Midway (1976)

I considered saving the last U.S. war movie left on my list for a patriotic holiday, much as I like to save horrors for October. But in all likelihood, I wouldn't remember on time. Besides, I was already in the mood for something very different from what else I'd seen lately.

The story begins with the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April '42. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Tohiro Mifune overdubbed by Paul Frees) sees it as a blessing in disguise, because now his superiors will give him carte blanche for his next move. Soon after, U.S. intelligence staff supervised by Commander Joseph Rochefort (Hal Holbrook) and monitored by composite character Captain Matthew Garth (Charlton Heston) find inconclusive evidence that Japan's next target is Midway Atoll. By the time of the eponymous battle in June, U.S. naval forces are not fully prepared and consider themselves the underdog.

The Big Country (1958)

I said before that I couldn't really characterize William Wyler's directorial style. Now I must be getting the hang of it, because as I watched TBC, I thought of two others: Friendly Persuasion and The Westerner. They're all set in the 19th century and have protagonists who are big on peace.

Rather unusually for a western, the hero in this one, James McKay (Gregory Peck), is a ship captain -- and a fish out of water. He comes to the frontier because it's home to Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker), his intended. Apparently, no one warned him that her wealthy father, Henry (Charles Bickford), is leading one side of a feud with the rugged Hannassey clan, led by Rufus (Burl Ives), over access to a waterhole on land owned by Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), who's on good terms with Jim and Pat but unwilling to sell to either patriarch. Like Julie, Jim doesn't let social closeness color his judgment of the situation. But to call him neutral would be misleading; he simply seeks a third option....

Hercules (1997)

In the past year or so, I've increased my viewing of animated features from the late '90s and early 2000s, when Disney had taken a dive in popularity, not counting collaborations with Pixar. Why? Well, sometimes I want to see something not only short but colorful, whimsical, and unchallenging, and I've already seen the bulk of the most esteemed fare in that category. Oddly enough, I tend to like the "middling" stuff almost equally; it must be a matter of expectations and backlash.

As you may recall, Hercules came out after the double whammy of underachievers Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. One of their alleged problems was working with darker stories than the target audience was used to watching. So someone had the bright idea of turning to Greco-Roman tragedy for something more uplifting! OK, if you remember anything from the trailer and your own studies of ancient history and mythology, you know that Disney took possibly even more liberties with the source material than ever before or since, as if nobody bothered to review what they learned in junior high. (Kudos to the ad makers for conveying the feeling accurately while not giving away the best moments.)