Films that redefine a genre usually come along once a generation, and I would consider 1917 the defining war film of today, as Saving Private Ryan was over two decades ago.

Even though it is told on a grand scale at time, the story here is very personal. British commanders in World War I find out that another battalion is walking into a trap in the attack they are set to carry out the following morning. The brother of one of the men is sent to carry the message of the trap, along with one other soldier. The only path they can take to get there in time goes directly through enemy held territory.

Much has been made about 1917 and it's intensity as a film designed to look like one single shot and in that respect it doesn't disappoint. The lengths that the filmmakers went to achieve this effect cannot be understated, and it creates an amazing feeling throughout the film. While there are a few instances where cuts and breaks are clear when characters pass through a doorway or behind a rock, most of the cuts are seamless.

Initially I thought this effect would make the entire film feel restless, being in constant motion. But the effect is subtle when it needs to be and frenetic when the action calls for it. About a third of the way into the film, there is an incredibly personal moment between the two soldiers. The camera continues to move around them as the scene plays out, but it does so in a way that is reminiscent of how you would frame a basic two shot, just without the standard cutting you might find in that type of scene. A similar scene appears closer to the end of the film between one of the soldiers and a French woman. Her terror is palpable and again the scene is presented in a constantly moving camera, but at a very slow rate that allows the viewer to take in the entire scene, and understand the depths of her fear beyond just her words and gestures.

In short, this film is a masterpiece and deserves every accolade it received, and probably many that it didn't. You can trace a line from All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) through The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Patton (1970), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), and Saving Private Ryan (1998) and all the way to 1917. It's almost fitting that 90 years later, we have cycled through every major conflict of the 20th Century and returned to the war that filled the screen in All Quiet on the Western Front. Even with the benefit of nearly a century of hindsight, that conflict is still just as brutal as it was then, and the haunting images in 1917 capture that brutality in a beautiful and thought provoking way.

1917 is available on Bluray, DVD, and on demand.

10 out of 10​​​​

The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets back on track with the second installment in the trilogy of Iron Man films. Despite the bad guys feeling like alter egos of characters from the first film, the second Iron Man continues to provide intense action, a few doses of comedy, and budding relationships (romantic and professional) that will last through the rest of the MCU films.

We are introduced to several new characters throughout this film, from the vicious Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) and the conniving Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to the Tony Stark's sultry new secretary Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) who turns out to be none other than Black Widow, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to work undercover within Stark Enterprises. It may be the first time we are meeting these individuals, but they all have a realness about them allowing us to easily accept who they are and what motivates them.

​The plot here is simple, and a bit derivative of the first film. Tony is dying because of the arc reactor he build into his chest in the first film. He is back to being the flashy billionaire, only made worse as he faces his mortality and feels powerless to change it.

The two villains feel familiar and basically come across as two sides of the main villain from the first film. Hammer is the billionaire side that really wants to make money selling weapons and will go to just about any length to do so. Vanko on the other hand is the scientist side, dedicated to bringing down Stark by using the technology that their fathers worked on a generation earlier. In Vanko we see what Stark could have become, had he fallen to the "dark side," to mix film metaphors.

We are also introduced to the fact that there is a much larger story at work for the first time in this film. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is assigned by Fury to keep Stark under house arrest until such time as he can find a non-lethal compound to power the reactor in his chest. However, once Stark returns from breaking house arrest, Coulson announces that he's being reassigned and heading out to New Mexico, a comment that is explained in the post-credits scene. These scenes have become something of a cult favorite, but they really started hitting their stride with this scene.

Iron Man 2 received one nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for Best Visual Effects, but was beaten out by Inception.

In the final analysis, Iron Man 2 is a tremendous film and helped propel the MCU forward. I couldn't quite give it a full 10 out of 10 since some of the material felt a bit recycled from the first film, but applaud what it accomplished in setting the tone for the next several films in the series.

​​9 out of 10

Previous: The Incredible Hulk | Next: Thor

Get Ready for Endgame

The first of (currently) twenty one films that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off a grand story arc that has taken over ten years to tell. It spans films, television series, and comic books and a cast of thousands both in front of and behind the camera.

Iron Man was our introduction to Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, the fast-talking, womanizing businessman who is kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists that want him to build them a new weapon to use against their Western foes. Stark uses the materials they provide him to build his first Iron Man suit and lead an escape from captivity.

​We get to see the progression of the Iron Man suit throughout the film from a crude first model developed in a Syrian cave to the version we know from the trailers and posters we've seen over the last decade. The film also presents the early hints at a developing, yet complex, relationship between Tony and his assistant, Pepper Potts.

As an introduction to a central character in the entire series of films, this works very well, giving us a look into Tony as the playboy (including greeting the Stan Lee cameo by calling him "Hef") but also showing that while he can be a loose cannon at times, he ultimately wants to do the right thing. We will continue to see this conflict through many more films, but this first installment serves to set up that story line.

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2009 (Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects) but failed to win in either category.

​​8 out of 10

Next: The Incredible Hulk

Get Ready for Endgame

If you want more Iron Man discussion, check out my Iron Man Minute Podcast.