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Heidi Elizabeth Marcum

Apollo 13- Thank you so very much for this fabulous reaction for Apollo 13, Morgan! I absolutely love this movie very much!! It's so brilliantly acted by everyone, the intensity and emotions are so powerful, the music is just phenomenal, and the entire movie is just beautifully written and directed by Ron Howard, one of my all time favorite movie directors. Power cast indeed!!! Once again, and like with The Last Full Measure, I love that this movie is based on a true story, and as far as I've heard, researched, and read about, this movie is very accurate to what actually happened. Like with every movie based on true stories and events, there are some exaggerations. But for the most part, Apollo 13 is very accurate. Even all of the news footage coverage shown throughout this movie, was actual news footage from the time of this spectacular historical event back in 1970. Which is really impressive. Bravo to Ron Howard! Apollo 13 became known as the "Successful Failure", because while these three astronauts didn't get their chance to walk on the moon as planned, they all made it home alive after their spacecraft malfunctioned due to technical failures in the machinery that occurred two years before Jim Lovell was even named flight commander. The malfunctions were of no fault of anyone's. Tom Hanks like always, is absolutely phenomenal! And I love how he plays Jim Lovell, an astronaut that is loved and known as a hero to many people who admire those who have gone above and beyond to explore space. Alongside Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Jim Lovell is someone whom I admire as well. And Tom Hanks is perfect for this role. Jim was certainly the perfect man to lead the team, and he helped to keep his men working together when they were at the most on edge. I admire him greatly for keeping everyone together. Fun fact... The real Jim Lovell actually makes a very brief cameo appearance in the end of this movie. After Jim (Tom Hanks) steps out of the helicopter, followed by Fred (Bill Paxton) and Jack (Kevin Bacon) once they arrive aboard the aircraft carrier, Tom Hanks shakes hands with the real Jim Lovell, who also helped Ron Howard to write the story by telling him about what really happened up in space as he and the others fought to get home themselves. I also really love Gary Sinise in the role of Ken Mattingly, the astronaut who was bumped from flying the Apollo 13 mission by the team's medic simply because they feared he might catch the measles while on their mission due to one of the backup astronauts getting the measles. Which of course... Ken never did. The medical team only feared he might catch the measles upon him possibly being exposed to them by a backup pilot who had caught it. I understand their reasons for bumping him off, but I also can understand Ken's frustrations and disappointment upon being bumped. And I don't believe he was ever mad at Jim for making the decision he did. Ken was just frustrated, and he always held firm to the belief that he wouldn't get sick. And of course, he was right. With this being said... While Ken was robbed of flying this mission, I can only imagine just how grateful each of those who did fly the mission were that everything worked out as it did involving Ken getting bumped from the mission, given that it is because of Ken, who greatly made it possible for these heroes to return home alive. Mission control of course did a lot as well. This was in no way a one man job, nor was Ken the only hero who helped make this possible. But Ken was the one who solved the biggest problem standing in the way of them surviving and making it home, and he fought to save them in spite of his own lack of sleep, comfort, etc... He made it possible for them to find the power needed to get them home. Ken Mattingly is a hero as well, especially to those who survived and who worked with him to bring these astronauts home. He is a hero of mine as well, and I love Gary Sinise in the role. He's a phenomenal actor, whom I love in a number of movies such as Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, Snake Eyes, The Quick and the Dead, and the TV series', CSI: NY as well. I also admire astronauts, Fred Haise played by Bill Paxton and Jack Swigert played by Kevin Bacon too. Fred Haise turned out to be very sick through most of the mission. And they don't explain how or why he gets sick in the movie, but I read that it was simply due to the conditions in which they all found themselves in. And Fred unfortunately felt the worst out of the three of them. They are both good, brave men who worked impossibly hard along with Jim Lovell to make it home. And both actors played these roles very well. Oh, and yes... Jack Swigert did win the election to Congress, but he sadly died of cancer before he could take office, very early upon first becoming sick of cancer. Like I said above... Everyone in Mission Control during this mission were heroes, and they all worked incredibly hard to bring these men home. I can only imagine how difficult their jobs were, and how agonizing as well. The pressure! And boy... Do these actors do a phenomenal job at portraying what the real men really must have felt. Bravo to them all! Jim's wife, Marilyn is played by actress, Kathleen Quinlan. I love how she plays this amazing woman who stood with her husband and fought so hard to remain strong when her husband was in danger. I admire Marilyn's strength she shows when things were most dire, and the love she shows