AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new action adventure film. Here are her thoughts on....

THE CORE

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Okay, you're schlepping down a cave slope with tons of equipment and 1950's singer Pat Boone singing in your ear….no, wait. That was Journey to the Center of the Earth. Of course the good guys in The Core do get shot out of a volcano at the end but the similarity ends there. An update of the original Jules Verne concept, The Core places geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), astronaut Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Hilary Swank), snotty Dr. Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), his arch science rival Dr. Ed "Braz" Brazzelton (Delroy Lindo) and others in a worm-like drilling "ship" bound to use nukes to jump-start the Earth's core which has stopped rotating due to some secret tinkering by military types.

Why should we care? Without the rotation, the Earth's magnetic fields go crazy creating superstorms and holes in the ozone layer that will let us all get microwaved just like the popcorn you should be eating at this flick. I admit I'm a sucker for 80's throwback disaster films and this one fits the bill. The science is pretty intelligent and is explained for all of us with a lot of comic flair. "See this peach"….and a scientist whips out a blowtorch and fries it…"that's the Earth". Ooookay, I get it. A much discussed opening scene involving a space shuttle in trouble is actually a tribute to the ingenuity of astronauts and is very exciting and even a bit comical to watch.

Dialogue is snappy for the most part and casting is first rate. Stanley Tucci is a riot as a stuffed shirt scientist who quotes purple prose into his tape recorder even when he's seconds from death. Aaron Eckhart is fine (and fine to look at) as a professor who feels a little over his head until he's aided by super-competent astronaut Hilary Swank who has to learn to fail in order to lead. Hilary's character is a terrific role model for girls. She's human but competent, dedicated and ends up leading the whole mission and all without any girlie falling apart or falling into some guy's arms! Yeah..GURL POWER!! The excellent Delroy Lindo gives a new humanity to his "mad scientist in the desert" role and turns out to be heroic in a "fix-it" scene that is pretty hard to watch but impressive.

I found it refreshing that this film does not employ Michael Bay Armageddon-style, spastic camera, fast cutting every second so you have no idea what you are watching. Others might find that old-fashioned. The Core is not a perfect film. Some of the effects aren't totally up to par and there are moments when decent dialogue can't salvage shots of a "worm" going through rock but, overall, it's a well-acted kick, especially for fans of the genre like me.

Rated: PG-13

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