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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 17, 12:58pm
Post #27 of 31
(345 views)
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The new Netflix doc about the London subway bombings of 7/7/2005. We were curious to see if they'd show the crowd evacuating from Kings Cross station, so that we could try to pick out ourselves and our two younger kids.
We never noticed any panic, although the roads were filled with cars and busses that had just stopped in place. They had blocked all in-country cell calls, but we managed to call my father-in-law in Massachusetts, and he called our daughter in Edinburgh to let her know the trains weren't running but we were okay. We spent most of the day in a little cafe where the owner let us take over a far corner, sitting on our luggage; she apologized that she didn't have all her meals, she wouldn't be getting her deliveries today...
We finally made it back to our hotel for the night, via a back entrance: the front entrance was blocked off because of the bus blowing up in nearby Tavistock Square. The next morning we were able to get the train north, and followed the news from there.
It was interesting to see how the police were responding and watch the forensic work involved. The show filled in a lot of what we'd missed hearing about, that first day, and we hadn't remembered about the follow-up bombing attempts.
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"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Meneldor
Doriath
Jul 21, 1:51am
Post #28 of 31
(264 views)
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(1976)
Another WW2 suspense/drama/action film with an all-star cast, it's pretty good, but less likeable than Guns of Navarone. IMO, the story's biggest problem is that the protagonists are German soldiers and despite being humanized in the script, it's still hard to root for them. Michael Caine does a good German accent, but his face is so recognizable that I have a hard time seeing him as anything but British. Ditto for Donald Pleasance, who at least manages to get some Blofeld vibes going in his role as the Reichsfuhrer. Donald Sutherland is a convincing Irishman and thoroughly despicable to me. Jenny Agutter's character is such an idiotic fool that I couldn't muster any sympathy for her. Larry Hagman is very nearly a self-parody as a Texan colonel shortly before taking on the role of JR Ewing on Dallas. Pacing is pretty slow and heavy on dialog until the action finally starts, which is pretty good aside from the fact that nobody actually aims their guns. Firing from the hip is a waste of ammo, people, guns have sights for a reason. Use them.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107
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Meneldor
Doriath
Mon, 1:53am
Post #30 of 31
(102 views)
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(1977)
IMO this is still the ultimate epic WW2 movie. Nothing else came close to matching its realism, accuracy, and depth until Saving Private Ryan. And the all-star cast is mind-boggling. Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Elliot Gould, Ryan O'Neal, Edward Fox, Colin Farrell, Maximilian Schell, Denholm Elliot, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Liv Ullmann, Robert Redford, John Ratzenberger, directed by Richard Attenborough, screenplay by William Goldman based on a book by Cornelius Ryan. As for the story, it's true, with a minimum of Hollywood dramatizations. The Dutch civilians move me to tears every time. Also, John Addison's score is one of the all-time greats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP34btpjeok
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107
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CuriousG
Gondolin
Mon, 4:46pm
Post #31 of 31
(25 views)
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I saw that when it was released
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and being a teenager, I was used to movies having a couple big stars you were supposed to focus on, and pay less attention to the rest, so having all those stars was overwhelming (but still a good thing). I remember so many things going wrong, such as airlifting supplies that land in the wrong place, and various technical problems in assembling things on the battlefield. It made war more real and gritty and less "shoot from the hip and you'll win but your best friend dies because that's how we make war real."
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