The Mummy (Ultimate Edition) (1999) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Mummy" receives a very nice look Blu-ray transfer for this new edition of the movie. Capturing the adventurous elements of films like "Indiana Jones" and injecting it into the basic story for the 1932 film "The Mummy", Stephen Sommers creates a terrific, enteraining film. For those interested in a synposis of the plot, I'll provide it at the end of the review because you've probably already seen this.
The Blu-ray transfer looks quite good here with bold colors that more closely recall the original theatrical presentation than the DVD. The image is crisp and while there's evidently some digital noise reduction applied, Universal hasn't completely cleaned away all the film grain which is a good thing because when that's done you actually lose sharpness and clarity (it is restored with a loss of detail via Edge Enhancement like the recent reissue of "Patton" which went overboard with digitally cleaning up the film). The best thing that Universal could have done here was to leave the grain intact and dispense with the Edge Enhancement. I suspect that the same source was used for the Blu-ray as was used for the HD-DVD edition but that the Edge Enhancement is more transparent here because of higher resolution.
What does all of that mean? The film looks extremely good but could look brilliant. Still, on the whole this looks much better than the DVD edition.
The extras are still presented in 480p (which is standard DVD definition)so be aware those haven't been updated. However, Universal has made this a U-Control disc where you can customize the extras as you watch the film (something developed for and carried over from HD-DVD). You do get the ability to watch the visual commentary/extras while watching the film. All of the original extras from the DVD have been ported over for this edition. All of the extras and the film are on the single disc edition here (unlike the DVD which has most of the extras on a second disc).
Followed by the equally entertaining (and much bigger production of) "The Mummy Returns" and a fun entertaining (if lesser)spin-off film "The Scorpion King", "The Mummy" is worth picking up again even if you have the original DVD edition. Highly recommended.
Oh, and the plot? A group of explorers led by Evelyn (Rachel Weisz)and Rick (Brendan Fraiser)rush to find the riches of an Egyptian tomb and end up reviving Im-Ho-Tep (Arnold Vosloo)an Egyptian High Priest buried alive for his part in a conspiracy to kill the Pharoah. Brought back by the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Im-Ho-Tep takes revenge on those who plundered his tomb and seeks the Book of the Dead to bring back his beloved princess who helped him kill the Pharoah.
It is a great popcorn flick.

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Cairo Time (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)I completely disagree with the previous review. I found the movie delightful. The film brought back many memories of Cairo and Egypt (and Arab men) for me. There is also the experience of a woman traveling alone rather than traveling with a companion or family. I recognized many of the experiences that Juliette had as captured by the exquisite acting of Patricia Clarkson. I had no idea what an excellent actress she is. I especially loved the slow development of the relationship between Juliette and Tarek, played by Alexander Siddig. Hopefully, the film industry will cast Siddig in more romantic leads (if thats what he wants).
The movie did just scratch the surface on several little subplots but it did not get weighed down by them and kept to the theme of friendship and romance developing while a woman waits (unaccompanied) in Cairo. The music was beautiful as well. I recommend the movie (unless you only like action films) and I suggest checking out "The Making of Cairo Time" on Youtube for a little more background on the film and director. (Its an art film and a romance film.)

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A married magazine editor falls for one of her husband's old acquaintances while vacationing in Cairo in this romantic drama from writer/director Ruba Nadda. Juliette (Patricia Clarkson) is a magazine editor who is happily married to Mark (Tom McCamus), a Canadian diplomat. Their kids are all grown up, and they've planned a three-week vacation in Cairo together when Mark gets delayed in the Palestinian territories and Juliette is left to navigate the Egyptian capitol alone. In order to ensure his wife's safety until he arrives, Mark asks his former security officer and longtime friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig) to be her guide though the city. He never imagined that they would fall in love, but the more time Tareq and Juliette spend together the more difficult is becomes for them to deny their intense attraction to one another.

