Tag: Kyle Allen

A House Of Dynamite

2025   Netflix

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  52min

Apocalyptic ~ Drama ~ Political Thriller

Directed by:  Kathryn Bigelow

Starring:  Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, and Tracy Letts.

NOT IF….WHEN.

FROM NETFLIX TUDUM:

In A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, the day starts like any other, but then everything changes. When a single unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible, and how to respond.

That’s the nerve-wracking premise of A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, a new thriller directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) and written by Noah Oppenheim (Zero Day). Boasting an impressive ensemble cast including Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, the film is a minute-by-minute account of what the highest levels of government would do in the face of a nuclear attack on America. Bigelow, in her own words, explains what drove her to make this visceral story after Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker and the Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty.

“I grew up in an era when hiding under your school desk was considered the go-to protocol for surviving an atomic bomb. It seems absurd now, and it was, but at the time, the threat felt so immediate that such measures were taken seriously. Today, the danger has only escalated. Multiple nations possess enough nuclear weapons to end civilization within minutes. And yet, there’s a kind of collective numbness, a quiet normalization of the unthinkable. How can we call this “defense” when the inevitable outcome is total destruction? I wanted to make a film that confronts this paradox, to explore the madness of a world that lives under the constant shadow of annihilation, yet rarely speaks of it.”

THE REVIEW:

A House of Dynamite unfolds over the tense course of eighteen minutes, told through three interwoven perspectives. The story begins with President James Ellis (Idris Elba) attending a charity basketball event, where he is abruptly thrust into a national crisis upon learning of an unidentified intercontinental ballistic missile heading toward the United States, most likely hitting Chicago. As the President is evacuated, his responsibilities weigh heavily upon him, especially as he struggles to decide whether to retaliate or stand down amid this unprecedented threat.

Meanwhile, Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), second-in-command of the military operations room, remains calm and composed, overseeing the frantic defensive response. Alongside her team, she scrambles to track and intercept the incoming missile. On the military command front, General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) fervently advocates for an aggressive counterstrike strategy to defend the nation, whereas Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) counsels restraint, advising the President to avoid rash escalation. These conflicting military strategies deepen the tension and emphasize the grave stakes involved.

Adding a personal layer to the unfolding disaster, Secretary of Defense Baker (Jared Harris) is haunted by his estranged daughter residing in Chicago and becomes emotionally overwhelmed, which culminates tragically. His distracted demeanor contrasts sharply with the high-stakes government deliberations. The missile intercept attempts by ground-based interceptors tragically fail one after the other, escalating the sense of impending doom and the fragile limits of America’s defense capabilities.

The film concludes with the nation on the brink, leaving the President’s final decision ambiguous, underscoring the profound uncertainty and volatility inherent in nuclear deterrence. Government officials seek refuge in the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, while the broader fate of the country remains unresolved, symbolizing the ever-present threat of nuclear annihilation in a “house of dynamite” world where every move carries deadly consequences. In other words, we are left hanging in the end, left to draw our own conclusion as to what happens next.

It was an edge of your seat ride in the beginning, watching the events unfold. But then the questions started in my mind. Who?, Why?, Where? What is the President going to decide to do? As the movie is literally 18 minutes dissected, it leaves a lot of room for the aftermath and the stories untold. I think the movie would ultimately have been more enjoyable had it explored the aftermath, what happens when the missile hits, if it hits, and what happens then. I am not really fond of movies that leave you hanging, I personally love a resolution ending.

So, in conclusion, it was a nice ride but disappointing in the end. Although I think the Director’s aim was to make us think about “What if”, I think it would have been more effective to follow through and let us see the end result. And it would have been nice to see a lot more of Idris Alba in the first half. So that’s a maybe for me on this one, I wouldn’t watch it again.

New Movie A House Of Dynamite Debuts on Netflix Friday October 24, 2025

FROM NETFLIX TUDUM:

In A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, the day starts like any other, but then everything changes. When a single unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible, and how to respond.

That’s the nerve-wracking premise of A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, a new thriller directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) and written by Noah Oppenheim (Zero Day). Boasting an impressive ensemble cast including Idris Elba and Rebecca Ferguson, the film is a minute-by-minute account of what the highest levels of government would do in the face of a nuclear attack on America. Bigelow, in her own words, explains what drove her to make this visceral story after Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker and the Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty.

“I grew up in an era when hiding under your school desk was considered the go-to protocol for surviving an atomic bomb. It seems absurd now, and it was, but at the time, the threat felt so immediate that such measures were taken seriously. Today, the danger has only escalated. Multiple nations possess enough nuclear weapons to end civilization within minutes. And yet, there’s a kind of collective numbness, a quiet normalization of the unthinkable. How can we call this “defense” when the inevitable outcome is total destruction? I wanted to make a film that confronts this paradox, to explore the madness of a world that lives under the constant shadow of annihilation, yet rarely speaks of it.”

