Cedars, September 2017

September 2017 14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT by Nathan Robertson T he summer of 2017 has had a good bit of variety when it comes to movies. We were given the usual superhero treatment with “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2.” There was also plenty of action with “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” We were taken back to our childhood with the third installments of the “Cars” and “Despicable Me” franchises. Many of us were left confused with the likes of a movie featuring emojis, creatively titled: “The Emoji Movie.” But no one has time to watch every single movie. So here is my list of the top five movies from the summer that you definitely do not want to miss. No movies with an “R” rating are included in this list. Top 5 Movies of Summer 2017 Photo from IMP Awards Photo from IMP Awards 5. Icarus (NR) Being an American tends to mean that by default you are supposed to enjoy certain things: cookouts, watching baseball, and maybe most important of all: having seen “Rocky IV.” We all remember watching Drago, the Russian boxer, cheat his way to being a champion by way of carefully administered steroids. We all remember the chill that went through our bodies when he tells Rocky, “I must break you.” We remember thinking, thank goodness this isn’t real. Well unfortunately, the fictional story is not completely absent of the truth. The reality is that doping in sports is not only popular, but also fairly simple to get away with if you are a professional athlete. The documentary, “Icarus,” focuses on a massive doping scandal involving Russian sports, and more specifically, the entire Russian Olympic team. Filmmaker and amateur cyclist, Bryan Fogel, seeks to investigate the true effects of doping on an athlete. This leads him to test the process himself. Through the guidance of the director of the Anti-Doping Centre in Russia, Grigory Rodchenkov, Fogel begins to discover the corrup- tion that is taking place in Russian sports. This thrilling documentary exposes the political corruption in Russian sports, and the consequences that come with telling the truth. There are constant parallels to George Orwell’s “1984” throughout, as Rodchenkov struggles to right his many years of wrongdoing under the guise and influence of Russian leadership. “Icarus” is unique as it dives into a subject that is prevalent in our current times and is still an ongoing issue that has yet to be solved. Also, the filmmaker is directly involved in everything that is happening, which gives the audience a perspective that is rare even among documentaries. 4. Dunkirk (PG-13) Christopher Nolan’s (“Memento,” “Inception”) newest film takes aim at a heavy target as it deals with the evacuation of British soldiers from the beach of Dunkirk during World War II. The film is written in three sections: land, sea, and air. Each has its own sto- ryline that the film seamlessly weaves together through a creative timeline. So what makes “Dunkirk” different from last year’s “Hacksaw Ridge” or even a classic like “Saving Private Ryan”? “Dunkirk” is unlike any other war movie for multiple reasons: First, rather than focusing on heroism and the glory of battle, the film focuses on the idea that it’s all right to be afraid. Fear drove so many of these soldiers to a point where they weren’t focused on fighting for their country, but simply fighting to survive. Second, while the film does have key characters that drive each storyline, the purpose of the film is not to make those characters more important than everyone else. Tom Hardy, one of the most popular stars in Hollywood, has barely 10 lines of dialogue. Why? Because the film is much more focused on telling its story through action rather than detailed character building. Third, “Dunkirk” isn’t about Americans. There are no Americans in the film. So, how does a movie about a British conflict in World War II, that requires a full Hollywood budget, get an audience in America? The answer is simple: the film’s message is universal. We all face situations in our lives that culminate to a point of feeling impossible to navigate. Is it wrong for us to feel afraid in those situations? Absolutely not. Fear is a very real part of every person’s life, and “Dunkirk” shows us hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are terrified about what their fate will be. However, they understand that they must have courage, and with that courage, comes hope.