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SCANTY 'RAID' FAR FROM GREAT ( "The Great Raid" gets panned)
NY Post ^

Posted on 08/16/2005 6:14:40 PM PDT by frogjerk

I hereby award the World War II drama "The Great Raid" a Cement Star for faithful and distinguished service to the cause of mediocrity.

...snip...

Special citations go to the following lines: "There's not another group of men in this or any other army I'd sooner trust my life with." "We were going to rescue them, or die trying." "You gotta pull through this, pal. Just think of everything you got to look forward to."

...snip ...

Director John Dahl is presented with the Misunderstanding of the Service Medal for his stalwart mangling of Army custom. Dahl places his GI's in pretty little hairdos (one actor has bangs down to his eyes, which suggests less a trained killing machine than a member of Jimmy Eat World) and is unaware that when two officers walk together, the senior officer must be on the right. He also allows one soldier to say, "We'll be ready to report to you at 0800 hours in the morning." As opposed to 0800 hours in the evening?

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: moviereview; thegreatraid
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Another Hollywood screw-up. Maybe they'll edit it like they did with "Pearl Harbor" and claim it wasn't historically correct or accurate.
1 posted on 08/16/2005 6:14:42 PM PDT by frogjerk
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To: frogjerk

I heard it was very good.


2 posted on 08/16/2005 6:16:28 PM PDT by MizSterious (Now, if only we could convince them all to put on their bomb-vests and meet in Mecca...)
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To: frogjerk

Arggghhhh! I was really looking forward to this movie--I'll probably go see it anyway.


3 posted on 08/16/2005 6:17:14 PM PDT by mark502inf
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To: frogjerk

Hollyweird can't do military.


4 posted on 08/16/2005 6:17:45 PM PDT by clintonh8r (Liberals preach comity and practice calumny.)
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To: frogjerk

Rush recommended this movie on his show yesterday.


5 posted on 08/16/2005 6:18:11 PM PDT by Watershed
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To: frogjerk
Actually, in spite of a few glitches, that most military folks will notice, I though it was a very good movie.

The people who made it seem very sincere in wanting to tell the story as well as they could, and within the constraints of the Hollywood "machine", they did an admirable job.
6 posted on 08/16/2005 6:19:59 PM PDT by conservativeharleyguy (Democrats: Over 60 million fooled daily!!!)
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To: frogjerk

The movie will still be a success among the silly-vilians who won't catch all the military mistakes. Heck, I still wince when I hear 'Dirty Harry' call LAAWs "laws rockets".


7 posted on 08/16/2005 6:20:09 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: frogjerk

I saw the movie on the day it opened with my 13 year old. He loved it. It was somewhat dull, but the story is GREAT. I read the Book Ghost Soldiers and coudn't wait to see the movie.


8 posted on 08/16/2005 6:20:26 PM PDT by StoneColdTaxHater
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To: mark502inf

Ignore this review. I saw the movie, it's worth the price for the simple fact that the Jap army is portrayed as the murderous butchers they were.

Hollywood hates movies that ignore PC.


9 posted on 08/16/2005 6:20:46 PM PDT by Rebelbase ("Run Hillary Run" bumper stickers. Liberals place on rear bumper, conservatives put on front bumper)
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To: mark502inf
Arggghhhh! I was really looking forward to this movie--I'll probably go see it anyway.

It's only a review. See it for yourself. And remember, I believe Jeffery Lyons absolutely hated "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

10 posted on 08/16/2005 6:21:13 PM PDT by frogjerk
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To: frogjerk

I saw it twice, just to make sure I was right about my first impression.

It dwells too much on the love the prisoner has for the dead officers wife, while I did like the scenes of Japanese brutality that need to be shown in the modern world, for their honesty anyways

But the combat scene lasted only 20 minutes of the entire movie.

Dialouge was sappy, men seemed real, but that Capt who lead the raid, Spirderman's best friend, he didnt look the part or sound it, he sounded too weak, while it could have been meant to just appear to be a regular guy casting...

It failed, I give it 3 stars out of 5...at least the US came out as the good guys in this flick, that is it's only redeeming quality, there was no PC talk about things being morally equivalent or ambiguous...In fact, in th beginning when they showed the Japanese burning the American POW's to death, I just shouted out, THATS WHY WE NUKED YOU!...loud enough for all to hear it in the theater...some understood, others just went huh?

Combat scenes were too short

I liked the presence of the Philipino troops, I am glad they finally got some good press instead of stereotyped performances like John Wayne would have done 50 years ago.

Not a great flick, but at least not a PC flick to me


11 posted on 08/16/2005 6:22:27 PM PDT by RaceBannon ((Prov 28:1 KJV) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.)
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To: StoneColdTaxHater
There's a Debbie Schlussel (sp?) review on WND and I think there's a review on frontpagemag today, both giving two thumbs up.

My guess would be the same people who think Cindy Sheehan is the only mother to lose a son in Iraq are the same people who are giving this movie bad reviews....

It's on my list of movies to see (o.k., it's the only one on my "list" since I rarely patronize Hollywood anymore).

12 posted on 08/16/2005 6:24:06 PM PDT by elk
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To: frogjerk

a movie titled "The Great Panty raid" would rake in the dough!


13 posted on 08/16/2005 6:25:48 PM PDT by isom35
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To: RaceBannon
Four of my cousins and their families were civilians who were held in camps in the Phillipines during WWII.

Based upon their first hand accounts, the movie was not too far removed from reality.
14 posted on 08/16/2005 6:27:15 PM PDT by rollin
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To: frogjerk

It wasn't quite a screw-up, but it wasn't all that good, either.

Two out of four


15 posted on 08/16/2005 6:28:18 PM PDT by warchild9
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To: rollin

From what I read of PRISONERS OF THE JAPANESE, the movies can never tell it right, it would be too brutal.

This movie still isn't brutal enough, but, it is a lot more honest than anything that has come out in years, it is NOT PC, that is for sure.


16 posted on 08/16/2005 6:32:07 PM PDT by RaceBannon ((Prov 28:1 KJV) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.)
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To: mark502inf

Local critic, Gary Cogil Channel 8 in Dallas, says it's a good movie. It is not Private Ryan, but it is accurate and "tells an important story." He had one of the men from the raid on his show. Cogil has always been a decent reviewer who knows about good movies and what to stay away from.


17 posted on 08/16/2005 6:33:07 PM PDT by q_an_a
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To: elk

It is no Oscar winner, but at least it isn't PC, that is it's best talking point.

But it sure isn't the movie Hannity and Rush have been saying it is.


18 posted on 08/16/2005 6:33:35 PM PDT by RaceBannon ((Prov 28:1 KJV) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.)
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To: RaceBannon
An accurate review, but the movie is still worth seeing and supporting. Remember .... this is the greatest rescue operation since Moses .... Rangers still can claim the two greatest rescues in American and maybe all of military history ( I think Los Banos was a distance third .... Grenada is number two) .... this is an accurate version of the first ... RLTW!!!!
19 posted on 08/16/2005 6:34:43 PM PDT by Yasotay
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To: frogjerk
"We'll be ready to report to you at 0800 hours in the morning."

Egregious error. And Japanese and German soldiers didn't often speak in English, and yet in most WWII movies, they do! Clearly the movie people need better experts to tell them that!!

20 posted on 08/16/2005 6:35:55 PM PDT by DWPittelli
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