XPDay Reviews

The Postman (1997)

Saw this movie for the 1st time and I LOVE IT. Yes, really.

[30 November 2004]

I am anything but a Kevin Costner fan. From American Flyers (shmaltzy), to No Way Out (implausibly stupid), to Dances with Wolves (manipulative), to Waterworld (just awful), to Field of Dreams (overly sentimental), I've hated or seriously disliked all of his projects.

Perhaps that's why it took me seven years and a DVD bargain bin to summon up enough courage and the five dollars to view The Postman. After all, every one of those negative parenthesized adjectives above appear in this comment forum in regard to The Postman.

I expected to hate it, but...but.. I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!

Kevin Costner is still a mediocre actor, but perhaps he was made for this part, the part of a mediocre conniver raised to *perceived* greatness by the hunger of a suppressed human spirit.

The three hour length of this story is greatly criticized. Could this tale be told in less? A simpler story, maybe. But there is just too much to understand under the surface here. Anyone's appreciation of the power of good in our American culture can't help but be aroused by a careful 3-hour viewing and some thoughtful reflection.

Now I probably sound shmaltzy, but heaven help me, this turned out to be the best movie I've seen this year.

The Sum of All Fears (2002)

Not True to Book, But...

[8/10 · 13 November 2002]

I have read all the comments that point out the huge differences between

Clancy's book and this movie.

Well, all the Jack Ryan movies differ greatly from the books. They have to. I enjoy the movies, but I don't watch them with the notion that I will see a full Clancy novel transfered to film. The Sum of All Fears alone would require a

major miniseries to fill in all the characters and details.

OK...My opinion of Ben Afleck playing Ryan would still be pretty negative in the miniseries version.

That said, I must also say that this particular Jack Ryan outing is notable for the screenwriters', the director's and Liev Schreiber's rendition of John Clark. Clark is one of the most fascinating of Clancy's continuing characters and this

matches my vision of the Clark character to a "T."

Red Planet Mars (1952)

Some Movies Improve with Age, But...

[7/10 · 7 September 2001]

...Red Planet Mars certainly isn't one of them. Unless, that is, you are looking for another take on the simplistic, naive "Red Menace" paranoia of the 1950's.

The viewer is pounded over the head with cliché hyperbole regarding the Soviets' sneering arrogance, brutality and bloodthirst. Stalinism was evil, but OK, we get it. Stock footage of riots and overuse of the "spinning headline" effect adds to the tedium.

There is also not much explanation regarding the weird relationship between the Nazi scientist and the Communists. Why don't the commies just take his transmitter and move it out of the Andes? It looks like it would easily fit in the trunk. Between the scientist's drunken rambling, deceptive maneuvering and then that %#$@ avalanche, it seems like a dumb idea on which to bet world domination. I would normally expect better from the KGB. They're evil, perhaps, but not stupid.

The climax, in which the scientist-wife, too willingly and unnecessarily, condemns her children to lives as orphans, seems completely unrealistic. When the Navy Admiral later tells the young children that "You're lucky, boys," I thought "Gee, your parents are dead...but let's put this tragedy into a sunny perspective!"

Now, I admit that I just saw this movie on TCM (part of their "Communist Paranoia Series") for the first time since about 1962 and that it had actually impressed me as a ten-year old growing up during the Cold War. I guess that it was just more fun than the B&W propaganda films that we were forced to watch in school. At least it had Martians. No, wait, it didn't have Martians. Well something about it appealed to my 10 year old interests.

The Puppet Masters (1994)

Vastly Underrated

[9/10 · 3 July 2001]

I seem to be in the minority here. I can't understand why this

movie isn't getting the most enthusiastic reviews.

Sure, the plot has been visited again and again in books, movies

and TV (including Richard Basehart's mind being taken over at

least 34 times in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea). Does that

matter so much? Haven't we seen "Saving Private Ryan" and "A.I."

before? Did anyone criticize them as "just another Longest Day,"

or "just another 'robot wants to be human'" movies?

