1917

Release Date: Malaysia, 16 Jan 2020

Genre: War

Running Length: 1:50

Cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman

Director: Sam Mendes

Screenplay: Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns

The story is simple. The date is April 6, 1917, World War I. 

A British battalion is about to walk into a trap set by the Germans that will result to a potential 1,600 casualties. As the phone lines are cut, two young British soldiers; Blake (Chapman) and Schofield (MacKay), are tasked to cross through No-Man's Land and enemy territory by foot to deliver this message to this battalion in order to prevent these soldiers from their imminent death. As the caption of the poster says: Time is the enemy. 

The style with which Mendes and award winning cinematographer Roger Deakins have chosen to film 1917 is to employ a seemingly unbroken single-take from the start of the movie right to the very end. Whether it's a valiant or vain approach, I'll leave it to your opinion.  

With this approach, it pulls the viewers into the thick of the action when our two young soldiers travel from point A to point B. Viewers will feel as though they "are there" in real time, which lends a real sense of tension and dread. 

Speaking of action, there isn't many battle scenes but what this film does really well is capturing the aftermath of trench warfare. We see the remains of human bodies (many of them in pieces and are bloated) and animals lying in the mud, and are eaten by rats.

From a technical perspective, the score is crucial in certain scenes to heighten the danger, but thankfully, it doesn't dominate. A standing ovation for the set designers as the set pieces are so meticulously period-accurate.

In conclusion, this movie feels almost like Dunkirk. Just like the Christopher Nolan's movie, it's technically superior. But what 1917 lacked is the emotional payout that Dunkirk delivered in the final scene. I can't help but to view this film as a theme park ride through a trench warfare, because it does feel that way. 

RATING: 8/10

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016)

Genre: Drama / Comedy
Running Length: 1:58
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Shree Crooks, Nicholas Hamilton, Annalise Basso, Samantha Isler, Ann Dowd, Frank Langella, Steve Zahn, Kathryn Hahn, George MacKay, Charlie Shotwell
Director: Matt Ross
Screenplay: Matt Ross

In the summer season where blockbusters are meant to be a spectacle fest with loud noises and kinetic action sequences, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC offers an alternative. It's a small and quiet movie anchored around the theme of parenting (so no, this is not another superhero movie).

This film explores two different approaches to raising a family; back-to-nature experiential technique vs. the conventional way. Although the film leans towards the appeal of the former approach (at least from a philosophical standpoint), it balances out pretty well with the practicality of the latter.

Mortensen plays the role of the father raising his six kids away from society in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. His wife had to be separated from the family to seek medical attention in the city for her serious condition. Not long thereafter, she took her own life.

I'm not spoiling the movie because all these happened at the very beginning. For most of the film, we follow this family's road trip which they are forced to take - a journey to the city to attend their mother's funeral.

The synopsis above definitely gives out the vibes of Little Miss Sunshine, the other small quirky film that was both a critical and commercial hit a while back. Although this film has its funny moments, it's primarily a drama. There are some very powerful moments especially the emotional reactions from the children when they found out that they will never see their mother again.

The other potent scene that got me is when his eldest son confronted Mortensen's character on his upbringing techniques, "Unless it comes out of a <expletive> book I don’t know ANYTHING about ANYTHING!" This is an actor's movie and the performances are strong across-the-board. Mortensen is ideally cast but it's Langella's portrayal as our protagonist late wife's conservative dad that captivated me.

Although this probably won't end up winning any major awards, Captain Fantastic is still a refreshing original story from Hollywood.

Rating: 8/10