Movie Review - "I Saw the Devil"

I’ve seen some great movies from South Korea lately. The villain in this flick, Min-sik Choi, also starred in Oldboy which I also highly recommend. I Saw the Devil is not a horror movie about the devil. It’s a story of revenge, the depths of depravity, and the extent of actions human beings may take when pushed to the brink. Very good movie…I highly recommend it.

The movie is from South Korea so it is subtitled, of course. There is also considerable violence and graphically-depicted horror scenes. It is about a serial killer, after all.

Movie Review – “I Saw the Devil” http://ping.fm/KvakG

Great horror flick!

I’m not a huge fan of the horror genre but the few movies of this realm I do like I like a lot and count among my favorites. I must add Insidious to this list that includes The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, The Changeling, Psycho, & Halloween. The common theme in these five movies is a well-written script and excellent cinematography. There’s minimal blood and gore which is a big turn-off for me.

I can’t recommend this movie highly enough.

Great horror flick! http://ping.fm/Lcfe5

The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Europe 1944-45 by John Nichol

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The story is not untold, just not heard as often as the stories of the American prisoners held by the Japanese during WWII. The Germans treated prisoners awfully, as illustrated by the true stories in this book.



The death marches were unbelievable. Some marched over 400 miles with very little clothing, no food, and the worst winter Germany saw in over 50 years. I found the resolve for these men to survive to be remarkable. The most incredible fact is that more POWs didn't die considering what they went through. I was particularly moved by the description of a POW afraid to go to sleep one night because he was sure he would freeze to death. Truly inspirational and fascinating stories. The sacrifices these men made are hard to fathom.



The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because of the writing style. I'm nit-picky, I know, but the writing didn't flow enough to grip me. The stories were gripping, but the writing could have been more creative.



Still, I strongly recommend this book. It relates facts that we should all be aware of.



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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wanted to give this book five stars but I will get into why I had to give four. I really reserve the 5 star rating for the best books I have ever read. The last half of this book fits this description but the first half falls short.

What I mean by this is the level of detail and the number of people described in the first half of the book, before the battle scenes. I found myself struggling to remember all the names because I knew I would want to remember them when the battles were described. I really wish the author would have developed the people when they were in action. I found it to be very difficult to remember the characters' previous development when the real action of this unbelievable story was described.

One more gripe...I feel I have to describe these gripes because the story is really incredible and I want whoever reads this to understand why I didn't give the book 5 stars. There are many awesome pictures in the book. Some of them are of people who don't figure in the story, or at least I couldn't remember where they were. I mention this because Bud Walton's picture is featured. I thought 'whoa I've missed something about him' but I couldn't find the detail. You see, Bud Walton is a huge figure where I'm from. The basketball arena here (for the Arkansaa Razorbacks) is named Bud Walton Arena and he was also the brother of Sam Walton (founder of Walmart).

Anyway, let me get into what is so incredible about this book. The sailors who put their lives on the line against seemingly insurmountable odds were all heroes. I wonder if men comparable to them exist today. Would men charge into battle knowing they would probably die? We live in different times now but we should not ever forget the great sacrifices that the greatest generation gave in defense of our nation.

For many years the battle described in this book (the Battle off Samar) was not mentioned by the Navy. The author gets into these details and sheds a different light on some of the admirals who were perceived to be great, but may not deserve the accolades they received.

The book is incredible. I really liked it. I recommend it to any WWII buff like me or to anybody who wants to read about inspirational sacrifice and men who realized a sense of duty for their country.



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Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Easily the best war novel I have ever read. I'd love to see HBO get a hold of it for a mini-series.



The story is told from the perspective of a glory-seeking second lieutenant straight out of West Pont. He's assigned a ground troop unit and soon experiences the hell these men are put through.



What impressed me the most was the realism complete with military tactics and the interaction between men sharing these awful experiences. My constant thoughtthrough the book was that military planners didn't value the lives of the ground troops as much today as they do know but a lot of this could be blamed on the technology available at the time. Want an airstrike but it's cloudy? Forget it...



I highly recommend this book. I left my copy with my dad - West Point grad and Vietnam Vet. He was lucky enough to fly in an A-6 az a navigator.



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