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irishphat
Reviews
National Treasure (2004)
*minor spoilers* Indiane Kruger ?
Nick Cage is back in this fast paced, glossy-actioned Bruckenheimer tale of mythical lost treasure and a centuries old freemason plan to hide it.. yet also leave clues for Nick and his family to track down. Sean Bean is the baddie as all hell breaks loose when Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) realises he has to steal the American Declaration of independence.
For some reason Cage has decided to do a PG movie that is really one for the whole family as opposed to some of the more cerebral (adaptation) stuff he's been doing lately. At least it's better than gone in 60 seconds. The basic plot is that for several generations, Ben Gates' family have been looking for a lost treasure in order to protect it. The treasure is an immeasurably valuable horde secreted away by the Freemasons in the 18th century to hide it from the British.
In the course of his search he has teamed up (for reasons unknown) with a wealthy treasure hunter in Ian Howe (Sean Bean). When clues lead them to the possibility that the map is behind the Declaration of Independence, Ian decides to steal it. Gates, been an all-American type tells him it's not on, so Ian goes ballistic. Literally.
Ben Gates fails miserably at warning the FBI and others about the plot so decides to do the only thing left to protect the treasure. Steal the declaration of independence himself. Getting roped in along the way is the obligatory cardboard cut-out an academic archives administrator - the gorgeous Diane Kruger and Gates dad, Jon Voight.
Bean is pretty good as the baddie but to be fair it's not the most challenging role he'll ever have. The main attraction of this movie is really the Indiane Kruger.. I mean Indiana Jones element involving old puzzles and secret caverns behind famous landmarks.
Of course this is a Jerry Bruckheimer film so it's all popcorn, fun and excitement. Don't expect subtext or high brow deep-thinking. It's a fun adventure and deserves to be treated as such. 3/5 and a thumbs up from IV.
Wimbledon (2004)
positive schmaltz - all round goodness
Sports Movies are usually immensely positive good-natured affairs altogether. Wimbledon is no different as Tennis tries to drag itself into the mainstream and gain some appeal with tykes around the globe. Some schmaltz thrown in along with the lovely Kirsten Dunst and you have a line-up capable of taking on any audience. Or do you?
Tennis. Rusedski, Agassi, Sharapova et al. They make big news once a year as we all tune into Roland Garros and Wimbledon but how big a deal is it really. This movie tries to drag the sport kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.
With two excellent leads in the Lovely Kirsten Dunst and a surprisingly charming Paul Bettany(Master Commander) and a supporting cast including Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Jon Favreau (Swingers) and back-up folk such as John McEnroe and Chris Evert there's plenty of people who can make a movie enjoyable.
The main gist of things is that aging Brit Peter Colt(Bettany) has decided to make one last bash at the Championship, expecting to make a quick exit. The night before his first match he meets Lizzie Bradbury - the rising American starlet who sets his pulse racing and seems to spark him into action. The movie follows their blooming relationship while keeping up with their progress through the tournament. Not the massive cheese-fest it could have been as Colt gets fairly lucky along the way and it appears he was once class having been ranked 11th in the world at one point. Focus seems his problem, not ability. His new lady love hones that focus as he makes an assault on the title.
The tennis coaching for this was done by former headband-lover Pat Cash. By all accounts they had to abandon plans to make them look really good and had to add the ball in digitally later. Not for want of effort, both leads spent weeks in preparation for their roles. A well paced movie, you don't really have time to get bored and as such it remains wholly enjoyable for the duration. Sam Neill is pretty good with what little he has to do as the over-protective father who manages to avoid the cliché of being unreasonable for the sake of it. The rest of the cast are fun and entertaining particularly the younger brother (Carl) who some may recall as Pvt. Miller from Band of Brothers. Well worth a trip, Irishphat rating is a healthy 3 out of 5.
Blade: Trinity (2004)
weakest of the three but worth seeing
A nasty gang of Vamps have found Dracula and want him to kill Blade who is on the run from the cops. Meanwhile Blade hooks up with the Nightstalkers, a gang of hip, vampire killers. In short, it's not bad. It's not the worst movie ever but with the likes of Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds involved, there's something for everyone.
The plot of this techno-heaven film revolves around introducing Hannibal King (Reynolds) and Abigail Whistler (Biel) to the Blade audience. Blade himself has been outed to the cops by mischievous vamps and is on the run. Cue a rescue by the Nightstalkers and the unfolding of a plan by the vamps to unleash Drake (Dracula), who they found in Iraq on an unsuspecting populace. Blade et al plan on stopping him.
Honestly went into this expecting it to be at least watchable and have a few good one-liners to get the odd chuckle and that's pretty much what I got. Biel and Reynolds are more than watchable but Reynolds gets a fair few duff lines. More than his share, as when he's good, he's very good. Blade camps it up a bit along the way, coochy-cooing a baby and throwing in some gangsta stuff too which mostly works.
The vamps include Parker Posey as the ring-leader (looks awful) and Triple H as the comedy vamp there's been in all Blade movies. As a main Baddie, Drake comes somewhere around dead last for overall nastiness, coming nowhere near Stephen Dorff's Frost for cruelty or Luke Goss' remember Bros) Nomak for scariness. He does however have pretty good dialogue and isn't overdone. The problem is he doesn't seem to have a plan of his own.
Other than that the techno soundtrack is excellent again (Jurassic 5 feature prominently) the look and feel of the movie is glossy and fun. Jessica Biel will keep all the fan boys happy. Main lacking points include occasional weak writing, and a loose plot. The fight scenes are as strong as any in the series but not enough to save this from being the weakest of the three. Never boring and well paced but never likely to get you jumping out of your seat. 2/5
Hidalgo (2004)
Not the best, certainly not the worst.
For a movie that lasts over two hours it doesn't drag very much. With a good dose of wit thrown in there in places it does leave a lot to be desired in terms of plot. A lot is left up to the viewer to decide for themselves. For instance, Frank Hopkins motivation isn't really clarified, you can guess, but his agenda is left a little vague.
Some of the Arabian characters are a little stereotypical but Omar Sharif is enjoyable and generally the good guys come off well and the bad guys come off badly. I know some people couldn't get why the riders were so exhausted but the idea of riding a couple of thousand miles in 35 degrees celcius sounds pretty nasty to me.
Generally it's a fun movie once you're not expecting anything too historical and/or socio-political. A solid 6 out of 10