The White King, Star Trek Beyond, Dunkirk

(Some quick looks are more recent movies)

The White King (2016) – Trapped in a nation that is dedicated to power and conformity, a 12-year-old boy struggles to understand his life after his father is arrested for questioning the status quo.  This is a powerful movie about authoritarian rule, very timely in a lot of ways.  It is let down by its directors (Alex Helfrecht and Jörg Tittel) who don’t seem to have a singular vision for the movie.  At times almost shot as a documentary, it veers into something more stylized and then jumps back.  The pacing gets glacial at times as well.  You know that’s a problem when the run time of 89 minutes seems much longer.  All of it takes away from an interesting idea and a solid cast (Jonathan Pryce, Greta Scacchi, Agyness Deyn).

Rating – *** Worth A Look

Star Trek – Beyond (2016) –  What an utter, utter disappointment.  Flashy, lots of special effects but utterly lacking much of a story, a heart or a brain.  Lots of potential here but the moviemakers chose to explore exactly ZERO of it.  Second only to “Star Trek – The Motion Picture” on my list of worst of the series.

Rating – ** Not Impressed

Dunkirk (2017) – Unlike the previous movie, this was a total WOW for me.  If you like your movies to have style, outstanding storytelling and offer you the chance to do a little thinking while you watch it, you will love this movie.  If you prefer your war movies with linear storytelling, John Wayne style heroes and lots of shooting and explosions, probably not so much.  Christopher Nolan does a fabulous job making the evacuation of Dunkirk tense, human and enthralling.  He avoids the desire to make a story about “something” into one about “someone”.  Brilliant stuff.

Rating – **** Recommended