We’re going to do something different with this post. You’ll get your fractal “cookie” right at the top--just like always--but I’m not going to explain why I picked this image until the end of the review. In case you can’t figure out the subject from the title it’s Star Wars: the Clone War.
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Animation could have taken the Star Wars ™ franchise to a whole new level. Animation could have created worlds undreamed-of (not to mention unexecutable) in a live-action movie. Even with computers there could have been a spectacle beyond belief. Too bad Lucasfilms had to squander all that potential on Star Wars: the Clone War. Lucky for them they didn’t waste a lot of creative energy putting this mess together.
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The “Clone War” was glossed over in the big-screen Star Wars films: we see the set-up and aftermath but get virtually nothing of what actually happened (even though it was integral to the story). Too bad George Lucas and his associates didn’t keep it that way. In Star Wars: the Clone War we get a tepid story, wooden characters and “blah” animation worthy of a video game. There is nothing here of the things that made the “Star Wars” live action movies great (but, then again, there wasn’t much of that in STAR WARS I through III in any case.) We don’t have to suffer through Haden Christiensen’s “acting”--but nobody but Anthony Daniels (the voice of C3PO) is willing to lend their voices to this mess. (Somehow the film makers even managed to suck all the personality out of R2D2.)
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Die hard “Star Wars” fans (the kind who will buy ANYTHING with a Star Wars label tacked on--no matter how crappy) will enjoy this movie. So will fans of space opera (at least those without much taste or intelligence.) Animation fans aren’t going to care for the herky-jerky “second tier” computer job that was done here. All the character look oddly wooden: who knows? Maybe they wanted to do an homage to old-timey British shows like Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5 (although I‘m guessing this was more of a “happy accident“ Ha!) I saw it in a theater with several kids: they seemed to tolerate if not outright enjoy it. Is it the worst movie I’ve seen? No. In fact, it isn’t even the worst movie I’ve seen this YEAR. (That honor goes to Superhero Movie.) Still, I have to go back a pretty long way to find a movie in which I was more disappointed. (I think it was The Jewel of the Nile--and that came out twenty plus years ago!)
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FINAL GRADE: D+
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Oh--and about today’s fractal… The image is called Voidstar. The “star” part should be pretty obvious as should the black background (representing space). As for the “void”--well, there really wasn’t a lot to this movie
Today’s post begins with a fractal called CELESTIAL DRAGON. I chose it because of the connection to the title of the movie I’ll be reviewing today. Hope you enjoy both the image and review.
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Most critics consider the “Mummy” franchise to be a poor man’s version of the “Indiana Jones” movie. You have the dashing adventurer, the “great peril”, the witty banter and big battles. Still, the “Mummy” series never quite reached the heights that it’s more well-regarded cousin did. Maybe it’s the quality of the people involved or the lower budgets but that never stopped the Mummy franchise from being fun. In this latest outing The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the movie is still fun but it has begun to lose some of its charm.
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For the latest outing the action shifts from Egypt to China. (I guess the old story line was played out after two movies and a spin-offs.) Rick and Evelyn O’Connell have “retired” from archaeology and settled into domestic bliss after “the War.” while their son Alex, now a young adult, has dropped out of college and gone off to be a tomb raider (my description) in China with an old enemy of his parents. After discovering the tomb of the “Dragon Emperor” (a truly evil dude under a curse). The O’Connells are drawn to Shanghai where they meet up with their belligerent son, the curse is lifted and the movie progresses pretty much as you’d expect from there…
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The movie is stuffed full of big fight scenes (with both stunt men and CGI) that are as good as any summer movie-goer could wish for. The costumes and sets are pretty darn good but some of the CGI effects are simply too obvious. The filmmakers did a fine job of staying within period: still, I found it particularly disturbing when characters dropped in anachronistic bits for the sake of humor. That being said, I doubt that most of the movie’s target audience would even notice it was being done. I also doubt that they care that the humor is about on a “Junior High School” level.
