Movie Review: Never So Few

I can't say I've seen every American war movie ever made, but I'd like to think I've seen a hefty chunk of them.

Several weeks ago, I stumbled across this DVD Triple Feature.

I've seen Objective, Burma!, and Go for Broke! once or twice, decades ago.  But at least I vaguely remember them.

I may do reviews of these two films, but for now, I want to focus on the on I've never even heard of until I bought the DVD:  Never So Few.

The movie is about a team of OSS (Office of Strategic Services) operatives and the Kachin natives they lead against the Japanese in Burma (now Myanmar).

A friend and I were surprised at how good this movie was.  True, this may be because it was "new" to us, but it didn't diminish our enjoyment.  Although, like most (all?) movie critics felt at the time of the film's release, I felt the romantic sub-plot between Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida was an unnecessary drag to the action.

As a gamer, I find this movie fascinating because it could lend itself well for a multi-player wargame, campaign, or even a role-playing game (RPG).

In the middle of the Burmese jungle you have--

--OSS operatives and their Kachin allies

--Japanese invaders

--at least one Chinese warlord and his minions

--a merchant with possible shady connections, and

--his femme fatale girlfriend

 I don't have any World War II miniatures, so maybe some other gamer will be inspired to conjure up a campaign based on this 4-star movie.

(Painting by Stuart Brown, found on Pintrest)

Book Review: Zulu Dawn

After writing my double feature movie reviews last month, I decided to finally read the old copy of Zulu Dawn that's been occupying space in my library for, oh, I don't know for how long.

Zulu Dawn was written by Cy Endfield, who co-wrote the screenplay of the same name.

The book provides in-depth character backstories and introspection, as well as a more detailed narrative about the chain of events...

...that led up to the Battle of Isandlwana...

...along with its immediate aftermath.

Many of the scenes play out differently in the book than in the movie, but end with similar, if not identical results.

The Zulus themselves have a greater role in the book.  This part of the story focuses on the young warrior Bayele, who is selected for one of many scouting missions.  When he returns with news about the British invasion, he's chosen to lead a deception operation by allowing himself, along with two others, to be captured.  Only after getting thoroughly roughed-up, he and his comrades try to mislead the British about the location of the main Zulu army.

Bayele gains his revenge by killing Colonel Henry Pulleine...

...and Lieutenant Vereker...

...who's fate in the movie was never clarified.

Since I like the movie, I liked the book, even though it doesn't even show up on a Google search for the best books about the Battle of Isandlwana.

While Zulu Dawn may not be the most scholarly work, Enfield's narrative is very readable, especially when describing the chaos of battle.  Plus, after watching the movie so many times, it was easy for me to visualize the story.

Zulu Dawn gets a sunny 4-star rating.

Movie Reviews: Zulu Dawn and Zulu

(Image from British Battles)

As the 138th anniversary of the battles of  Isandlwana...

(Image by Kieth Rocco, found on Holts Tours)

...and Rorke's Drift neared, I asked a friend and fellow war movie aficionado if he'd seen the movies
Zulu Dawn...

...or Zulu.

He hadn't.

So a few days before today's anniversary, we staged a Zulu movie marathon.

Since these movies have been out for nearly half a century, I don't have anything new to add, other than I love both films--despite their flaws.

Zulu Dawn has a 4.2 star rating on Amazon.com while it's predecessor Zulu, holds a 4.7 star rating.

While I love these movies, I give them about a 4-star rating myself, for the all same reasons stated by the less-than 5-star raters.

I noticed a lot of complaints about the quality of the Zulu Dawn DVD, which is something I noticed in my own copy.  The older film Zulu, has a better image.

Both movies perpetuate a few myths about the Zulu War, and have a considerable number of editing and historical mistakes:  10 for Zulu Dawn and a whopping 45 for Zulu.

But knowing these, I still enjoy films.

For writers, check out Zulu's entry in TV Tropes.

I also have John Barry's kickass score for times when I'm not in front of a TV or monitor...

Movie Review: Rogue One--A Star Wars Story

(Image from:  Geek.com)

Last week, my wife and I managed to get some time off--even on some of the same days.  On one of these "date days" we caught matinee of Rogue One.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this latest Star Wars movie since I wasn't all that crazy about The Force Awakens...

