Wrath of the Titans (2012) - Movie Review

If you haven't guessed by now I am attempting to connect one movie to another in some way or another. Connecting the previous movie to The Wrath of the Titans is actor Sam Worthington. Although I could have connected using Liam Neeson or Ralph Fiennes, I chose to use Sam Worthington.

Worthington reprises his role from Clash of the Titans as Perseus. Liam Neeson reprises his role as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes reprises his role as Hades. In Wrath of the Titans Hades teams with Ares (Edgar Ramirez), the God of War, to take down Zeus and Poseidon (Danny Huston) and release Kronos.

In order to save Zeus Perseus must team with Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike). Agenor is Perseus' cousin, a son of Poseidon. Queen Andromeda was saved by Perseus in the previous movie, she became queen when both her mother and father were killed.

Just like the last movie I liked the mythology of it all. Although it is completely different using creative license by the writers. Since the writer wrote Io as deceased, Gemma Arterton did not reprise her role. However, Rosamund Pike is an equally beautiful substitute.

The graphics are awesome and spectacular. Especially when Kronos is released from his prison and brings his wrath down upon Zeus, Hades and all human-kind. Perseus saves the day after killing his brother, Ares. The action scenes are pretty cool. The labyrinth is pretty cool also.

I give this 10 stars out of 10. Excellent movie!

Clash of the Titans (2010) - Movie Review

Gemma Arterton also starred in another fantasy movie in 2010... that being Clash of the Titans. In Prince of Persia she played a Princess who was charged with a sacred mission by the gods. In Clash of the Titans she plays Io, Io in Clash of the Titans is the protector of Perseus. Io, according to the movie, rebuffed the advances of an unknown god and was cursed with immortality.

Perseus (Sam Worthington) is the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and Danae (Tine Stapelfeldt). Danae was tricked by Zeus as he was disguised as Danae's husband, Calibos (Jason Flemyng). Calibos is enraged that his wife is impregnated by Zeus and kills Danae and her child... well he tries to kill the child. Perseus survives. Calibos is hit with a lightning bolt as he attempts to toss Danae's casket into the sea. The lightning bolt disfigures him.

I know I say this a lot, and I mean it a lot, I really like this movie. Although, the creative license that the writers have utilized in creating Clash of the Titans has been pretty extreme. Don't believe me. Look up Io or Perseus or any of the other characters online. The way their lives are depicted in Clash of the Titans is pretty different than what the ancient Greeks believed. Fortunately for the writers, these characters are made up... so they can use as much creative license as they was in order to make the kind of movie they want.

I liked a lot of the fighting scenes. Especially the scene when Perseus and his fellow travelers are fighting Medusa. Perseus is successful in chopping her head off which was his mission to begin with. However, it cost him his companions... including Io, who he had begun to fall in love with. And the bitch of it was... she loved him also.

Because I love mythology and everything that goes along with it I loved this movie. It didn't hurt that Gemma Arterton was in it... she is quite beautiful.  I give this movie 10 stars out of 10.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) - Movie Review

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is based on a video game, but this is more than a video game homage. In the previous movie I reviewed Jake Gyllenhaal played a political cartoonist turned amateur detective. In this movie he plays a prince who is capable of incredible gymnastic feats.

The movie begins by talking about the Kingdom of Persia. Persia was an empire that existed long ago. Many of the stories about Persia are a part of myths and legend... this included. But of course the creator of the video games and the writer for this movie did a pretty good job researching Persia in order to create a realistic looking story.

Prince Dastan (Gyllenhaal) is an orphan and street urchin as a child. As a young boy he saves a friend from being beaten by a guard for stealing an apple. The way he does this is performing his incredible gymnastic flips and jumps. The king of Persia, King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), witnesses this act of courage by Dastan. After hearing the Dastan doesn't have parents, Sharaman adopts Dastan as his son and raises him as his own to be brother to his biological sons.

Years later, Prince Tus (Richard Coyle), Prince Garsiv (Toby Kebbell) and Prince Dastan along with their uncle, Nizam (Ben Kingsley) and their army attack Alamut. A spy reported that Alamut was supplying weapons for the enemies of Persia. Dastan does what he does best and allows the Persian army to enter Alamut and conquered it. In Alamut, Dastan discovers not only his destiny but the truth. He also discovers Temina (Gemma Arterton), Princess of Alamut.

Prince of Persia is not only a fantasy story, it is also a love story. For in this movie Dastan and Temina fall in love as the story continues. However, in the end Dastan is the only one who remembers.

There are many scenes I like about this movie. I like Dastan's gymnastic abilities. I love the fact that Gemma Arterton was cast to play Temina; she is very beautiful woman.

This movie gets 9 stars out of 10 from me.

Zodiac (2007) - Movie Review

I like crime dramas that make you think and Zodiac certainly does just that. For those readers of this blog Zodiac is based on a real life crime in which a serial killer in California in the late 1960's and early 1970's killed at least 7 people and wounded 2, those were confirmed. Another five victims are suspected of being committed by Zodiac. The reason this is such an interesting story is because of the mystery and that the crime has never been solved.

The movie, made in 2007, follows pretty much all of the actual events. Some of the victims were switched around. There is a lot of the story that pertains to the personal lives of the newspapermen and detectives.

Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) catches the amateur detective bug when he sees the first cipher the Zodiac killer sent to The San Francisco Chronicle in 1969. Graysmith was a political cartoonist turned true crime author. Because of the Zodiac case Graysmith changed careers; in the movie it almost became an obsession to the point that it cost him his marriage, or so it seemed.

In the movie, Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Inspector William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) catch the case of the attack in San Francisco. They consolidate all of the other attacks and pretty much take over the investigations. Eventually Inspector Armstrong leaves the investigation because the investigation has gone cold. Inspector Toschi is eventually removed from the case because he was accused of writing one of the several letters The Zodiac sent to one of the newspapers.

One of the prime suspects, Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch), is investigated several times. All the evidence pointed to Allen, especially after Graysmith began his investigation and started piecing everything together. One of the clues was a phone call that Melvin Belli (Brian Cox) received, or rather his housekeeper, the caller, presumably The Zodiac, mentioned it was his birthday. Graysmith figures out that the date The Zodiac called was December 18th, which so happens to be Allen's birthday. However, before Allen could be brought in Allen died of a fatal heart attack.

I actually liked this movie. All the actors played their roles pretty well. I give this 9 stars out of 10.