SquidFlicks

Author: shelby

  • Shelby’s Top of 2017

    It was an awesome year for movies. It may be more accurate to say that was an awesome year for me to watch movies. That’s because I have had the time to do so, and there have been some awesome, money saving deals to allow me to see more in theaters than I normally ever do – Moviepass and TicketTwosdays by AT&T.

    Any way, regardless of the reasons why, (but if you’re interested check it out), I watched a lot this year, and I want to highlight my favs. Some reviews are still pending.

    What I saw this year (chronological, in theaters):

    So that’s 25 visits to the theater, plus another four if we include repeat viewings (I couldn’t get enough of Blade Runner 2049 and The Last Jedi). Pretty impressive. Now the hard part is picking my favorites out of that selection – and I’m just gonna take five.

    Shelby’s Top Picks of 2017 (in no particular order):

    • Get Out
    • Blade Runner 2049
    • IT
    • Baby Driver
    • Shape of Water
    • Wonder Woman

    Most Disappointing:

    • Kong: Skull Island

    Most Depressing:

    • Logan

    Greatest Cinematic Achievement:

    • Blade Runner 2049
    • The Shape of Water

    Unexpected Surprises:

    • Get Out
    • The Big Sick
    • Wonder Woman (totally bails out the disaster that is the DC universe right now)

    Best Action Movies:

    • Baby Driver
    • Atomic Blonde

    Most Misunderstood:

    • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
    • Blade Runner 2049
    • The Dark Tower
    • Ghost in the Shell

    Potential to ruin childhood memories:

    • Power Rangers
    • Jumanji: Into the Jungle
    • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
    • IT

    Other thoughts & remarks:

    I’m also not a huge fan of the constant churning out of superhero movies, but I will say that Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok are very comedic, campy, colorful, and fun. True comic book endeavors with awesome ensemble casts. I am incredibly excited for the upcoming Black Panther, which will be another, different and awesome superhero flick.

    Overall, I really enjoyed my cinematic adventures this year. By far I think my favorite movie was Blade Runner 2049, but there are so many good options. Here’s to watching even more in 2018!

     

  • 90th Academy Award Nominations

    The field of 2018 Oscar nominations has been set, with winners will being announced on March 4, 2018. Jimmy Kimmel will host for a second time.

    Notable snubs across the board: Blade Runner 2049 was left out of contention for Best Picture and Best Director. Wonder Woman received no recognition at all. I am pleased to see The Shape of Water as well received as that was an incredible film. There’s a lot of good competition in the field, making predictions for several categories difficult in my opinion. My predictions/picks are in bold for each category that I feel I saw enough of the nominees to field a pick.

    Best Picture:

    “Call Me by Your Name”
    “Darkest Hour”
    “Dunkirk”
    “Get Out”
    “Lady Bird”
    “Phantom Thread”
    “The Post”
    “The Shape of Water”
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

    Lead Actor:

    Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
    Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
    Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
    Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
    Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

    Lead Actress:

    Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
    Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
    Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
    Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
    Meryl Streep, “The Post”

    Supporting Actor:

    Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
    Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
    Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
    Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
    Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

    Supporting Actress:

    Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
    Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
    Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
    Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
    Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

    Director:

    “Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
    “Get Out,” Jordan Peele
    “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
    “Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
    “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro

    Animated Feature:

    “The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
    “The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
    “Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
    “Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha
    “Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

    Animated Short:

    “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant
    “Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
    “Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
    “Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
    “Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

    Adapted Screenplay:

    “Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
    “The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
    “Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
    “Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
    “Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

    Original Screenplay (STACKED CATEGORY):

    “The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
    “Get Out,” Jordan Peele
    “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
    “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

    Cinematography:

    “Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
    “Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
    “Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
    “Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
    “The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

    Best Documentary Feature:

    “Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman
    “Faces Places,” JR, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda
    “Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
    “Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen
    “Strong Island,” Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes

    Best Documentary Short Subject:

    “Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
    “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel
    “Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon
    “Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon
    “Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner

    Best Live Action Short Film:

    “DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk
    “The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
    “My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.
    “The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton
    “Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen

    Best Foreign Language Film:

    “A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
    “The Insult” (Lebanon)
    “Loveless” (Russia)
    “On Body and Soul (Hungary)
    “The Square” (Sweden)

    Film Editing:

    “Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
    “Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
    “I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
    “The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

    Sound Editing:

    “Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
    “Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
    “The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

    Sound Mixing (setting the music to the movie):

    “Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
    “Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
    “The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

    Production Design:

    “Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
    “Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
    “Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
    “Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
    “The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

    Original Score:

    “Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
    “Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
    “The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
    “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

    Original Song:

    “Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
    “Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
    “Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
    “Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
    “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

    Makeup and Hair:

    “Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
    “Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
    “Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

    Costume Design:

    “Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
    “Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
    “Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges
    “The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
    “Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

    Visual Effects:

    “Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
    “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
    “Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
    “War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

    What are your picks? What were some glaring omissions? Comment below!

  • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

    Nobody was going to give this movie a chance because we (America) aren’t familiar with the source material that this Sci-Fi Epic is based on. Valerian is a long-running series of Sci-Fi comics in France from 1967 to 2010. Writer-Director Luc Besson took this cinematic endeavor under his wings because he grew up reading the comics and was a huge fan of the franchise, which is popular in Europe but never quite took hold across the ocean.

    Luc Besson is perhaps best known for giving us The Fifth Element, which also was considered a commercial flop in theaters until it grew legs upon release to home video, and is now widely considered to be a classic. Valerian may be destined to the same fate, although it certainly lacks some of the charms that Besson’s previous hit held. Perhaps it’s just the difference in the late 90s grungy CG vs today’s high-level effects, but I think it comes down more to differences in casting and acting performance.

    The movie is set in a late stage of the comic series – an intentional move after a lot of backstories has already been created to create a compelling action-filled film for audiences unfamiliar with the Valerian saga (think Star Wars dropping us in at Episode 4 instead of going in chronological order). Set in the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are a duo of special operatives tasked with keeping human affairs and relations intact alongside the multitude of other sentient beings that co-exist across the galaxy. The mission takes them to Alpha, a conglomerate space station that has grown exponentially to serve as a galactic ‘united nations’ over centuries, nicknamed “The City of A Thousand Planets”. A sacred, world-building device has gone missing and must be recovered before it falls into the wrong hands. Throughout the chase to regain possession of the ‘pearl’, the duo stumbles through the underworld of the station, meeting new friends, making new enemies, and revealing deep-seated rifts of bigotry and mistrust between humankind and other species. It turns out that the sides aren’t quite as cut and dry as they were made out to be in the beginning – Valerian and Laureline will have to choose between duty and honor.

    Visually, this movie was incredible. Beautiful vistas, realistic technologies, fantastic alien designs, and concepts. The entire setting had a distinct “lived-in but still futuristic” feel. Luc Besson created a fun, colorful, and frantic future fraught with danger but also full of whimsy that helps drive the story and emphasize the wondrous properties of the ‘Alpha’ station and its many diverse inhabitants.

    Where Valerian fell short was in the acting and storytelling departments respectively. I personally didn’t hate the acting, but Cara Delevingne & Dane DeHaan are relatively new actors and haven’t really found an audience in Hollywood yet. They are paired as Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline, both partners in fighting crime and corruption for the Human Federation as well as love. Rhianna has a gem of a role as the shapeshifting and seductive alien, Bubble. The movie is playful and silly but lacks some teeth when it comes to making a statement. There are a lot of good veins to tap in the story – government corruption, the covering up of genocide and collateral damage of galactic warfare, the need for empathy and understanding, a strained dynamic between serial dater Valerian and Laureline’s desire to be something more than his latest ‘girl’ – but somehow the film just doesn’t seem to cash in on some emotional checks it writes.

    It’s a stunning visual experience, with some holes in the story and some soft acting from the lead roles. I would love to see more from the franchise, but thanks to the lackluster response from audiences, this story is all but over – which is a shame.

    Trailer:

  • The Dark Tower

    One of the largest-scale works in Stephen King’s massive catalog has received a proper, feature length film treatment with real star power – but is it enough to win over franchise fans and create new ones in the process? The results are mixed.

    “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

    Unfortunately, the writers and production staff weren’t paying attention.

    I am a Dark Tower and King fan. I do need to refresh my knowledge of the series as it has been some time since my initial read through of the source material, so I am by no means an expert on the ‘Tower Universe’ but I will say that I know more background than the average theater-goer will have about The Dark Tower.

    On paper, this was going to be a tough one to sell to audiences. I think it was cast phenomenally well, with Matthew McConaughey as the antagonist ‘Man in Black’ and Idris Elba as his rival and only true match, the protagonist ‘Gunslinger’

    The premise of the books pits the Man in Black, an evil sorcerer who is trying to acquire enough ‘shine’ to break through the supernatural barrier that keeps inter-dimensional evil out of the plane of the living. The books underpin the dimensions that connect a lot of King’s other works in a complete universe. The problem with this movie is that it faced a tough choice – adapt from a set of dense, mythology-heavy novels that would almost certainly be an incoherent mess, or attempt to create a new story for the screen based on the events and characters from the books. Unfortunately, the attempt fell flat, and the series probably cannot be recovered.

