I saw the 1934 adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic some years ago, inspired by its excerpt in V for Vendetta. Although I enjoyed it (and seeing why V did too), later I could remember little more than the basic outline: A wrongfully imprisoned swordsman gets revenge. Perhaps a second take, especially one for a modern audience, would stay with me better.
Illiterate sailor Edmond (Jim Caviezel) helps his dying captain pay an emergency visit to Elba during the exile of Napoleon (Alex Norton). The price of treatment by the local physician is Edmond's agreement to stealthily deliver a letter, which Napoleon claims is innocent. Upon returning to France, Edmond is charged with treason—thanks not to an honest misunderstanding regarding the mail, as he first believes, but to treachery by three acquaintances. During his long stay at the Chรขteau d'If, priestly inmate Faria (Richard Harris in one of his last roles) secretly teaches him in many ways and then helps him escape and find a vast hidden treasure. Edmond reappears in civilized society in the guise of the titular count, observing his old enemies and plotting their downfalls....
Showing posts with label guy pearce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guy pearce. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
The Road (2009)
As long-time readers of my blog may recall, I like to set October aside for movies that befit Halloween one way or another. Unfortunately, the first disc I received this month was unplayable, so I searched my streaming list and found it sparse on anything like horror. This looked like my best bet.
You'd guess from the bland title that it was a road trip feature, but it seems to me that no actual road gets much screen time. It's a post-apocalyptic drama, which can't help taking on facets of a thriller at times. Neither the movie nor the Cormac McCarthy book on which it's based specify the cause, but we see plenty of dead trees, few nonhuman animals, and no signs of future tech. The protagonists, an unnamed man (Viggo Mortensen) and his unnamed son (Kodi Smit-McPhee, who later starred in ParaNorman), make a trek southward to survive a winter without fuel. Along the way, they must beware other people, who are likely to rob them or do much, much worse....
You'd guess from the bland title that it was a road trip feature, but it seems to me that no actual road gets much screen time. It's a post-apocalyptic drama, which can't help taking on facets of a thriller at times. Neither the movie nor the Cormac McCarthy book on which it's based specify the cause, but we see plenty of dead trees, few nonhuman animals, and no signs of future tech. The protagonists, an unnamed man (Viggo Mortensen) and his unnamed son (Kodi Smit-McPhee, who later starred in ParaNorman), make a trek southward to survive a winter without fuel. Along the way, they must beware other people, who are likely to rob them or do much, much worse....
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