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snake966
Reviews
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
If You Just Want Something Safe to Watch
Some spoilers.
First Off I loved the 1965 version. I thought at first it was a mistake to remake this movie. That said, I enjoyed this movie. Why? It is fun, escapist, non-threatening, entertainment like national Treasure that I really would have no problem bringing my 7 year old son to. Sure there are a couple of moments, but no worse that TV shows. If I wanted an epic I would have searched harder, I just wanted to go into a movie and have fun for a couple of hours and this fit the bill. Some Things: I personally loved the Outkast song interlude. Stress relief needed at a critical point by the survivors. (Nice timing w/ratchet Dennis)
I hated that they made the actual work on the plane look easy; rebuilding, clearing the sand, etc...( In 1965 version you saw the effort and strain)
For a desert too much skin, no head covers, NO SUNBURNS, (It seemed no worse than a day at the beach. I know the GOBI isn't the Sahara but one character did say it got pretty nasty in the time-frame of the movie).
Frank Towns well done. Elliott-Giovanni Ribisi good but I still like Hardy Krueger as Dorfmann better. Have to say most of cast/characters pretty undeveloped.
Missed the actual ending of the first movie where they ran down to the pond and everyone trying to figure out whats going with these guys.
Rent It.
Fifty/Fifty (1992)
A Good Action-Comedy or Comedy-Action
This is one of those movies that grows on you. I watched it when it first came to video and thought Ho-Hum. Then a few years later it was not too bad...till now I enjoy renting it about every 6 months just as a beer and pretzels, watch with my buddies kinda movie.
The action is very good. Not a whole lot of the explosions throwing undamaged bodies into 10 ft somersaults. Unlike other action flicks of this time, the heroes were pretty shot up by movies end.
The whole rebellion idea was fairly well planned out, both times. People you expect to make it (the girl) don't. Even the CIA guys is actually pretty cool at the end.
Watch it for entertainment, not for philosophy.
Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Life Here Began out There...A Long Time Ago...Oooops Sorry!
First off I was a big fan of the original series...when I was 13! Now I have to laugh at some of the old series episodes, they were so campy and cliche. Folks, the old show is dead. Long Live the King. Lets get over it and turn to the new one.
This was probably the best sci-fi TV movie I have seen. Probably ranks pretty high compared to made-for-theatrical releases also.
High Points: 1. Characters are no longer perfect little cardboard cut-outs with no personal lives. They have likes, dislikes, hates, and loves. In original series their past lives were mostly hinted at or ignored. 2. I love the documentary film style. It makes it easier to get a feel for the action. 3. A Battlestar in 3D, that pitches and rolls. My favorite scene is where the Galactica comes out of Ragnar to form the shield for the fleet. In your face, Star Wars and Star Trek. 4. The drum beat during the battle scenes just gets my blood pumping. I find myself tapping a chair, table, innocent bystander along with beat. 5. The music when 6 makes appearances. Can you get any more eerie and psyco sounding (especially after Baltar finds out she is in his head). 6. The dialogue (for the most part), flight preparations, markings on fighters, crew chief uniforms, all remind me of something off of an American aicraft carrier. Low Points: 1. The uniforms for the crew. The dress unforms look like something the Israeli Defence Forces would pass on as too ugly and plain. The fatigues look like someone dropped UPS uniforms in olive drab dye. The undergarments look ridiculous, reminding me of when basketball players wore t-shirts under jerseys. Some of the civilian clothes need work to. The Presidents aide looked like the actor just wore his street clothes in to work every day. 2. Inside the Galactica, especially CIC look like the inside of a war room and tunnels in NORAD. The orignal Galatica bridge always look so realistic, and gave me that shipboard feel. 3. The robot centurions were only seen twice doing almost the exact same moves, like the computer animators got that part of the project on the last day and had to just throw them in let you know what they looked like. Some on-the-ground combat with them versus Colonial ground forces would have been a bonus. 4. I know the making of some models of Cylons to appear human is a cost-cutting measure, but it has been way overplayed this year in other movies. Again more robots, less humans would have had a better effect. 5. More fight scenes. Maybe excerpts from Colonial Fleet getting their butts kicked, more Galactica dogfights, some ground combat. For a while all you saw were what seemed like two cylon fighter in every attack. I thought to myself those guys earned their pay...kilowatts...whatever that day. Would have run out of room on their fighter marking their kills. 6. Hire a few technical advisors from many branches of service and ranks. Some of the actions aboard Galactica need more of a practical military feel. "Action Stations", salutes, dialogue among crew. Its there just needs to be better. 7. Cut out so much sex. If I want porn I turn to Skinemax. If I want sci-fi, I turn to the Sci-Fi Channel. I wanted to send my 6 yr old out of the room for the scenes between Baltar and 6.
