Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: Pretty fair game for a space type of movie. I added a point cuz of young Miko Houghs who is like the coolest kid! He played Tom Hanks' son. Overall it was a fairly good movie though.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible movie, incredible sound
Review: Others have commented about the excellence of Apollo 13, one of the the best space movies ever made. Ron Howard has proven himself a master director, something you don't fully appreciate until you hear the DVD version in 5-channel sound (I've got the DTS version). The extended launch buildup is accompanied by incredibly dramatic music and sound effects, leading to one of the most amazing moments in aviation history--the first inch of a Saturn V liftoff. Six and a half million pounds of controlled fury, precisely directed. The intercut of crystal-clear NASA launch footage, the raw power, the personal reactions, the ice flakes shedding off the rocket, the SOUND, and the stirring music make the launch sequence a true goose-pimple affair. I've watched it dozens of times and still can't get enough of it. This is film craftsmanship at its finest. (Be sure you hear it with a subwoofer).
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant movie about humanity's destiny in space
Review: I've spent the last few days reading Tom Clancy's new novel "The Bear and the Dragon", and I can't think of a worse example of all that's horrible about ultra-conservative US politics. It was racist, xenophobic dribble, that I found deeply offensive. Especially since I'm an Australian-born person of Asian descent.So today I decided to borrow Apollo 13...again. And re-discovered one of my favourite aspects of America, that Americans themselves seemed to have disowned or simply forgotten - their Space Program. Apollo 13 is a fantastic showcase that shows what people (and in particular the brilliant people at NASA) are capable of under the most terrifying, horrifying circumstances imaginable. I'm actually planning to buy the novel on which the movie is based, I was so inspired and moved by what I saw. The acting, cinematography and direction in this film are absolutely faultless. I liked Tom Hanks performance in this film a lot better than Forrest Gump...which is quite amazing when you consider just how brilliant a film Forrest Gump was. OK, I guess like Hanks I'm a huge admirer of the NASA space program, so maybe I'm biased. But being a musician, my favourite aspect of the entire film is James Horner's magnificent, brilliant, classical score. Let's face it, would Star Wars have been as successful a movie as it was without John Williams? Would Star Trek have continued as long as it had without Jerry Goldsmith or Alexander Courage? Horner's score is unashamedly patriotic, but in a way that a person from ANY country could empathise with. And there's such a poignant wistfulness and romance about this music that breaks my heart. In the end, Apollo 13 (the film) showcases a part of human history that everyone should be drawing more inspiration from. We all dared to dream that humans could travel to the moon and back...and succeeded. NASA (and the US) became a shining example to the rest of the world, and showed what humans are truly capable of. And now the whole world has forgotten...or taken it for granted. Buy this movie, don't just rent it. It's a classic and my number one favourite movie of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Great Special effects, Great Acting
Review: The movie Apollo 13 is a wonderful look into a disaster that became a triumph. Based on astronaut Jim Lovells book "Lost Moon" and directed by Ron Howard this movie takes you within the first 10 minutes from the tradegy of Apollo 1, and the deaths of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee, right into the Landing on the moon by Apollo 11. With that as a setting it will focus on the events leading to the disaster and through the heroics efforts of both the astronauts and the ground crew. Based on a time when America had become somewhat bored with Moon landings (although this was only the third scheduled) Apollo 13 takes you step-by-step through the story. Starting with the 3 astronuats (Lovell, Haise. and Mattingly) training for their mission and displaying the type of teamwork that is so essential to a successful mission, it then leads you to the last minute replacement of Mattingly by Swaggart due to potential health concerns. From there it shows the concern of Haise and Lovell as Swaggart tries to fit into their style. Swaggart never quite accomplishes this which would lead to a confrontation with Haise during the flight. The personnel of Mission Control are the real heros here though, from the leadership of Flight Director Gene Krantz to the efforts of every single person. The cast of Apollo 13 actually made the movie come alive. Yes, the special effects were great, but without the perfect acting jobs by the strong cast this could have fallen into documentry standards. Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell displays the confidence that you would expect from the mission leader. Gary Sinise as Ken Mattingly is wonderful, going from the excitment of pre-flight to the disappointment of being scatched from the mission to the results-driven savior. Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, Kevin Bacon, and Kathleen Quinlan round out a great cast. Having read the book before seeing the movie it's interesting to note that while the movie is about a 50/50 mix of action between the astronauts and Mission Control, the book is about a 75/25 split in favor of Houston. Both approaches are correct. In book form the author can take the time to go into detail of all the heroic actions and efforts that the personel of Mission Control had to do to bring these men home safely. In the movie it's best to cover the essentials. However if this movie was interesting to you I would HIGHLY recommend the book. It gives you great insight into all that transpired.
Rating:
Summary: It's worth seeing.
