‘World’ a bit too robotic

“The World of Tomorrow” was the motto of the 1939 World’s Fair in New

York City. Exhibits at the fair featured robots, ray guns and

futuristic mechanical devices in the Art Deco style of the times.

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” totally captures the look and

feel of this period’s sci-fi retro mix. Filmed in sepia tones with

state-of-the-art computer graphics, it succeeds first and foremost as

a visual tour de force.

The humans at the center of this special effects extravaganza are

A-list stars. Jude Law is the Sky Captain. Gwyneth Paltrow is his

former girlfriend and sharp-tongued newspaper reporter out to get the

story of a lifetime. They trade snappy one-liners in the tradition of

the romantic comedies of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. But

chemistry is sorely lacking as they deliver authentic but wooden

lines without any passion whatsoever.

Like the pulp fiction magazines of the 1930s, this movie is full

of mad scientists, mechanical monsters and schemes to conquer the

world. The computer images are truly astounding. Call it Buck Rogers

and Flash Gordon meet “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” There’s lots of

“Star Wars” imagery and fighter pilot madness. But in spite of its

frenetic pace and fantastic adventures, this movie strangely lacks

excitement. It’s lovely to look at, but it fails to ignite the

heart-pounding feelings you expect from expensive action-adventure

fantasies. It’s well made and great looking but bone dry on the

emotional level.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.

‘Clouds’ not worthy of Theron’s talent

Coming off her decidedly unglamorous, Oscar-winning role in

“Monster,” it’s easy to see how Charlize Theron must have wanted the

part of Gilda Besse in “Head in the Clouds.” If only she had held out

for a movie more worthy of her talent.

Gilda is a wealthy, free-spirited American artist/photographer who

changes lovers as often as she changes her fabulous outfits.

She meets idealistic Irish student Guy (Stuart Townsend, Theron’s

real-life boyfriend) at Cambridge in the early 1930s. He is

immediately smitten, and Gilda likes his quiet, unassuming ways. They

are briefly lovers, drift apart and then reunite years later in

Paris. Guy quits his job as a teacher to live with Gilda and her

friend Mia (Penelope Cruz), a former dancer from Spain turned student

nurse. She was also Gilda’s lover.

Guy and Mia are both concerned with the darkening political cloud

forming over Europe. Eventually, they both leave to help in the

Spanish Civil War, and Gilda feels betrayed and deserted. She has

made it a point to ignore politics and anything that goes beyond the

scope of her own self-indulgent existence. When Guy and Gilda meet

again in wartime Paris, she coldly rejects him for the attentions of

a handsome German officer (Thomas Kretschmann from “The Pianist”).

If this sounds like all the pulpy cliches of Hollywood movies

past, you are absolutely correct. Think “Doctor Zhivago” crossed with

“Cabaret” and any of those made-for-Lifetime TV movies, and you’ll

get the idea. While all the principal characters are lovely to look

at, they are so boring and one-dimensional.

There are a lot of little vignettes that are beautifully

photographed but don’t serve the story at all. By the time the film

reaches its climax, and Gilda’s fate is revealed, you will be more

than ready to get your head out of this cloudy mess and your feet out

the door.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company.