Jarhead

[Edward]

Saw it this evening and I really enjoyed it. It's about Dessert (hope that's the right spelling :P) Storm. At first I thought it would be some big shooter movie showing all the violence of the war, but it wasnt so much. It showed a lot on the military camp and Marine Corps. The biggest topic they delved into was the psychological aspect of a soldier in the war.

It has very little fighting, but shows a lot of death and nudity. It's prolly not for the very weak of stomaches, but it isnt that bad.

+ I really like the main actor, Jake ... something :( He was in Donnie Darko :D

[Nulien]

Nope, Dessert Storm is not the correct spelling (Just one s in Desert)... that is, unless this movie's about some new ice cream treat at Dairy Queen or something.

[Keaolien]

I thought it was alright, but really, not what they marketed at all. More of a quasi-documentary than a "war" movie per-say. Not to say that is a bad thing, but not really what I went in to see.

[Rifter]

It was the movie adaptation of Swofford's own real experience in the Gulf War. Basically, it was a subtle way of saying he wasted 2/3 of a year sitting on his behind, out in the desert for something that never really happened.

I loved it, myself.

[Edward]

So Swoffords was a real troop in the Gulf War? That's pretty cool they chose some random scout sniper to make a movie out of.

[Joborab]

Not a random thing so much.. based off the memoirs of Swofford. He has a book called Jarhead.

[Edward]

Oh cool, maybe I'll look it up in the library :)

[Joborab]

Heh, depending what kind of library it probably won't have it. Pretty graphic.

[Rifter]

You can pick the book up on Amazon.com for real cheap:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743235355/104-2584891-2383148?v=glance

Proving that truth really is stranger than fiction.

[castle]

Jake Gyllenhal (sp?) was the star I believe. This one is definetely a renter.

[Zarithar]

Sorry to perform thread necromancy here, but I just caught the movie thanks to Netflix last night. It desperately wanted to be another "Full Metal Jacket" in my opinion. Yes I know it was based on Swofford's book, but the boot camp sequences particularly left me with a feeling of deja vu. Did you also realize that the line "I will fear no evil because I am the baddest mother**** in the valley" has been used in AT LEAST one other war movie (Casualties of War, also based on a true story). Anyway, it was ok but not great in my opinion.

[Erling E.]

I quite liked the movie, even though I agree with Zarithar about it being very similar to Full Metal Jacket. But that is not at all a bad thing. What I enjoyed about the movie, was that it wasn't overly pro-American. Of course I wouldn't be cheering on the bad guys, but when a movie feels like propaganda, then it is difficult to enjoy. But this felt just right.