This Week's PCR Movie Review |
"Catwoman"
Movie review by: Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars
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If you're over the age of 10, you are probably familiar with the story of Catwoman. If you are old enough to remember the old "Batman" television series, you either grew up worshipping the slinky Julie Newmar or the Purrrrrr-fect Eartha Kitt. Heck, you may even remember the character as played by Michelle Pfeiffer in "Batman Returns." If you remember any of these references, put them out of your head. Because, in spite of the "based on characters created by Bob Kane" credit, the Catwoman of this film has as much to do with the others as a duck has to do with baseball.
In a nutshell, Patience Phillips (Berry) is a young advertising artist who is suddenly being followed by a cat. The cat comes and goes and even gets Patience out on the ledge of her building, causing a small disturbance. One night, she stumbles across some shady dealings at her company and she is presumed drowned. However, the magical cat shows up again, breathes on her, and she miraculously comes alive on what looks like a rejected set from the musical, "Cats." The place is so dark and full of cats that I kept expecting Halle to break out in a chorus of "Memory!"
The above paragraph is pretty much the highlight of the film. Berry, who you may remember won an Oscar two years ago, is definitely a trouper. She does her best with the lousy material she has been given. Stone has some fun as a model being replaced both professionally and physically by her husband and Bratt, a very underrated actor in my opinion, has a few moments as a cop who cares. Director Pitof, a former visual effects specialist on French movies, seems to have been influenced by MTV. Almost every scene is cut to a loud musical score that brings nothing to the film. I can't believe this film cost $100 million to make. I'm guessing it was for the sets, because the script isn't worth a nickel. If you want to remember fond memories, check for "Batman" on TVLand. If you want to ruin them, see this film. On a scale of zero to four stars, I give "Catwoman"
This week's movie review of "Catwoman" is ©2004 by Michael A. Smith. All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2004, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2004 by Nolan B. Canova.