Review: "King's Ransom" is Funnier Than I Expected (Happy B'day, Anthony Anderson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 138 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

King’s Ransom (2005)
Running time:  95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor and language
DIRECTOR:  Jeff Byrd
WRITER:  Wayne Conley
PRODUCER:  Darryl Taja
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Robert McLachlan with Daniel Villeneuve
EDITOR:  Jeffrey Cooper
COMPOSERS:  Luce Gordon and Marcus Miller

COMEDY/CRIME

Starring:  Anthony Anderson, Jay Mohr, Kellita Smith, Nicole Ari Parker, Regina Hall, Loretta Devine, Donald Faison, Leila Arcieri, Brooke D’Orsay, Jackie Burroughs, Lisa Marcos, and Charlie Murphy

The subject of this movie review is King’s Ransom, a 2005 comedy from New Line Cinema.  Starring Anthony Anderson, the film follows a despicable businessman who arranges his own kidnapping as a way to trump his gold-digging wife’s plans for his money, only to see the plot go awry.  King’s Ransom was poorly received by professional film critics, but I like it anyway.

In King’s Ransom (a kind of loose take on the 80’s comedy hit, Ruthless People), Malcolm King (Anthony Anderson), the owner of King Enterprises, is a successful and wealthy man, worth millions of dollars, but he’s also an A-#1-asshole and jerk.  He’s made a lot of enemies, from overworked and under-appreciated employees to his soon-to-be ex-wife, Renee King (Kellita Smith).  He is very concerned about his messy and likely expensive divorce, in which he may have to give up at least half of his wealth to Renee, so he devises a plan to keep his money out of her hands.  With the help of his mistress, Peaches Clarke (Regina Hall), Malcolm plots his own kidnapping in order to secure a fictitious ransom of $10 million – money he can keep away from his wife.

Malcolm, however, isn’t the only one with kidnapping him in mind.  Bitter that she wasn’t made a vice-president at King Enterprises, long-suffering employee, Angela Drake (Nicole Parker), cooks up a half-baked kidnap plot, but a dimwitted, down-on-his-luck, local bumpkin named Corey (Jay Mohr) is also plotting to kidnap Malcolm.  And it wouldn’t be a three-ring circus if Renee, with the help of her tongue-tied lover, didn’t have her own snatch and grab Malcolm plan go awry.

King’s Ransom was nearly dead on arrival when it opened in theatres this past spring, and it, of course, received awful reviews from movie reviewers.  However, the film is a comical and occasionally side-splitting laugher full of dumb jokes, bawdy humor, and low brow comedy, which is was likely deliberately written to be.  King’s Ransom is not great slapstick (and the timing seems a little off), but it works because the cast tries like heck to make it funny.  They succeeded; King’s Ransom is funny as hell.  I must repeat: it’s dumb, dumb, dumb again, but it’s supposed to be dumb, but funny, and it’s hilarious.  An urban comedy, it’s three times better than Soul Plane, but not as good as the Barbershop movies or Malibu’s Most Wanted.

Anthony Anderson is a great comic actor.  He’s as good as members of the so-called Frat Pack like Vince Vaughn and Jack Black, and is way better than Owen and Luke Wilson, but he won’t get the kind of primo movie parts they do.  He’s just a funny guy, and his acting credentials show even in a simple-minded film like this.  Almost all the cast shines, particularly Charlie Murphy (Eddie’s brother and a supporting player on “The Chappelle Show”), but Regina Hall stands out amongst the supporting players.  She is superb at playing character roles in comedies.  I hope that like Anderson, her skin color doesn’t keep her from getting at least one meaty comedy role per year.

6 of 10
B

Updated:  Thursday, August 15, 2013

------------------------

Christopher Nolan Begins Shooting "Interstellar"

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND WARNER BROS. PICTURES ANNOUNCE THE START OF PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S “INTERSTELLAR”

HOLLYWOOD, CA (August 13, 2013) – Paramount Pictures, a division of Viacom, Inc., and Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that principal photography on “INTERSTELLAR” is officially underway in Alberta, Canada. The film will be released in IMAX® and 35mm theaters on November 7, 2014.  Paramount Pictures will distribute domestically, Warner Bros. Pictures internationally.

Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), the production will travel the globe and utilize a mixture of 35mm anamorphic and IMAX film photography to bring to the screen a script based on the combination of an original idea by Nolan and an existing script by Jonathan Nolan, originally developed for Paramount Pictures and producer Lynda Obst.  The new script chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

“Interstellar” features a prestigious cast that includes Matthew McConaughey (“Magic Mike,” “Mud”), Academy Award® winner Anne Hathaway (“Les Miserables,” “The Dark Knight Rises”), Academy Award® nominee Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Tree of Life”), Bill Irwin (“Rachel Getting Married,” TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) Academy Award® nominee John Lithgow (“Terms of Endearment,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) Academy Award® nominee Casey Affleck (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Gone Baby Gone”), David Gyasi (“Cloud Atlas”), Wes Bentley (“The Hunger Games”), Mackenzie Foy (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 and 2”) Timothée Chalamet (TV’s “Homeland”), Topher Grace (“Spider-Man 3”), David Oyelowo (“Jack Reacher,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), Academy Award® winner Ellen Burstyn (“The Last Picture Show,” “The Exorcist”), and Academy Award® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy).

The film is being produced by Academy Award® nominee Emma Thomas (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy) and Lynda Obst (“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “The Siege”).  Renowned theoretical physicist Kip Thorne is consulting on the film as well as serving as executive producer, along with Jake Myers (“Jack Reacher,” “RED,” “RED 2”) and Jordan Goldberg (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy).

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Fighter”), Academy Award®-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (“The Dark Knight” Trilogy), Academy Award®-nominated costume designer Mary Zophres (“Gangster Squad,” “True Grit”) Academy Award®-nominated editor Lee Smith “The Dark Knight” Trilogy,” “Elysium,”, Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy), and Academy Award®-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” Trilogy).
 
Official Site: www.InterstellarMovie.com

About Paramount Pictures Corporation 
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures meets worldwide tastes and demands with a diverse mix of filmed entertainment and is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films.  The International Division operates offices in 24 countries and releases films in over 125 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures.  Internationally, the Studio has been the market leader in six of the last 13 years, having surpassed $1 billion in grosses a total of 15 years, 12 of which were consecutive years, and crossed $2 billion five times, including 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Review: "The Forgotten" - Good Premise, Poor Execution (Happy B'day, James Horner)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 193 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Forgotten (2004)
Running time:  96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense thematic material, some violence, and brief language
DIRECTOR:  Joseph Ruben
WRITER:  Gerald Di Pego
PRODUCERS:  Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, and Joe Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Anastas N. Michos
EDITOR:  Richard Francis-Bruce
COMPOSER:  James Horner

MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of sci-fi and horror

Starring:  Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Christopher Kovaleski, Anthony Edwards, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Kathryn Faughnan, Linus Roache, and Robert Wisdom with J. Tucker Smith

The subject of this movie review is The Forgotten, a 2004 mystery and psychological thriller starring Julianne Moore.  The film follows a woman who delves into a strange conspiracy after being told that her son never existed.

The Forgotten is a riveting mystery thriller, but as the films moves through its plot, the film becomes ever more fantastical and, at time, eye-rolling ridiculous.  Still, the film has it’s moments, enough to earn it a recommendation as something to watch at home, either via DVD, video, or television.

The Forgotten begins with wife and mother Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) grieving over the loss of her eight-year old son, Sam (Christopher Kovaleski), in a plane accident 14 months prior.  However, of the course of a few days, evidence of Sam’s existence starts to disappear, and before long, even Telly’s husband, Jim (Anthony Edwards), claims that they never had a son.  But Telly is damn sure she had a boy.

She meets Ash Correll (Dominic West), the father of one of Sam’s best friends, but Ash doesn’t remember having a daughter.  Telly eventually convinces Ash to remember his child, and that’s about the time agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the police start coming around looking for Telly and Ash.  That not only convinces Telly that she did have a son, but that Sam might still be alive.  As she delves deeper into the mystery, she discovers that hugely powerful and ominous forces may be behind the abduction of her son.

The premise of a mother fighting to convince other people that the memories of her dead son are the recollections of a real child and not the delusions of a psychotic is actually good.  If only The Forgotten had stuck with that.  The basic premise becomes an abduction story, a government conspiracy tale, and way-out-there sci-fi trick, and though The Forgotten has its moments, the film is ultimately a warmed over rehash of themes from “The Twilight Zone,” “Outer Limits,” and “The X-Files.”  In addition to that, The Forgotten wouldn’t stand out as a “best of” in any of those TV series.  The ploy is too make you think you’re getting a good mystery about a woman fighting for her memories of her deceased child, and you’re ultimately getting something else.  The “abduction” special effects are admittedly quite neat and a good reason to see the film.

