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The Green Berets, a review by Rich

The Green Berets



They were crack troops skilled in the techniques of unconditional warfare, the soldiers of the Special Forces - and the focus of Hollywood's first feature film about the Vietnam War: 'The Green Berets'.
John Wayne stars in and co-directs this red-white-and-blue depiction of America's Vietnam effort, based on Robin Moore's novel. Wayne wrote to President Lyndon Johnson to request military assistance for the film - and got more than enough firepower to create an impressive spectacle.
Its soldiers fit the tried-and-true mold of earlier Wayne war classics like 'Back to Bataan' and 'Sands of Iwo Jima'.  Their heroics are timeless.

Flag waving support for the Vietnam war, totally unrealistic, ignoring the true horrors of the conflict, with Wayne acting like this was a Western.
The battle scenes were impressively shot and intricate, but alas again childish in there portrayal that people die heroically with little fuss and bullets miss the good guys.
Heavy going, lacklustre casting, crap dialogue, overlong and way too political for my taste.
 

(From Riches Random Reviews on June 23rd, 2009)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, a review by Rich

On Her Majesty's Secret Service



When his usual intelligence sources fail, James Bond (Agent 007) enlists the aid of crime boss Draco to track down Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of the evil SPECTRE organization. The trail leads to the mountains of Switzerland, where Bond goes undercover in Blofeld''s hi-tech headquarters. He encounters a bevy of seductive women, but none more beautiful than Draco''s daughter, Tracy, who wins 007 over with her fervent independence, caustic wit and love of adventure. Bond pledges his eternal devotion to her, but there are more immediate concerns: Blofeld is poised to unleash horrific germ warfare weaponry that will endanger every living thing on earth. Bond''s adventures hurl him through artillery-laden ski pursuits, and a dramatic avalanche drive

Unlike a stereotypical Bond, this was very close to the book, Lazenby was a bit one-dimensional but in a film with a gritty plot, actual spy work, emotions and vulnerability, it worked ok. Perhaps Georges downfall for his future as 007 was simply he isn't hard enough, he lacks a certain edge when it comes to physicality and presence.
Kojak is not Blofeld, I much preferred Donald Pleasance in that role. Diana Rigg a passable Bond girl.
This was back to basics with Bond having to save the world with wit, charm and intelligence, and very few gadgets to assist, which is in line with Flemings original book. The music is one of the better offerings in the whole series, and the stunts and effects do not suffer overly from dating. The dark ending I thought could have been worked better, and as we know we now have the next offering with Connerys return to avenge Blofeld.
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on March 9th, 2009)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Rick

An Invitation to Romance

Pete was right when he called her irritating. Holy Crap - JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!!! I wonder how many takes they had to do to get some of these scenes. 

Not only was Ray taking over for Fraser but he was also having a 2 way conversation with the wolf! 

A solid episode.
My Rating:


(From "Due South" marathon on July 27th, 2009)