Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Michael_Elliott Casualties of War (1989) ** 1/2 (out of 4)During the Vietnam War a solder, Eriksson (Michael J. Fox), goes out with a crew of four led by a rather psychotic Sgt. Meserve (Sean Penn). After the five are rejected on a leave Meserve kidnaps a Vietnemese woman who they plan on raping. Eriksson is against their action and soon finds himself at the four's wrath but things get even more heated once he plans to help press charges against them.Brian De Palma's CASUALTIES OF WAR was just one of many Vietnam movies from about an eleven year period where all sorts of them were coming out. COMING HOME and THE DEER HUNTER kicked things off and then you got stuff like APOLALYPSE NOW, PLATOON and Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET. De Palma has stated that he believes his film is among the best made but I'd argue that it's the least entertaining.There are all sorts of issues that I have with this film but the biggest is that De Palma just isn't working too well in the drama department. One of my issues with the film was the music score that is just over-bearing at times as it's often very loud as if they're trying to put certain emotions into the viewer. The track is just too intrusive and I'd argue that it does more damage than good as it pretty much beats the viewer over the head trying to get them to "feel" a certain way.Another problem I had with the picture was the performance by Fox. He gives a good performance but at the same time I just didn't believe him in the role and I didn't think he was strong enough to carry the picture. It's been said that him being cast is the only thing that got the movie made, which I believe but I just don't think he helped the movie. Penn is also quite good here, although I do think his character gets a bit too cartoonish at times. The supporting cast includes fine performances by Don Harvey, John Leguizamo, John C. Reilly, Ving Rhames and Dale Dye.De Palma certainly knows how to film a movie so the cinematography is top-notch and I'd argue that the rape sequence as well as the trial sequences in the Extended Version are well-done and tense. With that said, a lot of the movie just comes across as flat and that includes the battle sequences, which just aren't all that memorable. CASUALTIES OF WAR was made to show what horrors were in Vietnam but on the whole it isn't nearly as good as it thinks it is.

Avid Climber Casualties of War shows that war can be ugly for more than the obvious reasons. A great dramatic piece by Brian De Palma.The good. Excellent score. Once past the intro, powerful mood. Riveting story. Well built scenario, very logical and nicely paced. Emotionally disturbing.The actors. Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn are just perfect as antagonist. Don Harvey fits his crazy role very well. John C. Reilly plays the simpleton with convincing clarity. And I'll just mention in passing a good performance by Ving Rhames.The bad. The initial jungle scenes lack realism, as well as some over-acting by the black guy in the first part.The ugly. Nothing.The result. An emotional and brutal movie. Not for the faint of heart.

Leofwine_draca CASUALTIES OF WAR tells the excruciating true story of a squad of American soldiers during the Vietnam War, who kidnap and rape a young Vietnamese girl in the name of fun. The story is told through the youthful and innocent eyes of Michael J. Fox, in a rare dramatic performance that may be his career-best.Films like this can hardly be enjoyed, but CASUALTIES OF WAR proves to be unmissable entertainment and one of the harshest war stories out there; also, one of the best. It's a bit like watching a film of a train wreck, where you can't tear yourself away from what's happening and what you know is going to happen. The tragic, soul-searing story is one of the most moving I've ever seen.A film like this needs a great director to tell it, and de Palma is that director. He wisely lets the story tell itself for the most part, but he can't resist incorporating a couple of flourishes (like the POV sequence) that remind us of his skill as an auteur. The cast is great, too, particularly the newbie actors (John C. Reilly and John Leguizano) playing soldiers and Sean Penn as the hateful sergeant. Understandably, Thuy Thu Le has the toughest role, and it's one she walks away from with her head held high; if ever an actress deserved an Oscar nod, it's her.

Neil Welch Casualties Of War dramatises a single event from the Vietnam war, where a squad of US soldiers abduct a Vietnamese girl and take her with them on patrol for the purposes of "recreation," raping and eventually killing her. Sean Penn is the leader of the squad and Michael J Fox plays the only member who consistently speaks out against their actions and tries to help the girl, eventually becoming the lone voice which tries to get justice for her.It has been some years since I last watched this film, but simply recalling it for the purpose of writing these words chokes me up: the events of the first part of the film are profoundly disturbing and utterly heartbreaking, and credit to Thuy Thu Le, in her only film role, for portraying victim Oanh with such power and dignity.But credit must also go to Penn for his angry sergeant, shaken free from any moral compass he may once have had, and especially to Fox: his principled everyman shows that he was never the lightweight that his succession of light roles may have suggested.And credit, too, to director Brian De Palma - for once not trying to emulate Hitchcock, he has here produced an accomplished and moving drama which poses profound moral issues and leaves you wondering whether you would have had the courage to make a moral stand.