Apollo 13 Unedited Reaction

Apollo 13- Thank you very much for this fabulous reaction for Apollo 13, Mega! I absolutely love this movie. It's so brilliantly acted by everyone, the intensity and emotions are so powerful, the music is just phenomenal, and the entire movie is beautifully written and directed by 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 and were of no fault of anyone's. Tom Hanks like always, is 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. Someone whom I admire as well. And Tom Hanks is perfect for this role. Jim was not only 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. 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 back up astronauts getting the measles. Which of course... Ken never did. While Ken was robbed of flying this mission, I can imagine 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 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 fought to save them in spite of lack of sleep, 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. I also admire astronauts, Fred Haise played by Bill Paxton and Jack Swigert played by Kevin Bacon too. Fred Haise was even very sick through most of the mission. They are good, brave men who worked impossibly hard along with Jim Lovell to make it home. And both actors played these roles well. Jim's wife, Marilyn is played by actress, Kathleen Quinlan and 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. I love Gene Kranz's determination to bring his men home in spite of the odds against them and appreciate the man's positivity and strength. In regards to the importance of him getting the vest he wears throughout the movie for the mission... Gene's wife knitted or made her husband a new vest for every mission that he was involved with, and Gene always considered her gifts to bring him luck, so he refused to allow their missions to begin until a vest from her would arrive for him. I love a number of the other actors playing the men in Mission Control. So many talented actors including Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother), Joe Spano from NCIS, Xander Berkeley from a number of shows such as Nikita and Being Human (US version) and movies like Air Force One, Ray McKinnon from The Blind Side, and Brett Cullen who plays Nathan Ingram in Person of Interest (Finch's best friend). 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 Titanic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Mask of Zorro, An American Tail, Field of Dreams, 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. If I see a movie attached to his name, I already want to see the movie simply knowing he is the one behind a movie's creation. 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. Like you, I always feel knots in my stomach in this moment and I can only imagine how everyone must have felt during these four minutes... what 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 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, Clint! I absolutely loved watching this movie again with you, and I am so happy that you loved it too. Just as much as you loved Frequency too! I look forward to watching many more movies with you to come! Until your next reaction... Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum