Movie Review: Repeat Performance

Repeat Performance (Click on the Link: [https://amzn.to/2R9L4TC]

First Impressions: A “Twilight Zone”-like film about a New Years wish come true, with twisted circumstances.

Story and Plot:

The movie starts with a gun shot! Shiela Page just shot her husband. Someone bangs on the door. She escapes. She grabs a friend of hers to consult with her agent John. On the way to John’s place she wishes she could just live this year over again and avoid this.

At that moment she is transported in time to one New Years Eve before. At first she has no clue what happened but figures it out quick enough.

This is the beginning of 1946, and Sheila is an actress in the theater. Her husband again begins his long descent into alcoholism and cheating on Sheila. Sheila tries to stop this from happening. What’s cool is she knows what will happen next, but somehow Fate makes sure things still occur the way they should.

Nothing is explained how she travels back on a wish, but it’s an interesting fantasy. What would you do if you could live your year over again?

Final Thoughts:

Took me some time to find this on DVD since it does not seem to be in any major video outlet. Co-stars Richard Basehart of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea fame. This is his first appearance in film. Also co-stars Natalie Schafer who twenty years later played Mrs. Howell on Gilligan’s Island.

If you like sci fi and fantasy you’ll love this film. Play it every New Year’s Eve!

Film Review: It’s a Wonderful Life!

Review: It’s a Wonderful Life

[Now on Amazon.com blu-ray Platinum Edition: https://amzn.to/2BDHpm4}

Amazon says:

It’s a Wonderful Life
With the endearing message that ‘no one is a failure who has friends,’ Frank Capra’s heartwarming masterpiece continues to endure, and after over 70 years, this beloved classic still remains as powerful and moving as the day it was made.

First Thoughts:

I really have enjoyed classical films all my life, especially the optimism of the 1930s and 1940s (despite an economic depression and World War II!). One such film is the Christmas favorite, It’s a Wonderful Life.

Story and Plot:

We get the story from the God-like representatives (talking Galaxies, cute) and how they will send down their Angel Second Class Clarence to Earth to see if they could not give George Bailey a hand. He’s contemplating suicide and that would not be a good thing.

Most of the story is of George’s life and what he accompllishes, including sacrificing his dreams of travel and lovely tropical beaches to prevent a Scrooge-like investor from taking over his Dad’s building & loan which he inherits. The story is a lambast against banking industry that cares more for its bottom dollar rather than the human at the other end of the contract or mortgage.

And intermixed is the love story between George and Mary. Donna Reed is the perfect gal, the perfect wife and mother. But then one Christmas George’s Uncle Billy loses $8000! Will Potter take this opportunity to close the Building & Loan and take it over for his own nefarious purposes? Or will the people rise up and give George the break he’s been hoping for?

And we have the comedy aspect in the form of Clarence, an Angel looking for a chance to earn his wings. He puts forth the idea, what if George wasn’t born? Would the world be a better place?

Final Thoughts:

Despite a few flaws here and there, overall a fun, enjoyable film. The Blu Ray I got was the platinum version, with both the original B&W DVD and a Colorized version of the film. Presentation of the “making of” It’s a Wonderful Life with host Tom Bosley (Happy Days, etc), goes over some interesting trivia with actual interviews with Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra.

Highly recommended!

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Film Review: Patton; War Is Hell!

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Purchasing this keeps my Amazon account alive! 

I am not a big war movie buff, but I have often wanted to watch Patton, an award-winning 1970 film starring George Patton, the major general in the battle against the Germans.  The DVD is great with a large choice of languages and special features.  I did not understand why, when I clicked on the “audio history of Patton” that the DVD returned me to the film.  Very odd.  Despite that anomaly, the film is quite well done.

It’s a long movie, almost three hours.  But you’re not aware of the time as you really become part of the action.

The battle scenes, the tanks and the unfortunate end of some of the soldiers was hard to watch.  The realism of the film was further augmented by the excellent acting:  Patton as the gruff, can’t-keep-his-mouth-shut SOB, who has very sharp opinions of the Nazi’s, the soldier who he gives the Purple Heart, and the berating he gives to another for being a coward, including pulling out his Colt pistols to put the kid out of his misery!

You are on the battlefield as Patton recalls his earlier lives fighting with the Romans as they took Carthage, reminiscing as he gives Rommel a run for his money, and the humorous exchange with his British rival, Montgomery, as they take Sicily and eventually the overthrow of the Third Reich.

