Mr. Inbetween
Kind of off the wall...
But keeps my interest
Mr. Inbetween
Kind of off the wall...
But keeps my interest
Rented "Tag" a few nights ago. Excellent cast. Very funny.
Rosco
Someone told me that since I like Heat that I would like Ronin. They were wrong.
I saw it today. It did not suck.Originally Posted by Trooper224
The theatre was nearly sold out for a mid-week matinee, which is pretty unusual.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
Some good one-liners, regarding hurting people's feelings, and the boathouse at Herferd, but certainly made from a lesser clay than Heat.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
Ronin doesn’t have the iconic gunfights of Heat, and while the supporting cast is solid it isn’t the ensemble that Michael Mann assembled. But the car chases are easily top ten material, and if you have the option of listening to the Director’s commentary, some impressive practical stunt work and film making.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
I watched 22 July on Netflix last night. It's about the Norwegian Timothy McVeigh that bombed the govt building and shot up that island full of kids in 2011. It's not a bad movie, but it's pushing 3 hours long and my weaponry OCD wouldn't let me look past the fact he used a rifle with a magnifier and no optic.
I watched Chappaquiddick on Netflix. Why? I guess I just wanted to see if they portrayed Ted Kennedy as the scumbag he really was and I didn't feel like looking any further in the Netflix browser. Yup! Whoever made that movie had no love for the Kennedys.
First Man
First, this isn't really a space race movie. If you're expecting The Right Stuff II step off now. It really isn't a Neil Armstrong biopic either. At its heart, it's a movie about a father trying to overcome the loss of a child. The race to the moon is just background. In 1962 the Armstrong's lost their daughter to a brain tumor and this is the pivotal event that shapes the rest the films characterization of Armstrong himself. The film gives the impression that Armstrong entered astronaut selection as a away to escape and this is replayed throughout the movie in little vignettes. One of the final scenes in the movie, in which he drops his daughters bracelet into a crater on the moon, is a complete fabrication and totally unnecessary. It comes off as highly contrived and reminds one of the old lady dropping the necklace overboard in Titanic. Buzz Aldrin took a communion set to the moon. When asked what he intended to take, Armstrong famously replied, "I'd like more fuel."
The movie does given an accurate portrayal of how emotionally unavailable Armstrong was to his wife, children and nearly everyone else. According to Janet Armstrong, this was one of the reasons for their eventual divorce. In one scene right before the Apollo 11 launch, she forces him to sit their two sons down and explain that he might not be coming back. He acts as if he's giving a press conference and explains it to the boys as if he's reading from a spec sheet. Armstrong's two sons were heavily involved as technical advisors and have stated to the accuracy of this particular scene. During the Gemini 8 mission, when Armstrong and Scott have initially failed to rendezvous with the Agena module, Mission Control asks for a status update and Armstrong replies with supreme detachment, "No, I've have too much to do." then continues making calculations. He also tells Scott to off handedly "shut up" when he has questions. Armstrong's alone in his own mind working the problem.
As a space nut, I enjoyed seeing Gemini get some respect. Typically in space race movies, the plot might start with Mercury (or focus completely on it as in The Right Stuff) then blow past Gemini to get to Apollo, or it's an all Apollo program affair. Many of the most important tasks necessary for getting to the moon were achieved in Gemini and I've always thought it was the coolest of the three space craft designs, so it's nice to see that phase of the program get some significant face time.
On the downside, characterization of every other character in the movie is lacking. They're all nearly cardboard place fillers that enable Armstrong to move through his world. The only other one with any complexity is Janet, his first wife and she sits on the edge of just becoming a harping bitch. The films pacing is a bit choppy and the timeline features significant jumps, wherein critical events in the space race aren't covered or blown through as they don't directly involve Armstrong himself. But again, this isn't really a space race movie. There are many somewhat abstract moments in the film. It verges on becoming a Terrence Malik film and I don't mean that as a compliment. Thankfully, it never reaches the "WTF" levels of Malik's films like Thin Red Line and Tree of Life.
On the up side, it's a beautifully made movie. Many of the scenes look like vintage 60's film stock and the whole effort has a lot of texture. The in cockpit scenes, specifically the X-15 and the Gemini sequences are great. When Armstrong and Scott are climbing into Gemini 8 you're left with the feeling of, "Who in their right mind would get into that contraption?" It drives home just how dangerous all of this really was, something many people today don't appreciate. The controversy about eliminating the flag planting sequence winds up being all smoke and mirrors. There are plenty of US flags present throughout the film and the flag is shown next to the lunar module before its lift off from the surface. The film leaves no doubt about who won the space race. I can't help but wonder if the films makers used that as an attempt to generate buzz.
All in all I'd give the film an 8.5 out of 10. I won't make an attempt to repeatedly watch it on cable nor will it be added to my collection of moon movies, but it is well worth seeing.
Last edited by Trooper224; 10-14-2018 at 07:39 PM.
We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again.......
I started watching The Mick the other day. A loser trashy woman goes to see her rich sister and coincidentally the rich sister and her husband are arrested right after so "Mickey" has to watch the kids. It's kinda like a female version of Uncle Buck but less wholesome and not really concerned for the kids much. It's kinda funny if you like movies and shows where the main character is a trashy loser.
Reply With Quote