Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!

Last week, I reviewed Pink Floyd — The Wall. Tina reviewed the book Daughters of Ireland, second in a trilogy. Mike honored our Independence Day by sharing photos and a history of the memorial to John F. Kennedy at Runnymede. Sim discussed the prequel to Prime Suspect that is currently running on PBS Masterpiece. Becky reviewed a children’s biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, John Ronald’s Dragons.

Aliens, time travel, and war with echoes of the D-Day landings

Edge of Tomorrow tells an unusual alien attack story. Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage, a communications officer with no combat experience or interest. Emily Blunt plays a war hero, Rita Vrataski, the angel of Verdun, who won the only successful battle in the five years that earthlings have fought against the alien enemy.

The twist is the “Live. Die. Repeat.” from the film poster. Think Groundhog Day as a sci-fi thriller. Or, think about playing a video game where dying means you get to start over again, using accumulated knowledge to play better next time. The filmmakers created humor in the many ways that Tom Cruise dies, knowing he will live to fight another day.

For British Isles Friday, the best parts are the scenes set in London — things happening in the streets, squares, and along the Thames that I never expected, except in science fiction. There’s a similar horrified fascination at the end of the film for those of us who love Paris, too.

Edge of Tomorrow was filmed at the Leavesden Studios near London, better known as the host of the Harry Potter films.

Have you seen Edge of Tomorrow? What did you think? My husband fell asleep, but I think that’s because he was tired, not meaningful commentary on the movie.