The Falcon and the Snowman (1985) ~ A True Story

Ever see the movie "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985)? 

I once worked for the federal government. I understand how a young man like Christopher Boyce who came from a typical middle class white American Catholic family ... could become disillusioned he when comes to the knowledge that his beloved country, the United States of America, is not ... "perfect".  After all, that's not what he was taught or raised to believe.  

Even though I'm African-American and grew up in segregated neighborhood, I can empathize with how he felt. I was taught the same thing.  America is the land of the free, the home of the brave,  We're righteous and the other countries should follow our example.  Even though I understand Mr. Boyce, I refuse to justify what he did. Ideals or not, HE WAS WRONG!  

So America is not "without sin". But can any other country say that they are sinless?  You don't like what's happening in America?  Stay here and change it!!  At least you care.  The other country you're selling out to, could care less.

This is a very good movie.  I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.  The soundtrack gets 10 stars!  David Bowie is English but he sang the song "This is Not America", like he was an American

*(View the official movie trailer.)

"The Falcon and the Snowman" starred Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn. I think the movie should be incorporated into an orientation training class for all civil servants who work in the law enforcement agencies “ CIA, NSA, ICE, FBI, etc. The movie was intense. Riveting! A favorite word used by official movie critics. The best part of the movie for me is David Bowie and Pat Metheny on the soundtrack. But I digress. The movie is about a young guy (Christopher Boyce, played by Timothy Hutton) who works for the government and learns that "things" are not what they appear to be and feels betrayed by his country. He gets angry about it “ as any red-blooded patriot would - and decides to sells secrets to "The Enemy". He recruits his childhood friend (Daulton Lee, played by Sean Penn) who is a dope head! Long story short. In the end, they both go to prison.  There is also a book written about this story as well.

The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage by Robert Lindsey (2002-06-02)

In between, Mr. Lee gets caught and accused of murder. Of course, he didn't commit the murder but that didn't stop the law enforcement authorities who captured him from grilling him, thoroughly interrogating him, and torturing him to get the truth out of him. After all is said and done “ they say "He did!," - he say "He didn't! He's just a tourist, a businessman." - there's a scene where he's about to be released and a man walks in and says something to the effect: "We're going to give you 2 choices." Before the man could tell what the choices were, Mr. Lee (Sean Penn) looks up at the guy, weary, scared, demoralized and says in questioning tone of voice: "Costa Rica?" I CRACKED UP LAUGHING!! I thought to myself: 'Now ain't that sumthin! They done beat the crap about this boy and he is totally weakened and confused, but he still had the clarity of mind to try to negotiate to get sent to Costa Rica!!' :)

‘The Secret Garden’ Review: It’s as Lovely as You Remember | NYT (Reblog)

Are you in the mood to watch a delightful family movie?  

This is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett that has been adapted to film several times and I have watched various versions at one time or another, from my childhood to my adulthood. I know the main character in the story is the little girl but I am inclined to recommend you watch the film adaptation which stars Colin Firth because I am a huge fan.  Any movie with him is worth watching.  Here is the link to a wonderful movie review published via the New York Times (NYT).  "This version, featuring Colin Firth as the haunted uncle, hits the same notes as the 1911 novel and previous films, and that’s fine for this uncertain moment."

‘The Secret Garden’ Review: It’s as Lovely as You Remember

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Related or Similar Links:

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Movie Gem: Bollywood: Mary Kom (2014)

Priyanka Chopra as a boxer? Get real! No way!

Those were my initial thoughts. By the time the movie was over, I was eating my words. 

PC worked it! She was super awesome playing the role of a real-life female boxer, Mary Kom.

Loyal fans of Priyanka Chopra-Jonas will appreciate this enthusiastic Bollywood movie review of the film about a real-life Indian female boxer called Mary Kom.

Bollywood Movie: Mary Kom (2014) | Medium.com.

