Movie Review

We Were Soldiers

There are very few movies that are hard to watch. This was one of them. The reality of war, of death, of separation, and of pain was so real that it almost makes your blood freeze to think that this reality only took place 45 years ago during the Vietnam War. The plot is relatively simple, but its simplicity doesn't make it feel as long as 2 and a half hours. It is all about one battle in Vietnam in the Valley of Death. Mel Gibson plays the lt. of 400 men. It basically tells the story of this battle and the lives of the families affected by it.

It had the same grasp of reality that Saving Private Ryan has throughout the movie. Beyond the gore and breath taking tragedies, there is still room to create the hero. Sure, the hero isn't all about dodging a dozen bullets at once, but it's about men, real men, fighting a real enemy, for a real cause. It almost seems to be a contradiction that these men, young as they are, must go through hell to preserve peace or freedom, or to save it for others. The young men aren't the only victims in this movie. The wives and the children are not Spartan mothers who preferred their sons to come back dead on a shield than to be dishonored and come back without it. There are many scenes where the news of a death is brought upon the wife. The movie does such a great job of presenting this, and of making you feel as though your were in their shoes.

There was a lot of virtue in this movie from fortitude, team work, perseverance, courage, obedience, etc. I liked the subplot of the photographer that came to take pictures in the middle of the battle. He unlike the photographers that came after the battle was affected by the reality of war. Mel Gibson was excellent in this movie as were many other actors.

Of course, I could only recommend this to mature viewers, and particularly, only those who can bear such intense movies. There is a little bit of language, which is normal for a war movie, and a lot of disturbing violence.

Movie Review

Law Abiding Citizen

Last night, I was just ready to sit down and watch an action packed movie, after having exhausted myself playing paintball and studying. However, as usual, it took us just as long to find a movie worth watching than to watch the whole movie itself. We, my mom and I, were looking for something exciting and thrilling. We didn't have much success, until we came across this movie, Law Abiding Citizen; of course, the plot seemed good, the violence a little over the top, and the acting credible. So we gave it a chance. These are my thoughts a day after watching the movie.

I will first start with the plot. I will assume that most of those reading have some idea of what's the movies about. If not, I suggest you read a plot summary or watch the trailer before reading this to get an idea about what I'm talking about. The husband, the main character, seeks to establish a precedent of justice in the system and the city after having watched his wife's murderer go free. His anger is turned into brutal vengeance, yet he seems to justify himself saying, "You think this is vengeance?" It's partly true that he isn't seeking to take vengeance on those took the lives of his wife and daughter. He is, however, trying to bring a sense of responsibility to the city and especially those who had a part in the murderer's release. The sense, or better put, the line between good and evil in this movie is hard to delineate, because while we feel sympathy for the husband, we also feel hatred for his vengeance. There's no real hero in the movie.

The unnecessary violence was distracting, and only made us feel sympathy for the victims and not the murderer. I think that the movie could have demonstrated its point without having to create so dark a character as the husband. But, overall, the movie had a morale: that though we only deserve justice, we often receive mercy, which is more than we deserve and it is not our job to make sure that every person is accountable for his actions, however it is our duty and responsibility to give justice and mercy to our neighbors and even those that we call our enemies.