Brendan Fraser

The Mummy [HD DVD]

Universal The Mummy (1999) HD-DVD
Deep in the Egyptian desert, a handful of people searching for a long-lost treasure have just unearthed a 3,000 year old legacy of terror. Combining the thrills of a rousingadventure with the suspense of Universal's legendary 1932 horror classic "The Mummy," Starring Brendan Fraser, is a true nonstop action epic, filled with dazzling visual effects, top-notch talent andsuperb storytelling.

If you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by.

The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy." Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. --Jenny Brown

George of the Jungle

Not even the executives at Disney could have predicted the runaway success of this live-action movie inspired by Jay Ward's goofy 1960s cartoon character. Not only did George make a killing at the box office, but Disney's marketing wizards turned it into one of their best-selling videos. It's hard to begrudge the movie's success, even if this is the kind of mindless entertainment that caters to the lowest common denominator. In any case, it's obvious that kids love this movie, in which the idiotic George (Brendan Fraser) repeatedly swings into trees and attracts the attention of a lovely jungle explorer (Leslie Mann) who decides to call off her engagement to a wealthy snob (Thomas Hayden Church) in favor of the vine-swinging hunk with an elephant named Shep (that thinks it's a dog) and an ape named Ape (with a proper Brit voice provided by John Cleese). Filled with slapstick gags and some funny special effects, the movie can be a bit of a trial for adults, but it's a hilarious treat for its intended audience. --Jeff Shannon

A baby named George is raised by gorillas and grows up to be a buff and lovable klutz with plenty of rain forest animal friends.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 2-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVD

The Mummy Returns [HD DVD]

Universal The Mummy Returns - HD-DVD
An ancient legacy ofterror is unleashed when the accursed mummy, Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), is resurrectedalong with a force even more powerful: The Scorpion King (The Rock). Now, as the fate of all mankind hangs in the balance, Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evie (Rachel Weisz) embark on a daring, desperate race to save their sonand the worldfrom unspeakable evil. Supercharged with pulse-pounding action and spectacular special effects that'll blow you away, The Mummy Returns is "the best adventure of the year" (MTV Radio).

Proving that bigger is rarely better, The Mummy Returns serves up so much action and so many computer-generated effects that it quickly grows exhausting. In his zeal to establish a lucrative franchise, writer-director Stephen Sommers dispenses with such trivial matters as character development and plot logic, and charges headlong into an almost random buffet of minimum story and maximum mayhem, beginning with a prologue establishing the ominous fate of the Scorpion King (played by World Wrestling Federation star the Rock, in a cameo teaser for his later starring role in--you guessed it--The Scorpion King). Dormant for 5,000 years, under control of the Egyptian god Anubis, the Scorpion King will rise again in 1933, which is where we find The Mummy's returning heroes Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, now married and scouring Egyptian ruins with their 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddie Boath).

John Hannah (as Weisz's brother) and Oded Fehr (as mystical warrior Ardeth Bay) also return from The Mummy, and trouble begins when Alex dons the Scorpion King's ancient bracelet, coveted by the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who's been revived by... oh, but does any of this matter? With a plot so disposable that it's impossible to care about anything that happens, The Mummy Returns is best enjoyed as an intermittently amusing and physically impressive monument of Hollywood machinery, with gorgeous sets that scream for a better showcase, and digital trickery that tops its predecessor in ambition, if not in payoff. By the time our heroes encounter a hoard of ravenous pygmy mummies, you'll probably enjoy this movie in spite of itself. --Jeff Shannon

Blast From the Past

Coasting on the successes of Gods and Monsters and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser turns in yet another winning performance in this fish-out-of-water comedy in which Pleasantville meets modern-day Los Angeles, with predictably funny results. Fraser stars as Adam, who was born in the bomb shelter of his paranoid inventor dad (a less-manic-than-usual Christopher Walken), who spirited his pregnant wife (Sissy Spacek, in fine comic form) underground when he thought the Communists dropped the bomb (actually, it was a plane crash). Armed with enough supplies to last 35 years, the parents bring up Adam in Leave It to Beaver style with nary any exposure to the outside world. When the supplies run out, and dad suffers a heart attack, Fraser goes up to modern-day L.A. for some shopping and long-awaited culture shock. More of a cute premise with lots of clever ideas attached than a fully fleshed out story, Blast from the Past is also supposed to be part romantic comedy, as the hunky Adam hooks up with his jaded Eve (Alicia Silverstone) and tries to convince her to marry him and go underground. The sparks don't fly, though, because Silverstone is saddled with the triple whammy of being miscast, playing an underwritten character, and suffering a very bad hairdo. Fraser, however, carries the film lightly and easily on his broad, goofy shoulders, mixing Adam's gee-whiz innocence with genuine emotion and curiosity; only Fraser could pull off Adam's first glimpse of a sunrise or the ocean with both humor and pathos. Also winning is Dave Foley as Silverstone's gay best friend, who manages to make the most innocuous statements sound like comic gems. --Mark Englehart

Mrs. Winterbourne

Encino Man

A prehistoric man, preserved through the centuries, is unearthed and comes to life in the San Fernando Valley, and soon fits right in at high school.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 6-MAY-2003
Media Type: DVD

Brendan Fraser made his film debut in this 1992 comedy that never quite discovers its audience constituency. On the one hand, it features Pauly Shore, which would seem to define the picture's tone and identity accordingly. On the other hand, the film's other leading man is Sean Astin, the earnest star of Rudy, suggesting that Encino Man will have a lot of heart despite its silly premise. But none of that turns out to be true. Fraser plays an unfrozen caveman discovered by a pair of California high school outcasts (Shore and Astin). As the grunting newcomer becomes popular with the other kids, Shore and Astin try to bask in his reflected glow. Fraser, beginning a long movie career playing cartoonish goofballs, works entirely on instinct and earns his laughs. Shore, however, relies on his familiar verbal shtick, and Astin makes a great overgrown puppy pining after a lost girlfriend. Directed by Les Mayfield, who came to this project from his acclaimed documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. --Tom Keogh

The Mummy (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

If you're expecting bandaged-wrapped corpses and a lurching Boris Karloff-type villain, then you've come to the wrong movie. But if outrageous effects, a hunky hero, and some hearty laughs are what you're looking for, the 1999 version of The Mummy is spectacularly good fun. Yes, the critics called it "hokey," "cheesy," and "pallid." Well, the critics are unjust. Granted, the plot tends to stray, the acting is a bit of a stretch, and the characters occasionally slip into cliché, but who cares? When that action gets going, hold tight--those two hours just fly by.

The premise of the movie isn't that far off from the original. Egyptologist and general mess Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) discovers a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra, and so she hires rogue Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) to lead her there. Once there, Evelyn accidentally unlocks the tomb of Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), a man who had been buried alive a couple of millennia ago with flesh-eating bugs as punishment for sleeping with the pharaoh's girlfriend. The ancient mummy is revived, and he is determined to bring his old love back to life, which of course means much mayhem (including the unleashing of the 10 plagues) and human sacrifice. Despite the rather gory premise, this movie is fairly tame in terms of violence; most of the magic and surprise come from the special effects, which are glorious to watch, although Imhotep, before being fully reconstituted, is, as one explorer puts it, rather "juicy." Keep in mind this film is as much comedy as it is adventure--those looking for a straightforward horror pic will be disappointed. But for those who want good old-fashioned eye-candy kind of fun, The Mummy ranks as one of choicest flicks of 1999. --Jenny Brown

Bedazzled

A timid man sells his soul to a sultry devil for seven wishes.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 15-APR-2003
Media Type: DVD

Brendan Fraser stars in Bedazzled as Elliot, a dweebish office worker who yearns for Alison (played by Frances O'Connor from Mansfield Park), a coworker who barely knows he exists. When he blithely says he'd give his soul for Alison, the Devil appears (Elizabeth Hurley, Austin Powers) and says she'll give him seven wishes in exchange. Elliot is dubious at first, but agrees out of desperation. Unfortunately, his every wish always leaves the Devil a little wiggle room. When he asks to be rich and powerful, the Devil turns him into a drug lord beset on all sides. When he asks to be a successful, well-endowed writer, the Devil adds a male lover to the mix. The setup and situations are clever, though Bedazzled doesn't delve into any real moral or theological questions and has a little less bite than the original it's based on (from 1968, starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook). But it does provide some better comic substance than Fraser has had in most of his previous roles (George of the Jungle, Encino Man). Fraser demonstrated in Gods and Monsters that he could hold his own dramatically with the likes of Brit thespian Ian McKellen, and he's consistently been a charming presence in movies enjoyable (The Mummy) and not so enjoyable (Dudley Do Right). Bedazzled may not give him any more movie-making clout, but it does give his fans something to enjoy. O'Connor is entirely pleasant in her largely straight role, and Hurley fills out her part by delectably filling out a number of revealing outfits. An enjoyable bit of froth. --Bret Fetzer

With Honors

Joe Pesci gives his most likable performance to date, elevating this predictable comedy-drama. A stuck-up Harvard senior (Brendan Fraser) believes his life is ruined when an educated bum (Pesci) finds his thesis. The bum wants to trade each page for a favor during a harsh New England winter. Of course, the student learns more from his new friend than from the halls of Harvard. Some silly, melodramatic parts including an unbelievable classroom lecture make this comedy tiring at times. But the cast and dialogue ring truer than the tired plot. A solid first feature from Alek Keshishian (Truth or Dare), who graduated with honors from Harvard. --Doug Thomas

Armed with a copy of a harvard student's thesis, a homeless man makes the desperate student an offer: in exchange for food and a place to stay during the harsh winter, he will return the thesis one page at a time.

The Mummy Returns (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

Proving that bigger is rarely better, The Mummy Returns serves up so much action and so many computer-generated effects that it quickly grows exhausting. In his zeal to establish a lucrative franchise, writer-director Stephen Sommers dispenses with such trivial matters as character development and plot logic, and charges headlong into an almost random buffet of minimum story and maximum mayhem, beginning with a prologue establishing the ominous fate of the Scorpion King (played by World Wrestling Federation star the Rock, in a cameo teaser for his later starring role in--you guessed it--The Scorpion King). Dormant for 5,000 years, under control of the Egyptian god Anubis, the Scorpion King will rise again in 1933, which is where we find The Mummy's returning heroes Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, now married and scouring Egyptian ruins with their 8-year-old son, Alex (Freddie Boath).

John Hannah (as Weisz's brother) and Oded Fehr (as mystical warrior Ardeth Bay) also return from The Mummy, and trouble begins when Alex dons the Scorpion King's ancient bracelet, coveted by the evil mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), who's been revived by... oh, but does any of this matter? With a plot so disposable that it's impossible to care about anything that happens, The Mummy Returns is best enjoyed as an intermittently amusing and physically impressive monument of Hollywood machinery, with gorgeous sets that scream for a better showcase, and digital trickery that tops its predecessor in ambition, if not in payoff. By the time our heroes encounter a hoard of ravenous pygmy mummies, you'll probably enjoy this movie in spite of itself. --Jeff Shannon