Bridge Of Spies

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks reunite along with the Cohen brothers as screen writers for Bridge Of Spies, a historical account of the spy exchange during the Cold War.  This was a larger than life movie with set pieces fitting the bill and it was expertly directed and conveyed by the above mentioned along with the rest of the cast and production.  Bridge Of Spies has the feel of that old school Hollywood film making and Hanks has always exemplified that old school, everyman, acting feel in his performances.

Carol

I will literally watch anything Cate Blanchett is in. She's a very first rate actress that conveys so much in her roles.  Pairing her with the talented Rooney Mara is a fine cocktail indeed.  The story of a young innocent Rooney (think Audrey Hepburn) finding her sexuality in the sophisticated and older Blanchett in the 1950's, Carol is full of great performances.  As in The Danish Girl, the cinematography interplays with the acting and beckons the audience with that grainy, 16mm, limited color spectrum seen in many pictures of the era.  It's a mesmerizing look coupled with mesmerizing performances for many scenes seemingly so simple.  In many ways, these elements remind me of Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love. It's a great exercise in minimalism for maximum effect.

Legend

Tom Hardy can do everything. Nothing new here, except he's playing twin brothers who were real British gangsters.  I thought it was a comedy from the trailer, but it's an actual biopic.  The problem here is that it often plays like other British gangster films with it's over the top nature and there's nothing really to take away from it.  Even the fictional Goodfellas had a certain weightiness to it, that made you believe it could have been a true account.  It also doesn't help that half the time, you can't understand what the fuck everyone was saying, which I don't normally complain about.  But I didn't wanna have to resort to subtitles for a UK film.

The Big Short

I wasn't particularly interested in the subject matter of The Big Short dealing with the financial crisis of the 2007-8 era, but the this film made it much more palatable a narrative from the point of view of the insiders and had a great ensemble of talented actors.

The Danish Girl

The range of the actor Eddie Redmayne is really amazing and The Danish Girl certainly exemplifies that equally as well as The Theory Of Everything.  Director Tom Hooper (Le Miserables and The King's Speech) is also at his best here.  It explores the transgender story of Danish artist Lili Elbe during a time in a more hostile time and climate in the early 20th century.  Most notable in what I liked about the movie, was not just the great performances in Redmayne and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), but the cinematography and beautiful landscape settings that punctuates the story.

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War is not just a great action blockbuster full of surprises, but it is also the best put together superhero movie in terms of character development and dramatic narrative. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo do a superb job of holding this 2 1/2 hr. ensemble together, albeit a bit haphazard and rushed in introducing The Black Panther and Spiderman. There's a lot, and I mean a fuckin' lot going on in this movie.  It's very easy to forget that it's a Captain America movie and not an Avengers movie.  But we are reminded with the omission of Thor and the Hulk, which actually in a way serves the movie well, dare I say.  This is because the abilities of Captain America are more scaled down than those two titans.  It's gritty, close quarters combat and athleticism and so the playing field is more even keeled with the likes of Black Widow, The Black Panther, Bucky, Falcon, and Hawkeye getting a chance to shine more. Sort of like a passing of the torch from Iron Man, Thor, and The Hulk - the originals with larger than life abilities to heroes with more relatable abilities.  The writing and directing team of Winter Soldier ain't no joke and Marvel has just really outdone itself here with plenty of film/television plots to carry on from here.

The Hateful Eight

Admittedly, the trailer to this movie didn't impress me at first. So I finally got a chance to see what all the buzz was about. The Hateful Eight is an impressive and solid Tarantino movie with the best cast of many of his previous movies.  Yes, there's significant blood and violence and unexpected moments in Tarantino fashion. But much more, it is a strongly, dialogue driven, who done it mystery with the seemingly simple premise that unravels like a ball of yarn attached to dynamite.  All the best moments of Tarantino films are there, intertwined with the usual talents of Sam Jackson, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern and Kurt Russell back at the table. Anchor this to no less impressive performances in Jennifer Jason Leigh and Walter Goggins (I'm so fuckin' glad this talented dude from tv's Justified got a chance to shine on the big screen).  I certainly wouldn't say it's the absolute best Tarantino film, but I certainly appreciate what he was trying to pull off.  The ensembles pieces of the old classic dialogue and mystery films and even what I discerned was a kind of reunion with his own earlier classics like Reservoir Dogs in particular, were what I really personally appreciated the most about The Hateful Eight.  Like, he was also going back to his own stylistic roots. It of course, has it's flaws.  The unfolding of the plot falls off a bit 3/4 of the way in and kind of erodes away the slow burn of character revelation and development, that certainly could have rounded out the overall story arch. Tarantino has certainly been guilty of that before.  I get it.  He and we as the audience are like a kid in the candy store gone wild after discipline has been sustained for too long.  As in Django Unchained, Tarantino is still flirting with the slavery and Civil War ashes of the 19th century in America and still gives Sam Jackson some of the best and funniest moments of the film (perhaps as a sort of redemption for his Uncle Tom gone wild character in the previous).