Civil War (2024) Film Review

In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Civil War is directed by Alex Garland who previously directed Ex Machina (2015), Annihilation (2018) and Men (2022).

Part of the reason my review is so late is because I honestly had no idea what to exactly think of Civil War. There is an incredible amount that I really love about the film, even if the politics can get muddy I do get the point the film was making and in some instances it kind of works.

I’ll start with the performances because they are ultimately what really makes the film, starting with Kristen Dunst she gives a phenomenal performance. She plays a war photographer named Lee Smith who mainly focuses on the job and nothing else at all, there are tons of character moments from her. The ones that stood out were her slowly realizing that doing absolutely nothing while chaos is going on other than getting that one excellent shot is not worth it at all. Dunst gives such a raw performance and her interactions with the rest of the cast is truly investing.

Cailee Spaeny is also quite excellent here, she plays Jessie Cullen an aspiring young photographer who kind of just joins in on Lee and Joel’s (played by Wagner Moura) journey. Her depiction of someone being someone who hasn’t been in this much chaos before is absolutely top notch and at times quite scary, the scenes with her Dunst or her and Moura just having conversations are among some of the film’s best moment.

Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley are both excellent here, they work incredibly well with Spaeny and Dunst the chemistry between the four is top notch. Moura acting as this second in command figure with Dunst who tries to keep the group together is investing to watch. While McKinley’s character doesn’t get a lot of development, McKinley’s performance itself is more than enough to make up for it as it is pretty charming in some areas.

The atmosphere of the film is truly masterful, throughout the whole film and the journey we are sent on with Lee, Joel, Jessie and Sammy the suspenseful atmosphere is felt. Anything could happen at any given moment it’s investing the whole through but there’s one particular moment that really shines. I purposely left out Jesse Plemons’s performance until right now because while he does only get one scene, the scene is a masterclass of suspense. Combine that with his acting, the lines of dialogue that are used and the camera focusing on each of the character’s reactions and you have yourself a wild ride of a scene.

The film’s world itself is quite investing as well, I do like that the film shows the relics of the Civil War taking place. Buildings left abandoned, some completely intact and others completely ruined. Heck sometimes during the journey we encounter towns that flat out pretend the war does not exist. This might be a bit biased since I’ve always had a fascination with abandoned buildings and areas, but I do think the film does a really great job of showing the horrifying feel of these certain areas.

Overall Civil War is a quite fantastic film, it’s filled with suspense, excellent performances and investing dialogue that really grabs the viewer’s attention incredibly quickly!

Civil War is available in Theaters.

9/10 A

One Life (2024) Film Review

London broker Nicholas “Nicky” Winton helps rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in a race against time before the Nazi occupation closes the borders. Fifty years later, he’s still haunted by the fate of those he wasn’t able to bring to safety.

One Life is directed by James Hawes which is directorial debut (not counting TV movies). One Life tells the true story of Sir Nicholas Winton who helped groups of Jewish children in German occupied Czechoslovakia to hide in flee in 1938-1939 just before the beginning of World War II.

It’s a very true fact when they say that World War II created a ton of personal stories from many different people, one of those is Nicholas Winton who was just ordinary man before he decided to put his life on the line and save so many children who were going to be killed.

The film itself switches back and forth between Winton’s early life which includes him saving the children and the present where he is much older and is known as a hero. The film really does a fantastic job of going back and forth between times, it cuts to when Winton is an elder at the best times possible so that the historical moments can hit the viewer harder. When it cuts to Winton’s younger years it allows more information about him to be revealed nice and slowly without being overwhelming for the viewer.

Johnny Flynn plays younger Winton which he does such a fantastic job, he absolutely fits the role and really fits the part as a man who sees pain and hurt then proceeds to put his life on the line to save those in need. Combine his performance with the nice and smooth pacing and you have yourself some really powerful moments throughout the film.

The first two acts are your standard biopic, they are by no means bad in fact there are tons of excellent moments between them. There just isn’t anything mind blowing. What helps the first two acts is the hero’s journey type of element to Nicholas Winton, it’s incredibly inspiring to see and never leaves your head throughout the film.

When the third act comes in that’s where the film’s power comes in, I purposely saved describing Anthony Hopkins performance for last because it’s truly gut punching and absolutely powerful. Anthony Hopkins gives one of my favorite performances so far this year, he plays this honest and heartwarming performance who reflects on the events of Winton’s early life. Every single moment of Hopkins’s performance especially during the third act comes off as honest, it’s absolutely beautiful and will make you cry.

