Jarhead

My friend Zhombie (yes, spelled with an "h") and I went to see the movie Jarhead tonight at a German movie theater. It was pretty fucking cool - the movie theater. It was really clean and modern looking too - not like some shitty cinema you find in the States where the carpet has ground in dirt and the seats are decrepit. Jarhead itself is a fucking riot of a movie. The guy who wrote the book it was based on was not afraid to portray the military like it really is - and that's the reason why the Marines are so pissed with the film. Aside from a few tired jokes that only the military has heard time and again, most the material is fresh and not the typical horseshit you see where some hero like Rambo kills 50 bad guys without ever reloading once, or some boring diatribe like Saving Private Ryan. It shows people who freak out in a combat zone, people who don't have the first clue when it comes to leadership or authority, and people who are more-or-less learning the ropes and developing into young men. In short - people being people. Oh well. Boo fucking hoo. I have alot of respect for Marines. They're tough sons-of-bitches that take no shit from anyone. Every enemy that has ever faced America in combat has had the unfortunate experience of pissing off a Marine, and as a result they've been wiped off the map. Marines don't die - they just go to Hell and regroup! I figure they can take a little less-than-glamorous limelight as the case may be. After all their track record speaks for itself, and if it's one thing I can't stand is someone or a group of people who can't admit to their own faults or shortcomings. The film sheds light on the bureaucracy of the military at certain points and perhaps has been beefed up for Hollywood's sake but overall it's nothing that I would consider as being "controversial" or "disrespectful". In the end, it is just one person's account of being in the military, just as there are different accounts of Jesus and the 12 disciples in the New Testament - take it for what you will. If you don't like it, then that's fine, but I was laughing my ass off throughout the film. They even did the urban legend of the dude whose chick was fucking the neighbor and sent him the video tape. Fucking priceless. Go out and see this film as soon as you get a chance.