Recent Reviews for Jarhead
-
MCT:July 23, 2008I think the sum of all other words uttered was still considerably smaller than the number of "fucks" said in this movie. It also reminded me why I usually don't watch movies about blind American patriotism.
-
MCT:July 21, 2008Rated: (R)
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Genres: Drama
Casts : Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Peter Saarsgard
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I am the baddest mother fucker in the valley."
-Sargeant Siek-
Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows "Swoff," a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom... Sergeant Sykes is a Marine lifer who heads up Swofford's scout/sniper platoon, while Troy is Swoff's friend and mentor, a die-hard member of STA - their elite Marine Unit.
I would have to admit that to me the main appeal of Jarhead is Jake Gyllenhaal inevitably. After his outstanding performance in Brokeback Mountain, he became a promising actor among them in his generation. Seems to me that watching "Jarhead" is like watching snapshots of what can really happen among United States combat troops all but slap you with their observational force and definitely an eye-opening experience.
Jarhead evoked the surreal futility of men who owns passion for victory. The exact portrait of warfare and how the troops managed to get themself together, keeping them sane. Jarhead sets up a powerfully resonant echo of the current war happening.
Not the one-of-a-kind type of movie. Somehow forgettable, but still a very nice (another) war movie with (another) impressive performance by Jake Gyllenhaal.A story. A man fires a rifle for many years. and he goes to war. And afterwards he comes home, and he sees that whatever else he may do with his life - build a house, love a woman, change his son's diaper - he will always remain a jarhead. And all the jarheads killing and dying, they will always be me. We are still in the desert.
-Anthony 'Swoff' Swofford- -
MCT:July 19, 2008
Jarhead follows 'Swoff' from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a snipers rifle through the Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers. Swoff and his fellow Marines, who have been trained to kill, find themselves in a brutal situation, fighting a war they don't understand for a cause they don't fully grasp.
This movie had me hooked from the very first scenes. Especially when he's at boot camp and just as his head gets slammed against a board the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" plays. It seemed rather funny.
It's a brilliant film, not like any other war film, there wasn't so much action but it showed what life was like in a warzone.
Jake Gyllenhaal brought this movie together.
Jamie Foxx. One word - Wow! He played this role perfectly. I loved watching him in this movie
I loved it when Swoff is in his Santa's hat. And at the end when he's looking out the window, first it looks normal and then it dissolves into the desert, and he says "we are still in the desert" it was brilliant.
This story is fantastically written, and filmed. Scenes were amazing and there was some humour in it aswell.
The story reflects to the war right now that is going on.
-
MCT:July 17, 2008gyllenhaal gives a good performance and so does foxx, but the movie is a little long and sometimes very boring
-
MCT:July 17, 2008Jarhead - Every man fights his own way..
Plot - Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, a Camus-reading kid from Sacramento, enlists in the Marines in the late 1980s. He malingers during boot camp, but makes it through as a sniper, paired with the usually-reliable Troy. The Gulf War breaks out, and his unit goes to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield. After 175 days of boredom, adrenaline, heat, worry about his girl-fiend finding someone else, losing it and nearly killing a mate, demotion, latrine cleaning, faulty gas masks, and desert football, Desert Storm begins. In less than five days, it's over, but not before Swoff sees burned bodies, flaming oil derricks, an oil-drenched horse, and maybe a chance at killing. Where does all the testosterone go?..
The movie works on every level, from the excellent dialogue to the many unforgettable images..
The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and Sam Mendes' direction is pitch perfect. -
MCT:July 9, 2008
This is just a total testostarone movie. Full out manly and is a great movie. Foxx makes an awsome sargent, but Gyyllenhaal just accepted a manly role so he wouldnt have to put up with being a fag for doing brokeback
-
MCT:July 8, 2008
Great movie, very well written, though i was surprised. I thought it would have alot more action than drama
-
MCT:July 5, 2008
FUCKING... AWESOME... MOVIE!! I laughed my God damned ass off!! I usually couldnt give a rat's ass about movies starring Jake Gilye...Guyle...Gy... oh fuck it, the guy that looks like Tobey Maguire... MOtherfucker was fucking funny, hoora!! ...Oh yeah, im swearing a lot arent i? sorry THAT is one of the side effects of watching this movie (if you are offended by foul language & displays of manly bonding please avoid) anyway in between these moments of hilarity, are some truly thought provoking situations. and an insightful look into the lives of the of the men that go to war and their military life. You have no choice but to be drawn in by the characters and Jamie Foxx is at his bad ass best as usual... great movie... in the vein of 'Three kings'...
ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH ME SWAFFORD? Fucking hilarious!!! :)) -
MCT:July 4, 2008
This is the movie that pushed me to join the Marines.
Jake Gillenhall does an amazing job portraying a Marine and how they act. -
MCT:June 30, 2008really how many films like this have we see ? after VIETNAM , WE ll have a second generation films for Iraq
-
MCT:June 24, 2008
Awesome anti-war film with a good cast, a terrific narration, a cool plot, great acting and dialogue and a fine directing by Sam Mendes. Extremelly recommended. Welcome to the suck.
84/100 -
MCT:June 19, 2008The movie was okay. . .nothing really amazing happened except that it goes pretty deep when Jake's sanity kind of disappears.
-
MCT:June 18, 2008
'Jarhead' both is and isn't your typical war film. Instead of the focus of how warfare degerates mentality, or provokes an identity transformation, this narrative concentrates on the effects of inaction; how sitting, waiting, wanting to be a part of the war you have trained for but never being given the chance can have detrimental effects. Mendes explores the details of camp-life and comradeship, and how little politics means to the soldiers taking part. The film follows Anthony 'Swoff'ord and his fellow 'jarheads' in the midst of training and the Gulf War, and how they cope with such a monotonous lifestyle; boisterous games and dirty jokes only forming the surface. The directorial observational approach enhances the realism of some quality acting by Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard, but it becomes much harder to experience a connection with these characters. There are no pacing problems, but as a cohesive whole the picture doesn't have enough impact; the well-written narration explains 'Jarhead's emotional core, but we struggle to feel it through a lack of audience involvement. Granted the film has it's moments, such as Swoff interrogating a fellow marine, or Troy's desperation to kill in the final act, but these moments are few and far between. Mendes does add light-hearted moments of humour, and the look of war in the desert is achieved with spectacular cinematography, but the film is missing the punch it should have. I far from disliked 'Jarhead'; I admire it's making and I know the lack of action makes the story all that more empathetic, but the fact is watching monotony just isn't all that engaging or interesting.
-
MCT:June 16, 2008
It was a great movie for what the content was about. A little sad but that's expected when it comes to war. They did a great job and Jake G., he was fabolous in it.
-
MCT:June 4, 2008
A great war film, but I totally recommend Full Metal Jacket. Anyway this is great film, go watch it.
-
MCT:June 4, 2008The worst war movie I have ever seen. It's the only war movie, with no war and no action......so disappointing.
-
MCT:May 28, 2008
Errr... this wasn't my thing. It's definitely a dick flick. Some of the cinematography was mind-blowing but a lot of the dialogue was just plain moronic and unnecessary. Because of the cinematography and Jake's performance, I guess it merits 3 stars. I would still shoot myself if I had to watch this again.
-
MCT:May 27, 2008
Great movie. The director gave such an awesome take on the other side of being a soldier and going to war; translating on film how utterly human and fragile these men can truly be. Aside from that, flawless progression of a "meaty" and multi-leveled story line, terrific performances from Jake Gyllenhall, Peter Sarsgard and Jamie Foxx. Lastly, even though 90% of the entire film was shot in the desert, it was still very gripping. A testament to the visual expertise of the director.
-
MCT:May 25, 2008
Truthfully, there isn't much going on in this... Not much action.... But some mighty fine ASS.... I find myself rewinding the scene where Swoff is wearing the Santa hat... on his peepee... heehee >:)
-
MCT:May 19, 2008
"The Bible says "Thou shalt not kill." But hear this: FUCK THAT SHIT!"
