The Mummy Returns Part 1
Roshan Fried
And John Hannah (the goofy brother) was unbelievable fucking awesome in that weird, Sam Raimi produced, 300-looking SPARTACUS series, where he played the villain. And WHAT a villain he played. I loved to hate him in every second that he was on screen. He totally made up
Yeah, no way for a second that Crystal Skull was boring or had no heart. If anything it had TOO much going on and too much heart for its own good, which is what made it come off as goofy as it did at times. Still love it and think its better than Last Crusade.
Wow, Michael, 2006 sounds awful. I saw almost all of those movies at the theatre and remember them all being terrible. Actually, I think Mission Impossible 3 is the best of the series and one of the best big studio action films of the decade.
i enjoyed the bus chase in the beginning and the scenes with the pygmy mummies. they had the kind of wicked sense of humor/fun that you also see in DEEP RISING (a movie which in its first half is much better than the mummy 2, mainly because of the comedy, but it gets kind of tedious in the second half with all the relentless mayhem). vosloo is as good as anyone can be playing a spooky face in a giant tidal wave (just joking, i know that was cgi obviously). and the tatooed badass guy who belongs to the secret mummy fighting order, played by that israeli dude oded fehr, is a cool character. and i like the scene of rachel weisz fighting the other hot chick (patricia velasquez?) in skimpy clothing, sue me.
the cgi was definitely bad even for the time. i remember cringing in embarrassment more than one time, but of course most notable when the scorpion king shows up again in the climax. hard to believe FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING came out just a few months later.
so, in the end, i was not looking forward to the movie but just resignedly chose it due to lack of options, and while i thought it was ludicrous and often cringe-worthy, it had some pretty enjoyable parts and did its job for me. i remember that day fondly. zero interest in re-watching it though.
Question, how is the third Mummy film? I never saw it because the second was pretty forgettable, seriously I only vaguely remember the airship and something about Rachel Weisz being like an Egyptian princess warrior person or something, and the commercials on television for the third Mummy film were so obnoxious and loud that I never even bothered. Does it compare well to the first Mummy film, which I liked, or is it more like the second?
Although this would become grating in horrors, George Of The Jungle was the only one of the live action adaptations of Jay Ward to really capture the meta and self referential nature of the humor (which when the original cartoons came out- and even when this movie came out, was still a fresh and novel approach).
There is a huge of possibility that Vern will tear his hair out (if he has hair) when he reads this. I mean, more and more people on his websight dismiss THE DARK KNIGHT, while at the same time a GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE fanclub is getting started.
I checked, that Meat Loaf clip (which is if you ask me still very enjoyable) was directed by Howard Greenhalgh, who is apparently the only high profile music video director, who never directed a feature film.
Paul, when I was reading your response to Casey I thought that your opinions between M:I one and M:I3 were completely interesting. On the other hand, you were being a dick for no apparent reason. Did I miss a talkback on a review where you and Casey called your moms names or something? Just seemed to out of character for you.
A sequel to 1999's "The Mummy," this outing delivers more of the original release's camp-plus-action formula, with a few tweaks. While the first one spent a lot of time establishing the (supposedly) cute relationship between adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Egyptologist Evie Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) before unleashing the special effects and action scenes, "Returns" comes roaring onto the screen with a major battle sequence and a screenload of computer-generated effects in the first 10 minutes. It seldom pauses thereafter. Like the armies of Anubis, which everyone in the movie wants to control, the fights, swordplay, chases and explosions come at you in waves. Slower scenes are sprinkled in with two main goals. First, to show what a loving and resourceful family Rick, Evie and their 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddie Boath), are, and, second, to set up the next fight scene. It's like a big-screen version of the WWF's wrestling programs, only with more expensive production values ("Returns" cost about $98 million), marginally better acting, more fighting and less blood. Speaking of the WWF, if you're wondering how pro wrestler the Rock does as the Scorpion King, he barely speaks. (Makes you wonder about the spinoff that's now in production focusing on his character. And as one member of the audience said while leaving the theater, "Do you think he met the rest of the cast? It looks like he filmed all his scenes in a blue room" so computer effects could be added later.) Fraser is likable enough, albeit never quite convincing as an action hero. He just doesn't look like the sort who can outrun the sun or a rushing flood. Weisz is saddled with having to play "adorably brilliant," although she's actually more convincing in her fight scenes.
