I went by myself so no one could blame me for having been dragged into a crap movie. Roland Emmerich films are risky that way and can be incredible junk. Occasionally - very occasonally - he hits on something good, probably more by accident than anything else.
But I stand corrected: Midway turned out to be an old-fashioned, even archaic war movie with modern CGI. But it is a good old-fashioned war movie - straightforward storytelling going from A to B without any artsy embellishments - with breathtaking, intricate modern CGI. Watching this movie is like flying a Dauntless dive bomber yourself, the sheer physicality of a dive bombing attack in an age before there were G-suits or the athletic strain of being a tail gunner - this movie brings it across like no other film I've seen. Same goes for the naval battles and the carrier landing and take-off scenes.
The cast is well-chosen und credible - they even look like the historic figures they are to represent. And I don't give a flying flamingo if an English actor can do a realistic New Jersey accent. (That seems to be the main pastime of English and US film critics, the reciprocal derision at the perceived inability of American actors doing Brit accents and vice versa.)
The movie tries to be so historically und military-technologically faithful, it has something of a docu-drama, but in a good way. I learned quite a lot about that legendary naval battle that turned the war fortunes in the Pacific.
Finally, while this is - deservedly - a movie about American courage and American heroes, the Japanese are fairly portrayed (also why they saw themselves compelled to wage war against a nation they knew they could never ever conquer, but believed to be able to short-sharp-shock into an armistice at their terms).
The film also shows the attack on Pearl Harbour as an historic introduction to what happened afterwards - it does so in a so much more convincing way than that train-, errm ... battleship-wreck of a film, the 2001 Pearl Harbour with Herr Affleck and Frau Beckinsale in that - admittedly cute - nurse outfit.
Recommended.
https://youtu.be/BfTYY_pac8o
I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't seen it yet, I appreciate the review and will make it happen in the next week or so. Midway was a the pivotal point of the Pacific war - In 5 minutes Japan's fortunes disappeared, and while they certainly would battle (and defeat, in several fierce night engagments) the U.S. Navy around Guadalcanal the die was cast to a long, bloody defeat. To my knowledge, never in military history have the fortunes changed so completely in such a short time - 5 minutes that changed everything, the Gods of War certainly smiled upon the U.S. that day.
I saw the one in '76 in SENSURROUND! Which meant a bunch of 18'' Cerwin Vegas in the theater. BOOM!
Quote from: TBird1958 on November 14, 2019, 09:48:32 AM
I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't seen it yet, I appreciate the review and will make it happen in the next week or so. Midway was a the pivotal point of the Pacific war - In 5 minutes Japan's fortunes disappeared, and while they certainly would battle (and defeat, in several fierce night engagments) the U.S. Navy around Guadalcanal the die was cast to a long, bloody defeat. To my knowledge, never in military history have the fortunes changed so completely in such a short time - 5 minutes that changed everything, the Gods of War certainly smiled upon the U.S. that day.
There should be a gold memorial for the SBD Dauntless - ugly duckling that it was - in Washington. A lumbering, outdated two-seater knocking out two of the most modern carriers of their time. Kind of what that Swordfish biplane did to the Bismarck.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Dauntless_bomb_drop.jpg/450px-Dauntless_bomb_drop.jpg)
Quote from: uwe on November 14, 2019, 12:22:56 PM
There should be a gold memorial for the SBD Dauntless - ugly duckling that it was - in Washington. A lumbering, outdated two-seater knocking out two of the most modern carriers of their time. Kind of what that Swordfish biplane did to the Bismarck.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Dauntless_bomb_drop.jpg/450px-Dauntless_bomb_drop.jpg)
Two? That day all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk by the Dauntless. The Amis never had a better performance from their dive bombers than the one at Midway, the Dauntless' replacement, the Curtiss "Helldiver" was universally disliked by pilots, crews and ship's captains as it was a POS of a plane!
