Posts Tagged ‘Iraq War’

Short Take: Action-packed and smart, but perhaps too slanted

Director: Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy, Bourne Ultimatum)

Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential)

Cast: Matt Damon (The Informant!, Bourne series), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges), Greg Kinnear (Flash of Genius)

Length: 1h 55m

Synopsis: The setting is Baghdad, Iraq, 2003. U.S. Chief warrant officer Roy Miller (Damon) is directly involved with the American takeover of Iraq by leading squads of men into hostile sites where weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are suspected of being kept and/or manufactured. After coming up short several times in a row, Miller begins to seriously question the intelligence that he and his men are receiving. Instructed to basically shut up and do his job, he instead takes advantage of when an Iraqi local offers him a tip about a meeting of high-ranking Iraq military officials by acting on the information first and relaying it later. Doing this gets him involved in a world of intelligence politics that he was not ready for, and that he may not be able to escape unharmed. Read the rest of this entry »

Short Take: Heavy and uncomprimising, but definately worth your time and thought

Director: Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot)

Screenwriters: David Benioff (adapted), Susanne Bier (writer for BrØdre)

Cast: Toby Maguire (Spider-Man), Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta), Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead)

Length: 1h 45m

Synopsis: Marine Capt. Sam Cahill (Maguire) has been shipped off to Afghanistan leaving his wife Grace (Portman) and two kids at home, along with his brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) who was recently released from prison. While away on his tour of duty Sam is captured by terrorists, and his loved ones at home are forced to expect the worst. Read the rest of this entry »