Jarhead is the newest directorial feature from much-admired UK-born director Sam Mendes (a man who has helmed a number of outstandingly successful movies including American Beauty and Road to Perdition): this is an absorbing film regarding the dramas of war. Mendes' intricately made film is set in the harsh deserts of Kuwait scarcely preceding the first Gulf War.
Based on memoirs of a soldier who developed his own memories of the experience, Jarhead is centred on young Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Gyllenhaal) who has recently joined the Sniper Corps in the United States Marines. In the vein of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, this film looks in-depth at the physically and mentally arduous boot camp training undertaken by the soldiers prior to being deployed to defend their country. Before being sent to the desert, the film delves into the personal life of Swofford; his relationship with his girlfriend, private habits, etc. The rest of the movie is concerned with the soldiers dealing with the boredom they endure in the middle of the scorching hot desert. Swoff befriends another sniper named Alan Troy (Sarsgaard) and his Staff Sergeant Sykes (Foxx).
Being told from the perspective of Swofford alone, the film chronicles several pivotal points in the war and always keeps the viewer up to date with the current situation: this includes the present number of soldiers in the country, and how long the protagonists have endured in the desert.
Mendes also has a prime focus on the aspects of war that are so rarely seen: the sheer boredom, the genuine camaraderie between the men, the list of things to do when bored, training incidents, wild parties, friendly fire incidents and disciplinary action.
If people approach this film with anticipations of a combat-driven, violent production you will be drastically disappointed. Instead of combat, the focus of Jarhead is to convey the frustrations of war from the perspective of a soldier deprived of the action and large-scale battles that so many other war movies have portrayed. In a sense it's a refreshing alteration on the conventional formula. In spite of being refreshing and original, the lack of action takes its toll on the film value. It contains all the elements of a great war movie: absorbing drama, realistic characters, a large arsenal, massive build up...but the build up is for absolutely nothing. I can appreciate the fact that Mendes focused on the drama and the experiences of one man who was frustrated because he never killed somebody; however in this case it's more that the source material let the movie down. After seeing the film, I felt somewhat unsatisfied because all the lead-up was for nothing but a wild party and a sudden ending. Like most of Sam Mendes' work he has us so captivated in his world that the ending is incredibly shocking and unforeseeable.
Due to Jarhead being a dialogue driven war drama, the actors are required to do a good job. In this case, both Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are outstanding. Their portrayals are utterly flawless. They don't just play their characters, they actually become their characters. A quality that's rare in most contemporary movies.
Jarhead has been filmed beautifully. Especially towards the precious little combat that occurs towards the end I was enthralled by its gorgeous landscape and naturalistic colour palette.
All in all, Jarhead is a war film that certainly has room for improvement. Despite its shortcomings and minor flaws this film is still a great piece of entertainment. It's a bold move to make a war movie sans the combat and I believe that Sam Mendes masterfully handled the material. -
MCT:May 9, 2008
This was a mediocre attempt at showing what Marines went through during Desert Storm. The relationships between the various Marines comes across as genuine during most of the film. The way it showed the psychological of war on young minds was done well. Jake Gyllenhaal seemed to show real emotion. I've never really liked Jamie Foxx all that much and his performance in this movie didn't do anything to boost my opinion of his acting talents. The whole film felt like just another run-of-the-mill war movie with just a little bit of actual action thrown in.
-
MCT:April 19, 2008
wow what a brilliant war movie...i think that this is a really good war movie...this is so enjoyable...this has a good soundtrack throughout the movie...this is a great war movie thats enjoyable throughout this is a load of funn movie 2 watch but its still sad because of what happens in the movie but this is still a great war movie..
-
MCT:April 5, 2008
Good. not so much an anti-war film (so not as good as three kings) but some great cinmeatograhy, reminscent of Kubricks - full metal jacket - with the oil wells buring at night (and the oil covered horses, wow) high praise indeed for an otherwise mono dimensional yarn
-
MCT:April 1, 2008
great feel at the beginning, but started to flatten off towards the end. good motivational movie though
-
MCT:March 31, 2008
Pretty good movie, great cinematography and photography. I was impressed, was expecting another war movie and what it showed was an intelligent perspective of the war subject, specially the soldiers who fight for something that they don't even know what is.
