Flyboys

Jim Logajan wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote:
We all recall the thousands of pilots that only began flying because
they saw Top Gun :-)
Actually, Navy recruiting shot through the roof, after "Top Gun" hit
the silver screen.

Didn't believe that, but looks like you're right:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gun_(film)

"Unsurprisingly, it boosted Air Force recruitment and increased Navy
recruitment 500 percent. This was evident in the fact that the Navy used
its success by having recruitment booths in some theaters to lure
enthusiastic patrons."

I'm not sure what that says about young men that they think Top Gun is a
reason to join the military...

(ok, ok, I'm the only pilot to dislike that movie, sorry)

In article ,
Dan Luke wrote:

"C. Massey" wrote:

While this movie was entertaining, it was also so unrealistic it's
pitiful! But, I just kept in mind that it's only a movie so relax and
enjoy it!

Doesn't work for me. When the smell of fertilizer gets too strong, I have
to leave.

In the case of _Flyboys_, a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 29% means it's a "wait
for the DVD" deal for me.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flyboys/

Mr Cranky[1] gave it Four Bombs.
http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/flyboys.html

From the Mr Cranky review:

Watching an interesting historical episode boiled down to
such a trite and unchallenging story makes me wonder --
really wonder -- just how dumb movie audiences in this
country are becoming.

John
[1] Mr Cranky reviews range from One Bomb (almost tolerable) to a
Nuclear Bomb (proof that Jesus died in vain).
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/

On 22 Sep 2006 20:29:20 -0700, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Agree 100%. We just got back from it, too, and I was glad to see a
good crowd in the theater, and a good buzz about the movie after the
show.

I went to the 'plex in a strip mall in a country town nearby, which
saves me the trauma of driving through semi-urban traffic. Generally
the theater is all but empty, and afterward the few wanderers who have
come in from the rain will slink out, avoiding each other's eyes.

Flyboys had thirty, forty people, and at the conclusion THEY APPLAUDED
the screen! I can't remember the last time I saw that in a movie
theater, let along the Spinnelli's Barrington Cinema.

I loved the movie, and it had me sniffling a couple of times (when the
planes took off on their first comat mission, and the camera was
watching the wheels bounce and skitter along the grass; and again
during the lovers' meeting at Lucien's farm with her neice and nephews
romping about--what beautiful children!). The combat sequences got
repetitious after a while, and I could have done without the mandatory
21st century conversation on the futility of war. But overall, streets
ahead of anything I have ever seen on WWI (well, there's Paths of
Glory) or aerial combat or computer simulation (I couldn't tell where
the real planes ended and the fake ones began).

Thank God for Eugene Bullard (Skinner in the movie)! In the air, with
goggles and helmet, it was awfully hard to tell the Americans apart,
and I came to love that black face like spotting an old friend in a
cocktail party full of strangers.

"John Clear" wrote:

In the case of _Flyboys_, a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 29% means it's a
"wait
for the DVD" deal for me.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flyboys/

Mr Cranky[1] gave it Four Bombs.
http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/flyboys.html

From the Mr Cranky review:

Watching an interesting historical episode boiled down to
such a trite and unchallenging story makes me wonder --
really wonder -- just how dumb movie audiences in this
country are becoming.

John
[1] Mr Cranky reviews range from One Bomb (almost tolerable) to a
Nuclear Bomb (proof that Jesus died in vain).


Haw! Bookmarked!

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

"Emily" wrote:

I'm not sure what that says about young men that they think Top Gun is a
reason to join the military...

(ok, ok, I'm the only pilot to dislike that movie, sorry)

I'm in that club: can't bear to watch it.

Maybe it's just because that twitchy little pratt Tom Cruise is in it.

--
Dan

"Almost all the matter that came out of the Big Bang was two specific sorts;
hydrogen, and stupidity."

