Hollywood Archives
The Times, They are A'Changin'
By John
Head back to Seraphic Secret for an awesome post on Hollywood during World War II (and try to tell me you don't love the skull and cross-bombs patch that Carole Landis is wearing).
Happy Memorial Day to all!
LtCol P sez... That Carole Landis was hot. But I digress. On a similar vein, those of us living in the NCR can watch Victory At Sea on WETA, showing now. Classic stuff, great score, and incomparable narration.
Watch This
By John
Sopranos, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Band of Brothers.... seems like everything HBO touches turns to gold doesn't it?
John Adams, no exception. Watch.
In other weekend news, how about that fab five from Davidson? Those chumps have jacked up my bracket something awful. I'm all about Cinderellas, but cripes.... not when I've got money riding on it.
Vast Engineering Conspiracy hits Hollywood!
By John
Caught the new Nicholas Cage flick, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, earlier this week. Our resident engineering troll Bullnav must have taken advantage of the writers' strike and snuck some input into the script, because the main villain -played by Ed Harris- was described as a history major from the Virginia Military Institute.
Lt Col P and I are terribly offended. Or flattered. One of the two, anyway.
Ben Stein Does Blogs
By John
Please join us Thursday, November 15th, at 2:30pm EST as SpouseBuzz authors discuss the book of the month Ben Stein's The Real Stars with featured guest Ben Stein, live on SpouseBuzz Radio.Mr. Stein, wrote a popular column called Monday Night at Morton's which featured the piece called The Real Stars. A piece that went viral on the Internet in 2003. I recall getting the column sent to me in at least 15 emails, while my DH was serving in Iraq. I, for one was not surprised at the content of the message, but the messenger. Such support is typically not garnered from the mainstream media, or Hollywood.
Be there.
No True Glory
By John
Look, it's no secret that I have a total man-crush on Marine General Mattis. So when I find out that one of my favorite actors is going to play one of my favorite generals in a film adaption of a book by one of my favorite authors...
omg, swoon.
Translation, in order: Harrison Ford will play the role of General Mattis in No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah.
Looks, it's kind of old news. Blackfive blogged about the casting back in 2004.... but I hadn't heard it until now, so it's new to me. According to IMDB, No True Glory is slated for a 2008 release. Here's an news clip from 2004:
Hollywood "Marines" could soon be taking orders from actor Harrison Ford if Hollywood carries out plans to cast the leading man as former 1st Marine Division commander Maj. Gen. James Mattis in an upcoming film about the Marines' assault on Fallujah last spring.In what entertainment writers say would be the first feature length film about the war in Iraq, Universal Pictures plans to base the movie on the upcoming book, "No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah" by Bing West, a Marine veteran and former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, according to the Reuters news agency.
I like the timing. One year after a shotgun blast full of Hollywood anti-war films tank at the BO, we get a nitty-gritty Blackhawk Down style flick that will (presumably) focus on the individual heroism and ultimate nobility of US Marines. If No True Glory does as well as BHD did, it'd send a pretty clear message to Hollywood.
Courages sells.
Weakness doesn't.
What, you think 300 was a smash because of the costumes?
Here's hoping they do this flick right.
No Surprise There
By John
Anti-War flicks meeting a lukewarm reception at the Toronto Film Festival.
Later I'll talk about the films that have done well, but it should come as no surprise that the response to several Iraq themed films that are screening here,including Redacted, Valley of Elah, Rendition and Battle for Haditha, has been lackluster.At first I thought that perhaps this was only the opinion of a small minority, but in truth, it's not.While Reuters insists the films have had "positive response", a reality check proves otherwise.
A top inde producer told Reuters that he did not believe:
" the many Iraq war movies playing here would find audiences,..... people were tired of being bombarded with war and killing on television, the Web and in newspapers and magazines."
That aptly expresses the general feeling towards theses films by those in the industry and by the general public in attendance at the festival. Also weighing in is film critic Richard Roeper, a liberal who is no fan of the Bush administration:
"Of course we shouldn't shirk from the atrocities, alleged and confirmed, committed by our side. But would it be so horrible to make a film showing American soldiers performing genuine heroics?"
Not really. Hell, a film like that might even make money.
Question for producers: if this particularly crappy brand of whiny cinema can't even create a buzz amongst an audience as friendly as anti-war Hollywood, you think Joe America is going to go watch?
Step one in pulling yourselves out of the red? Make GI Joe American, dammit.
Best World War II Flicks
By John
Naw, it's not a repeat of the 10 Greatest War Films of All Time.... just a very cool, insider's look at a fine collection of war cinema.
Plus, the commentary.....
Patton, 1970. This movie has the greatest opening shot of any movie in recent memory. The script by Francis Ford Coppola is a masterpiece and Frankln J. Schaffner's direction is assured at every turn. George C. Scott's performance is simply towering. He gets under Patton's complex skin—warrior, mystic, egomaniac—and doesn't let go for one minute.
...is far better than anything you'll read on this crappy blog. Go check it out.... and take your comments with you!
Anti-War Film "Stuns" Venice
By John
A new film about the real-life rape and killing of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers who also murdered her family stunned the Venice festival, with shocking images that left some viewers in tears."Redacted", by U.S. director Brian De Palma, is one of at least eight American films on the war in Iraq due for release in the next few months and the first of two movies on the conflict screening in Venice's main competition.
Inspired by one of the most serious crimes committed by American soldiers in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, it is a harrowing indictment of the conflict and spares the audience no brutality to get its message across.
De Palma, 66, whose "Casualties of War" in 1989 told a similar tale of abuse by American soldiers in Vietnam, makes no secret of the goal he is hoping to achieve with the film's images, all based on real material he found on the Internet.
"The movie is an attempt to bring the reality of what is happening in Iraq to the American people," he told reporters after a press screening.
Never trust someone who sells truth with a work of fiction.
Just sayin'.
You want reality? Read milblogs.
10 Greatest War Films of All Time
By John
So it's a list format, and that means just about everyone will disagree in one way another.
Still, I'll ask anyway.
What are the 10 greatest war films of all time?
My picks:
10 ) The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Obi-Won Kenobi reminds us why we have the Code of Conduct.
9) The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) Errol Flynn meets my favorite poet, Tennyson. Awesomeness and vengeance ensue.
8) The Longest Day (1962) Top down look at the D-Day invasion, complete with dumbass Nazis waiting for Patton to storm across the channel and attack Calais.
7) Alexander Nevskiy (1938) Commie porn! A Russian prince mobilizes the peasants and whups Kraut tail. This is one of the few products to come out of the Soviet Union that didn't suck. The other one was Tetris. (Okay, entertainment wise...at least. What can I say? They made great tanks).
6) The Battle of Algiers (1966) Even though this documentary on the nasty Algerian Liberation Front was the product of a smug Italian socialist who lionized the thugs who laid the groundwork for modern terrorism, this is one of those films that can't be ignored. It should be mandatory viewing for all officers and NCOs who are deployed (or deploying) to the Middle East.
5) Zulu (1964) Splendid historical drama on the Battle of Rorke's Drift. Plus, proof that Lieutenants are useful!
4) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Is this tale of a British intelligence officer's guerrilla campaign against the Ottoman Turks still relevant today? You betcha!
3) Saving Private Ryan (1998) I remember watching grown men leave the theater in tears. Powerful and brilliant.
2) Apocalypse Now (1979) Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is one of those few Vietnam films bearing that rare distinction of not being total crap.
1) Patton (1970) My personal favorite. George C. Scott as Patton was one of the greatest performances in cinematic history. Plus, there's mention of VMI!
Here's what you won't see.... any of those crappy "military ruined my life" flicks. We like to talk about heroes on OPFOR, not sniveling cry babies like Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July.
You also won't see Band of Brothers. That gets a category of its own. One because it's a mini-series, not a movie. Two, because it was such a splendid bit of film making, I honestly think that it is beyond compare. There isn't a first year cadet at any senior military college or academy that can make it through the year without doing a pushup or seeing Band of Brothers. That's a fact, folks.
Das Boot, Tora Tora Tora, The Guns of Navarone, and The Sands of Iowa Jima all get honorable mentions. Yeesh there are so many excellent World War II flicks.
Notice most of them were made back in the good old days, back when Hollywood knew what it meant to be a hero?
