Denzel Washington stars as the title character in “The Book of Eli.” Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers.

THE BOOK OF ELI (Rated R)

Listening to the radio, I heard about a study claiming that some people have become suicidal after watching “Avatar,” likely in response to comparing the utopian vision of the film’s alien world to their own desperate lives.

Personally, I feel those sentiments are misplaced and are more appropriate upon viewing post-apocalyptic visions in films like “The Road” and now “The Book of Eli.” Mind you, “The Book of Eli” is a well-made film, but I just don’t know if I can go on with yet more bleak images of the catastrophic destruction of our once vibrant civilization. But then, Denzel Washington as a road warrior bent of a mission to save mankind redeems this exercise in desolation.

In the not-too-distant future, some 30 years after the presumed end of civilization, Denzel Washington’s Eli is a solitary man trekking west across the wasteland that was once America. The landscape is littered with broken highways and dilapidated structures.

Occasionally, Eli comes across a few hardy souls, but more often than not these encounters are with murderous biker gangs that terrorize rare travelers. Guided by an undefined faith to believe in something greater than himself, Eli is a warrior by necessity rather than choice. Fortunately, Eli seemingly possesses mystical powers, which are really useful when he unsheathes his gigantic machete.

Early on, the enigmatic road warrior shows that once he is challenged by lawless highwaymen he will cut his attackers down before they realize their fatal mistake. It’s not his life he guards so fiercely but his hope for the future, which appears to be safely stored in his backpack.

The object of his careful protection is not immediately revealed, but if you have seen the advertising billboards proclaiming “religion is power” and “deliver us,” you may have some distinct idea about what is so cautiously safeguarded.

Wandering down a dusty highway with determined commitment, Eli stumbles upon a desolate frontier town. Carrying himself like the “Man with No Name” in a spaghetti Western, Eli soon runs afoul of Carnegie (Gary Oldman), the self-appointed despot of the makeshift town of thieves and gunmen.

Like Eli, Carnegie is one of the few people old enough to remember the old world and to have the ability to read. But the self-styled tyrant suspects that Eli is carrying the book he urgently seeks in order to hold even greater sway over the population, going far beyond the borders of his grimy outpost.

Surrounded by the usual assortment of henchmen, Carnegie wields his greatest power by controlling the source of the local water supply. He manipulates his adopted daughter Solara (Mila Kunis), setting her up as a prostitute when it serves his purposes, such as extracting vital information from certain marks.

Meanwhile, he exercises vicious control over Solara’s mother Claudia (Jennifer Beals), treating her badly all the time. In his role as Carnegie, Gary Oldman is performing his usual duty as the heavy, though he maintains sufficient nuance as to not turn into a laughable caricature.

Notwithstanding the abusive Carnegie’s tactics, Solara is fascinated by the enigmatic Eli, seeing in him the ticket to get out of Dodge. Not surprisingly, Solara, who incidentally is far too attractive to be residing in the grubby, ravaged Western town, is attracted by what Eli offers as the hope of a better existence beyond her evil stepfather’s domain.

After more violent confrontations necessitated by a showdown with Carnegie’s minions, Eli and Solara ride out of town, albeit on foot, just like they would in a Western movie. Even when they find a hideout, they are unable to avoid even more vicious battles with Carnegie’s heavily-armed thugs.

It probably will come as no surprise to you that Eli and Solara reach their final destination on the West Coast. Nevertheless, I choose not to reveal where and for what purpose their journey comes to an end, sensing the audience should experience this for itself.

“The Book of Eli” has one advantage over other more recent post-apocalyptic movies, namely a message of hope for humanity. Denzel Washington, most likely, wouldn’t have it any other way. As a result, this journey into a wasteland of despair is actually worth watching.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Do you remember when martial arts action star Steven Seagal made one of his fast-paced action films about every other week? Have you wondered what happened to him, aside from his reality TV show “Lawman?”

Well, he still unleashes his wrath – and his fists – in the action thriller “The Keeper” about an ex-cop caught in a web of deceit, racism and murder.

Not surprisingly, this latest Seagal effort, now being released on DVD, is a nonstop adrenaline rush, full of high-octane stunts.

Double-crossed by his rogue partner and forced to retire, Seagal’s Los Angeles street cop accepts a gig guarding the beautiful daughter of a wealthy businessman.

But when mobsters kidnap the girl, Seagal’s job is to untangle a dangerous web of lies and murder and find his charge.

In a race against time, Seagal must use his wits, weapons and brute force to get her back.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

The program will begin at 7 p.m.

Sherrie Smith-Ferri is the director of the Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House. The Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah is an art, history and anthropology museum focusing on the lifeworks of artist Grace Carpenter Hudson (1865-1937) and her ethnologist husband, Dr. John W. Hudson (1857-1936).

Changing interdisciplinary exhibitions and public programs feature Western American art, California Indian cultures, histories of California's diverse North Coast region and the work of contemporary regional artists.

Alyson Glassey is the interm director of the Mendocino County Museum in Willits. The Mendocino County Museum was established in 1972. Through its internal divisions, it adds to collections that represent the heritage of Mendocino County. The museum presents items from the collection in public exhibits and provides access procedures for research of artifacts and archived documents.

Both museums are facing cuts in budget and services from both the county and the city of Ukiah. The directors struggle to keep exhibits presented and the doors open.

“Women’s Voices” is also streamed at www.kzyx.org .

MONTEREY – Entries are now being accepted for regional winners in the 18th annual National Senior Poets Laureate Poetry Competition for American poets age 50 and older in which the California Senior Poet Laureate is sought. Deadline is June 30.

