Bridge of Spies

Plot: In 1957, Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is put on trial in New York, and Jim Donovan (Tom Hanks) becomes his defense attorney. 1950's America hates and fears the Russians, and Donovan encounters bias legal rulings. Abel is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Meantime Francis Gary Power's is captured when his U-2 spy plane is shut down over Russia. Donovan does a back-channel negotiation to trade Powers and Abel. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Bridge of Spies is a simple story told as a metaphor for civil liberties shrinking in post 911 America. In America the main story was about hatred and persecution, and in Europe the story was about the oppressive power of government. The message is that the difference is respect for the law. 

Tom Hanks kept the slow-moving story interesting with his clever expressions and readings. He does a good job with the old-time phrases. 

Mark Rylance who plays Abel is a blank cypher -- not interesting at all. Donovan's wife was played by Amy Ryan, and while she had a small part, she has one knock-em-dead facial expression at the very end that I loved. 

There is a lot of German dialog, and while some it was fast; the vocabulary was simple enough for me to understand most of it. 

Despite the high powered cast, it is a simple moral fable, it is well-told, but beyond the fairly simple political message, there isn't much there. It is a good movie to start a conversation.

Don't go to see Bridge of Spies thinking it is a new James Bond or Mission Impossible. One of my main disappointments with Bridge of Spies is that it is not the movie the trailer makes it seem to be. It isn't cool to be a spy in the real world.  Abel is one of the least cool people.

After all is done, I am left admiring James Donovan and his adherence to American values. It strikes me that in the battle against radicalism, Americanism is a good weapon. 

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance

Directed by: Steven Spielberg; Written by the Coens. 

The Music: The music is very spare. Mostly silent.

The Visuals: Mostly dialog. One excellent scene is when Power is shot down, and he is dangling from the plane as it falls. The other great visual is when the escaping East Berliners are shot trying to climb wall. All the 50's era stuff is interesting in a Mad Men way. 

Rating: 3.0 stars: It's a standard 2.5 star movie with an extra half star for the political message. 

More: Here are photos:

Donovan with President Kennedy

Rudolf Abel

Even More: Here is a story about the Donovan's from their home town paper in Lake Placid.

Sicario

Plot: FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is assigned to a militarized drug task force along the US-Mexican border. Her new colleagues, Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), are using aggressive, bloody tactics on their raids on drug runners and king-pins. Kate and her partner Reggie (Daniel) follow along in increasingly adventurous raids which lead to a dark and morally-clouded finale.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Dark. Intense. Gripping and Exciting too.

What does law enforcement do in the name of the greater good? Plenty of shooting.

Sicario is a top movie with good characters, big action, subtle action, and a message. I really liked it even though it left me feeling bleak and empty by the end. 

Benicio Del Toro's Alejandro is a force of nature; Alejandro has a long past with politics, criminals, retribution to his family; he is strategic, emotional, and brutal. Del Toro makes this performance look easy.

Emily Blunt's Kate is super-competent, but she and her boss are conflicted about bending the rules to get the bad guys. As the rules get bent into pretzels, her conscience becomes the surrogate for the audience's.

This is a well-made,thoughtful movie with great characters and a moral issue to chew on. I loved it.

Cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

The Music: Great soundtrack by Johann Johannsson. Often drum heavy, but hitting the emotional beats hard exactly. The final song, The Beast, echos the bleak, dark mood of the final scenes. The music played over the soccer game is some of the saddest music ever. The soundtrack should get an Oscar.

The Visuals: The best visual was the soldiers sneaking up to the smuggler tunnel with the setting sun behind them. All or nearly all the bloody shooting is off-camera, so it is not a gory as it could be.  

Rating: 4.0 stars: Even though Sicario is serious, it is still exciting, and parts are fun to watch. 

More: "Sicario" means hitman in Mexico; it originally meant a Jewish Nationalist in Roman Palestine.

Even More: Last week at The Martian, no one asked "Why save Watley?" even though spending the money used to save Watley on vaccinations for poor people would have saved many more lives. Utilitarianism says the best outcome is the one where the most people are in the best condition. 

In Sicario, the USA justifies a lot of killing using the utilitarian principle that by killing these drug smugglers today, more people will live elsewhere. That is, extra-constitutional, extra-territorial violence doesn't matter in the name of the greater good.

In The Martian there is a different moral calculus, that we had a absolute moral requirement to rescue the astronauts because they took the risk on our behalf, and we needed to expend any cost to do so. 

