An American action fantasy by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser and The Rock.
A British adventurer encounters conflict with a mummy in Egypt, meets his wife and they have a son. The trio then travel to China after the son finds a burial complex there. An Akkadian mercenary assassin becomes a hero by defeating corrupt and dangerous leaders, with the help of beautiful women.
Almost intolerable. All of the films were hokey and cheesy. At least the Mummy set had a comedic element that basically made it watchable. The Scorpion King did not use humor as much and was more difficult for me to get through. The whole series disregarded historical accuracy completely. I doubt that British people in the 1930s used modern dialect and figures of speech. I know that this was not the case multiple thousands of years BC. It was the case for these movies, however. And then there were ninjas. For those who don't know, shinobi come from Japan, a country that had little to no contact with the rest of the world until the mid 1800s. I highly doubt that there would have been any ninjas available in ancient Sumeria, but there they are. Editing was terrible. My film professor at school labeled the technique "enhanced continuity editing" when we see 3 shots for 1 punch or 4 for a character jumping over a table. I would argue that it should be called "decreased continuity editing" and I hope that it will go out of style soon. The first 2 Mummy films set up a running gag of domino-effect knock overs, using bookshelves and then pillars. I would have liked to at least see it finished in the 3rd Mummy film, but it did not happen. Overall, I rate this tolerable. If you're REALLY bored and need a set of 8 movies to watch, go for it. Otherwise, stay away.
An American comedy directed by Les Mayfield, starring Sean Austin, Brendan Fraser and Pauly Shore.
A pair of unpopular high school boys find a frozen cave man and thaw him out. They teach him to live in the modern world and he makes them popular by association.
I saw this when it first came out. It's one of those feel good buddies movies. The plot is not a main focal point in this case. The characters take center stage. They are cheesy, hokey and play to the gimmick. Some people don't like Pauly Shore, but I think he works well as a character actor in this type of situation. Video style was not a main focus of this film, but the soundtrack was. Because of how extremely dated the songs are, I think they are appropriate. Also, we have Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy", the first speed metal song ever earning points in my view. I think this was made with the premise in mind and it conveys that scenario very well. Overall, don't try to overthink this one. Just chill, buuuuudy. I rate it awesome.
A British American drama directed by Bill Condon, starring Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser.
An old film director has had a stroke and is suffering from mental instability. He befriends the groundskeeper at his mansion, but their relationship is rocky.
This was not too bad. The plot held my interest and I cared about the characters, even Brendan Fraser. Fraser was the groundskeeper and has starred in many comedies of the '90s. The director was Ian Mckellen or Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings series. Camera-work was clear and pacing was dynamic. The style was very clear and bright and focused on the plot. As the two men get to know each other, the old director recounts stories of directing Frankenstein, WWII and gay parties at his house. He tries to draw the Groundskeeper, who is weirded out by the nature of the old man's tales and unstable mental state. Overall, pretty cool. This just barely makes a good rating. You should probably watch it.
A comedy fantasy directed Henry Selick, starring Brendan Fraser.A cartoonist gets into a car accident and slips into a coma. In his coma, he goes to a fantasy world and his cartoon character steals his body.The soundtrack was utter crap (besides the squirrel nut zippers tune) and the ending credits were the longest I've ever seen with the worst music I've ever heard. The monsters in coma-land were slightly amusing, but otherwise this was a total waste of time. I just don't get absurdist physical comedy. I'm rating it shit.
A comedy directed by Harold Ramis, starring Brendan Fraser.A socially inept man makes a deal with the devil for 7 wishes. When he wishes for something It is magical at first, but the flaws of the situation overwhelm him.This is a remake of the 1967 film, which is a retelling of the legend of Faust. I don't usually go for comedies (or remakes for that matter), but there were some funny parts. This was a very light film compared to things that get good ratings on my site. It doesn't "pull you in" or make you feel that you are "in the story". Also, Brendan Fraser was chosen for the role because he's a pretty boy, not because of his skill at acting. Some of the wish scenarios were entertaining, so it wasn't a total loss. I'm rating it o.k.
