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Bridge of Spies-2015

Director Steven Spielberg

Starring Tom Hanks

Scott’s Review #399

Reviewed April 28, 2016

Grade: B+

Tom Hanks teams with Stephen Spielberg once again in another A-list Hollywood film.

Like Saving Private Ryan (1998), Bridge of Spies (2015) is a historical film. This time, it features the Cold War; the film begins in 1957.

The camera work, artwork, and set decorations are second to none, and the film looks and feels authentic.

As interesting as the overall result is—it felt like a well-made film—something was missing that kept it from being truly riveting, which is why it received a B+ rating.

With Spielberg and Hanks on board, one will get a quality film.

Hanks portrays James B. Donovan, a Brooklyn attorney specializing in insurance law, a negotiation wiz, and someone with experience in the Nuremberg trials.

He is assigned to defend suspected spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) in what everyone assumes is an open-and-shut case; his guilt is taken as a given.

Abel has been arrested by the FBI and is thought to be a Russian spy. They will release him on the condition that he reveal Soviet contacts, but he refuses.

Meanwhile, an American pilot, Frances Powers, is captured in Soviet territory and taken hostage. To make matters more complicated, an American graduate student, Pryor, is trapped behind the Berlin Wall in East Germany and not allowed by the Germans to leave.

Donovan is pressured to defend Abel in the United States while also making a deal to return the three men to their respective countries.

Hanks, a great actor, is his typical stoic, capable self, and his portrayal reminds me of his role in Captain Phillips (2013), calm, well-mannered- a clear yet quiet leader.

The role is not as flashy as other legendary Hanks roles (Forrest Gump-1994, Philadelphia-1993). The film centers around Hanks and caters to his acting style. His character is always front and center.

Hanks never gives a bad performance, and I admire him in almost anything.

Let’s discuss the role and Mark Rylance’s Oscar-winning portrayal.

Giving a very subdued, nuanced performance, he is good and low-key in what could have been an energetic, over-the-top performance if written that way, but I am not sure I would have handed him the golden statuette over a few of the other nominees in the 2015 Supporting Actor category.

This isn’t a criticism, but I am unsure if he warrants an Academy Award.

Bridge of Spies is very detail-oriented, and every set piece, from late-1950s cars to clothing, hairstyles, and home furnishings, is spot on.

The film was expensive to produce, and no expense seems spared.

The film travels from Brooklyn to the Soviet Union to Germany and gives off a patriotic, Americana flair that feels true to life for the time. There was such a sense of country and community.

Nothing makes this more apparent than the distasteful glares, coldness, and hatred many characters show toward Donovan.

To counteract this, when Donovan is ultimately more the hero, he is revered and celebrated.

As great as the film looks, something about it feels slightly disconnected.

I left wanting more from a story perspective and feeling slightly disengaged at times. I was never riveted or blown away, even though I knew I was watching a well-made film.

This can happen if the story is less compelling than the way the film looks, as with Bridge of Spies.

After I finished watching, I felt I didn’t need to see the film again, unlike truly great films you can watch again.

A slight mention: Bridge of Spies is a “guy’s film.” Amy Ryan, a great actress, does all she can with the film’s only real female role: Donovan’s dutiful, supportive wife, a role written one-dimensionally hundreds of times.

It is a shame her character is not fleshed out. The typical worried scenes, or her fretting for her husband to return home to his family, are purely reactionary and don’t advance the plot.

In this sense, the film deserves criticism for being too traditional.

Bridge of Spies is a good effort but not a tremendous film. It is the kind of film I liked but didn’t love.

Perhaps the names Spielberg and Hanks on the marquee had me expecting more.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor-Mark Rylance (won), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design

The Peanuts Movie-2015

Director Steve Martino

Starring Noah Schnapp

Scott’s Review #304

Reviewed December 20, 2015

Grade: B-

Having adored the Peanuts comic strips in the “funnies” papers every Sunday as a wee child, and the wonderful classic A Charlie Brown Christmas special (1965) that aired every holiday season, I was eager to see a full-length film in theaters.

The Peanuts Movie commemorates the Christmas special’s fiftieth anniversary. The Peanuts gang is so All-American and ingrained in our culture that I could not resist seeing it.

I expected “cute,” and that is exactly what I received. The film is nice but quite safe and predictable.

The Peanuts gang is much more than just the antics of Charlie Brown and his faithful dog Snoopy, who take center stage in the film.

The entire beloved gang is featured. Woodstock, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Linus, Lucy, Frieda, Pig-Pen, and others, albeit in supporting roles.

The film features two main stories.

The long-suffering and (in his mind) friendless (despite actually being loved by the gang), Charlie Brown is enamored with his new neighbor, the Little Red-Haired Girl, well-known from the original comic strips as Charlie Brown’s schoolyard crush-yet never seen.

The other is Snoopy’s writing of a book about the Flying Ace, in which he saves his crush, Fifi, also a pilot, from the dangerous Red Baron and his army.

As usual, the film is really about Charlie Brown’s endless insecurities, prompted by bad luck and his habit of screwing things up, even though his intentions are noble.

When the Little Red-Haired Girl moves in across the street from Charlie Brown, he is immediately smitten and does numerous things to impress her and get her attention, but things go wrong.

A talent show in which he plays a magician goes wrong.

To his delight, he is partnered with the Little Red-Haired Girl on a book report, but when she is called out of town, he is forced to write the report himself, thereby foiling his attempts at getting close to her.

As usual, all parents remain unseen and speak garbled as the story is about the kids.

An interesting element is that while we see the Little Red-Haired Girl and she does speak, most of it happens toward the end.

For most of the film, we see her only from behind, which adds an element of mystery.

It would have been interesting to explore some of the supporting characters more: is Peppermint Patty gay, and is Marcie her love interest? How about a love interest or background for some of the others? A side story explored is a growing romance between Pig-Pen and Patti.

The film does a nice job of featuring the familiar settings of the original comic strip, Lucy’s psychiatrist’s booth, the wall, and the skating pond, which is a treat for longtime fans.

The Peanuts Movie (2015) is a nice film. I would have preferred a bit more of an edge or more creativity, as the original creator, Charles Schulz, had, but it is nice to be reminded of a simple time in life, and this film is a good time.