thegulls1 Reviews

Blood Work (2002)

More 'procedural' than you might think!

[8/10 · 30 July 2023]

Also, Clint, an FBI Profiler, is NOT the infallible hero in this one--whilst chasing a suspect very early in the film, he collapses, and nearly dies, saved only by drastic surgery (a heart transplant).

We catch up, 2 years later, recovering from the surgery, retired and living on a nice boat, where Clint frequently chats with BUDDY (Jeff Daniels), on a neighbouring boat. BUDDY later helps out as a chauffeur. Meantime, the sister of the girl who gave Clint his donated heart shows up, looking for help on her sister's death.

It's interesting to see Clint stumbling around, running out of breath, taking a volley of pills (to stay alive), when we normally see him kicking butt and impregnable to incoming bullets. The solution to the crime unfolds slowly--almost 'procedurally'. The movie shares a device used in a 1997 film that was more of a thriller--SWITCHBACK (Danny Glover). The serial killer wants to compete with the Investigator and goes to great lengths to 'keep him in the game'.

Intriguing, if very fictional. However, we watch movies to be entertained.. right? That's how whodunits started over a century ago!

Good performances from all. Comedian Paul Rodriquez adds some levity as a high-strung Latin detective!. Available on Amazon to rent or buy (10$). 8/10.

Firefly: Out of Gas (2002) Season 1, Episode 5

Easily, one of the top-10 TV episodes ever!

[9/10 · 8 January 2023]

What a shame the Producers never stuck with this series. This was just one of many memorable episodes with a scene I would rank up there with Dr. Watson's enigmatic first interview with Mycroft in the initial Sherlock series.

Friendly camaraderie around the table is disrupted by a sudden explosion and a Sr. Crew member getting seriously hurt. What to do? As Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) struggles to do a damage assessment, the oxygen supply starts to dwindles and hard choices must be made. Catch this great line when a crew member tells Mal he doesn't need to stay behind & die alone. 'EVERYONE DIES ALONE.'

Woven into this tragic account is a flashback to when Mal and Zoe were first shopping for space vessels. Mal sees the Firefly and is gobschmucht! He can't see any other ships--it's love at first sight.! We realize, then, that Mal wants to save the Firefly as much as he needs to save the crew.

Brilliant stuff. Like every FIREFLY episode, the dialogue is fresh and snappy, as Whedon spins a crackling script, never using retread terms or phrases.

Suspect (I) (2022– )

I agree with the other guy: 7 and better than you expect!

[7/10 · 23 October 2022]

We have come to like James Nesbitt, whose face resembles a chunk of hard road that broke off & landed in a ditch. This show starts (it's no secret) with him as a cop visiting a morgue, greeted by an unenthusiastic lab tech and discovering the corpse under consideration is, in fact, his own daughter. I want to share a tidbit with you. Nesbitt thereupon tears up and lets out a grievous wail. Where does THIS come from?

Nesbitt, no doubt, borrowed the device from Lear- last Act when the aged King carries dead Cordelia in his arms. 'Howl howl howl howl.. O you are men of stones. Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so heaven's vaults should crack.. ' (I think-- my high school Shakespeare is decades ago!). So, Nesbitt pulled this out of his hat! Lear is 'unactable', of course-- especially THAT scene! But Olivier and Finney have done clinics with their own interpretation. Nesbitt 'tries it on!' (Wondering if anyone would make the cinnection?)

The series may be a but slow, but Nesbitt always shines, if you stick with him. 7/10.

True Grit (2010)

Well-crafted remake, enjoyable even if you loved Duke's version...

[9/10 · 20 October 2022]

I saw the original (John Wayne) with a girlfriend at the show in Hamilton (she's old now--I am still older). Loved it, of course. Recently, I acquired a disk set of both films: I was surprised from the outset at the quality of the 'remake'. Bridges is as delightful as Duke, but Matt Damon is a huge upgrade over Glen Campbell (professional actor over a knockout guitar player!). Steinfeld does fine as Maddy compared to Miss Darby. A tighter screenplay with some additional oddball characters. Grittier in places.

Watch for a new scene where an inebriated Cogburn clumsily dismounts & begins a target shoot contest with LaBoeuf. Classic.

Hidden Assets (2021– )

What we've been waiting for: A solid cops & robbers series with a determined legal team tackling a 'baffling' conspiracy!

