'The Da Vinci Code,' 'Over the Hedge,' and 'See No Evil'
8:13 a.m. Friday, May 19, 2006
"What if the world discovered the greatest story ever told is a lie?"
That's the central question behind the detective-thriller "The Da Vinci Code," the anticipated adaptation of Dan Brown's gazillion-selling novel.
Tom Hanks takes the lead as a Harvard professor of religious symbology who teams with a French cryptologist (Audrey Tautou) to solve a murder of a colleague at the Louvre. Clues left at the scene lead the pair on a chase to unravel a mystery that could dismantle the core of Christian theology.
There has been plenty written about how church groups are protesting this Hollywood blockbuster.
Yet, once the film embeds itself in thousands of multiplexes and all the "controversy" begins to simmer down, rationale viewers will realize the project doesn't warrant much hoopla. That's because "The Da Vinci Code" is so irrefutably mainstream.
Ideas that are genuinely challenging to people's beliefs don't come from sources like Ron Howard. His movie is a professional, workmanlike effort - a passable potboiler and not much more.
Also opening in Topeka theaters this week is the animated effort "Over the Hedge." A wandering raccoon (voiced by Bruce Willis) encounters a critter community that is afraid of neighboring humans. Inspired by their new friend, the animals venture over the hedge that separates them from a suburban development.
And finally, the horror flick "See No Evil" finds a reclusive psychopath - aren't they all - holed up in an abandoned hotel. When eight delinquents are sent there to clean up the place as part of community service, they become unwitting victims. Former WWE wrestler Glen Jacobs, a.k.a Kane, plays the mountainous bad guy.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)