Mike: Favourite quote

Mike: "My favorite quote so far from a review of The Da Vinci Code:
'The most controversial thriller of the year turns out to be about as exciting as watching your parents play Sudoku.'
--Ann Hornaday, WASHINGTON POST"

Da Vinci Code review | Whale Oil Beef Hooked

Da Vinci Code review | Whale Oil Beef Hooked: "I went with Mrs Whaleoil out to dinner and then to the Da Vinci Code.

Having read the book several times and been a fan of this kind of 'theory' genre since I was in High School when I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, I was keen to get to see it early on."

The Da Vinci Code - New York Times

The Da Vinci Code - New York Times: "In any case Mr. Howard and Mr. Goldsman handle the supposedly provocative material in Mr. Brown's book with kid gloves, settling on an utterly safe set of conclusions about faith and its history, presented with the usual dull sententiousness.

So I certainly can't support any calls for boycotting or protesting this busy, trivial, inoffensive film. Which is not to say I'm recommending you go see it.

'The Da Vinci Code' is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has some violent killings and a few profanities."

rogerebert.com :: The Da Vinci Code

rogerebert.com :: The Da Vinci Code: "I know there are people who believe Brown's fantasies about the Holy Grail, the descendants of Jesus, the Knights Templar, Opus Dei and the true story of Mary Magdalene. This has the advantage of distracting them from the theory that the Pentagon was not hit by an airplane."

Thoughts On Da Vinci Code - Vinko's Blog

Thoughts On... - Vinko's Blog: "had not read the book of the same name by Dan Brown., but after seeing the movie I can understand why the book was so popular.

This movie had a lot of deep concepts and one must really pay attention to keep up with what's going on in the plot. This is especially true; as I was told, when one is reading the Chinese subtitles, as the translation is a bit complicated.

The only reason I gave this movie a penguin short of a perfect score, is the complexity of the terminologies used in the movie to keep the audiences' attention and interest."

thelamer: The Da Vinci Code

thelamer: The Da Vinci Code: "Saw the movie yesterday and it was good.

It's not great because it was heavily edited before it was shown here. Perhaps, once I get the DVD, I'll be able to get a better impression.

IMHO, Tom Hanks did a pretty good job playing Robert Langdon. I expected a portrayal reminiscent of Professor Dorr, his role in The Ladykillers (2004) but I'm more than happy that it was far removed from the latter.

Also, perhaps if you've read the book before the movie, you'd be able to follow better but will also be disappointed. For instance, at the ending, you would know why Langdon kneels down and closes his eyes (this is not a spoiler, it doesn't reveal any of the plot and, besides, you can read the book if you want to know the whole story) but you might also feel shortchanged with the ending.

David is going to be making a review in a few days. I can't wait to see it. :)"

Not So Mean Review: The Da Vinci Code (5/19)

Not So Mean Review: The Da Vinci Code (5/19): "I really planned on hating this. The advance word from Cannes was that the film sucked harder than Paul Walker at an audition. I was hard at work in my Evil Critic Cave, concocting anagrams for “shitty movie,” “Tom Hanks is worthless” and “Opie sucks at directing.” Picking on this overblown movie adaptation of an overpraised, crappily written novel was going to be as fun and easy as playing “Duck Hunt” by sticking your old NES light gun right up ot the screen.

And then the worst thing happened. I went into the screening and I really liked the film. It’s just as much fun to watch as the book is to read. Believe it or not, that’s a compliment."

Theena Kumaragurunathan: The Da Vinci Code

Theena Kumaragurunathan: The Da Vinci Code: "And the first review of Dan Brown's bestseller movie adaptation is out. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone has reviewed it. Bear in mind that this man actually liked the novel. The review:

There's no code to decipher. Da Vinci is a dud — a dreary, droning, dull-witted adaptation of Dan Brown's religioso detective story that sold 50 million copies worldwide."

blog.myspace.com/elgon

blog.myspace.com/elgon: "Controversy sells movie tickets; bad publicity is still publicity. The Da Vinci Code will be ..1 at the box office just because...because it has nothing but hype and pre-release press going for it. Like everyone who is panning the film in advance of seeing it, and the critics that have seen it and (as usual) do not like it either, I guess I will put in my few comments. "

madrigalis: Da Vinci Code - spoiler free

madrigalis: Da Vinci Code - spoiler free: "There were about 30 dancers at the movie last night - more and more people just kept turning up. The movie wasn't bad, but it is definitely one to watch as part of a social outing, rather than for its own sake.

Paul Bettany and Ian Mackellan were great, but the rest of the cast were a bit ho-hum. I read a review this morning that was commenting on how Robert Langdon was supposed to be 'Harrison Ford in Harris tweed' with a dark chocolate voice, but Tom Hanks just made him seem slightly depressed, and not at all sexy. :-( Audrey Tautou was competent, but she lacked the zing she had in Amelie.

I think I'm glad I hadn't read the book - the plot was pretty predictable as it was, and I suspect I would have been bored stupid if I'd known all the twists beforehand. I might read it now to pick up the extra depth and backstory that a film always leaves out. And I will need to take a bit more time to decide what I think about the whole Opus Dei thing.

We did all managed to stay awake, which was a good sign, although possibly the amount of popcorn that was being thrown around and stuffed down shirts had something to do with it. :-) I'm kinda surprised management didn't try to throw us out, but maybe they figured we were too many. The credits didn't start to roll until 1.04 am (after about 4 false endings - almost as many as LOTR!) and we went to bed around 2am, so I was a bit sleepier than usual today."

BBC Will and Testament | William Crawley's broadcasting diary

BBC Will and Testament | William Crawley's broadcasting diary: "I've just returned from a press screening of The Da Vinci Code, ahead of the worldwide launch tomorrow. Two categories of people will probably be disappointed by the film: those who have read the book and those who have been looking forward to the movie.

For all its flaws, the book is vastly better than the film. And I say that as one who felt sullied after reading the book, which is art history for those who've never been to an art gallery, theology for those who've never read the Bible, and literature for those who've rarely been to a library. Did that sound patronising? Apologies. Some of Harvard religious symbology professor Robert Langdon's lecture style must be rubbing off on me."

blog.myspace.com/melissawoodward

blog.myspace.com/melissawoodward: "This movie was fantastic. Just the way I imagined it when I first heard the book on tape. Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou had wonderful chemistry and the graphic effects were great. They made it a lot easier to point out the symbols that are so important to solving the mystery. Ian McKellan played a wonderful Leigh Teabing, but this man can play just about anything, including a wizard and Magneto, so why not a cripple?

The movie runs about 165 minutes and has found harsh criticism prior to release. Everyone that criticized the movie, criticized the book, and are a bunch of zealous religious fanatics that can not grasp that this book is FICTIONAL and NOT a stab at the Catholic Church. The movie made this way more clear than the book. If you enjoyed the book, you will surely enjoy this movie. Once again, Tom Hanks gives a catching performance and even throws in a little humor. Audrey Tautou was originally criticized when she was cast for the role of Sophie Neveu, but I don't think the role could have been served better.

I give this film 2 thumbs up and on a scale of 1 to 10 - I give a 10! So take that you crazy religious nut cases! :)"