Just some videos I want to share:

- During the Battle of Midway, Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) launched a strike against the Japanese carriers attacking Midway Island. Only one man came back alive. Director John Ford, who had his own Navy film unit during the war, realized later on while reviewing his footage that he had candid footage of these men before the strike. He then sent the footage to the family of those killed. I've long known the story of the VT-8, but to see their faces, painting faces on their torpedoes, mugging for the camera, it just drives the reality home.



- Once upon a time, it was okay to celebrate the achievements of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. This was one of those times. And if anyone knows how to throw a parade, it's the Russians. Watch all four parts.



- In a related note, how can you hear the Soviet national anthem and not think of this scene?

I try to be a cultivated film buff. When people say Kurosawa's good, I try to see his films, if people say that Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever made, I go out and rent it. And I agree, Kurosawa is good, and Citizen Kane is a great movie. (The greatest? I don't know about that. But on the short list.) But there are times were I have to disagree. Two "classics" in particular are John Ford's The Searchers and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

The Searchers

The Searchers is often regarded as the greatest Western ever made, as well as one of the greatest films ever made. It was even ranked 12th on AFI's 100 films 10th anniversary list. I wouldn't say it's a bad film, but certainly not as good as people think it is. Don't get me wrong, the Duke is in top form, probably the best role I've ever seen him in. It's a very dark, against type, Denzel-in-Training-Day type of role. He's not evil like Denzel was, but certainly as dark as John Wayne would ever get. His Ethan Edwards is not a villain, but he's certainly unlikable, but not TOO unlikable. It's doubtful the Duke would ever choose to play a true villain, so this is as close as we're going to get. It's almost like the Duke couldn't help himself but play the hero in the end. He spends half the movie talking about killing his niece Debbie because she's better off dead than a Comanch' squaw, but in the end, heroically embraces her, and in his best John Wayne voice, tells her he's taking her home. (I know I didn't put up a spoiler alert. I didn't have to. You think any character played by John Wayne would ever gun down a woman, much less gun down a woman because he's a racist?) And like the Duke, the movie itself can't help but succumb to the pressures of being a John Wayne movie. The film is interspersed with awkward attempts at humor, all of which tends to try attention away from the fact that Ethan Edwards' family was slaughtered by Indians and he was going to find his niece who was captured and kill her because he hated Indians. The cast is full of John Ford regulars, like Ward Bond, who's chemistry with John Wayne actually hurts the movie to a degree. Again, a bad movie? Certainly not. The greatest Western ever made? Definitely not. (That would have to be The Outlaw Josie Wales.)

Apocalypse Now

My first encounter with the film was on network TV, so it had commercials and was edited for content. I figured once I saw it all the way through with no interruptions, I'd understand it better. Well, I did, and I didn't. I went to go see the Redux edition when it came out in the theater in hopes of better understanding the film, and I only got more confused. (I've realized that the thing with cut scenes, with a few exceptions like Star Trek II and Aliens, is that they're cut for a reason. Studio execs are NOT all bean counting Philistines. They're in the business because they know what constitutes a good movie.) Maybe it's because I'm not of the Vietnam/Watergate generation. Is it artsy? Yes. Is it logical? No. Why would the CIA send a man to kill Kurtz when they could've used an airstrike? Why would they send a single man to do it when the last guy they assigned to do the job not only failed to kill Kurtz, but also joined him. It's not like they were afraid to launch an airstrike, it's exactly what they do in the end, but why not just do it from the get-go? And how could Marlon Brando be in the Special Forces if he was the size of a house? I just can't stand when filmmakers won't allow logic to get in the way of art.

And two guilty pleasures:

Event Horizon

What can I say, I really liked it. I thought it was scary, the science wasn't that bad, and the ending was not predictable. Paul W.S. Anderson normally delivers crap like video game adaptations (Mortal Combat, Resident Evil, AvP) but somehow, everything came together. A really enjoyable film, in my opinion.

The Chronicles of Riddick

The first one, meh. But I really liked the look of this one. It had a better cast, better sets, better action, better everything. And inexplicably, Dame Judy Dench was in it. To paraphrase one critic, casting Dame Judy Dench in Chronicles of Riddick is like putting premium gasoline in a lawnmower. But hey, I liked it.

Yeah yeah, I know, I don't post frequently enough. You get what you pay for. Just enough time for two random thoughts:

- How is it that no one has made a Last Starfighter game yet? It's only been twenty years!

- How is it they haven't made an American version of Ninja Warrior yet? They made an American version of Iron Chef, but not Ninja Warrior? ESPN 2 can't get on this? Or any network? It's the ultimate reality show. Unlike the X-Games or those world's strongest man competitions, you don't really need any talent or skill to excel in this competition. ANYONE, from gas station managers to Olympic gymnasts can compete. Don't you think there'd be millions of gym-rats all across the nation that would love to try their hand at something like Ninja Warrior. Come on already!