Roger L. Simon:
I probably shouldn’t say this, since I have some good friends who are film critics, but I don’t think movie reviewing is a very high calling. It’s based on the premise that someone’s opinion is somehow “better” or “more accurate” than someone else’s. Really? We’re all just members of the audience and entitled to our reactions to an art work. None of us is superior in that way.
Of course, I’m a hypocrite because I read reviews myself and crave good reviews when I write a book or a film. I’ve even been known to do a little reviewing of my own of a sort, although I attempted to do it from the supposedly empathic position of a fellow filmmaker. Nevertheless I always found something vaguely creepy about the process. My reaction to a snotty review is often if you don’t like the movie, why don’t you make one yourself? Show us how it’s done. (A few have done that in the past — James Agee who wrote the script for The African Queen, Truffaut and some other members of the French New Wave — but not many.)
The most obvious and revealing thing about a movie review is most often the bias of the reviewer — something all of us have and some reviewers have in spades.
I was thinking about that this morning while perusing the Oscar nominations for this year. As an Academy member, I had voted but did not see my number one selection for Best Picture — Lone Survivor — anywhere on the list of the nine nominees. I can’t say I was surprised. Lone Survivor is a patriotic film and patriotism isn’t high on the list of positive traits for Hollywood these days, except perhaps to that group of once-secret outliers known as the Friends of Abe.
In fact, Lone Survivor, a big audience success, has raised the particular hackles of some of our more liberal (in the modern sense) critics. Here’s Amy Nicholson of the L. A. Weekly:
Here’s a movie that’ll flop in Kabul. Lone Survivor, the latest by Battleship director Peter Berg, is a jingoistic snuff film about a Navy SEAL squadron outgunned by the Taliban in the mountainous Kunar province. After four soldiers — played with muscles and machismo by Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster — get ID’d by Afghan goat herders, they’re in a race to climb to the top of the nearest summit and summon an airlift before these civilians can sprint to the nearest village and alert local leader Ahmad Shah. It doesn’t go well.
Berg’s flick bleeds blood red, bone-fracture white, and bruise blue. It’s based on the memoir Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10by sole evacuee Marcus Luttrell (played by Wahlberg) — and that’s only a spoiler if you’ve ignored the title. Luttrell didn’t exactly write his book. Rather than sitting in front of a word processor, he was back in action in Iraq. Instead, the United States Navy hired British novelist Patrick Robinson, who, among other embellishments, upped the number of enemy Taliban fighters from 10 to 200. Hey, whatever, man. Those aliens in Battleship weren’t real, either.
Embellishments? Sort of like Barack Obama in Dreams from My Father, I guess. We live in a age of embellishments. It just depends on who’s doing it. Period. (I was proving I can be as a snotty as Ms. Nicholson.) I could go on to quote her further, but you can read her bile for yourself at the link.
Lone Survivor does what the media has tried to hide; lets you see how the enemy is compared with us.
If you missed seeing live on 9-11-01 people who jumped, holding hands, to their certain deaths out of the Twin Towers; if you never watched a video of an American (like Nick Berg) being beheaded by al Qaeda, you probably will never see either thing.
Certainly not through our media.
I watched all of these things and would not want to see any of them again…..including Lone Survivor.
Even though I know it to be fiction and special effects, it is just so gruesome.
Grousing about how or why a PC, Lear-jet Limo class votes for Oscars is silly.
We KNOW who and what they will vote for.
Every year its the same thing; self-validation.
I saw Lone Survivor last night. I found nothing “jingoistic” about it; so Amy Nicholson’s own biases and leanings are showing through in her review.
Incidentally, I’ve found the criticism at On Violence far more interesting reading than film-critic Nicholson’s review.
@Wordsmith: Thanks Word–good read. Sorry to hear the movie omits the fine work of U.S. Marines in this province.
Reminds us of successful Marine initiatives in Iraq’s Anbar Awakening. This hearts and minds strategy, along with an open wallet turned the Sunni chieftans against the extremely oppressive Al Queda.
Was hopeful this strategy would prevail in Afghan against the Taliban.
@Richard Wheeler:
So
The movie was [strongly] based on the book which was about the battle between the Taliban and a particular SEAL team, which included Metal of Honor winner, Michael Murphy. Why should it include anything about the stellar work that the Marines did in that province? Exactly what did that have to do with that SEAL team’s battle?
Or is it that you just discount anything heroic by the Navy?
@retire05: I agree with the author of the article Word. referenced. It appears the movie omits or changes events described in the book.I’m in awe of the Navy Seals.
I am proud of The U.S Naval Service of which The Marines are an integral part.
Semper Fi
@Richard Wheeler:
It appears? IOW, you haven’t read the book so are totally clueless as to what was omitted or changed.
Yes, the movie does take some “artistic” liberties, but damn few. And where did Roger Simon even say that events were omitted or changed?
Unlike the brave and dedicated Amy Nicholson who braved the dangers and horrors of sitting in front of her word processor to write that bit of trash. Ms. Nicolson has been invited by Glenn Beck to join his show along with Marcus Luttrell to voice her distaste of his telling of the bravery and heroism of his fallen brothers. I doubt she has the cajones to take him up on it, or to face Marcus. People like her, supported by people like you, can’t seem to find the courage of their convictions when called upon to defend them.
Read the book. And understand that is these men, and their families, that your party turns its back on.
@retire05: Words ref was from the Cummings brothers who read the book and saw the movie. If you read it you’d see they point out a number of discrepancies between the book,the movie and reality.
That’s what reviewers do. I know nothing of Ms Nicholson.
Think Beck a real kook.
@Richard Wheeler:
What? WTH are you talking about? Are you smoking crack? This entry was by Curt, and neither he, nor Roger Simon, mention the Cummings brothers. Do try to stay on track.
So you, a statist California, knows nothing of a political hack who writes for the LA Weekly? Color me skeptical.
Unlike those your state produces, i.e. Pelosi, Boxer, and all of Hollyweird? Yeah, I’m sure if Glenn Beck knew you didn’t like him he would be crushed. But unlike your left wing heroes, he actually cares about America, and American history. I guess you’re more the Jon Stewart School of Fools type.
@retire05: Word in #2 ref to Cummings Bros. on violence which he” found interesting”, as did I. You .got it?
Never heard of Ms Nicholson–don’t read LA Weekly
Damn right I’d take Jon Stewart over Glenn Beck.. One a great satirist. The other a sad clown. Actually as RT might point out—That’s being unfair to clowns.
@Richard Wheeler:
First, I have not read the book, any reviews of the book or seen the movie. Having said that, from my experience, most movies made about actual events usually bear very little resemblance. The movie is made to make an exciting movie that people will want to see. Most movies don’t care about the truth. Use this example: The movie, “Saving Mr. Banks”. About Walt Disney buying the rights to Mary Poppins, according to all I have read about it, at least 99.5% of the movie is fiction, though it’s supposedly based on a true story. The movie has Disney putting up the author in Vegas to entertain him and negotiate with him about buying the rights. In fact, according to History, the rights were already Disney’s before the writer arrived in Vegas and Disney never even met with him there. So much for accuracy in movies. I’m sure if “Sole Survivor” were filmed ‘exactly’ as events occurred, it would likely be quite boring. The movie last’s 2 hours, how many hours are condensed into those two hours? I have no problem with Film makers making exciting movies. I have nothing but empathy for Marcus Luttrell and what he went through. He lost several close friends. I would not want to be a Navy Seal. I admire them immensely. I would not want to be an enemy force against the US Navy, the US Marines, the US Army or the US AirForce. They all are immensely great when the need to be is there.
I’m not an admirer of Beck. I like many of his positions, but when he had the opportunity to question Obama’s eligibility, he sidestepped the issue. People don’t like to be called names, but calling names is usually the product of a small mind. (not in my case). Beck is ‘usually’ a conservative. But then, so am I.
@Redteam: You think if Sole Survivor (actually it’s Lone Survivor) were filmed exactly as events occurred,it would likely be quite boring. I really don’t think so.
So you’re saying when YOU call people names, like “dims”, it comes from your LARGE mind. Interesting take RT.
Absolutely agree U.S. Forces are the best in the world. Only fools would challenge them.
Semper Fi
@Richard Wheeler:
Hey, I’m not trying to denigrate them. I wouldn’t have wanted to be there. But let’s say they got into a foxhole and had to sit there 4 hours. Sitting there watching a movie for 4 hours with no action but sitting in a foxhole doesn’t sound exciting to me. My intent was that they should only take the important events, make them as exciting as they can, and hopefully as truthful as they can and make it a movie that you would like to sit in a theatre 3 hours and watch and enjoy. After all, Audie Murphy actually spent about 2 years in combat operations but all that was condensed into about a 3 hour movie of his story. Had we had to sit through the whole two years, some parts would likely have been boring. So by hitting only the highlights and making it about 3 hours, it was much more exciting, I’m sure. I have always been an admirer of Audie Murphy and if they took artistic liberties to make the movie more exciting, then great.
Dims is not a ‘name’, it’s what they are. But, LARGE mind, …….well, …..yeah…..
Audie Murphy, from Texas….Why do so many great people come from Texas? 05? you know?
@Redteam:
….
Yep.
@retire05:
Me too.