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Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t find Brendan fraser quite as charming this time out as I did the last time. Maria Bello is a suitable replacement for Rachel Wise as Evelyn. (She also gets the single slyest line in the whole movie--for those who know the franchise at least.) Luke Ford is a suitably hunky as Alex but I found his wandering accent distracting. (If an actor is going to do an accent he should be consistent!) John Hannah is back as Evelyn’s ne’er do well brother Jonathan (who always seems to be the catalyst for Mummy raising) and a host of Chinese actors get featured parts--particularly Jet Li as the titular Dragon Emperor.
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Really, there’s nothing “new” in this installment but “Mummy” fans will probably enjoy this outing--even if it won’t do anything to convert non-fans. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a big, sprawling, park-your-brain-at-the-door fun fest. It’s a fine diversion for a hot weekend afternoon and will probably play well on DVD.
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FINAL GRADE: C+
This post features one of those “follow the logic-chain” fractals: the image I chose was Hermes. Hermes is the mythological Greek God of travelers (and, oddly enough, thieves). You can’t travel without moving and this post is all about moving! (Surely you got that from the title!!!) That being said--on with the post!
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So the move is complete and I’ve learned many valuable lessons for the NEXT one. (God willing that will be MANY years in the future.) Still, I want to make sure I don’t forget what I learned so I’m going to write them down so I don’t forget them later. If any of you happen to be moving some day you might find them worthwhile.
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HAVING A PLAN IS A WONDERFUL IDEA--SO LONG AS YOU FOLLOW IT. Yes, you CAN over-plan but the best-laid plan isn’t worth the time it takes to formulate if you don’t follow it. That being said--realize that plans are made to come a-cropper so be prepared.
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IT IS BETTER TO HAVE TOO MANY BOXES THAN TOO FEW. Unless you’re an absolute minimalist you have more stuff than you can believe! (I actually found two boxes from my previous move that hadn’t been opened that I schlepped out here.) Packing a box FULL is harder than you expect--and those boxes get heavy VERY FAST. You don’t want to have stuff left over because moving boxes scrounging boxes is hard and it is not always possible to re-use boxes. Here’s a related rule: IF YOU HAVEN’T OPENED THE BOX SINCE YOUR LAST MOVE YOU PROBABLY DON’T NEED THE CONTENTS.
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Here is yet another related rule: THINK LONG AND HRRD BEFORE PUTTING STUFF IN STORAGE. Yes, there are exceptions but you probably don’t need what you’re keeping. Get rid of your extra “stuff” and save yourself some serious money and capital.
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ANYTHING YOU PLAN TO “DONATE” SHOULD BE GIVEN AWAY BEOFRE YOU START PACKING. Robyn and I had a number of perfectly good items someone could have gotten good use out of but as the final date approached we found we didn’t have time to make it to a donation center--and we didn’t have the boxes to carry things to the new place. (Plus there’s the issue of having to find a new donation center--and store the unwanted items until you locate one. NOT a pleasant possibility.
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HIRE PROFESSIONAL MOVERS. Believe me--self-moving is a long and time-consuming process and you’ll get might sore and cranky. (Frankly, you’ll get might sore and cranky packing and unpacking: you don’t need the extra hassle!) Professional movers have the equipment and they can get you in and out in less than half the time. It is well worth it.
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IF YOU DO HIRE PROFESSIONAL MOVERS--LET THEM DO THE WORK! The odds are pretty good that professional movers know what they’re doing so I doesn’t help to tell them how to do their job (Robyn!) Furthermore--since the truck is already there--let THEM load, transport and unload the items! (You paid them--so let them do their job!!!)
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And that is a perfect segway to our next point… COMPACT CARS ARE NOT EFFECTIVE SUBSTITUTES FOR MOVING VANS. If you should end up transporting some of your own personal chattels (and you probably will) it’s so much more trouble than it’s worth to try and carry your stuff in a small car. Yes, renting a minivan or SUV adds more expense but it’s probably worth it in the long run.
