cineconnoisseur To summarize, I feel like that Randy Jackson's words from the Geico commercial sum it up best: "yo check it out dawg, that was just alright for me. I mean you got the walk, you got the stance, but I wasn't feeling this. You gotta come a little harder, you gotta figure it out. Ehhhhhh I don't know."The visual effects in the movie were much more amazing than the movie itself, especially during the half-time show. Even after the movie's concluded I find myself sitting here, wondering and thinking just what the movie was supposed to accomplish and did it do it? Certain aspects of the movie are touching and heart-felt, while a majority fail to stick the landing they were going for. The ending fight scene was ridiculous and if a gun was fired inside a building in a crowded stadium, someone would've gone to jail for it, no matter their rank. I understand the need to want to create drama, but let's color in the lines and not over-exaggerate (i.e. the soldiers act more like a group of frat boys than they do actual soldiers). I'll circle back to the cinematography - it was truly top notch and the war scenes were alluring, but it seems like there's a ton of build-up to the half-time show and while thats visually the best part of the movie, it just seems like there was no substance otherwise.

Screen_Blitz The politics of war are incredibly complex, and the human cost is disturbingly high. There are no wonder why those who give up their lives to fight oversea are honored with great dignity. But the big question in this war drama directed by Oscar Winner Ang Lee is: Are we honoring these soldiers the right way? That is an idea that this film takes a dive in, but not with enough impact. Lee's approach to the absorbing topic is too shallow of emotional touch. The greatest accolade Lee acquires in this picture is allowing it to shine with a unique visual innovation, and that is shooting the film with an unheard-of frame rate of 120 FPS to capture the immense atmosphere of the war sequences. It is a technological achievement that powerfully shows how far Hollywood has advanced in technological. Seeing this movie at a theater with an unusual frame rate that high is an alarmingly tough get as there are only six theaters around the globe that include this, with only two of these theaters planted in the United States. Set in 2004, this follows 19-year old Billy Lynn (played by Joe Alwyn), an Army specialist returning home from active duty in Iraq with his fellow squad members. On the day of a Thanksgiving home game at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, Billy, honored as a hero for his duty, and his squad members are brought together on a victory tour during the halftime show. During the tour, Billy is hit with flashbacks of the tragedies that occurred during the battle in Iraq including the death of his friend Staff Sergeant Shroom (played by Vin Diesel) as opposed to the American citizens fantasized perceptions of what they think happened over there. Along the way, he finds his heroism manipulated by film producers Norm (played by Steve Martin) and Albert (played by Chris Tucker) who are trying to land a movie deal out of the events that squadron's faced.Based on the novel by Ben Fountain, this drama capitalizes on themes of patriotism and honor, and opens light on social issues that run between the grim realities of war and the distorted views of active combat by citizens back at home. The primary concern here deals with home civilians including the media exploiting the heroism soldiers acquire during active duty overseas, simply for our own personal gain. As disconcerting as it is, one thing this film proves is that unless you have been in active combat, you have little or no idea of what it is realistically feels like being in active combat overseas. Director Ang Lee makes an engaging point out of this concept. But alongside, the film also introduces these contradictions on how soldiers are celebrated by citizens for their active duty, yet people all over America continue to disdain war as an unnecessary bargain; an idea that the story never fully explores. From there on, the story slips into a jumbled mess and offers little emotional touch to the point where viewers are left with no impact. The film's emotional highpoints stand during the flashbacks of the title character and his squad fighting in Iraq which are powerfully shot and executed in authenticity. It's too bad that these scenes only make up a small portion of the near-two- hour runtime, while the majority the picture follows Billy and his squadron walking through the stadium during the halftime show with Destiny's Child performing and fireworks going off. If this manages to wring anything out of the story's framework other than its absorbing ideas, it is the performances, particularly Joe Alwyn as Billy and Kristen Stewart as his older sister, given the opportunity to flex her acting muscles. The rest of the cast offer some good on screen presences, operating with a sense of cynicism and humility. Looking for something Oscar- worthy though, you are probably better off looking elsewhere.Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a shallow war drama that fails to arrest viewers with its timely themes and Ang Lee's scattershot approach to an otherwise thoughtful examination of its eponymous character versus America's fantasized perceptions of war. Although the final product is disappointingly forgettable, some may admire Ang Lee's effort on embracing the film with his visual innovation. However, its a technological effort that is too early to introduce in major theaters at this point.

David Stafford I loved the book and it occurred to me more than once while reading that it would make a terrific movie. Maybe not so much. Perhaps the kind of books you see instantly as a "terrific" movie should be left in the film can in your head. From the opening scenes to whenever we petered out and turned it off, this film feels false. The platoon doesn't feel like young men who've lived and fought together. They seem like actors who have never crossed paths with people who make up our military these days. That may not be the case but that's what it feels like to someone who ...also doesn't cross paths with soldiers often. And maybe that's what's wrong with movie. Fountain's point is the disconnect between Americans and the warriors they send off to do battle for them. Perhaps it is expecting too much for that sentiment to be captured by those so removed by privilege. Read the book.

LeonLouisRicci A Cultural Contemplation on War, Religion, Commercialism, Hypocrisy, Heroism, and the U.S.A.'s Hedonistic Hubris. Ang Lee's Technically Impressive Film is a High-End Exploration of Americana as it Exists in the 21st Century.Sharp, but Not Biting, Satire is Expressed as the Movie Unfolds the sometimes Unsettling Story of an Iraq War "Hero" that becomes a National Celebrity (read commodity) along with His "Bravo" Squad as They are Paraded Pathetically in Front of 40 Million Viewers at a Half-Time Show on Thanksgiving in Dallas.What goes on is a Spectacle that should have Thinking, Feeling, Patriotic Americans "Up In Arms" at the Exploitation, Political Hackery, and Hoodwinking by the Country's Elite.The Movie is about "Life During (and after) Wartime". America's Invading Involvement in Iraq (the movie takes place in 2004) and its Political Motivations are Touched but by No Means Explored In Depth, either Philosophically or Economically.The Thrust is a Personal Story of One Man's Inability to be Mature Enough or Intelligent Enough to Comprehend the Consumption of the War by the Public or anything Conclusive about just What the Hell is Going On, both Over There and Over Here. He Doesn't have any Answers just Feelings for His Squad and Their "Fate".It's a Thought Consuming Colorful Presentation of Glitz and Glimmer. America's Fascination with Ultra-Shallow Patriotic Platitudes and Surface Shams Produced to Keep the Citizenry Distracted and "Drugged" by Eye Candy and Adrenalin Highs that are Momentarily Satisfying and Exhausting.Note...Much has been made of the Director's vision of high frame rate resulting in revolutionary directions in Film-Making. None of that means a hill of beans in the final analysis. This is a Story first and razzle-dazzle second and any second now serious Filmmakers won't give a hoot and a holler about all that. It will all become inconsequential and inappropriate except for its gimmickry.