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Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)
For the submarine connoisseur
The submarine is probably the most strange and terrifying weapon ever invented by man. A steel tube hiding underwater navigating by sound, firing torpedoes at unarmed freighters and getting hammered by depth charges and enemy airplanes. Surrounded by dark water ready to crush and drown its crew at any second. The submarine is a perfect set for both war-drama and horror.
I find submarines fascinating and I've always loved submarine movies. It's too bad there aren't that many worth watching really. Apart from the masterpiece Das Boot there are just a few decent viewings but nothing that even come close to Wolfgang Petersens U-Boat survival drama. Except for Run Silent Run Deep that is.
Set in the pacific during WWII on an American submarine fighting the Imperial Japanese Navy the film features both screen legends Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster. Gable as the stubborn submarine captain and Lancaster as the younger lieutenant. The movie is directed by the famous and skillful Robert Wise. I'm not going into the script to much but it's a quite good boat and captain story with a mythical enemy ship and the usual drama among the crew. All in very fast pace.
The big star here, besides Gable and Lancaster, is the submarine and its periscope, torpedoes and interior perfectly portrayed with impressive realism in everything from underwater combat to surface artillery bombardment. Every torpedo attack is arranged with periscope sighting, range and bearing calculation, and use of the analog computer (TDC) to track and destroy the target. To hit something with a torpedo is not a simple task. Specially not a fast moving destroyer shooting at you. Sonar, radar and all the radio communication is also done with the same close realism. It's all the details that makes this film special.
The special effects are all very impressive with miniatures, explosions and fast moving torpedoes beautiful shot in black and white. The music and sound effects are also perfect. The sound is better then anything I've ever seen in an action movie from the late 1950s. The production is top notch.
But this is still a movie made in 1957. Everyone is perfectly looking and clean-shaven even after weeks at sea. There are a few to many corners cut at the end. And it's a very straight forward all-male story of submarine warfare. But the crisp production and the fast paced action makes it exciting all the way to the showdown. Run Silent Run Deep is a perfect movie for the submarine connoisseur.
Stranger Things (2016)
A real tasty love potion
Much have been written about this series love for the early 80s. And it's understandable. The whole period of John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, teenage horror-movies and cold war paranoia has been mixed together to a real tasty love potion. If you're too young and don't love the 80s for sentimental reasons you probably will after a few episodes of Stranger Things.
The story is set in a small rural town and revolves around a missing boy. His friends is soon dragged into a mystery and an adventure. Goonies and I.T. with the BMX bikes, nerds turning into heroes and a friendship story worthy a Spielberg movie. But there is so much more. The older sister have her own problems and her adventure makes an equally intriguing and fun story including all the ingredients for a classic high school horror movie. Under age drinking, skinny dipping and stupid boyfriends. And finally there is the confused and distraught mother and the towns sheriff also trying to solve the mystery.
What impresses me the most is how the series manages to keep all three parts of the plot relevant and interesting all the way to the climax. The pacing is mostly perfect and so is the acting. The child characters are all well played, specially Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and the funny character Dustin played by Gaten Matarazzo. Of course Winona Ryder is brilliant as the desperate mother.
The 80s atmosphere is well set with great horror sequences with the mandatory light flickering, scare jumps and electronic music that could have been made by John Carpenter. There is a lot of John Carpenter stuff going on here and it's great. Some of the inspirations for the series are even featured in one way or the other. Stephen King, The Thing, Michael Myers, and a few more.
The only weaknesses I can find here is the somewhat uninteresting bad guys. And David Harbours sheriff doesn't do it for me. His character don't add up so to speak. There is something missing there. But these minor flaws are very minor.
Stranger Things is defiantly some of the best TV I've seen for the last three years or so.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
When franchises collide
I went to see this movie with very low expectations. I'm not a fan of Zack Snyder and the mix of Superman and Batman seemed more like a construction for the box office than anything else. And if Man of Steel was anything to go by I expected this film to be both boring and pretentious.
Like King Kong vs Godzilla, Freddy vs Jason or Alien vs Predator; Batman v Superman comes out behind a number of movies with the two icons involved. Usually, these death-match flicks are made when both franchises are too washed-out to hype the audience. The producers turns to fan fiction for some new commercial potential. And in the case of Batman the franchise so clearly peaked with the brilliant Dark Knight that it was always going to be a downward spiral from there.
The plot comes with the standard concepts and problems associated with these franchise collisions. The two parties meet, conflict occurs and the fight is on. But why? In this case it's Alexander Luthor that applies the old divide and conquer tactic. Superman clearly wasn't blessed with super intelligence as you might think. But who's rational when it comes to love and family? Eventually they unite against an common enemy. Lets just say it's all very standard stuff.
The casting is a mixed bag to say the least. Henry Cavill does the same Superman thing we've seen before. I think Superman is quite a dull character to begin with and Cavill does absolutely nothing to make him more interesting. Supermans alter ego Clark Kent is the exact same thing but with glasses. Or is Superman the Alter ego? Whatever.
Ben Affleck fits in well with Cavill. His Bruce Wayne lacks all the humor and charisma the character should have and his Batman is even worse. Ben Affleck looks like he's walking around in one of those early diving suits with iron boots and helmet. I guess you need quite heavy armor when you're fighting Superman. But he ends up looking like one of those Batman impersonators in Dark Knight more than he does the real thing. Maybe he's wearing hockey pads? I don't know.
Jesse Eisenberg plays the villain Alexander Luthor. His part is a bit more interesting but sadly even worse. Luthor jr wants to bring on Supermans doomsday and starts off as a young and nerdy corporate wizkid developing into this evil Willy Wonka character. Seeing Eisenberg trying to pull off these Johnny Depp-ish lines and moves is pure pain. He even cites Alice in Wonderland. Bad casting and bad acting.
Amy Adams does a good job as Lois. The job of trying to make up for Supermans total lack of character that is. And Jeremy Irons is perfect as Alfred. A part he could probably do in his sleep.
A lot of the criticism of the cast should probably be aimed at the director. Snyder isn't in my opinion a very good director and it shows with the actors. But Snyder is all about overly orchestrated action scenes in CGI and slow motion. He's throwing people through buildings, walls, ceilings and building material in general. And he loves those dream scenes that you suppose to think is really happening but ends with a scare. If that's what you're looking for, look no more.
Some of the action is good though. At least the fighting that only involves humans. Snyder has clearly seen Dark Knight a few times. The grim tone and washed-out color palette makes for a similar look. A lot of the drama in the buildup to the action is done in a similar style. Lex is shot with his back to the camera a few times in Joker style, dramatic opening of doors and there's even a bad guy with a big scar by his mouth.
So it's still half of a quite bad Batman movie. But as Batman says himself: "They say that the world only makes sense when you force it to." In this case it involves a bit too much force to be able to watch for three full hours.