(Image from:  Independent)

...an-n-n-d I just realized I never wrote a movie review for The Force Awakens (8.1 stars out of 10 on IMDb), which we saw about this time last year.

Well, since I'm lazy I want to save blog space, this review by Honest Trailers...

...is funnier than anything I could write nails the good, the bad and the ugly about The Force Awakens.

Okay, now back to Rogue One.

Ever wonder how the Death Star plans ended up in Princess Leia's possession?

Well, Rogue One, which fits right into Episode IV A New Hope...

(Image from:  Muvi Blast)

...is the story of the ragtag bunch of misfits who steal the plans, deliver them to the Rebel Alliance and--Spoiler Alert!--pay for it with their lives.

I loved this movie, and consider it one of the best Star Wars films made to date. 

I'm wondering if I'm just being a fanboy by rushing to give the film a 5-star rating.  (It also received 8.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb).  I'll probably have to watch it a few more times to actually see any plot holes.

While I love the Star Wars franchise overall, it's easy to become cynical about it, especially since it falls into the trope of having the main characters doing everything.

Seriously.  Can't the "...galaxy far, far away..." even in the expanded universe, function without Luke, Liea, Han and Chewie?

Rogue One breaks this pattern.  And this is what I love most about the movie.  Swiping the Death Star plans cost the Rebel Alliance dearly.  It's not just red shirts dying on-screen, but the main characters.  All of them.

Even though this was a story about new characters on a one-way mission, there were plenty of appearances by iconic characters, thanks to cool, but sometimes unsettling CGI.

I'm not merely referring to Grand Moff Tarkin or Princess Liea either.  I got the biggest kick out of recognizing some of the rebel fighter pilots.  I didn't see Porkins, but some fans claim they did.

If you've never seen a Star Wars movie (I know of some people who haven't), then you only need to watch the original, Episode IV: A New Hope to fully appreciate the plot.

I use to love reading movie novelizations, because I'd gain deeper insights into the characters, setting and action.  However, haven't read movie-to-book in ages.

I think Rogue One will be worth reading.

Oh, and I'll probably be purchasing any Rogue One related wargame and role playing game materials once they're published.

(Image from:  comicbook.com)

The Force Has Awoken!

(Image from:  Star Wars.com Theatrical Poster)

By now, thousands of fans have probably seen midnight showings of Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.

From initial accounts at the premiers in Hollywood and London, audience response has been enthusiastic.

It will be about a month before I see it due to my wife's and my own work schedule.  But at least we have reserved seats in a deluxe theater!

In the meantime, I submitted my picture of my Tantive IV fighting a couple of TIE fighters to the Seattle Times.  It was included in the gallery of an article asking Star Wars superfan? Share pictures of your favorite collectibles.

(Image:  From my Tantive IV product review, and Picture #3 in the article's gallery)

For those who'll see the movie before I do:  I hope the movie and the big-screen experience was everything you hoped it to be.

Honest Trailers - Star Wars

With less than a month to go before The Force Awakens, the folks at Screen Junkies has provided us with an Honest Trailer of Star Wars "...the first one..."

While this Honest Trailer is an amusing look back, I hope The Force Awakens meets, or better yet, exceeds our expectations.

Watch Mojo's Top 10 Historically Inaccurate Movies

I love reading history and I love watching good movies.

However, sometimes the two don't go well together, as this Watch Mojo video illustrates.

I have to admit though, I still like some of the movies on this list, despite their inaccurate portrayal of historical figures and events.

Movie Review--Marvel Movie Marathon, The "Punishing" Finale

(Image:  The Punisher Logo)

Originally, I was going to write my Marvel Movie Marathon as one blogpost.  But as I neared the end, I felt the darker, non-superhero nature of the last two movies deserved a review of their own.

 Movie #5 was...

(Image:  The Punisher 2004 movie poster)

...The Punisher (2004 film). 

In this origin story, mob boss Howard Saint's son gets himself killed in an FBI sting operation headed by soon-to-be-retiring Agent Frank Castle.  Saint orders his mooks to kill Frank, but his wife demands the entire Castle Clan be exterminated while attending their family reunion. Frank is left for dead, but recovers, and sets out to bring down not only his Motivational Nemesis, but his entire criminal empire.

