movies report

Hey all! Just got back from Jarhead, and figured I'd share my views with you. In a strange bit of irony (taken from the Buscemi definition in Con Air) there was an anti-war protest in the street, a block away from the theater, that almost caused me to miss Jarhead, the war movie. Weird. Felt the need to share that. As long as I'm being so honest, I'm gonna let you know that I'm really not feeling very good (I think it was the popcorn) so this is going to be a more brief review than usual. I say that now, but I could prove myself wrong.Jarhead is not your typical war film. It's only natural that it's about a war that was not like normal wars. It was a war that was constantly being covered, 24-7 by the media, and was fought primarily from a distance. As the movie's main character Anthony "Swoff" Swofford  points out, " Every war is different. And every war is the same."  It should be noted that the film is based on the actual Swofford's memoir of his time as a marine (or Jarhead...title) in the gulf war.

The movie follows Swoff from boot camp to the end of the war. It begins with a slight variation on the Full Metal Jacket training scenes. In fact Jarhead invokes a lot of other war films of the Vietnam conflict. In one scene, the troops are watching Apocalypse Now, and cheering the infamous scene involving the helicopters and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.  The difference is, these troops are molded into these incredible fighting machines and are then placed into a war where nothing happens. It's merely routine of training, day in, day out. It begins to take it's toll on the troops, and Swoff naturally. That's essentially the movie. It takes no position on war, be it the first gulf war or the current one, other than the aforementioned point.

I really liked this movie. And what's even better is that I know I'm going to think about it more and more each passing day, and like it even more. It's got great acting, great photography, great music, great drama, and some fantastic gallows' humor. Brief rundown. Jake Gyllenhaal is great. I never truly liked him in all that much. I like him in Donnie Darko and The Day After Tomorrow (if you can believe that), and I tolerate him in The Good Girl, but I never thought he was as good as everyone liked to say he was. But in this one, he lives up to it. He is very natural, and quite engaging. I really liked him in this, have I mentioned that? Oh, and the ladies who find him to be "hot" or "the cuteness" will be pleased to know that he does have a scene where all he wears is a Santa hat on his wang. And Peter Sarsgaard, what can I say about him? The last two movies I've seen him in, Skeleton Key and Flightplan, I felt he was bored with the material and was waiting for anything else. Thankfully here, he seemed to want to be on set. His character is very good, and nice contrast to Swoff. Outstanding.Chris Cooper has literally two scenes, but he's fantastic. And Jamie Foxx does a great job, which keeps him on a nice career path, if you tend to quint your eyes on that Stealth incident. The rest of the ensemble of marines are also quite good, with no one actually becoming a cliche. I'm a big fan of Fowler, for as crazy as he is.

It's a beautiful movie to look at with some fantastic locations for scenes. The scene in the oil field, with the fires raging and oil raining from the sky, is my favorite. There are many more, almost too many to even begin to mention. some of the photography is that shaky cam Saving Private Ryan style, but again, it just reiterates the point that this is a war just like others war, and completely unlike any war. And it worked in this. Since Conrad Hall passed, director Sam Mendes is working with Coen brothers regular DP Roger Deakins, and together they create some beautiful compositions. Fantastic looking flick.This brings me to Mendes. i happen to like his work. Some people find American Beauty to be overrated, and a lot didn't care for Road to Perdition. I don;t agree with these positions. I love his films, and I can add Jarhead to the list. They're great to look at, they contain magnificent performances, etc. All the praise I heaped on Jarhead can be used for those other movies. And while Jarhead didn't leave me as outright stunned as American Beauty did on first viewing, it still has quite a kick. He knows how to direct actors, he knows what to show the audience, he makes all the right choices. Bravo Mendes. Editing was quite good, cut by Walter Murch, who also happened to cut that OTHER war movie Apocalypse Now. And the music selections are good choices (big fan of the Don't Worry Be Happy use, and shocked to hear Nirvana in there) and the score from Mendes favorite (as well as Dude's) Thomas Newman is another winner. You're going to hear a lot of praise of this film, and a lot of Oscar talk. Fact is, I think the film deserves it. It captures an aspect of war not yet seen. Even the tonal cousin Three Kings, while a subversive satire of Gulf War politics in the guise of a heist movie, packed in some thrills and action sequences, while dealing with the soldiers' ennui. I liked this movie a lot, and highly recommend it. And in a few days, I might even be willing to be hyperbolic and come up with something catchy, like one of the best films of the year. But it earns that accolade. Welcome to the suck....