Garrison

Potential viewers who are considering watching this movie be aware - although the packaging suggests that this movie is full of action, it isn't. In fact, there really isn't much in the movie that could be considered action. Instead, it's a pretty serious drama concerning the going-ons at the title place. Nothing in theory wrong with that, but the execution is totally botched. The main problem with the movie is how unbelievably slow and boring it is. There's no feeling of building tension or any kind of spark that would keep a viewer interested. You'll be sorely tempted to hit the fast-forward button on your remote. To make matters worse, the movie looks extremely cheap and tacky, with horrible cinematography and next to non-existent production values. And who on earth though that strident musical score was appropriate for what aimed to be a serious drama? The filmmakers should be locked up in the brig.

What irked me the most about this film was the lack of attention to details, and what I consider an important one. The flags on the right shoulders of the uniforms were correctly worn "backwards" with the canton (field of stars) are in the top right corner instead of the left. Army regulations call for the flag "to be worn so that to observers, it looks as if the flag is flying against a breeze." If a soldier was moving forward, the flag on the right shoulder would appear to be in motion. However if a flag is worn on the left shoulder, the canton should face left as it usually does. In this film some left shoulders had flags worn "reverse", which is just wrong. I've never had the honor of serving my country, but as an American I want our flag to be shown proper respect.

A friend of mine recommended that I watch this movie. I wasn't expecting too much going in to it since there was nobody that I recognized in the cast and it seemed to be a very independent made film. After watching it however I was pretty surprised and can honestly say that I don't hate it. The cover was very misleading, making it seem much more than what it was. The movie was pretty straight forward two guys MacManus and Cain have to find there missing superior Cross and uncover the reason for why he went missing, there is a pretty cool twist at the end but that is pretty much it. If you have a couple hours to kill then take a look you probably won't end up killing yourself after it's over.

Garrison is loosely based on a series of murders committed at Fort Bragg, by returned US soldiers from Iraq in 2002. Veteran Sgt. Daniel McManus (Kerry Valderrama) is ordered to track down a missing comrade in arms, eventually coming into conflict with a deeply damaged man whose life McManus once saved. This surprisingly impressive low budgeter is a commentary on the forgotten soldiers of modern warfare who have been abandoned by their government, as well as a look at the juggling of a family life and a military career - which, in this case, does not end well.

First-time director/writer/star Kerry Valderrama (obviously creating opportunities for himself after starring in largely B-grade fare like Doctor S Battles The Sex Crazed Zombies!) delivers a solid piece of film-making, with interesting plot twists and convincing performances. He does, however, dip a few too many times into the big and truly dog-eared book of US military clichés - complete with brutally aggressive staff sergeants and suffering recruits. Apart from this, the plot is filled with enough suspense, mystery and evenly placed social commentary to keep audiences enthralled.

I have seen movies before on this type on budget and Garrison most certainly exceeds its expectations.

If you are expecting some huge military film then I would not recommend this movie for you. There are hardly any type of battle scenes and the ones that are shown are very small in scale. There are some interesting scenes throughout the film that do come as a pleasant surprise.

I would still recommend this movie since the acting and overall story line keeps you watching until the end.

I gave it an 8 because it was apparent that this film was made with no money, and any film on the military and PTSD has my vote.