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The Martian

Plot: Because of an emergency Mark Watley (Matt Damon) is left for dead on Mars by his ship Captain (Jessica Chastain), but he isn't dead. He needs to figure out how to grow food and signal for help. In time, he connects with NASA and his old crew is involved in his rescue attempt.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: The Martian is a dramatic and engaging film with big stakes and interesting characters. I liked it. 

Two things make the movie great, the clever script and Matt Damon. The script threads a delicate balance of irreverent, light-heartedness with a long series of life and death challenges. Matt Damon is great too. He is human and also capable.

Unlike Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Matt has technology to communicate with; there is plenty of dialog even though no one is physically present.

While the arc of the story is easy to guess, the problem solving steps are fascinating. In this way, it is a technical journey from problem to problem as much as it is a physical journey across Mars and across Space.

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Krisen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mackenzie Davis

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Written by: Drew Goddard, based on the book by Andy Weir

The Music: Music is a highlight with orchestral music by Gregson-Williams supplemented with disco and pop tracks like Starman by David Bowie

The Visuals: The space scenes are outstanding. I want to see a making of movie video. It looked like so much fun floating around weightlessly on the Hermes from chamber to chamber.

The Mars scenes were solid, but not cool. 

Rating: 3.5 stars: Strong movie. Dramatic. Interesting. About something.

More: When Lewis says on the radio, "... this is Hermes Actual." It means that she is the commander of the Hermes. 

Even More: The movie script was better than the book because it drops the boring parts. The book is interesting because it explains the science better. I'd like to see an article on the whether the science of The Martian is actually reasonable.

Yet More: Unlike every other rescue movie, there is no crying wife and kids at home. It is refreshing NOT to this well-worn trope here.

Everest

Plot: Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) runs a Mount Everest guide service, and for $65000 each he is guiding climbers including Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin) to the top. They are delayed, and on the way down there is a terrible storm. In the extreme conditions everyone struggles to survive. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Everest was a little disappointing. The film isn't interesting until climbing starts, and it is exciting until the snow starts. I found the climbing action confusing because it was hard to tell who was who in all the gear. I didn't think the climbing action was interesting, although the falling was exciting.

I found the conversations with the wives too predictable, and the final conversations were really sad -- but predictably sad. How often do we have wives introduced so someone could cry? Kiera Knightley, Rob's wife, had a great tearful phone call -- sure looked like real tears. Good actress.

I liked the helicopter rescue scene -- dramatic and interesting.

Overall, the dangerousness of the climb was the message. How dumb were these people to risk there lives on the mountain? And also, if I were in there shoes, I'd be just as stupid and try to push ahead to the top and then probably die.

So after thinking about how I'd probably die on the mountain, ask me if I liked it. Well? No not really. Made me feel mortal, which I am after all. This is not an escapist movie.

Cast: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Kiera Knightley

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur

The Music: Above average modern orchestral music with a interesting moments.

The Visuals: I saw this in 3D on a premium screen, not IMAX, but I paid $3 more that regular. I was disappointed. There are a few good mountain shots, but it is not spectacular movie. 

Rating: 1.5 stars: It deserves 2 stars but it gets only 1.5 because I don't like thinking about my own death. Excuse me, I'm going to listen to some funeral music.

More: .

Even More.

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Shaun the Sheep Movie

Plot: Shaun the Sheep devises a plan to take a vacation, but it goes wrong and The Farmer gets lost in town with amnesia. Shaun and the other sheep head to to town to rescue him, but The Farmer has become a celebrity hair stylist and does not want to leave. In town, Shaun and friends are hunted by the animal control officer. After many adventures the animals go back to the farm, and everyone appreciates how nice their familiar routine really was. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Clever, cute. Fun-to-watch and never boring. No dialog to carry the story, just a few Scoobie-Doo style vocalizations that vaguely sound like words. Yet, it is easy to follow the simply plot.

One of the best had the dog in a hospital operating room. The dog needs to hide the fact that he does not know how to operate, and he gets too distracted by the bones in the anatomical skeleton in the room.

Another great scene is when the sheep disguise themselves as people and go to a restaurant. They don't know what to do, so they all imitate another diner -- funny and silly.

With sheep away, the pigs take over the house, and act like piggy people -- also pretty funny.

Having said all this, it is a simple movie with simple emotional beats. It is well-told. 

Written and directed by: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak

The Music: Good songs. I bought Big City by Eliza Doolittle. 

The Visuals: It's mostly claymation with a few computer effects. Its cute and the animation is not distracting in either a good or bad way. 

