Thank You for Your Service

First Hit:  Powerful and, at times, very realistic about the struggles vets have getting support from the VA.

Adam Schuman (Miles Teller) is back from serving in Iraq as the person who leads a group finding  IEDs. He’s good at it because he senses where they are. After serving 15 months in Iraq, he comes home to Kansas to his wife Saskia (Haley Bennett), his daughter whom he knows and his son who was born while he was away.

The audience sees how he buries his angst towards what he’s been through and, in particular, certain events that he feels guilty about. Specifically, he’s pained over the loss of Sergeant First Class James Doster (Brad Beyer) who took his place in a Humvee outing that got him killed. It is especially painful because Saskia’s best friend is Amanda Doster (Amy Schumer) James’ wife.

He's also in pain because one of his men gets shot in the head and he tries to carry him downstairs to save him and drops him possibly causing more injury.

Adam is especially close with two others who served with him Specialist Tausolo Aieti (Beulah Koale) and Billy Waller (Joe Cole). Tausolo (aka - Solo) has a severe case of PTSD, and although he just wants to go back to Iraq where he feels comfortable, the Army medical team and his wife do not want him to go back. His memory is shot, he’s jumpy and he hallucinates. So what is he to do now?

Billy returns to find his apartment bare because fiancé has left him and didn’t tell him. He’s shocked and filled with sadness and dismay and commits suicide in-front of her at her place of employment as a bank teller.

This sets up the story about how our country takes care of our wounded. The physical wounds are one thing, but the inner wounds of PTSD are killing people everywhere all the time and the US Government doesn’t do enough to help them.

The lines of chairs filled with people holding a number to get served at the VA is shocking. Having tried to get VA service attention for my own Vietnam disabilities was horrible, yet here we see how much worse it has gotten. Vets stand in long lines, only to be told they don’t have the right form, or the right line to help them through the process.

The look of disbelief on Solo’s face when they tell him they have no record of the explosive incident of which he had to pull a burning Doster out of a blown-up Humvee, tells it all. Shock and sadness. What is worse is that they make him find someone to document the event.

The war scenes felt real and were well filmed. There wasn’t a lot of them, but enough to make the point solidly. The VA scenes were strong, yet I do feel that they could have been even more pointed. The guilt Adam wore for the responsibility to his men was embodied perfectly.

Teller was sublime. He’s become one of my favorite must see actors and if you want to see him in three great roles see; Whiplash, Only the Brave and this one Thank You for Your Service. Bennett was excellent as Adam’s wife who does everything she can to help Adam feel safe, have a place to open up while being supportive. Great job. Schumer was very good in her role as grieving wife while having the ability to not blame Adam for her husband’s death. Koale was amazing. He was excellent as the soldier that had felt the Army saved him from a unproductive life but was now abandoning him with his severe case of PTSD. Cole was very strong as the young man filled with bravado who couldn’t wait to see his fiancé again, only to have her not show up. Keisha Castle-Hughes was very good as Solo’s wife who tried to help and support her struggling husband. Jason Hall wrote and directed this film. He definitely had a good feel as to what he wanted to show. I wish more of the VA’s shortcomings were on display so that maybe we could do something about how we take young men and women, send them off to war, and discard them after all is said and done.

Overall:  This is a strong film that I liked.

The Florida Project

First Hit: A troubling and powerful view of a young girl living in a motel near Disney World.

After the closing credits I was left with the feeling that I didn’t quite know or understood what I just witnessed.

Was it a scripted film? Was it improvisational? Was it a combination of both? At times, it felt all too real which is a good sign for any film. Yet, watching the actions of the kids made me cringe because I wanted the parents to guide the children with manners, civility, and a modicum of honesty but it probably wouldn’t have been an interesting film otherwise.

Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) is being raised in a bright purple motel near Disney World by her heavily tattooed mother Hailey (Bria Vinaite). The motel is being managed by a kindhearted compassionate and strong rule making Bobby (Willem Defoe).

Moonee plays all day with Scooty (Christopher Rivera) and Jancey (Valeria Cotto). They run around the motel, neighboring motels, open areas, and stripmalls, conning people into money and food, taking food from a urban outreach van, and getting into trouble by some of their actions including starting a fire.

Hailey hangs out at her motel room watching television, turning tricks, and conning tourists to buy perfume and other makeup accessories. Her best friend at the motel is Ashley (Mela Murder) who works a waitress job and provides free food for Hailey, Moonee and her son Scooty. However, this relationship falls apart because of their children’s’ involvement in an incident.

This film doesn’t have much of a story other than to share the story of their day to day lives of surviving life in a motel. It wasn’t too hard to see that a future life for Moonee would be difficult as she wasn’t getting educated and her mother did not have the skill set to teach her anything other than conning people.

Prince is amazing as the young girl handling life really well as only a street smart 6-year old girl can. I struggled to know what was acting and what was simply her being herself. Vinaite was powerful as a caring mom who has made her way on the streets from being a stripper, prostitute and con artist. Rivera and Cotto as Moonee’s friends were amazing. I loved their sessions of eating one ice cream cone together. Defoe was exceptional as the caring compassionate motel manager who had to walk a fine line between enforcing the rules and helping these families survive. Murder was excellent as the mother who knew and delivered on boundaries that would make Scooty a better citizen. Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch wrote an extremely life-like script reflecting this slice of society. Baker got amazing performances out of his actors.

Overall: This film was an excellent slice of life.

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

First Hit: I loved learning more about Mr. Felt because he helped the country from the deceit of a corrupt and lying President.

Mark Felt (Liam Neeson) was a career FBI man. Thirty years he’d worked for the agency as Deputy Assistant to the Director, Herbert Hoover. As Hoover’s right hand man, he saw all the secrets the FBI collected about people.

During the Nixon administration, Nixon feared losing the next election more than anything, therefore he authorized the break-in of the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate building. When Hoover dies, the White House installs L. Patrick Gray (Marton Csokas)  to run the FBI. He’s a shill for the White House and this infuriates Felt.

The FBI had a history of being separate from the White House and Congress. They held up the rule of law and, as much as possible, were apolitical.

When it appeared that Felt wasn’t going to be made the permanent FBI director, his wife Audrey (Diane Lane) becomes clearly disappointed because, as she explains, set aside her whole life for him and this opportunity and it won’t happen.

As he learns that the Watergate break-in is being buried and covered up, Mark’s patriotic side decides he cannot live with our country being told deceitful lies and telephones the Washington Post with information only he and few others know. One of the things he ensures is that he’s not the only one that knows the information he passes on to the reporters. He becomes, as they name him, Deep Throat.

The film is mostly shot with a dark undertone in its color reflecting the darkness of the times. To add to this darkness, we learn that his daughter Joan (Malika Monroe) walked away from her home never to be heard from again. We never learn why but we know that her mother Audrey wasn’t emotionally available to her.

Neeson is brilliant as Felt. His ability to be emotionlessness towards his work and protect the United States from the corruption in the Presidency was perfect. Lane was excellent as the woman who gave up her life for her husband’s and knew nothing about nurturing her child. Csokas was good as acting FBI director Gray, a man beholding to the president. Peter Landesman wrote and directed this film. I loved the integration of real film footage of the times with this film; it worked very well. The dialogue was wonderfully constructed to create suspense and historical interpretation.

Overall: The film also gave me hope that someone will expose the deceitful ways of our current President.

Only the Brave

First Hit: Inspiring true story about the Granite Mountain Hot Shots.

With the recent fires in northern California, this true story about the brave men who fight these fires on the ground with hoes and back fires was poignant.

Eric Marsh (James Brolin) is the committed “Supe” of a team of municipal level 2 firefighters. They’ve been training for years to become certified “Hot Shots.” Hot Shots are federally funded and government developed, trained and paid for firefighters. However, with the number of fires, expertise of the team, and history of success, this municipally trained and developed group of firefighters want a chance to be evaluated and hopefully certified as Hot Shots.

Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) is a screw up. He spends most of his time getting high, but when confronted with his old casual girlfriend Natalie Johnson (Natalie Hall) saying she’s pregnant with his child, a switch flips and he wants to be a responsible parent. He hears of a job opening at the firefighting center and he goes into an interview.

In a wonderful scene, Marsh comes right out and asks Brendan when was the last time he used. Then when Brendan also explains that he’s going to be a father and wants to be there for his child. Marsh takes a chance on him despite other members of the crew disliking Brendan having had some history with him.

The film’s story is about redemption; the hard work of Marsh and his firefighting team along with Brendan learning to become a father.

The fire scenes were intensely striking. It was interesting and engaging to learn more about how Hot Shots work. I really enjoyed the camaraderie shown by the men as they worked together for a common goal. One of the best scenes in the film had nothing to do with a fire. It was Eric arguing with his wife Amanda (Jennifer Connelly) in their truck while driving home one night. It felt real, deep and powerful.

There were two downsides to this film for me. One was the role and or performance of Fire Chief Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges). He seemed to not take this role seriously or created more of a characterization than being a helpful friend and strong fire chief. The second downside was the role of the chief’s wife Marvel (Andie McDowell). Her role was very limited and was clearly a scripting and direction issue. It was almost if it would have been a better if Duane was single because there was only one scene that I recall she had where she states something like the men are more married to the fire than their wives. On a more minor note, the whole symbolism of the burning bear didn’t quite work for me.

Teller was fantastic. His portrayal of a druggie and then his transformation to being a sober father was sublime. He continues to be an actor that deserves recognition for doing solid strong work. Brolin was very strong as the intense man who made fighting fires his drug of choice. Connelly was brilliant as Brolin’s wife. Her clear strength as a woman wanting to chart her course was wonderful. Bridges was wasted in this role and I felt bad that his performance brought this film down. McDowell was wasted in another way, she wasn’t given enough of a role to improve the film. Hall was very good in this minor but very important role. Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer wrote a strong screenplay except for the role of the fire chief’s wife. Joseph Kosinski did an excellent job of portraying the fire and how firefighting teams fight them; I was entranced during those scenes.

Overall: A powerful reminder of the power of fire and the amazing abilities of firefighters.

Victoria and Abdul

First Hit: The story was funny, interesting and predictable.

Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) is portrayed as not very interested in her duties or her life. She sleeps through state dinners and when she eats, she scarfs her food down with gusto. During this time, England is a world power and as such, England rules India and therefore she is Empress of India.

During the Queen’s Golden Jubilee (50 years on the throne) leaders of countries came to celebrate and bring the Queen gifts. India sent two Muslim servants to England to present the Queen a special coin. They are told to not look at the Queen when they present the coin. However, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) does look at the Queen and she responds in kind.

Inviting him to be her man servant, he gains her trust and friendship and soon she makes him Mushi, which means teacher. With Abdul, she begins to learn Hindustani and of Indian culture which she thinks is appropriate because she’s Empress of India.

The film is focused on her loyalty to Abdul, his loyalty to serve the Queen, and the Queen’s staff worrying that their relationship is inappropriate because he is different and beneath them. There are comical scenes, sad scenes and scenes that share information about the rules of the time.

Dench was perfect as someone who was lost in the boredom of her role as a Queen only to come alive with new interest and energy by way of Abdul. Fazal was excellent as Abdul. His expressions of both wonder at the spectacle of it all and the seriousness of his role as Mushi were very engaging. Eddie Izzard (as Bertie, Prince of Wales) was very good as the resistant son who wanted Abdul gone because without him the Queen’s general health was becoming worse which put him closer to the throne. His cruelty as he takes the throne is horrible. Lee Hall wrote a very good script that brought this story to life. Stephen Frears did a nice job of sharing the story. He provided a plausibility while shedding light on their relationship and deep caring for each other.

Overall: It was entertaining and informative.