Orlando Bloom packs on the pounds and muscle to play a 12th century blacksmith turned Crusader turned baron in Kingdom of Heaven
, a strong “historical” action-adventure.
The action moves quickly from France to the Middle East, where the tale becomes a parable on the endless futility of Middle Eastern conflict. Despite a few “ripped from today’s headlines” speeches, the action is well-done, the military conflict interesting and there are strong performances all around. The climactic battle at the Christopher Gate of Jerusalem, if it doesn’t quite measure up to similar siege sequences in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, is exciting and involving, even if the populism seems a few centuries early.
Great fun with a more rounded story than the more intense Gladiator.
Strongly recommended for fans of getting medieval.
Red Eye doesn’t have many ambitions beyond being the ultimate “bad guy to sit next to on an airplane” story. It’s like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents given a slightly longer running time.
Fortunately, Rachel McAdams, who has to carry this film, does an admirable job of doing so, without the sort of “look at this great performance” stuff a bigger name might well have given us. And that elevates this bit of fluff into being quite impressive fluff.
Fun stuff, and a film that should definitely keep McAdams’ star on the rise and help director Wes Craven get more chances to spread his wings without Freddy Kruger around.
A definite recommendation for thriller fans.
Remember this guy?
Well, he’s gotten himself into a bit of trouble with the law, as you might expect with a high-profile Satanist vampire:
A fringe candidate for governor who played up his satanic side — and pledged public impalement for terrorists — wound up behind bars Tuesday thanks to a sharp-eyed sheriff’s dispatcher.
Jonathon Sharkey, 41, of Princeton, Minn. was arrested Monday night on two felony counts from Indiana, said Mike Smith, the Mille Lacs County jail administrator. One warrant was for escape, another for stalking against a former girlfriend.
“(Authorities are) very well aware of my ex-fiancee’s vicious and malicious attacks against me,” Sharkey said.
In a phone interview from jail, Sharkey said he did nothing wrong because he never signed his probation papers.
“I never signed the order of probation to begin with, never agreeing to it,” Sharkey said. “Hence, if the contract was not signed, it’s null and void.”
Buried in the paper trails of lawsuits is an even stranger claim: that Sharkey once faked his own death.
“I overdosed on over 120 tranquilizers,” Sharkey told WCCO-TV. “That definitely lowers your heartbeat real good.”
The site includes video.
Go on, you know you want to see the King of the Vampires-turned-gubernatoral-candidate’s press conference.
As promised, here are the other photos we submitted for the Society of Professional Journalists 2005 awards:
Photo by Peter Day. Published July 19, 2005.
Penny Hale wipes away a tear after opening a present from a group of teenagers who as toddlers were in Hale’s “Mommy and Me” class in 1993. Hale, who is retiring as an instructor for the Hesperia Recreation and Park District after 18 years, is heading toward a local teaching job. Numerous mommies and their children gave Hale an emotional send-off at Timberlane Park.
Photo by Dan Elliott. Published September 24, 2005.
The theme for the Hesperia Days Parade was “Tribute to our Military Families.” The parade started out colorfully and symbolically with Old Glory leading the way.
Photo by Peter Day. Published January 4, 2005.
Recreational kayaker Paul Covert braves the Mojave River as a stranded car tells the tale of an earlier near tragedy. According to the Hesperia Sheriff Station, a motorist had defied a posted warning and attempted to cross Rock Springs Road, which was deluged with rain water.
Photo by Peter Day. Published July 12, 2005.
Patricia Miller embraces Max, her chihuahua/terrier mix, after a structure fire destroyed her apartment unit on Sequoia Avenue in Hesperia.
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