Reviews

I walked out after an hour. Isn't that long enough to see if there's anything there?

Bombs, aimless shooting, sepia-toned desert cinematography--it's all there, but the story isn't. I was desensitized so quickly that the tension everyone so enthusiastically noted was not there for me. I observed very little in the way of character development, as well.

If you're into video games, guns & blowing stuff up, and military culture, perhaps you'll like this film, but I don't see how liking this movie has anything to do with supporting our troops; just get them outta there.

I'm glad that I didn't read the reviews prior to watching this film, because it was very entertaining and engrossing. The Dylan character was poorly played and over-the-top, like everyone says, but otherwise, this is a wild ride, and interesting to look at.

The director's commentary is interesting, too, and Hickenlooper makes it clear which scenes were added in, and why, on the DVD version. I can see why the theater release was reviewed so poorly, as re-watching this film makes it clear how relevant the "restored" scenes are.

Also, a lot of the reviews cite that the Edie character elicits no sympathy. That may be true, depending on the viewer, but there's no rule that says a good movie requires a sympathetic character (but I did feel sympathy for Edie).

This movie is a high camp adventure thriller. If I had seen a gleam of humor in Brolin's eye, I would have bought into the farce, but there was none. If was kinda fun in parts, but you're required to suspend belief for every plot development, twist, or turn. 10,000-1 bullets hit their mark.

There must be an interesting back story due to the remote locations and the notable actors that were attracted to doing the film.

Lastly, there is something interesting but confusing at the very end, almost the last frame or two that another reviewer mentions. Anthony Quinn and his woman are walking away with the airplane buzzing overhead, and then they suddenly turn and the airplane sound changes. The End. I still cannot explain what that was. Anyone?

Watching this, I realized that I hadn't come to a hard conclusion on the "Nader effect on the election" debate. This movie presented that aspect of Nader's career in a comprehensive and balanced way. Although I tended to feel that Gore should have won the 2000 election by a landslide, and that it never should have come down to vote counting in one state, this movie really had me wavering until it became obvious that trying to blame Nader for Gore's loss (and arguably, ours) is like blaming the umpire in baseball if your team loses-- if it comes down to that, then you just haven't done your job.

So, hat's off to Ralph-- there just aren't enough people like him.

I half-expected to see George W. Bush appear in the milieu of debauched young Texans! I, too, wonder why this film was panned.

The scene in the junkyard has to be one of the all-time great display's of riot and fiery ruin, taking full advantage of the 60's era Technicolor.

Some of the class portrayals seem clichéd, but that adds the right amount of fun, as you can laugh at how pathetic some of these characters are. Of course, all the acting is top notch, so the clichés are greatly tempered by their skill.

Regular folk cum hoodlums in suits-- gotta love that.

To be able to portray these two people on the very fine line of humanity is quite an achievement in acting, and also in the direction/production of this would-be small movie. Even with such disturbing material, I found it to be an excellent movie.

I really liked this movie. I've read review's by Berardinelli, Ebert, NYTimes, and Wash Post, and they are unduly critical, possibly based on the director's capabilities. However, I feel that the characters and the story interweaved masterfully, and that the relationship of Christopher Plummer and his gay son are an interesting parallel with the intolerance of the Turk's (majority Muslim's) and the Armenian's (minority Christian's); Also, the way that Raffi carried his hatred second-hand and that hatred got even more trumped up with the Elias Koteas current-day character was effective in showing how these clashes can sustain over generations upon generations.

Another superb aspect of the film was how the cinematic production within the movie acted as the segway between the current and past events because the actors are also characters in the "main" movie; that's a structural piece of "real" cinematic mastery.