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WHEREVER POSSIBLE, AVOID MOVING IN EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS. The day we moved didn’t break any records for heat but the humidity was near-record levels. Moving in the middle of summer or the dead of winter adds one more stress you really DON’T need. Of course--if the move can’t be avoided than you may as well give in and accept the inevitable. Drink lots of water if you’re moving in the summer months since you WILL be sweating. Alas, I have no “cold weather” moving advice: I’ve never done that.
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CALLING CENTERS AREN’T WORTH THE TROUBLE. Over the past month I’ve spent WAY too much time dialing “800” Numbers (and the other “free” area codes). Most of the time I’ve spoken with very nice people--who either didn’t know what they were doing, had no clue about my area or simply didn’t know how to resolve my problem. And it never helps that EVERY call center I phone seemed to be chronically understaffed! Dish Network is evil: Time Warner and Wells Fargo are completely incompetent. Still, since you aren’t likely to be able to deal with a local company you may as well bow to the inevitable and hope you don’t pull too much hair out!
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EQUAL SQURE FOOTAGE DOES NOT MEAN YOU WILL HAVE THE SAME SPACE. Our new place has slight more square footage than our last home--but the way things are arranged have made space planning an “interesting” proposition. It really is enough to make you crazy so be prepared for some serious shocks--unless you are moving to substantially larger quarters.
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Here’s a related rule: NEVER MOVE TO SMALLER QUARTERS UNLESS YOU’RE PLANNING TO DO DUMP A LOT OF YOUR STUFF. You’d think it would be obvious and self-evident but a lot of people think they can make it work somehow. You can’t. Nothing more need be said.
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BELIEVE THEM WHEN THEY TELL YOU EXACTO KNIVES ARE SHARP! Those little buggers will cut you if they get a chance. My hands are proof of that--so be careful.
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PACE YOURSELF. All you really need is a place to eat (cook) sleep, and poop. Having a place to bathe is a nice plus but hardly necessary. You’re going to work up a sweat anyway (unless you’ve hired professional movers) so accept that. There are tons of projects that need doing--but said projects aren’t going anywhere. There’s no need to wear yourself out trying to get everything done at once.
- TELEMARKETERS WILL CATCH UP TO YOU WITH SURPRISING SPEED. We got our new phone number on Saturday and by Monday we were already getting calls from the telemarketers. I thought we have a few weeks of relative freedom but I was wrong. I've already added my number to the National "Do Not Call" Registry but that hasn't slowed down the calls. *sigh*-
And last, but certainly not least… THIS TOO SHALL PASS. The task may seem never-ending while your mired in boxes, packing material and sweat but eventually you’ll get settled in and the projects will get done. You’ll discover your new home has charms and challenges you never expected but everything will work out in the end. Roll with it and all will be well.
A random post demands a random image so I selected one of the many “Arab Diamond” series--mainly because I thought it was pretty. That being said, on with the post! WARNING: this may be the longest post I've ever published.
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I’ve been a fan of “slogan” T-Shirts and bumper stickers since I was in high school. (I even had T-shirts reading WORLD’S TALLEST HOBBIT and HOBBITS MAKE BETTER LOVERS.) I've always had a strange fondness for these funnies, truism or just mean comments so I maintain a collection of my favorites (that I thought I'd share today--dunno why.) These days I don’t have any shirts (and my bumper is “sticker free” because of what it will do to the resale value of the car) but if I DID have some here are some of my faves…
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DON’T MAKE ME BREAK OUT THE POISON (on an apron) And here’s another bon not… MY COOKING HASN’T KILLED ANYONE YET or MANY HAVE EATEN HERE. FEW HAVE DIED. (If you ever had to eat my cooking you'd understand.)
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SOME DAYS IT’S NOT EVEN WORTH CHEWING THROUGH THE RESTRAINTS (for me that‘s most days).
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CLEVERLY DISGUISED AS A RESPONSIBLE ADULT (yep, that‘s so me). And while I’m on the subject here’s a corollary… GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY, GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
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EMPTY PROMISES, CALCULATED BETRAYAL, SOCIOPATHIC GREED--JUST ANOTHER MONDAY.
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ANY MINUTE NOW I’LL JUMP IN WITH POINTLESS OBSERVATIONS. Yes, I’ve been known to do this: sadly many people I know do it way more…
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EVERYTHING I SAY IS FULLY SUBSTANTIATED BY MY OWN OPINION. And how many people do we know like that??? Here’s another one: THINGS YOU SAY ARE ‘OPINIONS”. THINGS I SAY ARE “FACTS.”
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EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE STUPID BUT YOU’RE ABUSING THE PRIVELEGE. (I’d wear this shirt ‘cause I know way too many folks this applies to.)
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GOOD MORNING IS AN OXYMORON.
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SELECTIVE LISTENER. And aren’t we all sometimes? And a closely related version; I’M NOT HARD OF HEARING, I’M TRYING HARD NOT TO HEAR YOU
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DON’T MAKE ME STRIPTEASE and if you’ve seen me you’ll know why (‘cause I’ll totally do it!)
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I’M NOT BOSSY. I JUST KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING. I do! I do!
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FIRST THE GOOD NEWS: I MADE BAIL…
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DEADLINES AMUSE ME
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I MAY NOT BE RIGHT BUT I CAN SURE SOUND LIKE IT and if you doubt that you haven’t been reading this blog! Or how ‘bout this one? I HAVE MY FAULTS BUT BEING WRONG AIN’T ONE OF THEM.
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YES, DESPITE THE LOOK ON MY FACE YOU’RE STILL TALKING. Why don’t more people recognize this look and shut up??? And here’s the sequel… I’VE STOPPED LISTENING--WHY ARE YOU STILL TALKING?
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IF IDIOTS GREW ON TREES THIS PLACE WOULD BE AN ORCHARD
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I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING OUT OF BED. OK, here's a suggestion: THINGS TO DO TODAY: 1) GET UP. 2) SURVIVE. 3) GO BACK TO BED. There, that should take care of it.
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YOU DON’T GET THIS KIND OF BODY BY WORKING OUT
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IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO HAVE A HAPPY CHILDHOOD. Seriously folks--these are words we should all live by!
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I BRAKE FOR HOBBITS AND UNICORNS. Or in Robyn’s case I BRAKE FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON. Please don't hit me sweetheart...
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MEDDLE NOT IN THE AFFAIRS OF DRAGONS FOR YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND TASTE GOOD WITH KETCHUP. This also works for "Grumpy Bears" like me...
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PLEASE DON’T INTERRUPT ME WHILE I’M TALKING TO MYSELF
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I DRIVE WAY TOO FAST TO WORRY ABOUT CHOLESTEROL
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SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME. This is Robyn’s personal motto.
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LEFTIES DO IT RIGHT. Because I’m left-handed here are a couple of more for you. ONLY LEFTIES ARE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND and I MAY BE A LEFTY BUT I’M ALWAYS RIGHT.
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I HAD A NICE DAY BUT I DIDN’T LIKE IT.
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HERE I AM. (NOW WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER TWO WISHES?)
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CAUTION: YOU ARE IN THE “WHATEVER” ZONE
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EAT WELL, STAY FIT, DIE ANYWAY. And a related bit of T-short wisdom… HE WHO DOES WITH THE MOST TOYS WINS or even HE WHO DIES WITH THE MOST TOYS STILL DIES
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I’M NOT ANTI-SOCIAL. I’M JUST NOT REAL FRIENDLY
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SO LIFE HAS A HILL. GET OVER IT. And in the same vein… PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL/BOY PANTIES AND DEAL WITH IT.
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I CAN WALK ON WATER--AS LONG AS IT’S FROZEN
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ONE ACT AWAY FROM JOINING THE CIRCUS
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WHAT BART OF BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? I love this one. Bwahahahahaha!