Review: I can't imagine this is a true story. I want everyone to see this film and know the truth. Tom Hanks played very good. I'd like to recommend everyone this great movie. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Great illustration of the perils and heroism of space travel
Review: Knowing the outcome of this near fatal space mishap won't dilute viewer enjoyment of this well crafted tribute to the graciousness and tenacity of the human spirit 1 iota. "Apollo 13" recounts the compelling story of the 2nd worst space accident (the 1st of course, being "Challenger") in NASA's history. On 13 April, 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 were travelling to the moon on what was billed by the press and public as another "ordinary" space flight. However, on this day, 1 of their oxygen tanks exploded, leaving the command module dark and cold and seriously endangering the lives of the 3 astronauts. The inside temperature kept falling because the crew had to use vacuum hoses to circulate air through the cabins of the command and lunar modules, which were joined. The water supply was threatened. Humidity increased because the 1 working spacecraft, the lunar lander, couldn't handle the excess moisture. Then, a water gun broke, leaking a quart of water into the cabin. These are the dramas which turned a "routine" flight to the moon into one of the most perilous journeys ever undertaken by man which became a desperate battle for survival, fought both in space and by Mission Control, led by the persistent, unflappable Gene Kranz (Ed Harris, in his finest performance yet), who, by keeping calm, inspired his co-workers to do the same, converting a calamitous catastrophe into a triumph of humanity and technology - the astronauts flew around the moon and were able to return safely because they used reserve oxygen in the lunar module and fired its engine to accelerate their slingshot orbit of the moon and hasten their arrival back to earth. Hanks, Paxton, Bacon, Sinise, and Harris are commanding as the gentlemen around whom this event centred. The special effects, which are pivotal to the story, don't detract from it one bit, rather they serve it in a way that no special effects have served a movie before or since. They, combined with the acting, screenplay, cinematography, score, and sharp, terse direction by Ron Howard, portray this movie not as a docudrama but as the sublime retelling of a piece of mankind's history and triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Ron Howard's best film!
Review: Ron Howard has directed some very good films. However, his best films tend to have strong, believable characters that the audience develops much sympathy for. Among my favorite Howard films are Splash and Coccoon. However, Apollo 13 is his greatest cinematic achievement (and an oscar nominee for best picture). The film features characters that we grow to care for as the film progresses. Of course, anyone who knows history already knows the outcome of the film, yet Howard has created such sympathetic characters, wrapped around such a deeply suspenseful, tautly-paced film structure that we find ourselves agonizing over the potential fate of the astronauts. Briefly, the film concerns the ill-fortuned crew of the Apollo 13 spaceflight to the moon. The astronauts are played by Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon, and they are all quite good. The supporting cast is likewise superb - Ed Harris in an oscar nominated role (he lost to Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects), Gary Sinise as an earth-bound astronaut, and Kathleen Quinlan as Hanks' wife in another oscar-nominated role. In fact, this is probably the best cast of any Howard film. The film is fairly rooted in hard science, and it reflects accurately the technology of the time. It's funny to see slide rulers being used or to hear about wonderful computers that only take up one room and can do thousands of calculations per second. It is truly amazing that the average desktop computer nowadays has more computing power and capability than all the computers that helped to send the brave astronauts of the entire Apollo program into space. I bought the DTS version of the DVD. Believe me, the sound quality is worth it! The DTS DVD is bare-bones, containing only an anamorphic version of the film with either the DTS or 2-channel soundtrack. But it's quite amazing, especially in the lift-off scene. Picture quality is good but a littler softer than I thought it would be. Still, the image quality is very high, and I can't say enough in praise for DTS. Those customers with a DTS-capable DVD player would do well to obtain this DVD. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: The best scene in the movie is...
Review: They are running out of oxygen...they cannot shut down enough switches to get their re-entry capsule to operate, their atmosphere is building up in CO2...they are pointed the wrong way to get back to earth... Marilyn Lovell is watching TV as the entire world gripped with dread fears the life of her husband and the other astronauts... Jim is interviewed on TV...you can feel the tension in the air....it doesn't look good.... He describes how years ago he was flying back to the carrier after a mission over Korea...his aircraft is shot up...he's in trouble....he asks God to help him... ...then his electrical power to his cockpit lights go out...he curses.... ...that's all he needs at this moment... THEN------he looks out into the darkness and sees a faint green trail..... ....its the wake the propellors of the carrier leaves and follows it home.
Rating:
Summary: Mmmm... Nice Movie!
Review: Just what a movie should be. It holds you spellbound and you just imagine you are watching events unfold on CNN Live. Tom Hanks was his usual self...The guy you want to always succeed, no matter the odds. But the performance that takes the cake has to be the Ed Harris' NASA Control Centre Scientist role. I can watch this movie over and over again and still feel that rush. Really an "A" act!
Rating:
Summary: A perfect Ron Howard film
Review: I love this movie so much. The Filming is perfect. The intensity is powerful which extends the Special Effects to make like your actually in space. I Like Ron Howard Films but this is his best work he takes you all over the place and provides your Splended entertainment with a great cast
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