John Wayne Movie Review: ***^The Green Berets. (1968)

 The Green Berets is a classic John Wayne soldier movies.  John Wayne portrays Col. Mike Kirby.  David Janssen portrays a soldier embedded with the military unit that is on a mission to capture a Viet Cong general.  One of the most touching aspects is Hamchunk, a Vietnamese orphan looking for Sgt. Petersen (Jim Hutton) who is killed.  This movie borders being a propoganda piece for the Viet Nam War.  Even so there is plenty of action.  There are also views of booby traps which may or may not be accurate.

John Wayne Movie Review: ***^Jet Pilot (1957)

 This is a cold war movie of spy versus spy.  It appears a Russian pilot, Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon/Olga Orlief (Janet Leigh) is defecting to the U.S.  Col. Jim Shannon (John Wayne) is assigned to her to get information from her.  At the same time she is getting information from the Americans and feeding it back to Russia.  She even gets some plans.  Orlief and Shannon marry in an attempt to keep her from being deported.  It is discovered she is actually a spy.  Now the opposite happens, Shannon flies her to Siberia and he defects.  However he is also working as a spy for the Americans.  When Orlief learns that the intend to trade Shannon to the Americans, but not until they destroy his memory with drugs, they do the defecting rescuing thing a third time.

Tom Hanks Movie Review: ***^ Burbs 1989

 Here Tom Hanks stars as Ray Peterson and Carrie Fisher portrays his wife.  They interact with neighbors Mark Rumsfeld (Bruce Dern and his wife Bonnie (Wendy Schaal) and Art Weingartner (Rick Ducommun).  The whole neighborhood is in uproar over a new family that has moved into the neighborhood, and the don't care for their hard.  They rarely come out and suspicions are aroused.  And when another neighbor disappears without taking his dog, suspicions are even higher.  The three men, Art, Ray and Mark are on a mission to prove the neighbors are guilty of murder.  They dig in their basement, and hit a gas main which destroys the house.  They are in really big trouble, because the neighbor who disappeared comes back from having been in the hospital a few days; and the police are now involved.  Ray needs to go to the hospital after being in the explosion in the house, but the neighbor who is a doctor, Dr. Werner Klopek (Henry Gibson) plans to murder him.  In trying to get away they crash the car, and expose the skulls in the trunk.  

I liked this movie much more than The Money Pit, and Dragnet.

Tom Hanks Movie Review: **^Dragnet 1987

 This film is billed as a comedy, a parody of the old Dragnet tv series.  It misses on a couple of counts.  It is much more sexualized, as they enter a striptease bar which earns the movie a PG13 rating.  Definitely not for kids.  The plot is a bit complicated as well, with multiple crimes having been committed.  Dan Adkroyd and Tom Hanks star as Friday and Streebek.  Friday is the strait officer, and Streebek is more liberal in his demeanor.  However Friday falls for a woman, Connie Swail (Alexandra Paul) they rescue from a satanic ritual and an organization called PAGAN headed by Whirley (Christopher Plummer).  Whirley is a prominent preacher who hopes to con a rich businessman of $1,000,000.  He also kidnaps Swail and is headed away in an airplane with the money after having killed everyone with gas.  Friday and Streebek turn the tables.  Harry Morgan has a cameo as the Captain.  This movie does not seem up to the same quality as other Hanks movies.  

John Wayne Movie Review: ***Seven Sinners (1940)

 Marlene Dietrich plays Bijou who is featured in this movie as the woman men will fight for.  The movie starts and ends with a big bar room brawl as men fight for her love.  Bijou is ordered expelled from the island.  This seems to happen over and over.  She falls for the doctor on board the ship, Dr. Martin (Alber Dekker), but still gets off at the next island which has a new governor, so they might not remember her, and a bar where she use to sing.

In this case, Lieutenant Dan falls for upon first sight.  On the other hand, Antro (Oscar Homolka) has claimed her as his girl.  He is a known murdered and always carries a knife with him.  The lieutenant decides to leave the Navy so she can marry Bijou.  His family has a very long history in the Navy.  

This movie ends the way it began, a very big bar fight as Anto and his cronies want to do the Lieutenant in.  Bijou send him away, back to his ship, while she again is on a boat to the next island, and reforms her relationship with the doctor.  

I didn't understand the bar room brawl at the first, as it opened the scene.  I understood a bit more as the show went on.  

John Wayne Movie Review: ****Shepherd of the Hills (1941)

 A great move with the characters controlled by hate and revenge.  It seems to have spoiled the hearts of the characters and they see the world as dark an oppressive.  Young Matt (John Wayne), has harbored a grudge against his father who he has not seen for many years.  He is determined to kill him if he should seem him.  He left suddenly, with no explanation, leaving he as a small baby and his mother to fend for herself.  She became ill and passed away.  He blames his father.

But his aunt Beaulah Bondi) who took him in is the most bitter.  And the home where they lived has b een abandoned since; given to the ghosts.

But a mysterious man (Harry Carey) comes to town, and insists on buying the property.  The aunt sells as he offers $1000.  But turns out the man is the father, unbeknowst to the people.  However Sammy Lane (Betty Field)  figures out who he is, and that if young Matt does kill him, he could never be his husband.  

Everything does blow up when Young Matt realizes who he is.  He has been hoping for a chance to kill his father for many years.  His aunt burns herself up and her son.  The father shots John Wayne, to keep him from the same fate he went through as he was gone for having killed a man and sent to prison.  He couldn't get back.  Young Matt survives, and his need for revenge is appeased.

I enjoyed this movie very much.  I especially liked the character portrayed by Betty Field, as she is in love with John Wayne's character, and he also loves her, but neither are prepared to admit it.

Tom Hanks Movie: **^The Money Pit (1986)

 This movie is a bit over the top.  The house falls apart, and after two or three episodes, it is no longer funny.  First the door falls off, then the stairs collapse, then the water doesn't work, then the electricity goe caput, then the tube falls through the floor, and so much more.  After a bit it is just old.  At the same time the relationship starts collapsing as well.  Walter Fielding (Tom Hanks) and Anna Crowley (Shelly Duvall) portray a couple living through the money pit.  They need a new place quickly when Crowley's ex (Alexander Godunov) returns and needs his house where they have been staying.  He is the fly in the ointment as he would like his old love back.  However the couple finally come out the other side in terms of their house, as does their relationship.