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Reviews
Greyhound (2020)
Could Have Been So Much Better.
There was a lot to like about this movie. The battle scenes were tense, and the movie shows to great effect just how nerve wracking WWII naval combat was. It also was accurate for the most part, to naval protocol and procedure. However , Tom Hanks at age 64 is just too old for the part. Destroyer captains were likely mostly in their 30's in WWII. There was also just too much of "Left Full Rudder", or "All ahead flank", almost endlessly, for my liking. The part about the Germans using the radio to taunt the American sailors was ridiculous, so also the fact of having a submarine engage with destroyers on the surface. There is a reason they were called "destroyers". The movie did have naval advisors listed on the credits , so where were they on this ? I am being a bit generous with 6 stars here. Not one of Hanks' best, for sure.
SEAL Team (2017)
Pure Hollywood, pure nonsense
I gave up on this show after about 4 episodes. I agree with most of the previous posts. Its pure Hollywood rubbish and PC to the point of laughable. The sound track is bad, or maybe its the dialogue is incomprehensible... Even with headphones on, I could not make out what was being said. I like Boreanaz in Bones, but in this clunker he seems to be disinterested , and just going through the motions. I doubt it will be back for a second season.
A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)
Don't Waste Your Time With Tis Stinker
I watched this movie for the first time today. I have to say that it was pure rubbish. The most annoying thing was the trivialization of the War. At that time, Britain was fighting desperately for its life, men were fighting and dying for their country, and Power , a real smart-ass, and his two pals were much more interested in chasing the girl than flying. In one scene his mission was to drop information leaflets over Germany. While not very exciting this was an important method of countering German propaganda, as propaganda was all the German people had. Power could not be bothered , so he simply pitched the full boxes out. This of course would have been a court-martial offence at the time. These guys spent almost the entire movie, either on leave in London, or driving out to the country to chase the girl. At that time, gasoline was strictly rationed and would have been almost impossible to obtain for joy riding. The special effects were pitiful , even by 1941 standards. For example the near final scene shows Power flying a Spitfire in an aerial dogfight , with the canopy open. At 350 m.p.h I don't think so. Also , he started the movie flying multi-engine bombers, then all of a sudden he switches over to Spitfires, the finest fighter aircraft of WW2. Again, I don't think so. Don't ever waste your time by watching this pathetic stinker. I only gave it a 3 rating because Betty Grable's legs were worth a look. They were however no better than those of the rest of the girl's in the nightclub.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
A Surprisingly Good Movie
I was talked into going to see this movie by some friends ( retired like me). I did not know what to expect. The title gives no clues. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was different from the usual schlock that Hollywood pumps out, and calls "comedy". The exotic scenes of India are just stunning to the senses. British acting and comedy is just so superior to any other. Dev Patel was hilarious as the inept "Sunny", the irrepressible hotel manager. The 'racist' element some previous reviewers have mentioned was handled perfectly , and maturely. An Indian couple sitting next to me in the theatre were laughing all the way through. If only Hollywood could handle racial issues in the same adult, mature, humorous and inoffensive manner. At the start I suspected we might be offended by a barrage of political correctness, but there was none. Do yourself a favour, ignore the critics , delight yourself, and go see this movie. It opened in theatres in Canada just this past weekend, much later than most other countries, I'm not sure why.
In Enemy Hands (2004)
Pure Rubbish, Don't waste your time.
This movie is unmitigated rubbish. In everything that matters it fails. It is factually inaccurate, and totally ignorant of Navy protocols. German or US Navy. It must have been filmed on a modern nuclear submarine, or in a studio set. It looked like cruise ship, there was so much space. US submarine action in the Atlantic was minimal in WW2. Most submarines were in the Pacific. Survivors of any kind would never have been taken aboard a submarine. Voice radio communications ? No chance. Submarines always maintained radio silence. Any signals ( always Morse code ) would quickly be picked up by the British. Submarines had to surface to send or receive signals. They did show and mention an Enigma machine, but did not elaborate on the vital role this played in winning the war against U-boats. Also lackadaisical addressing of Officers, failure to acknowledge orders , etc. turned this into a farce. I could go on, but enough is enough. I am sorry I watched it.
Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011)
Its a great movie, but was not well marketed.
At last the DVD was released , and I saw this movie this week for the first time. I have actually purchased 4 copies to give as Christmas presents. I have read the book four times, since 1957, the last time just 2 months ago. It gets better and better each time. Dagny Taggart has been a heroine of mine since I fell in love with her as a teenager. The many negative reviews all seem to be mainly from professional critics, and industry insiders. The General Public, by and large loved it. . I can't understand why it only was released in 300 theatres, in the USA with no publicity. Maybe the the producers just ran out of money for promotion. It is currently playing in Toronto, in just one theatre. Those with preconceived feelings about this great movie should remember it's just a movie, based on a work of fiction. Great performances from Taylor Schilling, she brought Dagny Taggart alive for me after all those years. Grant Bowler was a very credible Hank Rearden. Wesley Mouch could have been a little more slimy. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will make Parts 3 and 4. According to co-producer Howard Kaslow, they intend to do just that. Lets hope they get a wider release.
