L'occhio del gatto

A movie divided into three parts, each separate story linked by the passage of a cat through it. The first two parts (Quitters' Incorporated and The Ledge) are well done adaptations of two short stories that are amongst Stephen King's best writing. Admittedly, they read better (you can find them both in the Night Shift collection) because a lot has to do with what the characters are thinking, which you can't really do on screen. However, they come about as close as possible here. The third part of the movie, I think is written specifically for the movie and wraps things up nicely. Well worth seeing.

A trilogy of entertaining black humor. The first story is the strongest with the best stars. Alan King is deliciously evil as the head of Quitters, Inc., an anti-smoking group that uses mob tactics to stop its members from smoking. James Woods is excellent as Alan King's newest client.

The middle story is somewhat weaker entry starring Kenneth McMillan as a mobster who makes a lethal bet with Robert Hays after Hays steals his wife from him. A good story but not as good as the first.

The last story is the weakest entry of the three. An evil troll is out to steal Drew Barrymore's breath in this silly story. Our title cat tries to prevent that. The special effects for the troll doll are pretty good and the ending is funny. All-in-all an entertaining entry in the Stephen King collection of movies. A C+/B-

Stephen King adapted two of his short stories and wrote the third into this screenplay of suspense. The first story concerns a man (James Woods) trying to quit smoking by signing up for a clinic. That clinic just happens to be run by the mafia and they literally mean quit smoking with a seriously tough employee (Alan King) behind it. Even if it means tampering with your family's lives. The second concerns an again tennis pro (Robert Hays) who takes on the game of his life after having an affair with a mobster who is a gambling addict. The third follows a cat trying to protect a little girl whose being terrorised by a little demon jester. The suspense is good. Alan King is very good as the seriously tough employee and Woods is always good.

The second is very good with a surprising twist at the end and the third is a take on of old fairy tales where good triumphs over evil.

Lewis Teague's "Cat's Eye" contains three wry,humorous and creepy stories linked to the cat which roams from one tale to the next.First up there is my personal favourite "Quitters Inc.",the story of family man Mr Morrison(James Woods)who goes to a very unconventional place to help people quit smoking and has his life turned into a living hell.Secondly,there is "The Ledge",the tale of a washed-up tennis player who is forced to walk around the ledge of a hotel by a rich mobster after the tennis player steals his wife.And finally there is "The General",which involves a cat saving a little girl(Drew Barrymore)from a tiny goblin that comes in the night to take children's souls.The three stories are linked together by a cat that traverses from New York to Atlantic City to North Carolina."Cat's Eye" is more comic than horrifying.Still I enjoyed it very immensely and you should too,if you are a fan of Stephen King and his works.8 out of 10.

"Cat's Eye" is a well-done anthology of three horror stories scripted by Stephen King, joined together by the presence of an adorable gray tabby. The first tale has James Woods enlisting in a mafia-run quit-smoking program (headed by a deliciously hammy Alan King); the second creates ample suspense as a washed-up tennis pro (Robert Hays) is made to climb alongside a downtown highrise at the whim of a demented gambler (Kenneth McMillan); and the third has our heroic tabby battling a troll that's stealing little Drew Barrymore's breath, in a segment that's actually quite amusing. As the PG-13 rating implies, the usual extremes of King's fiction are toned-down or removed (although there are a few vicious moments, including a briefly-seen severed head), but the film doesn't suffer from it, and actually gives the more lighthearted, humorous elements a chance to shine. Definitely worth a look.

6/10