Today after my ride, Allison and I headed to Framingham to the Premium Cinemas to go and see Sahara. First impressions: The movie was a great action movie, so much good about it. Characters: Admiral Sandecker, William H. Macy did a good job as Sandecker however Sandecker dyes his beard to keep any grey out of it. Macy’s beard was grey. He did have the trademark cigars however and that is important. I don’t think the movie Sandecker was tenacious enough, but he did still get the job done.
Rudi Gunn: Okay you got the glasses right but Rainn Wilson is a bit too pudgy to be playing Gunn who is a skinny little pencil pusher on the outside but a tough former Navy guy when pushed. Gunn seemed confused when with Pitt and Giordino but then again most everyone is. They are a tight pair. However his scientific knowledge was shown very well.
Giordino, Okay I had my doubts about Steve Zahn as Al Giordino, he was awesome, but he wasn’t the Giordino that I have come to know in the Dirk Pitt Series. But that was not necessarily a bad thing. Zahn made Giordino come alive but a different Giordino. And that was okay. Zahn provided much of the movies humor and Gunn provided the rest but playing the straight man to the manic Zahn and the ever confident Pitt.
Dirk Pitt, Matthew McConaughy was fantastic as Pitt. They got the look down and the mannerisms and the eyes they got the eyes right. Dirk Pitt’s eyes are a huge part of the books, whether they are soulful or dangerous and of course Opaline green. McConaughy played the ever confident and never rattled Pitt so very well, it made me believe that he stepped off the pages of the book.
The story: The story was a big deviation from the book but it was a great story in itself. It is impossible to pack every character and plot twist from a Cussler novel into a mere 2 hours and 7 minutes, but the adaptation of the book to movie was done very well. It had many of elements that make a Dirk Pitt novel so great. Multiple plot lines and many characters, lots of actions and impossible odds. That is was makes Pitt such a great character, he always goes for the impossible. One thing I didn’t particularly like was a transition that was all too quick and that had to do with the land yacht. The chemistry: I think the only character who was really wooden was Penelope Cruz, she’s the poor man’s Catherine Zeta Jones or Selma Hayek. Although I think that Selma Hayek and Penelope Cruz would have been interchangeable in this role. But oh well. The core four, Sandecker, Gunn, Giordino and Pitt had great chemistry, they had the bickering and bantering down pat. The scenes with Pitt and Giordino were great, it really felt like they were friends from back when they were in kindergarten. That was one of the great things about the movie. And there were lots and lots of explosions, but the way the explosions happened were like nothing I’ve seen before in movies. The Soundtrack: Seventies rock and roll, you can’t beat that, it was a great choice for the feel of the movie. I would certainly see this movie again and will definitely see it again when it comes to the Route One Cinema Pub, Dad and I are going to see it then.
The location: The Framingham Premium Cinemas as always was great, we got a plate of appetizers and all the popcorn and soda that we wanted.
After the movie we went to Jordan’s furniture to look for a lift top coffee table. They didn’t have a good selection so we went to Bob’s Discount furniture and found one that we liked and bought it. It should be delivered on Friday. No more sitting on the floor for dinner. We then headed home and went to Cardi’s Furniture to see if any of the tables were better but didn’t find one. And then we went to the Memphis Roadhouse for a rib dinner. It was really cold there but luckily they shut off the overzealous fan just as we left, one hour after we asked the fan to be turned down. Way to be on top of things.
When I got home Tara and I set up the wireless Router so that she and Erik could have Internet Access and so could Mom and Dad. I’m actually writing this entry on my laptop wirelessly. Too bad that Allison and I are locked into a year long contract with Verizon for DSL. Oh well, live and learn.