_Dasago_

Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan was just a fabulous experience. I definitely enjoyed the movie quite a bit from start to finish, and usually war movies aren't really my cup of tea (at least not anymore). However, cinematically, the entire movie is just a masterpiece. As a big movie buff, I could appreciate how meticulously crafted the whole movie was. It's so hard to create a movie like this within this genre while trying to remain "minimal", but Christopher Nolan accomplishes it in every sense of the word.

He seamlessly interweaves 3-4 different plot narratives/timelines, while using minimal amounts of exposition. He gives the viewer such a sense of a looming and foreboding threat, while never even having a Nazi soldier on screen at any time. He tells us "so much with so little" and allows the viewer to take in the conflict of each situation (and there are a lot of them) rather than point it all out to us. In that sense, you really feel like you're getting into the mind of each one of the soldiers/main characters when they are contemplating some very crucial decisions that literally determine life and death, for not just them, but many other men as well.

Nolan gives us continued development, closure and solid endings in each one of the tiny subplots that he sets off from the beginning. It's definitely a joy seeing how all the different plotlines intermingle with each other at the end especially with the civilian aspect added in. And, most importantly, he accomplishes all this in less than 2 hours (and by a damn good margin as well).

If you appreciate amazing direction, cinematography, and vision within a movie, this will be an absolute joy. It could definitely get Christopher Nolan that elusive Best Director Oscar come Academy Award season. I watched Dunkirk in 70mm, but, honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference, especially without being able to do a side-by-side comparison to a regular version. Overall, it didn't seem too different from the usual XD or IMAX type presentation at my local big theater. Still, the movie is a visual treat lending heavily to more practical effects that gives a nice sense of realism to it all.

Anyways, this gets a solid 9/10 from me, coming from a war movie curmudgeon. Watch it, and you won't regret it.

This is my go-to joke-answer when people ask me what my favourite Christmas film is (the truth is I don’t have a favourite anything), but what always catches me out is just how Christmassy Die Hard really is. From end to end, in his own way, McTiernan captures the spirit of Christmas nicely without making a saccharine or overbearing film.

Bruce Willis is just a regular guy trying to get home to see his kids, and patch up his failing marriage. What says ‘Christmas’ more than family? Alan Rickman is the Grinch that tries to get in the way of his plans. I don’t know who Santa is in this analogy; maybe the limo driver. The cop on the outside is Joseph and the film itself is baby Jesus.

In all seriousness though, something about Die Hard clicks with me every time. The regular-guy-having-a-bad-day idea borrows from the better Hitchcock films, and the way it melds with the action scenes is so fun to watch. Willis clearly enjoys playing a bad-ass. His cocky charm is infectious, as is his determination.

It’s not easy to take a simple idea and execute it well, but Die Hard shows that with carefully orchestrated action scenes and slick screen writing one can achieve greatness without having to stray from a central story. Makes a very difficult job look easy.

http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/12/19/diehard/