This is topic Jarhead (2005) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-04-2005, 04:31 AM:
 
This was a refreshingly different kind of movie. For once the military wasn't protrayed as some fantabulous life experience, but more accurately towards what it really is.

I don't think it will stand up to repeated viewings, but everyone should at least see this once.

First viewing rating: 4 out of 5 stars

(BTW, does anyone have any "join the Marines" 35mm rolling stock ads laying around? I so want to play it on this movie! )
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 11-04-2005, 05:08 AM:
 
I got the urge to play a trailer for Jake Gyllenhalls (or however you spell his name) next film on it.. But then figured that would cause a riot...

It was an ok film.. I think the "negative" aspects were a bit over done (hitting a recruit can be career ending for a Marine DI) and it does not completly fit descriptions of Corps life I have heard from Marine friends or seen when I visit them on base. But, then again, this film was set 15 years ago, so who knows..
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 11-04-2005, 12:36 PM:
 
Jim,

14-15 years ago, it was "ok" for a DI to hit a recruit, they could get in your face. Push you back, push you to the ground, do what ever they really wanted to do. Was there regulations? Yes but they were not inforced like they are now, it was just all part of bootcamp. That all ended in the mid 90s when a DI beat up a recruit for mouthing off to him. The recruit was in the base hospital for two months. Big lawsuit and discharge for the DI and the military changed its ways.
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 11-04-2005, 02:27 PM:
 

quote:

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BTW, does anyone have any "join the Marines" 35mm rolling stock ads laying around? I so want to play it on this movie!

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quote: Dominic Espinosa

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Actually, I just got a fax from screenvision warning us NOT to run the current USMC rolling stock with this film. Go figure.

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HA HA HA HA HA! That's precisely why I want to run it! Those stupid ads don't reveal all of the negative aspects for joining the Marines. While the movie isn't totally accurate in today's Marine life, it's much closer to reality than those commercials.
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 11-04-2005, 10:55 PM:
 
I am going to see this tomorrow, and looking forward to it. As a former Marine (see story below), it will be great to see what I missed all those years.

Story Below....

Yes, I was a Marine. For three whole days. I never even made it to boot camp, that's how long I was a Marine. I signed up at 17, however my parents were against it. My recruiter forged thier signatures to get me in.

This did not sit well with my parents. They wanted me to NOT go the military route, and like a fool I jumped the gun. I could have waited until I was 18, but no. Like all teenagers, I was as patient as an egg frying in a pan.

My father was a retired Army officer that did a lot of "overseas" work. His clout with upper echelon types was high. My mother's dad was a retired Naval commander back from the WWII days. A few phone calls from both of them to the Pentagon, and my papers "vanished", as if they had never existed. At least that is how things appeared.

When I did turn 18, I tried to enlist again, however this time there would be no having me. For whatever reason, the recruiters would not say, or perhaps they just didn't know, I was not to be admitted for military service. Too much trouble I was says Yoda.

Thanks Dad. Thanks Mom. No really, thanks a lot! I actually wanted to do this, and still feel that I was missing something in my life during the first Gulf War. It will be nice to see a film that can accurately portray what life would have been like, had I been able to be there.

I will report my findings after I see this tomorrow.

Ciao
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 11-04-2005, 11:02 PM:
 
Brad, are you an ex-Marine?

Dave, what year was that when you first "joined" the Marines?

Oops, this is chitchat, isn't it. OK, now I'll have to see the movie and put my review in this space.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 11-04-2005, 11:17 PM:
 
I liked it!
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 11-05-2005, 12:22 AM:
 
As a USAF (Desert Storm) Vet, I'll clue you'all in on a few things.

When Desert Sheild started, personnel were asked to volunteer to go on deployment, but later there was deployment.

Upon deployment, there were many "briefing's" on how military personnel were to behave while in Saudi. Lots of "political/religious correctness", as the Saudi-Muslims were very intolerant of other religious faiths and cultures. Strict dress and behavior codes for US Servicewomen, as well as a as much, much more! And the USAF did attempt, for obvious reasons, not to deploy Jewish personnel to Saudi. For example, the Saudi's would generally house flight crews in first-class accomodations. But one Jewish flightcrew member made the mistake of displaying a Mogen David pennant. When the Saudis saw this, they refused to allow him to step off the aircraft!

