Reviews

As a dyed-in-the-wool John Wayne fan since childhood, I thought no one could do a better job with Rooster Cogburn. Duke, you are my hero, but Jeff Bridges is simply amazing to watch. Almost the same dialog, line for line in some instances, lifted directly from the wonderful writing of Charles Portis's novel of the same name, but given a different, sometimes more sinister twist than Duke's version. In many ways, funnier too. The Coen's took the spirit of the original movie, went back to the source material of the novel and made it better. SPOILER ALERT: This version is a bit truer to the book, the Duke's version leaving out the reminiscence of a grown Matti Ross about her adventure with Rooster and LeBeuf in tracking Tom Cheney and Lucky Ned Pepper. END ALERT.

Thirteen year old Hailee Steinfeld is closer to the age of the heroine (14) than was Kim Darby at 21 and is a much more formidable and determined Matti.

Everything about this film is first rate and each character moves the story along and whether a major or minor role, they are a gem to watch.

Do yourself a favor and see this movie. You won't be disappointed.

I give this a "6" for the location filming and the police procedural format. The use of relatively unknown actors, save for George Murphy, enhance the film. The story itself is far-fetched, only loosely based on the Rosenthal case of the early 50s. WARNING Spoiler AHEAD: It has a spy master from Moscow entering from a Polish ship in Boston Harbor; a cell of agents already in place, a kidnapping of a refugee scientist and a sea "chase" climax. All in all, if you want to see what Boston looked like in 1952 and enjoy the quasi-documentary film, watch this. Don't expect accurate history, or any history for that matter. If you want to see squared-jawed, All-American FBI agents chasing evil communists, watch "Big Jim McCain" with John Wayne or the "FBI Story" with Jimmy Stewart. Both almost as fictional as this, but each has a more interesting and dynamic story and lead actor.

I remember this as the second of a two part feature on a Saturday afternoon in the early 60s. That was when movie tickets were .35 cents and the loges were 50 cents. Of course, after the lights went out, we'd sneak into the loges.

Since we boys were raised on the stories of our fathers' and uncles' war experiences, it was natural for us to watch these movies. One uncle in particular was a career Navy man and so we knew nautical terminology and such.

It was a routine story with good action sequences. One thing in particular that has always stuck with me after viewing this was when SPOILER: Alan Ladd's character finally starts to shoot the Japanese soldiers. END SPOILER.

A cheer went up throughout the theater and everyone, mostly young boys, were cheering and clapping. Having seen it since, I realize that it is nothing but a routine war picture with little in the way of exploring truly the cost of war to individuals, but it will always have a fond place in my heart from my original viewing oh so many years ago.

An interesting side note. This movie, along with others is listed on an old handbill from the old Parks AFB near Dublin California. The bill is dated 1952. The day and dates are listed of the showings. In checking IMDb, this movie shows as a 1958 release. All of the other titles also show a 1958 release, but in checking the calendar, both 1952 and 1958 the dates all fall on the same days. Weird.

While it seems that the premise of this film was based on actual events in the Philippines, it comes across as a good actioner and little more. The movie is enhanced with location filming and, being only 5 years removed from the end of WWII, many of the people in this film served during that conflict. SPOILER: While the end of the movie is pure Hollywood, the cavalry, in the form of the U.S. Army and General MacArthur, riding to the rescue saved the real band of guerrillas, it makes for a tidy, yet abrupt ending to the movie. END SPOILER. For the poster that said the movie was to get the American public ready for Korea, your history is a bit off. The Korean War started in June of 1950, over 3 months before this movie was released and by the time it came out, we were very much involved; the amphibious landings at Inchon, South Korea came in September of 1950. This was not a propaganda movie per se, it was a look back at a time when Filipinos and Americans fought together to defeat the Japanese.

On how to make a good film. This was shot on location, the locals giving it an authenticity that few films, at least those out of Hollywood, can achieve anymore. Sean Bean played his character brilliantly, no histrionics, no speeches, just real life, at least a facsimile of it, captured on film and through the seamless acting of Bean and John Hurt. An excellent murder mystery wrapped up in the politics of an apartheid South Africa. POSSIBLE SPOILER: The actions of the SA police officer tracking the killer and the white farmer seemed, at times, intertwined and almost conspiratorial. The plot unfolded slowly, giving us potential setups for targets for the killer, that were not taken. In the end, it's revealed, maybe, why he was killing. I am lucky I caught it on Movieplex this evening, otherwise I would have missed a true gem.

I just finished watching this movie again. Filmed just 12 years after the war, it takes place only on two locations. A US Navy subchaser and a German U-Boat. The model work is top notch, though you can tell the live actions from model work, it nonetheless works well. The help of the Navy can't be overestimated. The actors portraying US Navy personnel on the flying bridge while at sea, little in the way of blue screen or rear projection, is what makes this tale stand out. That and the taunt story, crisp direction and thrill of the chase that this movie is. They don't make them like they this anymore, which is sad. Do yourself a favor and rent this movie.

A wonderful story, fictional for the most part, of a part of the Pacific War. It takes place in an alternate universe of 1960s hair and dress styles for the women, Vietnam-era jeeps, complete South Pacific airbases of concrete and permanent buildings and model ships from Revell Model Company (or so it seems). That said, I stop and watch all 165 minutes every time it is on. Why? The story itself and the acting in particular lend itself to this flawed epic. It is the run up to battles, not the battles themselves where the tension and high drama are. SPOILER ALERT: If you can suspend belief during the climatic sea battle, you'll do yourself a favor and see a movie with great stars the likes of which we'll not see again.

I saw this movie when it first came out. I was in high school and the son of a cop. I later became a cop myself and other than the setting (Los Angeles) this movie, while flawed, shows a side of policing that people rarely see, or at least then. Up until this time, with few cinematic exceptions, police officers had either been comic buffoons or squared-jawed emotionless men who always got their man. Here we have a young man who became a cop to pay for law school. He is introduced to an old veteran who only knows police work, nothing more. Together they become partners then friends. SPOILER: The scene of Kilvinski's (Scott) death is griping, but not unexpected. He was a lonely man who did not have his life (police work) any more. Juxtapose that with Fehler's (Keach)death. His life had hit a bumpy road but was upbeat and hopeful when he died.END SPOILER.

There are no heroes in this movie, but it does show the heroism of these officers going to work and doing their duty as best they can under trying and sometimes deadly circumstances. A good movie but a better book. If you have a chance, read all of Wambaugh's novels. He nails police work as it was in the 60s and 70s.

This movie was a Saturday afternoon TV staple for kids who grew up in the 1950s and 60s. I remember watching it as a kid and being bored with the "adult" stuff and wanting John Wayne and company to sink "Jap" ships and win the war. It was only later, as I matured and had did a stint in the service myself that I revisited this movie. Made as the war was ending; it is a sentimental, but hard look at the early days of the war in the Philippines. Ford masterfully weaves the personal stories into the bigger picture of the onslaught of the Japanese machine through the Philippines. SPOILER ALERT: The scene of the old man not wanting to leave what he had built with the strains of "Red River Valley" playing in the background and him sitting with a rifle and looking down the road where the Japanese army will surely come, is a powerful image of the hopelessness that must have pervaded many at that time. An excellent movie and one that should be on anyone's list.

I was rolling through Comcast's "free movie" selection and found Noi there. Having been stationed in Iceland over 30 years ago, I have found a continuing fascination with all things Icelandic. I started to watch this movie when I had many other things to do. I was hooked by the starkness of the terrain, like I remembered it. Then the story hooked me more. What teenager couldn't relate to the utter boredom of life in their hometown? Whether in New York City or in a small village in Iceland, teens almost universally feel isolated and alone, even in the best of circumstances.

That is not what Noi had. His obvious loving grandmother and his confused but caring father were not enough. He is isolated, alone in more ways than his youth. Intelligent beyond measure, a petty criminal, a dreamer.

This movie speaks to anyone who felt isolated and alone in their teen aged years. The ending was unexpected, but it added to Noi's isolation. SPOLER ALERT: As the list of the dead are read, watch Noi's eyes. They say volumes about what he is thinking.

If you are looking for a rousing sea tale and men against the sea, don't bother. However, if you want to learn about a ship whose crew was an experiment set up to fail and their efforts that succeeded against all odds, then please watch. It is a simple tale really, told with great passion by the late Ossie Davis, himself a veteran of WWII.

I'm sure it would have been more exciting with Jerry Bruckheimer loud and overblown production values and CGI effects; that would have added nothing to this heartwarming true story.

SPOILER ALERT: At the end, you get to meet some of the real men of the USS Mason, DE529 through a reenactment of a Navy award ceremony over 50 years late and through actual footage of the new USS Mason at a port-of-call in NYC in 2003. END ALERT.

This is a tale about honor, sacrifice and family and how it overcame bigotry. It is a tale that does not end, but must be worked on by each generation. And to those that complained about the shameful history of the US, some of it is, and some of it is glorious, like these men and their ship.

A delightful little movie about my hometown. I also was a cop for many years there and watched many people I know or know of interviewed. First the problems. When they wanted to show modern, multi-story buildings, they traveled 5 miles west and videoed a business park in Dublin, CA. Other than a few shots like these, they make a nice little film about Livermore. The absurd search for the time capsule, which any 1st grader would have known to look under the totem pole, was stretched out too long. However, the curse of the totem maker against the sewage system after some careless workers cut off part of the totem, is right on. For years, parts of town suffered from storm run-off flooding and other problems. Whether due to the curse or poor planning on the part of the city (which is what I suspect), it makes for a good story. Maybe the curse wasn't against the sewer system, maybe it was to perpetuate the planning snafus that city hall is known for.

All-in-all, a fun and harmless look at my hometown.