11 days until 'The Pacific'

[CajoleJuice]

http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2010/03/first-reviews-of-hbos-the-pacific

For better or worse, “The Pacific” is far more graphic than “BOB.” Dismembered limbs flying, Marines cutting gold teeth from dead (and not quite dead) Japanese soldiers, a scene involving an open skull cavity that I won’t even describe.

["The Pacific"] is a gem of a production and would be a highlight of any TV season. “Pacific,” in its totality, conveys a sense of the combat experience that is as complete and realistic as any work of film could be. From the harrowing nighttime battles with a deadly but invisible enemy to the sheer misery of the punishing jungle climate to the macho posturing of the young American fighters, “Pacific” omits nothing…

Praiseworthy performances are so abundant that it might be unfair to single out any one actor… Special effects are outstanding and convincing. Watch for “Pacific” to dominate every Emmy category for which it is eligible. Better still, just watch it.

This is gonna be fucking awesome.

HBO

[Green Shinobi]

I hadn't even heard of this before, but I'm intrigued now. Will have to torrent, but I'll probably watch this.

[Ichirou]

Wait, does the article actually imply there is SKULLFUCKING in this?

[CajoleJuice]

I didn't even think of that.

Left this out:

One episode — Part Nine — deserves special praise. Directed by “Sopranos” veteran Tim Van Patten, this penultimate hour, set on the island of Okinawa, is the most harrowing and revolting depiction of war I’ve ever seen. As a self-contained hour of drama, it’s a masterpiece and alone worth the price of admission.

[Cormacaroni]

thanks for the reminder Cajole - will download the shit out of this and buy the BR special skull cavity box set etc etc

[brawndolicious]

It may actually be closer to Generation Kill than BoB.  It sounds like it'll be good but it could get a lot of flack for showing the Golden Generation acting like psychopaths.

[Mr. Gundam]

So glad I got HBO last month.

[Lone]

It'll be a good show, lots of realistic shit, and enjoyable.  But probably won't have that same feeling of watching the same group of soilders try and make it through WW2, like BoB.  That was the thing I liked the most, in BoB.  The comradery between the guys, and watching the effects of losing some of them.

[border]

World War 2 :zzzzzzzzzzz

I think The Thin Red Line kinda turned me off on watching anything about the Pacific campaign.

[Phoenix Dark]

I rented Band of Brothers from the library and loved it.

Guarnere
Winters

[Eel O'Brian]

Awesome character actor William Sadler:



Is playing this man, Colonel Lewis "Chesty" Puller, who is probably one of the most badass Marines who ever lived:




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller


actual quote:

"We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." — November 1950, during Chosin Reservoir campaign

[Bildi]

at that quote.

[Diunx]

Can't wait!

[Cormacaroni]

Later on Guadalcanal, Puller earned his third Navy Cross for action that was later known as the "Battle for Henderson Field", in which the 1/7 battalion was the only American unit defending the airfield against a regiment-strength Japanese force. In a firefight on the night of October 24–25, 1942, lasting about three hours, 1/7 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the battalion held the airfield.

his K:D is off the fucking hook!

[Phoenix Dark]

"Where do you put the bayonet?" (upon seeing a flamethrower for the first time)

 

[Tauntaun]

I read a book on Puller, dude was certifiably BAD ASS!    Actually, I wonder if my Grandpa was in his unit, he was a marine and was on Guadalcanal and in the 1st Marine Division. 

[Eel O'Brian]

While on Guadalcanal, Puller was shot by a sniper twice and wounded by shrapnel in three different places

then he still went on to fight in peleliu and other places

ths dude was a fucking terminator

[bud]

i can't fucking wait for this.

[Mupepe]

Earlier in the war he was reported to have ordered Marines to gather all abandoned Army equipment of withdrawing soldiers and put it to good use. He later reportedly told an Army colonel who demanded return of the equipment: "It all has USMC markings on it now and if you want it back, kick my ass." The equipment remained in possession of the Marines.

What a badass

[Eel O'Brian]

bump for reminder

also i don't have hbo, what's the eta for when these things hit the usual channels of distribution

[Mr. Gundam]

We get the east coast feed of HBO, but it's only standard definition, so we'll wait until 9pm PST.

[fistfulofmetal]

Pretty standard opener. Would have benefited of a 2 part beginning probably.

[Bebpo]

Thought it was ok.  Can't expect a ton from the first ep, but it does a good enough job setting it up.  The show is definitely doing everything it can to differentiate itself from BoB.  It feels like things focused on in BoB will be purposely avoided so the show can feel more unique.

Does HBO HD air it in 5.1?  My receiver was only picking up a 2.1 signal which kind of took away from the fullness of sounds I'd come to expect from the BoB bluray.  Probably need to mess with my HBO settings before next ep.

[Diunx]

Episode was ok, will continue to watch.

