MovieSorter

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The Monuments Men
OK 17 Points 2014

Instead of a serious “Saving Private Ryan” we get a semi-humorous “Saving Claude Monet”. The story is decent, send in a platoon of art experts to save the world’s gems from Nazi tyranny. However the execution is “meh.” With a cast like the one presented, I expected more in the com…

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  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
Aces High
OK 17 Points 1976

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines – as the phrase went back in the day. Magnificent indeed, but also jaded, troubled, and struggling with the fact that so little of them ever make it through WWI sotries alive. Aces High takes a soft-pedal (well, soft for a 70’s movie anyway) look a…

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Field of Lost S...
OK 17 Points 2014

The Field of Lost Shoes is a story about the 1864 corps of cadets (257 of them) at the Viginia Military Institute who were conscripted by Maj Gen John Breckinridge; They were supposed to be backups, but ended up being very necessary to turn back the Union armies. In the end, 10 were killed and …

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Class of '61
OK 17 Points 1993

So what happened to the West Point graduating class as the time that the civil war broke out? This little examined facet of the war is the main theme of this movie. As you’d expect, the class splits along Northern and Southern boundaries. West Point suffered greatly as cadets and instructors le…

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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.
Zulu Dawn
Good 17 Points 1979

I’d call Zulu Dawn “the Little Bighorn of South Africa.” If ever there was a cause more unjust – it was the British attempt to oust the Zulus from their territories in South Africa – despite the fact they were honoring an agreement to stay away. And, as this is a true story, I’m not spoi…

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  • Wick – Regarding "BrianSez's Review":http://www.viewguide.c...
Ender's Game
Good 83 Points 2013

Nice try, but Ender’s Game is barely a winner. Perhaps Orson Scott Card was right in saying his lauded SciFi novel is unfilmable.

BrianSez and other fans of Card’s novel and its sequels may like it better than a newbie like me. I ha…

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WikChip Image What's going on in there Ender?
Body of Lies
Good 83 Points 2008

Given the dismal state of Islamist terror movies, this surprisingly evenhanded thriller tops the heap, though its disjointed plot comes together slowly and Leonardo DiCaprio’s CIA character lacks charisma. Fortunately he’s flanked by two great actors, the estimable Russell Crowe and the slickly …

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American Assassin
Good 66 Points 2017

The War Against Islamist Terror gets short shrift in the nearly risible American Assassin, which starts well, powerfully well, but then goes mostly downhill. Quality aside: Sequel or No Sequel? That is the question. This origin story sets a low bar, yet made money, so why not a sequel. It’ll al…

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WikChip Video Lame conversation misses the point
Redacted
Good 17 Points 2007

Redacted is filmed in a ‘faux documentary’ style (read: hints of Cloverfield) and focuses on the American occupation in Iraq and an ugly incident in Samara. The movie stands out from otheres of the genre in the way it confrontings the subject in a raw uncut fashion. Certainly De Palma was trying…

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