The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Features  |  Reviews
Best2012Vote-1000x50

Stop-loss

Predictable, pointless, and sad
By PETER KEOUGH  |  March 25, 2008
2.0 2.0 Stars
STOP-LOSSinside
Stop-loss

It took a war to bring Kimberly Peirce back to the screen after her impressive 1999 debut, Boys Don’t Cry. But like everything associated with the Iraq debacle, her new film is a disappointment. The title refers to the military’s Catch-22 bending of the rules by which troops who have served out their assigned time in Iraq return home only to learn they’re being sent back. That’s what happens to Texas hero Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe), who’s fresh from a Baghdad ambush (the most cinematically successful part of the film) in which he lost men and accidentally killed civilians. Back home, after fumbling through a speech to the clueless civilians welcoming him, he tries to restore his civilian life while keeping his knuckleheaded buddies from going off the deep end. This part combines The Deer Hunter with The Dukes of Hazzard. Later, when he gets his marching papers, Stop-Loss serves as a what-not-to-do guide for those in that situation. Predictable, pointless, and sad. 112 minutes | Kendall Square
Related: Spring brakes, Primary concerns, Fractured fairy tales, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Kimberly Peirce, Ryan Phillippe
| More

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 02/14 ]   The Addams Family  @ Shubert Theatre
[ 02/14 ]   "Aphrodite and the Gods of Love"  @ Museum of Fine Arts
[ 02/14 ]   "Processes and Dreams"  @ Panopticon Gallery
ARTICLES BY PETER KEOUGH
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: THE OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS 2012: DOCUMENTARY  |  February 10, 2012
    The films in this program contain some of the most powerful images to be seen on the screen this year.
  •   REVIEW: JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND  |  February 07, 2012
    I liked the tiny elephants and the Rock bouncing berries off his pecs, but Brad Peyton's sequel is as bad as the 2008 original.
  •   REVIEW: CHRONICLE  |  February 02, 2012
    Poor Andrew (Dane DeHaan) has more problems than any movie teenager deserves.
  •   REVIEW: ONE FOR THE MONEY  |  January 31, 2012
    TV director Julie Anne Robinson's insipid adaptation of this first volume in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has more in common with Young Adult than with the average gumshoe yarn.
  •   REVIEW: BIG MIRACLE  |  January 31, 2012
    Taking a tip from the oil industry, Hollywood has started exploiting Alaska. Following in the tracks of The Grey is Ken Kwapis's take on a true story from 1988 about an effort to save gray whales trapped in the Arctic ice. Surprisingly, the film offers genuine complexity.

 See all articles by: PETER KEOUGH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed