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c_fisher1928
Reviews
Tooth and Nail (2007)
Umm, they had a rifle, and the cannibals lined up outside....
This movie was "okay". It is passably amusing to see Michael Madsen basically being "Mr. Blonde" with an axe. The actress who plays Dakota also seems reasonably talented and probably deserves better things.
There's a few really terrible gaps in logic. The first of which is of course why a group of post Peak Oil/societal collapse survivors would find cannibalism such a strange prospect. If they were alive that long after things fell apart, you'd think that they'd have been a savvy bunch and probably armed to the teeth. They were neither.
There's an interesting scene where the mind sort of boggles. The bad guy cannibals all line up outside and show themselves. The folks inside have a rifle. It apparently never seems to enter their minds to simply shoot the guys outside while they're standing there looking menacing...
It's also an odd tactic for a supposedly successful group of cannibalistic hunters to do something like that, as again, simply shoot them when they're all lined up.
Eh. Turn your brain off and this is an okay film.
The Big Picture (1950)
Interesting but dated look at the U.S. Army in the 50s.
I found several DVDs of episodes of this series in the bargain rack at a Meijer store. It apparently ran in syndication during the 1950s, being shown in a manner somewhat like the "Army News" programs that turn up on community access TV. Many episodes play like something out of South Park The Movie, as each one ends by telling the viewer to visit the nearest recruiter and join the Army.
What seems to be a usual episode will consist of stock footage and narration to talk about a military topic - such as tanks, battle, or unit. This will be followed by a piece showing something like "What is in a C ration?" or a piece on weapons used by soldiers. In some ways, this makes it a bit like "Mail Call", though there doesn't appear to have been any viewer interaction at the time. Some of the footage shown is interesting, but it tends to be a mixed bag. A documentary on the 30th Inf division for example showed Russian BT series tanks and Luftwaffe planes from the Battle of Britain amidst the footage! I paid nine dollars for the box set. As a curiosity item or something to cut up into snippets, it's probably worthwhile.
Back to Bataan (1945)
Really not a bad film even today
This film was made while the last battles were still being fought in the Pacific. It is notable that real PoWs (the same ones portrayed as being rescued in this year's "The Last Raid") are seen.
Other reviewers have noted that the Japanese forces were using U.S. equipment. This is not entirely inaccurate. The Japanese Army was always short on weapons and like the German forces would press into service captured weapons, esp. to serve in rear areas for occupation duty. The Japanese captured a large number of 1917 Browning water cooled machine guns when American forces surrendered and did issue these to their forces in Phillipines. They also captured just under 100 M3 light tanks, and also turned these against American forces when they later landed in the islands. Even though the Japanese are show with early model Shermans (with the short M3 75mm gun, likely being used for training in the States), they did actually use captured American tanks against guerillas.
To a modern viewer, Wayne's fondness for American cigarettes in the film is a bit ironic, since he died of lung cancer.
The hanging of the school master came across to me as a rather well done and dramatic moment. It captures someone willing to die for a cause rather than merely back down.