Don Movie Reviews

The one character we should have sympathy for is the daughter, but she has no redeeming qualities. She is deeply psychologically disturbed and wants to have sex with her father. She's violent and has severe anger problems. The father should have recognized this - but seems unaware all the way to the end. It's unbelievable that the daughter wasn't forced to have counseling. In the movie, it's never even considered as a means to help the girl.

The film-makers seem to believe that receiving a good beating or giving a good beating is the way to solve deep rooted psychological problems. A notion in itself which is very disturbing.

The main thrust of the movie is that a group of combat veteran marines invade a Japanese held island. At first they make quick progress. But then they are met by a rocket barrage that goes on for hours. The advance comes to a stop, the rockets continue. The main part of the movie involves the Marines trying to find the location of the rockets so they can pass the info on to the Navy's carrier based attack planes.

The ending is predictable, but how they get there isn't.

As a side note, Jack Webb (Sargent Friday from Dragnet) plays a war correspondent.

Director Johnathan Kaplan's (Unlawful Entry) "Truck Turner" is a great part of the blaxploitation genre and of action films in general. Isaac Hayes makes a great action hero and I wish he had made more films like this. Isaac and his band also provide for one of the funkiest soundtracks ever, maybe more funky than the one he composed for "Shaft". The film is exciting from beginning to end and Truck finds time to romance his lady and to make some jokes in between. One of the funniest scenes is when Truck and his partner go to pick up a prisoner from a military base and they have to break through the check point. When the security guards start shooting at Truck's car, he hopes they shoot his left tire out because he needs a new one real bad. Guess what, not only do they shoot the left tire out but they have to put the new one on for him! The rest of the time you will be laughing when you hear all the words that Nichelle Nichols has learned since she was Lt. Uhura on Star Trek!

*Also recommended with Isaac Hayes: Escape From New York (1981) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and if you can find it, Three Tough Guys (1974) which also stars Fred "Black Caesar" Williamson

This 1957 film directed by Nathan Juran, has the virtue of being based on a novel, "Hellcats of the Sea," written by a couple of Admirals, Charles A. Lockwood (played by Maurice Manson in the film) and Hans Christian Adamson. While it owes its place in cinematic history to the fact it is the only film in which Ron and Nancy Reagan appeared together, the strength of "Hellcats of the Navy" is the treatment of command decisions and the morality of leadership. This is a movie that you would have thought would have been produced during or shortly after World War II, but since it deals with secret operations it is not a story the Navy would have passed on until years later. This is not a great WW2 submarine film like "Destination Tokyo," but it is not a bad one by any means. Oh, and the scenes between Ron and Nancy? Well, the romantic sub-plot is pretty minimal and their scenes end up being minor curiosities that are somewhat flat when compared to the shots of them just looking at each other during their years in the White House.

And with good reason. While Ionesco is one of the great absurdist playwrights, his sensibility is decidedly European. This means that the sense of humor expressed in the original play would very likely fall on deaf (American) ears, to a large extent. What the screenwriter has done is to essentially Americanize the dialogue, making it truly hilarious in many scenes.

And of course it helps to have a great cast. The two leads, Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, are perfect for their roles, especially Mostel who is funny enough to make you micturate in your trousers, if you catch my drift. Seen first as a man overly concerned with appearance and manners, he descends, in the course of the film, to the level of the titular creature.

The story is of a small town which is beset by a bizarre plague, if one can call it that--the transforming of humans into rhinos. Ionesco was commenting on the radical changes occurring in society as the Cold War became a reality--meaning, more than anything else, as people had much more to be afraid of than they did before. Fear makes us lose our rationality, become less human. Even become rhinoceri.

This is a really funny film that is just as good now--maybe even better--than it was when originally released in 1974. In supporting roles, Percy Rodriquez and Joe Silver are especially good--staunch representatives of corporate America. Karen Black does a great job as a sexy woman who Stanley (Gene Wilder) works with and is smitten with and eventually anguishes over as he is the sole remaining human in a town full of rhinos.

Much, much better than you might think. Definitely recommended.

This is a good adaptation of the absurdist play by Eugene Ionesco and changes the setting from a small French town to a big US city. Wonderful performances by Gene Wilder as Stanley and Karen Black as Daisy; and a standout performance from Zero Mostel as Stanley's friend John. Tom O'Horgan's direction is definitley unique, making it feel as though the viewer is watching a stage play. The only drawback is the bad '70s music that doesn't fit.

The DVD has some great extras including an interview with Tom O'Horgan, an interview with Zero Mostel, information about Eugene Ionesco, and the original movie trailer, to name a few. The trailer gives an idea of how the studio marketed this film as a comedy, even though it views more along the lines of a drama or a very, very dark comedy.

Having read the play in college, I enjoyed this adaptation. If you enjoy a movie that makes you think, then this is definitely the movie for you.

The film is strangely up to date and topical too, with a kind of virus sweeping New York (IIRC). It's a stagey piece, with the two main actors providing almost all the energy. New Yorkers, being New Yorkers, have varying responses to crises, which is part of the fun.

And the virus itself is a barely disguised version of what really has gripped our nation since this play was written. Everyone should see it at least once.

Well, maybe not everyone.

