Pacific Rim

One simple thing is all I ask of even the most cheesy of movies, please keep me in the world of the movie.  Once I am jerked out of the movie's world then my perception and judgement of the movie becomes more critical.

With del Toro's new movie Pacific Rim I was jerked out from the onset.  When in the opening a kaiju is simply defined as a giant beast.  Under this loose interpretation King Kong and the dinosaur from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms are kaiju not just Gojira, Rodan, Gamera, and King Ghidorrah to name a few.

Another problem is making connections of scenes from this movie to other movies.  Riley and Mori remind me of Kodai and Yoko from Space Battleship Yamato.  The brash Australian Jaeger pilot reminds me of Iceman from Top Gun.  The Level Four kaiju dragging Gipsy Danger on the ground and carrying it into the air, too many skirmishes between Gojira and Rodan or King Ghiddorah.  When Gipsy Danger deploys it's sword, it will be hard not to think of Ivy from Soul Caliber and her sword.  The sub-sea rift is either inspired by X The Unknown or since we are talking an inter-dimensional rift then perhaps Battle Fairy Yukikaze.  The transport of the Jaegers by airlift and how the pilots synchronize reminds me of Neon Genesis Evangelion.  Once you see the ending you will go that's almost Independence Day.

The reduced science team is the most annoying thing in the movie.  Which is saying something since Ron Perlman is playing the guy who runs a black market selling kaiju parts.  One part of the team is this cliched crippled stiff upper lift British boffin, all he was missing was a pipe.  The other one the boffin called a 'kaiju groupie.'  Think of Rick Moranis' character in Ghostbusters but loves playing with the guts of alien creatures and getting tattoos of them put on his body.  At one point the boffin is madly playing with his chalkboards before the Jaeger commander while the groupie was sitting just a  few feet away without any protective gear tossing kaiju entrails on the floor.  At a guess they are supposed to be a bit of comic relief, but they are also the science team.  They might be a split version of Brent Spiner's scientist character from Independence Day. The British one is a far cry from Dean Jagger's Dr. Royston from X The Unknown or Prof. Quatermass from The Creeping Unknown.

Which brings me to another problem with this movie.  Earth has tried to seal the undersea rift before and has failed.  And until the science team rushes to Shatterdome to give the Jaegers the critical information they need to travel the rift, it seems they were just going to do the same thing they have tried before and failed.  That sounds too much like insanity and suicide all rolled into one though it could also be called a plan of desperation - a kamikaze move.

I will mention one other thing that bugged me in this movie and give it a rest.  Gipsy Danger is fighting a kaiju in Hong Kong that spits acid.  Audience goers have seen this acid partially dissolve another Jaeger and instantly dissolve the facade of a skyscraper.  So when Gipsy Danger grapples with the kaiju and Riley reaches into the mouth and rips its tongue out without dissolving Gipsy Danger's hand, it is another moment of being jerked out of the movie by a lack of internal consistency. 

Overall I would grade it as a B movie.

Death Star Fires

Lets hope this works better AllenG.

Alderaan Screen-Cap

For AllenG at Ace of Spades.  Is this enough laser beam from the Death Star?

Hawks of the Desert

Official group insignia of the 79th FG USAAF that fought in North Africa

 My friend Mut over at the Temple of Mut is working on a post detailing the widespread devastation that is occurring throughout Upper and Lower Egypt.  So I will focus on a more recent occurrence of destruction.

In February of this year an oil exploration team operating in Egypt's Western Desert stumbled across an amazing find.  Pictures were quickly snapped and then posted to a Polish modeling magazine.

Curtis Kittyhawk I somewhere in the Western Desert of Egypt.

Lost for 70 years an RAF Kittyhawk was discovered in Egypt.  At this time the exact identity of the airframe and name of it's lost pilot is unknown.  The sand has scoured much of the paint away.  Some have played with the photographs posted searching for the plane's identity.  What is known is this airplane is a P-40E-CU-1.  Six wing guns.  Ring and post site.  No fin fillet.  Intake on top of cowling.  RAF roundel has a yellow outer circle.  And there is red paint still remaining on the propeller.  All the above tid-bits have lead some to speculate this is Kittyhawk I ET574 HS-B assigned to 260 Sqn and lost in 1942 while being ferried from one airbase to another for repair.  The pilot for this mission was Flt Sgt Dennis Copping.  This is all speculation but once the media found out about this lost warrior, well it was definitely Copping's airplane.  The UK Metro even wrote on how the brave pilot tried to get the plane working again ...  with the propeller and gear box wrenched off I wonder if they even looked at the photos.  Or the CBC calling it a WWII jet fighter.

