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 Darkest Hour (2017) 

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Total votes : 4

 Darkest Hour (2017) 
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Wallflower
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Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am
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Post Darkest Hour (2017)
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During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.


Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:48 pm
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Darkest Hour

A riveting wartime drama to mirror Nolan's masterpiece. Seeing it from the political side feels like a director's cut or television spin-off of Dunkirk. It's a great performance by Oldman, of course. The little mannerisms and patterns of speech stand out beyond just the prosthetic perfection to create a blinding realisation of Britain's greatest ever leader. Wright does an extraordinary job of maintaining engagement. It is not the most eye-catching of stories, and Darkest Hour could have done with more war/evacuation scenes, but the way it maneuvers through the key dates and decisions keeps the pulse and sentiment of the film alive, ending in that iconic motivational speech.

B+


Sat Dec 02, 2017 2:12 am
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Post Re: Darkest Hour (2017)
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Love this poster.


Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:57 pm
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Cream of the Crop
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Post Re: Darkest Hour (2017)
The Darkest Hour is a mixed blessing. The story structure, tightly focused on the few short weeks that were such a critical period of history, propels the narrative. The writing is convincing, inspiring and humorous. As this year's third Dunkirk movie (after Their Finest and Dunkirk), it provides the most historical context. The big speech and walkoff doesn't disappoint - it provides a most satisfying crescendo of elation. The bad part? Despite Gary Oldman acting his ass off, I couldn't get past his grotesque look. A real life uncanny valley that was unremittingly distracting. An 'unknown' actor would have been vastly preferable imho. *B+*

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Fri Dec 22, 2017 4:34 pm
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Pure Phase
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Post Re: Darkest Hour (2017)
Two gifted artists' flamboyant efforts almost compensate for the superficiality and slight tedium of this inessential Winston Churchill biopic. Almost. From accent to heavyset gait, Gary Oldman undoubtedly delivers a performance of Herculean mental and physical dedication with gusto, although I am not sure if he ever entirely transcends the notion of, "I am watching Gary Oldman play Winston Churchill. What a transformation!" And director Joe Wright tries his best to infuse the frequently stage-bound film with high style (God's-eye views of London and war-torn France; War Cabinet meetings with smoky, nearly film-noir-esque atmosphere) and race-against-time suspense. But the film is never particularly insightful in its treatment of the oft-depicted Great Man and this key chapter in his political career. "Winston, the lovable curmudgeon, was right in his fervor to bring the fight to the Nazis, and Viscount Halifax and other appeasement-minded opponents were foolhardy. Because...come on...Nazis," the film says on the nose repeatedly without much dramatic interest. There is also a fanciful, nay, downright absurd sequence in which Churchill rides the Underground to poll real, salt-of-the-earth British citizens on the question of war versus negotiation-cum-surrender, and they respond with hyper-earnest patriotic calls for the former. This is so broadly played as to be wince-inducing.

C+

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Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:42 am
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Post Re: Darkest Hour (2017)
It's very handsomely made, but this is hands down one of the most boring movies I've seen in a very long time. And that Underground scene near the end was cringeworthy. C


Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:41 pm
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Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:44 pm
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Keeping it Light
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Post Re: Darkest Hour (2017)
Very good film with a standout performance from Oldman. He's unrecognizable really, but he carries the film in making it an interesting portrait of one of the most iconic figures of WWII. Mendelsohn was very good too, and I liked the roles of Stephen Dillane and Lily James as well. There are really countless narratives about WWII and it's wildly interesting to be thrown back into that time when a whole continent seemed helpless to the tyranny of Nazi Germany. Something I didn't realize to a certain extent was the neutrality act of the USA at the time, I thought they were just not participating actively, but they were even very much passively staying out of any business of war. How things have changed nowadays. Anyway, the film paints a stellar picture of Churchill's role at one of England's most difficult times. I wouldn't have minded for it to be more expansive about England's war efforts. Instead I felt it comes up a bit short in that regard and the impact of operation Dynamo (Nolan's Dunkirk gladly made up for that). That affects a bit of how engrossing the film eventually is, but its focus on Churchill is simply effective and there are several inspiring moments about his convictions.

B+


Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:28 am
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