Lake Placid (1999)

Lake Placid 5 Star Movie

Lake Placid (Widescreen Edition)
Lake Placid is total Wild the horror subgenre of giant animals running amok, Lake Placid features a giant crocodile that has somehow found its way to an isolated lake in Maine. The absurdity of crocodiles in Maine sets the tone for the entire movie, which has no ambitions beyond mixing a little fright with a little humor. Bridget Fonda (Point of No Return, Jackie Brown) plays a paleontologist sent to investigate a large tooth; Bill Pullman (Independence Day, Lost Highway) is a fish and game warden just trying to keep the peace; Oliver Platt (Funny Bones, Flatliners) plays a loose-cannon mythology professor who swims with crocodiles for sport; and Brendan Gleeson (an excellent but little-known actor, most noted for The General) is a local sheriff with a short temper and a big gun. Add a few gruesome dismemberments, Betty White as a cantankerous old broad who may have murdered her husband, and a cow hanging from a helicopter, and there you have it: Lake Placid. (Curiously, this concoction was put together by David E. Kelley, better known as the creator of TV's Ally McBeal and The Practice.)One Of The Best Movie
I ever seen This movie Should be on your Collection ---John Wilkinson


Product Description
A giant crocodile begins to eat tourists at a lake resort.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
July 2, 2008

Worth the 82 minutes

This movie is very good. Maybe I liked this movie because the acting was not bad for this kind of films, and for the very good croc in both its CG and animatronic versions. I notice that this movie is compared many times with the movie Anaconda. I honestly do not see many similarities between those movies and the reason why they are compared so much. Both movies were good but I personally liked more Lake Placid than Anaconda. The movie has its flaws but I'm not going to list the bad things. Good for the price of $9.99 and I personally also liked the direct-to-video sequel which might be in big disagreement with most people who have rated the product but its not worth the price of $19.99. Recommend it to everyones who likes this genre. May 23, 2008

If "Jaws" were a David E. Kelley comedy...

When "Lake Placid" was first released, I just assumed that it was yet another "Jaws" rip-off and consequently avoided it. It was only later, when I discovered that it was written by David E. Kelley (creator of "The Practice", "Ally McBeal" and "Boston Legal"), that I decided to give it a try. Although it is true that, in principle, "Lake Placid" is a "Jaws" rip-off (substituting a 30 foot crocodile for a shark), to describe it that way is extremely misleading. In fact, "Lake Placid" is a sarcastic comedy that's purpose seems to be to point out just how weird the residents of Maine really are (just in case Stephen King novels haven't already convinced you of this), rather than to provide any actual scares.

Top billing in this film is given to Bill Pullman (as a Fishing and Game representative) and Bridget Fonda (as a palaeontologist), but really this film belongs to Oliver Platt (as an eccentric university professor who believes that crocodiles are god-like and who likes to swim with them). Pullman just spends the film looking sarcastic or bemused and every time Fonda appears, she falls into the lake, but Platt gets all the good lines and really carries the film. In fact, I think he has more screen time and lines of dialogue than the two supposed stars. Mention should also be made of Betty White (that sweet old lady from "The Golden Girls") who appears in a supporting role as a "sweet little old lady" who isn't as sweet as she first appears. If you have seen Betty White in "Boston Legal", and liked her character there, you will really love her in "Lake Placid". She steals the show every time she appears. And finally, the crocodile. Yes, there are one or two gory moments in this film (a diver gets bitten in half and a deputy gets his head bitten off), but these moments are few and far between. For the most part, my family just found the crocodile to be cute and found ourselves to be cheering him on.

This is the best "natural predator" film that I have ever seen and it thoroughly deserves to become a cult classic.
May 12, 2008

Lookout Maine, its a giant croc!

I have seen this movie countless times in the past, and I just had to own it. IF you like movies about over-sized carnivorous animals ( Anaconda , Eight-Legged Freaks , Godzilla ) then this is a take-home product for you. Personally I love crocs more than any other giant mutant animal, and the sharp humor and great special effects make this movie very enjoyable. Plus, Oliver Platt is hilarious! May 9, 2008

not as good as the previews said

This is a movie that had a storyline with all the potential in the world, quickly turned into mediocrity.

It's about a 30-something foot long super crocodile that's super deadly and lives in a lake. Of course, it's a threat to the people who live around the area (or rather, the few people who actually live there).

While the potential for a horror thriller was certainly there, the acting skills were bad from the characters. Instead of feeling concern or fear for their well-beings, and for the safety of those around them, instead everyone acts like a bunch of sarcastic comedians. In fact, the one police officer even mentions the unbelievable amount of sarcasm from the people around him. That pretty much sucks out any kind of suspense we might get from the super crocodile.

The movie did have two major twists at the end, that I won't spoil. But it's not enough to make up for the unsatisfying acting skills from all the characters. Many of them we've seen before in other TV shows and movies, and it's hard to believe they didn't live up to their usual high standards. May 3, 2008

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