Dunkirk:

This made-for-IMAX film chronicling the events on the beaches of Dunkirk, France in late May and early June of 1940 is one of the most original and most gripping WWII films ever made, quite unlike anything I have ever seen.  Christopher Nolan wrote the script and directed to paint a portrait of an event that stands as a pivot point in history.  The German forces had surrounded the combined forces of the UK, Belgium, and France on three sides with the sea on the fourth, and spent a few days determining what the best way would be to eliminate the 338,000 troops. In the minds of Hitler's generals this would be the first step towards successfully taking Britain, after France and the rest of Europe.  Concerned about the next phase, which would become the Battle of Britain, Churchill chose to devote few resources to helping get the third of a million men and women out of harm's way.   Just a handful of British aircraft, mostly Spitfires, and a few destroyers on the sea, were put into action ... but the call went out all across Britain for civilian help.  At the end of it all, 338,226 troops were evacuated, and 68,111 members of the British Expeditionary Force were captured or killed.  933 ships were used in the evacuation of which 216 were lost, but the private boats numbered in the thousands, mobilized to help, some making one trip, others as many as 10.  This is not a star-driven movie, despite the role played by pop star Harry Styles of One Direction, and the excellent performances by Oscar-winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) as a pleasure boat captain, and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight) as a Spitfire pilot.   Rated 14A.

Stronger:

Jake Gyllenhaal produced and stars in this film based on the book by Jeff Bauman, a Bostonian who was at ground zero at the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the terrorist bomb blew both of his legs off.  The movie is tough and gritty, and it tackles every issue as the 27 year-old Jeff, a very blue-collar guy from a very blue-collar family, tries to deal with what has happened to him.  His on-again-off-again girlfriend Erin Hurley, played perfectly by Regina, SKs Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) is challenged to help Jeff who really does not want to help himself, and who lives with his chain-smoking, lush of a mother, Patty (Miranda Richardson).   Everything you can imagine in his life, from the hospital room to the bathroom to the bedroom is here, warts and all, and much of it is not pretty to watch.  Gyllenhaal channels his anger at maximum as Jeff. While in hospital on day one, Jeff became a hero when he wrote a note for the FBI, helping identify the bomber, with whom he came face-to-face. Eventually he figures it out, and he works towards becoming whole again, but it is a difficult journey for Jeff, and is equally difficult for the movie audience.  Not a pretty picture, but a most interesting and realistic film that sugar coats nothing.  A dud at the box office.  Rated 14A.

Victoria & Abdul:

Dame Judi Dench rules the screen as Queen Victoria, age 68 at this point, widowed for 16 years.  Inspired by "mostly true events," we are treated to the unlikely relationship between the Empress and a Muslim clerk, selected from his job in Agra to present a commemorative coin at a Royal function in England.  His credentials?  He was tall enough!  Soon the Queen is taking great delight in her platonic relationship with Abdul (Ali Fazal), and seems to revel in the fact that those in her Royal courts in in the halls of Parliament seem to feel that such a friendship is politically incorrect and inappropriate.  There are several parallels woven into the story that are thinly-veiled references to present day issues around race and acceptance, but overall, this is Dench's picture, she owns it, and she clearly loved every moment.  Rated PG.

Godless:

Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank created this series - they are best-known for "Get Shorty" - a classic western of sorts, that is centred on a town in New Mexico during the 1880s that is populated entirely by women, no men in sight.  The mystery of this fact, along with the challenges faced by the male characters who find their way into this place, is enough for a seven-episode series very suitable for binge-watching.  Jeff Daniels is an outlaw tracking his partner who has turned on him, and the trail leads to the strange little town of La Belle, NM.  British actress Michelle Dockery, and Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) also star.  Rated for Mature Audiences.

Mudbound (2017):

This film premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival where it got a standing ovation.  A dramatic series of events await two men who return home from WWII to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they have to deal with the realities of life after the war, as well as a new kind of pervasive racism.  An excellent cast includes Manitoba's Garrett Hedlund, Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby, Wall Street 2), Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), singer Mary J. Blige, and Jason Clarke from Terminator Genisys.  Rated Mature.