Carl Deuker -- Books, Movies, TV

1917 brings to mind this film, another movie-magic war film.  Not the editing, but the massive scale of the film Dunkirk  is a 2017  war film  written, directed, and produced by  Christopher Nolan  that depicts the  Dunkirk evacuation  of  World War II . Its  ensemble cast  includes  Fionn Whitehead ,  Tom Glynn-Carney ,  Jack Lowden ,  Harry Styles ,  Aneurin Barnard ,  James D'Arcy ,  Barry Keoghan ,  Kenneth Branagh ,  Cillian Murphy ,  Mark Rylance , and  Tom Hardy . The film was distributed by  Warner Bros.

American Beauty/Skyfall WWI story filmed "all in one shot" sort of.  Can't have been too many shots, though there are a few times when you can tell they're reloading film.  (Screen goes black after one explosion and the protagonist is knocked cold . . . screen goes watery blue when he goes over a waterfall and stays underwater and out of view). Amazing filmmaking, sets.  What a challenge!  Pretty mundane plot though.  Two soldiers need to get a message to a major to avert a charge-of-the-light brigade disaster.  They face a series of dangers (mines exploding, airplanes, Germans). One dies, the other gets the message to the major in time to keep the second wave of assault from taking place and thus saving many lives, but not all of them (21st century, not 1950.) Saw this at Majestic Bay matinee.  would never have made it on TV

Taking itself a little too seriously.  Tommy is forced to steal tanks for the White Russians fighting the Bolsheviks.  He wants to go straight. He's also involved with a dispute with the Italian gang in London.  PB's burn down a tavern and shoot a guy in the legs.  At a big shindig put on by Tommy, someone tries to kill him but they kill Grace (his wife) instead.  Tommy morose.  Tommy wants to torture the lead Italian. His brothers stop him by shooting the guy before Tommy can cut him up.  Now . . . the big plan to steal the tanks and get them away.  The danger? A traitorous priest who is giving information to the Bolshies.

Giant ants in New Mexico as a result of nuclear testing.  1950's horror film that is mildly entertaining, but nothing to get too excited about. Movies on TV gives it 3.5 stars. 2 stars is more like it.  Perhaps the "nuclear" warning at the end caught the reviewers attention. James Whitmore Fess Parker

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta co-star. Noah Baumbach directed--Squid and the Whale; Margot at the Wedding I liked both of those, especially Margot, but this not so much.  Main flaw: way too long.  It's really a divorce story.  Charlie (Driver) is hot=shot theatre director in NYC. Nicole (SJ) is actress who gains stature with his group, but was known before for a teenage romp (filmed in LA) in which she appears topless.  They have one child.  So, it's Charlie's hotshot career vs. Nicole's supporting actress career.  NYC vs. Los Angeles.  Sort of in the middle is their child, but he seems oddly passive, goes with the flow. Three or four arguments about whether or not Charlie promised to spend time in LA or not.  Three or four arguments about whether Charlie respects Nicole's ambitions and talent.   Movie is well over two hours.  At ninety minutes or so, it would have been much better...

Fantastic short series (8) from Netflix.  Girl is raped, then bullied by Lynnwood cops into saying she wasn't raped.  No family, no one to help her.  Depressed, kicked out of her group home, contemplating suicide. Years later detectives in Colorado solve a serial rapist case and discover evidence of the Lynnwood rape. Magnificent acting.  10 out 10

Documentary on shooting of black teenagers in Jacksonville by irate white guy who claimed he felt threatened when teenagers didn't turn down music and told him to fuck off.  Killer says he thought he saw shotguy. Brave testimony by man's fiancee who says she never heard him, in the time they spent together after they fled, mention a shotgun or any weapon. First trial ends with mistrial on murder, but conviction of attempted murder for firing at three other boys in car who didn't have weapons.  Weird verdict. Retrial. Conviction of first degree murder. Life.

Took a while to get going, but ended up strong.  Tommy with multiple girls in love with him:  Grace, Esme, his ex-prostitute present secretary, rich girl horse trainer.  Campbell out to kill him. Tommy is recruited to kill a British officer.  Murder will be blamed on one faction of the IRA, thus bolstering the other faction. Tommy does the killing and then is betrayed.  He's going to die!  Last second reprieve when one of his three killers knocks off the other two.  "We have more plans for you," he says.  "Winston Churchill will be in touch!" Campbell, meantime, is killed by Polly whom he raped earlier.  Second time Campbell has been shot at the end of a season, but this time he really does look dead.  Too bad.  Good character