SYSTEM CHECK:
Score: Operational
Photography: Operational
Performances: Operational
Writing: !! CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURE, ABORT !!
Even before the [REDACTED] scene I was rolling my eyes at the interstitial radio broadcast bits. "Did you know that all this is taking place in the context of history??" Astonishingly stupid for as well made as it is otherwise!
Also overtly Zionist, that sucks usually and is worse now. Bad job!
Similar tonal problem to The Color Purple in that this is doing The Horrors of War at scales large and small including some very unique and personal traumas but old Stevie can't help himself making the "boys gambling on the mine-based death of a child" a little too much fun. Something tells me that the J.G. Ballard version has a little more edge to the cruel absurdity of things like, say, the young Japanese pilot becoming despondent at not being able to do his kamikaze run.
Malkovich is so fucking good though.
Mostly a lot of fun and the first half in particular is impressively restrained and shot beautifully. “What if a movie was a Hitman level” is an inspired Shyamalan-style idea executed really well here.
The movie comes to a SCREECHING halt when Lady Raven is asked to bear some of the story and she is truly horrible. Like when they ask professional athletes to read for commercials bad. This daughter needs some more time in the oven, M.
I still liked it and Hartnett is terrific.
