WWII

Never Never Never Surrender (Darkest Hour review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

When your reputation is on the line, what do you do? Stand and fight for what is right, or give into the endless parade of voices telling you that you won’t be successful. Motivational to say the least, essential viewing for our youth.

This, is Darkest Hour.

 

Darkest Hour (2017)

Cast: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn
Director: Joe Wright
released on blu-ray February 20, 2018
******** 8/10

IMDB: 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, Audience Score 83%
The Guardian: ****/*****

Joe Wright is an English film director. Best known for Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Hanna, Anna Karenina, Pan, and most recently Darkest Hour. As you can see, he generally sticks to British content, which as the old adage says “write what you know.” Fortunately for me, and this review, Darkest Hour is his best rated film to-date, and demonstrably so given that Gary Oldman won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

I’ve been known to have a difficult time getting invested into war films, but luckily for us, this is a drama set within war-times. Easily digested and taken with some milk.

Special thanks to IMDB user Nick Riganas for the synopsis.

With Europe on the threshold of World War II as Hitler’s armies rampage across the continent’s once proud nations, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup), is forced to resign, appointing Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) as his replacement. But even in his early days as the country’s leader, Churchill is under pressure to commence peace negotiations with the German dictator or to fight head-on the seemingly invincible Nazi regime, whatever the cost. However difficult and dangerous his decision may be, Winston Churchill has no choice, but to shine in his darkest hour.

I can say with absolute certainty that this film benefits greatly from it’s first act, in which major players are established, and we become invested in the relationship between Clemmie Churchill, deftly played by Kristin Scott Thomas, and Winston. And this is crucial because without his wife humanizing his behaviour, Churchill is hardly a man at all, merely a brute trapping about in “a state of nature.”

It’s a dense story, with lots of oration, conversations behind closed doors, and tense speeches that appeal to our sense of reason. It is well established with Oldman at the helm, but there are definitely moments that I wish could have been cut, to make it feel quite literally set at a brisk pace, rather then eluded to with video and audio editing.

Pros: As I mentioned already Oldman is magnetic, but it’s the dynamic between Thomas and him that really sets the story on fire. And Lily James plays her role perfectly.

Cons: Despite all of the stirring speeches, somehow a great political figure has been simplified to the point where you wonder if he’ll pull it all off, making the actor great, but the film a little dull. And Ben Mendelsohn is featured far too little.

The first few weeks of Churchill’s ministry included subterfuge amongst his political peers, navigating the disaster of Dunkirk, and rousing a nation into action. Nothing less then spectacular when you think about it. There is no denying it, Gary Oldman is Churchill personified under that makeup, which is why the film works so well.

Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes

Points of Interest:  While Winston Churchill did regularly speak with the public on their opinion of the war efforts, there is no official record of him taking a train and quizzing it’s passengers. The entire movie takes place during May 1940, around the time of Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk.

This is a story which has been told and retold a few times over, and yet, somehow it has been made fresh for a new generation, with a distinct perspective from competing entries Their Finest, and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkrik. And it’s more interesting then both of them.

theories Summarized

If you can forgive the film itself of a few flaws, there is a lot to glean from the performances of this stories leads. And yes, I recommend watching it at least once, I myself have seen it twice now, and I can say with confidence that while it may have been Britain’s Darkest Hour, there is a fair amount of light in this story.

And speaking of war, violence and strong character stories. You should definitely check out this Watch Culture video review on 2015’s Sicario. Mike helmed this video on his lonesome, and there are a ton of great anecdotes to pull from his review. So watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it!

I’d love to hear what you think of Mike’s review and of course tell us if you plan on checking out Darkest Hour. I know you’ll get something out of both flicks, but either way… Check it out! And remember… Like! Comment! Subscribe!

Tim!

An Oasis of Greenery (Muttart Conservatory)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Have you ever wanted to visit ancient Egypt? The jungles of the Amazon, maybe? How about the Netherlands or even just heading south of the border to explore more Americana? Well I can tell you that I sure have.

As a primarily visual artist, I’m inspired by the world around me.

The challenge of course is that it costs an arm and sometimes a leg too to travel the world we live in. What’s an Edmontonian to do, dear readers? Well luckily, for my local readers, I happen to have a solution nestled right in the heart of the river valley.

Something which both shapes our landscape and is separate from it – The Muttart Conservatory.

Discover the Pyramids

The last time I visited the Muttart Conservatory was back in August of 2013.

A good time was had by all of our group. It was a visit with a purpose though. We were there for wedding photos for one of my oldest and bestest friends forever, Nicholas. My friend Nicholas (often known as Nick) and his wife Coral had their hearts set on getting photos in each of the different rooms of the Conservatory. When the day of the wedding finally arrived, and after the beautiful ceremony of course, we rolled up our sleeves, got in our vehicles and headed to the downtown core for city from The Oasis Centre on the west end. As the group entered each of the rooms, our photographer gave us direction, setting each of us up in turn to get the wedding shots needed. I’ll admit, I had not been to the conservatory in ages and so it was an eye-opening experience for me.

But I felt rushed. I wonder why?

PLUS we eventually found a way onto the roof, so no big deal. Well, except for the security breach.

All in all, it was a good day.

Then a few years later I visited once more with my girlfriend-at-the-time. Under less then auspicious conditions, and mostly to see the roof and outsmart the dinosaur, I convinced my partner-in-crime to attend a nighttime scholarly debate on the conservatory rooftop. This time I did get the better of the situation by outsmarting the dino cop, but unfortunately for you dear readers, that story is for a different post.

The Law of Conservation

The Muttart Conservatory really is a gem of Edmonton.

It offers a year round escape into an active garden, curated with plants from around the world. It has been around since 1976, which means that for over forty years, we’ve been able to enjoy the four garden displays on hand.

