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The Manchurian Candidate (1962), a review by Antares

The Manchurian Candidate





Year: 1962
Film Studio: United Artists, M.C. Productions
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Length: 126 Min.

Director
John Frankenheimer (1930)

Writing
Richard Condon (1915)...Novel
George Axelrod (1922)...Screenplay

Producer
George Axelrod (1922)
John Frankenheimer (1930)
Howard W. Koch (1916)

Cinematographer
Lionel Lindon (1905)

Music
David Amram (1930)...Composer

Stars
Frank Sinatra (1915) as Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey (1928) as Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh (1927) as Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury (1925) as Mrs. Iselin
Henry Silva (1928) as Chunjin
James Gregory (1911) as Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish (1935) as Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver (1913) as Sen. Thomas Jordan

Review
       John Frankenheimer had spent his first decade as a director doing live dramas on television, most notably on Playhouse 90. His transition to mainstream film brought him quick acclaim following his success with The Birdman of Alcatraz. The Manchurian Candidate would prove that Frankenheimer would be a force to be reckoned with as a filmmaker and innovator over the next decade of his career. Based on the novel by Richard Condon, the plot revolves around a platoon of G.I.'s captured by the Communists during the Korean War. In a span of just one week they are brainwashed by a Chinese doctor, menacingly portrayed by Khigh Dhiegh, who is best remembered as the sinister Wo Fat from Hawaii 5-O. One of the soldiers (Laurence Harvey) has been programmed to kill on command and the platoon is returned to the front lines, with a pre-planted story to explain their disappearance for the previous week.

       After the war, Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) is having nightmares about the week in captivity, although he has no true memory of the brainwashing. He contacts Sergeant Shaw (Harvey) and learns that another soldier in the platoon has contacted Shaw about similar nightmares. Will Marco unravel the mystery before Shaw is triggered by his Communist handlers to perform the assassination that he has been programmed to complete? You'll have to watch the movie to find the answer.

       One interesting side note; this movie was released just one year before the assassination of President Kennedy, the one time Senator from Massachusetts. In one scene in the film, Shaw (Harvey) as the assassin is in Madison Square Garden prior to a political party convention. As he is walking across the convention floor with his hidden rifle, we can see the placards of the State delegations. It's a tracking shot of Shaw as he makes his way to complete his mission. Just as he passes below the Massachusetts placard and as the other state placards disappear from the shot, the scene changes. Was it prophetic or just coincidence?


Review Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) on July 1st, 2010)

Moneyball, a review by Antares

Moneyball (2011) 2.5/5 - I'm usually pretty forgiving when it comes to films about my all time favorite sport, baseball. Hell, I even have a soft spot for such tremendously bad baseball films such as The Babe Ruth Story, because I'm a sucker for the romanticism of the game itself. But when it comes to Moneyball, I have to draw the line. Now most could say that a baseball film which deals with the statistical aspect of the game, shouldn't warrant a big screen endeavor. But due to the enormous impact on the game caused by Billy Beane's use of Sabrmatics, I found it a plausible idea for a screenplay, but only for a 30 for 30 episode on ESPN. Others could also say that the thought of such a film would be boring as hell, but when the story is dealing with Beane's attempt at using the 'science' of statistics, the film fires on all cylinders. So what is the explanation for throwing in snippets of Beane's family life? It completely altered the mood and pacing of the film, and made for a very uneven viewing experience. And on top of this, you have one of the most anti-climactic endings in a sports film ever. I can't understand how this banal film could have been nominated as Best Picture.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 22nd, 2012)

Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Second Season, a review by addicted2dvd

Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Second Season: Uncut (2005/United States)

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Stars:
Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
Katherine Heigl as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens
Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
T. R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber

Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Bonus Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned

I just finished watching season 2 of this series. As I said before... this is definitely one of my favorite medical dramas. This is the first full season of the series. As season 1 only had 9 episodes. And it pulled off a great season with ease. I especially enjoyed the couple of 2 part episodes that is in this season. Especially the one where they have to deal with an unexploded bomb inside of a patient. That is about as a suspenseful of an episode as you can get.




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on November 26th, 2011)