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shomershabas
Reviews
The New World (2005)
More Depressing Hollywood History Revision
Just more Hollywood history revision. Two-thirds of this snooze fest should have ended up on the cutting room floor (after the director was replaced). This thing is in dire need of a script. It's full of disjointed scenes, long camera shots that add nothing, and it suffers greatly form lack of flow and continuity. Even the dialog comes off as if they're not speaking to each other half of the time. Long, drawn out, irrelevant scenes are plentiful. The inner musings, personal reflections and conflicts are so overdone and long you'll want to burn the DVD.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Revisionist Junk
This film is an embarassment and an insult to all veterans. Anyone who has read the book knows that it not only deviates from the story, but mischaracterizes what WWII soldiers thought, said, and how they fought.
War is horrible, but not always "meaningless". WWII was fought to prevent the worst people on the planet from gaining total control. Any war veteran will tell you that at the very least, they fought for each other.
What we have here are a few liberals (primarily Penn) projecting a different message and image of U. S. soldiers, and doing a bad job of it. . Wanna know what happened at Guadalcanal and the rest of the Islands or in Europe during that war - watch "The Pacific" and "Band of Brothers". This thing is revisionist junk.
Courageous (2011)
Watch and think about it.
Don't listen to the atheists, agnostics, and Christian-haters. It's an obvious fact that horrible parenting and the severe lack of decent fathers is the primary cause of the decadence, sociopathy, immorality, crime, and soulless culture rot that has plagued this country for decades.
Consider the main message. Watch this and think about it. You won't be sorry.
Secretariat (2010)
The Horse Is The Star
Great story about a great horse (lot's of revison aside from the races, but it's Disney). The biggest drawback are some of the cringe moments:
- Malkovich ranting at a jockey in French after a loss, then yelling "Arnold Palmers" for everyone when he's overjoyed.
- The unnecessary sub-plot of the left-wing anti-war daughter, especially murdering "Silent Night" during a protest themed school Christmas play.
- The sleazy, money-grubbing brother whining about everything that transpires on the farm.
Mad Men: Man with a Plan (2013)
Boooooring
The long, drawn out affair of Draper and Silvia is worse than watching paint dry. It's meaingless, doesn't add anything to the episode and it's aggravating and distracting. The woman is a whackjob (they all are except Peggy and Joan), and Draper is disgusting around her.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
I love Peter Sellers, but ...
I love Peter Sellers, but aside from a very few moments of his performance(s), this slow-mover is anything but funny. Even if you're one of those "intellectual" cinema snobs who claim to "get it" when the majority of people don't, there's nothing much here for you other than a ridiculous premise and a weak attempt at lampooning the military. This thing was ridiculous and a waste of time.
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
Absolutely Enjoyable
Just watched this for the third time, and each time it gets more appealing. Hanks is spot on with his portrayal of a depressed hypochondriac. He's lonely, sick, lives in a dingy, decrepid, small apartment, and drives a small beat-up car on it's last leg.
The company he works for is an oppressive, soul-destroying enterprise that compounds Joe's misery. The parking lot is a quagmire of mud and litter, and the run-down factory is filthy. He works in a dirty basement "office" with malfunctiong flourescent lighting and no windows - complete with a nagging, fault-finding, oppressive boss. The misery is a little over-the-top (but necessary to the story). The subtle comedy is constant and done well, even though during the first fifteen minutes you get the message "so you think YOU have it bad".
The casting is outstanding. Dan Hadaya is great as the boss - running his 3-person basement "empire" like an incompetent Nazi field marshall on steroids. Meg Ryan does an outstanding job playing the three female leads. Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, and Ossie Davis are perfect in their roles of facilitating Joe's escape from evil and oppression. The transformation is a joy to watch.
The music is well chosen and sets the mood for each scene. The story makes you think about life and the value of a positive attitude. It's surrealistic at times (especially the Pacific Island scenes), but that's a natural progression. It's easy to see why the movie has a cult following. Enjoy.
The Last Kingdom (2015)
A bit confusing at first
Not bad at all. Good acting lots of intrigue. Good luck keeping track of the characters without getting confused. It's a real who's who - (Aethelflaed, Aethelhelm, Aethelwold, Aethelred, Aethelstan, Aelflaed, Aelfwynn, Aelswith, Aelfweard). One point off for that and 2 points off for the annoying, nerve-wracking music score - a screaming female chant at the beginning and end of each episode.