Tom Hanks in the Steven Spielberg war film ‘Saving Private Ryan’

It has been 75-years and one-month since Operation Overlord, aka the Normandy Invasion of World War Two, occurred on June 6th, 1944. The movie Saving Private Ryan (1998) shows a highly realistic depiction of the human cost of a decisive invasion of World War Two, culminating in the central stories of a group of soldiers tasked with saving one soldier, Private James Francis Ryan, whose three brothers had died in separate battles of the same war.

(Left to Right Adam Goldberg as Private Mellish, Vin Diesel as Private Caparzo, Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Horvath, and Tom Hanks as Captain Miller in the film Saving Private Ryan).

The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, gives the order to alleviate the grief of Private James Francis Ryan’s mother shortly after the Normandy Invasion. It is Marshall who decides to send out 8 men (Captain Miller as played by Tom Hanks and select members from 2nd Rangers). These rangers had experienced the brutality of war in advance of the mission of mercy, and it was from their reputation for capability and excellence that many of these eight rangers would give their lives in saving the bereavement of a fourth child in seeking James Francis Ryan, as portrayed by Matt Damon.

(Barry Pepper as Private Jackson, left, and Giovanni Ribisi as T-4 Medic Wade in the film Saving Private Ryan).

The mission for bringing Private Ryan home takes the 8 men through Nazi occupied territory to establish contact with Ryan’s unit, an element of the 101st Airborne Division. The war thriller of a movie brings the reality of history’s bloodiest war does a remarkable and compassionate means of bringing the humanity of the soldiers and in some cases civilians into full emotional color. The reality of broken and lost families in a time of full blown war, and the emotional toll of a mission that poses the question of what is an appropriate cost for compassion. The film hits on multiple scores in showing a breadth of human emotion in excruciating detail that resonates for me.

(Matt Damon as Private James Francis Ryan, left, and Edward Burns as Private Reiben in the film Saving Private Ryan).

Matt Lynn Digital is a fan of movies produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, as was Saving Private Ryan. It is with high appreciation of the craft of this film that we recommend you see this film for its humanity, its truth, and that it steps out of the normal fare of a Steven Spielberg film while maintaining the moral compass that we appreciate in movies by this consummate maker of movies. Overall, I give Saving Private Ryan 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Saturday, July 6, 2019

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Alexa Davalo, Rufus Sewell and Season One of ‘The Man in the High Castle’

While late to the show we review here, Matt Lynn Digital has taken a step into the television genre of alternate history. With the edgy quality of fictionalizing a different conclusion to World War Two, the Prime Original Series The Man in the High Castle (2015— ) started in 2015 with a 10-episode season where the Axis Powers had won the war, and Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany rule over the former United States in the year 1962. A fourth season will be released soon, so take a ride with us as we review the show’s first season.

 (Carsten Norgaard as Rudolph Wegener, sitting, and Rufus Sewell as Obergruppenführer John Smith, standing, in season one of The Man in the High Castle).

Executive producer Ridley Scott joined the series based on the 1962 Phillip K. Dick book of the same name. Nazi Germany controls roughly the eastern forty percent of the former United States,  with Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) and Rudolph Wegener (Carsten Norgaard) holding significant power of governance. Loyalty and allegiance to Nazi German rule guides their thinking, though the characters take different approaches to their individual circumstances through the course of season one.

(Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Nobusuke Tagomi, left, and Joel de la Fuente as Inspector Kido in season one of The Man in the High Castle).

Imperial Japan controls roughly the western forty percent of the former United States,  with trade minister Nobusuke Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente) holding significant power of governance in the west. Service to the empire and differing interpretations of the course of service guide their worldviews. Like with their Nazi German counterparts, the individual circumstances of each guides their interactions through the course of season one.

(Luke Kleintank as Joe Blake, left, and Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain in season one of The Man in the High Castle).

At the highest level, intrigue exists in season one between clandestine elements seeking to fight the occupying powers in North America. Meanwhile, a plot is employed between the German and Japanese powers to gain control of North America. Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) spends part of season one deciding the right way to fight the occupying powers, which gets into the notion of transporting propaganda films for the proverbial man in the high castle. Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), clearly under the influence of Nazi leader Obergruppenführer John Smith, spends much of season one examining his convictions while acting with less external boldness than Juliana Crain.

(DJ Qualls as Ed McCarthy, left, and Rupert Evans as Frank Frink in season one of The Man in the High Castle).

