As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
After seeing this, Teddy Duchamp’s fiercely proud claim that his father stormed the beach at Normandy lands very differently.
And, despite your average American displaying almost religious zeal for them, and annual public displays of “remembrance” here in the UK, I still don’t think we respect our veterans enough.
★★★★
Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life. But after firing a staff member on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.
The final monologue DOES go on a bit too long but it also bought a little tear to my eye. Further positives: the Ghost of Christmas Present just seems to get funnier the old I get.
★★★★
During a weekend getaway at a secluded lakeside estate, a group of friends finds themselves entangled in a web of secrets, deception, and advanced technology. As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, they uncover unsettling truths about themselves and the world around them.
It’s not exactly billed as a comedy but I laughed a lot. And, while it doesn’t beat you over the head with social commentary, it’s there if you want it.
★★★½
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.
Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, stuntman Colt Seavers has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.
Never better than great or worse than average. Clearly, a great deal of love was sunken into this movie but sadly very little resurfaces on the screen. And I say that as someone who genuinely appreciates stunt work and Ryan Gosling in comedic roles. Bit of a shame, really.
Still, a long overdue Oscar for Best Stunt Design will be given out in 2028. And that, really, ain’t nothin’.
★★★½
An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.
No idea when I first saw this but I’m sure it was in a cinema. Can’t believe we paid for that…
★★
A live broadcast of a late-night talk show in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms.
Don’t you hate it when you sell someone else’s soul to the devil, then the devil reneges and wrecks your career?
★★
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
It’s not the overall plot or the dialogue but how it’s assembled. Reminds me of all those great TV shows that floundered when the writers went on strike…
Maybe all the money went on costume and props, which are amazing.
★★½
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.
I must admit, that I skipped to the end after “Inclination Is Flattening” to confirm my suspicions and then went back and watched the rest. Based on that, to get the best out of this, you probably stop watching at the end of “Inclination Is Flattening”.
To the spoilers…
It’s tightly made but the idea that they couldn’t wait two minutes to confirm that it wasn’t an errant delivery from a rocket pizza start-up, before pressing the president to decide on a “retaliatory” nuclear strike option, was asking a little too much from the audience.
★★★½
