If this movie has a fault it is that it lacks many of the usual Hollywood romanticisms. It is neither about the Civil War in its entirety (not even getting to the pivotal 1862 battle of Antietam, let alone the far better known Gettysburg), nor is about Southern politics - spending little time exploring the politics of the antebellum South. Although Duvall, as Robert E. Lee (Duvall is a distant relative of General Lee) figures into the story (as he surely must), Lee is not really even the central character in this story.
What "Gods and Generals" is about is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and the first three major battles in Virginia. This was an era when the Union army was still poorly… Read more
A take-off on the Camelot legend, First Knight spins the yarn a tad differently than you learned in English Literature classes. Nonetheless, not encumbered by a classical education, I really enjoyed this tale -- even though some purists have grumbled. Sean Connery plays a fairly convincing Arthur -- more than a little overwhelmed with the ongoing labors of perpetuating his realm, and an almost adolescence passion for his betrothed, the young Guinevere. I like the dashing, somewhat Americanized, version of Lancelot played by Richard Gere - kind of a small town boy makes good sort of character. And the lovely Guinevere, played by Julia Ormond, seems like a great match for the… Read more
For all the expectations and hoopla surrounding this film, I was never quite sure what the point was. As a war film, it's the usual Hollywood shoot-em-up-bang-bang extravaganza, with meatball waving Japanese soldiers and digital aircraft making precision bombing runs that even modern JDAM weaponry would be pressed to beat. As a story about the Navajo "windtalkers," it starts off decently and then sidetracks into an exploration of racial bigotry - not an unworthy subject, but it just hangs there.
Cage is Cage, proficient acting - but the character "Joe" could have been played by almost anyone - no serious dialogue. The story explored in the most depth, unfortunately, is Joe's - silently… Read more
