Cast: Nicolas Cage (Ben Gates), Diane Kruger (Abigail Chase), Justin Bartha (Riley Poole), Jon Voight (Patrick Gates), Helen Mirren (Prof. Emily Appleton), Ed Harris (Mitch Wilkinson), Bruce Greenwood (the President)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's National Treasure: Book of Secrets page.
I'd heard some good and some mediocre things about National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I have to say I agree with those on the mediocre side. This movie wasn't nearly as good as the original and I'm glad I didn't bother to see it in a theatre. It was worth watching at home while doing some other stuff, but if I'd given it my full attention I probably would have been bored at points.
The cast is still great and everything is well done, the second movie just seems to be missing something. I didn't find it nearly as interesting as the first movie.
Grade: C
Labels: 2007, action, adventure, Bruce Greenwood, Ed Harris, Helen Mirren, Jon Voight, movie, mystery, Nicolas Cage, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Nicolas Cage (Ben Gates), Diane Kruger (Abigail Chase), Justin Bartha (Riley Poole), Sean Bean (Ian Howe), Jon Voight (Patrick Gates)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's National Treasure page.
National Treasure reminded me a lot of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - just without the video game tie-in. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. From previews, it looked more like a rental, but on Christmas Day, it seemed it was one of the best movies available to see and I think we were all surprised that it was so interesting. I think we expected an action/adventure movie, but didn't expect to be as interested in the story.
The idea of a treasure hunter who has always believed in a hidden treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence is a cool one - especially when they decide to actually break in to steal it. Granted, this part was a bit of a stretch. According to everything that's ever been published, this would not be possible due to the extended security measures and the Declaration would actually be protected by these measures. But, who knows if that's accurate or not? And besides, this is a movie. Give them the benefit of buying into the story and just go along for the ride and I think you'll enjoy the movie. It's fast-paced, has a great cast, a very good story, and is fun to watch. What more can you ask for in a holiday movie?
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, action, adventure, drama, Jon Voight, movie, mystery, Nicolas Cage
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Angelina Jolie (Lara Croft), Jon Voight (Lord Richard Croft), Iain Glen (Manfred Powell), Noah Taylor (Bryce), Daniel Craig (Alex West)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider page.
I'm not that big into video games or Playstation. But, my favorite video game of all time (on computer, I didn't have access to a Playstation at the time) has been Tomb Raider. I love the game! So, naturally, I was happy about the movie coming out. And unlike many others, I thought Angelina Jolie was a great person to play Lara Croft.
I didn't expect too much of the movie and perhaps that's why I was pleasantly surprised. I loved how much of the game they showed in the movie - that the training room (the lobby of her huge mansion) was actually used in the film. I think if you haven't played Tomb Raider many of the scenes would seem like a waste, but I was very happy with what they did with the movie. If they have a sequel, I'd go see it in theatres and that's saying a lot, since sequels tend not to be as good as the original.
Grade: B
Labels: 2001, action, adventure, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, fantasy, Jon Voight, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jon Voight (Jim Phelps), Emmanuelle Beart (Claire Phelps)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Mission: Impossible page.
Mission: Impossible was very disappointing. I didn't expect it to be so predictable. Seeing Tom Cruise run around and do crazy things is entertaining, but a movie that wasn't so easy to figure out would have been a lot better.
The plot sounded pretty good - totally clean-cut American agent gets framed and is suspected of being disloyal, so he has to find out who the real spy is to save his reputation, etc. If it had been carried out well, this could have been a really interesting movie. I think what bothered me most about this movie is that it had so much potential and they wasted it by making the plot easy to figure out and the agent who was really a spy pretty clear.
I hope that they treat the audience like we're intelligent if they do others. It would be a lot more interesting!
Grade: C
Labels: 1996, action, adventure, Jon Voight, movie, mystery, thriller, Tom Cruise
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:50 PM show | 0 screams