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Reviews
Ride with the Devil (1999)
History buff film.
I understand why this film has unusually low ratings. It is neither an action junkies film, nor a mellodrama. Something in between. I think most people have no concept of the American civil war or the nuances in this film. Holt, a black man fighting for the south, Roedell a dutchman doing the same. The Lawrence Kansas raid and the motivation behind it are mostly unkown. This is a history buff's film. Read Shelby Foote's massive 3 volume set to even get a grip on this movie. Surprised it was made at all. Few, if any, know of William Quantrell, the Missouri bushwackers. The acting was very well done. Whenever I can see the chracters rather than the film star, then they have done a good job.
Public Enemies (2009)
This movie grew on me.
Not historically accurate. Floyd was killed 4 months after Dillinger. However they get a lot of the characters, Red- Homer- Nelson right. They also get the trend - away from robbery to the rackets right. Depp was not my first choice, but in the end he did a decent job as any for Dillinger. The shootout at Little Bohemia is one of the best yet and entirely accurate IMO. From what I have been able to gather, Diilinger was really playing with fire by using firepower related crime to achieve his ends. He talks about the public supporting him, but after family men are killed the support wanes. It's interesting that Purvis is in on all the major successes in taking down these people when in fact he was a lousy shot. The scenes where he requests hardened lawmen from Oklahoma and Texas are real.
Rancho Deluxe (1975)
Bunch of idiots
Did they really expect to corral horses in the Crazies by smoking pot and screwing? Mostly about yahoos coming from other places. Not about hard working locals.
Never Cry Wolf (1983)
no heroes, no villains
The secret to this movie for me is its portrayal of the characters as real people. Ooteck is not the wise old man he seems to be as he manipulates Tyler. Mike is not a villain; he simply uses the wolves to feed his family. Tyler seems the benevolent researcher, but that is because he is an outsider who has a good job to go back to. Even Rosie is just a person scratching in the ground, as he says, trying to survive,even though his amusement-park outlook of the back
country is appalling.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
must see film
Originally this film was supposed to be marketed to college Audiences. I think that was a complete mistake by people who do not understand the film. First, General Rippers paranoia stems from his conviction that floridation of the US water supply is a communist plot to destroy his ability to have sexual intercourse with a woman. The proof is in the pudding, because he tells his exec RAF Group Captain Mandrake (Peter Sellers) that he tried and failed. The rest of the movie steamrolls from here. Suffice to say it is fantastic. It is so realistic that when the movie debuted in theaters the USAF showed a disclaimer on the screen to terrified audiences assuring them that nothing like this could ever happen. Just see the film.
Syriana (2005)
Harsh reality of the oil business
Very complex movie about the unholy alliance between the oil industry, the CIA and Saudi Arabia. George Clooney's character is loosely based on a real person Bob Baer who was deputy director of operations middle east for the CIA in 1980's. The film shows a harsh indictment of the CIA as a group of bungling bureaucrats who refuse to listen to the man on the ground. They are more interested in covering their own asses and their kids soccer games. They have no loyalty to anyone, which makes them easy to manipulate by the huge oil companies. One of the best films on the middle east.