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IN THE CINEMA
Some have asked, ‘Didn’t you miss reviewing Tomb Raider?’
Answer: No. Didn’t miss it, just took a pass on the experience.
This video game-come-to-live-action, starring Angelina Jolie,
explores cartoon action, not tombs. If it weren’t for the
high-camp, ultra violence, it’d be strictly for the kiddies.
The Mummy Returns is still returning millions of dollars
worldwide. The film is still in the top ten in Japan, Hong Kong,
Sweden and South Africa and, having swept through the United
States and Europe, profits of the action-adventure with the
Egyptian motif, are expected to top $300 million dollars.
ON TV
But, don’t despair, there is plenty coming to the small
screen in August. And, the anthropologists are the feature
attraction, beginning with documentary, premiering on the BBC and
The Learning Channel, Ancient Apocalypse: Death on the Nile.
Ancient Apocalypse returns us to the golden era of pyramid
building, 2200 BCE. Geologist and archeologist, Dr. Fekri Hassan,
a specialist in demographic and ecological archaeology, who has
studied the time period for some thirty years, attempts to
reconstruct the physical record and the historical data in order
to shed light on the shift away from the monumental building
projects of the Old Kingdom.
The documentary follows Fekri from the Giza plain, to the
southern deserts of Egypt and onto the frozen landscape of
Iceland, as he puts together an intriguing theory about the
weather patterns that may have impacted the rhythm of the Nile and
the civilization that depended upon it.
 The Learning Channel, then pulls off the wraps and gives us,
Mummies Revealed, an exploration of the techniques and
rituals of mummification throughout the ages. The one hour
program, covers the rituals 5,000 year-old process as it was
practiced in ancient Egypt, across Europe and Asia, to the New
World.
 On the History Channel, there’s still time to catch Napoleon
Takes Egypt, the program that recalls the arrival of Napoleon
and his fleet of 400 ships and over 34,000 men. Napoleon came to
invade Egypt, but brought 150 scholars and experts in all fields
of science and art. Their job--to extend the frontiers of Western
knowledge.
Napoleon, of course, wasn’t the last westerner to invade
Egypt, Great  Blunders in History: Suez Crisis, chronicles
the Suez Canal conflict. The canal, opened in 1869 with the French
and British governments as major shareholders, linked the Red Sea
to the Mediterranean. In 1956, Great Britain and France invaded
Egypt with the goal of taking back the canal, which had been
nationalized by Egypt's President Gamal Abdel Nasser. When the UN
demanded a cease-fire, supported by the U.S. and Soviet Union,
they pulled out. But the catastrophic blunder discredited Britain
and France and ruined the career of British Prime Minister Anthony
Eden.
Next Mr. Spock, er, Leonard Nimoy, hosts this vintage program
that specialized in unusual theories and explanations of the world’s
mysteries. This time, the theorists go In Search of.. Pyramid
Secrets.
And, another of History’s Mysteries, is the Secret
Brotherhood of Freemasons. Ever wonder about the true nature
of the secret and mystical organization known as freemasons? This
documentary promises to show heretofore secret ceremonies that
purportedly date back to ancient Egypt.
Due to the civil war in the Sudan, the pyramid and temple sites
of the Nubian Pharaohs are rarely seen by the public, so the
Travel Channel, offers us a rare chance to Journey to the Ends of
the Earth, in search of some answers to the Mystery of the
African Pharaohs.
Then, we explore the Mystery of the Sphinx . The Great
Sphinx of Egypt has mystified people for centuries. This isn’t
an archaeologist’s view to the origins of the enigmatic
monument, but a presentation of new theory of the age of the
Sphinx, and of the manner in which it was built.
Next, the Curse of the Egyptian Mummies is visited upon
us, again. Yes, it’s that 20th century phenomenon--Tutmania.
The program investigates the legend of King Tutankhamun's curse.
When Lord Carnarvon, the patron of the archaeologist who uncovered
Tut's tomb, died seven weeks later, rumors spread about a curse
that strikes those who raid the boy king's treasures.
And, don’t miss the World's Best: Ancient Sites.
Journey through time to revel in the wonder of the ancients.
Travel from the Incan citadel of Maccu Picchu to Angkor Wat, from
the stone statues of Easter Island to the Great Wall of China,
from Stonehenge to the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
Certain of the PBS stations are still showing the ambitious
documentaries, Islam: Empire of Faith and The Messenger;
the Awakening; the Ottomans. The programs delve into the life
and influence of the seventh-century prophet Muhammad as he founds
the religion of the Muslims.
The SCI-FI Channel reels out, Stargate. This film,
starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, uses Egypt as the
launching pad, into an alien world.
FOR THE CHILDREN
The Animal Planet, follows The Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files
as the intrepid host examines "A Grain of Sand'', a daring,
close-up look at desert animals.
See your local theater, television, cable or satellite
directories for screening dates and times.
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