Greyhound (2020)

Tags

Drama, Thriller, War

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was a seemingly basic theme, a poem about something large, so the massive ocean made perfect sense.)

The ocean was a barrier mere centuries ago,
Immovable, impassable, impossible to overthrow.
It mocked our human efforts with indifferent distances,
Its furthest reaches only myths that man could never hope to know.

But even once we “conquered” it and put its edge to page,
It hardly made a dent upon its unpremeditated rage.
We may know where to sail and hark to what the compass says,
But none can quite predict this beast of overwhelming size and age.

The ships that are our power and our glory navally
Can do their best against the test that dwarfs the land’s reality.
They ply the waves that murder without hate or prejudice,
A tiny line of ants that crawl across the quicksand of the sea.
________________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

Like Finch, Greyhound was the other Apple TV+ film with Tom Hanks to convince me to subscribe to yet another streaming service. Based on C.S. Forester’s 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, the film is an intense journey across the Atlantic Ocean at the height of World War II, when German U-boats terrorized the ships trying to bring troops and supplies from the United States to beleaguered Europe. Hanks plays Captain Ernest Krause of the USS Keeling (a.k.a. Greyhound) and its supply convoy, and but for a brief flashback with his assumed wife (Elisabeth Shue), the whole action of the film takes place upon the storm-tossed seas with the constant threat of enemy torpedoes.

While the film earns high marks for realism with its authentic naval terminology, the weak script and characterization are rather thin. It’s a good thing then that Hanks is so committed to the role, forgoing the pirates of Captain Phillips in favor of Nazi wolf packs who taunt him over the radio as they pick off the ships he’s been tasked with protecting. Every loss is reflected in his weary but determined eyes, and the captain’s commitment is reflected in how he refuses to rest while the danger persists or celebrate death too much.

After all the waiting and worrying, it’s a cheer-worthy moment when the ships are able to land a blow on the submarines stalking them, and the film certainly highlights how the journey across the Atlantic was just as dangerous as what awaited soldiers on the other side. A taut and streamlined historical thriller, Greyhound owes much to Hanks, whose mixture of grit and religiosity in the role once more proves why we love him so.

Best line: (Cole, the executive officer, to Captain Krause) “What you did yesterday got us to today.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
764 Followers and Counting

The Lost Battalion (2001)

Tags

Drama, History, War

Would every war have been the War
To End All Wars, we sigh,
That dealers of demise and gore
Would not be fashioned anymore
From friends and fathers summoned for
To fight and kill or else to die.

How many heroes, horror-hewn,
Have died for lack of peace,
Both peace from battles body-strewn
And peace of mind, that distant boon?
No haunted human is immune,
From memories that never cease.

A hero may not ever meet
Recipients of peace.
The foolish, thoughtless, and elite
Think heroism obsolete,
But we will not forget their feat,
For neither do our memories cease.
___________________

MPA rating:  TV-14 (violence somewhere between a strong PG-13 or a light R)

Like last year with Journey’s End, it seemed like Veteran’s Day was the right time for a World War I movie. The Lost Battalion may have been a TV movie created for A&E, but it holds up with the best films about World War I. Grown-up child star Rick Schroeder plays Major Charles Whittlesey, a former New York lawyer who grudgingly follows his general’s commands and leads the Army 77^th Infantry Division to take the Argonne Forest, only to be cut off from all support as they hold their ground. The true story was first told in a 1919 silent film (which is available on YouTube), but, unlike that version, the 2001 film never leaves the battlefield, showing the cost-heavy struggle in all its savagery and heroism.

It’s easy for World War I films to be boiled down to trench warfare, so grimly brought to life in films like 1917 and Journey’s End, but it was a change of pace for The Lost Battalion to leave the trenches behind and mostly take place in a forest setting. Schroeder does an excellent job as a weary commander forced by duty to lead his men into certain doom, while the rest of the cast excel at depicting the mixed ethnicities that fought alongside each other on the battlefield. The violence was stronger than I expected for a TV movie, with blood spatter that still doesn’t come close to Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge (which also featured the 77^th), but the cinematography and editing go a long way toward making the battle more chaotic and dire. The Lost Battalion is a reminder of many things – the stubborn courage of American soldiers, the bitter pill of “acceptable losses,” the military bonds that transcend racial conflict – but, as with so many war films, it makes me grateful to all who have fought for freedom.