Juliana Crain, meanwhile, aims to reconcile her feelings for Frank Frink (Rupert Evans). Frank has trouble with the bold actions of Juliana, yet takes clear action from the fight again occupation that is equally bold. Ed McCarthy (DJ Qualls) takes a cautious view of fighting the occupying force through season one. Something that works well with season one is the successful execution of story and character in wanting to invest in the larger stories of the above characters through the first season. Story pacing and logic worked well with season one of The Man in the High Castle, which prompts me to invest in future seasons as well.

The fourth and final season will drop in the fall of 2019. My overall grade for season one of The Man in the High Castle is 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Gary Oldman and the movie ‘The Darkest Hour’

Winner of two Academy Awards, the movie The Darkest Hour (2017) was on our viewing menu this weekend. In addition to an Oscar for makeup and hairstyling, lead actor Gary Oldman won the Academy Award for Best Actor in portraying Winston Churchill in his first ascension to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom followed by the period leading that kingdom through the trying days of the Dunkirk Evacuation with Operation Dynamo.

(Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour).

The beginning of The Darkest Hour portrayed Britain’s 1940 War Cabinet Crisis with a session of Parliament wherein sitting Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is invited to leave his post. In the immediate aftermath we learn that the new role of Prime Minister was desired by Viscount Halifax (aka Edward Frederick Lindley Wood) though the leadership role is offered to Winston Churchill (as portrayed by Oldman), who accepts his appointment.

(Kristin Scott Thomas as Clementine Churchill in The Darkest Hour).

Winston Churchill ascends to power in a weakened state as far as the support of parliament and the king. Much of Churchill‘s doubts while he assesses his ability to lead against the factions who support surrendering to the Axis Powers of World War Two are assuaged through comfort and guidance offered by his wife, Clementine Churchill. Kristin Scott Thomas portrayed Clementine (Clemmie) Churchill.

(Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI in The Darkest Hour).

Initially in Churchill‘s first tenure as Prime Minister, King George VI as portrayed by Ben Mendolsohn admits to Churchill that Churchill‘s temperament as a leader is frightening to the king for its directness, forthrightness, and bleak assessment of the dire situation that the United Kingdom and Europe found itself in when Churchill took power. This fear does not decline over the course of film The Darkest Hour, though things thaw in the matter of days covered within the almost dramatized documentary quality of the film in the days leading to Operation Dynamo.

(Ronald Pickup as Neville Chamberlain in The Darkest Hour).

Ronald Pickup stars as former Primer Minister Neville Chamberlain in The Darkest Hour. Beyond his advocacy of a negotiated surrender with the Axis Powers, Chamberlain remained on the War Cabinet as part of Churchill’s negotiated ascension to Prime Minister. His advice continued to steadfastly recommend pacifying the Axis Powers, which directly countered the view held by Churchill and others in the cabinet. Along with Viscount Halifax, as portrayed by Stephen Dillane, Chamberlain pressed his agenda of the negotiated peace through much of the film.

(Stephen Dillane as Viscount Halifax in The Darkest Hour).

Elizabeth Layton, as portrayed by Lily James, served as Winston Churchill‘s secretary, personal assistant, and in a way as Churchill‘s workplace muse. As the pressure to hold onto his Prime Minister role was at a crisis point owing to Halifax and Chamberlain pressuring their resignation from the war cabinet if Churchill wouldn’t negotiate a peace, King George VI suggested taking council from the typically silent people of the United Kingdom in forging the way forward. The way forward was fighting and a successful Operation Dynamo. Churchill first took his case to Layton, and then the subway system, in coming to his determined path forward to resolutely reject the pressure of negotiated peace.

(Lily James as Elizabeth Layton in The Darkest Hour).

It was in the advice to consult the public and further resolve to Operation Dynamo that Winston Churchill won over a doubtful Parliament and went on to serve a lengthy first term as Prime Minister. Upon deciding to take the course against a negotiated peace, Churchill gave a major address to parliament that won over the opposing parties of the governing body of the United Kingdom and won the plurality for ruling that would see the Allied Powers through the rest of World War Two.

(Joe Wright directed The Darkest Hour).

Shortly after Churchill spoke to Parliament and the governing plurality was won, Operation Dynamo was a success. Within months, Neville Chamberlain would die of the cancer that he had from the point where the movie had begun in May of 1940. Viscount Halifax would leave the War Cabinet and become British Ambassador to the United States in December 1940.

(Anthony McCarten wrote the screenplay for The Darkest Hour).

