Bridge of Spies (2015, dir. Steven Spielberg)

Steven Spielberg's latest won't change your life, outlook, or play with your emotions the same way that some of his previous work arguably has.  It is a decent film and has its admirable qualities but it certainly is not in the category of the blockbuster or emotional powerhouse that you might expect from the maker of "Schindler's List", "E.T." and "Jaws".  What Spielberg does do is create a fully realized, compelling vision of the Cold War-era, late 1950's where the threat of nuclear annihilation was building to a high in the United States and espionage both at home and abroad was becoming a familiar household term.

Tom Hanks stars as Jim Donovan, an American lawyer who is enlisted by the CIA to negotiate a swap between an alleged Soviet spy caught in the U.S. and an American soldier captured in the Soviet Union.

The film consists of a lot of wheeling and dealing over the exchange of prisoners, all taking place in Germany at the time of the raising of the Berlin Wall.  The period detail is mesmerizing and accurate.  The cold, barren cinematography and atmosphere in this region makes tangible the political situation in Germany at the time and makes the cold that Donovan develops when his overcoat is stolen believable.

Spielberg is not content to paint a one-dimensional, evil portrait of the Soviet and German characters.  Instead, he creates people, Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance) for example, as complex, admirable individuals who are caught up in the machinations of Cold War politics but strive to maintain a sense of dignity and valour. 

I was impressed with all the performances in "Bridge of Spies", particularly the two leads, Rylance and Hanks.  Their characters are sympathetic and multi-faceted and the actors embody them boldly and with finesse. 

This is a worthy addition to the Spielberg canon and is a riveting portrait of a chaotic time in our culture.

Sicario (2015, dir. Denis Villeneuve)

I missed "Sicario" in its initial run in my local theater.  Luckily, I found a screening in a city half and hour away in a little 40-seat theatre whose walls were so thin you could hear the movie in the adjacent room playing quite clearly.  That didn't deter from my enjoyment of this dark thriller from director Denis Villeneuve.

Emily Blunt plays Kate Macer, an FBI agent who is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs in the vicinity of the border between the U.S. and Mexico.  I've enjoyed Blunt's performances in previous films, specifically the Tom Cruise vehicle "Edge of Tomorrow" and she embraces this role as Macer with a mixture of vulnerability and vitriol in a way that makes her character sympathetic and charismatic.  Her moral compass is put to a test in this film and she does her best to maintain a sense of courageous righteousness in the face of unspeakable acts of law-bending and violence.

Benicio Del Toro has rarely been stronger.  He plays a character whose complex, conflicting poles of morality and treachery are fueled by the tragic fate of his family in the past.  Josh Brolin is also good as an unwavering CIA operative.

The film does a great job of painting a visceral portrait of the violent climate in Mexico and around its border with the U.S.  The drug war is so rampant you get the frustrated sense that it can never be brought under control.  There is a convoluted, twisted nature to the film's portrayal of the intricacies of power structures in the drug cartel that can be disorienting but compelling. 

This is one of the best films I've seen in 2015.  It will challenge you and hold your interest.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014, dir. Ana Lily Amirpour)

This is one of the weirdest movies I've seen this year.  I also have the impression that its one of the least substantial.

The "girl" in the title refers to a vampire.  She spends her lonely nights punishing the corrupt members of Bad City where she resides killing them my draining them of blood, as most vampires would.  What sets her apart from most vampires in most other movies is her fascination with music from her vinyl record collection as well as her fixation on only seeming to want to wipe out the bad people of her society.  In other words, she's picky.

Her loneliness is possibly remedied by the arrival of a young man into her life who could be a potential love interest.  They share a love of music and a certain existential isolation.

I liked the stark, black and white cinematography, the acting and the soundtrack.  But the story is lacking in substance and interest.  Not much groundbreaking territory is ventured into.   This is just another one of the many vampire films to come along in recent years that don't breathe much life into the genre.

Season 1 of "Bloodline"

"Bloodline" is a Netflix original series about a family with dark secrets.  The oldest son is the
prototypical black sheep who returns to the Floria Keys home of his family to peel the scabs away from old wounds and throw a little salt on top.

