Happy Birthday, Paul Bettany!

Today, we're celebrating the 41st birthday of actor Paul Bettany. The London native got his acting start in the mid-1990s with a few television appearances, but it wasn't until 1997's Bent that he nabbed his first feature film role. In 2001, Bettany became a bit of an overnight sensation with his performances in A Knight's Tale opposite Heath Ledger and in A Beautiful Mind opposite Russell Crowe. He would rekindle his on-screen partnership with Crowe two years later in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Since then, he's worked relatively consistently, appearing in such films as 2006's The Da Vinci Code and 2008's Iron Man in a vocal performance that he has reprised in both Iron Man 2 and the recent release, The Avengers. Audiences will next see Bettany in the 2013 film, Blood. And so, to celebrate his birthday, I've created a list of my five favorite of Bettany's performances, and I've found a few video clips for your viewing pleasure. Once again, happy birthday, Paul!

5. Silas

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

*****

4. Charles Darwin

Creation (2010)

*****

3. Charles

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

*****

2. Dr. Stephen Maturin

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

*****

1. Geoffrey Chaucer

A Knight's Tale (2001)

Movie Review: PRIEST

PRIEST

2011
PG-13

Priest is a 2011 action film directed by Scott Charles Stewart that takes place in a futuristic, alternate universe where humans and vampires have lived on Earth together since the beginning of time. Their relations, however, have always been violent, with the vampires having the upper hand until the church began to train "priests" to combat them. After a prolonged war, the priests subdued the vampires and placed the ones still living into reservations. The priests were then discarded and sent to fend for themselves in the world of man. One day, our lead Priest (Paul Bettany) learns his brother and sister-in-law have been killed by vampires, who then took his niece captive. Going against the wishes of Monsignor Orelas (Christopher Plummer), the church's current leader, Priest sets out to find his missing kin with the help of a local sheriff named Hicks (Cam Gigandet). In response, the church sends out a small group of priests to subdue our hero; this group is led by a Priestess (Maggie Q) who may or may not have the church's best interests in mind. As time continues to pass, both groups must do whatever they can to reach their objectives before the vampire menace can reach the cities and retake control.

Before I get into my dismantling of this particular film, I'd like to acknowledge that I had high hopes going into the screening. When I first heard about Priest last year - I had the opportunity to see it at an advance screening but couldn't make the time - it sounded like another bit of rote action bits in the vein of 2010's Legion (which also starred Bettany). As I mentioned in my 2011 Summer Movie Preview, where I listed Priest as the film I was ninth-most excited to see this summer, all I've heard in the past few months was how excited all the cast and crew have been since wrapping their shoot. Bettany even went on to claim that it's the best screenplay he's read in years. All of their excitement got me a little jazzed up about this one, but in the end, I was sorely disappointed.

The reason Priest doesn't work is because we get a shoddy screenplay that doesn't offer much in terms of story, character development or dialogue. The story is relatively straight-forward, but it's so predictable that I found it difficult to keep myself engaged with each successive event. In terms of a character arc, I don't really think we're getting much. Then again, this isn't necessarily the type of film that needs one, so perhaps I'm being a tad harsh in that regard. And oh, the dialogue. My readers will know that I'm a bit of a stickler for some realistic conversation. By realistic conversation, I mean dialogue that fits the scene and the film and doesn't make me laugh or roll my eyes at whatever the character is saying. Unfortunately, this is where Priest truly falls short. There were quite a few moments while I watched the film that I found myself rolling my eyes or chuckling at some of the lines being delivered. When your audience can't even get involved with the dialogue, then there's major problems with your screenplay.

That being said, I can't bash the actors too much considering the level of drivel with which they had to work. Everyone was just a little too over-the-top for my personal tastes, but perhaps you'll enjoy it a little more than I did. Bettany, who I usually love and was one of those listed on my post of favorite actors, was probably the worst of the lot, to the point where it feels like he almost mailed in his performance. Plummer gives a decent performance in his limited amount of screen-time, but he's so underutilized that it almost isn't worth mentioning him here. Even Karl Urban, who I usually enjoy, brings a little bit more badness to the screen. I realize that the script wasn't great, but great actors find ways to level the playing field, so to speak.

The visual effects were rather good, if I do say so myself. I didn't see the film in 3D - I'm staunchly against the third-dimension when it comes to movie theaters, so I wouldn't outright recommend seeing Priest that way - but the visuals might look nice in that regard.

