Wednesday, October 17, 2018
First Man (2018)
First Man is tops for a moving experience at the movies. Be prepared to feel a little queasy too. Flights are shown from Armstrong's perspective. It's really a bumpy ride.
Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut who was the first man to walk on the moon.
Gosling is stellar in his portrayal of the unflappable engineer who endures several near-death experiences during his nearly decade of work to prepare for the moon landing.
Claire Foy (The Crown) is solid as Armstrong's wife, Janet, who balances caring for the couple's children and knowing death is always near for members of the American space program.
That's Lukas Haas, from Lady in White, as Mike Collins.
Look for Gosling, a native of London, Ont., to be an Oscar contender come 2019.
First Man is directed by Damien Chazelle (La-La Land).
RATING: 9/10
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Friday, March 16, 2018
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
Currently watching Citizen Gangster
(2011) Canadian film is based on true events, but doesn't make a real emotional connection with the viewer.
Odd to see International Bridge, connecting Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., in film set in Toronto.
Bridge opened in 1962, after the bank-robbing exploits of Edwin Boyd and his gang.
RATING: 6/10
FUN FACTS: Kelly Reilly starred in Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice.
Brian Cox had the lead role in Winston Churchill.
William Mapother appeared as Dr. Ethan Rom in television's Lost.
Citizen Gangster was nominated for five Genie Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Academy Awards, including best lead actor and best supporting actor.
Director Nathan Morlando returned to the Sault Ste. Marie area to shoot his second feature, Mean Dreams, starring Bill Paxton in one of his last roles.
Harry Houston, a veteran of community theatre in Sault Ste. Marie, appears as a bank customer who witnesses Boyd rob one of his first banks.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Top Secret! (1984)
Lots of laughs here from the creative team behind Airplane!
Val Kilmer, in his film debut, is American rock singer Nick Rivers. He gets mixed up with the French resistance during a visit to East Germany.
Top Secret! spoofs war and rock 'n' roll movies.
Will need to update this comedy at a later date.
Watch for horror icon Peter Cushing in one of his last screen roles.
RATING: 7.5/10
Val Kilmer, in his film debut, is American rock singer Nick Rivers. He gets mixed up with the French resistance during a visit to East Germany.
Top Secret! spoofs war and rock 'n' roll movies.
Will need to update this comedy at a later date.
Watch for horror icon Peter Cushing in one of his last screen roles.
RATING: 7.5/10
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
What a surprise to find a copy of Year Of Living Dangerously, The
at a used record shop in my hometown. The copies I've found on Amazon are pretty pricey.
I caught Peter Weir's drama at the theatre when it was released in 1982.
Thirty-six years would pass until I saw this movie a second time.
Linda Hunt is the main reason to watch this film. She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for this role.
She's Billy Kwan, the connected photographer who works with Australian journalist Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) in Indonesia in 1965.
The job is Hamilton's first foreign posting. He has no connections. Kwan knows people and opens doors Hamilton couldn't hope to find on his own.
Times are tense with a dictator, President Sukarno, ruling with an iron fist. A Communist uprising is brewing.
Hamilton falls for Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver), a British diplomat. There's good chemistry between the two.
But enjoy Hunt's work as Kwan, the photographer who is disillusioned with how Indonesians are treated by their government and what Hamilton will do for a story.
RATING: 8/10
at a used record shop in my hometown. The copies I've found on Amazon are pretty pricey. I caught Peter Weir's drama at the theatre when it was released in 1982.
Thirty-six years would pass until I saw this movie a second time.
Linda Hunt is the main reason to watch this film. She won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for this role.
She's Billy Kwan, the connected photographer who works with Australian journalist Guy Hamilton (Mel Gibson) in Indonesia in 1965.
The job is Hamilton's first foreign posting. He has no connections. Kwan knows people and opens doors Hamilton couldn't hope to find on his own.
Times are tense with a dictator, President Sukarno, ruling with an iron fist. A Communist uprising is brewing.
Hamilton falls for Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver), a British diplomat. There's good chemistry between the two.
But enjoy Hunt's work as Kwan, the photographer who is disillusioned with how Indonesians are treated by their government and what Hamilton will do for a story.
RATING: 8/10
Back to Bataan (1945)
back to bataan is a disappointing Second World War film that's best left alone.
John Wayne stars as Col. Joseph Madden, an American soldier working with Filipino resistance fighters against occupying Japanese forces.
Anthony Quinn is Capt. Adres Bonifacio, a resistance leader who's freed from captivity.
His girlfriend, Dalisay Delgado (Fely Franquell) broadcasts propaganda for the Japanese. Not good.
That's Beulah Bondi from It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as a teacher of Filipino children.
RATING: 5/10
FUN FACTS: Lawrence Tierney appears as Lt. Cmdr. Waite. He was in The Naked Gun: Files from Police Squad more than 40 years later.
is a disappointing Second World War film that's best left alone. John Wayne stars as Col. Joseph Madden, an American soldier working with Filipino resistance fighters against occupying Japanese forces.
Anthony Quinn is Capt. Adres Bonifacio, a resistance leader who's freed from captivity.
His girlfriend, Dalisay Delgado (Fely Franquell) broadcasts propaganda for the Japanese. Not good.
That's Beulah Bondi from It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as a teacher of Filipino children.
RATING: 5/10
FUN FACTS: Lawrence Tierney appears as Lt. Cmdr. Waite. He was in The Naked Gun: Files from Police Squad more than 40 years later.
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