Dreamcatcher is an adaptation of Stephen King's book of the same name. It's about four friends with psychic powers and aliens invading the planet through some very nasty and often amusing infections.

I'm not sure what to say about this movie. Did I enjoy it? Yes, but I don't know if it was a good movie or not. I was really looking forward to seeing it and wasn't really disappointed. It would have been better as a mini-series, but I think all King's books would be. His short stories make better movies than his books do, there's just too much to be lost when compressing him into a couple hours.

Of course the book was better, not just for the normal reasons but because I think if I hadn't read it first lots of it would have seemed odd or difficult to understand. The pacing and introductions were a lot better in the book, several plot points that are well developed in the book were explained in (awkward) conversations in the film. But that's often true of any movie based on a book, especially with something as long and rich as King's work.

I don't know whether I'll buy the DVD or not, which is how I judge a flick. Maybe in a couple months the mood will strike me to see it again, and I'll buy. Some movies grow on you, or in the case of the aliens in Dreamcatcher, they grow in you.

6 out of 10 crapweasels

(2003) Stephen King, Lawrence Kasdan, William Goldman

Morgan Freeman .... Col. Abraham Curtis
Thomas Jane .... Dr. Henry Devlin
Jason Lee .... Joe 'Beaver' Clarenden
Damian Lewis .... Gary 'Jonesy' Jones
Timothy Olyphant .... Pete Walker
Tom Sizemore .... Lt. Owen
Donnie Wahlberg .... Douglas 'Duddits' Cavell
Mikey Holekamp .... Young Henry
Reece Thompson .... Young Beaver
Giacomo Baessato .... Young Jonesy
Joel Palmer .... Young Pete
Andrew Robb .... Young Duddits
Eric Keenleyside .... Rick McCarthy
Rosemary Dunsmore .... Roberta Cavell
Michael O'Neill .... Gen. Matheson

I finally saw this movie last night. I had been avoiding it because I knew they had completely bastardized the ending. Yes I know it would've been six hours long if they had done it right. I thought it looked a little TV movie anyways, the CGI was too "shiney" as I like to think of it. I got a new acronym out of this movie, FFAA, as in fucking fake-ass aliens.

To be leinient I'll say I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of it. I liked the actors they got for the four guys. If I hadn't read the book I probably would've liked it a lot more, of course if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't have understood half of what was going on.

I didn't like Morgan Freeman for Col. Curtis. I love MF in everything he's done except this. He just wasn't crazy enough. In his other movies he is always the sane, rational one and I think that just carried over in my head. I wish I could rant and rave about what they did to the character of Duddits but I'd wind up giving too much away. Just know I was ranting and raving last night while my poor husband was trying to sleep and I'm normally more considerate than that.

6 out of 10 Ripley spores for the first 2/3
0 out of 10 retarded kids for the last 1/3