Film Review: Patton; War Is Hell!

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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

Film Review: Thor Ragnarok!

Thor: Ragnarok

(Stream the movie HERE)

Director: Taika Waititi
Writers: Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett

First Thoughts:

If you’re a rabid Marvel fan who believes all cinematic versions of Marvel Comics must be exactly canon to the original issues, I’m afraid you’ll be sadly disappointed in this film.

I’ve been into comics and the graphic arts several decades and must say this Thor film was a lot of fun.

Story & Plot:

Thor was a lot of fun. We start out with a fight with Surtur, a giant fire being who brags to Thor he will tear down Asgard. Thor has other ideas and with some Spiderman-type banter, shows Sutur who is boss.

Meantime back on Asgard, Loki impersonating Odin is getting out of hand.

Love the cameo with Dr. Strange and the bottomless mug of ale.

But I digress.

The film was more lighthearted than the earlier Thor films. The concepts of brothers coming together for a common enemy when they find themselves stranded on Skaar, where Hulk fights in gladiator fights for the last two years was cool, but not overdone.

In the comics Loki kills everybody. In the film Lady Hela, the goddess of Death kills everyone, or nearly so.

Some comedy relief is good though the film goes too far in their comedy and seems to forget there is a story and plot going on. That’s the only part of the film I didn’t like – too much of a good thing, Marvel.

Stan Lee appearance was largely forgettable as the gladiator barber. Jeff Goldbloom as the grand master of Skaar was an interesting casting choice. Haven’t seen him since Jurassic Park!

Final Thoughts:

Great performances by Tessa Thompson as the hard drinking Valkyrie, who cannot face her failures with Asgard. She was a standout for sure.

SPOILER: The ending was fine, and seems in line with the comics – will Asgardians become a nomad race drifting towards Earth? And what was that giant starship in the neighborhood?
END SPOILER

Recommended, three stars out of five.

 

Movie Review: Wonder Woman!

 

Wonder Woman

Click HERE for the DVD/Blu Ray!

First thoughts: The Wonder Woman film had enough info from the comics to keep comic fans glued to the silver screen and those who never heard of her a new look at the DC Universe.

Plot & Story:

I liked that this film began in World War I rather than II. I guess we’re tiring of the Nazi character in WWII films and yet still wanted to have German evil genius at work.

Themyscria – an island for women only – but their island is invaded by a man – following by a platoon of Germans! The Amazons are true to the task with arrows burning air and finding targets.

Diana goes out into the world of men with some funny results. English fashion bears scrutiny of the goddess princess and her commentary on the way women (and secretaries) are treated give some much-needed comedy to avoid the dark, darkness of the last DC films.

Who Ares the god of War is was a shock and I liked the misdirection. The film was not predicable.  Loved that.

World War I was known for its dangerous gasses that were released during those battles. My grandfather fought at the front and so I know something of this.  Dr. Poison, a woman with a mission – there is more to her than the film leads on and I would have liked to see more of this character.

Bad Guys:

I liked Dr. Poison.  She’s also a woman, but Wonder Woman’s opposite number.  Poison controls the evil German general with guile and demonstrates her power.  She always wears a mask, which is later revealed she was damaged in some kind of acid attack.

When there is a choice of killing Poison who herself was set to kill thousands in a gas attack on London, Wonder Woman spares her.

These were pretty heavy scenes – the clashing with Ares, the decisions she made – does Man deserve the gods?  Is Man’s power of choice his only saving grace?  Wonder Woman shows the true power of love and of hope, something she never loses throughout the film.

In Batman vs. Superman, she remarked, “I have fought gods before,” which now we know was Ares.

Twists:

Steve Trevor is not buying the Ares thing.  And neither is her mother!  But it is someone who is in disguise, who we would never suspect being so.  The snake in the Garden, so to speak.

Another interesting note is that only the bravest of women would wield the god killer sword, yet it was handed to Etta and she handled it pretty well.

The Blu Ray version gives a bit more info on Etta, as she begins a new mission with the remaining heroes of the WWI battle, a reference perhaps to the Mother Box, perhaps?

Final Thoughts:

DC did a great job with pushing out this origin story.

The way Steve Trevor ended the film, it’s fairly unlikely he will be in the second Wonder Woman film.  I have always been a DC comics fan and this is the first modern DC film I’ve loved all the way.

