Full Metal Jacket Diary Full Metal Jacket Diary Full Metal Jacket Diary is a book written by American author, actor and photographer Matthew Modine and published by Rugged Land October 25, 2005. The book contains photos and diary entries of his experiences over a two-year period while working on the epic Stanley Kubrick film, "Full Metal Jacket". Modine played the lead role of Private Joker, a U.S. Marine who is sent to Vietnam as a war correspondent for "Stars and Stripes". While filming, Modine was encouraged by Kubrick to keep a diary of his experiences. Notorious for his closed film sets, Kubrick granted Modine
Full Metal Jacket into a series of self-contained set pieces, none of them quite satisfying" and concluded that the film's message was "too little and too late", having been done by other Vietnam War films. However, Ebert also gave praise to Ermey and D'Onofrio, saying "these are the two best performances in the movie, which never recovers after they leave the scene." This review angered Gene Siskel on their television show "At The Movies"; he criticized Ebert for liking "Benji the Hunted" (which came out the same week) more than "Full Metal Jacket". Their difference in opinion was parodied on the television show