So right now the British Ministry of Defense is trying to work with the Egyptian government to preserve this airplane and and find its pilot so the story can be finally told.  They better hurry before there is nothing left of the airplane.

Perfectly intact canopy after 70 years.

The canopy has now been shattered and someone has shot up the armoured windscreen.

Who knows what else is vanishing with every passing moment.  The survey crew has tried to protect the location, for example the original online photo album has now vanished, but the crew also had local guides.  And then had to report the plane to the Egyptian Army because ammo was still in the plane that the Army then went and removed.    So things have started to happen to the plane, it has suffered more damage in the past few months than the previous 70 years.  And with each piece that vanishes, perhaps the clues needed to find the lost pilot also disappears into the desert.

P-40F Warhark with Group CO Col. Earl E. Bates.  The Egyptian hieroglyphs are supposed to be the Group's number.

I will leave it to the readers to tell me if the insignia at the top or at the bottom has the hieroglyphs correct.  I wanted to include an American fighter unit in this post is to show how integral to the whole desert campaign were Curtiss' P-40s and to show the lasting impact ancient Egyptian culture has on our modern world.

Interesting footnote - The intelligence officer for 260 Sqn when Copping and his plane vanished was none other than Sir Christopher Lee who later gained fame as Dracula going against Peter Cushing as Dr. Helsing.  Or when he appeared in the Lord of the Rings.

Another Red Tails Goof

Yes I went and watched another trailer of Red Tails on YouTube.  The one I have been bombarded with on TV no less.  And I found an even more interesting goof, this time on the Allied side - one of the 332nd FG's proudest moments gets changed in the film.

On 25 June 1944 on a mission into Yugoslavia men of the 332nd entered the history books.  One four ship flight was reduced to a two-ship of Pruitt and Peirson.  Strong winds caused them to get lost and they started to return to their airfield.  Their course carried them over the Italian port of Trieste which was still held by Germans and Italian fascists loyal to Mussolini.  In the harbor they spied a warship with a German cross on its funnel.  Exhibiting the initiative fighter pilots are supposed to have, they dove on the warship and while wingtip to wingtip opened fire.  On the second strafing pass Peirson's bullets seemed to find a mine aboard the warship that detonated.  So ended the military service of TA-27, an Italian torpedo boat, that was being used by the Germans as a mine-layer.  The 332nd became the only USAAF unit to be officially credited with sinking a ship.

So what is the goof in the above screenshot?  Lt. Pruitt and Lt. Peirson on 25 June 1944 were not flying P-40 Warhawks.  Instead the three squadrons of the 332d FG on that mission were flying Republic P-47D Thunderbolts which were more often known as Jugs.  The P-47 is equipped with eight .50-caliber machine guns and the P&W R-2800 air-cooled radial engine.  The P-40K Warhawk is equipped with six .50-caliber machine guns and the Allison V-1710 water-cooled inline engine.

Chalk this up as yet another reason to skip this movie.  Would modeling the famous Jug in computers have broken their budget?  I guess so or they thought 'no one will notice so make it more P-40s.'This sloppiness begs the question - in what other areas did the film makers play fast and loose with history?

Reference - 332nd Fighter Group.  Chris Bucholtz. Osprey Aircraft series.  Pg 46.

War Horse

This is one movie where I want a horse to win the Oscar for Best Actor.  I caught a matinee showing on Christmas Day and did not expect to see anyone else in the cinema.  I was very wrong.  The theater was at least 85% full and since I arrived at the start time, I ended up in the front rows.  I rapidly forgot about my seat location as this movie pulled me in from the first unsteady steps of Joey as a foal.  I had to see this movie all the way through, calls of nature bedamned.  This movie is this well crafted, even the quiet times when you learn a bit more about Albert, his father, and his father’s past; I was enthralled.  I was also shocked and amazed and sad in this movie.

