I guess some people would have been happier if they'd all been killed

I saw Lone Survivor yesterday.  Well-made and gripping, the theater was very quiet, especially during the memorial sequence at the end, even the row of teenagers in front of us.  Here is a review from someone who should know about Special Forces.

I am certain that this film will not be nominated for any Oscars.  It will win no awards.  I am fairly certain that it will make a lot of money.  People like heroes, especially real ones.  If Hollywood wasn't an echo chamber, we would have seen a lot more movies that depicted American soldiers in a positive light.  Lord knows there are plenty of stories to choose from.

I had some fun reading some of the bad reviews from Rotten Tomatoes.  People who don't like the film seem to be having trouble explaining why they don't like it.  Here is the Washington Post review.  Michael O'Sullivan laments that he couldn't find a character to care about in this movie, or he might have liked it better.  He liked the Afghan villager who took Luttrell in, and lamented that he could watch a movie about him.  With all due respect, Mr. O'Sullivan is a tool.  He was unable to empathize with the American soldiers depicted in the film.  He would like to know more about the Taliban leader who was the target of the ill-fated mission.  He is disappointed.  Here is his main complaint about the move:

"the film presumes our emotional investment in Luttrell and his fellow soldiers’ mission, simply by  virtue of — well, it’s never quite clear what. The questions of who exactly Shah is, other than one of many murderous thugs, and why we should care so deeply about his fate, is never really explained in a way that grabs the imagination."

Other than that, the depiction of the firefight central to the film seems to have been a bit too much for him.  It was "a loud and grinding affair".  That's funny, because his review of Saving Private Ryan talks about the "near flawlessness of the film's lyrical, scorching start."  Those are his only complaints about the movie, which gets one-and-a-half stars from him.  Not much to go on, really.  He doesn't like the film very much, but he can't quite tell us exactly why.  He could be fully invested in the characters from Saving Private Ryan, but not Lone Survivor.  I wonder why?  Could it be that he can admire the military from 70 years ago, but not the one of today?  What changed?

People Are OK

Something you don't see every day, a marriage proposal on the field of a football game.  During the EIU-Jacksonville State game, they had one of those contests during a timeout.  A girl was supposed to kick a 40-yard field goal (with a 30-mile and hour wind behind her), which she failed to make.  They brought in a holder to give her a second try, but they took away the tee and gave him a microphone.  He produced a small box, and proposed over the PA system.

Awwwww.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Intertunnel

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It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know

I love this story
I miss the Cold War.  At least between us and the Russians, we kept the fringes tidied up.

I'm Available

The incomparable Geena Davis

Shamelessly stolen from Gerard

Perspective

Good advice from Og

Super Sunday

Good day at church.  Bears win in their own personal idiom.  Found this at Bayou Renaissance Man:

Life is good.