I’ve decided that I can’t watch movies about the current war anymore. I realize they’re important and that the stories need to be told, but they make me so angry and feel so helpless that I’m not sure what to do with all the emotion. Stop-Loss
This doesn’t prove to be very easy. One soldier is having huge problems controlling his temper, and his wife kicks him out until he gets his stuff together. Another one is having hallucinations and digging foxholes in his back yard. All of them are drinking heavily. When the staff sergeant reports to headquarters for his discharge papers and is instead told that he has been stop-lossed, and he is heading back to Iraq in a few weeks, he refuses and runs.
The actors in this movie are outstanding: Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Channing Tatum, and Abbie Cornish especially stand out. The story is well told, and is one we should know, but this is not a happy/feel-good sort of movie.
4 out of 5 bags of popcorn
Twitter: youvegottaread
says:
I remember hearing about this one. Isn’t it directed by the same woman that did Boys Don’t Cry? I think there was some controversy around the making of the movie…could she do justice to such a theme, being a woman, etc. I was always rooting for her to succeed, and I’m glad that you liked it!
.-= Sandy´s last blog ..Monday Movie Meme – Liver, fava beans and a nice chianti =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Sandy – it was directed by a woman, but not sure if it’s the same one who did Boys Don’t Cry. When we finished watching and I saw that the director was a woman, I was surprised – she definitely succeeded at getting in the heads of those men.
I have a hard time with war movies in general, especially the current one. They make me feel sad and so very helpless. They are important, but difficult to watch.
.-= stacybuckeye´s last blog ..What’s the Common Thread Quiz? =-.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Stacy – I know, it’s easier for me to distance myself when watching a war movie about something that happened a long time ago.