Jerry Ferrara

Both shameless and shamelessly entertaining, this relentlessly boyish movie carries on exactly as the TV show left off after its eight-season run. In fact, it actually feels like a ninth season was condensed into 104 minutes, as it carries on with the same misogynistic approach, leering at women while laughing at the inappropriate behaviour of men. But these guys still have their charm, and when they get together the screen lights up with snappy banter and a hilariously knowing depiction of how crazy life is within the movie industry.

It's been four years since we last saw them, and Vince (Adrien Grenier) is just out of a disastrous marriage, yearning to direct his next movie, a raving sci-fi take on Jeckyll and Hyde. As luck would have it, his loyal ex-agent Ari (Jeremy Piven) is now a studio boss, so he lets him make the movie with his best pal Eric (Kevin Connolly) as producer, his older brother Johnny (Kevin Dillon) in a key supporting role and his pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) as their driver. But the Texan moneybags (Billy Bob Thornton) is dubious about all of this, and sends his know-it-all son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) to keep an eye on post-production. And Travis has some ideas of his own, much to everyone's horror.

While the rather bland Grenier holds the centre as Vince, the rest of the characters are given subplots to run with. Ari is in marriage counselling because he can't tear himself from his work; Eric goes through a few more women while preparing for his ex-girlfriend to give birth to their child; Johnny hopes this small role might finally kickstart his career; Turtle pursues a relationship with MMA champion-turned actress Ronda Rousey; and Travis is jealous of how much time Vince is spending with model-turned-actress Emily Ratajkowski. None of these plots have anywhere to go, but they pass the time amiably.

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An almost ridiculously strong cast and a witty script by the writer of Crazy Stupid Love make this silly film a lot more entertaining than it should be. As it playfully explores long friendships and the struggles of ageing, it turns into a four-sided bromance. So even if the film feels a little under-powered, it's still thoroughly charming.

At the centre are four lifelong buddies who are determined not to grow old. Paddy (De Niro) is trying to recover from grief over his wife's death, while Archie (Freeman) is tired of being fussed over by his son (Ealy) and Sam (Kline) hates living in a retirement community with his spirited wife (Gleason). So they jump on the chance to travel to Vegas for a stag weekend for their pal Billy (Douglas), who is marrying a woman (Blair) in her 30s. And getting together sparks their youthful sense of mischief as they plan a lavish party. Especially when two of them begin to fall for lounge singer Diana (Steenburgen).

Having five Oscar winners in the lead roles gives considerable oomph to the whole project, as these seasoned veterans bring out engaging details of their characters. Douglas has the safest role as a hapless lover-boy, while De Niro does the emotional heavy lifting and Kline endures the cheapest jokes (because his wife has given him a "free pass" for the weekend). Meanwhile, Freeman is clearly having the most fun: cool and relaxed with a naughty glint in his eye. And Steenburgen provides some badly needed female feistiness.

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The title kind of gives away the ending of this harrowing true story, which is worth a look despite its tendency to exaggerate the heroics. But it's also an unusually well-made military thriller that throws us right into the middle of the chaos with visceral filmmaking. And it's impossible to miss the point that these men rely on each other every moment of every day: they certainly can't survive alone.

The events take place in 2005 Afghanistan, where a Navy Seal team is sent into the mountains to find a feared Taliban leader (Azami). These men are like brothers, with Marcus (Wahlberg) leading Mike, Matt and Danny (Kitsch, Foster and Hirsch), under the command of Erik (Bana) back at the base. As they head out on their mission, everything goes to plan until they run into a group of innocent goatherds. Letting them go will compromise their mission, but it's clearly the right thing to do. And this decision sparks an escalating situation that seems increasingly hopeless.

From the very start, we know these Seals aren't normal soldiers: they undergo especially gruelling training and then bond tightly as colleagues, relying on their ruggedness, tenacity and camaraderie. Which of course allows writer-director Berg to portray them as superheroes. This is a problem, because it reduces the Afghans to faceless, murderous villains, at least until the much more complex final act in which an entire village risks its life to save an injured American soldier. And this strikingly moving sequence is the one we remember much more than the chest-pounding patriotism.

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