We've seen a couple of really good movies recently, neither of which did much business at all at the box office. Guess that just proves I'm out of step with the vast movie-going public.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVEN is one of those very intricately plotted crime movies where nothing is what it seems and you have to watch closely all the way through to see how everything fits together. I had most of it figured out by the halfway point, but there were still a few twists I wasn't expecting. I really like this sort of movie and tried to achieve something of the same tone in my novel DUST DEVILS, which will be out next year from Point Blank Press. (Nothing like a little BSP in the middle of some movie comments.)
THE GREAT RAID is the sort of World War II movie I didn't think they made anymore. Shoot, I didn't think anybody in Hollywood even knew how to make this sort of movie anymore. It's based on the true story of how American Ranger troops rescued hundreds of POWs from a Japanese prison camp in the Phillipines. In addition to the commando raid, there are also prison camp scenes and a look at how the underground helped set up the whole thing. Very stirring and well-done, and as far as I could tell, historically accurate, although I don't know as much about that part of the war as I do about some other areas.
Anyway, these movies may not have done well in the theaters, but they're sure worth a DVD rental, in my opinion.
Comic Cuts — 22 November 2024
2 hours ago
5 comments:
I had forgotten all about The Great Raid ... Even though it did take a hit from the critics, your description sounds like a great war movie to me .. Definitely going on the Netflix . thanks for the heads up!
I liked Lucky Number Slevin pretty well. But I liked the Sentinel, which I watched around the same time, alot more. It's based on a Gerald Petievich novel that I haven't read yet. I usually really like Petievich's stuff.
I saw THE SENTINEL a couple of weeks ago and liked it okay, although I thought it was a little slow and I had trouble accepting Eva Longoria as a Secret Service agent. More my fault than hers, likely. It's certainly worth watching. Petievich is one of those authors I've always meant to read but haven't gotten around to yet. Although, come to think of it, didn't he write TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA? I read that a long time ago but remember liking it.
The Sentinel is nothing revolutionary as far as plot or just about anything else goes. While some of the performances were a little less than convincing--thinking Kim Basinger here-- it was overall a very professional job. Coherent, well shot and ,I thought, fairly fast moving. Sorta Old Hollywood professionalism. I'd watch it again.
Petievich did write TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA. Although I've never read it. His writing reminds me a bit of Joseph Wambaugh--very convincing portaits of law enforcement types. And with barely a spare word. He's really good, particularly in SHAKEDOWN, EARTH ANGELS and PARAMOUR, which at least in barest outline sounds alot like SENTINEL. He hasn't published much lately, but I recommend him highly.
I saw a History Channel documentary on the mission yclept The Great Raid. It was carried out by the 11th Airborne with support from local troops. I had an uncle in the 11th Airborne, but he died long before I knew about either the raid or his assignment. Drat.
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