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An excellent film that is an amazingly complex psychological thriller. Directed by ex-Monty Python member, Terry Gilliam (Brazil), the film shows the world of 2035, destroyed by a killer virus that wiped out 5 billion people, leaving the earth's surface to be inhabited by the non-human animals. What's left of the human race has gone underground. The scientists of this time draft a convicted man (Bruce Willis) and send him back in time to 1996, in an attempt to trace the virus' path. 1996 is the year the plague was let loose on the world. They send Willis back all right. However, they miscalculated by a few years and Willis ends up in the year 1990 at a Baltimore mental institution. There he meets a deranged psychotic (Brad Pitt-hilariously overacting), who may or may not be the one who let loose the virus. The only person who is sympathetic to Willis' strange plight is a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe).Willis is sent back and forth between 2035 and 1996, gathering information that might help the human race get back on top again. But Willis is growing more and more disturbed by the time travel, not knowing what is real and what isn't. Terry Gilliam returns to films, after five years, in good form. Like Brazil, the outlook of the future looks bleak. The movie is full of clever plot twists, Gothic landscapes and truly bizarre characters. Willis gives his best performance I've ever seen. He is nothing like his sarcastic Die Hard character in this one. With this character, his emotions range from sensitive and cunning to brutal and dumb. Stowe is equally impressive. Most filmakers would feel that they should have made her character less important than the lead male characters. This is not so here. She gives a heart-rending performance as the only person in 1996 who believes Willis.
There have been mixed criticisms about Brad Pitt's acting in this one. I'll admit, he goes a little over the top with his psychotic villain, but so did Jack Nicholson in Batman and he came off alright. Pitt does just as good as Nicholson. Gilliam is a fine director, who could almost be in a class by himself. It's a little too early in the year to say that this is the best film of 1996, but it certainly should be placed in the top ten.
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Whenever I thought of going to see this, something always held me back. When I rented this just last week, I found out the reason why. This special-effect laden movie is based on the old comics and cartoons about the "friendliest ghost you know." What plot there is involves a ghost-psychiatrist (Bill Pullman) and his Daughter (Addams' Family's Christina Ricci), who have come to exorcise Casper and his uncles, the ghostly trio, from their house. Casper makes friends with Ricci, while the trio play practical jokes on Pullman.Well, the film is just perfect for kids under 10, but it doesn't have much to offer adults. There are some amazing effects and some humorous cameos by the likes of Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield and Mel Gibson, but that's as far as it goes for adult entertainment. Most of the jokes are stale and the cruelty of the ghostly trio gets to be a bit much after a time. So in short, enjoyable for kids, the pits for adults.
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Then again, Casper is practically Gandhi compared to this cliched one-joke film. The one-joke revolves around a popular kid (Elijah Wood) and his search for new parents, because he assumes his old parents never appreciated his talent and skills. He travels all over the world looking for the right couple, but there is always something he finds wrong about them.How director Rob Reiner got set up with this stinker is beyond anyone's knowledge. At least he's bounced back somewhat with The American President. Wood, who is usually a very charismatic actor, doesn't seem believable. He seems too adult at times and then seems too childish for his own age. Bruce Willis, as Wood's guardian angel, is the only spark of life in this so-called comedy. What angers me the most is that the film reinforces all the stupid stereotypes about certain places, like Texas, Hawaii and Alaska. Be afraid. Be VERY afraid!!!
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This movie is probably the greatest escape films of all time. Based on a true incident that happened during WWII in a German P.O.W. camp about prisoners who plan a massive escape. Thousands of German soldiers will be drawn away from the front lines to try and track them down. Among the prisoners are Americans, "Cooler King" Hilts (Steve McQueen) and "The Scrounger" Hendley (James Garner), who are in charge of gathering supplies, British "Big X" Bartlett (Richard Attenborough), the master planner and Polish-born Danny Velinski (Charles Bronson), the digger of the tunnel.There are many great scenes in this film, including McQueen's famous motorcycle jump. There are also plenty of tense moments involving the digging and hiding of the tunnel. Plus, an excellent group of actors were brought together to make a simply marvelous adventure-prison movie.
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