Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

I like a good mystery, but the fun is in the buildup to the revelation. And everything before the revelation in this movie is kind of dull. Poirot interrogates all the passengers separately so all of the movie stars get a a little bit of screentime and a couple lines to say, but with every little reveal I'm like so-what. There are hints of Sherlock in the style, but without the likability of Sherlock. If you don't know the solution, it's kind of clever. But immediately after, I fell asleep. I admit, I don't know how the movie ends and I couldn't be bothered to go back and find out. At least it looked nice.

Dunkirk (2017)

This truly is a masterpiece. It is not your typical war film. It does not tread on your emotions. It is not bloody. There is no climactic battle. You never see the enemy. You never see the loved ones on the home front. It is pure war, intense drama.  It is fully immersive. I am now traumatized by that ticking soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (the fan in Morgan's room was making the exact same sound). I saw it in glorious IMAX on 70mm film. Christopher Nolan is the savior of film. Film is somehow old school and also the future of theatrical experiences. The picture was so clear. You could see every face. You wallow in the expanse of the sea and the beach. The cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema is stunning, especially in the aerial scenes. The scenes on the boat were not filmed in IMAX. You can see the ratio is different. It doesn't fill the top and bottom of the screen. But I want to say that the picture looked not necessarily sharper but more vivid and real.

Remember, this is a Christopher Nolan film. Nothing is straight. So we follow three different non-linear narratives. The Mole (the beach) story takes place over a week. The Sea story takes place over a day. And The Air story takes place over an hour. The film cuts back and forth between the narratives without telling the audience what takes place when. You see some scenes in the darkness of night intercut with daytime scenes. You see the boat in the background of the plane scene, watching an event that hasn't yet happened in the Sea story. This is all just brilliant editing and storytelling.

Dunkirk is a point of pride for British people. It was a lost battle, an utter defeat, but a successful retreat. America had not yet entered the war. And that is why American's don't really know what happened at Dunkirk. The focus of the film is strictly on the British. The Germans are never named. The French are not shown, controversially. The Indians are not shown, controversially. But that's not the point. The point here is that Dunkirk is a British success story. This is about British pride. And you never lose focus of that.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

The latest installment in the Jack Ryan series features Chris Pine as the titular spy.  It appears that Pine is the go-to young actor for Hollywood reboots after two films playing Captain Kirk as well.  Quite frankly, Kirk is better.  Keira Knightley's performance is not her best work either.  A far cry from her much anticipated role in the upcoming Begin Again.  She did not seem very comfortable with the American accent.  Kenneth Branagh, on the other hand, nailed his accent and role as the Russian villain (just listen to how he says the word 'hotel').

The plot moves very quickly and as it unravels, it becomes a little ridiculous just how fast the questions are answered.  They go from having nothing to having all of the answers in three minutes.  However, I will give them points for one unusual plot point for a spy movie.  Jack Ryan works in finance and having taken a course this past semester on international macroeconomics, I was able to appreciate that the plot was advanced by Ryan entering the action after noticing financial inconsistencies.