Similar to what Paul Greengrass accomplished with 2010’s Green Zone, 5 Days of War represents a merger of fact and fiction; weaving facets of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war into a predominantly fictional story about journalists caught in the crossfire. Finnish director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) took the director’s chair here, and attempted to…
In the past few weeks, New York City and the United States experienced a grueling, sweltering heat wave that swept over the East Coast after parching the rest of the country. This writer spent most of it indoors, in close proximity to a rumbling air conditioner — when I did go out, it was to…
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought mainly between United States Marines and the Empire of Japan during February and March of 1945, during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. As a result of the battle, the United States gained control of the island, and the airfields located there. The battle is most famous,…
If you’re familiar with low-budget horror flicks and/or video-game-to-movie adaptations, chances are you’ve heard of Uwe Boll. Even if you’re not familiar with Boll’s cinematic output, you’ve more than likely heard opinions on the guy’s work, and, in all likelihood, those opinions have not exactly been complimentary. If Boll’s work and name is a mystery…
Back in 1981, Peter Weir’s acclaimed motion picture Gallipoli asserted Australia’s cultural independence from Britain by portraying Aussie soldiers as heroic, anti-authoritarian and noble. Additionally, the film displayed to the world just how big a part the Aussies played in WWI and how tremendous their sacrifice was, while also damning the way the Australians were…
General Pang Qing Yun (Jet Li) is the sole survivor of his entire battalion; the Ching army he commanded was decimated by the Taiping rebels in Hechuan. Seeking refuge, Pang retreats to a small town and ends up spending the night with a woman named Lian (Jinglei Xu). The next morning, he awakens alone, but…
Watching Sylvester Stallone’s new movie The Expendables is like attending a high school reunion — it’s lovely to see everyone again but they’ve all filled out a bit and become a bit old and past it. Having said that, the action stars of yesteryear are still believable when it comes to pulling off the stunts…
