in black (Leanne best), edward (oaklee Pendergast), dr. rhodes (Adrian rawlins), Jacob (ned dennehy), ruby (Leilah de Meza), Woman at station (Hayley Joanne bacon), Joyce (Amelia Pidgeon), Londoners ( Jorge Leon Martinez, richard banks), tom ( Jude Wright). Synopsis: London, 1941: After a night in the tube stations with other Londoners, eve Parkins comes out into a scene of devastation and joins headmistress Jean to shepherd their schoolchildren by train to remote eel House to escape the nightly devastation visited upon the metropolis by German bombers. on the train, eve strikes up a conversation with Harry burnstow, a cheery young veteran. A bus at the station conveys them the rest of the way but not without a stop to fix a flat tire. Arriving at their destination, Jean and eve are aghast to find the manse in disrepair. but there’s nothing for it but to make the best and they put the children to bed. one of the students is edward, whose parents were killed in a raid and no longer speaks, but he does seem to want to communicate with eve via writing. Awakened by a nightmare, eve explores the dark corridors and rooms, including one full of toys. As the children play outside the next morning, eve prepares the schoolroom and urges edward’s playmates to include him in their games. tom had been ignoring him. the ensuing night sees tom leave his cot and wander away. next day, eve finds his dead body amidst barbed wire on the seashore. His body is taken away on the bus. After exploring the woods and a graveyard where she finds nathaniel drablow’s grave, eve sees someone and runs through the woods only to slip and slide down to the shore. stumbling back to eel House, eve sees Harry drive up and rushes into his arms. they investigate the house and she uses a key to open various boxes. she finds a phonograph and a recording of a woman’s voice that says it all began with nathaniel’s death. eve looks upon a large cross in the marsh. through a hole in the floor she observes edward drawing. Harry drives eve toward the mainland, losing his composure as the tide rises. stopping, he reveals that he was shot down over the sea and his crew lost. “so now i don’t like the water.” back at the manse, Joyce finds a drawing on edward’s bed that tom had the night he died. she follows a string that edward had placed about the rooms. eve finds a note and a small mirror. even as Joyce is winding a thread around her throat, eve is locked into a room with a blind man who reaches through the bars and grabs her by the throat. she breaks free and flags down a vehicle driven by Harry. Jean says she’s had enough of this malarkey and tells eve to get out. However, German bombers appear overhead and they all take refuge in the cellar. eve tells Harry she had a child that was taken from her. “she knows,” says eve, referring to the spirit of a woman in black haunting eel House. Joyce disappears and is found asphyxiated by a gas mask. next day eve demands they go to the airfield. Harry admits to her that he’s here because of a lack of moral fiber. to her shock, the doll eve had made edward leave behind appears in the bunker. they all hear voices and form a protective circle. Jean sees a hideous face and is knocked down. edward rushes off and Harry follows him to one of the mock planes. When edward turns, his face is hideous. edward runs, followed by Harry. eve sees herself in white. Waking up, she learns from Harry that edward is dead. “did you see his body?” no. Jean ushers the children onto a bus but eve stays behind. Jean tells her to take the jeep. At eel House, Jean finds edward on a cot. then he disappears. she has visions. Upstairs a rocker moves. Jean falls through the floor, then chases edward into the water, charging him to wake up. “You have to fight her!” He wakes but is pulled underwater. Jean dives and grabs him but something else down there won’t let go. Harry dives in, breaks the connection but drowns. Jean and edward observe the grave-marking cross out in the

The X-Files: Fight the Future • 337 water. “she’s gone,” says edward. in London, Jean tells edward that Harry looks over them. both walk down the street. back in their flat a photo of Harry and his crew cracks and an awful face appears. Reviews: the New York Times said it “begins with surprising elegance.” However, the director seemed “less interested in allegory than in monotonous, conventional goosing, the kind that involves flickering lights and a creaky rocking chair.” (ben Kenigsberg, New York Times, January 1, 2015); Total Film found it “much less scary.” than its predecessor although there is “genuine drama…” (Matt Glasby, Total Film, february 2015, p. 53). Analysis: this is a somber, low-key follow-up that is often so dark the viewer hardly knows what’s transpiring. it’s a film that’s good, but not good enough. Apparently the filmmakers felt a name cast unnecessary. but this is not the novel The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity.

tHe X-fiLes The X-Files tV series created by Chris Carter premiered in 1993 and ran until 2002. A 10th season of six episodes aired in 2016.

(20th Century-fox, 1998; 121 min.) ★★★

The X-Files: Fight the Future

Produced by Chris Carter, daniel sackheim. directed by rob bowman. screenplay by Chris Carter. story, Chris Carter, frank spotnitz. edited by stephen Mark. director of Photography, Ward russell. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Mark snow. Production design, Christopher nowak. Art direction, Gregory bolton, Hugo santiago. set decoration, Jackie Carr. Costumes by Marlene stewart. special Makeup effects, Alec Gillis, tom Woodruff, Jr. Visual effects by blue sky/VifX, Light Matters, inc./Piel envy, todd-Ao/ Hollywood digital effects. Cast: Agent fox Mulder (david duchovny), Agent dana scully (Gillian Anderson), Cigarette-smoking Man (William b. davis), dr. Alvin Kurtzweil (Martin Landau), Conrad strughold (Armin Muellerstahl), Well-Manicured Man ( John neville), Walter skinner (Mitch Pileggi), Jana Cassidy (blythe danner), dr. ben bronschweig ( Jeffrey deMunn), Langly (dean Haglund), darius Michaud (terry o’Quinn), byers (bruce Harwood), frohike (tom braidwood), stevie (Lucas black), barmaid (Glenne Headly). Synopsis: north texas, 35,000 bC: two fur-clad Homo sapiens trek across a snowfield to a very large and very strange object. inside they encounter a weird biped that attacks and kills one before the other knifes it. However, a dark goo climbs up the intruder’s leg and transforms him into…? north texas, Present day: A boy falls through the earth and suffers the fate of his distant ancestor. following the firemen, a team of white-clad personnel retrieve the boy. federal building, dallas, tX, one week later: A bomb threat attracts the fbi, including Agents Mulder and scully. scully says that The X-Files have been closed and they should move on. Mulder seems unconvinced this is the tact they should take, but on this day his intuition tells him the bomb is really next-door. by accident he discovers the cord to the drink machine has been disconnected and that the machine is the bomb. evacuation begins. Mulder’s superior darius Michaud remains, ostensibly to attempt disarming the bomb. in fact, he merely stares at the wires and containers until it explodes. Washington, d.C.: Mulder and scully are grilled by Jana Cassidy, whose role may be to conclude

that these two agents were responsible for the deaths of Michaud and several others Mulder and scully didn’t even know were in the dallas building. dr. Kurtzweil approaches Mulder, says he worked with his father, and warns of impending catastrophe for humankind. Mulder is skeptical but convinces a reluctant scully to go with him to the bethesda naval Hospital. in secret scully performs an autopsy on the bodies retrieved from dallas and determines that the victims are hardly human; they may have been infected with a virus. Mulder goes to Kurtzweil’s apartment that is being ransacked by the police who suggest the doctor may be guilty of keeping kiddie porn. back in dallas, the leader of the scientific team discovers that one of the extraterrestrials in the pit has gestated. He plans to use a hypodermic on it but is attacked, savaged, and upon reaching the ladder and asking for help, is denied egress. from the County of somerset, england, an english gentleman is called into London for a meeting at which powerful men such as Conrad strughold and an english gentleman speak about previous and present plans in regard to dealing with the extraterrestrials. their virus has mutated. spontaneous repopulation of the earth by the aliens is forecast. Mulder and scully fly into texas to examine the site to which Kurtzweil directed them and find a large playground near a housing development. the grass is artificial turf and some boys on bikes are talked into revealing that men in tanker trucks had left only an hour before. Mulder and scully race into the backcountry and see the trucks on a train. they roar after it, park, cross a cornfield, and enter an odd installation. inside, a host of bees are released automatically, chasing Mulder and scully from the facility. two helicopters appear and the agents race through the corn. back in d.C., Cassidy again grills scully while Mulder meets with Kurtzweil. scully tells Mulder she quit the fbi. she’s stung by a bee and collapses. Mulder calls for an ambulance. it arrives and scully is carted off. the driver shoots Mulder, who falls in the street. He wakes up in the hospital. friends help him leave, and he finds Kurtzweil. Meanwhile, scully has been placed on a plane. Mulder learns this from an englishman who gives him a vaccine to use on his partner. Where is Kurtzweil? Apparently dead. As Mulder walks away the englishman’s car explodes. Wilkes Land, Antarctica: His snowcat low on fuel, Mulder abandons the vehicle and walks toward a large, man-made facility but falls into a pit that leads beneath it. He discovers containers of men, women—and scully. He injects her with the vaccine. it prevents her transformation, but the aliens in other containers get loose

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, The X-Files: Fight the Future (20th Century–Fox, 1998).

338 • The X-Files: I Want to Believe even as the humans topside flee the compromised installation. Mulder drags and carries scully to safety and watches a giant alien craft rise from the ice and silently glide away. tunisia: An even vaster cornfield lies outside another secret installation. The X-Files are reopened. Reviews: the New York Times called it merely “a vague omnibus format for future movie spinoffs” rather than a film offering new perspectives on the tV story. nor did its “paranoid fantasies” exceed those of the same year’s The Truman Show. it was “unfocused actionadventure…” (New York Times, June 19, 1998, p. f1). Entertainment Weekly thought it worked, having “full X-ish atmospheric nuance by series creator Chris Carter; directed with a nice, unforced expansion to movie-size by series mainstay rob bowman…” (Lisa schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly, June 22, 1998). Analysis: A fairly engrossing film seems in retrospect to be full of holes and indebted to other films as well as its tV progenitor. it makes only a modicum of sense. How were the parents of the boys in the dallas development convinced to remain mum about the arrival of mysterious vehicles and men in contamination suits? How did Mulder survive being shot in the face through the window of the ambulance? How did Mulder get to Antarctica so fast? Where’d he get the snowcat—and not have extra fuel or sunglasses? nevertheless, the first 20 minutes are quite good and on par with any other large-scale action movie. its first 80 or 90 minutes easily get an above passing grade. the scene between duchovny and Anderson in the hallway outside fox Mulder’s apartment may be as good as The X-Files ever got. And right after that, with a comatose scully being whisked away by the bad guys to who-knows-where, and Mulder down on the pavement with a gunshot wound to the head, which was perhaps the film’s point of highest tension … that’s good stuff, too, and very X-files-ish. A little later, in the scene between Mulder and the character known (to fans) only as the Well-Manicured Man in the backseat of that soon-to-beincinerated limousine … that was probably the most informative sequence in X-Files history up to that point (even if this lengthy exposition amounted to more confirmation than revelation). the Antarctic adventure of the film’s last act, though, is just ludicrous. “big summer Movie’ or not, that trip to the Pole was just too Un-X-files to be taken seriously, even if it was carried off about as well as it could have been. not going for that ending does, of course, beg the question, “How could the movie have ended?” Maybe it didn’t need anything. Just end it with Mulder lying in a hospital bed, recovering from his wound instead of hopping up and heading off to Antarctica, and have him ponder the happenings of the earlier parts of the movie and wonder about scully’s fate. this is hardly the ending of a big summer Movie but an ideal one for The X-Files. Fight the Future might have been the end-season cliffhanger for the tV series’ season five, and the only reason it wasn’t might be that Carter and company had touted the idea of a feature film for so long. As things turned out, it did pave the way for the over-produced, repetitive and confused final four seasons. this movie should have been the end of the X-Files saga or the end of the tV series, anyway. if Chris Carter’s show ever had a chance of spinning off into a true movie franchise, those last four seasons on tV queered that idea.

(20th Century-fox, 2008; 104 min.) ★★½

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Produced by frank spotnitz, Chris Carter. directed by Chris Carter. screenplay by frank spotnitz, Chris Carter. based on the tV series The X-Files by Chris Carter. edited by richard A. Harris. director of Photography, bill roe. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music

by Mark snow. Production design, Mark freeborn. Art direction, Anthony Wohlgemuth. set decoration, shirley inget. Costumes by Lisa tomczeszyn. Visual effects by entity fX & entity fX north. “in Memory of randy stone” Cast: Agent fox Mulder (david duchovny), Agent dana scully (Gillian Anderson), AsAC dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet), father Joseph Crissman (billy Connolly), Agent Mosley drummy (Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner), Walter skinner (Mitch Pileggi), Janke dacyshyn (Callum Keith rennie), father Ybarra (Adam Godley), Gaunt man (Alex diakun), Cheryl Cunningham (nicki Aycox), franz tomczeszyn (fagin Woodcock), Agent Monica bannan (Xantha radley), Christian fearon (Marco niccoli), Margaret fearon (Carrie ruscheinsky), blair fearon (spencer Maybee). Synopsis: somerset, West Virginia, 10:23 p.m.: Arriving at her snowbound home, a woman is attacked. Using pedophile psychic father Joe, Agent dakota Whitney and Agent Mosley drummy are led to a spot in the ice containing a human arm. it does not belong to Monica bannan, the missing fbi agent. our Lady of sorrows Hospital, 8:25 a.m.: Physician dana scully speaks with the administration about treatment for Christian, a young boy with deadly sandhoff disease. the fbi asks former Agent scully to track down former Agent fox Mulder. finally found, he reluctantly agrees to help look for the Agent bannan. Visiting father Joe at his dormitory, Mulder and the more skeptical scully hear him speak of visions in his mind’s eye. somerset, West Virginia, 5:02 a.m.: father Joe kneels in the snow near Monica’s home, and blood droplets fall from his eyes. back at her hospital, scully visits Christian and has a talk with father Ybarra, who doesn’t want scully to proceed with treatments for the boy. out at the McLaren natatorium, a man in the pool observes a young woman and later runs her off the road and abducts her. scully and Mulder share a bed. she can’t sleep and gets Mulder’s attention with talk of an animal tranquilizer. Agent Whitney calls scully about a new lead, and father Joe takes them to a head in the ice. father Joe says, “don’t give up.” Monica is seen in a metal box at some sort of medical facility. At our Lady of sorrows, scully considers stem cell treatment for Christian. Quantico, Virginia, 10:20 a.m.: both Mulder and father Joe are optimistic about finding their agent alive. somerset, West Virginia, 2:08 p.m.: At Cheryl Cunningham’s car, Mulder discovers a Medical id bracelet in the snow and a wet bathing suit in the trunk. they head for the natatorium to find if Cheryl had been there. At the hospital, scully prepares to operate on Christian. Later Mulder and scully talk about the issue of organ transporting. Christian’s parents change their mind about continuing Christian’s treatment, but scully doesn’t want to give up. Manners-Colonial Hospital. 5:01 p.m. A rather ratty man picks up liver but is questioned by police on his way out. scully visits father Joe and asks why he’d said, “don’t give up.” He says he has no idea and begins having a seizure. Agent bannan makes a break from captivity only to find a vicious dog attacking her. Agent Whitney shows Mulder information about the russian émigré Janke dacyshyn suspect quizzed at Manners-Colonial Hospital. He was released because there was no evidence to hold him for illegal organ transporting. she also shows him a picture of franz tomczeszyn, the suspect’s employer and one of father Joe’s 37 abused altar boys. A search for dacyshyn results in Agent Whitney’s death when she is pushed into the shaft of a building under construction. outside, Agent drummy finds a severed head in the case dacyshyn had dropped. Mulder and scully realize that Monica is dead, too. scully reveals that father Joe has advanced stage lung cancer. He is shown a picture of franz and asked if Monica is still alive. He replies in the affirmative. franz, also terminally ill, is prepped for transplant out in West Virginia. Mulder treks to nut-

X-Men • 339 ter’s feed and asks about animal tranquilizer. He sees a pickup pull up and hides before the driver, dacyshyn, comes in for the same drug. Mulder follows him but isn’t alert enough and finds his car pushed over a cliff. Meanwhile scully is examining papers and photos regarding russian experiments on dogs. one picture features a dog with two heads. Mulder crawls from his car, finds the now driverless pickup, grabs a piece of metal and locates the lab where Cheryl Cunningham is being prepped for an operation. Mulder beats off a dog and enters the facility, trying to stop the doctors from severing Cheryl’s head from her body, which will have franz’s now severed head in ice attached. but a doctor injects Mulder with the tranquilizer. Janke pulls him outside where scully, who with Agent Walter skinner had found Mulder’s car and then the facility, bashes Janke with a board. inside, skinner threatens the medical personnel with a gun and scully begins working to save Cheryl’s life. Later, at Mulder’s home, he tells scully the fbi is labeling the now dead father Joe an accomplice in the organ transplant ring. she tries to make sense of father Joe’s admonition, “don’t give up.” He and Mulder wonder if the can run from he darkness. At her hospital, scully performs her next procedure on Christian. Reviews: the Pittsburgh Tribune Review complimented stars duchovny and Anderson but found the plot “garden-variety ‘X-files,’” and predictable. Long-time fans wouldn’t care, however (Michael Machosky, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, July 25, 2008); the North Devon Journal found the stars, especially Anderson, in top form. the film was “deeply gripping and scary…” (Conor nolan, North Devon Journal, August 7, 2008, p. 5). Analysis: no aliens to see here, just crazy russian scientists working in some rather rustic U.s. backwater intent on transplanting an older man’s head onto a younger woman’s body. it’s annoying because there are logical holes. Kidnapping an fbi agent for head transplant seem a bit extreme, certainly not a way to keep a low profile. there are disturbing moments, e.g., the death of Agent Whitney, the photo of what appears to be a dog’s head on a human body. Yet the movie itself is disturbing on a negative scale. Juxtaposing scully’s treatment dilemmas with Mulder’s tracking of the missing women is not exactly seamless. both women captives look alike in the dark of, if not the cavern of Mesa of Lost Women, a not exactly sterile operating room. We don’t really see the first one killed but guess it was by the dog. Why doesn’t Mulder never carry weapons or dress warmly enough for these environments? How does he know Monica was dead? And then tell scully she’s alive? did the dog kill her?

X-Men the film franchise’s origins can be traced to Uncanny X-Men, a Marvel Comics series begun in 1963 that has gone through numerous iterations.

X-Men

(20th Century-fox/Marvel enterprises, 2000; 104 min.) ★★½

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, ralph Winter. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by david Hayter. story by tom desanto, bryan singer. based on the Marvel Comics series by stan Lee. edited by steven rosenblum, Kevin stitt, John Wright. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music

by Michael Kamen. Production design, John Myhre. Art direction, tamara deverell, Paul denham Austerberry. set decoration, James edward ferrell. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. special Makeup effects by fX smith inc. Visual effects and digital Animation by digital domain. Visual effects Provided by Hammerhead Productions. Visual effects by Pop film & Animation. special Visual effects by Kleiser-Walczak. Cast: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick stewart), erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (ian McKellen), Marie/ rogue (Anna Paquin), Jean Grey (famke Janssen), scott/Cyclops ( James Marsden), ororo/storm (Halle berry), Mystique (rebecca romijn-stamos), Victor Creed/sabretooth (tyler Mane), Mortimer/ toad (ray Park), senator robert Kelly (bruce davison), iceman/ bobby (shawn Ashmore), eric as a child (brett Morris), Magneto’s mother (rhona shekter), Magneto’s father (Kenneth McGregor), rogue’s boyfriend (shawn roberts), rogue’s father ( John e. nelles), rogue’s mother (donna Goodhand). Synopsis: A voice says that evolution is the key to humanity’s evolution, and every so often there is a leap forward. “Poland 1944”: Jews are rounded up for execution. one family is split, with the teenage son left outside the camp. somehow he breaks the gate before being knocked out with a rifle butt. “Meridian, Mississippi. the not too distant future”: A teenage girl kisses a boy and he begins convulsing. in Washington, d.C., dr. Jean Gray addresses a convocation that includes senator Kelly, who rejects the idea of going leniently on mutants discovered living among the citizens. He prepares for a United nations conference at which he will lay out plans for dealing with the infestation. A man in a wheelchair calls to another man, the first saying, “i’m looking for hope.” the other urges him not to get in his way. the girl from Meridian arrives in northern Alberta and observes a cage match won by “the Wolverine,” aka Logan. she hides in his trailer. Although she’s taken the moniker rogue, she tells Logan her real name is Marie and that when her skin touches other skin weird things happen. Logan’s truck crashes and he’s thrown through the windshield and is tossed around by the large, rather hairy man responsible for the crash. Marie can’t unbuckle her seatbelt, and a fire starts in the back of the camper. rescue comes in the form of a man who can shoot a beam from his glasses and a silver-haired, caped woman. the hairy man— sabretooth—reports on the failed mission of abducting rogue to erik Lehnsherr, the one who’d spoken with the man in the wheelchair. Logan wakes up in an operating room, thrusts dr. Grey aside and rushes through the corridors, eventually entering a luxurious apartment where the wheelchair-bound man is instructing students in physics. When the students are dismissed, he introduces himself as dr. Charles Xavier. Xavier explains to Logan how he differs from Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, in their approach to humanity at large. both are mutants, Xavier able to mind-read, Lehnsherr capable of employing magnetic force to … fight humanity. Logan asks about rogue and is told she’s fine, safe here in Westchester, new York at Xavier’s school for Gifted Youngsters, aka mutants, many of them being runaways. dr. Jean Gray again attends to Logan, who is jealous of her possible romantic attachment to Cyclops, aka scott, and meets storm, aka ororo, who’d also saved him from sabretooth. Logan’s body is scanned, metal being found affixed to his bones. Using the shapeshifting, blue-bodied female mutant Mystique to kidnap senator Kelly, Lehnsherr turns him into a mutant. rogue hears Logan having nightmares and goes to his cot but he wakes in a rage and pierces her with his metal claws. Her skin touches his and he falls to the floor. the mutated senator Kelly escapes but accidentally falls into the sea. one of rogue’s classmates tells her she should never use her powers against

340 • X2 another mutant and she’d be better off leaving. she does not see the strange glint in his eye as she walks away. Xavier takes Logan into the large, circular room called Cerebro. Here Xavier can amplify his power to find rogue. As for Lehnsherr, he’s not to be found. rogue is seen at the train station, and Logan goes to retrieve her. Mystique finds her way into Cerebro and tampers with it. Cyclops and storm arrive too late to make the train but encounter sabretooth and frog and beat them off. Lensherr stops the train and constrains Logan in order to kidnap rogue. exiting the station, Lensherr confounds the police who’d been notified by Xavier, and escapes in his helicopter. back in Westchester, Xavier tries to find Lehnsherr through his machine but falls to the floor unconscious. Later, Jean finds the device Mystique used to cause the injury. to Cyclops’ distress, Jean puts on the headgear and collapses. Upon recovering, she says she knows where Magneto is going. the U.n. conference is taking place on ellis island. Lehnsherr tells rogue the world’s most powerful people will be there and with rogue’s unwilling help they will be converted into mutants. Her sacrifice is their victory. Arriving on Liberty island where Lehnsherr has secured rogue in the statue’s torch, Logan battles a doppelganger who turns out to be the shape-shifting Mystique. He has more trouble with sabretooth but with Cyclops’ help stops Lehnsherr from concluding his fog of transformation over the U.n. reps and saves rogue. Logan inadvertently touches rogue’s skin and again collapses. Xavier wakes next to Logan, who’s healing. senator Kelly helps the mutants. recovered, Logan says goodbye to rogue but says he’ll be back. He’s going north to try to find out about his past. He takes Cyclops’ chopper. in the department of Justice’s translucent cube in which Lehnsherr is incarcerated, he and Xavier play chess and spar over their differing views of how to deal with humanity. Lehnsherr thinks his one-time buddy is wrong to put any faith in a peaceful outcome and says a war is inevitable. He will get out. before wheeling away, Xavier says, “And i will always be there, old friend.” Reviews: the New York Times thought it was “Clumsy when it should be light on its feet,….” the best battles were between Patrick stewart and ian McKellen, “austere hams,…” whose golden throated sparring “is the only consistently enjoyable note in the film.” (elvis Mitchell, New York Times, July 14, 2000, p. e12); roger ebert wanted it to be more interesting but still gave it a ★★½–star rating. it took half the film to introduce all the characters, which was understandable. it was “restrained and introspective for a superhero epic,…” (roger ebert, www.rogerebert.com, July 14, 2000). Analysis: on the cusp of the cinematic superhero revolution, this is rather subdued, but that’s not a bad thing. Although the relatively short running time did not permit much character background, it helped move the story along. Would not ian McKellen have made an excellent Professor Quatermass?

