Twillhead

It boggles the mind how a film can be nightmare-inducing in one moment and moronically silly in the next, but that is indeed what "Dreamcatcher" seems to achieve. Still, I admit that I genuinely liked the main characters (Andrew Robb as the young Duddits broke my heart) and I thought the acting was, for the most part, quite good (the exceptions: Thomas Jane, handsome and hunky notwithstanding, could stand to develop a personality, and Morgan Freeman, who usually lends a touch of class to whatever film he is in, is pretty disappointing -- Dude, what's up with them eyebrows?!). I always enjoy Jason Lee -- and he has one or two moments of real hilarity in this movie -- and Timothy Olyphant was sweetly endearing, but I was most impressed with Damian Lewis as Jonesy, who pulled off a pretty neat duality trick (I think the gimmick itself was cheesy, but Lewis managed to maintain his professionalism in the process). Not having read the book, I also enjoyed the idea of Jonesy's "Memory Warehouse" and the shots of him looking out of it at himself and onto some of the ensuing action. Positive comments aside, this film is an expensive mess, which is a bit shocking since one expects more from the likes of Lawrence Kasdan and William Goldman. Shame on you two for the ridiculous ending!

As an avowed pacifist, I normally shy away from war movies, and have to be coaxed into watching a good one by someone who knows my tastes in films (i.e. "The Thin Red Line," which blew me away). Finally breaking down under the pressure of friends, I rented "Band of Brothers," and surprised even myself by watching the entire series in one sitting. Riveting, eloquent, evocative, stark, gritty, and often times a testament to bloody hell, "Band of Brothers" is a magnificent retelling of the elite group of paratroopers comprising Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, United States Army, who began their incredible journey dropping from the sky in an unimaginable hail of parachutes into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. What follows is a breathtaking account of their numerous battles, victories and defeats, and of the crippling injuries endured and of the lives lost on the battlefield. Each segment opens with interviews by actual survivors of Easy Company, each recalling a moment or articulating a remembered feeling, their elderly eyes alight with a memory, or awash with tears. Superb acting by each and every member of the massive ensemble, including Scott Grimes as the likable and ever-cheerful Donald Malarkey, Donnie Wahlberg as the stalwart Lt. Lipton, Ron Livingston as Capt. Nixon, and Frank John Hughes as the wise-guy "Wild Bill" "Gonorrhea" Guarnere, to name only a few. At the helm of the troop is Maj. Richard Winters; in an extraordinary, understated performance by British actor Damian Lewis, Winters is a true leader – quietly courageous, imbued with inherent compassion and a heroic sense of humanity. There are so many stunning moments in the series that it is impossible to single one or two out. Suffice it to say that "Band of Brothers" is impressively mounted, to grossly understate the case, and is wonderfully tied together with a majestic, haunting, goosebump-inducing score composed by Michael Kamen. This series is nothing short of a masterpiece.