For a dramatized documentary of the events of the War Cabinet Crisis of 1940 that culminated with Operation Dynamo, The Darkest Hour offered some sense of intrigue and suspense. Having been familiar with history as well as having recently seen Dunkirk (2017) as reviewed here, we knew how the larger story was going to turn out well. This movie still gets good marks for achieving something interesting and informative. For that, we rate The Darkest Hour at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Saturday, April 27, 2019

Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson starred in ‘The Remains of the Day’

How do you waste your life emotionally? How do you waste your life politically? These two questions were clearly at the heart of the quiet despair raised by the movies The Remains of the Day (1993), an adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro 1990 book by the same title. The film garnered eight Academy Award nominations.

(Anthony Hopkins, left, and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day).

The central theme of the movie The Remains of the Day, as was true with the book as reviewed by Matt Lynn Digital, was exploring how to waste your life emotionally and politically. Anthony Hopkins, starring as head butler Mr. James Stevens, was central to the service functioning of the home of one Lord Darlington of England. Starring opposite Hopkins in the same household was Emma Thompson as Ms. Sally Kenton/Mrs. Sally Benn. These two served professionally in the home of Lord Darlington for many years, including through the period leading up to World War Two.

(James Fox as Lord Darlington in The Remains of the Day).

James Fox portrayed Lord Darlington, a wealthy British gentleman and amateur statesman seeking to help avoid the war that was looming through much of the film. Through the course of the movie, we see Mr. Stevens and Ms. Kenton serving the household of Darlington, who in aiming to steer England away from involvement in the second Great War of the twentieth century pursued a course of appeasement that smeared his reputation and left him broken later in the film. Lord Darlington was perhaps the clearest example of a wasted political life in pursuing his ends in the manner he did.

(Christopher Reeve as United States Congressman Jack Lewis).

Christopher Reeve played the moral and political voice arguing most strongly and consistently against the political stance of Nazi appeasement in the question of war and the Nuremberg Race Laws. Lewis was movie into Darlington Hall both in the beginning and closing frame of the movie, and was part of the reminiscing trip that Mr. James Stevens was taking to Mrs. Sally Benn (aka Ms. Sally Kenton) near the movies conclusion. The example of Lewis was the affirming notion of a life well lived that contrasts with the notions of a life wasted.

(Peter Vaughan, left, and Anthony Hopkins).

Part of the emotional waste in the movie was the exploration the movie took into the relationship Mr. James Stevens had with his father, also a butler. Peter Vaughan portrayed Mr. William Stevens (aka Mr. Stevens Sr.), who had slowed down yet insisted on the dignity of work and duty that came to exemplify the cold exterior of reserve for his son, Mr. James Stevens. The younger Mr. Stevens expressed little emotion to learning of his father’s passing during a function hosted by Lord Darlington, and showed an inappropriate human response to the significant loss of a loved one.

(Anthony Hopkins, left, and Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day).

This inability to express emotion came about repeatedly through the film (and the book), including 20-years later when congressman Lewis granted Mr. Stevens a trip to see Ms. Kenton/Mrs. Benn to reminisce in person about where their lives had gone in the time since they had separated. Mrs. Benn would not be coming back to Darlington Hall to rekindle an unrequited relationship with Mr. Stevens, though both agreed through the metaphor of place and time that their evening chats were a worthwhile and strong bond the two would continue to have.

(Kazuo Ishiguro, author of the book and co-writer of the screenplay for The Remains of the Day).

The film and book can properly be called a period piece of time and place for the particular questions of appeasement, a part of the formal British response to the rising tide of war in Europe, and the questions of strategies against a dictatorial scourge of hate rising on the European continent between the two major twentieth century European wars. I’ve called out some of the examples for how emotional and political life was wasted in the film. Others were not explicitly called out in this review, though their examples were specifically called out to the characters in scenes and stories that have not been referenced within this review.

(Anthony Hopkins as Mr. James Stevens in The Remains of the Day).

The film closes with Mr. James Stevens getting the home ready for the family of the now former United States Congressman Jack Lewis’ family coming to England to take residence at Darlington Hall. Staffing the home is on the mind of Stevens to the approval of Lewis, who is present and fully present in his moral life, both emotionally and politically. What comes next isn’t clear, though the cautionary tale for how, as a viewer of the movie to avoid wasting ones life, has been successfully told. My rating of the movie is 4.0 stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars.

