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Reviews
Joni Jones (1982)
Adventures in the life of a 10-year-old Welsh boy during WW2
CAVEAT: What I saw was an episodic movie--and now I know why it was that way, since finally finding this IMDb entry. Apparently, it was a 1988 assemblage of episodes from the 1982 series, narrated by the protagonist looking back on his life.
"The Adventures of Johnny Jones" (sic) is four episodes from the life of a ten-year-old boy growing up in Wales during the Second World War. His father is off fighting the Axis; his mother is struggling to make ends meet, keeping the home fires burning & doing her best to raise her son. Against this period-piece backdrop, "Joni" struggles with problems familiar to we veteran ten-year-old boys: How does one "fit it" with his peers? How does one decide what the Right Thing to do, is? How does one balance parental expectations with those things a boy would RATHER be doing?
***SPOILER FOLLOWS***
The most touching episode was that of his accidental discovery of an escaped Italian POW. Joni misses his father & worries about what might happen to him: when he learns the injured man is a POW, he decides not to turn him in, but to help him by sneaking him food & drink while Giovanni's wound heals. The POW is recaptured while Joni is away visiting an aunt, and Joni has to keep the secret of "aiding the enemy." Still, it's how he would want HIS father treated, were the shoe on the other foot.
Other episodes: embarrassment at the "soccer ball" his Mam knitted for him & his quest for a REAL, leather ball; facing down bullies; and coping with his entry into an boarding school, exchanging the land of his fathers, for the alien world of the English.
Swordfish (2001)
Goof
Goof: the newscast at the end mentions the bombing of the American Embassy in Istanbul, though that mission is in Ankara, Turkey's capital. THIS LAST SENTENCE IS ONLY HERE SO AS TO MEET YOUR FOUR-LINE REQUIREMENT--PLEASE SEE THAT THESE FULLY-CAPITALIZED WORDS ARE REMOVED FROM THIS TEXT.
Windtalkers (2002)
Disappointing "war" movie (contains Spoilers)
First off, I was surprised not to see a "goofs" section for this film, given the number of comments in the reviews I read here, that noted discrepancies among different caliber weaponry & their respective yields. Be that as it may, surely the biggest goof I noticed was the 50-star flag near the beginning of the film (when they arrived at basic training, IIRC)--perhaps Woo was being artsy, noting their heroism was timeless or something, but I doubt it. *SPOILER ALERT* I think a fellow reviewer hit the nail on the head as to the first use of the code, calling in Naval fire: so WHAT if that were intercepted? Would the Japs have died more happily, knowing what had been said even as 16" shells came down on their heads? So, the only reason I can see for the use of the code in that instance, is for authentication: if forward observer corrections were only to be accepted through the codetalking Navajos, fine--the Japs would not have been able to pull something of their own, redirecting USN gunfire. HOWEVER, when Yahzee dons enemy garb to get to their radio, in order to call off misdirected USMC gunfire, he does so in English: had they decided at that point not to bother authenticating fire control? What would have prevented the enemy from cutting in & doing that himself? Or, HAD they already done that, which is why it was hitting friendly troops? The World wonders.
I realize the Japs liked to do "the bayonet thing" when they had the chance, but there were lots of scenes where all they had to do was sit still & wait for the Americans to run at their entrenchments. That would have been a lot safer than leaving prepared positions so as to give the protagonists better targets. Someone better versed on the fighting in the Marianas can better comment--maybe they DID do this, which goes a long way to explaining why they lost the war.
The film mentioned that there were 30,000 Japanese soldiers on Saipan. By the time this movie was over, I felt like I had seen each and every one of them die. Don't get me wrong--I enjoy seeing Tojo's boys get killed as much as anyone, but there was so much that was NOT dealt with adequately in a movie that was SUPPOSED to be about the Navajos & their importance to our war effort. They were shortchanged by this movie, and ultimately, so was the audience.
How Green Was My Valley (1975)
Classic "Masterpiece Theater" adaptation, one I'd like to see again.
This was my introduction to Stanley ("Zulu") Baker & to Sîan ("I, Clavdivs") Phillips, and a very pleasant one at that, and I enjoyed this version much more than the B&W 1940s Oscar winner. The acting was very convincing throughout, and it was evident that the production was a labor of love & Welsh pride, very much in keeping with the book.
Sadly, it's been a quarter century since I saw this on "Masterpiece Theater" and to my knowledge it has not been shown since, nor is it available on video cassette.
How Green Was My Valley (1975)
Classic "Masterpiece Theater" adaptation, one I'd like to see again.
This was my introduction to Stanley ("Zulu") Baker & to Sîan ("I, Clavdivs") Phillips, and a very pleasant one at that, and I enjoyed this version much more than the B&W 1940s Oscar winner. The acting was very convincing throughout, and it was evident that the production was a labor of love & Welsh pride, very much in keeping with the book.
Sadly, it's been a quarter century since I saw this on "Masterpiece Theater" and to my knowledge it has not been shown since, nor is it available on video cassette.
The Climb (1997)
Pleasant Surprise
I am in general agreement with my fellow reviewers: despite the predictability of much of the story, the acting was well done overall & the story was plausible. John Hurt is always a pleasure to watch; David Strathairn reminded me a lot of a younger Sam Waterston. I found the climactic rescue scene very unsettling, and that's a tribute to the actors, since they (more than the special effects) conveyed the danger of the situation. I had never heard of this film before I saw it, so I had no big expectations--my formula for being pleasantly surprised.