Dawn Movie

Red Dawn
$7.99
If you put your politics (and your feelings regarding both Reagan and the Second Amendment) aside, and just sit back and enjoy this film, you'll be in for one of Patrick Swayze's most moving dramatic performances.

Swayze, who passed away just two days ago as I'm writing this, plays "Jed", the young alpha-male leader of the Wolverines. These Wolverines are a group of high-school students who, after their small Colorado town is invaded by Soviet and Cuban paratroopers, band together and wage war on their would-be conquerers.

If you want to know more about the plot, well, there isn't a whole lot more to say. It's a fairly well-developed screenplay by John Milius (veteran screenwriter of "Apocalypse Now" and also a few Eastwood pictures) and Kevin Reynolds (who would go on to direct "Waterworld" with Kevin Costner and "The Count of Monte Cristo" with James Caviezel) that is as engrossing as it is predictable. Granted, that's an odd combination, but this screenplay draws you into itself, not by ever surprising you, but rather by showing you how you'd most likely feel, and want to react, if your home was subject to an invasion.

Yet it is not the screenplay, nor the performances of actors like Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey (who would meet Swayze again in "Dirty Dancing") that make this film what it is. Rather, it is Patrick Swayze who gives this film its heart and soul.

Not to take anything away from the other actors, because their performances were quite good. It is still Swayze, though, who is immediately identifiable as the toughest of the town's kids who take up arms to fight their invaders. "Jed" is the natural leader, not just physically the strongest, but also the one the other kids look to for guidance. And yet it is also Swayze's "Jed" who is the most emotionally vulnerable, the one who takes the invasion of his country, and the destruction of the way of life he'd known, most deeply to heart. Look for Swayze's scene on the wintry hillside, holding a family picture and crying as though his heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, as demonstrable proof of this.

It is as much Swayze's alpha-dog toughness in this film, as it is the deep pain that he hides from the other Wolverines, that give this film its humanity. I won't give away the climax to you, but I will tell you that "Jed" does all that he can to save his friends, and his brother. Yet when the end does come, he must face it almost completely alone, isolated from just about everything he has ever known, holding on to the one thing from his past, his brother, that he has left.

If you are an admirer of Patrick Swayze (as I so obviously am), then you will appreciate this film. If you've seen "The Outsiders", Patrick plays a similar character here; the alpha-dog leader with a heart bigger then he is, who is as tough as nails, yet cares very deeply about his family and friends.

Patrick Swayze was so successful as an actor mainly because of one thing: Yes, he had talent as a actor ("To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" was certainly stepping out in a new direction for him, but it did prove that he could convincingly play a character little, if anything, like himself), but the thing of it was this: He was a natural leader, and it showed. Everything from "The Outsiders" to "Red Dawn" to "Dirty Dancing" to "Roadhouse" to "Ghost" displayed his natural leadership qualities in abundance. The other actors always seemed to fall into step behind him, even if their dramatic talent was greater than Swayze's own.

No, Swayze wasn't Anthony Hopkins, but he was a man who easily brought his natural leadership qualities to the big screen, whilst all the while opening his heart, and allowing his audience to look quite deeply within. That takes a great deal of courage, and it's something that many actors are actually quite afraid to do, with good reason.

Patrick Swayze died far too young, after a valient battle with pancreatic cancer. He will be very sorely missed, not just for his Romantic roles like "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing", but also for films like "Red Dawn", which, truth be told, would have been only a "ghost" of itself if someone other that Mr. Swayze had been cast as Jed.

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze. When I was a kid, I saw this film, "Red Dawn", at least twenty times on VHS. The reason? I was trying to find out more about who I was as a young man, and I very much was inspired by your protrayal of Jed. Thanks, Mr. Swayze; you'll not be forgotten.

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$2.19
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
$13.99
I loved the first Ice Age. The second was so-so. This third one got me laughing the way the first one did. Some of the jokes were recycled but there was some good new material, too. If you pay attention, you'll notice some weird plot issues, esp. as relating to the previous movies (like, in the second one, wasn't everything melting? Why is everything frozen again in the 3rd one?) but it I'm pretty forgiving to that sort of thing, so it didn't bother me. If you liked the first Ice Age, I recommend the 3rd--even if you didn't like the 2nd.

