By Period / Conflict
Sabre Jet (1953)
I really, really wish I could find more information on this little-known movie, because as cliched and strange as it is, I found it highly interesting. Not so much for the plot, but for some of the subject matter therein. Quick plot summary: At a rear-ward fighter base in Japan during the Korean War,... »
Hearts and Minds (1974)
If you watch no other documentary about the Vietnam war, you should make it 1974's Hearts and Minds. It's a chilling look at what (even then) was known about what was going on over there, and how it all never should have happened in the first place. First off, realize that this movie is... »
Go For Broke! (1951)
"Go For Broke!" was the motto of the 442nd Combat team, famous for being comprised of Japanese-Americans, a number of which were from the internment camps (more on this below.) This film is an early tribute to these men, and in fact, a number of them actually star therein. Lieutenant Grayson (Van Johnson) is... »
Tank Battalion (1958)
Wow. Just wow. What a totally dreadful movie. OK, it starts out well enough, with a group of guys in a tank under fire in combat during the Korean war. Mission accomplished, they head back to base after about five minutes of screen time. And then they get stuck there shmoozing it up with... »
Wing and a Prayer (1944)
"The story of carrier X" or so the tagline says. Presumably to try and preserve some sort of classified-ness in the Pacific fleet, since, well, things were still going on. Wing and a Prayer is a period piece surrounding the Battle of Midway. Mostly it takes place on board "Carrier X", or as we... »
A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
A Bright Shining Lie is based on the true story and biography of John Paul Vann (played by Bill Paxton), who started out as a Lt. Col. and military advisor in the early days of the Vietnam War (c. 1962-3) and went on to return as a high-ranking civilian advisor until his death in... »
Cat Sh*t One, aka Apocalypse Meow is online!
With all the frenzy in our house surrounding the Super Bowl (yay Pack!) I neglected to post this juicy little tidbit I received over the weekend. Shame on me!! I'll quote in its entirety... Its only available on YouTube for 2 weeks starting Feb. 5th..... ‘Cat Shit One’ PRESS RELEASE February5, 2011 The full... »
Lebanon (2009)
Lebanon is a tight little movie about an Israeli tank crew in the early days of the 1982 Lebanon/Israel war. And really, that's about all I have to say about it. Well, OK, maybe not *all*.... Despite winning several awards, (see the IMDB page) I just couldn't bring myself to like this film. It... »
Restrepo (2010)
This year's Restrepo is probably one of the best war-movie documentaries I've seen in a long time. In 2007, filmmakers Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger went to Afghanistan to embed with an Airborne platoon for an entire year, and condensed their efforts into a 90 minute masterpiece. The focus is on an outpost on... »
The Thundering 8th (2001)
If you've read this blog for very long you know I've got an up-down relationship with low budget indie stuff. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I rail on it, sometimes I'm on the fence. This time, though, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Thundering 8th." A tribute to the guys of the 56th Fighter Group of... »
