In Honor of Veteran's Day

In my spare time, I consider myself a bit of a history buff, particularly the American Civil War and, secondarily, World War II. One of my favorite ways to indulge is by watching movies related to the events of these conflicts. So, in honor of Veteran’s Day, here is a list (in no particular order) of my favorite movies based on Wars and Conflicts.

Glory – American Civil War

• This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's where I was first introduced to Denzel, reestablished my infatuation with Matthew Broderick, and deepened my love for all things Civil War. I remember grossing all my friends out at my birthday party with one particularly bloody battle scene from the beginning of this movie. They saw one flying head and refused to watch any more. :)

Gone with the Wind – American Civil War

• What more can be said about Gone with the Wind that hasn't been said before? This is one of the classics that I made sure to watch with the kiddo. Whether it's the original or the spoofs, I will watch it anytime I can. I'm still upset I missed my chance to see it on the big screen earlier this year.

Dr. Zhivago – WWI and Russian Civil War

• I've only seen this a handful of times, but it has stayed with me all these years. Omar Sharif and Julie Christie perfectly embodied their characters, and the image of the ice palace is burned into my soul.

Schindler’s List – WWII

• Schindler’s List started a whole line of self-study for me that continues to this day. I have the book waiting for me to read, and have already read the author's memoir about his writing of the book. Steven Spielberg masterfully ushered this tale from history to page to screen and introduced us to one of the best villainous actors of our age. And my last two words: Red Coat.

The Hunt for Red October – Cold War

• Sean Connery. Alec Baldwin. Tim Curry. That was almost too much for my teenage brain to handle. Then add to that the defection angle, and my Russophile self was in love.

MASH – Korea

• I love this in either the TV or movie form. While I prefer the show, the movie does have a certain appeal.

Persepolis – Iran/Iraq War

• I had heard good things about this film, so I made sure to watch this when I had the chance. I was only able to see this once, but it has stuck with me ever since. It gives a different perspective on the experience of women in the Muslim world from what we commonly hear. I love that the movie, based on a graphic memoir (like a graphic novel but a memoir), is animated but keeps the artist's style. I will be reading the book, but for now, the movie has made a lasting impression that I refer to on a routine basis.

A couple notes: This list is based only off of movies I have seen, and is a list of personal preferences. I know that there are other great movies out there, but some may not be personal favorites of mine (e.g. Apocalypse Now and Platoon). Other great movies can’t be included in the list because I haven’t actually seen them (i.e. Casablanca). Finally, I am really, REALLY picky when I say something is a favorite. With rare exceptions, these are movies that I will stop and watch any time I see them on, so matter what else I had been planning on watching. In fact, this list started off a lot longer!

The Wrestler

View Date: 12/11/09

In this film, Mickey Rourke plays an old professional wrestler past his prime and just trying to eke out a living. He attempts to bond with his estranged daughter and start a relationship with a stripper from his favorite club. But after suffering some major health setbacks, he is advised not to wrestle again or it may kill him, which then removes his only means of income.

I totally understand the hype this movie received, particularly for Mickey Rourke. After his careers as a boxer and actor, he is perfect in this role. You can really feel for his character, even when he is not deserving of sympathy. Marisa Tomei was amazing as a stripper, and looks at least a decade younger than her actual age. Evan Rachel Wood was also very convincing as the estranged teenager pissed off at the dad who essentially abandoned her to travel with his job.

I have watched plenty of professional wrestling in my time, and have even read several memoirs written by wrestlers. This film let me in on some of the secrets used to make the shows exciting. While the performances may be staged, there is a large amount of physical pain involved. It also shows how hard of a living it can be, particularly on the lower tier circuits. So, although this movie was fictional, it was obviously based in fact and provided me with an education.

10 words or less: A must see for both the acting and story.

Smart People

View Date: 12/11/09

Dennis Quaid plays a widowed professor known for being an exceptionally tough grader and grouchy in general. Ellen Page portrays his daughter who is just like him, while his son wants to have fun at college, not just be a know-it-all. When his adopted brother comes to visit, he bonds with the daughter and tries to get the family to loosen up a bit.

Quaid’s character runs into a former student in the hospital and they begin to date. She gets him to open up a bit, but he still mourns his wife. He is also very self-centered, and does not realize how much the people around him need him.

My description above just doesn’t do this movie justice. While it is not a comedy, it does have several funny moments and others you just have to shake your head at. Quaid played the part of an overweight, middle-aged man impeccably. He altered his walk and developed a bit of a shuffle, and perfectly portrayed the pompous college professor who truly believes the rest of the world is dumber than he is. Overall, the acting was superb throughout.

I wound up really liking this movie, and am glad in the end that I watched it.

