Inkheart (2009)

In "Inkheart," Brandon Fraser plays Mo Folchart, an American bookbinder living in Europe who has the gift of a Silvertongue -- any book he reads aloud comes to true live when he reads it. For instance, reading the "The Wizard of Oz" will put into the real world a tornado or flying monkeys. (I can only guess what reading "The Story of O" will do.) Long story short, Folchart's life has been marred by a fantasy book titled "Inkheart": his wife has disappeared into it, and multiple characters have escaped from it, and they terrorize Mo. Among the escapees is Dustfinger (Paul Bettany), a juggler with powers of fire, and Capricorn (Andy Serkis), a power mad villain who seeks world domination. The film is silly and not always consistent, but it's also surpassing fun in vein with 1980s romp "Willow." Even the camera work suggests it. I also love the makeup effects throughout the film -- many characters have ink lettering literally covering their skin as they are not perfectly brought to life. B

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)

I can see why Universal Studios wanted to make a third film in "The Mummy" series for summer 2008. After all, the entire franchise is stylized after the 1980s "Indiana Jones" films, focusing on an archeologist adventurer who repeatedly gets sucked into supernatural shenanigans against historical backdrops. Never mind that the great wit and action of the early "Jones" films didn't transfer, or that Brandon Fraser lacks the unbeatable screen charisma and toughness of Harrison Ford. A rising tide lifts all boats, right? Not so.

Whereas summer 2008's just-OK "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls' was skunked by surprisingly bad VFX and grossly over-the-top everything, "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is a flat-out dud thanks to zip chemistry from the leads, a consistently inconsistent script and lifeless action sequences. Now in post-World War II England, Rick (Fraser) and Evelyn (Mario Bella) O'Connell are living in bored retirement whilst grown son Alex (Luke Ford) plays adventurer. Before you can say here we go again, Alex strikes a huge archeological find -- the resting place of a not-quite-dead Chinese emperor (Jet Li) long ago cursed into the next world.

This "Mummy" is full of plagiarisms: The action-stud torch passing from father to son is ripped from "Kingdom," but Luke Ford surely is no relation to Harrison. He's a blank cipher, while Fraser neither looks the part of a middle-aged father nor has the energy to play the central hero. Subbing for take-no-crap, smart-as-hell Rachel Weisz. Bello ("A History of Violence") logs around a come-and-go fake Brit accent like an iron ball and chain, and she acts happy but looks miserable. The producers hired the great Li, only to sub him out for three-quarters of the film as his power-mad warlord morphs from one CGI effect to another. Michelle Yeoh, another of China's great stars, fairs slightly better as a 2,000-year-old witch.

But how, pray tell, can a woman hiding in a Chinese cavern for two millennia learn perfect English? And how can the long-buried victims of Li's ruler learn the same? None of the nonsensical plotting is worth caring about, or even questioning. This joyless joyride, directed by Rob Cohen ("Stealth"), has had it's brains, and joy, ripped out its nose. D

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-