Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

I didn't see the new Brandon Fraser-starring "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in its intended 3-D Big Screen Glory. But is a cheap-looking film better blown up large, with yo-yos, dinosaurs and glowing birds darting at your silly-cardboard-glasses covered face? Probably not. Inspired by the Jules Verne classic (the book sets the plot in motion), this "Journey" follows scientist Trevor Anderson (Fraser) and his estranged nephew exploring the lost caverns where the brain's brother and the boy's father disappeared 10 years prior. The plot is simple enough for any kindergartner to follow, and that's OK. I didn't expect James Ellroy. What sinks this film is the same sin made by the awful "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow": Not one second is believable. We're stuck watching indifferent actors running about a sound stage with no real clue as to what they're looking at, running toward or running from, and the computer-generated environment around them is just as phony. How can we be drawn into a make-believe world when the actors aren't even convinced? Fraser smirks his way through, probably thinking of that paycheck. C-