Reviews

I thought that this film is right out of the classic Woody Allen mode. His theme of having events determined by others -- in this case, the writers -- was reminiscent of his one-act plays, "God" and "Death," and follows the tracks of the worldview he has always explored in his films. It was very well-written and crafted, an enjoyable night at the flicks.

One thing that struck me is that the character played by Will Ferrell is exactly the part that Woody can no longer play because he's too old. It was not long into the film before I discerned that these are lines that Woody had written for himself, the character he'd always played, but a younger man was delivering them for him. And that only added to the charm of the film for me.

I had opportunity to see the film "Miracle" last night at a preview screening. This is the flick with Kurt Russell portraying Herb Brooks and the 1980 US Hockey team's triumph at the Lake Placid Olympics.

The movie is terrific. Even though you know the outcome (and I remember watching the games while a senior at Syracuse), there is still a good deal of suspense and tension, as it's made quite skillfully. The pacing is very good, the editing creative, and they build up the game vs. the Soviet Union quite well. The hockey scenes are very authentic; I can only imagine how difficult it was to shoot, as well as how amazed the actors are going to be when they see it all put together.

For those not particularly enamored of hockey (the poor souls), there is still a lot to recommend about this film. It's got a "Rocky"-style good feeling, explores the relationship between Brooks and his wife, the players' relationships with each other, and so on. There is a good dramatic sense, but then, this is a Disney film, and they have experience doing these things, eh? Having said that, however, "Miracle" is much better than "Cool Runnings" or any of the "Mighty Ducks" series. Those were treacly, whereas this is inspiring.

Russell (another Disney veteran) does a good job as Brooks. His portrayal seems pretty authentic, at least what I remember of him from news reports and such. Although the print I saw last night did not include the end credits (maybe they're not yet completed), one has to think that Brooks was consulted during the writing of the script and shooting for confirmation of details and events. At the close of the film, there is an acknowledgment of his passing just after the completion of shooting. It says something to the effect that while he never got to see the film, he lived it. If only he had called upon his legendary genius to have used his seatbelt that final night...

In any case, I highly recommend this film when it does come out on February 6th, I believe. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it. For those of you old enough to remember the event, it will bring back the thoughts and stirrings from those days long ago. And even if you're not, you're still going to have a great evening of hockey and entertainment.

I don't know about anybody else, but I really liked "WIOU." I thought it had a great cast, a good story line, and was quite compelling. If you think about this show and "SportsNight," it's amazing that serious shows about the television business can't seem to make it before the mass audience. Meanwhile, fluff like "Murphy Brown" and "Mary Tyler Moore" hit it big time. I'm just happy to see that so many of the cast of WIOU have had long and distinguished careers. I hope to find this program on TV Land sometime soon.

When I first saw this film, I was studying TV-Radio in college, aspiring to work in the medium. I loved "Network" when I first saw it, and I love it still. Who knew back then how prophetic this movie would be? Television has become such a sewer, that the film almost looks anachronistic; we've now seen everything in the film with the exception of a live murder -- but don't be surprised when that pops up on a reality show any day now! "Network" presaged Morton Downey, Jr., Jerry Springer, and "Survivor." And the depiction of the business side of the medium as a cutthroat, ratings-at-all-costs whorehouse (remember the line "I don't fancy myself the president of a whorehouse!") turned out to be right on the money as well. Some of my favorite recollections are the performance of Robert Duvall, and the scene where Faye Dunaway has an orgasm over a 30 rating. There are many more that can't be fit here. So, rent this movie today! If you don't, I'll be mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore! And on that point, I am adamantine and inflexible...