Best line: (Major Whittlesey) “Two days ago, we had a Chinese working our field phone, an American Indian for a runner. They’re both dead, but that’s not the point. These Italian, Irish, Jews, and Poles, they’d never hire me as an attorney. We wouldn’t be seen at the same events. But we will never in our lives enjoy the company of finer soldiers or better men than we do tonight.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2021 S.G. Liput
741 Followers and Counting

A huge thank you to all veterans and soldiers. May God bless and protect you all!

2021 Blindspot Pick #6: Apocalypse Now (1979)

Tags

Drama, War

What looms within the human heart,
Unwilling ever to depart,
Is easy to depict in art
For everyone to see:

The darkness and the violent lusts,
Sin that beguiles and disgusts,
That takes our innocence and rusts
To gag morality.

It must be seen, the world insists,
To show the horror that exists.
Its advocates are but realists,
As ugly truth they show.

Perhaps that truth is worth a peek,
If only for what not to seek,
But excess horror lacks critique
And merely lets it grow.
______________________

MPA rating:  R (strong language and violence, plus nudity in the Redux version)

And here I am finally halfway done with my 2021 Blindspot series… in late October. Okay, so I’m still behind this year, but I’m gaining ground. I had considered Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now for my Blindspot list in past years, but I remembered my mom saying how much she didn’t enjoy it. But it is a classic, right? It’s a monument of modern filmmaking, a testament to the senseless horror of the Vietnam War, a character study of men on the edge of sanity making hard decisions and quoting poetry. Yes, it’s all of these things, and I didn’t much care for it.

Somewhat based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and relocating the novel’s river journey from the African Congo to wartime Vietnam, Apocalypse Now is as much a psychological contemplation as it is a tour of the Vietnam War. Interspersed with nighttime shootouts and upriver ambushes, Army Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) waxes philosophical over the bleakness of battle and his internal moral debate of what he will do when he encounters Kurtz (Marlon Brando), the effective but crazed colonel his superiors have sent Willard to kill. At times, the film’s tone almost turns into dark comedy, as when Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall) insists on surfing in the middle of a beach assault, but it yields to hallucinogenic nihilism by the end, which is more of a whimper than a bang, to borrow from the film’s own T.S. Eliot quote.

I technically watched Apocalypse Now Redux, the 2001 director’s cut that added 49 minutes to the original runtime, including 20 minutes that Coppola later removed again for yet another director’s cut in 2019. When I later read what the additional material was, I wasn’t surprised since they weren’t really needed. The longest added sections, including a stopover with Playboy bunnies and a visit to a plantation of French holdouts, not only slow down the pacing but mainly serve to make the film even more R-rated, adding in two sex scenes absent from the original.

On one hand, I can recognize what captured the regard of so many critics. Coppola’s direction is often top-notch, particularly during a sequence where Willard walks through a chaotic, flare-lit camp under attack, which is like a carnival battlefield from hell. I can’t fault the acting either, from Brando’s climactic soliloquy justifying his actions to Duvall’s mercurial officer who flits from cruel to kind and says “Someday this war’s gonna end” almost with regret. It was nice to see Laurence Fishburne in an early role, as well as minor parts for Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, and Dennis Hopper.

Yet for all its strengths, the film ultimately feels aimless, with its inevitable climax just happening with no subsequent consequences, reactions, or closure for anyone involved. Its status as a critical darling makes me feel like I’m in the minority in disliking it, but it’s a lot like Blade Runner, another technically impressive Blindspot that proved to be style over substance, petering out with no effort to satisfy the audience. I suppose that’s a sign of creative independence and art, but it doesn’t make it a film I care to watch again. I’ve seen people complain that Apocalypse Now was snubbed for the Best Picture Oscar in favor of Kramer vs. Kramer, but I’m glad the smaller, more personal film won. On some level, others must have felt the same as I do.

Best line (not going for the obvious “I love the smell of napalm” line):  (Willard, quoting Kurtz) “In a war, there are many moments for compassion and tender action. There are many moments for ruthless action – what is often called ruthless – what may in many circumstances be only clarity, seeing clearly what there is to be done and doing it, directly, quickly, awake, looking at it.”

Rank:  Dishonorable Mention

© 2021 S.G. Liput
740 Followers and Counting

Platoon (1986)

Tags

Drama, War

(For Day 21 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem that uses repetition to drive the rhythm forward, so I used the loaded words “The war” to do just that.)

