Tears Of The Sun (movie)

Title: Tears Of The Sun

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Year/production: 2003/USA

Cast: Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Tom Skerritt, Nick Chinlund, Cole Hauser, Paul Francis, Eamonn Walker, Johnny Messner, Charles Ingram, Chad Smith, Malick Bowens, ...

Runtime: 121 min or 142 in director's cut version

A special operation US military team has a rescue mission in Nigeria where civil war begun.
They have to rescue an American doctor played by Monica Bellucci. The lieutenant of the team is played by Bruce Willis.

The story is rather typical but not that bad. I enjoyed watching this team playing. They play rather good. Bruce Willis plays great as always. Monica Bellucci looks good as always, plays rather bad. The other guys from the team plays really nice.

The best part is at the end when they fight with Nigerian army close to Cameroon border. It looks really good. I think it was consulted with some military specialists because fight looks professionally like it probably should look in the real situation.

Flyboys (movie)

Title: Flyboys

Directed by: Tony Bill

Year/production: 2006/UK/USA

Cast: James Franco, Philip Winchester, Tyler Labine, David Ellison, Jean Reno, ...

Runtime: 140 min.

First World War, USA still not in war in Europe but some American boys volunteered French army before USA entered War. They were trained in France and they fought with German pilots over France and Germany.

There is action, drama, love and spectacular fight scenes. There is not that many movies about First World War, specially about war in the air so it is worth to see this movie but maybe not that often as Platoon or Black Hawk Down :)

Flight Of The Intruder (movie)

Title: Flight Of The Intruder

Directed by: John Milius

Year/production: 1991, USA

Cast: Danny Glover, Brad Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, ...

Runtime: 115 min

Year 1972, Vietnam, pilot Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) and his bombardier flays in a mission to destroy some strategic vehicles. After bombing it looked like there were no vehicles, and bombardier is shoot to death. Jake starts to question the purpose of this mission. He starts to fly with experience bombardier Virgile Cole (Willem Dafoe) and together they fly on self mission…

This movie is ok, sometimes boring but still ok. Good actors plays here and also pictures of jets in fly are nicely done. At the end 3 planes are destroyed by some anti aircrafts gun which is a little bit stupid but I still like it because it is about Vietnam war which is cool.

The Pianist (movie)

Title: The Pianist

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Year, production: 2002, France/Germany/Poland/UK

Cast: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Thonas Kretschmann and many more

Runtime: 150 min

I have added this movie because it shows cruelty of World War II in Warsaw, capitol of Poland and two very important moments in history of Warsaw.

The main character is Wladyslaw Szpilman played by Adrien Brody, one of the best pianists in Poland and maybe in Europe. The story starts in the year 1939, September when Germans come into Warsaw. Not far from that Germans started their anti Jewish politic by humiliating Jewish people, killing them and putting them in special district in Warsaw set by Germans. It was Ghetto. His family was put into rail freight cars and sent to German concentration camps. He was saved by Jewish policeman and then managed to get help from his polish friends which put him in the flat near the Jewish Ghetto but on the other side “free” side. He was a witness of Ghetto Uprising (April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943) and then in the second apartment close to Germans police office and hospital he witnessed Warsaw Uprising (September 1, 1944 – October 3, 1944). After that he moved to different location where he got a help from German officer which hide him and fed him. Szpilman survived War and wanted to help this German officer but it was to late, Russians took him to a camp for German prisoners where he died.

There are many polish actors and actresses playing in that movie.

Rescue Dawn (movie)

Title: Rescue Dawn

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Year, production: 2006, USA

Cast: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, ...

Runtime: 126 min

American pilot (born in Germany), Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) after crush of his plane was captured and being hold prisoner during Vietnam War in Laos. He and other prisoners decided to escape but he didn’t realize that the true prison is the jungle. This movie is based on true story.
The movie has very nice pictures and music. The story is not the most intense but you can watch it with a pleasure and some tension.

Behind Enemy Lines (movie)

Title: Behind Enemy Lines

Directed by: John Moore

Year, production: 2001, USA

Cast: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, David Keith, Joaquim de Almeida, Gabriel Macht, ...

Runtime: 106 min

During the recognition mission US Navy fighter is shot down over enemy territory in Bosnia. Navigator Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) is escaping from enemy army. His commander (Gean Hackman) is trying to help him against orders given him from NATO.

Not bad movie, very nice scene of escaping fighter from the ground (surface) to air missile.

See similar movie from Vietnam war: http://allwars.blogspot.com/2007/02/bat-21.html

American Boys (book)

Title: American Boys

Author: Steven Philip Smith

Year: 1975

Steven Philip Smith served in 1966 in Vietnam. This book is his debut and is based on his experience. It is a story about four friends from different part of US and different environments. They got into the army because of different reasons and being boring in West Germany they volunteered to vietnam war where they were told to kill or die. This book is really realistic and shocking.

All Quiet on the Western Front (movie)

Title: All Quiet on the Western Front

Directed by: Delbert Mann

Year, production: 1979, USA

Cast: Richard Thomas, Ian Holm, Ernest Borgnine, Dominic Jephcott, Paul Mark Elliott, David Bradley, ...

Runtime: 150 min

Based on the novel by German writer by Erich Maria Remarque. It is World War I, German army fights with French. The movie shows absurdity of this war and how it changed people (boys who just graduated from secondary school). I must say that I didn’t like this movie maybe because it is Tv production but it trays to show brutality and psychological aspect of that war. I like more movie “The Last Battalion” but that is a different kind of movie http://allwars.blogspot.com/2006/09/lost-battalion-movie.html.

