This curious little picture opens this weekend. I only mention it because it involves a young English boy whose mind is 'blown open' by watching Rambo: First Blood, the first movie he's allowed to see.

Unsure why they'd pick something like that, or how this will turn out. But it will likely be an interesting look at the effect war movies have on people....

Link: Son of Rambow (2007) - Plot summary

Been a little while since I've heard any news on Oliver Stone's upcoming 'Pinkville' film on the '68 My Lai Massacre...

He still has a chance, especially if he takes the part of Lt. William Calley in Oliver Stone's Pinkville. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's currently in talks for the role, and if he's smart he'll just go ahead and grab it. Calley is the central figure in the Vietnam war film, which deals with the investigation into the 1968 Mai Lai Massacre; the Army officer was the one found guilty of giving the orders that sparked the incident. Pitt would join an ensemble cast that already includes Bruce Willis (or as I like to call him, Bruce Billis), Channing Tatum (another young actor continually teetering on the verge of stardom), Michael Peña (previously seen in Stone's World Trade Center), Woody Harrelson and Xzibit, who just joined on this week. Also joining the film is Toby Jones (Infamous), who will portray Lt. Andre Feher, the chief warrant officer who tries to convince Willis' character, Gen. William Peers, that the U.S. Army is responsible for the massacre.

Link: Michael Pitt in Talks for 'Pinkville' - Cinematical

Technorati Tags: pinkville, michael pitt, oliver stone, my lai, vietnam

The true(?) story of two British army dentists who took it upon themselves to personally invade WWII France in 1942, Two Men Went to War is a delightfully light-hearted film that will put a smile on your face, and at the same time, make you think a bit.

When Private Leslie Cuthbertson (Leo Bill) gets an itching for a bit more "active" duty than simply working on soldiers' canines, veteran Sgt. Peter King (Kenneth Cranham) takes notice, and decides to take Cuthbertson on a mission of glory into France.

Well, as usual I'm always the last to know about these things. It seems that Tom Cruise's Valkyrie movie has been pushed back until February of next year. It would also seem that there's a lot of stink floating about, regarding the future of United Artists and how Valkyrie was supposed to be some kind of vehicle to bring it back from the nethers....

Whatever, just give me Valkyrie already! In case you didn't know, Valkyrie is the true tale of a plot within the ranks of the Nazi officer corps to assassinate Hitler, rather than stand by and watch him destroy the country.

Links:
UA, MGM push back 'Valkyrie'
Tom Cruise’s Release Date Shame: Trade Roughage 04/08/08
For The Valkyrie Record...
The Nazi Plot That’s Haunting Tom Cruise and United Artists
Valkyrie: It is fine. EVERYTHING IS FINE.

When I originally reviewed The Big Red One, the original version, I found it to be lacking something in many respects. I dunno, it just seemed to be missing something.

Then I heard about the "Reconstruction" of The Big Red One, an attempt to rebuild director Samuel Fuller's original vision of the film. I have to say, I have a much better respect for this movie now that its more-or-less "complete."

With an additional hour or so of footage recovered from the Warner and Lorimar archives, and painstakingly cleaned up and re-edited back into the movie, it takes on a much more cohesive tone.

Company K is the story of a group of Marines during World War I, based on the novel of the same name by William March.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, what might make for a good book (which I've not read) doesn't necessarily translate well to the screen. In the film, the fictional Delaney (Ari Fliakos) is the main character. Well, I think. He's supposed to represent March, aka. Campbell in this semi-autobiographical work.

The movie starts off wonderfully, with Delaney writing his novel, discussing parts of it with his wife, and the narration with (presumably) quotes from March's novel making a bold statement.

Honestly, I was somewhat dreading going into Lions For Lambs. From all the buzz I read and heard, I was expecting a wholesale administration-bashing political commentary from the Hollywood contingent on the war in Iraq.

I was wrong. Well, sort of.

The expected bashing of the current policies which has led us to the sorry state we are in is there, but fortunately, it isn't the overriding theme of the picture. And because of that, I actually found myself engrossed by the film.

Is there a particularly complex story line? No. Lots of hardcore war movie action? Again, no. What you have here is a movie that (hopefully) will make you think, and think hard.