Category Archives: Uncategorized
Dunkirk’s Darkest Hour
Have two highly-acclaimed films ever been so perfectly matched as accompanying entities?
This year, Christopher Nolan’s gritty on-the-beach dramatization of the historically necessary evacuation of hundreds of thousands of British soldiers in Dunkirk was hailed as an incredible war movie unlike any other. You were on the beach, you were in the air and you felt the literal and metaphorical claustrophobia of what seemed like inevitable demise closing in. It was a matter-of-fact story that took audiences into the living hell of British and French soldiers under deadly German air attacks.
Also this year, just weeks ago, Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour was hailed as an engaging peek into the life of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Faced with the end of the British armed forces, Western civilization, and the world in domino fashion by Germany in World War II, Mr. Oldman’s metamorphosis into Mr. Churchill was a masterclass in acting brilliance. To put it briefly, Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour was an ordinary man who, through cigars, booze, unlikely confidants, ingenuity, courage and his wife, was able to lead the rescue of soldiers struggling for their lives on the beaches of Dunkirk in a matter-of-fact manner on the silver screen.
Movie fans should see both films, both for historic and cinematic purposes. But what if you could see them interwoven together in an epic trailer?
While Gary Oldman has all but sealed up a forthcoming season of Best Actor awards for his performance as Winston Churchill, there’s an argument for cinematic history to be made with regards to the Best Picture of 2017:
Dunkirk + Darkest Hour.
The Academy will likely not comply. Regardless, history is eternally thankful for the ordinary heroes showcased in both films.
Setting the Stage for Star Wars
Star Wars isn’t going anywhere, folks.
It’s Thursday and the following interview with Mark Hamill on the practical “Death Star” set is a nice throwback and early sobering assessment of what Star Wars was and was going to be to movie fans as the original trilogy was just beginning to change the world forever.
While Mr. Hamill’s drawing of a cinematic line between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz sounds as ridiculous as two suns on Tatooine back in the ’70s, what time has proven is that there is, in fact, a link between that famous yellow brick road and the ultimate good vs. evil battle in a galaxy far, far away…
and that link is movie magic.
When films welcome and embrace that powerful escapist sensation, that’s when we, the fans, are granted permission and encouraged to travel to far-off worlds and galaxies we never knew were possible to reach within ourselves.
Sometimes in less than 12 parsecs.
Bottoms Up (Or Down?)
Halfway through the first week of the new year, there’s one question that lingers that will define how you’ll view the forthcoming events (good and bad) in your life throughout 2018:
Actually, it’s one picture.
While I’ve been to the original Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany (absolutely amazing!), this impressive replica is from a chain outside the Strip in Las Vegas. Moreover, do you perceive the liter glass mug to be half-full or half-empty?
It’s a debate we should all participate in and explore.
I am a glass half-full kind of person. In life, this psychological mindset demands optimism, a flexible vision, and creativity and strength to adapt in a moment’s notice.
In drinking that beer, it meant there was still half of a positively refreshing beer to enjoy. Until it was gone.
I’m also a finish-a-full-beer kind of guy.
Happy New Year!
What happens in Vegas…
Spending the New Year with great friends in the slightly chilly desert of Las Vegas blows up traditional plans and time tables with incredible experiences that can only happen in Vegas, which explains the lack of a Happy Monday yesterday. But I’m back and ready to take Jimmy’s Daily Planet to the next-level in this new year.
We’ve made it to 2018!
And that is nothing short of surreal considering the then far-off future of 2015 in Back to the Future: Part II (still seen as a quintessential vision of the future for many of us) is now more than two-years in the rear-view window. That awesomely creative (and surprisingly prescient) movie premiered in movies theaters back in 1989. A lot has changed since then, including the Chicago Cubbies winning the World Series. But debating whether the 2015 pop-culture celebration or the fictional reality of flying cars is more mind-boggling will need to wait for another day.
For now, inspired by the energy of Las Vegas, it’s time to kick-off 2018 the right way with favorite sons The Killers.
2018 will be The Year of Confidence.
Have a Better Year Than Last Year.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 