I remember one of my training NCOs at ROTC using what happened to Jessica Lynch as a fine example of why every MOS needs to train to fight (and also the huge importance of land nav skills). It wasn't just that they got lost but they passed though an enemy checkpoint and an insurgent base and then the CO decided to drive back the exact same route. The failure of the majority of their firearms due to poor maintenance was an even bigger mistake. Horrible and stupid, but was a real wake-up call about how non-combat MOSs needed to be able to defend themselves too.

I'd like a pizza roll.

Truth. I've just had to do the very same thing. I was reposting new stories from the BIG sites and from a few mil blogs (Blackfive & This Aint Hell) about all the "veterans" at protests and got into a huge argument over everything. I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I interact with enough liberal people at work (I work for a major university) that I don't need my friends bashing my head in with the same nonsense.

I think the Dark Knight picture is there to say if the Joker supported single tax or deregulation he would not instantly become a conservative icon. Especially since the line right above the photo is, "a serial-killing, eco-terrorist Marxist does not become a conservative hero just because he spouts off that he doesn't trust the federal government to provide quality health care." Nolte himself has come out for TDK as a conservative film and really supported the WSJ article that viewed the film as an allusion/allegory to GW Bush presidency.

Gotta love the Box Office MOJO page where 75% of the people rated it F (as if they had seen it). Its that kinda snarky one-up-manship that fuels my conservatism.

I definitely concur with Ben-Hur, The Passion of the Christ, and A man for all Seasons.

Definitely need to include the Robe in there as well. While not as epic a story as Ben-hur, I feel that it shows a more powerful character transformation through the redeeming powers of Christ.

I think Erza is saying that compared to the rest of the album the headline single is a bit of a letdown. I think his criticism stems not only from the tone break it causes in the album but also in how its a departure for the artist as well. Is it wrong to criticize someone for lowering their artist standards to make a buck?

I have to say this was the one film that change how I viewed all movies. I first watched Blade Runner freshmen year of college on DVD and was so intrigued by it that after it finished played I watched all over again immediately after. Seeing the Final Cut in theaters was probably my favorite movie going experience of all time.

I definitely have to say you missed the point of Sharpio's article. A piece of work can be looked at in context of its time (Why everyone likes Citizen Kane is because it "changed cinema"), but I believe that truly great works can stand the testament of time, that is, exist outside when and where they were created and still communicate.

I think that Citizen Kane is great because it has a powerful story that is still relevant, but I cant stand Fellini because all of his work is pretentious and completely unrelated to me despite whatever importance Italian Neo-realism had. Sharpio is saying that movies, like all art, should be about what you enjoy, the experts be damned.

I've had this argument time and time again in film class and I definitely come from Sharpio's angle; though I disagree with him about Blade Runner. Talk about the merits of an individual film outside of what it did or who directed it. Was the Mid-poin Whammy really good? Did the end of the second act leave you as downtrodden as the lead character? Did the ending actually work? For example I love Blade runner because of the world, the style, the idea of the movie, but that doesn't negate that the final showdown with Roy is weak from a story standpoint. In the end the Tears in the Rain scene redeems the film but I am still intensely bored with the final showdown.

It's definitely been my favorite comic book movie so far. I really got into comics because of Batman Begins and from everything that I've read Batman wise (classics like the Long Halloween, Batman Year One, and The Dark Knight Returns) The Dark Knight is the most faithful to the character. At the same time as Matt says, the whole story strikes a tone with the post 9/11 world. I've seen the movie a dozen times and you could call me a fan, but I'm a fan because the strength of the story and its message.