Reviews

This episode is my favorite! It opens with Jimmy being thrilled and flattered to meet and become friends with his idol, Action Hero Actor, Chuck Norris. Jimmy soon realizes that Chuck Norris the hands-on parent (who in this episode, can't get enough of "Ring Around the Rosy" and who practically stalks Jimmy to share the latest excitement about his kids) is much different than the Chuck Norris persona in Good Guys Wear Black. After seemingly being unable to get away from Chuck, Jimmy finally decides to break to his pal that he does not want to see him any longer. Chuck takes the news hard, and when getting up to leave, accidentally bumps into a big biker, who starts a fight with Chuck. Predictably, just as Jimmy had originally fantasized, he and Chuck (who instantly reverts into his Action hero persona) fend off the bad guys, side by side, with Chuck seemingly using nearly every karate move from his movies in the process. After winning the fight, in a moment of predictable hilarity, Chuck, still dejected, exits, leaving the again-awestruck Jimmy.

Although it lasts Six Hours, Lonesome Dove is arguably the most realistic and well-acted Westerns ever to be filmed. I am a big fan of Westerns, and Remember with fondness the classics, like Shane, Silverado, The Magnificent Seven, Tombstone and the early black and white films. However, none of these can parallel to Lonesome Dove in its elevated scope and honesty, and perhaps it is unfair to compare them. Lonesome Dove is an epic, wherein two aging Texas Rangers start, from Texas, a cattle drive, bound and determined to be the first to raise cattle in the Montana Territory. Robert Duvall, as Gus McCrae, steals much of the show with his wit, charm and downright rough-edged believability as an aging Texas Ranger with a Heart of Gold. Lifelong friend and fellow ranger, Tommy Lee Jones, reminds one of the harsh lead character played by John Wayne in The Searchers. Joined by an incredible cast, starting with Robert Urich, Danny Glover, Ricky Schroeder, Angelica Huston and Diane Lane, they battle the elements, Native Americans, bloodthirsty outlaws (one played with evil ferocity by Frederick Forrest) and each other to make the trek. There are some subplots with Chris Cooper and Glenne Headley. Lonesome Dove seems to attempt to portray in its starkness and realism, life in the late 1800's. It has no fast-draw gunfights in the streets between Cowboys trying to prove who is the quickest gun. There is camaraderie, bloodshed and emphasis on the fragility of life, but it is done in a real-life manner. Lonesome Dove has lighthearted moments, and incredibly dark and tragic ones as well. The casting was incredible, and the musical score was even better. If you can get ahold of the Soundrtack, you will not be disappointed. In my view, this movie will make you feel both love and heartbreak toward the Old West and the people who lived it. Don't Miss This One!

This Heartwarming Father and Son/Baseball Fantasy is marvelous! Different Strokes Star Gary Coleman is at his childlike enthusiastic best, in playing a unheeded young lad, who takes over as Manager of the Major League Baseball Team San Diego Padres. He has to try to bring the team from worst to first, while struggling to prevent child authorities from separating him from his loving, alcohilc ex-player, Father (played by the always reliable Robert Guillaume). Actor Gary Collins plays a commendable supporting role, as an aging star player (and the father's old rival), who sees in the Kid his own youthful vigor for the Game, as well as a last shot at Glory. Well worth watching for the dynamics between the actors, and for remembering the kid in each of us, who has ever loved the Game of Baseball!

This one is one of my favorite and most memorable Bowery Boys Movies, when I saw it as a kid. The Boys travel to the countryside, where a recently deceased relative has bequeathed, to Sach, a piece of real estate. Upon their arrival, Slip, Sach and the Gang encounter a pack of rifle-toting, long-bearded feuding hillbillies named "Smith", who seem to be locked in a perpetual, single-minded quest to shoot anyone from the rival "Jones" Family. I found it hilariously madcap when Sach, after inheriting the property and in order to avoid getting shot at by his new neighbors, tried desperately to pretend that his last name was NOT Jones. When some bad guys come and take the Boys hostage, Slip cleverly turns the Hillbillies loose on the gangsters, by referring repeatedly to every single hoodlum as "Mr. Jones".

This Film Was Nicely Done. The Scenery was beautiful, the Dolphin was lovable and lively. Elijah Woods and Paul Hogan turn in fine performances as their characters' relationship grows (Particularly Hilarious was the fact that Paul Hogan's character keeps on hand a Large Supply of Spaghetti-O's, which he eats for most meals, after heating the contents with a blowtorch). The musical score was also bright and cheery. My biggest complaint is that the movie is unfortunately offset, somewhat substantially, by the nastiness of the story's bad guy, played by Jonathan Banks (same actor who played the villain in Beverly Hills Cop), who shocks the viewer within the opening half hour by sadistically shooting another dolphin. I found Banks' Dirk Moran to be a bit heavy-handed for a movie advertised to be as family-oriented as this one. His villain was more reminiscent to me of one of the villains in the "Bad Boys" Movies, which is the type of film where you are more likely expect to see a crueler bad guy. Thus, while I like the film, I encourage parents to watch it themselves, before renting it with their children.

Although I have seen and heard much criticism of this made-for-TV movie and the other John Jakes, "Kent Family Chronicles" made into film, I think this one is undoubtedly the best. Andrew Stevens, whose acting career later declined, plays a very earnest, somewhat naive Philip Kent, and seemingly symbolizes the perceived idealism of many Americans at the time of Revolutionary War. The characters of Judson Fletcher and Eph Tait, were finely portrayed by Don Johnson and Doug McClure, who give the Movie a rousing, period Revolutionary flavor to it. Other fine TV Actors, such as Peter Graves as George Washington, and Tom Bosley as Bejamin Franklin, do a more credible job than you might anticipate. The film was made on a modest budget, as there are no major battles shown, but rather a few small action scenes in the form of smaller skirmishes, intrigues and a duel. As a spoiler, I can tell you that the movie is entirely different from the book. As one example, Kent and Fletcher become best friends in the film, whereas they never even meet one another in the novel. The movie script in my opinion, was an improvement over the book, although I still very much admire John Jakes, having read all his Kent Family Chronicles Books and North and South Series. I wish they would make more films of the former (the latter already having been memorialized into Movies).