THE 100 HUNDRED BEST WAR MOVIES: #26. Tropic Thunder (2008)

      

“Tropic Thunder” is an action comedy produced, directed, co-written, and co-starring Ben Stiller.  Stiller was inspired by his bit role in “Empire of the Sun” and spent many years developing the script.  Originally the idea was to spoof actors who attend the actor boot camps to prepare for roles as soldiers.  The idea was to have the actors suffer from PTSD after their experience.  That is a funny idea.  As it turns out, the original idea evolved into a satire of war movies, prima donna actors, and movie productions. Stiller and co-writers Justin Theroux and Eton Cohen decided to construct the script around a movie within a movie concept.  The movie was a big box office success and was similar to Stiller’s “Dodge Ball” in the unexpected success.  It was well-reviewed, but there was some offense taken with the “Simple Jack” r***** subplot and the casting of a white man as a black soldier.  The movie was also daringly R-rated for a summer comedy.  This was solely for language which can be quite raunchy,  although a gratuitous shot of nudie pictures was thrown in apparently to seal the deal.  The violence is cartoonish – just like most recent war movies.

            The movie famously begins with fake trailers to introduce the four main actors.  Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a fading action star like a Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is an Eddie Murphyesque physical comedian who is making millions off fart jokes.  Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.) is an Oscar-winning method actor who really gets into his characters.  They are filming the story of American hero “Four Leaf” Taylor (Nick Nolte) who was rescued from a prison camp in Vietnam and wrote a book called “Tropic Thunder”.  The movie opens with a gonzo battle scene that would be awesome in a real war movie.  Midway through the mayhem a soldier takes a bullet in the head and the geyser of blood is the first hint that this is going to be a no holds barred spoof of war films.  This scene includes the first of the Vietnam War movie parodies.  I’ll list those in a bit.  It is, in my opinion, the funniest scene in war movie comedy history. 

            So we now know the movie is going to make fun of war movies, but it also becomes apparent it will make fun of actors and movie making as well.  The movie within the movie is being directed by a novice Brit named Cockburn (Steve Coogan).  This movie is not subtle.  He is freaking out in having to deal with his flaky cast and the production is way behind schedule and way over budget.  The producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) threatens to shut down the production, so Cockburn decides to take Tayback’s advice to make a guerrilla movie by dropping the cast into “the shit” and getting them to improv the scenes while moving through the jungle.  The five leads are dropped into the Golden Triangle of the heroin trade in Southeast Asia and quickly get the attention of a drug gang called Flaming Dragon.  The actors assume this is part of the movie.  When Speedman gets captured and taken to the gang’s camp, the others attempt a rescue.

ACTING:   A+                 

ACTION:   A  7/10

ACCURACY:N/A         

PLOT:  A                   

REALISM:   N/A 

CINEMATOGRAPHY:   A  excellent special effects

SCORE:   A  great classic rock

SCENE:  the opening

QUOTE:  Osiris – “What would have happened in ‘The Great Escape’ if Steve McQueen and those dudes had turned tail and ran?”

                I think some of my readers will disagree with its ranking. The humor is not for everyone, especially if you don’t like R-rated comedies. It is far from old school WWII comedies. But it is possible to love “To Be Or Not To Be” and “Miracle of Morgan’s Creek” and like this movie too.  It is the perfect war comedy in my opinion because it makes fun of war movies and the making of war movies.  It is funny on its own, but if you are a war movie buff (especially Vietnam War movies), it is hilarious.  It is clear that the writers have seen some key Vietnam War movies and have lovingly poked fun at them.  Here are the references that I picked up:

1.       The opening chopper egress is similar to that of “We Were Soldiers”, but choppers navigating through dense jungle foliage and hilly terrain is pretty standard.

2.      The combat scene has Speedman reenacting the Elias death scene from “Platoon”.

3.      In that scene, Sgt. Lincoln Osiris (Downey) uses the line “Ain’t nothin’ but a thang”.  This is an obvious reference to “Hamburger Hill”s “It don't mean nothing, man. Not a thing.”