The performances are flimsy, with Moore being the most effective and most annoying.  Her Telly Paretta is sometimes sympathetic, but mostly the character does come across as a whiny, obsessed, paranoid delusional.  For all that you might want her to find her child, you’d really like her to shut up sometimes.  The film also features a few other actors wasted in small, trashy parts including Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, and Linus Roache.

5 of 10
C+

Updated:  Wednesday, August 14, 2013

----------------------

Review: "Octopussy" Not Quite an All Time High in Bond Franchise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Octopussy (1983)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  U.K.
Running time:  131 minutes (2 hours, 11 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  John Glen
WRITERS:  George MacDonald Fraser and Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson (based on short stories and the characters created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCER:  Albert R. Broccoli
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alan Hume (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Peter Davies and Henry Richardson
COMPOSER:  John Barry
THEME SONG:  “All Time High” – Lyrics by Tim Rice, music by John Barry, and sung by Rita Coolidge

SPY/DRAMA

Starring:  Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff, David Meyer, Anthony Meyer, Vijay Amritraj, Albert Moses, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Geoffrey Keen, and Robert Brown

This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of Octopussy, the 1983 James Bond film and British spy drama (specifically June 6, 1983).  Octopussy is also the 13th film in the James Bond film series, and the sixth time that actor Roger Moore portrayed fictional M16 agent James Bond, codenamed 007.

Octopussy is based on two short stories written by James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, “Octopussy” and “The Property of a Lady.”  ‘Octopussy” appeared in the James Bond short story collection, Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966).  “The Property of a Lady” was included in later editions of Octopussy and the Living Daylights.

In Octopussy the movie, 007 uncovers a terrorist plot tied to an international jewelry smuggling operation.  This is not a great Bond movie, but it is one I greatly enjoy, although I am not sure if I have watched it since it first appeared in movie theatres.

British agent 009 dies in West Berlin after being stabbed.  He is found wearing a clown costume and carrying a fake Fabergé egg.  James Bond, Agent 007 (Roger Moore) follows the trail of the fake egg to an auction of a real Fabergé egg.  There, Bond encounters Kamal Kahn (Louis Jourdan), an exiled Afghan prince.  Bond is attracted to one of Kahn’s associates, Magda (Kristina Wayborn), a beautiful young woman with a tattoo of a blue-ringed octopus on her back.

Magda leads Bond to the mysterious Octopussy (Maud Adams), a wealthy woman who leads an octopus cult, of which Magda is part.  Now, Bond must discover the connection between Octopussy, Kahn, and General Orlov (Steven Berkoff), a renegade Soviet general, and why that connection may mean a deadly attack on NATO forces in Europe.

The James Bond movies in which Roger Moore played 007 are not like other Bond movies, especially the latter half of Moore’s tenure.  Moore always seems like he’s having a good time, half-smiling and with a wink and a nod to the audience.  The audiences at the time of these films initial theatrical releases apparently enjoyed Moore as Bond, as the movies were successful.

Octopussy, however, is strange, and not just because of the salacious title.  First, the subject matter – the threat of an act of nuclear terrorism, and especially the threat of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union – was quite serious at the time because of its real world implications.  The movie is fairly violent, with several killings, and Bond even shoots a young soldier (who looks as if he is little more than a kid in his early 20s), point blank, right in the middle of his forehead, killing him.

At the same time, Octopussy is often humorous and sometimes plays like a spy comedy.  There is over-the-top silliness (like the Tarzan yell), some tongue-in-cheek humor (the gorilla and clown costumes), some gallows humor (the killing of a man in a clown costume), and some satirical humor (in the form of General Orlov, who seems as if he belongs in the film, Dr. Strangelove).

Octopussy is also a good-looking movie, especially because of the exotic Indian locales, in which much of the film was shot.  The interiors of Kamal Kahn’s “Monsoon Palace” and Octopussy’s hideaway are like that of high-end, luxury hotels.  All the costumes, from Bond’s attire and the military uniforms to the slinky and revealing wear of Octopussy and her harem, are eye-catching.

Octopussy’s villains aren’t great Bond bad guys, although Louis Jourdan’s suave turn as Kamal Kahn is a nice odd note.  But odd is the way to describe Octopussy, and that may be why it has a special place in my movie lover’s heart.  As a recommendation, I’d say, “Hell, see it for the girls and for Octopussy herself (nicely played by Maud Adams).”

