Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros are trying to sell their military ordered January placement film 12 Strong as something we haven’t seen before. True, last year’s Megan Leavey was a different spin on a war movie with a female marine and a German Shepard, but this film is no more about horses than Black Hawk […]
Paradise comes from a different perspective on the ending of WWII in Germany, one in which previous leaders and a prisoner reflect on what happened from their viewpoints, why they made the decisions they did, and their regrets. Olga (Vysotskaya) is a Russian noblewoman who joined the French Resistance and got arrested for sheltering Jewish
There are two reasons you are reading this review, both reasons are also why First They Killed My Father exists in the first place. The first, is simply because it’s the latest film from director Angelina Jolie. Her celebrity status as an actor gives her access to audiences that any other director behind such subject
Christopher Nolan is one of the most praise worthy filmmakers alive. His films challenge the audience beyond simple enjoyment, despite the fact, most are blockbusters. He is also the rare writer/director pleasing the majority of critics and mainstream audiences alike. It’s also worth mentioning his projects always make a profit. That being said, “Dunkirk”, his
There was a recent National Geographic Channel program called “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of Isis”, which reconstructed events in the Middle East that led up to the terrorist organization’s establishment in the area, which I reviewed earlier (https://drdonnasfilmreviews.blogspot.com/2017/06/hell-on-earth-fall-of-syria-and-rise-of.html?m=0). This documentary is a report of subsequent events that have occurred
The true story of a Marine who bonds with her German Shephard on a mission to Iraq could have been another cinematic animal failure like “A Dog’s Purpose” or “Max”. Documentarian turned film director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, keeps this war thriller and emotional drama away from melodramatics. “Megan Leavey” has similar beats to “Million Dollar Baby”,
We are almost half way through 2017, and Churchill (one of two films portraying the iconic Brit) delivers the first potential leading actor awards contender. With a career spanning over four decades of supporting character roles, Brian Cox (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), the ever-villain, gets his big, bombastic leading performance and it’s
Terry George’s The Promise has suffered a terrible roll out since debuting last year at the Toronto Film Festival. The historical Armenian genocide romantic war drama comes on the heels of another, The Ottoman Lieutenant and a slew of other World War I flicks released this spring. Compounded with Turkish government-sponsored trolls who submitted 4000
An Education (2009) was a great film, nominated for best picture and solidifying the career of Carey Mulligan. However, that’s no reason to use that movies structure in a different plot like director Lone Scherfig does here. Their Finest has a solid starting point, focusing on women’s increased role during WWII, specifically at London’s major
Mine creates one of the most gut wrenching, impossible situations I’ve seen on cinema in a long time. The suspense in the first 26 minutes that leads us to a devastating situation is everything you expect from an action film putting the lead in dire circumstances. The big question is what happens next? You still