hatlad Reviews

The 15:17 to Paris (2018)

An hour and a half of my life I won't get back....

[2/10 · 4 August 2022]

Yawn. This movie is a 20-minute story - at best - drug out over an hour and a half. Yes, these 3 gentlemen are heroes. Yes, they should be acknowledged and commended for their heroic deeds that day. But, for the love of mud! I really didn't need the biography of all 3 guys and their relationship and their Europe tour from grade school right up until the moment of heroism and getting recognized by France.

This movie is an hour-and-a-half long and roughly an hour or more of wasted time.

First Man (2018)

First man is a good look into the MAN Neil Armstrong

[8/10 · 12 October 2018]

Though I've been a fan of Neil Armstrong since I watched him walk on the moon as a kid. So, I was super excited this film was coming out.

Then, I heard that the director had dissed America in the movie not showing the American flag on the moon and defending that decision with some wishy-washy thing about Armstrong thinking they were ambassadors of all nations etc.

So, I thought about not going to see it. But, then I thought, "Hey; it's a movie about NEIL ARMSTRONG. I can't miss that." So, I went and was glad I did.

SPOILER ALERT: Firstly, let's get the flag thing out of the way up front. They showed plenty American flags in the show - from the flag shoulder patches on their space suit to one of Armstrong's boys raising an American flag at school and finally a wide angle REAL footage shot of a (later than Apollo 11) Lunar Module on the surface of the moon with the American flag planted in the lunar soil. So, as an American, I was ok with that part of the movie.

But what really makes this movie is the look at all the things weighing on Armstrong the human being, husband, father and astronaut during his decision to become an astronaut and eventually to land on the moon. It explored the tragic death of their infant daughter Karen and how he kept that locked inside, his very low-key personality and engineer's mind analyzing and - most importantly, the strain of all this on his family life.

The only criticisms of this movie I noticed were minor ones; the film is no "Apollo 13" - seemingly a little less brightly lit and dynamic than that film, and I could've done without so much shaking the camera - especially during the launch sequences. That got wearisom on the eyes.

But, again; those are minor points. This is a pretty good movie, I'd say.

Body of Lies (2008)

Great writing!

[9/10 · 3 August 2018]

This plot has enough twists and turns to throw a Formula 1 racing champion off course. And the acting, indescribably great.

The Kingdom (2007)

Great movie!

[8/10 · 31 July 2018]

What a terrific action flick! Caught it on Netflix and watched it just...because, I guess. I'd passed over the title several times, but this last time it seemed interesting in light of what else was available that I hadn't seen.

WOW! Had I ever sold this movie short. It turned out way, way better than I'd figured.

Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018)

Great movie!

[10/10 · 22 April 2018]

What a well-told story of the plight of Christians after Nero accused them of the burning of Rome, the efforts of Acquila and Priscilla to help the persecuted believers AND of Paul's plight in jail. And of Luke's efforts to capture Paul's wisdom before he was executed by Nero.

A very inspirational, uplifting and movie.

The Same Sky (2017)

So much potential so amateurly attempted....

[1/10 · 22 April 2018]

Firstly, who in the hell consulted them on US military uniforms and insignia? Whoever it was really took the producers' money. Staff Sergeant stripes AND 1st Lieutenant bars? Or even worse with Major's oak leaves? Good night!

And all the homosexual love scenes was just ridiculous. Nothing more than an amateurist attempt at being so politically-correct as to attract followers just for that and not the amateuristic production.

Mostly symbolism and little substance. And really amateur mistakes in wardrobe to boot.

7 Days in Entebbe (2018)

Ten bucks and two hours of my life I'll never get back!

[1/10 · 20 March 2018]

OMG.... This movie is just plain...TERRIBLE!

SPOILER ALERT Firstly, that whole dance/choreography thing was just...plain...dumb. Had zero tie in to the event and made very very little (if any) contribution to the movie.

Secondly, the planning and execution of the raid was minimalized at best. And the whole depiction of the raid from landing on was just a joke. There must have been zero research done on this real event or the producer just decided to chuck factual correctness and credibility in the trash can.

No emphasis on just how secret this whole operation had to be from planning to practice to execution. And the whole discussion between the commando and his girlfriend about the operation was downright ludicrous. They were ALL sworn to severe secrecy so as not to jeopardize the mission.

The way the movie depicted the C-130s all lit up during and after landing at Entebbe was ridiculous. They landed lights out and all the way to touchdown and were preparing for the runway lights to be snuffed out anytime by suspicious control tower personnel who knew the raid had came. So they damn sure didn't sit out on the lit runways with the airplanes all lit up as the troops and vehicles deplaned. They did all of that lights out.

