What have you watched recently? 3D!

'1917'

If you can overlook the stupidity of the central premise of Sam Mendes' '1917', there's a good bit to enjoy about it. But, it can be difficult to ignore the idea that any General, worth his salt, would send two men through seemingly abandoned enemy lines to pass on a message to another position, when there is air power that can be utilised instead that would have a much better chance of success and at a speedier rate too. But the hook which Mendes hangs his narrative coat on sees two British Army non-coms, Tom Blake (Dean Charles Chapman) and Will Schofield (George MacKay), being "volunteered" to bring an important communique to the 2nd Batt. Devonshire Reg. to hold off on an attack on German lines south of Arras, on the Western Front in April 1917. The Germans have "retreated" (presumably to the Hindenburg Line) and the British believe that they have "the hun on the run". However, aerial reconnaissance has shown that this is not the case and sixteen hundred men are possibly heading into a trap. The mission also has a special added importance for Lance Corporal Blake as his brother is in the regiment that's set to go "over the top".

The fanciful set up of '1917' is certainly not anything we haven't seen in war movies before. Reducing the story down to a few individuals on a mission is a staple of war movies, as there is always the danger of audience confusion of who's who when confronted by too many characters, and armies, whether at platoon, battalion, brigade or whatever level have so many characters.to keep track of. So 1917's "men on patrol behind enemy lines" is familiar territory, even if the war it's taking place in hasn't been the subject of too many movies. There were, of course, "runners" who were used to send messages back and forth between the forward and rear trenches during the First World War (a certain Adolf Hitler was one) and it was an extremely dangerous job. But their utilisation here is a complete flight of fancy. But, if one ignores the unrealistic set up, there is enough realism to be found elsewhere for those of a certain bend toward that direction.

Of course, no war movie has ever been a truly realistic depiction of man's most awful pursuit, but the little details that '1917' gets right are pretty admirable in that regard. The long scene at the beginning of teh film detailing Blake and Schofield's meandering trek through their own forward trench shows us a decent representation of what it was like on the British front line. Likewise, the uniforms the two wear are quite accurate, including the badge on Lance Corporal Blake's Brodie helmet and the leather jerkins that were a common sight on "Tommies" during the period.

In fact, from a technical perspective, '1917' does an admirable job indeed and seen on a big screen it's a fairly immersive experience, especially if you have a interest in the war. It's just the story that lets it down, while not completely sinking the whole picture and, perhaps, if it wasn't so well produced, it wouldn't be getting the high praise that it has received upon its release, not to mention the Oscar nods. Obviously, central to this praise has the set design by Dennis Gassner and Roger Deakins' excellent cinematography, which has rightly been lauded, even though I wasn't that impressed by the pseudo one shot gimmick he employed. Curiously though, it's up for a Best Writing award too.

It's directed well enough, without any kind of revelations in that respect and it's acted decently by the two leads. There are also a number of familiar faced cameos to spot as well, for people who want to play that game.

'1917' is a pretty good movie, while never being amazing, and it has some gruelling battlefield scenes that can be wince inducing in a commendable way. It also offers some views of the First World War that are rarely seen in movies about that conflict as the story strays from the trenches that we are all familiar with and associate with that particular conflict. So, while I wouldn't expect to be bowled over by any of it, it's two hours are a relatively entertaining way to pass the time even if it's all rather predictable.

7/10

Back to YouTube over the last couple of evenings and I kicked off with an ancient movie about British India from 1959.

North West Frontier (1959) starring Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, Herbert Lom and Wilfrid Hyde-White.

A small group of English people and a young Indian prince make a mad dash across India on an ancient train pursued by hordes of Muslim tribesmen intent on their destruction. Has aged surprisingly well and held my attention for the two-hour plus duration. Rail enthusiasts might also enjoy. 10/10

Last Rights (2005) 3-part mini series from Channel 4.

Suitable rewatch for the times we live in. Highly satisfying - ultimately - political thriller set in Britain after a new right wing party comes to power and sets about turning back the clock on democracy. 9/10

The best of Enemies

Came across this by chance on Sky the other night. Sam Rockwell was in it, so me being the simple man that I am, I see Sam Rockwell I watch. Im glad I did because its a great little film. Its about racism in the deep south during the early 70s, based on a true story. I dont know how this one disappeared at the cinema because its a lot better than most films I've seen in theatres recently. Sam Rockwell is great, as expected, but so to is everyone else. Wes Bentley shows up as one of Rockwell's characters klans men, and he is very good. Almost didnt recognize him at first, its been a while since American Beauty. Glad to see him back after a rough patch of drug addiction. Anyway you could do a lot worse than this movie, its very entertaining but not too heavy for such a serious subject matter. The ending is magnificent.

Queen & Slim

strange road movie with 2 people who've just met being on the run together from the get go. Quite subdued characters all in all, and as it's a pretty long movie, it has a lot of quiet moments in what i imagine is a very frantic time, which works pretty well.

Enjoyed it although it took a bit of time to get into it, but can't rate it that highly either

5/10

Waves

film of 2 halves following the lives of a Miami family of 4. Really enjoyed the spiralling first half. 2nd half was more subtle but still enjoyable.

5/10

Rewatching some of my fav movies:

I saw the devil- 9/10
Korean movie. Ultimate revenge film, very violent and bat**** crazy in a lot of places. Very fun but not for the squeamish.

Incendies - 9/10
Twins trace their mothers story after her death. Canadian film in French. Crazy story, great payoff.

The prestige - 9/10
Rival magicians try to one up the other, Christopher Nolan flick so plenty of time jumping.

Prisoners -8/10
Two missing girls, father will do anything to find them. Hugh jackman and Jake Gylenhaal immense.

Dark waters

small town vs big chemical company drama, although very formulaic is still quite an enjoyable watch.

6/10

Real Life (1979)

Comedy starrying Albert Brooks and Charles Grodin. Albert Brooks, playing a fictionalised version of himself, leads a film crew in an effort to document a year in the life of a typical American family. Things don't go quite according to plan...

Where's this one been hiding? Really funny, smart send-up of reality TV and cinema verité documentaries.

Along came Polly – Philip Seymour Hoffman is an odd choice, always wondered how he ended up in this. Nice pick me up film. Ferret steals the show.