Review: "Bridge of Spies"

Steven Spielberg. Tom Hanks. The Cold War. Sounds like the proper ingredients to turn an interesting sliver of history into a compelling motion picture, right? While, not without its bright spots, the pleasures of Bridge of Spies are milder than you would expect, the thrills more low key. A disappointing entry into Spielberg's filmography.

The movie opens in 1957, with the capture of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel by the FBI. Played with quiet dignity and a dash of wit by Mark Rylance, Abel is to be paraded in front of the press and given the full benefit of American due process. Or, at least, the appearance of it. That's how attorney James B. Donovan enters the picture. An ex-military man, Donovan assisted in the prosecution at the Nuremberg trials before settling into a partnership at a New York firm. Naturally, Hanks plays the attorney; and if you equate him to a modern-day James Stewart, this would be a cross between the naive idealist in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and the confident intellectual in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope.

During his preparation of the case, Donovan encounters resistance from everyone -- his family, his firm, the public at large -- except the person he expected it from most: Abel, himself. The developing respect between these men and the chemistry between the actors who portray them, is unquestionably the strongest aspect of the film's first half. But, there's a lot going on, and there are important ideas at play, and it feels surprisingly un-engaging. Lots of conflict and no tension.

The second half of the film fares better, moving from New York to Berlin in 1961, where Donovan attempts to secure a deal to swap Abel for Gary Powers, the pilot of a downed U-2 spy plane. The change in setting from high-rises and courtrooms to checkpoints and post-war rubble certainly lends itself to greater suspense. Limited support from the agency and no official backing from the government places Donovan out on a limb, sniffling and sneezing his way through back-channel negotiations with the Soviets. Complicating matters are the East Germans, using a captured American student as a bargaining chip to get Abel for themselves, something the agency doesn't care about, but Donovan is unwilling to ignore.

Spielberg and his screenwriters, Matt Charman and Joel & Ethan Coen, skip along the surface, cover lots of ground, but rarely dig into anything substantial. They also take time away from the main story to include scenes of America's U-2 spy missions, specifically, the recruitment of Powers, his crash over the Soviet Union, his trial, and subsequent interrogations. For some, the U-2 crash will inject a welcome burst of energy at the film's midpoint, but the rest of Powers' scenes lack punch and feel like filler.

Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski might approach the backlighting of some scenes with too much zeal, but the technical brilliance we've come to expect from a Spielberg production is intact. Notably, long-time collaborator John Williams was unable to score the picture, with Thomas Newman filling in admirably. The film might miss Williams' panache, but I wouldn't cite it as the reason why Bridge of Spies is a slightly ho-hum affair.

Review: "Jurassic World"

It's tough to take on the fourth film in any franchise and shake up the formula. Perhaps the most successful fourth film in recent memory, 2009's Fast and Furious, is a film that worked very hard to be, first and foremost, a sequel to its originator, creating a strong sense of nostalgia in the process. What's good for one Universal Pictures series is good for another, I suppose, and the new Jurassic Park movie has taken a similar approach. From locations and props to specific shots; the inclusion of actor BD Wong, returning as Dr. Henry Wu from the first film; and incorporating the iconic John Williams score into new music by Michael Giacchino, Jurassic World is trading heavily on our fond memories of Spielberg's original.

The film will be a nice calling card for Director Colin Trevorrow. It proves that he can take on a mega-budget blockbuster film and not screw it up. If that seems like a backhanded compliment, it's really not. Where many have tried to deliver a satisfying summer movie that will please most, most have failed, and a solid effort like this will place him on every short list in Hollywood.

Review: "Mad Max: Fury Road" Delivers The Goods

If you haven't seen any of George Miller's post-apocalyptic Mad Max films, or just haven't seen them in a long time, don't worry. His latest entry into the series, Mad Max: Fury Road, is a story that stands on its own.

