Apollo 13
Okay, so here are the ground rules I’ve set for myself as I choose movies to cover in this blog.
- My options are limited to any movies in my dvd collection that I have either not yet seen or I have not yet opened (though these may be movies that I’ve seen in theaters, on cable, or otherwise).
- The selection of a movie must be random.
- I’m not allowed to veto a movie unless it’s truly inappropriate at the time. For example, I could skip The Lost Boys if one of my friends had just been attacked by vampires, but not if I was just disinterested. Basically, unless there’s a really good excuse, I’ve just got to suck it up and watch. (Hopefully this won’t be a problem, since I do like most of the movies I buy.)
This last rule got tested from the very start, as my random number generator produced a result of Apollo 13: a good movie, but one I’ve seen several times before. I’m a bit disappointed that it wasn’t something a little more off the beaten path. Still, the rules must be followed.
And on the whole, it’s hard to complain. Apollo 13 is actually rather appropriate, given that its a Tom Hanks-Ron Howard partnership, and I’ll likely be watching their latest partnership, Angels & Demons, in the coming days. And Apollo 13 has a hell of a cast: Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Ed Harris are hard to beat. Even the bit players are great. Among those I spotted are Rance and Clint Howard, Ron’s father and brother respectively; Xander Berkeley; Loren Dean, star of Mumford, one of my favorite movies; Christian Clemenson, better known as Socrates Poole of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (an excellent tv Western featuring the legendary Bruce Campbell); and the original non-Cylon, non-hot-Asian-chick Boomer, Herb Jefferson Jr.. Heck, B-movie king Roger Corman even has a cameo as a senator.
It’s a perfect storm of movie elements: great non-fiction story, set in outer space, top-flight director, A-list cast, bravery in the face of imminent death, and science geeks save the day. Considering how boring this could have been – I mean, really, despite the stakes, it’s a movie about a bunch of nerdy white guys staring at computers for days on end – it’s truly gripping from start to finish.
Anyway, suffice to say, it’s a good flick. Worth watching, even if it’s your fifth or sixth time doing so.
