War movies generally have not changed over the years. There are generally 2 levels of engagement for the audience: one, on the up-close and personal level, where you get to know the soldiers and first person sense of hell, that war brings about, and two, the actual battle itself and the shooting of guns and missiles. This is applicable to almost all war related movies, save of course for a few exceptional ones like Brian de Palma's 1989 anti-war flick Casualties of War. Apart from that, the message imparted is this: war is hell and there no one is actually the victor. The only difference is the enemy the hero army faces and how they are depicted which in this case are aliens.
The Skinny: Marine Platoon led by Marine staff sergeant battles with aliens on the streets of LA.
The Helmer: Johnathan Liebesman - The Killing Room (2009), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), Rings (2005 V), Darkness Falls (2003), Genesis and Catastrophe (2000).
Casts: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodrigez, Michael Pena, Lucas Till, Joey King
Release Date: 11th March 2011
Prediction: War movies are generally a hit-and-miss thing. Because its both drama and action rolled so closely together that one slip will lead it disastrously into either one of the sides. And for each war movie that comes out, the expections are high in terms of raw action. Of late, the look and feel have been strongly dominated by Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan's jerky, hand-held camera style of film making. Which we may expect from this movie as well in order to portray realism. Be that as it may, the premise though not exactly new (see: War of the Worlds, Independence Day, Mars Attack etc) is fresh in the wake of post-Iraq war movies where the action is always backed by the empty desert sands. I'm just curious to know how the aliens look like - the gooey messy type or the highly efficient shiny-suited bug-eyed type.
