Green Zone

Release Date: March 12th, 2010

Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller / War

Stars: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan

Synopsis: A soldier heading a unit charged with finding WMD's in the months after the invasion of Iraq investigates and uncovers a foul plot linked to the intelligence that began the war in the first place.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                      

A real clever concept which pans out into a nice ride.

Writing:                        

The dialogue is not as sharp as it could have been in tense confrontations which would have added a lot of value to the picture.  On the other hand there were several moving scenes written involving the Iraqi man who serves as translator for Matt Damon's character.

Acting:                         

Nothing outstanding from Matt Damon but he didn't do alot to hurt the film either.  The real stars were the real live Iraq and Afghanistan vets who served as the secondary military team members which added a lot of realism and truth to the scenes.

Originality:                    

Alot of movies are being made about the middle eastern wars but this is the first I've seen questioning the shady intelligence that began the war and surveilling the tense search for WMD's.

Overall:                         

Easy to follow with plenty of action but don't expect to be impressed by moving performances or witty dialogue.  Worth a look if you have a chance but it can wait if your busy.

Brothers

BRelease Date: December 4th, 2009

Genre: Drama / Thriller / War

Stars: Toby Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman

Synopsis: A soldier goes missing in action in Afghanistan and is presumed dead.  His screw up brother steps up to the plate to be there for his grieving widow and children.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                

Very interesting and captivating from start to finish.

Writing:                                 

Does not drive the film as much as the between the lines acting but a very solid effort nonetheless.

Acting:                              

Toby Maguire's best by far and Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent as well.  Natalie Portman did not impress me in her role as the grieving widow.

Originality:                  

This is a remake of a foriegn film, German I think.  I did like the decision to incorporate the issue of post traumatic stress that is affecting so many of our soldiers adversely.

Overall:                           

A very nice picture all things considered.  It was a little annoying to see the over the top depiction of the circumstances surrounding the capture of Toby Maguire's character.  Many service men and women will tell you that they were equally affected by going to war without being captured, tortured, and forced to kill a fellow soldier.