#PaulTamasy

[film-book]

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Film Review: THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE (2024): Guy Ritchie Delivers a Well-Cast and Wildly Entertaining WWII Action Picture https://film-book.com/film-review-the-ministry-of-ungentlemanly-warfare-2024-guy-ritchie-delivers-a-well-cast-and-wildly-entertaining-wwii-action-picture/?feed_id=130344&_unique_id=662446d807291

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Outpost (2020)

The Outpost begins uneasily. There are so many characters you’ll lose track of who’s who, even all of their names clunkily appearing on-screen. Director Rod Lurie also uses title cards to show the different “eras” of command at Outpost Keating but there are so many they don’t help orient you at all. Then, you realize that’s the point. While the characters become a homogenous unit instead of individuals, the presentation sets the stage and the combat scenes capture the chaos and danger of armed conflict like no other.

In 2009, Taliban forces attack Combat Outpost Keating on a daily rate. Located in a remote Afghan valley surrounded by mountains, it's a death trap that, on October 3rd, saw one of the bloodiest American engagements in the Afghan war.

The Outpost does not shine a good light on the U.S. military while simultaneously honoring the war's soldiers. Clearly, the Americans weren't welcome, the policies of the higher-ups were either ineffective or taken advantage of by the locals, and the base did not have the resources required to defend itself. Anyone with even basic knowledge of combat (or who’s seen Revenge of the Sith) would see the flaws in the defences. The men at the base are keeping their heads above water but cracks are beginning to form in the psyche of even the most level-headed troops. The constant stress is getting to them and with each attack, the Taliban are getting bolder.

The film draws strength from its realism and lack of clichés. The base’s Afghan interpreter (Mohammed, played by Sharif Dorani) warns of a large-scale attack so often even we dismiss them. How many times have the soldiers heard his warnings already? When Captain Benjamin D. Keating (Orlando Bloom) has a heart-to-heart with someone, it’s not to bump up our sympathy for him right before he’s killed; it’s because that’s what it was really like. Someone calling their faraway wife is just daily happenings. All of the dialogue we hear, the soldiers’ behaviour feels authentic.

As mentioned earlier, you’ll have a hard time remembering who anyone is. Even with Scott Eastwood playing Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (essentially the main character), I could never keep track. If – like me – this makes you experience the film at a distance, that’s ok. The revolving door of leadership and the film’s sudden discarding of seemingly important characters are there to set the stage for an incredible climax. The odds are impossible and the combat is presented without an ounce of romance. People die suddenly and without warning. Acts of heroism are not met with grandiose fanfares; they're just lucky moves made on the spot to ensure survival. So much adrenaline is pumping through your veins you could get a piece of shrapnel in your arm and continue without even flinching.

If you feel cold towards The Outpost at first, stick with it. By the end, the picture fully allows you to see and feel what it must've been like at the time. The real-life interviews/footage during the end credits raise the authenticity to as high as it could be without it being a documentary. (December 21, 2020)

[adamwatchesmovies]

Air Bud (1997)

I never saw Air Bud as a kid but I always felt it calling to me. I had to see it if only to hear “Ain’t no rule a dog can’t play basketball!”. Those words are, without a doubt, the basis for the greatest sports movie of all time... had it followed-through with its wacky premise. In reality, this is a generic boy and his dog story.

The trailer promised so much. Our hero's team of losers need an ace to win the big game. Their opponents stand there, mouth agape as Buddy (the dog) steps onto the court and runs circles around them then bounces the ball into the net. The referee asks “Does he dribble?” to which the coach responds “No, but he drools a little”. If you weren't already excited, the next shot has the team - including Buddy - putting their hands in the middle for a pre-game cheer. All those moments come in the last 15 minutes of the movie. What a colossal disappointment! I thought this whole movie was about a dog playing basketball. That’s what the trailer left me to believe anyway!

Actually, it’s the story of Josh (Kevin Zegers), a lonely boy who finds a friend in the form of Buddy, a performing Golden Retriever abandoned by his bitter owner  (Michael Jeter).

The film's plot is little more than a checklist of cliches. Moving to a new town with no friends? Check. At least one absent/dead parent? Check. A cute sibling for some wacky antics? Check. Tons of talent that will only reveal itself once the animal comes into play? Check. At least the performing dog is talented, which makes it kind of neat to watch. Air Buddy climbs ladders, catches balls, makes baskets, and "reacts" to what's around him convincingly. As a vehicle to show off the animal’s talent, this is a terrific film. On a certain level, the movie works whenever the dog is on-screen.

For children, with unrefined tastes, Air Bud will be a winner. Buddy is adorable and only a cold-hearted monster would be immune to the relationship that develops between him and his boy. Adults will be largely impervious to the film's tricks. It’s not enough that we have the tension of whether or not Josh and his team will be champions at the end of the basketball season, or that Josh is recovering from his family situation, we have to thwart three separate human villains too! These over-the-top, one-dimensional irredeemable bad guys are so phony and manufactured they bring the movie down several notches single-handedly. The ending of is particularly bad because it focuses on a conflict that should have never happened and whose outcome is so predictable it brings the movie down by another half-star.

In the end, Air Bud earns a 2,5 out of 5 for adults and higher for kids. It’s no childhood classic, but it’s harmless and sweet. It's the rare case where the trailer is actually more fun than the film it's advertising because it cuts out all the unnecessary fat and keeps all the crazy. (On DVD, January 30, 2015)