Movie/film suggestions.

My younger sister’s boyfriend wasn’t so lucky, and ended up in Nam. But not for long; he took a bullet to his forehead on his first trek into the jungle..

What a waste that was.  So much waste of life.  Blood and treasure and more blood.

I found the statement made by Francis Ford Coppola about his film Apocalypse Now extremely despicable: "My film is not about Vietnam. My film is Vietnam." Unbelievable! In addition to his statement being so offensive and ridiculous, his film is a bloated, pompous, pretentious pos. IMO Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter are much better movies about the war.

I can respect your point of view, @bdp24 ; however, I remember being transfixed by it; the whole trippy and lawless atmosphere it conveyed sucked me in and put me on the boat with Sheen and his crew.  For many years it remained one of my all time favorites, up there with Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid.  I had a friend (about my age) who didn’t feel quite as strongly as you do about it, but he much preferred Platoon to Apocalypse Now (as the latter did nothing for him), and like you he really enjoyed Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter. (I think what he really enjoyed about The Deer Hunter were the Russian Roulette scenes . . . he found that fascinating, and I will say no more about that aspect.) 

But then again, I remember I was in the AF when Apocalypse Now came out, and I worked with a vet in the hangar who loved it; he said it reminded him of what it was like to be in Southeast Asia at the time.  (It is worth pointing out that he was in the AF and stationed in Thailand working on fighters during that time as opposed to humping through the jungle with a M-16.)  There were scenes that I found to be intense, and I find the whole backstory behind the making of the film to be quite interesting, but looking at it objectively, where I think it may fail as a film, is it tells a story without giving the audience someone to really care about.  A movie that winds up moving me so much I cannot bring myself to watch it anymore, is Casualties Of War.  I find watching the rape and murder of innocence to depress me even more than I am in my normal state of mental malaise.

@immatthewj , @bdp24, I had a coworker back in the '70s who was a medic in Nam. He was a stoner back then and couldn't shake the habit (I don't blame him one bit). He said it was so f*cked up and hopeless that you had basically three groups to be in: the stoners, the drunks and the straights.

After a fierce firefight you could smell the opium that the Cong smoked along with the cordite as they waited for the Americans to come stumbling by. They were into war about the same as the Americans. All they'd find is spent ammo, pipes and paraphernalia along with tunnels no one wanted to go down into. 

They'd be high as a kite watching lead tanks hit land mines as rockets passed by overhead, enjoying the show as best they could. When his second tour came up he had the option of transferring to France so he hopped on that one and buggered out. The worst thing he saw in France was a young couple making love on a tombstone during a hot summer night who picked up Mustard Gas poisoning that was still there from WWI. They almost died from it. I had a grandfather who survived that but not in one piece. My mom remembers holding his outstretched hands only to have a complete layer of skin from his forearms down to his hands come off in her hands.

War sucks big time. You'd think we'd get that into our thick, stupid heads.

All the best,
Nonoise

PBS has aired an excellent 10 part documentary series titled The Vietnam War (2017-2018) narrated by Peter Coyote.  The total futility of our involvement, along with the casualty count on both sides and the civilians, is incredible and depressing.  I've watched all ten episodes twice, at different times, and both times I could not stop watching.

I was thinking of that series just a minute ago. If I remember correctly, I think one story that hit hard was of a seasoned vet who was in a trench with his unit and one of our jets came in low to drop some Napalm. He watched as the pods were released and immediately noticed they were spinning backwards, meaning it was heading to where he was so he grabbed the guy next to him and held him overhead as he crouched down. When it was all done and over, all he held was a charred torso. 

It was routine in jungle warfare for soldiers, upon wakening to clench their fists as tightly as they could to squeeze out the bluish fungus that filled the scratches and cuts in their hands so they could use them for the day. Being a Seabee in the Pacific Theater, my dad had jungle rot in his feet for the rest of his life. He had the VA use the strongest meds to some weak acids poured into the bottom of his feet to try to eradicate it. He had to stop the love of his life, bowling, from being unable to stand  and walk properly for longer periods of time. 

I love all those PBS series as well. From WWI to WWII, the Civil War, etc. One need to be reminded.

All the best,
Nonoise

@immatthewj still on the Matt Dillon subject. You, me and Dupree. Not a big deal but he just did so fine. Unlike Owen Wilson, annoying in 4 out of 5 acts. Dillon is just cool, enjoyable, effortless in anything he does.

"Birdman" Wonderfully acted by all.... Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone. I loved the camera work along with the narration.

Watched "Seberg" recently....thought Kristen Stewart was wonderful.

Rewatching "A Vigilante" with Olivia Wilde. I thought she was wonderful in this physical role.

Watched my first Creed movie recently.....Creed II. I thought it was really well and thoughtfully done 

We’re The Millers. Had several belly laughs with Jason Sudekas, Jennifer Anniston and all others.... especially their ’son’.