Apollo 13 (1995) (2nd time)

True story of the moon-bound mission that developed severe trouble and the men that rescued it with skill and dedication. [imdb]

Nominated for 9 Oscars:

Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor: Ed Harris
Best Supporting Actress: Kathleen Quinlan
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Original Score
Best Art Direction
Best Editing (WINNER)
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound (WINNER)

Does a film get more American than this? That's not always a good thing, especially if you're an European watching it. Apollo 13 starts cheesy and ends cheesy, with the traditional happy ending all the way; you even get a cliffhanger every 5 minutes. The recipe is a cliche and I bet the story is not THAT faithful. But other than that: it's a good movie, done well.

The technical part is very good, not overcooked. The acting nominations are not worthy, but not bad either. Ed Harris gives a subtle unspectacular performance and Kathleen plays the wife and gets sh!t from the screenplay; but she's a nice screen presence, her eyes are expressive, yet nothing to work with. Apollo 13 did deserve a best director nomination, but not a Best Picture win. Tom Hanks is good, but he's had much much better roles. I look at what I wrote and I get the false impression I didn't like it. I enjoyed it! A lot at times! All the space scenes are impressive through their... clarity! Ron Howard kept it clean and that's great.

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. An enjoyable film, less blockbuster than one might think and NOT a visual effects driven movie.