[Nothingburger]

“!917” deserved the Best Picture Oscar over that strange movie from South Korea. This was the first time I was rooting for an Academy Award nominee in many years. Of course, I was disappointed, but that’s Hollywood for you.

I’m a pretty serious World War I buff — at least judging by the contents of the large bookshelves in my den.

Although there were some improbabilities in the story of “1917,” the production design and cinematography were outstanding.

Considering that World War II has always overshadowed the Great War as a movie subject, the fact that “1917” got made at all is impressive.

As I always like to tell young folks — those willing to listen to a Boomer, anyway — our world began in 1914. You can’t understand events today without learning about both world wars.

[dfwgator]

When I went to London last year, I had a chance to go to the Imperial War Museum.

Their WWI section is incredible, you could spend weeks there and not see everything.

[Chainmail]

I liked the characters, the details, and the pacing of 1917 - It is one of the best movies I've seen in several years and hands down, the best war movie - and as a combat veteran, I haven't liked many war movies. (Funny aside - while I was watching them traverse the recently vacated no-man's-land, they were threading their way along the rim of some shell craters and I tensed up and felt like yelling to them to "get of the dikes" when I realized they were facing a different war than mine.)

The movie captured the individual commitment, the courage of the junior enlisted men and it's a damn shame the Academy picked that very weird Korean flick instead for Best Picture.