Non Civil War Books and Movies

Andersonh1

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A complicated film, but a must see. It took decades for it to be appreciated. It took me a few viewings to fully take it in.

The plus is Natalie Wood. ;) And Capt. Pike--gratuitous Star Trek reference--a.k.a. Jeffery Hunter.



Nice, I thought Jeffrey Hunter was in this. I've always been fascinated by the "what might have been" of "The Cage", and it's been good to see the character of Pike getting some recognition in live action in recent years.
 

rittmeister

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Nice, I thought Jeffrey Hunter was in this. I've always been fascinated by the "what might have been" of "The Cage", and it's been good to see the character of Pike getting some recognition in live action in recent years.
i'd say the new pike was a lightyear better than the original one
 

Andersonh1

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I've only seen that one free Discovery episode where Pike takes command of the Discovery for some reason, so I haven't seen enough of his performance to compare with Jeffrey Hunter's. I've read good things about it though.
 

Matt McKeon

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
This is actually a film for adults, not kids. A new father and intense reporter named Vogel is sent as a semi-punishment to interview Mr. Rogers as a puff piece about "heroes." Vogel arrives at Rogers' Pittsburgh studio with a busted face from a fight with his spectacular failure of a father to meet the nicest man in the world, played by Tom Hanks.

Rogers offers an alternative version of honesty, expression, fatherhood and manhood to the anger filled Vogel. His well known expression about "being special just the way you are," also contains a challenge: if you are special why can't you act like it? More caring, more thoughtful and more mindful of others? When Vogel asks Mrs. Rogers what its like to be married to a saint, she pulls him up short. Calling Rogers a saint let's you off the hook, because (a) he isn't a saint (b) it would make Rogers' values and behavior unattainable.

Bit of a tear jerker. Especially when a diverse group of subway riders burst into "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood" for Rogers(he applauds them and compliments them). Although Hanks is heavier and taller than Rogers, he captures the particular speech patterns, and the patient and deliberate way Rogers interacted with others.
 

Andersonh1

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The whole family went to see this, and while I have some major dislikes when it comes to the last two movies, this one somewhat redeemed the sequel trilogy. To me it felt like episodes 1-6 told a complete story, and there really was no need to add anything to it unless they had something new to offer, which as it turns out, they really didn't. Episodes 7-9 just riff off of the originals (with episode 8 borrowing from Battlestar Galactica as well) while ruining the happy ending that the major characters earned at the end of Return of the Jedi. The treatment of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi honestly made me a little angry, and to date episode 8 is the only main Star Wars movie I have not gone to see in the theater.

Rise of Skywalker answers a lot of questions, finally treats the older characters with respect, and really attempts to be as epic as it can possibly be rather than deconstruct the series and the characters. It falls short, but it does try, and I appreciate the attempt. There are all sorts of callbacks and cameos to earlier movies and even the animated series. The late Carrie Fisher is given a decent storyline given the limited amount of unused footage they had to work with, and Harrison Ford gets a cameo appearance. Mark Hamill gets a small but crucial role, and C3Po finally gets more than two lines as he finally gets to play an important part in the plot. Even Lando finally makes a return. The newer characters, Rey, Finn and Poe spend the first half of the movie together, something they had not done up to this point, and get to show what a good cast they are and how well they work together. And since they killed off the ostensible big bad in the middle of the last one, they opted to bring back Emperor Palpatine who somehow returned from the dead.

Overall it's a fun action movie that pushes the nostalgia buttons and retroactively improves the previous two episodes, but this entire sequel trilogy has been such a wasted opportunity, and adds nothing to what Lucas originally gave us. The lack of planning is very apparent as episode 7 set up a situation, episode 8 completely alters everything, and then episode 9 attempts to course correct as best it can. That it largely succeeds is amazing.
 

5fish

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Overall it's a fun action movie that pushes the nostalgia buttons and retroactively improves the previous two episodes, but this entire sequel trilogy has been such a wasted opportunity, and adds nothing to what Lucas originally gave us. The lack of planning is very apparent as episode 7 set up a situation, episode 8 completely alters everything, and then episode 9 attempts to course correct as best it can. That it largely succeeds is amazing.
Now let us leave Star Wars movies alone for at least another ten years or more before there are anymore made...
 

Andersonh1

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Now let us leave Star Wars movies alone for at least another ten years or more before there are anymore made...
Agreed. In fact, I don't need any more movies. I've seen the first three episodes of "The Mandalorian", and to me that's the way to go. Tell smaller stories using the Star Wars universe as a backdrop.
 

