Dunkirk immerses you in war from the first scene to the last

Movie Title:  Dunkirk

Grade:  A-

Rating:   PG-13, 107 minutes

In a Nutshell:  I write marketing reports for movie theaters and have felt terrible for Dunkirk the past few months, because their trailers almost always elicited ZERO response from the audiences.  Well, audiences are speaking VERY loudly now.  They LOVE Christopher Nolan’s newest film, Dunkirk, based on the true WWII story.

If you can see it in 70mm on an IMAX, do it.  Christopher Nolan went to great lengths to make sure that his movie was as accurate as possible.  The details are impressive. With thousands of Extras on the beach, this film is epic.

The director’s goal was to create an immersive experience.  That it is.

Uplifting theme: 

• “Hope is a weapon. Survival is victory.”
• Human resolve

Things I liked:

• With real planes, real locations, and hundreds of Extras.  Everything looked and FELT real.
• Technically, it is awe-inspiring.  Do I smell an Oscar?
• Hans Zimmer's sound track is explosive and riveting, filled with intensity almost the entire time. Zimmer used Christopher Nolan's watch to get the ticking sound that fills the movie.
• I really liked the trailer tagline: “When 400 soldiers couldn’t get home, home came for them.”
• Teenage girls and fans of One Direction will be thrilled to watch Harry Styles as Alex.
• I love Oscar winner Mark Rylance in everything he does.  I especially loved him in Bridge of Spies DVD and thought he was adorable in The BFG (Theatrical Version).
• SPOILER:  I LOVED what Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) did for Cillian Murphy’s character at the end.  I would hope that my 4 sons would have that kind of character and compassion.  That small moment was extremely touching for me.
• I know a water scene is good when it makes me hold my breath.
• Rather than focus on big battle movements, the film takes it to a personal level and shows you how war affects the individual.

Things I didn’t like:

• You don’t really get to know any of the characters and develop a strong connection.  The film’s action reminded me of Saving Private Ryan, yet that film carried so much more weight and emotional pull on my heart because of the character development.  It's my all-time favorite war movie. You’re not given any backstories in this film, however, and there are no quiet scenes where characters talk about their lives.
• Because of everyone’s thick accents, you can’t understand everything that’s said. I probably missed a good 20% of the dialogue.
• I thought it was interesting that Tom Hardy would want a role like this.  He played Farrier, a pilot whose face was completely covered almost the entire time. He only had 10 lines during the entire movie.
• My 17 year old son, surprisingly, said he thought the movie was a little slow. The film runs almost in real time. 
• SPOILER:  We see only a few small boats coming to the rescue, but in reality, the number was closer to 700.  Nolan used 50 boats on the water, which is actually more than used in any other film.
• I wish I could have seen a map to better understand where everything was located.  Here’s one:

• 

Interesting lines:

• “He’s shell-shocked George.  He’s not himself.  He may never be himself again.” – Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance)
• “Well done.” – old, blind British man

“All we did was survive.” – Tommy (Fionn Whitehead)

“That’s enough.” – old guy

• “There’s no hiding from this, son.” – Mr. Dawson
• “What do you see?” – Colonel Winnant (James D’Arcy)

“Hope.” -     Commander Bolton (Oscar nominated Kenneth Branagh)

Tips for parents: 

• This war movie is intense with MANY moments of life or death.
• Despite the high body count, it isn’t super bloody and gory like Saving Private Ryan.
• There was a surprising lack of profanity.  I thought I heard an F-bomb, but because the accents were so thick, I can’t honestly say that’s what the word was.

Want to learn more about this part of history in World War II?  Check out some of these:

Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture
The Miracle of Dunkirk: The True Story of Operation Dynamo

@trinaboice 

King Arthur entertains with quirky editing and humor

Movie Title:  King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Grade:  B+

Rating:  PG-13,

In a Nutshell:  With epic sword fights and a delightful dose of humor, you know a movie is good when you can’t wait to see certain scenes again.  The bouncy storytelling is quirky, unique, often confusing, but definitely entertaining.  

Director Guy Ritchie’s creative editing style keeps it interesting in this new version of the famous King Arthur legendary story.

This is the first installment of what is supposed to be a six film franchise.  Does that excite or worry you?

Uplifting theme: 

• “Why have enemies when you can have friends?” - King Arthur
• Defending honor.
• Friendship, family, loyalty 

Things I liked:

• Charlie Hunnam gained a ton of weight and muscle to be in this movie, after director Guy Ritchie kept telling him how emaciated he looked after the last season of Sons of Anarchy The Complete Series.  Charlie looks strong and buff now.  Well done, Charlie!
• Jude Law does a great job as the evil Vortigern who delights in other people's fear and his own power.
• I loved the special effects.  Wow. I thought the smokey vapors that emanated from the legendary Excaliber sword were super epic     looking.
• Great sound effects and fun musical soundtrack.
• The special effects are big, wild, innovative, and wicked cool.
• Lots of slow-motion scenes, the majority of them with lots of humor and uber-awesome shots.
• Lots of overhead views of the cities.
• Tons of super interesting camera angles.
• The Darklands sequences were super entertaining.  I loved learning how the sword became sealed into the stone originally.  It added great depth to the backstory.
• Great costume design.  Noticeably good.
• The movie was shot in England, Scotland, and Wales with some very picturesque scenery.
• There is a hilarious scene towards the beginning of the movie where Arthur has to explain to Jack about what happened.  It was clever, quick-witted, and set the tone for a fun movie. I loved the funny nicknames he called his friends.
• Rebel graffiti.  Ha ha 
• 3D actually enhances the scenes quite a bit, in case you're wondering if you should spring a few extra bucks for it.