Overall, Priest is probably a movie you'll want to avoid. I wasn't very fond of the aforementioned Legion, but that film (which I gave a "C" grade) was miles ahead of this one. Save your money and wait until you can rent it.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: F
1.5 Thumbs Down

Movie Review: THE TOURIST

THE TOURIST

2010
PG-13

You can watch the trailer here

The Tourist is a 2010 action thriller directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck that follows Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie), the lover of an internationally-wanted criminal. When her lover, Alexander Pearce, tells her to find a man who could pose as him, Elise chooses Frank (Johnny Depp), a widower on vacation in Venice, Italy. She panders to him, making it seem as though she is interested in him, but the audience knows that it is just a guise to throw off the people following her in the hopes of catching Pearce. Honestly, I'd go into more detail, but all the twists and turns essentially prevent me from doing so if I want to go through with this review without giving away too much of the storyline.

The screenplay is good enough to keep you captivated with the film, but for me, it became very predictable very quickly. I figured out the film's final twist about halfway through the film, and the moment I learned I was correct, I lost all faith and interest in the movie. This does not mean that it's not a good twist; instead, it means that the screenplay was not crafted well enough so as to keep it hidden from me, at least. There were a couple people applauding at the end of the movie, so maybe I was just a little more perceptive? I'm really not sure...

The acting is good, but it's definitely not up to snuff with what Jolie and Depp have proven they're capable of doing. Even Paul Bettany, whom I usually love and adore, was average at best with his role. It's not that they're terrible, but when you look at these two leads, you just expect so much more out of them. Granted, it could be how the parts were written, but I feel like Jolie, and especially Depp, are very good at making the most out of very little. I was just a little disappointed with the both of them.

I know this review is very short, but there really isn't all that much to say. I found The Tourist to be rather dull and entirely predictable. I'm not saying you won't enjoy - it seemed like others in the theater really liked it - but for me, it was just another run-of-the-mill, entirely forgettable film.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: C
Thumb... Slightly Down

Movie Review: CREATION

CREATION

2010
PG-13

You can watch the trailer here

If you're looking for a movie about Charles Darwin that's going to give you a little insight on his discoveries, this isn't really the film for you. If you want a sweeping movie about his many adventures into then-uncharted territory, go find something else. This is a study about the man himself as he struggled to put pen to paper and create his world-changing book, On the Origin of Species.

Director Jon Amiel's tale opens on Darwin (Paul Bettany) telling a story to his eldest daughter Annie (Martha West) of one of his many adventures. We soon learn that Darwin has been trying to write his book for some time now, but the death of Annie has thrown him into a tailspin. He has taken physically ill and constantly conjures Annie in hallucination as she continues to haunt him. The film progresses through the present moment interspersed with a series of flashbacks to Annie's life, illness and death. Throughout, we see the dynamic between Darwin and his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly), who remains staunchly religious in her convictions despite her husband's beliefs against it. Annie's death spurs a rift in their marriage, sending her more strongly towards religion while he takes solace in science. However, as time continues to progress and he accomplishes nothing, Darwin learns he must face his demons - namely, the handling of Annie's final days of life - before he can take up this "war against God" with his theory of evolution.

If anything, this film carries a lot of intense emotions that may not convey to most viewers. There's no real place for the viewer to hook themselves into the movie or the family's dynamic, so it's difficult to get attached to the situations at hand. I'll admit that I teared up a bit at Annie's death, but I just feel like I missed some of the power of the scene. The screenplay is filled with moments like this. It's as though they were trying much too hard in order to craft an intensely emotional story, and it just comes across as moderately emotional. However, there is one scene where Darwin is studying a captive orangutan that is rather precious to behold.

The acting is definitely not the issue here. Bettany is wonderful as always, but to be fair, he's essentially played a Charles Darwin-esque character before (see 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World). In fact, if you want to see "Darwin" out in the wild, actually studying the world, that's probably the better film to watch. Sure, you'll have to sit through some action sequences, but that movie's just fantastic anyways, so you should watch it. Connelly is also very good in a role that could either be classified as a lead or supporting role (it really comes down to your personal preference). However, the real spotlight should go to young Martha West who, in her first (and to this date, only) feature film, is an absolute revelation (although, as the daughter of 300 actor Dominic West, it's not difficult to see where she gets her acting chops). She brings such a power and wonder to her role that it's hard not to like the Annie she creates. I was thoroughly impressed.

As I said before: this film may not be for everyone, especially if you're looking for the sense of adventure Darwin must have felt on his many journeys and expeditions. For me, it's a little difficult to categorize. Although there were some issues with the storyline and the film's emotion, I cannot say enough about the greatness of the ensemble's acting. It's probably not a movie I'll watch again, but I'm not angry that I spent nearly two hours watching it. It's just one of those in-between movies that's nice to watch in a bit of down time, but don't expect anything absolutely brilliant.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B-
Thumb... Sideways