Holly on Hollywood – Midway

Family Movie Night, Family Movie Reviews, Holly McClure, Holly on Hollywood, Midway, The Laundry Moms

Holly on Hollywood
“Midway”
by Holly McClure

MIDWAY is a star-studded action drama about one of World War II’s biggest battles at the height of World War II. After Japan’s raid on Pearl Harbor, intelligence officer Lieutenant-Commander Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) warns his superiors that more attacks are on the way. The United States responds with Doolittle’s Raid under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle (Aaron Eckhart), which results in the Japanese waging an attack on Midway. The story follows Admiral Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson), Vice Admiral William “Bull” Halsey (Dennis Quaid) and the men who served under them, like Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Best (Ed Skrein), who distinguishes himself by taking out two Japanese aircraft carriers and (Bruno Gaido) Nick Jonas, a flyboy who gets to save the day with his hotshot moves. Luke Evans, Mandy Moore and a cast of others also star.

The PG-13 is for realistic wartime violence with scenes of explosions, ships being bombed, numerous deaths, burned bodies, bloody wounds and one prisoner is tied to an anchor and tossed off a ship. Frequent language with period slang (“Japs”), characters smoke and drink. From the opening scene there is non-stop action, military briefings, soldiers kissing loved ones goodbye, wives frantic for news about their husbands, a few soldiers afraid to fly or struck with fear, and incredible footage of ships and planes being shot at and/or bombed and burned. But the truly breath-taking parts of “Midway” are the action-intense battles showing brave pilots “dive-bombing” the enemy ships with a spray of bullets flying at them – you feel like you’re in the cockpit! These are the MOST realistic battle scenes I’ve seen since, “Saving Private Ryan”! I appreciate how both the US and Japan were portrayed with key characters dealing with victory and loss. There was also a brief look at how the Chinese sacrificed lives to help Americans. This is an epic tribute to the battle of Midway and our military who bravely fought to save our freedom! I was literally exhausted by films end (I felt like I had been in the battles) but also filled with patriotic pride and tears, for the men (and boys) who gave everything they had – including their lives – so that America could be free! This is a movie best for mature pre-teens to adults and I would hope that parents and granparents take your young teens to get this incredible history lesson. They will see how differently wars were fought in those days and appreciate the sacrifcies that were made. Be sure and stay for the end credits showing the real heroes of “Midway”!

“Remember to Choose Your Movies Wisely”

~Holly On Hollywood~

Holly McClure is a multimedia personality with a career that spans over 20 years in the entertainment industry. Her background as a film critic, film and television producer, creative writer, filmographer, radio and television host, author, and pundit for family values, has established her media expertise and made her a recognized advocate for family-friendly entertainment. Holly was the first ‘family film critic’ syndicated in over 365 newspapers by The Orange County Register. Her “Holly on Hollywood” movie reviews have been featured on various media outlets and can now be seen on Uplift TV, Parables movie channel, and thelaundrymoms.com.

In 2002, Holly was asked by Mel Gibson to film the behind-the-scenes interviews for “The Passion of the Christ”. She produced a one hour special, “The Making of The Passion of the Christ”, that aired on TBN and ION. She has since produced numerous press features for various films (The Passion Of The Christ, Do You Believe, Dancer and the Dame, God’s Not Dead, The Frontier Boys, etc.) and is listed on IMDB .

Holly is a charter member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and serves on the advisory boards of The Dove Foundation and The Parents Television Council. She is a proud mother, grandmother and mentor, passionate about supporting and creating life-changing entertainment!

For more information visit Hollymcclure.com or IMDB.com