THE WEATHER WAS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT topic in my family. When relatives got together, there was always a point in their conversations where it would it be discussed and dissected. During the spring and summer months, talk would revolve around what plants would be best suited to be planted in the predicted weather from the weather people on television. Of course, a main question I heard often was whether one should water the lawn or not on days where we were supposed to get a rain shower. Planned outings would be altered depending on what relatives heard might happen with the weather we were expecting for the day. A trip to the zoo would be cancelled for a later date if there was any talk about rain in the forecast. Summer barbecues always came with a warning; if it got to be too windy or started to rain, then food would be cooked instead in the kitchen. Whenever it would start raining or snowing, I was always encouraged to cancel my plans and stay home. I usually did not heed the requests because I grew up in a school district that rarely ever closed for inclement weather; the temperature could be below zero with snow and we would still have to go to school. The only time the schools closed was when we would have gotten over twenty inches of snow; it happened only twice during my school years.      GROWING UP IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE weather was supposed to be the deciding factor for what one could do or not do for the day, I rarely pay attention to the weather in my adult life. I go about my business, making plans to get together with friends or family, no matter what may be transpiring outside. However, let me say, I do weigh my chances if circumstances warrant it. For example, if it is sleeting outside with a good chance ice will form on the roads, and a friend who lives forty miles away wants me to drive over, more than likely I would decline the invitation. Ice is the one thing that I am extra cautious about, ever since I slid off an icy road and went down an embankment, narrowly missing hitting a road sign head-on. I find it ironic as I have grown older, I have become hyper-sensitive to the cold. So now, I am forced to check out what the temperatures will be for the day to decide what I need to wear. While a majority of people in summer leave the house without a coat, I on the other hand must always have one with me. A cool breeze easily sends a shiver throughout my body. Weather has taken on an importance in my life after all these years. In my youth, if I would have learned how important the weather was during World War II, I feel I would have treated it with more respect.      THREE DAYS UNTIL THE BIGGEST BATTLE is to be launched in history and the most important question on everyone’s mind is, “What will be the weather?” With Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers, Wake Up Dead Man) as James Stagg, Brendan Fraser (Rental Family, The Whale) as Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower, Kerry Condon (Unleashed, F1: The Movie) as Kay Summersby, Chris Messina (Argo, Air) as Irving Krick, and Damian Lewis (Queen of the Desert, Wold Hall-TV) as Bernard ‘Monty’ Montgomery; this historical war history thriller was based on a true story. I have to say my enjoyment watching this film was heightened because in all my teachings and readings, I had never once heard about this aspect to the war. I was dumbfounded early on and became enthralled with the story. The acting was wonderful from the whole cast but I found Andrew Scott to be especially exceptional. The script was tightly written which made the director’s job easy keeping things moving along with an eye of maintaining the tension throughout the story. For me, I found it refreshing to have a war film without breaking away to horrific battle scenes. This was a wonderful surprise on how much I enjoyed watching this docudrama.

3 1/4 stars