pmartin-14

There have been only a few television shows (and movies) that have compelled me to recommend them highly to others - "Foyle's War", "The Sandbaggers," and "Horatio Hornblower" come quickly to mind. I'm adding the Jericho series to the list, based on the two installments that I've thus far been able to view, "A Pair of Jagged Claws" and "The Killing of Johnny Swan".

Both episodes were well-crafted and very atmospheric. The acting, as expected given the actors involved, has been outstanding, and the mysteries themselves - both of which touch upon key social issues - have been intriguing. I do agree that the music can distract attention and cover over the dialog. However, for me it was a minor nuisance. Overall, these two episodes have been wonderful to watch, and I wish more television series and movies were as well-constructed and well-acted. I am waiting rather impatiently for the US versions of "To Murder and Create" and "The Hollow Men" to become available, and hope there will be even more installments of this excellent mystery series available in the near future.

Brief review: Man. Richard Curtis has some serious issues.

Extended review: You're kidding me, right? A "romance" movie? I mean, really, just how long would it take you to drop dead from alcohol poisoning after playing the "Drink Whenever a Comment is Made About a Woman's Weight" game? 10 minutes? I also thought that the (insert cute animal) known as the "older man, much younger woman" romance was officially beaten, buried, and reincarnated into an entirely different thing (I think it became a teapot, but I need to check on that)? I also enjoyed how practically all the female characters tore each other down - the character's comment about her "fat" and "ugly" sister is but one example. Whee! Self-loathing is neat!

Please. I don't expect romance movies to be oh-my-gosh!-gushy and fake self-actualizing. However, when a movie purports to be about romance but uses such negative depictions of women to portray "romance," I'm disappointed and more than a bit irritated.

If you want a good romantic movie that won't make you totally vomit due to either "drinking game" alcohol poisoning or, conversely, saccharine overload, try "Amelie", "Chocolat," "The Princess Bride," or (a bit on the groovy-weird side) "Harold and Maude."

Don't believe the hype. Don't let the (touching, actually) intro voice-over fool you. Find something that won't make you feel all icky at the end.

I am a woman who appreciates war movies. Good war movies, that is. What I consider to be well-made war movie traits are an adherence to fact, correct use of language (e.g., Italian characters speaking in Italian and, bonus points, acted by Italians), a compelling story, and lack of jingoism. Oh yes, and NO "LOVE TRIANGLES" (note to movie makers: not all women need romantic subplots to watch a war movie. I mean, really, a "love triangle?" Millions of people were being slaughtered. Doesn't that fact make any stupid "love triangles" utterly irrelevant? If you really want to attract women, perhaps have war movies that focus on women who made a difference.)

A few war movies that I've appreciated that utilize some or all of these traits are "The Longest Day" (my entrance into war movies), "Band of Brothers," "The Tuskegee Airmen," "Kelly's Heroes" (Donald Sutherland. Priceless.), "Life is Beautiful," and "Breaker Morant." This movie, unfortunately, did not have any of these traits, save for the use of native language. Utterly pointless story and annoying characters. I can even make an argument for blatant false advertising - if you watched the movie, did you see the tanks or spitfires that are depicted on the DVD cover? Yeah, me neither. Although the sea plane was cool....

Save your time. Save your money. There are countless other movies that are much more deserving. "Kagemusha," for example....