Four friends find themselves stuck in rural Maine during a snowstorm amidst an ominous presence - the familiar setting of a Stephen King novel. In this case it's "Dreamcatcher," adapted to the screen by William Goldman ("Hearts In Atlantis," another King adaptation) and directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
The story of "Dreamcatcher" transcends genres, including in its scope sci-fi, horror and suspense drama - and Goldman and Kasdan have attempted not to leave anything out of King's 600-page novel.
The story focuses on four lifelong friends who have the ability to read the minds of strangers and communicate with each other telepathically. The source of this power is Duddits (Donnie Wahlberg), a disabled man with whom all four were friends as young boys. Stuck in Maine on a hunting trip gone terribly awry, Beaver (Jason Lee), Jonesy (Damian Lewis), Henry (Thomas Jane) and Pete (Timothy Olyphant) fall victim to a bizarre alien invasion.
Similar to 1972's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the aliens have the ability to control a person's actions via an infectious spore, and they are seeking to contaminate the Boston water reservoir as a way of taking over humankind. The U.S. military, headed up by Col. Curtis (Morgan Freeman) and Capt. Owen Underhill (Tom Sizemore), shows up to maintain a quarantine on the area.
The supernatural elements of the friends' minds and alien aspects are extremely well done and give the film its overall entertainment value. The storyline, however, jumps around to the point where it loses some cohesiveness.
Several times in the movie, the audience is taken into a physical representation of one of the friend's minds. Gary "Jonesy" Jones, for example, walks around an incredible spiraling library, a symbolic map of his long-term memory.
Overall, the movie is typical of its quasi-blend of science fiction and horror. There are points that are overdone and border on comedy; this does not seem practical in a film that poses a possible end to human existence. Laughable moments in these types of movies seem almost inevitable.
"Dreamcatcher" isn't any more of an over the top, comical alien movie than recent movies like "Signs." The story and acting are, for the most part, strong. The movie is definitely recommended to fans of Stephen King or this genre of film.
"The Final Flight of the Osiris"
Opening all screenings of "Dreamcatcher" is "The Final Flight of the Osiris," a CG-animated trailer for the upcoming sequel to "The Matrix," "The Matrix Reloaded." The 10-minute feature is part of "The Animatrix," a series of CG and anime-style shorts licensed by "The Matrix" producer Joel Silver that provide background for the Wachowski brothers' hit film.
It is a story of the Osiris, a rebel ship that attempts to save Zion, the last city controlled by humans. Using the photo-realistic CG animation used in "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," it is hard to label the incredible imagery of "Osiris" as mere special effects or animation.
"The Matrix Reloaded" will premiere in theaters on May 15.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