The war was far off overseas,
The war between the Vietnamese,
The war of free and Communist,
The war for which we must enlist,
The war our leaders said to fight,
The war that blurred the wrong and right.
The war inspired defiant tunes,
The war that gobbled whole platoons,
The war that made our mothers cry,
The war that never told them why,
The war that screamed in every face.
The war dragged on despite disgrace,
The war that fueled the most debate,
The war the hippies loved to hate,
The war that few could quite defend,
The war that none could comprehend,
The war we did not fight to win,
The war that answered sin for sin,
The war whose end held no success.
The war still ended nonetheless,
The war so far off overseas
The war that was so hard to please.
_______________________________

MPA rating:  R (for much language and violence)

Platoon has long been known to me as the film with that iconic scene of the jungle soldier with his arms raised amid gunfire while Samuel Barber’s haunting Adagio for Strings crescendos in the background. Yet the film itself was never a priority until it happened to come on TV recently. I now see why it’s considered one of the greatest war films ever. I now see why it warranted Best Picture and Best Direction for Oliver Stone, not to mention Best Sound and Film Editing. It’s a challenging watch, but it seems to do the Vietnam War justice, considering it is somewhat based on Stone’s own experiences enlisting for combat in Vietnam.

Charlie Sheen proves he was quite a good actor before his crazier days distracted from that fact, and he serves as Chris Taylor, the stand-in for Stone, an idealistic new recruit who is introduced to the horrors of war and a clash of ideologies between ruthless Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and kinder Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). While he makes friends along the way (Keith David), his tour of duty is a tour of everything that made the war hellish: the uncooperative Vietnamese and the difficulty of telling foe from victim, the confusion and threat of friendly fire, the danger of losing your soul amid all the violence.

By the end, even separate from Chris’s poetic monologues, it makes a case for peace simply by illustrating how terrible its absence is. With surprising supporting roles from the likes of Johnny Depp, Kevin Dillon, Forest Whitaker, and John C. McGinley and a perfect ‘60s soundtrack punctuated by the contrasting beauty of classical, Platoon is a great film that may not be easy to watch but is undoubtedly worth it.

Best line: (Elias) “What happened today was just the beginning. We’re gonna lose this war.”
(Chris) “Come on. You really think so? Us?”
(Elias) “We been kicking other people’s a**es for so long, I figured it’s time we got ours kicked.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2021 S.G. Liput
728 Followers and Counting

Journey’s End (2017)

Tags

Drama, History, War

(I wrote this in the style of Robert Service, one of my favorite poets, who wrote several poems inspired by his time as an ambulance driver in World War I.)

There’s a time in the life of a soldier entrenched
When he cannot endure anymore,
When his teeth are like glass having been so long clenched
And he’s numb to the screams and the gore,

When his mind barely registers pleasure or pain
And his nerve’s on the edge of a knife,
When his soul is unlikely to wash out the stain
Of the ongoing ending of life,

When the order to “Go” couldn’t move his clay feet
Even if he had will to obey,
When war seems no more than the grinding of meat
For some heinous, infernal buffet.

At times such as these, when one’s mettle and wits
Have been wrung further than they extend,
The heroes decide alongside hypocrites
How they choose to meet their journey’s end.
_________________________________

MPA rating:  R (I consider it a light R, for a few violent moments and occasional F words)

Though it may seem I’m destined to only post on holidays, I am trying to get to a more consistent schedule. It seemed only fitting to review a war movie on Veteran’s Day, and a World War I movie seemed even more fitting, considering the significance of November 11, when the armistice ending that terrible war was signed. Journey’s End brings the desperation of that war to life in a wholly compelling way, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in WWI.

Based on a 1928 play by war veteran R. C. Sherriff, which has already been adapted four other times, Journey’s End doesn’t try to provide a sweeping look at the whole war, instead focusing on a single week in March of 1918, as British troops braced themselves for an expected German offensive. Fresh-faced 2^nd Lieutenant Raleigh (Asa Butterfield) asks to be assigned to Company C, commanded by his former school friend Captain Stanhope (a tortured Sam Claflin). He finds his old pal changed by the horrors of war, and his initial opinion of a war raid as “exciting” is quickly sobered by experiencing them firsthand.

