90s Movie Review - Saving Private Ryan

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama/ Action
Runtime: 170 minutes
Year: 1998
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina

Description: Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper (Matt Damon) whose brothers have been killed in action.

Review: Director Steven Spielberg proofs again why he is one of the best directors in Hollywood, with this strong war movie. When three brothers of the Ryan family have died in battle, it’s decided that the fourth brother can go home. Problem is that this soldier is somewhere in France. To find Ryan, Captain John Miller is the person to find him, together with a team of eight men.
The movie is divided in three parts: the first part is the landing of the American troops on Omaha Beach on june 6th 1944, D-Day. The second part is the search for private Ryan. The third part is what the soldiers do when they have actually found Ryan.
Especially that opening scene is very violent and shocking and it’s definitely one of the best opening scenes in movie history. Not only that first scene makes this movie good. The screenplay is intelligent and the camera work is fantastic. And also the acting. Tom Hanks does exactly what we expect from him: an excellent job! The interaction between him and his team and later also with Damon’s characters is impressive and believable. Smaller roles by Dennis Farina, Vin Diesel, Ted Danson and Paul Giamatti are also worth mentioning.
The movie won several Academy Awards, one being best director. Totally deserved. It’s a fact that “Saving Private Ryan” is one of Spielberg’s best, and he already made so many great ones.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

TV Review: "Fargo" Season 2

Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime

Year: 2015

Number of episodes: 10

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Bookime Woodbine, Zahn McClare, Cristin Milioti, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller, Brad Garrett, Jeffrey Donovan, Kieran Culkin, Adam Arkin, Nick Offerman

Description: Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota

Review: After a great first season of“Fargo”, a second season had to happen. There is a new storyline, new characters, but you can still see the Coen Brother’s touch.

This season is set in the late ‘70s, where cop Lou Solverson (Molly’s - from season 1 - dad in his younger years) tracks down a family who is involved in a very complex conspiracy. The married couple Ed and Peggy Blumquist, get themselves into a series of crimes and blunders. Like season one, it’s about the everyday man who accidentally walks the criminal path.

The perspective changes during the series. There is not one leading character and we get to know something about every character of importance.

Patrick Wilson plays Lou Solverson, the younger version of the character Keith Carradine played in season one. Besides dealing with a difficult case, he is also worrying over his wife who has cancer. Staying professional in his job and also preparing for the possibility he might be a single dad soon. Wilson is very strong is his role. Ted Danson plays his father in law and also the sheriff. His character is calm and soothing, yet a very believable sheriff. Kirsten Dunst is probably the strongest performer in this season. We see her as Peggy Blumquist, a role we’ve never seen her in before. She really shines.

Season 2 was good, but it never lives up to season 1. The storylines are less interesting and there aren’t any characters that are as memorable as for example Lorne Malvo, Lester Nygaard and Molly Solverson from season 1. Dunst character comes close and so do Mike Milligan and Indian Hanzee, but season 1 of “Fargo” was way better.

Video of the Week (31)

I'm a huge "CSI" fan and this video makes me a bit jealous. Lindsay Wheeler got to meet the cast, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Awesome for her!!

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 145: Big Miracle

Director: Ken Kwapis

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 107 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root, Rob Riggle

Description: In small town Alaska, news reporter Adam (John Krasinski) recruits his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Drew Barrymore)- a Greenpeace volunteer - on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Review: ‘Everybody loves whales’. This is a message given a lot in “Big Miracle”. And people have been fascinated by these giant mammals for centuries. The movie is based on a true story, about three whales who trapped in the ice in Alaska in 1988.

Lead role is for John Krasinski, who plays reporter Adam Carlson, who happens to find the whales who are trapped. Soon the whales are worldwide news. To save the whales, a path has to be created to set them free in the ocean. Adam and his ex-girlfriend Rachel, who is a Greenpeace activist, try everything to save them. But it costs money and who is willing to help out?

The story is touching, but the scenario doesn’t really succeed in that area. The base of the film is historically correct but it’s still a movie. Maybe the movie would have been a bit better if it weren’t a film. Some storyline take your attention away from the actual happenings and you really don’t care about all that.

“Big Miracle” does have enough to offer in the end. It will keep the attention of young and old and it was an enjoyable film. It would have been better to keep the focus on the whales, because everybody loves whales.

Rating: 3/ 5