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Reviews
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
Ewan's Sour Smelling TrenchCoat
I caught the tail end of this film on TNN while flipping channels. So what I couldn't figure out is last the scene where Ashley shoots the Eye. And the Eye picks himself up and pursues Ashley with no hint of injury. Huh? What just happened? Rewind.... And who is that weepy matronly woman at the diner? There are many of these odd and independent instances that left me with plenty of dots to connect. I don't really have an opinion about this film. It's just the odd experience of diving right in the middle of a movie without the knowledge of its premise that's interesting. There was something evocative about Ewan's padded red jacket, later augmented by a sour-smelling trenchcoat. And the cold. Like I said, it was weird. It prompted to make myself a warm cup of Ovaltine and reach for that wooly blanket. Weirdness and strangeness aside, I can't say why this film is that atrocious if there are over 300 comments all with at least over 500 words of reaction.
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001)
Highly Creative and Entertaining Reinterpretation
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Brian Henson's remake of this fable is reminiscent of Michael Cohn's 1997 `Snow White: A Tale of Terror' (Starring Sigourney Weaver). I was thoroughly enter- tained by the original overlay of treachery, unrequited love, larceny and homicide. Or is gianticide a word? I also enjoyed the stellar cameos by Daryl Hannah (Thespee) and Richard Attenborough (Magog). Vanessa Redgrave does a great job of setting the tone at the throughout the movie with her grave, atmospheric narration. Mia Sara hasn't aged since `Legend'. The pantheon of Celtic and eastern deities /giants were quite a sight to behold; Gargan with his gaudy head piece, the Stag-headed Cernos and Thor's hefty hammer. This somewhat well-paced movie offers an intriguing challenge to the moral veracity of the standard fables. I said 'somewhat' because the conclusion sagged a little when Magog allowed Mondine to return to earth to live happily ever after with Jack. It seems the ending was conveniently rounded off to meet the status quo. I suppose Henson felt the permanent separation of the two may be a wee bit taxing on the audience. But generally, the movie was a good Sunday-evening fare. Perhaps Brian Henson (and the likes of Michael Cohn) will also care to exhume the other fables from the grimory. That would be highly entertaining.
If you had the ill fortune of missing part2, the DVD and VHS is available.