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POPULAR BOLLYWOOD MOVIES ON NETFLIX
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Movie Review: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Fans of Jake Gyllenhaal and sci-fi movie lovers will enjoy this film. I remember listening to a review by one of the critics that made me laugh. Paraphrasing his words, basically, he said:

• “This is a typical storyline. Something devastating or catastrophic is going to happen on earth. And of course, the one who knows what it is, what to do, and tries to warn others is the very person that nobody listens to!!”

This is a lighthearted movie review of a 2004 sci-fi film. Even though it’s 15 years old (as of 2019), it’s still relevant today. Plus! Fans of Jake Gyllenhaal, who want to know what he looked like as a teenager, will love this movie!

What the Official Movie Critics Said

Several official critics had a lot to say about “The Day After Tomorrow”. I remember a review by one of the official critics that made me laugh. Paraphrasing his words, he said:

• “This is a typical storyline. Something devastating or catastrophic is going to happen on earth. Of course, there is one person who knows what it is, what to do, and tries to warn others is the very person that nobody listens to!!”

What This Unofficial Movie Reviewer Says

If you believe in climate change, you’ll understand the storyline. What’s going to happen is there is going to be a drastic change in the weather and there will be freezing cold temperatures. Cold enough that people will die. If you believe in cryogenics, people won’t die. They’ll be instantly frozen. They can be thawed out later.

The Day After Tomorrow – Official® Trailer

Watched this movie and don’t want to spoil it for those who may not have seen it. (Although you might guess The End through the “hints” woven in between the lines of this discussion.)

Most Memorable Movie Scene

For me, there was only one memorable scene in the movie; a scene worth remembering because I love libraries.

In this scene, there is a group of people in a room in a library. It’s getting really cold! They have to do something to stay warm and since they’re in a library, they start burning books, grabbing any book within their reach and throwing it in the fireplace. They get ready to grab this one book and the man holding on it to refuses to let it go!

He goes: “You’re not burning this book!” He spills out his various reasons why “The Book” must not be destroyed.

Some debate and try to reason with him. Others are about to physically struggle to take the book away from him. Someone yells out that they have found an alternative set of books. No doubt every American would love to burn them! This is not one book. It is a set and has volumes upon volumes upon volumes. The group consensus is: “Yeah! Let’s burn those!!”

To me, that scene was totally hilarious fiction. The scene was also realistic. You could almost visualize that scenario actually happening in real life. If you’re an American taxpayer, you know you’ve thought of burning the U.S. Tax Code.

My Unofficial Movie Rating?  3.5 out of 5 stars and I’m being generous.

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Links of Interest:

We need better laws to protect the rights of future frozen cryonicists: Cryogenics is facing legal trouble with body preservation — Quartz

Agriculture Department buries studies showing dangers of climate change – POLITICO

Content first published at RationalMind.club.

Watch the movie trailer

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Old But Gold Movies: Review: “There Will Be Blood” (2007)

“There Will Be Blood” (2007) is a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis.  He won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. If you are a fan, then you will love the actor but you will hate the character he played.  Oh my!  What a horrible awful awful man!!  You never want to meet someone like that in real life!  If you know someone like that then surely you must go in the opposite direction every time it looks like you're going cross paths.  If I were keeping a list of movies I hate, this film would be at the top of the list.

I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!

If you are a loyal fan of Daniel Day-Lewis (Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis) then you have probably seen this movie. It’s not a recent film. It was released 10+ years ago. The movie is “There Will Be Blood”.

I don’t care for all of the movies where Daniel Day-Lewis is the star, even if he is a “Sir”. But I do know that he always gives 200% whenever he gives a performance.

This film won 2 Oscars. One award was for Best Achievement in Cinematography: Robert Elswit. The other was given to Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

He was good! He played his part well. He was so good that I HATED HIM!!

I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!

If I met any of those people in real life I would run away from them!

I only liked 2 characters: the adopted son (of Daniel Day-Lewis) and the girl he fell in love with.

