Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by former U.S. Marine officer Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same title kept by Strobl, who also served as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among others.
Taking Chance premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2009, and aired on HBO in the United States on February 21, 2009. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned ten nominations, such as Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Bacon, and won one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie.
The movie is based on the recollections of U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl. Strobl becomes self-reflective about his duties assigned to the task of the funeral arrangements for deceased soldiers in contrast to ambitions of active duty in warfare for which he joined the Corps. He decides that he will take the assignment of seeing after the remains of a Private First Class even though military protocol would normally assign an NCO to such an assignment. He accompanied the remains of Marine Private First Class Chance Phelps (posthumously promoted to Lance Corporal) from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming.
Phelps was fatally wounded by gunfire on 9 April 2004 near Baghdad during the Iraq War. Strobl attended both Phelps's funeral and his memorial service, discovering that Phelps was an exceptional soldier and well-liked by his fellow Marines. After drinks at the local Veterans club, he confides to the ranking veteran in charge there that he harbors envy for the active duty that Phelps experienced in the field. The ranking veteran tells him to reconsider his words, and that the duty he performs for the grieving families is a high honor which he may have underestimated. Strobl reflects on the ranking veteran's words and fulfills his duty of handling the last remains of a fallen soldier, before he returns home to his wife and little daughters.
Strobl later wrote an essay about the entire experience, the emotions he felt, and the people he met. It was published in the blog Blackfive on 23 April 2004 and shared widely on the Internet.
Taking Chance received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 16 reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 57% rating based on reviews from 7 critics.
One review from The Baltimore Sun, said that it "... is one of the most eloquent and socially conscious films the premium cable channel has ever presented," and USA Today, said "A small, almost perfectly realized gem of a movie, Taking Chance is also precisely the kind of movie that TV should be making."[citation needed] On the other end is Slant Magazine, saying "Instead of well-drawn characters or real human drama, we are presented with a military procedural on burial traditions. The film desperately wants the viewer to shed tears for its fallen hero without giving a single dramatic reason to do so."
The film was the most-watched HBO original in five years, with over two million viewers on the opening night, and more than 5.5 million on re-airings. Critics often attribute this success to its apolitical nature, not directly depicting nor offering an opinion of the Iraq War.
Hub AI
Taking Chance AI simulator
(@Taking Chance_simulator)
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by former U.S. Marine officer Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same title kept by Strobl, who also served as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among others.
Taking Chance premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2009, and aired on HBO in the United States on February 21, 2009. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned ten nominations, such as Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Bacon, and won one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie.
The movie is based on the recollections of U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl. Strobl becomes self-reflective about his duties assigned to the task of the funeral arrangements for deceased soldiers in contrast to ambitions of active duty in warfare for which he joined the Corps. He decides that he will take the assignment of seeing after the remains of a Private First Class even though military protocol would normally assign an NCO to such an assignment. He accompanied the remains of Marine Private First Class Chance Phelps (posthumously promoted to Lance Corporal) from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming.
Phelps was fatally wounded by gunfire on 9 April 2004 near Baghdad during the Iraq War. Strobl attended both Phelps's funeral and his memorial service, discovering that Phelps was an exceptional soldier and well-liked by his fellow Marines. After drinks at the local Veterans club, he confides to the ranking veteran in charge there that he harbors envy for the active duty that Phelps experienced in the field. The ranking veteran tells him to reconsider his words, and that the duty he performs for the grieving families is a high honor which he may have underestimated. Strobl reflects on the ranking veteran's words and fulfills his duty of handling the last remains of a fallen soldier, before he returns home to his wife and little daughters.
Strobl later wrote an essay about the entire experience, the emotions he felt, and the people he met. It was published in the blog Blackfive on 23 April 2004 and shared widely on the Internet.
Taking Chance received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 16 reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 57% rating based on reviews from 7 critics.
One review from The Baltimore Sun, said that it "... is one of the most eloquent and socially conscious films the premium cable channel has ever presented," and USA Today, said "A small, almost perfectly realized gem of a movie, Taking Chance is also precisely the kind of movie that TV should be making."[citation needed] On the other end is Slant Magazine, saying "Instead of well-drawn characters or real human drama, we are presented with a military procedural on burial traditions. The film desperately wants the viewer to shed tears for its fallen hero without giving a single dramatic reason to do so."
The film was the most-watched HBO original in five years, with over two million viewers on the opening night, and more than 5.5 million on re-airings. Critics often attribute this success to its apolitical nature, not directly depicting nor offering an opinion of the Iraq War.