Missileman1 Reviews

The Legend of 1900 (1998)

Well, lookey - a Diamond! ONE of the reasons we go to the movies...

[10/10 · 20 June 2009]

For myself, I've read every single comment on this film - took me a while (208 to date). Some have made me think deeper about it. Still, I find it one of the most pathos-infused stories-put-to-celluloid I've had the privilege of viewing (please read the book...). If your spirit can't find the uplifting benefit in this film, I'd have to question your personal character, your outlook on life - or your moral turpitude. What's not to like about a ship-born infant whose, ultimately, self-imposed life at sea fosters his world-class musical talent - but which bungles the one, single, opportunity to requite the land-based love of his life?

Beautifully crafted, exquisitely shot, immaculately directed. If you have no ear for the extreme craftsmanship of (Tim Roth's or Clarence William III's) piano, or (Vincent Taylor Pruitt's) trumpet, I'm sorry for you. If you have no eye for divine camera-work, go play a video war-game. And if you can't recognize great acting when you see it then attend a rally for your local politician. But, if you have a sense for the ethereal within real life, an imagination to go with it, and your body still has the ability to produce real tears, then watch this film. It will cleanse you. 'THE LEGEND OF 1900' is ONE of the few reasons we go to the movies - they complete us. Believe me - I wept.

Kudos to the fine actors, director (Giuseppe Tornatore), and musical composer (Ennio Morricone).

Bob Shank Jr. Tucson, AZ

Lions for Lambs (2007)

Sorry, lame stuff...

[2/10 · 24 April 2008]

I agree, mostly, with 'isabelle1955'... Except for the following: 1) TC is not believable as the 'perfectly insincerely sincere' Jasper Irving; will some 'sincere' director please advise Mr. Cruise to stop 'projecting his own image for the camera' and start acting for the script - or, his audience - alternately, the story line. He's - still - just too in love with his agent's image of himself. Go visit a REAL insincerely sincere senator and study him. Try again, and drop your mind's-eye, mirror-image of yourself in the camera for crying out loud! 2) Where's your 'character', Meryl Streep??? where's her guts??? where's the fist-i-ness, the 'cougar' in you??? If you were acting as a real DC reporter (and I've met 'em) there'd be some tough words and emotion in that office interviewing Jasper Irving! Maybe some blood. Hell, you'd be standing on top of his desk instead of smoothing your skirt and blushing every time you 'asserted' a question. You acted like a high-school newspaper reporter for the Chicopee Falls HS 'Pacers' newsletter trying to get an auto-dealer's ad - please, may I have one? Are you kidding me? Lame; stop 'worshipping' Meryl Streep and start critiquing her individual performances. Get a life. 3) I agree - the Afghan scenes were shame-able. So was the acting. 4) Convince what California student? All I saw was yet another young actor who couldn't believe he was in a movie with a hype cast. Go back to school, get a job, serve humanity in a functioning way. 5) Redford did what he could with the cast and script he was given - that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. 5) Which of your two husband's brain-cells are you in love with? Too bad you mentioned him. Hmmmmm. Like being hit over the head with a Brit. Lame, pointless film. No energy, no Mission Statement, no redeeming social value. Watch a baseball game instead; at least steroid use gives you something to cheer about...or, plant a tree in your neighborhood.

Michael (1996)

John Travolta will 'ruffle your feathers'

[14 May 2006]

in this, yet again, Nora Ephron pleaser. How can you not sniggle, laugh, guffaw and even cheer for a love-handled, smoking, suger-eating, beer-drinking, bull-charging, bar-dancing Archangel who sloops cereal and pie with his whole left-hand wrapped around a spoon-handle while outfitted in Vinnie Barbarino's middle-aged body with wings? It's one of the most ludicrous, classic, side-splitting images available on the silver screen. And if you don't 'get' that image, here's a quarter --- go buy yourself a life.

