Darkest Hour (Movie 2017)

Finally watched the historical pic Darkest Hour. The movie Dunkirk had the point of view of the soldiers waiting to be rescued and their rescuers. Darkest Hour takes you into that same time frame but from the point of view of the man who would orchestrate the rescue-Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It takes you into those few weeks in May 1940 when Churchill first becomes Prime Minister up until the Dunkirk rescue and the "Never surrender" speech. The lighting is superb with many scenes especially in parliament with shards of light and shadowing. But it alludes to what is happening. The forces of darkness are closing in on England and the world. The man standing in the way of it is Winston Churchill. Before he can even begin to contemplate how to fight back he must convince those around him it is the only course of action. The irony is though his war cabinet wants to have Italy help England negotiate a peace settlement with Hitler. Gary Oldman has won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in this film. Rightfully so! Oldman disappears and is no where to be found. In his place the spirit of Winston Churchill comes on screen. We see this man of history had a temper, was irreverent, and had made mistakes during his career. But he was intelligent, a great orator, and knew that Hitler wouldn't stop until he had complete domination. He was the right man at the right the time. He was who was needed at the darkest hour.

The FBI Story (Movie 1959)

With the FBI in the headlines of late in mostly a negative light, I wanted to watch a movie that harkens back to the glory days of the bureau. The FBI Story came out in 1959 and had the full cooperation and influence of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. You'll even catch a quick cameo by Hoover himself. It follows agent Chip Hardesty played by the great Jimmy Stewart. Stewart always had the immense talent of playing an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. He displays that well as Chip who is there in the early 1920s when the FBI is some scattered field offices throughout the country. No real organization or mission. It all changes when a man named J. Edgar Hoover becomes director. We see the FBI expand and become more sophisticated in fighting crime with forensics. Chip as an agent tackles the Ku Klux Klan, gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and communists spies. While being in these dangerous situations he also has a wife and children and deals with the ups and downs of family life. This is a very idealized story but the overview is pretty interesting. For instance, they did not always carry firearms. When they were being killed by mobsters they had to fight for the right to finally carry a weapon. It was entertaining to get this basic history of the G Men.

The Resident (TV Series, Fox 2018)

Dead on arrival. I watched the pilot episode and from the start was in dislike mode. The first scene is in an OR where a basic appendectomy gets botched by a surgeon (Bruce Greenwood) with shaky hands and a surgical team busy taking photos. After the patient dies they start conspiring to cover it up. That's how you want to start your series? Ok, I figured once we got past the credits we'd get to the characters who would contrast this bit of slime. Ummm, no. We meet Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) who meets a first year resident with offensive questions and arrogance. The whole hospital is filled with this. Another doctor who doesn't want to have to talk to the families of those she's operated on goes around the waiting area quickly telling each group something like he's fine, or in recovery but the worst was the last where she just says he's dead. Too much callousness in these characters. Even the patients aren't winners. There's just nothing positive here. I mean yes some realism is good. But damn there is some light in realism as well. If my life was on the line and this was the only hospital I could go to, I'd stay home and die peacefully.

9-1-1 (TV Series, Fox 2018)

9-1-1 is a brand new drama on Fox about first responders to emergency situations in Los Angeles. It's a 3 prong view with the dispatcher, the fire department and the police. This is a fast paced show which plays into what this is all about in the first place-saving lives. We see sometimes they are successful and unfortunately sometimes they are not. As it is in real life some calls are kind of crazy like a lady being strangled by her own snake. Or, having to deliver a new born baby from a drainage pipe that has been flushed away by a terrified teenage mother. These first responders who are in the midst of these rescues don't always get to know the outcomes as we find out from the dispatcher who gets hung up on when the fire fighters arrive. And, as if the stress of the job is not enough they have their home lives to contend with. One has past drug and alcohol addiction, one is a possible sex addict, another has severe marital issues, and one has a parent with Alzheimer's disease. It's a stand out cast that includes Angela Bassett (How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Connie Britton (Nashville), and Peter Krause (The Catch). Have to admit I could look at Peter Krause all day. I love that the show keeps it moving but still can bring some humor and depth of feeling to a moment. The first episode ended playing the song "Under Pressure". Nailed it.

Dunkirk (Movie 2017)

Since this is the start of my staycation, it's the New Year's holiday weekend, and it's brutally cold out, I felt like watching a movie. I rented Dunkirk. It follows the true story during WWII when British civilians came to the rescue in vessels of their military who were trying to evacuate France with the German soldiers closing in. 300,000 were saved. Well known actor/director Kenneth Branagh is in it as well as Harry Styles (boy band One Direction) and Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders). But really there are no stars in this. This is not a character driven story. The characters are almost anonymous to us. We don't know their backgrounds. We are are just thrown into the circumstances with them and watch it unfold. It's the events/ history that is the star of this film. It has 3 focal points-soldiers on the beach at Dunkirk, pilots flying in Spitfires, and a father, son and young boy in a boat on their way to France. You feel the panic, the hopelessness and desperation. An interesting thing is you never actually see a German soldier's face. A faceless enemy just heightens the fear as the bullets are whizzing by or hitting the British soldiers praying to be delivered from death. At the end of the movie we hear a British soldier reading from a newspaper the famous "we shall never surrender" speech by Winston Churchill. Of course we know it is true. The Allies were pushed back in 1940 but eventually won the war. Being a student of WWII I feel this is well made and had a unique way of presenting this part of history.

Knightfall (TV Series, History Channel 2017)

Knightfall is the new drama about the mysterious Knights Templar of the past who fought in the Crusades. The first episode aired this week. It starts with them being forced out of the Holy Land and in the process lose the Holy Grail. It then jumps to 15 years later in Paris and the lead character Landry questioning what has become of their mission since all they have done in the past years is to become money lenders. I wanted to love this since I am a history buff and find the Knights Templar a fascinating topic. Can't say I fell in love. The sets and locations were well done and some good battle scenes. But it didn't really start out with characters that caught my eye. And the story line was a bit dull. However, there were a couple of interesting revelations in the last 10 minutes that got my attention. The preview of the upcoming weeks definitely gave me some more hope. I plan on giving it another try next week to see if it picks up. Jeremy Renner is one of the executive producers of this series.

A Christmas Carol (TV Movie 1984)

Tis the season once again to catch some movie version of the Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. The BEST one hands down was made for tv back in 1984 starring George C. Scott. Even though Scott does not physically match the description of Scrooge in the book, he totally embodies the character and brings him to life. He doesn't over play him like some have in the past. This man becomes real and you understand how greed has masked sadness and emotional wanting. This Christmas Carol has a scary and sympathetic Jacob Marley ghost like no other. Edward Woodward is bigger than life as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Tiny Tim is positively ethereal here. David Warner and Roger Rees also star. When you take a trip back to that wonderful Victorian Christmas ghost tale about the spirit of a man being revived and soul saved, I recommend this wonderful film.