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Reviews
Midway (2019)
Blows the 1976 Midway Film Out of the Water
This film does an excellence job of telling the story of the first six months of the Pacific Theatre of WWII in just a bit over 2 hours. I especially liked the inclusion of the Doolittle Raid as the Japanese attack on Midway was an attempt at retaliation for the attack on Tokyo because it cause a considerable loss of face to Tojo the Japanese Army.
There are no actors wasted on fictional characters and no nonsensical romances mucking up the film. The Japanese speak Japanese. Admiral Yamamoto's ability to speak English is also revealed. Thanks to CGI, the actual ships and planes that were used in the battles are accurately depicted, including those which are now at the bottom of the Pacific.
Dunkirk (2017)
Mediocre Film
The noise in the film was so loud, you could not hear what the actors were saying. If Netflix runs it and CC is available, I MIGHT watch again. Also, there were not enough boats or planes. With the CGI now available, they should have added a lot more of both. The FACT that the Germany Army held back to allow the Luftwaffe to destroy the British forces on the beach while the RAF prevent this is barely shown.
Darkest Hour (2017)
Overall A Superb Film
This film does a far better job in a few seconds of telling the story of the Dunkirk Evacuation than the almost total boor of a film Dunkirk did. This film also does an excellent job of showing the behind the scenes battle Churchill faced against those who wanted to quit the war. Gary Oldman's protrayal of Churchill is without a doubt the best anyone has ever done. If he does not get an Oscar for his performance, the award should be abolished.
Battle of Britain (1969)
Excellent Film That Has Held Up Well
I first saw this film when it was released back in 1969. I was thrilled by it then, and I still enjoy it today.
I have met numerous folks who actually lived through the Blitz, and they have all told me that the film was very accurate in depicting how life was when they were living through what we see on the screen.
One individual who stands out among these folks was an Austrian gentleman we all called Mr Gerhard. He was attending MIT when Hitler annexed Austria. Rather than return home and serve the German's, he went to Canada and joined up with the RAF.
His comment when we asked him about the movie was "Well the planes were not quite right, but the scenes of the airfields were so realistic, I could smell it".
Midway (1976)
This film could have been so much better
The only redeeming point this movie has is that it was accurate in it's portrayal of what many could argue was one of the top 5 most important battles in US history.
I think the use of actual combat footage was a plus, but the use of footage showing the crash of a Panther jet was pretty lame. Did the filmmakers think that most of the audience that would be viewing this film would miss that?
For wasting the great Charlton Heston on a fictional character and adding that totally useless and pure BS subplot regarding his son and his Japanese American girlfriend, I only give this movie a 2. It would have been so much better without that garbage.
SpaceCamp (1986)
A Complete Waste
Rumor has it that when the NASA Technical Advisors to this film were asked to keep the picture believable, they laughed for several hours. After all, unless you are a politician or work/crew the shuttle, you are not going to get in the shuttle. Furthermore, Space (Cadet) Camp is in Alabama, not Florida.
The truth is everyone on Earth will win multi-billion dollar lottery prizes before the events depicted in this film ever become possible. This film was meant for kids, and had to have been written by one, because they are not aware of the myriad restrictions and requirements regarding access to KSC/CCAFS.
This is the most useless film of all time, and it was a well deserved flop.
The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005)
Someday, they will get the story right...
But like the Disney film of two generations ago, this film fails as well in the accuracy department. But at least Disney used a Skye Terrier.
Is the true story to mundane for movie producers? I don't think so. There is ample documentation to accurately portray they true story instead of the fictionalized accounts we have had to suffer through.
Some day, a movie will correctly portray Bobby's owner, John Gray, as the Edinburgh Policeman that he was, and correctly portray Bobby's license a being paid for by the Lord Provost. When that happens, I'll be at the theaters.
1941 (1979)
A funny film with poor editing
In 1979, those of us who were hooked on the original Saturday Night Live were pretty steamed at Belushi and Ackroyd for abandoning the show. Maybe some film critics felt the same way.
I think that the fact that the editors cut so much out of this film, you sat there scratching your head, and saying "how did that happen" was responsible for a lot of the negative reaction to the film. Some scenes were expendable, but others were priceless, and should have been left in. Pick what you liked from this list, if you saw the extended version on home video:
Wally and his buddy terrorizing the department store with an air raid siren so that he can get out without paying for the Zoot Suit and the store's Santa Claus taking charge as an armed air raid warden.
The scene of the Japanese disguised as Christmas trees, and their capture of an intoxicated Slim Pickens. BANZAI!!
Ned Beatty advising his daughter on what to do with the soldiers and sailors at the USO.
Wally's buddy in a Marine uniform that he brought at a uniform shop.
The bad humor involving John Candy and the newly arrived black member of the Motor Pool.