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philosophr
Reviews
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
One blockbuster please...shaken, stirred...and blurred
Did they even watch the final copy before releasing it to the distributors? Where do I start? The bobbing camera is OK for a few scenes, but why use it for everything?...Everything! - Aaron Eckhart is delivering clichéd, teary lines and the camera is jerking like it's on a motocross dirt-bike. It get's worse as the movie progresses, with action scenes blurred out to the point of incomprehension because of all the shaking. You get only glimpses of all the panoramic shots of LA. The rest is all blurred out in a mayhem of out of focus camera action and more shaking. Of course, you never get a clear view of the aliens, all you'll remember is that their infantry look and act like those Cylons in BG. Storyline? There isn't one worth talking about. *sigh* What has happened to good movie-making skills these days?
My wife got sick by the end of the movie and I managed not to by looking away when it got really bad. Do yourself a favor and give this a miss.
Battlefield: The Battles That Won the Second World War (1994)
A definitive guide to WWII
I am surprised that this series has received any kind of recognition at all. This is the only series I know that's out there which provides a clinical review of all the major battles of WWII. If you are looking for very detailed information on unit movements, state of troops, army echelon's state of mind, etc., this is definitely the series to watch. Of course, the human element of the war is not deeply portrayed. But then, there are other series like 'BBC's The World at War' and 'World War 2 in Color' if you are looking for that. The tone is neutral through-out, not like the pro-country narrations of other series. Tim Piggot-Smith is an excellent narrator and the background music is toned down, so you don't tire of it. If you are looking for 1.5 hour long, intuitive and intelligent dissections of every campaign, starting from Scandinavia to the Russian invasion of Manchuria (yes, they did!), this is the right series.