Four months ago, I resolved to order up some warlike films from lovefilm to give me a powerful sense of context for this rendition of A&C.

Shortly after this, obliging lovefilm sent me The Hurt Locker and Jarhead.

Both sat on my shelves for weeks and then months.

Two weeks ago, in a fit of unused money pique, I despatched The Hurt Locker back unseen. In my defence, I've seen it before but it was on a plane and the plane noise interfered with the unfortunately realistically noisy soundtrack of the film so I heard scarcely any of it. It looked good though.

Jarhead I remember liking more. Nothing whatsoever to do with the powerfully talented fellow in the lead role of course.

And on Sunday night, only 14 weeks after I'd received it, I watched it again.

It's a beautifully shot film. Sam Mendes did a cracking job. And it's full of lovely brutal savagery with a little male camaraderie thrown in to soften the blow. But hardly any. It's an aggressive little offering. But a fabulous observation of the disintegration of character when you're dosed up with adrenalin and beatings and then abandoned in the middle of nowhere with nothing much to do.

Having said that, I struggle to see what I can give my warlike boys as character fodder.

Apart from some gentle encouragement to look a little more like Jake Gyllenhaal.