4.      The party to celebrate one week of filming, there are dancers like the Playboy bunnies of “Apocalypse Now” (AN)

5.      When they land in the jungle for the guerrilla filming, there is the tail of a downed plane like in AN  

6.      The panda scene is a take-off of the tiger scene from AN

7.      Osiris is a saucier in an homage to Chef for AN

8.      Speedman gets tortured similar to Rambo is “First Blood II”

9.      The water buffalo from AN has a cameo

10.  Motown (Brandon Jackson) and Sandusky (Jay Barachel) infiltrate the camp like Willard in AN

11.  Speedman channels Brando’s Kurtz

12.  Tayback does his version of flame-throwing like DeNiro in “The Deer Hunter”

13.  The aftermath of the RPG targeting of the truck has a “Saving Private Ryan” sensory deprivation homage

14.  The bridge explosion is reminiscent of “Bridge on the River Kwai”

The movie does more than mock famous scenes.  Some of it is more subtle like the inclusion of a character named Brooklyn (every WWII squad seemed to have a guy from Brooklyn) and another named Motown (“Hamburger Hill” has a character by that name).  There are some funny references to the fact that only Sandusky went to the boot camp.  The movie also makes fun of the faux soldier lingo that is put in clueless actors’ mouths in most war movies.  Speedman says “load and lock”, for instance.  Here are my two favorites from “Fats” (Black):

            “If our asses don’t get fragged in this valley, first thing I’m doing is paying my two bucks so I can watch Brooklyn bust his cherry on a sweet little mama-san’s dinky down poon-tang”.

            “Listen, you cherry fuck, you call in that snake n’ nape and get us some boom-boom now!”

      The acting is very strong.  It shows you what kind of director Stiller is to see how he allows his cast to outshine him.  I guess this balanced his tough directing style.  Downey is absolutely brilliant and deserved his Supporting Actor Oscar nomination (he lost to Heath Ledger).  His character Kirk Lazarus undergoes a “pigmentation alteration” to play a black man.  This was slightly controversial, but the ultimate way to lampoon method actors like Russell Crowe.  He also stays in character throughout (in fact all the way through the DVD commentary – which is hilarious, by the way).  One reason the movie rewards repeat viewings is to catch his facial expressions.  The real revelation is Tom Cruise.  He earned back a lot of good will due to his very game performance.  He even developed the character, including the look and the dancing.  Nick Nolte also deserves special mention.  He is perfect as the real Tayback.  I haven’t even mentioned Matthew McConaughey as Speedman’s agent.  There are no false notes from any of the performers.

      The movie is well-made as it should be for a $90 million comedy.  Kudos for the studio putting that amount of money in a risky project.  The Hawaiian locations are lush and appropriately jungley.  The cinematography by John Toll is excellent.  The sound-track has some great choices to remind of Vietnam and push the story.  Any movie with “Sympathy for the Devil” is on the right track.  The score joins in the mocking of action films.  The special effects are noteworthy with the opening scene coming off as a modern war combat film.  There is the massive napalm explosion and assorted other explosions courtesy of the pyrotechnical Cody Underwood (Danny McBride) to please the people who are unaware that they have wandered into a comedy.  Speaking of which, the movie does a great job blending comedy and action.  Keep in mind that only one character dies in the movie (and it is one of the most unexpected deaths that you will see).

      For this review, I watched the director’s cut (which has 14 more minutes) and two commentary tracks.  I was still laughing the third go-around.  Incidentally, the extended cut is better than the theatrical version.  Most of the restored cuts were edited because of time constraints and the longer version fleshes out the characters and includes some funny stuff that did not deserve the cutting room floor.  This is worth mentioning because the theatrical version is the funniest war movie comedy ever.  Keep in mind that this is the opinion of a war movie lover who does not mind hearing a guy tied to a tree offer to perform oral sex to be set free.

 

BEST AND WORST OF 2014

      Another year of watching war movies and another mixed bag.  I saw 89 war movies this year and finished the 100 Greatest.  Besides some great movies, I also saw a discouraging number of very bad movies.  But that's my life, so I'm not complaining.  Some of my fondest memories are of truly terrible movies.

