Reviews

The movie itself stands on it's own merits and might be applauded for the telling of this powerful true story, but when other film makers like John Ford had used REAL Native Americans in movies, this was yet another slap in the face to Native Americans .

The movie itself also tended to use Hayes' personal weakness for alcohol to reinforce the belief that ALL Native Americans were prone to alcoholism.

While it is widespread on some reservations...it is because they were forced to live in that environment for decades where they have little do and must fall back on "the public dole"...and suffer the worst economic structure in the U. S.

This movie is long over-due for a re-telling...and the skills of Mr Curtis has nothing to do with my review.

I have always had an interest in the career of Steve McQueen, at least since he starred in the TV series "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Steve was born near my home, at St Francis Hospital in Beech Grove,Indiana..a suburb of Indianapolis. A former U.S. Marine, McQueen used his G.I.Bill to attend acting classes and using his fierce competitive traits (learned in his rough childhood and military service), he refused to take the same "door in the face" experienced by so many new actors..and instead wedged his way into acting jobs..working as an extra against some of the biggest names in the business, till he himself became noticed for his talents, and the crowds he was pulling in at the box office. By the Sixties, he had become the highest paid of the bunch, and was recognized as the world's greatest actor. Steve spent his money as he made it and while he partied, he also took time to give to charities...and supported the Boys Ranch which helped raise him when his family had basically abandoned him. In spite of his financial wealth, and talents...like all of his, he learned the hard way we are all mortal, and each of his has a date with destiny. Steve was diagnosed with a Cancer...and even with his money, the illness could not be beaten. This movie is based on the book (written by ex-wife) Barbra Minty), and it details how Mr McQueen learned to face his own mortality, and the decisions he made as that final curtain started to come down. His priorities were adjusted and even towards the end, we see in this remarkable film how he continued to live unafraid, with the same courage he displayed on that motorcycle in The Great Escape...(even though it was his friend Bud Elkins who made the final jump, due to the studios demands). This is IMHO the absolute best biography of Steve McQueen and shows his life from beginning...to end...and never leaves the viewer on a "downer" feeling as one might expect of a film showing those final days.

Ron Perlman as General Pershing?

That's all anybody needs to know about the film, and it only gets worse from that moment on...

I first saw this movie when I rented it at Blockbuster video in the 1980's...I am a self-appointed student on all things related to WW2 and this book follows the same events as described by the real life ace and author Saburo Sakai. While the film is NOT intended as a biography of he nor any other particular pilit, the action and historical sequences are portrayed as Sakai described them. The Japanese have always been very good at model making and they have used very good models thruout of the aircraft used in the different phases of the war...so we won't be plagued with shots of AT-6 trainers made to look like the Mitsubishi fighter. Also in the film are representations of the Grumman F4F Wildcat, Curtiss P-40, Martin B-26, Boeing B 17, the Mitsubishi"Betty", etc. The angle of turns were not yet mastered yet for this film, and those of us who can fly will notice this, but IMHO it does not detract from the film.

The actors speak Japanese but the version I saw was dubbed in English...and this will ALWAYS make the language timing seem "off" in places. Like most modern war flicks, this film also has the near obligatory "love interest".

This tile may be difficult to find because I have tried for years to acquire a copy for myself (in English)...and some enterprising business might see my post and see a potential to fulfill a need for the Japanese side of this historical event?

In the fifties this film was standard fodder for the early TV viewing audiences on "movie day", and those seeking the diversion from every day life would not have been disappointed.

The film has the usual Hollywood treatment of warfare in Medieval times with some political intrigue thrown in...but also a little of Hollywood's' constant obsession of tossing in a little romance as well...(always finding it to be the cheapest way to put "intimacy of character" into a movie...as is still, sadly, the practice in otherwise great historical action movies.

This movie is one I always recommend to those seeking a good Medieval era flick.

This film was made before the value f real Native Americans was considered in lead roles by Hollyweird.

Even "Iron Eyes Cody" was not a Native American...but was passed around as one for decades because he "looked the part"..

As for "history"...this film is fiction.

In 1970 at the age of 19, I was at the peak of my physical strength and worked for my college tuition throwing vending machines around, including loaded cola machines. That does not mean my mind was always being used, and I managed to get myself drowned while SCUBA diving when my regulator malfunctioned. My diving buddy was not able to bring me back from our depth of 33 feet, but he was able to get back to the beach where an entire class of "pre-med" students HAPPENED to be there for their first open water dive. They heard of my plight and donned their gear and fanned out...locating me at the bottom. I was brought back to the beach after at least 8 long minutes in that cold water, and after 3 days, I awoke from my coma. It is very easy for me to relate to this story due to my personal experience which is so similar. This movie could not have better typecasting IMHO and every single participant plays their role perfectly. In fact, if the "mother" in this film does not get nominated for an Oscar, it will be a true travesty. One of the nice things about this film is that you do not need to "believe in God" to see and enjoy this great story, but you will still be glad for the great feelings you will get from having watched it.

