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Reviews
War Pigs (2015)
A gross disappointment
The move gets 2 points for one reason only; uniforms, weapons and vehicles are very accurate. The photo is good, could maybe render another point for film technique but it does not help, as the rest is a laugh, with a completely stupid plot and the worst acting I have seen in a long time. What where Mickey Rourke and Dolph Lundgren thinking when they took these parts? Dolph trying to speak with a French accent...at first I though he was supposed to play an American who had joined the Foreign Legion, but no, it was really supposed to be French.
Dressing up in enemy uniforms and walking around in the midst of them without speaking a word of German is so blatantly unrealistic that nothing else matters.
I am not saying any more, not even the most dedicated war movie junkie would turn on by watching this reenactment.
Mr. Morgan's Last Love (2013)
An eye wetter for Michael Caine fans
Michael Caine is getting old. Playing an old man, acting or real? He is at his best. Gone is his dry humor and whit, gone is also his regular British accent (apart from a few strongly emotional scenes when he suddenly looses the American accent he is supposed to have).
This is a very odd movie, difficult to put into any frame. The acting is nothing else but superb, not a single moment without complete realism.
Watch this move alone or with your significant other, do not forget the paper napkins, because this is very emotional. My eyes are still wet, this is a movie that will remain in my mind for a long time.
Spy Game (2001)
Great soundtrack
The only reason I do not give this movie a 10 is because of some apparent flaws. But for once I am forgiving them all for a great story. This is after all not "based on true events", no need to get the facts right.
I loved the soundtrack, it put a lot of depth into the story.
Seen it now 5 times, will see it again. For any fan of Brad Pitt, this movie is a must. His portray of the frustrated Vietnam vet behind a desk in Germany is well done. Robert Redford is never bad and excels as well. And the thing with Dinner Out, a touching masterpiece. Also for anyone into spy movies, I recommend this one.
Into the Wild (2007)
Goosebumps and tears
I read about this film in a magazine. This was now some years ago, so this review is with years of thinking.
I was struck by lightning. Partly for personal reasons, McCandless does something that I considered doing, and if I had followed that path could have killed me. I choose to comply to the demands of society. McCandless did not and he payed the ultimate price.
The story did not follow the book written by John Krakauer (and I strongly recommend to read it) but having seen the film first it does not loose much. Possibly that McCandless was really not experienced enough for what he did and that he could easily have survived if he knew...what he did not know. Reading the book, you realise the actual incompetence of McCandless wilderness adventure. In a way the movie captures the inner driving force of MacCandless when the book adds value in being more analytical and trying to understand all aspects of the events.
Krakauer got fascinated by the story for very personal reasons (he is BTW possibly most known for the climbing book "Into thin air", about an Everest climb).
We see a young Emile Hirsch at his best, he is perfect for this role. McCandless parents for real where at the filming and the guy driving him out into the wilderness in the film is the one who actually did it when it happened. Goosebumps...
Der Untergang (2004)
A must for any history student
There are few movies on Germany in WWII and this together with Das Boot are one of the excellently best. It covers the very last time of Hitler 's life in the bunker in Berlin. As far as I can judge it is as historically correct as what is known.
The only very minor flaw is that Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge (on whose memoirs the film is based) does not speak with the proper Bavarian accent. Could they not have found an actress who could learn that? (Yes, later interviews with her on YouTube clearly reveal the accent).
This movie should be a must for history lessons, or lessons in German language for that matter. Bruno Ganz as Hitler is at his very best.
For a WWII movie junkie, there are very few "action scenes" although there is some suspense in wondering if they are going to make it out of the claws of the advancing Red Army.
The movie is an excellent base for further reading and history studies. I strongly recommend it.
Fabrik der Offiziere (1989)
Dull and 50-ish style
This movie has a style and acting quality of the 50:s, more like the three "08/15" movies than anything produced in 1989. Also the music...makes me wonder in what decade the film was actually made.
The story is somehow vague, and it is difficult to connect to any thoughts on how it actually was in those late days of WWII. Most movies, good or bad, try to depict some feeling, some theme or some statement on what the director wants to come through with. This completely fails in this film, possibly due to the lame acting. Kirst's book is a masterpiece and gives, obviously without any pictures, a far better feeling of the times.
One of the few positives is that the film is actually German, meaning that the language is correct.
Bat*21 (1988)
Hollywood par excellence again
Initially I thought this was a quite thrilling movie, based on a true story. I carried my usual suspicion for Hollywood versions and cringed as usual on the huge amounts of gasoline used in the explosions.
Then I read about the true story about Gene Hambleton's rescue, and was grossly disappointed in the movie. What remains is some respect for Gene Hackman's acting, good footage and two good scenes (from an acting point of view at least, they apparently did not happen).
