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Reviews
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)
Marvelous!
Marvelous! You can assess its impact by simply reading the comments of condemnation being heaped upon this film by the academe Nazis who have taken over too much of scientific work.
As a meteorologist for 51 years I am begging Ben Stein to do a follow-up exposing man-made global warming as the alarming hoax that it is!
But this is to miss the central point, perhaps, when commenting upon Expelled.
The idea that a consensus constitutes science is the real danger. When evolution can scientifically show me how the DNA code evolved in some random fashion, it might spark my interest.
Otherwise I would rather just stare at the stars on a dark night and continue to conclude that only fools think they have all the answers.
Quo Vadis (1951)
Great Moment of Truth
Always worth watching just to get to the final scenes when Nero (Peter Ustinov) calls upon Acte, the servant (Rosalie Crutchley) who has loved him from afar to complete the fatal thrust of the knife that ends his cruel reign. "You lived as a tyrant. Now die like an emperor." A quintessential moment of the villain meeting his justly deserved fate. This scene of Nero requiring help to commit suicide is preceded by scenes of the Roman mobs breaking down the doors of Caesar's royal palace and then relentlessly running towards the imperial apartments. "What will they do to me, Acte?" asks a terrified Nero. "They will kill you, sire!" is Acte's dreaded response.
Heavenly Days (1944)
Relevant Then & Now
I watched this little comedy on the eve of the 2006 Congressional election. I got strange feelings as I realized how so many of the scenes were relevant then and were relevant as I watched it. Watch Molly (Marian Jordan) in close up with her eyes ready to shed tears as she sits on the train with World War II troops. A truly great acting moment, something about her expression that made me want to tear up as well as I thought about troops fighting for us now. It a little silly, a little funny, and extremely revealing for those who are trying to understand how civilian Americans coped with the reality all around them at the height of World War II. And isn't it always fun whenever Fibber McGee opens up that closet?
Eight Below (2006)
A Non-Dog Lover's Delight
I am not and never have been a dog lover. That being said, I loved watching these dogs perform against a backdrop closely resembling the Antarctic. Sure, as a meteorologist, I could find little flaws. At one point the day is given as June 21. Yet the dogs are seen in bright daylight. A glaring error as this is the peak of the winter solstice and pitch black night would be the reality. But, as one other commented, hard to make a movie in darkness. So we overlook these little flaws. Hey, it's a Disney movie. And while some might find fault with the acting, I must say it was refreshing to find that the only bare butts showing up belonged to the dogs. A refreshing change. In reality Antarctica is ever so much more brutal from February through August than depicted here. But this is to dwell on cold facts too much. Rather, overlook the flaws and let yourself get involved in this basic view of survival under awful circumstances. Yes, some of the dogs die. But the survivors live on. And the abandoned are found. And there is love, and purpose, and strength portrayed here. That allows the flaws to be overlooked, in my view, and makes 8 Below well worth the price of admission.