Stepping into the role originated by Mel Gibson, Tom Hardy is Max, a former cop in a lawless wasteland, haunted by the lives he couldn't save along the way. "My world is fire and blood," he states in the opening voice over, right before we see him take a bite out of a two-headed gecko. He's a loner, only interested in survival, and what it takes to survive is not often pleasant.

After a quick scene of zooming cars in the desert, just a taste of what's to come later in the film, Max is captured by Warboys and taken to The Citadel, where the key players are a tyrannical warlord known as Immortan Joe (played by original Mad Max baddie, Hugh Keays-Byrne), ruling his people as a god and promising paradise in the afterlife, and Imperator Furiosa, a battle-forged champion driver played by Charlize Theron.

Furiosa leaves on a routine mission driving a huge rig full of "guzzoline" and a secret cargo: five of Immortan Joe's fiercely protected, disease-free breeding beauties, whom he keeps locked safely away from other men. Played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoe Kravitz, Abbey Lee, Courtney Eaton, and Riley Keough, they are all committing treason by leaving for a chance at freedom. Their destination is The Green Place -- a beautiful, lush land from Furiosa's childhood memories.

When the truck goes off course, it sets into motion what is essentially a giant chase for two hours. Immortan Joe sends all his Warboys and every available car, truck, dirt bike and dune buggy after them, with Max dragged along for the ride. Nicholas Hoult is Nux, one of the brainwashed devotees of Immortan Joe. He gives religious extremism a human face, a kamikaze Warboy searching for glory in this life or the next.

This is a very macho action film that happens to contain a number of strong female characters and no romance. If that's feminist, it's okay by me. I was supremely entertained, and my hat goes off to Charlize Theron, in particular, for not only portraying Furiosa with grit and emotion, but also being 100% believable in every action shot. Part of the credit for that goes to Miller, cinematographer John Seale, and the stunt team, but Theron simply nails it. Furiosa is a fully-formed character, a bona fide action icon, and Theron becomes the most convincing female badass in a Hollywood movie since Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. So, rock on, Ladies.

Fury Road is a sequel that reaches the rarified air of surpassing the previous films in the series. The Road Warrior will always be held up as an example of great action cinema, but Fury Road is bigger and badder and more extreme. It reaches moments that are so completely bananas that I was filled with a giddy sense of awe, especially knowing that Miller went to great lengths to achieve everything he could through practical means. (Yes, those are real cars and real stuntmen flying through the hot desert air!) The score by Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL is percussive and sweeping and the pacing is relentless. While other blockbusters stop and start like city traffic, Fury Road takes the autobahn and dares us to keep up with it. Admittedly, this cuts down on scenes that exist solely for other purposes -- character development, exposition, etc. -- but, Miller finds a way to incorporate those things into the action itself, crafting concise moments of visual storytelling that provide all the context we need. It's a remarkable example of large-scale action filmmaking that will be referenced for years to come.

Quick Review: "About Elly"

About Elly is the first time I've dipped into Iranian cinema. It's a 2009 film from Asghar Farhadi, the director of A Separation (2012 Oscar Winner - Best Foreign Language Film). Due to murky legalities and strained political relationships, however, this amazing work couldn't get a U.S. release until now. The story follows a group of old classmates--three couples, children in toe, and a recently-divorced friend--who leave Tehran for a few days of fun on the beaches of the Caspian Sea. In an attempt to play matchmaker, Sepideh (Golshifteh Farahani) brings along her child's teacher, Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti), an attractive but quiet woman she barely knows, to round out the octet. Elly seems uncomfortable from the beginning, the reasons for which are kept ambiguous. When a terrible crisis shakes the group, Elly mysteriously vanishes; kicking off an exhaustive search and plenty of finger pointing that will test them all, especially Sepideh. Some culturally-specific complications arise also, but this is a suspense film above all. Director Farhadi, who also wrote the screenplay and co-authored the story with Azad Jafarian, creates almost Hitchcockian-level intrigue with each new revelation.

Check out the trailer below. About Elly is in theaters now.

Review: "Unfriended"

Unfriended is a neat little riff on the found footage/quasi-documentary style of horror that has been popular since The Blair Witch Project burst onto the scene in 1999. The entire film plays out on a computer screen in real time, bouncing back and forth between internet searches, private messages, social media, and video chat. It's web surfing as spectator sport, but at only eighty-two minutes, it's brief, and surprisingly effective.

The premise is simple: One year after their friend, Laura, committed suicide -- the result of a humiliating viral video and cyber cruelty -- a group of teens are harassed during a video chat by an unknown person using her account. What begins as a seemingly sick joke turns deadly as someone seeks revenge on Laura's behalf.

The characters are certainly stock, but the actors do their job being appropriately irritated, confused, terrified, etc. What is more impressive is the overall execution of a concept that could have gotten tired very quickly. Director Leo Gabriadze (Vykrutasy aka Lucky Trouble) and his team do a great job of making sure your eyes are moving back and forth across the frame, from one window to the next and one face to another.

Using the name "Laura," is most likely an homage to the 1944 Otto Preminger film, which is fitting because Unfriended works as an updated version of old-fashioned Hollywood mystery movies. So, while this would seem to appeal solely to millennials, who are more in tune with digital gobbledygook (which there isn't that much of, actually), those who love whodunits like The Thin Man or Ten Little Indians will at least recognize the classic formula and payoff. I certainly appreciated it more for that reason, but my expectation level was very low going in.

Quick Review: "Run All Night"

The latest Liam Neeson actioner, Run All Night is from Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed the star in two of his more recent movies: Unknown and Non-Stop. Collet-Serra delivers a pretty solid movie this time around, filled with gunfights and car chases and grounded with the macho quality of seventies movies like The French Connection or The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Neeson and Ed Harris both put the weight of long, respected careers to good use here, playing two friends torn apart after Neeson must kill Harris' son in order to protect his own -- a similar dynamic to the Kirk Douglas/Anthony Quinn western Last Train From Gun Hill. Actually, many scenes reminded me of other (better) films, but there's enough going on to keep you involved and enjoying yourself. Joel Kinnaman as Neeson's estranged son partially redeems himself for the poor outing as Robocop, and both Vincent D'Onofrio and Common make the most of their small roles. The action scenes are on par with modern quick-cut, shaky-camera features, but not overdone to the point of nausea. (It's movies like this that will make you appreciate the incredible work in last year's John Wick that much more.) The transition shots, which Collet-Serra employs to zoom from one location to another between scenes, were a questionable choice that doesn't fit the rest of the film's gritty, no-nonsense tone, as was the cliched use of slow motion at key moments; both took me out of the movie whenever they were used. Aside from that, Run All Night is recommended as one of Neeson's better post-Taken movies.

2014: My Favorites

You might have noticed that things have been fairly quiet here at Setting the Frame over the last few months. Sorry about that. Work has been tough, and I've been feeling a bit tired and unmotivated. Also, it hasn't helped that a number of awards-eligible films didn't get wide releases until mid- or late- January, so putting my final end of the year list together hasn't been all laziness, just partly.

Looking back at the last twelve months, I'd say there was an uptick in overall quality from 2013, but I'm not sure the highs were quite as high, just that the lows weren't nearly as low, if that makes sense. I know it wasn't everybody's cup of tea, but Gravity was, to me, one of the great theatrical experiences; 12 Years a Slave was an emotional gut punch that nothing this year could match; and Her was a touching human story that dealt beautifully with the expanding role of technology in our 21st Century lives. I have a feeling those three would be near the top just about any year.

That said, there were still great films this year, featuring both amazing performances and excellence in film craft. I ended up seeing 102 first-run movies and a handful of revivals, my favorite of which was seeing William Friedkin's 1977 film, Sorcerer, on the big screen. 22 Jump Street, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow and The Lego Movie were tremendous fun, and the action scenes in John Wick and The Raid 2 were just phenomenal! All of those are films that could have snuck onto the list.

And, I mean that. I'm not trying to impress anyone by picking only serious films; I enjoy all types of films. The final group I settled on as my six favorites include a studio tentpole, a farce, a thriller, a foreign language entry, and two dramas. Each of them connected with me in different ways. For some, I knew while watching that they would be at the top, and for others, they just stuck in my brain long enough.

I don't usually point out "worst" movies of the year, but as far as disappointments go, it's worth mentioning that The Interview wasn't worth the fuss North Korea made over it. I didn't love This is the End, the last film Seth Rogan directed and co-wrote, but at least I laughed a lot. My wife and I watched The Interview together, and we have wildly different tastes in comedies, and even she didn't think it was funny. It was a complete misfire for Rogan, and that comes from someone who (mostly) enjoys The Green Hornet.

It surprised me that Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and Paul Thomas Anderson all released films in 2014, but none of them ended up on my final list of favs. Interstellar is certainly ambitious and at times beautiful. I can understand why many people love it, but it just doesn't work for me in many ways. Gone Girl is a tabloid story elevated by good writing and A-list talent, skewering marriage and our obsession with gossip and scandal. Only one film was more darkly comedic and more horrifying than Fincher's, and it's on my final list. As for Anderson, I liked Inherent Vice a lot, and given more time it may have risen higher. If there was a movie on the bubble, this brilliantly convoluted, seventies P.I. flick would be it.

The historical dramas vying for awards consideration this year were all well built films that each moved me in different ways. The Theory of Everything touched me more than the others, whereas Imitation Game engaged me more intellectually, I think. There's been a lot of discussion as to why Selma isn't up for more awards and why, in general, there isn't more diversity in Hollywood. I'm not sure I can speak to that. Selma is a compelling story that needed to be told. The filmmaking, however, felt unremarkable to me. If the debate surrounding it leads to more opportunities for new voices, all the better, but it just didn't hit me the way I thought it should have.

Before continuing to my favorites, here's a group of movies I'd like to highlight for specific reasons. Not really a runner-ups list so much as a special mentions:

X-Men: Days of Future Past didn't make my list, but I was amazed how well that came together, essentially wiping the slate clean in a way that didn't negate the previous films, and the Quicksilver scene was one of the most memorable of any summer movie. X-Men is perfectly capable of existing on its own, apart from the other Marvel characters, and if the quality stays as high as Days of Future Past, I'm all for 20th Century Fox keeping it as their own.

Speaking of Fox, their other summer franchise entry, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was dark and nuanced. The performance capture work done by Andy Serkis and his team brought the characters to life in a way that was previously impossible. It proves that Rise was no fluke, and that 20th Century Fox has not just a name brand to exploit in Apes, but an interesting and thrilling story to tell with this franchise.

Under the Skin may not have worked for me entirely, but it was undeniably stylish, with some of the most unique visuals of any movie this year. It also features one of the most unsettling scenes of the year for me. As I stated in my review of the film, "It's a daring piece of cinema and a must-see for the more adventurous moviegoer," and I stand by that.

I have mostly enjoyed the previous films of David Ayer (End of Watch, Sabotage), but he's a filmmaker who hasn't been able to put it all together, in my opinion. Fury comes pretty damn close though, and it's a film I have recommended people buy on blu-ray at work many times. It looks great, sounds great, and features an ensemble of actors unafraid to play it dirty, even ugly at times.

And, as a movie that seems to have been completely forgotten about, skipped over, or snubbed by most, Noah is the work of a true visionary. What I loved about it, aside from the visuals, which are stunning at times, is that director Darren Aronofsky boldly asks "What kind of man could do this? Who could watch the world end and not save as many as he could?" The answer is something many moviegoers were unprepared for, and that made it much more interesting than a straightforward adaptation.

Hit the jump for my 2014 favorites, in alphabetical order.