It’s basically forgotten today, but I think Objective, Burma! is in the upper tier of World War II movies. The plot is simple yet compelling; Errol Flynn is charismatic without being hammy; and the action is realistic, restrained, and gripping. The black and white jungle is a character unto itself, menacing and strangely hypnotic.
If I owned an arthouse theater, I would do a double feature with The Burmese Harp and bill it as “Mission of Burma.”
This is a personal attempt to reconstruct for the camera the plight of an island community which survived seven hundred years of English occupation, and then nearly sank under the weight of its own heroes and clergy.
A fascinating portrait of Ireland in the middle of the 1960s. Starts incredibly strong, and though it loses focus and momentum by the end, the film nonetheless leaves one in a mood of intense reflection. The stultifying consequences of a culture built around…
A terribly disappointing and lazy film. Turns the story of one of the most interesting bands in the world into ‘Plastic Paddy’ kitsch, complete with cutesy animations. Leans heavily on worshipful celebrity interviews, and concludes with a truly execrable 60th birthday bash in which a wheelchair-bound, vacant-eyed MacGowan receives self-satisfied tributes from people like Bono and Johnny Depp.
Ekes out 2 stars because The Pogues still rule.
