Final Thoughts: Train Dreams depicts the simple life Robert Granier (played by an excellent Joel Edgerton) logs and works other jobs to support his wife and daughter. A forest fire claims them, leaving him isolated for years. Minimalistic yet effective filmmaking at its best. #hatm

Imagine hearing about the Wright Brothers flying in 1903, knowing Civil War veterans, and living long enough to see humans blast off into space. #hatm

There's no dialogue in these scenes but we know exactly what he's thinking and enduring. Great filmmaking. #hatm

It's Kerry Condon! She was in F1 this year. She's Irish; Joel is Australian, and Felicity is British. All playing Americans. Trump needs to get on this... ;) #hatm

It didnt look like that chain was moving at all. #hatm

One of my dreams in life is to take the Trans-Siberian Railroad. #hatm

Oh wow, forest fires. Western Canada has them every year and it can affect the skies across the whole continent. #hatm

One of the Civil War veterans whom I studied for my upcoming article had three sons: Grant (after his general), Sherman (who visited his Canadian city shortly before his birth) and Perry (a family name). Grant died in a logging accident in 1903. Sherman may have competed with my GGF. #hatm

There's much truth in the poorer time being the happier times - you find new things to do while stretching every dollar. I've done this many times. Heck Im doing it now. #hatm

Remember: cutting down the tree is only half of the problem. You also have to move it out of the forest to the train. Those logs weight a lot, and horses can only do so much. A hard life. #hatm

Yay, a Union veteran! A Union saver. GAR! GAR! GAR! #hatm

Some characters just have the best stories. I had to read The Tribe of the Black Ulysses about black Alabama timbermen for my PhD exams. Wow, not a life I'd like to have but they had little choice - but much agency - in that line of work. #hatm

"Hey what does this button do?" #hatm

This film borrows the introductions of characters from Wes Anderson movies. #hatm

Woo-hoo, Opelika, Alabama gets a shout-out! Thats the twin city to Auburn. I did lots of shopping there. #hatm

On one episode of Married with Children, Al picks up his bindle and sought to become "that nameless stranger in a remote logging camp." #hatm

This weekend I watched An Officer and a Gentleman (which #hatm really must do one day), Gladiator II (which we shouldn't do but probably will), The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, and season 3 of Slow Horses. I really need to get some work done.

Buster Keaton has another idea for bridges like this! #hatm

oh nice sharp editing cut there. It actually sustains the tension, not ends it. #hatm

Another amazing shot in the style of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven - shot at twilight so the sky is purple. #hatm

Gladys believes that rebellions are built on hope! #hatm

My great-grandfather and his brother were orphaned and sent by ship and train from Scotland to Manitoba. They were essentially forced to work for a mean old farmer. Eventually they punched him out and ran off. GGF became a successful electrical contractor but his brother died in WW1. #hatm

Clearly the director watched many Terrence Mallick movies - the mix of awesome landscape shots and voice overs is a give away. #hatm

Whenever I think of a woodsman walking alone through a forest with an axe on their shoulder, I think of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. #hatm

Final Thoughts: Casino Royale is a thrilling entry in the long running James Bond franchise. The new 007 enters a high stakes poker game to deter a terrorist financier. Along with the beautiful Vesper, he wins. The plot isn't as important as awesome stunts and thrills. #hatm

"the b is dead" is literally the last line in the book. #hatm

Now, as crazy as it seems, Eva actually shot these scenes in a cage underwater. She had great confidence in the crew to protect her, because no one wants to be in a cage while underwater. #hatm

How's he going to lead the Ghor now? #hatm

These scenes were filmed at Pinewood - great sets. The sinking building was in fact a 12 foot model later CGI-ed into the actual location. More great designs by Peter Lamont and Chris Courbould. #hatm

On the commentary track, MC and MW said that Venetian hotel lobbies are not this big, not even close - this interior was filmed in Prague. #hatm

The treasury department man is played by Phil Meheux, the film's director of photography. He also did Goldeneye. #hatm

The actor there is Richard Sammel, best known for the tough Sergeant in Inglorious Basterds and the leader of the Ghorm in Andor Season 2. #hatm

Ah, Venezia! One of the world's great cities. I once sent a resignation letter this short. I also dropped it off in a Christmas card. Surprise! #hatm

If you ask me, this part could have been edited down or removed entirely. It slows down the movie. #hatm

Well, if I had $120 million to transfer, I'd expect my banker to come to me with a super-duper-wuper secure device. #hatm

Ah, Lake Como in northern Italy, one of the most beautiful places on earth. #hatm

Craig stopped smoking and started working out for this movie in a big way - and he looks amazing. #hatm

Okay this is one of the great car stunts of all time: they destroyed three Aston Martin super cars costing $250,000 each. That's about 1% of the budget right there. MC said that they didn't want another car chase, so they did it this way. #hatm

No, I didn't see that coming a mile away. #hatm

Aces and 8s, the dead man's hand. Wild Bill Hickock had that hand when someone shot him in the back. It became a familiar trope in John Ford movies. #hatm

On the commentary track to Ocean's 11, Brad Pitt said that he plays poker hit and miss; Matt Damon is more methodical, but George Clooney is horrible at it. He just couldn't get the cards. #hatm

To be fair, if I had won that $1.8 billion Powerball late last year, I'd risk $10m in Vegas just to see what it felt like. #hatm

Okay: one does not get up so quickly from cardiac arrest or a resuscitation via electric shock. I had a colleague who had one last year and it was a terrible ordeal for him - and us. But okay plot. #hatm

I never understood the whole "big blind" and "small blind" thing in poker. #hatm

To be fair, the British taxpayer has wasted money on worse things than an egotistical spy gambling it away at a high end casino in the Balkans. South Sea Bubble? #hatm

Mads practiced flipping his chips like this for a long time. He mastered it. #hatm

This shower scene was filmed in one take. Craig and Green did it perfectly. #hatm

I rarely drink any alcohol at all, but I do enjoy a vodka martini shaken not stirred. I had one when I celebrated by dissertation defense in 2014. Oh what a day. #hatm

The film changed the game from baccarat to Texas Hold Em because it was popular at the time. Baccarat is remarkably similar - you have to get to 9 without going over, face cards are worth nothing. #hatm

Hmm, Eva. She'd stand out in any room. #hatm