Going to see Midway opening night ?

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: AcePylut

Yeah I forgot that I was thinking "where are the Wildcats and Major Park's Buffalos" quite a bit. But oh well.

They got the 5 Betty return strike during the raid at Marshall Islands right.

C- / D+ is about right.

But face it, there's no reason anyone here on this forum shouldn't go see it. After all, it's only once every 20 years or so that we get "a" pacific war movie, even if one of them is TMTSNBN



If you were force to write the origin of the Pacific War and the first 6 months of it in a couple of paragraphs, with accurate adjectives of each named character, then that's what you'll get.

The Pacific Miniseries from HBO is still, imho, the best thing around for the Pac War.

What I'll do is make my 14 year old watch Midway, then we'll watch The Pacific miniseries.

Ok, we've heard enough about the movie rating. I'm really interested to know what the teenagers thought of it.
Did they feel they got a whole new appreciation of what those brave men went through and the losses involved in great victories?
Did they understand how chance and the initiative of a few men/women can turn the results of a battle in an instant?
Do they understand that most of these men were only 5-10 years older than they are, and had just started to savour adulthood?
Do they understand that service in the armed forces means separation from loved ones for varying periods and a chance they will never return?

If they movie has not made them think of such things, it has failed in its raison d'être.

Disagree. I don't feel those are the sole characteristics or reasonable raison d'etre for this movie. Such introspective insinuation would be a bonus, but lacking that does not immediately make it a 'fail'.

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

The Movie That Shall Not Be Named

There are only two things the Forum unanimously agrees upon. This is the best game ever and that is the worst movie ever.

Almost right, but not quite. Please note the 'F---' grade ascribed TMTSNBN and the 'F----' grade given Indianapolis: Men of Courage. While I wasn't upset at Rafe's demise ("Just die already, you overwritten waste of cellulose!") in TMTSNBN, I found myself rooting for the sharks early and often in the latter.

[Elessar2]

ORIGINAL: rsallen64

There are so few movies made about the Pacific, period, that I am "somewhat" looking forward to seeing this when it comes out on Netflix or whatever in the future, but given what I know so far, I will not pay to see it in a theatre. Thanks for the reviews, which are very helpful. I guess the bottom line is Hollywood can't afford to make a movie that is accurate and well done, because not enough people like us [;)] will pay to see it and they won't recover their costs. In the end, cheesiness and excessive CGI rules. I doubt there will ever be a Saving Private Ryan done for the Pacific Theatre.

Welp, there was--it was called The Pacific, and note Tom Hanks was also involved in its production [as he also was w/ Band of Brothers]. Now, if you mean the aviation & naval side of things specifically (vs. ground troops), then yeah fully with ya.

[Canoerebel]

Thanks to your warning, I've never seen Indianapolis: Men of Courage. You saved me from having to un-see it. [&o]

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: AcePylut


They got the 5 Betty return strike during the raid at Marshall Islands right.

A friend says one of the trailers showed a two engine Japanese plane crashing into a carrier. Did that actually happen?

[geofflambert]

Just read an account involving Enterprise vs. 5 Nells with one of those attempting (but failing) to crash into her.

http://www.cv6.org/1942/marshalls/marshalls_2.htm

[AcePylut]

They got that part right.

When it comes to movies and my 14 year old... here's the conversation

Dad: Do you want to go see a movie?
Savannah: Yes

(but I didn't even tell her what movie it is/was. She trusts me to select good movies that she'll enjoy that are appropriate for her. Either that, or all she hears when I say "see a movie" is "Do you want candy, popcorn, and a soda?" lolol)

So tomorrow night, Savannah and I are going to see Terminator Dark Fate. About a month ago, I "made" her watch Terminator. It was a joy. I was her age when I first saw the original Terminator and it was the scariest sci-fi horror imaginable. I didn't sleep that night in fear of cyborgs from the future. I mean, when 'just' the robot rose from the ashes, I nearly dropped a load in my pants in fear. She... my sweet pea... when she saw that.... she started laughing. The special effects were too dated. LOL. But... when she first heard Ah-nold say "I'll be back"... she made me stop the movie and excitedly proclaimed, "so THAT's where THAT comes from, and THAT'S why everyone always says 'I'll be back' in a funny accent!!!!!" And then when Reese says "come with me if you want to live", she did the same thing.

After watching that, funny enough, the day after that I saw the first trailer for Dark Fate, and I had no idea it was being made. Hilarious. So I said "Sav, do you want to go ..." "Dad, yes". Then we watched T2, and she loved it and said "dad for this movie being almost 30 years old, the effects are REALLY good".

So yeah, Dark Fate tomorrow, Midway next weekend.

I'll fill you in on her review for Midway.