THE TOP TEN

10.  Lone Survivor - a balls to the wall "who will survive?" scenario set in Afghanistan involving a SEAL team behind enemy lines
9.    Captain Blood-  Errol Flynn swashbuckler with plenty of action and some nonmushy romance with Olivia DeHavilland
8.    Go Tell the Spartans -  early in the American phase of the Vietnam War, an outpost is defended against a Viet Cong attack while Burt Lancaster deals with the insanity of the war
7.    The Dawns Here Are Quiet-  Soviet film about a male sergeant and five female soldiers who take on German infiltrators in some woods 
6.    Das Boot-  one ill-fated tour by a German u-boat in 1941 which is the best submarine movie ever made
5.    Born on the 4th of July -  the biopic about disabled Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic from gung-ho warrior to anti-war activist 
4.    All Quiet on the Western Front-  the granddaddy of all war movies based on the greatest war novel
3.    Paths of Glory-  a drama about the trial of three French soldiers in WWI who are accused of not making a suicidal attack and must be sacrificed for unit morale/intimidation
2.    Tropic Thunder-  the funniest war movie comedy ever made which satirizes several famous war movies

BEST MOVIE 2014:  84 Charlie MoPic (1989)

                This year the best war movie I saw was an old favorite – “84 Charlie MoPic”.  It won my March Madness Tournament to determine the best Vietnam War movie which means it beat some stiff competition.  Most of my readers may not have heard of it, but it deserves to be better known.  I go way back with this movie.  I first saw it when it first came out.  It was shown on PBS.  (It was one of the first movies I taped with my cutting edge new VCR.  I showed it in my American History class a few times.)  I don’t think it spent much time in theaters and made less than $200,000.  It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival and Best First Feature for writer and director Patrick Sheane Duncan (“Courage Under Fire”) at the Independent Spirit awards.  It was a “found footage” film long before “Blair Witch Project” made that style popular.  The movie was filmed in Southern California on a very low budget with unknown actors.

                84C is the military designation for a movie cameraman.  The premise of the movie is that 84 Charlie (Byron Thames) is tagging along on a long range patrol to chronicle what happens in the bush.  The entire movie is seen through MoPic’s lens and we only see him briefly at the end of the movie.  The mission of the five man patrol is to locate a North Vietnamese Army base camp in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam in August, 1969.  The mission is being led by a green lieutenant (Jonathan Emerson) who is called LT.  He is looking to get his combat ticket punched for promotion purposes and sees the motion picture (to be called “Lessons Learned”) as a career move.  He is not exactly welcomed by the veteran LRRP squad.  In fact, the sergeant who runs the unit (and continues to run it in spite of the LT) is downright belligerent and disrespectful.  OD (Richard Brooks) is hard core and makes it clear he thinks the presence of LT and MoPic will get his men killed.  The rest of the unit is heterogeneous in the classic tradition of small unit films.  Easy (Nicholas Cascone) is the radio operator who is close to the end of his tour.  He jokes around a lot.  They are the kind of lame jokes soldiers tell.  “I wouldn’t shit you, you’re my favorite turd” is typical.  Pretty Boy (Jason Tomlins) considers himself to be lucky, but is about to crack.  Hammer (Christopher Bergard) is the cocky M-60 gunner.  Cracker (Glenn Morshower) is a hillbilly who is a lifer.  He’s the guy who is usually called “Pop” in war movies.  His best friend is the African-American OD.   The five are very tight knit in spite of their various backgrounds.  The mission is pretty standard for a long-range patrol.  The men hump through the boonies until they reach the enemy camp.  They call in artillery and then move to the egress point.  This is when things get complicated and the movie becomes a “who will survive?” story.



                Although the movie is called a “found footage” movie, I prefer to refer to it as a movie that was filmed completely in POV.  This makes it unique among Vietnam War movies.  There are several excellent movies set in the war, but none does as good a job of putting you in the grunts’ boots.  The movie is as micro as you can get, but you will learn more about the soldier experience than any other film.  It is like a tutorial on what a mission behind enemy lines would have been like.  You are on the mission with the men.  The movie is excellent on the details.  There are many small touches that prove that Duncan was a veteran of the war.  For instance, the men use C-4 to heat their rations.  The uniforms, equipment, and weapons are realistic.  The dialogue is authentic and not forced like in many Vietnam War movies.  Duncan throws in a lot of slang (“there it is”) and it helps if the viewer is already versed in how the soldiers talked.  Much of the dialogue is the unit members ribbing each other.  Few war movies are better at portraying the unique comradeship of American soldiers.  Part of the film involves interviews with each of the men.  This aides in character development and gives various perspectives of typical soldiers.  For example, Easy was “volunteered” for service by a judge.  You care about the men and the dynamics in the unit are fascinating.  Although there is some stereotyping, the movie avoids the trope of the incompetent and/or frag-worthy officer.  The conflict between LT and OD is not trite or predictable.  The acting is surprisingly good for such a no-name cast.  Brooks (“Law and Order”) and Morshower (Lt. Col. Matthews in “Black Hawk Down”) went on to respectable careers.  For “cherries”, the cast acts naturally and there are no histrionics. 