Anyway, what are your favorites?
*Update* Robert Averch emails:
I forgot to mention that The Lighthorsemen are buried in Israel and Jewish volunteers (not Muslims) tend to their graves on a regular basis. Among them, my very good friend, blogger Treppenwitz.
Here's more on the Battle of Beersheba, the fight which inspired the film. I hate to take the lazy man's way out and use the Wikipedia reference, but they've actually posted an impressive write up.
Hollywood Tackles Iraq
By John
In a rather predictable manner:
On Sept. 14, Warner Independent Pictures expects to release “In the Valley of Elah,” a drama inspired by the Davis murder, written and directed by Paul Haggis, whose “Crash” won the Academy Award for best picture in 2006. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as a retired veteran who defies Army bureaucrats and local officials in a search for his son’s killers. In one of the movie’s defining images, the American flag is flown upside down in the heartland, the signal of extreme distress.Other coming films also use the damaged Iraq veteran to raise questions about a continuing war. In “Grace Is Gone,” directed by James C. Strouse and due in October from the Weinstein Company, John Cusack and two daughters struggle with the loss of a wife and mother who is killed on duty. Kimberly Peirce’s “Stop-Loss,” set for release in March by Paramount, meanwhile, casts Ryan Phillippe as a veteran who defies an order that would send him back to Iraq.
........
That impetus for immediacy is driving other filmmakers and studios as well. In October, for example, New Line Cinema will release “Rendition,” in which Reese Witherspoon plays a woman whose Egyptian-born husband is snared by a runaway counterterrorism apparatus. Paul Greengrass, the director of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” in which the bad guys belong to a similar rogue unit, is adapting Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s book about the Green Zone in Baghdad, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” for Universal Pictures.
Brian De Palma’s “Redacted,” focusing on an Army squad that persecutes an Iraqi family, is to be released in December by Magnolia Pictures. And Sony Pictures is developing a film based on the story of Richard A. Clarke, the former national security official and Bush administration critic.
It's the same narrative that inspired the whole sordid Scott Thomas affair. But unlike TNR, Hollywood can actually get away with fiction.
These flicks will tank. Even after the enormous success of movies like 300 (comes out on DVD Tuesday, by the way), Tinsel Town is still completely incapable of wrapping their minds around a single, simple truth. Americans love heroes. We love strength and we worship winners. The classic American champion has always been the immortal GI, so why does Hollywood make flicks like Jarhead and then bemoan the fact that it bombs?
Still, despite the enormous ideological slant in Hollywood....we've still got good guys batting for the home team.
Transformers
By John
Hate to knock Slab's superb 'recon by fire' post down the ladder, but I just caught Transformers in theaters and *had* to flap my jaws on it.
The flick is entertaining as hell, even for folks who didn't grow up with the cartoon like Charlie and I did. But what made it OPFOR worthy (ya'll know I don't do movie reviews) was the fact that the entire flick was one long commercial for the US Air Force.
Raptors, Predators, Ospreys, Nighthawks, Warthogs, HH-60s, AC-130s, C-17s, C-130s and F-16s all made an appearance (no Navy jets, sorry Lex!). Yeah, short of C-5s and F-15s, that's pretty much our entire inventory.
And then there's the best line in the flick "We can't win without the Air Force!"
I'm starting to wonder if the blue suiters didn't dip into the old recruiting purse to help fund the thing.
Michael Bay has excellent relations with the Pentagon, and boy did that show. He went on record "the level of military cooperation on this film is unprecedented" and y'know, he ain't kidding.
n-e way, for the Air Force exposure alone I'd encourage you to go check it out. Oh, and for the giant, battling transforming robots, too.
Here's the Air Force report from last year's filming.
Thunderbirds Are Go!
By John
Jon Stewart broke from the political-guest norm on a recent episode of The Daily Show, interviewing Lt. Col. Kevin Robbins of the Thunderbirds.
And Robbins is right, btw. The Air Force is turning 60 this year, so yeah....we're kind of a big deal.
n-e way, here's the clip:
Answer: "Maybe a sailor but not a Marine."
Well, yeah.
As for Jon Stewart's callsign, I thought "Milquetoast" fit pretty well...
