And movies get worse and worse

[12tone]

*sigh*

And movies just keep getting worse and worse; not to mention lamer and lamer.

I just saw an advertisement on the television for a new movie called The Cave. It's a horror show that involves a bunch of people spelunking in a cave; going through underwater passages, through rooms and the like. I'll stop the guessing there but one thing more, apparently they're scientists. They've got lots of cool equipment and things for analysing. Oh but wait! They've found something! What could it be? Oh look, a peice of shriveled-something-or-other just squirmed! Could this group of people be in the cave themselves, or is there another creature lurking there with them, hunting them like the hapless actors they are? Yeah, there is another creature there with them...hooboy surprised yet?

Phooey. Are today's writers' minds so stressed that they have to take perfectly decent (and probably fun) extracurricular activies such as spelunking and turn them into absolute jokes -- defiled by Hollywood?

I mean really, what's next? Oh wait I know, it's a cake at a 10 year old girl's birthday party -- it actually becomes a living, breathing object of violence. The parents, wielding knives hunt the cake down while government officials take the girl to safty. Nah, let's stick to Tennis Court Abductions or The Swimming Lane of No Return.


What's with these new movies coming out? Why are they so head-flipping bad? Not bad as in something that shouldn't be watched (although there are plenty of movies like that) but bad as in, so lame it's almost worth the $20 just to see how absolutely immaturely these so called mature, professionals are making these films!

[Darryl]

I hesitated to post this on the same thread, but there is a movie about an amazing WWII story opening this weekend -- The Great Raid. It's about the daring rescue of the remnants of Bataan by the 6th Ranger Battalion shortly after MacArthur's landing on Luzon. It appears to be based on the bestselling book Ghost Soldiers.

Personally, I can't stand to go out to movies anymore, so I'm really looking forward to this coming out on DVD/VHS.

[Ralph]

I hesitated to post this on the same thread, but there is a movie about an amazing WWII story opening this weekend -- The Great Raid. It's about the daring rescue of the remnants of Bataan by the 6th Ranger Battalion shortly after MacArthur's landing on Luzon. It appears to be based on the bestselling book Ghost Soldiers.

Personally, I can't stand to go out to movies anymore, so I'm really looking forward to this coming out on DVD/VHS.

*****

This sounds like the kind of WWII movie that might make me cheer for the Japanese.

There's no shortage of fine movies in New York-many art cinemas and usually a retrospective or two on offer.

The New York Times August 12, 2005 Friday

August 12, 2005 Friday
Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section E; PT1; Column 1; Movies, Performing Arts/Weekend Desk; FILM REVIEW; Pg. 21

LENGTH: 932 words

HEADLINE: A Valiant Rescue Assuages a Wartime Atrocity

BYLINE: By STEPHEN HOLDEN

BODY:


About the only thing to be said on behalf of ''The Great Raid,'' a tedious World War II epic that slogs across the screen like a forced march in quicksand, is that it illustrates a depressing similarity between reckless war-mongering and grandiose moviemaking. Historical films with vainglorious ambitions, like ill-fated imperial ventures, often overlook the human factor, a miscalculation that usually results in a rout.

This 132-minute Miramax film, completed two years ago and dumped into the marketplace during the dog days of August, reputedly cost $80 million. Not since Ted Turner's stillborn boondoggle ''Gods and Generals'' has a war film squandered so much on such emptiness.

A sense of futility is the last thing ''The Great Raid'' would like to convey. The film, based on true events, aspires to the heroic dimensions of ''Saving Private Ryan'' and ''The Bridge on the River Kwai.'' The story meticulously re-enacts the against-all-odds liberation of 500 American prisoners of war from the heavily guarded Japanese camp at Cabanatuan, in the Philippines, by a band of untested American soldiers in January 1945.

Those American prisoners were survivors of the notorious Bataan Death March, in which 70,000 Allied troops who had surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army at Bataan in 1942 were forced to embark on a nightmarish 63-mile trek through the jungle; thousands died. Dispatched to various Japanese camps, many of the remaining soldiers were starved and some burned alive by their captors.

