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One of my all time favorites.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

7.5 for clarification.One of the film's strongest attributes is it's cinematography, which is exceedingly good throughout. Kubrick seems intent on utilising music at ever opportunity, though I would cast doubt on how effective this decision was. The cast as a whole deliver moderately impressive performances. Kubrick certainly intended to showcase how war dehumanizes the individual, and this allows for the highlight of the film: the magnificent scene in which "Private Pyle" commits suicide. The film claims to provide dark humour, however If there was such any I failed to observe it. However, I simply couldn't understand the psyche of protagonist "Joker", as he is such a contradictory figure throughout the film. Is this another effort by Kubrick to demonstrate the dehumanizing effect of war, or a metaphor for the duality of man?

This week I watched Full Metal Jacket (1987). Let me just start out by saying that I was not the biggest fan of this film and I am surprised that this is such an occult classic. I thought the storyline was kind of weird and directionless. I felt like I kept waiting for a climax that never came. I didn't care for the content of the film and I see why my ex was so obsessed with it. It seemed geared for someone like him -- not me. Being a military brat I get that this film is supposed to represent "how it really is" in the military, and I do think the film gave an accurate depiction in that regard. Who knows? Maybe that's why I didn't care to watch it. Most of the scenes I felt were drawn out for too long and Kubrick took advantage of the shoot up scenes to get a little extra gorey, which I also didn't care for. Some of the music seemed out of place -- and not in a good creative way, but in a weird I don't get it way. Traditional to Kubrick films the cinematography was an artistic manifestation of the internal turmoil of the scenes. The editing seemed to shift throughout the movie, which I also didn't care for stylistically. For most of the movie the editing was traditional cinematic, and about ¾ into the movie, the editing suddenly becomes "TV news style." Some people might be into that, but I thought it felt out of place, abrupt, and strange. Perhaps that was Kubrick's intent to make the viewer feel strange because he wanted us to feel that war is strange. I think that the film translated Kubrick's vision well. I believe that the point of the film is an anti-war message. I see a lot of undertones for this in the script. The film's plot seemed to be "real-life" war from the perspective a a journalist/soldier. And as for payoff? As I mentioned earlier about the editing, the pacing changed a few times in the film and was strange. There wasn't really a good payoff to this film in my opinion, but I think that's what Kubrick was going for.

This is an excellent movie, for a while. R. Lee Ermey gives a riveting performance as the arch typical drill instructor, Sgt. Hartman. Ermey's performance should have earned him an Academy Award. In fact, it can be argued that Ermey's presence makes this movie special. Out side of that, the movie falters. Sgt. Hartman states clearly at the start that his order is weed out those who cannot hack his beloved Marine Corps. That means finding the bad apples. Yet, despite all his threats and abuse and blustering, nobody gets weeded out. The story line contains huge holes. First, regarding Gomer Pyle. Pyle fails at everything, yet Hartman does not flunk him out. Instead, he employs terror to try to get Pyle, a hapless screw up, to comply. Nothing helps, yet Pyle makes it. Boot camp has taught him only one thing: how to kill Hartman. Second, the story abruptly switches to Vietnam. The troops are cynical, demoralized and dysfunctional. They lack unit cohesion and esprit de corps. However, the story fails to explain the cause of their malaise. Joker, another bad apple from boot camp, is still in the Marines. Third, the character Animal Mother. His presence in the story is seems to make no sense, except that he is yet another bad apple that the Marines never weeded out. He's just more overtly anti-social. This entire movie depicts the military as a sham. Tell that to those who actually serve.

A smart move from the legend that was Stanley Kubrick. We've all seen many war films, a genre that is well explored from a variety of different conflicts. Full Metal Jacket however chooses to go behind the scenes and focus on the training process that changes well intentioned men into trained lethal killers. You could easily split this in half and have two separate films, the first half being more psychologically charged whereas the latter showcasing the brutality of warfare. A ridiculously serious drill sergeant practically bullying a trainee marine so harshly that it slowly turns him into an unstable psychopath. That right there, was some really good psychology and made the film so much more interesting. Sure the Vietnam War scenes were depicted with a substantial amount of fire, blood and guns but it was the first half that really captivated me. Vincent D'Onofrio was the stand out for me, both convincing and expressive through his face. Matthew Modine was good, probably his best performance. Lee Ermey deserves recognition just for somehow managing to not lose his voice from all the shouting. Characterisation was present, perhaps not fully fleshed out as I would like but was just enough for me to care about them. Yet again though, it's the technical marvel that wins...Stanley Kubrick. His directing style is so damn flawless. The nice clean long takes, actors looking directly into the camera, slow motion deaths (particularly in the sniper shootout)...he is just phenomenal. Script was sharp as well. A great section of dialogue where our lead character wears a peace badge and a helmet that says "born to kill" for which he describes represents the duality of man. That really stuck with me. So whilst it might feel like two separate films (due to that ridiculously quick transition), it's hard not to appreciate everything that's shown to us. Another hit from Mr. Kubrick.