The Last Drop (2005, UK)

Here I go again, following a certain Swede's career all over the place. I was really glad he brought me to this one. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be like. I thought it was going to be about a real World War II military operation. Instead, it was a heist film set during the war. Think Ocean's 11 with Nazis.

I don't know how historically accurate it was, but they did cut archive footage from newsreels and the like into it, which was neat. It was war, adventure, crime, comedy... everything mixed into one.

The one thing that was awful about this one was the sound mixing.
Gunfire and explosions were so much louder than dialogue and music, it was very hard to hear. On the other hand, the writing and acting were great. Billy Zane thought he was Indiana Jones, Alexander Skarsgård was pretty convincing as a German mocking Americans, and the camaraderie between the American soldiers was well played. I never do this, but I can't help it this time: watch this clip from about 0:55 to 1:55. It is priceless!

Rating: 4.0

Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998, U.S.)

So today I was babysitting my friend's 4-year-old daughter, Krisna, and I was lucky enough to get to see Pocahontas II... right. Now, I loved the first Pocahontas when it came out. I was in 5th grade, and my class saw it on a field trip. I was already a bit of a history nut in those days, and Virginia history was my favorite. I read every book about Pocahontas I could get my hands on. Even at that tender age, I recognized the historical inaccuracies of the movie, but I liked it. My friend Tanvi and I sang "Colors of the Wind" for our fifth grade talent show.

But enough reminiscing. The second Pocahontas was even more liberal with history than the first, I thought. Still, for a kids' movie, it was okay. Pretty intense stuff though -- bear baiting, John Smith and John Rolfe breaking Pocahontas out of the Tower of London... Oh, and Shakespeare randomly appearing in the street. Too strange. Also, the songs weren't as good as the first one. "In 1607, we sailed the open sea / For glory, God, and gold, and the Virginia Company!" Can't beat that. Also, I've always been a John Smith fan, and not so fond of John Rolfe. So kind of hard to like the one where she falls in love with him.

Also, I knew, I knew, that John Rolfe sounded like Billy Zane. Turns out it was Billy Zane. Really, I think he's a great actor, although he's been in some pretty awful films. He was, of course, amazing in Titanic. Then a year later, he's doing voices for a not-so-great, straight-to-video, Disney movie. There's just no explanation.

Rating: 2.5