Most of Anthony Swafford’s war time spent was on a war that never happened. Swafford recollects in an issue of Entertainment Weekly, that most of the time spent in the military was his superiors yelling fire in a crowded auditorium, spending time training, and bulking up, and training for nothing. “Jarhead” is one of the closest modern depictions of Don Quixote we can ever really see. A film about warriors training for a war that would never come, facing an enemy that may not have been there to begin with. But, Swafford’s story is depicted through a memoir that can be dictated through different eyes. For some it’s an anti-war message, for others it’s just a non-biased portrait of a man who never went to war despite being in the military during war time.
Tag Archives: Action
King Kong (2005)
Peter Jackson takes “King Kong” a timeless classic from 1933 and remakes it bigger, larger, and louder. And he’s very faithful to the original story (98 percent). Jackson goes back to the roots of the story, and what made it so damn good, and brings it to modern audiences. Though nothing can ever top the original film, and all of its novelty, Jackson’s remake is pretty damn good. What always intrigued me about the Kong story, is that Ann Darrow, whether she knew it or not, was the beginning of the end of King Kong. In the climax, as he falls from the Empire State Building, you have to wonder that perhaps he was better off being alone. As with all noir the female is always the end for the male.
Nintendo: Oldschool Revolution (2006)
Sick of those films that have humongous battles, wars with mythological creatures, a leader of a mass army giving his legion of soldiers a large dramatic pep talk on the battlefield, fantasy stories about revenge, and wizards, all battling to fight an evil legion of soldiers whom want to take over the world? Well, stop. And watch at least one more. But this gigantic film’s hero is not a hobbit, or a knight of the round table, this hero is a–plumber. Seriously. Take your stigma for these films and put it on hold, and watch Larry Longstreth’s new hilarious short film that really puts a new meaning to the game wars.
A History of Violence (2005)
I’m not–a fan of Cronenberg. Yes, I admit it, and no I will not turn in my lifetime membership card, I am a film buff through and through, bitch. As the saying goes, “those who don’t remember the past, are doomed to relive it”. The question is, can we ever leave behind a violent past, or are we doomed to relive it? And does violence in any form ever go away? I was not expecting anything in particular with this film, but I was expecting a bad film. Surprisingly though, this is not a bad film. In fact it’s a great film, and at many times an excellent examination of violence as a concept and as an everyday aspect of our lives. Cronenberg’s direction is on the mark. If you’re expecting an action thriller with gunfights, and fist fights, and sex, well–there’s some of that, but it’s rare, honestly. What you will get though is a thorough, engrossing, and tight explanation on violence, and the cyclical nature of it.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)
“Narnia” is less a religious film, and more an exploration in to reluctant heroes fighting for good. I mean, let’s face it here, people, if not for the prior success of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the quickly sputtering “Harry Potter” franchise, we wouldn’t have this Narnia here with us. I mean was there a real point in making this film other than cashing in on this classic novel series? Based on C.S. Lewis’ classic novel series, the first of many involves four children escaping the Nazi regime and hiding out in their uncle’s mansion. While playing hide and seek one day, the youngest, Lucy wanders off in to the wardrobe. She wanders, and wanders, and enters a land called Narnia, and thus the adventure begins for these four reluctant heroes.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
One of the first solo directing efforts for the master, Miyazaki, “Nausicaä” is a classic environmental monster fantasy epic concerning the usual Miyazaki themes. Of course the words “typical” and “Miyazaki” could never be used in the same sentence, and Nausicaä is a sheer precursor for future projects Miyazaki would embark upon. Your courageous martyr/heroine, the valiant humble hero, the mystifying figure, the wiser hero, and a government empire seeking to destroy the land. But it’s the way Miyazaki composes these arch-types that make his films worth watching without a doubt.
The Land of College Prophets (2005)
I had fun, yes, I had fun. It has its flaws, and it’s far from a perfect film, but in the end, “Land of the College Prophets” is a fun B action horror that really does bear an original concept. It’s an interesting mixture of many ideas and concepts; a little bit of “Fight Club”, a little bit of “Mortal Kombat”, and a little bit of “In the Mouth of Madness”, it’s without a doubt an odd amalgam of many concepts intertwined in to one fun action flick about the end of the world caused by two considerably self absorbed individuals. I wasn’t sure what to make of this film in the end, because I really wasn’t sure what in the hell it was that I’d just seen, but I liked it.