10 words or less: Accurate portrayals in a really good film.

I'll Be There

View Date: 12/10/09

This movie, starring Craig Ferguson and Charlotte Church, is about a former rock star that discovers that he has a daughter. Turns out, the girl can sing beautifully, which makes sense as she is played by the beautiful and talented Church. However, she needs to keep her talents hidden as her mother disapproves and prefers her to focus on her studies. But singing is in the girl’s blood, as both her father and grandfather make their livings that way, and she cannot be held back.

This was a cute comedy with quite a lot of British talent. I have been a big fan of Ferguson for a while now, and think he is one of the best talk show hosts on the air currently. This movie was no exception, and this role suited him well.

I wasn’t too keen on Church’s acting in the movie. Her singing was impeccable as always, but that is her true talent. I hope she continues to pursue her singing, but I can live without her acting any more.

10 words or less: More Ferguson is always better.

Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus

View Date: 8/9/10

This movie, starring Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas, is obviously about an ultra-large shark and a giant octopus. After being released from an iceberg, the two giant beasts wreak havoc on various natural and man-made entities. The shark, identified as a previously extinct megalodon, launches itself thousands of feet into the air to take down a passing 747. The scientists finally realize that these two were frozen while battling each other, so the only way to take down either it to restart the fight.

As expected, this was a god-awful movie, but that's exactly why people watch this. The acting was pretty hideous, but not nearly as bad as the special effects. Of course, there is the required romantic interest and the ensuing entanglements, which lead to a scientific cooperation and saving each other. They left it open for a sequel, one which I will not be watching if it ever gets made.

10 words or less: On the level of SyFy Channel original movie bad.

Running the Sahara

View Date: 12/5/09

Many people think that running a marathon is either commendable or absurd. Some would say, “Why push the human body to those lengths?” Others are of the opinion, “It is amazing what those runners can do, but I can never push my body like that.” This movie takes any reaction one might have and multiplies it by thousands.

This movie is about a group of three runners who decide to undertake the challenge of running across the Sahara desert. It takes the runners over three months to make the trip with pitfalls along the way. There are the physical hardships of running that distance in the heat of the desert, but there are also issues as sandstorms, terrorist activity, and obtaining government permission to even enter certain countries.

The movie mainly focuses on the three runners and thoroughly explores their motivations and emotions towards this run. The viewer is also introduced to the families, crew, and support staff of the athletes. This was really nice to see being an athletic supporter of a distance runner myself.

There were times that I really wanted to hit the main organizer/runner of this trek. I understood that he was doing this for the experience and was of the mindset that it should keep going until the end no matter the costs. But his refusal to understand the need for people to leave before the end of the journey, even after being told that such things would happen if the trip ran long (which it did by about 20 days) really left a sour taste in my mouth. But in the end, things seemed to be smoothed over.

Would I recommend this movie to everyone? No. It was very well made and an amazing story, but I feel that many people would not truly become invested in the story. However, if you are or know a distance runner and understand the struggles they go through to complete a standard-length race, you will appreciate this film. There is some beautiful scenery, but the main focus of the film is the goal

10 words or less: Good movie for distance runners and their loved ones.

The Lincoln Assassination

View Date: 12/4/09

This history documentary provided an in-depth look into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It explored the reasoning and planning of the culprits as well as the aftermath and how things may have turned out differently if Lincoln had not died.

I have watched many of these pieces. This one did not particularly stick out to me as either good or bad. It was pretty average in my book, with nothing really making it stick out from any other piece on this specific topic.

10 words or less: Average and forgettable.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

View Date: 11/30/09

This movie by Steven Soderbergh is the story of a sexually repressed woman who learns that her husband is having an affair with her sister. When an old friend of her husband comes to town, she is drawn to him and learns his secrets, particularly about a certain sexual fetish he has.

I realize that was a really poor summary for this interesting movie. One of the main things I noticed about it was the lack of background music. I felt that it heightened the acting and dialog, and made the movie a bit more unusual.

I had been told that this was one of James Spader’s creepiest roles before having seen it. I actually feel this was one of his least cruel roles he played early in his career. He was consistently known as a heel or bad guy, and still plays those characters well. But I kind of liked his character, and admired his conviction for telling the truth even when difficult.

Overall, I appreciated this movie. I don’t think I would have as much if I had seen this earlier in my life, but it sat well with me now. I saw the artistic value and recognize now just how different it was from the movies being made in the late 1990s.

10 words or less: Unique movie even now.

