On Wings of Eagles1986

     This series was adapted for television from a best-selling book by Ken Follett.  The Shah of Iran is forced out of the country and the Ayatollah Khomeini has taken over leading Iran in 1979.  During this time the pro-Khomeini forces overran the US Embassy.  Texas based Electronic Data Systems (EDS) has been working in Iran.  Two of the executives are arrested in Tehran and held in prison for $13,000,000 ransom on false charges.  The rest of the employees and their families have returned home to the United States.  The families of the two executives have also returned to Texas.  H. Ross Perot is the head of this company.  He tries diplomatic approaches to get the two men released.  That has failed and his next path is to hire retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Arthur E. ‘Bull’ Simons.  One of the major problems in getting the two prisoners released is that Iran is overrun with angry mobs.

     According to the Chicago Tribune in an article by William Gaines and Mike Dorning from July 9, 1992, this series is over dramatized and some sequences are a myth?  Supposedly, Ross Perot recruited author Ken Follett to write a thriller about the rescue.  He also retained authority over script approval for the TV series.  EDS started working in Iran in late 1974 when Middle Eastern countries were spending oil wealth to modernize.  It is included in the series that the people of Tehran stormed the prison, shot the guards and released all the prisoners.   Perot claims an Iranian EDS employee convinced revolutionaries to storm the Shah’s prison?  The EDS executives were jailed by the government of the Shah and not by the Ayatollah.  The series doesn’t state that there were complaints about EDS performance and charges of corruption linked to the computer company’s partnership with Abolfath Mahvi.  He was the middleman between EDS and the government of Iran.  It was widely reported that Abolfath was a bag-man for the Shah?  It seems there are two versions of this story?   Viewers will need to choose what they believe?  Are the scenes in the series true and the details reported by the Tribune true??  Perot was running for president and that may have tainted his truth?  3 1/2* (I liked this series) 

  

5 hours (241 min), Drama, TV Mini-Series directed by Andrew V. MacLaglen with Burt Lancaster, Richard Crenna, Paul Le Mat, Jim Metzler, James Sutorius, Louis Giambalvo, Robert Wightman, William Bumiller, Cyril O’Reilly, Lawrence Pressman, Alan Fudge, John Doolittle, Karen Carlson, Diane Salinger, Bob Delegall, Patrick Collins, Martin Doyle.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 50 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Toluca, Estado de Mexico and Mexico City, Mexico.  Originally shown on NBC in two parts on May 18 and 19, 1986 and also titled Teheran.  There is another film with the same title from 2017.  Nominated for Outstanding Miniseries at the 38^th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Dead Cert 1974

      This movie is based on a novel by Philip D’antoni.  In a surprise move, two horse owners decide to ride their own horses in a steeplechase.  Bill Davidson’s horse Admiral begins to behave weirdly and the horse falls hard after an obstacle.  Medical personnel go to check on Bill right away but he succumbs to his injuries.  His friend Alan York was riding his horse and he suspected Admiral was doped.  He also believes it was unscrupulous bookies involved in the doping.  The medical tests don’t reveal any evidence of drugs being used on Admiral?  The group involved in the doping doesn’t want anyone to investigate their activities and Alan may be in way over his head?    

      This film suffers somewhat from age?  The scenes of the races are good and the horses are very beautiful.  The men involved in the doping don’t care about the riders or the horses.  They are only interested in profits and the acclaim for winning.  Alan also rides a horse into the woods to escape the British police.  He leaves the horse behind and steals a police car.  Judi Dench was 40 years old at the release of this movie.  3* (This movie is OK)    

        

99 min, Thriller directed by Tony Richardson with Scott Antony, Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Nina Thomas, Julian Glover, Mark Dignam, John Bindon, Josephy Blatchley.

Note:  Imdb 5.1 out of 10, 14% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 3.1* out of 5* with 22 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Portsmouth, Hampshire; Frontwell Racecourse, West Sussex; Findon, West Sussex, England, UK.  Go-Pontinental owned by Fred Pontin was one of the horses in this film.  He ran in the 1968 National, returned in 1973 and 1974. 

The Citadel 1938

     This film is based on a classic novel by A.J. Cronin.  Andrew Manson is a young and enthusiastic Scottish doctor.  He has taken his first job in a Welsh mining town.  He will be the assistant to a bed ridden Dr. Page.  He learns quickly that Mrs. Page is not treating him fairly.  He receives extra money because he saved a newborn baby from dying.  Mrs. Page refuses to give him the money and she feeds herself well but not Andrew.  He quits and he gets another job working as doctor for the local coal mine.  Andrew married Christine, she was the school teacher at his first job with Dr. Page.  It was a requirement that Andrew be married in order to take this next job.  He starts to wonder about the constant cough many of the miners complain about.  He begins to take samples and investigate.  The miners and the miner’s board begin to question the need for research and they protest.  Andrew and Christine move to London and he opens a practice.  He’s struggling until he learns a lucrative career can be obtained by treating wealthy patients that really just want attention.