Two by one single Dauntless! Dick Best flew two sorties with the same plane and scored every time, a feat never done before and never after. Plus ruining his lungs in the process due to faulty oxygen supplies. :-\
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Richard_Halsey_Best.jpg)
(https://img.cinemablend.com/filter:scale/quill/0/e/7/f/5/b/0e7f5b8e468089fbd0815bd1bf53f6f1680cbc07.jpg?mw=600)
But you sunk four all in all, no slight intended! The Helldiver was unpopular indeed, though a lot of its unpopularity had to do with its rushed introduction and the ensuing teething problems which were all ironed out by the end. But by then the age of the dive bomber had come to an end as precision bombing from higher altitudes became more accurate.
Ah, so.
Luck was with Amis that day, Mr Best was nicely cast BTW, I really do need to go see that movie, again thanks for the review. :)
Dave, wasn't your dad a tail gunner in the Pacific? On a Dauntless?
Quote from: uwe on November 14, 2019, 01:55:01 PM
Dave, wasn't your dad a tail gunner in the Pacific? On a Dauntless?
He was, but I don't know what plane.
Dave! I know he didn't like to talk about his war experiences, and that's ok, but you never ever asked about the type of plane?! A Dauntless dive bomber (at least at one point in his career) or a torpedo bomber is pretty likely if he was with the Navy on a carrier.
Quote from: uwe on November 15, 2019, 06:14:29 AM
Dave! I know he didn't like to talk about his war experiences, and that's ok, but you never ever asked about the type of plane?! A Dauntless dive bomber (at least at one point in his career) or a torpedo bomber is pretty likely if he was with the Navy on a carrier.
He was Army Air Corps. No, I never asked, never was that interested and he wasn't willing anyway.
There were photos of his plane. If they still exist, they're in unsorted boxes in Philadelphia, where one of my sisters has them.
Probably a two engine bomber then.
I saw the movie tonight and loved it!
My stepfather was a tailgunner and then a radio man in a TBF Avenger squadron stationed in Opa Locka, FL.
He was stationed there just a few months after Flight 19 disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.
Quote from: uwe on November 15, 2019, 01:08:20 PM
Probably a two engine bomber then.
B-25 time.
They fired this thing up and flew it, one very LOUD airplane.
(https://i.imgur.com/HCAnU9C.jpg)
I did finally see this last night, it was very well done and I enjoyed that casting a lot, who would have thought Woody Harrelson as Admiral Nimitz? Dennis Quade as William Halsey? I've read a lot on this specific battle and the movie does cover it well, though I feel it concentrates a little too much on Dick Best, not much mention of the huge loss of life amongst the U.S. carrier torpedo groups, it's shown but not well explained, same for the fliers from Midway. The one blatant error was the depiction of the B-26 group dropping bombs, there were only four planes in the group not the 6 shown, and they carried torpedoes not bombs.
All taken in, I really liked the movie, the CGI was actually best in the flying scenes showing the U.S. carriers, the USS Enterprise specifically.
So now I've seen both Terminator - Dark Fate and Dr Sleep - both bombed at the box office. I wonder why, is my movie taste by now that much removed from what the (presumably younger) public wants?
The "evil machines of the future send one of their own into the past to kill off the one human (or his/her mother) that might potentially stand in their way"-narrative is kind of limited, but I thought it was told well here - as well as in Terminator 2 actually, the best one in the saga. It was nice to see parts of the old cast again - and not just in cameos or as CGIs. Arnie and Sarah do their world-weary best. The new bad guy even has a little humor and only kills when it's part of the mission. It's all very women-empowering, so you can take along girlfriends, wives and daughters too.
Dr Sleep walks the line between following Stephen King's book of the same name and doing the necessary cinematic kowtow before Kubrick's Shining masterpiece (which had very little to do with King's original story which the latter continues to deplore) with earnest dedication. It took its time telling its (not so dumb) story - think of binge-watching four episodes of a well-made Netflix series, but I liked just that. Was it scary? Not really - almost no jump-scares, more intriguing as the story unfolded. But then even the original Shining was always more a ghost story than a horror flick (remember that the only real violence came from Jack Nicholson's character as a real, living person - after he went mad/was possessed).