for her husband. I also really love Gene Kranz, head of Mission Control who is played by Ed Harris. Another brilliant actor I've seen in a number of movies and roles I love very much. Movies such as The Last Full Measure, The Rock, Man on a Ledge, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, The Truman Show, Absolute Power, etc... And for me, Ed Harris is definitely one of the strongest performances throughout this movie for sure. I love Gene Kranz's determination to bring his men home in spite of the odds against them and I appreciate the man's positivity and strength. And bravo to him for maintaining such composure under as much pressure as he was under. Especially knowing that had these astronauts died, the entire failure would have most likely been blamed mostly on him because he was the head of Mission Control. It would have been unfair, because no one was at fault at all, given that the problems came from equipment failure within the oxygen tanks. However, people unfortunately love to blame someone for all the bad that happens in the world. In regards to the importance of Gene getting the vest he wears throughout the movie for the mission... In real life, Gene's wife knitted or made her husband a new vest for every mission that he was ever involved with, and Gene always considered her gifts to bring him luck. Gene always felt uncomfortable with even starting a mission without his wife's vest for him being delivered to him. Which is really beautiful and so sweet. I love this about him. I also love a number of the other actors playing the men in Mission Control. So many talented actors including Brett Cullen (Nathan Ingram from Person of Interest and Goodwin in Lost), Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother who acts in every Ron Howard directed movie), Joe Spano (NCIS), Xander Berkeley (a number of shows such as Nikita and the US version of Being Human and movies like Air Force One), Ray McKinnon (The Blind Side), and Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen in the original Superman movies and Back to the Future movies). Apollo 13 was nominated for a number of Oscars and other awards. Sadly, it only wins two Oscars simply for editing and best sound. Tom Hanks and Ed Harris were both nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, but both lost out to other actors, and Apollo 13 was nominated for Best Picture, but it sadly also lost to another movie that year. Apollo 13 most certainly deserved so much better. As for the music... I absolutely love the score for this movie, written and composed by James Horner, who is known for creating the music for so many other big movies such as Field of Dreams, Titanic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Mask of Zorro, An American Tail, Braveheart, The Rocketeer, Willow, Avatar, Troy, Love Actually, A Beautiful Mind, etc... His music is known for being ethereal and sometimes even eerie in the best sense of the word. It's absolutely beautiful and powerful. And lastly... Ron Howard is the director of this powerful movie that is directed and written brilliantly. I've always loved Ron Howard's films and the directions he takes his movies in are unlike anyone else. Movies such as... Apollo 13, Rush, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, Inferno, In the Heart of the Sea, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Cinderella Man, Backdraft, A Beautiful Mind, Willow, Splash, etc... If I see a movie attached to Ron Howard's name, I already want to see the movie simply knowing he is the one behind a movie's creation. I just absolutely love his directing style, and even as an actor too. Ron Howard started acting when he was a little boy in one of my all time favorite musicals... The Music Man, as well as starred in The Andy Griffith Show along with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts, back when he was known as Little Ronny Howard. He starred a little later on in the sitcom... Happy Days, and has since become far more of a director than actor. Fantastic!! Apollo 13 is emotional, powerful, intense, and it makes me cry every time I watch it. Especially in the ending while everyone is waiting for the astronauts to re-enter the atmosphere... alive or dead. "Our finest hour" indeed. I always feel knots in my stomach in this moment whenever I watch this movie. I can only imagine how everyone in real life must have felt during these four minutes... What it had to have felt like the longest four minutes for these men at Mission Control and for the families and loved ones. And seeing the relief on everyone's faces, especially the emotion and relief we see and feel from Gene Kranz, Ken Mattingly, and Marilyn Lovell... So powerful and absolutely beautiful. I love it!! With all that goes wrong on this mission, and when everything that could go wrong does... It's a miracle that these men survive and make it home. I believe God was certainly looking after these men and helped to guide everyone in the right directions to solve all of these problems. This whole mission is absolutely incredible!! And I love this movie so, so much! Thank you once again for your amazing reaction for this incredible and beautiful movie, my dear friend! I absolutely loved watching this movie again with you, and I am so happy that you really loved it too! And now... I look forward to watching many more movies and shows like Lucifer with you to come! Please just let me know when you feel comfortable and ready for me to make my movie requests for you again. Until your next reactions... Sincerely, Heidi