MovieSorter

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Centurion
OK 83 Points 2010

Slasher movies have nothing on this swordplay spectacular. Heads and arms are so much meat for the blade, lopped off right and left, as a group of Roman soldiers battles back from behind enemy lines.

So what’s to recommend it? A visually rich portrayal of the Roman army in early Britannia, t…

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WikChip Image Ninth Legion General Titus Flavius Vi...
War Horse
Great 83 Points 2011

Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse is an instant classic in several categories:

  • War Movies: WWI’s trench warfare, poison gas and mismatch between pre-industrial and industrial warfare are vividly shown, albeit without the explicit savagery of Saving Private Ryan
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WikChip Image Bringing Swords to a Gun Fight
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The Hurt Locker
Great 83 Points 2008

Finally, a USA friendly Iraq War movie, the novelty of which shows how far Hollywood has drifted from objective reality and obvious movie subjects. Wonder of wonders, a show of fellow Americans resolutely and professionally pursuing their liberation mission offers a tremendous adrenaline rush, a…

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WikChip Image SFC James: More gung ho than sane.
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Gettysburg
Very Good 83 Points 1993

The Civil War’s decisive battle can get extensively aired over nearly 4½ hours, and does in Gettysburg. The real battle lasted three days in July of 1863, say 36 hours actually fighting. The movie covers fully an eighth of that. Stamina is required, a long plane ride ideal.

Consider it a …

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WikChip Image Hell saved the Exceptional Nation.
1 Reply
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Gods and Generals
Very Good 83 Points 2003

The battles of 1st Bull Run, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville get brought to terribly glorious life in this opening salvo of a planned Civil War trilogy. Funded by a son of the South, Gods and Generals focuses on sympathetic Confederate heroes Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. It could …

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WikChip Video One of the signal moments in US history.
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Glory
Very Good 83 Points 1989

Old fashioned and reverential, Glory shines in its rendering of an important bit of American history, its vivid recreation of several Civil War battles, and via Denzel Washington’s Oscar-winning performance.

The important history recounts how the first African-American regiment….

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WikChip Video Morgan & Denzel: Moving, Rhythmic, Ma...
Lebanon
Great 83 Points 2010

The heart of a battle-tank turns into a heart of darkness for four soldiers – softies – thrust into the horror of war. The obvious comparison to Das Boot captures Lebanon’s ironclad claustrophobia and blinkered view. Yet, Apocalypse Now seems more fitting an antecedent given how these unw…

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WikChip Image Caught in the crosshairs: Major Hardb...
Olympus Has Fallen
Good 83 Points 2013

Spectacular calamity followed by impressive vengeance makes Olympus Has Fallen an amply satisfying cinematic experience. So what if it’s jingoism. It’s extremely well executed jingoism, by jingo! Patriotic action-movie fans – like me – happen to like this sort of button-pushing entertainment…

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WikChip Image Stunts and FX make the movie.
Ip Man
Great 83 Points 2008

This great martial arts movie follows the beats and tropes of fictional king fu movies while burnishing the legend of Ip Man, a real life Grandmaster of Wing Chun kung fu and Bruce Lee’s teacher. The scene of an unarmed Master Ip facing down an armed Police Captain is a classic of the form.

*I…

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WikChip Image Ip Man amid the Japanese occupation
1 Reply
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Fury
Really Great 83 Points 2014

The pantheon of essential WWII movies has a new entrant. David Ayer’s Fury stars Brad Pitt as an American Staff Sergeant who must lead a platoon of Sherman tanks against the Germans’ superior Panzers. Think Chevies vs. Benzes, with Brad and his battle-hardened crew in an outgunned Sherman named…

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WikChip Image Bad Brad etches another Rushmorian pe...
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