As the story unfolds we might suspect this story was written more from true life experiences than the writer might have intended. The main character is a very successful cog in the great wheel of his employers' firm until several less successful supervisors conspire to blame their incompetence on the main character, and as in too many real offices, the good guy must be the "scapegoat". Unable to accept that "bad things happen to good people", and with no experience at being shunned when he is still the same super successful person he was a short week ago...he is now forced to struggle with some new challenges...and learn who he can *really* count on to be by his side.

Yes...I would take the entire family to see this film, if for no other reason than to prepare my kids for the fact that nothing in this world is guaranteed...even when all logic would tell you being an excellent employee should equal "job security".

I watched this film last night and have always loved history and documentaries. This film is different because it involves a subject that is happening right now, and it becomes obvious two minutes in that the film crew was risking their lives making the film! Considering how clandestine some of the story is, one might expect it to appear to be low budget, but this is not the case whatsoever. The topic IS controversial because some people do not want this story to get out, and when the creator of the film posted it online for all to see...(for the sake of the victims), certain internet entities have tried to ban it from their venue altogether. Lux Et Veritas.

I recommend seeing this film, no matter how you feel about "illegal immigration"as the revelations you come away with will be educational and from an up close and personal level.

McQueen was sitting outside his hanger roughly the same time this story is told. He was unshaven, unkempt, and had shaggy hair. He had not worked in a while and one of his oldest California friends arrived. Seeing McQueen, the friend said "Steve, I never thought you would end up like this"! Reportedly McQueen responded saying "What makes you think this is how I will end up"?

Indeed, from that point, he went on to make several more movies, some considered to be his best works. McQueen did not "go out" a loser, nor broke, so let's not see this very good film thinking it to be the tale of a drifting loser. No, this is McQueen in an intentional lull in his life when he chose to take a step back, re-evaluate his own priorities and do something for himself for a change.

This story is very credible, and I became a McQueen fan in the 1950's when I first saw him on local television. I am writing this review in my home...three miles from his birthplace, which I consider "bragging rights" as someone who has studied the man for a long time.

Good special effects and the uniforms were pretty much accurate, but once again, Holly is selling the liberal thought that all G.I.s are suffering from PTSD and just human time bombs waiting to go off. This is unacceptable to those of us who have seen heavy combat and survived with the tools most of us have at hand. Seeing folks like Ed Asner in any role in a movie about war is a dead giveaway it will be a pure propaganda piece.

If you enjoy action movies just for the explosions, you're fine, but if you are a history nut, or even a veteran...I suggest you move on. As Gen Patton said..."These folks know as little about war, as they do about fornicating".

This is not the usual kind of film for me to watch, but after reading another review, it sounded like a good film, and it is. As described, the film is about a bar tender who meets people at his job and becomes numb to the regulars to the point he is starting to question the challenges of his life. A new face shows up at his bar and over a period of time he tries to force some kind of interaction with the new face...a girl, (who is obviously not interested.) The two eventually go for a walk and without intent, start to learn perceived "personal problems" of each other.

The story is fantastic and the makers of the film worked oh so hard to craft this tale into something the viewer will remember for a long time.

I would recommend this to anybody who has ever tried to gain a friend when they have been lonely in a crowded room.

While I like the genre, I question the decision to cast Ben Affleck in the lead role. This particular actor has been telling the world all Americans are violent people who should not have firearms, yet he continuously seeks roles where he can profit with violence and firearms? Perhaps I am somewhat prejudiced as I am aware of his "political feelings" about our second amendment, but this is exactly why he should seem the least convincing for this kind of a role? Save your money, you have already seen the same story under many other titles since the thirties.

D.C.Stephenson was the stereotypical Alabama redneck who moved to Indiana and with his racist beliefs as his driving force formed the Hoosier chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. He used thugs to force local businessmen to join his "organization" (or he would wreck their businesses, livelihood and reputations). Stephenson purchased a large home in the east Indianapolis neighborhood of Irvington and had it remodeled to look like a southern plantation home, complete with tall columns in front. In an effort to make the KKK look like a "charitable organization" he funded the building of an orphanage, (which still stands as a school very near the then home of the Oberholzer family).

The acting is good in this film and is an effort to tell an important story about a bad chapter in our Nation's history, but IMHO not enough effort was made to show the details of how Klan money had purchased the favors and even membership of local politicians into the Klans' tentacles. Anybody wanting to know things about the Klan should see this film, and understand that in the Twenties, the Klan was in it's zenith and held curb to curb marches even in our Nations' Capitol!

I am 67 years old and have enjoyed movies as far back as I can remember. I was watching Clark Gable films when he was still making them, and Steve McQueen was still in Alaska driving a tank for the Marines. My point? I have had a huge selection of films to watch, and I am telling you that this film is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

The typecasting was dead on, for every single role, from the over-doting mother to the very rebellious "Scott" who drives the vehicle for "Doug" (whose life long ambition is to see Las Vegas just once before he dies). No, Doug does not die, but he wishes to complete the journey his deceased father had promised him.

