"THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES" (2014) Review

When New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers first released the news that Peter Jackson would adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel, "The Hobbit" into three films, I had not been pleased. I thought the novel could have easily been adapted into two films or even a single film. Now that Jackson's third film, "THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES", I realized that my feelings had not changed.

I still believe what I had originally stated . . . an adaptation of Tolkien's novel could have easily been limited to a single film. I believe I would have enjoyed...

"WAR AND PEACE" (2016) Review

I have a confession to make. I have never seen a movie or televisão adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel, "War and Peace". Never. Well . . . I once made an attempt to watch the 1956 movie adaptation directed por King Vidor. Unfortunately, I could never go the distance. In fact, I have never read the novel.

However, many years passed. When I heard about the BBC's latest adaptation of Tolstoy's novel, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give "WAR AND PEACE" a chance. The six-part miniseries is simply about the experiences of five Russian families during...

"THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" (2000) Review

I never saw "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" in the movie theaters when it was first released years ago. I have a low tolerance of sports filmes and there are only a few that I consider favoritos of mine. Another reason why I never saw this film in the theaters is that my family simply had no desire to see it.

Based upon Steven Pressfield's 1995 novel and directed por Robert Redford, "THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE" was a box office flop. Worse, it had received mixed to negative reviews. Among the criticisms directed at the film was the accusation that the Bagger...

Below is my review of the 1979 televisão miniseries called ”THE SACKETTS”:


”THE SACKETTS” (1979) Review

Thirty years ago, CBS aired a two-part miniseries (or televisão movie) based upon two novels written por the late Louis L’Amour. Directed por Robert Totten, ”THE SACKETTS” starred Sam Elliot, Tom Selleck and Jeff Osterhage as the three Sackett brothers.

”THE SACKETTS” told the story of Tell (Elliot), Orrin (Selleck) and Tyrel (Osterhage) Sackett and their efforts to make new lives for themselves in the post-Civil War West. Screenwriter Jim Byrnes took two novels about the...

"THE FOUR FEATHERS" (1977) Review

I have heard of the 1977 adaptation of A.E.W. Mason' 1902 adventure film. But I never thought I would see it. Recently, it occurred to me to rent the movie from Netflix, because I have yet to run across it at any store that sells DVDs. I did rent "THE FOUR FEATHERS". Needless to say, it produced some rather interesting feelings within me.

Anyone familiar with Mason's tale knows that "THE FOUR FEATHERS" is the story about a 19th century British Army officer named Harry Faversham, who harbor plans to resign from his commission in the Royal North Surrey Regiment...

"THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO" (1934) Review

I have seen only two versions of Alexandre Dumas père's 1845 novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo" in my past - the 1975 televisão version with Richard Chamberlain and the 2002 disney film with James Cavielzel. While leitura a good number of artigos about the movie versions of the novel, I came across numerous praises for the 1934 adaptation that starred Robert Donat. And since I happened to like Dumas' story so much, I decided to see how much I would like this older version.

Set between the last months of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1830s, "THE COUNT...

"RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" (1994) Review

Many televisão viewers and moviegoers might be surprised to learn that Hollywood had aired a good number of televisão filmes that featured the topic of U.S. slavery. One of those filmes proved to be an offshoot of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS". However, another was the 1994 televisão movie called "RACE TO FREEDOM: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD".

The 1994 televisão movie is a story about the Underground Railroad, a loose network of secret routes and seguro houses occasionally used por willing 19th-century slaves in the United States to escape...

"TITANIC" (1953) Review

As many moviegoers know, there have been numerous film and televisão productions about the maiden voyage and sinking of the R.M.S. titanic on April 15, 1912. The most famous production happens to be James Cameron's 1997 Oscar winning opus. However, I do wonder if there are any fãs who are aware that another titanic movie managed to strike Oscar gold.

Directed por Jean Negulesco, the 1953 movie "TITANIC" focused on the personal lives of a wealthy American family torn asunder por marital strife, a deep secret and the historic sinking of the Titanic. Family matriarch Mrs....

"CAPOTE" (2005) Review

I finally got around to watching the first of two filmes about writer Truman Capote and his work on the non-fiction novel, "In Cold Blood". This particular movie, "CAPOTE", starred American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who eventually won a SAG award, a Golden Globe award and an Oscar for his performance.

Penned por actor Dan Futterman and directed por Bennett Miller, "CAPOTE" turned out to be a mais somber affair than Douglas McGrath's 2006 film, "INFAMOUS". Miller had once commented that he wanted to create a mais subtle portrait of the flamboyant author in order to emphasize...

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" (2004) Review

My knowledge of 19th century author, Anthony Trollope, can be described as rather skimpy. In fact, I have never read any of his works. But the 2004 BBC adaptation of his 1869 novel, "He Knew He Was Right", caught my interest and I decided to watch the four-part miniseries.

"HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT" told the decline and fall of a wealthy gentleman named Louis Trevelyan (Oliver Dimsdale) and his marriage to the elder daughter of a British Colonial administrator named Sir Marmaduke Rowley (Geoffrey Palmer) during the late 1860s. Louis first met the spirited Emily...

"12 YEARS A SLAVE" (2013) Review

I first learned about Solomon Northup many years ago, when I came across a televisão adaptation of his story in my local video story. One glance at the video case for "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S ODYSSEY" made me assume that this movie was basically a fictional tale. But when I read the movie's descrição on the back of the case, I discovered that I had stumbled across an adaption about a historical figure.

Intrigued por the idea of a free black man in antebellum America being kidnapped into slavery, I rented "HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE: SOLOMON NORTHUP'S...

"THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG" (2013) Review

The segundo part of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 fantasia novel, "The Hobbit" recently hit the theaters. After watching it, I am amazed that I was ever against the idea of a three-film adaptation of the Tolkien's story.

Titled "THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG", the segundo film began not long after the first one left off. I take that back. The movie began with a flashback featuring a meet between the wizard Gandalf the Gray and the Dwarf prince, Thorin Oakenshield at the Prancing pónei, pônei Tavern in Bree. Those familiar...

"THE MANIONS OF AMERICA" (1981) Review

Back in early 1981, ABC televisão aired a miniseries about the lives of an Anglo-Irish immigrant family called "THE MANIONS OF AMERICA". Starring Pierce Brosnan and Kate Mulgrew, the miniseries aired in three parts and was marketed as the Irish-American version of the 1977 miniseries, "ROOTS".

"The Irish-American version of "ROOTS"? Hmmmm . . . I do not know if that similarity genuinely works. Yes, both miniseries focused upon the beginning of a family line in the United States. Both are family sagas set before the 20th century. But the differences between...

"HOMEFRONT" RETROSPECT: (1.01) "S.N.A.F.U."

There are only a handful of televisão shows that I am very emotional about. There are only a handful that I consider to be among the best I have ever seen on the small screen. One of them happened to be the 1991-1993 ABC series, "HOMEFRONT". Not only do I view it as one of the few televisão series that turned out to be consistently first-rate from beginning to end, it also has one of the best pilot episodes I have ever seen.

"HOMEFRONT" followed the lives and experiences of a handful of citizens in the fictional town in Ohio, right after the end...