Movies
A well-made war flick, but I couldn't help but wonder what the reason was for making this. We already have so many WOI/WOII war flicks and this one didn't really add much to the ones that are already out there. The execution is a step up from most, I'll give Berger that, but it can't compete with the likes of Mendes' 1917. The cinematography is very polished and the war scenes look grim and dirty. But that's the baseline for these types of films nowadays. The performances are solid too, only the story has been done so many times before that I questioned the need for the 150-minute runtime. Certainly not a bad film, just a bit generic, though well-executed.Read all
Say what you will about this film, but the timing of its release couldn't have been better. That's also the best thing about Conclave, as the rest of the film is a mix of too cheesy and too commercial. It wants to be a stylish thriller, but it doesn't have the flair or the guts to be one, which is a shame. There are too many familiar faces who look out of place in this setting, and the plot's a bit too silly for its own good (the attack in particular is just nonsensical, and the finale is bland). The presentation is decent enough, but also not very surprising or out of the ordinary. Not a terrible film, but a little lazy.Read all