               The movie is mostly talking and marching, but so is war.  It builds nicely to the action-packed concluding act.  Easy stops joking as things get really serious and there are some gut-wrenching deaths (including a great twist).  The movie does not pull its punches and can be quite emotional.  Given the budget, the action is not up to other Vietnam War movies, but the “fog of war” aspect of the jungle setting ameliorates this. Besides, the object of the film is more drama than action.

                Most lists of the best Vietnam War movies overlook “84 Charlie MoPic”.  It can be argued that it is not the best, but there can be no argument that it is in the top five.  It is a must-see for any fan of Vietnam War movies. 

GRADE  =  A+ 

a trailer

the whole movie! 

 

THE WORST MOVIES I SAW IN 2014

5.  Heartbreak Ridge -  Clint Eastwood wins the war in Grenada with a motley crew of post-Vietnam Marines

4.  The Boys in Company C -  a motley crew of draftees fights the establishment and plays soccer in Vietnam

3.  The Inglorious Bastards-  going behind German lines with a motley crew of misfits

2.  Tank Battalion-  a tank crewed by some motleys gets caught behind enemy lines in Korea

THE WORST:  The Steel Claw  (1961)

                “The Steel Claw” is a George Montgomery movie set in the Philippines around Christmas time after the Japanese invasion.  That’s right, it’s a Christmas movie!  You couldn’t tell that from the title?  The movie was a labor of love for Montgomery and a gift for his multitude of fans.  He starred, co-wrote, produced, and directed.  The man was the Da Vinci of B movies.  Speaking of producing, it looks like he emptied his wallet to pay for the movie.  I mean literally.  He did have a crate of pineapples that he was able to use to hire some Filipino actors.

                It’s Christmas Day in 1941 in Manila.  Capt. Larsen (Montgomery) is visiting a brothel.  He’s a regular.  He is not in a Christmas spirit because he has recently lost a hand and has just a stump.  Now that his playboy persona and disability have been established, it’s off to a special mission.  Larsen has to go into the jungle to hook up with a rebel leader named Santana (Mario Barri).  Larsen is to ransom a captured American general for $5,000 (ironically, the same amount spent on the film).  At the rebel camp he meets a tramp.  Her name is Lolita (of course) and she is the type of girl who feeds the chickens while wearing high heels.  There is some painful to watch flirting accompanied by sappy romantic music.  Before setting off into the wilds, Larsen fashions himself a steel claw using the local blacksmith facilities.  Santana’s band joins a band led by the sexy Rosa (Carmen Austin).  She and Santana have something going on which makes four because Lolita insists on coming along in her high heels.  She is almost eaten by a giant snake and gets a spanking from Larsen.  Frolicking then ensues.   

                They ambush a train using Rosa disguised as a sexy water buffalo herder.  The train is used for an assault on the Japanese base.  This results in a wild fire fight with some of the most hilarious deaths I have ever seen in a war movie.  (And that’s coming from a war movie death aficionado.)  As if the action cannot get more intense, we are now treated to a train chase!  The general is rescued, but he is not who he appears to be.  Lolita is wounded and may not make it.  They are in a race against time to reach the rendezvous ship.

                When I saw that the movie starred George Montgomery I thought that since I had heard of this actor, the movie might be a step above the kind of WWII movies you can watch on You Tube.  Wrong!  The movie is incredibly bad, but does have the guffaw factor.  I laughed out loud several times, mostly at some of the ludicrous deaths which included a shark victim.  You have to give the extras credit for giving their all in their demises.  The movie appears to have been made without rehearsing and with only one take for each scene.  The acting is wooden with the exception of Barri who brings some panache to his role as Santana.  He outacts the gringo Montgomery.  There is a modicum of homage to the Filipino guerrillas and you do have the female rebel leader so there is some homage there (although I think it was probably due to Montgomery sleeping with Ms. Austin). The dialogue is what keeps the movie from being a messterpiece.  It is actually not horrible.  We do get the memorable line when they are waiting for the ship:  “Keep listening and listen hard.”  Unfortunately there are not too many howlers like that one.

