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Master & Commander
First, apologies to P, because she saw this movie with me and has already heard everything I have to say here.
Ok,
1) As far as realistic carnage goes, Master & Commander is like Saving Private Ryan Afloat, it has the sights, the sounds -- practically the *smells* -- of battle.
2) Russell Crowe, actor or asshole? He can definitely act, and why should I *care* whether he's an asshole in real life? I don't know him personally, it's not like I have to spend time with him and be affected by his demeanor. I just watch him in movies, and *damn*, he is good at what he does onscreen.
3) There's like an entire treatise on leadership in this movie, buried in a secondary storyline. The contrasting fates of Mr. Holland and Mr. Blakeney (whose names are probably spelled incorrectly here) are *so* instructive. Blakeney is, like, 10 years old, MISSING AN ARM, and he still inspires confidence in men six times his age -- something totally beyond the abilities of Mr. Holland, despite having a full two decades' more experience. Wow. If CGU and I successfully reproduce, I want kids like Mr. Blakeney and like the daughters in The Missing. And maybe like the kids in Arthur Ransome's *Swallows & Amazons*.
Ok,
1) As far as realistic carnage goes, Master & Commander is like Saving Private Ryan Afloat, it has the sights, the sounds -- practically the *smells* -- of battle.
2) Russell Crowe, actor or asshole? He can definitely act, and why should I *care* whether he's an asshole in real life? I don't know him personally, it's not like I have to spend time with him and be affected by his demeanor. I just watch him in movies, and *damn*, he is good at what he does onscreen.
3) There's like an entire treatise on leadership in this movie, buried in a secondary storyline. The contrasting fates of Mr. Holland and Mr. Blakeney (whose names are probably spelled incorrectly here) are *so* instructive. Blakeney is, like, 10 years old, MISSING AN ARM, and he still inspires confidence in men six times his age -- something totally beyond the abilities of Mr. Holland, despite having a full two decades' more experience. Wow. If CGU and I successfully reproduce, I want kids like Mr. Blakeney and like the daughters in The Missing. And maybe like the kids in Arthur Ransome's *Swallows & Amazons*.