Watching a war movie ought to be like singing a sad song. And there'll always be lots of people who hate sad songs, and can't figure out why anyone would ever create a new sad song.

Something that amazed me though: I knew a guy who simply loved Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. The film was clearly anti-war, but he thought it made the idea of being part of a small squad of dangerous men seem really great. He joined the Canadian Forces/Army. No matter how clearly you say something, a few people will always take it the wrong way.

My mom saw Platoon and where I'd seen an anti-war show, she wondered why the protagonist had to be portrayed as a great fighter -- for example, there's no such glorification in All Quiet on the Western Front.

Band of Brothers is on 4 DVDs for the ten episodes. It's expensive. It's great. Phone around. There's probably a video store in town that rents it. At the very least, tape the show; The History Channel kills everything with its commercials.