                “The Steel Claw” is a must see if you are the George Montgomery fan.  Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.

GRADE  =  F-

400th POST!

CRACKER?  Tropic Thunder  (2008)

               This is my 400^th post.  It sort of snuck up on me so I had to think quick about what special movie I wanted to do.  It seems not that long ago I chose “300” for my 300^th.  Unfortunately, there was no movie with the number 400 in its title.  So I decided to go with my favorite war comedy. 

“Tropic Thunder” is an action comedy produced, directed, co-written, and co-starring Ben Stiller.  Stiller was inspired by his bit role in “Empire of the Sun” and spent many years developing the script.  Originally the idea was to spoof actors who attend the actor boot camps to prepare for roles as soldiers.  The idea was to have the actors suffer from PTSD after their experience.  That is a funny idea.  As it turns out, the original idea evolved into a satire of war movies, prima donna actors, and movie productions. Stiller and co-writers Justin Theroux and Eton Cohen decided to construct the script around a movie within a movie concept.  The movie was a big box office success and was similar to Stiller’s “Dodge Ball” in its unexpected success.  It was well-reviewed, but there was some offense taken with the “Simple Jack” retard subplot and the casting of a white man as a black soldier.  The movie was also daringly R-rated for a summer comedy.  This was solely for language which can be quite raunchy,  although a gratuitous shot of nudie pictures was thrown in apparently to seal the deal.  The violence is cartoonish – just like most recent war movies.

                The movie famously begins with fake trailers to introduce the four main actors.  Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) is a fading action star like an Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is an Eddie Murphyesque physical comedian who is making millions off fart jokes.  Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.) is an Oscar winning method actor who really gets into his characters.  Alpa Cino (Brandon Jackson) is a rapper turned movie star who is mainly interested in product placement for his energy drink called "Bootie Sweat".  They are filming the story of American hero “Four Leaf” Taylor (Nick Nolte) who was rescued from a prison camp in Vietnam and wrote a book called “Tropic Thunder”.  The movie opens with a gonzo battle scene that would be awesome in a real war movie.  Midway through the mayhem a soldier takes a bullet in the head and the geyser of blood is the first hint that this is going to be a no holds barred spoof of war films.  This scene includes the first of the Vietnam War movie parodies.  I’ll list those in a bit.  It is, in my opinion, the funniest scene in war movie comedy history. 

Brooklyn, Motown, Four Leaf, Osiris, Fats, and the director

                So we now know the movie is going to make fun of war movies, but it also becomes apparent it will make fun of actors and movie-making as well.  The movie within the movie is being directed by a novice Brit named Cockburn (Steve Coogan).  This movie is not subtle.  He is freaking out in having to deal with his flaky cast and the production is way behind schedule and way over budget.  The producer Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) threatens to shut down the production, so Cockburn decides to take Tayback’s advice to make a guerrilla movie by dropping the cast into “the shit” and getting them to improv the scenes while moving through the jungle.  The five leads are dropped into the Golden Triangle of the heroin trade and quickly get the attention of a drug gang called Flaming Dragon.  The actors (except Lazurus) assume this is part of the movie.  When Speedman gets captured and taken to the gang’s camp, the others attempt a rescue.



tastes like blood flavored corn syrup

                “Tropic Thunder” won my March Madness 2012 tournament to determine the best war comedy so obviously I like this movie.  It is the perfect war comedy in my opinion because it makes fun of war movies and the making of war movies.  It is funny on its own, but if you are a war movie buff (especially Vietnam War movies), it is hilarious.  It is clear that the writers have seen some key Vietnam War movies and have lovingly poked fun at them.  Here are the references that I picked up:

1.        The opening chopper ingress is similar to that of “We Were Soldiers”, but choppers navigating through dense jungle foliage and hilly terrain is pretty standard.

