Flags of Our Fathers
Grade: C

Unless every member of the Academy gets a lobotomy, Clint Eastwood won’t bring home a fresh batch of Oscars for this heavy-handed World War II drama that questions the veracity of the iconic photo of American soldiers at Iwo Jima. The battles are riveting and horrifying, but most of the acting is flat, and the clumsily structured screenplay by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis (Crash) whips us back in forth in time for no good reason. The cast includes Ryan Phillippe and Jamie Bell of Billy Elliot fame.