Letters from Iwo Jima (Eastwood, 2006)

[X.]

Oscar pimping is in full force.

National Board of Review (NBR) just declared "Jima" as their #1 movie of the year. NBR is notorious for their leftist slant so take that as you will.

Although I personally don't think Scorcese deserves to be even nominated for "The Departed" (a slightly above average film, directed with a lot of energy) but would it not be a comic tragedy to have Scorcese lose again to Eastwood?

[animatedude]

arghh....apprently, the next 4 months the media will feed us with stuff like "Eastwood is god!" "Eastwood's vision is blah blah..." AGAIN.


FUCK EASTWOOD.

[X.]

huh?

[shariqq]

animatedude - you haven't seen Iwo Jima yet, have you?

would it not be a comic tragedy to have Scorcese lose again to Eastwood?

It would turn him into a Tragic Hero!

[animatedude]

while the cricits  are giving mediocre to bad reviews to oscar hopefuls like Bobby,The Good German,Blood Diamond,The Black Dahlia...etc, ppl at the academy are scratching their heads.but since Eastwood has 2 movies out, it's quite clear they will nominate him AGAIN.and he will probably win for political reasons AGAIN.

and just before those dildo users,viagra freaks start giving rave reviews about his so called "masterpiece", i say FUCK THE CRITICS.FUCK THE OSCARS.FUCK EASTWOOD.

not so many ppl notice that out of the big oscar hopefuls,The Good Shepherd is the only movie left.and i'll be glad if De Niro got it.Marty did a great job with The Departed but i don't think they should even nominate him because it won't be a well-deserved award.

[X.]

Sorry, but such rants will be deleted in future. They add nothing to the discussion, there's little rationale behind them. They are just rants. Take them some place else. Thanks.

[animatedude]

oops! iam supossed to worship Eastwood here like everybody else and write 20-30 lines about how Eastwood movies are inspirational blah blah like we are in an art class.you can delete my rants right now if it bothers you that much.

yes, iam that annoying.

[kaytee]

I agree with AK. Animatedude - Give some base behind you hating Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima.

I dont worship Eastwood's and I dont like his movies either but I dont go all postal on the critics and Eastwood. I would like to watch Letters from Iwo Jima first and then comment on movie and his direction, not him as a person. I have no plans of watching his first part of the series. I even forget the name. The trailer and that Mexican cum Red Indian actor just makes me wanna cry.

[X.]

animatedude, I won't be deleting your posts becuase "I find them annoying" or "would like to." Let's get the facts straight.

In the past couple of days you seem to be on a bitching crusade against the windmills of things that don't interest you. It's your right to not like certain things you don't like. But when you choose to express your opinion here please be mindful that your contribution must be able to add some value to the readers. If you want to bitch and moan, do it on your own time, and some place else.

Yes, future rants of this nature from you or anyone else will be deleted. Continued abused as a valued member of this board (we've said it before, you are valued here) unfortunately cannot go untolerated for long. This is not some warning or edict but a simple clarification. We're all adults and as long as we act as adults we'll be treated as adults.

[madali]

Since I'm in the Oscar mood, was this released in Dubai?

Also, unrelated but as important, what happened to our Saud Wahabi guy?

[X.]

Since I'm in the Oscar mood, was this released in Dubai?

Also, unrelated but as important, what happened to our Saud Wahabi guy?

"Iwo Jima" is hitting the big screen in Dubai last week of Feb I think.

On point two, I do know that he's still an avid reader of the site and board. (I track and study every click made).

[madali]

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
IMBD Link

An American director selling a World War II story from a Japanese perspective seems brave. Until, you realize the numerous pro-American messages. It got worse as it went along, with the worse being how one of the solders comments about how they used to think American solders were cowards, but now they have learned that American soldiers are not. Go Joe!

And the worst scene was probably when a US soldier gets shot, and they catch him. Instead of torturing him for information, they instead give him morphine, even though one of the medics complains that they are low on medics. But no! Let’s give him morphine! Fine, maybe it is a smart decision to get information from him, but instead, the general chats with him about US and where the soldier is from. How touching. This is not a sports movie, this is World War II, where every single second, Japanese soldiers are DYING. It gets even worse, because when the soldier dies, the general reads the letter that the US soldier had, and it seems to be a letter from his mother, so he translates to the other soldier. Now, I have not been in any war (yet), but I don’t think humanizing the enemy like that at such a crucial moment is smart. You have to villianize the enemy, so that your men would have an easier job in killing them (and in essence, SURVIVING). But instead, his letter shows the soldiers what a jolly old fella the Americans are.

Also, there are flashbacks where the general is in US. As if the only way for the (American) audience to sympathize with someone, is to have him be somewhat American. The movie also was told from a very American style, since in many different ways, it actually mocked the idea of honor. The smart soldiers in this movie where supposed to retreat, and suicide honor killings were shown to be stupid. Director Clint Eastwood should have told the story in a Japanese way, rather than inputting his own beliefs into it.

Finally, one of the worst subtle jabs at the Japanese was how one of the main Japanese characters looked like a stereotype American propaganda cartoon of a Japanese soldier. Short, weak-willed, short black hair, and buck tooth. The only thing he missed was one of those long goatees.

War movies is a very male thing. A lot of us enjoy the fantasy of war, even if we are smart enough to know how terrible the reality of it will be. But somewhere in us, we like the idea of it. "Letters from Iwo Jima" does not even indulge us, since the fights are actually mostly boring, with people just randomly dying. There is no progress, no great strategy, just the awesome Americans blowing the fuck out of the Japs.

2/5

[X.]

What I liked about “Flags of our Fathers” was its ability to say something original on the dog-eared subject of War. This is what it said: American soldiers didn’t really fight the war for their country; they fought because of the friendship and loyalty among fellow soldiers. This is what compelled them to continue. Not something complex, like idealism or bringing democracy to the rest of the world; it was a simple thing called human bonding.

“Letters from Iwo Jima” is more action-packed than “Flags.” And it lingers on the punishing Iwo Jima island, as it documents the slow death of Japanese soldiers from natural disease and the superior US military technology.

Poignant scenes such as the capture and killing of Japanese soldiers who have surrendered remind us of the need for humanity in the ugliness war (a hungry Japanese POW whispers to a fellow prisoner that he’s heard the Americans provide three meals a day…soon afterwards they are shot).

Less subtle are dialogues such as “Do what is right because it’s right.” Overly sentimental moments betray the tonal balance of simplicity and tenderness that worked so wonderfully in “Flags of our Fathers.” This is where “Letters from Iwo Jima” fails. It feels the need to overemphasise.

[madali]

I guess, I'm just in the mood for a war movie that does not have a million messages. "War is hell" is enough of a message for me, and they can use the rest of the time to show me cool war scenes.

I have a feeling that "Flags of our Fathers" is praised in this forum (I havent seen it), is because of the lack of any good war movie in the last couple of years.

[kaytee]

I found Iwo Jima a tad too long. I looked at my watch a couple of times to check if time stood still. The start of the movie was brilliant and I thought we are in for some great kick ass war action here. But alas the movie turned out to be a boring and went soft by showing what the Japs went through during the war. Hell if I care what the Japs went through, every war has the same story so what was so special with these Japs.