jhenderson3

Early on it was apparent there was next to no cinematic style in this version of the legend Frank and Jesse James. Production values made this feel more like a made for TV movie. Lighting was of an amateurish quality with no sense of style. Interior lighting technique was to turn on every Mole-Richardson they had and blanket the scene with light. Editing was also amateurish. Several gun fight scenes ended with someone getting a bullet in the forehead and that last shot in the head hung on the screen far too long. An impressive cast, or should I say, miscast into roles they were not suited for. Pretty boy Rob Lowe as Jesse James was a real goof. Bill Paxton was a fine actor in the right role. Here he is another miscast. Historical inaccuracies abound.

Don't bother.

I'll make this short and not so sweet.

If Robert Wise is staking his directorial chops on this kind of work, he'd be drummed out of the directors' guild.

The film smacks of a made-for TV-vibe. Ham-handed acting. I was expecting a lot more than this. Hopkins surely is embarrassed by this one.

Don't bother. This one is a bomb.

I saved this on my DISH DVR from a showing on one of the free weekends of Showtime sometime within the last couple of years. Since my viewing plans are to cut the cable within the next month, I'm spending most of my free time watching what's been stored on the DVR, Eyes of an Angel being one of the titles.

Movie has a slightly disjointed feel as it jumps back and forth between the Travolta character's trials and tribulations and the dog's journey to rejoin the only family he's ever known. If you're a dog lover as am I, some of the scenes are a bit difficult to watch especially those taking place in the dog fighting arena, but minute for minute, the dog's travails are more interesting than are those of Bobby, the hard luck gambler, played by Travolta.

Casting is questionable, specifically that of Jeffrey DeMunn as Bobby's successful brother. DeMunn is a very capable actor, but no one would ever guess he'd be related to Travolta's Bobby.

In a nutshell, a tired story of a low expectations in life aimless loser and his young daughter. Throw in the dog elements and you get a 3/10 star movie. Not sorry I spent the 90 minutes it took to view, but if the producers were trying to humanize the story into a sentimental canine ride, that's the kind of thing Disney used to excel at with deers and dogs. Not so much with this crew.

I happen to catch this little programmer on TCM the other day and set in to my DVR for later viewing. Finally was able to view the film, short as it is, and certainly derivative of any Universal semi-classic. There's the fog shrouded locations to be sure and the headless ghost in place of the vampire or werewolf that graced every picture with a cast well worth repeating. Also fairly obvious is the hero's name- a Dr. Holmes which is something of an amalgam of Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone's best characters. A number of Sherlock's adventures in those years were the requisite war propaganda and this one follows form quite nicely. What you get for viewing is predictable but steady. Not a lot of filler in this little gem as it runs under an hour, but it likely is an hour worth anyone's time. Also present is the Warner Brothers' hand gun fired sound effect. Every film fan should be able to recognize that for what has identified every Warners effort from before that time to the classic westerns of the 50s. Hearing that alone is worth the price of admission.