One sequence of scenes I think can be used to show the craftsmanship of this movie and it’s story.  Albert’s father is in a terrible bind, rain has destroyed the turnip crop and the rent is due.  Even though it was Joey and Albert who made that planting possible, Joey has to be sold to cover the rent.  As Joey is being led away, a tearful Albert affixes to Joey’s bridle the pennant of his father’s unit in the Boer War.  Capt. Nichols solemnly promises Albert he will bring Joey back. 

Scene then shifts to the cavalry unit Nichols belongs to.  Here we are treated in full glorious color how war was viewed as 300 men, in full service dress, atop horses charge to see who can snag the ring with their sword first.  Next we see them in France and being briefed for an attack against a German field encampment. 

We see this vast field of golden wheat that is ready to be harvested as the next scene.  And then we see these green hats bob amidst the wheat and the flick of horse ears also.  And as one man all the soldiers mount the horses and the order to attack is given.  With swords drawn they charge out of the wheat field, across open ground, and then they are amidst the Germans just waking up and rushing to meet the attack.  Swords flash, striking men down.  Men atop horses charge through tents.  And then we see Germans fleeing to the tree line with British cavalry close behind.  Then we see the emplaced machine guns and as the Germans take cover the guns open fire.  Machine gun bullets spit with lethality and rider-less horses plunge through the German lines.  One of the horses is Joey with pennant still affixed to his tack, but no one in the saddle.

One of the survivors of the charge is Nichols’ commanding officer.  He is still astride his horse and is encircled by Germans armed with rifles but he has his sword drawn.  One of the Germans screams at him asking did he really think the Germans would not defend their camp.  The officer looks around and we are treated to a scene of horror.  Strewn throughout the open field where the camp was lie the bodies of many dead British officers and their horses, cut down by a scythe of lead.  The man then throws his sword into the ground and surrenders.  The imagery of a wheat field ready to be harvested now makes sick sense, it is foreshadowing the fate of these brave men in a new kind of war.

I watched the interview with Steven Spielberg about this movie.  He said he was not looking for a project when he stumbled across this play called War Horse.  That it just grabbed his attention.  I am glad this story did.  For fans of Tolkien and the Shire, you might want to watch this movie to get a better appreciation of what shaped Tolkien and his stories.

Unimaginative Tripe

I seem to complain a bit about how horrible current entertainment has become. I have done it before so here comes another little bit of ranting.

Fox has a new science-fiction show starting tomorrow that is called Terra Nova. Like in the Lost in Space movie re-make, Earth is about exhausted and only finding a new place will save humanity. Unlike Lost in Space, in Terra Nova the humans are smart enough to invent a time machine. But the humans are not smart enough to colonize other planets. Unless they deal with that problem in the series premier, its pointless to keep watching.

Keeping with the lets rehash something that has already been done, lets talk movies. One would think after Howard Hawk's turned John Campbell's Who Goes There into a gem of a science-fiction/horror movie called The Thing from another World that it could not be topped. But then John Carpenter thought he could and gave us The Thing which really freaked people out. So like I Am Legend/Omega Man got badly trashed by Will Smith's third version, there is a new remake of The Thing coming out. I hold no hope out for it since it takes place in the Arctic, like the original movie, but has the shape-shifting alien from Carpenter's version. I detect no originality to this movie and will give it a pass.

Addendum - How can I forget the movie Real Steel coming out? If it had been called Rockem Sockem Robots it would have given away how unoriginal the movie is.

Star of Africa

Oberleutnant Marseille, June 1942. Yellow 14 - possibly Bf-109F-4/Trop Werke Nr. 10137

Ed Rasimus and NZGarry in my post Red Tails were talking about military movies. Rasimus about Robin Olds and NZGarry about the Battle of Britain. Both ideas have tremendous merit, but while working on my reply to NZGarry it occurred to me of another ace fighter pilot who should have a movie based on his exploits. That is Hans-Joachim Marseille of JG27 who flew in support of Rommel's Afrika Korps.

Marseille was born in 1919 in Berlin. As a child his parents divorced and his mother remarried. Growing up Jochen was a frail child who was full of energy and mischief, predilections that would remain with him for the rest of his life. Fast forward to 1939 and Jochen joins the Luftwaffe He is initially assigned to France and the Battle of Britain where he scores seven aerial victories. But Jochen spent too much of his time as a playboy so Macky Steinhoff kicked him out and sent him to North Africa and JG27.

