We have seen rather a lot of Brendan Fraser recently, what with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Journey at the Center of the Earth both released in the second half of last year. He’s back again, and while Inkheart is a vastly superior film to his previous efforts, his presence contributes little to its success. In fact, his muscular appeal strikes one of the few jarring notes in an otherwise commendable minor fantasy film.
Inkheart has the same bookish quality that distinguished The Chronicles of Narnia films, from its rather rudimentary special effects to the understated complexity of its characters. Fraser is from a much slicker (if not necessarily more convincing) world of make-believe, and he is anything but understated. While he is never less than an appealing screen presence, his efforts as Mo Folchart, a kind of bulked-up Indiana Jones, a specialist book binder who inexplicably seems perfectly at home with a powerful left hook, shines out like polyester among old silk.
But be that as it may, there is lots of good acting, a splendid plot and a string of mildly funny literary jokes (referencing The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan and Sinbad the Sailor) mean that there is plenty to be getting on with.
As for the story, Mo Folchart is a silvertongue, a person who is able, by reading aloud, to bring forth the characters out of stories. But there is a quid pro quo, and if something comes out of the book, something else has to go in, and Mo, accidentally bringing forth Capricorn and a crew of villains out of a fantasy novel titled “Inkheart,” loses his wife to the book. He spends many years looking for a new copy of the book and avoiding the attentions of the various characters that he inadvertently read out of “Inkheart.”
Around this conceit of how we make books come alive, director Iain Softley sets up a mood of comic adventure. There is none of the moralizing of Narnia or the philosophizing of The Golden Compass, but just a good yarn with lots of fascinating characters in it. At the center is Meggie, Mo’s daughter and companion, an aspiring writer, who only gradually realizes why her father has never read her a bedtime story though they live surround by books. Meggie’s growing realization of her father’s story and her response are reasonably compelling and are well rendered by Eliza Bennett.
The star turn is left to Andy Sirkis, who creates the Monty Python-esque villain Capricorn, the character out of a swords and sorcery fantasy who has made himself at home in Italy and doesn’t want to go back to the grotty medieval world of the novel. Paul Bettany, as the conflicted Dustfinger, once again shows what an excellent ensemble actor he is, with that special ability not only to make himself look good, but to make others shine as well.
Then there’s Helen Mirren, who has taken off her various crowns and settled down as an old-fashioned pantomime dame, playing Meggie’s aunt, a batty old bookworm who gets caught up in the adventure against her will. She gets to ride into battle on a unicorn, which is something neither of the Queen Elizabeths she recently played ever did. Jim Broadbent, also in comic mood, plays Feroglio, the author of “Inkheart,” who just loves to see his novel brought to life, but cannot quite refrain from giving away the ending — to the chagrin of the participants.
So without giving away any more of the story, Inkheart can be recommended wholeheartedly as ideal Lunar New Year viewing for the whole family. One or two sequences might be upsetting for very young children, but on the whole the mood is playful rather than frightening, and its loosely allegorical treatment of a reader’s relationship with the books gives it some depth as well.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
RSS