“Maybe I finally found it, way down here in the mud. Maybe from down here I can start up again, be something I can be proud of, without having to fake it, be a fake human being.” - Chris Taylor
After a little over a month long hiatus, somewhat due to the Christmas holiday but mostly to our inability to decide on a movie, my sister and I are picking up on our quest to watch all 100 of AFI’s top movies before we become old. Tonight we settled on Platoon, another movie I know strikingly little about. My knowledge of Platoon equates to knowing that it is about war...and that is it. Platoon was written and directed by Oliver Stone in 1986, and coincidently comes in at number 86 on AFI’s list. The movie stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Charlie Sheen. Thanks to the pizza war occurring in town nearby, in which 5 restaurants are all offering $5 pizzas, I am comfortably full on food and will hopefully not overindulge in the sweets leftover from the Christmas stocking. And thanks to the most amazing Christmas gifts of a large pillow and a popcorn tin, I am ready for movie night.
Well, that was depressing. I think I now understand why I don’t enjoy war movies. Platoon follows a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War. There’s a Lieutenant who probably slept his way to that title because clearly he is not qualified, three Sergeants who clash throughout the movie, and a handful of mostly memorable soldiers. At times I found the movie to be slow, very slow. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. Though it was nice to see stars pop up throughout the movie in small roles, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, Johnny Depp, just to name a few.
There’s a reason Platoon made the top 100 list, unfortunately I cannot identify that reason. Platoon was not the movie for me. It may be the movie for you. I’d recommend this movie just so you can say you’ve watched it.
