Tag: World War II

‘The Exception’ is intriguing but not necessarily exceptional

Jeff Mitchell

“The Exception” – The definition of an exception is a person or a thing that does not follow a rule.  In director David Leveaux’s first feature film, he wonders if Capt. Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) can be an exception and not follow a rule or – more specifically – his orders.  Leveaux raises the stakes for the audience, because Capt. Brandt is not part of an ordinary military outfit, but a very infamous one.  The year is 1940, and Brandt is a German soldier.  Of course, SS soldiers who spoke…

Brian Cox completely transforms into ‘Churchill’ in this conversational biopic

Jeff Mitchell

“Churchill” – Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) reverberates in the halls of cinematic history as one of the greatest war films ever made.   It effectively pays homage to soldiers – any soldiers – who risk their lives on the battlefield through the personal story of Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks).  Capt. Miller’s journey to bring Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon) home from the war is the true soul of the story, but the film is widely-known for its horrifyingly spectacular and technically iconic 23-minute vision of the D-Day invasion…

‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’ is an insightful war story, told from a female perspective

Jeff Mitchell

“The Zookeeper’s Wife” – “You can never tell who your enemies are or who to trust.  Maybe that’s why I love animals so much.  You look in their eyes, and you know exactly what’s in their hearts. They aren’t like people.”  – Antonina Zabinski (Jessica Chastain) Antonina (Chastain) and Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) run a zoo in Warsaw, and life couldn’t be better for them during the summer of 1939.  A place of beauty and wonder, and on any typical morning, one might see Antonina ride her bike through the…