Recommended, especially for WWII buffs.  The realism and accuracy is great to behold! \

Cast:

Directors

Franklin J. Schaffner

Director

CAST

George C. Scott

General George S Patton Jr

Karl Malden

General Omar N Bradley

Michael Bates

Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery

Stephen Young

Captain Chester B Hansen

Michael Strong

Brigadier General Hobart Carver

Review: Mission: Impossible – Fallout!

Mission:Impossible –  Fallout

[Pre-order the Blu-Ray on Amazon.com!]

First Thoughts:

If you want a film that captures the spirit of the original 60’s TV series much more so than the previous in the series, you must see this film!

Rated 98% by Rotten Tomatoes, Tom Cruise belies his 50+ years of age and jumps, runs, shoots and has a lot of spy trouble, and allusions to his earlier romances in the earslier series.  But you need not watch the earlier films, it stands on its own.

Story:

After losing a case of plutonium to save his freiend Luther, Ethan Hunt becomes criticized and no longer trusted by the secretary.  And though he “decides to accept” the Mission, the CIA gets involved and puts their own man in with Ethan’s team (Henry “Superman” Cavil).  Ethan reluctantly OK’s this to his detriment as we’ll see.

No spoilers, but I thought the story though somewhat slow initially really picks up and with cliffhangers on cliffhangers, takes the viewer on a white-knuckled journey through London, Paris and Kashmir to find out who is running a secret bad-guy organization and get the plutonium back.

I liked how things never really work out well for Hunt.  His motorcycle fails to start when the French police are chasing him.  His helicopter gets shot up just when he’s catching up to the bad guy’s helicopter.  And his former wife shows up at the same place as two plutonium bombs are ticking down to seconds!

Final thoughts:

The movie has car chases, helicopter chases, ticking bombs, terrorists, and masks. Check it out!

J.J. Abrams produced this one with director/writer Christopher McQuarrie.

Cast include:

Tom Cruise     …                                 Ethan Hunt

Henry Cavill               l           …         August Walker

Ving Rhames                          …         Luther Stickell

Simon Pegg                             …         Benji Dunn

Rebecca Ferguson                  …         Ilsa Faust

Sean Harris                             …         Solomon Lane

Angela Bassett                        …         Erica Sloan

Vanessa Kirby                         …         White Widow

TRAILER:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb49-oV0F78

Movie Review: Scorpion King (2002)

First Thoughts:

You really have to leave your brain at the door to enjoy The Scorpion King, a prequel to the second Mummy movie, to better explain the origins of the Scorpion King. The original Scorpion King was not The Rock, but another guy who with fast reflexes is hard to kill. He can catch arrows in his bare hands and can deflect weapons with his sword. He’s the best swordsman ever and he’s also ruthless.

Plots:

I did enjoy the themes of revenge and a thirst for power and how power corrupts. Not so good was the martial arts fighting – I doubt there were martial arts fighing in pre-Biblical times! The casual mentions of Biblical cities, such as Sodom & Gomorrah, was interesting as well.

The fast action was great, with Dwayne Cooke’s crazy arrow scenes (where an arrow can hit you and has enough momentum to punch you out of a bar!), the pause as the beautiful sorceress he has been hired to kill falls in love with him, and the bad old King who finally loses his kingdom.

Bottom Line:

Making one’s own destiny is a lot of work, and the Rock does so out the top! Kelly Hu as the sorceress is well worth the price of admission. If you like non-stop action and some scenes that make absolutely no sense but are fun to watch, then rent this film. 

Movie Review: Hidden Figures

First Thoughts:

Love the title of this film, such a play on words.  “Hidden”, unknown.  “Figures”, as the women in the film are experts in math and numbers.  And “figures” as in notable persons.

Story:

The film covers several themes which I found fascinating.  I’ve always loved NASA’s early space program and even what they’re accomplishing now, regardless of government cut-backs they still make something happen:  flyby of Saturn, discoveries on Pluto, and landing on the Moon often which no nation has yet accomplished.

But the historic backdrop is blurred by the underlying racial prejudice of those times, in the South, in the state of Virginia.

Separate sections in the library for whites and “coloreds”.  Separate bathrooms, waterfountains, busses, etc. etc.  This was in the 1960s as Dr. King was calling for equal rights among all races.

The characters in our play are confronting these sitauations daily and it’s fascinating watching them counteract each, as their counterparts tell them that “that’s the way it is!”

The film is based on actual occurrences.

The acting was superb.  The personal sidenotes, such as the proposal of a man to one of the ladies was cute and you’re pretty cold-hearted if you shed no tear!

