When I originally heard that Ang Lee’s new film was going to be called Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, I was super excited because I assumed it was a baseball film and my sister loves baseball and I’m kind of obsessed with finding movies for my sister to not only watch but to enjoy watching as well!
(If I love you, that means I’m going to obsessively try to find a movie that you’ll love as much as I love Upstream Color.)
However, as I expressed my excitement to the TSL’s own Jedadiah Leland, he mentioned to me that apparently halftime is a football thing.
So, this is not a baseball film! In fact, judging from the trailer, it’s not much a football movie either. Instead, it’s a war film. Or at least, it’s kind of a war film. Apparently, it’s also a coming home film. Judging from the flag that appears in the background of one of the scenes, it’s also a Texas film. That can be either good or bad. Movies never get my home state right, especially when those movies are attempting to make some sort of statement about American foreign policy.
(Seriously, Hollywood: Oregon has its share of jingoistic assholes as well. Go make a movie about those jerks, for once.)
But — and here’s the reason why I am optimistic — Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk was directed by Ang Lee, who is one of my favorite directors!
In fact, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is being described, by some, as the film for which Lee may finally pick up an Oscar for best picture. (He has two Oscars for directing but none of his films have ever won the big prize. Adding insult to injury, one of them actually lost to fucking Crash.)
Anyway, I kinda lost my train of thought so, instead of going on and on, I’ll just post the trailer for Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
(Damn, that’s a long title…)