Criticker MOM - September 2014

[hellboy76]

For those that don't torrent:

Aces High is on Netflix Instant watch,

Wavelength has a crappy VHS rip on Youtube:


Combat Fatigue Irratability:

[CMonster]

So I just watched Combat Fatigue Irritability. Found it oddly interesting. It had some moments that people always think of as cliche in modern interpretations of the 40's, so I guess it gave some perspective to the accuracy of that. Patient: "Hello Doctor" "
Doctor: "Cigarette?"
Stuff like that gave me a bit of a chuckle. Also give a look into the differences and similarities of how PTSD is treated then vs. now (or at least how the government presents how it treats it).
My basic rating premise is over 50 recommend/under 50 dissuade. I gave this a 60, but in all reality I probably won't be recommending it, but if you're going to watch it, it's not a bad watch.

[snallygaster]

Watched Aces High. It's pretty good; based on the title I think I imagined it might be a campy buddy movie. Well, it's not without camp but it's mostly a level-headed affair. What I really liked were the dogfight scenes; I love seeing those old biplanes flying around. The story features all the usual ingredients of a "heavy" war drama, but somehow doesn't convey as much emotional heft as it could.

[hellboy76]

Just finished the cleverly titled Combat Fatigue Irritability. Was actually surprised it was as entertaining as it was. Most of the period pieces are hamfisted in the acting department. Luckily here the only thing hamfisted was the score. I liked saying hamfisted.

It only rated as average for me but that is not bad considering. I came away with the message that it's ok to be a pussy (because everyone is a pussy, AN AMERICAN PUSSY), as long as you eventually suck it up and get back to killing those Japs.

This may just be me. Also there is no mystery to the syndrome, its clear as day to the doctors exactly what everyone is thinking and feeling. Which must have been nice for doctors back in the day.

[ShogunRua]

Gave Combat Fatigue Irritability (1945) a score of 25, T2, with the following review;

"The reason you're maddened by the insanity of war as well as rude, dipshit officers who expect you to die for them but never risk their own lives, the insane and inefficient bureaucracy of the army, and pointless regulations isn't because of any failings on the military's part or how poorly governments treat their soldiers, oh no! It's YOUR FAULT and is a symptom of Combat Fatigue Irritability, which you should get over so you can be a good little disposable pawn!"

On an unrelated note, how the fuck does a Navy man in his athletic prime get beaten up so easily by a short, fat old barkeep, drunk or not?

[CMonster]

On an unrelated note, how the fuck does a Navy man in his athletic prime get beaten up so easily by a short, fat old barkeep, drunk or not?

The funniest part was the ease with which that barkeep vault the bar.

[ShogunRua]

On an unrelated note, how the fuck does a Navy man in his athletic prime get beaten up so easily by a short, fat old barkeep, drunk or not?

The funniest part was the ease with which that barkeep vault the bar.

Yeah, he doesn't even seem mildly surprised during the whole proceedings. Apparently, fist-fighting drunk, surly sailors on leave is a nightly occurrence for this man.

[ribcage]

did a double feature of aces high and wavelength tonight.

Aces High I found (i assume) unintentionally hilarious. It's absurdly and thickly British. I have never seen war look so...civilized. WW1 is made to look like a slightly dangerous sleepaway camp for grown men. It tries very hard to make these men seem grim and war torn...but shows them mostly enjoying drinking every night, singing a lot, going on picnics(including taking a catnap while on said picnic), nights out on the town, etc, etc. It was like a poor version of M.A.S.H. The plane scenes were cool [spoiler]the final death was just so camp though that the power of that moment was totally lost on me as i was doubled over laughing[/spoiler] After trying, and failing, to watch Jack Gold's adaptation of Macbeth, I think I'm adding him to my casual list of director's to be wary of from now on.

Wavelength I enjoyed a lot more. I found it fascinating that the aliens are just bald headed kids and that they are successfully more unearthly than many creatures in movies that really try to make something not-human. There's a lot of mystery going on, especially in the first half, and I liked the way that unfolded. [spoiler]in the end it all goes pretty much nowhere and for some reason i thought this movie would attempt to have a message which it didn't -- but all of that is fine for what it is.[/spoiler] it was a solidly fun b-movie that i think captured exactly the feel it was going for. this would be a diabolical one for taking shots when there's a boom mic in shot; i don't think i've seen any movie that flubbed this as many times as wavelength did.

[mattorama12]

Just checked out Combat Fatigue Irritability. I thought it was bad, but not terrible. I actually spent the first half thinking it was an interesting, subversive film criticizing the military and/or cautioning about the dangers of PTSD. Hilariously, it turned out that we are supposed to see Lucas's "irritability" as his own failing. The ending speech, especially the breaking of the 4th wall, was beyond stupid. Shogun's review is pretty spot on.

On an unrelated note, how the fuck does a Navy man in his athletic prime get beaten up so easily by a short, fat old barkeep, drunk or not?

The funniest part was the ease with which that barkeep vault the bar.

Yeah, he doesn't even seem mildly surprised during the whole proceedings. Apparently, fist-fighting drunk, surly sailors on leave is a nightly occurrence for this man.

The "punches" were the best.

[Bojangles]

Wavelength. Anyone want to help me discern why this felt like such a b-movie? When I think of b-movies I think of bad acting, bad special effects, shooting on video instead of film, etc. Yet this movie didn't have any of that (in spades, at least) and it still felt b-ish. Why? I think about this crap all the time; how did some piece of art make me feel the way it did?

Some people will say the acting was bad, but I found it solid from top to bottom. There were no horrendous line deliveries at all. I actually thought the Runaways girl was pretty good. The big special effect at the end was questionable, but hey, it was the 80s. They were trying new stuff, with the compooters and all that. So, free pass there. And I liked how they at least tried to have some artistic shots/moments. The nighttime aerial shots, the quiet contemplative moments with the Three Mars-keteers. Good efforts, you know? And yet it all felt less than the sum of its parts. Was it the music? I didn't like the music because I don't enjoy that type of synth-driven, rock-n-roll-killing, 1980's musical malarkey. But it was classic Tangerine Dream, and they did the score for Michael Mann's Thief, one of the quintessential American art movies of the 80's. So it couldn't be that. Did it have something to do with the story? I'm not good at analyzing writing...

I didn't like the movie, but probably I'm biased. I don't like sci-fi stories, and I've always thought that the 80's did its best to kill everything right and true that happened culturally during the glorious 15 years that preceded that soul-crushing decade's bleached reign of terror. And besides, the significance and quality (respectively, in my opinion) of Spielberg's E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind seem to render Wavelength moot, especially when you consider the similarities in all three stories. A cut below. Maybe that's why it's considered a b-movie.

Combat Fatigue Irritability. Clearly not intended to be a solution to a problem, but rather to increase awareness of a condition. It's the starting point to overcoming an illness that the last century's superpower is still battling. Everything important rang true. Flawless intentions, especially for a government film, where one would expect nothing less than some brand of propaganda. It was even beautiful, in a way; the empathy and understanding of the psychiatrist. I can only imagine this was, and can continue to be, a useful tool for struggling veterans. They must have felt so horribly alone in post-WW2 America. No idea what was going on in their poisoned minds. ugh.

---

I probably won't be watching Aces High because I don't have netflix and can't find a torrent.