Category: war
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Greyhound [2020] ★★½
It’s not as memorable as Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” or as emotional as Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan”, but “Greyhound” gets the job done by delivering some pulse-pounding action scenes that needed to be experienced on the biggest screen possible (Apple TV + will have to do for now). It also helps to have Tom Hanks…
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The King [2019] ★★★
It’s not a classic in the making, but Netflix’s “The King” has an interesting history lesson to tell, and a great ensemble cast to bring it to life. I do not know how the real Henry V talked or acted, but I do know that Timothée Chalamet makes a believable young King, who was crowned…
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1917 [2019] ★★★½
I don’t use the word “immersive” lightly, but that’s probably the best way to describe Sam Mendes’ masterful “1917”. From the first frame to the last, Mendes and his cinematographer, the legendary Roger Deakins, have managed to pull-off the impossible: follow two soldiers (in what seems to be one continuous take) through uncharted territory as…
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Overlord [2018] ★★★
I’m not a big fan of “zombie” movies, but “Overlord” might be the best I’ve seen in quite a while (along with the Korean film “Train To Busan”). Part of its charm is its B-movie feel. We’re in WWII, and a group of American soldiers are about to enter dangerous territory. Nazis? Try fucked up…
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Thank You For Your Service [2017] ★★½
In 1947, a movie called “The Best Years of our Lives” won 7 Oscars, including best picture, for its harrowing portrayal of World War II veterans, who return home only to realize that their lives will never be the same again. The movie was shockingly powerful, digging deep into the psychology of soldiers, long after…
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Rome, Open City [1945] ★★★½
Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini kicked off his so-called “war trilogy” with “Rome, Open City”, a harrowing look at Rome during the Nazi occupation of 1944. Though the events that take place in the movie are strictly fictional, Rossellini knows exactly how to deliver an authentic experience. The main character here is Don Pietro, an Italian…
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Dunkirk [2017] ★★★½
Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a knockout. But it’s also a rare example of a war movie that isn’t purely made to satisfy a mainstream audience. In a recent interview with Criterion, Nolan has named Terrence Malik’s 1998 masterpiece “The Thin Red Line” as one of his favorite films. After watching “Dunkirk”, one might even say…
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The Promise [2017] ★★★
For the very first time, a big budget Hollywood production starring an all star cast tells a love story amidst the Armenian genocide. No wonder the Turks are angry. Screw them. “The Promise”, starring Oscar Isaac, Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon, promises an emotional ride and delivers, as we follow the story of Michael…
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The Great Wall [2016] ★½
The Great Wall, starring Matt Damon as China’s last hope in their fight against some ancient creatures (huh?) is… how shall I put it? Cheesy. Ridiculous. A waste of talent. Damon traveled all the way to China to shoot this big budget production from director Zhang Yimou (“Hero”). He’s the lucky one. We have to…
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Allied [2016] ★★★
World War II movies have been around since…well World War II, that you start to wonder if there’s still room for more. But I have faith in director Robert Zemeckis (“Cast Away”, “Forrest Gump”) and I have nothing but admiration for Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. They play intelligence officer Max Vatan and French Resistance fighter…
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Hacksaw Ridge [2016] ★★★½
Mel Gibson’s tribute to Private Desmond T. Doss, the man who single-handedly saved 75 wounded soldiers during the battle of Hacksaw Ridge in 1945 Japan, is nothing short of a triumph. Gibson also stages some of the best action scenes I’ve seen in a war movie, but that’s not the only reason why “Hacksaw Ridge” works…
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USS Indianapolis: Men Of Courage [2016] ★
Id’ rather shoot myself in the foot than watch a Nicolas Cage movie these days. I know that. You guys know that by now. And yet, judging from the synopsis, you would expect a decent tribute to the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Philippine Sea for five days after delivering the…
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Suite Française [2015] ★★★
If there can be such a thing as a sweet, reflective fable about love during WWII, “Suite Française” is it. Based on the best selling novel by Irène Némirovsky, who perished in Auschwitz in 1942 before she could finish her book (her daughter finally took care of it and published it in 2004 to worldwide acclaim), the film…
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American Sniper [2014] ★★★
Does Clint Eastwood ever sleep? At 84, he’s directing an edge of your seat war movie about Chris Kyle, a real-life Texan Navy SEAL who served four terms of duty in Iraq. The reenactment of harrowing real-life events is as believable as any movie could hope to be, and while the outcome of the story was foretold…
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Emperor [2012] ★★½
Interesting slice of World War II history has Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew Fox (“Lost”, “Vantage Point”) assigned to help rebuild Japan after the war and bring Emperor Hirohito (Takata rô Kataoka) to trial for war crimes. It’s a minor picture for sure, with a great performance by Jones, who is definitely the best thing in…
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Love And Honor [2013]
Dreadful movie set during the Vietnam War and starring Liam Hemsworth (“The Hunger Games”) and Austin Stowell as two soldiers who decide to return to America while on leave. Stowell wants to see the girl who dumped him before he shipped out, while Hemsworth finds himself connecting with a pretty “journalist” (Teresa Palmer). I hate the…
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The Flowers Of War [2011] ★★★
Some movies open on thousands of screens, others play in just a handful of theaters. And some films, lacking promotion, simply materialize, with the hope that people will discover them on cable, or DVD, like “The Flowers Of Wars”, a movie I was lucky enough to catch on the big screen. I didn’t want to read…
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