The film deviated from the original source material in a number of ways. 

First of all Frank and his wife had two children, a son and daughter.  All of them were killed when they witnessed a mob hit.  But in this movie, Frank only had one son, but the family body-count was much higher.

Second, the action took place in Tampa, Florida, and not the Punisher's usual hunting ground of New York City.

Despite these deviations, I liked the film and thought it deserved a solid 3-star rating.

As for my final "punishing" review:  What started off as a sequel in the development stage, turned out to be the reboot known as... 

(Image:  Punisher: War Zone movie poster)

 ...Punisher: War Zone. 

War Zone begins InMediasRes, along with returning to its New York City roots.  That is, it's been several years since Frank's was killed, which is depicted in flashback images.  Frank takes a "Ten Minute Retirement" when he learned he accidentally killed an FBI undercover agent during his one-man raid on a mob family gathering.  He's convinced to "return to duty" by his ally Microchip, he sets out to protect the widow and her daughter from the bad guys he didn't kill in the opening scene.

This movie is not for the faint-of-heart:  Mooks are mowed-down in blood-splattering droves throughout the film.

Even though Punisher: War Zone was a box-office bomb, I liked the film and rate this one as 3-stars, despite not being a date movie, or family-friendly film.

I'm not alone in my admiration for The Punisher.  Most guys who are, or have been, in the military can identify to some degree with Marvel's main vigilante.  The most notable military fan was Chris Kyle, a.k.a. American Sniper. 

Picking Between the Punishers:

At the risk of hedging my bets, I liked both movies in near-equal measure.

Thomas Jane did a great job of portraying Frank Castle in 2004 film.  The cunning way he waged his war against the bad guys who killed his family is known as The Batman Gambit.

On the other hand, I'm a fan of Ray Stevenson and thought he evoked more feelings into his performance in Punisher: War Zone, than perpetual vigilantism.  I thought his scenes with the widow were especially moving. 

There are actually three feature-length Punisher films available.  The one I haven't seen is the very first one, produced in 1989.

(Image:  The Punisher 1989 movie poster)

But based on the smattering of reviews I've read about this near stillborn franchise film, I feel I'd be okay skipping it.

(Image from:  Comics A Go-Go)

 In Comic Book Movie's Who Was the BEST Punisher? poll, Thomas Jane is the clear favorite (62%) with Ray Stevenson coming in a credible second (30%) and Dolph Lundgren lagging in last place (7%). 

Marvel Movie Marathon, Part 1

(Image:  Marvel Movies)

For the past handful of days I've been binge-watching Marvel Movies.

Normally, I'd post individual movie reviews.  However, after watching half-a-dozen movies straight and being way behind on my webcomic and wargame projects, I'm feeling both overwhelmed and lazy.

So for this post I'll just write a few lines about each movie, consisting of each movie's plot synopsis, along with what I liked and where I thought the films fell short.

This post will cover the first four movies, which averaged 3.5 to 4-star ratings that I don't have any disagreements over.  My next post will cover the last two movies in this Marvel Movie Marathon.

For now, I'll start things off with:

(Image:  Guardians of the Galaxy)

In this fun flick, a ragtag bunch of misfits try to keep an artifact of doom, in the form of Infinity Stone from falling into the hands of Ronan the Accuser, who decides to defy his boss Thanos.

I loved the Awesome Mix Vol 1 soundtrack, which I've heard some say make the movie.  On the flip-side, I thought the badguys/badgirls were too melodramatic, as if they were participating in a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) match, instead of implementing galactic conquest.

(Image: X-Men: Days of Future Past)

While the Guardians of the Galaxy are groovin' to 70s music, the mutants face extinction sometime in a Bad Future.  As the Sentinels close-in, Wolverine's consciousness is sent time travelling back to 1973, to prevent shape-shifting Mystique from assassinating the Sentinel creator.

Why? 

Because Mystique gets captured and her DNA was used to create the Sentinels.

When all is said and done, Wolverine wakes up to find himself back at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as he did during the first X-Men movie, but is now the only one who remembers what happened.  Even the characters who were killed-off in the previous movies are "brought back to life."

Time travel appears to be movie studios method of choice to reboot a franchise.

(Image: Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Wolverine isn't the only fish out of temporal water.  While still getting use to life in the 21st Century, Captain America finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy.  He and Black Widow discover their employer S.H.I.E.L.D. has been thoroughly penetrated and compromised by HYDRA. 

In order to destroy HYDRA, our heroes and their allies are forced to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D. as well.

This movie's central theme centered on the dilemma of freedom vs. security, or who watches the watchmen? 

(Image: Thor: The Dark World)

While S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYRDA lay in ruins--for now--Thor's love-interest, Jane Foster, finds herself teleported to the dark world of Svartalfheim, accidently opens the Sealed Evil in a Can and is possessed by "The Ether."

To stop Malekith the Accursed (presumed dead) and his dark elf mooks (presumed extinct); Thor, Jane and their pals on Earth and Asgard, spring Loki from prison and attempt to thwart the impending World Wrecking Wave from braking over the Nine Realms.

I don't have any patience for recurring villains, but Loki is the most entertaining-but-exasperating of the Marvel Studios cast-pool.

Wrap-Up:

I enjoyed all four movies and they did well enough at the box office that sequels are in the making.

Now all I have to do is get around to seeing the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, along with the TV Shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter.

Movie Review: The Thin Man Series

(Image from:  True Classics blog)

My wife and I just finished watching four of the six Thin Man Movies on our TCM Greatest Classic Films DVD. 

 

I can't say enough about these delightful, comedy-mysteries. William Powell and Myrna Loy star as crime-solving couple Nick and Nora Charles--along with their dog Asta. 

 

I'd rate these two as the best on-screen couple ever.  Apparently Hollywood thought so too, because they were paired-off in 14 movies together.

 

Oh sure, the stories are a bit formulaic, with the killer being revealed in dinner party/parlor game style.  But the breezy, irreverent style of the movies' leading stars keeps the audience entertained.  And unless you've watched these films before, it's still hard to figure out whodunit.  (I've seen all but the last two twice now).

 

(Image from: Eleven-Nineteen blog)

 

So if you're looking for a batch of couples movie to binge-watch, you can't go wrong with The Thin Man and it's sequels (with plot synopses/spoilers):

 

After the Thin Man

 

Another Thin Man

 

Shadow of the Thin Man

 

The Thin Man Goes Home (I'm pretty sure I've seen this one before, but I'm not looking at the plot synopsis, just in case)

 

Song of the Thin Man (I know I haven't seen this one, so I'm definitely not peeking at the plot synopsis).

 

(Image by Mike Maihack)

 

My trolling of the internet extensive research also revealed that The Thin Man was based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett and a TV series.

 

 

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

(Image from:  Comic Book Movie)

In addition to watching The Avengers, in preparing for the sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron, I also got around to finally seeing Iron Man 3.

 

In this film, Tony Stark is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), from his experience fighting the alien invasion of New York City (as depicted in the first Avenger movie).  His condition is causing a rift between him and his girlfriend/Girl Friday, Virginia "Pepper" Potts.

 

But trouble is also brewing outside the Stark Mansion.  A terrorist leader calling himself The Mandarin, has been staged bombings within the United States.  The motives for these attacks turn out to be "demons from Tony's past" in the form of Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen. 

 

In the end, Tony unmasks Mandarin, tries to save Pepper, but she saves him from Killian, while James Rhodes rescues the president. The full plot synopsis is available on Wikipedia.

 

What I liked about the movie is that it showed Tony Stark to be more vulnerable and becoming more personable.  That is, he's treating people like human beings rather than objects.  He's not quite there yet, but he seems to be working on it.

 

What I didn't care for was the plethora of Iron Man suits, and even their individual components, can be powered remotely.  If so, then why bother climbing inside one?

 

As to the Mandarin, I have mixed feelings about the movie version.  On the one hand, I thought the "Big Reveal/Plot Twist" was funny, when Mandarin turned-out to be a doped-up British actor, played with great understated comedic effect by Ben Kingsley. 