X2

(aka X-Men United (20th Century-fox/Marvel enterprises, 2003; 133 min.) ★★★

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, ralph Winter. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by Michael dougherty, dan Harris. story by Zak Penn, david Hayter, bryan singer. edited by John ottman. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. Panavision. Color by deLuxe. Music by John ottman. Production design, Guy Hendrix dyas. Art direction, Helen Jarvis. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. Visual effects and Animation by Cinesite. special Visual effect by rhythm & Hues, inc. special Visual effects by Kleiser-Walczak, frantic films, Pacific title, Hammerhead

Productions, Cis Hollywood, Pixel Magic, VCe.CoM/Peter Kuran. Cast: Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick stewart), Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), eric Lehnsherr/Magneto (ian McKellen), storm/ ororo Munroe (Halle berry), Jean Grey (famke Janssen), scott summers/Cyclops ( James Marsden), Mystique (rebecca romijnstamos), William stryker (brian Cox), Kurt Wagner/nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), senator Kelly (bruce davison), rogue (Anna Paquin), Yuriko oyama (Kelly Hu), Kitty Pryde (Katie stuart), Jason 143 (Michael reid Mackay), Little Girl 143 (Keely Purvis), John Allerdyce/Pyro (Aaron stanford), bobby drake/iceman (shawn Ashmore), Jubilee (Kea Wong), Colossus (daniel Cudmore), Artie (bryce Hodgson), Jones (Connor Widdows), siryn (shauna Kain), President McKenna (Cotter smith). Synopsis: during a White House tour, one visitor separates himself from the crowd. spotted by security, he reveals himself as a shapeshifting mutant and almost succeeds in knifing the President. At a museum, some of the students at Xavier’s school for Gifted Youngsters watch coverage of the attack on tV. Jean Grey, one of the chaperones, tells scott she’s been having problems with her telepathic powers. during his sojourn away from the school, Logan, aka the Wolverine, has found Alkali Lake in northern Canada. this, dr. Xavier had posited, might provide him with answers about his past. back in d.C., William stryker is strident in his condemnation of the mutants. senator Kelly, now a mutant himself, tries to convince stryker this is unnecessary. stryker visits Magneto (erik Lehnsherr) and incapacitates him with a serum. Logan returns to dr. Xavier’s school, greets rogue and accompanies Xavier into Cebebro, where he tries to locate the creature that invaded the White House. Xavier says he and scott are off to visit an old friend and asks Logan to monitor the children that evening. Mystique, meanwhile, impersonates both senator Kelly and stryker’s assistant Yuriko oyama to learn Magneto’s whereabouts and obtain Cerebro’s blueprints. in boston, Jean and storm capture the creature that attacked the President: Kurt Wagner, aka nightcrawler, who didn’t want to harm anyone but was compelled to do what he did. back at the school, Logan has more dreams and visions. rising, he finds some of the children also sleepless. Xavier and scott find Magneto and learn of the frequent visits by stryker. Meanwhile, Logan converses about rogue with bobby, aka iceman. Xavier and Magneto discuss Logan, and Magneto reveals that stryker’s methods made him reveal everything about the device. Yuriko darts scott and he loses his senses. stryker invades the school and his paramilitary force, but Logan, bobby, Colossus and John, aka Pyro, manage to save most of the students. stryker thinks he’s got Logan cornered but bobby creates a wall of ice separating the foes. by the time stryker thinks to use a grenade to breach the wall, Logan and the others have fallen back. With rogue, they take scott’s car from the garage and make their escape while stryker breaks into Cerebro. At a bar, Mystique in human form drugs an off-duty security man. stryker uses a “neural inhibitor” on Xavier. Xavier realizes stryker planned the attack on the President. Mutant 143, mute and wheelchair-bound, is produced and revealed to be none other than stryker’s misbegotten son. At bobby’s house in boston, Logan, rogue and Pyro hang out until the boy’s human parents come home, wonder what’s going on, and are told of their son’s powers. His jealous brother phones the police, but Pyro uses his flame-producing powers to fend them off. storm, in the meantime, learns more about nightcrawler and communicates with Logan, who is shot in the head by the police, thus causing Pyro to go ballistic. rogue grabs Logan to stop him from killing the police. the bullet falls off Logan’s head as storm and Jean arrive to take them away. Meanwhile, Mutant 143 uses his mental pow-

X-Men: The Last Stand • 341 ers to torture Xavier. A stryker assistant in the guise of one of the captured female students gains information about the whereabouts of those students. two jets attack the X-Jet and a missile does severe damage to it and rogue is sucked into the sky. nightcrawler uses his power to retrieve her. the X-Jet is prevented form crashing by Magneto, who reveals that it was stryker who had Logan operated on and who now knows enough of Cebebro to recreate it. Jean reads nightcrawler’s mind and learns that stryker is headed for Alkali Lake, where his facility lies beneath the dam. Logan kisses Jean. Mystique enters Logan’s tent but he demurs engaging her in romantic activity. the X-Jet is taken into the north. Pyro talks to Magneto. As Logan, Mystique enters stryker’s facility. the spillway door is opened. Mutant 143—Jason—impersonating a female student grills Xavier. Magneto and Jean link up with Mystique. the kidnapped children are found in the containment cell. stryker goes to the new Cerebro and tells Jason to use his telepathic powers to learn from Xavier where the other children are located. scott, under the influence of stryker’s serum, attacks storm but Jean stops him with her telekinetic powers and brings him back to normal. However, the force she used knocking scott into the wall starts a series of cracks that threaten the dam’s integrity. Logan finds the x-rays of his body. it was stryker who supervised the insertion of adamantium into his skeletal frame. Logan engages in a desperate fight with Yuriko, who also has the ability to produce deadly claws at will. stryker flees to a helicopter but is captured by Logan, who chains him to the struts. storm and nightcrawler rescue the children while Magneto and Mystique kill or have killed the rest of stryker’s paramilitary. in stryker guise, Mystique urges Jason to tell Xavier to use his powers in Cerebro to kill all humans rather than mutants. outside, Magneto, Mystique and Pyro chain stryker to the dam wall. nightcrawler takes storm into Cerebro where she breaks Jason’s hold on Xavier. Piloting the X-Jet erratically, rogue manages to land and rescue her companions and the children before the deluge. However, Jean, who’d been using her force to hold back the water is depleted and washed away. At the White House, Xavier and his cohorts show the President the secret stryker files, and the President seems amenable to Xavier’s call for a working relationship between mutants and humans. At the school, Logan tells scott that Jean had chosen him. At Alkali Lake, Jean’s voice is heard describing evolution and the sudden leaps forward it sometimes takes. in the lake is seen an image of … a phoenix? Reviews: the New York Times found it “a symphony of crescendos and pauses, orchestrated toward a big seat-rattling climax,….” effects were good if not up to those in Lord of the Rings or The Matrix (A.o. scott, New York Times, May 2, 2003, pp. e1, e18); Rolling Stone had a mixed reaction. on one hand, a longer running time permitted character development, but the story became diluted. nevertheless, it was “a summer firecracker.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, May 2, 2003). Analysis: Good, but not good enough? despite one or two interesting sequences (mostly in the film’s first half hour) the film compares negatively to its source material. All the “dramatic” elements seem terribly watered down, and the issues all appear to be manufactured for political correctness. Patrick stewart and ian McKellen could provide some heavyweight status, perhaps, but they portray their respective characters so laid-back as to appear downright bland. stewart, of course, has established himself as Mr. Laid-back with a thousand Star Trek episodes as Captain Picard, but movies like X-Men really need a carpet-chewing villain to get things moving, and McKellen fails to deliver. (McKellen would have made an excellent Professor Quatermass in the nigel Kneale–penned stories and films). the juvenile leads are cut directly from the Beverly Hills 90210 tV series mold. even a “name” actress like Halle berry fails to much distinguish herself

from the crowd. that may be the problem. television (and comic books) fare well when dealing with “groups.” Movies seem to do better when concentrating on a single super character. X-Men, most of the time, just has too many characters vying for our attention. focus is obviously intended for the Wolverine character, but not enough. there was some good potential to explore the character’s relationship with another mutant, a female whose touch means death to non-mutants and immediate weakness to mutants. (imagine a relationship between a couple of hyper-hormonal teenagers who are denied physical contact! this isn’t explored, of course).

X-Men: The Last Stand

(20th Century-fox/Marvel enterprises, 2006; 104 min.) ★★½

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, ralph Winter, Avi Arad. directed by brett ratner. screenplay by simon Kinberg, Zak Penn. based on X-Men by Jack Kirby, stan Lee. edited by Mark Helfrich, Mark Goldblatt, Julia Wong. director of Photography, dante spinotti. Panavision. Prints by deluxe. Music by John Powell. Production design, edward Verreaux. Art direction, Helen Jarvis, sandra tanaka, Chad s. frey. set decoration, elizabeth Wilcox. Costumes by Judianna Makovsky. Visual effects by HY*drAU”LX, framestore, CfC, the Moving Picture Company, Cinesite (europe) Ltd., Cis Hollywood, soho VfX, Lola Visual effects, new deal studios, inc., KleiserWalczak. Cast: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), ororo Munroe/storm (Halle berry), Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick stewart), erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (ian McKellen), Jean Grey/Phoenix (famke Janssen), Marie/rogue (Anna Paquin), dr. Henry McCoy/beast (Kelsey Grammer), scott summers/Cyclops ( James Marsden), raven darkholme/Mystique (rebecca romijn), bobby duke/iceman (shawn Ashmore), John Allerdyce/Pyro (Aaron stanford), Cain Marko/Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones), Kitty Pryde/shadowcat (ellen Page), Peter rasputin/Colossus (daniel Cudmore), Warren Worthington ii (Michael Murphy), Warren Worthington iii/Angel (ben foster), President of the United states ( Josef sommer), Jimmy (Cameron bright), Callisto (dania ramirez), dr. Kavita rao (shohreh Aghdashloo), Waterhose Man (stan Lee), trask (bill duke), Mrs. Grey (desiree Zurowski), Mr. Grey (Adrian Hough), Mystique interrogator (Anthony Heald), Young Warren Worthington iii (Cayden boyd), Young Jean Grey (Haley ramm), Multiple Man (eric dane), Moira (olivia Williams). Synopsis: 20 Years Ago: Charles Xavier leads a skeptical erik Lehnsherr to the home of teenage Jean Grey, who Xavier rightly suspected was a mutant marvel, a Class 5. she’s perfect for the school. 10 Years Ago: Warren Worthington ii’s son severs feathers from his back. the not too distant future: Logan, aka Wolverine, acts nonchalant in a battle against a hardly visible enemy, but he succeeds in bringing it down. it’s only a simulation. in d.C., Hank McCoy, a blue mutant, is secretary of Mutant Affairs. He learns from the President that Mystique has been captured, which gives them leverage with Magneto. Also of import is what Mystique stole from the fdA: a mutant antibody, a “cure” for the so-called disease. At Xavier’s school, Charles teaches a class in ethics, posing the issue of power used by the individual. Kitty is intensely interested. in the hall, storm wonders why Xavier is hiding his charges from the world. Xavier counters that they are not hiding, and that someday she will take his place as headmaster. scott was in line for that role but had become a changed man after

342 • X-Men Origins: Wolverine Jean’s death. When Hank visits, Logan asks, “Who’s the fur ball?” Hank reveals what he knows of the antibody that suppresses the mutant X gene. the discovery is even then being announced by Warren Worthington ii on Alcatraz island, where Worthington Labs is located. storm tells rogue they don’t need a cure. At a Community Action Meeting of mutants, Magneto interrupts the speaker and tells the convocation they should join his side in the impending conflict. Pyro accompanies magneto and they recruit new members, one of whom locates the convoy transporting Mystique. Hank visits Alcatraz and Jimmy, from whom the antibody was extracted. scott arrives on his motorcycle at Alkali Lake, where Jean Grey sacrificed herself to save the other X-Men. in a rage, scott removes his glasses and shoots a beam into the lake. A vortex forms and Jean appears. Jeans asks him to remove his glasses so she can see his eyes. He does and kisses her but she begins to transform him. back at the school, Xavier gets wind of this and tells Logan and storm to get to Alkali Lake. they find scott’s glasses and Jean’s unconscious body by the water. back at the school, Xavier speaks of Jean’s powers and how she wrapped them in a cocoon of telekinetic energy to survive the deluge. Xavier had created barriers to separate her conscious from her dormant side he calls “the feelings” that turned her into a purely instinctual creature. now he’s trying to restore the psychic blocks. At Worthington Labs, the scion has second thoughts about taking the antibody, sprouts wings and flies away, seen from his window by Jimmy. Magneto locates the convoy transporting Mystique, destroys the accompanying vehicle, and rescues the shape shifter as well as a large mutant called Juggernaut, and a mutant who can duplicate his image. but Mystique is shot with the mutant antidote and Magneto reluctantly leaves her behind. she is now merely a naked human on the floor. Hank resigns from the government to join Xavier. As Logan oversees Jean’s body, she wakes and they embrace. she is so feisty Logan is put back on his heels, saying, “Jean, this isn’t you.” she counters that X has tamed him. “Where’s scott?” he asks. He tries to focus her but she asks him to “Kill me before i kill someone else.” Her “feelings” side gets the better of her and she thrusts Logan into the wall. storm and Xavier find Logan on the floor, and they go to Jean’s childhood home and find Magneto already there. Jean tells Xavier, “stay out of my head.” she levitates the furniture. they bring up scott’s name but it only enrages her. Logan’s entry into the house is blocked by Juggernaut, storm by one of Magneto’s swift-moving recruits. Jean levitates the entire house and causes Charles to disintegrate before letting the house fall back to earth. Magneto takes her away. Xavier’s empty wheelchair marks his spot at the school. storm presides at a memorial service. bobby consoles Kitty and takes her ice-skating. rogue observes them from her window and decides to leave. Logan tells her to do what she feels is best. bobby proposes fighting to keep the school open, and his opinion is welcomed when Warren Worthington iii arrives to find a save haven. storm agrees. Logan takes a motorcycle to search for Jean. bobby attends a street protest by mutants in hopes of finding rogue but meets Pyro and they have a brief altercation. Magneto issues a threat on tV. the President tells his assistant trask to seize and secure Worthington Labs and stop Magneto. fending off outliers in a forest, Logan dons a hoodie and inserts himself into the makeshift mutant army being harangued by Magneto. Jean leaves Magneto’s side and enters the deeper forest. Magneto finds them and hurls Logan against a tree. there’s no way he’s letting Logan take Jean. At the White House, the President watches tV as soldiers close on Magneto’s camp, which had been located by Mystique. but when they charge in they find only the man who can and has created multiple copies of himself. it was a decoy! Magneto observes Alcatraz from the Golden Gate. back in Westchester, Logan gathers his small but formidable “army,” they suit

up and head out, taking up positions in front of the military on Alcatraz island. Magneto uses his power to break the central sections of the Golden Gate bridge in two and levitate it so that his force can storm Alcatraz and find the Worthington boy. Pyro sets afire the vehicles Magneto is hurling at the building. Pursued by Juggernaut, Kitty rescues Jimmy. Warren saves his father who’s been pushed from the roof by Magneto’s minions. storm uses a fog and bobby duels Pyro. Hank tosses Logan at Magneto but he falls short. it’s the plan. Hank grabs Magneto from behind and stabs antibody syringes into him, making him human. Jean levitates herself and causes general chaos. Magneto looks back. “What have i done?” Logan holds up against Jean’s power and embraces her. she asks him to save her. He says he loves her but thrusts his claws into her chest. At the school, Kitty contemplates new tombstones for Jean and scott. rogue returns and touches bobby with no ill effects. school opens for new students. At the United nations, Hank takes up his new post. Watching on tV, Logan says, “Way to go, fur ball.” Warren, aka Angel, flies over san francisco bay while Magneto plays solitaire chess at an old folks reserve. He moves his hand at a piece that seems to quiver. in a hospital-like room, the man in the bed says, “Hello, Moira.” she responds with some perplexity, “Charles?” Reviews: the New York Times found it “generally serviceable….” director ratner wasn’t quite up to bryan singer “but such niceties can be irrelevant when it comes to industrial products like these.” (Manohla dargis, New York Times, May 26, 2006, p. e10); the Santa Fe New Mexican said the spectacle hid the bad acting except in Hugh Jackman’s case. Wolverine was “one of the best characters on the screen.” some of the new characters were appealing, and it was so epic it had to be recommended ( Jason shain, Santa Fe New Mexican, June 9, 206, p. d-3). Analysis: it deserves the 2½-star rating by contrast with its 3-star forebears because of, amongst other deficiencies, the frequent silliness and hammy acting of ian McKellen (obviously having a great time) and little explanation as to where Jimmy came from. one retrospective analysis identified numerous flaws, a seminal one being that Cyclops’ death should have been cause for much mourning. Another one involved deciding not to truly bring to the fore the ethics of one mutant curing another mutant. execution and pacing were off (Matt Goldberg. “‘born into a World divided’: Matt revisits ‘X-Men: the Last stand.’” http://collider.com, May 22, 2016).

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

(20th Century-fox/Marvel enterprises, 2009; 107 min.) ★★½

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, ralph Winter, Hugh Jackman, John Palermo. directed by Gavin Hood. screenplay by david benioff, skip Woods. based on Wolverine by roy thomas, Len Wein, John romita, sr. edited by nicolas de toth, Megan Gill. director of Photography, donald McAlpine. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Harry Gregson-Williams. Production design, barry robison. Art direction, Karen Murphy, brian edmonds. set decoration, rebecca Cohen. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. Visual effects by [HY*drAU”LX], soho VfX, Luma Pictures, Method studios. Cast: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Victor Creed (Liev schreiber), Kayla silverfox (Lynn Collins), stryker (danny Huston), John Wreath (Will.i.am), remy Lebeau (taylor Kitsch), Chris bradley/bolt (dominic Monaghan), Wade Wilson (ryan reynolds), fred dukes (Kevin durand), James Howlett (troye sivan), Agent Zero (daniel Henney), scott summers (scott Pocock), Heather Hud-

X-Men: First Class • 343 son ( Julia blake), travis Hudson (Max Cullen), Young Victor (Michael-James olsen). thomas Logan (Aaron Jeffery), elizabeth Howlett (Alice Parkinson), General Munson (stephen Leeder).

turn stryker away. dr. Xavier arrives and takes the children off in a helicopter as remy watches. remy returns to Logan, who wakes up but can’t remember much. remy tells him his name is Logan. Logan kneels by Kayla’s body as sirens herald the arrival of the authorities. remy tries to take him away but Logan responds, “i’ll find my own way.” Later, stryker is found walking along a road by the military who know he’s wanted for questioning regarding General Munson’s death. in the rubble of the tower a long spoke retracts and Weapon 11’s head is seen. He urges quiet. Reviews: slate.com thought it “oddly unconcerned with chronicling the emergence of its hero’s powers.” it was clichéd and “remarkably lame.” (dana stevens, www.slate.com, April 30, 2009); Chud.com said it had “shockingly clichéd dialogue.” and “incoherent action geography and by-the-numbers plotting.” ( Jon Abrams, www.chud.com, May 5, 2009); Analysis: some of the action scenes are fine, notably Wolverine using his claws to slice the fire escape from under remy. normally it might rate the 3-star rating but like its immediate predecessor, it falls short of the first two in the series. note the brief appearance of Wade Wilson, aka deadpool.

Synopsis: Young James Howlett unknowingly kills his real father when in a rage over the murder of the man presumed to be his dad. the instruments of death are long, sharp claws that spring from the boy’s hand. He rushes into the wood, followed by his half-brother Victor Creed. time passes and James and Victor vent their rage in the American Civil War and World War i, World War ii, and Vietnam. during the latter conflict, Victor’s fury frightens his brother and the military command. they are put before a firing squad but survive. in their squalid cell they are visited by Major stryker who enlists them in his squad of mutated men. Leaving stryker’s squad, James, taking the name Logan, works as a lumberjack. His girlfriend is Kayla. stryker shows up to tell Logan some of the mutants have been killed. the culprit is not named but when Logan finds Kayla’s body in the woods he knows it is Victor. Logan fights Victor but loses. stryker tells Logan he can redress the imbalance if he is willing to suffer mightily. in a lab, Logan is constrained and injected with the element adamantium, which flows through his body and bones to give him extra-normal strength. When asked what name should be imprinted on his new X-Men: First Class dog tags, Logan opts for “Wolverine.” When Logan hears stryker tell his scientists to remove Logan’s memory, Logan breaks free and takes (20th Century-fox/Marvel entertainment, 2011; refuge in a farmhouse, but stryker’s men murder the elderly owners 132 min.) ★★★★ before Logan can kill the attackers. now he has both Victor and Produced by Lauren shuler donner, bryan singer, simon Kinberg, stryker in his murderous sights. Locating the teleporting mutant John, Gregory Goodman. directed by Matthew Vaughn. screenplay by AshLogan is told he can acquire information about stryker from fred, ley edward Miller, Zack stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn. now a flabby but rather gigantic boxer. Logan bests him in the ring story by sheldon turner, bryan singer. based on X-Men by Jack Kirby, and quizzes him about stryker’s whereabouts. Victor, meanwhile, capstan Lee. edited by Lee smith, eddie Hamilton. director of Photogtures scott. fred tells Logan that stryker is on an island and to see raphy, John Mathieson. Panavision. Color by deluxe. Music by Henry remy, aka Gambit, in new orleans. stryker continues to combine Jackman. Production design, Chris seagers. Art direction, Grant the powers of his captive mutants. John accompanies Logan to new Armstrong, Joe Howard, Alan Gilmore, Les tomkins, James Hamorleans only to be killed by Victor while Logan grills remy. thrust bidge, sue Whitaker, Mark Homes, ben Munro, thomas frohling, into the street, Logan spots Victor and engages him, proving that his dawn snyder. set decoration, sonja Klaus, erin boyd. Costumes by powers are now more than a match for his enemy. but remy disrupts sammy sheldon. Visual effects designed by John dykstra. Visual efthe affair and Victor clears out. Logan gets the goods on remy. stryker, fects & Animation by digital domain. Visual effects by MPC, Cinesite in the meantime, explains Weapon 11 to General Munson. Munson europe Ltd., Luma Pictures. says stryker is still haunted by his wife’s death and they are stopping Cast: Charles Xavier, age 24 ( James McAvoy), erik Lehnsherr his program. not so. stryker kills Munson. remy flies Logan to three (Michael fassbender), Young erik (bill Milner), Klaus schmidt/seMile island and Logan finds stryker in the lab. Also, Kayla, who faked her death. Her mission had been to keep tabs on Logan. Why? because stryker had taken her sister prisoner. Logan walks off. Victor demands the adamantium but stryker says he wouldn’t survive it. Victor grabs Kayla, she screams, and Logan returns. they crash through the window and fall onto the ground. Logan could kill stryker but Kayla cries, “Logan! You’re not an animal.” she and Logan find the cells where the mutants are kept and release her sister and all the others, including scott. outside, stryker’s men wound Kayla but themselves are beamed to death by scott with Kayla’s sister’s help. Weapon 11 appears and battles Logan, who climbs to the top of one of the disused cooling towers. Weapon 11 appears but With Victor’s help, the half-brothers send Weapon 11 hurtling into the innards of the tower. on the way down, their enemy severs the tower. remy helps Logan survive and Logan finds the wounded Kayla. she says she does love him. He carries her away but stryker shoots him with adamantium slugs from a revolver. Al- Left to right: James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, and Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First though wounded herself, Kayla uses her psychic power to Class (20th Century–Fox/Marvel Entertainment, 2011).