And yet another thing; the raiders penetrated the terminal in small squads from multiple entry points - NOT as one mass of soldiers moving in as one big blob. One grenade or good burst of machine gun fire would've killed all the Israelis if they'd really moved in one big formation like that across the tarmac and into the building.

Thirdly, the movie paid zero tribute to the hostages as individuals - Dora Bloch's story alone would've shown what a lunatic and monster Amin REALLY was. And for that matter, the character development of Amin in this story was all but non-existent. In fact, character development in this whole flick was all but non-existent and cheesy when it was tried.

To me, this whole movie was a giant human interest piece to try and show a compassionate side to the hostage takers - at least the German pair - and therefore drum up some sympathy or kinder feelings about people who were homicidal maniacs. And at the same time the show minimizes what a tremendous feat it was for the Israelis to fly all that way and snatch the hostages right out of both the terrorists' and Amins hands.

If you want to see a GOOD movie about this event, see the 1976 flick "Raid On Entebbe" with Yaphet Kotto playing Idi Amin. You'll learn more and have a more enjoyable viewing experience.

Manhunt (II) (2017–2020)

Started great, finished...myeh; not so much.

[5/10 · 20 December 2017]

All the actors do an equally smashing job in their roles throughout. The scriptwriting is equally brilliant - for a while. Then the whole miniseries seems to more-and-more lose its way.

SPOILER ALERT:

I'm just not a fan of "composite" characters, totally fake characters (e.g., Natalie, the almost-love-interest-who-never-existed-in-real-life-and-whose-silly-love-interest-was-never-fully-developed-in-the-story), and completely fabricated interactions that never happened at all in real life (like the pre-trial and during-trial one-on-one convos between Fitz and Kaczynski). All of that just strikes me as filler to drag out a 3 or 4-episode min-series into 7 or 8.

And the ending to the whole miniseries was just blahsville to me, man!

Manhunt (II) (2017–2020)

Started great, finished...myeh; not so much.

[5/10 · 20 December 2017]

Spoiler alerts!

All the actors do an equally smashing job in their roles throughout. The scriptwriting is equally brilliant - for a while. Then the whole miniseries seems to more-and-more lose its way.

I'm not a fan of docudramas that interject composite characters, significant events that didn't really happen (e.g., Fitz actually having several pretrial and during trial personal convos with Kaczynski), fake characters just to invoke some silly almost-love-interest-that-never-actually-happened just to invoke drama and drag out the length of a show or series.

And the finish to the whole mini-series was just blah.

Dunkirk (2017)

Myeh....

[3/10 · 30 July 2017]

Went to see DUNKIRK a few days ago. It's taken me that long to put my reaction to it into words. Fair warning; probably this whole review has some level of spoiler in the wording so consider this your spoiler alert.

Firstly, let me point out that I eagerly awaited this movie. Unfortunately, my thoughts at the end were, "Well, it's a typical British movie." In that, several subplots just started in the middle and ended in the middle. Case in point, no explanation given to how the school chum of the boat owner's kid got into the act of being at the dock to jump on board or why.

For that matter, there really wasn't much character development from start to finish which left the whole movie seeming to be pretty shallow and meaningless.

And, the whole Air:1 hour, Sea:1 day, Land:1 week thing just fell flat. There was no explanation of that whole flow at the beginning or throughout so the audience was just left to figure it out – or not. And, there really wasn't much credible attempt to tie them all together by the end of the movie. there were several occasions where the same event was suddenly and seemingly out of sequence relived from a different character's perspective. This left the audience thinking "Wait! I'm confused. Didn't that guy already die/that ship already sink/that airplane already go down?" So the audience had to figure out the "reliving" thing all on their own which risked the audience not connecting the events correctly.

That whole "last Spitfire" thing was an abomination to the point of being insulting to anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of aircraft, aerodynamics, physics, etc. Firstly, I thought the damned thing was gonna glide so long after running out of fuel that the pilot was going to need an "expect further clearance" time. And to think that an aircraft that's ran out of gas could be capable of superior aerial combat over an enemy aircraft is just downright absurd. The burning Spitfire thing at the end - to prevent it from falling into enemy hands - was fine and factual except that the obvious lack of an engine in the fire and instead a big broomstick was holding up the propeller was a joke.

Overall, this whole flick just seemed incredibly shallow. Like an attempt to be artsy that just fell flat.

About the only benefit to me seeing this movie was the new perspective to the Dunkirk evacuation that the troops evacuated may have left the beach more than once (as different ships were sunk out from under them) before finally reaching England.

The Lost City of Z (2016)

Yawn....

[5/10 · 23 April 2017]

I'm going to claim I'm including a Spoiler Alert! just in case I accidentally do say something that could give a spoiler.

Honestly, "Lost City" is not a really bad movie...but not a really good one either. At times it was interesting enough, but other times seemed to drag and was a bit disjointed.

Case in point; the suddenly estranged relationship between father and son and then all of a sudden near the end, the relationship was miraculously repaired and to the point where son was advocating he and Dad go out together and discover the "fantasy" his father had been chasing most of the kid's life.

So, like I say; it wasn't absolutely terrible, but probably not a movie I'd sit thru again - even if it didn't cost me money or effort to see it.

The Longest Day (1962)

Still a great film!

[10/10 · 21 February 2017]

This movie does a great job of bringing such a massive logistical operation down to the individual level in several of the major components - paratroopers, infantry storming ashore, naval personnel on the ships, the generals trying to plan it all, etc etc.

Some have criticized it for not being explicit enough in the violence and others who say that it tried to do too much at once. I'd like to point out that this movie was released in 1962. That was only 18 years after the actual invasion. Hence, the audience knew the horrors of war - they'd lived thru it. If they didn't actually serve in combat, they sure knew men who did, maybe even knew one or two who died in combat. Hence, they didn't need to be shown all the gore that was shown in "Saving Private Ryan" cause they knew it far too well.

As far as the scope of the movie, one must realize the depth of the operation the movie tried to overview. To do that, the movie had to be long. To give each component of that massive scope a human element, yet provide insight into what it was like for the individuals involved, the movie had to be long and it had to involve numerous subplots to even come close to being representative.

And, here we are 73 years on from the actual event the movie portrays and this great flick STILL draws a great following. I'd say all of that makes it a 10/10.

A Gathering of Eagles (1963)

Finally!

[7/10 · 2 July 2016]

I've been waiting since the late 1980s to finally get to see this movie all the way through. Seriously! So, I finally broke down and bought a DVD of it on Amazon.

This review MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS so beware!

Overall, an OK flick. Pretty good B-52 and KC-135 shots. And, from what I've ever been told, the non-flying scenes were pretty representative of the "walking on eggshells" all the time environment of SAC during the LeMay days (early 1960s Cold War days).

It certainly wasn't hard to despise the harda** Caldwell was rapidly becoming turning the Wing around. It wasn't hard to sympathize with the underlings who were pouring themselves into their jobs only to get chastized by Caldwell for doing it.

I thought it was hilarious that the guy with 6 stripes in the command post was supposedly going thru his first ORI. From what I'm given to understand ORIs were a part of life at every level in SAC, so there's no way an Operations Master Sergeant would've never gone thru one before that level of rank. But, that's Hollywood for ya.

The Woodcarver (2012)

One of the best movies I've ever seen - faith-based or otherwise.

[10/10 · 14 June 2016]

The acting in this movie is superb. And the dialogue seems quite natural - at least most all the time. Very well scripted and directed. And John Ratzenberger is amazing. (I kept finding myself amazed this was the same guy who played know-it-all windbag Cliff Claven in "Cheers." The range of emotion he displays in this movie really shows the depth of his acting. Kind of like comedian/comedy actor Robin Williams did in "The Dead Poets Society.")

Possible SPOILER ALERT here, but what I think really sets this movie apart from other faith-based movies is that in the end not quite EVERYthing ends up hunky dory. I'll leave it at that, but it added a sense of real world realism to the movie.

But, I'd have to give it an A+ overall. Very well done film and very uplifting story to watch. Full of good instructional points for youth OR adults.

Jack the Ripper (1988)

A very well-done production, I think.

[10/10 · 13 June 2016]

I remember watching this miniseries on TV in the late 1980s and being enthralled with it then. This is one of those movies/shows/whatever where IMHO everything just comes together perfectly - the casting, the dialogue, the costumes and sets, everything. It really helps one feel immersed in the settings and involved in the scenes like a bystander to the events.

I remember that there were some alternate theories/endings shown on the last night of the miniseries. If I remember right, there was a panel of experts involved that postulated their theory as to who the killer was. Then they showed the other alternative endings wherein the other suspects were accused, etc. Anybody know if those alternate endings are available on the DVD?

Raid on Entebbe (1976)

Well worth watching.

[9/10 · 20 January 2016]

This movie is worth watching if for Yaphet Kotto's performance as Idi Amin Dada if nothing else. He's great in the role.

All the actors put on great performances, but Kotto is just hilarious as was Amin. I mean, the big buffoon billed himself as "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular," for crying out loud. So anyone with that kind of "personality" (and I use the term very loosely here cause Amin had...shall we say...some real 'issues') has to be played by someone with some real skill and Kotto did a bang-up job.

