aquanaut

I heartily recommend E.L. Konigsberg's book. I also liked the 1973 movie version (also known as "The Hideaways") with Ingrid Bergman. The '73 actors looked and acted much more like the book's characters.

This version kept the interesting concept of kids hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum, but lost most of the wonder and sweetness that made the book the sort of children's classic that adults can enjoy. The characters became annoying, and a lot of interesting subplots were cast aside. Also, for some reason, Claudia wears glasses in this version, and bathes in them, keeps them on in bed, and generally acts like someone who's never truly worn glasses in her life. Just one more roadblock on the trip to suspension of disbelief.

This version completely lost the character of Saxonburg, Mrs. Frankweiler's accountant and the children's grandfather. Instead, they added a lot of cutesy dialog about "Poppa Kincaid" saying that Jamie is older sister Claudia's "good luck charm". It just doesn't capture the complex relationship between the children, and Mrs. Frankweiler becomes more a fairy godmother than an interesting 3-D character.

When I saw the promo for this video on my copy of "Cats", I was very excited. I love the soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar," and found Norman Jewison's 1973 movie version lacking. How wonderful it would be to have great visuals to go with the great songs!

Unfortunately, this 2000 production is just as flawed. It is, in its own way, every bit as dated, and Glenn Carter's portrayal of Christ is even less charismatic than Ted Neeley's.

Jerome Pradon, as Judas, has a marvelously expressive face and brings the role the depth it needs. Unfortuately, his singing voice just doesn't measure up to his acting talent, and that's a VERY big problem in an opera.

Except for Fred Johanson as Pilate, no-one's vocals come close to the original Broadway or London casts, and most even fall short of the cast of the movie version.

I am terribly disappointed. There is no need to modernize this musical. The first movie slipped back and forth between being about modern actors doing a Passion Play and actually being about Jesus' life. This version's conceit seems to be "What if Jesus came back today?", but the guns, graffiti, glitz and "Jesus Rules" flyers add nothing, and will soon seem at least as dated as the '70's stuff does now.

While the video version of "Cats" dressed up the just-OK music in the best version possible, this video takes a great play and makes it tawdry and boring.

I'll stick to listening to the soundtrack and visualizing a perfect version in my head!

I truly wanted to like this film. The script had a lot of good lines, and many flashes of insight about health gurus in general and Dr. Kellogg in particular. There were several outstanding performances, especially Anthony Hopkins, Camryn Manheim and John Cusack. Matthew Broderick was wasted. (I am reading the book now, and his character, Will Lightbody, is much weaker and more boring in the film.). Brigid Fonda, however, was way out of her league. Except for when her character is in the throes of orgasm, her performance is so amateurish and unbelievable that it is often painful to watch. John Neville (remember Baron Munchhausen?) is a delight, helping the movie with his dry British rendition of some of the best lines of the script.

The film is just over two hours long, but, despite the humor, excellent performances, gorgeous cinematography and witty editing, it seems longer. The storylines meander, yet they are predictable. The funny lines and the possibility that maybe the good would outweigh the bad kept me watching, but it wasn't quite worth the time.

I am reading T. Coraghessan Boyle's book, and his writing serves the story far better than the movie. I recommend the book far more than the movie.