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DVD Sahara (Widescreen Edition)
It took more than 25 years for another Clive Cussler novel to come to the screen after the financial and critical disaster of Raise the Titanic. Based on Cussler's oddly landlocked adventure, Sahara finds the author's hero, Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey)--a sort of all-American, high seas variation of James Bond--in Africa looking for a Confederate ironclad ship that impossibly might have ended up there. Soon he and his faithful sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) are lost in another adventure, discovering a deadly contaminate being tracked by a beautiful doctor (Penelope Cruz). The results are checkered: there's no one outstanding sequence, but the action is enjoyably varied, while the thrills are mild yet not bombastic or gratuitous. The cast are all adept in their roles, yet the only one who sparkles is the scene-stealing Zahn, cast against type; McConaughey, who also produced, knows he might be starting a franchise character and plays it safe. He's never as dangerous as Cussler's hero is on the page (except in his introduction), and in fact, the whole movie plays towards comedy, infused by a soundtrack of 70s FM radio monsters. Cussler fanatics may not like this lighter fare, especially with the archeological portion (a Cussler strong point) not fully embraced, but with a very, very likable cast and colorful settings, Sahara is a kindler, gentler action film that has all the elements in place for a better, more memorable franchise if anyone cares to attempt it. --Doug Thomas
Will I spend more than five minutes in a review of a film that stands on my memory zone in the neo-cortex less than that after it is finished? Ok, maybe three minutes.
On the last decades of the nineteenth century, a new science called anthropology produced all kind of (ethnographic) descriptions of faraway people in faraway places, so different from the white explorer-scientist and his mother-society. The sense of superiority inherent in this kind of enterprise constitutes a big part of what makes backpacking appealing (back then and to this day). With this film you have the opportunity to feel that there are some places on this Earth were you can stand in awe simply because you're there.
The plot is extremelly silly but never insulting, and the cinematography is extraordinary. Some interesting directorial touches of Disney's ex-CEO son (sorry mate, you need to do some movies before getting people to remember your first name) makes this light summer film very worth of a rental (assuming you have a 5.1 surround setup). It is a shame that the best shot of the film is the opening credits one (you'll understand when you see it), but the rest of the film has enough gloss to put your mind in a kind of popcorn trance. Finally, I appreciate that the CGI is really kept at bay and that most of the action seems to be filmed on location with real stunt-doubles.
By the way: this was filmed in Morocco, but you know that, you stayed until the end of the film credits to know where to next time you get your backpack out of the closet, isn't?
Dirk Pitt is cool!
We rented this movie the other night and after having read Sahara several years ago I was curious to see how it would it look on the big screen.
The film did not do justice to the book however I was excited just to see this character come to life. Mathew McConaughy is picture perfect as Dirk Pitt (Except for the long hair) He has that rugged swarthy look you would expect from an outdoorsman. The photography is good and the Supporting cast is excellent. The script had some problems but that is to be expected from a translation of an author of Clive Cusslers calliber.
Overall a very enjoyable movie, I hope Mathew McConaughy makes a sequel to this film. Next time I am going to see it at the theatre....Well done.
Don't Have High Expectations
Don't go into watching this movie with huge expectations, and you may find yourself enjoying it! Its main purpose is to be a fun film to watch, there are some funny parts and some deep parts, but all in all it can't be taken too seriously. It's music is also rather notable. The only things it's lacking is in the realm of believability in the end, that a toxin which had been leaking into the ground, for who knows how many years, could suddenly be a non-issue.
So aside from one man's obsession with finding a treasure ship in the middle of the Sahara desert, and aside from some plague or toxin killing people, the movie itself is supposed to be a light hearted action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jon Turteltaub DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Co-written by the team of David S.... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Christopher Nolan DVD Release Date: Released the 18 October 2005 This item is currently not available.
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Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)
Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail. Years later, he has a chance to save her again.
More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 16 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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It's hard to believe Ridley Scott's handsome epic won't become the cinematic touchstone of the Crusades for years to come. Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the sum of its parts, delivering a vital, mostly engrossing tale following Balian (Orlando Bloom), a lonely French blacksmith who discovers he's a noble heir and takes his father's (Liam Neeson) place in the center of the universe circa 1184: Jerusalem. Here, grand battles and backdoor politics are key as Scott and first-time screenwriter William Monahan fashion an excellent storyline to tackle the centuries-long conflict. Two forward-thinking kings, Baldwin (Edward Norton in an uncredited yet substantial role) and Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), hold an uneasy truce between Christians (who hold the city) and Muslims while factions... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Liam Neeson - Orlando Bloom - Eva Green Director(s): Ridley Scott DVD Release Date: Released the 11 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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