Saw Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers" last night; big disappointment. Long and boring and ponderous and obvious, it's what we've come to expect from the world's most acclaimed hack screenwriter, Paul Haggis. But it'll likely get a truckload of Oscar nominations anyway, mostly because it's "timely," and "relevant," and "really about Iraq." What it isn't is particularly entertaining or profound in any way whatsoever.
And besides, it's sort of hard to take a gravitas-grabbing war movie seriously when two of the three main characters are played by the male leads from "Bring It On" (Jesse Bradford) and "Cruel Intentions" (Ryan Phillippe).
Skip this, and rent "Band of Brothers" instead.
Posted by Stephen Silver at October 18, 2006 11:30 AMso you think "Flags of Our Fathers" will narrowly edge out "Borat" for Best Picture?
Posted by: LilB at October 18, 2006 06:46 PMSo you're saying we should opt for The Departed on Saturday night?
Posted by: Tainted Bill at October 18, 2006 07:11 PMYou know, I really want to like Clint Eastwood a lot, but ALL of his movies are slow, ponderoud and boring. It's like everything, down from the acting, look, music, everything is perfect...except the pacing, which moves at a snails pace. He's a smart dude, I don't know why he hasn't figured that out yet.
I saw a writer's panel a few months back in which Haggis was participating in. He's a hack. Period. Overrated at the fullest. Judd Apatow was sitting rihgt next to him and just blew him away in terms of wit, humor, and congeniality. Stephen Gaghan even ripped into him for taking the "a film by" credit for that piece of dreck known as "Crash".
Posted by: Jordan Rockwell at October 18, 2006 07:42 PM