Not only that bit of color makes this a great movie, but it also gives you a real deep understanding of just what a feat this raid was to plan, get approval and pull off.

Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983 TV Movie)

The "Pearl Harbor" love story of the Vietnam War

[7/10 · 20 January 2016]

I like it. So much so I have my own copy and dig it out every once in a while to watch it.

Why? Because like "Pearl Harbor" in 2000 was about the Japanese attack, it's a LOVE story not meant to be a documentary.

That having been said, it unintentionally captures 2 things I think most documentaries avoid; 1) the US ambassador flat out F-d up the last days of the Republic of South Vietnam. By scuttling every attempt to begin an evacuation of locals who'd assisted the US govt (and were therefore at great risk when the Commies got there) in the hopes of avoiding a panic like racked DaNang the week before, the US ambassador set up a situation that was all but doomed in terms of getting out all that needed to while evacuating many who didn't. 2) the air of panic that was present in Saigon during the last 24 hours of the Republic of S VN.

Don't just take my word for these things. Do research on the Fall of Saigon, the last days of the RSVN and you'll soon learn what I'm referring to on both points.

The Sting (1973)

A timeless classic! One of the very best!

[10/10 · 14 January 2016]

First saw this movie in theaters "back in the day." Was just a kid then and it made NO sense to me - or my folks.

Reconnected with it in the 1990s when video rental was all the rage and it won me over for life! I LOVE IT and rewatch it at least once or twice a year.

The costumes and sets are immersive and the plot takes more twists and turns than Mario Andretti could keep on course with. That is awesome because 1) it engages you and 2) it keeps the movie unpredictable yet 3) believable.

The acting in it is great, just great! The actors all seem to have a chemistry and authenticity that makes all their interactions and relationships very very believable.

There's some great lines in it too. ("He ain't as tough as he thinks!" "Yeah, and neither are we.")

Can't say enough good about this flick. Now that I've written this, I may dig it out and rewatch it again tonite.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Hanks and Hoffman are hilarious and incredible in this movie!

[8/10 · 13 January 2016]

Hanks does wonderful with Wilson's TX accent and playboy personality, sarcastic wit and character development. Philip Seymour Hoffman's character is just totally hilarious. I loved when Hanks/Wilson asking him "Do you drink?" and he said, "Oh God, yeah!"

SPOILER ALERT

As for accuracy, I don't understand the criticism of another reviewer that the film doesn't address "that the funding of the Afghan rebels led directly to the formation of Al-Qaeda and all that followed." Uhhhh, not exactly.

1. It was the sudden withdrawal of US support once Russia exited Afghanistan that left the power vacuum that was filled by al-Qaeda. 2. The film did allude to that in 2 ways; development in the plot that the funding suddenly reduced once the Commies were gone and the end on screen text that said "We f-d up the endplay."

The Monuments Men (2014)

At first I hated it, but then....

[7/10 · 13 January 2016]

I'm going to say there may be spoilers in this - just to be safe!

When this movie first came out I was very eager to see it. Before I did, I learned that none of the characters were real, etc so I decided not to see it.

I DID however at this same time read the book about the REAL Monuments Men. After which I got around to renting the movie - and I hated it.

Then after awhile I reread the book.

Then over the past year I caught the movie several times on cable.

Then I reread the book one more time - and it finally dawned on me! The enormity of the task the personnel of the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) program faced figuring out where the stolen art caches were hidden, getting to them before the Nazis destroyed them first, if successful then cataloging the pieces in each of the caches, preserving them for transport, determining rightful owners (if possible) and returning them (if possible).

So, how on earth could such a huge undertaking with a staff of 300_ persons be told in a 2-hour movie without some composite characters and only showing highlight events of the whole thing?

Like I say, the more I learned about the whole project, the more I ended up liking this film.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Myeh.....

[4/10 · 5 January 2016]

I want to like this latest SW episode. I really do. However....

First the positives:

It was good to see Han, Chewie, Leia, C3PO, R2 and Luke again. And it's great to see the Millennium Falcon fly again.

The new main character droid, the "beachball" BB-8 was pretty cool. And Chewie is even more of a card than in his previous roles.

Now the negatives: So much of this movie seemed to be a remake with new characters and actors of Episode IV - droid has secret info that has to be delivered to rebels; some version of a death star has to be destroyed to save the galaxy from the bad guys, the main bad guy wears a mask that electronically distorts his voice, the nightclub has a funky alien Catina band, blah blah blah.

Like I said; I could almost imagine this to be a cheap warming over of Episode IV. I'm glad I paid a matinée price and not an evening show ticket price.