The third act has some of the children (who are now grown up) that Nicholas Winton saved meet with a now elderly Nicholas Winton to meet him. All of this takes place during a tv show called That’s Life. This is some of the film’s most powerful moments and it all comes down to the acting, between Anthony Hopkins’s quiet performance during this scene, to the absolute raw reveal and Hopkins tears. It’s truly some of the most beautiful and powerful moments from a film so far this year.

Overall One Life is a beautiful film, sure the first two acts might not be the absolute strongest but between the third act, performances and the great use of switching in time. It more than makes up for its flaws.

One Life is available in theaters.

8/10 B+

Quick Review: Blood & Gold (2023)

At the bitter end of World War II, a German deserter and a young woman are drawn into bloody battle with a group of Nazis hunting for hidden gold.

I’ve said it before but Netflix has been having a very rough year when it comes to original movies, Blood & Gold is at the very least a decent one there’s just honestly not whole lot to comment on here.

The movie serves as a nice little love letter to the Italo western and World War II exploitation movies from the 60s and 70s, if you are a fan of those types of movies you are going to get that here. The movie also does have a similar atmosphere that Sisu had although I would say Sisu is definitely the better movie.

The acting is overall not bad, the filming is actually quite nice to look at and there’s a lot of action scenes that are quite thrilling and atmospheric. Blood & Gold is overall not bad at all just nothing really that special.

Blood & Gold is available on Netflix.

6/10 C+

Sisu is a show don’t tell entertaining ride from beginning to end.

During the last days of World War II, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-Earth retreat in northern Finland. When the soldiers decide to steal his gold, they quickly discover they just tangled with no ordinary miner.

Sisu is if you took Mad Max Fury Road and John Wick and asked the question “what if it took place during near the end of World War II?” You would get Sisu a movie that admittedly shares a lot of the same elements as John Wick but still manages to be a complete blast.

Jorma Tommila plays Aatami Korpi a solider who is now a miner and is feared among many rival soldiers some people calling him “immortal” which is quite accurate because this guy picks apart this group of Nazis one by one. Tommila gives a very intimidating performance and really captures the atmosphere the film is going for quite well, the cinematography when combined with the location are very beautiful and makes for some very interesting action scenes. We get to explore around the many battlefields, it has this eeriness to it that is actually quite effective.

The action scenes are quite fantastic, filled to the brim with gore and lots of pretty strong kills that really make the film a very entertaining ride. The action during the last 10 minutes or so does get a little too silly but I guess it does fit the whole “this man is unbeatable” idea, outside of Aatami Korpi the other characters don’t get much in the way of development. The main villains are Bruno Helldorf played by Aksel Hennie and his subordinate Wolf played by Jack Doolan. The performances from Hennie and Doolan are both very good, the characters however are just ultimately higher ranked Nazis. They aren’t that much different from the ones they are leading, except just lasting much longer in the movie.

Overall Sisu thematically might not have a lot going on as it is very straightforward and honestly tells you from the trailer what you are getting, but it is very fun film that is really solid. It’s not going to reinvent the action genre but it is yet another solid one from this year.

Sisu is available in theaters.

8/10 B+

The Covenant is a solid war thriller with solid performances.

During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of gruelling terrain.

Of the two Guy Richie films that have been released this year The Covenant and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant is by far the better of the two.

While The Covenant is not based on a true story the movie does state that there have been situations where interpreters have put themselves on the line of danger to save injured sergeants. First and foremost the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal who plays John Kinley and Dar Salim who plays Ahemd are both quite fantastic here, the bond between is truly fantastic and while yes it’s a cliched question in movie the whole “how far would you go to save someone who saved your life” thing works here.

The first two acts are very well done especially when it comes to atmosphere that truly is thrilling and I really have to say for a first time directing a war movie Guy Richie does a really good job of nailing down the atmosphere of war, it might not be up there with some of the greats such as Hacksaw Ridge, 1917 or All Quiet On The Western Front. But it honestly doesn’t need to be, Richie made the atmosphere his own and made it quite interesting.

Unfortunately The Covenant does suffer from two major flaws the first being the third act, while it isn’t awful as it does keep some thrilling moments which were previously in the first two acts. It doesn’t have a whole lot of development unfortunately, we are introduced to some characters who get about 7 minutes of screentime and then are pretty much never seen again. The action scenes during the third act are nowhere near as thrilling as they were than the first two acts, it turns into an action scene you would expect from over the top action movies. Which yes I get there’s going to be action scenes but I can’t help but feel like that it takes away from the quietness and atmospheric feeling that was in the other two acts.