344 • X-Men: First Class bastian shaw (Kevin bacon), Moira Mactaggert (rose byrne), raven/Mystique ( Jennifer Lawrence), emma frost ( January Jones), CiA man in black suit (oliver Platt), Charles Xavier, age 12 (Laurence belcher), Mrs. Xavier (beth Goddard), raven, age 10 (Morgan Lily), Janos Quested/riptide (Alex González), Azazel ( Jason flemyng), Angel salvadore (Zoë Kravitz), Hank/beast (nicholas Hoult), Cassidy/banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Armando Munoz/darwin (edi Gathegi), Alex summers/Havok (Lucas till), Chief Warden (Corey Johnson), William stryker (don Creech), Colonel robert Hendry (Glenn Morshower), Levene (dimitri Goritsas), CiA director McCone (Matt Craven), General ( James remar), Captain (Michael ironside), secretary of state (ray Wise), executive officer ( Jason beghe), Man in bar/Logan (Hugh Jackman). Synopsis: Poland, 1944: A boy is part of a nazi round up of Jews. Westchester, new York, 1944: A boy wanders the halls of a manse and finds a woman in the kitchen claiming to be his mother. He knows she’s not. the woman transforms into a blue girl and the boy, Charles Xavier, is delighted to find she is like himself: a mutant. He can read minds; she can change into any person she wants. Poland: the boy, erik Lehnsherr, who’d managed by force of will to bend the metal gate when his mother was taken away, is welcomed into the office of Klaus schmidt. erik’s mother is brought in and erik is told to levitate a coin, but he cannot. schmidt shoots his mother, sending erik into a rage in which he kills the two nazi guards and destroys the adjacent room. schmidt is delighted to learn that anger and pain unleash erik’s capabilities. Geneva, switzerland, 1962: erik scans a map on his wall. oxford University, england: raven, Charles’ mutant companion since his youth, interrupts his conversation with another woman, telling her she’s Charles’ sister. in Geneva, erik enters a bank with a bar of nazi gold, the remains of his people. He uses his power to control the manager and learns that Klaus schmidt is in Argentina. He tells the manager, “i would love to kill you.” Las Vegas, nevada: fbi Agent Moira Mactaggert follows Colonel Hendry into the Atomic casino and secretly watches as sebastian shaw tells Hendry to support deployment of nuclear missiles in turkey. Moira observes blonde emma become crystalline, or maybe diamond. shaw summons Azazel. Moira calls the CiA director to report what Hendry’s up to only to learn that Hendry is already in d.C. courtesy of Azazel’s ability to transport himself through space along with anyone touching him. the CiA head is skeptical, and Moira tells her partner they’ve got to find an expert on genetic mutation. oxford: Celebrating his professorship with raven, Charles is followed by Moira. Villa Gesell, Argentina: on the wall of a bar erik sees a photo of two men with Klaus schmidt. He dispatches the bar keep and schmidt’s associates, explaining, “Let’s just say i’m frankenstein’s monster … and i’m looking for my creator.” in London, Charles meets Moira and reads her mind, seeing her remembrance of shaw. Miami, florida: Colonel Hendry goes to shaw’s yacht, wants his money, and pulls out a grenade by way of ensuring he’ll be allowed to leave. but shaw can control Hendry’s mind, takes the grenade, pulls the pin and contains the energy of the explosion, which he inserts into Hendry. CiA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia: Charles briefs the director on what he and Moira have discovered. the director remains skeptical until raven turns into her blue self she calls Mystique. What to do? one of the CiA scientists offers to take them to his facility. in Miami, erik climbs aboard the Caspartina, shaw’s ship. shaw is actually Klaus schmidt. erik is knocked back into the water as the Coast Guard arrives and unsuccessfully attempts to arrest shaw. Charles, using his telepathic powers, is blocked by emma’s mind, but erik, floating in the water, uses his power over metal to encircle and destroy the Caspartina with its anchor chain. shaw and his

associates escape via a submarine that erik desperately endeavors to stop. Charles leaps into the water and grabs erik. “erik, you’re not alone.” Covert CiC research base: Charles, erik, and raven meet Hank McCoy, who’s designed a new supersonic plane. He is coerced into revealing that he is a mutant with large animal-like feet and superb leaping ability. on television, reporters speak about growing tension between the U.s. and the soviet Union. shaw and emma head for russia. shaw shows emma the helmet the russians made for him that her telepathic mind can’t crack. Hank shows raven hypodermics of a serum he’d created to prevent alteration of their bodies but not their abilities. erik pilfers secret documents, but Charles follows and tells him he has the opportunity to be something bigger than himself. erik elects to stay. Hank displays a transmitter to enhance brainwaves and thus pinpoint the location of other mutants. erik tells their CiA handler it is they, mutants themselves, who must find the others of their kind. Charles uses Hank’s Cerebro cap to see those mutants and accompanied by erik sets out to enlist them. Angel, a stripper who can sprout wings, is the first to join. one of the mutants they fail to enlist is a man in a bar who tells them to fuck off (it’s Logan, aka Wolverine). on shaw’s sub, emma tells him that the telepath’s reach has been amplified and that, “they’re recruiting.” shaw sends her on to russia, saying he’ll take care of them. At the Lincoln Memorial, Charles and erik discuss their common enemies. At their CiA home, raven says she wants to be called Mystique, and she tells erik, “And you should be Magneto.” russian Military retreat: emma is entertaining the russian general when erik breaks in and with Charles’ help constrains her. Charles reads her mind and discovers shaw’s intention of fomenting nuclear war to create a mutant world. shaw breaks into the CiA base and invites raven and her companions to join him. Angel is all for it and Armando pretends to be but is found out and turned to stone. in Moscow, shaw proposes to a general that the soviet Union send missiles to Cuba. When Charles and erik return they find their CiA home a wreck. Where to stay? Charles has the solution: his Westchester manse. russian cargo ships carrying missiles head for Cuban waters while the Pentagon and President Kennedy mull over their options. in Westchester, mutant training proceeds apace. Charles tells erik he needs to challenge himself and gets him to move the nearby observatory dish mentally. Charles argues for helping humanity, that they’ll be the better men, but erik retorts that they’re already the better men. Charles says killing shaw won’t bring erik peace. Hank injects the serum into his foot. erik finds Mystique in his bed but rejects her advances. in the kitchen, a nude Mystique tells Charles he wants to be part of the world. Hank’s lab is found a mess. At the super jet, Hank appears as the blue “beast.” He will pilot the plane to Cuba. russian warships and cargo ships approach the island. U.s. navy warships wait. new orders are received from Moscow to turn back, but the Aral Sea won’t do so. Hank swoops down over the ocean, and Charles determines that the crew of the Aral Sea is dead. on a russian warship the executive officer under shaw’s telepathic power launches a missile, but it’s turned into the Aral Sea. With the telepath—Charles—in the vicinity, shaw realizes he needs a backup plan. Hank realizes that shaw must be under water. entering his sub’s reactor room, shaw initiates what he hopes will be a nuclear explosion. sending one of their number into the water, Charles locates the sub and erik uses his power to lift it from the sea and dash it on the shore along with their plane. erik breaks into the sub, throws the switch to stop reactor overload, and confronts shaw. Charles can’t see into the reactor room until shaw throws erik against the bulkhead and cracks it. However, he can’t break through shaw’s helmet. out on the beach, Azazel is about to impale Hank when shaw appears and orders him to stop. but it’s Mystique as shaw and Azazel is knocked

The Wolverine • 345 unconscious. Charles uses his mind to have a hose pull off shaw’s helmet. erik dons the helmet, stands before shaw and causes that nazi coin he’d kept for years to fly through shaw’s skull even though Charles screams not to do it. back in the U.s., the CiA agrees to launch missiles at what they now know are the mutants on the beach. Moira will be collateral damage. both U.s. and russian ships launch missiles but erik turns them back on the ships. Moira tries to shoot erik but hits Charles instead. even so, the missiles are detonated rather harmlessly over the sea. Charles prevents erik from killing Moira. erik asks the mutants to join him and Charles tells Mystique, “You should go with him, it’s what you want.” Azazel, Angel and another of shaw’s mutants join erik. on the sand, erik tells his companions, “i can’t feel my legs.” on tV, President Kennedy tells the public that the crisis is over. in Westchester, Moira pushes the wheelchair-bound Charles. “You’re better, you’re X-Men,” she says and vows never to tell anyone where he lives. At an ensuring debriefing she tells her CiA cohorts she can’t remember much at all. A booM! is heard. the cell containing emma is entered by a man in helmet and cape. “erik, i believe,” says emma. erik responds, “i prefer—Magneto.” Reviews: The Guardian called it “baggy and chaotic and over-long, but watchable, often enjoyably bizarre, and with the occasional flash of cold steel.” (Peter bradshaw, www.theguardian.com, June 2, 2011); The Telegraph complimented the cast and a script that resulted in a “stylish, often violent, mostly entertaining prequel that never outstays its two hours-plus duration…” (sukhdev sandhu, www.telegraph.co. uk, June 2, 2011); Chud.com found the action scenes “very impressive, with the mutant’s powers frequently being used in clever and effective ways.” Was it prequel or reboot? (Williamb, www.chud.com, June 4, 2011); Rolling Stone called it a “cheerfully perverse origin tale….” these mutants “made this summer movie the badass place to be.” (Peter travers, Rolling Stone, June 23, 2011, p. 96). Analysis: Henry Jackman’s score goes a long way toward making this a compelling adventure, a saga as good as some and better than other predecessors. the byplay between McAvoy and fassbender, the several large-scale action pieces, Kevin bacon’s villain—all contribute to a very enjoyable experience. Perhaps the most shocking scene is the coin proceeding in slow motion into shaw’s head.

The Wolverine

(20th Century–fox/Marvel entertainment, 2013; 126 min.) ★★★

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, Hutch Parker. directed by James Mangold. screenplay by Mark bomback, scott frank. based on Wolverine by Chris Claremont, frank Miller. edited by Michael McCusker. director of Photography, ross emery. Prints by deluxe. Music by Marco beltrami. Production design, francois Audouy. Art direction, Michael turner. set decoration, rebecca Cohen. Costumes by isis Mussenden. Visual effects & Animation Created by Weta digital Ltd. Visual effects by rising sun Pictures, iloura, Method studios, shade. Cast: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Mariko (tao okamoto), Yukio (rila fukushima), shingen (Hiroyuki sanada), Viper (svetlana Khodchenkova), noburo (brian tee), Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), Yashida in 1945 (Ken Yamamura), Harada (Will Yun Lee), Jean Grey (famke Janssen), dr. Xavier (Patrick stewart), Magneto (ian McKellen). Synopsis: incoming planes are heard above a Japanese prisoner of war camp. one guard, Yashida, helps release Allied PoWs before the

bomb falls. His compatriots prepare to commit ritual suicide, and for a few moments so does he. then an immense explosion across the bay stuns him. the PoW previously confined in a deep shaft pulls Yashida toward the cylinder’s protection. they barely escape with their lives. in fact, the prisoner shields Yashida from the inordinately destructive blast with a plate of metal and his own body, and for a moment becomes toasted flesh. Years later, Logan finds Jean Grey beside him and tells her he was at nagasaki. He asks if she can stay. “You know i can’t.” Logan wakes up again, this time in the north American wilderness. Walking into town, he is shadowed by a grizzly bear. A woman spies on him from a car. back at his hermetic habitation, Logan hears screams and finds the bear in agony. He finishes it off with his own clawed hands, goes back into town and plunges the illegal poisoned arrow into a man’s hand. the woman from the car keeps the lid on the violence with her sword and martial arts skill. she identifies herself as Yukio and that her employer, Mr. Yashida, wants him to have a special blade. He’s paying old debts and wants to thank Logan in person in tokyo. Logan says he’s not a soldier anymore but finally agrees to accompany Yukio to Japan. At Yashida’s home, Logan observes the man’s granddaughter Mariko tending him. While speaking with Yashida, Logan takes note of bottles of a blue liquid and a striking blonde puttering about the lab. Yashida offers Logan immortality. Logan’s ability to heal might be passed on to others. Yashida says he fears for his family’s safety, especially Mariko. Logan learns from Yukio that she was taken in by the family years ago. Again Logan dreams of Jean, who wonders why he turned down the old man’s request. but it’s really the blonde above him, kissing him, and when she pushes off he begins choking. Yashida dies and a large funeral takes place, but Yakuza attack and try to kidnap Mariko. Many are slain by an archer on the roof, and while Logan puts a hurt on many, he experiences injuries that in the past wouldn’t have meant anything. He does, however, rescue Mariko and they take a bullet train south. on the way Logan fights off more Yakuza. standing in the rain on a hotel balcony, he sees Jean again and falls insensible, waking at Mariko’s veterinarian friend’s office. the bullets have been removed from his flesh. “she did this to me,” he mutters about the blonde woman. the she is on his trail as is the archer, Mariko’s childhood friend Harada. Logan and Mariko take a bus to her home further south. she says that in three days her grandfather’s will is to be read and she will become the most powerful person in Japan. this obviously pisses off her father shingen. Logan helps move a tree that fell in the road and later walks along the water with Mariko. He realizes the circular manhole on the path covers the cell in which he was confined during the war and recalls that day of death. the young Yashida had implored Logan to kill him with his samurai sword, using both hands, but Logan declined to kill the young man. “Keep it safe. Keep it safe for me. someday i’ll come get it.” When they climbed from the pit later, they saw fiery destruction across the bay in nagasaki. What devilish instrument could have caused that? back in the present, Mariko asks, “Who’s Jean?” that night Logan and Mariko make love but later Logan sees Jean in the bed. “Who’s Jean? is she like you?” asks Mariko. “she died. i killed her.” in tokyo, Yukio suddenly wakes up. Logan too wakes and finds Mariko being dragged away. Yukio arrives and Logan has her drive him to Mariko’s fiancée, noburo, Minister of Justice. before confronting the corrupt man, Logan is told by Yukio that she’s foreseen Logan’s death and she’s never wrong. she’s seen him holding his heart in his hand. Logan intimidates noburo and learns that Yashida had stockpiled adamantium at his compound in the north. Logan throws noburo off the balcony into a pool far below. Mariko is confronted by her father and told about recessive genes and how whatever she got was more important to Yashida.

346 • X-Men: Days of Future Past Yakuza attack under Harada’s leadership. Viper, the blonde, appears, and licks shingen, causing him to convulse and stumble into the pool. Logan and Yukio arrive and find a note, “Come And Get Her.” Logan observes the blue liquid and lies on the operating table, using a remote to turn on monitors and identify a spider-like device constricting his heart. He uses his claws to remove it even as shingen engages in a sword fight with Yukio, who is knocked unconscious. Logan heals in time to ward off and kill shingen. followed by Yukio, Logan drives a motorcycle to Yashida’s birthplace 500 kilometers away. Logan brushes off Harada but can’t make it to Muriko due to the multitude of arrows Harada and his men shoot into his back, especially a poisoned one. Viper taunts Logan, constrained by unbreakable metal bonds, and reveals her mutant powers: internal toxins and immunity to same. infuriated, Logan’s claws emerge. Just what she wanted. Harada tells Mariko that they can use the Viper woman for their own ends. Logan breaks free as an immense samurai robot goes on the rampage. Harada shoots Viper with an arrow and she falls down the shaft but survives and pulls out the arrow. the giant samurai cuts off Logan’s right claws. Viper temporarily blinds Logan by spitting Svetlana Khodchenkova and Hugh Jackman, The Wolverine (20th Century–Fox, 2013). on him. Yukio takes on Viper. Harada enters the dr. Xavier and Magneto, who inform him that his services are needed fray but is killed by the samurai monster. Using two hands as Yashida to fend off a great threat. had advised so many years before, Logan wields a large sword to cut review: SciFiNow found it fun and silly but with a “delicate balance the head off the samurai. together, they fall further into the shaft. of respect for the source and the convention of the genre,…” with “an Yukio strangles Viper with a hose. the samurai robot is actually unlikely, heart-wrenching emotional punch.” ( James Hoare, www. Yashida, who attempts to suck out Logan’s healing energy but is scifinow.co.uk, July 17, 2013); The Washington Post considered it “A thwarted by Mariko throwing a blade into her grandfather’s head, then refreshing cocktail of action-movie staples,…” that “goes down super another into his throat. He stumbles away and Logan pushes him into smooth but packs a punch,…” (Michael o’sullivan, Washington Post, the shaft. Collapsing, Logan sees Jean, who wonders if he can stay, July 25, 2013). she’s all alone. Logan replies that she was hurting people, he had to Analysis: some of the X-Men movies’ appeal lies in the balance bekill her. “i love you, Jean. i always will.” she fades away. At the airport tween daylight and nighttime venues. Here Japanese exteriors benefit Logan kisses Mariko and says he must go, he’s a soldier. Yukio accomthe saga. the atom bombing of nagasaki is something we’ve rarely if panies him. two Years Later: At airport security, Logan is met by both ever seen in a commercial film. An unusual cinema occurrence: two leading ladies and that doesn’t count Viper. More unusual still: both survive! Jackman is of course key to the whole deal. the fight on top of the bullet train is very exciting. An in-depth examination of the filming of that sequence would be fascinating. depending on one’s mood, the arrows that make Logan a human porcupine could engender chuckles. Laughter is certainly caused by Logan’s bath and a couple one-liners, as when he tosses noburo off the balcony into the pool he didn’t know was there. it’s just a tad long. deletion of about 10 minutes would have benefited the film, starting with the finale and battle between Logan and the giant samurai.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

(20th Century–fox/Marvel entertainment, 2014; 131 min.) ★★★½

Rila Fukushima, The Wolverine (20th Century–Fox, 2013).

Produced by Lauren shuler donner, bryan singer, simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by simon Kinberg. story by Jane Goldman, simon Kinberg, Mathew Vaughn. based on Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont, John byrne. edited by John ottman. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. Color by

X-Men: Days of Future Past • 347 fotokem. Music by John ottman. Production design, John Myhre. Art direction, Michele Laliberte. set decoration, Gordon sim, Ann smart. Costumes by Louise Mingehbach. special Visual effects and Character Animation by digital domain. Visual effects and Animation by rhythm & Hues. Visual effects by MPC, Cinesite, rising sun Pictures, Mokko studio (HY*drAU”LX), Method studios, Animal Logic VfX. Cast: Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Professor X (Patrick stewart), Magneto (ian McKellen), erik Lehnsherr (Michael fassbender), Charles Xavier ( James McAvoy), raven/Mystique ( Jennifer Lawrence), storm (Halle berry), Kitty Pryde (ellen Page), dr. bolivar trask (Peter dinklage), rogue (Anna Paquin), Hank/beast (nicholas Hoult), bobby/iceman (shawn Ashmore), Jean Grey (famke Janssen), bishop (omar sy), Peter/Quicksilver (evan Peters), Major bill stryker ( Josh Helman), Colossus (daniel Cudmore), blink (bingbing fan), Warpath (booboo stewart), sunspot (Adan Canto), Havok (Lucas till), toad (evan Jonigkeit), scott summers ( James Marsden), President nixon (Mark Camacho). Synopsis: in the future, mutants and the humans who assist them are targeted for extermination by large humanoids known as sentinels. Kitty Pryde’s cohort beneath Moscow engage in a desperate battle with the sentinels while Pryde herself uses time and consciousness warps to evade them and find dr. Charles Xavier and erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, in China. After hearing of Pryde’s ability to send someone back in time, Logan volunteers to undertake the hazardous missions: first, to survive the transition, and second, to locate the younger Charles and erik and convince them that they must create a new future. Logan feels his healing ability will enable him to survive a journey that would normally tear one X-Men: Days of Future Past poster art (20th Century–Fox, 2014). apart. the basic mission is to locate raven, aka Mystique, and prevent her from assassinating dr. as a Vietnamese general to get the goods on trask, who’s attempting bolivar trask. the attempted assassination has resulted in Mystique’s to sell sentinel technology to the Vietnamese. on their plane to Paris, capture and analysis of her dnA that led to improvement in the senerik tells Charles he did not assassinate JfK. rather, he tried to save tinels’ power. Logan makes the jump to 1973 and finds the dilapidated him because JfK was a mutant. erik tries to shoot Mystique but she Xavier manse, no longer a home for gifted youngsters. Unsuccessfully escapes from a window. nevertheless, erik bends the bullet and it hits trying to prevent Logan from entering, Hank turns into the beast. A her in the leg. With help from beast, she manages to escape. President disheveled Charles appears and gives Logan a cursory hearing. He exnixon learns more about the mutants and permits trask to go ahead plains that the school closed during the Vietnam War when many stuwith his sentinel program. erik tracks the prototype sentinels with dents and teachers were drafted. Charles can now walk because of a the goal of controlling them. Charles, Hank and Logan return to the special serum but using it has dulled his telepathic abilities. As for Westchester mansion, and Logan convinces Charles to forego his erik, he’s locked up in a metal-free cell beneath the Pentagon. His serum even as he loses his power to walk. they enter dusty Cerebro crime: assassinating President Kennedy. Charles finally agrees to help and Charles dons the helmet that might help him locate Mystique, Logan and they locate Peter Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, who can transbut this first time in years he is unsuccessful. A second try connects port himself from one spot to the other at the speed of light. He frees him to his future self via Logan. He is rejuvenated in his desire to work erik. over in saigon, Mystique masquerades as a Colonel and rescues for peace. Meanwhile, erik has tracked the train carrying the sentinels some mutants William stryker intended using for his own nefarious to d.C. and used metal tracks to infuse the sentinels in secret. Via purposes. back in d.C., Mystique masquerades as trask to scan docCerebro, Charles locates Mystique in an airport and uses others in uments in his office. At the Paris Peace Accords between the U.s. and the terminal to tell her she must come to Charles. finally Charles north Vietnam, Logan, Hank, erik and Charles find Mystique posing

348 • X-Men: Apocalypse makes himself appear, but Mystique is recalcitrant and adamant that she must kill trask. erik goes to the Pentagon and retrieves the helmet that blocks anyone from controlling his mind. in the future the sentinels locate the last mutant leadership in China. Logan, Charles and Hank arrive at the White House for President nixon’s unveiling of the original sentinels. Charles finally identifies Mystique as a secret service man and gets into her head and freezes her. but when erik, who’d caused a nearby baseball stadium to levitate from its moorings and encircle the White House, arrives in full helmet and cap regalia, the connection between Mystique and Charles is broken as Charles is pinned under falling metal. erik turns the sentinels loose. Mystique enters the White House with other agents and descends to the President’s hidden chamber. trask’s mutant detector determines that there’s one in the cube, but erik uses his powers to keep the weapons from being used on Mystique. to keep Logan off his back, erik tosses him into the Potomac. the future X-Men have been found by the sentinels and with storm in advance, use their powers to slow them down, and the future erik creates a metal door through which the sentinels must go to reach Kitty and Logan. back in d.C., erik pulls the President’s protective cube from the White House. Mystique as nixon emerges and shoots erik in the neck with a non-metal gun. Charles persuades Mystique not to kill trask and the future is saved in the nick of time. Mystique and erik go their separate ways. trask is arrested. Logan wakes up several decades later at Charles’s school. He’s discombobulated to find scott, Jean, storm and other X-Men in residence. in Charles’ study, Logan learns that he too is a teacher. Charles seems to understand what’s happened and says, “Welcome back,” and wonders what’s the last thing Logan remembers. it’s 1973 and stryker has had Logan’s body lifted from the Potomac. in the distant past, as a large crowd chants below, a hooded figure atop a sand dune generates a gigantic pyramid. Reviews: USA Today said the “multigenerational cast is slyly funny and thoroughly compelling.” the film was both a spectacle and “powerfully emotional.” (Claudia Puig, USA Today, May 22, 2014, Life 5d); the News Journal called it “a smart movie, a treat for fans of the comics and the franchise.” About the only flaw was the lack of “witty banter…” à la The Avengers (bill Goodykoontz/Gannett news service, News Journal [Wilmington, de], May 23, 2014, p. 3); slate.com found the casting in even small parts worth commending. More impressive than the action scenes were “the intimate exchanges between flawed and fragile characters who experience their genetic difference and rejection by society as a source of both pride and shame.” (dana stevens, slate.com, May 22, 2014, 1:43 pm); Cinefantastique Online called it “the most astoundingly okay movie so far this year.” time travel rules were appropriately presented, but continuity with its predecessors was awful. still and all, “Lots of stuff happens; some of it is fun;…” (steve biodrowski, www.cinefantastiqueonline.com, May 24, 2014); Analysis: Almost everyone gets good time in an only mildly incomprehensible story bouncing back from the present to 1973 and forward to … and then during the final credits back to ancient egyptian times.

X-Men: Apocalypse

(20th Century–fox/Marvel entertainment, 2016; 144 min.) ★★★

Produced by simon Kinberg, bryan singer, Hutch Parker, Lauren shuler donner. directed by bryan singer. screenplay by simon Kinberg. story by bryan singer, simon Kinberg, Michael dougherty, dan

Harris. edited by Michael Louis Hill, John ottman. director of Photography, newton thomas sigel. color. Music by John ottman. Production design, Grant Major. Art direction, ravi bansal, Veronique Meunier. set decoration, Anne Kuljian. Costumes by Louise Mingenbach. Visual effects by MPC, rising sun Pictures, Cinesite, raynault, [HY*drAU”LX], Mels studios. special Visual effects and Character Animation by digital domain. Cast: dr. Charles Xavier ( James McAvoy), erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael fassbender), raven/Mystique ( Jennifer Lawrence), en sabah nur/Apocalypse (oscar isaac), Moira Mactaggert (rose byrne), Jean Grey (sophie turner), Hank McCoy/beast (nicholas Hoult), Peter/Quicksilver (evan Peters), scott summers/Cyclops (tye sheridan), ororo Munroe/storm (Alexandra shipp), Kurt Wagner/nightcrawler (Kodi-smit McPhee), betsy braddock (olivia Munn), death (Monique Ganderton), Alex summers/Havok (Lucas till), stryker ( Josh Helman), Jubilation Lee/Jubilee (Lana Condor), Plague (rochelle okoye), Warren Worthington iii/Angel (ben Hardy), Caliban (tomas Lemarquis), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Synopsis: the nile Valley, 3600 bC: en sabah nur’s transference to a new body is compromised when rebels destroy the temple and he is buried. ohio, 1983: At Wedgwood High school, scott bandages his eyes lest they blaze forth and destroy whatever’s in front of him. east berlin: the Angel of death takes on all comers in a steel cage match. raven arrives to rescue Kurt Wagner, aka nightcrawler, from having to finish a fight. in Pruzkow, Poland, erik Lehnsherr has made a new life for himself in a foundry. He has a wife and young daughter. back in Westchester, nY at dr. Xavier’s school for Gifted Youngsters, Alex summers introduces his brother scott to Hank McCoy, who tries to assure scott that his affliction can be controlled. in Cairo, CiA agent Moira Mactaggert enters an underground chamber where some citizens are chanting and barely escapes an earthquake whose tremors are perceived worldwide. en sabah nur has arisen. At his job, erik has used his power to stop a co-worker from being crushed. other employees observe this and in the woods confront him with a newspaper article showing him as Magneto, a wanted mutant. by accident the man with a bow looses his arrow that kills erik’s wife and daughter. erik uses a locket to kill them all. back in Cairo, en sabah nur saunters about, observing the strange citizenry. He enlists the thief ororo into his corps of mutants. When his wings are fixed, Angel joins, as does the sword-wielding betsy, aka Psylocke. en sabah nur’s goal is to destroy the contemporary world in order to improve it. At the school, scott is fitted with glasses that keep his eye rays from causing havoc. Meanwhile, erik intends killing his co-workers for it was they who informed on him, but en sabah nur arrives and does the deed for him before taking erik to Auschwitz, where erik’s parents were murdered. fed up with humanity as it is, erik joins en sabah nur. Watching Cnn on tV, Peter sees erik’s photo as Magneto. raven, aka Mystique, and Hank meet Moira, who’s been brainwashed by Charles Xavier to not remember she ever knew these folks. realizing that the earth tremors portend something bad and knowing erik is on the run, Xavier, Mystique, Hank and Moira witness Charles try to locate erik via Cerebro. en sabah nur strikes, entering Charles’ mind who then contacts military personnel around the world and forces them to launch all their nuclear missiles—but not at each other, rather sending them into space. Humanity under en sabah nur’s tutelage can start clean, and he won’t have to worry about a nuclear strike on himself. finally Charles regains a semblance of consciousness, but en sabah nur kidnaps him. However, Peter arrives and saves the children, a dog and even the goldfish from the death and destruction en sabah nur is visiting upon the school. Alex has presumably been lost in the collapse.

X-Men: Apocalypse • 349 A military helicopter arrives under the command of Colonel stryker, who manages to incapacitate Mystique, Hank, Peter and Moira. but nightcrawler, Peter and scott gain access to the chopper and thus to the mountain fortress where their friends are incarcerated. in egypt, Charles tries to convince erik that there is a better way than mass destruction. even as en sabah nur again invades his mind, Charles uses his powers to send a message to all. still, en sabah nur says the day of reckoning is here. With the help of a heretofore-imprisoned man Jean seems to know (Logan), Mystique, Peter, Hank, nightcrawler, scott and Moira pilot a special jet in search of Charles. en sabah nur provides erik, aka Magneto, with a new helmet. He begins to raise metal from the seabed and from the land, soon destroying bridges and skyscrapers. in a new pyramid, Charles is prepared for transference. Mystique and Hank arrive. nightcrawler is to enter the pyramid and rescue Charles while Mystique and Peter try to talk Magneto out of continuing the destruction. Peter does not tell him he’s his son. Mystique, scott and Hank battle with ororo, aka storm, and Psylocke. nightcrawler manages to dislodge Angel and rescue Charles before the transference can be completed. but en sabah nur still has power, which he needs to combat erik and storm, who’ve turned on the monster mutant, but they need Jean to draw forth her great mental powers to destroy him. Magneto helps rebuild Charles’ school before bidding

goodbye once more. Mystique begins a course of instruction for the new recruits. Reviews: the News Journal noted that internal dissension has been a staple of the year’s superhero movies, witness Batman v. Superman and Captain America: Civil War. Unfortunately, X-Men didn’t capture the magic of the latter. nevertheless, the excellent special effects and scope made it fun (sandy Cohen/Associated Press, News Journal 55HOURSPLUS [Wilmington, de], May 27, 2016, p. 4Hr); Entertainment Weekly thought the franchise had taken a step backward. it was “a confused, kitchen-sink mess….” the “halfhearted mediocrity just isn’t enough to cut it anymore” (Chris nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, June 3/10, 2016, p. 93); Time thought the special effects overwhelmed cast and story and was not up to its predecessor, X-Men: Days of Future Past. And where exactly was the bloodshed amidst the carnage? ( John Anderson, Time, June 6, 2016, p. 61). Analysis: Moral of the movie: the big bad guy should trust no one. Most compelling scene: Peter rescuing Xavier’s students from the collapsing, burning school to the tune of 1983’s “sweet dreams (Are Made of this)” by the eurythmics. funniest scene: nightcrawler having his passport photo taken. Jackman’s Wolverine makes a cameo appearance, which by that time was a surprise.

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Email Warren Hope to author, April 29, 2016 [re: Rollerball].

Websites www.boxoffice.com http://brightlightsfilm.com www.chicagoreader.com www.chud.com www.cinemaretro.com www.filmthreat.com www.hollywoodgothique.com www.hollywoodreporter.com www.moviecrypt.com www.rogerebert.com www.rottentomatoes.com www.theguardian.com

INDEX Numbers in bold italics indicate pages with illustrations Aarniokoski, Douglas 130 Abbey, Kona (dogs) 176 Abbott, Bud 156, 157 Abel, Jake 218, 220 Aboutboul, Alon Moni 26 Abraham, F. Murray 272, 295 Abrahams, Jon 249 Abrams, J.J. 51, 274, 275, 276, 282 The Absent-Minded Professor 5, 75 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 27 Acevedo, Kirk 232 Achour, Mouloud 50 Ackerman, Chris 61 Acosta, Eric 59 The Actor’s Life: Journals, 1957– 1976 176 Adams, Amy 28, 205, 287, 289 Adams, Enid-Raye 86 Adams, Jane 233 Adams, Maud 247 Adamson, Andrew 45, 46, 47 The Addams Family 63 Addy, Mark 301 Ade, Melyssa 94 Adkins, Scott 324 Adler, Robert 161 Adoti, Raz 238 Aduramo, Israel 83 Advertising Standards Authority 89 Affleck, Ben 28, 60 Aghdashloo, Shohreh 276 Aguilera, Christina 182 Aguillard, Brendan 88 Aguillard, William 88 Agutter, Jenny 17, 37 Agyeman-Bediako, Nana 262 Ahmed, Riz 283 Ainger, Indira 335 Air, Donna 200 Airlie, Andrew 86 Ajuala, Hezron 172 Akdenz, Deniz 91 Akhtar, Adeel 223 Akinnagbe, Gbenga 146 Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adewale 28, 200, 293, 298 Akon, Philip 179 Alba 30 Alba, Jessica 84 Alberoni, Sherry 104 Albertson, Jack 329

Angus, Kristi 94 Angus, Forbes 86 Ankers, Evelyn 334 Annabelle 56–57, 124 Anozie, Nonzo 48, 53, 204, 223 Ant-Man 14 Antal, Nimród 233 Anthony, Carmelo 289 Anthony, Emjay 72 Anthony, Lysette 76 Appleton, Rachel 171 Arahanga, Julian 189 Arenburg, Lee 226, 227, 228 Argento, Asia 208 Arias, Yancey 301 Arkin, Adam 107, 108 Arlovski, Andrei 324 Armitage, Richard 36, 130, 132, 133 Armstrong, Alun 78 Armstrong, Amber 214 Armstrong, Vic 180 Arnett, Will 289 Arnold, Tom 15 Arquette, Alexis 43 Ash, Erica 252 Ashanti 239 Ashby, Linden 197 Ashmore, Shawn 339, 341, 347 Aslan, Gregoire 105 Assante, Armand 163 Astin, John 93 Astin, Sean 181, 183, 185 Aston, David 320 Astor, Andrew 149 Aterton, Gemma 50 Atkins, Essence 123, 124 Atkins, Scott 75 Atkins, Tom 80 Atkins, Tommy 89 atom bombing of Nagasaki 346 Attenborough, Richard 165, 166 Atwal, Tanveer K. 192 Atwell, Hayley 14, 20, 36, 37, 48 August, Pernilla 277, 278 Austin, Phil 88 Austin Powers in Goldmember 16– 17 Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 15 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 15–16 Avari, Erick 60, 199, 230

Alcazar, Damian 46 Aldrin, Buzz 307 Ales, John 74 Alexander 61 Alexander, James 156, 157 Alexander, Jane 244, 292 Alexander, John 195 Alexander, Katherine 68 Ali, Mahershala 142, 143, 233 Alice, Mary 192 Alice in Wonderland 5–7 Alice Through the Looking Glass 7 Alien 13, 263 Alien: Resurrection 7–9, 88 Aliens 166, 169, 263 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem 10 Allam, Roger 229, 335 Allegiant 72–73 Allen, Brady 216 Allen, Joan 68 Allen, Karen 147, 148 Allen, Kristen 88 Allen, Nancy 40, 43 Allen, Rex 5 Allen, Tanya 254 Allen, Tim 253 Allen, Woody 79 Alverez, Fede 81 The Amazing Spider-Man 268– 269 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 269, 270, 271 Ameche, Don 5 Ameen, Ami 193 Amell, Stephen 289 Amendola, Tony 56 “American Gothic” 205 Amicus (film studio) 178 The Amityville Horror (2005) 13, 58 Amityville: The Awakening 13 Anaya, Elena 78 Anderson, Anthony 251, 304 Anderson, Gillian 24, 337, 338 Anderson, Leona 134 Anderson, Pamela 251 Anderson, Paul 197, 237 Anderson, Paul W.S. 9, 68, 240 Anderson, Sam 213 Anderson, Stanley 264 Andress, Ursula 49 Andrews, David 291 Andrews, Naveen 248

353

The Avengers 14, 17–19, 29, 153, 299 The Avengers: Age of Ultron 19–21, 84, 178 AVP: Alien vs. Predator 9–10 Aycox, Nicki 160, 338 Ayer, David 28 Aykroyd, Dan 99 Aylesworth, Reiko 10 Ayola, Rakie 164 Azaria, Hank 205, 206 Azhar, Anjini Taneja 275 B movie 166, 177 Baccarin, Morena 65, 66 Bacharach, Burt 15 Backus, Jim 223 Bacon, Kevin 344 Badalementi, Peter D. 289 Badreya, Sayed 152 Baer, Buddy 156, 258 Baharov, Zachary 324 Bahr, Iris 173 Bailie, David 227, 228 Baird, Peter 137 Baird, Stuart 273 Bakaitis, Helmut 191, 192 Baker, Christopher James 236 Baker, Diane 161 Baker, Dylan 265, 266 Baker, Kenny 279, 281 Baker, Ray 301 Baker, Rick 74, 334 Baker, Sala 181 Baker, Simon 208, 209, 245 Bakshi, Ralph 180 Baldwin, Adam 144 Bale, Christian 22, 23, 24, 292 Balk, Fairuza 155 Ball, Wes 193, 194 Ballard, Jianna 251 Ballard, Kaye 93 Bana, Eric 137, 274 Bancroft, Anne 76 Banks, Boyd 94, 208 Banks, Elizabeth 140, 141,143, 143, 144, 264, 266 Banks, Tyra 108 Barbeau, Adrienne 80, 81, 89, 90, 91, 163 Barbuscia, Lisa 130 Bargen, Daniel Von 323 Barhom, Ashraf 50

354 • Index Barinholtz, Ike 28 Barker, Clive 129 Barker, Lucy May 335 Barlow, Patrick 293 Barnes, Ben 47 Barnes, Hebe 203 Barnes, Walter 223 Barnes, Zinnia 203 Barran, Bob 299 Barrett, Majel 273 Barrie, Christopher 171, 172 Barrier, Edgar 258 Barry, Gene 325, 327 Bart, Roger 285 Bartel, Wendy 66 Bartlett, Cal 223 Bartram, Kenny “Cowboy Kenny” 84 Baruchel, Jay 206, 246 Basco, Dante 221 Bassett, Michael J. 255 Basso, Annalise 213 Bastoni, Steve 191 Bastrup, Wayne 293 Bates, Kathy 65 Bates, Michael 30 Bateson, Timothy 116 Batman and Robin 21–22 Batman Begins 22–24, 139, 268 Batman films 268 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 28, 100, 147 Battle, Texas 87 Bautista, Dave 103, 243 Bavier, Frances 63 Baxter, Jennifer 208 Bay, Michael 211, 213, 304, 305, 307 Bayer, Samuel 210 Beach, Adam 28 Beach, Michael 149 Beals, Jennifer 101 Bean, Andy 72 Bean, Sean 181, 218, 254, 255, 259 Beattie, Stuart 91 Beauty and the Beast (fairytale) 158 Beck, John 247 Beck, Steve 295 Beckinsale, Kate 78, 302, 303, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321 Bedazzled (1967) 30–31 Bedazzled (2000) 31 Beddoe, Don 157 Begley, Ed, Jr. 99 Behr, Jason 100 Belcher, Laurence 344 Belcher, Patricia 159 Belkin, Zoe 42 Bell, Ashley 42, 173, 174, 214 Bell, Don 86 Bell, Emma 88 Bell, Jamie 85, 169 Bell, John 51, 133 Bell, Marshall 301 Bell, Nicholas 91 Bella, Rachael 244 Bellamy, Ned 312 Bellamy, Ralph 334 Bellar, Clara 83 Belle, Camilla 166 Bello, Maria 201 Belluci, Monica 191, 192 Benjamin, Eric 151

Benko, Tina 17 Bennett, Eliza 203 Bennett, Jimmy 13, 274 Bennett, Manu 130, 132, 133 Bensen, Carle 66 Benson, Martin 104 Bentley, Tony 173 Bentley, Wes 97, 140, 224, 321 Berges-Frisbey, Astrid 229 Bergin, Patrick 178 Bergl, Emily 41, 42 Berkeley, Xander 323 Berlinger, Joe 35 Bernet, Chopper 291 Bernstein, Leonard 183 Bernthal, Jon 205 Berrington, Elizabeth 203 Berry, Halle 339, 340, 341, 347 Berry, Jadagrace 292 Berry, Raymond 5 Best, Ahmed 277, 279, 281 Best, Leanne 336 Best, Owen 309 Bestwick, Allen 188 Bettany, Paul 17, 20, 39, 152, 153, 154 Bettoia, Franca 174 Beverly Hills 90210 (TV) 341 Bibb, Leslie 152 Biel, Jessica 33, 34, 302 Bierend, David 214 Bierk, Dylan 94 Bierko, Craig 251 Bierman, Erika 141 The Big Bang Theory (TV) 49 Biggerstaff, Sean 111 Bill, Leo 6, 7 Billingsley, Peter 152 Billington, Stephen 237 Birch, Paul 326 The Birds 239 Birmingham, Gil 312, 313, 314, 315 Bishara, Joseph 55, 57, 149, 150 Bissell, Whit 299 Bisutti, Danielle 149 Bittner, Lauren 215 Bjelac, Predrag (aka Pedja Bjelac) 46, 211 Bjørnlund, Carsten 293 Black, Claudia 241 Black, Jack 106, 169, 171 Black, Lucas 337 Black, Shane 154 The Black Swan 253 Blackmore, Elizabeth 81 Blackwell, Rus 324 Blade 31–32 Blade: Trinity 33–34 Blade II 32–33 Blair, Selma 90, 126, 127, 128 Blair Witch 36 The Blair Witch Project 34–35, 174, 249, 337 Blair Witch Project 2 see Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2 Blanc, Mel 156 Blanchard, Rachel 41 Blanchett, Cate 48, 49, 130, 132, 133, 147, 171, 181, 183, 185 Blaney, Tim 196 Blasi, Rosa 100 Blessed, Brian 277 Bliss, Ian 191, 192

Bloodgood, Moon 292 Bloom, Claire 7, 49, 124, 126 Bloom, Orlando 132, 133, 181, 182, 183, 185, 226, 227, 228 Blu (dog) 207 Blunt, Emily 106, 262, 334 Boath, Freddie 200 Bobbin, James 7 Boen, Earl 291 Bohne, Bruce 207 Boland, Brian 214, 215 Boland, Joanne 208 Bollner, Michael 329 Bond, Jackson 151 Bonner, Maria 232, 324 Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2 35–36 Booke, Sorrell 93 Boone, Pat 161 Booth, Lindy 207 Boothe, Powers 17 Bored of the Rings (novel) 180 Borgnine, Ernest 80 Borrachero, Alicia 46 Boseman, Chadwick 39 The Boss 100 Bosworth, Kate 286 Botsford, Sara 90 Bottin, Rob 89 Bourne, JR 295 Boutella, Sofia 276 Bova, Raoul 9 Bower, Jamie Campbell 313, 316 Bowker, Judi 49, 51 Bowman, Rob 61, 337 Boxleitner, Bruce 308, 309 Boyce, Gregory Tyree 312 Boyd, Billy 44, 181, 183, 185 Boyd, Lynda 86 Boyega, John 282 Boyle, Lara Flynn 196 Boyle, Peter 263 Braddy, Johanna 215 Bradley, David 82, 111, 112, 116 Bradley, Doug 129 Braff, Zach 332 Braga, Alice 176, 233 Bram Stoker’s Dracula 298 Branagh, Kenneth 112, 296 Brand, Neville 84 Brand, Steven 202 Brando, Marlon 155, 156, 286 Brandon, Henry 326 Brandon, Michael 36 Bratt, Benjamin 75 Braugher, Andre 84, 85 Braun, Nicholas 233 Braun, Samuel 220 Braunstein, Paul 293 Breck, Jonathan 159, 160 Bremner, Ewan 9 Brennan, Eileen 159 Brent, Laura 47 Breslin, Spencer 253 Brest, Martin 69 Brevig, Eric 161 Bride of Chucky 43–44 Bridges, Jeff 152, 308, 309 Briem, Anita 161 Briers, Richard 222, 223 Bright, Cameron 316, 341 Bringelson, Mark 177 Britton, Connie 210 Broadbent, Jim 45, 118, 120, 147

Brocksmith, Roy 301 Broderick, Matthew 285 Brodie-Sangster, Thomas 193, 194; see also Sangster, Thomas Brody, Adrien 169, 171, 233, 234 Brogger, Ivar 56 Brolin, James 14, 24 Brolin, Josh 103, 196 Brolly, Shane 317, 318, 320 Bron, Eleanor 30 Brooks, Mel 76, 79 Brooks, Richard 59 Brophy, Jed 130, 132, 133 Brosnan, Pierce 177, 218 Brothers Strause 10 Brown, Adam 130, 132, 133 Brown, Barbara 156 Brown, Billy 47, 52 Brown, Clancy 5, 210 Brown, Jessica 215, 217, 218 Brown, R. Nelson 90 Brown, Ralph 82, 83 Browning, Chris 292 Bruhl, Daniel 39 Bruno, Dylan 41 Bryan, Zachery Ty 41 Bryant, Gene 281 Bryant, Karis Paige 323 Brydon, Rob 262 Bryniarski, Andrew 248 Brynner, Yul 259 Bubbs, Kim 293 Buck (dog) 331 Buckley, Betty 40 Budinger, Michael 303 Buffett, Jimmy 168 Bull, Peter 105 Bullock, Sandra 289 Bundy, Brooke 140 Bundy, Bruce 141 Buono, Carla 137 Burger, Neil 70 Burgi, Richard 95 Burke, Billy 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Burke, Kathy 223 Burke, Simon 241 Burke, Walter 157 Burkholder, Max 234 Burns, Megan 310 Burrell, Ty 138, 207 Burroughs, Jackie 328 Burton, LeVar 271, 272, 273 Burton, Tim 6, 7, 24, 61, 196, 230, 231, 330 Buscemi, Steve 81 Bushell, Matt 312 Butler, Gerard 77, 172 Butler, Tom 209 Butterfield, Asa 204, 334 Butterworth, Stephen 81 Buttons, Red 223 Buzzi, Ruth 93 Byrne, P.J. 88 Byrne, Rose 149, 278, 311, 344, 348 Byrnes, Jim 130 Caan, James 247 Cabin in the Woods 253 Cabot, Sebastian 299 Cabral, Richard 217 Cage, Nicolas 97–99, 180 Caine, Michael 16, 22, 24, 26, 162 Calderon, Jose 195

Index • 355 Callas, Charlie 223 Callen, John 130, 132, 133 Caltagirone, Daniel 172 Camacho, Mark 347 Camargo, Christian 315 Camelot 106 Cameron, Kirk 179 Campanella, Roberto 255 Campbell, Bruce 81, 264, 265, 266, 268 Campbell, Chuck 94 Campbell, Conchita 251 Campbell, Josh 46 Campbell, Kayla 41 Campbell, Marvin 311 Campo, Bobby 88 “Candle on the Water” (song) 224 Cannavale, Bobby 14 Cannes Film Festival (2001) 304 Cannibal Holocaust 34 Canning, James 89 Cannon, Danny 163 Cannon, Nick 196 Canto, Adan 347 Caplan, Lizzy 52 Captain America: Civil War 28, 236, 271 Captain America: The First Avenger 36–37, 84 Captain America: The Winter Soldier 14, 37–39, 40, 84, 236 Carano, Gina 65 Caravaggio, Curtis 313 Carbonell, Nestor 24, 26 Cardellini, Linda 20 Carlin, George 251 Carpenter, John 80, 81, 89, 90, 110, 243, 294 Carpenter, Kathryn 51 Carradine, David 66 Carradine, Robert 81 Carrie (1976) 40–41; see also The Rage: Carrie 2 Carrie (novel) 41 Carrie (2013) 42–43 Carroll, Diahann 176 Carry On series 224 Carson, Silas 281 Carson, T.C. 86 Carter, Chris 337, 338 Carter, Helena Bonham 6, 7, 48, 61, 62, 116, 118, 119, 120, 230, 231, 292, 330 Carter, Sarah 86 Cartwright, Crystal 214 Cartwright, Veronica 151, 250 Caruk, Lisa Marie 86 Caryle, Robert 311 Cash, Rosalind 175, 176 Cassidy, Joanna 101 Cassidy, Katie 210 Cassidy, Rachel 260 Castelitto, Sergio 46 Castellaneta, Dan 85 Castellanos, Vincent 59 Castle (TV) 78 Castle, William 136, 294 Castle-Hughes, Keisha 281 Caswell, Shanley 55 Cathey, Reg E. 85 Catlett, Kyle 233 Caucasian performers 223 Cave, Jessie 118, 120 Cavill, Henry 28, 287, 289

Cedric the Entertainer 123, 124 CGI 50, 138, 158, 177, 229, 294 Chabet, Alain 205 Chaffey, Don 223 Challen, Mairi Ella 6 Champion, Michael 301 Chandler, Kyle 65, 169 Chaney, Lon, Jr. 334 Changchien, Louis Ozawa 233 Chantery, Les 241 Chao, Rosalind 93 Chaplin, Geraldine 334 Chapin, Miles 137 Chaplin, Ben 48 Chappelle, Dave 74 Charles, Max 268, 269 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 330, 331 Charlton, Halle 213 Chase, Daveigh 244, 245 Chastain, Jessica 232, 262 Chatelain, Christine 86 Chatton, Charlotte 129 Chatwin, Justin 327 Chauvin, Lilyan 322 Cheadle, Don 20, 39, 153, 154 Checco, Al 223 Chen, Edison 101 Chen, Joan 163 Cherry, Jake 204 Cherry, Jonathan 86 Chester, Theodore 222 Chester, Vanessa Lee 166 Chiklis, Michael 84 Child’s Play see Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky China 38 Cho, John 129, 274, 275, 276, 302 Chon, Justin 312, 313, 314, 315 Chong, Marcus 189 Chou, Collin 191, 192 Christensen, Hayden 278, 280 Christie, Gwendoline 143 Christie, Julie 114 Christopher, John 311 Chronicles of Narnia (novels) 44 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 46–47 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 45– 46 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 47–48 The Chronicles of Riddick 242–243 C.H.U.D. 144 Church, Thomas Haden 266 Cinderella 48–49 Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV 303, 304 Claflin, Sam 141, 142, 142, 143, 229, 260, 262 Clapp, Gordon 41 Clark, Eugene 208 Clarke, Benedict 120 Clarke, Emilia 293 Clarke, Jason 68, 232 Clarke, Noel 275 Clarke, Sarah 312, 314 Clarkson, Patricia 193, 194 Clash of the Titans (1981) 49–50 Clash of the Titans (2010) 50–51 Classics Illustrated (comic book) Clay, Jamie 52 Cleese, John 65, 111, 112

Clemens, Adelaide 255, 256 Clement, Jemaine 196 Clements, Kennedi 233 Cleopatra (1963) 259 Cloke, Kristen 86 Clooney, George 21, 24 Close, Glenn 73, 103, 285 Cloverfield 51–52, 53 Coal Miner’s Daughter 41 Coates, Kim 239, 254 Cobbs, Bill 204, 206, 332 Coburn, James 74 Coco, Lea 258 Coe, George 284 Coe, Peter 258 Coffey, Colleen 177 Cogan, Shaye 156, 157 Cohan, Lauren 28 Cohen, Lynn 141 Cohen, Rob 201 Cohen, Sacha Baron 7 Cole, Gary 245 Cole, George 73 Cole, Julie Dawn 329 Cole, Lily 260 Coleman, Kari 268 Coleman, Raphael 203 Colin, Margaret 144 Collette, Toni 96, 97 Collins, Jack 223 Collins, Joan 7 Collins, Lily 259, 260 Collins, Lynn 342 Collins, Phil 221 Collins, Roberta 66 Collins, Suzanne 139, 312 Colloca, Silvia 78 Colombetti, Vivis 214 The Colossus of New York 209 Colter, Mike 196 Coltrane, Robbie 78, 111,112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Columbus, Chris 111, 112, 126, 207, 218, 219, 221 Combs, Jeffrey 136 comic books 341 Common 28, 292 Compton, Fay 124 Conan the Barbarian (2011) 53– 54 Conaway, Jeff 223 Condon, Bill 315, 316 The Conjuring 55–56, 58, 124, 149 The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist 57–58 Conley, Jack 235 Connell, Richard 141 Connelly, Jennifer 65, 137 Connery, Sean 225 Connick, Harry, Jr. 144 Connolly, Billy 106, 338 Connolly, Phoenix 81 Conquest of the Planet of the Apes 29 Conrad, Chris 198 Conrad, Johnny 156 Conroy, Frank 63 Conti, Tom 26 Contractor, Nazneen 275 Conway, Kevin 178 Coogan, Steve 204, 205, 206, 218 Cook, A.J. 86, 87 Cook, Elisha 134 Cook, Peter 30, 31

Cooke, Olivia 211, 212 Cookson, Sophie 262 Coolidge, Jennifer 129 Cooper, Blake 193 Cooper, Bradley 52, 103 Cooper, Camille 178 Cooper, Dominic 36, 79, 80 Cooper, Garry 324 Coppola, Sofia 277 Corbin, Jessica 265, 266 Corevi, Tony 174 Corman, Roger 66, 68 Cornish, Abbie 246 Cornish, Ben 252 Cornthwaite, Bob 325 Corraface, George 81 Cosmo, James 45 Costello, Lou 156, 157 Costner, Kevin 28, 287 Cotillard, Marion 26 Coto, Ana 211, 212 Cottrell, Mickey 129 Coulson, Christian 112 Coulter, Steve 55, 57, 149, 150 Courtland, Christi 174 Courtney, Jai 28, 29, 70, 72, 91, 293 Cousins, Christopher 101 Cover, Franklin 284 Cox, Brian 231, 244, 340 Cox, Nikki 74 Cox, Ronny 301 Craig, Carolyn 134 Craig, Daniel 152, 171, 172 Crane, Chilton 86 Cranston, Bryan 302 Crash 243 Craven, Matt 344 Crawford, Billy 83 Crawford, Eve 254 Creech, Don 344 Crew, Amanda 87 Crews, Terry 252 Criminal Minds (TV) 28, 87 Crockett, Affion 123, 124 Cromwell, James 263, 266, 268, 271 Cronenberg, David 94, 325 Cronin, Laurel 221 Cronin, Michael 334 Crook, Mackenzie 226, 227, 228 Cross, Ben 82, 274 Cross, David 195, 196, 250 The Crow 58–59, 60, 266 The Crow: City of Angels 59–60, 232 The Crow: Salvation 58 The Crow: Wicked Prayer 58 Crowe, Russell 287, 289 Cruise, Tom 16, 327 Crutchley, Rosalie 124 Cruz, Penelope 229 Cruz, Raymond 8 Cryer, Suzanne 52 Csengery, Chloe 215, 218 Csokas, Martin 6, 181, 185, 269 Cuaron, Alfonso 113 Cudmore, Alex 313, 315, 316 Cudmore, Daniel 340, 341, 347 Cullen, Brett 97 Cullen, Peter 304, 306 Cumberbatch, Benedict 75, 130, 132, 133, 262, 275 Cumming, Alan 340

356 • Index Cunningham, Colin 61 Cunningham, Liam 50, 201 Curnen, Monique Gabriela 24 Curran, Tony 225, 318 Currie, Gordon 179 Curry, Tim 250 Curry, Valerie 36 Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon) 53 Curtis, Jamie Lee 89, 90, 91, 93, 107, 108, 109 Cusack, Joan 63 Cusack, Sinéad 51 Cushing, Peter 283, 284 Cyphers, Charles 80, 89 Dacascos, Mark 155 Daddario, Alexandra 218, 220 D’Addario, Michael Hall 257 Daddy’s Home 100 Dafoe, Willem 264, 265, 266 Daft Punk 309 D’Agosto, Nicholas 88 Dahl, Arlene 161 Dale, Alan 37, 147 Dale, Jim 223 Dallas, Josh 296 Damak, Jazmin 317 Damm, Julianna 210 Dance, Charles 79, 80, 92, 99, 321 Danes, Claire 291 Danieli, Emma 174 Daniels, Anthony 279, 281, 282 Daniels, Jeff 72 Danner, Blythe 337 Danning, Sybil 108, 109 Darcey-Alden, Ellie 120 D’Arcy, James 82 Darden, Dexter 193, 194 The Dark Knight 24–26, 139 The Dark Knight Rises 26–27, 274 Dark Shadows 61–63 Dark Shadows (TV) 63 Darkman 266 Davalos, Alexa 50–51, 242, 243 Davalos, Dominique 137 Davenport, Jack 226, 227, 228 Davey-Fitzpatrick, Seamus 211 David, Angel 58 David, Keith 241, 242 David, Thayer 161 David-Jones, Joseph 72 Davidtz, Embeth 268, 269, 295 Davis, DeRay 90 Davis, Desmond 49 Davis, Hope 39 Davis, Kristin 162, 253 Davis, Rochelle 58 Davis, Sian 81 Davis, Viola 28 Davis, Warwick 46, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 120, 158 Davis, William B. 337 Davison, Bruce 329, 339, 340 Dawn of the Dead (2004) 207– 208 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 60, 231, 232 Dawson, Rosario 196, 218 Dawson, Stef 142 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) 63, 64, 309, 326 The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) 65

Daykin, Jennifer Rae 203 Deadpool 14, 65–66 Death Race (2008) 68 Death Race 2000 (1975) 66–68, 147 Death Takes a Holiday 68–69 Deaver, Kyla 55 De Bont, Jan 125, 172 DeCamp, Rosemary 294 Decou, Patricia 34 Deep Roy 276, 330 Degas, Rupert 82 DeHaan, Dane 269 Deila, Ingvild 283 Dekker, Thomas 210 Delaney, Simon 57 Delano, Diane 160 De la Rosa, Nelson 155 De la Tour, Frances 6, 7 Delauney, Guillaume 92 Delevingne, Cara 28, 29, 223 Delfino, Marieh 160 Delius, Frederick 183 Del Toro, Benecio 103, 298, 334 Del Toro, Guillermo 32, 126, 127 De Meza, Leilah 7 DeMonaco, James 234, 235, 236 Dempsey, Patrick 307 Dench, Judi 229, 242 Denisof, Alexis 17 Denney, Dodo 329 Dennings, Kat 296, 298 Denton, Will 97 DePalma, Brian 40 Depp, Johnny 6, 7, 61, 62, 63, 122, 123, 171, 226, 227, 228, 229, 330, 331 DeRita, Joe 258 Dern, Bruce 125 Dern, Laura 165, 167 Derrickson, Scott 65, 257 De Santis, Tony 179 DeVito, Danny 16 DeWitt, Rosemarie 233 Diakun, Alex 338 Diaz, Jorge 217 Dicker, Michaela 237 Die! Die! My Darling 141 Die Hard 249 Diehl, John 167 Dierkes, John 175 Diesel, Vin 103, 241, 242, 243 Digga, Rah 295 Diggs, Taye 136 Dillon, Matt 187 DiMaggio, John 306 Dinklage, Peter 46, 347 Dirani, Firass 242 Director, Kim 35 Dirisu, Sope 262 The Dirty Dozen 141 Disney 300, 310, 326 Disneyland 226, 227 Disneyworld 227 Divergent 70, 71, 85, 141 The Divergent Series: Ascendant 73 Djalili, Omid 199 Dobkin, Lawrence 63 Dobo, Kata 248 Doctor Strange 75–76, 262 Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors 178 Dodge City 334 Dodson, Major 180 Doe, John 41

Doherby, Aoife 335 Doig, Lexa 94 Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist 83–84 Donahue, Heather 34, 35 Donahue, Jocelin 149 Donahue, Troy 84 Donaldson, Roger 262 Donella, Chad E. 86 Donen, Stanley 30 D’Onofrio, Vincent 168, 169, 195, 257 Donovan, Jeffrey 35 Donovan, Martin 255 Dooley, Shaun 335 Dopud, Mike 248 Doran, Matt 189 Dorff, Stephen 31 Dorfman, David 244, 245 Dorian, Bob 82 Dormer, Natalie 36, 142, 143, 144 Dorn, Michael 271, 272, 273 Dotrice, Roy 127 Doubleday, Frank 80 Doubleday, Portia 42 Douglas, Andrew 13 Douglas, Michael 14 Dourdan, Gary 8 Dourif, Brad 8, 43, 44, 108, 110, 183 Down to Earth 129 Downes, Claire 203 Downey, Robert, Jr. 17, 20, 39, 152, 153, 154, 253, 254 Doyle-Murray, Brian 31 Drabble, Freddy 51 Drabinyan, Arthur 17 Dracula A.D. 1972 77 Dracula: Dead and Loving It 76– 77 Dracula 2000 77–78 Dracula: Untold Dredd 164, 165 Driver, Adam 282 Dryzek, Lucinda 226 Duchovny, David 337, 338, 339 Ducommun, Rick 249 Dudley, Olivie Taylor 218 Duel (TV movie) 160 Duffy, Thomas F. 166 Duhamel, Josh 304, 306, 307 Duke, Bill 341 Duncan, Lindsay 7 Duncan, Michael Clarke 60, 202, 230 Dune 243 Dunham, Stephen 216 Dunlop, Blair 330 Dunn, Colleen 285 Dunn, Connor 220 Dunn, Kevin 304, 306, 307 Dunsmore, Rosemary 301 Dunst, Kirsten 264, 265, 266, 267 Durand, Chris 107 Durand, Kevin 240, 342 Durden, Katrina 75 Dury, Ian 59 DuVall, Clea 100 Dyall, Vanentine 124 Dye, Dale 235 Dystopian set 141 Dzundza, George 263

Ealy, Michael 321 Earth vs. the Flying Saucers 328 Easterbrook, Leslie 108, 109 Easton, Sam 87 Eastwood, Jayne 207 Eastwood, Scott 28 Easy Street (The Hard Way) (book) 156 Eberl, Luke 230 Ebert, Roger 90 Eccleston, Christopher 298, 310 Eckhart, Aaron 24, 91 Edgerton, Joel 293 Edwards, Gareth 283 Edwards, Kenneth 197 Edwards, Luke 160 Edwards, Meredith 105 Ehle, Jennifer 246 Eisenberg, Jesse 28 Eisley, India 321 Eissinmann, Ike (aka Eisenmann) 331 Ejiofor, Chiwetel 75 Ejogo, Carmen 122, 235 El Cid 176 Elba, Idris 10, 20, 98, 99, 276, 296, 298, 311 Elektra 61 Elektra, Carmen 249, 251 Elgort, Ansel 42, 70, 72 Elizabeth, Shannon 249, 295 Ellington, Tate 258 Elliott, Chris 250, 251 Elliott, Peter 155 Elliott, Sam 97, 137, 138, 139 Ellis, Chris 230 Ellis, David R. 86, 88 Ellis, Greg 229 Ellis, Mary 105 Ellis, Tracy 59 Emmerich, Roland 144, 146, 322 Enchanted 289 Engineer, Aryana 240 Englund, Robert 146, 209, 210 Ephraim, Molly 214, 217 Epps, Mike 238, 239 Epps, Omar 77 Ermey, R. Lee 328 Escape from L.A. 81 Escape from New York 80–81 Escarpeta, Arlen 88, 95 Escher, M.C. 207 Esposito, Giancarlo 194 Esposito, Jennifer 77 Esposito, Lauren 57 Essell, Eileen 330 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 328 Eure, Hadley 126 Evan-Jones, Sim 45, 46 Evans, Amber 118, 119, 120 Evans, Chris 17, 20, 36, 37, 38, 39 Evans, Luke 50, 79, 80, 84, 132, 133 Evans, Ruby 118, 119, 120 Evans, Rupert 126 Eve, Alice 196, 206, 207, 275 Everett, Rupert 45 Evil Dead (2013) 81–82, 253 Ewing, Reid 97 The Exorcist 83, 124 Exorcist: Dominion see Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist

Index • 357 Exorcist: The Beginning 60, 82–83, 232 Exorcist II: The Heretic 83 Fabian, Patrick 173 Facinelli, Peter 202, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317 Faerch, Daeg 108 Fagerbakke, Bill 110 Fahey, Jeff 177 Fahir, Faran 152 Fairbank, Christopher 103 Fairley, Michelle 119 Faison, Frankie 129 Fallon, Jimmy 168 Fallon, Siobhan 195 Famiglietti, Mark 291 Fan, Bingbing 347 Fancy, Richard 178 Fanning, Dakota 313, 314, 316, 327 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 122–123 The Fantastic Four (comic) 84 Fantastic Four (2005) 84, 139 Fantastic Four (2015) 85 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 84–85 Faris, Anna 249, 250, 251, 253 Farmiga, Vera 55, 57 Farnum, William 156 Farrell, Colin 60, 61, 96, 122, 123, 302, 303 Farrelly, Stephen 289 Farrow, Mia 211 Fassbender, Michael 10, 11, 343, 347 Favino, Pierfrancesco 46, 204 Favreau, Jon 60, 152, 153, 154 Featherston, Katie 214, 215, 216, 217 Fegley, Oakes 224 Fehr, Oded 199, 200, 238, 239, 240 Feige, Kevin 14, 17, 19, 36, 37, 39, 102, 104, 138, 152, 153, 154, 296, 298 Feld, Fritz 93 Feldman, Ben 95 Feldman, Corey 303 The Fellowship of the Ring (novel) 180 Felton, Tom 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Feore, Colm 242, 243, 269, 296 Ferland, Jodelle 254 Fernandez, Shiloh 81 Ferreira, Louis 207 Ferrell, Will 15 Ferrero, Martin 165 Ferrigno, Lou 17, 20, 137, 138 Ferris, Pam 114 Feynman, Richard 211 Fichtner, William 24, 146, 289 Fickman, Andy 331 Field, Sally 5, 268, 269 Field, Todd 125 Fiennes, Ralph 50, 51, 115, 116, 118, 119, 204 Fierstein, Harvey 144 Filion, Nathan 77, 78, 220 Final Destination 86, 213 The Final Destination 88 Final Destination 2 86–87

Final Destination 3 87–88 Final Destination 5 88–89 Findlay, Jessica Brown 92 Fine, Larry 258 Finney, Jack 152 Fiorentino, Linda 195 Firth, Colin 203 Fiscalla, Andrew 88 Fishburne, Laurence 28, 84, 189, 191, 192, 233, 287 Fisher, Carrie 15, 282, 283 Fisher, Jason 221 Fisher, Miles 88 Fisher, Noel 86, 289, 316 Fisher, Stephen 78 Fisher, Tom 78 Fitzgerald, Jeremy 235 Fitz-Gerald, Lewis 241 Fitzpatrick, Colleen Ann 77 Fitzpatrick, Tom 149 FitzSimmons, Jaime 28 Five 177 Flaherty, Lanny 35, 196 Flanagan, Mike 213 Flashpoint (TV) 87 Fleetwood, Susan 49 Fleischer, Dave 104 Fleischer, Max 104 Fleishaker, Joe 303 Fleming, Ian 303 Fleming, Shaun 160 Flemyng, Jason 50, 225, 344 Fletcher, Brendan 209 Flores, Alexander 194 Flower, George “Buck” 89 Flowers, Kim 8 Floyd, Susan 151 Flubber 5 The Fly (1958) 136 The Fog (1980) 89–90 The Fog (2005) 90–91 Fogler, Dan 122 Foley, Clare 257 Fonda, Peter 81, 97 Fong, Tig 77 Fontaine, Frank 161 Foote, Hallie 215 Forbes, Bryan 284 Forbes, Michelle 81, 143 Forbidden Planet 326 Ford, Alan 82 Ford, Dorothy 156, 157 Ford, Harrison 147, 148, 282 Ford, Luke 201 Ford, Willa 95 Foree, Ken 109, 207 Foreman, Amanda 275 Foreman, George 206 Forlani, Carla 69 Forrestall, Shanna 173 Forsythe, William 108 Forte, Marlene 123 Foster, Ashley 335 Foster, Darrell 176 Foster, Gloria 189, 191 Foster, Jodie 93 “found footage” 34 Fox, Colin 179 Fox, Freddie 92 Fox, James 330 Fox, Megan 289, 304, 305, 306, 307 Fox, Michael J. 5 Fox, Phoebe 336

Fox, Viveca A. 21, 144, 146 Foxx, Jamie 269 Foy, Ciarán 258 Foy, Mackenzie 55, 316 Frakes, Jonathan 271, 272, 273 Franco, James 96, 231, 264, 265, 266, 332 Frankenheimer, John 155 Fraser, Brendan 31, 161, 199, 200, 201 Freaky Friday (1976) 93 Freaky Friday (2003) 93–94 Frears, Stephen 73 Freddy vs. Jason 209–210 Fredrichs, Mark 214 Fredricksen, Cully 271 Freeman, J.E. 8 Freeman, Martin 39, 130, 132, 133 Freeman, Morgan 24, 26, 53, 327 Frees, Paul 299, 326 French, Andrew 82, 83 French, Dawn 45 Freudenthal, Thor 220 Frewer, Matt 178, 206, 207 Friday the 13th (1980) 84 Friday the 13th (2009) 95–96 Friday the 13th, Part 2 110 Fright Night (2011) 61, 96–97, 277, 312 Fritz the Cat 180 Frost, Lindsay 244 Frost, Nick 260, 262 Frozen 73 Fry, Jordan 330 Fry, Stephen 6, 7, 132, 133 Fuhrman, Isabelle 140 Fuji, Takako 100, 101, 102 Fukuhara, Karen 28 Fukushima, Rila 345, 346 Fuller, Kurt 249 Gabriel, Betty 236 Gabrielle, Jenny 194 Gade, Ariel 10 Gadon, Sarah 79 Gadot, Gal 28 Gage, Ryan 132, 133 Gains, Courtney 108 Gainsbourg, Charlotte 146 Gale, Ed 137 Gallagher, Bronagh 73 Gallagher, John, Jr. 52 Gallagher, Patrick 204, 205, 206 Gallagher, Peter 136 Gallner, Kyle 210 Gamble, Nathan 24 Gambon, Michael 73, 110, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 122, 211 Game of Thrones (TV) 73 Gans, Christopher 254 Gant, Richard 74 Garcia, Andy 99 Garcia, Russell 300 Garfield, Andrew 268, 269 Garner, Jennifer 60, 61 Garrett, Beau 84, 309 Garrett, Brad 206, 289 Garrow, Patrick 246 Garson, Willie 93 Gass-Donnelly, Ed 174 Gathegi, Edi 312, 313, 344 Gaye, Nona 191, 192 Gee, Robby 317 Gellar, Sarah Michelle 100, 101

George, Ivy 218 George, Melissa 13 “Georgy Girl” (song) 224 Germann, Greg 129 Gervais, Ricky 204, 205, 206 Getty, Balthazar 163 Ghost Rider 97–98 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 98–99 Ghost Story 255, 272 Ghostbusters (1984) 197 Ghostbusters (2016) 99–100 Giamatti, Paul 230, 269 Gibbs, Holly 203 Gibson, Tyrese 68, 304, 306, 307 Gigandet, Cam 312, 313 Giger, H.R. 8, 10 Giglio, Sandro 325 Gilbert, Bertie 120 Gilford, Zach 235 Gill, Dan 218 Gillan, Karen 103 Gillen, Aidan 194 Gillespie, Craig 96 Gillies, Daniel 265 Gilyard, Clarence 179 Ginsberg, Seth 214 Giraldi, Jill 175 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 13 Gisondo, Skyler 206 Gist, Robert 157 The Giver 71 Gladis, Michael 293 Gleeson, Brendan 116, 119, 120, 310 Gleeson, Brian 260 Gleeson, Domhnall 119, 282 Glen, Iain 171, 238, 239 Glover, Crispin 6, 328, 329 Glover, Danny 253 Glover, Julian 105, 112 Goddard, Beth 344 Goddard, Paul 189 Goddard, Trevor 197 Godley, Adam 203, 330, 338 Goggins, Walton 233 Goldberg, Bill 323 Goldberg, Whoopi 289 Goldblum, Jeff 144, 145, 146, 165, 166, 167 Goldsmith, Jerry 302 Goldstein, Steve 175 Goldwyn, Tony 70 Golino, Valeria 81 González, Alex 344 Gonzalez, Noemi 217 Gonzalo, Julie 93 Goodall, Caroline 221 Goodhand, Donna 339 Goodman, Henry 73 Goodman, John 52–53, 307 Goodman-Hill, Tom 225 Goodwin, Robert Dane 72 Goonies 179 Goorney, Howard 30 Gordon, Chris 231 Gordon, Jeff 188 Gordon, Kiowa 314, 315 Gordon-Levitt, Joseph 26, 27, 107, 108 Görög, Zita 317, 318 Goss, Luke 127

358 • Index Gossom, Thom, Jr. 160 Gough, Michael 6, 21 Gould, Harold 93 Goyer, Davis S. 33 Grace, April 176 Grace, Maggie 90, 315, 316 Grace, Topher 233, 234, 266 Graham, Heather 15 Graham, Stephen 229 Grainger, Holliday 48 Grammer, Kelsey 307, 341 Grandpa the dog 82 Grant, Brea 110 Grant, Clare 155 Grant, Jerry Marshall 285 Grass, Vincent 46 Graves, Peter 136, 196 Gray, Billy 63 Gray, Carsen 222 Grayden, Sprague 214, 215 Great Expectations (1946) 266 Green, Dave 289 Green, Eva 61, 62 Green, Seth 15, 16, 103 Greene, Ashley 142, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317 Greene, Graham 313 Greenwood, Bruce 274, 275 Greer, Judy 14, 42, 168, 232 Gregg, Clark 17, 152, 296 Gregson-Williams, Harvey 46 Grenier, Zach 246 Grevioux, Kevin 91, 317, 320 Grey, Zena 253 Grice, Lara 88 Grier, Pam 81 Grier, Warrick 164 Gries, John 195 Griffeth, Simone 66 Griffin, Douglas M. 52 Griffin, Eddie 251 Griffin, Tim 52 Griffin, Tyler 149 Griffith, Bob 34 Griffith, Rhiana 241 Griffiths, Richard 111, 112, 114, 116, 119, 229 Grillo, Frank 37, 39, 235, 236 Grint, Rupert 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 The Grudge 100–101 The Grudge 2 101–102 The Grudge 3 100 Gruffudd, Ioan 84 Guardians of the Galaxy 102, 103, 104, 137, 299 Gubler, Michael Gray 28 Guest, Christopher 159, 205 Gugino, Carla 331 Guilfoyle, Paul 137 Guill, Julianna 95 Guillory, Sienna 238, 239, 240, 301 Guinee, Tim 152 Gulliver’s Travels (1939; animated) Gulliver’s Travels (1977) 105–106 Gulliver’s Travels (2010) 106–107 Gunn, James 102 Gunn, Moses 247 Gunn, Sean 103 Gunning, Charles 126 Guss, Caleb 95 Guy, Jasmine 252 Guzman, Luis 162

Gvera, Ivan 292 Gwillim, Jack 49 Gyllenhaal, Maggie 24, 204 Haddock, Laura 103 Hader, Bill 196, 205 Hadlow, Mark 130, 132, 133 Hager, Kristen 10 Haig, Sid 108, 109 Haigh, Benjamin 57 Haley, Jackie Earle 62, 210, 246 Hall, Craig 169, 224 Hall, Hanna 108 Hall, Philip Baker 13, 253 Hall, Rebecca 154 Hall, Regina 249, 250, 251 Halliday, Kadina 126 Halloween (1978) 90 Halloween (2007) 108–109 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 107, 108 Halloween: Resurrection 108 Halloween II (2009) 110 Hambleton, Peter 130, 132, 133 Hamill, Mark 282 Hamilton, Linda 232, 291 Hamilton, Margaret 294 Hamlin, Harry 49 Hamm, Jon 65 Hammer, Armie 259, 260 Hammond, Darrell 251, 252 Hammond, Raushan 221 Han, Chin 37 Handley, Misha 335 Hanks, Colin 169 Hann-Bird, Adam 107 Hannah, John 199, 200, 201 Hannemann, Evan 85 Hansen, Ryan 95 Harden, Marcia Gay 5, 69 Hardwicke, Catherine 312 Hardwicke, Cedric 326, 328 Hardy, Ben 348 Hardy, Robert 114, 116 Hardy, Tom (aka Thomas) 26, 188, 273 Harelik, Mark 167 Harlin, Renny 82, 83 Harmon, Mark 93 Harmon, Molly 335 Harnell, Jess 306 Harnos, Christine 129 Harper, Tom 335 Harrelson, Woody 140, 141, 142, 143, 144 Harring, Laura Elena 328 Harrington, Kit 255, 256 Harris, Barbara 93 Harris, Danielle 108, 109, 110 Harris, Hank 149 Harris, Jared 233, 238 Harris, Julie 124, 126 Harris, Moira 291 Harris, Naomie 227, 228, 310 Harris, Richard 105, 106, 110, 111, 112 Harris, Rosemary 264, 264 Harris, Sean Patrick 77 Harris, Wood 164 Harrison, Matthew 295 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 112–113 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I 119–120

