Point Man

While clearly made on a budget, Point Man is a refreshing take on a genre that seemed to have outlived its lifespan. But maybe that's that point - it is not a film of its genre... its a solid drama. And at the heart of drama is conflict and Point Man had plenty of it. The SFX aren't great, but that's forgiveable, and the audio could have been more solid... but what sets this apart from films of its scale and budget are a few things. The writing: stellar scripting by writer/director Phil Blattenberger. Poetic, cinematic, filled with subtle nuance. The cast was also top notch. But mostly it was the big moments: when a solider decides to intervene in a war crime; the ending (I won't spoil), and when our lead actor - who was outstanding - confronted the 'I love the smell of napalm' style character in Sgt Calhoun - a wild, ferocious, charismatic performance by Paul de Havilland (any relation to Olivia?). That meeting between our hero and anti-hero is the turning point of not only the story but also the theme: it introduces Casper to his central plot problem and also the moral ambiguities that arise in conflict. Outstanding on almost all fronts.