Greetings fellow patriotic film fanatics of Winchester!

I hope this column finds you and your active-duty loved ones safe and sound.

As the week goes on, tensions rise and rockets fly, with us teetering on the line of going to war with Iran.

What our troops need now is our support and gratefulness for their grit, courage and sacrifice to keep our country free.

Our troops do not need to hear the back and forth from media outlets, social media rants against the president, military action and smartphone generals who know everything about military operations without ever stepping up to serve our country.

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen more, talk less.

Just because you have an opinion on everything doesn’t mean you need to express it.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about the president, our young troops are tech savvy and have more access to social media while deployed.

Show them support and not disparaging remarks towards our actions as that will distract some from the mission at hand.

“1917” is the award-winning World War I flick which displays the difficulties of war. I could only imagine how it would have been worse with Facebook, Twitter, Fox and CNN arguing about strategy during WWI.

“1917” is the epic war drama focused on two young British soldiers, Schofield, played by George “11.22.63” Mackay and Blake, played by Dean-Charles “Into the Badlands” Chapman, who are ordered to complete an impossible mission deep behind enemy lines to save their fellow soldiers from walking into a guaranteed ambush and massacre on the battlefield after German troops retreated to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich.

“1917” is heavily armed with the acting talents of Mark “Zero Dark Thirty” Strong, Andrew “Modern Love” Scott, Richard “Game of Thrones” Madden and cinematic heavyweights Colin “Kingsman” Firth and Benedict “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Cumberbatch.

It is directed by Sam “Spectre, American Beauty” Mendes with the screenplay penned by Krysty “Penny Dreadful” Wilson-Cairns and Mendes.

The script was inspired by Mendes’ grandfather’s experience in WWI and based off his autobiography, “The Autobiography of Alfred H. Mendes 1897-1991.”

This is the first writing credit for producer/director Mendes and the second war-related production he has helmed since “Jarhead” (2005) but the fourth war movie for Cumberbatch after starring in “Atonement” (2007), “The War Horse” (2012) and the Imitation Game” (2014).

“1917” is being lauded by all because of its high-impact realism portrayal of war. The tension is achieved as Mendes helmed the almost two-hour film in one continuous shot to capture the mission in real time. Pretty impressive due to the nature of the production and that it was completed within two to three months less than a year ago.

Of course, this feat could be accomplished, “1917” was filmed in England far away from Hollywood.

If you don’t want to enlist to do your part, then please stop firing off your opinions in regards our military.

Our military, veterans and supportive families appreciate it.

Drink water, press on and have a film-tastic day! HUA!

Rick Baldwin is a writer, filmmaker and film/music historian. He is president of the Winchester-Clark County Film Society. Find more from Rick on Facebook. He is on Twitter @rickbaldwin79  and can be reached by email at rickbaldwiniii@hotmail.com.