Scanialara
You won't be disappointed!
Breakinger
A Brilliant Conflict
Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Rabh17
I vaguely remember the 1980's version when it was on TV-- (My reception in my part of town sucked-- real bad) And the ONE good TV with DishTV feed was occupied by my Mother watching. . .whatever it was she was watching. And on regular Poor People TV (Read: Free TV) Either A Star Trek Show or maybe Babylon 5 was on-- so it was No Contest.I confess-- I never read the story. Mind you-- I like Leguin ...My favorite book is "The Telling".Having said that, a friend got me the DVD for my Birthday in 2007-- and after many false starts I decided to watch it. It's different. No Guns. No Booms. No Explosions. No splattered Ichor. No Aliens with acid blood. No HyperTech Space Marines in Orbital Dropships. No Hyper-intelligent robots. No Nanites. It's not a fast story. But then that's an American expectation which has been trained by Hollywood to expect that Sci-Fi equals Lots of Guns and NonStop violent Action and Epilepsy inducing FX usually involving the "End Of The World". . .if not the "Universe". To the people who royally panned this version-- I would counter by saying that it's a Leguin Story. To everyone else-- If you've got nothing else to watch-- give it a chance. I call it mild entertainment. It won't keep you on the edge of your seat-- but you can pause it and rummage through the fridge-- without worries about breaking the mood. And I dare say: If you're a guy, your girlfriend will like it. She can yitter-yatter through the entire thing without annoying you. And the odds are that she'll like it-- for reasons that will vaguely only make sense to female logic. But still. . . Which means she will like YOU better, for reasons you would say have nothing to do with this movie other than Haas and Bonet talking to each other in Bed. Again-- Female logic. Don't try and decipher it. Just trust me on this one.First CON-- The costume designers should be shot. People in the future will NOT dress like that. Second CON-- Why do the main characters all MURMUR?Most Dangerous CON-- This movie is turning into a story about a RELATIONSHIP. By the end of the movie, your girlfriend may have a thoughtful look. And for a guy-- this usually means 'trouble'. So be warned.
flonesaw
Having read LeGuinn's book and seen PBS's excellent rendering of her story this new version is a crashing disappointment. The first problem is that there is so little left of the story that much of its impact is missing. In spite of being light on effects and budget the earlier PBS production makes much better use of its resources to communicate LeGuinn's apocalyptic drama to the viewer.What happened to the space aliens? They seem to be replaced by David Straithorn's character who occasionally pops into scenes with sage verbiage. Unfortunately, so much has been stripped that there is no tissue left to connect him to what little plot remains after the producers and directors finished their hatchet job on content and context. Who knows why they did that?What's left is a nothingness rivaled only by Jor-Jor's apocalyptic reality. In order to understand what's going on here, one might want to read the book, or view PBS's 1980's telling of the story. Please don't waste your time with this turkey, especially since the PBS version is available on DVD.
robreal
This is a great movie!! Pay no attention to those expecting it to be true word for word to the original. Who cares about "compared to the book" or "compared to the original". Everyone needs to just judge the movie for what it is. This is a great movie. Obviously from the above paragraph I have never seen the original or read the book. Therefore my opinion is completely objective and unbiased, rather than being biased by something I watched 25 freaking years ago.To me this movie is similar to the Butterfly Effect. In the Butterfly Effect, his flashbacks change reality (or arguably jump him through alternate realities). In Lathe of Heaven, his dreams do that very same thing. Although it is not exactly the same, as he cannot willingly dream whatever he wants.Perhaps the best part of the movie is the end. It's pretty much open to interpretation. One could argue that the entire thing was a simple dream of Lukas Haas, OR a dream of James Caan. I can't figure out what I think of the end. Perhaps it was all dreamed, perhaps not. In the end . . . no one seems to remember anyone! Lisa Bonet and Lukas Haas don't remember each other, Manny doesn't say or do anything to indicate he remembers Lukas Haas, and of course James Kaan is completely brain-fried. In fact, the only person who seems to have a clue what's going on is James Kaan's secretary . . who is now some sort of doctor herself. So maybe, just maybe, she made the suggestions to James Kaan at the end when he was in the dream machine, which triggered the final outcome of the movie! She had him dream that he was brain-fried, she was a doctor, and Lukas Haas wouldn't remember any of it . . . that way she had the upper hand. Like I said, it's open to interpretation, there are a number of different conclusions that could be drawn."In the original . . . blah blah blah" and "In the book . . . blah blah blah". Who cares? The movie is what it is, enjoy it for what it IS, not compared to where it came from. It's a remake, it doesn't have to be true to the original.
a_gf
Taking into account the original, this remake is waste of time for the viewer, I brief it as chopped scripted, awfully directed and wrongfully acted disposal of tape, I don't call these "things" movies.James Caan cripples the doctor's character, maybe the main actor deserves some credit, but only maybe. The only difference in which this remake may look better than the original is on the photography.The story is broken and hard to follow, the main parts of the original are lost, giving way to time wasting scenes of nice settings. What a shame. I strongly suggest to find the original and leave this remake forgotten for years to come. Not even Ed Wood would make this remake worse.