[10/10 · 24 August 2022]

Easily the fastest '10' I have handed out on a series like this one. The setting is split between Ireland and Belgium and features a detective team from each nation working to take down what appears to be a conspiracy of crooks involved in diamond fraud and brokering terrorist activities (for the latter, we only get a motive in the final minutes of the series). We start by seeing skilled Irish detectives using the (fictional?) CAB laws to seize oodles of property of a player in a criminal conspiracy. (CAB=a set of laws like the famed U. S. RICO laws - must be fictional since when I looked it up, I got taxi laws! There is a 'Criminal Attempts and Conspiracy (Northern Ireland'). Anyway, it allows the authorities to seize (or freeze) any and all property: boats, PC's, cars, cell phones, bank accounts, etc. That may be the end product of criminal activities. It scares the mob to death in the USA, since it leaves you in the Stone Age whilst forensic accountants sift through your entire life looking for violations.

In this case, our lead Irish investigator. Emer (Angeline Ball)--having successfully taken down a white-collar type--stumbles across a property title deed in Belgium, and flies over (without proper authorization) to check it out. This lands her in the hands of a Belgian detective (not Poirot), who is digging into a terrorist bombing. This results in the higher-ups authorizing a joint task force: Emer and Wouter (Belgian) played low-key by Christian De Jong.

It takes a while to figure out that the highly-placed, wealthy people of privilege under investigation are, indeed, crooks. We do not hear their private viewpoints or see their illicit activities--we basically see the detectives sifting through forensic accounting documents and trying to establish where 'the bodies are buried'. Amazing here is the performance of CATHY BELTON as Norah, another low key investigator (she looks like a nursery school teacher), who won't stop trying to put the pieces together. Yes, it seems the crooks are very skilled at hiding their financial improprieties. We see few gunplay scenes or beatings--very unlike a 40's-style Bogart flick. This is a very unique but compelling approach to story-telling. 10/10.. Enjoy!

The Contractor (2022)

Hmmm... won't be mistaken for a document-drama

[5/10 · 3 May 2022]

I say that because our protagonist is a long-serving elite force type guy, with a family, who gets hauled before a military discipline a review panel who discharge him with no pension or medical benefits. When he ties to speak, he is told to belt up (as if defending yourself is some kind of insubordination). And, the clincher, he has NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION at the hearing. This from what is known as one of the modern world's 'great democracies'!

You might expect such treatment under Stalin, followed by a bullet to the head, but it hardly seems the U. S. style. It does prompt our hero to accept a position with a questionable paramilitary group, just to support his family. Poor guy. Poor viewer. Poor scriptwriting.

Blast of Silence (1961)

Late noir entry - I saw it in the theater in /61!... And..

[8/10 · 13 February 2022]

... I got the urge recently to see it again, but I am not sure why. Subliminally, the narrator of this dark flick (Lionel Stander) played a bit role (as an Innkeeper) in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, which I also re-watched last week, but I didn't realize that until AFTER I looked it up here at IMDB. (maybe an inner voice was whispering to me?)

Anyway, opportunities to see this little gem are fading away. I finally managed to get a link to work (instead of pop-up ads for porn or junk), and the only DVD copy for sale on eBay was from a guy in Germany (pricey).

My dad was a classic film lover, and this one won at Cannes back in the day. So, I recalled the gritty NY street scenes, a nasty fat guy who tells the gunman 'You're nothing without a gun in your paw', and an assassin who has lost his way. Yes, my recollection was correct on all counts. What's amazing is that the film is still as gripping as it was 60 years ago when I was 10. If you can score a viewing, and you love film noir, this is a must for you. 8/10. Only 70 minutes- no fat.

Remember (2017– )

Decent thriller - PG (but rated R on Prime)

[9/10 · 27 January 2022]

We ended up binging this French series in one day, after starting tentatively with the first episode to test the waters (we have no love for explicit skin scenes, or volleys of F words, even in the sub-titles, and, well, this is a French show!), as there was no CONTENT guide here at IMDB. We liked the story, and were pleased to only FF over 1 brief scene. We just don't believe that trashy scenes or bad language enhance the production (as Olivier famously remarked, "Why doesn't the boy just try acting?").

Performances were wonderful by all, especially the indomitable Marie Gillain, and the 7-year old youngster at the heart of the mystery, Madeleine (Zelie Rixhon), who is discovered in her family home with 3 family members shot dead.

The investigating officer, Belgarde, is a family man himself (4 kids and expecting), and he recruits Gillain's character, Marie, to house-sit poor traumatized Maddy. Marie agrees, if Belgarde will re-open the suicide case of her own teen daughter, which was ruled 'open-and-shut'.

There are twists and turns, at a fast pace, and wonderful warm interactions between the children, with each other, and the adults in the story (so refreshing after seeing nasty parents, squabbling kids and unfaithful marriage mates). I was able to partly guess the outcome, and, although the premise is gloomy, the result was redeeming for all. 9/10 Thank you, Prime: Can we have more like this?

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Charming Performances from the Rock & Emily, but...

[5/10 · 31 July 2021]

.. there are script problems. Tried to squeeze too many 'Disney Ride' concepts into the film, I guess. The Rock was BORN to play that role, but the CGI and weirdo effects and creatures detracted from his work.

We saw it as the first feature of a drive-in double-feature, and, to be honest, if it had been the second one, we would have departed as soon as the plot became entangled with haunted legends and creatures. An old drive-in movie screen hardly does credit to the favourable special effects anyway--see it at a Dolby theatre, or wait until you can see it on your own HI-DEF screen at your home theatre.

This, I guess, is the challenge Movie Companies face these days: lure folks to the Big Screen to be dazzled. Yes, but serving 12 dishes at dinnertime will not necessarily enhance a restaurant patron's meal either.

Had I been on the Production crew, I would have shortened the film and simplified the tale

5/10.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

And so, it begins

[10/10 · 19 May 2021]

This is where most of the Tom Clancy fans began: seeing this movie or reading the book (the screenplay was a bit superior to the novel) in the 80's when the Cold War was still on.

Clancy started with a SUPER twofold premise: what if the Soviets created a super sleuth sub (nuclear) that could travel noiselessly toward North America? Furthermore, what if its Commander Ramius (a secret non-Soviet sympathizer, played by Connery) saw the sub as a threat to world peace and decided to defect? Brilliant!

The Jack Ryan character (played well here by Alec Baldwin) begins putting two and two together, and he acts as our eyes/ears as the plot unfolds. Once he gets ON the tracking American sub, he faces a dilemma: since that commander is tasked with defending American interests, how can he convince the officer (Scott Glenn) to not see the Soviet sub drawing closer to American soil as a threat, but rather as a potential tremendous windfall?

I said the screenplay is superior. For example, the book is slow to reveal American recognition of Ramius' intent, but in the movie, very early, at a briefing, Ryan yells: He wants to defect! Ryan is our hero, and his bravery & determination get us to what we want (No.. that's NOT the Russians hanging on to beat Canada 5-3 in Game 8, 1972). And so followed several more Clancy books about Jack Ryan and a few 'Harrison Ford as Ryan' movies. But it all started here.

10/10 easy one to call.

The Upside (2017)

Terrific chemistry....

[9/10 · 16 May 2021]

Had my eye on this for quite a while, and after watching a lot of Kevin Hart comedy, I decided to take the plunge. Hart was spectacularly funny, but rebellious, in this and Cranston, who shines in everything comedic or dramatic, was brilliant.

Greyzone (2018)

Binge watched..!

[10/10 · 2 May 2021]

Edge-of-your seat series, totally compelling from the outset. Terrific PERFORMANCES by all, especially the pretty MS. Sorensen, whom we knew from her work in Borgen.

Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)

Terrific production values... But I prefer RKO!

[8/10 · 20 April 2021]

This is a very glitzy MGM production, but I still prefer the early Astaire-Rogers numbers. They were light-hearted & the dance numbers moved the plot along. Ginger wasn't in Powell's class as a formal dancer (although Astaire certainly was), but Powell wasn't as sweet sexy as Rogers, either! Nor was this film as funny as I was expecting, but it did have its moments. *Sigh* guess I am stuck in Gay Divorce mode: 'Dont worry about Cospetti--he prefer spaghetti!'.

This film is ABOUT formal dance numbers & MGM spared no expense with costumes & sets. The dancing was magnificient, but not as much fun to watch. I chased a decent-priced copy of this film & found it on Apple. 8/10.

A Damsel in Distress (1937)

Sweet! Great contribution by Burns & Allen

[9/10 · 18 April 2021]

I was surprised that this film was not a money-maker in 1937 for Astaire, but the public had become accustomed to the Fred-Ginger pairing. Here, he romances a decidedly NON dancer, (but pretty) Joan Fontaine, who plays a single girl from an uppercrust English family. Burns & Allen play publicity staffers for the popular actor Fred.

