Top 100 Movies: No. 73 - Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Posted on December 5, 2007
Filed Under Top 100 Movies | 4 Comments
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Full Metal Jacket gives you two movies in one! That’s right, this film artfully fuses two movies together to create one great flick, which has writer/director Stanley Kubrick’s fingerprints all over it.
The first half of the film focuses on newly recruited (or drafted) Marines as they endure basic training with an intense drill sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (masterfully portrayed by R. Lee Ermey). Hartman will do whatever it takes to turn these new recruits into killing machines. Unfortunately, with some help from the recruits themselves, Hartman goes too far with one soldier.
The second half of Full Metal Jacket takes place in Vietnam during the Tet offensive. It features scenes of urban warfare that are much different then those you will find in other Vietnam flicks. Kubrick’s ability to create an atmosphere of fear and tension as the soldiers attempt to locate a sniper among crumbling buildings is a highlight of the second half.
Bring these two halves together and you have a powerful movie that explores the effects of war on the human psyche.
So which half of the movie is my favorite? After much deliberation, I decided that the first half is my favorite. I’m not knocking the second half, but when I think of Full Metal Jacket, my mind immediately recalls the scenes from basic training. Which half is your favorite?
Tags: full metal jacket, list, r lee ermy, stanley kubrick, top 100 movies, vietnam, war
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Writer’s Strike: Movies About or Featuring Writers As Characters
Posted on November 6, 2007
Filed Under General Movie Lists | 3 Comments
On Monday, the people who write our favorite comedies, dramas, movies and late night shows went on strike. If this strike lasts for any significant period of time, we will eventually be watching re-runs. In fact, it’s already affecting late-night television. The strike could also shorten the final season of one of my favorite shows - Scrubs. Here’s hoping it ends soon.
With the current state of affairs in Hollywood, what would be more relevant than a list of movies about writers and/or that feature writers as characters? Here are ten eleven such movies (in no particular order) with a (very) short synopsis of each:
The Shining (1980)
Writer goes crazy.
Capote (2005)
Writer is obsessed.
Permanent Midnight (1998)
Writer likes drugs - a lot.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Writer can’t figure out how to end her novel.
Misery (1990)
Writer is saved and then kidnapped by an obsessed fan.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Writer takes a trip with his lawyer.
Stand By Me (1986)
Writer remembers that crazy summer when he and his friends found a dead body.
Almost Famous (2000)
Wannabe writer goes on tour.
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Writer interviews a vampire.
As Good As It Gets (1997)
Writer with obsessive compulsive disorder falls in love.
The Player (1992)
Writer threatens a producer.
Tags: almost famous, as good as it gets, ben stiller, brad pitt, cameron crowe, capote, cuba gooding, emma thompson, fear and loathing in las vegas, helen hunt, hunter s. thompson, interview with a vampire, jack nicholson, james caan, jerry stahl, johnny depp, jr., kirstin dunst, misery, permanent midnight, philip seymour hoffman, rob reiner, robert altman, scrubs, stand by me, stanley kubrick, stephen king, stranger than fiction, the player, the shining, tim robbins, tom cruise, will farrell, writer039s strike
