At the Movies

  • Robin Hood …

    4 Comments

    In between getting everything ready for my blog tour for Web of Lies, I managed to sneak off with Wheezley and watch Robin Hood this weekend.

    The movie stars Russell Crowe as Robin Longstride, a common soldier in King Richard’s army. When the king is killed sacking a castle in France, Robin and a few of his friends slip away from the army, determined to get back to England. On the way there, they come across Robert of Locksley, one of the king’s trusted men. Robert has been ambushed taking the king’s crown back to England. Before he dies, he asks Robin to take his sword back to his father.

    What follows from there is an interesting tale as Robin journeys to Nottingham and eventually assumes the identity of Robert of Locksley. There’s lots of fight scenes, lots of political maneuvering, and lots of longing glances between Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, who plays Marion of Locksley, Robert’s wife. Basically, the story boils down to Robin/Robert saving England from a French invasion.

    I’m a sucker for Robin Hood stories, and overall, this was a pretty decent interpretation. Having Robin become Robert was a nice twist on the old legend, and there were several clever lines in the movie, with Cate Blanchett and the guy playing Prince John getting most of those.

    The fight scenes were as big and bombastic as you’d expect, since this is a Ridley Scott film. It’s not as good as Gladiator, though, and there are a couple of subplots that fall flat, like one about Robin/Robert’s father and the lost boys of Sherwood Forest.

    I still like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves better, if only for the absolute awesomeness that is Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham. But if you’re looking for an action flick to see, Robin Hood is an entertaining enough way to spend an afternoon.

    My grade: C+.

    What about you guys? Anyone seen any good movies yet this summer? Share in the comments.

  • Oh, James …

    2 Comments

    Apparently, production on the next James Bond movie has been delayed, according to this link.

    That sound that you hear? That would be me weeping. I need more Bond movies!

  • ·

    An epic clash …

    2 Comments

    There have been a whole lot of remakes lately, and one of the latest is the new Clash of the Titans movie. It hasn’t gotten fantastic reviews, but part of me still wants to see it.

    Why? Because every time we had a movie day when I was in school, we watched one of three movies — The Princess Bride, The Neverending Story, or, you guessed it, Clash of the Titans. So I have a certain nostalgic fondness for Harry Hamlin, stop motion animation, and a golden owl. Inconceivable, isn’t it? 😉

    I think this is part of the reason why remakes are so popular these days. You have folks like me who have fond memories of the original TV show or movie — a built-in audience who will go to the theater and tune in to see the remake. Easy money, in other words.

    Sometimes, the remakes are better; sometimes, they’re worse. And sometimes, the original should just be left alone. I hear there’s a Karate Kid remake coming out this summer. I’m sorry, Jackie Chan, but you are no Mr. Miyagi.

    There are some other remakes in the works too — The A-Team movie, of course, along with Hawaii Five-O and The Rockford Files. I’ll watch all three of these because I’m a sucker for a good action movie or a cool detective show. And yeah, I’ll probably go see the new Karate Kid too. Who knows? Maybe the villains will still be the guys from Cobra Kai. We shall see …

    What about you guys? Which remakes are you looking forward to this year? Share in the comments.