LOVES ABIDING JOY

Western drama

BACKGROUND
From the Hallmark Channel:
“This made-for-TV film will be presented during the upcoming Christmas season. It is the fourth installment of Janette Oke's award-winning, best-selling, faith-based Western novel of Missie and Willie LeHaye and their journey of faith and survival in the frontier.”

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Logan Bartholomew: Willie LaHaye, homesteader
Erin Cottrell: his wife Missie
Dale Midkiff: her father Clark
John Laughlin: the town mayor and land baron Horace
James Tupper: former preacher Henry
Brianna Brown: his wife Melinda

REVIEW
The first thing that strikes you as unnatural is how everyone so carefully enunciates each word of dialog. However it is the dawdling pace of the movie that makes it seem like it goes on forever. Coupled with some really bad acting (Missie’s dad being the worst) and the very predictable story line, it soon becomes apparent that this is going to be one long haul. Especially when there is a bible-quoting-former preacher around.

I should’ve got up and left at that point and then waited for it to be shown on tv. Then I could change the channel real quickly!

CLASSIFICATION
for mild thematic elements.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
1. At one point Missie is in bed because she is not feeling well. Her father brings her a bowl of soup. Just before the end of the scene, in the mirror behind them you can see someone wave his or her hand, probably signifying “cut”.
2. When Missie goes into the General Store the storefront is in dark shadow but while she’s talking with the owner you can see behind her that the storefront is now in bright sunshine.
3. While talking about the difficulties the family has had to face, Clark says they are “between a rock and a hard place”. This expression was first used in 1917, some 32 years after the movie setting of 1885.

P.S.
Once again a movie seems to suffer in terms of quality when someone is responsible for more than one key position. In this case it was written and directed by Michael Landon Jr.

MAN OF THE YEAR

Comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Christopher Walken: Dobbs' manager
Robin Williams: Tom Dobbs, talk show host
Lewis Black: Dobbs’ speech writer Eddie Langston
Laura Linney: Eleanor Green, an employee of Delacroy Voting Systems
David Alpay: her friend Danny
Rick Roberts: Hemmings CEO of Delacroy
Jeff Goldblum: his legal council, Stewart

REVIEW
This is a bit of a mixed bag. Robin Williams is at his best when given a chance to do his own thing but falters badly when having to deliver some lines written by someone else. Some of the comments/jibes are right on but others are unfunny, having been around for ages or simply in poor taste pandering to the pre-teen crowd I guess.
The supporting cast does a fine job but the editing needs to be addressed: the movie runs almost 2 hours which is far too long as a lot of the dialogue we could do without.

CLASSIFICATION
for language including some crude sexual references, drug-related material and brief violence.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Eleanor walks past her car which is parked facing the motel unit and gets change from the front desk. She then gets in the car and drives off without first backing up to get turned around.

P.S.
Election of the President and Vice President of the United States is indirect. Although ballots list the names of the candidates, voters are actually choosing Electors when they cast their vote. These Electors, who have pledged to vote for a specific candidate, then cast the official (electoral) votes for those positions. There are currently 538 Electors. Therefore, in order to win the Presidency, it is necessary for the successful candidate to gain 270 electoral votes (a majority of 538).

THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Drama

BACKGROUND
Milton Obote was a Ugandan political leader who led the country to independence from the British colonial adminstration in 1962. He was overthrown by Idi Amin Dada in 1971.

On June 27, 1976 Air France Flight 139, originating in Tel Aviv, Israel carrying 248 passengers and a crew of 12 took off from Athens, Greece heading for Paris, France. Shortly after takeoff, the flight was hijacked by four terrorists, two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The flight was diverted to Libya for refuelling then flew on to Entebbe International Airport, about 35 km. from the Uganda capital of Kampala.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
James McAvoy: recent graduate Dr. Nicholas Garrigan
Adam Kotz: Dr. David Merrit physician at the Mogambo mission
Gillian Anderson: his wife Sara
Forest Whitaker: Ugandan dictator General Idi Amin
Kerry Washington: Amin's third wife Kay
Simon McBurney: Foreign Service Officer Nigel Stone

REVIEW
Idi Amin was such a complex man prone to fits of anger one minute then could quickly become the most charming person in the room. His moods changed so rapidly it is a wonder anybody can portray him. But Forest Whitaker gives one of the most riveting performances seen in years. The supporting cast does an excellent job too, but my vote goes for Whitaker.

Based on historical fact, it is inevitable that some of the awful things that took place during Amin’s reign come to light. Several scenes make for unpleasant viewing but if you can handle it, this is one terrific movie.

CLASSIFICATION
for some graphic violence and several gruesome images, brief sexual content and language.

P.S.
The title is so misleading some would write it off and not bother going to see it simply because they have no interest in Scottish history. But the movie has little to do about Scotland other than the fact the young doctor comes from there and Idi Amin has a passing interest in things Scottish.

THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN

Drama
In Inuit and Danish, with English sub-titles

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Pakak Innuksuk: Avva, tribal elder
Jens Jorn Spottag: anthropologist Knud Rasmussen
and lots of others

REVIEW
After one-half hour all that had transpired was the group sat around in the igloo, had several cups of tea, smoked a pipe or two, someone sang a couple of songs and that’s it.

I simply could not bring myself to spending another hour and half of that stultifying action while peering at the screen trying to read the sub-titles (white letters in a white winter snowscape is not the best choice) so I left.

CLASSIFICATION

THE DEPARTED

Police drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Matt Damon: Colin Sullivan, police recruit
Leonardo DiCaprio: another recruit, Billy Costigan
Martin Sheen: Captain Queenan of the Massachusetts State Police
Mark Wahlberg: his second-in-command, Staff Sergeant Dignam
Alec Baldwin: State Police Commander
Vera Farmiga: State Police psychologist Madolyn Madden
Jack Nicholson: Frank Costello, 70-year-old career criminal, head of the Boston Irish mob
Ray Winstone: his right-hand man, Mr. French

REVIEW
This is one gritty, tough-guy movie with language and violence to match. For fear of giving away too much of the plot, I'll say little except it can get a bit confusing so pay attention to what’s going on, especially at the beginning. After that things play out well enough but you need to get it straightened out right at the start.

In addition to the crisp editing (which makes the 2 hours fly by) there are excellent performances by several of the actors. Nicholson for one is at the top of his game. This part was made for him.

CLASSIFICATION
for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some sexual content and drugs.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
At one point in time an envelope is slipped beneath a pile of others and what is written on it is pretty much hidden. But in the next scene the person picking it up can clearly see what’s written on it.

P.S.
The Scholastic Assessment Test (better known as the SAT test) is a standardised test frequently used by United States colleges and universities as an aid in the selection of incoming students. The test results have been linked with IQ; Mensa accepts individuals who score 1300+.

OPEN SEASON

Children’s animated cartoon

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Martin Lawrence: Boog, a a 900-pound grizzly bear
Debra Messing: National Park Service Ranger Beth
Ashton Kutcher: Elliot, a deer
Gary Sinise: mean ol’ hunter Shaw
Billy Connolly: McSquizzy, boss of the squirrels

REVIEW
It has all the requisites of a movie for kids even though it’s somewhat toned down compared to others of this type: rude bodily noises, potty jokes, “pretend” violence, a pair of odd-ball buddies, candies and sweets for the taking and best of all, the good guys (the animals) win out over the bad guys (those nasty human beings).

The adults in the audience will find it mildly amusing but it lacks any double-entendre dialogue that only the grown ups will catch, leaving the kids wondering what is all that funny.

CLASSIFICATION
for some rude humor, mild action and brief language.

THE GUARDIAN

Drama

BACKGROUND
The U.S. Coast Guard is one of five branches of the US Armed Forces and is the nation's oldest continuous seagoing service with responsibilities including Search and Rescue, Maritime Law Enforcement, Aids to Navigation, Ice Breaking, Environmental Protection, Port Security and Military Readiness. In order to accomplish these missions the Coast Guard has 38,000 active-duty men and women, 8,000 Reservists, and 35,000 Auxiliary personnel who serve in a variety of job fields ranging from operation specialists and small-boat operators and maintenance specialists to electronic technicians and aviation mechanics.

Boot camp is located in Cape May, New Jersey and lasts 8 weeks. It is tough, both mentally and physically. Its purpose is to prepare the new recruit for life in the Coast Guard. Much of the training takes place in a classroom where valuable skills such as first aid, fire fighting, weapons handling, practical seamanship, and general Coast Guard knowledge are taught. In addition there are daily physical fitness classes and lessons in the pool being taught water survival techniques.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Kevin Costner: U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Ben Randall
Clancy Brown: Capt. William Hadley, commanding officer of the Kodiak Alaska duty station
Sela Ward: Ben’s wife Helen
John Heard: Capt. Frank Larson, commanding officer of the Training Center
Neal McDonough: drill instructor Jake Skinner
Ashton Kutcher: Jake Fischer, a champion swimmer and new recruit
Melissa Sagemiller: Emily Thomas, a teacher living in Cape May
Bonnie Bramlett: Maggie McGlone, owner of Maggie’s Bar

REVIEW
Perhaps not the most original movie about people who want to serve others, it is nevertheless one that is entertaining. In part because there is a lot of action, mostly in and around water. But what would you expect to see in a movie about the U.S. Coast Guard?

Some criticism might be levelled at the length of the movie (2 hours and 15 minutes) but time goes by quickly and it doesn’t seem that long.

CLASSIFICATION
for intense sequences of action/peril, brief strong language and some sexuality.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
In all boot camps, beds have to be made up each morning ready for rigorous inspection.