marmac2768 Reviews

Stagecoach (1986 TV Movie)

Keep an open mind with this remake

[7/10 · 29 April 2024]

First of all, I am a HUGE John Wayne fan and the original of this film is one of his best.

Now, having said that, when I saw it was coming on TV tonight, I almost shrugged it off as a feeble attempt to remake a classic. I went into viewing it knowing that it would NOT be on the same level as the original. Well, it was a very good film overall. I have never been a big Kris K. Fan, but he really played Ringo well. Cash, Nelson and Jennings all did good in their roles. I was pleasantly surprised. It then dawned on me that you have to keep your mind open to see this one. If you expect to see a John Wayneish performance, you won't see that. Wayne's performance was his breakthrough performance which set the stage for him being the greatest cowboy star in cinematic history. Kris was not at that height, but it was a good one nonetheless. The characters in this one were different from the original enough to keep you interested in them to see how these characters were in this one. I do recommend it.

The Challenger Disaster (2019)

Only 13 miles away

[9/10 · 9 April 2024]

This movie really made me remember. When Challenger exploded, I was living in East Orange County, only 13 miles away from the Cape. I remember watching it on TV going up and going out to watch it as I had done many times before. It was VERY cold for Florida. I saw it do something I had never seen before, went inside to watch it and saw the camera showing the pieces fall into the ocean. I still think about it and, when I saw this movie, I shed some more tears AGAIN. While I am not sure there was anyone at Morton/Thiakol who was as passionate as Adam, but it was gut wrenching for those fools who fell in line. I don't know how they lived with themselves, but some people just don't care and love to blame others. This movie, even though it was "fictionalized" in parts, conveyed the loss that our nation felt in the days, weeks and months after the Challenger blew up. RIP, Challenger 7!

Gunsmoke: Hackett (1970) Season 15, Episode 25

Bad casting in this one

[2/10 · 6 February 2023]

The biggest problem with this episode is the two main characters, Morgan Woodward as Sargent and Earl Holliman as Hackett. The two parts should have been casted with each actor playing the role of the other. Morgan Woodward has always been best as "the heavy", the bad, ruthless bad guy. His casting as a cowardly milquetoast farmer was just all wrong. There is no way that Woodward, as good an actor as he was, could play this part and do it well.

Holliman, on the other hand, could have played the Sargent part if he had been offered it. I think of Holliman part in "The Sons Of Katie Elder" where Holliman played one of the "sons". Out of all of "The Sons Of Katie Elder", he was the only one that showed no backbone and was a milquetoast himself. He could have just played that part in this episode. The "background" bad guys are also just put in for no reason and they add nothing to the plot. One of the weaker Gunsmoke eps.

Bonanza: The Frenchman (1961) Season 3, Episode 12

Tiresome, not funny

[3/10 · 30 December 2022]

Bonanza is one of my favorite all time TV shows, but this is one of my least favorite episodes of all. The character, Francois, is a scoundrel no doubt, but the acting of Andre Phillippe is just as atrocious as the character himself. I know it's supposed to be comedic, but the story leaves you wishing that he would be hanged. The only redemption to this travesty is his sister, Eloise, portrayed by the absolute gorgeous, Erika Peters. Her bio is interesting to read as she was a victim of the Nazi's in WWII. But, I digress. Of course, Joe sets out to "spark" with her, but the idea of it being permanent is not there, as usual. A terrible episode indeed. I would have given it 2 stars, but Erika Peters is worth to look at.

Gunsmoke: The Pack Rat (1970) Season 15, Episode 16

Mash (see the irony) ed up mess!

[3/10 · 10 November 2022]

This episode is really rather tedious to watch, It is slow, plodding and totally implausible. First, we have Matt taking another prisoner to another location for his punishment. Over the course of this series, this happens a lot. I would think that a United States Marshall should have better things to do with his time than transport a prisoner. Usually, it's Hayes City, this time it's going to a military fort. WAIT! I thought Fort Dodge was closer but we have to go longer to Fort Union so there can be more drama I guess.

Anyhow, we have a pretty nasty character. Played by William Watson. He is just a bad guy who has no redeeming qualities at all. Loretta Swit, just a few years from her iconic role on MASH, is wasted here. She is hooked up with Sam Denton and is along for the ride to help ambush Matt and rescue her husband. I don't understand how Matt would allow this gaggle of people to go along with him to take a dangerous criminal to another location.