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MANURE OCCURUTH.
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I’M NOT OLD I’M “OLDE” or I'M NOT "OLD" I'M CLASSIC
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I NEVER MAKE MISTAKES. I THOUGHT I DID ONCE BUT I WAS MISTAKEN. Hmm--this is a major logical fallacy: if they were mistaken about making a mistake then BY DEFINITION they made a mistake!
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IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU I’D BE A DIFFERENT PERSON--MAYBE EVEN HAPPY. This is funny but oh so wrong! Take responsibility for yourself! Here’s another one I like… DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY MELTDOWN?
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GRAVITY ALWAYS WINS
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TOO MANY PEOPLE WITH SOLUTIONS ARE THE PROBLEM.
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WAKE ME UP WHEN THINGS GET INTERESTING
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I’D LISTEN TO YOU BUT IGNORING YOU IS SO MUCH EASIER
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I NEVER SAID YOU WERE WRONG. I SAID I WAS GOING TO BLAME YOU. Or maybe DON’T BLAME YOURSELF. LET ME DO IT.
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I NEVER FAKE SARCASM. And, SARCASM, JUST ANOTHER SERVICE I OFFER.
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WE ARE NOT AMUSED
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THIS TOO SHALL PASS
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DOESN’T EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED MAKE THE UNEXPECTED THE EXPECTED? Ah such a deep philosophical conundrum!
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ET TU, DUFUS? I’d wear this but so few people would understand it.
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LETS HOPE INTELLIGENT LIFE EXISTS OUT IN SPACE. I’M SO LONELY HERE.
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WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS MANIPULATE THE DATA
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I DON’T SUFFER FROM INSANITY. I ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT
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MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO DRIVE ME NUTS ARE IN MY FAMILY. But, then again, I drive them nuts too so I suppose it’s a fair trade!
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JESUS LOVES YOU--BUT I’M HIS FAVORITE. Or how about this one? JESUS SAVES. YOU CAN TOO SO OPEN AN ACCOUNT TODAY!
- DON'T MAKE ME BREAK OUT MY FLYING MONKEYS. Actually I don't have any but it would be so cool if I did...
And finally the ultimate! WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU READING MY SHIRT????
Today’s post begins with a fractal called All My Pictures. This fractal is suitable for pretty much ANY movie review--but the black and white color scheme is particularly suitable for the review of a movie like The Dark Knight. Of course it also means back-to-back black and white images in my blog (which offends my aesthetic sensibilities somewhat) but when the image is right it’s right so compromises must be made.
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The Dark Knight is a BIG movie--in every way. It’s rare for a movie clocking it at nearly 2 ½ hours to make over three hundred million dollars in the first ten days of release. Still, the movie needs the long running time to squeeze in everything--the big battles, the big dramatic scenes and big, broadly-drawn characters. In fact, with one major exception, everything in this movie is drawn with a big brush. Of course, this IS a movie based on a comic book so that might or might not be a bad thing--but more on that later. Still, The Dark Knight offers everything a summer-movie viewer could want.
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The plot to the movie isn’t all that important--and to be completely honest it doesn’t bear much scrutiny. The Dark Knight is all about the FX and the performances and all those are first rate--especially one. Heath Ledger has gotten considerable “Oscar buzz” for his portrayal of The Joker. Unlike the others before him who made the Joker a man madman, Leger underplays the role--and it is all the more powerful for that. His Joker is as frightening as it is completely crazy--a perfect combination. While the rest of the cast of chewing the scenery he’s subtle menace elevates the entire movie to a whole new level of almost realistic horror. Christian Bale (as Bruce Wayne/Batman), Gary Oldman (playing Jim Gordon with nary a hint of a British accent), Michael Caine (playing Alfred but pretty much acting like himself) and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) all do fine but Ledger completely steals the movie every time he’s on screen.
