THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard,  Aneurin Barnard, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, James D'Arcy, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Hardy Directed by: Christopher Nolan Screenplay by: Christopher Nolan      Every few years, when there's a new film directed by Christopher Nolan, I get really excited.  Usually that particular film is my most highly anticipated of the year.  That was the case with every one of his films since Inception , and Dunkirk is no exception.  So does Dunkirk live up to the hype?  It most certainly does.      Based on the true story of the evacuation of allied forces from the beaches of France in the early part of the Second World War (before the United States entered), Dunkirk is a tour de force film about bravery and courage like no other.  The film has three distinct parts to it that in real life happened at different times; the mole, the sea, and the air.        ...

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Laura Haddock, Isabela Moner, Anthony Hopkins, and Stanley Tucci Directed by: Michael Bay Screenplay by: Art Marcum and Matt Holloway      Does it ever feel like certain things are just getting old now?  Like, they're not even fun anymore? That's how I feel about Transformers: The Last Knight, the fifth installment of the Transformers series that Michael Bay has said is his last (even though there will be more of these movies).      Optimus Prime ( Peter Cullen) is gone.  He has left to go find his makers and see what is left of the planet Cybertron after being ravaged by war between the autobots and the decepticons.  While there he is seduced by a weird transformer sorceress named Quintessa (Gemma Chan) and changes his name to Nemesis Prime.  She convinces him that in order for Cybertron to live once again, Earth must die.  So like an asteroid speeding towards a point of gravity, Cyber...

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey Directed by: Edgar Wright Screenplay by: Edgar Wright       This is the kind of film that is made specifically for the summer; the kind when you're just trying to beat the heat outside and see a movie that doesn't make you think too much and is just a whole lot of fun.  That's what we've come to expect with Edgar Wright films, and Baby Driver  is no exception.        Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver.  He works for an Atlanta crime boss who simply goes by the name Doc (Kevin Spacey).  Somehow Baby got himself into some debt with Doc and is working steadily to pay it off.  What the debt is and how he acquired such debt is not explained, but we go along with it anyway.  Apparently it's supposed to make the story a bit more compelling.  Doc never uses the same crew twice, but uses Baby for the getaway ca...

      It's summer and everybody is trying to beat the heat.  I live in Los Angeles where it's been excruciatingly hot recently.  Wherever you live, hopefully this summer will make you appreciate the beauty that is air conditioning.  During a recent heat wave, while most people went to the beach to escape the heat, I drove straight into it for the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival.  That particular day, it was 91 degrees when I left my house and 115 degrees when I pulled up to the theater that afternoon.  Fortunately, the theater was comfortable and air conditioned!  I was only out there for one day, but attended two screening blocks, one called  Around the World in 90 Minutes , and the other,  The Things We do for Love .  These were great experiences because the films shown were from all over the world.  Both screening blocks were about 90 minutes long or a little more and I felt that I had experienced so m...