Treasure Island

Usually when you think of a movie on the SyFy cable channel, you think of cheesy monster movies with megasharks or crocosaurus – giant mutant sharks and crocodiles – terrorizing aging pop stars like Tiffany or Debbie Gibson. Every once in a while, though, the channel throws audiences a curve ball and comes up with a cinema-quality movie, such as this bold interpretation of the Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic about pirates, buried treasure and a boy named Jim. If you watch this movie to see a one-legged guy with a parrot on his shoulder going ‘Arrghh!!!’ (the guy, not the parrot), you will be disappointed. Actor/comedian Eddie Izzard puts a whole new spin on what Long John Silver can be and the result is pretty amazing. The movie, which is divided into two-90 minute sections, takes the time to expand on the story, too, adding scenes that aren’t in the original take, such as the scene where we find out how Silver lost his leg, that add to the richness of the experience.