Rating: 2.5 stars: Fun to watch and all, but it is still pretty simple. No human drama or clever social commentary.

More: I want a T-Shirt with the psycho dog from the jail on it. 

Even More: Shaun the Sheep has had his own TV show in the UK since 2007.

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The Man from UNCLE

Plot: In 1963, American spy Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Soviet spy Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) need to find a nuclear scientist to preventing him from selling bomb-making secrets. They track down his daughter Gaby (Alicia Vikander) in Berlin and go together to Italy. All the while Illya and Solo are in a constant rivalry.  They crash a ritzy party, break into a secret lab, and almost drown in a harbor. In they end, their governments decide they need to work together to make a sequel.  [imdb]    [photos]

Review: Man from Uncle is a light spy film -- great for summer movies and drive-ins. It is a little bit jokey, a little bit campy. The violence is bloodless and the story doesn't require much attention. It works; Man from Uncle is fun to watch in that popcorn movie kind of way. 

An example of the tone is when Illya was driving a boat in the harbor and being chased by bad guys in another boat. Solo casually steals and eats someone's lunch while the chase scene goes in and out of view in the window over his shoulder. 

Director Richie spends time developing the characters. Illya is a little crazy, and can go out-of-control. Solo is into clothes and art theft. 

Don't look for any messages or moralizing. Solo is a thief on the side, and they run up a high body count. They don't kill each other, so friendship rules to that extent. 

Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander with Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Debicki

Directed by: Guy Ritchie who also shares writing credit

The Music: Loved the music by Daniel Pemberton. Very evocative. Almost all the tracks are good. I also liked a few of the period songs. 

The Visuals: I loved the beautiful pictures of Italy. The spy action was not as showy as a Bond movie and as mentioned, sometimes a little comic. Being set in 1963 there is some Mad Man like attention to period gadgets and fashion.

Rating: 2.5 stars: because it is fun to watch. Not higher because it is forgettable. 

More: I remember the original series. I regularly watched the re-runs. 

Even More.The original concept for the Man from Uncle was developed by Ian Fleming the author of 

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Ricky and the Flash

Plot: Ricky (Meryl Streep) is 60-year old rock singer who plays in bar band with her boy friend Greg (Rick Springfield), and she works a day job as a grocery checker. She has three grown kids in Indiana. Her daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer) attempts suicide after she gets dumped by her husband. Ricky's ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kline) tells Ricky to come back to help Julie, and she does. Lots of family drama ensues with tough conversations with each kid, Pete, and Pete's new wife Maureen (Audra McDonald). Ricky goes back to California, and plays some music, and then decides to come back for her son's wedding. After more family drama, it all ends Bollywood-style with line dancing to Ricky's pop rock music. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: This is an art movie built around the final wedding scene where the long-lost Mom shows up at the wedding reception, and everyone recognizes how she lived a worthwhile life too -- also how cool she is.

If you come to the movie looking for a light comedy, a rock 'n' roll biopic, or a musical you will be disappointed. This is a artsy, dark comedy where dark means absurdly funny not haha funny.

The film plays with the contrast between the artist's lifestyle in California, and an upper-class professional lifestyle in the Midwest. (The Midwest being a symbol for not creative or enlightened.) The dialog scenes move quickly, and they are the point of the story.

The musical portions have a function in the story and are not simply performances, however, the music scenes are hit-and-miss when judged as music. Meryl gets a few songs right, and a few made me want to take a nap. She has a good voice. I wished there was less music and more dramatic action. Meryl always looks like she is having fun.

There were several good scenes. I liked the scene when Meryl rants to her bar room audience about how women rockers are considered bad mothers but male rockers are never judged as fathers. Another great scene is with Audra McDonald playing Pete's new wife. It was classy cat-fight with great dialog.

This movie could have benefit from a few sad scenes. We scarcely see regret from Ricky, and everyone feels regret about paths not taken. Ricky has had a sad life, but it is spun as happy & free rather than bittersweet. 

Cast: Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer (Meryl's real life daughter), Rick Springfield, Kevin Kline

Directed by: Jonathan Demme

Written by: Diablo Cody

The Music: Not embarrassing. Generally serviceable. Too many songs.

Rating: 2.5 stars:.

More: They did not edit out the joke about gay marriage being illegal. The news moves faster than the movies.

Even More: Meryl's acting method gets deep into her characters even off camera, so acting against her daughter was probably interesting.

Yet More: I am getting tired of gay children coming out in every movie, and then after 20 minutes everyone is so accepting. How many movies has that happened in?