Word: hoppers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...colleges, and even in some elementary schools, because it is easy to learn and use. More difficult to master, but more precise, is Pascal, named for the 17th century French mathematician. The language Ada, after the Countess of Lovelace, is the standard of the U.S. Department of Defense. Grace Hopper, one of the pioneer programmers, created COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language), which is the most widely used programming language for mainframe computers...
RACING WITH THE MOON Directed by Richard Benjamin Screenplay by Steven Kloves World War II is going on out there, and in a matter of weeks Hopper (Sean Penn) and Nicky (Nicolas Cage) will report for enlistment. But that leaves time enough for them to punctuate their broody adolescent walks with leaps onto fast-moving freight trains, for Hopper to fall in love with Caddie (Elizabeth McGovern) and for Nicky to get his girl friend Sally (Suzanne Adkinson) "in trouble." These characters, and their problems, are the basic banalities of books and movies that insist on taking adolescence as seriously...
Fortunately, some fine acting by Sean Penn prevents the show from being a complete waste. Penn's portrayal of Hopper is both convincing and well-controlled. Nick Cage also manages to occasionally shine, though his character is slightly less developed than Penn's. Elizabeth McGovern is notably less impressive, having altered her earlier role in the Academy Award-winning Ordinary People only slightly to play the part of Caddie...
Paradoxically, the ultimate problem with Racing With the Moon is its lack of antagonists. Though Hopper and Nicky are boisterous and mischievous, there are no real bad guys...
What little tension runs through the film is not surprisingly resolved, so that when the boys finally do depart for war, their journey seems ironically more celebratory than troublesome. Hopper gets a coveted picture of Caddie for his wallet. Caddie and mom get a goodbye kiss, and the boys go off bravely to join the few, the proud, and the many...