danwright-66262

I am hoping that his political views didn't taint my experience, but I found De Niro dull and unconvincing. M.S. had plenty of time to develop his character and he just didn't. Toned down Joe Pesci was fine, but in past films he animated the cast with explosive actions and sharp dialogue. Don't expect that here. Trying to CGI the actors as young men didn't quite work either. He probably should have gone with some actors they could scale both younger and older. The incredible cast made it worth a look, but some of the actors were completely wasted on this. I too was surprised Anna Paquin was all but cut from the movie. Seems like an incredible waste of talent that was needed to balance out the older characters.

Sand Castle will likely resonate with general audiences. The acting in it is good for the most part, as Nick Hoult pulls of his part very well. His acting is pretty spot on and the story telling around his character is well done. Logan Marshal-Green did a superb job in his role as a get-it-done SSG who reminded me of a couple different platoon sergeants I'd worked with while in Baghdad. The story itself is fine, and even though the outcome was predictable, I didn't stop rooting for the guys to get it done. Where the movie fell short for me was in the details. Coimbra should have hired a decent military adviser to help him out. A good example is found within the first few seconds of the movie, as Hoult's character strolls to a great tune by Queens of the Stone Age through a staging area in Kuwait (camp New York?) he walks past some tanks that are being readied for combat. M60 tanks. I kid you not. As an M1A1 Tanker myself, I knew at this point there were going to be some obvious flaws-and there are quite a few others-but they didn't really detract from the story. I'd probably recommend this movie to others for the story alone. If you are former military, just know what you are in for.