300 Reviewed
By John
By commies.
No, seriously. From The Socialist Worker Online:
[300 is] a rank cesspool of racism, sexism, homophobia and “freedom-loving” pro-war propaganda....It shouldn't be a surprise. Because everyone knows that fighting terrorism has no tangible benefit outside of satisfying that uniquely conservative lust for blood. It's science.The film is riddled with historical inaccuracies, but it’s the ones that send clear right-wing messages that are the most alarming. The filmmakers go to great lengths to portray the Persians as evil, decadent, cruel and effeminate, unlike the manly men of Sparta......
The most dangerous aspect of 300 is its blatant call for the West to attack Iran. Iran, after all, used to be called Persia, and the film pulls no punches in exhorting the “free and rational” West to defend itself against the Persian hordes. Queen Gorgo even utters the tired cliché “Freedom is not free!”.....
It shouldn’t be surprising then that Miller’s next project is a comic book called Holy Terror, Batman! where the Caped Crusader goes up against Al-Qaeda in New York City.
And ideology aside, this guy is pretty sharp. "Iran, after all, used to be called Persia." So I tend to believe him when he takes a fictionalized account of a purely defensive battle fought over 2 millenniums back and interprets it as a super secret rallying call to launch a massive offensive against the Islamic State of Iran. To, you know, ensure that Xerxes stops defying the UN or something.
Hotel Tango: The Tank
300
By Charlie
Thanks to the wonderful grey market, I got a chance to view “300” the new Gladiator/Braveheart/Sin City mash-up that was recently released into theatres. Myself, and a few other junior officers plopped the ripped DVD into a laptop, and passed another night away from home by taking in the latest Hollywood had to offer half a world away (God bless globalization!)
I’ve watched it 3 times now, and it’s not getting old.
On Heroism, Courage, and Fab-u-lous Outfits
By John
I've been meaning to get this superb post on the success of 300 up for some time, but I didn't want to bump down Lightning's post on his glorious return from Germany.
I meet with some Hollywood movers and shakers. We are here to discuss a script that I have written and how to get it off the ground, but invariably the conversation has turned to the huge and "unexpected" box-office success of 300.He doesn't. And his response is great.A powerful Hollywood Agent says: “My girlfriend dragged me to see it 'cause all the guys are so buff.”
“That was so totally an 'Ab Filter', and lazily applied,” chimes in a Studio Suit, “didn't you notice, all the six-packs are exactly the same.”
A Powerful Producer theorizes: “My kids say it's like the greatest video game ever.”
Powerful Producer's Finicky Assistant points out: “The Queen's almost-see-through outfits, the little leather straps. May I just say: Fab-u-lous.”
Says a sleek Network Executive. “Actually, it's totally gay porn, all those piercings, so kinky, are you kidding me?” She's clad in an extremely tight Gaultier leather outfit — corseted by a hellishly complicated set of criss-crossing silver buckles. I have no idea how she draws breath.
I should keep my mouth shut.
Do I?
Also choice is this commentary from Libertas on 300, Hollywood, and why they can't figure out why flicks like Jarhead bomb while 300 thrives.
Downfall
By John
Was watching Starz the other night and caught an excellent foreign film called Downfall.
Hands down one of the best World War II films I've ever seen. Downfall superbly captures the final days of the Third Reich, with Hitler cowered in his bunker, Germany crumbling, and the Soviets posturing for one final push into Berlin. Fascinating how the dreams of the ultra-loyal SS elites collapsed just as quickly as Berlin did. And the guy who played Joseph Goebbels should have won an Academy Award, what a creep.
Highly recommend checking this flick out if you have the opportunity. Might be tough to find at Blockbuster, but if you have Netflicks you might stand a chance of finding it.
Priorities, People!
By Charlie
So I’m in the chow hall today, eating my KBR food, and minding my own business. Then, from out of nowhere, I was bombarded with the cable TV news feeding frenzy that spun around an American beauty queen who boozed it up, and the subsequent Donald Trump/Rosie O’Donald spat.
I cast a casual eye over to a nearby table, looking at some of my multi-national coalition partners, then to a table in the corner where our terps were avidly watching the anonymous lip-glossed blond chick reading us the breaking “news.”