Red Dawn [VHS]
$9.94
If you put your politics (and your feelings regarding both Reagan and the Second Amendment) aside, and just sit back and enjoy this film, you'll be in for one of Patrick Swayze's most moving dramatic performances.

Swayze, who passed away just two days ago as I'm writing this, plays "Jed", the young alpha-male leader of the Wolverines. These Wolverines are a group of high-school students who, after their small Colorado town is invaded by Soviet and Cuban paratroopers, band together and wage war on their would-be conquerers.

If you want to know more about the plot, well, there isn't a whole lot more to say. It's a fairly well-developed screenplay by John Milius (veteran screenwriter of "Apocalypse Now" and also a few Eastwood pictures) and Kevin Reynolds (who would go on to direct "Waterworld" with Kevin Costner and "The Count of Monte Cristo" with James Caviezel) that is as engrossing as it is predictable. Granted, that's an odd combination, but this screenplay draws you into itself, not by ever surprising you, but rather by showing you how you'd most likely feel, and want to react, if your home was subject to an invasion.

Yet it is not the screenplay, nor the performances of actors like Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey (who would meet Swayze again in "Dirty Dancing") that make this film what it is. Rather, it is Patrick Swayze who gives this film its heart and soul.

Not to take anything away from the other actors, because their performances were quite good. It is still Swayze, though, who is immediately identifiable as the toughest of the town's kids who take up arms to fight their invaders. "Jed" is the natural leader, not just physically the strongest, but also the one the other kids look to for guidance. And yet it is also Swayze's "Jed" who is the most emotionally vulnerable, the one who takes the invasion of his country, and the destruction of the way of life he'd known, most deeply to heart. Look for Swayze's scene on the wintry hillside, holding a family picture and crying as though his heart was shattering into a thousand pieces, as demonstrable proof of this.

It is as much Swayze's alpha-dog toughness in this film, as it is the deep pain that he hides from the other Wolverines, that give this film its humanity. I won't give away the climax to you, but I will tell you that "Jed" does all that he can to save his friends, and his brother. Yet when the end does come, he must face it almost completely alone, isolated from just about everything he has ever known, holding on to the one thing from his past, his brother, that he has left.

If you are an admirer of Patrick Swayze (as I so obviously am), then you will appreciate this film. If you've seen "The Outsiders", Patrick plays a similar character here; the alpha-dog leader with a heart bigger then he is, who is as tough as nails, yet cares very deeply about his family and friends.

Patrick Swayze was so successful as an actor mainly because of one thing: Yes, he had talent as a actor ("To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" was certainly stepping out in a new direction for him, but it did prove that he could convincingly play a character little, if anything, like himself), but the thing of it was this: He was a natural leader, and it showed. Everything from "The Outsiders" to "Red Dawn" to "Dirty Dancing" to "Roadhouse" to "Ghost" displayed his natural leadership qualities in abundance. The other actors always seemed to fall into step behind him, even if their dramatic talent was greater than Swayze's own.

No, Swayze wasn't Anthony Hopkins, but he was a man who easily brought his natural leadership qualities to the big screen, whilst all the while opening his heart, and allowing his audience to look quite deeply within. That takes a great deal of courage, and it's something that many actors are actually quite afraid to do, with good reason.

Patrick Swayze died far too young, after a valient battle with pancreatic cancer. He will be very sorely missed, not just for his Romantic roles like "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing", but also for films like "Red Dawn", which, truth be told, would have been only a "ghost" of itself if someone other that Mr. Swayze had been cast as Jed.

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze. When I was a kid, I saw this film, "Red Dawn", at least twenty times on VHS. The reason? I was trying to find out more about who I was as a young man, and I very much was inspired by your protrayal of Jed. Thanks, Mr. Swayze; you'll not be forgotten.