Merrick here...

Mastidon sent in his thoughts shortly after the premiere of THE HUNTING PARTY. I know that's not how one spells "Mastodon" - it's the way the reader asked to be identified, so that's the spelling we'll run with.

This is a reasonable substantive piece...must've taken him a long damn time to tap out each letter with those gigantic, clumsy tusks (maybe that's why he misspelled "mastodon"?)

I'm just goofing around...we really appreciate Mastidon's write-up. The film releases Friday & seems to be raising eyebrows. My kid wants to see it - he thinks it looks "interesting and cool" - which it may well be


Here's Mastidon...

Hi guys,

The other night I attend the Premier of The Hunting Party. I was pleasantly surprised. This one could be a sleeper hit.

The Hunting Party - 4 stars (out of 5)

Richard Gere as Simon, Terrance Howard as Duck, and Jesse Eisenberg as Benjamin. Written and Directed by Richard Shepard

First let me tell you, I am no Richard Gere fan. I can't point out one thing I have liked him in the past several years, until now. The movie itself is hard to categorize as it is a biography, a black comedy, a drama, a thriller, and an action adventure. But it works. And maybe that's why it works is because it has something for everyone.

***SPOILERS****

"Only the most absurd facts in this movie are true." How's that for an opening line? Right away the film sets the tone as something different.

The movie opens with a narration and montage from Duck. Simon and Duck are war reporters covering every hot zone out there. Simon is the star and Duck is his cameraman. Everything is perfect until one day Simon has a total meltdown on a live network broadcast from Bosnia causing him to get fired Fast forward five years later and Duck has a cushy job in NY and Simon has been fired from every news organization out there.

The story really begins with Duck returning to Bosnia to cover the 5 year anniversary of the ending of the war. Upon entering his hotel room, he finds Simon waiting for him. Simon wants a favor for Duck to be his camera man one last time. Duck agrees. The next day Duck films the fluff piece for Simon. Simon hopes to sell it to one of a dozen countries but it seems unlikely. Simon tells Duck he is working on a big story and baits Duck into working on it. Simon wants to interview The Fox who is based on Radovan Karadžić - the Bosnian war criminal responsible for the ordering of the rapes and murders of thousands of women and children during the Bosnian crisis. Benjamin, who is the son of a network VP and recently graduated journalism major, figures out whets going on and demands in. The rest of the film follows their adventures on the hunt for The Fox and the insanity of how easy it is to get close to one of the world's most notorious men.

Dylan Baker turns in the funniest role in the film as a CIA agent who rescues the trio. His monologue is funnier than any Leno or Letterman has put out and had me laughing my ass off.

One nice final touch is at the end, the movie points out what was true and what wasn't. A great end to an enjoyable film.

***END SPOILERS****

Richard Gere is totally believable as a burnout and this is certainly his best performance in years. The Hunting Party is great at showing how nobody really cares about what happened in Bosnia and that the major governments of the world world just assume forget about it and sweep it away. This film is really something extraordinary and could turn into a big hit in the process.

-Mastidon