I found the supporting cast, well -- well-cast. Hurt, MacDowell, Pastorelli, Hoskins, Stapleton et al played the characters they were given to a 'T." And despite Travolta stealing the show, those characters are quintessential to the storyline – you'll see. Though this is a simple feel-good story (nothing complicated to follow, just out of the ordinary) with laughs, sniffles and a touch of heart, you can't get out of this without some introspection into your own life. Maybe that's why the IMDb nay-sayers of this film have such a problem with it (you poor, sad people).

Please – do yourself a favor, ignore the 'lifeless' and treat yourself to something GOOD. Lord knows, we can't get enough of that

Final Approach (2005 Video)

Sometimes VIOLENCE isn't the only cruelty...

[9 May 2006]

perpetrated on children. More often than not it's simply a series of gross misrepresentations of reality. Packaged in a 'nifty' kids' format (as so many others in the genre) this film does just that. From the head-phone-less 777 pilot who reads a 'newspaper' in the cockpit (folded, read from the hand with less than serious attention, an en-route flight chart is hardly a suspect here; and taking off his glasses in the direst emergency during the film doesn't help) to the ridiculous time-segment distortions, children are given the impressions that not only does everything happen in slow motion in the world, but that 1) professionalism, 2) today's technology, and, 3) emotional stability – among countless other real-world scenarios requiring mature judgment - can be plucked out of the air and bent for their own use simply because they think it so (Hollywood: guilty as charged).

Parents, try this at home: give your offspring a good dose of REALITY during the viewing of this flick (put the recorder on 'pause' at the appropriate moment and MAKE IT SO). It may consume some precognitive time --- on your part. There's nothing wrong with fantasy, just make sure your kids know the difference. And, FYI, it's one of the main reasons English-speaking children fall so far behind many nations of the world in high-school and college aptitude. We're not only losing our engineers, teachers, artists – and yes, dreamers – for the same reasons, we're losing parentage.

FANTASY: 10 --- REALITY: 1, for an HGN rating – Hollywood Gross Negligence. PS/yes, I've raised children (5) – they're all out of college, doing well and having payed their own way; they know 'the difference' and I didn't pay a dime, just a lot of attention

The Big Blue (1988)

...caught you holding your breath, didn't I?...

[9/10 · 28 January 2006]

...I certainly held mine.

If you ever wanted to know what the international sport of SCUBA-less, very-deep, 'free-diving' was about, here's your film with a dream-like twist.

Haunting, exquisite, sublime, beautifully photographed and scored, THE BIG BLUE will find you pushing-the-envelope inside your own lungs right on the living room couch. You'll find Jean Reno at his best - and you'll definitely want the recipe for 'Spaghetti Fruti di Mari.' I'm very partial to the US version (and I own both the US and European CDs) with John Conti's superior musical score (others agree - see Pat Epstein's review). I loved Luc Besson's international flavor in this film. Prepare a Greek or Italian dinner for your friends, open a fresh bottle of Chianti or Ouzo, butter the Italian/French bread-loaf slices, launch yourself into the couches around the coffee table, push the 'Play' button and enjoy...

'Roberto, yo parma!'

After the Sunset (2004)

Salma Hayek, Bahamas - so what else do you need to know?

[8/10 · 24 January 2006]

A natural man's dream.........

...add a little Pierce, a little Woody, some Don Cheadle, a little diamond caper off a cruise-ship in emerald-blue waters in the exotic Caribbean with some liquor-on-the-side. So where's the popcorn and the Heinekens??? scoot over, Jimmy, and kick off your loafers (mind the coffee table...). Get real, this is a guy's night out with an absolute, complete female on the books in a spy thriller...

...oh yeah, did I mention Salma Hayek?...3 scoops, please, and doff the cones - bring your jammies, buds, for a sleep-over - we'll eat burned scrambled eggs in the morning and talk about the possibilities.

8/10 for pure 'guy fun'

The Missing (I) (2003)

A slice of TRUE western history, finally brought to life...

