I was idling away an evening watching this movie again when the bad guys had forced the good guys to lead them to the Cradle of Life to find Pandora’s box. They were headed into the are of the shadows and we see a portion of the country that looks like it has been swept through by a forest fire when Cthulhu Mythos popped into my head. Geez, where did that come from? Then the bad guys get picked off one by one and thoughts of the minions of the Elder Gods surfaced. Then Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) drops the glowing bowling ball map down into what looks like a hole in a pinball table and I wondered whether we were in the middle of a H.P. Lovecraft shooter game. The unseen horror of Doom arises made me smirk.

Director:  Jan de Bont Writer:  Steven E. de Souza; James V. Hart; Dean Georgaris Cast:
Angelina Jolie -  Lara Croft Gerard Butler -  Terry Sheridan Ciarán Hinds -  Jonathan Reiss Christopher Barrie -  Hillary Noah Taylor -  Bryce Djimon Hounsou -  Kosa Til Schweiger -  Sean Simon Yam -  Chen Lo		Terence Yin -  Xien Daniel Caltagirone -  Nicholas Petraki Fabiano Martell -  Jimmy Petraki Jonathan Coyne -  Gus Petraki Robert Cavanah -  MI6 Agent Stevens Ronan Vibert -  MI6 Agent Calloway Lenny Juma -  Village Leader Raymond Offula -  Village Leader

Betrayal. It is always a shock to find out that our trust has been breached and it makes you tentative in who you will vest an interest. Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) attends an auction to meet an old family friend and runs into a rival, Alex West (Daniel Craig) who swiped a prayer wheel or two out from under her. He’s still upset and doesn’t know how to reconcile the situation (I suppose they could start by swapping tips on how to do accents). She follows Wilson (Leslie Phillips) to his office, explaining how the clockwork device came into her possession, what she has found so far and asking how she can learn more. It is apparent to anyone watching that he is lying when he tells her that he knows nothing about the mechanism. Later, he calls Lara with a tip on who might know more as a slight attempt to salvage the shame he feels for deceiving her.

Director:  Simon West Writer:  Sara B. Cooper; Mike Werb; Michael Colleary; Simon West; Patrick Massett; John Zinman Cast:
Angelina Jolie -  Lara Croft Jon Voight -  Lord Richard Croft Iain Glen -  Manfred Powell Noah Taylor -  Bryce Daniel Craig -  Alex West Richard Johnson -  Distinguished Gentleman Christopher Barrie -  Hillary Julian Rhind-Tutt -  Mr. Pimms		Leslie Phillips -  Wilson Robert Phillips -  Julius, Assault Team Leader Rachel Appleton -  Young Lara Henry Wyndham -  Boothby’s Auctioneer David Y. Cheung -  Head Laborer David K.S. Tse -  Head Laborer Ozzie Yue -  Aged Buddhist Monk Wai-Keat Lau -  Young Buddhist Monk