The Guardian and the Flyboys
By Larry Anklewicz
Saturday, October 7, 2006
The Guardian is the action packed story of the Coast Guard's rescue teams who risk life and limb to save people at sea. It doesn't matter what the conditions--raging hurricanes or blinding blizzards, the rescue teams are constantly on call and prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives in danger.
The film focuses on Ben Randall, a veteran rescue swimmer, who is the sole survivor of a deadly crash during a perilous rescue attempt. Randall, who has years of experience, is devastated by the failure of his latest effort and winds up being assigned to teach school--the elite training program that prepares youngsters for the rigours of Coast Guard rescue missions.
Randall is not happy about the assignment, but gives it his best efforts and turns the entire program upside down in an attempt to improve the training.
At school, Randall meets and challenges a young recruit who had been a swimming champion at school. Randall recognizes the talent this youngster possess and tries to teach him the lessons he will need to survive this grueling profession.
The film contains some breathtaking action scenes and great special effects. My major complaint is that it runs about thirty minutes too long. At one point it appears that the film is about to end and then it rolls on for another half hour.
Kevin Costner is not bad in the lead role as the old man, Ben Randall, who is trying to pass on the lessons he has learned through experience, and Ashton Kutcher, as the young upstart, seems to have bulked up for this role and doesn't look out of place at all. Their acting chops don't get too much of a challenge as the action scenes and special effects are the true stars of this film.
So if you want something diverting, something not too demanding, The Guardian, is the film for you.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Neal McDonough, Mellissa Sagemiller, Clancy Brown, Brian Geraghty, Sela Ward.
Flyboys
Another action film, but this one is a lot more fun.
Flyboys tells the story of a group of Americans who come over to France during World War I in order to fight against the Germans.
The United States was still neutral in the War when these young men decided they wanted some adventure, or that they needed to prove something to themselves, or to others. So across the Atlantic they went and signed up with the French Air Force.
At this time, airplanes were still somewhat of a novelty and planes being used in warfare was something new. So these young saw an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and were pioneers in an area of warfare that would soon become much more important.
Flyboys looks at the problems and difficulties encountered by this new form of military activity. The planes were rickety and unreliable. The pilots had to carry a hammer in case their machine guns jammed. They also carried a pistol in case they were hit by gunfire and their plane caught fire. Death was easier if they fired a bullet into their own heads than to be roasted alive as the plane fell out of the sky engulfed by flames.
But this was also an exciting time. The pilots were up in the air all alone, looking for the enemy and going against the other side's pilots one-on-one.
The air combat scenes in this film were beautifully shot and always exciting, and the fact that the story is set some ninety years ago gives a certain detachment that makes the film a lot of fun to watch.
I give Flyboys a thumbs up!
Starring: James Franco, Martin Henderson, David Ellison, Jennifer Decker, Tyler Labine, Abdul Salis.
Recent DVDs
Akeelah and the Bee
The perfect film for the entire family, Akeelah and the Bee tells the uplifting story of Akeelah Anderson, a precocious 11-year old girl with a gift for words.
Akeelah lives in a poor area of the city and finds that her abilities for words and spelling will take her a long way in the world of the spelling bee. She wins the local contest handily and then finds a mentor who will coach her right to the national finals.
This is a wonderful and inspirational film.
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer.
Corner Gas Season Three
Canada's popular sitcom and a fan favourite arrived on DVD a short time ago in a limited edition package that features superhero rendings of comic book illustrator, Ron Boyd.
All 19 episodes from the third season are included in this package and includes such extras as an hour-long W5 documentary, Beyond Corner Gas: Tales From Dog River.
Get your copy now before this title sells out.
X-Men III: The Last Stand
The latest episode of the mutant revolution has just arrived at video stores everywhere. The climax to the X-Men film trilogy will excite all of the film's fans and includes lots of DVD extras, including three alternate endings, deleted/extended scenes and a director audio commentary.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen.
Take The Lead
Highly entertaining film that melds the world of ballroom dancing and hip-hop.
Antonio Banderas stars as Paul Dulaine, a world famous professional dancer who volunteers to teach dancing in a New York City high school. But Dulaine winds up learning a few lessons from his inner city students.
Great Choreography and terrific soundtrack.
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Alfre Woodard, Rob Brown, Dante Basco, Yaya Dacosta, Liriq Bent.
Lucky Number Slevin
Great roller coaster thriller with plot twists galore that will grab and keep the viewer's attention until the very end.
New York's most feared mobsters have waited twenty years for the chance to kill each other. Now the time has come, but neither one will go easily.
This film will keep you on the edge of your chair all the way through.
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci.
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