Lastly there’s the messaging of the movie, while the movie does have a very good intentioned message that interpreters are important and should be talked about more (which I agree with) when it comes to the War in Afghanistan, it honestly doesn’t explore all that much about the interpreters. Outside of Dar Salim’s character Ahmed we aren’t given a whole lot of information about interpreters and how important they are, it’s only at the end of the movie where some text shows up and then the credits show army soldiers being buddies with interpreters. It’s a shame because I do think the topic of interpreters gets very overshadowed and nowhere near as much attention as it should.

With that said I do think The Covenant is a solid movie with some really strong acting and Guy Richie trying to do something a bit different with the war movie genre. There’s a lot to like about this one.

The Covenant is playing in theaters.

7/10 B

All Quiet On The Western Front is a brutal and honest depiction of war.

War breaks out in Germany in 1914. Paul Bäumer and his classmates quickly enlist in the army to serve their fatherland. No sooner are they drafted than the first images from the battlefield show them the reality of war.

When you take a look at the war film genre you often don’t see too many anti-war films, it’s a type of film that I really appreciate it because it has an entirely different perspective plus it really shows the tragedies of war. Plus how nobody really wins at the end, two most recognizable ones are Come and See and All Quiet On The Western Front. All Quiet On The Western Front is based off of a 1929 book of the same name written by Erich Maria Remarque, the book was later adapted into a 1930 film of the same name which would go on to win best picture at the Oscars. Fast forward to 2022 and we have a new adaption that is just as powerful and meaningful as the 1930 film from all those years ago. For starters as soon as the film begins the film immediately grabs the viewer’s attention with its cinematography there’s so much attention to detail here which only adds to the gory and disturbing battle shots that show up in the film later on. The cinematography also has this perfect war like atmosphere that truly hits home the point of how terrible war really is, it hits all the beats necessary to get the viewer into a state of terror and tragedy. The performances are absolutely masterful with every sense of the word, especially from Felix Kammerer who plays Paul so well that it’s truly captivating, the very beginning really captures this well. With Paul and his friends being sent out to war, some of his friends not knowing truly how serious war really is and only hits them harder and harder when they see lives being taken. The film isn’t afraid to show how war mentally effects the people involved and how it can really kill you on the inside as well, it can completely lead people to many states such as completely shock and trauma which we the viewers get to see a lot with Paul and the others. We see the differences of how the soldiers have to survive and hopefully get to go home to their loved ones where as the generals don’t really have the same worries, I mean sure something could happen to them but they are normally very well guarded where as soldiers like Paul have to fight to survive. The film does a fantastic job of showing this by cutting back and forth between the chaos on the battlefield and dialogue scenes of the generals, a lot of this is really shown at full force during the final act of the film where Felix Kammerer’s performance get’s even more powerful. It completely blossoms into this brutally honest performance that still has not left my mind since I saw it a 2 weeks ago, it’s truly one of the best performances of the year and one that will leave you with goosebumps. The film itself is a brutally honest one, it doesn’t sugarcoat anything it’s a film that lays out the tragedies of war and tells the viewer that in the end nobody really wins during a war. Lastly there’s the atmosphere of the film which combined with the cinematography is truly striking, there’s so many scenes that capture the horror of war and add so much terror to it. Overall All Quiet On The Western Front completely nails the message of the book and the original film, it’s definitely hard to watch but it’s a very necessary watch that truly hits all the right notes.

All Quiet On The Western Front is available on Netflix.

10/10 A+

Medieval is dull and forgettable.

As feuding brothers battle for control of the throne, daring and righteous mercenary leader Jan Žižka embarks on a mission to kidnap Lady Katherine, the fiancee of a powerful lord. As Katherine becomes caught in a dangerous political game between monarchs, Jan falls in love with her strong spirit and dedication to saving the people. In a brave attempt to liberate her, he fights back with a rebel army, battling the corruption, greed and betrayal that runs rampant among those clawing for power.

Medieval can be pretty much summed up with the creative process that went into the title of the movie. Dull, uninteresting and is no different from other movies within the genre, outside of a few admittedly pretty neat kills and the acting that has it’s moments. There’s truly nothing new at all here, a lot of it just feels like a giant checklist that they made sure to accomplish while filming, but completely forgot to make the movie investing. The movie is actually based off of a true story, the story of Jan Žižka a Czech mercenary from the end of the 14th century. This should have been something rather simple to turn into a film but for whatever reason it didn’t happen here. Ben Foster is definitely the standout but that’s really not saying much when even he couldn’t entirely save it. It also doesn’t help that the pacing is atrocious with a 126 minute running time that you quickly start to feel.