2.       The combat scene has Speedman reenacting the Elias death scene from “Platoon”.

3.       In that scene, Sgt. Lincoln Osiris (Downey) uses the line “Ain’t nothin’ but a thang”.  This is an obvious reference to “It don't mean nothing, man. Not a thing” from "Hamburger Hill".

 

4.     The opening combat scene closes with a napalming nod to "Apocalypse Now"

 

5.       At the party to celebrate one week of filming, there are dancers like the Playboy bunnies of “Apocalypse Now”

6.       When they land in the jungle for the guerrilla filming, there is the tail of a downed plane like in AN   

7.       The panda scene is a take-off of the tiger scene from AN

8.       Osiris is a saucier in an homage to Chef in AN

9.       Speedman gets tortured similar to Rambo is “First Blood II”

10.       The water buffalo from AN has a cameo

11.    Motown (Brandon Jackson) and Sandusky (Jay Barachel) infiltrate the camp like Willard in AN

12.    Speedman channels Brando’s Kurtz

13.    Tayback does his version of flame-throwing like DeNiro in “The Deer Hunter”

14.    The aftermath of the RPG targeting of the truck has a “Saving Private Ryan” sensory deprivation homage

15.    The bridge explosion is reminiscent of “Bridge on the River Kwai”

 

        Did I miss anything?

The movie does more than mock famous scenes.  Some of it is more subtle, like the inclusion of a character named Brooklyn (Sandusky) to poke fun at the presense of someone from Brooklyn in virtually every small unit movie and another named Motown (“Hamburger Hill” has a character by that name).  There are some funny references to the fact that only Sandusky went to the boot camp.  The movie also makes fun of the faux soldier lingo that is put in clueless actors’ mouths in most war movies.  Speedman says “load and lock”, for instance.  Here are my two favorites from “Fats” (Black):

                “If our asses don’t get fragged in this valley, first thing I’m doing is paying my two bucks so I can watch Brooklyn bust his cherry on a sweet little mama-san’s dinky down poon-tang”.

                        “Listen, you cherry fuck, you call in that snake n’ nape and get us some boom-boom now!”

        The acting is very strong.  It shows you what kind of director Stiller is to see how he allows his cast to outshine him.  I guess this balanced his tough directing style.  Downey is absolutely brilliant and deserved his Supporting Actor Oscar nomination (he lost to Heath Ledger).  His character Kirk Lazarus undergoes a “pigmentation alteration” to play a black man.  This was slightly controversial, but the ultimate way to lampoon method actors like Russell Crowe.  He also stays in character throughout (in fact all the way through the DVD commentary – which is hilarious, by the way).  One reason the movie rewards repeat viewings is to catch his facial expressions.  The real revelation is Tom Cruise.  He earned back a lot of good will due to his very game performance.  He even developed the character, including the look and the dancing.  Nick Nolte also deserves special mention.  He is perfect as the real Tayback.  I haven’t even mentioned Matthew McConaughey as Speedman’s agent.  There are no false notes from any of the performers.



        The movie is well-made as it should be for a $90 million comedy.  Kudos for the studio putting that amount of money in a risky project.  The Hawaiian locations are lush and appropriately jungley.  The cinematography by John Toll is excellent.  The sound-track has some great choices to remind of Vietnam and push the story.  Any movie with “Sympathy for the Devil” is on the right track.  The score joins in the mocking of action films.  The special effects are noteworthy with the opening scene coming off as a modern war combat film.  There is the massive napalm explosion and assorted other explosions courtesy of the pyrotechnical Cody Underwood (Danny McBride).  Obviously aimed at pleasing the people who are unaware that they have wandered into a comedy.  Speaking of which, the movie does a great job blending comedy and action.  Keep in mind that only one character dies in the movie (and it is one of the most unexpected deaths that you will see).



Damn, that dude can act!

        For this review, I watched the director’s cut (which has 14 more minutes) and two commentary tracks.  I was still laughing the third go-around.  Incidentally, the extended cut is better than the theatrical version.  Most of the restored cuts were edited because of time constraints and the longer version fleshes out the characters and includes some funny stuff that did not deserve the cutting room floor.  This is worth mentioning because the theatrical version is the funniest war movie comedy ever.  Keep in mind that this is the opinion of a war movie lover who does not mind hearing a guy tied to a tree offer to perform oral sex to be set free. 

 Not everyone will find that sort of thing funny. 