OK guys now let’s fix up a new Green Lantern film while we’re at it OK??

Can DC top Wonder Woman with the Justice League film coming soon? Waiting and very much seeing!

Recommended!

Classic Film Review: Charlie Chan on Broadway!

Another great detective film by Twentieth Century Fox with Warren Oland as Charlie Chan and Keye Luke (remember “Kung Fu”?) as number one son Lee.

Unlike other Chan films that had some pretty bad racist stereotypes, this film stuck to the story at hand. The story involves Billie Bronson who has a big secret that could “blow the lid off” the secret goings on of the gangsters of Broadway.

The banter between Charlie and his son is what makes these films so fun. They are on a boat going to NYC and Charlie is a bit seasick. Son Lee is bragging about all the food that his father just missed out on. When Charlie says stop, Lee asks if he needs a remedy. “Only cure is to find land”, says Chan.

Billie comes into town who has info that is “hot enough to blister” and deals with a few nervous gangsters and a couple of reporters – of course we have the usually snarky female reporter and her sidekick smarty male reporter for the New York Bulletin, whose editor is also a bit involved in the case.

The viewer is lead on quite a merry go round on this film. It’s not until we hit the 30 minute mark that Billie actually gets killed.

 

About 15 minutes into the film, a very brief uncredited cameo by Lon Chaney, Jr.!

And the murderer is quite a surprise. I had zero suspicion until the end of the film where they put all the facts together. These old films usually end with all suspects in a single room where we hash things out.

The film gets into forensics too with the “paraffin test”, looking for gunpowder marks on hands. This was quite cool for 1939, but with today’s detective & cop shows, this might not seem so hot to today’s modern view.

Bottom Line: Love the banter, the hilarious New York cracks and commentaries, on everything from Chinese cigarette girls to camera hounds (worse than newspaper reporters). Must-see for any Chan fan.

Film Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes! Better than Tim Burton! – Spoilers

Rise of the Planet of the Apes had some good things going for it, but overall was unsatisfying.  That said, it was much better than Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes!  Still, not as good as the well-acted films by Charlton Heston. 

James Franco plays a scientist who discovers a cure for Alzheimer’s which his dad is suffering from.  After an accident where an ape escapes and is put down, his boss Jacobs, who cares more about his bottom line than lives, orders all the apes put down. 

These apes are intelligent thanks to Franco’s experiments.  He’s created a virus that strengthens the brain and thus humans.  He tries it on his dad to great results but finds they are not lasting.  

He then creates a stronger virus!  

This is where the story gets weird.  As he is experimenting, there’s an accident where the virus escapes.  Klutz nerd assistant was not wearing his mask. 

No quarantine?  Klutz then goes home, calls in sick.  Really?  And then he wanders all over the neighborhood looking for Franco’s character and sneezes on people.  Yikes!

The virus apparently causes brain hemmorage in humans, yet makes apes smart.  And it’s a stronger virus, too. 

Another thing:  Franco’s character steals some virus and leaves it in his fridge at home.  Really?  A highly toxic virus next to the eggs and milk?  How domestic.  Not only does he NOT get fired from his job, he also keeps the stronger virus from later in the story in the same fridge, which his ape pal Cesar uses to great effect.

The whole story of Cesar, the last survivor of the ape purge earlier in the film, is quite interesting.  But the ape, after taking over an ape facility (where we hear the Heston quote regarding damn dirty apes!) wreaks havoc upon San Francisco, doesn’t like taking human life but leaves a bloody black mess on the Golden Gate Bridge, and takes up residence in Muir Woods.  

That’s it?  Intelligent apes hanging out in Muir Woods and Franco’s character only says “OK?”  No talking Cesar out of it, no real characterization here that could have been done, but the film is rushed at this point.  

The End?

Mid-credit scene where the guy who was sneezed at (Remember McKay from  Stargate: Atlantis?) goes to an airport and promptly spreads the virus to all points.  

Intelligent Apes?  The end of Man-As-We-Know-It?

Who knows?  

Really hope the sequel makes more sense.  🙂 

 

 

Movie Review: Does Whatever a Spider Can! Great Sequel!

Amazing Spiderman 2

Wow, what a movie! I did like the Sam Raimi versions, but this actor has really gotten down the wisecracking wallcrawler down pat.

