Angela Mitchell

A House of Dynamite is a film about the collision of the normal and the unthinkable, and the response of the people we have elected to positions of authority to the unthinkable. This film gives us no easy answers, no neatly wrapped up plot lines, and no sighs of relief. What it does give us is an unflinching look at the people we have entrusted awesome power to, from the staff of a small missile defense station in Alaska, to the Secretary of Defense and the President. And, as with all people, we see their strengths and flaws, their beliefs and fears, and hopefully we see ourselves in them, and ask ourselves the same questions. Idris Elba as the President turns to a navy attache who is asking for his order to launch a nuclear strike and whispers "This is...this is.." The officer finishes his sentence, "Insane." Yes, yes, it is.

You want to know what my wish is? I wish the writers would have cared enough about this movie to attempt to write a decent script. This film was the worst film I have seen since Avatar. Poor Chris Pine, he tried to rescue this thing, but this script was a sinking ship (Oh yes, Titanic, another film to forget...). Ms Jenkins direction was as nuanced as a two by four over the audience's head...with particularly egregious and gratuitous riffs on the Me Too movement and the stereotypical divorced father. Instead of preaching to the converted, Ms Jenkins, try giving your cast some direction...not telling them to re-enact a summer camp skit they did in middle school. It is too bad the audience needs to wait 2 1/2 hours for the best part....Lynda Carter's cameo in the end credits. Maybe if I wish hard enough HBO will give me my $14.99 back.

Seeing this film is like walking into the Leonardo da Vinci room in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, you realize you are in the presence of something timeless and truly great. The ensemble cast is completely seamless in their mission to tell this story. The cinematography observes the reality of war, and in that observation simultaneously depicts its Dali esque insanity. But when all is said and done, this film is profoundly uplifting - the power of friendship, honor and commitment will triumph over anything. A masterpiece for the ages.

Ad Astra, Ad Nauseum....this film was pretentious, self absorbed, overwrought, and will leave you thanking God for the previews of coming attractions. Like a guy at a party at 1:00 am who's had a few too many and will not stop oversharing, Brad Pitt' s character flogs us all with his daddy issues relentlessly while desperately telling us how deep and meaningful this film is. The only ray of cosmic sunshine was Donald Sutherland' s performance, which unfortunately was only 20 minutes long, probably because Mr. Sutherland knows a sinking ship when he sees one and implored his agent to extricate him from this Titanic. And then there was the gorilla scene...what, you say, gorillas in space, why Yes, who doesn't think, a space epic, we must have gorillas. Poor things, the writers should be prosecuted for gratuitous inclusion of gorillas in a space movie. And then there was poor Tommy Lee Jones...oh the humanity...why why why did you take this gig? Nothing about your character made sense, like why did you kill all your crew, what were you doing to cause the mysterious "surges" (which were never explained) and why for the love of all that's holy did the lighting crew and the make up artist make you look like a drunk guy at a party at 1:00 am? Oh, perhaps the writers were drunk at 1:00 am when they thought this up. Let's be clear, if you want deep, see "The Arrival." If you want exciting space epic that actually makes sense and makes intelligent commentary about the human condition, see "The Wrath of Khan." But whatever you do, don't see this, it will make you wish you left the party much, much earlier.