Director Brian De Palma is desperatly in need of making a good movie that the critics will love instead of loath. Once he could do no wrong with classics like Scareface, The Untouchables, Blow Out and Carlito's Way. But the sad fact is that this once master director has lost his golden touch and has not made a good movie since Mission Impossible way back in 1996, and we have had to contend with the likes of Mission To Mars and The Black Daliah.
Although this movie never stoops as low as De Palma's worst efforts, it never comes close to his greats. The movie is based on real life events of a rape on murder of an Iraqi teenage girl, by drunken american troops, and what follows is a bloody revenge by the local malisia.The film is shot in a home movie fashion, and this does ad a realistic / if slightly confusing edge to the film. None of the characters are likeable, so it's hard to get involved in the guilt of some of he troops. But the film never has a propper ending and with no propper resolution to the story you do get a real sense of disappointment, but that could be what De Palma wanted, as there could be no propper resolution to this on going battle of hearts and minds. The film does have a hard hitting after effect, by showing true life pictures of he innocent effected by the war, and it's these pictures that will haunt you long after the film has ended.
Not the classic war movie it should have been, and no doubt will be loved and loathed in equal measure.
Try before you buy!

where do i start, firstly how disappointing this film is for a brian de palma film.

This was such a let down for a fan of a good war film.

If you want some advice on buying this film, DONT BOTHER.

WAIT TILL IT COMES ON TV, THEN AND ONLY THEN, WHEN THERE IS NOTHNG WORTH WATCHING ON TV....................

STILL DONT BOTHER.

the film though fictional does portray many of the horrors of this dubious occupation of 'iraq'
much of the film is based on things that are known or believed to of happened after the war had long since finished.
we follow a small group of 'u.s' soldiers, bored and a long way from home.
it's not exciting, it's something you'll probably watch once then put away.
but....how cruel or brutal is one to another ?
the headline on my review say's as does the underlying reason for western forces being there..what is..the real price of oil ?

Such a shame, I was expecting so much from a great director who's films I have enjoyed so much in the passed. This has to be one of the most boring films I have ever seen, jumping about too much, bad acting, weak story, no tension, well just nothing.

I hope Brian De Palma goes back to his exciting and gripping thrillers and does not try to make semi-documentry films