Letters
Re “Toto Recall,” by Steven Zeitchik, March 11: Hollywood may now have the technology (and the nerve) to remake “The Wizard of Oz.” But do they have the brains? Or the heart?
Ross Care
Ventura
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Every now and then, acting, writing, directing and other ingredients of the cinematic cookbook come together and create a magic feast for the public to consume. Not franchise-merchandising magic, but pure movie magic on screen. “Casablanca,” “Citizen Kane,” “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” are fine examples.
Unless it is an original retelling like the book/play “Wicked,” I see no reason to fork over the high price of a movie ticket for what will be a bland imitation of the 1939 masterpiece. Warner Bros. should keep in mind Universal’s 1998 forgettable remake of “Psycho”: Even a shot-by-shot retelling does not equate to another movie classic.
You can follow an old family recipe, but it just never tastes the same.
Mark Rosenblum
Temple City
Local TV ‘news’ an oxymoron
Re “Local TV Earns an F in Civics,” by James Rainey, March 17: Just think of all the “news” you would miss if the TV stations did cover real news. No more weather maps with blowing trees, no traffic maps with all of the moving dots on the freeway, no gurus who tell us what film the station is plugging or what is happening on TV (of course, it is about a program on that station), no medical reporter who has just read an article in a health magazine, no workout people who can get you in shape, no mustache contest -- and on and on.
The stations do not have the time for what would be called “news.”
Walt Hauenstein
Garden Grove
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I thought Rainey made an interesting point lamenting the lack of air time (22 seconds in a 30-minute newscast) given to local government issues by stating, “And the weather gal never wants for time to show the latest cutoff low on the map in her latest low-cut top (KCAL’s Jackie Johnson, not to worry, you still lead the pack).”
Let me just add, as a man who is very concerned about local politics, when it comes to coverage, please give me 22 seconds more of Jackie Johnson.
Tom Fielding
Pasadena
Yes, bring on more Vikings
Re “Vikings Film Buoyed by Gibson and DiCaprio,” by Geoff Boucher, March 18: I read with excitement about these two giants in the industry wanting to bring us a Class-A Viking film. Yes, it is about time.
However, in giving an example of a previous Viking film, you should have included the mother of all Viking films: “The 13th Warrior.” The warriors in that movie had it all: courage, fear, fortitude, friendship, ferocity, believability, sense of purpose, character and results. The story was outstanding. I was sorry when it ended.
Richard Alan Naggar
Riverside
Medal of Honor is never won
In his review of “The Pacific” [“How a Brutal War Was Won,” March 12], Robert Lloyd refers to real-life Marine John Basilone as a “winner of the Medal of Honor.”
Please note that one does not “win” the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is “awarded” or “received.”
I realize that this is a seemingly minor point to any civilian but, please be advised, it’s a major nomenclature faux pas to any of us who served.
Don Pugsley
Los Angeles