Movie Review - The Mummy

The Mummy

Starring: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Simon Atherton, and more.

Directed by: Alex Kurtzman Screenplay by: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman Screen Story by: Jon Spaihts, Alex Kurtzman, and Jenny Lumet Cinematography by: Ben Seresin Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: A relic hunter stumbles onto a hidden chamber in Iraq. Rushed for time, he inadvertently loosens an imprisoned force. A woman with a mission she's been trying to complete for five thousand years. Nick is the one she's decided will replace the receptacle for Set stolen from her so many years ago. No one better stand in her way. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: While we have some great acting powerhouses in this film, there is so much action,  little time is left for actual acting. Still, Tom Cruise does a nice job as Nick - relic hunter, thief, adventurer. Annabelle Wallis as Jenny got the biggest range to play with as she dealt with her feelings, her attractions, and her job. She did it well. Sofia Boutella made a nice sultry mummy. Jake Johnson was a ton of fun as Nick's sidekick Chris Vail. Russell Crowe's character was a rather big surprise once the two men meet and introductions are made. (He could still take some lessons from James Nesbitt's superb performance of the same character though. :) )

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: There was a ton to love about the special effects in this film. Watching the credits, they used a ton of different companies. They come up with some superb images.

Ahmanet's prison and the other chambers attached to it were very cool! The Crusaders' tomb when they first find it with the tunnel maker and other sections of the place were well done!

Several special effect parts used weird spiders, tons of rats, black birds and other crawling things. They looked great.

When Ahmanet first shows herself, and the transformation after her first feedings, were enthralling. The change on those she fed on also were fantastic. When she has them rise, and the bones and joints pop and snap - creepy!

Cool sand storms, walking and swimming dead, and all the cool bits using mercury. The look and feel of the base beneath London's Natural  History Museum were great. The all important dagger was a wicked looking thing!

Lots and lots of lovely effects!

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: I go up and down on how I feel about the story. A big part of my issue with it is the presentation. While they didn't give everything away in the previews, they gave away a lot. So there was little there to give a feeling of discovery or mystery in what was going on.

They also didn't do themselves any favors by having Henry tell us all about Ahmanet at the very beginning - especially when the information got repeated all over again later as Nick has visions of the past. They could have easily found the Crusaders' tomb and the wall carvings and left it at that. Thus tantalizing the viewers to discover how the Crusaders and Ahmanet might be related. But no. We got spoonfed the information instead.

A couple of scenes, while cool, didn't make a lot of sense. Ahmanet wants her new Chosen to willingly submit to the ritual. So, how was giving him nightmares of rats and monsters was supposed to do that? Other images made sense for that, but some others did not.

Also, Nick's choice in the final room I saw coming ten minutes before he made it. DUH!

There's tons of action, and they move at breakneck speeds. There's even a quick wink/homage to Brendan Fraser's "The Mummy" in the form of the Book of Life showing up at one point. But character development is pushed way back to the background.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The whole 'gag' in the airplane was fantastic! I felt sorry for them all. lol. The fun chase scene in the Iraqi city with bullets and grenades being used all over the place kept the stunt people quite busy and looked great. Lots of good work from the team.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Tons of great and real places! Waverley Abbey in the UK, London, the Natural History Museum, the Namib Desert in the country of Namibia in Africa. These great locations added lots of visual flavor to the scenes.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: CGI mixed with real makeup gave some great looks to Ahmanet, Henry, and Vail. The writing on Ahmanet's skin alone was dazzling. When we see her close to filled out but still with gaps in various places on her face and body, it added so much! Some great contrast too between Nick and Vale in the restroom scene.

Conclusion: The Mummy is a wild ride. Great special effects and stunts. A surprise here and there. Yet a little less telling up front would have made the film more mysterious and thus more enticing to the viewers.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again.)

Movie Review - Les Misérables

Les Misérables

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Daniel Huttlestone, Isabelle Allen, and more.

Directed by: Tom Hooper Screenplay by: William Nicholson Based on the Novel by: Victor Hugo Lyrics by: Herbert Kretzmer Music by: Claude-Michel Schönberg Cinematography by: Danny Cohen

Premise: Javert and Jean Valjean spent nineteen years together as jailer and prisoner. Yet after Jean Valjean is given parole and a kind man turns his heart from despair, the two are fated to meet again and again as France and her citizens once more grow dissatisfied under the present king's rule. (Rated PG-13) 

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The acting in this film was fabulous. Great job by Hugh Jackman and Russel Crowe. Anne Hathaway will have you in tears. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were delicious as the entrepreneurial and ever so lucky Monsieur and Madame Thénardier. But I was even more amazed by Eddie Redmayne. The emotion pouring from him as he sang of the friends he would never see again was breathtaking.

The kids in the film were also wonderful. Little Cosette was adorable and made you totally believe in the castle in the clouds. Daniel Huttlestone tried to steal the show with his great energy and charm in his role as Gavroche.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the special effects in the film have to do with CGI for scene backgrounds or overhead views. Some really imaginative creations they were, too - especially the ship yards at the very beginning of the film.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: A lot of those going to see the film will already be familiar with the story line from the famous musical. For those not acquainted with "Le Misérables" or in love with the music and lyrics, the film may seem somewhat long at 157 minutes. (Some 'significant others' might be disappointed, expecting more action than is actually present in the film.)

4) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: Some truly nice spanning shots, especially in the first ten minutes or so. The shipyards, the barren hills, the monastery, different sections of Paris, all were shown to great effect. I wished they'd done a lot more of it.

When a musical is made into a film, one would hope it is with the thought of making the size of the stage even wider. But while this film definitely does that at several points, there was also an amazingly and disturbing amount of long drawn out closeups. And they were so close they cut the top off the actors' heads. While this might be a technique that could be used to add emphasis to a scene, it doesn't work well when it's done all the time. With the great backdrops and sets, it was a pity we are denied seeing more of them due to the rash of long closeup scenes. It made the grandeur we glimpsed now and then in the medium seem a waste, it was used so little.

5) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: Some great makeup work in the movie. The film spans several decades, so the touches to Hugh Jackman and Russel Crow to show their progressing years was decently done. Their makeup for Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for their last few hours of life, however, came out even better. They truly did not look to be feeling well. Nice job!

Even more surprising was the amount of trouble they went to to show the unwashed masses. The dirt on Éponine as she changed into the boy's clothes was a very nice touch.

Conclusion: Fans of Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, and Anne Hathaway will totally enjoy their performances. Fans of "Les Misérables" will be pleased with the music though they'll also note that a little of the grandeur that should have come from the musical being converted to a film didn't entirely make it through. Those new to the story might wish the director had snipped off a few minutes here and there.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better For Matinee)