tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post52736889157427211..comments2024-03-29T02:32:15.437-04:00Comments on Remarkable: Mitch on HookGeoff Klockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-78101233808116067482008-04-07T21:26:00.000-04:002008-04-07T21:26:00.000-04:00Hook is one of those great filmic mysteries in lif...Hook is one of those great filmic mysteries in life. It seemed to have all of the elements needed to make it great - but in the end it just didn't quite gel. I still enjoy watching parts of it from time to time.Streeboramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13246099190675220076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-56423393069033565052008-04-04T16:47:00.000-04:002008-04-04T16:47:00.000-04:00I read an interesting review of this once that sai...I read an interesting review of this once that said it was kind of a repudiation of the values Spielberg expressed in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In the former film, Richard Dreyfuss becomes consumed by the artistic impulse, going so far as to drive his family out of their house so he can build his crazy model of Devil's Tower, and eventually leaving them behind to follow his dreams. But Hook (which came after Spielberg had children and could no longer believe in the ideas that he has previously expressed) does the opposite, having its character reject the childlike and choose to take his family home and be responsible. Of course, there's a bit of the "growing up is bad, don't forget to maintain a sense of childlike wonder" message to the movie, but ultimately, he chooses to reject the "stay a child forever" identity and grow up and be responsible. It's an interesting way of looking at it, which is kind of what you're driven to do when the movie itself is so unfocused.<BR/><BR/>Actually, I liked it quite a bit as a kid, but it's one that I doubt I would be able to sit through as an adult. But as you mention, there are some interesting aspects to it. That's the thing with Spielberg; he's a great filmmaker, so even his lesser efforts have something of interest in them. And his good ones, when he's firing on all cylinders, can be just amazing experiences.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13867868039166531163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-71811775815957414952008-04-03T18:52:00.000-04:002008-04-03T18:52:00.000-04:00I like to imagine that in One Hour Photo Robin Wil...I like to imagine that in One Hour Photo Robin Williams is reprising his role of Peter Pan.sdelatovichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09222734151570512788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-14763380840015696342008-04-03T11:42:00.000-04:002008-04-03T11:42:00.000-04:00Neil, that's true, they are pretty similar. I thin...Neil, that's true, they are pretty similar. I think I found the "Hook" beginning more effective, even though overall I'd say "Labyrinth" is a far, far better movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-28119208680870019872008-04-03T00:39:00.000-04:002008-04-03T00:39:00.000-04:00I caught a few sequences of the movie when it was ...I caught a few sequences of the movie when it was on tv this weekend, and I couldn't help but feel that it was WORSE than I remembered it, and that it would have been infinitely better with a real leading man and not Robin Williams. Williams plays the role as a creepy old man who wants to act like a child. Imagine Pan as someone who had grown into a dignified adulthood, but who longed to capture the excitement of his youth and you'll see how the movie could have worked.<BR/><BR/>With Robin Williams it didn't really stand a chance.Timothy Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-272289410672318362008-04-02T22:34:00.000-04:002008-04-02T22:34:00.000-04:00jason: It's been a long time since I've seen it to...jason: It's been a long time since I've seen it too, but your description makes me think of the opening scene in 'Labyrinth' - we know that Jennifer Connelly's going to have to go there eventually, and so every shadow and creek seems all the more eerie.neilshyminskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14745442660488961314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-46367206906611361912008-04-02T15:54:00.000-04:002008-04-02T15:54:00.000-04:00I remember when I saw "Hook" in the movie theater ...I remember when I saw "Hook" in the movie theater that the opening scenes -- everything up to when Hook shows up to kidnap ... whoever gets kidnapped at the start -- were fantastic. Really moody, in the sense of everything being claustrophobically realistic and un-fantasy-like, with lots of tension and buildup leading up to what you knew was coming: a big leap into imaginative, Neverland-type stuff. There were also cute little puns and visual touches to set things up: someone uses the phrase "by hook or by crook" at one point, and there's a close-up on the latch of the window, and the latch is shaped exactly like Hook's hook. (And it's the window that will eventually be opened by him to get into the house.) That whole beginning has stayed with me all this time -- I don't think I've seen the movie since it first came out, at least not that early sequence. No idea whether I'd still find it as effective. (Oh! There was another element -- some guy chanting "Hook Hook Hook Hook Hook" ... I remember thinking that was kind of freaky and cool.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com