"Dreamscape"

Next up, "Dreamscape." From 1983 (never mind the trailer below stating 1984, the film was made in '83), and maybe today, somewhat buried by the successes of "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Inception."

In a special feature on the Scream Factory Blu, the screenwriter mentions "Spellbound" as a kicking-off point for the story, in particular the Dalí-designed dream sequence from that Hitchcock film. This is a story centering around the ability to enter people's dreams for good....or bad....purposes. Dennis Quaid stars as a former subject of maestro Max von Sydow's dream experiments. He is rooked back into the dream factory in order to aid an associate of von Sydow's, played by Christopher Plummer. (I'm forgetting character names; just going with actor noms.) And, of course, Plummer's a bad guy, and a "friend" of the President, played by Eddie Albert. (Try as I might, I cannot see Eddie Albert for any length of time without hearing Eva Gabor's "Ohlivah! Ohlivah!")

I found the movie to be a bit of a slow-burn, but maybe I'm saying that because I read too many only-slightly-favorable reviews of the movie before watching it. Once the movie gets in the final third, I thought it was pretty damned good.....and entertaining. Sure, the special effects are dated, but it's always nice to see practical ones. And it really hit me this time how much Dennis Quaid not only looks like Harrison Ford, but pretty much plays off Ford's patented smirk.

Not sure what else to write.....thumbs up from me. Maybe someone can enter Trump's dreams. Stat!