'The Nightly Daily' recommends movies....

This Memorial Day weekend I have seen an unusually good string of military movies. Since the weekend is not over yet, perhaps you might get a chance to see the following movies.

'Tora! Tora! Tora!' is an underrated movie from 1970 that methodically details the events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This is not a film that will 'Wow!' you, but it is well told and acted. I've read that the filmmakers stayed away from having big stars in it to avoid having one person overshadow the storyline. Because of this, good character actors like Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, James Whitmore, and E.G. Marshall get a chance to shine. However, the best part of the film is its battle scenes, and the film also does a good job of presenting the story from both the Japanese and American viewpoints.

Of course, Patton is a classic war film, and George C. Scott's performance of Gen. George Patton dominates the film. I did not know until yesterday that Francis Ford Coppola co-wrote the screenplay. However, this film is Scott's all the way, and it is hard to imagine any other actor who might have done a better job.

Also, I caught most of Coppola's Apocalypse Now: Redux last night, and it has been 20 years since I have seen the film. Another great film with strong performances with the best probably being Robert Duvall's. A small criticism is that there needed to be more Marlon Brando in it, but this was typical of Brando films in the late 1970s. He was in it for what seemed like 15 minutes but still got top billing. I wonder how Martin Sheen (the real star of the film) felt about that.

If you stumble across these films the rest of the weekend, my advice is to watch them.