Change Your Image
christopherlvngs
Reviews
Yanks (1979)
Yanks.... um and overlong.
Depends if you can stand watching the leads over confident strutting through every scene Richard lighten up a bit. Well over 2hrs no real surprises the story just unfolds predictably. What shall we film today any ideas anyone.
Wagon Master (1950)
Something Missing.
Typical Ford western strong on not very interesting characters. This film needs a carasmatic lead like Wayne or Fonda. I can see the appeal it all looks very good but the running time seems like an hour longer than it is.
Scarlet Street (1945)
Overlong.
This could of made a nice 80min drama. The story is totally unbelievable which in turn makes the end seem overly tragic. It's to slow compared with some of the great film noirs.
Objective, Burma! (1945)
All time best American war film?
This is just about the best American war film I've ever seen.It has great tension and suspense and could easily be shown to a modern audience today if only the black and white thing could be got over.Flynn is superb as the leader of a platoon in a very simple story of a group of men who are detailed to go into Japanese occupied Burmer on a mission and there struggle to return back to base.Most films of this era have awfully abvious studio stage set ups with lots of echoey speech and blowing up of models.I suppose this film does belong to its film making era to some extent eg some docu war footage inserted etc but even so the film is so good it does draw the viewer in so much so that the burmese settings become realistic.When it comes right down to it any film will succeed with good acting, great characters, atmostpheric music and with tight fast moving direction when needed and suspense as here shown in abundance by the great Raoul Walsh.If you like a war story instead of a war film this is recommended...
The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
A thunding bore...except for the last 20 mins
Has American cinema truly ever made a really good war film.I've yet to see one.Some of this is spoof movie makers over flowing well.Its a film about the Americn Navy operating aircraft from carriers during war time, star and ships captain Fredric March spends a lot of time without direction looking and looking into the camera we are told of his pain we get his pain but its so drawn out and over done.William Holden wants to enjoy time with his wife whilst on leave. March wants to meet the couple but with his dour look and his over the top self pity he chucks in stuff like 'i cant have a drink the doctor told me i cant' spending the rest of the film looking silent film bored.We start the film with no sense of threat or history the film makers don't seem to know how to get going so we have this lazy beginning. The film starts with Holden a flyer being pulled out of the sea after he has ditched his plane hes so obviously over aged for the part so instead of the cutting edged perspective of a young flyer we have this middle aged bored man slowing the film periodically down.Mickey Rooney annoys us as a rescue helicopter pilot waisting time fighting, women chasing more fighting come on will this film ever get going of course its all packing and so it all builds up as all war films of this type do to the finale mission this is were the film excels the bombing of the bridges which gives the film its name only plays a small part the last part off the film is really quiet riveting it makes you wonder if these films are made from the end to the beginning....