HALLMARK FANTASY-ADVENTURE

Four fantasy/adventure movies from Hallmark!
A VERY BIG BOOOOOO HERE!! THERE ARE NO
CLOSED CAPTIONS!!!! Almost unbelievable in
this day and age!!

POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE(2005):

There are not very many remakes of movies that
I have found to be nearly or as good as the original.
However, this is an exception to this!! There were
several great performances here, with C. Thomas
Howell doing an outstanding job as the doctor! And
Sylvia Syms is also great as the counterpart to the
Shelly Winters character! The kid is a little overbearing,
and Rutger Hauer is ok as the priest, Bryan Brown(no,
it's not Michael Cain!!) does quite well in his role, with
Steve Guttenberg not being as good as he can be.
Amber Sainsbury does pretty good as the daughter
of Steve, and finally Adam Baldwin does very good
also! All in all, a pretty good movie that shouldn't
be passed up just because it's a remake! B+

A review from Amazon.com:

A made-for-television remake of Irwin Allen's 1972
disaster-movie blockbuster of the same title, The
Poseidon Adventure updates the story of a capsized
cruise ship whose survivors are literally walking on
the vessel's ceiling in an effort to save themselves.
Fans of the original movie will recognize counterparts
to several characters, including Rutger Hauer as a
Catholic clergyman who helps lead others through
the Poseidon's upside-down maze of rooms, and Sylvia
Syms as a frightened widow who finds the resolve
to save her companions at a crucial juncture. Bryan
Brown plays a hotshot television producer whose
young wife (Tinarie Van Wyk) is uncertain of their
future; Steve Guttenberg and Alexa Hamilton are
a married couple whose marriage is a sinking ship
of another sort; and C. Thomas Howell plays the
ship's doctor whose broken arm necessitates the
aid of a nursing student (Amber Sainsbury).

Peter Weller makes a nice impression as Captain
Gallico (named after the author of The Poseidon
Adventure's source novel) and Adam Baldwin is
terrific as a Homeland Security operative. In our
current political climate, the temptation is strong
to attribute the Poseidon's troubles to terrorists,
and that's exactly what happens this time around.
Some of the action concerning Al Quaeda-like
infiltration of the Poseidon's service staff, the
planting of bombs, etc., is a little overdone, and
a number of scenes starring British actress Alex
Kingston as a senior intelligence official are a bit
overwrought. But special effects, while not
spectacular, make the Poseidon tragedy unnervingly
believable (and visually surreal), and a solid cast
keeps the accent on emotion despite the script's
tendency to shove speeches in everyone's mouth. --Tom Keogh

For a made for tv movie, this isn't too bad. But
the lead actor, Mark Umbers leaves a lot to be
desired! However, Angus McFayden as Blackbeard
was great! Richard Chamberlain is really showing
his age here, but does a fine job. The rest of the
cast is not terrible but Angus really steals every
scene he is in! B

A review from Amazon.com:

Broken into two parts, the epic Blackbeard tells
the tale of this famed pirate's travails through
the South Seas, beginning in 1717. Blackbeard
begins with Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard
(Mark Umbers) vowing to capture Blackbeard
(Angus McFayden), captain of the Queen Anne,
in order to make the South Seas safer. Maynard
goes undercover to get hired as Queen Anne's
navigator, but not before falling in love with
Charlotte (Jessica Chastain), the daughter of
corrupt governor of West Indies' New Providence,
Charles Eden (Richard Chamberlain). As
Blackbeard's crew embark on a treasure hunt,
Charles Eden is exposed as being a pirate in
his own right, as he heads the campaign to
purchase stolen booty from various villains.
He also plots to kill Charlotte, whose 21st
birthday will qualify her for an inheritance
that Eden has selfishly hoarded. All the while,
Maynard works towards busting Blackbeard,
exposing himself to multiple life-threatening
situations. Accurately rendered, this dramatized
biography of a world-famous pirate feels darker
than other pirate films, due to its inclusion of
violent pirate cliches such as people walking
planks, and rum-drunk pirates torturing each
other. Blackbeard's melodramatic romance
between Maynard and Charlotte detracts
from the film's depiction of hard-edged pirate
life, but there is enough piracy here to
please. --Trinie Dalton

Ok, I don't know what movie R. Baublitz watched,
but the movie I saw had very poor acting by several
main characters! Leonor Varela was very stiff in
her role, Casper Van Dien was mearly adequate,
and several others were also lacking! However this
does have the great Malcolm McDowell in it,
although in a lesser role. It's too bad too, because
he was great in this, as was Jonathan Hyde as the
main meanie! The story had great promise,
unfortunately even at three hours it seemed quite
choppy and rushed, specially at the end!! The three
hours goes by pretty quickly because the story had
merit to it. The set pieces were wonderful and the
music very appropriate for the time and setting!
Overall, not a waste of time, just coulda been better! B-

A review from Amazon.com:

Although a little long, this is a movie well worth
looking into. The acting is good, story believable
and the sets are worthy of an Indiana Jones movie.
Good stuff, don't miss. - R. Baublitz

This is actually a pretty good movie, tho quite
long(as are all of these movies)! It's kinda slow
in spots, but really fine acting by most of the
main characters! The music is wonderful, and
the scene sets are very, very good! All in all, a
pretty great movie! A

A review from an Amazon.com customer:

Got this as a package deal with the first movie.
Didn't really follow the story from the original,
but loved Sam Neil as Merlin, so we gave it a
chance. Different Lady of the lake, and the
plot stalled a couple times. It was pretty good,
as a stand alone. As a sequel, not up to par
and I'd rather watch "Merlin" instead. - R. Watkins

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