Squirrel-5
Joined Nov 1999
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Ratings1.7K
Squirrel-5's rating
Reviews25
Squirrel-5's rating
This undoubtedly the best space movie I've seen since Apollo 13.. and I've seen quite a number, as I've been interested in studying manned spaceflight for well over 33 years. I've listened to hundreds of hours of archival mission audio too.
I loved how it put a human face on the Apollo 11 mission and the life of Neil and his earlier missions. From his X-15 flights to Gemini VIII and Apollo 11 This is meant to be a biopic and not a film about the moon landing. The filmmakers took some liberties, but this is commonplace in Hollywood.
The film as the title implies, is about the man, not the mission. This has led to some controversy, most notably (I'm speaking as an American here) over how the planting of the US flag was downplayed in the film, but Neil Armstrong's own family defended this, saying he would have approved since this was a human achievement, not solely an American one. The plaque left on the moon said "We came in peace for ALL Mankind" (emphasis added)
Half a million people from around the globe, including my grandfather, made this mission possible, from tracking stations in Australia, (we'd not have been able to watch in on TV without their help) to German rocket scientists secretly brought to the US after World War II. Neil was always a humble man an eschewed the limelight intensely in his later years, and you can tell that from the film.
I saw others complain abut the jump cuts and scenes that made people dizzy. I thought this made the film more authentic. I studied the Gemini VIII mission closely and knew much about the incident featured in the film. It is intense but made almost me feel like I was actually there.
The musical score was incredible and had some tributes to many other films including the "Blue Danube Waltz" scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey. The inclusion of a theremin is perfect and gives it an ethereal spacey quality. The sound director did a great job at showing that sound cannot travel through space by having dead silence at parts.
The film has some obvious flaws but did a great job at telling the story from a perspective not seen before.
Go see it! From all I've read on Neil Armstrong, I learned a new thing or two about him.
I loved how it put a human face on the Apollo 11 mission and the life of Neil and his earlier missions. From his X-15 flights to Gemini VIII and Apollo 11 This is meant to be a biopic and not a film about the moon landing. The filmmakers took some liberties, but this is commonplace in Hollywood.
The film as the title implies, is about the man, not the mission. This has led to some controversy, most notably (I'm speaking as an American here) over how the planting of the US flag was downplayed in the film, but Neil Armstrong's own family defended this, saying he would have approved since this was a human achievement, not solely an American one. The plaque left on the moon said "We came in peace for ALL Mankind" (emphasis added)
Half a million people from around the globe, including my grandfather, made this mission possible, from tracking stations in Australia, (we'd not have been able to watch in on TV without their help) to German rocket scientists secretly brought to the US after World War II. Neil was always a humble man an eschewed the limelight intensely in his later years, and you can tell that from the film.
I saw others complain abut the jump cuts and scenes that made people dizzy. I thought this made the film more authentic. I studied the Gemini VIII mission closely and knew much about the incident featured in the film. It is intense but made almost me feel like I was actually there.
The musical score was incredible and had some tributes to many other films including the "Blue Danube Waltz" scene from 2001 A Space Odyssey. The inclusion of a theremin is perfect and gives it an ethereal spacey quality. The sound director did a great job at showing that sound cannot travel through space by having dead silence at parts.
The film has some obvious flaws but did a great job at telling the story from a perspective not seen before.
Go see it! From all I've read on Neil Armstrong, I learned a new thing or two about him.
Having been a longtime summer visitor to the island, I greatly was eager to see a movie filmed there. This film delivers, but would likely be appreciated more by those who have visited the island.
It has a good story, (I will forego a long-winded plot summary as there are a plethora of these already) and the dialogue in the film contains many references to classic poetry and prose. This is a low-budget independent film contains a lot of drama, somewhat of a rarity in Hollywood blockbusters these days so the average film-goer or most people under 40 are not likely to appreciate it.. If you're into Michael Bay style action packed movies or perennial reboots of comic book superhero movies, or revenue generating mainstream films, this is not for you.
The cinematography of the film is excellent which is what I'd expect from a veteran like Andrzej Bartkowiak, who worked alongside the great Sidney Lument.. This is John Shea's second film as a director after his earlier film Southie whom he also had a bit part in.
I seldom go out on a limb to recommend a film but this is one I would suggest watching. Though it still boils down to the Latin idiom my grandmother taught me.. "De gustibus non est disputandum" (No accounting for taste)
It has a good story, (I will forego a long-winded plot summary as there are a plethora of these already) and the dialogue in the film contains many references to classic poetry and prose. This is a low-budget independent film contains a lot of drama, somewhat of a rarity in Hollywood blockbusters these days so the average film-goer or most people under 40 are not likely to appreciate it.. If you're into Michael Bay style action packed movies or perennial reboots of comic book superhero movies, or revenue generating mainstream films, this is not for you.
The cinematography of the film is excellent which is what I'd expect from a veteran like Andrzej Bartkowiak, who worked alongside the great Sidney Lument.. This is John Shea's second film as a director after his earlier film Southie whom he also had a bit part in.
I seldom go out on a limb to recommend a film but this is one I would suggest watching. Though it still boils down to the Latin idiom my grandmother taught me.. "De gustibus non est disputandum" (No accounting for taste)
I just attended a screening of this at the Nantucket Film Festival and had a chance to meet 3 of the students featured in the movie. It is by far the best film I've seen at this year's festival.
The film portrays many immigrant students but concentrates on several who are from Burma (Myanmar), the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Pakistan and Poland. The film gives a look at their academic, social, and family life switching back and forth between each. The film gives a great look at how immigrants struggle to fit in and some of the culture shock that can occur.
Given the subject matter being in the spotlight in US politics at this time, this film will shed light on the subject in more ways than the news media is able to. I predict this film will be a strong contender for the "Best Documentary" Academy Award.
The film portrays many immigrant students but concentrates on several who are from Burma (Myanmar), the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Pakistan and Poland. The film gives a look at their academic, social, and family life switching back and forth between each. The film gives a great look at how immigrants struggle to fit in and some of the culture shock that can occur.
Given the subject matter being in the spotlight in US politics at this time, this film will shed light on the subject in more ways than the news media is able to. I predict this film will be a strong contender for the "Best Documentary" Academy Award.