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Now Showing

Sun, 03/02/2008 11:45 AM | Entertainment

ADPARA>The Water Horse (Adventure, 111 minutes. Alex Etel, Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, Priyanka Xi. Directed by Jay Russell. In English with Indonesian subtitles. Playing at 21 Cineplex and Blitz Megaplex)

In the latter days of World War II a lonely boy lives in a Scottish manor where his mother is housekeeper. One day Angus (Alex Etel) discovers a mysterious egg and is stunned when an odd creature hatches out. It's a water horse, a folkloric being better known as the Lochness Monster.

Recognizing the water horse as a kindred spirit, Angus names him "Crusoe" and a friendship begins. This film starts out ploddingly but picks up with the appearance of Ben Chaplin, playing the estate's newly hired handyman, Lewis, who is traumatized by his war service and at first rather taciturn.

Shot in New Zealand and with visual effects by Weta Digital, director Peter Jackson's company, the film looks impressive.

One complaint is its bookend structure. The film starts and ends with an old man in a pub recounting the story to a pair of credulous backpackers. It's a device that's been used before -- more effectively in The Princess Bride -- and is an unnecessary attempt to increase suspense.

The prevailing wisdom of recent years that a successful children's film must also appeal to adults has led to a lot of awkwardly inserted pop references. The Water Horse doesn't bother with witty asides that will go over younger viewer's head: this is a film that adults and children can enjoy as a story well told. Although predictable, The Water Horse is a finely crafted film and a superior example of its kind. ***1/2 (out of *****)

The Kingdom (Drama, 104 minutes. Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman. Directed by Peter Berg. In English with Indonesian subtitles. Playing at Blitz Megaplex)

When a baseball game in an expatriate housing complex in Riyadh is targeted by terrorists over 100 people, including an FBI agent, are killed. A few of the agent's colleagues back in the U.S. are keen to bang some heads together and manage to get permission to "assist" the Saudi investigation. Fleury (Jamie Foxx), leader of the FBI team, is a good guy. We are introduced to him while he's at his little boy's school talking to the children about how he loves his son, so no misunderstanding there. Then there's Mayes (Jennifer Garner), a pathologist who's also pretty handy with an automatic weapon, Sykes (Chris Cooper), a wisecracking bomb expert, and Leavitt (Jason Bateman), a wisecracking -- well, he's an expert in something or other.

While there are a few decent action sequences toward the end, particularly a life-and-death tussle involving Garner sinking her teeth into somebody's head, most of The Kingdom seems strangely lacking in tension, perhaps because the characters are not interesting enough to care about.

The Kingdom is not convincing as a serious drama and doesn't have enough action to be considered an action movie: it's in no man's land. The political issues of Saudi/US relations are skated over and, while ultimately well-meaning, the film's message is simplistic and at times garbled. Jeremy Piven as an obnoxious embassy official is a bright spot but, as with the rest of the American cast, his character's jocularity seems a little out of place. ** (out of *****)

-- Briony Kidd

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