    In summation, there are seven novels in the Dark Tower saga, and this movie managed to skip a lot of great material. It cut out so much in order to create so many convenient shortcuts that it crippled the potential stories that could be told in future movies. I think this hampers the audience’s ability to appreciate how truly impossible the task that the Gunslinger faces to protect all realms from the evil of the Man in Black and his boss, the Crimson King. The movie focuses and combines elements from the second and last three novels, essentially lifting the climax of the saga out of the source material and re-configuring the plot to make it fit in a linear fashion.

    I really wanted to like this, and there was a lot that I did enjoy – particularly the casting. I think Elba and McConaughey are perfect opposing forces in this fantasy epic. The series is just so difficult to translate from novel to screen, and that’s nobody’s fault. It is a thankless and nearly impossible task for writers, and they get disparaged more often than praised. I don’t want to come off as jaded toward their efforts because of the nature of this story doesn’t lend itself well to brevity, and that usually means it wont translate well to the screen. With the resounding commercial failure of this jumping off point, we aren’t likely to see another attempt with this universe for some time. I’m hoping they find a way to salvage this story, because a lot of King’s works have made incredible moves on to film – IT (both the original TV movie (1990) and 2017’s smash-hit R-rated reboot), The Shining, Cat’s Eye – just to name a few.

    The problem with The Dark Tower is that they tried to reformulate and truncate a compelling and deep source material. While the casting was strong, the effects were excellent and the movie is watchable, you aren’t left on the edge of your seat waiting for more, and for someone who knows how far the Gunslinger’s story goes, it’s disappointing. There’s an excellent article on i09 that describes the changes in greater detail for those who are inclined – spoilers within.

    It would seem that the folks in charge have forgotten the faces of their fathers, to borrow a phrase from Roland, the lone gunslinger. Objectively the movie is passable but as a fan I am not pleased.

    3/5
    Squid Rating
    A missed opportunity but watchable epic

    Trailer:

  • The Babadook

    the-babadook

    When you experience loss, it is important to let yourself experience grief. It is a natural emotion and for many, it is just a part of life. If grief is left to its own desires, however, it can tear a person apart. The Babadook is a psychological horror film that tackles this concept head on, to great effect.

    The movie focuses on a widow, Amelia, and her young son, Samuel. The movie opens to a slow motion nightmare of Amelia’s, reliving the car wreck that claimed the life of her husband when she was in labor with Sam. The viewer is quickly acquainted with what has become of Amelia’s life as a single mother with a whacked-out son – a stressful slog with no real help or end in sight. Sam’s behavior is incorrigible, taking apart items in the house to construct elaborate weapons to vanquish the various monsters he claims to encounter.

    Amelia is clearly miserable and has not moved on from the loss of her husband, keeping his belongings locked up in the basement and reacting violently to anyone who mentions him. She suffers from tremendous depression and sleep deprivation – I’d wager to call it melancholy. Sam’s behavior has driven her to wit’s end, and it shows. The final straw comes when Sam brings his weapons to school and is consequently expelled. Amelia is stuck with Sam at home and it’s not helping either one cope with the obvious emotional issues they possess.

    Amelia lets Sam pick a book for his bedtime story – problem is, it’s not one that Amelia remembers putting on the shelf, much less buying. With the title ‘Mister Babadook’, you immediately know this is the beginning of the end. What follows after opening that book is the culmination of a possession – or psychosis. It appears as the metaphorical opening of a door that can’t shut because of a lack of proper emotional/spiritual latches.

    That’s the beauty of this movie – it works on multiple levels. At face value, the Babadook is an evil demon that feeds on children and wants nothing more than to inflict misery on all who let him in to their homes. If you dig a little deeper, you can see the symbolism and manifestation of Amelia’s grief, causing severe psychosis and sleep deprivation. This one-two punch leads to Amelia’s wholesale abuse and neglect of young Sam, who acts out because he is powerless to handle the situation he’s stuck in.

    Amelia has internalized the abuse of her son and conveniently packages it as the fault of a boogeyman – The Babadook. Subtle hints are scattered throughout the film, but the one that led me to the realization that things weren’t as they seem came when Amelia admitted to writing children’s books in the past. She created ‘Mister Babadook’ during one of her manic episodes, and doesn’t realize it when she normalizes. The ending is about as ambiguous as you can get, (I think she’s dreaming and actually ended up doing something horrible to Sam) and the entire ride is well worth it.

    The Babadook was one of the best horror/thriller films I’ve seen. I really appreciated the lo-fi, practical effect approach (being more reliant on lighting and obscured shots to build tension and fear without resorting to incessant jump scares. Excellent execution throughout – the movie seems concise and every scene plays a role in building the larger story, and really build that age-old lesson that our own monsters are far worse than anything we can conjure up. Additionally, the book and illustrations were very well done, and would make an awesome reproduction prop. They really should produce and sell that to kids. That’s just some good, clean fun for all ages. =D

    It’s a must watch!

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    Let it in! Let it in! Let it in!

