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10 Best movies to watch on Memorial Day 2024 ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

Memorial Day is meant to honour the valiant deeds of the departed troops who gave us the freedom we enjoy today. Apart from engaging in suitable Memorial Day celebrations, viewing movies with military or combat themes might serve as a solemn reminder of the real significance of the occasion.

There are many movies that convey the story of the sacrifices made by members of the military and their families, even though there aren’t many specifically dedicated to Memorial Day. A handful of them touch on other topics, like romance, friendship, and, of course, American life, but the majority are dramas or biopics.

Check out our curated list of movies you can watch this Memorial Day American Sniper (2014)

Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, this movie is about one of the most lethal shooters in American history, Chris Kyle,...

Bill Allison, a military history professor, takes issue with certain scenes in We Were Soldiers, including the film's depiction of Pavn forces. Allison awards the Mel Gibson-starring Vietnam War movie a score of 5 out of 10. We Were Soldiers earned mostly positive reviews from critics, with some reviews praising the film's exploration of Vietnamese forces.

A military historian and history professor analyzes We Were Soldiers, a 2002 Vietnam War movie starring Mel Gibson. Written and directed by Randall Wallace, the war movie serves as an adaptation of the late Lieutenant General Hal Moore and journalist Joseph L. Galloway's book, We Were Soldiers Once... And Young. The film, which stars Gibson as Lieutenant General Hal Moore, dramatizes the 1965 battle of Ia Drang.

In a recent video for Insider, military history professor Bill Allison shares his thoughts on We Were Soldiers, revealing that the film features a number of inaccuracies.

The historian...

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s “The Vietnam War” has been an 18-hour journey into understanding decades of trauma and loss that still affect Americans today. Even though more then 40 years have passed, emotions still run deep about that conflict.

During a Television Critics Association press tour panel for “The Vietnam War” in July, retired General Merrill McPeak spoke passionately about his view on the war.

Read More:‘The Vietnam War’ Filmmaker on the Horrifying Execution Footage That’s ‘Unbearable to Look At’

“I’ve heard it argued that we never lost a military engagement in Vietnam. We just lost the war,” he said. “I’ve not been back to Vietnam. I’m a poor loser… I’m not sure I’ll ever go to Vietnam. Many, many veterans do, and they’re warmly received. It’s a wonderful relationship we have with the Vietnamese now. It’s great. I celebrate it.

Gen. Hal Moore, the decorated Army chief whose life was depicted in the 2002 Vietnam film We Were Soldiers based on his own book, has died. He was 94. The film, written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson as Moore, told the story of the Battle of Ia Drang. The war drama was released by Paramount and grossed $114.6 million worldwide. “I absolutely love that man,” said Wallace of his friend. “He taught me great things. He had so many ways of teaching in…...

El Paso, TX, August 5, 2014 – Following world-wide events celebrating the 70th anniversary of D-Day, another epic conflict and legendary soldier comes to mind. Hal Moore captured our attention when his exploits were recounted in his memoir We Were Soldiers Once…and Young and commanded our respect in the Mel Gibson movie “We Were Soldiers.” Now, his life is covered in full by celebrated author Mike Guardia in Hal Moore: A Soldier Once…and Always (Casemate … Continue reading →

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Much like that it portrays, with the war movie there is always a thin line between success and failure. When dealing with such a hefty and complex subject matter, is one best suited to going on the offensive or holding back and forming a defensive line of conservatism? When dealing with real conflict involving real people, either by historical inspiration or factual invocation, are you making a drama or an action flick?

Regardless of which route one takes, this is a genre as susceptible to mediocrity and false hope as any other. Whether it be a great battle from history rendered obsolete by caricature or a teasing of genuine, shellshock events betrayed by insensitive thriller tropes, there will always be those that fail to hit the target when victory was so surely within reach. Intention is always undermined by incompetence.

Rather than look at the worst of the crop, Cinematic...

I like to think I’m a big macho kind of guy when it comes to horrific moments in films. As a kid watching Predator hunt, kill and skin the corpses of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s elite commando unit would never fazed me. Not saying I was a messed demon Omen child. I just never really contemplated the thought of the pain. As years went by and I watched more blood splattering gore and more stabbing thrillers I realised that I became addicted to horrendous scenes that made me look away.

I can’t speak for everyone but I do love a good moment that makes me shield my eyes or look away and accuse everyone around me for being sissies. The horrific moment that is too much for our eyes and in result we look away, hoping that we won’t be scared, but the curiosity is too much and...

At a time of the year that’s all about picking the best of the best among movies, it seems singularly appropriate to talk to someone whose year-round profession is assaying the good and the bad up on the big screen.

“I’m one of the few people on the paper who’s never had a journalism class, and I’m one of the few people reviewing movies who’s actually studied movies, made movies.” Stephen Whitty is talking about his job as movie critic for The Star-Ledger, the biggest newspaper in New Jersey. Whitty came to The Ledger 13 years ago after a ten-year stint at the San Jose Mercury News.

The reference to making movies stems from his time as a student in the film department at New York University, one of the two most respected cinema studies programs in the U.S. (the other being at UCLA). Whitty...

Mel Gibson vowed to quit smoking after a two-week Hollywood style bootcamp left him wheezing and feeling like a 90-year-old. He admits his age and his chain smoking eventually caught up with him as he tried to get into shape for his new Vietnam War movie We Were Soldiers. He says, "It was a wimp version of bootcamp, but it was fairly strenuous. I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I'm 45, humping it over the obstacle course wheezing and saying, 'I must give up the cigarettes.'" But Gibson's two weeks of training was rewarded with a meeting with the real Lt. General Hal Moore, who Gibson plays in the film. Moore was in charge of 400 soldiers during one of the most savage battles of the Vietnam War. Gibson was brought to tears by Moore's memories of Vietnam - in particular one visit he undertook with the real-life soldier to the cemetery where many Vietnam veterans are buried. Gibson says, "I was glad I had shades on because the tears were just falling off my face. If you can get out of there without being affected you're made of stone. I've got kids and I couldn't imagine losing any of them, that's what it was like for him."...

Mel Gibson has set the record straight about his family's emigration from America when he was still a child. Popular legend has it that Gibson's family moved from his hometown of Peeskill, New York, in the mid 1960s because his father Hutton wanted to ensure his sons avoiding being drafted for the Vietnam war. But Gibson, who stars in upcoming Vietnam movie We Were Soldiers, says the story has been twisted over the years. He says, "That's not totally true. My Dad is a sane man who fought for this country during World War II. Maybe because of that fact, my father was never a fan of war. However, our family moving to Australia when I was a boy wasn't to avoid Vietnam. The truth was my father had hurt himself and we had friends and family in Australia who could make it easier for us to live while he recovered." And Gibson insists that living in Australia did not mean he could escape the draft when he got older. He adds, "You could still be drafted in Australia. In fact, I remember the day my brother got called up, but he flunked the preliminary tests and didn't have to go. That was a relief in a way. But there was still a lot to fear. In Australia, you could still be drafted by America or be drafted by the Australian forces because we were allies. I would hate to send my children off and I don't care if it's a just war or not. I'm not a big fan of conflict especially when there is usually a lot more going on behind the scenes than we think." We Were Soldiers, based on the acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once, And Young by Hal Moore is released in America in March.