When I went to visit with my girlfriend Mysticque last Sunday, we made sure to visit the Arid, Temperate, Feature, and Tropical pyramids with equal measures of attention.

As a lover of succulents and cacti, the Arid room was easily my favourite of the four pyramids, with the Temperate and Feature rooms following closely behind. Of particular significance was the exhibit set up in the Feature room.

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of confederation, the Muttart has put on a Netherlands inspired displayed of Tulips. The reason for this being that each year since hosting the exhiled Dutch Royal Family during WWII, the Canadian government has been presented with thousands of bulbs as a show of gratitude. This year is no different, but additionally, thousands of tulip bulbs have been planted from coast to coast in celebration of Canada 150.

Not only does the Feature display rotate in this way five to seven times a year, The Muttart also hosts regular tours for visitors, and special programming for both children and adults in plant care and creativity with plants.

theories Summarized

The Conservatory is located at 9626 96 A Street. Accessible via Scona Road, Connors Road, and 98th avenue, this building is open every day of the year with the exception of Christmas. Plus it is open between 10am-5pm each day, and until 9pm on Thursdays. If you want to know more about the cost to visit, you should go here.

I highly recommend it, as there are hundreds of plants to see, and an excellent source of still life for all us creative types who are inspired by the world around them. At least, that’s my theory.

Tim!

A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man From UNCLE review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

The Cold War was an incredibly stressful time in the world following the fallout from WWII. And yet, there have been films set in that time period which make it seem like a time of intrigue, excitement and heat. Top Gun, X-Men: First Class, and Watchmen come to mind for me in particular.

Today’s Theatrical Tuesday entry is set in that time period too. But is the meal hot or stone cold?

 

 

 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Wigram, Elizabeth DeBicki, Hugh Grant
Director: Guy Ritchie
released on blu-ray November 17, 2015
**** 4/10

The-Man-from-Uncle-Poster

IMDB: 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%, Audience Score 78%
The Guardian: **/*****

Guy Ritchie is well known for making crime films. He has Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla, both Downey Jr. adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, and now The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to his name.

I really wanted to get into this movie, especially after seeing the trailer. It appears to have all the elements needed for fun, but does it hold up? Let’s review the plot.

 

In 1960s Germany, American Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) heads from East to West Germany, but is followed by Russian Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). Solo stops at a garage and meets Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander). Gaby’s estranged father is building a bomb for the Nazis. It is Solo’s mission to escort her out of country and get her to her uncle Rudi (Sylvester Groth) so she can meet her dad.

They head to the border, chased by Kuryakin. They narrowly escape him and are able to zip line over the Berlin wall. With Kuryakin behind them, the escape truck backs up, shorting the line and  stranding Illya on the other side of the wall.

We learn from Kuryakin’s briefing that Solo came to Europe during WWII, but stayed to become a thief. Eventually captured, the CIA recruited him to make use of his skills.

Fast forward, CIA specialist Sanders (Jared Harris) meets Solo for a mission. Turns out it’s a set up and Illya Kuryakin appears and gets the drop on Napoleon. The KGB director Oleg (Misha Kuznetsov) then comes in and we learn Solo and Kury are teaming up on this mission.

In Rome, Kury and Gaby will pose as a couple while Solo is an antiquities dealer. The suspicion is that uncle Rudi works for a criminal organization which belongs to Alexanders but is run by his wife Victoria. A man named Waverly (Hugh Grant) checks into the hotel in Rome right before Napoleon does. When Napoleon checks in, he discovers some henchmen but then disappears. While Kury and Gaby are walking Solo shows up and warns Kury he will get mugged, but that he should let it happen to keep his cover. The mugging then happens though Kury loses his fathers watch and Gaby’s engagement ring, he keeps his cool.

We see Solo engage in sex with the desk clerk while Gaby get drunk in the other room in the hopes that Kury will dance with her. He won’t, but they wrestle, and she then passes out. The next day the two agents confront each other about bugs they found in their rooms. Kury then picks Gaby up at the hotel entrance with a brand new engagement ring.

Solo heads to a party that Victoria is throwing. On the way in, he steals an invitation from Waverly by bumping into him. He then fights security so Victoria will notice him. He also steals her necklace and a bracelet from another guest. Victoria introduces herself and Solo says his name is Deveny and that he specializes in filling in gaps in collections. He gives her the bracelet and the necklace.

While at the party, Rudi insults Kury about his ethnicity.  Kury leaves to calm down, but gets into a fight with three men in the washroom. Alexander takes this opportunity to flirt with Gaby, but Kury comes back and they leave the party.

At the hotel, Kury has developed camera film in order to pick up radiation on people at the party. They all go to sleep to ponder the information, but in the next scene we see the two agents separately break in. They decide to work together and get past all obstacles until the safe alarm goes off…

 

And that’s enough plot.

Pros: These are some seriously beautiful locales, sets, people, and the cinematography is top notch. We can thank Guy Ritchie for that, as he always appeals to our sense.

Cons: It’s too generic of a story which doesn’t ever get serious enough, and yet it is nowhere near as much fun or as campy as the TV show on which it was based. It’s no where near as interesting as 007, Bourne, or Ethan Hunt romps.

Runtime: 116 minutes

Points of Interest: Armie Hammer was the only cast member to watch the original show in preparation. When Henry Cavill is in the truck eating and drinking, one station on the radio is playing the original theme music. The movie takes place about a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, which the show never revealed.

If you like spy movies enough to pay attention to the details, this one isn’t for you. But if you like fun, comedy, and stylization, check it out.

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, there is something appealing about an era film, maybe it’s the sets, the clothes and the phrases, but I keep thinking it’s because we want to make history come back to life, when sometimes it should stay in the freezer. Till next time dear readers.

Tim!