 

On the other hand though, the producers diminished and threw away one of the best known arch villains (comic book version of Mandarin) in comic book lore.  While I realize this was done to avoid the Yellow Peril Trope, there's a lot of comic book fans who aren't happy with the Phony Mandarin.  (See also the Comic Book Movie link under the above image).

 

But overall, there was more to like about Iron Man 3 than to dislike about it.  Plus I thought the post-credit scene of Tony Stark relating his tale to a dozing Dr. Banner was hilarious.

 

Iron Man 3 is worth the 3.5-star investment.

Movie Review: The Avengers (2012 Film)

(Image from HD Wallpapers The Avengers Movie 2012)

The Age of Ultron is almost upon us!

To prepare for this, I finally got around to watching The Avengers (2012) the other night. 

Even though Earth's Mightiest Heroes have undergone "50 Shades" of artistic transformations over the past five decades I still found the film an exciting super-hero smash-up.

Take the demigod of mischief, Loki, add a Summoning Artifact of Doom in the form of the Tesseract and this equals big-time trouble for the mere mortals on terra-firma.

Against the judgment of a shadowy council, Nick Fury issues a call-to-arms for the Avengers to assemble.  Getting this pack of temperamental superheroes to work as a team proves almost as difficult thwarting Loki's plans. 

In fact, the Avengers spend most of the time arguing and outright battling each other:  Dr. Erik Selvig and Clint Barton (Hawkeye) fall under Loki's spell, Natalia Romanoff (Black Widow) nearly gets smashed by Hulk (Bruce Banner); while Iron Man, Thor Odinson and Captain America come to blows quarreling over custody of Loki. 

As Loki activates the Tesseract on top of Stark Tower, unleashing a horde of Chitauri upon Manhattan, the Avengers finally get their act together, and defeat the denizens from another dimension.  Loki gets slammed senseless by Hulk and then brought back to Asgard by big bro Thor, along with the troublesome Tesseract.

The film won 21 out of 74 award nominations.  Quite a coup for a popcorn flick.

I certainly enjoyed it.  But what I liked most aren't the super heroes at all.  As I mentioned in my Battle of Five Armies movie review, the stories that resonate with me the most are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. 

So my favorite character in the movie is Agent Phil Coulson.  True, there are other non-superhero types on, or associated with the Avengers Team; like the hard-as-nails Nick Fury, his by-the-book deputy Maria Hill, the dour Black Widow, the somber Hawkeye.  But it's Phil Coulson who embodies the pleasant, quiet professional--even when facing-down a demigod like Loki.

The encounter goes badly for Phil.  In fact, the mild-mannered agent dies, which is the spark the superheroes needed to avenge their fallen comrade.  If I had seen this movie a few years ago, Phil's death would have had me reaching for the Kleenex.

But this is a comic book movie, and Phil has been brought back to life, thanks to super-secret alien medicine and is now leading a team in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I definitely want to add The Avengers (Wikipedia entry with plot synopsis) to my superhero movie collection.

And speaking of collections, this brings me to the only cautionary note about the movie:  The Marvel Cinematic Universe (see also Marvel Movies) has become so interwoven, that it may be difficult for new viewers to appreciate the films unless they're watched in release-date order.

What Would Thorin Oakenshield Say?

A few days ago, I posted about the goodies I got for Christmas. 

 

One of them was a Thorin Oakenshield Christmas ornament from Hallmark. 

 

Since his outfit was too dark for "Elf on the Shelf" parody pictures, I took some photos using a green army blanket and a sky-blue backdrop.  I substituted various terrain pieces, but settled on the two sets of ruins flanking Thorin.  Both images are done-over with an ink-sketch program to make them look hand-drawn.

 

After finagling with the images, I set out on a cyber-quest for some suitable quotes that would match Thorin's fighting stance.

 

The top image contains Thorin's challenge to Smaug.

 

My favorite though, is the following one from the Rankin/Bass animated film:

 

 

Comparing The Hobbit Movies

Yesterday, I posted my review of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Now that Peter Jackson's trilogy (based on one book) is complete, it was inevitable that someone would compare it to the animated film, produced by Rankin & Bass, back in 1977.

"Evilx180" compiled just such a comparison, just over a year ago and posted it on YouTube (see above).

Reading through the comments, one thing is for certain:  There is little--if any--middle ground about "that seventies Smaug," voiced by Richard Boone, in his last television role.  Folks either love or hate the old-school Smaug.

While Jackson's trifecta of films is a grand epic, I'm still a fan of the Rankin/Bass cartoon.  I think the animation still holds up when compared to other productions in and around the same time period. 

The same goes for the voice-over acting, especially with an all-star cast consisting of: 

Orson Bean (as Bilbo Baggins), Hans Conried (Thorin), John Huston (Gandalf), Otto Preminger (the Elf King/Thranduil), and Brother Theodore with his chilling performance as Gollum, that still gives me goose bumps.

Also, despite my admiration for Jackson's treatment of Tolkien's work, Rankin/Bass did a better job with dialogues, monologues and soliloquies in these scenes:

1. Smaug's boasting, shown in the above comparative video. 

2. Bard's Black Arrow soliloquy.  I understand there was no room for this in Jackson's version because the black arrows were giant quarrels launched from a ballistae.  But it would have been cool for Luke Evans to say something similar prior to letting fly.

Even with vintage animation, this is still an incredibly heroic image:

3. Thorin's farewell to Bilbo is still a tear-jerker.  True, Richard Armitage said something similar, but it didn't make me reach for my hankies.

 

 

Now, to be fair, the one thing I don't like about the Rankin/Bass cartoon is that the elves were portrayed like this...

 

...instead of this:

 

 

Overall though, I like both films.  Each one has it's strengths and weaknesses.

The 1977 version is much shorter and more family-friendly.

The 2012--2014 epic is made for binge-watching, especially if you get the extended version DVDs/downloads.

Happy viewing!

Movie Review: The Hobbit--The Battle of the Five Armies

 

 I missed a lot of movies last year.  But the one film I was bound & determined to see on the big screen was, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. 

 

I tried to go to a Saturday matinee--10 days after the movie was released in the US--and it was sold out.  My luck changed when I attended an earlier Monday matinee.  Only about 16% of the theater's seats were occupied. 

 

 The Battle of the Five Armies is the grand-slam finale to An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug.  I can easily give this movie a 5-star rating. 

 

This portion of the original book is my favorite and I consider it to be the most moving moment in literature:  Three groups of essentially good people set aside their differences at the very last moment to fight--and defeat--a common enemy.

 

Stirring stuff indeed! 

 

Anticipation among Lord of the Rings fans have been high and Peter Jackson did an admirable job of fulfilling their expectations.

 

The movie starts off at a gallop with Smaug's attack on Lake-town and doesn't let up until the battle is over.  In between, are preliminary skirmishes, an attempt to rescue Gandalf from Dol Guldur, and tense drama between characters.

 

And speaking of characters:  While I didn't care for Bard being downsized from bowman to smuggler in The Desolation of Smaug, Jackson & Crew more than made up for the demotion in this movie.

 

 

The stories that resonate with me the most are of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. 

Which is why Bard is my favorite minor character in literature.  He's just an average guy who ended up facing a powerful foe--and killing him.  But Bard is no mere dragonslayer, he also goes toe-to-toe in negotiating with Thranduil and Thorin, not to mention leading the rag-tag survivors of Lake-town against the Orcs once the battle is joined.

Basically, Bard is the John McClane of Middle Earth.

Now just because I loved the movie, doesn't mean the film is flawless.

Many film critics and viewers thought turning J.R.R. Tolkien's story into a movie trilogy, was two movies too many.  I can see their point, especially since Rankin/Bass did a credible cartoon back in 1977.

Over-done or not, I still enjoyed the show despite some of the head-scratching moments that caught my attention (plot spoilers await):

In Peter Jackson's re-imagining of the Battle of Five Armies, the Orcs sneak-up on the good guys with the help of giant burrowing worms, like they were Sandworms imported from Arrakis.  If Azog really had such creatures at his disposal, you'd think he'd win any battle quite handily.

I didn't mind the inclusion of non-canon character Tauriel and the love sub-plot between her and Kili. 

Their romance was tragically short-lived, as I predicted, but I was surprised Tauriel survived the battle.  Since she's an immortal elf, I found myself wondering what became of her during the War of the Ring? 

