'Angels & Demons' ... On A Scale of 1-10?

The book of 'The DaVinci Code' is much better than the movie. When they say it is unputdownable, they mean it.

I have read the book of Angels and Demons many times, I even visited the chapels in Rome. The book is awesome. The movie is awesome. Given the creative ties around his hands, Ron did a great job. I dare anyone to do better.

It's one thing to like the book and another to say it's good. It's poorly written with no real substance behind what it claims. It steals from stories written in Victorian times, when the general public was eager to explore the medieval folk tales, one of which the holly grail is a part of.
Don´t mean to antagonize, if you like it, good for you, but claiming that it's a good book, it's not. The movie can't afford to be more than the book itself is worth.

Hello Lisa,

I've been reviewing movies since 1971. What I like to say is that my opinion is frequently the first, but certainly not the only viewpoint. Each person who views a movie has a different experience, based on what that person brings to the movie itself.

Since I read non-fiction almost exclusively, I view the film through the eyes of a moviegoer, not a reader. I've had many discussions with people who have said, "You really should read the book. Then you will understand." This has never worked for me. I am sure that reading the book may either enhance or hinder the experience. I firmly believe that each movie should stand on its own. If it doesn't, then something is askew in my opinion.

As a student of film in the 1950s and 60s, I decided that my college detour into reading dramatic plays, rather than fiction books, would have to work as well for me as trying to slough through through tome after tome before (or even after) seeing a movie. That was just too much expect!

Instead, I would approach reviewing from another angle. Often I can come up with a fresh view, not bound by the written experience. Since I have not seen this particular film, I really cannot comment adequately on it. Many of the Portland (OR) reviewers whom I admire have come up with very poor ratings on this particular movie.

I do agree that both of these films are creating a certain furor within the Catholic community. That has happened many times before, and frankly, I expect it. The Church is devoted to its teachings, but this movie is fiction. "The Pink Panther 2" -- which makes delicious fun at the expense of the Pope and the Vatican -- is also fiction, as I mused several months ago. I try not to let religion get in the way of my film reviewing.

If you get a chance to view it, Charlie Rose from PBS interviewed both Tom Hanks and Ron Howard last week (Wednesday, May 13,009) on his program. It was a very interesting first half-hour. You can view clips of the show at www.charlierose.com.

Enjoy the movies!

Ellen Kimball
Portland, Oregon
http://ellenkimball.blogspot.com

Hey Ellen. When you go to the comments section theres a tab above where you enter your email address that says "Cinematical" (its right next to the tab that says "Email Confirm"). Click on "Cinematical", and then enter your email address and password. The password should be part of the emails that you've been getting to confirm your comment. If you do it that way then you shouldn't have to confirm you comments. Good luck.

What he said.