Reviews
Regeneration (1997)
Quiet, powerful film
I liked this much better than Saving Private Ryan. It seems simpler and more focused, and very powerful. The quietness of the setting makes the horror of war (WWI) even more intense. This movie makes you understand why WWI changed completely the way that people thought.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Really good, but flawed
This is a very good movie. It depicts war in the way that General Sherman described it: all hell. There are some terrific scenes and a lot to talk about afterwards. There is a lot of gore, especially at the beginning, but I didn't have as much of a problem with that as I had imagined I would. Other scenes made me more uncomfortable (which was good; I should be uncomfortable with them.)
I had a problem with the present-day bookends; they were ok, but too sweet. And there were some places where I think the movie told us too much, which always seems to me like the easy way out. Show us instead! I had a line or two that didn't ring true for me; one was too modern sounding, too funny; I assume it was ad-libbed. There were a couple of details that didn't ring true. And there is at least one major detail that my coworkers did not get: is the guy who...the same guy who...the same guy who... or are there three different guys? Each of us sees it differently.
So--it's really powerful, and I think people should see it to get a feel for history. But it's not the best movie of the year; nor is it Spielberg's best movie. Truman Show is better this year, and Schindler's List is Spielberg's best that I've seen.