The story is a little different, but much the same. Richie Rich wishes that he was never born and it comes true, not by an angel though, but by a wish machine. And then realizes how wonderfull life reall is... Also things that make this movie not so good is the fact that it has cheezy dialogue(even for a G rating, they could have got better dialogue),bad effects,and a mediocre take on "Its a Wonderfull Life" chances are children will like this playfull romp. If they can't sit through and appreciate "Its a wonderfull Life" maybe they'll appreciate this, even if you can't.

God Bless ~Amy

Volume 3: (Disc 1)

The Professionals (3): An agent in Prague has suddenly vanished. John Drake arrives in Prague, posing as a member of the embassy staff, his mission is to locate the missing man. Very quickly he is taken in, and compromised by a crafty operative, and his lovely accomplice. Drawn into their trap, Drake learns the fate of the missing man, and then takes steps to save him before it is too late.

A Date With Doris (2): Drake is in an unspecified Latin American location to extract an agent in jeopardy, and then rendezvous with the submarine "Doris". His cover is as a reporter sent to interview a prominent General. Things just do not go smoothly for Drake, and he always seems off balance. He barely concludes this messy affair, and is only successful because of luck, and some very fortuitous assistance. He is also guilty of a major error, when he foolishly allows himself to be followed to his "safe house". Count yourself lucky this time, John.

The Mirror's New (3): This one keeps you guessing. Edmund Bearce, a member of the British Embassy staff, chooses murder as a way to cancel a personal debt. Preparing to dispose of the body, he has an accident, and is knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he has a dead body on his hands, and a lost day to account for. Bearce reappears, but can't explain what happened. A suspicious Drake investigates and uncovers a secret life, and much more.

Colony Three (5): Easily the most thought provoking episode on the disc. The plot is similar to an episode of "The Prisoner" or "The Avengers", skirting the edges of credibility. Drake takes the place of a communist sympathizer, just prior to his defection to the Soviets. After arriving in Soviet territory, Drake and two other defectors take a long train ride to a secret location. They arrive at a place named "Hamden", also known as the "village" (sound familiar?). The phony English town is actually a training ground where Soviet agents learn to assimilate into British culture. Drake penetrates security, gathers as much information as he can, and then it is time to leave. This one has a bit of everything, torture, gadgets, death and a tragic end.

Volume 4: (Disc 2)

It's Up To the Lady (2): Sometimes Drake is just not on his game, and this is one of those times. A British diplomat intending to defect vanishes. A rendezvous with his wife (Sylvia Syms), will take place in Greece, near the Albanian border. Drake is on the scene, to try and get the wayward diplomat to return to Britain. Underestimating the local opposition, he is nearly drowned, loses his charges, and carelessly gets himself shot. Topping it all off, he learns once again what it is like to be a pawn in the game.

What Ever Happened to George Foster? (3): Bernard Lee ("M" from the Bond films) guest stars, as Lord Ammandford, a wealthy industrialist who seeks to destabilize the government of a fictitious South American country. In addition, the Lord is a man interested in keeping a mysterious past a secret from a probing John Drake. This is more of a straight detective story.

The Galloping Major (2): Sent to Africa, at the request of the President (Henry Marshall) of an unnamed country, Drake finds himself the pawn in a political power struggle. Makes interesting viewing in light of historical events, but not a great story.

The Colonel's Daughter (4): In India, classified information is being leaked to the enemy. Drake is looking into the activities of a butterfly collecting Colonel, and his daughter, living in a house in the country. Soon, Drake is up a tree, in the middle of the jungle, maintaining surveillance. Later, he uncharacteristically emerges victorious in a three on one brawl, on his way to uncovering those involved in the secret pipeline. Drake finds that the Colonel's daughter is definitely Daddy's girl.

Writing is critical to a good story, and some of the plots of these international exploits just do not quite pass muster. Drake is simply not at his best, making some near fatal mistakes. Perhaps being an operative largely on his own in a foreign land, puts Drake at too much of a disadvantage. He doesn't quite have the fire we have seen before. A few good episodes, but not enough for a ringing endorsement of this set. Give A&E positive marks for addressing a previous complaint, by upgrading to four episodes per disc. Fans of Danger Man, may find my other reviews of interest.

As noted above, probably of greatest interest to McGoohan fans will be the episode "The Colony", as the origins of "The Village" are plain for all to see. However, my favorite has to be "What Happened to George Foster", where McGoohan's Drake takes on a millionaire Lord (played by Bernard Lee, no less!) and risks his career, not to mention his life, in a private vendetta that foreshadows #6's battles with the assorted #2's of "The Prisoner".

This is certainly not light-hearted "Avengers"-style material. McGoohan gets roughed up in just about every episode, and there aren't any charming eccentrics or snappy gadgets. But it is nearly incredible that such high quality LeCarre-like material was shown on a weekly basis. Truely, it was a Golden Age.

The movie tries to examine issues of power and corruption. Unfortunately, the plot is so stale and obvious that it fails to add anything new to this arena. Spader and Cusack are fine, but Imogen Stubbs, as the woman they both love, is terrible. She's a Brit playing an American, but her accent creeps in far too often, which is a huge distraction. I'm a big fan of John Cusack, but this movie is definitely one of his lesser accomplishments.