No Man is an Island

Anyone who thinks the Hollywood "Formula" picture is a new or recent creation is fooling themselves.  No Man is and Island is a direct ancestor of todays average fare, and unfortunately it just ain't that good.

As the Japanese rout the Allies from the South Pacific in the early days of WWII, George Tweed (Geoffrey Hunter) managed to escape the invading Empire on Guam, and was able to hide out until the Allies eventually returned.

What could have been a harrowing tale of survival ends up being, well, just meh.  From the greatly exaggerated stereotypes of the natives and the Japanese, to the incredibly forced love story between Tweed and one of the natives....  There isn't much to do but sit back and roll your eyes waiting for something really interesting to happen.

The actual invasion scenes aren't very well executed.  His initial escapees are all eliminated save for George, but not very compellingly...  I don't think I'll go on.

You might give No Man is an Island a go if you've got nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon... but frankly I dont' think I'd do it again.

No Man is an Island on Spout.com

Originally posted on:War Movie Reviews and News

The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2007)

There are war movies that make you cringe.  Either because of the violence or the atrocities portrayed, or the sheer evil that is shown....  and then there are films like The Wind That Shakes The Barley, which make you cringe for some of the above reasons, but for other reasons a little less obvious.

The most obvious of which is that a country that we 'mercans hold in such high regard, namely the UK, could exact such a toll on such a nearby and similar neighbor, namely Ireland.  Yeah you could draw a similar (but not identical) parallel to the US Civil War, and I'll get to that, but there's just something about the way the situation in Ireland is brought to life in this film that leaves you asking yourself some questions.

Of course, this film explores the war between the Irish and the British during the 1920's.  Namely the Irish want the Brits out, and want independence.  Of course the Brits won't have it, and a band of men form together and fight back guerrila style against the English oppressors.

Just as the battle seems to be won, and a treaty is drafted, two of these brothers split.  One, Teddy (Dadraic Delaney) on the side of the newly formed, yet still mostly British government and the other, Damien (Cillian Murphy), on the side of principle.

"Barley" is a decidely gloomy picture.  I really can't say there was much to remember as being "uplifting" about it.  There's no victory, no celebration really to speak of.  The whole thing oozes of desperation on the part of the Republicans.  And that's probably just how it should be.

The whole "brother vs. brother" thing has been explored before in films, mostly in regard to the US Civil War, the north vs. south dividing families, but I can't say I've seen a better portrayal of that than here.  In fact the ending (and I won't ruin it here) should leave you shocked and saddened.  It should.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley is another one of those movies that we weren't really exposed to here in the states, and in fact the conflict within is one that we here tend to not understand, or simplify in terms that really aren't correct....  If you're at all interested in the roots of the conflict, which carried on through well into the latter part of the 20th century (and some would argue still today) then you need to watch this movie.  Yes, it is slanted heavily towards the Republican side of things, and not knowing everything I can't say how much is truth and how much is "propaganda" for lack of a better term... but its a good, thought-provoking, heart-twisting war movie nonetheless.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2007) on Spout.com

Originally posted on:War Movie Reviews and News

The Dam Busters (1955)

You'd think that a film about developing a one-off weapon that defies all logic would be incredibly un-interesting, right?  Wrong!! The Dam Busters takes a look at one of the more ingenious weapons devised and implemented during World War II, and then follow the men who had to deploy the thing in action....

Alright, so it does start off a little bit dull.  Doctor Wallis (Michael Redgrave) has come up with a weapon that will destroy the incredibly fortified dams which power the Ruhr valley in Germany, the heart of the war machine's industry.  The problem is how to make the bloody thing work.  He devises a series of tests and experiments, which culminate in another series of "live" tests, until his concept is proven.

In proving this concept we also get a fairly accurate look at how testing and experiments should be done.  Not so much of the usual Hollywood shenanigans here, I actually believed it here.  And the rest of the delivery mechanics are shown in a way that also make sense scientifically.  You have to love it.

The concept is what exactly you ask?  Well, in short, he's come up with a bomb that will skip along the surface of the water until it hits the dam, sinks below water level, and blows up there, causing significantly more damage there than other spots.  The problem of course is getting the thing to bounce correctly!

The other problem is how to deliver the thing correctly, so it doesn't fall short, or skip completely over.  That's the other half of this movie:  Guy Gibson's (Richard Todd) bomber wing who must retrain themselves to fly incredibly fast at just the right speed and altitude, and release this weapon at exactly the right time with their specially developed bomb sights....

And yes, its all true.  There actually was such a device, and it was actually used to great effect, which makes this movie a monument to Allied ingenuity, perseverance, and bravery on the part of the pilots who had to pull the thing off.  AND it actually is interesting, and not so much in the PBS documentary way either.  You will start rooting for Dr. Wallis and Commander Gibson, and you'll be cheering as the things hit their mark.

A couple of curious side notes.  1)  Fans of the original Star Wars movie might start to feel a little deja vu as you watch the bombing scenes.  In fact these scenes served as both inspiration and reference for the Death Star Trench run scene.   2)  Fans of the film, Pink Floyd's The Wall will instantly recognize a few scenes as having shown up on the TV screen in that film.  Now that I get the reference, those parts make even more sense!

The Dam Busters is just a fun AND educational bit of film, that I can't recommend enough!

The Dam Busters (1955) on Spout.com

Originally posted on:War Movie Reviews and News