[Off-topic] Dirk:
Dolemite Is My Name - Eddie Murphy proving he's still got it as he plays an aspiring performer in this real life story from the Seventies. Not only is it a return to the screen for Murphy, but also for Wesley Snipes in a role that's a successful departure from his usual fare. Highly watchable and entertaining Netflix production. 8/10

1917 - Sam Mendes' award winning First World War Drama about soldiers undertaking an important mission. It would be impossible to avoid using superlatives when describing this movie. A cinematic masterpiece. A technical triumph. An extraordinary accomplishment. It's all of these and more. From the first frame to the last you are immersed in the story so thoroughly it's hard to imagine you are anywhere except there, at that time.

One can only imagine how difficult it must have been to find the right locations for shooting. And then to shape those locations with such incredible attention to detail to create some of the most authentic looking WWI sets ever seen in film. It's mind boggling. Mendes has proven his ability to craft a good story but this is his most ambitious project to date. The filming attempts to appear as if the whole thing is a 'single-take', adding a layer of complexity to the whole thing. It works well and doesn't come off as an unnecessary gimmick. Quite the opposite. You feel like you're experiencing the mission along with the protagonists. Of course it would be impossible to film any two hour movie in a single take so there are cuts, but they are so well done it's hard to say where.

It's Roger Deakins who once again proves that he's one of the best in the business. Along with creating the camera shots for the 'single take', he makes every one a thing of beauty. The whole movie is breathtaking. Not in a glitzy way, but with an appropriately austere and distressed look. There are scenes that are so well lit they look almost impossible. The shadows cast by the ruins of a bombed out village, lit by flares as they steak across the sky and then fading away. It's jaw dropping.

The acting, like the story itself, is solid. It's not overwrought and doesn't try to do more than is needed. That too feels authentic. Most characters come and go very briefly so it's the leads that carry the burden of the acting work, and they do a great job. George MacKay is particularly good. I expect this will be a springboard for his career.

In the same way that the drama is punctuated with short but effective scenes of action, the score is equally effective and not annoyingly continuous. I'm glad they resisted that temptation. The quieter parts add to the overall atmosphere giving the movie a haunting feel.

If you can, watch it at the theatre. The film deserves to be experienced on the big screen with the attendant big sound system. Part of me wants to give this a perfect rating, but i have to reserve that for very best war films of all time. The likes of Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket are on the top rung of that ladder. I think 1917 was deliberately understated and rightfully so. Like Christopher Nolans' 'Dunkirk', it's respectful of it's subject matter and doesn't try to pander to the audience. 9/10