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The Prince of Egypt (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a beautiful movie and a great DVD. The animation is some of the best ever done. Notice, in particular, the life-like Nile River and Red Sea at the beginning and end of the picture. The chariot race that opens the movie is thrilling and the parting of the Red Sea is breath taking. Frankly, I hesitated to see this because I believed that it would just be "The Ten Commandments" re-visited. However, the creators decided to focus on how the God's edict to "Let my people go" would effect the relationship of the two brothers--Rameses and Moses. This point of view permits the audience to have a strong attachment to both characters and the things that happen to them. Another surprise is that the creators did not tone down or "Hollywoodize" the religious aspects of the story. They realized that the great power of this story is its spiritual element. The DVD "extras" make it well worth the price. In particular, I found the comparison drawings showing the creation of the chariot race to be particularly compelling. The music and songs perfectly compliment the action and are never distracting. Clearly, Disney is not the only studio that can create a great animated film.

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PRINCE OF EGYPT - DVD Movie

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Agora (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Is it right to question? Is it proper to doubt? Is it the question itself, or the questioner, who offends in asking? These are some of the issues presented in "Agora", the compelling film by Alejandro Amenabar starring Rachel Weisz.
The film presents the fascinating life of the Roman philosopher/mathematician/scientist Hypatia, a neo-Platonist philosopher of 4th century Alexandria. Very little is known of her scientific or philosophical discoveries, as none of her writings survived the fall of Rome and the rise of Christianity. What we do know of her comes from other writers of the period, who tell us she was widely regarded as the bright jewel of the empire for her wisdom, virtue and brilliant erudition. The broader outlines of her life are known, as are the larger historical and cultural context in which she lived.
As the film opens, Hypatia is laboring to develop a theory that explains the orbits of the planets in contradiction to the accepted Ptolemaic model of the time. Amenabar and his writer take a few artistic liberties in his presentation, as he imagines Hypatia's train of thought along these lines in the absence of any documentary evidence. We just don't know if this was in fact the case. But never mind that, as Art is well served here.
Do the planets travel around the earth, or the sun? Hypatia struggles relentlessly with this question against the backdrop of abrupt and shocking changes in Roman culture. The early Christians have gained a political foothold with imperial favor, and begin to challenge the Pagans and Jews in the provincial capital. The confrontations become violent. As the Christians gain power, they repress any differences of belief and insist on agreement with their faith, often at the point of a sword. Fascinated with this emerging model of the universe, Hypatia persists in her inquiries in the face of growing danger.
Amenabar has created a very convincing Alexandria. The sets and costumes are wonderful, and the writing is quick and idiomatic. Rachel Weisz gives another stand-out performance as someone completely taken up with the process of thought. Weisz's Hypatia is a woman of great perspicacity, intellectual honesty, personal warmth and moral courage. She gives us the convincing internal struggle with a Really Big Idea, a feat of acting that requires great artistic restraint. She succeeds admirably. Hypatia's simple scientific experiments are mesmerizing and charged with drama. Her intellectual struggles are at the same time rigorous and intuitive, deeply moving, yet not cold or distant. She cares about the people around her as much as her Really Big Idea. The rest of the cast performs at the same superb level.
Much has been said elsewhere about the romantic interests in the film. Fortunately, these are entirely secondary to the larger contrasts of the emerging cosmological model and the ultimate closing of the Roman mind. And it is highly refreshing to see a plot driven by a conflict other than the typical Hollywood-formula "love interest".
In life, we know that Hypatia died a martyr to her beliefs. We also know that this moment in European history marked the beginning of the end of the free-thinking philosophy peculiar to Classical, Hellenistic culture. Which makes Hypatia's problems quite contemporary, as people everywhere face the same challenge today. Is it good or right to question? If history is any judge then it certainly is, because that is the only way one will arrive at the truth.

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Set in ancient Egypt under Roman rule, AGORA follows the brilliant and beautiful astronomer Hypatia (Weisz) who leads a group of disciples fighting to save the wisdom of the Ancient World, as violent religious upheaval spills into the streets of Alexandria. Among these disciples are two men competing for her heart: the witty, privileged Orestes (Isaac) and Davus (Minghella), Hypatia’s young slave, who is torn between his secret love for her and the freedom he knows can be his if he chooses to join the unstoppable surge of the Christians.

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