Sometimes the best way to build your DVD collection is to buy some of these 2-packs. What they seem to do is package a blockbuster together with another movie that maybe didn't do so hot on its own. That's what they did here, at least. they are banking on
Dreamcatcher to sell a little
Ghost Ship action. They're roughly the same genre, and the truth is that while
Ghost Ship may not be on the same level with
Dreamcatcher, it is still well worth watching.
Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name,
Dreamcatcher is about this group of guys who have been friends since gradeschool. There is something special about these guys though. They know things. I don't mean book knowledge. They also have a connection to each other. They can sense what the other is doing, where they are, one can even track things.. like lost keys.. or a fleeing Alien. heh.
While they were kids, they stumbled upon one Duddits, a seemingly retarded kid, being grossly bullied by some idjits. Big idjits. The young kids stand up to them anyway and save Duddits. Duddits is a very special little guy. He is the source of their abilities as adults.
The guys are grown and are up in their cabin where they go every year to just be guys and hunt and shoot the breeze and all, basically renew their male bond... this year is a bit different though. There's some alien action happening this time.
Jesus-Christ-bananas, some fuckarow this is turning into.
Now, much of the reason this has been boo'd is because of the gross factor. The aliens breed inside of humans, and when it's time to come on out, they chew their way out of the human.. analy. Yeah I said that. Some folks can't handle this humor. My friendand I laughed and of course started belching and whatnot. We're so bad.
The movie really does stay as close to the book as any movie can. There's some background on Dudditz that got left out though. I liked it about one star more than Nick, who has never read the book.. so I have to conclude that having read the book adds to enjoyment of the movie. You just have a little more of a clue on why things are the way they are.
The four main heroes here, the friends since childhood, are played by Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant. They all did fantastic jobs, but my favorite of the bunch was Jason Lee's character, Beaver. Well, but then I'm partial to Lee anyway. I love him from all of the Kevin Smith flicks he's been in like
Dogma and
Chasing Amy. He has an easiness about him that is just friendly. Hard to describe, but he's the most affable of the bunch... and the most fun. Although, like I said, they all did great jobs.
Motherfucker tried to bite my dick off, Jonesy... I always thought it'd be my ex-wife who would do that
Donnie Wahlberg played the adult Duddits and I didn't even recognize him. Standing O for Wahlburg. Seriously great portrayal here. Playing a handicapped guy, both mentally and physically has got to be difficult, to say the least. Wahlburg pulls it off without a hitch. This guy's come a long way since his days in
New Kids on the Block, that's for sure.
We also have none other than Morgan Freeman (
Kiss the Girls Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), as the rigid Col. Abraham Curtis, chief alien hunter. He takes no prisoners. I rather liked Freeman in this. He does a good job with subtle psychosis.
I'm filing that in the "Who Gives A Shit" section in the Memory Warehouse.
Lawrence Kasdan produced this, directed it, and wrote the screenplay. That's really enough to get me to watch. I've liked everything he's ever done a great deal. From
Body Heat to
The Big Chill clear up to this one. He has an eye for camera angles and good stories.
Rated R for violence, gore and language. Now, you know, this is a bit silly. Yeah there's language and violence.. but this is not gonna warp any kids. It's horror. If your kid is not prone to night terrors, let them have fun and watch it. A little language never turned a kid into a psycho. Ever.
bitch-in-a-buzzsaw! I've heard some mighty burps in my time, but that's the blue ribbon baby!
So, yep. 5 stars is it. Highly recommended. Like Stephen King says..
this will do for toilets what Psycho did for showers.
Ghost Ship has gotten panned rather thoroughly. I liked it a bit better than my illustrious cronies, but not much. It started off rather strong, but lost a bit in the pacing I think.
What you have here is a cruise ship full of folks having a grand time in the ballroom when a thin metal cord cuts loose and bisects the lot of them to dramatic effect. That's the opening scene. It got my attention right away. I loved how that scene was done. Every element of it sent shivers up my back. I figured the other reviewers must have been watching a different movie because this was setting up to be a real screamer.
Unfortunately, that was the best scene of the whole movie. They never did get back to that level of greatness. Flash forward many years and you have a scavanger boat out to score the big salvage. They bite off a bit more than they can chew when they board this baby. Ghostly happenings abound.
Like I said, it never even comes close again to that opening scene. It's not unwatchable, just terribly slow... so much so that I had to load it three times to finish it because I kept falling asleep. heh.
The cast is great. Julianna Margulies is the most competent of the crew, and does very well in the part... but then I liked her a great deal in TV's
E.R and in
The Mists of Avalon.
The reason I wanted this though was because Gabriel Byrne is in it as the captain of the scavanger boat. Byrne has long been an object of my lust, from
Excalibur to
The Man in the Iron Mask. turns out I like him best in the period pieces though. heh. Oh he does remarkably well in this, just not as cute with the short hair thang goin on.
This is Steve Beck's second outing as director, with
Thir13en Ghosts having been his first. Not too shabby, really, just that pacing thing. Really, I didn't mind the story at all, and some of the scares were genuine, they just came a bit too slow. I'm sure he intended to build tension that way.. but it kinda backfired on him. Still, I'm not writing him off at all. I'm interested in seeing what he comes out with next.
There are some good special features at any rate. The Making Of was quite interesting to watch. The cast almost convinces you that they think this is an award-winning movie. heh. There's a Visual FX featurette, and a Closer Look at The Gore.. along with a dealie on The Antonia Graza (The ship).
Ghost Ship is Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and sexuality. 14 and up say I.
I'll go 3 stars with this one and do recommend it a bit, but not as much as
Dreamcatcher.
So. We have one 5 star movie and one 3 star movie in this particular 2-pack, for an easy average of 4 stars worth of entertainment for roughly 15 bucks. Hey. Why not? Cheap and entertaining. If ya like Sci-Fi/Horror/kinda Comedic... then you will probably like this set.
France
Germany
United Kingdom
Australia
USA
