My Review: The Sorcerer`s Apprentice (4/10)

¨I have been searching all over the world for you. You're going to be a force for good and a very important sorcerer. But for now, you're my apprentice ¨

From the producer of Pirates of the Caribbean, Jerry Bruckheimer, and the director of the National Treasure franchise,  Jon Turteltaub, comes The Sorcerer`s Apprentice, a film with big names, a great amount of CGI visual effects, but little imagination. The movie is loud and stupid; it reminded me a lot of Dragon Ball Evolution with all the fire balls and the dumb plot. I don`t understand how a film like this with so many good actors, with such good visual effects, powerful producers, didn`t take time to hire a decent group of screenwriters. The story just didn`t live up to my expectations and the cast did what they could to save the movie. Nicolas Cage was probably the best thing about the movie, the visuals were decent, but it takes a lot more than that to make up for the terrible plot. I actually enjoyed the National Treasure franchise more than this film so this was a step back for Turteltaub`s career and hopefully he will stay away from a sequel. The introduction alone explaining the history of the sorcerers and their rivalry was so weak that I knew I was going to have to lower my expectations during the remainder of the film. My favorite scene in the movie was the one from Disney`s Fantasia in which the mops and brooms come to life to help clean the lab, but that was perhaps one of the few positive things along with some funny scenes from Cage that I can say about this movie.

And now it`s time to explain the plot, my least favorite part about The Sorcerer`s Apprentice. The movie opens with a Lord of the Rings style narration in 700 AD where Merlin, the greatest sorcerer ever, is teaching his three apprentices Balthazar (Nicholas Cage), Horvath (Alfred Molina), and Veronica (Monica Bellucci) the secrets of the sorcerers. Horvath betrays Merlin and joins Morgana (Alice Krige), his greatest enemy. Morgana plans to awake all the dead evil sorcerers so she can destroy the world, and in a battle with Merlin she kills him with the help of Horvath. Balthazar and Veronica try to fight off Morgana, and Veronica is able to absorb her soul although she is so powerful that Morgana starts to possess her from inside. That is when Balthazar has to imprison both of them inside a grimhold, which is a Chinese nesting doll. Before Merlin takes his last breath he gives Balthazar a dragon ring telling him that it will come to life when he finds his successor, the Prime Merlinean. Centuries pass and Balthazar doesn`t find the kid until we arrive in modern day New York City. Balthazar finally finds the successor and decides to recruit and teach Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) how to become a sorcerer before Horvath comes to destroy him. Meanwhile, Dave begins to get a little distracted when he runs into his old childhood sweetheart, Becky (Teresa Palmer), and Horvath find an apprentice of his own in entertainer and magician Drake Stone (Toby Kebbell).

The plot is very silly and really doesn`t work in a film that invested so much in the visuals and in the cast. Nicolas Cage does what he can to save this movie, Alfred Molina is also a good villain, Jay Baruchel probably wasn`t the right choice in a movie like this, but his character was silly anyway, Teresa Palmer played the girl of his dreams and she was alright, and the surprise in this film was Toby Kebbell who had a pretty funny role as Molina`s apprentice and entertainer, but he had very little screen time. The movie really suffers from little imagination because if you have the resources to make a film about sorcerers several entertaining things can be done, but the story is pretty simple and we`ve seen most everything before. Someone said why have sorcerers chase each other in cars when they could fly all over the city. It made a lot of sense; they went for the simple instead of the spectacular. I really hope they don`t make a sequel for this movie even though the end of the film gives the possibility for one. This was a pretty bad movie and one you should skip.

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My Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (7/10)

¨I've seen its power with my own eyes. Releasing the Sand turns back time. Only the holder of the Dagger is aware what's happened.¨

(7/10) Prince of Persia may perhaps be the best film adapted from a videogame that I`ve seen along with the Resident Evil franchise. However, this statement is not saying much because I can`t remember any other game turned into a movie that I have enjoyed. Most of these films turn out to be a complete failure, but Prince of Persia is not the case because it delivers good action scenes along with a decent cast. The movie works as pure entertainment, it is not a film you want to go see for the dialogue or the story, but as a summer popcorn movie Prince of Persia totally works. It has a lot of action, fun characters, and Jake Gyllenhaal proves he can be an action star as well. There are plenty of chases and running across rooftops to keep you entertained and not thinking too much on the plot. The movie was brought to us by the same people that produced the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but the result was not exactly the same mainly because there was no Jack Sparrow this time around. Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) directed this film, which was based on Jordan Mechner`s video game of the same name, while Boaz Yakin, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro worked on the screenplay.

