INKHEART
** out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. Ever since the Harry Potter stories took children’s literature and the cinemas into the record books, Hollywood has been looking for the next big crossover success. “Inkheart” is their latest shot.
The movie tells the story of a man who can bring books to life just by reading them aloud. The only catch is that when something comes out, something must go in. Years ago, he lost his wife in a book, and now he’s searching to get her back, but the characters he let loose from the book are trying to stay in our reality.
As a family adventure, “Inkheart” works to a degree, although the execution is a little off. I would have preferred more adventure and scenes within the book, but we’re left with some rather mundane moments.
You have to wait it out to see really cool things like flying monkeys and a giant shadow creature, and the end has a decent – if not predictable – payoff. In short, it’ll work for the kids, but won’t come anywhere close to Harry Potter.
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UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS
***1/2 out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. Now that we’ve had two present-day “Underworld” movies, we get to see how it all started.
“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” goes back hundreds of years to the beginning of the vampire/werewolf feud. The werewolves are enslaved by the vampires, and one cross-breed falls in love with the vampire leader’s daughter, then starts a slave revolt.
The story to this movie is a bit thick, but like the “Alien vs. Predator” movies, it delivers on the monster-a-monster violence. For all you guys who were dragged kicking and screaming to Twilight last year, here’s your chance to show your woman what a real vampire movie is all about.
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REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
**1/2 out of 5 stars
Okay, here’s the deal. At the very least, Sam Mendes’ new film “Revolutionary Road” will make you think… about if you’ve achieved all you want in life, whether you’re stuck in a dead-end existence and how to get out.
The film follows a young couple that gets trapped in 1950s suburban living. They have big dreams, but they just can’t seem to escape the constraints of the normal life. Eventually, their hopelessness catches up with them.
If you have a thing against suburbia, you’ll enjoy this film. Me, I like it in the suburbs, so that message was kinda lost on me. It’s still a brilliantly acted film, and it looks fantastic. But I just couldn’t muster much sympathy for the characters that couldn’t burst out of the cages of their own design.