What Journey’s End does best is capture snapshots of the feeling of trench warfare, albeit mainly from an officer’s perspective. We feel the tension of soldiers wishing something would happen, followed by the grim resignment of being chosen for that something; the seeming indifference of superior officers; the conflict of different coping mechanisms; the helplessness of men at the end of their own rope having to comfort others at the end of theirs; and the mental anguish of wishing someone both “goodbye” and “good luck,” possibly for the last time. Plenty of small details add to the realism, such as the men getting a dose of rum and emptying their bladders before going “over the top.”

The obvious comparison for me in appraising a WWI movie is judging it next to last year’s 1917, and, while Journey’s End can’t quite compare on technical proficiency, it surpasses the newer film in characterization, with Paul Bettany’s personable second-in-command being a particular light among the dull grays of the trenches. In addition to the acting, the cinematography is also excellent, though, with a few comparatively short tracking shots bringing 1917 to mind. War films can be hard to sit through, but those like Journey’s End are a constant reminder of how lucky we are to be able to sit around on couches watching movies when we could just as easily have been down to our last nerve in muddy trenches, but for the distance of 100 years. To all veterans, thank you!

Best line: (Bettany’s Lieutenant Osborne, writing home) “There is a job to be done. It ought never to have arisen, but that is not the point. I have had so very much out of life, but all these youngsters do not realize how unlucky they are, so new are they to their very existence.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2020 S.G. Liput
701 Followers and Counting!

Henry V (1989)

Tags

Drama, History, War

It seems the English language is intent on, over time,
Discarding excess letters, which are just an uphill climb.
In Milton’s and in Shakespeare’s era, words were often longer,
So literarians believe their eloquence was stronger.
Yet, slowly we have shed the eths and ests that ended verbs
And kicked the gifts of diction to their metaphoric curbs.
Not “dost” but “do,” not “thou” but “you,” not “wherefore,” no, but “why,”
And going back in time to read can make you want to die.

Yet, even now the language still is mutating in place,
With idioms and acronyms it can’t help but embrace.
The letter-shedding carries on with “YOLO”, “app,” and “ref”
And “LOL, JK, IDK WTF.”
Abbreviations have their place; archaic words as well;
For me, too much of either one is glossolalic hell.
So savor language while you can, for generations hence
May not know what the heck we’re saying when it’s in past tense.
________________________

MPA rating: PG-13 (for battlefield violence)

Since it’s been hard fitting this blog into my busy schedule of work and college, I’ve decided to try to shorten my reviews so I don’t end up posting only twice a month. Let’s start the compressed reviews with Shakespeare, shall we? I am not a fan of William Shakespeare. I’ve read Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and a few sonnets, and that’s quite enough for me. Even so, I feel I need to be familiar with his work, if only to be prepared for when I some day get on Jeopardy. So surely watching Henry V is better than reading it, right? I think so, at least, especially when brought to life by the accomplished Kenneth Branagh, who both directed this 1989 epic and played the title character.

Knowing nothing of the original play, I was intrigued by the framing device of a one-man Chorus (Derek Jacobi) providing an introduction and occasional commentary throughout. Branagh is intense and committed as the young King Henry, who sets out on a supposedly justified war to claim kingship of France, and he delivers the big speeches with enough stirring authority that you can believe the patriotism he inspires in his men. I recognize that Shakespeare’s poetry-flecked prose is eloquence epitomized, but the simple fact is that it was a constant effort to understand what was being said, which would have been even harder without captions. The action on-screen made it clearer at least, so perhaps it would be easier to read the play now that I know what happens. Plus, the presence of seasoned thespians elevated the production even more, such as Brian Blessed, Ian Holm, Paul Scofield, and even early roles for Christian Bale and Emma Thompson (who married Branagh the same year).

Henry V might well be one of the finest faithful Shakespeare adaptations; I just haven’t seen many others to give it due comparison. Branagh’s treatment, though, is certainly praiseworthy, and one climactic tracking shot after the Battle of Agincourt was awe-inspiring to behold. You can’t do that on any stage, after all. With its nearly three-hour runtime, I was tempted to give up, but I typically try to finish any movie I start, and I’m glad I did. (Still not a Shakespeare fan, though.)

Best line: (Henry, addressing the troops) “And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by from this day until the ending of the world but we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Be he ne’er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition, and gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves acursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks, that fought with us upon St. Crispin’s day!”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2020 S.G. Liput
697 Followers and Counting

VC Pick: Top Gun (1986)

Tags

Action, Drama, Romance, VC Pick, War

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for an effusive poem of over-the-top praise, so I just kind of let my imagination run with it.)

Although it’s been said many times, many ways,
The feats at your feet never fail to amaze.
You stand high above every other by far.
If we were all Beatles, you’d drive every car.
You mass-produce marvels; you trigger the awe
Of both proletariat and the bourgeois.
You’re such a sensation, a spectacle said
To paint, not the town, but the whole county red.
The scholars no longer use language defining
The word “awesome”; no, it’s your photograph, shining.

The wonders don’t cease when you have a hand in them;
If there were contests for impressing, you’d win them.
Chuck Norris is porous compared to your muscle;
Gaston at his best can’t compete with your hustle.
The terms that describe you left Earth long ago;
The rest of the words couldn’t handle their glow.
If there is a mountain to move, you will move it.
And best of all,
As per protocol,
You need not be told all this; each day, you prove it.
______________________________

MPA rating: PG-13

At long last, my dear Viewing Companion (VC) convinced me to see Top Gun again. I recall seeing it years ago, but for some reason, it never really appealed to me in my memory. When the sequel was announced, my reaction was basically, “Meh,” while so many others were thrilled by their own ‘80s nostalgia. I just don’t have much interest in fighter pilot hotshots; it’s like wrestling or rap music, just not my cup of tea. But she finally got me to see it, and I must admit it was far better than I remembered, deserving of its reputation as a seminal film of the decade.

Tom Cruise was in his youthful prime as “Maverick” Mitchell, the pilot whose massive shoulder chip propels him into the Navy’s top pilot school and the danger zone of aerial dog fights, aided by his trusty wingman Goose (Anthony Edwards). While he can be cocky and unpredictable, his stubbornness and penchant for risk get him far, including in his romance with the lovely Kelly McGillis, at least until tragedy strikes and threatens his career and his spirit.

Most critics tend to laud the aerial plane fights, which are well done, though I had trouble telling who was who and which plane was which at times. (Of course, in the cockpit, it helps that they made the Russian MiG pilots a faceless enemy with a full helmet mask.) Plus, I can’t help but wonder what “enemy waters” in the Indian Ocean would have warranted the air fight at the film’s climax. But there was also more to the characters than I remembered, more real emotion than the mere angst and testosterone I expected, though there was that too. For instance, Val Kilmer as fellow pilot “Iceman” is more of a genuine rival to Maverick rather than the smug antagonist he could have been. Plus, you can’t fault the cast, from Kilmer and Tom Skerritt to early roles for Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, and Adrian Pasdar.

Top Gun will never be one of my favorite movies, but watching it again has vastly raised my opinion of it. It’s a cool icon of a film, boasting not only the famous quote below but a truly quintessential soundtrack, including Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” and the Oscar-winning “Take My Breath Away,” which is the kind of song that could make anything romantic. Plus, it inspired the name for Goose the cat in Captain Marvel, and who doesn’t love Goose the cat? The sequel may have been pushed back to December, but here’s hoping it can do justice to its classic original.

Best line: (Maverick) “I feel the need…”   (Maverick and Goose) “The need for speed!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2020 S.G. Liput
679 Followers and Counting

1917 (2019)

Tags

Drama, Thriller, War

Two trenches crouched down in the dank and the mud,
Lest either lose more of their denizens’ blood.
The atmosphere over the land in between
Was thick with a rot that could not be washed clean.

And on either side, in the dirt corridors,
The weary ones wondered what worst case of wars
Their countries had sent them to, no thought at all
Of whether the winnings were worth their downfall.

They’d wait in their crack, being battered and mortared;
They’d shoot and attack as their higher-ups ordered;
They’d march into hell, knowing where but not why,
And let God decide who should live or else die.
_______________________

MPA rating:  R (for violence and profanity)

It’s funny that I’ve been watching the Best Picture nominees during the lead-up to the Oscars, yet I don’t seem to have much time to actually review them. But eventually, I’ll get to them all, starting with Sam Mendes’ World War I epic 1917. The last time I did this Best Picture Film Festival with Regal Cinemas was in 2016, and the last nominee I saw in the theater was my favorite, La La Land. This time, my favorite may well be the first I’ve seen because I’ll be very pleasantly surprised if anything manages to surpass Mendes’ cinematic achievement.

