Enemy at the Gates: Unwelcome to Stalingrad

Here’s what I wrote on Twitter: Crack shot Jude Law leads the Russian welcoming committee sent to greet the Nazis in Stalingrad during WWII. 8.5 (out of 10) “Enemy at the Gates” is the story of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Russian sniper who played a key role in defending Stalingrad against the invading Nazis during World War II. In the beginning of the movie, it looks as though the Russians don’t have much of a chance. Their troops are headed for an almost certain death against the better armed and better trained Germans. And if the situation weren’t bad enough, the officers warn that if the men retreat, they will be shot. And many of them are. The pivotal scene occurs shortly after the first battle. As the dust clears and Zaitsev is hiding amongst the dead bodies, he’s handed a rifle by political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) and proceeds to pick off five German officers with five perfect shots. Before you know it, Zaitsev is the poster child for the Russian forces and everyone is reading about his continued exploits – including the Germans, who send in Major König (Ed Harris), their top marksman to take out Zaitsev. Once König arrives the tension ratchets up considerably as the game of cat and mouse begins between König and Zaitsev, each man setting traps for the other and lying in wait. It’s just a matter of time before one of them slips up and the other draws blood. There’s also a love triangle between Danilov, Zaitzev and a female soldier (Rachel Weisz) in there. But it’s a minor distraction to the main event between the two shooters. Because in the end it’s not about Zaitsev getting the girl, it’s about him getting the Major.

"Enemy at the Gates"

Released: 2001

Rating: R

Length: 131 minutes

Cast: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Adventure

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “The Fog of War”

Article 5 of 8

Occupying the number 4 slot (so far) among the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews:

The Fog of War

This Errol Morris documentary features Robert McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In something just short of a confession, he discusses the lessons he’s learned from his experience in Vietnam. It‘s a very simple film, weaving together archival footage, documents and McNamara telling his story. As I mentioned in an earlier commentary, It should be required viewing for anyone in the diplomatic corps. My Twitter review: McNamara says everything W & Co should have wanted to know about invading a foreign country but were too arrogant to ask. 9.5 (out of 10)

Number 5: “Splendor in the Grass”

Number 6: “Thirteen”

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

Coming up next: “An Inconvenient Truth”

“The Fog of War”

Released: 2003

Rating: PG-13

Length: 107 minutes

Cast: Robert S. McNamara

Director: Errol Morris

Genre(s): War, Documentary

Riding Giants: Chairmen of the Board, Part 3

Continued from “Lords of Dogtown”

Stacey Peralta has another worthwhile documentary with “Riding Giants,” about the legends of big wave surfing. Like “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” this film is about a sport changed by a few extremely talented and driven athletes. It follows their obsession for the ultimate ride. In fact, the sport has progressed to the point where Laird Hamilton, has a speedboat towing him up to speed so he can catch skyscraper–size swells out in the middle of the ocean. And it’s all on film. Like “Z-Boys,” this film is a compilation of interviews, photos and archival footage. But with the many stills, Peralta goes Ken Burns one better by adding “mulitplane” techniques to add depth, dimension and movement to the stills. It’s a cool trick.

My review on Twitter: Riding Giants-The daring surfers who face mountainous walls of water without soiling themselves. (Like you'd be able to tell.) 8 (out of 10)

Continues with “Surfwise”

“Riding Giants”

Released: 2004

Rating: PG-13

Length: 101 minutes

Cast: Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doern

Director: Stacy Peralta

Genre(s): Documentary, Sports

Lords of Dogtown: Chairmen of the Board, Part 2

Continued from “Dogtown and Z-Boys”

Catherine Hardwicke, the director of “Thirteen” and the recent “Twilight,” dramatized the Z-Boys story in her “Lords of Dogtown.” Like the documentary, “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” it shows their rise to prominence and the fractures the fame caused, but I didn’t like it as much as the documentary. Maybe it was because I already knew the story or because it was just more interesting to have the original players tell it. Regardless, it’s well acted, well told and the skateboarding footage is great. (Though not as great as “Z-boys.”)

