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BoboVision Checks Out STOP LOSS With Ryan Phillipe And Joey Gordon Levitt!
Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I know nothing about this, but I remember when they started casting, and it seemed like that was about three weeks ago. And now it’s already screening? Wow. And now thanks to BoboVision, we’ve got an idea of what it is.
Hey Moriarty,
Bobo_Vision here. Tonight I attended a screening of a movie called "Stop Loss" starring Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon Leavitt (JGL). The synopsis we were given is that the movie is about a US soldier who returns from the war, and after settling back into home life in America, he is forced to go back to Iraq against his will.
The movie opens in Iraq where the squadron led by Phillippe is guarding a checkpoint. What starts out with some young soldiers kidding around becomes abruptly tense when a car pulls up full of Iraqi women. With guns drawn, the US soldiers order them to stop, not knowing if they're carrying, or if they're sitting on bombs. It turns out they're a decoy, and a second car drives past with guns blazing. The US soldiers take chase, firing at the vehicle with a gun turret and are led straight into an ambush.
These opening scenes are amazing and remind me of "BlackHawk Down" where you are put right in the middle of the combat and are wholly engaged. Some US soldiers bite it, but Phillippe and his buddies make it, and return home to Buttfuck, USA in the heart of Texas. The movie abruptly shifts gears at this point and we are put in the midst of some good ol' Texas boys as they drink beers, shoot up wedding gifts and bottles for target practice, and eat home-killed rattlesnake for dinner.
JGL's character seems to be the most affected by the war as he takes up drinking and slowly becomes unhinged. He is one of the best things in the movie, but his role is small and supporting, unfortunately. Phillipe's other buddy, Steve, beats up his fiancee and digs a foxhole in his front yard when drunk, but is still a pro-war meathead. As for Phillippe himself, he says he's done with the war and is looking forward to life back home, but all things considered, he's pretty happy-go-lucky. That is until he finds out he's been stop-lossed, which means he's being sent back to Iraq despite completing his tour. Phillippe isn't happy about this, and tells his senior that George Bush can fuck himself, which causes him to be sent to the
stockade. On the way, he assaults 2 guards and goes A.W.O.L. The movie shifts gears once again, and Phillippe goes on a road-trip with Steve's fiancee to meet a Senator in D.C. hoping to rectify his dillemma.
I have a few problems with this movie. First, the tone of the movie never felt right. Scenes which were supposed to be moving never moved me, and most fell flat. Part of this is due to the weakness of the lead performance by Phillippe. I may be biased because I've never really liked him as an actor, but he just doesn't deliver. He has some flashbacks and a scene where he goes a little postal, but this performance isn't consistent, and in other scenes he's jocular and peppy. So the emotion I should feel for a supposedly shell-shocked soldier who is being forced to go back to war against his will is never completely driven home. This movie tries to do things which have been done by other post-traumatic war movies like "Deer Hunter" and "Born On the Fourth of July", but falls short.
For example, Phillippe visits the parents of a soldier who was killed during the ambush to tell them how he died, but its not as good as the scene from "4th of July" where Cruise tells those parents that he killed their son. There's a scene where Phillippe visits a buddy at a VA hospital, and the buddy briefly describes the Hospital as a 'House of Horrors' when they're out in the courtyard, but Phillippe never experiences it firsthand. There is also a scene where Phillippe is given the microphone to speak at their town's 'Welcome Home' celebration, and starts rambling about how the smell of onions reminds him of home, and his friend, Steve, rescues him from his awkward expatiation by interjecting, "And we killed lots of Iraqis, and we're gonna win the war!", to the eruption of cheers.
This isn't a bad movie. In fact, the audience I saw the movie with really like it from what I heard. But it was just alright for me, which was disappointing in a way, because I wanted to really like it. i think the overall message of the movie is important, and we haven't seen too many movies about the Iraq war. I just felt like the movie had the potential to be much better, but misstepped in its execution. Its possible they could fix the tone by cutting the movie differently since this was an early rough cut, and they should change the title because it screams "Straight-to-video" or "HBO movie" title. Unfortunately, they would have to recast the lead and reshoot all the scenes without Phillippe for me to like this movie, but maybe thats just me. If they improve the other two factors, this movie could go from being kinda alright, to decent.
Bobo_Vision
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Joseph Gordon Levitt is great in it.
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I'm first.
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For shame... I thought Phillippe was decent in Flags of our Fathers, probably better in that than his entire career.
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I'm at a loss. Also, any movie with JGL automatically shows up on my radar. Ever since Brick, anyway.
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Sounds like an authentic representaion of the average Texan.
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I grew up in a small town in the Midwest (I live in LA now) so I know rednecks. I am not a big fan of rednecks as a general rule. However, I must say that I really hate the way they are depicted in movies. The portrayal is usually so over-the-top and cartoonish it's utlimately meanspirted and misses the point as to who these people are. I would submit that even Larry the Cable Guy's persona is meant to be a huge exxageration. Million Dollar Baby is a great example of white trash being so badly portrayed in a movie that it takes you out of the scenes you are watching.
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Fuck I hate these movies. They're just trying to cash in on the bleeding heart liberals who hate bush. I joined the military because I wanted to serve my country. I fully understood my ass was a piece of government property until the absolute end of my term. Proud of it.
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...were the southerners portrayed as sterotypically (sp?) as much as say, Deliverance?
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Cause I know some people who do eat rattle snake, but I believe they are protected by state laws so it's in no way the norm. Good to see it fits the narrative, and if I see it I'll be waiting for the banjo boy.
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By Stevie Wonder
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Great movie. Scott Frank Rules!!!!!!!!
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Guy's name is Billy Redden. He washes dished now. Also, he fucks cats.
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That does look like it could be the Banjo Kid's cousin.
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I think JGL has made enough good choices that I'd trust him with my money. That also sounds like a good story. And I'm not anti-Phillippe, I even liked 54. If it plays near me, I'll go.
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but I saw The Kingdom instead. Kingdom was an interesting film that just didn't affect me one way or the other. It was fine. Good even. I just didn't have much to say about it. But this sounds interesting. I made the wrong choice. But it was the second time I'd been invited to Stop Loss. I might get another chance.
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He was pretty good in Brick, although I thought the film itself was much ado about nothing. Also, he was fucking great in Mysterious Skin, which is very good but not the most pleasant of watching experiences. Never did I imagine, while watching Third Rock From The Sun, that one day I would see this funny little kid being asked to fuck a man in the ass.Thanks to Barry Egan for suggesting this The Lookout. I'll keep an eye out for that one.
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Seems like I always hear about "his style of acting doesn't agree with me" which must be some polite way of saying he can't act. I've never hated him in anything, but he's a very pretty face, often prettier than seems right for whatever role he's playing, and that's not a good thing for a wannabe leading man. And he's not very intense, yet he keeps appearing as a soldier in war movies. I guess directors want to play up how wrong he is for war or fighting or puberty or something. Poor guy, seems like if Keanu can become a star so should he, but that dame fortune just hasn't blessed him with that particular pot of gold. Oh yeah, the movie sounds interesting, always glad to see Tommy continue to mature into an actual leading man.
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Had a beer and cheeted on his wife. BTW, there's no need for this fictional direct-to-video bleeding-heart Hollywood handwringing over "our boys" when excellent docs like "Baghdad ER" and "Ground Truth" are out there.
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Joseph Gordon Levitt was by far the best thing in Brick, which was an okay movie. He certainly seems like he's legit, and I'll have to check out the Lookout too.
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