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meransom
Reviews
Higher Ground (1988)
Don't Waste Your Time
A juvenile soap opera script with a treatment by less-than-adequate acting in a false setting and two-dimensional characters. This is what this poorly produced movie offers. As an Alaskan, I find any references to Alaska or its lifestyle to be sorely lacking. Great scenery, but it was shot in British Columbia in Canada, not in Alaska. A shot of a raccoon, when Alaska has no raccoons. In one conversation with an Indian kid, there's reference to the kid's father losing his pine grove. There are no pine groves in Alaska, but there are plenty of stands of spruce. Great music. Given. Still, a lackluster screenplay and poor acting aside, the film ran on several improbable scenarios. Among them, an unnatural conflict between secondary character Rick and his wife at the dinner table. It tries to pull the viewer along into an improbable argument. Later, Denver's character and the friend's wife were prevented from getting gasoline by the film's bad guy, McClain. Despite never resolving the fuel shortage, Denver continues to fly and operate a boat extensively through the remainder of the film in his quest to solve the murder of his friend. Since Denver's ultimate demise came from not checking the fuel tanks of his aircraft upon departure from Monterrey, California, one could almost sense a sad prophetic theme. The one standout in this mess of mediocrity was typically superb performance by veteran actor Richard Masur, who played the film's villain. If you're looking for a cinematic masterpiece you'll not find it here.
The Postman (1997)
Reasonably good movie despite panning by critics
I avoided watching this movie for years because of the bad press it received -- and because it's not particularly my favorite genre. Running thin on movies to watch one evening recently, however, I popped the DVD in the machine, sat back, and was pleasantly surprised. Dark and totally unpredictable (the unpredictability is a good thing), the movie starts out a bit too slow for my tastes, but eventually ramps up in both plot line and suspense to where I was literally on the edge of my seat several times. Better written than expected, often poignant, believable characters well developed and well acted, occasionally humorous, and chock full of cultural iconic references that causes one to smile.
Last of the Dogmen (1995)
Top Drawer Acting Couldn't Save Substandard Writing
After seeing this movie, I keep saying to myself, "You've got to be kidding." Billed as adult fare, this film turns out to have a juvenile level writing and a Disneyesque finish. It was the first feature film written by Tab Murphy, who went on to write Disney films. Despite reasonably decent directing (Murphy was also the director), someone failed to tell him that this was not a Disney cartoon movie. Terrific acting by the entire cast could not save a script that was marginal at best throughout -- and downright unbelievable toward the end. The movie starts with the sheriff needing our hero Gates to track three escaped convicts because the sheriff couldn't do it, despite his radios, off-road vehicles and helicopters. It's bad enough that Gates displays no tracking ability while chasing the convicts; his dog does all the detective work. Worse yet, when the sheriff decides to form a posse and chase Gates into the wilderness (presumably because Gates stole some penicillin form a drug store), he tracks Gates precisely and directly to the gates of an idyllic Cheyenne community that went without detection for 150 years. My wife is Native American and found the idyllic portrayal of Cheyenne life to be no more realistic than the cartoon Pocahontas. And then, after finding his prey (Gates), the sheriff makes an irrational and unwarranted decision to go even deeper into the wilderness, thereby providing an unexplained villain who now threatens the ancient Native American community, even when Murphy failed to include the sheriff on the community's existence in the first place. It all made for a sappy, hyped and juvenile story line lacking any credibility at the end. Mr. Murphy, please stay with the Disney cartoons and not feature films intended for adults.
Casablanca Express (1989)
Steffan's ample attributes not exploited
Since I like World War Two as a movie genre, I tend to be a bit more kind in my criticism than others. I found the set designs, wardrobe and ambiance acceptable. I found Jinny Steffan more than appealing, and believe the film would have been much more tolerable for me if her ample "attributes" had been exploited more. And, as others have pointed out, this film is anything but memorable and for all of the historical, political and military inaccuracies already pointed out. In addition, prior to this, I had never seen any World War Two ground troops, Army OR Marine, who wore jump suits, especially jump suits complete with leggings. As for goofs, in the final scene, Jason Connery (with a gunshot wound in his left leg) and Jinny Steffan walk away from the doomed train. However, with each step, he puts his full weight on his left leg and limps on his right as she supposedly holds him up.
A Few Good Men (1992)
Well done, but full of military protocol gaffs
A riveting plot, a well-written script, and superbly acted. But full of a number of technical military protocol gaffs. First, there was an inordinate use of first names. Even peers in the enlisted ranks of the Marine Corps, unless they hang out and party together in small numbers, seldom use first names, even among themselves. And, while officers often used first names among themselves, they would NEVER do so with enlisted personnel, regardless of the personal relationship.
Second, the movie contains a spate of improper military titles. For example, the two accused Marines were a PFC and lance corporal respectively. PFC (private first class) and "private" are not the same rank, and PFC Downey was constantly demoted when he was often addressed as "private." That would never happen in the Marine Corps. And on at least one occasion, Lance Corporal Dawson (a non-NCO) was promoted into the NCO ranks when he was addressed once as "corporal." In fact, at one time, LtJG Kaffee made reference to LCpl Dawson not being promoted to "full corporal" (taken, presumably, from the term "full colonel" in officers' ranks), but an enlisted term never actually heard outside of Hollywood.
Finally, at one point Tom Cruise's Lt.JG Kaffee said, "Don't look at me like I just asked you to clean a latrine
" (or words to that effect). There are NO latrines in the Navy OR the Marine Corps. Those facilities are called "heads" and only heads. At least this movie didn't repeat the most common inter-service gaff by using "AWOL" instead of "UA." Explanation: AWOL (absent without leave) is an Army and Air Force term while UA (unauthorized absence) is the Navy / Marine counterpart.
All of these notwithstanding, it's still an outstanding production!