tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816462498135772599.post2242318699422173114..comments2023-11-05T01:19:39.294-07:00Comments on Punitive Superego: A quick note about The KingdomAndrew Dignanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03535783608109870688noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816462498135772599.post-38941855986217523642007-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:002007-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:00I thought Black Hawk Down was technically sound an...I thought <I>Black Hawk Down</I> was technically sound and admirable but had the inadverdent effect of looking like an Aryan recruitment film, particularly in the scene where Ron Eldard's character was swarmed. Scott did get one of the best performances out of the Eldard I've ever seen, though. <BR/><BR/><I>24</I> I still like, since the head writer is a bleeding heart liberal who wrote some kickass XF episodes, while Surnow dances his dance for the Limbaugh crowd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816462498135772599.post-41676875742888297812007-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:002007-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00I'm supposed to see the film proper in a few hours...I'm supposed to see the film proper in a few hours and provided I've got any energy left, I will attempt to defend the film over there. I'm working off of 6 month old memories of a workprint so I don't want to get myself in too deep without any ammo (as it were), but I'm disappointed if not quite surprised that the discussion has devolved into "war mongers" vs. "hippies." I don't see the harm in a film that presents an idealized dramatization of a US agency being able to swoop into a foreign land to avenge itself, accomplish its localized mission and not leave the job unfinished and the entire region in utter shambles. Rather than a "justification" for invading Iraq or self-celebratory propaganda piece on the might of the US armed forces, I think the film is more acting out of frustration that we haven't been able to, say, kill Osama Bin Laden in six years let alone tracking him down over the course of a long weekend. <BR/><BR/>I still contend the film is a Michael Mann film that he had Peter Berg direct as thematically it adheres closer to his wheelhouse than Berg's (by virtue of the fact that Berg has no discernible thematic wheelhouse). The film views tracking down Islamic fundamentalist terrorists as a job no different than planning a bank heist or infiltrating a drug ring or being a hitman; something done with a bear minimum of fuss but with a lot of style, a lot of toys and hanging sense of emptiness. There's really no joy to Foxx and company's actions, it's all about doing a job and going home.<BR/><BR/>But then again, I also liked <I>Black Hawk Down</I> and the first few seasons of "24" so maybe I'm just "Neo-Con scum. "Andrew Dignanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03535783608109870688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816462498135772599.post-74711368737554258292007-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:002007-09-30T12:52:00.000-07:00Whoa, the fistfight over at THND over Boone's revi...Whoa, the fistfight over at THND over Boone's review is pretty nasty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com