Master explorer Dirk Pitt goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War battleship known as the "Ship of Death" in the deserts of West Africa while helping a WHO doctor being hounded by a ruthless dictator.
A thirty-something is still living with his parents until they hire an interventionist to help him graduate out of the house. That's when the fun begins.
Director:
Tom Dey
Stars:
Matthew McConaughey,
Sarah Jessica Parker,
Kathy Bates
Mary Fiore is San Francisco's most successful supplier of romance and glamor. She knows all the tricks. She knows all the rules. But then she breaks the most important rule of all: she falls in love with the groom.
Director:
Adam Shankman
Stars:
Jennifer Lopez,
Matthew McConaughey,
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
After suffering a career-ending knee injury, a former college football star aligns himself with one of the most renowned touts in the sports-gambling business.
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Director:
McG
Stars:
Matthew McConaughey,
Matthew Fox,
Anthony Mackie
Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive and ladies' man who, to win a big campaign, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie Anderson covers the "How To" beat for "Composure" magazine and is assigned to write an article on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days." They meet in a bar shortly after the bet is made.
Director:
Donald Petrie
Stars:
Kate Hudson,
Matthew McConaughey,
Adam Goldberg
Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
Director:
Stephen Gaghan
Stars:
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Edgar Ramírez,
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Master explorer and former US Navy Seal Dirk Pitt and his wisecracking buddy Al Giordino goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War ironclad battleship known as the "Ship of Death" that protects a secret cargo is lost somewhere in the deserts of West Africa. But while the two cross paths with a beautiful and brilliant U.N. scientist Dr. Eva Rojas who is being hounded by a ruthless dictator. She believes that the hidden treasure may be connected to a larger problem that threatens the world around them. Hunting for a ship that no one else thinks exists, Dirk, Al, and Eva must rely on their wits and their daring heroics to outsmart dangerous warlords, survive the threatening terrain, and get to the bottom of both mysteries.Written by
Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
The final scene on the beach was filmed on Cala Sa Boadella beach in Spain. See more »
Goofs
Dirk, Al, and Eva race from the top of the fort to meet the train. Not only was the train so far away from them it was much closer the energy plant than they were, meaning that there was no way the three of them could make it from the top of the tower to their camels, race across the desert, and bury themselves in the sand all without being seen and before the train passed them. See more »
My Take: James Bond meets Indiana Jones with silly yet exciting action, crackling wit.
Although it was credited as a "Dirk Pitt Adventure", SAHARA seems more in kin with James Bond and Indiana Jones than Clive Cussler. I haven't read any of Clive Cussler's books, but I'm absolutely certain that this would be Cussler's visualization. It is, indeed, a B-level adventure film, complete with heroes in top gear (complete with winning grin, no less), the sexy heroine, the sidekick, and the bad guys who want to rule the world (or simply get whatever it is they want). Not to mention the series of stunt play and gunfights done the old-fashioned way. This is the look (and feel) of an action picture they no longer make, which provides most of its appeal. I enjoyed SAHARA on the level many think it doesn't work, and that's being a traditional old-fashioned brainless adventure. It's not great at the field, but at least it has its heart on it.
Its tag line states "Adventure has a new name", it's without question or doubt that Dirk Pitt, Cussler's brainchild hero played here by Matthew McConaughey, will be a new James Bond or Indiana Jones. The charisma given to him is good but obvious. He's calm over tension, and never loses his cool even at extreme measures. The other supporting characters have nothing in them, their there, but practically, their hardly anybody but characters in a movie. If characters in adventure movies could be quite as interesting as those featured in the INDIANA JONES series, couldn't we deserve to get the same on other entries in the genre, including knock-offs.
Still, what you've come to expect from SAHARA are here anyway. The implausible plot involves the quest for a lost Ironclad in the middle of the Sahara desert (!) by the dashing Dirk Pitt (McConaughey), his sidekick Al (Steve Zahn) and a daring Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz), who trek through the blazing desert landscape with camels, vans, boats, you name it. Along the way, they are trailed by the bad guys and get into situations that could only mean more action movie fun. What's in store? Helicopter chases (my favorite!), gunfights, boat chases and even a train chase with camels (who even knew that you can still come up with a fun action movie sequence with camels!). If you don't think this stuff is any fun, you may wanna have to check with your doctor in case your sugar's a little low.
Is SAHARA any great? No it isn't. But did I get exactly what I wanted from it? It surely does. Even if this genre, which includes films like NATIONAL TREASURE, will never live up to its superior INDIANA JONES ancestors, they will still nonetheless offer the action and adventure it promises. And in that level, SAHARA delivers.
Rating: *** out of 5.
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My Take: James Bond meets Indiana Jones with silly yet exciting action, crackling wit.
Although it was credited as a "Dirk Pitt Adventure", SAHARA seems more in kin with James Bond and Indiana Jones than Clive Cussler. I haven't read any of Clive Cussler's books, but I'm absolutely certain that this would be Cussler's visualization. It is, indeed, a B-level adventure film, complete with heroes in top gear (complete with winning grin, no less), the sexy heroine, the sidekick, and the bad guys who want to rule the world (or simply get whatever it is they want). Not to mention the series of stunt play and gunfights done the old-fashioned way. This is the look (and feel) of an action picture they no longer make, which provides most of its appeal. I enjoyed SAHARA on the level many think it doesn't work, and that's being a traditional old-fashioned brainless adventure. It's not great at the field, but at least it has its heart on it.
Its tag line states "Adventure has a new name", it's without question or doubt that Dirk Pitt, Cussler's brainchild hero played here by Matthew McConaughey, will be a new James Bond or Indiana Jones. The charisma given to him is good but obvious. He's calm over tension, and never loses his cool even at extreme measures. The other supporting characters have nothing in them, their there, but practically, their hardly anybody but characters in a movie. If characters in adventure movies could be quite as interesting as those featured in the INDIANA JONES series, couldn't we deserve to get the same on other entries in the genre, including knock-offs.
Still, what you've come to expect from SAHARA are here anyway. The implausible plot involves the quest for a lost Ironclad in the middle of the Sahara desert (!) by the dashing Dirk Pitt (McConaughey), his sidekick Al (Steve Zahn) and a daring Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz), who trek through the blazing desert landscape with camels, vans, boats, you name it. Along the way, they are trailed by the bad guys and get into situations that could only mean more action movie fun. What's in store? Helicopter chases (my favorite!), gunfights, boat chases and even a train chase with camels (who even knew that you can still come up with a fun action movie sequence with camels!). If you don't think this stuff is any fun, you may wanna have to check with your doctor in case your sugar's a little low.
Is SAHARA any great? No it isn't. But did I get exactly what I wanted from it? It surely does. Even if this genre, which includes films like NATIONAL TREASURE, will never live up to its superior INDIANA JONES ancestors, they will still nonetheless offer the action and adventure it promises. And in that level, SAHARA delivers.
Rating: *** out of 5.