Murdoch Mysteries (2008)
Murdoch is without question, the best Canadian series ever made.
I have just finished watching Episode 13 of Season 3. This has to be the best Canadian series ever made. Bisson is great as Murdoch. I saw Outerbridge too, and he was OK if different, but I like Bisson. The others are also perfect in their roles, especially Helen Joy as Dr. Ogden. She is a lovely lady, and plays the role to perfection. Its interesting that she is originally from Australia. She does not sound a bit like one. My wife and I look forward to this series, every Sunday evening, and we also watch them in re-runs on other nights. The setting of 1895 Toronto is what makes this series different from anything else on TV. They also use actual Toronto street names and places, which is great. That other pice of junk called Flashpoint could learn much from this series. I gave this series a 9 , and not 10 , for one reason. They tend to moralize a bit, by introducing 21st Century mores into the Victorian setting, and that gets irritating after a while. Too bad they had to bring in the matter of the good Doctor having had an abortion. That was totally unnecessary. Lets hope they stay away from that in Season 4, which we are pleased to hear will be filming in Toronto, and other locations in S. Ontario in July of 2010. We will be watching this great Canadian series. Three cheers for all involved in this show. Its GREAT !
V (2009)
What a Load of Crap - Original V fans Revolt !
I loved the original 1983 series- Who can forget John, Diana, and the others, Marc Singer and Robert Ironside. But what they have done here is come up with a load of disjointed schlock. Its hurried, and out of sync, the characters are forgettable, with no time taken to develop things. TV land has become truly desperate. Morrena Baccarrin starts out OK, as the lovely but smarmy and transparent Anna, but after the first few scenes slides into hilarity. What a shame, and a betrayal of one of the best cult sci-fi series ever made. The concept of V itself has also been savaged. It was the signature of the resistors, not the logo of the Visitors. Get a Robert Ironside in there soon , a guy who wants to turn the visiting lizards into "pairs of shoes". Fortuneatly for us, this rubbish will likely not get past the first four episodes. Don't waste your time.
Island at War (2004)
What a Disappointment - Don't Waste Your Time
I watched this on DVD , all 6 episodes over 3 nights. All I can say is , What a disappointment ! What a load of claptrap ! The previous comment from Paradox was spot on. A stumbling, bumbling bunch of Islanders, who could not get out of their own way. A couple of "spies" who were so pathetic, they make you laugh. A bunch of milksop women, mothers and daughters alike, who could not wait to get their pants off with Germans, just weeks after their father was machine-gunned to death by German planes.(The Germans were not all so bad after all, you understand) . Good acting performances by Glenister as the brooding Colonel, and Lt. Walker the Nazi, who gets the hots for a Jewish girl. What a pity a potentially good plot was ruined by the Movie business's ever urgent need to turn everything into a soap opera. The pity here is the terrible anger that must be felt by real Channel Islanders, who lived through the hell of the German occupation, to see it portrayed this way. Don't waste your time on this clunker. It was irritating and frustrating to watch.
Enigma (2001)
Good Movie, but could have been so much better
I am very familiar with this story, as my mother-in-law worked at Bletchley Park as a cypher assistant during WW2. A fact she never revealed to us until 1990, as she respected the Official Secrets Act to the letter. I read Harris book about 2 years ago, and finally watched the movie this week. The real story of Alan Touring, and his colleagues at Bletchley, the building of "the bombes" and the critical role they played is a very compelling story in itself, and had the writers of this movie confined themselves to that, this movie would have been superb. Instead we got a load of the usual Hollywood claptrap of romantic sub-plots with Claire, and dead spy chasing rubbish. We are to believe that during the most critical stage of the U-boat war, and the massive effort to re-establish Shark, that the key man Jericho/Touring went chasing all over Scotland , to track down a traitorous ex-girlfriend. Lots of spare petrol in those days ( NOT). This undermined great performances from Dougray Scott who played the brooding , sullen and exhausted Touring, to perfection, and Kate Winslett, also Jeremy Northam .
Still worth watching for their performances alone.
Lightning: Bolts of Destruction (2003)
Pure rubbish, Don't waste your time watching this drivel.
I watched this Canadian-made (BC) TV movie all the way through, just to see how bad it could get. I was not disappointed. This is the kind of movie that insults your intelligence, even if it is a work of fiction. This Canadian says that this is the kind of stuff that gives all Canadian movies a bad name. The "science" stuff was pure junk, with the final solution to preventing the end of the world coming from a 15-year old kid with a generator made of scotch tape and pop cans. The family problem sub-plot was totally superfluous, with his mother worrying about her lack of compassion etc, right at the time of crucial execution. We find out that the teenage whiz-kid is actually her sister's son, but we never find out, and no ever mentions his father. WE are left to assume that his adoptive father maybe is actually his real father, or not. Sorry, 2 out of ten, no more