1917
Directed by : Sam Mendes
Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8579674/

I hoped today would be a good day. Hope is a dangerous thing.



In April 1917, two british soldiers are sent to deliver an urgent message to an isolated regiment from stopping them fall in a trap and get massacred. They have to not only race against time but also go through the enemy territory on the way. Again unpopular opinion, but 1917 is a very over-rated movie for me. Sure technicality wise, its a achievement to film such World War based movie with no cuts and also brilliant cinematography to admire throughout. But a movie works for narration and drama and feelings more, all of which were minimal for me. It does give the perspective of what the soldier is feeling not knowing where the next step would lead, but after a while I wanted some kind of relief which never comes. For most that was the reason to love the movie, not for me. Its still a decent movie, but not worth the hype.
My Rating : 5/10
Marriage Story 
Directed by : Noah Baumbach
Imdb link -> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7653254/

I never really came alive for myself. I was only feeding his aliveness. 

Spoilers ahead.. 

Story based on 'someone who is dying' or 'a falling apart relationship' always makes for a very unpleasant viewing for me. And Marriage Story falls in the same category that explores life of a couple who are seeking divorce and custody of their only boy. Adam Driver and  Scarlett Johansson are both brilliant as Charlie and Nicole. The movie begins with both telling the good things about each other during their married life shown through montage, and then cut to both sitting at a place wanting to get the divorce done without using lawyers...  I liked how Charlie gets to read what good things Nicole wrote about him right at the end of the movie in a quite emotional scene. Then there are 4 hardhitting scenes that I loved, first where Charlie calls Nicole on phone leading to a arguement and a small fight, 2nd one involving Laura Dern (excellent and deserved to win oscar) who talks of how womans life is and what narration she wants from Nicole at the court, 3rd when Charlie sings a track 'Being Alive' letting his emotions out after how the divorce hearing had been going, and lastly the ugliest scene to watch when both Charlie and Nicole have a fight that reminded me a lot of 'Before Midnight' fight scene as if everything in movie was leading to this one moment. Tough to watch this movie, the light scenes are not that many even though it ends on a good note giving hope that who knows things will work out better for them, which is what you expect always from life even if it may not happen.
My Rating : 7/10