Mike Young – Google

The movie is mostly a downer but if you like chess you'll get some enjoyment out of it and if you are fascinated by mental illness then you'll be intrigued. The acting is very good. Bobby Fischer is a favorite of mine. I grew up in the '60's and cheered him on during the championship. The movie, at times, portrays chess as some sort of magic ritual, full of mystery and hidden meanings. It's just a game. A game between two people who try to see the moves ahead and anticipate possible replies. If both play well the game will probably be a draw but if lesser moves are played then one will probably win. It's not magic. I wish a movie would show the inner workings of the game instead of couching it in shadows, emotions, and mystery. Fischer on the other hand was a very sick individual who needed care.

If you like heroes and heroic deeds then this is a movie for you. Banderas is very good in the main role but where the movie really shines is with the King "Buliwyf" who leads the 13 to fight an ancient evil in a faraway land. This is a no frills movie that takes place in a very believable setting but what it lacks for story development and character development it makes up for with the stuff of legend and the heroes who lived it. If you don't watch it with the expectation of a big budget cgi action movie you'll enjoy it. It's easily a lot better than it tends to be displayed. To this day after seeing this at the theater I can't help but smile when I think of "Buliwyf" and a heroic orchestra playing a stirring majestic music for him as he fights overwhelming odds in a hopeless cause.

Good movie but it pales by comparison to the original Swedish versions which are in 3 parts and much longer (subtitled and I get the feeling that this remake is easier to watch than the original) The 3 book series is worth a read as well. My only real complaint other than the US version not covering all three books is that Rooney Mara's performance is altered from the character in the book in one key point (her being embarrassed by her photographic memory). I wish they had made 1 or 2 more movies to cover books 2 and 3 in their entirety instead of 1 movie covering book 1 and part of 2. It's well done and a much easier movie to watch but leaves a tremendous out of the story as much more happened after the ending of this newer movie. Daniel Craig is every bit as good as the original actor but while Mara is good in the role I just didn't feel the depth of Lisbeth but that might be more to the fact that they rushed the movie. I suggest you watch the trilogy first then watch the remake. But I am biased as I have loved the original movies for many years and have seen them many times including the extended versions. In addition, the sequel to Fincher's movie includes Salander but it's not part of the original series of books and wasn't written by Stieg Larssen who died shortly after the books were written.

It's been a favorite of mine for many years. Michael Caine is really good and the story slowly builds as you learn about the plot to explode a bomb at an American base in England. The movie has a special interest to me as the base in the movie "RAF Baywaters" is the movie name for RAF Upper Heyford which I served for two years a few years before the movie. It is now no longer a functioning military base near Oxford England. The last 20 minutes are particularly exciting as Caine and company close in on Pierce Brosnan's character as a Soviet spy.

Fun show. Pat/Vanna are two very nice people with Pat always gentle with the contestants and always funny. This season (37) they've added 3 quick popups later in the game for a nice change. My only complaint is not their fault but here in KC they like to pre-empt it for sports and put it on after midnight. And to those complaining about timing(and what we see or don't see) you have to remember they have to fit the show into a slot and the game is unpredictable so I'm sure they have to edit when they can to make it fit.