Tom Hanks Movie: ****^ Apollo 13 (1995)

 The Apollo mission that did not make it to the moon, and almost got the three astronauts killed.  Directed by Ron Howard, based on the true story.  Three men are preparing to go to the moon, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise).  A couple days before the journey, Mattingly was replaced by Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) for fear that Mattingly may have contracted the measles and would become ill in space.  All goes well, until there is an explosion on the ship.

This movie does a very good job of showing the reactions of the families when their spouses/ fathers are in danger.  These include wives Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) and Mary Haise (Tracy Reiner) It also does a good job of showing the many team members in Houston.  This includes the acting talents of Ed Harris, Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother) and Marc McClure.  The cast also includes Ron's mother, Jean Speegle Howard as Lovell's mother.

The problem solving that went into getting these three home, including the scene of putting a round peg into a square hole was very good.  This was to filter the carbon dioxide and they came up with something that worked.

Very well done, and even with knowing the outcome you wanted to heer with the people of mision control agt the end.

Movie Review: **Open Season

This is the story of a grizzly, Boog (Martin Lawrence), and his sidekick the deer, Elliot (Ashton Kutcher).  Add a crazed hunter (Gary Sinise) and a disturbed ranger (Debra Messing) who is overly attached to the bear, and you have the making of a strange movie.  The movie tries to mimic the relationship between Shrek and donkey, but it comes up really short, and just doesn't seem to work.  It makes a big deal of potty humor, which is a clear sign that this movie is going no place.

Christmas Movie Review: ***Fallen Angel (2003)

It is hard to tell who is being referred to here as the “Fallen Angel” because several people have fallen, all because of one tragic accident.   This movie is about two families who are entwined.  It is set in upstate Maine, close to the coast.  Charles Wentworth has a traffic accident in which two people die.  As a result he runs away.  His wife takes their daughter and moves away.  A boy, Terry McQuinn, who was in the accident, becomes estranged from his father and moves away as soon as he can.  He comes back when father is ill, and arrives back just shortly after his father has passed away.  He has some business to finish up, but decides to stay.  He discovers that the daughter, Katherine Wentworth, of Charles Wentworth is coming back to the town, and they are opening up the old home for her.  The daughter has since adopted a girl, who is blind, but sees things others don’t.  He also discovers that her father is also back in the area, living as a homeless man.  McQuinn wants to facilitate their reunification, but he does not tell the daughter.  In the meantime he falls in love with her.  He finally tells her and reveals that he has known but kept the news from her as he didn’t know what to say.   Having kept the secret has bad results, and they seem to be going back to their prior lives.

This movie I found to be a bit like “Christmas Box” with a history, but holes that are never totally filled in. 

Gary Sinise stars as the adult Terry McQuinn andJoely Richardson portrays Katherine Wentworth.

Movie Review: ****Of Mice and Men

After reading the book, I decided to watch the movie.  To see some of this acted out, can be a bit disconcerting, so it has a PG-13 rating.  For the most part it doesn't show a lot of blood, but it does show violence.  This movie is available on Netflix Instant.  It stars Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lenny.
It is very true to the story, but it starts with the later flashback.  Lenny gets in trouble touching a woman's soft dress, and being accused of attempted rape.  A posse goes after George and Lenny, but they escape in a ditch.  They then show up close to a farm by Soledad, and are hired to help with the barley harvest. 
Soledad, loneliness, and that is what John Steinbeck portrays, is lonely, insecure people.  It shows us the boss' son Curley who is lonely, wishes he were bigger, is over jealous his new wife might  not be faithful, and is controlling and abuses her.  We see his wife, who is also lonely, not allowed to talk with anyone because of her husband's loneliness, the boss who gives the Black farm hand "hell" when anything goes wrong.  Candy, (Ray Walston) who has his old mutt for company.  However his mutt is blind, and stinks, and the other bunk mates don't like it and convince him to have the dog put down.  Carlson uses his pistol.  Slim, the foreman, who really doesn't have anyone, and the other ranch hands are all working to get their $50 so they can take it into town on blow it on beer and whores.  The saddest case is Crooks, the stable hand.  His back is crooked from having been kicked in the back by a horse.  He is African American, and has his own room, but is not allowed with the other men, and only has books to read.  He is lonely too, books aren't enough when you are aching for company.  We never see the boss' wife, or Curly's wife might have had a friend.  As such she wanders among the farm hands looking for companionship.
In this mess of people, Lenny, George and Candy make a plan to get away.  It just might work.  Candy has some money from his losing his hand, and saving up.  With the pay at the end of the month, they could swing getting their own place, where they could live and support each other.  If they could just make it to the end of the month.  This movie lacks some of the lines I liked from the movie.  It does have a similar ending; except George isn't met by the farm hands at the end, but sneaks off in a cargo train.