DREAMCATCHER
Released: March 21, 2003
Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote and directed this adaptation of the Stephen King book, which clocked in at 880 pages long. To take ANYONE's book of that length and shorten it to just over two hours of a movie is up for a pretty big task. Does Kasdan, fresh from the decent efforts of "Mumford" and "French Kiss", succeed here? The first two thirds of the movie are absolutely perfect. The establishing of horror begins in a subtle manner and really took me in to the story. Four friends since childhood reunite for their annual camping trip in the wintery Massachusetts mountains, when they encounter a stranger with knowledge of an alternate and deadly world that they will soon see. The four friends are played by Thomas Jane (from "The Sweetest Thing"), Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant and Jason Lee. Since childhood they've all been gifted (and/or cursed) with a gift of being able to read the minds of each other and others. Is it due to their chance meeting with "Duddits" from their childhood? What is it about this Duddits guy anyways, and how does he fit into this puzzle? We certainly get a rollercoaster ride of thrills and chills in the first portion of the film. It's some of the best suspenseful cinema I've seen in a while, letting the tension build up over a long stretch. Without giving too much away, I can safely say that the movie takes a turn for the mediocre around the time Colonel Abraham Kurtz as played by Morgan Freeman appears on the screen. He's been an alien tracker for over two decades, apparently. Like "Signs", from 2002, sometimes the chills comes when we DON'T see the alien right away. "Dreamcatcher" gets this right at least but falters in the last hour by making the Freeman character hell-bent on control over his mission. Also, by hurrying the ending, many things are left unanswered or under-explained. The ending is a tad too flippant for my liking too. It's more of a John Carpenter style ending. By the way, this movie borrows from a lot of other (better) movies like Carpenter's "The Thing", "Alien"/"Aliens", "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", "Stand By Me", "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" and the aforementioned "Signs". Having said that, "Dreamcatcher" is beautifully photographed, features some amazing special alien effects and the usual great performances from all involved with the possible exception of Morgan "I'm collecting a paycheck for a reprise of my "Outbreak" role" Freeman.
136 Minutes
Warner Bros.