The plot is standard issue. Villainous types want to raise the mummy Imhotep so that he can kill the Scorpion King and gain control of those aforementioned armies of Anubis with which they can take over the world. The precocious Alex gets kidnapped by the baddies after inadvertently clamping the Scorpion King's bracelet on his wrist. Rick and Evie set off to rescue him, and if they happen to save the world while they're at it, that's a bonus.
Other touches you've seen before (including a few characters brought back from the first film): a wimpy profit-driven sidekick who steps up in a crunch, a wacky guy with a knack for flying machines, masks that look like surplus from the sets of "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Gladiator" and a battle that'll bring back memories of "Braveheart." Oh, there also are a couple of Three Stooges-style scenes as well, including an eye poke, plus a mummy who starts out as a fierce warrior but just before encountering a low bridge suddenly seems like Homer Simpson.
We're constantly reminded that Fraser's Rick is not the subtle type. Neither is the movie. It's part comic book, part old-time serial, part video game. "The Mummy Returns" may not be the brightest entry in this season's movie lineup, but it has the good sense not to say more than it has to. Which, if you're big and stupid, is a smart move.
Parodying old adventure series, the episode is intentionally convoluted, full of non sequiturs and open ended digressions, with key plot elements purposefully omitted. The "Part II" in the title is a joke; there is no Part I. The next episode preview at the end of the episode (a first for the series) promises an equally non-existent part III.
Previously on "The Venture Bros." ... the team found themselves involved in a convoluted time travel epic involving an Egyptian cult of Osiris and historical figures such as Dr. Sigmund Freud and Caligula, with plenty of various adventure and action clichs in abundance.
After the "recap" of the nonexistent episode Escape to the House of Mummies Part I, we join the team who are now trapped in a room deep within a pyramid, apparently in the present day. The only possible exit is through the head of a jackal sculpture on one wall, but even Dean's slender shoulders are too broad for him to squeeze through. Exasperated, Dr. Venture heaps derision on his sons' shortcomings as boy adventurers, and begins to crawl through the opening himself. However, he is stopped when the walls, from which spikes now protrude, suddenly begin closing in.
The team is out of ideas, until Hank suggests they call Dr. Orpheus for help. Venture balks at the idea, and Brock sarcastically tells the boys to prepare for death since their father would rather let them all die horribly than ask Orpheus for help. Fuming, Dr. Venture contacts Orpheus (who is using his magic to rake leaves in the compound's yard) and explains the situation, although he cannot provide their exact location. Without explanation, Orpheus urges Dean to imagine his daughter Triana, naked and tongue-kissing him. When Dean complies, Orpheus uses the strong emotional response to locate them and disable the trap's mechanism, as well as their wrist communicator watches. Dr. Venture then crawls through the jackal's head, leaving the rest of the team in the momentarily-safe room while he seeks help.
Dr. Venture flies the X-1 back to the Venture Compound (damaging the statue out front when he hurriedly lands) and rummages through his laboratory for the equipment he needs to rescue his sons and Brock. Orpheus enters, and Venture's irritation towards the necromancer leads them into another debate on the relative merits of science versus magic. Completely forgetting the urgency of the current situation, they agree to settle the issue with a bet: whoever can shrink themselves the most proves his method is "better." They agree to meet back in the lab the next day to hold their contest. As he leaves, Orpheus reminds Venture he sold Jonas Sr.'s shrink ray to Pete White and Master Billy Quizboy at the tag sale. Venture, clearly having forgotten this, is rather unsettled.
Brief scenes show the progress of Brock and the boys, who have managed to escape the cell on their own. The boys have adopted a "friendly" mummy, and Dean is decapitated but remains alive (apparently through "pyramid power"). Brock, Dean, and Hank, presumably stealing the cult's time machine, abruptly end up in the 1800s. Brock puts Edgar Allan Poe in a headlock, apparently out of amusement over Poe's large head. Just as abruptly, Poe travels back to the present day with Hank, Dean, and Brock.
In search of the shrink ray, Dr. Venture breaks into the Conjectural Technologies mobile home and trashes the place. White and Quizboy catch him in the act and berate him for not simply asking for the object. At Quizboy's prompting, White admits that he disassembled the shrink ray: he couldn't get it to work, and somehow concluded that "a treasure map or something" was jamming its components. Venture initially despairs at the small paper bag that contains the parts, but the three resolve to work together to reassemble it.
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