Jarhead

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I saw it last night, and I can't say enough good things about it. Acting was great, of course with that cast, it's hard to go wrong.

The main things that I saw people complaining about were the cinematography and the fact that the soldiers were mostly waiting for war, as opposed to fighting in it. I thought the cinematography was great. It captured the feeling of being in the desert. Someone said "it looks like blown out mini DV." Well, I think that it got the message across, and it was more about the images helping to move the story, than showing off what Deakins can do.

The fact that they were waiting was brilliant, IMO. Those are the kind of war films that I like, seeing how REAL people react to being in those situations. I don't want to see some indestructible soldier, single handedly winning a battle. I want to see someone pushed to their limits. It simply worked for me.

Mendes went with a completely different style in this one. A lot of it is handheld, and shaky, which fit perfectly. Huge crane shots simply wouldn't have fit the story. There were some interesting flashback scenes, and a few artistic lisences that I didn't care for at first, but in retrospect, I really like now. There was only one obviously CG shot (scorpions anyone?) Score went really well with the story as well.

GO SEE IT.
 
Thanks for the review TC

Although I have not served in a combat branch I have served inthe USCG and waiting is all you do; my brother was in the 1st Gulf War and says 'Thats all you do...'. So the waiting is part of the equation.................

As far as the blown out look. My theory is they styled it after basic CNN footage? Whatever the case; it's intentional and no different than saying 'I didn't like the Saving Private Ryan Band of Brother look; it was too Doco and 16mm feeling............'

I totally want to see this.
 
I'm going to see this as a movie, and not as something that really happened because it is only a movie and obviously bad things have been edited from what the author of the book really went through.

Also, people will mistake this movie for the current war, when it's really about the older war when George Bush (Sr) also invaded...
 
This movie pissed me off as it was so obviously a not-so-hidden agenda from Sam Mendes (a Brit) to state that all Americans are gun-weilding kill-thirsty morons (or Jarheads) who have the intellectual capacity of monkeys. The scenes where they were watching Apocolypse now, when the helicopters shot down the Vietnamese, and the way he had those characters screaming uncontrollably, and then the 'party' scene in the end where they just took their guns and wildly shot them in the air, along with numerous other smaller moments (Peter Sarssgard desperately DESPERATELY wanting to kill kill kill SOMETHING in that last scene), were a straight up commentary on what Sam Mendes thinks all Americans are like. It was sickening to say the least.

He'll state that this is a movie about how nothing happens in war, and the need for a soldier to verify his training in those circumstances. It isn't. It's about how Americans are retarded.
 
Let's not get political . . .

But according to what he said yesterday, it's about how people, humanity in general, are drawn to war, almost on a genetic level. He didn't specify Americans.
 
Yes of course; not a political subject...

I've read tons of books on war and combat from WW2 to Vietnam to South America (Grenada, Beirut and Panama) and Somalia to the Gulf....

They all say that the soldier; the combat soldier is very capable and willing to go into combat. A kind of verification of training or ritehood. It's not Americans; it's any soldier in any army.
 
but remember, Mendes PICKED the material to direct. Nobody *put a gun to his head* and said 'make this movie.' If this movie isn't stereotyping Americans, I don't know what stereotyping means.
 
c.g._eads said:
but remember, Mendes PICKED the material to direct. Nobody *put a gun to his head* and said 'make this movie.' If this movie isn't stereotyping Americans, I don't know what stereotyping means.
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would it make a difference if a "non-brit" directed the movie? Either way it would be the same material as it is all from the same book written by an ex-marine who experienced it all first hand.
 
Yeah; what the hell is the issue?

What if an American made the film? I think you're trippin c.g._Eads. Why is it sterotyping Americans?
 
Haven't seen this yet but I am looking forward to it. I know the teen (Arman Zajic) who played the younger version of Jake Gyllenhaal's character (Swoff), so I will be interested to see it regardless of any underlying political agenda (if any).
 
SPOILERS AHEAD!! YE'VE BEEN WARNED!!

c.g._eads said:
This movie pissed me off as it was so obviously a not-so-hidden agenda from Sam Mendes (a Brit) to state that all Americans are gun-weilding kill-thirsty morons (or Jarheads) who have the intellectual capacity of monkeys.... (Peter Sarssgard desperately DESPERATELY wanting to kill kill kill SOMETHING in that last scene)... It was sickening to say the least.
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I SAY AGAIN... SPOILERS DOWN BELOW!!!

Sam Mendes has said (repeatedly, and on record) that he put a great deal of effort into taking this material (written by a US Marine, mind you) and crafting it in such a way that it left us with more questions than answers. Questions for us to think about and perhaps answer ourselves after we've left the theater. Unfortunately, I don't think you even allowed yourself to hear any of the questions, my friend. Sounds more like you came in expecting one thing and quickly raised your hackles when presented with another.

In that Saarsgard scene, I feel that it was NOT about simply killing. It was much bigger than that in this character's experience. You no doubt recall how he was not allowed re-enlistment due to his prior criminal record, when all he wanted to do in his life was serve. You no doubt recall how, throughout their entire deployment, he was simmering, percolating, frustrated by the fact that they were trained to do a job which they were (largely) kept from doing. And these two guys, who had a highly specialized job, were presented with the opportunity to finally do that job! They had it set up. They were ready. And that one final chance to accomplish a single task was yanked away from them!

Now, I'm a Grade-A, peace-luvin', liberal, whatever... and I WANTED them to take the shot too!!! I'm sure a lot of people did. That's not an amoral response. It wasn't about the killing. It wasn't about an attempt by a British director to brainwash me into believing that we're bloodthirsty monkeys. It's simply the result of a well-crafted characterization, well acted, well written and well executed on screen. That's all, dude.
 
John, yes, it would have been different if an American directed the film. That's my point. He would have made different choices, deciding what to include and exclude, that would've been completely different from Mendes. Mendes did not shoot the novel word for word. He shot the script that was adapted from the novel. And this is a script that he had influence over, one in which he told the writer what and what not to include. I mean c'mon, everybody knows you give the same script to Steven Spielberg and Uwe Boll, you're going to get two different movies.

And I'll say again. Mendes CHOSE this material for a reason. He chose it becaue it would be the best venue to express these ideas. There is a TON of war material out there. He could of chosen anything. He chose this for the very reasons I expressed above.

And it's stereotyping Americans cause this is a movie that is going to be seen worldwide. It is going to push the stereotype that we are all like George Bush, that we all want to take over the world, that we are all gun-weilding pyschopaths with a thirst for blood.

You forget that in almost the entire rest of the world, this is how we're perceived. And I'd like to hear a convincing argument that this movie didn't advance that perception. I'd be very interested to hear from some non-Americans on this issue.

Anyway, i'm all revved up. I need a coke.

And a gun.

And someone to kill!
 
Matulis,

I can see your point and respect it. I wanted him to take the shot too, because that was the only scene in the movie where I truly felt they did a good job with the characterizations and I actually forgot about Mendes' propaganda.

But look at these other scenes. Where they're basically a bunch of monkeys playing football. The Apocolypse Now scene where they cheer to pieces 3rd World civilians getting gunned down by American planes (helicopters?). The end party scenes where they're mindlessly shooting their guns up in the air. Cause Americans like to shoot guns. Right?

I understand what they're saying this movie is about. Supposedly it's about marines being brainwashed to kill and then never having any release. But I think this runs much deeper.
 
c.g._eads said:
But look at these other scenes. Where they're basically a bunch of monkeys playing football. The Apocolypse Now scene where they cheer to pieces 3rd World civilians getting gunned down by American planes (helicopters?). The end party scenes where they're mindlessly shooting their guns up in the air. Cause Americans like to shoot guns. Right?
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But from what I understand they did that.

Maybe you should be angsty towards Swofford.

So I'm to believe that every movie that is 'based on' a book is a perfect translation of the material?
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Yeeeeaaahhhh. (Sigh)
 
I saw the movie yesterday....and i have to agree with John. Its rediculous to say that Mendes was doing this film to put americans in a negative light. If he'd really wanted to put a negative american spin on it...he easily could have. I thought the film was excellent in that it gave no political opinion....but just told the soldiers story.....how it happened. Its more a commentary on how war is hell....than anything about how bad americans are. Theres barely any americans shooting guns in it at all!!!(party scene excluded....but there was no harm in that shooting. ) Its portraying the events of the gulf war and a marine that went through it all.
 
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