Jarhead

[Jamison]

Is anyone else looking forward to this movie? For one it has Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, and Peter Sarsgaard in it...all of whom I absolutely adore.

Plus the subject matter interests me. For those of you who don't know, it's based on Marine Anthony Swofford's memoir about the first Gulf War.

I've been hearing a lot of buzz about it, and given our current situation I think the film is very timely, and I'm interested to see what they've done with it.

Here's the official site with trailers and a synopsis and such:

Jarhead Movie - Gulf War Movies, Jake Gyllenhaal...

 

[Leslie]

I *might* see it for Peter. I'm afraid of the propaganda tho. :hide:

 

[boyscout4747]

I'm with ya! I've been waiting to see this movie too! The trailer is AMAZING! Great song too.

You can't go wrong with the cast either

 

[Jamison]

I'm with ya! I've been waiting to see this movie too! The trailer is AMAZING! Great song too.

You can't go wrong with the cast either

Agreed!

I haven't read the book, and it's gotten mixed reviews on amazon (naturally) but gets an average of about 3 stars. I was hoping to check it out before the movie came out, but it doesn't look like that will happen. I do know the basic premise and the politics presented in it (though it sounds like they are rather subtle), and this will definitely be a movie that some people love and that others loathe.

It'll be interesting to see how it does opening weekend.

 

[Leslie]

^ Uh oh. That prolly means I'll loathe it. Damn! I do love me some Peter Sargsaard. And the trailer kicks arse.

 

[Jamison]

^ Uh oh. That prolly means I'll loathe it. Damn! I do love me some Peter Sargsaard. And the trailer kicks arse.

You might not. I've read several articles that say that this is not a political movie or a political statement. Rather it's just a movie about a guy coming to terms with being a Marine in the Gulf War. Mendes definitely made it clear that he had no intention of making it political.

 

[latealias]

Well anyone go? It was opening night last night for me ... went with dh... it was anticlimatic and at times just vulgar - and yet it had to be.

If you tink it is a a** kicking movie - it isn't... it definately is more about a marine coming to terms with being a jarhead... as Jamison said.

 

[Leslie]

You might not. I've read several articles that say that this is not a political movie or a political statement. Rather it's just a movie about a guy coming to terms with being a Marine in the Gulf War. Mendes definitely made it clear that he had no intention of making it political.

Yeah actually, I read a review this weekend that said the same thing. So maybe I will catch it. I'm only hesitant now because of the apparently heavy and strongly bad language involved. :-/

 

[Jamison]

I saw it last night and I must say that I really, really enjoyed it.

It was about 2 hours long and I'd say only 45 minutes of that were about "actual" combat...which was odd for a war movie, but it was accurate.

The film, in my opinion, was very well done and very well shot. The cast was absolutely brilliant. I am now even more in love with Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jamie Foxx.

Now words of warning. There is almost no real violence in it. But there is a lot of very crass language, nudity, and a couple of sex scenes. The nudity and sex scenes are brief, but the language goes on from the very start to the very end of your movie. So if that's not your thing, you probably won't enjoy it. Although, from what I've heard about military units from friends and family who have served (and from other movies/books on the subject) it really isn't a stretch that such harsh language is used.

It was quite humorous at times, and then at others it was deathly serious. It wasn't really about combat but rather a coming of age piece. It was about Anthony making the journey to be a jarhead and how it impacts you forever.

As far as the political implications, there really weren't any. It certainly wasn't outright biased to one side. There were a couple lines however that hinted to the current situation in Iraq. Nothing scathing or inappropriate though.

If you can get past the language aspect of it, then I would definitely reccomend it, because I thought it was an extremely well done and good movie.