Jochen in front of Yellow 14, again a Bf-109F-4/Trop. This might be Werke Nr. 10137 judging by the placement of the 1 in relation to the demarcation line that separates the Tan 79 and Light Blue 78 paint scheme.

It is in North Africa where Jochen's star shoots to the top over the next 18 months. Flying a variety of Bf-109Fs, he would claim 151 victories over the North African desert against various Allied fighters like the Hurricane and Kittyhawk. He would eventually be awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds along a German Cross in Gold plus other decorations. Adding another victory to the scoreboard on Bf-109F-4/Trop Werke Nr. 10137. Photo taken sometime between 6 June 1942 and 17 June 1942. Final score in this airplane would be 101 victories.

In Germany he would meet Hitler and was decorated with the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, he also found time to fall in love with marriage plans for December 1942. With his return on 22 August, Jochen's greatest day in aerial combat was just around the corner. On 1 September he would claim 17 aircraft shot down while flying Bf-109F-2/Trop Werke Nr. 8673. After shooting down all those fighters, Marseille was awarded Diamonds to add his Knight's Cross. Jochen had just 27 more days to live.

Amidst all this flying and being granted leave in Germany, the prankster part of Jochen was still in play. For example he once demolished a pilot friends tent by driving his Kubelwagen through it. He also formed strong friendships with fellow pilots that would be renewed in 1989 when his gravestone, a pyramid, was rededicated at Derna. He was also friend with the many Italians who also fought in Africa and his batman was a black African from the Transvaal region whom everyone called Mathias.

On 28 September 1942, an RAF Spitfire almost ended Jochen's career. The following combat descended all the way to barely 100 meters above the ground as the Spitfire pilot matched Marseille's skill with his to a stalemate. This duel lasted almost fifteen minutes with neither getting an advantage and Jochen deep into his fuel reserve. But finally Jochen shot down the Spitfire as both planes went nose to nose. Jochen landed with hardly any fuel left. It was such a near thing, Jochen did not wag his wings upon return and when he exited the cockpit his hands were shaking. This was his 158th and as it turned out final victory.

As Rommel's Afrika Korps pulled back due to the onslaught of Montgomery's 8th Army, the fortunes of JG27 were also plummeting. Taking off in Bf-109G-2 Werke Nr 14256, it was just another escort mission for StaffelKapitan Marseille. Until the smoke started to fill his cockpit. His fellow pilots urged him to keep flying until they reached friendly lines. He grimly hung on until he had reached that safety. His last words on the radio were "I've got to get out now. I can't stand it any more". He rolled the plane inverted and jettisoned the canopy. As he exited the plane, he struck the rudder which either knocked him out or killed him instantly. What is known is he plunged to earth and no parachute was seen to deploy. At 1142 hours 30 Sept 1942 the Star of Africa had fallen, killed not in combat.

Sound like a movie you might watch on the big screen?

Surviving Sistership
Bf-109F-4/Trop Werke Nr. 10132. Assigned to JG5 on the north Russian front. Look at that camo scheme. Notice the yellow markings? Aircraft that fought on the Russian front had to have those markings, including the bottom of the engine. Such markings were not used in the Mediterranean. Some people build models of Yellow 14 with the engine bottom painted yellow while the white wing tips, spinner, and fuselage band are also present

Books:
German Fighter Ace Hans-Joachim Marseille:The Life Story of the Star of Africa. Franz Kurkowski. Translated by Don Cox. Schiffer Military History. Printed 1994. 233 pages.
Bf109 Aces of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Jerry Scutts. Osprey. Printed 1996. 96 pages.
Air Power Editions has a 64 page book that is devoted exclusively to airplanes flown by Marseille. Looks real interesting, may have to buy one day.

P.S. I included one link to tail artwork for Bf-109F-4/Trop Werke Nr 10137. There is an error in the art. Can you spot it? I include it because far too many times artists will repeat mistakes when it comes to Yellow 14. Which means the modelers will also repeat the mistake. The mantra of find original photos can never be said enough.

Red Tails

George Lucas and Lucas Films will release in January 2012 a movie telling the story of the all black fighter unit called the Red Tails in WWII. Here is the trailer for the movie, after viewing it I will skip the movie.