Matt – Wednesday, February 6, 2019

David McCullough and his book ‘Truman’

In 1993, the Pulitzer Prize was awarded to David McCullough for his 1992 biography of the 33rd president of the United States of America. Truman is the telling of the country upbringing of Harry S. Truman of western Missouri, who ascended to the presidency following a term in the United States Senate before being named to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt ticket before the death of the 32nd US President in office.

(David McCullough, the Pulitzer Prize winner for the book Truman).

The late-blooming Harry S. Truman became president  in April 1945 following the death in office of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died after winning an unprecedented fourth term as President of the United States. The United States was embroiled in World War Two. V-E Day would come in May 1945 with Truman as president, as would V-J Day in September of that same year.

(Hirohito is Japan’s longest reigning emporer).

Hirohito was controversial within Japanese circles for surrendering Japan’s interests in continuing to fight the Allied Forces in World War Two following Truman’s ordering of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 and then a second atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. The description of these events in Truman were concise, graphic, and of a chilling nature that seemingly cannot the horror and destructive quality of the act that ended the war.

(The atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima).

The Truman biography, of course, gets into some of the family history of the 33rd president, including some unflattering thoughts the in-laws of the president had before and even during the presidency. We get a sense in the biography that Truman was the kind of man envisioned by the founders of the United States, a man of the people rather than of the ruling or business elite classes. This argument is made with an awareness that Harry S. Truman had served in the United States Senate.

(A painting of former U.S. president Harry S. Truman).

Truman the man and president was immensely popular after forcing the end of World War Two. America was as strong an economic force as it had ever been from the perspectives of employment, wage growth, and growing political prestige in the world. The Truman Doctrine of offering political, military and economic assistance democracies threatened by external or internal authoritarian forces, was soon followed by the Marshall Plan for restoring Western Europe after the war.

(The famous photo of Harry S. Truman holding a Chicago Daily Tribune headline that incorrectly proclaimed Thomas E. Dewey the 34rd US President).

The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan were just plans that mostly won the public’s support. Rising tensions in Korea would prompt a police action with drafted United States troops, ostensibly backed by the United Nations. The draft was unpopular for it represented, at least to the citizens of the United States. New York Governor and candidate Thomas E. Dewey had been assumed by the media that to win. A whistle stop campaign by train was taken upon by the 33rd president has been chipping away at the lead by the Republican Dewey. The infamously wrong headline by the Chicago Daily Tribune would be extolled by the reelected president.

(General Douglas MacArthur  commanded the Southwest Pacific Theatre during World War Two while enjoying popularity among the US citizens back in the United States).

The conflict in Korea, which persists into the present day with the two countries of North Korea and South Korea. The presence of war along with a willful personality in the form of General Douglas MacArthur. Insubordination of a provocative nature to the president Harry S. Truman forced the president to progressively seek to increase punishment. Ultimately, Truman fired MacArthur due to it being correct. Eventually the public came to dial back the negative responses to the president. This firing, combined with keeping the handling of the atomic bomb in the hands of civilians, were strong outcomes of the Harry S. Truman presidency.

Harry S. Truman comes across as late to the political scene of Washington, DC. yet in attuned to the needs of the public. The reading for me was quick if not a bit plodding. Overall, my rating is 3.75-stars out of 5.

Matt – Saturday, December 15, 2018

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ succeeds, for men

Christopher Nolan makes quality films. Three-time Academy Award winner Dunkirk (2017) is the most recent example that I had the opportunity to screen with both pleasure and appreciation. With five other Oscar nominations to its credit, take this as evidence that the world is standing up and taking notice.

The Dunkirk Evacuation as a historic event reflects the evacuation of primarily the British Expeditionary Force, along with some intermingling of the other Allied troops, from the French seaport of Dunkirk (spelled Dunkerque in France) to England in May and June of 1940. At this point in the war, the United States was not supplying troops, sailors, airmen or other combat support. (The USA would become involved after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor in December 1941).

Using his characteristically complex movie-telling style, Nolan tells three main stories intermingled with one another. Those three events included events the beaches of Dunkirk, the civilian fishing ships and ferries crossing the channel, and the Royal Air Force pilots of the United Kingdom battling the German Luftwaffe in the skies above and surrounding the seaport town of Dunkirk.