7 of 10
B+

Friday, August 09, 2013

Review: Roger Moore Still Cool in "For Your Eyes Only" (Remembering Sir Ian Fleming)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 54 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

For Your Eyes Only (1981)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  U.K.
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  John Glen
WRITERS:  Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson (based on short stories and the characters created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCER:  Albert R. Broccoli
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Alan Hume (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Grover
COMPOSER:  Bill Conti
THEME SONG:  “For Your Eyes Only” – Lyrics by Michael Lesson, music by Bill Conti, and sung by Sheen Easton
Academy Award nominee

SPY/DRAMA

Starring:  Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Jill Bennett, Michael Gothard, John Wyman, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and James Villiers

The first James Bond movie that I watched in a movie theater was For Your Eyes Only, the 1981 British spy drama.  For Your Eyes Only was also the 12th film in the James Bond film series.

For Your Eyes Only is based on two short stories written by James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming.  The two stories, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico,” both appeared in the James Bond short story collection, For Your Eyes Only (1960).  For Your Eyes Only the movie follows James Bond-Agent 007 as he hunts for a lost British encryption device before it falls into enemy hands.

For Your Eyes Only centers on a special object that was aboard the British electronic surveillance ship, St. Georges.  This is the ATAC – Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator.  The ATAC can order submarines to launch ballistic missiles.  The St. Georges is sunk by a naval mine in the Ionian Sea.  If the ATAC falls in the wrong hands, such as Soviet Union and the KGB, they could render the British Royal Navy’s Polaris submarine fleet useless.

Now, MI6 agent, James Bond, codename “007” (Roger Moore), must retrieve the ATAC before the bad guys get it.  After the first British ally in the ATAC matter is killed, 007 tracks a Cuban hit man to Spain where the assassin meets another hired killer, Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard).  Following Locque takes 007 into the shadowy Greek criminal underworld, where allies might be adversaries, but where adversaries can also be allies.  As 007 gets closer to finding the ATAC, he meets several beautiful women, including the vengeance-seeking Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) and the lusty young figure skater, Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), who just can’t wait to get James Bond in bed.

As a youngster, I liked Roger Moore; he was my favorite James Bond, largely because he was the first Bond I ever saw.  I’ve changed my mind over the years, going from one favorite Bond actor to another.  [I’m currently crazy about Daniel Craig.]  Prior to recently watching For Your Eyes Only, I had not watched a Roger Moore Bond movie in well over a decade, partly because I thought that I wouldn’t like them.  Maybe, as a kid, I was more accepting of things for which people often criticized the Roger Moore-James Bond movies:  the over-the-top stories, campy qualities (to varying degrees), and the silly sci-fi/fantasy elements.

For Your Eyes Only surprised me, however.  I enjoyed it, and only found a little of it silly.  Its prudently-staged violence and edited-for-television sex and sexual innuendo are actually a bit charming.  The best of For Your Eyes Only are the action set pieces.  The stunt coordinators and crew should be commended for turning some comically-conceived action scenes into sequences that make this a better movie.

As for Roger Moore:  at that point in time, For Your Eyes Only was Moore’s fifth turn as Bond (out of seven).  He is just a bit too old for the role, but in the film, he looks up to the challenge.  Yeah, his charisma has a waxed-fruit quality, and his debonair air is a bit musty.  Still, Moore as Bond knows that he is too old for one of the women looking to bed a secret agent, and that counts for something.  Moore knows his limits, and at least, he seems determined to reach them, never giving less than the best of himself.  It seems, at least, that way to me.

Now, I know that I can watch and enjoy For Your Eyes Only again without waiting decades, and I’m ready for more Moore.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
1982 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

1982 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Bill Conti-music and Michael Leeson-lyrics for the song "For Your Eyes Only")

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Ellen DeGeneres to Host 2014 Oscar Ceremony

Ellen DeGeneres Returns To Host The Oscars®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Television icon Ellen DeGeneres will return to host the Oscars® for a second time, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. The Academy Awards® will be broadcast live on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, on the ABC Television Network.

"We are thrilled to have Ellen DeGeneres host the Oscars," said Zadan and Meron. "As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars. There are few stars today who have Ellen's gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are."

"I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say - the third time's the charm," said DeGeneres.

"I agreed with Craig and Neil immediately that Ellen is the ideal host for this year's show," said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. "We're looking forward to an entertaining, engaging and fun show."

"Ellen is talented, wonderfully spontaneous, and knows how to entertain a worldwide audience," said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO. "She's a big fan of the Oscars; we're huge fans of hers. It's a perfect match."

