Act of Valor, a film by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh

By James Gilmore

Act of Valor is a ballad of the unsung heroic deeds of Navy SEALs in clandestine operations.

Although neatly structured the film feels less like a coherent story than a series of military reenactments with a few specks of story spliced in between action sequences. Valor is generously laden with fan service for military aficionados, but at times the ultra realistic use of military jargon crosses the line from necessity to extraneous masturbation. Action sequences deliver impressive intensity and speed while skillful POV camerawork immerses the audience inside each mission, lending a sort of video game feel to the advancement of the plot.

The acting is as wooden as it gets and not just in terms of line delivery—no surprise, considering the principal characters are played by real Navy SEALs and not professional actors. Unfortunately this means that emotional tangibility with the main characters is difficult to establish, even with the repeated use of artificial filmic constructs employed to build personal empathy.

Actor Jason Cottle’s uncanny intensity makes his performance stand out among the cast.

If Act of Valor teaches us anything, it’s that “actual” does not equal “dramatic.” For a stellar example of how dramatizing reality improves its filmic qualities, see Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden. In spite of its painful dialogue and feeble plot, Act of Valor is a realistic, tense experience that military and action enthusiasts will love.

Rating: 3 / 5

The Grand Design, by Stephen Hawking

By James Gilmore

It is not my habit to review non-story materials but I thought a brief experiment might be acceptable.

The Grand Design is yet another book by the mastermind Stephen Hawking concerning the makeup of our universe.  While a fascinating read, the book spends almost its entirety on the history of the field which built the foundation for quantum physics.  A Layman’s History of Physics would be a much more apt title.  The book only expresses one real opinion which is made plain at the very end—essentially that M-Theory rocks and everything else sucks.

Not Hawking’s best.  A tantalizing and thought-provoking read nonetheless.

Rating: 3 / 5