List of Favorite Movie/Television Productions About the AMERICAN REVOLUTION/FOURTH OF JULY

Below is a list of my favorite movie and television productions about the American Revolution and/or the Fourth of July holiday: 


LIST OF FAVORITE MOVIE/TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION/FOURTH OF JULY



"John Adams" (2008) - Produced by Tom Hanks and directed by Tom Hooper, this seven-part award winning miniseries about the second U.S. president is set between the eve and during the American Revolution and his death in 1826. The miniseries is based on David McCullough's 2001 biography. Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney starred as John and Abigail Adams.





"TURN: Washington's Spies" (2014-Present) - Craig Silverstein created this AMC television series about the Culper Spies ring during the American Revolution. The series stars Jamie Bell as Abe Woodhull.





"National Treasure" (2004) - Jon Turteltaub directed this adventure/heist film about the search for a massive treasure that had been gathered over the centuries and hidden by American Freemasons during the American Revolution. Nicholas Cage starred.





"Live Freed and Die Hard" (2007) - Bruce Willis returned in this fourth "DIE HARD" movie about Detective John McClane's attempt to stop a cyber terrorist from hacking into the Federal government's computers with the help of a computer hacker, during the Fourth of July holiday. Directed by Len Wiseman, the movie co-starred Justin Long and Timothy Olyphant.





"1776" (1972) William Daniels, Howard DaSilva and Ken Howard starred in this entertaining adaptation of the Broadway musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Peter H. Hunt directed.





"Independence Day" (1996) - Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith and Bill Pullman starred in this epic science-fiction adventure about a group of people surviving an alien invasion during the Fourth of July holiday. Roland Emmerich directed.





"The Patriot" (2000) - Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger starred in this historical drama about the experiences of a South Carolina farmer and his family during the American Revolution. Roland Emmerich directed.





"Johnny Tremain" (1957) - Robert Stevenson directed this adaptation of Esther Forbes' 1944 novel about the experiences of a young apprentice during the few years before the outbreak of the American Revolution. Hal Stalmaster, Luana Patten and Richard Beymer starred.





"The Crossing" (2000) - Jeff Daniels starred as George Washington in this television drama about the Continental Army's Delaware River crossing and the Battle of Trenton. The movie was directed by Robert Harmon.





"April Morning" (1988) - Chad Lowe, Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Urich starred in this television adaptation of Howard Fast's 1961 novel about the coming-of-age for a Massachusetts adolescent during the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Delbert Mann directed.

"TOTAL RECALL" (2012) Review

"TOTAL RECALL" (2012) Review

Twenty-two years ago, moviegoers rushed to see a movie called "TOTAL RECALL", an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1966 novella called "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". Directed by Paul Verhoeven, the 1990 movie starred Arnold Schwartzenegger and was a big hit.

Two decades passed before Hollywood tackled the 1964 novella for the second time. Still called "TOTAL RECALL", this new adaptation was directed by Len Wiseman. It starred Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell in the role of amnesiac Doug Quaid. The movie has been as well received as the 1990 movie. And it barely went into the black. But surprisingly, at least for me, I discovered that I prefer it over Verhoeven's version.

"TOTAL RECALL" begins at the end of the 21st century. Earth has been devastated by chemical warfare and only two habitable territories exist - the United Federation of Britain (formerly Great Britain) and the Colony (formerly Australia). The UFB is a haven for humanity's elite and white-collar employees. The less affluent population reside in the Colony, yet have low paying jobs in the UFB. They have to travel there to work in the elite's factories via "the Fall", a gravity elevator, which travels through the Earth. Habitable space is at a minimum in both the UFB and the Colony.

