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Posted on 08/31/2005 7:06:15 PM PDT by Soaring Feather
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Hey a ping list might be a good idea, lol....
Nice to have a laid back day to FReep, eh??
Mornin' you early-risers. I am here only for a minute to tell ya all that I'll see ya later. I gotta go get ready for this road trip and fun in the Hill country sun! Talk to everyone tonight! Bye! Y'all have fun without me!
Have a grand time.
Good Morning Ladies.
Have a great trip LUV.
Good morning, Mrs. Nooseman.
LOL.
How are you this morning?
Fine, thanks!
SAHARA, starring Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn, & Penelope Cruz 
RATING: 2 stars (out of four)
As a rabid Clive Cussler fan [this film is based (supposedly) on the Cussler novel of the same name], I wanted to enjoy this. I mean, I really, really did.
But I didn't.
For those who don't know, In Cussler's long-running action series, Dirk Pitt is an employee of the federal agency NUMA (National Underwater & Marine Agency), headed by Adm. James Sandecker. There has been only one other attempt to bring one of Cussler's books to the screen, the long-ago disaster RAISE THE TITANIC. And this film illustrates why the attempts don't work. In print, Cussler ties together historical events (some real, some not) into a modern-day story arc that encompasses several running plotlines (in the case of SAHARA, Pitt's search for a long-missing Civil War ironclad and a spreading plague throughout Africa). When you try to squash that down into 100 minutes, inevitably key background elements are jettisoned for the sake of gunfire and explosions.
As for the actors, they're mostly passable. McConaughey plays Our Hero, Pitt, with a breezy charm and swagger. He's likeable, if not entirely believeable, in the role (Pitt should be a few years older, IMHO. MM is only 35 and I couldn't help but get the feeling I was watching a college kid on Spring Break). Veteran character actor William H. Macy is inoffensive as Sandecker (although why the film made NUMA a private salvage company instead of a governmental organization I have no idea). Steve Zahn probably comes off the best as Pitt's buddy/sidekick Al Giordino, with some of the best one-liners; although, in truth, he's nothing like the print version of Al, who's shorter, darker-complected, and muscular. The skinny and pale Zahn was a curious casting choice from the beginning. MM and SZ do have an onscreen chemistry, and if I didn't have the print versions of Pitt and Giordino running through my head, they'd be much more acceptable.
And then there's Penelope Cruz as the World Health Organization's Dr. Eva Rojas...the one who's trying to trace of the source of the sickness spreading in Africa.
Ugh.
First of all, I have never found Cruz attractive. At all. But even letting that go, she simply brings nothing to the role. Eva Mendes would have been better. Half the time I can't even understand Cruz's lines. The truth is, Penelope Cruz couldn't act wet in a rainstorm. Case closed.
Overall, SAHARA is an acceptable popcorn-munching time-waster for those who aren't that familar with Cussler's work. if you are, you won't like it. Pick up NATIONAL TREASURE instead.
Thanks for making me smile, today.
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Even dumber, they completely cut out the backstory scenes about the plane crash of Kitty Mannock. Thus, when Dirk and Al come across the remnants of her plane in the desert, there's no explanation at all of why an early-century plane would be crashed in the freakin' Sahara desert. You can see the deleted scenes on the DVD.
Sure is! You can bet thats what I'm doing too. I'm addicted to FReeping, lol. Just can't get enough ;)
Well how stupid is that.
Why didn't they make two versions of the DVD?
I would have been willing to pay more for an unedited version.
Well, I guess it's worth the rental price, as opposed to paying for a box-office ticket at the local show....
A man's breakfast with Tonk on themeless Thursday ~ Bump!
Good morning, GBU. I'm cleaning my desk up and getting ready to depart. Couldn't leave without saying howdy to you. See ya later this evening. Who knows, you might even get FIRST on the thread tonight!
LOL
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