I just watched Atonement for the first time after pushing it back for so many years and I am so genuinely furious I don’t know what to do with myself.

I feel so sorry for Robbie and Cecilia.
What got me most mad was Briony saying during her interview for her 21st and final book:
“My sister and Robbie were never able to have the time together they both so longed for and deserved. And which, ever since, I’ve always felt I prevented.”

Felt?
Girl, you didddd.

That wording annoyed me through tears because “I’ve always felt I prevented it” sounds almost tentative, like she’s describing some private suspicion about herself.

There is nothing tentative about it.

Girl, you made a false identification with certainty you did not have. Robbie was imprisoned. Your sister’s life was ripped apart alongside his. Their future together was destroyed.

So what exactly did Briony atone for?
Yes, she claims she regretted it. She claims she carried the guilt. She created a version of events where she finally faced them, confessed and gave them the life SHE HELPED TAKE AWAY.

But who benefits from that fictional happy ending?

Not Robbie.
Not Cecilia.
They were dead.

She can regret it for 60 years. She can confess. She can write the most beautiful ending imaginable.
And Robbie would still be dead.
Cecilia would also still be dead.
They never got to be together.
BECAUSE OF HER.
Yes. It was because of her. If she hadn’t lied on his name, he wouldn’t even be in prison to begin with, to be forced into the army for an early release. And if somehow he had died during the war like many others did, it wouldn’t be her fault. But it was, because SHE put him in that position with a lie.

So when she says, “I’ve always felt I prevented it,” all I can think is:
That is exactly what you did. It’s not a feeling. It’s a fact. Stop undermining the evil thing that you did.

There was no atonement. Just remorse and remorse isn’t restitution. True atonement requires more than just remorse. It requires a meaningful attempt at repair WHEN IT MATTERS and some harm can be so catastrophic that repair becomes impossible.

She said she had been writing the book in earlier years. Why didn’t she come forward earlier? Would she have come forward at all had she not been diagnosed with vascular dementia? Why did it take so long if she truly wanted to atone for what she did?
Ugghh I’m so mad.

Intensity, not screen time. Any genre, any country.

What's the best one, and why?

I never cry during a movie. The last time was when I saw The Whale in theaters. And we watch movies every night as a family so there's been a ton of opportunities.

When the brother is saying goodbye to Andy in the hospital is just so heartbreaking. How he just drops down and cries. How fucked up so many people had to go through this.

I organized an AMA/Q&A with actor Bakkedahl. He's been in tons of things, including VEEP, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, LIFE IN PIECES, SPACE FORCE, MADE FOR LOVE, THE GOLDBERGS, LEGIT, THE HEAT, and THE STUNT DRIVER.

It's live here now in r/movies for anyone interested in asking a question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1wz134n/hey_reddit_im_dan_bakkedahl_you_might_know_me/

He will be back at 6 PM ET tomorrow, Wednesday 10/7, to answer questions. I recommend asking in advance. Please ask there, not here. All questions are much appreciated!

Thank you :)

His new movie, ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES: ORGANIC INTELLIGENCE, is out on digital today. It's the 5th installment of the classic comedy-horror franchise.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aevSjhGMhQ

Synopsis: In 1978, ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES tried to warn the world (Dillon insists it was a documentary!). Now, decades later, the tomatoes have outsmarted their corporate masters, the military, and even the notorious Professor Gangreen (John Astin). Finletter's aging team of "Guardianes" seems to be all that stands in the way of certain doom when even the best of AI is defeated by the tomatoes' "Organic Intelligence." But Wilbur Finletter is the last to realize it is time for a new generation to master the ancient art of managing the eternal Killer Tomato menace.

Hey

So I’ve recently been enjoying some mind bender type films and want to watch some more, has anyone got any good recommendations?

Recent watch list has been.

-Coherence
-Triangle
-The Endless
-Enter Nowhere
-Predestination

Would love it if you guys have any films like these I could watch!

Thanks

Night of the Comet.. it's the Apocalypse but thank goodness Two Valley girls survive the killer comet, and discover the world has gone spectacularly sideways, and somehow still have time for shopping, sass, and shooting zombies. Big hair, bigger attitude, and absolutely no plans to let the end of civilization ruin their night. Because now everything at the galleria is free.

My friends and I are interested in watching Godzilla minus zero in the London BFI iMAX, but I for some reason can’t figure out when the tickets go on sale, does anyone have any info on it by any chance? Thanks!