[AcePylut]

ORIGINAL: amon15

Enlighten me guys... what does "TMTSNBN" mean? [:)]

There was a WW2 movie that came out in 2001 starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and a very sexy Kate Brekinsalederidge or whatever her name is. This movie shall not be named on this forum. If you do, prepare for about 2,856 posts about how awful it was, down to every nitty gritty detail.

At least in the movie Midway, you didn't have P-40 pilot saying "we can't outrun them, we'll just have to out-fly them". LOLOLOLOL.

[AcePylut]

Ok one more thing I've been pumping up my kids with. I live about 2 hours from Charleston, SC. At the naval museum there is the CV-10 Yorktown. We go there about every 2 years. The kids love it. My 6 year old calls the Yorktown "the ship where all the warriors live" (lol, warriors)

My Sweet Pea is old enough to "know" what the ship was for, so I always spend the drive there enlightening her about the war. Everything I talk about eventually leads to how horrible war is (not that I know, personally, never been in a war, but I simply relay the true stories I've heard/read).... as in, "That was a 40mm gun. The shell is 'this' big. If that hits your plane's wing, then your plane loses it's wing. Imagine when we fly together, losing a wing. The plane is going to crash, and if you can't get out or are stuck in the plane, imagine spiraling down from 2 miles up, knowing that your death is coming as soon as you hit the ocean. That is, if you're plane doesn't burn up first."

My 6 year old, well he's 6, he likes exploring it.

www.patriotspoint.org

[BBfanboy]

Your description of the plane spiraling down with fire starting to come into the cockpit sounds very much like Herman Wouk's writing in The Winds Of War. The protagonist's son is an SBD pilot at Midway. He survives the attacks on the Japanese Carriers but next day when they attack the damaged CA Mikuma, one of the puffs of light flak hits his engine knocking it out and setting it on fire. The fire quickly enters the cockpit causing extreme agony before he hits the ocean and the cooling waters are his last sensation.
The description was very vivid and stuck with me all these years, a counterpoint to the glorified victory that will be publicized to the country. I think you do the right thing to translate the objects of war to the experience of war. Bravo.

[warspite1]

Mark Kermode, who reviews for the BBC, had little good to say about this - even comparing poorly with Pearl Harbor when it comes to screenplay [X(] - and he is no fan in anyway shape or form of Pearl Harbor.

He doesn't comment critically upon the CGI which I guess says something about his understanding of the military aspects, but I do respect his opinions generally about films......

Based on this and the good folks above, I think I'll give it a wide berth [:(]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articl ... ember-2019


Oh and by the way, he also reviews The Good Liar - which is also on this link. Mrs W and I went to a pre-screening of this film. He calls it preposterous tosh which, while a little harsh, wasn't a million miles out. I thought Helen Mirren was superb as ever, but that was it...

I'd steer clear of this one if anyone thought it might be worth going to see (there is a WWII link in this film).

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: amon15

Enlighten me guys... what does "TMTSNBN" mean? [:)]

warspite1

Nice sig line picture amon15 [:)]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

Ok, we've heard enough about the movie rating. I'm really interested to know what the teenagers thought of it.
Did they feel they got a whole new appreciation of what those brave men went through and the losses involved in great victories?
Did they understand how chance and the initiative of a few men/women can turn the results of a battle in an instant?
Do they understand that most of these men were only 5-10 years older than they are, and had just started to savour adulthood?
Do they understand that service in the armed forces means separation from loved ones for varying periods and a chance they will never return?

If they movie has not made them think of such things, it has failed in its raison d'être.

warspite1

Interesting questions. This made me think about when I was younger and how I viewed war films of the day. Unfortunately it wouldn't be right to think about when I was a teenager as by then I was firmly committed on my road to exploring military history and WWII in particular. So to answer I will probably think about the ages of 8-12 and my reaction (as I can best remember) to watching staples such as Dambusters, Battle of Britain and Tora Tora Tora

To be fair I fail to see how any war film about a real life event could fail to teach a young kid with any sense of imagination those lessons. Watching a war film as a family was a big deal back in the day and I do remember we watched them whenever they came on the telly - typically a Sunday night or Christmas time iirc. I don't recall how old I was - but I do remember crying to my mum one night after seeing Dambusters. Why was I upset? Well I was worried that if there was another war then I wouldn't be brave and would be too scared to go into battle..... So that fourth question obviously hit home to a small boy.

As a supposedly sensible war film about a real life event (as opposed to some load of old 'smack'em up cobblers, whether real event or not), yes I would expect it to bring out those aspects to a watching audience or no, it hasn't done its job.

[Macclan5]

Summary

From my Daughters perspective:

B-
An interesting historical movie with a lot of character portrayal of some very brave men. Especially Dick Best and Wade McClusky. The flak and odds these brave men faced to defend democracy was incredible.
There were a number of startling revelations never taught in school.
That the Japanese summarily executed captured Air men against the Geneva Convention.
That the Japanese invasion of China killed 250000 Chinese civilians in retaliation of American support.
That there were pre-war - some Japanese leaders such as Admiral Yamamoto that counselled against war

A slight "Dad" conversation about how some academic historians can successfully point out that World War 2 can consider to be have started in the early 1930's. That Japan's invasion of China, Italy's invasion of Abyssinia, or even the Spanish Civil war point out that it is over simplistic to blame the treaty of Versailles 'hangover' (about the only thing taught). That Germany, Italy, and Japan (and even Russia) were led by cadre's of undemocratic leaders many of whom sought war though there were clearly moderates to a lesser degree all around the world seeking (unsuccessfully) to avoid war. That Russia actually played both sides the war having signed treaties with both Germany and Japan before joining the democratic Allies.

From my perspective:

D
An "Enterprise-centric" portrayal of the months following Pearl Harbor and a few men aboard her. A minor focus on Chester and his intelligence staff at Hypo.
I can forgive some of the minor historical inaccuracies.
However even as "just enjoy the film" moment - it fails to build tension leading to the battle. It failed to draw out the few good parts from the old 76 movie.

The uncertainty was underplayed.
The Catalina searches. Main body verse Enemy Carriers.
Park's Fighters at Midway.
Hornets disproportionate losses. The Devastator disproportionate losses.
The retaliatory attack on Yorktown twice.
Yorktown and Hornets participation largely glossed over.
Spruance and his own tactical wisdom completely omitted or at least not even acknowledged. Spruance was simply standing there.


If you are taking a / your Child with you - Go. It can open up some interesting conversations.
Mostly wait for Netflix - the CGI is not worth the admission. Those of us here will likely see it because it is within our nature to do so. Lower your expectations so you are not disappointed.

[JohnDillworth]

I, for one, think integrity matters more than ever these days. :- ). I can not, will not, see this “movie”. I picked out about 127 inaccuracies in the trailer and my family has gotten sick of me yelling at the TV about them. Want to see a good war movie? You can probably find the astonishingly good They
Shall Not Grow Old on HBO today. No, just no

[L0ckAndL0ad]

Huh, my going-to-go dial went down to 90%, and now up to 92%.

I intend to re-watch the Midway (1976) first, but as good as it was, even now I remember all those parts of the footage with either the same (reused) or wrong aircraft, so criticizing modern CGI mistakes now, while being valid, should be done with some perspective

Yeah, I'm intentionally lowering the bar to soften the blow before watching...

PS: Oh, and what was that film where Halsey takes over after Ghormley is relieved, about the Guadalcanal campaign? I need to watch it again too. Anyone remembers the name?

PPS: Tom Hanks + HBO = awesome stuff. "From the Earth to the Moon", "Band of Brothers", "The Pacific", and, hopefully, we'll see "Masters of the Air" some day.

[Canoerebel]

In the 1970s, the best people could do was to use period war machines and historic footage, even if they weren't the right models or classes or battles. Movie makers had no choice.

In 2019, they have a choice. They don't have to have Zero fighters strafing at street level, zooming beneath trees without ruffling the leaves. CGI quality isn't the issue, its the people using it to create video games rather than movies.

I like John Dillworth's take: integrity matters.

I just re-watched the opening scene of the first Narnia movie - about one minute of German bombers over England. Very well done - believable footage, great use of music and sound, all done to create tension and set the stage for the magical story to follow.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

Want to see a good war movie? You can probably find the astonishingly good TheyShall Not Grow Old on HBO today.

warspite1

Good shout and got me thinking of this in terms of BBfanboy's questions.

I recently got round to watching They Shall Not Grow Old with my eldest little cruiser. Suffice to say there was a need for large amounts of Kleenex during the watching.

Astonishingly good? Yes, and then some. Should be compulsory viewing on the school syllabus. Heart-breakingly sad, poignant, about as anti-war a film as can be made - not by setting out to make an anti-war film, but by simply making a film about war, that stars those that took part, in their own words, that lived and (in some cases) died during the horrific conflict.

Here is a short film with the director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) explaining a little about how it was made
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdY-1u-rk_M

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I just re-watched the opening scene of the first Narnia movie - about one minute of German bombers over England. Very well done - believable footage, great use of music and sound, all done to create tension and set the stage for the magical story to follow.

warspite1

Wow - lots of posters ticking my boxes today [&o]

I still remember watching this with my then, little cruisers, at the cinema. Major lump to the throat time that caught me totally unawares....

[spence]

PS: Oh, and what was that film where Halsey takes over after Ghormley is relieved, about the Guadalcanal campaign? I need to watch it again too. Anyone remembers the name?

"The Gallant Hours"