The story is one of relationships, of making decisions and of paying the consequences, some of which are not that great.

There are many deviations from the original comic book story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, but I am happy with the whole Gwen Stacy/Peter Parker story. Unlike the Raimi films that concentrated on Mary Jane Watson, it was Gwen who was one of Peter’s very first loves (yeah, Betty Brant was there too, but I digress).

Another variation is that they’re not high school kids but college grads. Gwen makes a great valedictorian speech about hope and about what to do when there is every reason to give up.

Another subplot deals with Peter’s dad, Richard Parker. Why was he abandoned? Why was Peter left with thinking his dad was a bad guy?

Plots!

Wait, am I describing a comic book movie or what?

One thing about this film is that a general audience who has a passing interest in comics will like the film. Women will likely love the Peter/Gwen relationship, and how the ghost of Capt. Stacy gets in the way of Peter’s decisions regarding her.

Guys will like the wallcrawler spinning through NYC, capturing the bad guys and being interesting in the corporate plans of Oscorp, an ostentatiously benign group that has been working on plans for domination, making a better world through intimidation perhaps.

Bullied!

Jamie Fox is great as the unwitting subject of an experiment that turns him into Electro, who becomes an intelligent force of Nature. How will Spidey defeat him? And the Goblin, Harry Osborn, also at the short end of the stick when it comes to be accepted by those who matter most. I hope there is more of him to come. Lots of potential here.

Secret labs, a crazy Harry Osborn who has a fatal disease, the Goblin as you’ve never seen him and some hints that a Doc Octopus or a Vulture is in the works (check out the secret lab with its armored tentacles or the vulture-like wingspan on display).

Listen to the ringtone, old timers. Guess from where that is?

Final Word: And check Sally Field – she has not lost her flare for drama as an Aunt May who knows her boy is not her bio son, but she raised him that way. Pretty powerful performance.

Check it out. And stay through the credits! Amazing how people still walk out when there is so much more to know about our friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

A mid-credit scene, but my theater did not have an end-of credit scene.

Go see it! See the first film first, as that will fill in the gaps in discussions regarding the Lizard and what he was all about.

 

Movie Review: Skyfall

(Originally written in April 2013)

Shaken, not Stirred!

Daniel Craig is a different kind of Bond, and I think he was getting some mixed reviews because viewers were comparing him to other Bonds rather than this film.

This film is continuing the origins of Bond, why he thinks the way he does – he’s a tougher, more somber Bond who at the beginning of the film with an exciting chase scene through Istanbul, gets shot off a train – and survives! (Hey, it’s Hollywood, that’s fine.)

I liked this film. The action was fun but not over the top. The scenery was very nice – the Shanghai boat scene was lavish. The moody shadow & light show as an assassin gets his rifle loaded up and takes aim. (But why did Bond let the guy take a shot and kill his target? That’s never explained).

The Bond girls were tragic, intensely interesting and Bond’s empathy for them was palpable.

Enjoyed the back & forth with Moneypenny, as she shaves him closely. Later they discuss how it’s easier to get dressed with an “extra pair of hands.” Cute.

Yay, we get a “shaken not stirred” scene at a Shanghai bar, as Bond is watched closely by a gang of toughs about to kill him. We get a view of the Connery sports car, the Ashton Martin.

Bottom Line:

The film made fun of itself at several points, but true Bond fans would get the Easter eggs, and new viewers would be fascinated with the “origin story” of our favorite MI6 spy, out in the Scottish Highlands (“Skyfall”). “M” is basically our co-star. Bond is serious, has a lot of depth, and Daniel Craig plays him well. Good film.

Cast:

Daniel Craig – James Bond

Judi Dench – M

Javier Bardem – Silva

Ralph Fiennes – Gareth Mallory

Naomie Harris – Eve

Bérénice Marlohe – Severine

Albert Finney – Kincade

Sequel!? : “

“More than two years after the release of Skyfall, the next chapter in the James Bond franchise will begin filming.

According to actor Ralph Fiennes (who portrays the new “M” in the James Bond series), the sequel to Skyfall will begin filming in October of 2014 with a release date set for November 6, 2015. Skyfall director Sam Mendes is returning for the follow-up along with Daniel Craig, who we all know now as the suave secret agent.”