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Reviews
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Great Film: Maybe Heavy-Handed Propaganda, but Who Cares?
Any red-blooded American seeing this film in 1942 would have probably joined the military on his/her way home from the theater. The heroine reminded me of my aunt Alberta ... plucky as the EveryReady Bunny. The special effects are dated (of course), but the acting isn't especially over the top (with a small exception at the end). The film is a little view of a big war and answers some interesting questions such as: How did the early part of WWII look from a small English village? and... How did the Dunkirk rescue get put together? Of course the Brits who made this film had an axe to grind (After all, Hitler was bombing them back to the stone age at the time), so it is a bit heavy-handed ... who cares?
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
One of the best survival films ever
I use snippets from this film in a project management class. It is hard to imagine how the casting could have been any better. Jimmy Stewart plays the part of the aging pilot with an adventurous past so well not only because he was a terrific actor, but because he really was an aging pilot with a an adventurous past. Richart Attenborrow (spelling?) is wonderful as the diplomatic copilot that stands between Stewart and the engineer played by Kruger.
The dialogue was some of the best I've ever heard. "Mr. Townes you behave as though stupidity were a virtue..." You have to love it.
I'm almost sorry to see this movie being remade since it was done so well, but I'll still line up for the new one just to see if the magic can be made to work twice.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Roger Rabbit, Over and Out...Awful
Yes there were lots of cute references to old Looney Tunes cartoons and yes I got them (all 9,000 of them) and no they were not even vaguely funny. The movie played like a film school lecture. If you are amused when bugs rolls his eyes or Steve Martin walks funny, then you'll find this movie delightful.
And how about the kiddies? I was in a theater full of kids and you could have heard a pin drop. Most of them realized the snack bar was open about half way through and my kid asked me (politely) when I thought it might be over.
This was no "Who framed Roger Rabbit."