With its radically desaturated color, which drapes everything in hues of mud and dust, ''The Great Raid'' flaunts a visual stylization of the gritty look of 1940's black-and-white war films. Its scenes of torture and murder also unapologetically revive the uncomfortable stereotype of the Japanese soldier as a sadistic, slant-eyed fiend.

The story is narrated by Capt. Robert Prince (James Franco), who led a hand-picked force of more than 100 deep into enemy territory. Assisting the Americans are members of the Filipino resistance, led by Capt. Juan Pajota (Cesar Montano), whose familiarity with the terrain was critical to the raid's success. Overseeing the plan, Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) views the raid as an opportunity to erase the shame of the American defeat at Bataan, although he concedes that it is not essential to the war effort.

The film's problems begin with the mismatch of its story, based on two books -- the historian William B. Breuer's ''Great Raid on Cabanatuan'' and ''Ghost Soldiers'' by Hampton Sides -- and its director, John Dahl. Assigning a filmmaker known for turning out cynical noirish melodramas like ''The Last Seduction'' and ''Red Rock West'' to supervise the re-enactment of a heroic, little-known chapter of World War II is a little like asking John Waters to be Steven Spielberg.

Mr. Dahl, to put it kindly, has no inner John Wayne or Tom Hanks to call upon for inspiration and no larger-than-life vision of war as a glorious adventure or hell on earth. The first-time screenwriters Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro are so busy piecing together the movie's three interlocking stories that they forget to create characters who amount to more than gung-ho boilerplate or the aforementioned fiends.

One strand of the story follows the raid and its preparations. Another, set in the prison camp, focuses on Major Gibson (Joseph Fiennes), a malaria-stricken officer. The third, poorly integrated into the movie, follows Major Gibson's sweetheart, Margaret Utinsky (Connie Nielsen), a Lithuanian-born nurse, war widow and heroic real-life leader of the resistance movement in Manila who smuggles medicine into the camp.

It is not the actors' fault that their characters fail to establish any emotional connection; they aren't given the words for the task. Mr. Bratt's officer suggests a shallow, snippy recycling of Detective Rey Curtis, his character on ''Law & Order,'' and Mr. Franco's a blander recycling of the 8-by-10 glossy portrait of James Dean he introduced four years ago in a television docudrama.

When Ms. Nielsen is first seen, you may sigh with relief at the prospect of some warmth. Just a hint of Ingrid Bergman in ''Casablanca'' might have done wonders for the movie. But all this fascinating Danish actress is allowed to do is appear by turns stoic, imperious and enigmatic.

The actual raid, when it finally happens in the movie's last 40 minutes, provides no visceral release; the prolonged, soggy fireworks display is devoid of suspense, excitement or human drama. The movie's fizzle is cruelly set in relief by the vintage newsreel of the actual raiders that concludes the movie; here, for a moment, is some human feeling.


''The Great Raid'' is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has scenes of violence, including torture, and strong language.

[Darryl]

Looking forward to forming my own opinion ...

I'm sickened when I think of the things the Japanese did before they pulled out of Manila.

[jbuck919]

*sigh*

And movies just keep getting worse and worse; not to mention lamer and lamer.

You strike me as too young to have a jaded view of anything.

It is true that general-release movies have been through something of a dry spell. This is a periodic phenomenon and somehow the industry has always managed to bounce back. General release will always be dominated by films that are trying to second- and third-guess the box office as opposed to just making a good film and assuming it will sell.

I hope you are not limited to what can be seen at the local cineplex on a routine basis. If you can wait for DVD releases, many fine films that don't make the headlines are available. And if you don't limit yourself to what's new at all, there are many riches.

[Ralph]

Looking forward to forming my own opinion ...

I'm sickened when I think of the things the Japanese did before they pulled out of Manila.

*****

Looking forward to reading your review. This film will be out in DVD pretty soon.

Anywhere the Japanese were was the site of evil. Nanking was much worse than Manila. At least in Manila there's an explanation - NOT an excuse - that commanders lost control of their units, espeically naval units put into the lines as infantry since most ships were long sunk.

[Darryl]

I understand. Those navy types were so disoriented apart from their normal chain of command they felt compelled to mutilate the bodies of Philippine children.

