Monuments Men

PG-13
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, and Bob Balaban.
Running Time: 1 Hour and 50 Minutes

This movie is based on a true story that took place toward the end of World War II. It is about a group of seven men with a strong knowledge of art and history thus, they were titled, "The Monuments Men". They were brought together for the greatest treasure hunt in all of history.
They were assembled by FDR to go into very high risk areas in France and Germany to search out and rescue high value art and masterpieces that had been confiscated by the Nazis under the direction of Hitler. Hitler's motivation was to totally wipe out and destroy all of the history of the Jewish people. He wanted there to be no record whatsoever of their lives and their culture! These seven men are somewhat a band of misfits who are paired up in twos and are assigned to go their own ways to search and discover these grand works of art under the most treacherous and dangerous of circumstances. They put their lives on the line to help save and preserve the very essence of the culture of an entire society.
George Clooney not only directs but stars as the main character, Frank Stokes who is assigned the job of assembling all of the men together. He brings James Granger (Matt Damon), Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), Walter Garfield (John Goodman), Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin), Donald Jefferies (Hugh Bonneville), and Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban) together and they are all warned to be extremely careful, that their lives are worth far more than the art they are assigned to uncover.
I found this movie to be very good and I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the film as well. It seemed to be historically accurate and realistic with all of the heartbreaking horrors of
World War II. I appreciated all of the great art and the masterpieces that were shown in the movie as well.
On a side note, for those of you who can remember the early days of KSTU Fox 13 Television in Salt Lake, the news anchor was Nick Clooney. He just happens to be George Clooney's father. He makes a cameo appearance at the very end of the movie which I thought was touching and validates their mission.
Parents be advised: I am recommending this movie for children ages 13 and older. The brutality of war is evident and I think it might be to harsh for younger ones. It does have historical value but it is still hard to process. There is some swearing and some of the characters are consistently smoking due to the horrible stress and nerves.
I am giving "The Monuments Men" three and a half bags of popcorn.