dpatt-54455

Baruchel and Eve have great chemistry on camera, and the romance is heart-warming and believable. The comedy is paced well, not too much raunchy stuff. The supporting characters are some of the best portrayals of dorky friends that I can ever remember. They especially add context to who the protagonist is and why a woman of indescribable beauty can fall for an ordinary man. This is one of TJ Miller's first real solid contributions and led to his greater success since then. I can watch this movie when I'm in any kind of mood. Solid writing, excellent acting, and a movie without a terrible antagonist. I don't think it gets the recognition and accolades that it deserves, and thus I wanted to write my review. It's a feel good movie, relatable, authentic. Watch it. You won't be disappointed!

This is not a documentary so much as it is a collection of actual footage set to (license-free, classical) music. I imagine in 1992 audiences saw messages about industrialized society in ways they approved of, but society didn't change as a result of the Gulf War or of the environmental disaster afterward. History has trivialized everything about the 1991 Gulf War (in which I was a participant, FYI). However, this film captures the hard work of American volunteer specialists who helped bring the oil fires to an end. Those men were heroes, and this film shows that well. I'm a fan of Herzog, but this one has not withstood the test of time. It will never be worth re-watching.

At its worst, this iteration is a preachy clunk on your head that 'war is bad, m'kay?' It fails to focus on the meaningful parts of the book except in two key scenes. Instead, it wastes most of its time on splashes of mud and blood contrasted with the pristine conditions of a few politicians and generals. It spent no time focusing on the home front and no time focusing on the illusions and myths that were shattered between social indoctrination and the fight in the trench. I was very disappointed, especially from a German production. The Nazis would not have banned this version. They could have used it to justify the concept of Dolschstoss...