"Jones told US Today he was not intimidated by the criticism, saying he is "so ready for a fight he doubts there'll be much of one". "The tactic of leading people into a war that doesn't make any sense by telling them they are under attack, and if they raise any objection they're unpatriotic, is a very old tactic. And it doesn't intimidate me," he said."
Tommy Lee Jones played Clay Shaw in Oliver Stone's JFK. It seemed to me that all of the actors in Hollywood agreed to appear in JFK, in order to thwart McCarthyism. I watched a TV documentary on the real life murder. Then I read about a security contractor who was not killed but was fired and the leader in war crimes and atrocities was promoted instead of being jailed. The perennial atrocity was for that one US contractor to shoot into Iraqi civilian vehicles, many times, but as I've heard US Army vets tell on TV, large units of the US military are under such poor discipline that they always fire into Iraqi cars at every stop sign. To focus on one incident would be a limited hangout firewalling coverup. -Bob --- In cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com, RoadsEnd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Begin forwarded message: > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Date: September 13, 2007 4:46:28 PM PDT > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: It's Vietnam at Home, All Over Again > > > > You can't make an anti-war movie -- that would be un-American > > > > "Based on a Mark Boal investigative article, "Death and Dishonor," > > the film is a gritty fact-based drama about a career military > > officer who searches for his soldier son who vanished in the > > States. The youth, who went AWOL on returning from Baghdad, was > > murdered in Georgia by members of his own platoon during a night > > out 'partying.' > > > > "We see how wars change a person's perspective on what's perceived > > as normal ... In wartime, terrifying power --the right to kill as > > they see fit is given to teenagers who lack the maturity to deal > > with the responsibility that goes along with such power ... This > > movie is not just about these soldiers and the horrors they > > experienced; it's also about their families at home, who will never > > be the same again either, as a result of the war." > > > > > > > > Calls for Charlize boycott > > > > 13/09/2007 22:46 - (SA) > > > > http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Celebrities/ > > 0,,2-1225-2108_2183204,00.html > > > > > > Cape Town - Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones' latest movie In > > the Valley of Elah is to open in the US on Friday amid calls from > > some war supporters to boycott the actors as it is believed to be > > "anti-US" and "defaming US soldiers". > > > > The film, directed by Oscar-winning Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis, is > > based on a real 2003 case involving the stabbing death of Iraq war > > veteran Spc Richard Davis after he returned from battle. > > > > Surrounding the case were allegations the victim witnessed war-time > > atrocities, and the convicted perpetrators suffered from extreme > > stress disorders that were downplayed by officials. > > > > In the movie Tommy Lee Jones plays the role of a former military > > police investigator trying to find out why his son was brutally > > murdered, whereas Charlize Theron plays a police detective who > > helps in the investigation. > > > > 'Bin Laden cinema' > > > > According to a news report on Wednesday in USA Today, conservative > > columnist Debbie Schlussel labelled it "Bin Laden cinema" and > > called for a boycott of the actors. > > > > On her website she wrote: "the movie defames our troops as > > murderous, drug-addicted, prostitute-patronising thugs who torture > > wounded Iraqi civilians for fun and sport." > > > > The conservative NewsMax.com also categorised the movie as an "anti- > > war, anti-US flick". > > > > However, according to USA Today some military bloggers such as > > SgtStryker.com and PTSDcombat.blogspot.com, have praised it for > > highlighting issues that are front-and-centre in military communities. > > > > Jones told US Today he was not intimidated by the criticism, saying > > he is "so ready for a fight he doubts there'll be much of one". > > > > "The tactic of leading people into a war that doesn't make any > > sense by telling them they are under attack, and if they raise any > > objection they're unpatriotic, is a very old tactic. And it doesn't > > intimidate me," he said. > > > > > > Charlize Theron was quoted earlier as saying that she hoped the US > > troops in Iraq could return home soon. > > While promoting In The Valley of Elah at the Venice Film Festival, > > the Oscar-winning star told the BBC: "Nothing would give me more > > joy than to see them back in America. The soldiers are doing a > > very, very important job and it's a dangerous one. > > > > "Hopefully they can come back and be looked after, that's the least > > we can do for them." > > > > --------------- > > > > The War Once Home > > `In the Valley of Elah' fights to reveal one of combat's most > > dismissed consequences > > > > ~ By MARK KEIZER ~ > > > > http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=6131&IssueNum=223 > > > > > > Photo by Lorey Sebastian > > ~ Another day to match his face: Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) gets > > stonewalled by Pvt. Ortiez (Victor Wolf) ~ > > > > > > In a recent Bill O'Reilly radio show, the Levittown loudmouth was > > kind enough to run down a list of upcoming films concerning the war > > in Iraq. In O'Reilly's opinion, Hollywood (the boulevard, the > > industry, the state of mind) is overrun with quoting George > > Carlin "commie fag junkies" plotting to anoint Osama bin Laden > > program director at PBS while creating cross-media propaganda aimed > > at destroying the American way of life. But until that blessed day, > > Hollywood is busy minting a series of filmed entertainments whose > > purpose is to turn public opinion against the war. Of course, this > > is something currently being accomplished with every purchase of a > > 50-cent newspaper, not a $14 movie ticket. And with the newspaper, > > you get the funnies. > > > > Among the films O'Reilly ticked off are Brian De Palma's Redacted, > > based on the true story of the March 2006 rape and murder of an > > Iraqi girl by a group of American GI's, and the forthcoming > > Rendition, about an Egyptian-born chemical engineer tortured by > > U.S. government agents at one of those secret detention facilities > > the liberal mainstream media is always blabbering about. Lastly, he > > mentioned In the Valley of Elah, the new film by writer-director > > Paul Haggis. The Canadian-born Haggis is the only person in the > > history of the Oscars to write back-to-back Best Picture winners. > > And if Million Dollar Baby and Crash (which he also directed) > > taught us anything, it's that Haggis is the least likely person to > > throw a really cool children's birthday party. (And that's despite > > having four kids.) After cutting his teeth writing for comedy > > greats Norman Lear and Tracey Ullman, Haggis has transformed into a > > self-serious writer-sometimes-director whose need to make Big > > Statements threatens to elbow out all other considerations. In the > > Valley of Elah, based on a Playboy investigative article by Mark > > Boal, is a Big Statement mixed with a standard police procedural, > > sprinkled with a dash of Costa-Gavras's Missing if Jack Lemmon's > > character was a former Army MP who occasionally pummeled the crap > > out of soldiers half his age. > > > > According to a March 2007 article in The New York Times, the > > company newsletter of the Progressive Wacko Nutjob Left (Viva > > Chavez!), 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army in 2006. A > > soldier is classified a deserter if AWOL for more than 30 days. As > > Haggis's film opens, Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones, in one of his > > best performances) gets the call that his son Mike has gone AWOL on > > his first weekend back from Iraq. A quarter-century ago, when Jones > > won a Best Actor Emmy as convicted killer Gary Gilmore in The > > Executioner's Song, he was already an old soul, whose cold, dark > > eyes knew sorrow you would never understand. Here, Jones projects > > Hank's oft-required equanimity, one that isn't so much devoid of > > emotion, but suggestive of someone whose long-swallowed emotions > > can't afford to show themselves. In the striking minimalism of the > > film's early scenes, Haggis and Jones are perfectly in sync: The > > stillness of Haggis's camera matches Hank's solemn preparations for > > the two-day drive to Fort Rudd, the New Mexico base where Mike is > > stationed. Hank's abrupt departure barely warrants discussion with > > wife Joan (Susan Sarandon), whose thin contributions still provide > > some of the film's emotional highpoints. > > > > In New Mexico, Mike's platoon buddies dodge Hank's questions > > regarding their comrade's disappearance, and the local police are > > callously unconcerned. So he mounts his own investigation with the > > help of the only sympathetic ear he can find, detective Emily > > Sanders (Charlize Theron). Hank's grim determination draws us to > > him, but Emily is mechanical, ill-fitting, and even less realized > > than the female leads currently turning up on TNT. She endures > > misogynistic comments from male cops and lacks a significant other, > > save for her young son (Devin Brochu), whose only helpful > > contribution is allowing Hank to tell the story that gives the > > movie its title (the Valley of Elah is where David killed Goliath > > [1 Samuel 17: 1-58]). And Emily is, of course, no match for the > > investigatory powers of the taciturn Hank, who knows that > > streetlights will make a car's paint look a different color, plus > > other fun facts that betray what the film ultimately becomes: a > > highly-polished, well-acted, award-baiting episode of Law and Order. > > > > Early on, Hank and Emily's search ends with the worst possible > > outcome: Mike was murdered, his body chopped into bits. It's a > > nightmare that only the cursed can fathom, but the anguish of a > > military family is merely what drives the narrative. The film's > > takeaway message is its depiction of Post-Traumatic Stress > > Disorder, which effects between 12 and 20 percent of Iraq War > > veterans. > > > > Indeed, as the investigation broadens into a marginally engaging > > whodunit, the film's thematic scope broadens in kind. During his > > initial visit to Mike's barracks, Hank steals his son's cell phone > > and discovers it contains damaged video clips recorded in Iraq. > > Recovering the images initially smacks of time-wasting, but it's > > actually one of Haggis's more interesting assertions. Every vet > > needs to chronicle their experience and purge their grief. But > > unlike vets from previous conflicts, the psychic toll of wars > > fought by the current generation is clickable and available for > > streaming. It's YouTube and blog as emotional download, and an > > easily Googled reminder that the teenagers charged with fighting > > our wars always come back