There were many servicewomen that purposly got knocked-up in Saudi just so they could get out of the "Sandbox". Both married and unwed women risked Courtsmartial in this manner.

With USAF personnel, there were really three distinct groups: those who stayed Stateside, those that deployed to Europe and those that went to Saudi. And there was much, much anomosity between all three groups:

Those that went to Saudi had their peacetime salaries replaced by a wartime package that actually turned out to be less than that of peacetime. But they are the ones that got the medals.

Those that went to Europe (myself Upper Heyford, UK) ended up making thousands of $$ in per-diem and other perks, but no medals.

Then there were those that stayed Stateside.

Those that went to Saudi wanted the $$, and many said that medals did not matter too much, as medals to not pay bills. But both those that went to Europe and Saudi pretty much had a hard on for those who managed to stay stateside...especially when we discovered on our return, for those single Airmen living in the barraks, that their personnal effects were violated!

More later

Cheers

K
 

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Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 11-05-2005, 12:27 AM:
 

quote: Jim Ziegler

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I got the urge to play a trailer for Jake Gyllenhalls (or however you spell his name) next film on it.. But then figured that would cause a riot...

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For good measure, you could also throw in the trailer for Peter Sarsgaard's turn in THE DYING GAUL, and then prepare for the stampede!
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 11-05-2005, 02:11 AM:
 
It was the summer of 1984 after graduation that I "joined".

Ciao
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-05-2005, 05:46 AM:
 
Will - what does all that have to do with the movie? Nothing, I would say. You weren't even in Kuwait, apparently.

quote: Brad Miller

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While the movie isn't totally accurate in today's Marine life, it's much closer to reality than those commercials.

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What, are you saying military life is not exactly as depicted in those commercials? So that means when you join the Navy, you do not automatically get to snowboard like in the commercial?
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-05-2005, 09:53 AM:
 
That's what I'm saying Michael. If you are a Marine you also don't get to happily climb the side of an absurdly tall mountain without any safety equipment.

David - wake up please.
 

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Posted by Paul J. Neuhaus (Member # 3205) on 11-05-2005, 11:46 AM:
 
Dave my appologies but you can't clame the title Marine if you didn't earn it.
Too negative... yes possibly but it is about time that this stuff gets thrown out there. Not just an overglorified "war is great" movie. For those of us that have been there you just can't describe it and ever get anyone who hasn't experienced it to understand. It seems like it would be easy but you just can't. As a Marine we're not superhuman or just war hungry, blood thirsty heathans...(well some of us are) but over all we are people too and war just aint a glorious thing... it never has been!
I would say 3.98 out of 5 stars
and
Semper Fidelis
 

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Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 11-05-2005, 04:13 PM:
 
This film has gotten some knocks from critics for not having a specific point of view, but I think they miss the point. THe characters really don't have strong convictions, either, though some may express them. They are just young men trying to find themselves in this world. As such, I found it to be a powerful reflection of ambivelance without absolutely taking simplistic sides. The story wasn't about the cause, but about these men whose experiences were real to them.

Attendance: Edwards Bakersfield 14, November 5, 2005.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 11-05-2005, 09:54 PM:
 
Very well done. I liked it. It's sort of odd to see the kid from October Sky and Donnie Darko playing the lead role in this film, but he did a really good job.

It's interesting to see "Apocalypse Now" featured in this film, as Walter Murch edited both titles.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-05-2005, 10:17 PM:
 
If I can get around to it, I'll check out "Jarhead" in the next couple days.

In a subsequent review, I'll only point out stuff that I think is absolute bullshit -not the more nuanced features of "authenticity." I didn't serve in the Marines. But I was raised on a bunch of Marine Corps bases and do have an eye for some basic levels of authenticity.

Given Jake Gyllenhall plays a Marine Sniper in this show, I'm hoping this movie is not yet another in a series of movies that lifts (plagerizes) action points out of my father's first non-fiction book: Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills. I only say that because it seems like any would be "military technical advisor" on any film set likely has a copy of it tucked under his arm. Films like "Sniper" (blatant ripoff), "Saving Private Ryan" and "Enemy at the Gates" all have the sniper versus sniper thing with the winner shooting the loser in his eye through his rifle scope. I'll just have to see if they repeat the same shit in this movie.
 

