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kitmccaughey
Reviews
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Pulls no punches...
Given that this film was made so soon after the actual events, there was bound to be some scepticism about how accurate it's portrayal may have been of those events.
However, Ms. Bigalow chooses to show the broader picture.
For the majority of the film, she shows what we now widely know to be true.
The visceral lust of the American people and their various representatives and Agencies for revenge against UBL and any part he may or may not have actually played in the 9/11 plot.
The long and costly lengths to which those Agencies went in order to track down UBL.
The inhumane and illegal methods that were used to find and extract information - Extraordinary Rendition (kidnapping), torture, humiliation, threat of execution, etc.
The sheer bravery of those we expect to do whatever our respective Nations demand of them ('We fight the war we're sent to fight', as a Royal Marine Commando once said).
Ultimately, though, she leaves us asking 'Why?'. 'Was all that effort really worth it?'
Despite UBL's death, Al-Qaeda still exists, Islamic Fundamentalism still exists, terrorism in all shapes and sizes still exists.
Did anything change after UBL's death - maybe only ourselves in what we were willing to allow in order to achieve our 'goals'.
I believe that is what 'Maya' finally realises.
The Beast (1988)
1980's U.S. propaganda - pure and simple.
I have watched this film several times over the years but as world events have evolved, it seems to have had fewer and fewer airings.
Maybe that's because there is no further way to 'polish a turd'.
My apologies to all of those involved but this is a reprehensible piece of US film-making.
When this film was produced, the Berlin Wall had just come down but the Soviet Union still existed and still posed a severe threat to the US.
However, no-one should delude themselves - this is simply a white hat/black hat/good guy/bad guy re-hash of what Hollywood has been doing for decades.
Only in this film, the Soviets are the bad guys and the 'Mujihadeen' are the good guys.
Then, having ousted the Soviet regime, the Mujihadeen (see the word 'jihad' in there) seized control of Afghanistan and transformed into... the 'Taliban'.
End of Watch (2012)
I thought I didn't like it...
And then, I watched it again...
I initially dismissed this, believing it might be a re-hashing of the excellent 1988 film 'Colors' that dealt with the same 'boots-on-the-ground', basic policing of the long-running Gang wars in South Central Los Angeles.
On second viewing, I realised I was wrong.
Whereas 'Colors' deals with the Rookie/Veteran issue, 'End of Watch' deals with partners who know each other, respect each other and trust each other implicitly.
I don't know how much of that is down to the directing, the writing, the actors, or their on-screen/off-screen chemistry (or a combination of all of those things).
There are only couple of minor things that annoy me about 'End of Watch'. For the sake of avoiding anything that might be regarded as a 'spoiler', I'll keep those to myself. However, If an old cynic like me can only find only one or two minor things annoying about any modern film, I'm pretty sure it must be good in some way...
Red Dawn (2012)
I don't know where to begin.
Could someone please throw me a bone and tell me about one redeeming quality that this film has because I'm not seeing any.
Obviously, the production values are good and the acting (in parts) is good but that's simply due to the funding behind the film.
It seems to me to be yet another in a long line of films that didn't need to be 're-made'.
The original film was a piece of jingoistic nonsense that showed Socialists as power-hungry, savage barbarians that were so inept militarily that they could be thwarted by a bunch of Capitalism-loving US teenagers.
The only thing that seems to have changed in this re-make, is the Nationality of those demonised Socialists...