[trestle]

Dunkirk was excellent. It's not an all-encompassing epic and doesn't try to be. The three stories that are interwoven give you an overall understanding of the different elements involved with the rescue. Frankly, it avoids a lot of the typical cliches in war movies and hints at the futility of it all while still maintaining a high regard for those involved. I just finished the Bloodline series on Netflix. While it takes a few episodes to really get up to speed, the acting and the editing were excellent throughout. I never want to live in the Keys but the scenery is beautiful.

[Steve Erickson]

Special Correspondents. It is a 2016 British-Canadian-American satirical comedy film written, directed by and starring Ricky Gervais, with Eric Bana. Takes a bit to get into but type of movie you have to stay with to see how it ends. My wife and I enjoyed it.

[graywolf]

[trestle]

[NacMacFeegle]

Dunkirk is just about perfect! One of the most intense films I've ever seen - the sound design, camera work, special effects etc...... the end effect was to make me really feel like I'd experienced the events portrayed in the movie. I definitely recommend seeing this one in theaters on as big a screen as possible.

[trestle]

Was it 4 or 5 sinking ships that young Jimmy had to abandon or evade? I lost count. It was noticeable that many of the men refused to go below deck when arriving on a new boat. Great movie. Pearl Harbor could have been this good if they'd have left out the stupid love story. And Cuba Gooding Jr. (not a fan).

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Tried out a couple shows tonight I was curious about but hadn't seen yet. 2 episodes of each, didn't try to binge watch a whole season. First one was Westworld. Intriguing so far. Jury is still out though. Then I checked out Roadies. Seems like reviews I saw of it were pretty negative. I don't get it, I love it so far. I adore Imogen Poots, so anything she is in I'll give a chance. I like the rest of the cast as well.

[NacMacFeegle]

Went to see Valerian and the city of a thousand planets today - what a wonderful and (very) weird adventure! Some reviewers were really too harsh on it - yes, the plot is a bit of a mess and the dialogue is definitely a bit strange in parts, but the film is just such a spectacle that it doesn't really matter. The visuals are truly stunning in parts, and they crammed as many weird alien species as possible into it. Though some elements of the story were predictable, and some seemingly unnecessary, the overall plot was refreshingly original with a few good twists. I'm really happy to see a new sci-fi movie that's really imaginative and not connected to an existing movie series. It reminded me of another favorite film of mine: John Carter of Mars (though I think I liked John Carter better). Valerian isn't a perfect film, but it's unusual, beautiful, and definitely worth seeing!

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Thanks for the review for Valerian, Nac. I was really looking forward to it, but have been waffling on seeing it since it was released. I still might go. Glad you mentioned John Carter, that was another that got trashed by critics, died a quick death at the box office, but when I finally got around to watching it I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I thoroughly enjoyed Roadies. Shame it was cancelled after 1 season. Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino had an interesting dynamic between their characters. Ron White just killed it, his character was totally over the top and absolutely hilarious. A bunch of fun guest appearances by various musicians throughout the season. It's obvious that Cameron Crowe just loves music. I thought Imogen Poots was the heart of the show, and in the last episode the creators tipped their hand that they thought so as well.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

In this strange new world we live in, streaming is everything. Sometimes I wait and wait for a movie to be released on DVD, and it just never gets there. I was finally able to watch one I'd been waiting for quite a while, on demand on xfinity (I haven't had xfinity for years but I'm staying somewhere temporarily that does--it's basically like having Netflix streaming, they have a crap ton of content available). It was a strange movie, not necessarily recommending it, but I still enjoyed it. Called "Weepah Way For Now," starring sisters Aly and AJ Michalka. It basically didn't have a plot. I'd guess much of it was improvised. Even though they were fictional characters, I would guess it was a fair bit of art imitating life. They were sisters in the movie, and it was dialogue heavy with lots of inane banter and playful fighting/arguing. A bit of drama, a bit of comedy. Probably don't need to see it more than once but at least I don't have to wonder if it's ever being released on DVD anymore.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Another movie I've been waiting indefinitely to watch, probably never coming to DVD, but was finally able to stream it--The Sisterhood of Night. Can't say too much about it without ruining it. I really enjoyed it, it's an intriguing and thought provoking movie. Several high school girls start a club, the nature of which is fairly mysterious. Soon there are all kinds of rumors running through the small town where they live about what they are doing, everything from witchcraft to devil worship to sexual abuse. You have to stick around til the end to find out what's really going on. The youngest of the 4 kids from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is grown up and the main character in this film.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

The latest in the Fast and Furious franchise was of course totally over the top, but very entertaining. Paul Walker is missed, but they manged to continue without him. Each movie manages to come up w/ some kind of gonzo chase scene you never would have imagined.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Keep ticking movies off my waiting forever to see them list. "My Blind Brother" was better than I expected. Adam Scott and Nick Kroll play brothers. Scott is blind because of a diving accident and he's been guilting Kroll for it for nearly 20 years since. He is a hypercompetitive overachiever that is always doing publicity stunts/fundraisers. At the beginning of the movie he is completing a marathon. Kroll is basically a glorified seeing eye dog for his brother. Scott as usual excels at playing a self absorbed, self important jerk. Kroll has a few issues of his own. The dynamic between the brothers is soon complicated by a love triangle w/ Jenny Slate. All 3 leads are well acted, you can feel some sympathy for the characters while none of them are the most likable people. Zoe Kazan steals a few scenes as Slate's roommate (I love her, wish she was in more films).

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Also saw a couple Netflix originals. "Okja" was pretty bizarre. Probably meant to be a cautionary tale about corporations like Monsanto. Didn't enjoy it particularly. The title character, a giant genetically engineered pig (it really didn't look like a pig though...) was pretty cool. "To the Bone" starring Lily Collins was difficult to watch, but well done. About a young woman with an eating disorder. She struggled w/ that herself earlier in her life, so I imagine it was a very personal film for her.