Hollywood Remake 3:16... "Ben-Hur"

Ben Hur (2016)  

Rated PG-13

Starring Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro,

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov

The Story:

Judah Ben-Hur (Huston) a Jewish prince has been accused of treason by his adopted brother Messala (Kebbell) and exiled from his homeland to serve aboard a Roman naval vessel as a slave rower. When good fortune strikes, Judah is freed and washes ashore where Ilderim (Freeman) teaches him to be the best chariot rider so that he can return home and get revenge against his brother.

Naturally, this is a remake of the classic Charleston Heston movie of the same name. I don't think I've ever seen that one at all, or at least more than a few parts, so I have no basis to compare the two.

I have seen plenty of other movies in my time though, and this one seems strikingly familiar to Gladiator, sometimes too much so.

Also a touch of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but that may just simply be because of the wise Morgan Freeman character teaching the young hero how to be better to overcome his enemy.

Alas, both of those movies have left enough impression on my mind to make me realize that this story is their inferior.

The naval battle is pretty impressive, but otherwise this story is a bit long.

Plus, while it's an effective storytelling device to start the story in the middle of things and then flashback to what had happened before, in this case, I believe it weakened the overall story.

There is no question that Judah and Messala are going to have a showdown at the chariot race at the end of the movie.

So there is little suspense when the brother turns, or when Judah is trapped aboard the slave ship.

Start at the beginning and go from there, it would have created the stronger narrative and made the movie more gripping of an experience.

Then of course there is the minor story about this guy named Jesus (Santoro) which is almost a throwaway subplot that seems almost tacked on because they felt they had to.

Sometimes it feels forced, and I can't help but wonder if they shouldn't have either left it out entirely, or beefed it up so there was more to it than the compassion coming full circle with the drink of water.

Watchable, but there's plenty of other sand & sandal epics that you could watch instead.

Even the really cheesy Gods of Egypt.

:)

Final Grade: C-

A Really Long Day At Work..."The 33"

The 33 (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips,

Directed by Patricia Riggen

The Story:

Mario (Banderas) and 32 other miners are down below getting ready for their shift in an underground mine in Chile when the earth begins to shift and the mine starts to collapse. The 33 men barely make it to the sanctuary area where there is food and water for a few days worth of survival. All attempts at escape and rescue seem impossible as the mine owners cut costs and never completed escape routes. Eventually several companies come in to try and get to the men, but as the days turn into weeks, the odds of them finding anything other than corpses becomes more likely.

Based on a true story.

It's a sentimental drama that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you feel for the men.

These movies are often derided for doing the "by the numbers" routine to play on audience emotions.

Hey, I thought it worked.

And really, that's why we have phrases like "by the numbers", you check them off and you know that while you may not be pushing any envelopes or breaking new ground, you're producing a competent film that should appeal to most audiences.

I would say that is achieved in this film.

Odds are you may have overlooked or never heard of this film. I was won over by the trailer when I saw it, and I thought it looked good.

Of course, I also work for the Mine Safety and Health Administration and our job is to make sure miners come home safely at the end of each shift, so maybe I'm biased.

:)

Final Grade: B+

If They Would Have Just Used A Bit More "Focus" On The Script

Focus (2015)

Rated R

Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Gerald McRaney, Rodrigo Santoro,

Written and Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

The Story:

Nicky (Smith) is a really smooth con man with a great network of hustlers that help him work really big jobs. He takes a green rookie named Jess (Robbie) under his wing because she's a natural talent that just needs some...

focus.

Ooo.

See what I did there?

: )

Anyway, they work on the gig, and then go their separate ways.

They run into each other a few years later, each working on different cons that are both targeting the same guy.

Will their feelings for each other ruin an otherwise extremely elaborate ruse and wind up getting someone killed?

I try and avoid talking too much about the plots of heist/con man movies because that often takes out any or all the fun of watching them.

Ficarra and Requa have teamed again to bring another dramatic comedy to the screen.

My problem, here comes the soapbox, is this film would have played perfectly, and perhaps better, with a PG-13 tag. I don't think there's a line of dialogue that a writer has to write using Carlin's list of words you can't say on television, and not still convey the message you're trying to get across.

Take out the language, the film softens to a PG-13, more people go, even families, and more people turns this into a box office hit instead of a financial flop.

The heists and scams are always enjoyable to see orchestrated on the big screen, and this film tries to up the ante on what Nicky can, and will, be able to pull off.

Could've been better, still wasn't that bad.

Final Grade: B-

Now For The Rest Of The Story... "300: Rise Of An Empire"

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

Rated R

Starring Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro

Directed by Noam Murro

The Story:

Admiral Themistocles (Stapleton) is going to lead the forces of Athens against the multitude of Persian warships of the invading Xerxes (Santoro).  Artemesia (Green) is a bloodthirsty Greek vowing revenge for the death of her people and leading Xerxes navy.  Themistocles begs Sparta to send their ships to aid him in keeping Greece free, but the Spartan Queen Gorgo (Headey) has already lost too much.  The 300 Spartans have already fallen, is the rest of Greece doomed to follow?

I don't remember much about 2006's 300.  There was a lot of bloodshed.  There was "This is Sparta!"  And lots of bloodshed. ;)

Cleverly, this movie unfolds in flashbacks and same-time to keep the audience up to speed so that this movie plays as a direct companion to 300 and not strictly a sequel.

Rather clever, and nice of them since it's been almost a decade since the first installment.

Zack Snyder has moved on from the director's chair, but did work on the screenplay so he's still got a hand in the guiding of the movie.

Not that familiar with Stapleton, though he reminds me an awful lot of Luke Goss.  Which, that's cool, because it brings an air of familiarity to him, and he does really well with leading the forces of Greece against Persia.

A skilled Admiral, he is able to hold his own against the bigger Navy, to the point where Artemesia demands a meeting with him to see if he will surrender and join her.

Naturally, in the middle of war, they decide what better way to hold a peace treaty than to have sex?

:: sigh ::

There was already a ton of bloodshed, your R rating was secured.

This seemed amusingly out of place, and done for the sole purpose of locking down the rating.

That, and the dropping of the F-bomb?

Come on people...

That word didn't come into use until literally over thousands of years later.

Take away those two key  moments, this movie would've rated higher.

However, I've got to dock you for sloppiness.

Otherwise, pretty engaging stuff, and the sea battles were phenomenal. 

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch this one again in the future.  Hmm...now I have to check and see if I own 300.