BTW: The villainess, Ms Rebecca Ferguson of Swedish origin,
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSMfODhjtxR5yROsQsqpgJOcbecjQ3DJXuTTD4Tywy2BURGpJyyg&s)
is hot, she can come on over (me) and suck (my) steam anytime, takk!!! 8)
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS1IEY6nlPq0kBxZypVLsscwqrY9oP9YfBeZhZ9ONOIxvEHO4S3&s)
I took my wife and a couple of friends to see dr.sleep last weekend. My wife likes horror and thriller stuff. But I must admit, without hot steam sucking swedes this movie is a mess. I'm no film buff, but I saw the shining of course - and wonder how they can link this kind of 'light modern entertainment' to the original story is quite strange. When those led lights in their eyes appeared there was a 'oh come on..' sigh from the whole movie theatre. Guess I'm not made for these modern films. It's the same thing with those two most recent star wars movies, probably good production, no story, lots of stuff/action/entertainment,, good actors... but after two days you have forgot about the film.
Admittely, those glowing eyes were Roger Corman-corny. ;D I thought it was a nod to B and C horror movies.
The Overlook hotel interior scenes were reverential in their attempt to bring Kubrick back to life.
It's rare for me to even go movies anymore, much less for there to be 2-3 that I'm interested in, however Ford vs Ferrari and soon 1917 are on my schedule.
BTW there's a pretty good Spitfire doc on Netflix "Spitfire The plane that saved the world" an obviously English loving portrayal of the plane. None of it's shortcomings are mentioned!
I took my 12 and 14 year olds to see Ford vs Ferrari last week and Midway this week. Now that they're a little older they have the attention span, but I still think that both movies being so well made added to their being engrossed by both movies with no interruptions. They came away with both expressing how good each movie was, and I got the chance to tell them about some of my dad's experiences in the South Pacific without their eyes glazing over.
And as a guy who works in film, it was really nice to see such good storytelling; especially in that the CGI was part, but not the center of either film.
Herr Carlston, you mean you're not deceased then? Guten Abend! :-*
Race car driving (watching it) drives me to tears with boredom, but I wanna see that movie too, liked the trailer.
Quote from: uwe on November 28, 2019, 01:56:53 PM
Herr Carlston, you mean you're not deceased then? Guten Abend! :-*
Race car driving (watching it) drives me to tears with boredom, but I wanna see that movie too, liked the trailer.
I saw Ford vs. Ferrari last night - very enjoyable! Matt Damon is pretty good as Carol Shelby and the racing scenes are very well done :thumbsup:
Racing coverage mainly interests me when they have plenty of in-car shots. I get a much better feeel for what's happening that way.
I'm looking forward to the movie. I have Grand Prix and Le Mans on DVD. I always have thought Grand Prix was one of the best movies, but the clarity of purpose McQueen brought to Le Mans makes it interesting in a different way.
Quote from: uwe on November 28, 2019, 01:56:53 PM
Herr Carlston, you mean you're not deceased then? Guten Abend! :-*
Race car driving (watching it) drives me to tears with boredom, but I wanna see that movie too, liked the trailer.
Thank you, Uwe. Between life stuff and having teenagers, I'm not online (or playing bass) nearly as much as I used to be. I'm sure that will change as my kids get older, but for now I'm a sometime lurker and once in a while commenter.
All good, before you know it they're approaching 30 like mine.
And I'm turning 60 next year and still cast - alas! - grandchildrenless! :-\
Quote from: uwe on December 05, 2019, 05:41:18 PM
All good, before you know it they're approaching 30 like mine.
And I'm turning 60 next year and still cast - alas! - grandchildrenless! :-\
Me too, at age 69. Daughters are still single at 30 and 31, turning 31 and 32 in the next 45 days. The older one and her guy are in Paris this week and we're wondering if there may be news following the trip.....
