"Act of Valor" Wins Box Office War

As I predicted last November, the professional movie critics generally panned "Act of Valor," which only received a 30% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes (and only 20% amongst "Top Critics.")

Also, not surprisingly, the film has been much, much more popular with actual audiences, grossing $24.7 million and winning the box office race this weekend.

I think these numbers reflect the divide between America's masses and the "elites" represented by the film critics.  As I noted in my review, the movie:

is a much-needed break from Hollywood’s unbearably patronizing treatment of the U.S. military since 9/11, in which U.S. troops are alternately depicted as either marauders or as victims instead of heroes. 

Whereas critics think these depictions illustrate depth, I think the public rightly sees them as condescending and shuns such films versus movies that aren't afraid to depict our fighinting men (and women) as the heroes they are.

"Act of Valor" Sneak Preview

Last night I had the honor of attending a special advance screening here in DC of the movie Act of Valor, an action-thriller starring active-duty SEALs.  Either later today or sometime tomorrow I'll post a full review.  Given that I'm not a professional film critic, I need to figure out how to write it without giving away any spoilers.  (Also, I made the mistake of not turning off my cell before the movie, and got slightly distracted by a friend's texts during the film). 

But for now, one word suffices as a summary: Wow.