The Name Of The Rose / Der Name der Rose

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 24, 1986

DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Plot 411: Unexplained deaths at an abbey create an interesting whodunit for a Franciscan monk and his apprentice.

Review: Almost a decade after I first saw a portion of this film in a college history class I have finally watched it all the way through. Depsite the passage of time, this movie still holds a sort of fascination for me. It mixes religious and historical references with a modern-day murder mystery that surely makes it more reachable to a larger segment of the viewing audience. Sean Connery is William, a Franciscan monk who travels to a remote abbey for a religious conference. Accompanying him is a very young Christian Slater, who plays William's apprentice Adso. When they arrive, William discovers from the abbot that there has been a mysterious death of one of the monks. This death has caused an upheaval among his ranks, and he asks William to uncover the truth of the mystery before the rest of the conference attendees arrive. With each passing day, another brother is found dead and the frenzy among the monks increases. The movie is a thrilling adaption of a book by Umberto Eco with the same name. It highlights the hypocricy, fanaticism and downright sinful behavior that can plague Christianity (and any other religion) when ideals become warped to fit ulterior motives. It also portrays the sheer power of the Church over the people, the poverty faced by the lower strata of society and the vastly differing beliefs found within Christianity.

Watch It: For Connery in all of his accented greatness if you consider yourself to be one of those highbrow moviegoers. For the rest of us, watch it for Slater's hot (albeit very white) ass . . . . Oh, and a cool religious murder mystery pre-Da Vinci Code.

Skip It: If your TV sucsk because a lot of the scenes are dimly lit and difficult to see.

The Promise

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: December 15, 2005 (Hong Kong) / May 5, 2006 (USA)

DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006

Plot 411: A beautiful woman cursed to never fall in love, a case of mistaken identity and the war for power and success combine in this Chinese film.

Review: I honestly don't even know where to start. This movie had it all - war, a curse, kung fu, magic, true love, destiny, honor, betrayal and the list goes on. I can definitely say that only the Chinese can do it like this. At first I was a little thrown by the CGI because it made the film seem sort of cartoonish. I questioned whether or not it was supposed to have a graphic novel feel, especially when there were beautiful nature scenes to contrast with the obvious CGI bits. However, I realized that everything worked together if you took a step back and looked at the bigger picture. The brilliant colors, the ultra-focused eye of the camera, the almost-telemundo way the music would swell, the outrageously beautiful costumes - this was all part of the effect of the entire movie. I especially loved the overly dramatic love affair, the pull between true love and one's duty. This thinking, to me, seems so typically Asian that I don't think a Western film could capture all the nuances and really do it justice.

Watch It: If a) you enjoy the kung fu films where the characters can fly; b) love a good old-fashioned love story; or c) have an artistic eye.

Skip It: If a) you need your subtitles to match word-for-word with what the character says; b) are disturbed by CGI effects that are almost to the point of being cheesy; or c) get distracted when the voices don't match the characters' looks (I swear Sean Connery was doing the voice of Kunlun, the slave character. If that's not weird enough, everyone has a British accent . . . although I suppose if this film is coming out of Hong Kong that'd be right, huh?)

Trailer: