Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
IMDB #83 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/]

The Gist:
Oddly, this film has a similar feel to From Dusk Till Dawn in that the first half and the second half feel like two completely separate movies that just happen to exist on one chronological plane. Granted, with Full Metal the shift isn't quite as severe but it is quite notable from the boot camp scenes to the leap forward to the thick of the Vietnam War. For my taste, I thought the second half of the film was expertly crafted, very very well done war film. The first half, on the other hand, felt a little uneven and a little dated. I think the whole hard as nails asshole drill instructor was probably a novel concept at the time, in fact I think this film has helped perpetuate the role. However, at times I would think to myself "yes, you're an asshole drill instructor who uses lots of dirty words, I get it". The most interesting thing about the first half was to see the progression of Joker and Pyle, which was good but overshadowed by the taut brilliance of the second half.