Interestingly, the final movie I saw in my 2019 Oscar race was my favorite. I loved this movie. It provided everything that I want in an excellent film. The movie tells a compelling story. The characters are well developed. I liked the characters and cheered for them, even with all of their messy parts. The…
“He’s shell-shocked, George. He’s not himself. He may never be himself again.” Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is not a movie about dialogue, but that line from the film certainly says a lot about the movie and about those who will survive being trapped at Dunkirk. This movie is bleak. It’s wonderfully filmed. But it is bleak.…
Chaos. From the opening scenes as masses of people in the dark night are hurried into a building and a room to disrobe, a man with a hat, averting his eyes from anyone in charge, a large red X painted across his back, helps to lead those masses into the building, helps them leave their…
The Danish Girl is a beautiful film—warm and thought-provoking. It moved a bit too slowly for my preference, but I get that. It is about the characters and their difficult journey in navigating an emotional state of their marriage and life. This character study needed a pulled-back pace. It needed time to reflect on what…
My reading material the past few months has been varied. In the Heart of the Sea added to the blend, bringing a true tale of a fascinating but challenging time in America’s history: whale hunting, life on the open ocean, and the struggle and catastrophe of being lost at sea. More so, this book reveals…
This story needed to be told in this medium. This story needed to be told. I saw Selma today, on the first day of its wide release, needing to see it alone. I knew I could not tolerate seeing this film with anyone who cannot even try to understand the issues of voter disenfranchisement or…
Movies have made me cry, weep, and hide my head in angst. Before watching this film, none had made me want to vomit at the level of disgust at humanity 12 Years a Slave evokes. Many cultures in the past have enslaved, imprisoned, and suppressed and oppressed others. (Many still do. Human trafficking, alas, is…
I had wanted to see this film since I saw the trailer. And I’m glad I did. I wasn’t sure how I would feel, but I went. After the press went south for the subject, I had hesitated. And I had waffled—-how did I feel about such? But every time I waffled, I rested on…