Why on earth did they not stick to the true story? You can read about it in a thread on the IMDb board. It is vastly more exciting than this Hollywoodized version which I cannot understand.
Do not watch this movie if you have any thoughts on the true story. But do if you just want some piece of Hollywood action with a very vague true background.
Sommersby (1993)
A sensitive and emotional performance
As has been mentioned by other reviewers, "Sommersby" is a copy of the French movie "Le retour de Martin Guerre" from 1982, starring Gerard Depardieu. While other such copies leave a lot of the original feeling and acting quality behind, "Sommersby" stands and holds well on it's own merits. See them both, and for once you may discover that the Hollywodized copy is the better one.
While the original French story ends in the clear, the real Martin Guerre arrives in the last second of the trial, the real Jack Sommersby does not return. Instead, the drama plays around if "Jack" will hang for the crime of impersonating the real one or hang for a crime that the real Jack committed. That conflict, and his final choice is vastly more interesting than that of Martin Guerre. Martin Guerre never gives up his fight, he has all to loose. "Jack Sommersby" takes a stand and denounces his past but pays the price for it. The role of the wife, as played masterly by Jodie Foster, is much more important in "Sommersby" than in "...Martin Guerre".
The acting is sensitive and expresses the persons inner agony in every blink of the eyes. This is a movie I have seen three times, and I am sure that I will see it several times again.
The Boys in Company C (1978)
Worth seeing
A Vietnam movie made just a few years after the war ended has it't merit not the least because it captures the time spirit much more closely than anything made decades after. There are some goofs as in all "old" movies, for example the M-16 shots not sounding anywhere near the real. Modern movies have more realistic effects (explosion effects and bullets hitting) but the lack of perfection in this really does make this movie any less good.
The acting is good and in many was better than in Full Metal Jacket which clearly was inspired by The Boys.
For those being into Vietnamn war movies, this is worthwhile seeing as it was one of the very first, made close in time and was an inspiration to later movies.
It also touches topics which were exploited more heavily in later movies; incompetent officers just going for body count, corruption and drug abuse. It avoids deeper digging and only very lightly touches the relations to the ARVN or racial issues. There are no explanations at all why the time (shortly before the Tet offensive)is important and why going to Khe San at that time would be fatal. But knowing your Vietnamn war history, you will know.
L'immortel (2010)
Great film if you are familiar with Marseille
Jean Reno is...simply Jean Reno. If you do not like his acting, don't waste your time with this gangster film. If you do appreciate him and if you are familiar with the area around Marseille and, even better, if you like Marseille, this film is a must. If you know French and appreciate dialects, watch this film.
The feel-good (in relative terms..there is nothing mentioned about PTSD here...) ending does not hurt, I was waiting for half the film for the revenge and for Charley Matteï do save his family.
I was also wondering if the place on the coast where he hid was the same as used in "La Grand Bleue" (remember one of the first major films with Jean Reno?). Would be a funny wink if it was.
Tour of Duty (1987)
The best with TOD is the acting!
The best with the TOD series is actually not the level of realism...it is the acting one should appreciate. Small and grand scenes, both those with a high degree of realism ( like most combat scenes ) or those being grossly unrealistic ( like the knife killings of sentries, on both sides ) are excellently acted. The characters are highly credible, even in the most incredible scenes. Language, behaviour and mimics are simply top class. I would imagine that the acting could be enjoyed even if you are not interested in military history or war movies.
The one completely unrealistic feature of TOR is the actual numbers of "contacts" and the wide variety of events that the group gets into. Capturing high ranking NVA officers and female soldiers of the NVA, clearing out tunnel complexes and recapturing POWS, civic actions in Montagnard villages may all have happened during the war, but all those events with a single regular army unit? No way... As to the saving of Baker by his brother, apparently there was not one single POW with the Viet Cong or NVA saved by American forces in the entire war. The Baker saving was thus a fairy tale by all standards.
Again though, the performance of the actors, and with few exceptions, also the "makeup" and clothing/equipment in the scenes, is close to superb. The characters are dirty, torn and bloody when they should, clean, shaved and reasonably well patched when they reasonably should. The jungle can obviously not be mimicked perfectly, unless filming on the actual location, but is realistic enough.
The acting and realism in details by far outweighs some of the larger less logical or unrealistic scenes.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
A technically nice turkey
Some scenes in this film are technically well made, but the overall story merits a maximum rate of 4. Miller has specific orders to bring Pvt Ryan back. Yet he charges a radar station, participates in village fighting and sets up a trap for German troops and tanks. Did he forget his objective, to bring Ryan back alive? The story is so incredibly dumb, Miller should have been court martialled.
There are so many errors in the movie that anyone with some knowledge of the subject just gets annoyed watching this turkey. I have no problem with the American touch to it, it is an American film after all.