You add in Sancho and you have a mashed up mess of an episode. Sancho is here just for the fact that he is cute. You have a pregnant woman in here who is in such a hurry to see her husband, she takes a chance losing the baby and her life instead of waiting a few days until a comfortable stagecoach comes along.

I would love to know how the user ratings on this one is 6.8 out of 10. I gave it a 3 just to be nice, but I could have made it a 1 or 2 instead.

Sec Shorts (2014– )

Amateurs? What amateurs? These people are NOT amateurs!

[10/10 · 13 January 2022]

I am an Alabama Crimson Tide fan and I found these short clips on YouTube a few years ago. I don't know all of the details on who started these and when they started doing them, but they are just SOOOO funny!! In the South, football is more than just a game, it's alive and these skits just so how passionate we are about our football. When the season is going, EVERYTHING revolves around college football. Taking on the personalities of the different schools as the actors do is spot on! Alabama playing with that "we are the kings" swagger, the Georgia "we don't have hope because hope has abandoned us", Texas A&M played as a free spirited cowboy, etc. Is just the way it is in SEC Land. Every week I look for a new short and they never let me down. Keep 'em coming SEC Shorts!

Gunsmoke: The Guitar (1956) Season 1, Episode 35

Strangest ending ever

[6/10 · 26 June 2021]

I just watched this episode for the first time and was really bewildered by the ending. I am not used to Gunsmoke ending like this, with so much left to the imagination. The other reviewers left my thoughts, so there is no need for me to say much except; I agree with most. One of the most thought provoking episodes of Gunsmoke. Just a couple of observations.

1. I wonder if this had been a later episode, when the show was an hour and not a thirty minute one, if the writers could have or would have done more with the plot. Matt did some "pontificating" in the ending and it might have been good if we could have seen some results from that "speech" he gave at the end.

2. This show was made and shown during a time in America where lynching was still going on. Blacks still being lynched in parts of our country. Here though, there appears to be a "good" lynching, the citizens taking the law into their own hands. And not just the "ordinary" citizens, some of the leading citizens like Chester, Sam and, perhaps, even Doc. We are not certain, but this is one episode that cut against the grain of the law and would seem to justify lynching. Very strange that the citizens didn't just go ahead and turn the bad guys into the law.

3. It also shows Matt in a "less than good" light. When he saw what happened to Weed, he just slapped the cowboys and ran them out of town. In other episodes with the same type of plot, Matt would at least have locked them up for a couple of days just to get them off the streets and away from their victim. Matt appears to be a little negligent on his job here.

I am not going to go so far as saying this is one of the best Gunsmokes, as others have, it raised a number of questions and answers that went against other episodes depiction of the town folks, leaders and even Matt. That's why I gave it only 6 stars.

Gunsmoke: This Golden Land (1973) Season 18, Episode 24

A daring story in daring times

[9/10 · 14 April 2020]

The times in which this story was set, 1870's America, with the influx of immigrants from Europe coming to our shores, illustrates the problems of assimilation of one family and understanding that America is more about justice than they understood. Matt and Festus were caught in the middle of a Russian/Jewish family with a very strong willed patriarch and his equally strong willed son who is willing to stand against his father when his father doesn't seem willing to avail his family of this new land where the law does not oppress, but truly seeks to have justice for everyone.

There are 3 outstanding performances here that should be remembered. First, Paul Stevens is excellent as the Father. He is one of my favorite character actors and, in addition to this role, he played in 2 other episodes of Gunsmoke and was excellent in both of them as well. He plays the soft spoken, grieving father who is willing to jeopardize his relationship with his son to do what he believes is right according to his religious beliefs. A scene that might be the most powerful ever in TV history was when his wife rebukes him for his beliefs and he, very tenderly, asserts that there are only 2 things that he fears; offending God and losing her love. She then replies that she has loved him for over 30 years and he will never lose her love and she has never loved him more than that moment. The tears are flowing while watching that! Powerful stuff.

A young Richard Dreyfuss is here as the middle son and he also gives a glimpse into his future as one of the premier actors of the 80's and 90's. He gives a very passionate portrayal of a son who cannot understand his father not wanting to see justice for what the "ruffians" did to his brother.

Also, Victor French gives his usual fine performance here as the bad guy. It is interesting that he also gave a similar performance here as he gave in another Gunsmoke episode that also had Paul Stevens. In "Trafton", he played a bad guy who developed a conscience after encountering a Reverend played by Stevens. The chemistry between those two actors is palpable in both of those episodes.

It's easy to see how this is one of the most acclaimed episodes of Gunsmoke in it's long run. It's definitely one that I will watch whenever I see it is coming.

Gunsmoke: Milligan (1972) Season 18, Episode 9

Sappy ending that could have been better, if ......

[3/10 · 8 April 2020]

Harry Morgan is one of the best character actors out there and he doesn't disappoint here. He plays the poor, down trodden, hard working farmer and he plays it to the hilt. It seems that everyone is against him, from the town banker, to the usual murmuring mob who seem to always gather against the one who is good and decent, as this man clearly is.

The problem is the premise of why they are against him. Sure, in western shows, the good guy is not one to shoot the bad guy in the back, he always takes the "high road" and faces him down. Yet, no one seems to talk about Festus' shot who kills the obligatory fleeing robber as he rides away. No one shows any gratitude to the man who stopped this criminal from coming back and robbing them again. In that day and time, there was no such thing as the FDIC who would insure bank depositors money, the people were the ones who were out of the money that was robbed from their bank. Even though this bank robber might have been liked or even admired, he still took their money and was not their friend. For them to blame him for a perceived wrong doing doesn't really make much sense, to the point of seemingly being "okay" with what he did to them.

But, the ending is sweet, even sappy and very much is unrealistic. Kids can be very cruel in what they do and these kids are simply reflectors of their parents. The ending should have been better, with their school teacher, and some of the parents who had some good sense, coming out to say they were wrong and how they might have been decent and instructive to their children.

The storyline was admirable, but the ending spoiled it for me.

Countdown (1967)

"Lost in space"

[3/10 · 28 March 2020]

I grew up in Central Florida in the 60's when the space fever was at it's highest. I had the models of the Saturn V, the Command Module and the Lunar Modules in my bedroom. It was so exciting to be an 11 year old boy. So, when I finally got a chance to see this movie, after hearing of it for many years, I was excited to see Turner Classic Movies was going to show it!! BIG DISAPPOINTMENT!!

First, the plot was not that bad. We were in a race to the moon with the Russians and I remember some of the "go fever" that was going on at the Cape. I remember when Apollo 1 had the fire that set things back so there was really a fear that the Soviets were going to beat us to the moon. However, to think that the people at NASA would have just thrown together a mission such as Pilgrim, was ludicrous. The only thing worse for the US than getting beaten by the Soviets was if we had LOST the men, or man in this case, while trying to go there. THAT would have ended NASA for good, at least for the next 10 or 20 years. So, if the Russians beat us, too bad, but we are going to go with what we planned, a newly designed Apollo craft with 3 crewmen, one to stay in orbit above the moon which was the safest way to do it.

The acting was good, but the depictions of the two main characters really cheapened astronauts and their importance. First of all, Chiz was a MILITARY man, and he was used to obeying orders. He is portrayed here as a pouting child when he finds out he is not going to be first to go to the moon. Then, to think that his superiors would have not seen his attempt to sabotage Lee's training putting the entire mission at risk, C'MON! Then, Lee, it turns out, really was not prepared to go as Chiz had been saying, he was continuously arguing with the people in Houston, and, beads of sweat constantly on his brow as he panics when he can't see the beacon on the shelter vehicle. Listen, these astronauts were THE BEST OF THE BEST and they were men who understood their missions and did them. They were competitive with egos, but they also understood their role in the greatest adventure on Earth (and the Moon).

The special effects on the moon was also as cheezy as it gets. To think that they would not be able to communicate for hours without a relay in the Gemini craft that would not be set up where Lee could speak to them while he was walking to the shelter, is ridiculous. The way he walked, just taking a leisurely stroll on the moon was also ridiculous. There was no urgency for him to get to the shelter, even taking time for him to spend several precious minutes at the Soviet craft to unfurl the flags. Minutes that almost caught up to him at the end.

But, my BIGGEST gripe is the ending!!! As he sees the shelter vehicle, I thought, he's going to make it, he's going to get inside just as his air is running out and signs onto the radio and the world erupting in cheers!!! NOPE!!! We get the ending credits even before he gets within 100 feet of the craft! I'm going, ?????? We don't get to see Chiz smile that his friend had been able to do it, Lee's wife having tears of joy, the others who didn't know whether we could do it finally being able to cheer. The last few minutes of Apollo 13 and the mission control scene would have been appropriate here, but, no, we see the credits.

Finally, I was very disappointed at this movie. It portrayed our space program as being unfocused with a "make it up as we go along" attitude which I know was not the case. Especially after the Apollo 1 tragedy, rather than folding up our tents, the men and women at NASA buckled down to go to work, to find out the problems and fix them. And, because of that, we were able to go to the moon, not just 1 time, but 6 times and 12 US astronauts walked on it and advanced the cause of science beyond anyone's imagination. I think I understand why I had never been able to see this movie until today, the people in charge there, wished it would just go away. And it should.

Red River (1988 TV Movie)

Fair or not, this version will always be compared to the original

[4/10 · 25 August 2016]

I am a big fan of the original with Duke, Montie, Brennan and Ireland. Great performances with a great script and the beeyootefull music score. So, I was a little skeptical when I had a chance to watch it. At first, I was surprised at how entertaining it was. To begin with.

The pros: one thing that often happens with remakes is, the cast overdoes it. They try to adapt themselves to the original performances. Big mistake. Like Jeff Daniels does with the remake of True Grit. He tried to BE John Wayne. He is NOT John Wayne, just a poor copy. In this movie, Bruce Boxleitner played Garth as Bruce Boxleitner, not as Montgomery Clift. The others, the same way. That made the story more believable. I thought that he was VERY good in this part. He doesn't have quite the "angst" that Clift played this role with, but a good effort. Ray Walston does good in his role. Nobody can do Walter Brennan, so don't try. He gives a solid performance. There are a couple of times when they left the old script (I'll talk about that in the "cons"), but they stayed pretty much with the same story line.

The cons: James Arness as Dunson?? BIG mistake! I would have thought of several actors that could have done it better than him. Sam Elliot comes to my mind, he could have done it well, don't know if he was available, but they could have done much better if someone like him could have done it. James Arness had too much "Marshall Dillon" in him. Plus, at the end, he just leaves the part all together and ends up being a bad copy of the Duke. Again, it may not be fair, but when it shows him "wading" through the cattle for the "big showdown", he just does not carry himself as Duke did in the original.

Gregory Harrison as Cherry?? OMG, he was just horrible!! I know, part of the problem was they cast him against his type, and the character just went off the rails over the woman. John Irelands Cherry was a MAN, pure and simple. Harrison portrays him as a spoiled, womanizing brat.

Plot lines: This movie really went off the deep end when they had Cherry go crazy over the woman. Him goading Matt into a gunfight just was ridiculous. He wouldn't have done that, he was a flawed character, but he was still loyal. Plus, him doing what he did, cheated the audience out of one of the great scenes in the original, where Cherry tries to intervene at the showdown between Garth and Dunson and Dunson shot him. That showed how close Cherry and Matt had grown to each other. Big missing part!

The finding of Abilene: it shows Matt and his two scouts looking for Abilene. They are sitting up on a rise and wondering if they will ever find Abilene and wondering if the railroad was there. Then, they hear a locomotive whistle and it come in view, no matter that the tracks are only a few hundred feet away! They could have seen it for a long time! Then, the scene that is missing from the original is when Matt talks to the locomotive engineer and he is so happy. That scene is not there!! A lot is left off from Abilene as well. The scene with the cattle buyer is just so short, but, in the original, you can see how amazed the buyer is and how inexperienced Matt is. This guy could have taken Matt for a big score, but he doesn't do that and gives him a good price. Shows the difference between men of the last century and today. At least how Hollywood depicts it for the movie.

It seemed as if the producers were fixing to run out of film and they had to hurry to finish it.

The ending: YUCK!!! YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!! Does not work as good as the original. It left me very empty. Joanne Dru, in the climax was just so much better than Laura Johnson. A lot of emotion comes through. You can see that SHE KNOWS THEM BETTER THAN THEY KNOW THEMSELVES. And, the part where Dunson and Garth are lying there and "the lights come on" is missing as well. The climax of the movie is just so ...... 80's!! Did I say .... YUCK!!

I thought that, if this comes on again, I might watch it, it wasn't that bad. But, I would cue up the final part on my original DVD, from where they hear the locomotive whistle blowing till the end, and, when it got to that point on the TV movie, cut on my DVD and watch it to the end with Duke and Clift fighting and Tess firing the gun at them. That is a classic end to a great movie.

Rio Grande (1950)

From start to finish, it was pretty bad.

[3/10 · 15 August 2015]

I hadn't seen this movie in about 25 years and couldn't quite remember it until AMC showed it today. I am a big Duke fan, but this one was very disappointing. It was so predictable, from the beginning when he sees his son there as one of his troops and their very predictable "reunion".

The idea of the Apaches raiding across the Rio Grande and the Cavalry not being able to pursue them because of possibly fracturing their relations with Mexico has some possibilities, but it goes flat after that. We might expect the Mexican's being there when they do cross the Rio Grande, but nothing ever came of it and that is very anti climatic.

There are also HUGE plot holes all the way through this and the former Confederate/ Union plot just doesn't do much either. The romance sub plot, which I don't think played as a real sub plot, also was very unsatisfying as well.

But, the one that had me laughing out loud was the "singing choir" that just sang, EVERYWHERE. Okay, the serenade of Mrs. York was sweet, but for the Captain to call for them to sing while they are riding patrol is just too much. I like the Sons Of The Pioneers as much as anyone and Ken Curtis just still amazes me every time I hear him sing and watch Gunsmoke and marvel, but this singing was just too much. Did any of those guy ever fire a gun in this entire movie?

I thought about leaving it a "1", but I can't leave a "1" for the Duke on a western. Now, let me check out The Conqueror and I may change my mind. Unless, we think of Mongolia as being "far west".

The Final Countdown (1980)

You will never find a better movie!!

[10/10 · 6 September 2011]

This is my all time favorite movie!! I know, it is not considered to be a big hit, but it had just about everything that I like in a movie; time travel, war and a big "what if". I am a history buff and that is one of the most favorite things about history. You can argue "what if" all day long! The performances were excellent as well. Kirk Douglas is one of the best actors ever and he really delivers a home run here. And, Martin Sheen! Has he ever not given a great performance? Charles Durning also does a good job and Katherine Ross has always been great "eye candy", but she can act. But, the best performance of the movie was James Farentino. You can really feel the angst that he had as an amateur historian and whether they should stop the Japanese or not? It was really simple for the Captain, but not for him. He knew that his world would change as well as everything else.

And the ending!! All I can say is WOW! The best ever!!

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

Hilarious in spots, only okay in others

[5/10 · 15 August 2006]

I just finished watching this on DVD and found it very funny in places. It starts out kinda slow, but gathers steam and has some very funny moments. In fact, one scene stands out as the funniest scene I have seen since the finale scene in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World" back in the 60's. I absolutely laughed till I hurt!! Without giving it away, it was the waxing scene!! The language is very rough and sex is the pervasive theme of the movie so there is a lot of nudity. You definitely want to keep this one locked away from the kiddies.

Steve Carrell gives a super comic performance and is very believable as the nerdy guy. His buddies are also very good as well.

I would recommend this film, but not for over about 7 bucks.

50 First Dates (2004)

A very entertaining film

[8/10 · 14 November 2004]

When "50 First Dates) came to theaters, I really wasn't interested enough to go see it. When it came out on video, I waited about 2 months to see it until it came down to the $1.99 rental price.

Was I surprised! This movie was so entertaining to me, that I wound up buying it. I only buy about 5 or 6 videos a year, so you can see that I really must have enjoyed it. It won't win any Oscars, but it will make you feel good when you watch it.

I am familiar with the condition that Lucy has here having a cousin who has a similar problem and has had it for several years. I was really concerned with how a production company can play a condition like that for laughs, but, somehow, they pulled it off. They treated the subject matter with dignity showing that the people who have this terrible condition can (and do) have somewhat normal lives. My cousin does it the diary way. She doesn't lose her memory everyday, but at different times. She has gone as long as 3 months in retaining her memory and has lost it on other occasions after 4 hours.

I am not a big Adam Sandler fan, having always thought he was a bit "over the top" in his other films. I thought he was going to do this in this film as well after the first few minutes of the movie. However, when he is shown in the diner with Lucy, he shows that he is really a nice guy who, deep down, wants to find a relationship that is fulfilling with a pretty girl.

Drew Berrymore is another actress that I don't particularly care for most of the time, but she is really a sweetheart playing Lucy. She is just so lovable in this role, it's hard to believe that she has the Demons in her past.

Rob Schneider is very good in his supporting role as is Sean Astin as Doug, the 'roid raging brother of Lucy.

Again, not an Oscar winner, but well worth the $15 or so to purchase it at WalMart.

Marty