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II 120–122, 139 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 114–115 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 117–119 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 115, 116, 117 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 113–114 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 111–112 Harryhausen, Ray 49–50, 105, 161 Hart, Ian 111 Hart, Kevin 251 Hart, Susan 169 Hartnett, Josh 107, 108 Haskin, Byron 325 Hathaway, Anne 6, 7, 26, 27 Hauer, Rutger 22 A Haunted House 123–124 A Haunted House 2 124 The Haunting (1963) 124–125 The Haunting (1999) 125–126 Hauser, Cole 241 Hawaii 106 Hawke, Ethan 234, 257, 258 Hawthorne, Elizabeth 45 Hayes, Isaac 80 Hazeldine, Sam 262 Head, Anthony 98, 220 Headey, Lena 164, 234 Heald, Anthony 341 Healey, Myron 146 Heathcote, Bella 62 Heavy Traffic 180 Hedaya, Dan 8, 122 Hedlund, Garrett 223, 309 Heigl, Katherine 43 Heiss, Carol 258, 259 Helgenberger, Marg 262, 263 Hellboy (2004) 126–127 Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 127–128 Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) 128– 129 Helman, Josh 347, 348 Helmore, Tom 299 Helms, Ed 206 Hemblen, David 248 Hemmings, David 225 Hemsworth, Chris 17, 18, 20, 75, 99, 260, 262, 274, 296, 297, 298 Hemsworth, Liam 140, 141, 142, 143, 146 Henderson, Martin 244 Henderson, Shirley 112 Hendricksen, Lance 9–10 Henley, Georgie 45, 46, 47 Hennig, Shelley 211 Henry, Gregg 103, 272 Henry, Guy 283 Henry, Lenny 114 Hensley, Pamela 247 Hensley, Shuler 78 Henstridge, Natasha 262, 263 Heppell, Cole 90 Herbert, Charles 294 Herbie: Fully Loaded 187–188 Hernandez, Callie 36 Hernandez, Jay 28 Hernandez, Maximiliano 37 Herrmann, Bernard 65, 104

Hershey, Barbara 149 Herthum, Louis 173 Herzog, Werner 325 Heslov, Grant 202 Hess, Sandra 198 Hesseman, Howard 110 Heston, Charlton 175, 176, 230 Heyerdahl, Christopher 313, 315, 316 Heyman, Paul 248 Heyward, Susan 233 Hickey, John Benjamin 306 Hiddleston, Tom 17, 18, 20, 296, 298 Highlander: Endgame 130 Highmore, Freddie 330 Hildebrand, Brianna 65 Hilker, Nadia 72 Hill, Bernard 183, 185, 202 Hill, Faith 285 Hill, Jonah 206 Hille, Anastasia 260 Hinds, Cheryl 187 Hinds, Ciarán 73, 98, 99, 120, 172, 173, 331, 335 Hingle, Pat 21 Hirabayashi, Keith Cooke 198 Hirsch, Judd 144, 146 Hirschbiegel, Oliver 151 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 130, 131, 132 The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies 133, 134, 189, 195 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 132, 133 Hodder, Kane 94 Hodge, Edwin 234, 235, 236 Hodson, Bridget 126 Hoff, Stig Henrik 293 Hoffman, David 294 Hoffman, Dustin 221 Hoffman, Howard 134 Hoffman, Philip Seymour 141, 142, 143, 144 Hoffmann, Otto 68 Hofschneider, Marco 155 Hogan, Cindy 52 Holbrook, Hal 89, 91 Holden, Gina 87 Holden, Laurie 84, 254 Holder, Geoffrey 330 Holland, Tom 39, 271 Hollander, Tom 227, 228 Hollywood, bygone 224 Holm, Ian 130, 133, 181, 185 Holmes, Katie 22, 24 Holt, Sandrine 238, 293, 321 Home Alone 111, 207 Homeward Bound 5 Hong, James 65 Honoré, Stephanie 88 Honywood, Samuel 203 Hood, Gavin 342 Hood, Jason 320 Hook (1991) 221, 222 Hootkins, William 155 Hopkins, Anthony 69, 70, 296, 298, 333 Hopper, Dennis 208, 209 Horrors of the Black Museum 136 Horsford, Anna Maria 74 Horton, Ward 56 Hoskins, Bob 221, 260 Hough, Adrian 90, 341

Index • 359 Hoult, Nicholas 50, 158, 188, 344, 347, 348 Hounsou, Djimon 103, 172 House of Dark Shadows 61 House on Haunted Hill (1959) 134, 135, 136 House on Haunted Hill (1999) 136, 232 The House That Dripped Blood 178 Houseman, John 89, 91, 247 Houston, Donald 49 Houston, William 79 Howard, Alan 181, 185 Howard, Arliss 166 Howard, Bryce Dallas 168, 169, 224, 266, 292, 314 Howard, Clint 108 Howard, David S. 69 Howard, James Newton 171 Howard, Jeremy 289 Howard, Kathleen 68 Howard, Leo 53 Howard, Moe 258 Howard, Rance 322 Howard, Robert E. 54 Howard, Sheri 202 Howard, Terrence 152 Howard the Duck 136–137 Howe, Brian 56 Howell, C. Thomas 268 Hu, Kelly 202, 340 Hubley, Season 80 Huck, Amy 211 Hudgens, Vanessa 162 Hudson, David 155 Hudson, Ernie 58, 99 Hudson, Haley 93 Hughes, Barnard 308 Hughes, John 5 Hughley, D.L. 251 Hulk (2003) 137–138, 139 Humphreys, Alfred 86 Humphries, Barry 30, 130 The Hunger Games 67, 71, 73, 140, 141, 312 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 141, 142 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I 142, 143 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II 143, 144 Hunt, Peter 105, 106 The Hunt for Red October 249 Hunter, Holly 28 Hunter, Stephen 130, 132, 133 Huntington, Sam 286 Huntington-Whiteley, Rosie 188, 307 Huntley, G.P., Jr. 68 Huntley, Noah 79, 260, 310 The Huntsman: Winter’s War 232, 261–262 Hurd-Wood, Rachel 222, 223 Hurley, Elizabeth 15, 31 Hurt, John 111, 119, 120, 126, 127, 147 Hurt, William 39, 138 Huston, Danny 342 Hutcherson, Josh 140, 141, 142, 143, 161, 162 Hutchins, Peter 30 Huyck, Willard 136 Hyams, John 324

Hyde, Jonathan 199 Hyland, Sarah 252 I Am Legend 176–177 I, Frankenstein 91–92 I Know What You Did Last Summer 249 Iacob, Cristian 98 Ianevski, Stanislav 115 Ifans, Rhys 7, 119, 204, 268 Iglesias, Gabriel 124 Imrie, Celia 203 In Bruges 61 Inception 27, 76 The Incredible Hulk 138–139 The Incredible Journey 5 Independence Day 144–146, 326, 327, 328 Independence Day Resurgence 100, 146–147 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 147–148 Ingleby, Lee 114 Insidious 149 Insidious: Chapter 2 149–150 Insidious: Chapter 3 150–151 Insurgent 71–72 Invaders from Mars 301 The Invasion 151–152, 286 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 152, 235, 326 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1977) 235 Ipalé, Aharon 199, 200 Iron Man 139, 152–153 Iron Man 2 38, 153–154 Iron Man 3 154, 155 Irons, Jeremy 28, 301 Ironside, Michael 292, 301, 302, 344 Irvine, Jeremy 336 Irving, Amy 40, 41, 42, 43 Isaac, James 94 Isaac, Oscar 282, 348 Isaacs, Jason 61, 112, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 222 Ishibashi, Brittany 289 Ishibashi, Ryo 100, 101 The Island of Dr. Moreau 155–156 Island of Lost Souls 156 Ito, Toshiro 248 Izzard, Eddie 46 Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) 156–157 Jack and the Beanstalk (2010) 156 Jack the Giant Killer 157–158 Jack the Giant Slayer 158–159 Jackman, Henry 345 Jackman, Hugh 206, 207, 223, 339, 340, 341,342, 343, 345, 346, 347, 348 Jackson, Brandon T. 218, 220 Jackson, Janet 74 Jackson, Michael 196 Jackson, Peter 130, 132, 133, 169, 180, 181, 183,184, 187 Jackson, Samuel L. 17, 20, 36, 37, 38, 153, 165, 246, 277, 281, 296, 298 Jacobi, Derek 48, 203, 318 Jacobs, Andrew 217 Jadu, Mahesh 91 Jaenada, Oscar 229

Jaffe, Sam 63 James, Geraldine 6, 7 James, Jesse 13 James, Lily 48, 51 James, Theo 70, 72, 321 Jamison, Joyce 66 Jane, Thomas 59 Janssen, Famke 136, 339, 340, 341, 345, 347 Jarrett, Dale 188 Jason, Harvey 166 Jason Bourne saga 325 Jason X 94–95 Jastrzembska, Christina 86, 313 Jaworka, Mariola 20 Jay, Anjali 206 Jean-Baptiste, Marianne 246 Jeepers Creepers 159–160 Jeepers Creepers II 160 Jeepers Creepers 3: Cathedral 160 Jeffery, Aaron 343 Jenkins, Jerry B. 179, 180 Jenson, Roy 294 Jeong, Ken 307 Jeremy, Ron 303 The Jerry Springer Show 16 Jeter, Michael 167 Jeunet, Jean-Pierre 7 Jewison, Norman 247 Jijikine, Igor 147 Joffre, Dan 249 Johansson, Scarlett 17, 19, 20, 37, 38, 39, 153, 171, 178, 238, 263, 266 John, Cornell S. 46 Johnson, Brad 179 Johnson, Corey 126 Johnson, Dwayne 162, 200, 202, 331, 332 Johnson, Jake 168 Johnson, Jimmie 188 Johnson, Mark Steven 60, 97 Johnson, Melody 94 Johnson, Noble 171 Johnson, Richard 124, 171 Johnston, Joe 36, 167, 333 Johnston, Kristen 15 Jolie, Angelina 171, 172 Jonas, Joe 206 Jonas, Kevin 206 Jonas, Nick 206 Jones, Caleb Landry 173, 344 Jones, Doug 84, 126, 127, 213 Jones, Felicity 269, 283, 284 Jones, Gemma 112, 118, 120 Jones, Harry 49 Jones, James Earl 163, 283 Jones, January 344 Jones, Jeffrey 137 Jones, Julia 314, 315 Jones, Kirk 203 Jones, Leslie 99 Jones, Nathan 188 Jones, Orlando 31, 301 Jones, Quincy 16 Jones, Toby 7, 36, 37, 112, 119, 140, 143, 260 Jones, Tommy Lee 36, 195, 196 Jones, Vinnie 341 Jonigkeit, Evan , 347 Joost, Henry 215, 216 Jordan, Derwin 94 Jordan, Michael B. 85 Joseph, Elliot 57

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) 160–161, 179, 326 Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) 161, 162 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island 162–163 Jovovich, Milla 237, 238, 239, 240 Joy, Robert 10, 208 Joy Ride 160 Joyner, Mario 129 Ju-On 100 Judd, Ashley 70, 72 Judge, Owen 85 Judge Dredd 163–164 Juma, Lenny 172 Juran, Nathan 157, 158 Jurassic Park 165, 166, 328 Jurassic Park III 167, 168 Jurassic World 168, 169 Kagasoff, Daren 211 Kajihara, Zen 101 Kajlich, Bianca 108 Kake, Patrick 45 Kaling, Mindy 206 Kaltenborn, H.V. 63 Kamerling, Antonie 83 Kanakaredes, Melina 218 Kane, Adelaide 234 Kane, Tom 107 Kani, John 39 Kapicic, Stefan 65 The Karate Kid 249 Katt, William 40, 43 Kattan, Chris 136 Katz, Claudia 211 Kaufman, Lloyd 303 Kavadas, Andrew 318 Kaye, Paul 79 Keach, Stacy 81 Kean, Jane 223 Keaton, Michael 24, 187, 246, 247 Keats, Ele 213 Keays-Byrne, Hugh 188 Kebbel, Arielle 101 Kebbell, Toby 51, 85, 232 Keena, Monica 209 Keener, Catherine 219 Keith, David 60 Kelley, Barry 157 Kelly, Daniel Hugh 272 Kelly, David 330 Kelly, David Patrick 58 Kelly, Ian 119 Kelly, Michael 207, 208 Kelly, Patsy 93 Kelly-Miller, Lois 69 Kelly’s Heroes 141 Kemp, Will 78 Kenan, Gil 232 Kendrick, Anna 312, 313, 314, 315 Kennedy, Maria Doyle 57 Keogh, Riley 188 Kersey, Paul 137 Keynes, Skandar 45, 46, 47 Khan, Conrad 262 Khan, Irrfan 168, 268 Khazanova, Alisa 335 Khodchenkova, Svetlana 345, 346 Kidder, Margot 110 Kidman, Nicole 151, 152, 285, 286 Kier, Udo 31, 108, 109 Kiley, Richard 137 Kilmer, Val 24, 155, 156

360 • Index Kilpatrick, Lincoln 175 Kim, Claudia 20 Kim, Daniel Dai 72 Kim, Linda 196 Kim, Randall Duk 191 King, Jim 34 King, Joey 146, 332 King, Nick (aka Nicholas King) 257, 258 King, Regina 129 King, Stephen 41, 179 King Kong (1933) 167, 194 King Kong (2005) 169, 170, 171, 289 Kingsley, Ben 154, 206, 262 Kinnaman, Joel 28, 29, 246 Kinnear, Roy 329 Kino, Lloyd 197 Kirby, Jack 17, 84 Kircher, William 130, 132, 133 Kirk, James 86 Kirschner, Mia 59, 60, 232 Kirzinger, Ken 209 Kitsch, Taylor 342 Kiyoko, Hayley 150 Klebba, Martin 259 Klein, Chris 248 Kneale, Nigel 341 Knepper, Robert 143 Knight, Matthew 101 Knight, Wayne 165 Knightley, Keira 226, 227, 228, 277 Knower, Rosemary 95 Knowles, Beyonce 16 Knowles, Patrick 334 Knoxville, Johnny 196, 289 Kodjoe, Boris 239, 240 Koechner, David 88, 123 Koehler, Frederick 68 Kogan, Jacob 274 Kolker, Ava 252 Konoval, Karin 231, 232 Kopsa, Michael 84 Korman, Harvey 76 Korobkina, Inna 207 Korsmo, Charlie 221 Kosinski, Joseph 309 Koslo, Paul 175 Kove, Martin 66 Kravitz, Lenny 140, 141, 142 Kravitz, Zoë 70, 72, 122, 188, 344 Kretschmann, Thomas 20, 32, 169, 238 Krige, Alice 254, 255, 271, 272, 298, 299 Kristofferson, Kris 31–33, 230 Kruschen, Jack 336 Kunis, Mila 332 Kwiatkowski, Paloma 220 Kwouk, Burt 247 Kyrmse, Paul 303 LaBeouf, Shia 147, 148, 304, 305, 306, 307 LaBow, Caasey 315, 316 La Brecque, Patrick 178 Ladin, Eric 56 Lady Gaga 196, 219 LaHaye, Tim 179, 180 Lamarr, Hedy 266 Lamb, Ben 72 Lambert, Christopher 98, 130, 197

Land of the Dead 208–209 Landau, Martin 337 Lander, David L. 249 Landes, Michael 86 Landis, John 66 Landon, Christopher 217 Lane, Diane 28, 163, 287 Lane, Nathan 16, 259 Laneuville, Eric 175 Lang, Stephen 53 Lang, Walter 258 Langedijk, Jack 179 Langella, Frank 286 Langer, A.J. 81 Langhelle, Jorgen 293 Lansbury, Angela 203 Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life 172– 173 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 171–172 LaRose, J. 149 Larson, Jack 286, 287 Larter, Ali 86, 136, 232, 239 LaSardo, Robert 68 The Last Exorcism 42, 124, 173– 174 The Last Exorcism, Part 2 174 The Last Man on Earth 174–175 Lathan, Sanaa 9–10, 31 Latifah, Queen 251 Laurence, Oona 224 Laurie, Piper 40 Lauter, Harry 63 Lautner, Taylor 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Law, Phyllida 301 Lawford, Chris 291 The Lawnmower Man 177–178 Lawnmower Man: Beyond Cyberspace 178–179 Lawnmower Man: Jobe’s War 179 Lawrence, Francis 141, 142, 143, 176 Lawrence, Jennifer 140, 141, 142, 143, 344, 347, 348 Lawrence of Arabia 138 Lazard, Justin 263 Leabu, Tristan Lake 286 Leachman, Cloris 251 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 225–226 Leary, Denis 268 Leder, Erwin 317 Ledger, Heath 24, 25, 26 Lee, Alexondra 216 Lee, Ang 137 Lee, Anna 157 Lee, Brandon 58, 59 Lee, Byung-hun 293 Lee, Christopher 6, 77, 130, 133, 181, 183, 185, 278, 281, 330, 331 Lee, Ki Hong 193 Lee, Malcolm D. 252 Lee, Stan 17, 37, 65, 84, 137, 138, 268, 269, 296, 341 Lee, Waveney 105 Lee, Will Yun 61, 302, 345 Leeder, Stephen 343 Leerhsen, Erica 35 Lees, Nathaniel 192 Lefevre, Rachelle 312, 313 Left Behind (2000) 179 Left Behind (2014) 180 Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002) 179

Left Behind: World at War (2005) 179 Lefter, Ionut Cristian 98 Legeno, Dave 118, 119, 120 Legrand, Michel 105, 106 Leguizamo, John 208, 209 Leigh, Janet 89, 90, 91, 107, 108 Leigh, Victoria 257 Leisen, Mitchell 68 Lemche, Kris 87 Lennix, Harry 28, 191, 192, 287 Leonard, Brett 177 Leonard, Joshua 34, 253 Leonetti, John R. 56, 198 Leong, Isabella 201 Leoni, Téa 167 Lerman, Logan 218, 220 Lesser, Anton 229 Lesure, James 245 Leterrier, Louis 50, 138 Leto, Jared 28 Letterman, Rob 106 Leung, Katie 116, 118, 120 Levi, Zachary 298 Levin, Henry 160 Levins, Kayla 318 Levy, Eugene 129, 206 Levy, Jane 81 Levy, Shaun 204, 205, 206 Lewis, Clyde 303 Lewis, C.S. 44 Lewis, Geoffrey 177 Lewis, Johnny 10 Lewis, Matthew 111, 116, 118, 119, 120 Li, Bingbing 240, 307, 308 Li, Donald 17 Li, Jet 201 Liebesman, Jonathan 289 Like Crazy 277 Lillard, Matthew 295 Lilly, Evangeline 14, 132, 133, 134 Lily, Morgan 344 Ling, Bai 58 Linklater, Hamish 84 Linney, Laura 289 Lisberger, Steven 308 Lister, “Tiny,” Jr. 322 Lithgow, John 231 Lively, Robyn 211 Livingston, Ron 55 LL Cool J 107, 108, 248 Llewellyn, Alexis 342 Lloyd, Doris 299 Lloyd, Jake 277 Lloyd-Hughes, Ben 70 Locke, Spencer 239 Locklear, Heather 252 Loeppky, Katherine 50 Lofland, Jacob 194 Logan, Daniel 278 Logan’s Run 71, 248, 324 Loggia, Robert 144, 146 Logue, Donal 31, 97 Lohan, Lindsay 93, 187, 188, 252 Loken, Kristanna 291 London, Jason 41 The Lone Ranger 79 Long, Justin 159, 160, 187 Long, Matt 97 Long, Richard 134 Loomis, Nancy 89 López, Miguel 155 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellow-

ship of the Ring 110, 177, 181, 182–183 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 159, 184, 185, 186, 187, 223, 243 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 133, 183, 184 The Lord of the Rings trilogy 262 Lords, Traci 31 Loree, Brad 108 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 166– 167 Louise, Tina 284 Love, Bessie 105 Lovecamp, Aiden 216, 218 Lovell, Trevor 200 Lovibond, Ophelia 103, 298 Lovitz, Jon 285 Lowe, Crystal 87 Lowe, Rob 15 Lowe, Simon 158 Lowery, David 224 Loyer, Shawna 295 Lucas, George 277, 278, 280, 282 Lucas, Isabel 306 Lucas, Jessica 52, 81 Lucas, Josh 137 Lucas, Matt 6, 7 Lucy 66, 178, 193, 238 Ludwig, Alexander 140, 331 Lugosi, Bela 334 Luke, Derek 36 Lummis, Dayton 157 Luna, Diego 283 Lundgren, Dolph 322, 324 Lutz, Kellan 210, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Lyn, Justin 276 Lynch, David 325 Lynch, Evanna 116, 118, 119, 120 Lyndon, Barré 325, 326 Lyonne, Natasha 33, 250 Mabius, Eric 237 Mac, Bernie 304 “MacArthur Park” (song) 106 Machado, Justina 86 Macdonald, Kelly 120, 203 MacFarlane, Seth 127 Machado, Justina 235 Macintosh, Steven 318, 320 Mack, Parker 213 Mackay, Michael Reid 340 Mackenzie, Peter 181 Mackie, Anthony 14, 20, 37, 39 MacMurray, Fred 5 MacNicol, Peter 76 Macpherson, Elle 21 Macy, William H. 167 Mad Max: Fury Road 66 188– 189, 195, 274 Madden, Richard 48 Mader, Justin 68 Madison, Sarah Danielle 167 Madsen, Christian 70 Madsen, Michael 251, 262, 263 Madsen, Virginia 125 Maestro, Mia 315, 316 Mager, Katelyn 220 Maggie Ma 87 Maggie Q 70, 72 The Magic Sword 158 Maguire, Tobey 264, 265, 266, 267

Index • 361 Maher, Bill 154 Majthe, Natassia 61 Makarov, Vitali 248 Maki, Yōko 100 Makoare, Lawrence 132, 185 Malcomson, Paula 140, 141 Malek, Rami 204, 205, 206 Malet, Arthur 221 Malgarini, Ryan 93 Malik, Art 334 Malkovich, John 73, 307 Malone, Jena 141, 142, 143, 144 Malone, William 136 Man of La Mancha 224 Man of Steel see Superman: Man of Steel Manahan, Anna 49 Mancini, Don 44 Mane, Tyler 108, 109, 110, 339 Mango, Alec 105 Mangold, James 345 Manheim, Camryn 251 Mann, Farhad 178 Mann, Gabriel 83 Mann, John 318 Manoux, J.P. 252 Mapother, William 100 Mara, Kate 85 Mara, Rooney 210, 223 Maran, Josie 78 March, Fredric 68 Marcus, Sparky 93 Margolyes, Miriam 112, 120 Marin, Cheech 331 Mårlind, Måns 321 Marlowe, Hugh 63 Marquette, Christopher George 209 Marsan, Eddie 158, 260 Marsden, James 286, 339, 340, 341, 347 Marshal, Alan 134 Marshall, Gary 331 Marshall, Rob 229 Marshall, Sean 223 Marshall-Green, Logan 10, 11 Martin, Jared 327 Martin, Lewis 325 Martin, Lock 63 Martinez, Natalie 68 Marvel Studios 100 Marvel Universe 66 Mary Reilly 73 Masamune, Tohoru 289 M.A.S.H. 141 Mason, James 161 Mason, Laurence 58 Massee, Michael 58 Masterson, Christopher K. 250 Masterson, Danny 77 Masterson, Mary Stuart 284 Masterson, Peter 284 Matheson, Hans 50 Matheson, Richard 174, 176, 177 Mathews, Kerwin 104, 157, 158 The Matrix 189, 190, 191, 240, 249 The Matrix Reloaded 191–192 The Matrix Revolutions 192–193 Mattey, David 303, 304 Matsuyama, Takashi 101 Maxwell, Lois 124 Mayer, Ken 157 Mayfield, Les 5