I’m always astounded by the skill on display whenever a film or TV show tackles an extended tracking shot. I get this weird giddy thrill at watching the camera seamlessly dance around the action and wondering how long the filmmakers will be able to keep it up. While not the first to attempt it (I really ought to check out Birdman some time), 1917 boasts some of the most ambitious tracking shots of all time, allowing the audience to run and trudge and float across the battlefields of France, following two British soldiers (George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman) on an urgent mission. They must deliver a message across enemy territory to stop another battalion from advancing into a German trap, a unit that includes the brother of one of the young men.

Playing out in real time but for a single time skip, the story is simple but oh so effective. What Saving Private Ryan did for World War II, 1917 does for World War I, making it feel immediate and in-the-moment rather than some distant conflict in the annals of history. It also manages to be surprisingly comprehensive in its depiction, despite the apparent time limitation. We, the audience, accompany Lance Corporals Blake and Schofield every step of the way, from the teeming trenches to the body-strewn No Man’s Land to the ravaged countryside to the explosive danger of going “over the top” into battle. It’s an awesome journey, and, for me at least, the two friends’ quest seemed to echo that of Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings – No Man’s Land certainly brought to mind their trek through Mordor or the Dead Marshes – which is something Tolkien tried to explicitly evoke in its World War I flashbacks with less success.

Some have complained that the continuous Steadicam choreography becomes too much of a distracting gimmick, but that’s a matter of opinion. It’s so seamless that I began to not notice it at all, every so often realizing, “Hey, there’s still been no cuts,” at which point my admiration for the film only increased. The presence of some celebrated actors in small roles was a treat too, including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Despite the R rating, it’s also not as violent as I had feared; it does have its brutal moments, focusing more on the aftermath of war rather than the mid-battle carnage of Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge, but it was an easier watch for me.

1917 is more than just a movie; it’s an experience, one worth taking on the big screen, where the tension and explosions and logistical wizardry and Roger Deakins’ poetic cinematography and Thomas Newman’s glorious score can best be appreciated. I still have three more nominees to see, but 1917 is my preference to win Best Picture. It’s a shoo-in for the technical awards, and I rather wish George MacKay could have gotten an acting nomination too. It deserves its place in cinema history.

Best line: (General Erinmore, quoting Rudyard Kipling’s “The Winners”) “Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, he travels the fastest who travels alone.”

 

Rank:  List-Worthy

 

© 2020 S.G. Liput
659 Followers and Counting

 

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Tags

Drama, Thriller, War

Another morn, another day,
Another chance I’ll pass away
With sudden boom or bullet swift.
Another day, another shift.
I should be scared; indeed I am,
But danger doesn’t give a damn.
I still have work for others’ sake
That fools and heroes undertake,
And if I die before it’s done,
I pray the Lord will say we won.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (for much language and violence)

The Best Picture race for 2009 had some stiff competition, especially since it was the first year the Academy switched from having 5 nominees to 10. Granted, I haven’t seen most of them yet – it was only ten years ago; give me more time! – but I was still curious to see the ultimate winner, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker. Sure, it was satisfying when she beat her own husband James Cameron’s juggernaut Avatar, becoming the first female director to win Best Picture, but as it turns out, The Hurt Locker is a solid war film that thrives on tension and committed performances from Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie.

Most of the war films I’ve seen have been set during World War II or the Civil War, so, for me, this was a new foray into modern cinematic warfare, specifically the high-tension job of an American bomb squad in the Iraq War. After a nerve-racking opening scene that demonstrates how dangerous the job can be, we’re introduced to Sergeant First Class William James (Renner), who is placed in charge of an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit. It doesn’t take long, though, for his fellow soldiers (Mackie and Brian Geraghty) to realize that their new team leader is on the unconventional side, disregarding safety precautions and sometimes acting like he has a death wish.

The plot is rather episodic, as captions count down the number of days left in their tour of duty. Each instance of tense bomb hunting or sudden combat adds to the tone of danger, while having more impact on the characters than the storyline as a whole. The three men bond as soldiers do, while James’ recklessness strains that very bond as the days of constant life-and-death strain take their toll. One detour of James hunting for the truth behind someone he believes to have been killed ends with an odd lack of resolution, though, and ultimately the film’s greatest strength is the individual scenes of unbridled tension as bombs are being discovered and defused.

