Behind Enemy Lines (2001, directed by John Moore)

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Jedadiah Leland

When hotshot Navy flight officer Chis Burnett (Owen Wilson) is shot down while doing a reconnaissance mission over Bosnia, he finds himself stranded behind enemy lines. While Burnett tries to avoid being captured by a Serbian general and find evidence of illegal military operations in yje demilitarized zone, Admiral Leslie Reigart (Gene Hackman) tries to mount a rescue operation. Standing in his way are the NATO bureaucrats who would rather just leave Burnett to his fate than run the risk of disrupting the peace process.

Behind Enemy Lines was released early in Owen Wilson’s acting career and, after years of watching him in buddy comedies and eccentric character roles, it can be strange to see him playing a traditional leading man, much less an action hero. Burnett has his goofball moment but, for the most part, this is probably as dramatic a role as you’re ever going to see Owen Wilson perform. Once you get over the fact that he’s Owen Wilson and still speaking in the same stoner cadences that he’s used in everything from Bottle Rocket to Inherent Vice, Wilson actually gives a decent performance as Burnett. The fact that he’s not a traditional leading man actually makes the film’s action scenes more exciting. If Burnett had been played by someone like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, you would never have any doubt about his survival. With Owen Wilson in the role, you’re no longer quite as sure that he’s going to be able to make his way to safety.

Gene Hackman also gave a good performance, even if he didn’t really do anything with the role that he hadn’t already done with all of the other authority figures that he played from Unforgiven on. Hackman’s intimidating as Reigart. When Burnett says that he wants to retire from the Air Force, Reigart looks like he’s about to reach over and rip off his face. But Hackman has so much natural authority that you understand why his men automatically respect Reigart and follow his every order. Burnett is lucky to have him on his side because there’s no way Reigart’s going to let someone from NATO push him around.

When Behind Enemy Lines first came out, it was not loved by the critics. They complained that the movie was heavy-handed and predictable. They were right but it really didn’t matter. Behind Enemy Lines made a lot of money because it was a legitimate crowd pleaser. I remember seeing it when it first came out. This was less than month after 9-11 and the theater was packed with people who, like me, were still dealing with the greatest national trauma of our lifetime. When Owen Wilson killed the men who were trying to kill him, the audience cheered. When Reigart said that there was no way he going to abandon an American behind enemy lines, the audience applauded. By the time the film ended, everyone was on their feet and chanting “USA! USA!” (At least, that’s the way I remembered it.) Critics be damned, at that time, Behind Enemy Lines was the movie that we needed.

Behind Enemy Lines was a huge box office success so, of course, it got a sequel that wasn’t as good. I’ll review Behind Enemy Lines: Axis of Evil tomorrow.

In Honor of Memorial Day

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Dazzling Erin

Last night, I was struggling with what to say for this Memorial Day post. In the past, I’ve shared paintings that have been done to commemorate Memorial Day. I’ve posted pictures that I’ve taken of the flags that always show up in people’s yards on Memorial Day. I’ve never really been happy with any Memorial Day posst that I’ve done. How do you capture the enormity of this day, especially at a time like now. I’ve always been a patriot. I love this country but right now, we’re so divided that even I sometimes worry about the future of America and question whether we’re ever again going to be a united nation.

Then, I came across this picture from Getty photographer John Moore.

It said everything that needed to be said about why this day matters.

Memoral Day at Arlington Cemetery by John Moore

Thank you to everyone who has served and who has sacrificed.

Short Film Review: 4 Quarters of Silence (dir by Cody Broadway)

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone! I want to take a small break from talking about horror movie and Halloween to tell you about 4 Quarters of Silence, a short documentary film that may not be scary but is definitely very inspiring. It’s a 16-minute film that I was lucky enough to see this weekend and, halfway through the movie, I had tears in my eyes.

And I thought to myself, “Lisa, don’t you dare start crying…”

And I kept watching the movie. And those tears did not go away and by the end of it all, I had given up on not crying. However, those weren’t tears of sadness. 4 Quarters of Silence tells an incredibly inspiring little story, one that earned the tears that I shed.

The film opens with a title card that informs us that there are 1,483 high school football teams in Texas. As a native Texan, I can definitely believe that. However, there is only one football team that is totally made up of deaf players. That team, located in Austin, is the Texas School for the Deaf’s Rangers. 4 Quarters of Silence follows the Rangers as they prepare for and play a game against a high school from San Antonio.

However, the emphasis really isn’t on who wins the game. For the film, if not the coaches and the players, the game is almost a secondary concern. Instead, 4 Quarters of Silence concentrates on the players and their coach, John Moore, as they refuse to allow their disability to keep them from doing something that they love.

John Moore is truly the star of the show, a passionate and inspiring coach who expects as much from his players off the field as on. One of my favorite parts of the film contrasts the bombastic half-time speech of the San Antonio coach with Coach Moore’s equally passionate signed speech in the TSD locker room.

The love that Coach Moore has for both the game and his players is truly inspiring and I’m glad that 4 Quarters of Silence documented it. It’s a truly touching film and one that successfully challenges many of the common assumptions that the hearing are too quick to make about the deaf. Keep an eye out for it!

Horror Film Review: The Omen (dir by John Moore)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

There’s really only one reason to see the 2006 remake of The Omen and that’s the fact that the priest who convinces Ambassador Thorn to adopt the Antichrist is played by the great Giovanni Lombardo Radice.

If you’re a fan of Italian horror, you’ll immediately know who Radice is and, whenever he appears in The Omen, you’ll be momentarily excited. After all, Radice is an actor who has given memorable performances in films made by iconic directors like Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodato, Antonio Margheriti, Michele Soavi, and Martin Scorsese. He’s appeared in everything from City of the Living Dead to Cannibal Apocalypse to The House On The Edge of the Park to Stagefright to Gangs of New York. As both a horror icon and an excellent actor who has always been gracious and friendly to his fans, Giovanni Lombardo Radice is one of those actors who movie bloggers like me are always happy to see in any film.

(And, if anyone deserves a role in a Quentin Tarantino film, it’s Giovanni Lombardo Radice.)

And Radice gives a really great performance in The Omen. He plays the role with just the right combination of menace and regret. When he first appears, you can tell that he’s determined to get Robert Thorn to adopt Damien but that he’s not particularly happy about having to do it. He may be one of the bad guys but he’s a bad guy with a conscience. Later, when Radice makes a second appearance, it momentarily re-energizes the film. He’s just got such a unique screen presence that, whenever he’s on-screen, Radice reminds you of the film that you want The Omen to be.

As for the rest of the remake — well, it’s all kind of pointless. The film is largely a scene-by-scene remake of the first Omen and, unfortunately, it never quite answers the question of why the film needed to be remade in the first place. The Gregory Peck role is played by Liev Schrieber while his wife is played by Julia Stiles. The doomed photographer is played by David Thewlis. Mia Farrow shows up in the role of the sinister nanny and Mia actually does a pretty good job but whenever she was delivering her lines, it was impossible for me not to imagine a remake of The Final Conflict where Ronan Farrow plays Damien.

Otherwise, the same characters die as in the original film and, often times, they die in the exact same way. It’s really almost lazy how little the remake changes from the original. And, ultimately, it makes the entire movie feel more than a little pointless. You’re left with the feeling that the only reason the Omen was remade was so that it could be released on June 6th, 2006 (a.k.a. 6-6-06).

So, when it comes to The Omen, stick with the original but watch the remake for Giovanni Lombardo Radice.