changed, if not dead. > > > > Should the film strike a nerve, conservative death squads will > > doubtless take up arms, because Haggis dares to suggest that war > > isn't always a glorious and enlightened undertaking (Note: the new > > Rambo film is scheduled for release in May 2008). But Haggis, > > despite the somber self-absorption that basically sinks the film > > (the final shot is a doozy!), isn't attempting a flower-in-the- > > rifle-barrel call for peace at any cost. Nor is he disrespecting > > the troops, aligning himself with terrorists, or advocating anti- > > Americanism. Whether the right wing likes it or not, generals plan > > the wars, but artists help weave their long-term effects into the > > cultural fabric. And Haggis, from the padded comfort of his high > > horse, fancies himself an important artist worthy of leading the > > charge in 2007. > > > > Still, the Big Statement he aches to make is easily put into > > practice without even seeing his film: When you meet someone who > > has returned from combat, don't ask how many terrorists they > > killed, or claim to understand them because of movies like In the > > Valley of Elah. Just say, "Welcome home." > > > > ---------------------- > > > > War hits home in 'Valley of Elah' > > > > The innately powerful film, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize > > Theron, is an antiwar statement dressed up as a murder mystery. > > > > By Peter RainerThe Christian Science Monitor, September 14, 2007 > > http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0914/p11s02-almo.html > > > > Grim and methodical, writer-director Paul Haggis's "In the Valley > > of Elah" has a message-movie self-importance. It's one of the first > > Iraq-themed movies out of the gate, and it aims to be, if not the > > last word on the subject, then certainly one of the strongest. > > Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank Deerfield Vietnam vet, retired > > sergeant, and Tennessee truck hauler who gets a call from Fort > > Rudd in New Mexico that his son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) has just > > returned from Iraq and gone AWOL. Hank drives to the base, leaving > > behind his distraught wife (Susan Sarandon, in a tiny part), and > > discovers when he gets there that the commanders and Mike's platoon > > buddies are either clueless or uncooperative. > > > > When it is soon discovered that Mike was brutally murdered and > > dismembered in a remote area bordering Army and local > > jurisdictions, the official uncooperativeness continues, with only > > a local civilian cop, Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), > > willing to pursue the leads that Hank for the most part comes up > > with on his own. > > > > At first "In the Valley of Elah" resembles nothing so much as a > > detective story with a political backdrop. Hank pieces the > > information together while maintaining an almost inhuman stoicism. > > He's the strong, silent type familiar from many a Western, but here > > his near-silence isn't mythic, it's painful to behold. Everything > > about Hank is painful. From the moment he hears the news of his > > son, his face crumples into a baggy mask of woe. Jones is so good > > at portraying hard-driven, nuggety men that his vulnerability here > > is doubly wrenching. > > > > But, as powerful as Jones can be, Haggis never allows Hank a > > dimension beyond stoicism, as if we might not respect him if we saw > > him cry. As the movie moves through its murder mystery mode and > > begins racking up political points, Hank becomes a stand-in for all > > those Americans bewildered and beleaguered by the war. He becomes a > > Symbol. > > > > Haggis, whose "Crash" was among the most overpraised Hollywood > > movies of recent years, scores his points one at a time. In an > > early scene, a TV set playing in the background has President Bush > > declaring that "Freedom is on the march." This TV motif, which > > recurs, drips with irony. Later on, one of Mike's platoon buddies > > says that the only way to exit Iraq is to nuke it. America, we are > > told, should not send heroes to places like Iraq. > > > > Haggis maintains a superficial evenhandedness but in fact the > > movie, which is loosely based on a real incident, is an indictment > > of the Iraq war in all its ramifications. Haggis is saying that an > > unjust war produces psychological horrors far beyond those seen in > > just wars. He is saying that the all-American heroes fighting over > > there are rendered soulless by the meaningless of the bloodshed. > > > > But is it really true that wars such as Iraq and Vietnam, because > > of their unpopularity, produced greater psychiatric distress among > > their combatants than, say, World War I or World War II? The notion > > that good wars are less harrowing for soldiers than bad ones is > > sentimental and politically loaded. But even if Haggis is correct > > about this, it's a pretty tenuous basis for an indictment. There > > will always be vets who are rendered psychotic by the hazards of > > war any war. The vets in this movie are made to shoulder the > > blame for Iraq instead of the lawmakers who sent them into battle. > > Haggis wields a big bazooka but his aim is low. > > > > Nevertheless, "In the Valley of Elah" the title refers to the > > battleground where Goliath and David fought held me despite my > > many qualms. That's because the subject matter is innately powerful > > and resists Haggis's pigeonholing. He's latched onto something > > that's bigger than himself. > > > > > > > > > > See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage. >
