Movie Review: Warfare

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When it comes to war movies, everything changed in July 1998 when “Saving Private Ryan” was released. Gone are the days with John Wayne glorifying the worst part of humanity. In recent years movie makers have given respect to millions of human beings by showing what war really is – human beings horribly killed, crippled, and maimed by being shot, blown up, and even burned by blow torches and explosions.

The new movie “Warfare”, is co-directed by Alex Garland and an x-Navy Seal, Ray Mendoza about a firsthand experience in 2006 during the Battle of Ramadi in Iraq. This film is all about the insanity and chaos of war, with ten men trapped inside a two-story stone house in the middle of Iraq, surrounded by an enemy who is trying to kill them with nonstop gunfire, throwing grenades, and firing an RPG.

This film is definitely not for children or for the faint of heart. There are scenes of a man being blown in half by an exploding RPG and two men with their legs almost blown off and then screaming in agony for close to 75% of this film, which is filmed almost entirely inside the two stories of one house.

The men try and communicate with forces in their division desperately trying to be rescued from their impossible position. There are several scenes of impressive satellite videos showing the precarious position these soldiers are in, which at times look like they will be overrun by the enemy and killed.

Warfare stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Aaron Mackenzie, and the son of the late James Gandolfini, Michael Gandolfini who plays Lt. Macdonald. With a highly unusual and simple war movie like this one, there is not much character development or story, but the acting is good enough along with the mandatory respect all war movies must give to far too many young people who have given their lives in war.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for this movie are a very high 94% and I agree with this rating and recommend this well made film about the horrors of war.

Movie Review: The Penguin Lessons

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The new movie “The Penguin Lessons” is another recent movie that is about what happened in Argentina during the years 1976-1983, known as the “Dirty War”, where as many as 30,000 citizens were arrested and then disappeared (in some cases by dropping them from a plane into the Atlantic Ocean). The Argentinian government targeted any person even loosely connected to any movement that might be considered in opposition to the government.

In the case of The Penguin Lessons, the story of a Penguin rescued from an oil spill by a high school English teacher Tom Michell, played by Steve Coogan happened during the time of the Dirty War. At first, Tom tries to get rid of the Pengiun by returning him to the ocean, but soon both Tom and the Pengiun realize that they have become friends. Over time Tom brings the Pengiun into this English class, so the boys he is teaching will pay more attention, with a side effect of the nonstop cruel bullying of one overweight boy eliminated just by the presence of the Pengiun.

The other story within this very good film is about a young woman, who works as a maid for the school is taken away from her family leading Tom Michell to risk his life trying to save her from her government kidnappers.

This story has several moments of humor and some emotional highs and lows and overall this is a heartwarming story about the value of animals and their effect on humans, very well told.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for The Penguin Lessons are a solid 84% with a very high audience rating of 94% that I agree with and highly recommend this film.

Movie Review: The Friend

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The new movie “The Friend” has a very simple logline. An older man, Walter, played by Bill Murray, decides to commit suicide and leave his Great Dane, named Apollo, with a friend Iris, played by Naomi Watts. What follows in this story is the grief that Iris experiences after losing a close friend, the many difficulties in trying to take care of a giant dog, and her landlord’s constant reminders that dogs are not allowed in her rent-controlled apartment.

This movie is filmed entirely in New York City, following Iris continuing with her professional and personal life despite the many challenges she suddenly faces after her friend dies, coping with both grief and anger. There are more flashback scenes with Bill Murray towards the end of this film, that show the depth fo this friendship between Ira and Walter.

Most of the good moments of this story are about the personality and likability of the dog when he demonstrates a high level of intelligence including several moments of sadness in his eyes, after Watler dies early in the film. From ChatGPT: “Great Danes are considered a giant breed, and unfortunately, larger dogs tend to have shorter lifespans compared to smaller breeds. Some of the most common health issues that can affect their longevity include: Bone Cancer, Heart Disease, Hip Dysplasia and Gastric Torsion.“

I thought the ending was well done, with Iris struggling to find a solution to the landlord forcing her to get rid of the dog that she has grown to love.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating for The Friend is a very high 86% with my rating around 80% with an overall running time that could have been shorter, due to the very simple story.