-Robert Carnegie in talk.origins

Emily wrote:

Jim Logajan wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

We all recall the thousands of pilots that only began flying because
they saw Top Gun :-)

Actually, Navy recruiting shot through the roof, after "Top Gun" hit
the silver screen.


Didn't believe that, but looks like you're right:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gun_(film)

"Unsurprisingly, it boosted Air Force recruitment and increased Navy
recruitment 500 percent. This was evident in the fact that the Navy
used its success by having recruitment booths in some theaters to lure
enthusiastic patrons."


I'm not sure what that says about young men that they think Top Gun is a
reason to join the military...

(ok, ok, I'm the only pilot to dislike that movie, sorry)

Other than Tom Cruise being in it, I liked it. The sound track was
excellent as was much of the flying.

Matt

"John Clear" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Dan Luke wrote:

"C. Massey" wrote:

While this movie was entertaining, it was also so unrealistic it's
pitiful! But, I just kept in mind that it's only a movie so relax and
enjoy it!

Doesn't work for me. When the smell of fertilizer gets too strong, I have
to leave.

In the case of _Flyboys_, a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 29% means it's a
"wait
for the DVD" deal for me.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flyboys/

Mr Cranky[1] gave it Four Bombs.
http://www.mrcranky.com/movies/flyboys.html

From the Mr Cranky review:

Watching an interesting historical episode boiled down to
such a trite and unchallenging story makes me wonder --
really wonder -- just how dumb movie audiences in this
country are becoming.

John
[1] Mr Cranky reviews range from One Bomb (almost tolerable) to a
Nuclear Bomb (proof that Jesus died in vain).
--



To bad my quote got all chopped up. I wasn't even referring to Flyboys with
my comment...




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Emily wrote:

I'm not sure what that says about young men that they think Top Gun is a
reason to join the military...

(ok, ok, I'm the only pilot to dislike that movie, sorry)

Don't know or care about the testosterone levels involved (must be a
female thing) but you aren't the only pilot who didn't like the movie.

However, it still contains some of the best coreographed aerial
photography ever...

I give it big ups for the technical achievements.

Jay B

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
t...

"C. Massey" wrote in message
t...

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ps.com...
I have just returned from seeing this movie. One word - OUTSTANDING!

Go see it.

Agree 100%. We just got back from it, too, and I was glad to see a
good crowd in the theater, and a good buzz about the movie after the
show.

It's very well done, and the flying sequences are fantastic.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


Good but far from realistic. Not one rotary engine in the bunch and
what were those goofey back fires every time they pulled an engine
through. Also, the engine sounds weren't even close to correct.




It's a moooovie...

........from Hollywood. Shouldn't expect much I guess. Lotsa hype about
realism but they blew the basics.

Problem is that in the "old days", when Hollywood made an aviation movie,
they hired real life people as "technical advisors". These folks got things
as close to being realistic as possible; that is if you actually believe
that the Japanese flew T6's against P40's and won the fight once in awhile
:-))
These days its all done with graphics and special effects. I remember Art
Scholl telling me one night at a dinner that before long, Hollywood wouldn't
need actors. They'd simply make an entire movie in blue screen and
superimpose the image of the actors in the scenes as needed.
:-)
Dudley Henriques

John Ousterhout wrote:
We all recall the thousands of pilots that only began flying because
they saw Top Gun :-)

Jay Honeck replied:
Actually, Navy recruiting shot through the roof, after "Top Gun" hit
the silver screen.

I think that few of those who rushed out and enlisted after watching Top
Gun were of the caliber* required to become a Naval Aviator.

Let's hope "Flyboys" helps GA in the same way.

I saw Flyboys today. If watching it causes anyone to go to the local
FBO and sign up for flight training I'll buy a beer for everyone in this
discussion.

I thought that Flyboys was hackneyed, trite, sophomoric and predictable.
Some of the flight scenes were great though. I thought the same about
Top Gun. Your mileage may vary :-)

* pun intentional.

- John Ousterhout -