This weekend, I saw Sahara, which I liked more than I thought I would. There are several reasons I didn't think I'd like it. 1) Matthew McConaughey. I'm not a big fan. 2) Penelope Cruz. Again, not a fan. 3) I've never read a Clive Cussler book I liked, though to be fair, the plots never bothered me. It's the writing.
So I wasn't sure what to expect with Sahara, but I was pleasantly surprised. And one thing that surprised me was (spoilers ahead):
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The romance. It worked for me despite the fact that it was subtle. In fact, it almost seemed thrown in, and was so loosely threaded into the story that it could have been removed with NO changes to the movie (except the deletion of the last scene.) I'm actually wondering if the romance is even in the book, or if it was thrown in by Hollywood.
When I say that the romance "worked for me," I don't mean that I liked it…I actually have issues with the fact that it was so independent of the plot that it could have been removed with a few keystrokes to the script. What I mean is that it didn't completely annoy me.
So many action movies insert romances where the hero or heroine make really stupid choices out of love or lust or attraction. Not so in Sahara. When Dirk Pitt saved the girl, I always felt that he was saving a fellow human…not a potential bedmate. And because this was an action movie, not a romance, that worked for me.
Anyway, not a bad flick. Now I'm looking forward to National Treasure, released on DVD today, and Kingdom of Heaven, to be released…any day now? Yay! *g* And then the new Star Wars movie, which can ONLY be better than the last two.
What summer movies are you looking forward to?
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Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to what’s in the theaters because I never get to go. Unless it’s animated. :hehe: But the new Star Wars is definitely on my list, and I think I might actually get to go to that one.
DVDs are a different story, though. I’m addicted to them. I’ll keep an eye out for Sahara. Was National Treasure good?
BTW–I’ve tagged you! Feel free to take a look at my blog to see what that means. 
by Lynn
on May 3rd, 2005 at 8:28 am
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I love anything action-adventure. I’m so clueless right now thought. Any good action movies coming out this summer? 
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What’s not to drool er uh I mean like about MM??
It’s the southern boy thang, I can’t resist that southern charm :satisfied:
And since I’ve gone on record that most "writing" doesn’t bother me, I like pretty much all of Clive Cussler’s book with the exception of his last, which blew IMO. It’s like he and Tom Clancy got together and said hey let’s write about our hero’s kids. Yeah, interesting. :angry:
I wasted money on both of their books.
by Sharon
on May 3rd, 2005 at 8:36 am
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Re: stupid romances in movies - for me it was Will and that annoying Joceyln in A Knight’s Tale. I LOVED the rest of the movie (especially James Purefoy - pause to heave deep sigh - as the Black Prince), BUT I hated the romance. Why the f*** Will couldn’t see the armouror Kate was a far better choice, I’ve no idea.
Ok - rant over *g*. Movies I’m looking forward to - Kingdom of Heaven, Star Wars Ep 3 and the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie - whenever it’s supposed to be out. Am sure there are more, but that’s all I can think of right now. DH is reallly geeked for KOH - then again, we met in a class on the Middle Ages and got together while taking a class on the Crusades, so I guess there’s a reason… 
by Teresa
on May 3rd, 2005 at 8:59 am
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Uh-oh, Lynn…I’m afraid to look!
Chey, I saw previews for something that looked action-y, but I can’t remember what it was. Big help, eh? :(
Ooh, I like Tom Clancy. Haven’t read anything recent by him, though.
Teresa, I’m with you on A Knight’s Tale! Ooh, and I can’t wait for the new Pirates movie. And, of course, Firefly. And War of the Worlds. Saw a preview for that, and it looked really good. And scary!
by Larissa
on May 3rd, 2005 at 9:15 am
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I was shying away from ‘Sahara’ for the same reasons you stated in your opening, Larissa. But now I’m inspired to give it a shot. Next up for me is ‘The Interpretor’. Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman… it just has to rock. Then, yeah, baby, yeah–Kingdom of Heaven. PLEASE let it be good. I’ve been so disappointed in the historical Hollywood offerings as of late. Oh, and Teresa, I agree about ‘A Knight’s Tale’. How absurd that Will didn’t go for the armouror girl. It made NO sense and actually ruined the movie for me. :plain:
by Beth C
on May 3rd, 2005 at 9:51 am
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I can’t wait to see Sahara … I LOVE Matthew, sigh …
by Jill
on May 3rd, 2005 at 12:30 pm
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National Treasure is out today? Hmmm..maybeI ‘ll go to the video store.
by Sasha
on May 3rd, 2005 at 2:08 pm
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Larissa, Do not jinx the next Star Wars movie by saying it can’t be worse than the first two.
Sahara was fun enough. I’m going to go see the Interpretor and Hitchhiker’s Guide this week. There are a lot of movies coming out in the next two months. I will wait to see the reviews on KOH and Star Wars before I commit to either one.
by Jordan
on May 3rd, 2005 at 2:12 pm
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Hi, Larissa! It’s me again. You’ve been ‘tagged’. Go to my blog to see what I mean.
by Beth C
on May 3rd, 2005 at 2:52 pm
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Watched Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this weekend. It was good and really funny. Next will probably be Star Wars.
Oh and National Treasure came out today. I have to go pick that one up on DVD.
by Teresa
on May 3rd, 2005 at 4:37 pm
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I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I can’t sit through movies in the theater anymore.
I do however have a rather lenghty Netflix queue and am thinking of heading out to see Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
by Emily
on May 3rd, 2005 at 7:06 pm
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How could I forget Hitchhikers Guide… or Batman Begins - with the oh so yummy Christian Bale? (I LOVED Reign of Fire!) Or War of the Worlds! Not so sure yet about The Fantastic Four and Mr. and Mrs. Smith - will wait to see Re: the latter - the whole adultery thing may just be too much for me to get past.
Glad others felt the way I did about A Knight’s Tale and Will’s stupid decision. (pause to sigh again at the thought of James Purefoy *g*).
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Larissa, you make me want to check out SAHARA. Loved Pirate of the Caribbean (first one, didn’t hear about the second). My 13-year-old stepson watched it for pirates. I did for one pirate. Depp.
by Olga
on May 3rd, 2005 at 7:51 pm
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Hitchiker, definitely. NOW they ought to make Terry Pratchett movies. (He’s better, anyhow. *ggg*)
by Lydia
on May 4th, 2005 at 5:01 am
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I’m looking forward to seeing HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE. One of my favorite books!!