Carolina

View Date: 11/27/09

This movie starring Julia Stiles and Shirley Maclaine is about three girls with an absent father who live with their eccentric grandmother. Stiles’ character has left home and established herself with a job and apartment, trying to have a normal life compared to the one in which she was raised. She is embarrassed when introducing her new boyfriend to her family, and then tries to mold her family to her idea of what a family is supposed to be. This, of course, leads to tension until she comes to realize through tragedy that she has a loving, caring family, no matter how crazy the situation might be.

I had never heard of this movie, but it came recommended to me by my mother so I decided to give it a shot. Of course there are the standard plot elements of family tension, and I could really feel for Carolina’s embarrassment by her relatives. But Shirley Maclaine’s presence and humor took this movie to a different level. She could have you laughing out loud with some of her antics, and even though they were scripted, no one could have pulled it off as perfectly as her. The tragedy I mentioned above really struck me and I had a hard time trying not to sob uncontrollably.

10 words or less: Recommended, even if you’ve never heard of it.

Shorts

View Date: 11/25/09

Shorts is, as the name implies, a series of short stories wrapped together in one movie. They all center on a rainbow-colored rock that makes wishes come true for whoever is holding it. Things get fun, interesting, and a bit out of control when the kids of the neighborhood use it, but total chaos ensues when the adults get a hold of it.

I received this the day it was released on Netflix because my daughter had been asking to see it again for months. Even she thought it wasn’t that good when she rewatched it. It was really pretty bad, even for a cheesy kids movie. There is so much better out there. The trailer looked so good, but I was left utterly disappointed.

10 words or less: Ranks really low for recent kids releases.

The Shape of Things

View Date: 11/25/09

This movie, starring Rachel Weisz and Paul Rudd, shows the stars playing college students who meet in an art museum. Weisz plays an art student who sets about cleaning up the loveable schlub presented by Rudd. He winds up losing weight, buying new clothes, and getting more active. His engaged best friend has some issues with the new girlfriend, but Rudd’s character is so blindly in love that he ignores any negative comments, believing that they are made just because of the dislike for her. In the end, he probably should have listened to his friend.

I picked this movie because I am a big fan of Paul Rudd. That being said, I will not likely watch this movie again. It was an OK story, but the characters were more like caricatures. The ending was a huge surprise, and totally threw me for a loop. I wanted to just jump through my screen and strangle pretty much each of the four main characters at least once throughout the course of the movie. I would normally classify that as a good movie, but something just rubbed me wrong about this one. Either way, I can say that I’ve seen it and I don’t have to see it again.

10 words or less: Definitely not my favorite Paul Rudd flick.

Step Up: 2 the Streets

View Date: 11/23/09

This sequel to the very good Step Up was essentially the reverse of the first movie. Two dancers from different sides of the tracks meet and develop both professional and romantic relationships. This time, however, the dancing is primarily street or hip hop as opposed to more classical forms.

This movie really surprised me with how enjoyable it was. I am a sucker for good dancing, but this was exceptionally well done. I went in thinking that this movie couldn’t live up to the first, but I was pleasantly mistaken. The story was a bit predictable but good nonetheless. And I could watch the dance scenes all day long. I turned this on thinking that it would be something that I could do other things while watching it, but I wound up not being able to tear my eyes away.

10 words or less: Love a surprisingly good movie, especially a sequel.

Vantage Point

View Date: 11/22/09

This movie shows a single event, specifically a terrorist attack, from the vantage of 9 different people. You get to see it from the likes of a tourist, a child, a security officer, and the terrorist group. All of the stories intertwine in unexpected ways, and more is learned from each part of the story.

I really enjoyed this movie, particularly how the stories wove together. It exemplified how each person has a different viewpoint of the same situation. In other words, for each person observing an event, the tale will be recounted that number of times in different ways. The acting was wonderful, which is good considering it was chock full of renowned actors. The last story seemed a little rushed, but also a little forced, kind of like the writers knew they had to wrap up all of the storylines but only knew how they wanted to end a few of them. This said, the ending felt a little contrived and weak to me. But overall, the movie was very exciting and well-presented.

10 words or less: Exciting with good acting.

Tootsie

View Date: 3/13/10

This movie stars Dustin Hoffman as an unemployable actor in New York who dresses as a woman to win a part on a soap opera. In the process, he winds up falling for his costar while trying to have a relationship with an old friend. Additionally, the people involved with the soap only know him as a woman, so various uncomfortable situations arise when teamed up with his male costars.

This movie was quite enjoyable, but it did follow some very typical patterns of cross-dressing comedies. I had seen pieces of it before, but this was the first time I had seen it in its entirety. Looking at it now, I can't really understand why it was nominated for so many Oscars. I did, however, really enjoy Bill Murray as the straight man. It was nice to see him in a comedy from the early 80's as a relatively subtle character. I did experience some laugh-out-loud moments, particularly when guys were attracted to his not exactly beautiful female persona.