My wife was 39 when our baby was born. Just the way things are for more people these days. Hope you guys waiting for grandchildren see those hopes come to fruition soon. I've also stopped playing in a band and don't have the time to play bass as much as I'd like but it's a minor price to pay for the experience of being a dad. Amazing how quick they change. My 9 month old went from crawling to now pulling herself up to stand on her own in no time. I'm in no hurry to see her grow up too fast.
Quote from: Pilgrim on December 05, 2019, 08:21:49 PM
Me too, at age 69. Daughters are still single at 30 and 31, turning 31 and 32 in the next 45 days. The older one and her guy are in Paris this week and we're wondering if there may be news following the trip.....
You're not standing by the bedside, cheering them on, are you? :mrgreen:
Quote from: uwe on December 06, 2019, 08:05:35 AM
You're not standing by the bedside, cheering them on, are you? :mrgreen:
Au contraire...I do appreciate the humor, but my wife and I have carefully avoided any nudges or questions about marriage with both daughters. We both believe that's their business, not ours. It's really a matter of principle with us.
I didn't feel a particularly strong urge to have kids, but I was amazed at what a wonderful gift they are, and what intelligent, wonderful women they have become. Grandkids are up to the girls, and I wouldn't be especially surprised if one or both decided not to have kids. But if they happen, I'm sure that the world will be richer for us as a result.
I have no great philosophy behind having kids - if you're a religion-benevolent agnostic and evolutionist/biologist like me, our purpose on earth is pretty much reduced to not making a mess out of our own and other people's lives as well as - yup - preserving the species with what we have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiXdnxYFJZg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvwDjgKPoc
I'm seriously considering having
"I swear there ain't no heaven &
I pray there ain't no hell!"
as a gravestone inscription. The song will certainly be played at my funeral. I want people to smile when I go. Probably the BS&T version though for its quirky and uplifting arrangement - I love the "horses & coach" part! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gxwutvlTw8
Quote from: uwe on December 06, 2019, 10:00:19 AM
I have no great philosophy behind having kids - if you're a religion-benevolent agnostic and evolutionist/biologist like me, our purpose on earth is pretty much reduced to not making a mess out of our own and other people's lives as well as - yup - preserving the species with what we have.
That's about as accurate a description of my own position(s) as I could ask for. Nicely said!
My son in the Air Force came for Thanksgiving and my retirement. We saw Terminator but I couldn't get he or my wife to see Midway. After reading the posts here I am going to try and see it this week if still showing in our area close by. As far a grandkids, not yet but my daughter age 30 and her husband are wanting to start a family. Hope they hurry, at age 67 not getting any younger ;)
Quote from: uwe on November 14, 2019, 01:55:01 PM
Dave, wasn't your dad a tail gunner in the Pacific? On a Dauntless?
Quote from: Dave W on November 14, 2019, 08:06:05 PM
He was, but I don't know what plane.
Quote from: uwe on November 15, 2019, 06:14:29 AM
Dave! I know he didn't like to talk about his war experiences, and that's ok, but you never ever asked about the type of plane?! A Dauntless dive bomber (at least at one point in his career) or a torpedo bomber is pretty likely if he was with the Navy on a carrier.
Quote from: Dave W on November 15, 2019, 10:19:35 AM
He was Army Air Corps. No, I never asked, never was that interested and he wasn't willing anyway.
There were photos of his plane. If they still exist, they're in unsorted boxes in Philadelphia, where one of my sisters has them.
Update:
My brother now has his diary. He flew a B24, possibly one or more modified ones. He flew many missions, including 10 combat missions. The last one, they were hit, most of his crewmates were killed and he suffered ruptured eardrums.
Danke! Appreciated that you took the effort, knowing you're no militaria buff.
So you're telling us that bad Japanese marksmanship and an ample portion of luck and good fate are to blame for you being with us today? 8)
Quote from: uwe on January 08, 2020, 08:18:24 AM
Danke! Appreciated that you took the effort, knowing you're no militaria buff.
So you're telling us that bad Japanese marksmanship and an ample portion of luck and good fate are to blame for you being with us today? 8)
True, but not unusual. I'll bet most of us here today had ancestors who narrowly escaped death at some point.