Matt McKeon

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Moby Dick
Just saw the ART's production of a 3.5 hour musical about the relentless Captain Ahab and the white whale he pursues. Stylized, with audience participation in one scene, a little irritating wink,wink breaking the fourth wall. Wonderful music.

I've read the book twice. It has maddening, endless digressions and an ocean of tedious whale info. But the fascinating array of characters, led by ", who dominates any scene he appears in.
'What do you do when you see a whale, men?" The beginning of Ahab's unholy communion, binding the crew to his purpose.
The Pequod's crew drawn from every corner of the globe,yet utterly American.
First Mate Starbuck's resistance to Ahab's madness, their last dialog where Starbuck invokes domestic life, almost turning Ahab from revenge.
Finally,
"There she blows! there she blows!
A hump like a snowy hill!
Tis Moby Dick!'
 

Matt McKeon

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Agreed. In fact, I don't need any more movies. I've seen the first three episodes of "The Mandalorian", and to me that's the way to go. Tell smaller stories using the Star Wars universe as a backdrop.
You recommend that series?
 

Matt McKeon

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Bombshell
The story of Gretchen Carlson's lawsuit against Roger Ailes, that describes years of sexual harassment at Fox News by Ailes and others.

Takeaway: Don't mess with Gretchen Carlson.

Also, how institutions protect and enable abuses of power. At one point one staffer asks about a "secure" reporting phoneline the company had established. Megan Kelly sneers, "Its a complaint box in occupied Paris."

Good clean fun for perhaps not the whole family.
 

Andersonh1

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This book touches on the war, but a lot of it appears to deal more with antebellum history. I have begun reading "Roll, Jordan, Roll: the World the Slaves Made" by Eugene Genovese. For all the flak some here give the Abbeville Institute, it was their recommendation of Genovese's work that motivated me to try out some of his writing, and this is the first of his books I decided to read. I could stand to learn more about American slavery.
 

Andersonh1

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With regard to the above book, I have to say that it's both fascinating reading and a very dense read, in the sense that not only is there a ton of information, but the author it attempting to convey all the aspects of a very complex social/work system that is completely unlike anything in place today, so it's very foreign to our way of thinking. And I very much appreciate that while there is the occasional word indicating a value judgment, this book is not a tiresome harangue (it's almost as if Genovese trusts the readership to already realize that slavery was a bad thing), but rather a genuine attempt to describe and explain all aspects of American slavery as it existed. It's going to take me some time to read this 700+ page book.
 

Andersonh1

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A complicated film, but a must see. It took decades for it to be appreciated. It took me a few viewings to fully take it in.

The plus is Natalie Wood. ;) And Capt. Pike--gratuitous Star Trek reference--a.k.a. Jeffery Hunter.


I watched "The Searchers" for the first time over the weekend, and I'll agree that it's very good. I am constantly impressed by the range of storytelling that is possible within the western genre. There are no heroes in this movie and no shallow "cowboys vs indians". This, it seemed to me, is a movie about obsession and revenge and the harsh life of the American frontier. John Wayne gives one of his best performances out of all of his movies that I've seen, and I enjoyed seeing Jeffrey Hunter as the second lead. The western scenery is amazing, though it's clearly Monument Valley, not Texas! Wayne's character clearly hates the Comanche, and at one point is willing to kill his kidnapped niece rather than let her continue to live as an Indian. It's interesting that he doesn't join the rest of the family in the final shot of the film, and instead walks off as the door closes. One wonders how the character could ever return to a normal life after five years of nothing but traveling the west, searching for Debbie. It might take me a few more viewings to fully appreciate everything in this movie as well. Very, very good film.
 

rittmeister

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You recommend that series?
the first few of them are a lot of shooting with not much other content. later it begins to make sense. they are fun to watch but don't expect much of a plot development. it's a lot like the first three movies - typical star wars.
 

Matt McKeon

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The Irishman
The story of the mob's corruption of the Teamsters Union, told by a loyal and ruthless soldier, played by Robert de Niro. Al Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa.

Its a Martin Scorese film, which means narration and a lot of people shot in the head. DeNiro's character, Frank, follows orders without question, and balks at nothing, the road to success in the world he's joined. As his life is drawing to a close, he is troubled for the first time about the cost to his family and his soul. Clumsily he tries to reach out to a estranged daughter. "I was tryin' to protect you. There's a lot of bad men." She answers coolly, "Which bad men?" Frank is silent. He is, of course, a bad man.
 
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