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All rights reserved.Hook (2000, DVD)
The Hoooook brings you back! (Write-off for Emily)Review created: 10/15/01
by: flamepillar -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
Nice musical score, Robin Williams depicts a great transformation, and Dustin Hoffman is hilarious.
Nice musical score, Robin Williams depicts a great transformation, and Dustin Hoffman is hilarious.
Cons:
Tinker Bell grew up too! Peter Pan kisses two other women besides his wife.
Tinker Bell grew up too! Peter Pan kisses two other women besides his wife.
Welcome to the latest contribution to the Disney ~*~ When You Wish Upon A Star Write-Off!
Emily Rose, the young daughter (15 months old) of fellow Epinion member, ImAmes, is battling Retniblastoma (a form of cancer, which is found in the eye). If you haven't met Amy, she's one of the sweetest people you'll ever know.
Special thanks to hosts: Lisa_J and Opalman.
Also, special thanks to shurie for the Write-Off link host.
For rapid access to all entrants please visit:
http://www.isparkl.com/epinion
Thank you!
==============================
There is only one rule that you have to abide while visiting at Wendy's house.
"No growing up!"
While some may consider "Hook" to be another version of the ubiquitous Peter Pan fables, it looks to me like more of a sequel. Peter Pan has, in fact, grown up here, gone off to college, and gotten a job. Somewhere off on the side, he has gotten married and had children of his own, but "Hook" is quick to introduce that Peter Pan (who, in the "real world" calls himself Peter Panning, played by Robin Williams) has truly lost every trace of innocence, and shows not even a sliver of reluctance to take a call when his cell phone goes off.
Driving while talking on a cell phone is one thing. But even bringing a cell phone to your daughter's school play is preposterous. As you see, though, this is the life that Peter Panning has chosen for himself. He has truly, in every sense of the expression, grown up.
Peter's son, Jack, has his big baseball game the following day. Last inning, and where is Peter? Still at the office, telling one of his associates to "Go to the game, film what I miss." Not even a hint of remorse! He sounds downright cheerful about it! So it's also apparent that Peter's family relations are strained because of his "work-a-holic-ness".
Time for a vacation!
You said it, pal. After this introduction, Peter and his family hightail it out of town to visit with a very special family member. That is, none other than Wendy.
"Is she the real Wendy?" asks Peter's daughter Maggie. Of course, her mother says "Yes" and her father says "No". The audience pretty much knows who's right.
Well, no sooner does night fall than does the weird stuff start happening. The window lock, oddly shaped like a hook, undoes itself, the windows fly open, flashes of blue, and BAM! Just like that, the kids are gone. All that's left behind is an old parchment, nailed to the wall by a large dagger, that reads...
"Your presence is required at the request of your children. Sincerely, James Hook"
So what now? Yeah, the police can do a whole lot of good with that. It's only now that Wendy has to tell Peter the truth about his past. The past that he wiped completely out of his memory through the time of his hasty growing up.
Thus the true adventure begins, for Peter to find out the truth about himself, what happened to his kids, and to defend his honor against the great Captain Hook. Not too complicated, right?
The Cast
Robin Williams has often been accused of "playing the same character in every movie he does". While I can see what they're getting at there, "Hook" definitely does not fall into that set of movies. At one point, while trying to carry a conversation via cellphone with his noisy children playing around nearby, Peter suddenly bursts out, "For God's sakes, would everybody just SHUT UP!" Definitely not a typical Robin Williams role there! But he does a marvelous job of it, and even moreso as he begins the transition from Peter Panning to Peter Pan, the latter role obviously giving him more leeway to perform in his "signature" fashion.
Julia Roberts takes the honors of playing the spunky Tinker Bell here, but in all honesty I think they would have done better to use someone younger. Julia Roberts is a terrific actress and I've enjoyed her in almost everything she has done. "Hook" is no exception, but at the same time, she just really seems to "clash" with a role so cheesy. When I think of Julia Roberts, I think of the quiet girl who escaped her brutally abusive husband, the FBI detective Alice from Conspiracy Theory, or the not-to-be-outdone Erin Brokovich. But Tinker Bell? She does a good job, but I still think they should've used someone younger.
Dustin Hoffman really steals the show as Captain Hook. This guy is drop dead hilarious! I mean, I guess it's always easier for a bad guy to be funny, simply because you don't mind laughing at the bad guy as much. Hoffman dons the long black curly hair and just goes to town. His interactions with his fellow pirates are out of this world funny. Captain Hook reveals a surprising aspect of his psyche that many of us probably never imagined existed before. Here's a hint: "Don't try to stop me, Smee, don't you dare try to stop me."
Charlie Korsmo and Angie Scott play the parts of Jack and Maggie (respectively), Peter's two kids and I tell ya, those are two gorgeous children. It always surprises me when children, especially under 12 or 13, do a good job on acting, because it's hard enough to get most of them to even sit still, let alone to play a part! To actually play a character and feel that character's emotion is not as easy as it sounds. And in a child's case, how can you know how to "fake" it when you haven't even learned to "real" it yet? Or maybe that's the whole idea.
So is the movie for kids, or adults?
Tough to say, really. It's got the elements of a great kid's movie, but the question is, will your kids stay interested long enough to get to the "good" stuff? There is at least 20 minutes of introduction, establishing things like Peter's distance from his family and his disassociation with his past. Kids think of Peter Pan as the guy who can fly, but Peter Panning doesn't learn to fly until the last half hour. When Captain Hook tells Peter to draw his weapon shortly after kidnapping his kids, Peter draws his checkbook and asks "How much?" I don't see a kid finding that kind of thing as funny as an adult would.
However, there are things such as the food fight, Tinker Bell kicking the pirates' butts, the flying itself, and a lot of the shots of the well choreographed final fight scene that I could see them enjoying. But many of the things to be enjoyed (and especially learned) here are for the adults.
"Hook", aside from being the title of a hilarious Blues Traveler song, is a nice charming little movie with just the right mixture of humor and action. It is spellbinding, but touching.
I can already tell you since I rushed this review a bit that it's nowhere near as great as some of my others. But it by no means indicates any less love for my dear friend Amy and her precious little daughter, Emily.
After losing Mark to cancer, this has to be a really tough time for her, wondering will the same thing happen? Well all I can say is, cancer may have won the battle, but it's going to lose the WAR.
My prayers are with you and your family, Amy. I love you more than I know how to say.
When you wish upon a star Epinion members on
Emily's Allstar Line-Up as of 10/15/01:
Aawehr, adjensen, AEOakley, Ahlstromomy, AinsleyJo, aiosa914, AliventiAsylum, Amyklees, AmyLEnsor, a_r_egerton, ariel10575, AshleyA, bceaglesfan, BearySweet, beecharmer, bops_mom, Candice923, CANS4US, Charlenep, char.mike, cindymairi, CjsMommy, copernicus, crazyglue, cripper, Cusnwalter , DearLadyB, Debbietipton, Donnamr, drlolipop, Dtolick, Ed.Williamson, Ellie41799, Euphscott, Eskimo101, fallyn96, flamepillar, Fostrmom2mny, Gaelkm, Gerper, Gollygumdrops, Granniemose, hjs33, imames, Jag2112, jaydee1993, Jbduckling, jdhauer, Jennifer_Gibbons, Jeremy1456, jo.com, jro26, Jubrismom , Julie42, kalt, kamel622, karmiausnic, kidhendrix, kiljoi, KimzStuffz, Klueger, KMINER, krashlite2, lauren_m, LEDOMAINE, lorace, Lisa_J~*~Hostess, lisaw1215, lizf, Maddi, mariahan, marsha32, MaryTara, Melissasrn, mike.holmes, Minamarie, Missy32, MizSass, mkp51, mom2daniel, Mom2TyZick, mrsditmer, mzemel, Nanct, Neenkena, NEGUSR, Nifer, Nwinston, Opalman~*~Host, opinionated3, pedantic, Phineaskc, prairiegirl16, rngpie, remnjava, ringorules, roxymarie, ryangamble, sbennick, sblaydes, serc, Shanny21, Shelxland, Shurie~*~Epinions Tool Specialist / Web Page Host, SMITHSWOODSIDE, sumo_rhino, Sunkah, Suzer, SweetCeCe, THOM413, three_ster, tiasmom, tomgray, vania, VBFC, viper1963, wifemommyteach , wifeofvolsfan, Writerip,
2buzy, 29th_Candidate, 77chelle
Whew, she's lucky to have so many of us! But just the same, we are equally lucky to know her :)
Once again a special thanks to hosts: Lisa_J and Opalman.
Also, special thanks to shurie for the Write-Off link host.
For rapid access to all entrants please visit:
http://www.isparkl.com/epinion
Emily Rose, the young daughter (15 months old) of fellow Epinion member, ImAmes, is battling Retniblastoma (a form of cancer, which is found in the eye). If you haven't met Amy, she's one of the sweetest people you'll ever know.
Special thanks to hosts: Lisa_J and Opalman.
Also, special thanks to shurie for the Write-Off link host.
For rapid access to all entrants please visit:
http://www.isparkl.com/epinion
Thank you!
==============================
There is only one rule that you have to abide while visiting at Wendy's house.
"No growing up!"
While some may consider "Hook" to be another version of the ubiquitous Peter Pan fables, it looks to me like more of a sequel. Peter Pan has, in fact, grown up here, gone off to college, and gotten a job. Somewhere off on the side, he has gotten married and had children of his own, but "Hook" is quick to introduce that Peter Pan (who, in the "real world" calls himself Peter Panning, played by Robin Williams) has truly lost every trace of innocence, and shows not even a sliver of reluctance to take a call when his cell phone goes off.
Driving while talking on a cell phone is one thing. But even bringing a cell phone to your daughter's school play is preposterous. As you see, though, this is the life that Peter Panning has chosen for himself. He has truly, in every sense of the expression, grown up.
Peter's son, Jack, has his big baseball game the following day. Last inning, and where is Peter? Still at the office, telling one of his associates to "Go to the game, film what I miss." Not even a hint of remorse! He sounds downright cheerful about it! So it's also apparent that Peter's family relations are strained because of his "work-a-holic-ness".
Time for a vacation!
You said it, pal. After this introduction, Peter and his family hightail it out of town to visit with a very special family member. That is, none other than Wendy.
"Is she the real Wendy?" asks Peter's daughter Maggie. Of course, her mother says "Yes" and her father says "No". The audience pretty much knows who's right.
Well, no sooner does night fall than does the weird stuff start happening. The window lock, oddly shaped like a hook, undoes itself, the windows fly open, flashes of blue, and BAM! Just like that, the kids are gone. All that's left behind is an old parchment, nailed to the wall by a large dagger, that reads...
"Your presence is required at the request of your children. Sincerely, James Hook"
So what now? Yeah, the police can do a whole lot of good with that. It's only now that Wendy has to tell Peter the truth about his past. The past that he wiped completely out of his memory through the time of his hasty growing up.
Thus the true adventure begins, for Peter to find out the truth about himself, what happened to his kids, and to defend his honor against the great Captain Hook. Not too complicated, right?
The Cast
Robin Williams has often been accused of "playing the same character in every movie he does". While I can see what they're getting at there, "Hook" definitely does not fall into that set of movies. At one point, while trying to carry a conversation via cellphone with his noisy children playing around nearby, Peter suddenly bursts out, "For God's sakes, would everybody just SHUT UP!" Definitely not a typical Robin Williams role there! But he does a marvelous job of it, and even moreso as he begins the transition from Peter Panning to Peter Pan, the latter role obviously giving him more leeway to perform in his "signature" fashion.
Julia Roberts takes the honors of playing the spunky Tinker Bell here, but in all honesty I think they would have done better to use someone younger. Julia Roberts is a terrific actress and I've enjoyed her in almost everything she has done. "Hook" is no exception, but at the same time, she just really seems to "clash" with a role so cheesy. When I think of Julia Roberts, I think of the quiet girl who escaped her brutally abusive husband, the FBI detective Alice from Conspiracy Theory, or the not-to-be-outdone Erin Brokovich. But Tinker Bell? She does a good job, but I still think they should've used someone younger.
Dustin Hoffman really steals the show as Captain Hook. This guy is drop dead hilarious! I mean, I guess it's always easier for a bad guy to be funny, simply because you don't mind laughing at the bad guy as much. Hoffman dons the long black curly hair and just goes to town. His interactions with his fellow pirates are out of this world funny. Captain Hook reveals a surprising aspect of his psyche that many of us probably never imagined existed before. Here's a hint: "Don't try to stop me, Smee, don't you dare try to stop me."
Charlie Korsmo and Angie Scott play the parts of Jack and Maggie (respectively), Peter's two kids and I tell ya, those are two gorgeous children. It always surprises me when children, especially under 12 or 13, do a good job on acting, because it's hard enough to get most of them to even sit still, let alone to play a part! To actually play a character and feel that character's emotion is not as easy as it sounds. And in a child's case, how can you know how to "fake" it when you haven't even learned to "real" it yet? Or maybe that's the whole idea.
So is the movie for kids, or adults?
Tough to say, really. It's got the elements of a great kid's movie, but the question is, will your kids stay interested long enough to get to the "good" stuff? There is at least 20 minutes of introduction, establishing things like Peter's distance from his family and his disassociation with his past. Kids think of Peter Pan as the guy who can fly, but Peter Panning doesn't learn to fly until the last half hour. When Captain Hook tells Peter to draw his weapon shortly after kidnapping his kids, Peter draws his checkbook and asks "How much?" I don't see a kid finding that kind of thing as funny as an adult would.
However, there are things such as the food fight, Tinker Bell kicking the pirates' butts, the flying itself, and a lot of the shots of the well choreographed final fight scene that I could see them enjoying. But many of the things to be enjoyed (and especially learned) here are for the adults.
"Hook", aside from being the title of a hilarious Blues Traveler song, is a nice charming little movie with just the right mixture of humor and action. It is spellbinding, but touching.
I can already tell you since I rushed this review a bit that it's nowhere near as great as some of my others. But it by no means indicates any less love for my dear friend Amy and her precious little daughter, Emily.
After losing Mark to cancer, this has to be a really tough time for her, wondering will the same thing happen? Well all I can say is, cancer may have won the battle, but it's going to lose the WAR.
My prayers are with you and your family, Amy. I love you more than I know how to say.
When you wish upon a star Epinion members on
Emily's Allstar Line-Up as of 10/15/01:
Aawehr, adjensen, AEOakley, Ahlstromomy, AinsleyJo, aiosa914, AliventiAsylum, Amyklees, AmyLEnsor, a_r_egerton, ariel10575, AshleyA, bceaglesfan, BearySweet, beecharmer, bops_mom, Candice923, CANS4US, Charlenep, char.mike, cindymairi, CjsMommy, copernicus, crazyglue, cripper, Cusnwalter , DearLadyB, Debbietipton, Donnamr, drlolipop, Dtolick, Ed.Williamson, Ellie41799, Euphscott, Eskimo101, fallyn96, flamepillar, Fostrmom2mny, Gaelkm, Gerper, Gollygumdrops, Granniemose, hjs33, imames, Jag2112, jaydee1993, Jbduckling, jdhauer, Jennifer_Gibbons, Jeremy1456, jo.com, jro26, Jubrismom , Julie42, kalt, kamel622, karmiausnic, kidhendrix, kiljoi, KimzStuffz, Klueger, KMINER, krashlite2, lauren_m, LEDOMAINE, lorace, Lisa_J~*~Hostess, lisaw1215, lizf, Maddi, mariahan, marsha32, MaryTara, Melissasrn, mike.holmes, Minamarie, Missy32, MizSass, mkp51, mom2daniel, Mom2TyZick, mrsditmer, mzemel, Nanct, Neenkena, NEGUSR, Nifer, Nwinston, Opalman~*~Host, opinionated3, pedantic, Phineaskc, prairiegirl16, rngpie, remnjava, ringorules, roxymarie, ryangamble, sbennick, sblaydes, serc, Shanny21, Shelxland, Shurie~*~Epinions Tool Specialist / Web Page Host, SMITHSWOODSIDE, sumo_rhino, Sunkah, Suzer, SweetCeCe, THOM413, three_ster, tiasmom, tomgray, vania, VBFC, viper1963, wifemommyteach , wifeofvolsfan, Writerip,
2buzy, 29th_Candidate, 77chelle
Whew, she's lucky to have so many of us! But just the same, we are equally lucky to know her :)
Once again a special thanks to hosts: Lisa_J and Opalman.
Also, special thanks to shurie for the Write-Off link host.
For rapid access to all entrants please visit:
http://www.isparkl.com/epinion
Review ID: 10000000000429185
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