Winning poems of state senior poets laureate will be named in July, following which they advance to final rounds of competition from which the winner of $500 and the 2010 National Senior Poet Laureate title will be announced around Sept. 1.

Dewell H. Byrd, retired school administrator from Eureka, won the 2009 California Senior Poet Laureate Award with his poem "Portrait Day."

Winner of the 2009 National Senior Poet Laureate Award was Patricia Frolander, 66, A rancher from Sundance, Wyo.

Co-sponsors Vera-Jane Goodin Schultz and Wanda Sue Parrott founded the contest administered by Amy Kitchener’s Angels Without Wings Fdn. In 1993.

The 2009 winners can be seen in Golden Words Anthology, along with rules for the 2010 Senior Poets Laureate Contest, at www.amykitchenerfdn.org .

Well, at least, that’s the case for NBC, whose sagging fortunes seem only to get worse with every passing day.

Only last summer, Jay Leno handed over the reins of “The Tonight Show” to Conan O’Brien, and the veteran late night host became NBC’s grand experiment to create “The Jay Leno Show” in a 10 p.m. time slot for five nights a week during the fall season.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you now know how well that strategy played out.

Speaking to a packed room of TV critics and other media types, Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, confirmed what everyone already knew, namely that Jay Leno’s 10 p.m. show would vanish from the airwaves the day before the start of the Vancouver Olympics.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Gaspin said of the failed Leno show experiment that “while it was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates’ needs and we realized we had to make a change.”

The translation of this network-speak is that NBC was actually making money on the reduced costs of producing a nightly talk show, but affiliate stations around the country were taking a financial beating as their 11 p.m. local news slots often slipped into last place.

The grand NBC plan was then to move Jay Leno back into the late-night lineup with his own show at 11:35 p.m., while “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” moves to 12:05 a.m. and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” starts at 1:05 a.m. No one knows what will happen to “Last Call with Carson Daly,” but my guess is that he will soon be relegated to Las Vegas lounge acts after 2 a.m.

But then, Gaspin acknowledged that the network doesn’t have a “done deal” on this arrangement, and within 48 hours Team Conan was putting out statements that the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting is going down in flames.

I rarely, if ever, quote the work of other critics, but Marc Berman of Mediaweek’s Programming Insider has some astute observations.

He calls NBC’s decision to have had Jay Leno with his own talk show at 10 p.m. “arguably the biggest fiasco in the history of television.” Then he goes on to point out that “what no one at NBC seems to realize is since Leno flopped at 10 p.m., a half-hour version is unlikely to fare any better at 11:35 p.m.”

To me, it seemed like NBC was making a Solomon-like decision to split the baby, and yet it may never find the appropriate business model.

Then came word that O'Brien is planning to leave the network, with NBC now looking to put Leno back behind “The Tonight Show” desk.

With the sudden need to program the 10 p.m. time period Monday through Friday, Gaspin can only guess that the network will come up with two more hours of scripted shows, possibly another reality hour, and then a combination of either an expanded “Dateline” or repeats somewhere else in the schedule.

Soon, it will be open season for producers from David E. Kelley to Jerry Bruckheimer pitching new programs. Actually, the talent search is already under way, as NBC announced a slew of projects getting the green light.

Master of the action-procedural drama, Jerry Bruckheimer delivers more of the same with “Chase,” a drama set in the American Southwest, where a crucial fugitive apprehension team comprised of U.S. Marshals tracks down the nation’s most notorious criminals. Tension builds as the cat-and-mouse game of the ultimate search escalates in each episode.

Meanwhile, David E. Kelley’s “Kindreds” follows a curmudgeonly ex-patent lawyer and his group of misfit associates as their lives come together to form an unconventional kind of law practice. Having already created “Boston Legal” and “L.A. Law,” Kelley obviously has a thing for legal dramas.

As if it doesn’t have enough drama of its own, NBC is looking ahead to a slew of even more dramatic series. Based on a BBC series, “Prime Suspect” centers on a courageous female detective who investigates complex mysteries in a politically explosive big city.

“Undercovers” features a husband and wife team coming out of retirement and being reactivated as CIA agents. A thriller with a unique storytelling device, “The Event” features multiple points of view concerning a decent, regular fellow battling against mysterious circumstances within a larger conspiracy.

NBC also wants to revive the 1970s private eye drama “The Rockford Files,” but I can’t see anyone other than James Garner as the right fit.

On a more immediate note, NBC has great plans to launch a Jerry Seinfeld production called “The Marriage Ref.” Unfortunately, the acclaimed comedian is working only behind the scenes to deliver what he calls “a comedy about situations in reality.”

For a show getting a sneak preview after the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, “The Marriage Ref” will put real-life married couples on the spot to have their disputes resolved by comedian Tom Papa serving in the titular role.

The concept of “The Marriage Ref” is to dwell on marital tiffs of a less serious nature, running the gamut of quirky, funny and relatable disagreements which seemingly pose no immediate threat to a bickering couple.

Like a sporting event, the couples set forth their case and will be given a call by the ref. Advising and influencing the ref’s decision will be a panel of so-called experts, comprised of top celebrities, comedians and sports stars who will weigh in and offer their own wit, wisdom and unique opinions. Among these “experts” will be Charles Barkley and Alec Baldwin, and so it is clear there will be nothing serious about this program.

NBC may have some luck with the fortuitous timing of the Winter Olympics. With Canada in the same time zones as the United States, prime time programming is not an issue, and NBC has the services of congenial Bob Costas as the prime time host, while Al Michaels performs similar duties in the daytime.

NBC will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Lake Placid games, when the U.S. Hockey team improbably beat the Russians and Al Michaels delivered the memorable line: “Do you believe in miracles?”

We know a network that is hoping for a miracle of its own.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.