were there political implications in that film? per se?

Spielberg, to the best of my recollection, does not combine odd film angles and close ups with hard humour in the same manner as Lynch. Consider the Ott phone answering moments, the high-angled shot of his secretary on the hallway chair, the Hilton American breakfast being laid down, I thought daddy was salmon fishing, the wide angle head shot and three or so sharpened pencils lined up on the confessional desk with exceptional lighting for a soviet era prison cell moment (that was more coen than lynch though), ... i need time to think of more. don't get me wrong, i enjoyed the film. it is well-crafted. for instance, the destruction of the U-2 plane was an amazing silent film moment, brilliant editing and pacing.

Well, simply the idea of a man standing for the principles of his profession (and his nation) in contrast to those who want to brush those principles aside due to the popular demands of the moment. Perhaps political implications is the wrong phrase.


I think it is mostly post-Schindler's List historical films where Spielberg does not do these sort of things, so if those are mostly the Spielberg films you have in memory then I don't blame you for thinking so. But things like these have been in his work from the beginning, and continue to be in his sci-fi work. The Color Purple, Close Encounters, Duel, Jaws, War of the Worlds, etc, are often full of humor that seems both too much and kind of tossed off and light at the same time, with all kinds of cartoonish camera angles. Part of what I liked about the film is that it brought the childlike element of Spielberg back to his historical concerns. Honestly after Lincoln was so straightforwardly serious I thought it was the final straw for Spielberg, so I'm glad he has this old lightness back. You make a good point by bringing up the Coens though, because their sensibility is definitely present here. Another Coensy moment is when Hanks meets his client's "family." I didn't know they were co-writers until the credit at the end but when I did it made perfect sense.

In other news
Brooklyn is an okay film. Much more a "woman's film" than I was expecting, but interesting and likable in terms of walking the line between something that's completely predictable and something which is interestingly executed in 2015. A kind of quietly weird film. The feel is in similar vein to Mad Men where it's a combination of soap opera and cool heightened period realism, but with a different balance with slightly more emphasis on subjective, expressive shots. I'm not sure I care to articulate why I liked it beyond that because I doubt my true thoughts on the film would convince anyone to see it one way or the other. Strange example of a film which moves me and makes me cry for deeply personal reasons but at the same time I'm not going to pretend it's more than just a good film.

Also I rewatched Birdman recently and now that the hype has thoroughly passed, I will say it is a great film which is not as cool as it thinks it is, but nevertheless a great film. You have to go back to Annie Hall to find a Best Picture winner that is more unusual than this one and it doesn't deserve to be dismissed as middlebrow schlock, but embraced as middlebrow excellence.

As a rule any film that gets called pretentious by guys with comic book character avatars is immediately on my to watch list.

You guys have convinced me to see Bridge of Spies. I was hoping Brooklyn would be that Atonement-esque sleeper hit of the year. Anyone see Spotlight yet? I only have good word from Ryan.

Looks like December is shaping up to be a month of cinema going after all.

Yeah I'm interested in Spotlight but only as like a streaming/download/rental down the line. It's annoying that of the acclaimedish films that make it out to the actual theaters in lame cities like mine it's very often the boringly shot ones like this and Margin Call. basically if I'm looking at offices for 90% of the film you better shoot them like Fincher does or I'm staying the fuck away from the theater.

any time a movie like margin call or spotlight comes out it always reminds me of shattered glass which is a really good movie. just a random thought.

lol i just thought i needed to watch that the other day to complete my chloe sevigny filmography

probably the only movie that has a good performance from christensen, and that's counting hypothetical future performances too.

Spotlight
8.5/10

Very well acted, well written, and well constructed film about journalism and the quest for justice in the same vein as All The Presidents Men, The Verdict, JFK, and The Insider. I'd recommended it and I'm sure it'll get some Oscar attention.

i concur bridge of spies was really good. i was surprised i was so engrossed by it.

spotlight was excellent. michael keaton was probably the best of the cast. basically i echo what ahawk said. it also reminded me of all the president's men. it was gripping but measured and objective, like good journalism.

and margin call is fantastic. i saw it for the 3rd time recently. still great. my girlfriend and i are economics majors so maybe that contributes to what makes it so exciting for us.

I liked The Good Dinosaur more than Inside Out. My viewing was interrupted and disturbed though so I'll have to see it again before making any kind of real comments. I will say that it may well be my favorite Pixar, which is not to say the best. Just the one that speaks to me most personally. And, I think George will enjoy this film, and especially the short before it, which is probably my favorite Pixar short. At the very least, I'm glad to say the critics missed the boat completely on this one.

((-: you're talking about "sanjay's super team", yes? i tried finding it online but without any luck.

yes! It probably won't be available online for about 5 months.

Might watch the movie just for that short