Seven Days in May (1964) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Seven Days in May" was a so-so book that John Frankenheimer turned into an absolutely brilliant movie. It's an excellent cold-war drama, made at a time when tension between this country and the Soviet Union was at boiling point. At the center of the story is President Jordan Lyman, a well-meaning, somewhat naive chief executive who has pushed through a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviets, which most of the country, and all of the military, fear the Soviets have no intention of honoring. The stage is set for a political confrontation between the president's supporters, who feel they must back him whatever their private apprehensions, and his opponents, who fear he is selling the country out. Enter at this point a career soldier with political ambitions, General James Scott, who plans to put his enormous popularity to work in devising a scheme that he thinks will save his country, which is nothing less than a military plot to overthrow the government. However, loose lips can sink a ship, and a few chance words reach the ears of Colonel Jiggs Casey, a Marine torn between his loyalty to his general, General Scott, and his commander in chief, president Lyman. What makes a good soldier, and what makes a true patriot? That is the dilemma Casey has to come to grips with as he realizes that the clock is ticking, the plot is underway, and there are less than seven days left before something very big goes down.
The movie has minimal action and a lot of dialogue, but the tension is maintained nicely throughout, and the acting is uniformly excellent. Among the excellent cast, the standouts are Frederic March as the president, Burt Lancaster as General Scott, Kirk Douglas in one of his finest roles as Colonel Casey, and Ava Gardner, still drop-dead gorgeous, as Scott's cast-off mistress, drowning herself in booze, self-pity and resentment. The final verbal confrontation between Casey and Scott near the movie's end is one of the best I've ever witnessed on film. The movie grabs hold of you from the opening frames and keeps you riveted right to the end, all the while making you wonder, could it really happen here? Let's hope we never find out...

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SEVEN DAYS IN MAY - DVD Movie

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The West Wing: The Complete Second Season (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I think that in many cases, the second season of a TV show is its best season. Why is TV so often completely opposite from sophomore efforts in music and movies? From my own observations it's because in the second season of a TV show, the actors have gained a comfortable grasp on how to portray the deeper parts of their character. At the same time, the show still has the freshness of a new show, the same rich texture that won it a debut to begin with; the writers are still developing plots that don't feel stale, so the show hasn't lost that "new car smell". Of course there are exceptions: shows that run out of steam soon after they start, and shows that just seem to keep getting better even after the second season.
I don't know if The West Wing's second season is its best, but it definitely includes some of the best episodes. Great writing, great acting, great sets and music, all come together to form what has become my favorite TV show ever.
Season Two includes these episodes:
In The Shadow of Two Gunmen (Part 1)
In The Shadow of Two Gunmen (Part 2)
The Midterms
In This White House
And It's Surely To Their Credit
The Lame Duck Congress
The Portland Trip
Shibboleth
Galileo
Noël
The Leadership Breakfast
The Drop In
Bartlet's Third State of the Union
The War at Home
Ellie
Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail
The Stackhouse Filibuster
17 People
Bad Moon Rising
The Fall's Gonna Kill You
18th and Potomac
Two Cathedrals
(You can look up an episode guide if you want a quick summary of the plots; I didn't want to spoil any surprises here.)
I doubt Warner will include the special episode "Isaac and Ishmael" in this set. This episode was written after the 9/11 attacks, and aired a week before the start of Season Three; thus, if it is included with a regular season, it will probably be the third.

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It's never politics as usual inside this Oval Office. The President and his staff have been targeted for disruption by rival politicians, soon after being targeted by would-be assassins. Yet the determined colleagues continue to serve the U.S. and its President as the administration heads through midterm elections and into a crisis that leads to allegations of criminal conduct. The West Wing's second season won the Best Drama Series Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryDeleted ScenesFeaturette

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Salvador (Special Edition) (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)James Boyle, the journalist who actually lived this fascinating story, wrote this 1986 screenplay along with Oliver Stone, who also directed it. It takes place in El Salvador during in the early 1980s. War was raging and, depending upon which version you believe, it was either a Civil war against the military government or a potential communist takeover. People are being murdered every day and it's an awful place to be.
James Woods stars as James Boyle, a freelance journalist who had formerly been a reporter in Vietnam. His life in California is spinning out of control. He has no money, his wife has left him, and he craves the excitement of being where the action is. He and his disk jockey friend, Doctor Rock, played by James Belushi, drive down to El Salvador, drinking and drugging and spinning bad jokes all the way. At first it all seems like fun.
Then reality hits. And the two friends are plunged into the violence. There's one scene after another that made me cringe in horror. And yet, James Woods is quite a con man and keeps getting himself and his friend out of scrapes by his fast talking and former connections. He falls in love with a local woman, tells it like it is to the American Ambassador, and keeps getting into trouble. There's lots of action and lots of people getting killed. And yet, it's mainly about the personalities of the two lead characters. This adds a light touch to the horror that surrounds them.
It's a fast paced film without one dull moment. I couldn't stop watching and wondering what would happen next. The DVD extras feature a long documentary about the making of the film. That was interesting background and added to my enjoyment although by then I was dozing off. During the actual film, however, falling asleep would have been impossible.
Highly recommended.

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James Woods gives his "fullest, most humane, most emotional performance"(New York Magazine) to date in this "gritty, harrowing and bold thriller"(Gannett Newspapers).It's 1980. Young men, women and children are being brutally killed in a bloody civil war in El Salvador. It'sa horrific setting...but a perfect one for Richard Boyle, a sleazy war photojournalist whose careerneeds a jumpstart. Armed with his camera, Boyle joins the front lines in an attempt to capture atrocious-but-valuable images of pain and horror. But with each picture he takes, he catches a tragic side of humanity that ignites his long-buried compassion. And he unexpectedly discovers something thatwill change him forever: his soul.*1986 Actor (James Woods); Original Screenplay

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