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Reviews
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)
Aft-numbingly dull
I wasn't expecting much because it was a direct to DVD release. I was still disappointed. It was a weird mishmash of fantasy and historical fiction and horribly cliché. The Mummy films and SK1 were fantastical and rather cliché too but they had something this film didn't. They were fun to watch.
The clichés were not the film only problems. Poor story writing, directing and a plodding pace made it painful to watch. And what's with the armor that doesn't cover? Oh yeah, we gotta see their muscled abs. I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could see the ocean documentary I had queued up next. I ended up giving up on SK2.
Don't waste your time on this one.
Mansfield Park (1983)
Delight for the Serious Austen Fan
I will agree with others that the production value of this mini series is a bit low. The acting is very stiff and is some places just unconvincing. For users of digital televisions the picture and sound quality is very low, but understandable since this production was made in the early 80s.
The thing that amazes me most about this rendition is how faithful it is to the book. If you loved the book, then you will also like the movie. I'm sure the costume designer and casting directors looked at the old Hugh Thomson illustrations. This most noticeable in the characters of Henry and Mary Crawford.
Lady Bertram is very much like she was in the book -except for her voice. I found it very odd! Rather overdone in my opinion. Mr Yates had a very strange hairstyle as well.
The locations and set were very nicely done. Sotherton and Mansfield Park are very much like the way I pictured them. There was one scene in Portsmouth where there was a matted background with ships. That was rather cheesy looking but it was the only scene that I was less than satisfied with.
This production lacks the polish of BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1995) but it is worth seeing for the serious Austen fan.
Screen Two: Persuasion (1995)
Subtle and beautiful
This is as near perfect a film as I have ever seen. The acting is natural yet conveys the characters' inner states perfectly. I especially enjoyed Ciaran Hinds' portrayal. He is the dashing and likable Wentworth carrying concealed anger at his treatment eight years ago. He never openly expresses that anger except once to Lady Russell, yet you can see it in his eyes. A masterful actor.
I also especially enjoyed Corin Redgrave's portrayal of the supercilious and shallow Sir Walter.
I enjoyed the look the 'available light' cinematography gives the film. Once again it was very natural.
The choice of actors made the characters look real and believable. and the choice of soundtrack was subtle and period appropriate.
This film is superbly produced and directed, yet does not look like Hollywood. It is a truly refreshing change. This is one I will watch again and again.
Screen Two: Northanger Abbey (1987)
Dreary soundtrack!
This movie started off well enough, sticking to the mood of the book fairly well even if the acting was not top notch. The soundtrack was torturously bad. Saxaphone and electric guitars? It was gratingly incongruous. The female singer was positively dreary! In the second half of the film the story takes a decidedly darker turn. Too dark for Austen. Northanger Abbey is made a dark and scary place whereas in the book it was disappointingly tame and modernized to Catherine's eyes.
Who in the heck is this Marchioness with the ghastly makeup and wig? A totally extraneous and unnecessary character.
One of the key elements in the book is the General is not a Gothic monster like the characters in Catherine's books. His monstrosity is far more complicated in his oppression of his children's spirits and his treatment of Catherine based on money concerns alone. He does not lock up his wife or kill her but he does send Miss Morland on a 70 mile trip alone in a hired carriage with not enough money to pay her way home. Only her friend Miss Tilney's thoughtfulness in handing her some money on the way out the door saves her from being stranded. This whole point gets seriously muddled in the film. They make the General too dark from the outset.
Peter Firth should have not sung! This part was painful to watch. His depiction of Tilney wasn't too bad but it was a shade dark in places. Henry Tilney of the book made sport of Miss Morland's imagination on trip to Northanger but he was never dark. Firth would have benefited from better direction. The young lady who played Isabella needed a better acting coach. John Thorpe was appropriately odious. The striped waistcoat and coattails combo he wore was ghastly! It certainly fit his character.
I think the film would have fared much better with a completely different soundtrack. It cast an oppressive pall over the entire movie. If I watch it again it will be with the sound OFF and subtitles on. Perhaps I would give the film a 4 then.
The sound quality of the DVD was quite poor. The picture quality was not much better. This is glaringly noticeable on a digital television.
When I think of what this film could have been, I think of Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.