stetson9750

This is one of those bad movies which probably started out with a great concept. An idea similar to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", but not close to being as well done as the original version of that movie.

But, take a look at the names of the major cast members. This was designed to be a "B" movie... these are not actors who drew people to the movies in 1953. The writer But did they have to do it so cheesy? The costumes and look of the the alien drones and the master alien. Really? Did they simply not have any kind of budget for this, or did they not care. I find it hard to believe that anyone concerned intentionally created this look, thinking it was the right look. Norma Koch, listed as Costume Designer, has a record of being involved in this capacity with a few good movies after this one.

This is a movie you rent to watch and ask, "How did this get made?"

I can't believe how bad this movie was.

The special features dwelt on the fact that Halle watched uncountable hours of videos of cats moving and that there was a specialist who worked with her to teach her to walk and move like a cat. Give me a break. Put her in the costume and start her strutting like a hooker approaching her corner... that is not how cats I have watched move.

The computer generated content of this film was just not up to the standard of films like the Spiderman films. When Catwoman was on the move, her body actually started to stretch out of proportion. Someone is going to say that what cats look like when they start to move. I don't think so.

I think Halle is a very beautiful woman, but she is not like the Jennifer on Alias... she is not a natural athlete. Her athletic work was forced... she simply did not seem comfortable.

The costume, while well designed to show the physical assets of Halle, was simply unsuitable for someone like the Catwoman character, who gets involved in physical confrontations.

The good news is that Sharon Stone looks as good as ever.

This is quite an exciting big screen adventure film, and surprisingly, it has many of the same elements as its 1953 predecessor.

My recollection is that the aliens look much the same as the ones that were in the earlier film, and the exploration tube which they use to enter houses has a very similar lens design. But, this one, of course, has the Spielberg trademark regarding alien appearances. There has to be dark, stormy clouds. Their scout vehicles are different than the ones in the first film. In the first film they arrive on earth, if my memory is correct, in spaceships which create a crater from which the scout vehicles emerge. In this one, their method of arrival is quite different.

And Tom Cruise, whom I detested in the past before his last three films, continues to be a very good actor. He plays a father who is divorced, and does not know his two children very well, and seems to have not had an interest in the past in correcting that. As for Dakota Fanning... as always an incredible actress.

Although it takes a little while to get rolling, this Batman video is quite exciting, and in my view a cut above the Spiderman videos that have been out in the past few years.

Michael Caine makes a very interesting Alfred and Morgan Freeman introduces a character which provides the explanation as to how Batman was able to obtain all those gadgets and his costume.

The female lead is a little weak, but word is out that that actress will not return in the sequel.

This is the first movie in which I learned that there were indeed bats in the Batcave, and that Batman had a means of using them to assist him when they were needed.

A must to see on the big screen.

A good action adventure yarn which pays homage to many predecessors including "Sorcerer", "Romancing the Stone", and the Indiana Jones trilogy.

What is even better though are the special features on the CD which explain and show how such a low budget film ($4.7 million) was able to be created using a number of camera and cg tricks. The best... the bridge scene. While this video uses a number of partially computer generated scenes, these are very seamless to the viewer, who is left to enjoy a predictable, but exciting story. What I really enjoyed was what they used in many shots instead of a regular jeep.

Thank heavens that Sam Neill is back. Special effects are better than ever. Plot was even a little different as to the reasons for Sam Neill's character going to the island. I thought the story was inventive, and enjoyed the new dinosaurs introduced in this episode, but it does not follow smoothly from #2. Concerned to see so many people with 5 year olds and younger in theater... this is not a film for young children

You first have to understand that DeMille has taken considerable poetic licence, while using the story of the return of Louis Riel to Canada, and the subsequent Duck Lake massacre of a large unit of Mounties. Even the pronunciation by DeMille of the word "Metis" at the introduction to the movie is quite incorrect.

Fun to watch the fictional introduction of Gary Cooper as a Texas marshal travelling into Canada in pursuit of a Metis criminal.

Some good aspects of the film include the historical accuracy of the uniforms at that time... no wide brimmed hats... and the correctness of the name of the Mounties at that time. The only item of historical inaccuracy is the fur hats that DeMille has the Mounties wear. During the warmer weather they wore either a pill box hat or a white helmet. They did wear fur hats during the winter with their Buffalo hide coats, but DeMille did not like the design of any of the head wear that was part of the actual uniform, so he had this design made for the picture.

The two key bad guys are historical fact, although whether they acted as they are shown in the movie is another question. Whether there was a gatling gun at the Duck Lake massacre is another question the historians will have to answer.

Generally, a good romp... a great movie to sit back and watch with popcorn and a soft drink.