PS It would be interesting to see what your newspaper thought of End All Wars. I suspect you'll post that shortly.

[Ralph]

I understand. Those navy types were so disoriented apart from their normal chain of command they felt compelled to mutilate the bodies of Philippine children.

PS It would be interesting to see what your newspaper thought of End All Wars. I suspect you'll post that shortly.

*****

I said there was no excuse for their behavior but, yes, in fact the absence of the chain of command brought about uncontrolled rampage as opposed to Nanking where it was very organized and efficient. See the late Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking

What is "End All Wars?"

[Ralph]

Okay, here's the website for the movie "To End All Wars."

Looks interesting.

http://www.toendallwarsmovie.com/

[Darryl]

Okay, so your point is a systematic, orderly rape, versus a disorderly one.

The only thing remotely analogous in US history I can think of is what Tecumseh Sherman allowed his troops to do in Georgia and the Carolinas in 1864.

To End All Wars is a very good, recent (2001) WWII Pacific POW movie.

[Ralph]

Okay, so your point is a systematic, orderly rape, versus a disorderly one.

The only thing remotely analogous in US history I can think of is what Tecumseh Sherman allowed his troops to do in Georgia and the Carolinas in 1864.

End All Wars is a very good, recent (2001) WWII Pacific POW movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243609/

*****

What did Sherman do that was wrong? His conception of war was decades in advance of the times which is why the old question, "Was the Civil War the last Napoleonic War or the first Modern War?", is continuously engaging.

Sherman would have loved "Bomber" Harris, C-in-C RAF Bomber Command.

And Sherman and other Union commanders not only never condoned rape, it was severely punished. Lincoln commuted many death sentences for desertion and even cowardice in the face of the enemy but he never overturned a death sentence for rape (all Union death sentences had to be approved by him). The attitude of Confederate commanders to mistreatment of women was even more starkly condemnatory.

There is no analogy between conventional military operations in the Civil War and World War II in the Pacific. Irregular and criminal operations in the West, Lawrence, Kansas being a prime example, reflect unrestrained beastliness but the major combatants can't be arraigned on those kinds of incidents.

By the way, Darryl, Sherman IS one of my favorite generals and along with Grant and Longstreet, his portrait adorns my living room.

[Darryl]

What happened to helpless women on plantations, particularly in S. Carolina, is well documented Ralph. Should Tecumseh not ultimately be held responsible? He was a disgrace to the uniform. WWYNS? (what would your newspaper say?)

And yes, even Union soldiers found the Confederate attitude superior to their own.

[Ralph]

What happened to helpless women on plantations, particularly in S. Carolina, is well documented Ralph. Should Tecumseh not ultimately be held responsible? He was a disgrace to the uniform. WWYNS? (what would your newspaper say?)

And yes, even Union soldiers found the Confederate attitude superior to their own.

*****

Susan Brownmiller detailed cases of Civil War rape which, of course, occurred. As to those matters being "well documented," that's certainly true for the Union where court-martial records are fairly complete.

I have no doubt that rare rapes occurred on the Confederate side too but as you probably know all centralized military court records were lost in the great fire in Richmond at the end of the war.

Happy to disagree with you about Sherman. Come to New York and if it's a nice day I'll buy you a picnic lunch and we'll discuss the general under his gilt statue, astride a hore, at the Fifth Avenue entrance to Central Park.

I don't know that the Times has recently published anything on GEN Sherman but I'll check on LEXIS.

Have you seen the documentary "Sherman's March?" I think you'd find it fascinating.

[Darryl]

Thank you for the invite Ralph.

I always admired Longstreet, and Grant, but T.J. Jackson was my favorite general of the war. I spent an entire summer touring the sites of his actions in the famous Valley Campaign of 1862, starting with the Moore House in Winchester, VA (Mary Tyler Moore's great grandfather). Now there was general ahead of his time in terms of the maneuver concepts of war (would've made a different story of Gettysburg).

Back on our original subject, most reviewers are criticizing "The Great Raid" for lack of character development and dramatic momentum, but many testify to its accuracy as "a great historic piece that will unfortunately be overlooked by the audience and probably the critics. For people who appreciate military history, this is the perfect film." -- Amber Diggans (Frank's Reel Reviews)

PS Do see "To End All Wars", about POWs laboring on the Thai-Burma Railway.