Things I didn’t like:

• There were these cool tree ladies who we only get to see for a split second and who served no purpose other than to look cool.  I wanted to know more about them and see them again.
• There were a lot of exposition scenes where people have to explain what’s going on.  Sadly, they’re needed.
• There were some strange, choppy edits.
• Some of the characters were noticeably less developed than others. 
• There is a LOT going on in this movie....sometimes, too much.
• OK, so wait a minute...is Astrid Berges-Frisbey the Mage/Merlin or is going to evolve into Guinevere?  Kind of confusing.

Funny lines:

• “What is it?  A carosel? A giant wheel of cheese?” – Goosefat Bill (Aidan Gillen) when talking about King Arthur’s famous round table.
• “I’m not going to hear the end of this.  It was my turn to cook.” – Mage king (Michael Hadley)
• “I don’t like snakes!” – Arthur

“No one likes snakes!” – Mage

Interesting lines:

• “When people fear, it is the most intoxicating sensation a man can possess.” –  Vortigern
• “You make sense of the devil.” – Arthur
• “You’re no longer a myth.” – Mage
• “I look away.  We all look away.  But that is the difference between a man and a king.” – Mage

Tips for parents: 

• Lots of fighting with a massive body count.
• Some profanity and one F-bomb.
• Some scary monsters in the Darkland and an evil monster that King Arthur has to fight.  (But it has a super cool looking fire cape!)
• According to this version of the King Arthur story, he was raised in a brothel.  

 Movie Review Mom

@trinaboice 

Suffragette movie honors women who sacrificed so much for our voting rights

Movie Title:    Suffragette

Grade:  B+

Rating:  PG-13, 1 hour 46 minutes

In a Nutshell:    I teach a Politics class at a local college, so I was especially excited to see how Focus Features would handle this period piece in film.

The story is compelling and yet, it's only a short introduction to what some of our female forebears went through to secure for us the right to vote.   With a presidential election occurring in the United States this year, how many of you will take the time to vote?  Do you appreciate your right to vote?

The list of countries and the dates that women were given the right to vote is shown at the very end of the movie.  What’s surprising is the absence of many countries around the world who have still not granted women’s suffrage.

Uplifting theme: 

•  Like all rights, we who have them often forget the terrible price that was paid to have governments recognize and protect them.
• The ability to effect social change always requires sacrifice.
• “Never underestimate the power we women have to define our own destinies.” – Emmeline Pankhurst
• “We do not want to be law breakers.  We want to be law makers.” – Emmeline Pankhurst
• “Never surrender.  Never give up the fight.” – Emmeline Pankhurst
• “If it’s right for men to fight for their freedom, then it’s right for women to fight for theirs.” - Maud (Carey Mulligan)
• What rights are you willing to lose everything in order to gain?

Things I liked:

• The incredibly talented cast includes Carey Mulligan (I adore her), Meryl Streep (who doesn’t adore her?), Helena Bonham Carter (talented character actress), and Brendan Gleeson (I really hated him by the end of the movie).
• If you continue to think about a movie after watching it, then it's a good movie, right?
• The sets were generally believable.  Nice job.
• Your heart will break for these women.  Nice job.
• The main events illustrated in the film were historically accurate.
• It will leave you wanting to know more.
• Abi Morgan, who also wrote “The Iron Lady” (which I loved), creates interesting characters who have internal struggles of morality and doing what's right.

Things I didn’t like:

• After decades of being ignored on the issue of women’s suffrage, Emmeline Pankhurst issued a call for civil disobedience.  It definitely caught everyone’s attention, and the women involved felt they had no other option in order to be taken seriously.  Some people in today's society feel the same way about certain issues. Unfortunately, it's a dangerous course of action.  As Brendan Gleeson's character states, “Violence doesn’t discern.  It takes the innocent and the guilty.”
• The majority of the men are portrayed as disgraceful monsters.
• Meryl Streep gets very little screen time (4 minutes).  Shame.  To learn more about her character, check out the 2007 film "Suffragettes'.
• All of the bad reviews I've seen about this film were written by men.

