Art Imitates Life... "Twister"

Twister (1996)

Rated PG-13 for language and tornados

Starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Directed by Jan de Bont

The Story:

Dr. Jo Harding (Hunt) is obsessed with tornadoes.  Has been since she was little.  Her husband Bill (Paxton) comes to get her to sign the divorce papers so he can marry his new sweetheart (Gertz).  Ah, but when a series of intense storms kicks off in Oklahoma, Harding and her intrepid band of storm chasers are off to try and get their revolutionary storm sensors into the heart of a tornado.  Bill tags along, bride-to-be in tow. He's still got the storm chaser bug in him, and he may still have some feelings for his soon to-be ex as well.

Nearing 20 years, Twister holds up remarkably well.

I'd say it's been about 10-15 years since I last watched this film, so I was afraid it would be a creaky mess of bad special effects and terrible acting.

But no, it's a crisp, quick adrenaline rush; the types of movies that de Bont delivers time and time again.

He'll give you a pause just long enough for a laugh, or to catch your breath, and then the roller coaster ensues again.

To flesh out the story a bit more, the storm chasers are a bunch of well rounded background characters that inhabit the screen nicely and aren't just cardboard cutout yes-men.

Then you have the arch-nemesis chasers led by Elwes who of course are out to steal the thunder of our heroes.

While some of the action may be far-fetched with the stunts and gags, the movie delivers with about as true to life account of what it must be like to deal with a tornado.

Easily, the best tornado movie since The Wizard of Oz.

:)

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't know that I'll rush out and buy it (I used to have it on VHS) but I'll try and catch it again before another decade rolls by.

The Title is the Best Part of the Movie..."Dealin' With Idiots"

Quite possibly my least favorite baseball movie of all time...

The Story:

Max (Jeff Garlin) is a comedian and a father who watches in horror as his son's youth baseball team flounders on the field, and the parents drive him batty in the stands.  Then he realizes that he could do a documentary on youth baseball for his next movie, and it's sure to be a comic hit!

If only...

This is a comedy with a shotgun approach.

For every joke that hits, 7 sail by and are either mildly amusing or miss completely.

Which is sad, because there's a pretty talented cast hiding amongst the players including Jami Gertz, Gina Gershon, Nia Vardalos, Timothy Olyphant and Fred Willard.

Garlin pulls triple duty as star, writer and director.

I give him credit for putting together a movie that isn't a complete waste of time, and I wanted to like it.

However, it just sort of stutters and jerks along from quirky scene to quirky scene as Max attempts to find the source for his next big hit by interviewing each of these parents.

The finale to the baseball game itself is both amusing and heartbreaking at the same time.  Pee Wee baseball has some strange rules, and I wouldn't doubt that the one that is invoked is indeed a real rule.  However after the realization,  then the movie didn't seem to know how to end.  It just sort of rambles on and on,  so anything touching that that could be gathered from that moment is lost

Ultimately, disappointed in the movie.

Now available to stream instantly on Netflix if you'd like to try it.

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No thanks. ;)
in the foolishness of what happens next.