And certain parts of the plot just seemed to happen mysteriously without a lot of development/explanation. And no matter if it's their first time to even handle a new weapon or to deal with the Force, the heroes seem to be expert at using them with no training. Really? At least in Ep. IV Obi-Wan had to train Luke on the force and how to use a light saber.

SPOILER ALERT! Could they have been more obvious they were leaving this open to a sequel?

Killing Han Solo? Really? Seriously? Oh, man!

City Heat (1984)

An all round funny "Roaring Twenties" film

[9/10 · 4 January 2016]

OK, I'll admit it; I'm a sucker for a flick that has fedora hats, Model Ts and Tommy Guns in it.

But, City Heat's a good flick despite my predestination to like it. It's got good acting, good humor wrapped up in hard core action and a decent, intriguing plot. What more could ya want?

I loved it!

IMDb says I don't have enough lines of text to submit yet, so I'll add some more SPOILER ALERTS MAY FOLLOW though.

I about cracked a rib laughing at Burt Reynolds walking thru the brothel in the Big Bad Wolf costume.

I loved the way he dressed down the young beat cop.

Irene Cara is just plain HOT! Hated it when she got run over by the car.

The Preacher's Wife (1996)

A Christmastime favorite at our house!

[9/10 · 4 January 2016]

Is this a remake of a similar title/plot? Sort of.

Is this one better? Even though I'm a big fan of classic movies, I have to say (having seen both) that "The PREACHER'S Wife" IS a better movie than "The BISHOP'S Wife."

Firstly, there's the music. Man! I wish they'd make a soundtrack CD of the whole movie's songs. You can find a FEW of them out there, but not all and not just altogether and on an audio CD.

Obviously the late Whitney Houston's numbers are great, but there's also some group numbers, etc of other actors' music that I think is outstanding too.

Secondly, Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance and Houston as well as Jenifer Lewis, Gregory Hines and Justin Pierre Edmund all just give A+++ performances in every scene. (Jennifer Lewis' character is just hilarious.)

SPOILER ALERT

And I love how the directors/writers dealt with the accidental attraction of Washington and Houston and yet took a moral of upholding Julia and Henry's marriage as his ultimate goal and avoided any sexual betrayal etc. Hence, it stays a good, uplifting, family Christmas movie.

And it's a holiday favorite at our house. We watch it every year.

Harlem Nights (1989)

Lots of cussing but still a great movie despite.

[9/10 · 4 January 2016]

First off, if you have "virgin ears," this isn't the movie for you AT ALL. But even if you don't mind a little profanity, this flick is over- the-top with it.

One IMDb trivia post says "The F-word and its various derivatives are spoken 133 times." I haven't counted the uses in the many times I've watched the DVD of this movie, but I wouldn't doubt that total at all. And that's to say nothing of the other profanity liberally spoken besides the F-word.

That having been said though, this movie is one of my favorites. (Of course, I love any movie with 1920s an 1930s gangster type plots, old time cars, machine guns and fedora hats.) But, I dig this one out a couple times a year and rewatch it. Here's why:

* Even with all the profanity, it's just a great movie! * All the actors gave command performances. * Some of the dialogue and one-liners in it are just real rib-cracking funny! (Della Reese's "Kiss my ENTIRE a**!" has me cackling with laughter every time. And "The Champ's" comment to the other fighter "Try not t-t-t-t-o t-t-take this ass whippin' uh-uh-uh personally" is another one that busts me out laughing every time!) * And Lela Rochon is H-H-H-OTTT!!!!

The amazing way they end it and wrap up the plot was masterful. Doubtful you'll see it coming.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Smashing good show!

[9/10 · 4 January 2016]

This one's a keeper! I will say I have spoilers in here just to be safe, but will try not to include any.

First off, the acting is VERY good. The guy who plays the Russian spy is so dead pan all the time, he just cracked me up. ("Would it help?") And of course, Tom Hanks puts on his usual great performance.

Secondly, the sets and costumes really leave you feeling immersed in the time and place. Well done! I LOVE a movie that can do that!

Thirdly, the plot is really great! A real spell-binder and seemed to - for all the research I can find - follow the true events pretty faithfully. Which really makes me tip my hat to the guy Hanks plays for having such guts to press the limit. To avoid it being a spoiler, that's all I'll say about that.

This is just a very well-done movie. My only criticism would be the hokeyness (SPOILER ALERT PROBABLY FOLLOWS) the U2 pilot being tied to his disintegrating aircraft by his O2 hose. PLEASE!

Other than that, this one's a keeper and a candidate for a DVD buy.