Interesting lines:

• “You want me to respect the law?  Then make the law respectable.”  - Violet Cambridge (Anne-Marie Duff)
• “It’s deeds, not words that will get us the vote.” – Helena Bonham Carter
• “We break windows.  We burn things, because war is the only thing men listen to.” – Violet Cambridge
• “I would rather be a rebel than a slave.” - Maud 

Tips for parents:   

• Some profanity, including 1 F-bomb.
• Some violence, including bloody scenes.
• You see the rear end of a woman in the first jail scene when the women are changing into their prison clothes.
• Women are subjected to all kinds of terrible treatment by men.  
• Teenage girls need to get off their cell phones and watch this.

Minions get their own fun flick

Movie:   Minions

Grade:  B+

In a Nutshell:   Adorable.  Silly. Colorful.  Like eating pure sugar. Imaginative prequel to the beloved Despicable Me movie franchise. The plot isn’t deep, but their crazy antics will still make you smile.

Warning: It may be too much sugar for some people.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Don’t mess with a minion’s teddy bear?

·         Working together, you can accomplish your goal.

Things I liked:

·         I love the minions’ cute jibberish language.  Adorable.  I noticed that they include quite a bit of Spanish bits, such as “Si”, “Gracias” and “Que paso?”  (What happened?)

·         There are a lot of fun pop icon moments, like the Campbell Soup Can art by Andy Warhol. I got to see the original one a year ago at a conference! 

·         I liked Scarlett’s husband’s play on words.  For example, he called Stuart: “Stu-ART”, “Stewperman”, and “Beef Stu”.

·         It was so fun watching Kevin, Stuart, and Bo go to London, so that I can share my vacation photos with you.  I was just there last week!  Awesome pic, right?

Even the famous Tower of London guards known as “Beefeaters” are featured for a moment. When I visited there last week, I learned that "Beefeaters" actually have many years of military experience before they can even apply for the job.  They live on site and exhibit such pride for their job.  

·         Great music from the 60’s and 70’s.

·         I loved the new Buckingham Palace guards with the yellow Minion hats.  Yep, I just saw the real changing of the guards there last week too!    I got this close to them during the ceremony...

·         There is a scene that shows the House of Commons in Parliament.  I saw that too!  The chairs really are green!  The House of Lords is so much more beautiful and fancy.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos on the tour.

·         Cute Abbey Road Beatles moment.  Did you catch it?

·         Funny faked landing on the moon conspiracy theory moment.  Did you see it?

·         The minions visit Westminster Cathedral too.  

 ·         After spending days on the London Tube, I got a kick out of the “Mind the Gap” voice on the train.  The location scouts for the movie did a great job of including authentic images for the London scenes.  What a great excuse to share some of my vacation moments with you!       

·         Keep watching while the credits roll at the end of the movie.
-    Terrific voice talents include the lovely Sandra Bullock, the handsome Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, and a bunch of unnamed yellow blobs.
-   The movie begins with an evolution backstory of the minions.  I loved their different clothes changes as the decades passed.  Yeah, I wore jean overalls in the '60s and 70's too.
-  Did you notice that Bob has one green eye and one brown eye?

Things I didn’t like:

·         Scarlett asks “Doesn’t it feel so good to be bad?”  Um, I’m not sure I want my kids repeating that message.

·         It doesn’t have the heart of Despicable Me, although it does explain how the minions found their ultimate villain.  No tissues required.

·         It’s more fun to see in 3D.

·         Uneven pacing.
-     Despicable Me is more magical, but these cute little guys deserved their own fun flick.

Funny lines:

·         “Who are you, my knights in shining…denim?” – Scarlett

·         “Steal me the crown and all your dreams come true: respect, power, banana!” – Scarlett

·         SPOILER ALERT:   “Bob, who appears to be a bald, jaundiced child, has pulled the famed sword right from its sword and has become the new king.” – TV reporter

Tips for Parents:

·         Some characters take off their shirts and do suggestive dancing.  You also see another character’s buns.  Come on now….that’s just not necessary in a kids’ movie.

·         Parents will be amused by references to pop culture that most kids won’t catch.
-   Unlike a lot of kids' movies, this one doesn't have a ton of bodily functions, although Bob farts once.

What?  You haven't seen the Despicable movies?  Hurry and catch up!  They're AWESOME!

Let the adorable merchandising begin:




Did you know?
During opening weekend, this film’s incomprehensible yellow henchmen, took in a whopping $115.2 million at U.S. box offices this weekend—the second biggest opening of all time for an animated film. (Shrek the Third holds the record, with $121.6 million in 2007.) “They’re bigger than Spongebob. They just have that mass appeal right now and are basically a merchandiser’s dream,” a senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations told USA Today.

Tourists in England

Hi Movie Review Maven fans!

I was just looking at some statistics for this site and noticed that I have thousands of readers who live in the United Kingdom.  That's awesome!

I'm especially excited because I'm going to be traveling with my family in England, Scotland, and Wales this summer! 

I would love to hear your tips on where I should go, what I should eat, and all the fun things I should do in your beautiful land!

Please put your tourist advice in the comment box below!

Thanks! 

Trina Boice