Some thoughts after seeing "Jarhead"...

Well, to balance work and play (though I don't remember to have done much this week..:oP) I decided to hit the movie theater and see "Jarhead" last Saturday. At the first spot of the terrible long line before the ticket counter, half of me already wanted to retreat. But since I've made an effort to get up, get dressed and make myself look nice with those cosmetic stuff, I decided that I have to see it through.. (oh boy, can I be more serious?)

Luckily, the theater wasn't over crowded. Although I was squeezed between two couples who couldn't keep their hands off each other, the view from my seat was actually pretty good. No big heads blocking my sight, nice! Plus there was no annoying self-centered audience who constantly exchange their opinions, either. The whole experience of watching "Jarhead" was actually pretty enjoyable, except one thing - the movie itself was average.

It hurts to state the above because I absolutely adore the male leading character Jake Gyllenhaal. In fact, it is his excellent acting in "Brokeback Mountain" that drove me to see "Jarhead". Gyllenhaal was acting his heart out, but somehow the director Mendes didn't get it quite right this time. Many of the scenes depicting soldiers' boredom in the desert, though hilarious and truthful, were a bit distracting. If I had to pinpoint one most obvious flaw, I would say that the ending was weak as a shooting star without lasting power.

But all in all, the movie is not bad if you want to kill time in the weekend. Just don't expect it to be a feel-good movie. There are many realistic depictions of tortures (be it physical or mental) that the soldiers endured during their desert mission, violence, sexual situation and in almost every other sentence you'd hear a 4-letter f*** word.

Jen's overall rating of "Jarhead": 7 stars out of 10.

*Remark: For girls who adore Gyllenhaal just as I do, "Jarhead" is a must-see as Gyllenhaal shows his well-trained muscles (and at times buttock!) in this movie almost fifty percent of the time. Apart from his compelling acting, Gyllenhaal looks darn good wearing that Santa hat and nothing else.