Blitz (2024) | REVIEW

Elliott Heffernan in “Blitz,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Steve McQueen — Screenplay by Steve McQueen.

Despite sharing a name with the celebrated American Bullitt-actor known as the so-called ‘King of Cool,’ this film’s director, the British Steve McQueen, has done a lot to cement himself as one of British filmmaking’s most clear artistic voices, while at the same time becoming not only a critical darling but also someone who has been celebrated at award shows and, in general, for his contribution to culture. After he burst onto the scene as a feature filmmaker with the capital-g great films Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, and the underseen Widows, McQueen went on to make Small Axe, a phenomenal anthology series about racism, activism, and the joy and spirit of specific communities in mid-to-late 20th century Britain. Since then he has been knighted, and then gone on to make a couple of attempts at documentary filmmaking with his Uprising and Occupied City. Now, with Blitz, he has made his return to narrative feature filmmaking, and while it is not quite as good as his best output, it is absolutely consistent with the artistic interests for which we have come to know him.

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Oppenheimer (2023) | REVIEW

Cillian Murphy is outstanding as the titular theoretical physicist in Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER — PHOTO: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk; Tenet) — Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.

In 1965, famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer appeared on a television broadcast, and, on said broadcast, he gave an account of how people reacted and what went through his head during the so-called ‘Trinity Test’ in 1945, when Oppenheimer and a group of physicists had successfully created and detonated the first nuclear weapon. Oppenheimer claimed that a specific line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita popped into his head: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” It is a chilling quote that has echoed through generations and had a life of its own. For the twelfth feature film in his oeuvre, the immensely popular auteur filmmaker Christopher Nolan opted to tell J. Robert Oppenheimer’s story. It’s a film about a man full of paradoxes, such as how he became a political figure with strong left-wing disarmament views but was also the man who is known for having willfully created a weapon that once dwarfed all others and forever changed warfare and foreign policy. But it is also a film that gets to the heart of the rot of the American soul in the 20th Century. It is an intimate account of the complicated headspace of a historically significant genius, but it is also a haunting and damning cautionary tale about learning the wrong lessons, naivete, guilt, covetousness, and ripple effects. It is an astoundingly brilliant achievement and much more than your average biopic.

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REVIEW: Darkest Hour (2017)

UK Theatrical Release Poster – Focus Features

The following is a review of Darkest Hour — Directed by Joe Wright.

Darkest Hour — not to be confused with The Darkest Hour, a 2011 alien invasion movie set in Russia — is the newest film from British director Joe Wright, who is behind such films as 2007’s beautiful, heart-wrenching, and soul-crushing AtonementContinue reading “REVIEW: Darkest Hour (2017)”

REVIEW: Dunkirk (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Dunkirk – Directed by Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan is one of the most celebrated directors of the 21st century thus far, and it is for a good reason. In my opinion, Christopher Nolan hasn’t made a bad film yet, and I would even go as far as saying he has made multiple masterpieces and very few missteps in the last fifteen-to-twenty years. While Dunkirk doesn’t contain the most impressive story, it is an amazingly impressive film. Dunkirk is a technical masterpiece and the best film of the summer of 2017.
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REVIEW: Five Came Back (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a recap and review of Five Came Back – A Netflix Documentary Series

Netflix’s Five Came Back is a three-part documentary (narrated by Meryl Streep) about five famous Hollywood directors and their impact on the documentation and presentation of the Second World War and, in turn, how it forever altered their careers as filmmakers. Continue reading “REVIEW: Five Came Back (2017)”

CLASSIC REVIEW: Schindler’s List (1993)

Theatrical Release poster - Universal Pictures
Theatrical Release poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a classic review of Schindler’s List, a Steven Spielberg film. There are spoilers in this review.

Schindler’s List tells the story of how Oskar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson), a German businessman, saved more than a thousand of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. This review will be a little bit different. I’ll review this film, by explaining why I didn’t see it until 2016. There are spoilers in this review, so I will not hold anything back.

One of the things I always wondered about, was why my father would never watch Schindler’s List with me. He has always been intrigued by films set during World War II, but for some unknown reason he would never watch it with me. He has always told me that he had seen it, but he has no interest in ever seeing it again. Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Schindler’s List (1993)”

REVIEW: Agent Carter – Season One (2015)

Agent Carter - Reviewed

The following is a season review of Marvel’s Agent Carter, available on ABC and Netflix Denmark.

Marvel’s Agent Carter started as a Marvel One-Shot about the S.S.R. Agent Peggy Carter, it was a spin-off of Captain America: The First Avenger. Not unlike Agent Coulson, Peggy Carter has been known to show up in various capacities in Marvel Cinematic Universe films, even those that have little to do with Captain America. But the ABC show is the character’s playground, and it is so refreshing to see a show like this one actually have a fair bit of success, at least critically.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Agent Carter – Season One (2015)”