General Movie Discussion - **please mark spoilers**

[mae]

[mae]

[Still Servant]

I went to see Civil War this weekend in IMAX and it's solidly my favorite movie of 2024 right now. Absolutely a mind-blowing masterpiece, a must-watch. I was still shaking and in tears sitting in the car in the theater parking lot.

I saw it last week and was planning to come here to discuss it, but I realized I didn't really have much to say, which is unfortunate.

Civil War was one of my most anticipated films of the year. Prior to Garland's Men, he was one of my favorite filmmakers. Ex Machina is a masterpiece and Annihilation is fantastic as well. As for Civil War, I thought it was just okay. The film should have elicited so many feelings for me and it just didn't.

There's so much Civil War should be saying about our current world and political climate, but it all but bows out of that controversial discussion. What the film turns into is a commentary on journalism, which is interesting, don't get me wrong. It's just not what I was expecting.

I might enjoy Civil War more on another viewing.

[mae]

Yes I think Garland expressly did not want this to be a commentary on our current political climate, even if there are tiny hints to very circumstantial similarities. I sort of expected that to be the case, I didn’t think he would go there, it would be quite tasteless in my view. But what this is is a harrowing look at what a civil war could look like, not even the US but any Western country. We listen see footage or civil wars from war torn corners of the globe and this gives us a warning, not a reflection.

And it works as just a look at war journalism. I really loved this movie and it reminded me of another anti-war classic Full Metal Jacket. It’s a very different movie but especially the haunting ending is what really got me and shook me to my core. Definitely the best movie of the year so far for me!