Why will I skip this movie about World War II and aerial combat over Europe? Because they could not get details correct. Seconds 08 and 09 of the trailer prove this. The models themselves of Bf-109G-6/R6s as they swoop in are beautiful. Its the markings on the planes that are so wrong. First the tail band on the gray 109s, its a narrow yellow band edged in black. I have pillaged my reference library for any photos showing such. There aren't any. Eastern Front Bf-109s and FW-190s wore a narrow yellow tail band but no black edging, this was a mandated theatre marking. Mediterranean Bf-109s and FW-190s sported a similar sized white tail band, again no black edging. I can hear a question forming, what about Defense of the Reich bands? JG11 in late 1944-early 1945 sported a broad yellow tail band, still no black edging.

Then we get to second 11 of the trailer. This could be the late war camouflage pattern as ordered by the Luftwaffe. The plane is again a Bf-109G-6/R6. But the bright yellow nose was last seen about 1942 in the Luftwaffe. As for the center placed swastika on the tail? Last time that appeared on the Bf-109s was in 1940 and with the Bf-109Es of JG52 in France. By the time of the Battle of Britain, the swastika was painted on the fin and not across the rudder break. The skull emblem on the nose is unknown but the bar edged in white means the plane belongs to some JG's II Gruppe - this they seem to have gotten right. But I think they merely thought White 1 and chevrons looked good. The double chevrons would indicate a JG's commander and would not need the White 1 marking.

At second 19 I wonder how the co-pilot is keeping his oxygen mask on. The pilot has his mask properly fitted. And is it me or do the B-17s look a bit too tightly packed for proper defensive box formation?

Later when the Red Tails get Mustangs in this trailer, it is implied they went directly from what looks like olive drab P-40Ks to bare metal P-51Ds. This glosses over the 99th Fighter Squadron trading in their Warhawks for P-51B/C Mustangs. Would it have been that hard to rent and repaint Princess Elizabeth, an already bare metal P-51B that is still flying? It seems so.

So I will simply skip this movie.

Okay watching the clip yet again. And it gets worse. At second 18 as the olive drab B-17G is collapsing over onto its burning wing and the Me-109s are zooming, guess what. On the pilot side of the B-17G is a four ship of bare metal Mustangs. So much for him screaming about where his escort went, they are outside his window tucked in too tight.

And they are twisting the historical fact that the 99th never lost a bomber when they flew escort into an accusation that others would abandon the bombers. To refute this baseless slander, one must talk fighter escort history. Initially the practise was called close escort, the fighters stayed with the bombers and reacted to enemy fighters. This caused losses but it was the practice every air force started WWII with. Later in the 8th, when enough fighters were in theatre, a close escort and one or more fighter groups would fly further out to pounce the enemy fighters as they formed up. This tremendously reduced bomber loses.

At second 50/51 is the 99th straffing a POW train? Or one carrying civilians to a concentration camp? Why else would there be guards atop the cattle cars? Von Ryan's Express anyone?

At 2:00 minutes, back to seeing the same dark green and bright yellow Bf-109G-6/R6 with a huge scoreboard on the fuselage side. Strange do not have a picture of a single 109 with such a scoreboard. Luftwaffe aces like Rollwage of JG 52 and Marseille of JG 27 carried their scoreboard on the rudders of their 109s. Both flew in the Mediterranean theatre same as the 99th.

Then at 2:03 I get to the ME-262s Ed Rasimus is talking about. They are flying almost in trail, number 1 at point and the other three all to his right and behind. Only Kommando Novonty flew the 262s in a four ship formation. Galland's JV-44 reverted back to the pre-war three ship. And the markings are again totally wrong. Again that narrow yellow tail band edged in black, not the assigned colors of any 262 Defense of the Reich band. Swastika over the rudder break in bright yellow band. And same markings as the previously mentioned 109. Double chevrons means a JG commander, there would be no single bar for II Staffel. As for how they split up, well it seems Lucas Film never talked to any of the 262 fighter pilots. ME-262s would start their attack run slightly above and to either side of the bomber stream. They would attack in a graceful curving way, rippling off the R4M rockets, pulling away and repeating the attack with their 30mm cannons. No Allied fighter could catch a 262 in level flight. Which is why it became standard practice to bounce 262s when taking off or landing.

P.S. I long ago gave up commenting on fighter pilots in their planes with oxygen mask dangling down. Drama and seeing the star's face trumps the reality of carbon monoxide.

So give this movie a major pass. Don't even bother with Netflix on it.