    Trailer

     

  • Rogue One

    Now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, they are rapidly ramping up the production schedule for new film entries – this should come as no surprise given this is the exact same way the Marvel movie universe has expanded almost exponentially over the past few years. As a Star Wars fan, I am excited with the prospect of more frequent entries in the universe, but that can be a double edged sword. December 2015 was the first big test – Episode 7. The main story line has been progressed and the story arc had a distinct vintage feel to it despite some new faces and places. It truly felt like Episode 4 (A New Hope) was reborn, kick-starting the final trilogy in the saga of the Skywalker clan. Following up on that nostalgic effort (and box office phenom) is Rogue One. This is the first ‘spinoff’ in the ‘new’ Star Wars cinematic universe, a place where more experimentation and tweaking of the traditional format is to be expected.

    Rogue One focuses on the lead up to the events in A New Hope, the incredible story of how the plans for the Empire’s great weapon, the Death Star, fall into Rebel hands. It features the tale of Jyn Urso (Felicity Jones) and her journey to reconcile the fact that her estranged father, Galen, was the reluctant but willing master architect of the Empire’s engine of genocide. The silver lining is that he also intentionally designed it’s greatest vulnerability, leaving a chance for the Rebellion to strike a painful blow to the tyrannical war machine. She was a rebel without cause, a true renegade neutral actor who decided to find personal redemption and purpose when anyone else would have just given up and sulked. (more…)

  • Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

    And so does the box office. This review is spoiler-free!

    So, after much waiting, and uncertainty of what the Disney purchase of the Star Wars franchise would bring, I have to say I am pleased overall. Now granted, I am not a mega fan. I don’t obsess over every detail and I don’t know every aspect of the Expanded Universe (which has been scrapped by Disney in order to retain canon rights with their revitalization of the franchise) but I have played a lot of Star Wars games (KOTOR, Jedi Outcast series, Rogue Leader), I’ve watched and re-watched all the movies, and I’ve even watched the Clone Wars animated series that was on Cartoon Network. That means I have some vested interest in Star Wars, and I do have some walking around knowledge above the average movie goer.

    (more…)

  • Shape of Water pulls a Monster Movie Award Coup

    At the 2018 Golden Globes, modern cinema history was made – but if you weren’t paying attention you may have missed it.

    “Since childhood I’ve been faithful to monsters — I have been saved and absolved by them – Because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection.” – Guillermo Del Toro, accepting 2018 Golden Globe for best director for ‘The Shape of Water’

    Guillermo Del Toro, mastermind director behind hits like Pans Labyrinth and Hellboy received recognition for his latest film, The Shape of Water, picking up a win for Best Director. What makes this significant is the fact that ‘monster’ movies are largely ignored for their artistic merits and are written off as mere box office fodder. They are hardly ever given credit for being forces of cinematic change and impact. Think of some of the best sci-fi, horror, and thriller genre films – Interstellar, Alien, Jurassic Park, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mad Max: Fury Road, Get Out – how many received any critical acclaim from the Hollywood establishment, much less actual awards? There are usually some ‘token’ inclusions as nominations, but sci-fi/fantasy/horror flicks largely get the snub, and that is an unfair influence on what is deemed ‘culturally important’. If producers chase awards over art, we risk losing out on a lot of untold and still totally valid stories

    Now, I argue that Hollywood has it’s head so far up it’s butt that their opinions don’t much matter and is often out of step with what the average movie-goer is looking for. I argue that people love the spectacle of the tent-pole release, but they want something that can actually resonate. Something that moves the way you feel and think. Film is such a power medium of expression and provocation, to toss away the genre of horror and monsters is too pretend that we live in a perfect world free from such scares. I’d argue that the monsters we face in the real world are much more frightening than anything conjured up on the big screen – why be disingenuous?

    Here’s a sneak peak:

  • Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

    As a 90’s baby, I grew up in the original Jumanji (1995) craze, a movie which really should not have existed considering the brevity of its source material, a children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. I absolutely wore out my VHS copy of the film, watching it dozens of times to the point that I can to this day recite the movie largely line by line.

    (more…)

  • Pans Labyrinth

    I am personally embarrassed that SquidFlicks has existed for a decade and has never given Guillermo Del Toro’s masterpiece it’s proper due review. That changes now. This is the quintessential primer to understand Del Toro’s fascination and talent at telling the ‘monster’ story through all his cinematic endeavors.

    Set during the viciously violent (and often overlooked as a footnote during World War II) Francoist era in the years after the Spanish Civil War (1944), a young girl, Ofelia, along with her mother and unborn baby brother are escorted to a chateau in the dense forest of the Spanish countryside to bunker down with an enclave of fascist forces led by her adopted father, Captain Vidal.

    (more…)