Siskel & Ebert Classics - 12/17/91 - Hook, Star Trek VI, Last Boy Scout

Another holiday '91 episode includes CONVICTS and DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE.
As a reminder, if you're looking for the latest home video reviews -- from Blu-Rays of classic catalog titles to the latest releases -- be sure to check out my own review site at www.andyfilm.com

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

I really liked "The Last Boy Scout"... and "Star Trek VI"....2 of my favorite movies that year...

[@TheNameisPlissken1981]

This was an awesome holiday season. I was a senior in high school and my friends and I went to see Hook, The Last Boy Scout & Star Trek 6 in the theater!! Happiest time of my life. Great friends, no responsibilities and two wonderful movies and one awful one...that would be Hook.

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

yes, I remember going to the movies(regular or dollar moies)..buying snacks at the home center. it was a great way to spend a Saturday night.

[@jedijones]

Haha, I remember seeing Hook that year and being miserably disappointed too.

[@walterbomba2122]

LMAO, how in the hell could anybody call Hook a bad film, throughout my life everyone I've ever spoken with looks back fondly with this film, it's my top movie personally of all time. The film has a fun, childhood magic, and I feel like perhaps it's lost on these old geezers if none of it resonated with them whatsoever.

[@alpacario336]

I kinda like hook, it had it's moments of pure childlike joy and energy and it treats the source material well, don't understand the degree it's hated to.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I don't think it deserves the hate but it doesn't deserve any real accolades. Even as a kid, I thought the production value of the film was rather chintzy.

[@alpacario336]

True.

[@pronkb000]

@@ricardocantoral7672 Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell is a major weak point for me. I have nothing against Julia but that is some of the worst casting since John Wayne as Ghengis Khan.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@pronkb000 She earned the name "Tinkerhell" among the crew working on the film because of her primadonna attitude.

[@NA-bk6gb]

Interesting how Ebert says that Hook’s narrative of Peter needing to be a child again was too complicated. Swing the film as a 6 year old is was very clear. And to this day Hook remains one of the most lasting and impactful films from my childhood. Is the movie great, that’s subjective. But clearly there is a heart and charm to the picture if so many are still talking about it and debating its merits or lack there of today.

[@vctrsigma]

His "pitch" with the lost boys being other corporate peons is absurdly contrived, cerebral, and couldn't be further from a real peter pan movie. It suffers from the very things he is critiquing Hook for, but even more so.

[@ryangettig274]

Star trek VI,Shakespeare & the Cold War in space.:)

[@ryangettig274]

If you like The Last Boy Scout-you'll love KissKissBangBang&The Nice Guys:)

[@LeoOrientis]

Ah yes, _Star Trek 6: City Under Siege..._ I loved the guy who does the sound effects. But Coppola never should have cast his daughter to play Kim Cattrall.

[@aarellanod2d]

The Wayans hit cinema with volume. Occasionally they made one right.

[@kali3665]

I remember reading somewhere that one of the problems with Hook is that it is probably Robin Williams' most controlled performance -- and who goes to see a controlled Robin Williams? The one version of Peter Pan I wish I could have seen has Boris Karloff as Mr Darling/Captain Hook. A little before my time, and I don't recall if he ever reprised the role on television. Still, Karloff as Captain Hook? You can just see it, can't you? He first saw Peter Pan as a child, and it stimulated his desire to be an actor, and then he finally gets to play the part himself. It would have been glorious. As for Star Trek VI, I think it's one of my favorite Trek movies. The movie manages to give everyone something significant to do -- and for the most part, it succeeds. It works best as what it is - a farewell to the original cast - but it's a good adventure flick too. But the movie belongs to Christopher Plummer as Chang. He is SO much fun in the film, and he makes a great villain, especially in the early scenes where he's pretending to be the good guy. Not so much a fan of Kim Cattrall (Kirstie Alley was intended to return as Saavik, but she turned the offer down), and I am not impressed with Cattrall's performance here. It's definitely a low-level Saavik, but she doesn't come across as a particularly effective Vulcan. They may have directed her AS Saavik, and she can't pull it off. Barring that, and a couple silly scenes, I enjoyed the film very much.

[@pronkb000]

I prefer my Hooks to have a bit of menace to them. My favorite portrayal of Hook is Tim Curry on the '90s Fox cartoon--that Hook was intelligent, sophisticated, cultured...and dangerous. The Dustin Hoffman and Disney versions, and a number of the stage versions, of Hook play him as too much of a buffoon.

[@kali3665]

@@pronkb000 There was one great scene in Hook. Peter Pan has his memory and his abilities back, and he is challenging Hook. At one point, Pan causes Hook's elaborate wig to fall off, and he is exposed at the old man he is. Quietly, Hook asks Pan to return the wig, return his dignity. In THAT moment, Dustin Hoffman captured the REAL Hook in the way that Robin Williams -- let's face it -- couldn't. That scene is why I simply cannot dismiss Hook entirely. It is definitely the best moment of the entire movie.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Star Trek VI doesn't hold up to subsequent viewings because the mystery aspect of the story is weak. Still, it's the last decent Star Trek film to date.

[@TheWinstonSlip]

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)?

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@TheWinstonSlip Just a dumb as a box of rocks action flick starring a meathead, vengeance crazed Picard who forgot the emotional growth he went through after the "Hugh" affair. All the TNG movies are terrible and the less said about the Jar Jar Abrams movies, the better.

[@TheWinstonSlip]

@@ricardocantoral7672 jeeze take your meds dude. It’s just a movie

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@TheWinstonSlip Anyone who isn't passionate about film is a dullard.

[@terrygyimah1956]

My personal reviews The Last Boy Scout (two thumbs up) Star Trek 6 (two thumbs down) Convicts (two thumbs down) Hook (two thumbs up) The Double Life of Veronique (two thumbs down)

[@Mistercline1]

When Siskel and Ebert were wrong, they were always wrong about classics. Hook was great, Dustin Hoffman was incredibly memorable, and the lost boys have been remember by kids for decades now.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Hook is a classic ?

[@Mistercline1]

@@ricardocantoral7672 MANY people would say 100% Yes

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@Mistercline1 Then those people need to remove their nostalgia goggles.

[@Mistercline1]

@@ricardocantoral7672 Or you could just let someone disagree with them and think it’s a good movie?

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

I hated..hated..hated "hook"...dull.. not fun..goes on forever...."Tinkerbell " special effect looked horrible

[@oobrocks]

Star Trek 5:30