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Reviews
12 to the Moon (1960)
Great sociology, lousy science!
OK, let's get the obvious out of the way. The writers had no clue about scientific principles, especially space science. Even in 1960, we already knew about the lifeless moon (it had been years since we abandoned the notion of little green men from Mars).
But the social implications were fascinating to me. The international crew of the ship was quite impressive, especially in the midst of the cold war.
The inclusion of women, Asians, and even an African American man that avoided stereotyping was admirable. Talking about racism, the issues of Israel as a country, and other issues that are just as relevant today was outstanding.
So as a movie, lousy, but the message, outstanding!
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Not completely inaccurate
Although this movie is inaccurate overall, there are some items that may be true. Certainly, he was a wild character in his youth, having played practical jokes on his fellow cadets at West Point, almost expelled several times, graduating last in his class (of 34), and often reckless in his leadership during the Civil War.
But history may have made him a scape goat of the Indian Wars. Certainly, he did his share of cruel things, but how much was he under orders? Also, there is evidence that he testified before Congress (at great risk to his commission and command) that he argued about the fairness of breaking treaties with the Indians and that if he was an Indian he would also fight rather than live on a reservation!
As a character said in the play 1776 when asked what will be said about the British about losing the Revolutionary War, the character states "history will do what it always does...it will lie." Who knows how bad a man Custer was. Certainly he wasn't the sympathetic character as portrayed by Errol Flynn and later by Ronald Reagan. But I also doubt he was completely evil as he is later portrayed.
Silent Hill (2006)
Am I alone?
Well, I may be a dissenting vote, but I thought Silent Hill was pretty bad. Yes, some of the visuals were very good (hence a score of 5 and not less)...but the story line, how silly! In trying to put in all the elements of the game (which I have played often), they crammed way too much to make this a good story. Rather, it's one shock scene after another. While that works in the beginning, it gets old pretty soon. And that ending...please, couldn't you think of a more creative (and logical) way to finish the story. Sorry but even "doom" was more interesting...and that wasn't very good either! I hope the next Resident Evil movie makes up for this fiasco!
A Walk in the Sun (1945)
A Walk in the sun
I am a sucker for WWII movies, especially when it includes Dana Andrews. So when I read the plot of "A walk in the sun", I was quite enthusiastic. Well, I must say how disappointed I was. First of all, the quality of the film was poor (for broadcasting). I saw it on TCM, normally a champion of film restoration. In addition, the dialog was boring. Attempts to create empathy for the characters fell woefully short. There was no depth in conversations, and it went on forever! The one bright spot was seeing such wonderful actors: Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Richard Conte, Sterling Holloway, and the aforementioned Dana Andrews. I would recommend a pass on this one.