Nerd in the 'Noke

The Snowman (2017), R, 1h 59min - After I finished reading IT a few weeks back, I set my sights on this novel by Jo Nesbø, with hopes of finishing it before the movie hit theaters.  I ended up finishing the source material this past Sunday, which kept me from catching it on opening weekend.  But honestly I ended up being even more intrigued by the film after seeing that it was receiving less than stellar reviews along with its sub-par performance at the box office.  Thanks to an odd day off from work, I was able to see Tomas Alfredson's big screen adaptation yesterday afternoon, and while I feel as though the casting of characters was pretty good, the film itself is a bit disjointed and anti-climactic. The Snowman is based on the seventh of Nesbø's series of novels focusing on the exploits of Dectective Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) of the Oslo (Norway) Police Department.  Hole and Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson), a recent transfer into the department, begin ...

Dunkirk (2017), PG-13, 1h 46min - Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors and I particularly enjoy war films, especially when they are based upon actual events.  So when trailers for this film first hit the internet I knew it was one that I was definitely going to see (it was even number five on my Most Anticipated Films of 2017 list earlier this year).  Dunkirk provides a look at World War II from a different point of view (i.e. not American), through Nolan's unique, non-linear presentation. For those like myself, who are not well versed in the specifics of such historical events, here is a little context: the events shown in this film took place in 1940 after France had been invaded by Nazi Germany.  The Germans had pushed Allied forces to the point where retreating to the beaches of Dunkirk was their only option.  In doing so, the Allied troops became trapped between their shrinking perimeter and the ocean, leaving themselves open to attack from th...