So I thought to myself: is this really the image that America wants to project to the world? Flaunting the corruption of our youth for all to see, and celebrating the newfound “victimhood” of alcoholism (at 20?). We have displayed one of our “best and brightest” as nothing more than a frolicking harlot drinking herself silly, and she’s got the title “Miss USA.” Let me throw some caveats in here, lest you think I am being too harsh on Ms. Conner: two girls making out is hot, and there’s nothing wrong with underage drinking (in my opinion, if an 18 year old can enlist and fight for his country, he should at least be allowed to buy a beer –hell, he should get them for free.)
My point here is that America projects a negative image of itself to the people of the world. Instead of showing ourselves as hardworking people, caring people, or anything that may portray us positive light, we hold up the Tara Conners for all to see –an example of our opulence and self-absorption. When people from other countries and cultures see this kind of thing continually flaunted, obsessed over, and fawned over, they begin to form a very different picture of America from the one that we all currently know.
What we need is a PR Firm to sell the real America, like the one that put me here to make this place I’m stuck in better before I leave. All of the locals I meet here love Americans, because they know us personally: we’re individualized. The problem is that the individualization of the average American may be Tara Conner to many people who have never met an American. This is a bad thing.
We’ve got real problems to deal with in the world, and yet America is navel gazing at a beauty queen. How many soldiers risked their lives today? How many people were killed in the jihad in Sudan? How many lives were saved by doctors and emergency responders? Once we solve all of the pressing issues of our time, I promise that I will start to care about the plight of Ms. Conner.
The War Tapes Moves to DVD
By John
The War Tapes has come to DVD, and Military.com has got em!
All proceeds will go to the Armed Forces Relief Trust.
The War Tapes was also nominated to the Oscars short-list in the "Best Documentary" category. It's an excellent film, and its profits are going to an excellent military charity. Go buy your copy today!
Liberty Film Festival
By John
Thanks to the indispensable Robert Averch of Seraphic Secret for pointing me towards The Liberty Film Festival, the sole conservative film festival in America.
I'm not sharing the link out of any real desire to push a conservative agenda here at OPFOR, I'm just so exhausted from snooty "military-ruined-my-life" flicks, Liberty is a most-welcome breath of fresh air. Check it out.
Robert, by the way, is a proud member of Team Air Force. Give early, give often!
Flags of our Fathers
By John
Military.com has an exlusive trailer up for Flags of our Fathers.
It looks absolutely superb.
Flags of Our Fathers
By John
I'm already calling it one of the greatest war movies ever made, and it hasn't even been released yet.
How else can you describe a Clint Eastwood/Steven Spielberg collaboration on the life stories of the six men who famously raised the flag over Iwo Jima?
After tragedies like Jarhead, Born on the Fourth of July, and Platoon, I savor every movie that pays the proper respects to those who have walked the warrior's path in defense of this great nation.
Clint Eastwood is a brilliant director, and Spielberg does his best work with the World War II narrative (Schindler's List, Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan).
Oh, and don't even bring up Munich, ok? I'm excited about this...
Hollywood and Patriotism
By John
Cal Thomas on Oliver Stone's World Trade Center:
I have a long list of favorite patriotic movies, including "Victory at Sea," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Sands of Iwo Jima," but Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" is right up there with the best of them. It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.
A pleasant surprise from Stone, who is a notorious conspiracy theorist. And a pleasant surprise from Hollywood. which begs the question, can the four "F's" --family, faith, flag, and freedom-- still triumph on the silver screen?
A Hollywood screenwriter who I was recently chatting with says, "no." He's frustrated:
Hollywood doesn't get it. They will make money with patriotism, but they just don't wanna. But films like Jarhead which are anti patriotic just die.So they run from war movies.
As I said. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
The problem, as I see it, is that Hollywood has difficulty separating the glorification of war from film that appeals to the Joe American's pride in his nation. That's why we have to look to established, proven bearers of the blockbuster like Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer to satisfy our need for pride and patriotism. And those guys tend to overdo it.
Red State America loves their faith, their families, their freedom and their flag. They also love movies. We may not be able to get Hollywood to embrace those ideals, but we do know that Hollywood will embrace a profit. Passion of the Christ was a start, World Trade Center is another positive step. Here's to bringing Silvertown around.
Draft Hollywood!
By Charlie
I can't say I disagree with this:
We need some films celebrating the war against Islamo-fascism in Afghanistan and Iraq — and in Iran as well, if and when that becomes necessary. We need films like those that were made during World War II, films such as 1943's "Sahara" and "Action in the North Atlantic," or "The Fighting Seabees" and "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," which were released in 1944.Not all of these were great films, or even good ones, but their patriotic tributes to our fighting forces inspired the nation.
When war comes, as it always will, and when it is justified, as it is now, some nuances and shades of gray have to be set aside. It is time, instead, for faith and for ferocity. Our enemies have these weapons, after all. Our movies should inspire us to have them too.
Even More Hollywood Brilliance
By John
See? I told you we'd make this a recurring feature.
Today's Hollywood genius is Tim Robbins, who charged earlier today that America is morphing into Airstrip One. Plugging his new stage rendition of Orwell's 1984, Robbins:
...pointed out similarities between current US policies on terrorism and the authoritarian society described by Orwell ."Unfortunately, the book and the play is more relevant now than it ever has been," he said. "(It) talks about continuous warfare as a means to control the Western economy, and as a way to control rebel elements within society through the use of fear, constant fear."
"In my country we seem to be sanctioning renditioning of innocent people without trial ... put them in jail without telling anyone ... and torture them out of suspicion of what we think they might do," Robbins said.
No, we aren't. I know you're an actor and all Robbins, but good god can we tone down the dramatics a bit?
And I'm sorry, perhaps a more economic savy reader could explain to me how you can whine about the high cost of the Iraq war in one breath, then claim that it is "a means to control the western economy" in the next?
Actually, do me a favor and read this again:
[1984] talks about continuous warfare as a means to control the Western economy
Can somebody please tell me what the hell that means?
Rave Reviews for The War Tapes
By John
Noah Shachtman at Defense Tech and Andi from Andi's World both braved moonbat infested New York this weekend to catch the premier of The War Tapes.
Glowing reviews from both of them.
It's not only the best documentary to date about the conflict in Iraq. It just might change the face of journalism in the process.
When you see this film, you will laugh outloud. You will cry. You will wince and you will recoil. But in the end, you will be very proud of the men and women who are putting their lives on the line in this long and difficult War on Terror. This film, more than anything I've ever seen or read, humanizes our troops. These soldiers are hysterically funny, articulate, intelligent, compassionate and loyal to their mission and their brothers-in-arms. Some may not agree with our premise for being in Iraq, but that doesn't stop them from doing their jobs with great integrity and courage.
What strikes me the most about the reaction to TWT isn't so much the positive reviews as it is the immense swelling of gratitude from "the community" (military, that is) for giving the troops a fair shake. Deborah Scranton and company could have easily turned TWT into a hit piece against the military, and would have been lauded as "courageous" for it by the Indy film world.
Good on her for taking the road less traveled. I can't wait to see this flick.
Read More »
More Hollywood Brilliance
By John
We should really make "More Hollywood Brillance" a recurring feature. These clowns give us more material than we know what to do with.
Movie star JAKE GYLLENHAAL has shocked American Gulf War veterans by joking they did nothing but "masturbate" during their time in the desert in 1991. The cheeky 25-year-old stars in JARHEAD, a movie exposing the US soldiers' lack of combat in the Middle Eastern conflict. He said, "The US soldiers were sent to the desert for 122 days and they sat in the same tent and did nothing, except a little too much masturbating."
Opposed to Gyllenhaal, who was saving orphans and curing cancer at the time.
The War Tapes
By John
This Friday, the soldier-doc The War Tapes premiers at the Tribeca Film Festival. Charlie and I were lucky enough to speak with Director Deborah Scranton last week at the Milblogging Conference. Deborah laid out her vision for an experiment in "living journalism," and on creating the first ever war film shot exclusively by soldiers in theater. I remember her calling it a "modern day Odyessy." Betcha Homer would be jealous...
After chatting with Deborah I was interested. After watching the trailer I was sold.
For emphasis, check out this clip from The War Tapes, titled Troops vs. the Donkey.
My heart was pounding after watching the trailer, I can't wait for this flick to make it out West.
Blackfive saw it, came away impressed.
HuffPo has good things to say (for once!)
Greyhawk says "this I gotta see."
Here's Your Chance America
By John
Earlier today, Michelle Malkin assured her readers
Yes, I will go see [Flight 93]. Yes, I support Hollywood finally coming through with a movie that celebrates the heroism of the passengers and crew. Yes, it's time for this movie.
I agree, sort of. I'm not too eager about reliving 9/11, but if nothing else I'll be going to see the film for purely ideological reasons. Ever since Vietnam, Hollywood has tried to make America bashing cool. I want America to send Hollywood execs a message this weekend: there is an insatiable demand for pro-America cinema, make more Flight 93s.
Of course if you asked Slate magazine, they'd tell you there's already too many Flight 93s, literally. Speaking to the trio of Flight 93 films, Ron Rosenbaum ponders:
Why is this the third film made about Flight 93? I've watched them all: There was last year's Discovery Channel docudrama The Flight That Fought Back. Then there was this year's A&E cable re-enactment, Flight 93, directed by one of George W. Bush's college classmates (coincidence?). And now the major new Hollywood feature United 93, directed by Paul Greengrass.When the controversy over the trailer for the new film erupted recently, the question was, "Is it too soon?" I wonder if the question should be, "Are there too many?"
I'd say no. Supply and demand Ron, if Americans are inspired by heroism, courage, and strength, give em more of it.
Of course the ideologically driven old school is sweating bullets over this flick. Punch "Flight 93" into a google news search and you'll get a backblast of headlines screaming "ARE WE READY??" Reminds me of the pre-Passion of the Christ spaz fest. And we all know how that one turned out.
Hollywood is technicolored. You've got your producers, directors, actors, and screenwriters who are motivated by the art of movies, by expressions and impressions, and -most importantly- the message of film. When you're a message-orientated business, political leaning will seep into your work, either advertantly or inadvertantly.
But on the other side, you've got your studio execs, the guys motivated by profit. These are the decision makers who will be either willing or unwilling to greenlight future "Americans kill the terrorists" movies. Flight 93 is going to speak to the execs either by making money or not making money. And unlike other films, the success or failure of the movie will be chalked up to Flight 93's message and nothing else.
I'm hesitant to call Flight 93 a "feel-good" flick. But if Americans are interested in seeing more flag-waving films and less Oliver Stones, they would be wise to vote with their feet this weekend. Send Hollywood a message, go see Flight 93. Hell, if it does well enough they may finally approve that Deuce-Four flick we keep hearing about...
Comedy Central Wimps Out
By John
Even though I was swamped last night trying to stand up OpFor, I still made time for part 2 of South Park's battle with dhimmitude.
The short skinny is that Comedy Central found a stool to stand on, grabbed a giant megaphone, and proclaimed in one voice to the American people "We are hypocrital cowards!" Cowards because of their decision to cave, hypocritical because the episode concluded with Jesus pulling a Triumph the Comic Insult Dog and pooping on everything.
In the words of SP character Kyle, I've learned something today. The double standard which mandates the trashing Christianity as a-okay, but condemns similiar treatment of minority religions as insensitive and wrong is a real one. What a disgusting display of weakness on their part.
Michelle has an excellent roundup, writing:
I was just happy to see someone, anyone, in the pop culture world confront some of the fundamental issues raised by the Cartoon Jihad for a mainstream American audience.
Yeah roger that. Certainly makes anti-PC movements like "South Park Conservatism" somewhat easier to deconstruct.
The Anchoress did a fine job explaining South Park's use of Christ as the end of the show:
The point was made to America by SP putting up a cartoon bound to offend various Americans - and any American who would rather not see “pooping” on the flag. Once again, they put the question out there - “what will you allow and what will you ban? And are you willing to fight for the First Amendment or just pay lip service to it until one of your sacred cows-or-icons are insulted?”
More from Captain Ed and the Media Blog.
Michelle also made sure you guys know where to give Comedy Central a chunk of your cranium, posting CC's feedback link. Course of you really wanted to be effective, they've let everyone know that death threats work too*.
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