Apocalypto, Hollywoodland, Charlotte's Web

APOCALYPTO. If you're a filmmaker, how do you top something like Passion of The Christ? Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had Independence Day and followed it up with Godzilla. Peter Jackson made the Lord of The Rings trilogy and King Kong was his next film. Both follow-ups failed at the box office and didn't live up to critics and the movie-going public's expectations. Like the saying goes when you're on top, there's no other way but down. So Mel Gibson probably was under a lot of pressure to come up with the next Passion of The Christ -- that was the main thought racing in my mind as I was watching Apocalypto. I have to applaud Gibson in creating another movie with a subject matter that won't necessarily translate into commercial success : about the Mayan kingdom facing extinction (and its rulers insisting that the only way to continue to prosper is to build more temples and offer human sacrifices). There's actually something more than just a sort of history lesson happening in the film, as a young man named Jaguar Paw, captured for sacrifice, flees and tries to return to his wife and child. There's a sense of awe, mysticism, and disgust while viewing Gibson's latest work. It was kind of like watching the National Geographic or something on a/the big screen. It can be and is pretty violent (some people have criticized Gibson for portraying the Mayan civilization as nothing more than a violent race), so this is something not for the weak at heart or those without strong stomachs. It's no Passion..., that's for certain, but it's still an interesting and somewhat disturbing look at the Mayan culture (even if you don't really learn anything about them from this movie). Apocalypto is what I would call an acquired taste -- it's definitely not for everyone.

HOLLYWOODLAND. I honestly have no idea about the life and death of George Reeves (Ben Affleck), tv's Superman, except that he (supposedly) committed suicide. And I've always never completely trusted movies that are based on true events or people because, being Hollywood, and that it's a movie, facts are often not a hundred percent accurate, and/or changes are made about a certain event or person for cinematic purposes. And I'm guessing that Hollywoodland is no different in that sense. Conspiracy theorists may find it interesting how a detective (Adrien Brody) tries to piece together clues surrounding the death of Reeves and comes up with several possible scenarios as to how it actually happened. But, at the same time, it does prove to be quite frustrating as all one really gets are just more maybes, and you somehow can't help but wish that there would be some kind of finality, or some kind of resolution to what may or (according to the film) may not have been a suicide. It was also a bit frustrating keeping up with certain things, as a lot of names or events would be mentioned, people and other stuff that I knew nothing about. You would have to have been knowledgeable with was going on in Hollywood and in the late Reeves' career back in the 50s to fully appreciate Hollywoodland. Fine acting all around, particularly Diane Lane who plays Toni Mannix, the wife of MGM studio executive Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins). But I think it's best or better to read some kind of authorized autobiographical book about George Reeves if you want to find out more about the actor, his career, and his mysterious death.

CHARLOTTE'S WEB. I vaguely remember watching the animated Charlotte's Web on the boob tube when I was a wee lad. Now comes the big-screen, live-action treatment of E.B. White's classic children's book, about a runty pig saved from the slaughterhouse by his friendship with a learned spider (voiced by Julia Roberts). Going in, you already know the target market, but it's still pretty enjoyable for adults (just make sure if you're watching it alone to not sit anywhere near a family with a group of kids, as the tendency will be the difficulty to enjoy the movie what with kids being kids, noisily and innocently asking a lot of questions to mom or dad, etc). But, even if you hear Julia Robert's (soothing) voice, there's just no way to make a huge, hairy spider anything but creepy. Ugh. Stellar (voice) cast : Oprah Winfrey, Cedric The Entertainer, Reba McEntire, Steve Buscemi, Kathy Bates, Sam Shepard, and John Cleese. Wonderful film score by Danny Elfman, even if it doesn't exactly have a strong recall.

'Nuff said.