Final Thoughts:

If you want to see why the USA’s space program, after many failures, finally beat the Russians and achieved winning the Space Race, and how a prejudiced South was not enough to dissuade three amazing Black women in overcoming these obstacles, pick this up!

DVD has great features and is a must-watch.

Highly Recommended.

Movie Review: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The Avengers: Age of Ultron
First Impressions: Full of action, pathos and humor, not canon but I didn’t care.

Storyline:

Basically Tony Stark comes up with a perfect machine capable of protecting the Earth. Or so he hopes. By sarcastically saying “peace in our time” (alluding to the same phrase spoken by Chamberlain as he signed a non-aggression treaty with Hitler in 1938 – we know how that went down!) Ultron clicks on it and finds that Man, full of the lust of war and greed, decides he will bring that kind of peace, too – the quiet of a graveyard!

Special effects:

Great stuff with Jarvis and Ultron. Even the colors contrasted well! The banter scripted was at times annoying as Jarvis slowly (too slowly to save himself) realizes Ultron, coming online faster than anyone realized, begins assimilating Jarvis! Yikes!

Evil large supply of robots built by Ultron, flying through the sky. Only one instance of an exploding fireball. Always must include one fireball in these kinds of films.

Pathos:

The beautiful sadness of Bruce Banner and Black Widow (yikes, what would Kirby say?) was a bit maudlin and sad. Your girlfriend would probably like this part. It was “OK.”

Revenge:

The whole film was based to a greater or lesser degree on revenge. Is revenge a good enough motivation for killing? Only Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver can answer that.

Take Over the World:

There’s always an element like that. Love how the origin of the Vision has changed to a Stark/Ultron hybrid who has none of Stark’s smart-aleck jokes, nor Ultron’s death wish. Vision was the most under-rated character of this film as he brings the team together.

Credit Scene:

In this film, the credit scene is in the middle of the credits, not the end.

Final Words:

Whedon did a great job putting this together. He gave just enough to the fan boys to make us wanting more; he appealed to a general audience that does not read comic books (Muggles); and he didn’t overdo it on the special effects.

Pros & Cons:

Pro: Dream sequences and Easter eggs. See the Roy Thomas Band in Cap’s dream?
Con: Tony Stark’s bad jokes; Hawkeye’s scenes slowed the film considerably.
Great: Stan Lee Cameo! Iron-man’s Hulk-buster!
Not so Great: No Pepper Potts! Wait until the year 2018 for an Infinity Gauntlet!

Recommended from this DC fan!

Classic Film Review: The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946!

Classic Film!

(Minor Spoilers)

I do enjoy the old movies, especially the Academy Award winners. For 1946 or so, the entry The Best Years of Our Lives was an interesting drama.

First Impressions:

Three guys all going back to the old hometown to see what’s changed and to return to their families.

One guy was married to a blonde floozy and went off to war, quite decorated, and quite shy about talking about his war experiences. His occasional flash-backs and the crush he has on a buddy’s daughter, make for some tension. He was a bomber and highly decorated, yet can’t make his marriage work and is relegated to the same job he quit: a soda jerk!

Another is a Navy man, who lost both hands in a fire on a ship. He has “hooks” and is pretty versatile with them. Unfortunately in small town USA, people are not as forgiving and easily shocked. His mom sobs that her son is so crippled. His girlfriend actually doesn’t mind, but he’s too much feeling sorry for himself to notice. This character was hard for me to like, wallowing in self-pity. He did finally snap out of it, though. 

Finally we have an older guy who is returning to his wife and kids. The wife is played well by Myrna Loy (of Thin Man fame) and her comedic style pops out once in awhile as she plays a straight part. Her daughter falls in love with the airman with the blonde floozy and swears she will break up the marriage and take him for herself. “Who are you, God?” intones her father. A

Bottom Line:

Interesting story on how each man deals with family and how things have changed since they shipped out. Acclimating to a new life is hard, and going into denial through alcohol or wallowing in self-pity just don’t work. One of a kind film.

Features:

Interviews with two actresses, elderly now, express a lot of what was going on with the set, the director and the actors. Quite entertaining.

Directed by
William Wyler
Writing Credits
Robert E. Sherwood … (screen play)

MacKinlay Kantor … (from a novel by) (as Mackinlay Kantor)

Cast
Myrna Loy Milly Stephenson
Fredric March
Dana Andrews
Teresa Wright
Virginia Mayo