Every once and a while I like to throw a documentary out there, especially when I haven't much of a chance to check out any traditional "war movies" (like lately! sorry!)

Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge is a multi-faceted look at the war in Iraq.  There's lots I could say, and we all have our own opinions on the subject, so let me just leave it at this:  "Battleground" is...  well its interesting.  I can't say I agree with a lot of the ideas they push, and I sure can't agree with some of the viewpoints of those they focus on, but its interesting nonetheless.

It takes on the subject through the eyes of a few different individuals.  One is a former Iraqi who fled the country after the 1st Gulf War after he joined the resistance movement which was abandoned by our first King George.  I'm not really sure what the point of this was, except maybe to somehow show that things are better now?  That he was able to return without facing death for himself and his family?  *shrug*  His observations and subsequent reunions were probably the most satisfying part of the picture.

Um. Why did I even bother? Seriously.

Delta Farce is a supposed comedy from the "masterminds" behind the Blue Collar Comedy(cough) tour folks. Namely Larry "The Cable Guy", Bill Engvall, and that skinny annoying guy whose name I can't remember (DJ Qualls, had to look it up.)

In it these three idiot hillbillies somehow are part of the Army reserves. Explain that one to me, especially how their "reserve center" is more like a clubhouse.... Anyway, they actually get called up and wind up airdropped on accident into Mexico (how they ended up in Mexico on the way to Iraq is another mystery!)

And the hilarity ensues. Or at least its supposed to, I think.

As we learn in the film, in the Biblical parlance, the Valley of Elah is where the infamous battle between David and Goliath took place. I'm not exactly sure what the relevance of that to the movie, In The Valley of Elah is, except maybe in reference to the main character, Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones)

But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here. Elah follows Deerfield as he searches for his son, Mike Deerfield, who has gone AWOL after returning from a tour in Iraq. The search turns into a murder mystery, as we discover his horribly mutilated remains in a field. Helping with the investigation is the mediocre rural detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron.)

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.

Wow.  I'd like to thank Brian DePalma for the experience that was Redacted.  I can really say I am totally blown away.

...Blown away at just how completely awful this movie is.  There aren't words to describe the awfulness that is this... this thing.  I'm not even sure where to start.  But that's not going to stop me from trying.

[SNIP]

I had written this big, long, ranting, multi-part, manifesto-like ....thing, which I've subsequently erased, errr redacted even.  (I'll take irony for $200 Alex!)  I'm not going to go there.

I think that's what DePalma wants from Redacted.  A reaction.  Any reaction.  Like a rotten kid being rotten solely to get attention.  "Hey look! I'm still here!"  Well, I think you're going to get it, but not from me.  I'll not recommend this movie to anyone, except as an example of a purely bad piece of failed art/film school schtick.  The writing: bad. The acting: bad.  Production: didn't like it.  If it didn't have DePalma's name on it we'd be poo-poo-ing this off for what it is. The whole faux-documentary thing has yet to be pulled off convincingly, and this is definitely yet another example.

1989's similarly themed Casualties of War was a good movie.  In a lot of ways.  This?  This is just a poor rehash.  It is wailing and finger pointing and DePalma yelling at our current crop of vets, "Baby Killer!".  You should know better than that.  Especially coming from your generation.

I challenge you, Brian.  You want to make a documentary about how war sucks on all sides, and is somewhat fair to both sides, then do that.  Get your ass out there "in the suck" and do that.  Even if you want to make one about how it sucks for only one side, like Redacted, then do that, too.  But don't "imagine" and don't pretend.  Because thats a word that is closely related to "pretentious," which is exactly what I think of Redacted.

And I'd also like to thank you, Mr. DePalma, for allowing me to hand out my first single star.  And hopefully my last.  Don't bother with Redacted.

Technorati Tags: war movie reviews, redacted, 2007, iraq, samarra, brian depalma

I was informed of an upcoming movie from Paramount/Dreamworks... Stop-Loss.  Looks like it might be good.  Of course one of the sh*ttier policies of today's military is that once you're finished with your tour, guess what? You're not.  Hence "Stop-Loss."

Check out the trailer, and visit the site and it's 'soundoff' section.



I'm not sure of any other details, but it's starring Flags of Our Fathers' Ryan Phillippe, and a few other names I'm unfamiliar with....  Worth a look.

Link: Stop-Loss The Movie

Technorati Tags: stop-loss, war movie news, 2007, ryan phillippe

When you go into a movie expecting less, and wind up getting way more, that's usually a good thing (I need to start watching every film this way!) and Stop-Loss is no exception.

Honestly, from what I'd heard I was expecting a Redacted-style bash-fest. Thank God that's not what I found. Stop-Loss is a film that, at its core, could have been made in 1991, 1969, 1952, or 1945. Its a story about the veteran coming home, and the trials he faces as he returns a changed man, to a world that he vaguely remembers, but no longer quite fits in the same way. Alright, I'll concede that there is another aspect to the story of Stop-Loss, but we'll get to that later, as it really isn't that important to getting the most from this picture.