The Puppet Masters is expertly handled. The direction is tight and

suspense-building. The early scenes of the kids with the UFO

roadside attraction are clever. Sutherland is great. The dialogue

is realistic. This remains one of my favorites

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

Lost Soundtrack Makes This One's Place in History

[29 June 2001]

Had the soundtrack not been accidently lost or erased (and it's

interesting to imagine that and ensuing scenes in Coleman

Francis' life story), this movie would have long ago faded into total

obscurity. But by losing the soundtrack, Francis inadvertently

saved the movie. The narration is a puzzle within an enigma. It

disturbs, provokes and confuses.

My 12 year old son has made a game out of inserting quotes from

this movie into dinner table conversation: "A flag on the Moon,"

"touch a button- things happen," "feed soda pop to the hungry

pigs." The Beast of Yucca Flats perplexes and entertains yet

another generation!

Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers (1956)

Scared the Pants Off Me 40 Years Ago

[16 June 2001]

This documentary features, among several incidents, the re-enactment of the 1950's flying saucer encounters over Washington DC and recordings from the Mantell crash. Very scary stuff at the time. I saw this on television when I was around 10 years old. It gave me quite a few sleepless nights thereafter. My father, who was a radar expert with the Army at the time, confirmed to me that everyone in the Signal Corps was well aware of the Washington incident. Further, he described to me their "hunting" UFO's with radar in the White Sands, New Mexico desert. He was there frequently in the 1950's. They were launching captured German V-2 rockets, doing above-ground A bomb tests, sending men into the stratosphere with ballons. THERE CERTAINLY WERE ALL KINDS OF WIERD STUFF GOING ON WITH THE ARMY IN THE SOUTHWEST DESERT. To me, at age 10, this seemed to be proof that the flying saucers were real. I spent much of my teenage years searching for the truth - What were the UFO's? Why were they here? As an adult, I've finally accepted that the aliens are NOT here, no Roswell crash, no attack on DC, no death ray shot at Mantell. I sometimes wonder WHY they're not here. In the 1950's and 60's, flying saucers were not the silly stuff of abductions and other talk show nonsense. No, in the 50's and 60's the military feared that there really was something beyond our own technology in the skys. I guess that our more mudane modern reality disappoints me. I recently captured this movie on tape. I had not seen it in 40 years. The production was certainly made on a shoestring. Still, the DC incident is gripping. It captures beautifully an important chapter in our history. one characterized by cold war paranoia, fear, but also a sense wonder and mystery. I miss it.

The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)

Not Bad, Actually Kind of Intriguing

[7/10 · 29 May 2001]

It seems to me that this film is getting unfairly trashed in these

comments. Sure, the acting could have been better, but those of

us that seek out second-tier science fiction films are used to

enduring MUCH worse acting than this. And Nancy Allen does a

great job.

I watched this on a flight to the West Coast back in 1984 and was

so facinated that I watched it again a week later. It's on my Top

500 list.

The premise is clever and thought-provoking. I doubt that many

viewers realize that the movie is based on an real conspiracy

legend. I was familiar with the "actual" Philadelphia Experiment

years before this movie was made and often wondered just what

might have happened back in the 1940's to give rise to the wild

rumors. The movie takes off on that premise and does very well

with it, incorporating many of the myth's parts (sailors glowing and

fading, victims stuck in solid steel, etc.). The screenplay pulls all

these pieces together neatly. Certainly much worse things have

been done with modern myth's. Take a look at all the stupid

movies based on the Roswell incident

I give this a 7 out of 10..

Hemo the Magnificent (1957 TV Movie)

Vivid Memories - Why?

[27 April 2001]

I also saw this movie in elementary school and can, to this day, recall facts about the heart and blood with the animated depiction. Why? Perhaps Capra was just that good at direction, but I think that the real reason was that this was before color TV was ubiquitous. Unlike today, when kids are constantly bombarded with video and sound, we had very little "multimedia" exposure. When we experienced it, it had a lasting impact. I defy my 11-year-old to remember what he saw just last night.

King Dinosaur (1955)

Bert I Gordon, Before He Reached His Pinnacle

[2/10 · 17 April 2001]

Yes, it really is THAT bad. Armadillos and stock footage standing in as dinosaurs, V2 launch films run in reverse to depict a landing, nuking the new planet to save it... well, I could go on.

Godon's later films, expecially the "Amazing Colossal" movies, provide great guilty pleasures. King Dinosaur, however, can't even provide that. And I had to watch it five times to be certain. It's interesting mainly for what it said about the movie-going public of 1954.

COULD BE ON THE 100 WORST LIST.

Crack in the World (1965)

I Agree

[8/10 · 10 February 2001]

This is an outstanding movie. The acting and direction are well above par for this genre. The cinematography and effects are truly eye-popping. The tension builds to a spectacular climax.

I am shocked to find that it is not available as video in any format!

Riders to the Stars (1954)

Not Destination Moon, but Still Good

[6/10 · 10 February 2001]

I recently bought a videotape copy of this on eBay to test my recollection of an old favorite. This film was shown often on the old "Chiller Theater" in the NYC viewing area during the 1960's (I think that they owned a stock of about six films). I was at a much more impressionable age at the time and sometimes these things diminish over the decades. Still, I remembered this as being special. Well, it turns out to be a pretty decent effort by both cast and crew. Significantly, it is directed by Richard Carlson, star of such notable films as "The Magnetic Monster," and who found his apex with "It Came from Outer Space." Both of these are on my "favorites" list. Carlson points this film in a direction well apart from the more typical silly space dramas of the 1950's. The cast, which includes Carlson, is first-rate. Look for William Lundigan, who probably earned his starring role on "Men Into Space" (yes, look it up!) with this film. OK, it's not "Destination Moon," but to me it easily surpasses "Rocketship X-M," a real stinker from the same period (starring Loyd Bridges!) over which some aficionados go ga-ga. IF ONLY CARLSON COULD HAVE HAD GEORGE PAL'S SPECIAL EFFECTS. Carlson unfortunately had to rely on really cheap models-on-strings and grainy stock footage of V-2 rocket tests. Usually, I can overlook low-cost effects, but these are SO cheap that the film suffers somewhat as a result. But note the dialog, the human interactions, and most of all, the sense of mission and wonder on the part of the team that needs to pave our way to the stars... Then think about the fact that this made years before Sputnik.

***01/01/2007 UPDATE*** TCM just broadcast a BEAUTIFUL color print of this gem with no commercial interruptions. I hope you had your video recorders running. I certainly did!

Countdown (1967)

More Real Than You Might Think

[7/10 · 9 December 2000]

It's interesting that I initially had the same reaction as "anonymous" did to the lunar lander depicted in the movie. Sure, it looks like a Gemini capsule stuck on top of a descent stage, but guess what? When Altman made this movie, NASA actually had already planned the "Countdown" mission AND the Gemini lunar lander, although it was never used.

BTW, I read Hank Searl's book "The Pilgrim Project" while I was in eighth grade and loved it.

Men Into Space (1959–1960)

It Made a Huge Impression

[9/10 · 3 September 2000]

Like several of us whom have commented, I was about seven years old when this show aired and it made a large and lasting impression on me. I actually negotiated a special Wednesday night bedtime in order to be able to see it. I wanted the Col. McCaulley helmet, but alas, we were of modest means in my household. When the Mercury and Gemini projects were underway, I felt that we were right on track and my friends and I would be pursuing our careers in space. I even majored in aero & astronautical engineering - just when the whole thing succumbed to post-Apollo apathy and Watergate nonsense. Imagine my disappointment. As time went on, I found fewer contemporaries that even remembered 1950's space movie and TV sci-fi, so I largely forgot about it. Then about 4 years ago I came across a source of the entire series of episodes on videotape (for $160). Unbelievable! Some of the episodes are exactly as I remembered them. And unlike a lot of childhood memories, the show turns out to be actually pretty good: It is more technically accurate than anything shown on TV since. You can spot actors like Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Robert Reed (pre-Brady Bunch) and Angie Dickenson (as McCaully's wife in the pilot episode). One of the episodes was written by James Clavell (well before Shogun). For a while in the mid-1960's there was discussion of a sort-of sequel to be called "Beyond the Moon" that would feature 1970's missions envisioned by NASA with technical accuracy. TV Guide carried an article on it. But it never materialized and instead we got mindless stuff like "I Dream of Genie." Anyone interested in this should also look for "Riders to the Stars," "The Conquest of Space," and the recent "October Sky," all of which capture the time of Sputnik and big dreams. This is the way space (and sci-fi) should have been in our lifetime! I invite anyone interested in discussing this further to contact me.