Generation Kill (2008)

Seven episodes on the first 40 days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as seen by a Marine reconnaissance battalion and the Rolling Stone reporter riding with them. David Simon and Ed Burns adapted Evan Wright's book about his time embedded with the unit, and they keep his eye for boredom, bad orders and gallows humor. Do not expect a conventional war drama with a clear mission and a swelling score. The dialogue is dense with military slang and radio chatter, and the first two episodes ask for patience while your ear adjusts. Stay with it and few war stories feel this close to how chaotic and absurd the real thing reads on the page. Filmed in South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia.