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Reviews
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1985)
One of the best of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcasts
The Kennedy Center Honors, televised each year since 1978 as a tribute to great artists of stage, screen, television, musical theater, and dance, are a time we as a nation get a chance to reminisce about those artists that have seemingly always been a part of our lives. Each year the same approach is used: a well-known individual who knows the recipient introduces them, a video highlights the honorees life, the audience stands to applaud them (and so do we), another well-known "star" introduces the entertainment, and a variety show of sorts unfolds, usually in the genre reflecting that of the honoree. Although many of the almost 30 televised specials have been highly entertaining, the 1985 telecast is one of the best. Honorees Beverly Sills, Irene Dunne, Merce Cunningham, Lerner and Leowe, and Bob Hope are not only household names (well-perhaps not Cunningham), but certainly among the top-ten favorites of many of us. The video clips this year are exceptional in coverage and the introductions and entertainment of no less than Frederica van Stade, Sherill Milnes, Robert Goulet, Chevy Chase, Jimmy Stewart, and Carol Burnett, is outstanding. For those of us currently in our 50's or older, a lifetime of entertainment flashes before our eyes in this one show. As the men in uniform at the close of the show say to Bob Hope, we can say to all of these honorees: "Thanks for the memories."
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Worth the viewing despite some flaws
Once I got past the "prequel? But it can't be!" idea I found this film chillingly realistic. After the groundwork is laid and the film takes off it is entirely too plausible to be comfortable. It dawned on me while watching this that we have returned to the nuke scare I grew up with (I'm a baby-boomer)in the 50's, only now, since 9/11, the scare is real. For viewers who might drool in anticipation to see the effects of a nuclear explosion you will be disappointed. Even "Atomic Train" and "The Day After" deliver more along that line. Rather, Sum of All Fears is a thriller along the lines of "War Games." I know the paid critics are going to tear apart Ben Affleck's performance, but I found it one of his best efforts. As a wet-behind-the-ears CIA agent, he is believable. Morgan Freeman, too, is fine. However, the problem with the rest of the cast--especially those in uniform--is that they are all well-known character actors. I spent more time trying to remember what other films I've seen them in that what they were doing in this one. Is it a bad thing to have new faces in minor parts once in a while??