There are nice dance ensembles: the clothes brush number (which G Burns choreographed for their audition for the parts--which so delighted Astaire that he included it in the picture) and the bit at the Funhouse with mirrors and numerous roundabouts & slides. Delightful! Burns & Allen were actually pretty good at the softshoe. Fontaine was not a dancer & joked that the film set her career back a few years. She does try during THINGS ARE LOOKING UP. I found her performance charming, but not sassy or semi-defiant like Ginger's stuff. Lots of humour does come from Gracie Allen's dizziness & dingy one-liners.

Gracie is actually a lovable scene-stealer quite unintentionally-- so lovable that George Burns years later claimed he had to be careful as Gracie's straight man that he didn't speak too harshly to her during live performances or allow the smoke from his cigar to waft in her face--otherwise he feared the audience would rush the stage & beat him. We can see Gracie's girlish charm here, too.

There are some other sweet vocals, too, including NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT. 9/10.

Informer (2018)

Intriguing for 5 episodes.. Ends on a slow note..

[8/10 · 15 March 2021]

An affable young man of middle-eastern descent (Raza) gets coerced by a duplicitous agent (Gabe) into working undercover. A gunman enters an upscale London coffee shop and kills a few innocent people. All this in the first episode. We grind through 4 more to see how the 'informant' bit works out.

You would think the final episode, that explains the gunman, would be spell-binding, but I found it very snail-paced. A different kind of series, with unexpected heroes & villains. No sexual scenes, but more bad language than I expected. 8/10

Baptiste (2019–2021)

Agree: great acting and sets.. an eye-opener, even if not intended..

[10/10 · 5 March 2021]

Six episodes fly by (I could watch 12 easily), which tells you there is no 'padding' to stretch out a weakly-written concept. T Karyo plays Baptiste as a unique detective: no cursing, shooting, shouting, or threatening (he does not carry a weapon I have seen yet). He looks like your grandpa asking meek, mild questions, but he has great instincts and wonderful ability to win someone over to his way of viewing a crisis!

The only other actor I knew was Tom Hollander, who, in this presentation, plays the hapless Edward Stratton, a key piece of the puzzle: it takes awhile before you figure out what his role is. I watched Hollander in the CIA-based series THE COMPANY, in which he played notorious double-agent Kim Philby. There are also some heavy supporting roles (as Serbian thugs) by actors I do not know, but would avoid if I ever met them on the street.

The story starts off simply enough: Baptiste is on vacation in Amsterdam when an old (girl)friend on INTERPOL asks him to help look for a missing girl, who likely fell into the prostitution game. Stratton, claiming to be a step-father, joins in the hunt, but not everything is as it appears. Soon, it turns out someone has lifted 1 million Euros$ from a vicious Serbian gang, who do not mess around with folks who cross them. We wonder if Baptiste, with failing health, an aging body, and no gun, can possibly combat these foes. It's quite a ride. 10/10 (and I am going to find the 'prequel' THE MISSING as soon as I wrap this one up!)

Tell Me Your Secrets (I) (2021)

By Episode 9... What's the point?

[5/10 · 22 February 2021]

Not quite finished the series. Usually, by now you are wondering how the 'good guy' will do (the protaganist). Problem here: there aint none! Even the pretty Mom, who claims she wants to find her daughter (missing 7 years), after a continuing, gruelling search that has ruined her family, is a villain (she is nominally split from husband, but chases a kid young enough to be her son).

Lily Rave as 'Emma' is the closest we have to a sympathetic character, but she dated a serial killer & may have been complicit. She gets paroled to a witness protection scheme, but soon things begin to go wrong. Frequently, we get flashbacks, which are hard to distinguish from current footage. It's all very obscure, and the whole ensemble are miserable people. I could almost skip episode 10.

Frankly, the premise here might have been enough for a 3 episode series, even a 2-hour movie. At 10 episodes, there's too much drivel & too many redundant make-out scenes.

I do love a compelling mini-series. I can tolerate a bit of slowness in the name of art. This ain't it. 5/10

Unhinged (I) (2020)

She should have said sorry...

[7/10 · 17 February 2021]

Like most, I kind of know where the movie is going. It brings back memories of FALLING DOWN with Michael Douglas, except that he dealt with a variety of annoying people--in Unhinged, the protagonist deals with ONE big angry fellow, played by Crowe.

Actually, the premise is a bit severe for me, but I love Crowe's work, so.... Here's my take: HE apologizes for his part in a minor traffic mishap, and asks the young mom to do the same. She refuses. Likeskills 101: Always offer the return apology. (As Butch Cassidy said, You don't have to mean it or anything.). Girl refuses. Pays the price.

Both these characters were having a bad day. He was gracious. She refused to be. Bad stuff happens. I will now see if I can sit through the rest. Have a nice day, everyone. 7/10. I think.

Inheritance (I) (2020)

Points for originality...?

[7/10 · 10 February 2021]

A daughter from a wealthy, prominent family rises to the office of DA. Her brother is running for Governor. She is pretty & married, with a nice family. What could go wrong?

When her influential father dies, he leaves millions--but gives a special INHERITANCE to the daughter: a private note, and a key to a lockup on the property.

Turns out he had a middle-aged man interned there, a guy he probably should have just killed outright. However, he has left the final judgement to his daughter (her INHERITANCE), who begins conversing with the man (chained up, more or less). Here begins a unique feature of the story. We know, from Jane Eyre, that crazy wives get locked up in the attic. But why does a wealthy man chain up a younger man & keep him alive? Naturally, we want to know, but the problem is: if this is a great injustice, how will our heroine about rectifying it? Can you just release the guy? What will he do: seek deadly revenge, or go away quietly?

That much of the premise kept us spellbound anyway. You will have to watch it through & make your own judgement on the outcome, which has a few twists.

GOOD PERFORMANCES ALL AROUND.

7/10.. No skin. Bit of bad language.

Imposters (2017–2018)

Actually, brilliant & original..

[9/10 · 22 January 2021]

And Rob Heaps is British! We don't hear the Brit accent until well into Season 2, which prompted me to look up his background. This series about 3 very different people (2 M, 1 F) who get conned by a very clever scam artist (she marries--and dumps all 3) is captivating from the outset. All three decide to team up & find 'Maddie', wherever she is, & get the money back that she conned out of them.

As Indigo famously stated in PRINCESS BRIDE, "there's not a lot of money in revenge". So, our trio have to pull a few small-time cons themselves to pay expenses. In time, they learn that Maddie works for a Master Criminal called the DOCTOR who carries on a normal medical profession as a cover. In a brilliant piece of stunt-casting, Uma Thurman plays his chilling chief enforcer, Lenny Kravitz, fashioned after the NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN charmer, Antoine Chighurth. You can't take your eyes off Uma when she's onscreen, even if she is just chatting with a neighborhood youngster (for no real reason). Lenny is one of those all-powerful, all-knowing characters usually played by Chris Walken. Quite a change from the pretty, young characters of her past.

The series jumps from Seattle to Mexico to Scottsdale to New England as our trio of anti-heroes change from hunters to hunted (and back) with the Doctor AND a hapless (but likeable) FBI agent (conned & disgraced), played brilliantly by Stephen Bishop. I should mention Israeli actress, Inbar Lavi, is marvellous as the chief charmer, Maddie. Over 2 seasons, we get to know her background & motivation quite well.

This is an AA series, with some language & sensuality, but the presentation overall was, IMHO, worth the effort of FF a few scenes.

Finally, you could easily watch Series 1, and quit, with a decent feeling of closure, but we are loving Series 2, probably because the plot and characters were so well fleshed-out in the early going. Thank you, Netflix!

The Vanishing (1988)

Most frightening suspense film ever...

[10/10 · 17 January 2021]

No sex, no violent content? How can it be so scary? It's called great film-making! A young couple at a French truck-stop separate for a few moments (she goes on an errand in the shop), but sweet young Saskia never returns. What happened? We find out slowly, in stages.

Then, we meet the apparent perpetrator--an ordinary-looking family man. Since the film was made in /87, it predates the real-life serial attackers who were ordinary citizens, even police officials, that popped up in the USA. Up till then, homicide detectives were always looking for loners or drifters. So, I think the writer of this script was onto something.

Soon begins a cat-and-mouse game: if this kidnapper baits the girl's boyfriend, will he put himself in a vulnerable position? He shouldn't--he has a new romantic interest. He should just move on. But not this guy. He is obsessed with finding out. I actually believe that he might have caught up to the culprit, who has been tormenting him with postcards. He stays on the chase for 3 years, examining archival photos, and putting up posters.

The question is: will he know when to quit?

Canada Russia '72 (2006)

Stunning! Run, don't walk, to get your copy...

[9/10 · 24 December 2020]

I think many of the 'actors' are gifted hockey players & lookalikes--there's not much on their resumé at IMDB. The photo of the guy playing John Ferguson is more like a Mugshot, which is fitting for the character! (Meant in a good way). Gerry Dee, though, plays an awesome chippy Wayne Cashman.

I am re-watching this amazing CBC production, from which the only thing I recall is 1) the Vancouver fans booed Team Canada from the beginning 2) Ferguson's later response to Bobby Clarke breaking Kharlomov's ankle: 'Hockey is a real tough game.'

A three-Cd set, with tons of insight & anecdotes you won't see on the package that has the 8 full games (yeah, I got that, too).

Reckoning (2019)

2nd time thru for me...

[5/10 · 28 November 2020]

... And I can't recall if I reviewed it last time..!

RECKONING at least deserves points for originality. Not even the Scandanavians have stumbled on this idea: two families, one headed by a very troubled serial-killer, the other: by a homicide cop not much better in character. Acting is good, although Aden Young as the cop portrays his character apparently in a continual state of constipation. Sam Trammel, (Leo) our midnight stalker, is actually more pleasant company, but both guys have troubled families.

It's a series that could be done easily in 8 episodes, rather than 10, but we have all the family drama to sift through. Maybe what prompted this review is my reflection that, recently, a couple of serial rapists/killers have been caught via DNA History, and these guys have lived 'normal' lives for decades! If you wrote a series about them, uninformed viewers would argue that they would have been spotted easily. In real life, they were NOT. Maybe, reviewers here arguing that Leo would be identified early on should consider that. There is some language/sensuality to suffer through, but this is not a Slasher series.

The shock is that a respected High School teacher could have these troubling forces inside of him, and the Cop chasing him is a basket case--just a different kind of basket case. Watch the news: life imitates art.

A Very British Coup (1988)

Do I really scare you that much..?

[10/10 · 17 September 2020]

Asks Harry Perkins, the newly-elected Labour Prime Minister. He is speaking to an appointed-for-life cabinet minister Sir Somebody or other, whose property & title go back centuries. 'O yes, you do.' he replies. 'We could count on your predecessors to mess up, but you are no fool.' Thus, the reason why a 'Coup' has been orchestrated to oust poor Harry from office.

IMDB lost my previous review of VBC, and so, here is my replacement: this is a brilliant unique story of an imaginary Labour Leader who 1) cannot be corrupted 2) keeps his election promises 3) runs an open government, with frequent question periods. Even t h a t will not buy him unanimous Press support, as they badger Harry when a sensitive policy session is conducted behind closed doors. Harry is irresolute, however: even when a key labour union threatens to shut down the country with blackouts, Harry sticks to his guns and uncovers the culprits, restoring order.

Harry runs afoul of the Americans, as he has a mandate to rid the country of their Nukes on British soil. He recruits a brilliant Professor of Physics to consult on the process. He makes fools of the U. S. officials who try to impede--the Americans decide a grim response is required. Can Harry beat these guys?

If you can find this presentation on stream, or DVD, watch it!

Amundsen (2019)

Interesting study of Amundsen.. a bit slow

[7/10 · 11 July 2020]

I ordered this after reading a few reviews--we are big fans of the PBS production "THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH" made a few decades ago. So, anything on Amundsen is a must-see for us.

As others have noted, the pace is a bit slow, but the cinematography was quite good. The South Pole expedition included a gripping sequence wherein one of the party (and a sled) falls into a yawning fissure that suddenly opens up (possibly fictional, but it illustrates the danger of polar travel). After Amundsen returns form his 'successful' South Pole trip (I say that instead of 'victorious'), he is obliged to return to North Pole activities, and is attacked by a polar bear. Scary moment, well-filmed.

Usually, a slower pace will allow the Director to develop the protagonist's character more, but I am still mystified by what made Amundsen tick. He could not abide opposition to his ideas, and seemed to have a 'you cross me--we are done' outlook. Nonetheless, he was the kind of Project Leader you needed when you travelled in the Wild: a meticulous planner, and a tireless worker who did not play mind games with his companions--he kept 'aloof' somewhat to avoid currying 'favorites' & sought the counsel of his team. That was exactly what was wrong with his South Pole competitor, Robert Falcon Scott--a great gamesman and author, but a terrible guy to work for when your life is on the line.

I would recommend the film, if you have an interest in the subject. If you can find 'The Last Place on Earth' (book or dvd), though, I think you will find it longer, but quicker-paced, and give you more insight into Amundsen (even though it splits between him and Scott). 7/10