     Andrew didn’t realize he was really onto something with is research of the miner’s lung condition.  Later, another doctor and friend of Andrew’s begins to make progress with this research.  An accident happens and Andrew finally realizes he is fooling himself with treating the wealthy patients.  This isn’t what he took an oath to accomplish with his career as a doctor.  Christine has been trying to tell Andrew but he wasn’t ready to listen.  I thought this was interesting and good.  It's a look back at the problems in Scotland with the miners.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

     

110 min, Drama directed by King Vidor with Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Emlyn Williams, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Clare, Cecil Parker, Nora Swinburne, Edward Chapman.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 88% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5* with 227 reviews, TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5* out of 4* user rating 3.5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Abertillery, Glaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire, South Wales, Wales, UK; Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.  Initially Elizabeth Allan was announced in the role of Christine Manson, Rosalind Russell replaced her and Elizabeth sued MGM.  Vivien Leigh, Greer Garson and Geraldine Fitzgerald also tested for the role of Christine.  This film was nominated for Oscars as Best Picture, Best Actor, Direction and Adapted Screenplay.  Listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.  There is another film with the same title released in 2012.

The Book of Henry 2017

     Susan Carpenter works as a waitress at a diner with her friend Sheila.  Susan has two boys and she’s a single mom.  Henry is 11 years old and he is smart beyond his years.  He has set up investments and a portfolio for his mom and she doesn’t want to talk about it or think about it.  Henry says she can get a new car and she doesn’t need to work but she doesn’t listen to that either.  Peter is the younger son at 8 years old and he has trouble with bullies at school.  Henry tries to be there for Peter when he sees him on the ground.  Susan and Henry begin to learn that Christina next door living with her stepfather has a dangerous secret.  Henry is trying to gather information and find out how he and Susan can help Christina.

     Henry feels he is the one that needs to keep his mom and his brother together.  Susan plays video games and not Henry.  He’s much too serious for that and he doesn’t have time or want to make time.  I was surprised at the low reviews?  I thought this film was interesting and different from a lot of family centered films.  3 ½* (I liked this movie) 

          

105 min, Drama directed by Colin Trevorrow with Naomi Watts, Jaeden Lieberher, Jacob Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, Dean Norris, Lee Pace, Maddie Zieglr, Tonya Pinkins, Bobby Moynihan, Geraldine Hughes, Maxwell Simkins.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 20% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Metacritic 31 out of 100 with 31 critics 4.5 out of 10 with 35 reviews, The Guardian 1* out of 5* review by John Patterson.

Special Note:  Filmed in Croton-on-Hudson, Manhattan, Nyack and New York City, New York.  Jacob Tremblay was the boy character in Room of 2015.  The screenplay was reported to be 19 years old and it was more of a dark comedy.  The time period would be 1998?  Trevorrow didn’t want to make that type of film.  This is the first film for Maddie Ziegler as Christina.  Watts worked with Lieberher on St. Vincent of 2014.  Watts and Tremblay worked together on Shut In of 2016.  There is a mistake, Henry uses a payphone to make stock trades and he uses fractions.  US markets changed to decimals on April 9, 2001.  In a later, scene a doctor shows a scan on a tablet too advanced for pre-2001.  The budget was $10 million and box office was $4.4 million.  Release was planned for September 16, 2016 but Focus rescheduled release to June 16, 2017 finishing 13 at the box office.

Why Change Your Wife 1920

     This film is a sepia tinted silent movie with dialog boards between

sections of the film.  Robert and Beth Gordon are a married couple but they seem to have little in common.  Beth thinks she needs to be prim and proper now that she is a wife.  She endeavors to improve Robert’s mind and expand his appreciation for the finer things in live.  Robert wants to spice things up and he shops at a lingerie store to buy different clothing for Beth.  He meets Sally and she works at the shop.  Robert and Sally already know each other but they haven’t seen each other in a while.  Robert has tickets to a show but Beth wants to listen to a private recital of classical music played by Theodore Radinoff.  Robert takes Sally to the show instead.  Beth is very angry when Robert comes home smelling of perfume and she files for a divorce.

      This film is part of a Cecil B. DeMille trilogy about marriage.  The other films are Old Wives for New and Don’t Change Your Husband.  Beth quickly learns she has made a mistake and her divorce was too hasty.  Robert has already married Sally from the lingerie store.  Beth misses Robert very much and she decides to change her mind and her style.  Is it too late since Robert is married to Sally?  I was surprised that this was still good even with it's age and no dialogue?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Comedy directed by Cecil B. DeMille with Thomas Meighan, Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels, Theodore Kosloff, Sylvia Ashton, Clarence Geldart, Mayme Kelso, Lucien Littlefield, Edna Mae Cooper, Jane Wolfe.

