★★ The Da Vinci Code

[Gino: 2.0 sp]

Gino says: 'I watched this because way back, everyone and their mother read this book. So, even though I knew that the movie was supposed to be a dud, I thought going into it with that attitude, I might be pleasantly surprised. I didn't hate the thing, but pleasantly surprised I was not. I figured at the very least, I'd get the story without reading the book, and I guess it served that purpose.

While the story did turn out to be intriguing, the movie was very flat. This was a Ron Howard film, with a cast of respectable actors, and strong source material. So, I feel like I have to blame the screenwriter. It was the kind of script that doesn't trust the viewer to remember anything at all, and so one of the characters has to say what he's thinking out loud all the time, to remind you. Ends up being insulting and really making you feel like you are watching a movie instead of a story unfold. '