"It is an honor to welcome back Ellen DeGeneres as the host of the biggest entertainment celebration of the year," said Paul Lee, president, ABC Entertainment Group. "She is the consummate entertainer, equally beloved by her peers in the industry, movie fans and television viewers. We very much look forward to having her back on ABC for Oscar Sunday."

DeGeneres hosted the 79th Academy Awards in 2007, for which she received a Primetime Emmy® nomination for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program."

DeGeneres has made a home for herself in daytime with her hit syndicated talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which has earned a total of 45 Daytime Emmys during its 10 seasons.

DeGeneres' began her career as an emcee at a local comedy club in her hometown of New Orleans. Her acting career in television included roles in several successful sitcoms before being offered a part on "These Friends of Mine" by ABC. After the first season, the show was renamed "Ellen." Running from 1994 to 1998, the show garnered record ratings, with DeGeneres receiving Emmy nominations each season in the Best Actress category. In 1997, DeGeneres was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award as well as earning an Emmy for writing the critically acclaimed "Puppy Episode" when her character came out as a gay woman to a record 46 million viewers.

DeGeneres has also been successful in her feature film work. DeGeneres scored unprecedented popular and critical response to her character, Dory, the fish with extreme short-term memory, in the blockbuster Pixar animated feature "Finding Nemo." DeGeneres recently announced the highly anticipated sequel to "Finding Nemo," Disney-Pixar's "Finding Dory," currently scheduled to be released in November 2015.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Review: "Solomon Kane" Raises a Little Cain

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Solomon Kane (209)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence throughout
DIRECTOR:  Michael J. Bassett
WRITERS:  Michael J. Bassett (based upon the character created by Robert E. Howard)
PRODUCERS:  Paul Berrow and Samuel Hadida
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Dan Laustsen (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Andrew MacRitchie
COMPOSER:  Klaus Badelt

FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Pete Postlethwaite, Alice Krige, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Patrick Hurd-Wood, Philip Winchester, Anthony Wilks, Ben Steel, Rory McCann, Tomas Tobola, Mackenzie Crook, and Jason Flemyng

Solomon Kane is a 2009 dark fantasy and action film, starring James Purefoy in the title role.  The film was produced by a consortium of production companies from the countries of the Czech Republic, France, and the United Kingdom.  Solomon Kane first opened in France in December 2009, but did not open in theatres in the United States until September 2012.

The movie features Solomon Kane, a pulp magazine-era fictional character created by Robert E. Howard (who also created Conan the Barbarian).  Solomon Kane first appeared in publication in the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales in the short story, “Red Shadows.”  In Howard’s original stories, Kane traveled through Europe and Africa, vanquishing evil.

Solomon Kane the movie acts as an origin story for the character, and opens in North Africa, in the year 1600.  English mercenary Solomon Kane (James Purefoy) leads the crew of his ship into battle against the occupiers of a fortress town.  It is there that Kane learns that his soul is bound for Hell.  He renounces violence and lives in seclusion before being forced out into the world at large again.

Kane meets William Crowthorn (Pete Postlethwaite) and his wife, Katherine (Alice Krige).  They are Puritans, and with their three children, are planning to immigrate to the New World.  After the Crowthorns’ daughter, Meredith (Rachel Hurd-Wood), is kidnapped by the followers of a sorcerer named Malachi (Jason Flemyng), Kane is once again forced to fight in order to save the girl and perhaps gain the redemption of his soul.

I think Solomon Kane’s writer-director Michael J. Bassett wanted this movie to be like the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Instead, what Bassett created is like a straight-to-DVD, sword-and-sorcery movie, with only a few moments that suggest LoTR’s epic fantasy.  Solomon Kane isn’t bad, but it isn’t particularly good, mainly because it is inconsistent.

For instance, James Purefoy gives a mostly good performance as Solomon Kane.  However, the screenplay is clumsy and repetitive when it comes to developing Kane’s character.  Plus, I think Purefoy is miscast as Kane.  I would prefer someone taller, leaner, and certainly more dour and gaunt than the pretty Purefoy.

The main villains, Malachi and the Masked Rider (Malachi’s henchman), are superb adversaries, but the two, especially Malachi, are mostly relegated to the background.  Bassett is so determined to focus on Kane’s story that he misses how two great villains can create the kind of potent conflict that invigorates a drama.

Solomon Kane is a fantasy film that has the action, brutality, and violence of other films like it, but lacks the flair of other supernatural action films like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Underworld.  The pacing is sometime dry and stiff, which makes the movie feel a bit too long, but if you like the supernatural action genre, Solomon Kane is worth watching – as a rental.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, August 09, 2013