This week I spent more time watching things outside of home. But, I did manage to watch a couple of films from my couch, one of which is a must see, one which is total waste of time, and one short film which had my head scratching but I couldn’t turn away or turn it off. Some people may disagree and that’s fine. It keeps the conversation interesting.
Dunkirk, released in 2017, written and directed by Christopher Nolan. This film gave me an anxiety-induced stomach ache. Reading reviews for Dunkirk, I found people either loved it or didn’t. I loved this film. The film is set from three points of view and timelines which eventually intersect. The land (over the course of one week), the sea (over the course of three days), and the air (over the course of one day). It’s a bit confusing at first and doesn’t quite gel in your mind until late in the film when the memory of scenes start to piece together. Meanwhile, the underlying score and the bleakness of the situations, keeps you dreading what’s bound to happen next.
The story is based on the WWII massive evacuation of Belgium, British, and French soldiers who wait on the beach of Dunkirk for their transport home after being surrounded by the German Army. The land point of view follows a couple of guys trying to get off the beach. The sea point of view follows a man and two young men on a small vessel on their way to Dunkirk to help with the transport mission. The air point of view follows airmen dog fighting and patrolling the sea heading to Dunkirk.
Overall, a great war film from multiple perspectives; however, I didn’t necessarily feel connected to those at war. I was most impacted by the civilians who risked their lives to save the soldiers–any soldiers–from certain death. All I can say is, my heart went out to George. (I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t seen it.) Watch the trailer below:
Written by Diablo Cody, directed by Jason Reitman, and released in 2011. This movie follows a YA (young adult) fiction writer who finds herself unhappy with life so she decides to go to her hometown to rekindle a high school relationship. Sounds like a barrel of laughs…it isn’t. The tag, “Everyone gets old. Not everyone grows up.” is misleading. Mavis Gary, played by Charlize Theron, is an alcoholic narcissist who decides to go home for an ego boost thinking she can somehow win back her high school sweetheart, Buddy Slade, played by Patrick Wilson, after receiving an email celebrating the birth of his daughter. She runs into Matt Freehauf, played by Patton Oswalt, who she doesn’t recognize even though his locker was right next to hers. Mavis and Matt get drunk, she tells him her plan, he warns her against it, she tries anyway, she gets rejected, and falls into Matt’s arms. OOPS! Spoiler alert. The acting is fine. The dialogue is flat and predictable just like the story. I won’t get that 1 hour and 34 minutes back.
It feels like a fantasy revenge story. Like the writer saw herself as one of the losers in a small town who ends up marrying and having a baby with the prom king only to have the prom queen come back and try to ruin it. So her revenge is to have the prom king reject her on a crowded lawn full of townspeople. I will admit I chuckled a couple of times but not enough to consider this something to watch ever again or to recommend it. It actually makes me sad when women write this type of story. It does nothing positive for our gender in any way, shape, or form. Watch if you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. The trailer’s below:
Written and directed by David Lynch, this short film focuses on a detective questioning a murder suspect who happens to be a talking monkey. Yes. You read that right. It’s 17 minutes of “what the…?” and I was glued the whole time. It stars David Lynch as the detective and Jack Cruz as himself, the monkey. The short also features Toototabon as herself (you’ll know) and Emily Stofle as the waitress. Seeing short films like this (especially in accessible formats like Netflix) make me happy because creativity know no bounds and inspires in the most interesting ways. Now playing on Netflix. Watch a snippet below:
Re Dunkirk: haven’t seen it. Probably won’t be I’m not a big fan of war movies. Although I loved “Guns of Navarone” and “The Great Escape”…I guess it just depends on whether the movie is more story-based versus all action-based. 🙂
Re YA: thanks for the heads up. I agree about women writers put a negative spin on their female characters
Re What did jack Do: I’m intrigued. Will check it out.
Thanks, Jeannette <3
Thanks for your comments. They are much appreciated 🙂
If you don’t care for war movies, then Dunkirk isn’t a priority to watch.
What would Jack do? Is a quirky, weird short film. I believe it’s 17 minutes but just quirky and weird.
Hello! Do you have a Twitter account? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates…
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