Swiss airforce

Look at this amazing video of swiss airforce:


Swiss Airforce - Free videos are just a click away

added by ghostknife

F16 Fighting Falcon

Polish army has bought 48 F-16 jet fighter aircrafts from US. All shouold be ready in 2012. Before we had 30 years old migs-21.
F-16 Faighting Falcon is one o the best light jet fighter. They were never shoot down by other plane only from the ground. They are fast and responsive. In Gulf War one pilot managed to escape from 6 rockets (ground-air) shoot one by one. Some say that we should have Gripens but did they ever fought in the real war?

Look at one in action. This flight was during roll-out ceremony.

Posted in youtube by mrbrown84

Letters from Iwo Jima (movie)

Title: Letters from Iwo Jima

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Year, production: 2006, USA

Cast: Ken Watanabe, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Kazunari Ninomiya, Ryo Kase, Hiroshi Watanabe, ...

Runtime: 140 min

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima told from Japanese soldiers perspective. The same background as in the movie Flags of Our Father but the movie different. More calm, shows how different was Japan culture but on the other hand as the Japanese soldier says, the letter written by mother of the American soldier doesn’t differ much from the letter written by mother of Japanese soldier.

Japanese left for certain death without support from the air and the sea, fought till the end with honor.

I saw it 2 days ago. The same as with Flags of Our Fathers release of this movie in Poland was late, 9th of March. It is hard to say which one is better. Probably it should not be consider like that. It is just a different movie that completes story started in Flags of Our Fathers.

The movie was nominated for Annual awards (Oscars) in several different categories like Best Motion Pictures of the Year, Original Screenplay, Achievement in Directing, Achievement in Sound Editing. Won in category Sound Editing. Client Eastwood got 2 oscars in the year 2005 for Million Dollar Baby for Achievement in directing and for Best motion picture of the year so it was almost impossible to get the oscar this year.

Flags of Our Fathers (movie)

Title: Flags of Our Fathers

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Year, production: 2006, USA

Cast: Adam Beach, Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Barry Pepper, Neal McDonough, ...

Runtime: 132 min

Second World War February of 1945 and battle of island Iwo Jima. One of the most bloodiest battle in pacific war. The island was a holy place for Japanese and they didn’t wanted to lose it easily. On the island there is a Mount Suribachi on which marines put a flag after they captured the mountain. This moment (actually the second one) was pictured and used later as a cover for all newspapers in US. Three marines that survived the battle were later used as a tool in US propaganda to lift American so they would be after the war not against. US at that time started to have financial problems to continue war so government needs consent and help from American people.

I waited a long time for that movie. Premier in Poland was on 23 February. I saw it some day later and I’m not disappointed.
Battle scenes are very good. The part in the US interesting maybe sometimes boring but still interesting.

I liked that Client Eastwood tried to show every aspect of the story and that there are not just black and white colors but also grey.

Stalingrad (movie)

Title: Stalingrad

Directed by: Joseph Vilsmaier

Year, production: 1993, German/Sweden

Cast: Thomas Kretschmann, Dominigue Horwitz, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph, Martin Benerath, Sylvester Groth, ...

Runtime: 134 min

End of 1942 year. German soldiers resting on Italy Riviera after campaign in Africa and battle in El Alamein. They are moved to East front to Russia and fights in Stalingrad. One day Reiser (Dominigue Horwitz) i Rohleder (Jochen Nickel) together with Lt. Hans von Witzland (Thomas Kretschmann) were moved to penal company...

The winter started and Germans are surrounded by Russians. Their orders are to keep the city for all costs.

This movie doesn’t have special effects and many shooting parts but it shows how hard was to be there just trying to survive. It shows also that victims of Nazi were not only Russians but also German soldiers.

Forrest Gump - Vietnam War

Video from Forrest Gump movie. A part of the movie where he is in Vietnam.

The movie is not available any more :( so here is a trailer with parts from Vietnam:

Posted in YouTube by PJS1987.

Blood Diamond (movie)

Title: Blood Diamond

Directed by: Edward Zwick

Year, production: 2006, USA

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kegiso Kuypers, Antony Coloman, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, ...

Runtime: 143 min

Action is placed in Sierra Leone, South Africa, Guinea and Europe. It is year 1999, a civil war in Sierra Leone. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman wants to find his family after he managed to escape from diamond fields. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is a mercenary from South Africa meets him in prison and find out that he hid a priceless diamond.

After getting out of a prison he helps Salomon to find his family but he has to lead him to the diamond. They managed to escape from Freetown which was taken by rebels. Together with met American journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) they are trying to find Salomon family and the diamond.

Danny Archer whose parents were killed when he was 9 years old is a well trained mercenary/soldier who fought in Angola, a tough guy. He leaves from selling weapons for diamonds.

The main message is that people die because of diamnods, gold and other rare things in Africa and that nobody cares or only few what is happening in Africa.

Some time ago I saw a documentary movie about civil wars in Africa and that children are forced to fight and kill, so that is true for those who don't belive.

I saw this movie in cinema yesterday and I’m really impressed of DiCaprio’s role. He is a very good actor, I think. I like the way he talks, interesting accent. I found that this language that he speaks (specially on the beginning of the movie, later as well) is called Krio - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krio_language

Funny dialog with the rebellion guy . DiCaprio said Who are you? The guy: I’m a captain Rambo. DiCaprio: Oh yeah, I have seen your movies. (as far as I remember). It will be funny when you see it in the movie :)

I think that DiCaprio will get a lot of roles now. The movie is nominated in several categories like Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best sound, Best editing and more. Will see if Leo gets the Oscar.

I defenitly must by a DVD with this movie.