I can't believe how stupid some people are…
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MadTom — 13 years ago(February 01, 2013 01:42 PM)
You have obviously never handled a real rifle from the M16/M4 family of weapons. Definitely never saw one field-stripped, and I doubt if you've ever seen one up close. If you did, you'd know that even if they had been made by Mattel (which they weren't, no matter what the Urban Legends say), the plastic parts are reinforced with aluminum with the stock containing a recoil shock absorber system.
"[T]hat part can easily be broken by a PJ who lands on it." The US military has been training riflemen to let the butt of the M16 or M4 absorb the impact of the fall when dropping from a standing or running position to a prone position, since before I first put on the uniform in 1974.
Still think it's that fragile? Next time you see a soldier carrying an M16 or M4, why don't you ask him to butt-stroke you in the jaw with it? -
MadTom — 13 years ago(February 08, 2013 01:05 PM)
"The US military has been training riflemen to let the butt of the M16 or M4 absorb the impact of the fall when dropping from a standing or running position to a prone position"
Not having a go, just interested, what you mean by that, could you explain how the butt would absorb the impact of you dropping to the ground?
Simple. When you drop to the prone position, you hold the rifle vertically in front of you, muzzle up with your shooting hand on the pistol grip, BUT WITH YOUR FINGERS OUTSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD, and the other hand around the foregrip, with the top of the rifle toward you and the lower receiver group away from you. As the butt of the rifle impacts the ground, the rifle and your arm muscles absorb the impact (as opposed to your elbows OUCH!), and you let the rifle swing downward to the horizontal firing position and it's only a matter of positioning your upper body, particularly your shoulder and cheek against the stock, and you're ready to aim and shoot. -
UberZoldat — 12 years ago(June 05, 2013 10:43 AM)
In reality, these kids would not have been able to resist as long as they are shown to endure in the film. All it would have took was a gunship or two with thermal imaging to sweep and identify their location and finish them off. None of this courageous convoy ambushes and dispatch of elite Spetsnaz and going through the trouble of forcing a kid to swallow a transmitter.
One other scene of the film that I found ridiculous was the Cuban major's question of the mayor's son's participation in a "paramilitary organization" (Eagle Scouts). It comes off to the viewer as poking fun at the guy's stupidity when in reality the Soviets and Cubans themselves had the Pioneers scouting organization and this would not have appeared to be so suspicious.
I pretend to work because the Soviet government pretends to pay me. -
MadTom — 12 years ago(October 16, 2013 09:09 PM)
Why are you defending those sub-par weapons? Every service man/woman I know(A LOT) hates them. I'll take an M14 over M16/M4 any day.
"I've never been in the military, but I know a lot of people who" To me that immediately identifies the person as one of those whom Georgie Patton referred to as "The bilious bastards who don't know anything more about [the military] than they to about f ***ing!" (And George C. Scott may have said "fornicating" in the movie, but the real Patton used the real F-word!) -
the_la_baker — 12 years ago(October 17, 2013 01:56 AM)
My best friend of 20 years is SF. I've had 3 roommates that served(one in desert storm, one in Iraqi Freedom, and one in Enduring Freedom) and countless other friends that served in various engagements. I guess that means nothing you though.
BTW, Patton was probably insane, but I'm quite sure a patriarchal zealot like you will consider that very idea blasphemy. -
MadTom — 12 years ago(October 18, 2013 01:03 PM)
My best friend of 20 years is SF. I've had 3 roommates that served(one in desert storm, one in Iraqi Freedom, and one in Enduring Freedom) and countless other friends that served in various engagements.
[sarcasm]Oh, my! That must look great on your resum! [/sarcasm]
I guess that means nothing you though.
That's exactly right. Because YOU haven't walked the walk!
My
brother
is a retired surgeon who practiced for over 30 years. Anytime you want
me
to cut you open and start removing your internal organs, just let me know!
BTW, Patton was probably insane, but I'm quite sure a patriarchal zealot like you will consider that very idea blasphemy.
Since you presume I'm some "patriarchal zealot", I'm also guessing two things about you.
One, you're probably some frat boy who wouldn't hesitate to excoriate, both physically and verbally, any impostor who claimed to be a member of your frat who actually wasn't.
Two, your friends would probably be very upset with you if they knew you were making all these claims about weaponry and using them as your "authority" on the subject.
It's all about credibility. I am
not
telling you to STFU. Just keep talking the talk without having walked the walk. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so in some servicemen- and veteran-oriented bar in, say, Killeen, TX, Fayetteville, NC or Watertown, NY. -
MadTom — 12 years ago(November 11, 2013 02:32 PM)
And let me take the occasion of what would've been Georgie Patton's 128th birthday (he was recovering in a hospital from a World War I battle wound when the Germans gave him a surrender for his 33rd birthday) to say that if liberating half a continent and contributing heavily to the defeat of the most genocidal totalitarian regime in world history is an indication of insanity, that's the kind of insanity that three generations of US Army Armor/Cavalry officers (myself included) have been aspiring to emulate since before his death 68 years ago!