Jake Gyllenhaal is Dastan, a kid who grew up in the slums of the Persian Empire and was fortunate enough to be adopted by the King, taken to the palace and becoming a prince due to his great courage. King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) is a good King who has expanded the Persian Empire and rules it along with his brother Nizam (Ben Kingsley). Besides adopting Dastan, the King has two children: Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell). One day a spy returns to the palace with news that the Holy City of Alamut is secretly supplying foreign enemies with Persian weapons. The three brothers decide to invade the city and take Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton from Clash of the Titans and Quantum of Solace) hostage. In Alamut Dastan also finds a secret dagger which seems to be able to turn back time. After the attack, King Sharaman is murdered and Dastan becomes the prime suspect so he has to flee along with Tamina in order to try to clear his name and discover the true powers of the dagger. The plot is probably the weakest part of the movie so I don`t want to spend too much time on it, but the action does save the film and therefore no thinking is required. Alfred Molina also has an interesting role in this film as Sheik Amar and is the funniest character in the film.

If we were to compare this movie to Pirates of the Caribbean, then Will Turner would be Dastan, Elizabeth Swan would be Princess Tamina, and Jack Sparrow would be Sheik Amar. The problem is that Jack Sparrow can`t be equaled so the film falls short character wise, but there is enough action to entertain audiences, although I would have to argue that this is not a movie you will want to see twice.

It is a onetime only viewing experience and works only as a summer blockbuster movie. I don`t think it has what it takes to become a successful franchise like Pirates of the Caribbean was. Besides the action and the decent cast, I also enjoyed the setting, which reminded me a lot of Aladdin and brought some nice childhood memories back. The scenery was just beautiful. I think fans of the video game will be pleased with this movie and action fans will also have a good time at the movies. If you don`t take this movie too seriously you will be entertained.

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My Review: An Education (7/10)

¨If people die the moment that they graduate, then surely it`s the things we do before hand that count. If you never do anything, you never become anyone.¨

(7/10) An Education is one of the ten nominated movies for best picture in the Oscars this year and it is the last one I got around to watching because I thought it would be the less interesting one. I remember seeing the trailer and thinking: not again, another movie about an underage girl having a relationship with an older man. Well, when I finally got around to seeing An Education I was really surprised at how the story caught my attention and captivated me. The performance from the entire cast was excellent, but Carey Mulligan stands out in the lead role. It will be a difficult task for her to overcome heavy favorites Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep in the Oscar race for best performance by a leading actress. An Education might end up empty handed in the Oscar race, but that doesn`t mean you shouldn`t get around to seeing this movie. Female Danish director, Lone Sherfig, does a great job directing this film with an almost entirely English cast. Nick Hornby, known mostly for writing novels such as High Fidelity, Fever Pitch, and About a Boy, writes the screenplay for An Education which is based on the memoir from Lynn Barber. Surprisingly the main issue that An Education deals with isn`t the relationship between an older man and a girl; but the conflict between deciding to have a good education or marrying a wealthy man and living a good life. Mulligan`s character is so mature that it makes it difficult for the audience to see her as a little girl.

The story takes place around 1960 in a London suburb. Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan from Public Enemies and Pride and Prejudice) is a very talented sixteen year old who is studying really hard in order to be accepted to the prestigious Oxford University. She loves art, speaking French, and playing the cello. Her father, Jack (Alfred Molina from Spider Man 2) pushes her really hard because he wants her to have a better life than him and recognizes that she is extremely gifted and smart. Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams who I recognized from The Sixth Sense) is her English teacher who also recognizes her talent and encourages her to take the exam in order to be accepted. Graham (Matthew Beard) is a young Jewish boy who is interested in Jenny, but her father disapproves because he has no aspirations in life. Jenny`s life will change dramatically when she meets a much older man named David (Peter Sarsgaard from Boys Don`t Cry and Jarhead). He seems to be a wealthy man who drives a nice car and is always inviting her to cultural events along with his friends Danny (Dominic Cooper from The Duchess) and Helen (Rosamund Pike who played Miranda Frost in the Bond film Die Another Day). Together they have a great time, and Jenny gets to know the world she has been reading in books for so long. She even goes to Paris with David because he is so goo d at winning her parents acceptance. Jack really likes David and everything he has to offer for his daughter and Jenny seems happy living the life she always dreamt about, but not everything is what it seems and money doesn`t grow around in trees. Emma Thompson has a small role as the Headmistress of Jenny`s school and she disapproves of her new relationship. Jenny is at risk of losing her education at Oxford and she doesn`t seem to mind because she finds out life is such more fun living it than actually studying.

I already said that Carey Mulligan was great in this film as the very smart and gifted Jenny, but Rosamund Pike has to get some credit for playing the stupid blonde and contributing in some of the funniest lines of the movie. Peter Sarsgaard is also great as David as he not only wins over Jenny and her parent`s hearts, but the audience`s as well. The performances in the movie are great and the story is very interesting. The dilemma that the film presents between getting a good education or getting married with a wealthy person is also a great debate. It is funny that Emma Thompson played a character that was so in favor of education, when she herself has said in real life that ¨the best education there can be for an actor is to walk up the street and observe human nature.¨ Jenny seemed to be the one using similar lines in this movie to prove her point. She was having the time of her life and learning so many things by attending these high class society events. The scenes between her and the headmistress, or with Miss Stubs are perhaps the best in the movie. Another touching moment was Alfred Molina´s monologue to Jenny while she was locked in her room. I really enjoyed the performances and the story as well.