Belakovskaia, Anjelina Movie Reviews
Casa de Los Babys
Changing placesHowever, see this movie! You won't be sorry. And don't miss The Whole Wide World. It is in my all-time top ten dramas. First,probably.
Love at any costThis film could have easily turned into a cheap melodrama, were it not for the skill and smoldering sex appeal of Banderas and Jolie. While the viewer must suspend some disbelief as the plot twists and turns (especially at the end), and while parts of the movie are predictable, the story somehow still remains intriguing and viable.
This film is visually pleasing and the musical score is simply beautiful. Unfortunately, the DVD leaves a bit to be desired. The special features menu includes only choices between different languages.
In any case, this is simply a fantasy love story, nothing more, nothing less.
Excellent story and twists
Sinful indeed
Love at any costThis film could have easily turned into a cheap melodrama, were it not for the skill and smoldering sex appeal of Banderas and Jolie. While the viewer must suspend some disbelief as the plot twists and turns (especially at the end), and while parts of the movie are predictable, the story somehow still remains intriguing and viable.
This film is visually pleasing and the musical score is simply beautiful. Unfortunately, the DVD leaves a bit to be desired. The special features menu includes only choices between different languages.
In any case, this is simply a fantasy love story, nothing more, nothing less.
Excellent story and twists
Sinful indeed
Pretty Pictures, Creative Stunts, So-So Script"The Cradle of Life" is the second movie based on the video game "Lara Croft Tomb Raider". I don't think the writing is as good as the first film, but there are some fairly creative and entertaining action sequences. Angelina Jolie is, once again, the perfect Lara Croft. She looks the part. She projects a larger-than-life presence onscreen. Croft is charismatic, mischievous, tireless and shares with Jolie a certain joie de vivre that makes her captivating even in the midst of the occasional really silly scene. "The Cradle of Life" gives us some spectacular views of exotic locales under the Mediterranean Sea, in China, and in Africa. I found the adventures in China to be the most visually interesting, as well as being where the most creative new stunts are employed. The last third of the film goes downhill. Once it reaches Africa, the film employs too many clichés and way too much CGI. It loses all basis in reality and any sense of excitement with it. "The Cradle of Life" isn't a bad film. As long as you treat it like most action films and don't insist that it make much sense, the first two thirds of the film are enjoyable on an eye-candy level. This time the filmmakers have included some eye candy for the ladies in the audience, as well, in the form of actor Gerard Butler. Terry Sheridan is a sexy and irreverent bad boy -and not too hard on the eyes.
The DVD: This is a nice fully-loaded disc. The audio commentary by director Jan de Bont is good. It can be turned on using the menu, but it can't be turned off that way. To turn it off, press "audio" on your remote. There is a series of five short "making of" documentaries called "featurettes" that discuss the film's training, vehicles and weapons, stunts, visual effects, and scoring. Other bonus features include a DVD-ROM of the film's website (Windows only), deleted scenes, actor Gerard Butler's screen test, and 2 music videos. I recommend the Featurette documentaries and, if you still haven't had enough, Jan de Bont's audio commentary. If you only have time to watch one extra, I recommend the "Stunts" featurette.
Angelina In Action!
Pure Fun
Nicolas Cage Academy Award Winnerthe movie is boring. attempts to tease, but never really does anything. i kept thinking i should just get bullit out and watch that again, much better movie and chase scene.
Fun Movie to Jack Cars toWay better than either fast and furios movies.
Where's the Oscar???????
Not my thing
Compelling film from Carpenter.Rental only.
the coolest vampire movie ever
Not my thing
Compelling film from Carpenter.Rental only.
the coolest vampire movie ever
Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; Tomb Raider handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. --Jeff Shannon
stinks rotten fish
Worst summer blockbuster ever? For me, at least.Tomb Raider boasts something of a plot, but actually deciphering it is a puzzle. Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is apparently some sort of rich archaeologist, and her latest personal mission is to search for two artifacts that, if placed together, can somehow enable the user to control time. Naturally, there are going to be a lot of villains who seek the same device.
General incomprehensibility of the plot aside, the aspect that makes Tomb Raider the turd that it is is Lara Croft, both in the way this character is written and through Jolie's portrayal. Here is a heroine who thinks she's just uber-cool, riding motorcycles, wearing slick shades, acting cocky and arrogant, to the point of pure abrasiveness. This is not to mention that she's also able to accomplish physically implausible to impossible stunts, and is also apparently invincible in combat, and almost impervious to pain.
What kind of a heroine is this? It's hard enough to like someone who spends most of her time trying to act superior to almost everyone around her (the movie does give a half-hearted attempt to show her respect for other cultures, this brief scene totally overshadowed by her "coolness"), but the filmmakers do away with even the slightest bit of suspense by making Croft apparently invulnerable to harm in all her surroundings. Part of what made Indiana Jones so charming were his numerous flaws: he was afraid of snakes, often got captured by the villains, and was vulnerable in combat (he got beat up a LOT). This is in stark contrast with Croft, who's really nothing more than a superhero without the villain to match her.
