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Reviews
Full Circle (1977)
Dated but worthy psychological/ghost flick
I saw this the first time back in the early 1980s when it was making a run on HBO and was immediately mesmerized by it. Mia Farrow is the perfect lead... and victim.
Nutshell overview (no spoilers or give-aways): After losing her own daughter to a random act of providence, Julia (Mia Farrow) isolates herself to try and make some sense of life afterward. Little does she know she has walked into a situation that will, ultimately, trump her own tragedy and lead her down some very dark paths.
The critic in me says: The screenplay is pretty dated which lumps it in with a lot of movies of the time. But the storyline is worthy and the soundtrack impeccable, with the combination holding this up as one seriously spooky ride if you can immerse yourself into it.
Availability: Unfortunately, the entertainment industry casts aside those children it doesn't love and this one is no exception. The Haunting of Julia, aka Full Circle, is not available on DVD and the soundtrack is all but impossible to find.
Beyond all that: To the credit of one You Tube contributor (who has at least one post here), the movie is available there to watch. I am personally very grateful to both that You Tube submitter and to the movie industry for allowing it to remain for fans who have no other avenue of access.
In closing: The beautifully haunting main theme to this movie has followed me for nearly three decades, keeping alive the memory and finally leading me here, full circle.
Knowing (2009)
Sex Offender Sci-Fi?
As a big fan of Nicholas Cage since City of Angels, this newest flick seemed like a natural... and hopefully, at least as well done as his efforts in the recent 'National Treasure' series.
It didn't happen that way.
The story looks easily predictable in the beginning... and similar to several standard sci-fi scripts that have appeared before; with one later Outer Limits series episode being quickly familiar. You'll recognize the genre too: The world is going to end and time is limited.
After that, there are children involved, siblings, parents, grandparents, an institution of higher learning and what could have been a really effective romance... even if not in some ethereal sort of way. In fact, you will think that this is exactly where it is taking you until the female lead is mashed in a car accident and then left to die on an ambulance gurney without so much as a parting word for the audience, or cold kiss for good old Nick.
Oh... and there are the obligatory UFOs and aliens, but they are only interested in our children.
Yup, that's right, and with the combination of make-up/appearance and the unerringly suggestive story path, it is fairly convincing to boot. You might even wonder whether these ETs shouldn't be on a sex offender list instead of flitting about the universe snatching kids from dying planets.
Hey, I'm sorry but... they just seemed too doggone happy to leave dear old Dad to fry on this rock while beaming up his adolescent son and the daughter of that now-deceased mother, who was left in an abandoned ambulance to attract flies at the scene of the accident!
In the end, everyone, Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Sister... all die. But as for the kids? The ones who got in the car with ET? They are (apparently) set free on some exotic other-world where they are last seen romping in wild wheat under an alien moon.
(You're left alone to guess (haphazardly even) just how many people had a hand in trying to paint some kind of ending to this horribly suffering script... and our otherwise far more deserving actors.)
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Humans are unavoidably apish
Okay, I loved the book, felt my way through the BBC series several times but then felt as empty as Milli's at the end of the day. It was not right to leave them stranded with so many ape-men and a ship captain that takes a perpetual bath.
No sir.
On the flipside, the movie made a clearer statement to the book but still and all, took liberties with character and ending. I should think that someone, somewhere has an ounce of resolve to correct this matter before the Vogon fleet finally arrives.
In sum... the book is your best shot. Just avoid the Gargleblaster.
Brainstorm (1983)
Like a good wine
This movie was made in 1983
and if all you look for is in the shallow waters, you will find a flick that is over 25 years old. The technology, the cars, the dress
it is indeed a throwback to the days when Bill Gates and his kind were young and cutting trails through the unknown. But deeper still are all those timeless questions of right and wrong, our humanity and of course, love.
I remember watching this when it was new and then a little later on VHS. I was drawn to it then not for the special effects, but because it dared to suggest that we could survive not only our mortality, but also our stupidity.