As for the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis and that preacher he was always butting heads with?

I HATED BOTH OF THEM! I HATED THEIR GUTS!!

So was there blood? If you have not seen the movie, I don’t want to spoil it for but … yeah! Blood was definitely shed.

Sean Fennessey, a writer for The Ringer, a publication that covers sports, pop culture, and tech, provided a succinct description of this film in his movie review:

Never crawl out? Never??

What a relief to know that it was just a movie and not a historical account of real events.

So relax. If you are pursuing the American dream … dream on!

♦ Original Source.

Korean Movie Review: Unlocked (2023)

UNLOCKED IS A KOREAN FILM STREAMING ON NETFLIX, RELEASED IN 2023. A YOUNG WOMAN LOSES HER SMARTPHONE.  A SERIAL KILLER FINDS IT AND TURNS HER LIFE INTO A LIVING HELL!

SOMETIMES SMART PEOPLE ARE NOT VERY SMART

Lee Na-Mi (played by Chun Woo-hee, “Love, Lies“) is a female hustler. She’s intelligent, talented, hard-working, has excellent marketing skills, and holds down more than one job. When she’s not working beside her dad in his cafe, she is doing other jobs related to marketing products via social media technology. Like most young people her age, she uses her smartphone FOR EVERYTHING!! Work and play. Her device has loads of photos with friends and family, as well as lots of revealing.text messages. Very revealing. It’s surprising how innocent innocuous casual conversations via text messages reveal a lot about an individual.

Lee Na-Mi is smart but she did something not so smart. She got stupid drunk and in her drunken stupor lost her smartphone.  A serial killer found it.

You can guess what happened next?

READ FULL REVIEW ON POPGEEKS.COM

Movie Review: ‘Midway’ (2019) | A Certain Point of View, Too (Reblog)

An excellent review and comparison of two war movies both named "Midway". One released in 1976 with a powerful cast of stars including Charlton Heston and his contemporaries, released in 1976.  Per the reviewer:  "a messy mix of history and melodrama that aimed for historical accuracy but muddled it". Ouch!

The remake released in 2019. The cast? Not nearly as impressive.  Per the reviewer:  "Casual viewers will probably enjoy it; it is, after all, a film about one of the most famous U.S. victories of World War II; ... History buffs, though, will find more that is foul than fair in Midway." Uh-huh. I'm thinking that's not a compliment.

According to the movie reviewer Alex Diaz-Granados, it doesn't matter who the actors were, both films were disappointing. Quite frankly, I am very sorry to read this kind of review of a war movie. US military/war movies are for the express purpose of stoking one's patriotic fervor. It makes no sense to make a war movie that sucks! (O.o) There are veterans still alive who survived World War II. If they watch such movies, what must they think? Eh! It is what it is.  It's a movie!  If you want historical facts on record, you should probably watch a documentary.

I suppose if you just want to be entertained you should add either film to your Watch List.  But it's unlikely that you'll feel like jumping up and singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic when you get to The End.

Movie Review: ‘Midway’ (2019) | A Certain Point of View, Too

Image credit: Blu-ray cover art for Midway. (C) 2019 Lionsgate and Midway Islands Productions
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Related or Similar Content:

Korean Sci-Fi Movie Review: JUNG_E (2023)

JUNG_E is a Korean sci-fi movie, released in 2023, and currently streaming on Netflix. It is set in the post-apocalyptic world in the 22^nd century (the year is 2194) and an institute is working on a special project to create the ultimate soldier who will always win!

JUNG_E is a robot who has been built to resemble “Captain Yun Jung-yi is a legendary mercenary of Allied Forces who led her team to countless successful missions against the Adrian Republic”.

The real soldier, Captain Yun Jung-yi, was injured during a battle and ended up in a coma. Her “consciousness” has been kept alive and a team of scientific researchers have been trying to recreate her by copying her brain data and putting it into android bodies. 

The research team is led by Yun Seo-hyun, the daughter of Captain Yun Jung-yi.  Yun Seo-hyun found out that Kronoid, the institute she worked for, had changed the mission of her project. Instead of creating the perfect soldier for combat, her mother's consciousness was going to be placed into androids who would perform “other tasks”, such as serving as a porn toy to fulfill a person's sexual fantasies.

Yun Seo-hyun is horrified at the thought of her mother being demeaned and comes up with a daring plan to rescue her. 

Read full review on Popgeeks.com.

Movie: Bollywood: Chandni Bar (2001)

Watched “Chandni Bar” (2001) as a Friday night movie pick. Chose this film because I was not familiar with any of the Indian actors or actresses. As far as the acting, the script, etc. … it was fine. I say “fine”? But according to Wikipedia: “The film was a critically acclaimed hit and it won four National Film Awards.”

Well! I don’t want to spoil it for others who have not seen the film. Don’t get me wrong. The performances were award-worthy. It’s just that … if I were to use one word to describe the storyline, that word would be “hopeless”.

Throughout the movie, I kept hoping. But my hope was never fulfilled. I was very moved by the characters and the harsh realities of life they faced daily; especially as the threads of their daily lives were sewn into the fabric of the criminal underworld. Definitely not a Cinderella fairy tale.

Someone described it as a handbook to life in Mumbai. What do I know? I'm American and to me, it was a very sad movie with a very sad ending.

*** Original source

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Vintage Classic Movie vs Modern Remake: “The Manchurian Candidate”

“The Manchurian Candidate” which was released in 1962 and which starred Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, along with Angela Lansbury, is now a vintage classic movie.

♦ Lifting a description from Wikipedia, this movie is a "Cold War neo-noir suspense thriller".

In 2004, "The Manchurian Candidate” was given an extreme make-over. It was updated - from Cold War to Gulf War - and the remake which starred Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep actually had the blessings of Tina Sinatra, daughter of the late Frank Sinatra.

♦ By contrast, the description supplied by Wikipedia for the remake is "science fiction political-thriller film".

The movies were film adaptations based on a 1959 novel, written by Richard Condon.

Both films are worth watching. But only one of them is the best!

In my opinion the 1962 version is the best! I love Frank Sinatra.

♦

In Memory Of:
Laurence Harvey (1928 – 1973)
Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

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Six (6) Movie Reviews from The Entertainment Factor (Reblog)

 Every now and then I try to show some support for fellow bloggers who publish blogs using Blogspot.  The Entertainment Factor publishes a wide range of reviews - movies, TV shows, music, and video games.  I clicked on the link for FILM REVIEWS.  There is interesting the posts in this section of the blog.  By percentage.  The reviews are sorted by score so I started with the highest score, 100%, and started working my way down.  I searched for movies that I had watched to see if I agreed with TEF's recommendations.  Found 6 movies that I enjoyed watching and it seems TEF agrees with me.

THE KING'S SPEECH (2010)

EXCERPT: "After the death of his father, and the abdication of his elder brother, George (Colin Firth), or Bertie to his friends, is forced to assume the throne on the eve of World War II. This is the true story of King George VI, who led Britain through war. However, he had a very difficult impediment to overcome before he could make his mark in history. A speech impediment. It's quite obvious that any great leader needs to be an equally great speechmaker, so, the stammering sovereign's wife, Queen Elizabeth enlists the help of australian speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) who, through some unusual techniques and by offering his sincere friendship, helps George overcome not just his stammer, but also the roots of all his problems, fear and insecurity."

I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.

The Entertainment Factor gave it a score of 100%.

WE AGREE!!

Links to More Reviews by TEF that I also recommend:

BLACK SWAN (2010)

UNSTOPPABLE (2010)

AGORA (2009)

CRIMSON TIDE (1995)

NICK OF TIME (1995)

Tweets by The_Ent_Factor

Random Mexican’s Movie Reviews: MOVIE REVIEW: UNHINGED (Reblog)

This reblog is from one of my favorite blogs for movie reviews. It's a quick review of a 2020 film which stars Russell Crowe.  I have followed Mr. Crowe's acting career but to be honest I have only really liked him as the Gladiator.  Based on this review, it could be added to your watch list for Friday night movies IF you don't mind movies rated C+.  In other words, you'll watch it only because you like Russell Crowe.

"Unhinged is a 2020 American thriller film directed by Derrick Borte, from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth. ... It’s a brutal trip into madness that makes this film feel more like a horror film than a straightforward thriller. ..."

Con't reading:

• Random Mexican’s Movie Reviews: MOVIE REVIEW: UNHINGED

Lots of people have shared their reviews.  Some say Crowe is fantastic but the story line could have been better.  More Reviews.

Image credit: Amazon.com

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Rotten Tomatoes (Reblog)

I am not encouraged to watch it because reliable movie reviewers indicated that it SUCKED! 

If you have a different opinion, please share in the comments.  Because I love super heroes! But not when they're in a bad movie. LOL. 😊

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Rotten Tomatoes

COOL TWEETS!!

New details emerge on Yelena's future in the MCU, Kevin Feige confirms Shang-Chi cameos, plus everything you need to know about Phase 4. https://t.co/Bw4ZNgP8l3

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) July 16, 2021

Chloé Zhao talks about her massively ambitious Marvel movie #Eternals, starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kit Harington, Brian Tyree Henry and Kumail Nanjiani. The film also features the MCU’s first LGBTQ and deaf superheroes. https://t.co/pkzLcuWOdU pic.twitter.com/nDQm6m4rha

— Variety (@Variety) April 29, 2021

Black Widow was actually pretty good for a marvel movie. It’s a great spy thriller the stunts are outrageous and Pugh steals the show. I love how badass they make them and dialogue is surprisingly great. I long for the day of women superheroes without it being a feminist allegory pic.twitter.com/34kKEJoNKR

— in cloud recesses (@kiraserpentine) July 11, 2021

Reviewed By Sam: Independence Day Movie Review (Reblog)

Movie suggestions from a fellow blogger on what to watch for the 4th of July, America's Independence Day. 

• Reviewed By Sam: Independence Day Movie Review: Independence Day, released on July 2 nd, 1996, and was dubbed a science fiction disaster film. ... Independence Day: Resurgence was released in June of 2016, and is the sequel ...

I have seen the first movie but not the sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence.  That would be kind of fun to watch them both back-to-back for the holiday. Set up a watch party with friends and everybody can bring their own popcorn!

Image credit:  Amazon

P.S.  If you are a Will Smith fan, just note that he decided not to be in the sequel.  He had his reasons. (Why Will Smith Turned Down Independence Day 2)

2 Movie Reviews: 3 Days to Kill & Pompeii (Reblog)

A year ago today this link was shared via my Facebook profile. Now it's being shared via My Blog Stop! Have to laugh because the reviewer wrote something about Kevin Costner that is so true true true! She refers to “3 Days to Kill” (2014), which stars Costner as “forgettable fun” [watch trailer].  Regarding her review of “Pompeii” [watch trailer], also released in 2014?  Simply stated, it “isn't a very good movie”.  

So why watch these flicks?  

• Brutal honesty. The guys are hunks!  :)  

That's what you get when you read the reviews published via this blog.  I like that! :)

Movie Reviews of 3 Days to Kill & Pompeii

Review This Reviews!: Secondhand Lions (2003) Movie Review (Reblog)

Secondhand Lions starring Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment is a fantastic movie! It was released in 2003, but is well worth watching now. ...

Secondhand Lions (2003) Movie Review

Reblogged this link from Review This Reviews, a site that shares reviews about a wide range of products.  It's another great place to find Movie Reviews, Music Reviews, and Book Reviews.