MJ'S WALKABOUT© Reviews

Escape From Wildcat Canyon
A review by Hector C. Garza

Starring: Dennis Weaver

This is an action/adventure that keeps you in suspense. Dennis Weaver stars as the grandfather, and Michael Caloz plays Pete Flint.

Conflict starts when Pete's father tells him that he's going to accept a big business offer from New York. Pete is very upset because the family would have to move away from the grandfather. He tells him at the last minute and without consulting him on how he feels on the matter.

The father decides on one last family outing, and sends Grandpa and Pete ahead to a cabin in the woods in a small airplane. Pete's father and mother have to travel to New York to meet with the new employer.

On the way to the cabin, the plane crashes, and Pete and Grandpa are stranded in the middle of the freezing wilderness. Grandpa realizes that they can't wait for help because the pilot is injured, a storm is coming, he only has enough insulin to treat his disease for 2 days, and the government is going to flood the area as part of a conservation program.

It's a race against time and nature to contact help across the snowy mountain wilderness. But Grandpa is a World War II veteran, and knows some tricks about survival. These tricks make the movie fascinating.

The acting ability of Dennis Weaver makes you feel as if you are really stranded there in the mountains in freezing temperatures. Unlike most movies with youths, this movie doesn't sacrifice intelligence for conflict. This boy is not a rebellious nitwit. He realizes his grandfather's skill and learns from it. He uses his brain instead of a smart mouth, something that makes this a parent's, as well as a kid's, movie.

Enjoy this trek north, but bundle up first!

***

Mr. Weaver, the founder and president of The Institute of Ecolonomics, spoke in Bryan, College Station, TX Friday, Oct. 13. He spoke to 3,000 science instructors meeting at Texas A&M University about possible replacements of gasoline as a fuel. He suggested hydrogen or other such energy sources that are in abundant supply. Mr. Weaver is the president and founder of a non-profit organization that moves people to clean up the environment. And it is possible to do this while being economically successful, as well. More power to you, sir.

Mr. Weaver's acting career spans 50 years with such TV series as "Gunsmoke" and "McCloud", and with such movies as Steven Spielburg's cult classic "Duel".



3 Bags of Popcorn



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