Review: Dunkirk

-
A colossal military disaster. 

In 1940, allied troops are stranded on the beach of Dunkirk, France with enemies closing in from the land, and picking them off from the sky. We follow three different stories spanning different times. The Mole, lasts one week and follows soldiers attempting to get off the beaches. The Sea takes place in a day, and follows a civilian Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) as he and other sailors respond to calls for help from Dunkirk. The 3rd story is The Air, which takes place in an hour and follows a pilot (Tom Hardy) as he attempts to stop the enemies from above. 

I can't think of another movie where I had this sentiment, but character development barely matters here and Nolan spends no time on it. It works, because we don't need to know these soldiers' and civilians' back stories. We already sympathize with them trying to escape a desperate situation. We start right in the action and stay there the entire time. Anything else would've bogged down the narrative. Because of that, no performance in particular really stands out. They're all equally good. 

I mentioned on Twitter how shocked I was that this film was under two hours, it absolutely flies by. I'm thankful for that shorter run time, this movie was so tense I'm not sure if I could've handled it being any longer. I was already holding my breath for much longer than I should have been. Dunkirk is beautifully shot and I expect this to be all over the sound nominations come Oscar time. Nolan as a director never disappoints me. He's crafted an amazing film here.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A-

Memorable Quote: "I'll be useful, sir." - George (Barry Keoghan)

Comments

  1. BirgitJuly 25, 2017 at 10:56 AM

    I'm hoping to go with my hubby and see this film tomorrow. I am hearing great things about this film.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kevin PowersJuly 25, 2017 at 12:44 PM

    I have seen it twice now. Once in IMAX 70 and once in regular 70. I have lots of thoughts on the format in my review. As for the movie itself, I agree with you pretty much all the way. Though I love Rylance's performance (if you can call it that), but I think it's just because I love him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 25, 2017 at 2:24 PM

      He's a very pleasant actor, he was probably my favorite in it as well.

      Delete
  3. Alex WithrowJuly 25, 2017 at 3:36 PM

    Oh yes I agree, what an amazingly crafted film. So happy you liked it! And yeah, thank god it isn't any longer. I wouldn't have been able to handle that much tension much longer haha

    ReplyDelete
  4. thevoid99July 25, 2017 at 4:31 PM

    I really want to see this as I thought I would have to wait a little longer but certain things just landed on my lap and now I'm hoping to see it this weekend though not in glorious 70mm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2017 at 8:12 AM

      I didn't see it in 70MM either. It's still good.

      Delete
  5. Candice FrederickJuly 25, 2017 at 9:16 PM

    I clearly need to see this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. s.July 26, 2017 at 1:23 AM

    So glad u liked it! I really dont know what is wrong with people saying this needed more character development and that it was cold. When Branagh said "home" and we saw what was coming I was on the verge of tears.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2017 at 8:05 AM

      I'm okay with the lack of that because it was more about the experience, but I get people being upset over it because there really was zero outside of maybe Rylance. lol

      Delete
  7. Often Off TopicJuly 26, 2017 at 9:07 AM

    Great review! I want to see this ASAP but if I don't see Baby Driver this week I feel like I never will. I think it'll be in cinemas for a while though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJuly 26, 2017 at 11:52 AM

      I imagine Dunkirk will hang around for a while. You still have time

      Delete
  8. AnonymousJuly 26, 2017 at 1:35 PM

    I wish I loved this more.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paskalis DamarJuly 27, 2017 at 4:33 AM

    I agree that there's no particular performance stands out, because I see Dunkirk works as a whole story. Love to know that you loved it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. MyerlaJuly 27, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    I am with you, I didn't really need the film to contextulise Dunkirk or spend time building character by having them reminise about England because Dunkirk is an important part of 20th Century British history. Amazing film

    ReplyDelete
  11. KatyJuly 30, 2017 at 4:18 PM

    Nice review! Dunkirk's not as binge-watch worthy as some of Nolan's other movies, but I really enjoyed it. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 1, 2017 at 6:44 AM

      I agree with that. I don't think I'd be re-watching this like I do his Batman movies or Inception, but it's still very good.

      Delete
  12. m.brownJuly 31, 2017 at 12:54 PM

    Totally dug this movie, and I'm right there with you. The movie just drops us in the shit, and we basically hold our breath til we get out of it.

    And it totally works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 1, 2017 at 6:43 AM

      It does and I'd complain about that normally. but it was perfect.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing Bobby, and the
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen
Read more

Please join me in my Favorite Movie Titles Blogathon!

-
Image
Earlier this week I made a post where I ran through the letters of the alphabet with my favorite movie titles. There were a few people that suggested I turn it into a blogathon, and I've never done that before. So here goes nothing! Since this is my first attempt at a blogathon, it's all pretty simple, and it's hopefully a quick post that everyone can join in. Rules: 1) Going through the alphabet, list your favorite movie title beginning with each letter.  2) You don't have to necessarily  like the movie to use it's title.  3) Use the banner at the top of this post in yours. 4) Please have submissions in by Friday, May 30th*. (But I'll be honest, if you send them to me after that date, I'll still add them to my post.) You can either leave a link to your post in the comments here or tweet it to me, ( @ramblingfilm )  Thanks everyone! :)  *I had to move the date back a week due to Photobucket threatening me with bandwidth issues. But
Read more