My review on Twitter: Lords of Dogtown-This Hollywood-mogenized skateboard movie tells the “Dogtown and Z-Boys” story of but with better-looking people. 7 (out of 10)

Continue with “Riding Giants”

“Lords of Dogtown”

Released: 2005

Rating: PG-13

Length: 109 minutes

Cast: Heath Ledger, John Robinson, Victor Rasuk, Emile Hirsch

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Genre(s): Drama, Historical, Period

Dogtown and Z-Boys: Chairmen of the Board, Part 1

Here are four surfing and skateboarding movies I can recommend even if you’re not into surfing and skateboarding.

The first one, “Dogtown and Z-Boys,” is about the birth of modern skateboarding. In the mid-1970s, during one of Southern California’s legendary droughts, a group of teenagers from Venice Beach discovered they could replicate their surfing moves on dry land by skating in empty swimming pools. Stacey Peralta, one the original Z-Boys, uses interviews and archival footage, including lots of amazing home movies to tell its story of the revolution. Which is what it must have felt like. Watching this film, I imagined what it must have been like to see people use a skateboard like that for the first time.

My review on Twitter: Dogtown and Z-Boys-Teenagers turn neighborhood swimming pools into skate parks, much to the delight of L.A. area homeowners. 8.5 (out of 10)

Continue with “Lords of Dogtown”

“Dogtown and Z-Boys”

Released: 2002

Rating: PG-13

Length: 91 minutes

Cast: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Bob Biniak

Director: Stacy Peralta

Genre(s): History, Documentary, Sports

The Dam Busters: What goes down...

My review of “The Dam Busters” on Twitter, Follow the bouncing bomb as it helps the Brits defeat the Germans in WWII. A little over earnest but no less fascinating. 8 (out of 10)

“The Dam Busters” was one of those movies that just showed up in my mailbox. I didn’t know what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise. Sure it’s got that earnest “let’s-win-it-for-the-allies” attitude. But unlike many WWII movies that celebrate the camaraderie and heroism, “The Dam Busters” is about the brains. In this case, Dr. Barnes Wallis, a determined inventor who insisted that he had a way to get bombs past the nets and mines protecting Germany’s dams. He would skip them across the surface of the water just like a rock skips across a pond. It was just crazy enough to work. And it did. Even still, it sounded so unbelievable I did some investigating and found this footage on YouTube.

Actual dam busters footage:

“The Dam Busters” movie trailer:

“The Dam Busters”

Released: 1955

Rating: NR

Length: 120 minutes

Cast: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney

Director: Michael Anderson

Genre(s): Drama, Adaption, Historical

Why “Man on Wire” fell short

My TweeterFlix review on Twitter, This film about Philippe Petite's walk between NY's Twin Towers proves that tightrope walking isn't as riveting as conspiracy. 8 (out of 10), prompted HereComeDots to write, Eight! Man on Wire gets an 8! That's a 10 if there ever was one!

I guess I could have given it an 8.5. But a 10? Never considered it. Don’t get me wrong. “Man on Wire” is a really good documentary, even if the recreated footage makes it feel like an episode of “True Hollywood Stories.” But the main reason: Philippe Petite never seemed like a sympathetic character. In fact, I found him kind of annoying. He was just this curious figure, an odd little performance artist who was obsessed with making this walk. And we knew he was successful so there was very little tension to it. For me, the biggest nail biter of a scene was where they were hiding under the tarps to avoid the security guards. Not too good for a film about a feat where the main character could fall to certain death at any second.

“Man on Wire”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 94 minutes

Cast: Philippe Petit, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, Mark Lewis, Jean-Francois Heckel

Director: James Marsh

Genre(s): Adaptation, Historical, Documentary