A disenchanted factory worker named Doug Quaid is convinced by a co-worker to visit Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Rekall's manager, McClane, convinces Quaid to be implanted with memories of a secret agent. But when the latter is tested to avoid having implanted memories conflicting with real memories, McClane discovers that Quaid has real memories of being a spy. McClane and his co-workers are killed by a SWAT team and Quaid instinctively reacts by killing the officers before his escape. When Quaid returns home to his wife Lori, she tries to kill him before revealing that she is not his wife of seven years, but an undercover UFB agent who has been monitoring him for the past six weeks. Quaid manages to escape and with some help and funds, make his way to the UFB to learn about his true identity. Quaid meets old girlfriend Melina upon his arrival and eventually discovers that his name is Carl Hauser, an agent who works for UFB Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen. Quaid had defected to the Resistance movement against Cohaagen's rule, became Melina's lover and was later was captured by the UFB and implanted with false memories. Quaid also learns from a recording left by him at his apartment that Cohaagen plans to use the synthetic police force to invade the Colony and kill its inhabitants in order to provide more living space for UFB.

I am sure that many are either surprised, appalled or both by my earlier declaration that I preferred this version of Dick's novella over Paul Verhoeven. I stand by my word. But that does not mean that I believe Wiseman's version was perfect. One, the movie lacked Verhoeven's style and humor. Two, despite some changes in setting, characterization and plot; the movie's story is a little too close to the 1990 movie for my tastes. I do wish that the screenplay written by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback had been a little more original. And unlike the memorable fight scene between Sharon Stone and Rachel Ticotin, I was not that impressed by the one between Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale. It seemed a bit . . . confusing. I love Bryan Cranston as an actor. I have been a fan of his since I first saw him in "MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE". But I was not impressed by his portrayal of main villain Vilos Cohaagen. I found it a little hammy. Now Cranston can be hammy and funny at the same time. But hammy and serious? Uh . . . sorry. It just did not work for me. And I found it disappointing that an actor who won three consecutive Emmys for portraying a school teacher-turned-drug lord resorted to such theatrics in this particular movie.

Despite its flaws, I still managed to enjoy "TOTAL RECALL". And I will tell you why I enjoyed it more than the 1990 movie. Wiseman's direction may have lacked Verhoeven's style and humor. Fortunately, he also lacked Verhoeven's penchant over-the-top violence . . . the kind that makes me want to close my eyes. And I . . . am a fan of action films. Unlike the 1990 film, I was not distracted from the story by extreme violence, a trip to a very unimpressive Mars and mutants. Also, I found Farrell's first fight scene with Kate Beckinsale - who portrayed his fake wife Lori - very impressive. The idea of Sharon Stone fighting muscle man Schwartzenegger was hard to swallow when I first saw Verhoeven's film. And I still find it difficult.

The political and economical overtones of "TOTAL RECALL" strongly resonated within me. It made sense to me that the great distance between the rich and poor existed with such extremity by the end of the 21st century, considering our current economic state. In a way, the setting of "TOTAL RECALL" reminded me of last year's "IN TIME". But this movie benefited from a more solid script than the 2011 movie.

"TOTAL RECALL" also benefited from first-rate performances by the cast. Yes, I had a problem with Bryan Cranston as the main villain, Cohaagen. But I certainly cannot say the same about the rest of the cast. Colin Farrell, in his own way, can be just as effective as Schwartzenegger, as an action hero. But, he can also act rings around the latter. He certainly proved this in his portrayal of Doug Quaid/Carl Hauser. Jessica Biel not only projected a shining idealism in her portrayal of Resistance fighter, Melina; she also proved to be just as effective in action as Farrell. Kate Beckinsale nearly blew my mind as the ruthless UFB agent Lori. She re-created two roles from the 1990 movies - those portrayed by Sharon Stone as the fake wife and Michael Ironside, who portrayed Cohaagen's chief lieutenant, Ritcher - and put her own delicious and twisted spin on them. Bokeem Woodbine, whom I have not seen in years - portrayed Doug's "best friend" Harry. I have to say that he gave probably the most subtle performance in the movie. And it is a pity that he was not on the screen longer. The movie also featured brief, yet solid appearances from the likes of John Cho, Bill Nighy and Will Yun Lee.

It is a pity that "TOTAL RECALL" did not fare that well at the box. I guess it was unable to overcome the shadow of Paul Verhoeven's 1990 movie. Which is too bad, because I believe that in its own way, it was just as entertaining . . . and flawed as the earlier version. Well . . . at least I have a future DVD copy of it to look forward and enjoy.

