I accidentally stumbled on this pile of manure one evening and I caught maybe the last 45 minutes to an hour of it. It was like driving by a car wreck on the highway- you don't want to look, but somehow you are forced to by the horror of it all. Some people say that Ishtar is the worst movie ever made. These people should be forced to endure the mind-bending stupidity of this film. They'd change their tune about 20 seconds into it. I cannot believe films like this actually get funding. There are many great independent film directors/screenwriters out there who can't get a studio to fund a project, yet films like this get made. What is this world coming to?
Reviews
4 Reviews
Band of Brothers
(2001)
You must see this.
19 April 2003
Band of Brothers is the greatest mini-series ever made. In fact, it outdoes every movie ever made about World War II. Based on Stephen Ambrose's book of the same name, B.O.B. follows the men of Company E (Easy), 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment from their training in Georgia to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. The actors are all believable playing these real-life heroes. Damien Lewis gives an exceptional performance as Major Richard Winters the one-time Commander of Easy Company as does Donny Wahlberg as Carwood Lipton, their First Sergeant. Powerful, brutal, funny, poignant, and gut-wrenching, B.O.B. shows combat up-close and in your face and so accurate you'd think you were there.
Each episode contains bits of interviews with the actual members of Easy Company to give you perspective on the episode and what was going through the paratroopers' minds and different points of the war. The best of these clips was of Major Winters telling of a day when his grandson asked: "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Maj. Winters replied to him saying, "No, but I served in a company of heroes." I highly recommend this mini-series to anyone who wants to know more about the war in Europe. I also suggest you read the original book, as well as Easy Company veteran David Kenyon Webster's memoire "Parachute Infantry". 10 out of 10 stars
Each episode contains bits of interviews with the actual members of Easy Company to give you perspective on the episode and what was going through the paratroopers' minds and different points of the war. The best of these clips was of Major Winters telling of a day when his grandson asked: "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Maj. Winters replied to him saying, "No, but I served in a company of heroes." I highly recommend this mini-series to anyone who wants to know more about the war in Europe. I also suggest you read the original book, as well as Easy Company veteran David Kenyon Webster's memoire "Parachute Infantry". 10 out of 10 stars
Trainspotting
(1996)
The best film of the 90's
31 March 2003
This film is a pulls-no-punches tale of a group of friends in Edinburgh circa 1993 trying to kick heroin, find love, and get rich quick. Based on the 1993 Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, this film shows us the world according to Mark Renton, the anti-hero of anti-hero's. Funny, poignant, disturbing, and completely un-sugarcoated, Trainspotting shows us life as it truly is: often depressing, frightening, dangerous, and sadly way too short. Definitely the polar opposite of those 90's "teen" films that show life as all beautiful people who, in the end, go on to great things and are always successful. There is no beauty here. Just life at its most raw and ugly state. In other words, IT IS REAL. If you haven't seen this film and have a strong stomach, I highly recommend it. If you haven't read the book... what the hell's wrong with you??? As great as Trainspotting the film is, the book is far better, and paints a clearer picture of the sordid characters who make it all happen. 10/10 stars I have loved this film since i first saw it 7 years ago and continue to read everything Irvine Welsh publishes. The soundtrack is great too!
Stalingrad
(1993)
Brutal, heartbreaking, & realistic portrayal of the bloodiest battle ever fought.
27 March 2003
I first saw Stalingrad about 7 years ago and to this day it still hits me as hard as the first time I watched it. It is the story of Leutnant von Witzland, Unteroffizier Rohleder, Obergefreiter Reiser, and Oberschütze Müller and their desperate fight for survival in the deadliest battle in the history of war: STALINGRAD. The film starts off in Italy in the summer of 1942 where their platoon is resting following heavy combat in North Africa. Soon they are on a train heading for the Eastern Front. The men of 1st Platoon laugh and joke, play games, write letters home, and enjoy the view of western Russia as they head for the Ukraine. This is as light-hearted as the film gets. What follows is a very accurate and graphic portrayal of the infamous battle. It pulls no punches. It's main antagonist is Hauptmann Haller, a field police officer who thinks nothing of allowing his men to abuse and murder Russian and Ukrainian prisoners. At one point he lines up a group of civilians and has them shot saying they were partisans.
The combat scenes themselves are even more horrific. In one scene a German soldier hits a Russian over the head with a shovel as the Russian is trying to kill Ltn. von Witzland. In another scene a German soldier is cut in half by a Russian tank shell. There are many other gruesome scenes in the film, but they are necessary. The world has to see what happened in the Battle of Stalingrad. To see its brutality. To have its heart broken at the horrendous waste of the soldiers' lives. Over 2 million people lost there lives. Only 6000 of Field Marshal Paulus' 250,000-man 6th Army survived the battle. As with the battle, the film itself does not have a happy ending. And that's the way it should be. And as you watch this film, remember one thing, not every German soldier who fought in the war was a criminal. They were mostly decent people caught up in events well beyond their control.
The combat scenes themselves are even more horrific. In one scene a German soldier hits a Russian over the head with a shovel as the Russian is trying to kill Ltn. von Witzland. In another scene a German soldier is cut in half by a Russian tank shell. There are many other gruesome scenes in the film, but they are necessary. The world has to see what happened in the Battle of Stalingrad. To see its brutality. To have its heart broken at the horrendous waste of the soldiers' lives. Over 2 million people lost there lives. Only 6000 of Field Marshal Paulus' 250,000-man 6th Army survived the battle. As with the battle, the film itself does not have a happy ending. And that's the way it should be. And as you watch this film, remember one thing, not every German soldier who fought in the war was a criminal. They were mostly decent people caught up in events well beyond their control.
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