CIVIL WAR CLOSE UP

How often have you seen a movie like Civil War in iMax and got closeups of the stars.

Oppenheimer did it with detailed inspection of faces from about an inch away.

I’m fan of movie stars in all their glory, but do we need the dermatology exam camera work?

That’s the visual effect of the people; the storytelling is another, well, story.

Most war movies give a pretty good idea of who’s who.

By either language, or uniform, we know the good guys from the bad guys.

Saving Private Ryan? Letters From Iwo Jima?

The important thing is the fighters knew their enemies, eventually.

One thing is certain, and that’s how Kirsten Dunst is rounding out to be one of the greats.

She played hardcore with the most hardcore role I never expected.

Who else, whoever else, was up for the role, I don’t think they could have been better.

During the entire movie she showed the effects of her job as a famous war photographer.

She didn’t play a movie star playing a role as much as she convinced me she was not a movie star at all.

With true grit and determination she plowed through the journey leading the way.

Frankly, it was a relief seeing an actor play a role other than themselves.

Her closeups showed a woman on the road for days on end without getting beautified.

She was scary good.

The running time felt compressed due to the unending action and tension of worse things coming, whether they did or not.

If you’re looking for a movie to see how political divisions can grow out of control, Civil War works.

One of my new favorite movie lines:

“We don’t make judgments and decisions, we record events so others can.”

However, it is my judgement and decision that Civil War will make you twitch, jump, and break a sweat without leaving your seat.

It’s a close up examination of those motivated to shoot and bomb and kill; those who follow orders and those who don’t.

When you leave after the final credits ask yourself which one you’d be?