Uncommon Valor (1983)

Ten years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, a U.S. Marine retired Colonel assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos.

Run-of-the-mill war action drama wears its patriotism on its sleeve, the star cast do waht they can for the occasion.

Halliwell (no star): "Slam-bang action piece with the customary patriotic and personal sentiment."

Maltin**1/2: "Formula action film...Solid performances make this watchable."

The Last Voyage (1960)

After a boiler explosion aboard an aging ocean liner, a man struggles to free his injured wife from the wreckage of their cabin and ensure the safety of their four-year-old daughter as the ship begins to sink.

Old-fashioned disaster movie istold straightforwardly (the catastrophe begins in the first seconds before the credits) and with a solid cast, but the excitement is somewhat limited.

Halliwell*: "Spectacular if dramatically deficient actioner for which a genuine liner (awaiting scrapping) was sunk."

Maltin***: "Engrossing drama..."

Airplane! (1980)

A man afraid to fly must ensure that a plane lands safely after the pilots become sick.

Deliberately silly spoof of Airport-like catastrophe movies entertains due to a relentless onslaught of hit-and-miss jokes.

Halliwell**: "Arthur Hailey's play Flight Into Danger and the film Zero Hour which was made from it get the zany parody treatment in this popular movie which is often funny but sometimes merely crude. It rang the box-office bell more loudly than most expensive epic of its year."

Maltin***1/2: "Very funny spoof of AIRPORT-type movies...with a nonstop string of gags that holds up almost to the end (why carp?)."

Written on the Wind (1956)

An alcoholic playboy millionaire marries the woman secretly loved by his poor but hard-working best friend, who in turn is pursued by the husband's nymphomaniac sister.

It's pulp for sure, but meticulously made and played, a classic of its genre.

On second view: splendid over-the-top melodrama.

Halliwell**: "The sheerest Hollywood moonshine: high-flying melodramatic hokum which moves fast enough to be very entertaining."

Maltin***: "Florid melodrama...Irresistible kitsch."

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.