John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a literal genius. I am not the world’s biggest Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fans, but I respect what those stories accomplished in book and movie form. There’s so much story within the story that no matter how many times I watch the films, there is probably a thousand … More Tolkien (2019)
Peter Jackson is famous for many things and just when you think there wasn’t any room left on his resume, he gave us the documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. This is really your standard World War I documentary, except it is really groundbreaking. Told through the lenses of those on the front lines, the … More They Shall Not Grow Old (2019)
The Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1958. Now we’ve come a long way since those days in terms of storytelling and filmmaking, and I always dread watching older movies because I can’t sit through slow pacing and little to no special effects. This film has been on my … More The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Casablanca was probably a wonderful place to visit during one of the world’s worse crises. I feel what makes this film so iconic and special is its simplicity. The story is very straight to the point and doesn’t get all mushy as we watch one amazing love story unravel strand by strand. It is kinda … More Casablanca (1942)
The Water Diviner peaked my interest last year after stumbling across the film on Netflix, which led me to watch the trailer. After finally watching it last night, I got to admit I am really torn on how much I want to like/love/dislike the movie. The beginning made me question whether this was what I … More The Water Diviner (2014)
I knew from the original release date that I was never going to be a fan of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Well after finally sitting through the film, I was right. I ended up really disliking this movie. The story is so slow and boring that the ending pissed me off more than … More The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
World War II is one of the most powerful moments in human history. There are probably a million stories of life back then, some about the good times and those about the bad times. The majority of us know what happened to Jewish people during the war, so Life is Beautiful is quite an unique … More Life is Beautiful (1997)
The events of September 11 not only changed the world, but the amount of new content Hollywood would be able to produce almost two decades later. There is a growing trend with military movies that get released today that focus on the trauma and PTSD effects of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. When you look … More Thank You for Your Service (2017)
7/10 I got to be honest and say that from just watching the trailer, I assumed this film would be emotional roller coaster from start to finish. Although this film is a great story about two broken war heroes, it was not as emotional as I had hoped. Kate Mara gives a solid performance about … More Megan Leavey (2017)
2/10 The Wall had so much promise. Three characters, a desert, a wall, and the fight to survive. Instead this film is about two men, one we never meet and one that is broken. The suspense build up to the rather lame ending really brought down anything that may have been good about this movie. … More The Wall (2017)