There's studio scuttlebutt that Jackson might make more Middle-Earth movies--if, that is--he could get the thumbs-up from the Tolkien Estate. 

And that's a big "if." 

I can deal with more movies, even non-canon ones, better than having Jackson trying to "improve" the Lord of the Rings, like Lucas did with the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Anyway, while I'm still on the subject of elves:  My "aw c'mon!" moment occurred when Legolas was stepping on falling boulders while fighting Bolg.

In the book, the big Orc was crushed by Beorn.  Now this would have been an awesome heavy-weight bout worthy of the big screen.  But instead Bolg got bested by a fleet-footed elf.

Other deviations and/or additions abounded in the movie, but I either didn't mind them, or actually liked them better than the original work.

Despite these cinematic sidesteps, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is an epic film worth venturing to the multiplex multiple times.

Movie Review: 13 Going on 30

 

 

I haven't seen a made-for-the-big-screen romantic comedy in years.  For the past few months, any time we're trying to decide what to watch for an evening in, my wife would suggest 13 Going on 30 (IMDB)  I, of course would recommend something else, and we'd watch that.

This worked--until I ran out of alternatives. 

We finally watched the movie shortly before the Holiday Season and I'm glad we did.

While not a Christmas movie, 13 Going on 30 (Wikipedia) is an endearing, but cautionary tale, of wish-fulfillment. 

Jenna Rink is humiliated by a pack of popular girls at her 13th birthday party, and she wishes to be "thirty, flirty and thriving."  She wakes up to find her life has been fast-forwarded 17 years, and she has everything she's ever dreamed of.

Or so it would seem.

But, as everyone could probably guess, things aren't what they appear to be.  Because Jenna has no knowledge of the intervening years, she's slow to realize her life isn't what she appears to be.  She isn't who she thinks she is.  Jenna is no longer the adorable girl-next-door, but a vindictive, avaricious, "witch." 

She tries to make things right, and even win back the boy-next-door (when they were 13)--and fails on all counts.

When all seems lost, she's granted another wish, this time to be 13 again.  She wakes up in the midst of her 13th birthday party and gets to a do-over.

While I've know of Jennifer Garner and the show Alias, but I've never actually seen either the actress or the show.  I thought Miss Garner did a charming job of portraying a 13 year-old in a 30 year old body. 

I give this movie a 4-star rating.  In fact, I liked it better than Big, to which it's compared to. While 13 Going on 30 is predictable, it's a sweet 98-minute experience for you, your partner and your family--if your children are 13 years, or older.

Movie Review: Fury

 

 

If I had to limit my movie reviews to six words or less, I'd say this about Fury: 

It lives up to it's trailer. 

The story follows the crew of a Sherman Tank (an M4A3E8) during the allied offensive into Germany.  (A plot synopsis (with spoilers) can be read here).

If I had only two words to describe the film, they'd be:  Gritty and graphic.

The combat scenes are some of the most realistic--and graphic--I've ever watched in a movie. 

I had a couple quibbles on how the American tanks always seemed to be too bunched up, and about the mad-dash assault on the town, with the tanks in the lead.  But my friend Tim pointed out in an e-mail exchange that; terrain, weapon capabilities, operational imperatives, and inexperience often resulted in actions that were less than "field manual" affairs.

And this is a movie after all.  As is often the case, historical accuracy takes a back seat in favor of what looks good cinematography-wise.  But in Fury's case, it's great cinematography.

The American GI's are portrayed as "rough around the edges," to say the least.  Some are rough naturally, while others become so after "...fighting Germans in North Africa..." and are "...now fighting Germans in Germany."  The GI's harbor a special hatred for the S.S. (Schutzstaffel), which is understandable given the S.S.'s reputation for brutality.

But not every German is a Nazi Party member.  Fury portrays the Germans as a mixed lot:  From civilians desperate to see the war end, to die-hards, who are willing to kill their own people for not maintaining their loyalty to the crumbling "Thousand Year Reich."

Fury has earned 8 out of 10 stars on IMDb's rating system, and 4 out of 5 on the traditional system. 

I certainly agree with both ratings. 

Fury is a must-see-on-the-big-screen film and will be a must-own DVD, when it comes out.