Platoon (1986) - IMDB #143

Platoon//1986//120 Min.//Color//War Dinks & Cheesedicks. This is 'Nam. I have seen Platoon many, many times, so when Shaun said he wanted to knock it off of the list, I was more than eager to sit through it again. War movies are one of my favorite genres, and Platoon is near the top of the list. Everything about this movie is stellar. It deserved, and won Best Picture and Best Director at the 1986 Acadamy Awards (with competition from...Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, and A Room With a View?). It's about a war...not a war with the enemy, but the war within ourselves as human beings. We watch as a 'green' is dropped into the middle of hell on Earth, and is forced to grow up faster in one year than he had his whole life up to the point he got off of the chopper and into the bush. We see a truly scary 'villain' - one who you really believe thinks that what he's doing is just...and if that means killing every single seemingly innocent person in a small village, that's what he'll do. We see all of the other strands, trying to keep the team, and our country, together. The score is excellent. The cinematography is remarkable, even to today's standards. The story is immaculate. The dialogue is believable. The acting is fantastic. The cast is impeccable - Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Depp in an early role, and Dr. Cox from Scrubs...the list never ends. If you haven't seen Platoon yet, see it. Easily recommended. As King says, "Keep your pecker hard and your powder dry, and the world will turn." 10/10 (IMDB rates it an 8.2/10) - Kleeberg