Based On A Truesday Story: Lone Survivor (2013)

I know what you guys are thinking, three war movies in a row for Based On A Truesday (play on the words Tuesday and True) Story? Most of the movies that you see nowadays that are based on a true story are a lot of times war movies. Hollywood has always made it a knack of making money off these films, but for some of us in the world it’s a chance to see the struggles and the sacrifice the men and women of the United States Military went through to protect them. Lone Survivor is the film that was based off the book of the same name by the surviving member of the Seal team that went into Afghanistan during Operation Red Wing in Marcus Luttrell. Marcus is played by Mark Wahlberg (Fear) and it follows him and his team as they enter a dangerous mission on the heels of their target Ahmad Shah in the Kunar Province (I believe). The only problem is that after letting someone go, they are ambushed by Shah’ team and they must try everything in their power to survive. The film also stars Taylor Kitsch (John Carter) as Michael Murphy, Emile Hirsch (The Girl Next Door) as Danny Dietz, Ben Foster (Alpha Dog) as Matthew Axelson, Marcus Luttrell as Frank, Eric Bana (Munich) as Erik Kristensen, Jerry Ferrara (Entourage) as Hasslert, Dan Bilzerian (The Equalizer) as Healy, Ali Suliman (Body Of Lies) as Gulab, and the film was directed by Peter Berg (Hancock).

I’m not here to compare Lone Survivor with American Sniper as far as which film is better than the other because they both have great qualities to them that make each film unique. The film can be hard to watch at times especially when the team is ambushed by the Anti-Forces Coalition. They go through things that no normal man could possibly go through, but it doesn’t surprise me because these guys are elite. As I said above, these films are all about paying respect to those who risk their lives so that we have the freedom to blog about what we want. Michael Moore and the comments he made was just despicable in every way an not worth listening to. Peter Berg who also makes a cameo in the film among some real life Navy Seals did a terrific job directing the film and his cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler does an amazing job capturing everything even if it is hard to watch at times. I know a lot of people have an issue with this film because they feel it was Hollywood-ized and that it starred Mark Wahlberg, but Mark does a terrific job with the film. I also enjoyed the fact that they included the real life Marcus Luttrell in the film and the one thing that I was super happy about was the fact that when the camera as panning into their rooms in the beginning, they used real life pictures of the guys. I know you may think that it isn’t a big deal, but a lot of times they’ll use pictures of the actors and pretend it’s who they are portraying for consistency. I loved the decision to use the real pictures and I commend who ever made that call. I would definitely check this film out because it’s worth watching. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.

Metallica Rock’s Concert For Valor On HBO

Last night, HBO held The Concert For Valor at The National Mall in Washington DC which was a tribute to all the men and women that serve in the United States Military to celebrate Veterans Days. One of the bands that appeared on stage at The Concert For Valor was Metallica who was given a tremendous introduction by Jack Black. The band opened up with For Whom The Bell Tolls and one of the coolest things you could notice besides the band ripping it was the fact that several men and women of the United States Military and their families were behind the band on stage as they rocked out. The band would then perform Master Of Puppets which was followed by set closer Enter Sandman. The concert also featured Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem and others, but this is where it’s at if you’re a fan of metal. I have their set for you below, so check it out and bang those heads.