Angels and Demons, 2009 (grade D)

Director: Ron Howard

Awards?  None that I know of and would be shocked if it got any.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard, Masasa Moyo, Victor Alfieri. Yan Cui, Shelby Zemanek, Jonas Fisch, Kristof Konrad, Curt Lowens

SEZ SAYS ... One part mystery, one part brutal thriller, and one part boring. The boring being the biggest part. Formulaic in the worst sort of way. Four cardinals must be saved and one time bomb must be stopped and the least likely person turns out to be the criminal. Have we seen this before?  Way too many times.  Tom Hanks did a Tom Hanks sort of job, which is always appreciated but you have to wonder why he got involved in such a worthless enterprise... Maybe it was because Ron Howard was directing. But then you also have to question Howard's decision making skills since he sees to have selected this loser. Come back to your senses Ron we miss you!  You should not waste your talent on the likes of this.

MJC:  Ron what were you thinking!  With all that could be dramatized about the catholic church and it's history this was a shot that missed the mark. Only plus I can come up with, after hearing PhDs disparaged so often, it is nice to see the hero is an academic in the humanities.