[Ralph]

Thank you for the invite Ralph.

I always admired Longstreet, and Grant, but T.J. Jackson was my favorite general of the war. I spent an entire summer touring the sites of his actions in the famous Valley Campaign of 1862, starting with the Moore House in Winchester, VA (Mary Tyler Moore's great grandfather). Now there was general ahead of his time in terms of the maneuver concepts of war (ditto for MacArthur).

Back on our original subject, most reviewers are criticizing "The Great Raid" for lack of character development and dramatic momentum, but many testify to its accuracy as "a great historic piece that will unfortunately be overlooked by the audience and probably the critics. For people who appreciate military history, this is the perfect film." -- Amber Diggans (Frank's Reel Reviews)

P.S. Do see "To End All Wars", about POWs laboring on the Thai-Burma Railway.

*****

The Shenandoah Valley is one of my favorite places and I've been there many times. I've done all the battlefields there (and most others elsewhere).

Jackson's military genius is beyond question as is his personal bravery. But I can't warm up to anyone personally who has that religious zealotry at the heart of his personality.

Will definitely see the film and I thank you for the tip.

[Darryl]

Based on your pronounced antitheism, I'm not surprised by the superficial assessment of Jackson's personality. But then again, we're talking about professional ability here, not whether or not we approve of one's personality. He was one of those men not naturally gifted with genius, but through discipline and perseverance was perceived as such by others.

[12tone]

*sigh*

And movies just keep getting worse and worse; not to mention lamer and lamer.

You strike me as too young to have a jaded view of anything.

Say what? Says who? I'm 25. And you don't think that I think that what the teens are up to with nowadays (music, movies, etc) is pain-jarringly lame? Of course I can have jaded views.

[Werner]

Well, actually there are movies that don't deal with warfare, aren't there?

Our movie attendance is sporadic, but as it happens, we did go to the movies today - and saw two! No, it wasn't the oldtime double feature. Somewhere my wife heard a recommendation for something called "The Aristocrats." It isn't. It's the most abominable load of filth, unencumbered by any pretense of plot or taste I've ever seen in a movie for general distribution. No wonder it wasn't rated.

We walked out after ten minutes- we were not the only ones to do so. Luckily, the same theater showed a National Georgraphics production, "March of the Penguins," and we could just walk into that one. Now THAT's a very different story. It deals with the life of the Empieror penguins in the Antarctic through a year's course - showing their progress from the sea to the breeding grounds, the mating ballets, birth of the young, the mothers' return to the sea for food while the fathers guarded the eggs -and on and on - you must see it to experience it.

The photography is gorgeous and lyrically beautiful - and it was hard to imagine how people could make this kind of a movie under those conditions, with temperatures hovering in the minus Fifties or less.

For once, it was worth while watching the credits roll, because they were accompanied by pictures of the people making the film.

This is something really special - highly asnd enthusiastically recommended if you can get to it.

[Ralph]

The excessive anthropomorphism aside, Ted and I enjoyed the Penguin pix. Beautiful cinematography taken under very trying climatic conditions.

[John Bleau]

Hi Werner,

I've heard of "The Aristocrats" and have ruled it out for the theatre, but not necessarily for DVD rental.

If you liked "March of the Penguins," then I suspect you'd like "Le Peuple Migrateur" (English title: "Winged Migration") which is extraordinary.

[Barry]

I saw a very good documentary yesterday called Grizzly Man. The film's subject, a grizzly bear advocate who would live among them in Alaska every summer until one of them finally ate him, was an interesting and tragically deranged character. I recall seeing one of his nature tv shows on Grizzlies on one of the cable or PBS channels a few years ago.

[Darryl]

Hey Barry, on a different note, what's up with Donny and TO? I saw them on sports news when I was eating dinner (in the only place down here that approximates a Philly pizzeria), but didn't understand the controversy. Philly needs to get back in the big game again this year and kick butt!

PS Is the grizzly man that guy who was experimenting with bear armor? If so, it's no surprise; other scientists said when he takes his bear armor into a grizzly den, that will be the end of his research.

[Barry]

Darryl,
It's been a bit of a headache for the Eagles, hasn't it. T.O. is an absolute child. Giving the entire team the silent treatment is just too much. I'm waiting for him to play copycat and start repeating everything an interviewer asks him.

There wasn't anything on body armor in the movie. They didn't show him going into any caves, so I can't say whether he actually did. I would guess not though; at least not while there were bears in it.

[Darryl]

I hesitated to say so outright, but TO is immature. My brother (in Philly) had such high hopes last season, but when he was so elated at TO's ability, I could only recall how idiotic and childish TO was down here, when had previously demonstrated on the (sacred ) star mid-field in Texas Stadium during a playoff game after he scored. Still, no question he has outstanding athletic ability as a receiver (with regrets a Dallas safety hit took him out of most of the playoffs).

We still like Donny (McNabb) don't we?

PS We've given TO too much press (I recall that babe [Nicolette Sheridan] from Desperate Housewives that wanted to have sex with him in the lockerroom before the big Monday night game).

[Barry]

We still like Donny (McNabb) don't we?

T.O. really is one of the worst examples of the modern pro athelete.

I was admittedly disappointed with McNabb in the Super Bowl. He goes through some slumps where he isn't very accurate with his throws. But on the whole, as a leader and an overall player, he's still one of the best four or five QBs in the game, so I'm happy to have him.

[Ralph]

Based on your pronounced antitheism, I'm not surprised by the superficial assessment of Jackson's personality. But then again, we're talking about professional ability here, not whether or not we approve of one's personality. He was one of those men not naturally gifted with genius, but through discipline and perseverance was perceived as such by others.

*****

Darryl,

I have many friends who are religious - Jewish and Christian. What I personally do not like is religiosity no matter what faith. Jackson was the kind of person whose devout nature, at least later in life, reflected a fairly humorless soul. And I don't do well with humorless people whether their personality is shaped by religion or the tragedy of wearing too tight underwear.

[Darryl]

That's fine Ralph. We all have criteria that determine who we will warm to personally. As a Christian, I disdain religious legalism too.

However, I could cite several examples of Jackson's phenomenally relaxed mental attitude amidst maximum pressure in life, the mental attitude dynamics which I believe were the result of his faith. Given that, a sense of humor is the least that would follow. In fact, I can think of a few examples from Henderson's definitive biographical work that show Jackson had a sense humor, not to mention tremendous capacity for life and love.

[Ralph]

That's fine Ralph. We all have criteria that determine who we will warm to personally. As a Christian, I disdain religious legalism too.

However, I believe I could cite several examples of Jackson's phenomenally relaxed mental attitude amidst maximum pressure in life, all a result of the mental attitude dynamics from his faith. Given that, a sense of humor would certainly follow. In fact, I can think of a few examples from Henderson's definitive biographical work that show Jackson had a sense humor, not to mention tremendous capacity for life and love.

*****

Henderson's biography is excellent, indeed indispensable but it does carry with it a whiff of hagiography. Like Douglas Freeman's four-volume biography of Lee.

[Darryl]

Hagiography, yes it does. Had to look that one up. However I was familiar with the Greek root hagios, for saint, or "one set apart".

It was ten years ago I read it. I remember the guides recommending it in Jackson's house in Lexington, VA, where he is buried. Henderson makes frequent reference to "our hero".

[Wallingford]

Me, I'm currently on a THree Stooges kick. Been renting & borrowing their videos like crazy.

They're ALWAYS good for a rediscovery; makes one realize how much they had it over any current comedian.

[jbuck919]

*sigh*

And movies just keep getting worse and worse; not to mention lamer and lamer.

You strike me as too young to have a jaded view of anything.

Say what? Says who? I'm 25. And you don't think that I think that what the teens are up to with nowadays (music, movies, etc) is pain-jarringly lame? Of course I can have jaded views.

Take no pleasure in them, because I, at twice your age, do not. I certainly have my moments of disgust as a high school teacher, but, when it comes to push or shove, there is nothing you can do: They are the only kids we have.