Flyover Online

Early excitement for the Darren Aronofsky fantasy film “The Fountain” is completely understandable. A time traveling adventure set in sixteenth-century Spain as well as a medical lab in the near future and the twenty-sixth century, “The Fountain” is Aronofsky’s first film since his mind-bending adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.’s drug addict drama “Requiem for a Dream.” Aronofsky crated the sci-fi story with Ari Handel. Cameraman Matthew Libatique creates some amazing imagery. Rachel Weisz is the beauty behind the tasks, playing Spain’s Queen Isabel as well as a modern-day woman. Hugh Jackman is the conquistador, scientist and future traveler. To call “The Fountain” anything but a dizzy, mind-blowing catastrophe is to overlook the utter wackiness of the movie (more on that at a later date). What’s fascinating is that of the three Hugh Jackman movies this fall, “The Fountain,” the turn-of-the-century magician’s drama “The Prestige,” and the cartoon comedy “Flushed Away,” Jackman is at his best in the latest cartoon feature from the creators of Wallace and Gromit.
As Roddy, a clumsy rodent trying to return to his comfortable London home after being swept down the toilet drain, Jackman shows the same lunacy and grinning verve he displayed as singer/songwriter Peter Allen in the Broadway musical “The Boy From Oz.” As a tuxedo-wearing mouse, more than a magician or a conquistador, Jackman reveals the best part of himself. He’s funny and one hopes he has the chance to be funny again, whether cartoon or in the flesh.

The Fountain opens nationwide Nov. 22. The Prestige is currently playing theaters nationwide. Flushed Away opens in theaters across America Nov. 4.