Sources:
Bf109 Aces of North Africa and Mediterranean by Jerry Scutts. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 2
Jet&Prop Foto-archiv Band 4. October 1994. Printed in Germany.
Messerschmitt Bf-109 in Action Part 1, Aircraft #44 by Beaman and Campbell. Squadron Signal Publications.
Messerschmitt Bf-109 in Action Part 2, Aircraft #57 by Beaman and Campbell. Squadron Signal Publications.
Focke Wulk FW-190 in Action, Aircraft # 19 by Campbell. Squadron Signal Publications.
Curtiss P-40 in Action, Aircraft #26 by McDowell. Squadron Signal Publications.

An Ill Star'd Event?

2001: A Space Odyssey

I am waiting for someone to try and spin this as part of the breathtaking mythology that is springing up around the death of Osama bin Laden. It seems six of the eight planets in this solar system are roughly in a line that is visible from Earth right now, above the rising Sun. All we need now is for someone to have reported a comet above Islamabad this past weekend. Then we would have an astrological picture perfect event.

For those who are awaiting a similar grand alignment in 2012 to help usher in the much hyped Mayan end of the world in December, 2012. No such luck for you, there will be no such alignment at all in the year 2012.

All Mighty Isis

Since Hollywood is on a big comic book kick as of late. With X-Men, IronMan, redo of Batman[again], imminent arrival of Thor, Green Latern[gag that CGI costume], and Captain America on the big screen. And Wonder Woman set to return to TV, hey wait a minute put Diana on the big screen you jerks! I have decided to campaign for one of the lesser known super heros that once graced that wasteland called Saturday morning television - Isis. How about it Hollywood, bring back Isis!

Yesterday Mut posted an obituary of Elizabeth Taylor and her centerpiece movie Cleopatra. Guess this is what allowed me to ferret out most agile the Secret of Isis. And on IMDB there was message board chatter about an Isis movie, but it quickly devovled into ancient Egyptians are black trope. *sigh* Anyone who has actually looked at the painted walls and know the stories of Egypt know such a sweeping generalization is truly simple-minded. Like the 4,000 year old tomb of Ka-Hay or the tenous linkage between Saharan culture and Eyptian culture that I have blogged on. Cultural cross-pollination in that area throughout history is rampant because it's a nexus of migrations.

The World Will End in 2012

Forget about Nostradamus and those pesky Mayans. Really forget about that clunker of a movie called 2012 that invovled arks in the Himalayas. Here is definitative proof the world will end in 2012. I will even give you an exact date - February 10th, 2012.

How can I be so sure? On that date George Lucas will give unto the insolent and ungrateful Star Wars masses the first movie in the Star Wars franchise to be converted into 3D. Will it be A New Hope? Nope? Get your motion-sickness bags ready. Ready? Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace. So now we will experience Jar Jar Binks in three dimensions. Yes you can get up and run to the loo clutching that bag now. George give it up, even in three dimensions Jar Jar is totally flat.

So book your seat with a certain smuggler who can do the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs now. Avoid the rush, get a choice seat, and avoid the smuggling compartments.

More Cool Then Cool

If you have $355US burning in your pocket, the above UK one sheet of Ridley Scott's 1982 classic movie Blade Runner can be yours. As the picture shows, it has been folded for years but its intact. The creases also point to this being original and not a reprint. Due dillegence is required for such an extraordinary poster.

It's a Legion!

Sometimes I am amazed at how soft headed people are. But this review of The Eagle reminds me some people have brains of tapioca.

What is The Eagle about? In the second century AD sometime around or after 120AD, the Legios IX Hispana possibly left York and marched north on a punitative raid. And then vanished into the mists of time, no definitive answer has ever emerged as to their fate as the whole legion fell off Roman rolls by 160AD. We now know more of the probable fate of Crassus' lost legions than we know what happened to the IXth. Though some have tried to piece together the probable fate of the IXth in Scotland, its very much speculative and leaves wiggle room for the roofing tiles marked with the Legios IX Hispana sigil found in Holland. The movie itself and the story it is based on tells the fictional tale of a Roman centurion setting out on a quest to retreive the IXth's eagle standard, hence restoring his father's and Rome's honor.

First gripe about this alleged movie review is calling the IXth a battalion. Literally speaking it is valid since a Roman legion and a battalion have similar manpower levels. Historically, its incorrect to use battalion when referring to a Roman legion. And its in the common modern vernacular to refer to Roman military formations as legions.

