Reviews

My aunt gave me this trilogy in paperback form when I was in high school in the mid 60's. I couldn't wrap my head around it then because of my youth. Some years later serving in the military, it began to gain in popularity and I rushed out on Friday and bought the collector's edition. Read the whole thing in one weekend. What A Rush! I was 50 yrs. old when Peter Jackson came out with his version. I owe him a debt of gratitude for having finally filmed the film as it deserved. I'm glad I got to see it before I got too old. But for all that, I was disappointed with Frodo. In each and every scene, I thought he came across as a frightened coward. I'm sorry, that's how I see it. He threatens Gollum with his sword but that's about as aggressive as he gets in the entire trilogy. He never raises his sword to have an actual sword fight. He's always ducking to avoid the bad guys. He always looks continually frightened. Didn't have an ounce of macho in him. Sorry, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

I like many others, first saw this on TV literally decades ago. I loved it. It made such an impression on me that I have looked for it off and on over the years but I haven't found it. Well wouldn't you know, I try a short cat nap late in the evening before I get a midnight snack, I wake up and page thru the listings on the channel guide. There is the title I haven't seen in 40 years. "Kill The Umpire". However, I notice that it started about 15-20 minutes ago so I didn't get to see the beginning. Then a little while later the dog wanted out, so I've got to mess with him. Long story short... I caught what I could of the movie. I've told so many people about how great it was. This was from an era of hope that swept across America after WW 2. We still had sandlot baseball, people still got dressed up to go to the ball games, we still had dinner with the family all at the same time, and people still offered second chances. This film was filled with Americana. I really miss the America it portrays even though I wasn't born until the year after this was released. I'm glad I got to watch it again. I hope someone makes a DVD of this.

My wife and I became obsessed with the British crime series "Midsomer Murders". We've seen all the episodes available. Then my wife latched onto "Foyle's War" and we've become big, big fans of this series also. We agree with everyone about Michael Kitchen's performances and the historical background against which the story unfolds. Everything about this show looks authentic, feels authentic and sounds authentic. Not having lived through that time we are learning so much about the period. We're beginning to learn more about just exactly what England went through during the war by connecting some of these events in a time line. We are looking forward to the possible three new episodes to be filmed in the spring of '09. And we wouldn't mind if the series went on for longer than the war lasted. We let "M*A*S*H" get away with it. This is one series that deserves to be on longer.

Suppose God made Himself known once more in a very real way. What if He spoke to us like He did to the prophets and His people in biblical times? There would understandably be believers and doubters. In our modern age we have relegated God to some far off island. Wouldn't we be shocked and scared and terrified if the very Creator dealt with us directly? Joe Smith works through his doubts in a number of situations such as a difficult family relation, his boss at work, his own human weaknesses, and an apparent lemon of a car. He is our everyman of this age and he is angry, frustrated and sometimes hopeless. He learns to see all these troubles through God's eyes and he becomes a better man for it. We learn that God has not abandoned us. We just stopped listening long ago and need to listen again. I disagree with the notion that this is a definition of Christian propaganda. This is a golden nugget that I pass on to whoever has not seen it yet. It's a great message.

The first time I saw this was on a Saturday afternoon matinée on TV. I didn't see the beginning but I think I saw most of it. I couldn't figure out what the title was all about. Maybe Rock Hudson only had 'Seconds' left to save himself. Maybe it had something to do with time. I was left with these impressions for almost 3 decades. When I was able to rent it, I didn't think too much about the title because I wanted to immerse myself in the film itself. It is truly one of the most under appreciated films, I think, of all time. I think Hudson was wanting to be taken more seriously after this and he did deserve to be but probably wasn't in the long run. This is his best film. It was almost at the end of the film when the horrifying truth began to dawn on Rock and everybody else. I loved these types of film. Manchurian Candidate, Seconds, Fail-Safe. Stark, foreboding, shadowy, secretive, ominous, you just didn't know where the director was taking you. You could bet you were in for a roller-coaster ride and this film was no exception.

So what if the the total package is not up to blockbuster standards. We need these types of film to go and have a great afternoon at the movies where you don't have to think and you can eat a lot of popcorn. I dug the hell out of this movie because it didn't take itself too seriously. It looks like they had a fun time making it and God bless em' for it! You started to get a little idea of the outrageousness of it all when Chiun begins talking about all the other great martial arts as mere shadows compared with his fighting style. And then there's the water-walking or running toward the end of the film. And the super secret organization (with only 3 members!) answering only to the President. What a hoot! But every time I see it on the tube, I'm right there watching it if I can.