[9/10 · 7 January 2006]

As a 'local' – Arizona – long-time US southwestern resident and historian, I have to bite my lip occasionally at many of the ridiculous reviews for this excellent Ron Howard film.

It's so easy to spot the ignorant…

For all their emotion about this film, most reviewers' clichés, inaccurate statements, mistaken references, mis-understood, mis-referenced or mis-opted views of 'Western movies' (let alone, southwestern history, and general mis-direction of history en toto), grossly reveal the puerile, Hollywood brain-damage…

Pity … they could have learned a lot if they only KNEW. Not only is Ron Howard's effort well-directed, it's very historically accurate. Point-in-fact: his acting crew, notably Tommy Lee Jones, had to learn whole sentences/paragraphs in the Apache-ne-Athe(p/b)ascan derivative language (as well as their meanings), in not just short, 'indian' phrases as in most 'Western-style' films, but to those which accurately depict the spoken word of the time. None less than Elbys Huger, Berle Kanseah and Scott Rushforth did Howard employ as linguist-teachers for the actors for accuracy (please, do your research). In addition, western settlers at that time on the southern borders of New Mexico and Arizona were vilely subjected to early forms of terrorism in the southwest – including what you see on-screen. Those bands of Mescalero/Chiricahua natives were normally (though not totally) averse to kidnapping young, white females of European descent for slave-trading from western settlers (as well, married adult females). However, and in particular addition, rituals of northern-Sonoran Indians – Yaqui (there were other tribes) – vastly apart from Cochise's band of Chiricahua Apaches, were especially ruthless against 'whites', employing those very diatribes Eric Schwieg (aka, 'el brujo', 'Pesh Chidin') perpetrated against western immigrants. And, BTW, Schwieg was absolutely SUPERIOR in the role – the man surely deserved not only credibility, but Oscar consideration – he is that good; if you knew only a sliver of southwestern history, you'd know his portrayal is not only authentic, but well-portrayed (eastern-USers, Canadians, take note – you've no conscience of southwestern US history unless you've studied/lived it – mark my word, Pilgrim).

Re/ The Entertainment value: - TLJones: always a distinct pleasure, thank you Thomas – extraordinarily well-done, and one of your very best efforts – applauses; how-went the linguistics for the film? - Ms. Cate Blanchett: as well, extraordinary effort; you are, still, a gem-in-the making, and exceptionally well-suited for the part – truly, WELL DONE …you exemplified the character. Where did you learn about the southwest of the US??) - Jay Tavare: your portrayal of 'Kayitah' was exemplary and believable. Nice going! You have more Hollywood parts in your future – stay with it. - Steve Reevis: "Two Stone" – you should have been cast earlier in larger roles. Enjoyed you in 'Last of the Dogmen' - Even, Jenna: stay with it - in a few years you may think about changing your mind – maybe even now; you both have the energy – how badly do you want it??

9.5/10 -- believe it; or buy a history book and educate yourself about the REAL southwestern US

Miracle (2004)

...from a purely 'business perspective'...

[9/10 · 12 December 2005]

...it's one of the best examples of 'Business-crises Management' I've ever seen. Kurt Russell - playing Herb Brooks so well you'll barely recognize Kurt - is a true business manager: "I'm so sick and tired of hearing about the Soviets...now go out there and TAKE IT"!!

Who said 'business management' isn't exciting?

...who??? take names on a clip-board and kick some butt. I saw the Real McCoy when it happened - true tears of joy, and my knees were shaking so bad I couldn't even stand up from the couch to cheer - I don't even have a business degree. And fortunately, you don't need one either to enjoy this really, terrific film.

~ 9.5 out of 10 for pure entertainment and true-to-life history. No? here's a quarter - go buy a life...

It Could Happen to You (1994)

OK you can finally drop your ugly Hollywood 'baggage' right here.

[9/10 · 27 November 2005]

If you haven't seen the film, just grab a Pepsi out of the 'fridge, pop up some Jolly Time with a little real butter (the kind that lets you hear your arteries harden – you'll live), and take a good look at Andy Bergman and Jane Anderson's little masterpiece. You'll find the Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda you've always been looking for and never thought you'd see – together. Way beyond that, but amazingly from the get-go – and right in front of your very eyes – you'll begin to discover a good part of your heart in the process. You know, that part that guys don't like to talk about and women always do? This cynical man certainly did…

'Feel good' movie? – you better believe it. But don't shy away or you'll miss being human. All the 'good stuff' you ever imagined yet knew ahead-of-time is in this little caper: great plot, great story line, great acting – great film. And just the right amount of the right musical score. The trick is (and believe me, it's no trick at all) to put yourself in their shoes: as others have said, what would 'you' do with 2 million dollars that fell into your lap? You'll be thinking so hard you can miss the magic. Don't let that happen …

Years ago, as my flight instructor used to say after GUMP (gear, undercarriage, mixture, prop) and right before landing, '…just fly the plane, Bob.'

Just watch the movie. Your own three-point landing will work itself out – and, your arteries will soften…

8/10

Memphis Belle (1990)

"MB" nay-sayers: ever been a bomber pilot at age 21?

[13 November 2005]

No?? … then shut up.

My dad was. Didn't fly B-17s, but he was the PIC (pilot-in-command) of a crew of seven, all younger than he, of a B-26 Martin Marauder medium bomber (the Flying Prostitute – 'no visible means of support'; referred to the short wingspan and hot landing speeds) in the Mediterranean Campaign out of Corsica and Sardinia, bombing German-controlled ball-bearing factories in northern Italy at 10,000 ft. Lost his nose-gunner from "fright" - frozen to the gun – wouldn't bail out when they were shot down right after 'delivering the pizza' over Bergamo-Seriate airfield on my mom's birthday, Aug 08th, 1944…about 9 weeks before I was born. His story about getting out of that B-26 before it crashed would raise the hair on your young necks. Survived Stalag Luft III and the 500 mile foot-march – yes, in January, through snow – to Stalag Luft VII (Steve McQueen – "The Great Escape"). Gen'l Patton liberated all in April, 1945 – including my dad and five of his crew.

Dad didn't make furniture like Matthew Modine's character in "Memphis Belle". But he did pick and truck-haul tomatoes on HIS dad's farm in the Ohio River Valley around Racine, right out of the black river-bottom soil just above the banks; became a basketball hero in high school; then entered the Army Air Force at 19. Pilot training in Texas and Florida. I have the letters from him to my mom during all that...

And the dialog in the film? Pretty true-to-life, he said – everybody was young and talked and acted JUST LIKE THAT…

This review isn't meant to be about my dad. But I hope it says a little something about the producer's efforts for "Memphis Belle." Very young kids – normal Americans – tough (even impossible) duty – in advanced machines (then) – in hard times – in a country far from home – doing what they were trained for. Sound familiar even today?...

And don't be too hard on the details. Remember, this is a 'representative film' of what happened to many, many bomber crews in many, many different bombers during WWII. Many thousands of very young American air crews were lost in this effort to help keep America and our Allies 'free.' Think about that whole image, listen to the music score, cherish the action from a fresh perspective. TRY to put yourself in their shoes.

Then watch the film again

The Red Violin (1998)

...and so we learn the 'mystery'... (spoiler at hand)

[9 November 2005]

Excels beyond finer celluloid fare, and most certainly, ambitious.

...but you have to be 'ready' and 'comfortable' for this film. I like 'weymo's' commentary from Atlanta: "...the perfect movie for a rainy autumn Sunday afternoon when everything is quiet but the popping of the fire and the creaking of your favorite easy chair." ...well said. And "courage" to Francois Girard and Don McKellar for making the effort to put us in that perfect spot. But as Dylan Thomas once said - and Bob Dylan echoed many years later - "Do not go gentle into that good night...(Mr Taborine Man)", or you will find yourself wanting. Having said that, pay attention to the real plot: WHAT MADE Le Violon "rouge"? Why, blood, sweat and tears of course -- particularly, the foremost. And it wasn't without a bit of hand-crafted genius from Nicolo Bussotti...such trade sorely lacking, these days, I'm afraid.

Go beyond yourself; take a step into the mysterious - see the film, and think about 'another world' right here on your own planet Earth, with all it's failures - and serendipities. We DO produce some good 'bling' from time-to-time.

...and I only 'tune' computers.

American Flyers (1985)

Put something 'exciting' between your legs -- ride a bicycle

[9/10 · 1 November 2005]

ever done it? way beyond the absolute, crotch-numbing, mind-blowing hilt?? You may just get a taste of it in this classic Costner film (yes, classic, forget the purist nay-sayers).

Before "Water World", "Dances With Wolves","For Love Of The Game" and "Message In A Bottle", there was "AMERICAN FLYERS." You can guage (or wager) the distance in time, maturity or credibility of Costner's films any way you want, but this little gem will not disappoint you in subject-matter interest. Let's skip all that and get to the point: this is a movie-goer's film.

You don't have to be Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Merckx (in the film), Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond or even Lance Armstrong to appreciate the deep rigors of bicycle-racing in this wonderfully entertaining 1985 Steve Tesich effort. It brims with interest on several levels. Throw out the 'corny' phrases if you want, even the obligatory and patriotic PG sex scenes with David Grant and Alexandra Paul with all the phallic symbols attached - even then, I enjoyed 'em, don't care what you say.

Though the film is powerfully underscored by hard-core bicycle racing (this one is way more technical than "Breaking Away"), it's basically about competition, strategy, the preparation thereof and the humanity involved in it's surrounding cornucopia of personal involvements; the trainers, the girlfriends, the family, a twisty tragedy…and the competitors, mostly embodied by the very diverse actor, director, writer and Ted Danson be-alike, Luca Bercovici – well cast.

RES FIRMA NITESCERE NESCIT – ["a firm resolve never weakens", or in the film, "Once you've got it up, keep it up"] boldly emprinted on the front of David Marshall Grant's new t-shirt, once he best's his brother's (Costner) clinical and physically-challenging endurance test at the Wisconsin sports training complex (administered by the much-underrated John Amos) – will definitely make you either shrivel from the exhaustion of all-out effort or totally embrace it as a sportsman/woman. For me, from birth, recipient of 'bi-lateral dysplasia' (hips out of joint – corrected by bloodless surgery via casts from Shriner's Children's Hospital), the film Sirened me off the couch in my 12 year old, listless, childless marriage and challenged me to prove I could be once again - this time on a legitimate racing bicycle - somehow, the athlete in my decrepit and lethargic '40s' that I was in high school as a record-setting swimmer in my late 'teens. It worked. Twenty years after the film's debut, I still owe K.C. for the life-saving change. Not only is the film workable but my life as well, thanks to that happen-stance viewing. You may want to give it a try yourself. Bicycling or not, you'll truly enjoy this 20-year-old sports-classic, family movie.

"9" for entertainment...

Riding Giants (2004)

(Arizona road sign: "Rough Shoulder Ahead"

[8 October 2005]

"RIDING GIANTS"

…may have also been entitled, "RIDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS", considering not only the ridiculously statuesque height and power of the curling, H2O monsters they inhabit, but the sheer depth, width and character-breadth of the mere ubermensch who have chosen to do so.

Documentarian, Stacey Peralta has captured enough of the prime footage of big-wave riding in this stunning and jaw-dropping film (as well as its grainy, true and primordial history), to extricate the believer in anyone. And, as others have said, that's only the beginning…

Never having ridden anything larger than smooth, 8-10 ft curlers off K-38 in Sonora, Mexico in my So Cal youth, I have 'no way' of wrapping my mind around what legendary surfers such as Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Mark Foo (sadly, deceased) and Laird Hamilton have not only dreamed of, but accomplished in their fantastic lives. Beyond the staggering mental challenge of making the decision to 'commit' to the initial drop into 50-ft moving mountains at 40 mph, there's the strength and stamina continued over almost impossibly intense, short moments to consider – along with the balance, the focus and the quick-wittedness to bring off a successful ride (not to mention the ability to hold your breath for over 2 minutes under 10,000 tons of churning, knashing, limb-ripping water during the stress of it all if you wipe out) -- 'success' in which case applies to much like that of an airplane landing; one where you are not absolutely and positively killed to death.

