My Boy Jack [ 2007 }

Review by: Ian Coote

RADCLIFFE acts away from POTTER

Was browsing in the DVD store at the local mall last week,and saw this movie called "My Boy Jack", starring Daniel Radcliffe { the Harry Potter dude }.

Don't usually buy movies I know nothing about,but decided to take a chance on this one, and bought a copy. Really glad I did.

Found out its a true story,and that Jack { played by Radcliffe } was the seventeen year only son of Rudyard Kipling { the Jungle Book guy }.

Seems that Rudyard was a huge supporter of the British Empire, and that in 1914 just prior to the start of WW1 he was working for the government, and going around the country giving speeches to encourage all males to enlist in the military, for King and Country.

Of course,this puts pressure on Rudyard to also have his own son enlist. Not that Jack doesn't want to go, he's more gung-ho than dad,mom and his elder sister less so. The problem is that Jack wears glasses,and without them he's almost as blind as a bat.

At first he trys the navy, and is turned down, then the army,same thing. Dad then goes to work contacting all his connections, and is able to pull some strings, to get Jack enlisted in the Irish Guards, as a 2nd Lt.

Before you know it,Young Jacks of to France,where on the day after his eighteenth birthday he's going to take part in the Battle of the Loos,fought on Sept. 25th 1915.

I won't say anymore about the story,for those of you that might want to watch it. But I will say that I'm not the weepy kind, but its hard not to shed a few tears at the end of this movie.

For those of you wondering if Radcliffe can act away from Harry Potter, he most certainly can. In fact the acting from everyone is first rate. The cinema-photography is excellent, especially the shots in the trenches, showing you the horrors of WW1.

For those that are interested,I watched the DVD extra's after the movie ,they had interviews with Radcliffe,Haig and Cattrall.Found out that the Kipling Estate thats shown in the Movie is the actual Kipling home.Just love movies that go that little bit extra for historical accracy.

I give this movie 10 out of 10.

Review by Ontario Correspondent: Ian Coote

INTO THE WEST: 2005

Review by: Ian Coote


Six Parts = One Great Movie

Executive Producer Steven Spielberg

From the World on Fire music video sung by Sarah Mclachlan and Robbie Robertson, made for the intro the West soundtrack, to the fantastic cinema-photography, this is a grand epic story paralleling White and Native American Indian families as the west is opened up for exploration and the Indians tried to understand how to deal with the threat to their way of life.

The story focuses on several generations of two families , one White and one Native American. You are shown the glory, the infamy, the ideals, the adventure, the severe hardships, the pioneer spirit and the cruelty of the 1800's in North America.

If you are interested in America's past, see this movie. It's long, six episodes, about 9 1/2 hours in total, but worth every minute.

Part 1 "Wheel to the Stars " 1824 -1838

Part 2 "Manifest Destiny" 1836 -1845

Part 3 "Dreams and Schemes" 1848-1861

Part 4 "Hell on Wheels" 1863-1868

Part 5 " Casualties of War " 1874-1883

Part 6 "Ghost Dance" 1886-1892

I'll give it a Great Big 10

Review by Ontario Correspondent: Ian Coote

Alexander

Review by: Ian Coote

The biggest flaw in Alexander is in the casting.

First off I have to say that my son and myself are a couple of history buffs, so when we heard that there was going to be a movie made about Alexander the Great, to say we were excited would be an understatement.We were like a couple of kids waiting for Christmas.When it was finally released, we both took the day of work--just had to see it at the first showing. So away we went, with my friend Hugh also in tow, we took our seats and eagerly waited for the opening credits. About 45 minutes in I slowly felt my son's head start to rest on my right shoulder, and I heard a very low snore. A quick glance over to my left showed that my friend Hugh's chin was resting on his chest and a very large drool was hanging from his mouth, making a wet stain on his pants. I thought he might have had the big one, but he was OK. A for me,I was starting to re-taste the Swedish meatballs I'd had for supper the previous night.

So what was wrong with this movie directed by Oliver Stone and starring Colin Farrel, Agelina Jolie? First, I had never seen a movie before with Colin Farrel, so I didn't know what to expect. Could Oliver Stone have picked a more whimpy guy to play Alexander? Don Knotts maybe, and whats with Angelina Jolie as Alexander's mom? Talk about total miscasting. She usually looks pretty good in movies, but in this one she looked like a really old Cher on a bad night.

The editing was terrible,jumping from scene to scene, none of it making any sense. I was about ready to leave after about an hour, but then thought no, I'll stick around, maybe the battle scenes will be pretty good. Boy was I wrong.Take Alexander's largest battle "Gaugamela," 35,000 Greeks against 250,000 Persians. This should have been a hum-dinger, except Stone decided to film it in a sandstorm. There were 285,000 combatants, and the most we see at any one time is about three,and that's from the waist down.

After awhile I was trying to figure out, wha'ts this movie about, what's the message Stone's trying to get across? Then it dawned on me. After about 20 shots of Alexander making loving gazes at any guy in sandals and a toga, I think I got it. Alexander was gay, and it's ok, and even gay guys can be macho and tough. Gee, thanks Oliver, who would have known? Alexander is acknowledged to be one of the greatest military commanders of all time; he never lost a battle in his short 32 years of life, but this film falls far short of doing his legacy justice.The biggest flaw in the film is casting Colin Farrel in a role that is clearly beyond his abilities.

I give it one star.

Movie review by Ontario corespondant: Ian Coote

Mister Roberts

Review by: Ian Coote

A character that you wish you could meet

1955 film starring:
Henry Fonda
Jack Lemmon
James Cagney

This is one of my all time favorite war flicks, and there is no battle action!

Henry Fonda plays a character that you wish you could meet. He's someone who is patriotic and wants to serve his country, but he remains one who will battle for his men even when it means he gets in trouble with the captain.

James Cagney plays the William Bligh-like captain and he plays the part to perfection. You know he's doing a good acting job when you hate him so much.

Jack Lemmon is very funny playing one of the laziest people you could ever hope to meet.

All in all, I can watch this movie over and over again. The acting is great, there are some hilarious parts, and it deals with a subject not many movies do, being in the back-end of a big war.

I appreciate Mr.Roberts; I only wish his part wasn't fictional.

I give it a 9 out of 10.

Review by Ontario Correspondent: Ian Coote

All About Eve

It's going to be a bumpy night

We decided to watch a little TV before we called it a night. After flipping channels for a few minutes we settled on watching All About Eve starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter.

Wow! What a find; Bette was brilliant in her role as Margo, an aging self-centered stage actress who at the pinnacle of her career struggles with insecurities of love and worries that her career is coming to an end.

Then she meets Eve (Anne Baxter) who is literally a no one, a complete unknown, who befriends Margo. Eve’s relationship with Margo gives Eve the opportunity to manipulate, lie and backstab her career to stardom.

Both Bette and Ann received a best actress Academy Awards nomination for their motion picture performance.

This movie offers many unexpected jewels. One of them is that Marilyn Monroe is in this movie. She is young and stunning: you will love her as she plays Miss Casswell, a stereotypical dum-blonde gold digging Hollywood starlet.

Another jewel is the scene when Margo (Bette Davies) downs a double gin martini. She then faces the camera and says her legendary line, "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night." It sent a chill down my back.

I give this movie 8.5 out of 10, with a strong recommendation to see it.

Alfie

Canadian Idol vs. American Idol: this year the U.S. wins so far

Last night's Canadian Idol, which featured eight of the current 16 contenders for next week's top 10 show, revealed that the pickings are slim this year. While most singers were passable with decent voices and an inkling of how to perform on stage, none had the star quality that was evidenced in the most recent U.S. version of the show.

American Idol's two Davids, the top two young guys who thrilled audiences with soulful crooning and charismatic performances had viewers on the edge of their couches wondering which of these brilliantly rising stars would win (David Cooke did, by the way). No such competition is in sight for the Canadian contenders this year. Aside from willowy but strong-voiced Katelyn Dawn and the Pigott brothers, Sebastian and Oliver, who are macho stage grabbers but not the best singers, not one contestant stands out from the crowd. And even these three lack the star power seen on American Idol this year.

Too bad. Previous years' Canadian Idols outshined the American wannabees by far. Let's hope some Canadians hone their stage personas as this year's competition rolls along . Let's hope our Canadians can rise toward the idol pedestal, if not from the outset, then from the practice they get along the way.

Canadian Idol

No star talent has yet to emerge on this season's Canadian Idol. Stay tuned, and I'll give you my picks as soon as they're clear.