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Le Cinquième Élément (1997)
w-a-r
For a deployed troop, this flick hits all the necessary elements: Action, guns, space vehicles, hot model, Bruce Willis, and even has an antiwar pacifist message thrown in.
I've seen The Fifth Element many times before, but last night was the first time I had watched it while deployed. Luc Besson's visual feast was just as vibrant and exciting as the first time I had seen it. I know some complain that the plot is weak, and it may move like a music video at times, but there is not a dull moment in the entire film! Even the some classic elements of the alien relationship building: the first exchange of names, learning English on TV, and a good remake of the Captain Kirk "On Earth, we have a thing called love..." flow smoothly and entertainingly between Willis and Jojovich.
And of course Oldman just eats up scenes so well that you could almost root for him.
Jojovich does a great job with the quivering angry face when she faces off against opponents and the quavering horrified face when she learns about w-a-r. But even if she couldn't act as well as she does, there is no other Leeloo Minai Lekatariba Laminatcha Ekbat De Sabat in the world.
Last note I can tell you how cool this film is for deployment by relating what the troop in front of me said as we boarded the military transport to Iraq. When the guard asked him for i.d. he held up his c.a.c card and replied "Mul-ti-pass".
In Harm's Way (1965)
The Duke Sails to War
I stumbled upon this John Wayne classic looking through the abandoned movies in "the Swamp", our recreation center in the basement of the combat support hospital.
This stirring account of a Captain's campaign in the South Pacific after the bombing of Pearl Harbor delivers the laid back bravado of the Duke astride a different type of horse, a US Navy cruiser. Wayne is later in his career in this movie, and also is suffering from lung cancer during the filming. He shows his age in his face more than usual, and also carries a calm plodding demeanor that is never resigned.
The brief treatment of the attack on Pearl Harbor illustrates well the way that events of war care not for the personal trials of individuals, and quickly become a crucible in which these individuals must choose the values to which they are to cling. Wayne's character, Captain Torrey, follows an up and down course after Pearl Harbor, eventually leading to strategy and climax on the South Pacific seas.
The movie is strongest for me in its characterization of a career navy man, and the different types that circulate around him. Even through the turmoil and passion of love and family strife, Torrey remains a human yet solid character who genuinely earns our loyalty, like all the best leaders.
Themes of war and selfless patriotism do run through the film, but the spotlight always remains centered on personal strength of Captain Torrey.
Rear Admiral Rock Torrey: "All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else." You may not always agree with him, but we would all do well to stick to our principles as strongly as Torrey.
Hot Dog ...The Movie (1983)
How I got through medical school
Ah yes, my first user comments!
**SPOILERS**
Here is the spoiler: you might not like this movie!
Definitely not for everyone. If mindless puerile fun and tasteless soft porn jokes are your bag, this movie is for you.
How I wanted to be "Snakelegs" Banks, schussing his way down the mountain and into Sonny's heart. It is truly a local boy done good tale of leaving the small town and beating the big bad pros at their own game.
So, as for the medical school thing, I watched this every night I studied, sometimes 3 times in a row. I stopped counting after 196 viewings and that was in 1992. Something about the poppy tunes and the ebb and flow of sweet skiing scenes intercut with bad acting and stilted dialogue leading into gratuitous R-rated nudity was the perfect white noise to keep me awake and still on track as I learned the names of the cranial nerves or the pathways of mitochondrial energy release.
As a movie (it is after all Hot Dog The Movie, not Hot Dog "The Opera" as my favorite user comment reads) there isn't much to offer. It is a good Eurobash and glorification of alcoholism, but the only prize is the skiing scenes.
Watch it in your alpine retreat as you rub your slope sore thighs (or better yet have someone rub them for you) and sip your Jaegermeister and Hot chocolate. You might even laugh after the first few shots!