EMPIRE OF THE SUN

EMPIRE OF THE SUN - 1987

RATED - PG for violence and intense scenes of terror. Not overly graphic but take it seriously for younger children. Recommended for 13 and over.

RATINGS - 255 Amazon (4.5/5), 590,285 Netflix (3.9/5), 29,383 IMDB (7.7/10), Roger Ebert (2.5/4).

STARRING - Christian Bale (film debut), John Malkovich, Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire), Ben Stiller.

THEMES - Relationships, the human spirit.

AWARDS - 6 Academy Award nominations and BEST PICTURE nominee Golden Globes.

STORY - Christian Bale makes his stunning movie debut in this Spielberg directed film as Jamie, a 12 year old British boy, who grows up in luxury and opulence as the son of a wealthy textile factory owner in China during WWII. Having attended the best private schools, having every conceivable luxury available to a young boy growing up in that era, not least of which is being able to give the servants orders in direct contradiction to the instructions given by his mother, his life is abruptly changed when the Japanese take over that part of China. His family moves into a hotel temporarily to see what happens and when the Japanese bomb that part of the city, thought to be safe, there is a panic as thousands of British and Chinese try to escape. Jamie and his parents are separated and do not reunite until the end of the war, approximately four years later. The film is the story of Jamie's survival during that time. An extremely bright and resourceful boy (played brilliantly by Bale), he uses his natural leadership and aggression to stay alive and become indispensable to the American who becomes the unofficial leader (godfather) of the prison camp. The camera work, acting and screenplay are exceptional, not to mention the music. The film loses a little something (I think) when Spielberg gets a little too artistic and surreal but this is still one of Spielberg's best. Overall, a very interesting and worthwhile movie about another slice of WWII and how the human spirit adapts when it is put into survival mode. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 05/25/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT

DUEL

DUEL - 1971

RATING - PG probably for tense scenes.

AWARDS - Golden Globe nomination plus others.

REVIEWS - 177 Amazon reviews (4.5/5), IMBD (7.7/10)

THEMES - Suspense, fun, good entertainment.

STORY - DUEL is Steven Spielberg's first full length feature movie (originally made for the CBS Movie Of The Week and then expanded for theaters) and the one that put him on the Hollywood map. If you're in the mood for a good Hitchcock-like movie, this is it. Watch it when you're home alone at night. The film stars Dennis Weaver and THE TRUCK. It starts out looking thru the lens of a camera mounted on the front bumper of a car backing out of the garage, then driving thru the suburban Los Angeles neighborhood, into the rush hour traffic of the LA freeway system. When you finally meet the middle-aged salesman on his way to meet a client somewhere outside of LA in a rural, desert area, he's turned off the freeway onto a lonely, two lane highway. That's where you also meet the co-star of the film, the Peterbilt truck with the tanker trailer. Peterbilt has the long, menacing-looking hood (the face) and the small windows (eyes) and this one looks like it went thru the Vietnam War and is dirty and greasy and has a set of various state license plates on the front bumper (which you learn in the commentary represent each state where he[it] has killed a motorist). Sick of the diesel smoke blowing in the window of his red 4 door Plymouth Valiant sedan, Dennis Weaver looks for an opening to pass THE TRUCK. Whether it was passing it that triggered the decision to terrorize the motorist or he was just waiting for the right victim to come along, we don't know but we keep waiting to see the driver and there are many suspenseful moments when you think the two men will confront each other face to face. The movie is full of suspense as THE TRUCK tries to run Weaver down in the mountains and desert of rural California on a lonely highway. The suspense is constant so that you don't want to turn away for a minute or you might miss something. There is little or no foul language, no sex, just good old fashioned suspense and a fist fight and some vehicles doing damage to property. Very climactic ending. The movie was made entirely on location in 12 days, a phenomenal accomplishment. Watch the interview with Spielberg and you will get a feel for the genius of him as a filmmaker. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/13/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD