They Shall Not Grow Old (3D)

First Hit: This is one of the most amazing film restorations ever completed and the story it tells is astounding.

Two things that happened that sandwiched the actual film: 1) Prior to the film we learn that there is no war memorial in the US capital for WWI veterans, who effectively assisted in ending this war with their European counterparts. 2) At the end of this special presentation Director Peter Jackson shared a thirty-minute film about how they rejuvenated and revitalized these historic 100-year-old film prints.

From the opening moments you know this is going to be amazing. There is a small square scene of men marching. The pacing of movement which is usually all over the place in old films isn’t present. The pacing feels real. It is in 3D, but then the frame starts getting larger exposing, ever so slightly, more of the vision. You hear the marching and murmuring. Then voice overs of men who served in this war.

The film voice overs are men from WWI and as the film flashes back to England, we see where these men came from. They talk about how important it was to fight this war. They talk about how young many of the men were. In fact, one soldier was only thirteen, when you had to be nineteen to be eligible to join the army. All the while the images on the screen are of these young men learning and being trained on how to fight.

Slowly the film turns in to color and with the amazing technology of today, we are watching colorized 3D versions of original film shot over 100 years ago. It is utterly sublime and awe inspiring work.

We travel to Europe where we are in the trenches readying to make a final assault on the Germans. We see the first tanks used in wars. But as the film explained, this war was about artillery and how it shaped the battles from in the trenches.

As section chief in an artillery unit overseeing a 105” howitzer in Vietnam, I was entranced with the large guns used in WWI. Not much changed in all those years. The gunner, assistant gunner, primary loader, and how the breach blocks were opened and closed manually. I was transported back to my own experience.

The ending credits are accompanied by a song sung by British soldiers at that time. Mademoiselle from Armentieres is a song which bawdy lyrics were made up on the spot and as a marching song it is fantastic. Using British voices from a group of men in the English consulate their rendition brings joy and a smile as this film ends.

Jackson had many challenges. First to select the story he wanted to tell. There is a ton of footage, but he thought sticking to the British foot soldier would bring home his own heritage. Then finding ways to bring the films pacing to normal speed was challenging. Cameras back then were hand cranked so the film was created at lots of various speeds. Then the question to colorize it was asked. To Jackson credit, he simply asked, if the camera men of 100 years ago had a choice; black and white or color, which would they choose. I agree with Jackson’s choice to colorize it. In this film he worked hard to wonderfully and accurately use the right color. Even using his personal stock of WWI clothing and materials to judge the coloration process. In the film, he occasionally has one of the people in the film talking. Although, back then film did not have a soundtrack, Jackson hired lip readers who figured out what some of the soldiers were saying, then by hiring people from that region of England, had them say the lines. The amount of effort Jackson put into this film is phenomenal and shows up on the screen – perfect.

Overall: When a film moves me from sitting in a seat in a movie theater and takes me to another place, it has done its job. This film does this in spades.

A Private War

First Hit: First Hit: Rosamund Pike (as Marie Colvin) gives a deeply complex performance of a war correspondent who brought personal stories of war victims to the forefront.

War isn’t just about the leaders of countries with idealistic differences and the soldiers of those leaders; it is about the victims of this conflict. Colvin was a committed pioneer in going into conflicts and documenting, in newspaper articles, the stories of the families, wives, mothers and children of wars around the world.

The film begins with her covering the conflict in Homs, Syria, and then segues to some of the previous wars she covered in her career. Sri Lanka is where she lost sight in her left eye. This causes her to begin to wear a black patch that became part of her persona. Then the film takes us on tour with Colvin as she goes to various war zones in the world to see how she covered these wars and how she uncovered her powerful stories.

What we learn is that she was fearless in action although she felt fear. She was incredibly rebellious against authority whether it be the publication she wrote for, or with the leaders she interviewed. Watch her poignant questions to Libya’s Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi. An outstanding scene.

Early on in her investigations she had difficulty finding a photographer that would work well with her. Then she happened on Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) who became a wonderful companion and friend to Colvin.

As for Colvin’s personal life, we see early on her defensive, reactive nature towards her former husband and people really close to her. She allowed few to get close and preferred to be harsh and flippant to the people who cared about her. She drank heavily (“started drinking at age 15”), and suffered from PTSD. For a short time, she took up residence in a hospital to help her deal and process the horrible events she lived through.

What we don’t get a deep dive on is Marie’s background. I kept wondering why she was so rebellious and reckless with her own life. Not only did she put herself in positions where she could be killed, she smoked incessantly and drank excessively.

However, through all this self-destruction she was able to relate to mothers (although she didn’t have children herself), and families with deep compassion which came out in her writing.

Pike was fantastic. When, in the credits, we hear the real Colvin’s voice, we notice that Pike got her voice perfectly. Dornan was excellent as Colvin’s photographer. It’s nice to see him in a non-villain role. Tom Hollander (playing Sean Ryan) as Colvin’s foreign correspondent boss was excellent. It must have been difficult to manage someone who had such a strong will while looking out for his reporter's health and welfare. Stanley Tucci as Tony Shaw, Colvin’s late in life lover was strong as the guy who accepted Colvin as she was. Corey Johnson (as Norm Coburn) a photographer that was always first one in and last one out of a conflict was fantastic. Nikki Amuka-Bird as Colvin's closest friend Rita Williams was wonderful. She was frankly supportive of Colvin. Marie Brenner wrote a strong script allowing Matthew Heineman to deliver this complex story in an engaging and powerful way.

Overall: I wanted more background about Colvin, yet I was blown away by the depth of the story of her in war zones.

Darkest Hour

First Hit:  Maybe the brightest and best two hours in the theater this year.

If my memory serves me correctly, my middle school history teachers painted Winston Churchill as a roundish, heavyset, and controversial bull-doggish sort of man who saved England from Nazi Germany. But what did that really mean? How did he do this? This film sorts out the enigmatic view I had of him.

What this movie does is shine a light on a controversial 3-week period in England’s history about whether to negotiate a peace agreement with Nazi Germany or to fight them to the end.

When the film begins Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) is losing the support of Parliament’s conservative party and Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) doesn’t want to be elevated to Prime Minister while he’s pushing for a negotiated peace. Parliament is in an uproar and King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) is deeply concerned about his country.

Chamberlain floats and gets traction for the idea to hand over conservative power to Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman). Being a controversial person, not well liked by anyone, the conservatives figure if Churchill fails then Halifax and his solution will step up to save England from what is happening in Europe, wide-spread destruction and surrender.

Churchill’s reputation as being difficult and having backed failed campaigns in Africa and Gallipoli proceeds his ascension to Prime Minister. But as he would state  in his defense, these campaigns weren’t all his doing. He also had backed England returning the Pound to a pre-WWI gold standard parity, which had caused its fair share of problems.

When summoned to accept the position of Prime Minister from King George, the clock starts and the film effectively marks the passage of the days and decisions by displaying the day and month prominently every so often.

What makes the situation so incredibly difficult is that most of England’s active army has been corralled onto the beach at Dunkirk with the German army closing in. England’s ships have been all but destroyed by the Germans, their airplanes have been mostly shot down by the superior German Luftwaffe and last but not least, the United States has vowed to stay out of the war to this point and cannot assist England. This last item is poignantly shared in a desperate phone call Churchill places to President Roosevelt.

To save as many of their troops as possible, Churchill sends out a command asking all private boat owners having boats from 30 – 100’ long, to set sail to Dunkirk to save the British troops. (Note: See one of the other best films to be released earlier this year Dunkirk to witness this amazing event.)

In a moment of desperation Churchill asks Halifax to begin exploring a negotiated peace with Nazi Germany. But as Winston was known to do, he deviated from the script and reached out to the people of England to ask what they wanted him to do. As we all know, he chose the path of “We will never, never, never surrender.”

The way this film is shot, we believe we’re in the early 1940’s. The darkness of the time is expressed though spending a lot of time in small underground rooms and darkened hallways moving with him as he finds a way through his own dark depressive drinking way of creating his answers through the inspirational speeches and talks he gives. The final speech he gives to Parliament is frightfully stirring. I also loved how he made England sound big and small by referring to it as an island instead of a country.

That Churchill drank all the time, smoked cigars, and was depression prone was duly present, but the strength, power, and encouragement he brought to his country shines through from beginning to end.

Oldman quite simply is the best actor in a lead role this year. His embodiment of Churchill is full, complete, and by every measure extraordinary. Lilly James as Elizabeth Layton, Churchill’s assistant, typist, and confidant was sublime. Her enthusiasm, struggle and devotion was the heart this film sits upon. Mendelsohn was perfect as the stuff-ish King George VI who learned to embrace and trust Churchill. When he shared with Winston that his family, the royals, wanted to know if they needed to exile to Canada, the bond was made. Kristen Scott Thomas (as Churchill's’ wife Clementine) was wonderful. She provided support when needed and was a perfect sounding board for Winston. Dillane was strong as Viscount Halifax, who didn’t think England stood a chance and believed that a negotiated peace was the best way to save the people, culture and country. Anthony McCarten wrote an amazingly rich script. The dialogue perfectly reflected the times. Joe Wright’s direction was sublime. The story was told with genuine care and creates power of the decisions made at the time. What made it even better was I wanted the film to go on and tell me more of the story.

Overall:  This is truly a contender for best film of the year.

Last Flag Flying

First Hit: This film may start out to mean more to "boomers" and veterans than other people, but it wonderfully explores a lot of topics and emotions.

We join two old veteran friends, Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) and Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carell) getting drunk in Sal’s bar. This scene sets up who they are perfectly. Doc is quiet, of heavy mind and Sal is full of quips, pointed sarcasm and likes to drink, a lot.

They became friends when they met fighting together in the Vietnam war. But as many vets know, sometimes when thrust together in crisis, the bond that is created crosses time. In the early bar scene, who they are, what they were, and the commitment to the bond is brought to light by how easily Sal leaves his bar by turning over the keys to someone else and goes out on an unannounced road trip with his friend Doc.

The trip is to a church where Reverend Richard Muller (Laurence Fishburne) is preaching. The moment Sal and Doc walk in, Sal bursts into a broad grin. Their third friend from Vietnam is now a preacher. Sal is beside himself at the change in “Muller the Mauler.” According to Sal, Muller was one of the most raucous men he knew and hung out with. Now a preacher? Sal cannot believe it.

Muller is reticent about meeting his old buddies because he’s now a man of God and to meet again the guys because of their history. They knew him as a man who did a lot of non-Christian things. And them knowing this is tough. The reason for Doc bringing these guys together is because he wants these men help him honor his son whom was a Marine and was just killed in Iraq.

After some funny dinner and desert scenes, Muller agrees to join Sal on Docs mission to honor his son. The body is coming to Dover AFB and will be buried, with honors, at Arlington. Sal is told his son was a hero and died protecting his men. However, as the story unfolds the men discover that the boy was shot in the back of the head when he was buying a soft drink for his buddies.

They learn this from Larry’s sons best Marine friend, Washington (J. Quinton Johnson) who accompanied the body back home. When Doc learns about how the government lied about his boy’s death, he doesn’t want him buried at Arlington but wants to take him home to New Hampshire.

This decision brings on a whole host of arguments, agreements, and an uncovering of the depth of the men's friendship, Washington’s friendship with Doc’s son, how the government lies, and the importance of truth.

The film shows these discoveries while they eat together, drive together, sit on the train together and buy cell phones together. One of the most fun scenes, showing the depth of each character, is when the four of them are sitting in the luggage car of the train next to the coffin. The dialogue was sublime, real and on target for each of the characters.

This film is about friendship and how it surpasses time. It is about how men become brothers. It is about how the government will lie to parents of dead soldiers. It is about honor. It is about truth. The sets and scenes were exquisitely created and it kept the audience’s attention through each segment.

Cranston was killer. His quips, jabs, self-effacing comments, and drive created a character worth watching. I kept wondering what would come out of his mouth next. Carell was perfect as the quiet one who spoke loudly with his trust in his fellow vets. The breadth of emotions, partially bottled up by the role, was perfectly expressed. Fishburne was outstanding. His voice perfect for being a holier than thou voice as a preacher, then switching to his foul mouth Marine voice was perfect. Johnson was amazing as the Doc’s sons best friend. While lying on Doc’s couch looking up at pictures of his lost friend and the family was so touching. Yul Vazquez as Colonel Wilits was great. He exemplified the role of holding on to the governments pride of service. Richard Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan wrote a fabulous screenplay. Under Linklater’s direction this film was amazingly full-bodied and pointed. Its focus on the characters and how they unfolded through the film was spot-on perfect.

Overall:  This is a very full-bodied film and embraces both life and death equally.

Thank You for Your Service

First Hit:  Powerful and, at times, very realistic about the struggles vets have getting support from the VA.

Adam Schuman (Miles Teller) is back from serving in Iraq as the person who leads a group finding  IEDs. He’s good at it because he senses where they are. After serving 15 months in Iraq, he comes home to Kansas to his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett), his daughter whom he knows and his son who was born while he was away.

The audience sees how he buries his angst towards what he’s been through and, in particular, certain events that he feels guilty about. Specifically, he’s pained over the loss of Sergeant First Class James Doster (Brad Beyer) who took his place in a Humvee outing that got him killed. It is especially painful because Saskia’s best friend is Amanda Doster (Amy Schumer) James’ wife.

He's also in pain because one of his men gets shot in the head and he tries to carry him downstairs to save him and drops him possibly causing more injury.

Adam is especially close with two others who served with him Specialist Tausolo Aieti (Beulah Koale) and Billy Waller (Joe Cole). Tausolo (aka - Solo) has a severe case of PTSD, and although he just wants to go back to Iraq where he feels comfortable, the Army medical team and his wife do not want him to go back. His memory is shot, he’s jumpy and he hallucinates. So what is he to do now?

Billy returns to find his apartment bare because fiancé has left him and didn’t tell him. He’s shocked and filled with sadness and dismay and commits suicide in-front of her at her place of employment as a bank teller.

This sets up the story about how our country takes care of our wounded. The physical wounds are one thing, but the inner wounds of PTSD are killing people everywhere all the time and the US Government doesn’t do enough to help them.

The lines of chairs filled with people holding a number to get served at the VA is shocking. Having tried to get VA service attention for my own Vietnam disabilities was horrible, yet here we see how much worse it has gotten. Vets stand in long lines, only to be told they don’t have the right form, or the right line to help them through the process.

The look of disbelief on Solo’s face when they tell him they have no record of the explosive incident of which he had to pull a burning Doster out of a blown-up Humvee, tells it all. Shock and sadness. What is worse is that they make him find someone to document the event.

The war scenes felt real and were well filmed. There wasn’t a lot of them, but enough to make the point solidly. The VA scenes were strong, yet I do feel that they could have been even more pointed. The guilt Adam wore for the responsibility to his men was embodied perfectly.

Teller was sublime. He’s become one of my favorite must see actors and if you want to see him in three great roles see; Whiplash, Only the Brave and this one Thank You for Your Service. Bennett was excellent as Adam’s wife who does everything she can to help Adam feel safe, have a place to open up while being supportive. Great job. Schumer was very good in her role as grieving wife while having the ability to not blame Adam for her husband’s death. Koale was amazing. He was excellent as the soldier that had felt the Army saved him from a unproductive life but was now abandoning him with his severe case of PTSD. Cole was very strong as the young man filled with bravado who couldn’t wait to see his fiancé again, only to have her not show up. Keisha Castle-Hughes was very good as Solo’s wife who tried to help and support her struggling husband. Jason Hall wrote and directed this film. He definitely had a good feel as to what he wanted to show. I wish more of the VA’s shortcomings were on display so that maybe we could do something about how we take young men and women, send them off to war, and discard them after all is said and done.

Overall:  This is a strong film that I liked.