What Movies Have You Seen Lately?

Quote: odiousgambit

I worked with a guy who really liked Brad Pitt as an actor. This astonished me as I respected his opinions generally, but Brad Pitt?

How can you see Interview with a Vampire or
7 Years in Tibet or any of a dozen other great
movies and not love Brad Pitt. He's an
outstanding talented actor.

A punk, a phony tough guy, a brat, in fact the latter is one way I can remember his name, a brat who's acting is the pits.

But I admit it's the 'old man disliking young actor' effect. Can't shake it.

I recently saw "13 Hours". I'm not a fan of most Michael Bay projects ("Pearl Harbor", "Transformers", "Armageddon"), so I was afraid that this film would be a waste of time and money. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a pretty good film.

The film is based on the true story of the ex-military contractors who were working at a CIA station in Libya in 2012, when the American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi (where the American Ambassador was staying at the time) was attacked by Islamic militants. Despite multiple calls for assistance to the U.S. State Department (headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the time), no help was authorized, not even a low altitude fly over by fighter jet. In the end, the ex-military contractors violated orders to stay put, and staged their own rescue mission.

The story is fascinating because it is true. The action is intense, and perhaps some of the deaths portrayed by gunfire are overdone. The fog of war, offensive and defensive tactics, and the failure of the State Department to support American's in harms way, are portrayed from nearly a first person perspective which I found very engaging and refreshing. The "enemy" remains, for the most part, faceless; just like I imagine the actual circumstances would dictate. There isn't a blatant "in your face H. Clinton" message, but it is clear from the events and the dialogue how the characters feel about their dilemma, and where they are putting blame. Ultimately, they don't have the luxury of debating with some bureaucrat on the phone or sending an email, as they are in the fight of their lives and have to make due with what they have.

I imagine that this is the story that they would tell if they were sitting around with other ex-military contractors, and I appreciate the peek behind the Kevlar curtain.

I give this film nine stars out of ten.

Quote: Ayecarumba

I recently saw "13 Hours".

one comment claims the movie supports the claim that the attackers were random mobs motivated by that anti-Mohammad movie. Does it?

It kills me that that claim got started - just a coincidence that it happened on September 11

Quote: odiousgambit

one comment claims the movie supports the claim that the attackers were random mobs motivated by that anti-Mohammad movie. Does it?

It kills me that that claim got started - just a coincidence that it happened on September 11

Actually, that specific topic is addressed in the movie, so I am not sure where that commenter is coming from... The dialogue makes it clear that the Americans in the firefight did not believe they were up against random, angry mobs stirred up by a cartoon Mohammad.

The film did a really good job of telling the story from the point of view of a particular set of characters. We, the audience, only receive a bit more information than what the character's have, so it really raises the tension of the decisions they have to make. The group had access to news feeds from America (e.g. CNN), and we are able to hear their disparaging comments as they watch the misinformation on TV as if we are sitting in the same room with them.

One point that is raised is, "Who is a friendly?" Extreme care is taken to avoid civilian casualties, but how are they expected to tell who is who, especially when there are no uniforms, and allegiances can and do shift.

Quote: odiousgambit

It kills me that that claim got started - just a coincidence that it happened on September 11

The Battle of Vienna took place in Vienna on 11–12 September 1683 after the imperial city of Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Habsburg Monarchy, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire, under the command of King John III Sobieski against the invading Muslim Ottoman Empire and its vassal and tributary states, and took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna. The battle marked the first time Poland and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily against the Turks, and it is often seen as a turning point in history, after which "the Ottoman Turks ceased to be a menace to the Christian world".

Many people don't believe the date of the attack on 11 September 2001 was chosen randomly. While no documents have been uncovered that says the attacks were in the name of Grand Vizier Pasha (commanding officer in 1683), the date is taught with some of the same importance as 14 October 1066 (The Battle of Hastings) or 8 August 1588 (Battle of Spanish Armada) is taught in the Anglo world. One brought Britain into the Latin heritage world, and the other kept it from returning to Catholicism.

I saw Don't Breathe in the theater last night.

It was one of the most twisted and intense mainstream movies I've seen.

I loved it. It's got an 88% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. That's pretty remarkable for a horror movie released in the doldrums of August...

You'll never look at a turkey baster the same way after seeing it...

Quote: ams288

II loved it. It's got an 88% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

The concept worked well 50 years ago, it should still be good.

How many fictional space travel movies can you think of where everyone lives? (not counting kid films/cartoons) (all the humans live, not necessarily aliens)

Quote: rxwine

How many fictional space travel movies can you think of where everyone lives? (not counting kid films/cartoons) (all the humans live, not necessarily aliens)

These three films had a theme where mankind itself is threatened. The opposition is primarily bureaucratic stupidity or environmental destruction. So nobody dies. Of course the films are all 30 or more years old.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (After an encounter with U.F.O.s, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to 20th century Earth to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.)

To be fair, most writers use death in their movies.