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE also stars Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Jonah Hauer-King, Moses Ingram, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke, Malachi Beasley, Brian Tee, Brittany O’Grady, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Willa Fitzgerald, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kyle Allen, and Kaitlyn Dever.

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE opens in select theaters Oct. 3 in the UK, globally Oct. 10, and on Netflix Oct. 24.

 

The Life List

2025   Netflix

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  2 hr  5min

Drama ~ Romance

Directed by: Adam Brooks

Starring:  Sofia Carson, Kyle Allen and Connie Britton.

“Do something everyday that scares you.”

The Book:

The Life List: A Novel by Lori Nelson Spielman – July 2, 2013

Synopsis:

The Life List: A NovelBrett Bohlinger seems to have it all: a plum job, a spacious loft, an irresistibly handsome boyfriend. All in all, a charmed life. That is, until her beloved mother passes away, leaving behind a will with one big stipulation: In order to receive her inheritance, Brett must first complete the life list of goals she’d written when she was a naïve girl of fourteen. Grief-stricken, Brett can barely make sense of her mother’s decision—her childhood dreams don’t resemble her ambitions at age thirty-four in the slightest. Some seem impossible.

 

 

Inspiration for The Life List, by Lori Nelson Spielman:

Like any author, I’m often asked how I came up with the idea for my novel. My answer comes easily. The seed for The Life List was found in an old cedar box.

It had been years since I’d last opened my miniature hope chest, a high school graduation gift. The scent of cedar greeted me, along with my first bankbook, my grandmother’s rosary, a couple of silver dollars, and a single sheet of notebook paper, folded into a neat little square.

Curious, I unfolded the yellowed paper. In flowery cursive, Lori’s List was penciled across the top. My abandoned life list.

I was wise enough to include the day and month, March 13th, but foolishly I’d omitted the year. Maybe I hadn’t planned to keep it. Maybe I didn’t realize how quickly memories fade, how years later, I’d barely remember the day that young girl sat on her blue flowered bedspread, contemplating her future. But judging from the goals, what had and hadn’t been accomplished, I was somewhere between 12 and 14 years old.

The crumpled piece of paper revealed a list of 29 things my adolescent mind imagined would make for a good life. I’d also added a sidebar called Ways to Be, which included such pearls as, Don’t talk about ANYONE. Laugh. Say “hi” to everyone.

As I read the list, I thought about how different my life would be if I’d fulfilled every goal my youthful heart longed for. In no time, my mind was racing. A story was taking shape. What if someone were forced to finish their life list—a list they thought they’d outgrown?

In the course of several days, my story evolved. First, I came up with riddles from a dying mother, offering her daughter cryptic clues to find her true self. But that was silly. Why the riddles? Why wouldn’t her mother just tell her daughter what she wanted her to accomplish? And it was crucial that the mother didn’t appear heavy-handed or controlling. The story could only work if it was clear that the mother’s intentions came from a loving heart. I also knew the story risked being predictable. I imagined readers rolling their eyes, sure that in the end, Brett would be married to the love of her life and have a baby and a dog and a horse. Her dreams couldn’t be accomplished easily, or in conventional ways the reader might expect. I wanted some goals to lead to others, in circuitous, serendipitous ways. Soon, pages for Another Sky were piling up, becoming the manuscript that would later be re-titled, The Life List.

So there you have it: the kernel for The Life List was my old life list—Lori’s List. Though I fell short of some goals, I believe my list served me well. It’s true, I won’t be waving my children off to college. But I will get to watch my novel set off for parts of the world I may never visit. My book will be introduced to new people, and hopefully entertain, and possibly provoke discussion. And maybe, just maybe, my story will inspire some other little girl, in some other small town, to set her own goals, to aspire to something that’s hers alone. And whether her ambitions are humble or grandiose, silly or pensive, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is, she dreams.

The Movie Review:

I didn’t know the movie was based on a book until I started to write this review. I have not read the book but I included the information on the book because I thought it was a great story. And I thought the Author’s vision that writing the story might inspire young girls to dream about their future was a really admirable wish and intention behind the story she wrote. Awesome!

I say the same thing about the movie. Awesome! Great story and a great movie. It is a romantic drama that pulls at the heart. You feel for Alex as she stumbles along trying to find her way and make sense of her mother’s wish. And as Alex heads out on her journey, it quickly becomes about Alex finding herself and not about the money. Personally I thought she could have been a great stand up comic, quick on her feet and funny as heck.

Sofia Carson threw herself into this role and movie with all her heart and it shows. Excellent job. She had me rooting for her the whole way. Connie Britton as her Mom was great, you could feel the love she had for Alex and the desire for her to live her best life. Alex’s brothers, Brad, Garrett and both her Dad’s I liked. I liked everything about this movie, the scenery and videography, the characters, the list itself. It was heartwarming, sad yet happy and fulfilling, funny and lighthearted yet serious all at the same time, just like life.

I really liked it and I highly recommend it.

Two Thumbs Up!