Hostiles

Going in: I knew this was going to be a period piece, post-Civil War or thereabouts. It was probably going to be about mending fences and getting along with your enemy. It would be good, but predictable. As a note, I caught this on a flight.

Popcorn: 7/10. I can't watch this movie again. Don't get me wrong, it's good. But the themes about dealing with grief and loss are overwhelming in a couple of places. That said, I'd watch it one more time on blu-ray but it's hard to watch.

Art: 8/10. Acting and photography take the cake here. Secondarily story, but it was pretty heavy theme-wise.

Acting: 3/3. There was a lot of subtlety, things not said, and little facial tics that said more than the words. I really liked the acting quality. There was one spot at the end that I wasn't too thrilled with but it wasn't bad either.

Music: 1/2. Unfortunately, the music ends up being the invisible weapon not used. It didn't detract, but it didn't work with the drama.

Filming: 2/2. Wow, was there some gorgeous filmography here. I just got done with another movie and I can still see certain shots in my mind's eye. Really well done.

Art Dept: 2/2. Getting costumes for this era is a huge undertaking and it all felt right. I don't think there was CGI, but I could be mistaken.

Editing: 1/2. Another unsung hero: nothing detracted from the movie, but nowhere doesn't it stand out either.

Story: 3/4. This ended up being much more than just war enemies making friends. A lot of it was the effect that violence has on those whose job it is to use it. Subplots tied up well and were sort of tied to the A plot. As a matter of fact, they bent some of the rules putting this together and I kind of liked it. There was a fair amount of coincidence and luck in the beginning to get things going but overall it wasn't too bad.

Directing: 2/3. Pretty good movie that was gorgeously shot. I always enjoy period pieces and this was no exception. There's a lot of heavy themes without much levity and that makes it a little hard to bear.

Production: 2/2. This was the right team working on a story that mattered in this world of escalating violence. While the shots demanded it be filmed on the big screen, I'm not sure the story required it.