Over our TurkeyDaze break, we're trying to catch up on some of the recent film releases that we've not had the chance to see with our nearly 9-month-old munchkin in tow. Yesterday's feature - "Jarhead" - started things off on a debatably high platform. My rating is a squishy B-minus (I could go higher). While I've not read Anthony Swofford's book, I was impressed and engaged on many levels. The cast is solid, with Jake Jello-and-Marshmallows-en-hall and Peter SARS-ain't-so-bad-but-still-be-on-Gard leading the way. The lunacy shown in the lead-up to pseudo-War isn't exactly new ("Full Metal Jacket" did it better) and the manic partying shown as release isn't either (likewise in "Platoon"). Nonetheless, the crazy juxtaposition of the first Persian Gulf War with what we're currently experiencing in Iraq makes for good pondering. The visuals, especially of the oil well fires and lots of fit, sweaty boy toys, are fab. The madness of our overwhelming firepower being used on such a paper tiger (then or now) is disconcerting. But seeing our young men driven right to the brink of insanity before being dumped back into the real world is the most powerful punch I think this piece of work delivers.
On Nanna and Poppy's hardwood floors, Maya's taken to a much farther ranging style of scooting - both forward and backward. She's screaming up a storm at the moment, echoing off the walls and getting everyone motivated to take her outside for a run/walk. Hope your own pre-gobble gobble activities are equally boisterous. Rock on.
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