Ms Kwiatkowski plays "Stephanie", Doug's secret crush, and agrees to go with Scott and Doug to Vegas, just to convince Doug to get in the car with Scott, a person new to Doug's very sheltered life.

Doug takes off with Scott and Stephanie, (violating his mothers' rules), and does not look back as this new and huge adventure unrolls.

The film focus's on just these three people and it gives plenty of time for their personalities to be fleshed out and we are given the chance to see how their lives inter-act in a shared experience.

I strongly recommend this tale to anyone who has ever been bold enough to "color outside the lines", or jump from an aircraft into the dark, by parachute.

Hank Williams was one of those talents who just seem to come along ever so often from "out of nowhere" and becomes a legend in his own time. Hank was a candle that burnt out quickly but only leaving behind great music, which was later recorded by just about every big name in the music business of the sixties and seventies, anyway.

I am a sucker for true stories and "time pieces" so this was a film I wanted to see as soon as I saw an advert for it, even though I did not like country western in the days Mr Williams was still alive. Hank Williams is however a major reason I started listening to country western, and the lead actor Tim Hiddleston looks like Hank and portrays him as accurately as I suspect anybody could without making him look "cardboard".

The music is played throughout the film and the scenery was well researched. (Don't look for any out of era vehicles, I don't think you will find any.)

The film is best for an adult crowd for the language used in the film, but if you can see this for the great film I think it is, you will enjoy it.

If this film is not Oscar material...nothing is of late.

The story of a teen male who lost his father nearly three years ago, and has no male at home to help set his moral compass. He falls in love with a girl at school and his wayward friends give him bad advice on how to gain her attention, (to include some off the wall stunts). The girls' father (played by Kevin Sorbo) steps in and with the boys' mom's approval takes the boy on a "scared straight" sort of camping trip, with a couple of Sorbo's adult friends. The intention is to show the boy what it takes to be responsible, and to think for himself as a man, but the trip evolves into an unexpected adventure in a beautiful forest.

Good movie for the entire family with lots of funny moments, and things many of us can relate to from both our youth and beyond.

All parts are played well by the actors and each was typecast very well for their roles.

I am a sucker for true stories and this movie is based on real events within the American horse world in our recent past. The actors are all great at their jobs and were typecast very well for their parts. William Shatner plays a typical businessman, void of any personal feelings of how his decisions might affect those around him.

Ving Rhames carries his role as a somewhat kindred spirit to the lead character and is allowed to explain in the movie why he makes stands when stands are needed.

This film has very good production values and a great soundtrack as well.

Don't be afraid to see what might be considered a "family" film as the film has something for pretty much anybody who likes horses and good people going thru "class struggles" within a tight knit horse-related community of rich snobs and their "toys".

I suspect the folks behind this film wanted to make a "Mel Brooks" type film, but with too much making fun of religion and inside humor only progressive Hollyweird-types might condone, the film falls too flat to recommend as anything more than a doorstop the film canisters might make.

Too often in the past we have seen otherwise good actors involved as a means to lend a legitimacy to bad films. This is one of those. George Clooney may have done his part as a favor to somebody, I doubt it was out of boredom, and he certainly gained nothing from the film. For me, the ONLY redeeming value was the attempt to make a "period piece", which I love, but this is very, very far from making up the plethora of things the film lacked.

This film has some great adventure scenes sprinkled thru-out, and I especially liked the rooftop chase across a fantastic set showing the evening skyline of colonial America. I am a sucker for "period pieces" and it is obvious research was done to get the "feel" of the era, with accurate depictions of forts, prison ships, cargo ships, and the historic locations themselves. John Rhys-Davies always plays a strong part, but either he did not try to steal any scenes with his presence, or the rest of the cast was just that good! The story is credible, (not so far fetched from the tale of what we know about John Paul Jones and his past).

Hard to imagine such a great film might be made with such entertainment value, yet the special effects did NOT detract from the acting, and the film had NO nudity!! (In this day and age, LOL)...

The only real issue I had with "credibility" is when a structure is being destroyed and two of the main characters, having just escaped from it, took a little too much time, (IMHO) to resume swimming to get out of the area... Splinter city.

Loved the film.

Being an older person, I remember when serious acting was still the expectation of good movies, before special effects were given the priorities. This film is a very good and believable study of how two very different men might be brought together in very fantastically different circumstances. The fact that in the ending credits the note is made that the events of the film are based on actual happenings does much to explain and reinforce some of my personal beliefs about "pre-destination" and possibly "Divine" intervention. The main actors did an excellent job, considering the limitations of being pretty much a two actor film for most of the movie, and how the chance meeting of the two would change their lives forever.

I strongly suggest you might overlook some of the films negative ratings and see it for the very good film it is.