Note:  Imdb 7.9 out of 10, 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Three Movie Buffs 3*out of 4*, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 6 reviews.

Special Note:  This film was written by DeMille’s brother William.  Hopalong Cassidy star William Boyd made his film debut in this movie.  Beth has a cat and Robert has a dog, they don’t get along either?  During this time period of 1920, women received voting rights and they became workers in the place of the men called to WWI.

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 1949

     This is the second film in a Cavalry trilogy.  The other films are Fort Apache of 1948 and Rio Grande of 1950.  The Indians wipe out George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Calvary at the Battle of Little Big Horn.  Everyone else involved with the Calvary are worried about the Indians.  Capt. Nathan Brittles is ordered out on patrol but he must take along Abby Allshard.  She is the wife of the Fort’s commanding officer.  Her niece Olivia Dandridge will also be evacuated with Abby for their safety.  Brittles is only a few days away from retirement.  Olivia is interested in Lt. Flint Cohill and 2^nd Lt. Ross Pennell.  This is causing conflict between the two men.  Olivia wears a yellow ribbon in her hair.  This is a sign that she has a beau in the Cavalry but she refuses to say if it is Flint or Ross?

     The title is from a popular US Military song used to keep marching cadence.  A lot of the imagery was based on the paintings and sculptures of Frederic Remington.  I thought the scenes in the Indian camp with Chief Pony That Walks were very unrealistic.  Everything and everyone is very clean and neat?  They can’t really be considered savages?  There is a mistake when the covered wagon is going down a steep hill?  There is a cable that you can see attached to the back to keep the wagon from overtaking the horses.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

104 min, Western directed by John Ford with John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, George O’Brien, Arthur Shields, Michael Dugan, Chief John Big Tree, Fred Graham.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 95% critic 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, TCM Leonard Maltin review 3.5* out of 4* user rating 3.5* out of 5*, Empire Online 5* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Monument Valley, Kanab, Moab, Mexican Hat, Utah; Kayenta, Red Mesa, Teec Nos Pos, Mexican Water, Arizona; Culver City, California.  John Wayne was 41 during filming and he received good reviews for his convincing portrayal of the 60 year-old Capt. Brittles.  Wayne thought his first Oscar nomination should be for this film and not Sands of Iwo Jima of 1949.  Cinematographer Winton C. Hoch filed a protest with the union about overtime during the scenes of lightning and thunder over the Calvary.  It was these shots that won him an Oscar.  One of the horses is a big sorrel stallion named Steel.  He was known for being quiet but flashy.  Ben Johnson rides him in this film but John Wayne rides him in Tall in the Saddle of 1944 and the Conqueror of 1956.  Gregory Peck in Yellow Sky of 1948 and Randolph Scott in the Tall T of 1957 also ride this horse.  Steel made the riders look good even if they weren't good!!  Clarence “Fat” Jones owned him and he ran a successful horse-renting stable in Hollywood.  Fat insisted that all the horses be rented from his stable if Steel was used in the production and Steel also had a horse double named Bingo.  Steel can't get all the scenes and he can't be allowed to get tired!!   

Planetarium 2016

     The setting of this film begins in Paris of the 1930’s before WWII.  Laura and Kate Barlow are sisters and they have a psychic act that is touring pre-war Europe.  They astound the audiences and curious spectators join them onstage.  They conduct a hypnotic séance with someone departed.  The sisters amaze Andre Korben and he believes they have real psychic abilities.  He is a wealthy film producer and he hires them for an ambitious film project.  Korben is interested in pushing the French film industry forward.  He hopes to capture even the faintest suggestion of a real paranormal manifestation.  War begins to creep in and Korben’s reputation is resting on this project.

     I’m not sure about a lot of things concerning this film?  One big problem includes why was it made?  It seems all over the place with many topics, characters and issues.  The reality of real or fake isn’t even answered?  Plus, what does the title have to do with the film?  The word planetarium means a building with images of stars, planet, and constellations projected on the inner surface of a dome?  (Beautifully filmed but  2*, I didn’t like this movie)

105 min, Drama directed by Rebecca Zlotowski with Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger, Amira Casar, Pierre Salvadori, Louis Garrel, David Bennent, Damien Chapelle, Jerzy Rougulski, Camille Lellouche, Christophe Odent.

Note:  Imdb 4.7 out of 10, 14% critic 11% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2*, Metacritic 44 out of 100 with 13 critics, Amazon 2.3* out of 5* with 5 reviews, The Guardian 4* of 5* review by Jordan Hoffman.

Special Note:  Filmed in Hauts-de-Seine and Paris France.  Lily-Rose Depp is the daughter of Johnny Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis.  Natalie Portman is 34 and Lily-Rose is 16, that is an 18 year difference in sisters?  Portman said she would never do nudity again after Hotel Chevalier of 2007 but there is some in this film.