Movie Critique: "THE MAJESTIC"

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space: I just finished watching THE MAJESTIC, starring Jim Carrey, made in 2001. Gosh, gee whillikers, could there ever be a Jim Carrey movie I would NOT like? I didn't recognize Martin Landau because he'd lost so much weight. I didn't recognize David Ogden Stiers because he had gained so much weight. I did recognize Hal Holbrook and James Whitmore (who just recently passed away). The various scenes in this movie evoked a lot of personal memories and emotions. To begin with, I used to live in the apartment above the lobby of a decrepit unused old theatre, in a small town, where after it was renovated, I frequently performed in local community theatre productions. Here at the Ol' Soldiers' Home, I seldom leave my room, but years ago, I used to show the movies and manage our theatre. This movie takes place in 1951, and is about a Hollywood script writer who has an accident which leaves him with amnesia. Folks in a local small community welcome him home as a long lost war hero, where he lives in the apartment above the lobby of the decrepit unused old theatre, which is then renovated. See why this rings some bells for me? And, of course, I gave a rousing cheer when I saw the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" patch, for that was MY unit in Viet Nam! Elsewhere in the movie, the town's music teacher attempts to have Franz Liszt's HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY performed. Ah, so many years have passed, and I can't tell you what emotions that piece of classical music recalls! It was featured in a television commercial where a little girl used her candle to light other candles, as a darkened Budapest was suddenly illuminated. Those of you who weren't yet born when Communism collapsed and Eastern Europe became free can not know the exhilirating hope that swept the globe, for that moment can't be adequately described or duplicated. Of course, I did NOT like the movie's perpetuation of that same old distorted political slant, of Hollywood versus the House Un-American Activities Committee. The cold, hard, brutal fact is that there really was a Communist conspiracy, and the Communist Party, U.S.A., really did (and still does) seek the destruction of our Country. We learned the truth of this when the former Soviet Union's archived documents were finally revealed. Another problem with the movie is that the locomotive on that railroad train wasn't manufactured at that time. But, I'm one of those crazy railroad buffs that goes "ga-ga!" over every choo-choo train, so maybe I'm the only one to notice stuff like that, and it ain't all that important to anyone else. So, I highly recommend this movie. In fact, it would be an excellent teaching opportunity for Mama and Daddy to explain a little bit of history and heritage to their little ones. Gather 'round your young'uns, pile up on the big comfy couch, and send out for some pizza, 'cause it's family time! Pass the popcorn, please. Thank you. John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS Official Bard of Clan Henderson Armed Forces Retirement Home Washington, D.C. 20011-8400 NOTE: "My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."