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Posted by Paul J. Neuhaus (Member # 3205) on 11-05-2005, 10:37 PM:
 
Did your father know Carlos Hathcock? The descriptive nature your father put into that book was awesome. After the 1st chapter your just damn hooked! Realism is key.... Don't sugar coat it ....don't exagerate it... just tell it how it is!
on some levels you will be disapointed but overal it goes pretty authentic. Still not as good as "Jarhead" the book but certainly worth the look
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-05-2005, 11:36 PM:
 
Paul, you're from Cherry Point territory. Former Marine?

Yep. My father, Charles Henderson, knew Carlos Hathcock, Jim Land and all the other guys who started the Scout Sniper School in Quantico. I was in high school when my father started the book. Hathcock stayed at our place a couple times. My father just finished the first draft of his fifth Vietnam oriented book. This one is a very entertaining fictional novel inspired by true events that deal with the military justice system and seedy goings-on in DaNang.

I'd like to know my father's take on "Jarhead," but I'm not sure if he'll see it until it is on DVD. I have heard "Jarhead" doesn't go after the political angle much at all -which might be a good thing. A movie about Marines and the Marine Corps Experience should tell it how it is, but without spinning it in any political direction.

My father and his Marine Corps buddies checked out "Full Metal Jacket" at a theater on New York's Upper East Side. They laughed their asses off (possibly to the horror of other audience members) when R. Lee Ermey unleashed the best DI performance in movie history. It was as if they were being reminded of the good old days. My dad went through MCRD San Diego when the Drill Instructors could still use profanity and worse.

quote: Kurt Zupin

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14-15 years ago, it was "ok" for a DI to hit a recruit, they could get in your face. Push you back, push you to the ground, do what ever they really wanted to do. Was there regulations? Yes but they were not inforced like they are now, it was just all part of bootcamp. That all ended in the mid 90s when a DI beat up a recruit for mouthing off to him. The recruit was in the base hospital for two months. Big lawsuit and discharge for the DI and the military changed its ways.

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quote: Will Kutler

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Those that went to Saudi had their peacetime salaries replaced by a wartime package that actually turned out to be less than that of peacetime. But they are the ones that got the medals.

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Most Marines I knew referred to medals as "fruit salad". Many had little meaning, and some little merit. Some officer in the rear with the gear has a buddy write him up for a Silver Star. Whoopie. But if you saw some Corporal walking around with a Navy Cross in his collection of fruit salad that was probably someone who did a hell of a courageously dangerous thing to earn it.
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-06-2005, 03:52 AM:
 
Well, nobody gets shot in the eye in this movie.

SPOILERS

In fact, nobody gets shot at all. There is no combat action in this movie. There is nothing political in it either. It really is exlusively about the people in the unit and what their life is like during "Desert Storm". In their case, it meant mostly waiting and training.
This is indeed a different kind of movie. I think it is worth seeing. The individual characters are drawn very well. It is also visually very nicely done with that glaring washed-out look. It reminds me of a friend who was in Iraq last year telling me that it was hard for him to get used to seeing colors again after several months in the glaring sunlight of the Iraqi desert.

I didn't understand why his team partner died in the end though. Was an explanation given and I missed it?
 

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Posted by Paul J. Neuhaus (Member # 3205) on 11-06-2005, 11:37 AM:
 
Bobby,
Yeah, Cherry Point... Currently Active coming up on the re-enlist decision.....AAAARRRRGHHHHH. Not an easy one when I'm torn between the Corps and my first love Theatres. I'd really like to get into the tech side of the house now that I have theatre management and 5 years of repairing electronics under my belt.... hard decision!

Michael... you hit the nail on the head! This film was about the Marines and their life not about the political war! It's amazing how much boredome and breakdown in communication add to the stressors of war. And Marines will make any situation fun if they can!!

Oh, and DI's still "break the rules" allot they have just gotten better at it. It is all about making a Marine a Marine so Mom's across America.... eat my
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 11-08-2005, 12:05 AM:
 

quote: Paul J. Neuhaus

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Dave my appologies but you can't clame the title Marine if you didn't earn it.

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quote: Dave Williams

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Yes, I was a Marine. For three whole days. I never even made it to boot camp, that's how long I was a Marine.

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I didn't include a cutesy little or or perhaps a either. It was always my intention to make sure that anyone who read it understood that I was toung in cheek while stating what I stated, as not even I consider myself a "true" marine.

Even I am aware that if you don't make it out of boot alive you are not a marine. The mere fact that I was bieng held at a hotel room until my disposition could be figured out for three days doesn't make me a marine.

Once again, my most sincerest apologies for not making clear that I was making light of an event of my life that ended up having great impact on my future, and how it related to how I might feel about this film when I saw it.

That bieng said, I loved the film, and got to see the tedium that so many of our soldiers felt during that time of our history. I also understood what my best freind in the world experienced for eight solid months, only to be dissapointed and not having a chance to kill anyone.

So no, in reality, I was never a marine. Technically, I was only a temporary member of the armed services hoping to become a marine, only to be found wanting.

So go yourselves.

HA
 

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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 11-08-2005, 11:19 AM:
 
There are no ex-Marines only former Marines.

November 10th will be the Marine Corps 230th Birthday.

I was at Parris Island in 1961 and served in the Marine Corps until 1968. I would not trade this experience and devotion to the corps that you can only attain by going through the boot camp experience. I happen to be in San Antonio since this past Saturday and staying at the Westin Hotel. Last Saturday evening they Hosted the Marine Corps Ball celebrating the 230th Birthday which will be on Thursday. Most attendies came in Dress Blues and I was able to speak with them as a former Marine. Many had just returned from their second duty call in Iraq. I love these guy's as brothers. Semper Fi!

Marine Corps Birthday Celebration

Read Major General John A. Lejeune's Birthday Message

The U.S. Marine Corps begins preparations for its "birthday party" every summer. Activities become more feverish as the fall hues arrive. By early November, every Marine is either rehearsing his role in the "party" or pressing, polishing, and spit-shining in order to appear at his or her best for the Birthday Ball. This has not always been the case, however. In fact, Marines have not always celebrated their founding on November the 10th.

Formal commemoration of the birthday of the Marine Corps began on 10 November 1921. That particular date was chosen because on that day the Second Continental Congress resolved in 1775 to raise two battalions of Continental Marines.

Until 1921 the birthday of the Corps had been celebrated on another date. An unidentified newspaper clipping from 1918 refers to the celebration of the 120th birthday of the Marine Corps on 11 July "as usual with no fuss." It is doubtful that there was any real celebration at all. Further inspection of documents and publications prior to 1921 shows no evidence of ceremonies, pageants, or parties. The July date was commemorated between 1798 and 1921 as the birthday of the Corps. During the Revolution, Marines had fought on land and sea, but at the close of the Revolution the Marine Corps and the Navy were all but disbanded. On 11 July 1798, President John Adams approved a bill that recreated the Corps, thereby providing the rationale for this day being commemorated as the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.

On 21 October 1921, Major Edwin McClellan, Officer-in-Charge, Historical Section, Headquarters Marine Corps, sent a memorandum to Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune, suggesting that the original birthday on 10 November 1775 be declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. McClellan further suggested that a dinner be held in Washington to commemorate the event. Guests would include prominent men from the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy, and descendants of the Revolution.

Accordingly, on 1 November 1921, General Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921. The order summarized the history, mission, and tradition of the Corps, and directed that it be read to every command on 10 November each subsequent year in honor of the birthday of the Marine Corps. This order has been duly carried out.

Some commands expanded the celebration during the next few years. In 1923 at Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the celebration of the Marine Corps' 148th birthday took the form of a dance in the barracks that evening. Marines at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, staged a sham battle on the parade ground in commemoration of the birthday. The battle lasted about twenty minutes, and was witnessed by Portsmouth and Norfolk citizens. At Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the birthday was celebrated on the 12th, since a special liberty to Santiago had been arranged on the 10th. The morning activities included field and water sports, and a shooting match. In the afternoon the Marines won a baseball game, 9-8, over a Cuban team. In the evening, members of the command put on a variety show followed by four boxing bouts.

The first so-called "Birthday Ball," such as suggested by Major McClellan, was probably held in 1925 in Philadelphia. No records have been located of one prior to 1925. Guests included the Secretaries of War and Navy, Major General Commandant Lejeune, famous statesmen, soldiers, and sailors. The principle event was the unveiling of a tablet on the site of Tun Tavern. The tablet was a gift from the Thomas Roberts Reath Post, American Legion, whose membership was composed exclusively of Marines. The celebration was held in conjunction with the annual convention of the Marine Corps League. A parade included Marines, Regular Army, and Navy detachments, National Guard, and other military organizations. The evening banquet was held at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel and a ball followed at the Bellevue-Stratford.

It is not possible to determine precisely when the first cake ceremony was held, but the first on record was held at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., in 1937. Major General Commandant Thomas Holcomb presided at an open house for Marine Corps officers. Ceremonies included the cutting of a huge cake designed after the famous Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.

From 1937, observances of the Marine Corps Birthday appeared to develop spontaneously throughout the Corps as if they had a life of their own. The celebrations were publicized through every media. Newsreels, motion pictures, and displays were prepared to summarize the history of the Corps. In 1943, standard blank Marine Corps scrap books were forwarded to all districts to be filled with 168th anniversary clippings, scripts, pictures, programs, and other memorabilia, and returned to Headquarters. Unfortunately none of these scrapbooks remain in official files.

In 1951, a formal Birthday Ball Pageant was held at Headquarters Marine Corps. Similar to the pageant today, the script described the Marines' period uniforms and the cake ceremony. Although this is the first substantive record of a pageant, Leatherneck of 10 November 1925 pictures Marines at a pageant in Salt Lake City, Utah, which had taken place "several years ago."

On 28 October 1952, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., directed that the celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday be formalized throughout the Corps, and provided an outline for the cake ceremony, as well as other formal observances. This outline was included in the Marine Corps Drill Manual, approved 26 January 1956.

Traditionally, the first piece of Birthday cake is presented to the oldest Marine present and the second piece to the youngest Marine present. When and where this tradition began remains unknown. Some records indicate this practice, and others vary it depending on the dignitaries present at the ball. First pieces of cake have been presented to newlyweds, the Secretary of the Navy, governors, and others, but generally speaking, the first pieces of cake go to the oldest and youngest Marines at the ball.

At present, celebrations of the Marine Corps Birthday on 10 November differ at posts and stations throughout the Corps. All commemorations include the reading of Marine Corps Order No. 47, and the Commandant's message to those assembled. Most commands sponsor a Birthday Ball of some sort, complete with pageant and cake ceremony as prescribed in the Marine Corps Manual.

Like the Corps itself, the Birthday Ball developed from simple origins to become the polished, professional function that all Marines commemorate on 10 November around the world.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 11-08-2005, 11:53 AM:
 
Happy early Marine Corps Birthday to all Marines reading. My dad and 7 of his brothers are all former Marines, and I would have been one to, if it werent for my back surgery. So, needless to say, Marine Corps pride runs deep in my family. This was my most anticipated movie of the year, and it didnt let me down at all. Great performances by Jamie Foxx, and Jake Gylenhaal(sp?), and an even better performance by Peter Sarsgaard. Also, I enjoyed the soundtrack and the desert scenery at night lit up by the burning oil wells was a nice shot. Movie of the year.

5/5
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 11-08-2005, 07:51 PM:
 
While I don't think this was the best movie of the year, I do how ever think that this was one hell'va good movie. Great acting all around, Jamie Fox turns in yet another out standing role. Peter Sarsgard was awsome, Jake Gyllenhaal was great. He really brought you into his character and let you experience what he was. I would be really suprised if he doesn't get a nom for this come Feb, as well as Fox and Sarsgard. I think one of them will get a best supporting nod.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who is out on the fence about this film. It doesn't put anything political on the board just Marines and there experiences.

Micheal, one person does get shot in the film...but for spoilers sake I won't say who, what, when or where. But there is one person.

4.5/5 GREAT PIECE OF FILM
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-08-2005, 11:09 PM:
 
Well, OK, but

SPOILER SPOILER

it was an accident.
I wonder, do those machine guns have a way of setting the vertical orientation of the gun, so that the operator can't slip and accidentally fire into the trainees on the ground?

And why did Troy die in the end?
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 11-09-2005, 12:59 AM:
 
SPOLERS!!!!!!

From my experience in the Army it is now blank rounds, I was very suprised when it was live fire in that excercise. Even in 89' I would think they would of known better. I was over on IMDB and someone who had read the book said he died in a car accident while drunk...but I will tell you after I read the book, loved the movie and love books about the military/war.
 

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Posted by Kelly Skaggs (Member # 1780) on 11-09-2005, 03:22 PM:
 
When I went through Army Basic at Ft. Sill in 1986, every fith round was live and it was a tracer. You could hear the live fire cutting the air about 6 foot over your head.

To all Marines, you have earned it.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-09-2005, 05:27 PM:
 
Fort Sill's West Range is quiet -for now. Sometimes the ordinance they explode out there rattles my windows more than my Paradigm subwoofer.

The quiet period there will soon be exceedingly rare. A new air defense school is being started. The German military is moving an air combat school from El Paso to Fort Sill. A number of helicopter battalions are moving in. More basic training missions. The list goes on and on. Lawton's population will probably grow by more than 10,000 in the next couple years.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-09-2005, 06:45 PM:
 

quote: Brad Miller

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While the movie isn't totally accurate in today's Marine life...

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Probably not, but how do you know with such certainty? How long were you in the Marines?
 

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Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 11-10-2005, 12:29 AM:
 
SPOILERS!!

Duh Mike, he committed suicide bacause nothing in the world meant more to him than being in the corps. Remember the scene where they are sitting in the abandoned watch tower, and jake says some thing to the effect of, "all I want is to get out of here, and all you want is to stay in." That point right there shows, at least to me, how much being in the corps meant to him.

Josh
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-10-2005, 01:12 AM:
 
SPOILERS

But Kurt said he died in a car accident. Or did he crash - intentionally or unintentionally - because he didn't want to go on anymore? Could be.
That is one other thing I didn't quite understand: One guy on the plane said he joined because it was a way to avoid going to jail. But Troy is kicked out because he has a criminal record. Or is it because he lied about it? Why would he have to lie though? Would his record have prevented him from being accepted? Why could the other guy pay off his debt to society by joining and he - who had apparently already completed his punishment - couldn't stay? Because his offence was more severe?
 

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Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 11-10-2005, 02:04 AM:
 
well, you could read the book....
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 11-10-2005, 04:24 AM:
 
if you look at the timeline of the movie, its at least a couple years after they got out that he died...look at fergus hair, how long it is. I don't think he killed himself cause he couldn't be in the corps any more, he would of done that sooner.

My guess is he got kicked out for lying, and if I remember right. It was something about drugs. I think that the Texas guy did something stupied and thats why he got the choice.
 

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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 11-10-2005, 12:34 PM:
 
Happy Birthday to all Marines:

https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/holiday/usmc/2005_playmovie.asp?isc=gdg1110&se=%2B
 

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Posted by John Pommon (Member # 648) on 11-11-2005, 04:07 AM:
 
While in Basic at Ft Ord [1970] we went through an infiltration course at night 100 yards long with barbed wire fences every 15 yards. The lowest strand of barbed wire was about 18 inches off the ground. We crawled the length of the course with our M-16 rifles under the barbed wire fences on our backs all the time rounds of live ammo being fired over our heads. We had been told the rounds were around 3' off the ground, but they seemed around 6' from the tracers I saw. I always wondered who and where were they firing from. Glad they were good shots.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 11-11-2005, 08:44 AM:
 
Very Good Movie...I am former NAVY, but I can relate to this film. I never unfortunately got to go anywhere (medical discharge) but wanted to. This movie is very cool. Any reviews on previous pages say it all...

4.5/5
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2005, 04:10 PM:
 
What??? A Richard Greco review without a rating on the Greco factor?
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 11-11-2005, 10:22 PM:
 
Well, His girlfriend would get a 3/5....

But there really isn't a need for a Greco Factor on the rest of the movie..It was kinda gross seeing Jake Gyllenhall's butt...So no Greco Factor for that....
 

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 11-12-2005, 12:35 AM:
 
So it freaks you out to see another man's butt? Are you not secure enough in your masculinity to handle that? Maybe there is some latent gayness there that you are suppressing.
 

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Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 11-13-2005, 01:08 AM:
 
I expected more from this movie but still enjoyed it very much.

Plenty of eye candy for me, definitely some hot looking dudes in this flick. My friend next me was nudging me, he noticed I was practically drooling.
 

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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 11-18-2005, 09:10 AM:
 
I went to see Jarhead yesterday afternoon.

There is no resembalance to the Marine Corps that I served in back in the 1960's. I can easily understand why the NY Critic's
gave the movie 1/2 star.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-21-2005, 12:48 AM:
 
I finally saw "Jarhead" Sunday afternoon.

Overall, the show had a few decent moments to it, but I think it was screwed up by a mixed bag of clichés, Hollywood bullshit insertions of over the top drama moments and some flat out inaccurate things. I can't help but wonder how very different Swofford's book is from this show.

The parts I liked -the troops moving through the oil fires and oil soaked landscapes were eerie. There's some pretty cool camera shots in that stuff. The bombed traffic jam on the highway was a real event. I thought the most "authentic" scene in the movie is where Swofford gets punished and put on duty to burn shitters. That's real Marine Corps life there!

There's a lot of moments in the movie that had me muttering bullshit. The bootcamp stuff early on seemed very questionable. As I stated earlier, drill instructors are forbidden from physically abusing recruits and directing profane language at them. I could be wrong on that, but I'm pretty sure that has been the policy for quite some time now and during the time of Desert Storm. We see a kind of half-assed re-enactment of the opening scenes in "Full Metal Jacket." There may indeed be cases where DIs do cross the line and use profanity and physical violence against recruits. But it sure isn't policy these days. They can make a recruit's life pure hell without resorting to any of those tactics. And besides, ALL who join the Marines these days WANT to be there. The Marines are picky about who gets to join these days. The Army, on the other hand, doesn't get to be so choosy.

I muttered bullshit at the live fire accident. The man on the M-60 would have to have his head so far up his ass not to see some idiot panicking under the barb wire -especially when he's firing the gun that damned close. Durp! Oh, and one more thing -that's not the kind of shit you do in Scout Sniper Warfare Training.


Of course when it comes to sniper training, they don't even do that at Camp Pendleton or as part of any basic training course. Sniper training is held in Quantico, VA at the Marine Corps Base there. The Marines even train personnel from other service branches there, and even marksmen from some police departments as well.

I had to wonder why they were using those generic human silhouette targets rather than normal paper targets with V-rings. It's a lot easier to "keep score" with a traditional target.

One thing they did get right at least: the M-40A1 custom sniper rifle. With some of the stuff I saw I was getting worried they would try to pass off an M-16 as a sniper rifle tool.

I think this movie could have been a lot better if it weren't for all the inserted "dear John letter" drama and scenes that seemed grabbed from "Full Metal Jacket," "Platoon," "The Great Santini" and "Apocalypse Now."

My understanding is Swofford's book is more centered on the sheer boredom and detachment that many Marines felt in all that idle time out in the Kuwati sand. Unfortunately, other movies have dramatized that whole thing better -including the somewhat recent "Three Kings." At least that show had some kind of direction: the goal of stealing Saddam's stolen gold.

(later edit made to correct a couple stupid typos)

[ 11-21-2005, 06:12 PM: Message edited by: Bobby Henderson ]
 

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Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 11-27-2005, 11:54 PM:
 
Good movie
I hope "the idiots" see fit to give it the Oscar(s) it deserves
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-04-2005, 07:49 PM:
 
Today @ 1:25PM, Cinemark 17 in Springfield, House #17, SR-D. Very sparse crowd (like 5). There was about 20 secs. midway through that looked like it had been in an "accident" (dirty and scratched). Otherwise OK.

Great movie, glad I finally got around to seeing it. In its own way it has some unforgettable visual imagery right up there with "Apocalypse Now". Well, maybe it doesn't achieve that level of greatness, but it's still pretty damn good. Hope it at least gets nominated for something.

I do agree with Bobby's comments about the basic training segment. That part seemed way over the top.
 

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