I decided to stay in British Columbia and watch another Lock Ness movie. This time the star is a little girl Sarah Wayne, in her only film. She was absolutely adorable, and made the experience pleasant.

I wish I could say the same for Mark Harmon, but he just didn't do it. It's another story of a dad who is "forced" to spend some time with his two children (the other is BC native Joshua Jackson from "Dawson's Creek') and leaves them to find their own entertainment while he writes a book.

His daughter discovers the magic in the lake and he becomes infected, causing him to forget the book and do some bonding.

They manage to save the creature from the evil toxic waste dumpers with a little help from and old Indian played by Frank 'Grey Wolf' Salsedo.

MAGIC IN THE WATER is par for the course for an American kid's fantasy film. It features a couple of bratty children and their humble father who become involved with a mysterious lake said to be inhabited by an ancient creature. The usual gamut of stereotyped characters are involved, from the Native American shaman to the eager-to-please Japanese folk and the by rote human villains.

This is neither the best nor the worst of its type, merely a humdrum outing designed for kids and kids alone. The stylistic similarities to FREE WILLY are more than obvious, but the central creation is kept off screen for the most part so it all becomes a little dull. The special effects are pretty good for the most part, though. The less-than-stellar cast includes Mark Harmon (TUAREG: THE DESERT WARRIOR) and future star Joshua Jackson (of DAWSON'S CREEK fame).

Rick Stevenson's "Magic in the Water" is the usual sort of family movie that they crank out, although it is worth seeing. I wouldn't recommend the movie as your first choice, but if there's nothing else it's definitely worth checking out. My favorite parts were actually the "digging to China" scenes; looking back on it, those scenes remind me of "God's Little Acre".

So, the movie is OK to check out. Stevenson now has a company called Official Best of Fest, that distributes film festival movies that most people would otherwise never get a chance to see. Interesting concept.

Yeah, I'm a sexy guy...