Sphere

 Sphere 1998

• Director: Barry Levinson
• Seen by the director: Liberty Heights, Homicide Life on the Streets, Good Morning Vietnam
• Based on book by Michael Crichton
• Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L Jackson, Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber, Peter Coyote, Queen Latifah
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey, Holiday, Stranger than Fiction, Finding Neverland, Moonlight Mile, Hero, Hook, Billy Bathgate, Dick Tracy, Rain Man, Tootsie, Kramer vs Kramer, Lenny Bruce, Papillion, Straw Dogs, Little Big Man, John and Mary, Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate
• Samuel L Jackson – The Hateful Eight, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Django Unchained, Glass, Split, Jumper, 1408, Star Wars, Kill Bill, Changing Lanes, The Red Violin, Jackie Brown, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Sphere, True Romance, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Sea of Love, Do the Right Thing
• Sharon Stone – Bobby, Broken Flowers
• Liev Schreiber – The Fifth Wave, The Butler, Mental, Every Day, Repo Men, Taking Woodstock, X-Men Wolverine, Defiance, Kate & Leopold, Hamlet
• Peter Coyote – Erin Brockovich, ET
• Queen Latifah – Stranger than Fiction, Chicago
• Why? Sci fi, Samuel L Jackson
• Seen: 23 April 2022      

       An alien space craft is discovered a thousand feet below the surface of the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to be three hundred years old. A team of scientists is sent down to investigate it.

       Not all Crichton’s novels have translated well into film. Let’s see if this one is better.

       Farfetched? Well, sure. Too long? Oh yes. Does it make sense? Not a whole lot. But humour, sharp dialog, suspense, action, excitement, a tiny tad of existential philosophy all make it worth watching. The good cast helps.

       I quite like it.      

3 * of 5