Second gripe is the authors worldview and their attempt to force The Eagle to fit it. The Romans were violent, well yes they were. So were the Celtic tribes that they faced. Expansionism charge? It can be argued that way, though Dr. Madden in his book Empires of Trust argued Rome expanded its borders to protect itself and its allies from foreign invasion. Or perhaps we should we say the reviewers are exhibiting signs of ethnocentrism in their writing? Well here are their own words from their review - "Though the characters are well developed and well acted, we can only give this film a partial endorsement based on its lack of value of life."

I was thinking of skipping going to see The Eagle in the cinema. But with such fluff passing for critical review, I think I shall go see it.

War of the Worlds 2011

Come the 11th of next month, still plan to watch it. Looks much better than the Tom Cruise version of the first trailer.

Ten Commandments 1956 Trailer

This is a very fascinating and informative trailer that Cecil B. DeMille produced to promote his masterpiece The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston. Run time is just over ten minutes. Enjoy.

The No Class 111th

While the lame duck session of the most horrific 111th Congress limps off to the history books, let us remember why it is such a horror. Nancy Pelosi[D-CA] standing before the cameras to tell us we need to pass health care reform to find out what is in it. Nancy Pelosi just this week screeching its unfair to hold hostage the tax cuts she has opposed just to include 6,600 families that happen to be rich according to her definition. Or Rep. Weiner[D-NY] down in the well foaming at the mouth over health care and gold. Nor can we forget the departing Rep. Grayson[D-FL] saying Republicans want everyone to die instead of ever getting sick. Or Charlie Rangel[D-NY] who just gained censure over shady deals and tax evasion. And lets not start on Harry Reid[D-NV]'s controlled Senate.

Putting aside the profane and base tendencies of the people in Congress, lets look at what they have accomplished in two years. With massive 2,000+ page bills being disgorged in the dark of night with price tags totalling in the trillions of dollars, for them to now screech over tax cuts adding to the deficit has a hollow ring to it. I would more believe Saddam Hussein as a humanitarian than the sincerity of these various Democratic politicians. Sooner this lame duck session ends, the better. Until then please enjoy the attached clip of Marisa Tomei who has a better reason to have a temper tantrum.

Apollo 11

The blue marble nestled in blackness, Earth, as seen from Apollo 11.

This image shows the Apollo 11 CSM has undocked from the Saturn V third stage, pivoted and is now moving into to pull Eagle out. The protective shroud around Eagle has also been jettisoned.

Eagle is now docked with the CSM. Note the wrinkles in the skin of Eagle. To save weight, Eagle's skin was as thin as aluminum foil. In the upper center is seen the LM rendevous window that would be used by Aldrin and Armstrong to re-dock with Collins aboard Columbia.

While working through some writer's block on a blog post, I decided to watch the Transformers 3 trailer which creates an alternate history Apollo 11 mission. By 00:12 of the trailer, Bay starts to deviate from reality. Or his CGI crew did not know. And no one bothered to do real research. Because they have the Apollo 11 CSM sporting an open Scientific Instrument Module[SIM], something that was not installed on a CSM until Apollo 15, the first J-series mission. At 00:32 we got a strange white object already on the lunar surface and the drop down panel with video camera that was aimed at the LM ladder to catch Neil's historic footstep is not deployed. And then it really goes into Bay's alternate fantasy land of a large crashed spaceship just beyond the LM. I am so not going to go see this movie.

More images from the various real Apollo missions can be found here.

Tribute to Mel Brooks

I laughed, I cried, and I smiled during this. Mel Brooks is just awesome. Glad I stumbled across this. This is from the Kennedy Center. Enjoy.

We're In A Lot of Trouble!

For your viewing pleasure and to think on. From the movie Network, Howard Beale lays out all the problems we are suffering now. Be warned there is language. You will have to go to YouTube direct since embedding is disabled.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFvT_qEZJf8

Amazing this movie came out in 1976. And since the advent of CNN, the amount of time people spend thinking on things before the next gotcha is flashed at them has shrunk. Thanks to TV and the Internet the global village has shrunk so we now think what happens in Jakarta Indonesia is happening right next door. Which has also shaped how we think or not think on things. Thanks to Karagush for ferreting out this gem.