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Reviews
The Green Berets (1968)
Read The Book
While I like this movie for all the wrong reasons, it doesn't come close to doing justice to the Robin Moore book on which it was very loosely based. It's pretty obvious that much of it was filmed stateside, but in that it was one of the few - if not the only - Vietnam War movies made in the 60's it's historically significant. I also know that The Duke visited several US Army SF camps in SE Asia in preparation for this film - as well as to show his support for our service men.
If you're interested in the subject matter, however, READ THE BOOK! It's very gritty and much of it is from a unique first-person perspective.
Fandango (1985)
Nice film...
If you liked Kevin Costner in Tin Cup and (to a degree) Bull Durham, this movie is where those characters were born. It's a raw buddy film that nicely shows the desperation of young men who can see the ending of an era rapidly approaching. They are forced to decide if their college persona will define them for the rest of their lives. While you have to like Gardner (Costner) and get caught up in his charms, you clearly see his tragic flaw. He is Peter Pan and the other Groovers are the Darling children. He can't grow up and is consequently headed for a life much harder than his obvious intellect and natural leadership qualities could otherwise offer him. There are some funny scenes, some painful scenes, and several extremely poignant scenes. In the end, choices are made and the era comes to a somewhat unceremonious end. By the way, toward the end, some of the music from Pat Metheny's album, "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" makes a perfect cameo.
Finally, if you watch this film, and you're under 40, you better not be much under 40