(Kenneth Branagh)

Largely using age appropriate actors to fill the ranks of the military branches represented in the film, the film is largely inhabited by actors that are lesser known. The most well-known actor in the lot is likely Kenneth Branagh, who besides playing Commander Bolton in Dunkirk has acted in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and multiple productions based on the writings of William Shakepaere. Mark Rylance as Mr. Dawson, one of the small boat captains at the heart of Operation Dynamo,

(Mark Rylance)

The film Dunkirk itself depicts a handful of personal stories in near real time. The directorial aim for the aim certainly seemed to be showing the reality of being in this place at this time in history. At the real history as well as in the film, the German army had surrounded the Allied forces to the point of potential surrender. Large naval ships could not pull into the harbor for being drafting too deeply. Had the forces been unable to vacate the seaport, the tide of the war could have swung to an irrevocable Axis advantage.

The experience of the movie Dunkirk is much less about war than Saving Private Ryan (1998), Apoczlypse Now (1979), or Platoon (1986). Dunkirk is the ensemble experience of surviving a military disaster to fight another day. That so much of the force survives is part of what makes the story remarkable. That the movie is told with a largely male audience in mind is also, perhaps, what made the movie one without sufficient crossover appeal to be the Academy Award winner for Best Picture.

(Christopher Nolan)

As the reviewer of the movie Dunkirk, it is confession worthy for myself that I originally saw this in a movie theater shortly after its release with a group of male friends. While we watched, the wives of the married folks in the group went shopping at the mall while waiting to join us for dinner. I had come from training earlier in the day. In another confession, I fell asleep in the theater. In watching the movie on Blu-Ray for this review, that disclosure probably isn’t fair to my level of enjoying the film.

My overall feeling is that the historical story of the Dunkirk Evacuation is worthy storytelling. My further belief is that the portrayal of said story in Dunkirk also passes muster if you are interested in larger projections of how history occurred. To me, that there wasn’t a love story attached to the telling is not fatal. If you would prefer that, then I might suggest seeing Pearl Harbor (2001) instead. My preference, given these two, is Dunkirk.

Matt – Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Year 2017 in Reading: 35 Books (The Gold Books)

In joining a friend in the aim to read 24 books, or two books per month, you learned with my last blog that we exceeded that goal. 17 books received a bronze rating. On a rating scale of 1-star to 5-stars, Matt with Matt Lynn Digital rated three books with a rating of 4.5 stars or higher.

Ranking at 5.00 stars in 2017 included this one (1) top ranked book that stands alone as the most significant and accomplished book that I read this year:

• Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

As I said in the opening paragraph of the review that you can link above still holds true for me now.

“Sherwood Anderson really accomplished something in tone, language, structure, and accessibility with Winesburg, Ohio that really tickled me. The detail and insight into character here are contemporary because they influenced 20th century American literature.”

If for no other reason than enjoying a book with honest narrative, consider reading Sherwood Anderson.

Ranking at 4.50 stars in 2017 included these two (2) books:

• Night by Elie Wiesel
• The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon

The truth-telling of Night by Elie Wiesel is the emotionally-wrenching firsthand telling of survival through unspeakable psychological trauma when faced with the most atrocious forms of hate and violence perpetrated by humans against humans.

The overriding purpose of the material in Night is that you need to feel and experience it firsthand to truly emotionally connect; these emotionally real and dark qualities that Wiesel shares honestly with raw detail demand the high-rating granted this book.

Do not allow the lack of detail with the included review diminish your consideration for reading Night. For the graphic and psychologically necessary quality of the learning, engage this book with one or more readings.

The ground of The Noonday Demon contemplates entrenched taboos of culture and place from a different though also truth-telling perspective. This firsthand sharing of Andrew Solomon‘s depression, mental illness, and anxiety bring in other people’s experience while also incorporating scholarship. The overriding sense of advocacy combined with sincere attempts to convey the depressive experience connected with me.

The linked review includes perhaps a bit more information than I would want to include if reviewing the book again. Capturing detail on the nature of depression and anxiety, the causes of depression along with Solomon‘s disagreement of said causes, and other subjects like self-medicating, suicide, and the role of society in supporting those who suffer are all relevant advocacy items.

The goal to understand the real human quality underpinning disease makes this sincerely offered book worth the reading. That my high-rating props up the book by advocating for its quality, if nothing else, should offer you some curiosity and interest in reading The Noonday Demon.

The above listing of books reflects the gold listing of books that I read in 2017. The bronze listing was published on Friday. A silver listing followed yesterday. In a bit more positive tip of the hat to my year in reading than Joan Didion experienced with The Year of Magical Thinking, I found this to be a year of magical reading.

Matt – Sunday, December 31, 2017