utahdesertkat Reviews

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

WOW!

[10/10 · 20 March 2004]

WOW! Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan! This was one of the most authentically made World War II movies ever made. Tom Hanks did a fantastic job playing a soldier during WWII who did as he was told, regardless of how he personally felt about the task at hand. My husband retired after 30 years of Army service and loves to "critique" military movies (being a military buff himself). Even he was hard pressed to find a "mistake" in this movie! The movie takes you from the landing on the beaches to the impossible task of locating a single man, Private Ryan. In between the search for this man, we are delighted with excellent character development of the company sent out to search for Private Ryan. We are able to gain a little insight of what it might have been like for men of various backgrounds coming together and united for a single cause. Their banter, individual histories, prewar occupations, state of residence, & individual thoughts made each character feel so real that by the end of the movie you felt like you knew them - they WERE real. Movies like "Saving Private Ryan" are wonderful for your adults to watch. Kids don't appreciate history or really take in the events they are taught in school. Movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" help to generate interest in history for the young. For the older population, we simply appreciate (or remember) the time period and feel proud of our spouse or a family member who served during WWII. Warning: have plenty of tissues by your chair for this movie!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

A hoot of an ending ...

[9/10 · 20 March 2004]

What could be more brilliant than the wonderfully entertaining pairing of two very funny men, Steve Martin and Michael Caine! Add to the mix the cute and "innocent" Janet Colgate and you have yourself a hit!

Both Martin & Caine's characters are con men, set on working their own turf and not sharing the field. While Caine's character manages to present himself as an up scaled, wealthy man in every role he takes on, somehow Martin's character ends up on the low end of character roles, making this movie even funnier. Michael Caine is perfect as a wealthy upper class gentleman, while Steve Martin plays the odd characters to the hilt! Janet Colgate completely makes you believe she is the innocent American girl next door. The ending is a hoot - and the movie is a real treat for ages teenage to 100! If you like a light-hearted, funny movie with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing the first time you watch it, then you'll enjoy this movie. The ending is a real treat and will have you chuckling (as well as going back to watch it again and again).

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Funny beyond words ...

[10/10 · 2 March 2004]

The characters, John Candy as Del and Steve Martin as Neal, are truly hilarious! My sons and I have watched this movie over and over again and yet we still find ourselves laughing out loud every time we see it! A funny movie that will stand the test of time is one that can make you laugh every time you watch it. "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" fits that description! Casting John Candy and Steve Martin together was brilliant and I only wish they had made other movies together. Their individual wit and humor played brilliantly off each other, their timing was perfect, and their body language was priceless. This movie will rank as a classic among comedies in the future. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to laugh so hard they will hardly be able to control themselves! Warning: this movie can cause addiction (of watching it over and over again)!

Summer Rental (1985)

Good, clean, family fun ...

[8/10 · 2 March 2004]

John Candy's wit and humor shines through as Jack Chester, the over worked air traffic controller who reluctantly takes a vacation to the beach with his family. The laughs keep coming as Jack and his family spend the summer at the beach with many mishaps occurring throughout the movie. The movie is about family and new friends pulling together, working side by side, believing in a dream and achieving an impossible goal. We've watched this movie many times, but we still laugh and feel good when the movie ends. The standing joke at our home, when we eat dinner out at a restaurant that passes off breaded fish as an expensive seafood item with a fancy name, is "Look - it's Scully's Catch of the day"! This movie is good, clean, family fun - entertainment for the entire family!

Bachelor Mother (1939)

For the incurable romantic ...

[10/10 · 2 March 2004]

Ginger Rogers plays a young woman named Polly who "inherits" a baby. No one, including her boss, believes how she acquired the baby. Ginger Rogers (Polly) is adorable when paired with the ever humorous David Niven as her boss (David). There's wonderful chemistry between Ginger Rogers and David Niven in this movie. While the original movie was in black and white and written in 1939, it's still a cute, witty movie for today's viewing. Polly's a modern woman who doesn't back down to her boss or to any man in general. I especially enjoyed the New Year's Eve scene, where David realizes the shallow company he's been keeping before he met Polly.

"Bachelor Mother" is a wonderful family movie, with the incurable romantic in mind.