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Miracle at St.Anna, a review by Rich

Miracle at St.Anna



From Touchstone Pictures comes the powerful and uplifting World War II epic Miracle At St. Anna, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee (The Inside Man). Stationed in Tuscany, Italy, four members of the U.S. Army's all-black 92nd Infantry Division, the Buffalo Soldiers, are trapped behind enemy lines after one of them risks his life to save a traumatized Italian boy. Separated from their unit, they find themselves in a remote Tuscan village where they experience the tragedy and the triumph of war. Based on the highly praised novel by James McBride, and filled with exceptional battle scenes and action, it's a gripping and inspiring story that will touch the goodness within us all and never let go.

Overly long but surprisingly good film, there were a number of positives for a film I began watching with little expectations.
Firstly the story is excellent and unpredictable, I may even invest in the book to delve into the characters more, and it has been adapted to film competently. The settings are perfect, once you accept that a few mistakes were made concerning some of the modern day background signs, roadways and markings which have slipped into the movie. It is entertaining and moving all in one, Omar Benson Miller is absolutely perfect in his role as the BFG soldier protecting the young boy, and I wonder if he is the new Forest Whitaker?
I am sure this will be described by many as a poignant film detailing the sacrifices and contributions made by African American soldiers during WWII, but avoiding the politics of the issue I purely enjoyed it on its entertainment value.
 

(From Riches Random Reviews on February 10th, 2009)

The Incredible Hulk, a review by Jon

The Incredible Hulk
3 out of 5

Ok, I know a lot didn't like Ang Lee's The Hulk, but I thought it was one of the bravest and best comic adaptations so far. It just needed more mindless action. Well, we get that here in spades. Especially the mindless part.

It was a shame they seemed to quietly disregard the first film, as it was an excellent basis to start from. While the action with The Hulk is suitably relentless and rage-filled, the action with Bruce Banner on the run is too over the top, both thanks to Transporter director Letterier. For instance, the first act was a nice plot with Banner trying to keep his cool while falling for the local girl and fighting the local thugs. It made perfect sense for that to be reason enough to Hulk-out and cause a depressed Banner to go back on the run, after demolishing the town, but no; We have to have the stupid drop-of-blood coincidence bullshit, leading to all out fucking war. Nice cameo from Stan Lee, otherwise, too noisy and muddled. Good idea, screwed up.

In the cast, they had great actors capable of pulling off the balance between drama and action, but instead they drowned them in noise. Norton was especially good at showing Banner as scared by his own memories.

The effects were very good (again, nothing wrong with the "don't make me Ang Lee" version) and the middle action sequence particularly Incredible (nice documentary style camera work) and the final battle are great fun, with cute Hulk-isms (police car boxing gloves! Thunderclap! It speaks!), but this story deserves better. It is at heart, such a sad character and is capable of Frankenstein style empathy, but a brief musical interlude and funny cameo from Lou Ferrigno is the closest I think we will ever get to the charm of the TV series, or comic for that matter. Bruce Banner may soon be lost to a complicated multi-film arc and the chance to make a really good stand-alone version has passed.

It needed bigger, greener balls, but The Hulk was a far better film.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on June 1st, 2009)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek: Voyager
5.06 Timeless
Writer: Brannon Braga (Screenwriter), Joe Menosky (Screenwriter), Rick Berman (Original Material By), Brannon Braga (Original Material By), Joe Menosky (Original Material By)
Director: LeVar Burton
Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), Christine Harnos (Tessa Omond), LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice (voice))

Voyager's 100th episode. Fifteen years in the future, Harry Kim tries to fix a mistake in the past which cost the crew of Voyager their lives, by sending back a message through time.
A good time-travel story with a nice conclusion. We also get the chance to see Geordi LaForge from Next Generation as the captain of a Galaxy class starship.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on November 29th, 2011)