2003-03-22

Because part of the movie Dreamcatcher was filmed right here in my neck of the woods�and I mean woods literally�there was a special screening of it on March 19th at our local playhouse. This sneak preview came complete with Warner Brothers� blessing�how else do you think we got an early print?�and a lot of really great food. The reason I was even there was because the G-man and I are friends with the guy who graciously provided the projectors (he runs the college film society). Poor G had to go to night class, so he missed all the good grub and only got to see the last half hour of the movie.

Right, the movie! I almost forgot about it because I was thinking about the endless amounts of sushi I consumed during the gala event prior to the movie. The projectionist, P, his wife, J, and I all hung around in the corner with the sushi chef. P and J were polite enough to avert their eyes while I mainlined the wasabi.

OK, the movie. Well, it was really cool to see shots of my town. If you see this movie, notice all the snow and trees. (The cinematography is beautiful, but then it should be, because it was done by John Seale, the same guy who shot The English Patient.) Those scenes were all filmed in my town and surrounding area. Also, a bit of trivia: the one suburban house that features in the film belongs to the head of the English department at the college.

Leaving all local interest aside, however, I must admit that the movie was a pretty big mishmash of plot threads and ideas. Let�s not forget that the basis for the film was the massive Stephen King novel of the same name. It�s hard to get 600+ pages into anything under a six hour miniseries, so even though I haven�t read the book, I�m assuming that the movie must have left out hefty chunks of exposition. Also, it�s almost like there are two movies going on here: a buddy movie featuring Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant, and an Aliens-style movie starring Tom Sizemore and Morgan Freeman. Not to mention a surprise cameo by Donny Wahlberg. (Well, it was a surprise to me, anyway. Man, that guy is truly a chameleon. I had no idea who he was until I saw the end credits.)

At some points (its better moments), Dreamcatcher reminded me of the movie Signs, where you just never knew if something was going to jump out at you. I watched a lot of both movies through my fingers. However, although Dreamcatcher is really good at maintaining this suspense at the beginning, the pace lags quite a bit towards the end. The pace slows down to a crawl, and the audience is finally just left waiting out the last half-hour for the inevitable deus ex machina to come to the rescue. I think half an hour could easily have been cut off the movie to no ill effect�in fact, it probably would have improved things.

Perhaps this is only indicative of my own movie preferences, but I wanted to see more of the relationships between the boys as children and as adults. Jason Lee, in particular, showed a good sense of comedic timing in many of the scenes. I was pretty disappointed when the movie turned into a fairly standard let�s-blast-those-aliens flick. If there�s one thing Stephen King does well, it�s portraying the friendships between boys, including the grown-up kind. I�m thinking specifically of Stand By Me and Shawshank Redemption. In fact, some of the scenes in Dreamcatcher that flashed back to the men�s childhood reminded me of Stand By Me. And as for the Shawshank connection, we need look no further than Mr. Freeman himself.

Before I wrap up, I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a warning: many scenes in this movie are totally disgusting. I wouldn�t actually recommend it to anyone who doesn�t have a very strong stomach. Some of the scenes are so vile I�m amazed they were left in the final cut. Let's just say that watching The Big Chill didn't really give me a full appreciation of Lawrence Kasdan's talents for toilet humour.

I guess I don�t have too much to complain about with Dreamcatcher. I saw it for free, after all, on a full stomach, with enjoyable company and from a seat with a great view. In essence, it�s a cheesy, melodramatic monster flick that doesn�t realize it shouldn�t try so hard. The main things I walked away with were a true appreciation for Thomas Jane, whom I�d watch again in a movie anytime, and also a realization of how beautiful my surrounding environment is. It�s not every day I get to see my hometown from the air, and it was very impressive.

Nah, who am I kidding? For me, it was all about the sushi!

Posted by polarcanuck at 12:29 a.m.

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