"The Pacific" is as good as "Band of Brothers," but in a more grueling way
The Pacific theater was even worse than Europe, as Robert Bianco notes: "Those differences require a different approach to storytelling. You can't expect the same kind of plot cohesion in The Pacific as you found in Brothers; there is no structurally unifying drive to Berlin, no great overriding strategy to convey, and no single unit to follow. The Marines bonded, but they did not exactly "band"; the casualty rates were too high and the units too fluid for that kind of grouping to occur. Indeed, by the time the film hits midpoint, many of the men you've come to care about will be gone."
Where's the big picture? // "The Pacific" aims to please too many masters
John Seda is weak link // Did Ken Burns' "The War" scoop Hanks and Spielberg?
Behind the scenes // Spielberg: "We needed to acquit the other side of the world"
William Sadler has new respect for his 87-year-old WWII vet dad
Tyler Labine's role is stolen on "Sons of Tucson"
The Fox sitcom forces Labine to play the straight man, an unusual role for the actor. While his co-stars get all the best lines, Mike Hale notes, "The talented Mr. Labine is left to play the same pratfalling sitcom father we’ve seen a thousand times before, albeit one who forgets what his last name is supposed to be and has to sleep in the tool shed behind his not-sons’ suburban manse."
"Sons" is filled with bad decisions // Meet its "Malcolm" director
