Tropic Thunder DVD Review

Now, let’s go get those Vietcongs!

– Tugg Speedman

Tropic Thunder is the story of a group of actors making a Vietnam War movie.  The story is told in a mocumentry style, think This Is Spinal Tap.  The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and has a  cameo role played by Tom Cruise.

The movie is the story of the filming of the memoir of a Vietnam veteran, John “Four Leaf” Tayback.  When the filming runs into some trouble, the director decides to film the movie guerrilla style. The director turns the actors lose in the jungle, where they encounter a heroine gang.

The movie plays on a number of Hollywood stereotypes. 

• Tugg Speedman (Stiller) – action-movie star who thinks he is a better actor than he is.
• Jeff Portnoy (Black) – comedy actor famous for his fart movies, who is addicted to heroine.
• Kirk Lazarus (Downey) – multiple Academy Award winner, who undergoes surgery to portrays a black sergeant.

The War: A New Film by Ken Burns to Air on PBS Sans Profanity

Ken Burns, the documentarian who brought us The Civil War, Baseball, and Jazz, brings to life the stories of the Second World War. The War will begin on PBS on 23 September 2007. The documentary tells the story of World War II using personal accounts from the men and women who were there,

Throughout the series, the indelible experience of combat is brought vividly to life as veterans describe what it was like to fight and kill and see men die at places like Monte Cassino and Anzio and Omaha Beach; the Hürtgen Forest and the Vosges Mountains and the Ardennes; and on the other side of the world at Guadalcanal and Tarawa and Saipan; Peleliu and the Philippine Sea and Okinawa. In all of the battle scenes, dramatic historical footage and photographs are combined with extraordinarily realistic sound effects to give the film a terrifying, visceral immediacy.

During the documentary there are four uses of profanity used by former American soldiers being interviewed about their experiences in World War II. The common military acronyms FUBAR and SNAFU are explained, each of which include profanity. The other two uses of profanity are uttered during descriptions of combat experiences.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Returns to HBO for Sixth Season on 9 Sep 07

Curb Your Enthusiasm is returning for a Sixth Season on HBO, starting at 10 pm on Sunday 9 September 2007. If you have not seen the show, you need to. Curb stars Larry David as himself. Larry David was the co-creator of Seinfeld along with Jerry Seinfeld, and the inspiration for the character of George Constanza. Each episode shows Larry David playing himself. You see Larry interacting with his agent Jeff Greene, his wife Cheryl David, and his best friend Richard Lewis.

In addition to the normal cast, there are a number of celebrities making guest appearances, playing themselves. If you liked Seinfeld you will love Curb. Think of seeing George Costanza’s life after Seinfeld. It is better than an extension of Seinfeld. Not only do the episodes play well the first time, they hold up to repeated viewings.