I'm celebrating Patton's birthday as much as I'm celebrating Veterans Day today. -
nickm2 — 11 years ago(July 15, 2014 10:44 PM)
My brother is a retired surgeon who practiced for over 30 years. Anytime you want me to cut you open and start removing your internal organs, just let me know!
But you ARE a
"head shrinker"
, Tomsurely that counts for something
Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!? -
txchuckwagon — 16 years ago(July 13, 2009 08:52 AM)
- Why would the Russians attack a nothing town in Colorado and how did they get there in the first place?
They do mention the reason the town was hit. When the Air Force Colonel (I think his name was Andy) is explaining how the war has unfolded, he talks about the airborne assault coming in disguised as commercial airliners. During his explanation, he says that they "took these passes in the Rockies", to which Jed responds "So that's what hit Calumet".
- Why would the Russians attack a nothing town in Colorado and how did they get there in the first place?
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gilbere71 — 16 years ago(August 13, 2009 04:34 PM)
This is probably the smartest thread on this board.
Its good to know everyone who posted here actually paid attention during the movie.
Daryl - "don't shoot me Jed, don't shoot"
Robert - "i'll do it"
That still cracks me up
The Gunslinger smiled. "On the way to the Dark Tower," he said, "anything is possible." -
tstallw1987 — 16 years ago(August 15, 2009 08:16 PM)
Yes, it's also worth considering that the movie was heavily slanted towards the high school kids perceptions and viewpoint of events. The movie does explain in snippets here and there some of the whys, but mostly it's just about how this certain group reacted in this "what if" scenario.
Probably my biggest beef with the movie is a sequence right when the kids get into the swing of being guerrillas that they show a bunch of attacks and playing heroic music. It seemed a bit out of place for the otherwise somber nature of the movie, and detracted a bit from the realism to me. Minor nit though. -
cleverfox — 15 years ago(June 11, 2010 06:13 PM)
That was one of my favorite scenes, too, for a couple of reasons.
- It shows how much "hardened" towards the whole thing Robert has become since the beginning of the aggression. His character was kinda soft in the beginning.
- C. Thomas Howell and Darren Dalton were on opposite social sides in "The Outsiders" as well.
Whatever doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. How strong are you?
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StoneGriffin — 16 years ago(August 29, 2009 11:33 PM)
I saw this in the movie theatres, and even though I was already IN the armed forces at the time, it still captured the sense of dread of the Cold War. (of course a lot of buddies in active service were kinda pissed that it looked like we (the US Military) (a) failed utterly at stopping a land invasion and (b) were basically MIA while kids were fighting the good fight for us. I think I was the only guy in my unit that saw past that and liked the movie! hahaha) Heck it was a fun "What If" scenario that bashed the Commies. I don't like the people today who trash talk "American Propaganda" when they weren't even old enough to remember the Cold War and how frightening it was. They're all looking at the film through the prism of current events, not appreciating the mind set of the time. It's easy to trash talk people who hated the Rooskies, but hell, I faced them when I was stationed in West Germany. I still remember how we felt when ANOTHER innocent East German DIED trying to sneak across the border or make a run across 'THE WALL'. It was atrocious and at the time we hated the Communists. It was a normal response to the brutality of the Iron Curtain's various regimes.
People just don't remember the Cold War and how we all felt during it. When the wall fell, it took me YEARS to overcome my engrained distrust and dislike of Russians, but I got over it. The same for anyone at the end of a "hot war" like World War 2 or Vietnam, or the "Cold War". It takes time, but we all eventually see our former foes as human beings. It's completely gone now (as it should be) and I smile when I see other solders former Vietnam vets visiting Hanoi or WW2 vets meeting Japanese or German Vets (all old men now) and toasting to their lost friends and comrades.
Red Dawn was a really COOL flick and fun action piece. Sure I could nitpick the military, tactical or plot hole problems, but the trash talking it gets from people nowadays is unfair.
Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity. -
rickb69 — 11 years ago(February 18, 2015 08:56 PM)
Your professor must have been Sam Kinison AKA Professor Terguson in Back to School talking about WWII and asking one of the girls about it, she looked like she was going to cry. Rodney Dangerfield AKA Thornton Melon said "Hey leave these kids alone, they were still in diapers and me I'm a lover not a fighter."
Professor Terguson said something to the effect "OK Mr. know it all what was the reason for Say it SAY IT
SAAY IT
Thornton Melon "Because Truman was too big of a pussy to do anything."
I have twin boys, Pete and Repete