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Steve-566
Reviews
The Kennedys (2011)
Disappointed with first episodes
I began watching the 2-hour premier of this series with great anticipation and enthusiasm. When the scenes about WWII came, I began to be disappointed. The scenes of JFK and his brother Joe were technically abominable. JFK was a Lt. JG when he joined the PT boats. In the movie, he was wearing the uniform of a full lieutenant. There was a phone call made to Joe Sr., advising him that JFK was missing in action. The caller identified himself as "Commander" So-and-so. He was wearing the uniform of a Navy Captain - not a commander. When JFK returned, wearing his "medal", the medal he wore was some obscure service medal. JFK won the Navy Cross for his ordeal and should have been wearing the correct award. In addition, when he was running for congress, his campaign manager pinned his "medal" on his suit when he was to address a group of mothers who had lost sons in WWII. The medal he wore at that assembly was the Army Commendation Medal, not the Navy Cross and not even the same medal he wore in the previous scenes. This inattention to detail has led me to believe that not much care was taken in the production of this series. I will watch the rest of it and may be surprised, but I doubt it.
Voyna i mir (1965)
Magnificent but a bit confusing
I recently purchased the DVD release of this spectacular production. The battle scenes are breathtaking, but a bit confusing when you see infantry columns marching in circles and cavalry units galloping back an forth between the columns, with no apparent destination in mind. About half of the movie is dubbed in English, but the rest is in Russian with English subtitles and some of it is even in French with English subtitles! There are some scenes that are dubbed in English followed by Russian with subtitles then back to English, and so forth. It was quite challenging to keep up with the switching between listening and reading the dialogue. You can also see some of the Soviet influence in some of the scenes. There are a number of blustery patriotic songs and some rather over-dramatic soliloquies (sp?) scattered throughout the "War" portion of the movie. In spite of these drawbacks, I rather enjoyed this movie. War and Peace has always been one of my favorite stories, and this movie certainly does the book justice. The DVD version is spread over 4 discs (with a 5th disc containing bonus materials). It is packaged in a very attractive box and the discs themselves are attractively presented with images of the main characters and scenes. The widescreen format is nice because the subtitles are displayed in the blackened areas of the screen, rather than intruding into the picture itself. It's a bit on the expensive side (I paid $49.95 for it at Best Buy) but if you're a fan of the Napoleonic era or a lover of Tolstoy, it's worth it. I rate this movie a solid 8.0.
One Hour Photo (2002)
I don't understand the high rating on this film.
I don't understand the high rating members of this site gave to this film. After reading a number of the reviews, lauding this film as one akin to some of Hitchcock's finest, I purchased the DVD, got some takeout food and settled down with anticipation to enjoy this movie. I kept waiting for things to improve and stuck it out all the way to the end, at which time I felt great disappointment and shame at having been bilked out of the $19.95 plus tax that I spent on the DVD. Except for the fact that Robin Williams convinced me that his character was a disturbed weirdo, there was never anything in the movie that got me nervous or excited. The thing just dragged through one boring scene after another, until the end finally arrived. Fortunately, I bought The Four Feathers the same day and was able to salvage the evening.