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 Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:42 pm |
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| TheMadHobbit |
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Anyone else watching it?
Not being a marine, but knowing some, it does have the ring of truth to it. Though the acting is a tad forced or over-the-top. |
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"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:41 pm |
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| Yaish |
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Haven't seen it or even heard of it. I don't think I have HBO, so I probably won't be seeing it either.
What's it about? |
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... the kilt had concealed a blaster strapped to one thigh and a knife to the other. He was aware of the present gentle customs against personal weapons, but he felt naked without them. Such customs were nonsense anyhow, foolishment from old women - there was no such thing as "dangerous weapons," only dangerous people.
--Robert Heinlein in Methuselah's Children |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:47 pm |
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| Gren |
| God Of Oreos |
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Those of us without HBO may never know until it comes out on DVD, lol.
I went to check out reviews of this new HBO show and they were all over the road, great work, terrible work, tending to mirror not the knowledge of film-making of the reviewer, but his or her politics re: the Iraq war.
A Rolling Stone writer was embedded with a Marine unit during the initial invasion of Iraq and takeover of Baghdad. He wrote a book about it. The creative team for the acclaimed HBO series The Wire made a miniseries out of it. Qualities common to most reviews was the grittiness, realism, and overall quality of the film making.
Some review blurbs, glaringly varied:
Generation Kill stands in the tradition of classic war movies. Vivid storytelling, superb acting and a frank approach make this a TV landmark. -Orlando Sentinel
The end result of all that effort, however, is a miniseries that's as dull and throbbing as a severe headache. -New York Post
Generation Kill is rewarding in its complexity. It feels real - and that realness is bracing, sad and funny in equal measures. -San Francisco Chronicle
It plays like it's been built for antisocial boys--armchair heroes in love with guns and in search of demented adventure. -Slate
I hope it's at least as good as was Band Of Brothers (WWII), and no where near as bad as was Over There, an earlier TV attempt at dramatizing the Iraq war by taking the soap opera approach. |
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There is an island of opportunity in the middle of every difficulty. Miss that, though, and you're pretty much fucked. |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:42 am |
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| Raven |
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| Quote: | | Those of us without HBO may never know until it comes out on DVD, lol. |
or A&E buys the rights... |
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"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed." |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:53 pm |
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| TheMadHobbit |
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| Gren wrote: | | I hope it's at least as good as was Band Of Brothers (WWII), and no where near as bad as was Over There, an earlier TV attempt at dramatizing the Iraq war by taking the soap opera approach. |
Actually it is right in the middle. If BoB is a 100 and OT is 0, then this is about 45-50.
Whoever called it "superb acting" is a complete and absolute MORON. At its best we are talking daytime drama quality (with one or two mild exceptions).
Slate came the closest to capturing it. The movie that came to mind as I was watching it was the Jake Gyllenhaal/Jamie Fox war flick - name escapes me (Gyllenhaal was a nihilistic marine sniper). This is a "lighter" version of that theme, with a bit more emphasis on the "USMC as America's Bloodthirsty Pitbulls" angle.
That is why I asked, because while I know what the USMC is and why. I also know several leathernecks who live up (down?) to the borderline psycho-killer stereotype that seems popular.
But I also know some noble marines, warriors in the truest sense. In this series, it seems as if the Corps is comprised of kill happy psychos and 'roid raging Sargeant Carters.
Bottom line is that I wanted to hear from some real marines who could enlighten me as to whether the Corps is being realistically portrayed or if this is another macho fantasy trip. |
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_________________
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:15 pm |
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| Yaish |
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Well like any group of almost 200,000 people, you're going to have all types. I'm a former Marine, and while I may not be exactly a typical example I'm not too far from it either.
I've known the "Hoorah, let's go get 'em Devil Dogs!" type and much of that is an act. It's compensating for a lack of confidence elsewhere, so they try to put on the hardest, toughest act they can.
Marines (guys really) also tend to act tougher and more macho in groups, so sometimes what is seen is quite different than the reality.
Without seeing the material in question I'd have to say that it's the normal Hollywood, one dimensional sort of portrayal. Sure, you really have guys who act like you describe, but they aren't anything like a majority. Even at that they don't act that way all the time either. |
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_________________
... the kilt had concealed a blaster strapped to one thigh and a knife to the other. He was aware of the present gentle customs against personal weapons, but he felt naked without them. Such customs were nonsense anyhow, foolishment from old women - there was no such thing as "dangerous weapons," only dangerous people.
--Robert Heinlein in Methuselah's Children |
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:40 pm |
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| TheMadHobbit |
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Over on imdb.com, it seems that quite a few avowed marines feel thi sis pretty accurate. I say avowed because as we all know, on teh inernetz, you can be anything you want.
But they ring true in their responses.
Also, to be sure, the only really negative things about this show so far is that quite a bit of the acting is wooden and the script can be overwrought. Yet as I said before, there is a definite "authentic" vibe as well. |
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_________________
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." |
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| Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:00 am |
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| TheMadHobbit |
| Subway Tolkien |
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Watched episodes 2 & 3 last night. Definitely superior to the first. The acting is getting better (or I am getting numb to it).
But now that the brigade is getting into the thick of it, the series is growing more compelling and realistic. |
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_________________
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:09 am |
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| Yaish |
| Intel Chief |
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I saw part of an episode last night, maybe 40 minutes worth. It really is pretty realistic in the way Marines talk, act, etc... There were some things I saw that weren't accurate as far as doctrine and tactics go, things like dispersion in convoy but I am sure that was for filming. It's hard to show a convoy with 30 meter dispersion in a single shot, the trucks are too far apart.
The show only had one really fatal flaw as far as I was concerned, and that was that it wasn't that interesting. Maybe it was just the episode that I watched but it just didn't really catch me. It lacked the impetus of a true 'day in the life' documentary show, and it wasn't as interesting as a normal drama/scripted show. |
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_________________
... the kilt had concealed a blaster strapped to one thigh and a knife to the other. He was aware of the present gentle customs against personal weapons, but he felt naked without them. Such customs were nonsense anyhow, foolishment from old women - there was no such thing as "dangerous weapons," only dangerous people.
--Robert Heinlein in Methuselah's Children |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:24 pm |
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| Gren |
| God Of Oreos |
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| Location: http://www.skeptomaniac.com |
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| It seems like just a matter of time before some producer 'improves' the show by having one of the main characters develop a love relationship with a local Iraqi girl. There's the cross-culture thing, and her Daddy's threats of an honor killing, and, and, she's was a princess in the former Hussein regime, yeah, that's the ticket, and, and... she's psychic... and... |
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_________________
There is an island of opportunity in the middle of every difficulty. Miss that, though, and you're pretty much fucked. |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:55 pm |
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| Yaish |
| Intel Chief |
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Actually Gren, other than the psychic bit that really happened. There was a big stink a while back because some Marine was marrying a Saudi Princess, and her family was against it. His Command was trying to prohibit him from marrying her, but he did it anyway and got her a K-1 visa I think.
Last I heard, they got divorced too. |
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_________________
... the kilt had concealed a blaster strapped to one thigh and a knife to the other. He was aware of the present gentle customs against personal weapons, but he felt naked without them. Such customs were nonsense anyhow, foolishment from old women - there was no such thing as "dangerous weapons," only dangerous people.
--Robert Heinlein in Methuselah's Children |
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:26 pm |
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| Gren |
| God Of Oreos |
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| Joined: 14 Oct 2005 |
Posts: 7841
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| Location: http://www.skeptomaniac.com |
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| YOU CAN'T PROVE SHE'S NOT PSYCHIC. |
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_________________
There is an island of opportunity in the middle of every difficulty. Miss that, though, and you're pretty much fucked. |
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