The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)- An outraged Flynn Carsen (on having his tuxedo shirt ripped during a sword duel): "This is rented!"
- His urbane (yet evil) opponent: "Of course it is."
It's always a guilty pleasure catching up with the Librarian, whose job is to guard history's secret relics and treasures, some of these magical in nature and all stowed away in the hidden chambers of the Metropolitan Library of New York. Flynn Carsen is sort of like a modern-day Indiana Jones, except that he's awkward and plenty nerdy. But Flynn does keep his wits about him, and, after years of holding down the Librarian gig, he now boasts experience and smidgens of confidence. This current Librarian may fumble about some, but it's always fun seeing how he'll get out of whatever scrape.
The more things change... The movie opens with Flynn at a posh event applying the finishing touches to his tuxedo. He then navigates down a stairway, sips champagne, and then does a spit take with the champagne. Which goes to show that, even after all this time, Flynn Carsen is still refreshingly hapless. But, after this latest escapade, which climaxes in a sword fight, Flynn Carsen is officially burnt out (his girlfriend dumping him has something to do with it). Back at the library, by virtue of sheer grousing, he gets himself some time off and ends up flying to New Orleans, all gigged out in bow tie and panama hat. So, as they say in the Big Easy, laissez les bon temps roullez.
Or not. The holiday rapidly turns into a desperate relic hunt, with Flynn taking on ex-KGB agents, voodoo magic, and the undead. Along the way, he partners up with a mysterious chanteuse to rescue a kidnapped scientist. The relic in question is the rumored Judas Chalice, of which origin dates back to Judas Iscariot and his 30 pieces of silver. The chalice reeks of malice but holds the brew that is true - that is, if you're a vampire in need of resurrecting. And, since those ex-KGB agents have unearthed the coffin of Vlad Dracul, you can see where this is going.
What I like best about TNT's Librarian series is that it's not at all pretentious. It wallows in its unabashed cheesiness and farce, even as it hunkers down with a pretty good adventure story. THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE is the third in the series, and it doesn't disappoint its fans. Hokey fun, mythical artifacts, indecipherable manuscripts, supernatural villains, and a likable, nebbish, talky hero (even the bad guys complain of his always talking in paragraphs). By now, Noah Wyle's got his part down cold. The neat thing about his character is that he can do something heroic but, then, subsequently have the rug pulled out from under him. And, when this happens, he's so damn good-natured about it.
Flynn has had a hard time keeping his lady loves. First Nicole (Sonya Walger), then Emily Davenport (Gabrielle Anwar). This time out, Wyle's romantic interest is exotic Stana Katic, who plays bluesy singer Simone Renoir with femme fatale nuances. Maybe she's a keeper. Or not. Meanwhile, Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart (at his stammering best) are again solidly on board as the museum directors.
I never thought I'd ever say this, but I had a better time with THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE than with that last Indiana Jones flick. This movie, like its predecessors (The Librarian - Quest for the Spear & The Librarian - Return to King Solomon's Mines) are tongue-in-cheek throwbacks to those high adventure pictures churned out back in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. I don't think I'm reaching that much when I say that even the score here is rousing enough that it actually reminded me of those Errol Flynn swashbucklers. But, of course, Flynn Carsen is no Errol Flynn. Errol doesn't know the Dewey Decimal System.

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Noah Wyle (TV's ER) is back as Flynn Carson, along with Bob Newhart (Elf) and Jane Curtin (Coneheads), in the most thrilling adventure in The Librarian series yet! On a deadly mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by - and falls in love with - Simone, a dazzling French woman who harbors a terrifying secret. But when double-crossed by a respected professor (Bruce Davison - X-Men, X2) and ambushed by a ruthless gang, Flynn realizes Simone's secret, his true mission and a shocking discovery are all lying within a decaying New Orleans crypt?a crypt that may be holding Prince Vlad Dracul, whom the world has feared for centuries.

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No One Would Tell (True Stories Collection TV Movie) (1996) Review

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(More customer reviews)Candace Cameron and Fred Savage shake off the goody-goody images associated with the roles that brought them teen stardom on Full House and The Wonder Years. Cameron plays Stacy Collins, a normal high school girl full of insecurities who happens to land the class hunk. Savage is Bobby Tennyson, high school wrestler and all-around popular guy. When these two get together, Stacy finally knows what it feels like to be a part of the in-crowd and is so grateful she's willing to look past Bobby's numerous faults.
Their relationship starts off normal enough with Bobby wooing Stacy with flowers and love poems, but he gets progressively more possessive and jealous. Stacy initially thinks it's cute that Bobby is so protective until it gets to the point where he becomes overbearing and irrational. Even when he starts hitting her, she defends him to her friends telling them that you stick by the people you love. "Everything's fine" becomes her mantra even though those closest to her can plainly see that it's not the case.
This relationship closely mirrors the one in which Stacy's mother is involved. Her mother is too absorbed in her own dating situation to understand and acknowledge what's going on with Stacy. Stacy assumes the maternal role, in fact, berating her mother for allowing her boyfriend to treat her badly though she's willing to overlook Bobby's abusive nature. In fact, when her mother confronts her about the abuse, Stacy says "That's your story, not mine." That Stacy's mother backs off at this point is a disgrace and this film strives to point out that in any situation no one should let abuse slide.
This film came out in the early 1990's and was one of those Sunday Night movies aimed at letting teenagers know the ills that will befall them if they're not careful. It's stuck with me all these years because the message is delivered without a scolding undertone, but instead as a reminder of what can go horribly wrong if you let things spiral out of hand. Sally Jessy Raphael has a guest role as the judge in Bobby's trial and she reminds those present who witnessed Stacy's abuse that we have a responsibility to the people who we care about. It's a foolish and dangerous practice to simply shake off abuse with the adage "Love Hurts." It shouldn't.

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