vranger I enjoyed the 2nd installment of this series better than the original movie (and I enjoyed the original a lot!), but I believe that they've improved yet again with the 3rd installment in the series."Curse of the Judas Chalice" had the same light hearted and comic view of Indianna Jones style adventure, but I found the plot to be deeper and more surprising. This series has a surprising character turn as part of its 'formula' in each installment. This time the surprise was two-fold. Although I saw one of them coming well in advance, the other one got me.These movies are ideal family fare ... amusing and entertaining for adults without including content inappropriate for even young children. Such movies are hard to find these days, but the Librarian series pulls it off solidly.

ctomvelu-1 Flynn is burned out and takes some time off in New Orleans. He's not there an hour before he's caught up in a bizarre plot by an ex-KGB agent to revive Dracula (yes, Dracula) and raise an army of the undead. To do so, the agent needs to find a chalice made from the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas, hence the Judas Chalice. Along the way, Flynn meets a sexy singer who ably aids him in his battle with the Russian. Noah Wylie's Flynn is much more assured than in his first two outings, but he's still somewhat naive. Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart are back as Flynn's bosses at the magical library, and Curtin's role has been beefed up a bit. In fact, it is she who suggests the vacation. Bruce Davison has a meaty role as a befuddled scientist pressed into service by the Russian. A recent Bond girl, the very lovely Stana Katic, plays Flynn's exotic, ass-kicking love interest. In fact, the movie starts off with a James Bond gag and there are nods to (some might even say swipes from) other movies, including HARRY POTTER, Dracula 2000, BLADE and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. This special effects. photography and music are all first rate, and the jokes come just often enough. And wait until you see the revived Dracula. You may be surprised. Because of the nature of the plot -- the undead and bloodsucking -- I'd say keep the little ones away.

lastliberal The directing/writing team of Jonathan Frakes and Marco Schnabel are back for another movie in the series.They open with a James Bond tribute. Our little nerd (Noah Wylie) has certainly come a long way. He is no longer a nerd, and has developed an amazing capability with a sword as displayed in a fight with an ex-KGB agent (Dikran Tulaine), who wants to restore Russia to its former glory.His plan is to restore none other than Dracula, who will lead an army of vampires. With the success of "True Blood" and Twilight, a vampire story is expected, and it really made things exciting. Our villain has the body of Vlad the Impaler, and now all he needs in the chalice made out of the 30 pieces of silver given to Judas (The first I have heard of that!) But, Flynn Carsen (Wylie) is burned out. It is up to Jane Curtin, in a much meatier role, to get him started. But it is a dream sequence with Croation Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace) that gets him moving. What? No English heroine? Not appropriate in a movie involving vampires, you see.With vampires, the movie is a bit more exciting and the special effects are ramped up. It is set in new Orleans and that is always a plus for the atmosphere and the music.Oscar nominee Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion, Short Cuts) gives an impressive performance.We get the expected ending, and are left wondering if this franchise has burned itself out, or if we will see our hero again two years from now.

Tom If I had not watched the first two Librarians back to back before the third one I would not be so critical. The vampire theme was OK but the whole production seemed to suffer from the bean counters bringing down the quality of the movie. Cheap sets, dark lighting and background music drowning out the actors made it a tedious two hours. There seemed to be very little chemistry between Noah and Stana - what there was seemed forced and over the top. The relationship between Noah and Sonya Walger was much better and much more believable. In one scene Stana beats up the bad guys but in the next they easily capture her. Even the bad guys just seemed to be just phoning it in. I know it's tough to try to live up to the first one which in my opinion was by far the best but it seemed like someone said, "How cheaply can we make this and still keep the audience?" I hope they learned a lot from this one. I will probably not be adding it to my DVD collection.