Extraordinary Measures
Extraordinary Measures stars Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell. Parents of two children handicapped by a genetic orphan disease called Pompe Disease seek the help of a doctor scientist working on a cure. The father, Fraser, travels to the University of Nebraska to convince the doctor, an introverted curmudgeon played by Harrison Ford, that he will raise the money needed to develop the cure. The two form a company and a treatment is developed. Based on a true story, it holds the interest without seeming overly sappy.
Brendan Fraser does a good job as a father going through the agony of two ill children expected to die in a few years. He shows that he has grown since his roles in The Mummy, Loony Toons and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Harrison Ford plays someone other than Harrison Ford. It takes a while to warm up to him.
At first blush, the film would appear to be a downer but it is not. Recommend seeing this good family film.
When In Rome
When in Rome starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Anjelica Houston. Beth played by Kristen Bell, is an art curator for The Guggenheim Museum in New York. She has just been told by her estranged boyfriend that he is engaged to get married. Her kid sister announces that she is getting married to an Italian man she met a couple of weeks earlier and the wedding is to be in Rome.
Beth attends the wedding and is drawn to the best man, Nick, played by Josh Duhamel. She is upset when she sees him kissing a beautiful girl outside the wedding hotel. With a bottle of wine she goes to a fountain and soaks her feet while drowning her disappointment over loosing the guy. The Fountain of Love has magical powers. She picks up several coins to have as souvenirs and soon returns to work in New York. She is pursued by Nick and several other men who are madly in love with her. Each of these men had tossed one of the coins.
The movie has a cast of nice looking and interesting characters. It is beautifully shot in part in Rome and New York. The script is weak, predictable and at times really silly. It is cute but wait for it to come out in video which likely will be in a couple of weeks. Something worth noting, Danny DiVito has a small part as one of the attracted. He really has aged and was almost unrecognizable if not for his size.
Bruce Kantor owns Kantor & Associates in Matthews, NC.
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