There is a series of flashbacks throughout the first season that allude to this family's troubled and dark past.  We get the impression that these events have played a serious role on the present and will also impact the future.  The oldest son, Danny Rayburn (Ben Mendelsohn) is a complex character as are all of the Rayburn members.  What sets Danny apart, however, is his bad behaviour and the apparent truthfulness to his actions.  He is willing to tear apart the family in the name of revealing the past and the contents his own tortured soul.

There are surprises, twists and turns in the plot, side- and back-stories and atmospheric cinematography that add dimension and texture to the series.  There is noir-ish element to the whole undertaking through the use of psychological depth-dwelling, a homme-fatale, and use of chiaroscuro imagery, rainfall, and searing summer heat-waves.

This is one of the most intriguing series on Netflix and the entire cast work together to produce a compelling drama about sibling rivalry, family dysfunction, and the psychological and emotional weight of secrets and the past.

High Noon (1952, dir. Fred Zinneman)

How well does Fred Zinneman's "High Noon" stand up after over 60 years since its original release?  Can it still be entertaining in modern day viewing situations where the Western is apparently "dead" and when it is present, it is amped-up to satisfy the short attention spans of present-age viewers?  Sadly, the answer to that would be "no" to most viewers in today's viewing climate.  But to this

Gary Cooper stars as Will Kane, a marshal of a small Western town.  He's just been married to a beautiful Quaker girl (Grace Kelly) and is hanging up his badge.  But just as he's about to ride into the sunset with his new bride, news comes that a criminal is coming to town on the noon train and he intends to cause nothing but trouble and mischief for the town's poor inhabitants.  Its all pretty predictable what happens next.

The film is quite unique in that the screen time is quite parallel to the story time.  An hour and a half of a movie takes place over an hour and half in the story of the film, in other words.  Not a lot happens over that hour and half and you often wonder if there is enough material here to stretch it into an hour and a half.

As far as Westerns go there are definitely far better ones, especially from this era.  "Red River" is a far more invigorating and enjoyable film.  Still, this film holds your attention and the performances are strong.
viewer and others like me who are more patient and respectful of the past, it is still entertaining, sometimes compelling, even though predictable.

Robert Bresson's Brilliant Book, "Notes on Cinematography"

French film director Robert Bresson (1901 - 1999), who directed such masterpieces as "Pickpocket"
and "Diary of a Country Priest" brought his brilliant insights on the nature of cinematography to readers with his book "Notes on Cinematography".  The book is written in a style reminiscent of Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations" in that it is a series of short ideas or meditations compiled together and separated by bullet points in a manner that often build on one another.  The ideas are often grouped together thematically but sometimes they are just random thoughts.  It should be stressed that his meaning of the word "Cinematography" is not the typical one of the act of filming with a camera but instead it is the creative film-making which "thoroughly exploits the nature of film as such".

His ideas are unique and compelling.  He, for instance, rejects the notion of the traditional actor.  In the actor's place he proposes what he calls "models".  These non-professional "models" through their inexperience and lack of training are able to reveal something more "truthful" and real through their performance.  A certain interior essence is revealed and this is often achieved through a number of takes that allow the model to unearth his or her true reactions and the cadences of his or her own speech and mannerisms.  Ideas surrounding models is something that Bresson returns to over and over again throughout "Notes" in ways that bring further clarification and understanding to this theme.  His use of models are evident in many of his films including "Pickpocket" and "Diary of a Country Priest".

"Notes on Cinematography" is a classic of film literature and it is a book that any scholar of cinema should read.  It's ideas are original and still relevant today.  It is the basis of many film movements that would follow such as various New-Waves and especially the Dogme movement of the 90's.  It is truly an eye-opening experience to read and absorb its material.

Season 4 of "Homeland"

After a slow start to the fourth season of "Homeland", the show really starts to gain momentum and excitement.  It takes place mostly in Pakistan, where Carrie Matheson (Claire Danes) and company
are investigating and attempting to thwart a terrorist who is wreaking havoc in and around Islamabad.

Matheson's bipolar illness plays a chief role in this season and her struggle with it proves to be a compelling and interesting exploration of mental illness.  She is also dealing with her new status as a mother and her ambivalence towards this role helps to add complexity and nuances to her character.

The action sequences and suspense are extremely well-achieved and keep the viewer riveted.  The performances are convincing and good as well.

This is a thoroughly satisfying addition to the show's story and is sure to satisfy any fan of the series.