Along with the immensely stunning photography, the music track is a gift – and in some moments, poetic. As well, you'll totally appreciate the mono/dialogs of this film, with most of the narration done by the giant-riders themselves – making it a true documentary story. And the out-takes at the end of the film are gems.

Perhaps you've never up-righted yourself on a surfboard, or even allowed yourself to be carried along, virtually unaided, by gentle incoming swells. Maybe you don't even like the ocean. Not to worry – you'll be magically lifted away on the 'shoulders of giants.'

Excruciatingly recommended

Quigley Down Under (1990)

..and the Life Guard said, "...

[24 July 2005]

"Everybody in the pool"

If you have to DETAIL this off-center, Western classic to DEATH, here're 2-bits from the penny-pocket in my Levis to find a Montana retirement community to seclude yourself in from the movie-review business...

What's not to like, here? Selleck at his 'formidable' cowboy best?; Rickman's '92 win at the London Critics Circle Awards for his substantial efforts in this film? -- or gorgeous LS-G, chomping-at-the-bit to sink her teeth into 'Crazy Cora'?? (as Quicksand from Dallas said, "someone give Laura San Giacomo a job, please" --- I'll be first in line, hat-in-hand).

Take off your spurs. Put your Justin's up on the bunk-house card table, throw back y'r Stetson, roll-up/light-up a 'cattle call' and - gosh durn it - enjoy the movie! (don't f'rgit to turn up the volume on Basil Pouledoris' significant score).

• Favorite Support: Chris Haywood ("Curly" - MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER) as Maj. Asley-Pitt - jeez, this guy you wanna 'smack-around' a bit, right?

The Man and the Challenge (1959–1960)

A most personal inspiration...

[7 July 2005]

My father was a career Air Force man. So when Col. John P Stapp's famous rocket sled images appeared in the opening credits of THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE in 1959 I, as a 14-year-old, was immediately hooked.

...and George Nader was the perfectly-cast star. I loved the stories. It didn't matter they were off-center from science-reality, as we knew it then - in my mind, they were 'possible.' The ideas just fascinated me. That it was possible to live through an elevator fall - or that one could survive a marooning at sea by drinking the base nutrients from a raw fish squeezed through a torqued towel, made absolute sense in my young, formative mind - they still do.

I've often reflected on that series over the years, and now realize what a huge impression it made on my ultimate enrollment in the aerospace industry.

I appreciate what all of you have written in remembrance of George Nader and this wonderful TV series. Yes, the film world often brings heroes - but much more than that; 'ideas of quality' can shape and determine one's entire future. It certainly did mine - may you all have been so blessed.

Masked and Anonymous (2003)

...everybody's right...

[1 July 2005]

Yeah, I watched it too...

and read all your reviews. Apparently, this pseudo-documentary-cum-film touched a lot of nerves...

There might have been a 'plot', didn't see one - don't know if one was actually intended. Some classic Dylan, an overblown John Goodman script, some cute, political, allegorical and metaphorical references to bad government, poor social conscience, and loosely-formatted relationships among people who have, primarily, their own agendas; nothing we don't already know about on the surface...Dylan plays the spectator ('course, that's what he's done best all his life - then musically comments on it better than most).

Here's the thing: it's TWO peoples' perspective on a 'slice' of life - appreciate it. Or don't. Dylan and Charles' (aka Fontain's) concept only confirms, sadly, what most of us know anyway...just in an unusual format, and in a venue we're only remotely - and uncomfortably - familiar with...chew on it a little. I did, and I appreciated it.