Platoon

"i hope this next generation of kids is smarter than i was... next time some politician tries to sell them a used war." - oliver stone, from the making-of documentary oliver stone '85-'05 marathon - film 2 (previous: salvador next: wall street) stone was one of the first directors i started following, as he was making dynamic, impactful films right when i was old enough to start picking films apart and not just escaping into them. i'm well familiar with his major films, so for this revisit, i'm watching docs or listening to commentary on the films i already know very well. the dvd for platoon... read more

Man this cast is pretty insane and everyone plays their part really well. This is such a "war is hell" movie that I know we've seen a million times, but it does get the job done especially on the performances end. DaFoe's performance in particular stands out, he just has such a presence. I think the thing I took away most from this movie is the reinforcement that when people are thrown into these high pressure awful situations, it really doesn't matter what their morals or ethics are going into the situation, so much gets clouded when day after day all you see are atrocities. It's the kind... read more