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The movie is far from perfect: it strains credibility that the Joker’s elaborate plots always seem to go off without a hitch (even considering that Gotham is such “ corrupt” city). Surely someone would notice all activity required to pull these stunts off. I also worry about the general “dark” tone of the movie (although it does my heart good to know that the citizenry eventually do the “right” thing when given a choice--even though that choice is difficult.)
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The Dark Knight also raises concerns for the next movie in the franchise. Movie sequels in general--and super hero movies in particular--have a tendency to want to “top” the previous movie. There’s already so much in this movie that the producers are going to have the devil’s own time figuring out how to “up the ante” for the next go-round considering what they’ve already put out here. Will the movie-makers be able to raise the bar for the next installment? I don’t know--but I’m sure with each succeeding movie it’s going to get harder and harder. (All you have to do is look at the Spiderman, Superman, X-Men and the original Batman movie series to see the proof of this in action.) Still, the viewing might get lucky and the “curse” might be broken. (but I’m not holding out much hope).
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We saw the movie in a crowded theater with all ages but this is NOT a movie for younger kids. If you want to see The Dark Knight in a theater (rather than waiting for the DVD) leave your kids (especially the youngest) home and have a good time.
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FINAL GRADE: B
It always seems I go to the “Stained Glass” series of fractals when I post about matters religious or moral. I chose Stained Glass 2 because the monochromatic color scheme reminds me of how I feel about today’s question. (You might think the question is a simple "black and white" issue but in reailty there's a lot more "gray" in the question.) Read on and you’ll see what I mean…
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The question of when someone should die who should make the decision has been important to me for a very long time. It started when I was in Second Grade (I think) when our neighbor who we all called Grandma Moses (I don‘t know if that was her real name) was taken to the hospital after a massive stroke. They put her on life support and she survived for years--totally unconscious. In my adult life, my maternal grandmother suffered much the same fate: I don’t know what caused her to go into a coma but she was unconscious for quite a long time--and ended up having parts of her body whittled off due to gangrene. Frankly, a death like that has always been one of my biggest fears…
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Hopefully you remember the case of Terri Schiavo a few years ago. She was reduced to a “persistent vegetative state” after a brain injury. Ten years went by before she was finally taken off life support. Her parents and siblings objected and turned it in to a national issue--going so far as to send “manipulated” video to national media outlets to pressure the (by then ex) husband Michael to release guardianship. Then, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) reportedly characterized the case as a “gift from God” for the Right to Life cause.
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No matter what you think about the morality of the issue, the legal issue was simply this: Michael Shciavo had the legal right to make the decision to remove the feeding tube. I sympathize with the family on their loss but I think they went WAY too far. (Of course, the case would have been so much easier if Michael Schiavo had totally “clean” hands--but comments about that are for another time and place.) In the end an autopsy showed that Schiavo’s forebrain had completely deteriorated so there was no way she could have had reacted consciously to any outside stimulus. (The lights were on but nobody was home--no matter how much her family wanted something different…)
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Now another somewhat similar case has made the news: this time where a woman under guardianship of Fresno County was removed from a feeding tube at the county’s request. She was surviving and showing some slight improvement so her brothers went to court and the county relented after the story hit the local and state news.
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This story creeps me out and gives me a lot of questions. (I looked for the answers on line and wasn’t able to find anything.) Why was this woman (who had living family) under the County’s guardianship? How did a county bureaucrat even get the authority to make a life-or-death decision? (And who was this individual who made the choice?) I’m a huge advocate of “Death With Dignity” but I strongly object to the government making this decision for anyone! Maybe this woman will end up being like Terry Schiavo but I really think health care decisions need to be made by family members rather than a faceless government.
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More than anything else, these cases highlight the importance of making health care decisions well before there’s a need. Once the need arises it is already too late (at least in most cases). Medical tragedies aren’t limited to folks over 65: they happen at any age and people need to be very clear (probably in writing) about what they want done in case they should become incapacitated. I haven’t done that yet myself--but I plan to remedy that soon and the rest of you should do that as well.
