RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN

[indianasmith]

My future wife and I see ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN at the  movies back in 1975 when we were about 11 years old, and we both loved it.  So, when we saw that there was a remake coming out, we thought it would be fun to go check it out during our off week for Spring Break.

  I was prepared to be disappointed - many remakes, especially Disney remakes, simply do not live up to the original.  However, both of us thoroughly enjoyed this one.  I think a big part of our enjoyment came from the fact that the writers did NOT try to make the 1975 classic all over again.  Instead, they took the  basic premise - two aliens who look like rather attractive WASP teenagers enlist the help of a down and out loser to escape from earth - and made a completely new and modern film with it.

The casting was great, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson actually showed some decent acting ability, the special effects were well done, and the plot held together nicely.  There were a couple of actors in the movie who appeared in the original film, and Ciaron Hinds (Julius Caesar from HBO'S ROME series) was perfect as the snarling head of a government UFO investigation unit.

   Seriously, BMDO brothers, give this one a chance.  It is a nice, entertaining popcorn flick you can take your kids to and have a good old time.

   And yes, there is a Winnebago, but no, it doesn't fly this time.

[HappyGilmore]

I wanna see this, mainly cause I'm a fan of The Rock.  (I don't call him Dwayne.  It's The Rock.)

Anyway, it seems I'm always in the minority when it comes to thinking he's not that bad an actor.  I'm not sayng he's a Brando or anything, but shows some better range than say, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, or a handful of other actors I've seen.  He was good in a few flicks.

I've never seen the original Witch Mountain though.

[D-Man]

I don't understand why they won't dust off The Black Hole, a Disney film that actually needs to be remade, and instead decide to dust off forgettable fare like this movie and Herbie. 

What's next?  Tim Allen in Condorman?

[indianasmith]

I don't understand why they won't dust off The Black Hole, a Disney film that actually needs to be remade, and instead decide to dust off forgettable fare like this movie and Herbie. 

What's next?  Tim Allen in Condorman?

Because for us children of the 70's, ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN wasn't very forgettable . . . it was awesome!

[Jim H]

I wanna see this, mainly cause I'm a fan of The Rock.  (I don't call him Dwayne.  It's The Rock.)

Anyway, it seems I'm always in the minority when it comes to thinking he's not that bad an actor.  I'm not sayng he's a Brando or anything, but shows some better range than say, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, or a handful of other actors I've seen.  He was good in a few flicks.

I've never seen the original Witch Mountain though.

I think he has real screen presence and charisma.  That's why he was a popular pro wrestler.  I think he would have been up there with Stallone/Van Damme/Schwarzenegger if he'd been born twenty years earlier.

[BoyScoutKevin]

I finally saw it last Saturday.

It's a film that appeals not only to kids and families w/ kids, but also . . .

When they surveyed audiences watching the film, they found that 18% of the audience in the film was adults w/o kids.

For me, the appeal is the little things in the film.

While this probably passes over the heads of the kids in the audience, and probably most adults, note the political commentary in the film. Hinds character: "I have the right . . ." as a government official to pratically do whatever I want.

And while off topic, if anybody remembers Solondz's "Happiness," he is making a sequel called "Forgiveness," and Hinds plays the father in the film. The part originally played by Dylan Baker.

Even on alien planets, the military is regarded as the bad guys.

Note that her laptop was an Apple. Steve Jobs, anyone?

The other product placements. Planet Hollywood. And while you couldn't see the labels on the bottles on the table in the cafe, those were Tabasco bottles.

I enjoyed the look at the UFO convention and the people who attend 'em. "I was in the middle of a crop circle, when the mother ship landed, and I was taken on board and married to a female alien." Affectionate or not? I can't tell.

I think everyone noted Kim Richards as the waitress and Iake Eisenmann as the sheriff in the film. They made a number of films together, usually playing brother and sister.

Of the two, he was the more introvered. Usually being found back in his trailer between takes, while she could usually be found playing cards with the crewmembers.

And note the spelling of his first name. Apparently, that was deliberate on his part, to separate Ike the film actor from Iake the film director and producer.

I noted them, but one I missed. If anybody remembers Meredith Salenger in her film debut "Natty Gann," she plays a female reporter named Natalie Gann in this film.

And note the character wearing the "Tron" costume in the film. He can be glimpsed in the convention, just before everyone goes in to see the show.

And I knew Harlan looked familiar, but I couldn't think who it was. That was director Garry Marshall.