Some of this could be forgiveable if the movie were in any way fun or exciting, but it's not. The action sequences are few in number, and what little there are are rapid-cut and packed with one impossible stunt too many. The movie's adventure holds no ebb and flow, Croft simply gets from one location to another in a second of screen time.
It's not impossible to make an enjoyable Indiana Jones knock-off. Stephen Sommers' The Mummy accomplished the task with exuberance and childish glee. But Simon West merely gave us little more than a case of eyestrain.
1/2 out of *****
A little farfetched...I'm the starting she is in what seems to be a tomb and looking at an object...hmm, looks too small to be an object of interest. CRASH! The wall beside her explodes and a huge robot attacks her. Hmm again. A few acrobatic stunts and she starts to shoot the robot. And it's all pretty straight forward from there. She stops the robot and then retrieves the object in question. Then that darn robot comes back again..."STOP!" she says to it and it suddenly stops...hmm. She then enters a room where Bryce her geeky guy comes into the picture. He sorrows over the robot the Hillary come in(Her Butler). Blah blah blah. Then she soon finds out that the illuminate want the triangle that her gadget, which her father left for her in an old clock, can get the pieces for her...hmm.
She is now on her way to Cambodia where the first pieces is hidden...then the illuminate steals her gadget but she has the first pieces of the triangle...and from there she ffight to stop the illuminate from taking over the world.
Perhaps to distance himself from Lara Croft's video game origins, director Simon West takes things a bit too seriously; Tomb Raider handles its plot (involving a planetary alignment, the nefarious Illuminati, and coveted relics that hold the key to controlling the flow of time) with all the gravity of a championship chess match... minus the tension. If the movie had lightened up and been truly suspenseful (instead of being suffused with been-there, done-that familiarity), it would have been an instant popcorn classic. As it is, however, this is an elegantly mounted adventure featuring exotic locations (in Cambodia and Iceland) and an exotic star born for her role. Even without her padded bra, Jolie would be the living embodiment of Lara Croft, and that's enough to bode well for inevitable sequels. --Jeff Shannon
stinks rotten fish
Worst summer blockbuster ever? For me, at least.Tomb Raider boasts something of a plot, but actually deciphering it is a puzzle. Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) is apparently some sort of rich archaeologist, and her latest personal mission is to search for two artifacts that, if placed together, can somehow enable the user to control time. Naturally, there are going to be a lot of villains who seek the same device.
General incomprehensibility of the plot aside, the aspect that makes Tomb Raider the turd that it is is Lara Croft, both in the way this character is written and through Jolie's portrayal. Here is a heroine who thinks she's just uber-cool, riding motorcycles, wearing slick shades, acting cocky and arrogant, to the point of pure abrasiveness. This is not to mention that she's also able to accomplish physically implausible to impossible stunts, and is also apparently invincible in combat, and almost impervious to pain.
What kind of a heroine is this? It's hard enough to like someone who spends most of her time trying to act superior to almost everyone around her (the movie does give a half-hearted attempt to show her respect for other cultures, this brief scene totally overshadowed by her "coolness"), but the filmmakers do away with even the slightest bit of suspense by making Croft apparently invulnerable to harm in all her surroundings. Part of what made Indiana Jones so charming were his numerous flaws: he was afraid of snakes, often got captured by the villains, and was vulnerable in combat (he got beat up a LOT). This is in stark contrast with Croft, who's really nothing more than a superhero without the villain to match her.
Some of this could be forgiveable if the movie were in any way fun or exciting, but it's not. The action sequences are few in number, and what little there are are rapid-cut and packed with one impossible stunt too many. The movie's adventure holds no ebb and flow, Croft simply gets from one location to another in a second of screen time.
It's not impossible to make an enjoyable Indiana Jones knock-off. Stephen Sommers' The Mummy accomplished the task with exuberance and childish glee. But Simon West merely gave us little more than a case of eyestrain.
1/2 out of *****
A little farfetched...I'm the starting she is in what seems to be a tomb and looking at an object...hmm, looks too small to be an object of interest. CRASH! The wall beside her explodes and a huge robot attacks her. Hmm again. A few acrobatic stunts and she starts to shoot the robot. And it's all pretty straight forward from there. She stops the robot and then retrieves the object in question. Then that darn robot comes back again..."STOP!" she says to it and it suddenly stops...hmm. She then enters a room where Bryce her geeky guy comes into the picture. He sorrows over the robot the Hillary come in(Her Butler). Blah blah blah. Then she soon finds out that the illuminate want the triangle that her gadget, which her father left for her in an old clock, can get the pieces for her...hmm.
She is now on her way to Cambodia where the first pieces is hidden...then the illuminate steals her gadget but she has the first pieces of the triangle...and from there she ffight to stop the illuminate from taking over the world.