great film and deserved to win those oscars. alot of people complain that it doesnt really have a plot but i kinda see that as the point - war isnt about plots its about emotions and random acts of violence, which this film really portrays very well. love it where hes defusing the car bomb - epic scene. in saving private ryan if it wasnt for the tacked on saving part , that film would also contain little plot but high emotions and violence. - both of course great films with slightly different methods to potray similar themes of war.
The movie was ok, but i don't think there was much competition. The sniper scene sort of bothered me because the guy was having trouble hitting his target (expected since he was an engineer) and then he all of a sudden can hit a running target at a half mile?
Yeah quite funny seen how to director of this movie used to be married to James Cameron LOL he got a big slap in the face at the Oscars. As much as I love Avatar, I am quite happy the under dog won so many awards.
I don't think it was much of an underdog actually, Precious,District9,Up in the Air,and An Education were the real underdogs. Just my opinion
I can perhaps shed light on this being a sniper myself in the army. To hit a target, you first have to compensate for distance, wind and bullet roll. While we have laser rangers these days to help us get the range accurate, the wind and bullet roll are mostly adjusted for by experience. In fact, the saying "one shot one kill" is a pure Hollywood expression, nearly 95% of targets are hit on the second or third shot by a sniper; as the first shot gives him an indication from which to adjust his aim. Also against moving targets, we have a something in the scope called "Mil-Dots" which give us a reference point to aim. So once we have the range and wind calculated we can get the correct mil-dot lead to hit a moving target as it is pre-set table. Combat Engineers, especially an elite unit, are trained on the M-82/M-107 system. It is used to safely blow up objects from a distance as it is somewhat lacking as a anti-personnel weapon. So that scene was the most realistic sniper scene I have seen to this point in movies; and heads above the movie "Shooter".
I didn't say it wasn't more realistic than most movies, but it just seems odd that they made the script choice for the guy to take out a running target at that distance after missing all previous shots.
Perhaps. It's true that the M82 is not very accurate (in terms of .50 cal rifles) so taking out a running target with it would be a very extreme shot. However to take out the people in the window he could just hit the side of the building and the shot would most likely penetrate. At the end of the day it is still Hollywood, however even I have to give them props for at least trying to get it accurate. It's movies like Shooter that ruin snipers in the army, since our commanders who were not snipers and saw the movie have unrealistic expectations of us usually. Hell I was once set out on the most goddamn movie like mission to take out an enemy searchlight at long range at night while using a day scope... I did hit but if I was given the mission again I would refuse; and a mission order like this is a direct result of movies showing snipers doing stupid **** like this.
A movie, one "BASED" on the accounts of a journalist.... not portrayed realistically?:3eyes: well i never, this woman needs to inform us how it really is then.
Ofcourse the movie does many things unrealistically. It is not a documentary. It could have been based on any army and any war. The war is just a backdrop for this picture. It's more about the characters, their development, their fears and obsessions which is why the first written line in the film is about war being a drug. That said I think a lot of the scenes are done well with some understandable artistic freedom. The sniper scene was pretty realistic and more importantly really had that grim vibe which is often missing in Holywood.
