U-571 (2000)

Chief Klough: You're the skipper now. And the skipper always knows what to do whether he does or not.


Ok, I would like to put a few things at the beginning of this review.


1. I know that it was the British who found the original Enigma coding machine.  Cause, ya know, of the credit that the film makers gave at the end of the movie.


2. When doing research on this movie, I discovered I have a bone to pick with the director, Jonathan Mostow.  Apparently, in April of 2000 Mostow is quoted as saying that the movie 'Das Boot' is based on a lie.  Errrr......Clearly Mostow does not realize that the movie 'Das Boot' is based on the book 'Das Boot' which was written by a German war correspondent who spent time on a U-Boat.  *Sigh*  Really?


Moving on...


This is not meant to be a movie telling a specific story or piece of history.  Its meant to be exactly what it is.  A taut, well paced action movie.  With a heck of a cast (Paxton!  Jovi! Keitel! Mcconaughey!), it delivers.


Basically, you've got a US sub that is disguised as a German re-supply boat so they can take over a damaged U-Boat to crack the German Enigma code.  Needless to say, all does not go according to plan.  The US sub is torpedoed by the real German resupply boat, and the survivors gather on the U-571.  The remainder of the movie is taken up by the survivors trying to evade a German destroyer that has come to investigate.  Through some inventive planning, the crew is able to escape the destroyer,but the U-571 is lost.


I give it 4/5 depth charges.

Knight And Day (2010)

Roy Miller - 'Nobody follow us or I kill myself and then her!'


And that quote right there pretty much sums up the tone of the movie, 'Knight And Day'.  Starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, this is the story of Tom Cruise (Roy Miller) constantly drugging Cameron Diaz (June Havens) so that he may rescue her from the situations he constantly puts her in.


Ok, that's not REALLY the story, but this plot device is used enough that one might think that is the real story.  Miller plays a spy who enlists the help of Havens to keep a perpetual energy battery out of the hands of very bad people.  With decent action sequences and fairly decent dialog, this movie plays out exactly like its meant to... as a summer popcorn movie.


I've heard this movie described as pizza with extra Tom Cruise (ie cheesey), but I think that is somewhat inaccurate.  This is not meant to be a serious action movie.  If anything its a spoof.  All of the familiar plot devices and situations from any other action movies are there.  Mr. Cruise spends most of the movie trying to be either Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible) or Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon).  Its not a bad film, and a good one to have on as background noise.  The instant you start trying to look at it any deeper than that, then it does start to fall apart.


I give it 3/5 couches.


Yes, I did rate this movie using couches.  Only fitting given the male lead in the movie.

Game of Thrones Spoilers and such (and a mini rant)...

So of all places, MTV had a list of 10 most anticipated scenes for HBO's Game of Thrones.  Its been a while since I've read the book, but I would say that their list hits all the high points of Game of Thrones.


Ones in particular I'm looking forward to...


#9: Viserys Targaryen Receives His Crown - I remember this from the book, it was early in the book if I recall.  Its brutal and effective, and sets the tone for the book.


#6: Bran Stark Falls at Winterfell - Without getting all spoilery, this is a VERY key scene in the book.  Which if I recall is not resolved until a book or two later.  As its been a while, so I could be wrong.


#1: Execution of Ned Stark - Ya, this one deserves to be number one.  In a short time, this character was a favorite, but when he met his demise, oh man.  This scene set the tone even more than number 9.





Now, since I refuse to subscribe to HBO just to watch this, I'll have to wait until it is on DVD.  Which gives me plenty of time to re-read the book, and discover all the other scenes that I can't wait to see.


Normally, I'd hop on a high horse, and start demanding that HBO start making 'The Wheel of Time' into a series, but I guess they are happy filming a book series that has no end in sight.


Ya, I went there.  Hear that Mr. Martin?  I'd like to read a new 'Song of Ice and Fire' book... soon.




Top 10 Anticipated Game of Thrones TV Moments (Spoilers!) » MTV Geek

The Untouchables (1987)

Malone: You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.


The Untouchables is a story of Chicago.  Its a story of right vs. wrong.  Its a story of criminals and cops.


Kevin Costner plays Eliot Ness, a Federal Agent tasked with bringing down Al Capone, brought to cinematic life by Mr. Robert De Niro.  Rounding out the cast is Sean Connery as Malone, and a young Andy Garcia.


A dark time in our country's history, when the sale and distribution of alcohol was made illegal, men such as Al Capone cane to prominence distributing said illegal substances.  Well, since the US government couldn't have this, they send Eliot Ness to Chicago to clean things up.


In a town thick with crooked cops, Ness teams with Malone, and a young police cadet to bring down Capone.  Try as they might, they can't pin the big crimes on Capone.  Then (as history tells us) they are able to slap Capone in jail on tax evasion of all things.  Nothing glamorous, but it gets the job done.  Capone even spends time on Alcatraz.


Whoops, got all history lessoney on ya'll there...


This is easily one of my favorite films ever.  Its well shot, directed, written and casted.  Its simple, not flashy and tells the story without a lot of fat.  I read somewhere that Brian De Palma (director of this fine film) is talking about making a prequel, which will detail the rise of Capone.  I'm not quite sold on this yet, but if does as fine of a job with that project as he did with The Untouchables, then that too will be a film to see.


Yes, there are historical inaccuracies in this movie.  But it still tells the story well.  And with many films based on history, it just compelled me to seek out the truth of how it all really went down.  I see movies such as this as gateways to the truth.


If you like gangster films, or tight, well paced action films, then The Untouchables is the movie for you.

Scale Modeling at its best!

So I cam across this when perusing the interwebs.  At left, you see a 1:16 scale model of Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Check out the link below for more pics and the story behind the model.  Lots of talent went into this, and I hope the guy keeps making more.


Scale-Model Stadium Freezes a Moment of Baseball’s Past | Playbook