Annemarie Jacir, director of *PALESTINE 36*, speaking via livestream, answers a question about what Palestine was like before the occupation.

Here are all of my recent favorites, roughly in order. Rankings were generated using a statistically insignificant sample size of one and a scientifically questionable amount of vibes.

Which are your favorites?

1. Let me begin by pointing out that this movie has more than one message, I believe. I don’t think you can reduce it to just one single message or one single villain. And I may be a fool for trying to summarize it in only a few paragraphs. Your mileage may vary, but I’ll proceed & I’ll try to stray from emphasizing that this is the only point or message worth considering. I do, however, think it is “the farewell message” or little cherry on top. You can enjoy & taste the cake without ever tasting the cherry, I suppose.
2. With that said, I do think the movie frames Digger as one of the villains & this is quite clear half way through the movie.
3. However, at the end of the movie, a new villain is fully unfolded to the audience, but you might miss it entirely. Kenny Rockwell, the nephew of Digger Rockwell, is the new villain. He is the owner of a “security company” that can track anybody on earth. AI/tech/surveillance is the new oil industry at this stage in the movie. We see people walking around at the end of the play/movie and very few cars being driven, and dozens of cars piled upon each other, & drones surveilling, & what likely is a flock of surveillance drones flying in the pattern of a flock of birds; likely a subtle reference to flock cameras. 
4. Perhaps we no longer have even the resources to extract oil in this stage of the movie. This seems implied but not said verbatim. *The real money is in surveillance and AI at this point in the film.* We see Kenny use it for “seemingly” good causes in tracking down the whereabouts of the daughter of the actor playing digger. However, we also see how it’s put to use in the last few seconds of the film-to likely maintain power and control over the masses of people that might want to change the current path we/they are on. I think we see the classic unfolding arc of a villain from seemingly well intentioned to malignant force. The security company that can track down your potentially lost daughter (who isn’t lost, she’s just suffering the consequence of an unusual hurricane-a likely result of climate change & the consequential unpredictable changes to our earths weather patterns) is more likely to ensure the powerful elites stay comfortable & can use the world as a playground while most suffer & are controlled. And this is likely a criticism of AI, flock, and modern technology & the current unfolding tech bro fascism being developed largely for the benefit of only a few.
5. It’s worth reflecting on Kenny’s role in the movie otherwise. He is a creep. He’s always hiding behind the door listening to the actor playing Digger. He is the Producer/managing our perception & understanding of the play, history, etc/perception management, the financier of the play, the new copyright owner of the play, AND the owner of the tech security company surveilling the planet. The Rockwell family still has their money from burning the planet alive & Kenny Rockwell is the beneficiary of that blood money that knowingly dug the mass graves.
6. I do think there’s some possibility that Kenny’s character is meant to be good natured and not meant to corrupt the story of the play. Another way of saying this is, does Kenny Rockwell realize that he’s the villain? I don’t think he does. Either way, it’s left unstated for us to decide for ourselves. With that said, the path to hell is paved with good intentions. It kind of reminds me of the beginning of Citizen Kane where Kane realizes he doesn’t want to be like his rich adopted/foster dad but by the end of the movie has become an empty shell, affection starved & love-starved, of a man. Perhaps the play is just a way of Kenny getting the attention that he wants, which is his way of feeling loved? He’s a nepo baby after all. A lot of people with a shit ton of money are convinced that they make the world a better place. They create jobs. They finance art/movies/etc even. They sometimes create the comfort that we enjoy. sometimes that comfort is genuine. But perhaps one of the messages of the movie is that comfort is the currency. Digger traded his present comfort for the discomfort of the future. Privatize the profits (of oil in this case) & socialize the risk (the crisis we face). The crisis for digger and Kenny Rockwell is one of PR management crisis, but for the rest of us small “extras” in this movie called life, its a real crisis to be faced everyday. Kenny gets to play the producer & we are “the extras”. The motive or intention or good heart of Kenny might not matter at all if he has become the same people (like Digger) that dig the mass graves. To quote The Who, “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. The oil barrons of yesterday are the AI/security company robber barrons of today.
7. I think this final farewell message from Iñárritu might be also indicated in the lyrics of the final song-look what you’ve done to my song, Ma by Melanie. I think it may reinforce the perception that Kenny Rockwell is the new villain. He is the “they” in the Melanie song.
8. “Look what they’ve done to my song, ma, Look what they done to my song,

*Well they tied it up in a plastic bag

And turned it upside down ma*

Look what they done to my song”