Of all the things that incite anger regarding the Iraq War (and there are too many to count), the “stop-lossing” of soldiers should be higher up on the list than it probably is for most. We hear stories of soldiers who are on their third or fourth tour of duty… Continue reading
Sylvester Stallone, like him or not, deserves some credit. He resurrected his Rocky franchise last year to largely critical praise (although I wasn’t part of that) and now he has brought back the 1980’s most iconic action hero. Not bad for a guy who recently crossed age 60. With Rocky… Continue reading
There’s a scene in Lions for Lambs in which reporter Janine Roth (Streep), during one of several down times in her interview with Senator Jasper Irving (Cruise), takes a stroll around the Senator’s office. The camera pans across a photo of Irving with President Bush, who is giving the trademark… Continue reading
If this is where so-called “epics” are headed, count me out. Ugly, lunk-headed, and apparently written by a middle school class, 300 is just the kind of “visionary epic” that studios love to hype this time of year as a precursor to the summer movie season. Padded with so much… Continue reading
“Every jackass thinks he knows what war is, even if he’s never been in one.” So begins Flags of our Fathers, easily one of the year’s finest films. Based upon the book of the same name by James Bradley (son of John Bradley, one of the six men who raised… Continue reading
Horrors of War may be fiction, but in dealing with Hitler’s human experiments during WWII, nothing seems too far-fetched. The film is a pleasantly ambitious smörgåsbord of genres. Filmed entirely in the state of Ohio (a fact I note because this is a very rare occurrence), the film dishes up… Continue reading
Is there a day that goes by anymore where we don’t hear about a suicide bombing somewhere in the world? It seems as though this has become a rejuvenated, popular practice, particularly in the Middle East. We read the headlines and shake our heads, moving on to the next depressing… Continue reading
Little did I know that we had such heroic animals during World War II – and that they were awarded medals of honor. The Dickins Award of Gallantry was given to pigeons (namely), dogs, cats, and a few other species that helped with communication in Europe. These “homing” pigeons could… Continue reading
Hotel Rwanda faces the monumental task of chronicling and telling the story of one man’s heroism during one of the worst slaughters in recent world history, and one that most of the world turned a blind eye to. With a top notch directing effort by Terry George and the role… Continue reading