Medieval is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a decent movie about a wild true story.

In 1967, John “Chickie” Donohue leaves New York to track down his army buddies in Vietnam and share a few beers with them, but instead is confronted with the horrors of the war.

I went to the “Regal Mystery Screening” which basically the premise is that it’s a movie that hasn’t been released yet, when I saw the Apple TV+ logo pop up on the screen I knew immediately what it was going to be. The Greatest Beer Run Ever tells the crazy true story of John “Chickie” Donohue during the Vietnam war the guy decided to go deliver his friends who are fighting in the war beer in Vietnam to show that his town supports them. It’s a truly interesting story that that I found quite fascinating, the movie does a decent job of telling the story. Zac Efron is truly great here, while it did take about 20 minutes to get use to his performance (it comes off as annoying during the first 10 minutes) after that he delivers so much charm to his performance, Russell Crowe plays Arthur Coates a photographer/journalist during the war, while he doesn’t get a huge part up until the third act he still quite incredible. He really puts in a lot of power and emotion that really sells his part, speaking of the third act that’s by far the strongest part about it. During the third act Donohue learns a lot about the great horrors of war, such as politicians/the government lying and witnessing civilians being killed. There’s some very powerful moments here that are truly fantastic and actually made me shed a tear, what is a bit baffling however is how the majority of the movie plays out as a comedy. Sure there’s some war stuff in between the comedy, but those particular scenes are played for laughs unlike the ones in the third act. I completely understand what the movie was trying to go for here, but I don’t think it balances out all that well. For what the comedy is there are some pretty decent jokes here that did get a few laughs out of me, to be completely fair though I would imagine it would be sort of a challenge to make a movie about a guy going to Vietnam to deliver beer to his friends without using comedy. So it’s not necessarily the comedy that’s the problem it’s mostly some of the jokes not being very funny and the third act being far more interesting in comparison. Overall The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a decent movie about a pretty insane true story, I definitely think the movie could have elaborated more on Donohue’s change from being pro war to questioning what is going on during wars, as it does feel like the movie ends right when we are about to get some more information on that.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever releases tomorrow on Apple TV+

6/10 C+

Benediction is a powerful of the life of Siegfried Sassoon.

The turbulent life of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden). The writer and soldier was a complex man who survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery but who became a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war when he returned from service. His poetry was inspired by his experiences on the Western Front, and he became one of the leading war poets of the era. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London’s literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality. At the same time, broken by the horror of war, he made his life’s journey a quest for salvation, trying to find it within the conformity of marriage and religion.

Benediction has a lot of strong parts about it, for starters the acting is very well done from everyone involved Jack Lowden as Siegfried Sassoon was quite fantastic, the end of the film is truly powerful and leaves with a very strong note in hand. The direction from Terrance Davies is very raw and quite powerful as well, the best part about the film is the film’s exploration of Sassoon as a poet and him as a person. Which leads to some quite fascinating moments that truly capture the 1920s during World War I, what mostly helps it feels like Davies’s direction feels a bit personal here. Which isn’t a first time occurrence as he sometimes does put some personal type elements in his autobiographical films, whether that be camera angles that really standout and are up close, parts of the writing that instantly connects the viewer to who the film is about in this case Sassoon, or the very raw acting that completely builds some of the strongest moments in his films. The pacing and the running time do slow the film back a bit, however it isn’t nearly enough to stop this film from being beautifully done and told.

Benediction is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Sniper The White Raven captures a lot of realism of war.

After his pregnant wife is killed by militants, an eccentric pacifist enlists to fight as a sniper in Donbass, Ukraine, vowing vengeance for both his wife and his comrades.

Sniper The White Raven might not be the best war movie out there, but when it comes to capturing realism it’s quite great. The color of the film is this ash gray color to it that feel really powerful, making some of the single shots quite haunting yet beautiful to look at the same time. The film is based on a true story which the movie does a pretty decent job of telling it, at times it does drag on a bit clocking in at almost 2 hours. The writing has some very strong moments that capture the realism of war, there are moments when the movie falls a little short but it isn’t enough to stop this movie from being a decent showing!

Sniper The White Raven releases on Friday in theaters and on all VOD Platforms.

6/10 C+