The Ticket

However the voltage of the generator was NOT one of them Tarkaan. I don't think I've ever seen a portable electric generator that DIDN'T put out 220 volts. The two I have put out both 110 and 220V through three plug-ins.

The flying sequences weren't bad. Unlike most movies, the plane didn't immediately crash as soon as it ran out of fuel. The post 1967 Cessna 210, which had been retro-fitted with a three blade prop, was quite believable in the way that it DIDN'T break completely up on impact. Usually plane crashes in movies are immediate and devastating to the aircraft as well as all the occupants. They almost ALWAYS catch fire, but the writers stopped themselves short of that. Of course they mentioned that the plane was out of gas, so it couldn't go up in a ball of flame. (Unlike the snowmobile near the end of the movie.)

It is unlikely that anyone with any common sense would build a fire in the middle of a wood floor. At least one of the buildings in the weather station at Fire Creek should have had a fireplace or stove. There were enough furnishings and clothes left behind that it is unlikely that a stove would have been removed. Then we have the problem of the lottery ticket itself. All the winner would have to do would be to fill in the winner's information, including signature, in ink, and the ticket would no longer be a "bearer" instrument that would be useful to thieves. We also see a strange near-drowning when the son plops himself face forward into the creek while trying to get water and doesn't struggle a bit. Of course, all of this is forgotten when the viewer is exposed to the shrill and wooden acting of Heidi Swedberg, the actress portraying the lead villain. Her acting was so bad that I even forgot that she is a beautiful woman.

To call this film 'formula' is truly understating the case. To put it in the Action/Adventure category is almost a joke. Why do 8-figure lottery winners venture out in a Cessna to claim their prize? For a million, you could build a team of gold robots to build you an airport, then charter a jet to come in and fly you out. Shannen Doherty gives yet another unmemorable performance, James Marshall looks bored most of the time. Our supervillains with high-powered rifles and snowmobiles are reminiscent or Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater in Ruthless People. Or am I thinking of Romancing the Stone? These are parodies, caricatures from movies of the past. The moral? When running for your life, *always* go back for your gear. If that means diving through a window while on fire, or getting shot at while pulling a massive, heavy sled, so be it. You must never forget - you must *always* go back for your gear. And we're in North America, right?

Why does the generator put out "...about 220..." volts to run household lights? Don't quit your day jobs, guys.

Keith is a pilot who has seen his work dry up, adding money worries to his already crumbling marriage. With no hope of things changing, his wife CeeCee decides to take their son and leave Keith behind. On the very night she kicks him out though, his lottery numbers come up and the couple win $23million dollars. CeeCee isn't convinced that the money will make any difference in their relationship but agrees to fly to Denver to claim the prize. However their plane is sabotaged by Keith's employers and they crash in the middle of the woods; survival in the cold is their first concern but very quickly it is evident that the saboteurs are coming after them for that winning ticket.

Despite the film having interesting elements, nothing really comes of them and the end result is a film that doesn't really do anything that well. The narrative starts with unlikely jumps that don't convince and it pretty much continues from there when it becomes a chase in the wilderness movie. Sadly, "chase" is not the right word because it implies action and pace, things that the film has neither of. The action is very slow and didn't engage me at all; for the majority of the film the Reicker family are walking away while their pursers squabble and slowly follow them – the plight of neither is tense and the brief moments of action only manage to feel cheap and obvious. The plot had the potential to draw drama from the relationship between Keith and CeeCee but this starts badly and is never used well once – the fact that it ends just the way you expect it to just makes it worse.

The cast are not much better although there are no bad performances per se – just average ones. Doherty is just giving the usual nondescript performance that she churns out in so many TV movies and didn't convince me as a broken wife, reinvigorated lover, action heroine or mother. Marshall is average and is far too bland to lead a movie like this, especially when the material is as weak as this. Van Dyke isn't really annoying which, for a child actor in this sort of thing, is about as close to praise as I can get. Swedberg is best known for Sienfeld and long may it stay that way; she grows increasing manic throughout the film and lacks any form of subtly. Tench is OK but maybe that is only because he is alongside her in most of his scenes.

Overall this is not a terrible movie but it is poor and so unremarkably bland that I doubt it will garner many new viewers (or screenings) a few years from now. The action lacks any sort of tension or pace and feels cheaply done; the cast are average at best and the script fails to develop the action or the character relationships. Pointless, plodding and pretty p*ss poor.

Starring: Shannen Doherty

I watched this movie because Grandma loves to watch anything with Shannen in it. We laughed all the way through because the plot was so predictable and evil Rita screaming at her husband (or partner) was definitely one of the more memorable scenes, in typical Western (woman) style she insists on dominating him throughout the movie and humiliates and badgers him into agreeing to help her kill for the lottery ticket. Yes, Rita's has her weak lover wrapped around her greedy little finger.

Seen better movies but this movie did entertain us on an otherwise quiet evening. Grandma nearly choked when she heard Rita screech at Hank - or whatever the poor chaps name is.

Shannen Doherty was fun to watch and looked so unreal as the mother of this near-teenager. However, her acting skills made up for the obviously ill-considered age gap. Shannen is a true actor and this movie as are her others - really show how talented this lady is. Having said that, if it wasn't for Shannen holding the plot together I may have fallen asleep. Apart from Doherty's pukka acting skills, I 'd give the movie a feeble 5 out of 10.