Mayhew, Peter 281, 282 Mayne, Alberta 205 Mayreux, Rosalee 177 Mays, Daniel 92 The Maze Runner 71, 193, 194, 195 Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials 194, 195 Mazzello, Joseph 165, 166 McAdams, Rachel 75 McAvoy, James 45, 92, 343, 347, 348 McBurney, Simon 57, 119 McCallum, Sandy 66 McCarey, Parnell 30 McCarthy, Jenny 251 McCarthy, Melissa 99 McCarthy, Neil 49 McClory, Belinda 189 McClure, Marc 93 McCoy, Sylvester 130, 132, 133 McCrackin, Daisy 108 McCrory, Helen 118, 119, 120, 336 McCune, James Allen 36 McDiarmid, Ian 277, 278, 281 McDonald, Christopher 5 McDonnell, Mary 144 McDonough, Neal 36, 271 McDormand, Frances 307 McDowell, Malcolm 108, 110, 255 McDowell, Randy 214 McElroy, Scott 317, 318 McFadden, Gates 271, 272, 273 McFarland, Hayley 55 McG 292 McGovern, Elizabeth 50 McGowan, Rose 53 McGowan, Zach 79 McGrath, Gully 62 McGrath, Katie 168 McGraw, Melinda 24, 74 McGraw, Dr. Phil 251 McGregor, Ewan 158, 159, 204, 277, 278, 279, 280 McGregor, Kenneth 339 McGuffins 230 McGuigan, Paul 92 McIntosh, Judy 45 McIntyre, Brent 181 McKellen, Ian 122, 130, 132, 133, 181, 183, 185, 339, 340, 341, 342, 345, 347 McKidd, Kevin 219 McKinnon, Kate 99 McLarty, Jim 81 McMahon, Julian 84 McNally, Kevin R. 226, 227, 228, 229 McNulty, Kevin 84 McPhee, Kodi-Smit 348 McQuarrie, Stuart 311 McRay, Leslie 66 McShane, Ian 68, 158, 229, 260 McShera, Sophie 48 McTavish, Graham 130, 132, 133 McTeer, Janet 335 McTeigue, James 151 McTiernan, John 248, 249 Mears, Derek 95, 96, 233 Mechoso, Julia 167 Medak, Peter 263 Medin, Harriet 66 Medina, Patricia 258 Meet Joe Black 69–70

Meikle-Small, Izzy 260 Meisner, Gunter 329 Melling, Harry 111, 114, 116, 119 Meloni, Christopher 287 Melvin, Murray 105 Memoirs of an Invisible Man 129 Men in Black 195–196 Men in Black II 196 Men in Black 3 196–197 Mendelsohn, Ben 26, 283 Mendes, Eva 97 Mendoza, Rebecca Jackson 281 Mennell, Nick 95 Menounos, Maria 84 Mensah, Peter 94 Meredith, Judi 157, 158 Merlin, Joanna 151 Merrells, Simon 334 Merriman, Ryan 87, 108, 245 Mesa of Lost Women 339 Meyer, Breckin 187 Meyer, Dina 273 Meyer, Stephenie 312, 316 Midler, Bette 285 Mihok, Dash 176 Mikkelsen, Mads 50, 75, 283 Miko, Izabella 50 Mikuska, Drew 251 Miles, Joanna 163 Miller, Ezra 122 Miller, Frank 24 Miller, George 188 Miller, Jonny Lee 62, 77, 78 Miller, Larry 74 Miller, Levi 223 Miller, Mac 252 Miller, Patina 143 Miller, Tim 65 Miller, T.J. 52, 65, 307 Miller, Wentworth 239, 317 Mills, Brooke 93 Milner, Bill 343 Milner, Martin 294, 295 Mimieux, Yvette 299 Miner, Steve 107 Mintz-Plasse, Christopher 96 Mirojnick, Lili 52 Mirror, Mirror 259, 260 Mitchell, Beverly 59 Mitchell, Elizabeth 236 Mitchell, Millard 63 Mitchell, Radha 241, 243, 254, 255 Mitchell, Ty 89 Mitchum, Julie 134 Mitchum, June 134 Mitra, Rhona 320 Mitsoula, Jana 61 Mixon, Jamal 74 Miyori, Kim 101 Mobley, Roger 157 Modine, Matthew 26 Moeller, Ralph 202, 322 Moio, Ashton 150 Molina, Alfred 262, 265 Moll, Richard 250 Mollá, Jordi 243 Momoa, Jason 53 Monaghan, Dominic 181, 183, 185, 342 Monroe, Maika 146 Montague, Emily 96 Moore, Dudley 30, 31 Moore, John 210, 241

Moore, Julianne 42, 142, 143, 166 Moretz, Chloe Grace 13, 42, 43, 62 Morgan, Cindy 308, 309 Morgan, Gary 223 Morgan, Glen 328 Morgan, Trevor 167 Moritz, Louisa 66 Morley, Thomas 205 Morris, Brett 339 Morris, David 330 Morris, Dylan 252 Morrison, Jennifer 274 Morrison, Temuera 155, 278, 281 Morrow, Jo 104, 294 Morshower, Glenn 306, 307, 344 Mortal Kombat 171, 197–198, 255 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation 198 Mortensen, Viggo 181, 183, 185, 262 Morton, Samantha 122 Moseley, William 45, 46, 47 Moss, Carrie-Anne 189, 191, 192, 255 Moss, Edward 251 Moss, Jesse 87 The Most Dangerous Game 67 The Most Dangerous Game (short story) 141 Mostow, Jonathan 290 Mouzakis, Steve 91 Mrs. Doubtfire 111, 207 Mudaliar, Tharini 192 Mueller-Stahl, Armin 337 Muggleton, Mackintosh 311 Mulcahy, Russell 239 Mulgrew, Kate 273 Mulkey, Chris 52, 234 Mullan, Peter 119 Mulroney, Dermit 150 Mumba, Omera 301 Mumba, Samantha 301 The Mummy (1932) 206 The Mummy (1999) 199–200 The Mummy Returns 200–201 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 201–202 Munn, Olivia 348 Munro, Lochlyn 77, 209, 249 Murphy, Cillian 22, 24, 310 Murphy, Donna 265, 272 Murphy, Eddie 74, 75 Murphy, Michael 341 Murray, Bill 99 Murray, Chad Michael 93, 180 Murray, Chris J. 218 Murray, Jean 122 Murtaugh, Diarmaid 79 Mutambirwa, Garikayi 160 Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) 106, 156 Myers, Esmée 224 Myers, Kim 129 Myers, Mike 15, 16, 17 Myers, Seth 161 Myles, Sophia 307, 308, 317, 318 Myrick, Daniel 34 Mysterious Island (1961) 163 Mystery Science Theater (TV) 198 Nable, Matt 243 Naidu, Ajay 251 Najimy, Kathy 43 Nakata, Hideo 245

362 • Index Nanny McPhee 203 Nanny McPhee Returns 203–204 Napier, Alan 161 Napier, Charles 15 Nappo, Tony 208 Naranjo, Alejandro 51 Neal, Patricia 63 Neeson, Liam 22, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 125, 277 Neill, Noel 286, 287 Neill, Sam 165, 167 Nelles, John E. 339 Nelson, Gary 93 Nelson, Tim Blake 85, 138 Nenninger, Eric 160 Nesbitt, James 130, 132, 133 Nesbitt, Mary 132, 133 Nesbitt, Peggy 133 Neveldine, Mark 98 Neville, John 337 Nevin, Robyn 191 New Zealand 182 Newbold, Amy 70 Newell, Harry 222 Newell, Mike 114 Newman, Nanette 284 Newman, Thomas 70 Newton, Alicia 220 Newton, Kathryn 216 Newton, Thandie 242, 243 Niccoli, Marco 338 Nicholas, Thomas Ian 108 Nichols, Lance E. 180 Nichols, Rachel 13, 53, 274 Nichols, Taylor 167 Nicholson, Jack 24, 302 Nickerson, Denise 329 Nicolas-Troyan, Cedric 261 Nielsen, Leslie 76, 251 Night at the Museum 204–205 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian 205–206 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb 205, 206–207 Night of Dark Shadows 61 Night of the Living Dead (1990) 110 A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) 210 Nighy, Bill 51, 91, 92, 119, 158, 227, 228, 302, 303, 317, 318, 320 Nimoy, Leonard 274, 275, 277 Nine Months 111 Nispel, Marcus 53, 95 Nivola, Alessandro 167 Noble, Chelsea 179 Noel, Danielle 30 Noji, Minae 289 Nolan, Christopher 22, 24, 26, 27 Nolte, Nick 137, 138 Norell, Paul 185 Normington, John 247 Norrington, Stephen 31, 225 Norris, Dean 177, 302 Norris, Terry 47 North, Nolan 306 Northam, Jeremy 151 Norton, Edward 138 Notary, Terry 231 Numata, Joanna 176 Nunn, Bill 266 Nussbaum, Mike 195 The Nutty Professor (1963) 74, 75 The Nutty Professor (1996) 74

Nutty Professor II: The Klumps 74–75 Nyong’o, Lupita 282 O’Brien, Austin 177, 178 O’Brien, Dylan 193, 194 O’Brien, Trever 178 O’Connell, Jerry 252 O’Connor, Frances 31, 57 O’Connor, Kevin J. 78, 199 O’Donnell, Chris 21 O’Donnell, Steven 53 O’Dowd, Chris 106, 298 Offula, Raymond 172 O’Gorman, Dean 130, 132, 133 O’Hare, Damien 226 Ohmart, Carol 134 Okamoto, Tao 345 O’Kane, Patrick 82 O’Keefe, Jodi Lyn 107 Oldman, Gary 22, 24, 26, 114, 115, 116, 120, 232, 246 Olivier, Laurence 49 Olivo, America 95 Olsen, Elizabeth 20, 39 Olsen, Eric Christian 293 Olsen, Maria 219 O’Malley, Kerry 56 O’Mara, Jason 239 The Omega Man 175–176, 177 The Omen (2006) 210–211 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 106 O’Neal, Patrick 284 O’Neal, Shaquille 251 O’Neill, Michael 304 O’Quinn, Terry 337 Oparei, Deobia 146 Oppenheimer, Alan 93 Orbach, Jerry 322 O’Reilly, Bill 153, 307 O’Reilly, Genevieve 192, 283 Orff, Carl 183 O’Ross, Ed 322 Orser, Leland 8, 60 Ortiz, John 10 Osborne, Alexia 335 Osborne, Ozzy 99 Osei, Eddie 83 Osterloh, Robert 63 Ostrum, Peter 329 Oswalt, Patton 33 Oteri, Cheri 249 Otto, Miranda 91, 171, 183, 185, 327 Otto, Socratis 91 Ouija 211, 212, 213 Ouija 2 213–214 Ouspenskaya, Maria 334 Outerbridge, Peter 255 Overton, Kelly 245 Owen, Tudor 157 Oyelowo, David 231 Oz, Frank 277, 279, 281, 285, 286 Oz the Great and Powerful 332, 333 Ozeki, Yuya 100 Pace, Judy 176 Pace, Lee 103, 132 Pack, Charles Lloyd 105 Padalecki, Jared 95 Padilha, Jose 246 Paetkau, David 86, 87 Page, Ellen 341, 347

Pal, George 299, 325, 326 Palmer, Ashley 214 Palmer, Teresa 101 Palminteri, Chaz 129 Paltrow, Gwyneth 16, 17, 152, 153, 154, 221 Pan 223 Panabaker, Danielle 95 Panic in Year Zero 177 Pan’s Labyrinth 127 Pantoliano, Joe 60, 189, 219 Paquin, Anna 339, 340, 341, 347 Paradise, Ariella 120 Paranormal Activity (2007/2009) 124, 149, 213, 214, 337 Paranormal Activity franchise 253 Paranormal Activity 2 214–215 Paranormal Activity 3 215–216, 258 Paranormal Activity 4 216–217 Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 218 Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones 217 Paré, Jean Michel 161 Park, Linda 167 Park, Ray 277, 339 Parker, Anthony Ray 189 Parker, Cecil 181 Parker, David 84 Parker, Peter 303 Parkes, Shaun 200 Parkinson, Alice 343 Parkinson, Art 79 Parrack, Jim 28 Parsons, Benny 188 Parsons, Jim 49 Pasquale, Steven 10 Patrick, Gail 68 Patterson, Lee 104 Pattinson, Robert 115, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Paul, Adrian 130 Payne, Bruce 130 Payne, Freda 74 Pearce, Guy 10, 154, 301 Pearson, Drew 63 Peck, Bob 165 Peck, Gregory 84 Peck, Mizuo 204, 205, 206 Peet, Amanda 106, 338 Pegg, Simon 208, 274, 275, 276, 282 Peirce, Kimberly 42 Peli, Oren 214 Peltz, Nicola 307 Pena, Michael 14 Pendergast, Oaklee 336 Penn, Kal 286 Peoples, Brooke 149 Pepper, Barry 194 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 218, 219 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters 220 Perez, Vincent 59 Peris-Mencheta, Sergio 239 Perkins, Elizabeth 245 Perlman, Ron 8, 32, 53, 122, 126, 127, 128, 155, 156, 273 Perrineau, Harold 192, 311 Perry, Tyler 274, 289 Persbrandt, Mikael 132 Peter Pan (2003) 222, 223 Peters, Evan 347, 348

Peters, House, Jr. 63 Pete’s Dragon (1977) 106, 223– 224 Pete’s Dragon (2016) 224–225 Pfeiffer, Michelle 61, 62 Phelps, James 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Phelps, Oliver 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Phifer, Mekhi 70, 72, 207 Phillips, Gina 159 Phillips, Leslie 171 Phillips, Robert 171 Phillips, Sian 49 Phipps, Bill 326 Phipps, Grace 96 Phone Booth 61 Phythian, Zara 75 Pidgeon, Amelia 336 Pidgeon, Rebecca 72 Pierce, David Hyde 126 Piggott-Smith, Tim 6, 49 Pike, Rosamund 51 Pileggi, Mitch 337, 338 Pilon, Daniel 179 Pine, Chris 274, 275, 276 Pinkett, Jada 74 Pinnock, Arnold 129 Pinon, Dominique 8 Pinto, Freida 231 Piper, James 214 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End 228–229 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest 148, 227, 228 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 229–230 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 202, 226–227 The Pit and the Pendulum 136 Pitch Black 241, 242, 243 Pitt, Brad 69 Piven, Jeremy 251 Pla, Conrad 243 A Place in the Sun 266 Placido, Violante 98, 99 Planet of the Apes (1968) 176 Planet of the Apes (2001) 230–231 Platt, Oliver 344 Pleasence, Donald 80, 81 Ploszek, Pete 289 Plummer, Christopher 77 Pocock, Scott 342 Poésy, Clémence 115, 119, 120 Poirer, Kim 207 Polito, Jon 58 Polley, Sarah 207 Poltergeist (1982) 149 Poltergeist (2015) 232–233 Pompeo, Ellen 60 Poots, Imogen 96, 97, 311, 312 Pop, Iggy 59 Pope, Tim 59 Popplewell, Anna 45, 46, 47 Popplewell, Freddie 222 Porky’s 249 Portman, Natalie 277, 278, 280, 296, 298 Porto, Lidia 252 Posey, Parker 33, 286 post-apocalyptic future 141 Postlethwaite, Pete 50, 166, 167, 211 Potente, Franka 57

Index • 363 Potts, Annie 99 Potts, Jonathan 94 Pouget, Ely 178 Poulter, Will 47, 193 Powell, Jemma 6 Powell, Josephine 299 Powell, Keith 206 Pratt, Carlos 217 Pratt, Chris 103, 168, 169 Predator 84, 234, 235, 249 Predator 2 234, 235 Predators (2010) 233, 234 Prentice, Jordan 137, 259 Prentiss, Paula 284 Pressly, Jaime 124 Price, Vincent 134, 174, 175 Prieto, William Juan 214, 215 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 112 Prince, Bryant 293 Prince, William 284 The Princess Bride 159 Prochnow, Jürgen 163 Prometheus 10, 11, 12, 13 Prosky, John 213 Prout, Kirsten 61 Provost-Chalkley, Dominique 20 Proyas, Alex 58 Pryce, Jonathan 226, 227, 228 Psycho 329 Pucci, Lou Taylor 81 Pullman, Bill 100, 101, 144, 146, 147, 251 The Punisher 266 Purcell, Dominic 33, 34 Purcell, Noel 105 Purefoy, James 237 The Purge 234–235, 258 The Purge: Anarchy 235 The Purge: Election Year 236 Purvis, Keely 340 Pyle, Mike 324 Pyle, Missi 124, 330 Quaid, Randy 144 Quale, Steven 88 Quinto, Zachary 274, 275, 276 Race to Witch Mountain 73, 232, 331–332 Racicot, Jody 87 Radcliffe, Daniel 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 334, 335 Radice, Giovanni Lombardo 211 Radley, Xantha 338 The Rage: Carrie 2 41–42 Ragona, Ubaldo 174 Ragsdale, William 180 Raiders of the Lost Ark 148, 200 Raimi, Sam 263, 265, 266, 332 Raimi, Ted (aka Theodore) 100, 264, 265, 266, 332 Raine, Jessica 335 Rains, Claude 334 Rambin, Leven 220 Ramirez, Edgar 51 Ramis, Harold 31 Ramm, Haley 341 Ramsay, Anne 230 Ramsay, Bruce 129 Randall, Anne 235 Rangi, Shane 45, 46, 47 Rankin, Chris 116 Rankin-Bass (animators) 180 Ransome, James 257, 258

Rapace, Naomi 10, 11, 13 Rathbone, Jackson 313, 314, 315, 316 Ratner, Brett 341 Raver, Kim 204 Rawle, Jeff 115 Rawlins, Adrian 114, 115, 118, 119, 336 Rayment, Adrian 191 Rayment, Neil 191 Rea, Stephen 321 Reaser, Elizabeth 213, 313, 314, 315, 316 Rebel (dog) 222 Rebhorn, James 144 Reddy, Helen 223, 224 Redford, Robert 37, 224, 225 Redgrave, Lynn 222 Redman 44 Redmane, Eddie 122 Reddy, Helen 223 Reed, Nikki 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Reed, Peyton 14 Reedus, Norman 32 Rees, Jed 65 Rees, Roger 151, 202 Reeve, Christopher 287 Reeve, Dana 287 Reeve, Elliot 260 Reeves, Gareth 224 Reeves, Keanu 65, 189, 191, 192 Reeves, Matt 51, 232 Regan, Vincent 50 Reid, Corbin 36 Reid, Logan Craig 173 Reid, R.D. 207 Reilly, John C. 103 Reisen 244 Reiser, Paul 166, 169, 234 Reit, Ursula 329 Remar, James 33, 163, 164, 198, 236, 344 Renner, Jeremy 17, 20, 39, 296, 298, 311 Rennie, Callum Keith 338 Rennie, Michael 63, 64 Resident Evil 172, 236–237 Resident Evil: Afterlife 239–240 Resident Evil: Apocalypse 237, 238 Resident Evil: Extinction 239 Resident Evil: Retribution 240–241 Return of the Jedi 282 The Return of the King (animated) 180 Return of the Living Dead 177 Return to House on Haunted Hill 136 Revell, Graeme 59 Revill, Clive 306 Rex, Simon 251, 252, 253 Reynor, Jack 307 Reynolds, Ryan 13, 14, 33, 65, 66, 342 Rhames, Ving 207, 208 Rhind-Tutt, Julian 171 Rhodes, Brian 129 Rhodes, Dane 324 Rhymes, Busta 108 Rhys-Davies, John 181, 183, 185 Ribe, Montse 127 Ribeiro, Edson T. 61 Ribotta, Hector 174 Ricci, Bruno 36

Rice, Alex 315, 316 Richards, Ariana 165, 166 Richards, Denise 251 Richards, Keith 228, 229 Richards, Kim 331, 332 Richardson, Miranda 115, 119 Richardson, Ralph 247 Richings, Julian 219 Richmond, Branscombe 202 Richter, Andy 250 Rickman, Alan 6, 7, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Riddick 243, 244 Ridings, Richard 231 Ridley, Daisy 282, 283, 284 Righetti, Amanda 95 Rigney, Daniel 155 Riley, Rob 257 Rimmer, Shane 247 The Ring (2002) 244–245, 251 The Ring Two (2005) 245–246 Rings 244 Ringu 244, 245 Riordan, Fergus 98 Rippy, Leon 322 Rise of the Planet of the Apes 231, 253 Ritchson, Alan 141, 289 Ritter, Jason 209 Ritter, John 43 Roach, Aleandra 262 Roach, Jay 15, 16 Roach, Pat 49 Roache, Linus 22, 26, 242 The Road Warrior 239 roadshow 224 Robb, Andy 335 Robb, AnnaSophia 232, 330, 331, 332 Robbie, Margot 28, 29 Robbins, Brian 253 Robbins, Tim 137, 327 Roberts, Alec 295 Roberts, Conrad 202 Roberts, David 97, 191, 192 Roberts, Julia 73, 221, 259 Roberts, Shawn 239, 240, 339 Robertson, Cliff 81, 264, 265, 266 Robertson, Kathleen 250 Robinson, Angela 187 Robinson, Ann 325, 327 Robinson, Craig 206 Robinson, Holly 137 Robinson, Isaiah 221 Robinson, Nick 168 Robinson, Wes 36 RoboCop (2014) 246, 247 robot 13 Robson, Flora 49 Rochon, Debbie 303 The Rock see Johnson, Dwayne Rock, Chris 129 Rockwell, Sam 153, 233 Roden, Karel 126 Rodgers, Mic 322, 323 Rodriguez, Michelle 237, 240 Rodriguez, Ramon 306 Rodriguez, Robert 234 Roebuck, Daniel 86 Roemer, Sarah 101 Roeves, Maurice 163 Rogers, Mimi 15 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 283, 284

Roise, Jan Gunnar 293 Rolfe, Guy 258, 259 Rollerball (1975) 247, 248 Rollerball (2002) 248–249 Romancing the Stone 200 Rome (TV) 73 Romero, George 110, 175, 208, 311 Romijn-Stamos, Rebecca 248, 339, 340, 341 Rooker, Michael 103, 104 Rooney, Mickey 204, 206, 223 Roope, Fay 63 Rose, Tim 137 Rosenthal, Rick 108 Ross, Gary 140 Ross, Gaylen 207 Ross, Katherine 284 Ross, Liberty 260 Rossi-Stuart, Giacomo 174 Rosson, Carol 284 Roth, Tim 138, 139, 230 Roth, Veronica 70 rotoscope-animated 180 Rourke, Mickey 153 Routh, Brandon 286 Rowland, Kelly 209 Rowling, J.K. 110 Roxburgh, Melissa 276 Roxburgh, Richard 78, 225 Rudd, Paul 14, 39 Ruffalo, Mark 17, 20, 154 Rule, Ja 251 Runte, Kurt Max 61 Rupp, Jacob 295 Rush, Geoffrey 136, 226, 227, 228, 229 Russell, Alex 42 Russell, Chuck 202 Russell, Keri 232 Russell, Kurt 80, 81 Russell, Robert 30 Russell, Theresa 266, 268 Russo, Anthony 37 Russo, Joe 37 Russo, Rene 296, 298 Ruttan, John Paul 246 Ryan, Garrett 149 Ryan, Jeri 77 Ryan, Mark 306 Ryan, Max 68, 225 Ryan, Mitchell 163 Ryder, Lisa 94 Ryder, Winona 8, 274, 298 Rylance, Juliet 257 Sackhoff, Katee 108, 243 Sadler, William 154 Sadowski, Jonathan 95 Sagal, Boris 175 Sagal, Liz 137 Sagnier, Ludivine 222 Saint, Eva Marie 286 St. Clair, Taylor 141 St. Esprit, Patrick 141, 146 Salazar, Rosa 72, 194 Saldana, Zoe 103, 226, 274, 275, 276 Salisbury, Craig 158 Salkow, Sidney 174 Salmon, Colin 9, 237, 240 Salva, Victor 159, 160 Sampson, Angus 149, 150, 188 Sanada, Hiroyuki 345

