"Kingdom of Heaven" - A Review

What happens when you are Ridley Scott and you take Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Eva Green, the history of the Second Crusade, and make a movie? You get awesomeness. OK, I'm exaggerating, but you do get Kingdom of Heaven, an historical epic based on true events.

Loosely based on the events surrounding the Muslim siege of Jerusalem during the Second Crusade, Kingdom of Heaven follows Balian de Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) as he joins his father (Liam Neeson) on a crusade in order to atone for his sins and the sins of his deceased wife. Along the way, he deals with political intrigue and a love triangle that all find their culmination at the siege of Jerusalem.

Unlike other modern epics, this film takes its time getting to the epic action scenes. Sure, there are some action scenes earlier on in the film, but they are more like small skirmishes. The reason for this is that the film is more focused on telling the stories of the characters involved than setting up epic fight scenes. In this way, the film flows in the same vein as Charlton Heston's historical epics like Ben-Hur and El Cid, not that that's a bad thing. It's a very good thing as a matter of fact. Considering that many historical war films these days are filled with action scenes, it's nice to see one that is more focused on the characters involved than the war they are fighting.

Another place where the film deserves praise is its excellent handling of the manipulation that was involved in the Crusades. The clergy is often depicted in this film as a manipulative lot; something I normally would not have cared for, but in this case that is how the clergy actually were at the time. Furthermore, we see the manipulation present in the hero's motivations. Balian is fighting in the Crusade to get his wife out of hell and to atone for his own sins. As all true Christians know, only Jesus' atoning work on the cross can do that. But during the time of the Crusades, the church was telling the people that if they went on a crusade, they got a free pass into heaven. It was a gimmick to convince people to help the church accomplish its political goals. And the film deals with this issue, but without dwelling on it or being preachy. It shows rather than tells.

Of course, the film is not without its problems. Since this is a Ridley Scott movie, the violence can be graphic - though the violence presented here is tamer than that which is shown in other Ridley Scott movies like Gladiator. There is also some problematic sexual content (though it can be seamlessly removed via VidAngel's filtering features). It should also be pointed out that this is a loose adaptation of historical events, so not everything depicted is totally accurate. This will undoubtedly frustrate any historians in the audience.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent look at the era of the Crusades. It is an enjoyable epic with great performances, beautiful cinematography, and a sweeping score. It is a shame this film has fallen into obscurity, because it is a great film that is well worth your time.

Note: This blog is in no way associated with VidAngel. I am not being paid to mention them.

"Nacho Libre" - A Review

When you are a monk, sometimes you compete in a wrestling match - just for fun.

All Nacho (Jack Black) wants is to be respected, and he thinks fighting in wrestling matches will earn him the respect he so desires - and possibly win the heart of a nun (Ana de la Reguera). However, he repeatedly loses in the ring. Worse, the crowds love it. Nacho Libre follows Nacho as he works toward becoming a champion so that he will finally get the respect he deserves.

If this all sounds cheesy, that's because it is. But Nacho Libre is one of those movies that is self aware of how cheesy its premise is and runs with it. And the results are hilarious. Jack Black especially deserves credit for injecting most of the humor into this film. His delivery is on-point, making him by far the funniest part of this movie. You might say that he makes the movie.

But just as beneath the man we find his nucleus, beneath all this comedy we find a story with real heart. As the film progresses, Nacho comes to realize how selfish he is being and selflessly chooses to use whatever success he gains to help orphans. Even Nacho's partner Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez) learns something about caring about others.

This is not to say that the film is without its problems. The film doesn't seem to have too much of a problem with deceit. Even when Nacho is caught lying, he is not even rebuked. As a matter of fact, the other characters seem more surprised than angry (except that one guy who gets excited because he "knew it!"). In addition, the film does contain a couple of jokes that parents may not want to expose little ones to.

These problems are not deal breakers, however. They play such a small part in the film that there is no reason that viewers who can discern good from bad can't watch it. It is a very entertaining, funny film with a good message. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you check it out.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" - A Review

What do you get when you combine fantasy film cliches, witty dialogue, CGI, and Ewan McGregor? You get Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer. Bryan Singer is best known as the director of several of the installments in the X-Men film franchise, but here he steps away from the superhero/sci-fi genre to present us with this Princess Bride-esque fantasy film. The premise is simple: a princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) runs away and gets stranded in the land of the giants because of a freak accident involving a beanstalk. Now it is up to a witness of the accident named Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a soldier named Elmont (Ewan McGregor), and the princess's fiance (Stanley Tucci) to rescue from being eaten by the giants.

Like I said, this film in many ways is reminiscent of The Princess Bride. It pokes fun of various fantasy film tropes, contains over the top characters, and clever humor. Basically, this is a cheesy movie, but just like The Princess Bride it is cheesy in a good way. The film is well-executed across the board, and it is hilarious.

Arguably the best part of the movie is the performance of Ewan McGregor. He completely nails his character and the dialogue he is given. McGregor pulls off his lines in an overly serious manner that perfectly accentuates the hilarity of his dialogue. In fact, the only crime this movie is really guilty of is not giving Ewan McGregor more screen time (I'm kidding. The movie uses him as much as it possibly can).

The only real bad thing about this movie is the quality of the CGI. However, since the film is not meant to be taken seriously, it could be argued that the CGI is intentionally imperfect. Either way, it does get mildly distracting in a couple of scenes.

In conclusion, this film is hilarious and well done. The cast is great, with Ewan McGregor stealing every scene he is in. Also, Bryan Singer gives us some pretty unique action scenes that are pretty cool. Jack the Giant Slayer is definitely well worth a watch, especially if you are a Princess Bride fan.