10 words or less: Don't understand all the hype, but fun little movie.

Flash of Genius

View Date: 11/22/09

This movie is about the man who invented intermittent windshield wipers. He presented his technology to the major auto manufacturers, who jerked him around about licensing the equipment and then wound up stealing it from him. Against all advice, he took the major automakers to court to get recognition for his work and to get them to admit the technology was originally his.

Greg Kinnear did a very job playing an engineer struck with an idea, then collapsed under his determination and with the loss of losing his family. Other than that, I thought the movie was OK. I had seen other Davis vs. Goliath movies that were better, but I understand why this story was chosen to be told as a film.

10 words or less: OK, but not outstanding.

Bride Wars

View Date: 11/21/09

This romantic comedy stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway as two childhood best friends who both become engaged to their respective boyfriends and plan to be each other's maids of honor. And they both want to have their wedding at the place they have been dreaming about since they were little girls. Unfortunately, the locale makes an error in booking their times and has the weddings scheduled concurrently. This turns the friends against each other, as neither want to give up their dream wedding, so they turn to pranks and backstabbing trying to get the other to give up her date.

This was a standard rom-com with a slight twist at the end. Most of the funny parts were seen during the commercials, and really, so was most of the plot. It was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, but I don't need to watch it again.

10 words or less: Got it all from the previews.

Across the Universe

View Date: 11/21/09

Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade sky, and that's what this movie is. This movie is a modern musical set completely to the music of the Beatles. The story follows several several friends through a series of adventures, including arrests and protests.

The movie itself is rather difficult for me to describe. However, what is easy for me is to say just how much I liked this film. It was really unique, and the music was perfectly fit in with the story. The actors did their own singing, and it really was a marvelous piece. The acting was wonderful, and it was a thoroughly beautiful movie.

10 words or less: Can't sing praises high enough for this film.

Hotel for Dogs

View Date: 11/22/09

This movie is about a brother and sisten in the foster care system. The only thing they have been able to keep routinely with them through their many recent moves is their dog. They do have to hide it from their foster parents, so they have set up several contraptions to make the dog more self-sufficient.

Their dog gets away from them one day, and they track him to an abandoned hotel that is occupied by two other stray dogs. The three animals really seem to be at home in the hotel, so the kids choose to make the dogs comfortable there. The kids have very kind hearts, and wind up taking in pretty much every stray dog in the city. Along the way, they team up with some other like-minded kids, and really develop the hotel into a “Hotel for Dogs”.

I was really surprised at just how good this movie is. Both my daughter and I really liked it, and wound up watching it several more times later in the week. Yes, it is a family movie, but it was very enjoyable. We still talk about the contraptions made to make the dogs more self-sufficient and entertained.

10 words or less: A wonderful family movie, better than anticipated.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels

View Date: 3/12/10

Usually here I try to describe the movie a bit without giving too much away. But with this one, I really don't know where to start. This movie includes gambling, drugs, heists, and gangsters in general, all taking place in England. There are about 4 sets of goons that are all working both with and against each other in one way or another. It all starts with a card game, and ends with a room of corpses.

Sting plays the part of the main character's (and I use that term rather loosely) father who owns a bar. He has a small role, but plays it well.

This movie is utterly ridiculous yet absolutely hilarious. For much of the movie, I sat there with a dumbfounded look on my face. I enjoyed it, but I'm having hind of a hard time making heads or tails of it. I liked the way Guy Ritchie put it together, and found it very appropriate for the story.

10 words or less: Still trying to make heads or tails of it.

Less Than Zero

View Date: 3/12/10

This movie, based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel, is about a trio of friends from Los Angeles during their first year after high school graduation. Clay, played by Andrew McCarthy, comes home from college at Thanksgiving to find that his best friend had started a relationship with his girlfriend. At Christmas break, Clay's ex-girlfriend Blair, played by Jamie Gertz, asks Clay's help dealing with their friend Julian, as portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr. Julian had developed a major drug problem, and was in major debt to his drug dealer.

The casting in this movie was perfect, probably more perfect than the casting director knew at the time. Robert Downey, Jr. was completely wasted as he was filming this movie, which is exactly his character. Andrew McCarthy has always played the good guy friend well, and this time is no different. But the most perfect casting was James Spader as the sleazy drug dealer.

I think if I had seen this closer to the time of its release, I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much. But seeing Robert Downey, Jr. totally out of his head and knowing he was really like that, then seeing him clean now, really helps me see the irony. I thought the movie was very well done, and appropriately showed the dangers of drug use.

10 words or less: A drug addict playing a drug addict- a powerful sight.