Roger Carel Movies

As the eighth animated Asterix feature in thirteen years, the Stefan Fjeldmark and Jesper Møller-directed Asterix and the Vikings opens in Ancient Europe, at the Vikings' mountain fortress. Timandahaf, the chief of the Vikings, hears the age-old maxim "Fear lends one wings," and interprets it literally - believing that the most craven person in the world can actually teach him to fly. As Timandahaf, his counselor Cryptograf, and Cryptograf's son Olaf set forth to locate this person (christened 'The Champion of Fear,') the action shifts to the territory of Gaul. In that locale, diminutive Viking warrior Asterix and the enormous, mustachioed strongman Obelix attempt to teach teenage layabout Justforkix (the nephew of village chief Vitalstatistix) to reinvent himself as a tireless, bellicose warrior. The Gallic men are hindered in their efforts by Justforkix's sheer lack of interest - it seems he'd rather shuffle off to the local discothèque or meet girls than fight Romans. It isn't long before Olaf overhears Justforkix's confession that he is the laziest person in the known world, and decides to kidnap the young man and throw him off a cliff to watch him fly. Justforkix is naturally terrified - but doesn't count on falling for the chief's daughter, Abba. Meanwhile, Asterix and Obelix discover these developments and set off to rescue Justforkix. In the English version of this film (the second Asterix vehicle where the animation is synchronized to the speech of the American actors), Paul Giamatti voices Asterix, Brad Garrett voices Obelix, Evan Rachel Wood voices Abba and Sean Astin voices Justforkix. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The tale of this movie is familiar enough, Sheherazade (Catherine Zeta-Jones) has been married to a ruler (Thierry Lhermitte) who wants many wives, but only one at a time. Consequently, as soon as he has bedded them, he has them put to death. In most retellings, the girl staves off this unfortunate conclusion by putting off the connubial event for a thousand and one nights, telling irresistable stories instead. In this one, she gets hold of a magic lamp and acquires a genie named Jimmy Genius (Gerard Jugnot) from the 20th century, who helps her escape and avoid recapture a thousand and one ways, by providing her with airplanes, cars, and other twentieth-century magical devices. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

For those unfamiliar with Asterix, a popular character in European cartoons and comic books, he is a courageous but humorous-looking warrior of the Gauls in Roman times, and often single-handedly fights off the encroachments of the Romans. In this feature-length cartoon, the Romans have conquered everything except the village where Asterix lives. This has survived because the town druid has a special potion which confers incredible strength. However, at the time of the film, the druid has been knocked on the head and has lost his memory, which is inconvenient, to say the least. Asterix and his villagers must search far and wide for something which can help them either with the druid's memory, or with reconstructing his potion. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The second of a long string of animated children's films based on cartoon characters created by Rene Goscinny and Alberto Uderzo, this is an entertaining adventure featuring the intrepid Asterix. The hero is accompanied by his mutt Idefix (Francophones will love that one - "fixed idea" characterizes a stubborn mutt indeed) and pal Obelix, a little lacking in the attic but full of heart. Their mission is to rescue two friends captured into slavery by the nasty Romans -- a galling thought. The trio head to North Africa where they join the Foreign Legion, apparently of a much longer history than otherwise known, and then head to Rome for a climactic confrontation with some hungry lions. For the moms and dads in the audience there are generous send-ups of biblical sagas such as Ben Hur. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Lucky Luke, the cowboy, his faithful horse Jolly Jumper, and his dog Rantanplan, are all out fighting their perennial enemies, the Dalton brothers, in this cooperative animated adventure from Hanna-Barbera and Morris Gascinny. To accommodate American audiences, Hanna-Barbera removed Luky Luke's ever-present cigarette, and eliminated some of his "ethnic" pals to avoid any potential problems in the minority department. For many Luke fans, these alterations were tantamount to destroying a character they have known since 1945, and so the feature was bound to receive mixed reviews by those for and against the changes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this uneven take-off on some reluctant resistance fighters in World War II, a family of musicians find themselves the unwilling hosts of a segment of the German High Command when their Paris mansion is taken over by the occupying forces. What happens next is a series of individual skits, cameo appearances, and zany interludes that are not necessarily as strung together as they are strung out. Characters include: Adolph Hitler's melodious half-brother whose singing style is hilariously close to that of Julio Iglesias, a "good" German officer, stereotypical of any of those found in post-World War II movies, and a woman who provides the comedy in a 1970s television talk show when she expounds on what really happened in the Paris villa back when. It is the acting which carries the day for this film, more than the actual script or cinematic development. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This sequel to Dear Detective suffers from the same trouble as most sequels in that it does not live up to the original film. Police director Lise Tanquerelle (Annie Girardot) marries Antoine Lemercier (Philippe Noiret), an expert in Greek history. While honeymooning in Greece, they are approached by Pochet (Francis Perrin), a young archaeologist who discloses his latest discovery to the couple. He has uncovered the buttocks of Venus Heroclitus. Agnes (Catherine Alric) is Pochet's disgruntled wife who allows the statue to be stolen by a Greek sailor. When the sailor is found dead, Antoine and Porchet are indicted for murder. The two escape in order to track down the real culprit in this crime comedy adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi