Bash_McNasty

Neither film are biased or preachy, but it's fairly obvious why they were made. I've seen everything Alex Garland has written and directed, he is a more than capable story teller, so for anyone who thinks the story in either was lacking, it was clearly intentional.

There's been calls for a Civil War for many years now from certain people, but in that film we follow journalists who are there to simply document without bias. You never even know the political ideologies of the president or the factions warring, it's just a depiction of the disregard of life and the horrible things people would do to each other if that were to actually occur.

Warfare doubles down by being cowritten/codirected by Ray Mendoza, one of the soldiers in the house inside which the majority of the film takes, so it's an actual re-enactment of the 2006 battle of Ramadi, Iraq. It's haunting, horrific, claustrophobic, ultraviolent, and deeply unsettling throughout. I don't think it's spoilers since its something that's already happened in real life, at the end of the film nothing was accomplished but senseless destruction of loss of life. The Taliban controlled Afghanistan when the US first invaded, then 2 decades of death and destruction later it left and now ISIS is in charge, making that entire war utterly pointless.

Neither film are propagandist, glorifying war films with clear cut good guys and bad guys, which upset a lot of people, but they aren't meant to be. They are both cautionary tales of what could be to come, US troops are already being deployed in American cities, something anyone remotely familiar with the rise of fascist regimes saw coming, and Alex Garland got ahead of that with these two films.

While Civil War did have some exploration of how war changes people, not just the protagonists, but every group they come across and what they do when war breaks out, Warfare is sheer brutality. Both movies are incredibly bleak and some of the most important movies of our time. History will not look back kindly if Civil War is the first film made about a war a couple years before it even happens, knowing that the US could see what was happening and what the consequences would be and then doing it anyway.

Any fan of Louie should also really enjoy this as he is one of the head writers. Like Louie it's beautifully dark, depressing, awkward, and absurd, without being completely over the top. I can't give it a star rating yet, as rating a show as a whole off only the pilot is silly, but I have to say I truly enjoyed the pilot much more than I thought I would and I was going in with pretty high hopes.

I will say this is not for everyone. Anyone who likes Zach Galafianakis because of The Hangover or Due Date will likely be unpleasantly surprised by this side of him. This is more along the lines of his older stand-up and his work with Tim & Eric.

Without spoiling anything there are some slapstick gags that would be considered "low brow" by some, but the fact that they are simply there and not acknowledged by anyone maintaining the somber mood of the show makes them much more hilarious than simply the joke itself.

As a final note, Louie Anderson is possibly the best casting choice in history.

Seriously you're wasting your time. I gave it a chance, even though it's on the CW. It takes a cool subject, vampires, and completely waters it down for young people. The actors are horrible, they're simply there for looks, and the script was probably written by a bunch of over caffeinated readers of Teen People.

If you like vampires, go watch True Blood.

On the other hand, if you're into soap operas, and the whole "OMG he said, she said, she likes him, but he likes the other one who already has a boyfriend although she's been getting kind of sick of him recently so she's leading him on even though it probably won't be going anywhere and so her best friend finds out and blah blah blah" kinda shows, then go ahead and watch.