Reviews

Whether it is werewolves, vampires, meteors, earthquakes, zombies or even North Korean soldiers ... it never happens in say India or Tanganyika, or Spain, but always around Hollywood or close nearby !! Maybe it cheaper that way for the actors and crew ?

This TV movie (with so-so actors) is sad to say a waste of time, whether from the thespian , narrative or special effects points of view. But ... they still manage to churn out similar garbage by the dozen every year, I suppose it pays the mortgage ! My only surprise is that the actors kept a straight face throughout their parts on this one !!

I found "Blackhawk Down" not only more realistic, but also much better acted and directed (Ridley Scott) ! AND we all know the results of both military campaigns, and what really happened in Somalia and Afghanistan. This film shows the latest US warfare technology of the time battling basic but determined forces, much like bow & arrows against Winchesters ! They must have hired a lot of Mexican extras to shoot this movie in the Arizona desert ! And at the end of it all ... 23,000 US dead in Afghanistan and still very very little to show for it ... I am reassured, however, that NO "12 Strong 2" will roll out of Hollywood in the near future ..

With unlimited supply of 45 cal. bullets, not to mention grenades, this so-called thriller lacks any realism except for spilled blood and hundreds of security cameras conveniently positioned to cover the whole shabang ! I didn't know that Indonesians had such sophisticated software to rival that of the CIA's ... and poor old Mark Walberg looks so bewildered in this mess, but hey it is a living ! And Columbia has more or less the same flora and fauna as Indonesia (if you squint your eyes) ! So there ... a good romp in Colombesia with all guns blazing !

No mobile (cell) phones, car chases etc. Just a placid look at how we lived our daily lives ! The cat, the major, and Marker playing a game. The usual wonderful acting from Burke & Co. and a very entertaining hour or so wallowing in nostalgia !

There is a scene where Jean Peters and Jeffrey Hunter are kissing in the middle of a Georgia swamp ... She has a lovely hair style and professional make-up on, he is clean-shaven and smelling of roses (no BO or bad breath issues here !). The plot is as flimsy and fake as that scene. This was standard Hollywood fare in the 40s, 50's and early 60's when cowboys travelled 30 miles through wilderness to arrive still wearing a clean pressed shirt and gleaming boots ... Don't waste your time watching this garbage UNLESS you watch it on a smart phone in a dentist's waiting room to send you to sleep !

Years ago, when there were excellent TV channels, they used to make 60 minute episodes ... And Van Der Valk was one of the best made by Thames Television. It was filmed in Holland, and I mean even the interiors ! So a considerable expense was involved with crews, actors etc unlike cheap sets of today's. Excellent acting, script, theme music and plots ... what more can one ask for !

Wonderful shots of Fort Benning shrubbery masquerading as tropical Vietnamese jungles. The Vietcong look pathetic, most of them wee Californians of Japanese origin ... including a Chinese heroine ! Blowing up of a major bridge was accomplished by "remote control" ... in the 1960's ?? Compared to other war movies using authentic settings - like Where Eagles Dare for example - this back-slapping flick was typical of American war movies of the day, and long before the costly outcome of the Vietnam War escapade was known !

This disaster of a film managed to gather very old actors and stick them in La Grange, Kentuck for a few weeks to make a Western. Well, they thought they did, and they HAVE ... sort of ! I almost fell asleep about 15 minutes in, and it quickly got worse after that ... I doubt if anyone connected with this movie would be proud enough to admit it ! The question which must be asked is WHY make it?? And after all the money and the effort expended ... what is there to put about it in their CVs ? Please avoid this movie, even if you have low blood pressure !

How can TWO people write such pointless garbage based on a Tom Clancy "story" ? It seems to start from nowhere ... and luckily goes nowhere, and mixed in all this quagmire is the "security" of the USA no less. Branagh plays a Russian tycoon (this is different from an oligarc ?) with a thick accent and dastardly motives who is thought to threaten all of America and perhaps world democracy ... The rest of this yarn is predictable of course, and America is eventually made safe again all be it after a lot of burning tyres and the obligatory jerky camera work .

Segal must have accumulated thousands of air miles traveling to Romania for his films, and worse, pretending it is somewhere in the USA ! With minimal action and less so from our hero ... this has become a predictable formula for many of his BORING TV-films. Throw in some heavy-looking Romanian dubbed heavies, and a few semi-naked starlets ... and you are almost there ! A complete waste of time from an overweight has-been who can hardly string a couple of words together ...

As usual, weird things always happen in California ... Whether they are earthquakes, UFOs, or just a landing by North Korean troops. Mostly in LA, but sometimes just a little bit further. This particular 1950s mess was no different ! "Martians" in a flying saucer land just outside Columbia's sound stage in Hollywood and the Army tries to deal with them as only they know how .. and only ONE "scientist" can solve the problems and save mankind ! Quite boring really ...

Everyone in this film is sooo clean and smelling of roses even though they are in the middle of nowhere, and BO is never a problem in the hot sun ! Cheap Western, shot mostly in a studio with a few external shots somewhere just outside ... Oh, and the bad guys are the Red Indians as usual .