364 • Index Sanchez, Eduardo 34 Sanchez, Kiele 235 Sanchez, Sandra 34 Sande, Walter 325 Sanders, Ecstasia 87 Sanders, Rupert 260 Sandoval, Gloria 217 Sandoval, Miguel 165 Sandweiss, Cheryl 82 Sangster, Thomas 203; see also Brodie-Sangster, Thomas Santos, Bianca 211 Sapp, Bob 61 Sarandon, Chris 96 Sari, Sam 241 Saturday Night at the Movies (TV) 64 Saturday Night Fever 41 Saturday Night Live (TV) 183 Saucedo, David 217 Savage, Fred 16 Savage, Randy 264 Saving Private Ryan 284 Savini, Tom 110, 207, 208 Sawa, Devon 86 Scars of Dracula 77 Scary Movie 249 Scary Movie 2 250 Scary Movie 3 250–251 Scary Movie 4 251–252 Scary Movie 5 252–253 Schanz, Erin 323 Schell, Catherine 105 Scherzinger, Nicole 196 Schiff, Richard 166, 287 Schiffner, Travis 160 Schlund, Stephanie Leigh 141 Schneer, Charles H. 49, 104 Schneider, Rob 163, 164 Schoene, Reiner 198 Schrader, Paul 83 Schreiber, Liev 211, 342 Schulman, Ariel 215, 216 Schumacher, Joel 21, 24 Schwarzenegger, Arnold 21, 167, 290, 293, 301, 302, 303 Schweiger, Til 172 Schwentke, Robert 71, 72 Scodalario, Kaya 193, 194 The Scorpion King 202 Scorupco, Izabella 82, 232 Scott, Adam 129 Scott, Amber 221 Scott, Andrew 7, 92 Scott, Brandon 36 Scott, Campbell 268, 269 Scott, Geoffrey 137 Scott, Ridley 10 Scott, Seann William 86 Scott, Stefanie 150 Scott, Stuart 188 Scott of the Antarctic 183 Scream 249, 251 Scream and Scream Again 178 Screamfest Film Festival 214 Secombe, Andrew 279 Secor, Kyle 236 Seed of Chucky 44 Segal, Peter 75 Segel, Jason 106 Seim, Lindsay 149 Seinfeld (TV) 242, 324 Seldes, Marian 125 Serafinowicz, Peter 103

Serkis, Andy 20, 130, 169, 181, 183, 184, 185, 231, 232, 282 Serpico, Terry 236 Serratos, Christian 312, 313, 315 Settle, Matthew 211 Seven (1979) 235 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad 49, 158 Seyfried, Amanda 223 Shadix, Glenn 230 Shadyac, Tom 74 Shafer, Justin 173 The Shaggy Dog (2006) 253–254 Shah, Kiran 45 Shah, Naseeruddin 225 Shale, Kerry 324 Shalhoub, Tony 195, 196, 289, 295 Shamroy, Leon 259 Shandling, Garry 37, 153 Shannon, Michael 28, 287, 289 Shannon, Molly 178, 252 Sharbino, Saxon 233 Shaw, Brit 218 Shaw, Fiona 111, 112, 114, 116, 119 Shaw, Paula 209 Shaye, Lin 149, 150, 151, 211, 213 Sheen, Charlie 251, 252 Sheen, Lily Mo 318 Sheen, Martin 268 Sheen, Michael 6, 7, 73, 309, 313, 315, 316, 317, 318 Sheen, Rachel 65 Sheffield, Chris 193 Shekter, Rhona 339 Shelley, Norman 105 Shen, Freda Foh 201, 230 Shephard, William 66 Sheppard, W. Morgan 304 Sher, Jack 104 Sherbedgia, Rade 90 Sheridan, Dave 249 Sheridan, Tye 348 Shields, Arthur 156 Shields, Willow 140, 141, 142, 143 Shimizu, Takashi 100, 101 Shinas, Sofia 58 Shipp, Alexandra 348 Shor, Dan 308 Shor, Miriam 31 Shore, Gary 79 Shore, Howard 183, 184, 187, 315 Shorey, Emma 335 Shou, Robin 68, 197, 198 Shively, Matt 216 Sidaris, Andy 235 Siegel, Don 152 Siegel, Kate 213 Silent Hill (2006) 254, 255 Silent Hill: Revelation 3D 255, 256, 257 Silverstone, Alicia 21 Silvestri, Alan 17, 233 Simmons, Chelan 87 Simmons, Jean 7 Simmons, J.K. 264, 265, 266, 293 Simonian, Rupert 222 Simpkins, Ty 149, 154, 168 Sinclair, Harry 181 Sinfonia Antarctica (musical composition) 183 Singer, Bryan 286, 339, 340, 346, 348 Singer, Marc 146 Singh, Tarsem 259 Sinister 257, 258

Sinister 2 258 Sipps, Shaun 86 Sirtis, Marina 271, 272, 273 Sivan, Troye 342 Sjursen, Heidi 303, 304 Skarsgård, Bill 72 Skarsgård, Stellan 17, 20, 48, 82, 83, 227, 228, 296 Skelly, James 299 Skrein, Ed 65 Skyfall 235 Skyler, Tristine 35 Slade, David 314 Slamdance Film Festival 214 Slate, Henry 223 Slate, Jeremy 177 Slattery, John 39 Sleap, Steve 137 The Slime People 169 Slipknot 248 Sloa, Dartanian 258 Sloan, Robert Daniel 258 Sloat, Micah 214, 217 Smiley, Tavis 257 Smith, Brandon 159 Smith, Chris 215 Smith, Cotter 340 Smith, Douglas 211, 220, 293 Smith, Dylan 226 Smith, Jada Pinkett 191, 192 Smith, Jaden 65 Smith, Kerr 86 Smith, Liz 330 Smith, Maggie 49, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 204, 221 Smith, Roger Guenveur 86 Smith, Sheridan 262 Smith, Will 28, 29, 100, 144, 145, 146, 176, 195, 196, 19 Smith, William 235 Smith, Willow 176 Smith-Cameron, J. 41 Smithee, Alan 128 Smitrovich, Bill 152 Smits, Jimmy 278, 281 Smulders, Cobie 17, 20, 37 Snipes, Wesley 31–33 Snoop Dog 252 Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) 260, 261, 262 Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961) 258–259 Snyder, Zach 28, 207, 208, 287 Soles, P.J. 40 Somerville, Geraldine 114, 115, 116, 119, 120 Sommer, Josef 151, 341 Sommers, Stephen 78, 199, 200 Son of Flubber 5 Sonnenfeld, Barry 195, 196, 197 Sony PlayStation, 237 Soong, Lucille 93 Soria, Joseph Julian 236 Sossamon, Shannon 258 Soto, Talisa 197, 198 Soul, Zoë 235 Sowle, Diane 329 Spacek, Sissy 40, 41, 245 Spacey, Kevin 16, 286 Spader, James 20 Spall, Timothy 6, 7, 115, 118, 120 Sparks, Jordin 180 Spawn 266 Spear, Bernard 30

Spearritt, Hannah 44 Spears, Britney 44 Species 239, 262–263 Species II 263 Speedman, Scott 317, 318, 321 Speleers, Ed 7 Spelling, Tori 250 Spence, Bruce 47, 192, 281 Spencer, Chaske 313, 314, 315, 316 Spencer, Marian 104 Spencer, Octavia 72, 110 Spider-Man (2002) 263, 264, 265 Spider-Man 2 (2004) 139, 265– 266 Spider-Man 3 (2007) 266, 267, 268 Spielberg, Steven 16, 147, 165, 166, 167, 221, 222, 327, 328 Spiner, Brent 144, 271, 272, 273 Spink, Brandon 28 The Spirit 91 Sprayberry, Dylan 287 Spruell, Sam 260 Stabile, Nick 43 Stables, Kelly 245 Stacey 235 Staff, Kathy 73 Stahl, Nick 291, 292 Stahl-David, Michael 52 Stallone, Sylvester 66, 163 Stamm, Daniel 173 Stamp, Terence 61, 277 Stan, Sebastian 36, 37, 39 The Stand (novel) 179 Standing, Sir Guy 68 Stanford, Aaron 340, 341 Stanley, Richard 156 Star Trek (2009) 274–275 Star Trek Beyond 276–277 Star Trek: First Contact 255, 271– 272 Star Trek: Insurrection 272, 273 Star Trek: Into Darkness 262, 275, 276 Star Trek: Nemesis 273, 274 Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 278, 279, 280 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) 280–282 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) 282–283 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 277, 278 Statham, Jason 68 Staunton, Imelda 6, 116, 119, 203 steampunk-inspired 225 Steele, Brian 126, 127, 233, 318 Steele, Don 66 Steer, Oscar 204 Steiner, Max 171 Stenberg, Amandla 140 The Stepford Wives (1975) 284– 285 The Stepford Wives (2004) 285– 286 Stephens, Harvey 211 Sterling, Mindy 15, 16 Stevens, Dan 206 Stevenson, Jessica 116 Stevenson, Ray 70, 72, 296, 298 Stewart, Booboo 314, 315, 347 Stewart, Kristin 260, 261, 298, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 Stewart, Martha 196

Index • 365 Stewart, Patrick 271, 272, 273, 339, 340, 341, 345, 347 Stewart, Sara 22 Stewart, Tony 188 Stiles, Julia 211 Stiller, Ben 204, 205, 206 Stockley, Mary 335 Stoffer, Joel 147 Stoll, Corey 14 Stollery, David 156 Stone, Emma 268, 269, 270 Stone, Leonard 329 Stone, Sharon 301, 302 Stormare, Peter 166 Story, Tim 84 Stott, Ken 46, 130, 132, 133 Strause, Brothers see Brothers Strause Straw Dogs 235 Strickland, KaDEE 100 Strobel, John 80 Stroll, Edson 258, 259 Strong, Cecily 99 Struycken, Carel 195 Stuart, Katie 340 Stuart, Mel 329 Stuhlbarg, Michael 75, 196 Sturz, Lisa 137 Subotsky, Milton 178 subtext 285 Sudol, Alison 122 Suicide Squad 28 Sumpter, Jeremy 222 Superfly 63 Superman: Man of Steel 287, 288– 289 Superman Returns 138, 286–287 Superman II 287 Sutherland, Donald 140, 141, 142, 143 Suvari, Mena 41 Swamp Thing 81 Swanson, Ed 34 Swardson, Nick 123 Sweeney, Remy 82 Sweet, Gary 47 “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (song) 349 Swift, Jonathan 104 Swinton, Tilda 45, 46, 47, 75 Sydney, Basil 104 Sydow, Max Von 163, 282 Sykes, Wanda 74, 129 Szostak, Stephanie 154 Tagawa, Cary-Hiroyuki 61, 197, 230 Tahan, Charlie 176 Tahir, Faran 274 Taktarov, Oleg 233, 248 Tales from the Crypt 178 Tamblyn, Amber 101, 244 Tamblyn, Russ 124 Tambor, Jeffrey 69 126, 127 Tanaka, Oga 101 Taras Bulba 259 Target Earth 177 Tarzan (Disney) 138 Tarzan and the Lost City 148 “Tarzan yell” 282 Tate, Catherine 106 Tatopoulos, Patrick 320 Tavare, Jim 114 Tavares, Chelsea 97

Taylforth, Olivia 320 Taylor, Alan 292, 298 Taylor, Brian 98 Taylor, Elizabeth 266 Taylor, James Arnold 306 Taylor, Kent 68 Taylor, Lili 55, 125, 194 Taylor, Matthew G. 238 Taylor, Noah 171, 172, 330 Taylor, Rachel 304 Taylor, Robert 189 Taylor, Rod 105, 299, 300 Taylor, Willa 293 Taylor-Compton, Scout 108, 110 Taylor-Johnson, Aaron 20 Taylor-Ritson, Rosie 204 Tee, Brian 289, 345 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) 289 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2016) 289–290 Teller, Miles 70, 72, 85 10 Cloverfield Lane 52–53, 88 Tena, Natalia 116, 118, 119, 120 Tennant, David 96, 115 Terezakis, Lisa 303 The Terminator 60, 189, 263, 291 Terminator 2 53, 231, 291 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 290, 291–292 Terminator: Genisys 292–293 Terminator: Salvation 277, 292 Terra, Scott 60 Tesen, Todd 137 Thai, Tai 322 Thatcher, Torin 157, 158 Them! 326 Themmen, Paris 329 theremin 64 Theron, Charlize 10, 13, 188, 189, 260, 261 , 262 Thewlis, David 116, 118, 119, 155, 211 The Thing (1982) 243 The Thing (2011) 53, 88 The Thing from Another World 64, 326 Thirlby, Olivia 164 13 Ghosts (1960) 126, 294, 295 Thirteen Ghosts (2001) 295–296 Thomas, Henry 213 Thomas, Jeffrey 130 Thomas, Sean Patrick 108 The Thomas Crown Affair (1977) 106 Thompson, Brian 198 Thompson, Emma 114, 116, 120, 196, 203, 204 Thompson, Fred Dalton 257 Thompson, Jordenn 123 Thompson, Lea 137, 180 Thomsen, Ulrich 293, 294 Thomson, Anna 58 Thor 29 296, 297, 298 Thor, Cameron 165 Thor: The Dark World 102, 298– 299 Thorburn, June 104 Three Stooges 258 The Three Worlds of Gulliver 49, 104, 105 Thurman, Uma 21, 219 Thurston, Nick 232 Thurston, Robert 205

Ticotin, Rachel 301 Tiddes, Michael 123, 124 Tiefenbach, Dov 94 Till, Lucas 344, 347, 348 Tilly, Jennifer 43, 44 Timberline, Cooper 287 The Time Machine (1960) 299, 300, 326 The Time Machine (2002) 301 Tin Man 332 Tisdale, Ashley 252 Titanic (1997) 312 Tobolowsky, Stephen 93 Todd, Tony 58, 86, 87, 88 Tolkien, J.R.R. 44, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184 Tom, Kiana 323 Tomei, Marisa 39 Tomlinson, Eleanor 158 Tope, Travis 146 Torgi, Mark 303 Torn, Rip 195, 196 Torres, Gina 192 Total Recall (1990) 164, 301, 302 Total Recall (2012) 302–303 Toub, Shaun 152 Townsend, Stuart 225 Trachtenberg, Dan 52 Tracy, Keegan Connor 86 Trainor, Kevin 126 Tran, Trini 322 Trang, Thuy 59 Transcendence Transformers 304, 305 Transformers: Age of Extinction 307–308 Transformers: Dark of the Moon 307 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 305, 306, 307 Traue, Antje 287 Travers, Henry 68 Travis, Pete 164 Travolta, John 16, 40, 41, 43 Trcka, Jayne 249 Treadaway, Luke 50 Trejo, Danny 108, 233 Tremayne, Les 325 Trentham, Barbara 247 Trevorrow, Colin 168 Triesault, Ivan 161 Trimbur, Angela 110 Triple H 33 Troegner, Franziska 330 Tron 308, 309 Tron: Legacy 309, 310 Troyer, Verne 15, 16 Trubshawe, Michael 30 Tucci, Stanley 36, 140, 141, 142, 143, 158, 159, 220, 307, 308 Tudyk, Alan 193, 283, 307 Tui, John 133 Tunnicliffe, Gary J. 156 Turner, Aidan 130, 132, 133 Turner, Sophie 348 Turner, Stephen Baker 35 Turturro, John 304, 306, 307, 308 TV Guide 326 28 Days Later 310–311 28 Weeks Later 311–312 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 163, 300, 326 Twilight 61, 71, 73, 298, 312 Twilight series 261

The Twilight Saga 381 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part I 315–316 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 139, 316–317 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 314, 315 The Twlight Saga: New Moon 312, 313, 314 The Twilight Zone (TV) 149 Twister 146 2001: A Space Odyssey 13, 310, 324 Twohy, David 241, 242, 243 Tyler, Liv 138, 181, 183, 185 Tyner, Charles 223 Udenio, Fabiana 15 Uggams, Leslie 65 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 106 Uncanny X-Men (comic) 339 Under the Skin 263, 266 Underworld 172, 317–318 Underworld: Awakening 321–322 Underworld: Evolution 318, 319, 320 Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 320–321 The Unearthly 146 Unger, Deborah Kara 254, 255 Unger, Joe 80 Universal Soldier 322–323 Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning 232, 324–325 Universal Soldier: Regeneration 324 Universal Soldier: The Return 323, 324 Uno, Misako 101 Urb, Johann 240 Urban, Karl 164, 183, 185, 224, 242, 243, 274, 275, 276 Usher 252 V (TV) 66, 146 Vairo, Matt 52 VanCamp, Emily 37, 39, 245 Vance, Courtney B. 88, 293 Van Cleef, Lee 80 Van Damme, Jean-Claude 322, 323, 324 Vander, Musetta 198 Van Der Beek, James 249 Van Dreelan, John 294 Van Dyke, Dick 206 Vanek, Chase 110 Van Heijningen, Matthijs, Jr. 293 Van Helsing 78–79, 226, 334 Van Patten, Dick 93 Van Wageningen, Yorick 242 Van Winkle, Travis 95 Varela, Leonor 32 Vargas, Jacob 68 Vargas, Valentina 129 Vaughn, Matthew 343 Vaughn, Vince 166 Vavasseur, Sophie 238 Velasquez, Patricia 199 Venable, Evelyn 68 Verbinski, Gore 226, 227, 228, 244 Verhoeven, Paul 301 Vergara, Sandra 97 Viahos, Eros 204 Vibert, Ronan 79 Victor, Renee 217

366 • Index Victor Frankenstein 92–93 Vidal, Christina 93 Visitor, Nana 95 Visnjic, Goran 61 Vodianova, Natalia 50 Vogel, Mike 52 Voight, Jon 122, 171, 304 Vosloo, Arnold 199, 200 Wachowski, Andy 189, 191, 192 Wachowski, Larry 189, 191, 192 Waddell, Justine 77 Wadham, Julian 82, 83 Wagner, Robert 15, 16 Wahlberg, Mark 230, 307 Wainwright, Rupert 90 Wakefield, Rhys 234 Walken, Christopher 285 Walker, Ally 322, 323 Walker, Jackson 88 Walker, Polly 50 Walker-Reid, Ellisa 335 Wallace, Dee 284 Walliams, David 46 Wallis, Annabelle 56 Walsh, Gabrielle 217 Walsh, Kate 252 Walter, Niamh 262 Walters, Julie 111, 112, 114, 116, 118, 119, 120 Walton, Anna 127 Wan, James 55, 57, 149 Wanamaker, Zoe 111 War and Peace 138 The War of the Worlds (1953) 325, 326, 327 War of the Worlds (TV) 326 War of the Worlds (2005) 327, 328 Warburton, Patrick 196 Ward, Gemma 229 Ward, Laura 61 Ward, Sela 146 Ward, Zach 238 Warner, David 230, 308 Warren, Estella 230 Washington, Kerry 84 Wasikowska, Mia 6–7 Watanabe, Ken 22, 307 Waterhouse, Suki 72 Waters, Gina 93 Waters, John 44 Waters, Mark 93 Waterston, Katherine 122 Watkins, James 334 Watkins, Tuc 199 Watson, Clayton 192 Watson, Emma 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120 Watts, Naomi 72, 169, 171, 244, 245, 289 Wayans, Keenen Ivory 249, 250 Wayans, Marlon 123, 124, 249 Wayans, Shawn 249 Waylett, Jamie 116, 118 Weatherley, David 181 Weaver, Michael 213 Weaver, Sigourney 8–9, 66, 263 Weaving, Hugo 36, 130, 133, 181, 183, 185, 189,191, 192, 304, 334 Webb, Bronson 92 Webb, Eloise 48

Webb, Haley 88 Webb, Marc 268, 269 Weber, Jake 69, 207 Weber, Steven 76 Weissmuller, Johnny 84 Weisz, Rachel 199, 200, 332 Weitz, Chris 312 Welborn, Justin 88 Welch, Michael 272, 312, 313, 315 Welch, Raquel 30 Weld, Tuesday 84 Welker, Frank 306 Weller, Peter 275 Welling, Tom 90 Welliver, Titus 307 Wells, H.G. 326 Wells, Mary 137 Wells, Simon 301 Wen, Jiang 283 Wenham, David 78, 183, 185 Wertz, Chris 129 West, Cornel 191 West, Samuel 78 West, Shane 225 West, Simon 171 Westler, Helen 68 Weston, Celia 151 Weston, Jonny 72 Whannell, Leigh 149, 150 Wheaton, Wil 5, 273 Whedon, Joss 7, 17, 19 Wheeler, Jane 161 Whelan, Nicky 180 Whiplash 85 Whitaker, Forest 262, 283 White, Bernard 37, 192 White, Julie 304, 306, 307 White, Liz 335 White, Michael Jai 24, 323 White, Stiles 211 White, Susanna 203 White Cargo 266 Whitehouse, Paul 6, 7 Whitlock, Isiah, Jr. 224 Whitman, Stuart 63 Whitton, Grace 252 Whitworth, Johnny 98 Whyte, Ian 9, 10, 50 Wiegratz, Philip 330 Wigg, Kristen 99 Wilde, Gabriela 42 Wilde, Olivia 309 Wilder, Gene 329, 330 Wilding, Spencer 92, 98 Wilkinson, Tom 22 Willard (2003) 328–329 Willetts, Karl 81 Will.i.am 342 William, Warren 334 Williams, Gary Anthony 289 Williams, John 166, 280, 282 Williams, Katt 252 Williams, Lynn “Red,” 198 Williams, Mark 112, 115, 118, 119, 120 Williams, Michael 34 Williams, Michael K. 235, 246 Williams, Michelle 107, 108, 171, 262, 332, 333 Williams, Olivia 222, 341 Williams, Philip 94

Williams, Ralph Vaughan 183 Williams, Robin 5, 167, 204, 205, 206, 221 Williamson, Mykelti 88, 236, 263 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 329, 330 Wilson, Bridget 136, 197 Wilson, Lambert 191, 192 Wilson, Lulu 213 Wilson, Owen 125, 204, 206 Wilson, Patrick 55, 57, 149 Wilson, Peta 225, 286 Wilson, Rainn 306 Wilson, Randal 82 Wilson, Rebel 206 Wilson, Scott 163, 164 Wincott, Michael 8, 58, 59 Windsor, Barbara 6, 7 Windsor, Marie 93 Wingfield, Peter 130 Winnick, Katheryn 171 Winningham, Mare 259 Winslet, Kate 70, 71, 72, 171 Winstead, Mary-Elizabeth 52, 53, 87, 88, 293, 294 Winstone, Ray 45, 147, 260 Winter, Julia 330 Winters, Dean 289 Winters, Shelley 223 Wise, Ray 160, 344 Wise, Robert 63, 64, 124 Wiseman, Len 302, 317, 318 Witt, Alexander 237 Wolfe, Madison 57 The Wolfman (2010) 333–334 The Wolverine 345, 346 The Woman in Black 73, 334, 335 The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death 336–337 Wong, Anthony 192 Wong, B.D. 165, 168 Wong, Benedict 75 Wong, Chau Sang Anthony 201 Wong, James 86, 87 Wong, Kea 340 Wong, Russell 201 Wong, Tim 223 Wood, Elijah 130, 181, 183, 185 Wood, Jacqueline MacInnes 88 Wood, Matthew 281 Wood, Rachel 164 Wood-Blagrove, Faith 122 Woodard, Alfre 56, 271 Woodbine, Bokeem 302 Woodburn, Danny 289 Woodcock, Fagin 338 Woodley, Shailene 70, 72 Woodruff, Tom, Jr. 7, 9, 10 Woods, Donald 294, 295 Woods, James 250 Woods, Lil 204 World’s Finest, No. 143, August 1964 (comic) 28 Woronov, Mary 66 Worthington, Sam 50, 51, 292 Wrath of the Titans 51 Wray, Fay 171 Wright, Bonnie 112, 115, 116 Wright, Edgar 208 Wright, Janet 248 Wright, Jeffrey 141, 143, 151

Wright, Jenny 177 Wright, Joe 223 Wright, John, Jr. 173 Wright, Jude 336 Wright, N’Bushe 31 Wroe, Ellen 88 Wyatt, Rupert 231 Wynter, Dana 7 The X-Files: Fight the Future 337, 338 The X-Files: I Want to Believe 338– 339 X-Files saga (TV) 338 X-Men 85, 339–340 X-Men: Apocalypse 348–349 X-Men: Days of Future Past 346, 347 X-Men: First Class 343, 344 X-Men Origins: Wolverine 342– 343 X-Men: The Last Stand 341–342 X2: X-Men United 340–341 Yagher, Kevin 129 Yam, Simon 172 Yamamura, Ken 345 Yamanouchi, Haruhiko 345 Yarbrough, Jean 156 Yasbeck, Amy 76 Yates, David 115, 117, 119, 120, 122 Yearwood, Bjorn 220 Yelchin, Anton 96, 97, 274, 275, 276, 277, 292 Yen, Donnie 130, 283 Yeoh, Michelle 201 Yin, Terence 172 Yip, Francoise 10 Yoo, Aaron 95 York, Michael 15, 16 Young, Aden 91 Young, Alan 299 Young, Annie 57 Young, Bruce A. 167 Young, Carleton 63 Young, Jonathon 90 Young, Keone 196 Young, Neil 155 Yu, Ronny 43, 209 Yun-Fat, Chow 228 Yustman, Odette 52 Zabriskie, Grace 100 Zall, Alexis G. 213 Zano, Nick 88 Zanuck, Darryl F. 64 Zappala, Janet 257 Zerbe, Anthony 175, 176, 191, 192, 272, 303 Zervos, George T. 55 Zeta-Jones, Catherine 125 Zien, Chip 137 Zimmer, Hans 27 Zombie, Rob 108, 110 Zombie, Sheri Moon 108, 110 Zombies 209, 230 Zucker, David 250, 251 Zumann, Lucas Jade 258 Zúñiga, José 312 Zurer, Ayelet 287 Zylka, Chris 268