It may sound like I am very critical of a show I say I liked very much. Im not. I would just like to have one show on TV that I dont want to miss every week. Now I just turn it on look for little while and turn it off for several days and read. I remember when TV was Must-See rather than Musty. This show has potential. I would rate the pilot as an A minus. Lets hope the suits that make the decisions listen to a little feedback. Maybe not mine, but hopefully someone interested in something other than Survivor, Average Joe, the CSI-ripoffs, and the other trash on these days. Bring back fun TV!!!
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Think of it as a Well-Made Documentary
I felt like many of the times in the movie I was watching a combat cameraman's footage of the fight. Very similar to how I felt in "Saving Private Ryan" (remember the fight at the radar site). As far as character development. This is a 24 hour almost-continuos firefight. Kinda hard to solve the mysteries of life when your buddies are being shown blown in half by an RPG. There is enough, Eversman from scared first timer to combat vet leader. Grimes from office clerk to young warrior. Durant from cocky spec op heli pilot to eyewitness to a supremely brave act and then resigned P.O.W.
This movie is an example of the change that has occurred in recently from the 50's, 60's, and 70's war movies. The actual horrors and stress of war were only briefly shown or alluded to. They were an almost glamorization of war. Yeah, I bought into it too. Now days you see that to be a warrior requires a sacrifice, of limb, mind, even life. You see the chaos and disorder of war (the fog of war).
I wish this would have been available in my days as an officer in the US Army. As a tool to prepare a young combat arms officer to be a combat leader, this would have been invaluable. Perhaps someone in the Pentagon will realize the need to teach about combat stress and not about sexual harassment or equal opportunity.
Reign of Fire (2002)
Watch Out. They're Back!!!
Basically a pretty good movie, that I feel is no better, no worse than a lot of stuff produced these days. The plot has been told already, but here goes. Dragons come back, wipe out most of the life on earth. Survivors finally forced to end it one way or the other. Go see it to find out who wins. I like the acting in the movie. Mcconaghey was just right for a desperate, partially insane survivor. You live for 12 years in that hell and lets see how well adjusted you would be. Bale was believable as the leader of what he felt might be the only people left on Earth, and he wanted to lay low and live. Now about the nit-picking mentioned so far...
1. Fuel was probably carried on board the C-5 Van Zan used to come to England. Thats a big plane folks. (Big!!!) Probably salvaged some in England too.
2. They salvaged a lot of equipment in England when they arrived. How do I know. Most of the vehicles and weapons were British. (Yeah, I know the film was made in England, thats what was available. Exactly, that would be what was available if you did the same thing as Van Zan did.
3. Why didnt they use anti-tank missiles and anti-air missiles on the dragons? Good idea. They probably killed millions of dragons. After 12 years of apocalyptic-level war, how many of those weapons would be left. Not to mention fighters, tank, soldiers to use them. Remember, the factories are above ground, the work force is above ground. You try to produce weapons when the factory is being destroyed around you.
4. Radiation. There have been hundreds of nuclear tests in Nevada since the first atom bomb in 1945. Doesnt look "nuked" to me.
5. The one male Dragon idea. Lots of animals in nature drive away/kill competing males so that they can have all the females look how competitive many human males are at a bar on ladies night)(. He probably killed any at birth he found. Maybe his aerosol-like sperm is all X (as in XX vs. XY chromosome).
6. How did they know how to find him. One comment mentioned satellite imagery. okay. Since he is about ten times as big as the females that would tend to show up I think. Spy satellites (KY-11 etc... would be able to tell that much easily.)
Anyway my point is this, A lot of the things in this movie are feasible. If you suspend your disbelief.
Isnt that what a fantasy/science fictions story asks in the first place.