"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

When New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers first released the news that Peter Jackson would adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" into three films, I had not been pleased. I thought the novel could have easily been adapted into two films 또는 even a single film. Now that Jackson's third film, "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES", I realized that my feelings had not changed.

I still believe what I had originally stated . . . an adaptation of Tolkien's novel could have easily been limited to a single film. I believe I would have enjoyed...

"WAR AND PEACE" (2016) Review

I have a confession to make. I have never seen a movie 또는 텔레비전 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel, "War and Peace". Never. Well . . . I once made an attempt to watch the 1956 movie adaptation directed 의해 King Vidor. Unfortunately, I could never go the distance. In fact, I have never read the novel.

However, many years passed. When I heard about the BBC's latest adaptation of Tolstoy's novel, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give "WAR AND PEACE" a chance. The six-part miniseries is simply about the experiences of five Russian families during...

"THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" (2000) Review

I never saw "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" in the movie theaters when it was first released years ago. I have a low tolerance of sports 영화 and there are only a few that I consider favorites of mine. Another reason why I never saw this film in the theaters is that my family simply had no desire to see it.

Based upon Steven Pressfield's 1995 novel and directed 의해 Robert Redford, "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" was a box office flop. Worse, it had received mixed to negative reviews. Among the criticisms directed at the film was the accusation that the Bagger...

Below is my review of the 1979 텔레비전 miniseries called ”THE SACKETTS”:


”THE SACKETTS” (1979) Review

Thirty years ago, CBS aired a two-part miniseries (or 텔레비전 movie) based upon two novels written 의해 the late Louis L’Amour. Directed 의해 Robert Totten, ”THE SACKETTS” starred Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck and Jeff Osterhage as the three Sackett brothers.

”THE SACKETTS” told the story of Tell (Elliot), Orrin (Selleck) and Tyrel (Osterhage) Sackett and their efforts to make new lives for themselves in the post-Civil War West. Screenwriter Jim Byrnes took two novels about the...

"THE FOUR FEATHERS" (1977) Review

I have heard of the 1977 adaptation of A.E.W. Mason' 1902 adventure film. But I never thought I would see it. Recently, it occurred to me to rent the movie from Netflix, because I have yet to run across it at any store that sells DVDs. I did rent "THE FOUR FEATHERS". Needless to say, it produced some rather interesting feelings within me.

Anyone familiar with Mason's tale knows that "THE FOUR FEATHERS" is the story about a 19th century British Army officer named Harry Faversham, who harbor plans to resign from his commission in the Royal North Surrey Regiment...

"THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO" (1934) Review

I have seen only two versions of Alexandre Dumas père's 1845 novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo" in my past - the 1975 텔레비전 version with Richard Chamberlain and the 2002 디즈니 film with James Cavielzel. While 읽기 a good number of 기사 about the movie versions of the novel, I came across numerous praises for the 1934 adaptation that starred Robert Donat. And since I happened to like Dumas' story so much, I decided to see how much I would like this older version.

Set between the last months of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1830s, "THE COUNT...

"RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" (1994) Review

Many 텔레비전 viewers and moviegoers might be surprised to learn that Hollywood had aired a good number of 텔레비전 영화 that featured the topic of U.S. slavery. One of those 영화 proved to be an offshoot of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS". However, another was the 1994 텔레비전 movie called "RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD".

The 1994 텔레비전 movie is a story about the Underground Railroad, a loose network of secret routes and 안전한, 안전 houses occasionally used 의해 willing 19th-century slaves in the United States to escape...

"TITANIC" (1953) Review

As many moviegoers know, there have been numerous film and 텔레비전 productions about the maiden voyage and sinking of the R.M.S. 타이타닉 on April 15, 1912. The most famous production happens to be James Cameron's 1997 Oscar winning opus. However, I do wonder if there are any 팬 who are aware that another 타이타닉 movie managed to strike Oscar gold.

Directed 의해 Jean Negulesco, the 1953 movie "TITANIC" focused on the personal lives of a wealthy American family torn asunder 의해 marital strife, a deep secret and the historic sinking of the Titanic. Family matriarch Mrs....

"CAPOTE" (2005) Review

I finally got around to watching the first of two 영화 about writer Truman Capote and his work on the non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood". This particular movie, "CAPOTE", starred American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who eventually won a SAG award, a Golden Globe award and an Oscar for his performance.

Penned 의해 actor Dan Futterman and directed 의해 Bennett Miller, "CAPOTE" turned out to be a 더 많이 somber affair than Douglas McGrath's 2006 film, "INFAMOUS". Miller had once commented that he wanted to create a 더 많이 subtle portrait of the flamboyant author in order to emphasize...

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" (2004) Review

My knowledge of 19th century author, Anthony Trollope, can be described as rather skimpy. In fact, I have never read any of his works. But the 2004 BBC adaptation of his 1869 novel, "He Knew He Was Right", caught my interest and I decided to watch the four-part miniseries.

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" told the decline and fall of a wealthy gentleman named Louis Trevelyan (Oliver Dimsdale) and his marriage to the elder daughter of a British Colonial administrator named Sir Marmaduke Rowley (Geoffrey Palmer) during the late 1860s. Louis first met the spirited Emily...

"12 YEARS A SLAVE" (2013) Review

I first learned about Solomon Northup many years ago, when I came across a 텔레비전 adaptation of his story in my local video story. One glance at the video case for "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S ODYSSEY" made me assume that this movie was basically a fictional tale. But when I read the movie's 설명 on the back of the case, I discovered that I had stumbled across an adaption about a historical figure.

Intrigued 의해 the idea of a free black man in antebellum America being kidnapped into slavery, I rented "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S...

"THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG" (2013) Review

The 초 part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 판타지 novel, "The Hobbit" recently hit the theaters. After watching it, I am amazed that I was ever against the idea of a three-film adaptation of the Tolkien's story.

Titled "THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG", the 초 film began not long after the first one left off. I take that back. The movie began with a flashback featuring a meet between the wizard Gandalf the Gray and the Dwarf prince, Thorin Oakenshield at the Prancing 조랑말 Tavern in Bree. Those familiar...

"THE MANIONS OF AMERICA" (1981) Review

Back in early 1981, ABC 텔레비전 aired a miniseries about the lives of an Anglo-Irish immigrant family called "THE MANIONS OF AMERICA". Starring Pierce Brosnan and Kate Mulgrew, the miniseries aired in three parts and was marketed as the Irish-American version of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS".

"The Irish-American version of "ROOTS"? Hmmmm . . . I do not know if that similarity genuinely works. Yes, both miniseries focused upon the beginning of a family line in the United States. Both are family sagas set before the 20th century. But the differences between...

"HOMEFRONT" RETROSPECT: (1.01) "S.N.A.F.U."

There are only a handful of 텔레비전 shows that I am very emotional about. There are only a handful that I consider to be among the best I have ever seen on the small screen. One of them happened to be the 1991-1993 ABC series, "HOMEFRONT". Not only do I view it as one of the few 텔레비전 series that turned out to be consistently first-rate from beginning to end, it also has one of the best pilot episodes I have ever seen.

"HOMEFRONT" followed the lives and experiences of a handful of citizens in the fictional town in Ohio, right after the end...

"THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY" (2012) Review

I had nothing against the news of New Line Cinema's attempt to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" for the screen. But I had no idea that the studio, along with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Brothers would end up stringing out the adaptation into three movies. Three. That seemed a lot for a 300-page novel. The first chapter in this three-page adaptation turned out to be the recent release, "THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY".

Peter Jackson, who had directed the adaptation of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy over a decade ago,...

"INFAMOUS" (2006) Review

I have heard a lot about the two movie biographies based upon Truman Capote’s experiences, while working on his famous 1966 non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood" – 2005's "CAPOTE" and "INFAMOUS", which hit movie theaters in the following year. But this review is about the 초 film . . . namely "INFAMOUS". Written and directed 의해 Douglas McGrath, the movie starred Toby Jones as Truman Capote.

To be honest, I did not know what to expect of "INFAMOUS". Since it was the 초 Capote movie to be released, it failed to garner any prestigious critic awards 또는 nominations...

"ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO" (1953) Review

Years ago, I used to watch a great deal of old 영화 on late night television. My two 가장 좋아하는 channels that offered these 영화 were Turner Network 텔레비전 (TNT) and the American 영화 Classic (AMC), which used to air 영화 without any commercial breaks. On TNT, I had stumbled across a Western movie originally released 의해 MGM Studios in 1953 called "ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO" (1953) and fell in 사랑 with it. After watching my recently purchased DVD copy of the movie, I could see why it became a 가장 좋아하는 of mine.

Directed 의해 John Sturges during the...

"THE YOUNG VICTORIA" (2009) Review

About a 년 또는 so before his 인기 텔레비전 series, "DOWNTON ABBEY" hit the airwaves, Julian Fellowes served as screenwriter to the lavish biopic about the early life and reign of Britain's 퀸 Victoria called "THE YOUNG VICTORIA". The 2009 movie starred Emily Blunt in the 제목 role and Rupert Friend as the Prince Consort, Prince Albert.

"THE YOUNG VICTORIA" began during the last years in the reign of King William IV, Victoria's uncle. Acknowledge as the 다음 ruler of Britain, Victoria became the target of a political tug-of-war between her mother,...

”THE WINDS OF WAR” (1983) Review

Some forty-five years ago, author Herman Wouk wrote ”The Winds of War”, a bestselling novel about the experiences of a middle-aged U.S. Navy officer and his family during the early years of World War II. A decade later, ABC 텔레비전 and producer David Wolper brought his story to the 텔레비전 screen with a seven-part, fourteen-and-a-half 시간 miniseries that became a ratings hit and a major Emmy and Golden Globe nominee.

Produced 의해 Dan Curtis and Barbara Steele, and directed 의해 Curtis; ”THE WINDS OF WAR” was a sprawling saga that told the story...