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Think about it…
I picked today’s image, Dreambow for two reasons: first, because the image is pretty, dance-like and just plain FUN. If you want to know the second reason you’ll have to go see the movie I’m reviewing--then you’ll probably figure out the connection.
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I have often (half-jokingly) said there are three kinds of people in the world--the people who love ABBA music, the people who love ABBA song but would never admit it and the people who simply haven’t heard ABBA. Hating the Swedish super-group is popular yet somehow they are one of the top-selling music acts of all time. (At their peak ABBA had a bigger income than Volvo--the largest company in Sweden.) Mama Mia was created from the ABBA catalog: it wasn’t the first “jukebox musical" but it was certainly the best and most financially successful. It has estimated that over thirty million people have seen Mama Mia since it debuted on Broadway in 1999 and it is still going strong with long-running venues in New York, London and Las Vegas--not to mention multiple ongoing international tours. Now Mama Mia has made the leap to the big screen (courtesy of Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson) with decidedly mixed results.
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Like most musicals, the plot of Mama Mia doesn’t require much though--and won’t hold together if you DO chance to think about it. Still, for those who want a bit of a synopsis here goes… 20 year old Sophia (nicely played by Amanda Seyfried of Mean Girls fame) has grown up never knowing her father. On the eve or her wedding she finds her mother’s diary and learns there are three possibilities, Bill Anderson (Stellen Skarsgaard). Harry Bright (Colin Firth) or Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan). Sophia gets the bright idea to invite all three to the ceremony so she can finally learn the truth and, as it only happens in musicals, all three show up! Sophia isn’t the only one who has invited guests: her mother Donna (played by Meryl Streep) has invited her band-mates Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) for a reunion. Complications ensue because Donna has no idea that Sophia has invited the three men but it all wraps up in a nice neat bow with a wedding in the little chapel at the top of the hill.
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A movie musical rises or falls on the strength of its cast and director. First timer Phyllida Lloyd (who helped create the show for the stage) makes a few mistakes along the way but the pretty scenery and fast pace keeps them from becoming glaringly obvious. Meryl Streep can make the most manic, and emotionally schizoid role believable--and she has pretty good pipes. Amanda Seyfried isn’t given much to work with as the ingénue but she has a voice as as pretty her looks and can dance. Most of the rest of the cast are adequate singers with the exception of Stellen Skarsgaard and Pierce Brosnan--but at least Skarsgaard isn’t called do do that much. Brosnan on the other hand…
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Make no mistake, I actually LIKE Pierce Brosnan: he was wonderful as the title character in Remmington Steele and showed a flare for Action/Adventure roles when he played James Bond. He even played comedy in Mrs. Doubtfire (although he was the straight man for Robin Williams.) In this role though he’s dead weight. His leaden presence sucks all the life and energy out of the movie every time he’s on screen. He can carry a tune but what he does can hardly be called singing. His dance moves are as wooden as his expression which always seems to say “that gurgling you hear in the soundtrack isn’t ocean waves--it’s my career going down the toilet.” If he doesn’t get a “Razzie” for this role there’s no justice! At least he looks great on screen.
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Brosnan’s performance isn’t the only fault with the show. Like so many others transitions from stage to screen the movie loses several songs along the way and I think the movie was weaker for it. Still, like it’s staged counterpart, this Mama Mia is an enjoyable bit of fluff for fans of musicals. We saw it in a theater that was nearly full and a good time was had by all. (Even though it opened against The Dark Knight, Mama Mia still managed to pull in record box office receipts for a musical. Fans of the genre should check it out (so Hollywood will continue making movie musicals.)
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FINAL GRADE: B-
We’re going to do something different with this post. You’ll get your fractal “cookie” right at the top--just like always--but I’m not going to explain why I picked this image until the end of the review. In case you can’t figure out the subject from the title it’s Star Wars: the Clone War.