"TOTAL RECALL" (2012) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "TOTAL RECALL", the new adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1966 short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". Directed by Len Wiseman, the movie stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel:


"TOTAL RECALL" (2012) Photo Gallery

"LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD" (2007) Review

"LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD" (2007) Review

When I had first heard about a third sequel to the 1988 action blockbuster, ”DIE HARD”, I thought that Bruce Willis must be very desperate to revive his career. Aside from the 2005 hit, ”SIN CITY”, he has not appeared in very successful movie in nearly a decade. The last movie in the ”DIE HARD” franchise had been released in 1995. Twelve years seemed like a hell of a time to release a new sequel. And to be honest, successful action flicks about cops have rarely been successful since the dawn of the 21st century. Needless to say, I did not harbor any hopes of this being a first-rate or successful film.

Then other facts and rumors about this new movie began to reach my ears. First came the title - ”LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD”. It seemed very cheesy to me. In fact, it still does. I also heard a rumor that the John McClane character had left the New York Police Department to work for Homeland Security. Thankfully that turned out to be nothing more than a false rumor, for I had envisioned scenes filled with constant flag waving and patriotic rhetoric. Then I learned of the tidbit that McClane’s character would be battling foreign-born computer terrorists. This sounded oddly familiar. In fact, it brought back memories of the 1995 Sandra Bullock film, ”THE NET”. Well that rumor proved to be half-true. The two main terrorists - portrayed by Timothy Olyphant (“DEADWOOD”) and Maggie Q (“MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3”) - turned out to be American-born. In the end, ”LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD” not only proved to be worthy of its three predecessors, I thought it was just as good as the first film.

Despite its cheesy title, ”LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD” had the good luck to possess an intriguing and damn good story. A former Federal employee named Thomas Gabriel (Olyphant) decides to attack the U.S. infrastructure during the July 4 holiday, through the use of high-tech computer programming. Before the September 11, 2001 attacks, he had warned his employers that any high-tech terrorist could bring about the country’s downfall through similar attacks. When they failed to listen and ruin his reputation and career, he decides to get his revenge with the help of his assistant and lady love, Mai Lihn (Maggie Q). Gabriel tricked several hackers, including one named Matt Ferrell (Justin Long) to create several programs to achieve goals. Then he proceeds to infect the hackers’ computer systems with a virus before killing them off one by one. When Ferrell hacks into the FBI, the latter sends the NYPD to arrest the remaining hacker still alive – Ferrell. Lieutenant Detective (Willis) is assigned to deliver the young hacker to Washington D.C. What started as a simple, delivery assignment turns into a full-scale hunt and destroy mission to take down Gabriel for both McClane and Ferrell.

Moviegoers and film critics tend to focus upon the action sequences for movies like those in the ”DIE HARD” franchise. But for me, exciting action sequences alone does not make a movie. Certainly not sequences like the one that featured McClane and a military jet. I really could have done without that little moment. For me to truly enjoy a movie like ”LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD”, I also need a first-class story and good performances. Fortunately, the movie possessed all three – a first-rate script penned by Mark Bomback, exciting action sequences and an excellent cast led by the superb and always entertaining Bruce Willis. I want to point out that he was especially assisted by Olyphant, who portrayed a very intelligent and sinister villain; and Justin Long, who as Ferrell, managed to create great screen chemistry with Willis.

And believe it or not, director Len Weisman (“UNDERWORLD” and “UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION”) managed to bring it all of these elements together to create an exciting thriller that left me on the edge of my seat . . . instead of boring me out of my mind. To my utter surprise, Weisman actually managed to keep the ”DIE HARD” franchise fresh. And if he and Bruce Willis ever decide to consider it, I would not mind seeing a fifth movie.

"LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD" (2007) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 2007 action thriller, "LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD", the fourth entry of the DIE HARD film franchise.  Based on John Carlin's 1997 article for "Wired" magazine, "A Farewell to Arms", and directed by Len Wiseman, the movie starred Bruce Willis:  

"LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD" (2007) Photo Gallery