It did seem to me that James’ cavalier attitude seemed like the kind of behavior that would get reported and disciplined, so it made sense when I read afterward about the many veterans who complained about the film’s unrealistic portrayal of EOD soldiers, among other inaccuracies. Plus, it would have been helpful if they explained the title: “the hurt locker” refers to a soldier being injured, but I don’t recall anyone actually saying that.

The Hurt Locker presents the stresses of the war in Iraq with a visceral candor that helped me as a viewer feel close to the action while not relying on in-your-face gore. It was also nice to see not one, not two, but four members of the MCU in one movie several years before their franchise days (Renner and Mackie, as well as Evangeline Lilly and Guy Pearce). I can’t really compare it to other Iraq War films, since this is the only one I’ve seen, but this certainly sets a high bar to which any others may aspire. Deserving of its six Oscars, it’s equal parts war movie and thriller and does both parts well.

Best line: (opening quote) “The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
656 Followers and Counting

 

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, War

Prejudice is a peculiar emotion,
The product of bitterness, pain, or devotion.
No one is born with it right from the start,
And no one desires it deep in their heart.

And yet it takes hold and is likely to grow
Through dubious facts people think that they know:
A rumor that no one can track to its source,
An outrage that should have long since run its course,
A fact or a fiction passed on by those who
Just don’t care enough to find out if it’s true.

It’s no surprise then, in this world of pretense,
That people believe things that strain common sense.
And once it digs deep, ‘tis not easy to loose,
For bias breeds bias in search of excuse.

Don’t think it’s impossible, though, to break free
Of such silly cycles that plague history.
It takes a rare person, both brave and sincere,
To listen to someone they don’t want to hear.
__________________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

I was skeptical when I first saw the trailer for Taika Waititi’s latest film Jojo Rabbit, what with its jokey Nazi satire. Waititi’s humor has been hit-and-miss for me with films like Thor: Ragnarok, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Luckily, I’m pleased to report that Jojo Rabbit is easily my new favorite of his movies, a triple threat of humor, heart, and pathos that didn’t disappoint at all.

Set in the latter days of World War II, Jojo Rabbit follows young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), a devoted young boy who is excited to go to a Nazi youth training camp, with the encouragement of his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (Waititi himself). After an accident, Jojo is forced to stick close to home, where he discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie of Leave No Trace) in their house, prompting him to reconsider his preconceived prejudices.

It may sound like a cliché, but this movie is one of those rare full-package films: you’ll laugh, you’ll feel your heart break, you’ll hold your breath at tense moments. The amazing thing is that there are scenes where all three happen in quick succession. Waititi’s sense of humor can be an acquired taste, but here he brilliantly plays up the absurdity of Nazism, from the blind loyalty to the exaggerated picture of Jews promoted by Jojo’s training officers (including Sam Rockwell as a washed-up soldier and Rebel Wilson as a gung-ho instructor). He even manages to make the repeated use of “Heil Hitler” increasingly hilarious.

Yet, unlike the similar irreverence of The Producers, the comedy isn’t just for shock value laughs, instead being accompanied by some surprisingly profound statements challenging how Jojo sees the world, Jews, and himself. Young Davis does a wonderful job as Jojo, both as a naïve Nazi boy scout and a more world-weary doubter later on, and McKenzie brings a ferocious defiance to Elsa, bitter to the cruel world and far from the shrinking victim she could have been. Likewise, Johansson exudes warmth and good humor in her maternal role, and she finally gets to hit Sam Rockwell, where she never got the chance in Iron Man 2. And as for Waititi, he really hams it up as the imaginary Hitler, acting as Jojo’s friendly shoulder devil as the boy deals with Elsa and bristling at the wavering of Jojo’s loyalty.

It’s not often I say this, but Jojo Rabbit really felt to me like an instant classic, a perfect blend of irreverent tragicomedy that confidently overcomes its own weirdness to be both memorably entertaining and affecting. I loved the bright, meticulous set design, sometimes reminding me of a less pedantic Wes Anderson movie, and a spinning tracking shot over time echoed a similarly impressive scene from Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The film’s main fault for me was some unnecessary profanity, but otherwise, it’s definitely one of the best movies I’ve seen this year and further cements Taika Waititi as a filmmaker of unique vision, which just happens to include Hitler eating a unicorn.

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
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