barryrd

To say this movie is a nail-biter is putting it mildly. It is extremely well constructed with the gut-wrenching agony of a group of military technicians handling long-range equipment that enables them to zoom in on the target, the people in the streets, and the hideout of the terrorists. They are doing their utmost to avoid any civilian casualties in a location occupied by dangerous terrorists. Several times their superiors agree to wait and time is running out on an opportune moment to hit the terrorists. The problem is the presence of a child selling her mother's homemade bread. Permission to detonate comes from the highest levels of the military and finally from the British prime minister. Unlike their overlords, they are the ones who, in the final analysis, must carry out the command and live with the consequences. This movie is agonizing for the viewing audience. Helen Mirren and Allen Rickman deliver top notch performances.

Burt Lancaster delivers a powerful but sad portrait of a man living his life through an imagination of what he once was. Life has taken an unwanted turn and he cannot admit that he has become a hollow image of his former self. His journey consists of taking a swim in the backyard pools of neighbours in a well heeled suburban setting. When the movie was made in the 1960's, pools were token of luxury and success. So he seems to be taking part in a mirage of material bliss. Burt Lancaster also directed this brilliant film in a decade when many people were taking a serious look at the hallmarks of success in American life.

Zero Day is a superb political thriller that I took in on a single day. The whole movie is a super-charged political drama in which Robert DeNiro plays an ex-President of the USA hired to get to the truth behind a vast political network. The Washington political elite is enmeshed and as a former insider, he seems to be in a no-win struggle. Joan Allen as his wife and former First Lady and his son are his main allies. It plays out as a very rocky ride complicated by his own political and family ties that could torpedo his mission. It is a tale of blood, sweat and tears as he attempts to salvage his honor and uncover the truth. DeNiro delivers a fist rate performance.