[Mr. Gundam]

To everyone who thought it was just ok, what did you want?

[Bebpo]

A really good episode?  Good story/acting/dialogue/etc...

It wasn't like it was bad, the ep had some great scenes, it just wasn't a ****/**** episode.  Band of Brothers had a lot of those, which is what made it so great.  Even the first ep with the training and stuff was nicely done.

BoB got you attached to the characters almost instantly. I don't find one likable character in the whole show, which is sad since they're based on real people.

I agree on this.  I was telling my friend that I liked the main curly haired guy and he seemed like a good actor.  But none of the other characters stood out and the "hehhehe let's get dem japs" guy is already annoying.

[CajoleJuice]

It's one episode. Most reviewers seem to think its best stuff is towards the end, too.

*hasn't seen it yet*

[brawndolicious]

It was a pretty damn good premiere really.  I loved how they handled the build-up of anticipation and excitement about fighting the Japanese only to be completely surprised by their actual tactics/minset.  The part with the crying, frustrated Japanese soldier was especially fucked up because you could easily see that happening.

It's obvious that showing the different philosophies of the two sides to war is going to be a major focus of this series so it's a good thing they don't try to make any of the characters too likable (their job is killing people after all).  Actually, the one thing I didn't really like about BoB was that there was too much buddy-buddy bullshitting.

[Cormacaroni]

The surviving characters in BoB are devoted to each other to this day, with a few exceptions (Sobel). That's part of what made them a remarkable unit.

[brawndolicious]

I know that, I saw the finale where it showed what they did after the war.  But I think this will show a fresher and more interesting perspective on the war.

[Ichirou]

The surviving characters in BoB are devoted to each other to this day, with a few exceptions (Sobel). That's part of what made them a remarkable unit.

Sobel tried committing suicide and ended up blind and alone in some retirement home until he died of malnutrition.  What a fucked-up way to go.

[Phoenix Dark]

BoB is amazing. I don't see how anyone could do a BoB "marathon" though. Just a couple episodes were enough in a day for me; the show tore me apart at times.

One of my favorite things was finally being able to put names to the real life men portrayed in it; I was able to  guess Guarnere though lol.

[Cormacaroni]

The surviving characters in BoB are devoted to each other to this day, with a few exceptions (Sobel). That's part of what made them a remarkable unit.

Sobel tried committing suicide and ended up blind and alone in some retirement home until he died of malnutrition.  What a fucked-up way to go.

Agreed but I already know this having read the book twice

[Ichirou]

I bow to your superior brand of band of brotherosity.

[fistfulofmetal]

its not really getting any stronger.

biggest problem is that there isn't a clear idea of what's going on. no sense of being surrounded and in danger. they're just casually walking around their base. then when they get off they're all fucked up. shrug.

[WrikaWrek]

Weak.

[Bebpo]

Gonna be a slow burn...

and fistful hits it spot on that the difference between BoB and this is in BoB you knew what was going on and where.  It's hard to see the bigger picture here.  It wouldn't have hurt to have somebody at some point when talking about stuff pull out a map and draw lines ^^;

[fistfulofmetal]

i think that can be attributed to how familiar the general public is of the european theater over the pacific theater. everyone knows about the french invasion, battle of the bulge,
the pacific is much more unknown to most people, me included.

i can see what they are trying to do, tho. we're meant to be in the shoes of the soldiers. they didn't know jack shit either. they're being told these things about the battle and they have no context at all.

but the biggest problem is that when the episode was all said and done we're meant to believe these guys had been through absolute hell. but what we saw wasn't really (relatively speaking) that bad.

[Bebpo]

Yeah, I got that feeling too.  Same thing happened with the last ep where the new squad showed up.  BoB had that, but in BoB you felt it more.

[Diunx]

I liked this episode a lot more than the premiere, but I agree that with you guys, I have no idea what the fuck they are supposed to be doing there.

[fistfulofmetal]

Best episode so far. Really surprised I'm saying that. I expected this one to be a snore but it was really compelling. Great character development. Leckie is finally becoming a character I care about. His story with Stella was simple yet effective

Plus Stella was gorgeous.

[Bebpo]

Definitely the strongest ep so far.  Was a good ep, though I still feel like something is missing.  I think it's the directing at this point.  Some scenes go on too long, some too short, some scenes don't have music when they should for impact, the whole lack of coherent characterization, etc.. it all seems like it's adding up to a director or directors who simply aren't up to the task of bringing something of this caliber together.

Hopefully the later eps will prove me wrong.

[fistfulofmetal]

i think the biggest issue is that the show still has no sense of time progression. in the intro Tom Hanks says that they were in Melbourne for a year or so? The episode made it seem like they where there for a week. It wasn't that big of an issue in this episode but it hurt the last two because we are told they where on Guadalcanal for four months. and again, the show made it seem like they were there for a few weeks at the most.

[Diunx]

Man that blond chick really hot.