This one is ageless for anyone who isn't limited by superficial boundaries and has the personal depth to look deeper than is our momentary, superficial existence.
RIP: Natalie Wood
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
The Damned Don't Bitch
First of all, excuse the title of this summary... it was a comment, or maybe better a statement of fact often thrown at me personally as an army recruit during the Vietnam War era; one that holds as much truth today as it did so many years ago.
There are a lot of war flicks but what very few really detail or appreciate is the training that is put into each soldier, Marine and sailor in our armed forces. I like 'Heartbreak Ridge' for its simple approach to the humanity of each Marine and that in a hot LZ, there's still nothing like having an old vet who knows the ropes.
The military never has enough 'Gunny Highway's' to pave the road for the next generation of soldier who finds him or herself in harm's way.
As far as the accuracy? The movie could almost be called a work of fiction except that we did go to the island of Grenada and we did liberate those students.
I recommend this flick to those who can logically separate the politician from the soldier and understand that warriors have no say over when or where they fight. They dedicate their lives to their country and land upon any shore, anywhere at any time because they are patriots.
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Band of Brothers (2001)
The new benchmark in war epics
Up until a few days ago, I had only seen this miniseries in broken clusters of the episodes, on the History Channel. I knew I liked it but there was the disruption in the continuity.
Then I got the 6-disk boxed edition for my birthday and everything changed. From that point, what was already a really good story took off and became great. Played in order over a period of two days, the story leaped from the screen and easily initiated a suspension of the natural disbelief you have when watching any movie. The characters, locations and drama melded in a way that I have never seen in anything before. The closest to come to this level of cinematographic and acting excellence is... maybe, Saving Private Ryan.
I should note that I really do enjoy immersing myself into movies. The goal is, of course, reaching that threshold where you and the story become one; that aforementioned suspension of disbelief.
Everyone is different but speaking strictly for myself, after watching Band of Brothers, every other war movie of the genre now pales and seems so obviously contrived. Even something as well done as Flags of Our Fathers, seems a lesser product.
This series has effectively altered my perception of the art of acting, directing and cinematography. It also leaves some mighty big shoes to fill for anything that ever hopes to come close.
You will come away with a deep appreciation of the real Easy Company of the 506 PIR, and so too those actors who took their roles in recreating those pivotal moments so critical in history.
* For any war movie fan, I recommend the 6-disk set that includes (Disk 6) Ron Livingston's Video Diaries.
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The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
I DO Believe!
Going into 'The X-Files: I Want To Believe', I had heard a lot of negative commentary. For one, it was not... um, paranormal enough. From there, the complaints ranged from poor acting to less than stellar writing. After following the series for so many years, so many years ago, the criticism was really quite depressing.
But I held out for the DVD (I missed it at the cinema) and the hope that Chris Carter, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson would not abuse the vehicle or dare disappoint their loyal audience.
Well, the long wait was rewarded and all the negativity was laid to rest.
The X-Files was really never JUST about UFOs and the paranormal. Anyone who ever appreciated the series knows this because, just like the Star Trek franchise has ALWAYS been, the value was in the acting, characters and the dynamic of each individual story telling.
The movie's score is absolutely brilliant, playing up the emotions to the scenes with music at all the right times and in all the right places. It is, in fact, the musical orchestration that brings home that last truth of the series and the movies; The X-Files is, among so many other things, a romance.
To be sure, the romantics were a long time in coming to visual fruition but... very few of us ever doubted that the bond between Mulder and Scully was ever headed to anything else. From that first moment on the lonely highway when Agent Mulder painted the red 'X' on the pavement until this, the latest excursion, they have been destined for each other.
No give-aways, though. The flick has just come out on DVD and if you are as avid a follower of The X-Files as I, then you must see it to appreciate it.
It is my hope that the movie does better in DVD sales than it did at the cinema because I for one want to see another episode! Best to all.
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Down Periscope (1996)
One that didn't get away
"Down Periscope" has been in our library since it first arrived in VHS. Since then, we have acquired the DVD and a digital from Cinema Now.
It is a quirky flick that does not go militarily overboard as either pro or con. It is first and foremost a comedy and as a vehicle for the main characters, I am quite surprised that a sequel has never been offered.
The movie has gained a following that borders on a cult obsession, even among the very young. I became aware of this while visiting the USS Drum in Mobile, Alabama in 2002. A group of Cub Scouts, my grandson among them, had all taken up the roles from the movie and planned to relive it during their overnighter on board.
It is a fun romp that makes you proud both of our Navy and Hollywood... which is rare company.
Thanks to Kelsey Grammar, Lauren Holly and Rob Schneider for making what could have been an otherwise unremarkable movie, such great entertainment!
Cloverfield (2008)
Revenger of the Sushi
First, just a few words on the subject of 'spoilers'.
Preface: Cloverfield is so completely bizarre as to be nearly immune to being spoiled by anyone's comments. I could have read every spoiler here and still been nowhere near ready for what was waiting. (But I'm signing onto the IMDb 'spoiler' program just in case, lol!)
The home-movie stylizing of this flick makes the plot entirely indescribable. Basically, you are as helpless to grasp the 'what' and the 'why' as are the main characters. I had hoped to discover the answer to some of the mystery by the end of the story but apparently, the 'what' is still alive and the 'why' is because our military is buying its weapons systems from the same folks who make Frisbees.
Seriously, this is a very good, very unique movie. Some of the best FX are the helicopter scenes of the beasty getting blasted by a B2 Stealth Bomber. How in the hell did it avoid being turned into sushi is beyond me!
Okay, I'm gonna wait for a sequel because it just wouldn't be fair to mess up New York like that without offering the Red Sox fans in Boston some equal time ;)
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U-571 (2000)
Everyone's a critic... and most are bad ones
Geez, some of the reviews here treat this as if it was a genuine WW2 newsreel that someone turned into a rap video...
Preface: Movies are, in a way, like a beauty contest. You sit and watch and are entertained by the eye candy. But for those who insist on looking up every skirt, and yanking every bra in search of padding, there will be an inevitable disappointment.
Truth: U-571 is a good action movie... and a good war flick. It doesn't pretend to be anything that it is not and doesn't promise a cameo by Sir Winston Churchill.
In Sum: An American sub crew is given a mission to reach a distressed German sub before a relief party can arrive. Along the way, there are a lot of things that bleed and go bang. Not unlike a real war but we all know it's just a movie and that in the end, it's all for our amusement.
At least, most of us know that.
I personally recommend this movie for those who enjoy war scenarios and close-quartered action sequences.
Dark Passage (1947)
Bogie & Bacall in the first FPS
This is actually one of my favorite Bogart/Bacall vehicles. The storyline is a bit fantastic, especially for 1947, but not beyond belief and if you can immerse yourself into the environment, it is a very enjoyable ride.
Note: Bogie was always better playing the borderline character, neither entirely good nor entirely bad. It is honestly closer to what we all really are ourselves; neither the devout hero nor the dedicated villain.
In this flick, he is a falsely accused and convicted murderer who escapes to settle the issue and find justice. For pretty much the first third of the movie, you see things through his eyes, like a FPS video game. You and he go for some plastic surgery and then experience a fairly rapid healing. The upside is that you have Bacall to look at during your recuperation! Agnes Morehead (Bewitched's 'Endora') is perfectly despicable in a form that makes you really wonder if she was ever liked by anyone, even when she was young.
I am a fan of movies from this era and a Bogie fan as well so I am admittedly biased. But I do also hold many critics accountable on this reel because most of the complaints are artificially generated so there's something to write about. Simply put, this isn't a movie that was ever designed to bring an Oscar but rather, one that was made for fans of the actors and genre. In that aspect, it easily does well.
For the unique storyline (for the time) and the presentation (FPS) and the setting (San Francisco) and the leading actress (Bacall) and the villainess (Moorehead), this is a movie worth seeing at least once. And if you're like me, every time it comes around on the classic movie networks!