        Does it crack my 100 Best?  What do you think?

         Bonus line:  Osiris – “What would have happened in ‘The Great Escape’ if Steve McQueen and those dudes had turned tail and ran?”

 

GRADE  =  A+

 

the trailer

 

part of the opening

WATCHALONG and BEST OF 2012

      Our War Movie Leadership Watchalong for February is "Master and Commander".  Here are the questions to be considered and discussed:

1.  How would you describe Aubrey's leadership style?

2.  Is Aubrey motivated more by pride or duty?

3.  Contrast the philosophies of Aubrey and Maturin?  Who is right?

        Well another year has passed and I have to admit it was not a great year for war movies at my house.  When I looked back at my list of the Best and Worst of 2011, I was envious of that year.  I saw some truly wonderful movies.  Unfortunately, although I watched 80 war movies this past year, the quality was much less.  Plus I had to watch a lot of movies I had already seen as I worked my way to the top of the 100 Greatest list.  No movie came close to the amazing “Waltz With Bashir”.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love doing this blog and will continue my journey, but it just was a blah year for war movies.  Here’s hoping 2013 will be better.  And it will be because I plan to watch more movies that have the chance to wow me.  By the way, please send me suggestions.  What are your “wow” movies?

                Last year I had limited my choices to movies I had not seen in five years.  This year I have decided to waive that rule.  Even if I had seen some of them before, it was not with a critical eye.  Plus I could not get a decent list if I limited it.

                Here we go:

10.  The Lost Battalion – although made for TV, the best WWI movie in years;  accurately tells a story that needed revival;  graphically realistic battle scenes

9.  Enemy at the Gates -  nicely builds on the seed of a true story;  a war romance for guys;  well-acted;  what modern war movies for the general public need to be like

8.  Spartacus -  a spectacular epic that shames wannabes like “Braveheart”;  everything is big – the acting, the sets, the score;  similar to “Enemy at the Gates” because it fleshes out the facts into robust entertainment

7.  Zulu -  a classic battle movie;  great acting;  lots of action

6.  Pork Chop Hill – very similar to “Zulu”; another movie that brings attention to a battle that deserves it;  both interesting studies in command

5.  Kanal – remarkable Polish film that is set in the Warsaw uprising; masterfully directed and lensed; one of the slimiest and grimiest movies you will ever see

4.  Tropic Thunder – a comedy for war movie lovers because we get more jokes than the general public;  scathingly satirical for intellectuals and silly enough for average people;  winner of my March Madness tournament to determine the greatest war comedy

3.  Downfall – a near perfect blend of accuracy and entertainment;  humanizes a monster without being offensive;  incredible indoor and outdoor sets

2.  Courage Under Fire -  2012’s “Three Kings” – a pop war movie that is not ridiculous;  multi-layered examination of the fog of war, the effects of stress in combat, post-traumatic stress disorder, dysfunctionality in a small unit;  bravura acting;  “A Few Good Men” with action

1.  Schindler's List -  I know it’s a boring choice, but a near perfect movie;  it meets all my requirements to be a great war movie   1.  admirably accurate  2.  tells a story that needs to be told  3. great in all the technical aspects  4.  great acting  5.  highly entertaining;  throw in that it works for both males and females and it has pizazz (e.g., filmed in black and white)

                Now for the dogs:

5.  Gods and Generals – how could this be associated with the excellent “Gettysburg”?!;  some excellent battle scenes don’t make up for an offensively pro-South and pro-slavery plot

4.  Red Dawn (1984) –  only foggy nostalgia by teenage boys who saw it in theaters can explain this movie’s continued popularity;  everything about it is ridiculous

3.  The Boys in Company C – another movie with an inexplicable following;  has all the weaknesses of “Red Dawn” with the added defect that it can be compared to many very superior Vietnam war movies

2.  To the Shores of Tripoli -  there are many movies made during WWII that are not overly patriotic or propagandistic – this is not one of them;  terrible acting and a plot that makes no sense;  patriotic bull shit

1.  Sabre Jet -  set in the Korean War and released in 1953;  this movie actually was supported by the U.S. Air Force;  laughable clichés and abysmal acting;  treacly score;  gun camera footage includes shooting down a Stuka!

                There you have them.  Ten must-sees and five must-avoids.  Enjoy all of them.