THE GOOD DINOSAUR

Starring the voices of Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Sam Elliott, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, Jeffrey Wright
Screenplay by Meg LeFauve

Directed by Peter Sohn

Rated PG (Violence, intensity, mayhem, crude humor)

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

20 years ago last week, the face of animation was changed forever when Disney-PIXAR gave us their debut film, Toy Story.  Initially viewed as a gimmick or a novelty, this instant classic arguably impacted not only animation but film as a whole more than any other movie of the past two decades. After producing multiple classics, the ground breaking company turned mega empire seemed to be running out of ideas, until this summer's Inside Out was praised (and rightly so) as a strong contender for the studio's best film to date. After riding so high these past few months, some cynics have been skeptical that lightning could strike twice with the group releasing two major movies in one year, and some seriously doubted that The Good Dinosaur, a project that encountered so many troubles behind the scenes that the entire voice cast was fired and replaced with a fresh batch of actors, would deliver, and that it was too much to ask for another truly magical entry from Pixar this holiday season.

Sometimes, the cynics are right.

The new film is ostensibly set in "an altenate timeline" in which the Earth was never hit by by an asteroid, and dinosaurs never became extinct. If this sounds like an intriguing idea to you, prepare for a major letdown, because it goes absolutely nowhere. Instead of exploring the idea of these creatures evolving, or speculating as to how dinosaurs and humans could co-exist, this is merely a lazily inserted excuse to justify the lead character having a pet human kid. It's hard to watch the movie and not picture one executive listening to the pitch and saying "dinosaurs and humans never lived at the same time, you know," only to have the embarrassed writers, who probably grew up watching Caveman, grasping for an explanation that would save their premise, screaming "it's meant to be in an alternate timeline, jerkface!" and going home to have a good cry. The part that is harder to fathom is how John Lassiter ended up signing off on the follow up pitch that seems to have consisted of "It's E.T. and The Jungle Book meet The Grapes of Wrath, Little House on the Prairie and Deliverance, but there are dinosaurs!"

The story centers around Arlo, a young Apatosaurus who lives on a farm with his Mama and Papa and brother and sister. Arlo is the runt of the litter, and he wants to make his mark, literally: when a dinosaur comes of age, it dunks it's foot in mud and leaves an imprint above the door of the house. But Arlo can't seem to do anything right, and and after he can't go through with clubbing a human baby to death (one could almost hear Donald Trump saying "no wonder these things became extinct. I was clubbin' babies to death when I was four, and I didn't even have a reason. I'll bet dinosaurs weren't even born in this country."), Dad takes junior for a walk in the rain, and tragically, Mufasa is killed by a stampeding flood while Simba watches helplessly as we find our bored, wandering minds contemplating whether Jeremy Irons will make a good Alfred.

After this, things start to get grim, as Mama starts to worry that they will lose the farm. An angry Arlo loses it when he sees the man child whom he blames for his father's death, chasing him until they get hopelessly lost and run across a group of savage and carnivorous pteranadons, whose spokesman, Thunderclap, seems to be some sort of cult leader/religious fanatic (voiced capably but charmlessly by Steve Zahn.).

If this is starting to sound like a jumbled mess, that's only because it is. The story fares best when it centers on simplicity and understated interaction between Arlo and the boy, whom he names Spot. There are genuine moments here, and while these are hardly two of the great characters in Disney history, they are kind of cute together. There are also some pleasant sequences with a family of T-Rex (Sam Elliott abides as the father, and made the whole movie for me.). But whenever it gets caught up in being an unflinching portrayal of the hardships suffered by pioneers settling the American frontier, you have to wonder exactly who this is supposed to be aimed at and for that matter, why? It's too dark and violent for little ones, too slow for older kids, and frankly, there is really only one truly clever line in the entire picture.

You are probably getting the idea that I hated this movie. I did not.

1. There's an abundance of gorgeous imagery, primarily in the form of scenery. The water, and the deserts, are some of the most strikingly realistic work Pixar has ever done (although that makes the choice to make the dinosaurs themselves look so cartoonish and slap dash that they would seem more at home on a Disney Channel daily series than a major motion picture that much more questionable.).

2. The musical score by Michael Danna (Ang Lee's pet composer) is quite lovely

3. I don't think I am capable of genuinely hating an animated feature.

But forget comparing The Good Dinosaur to Inside Out. In fact, forget comparing it to The Croods. In the search for a high profile film that this really reminded me of, the best I could come up with was (get ready for this) Robots.

It's important to note that audience members leaving the free screening were walking out praising the film as one of the best they've seem in a while, or at least it would be if I had not been doing this long enough to know that people who are given free passes to an advance screening will say this about any movie from The Beverly Hillibillies to Battleship.

When it comes down to it, The Good Dinosaur is mildly diverting, mildly exciting, relatively cute when it's not being off-puttingly nasty, and it's bound to sell some toys. Kids seemed to really respond to the potty humor (not that there was a lot if it, but it got a huge reaction, possibly because there were so few moments to really laugh at) and again, some of the imagery is really astonishing. But at the same time, if I really feel the need to see what water looks like in 3D, I can fill up my bathtub for free.

CREED

CREED 

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tess Thompson, Phyllicia Rashad and Graham McTavish

Screenplay by Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington
Based on characters created by Sylvester Stallone

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Rated PG-13 (profanity, boxing violence, adult themes)

It's easy to forget just how good the original 1976 Rocky was, and how good Sylvester Stallone was in it. While for our money, 2006's Rocky Balboa was a glorious and rousing (if a bit far fetched) return to form, there's no denying that at the height Stallone's Hollywood stardom, the series started to stray from it's blue collar, sincere heart and soul and into blockbuster silliness. In particular the high-grossing Rocky IV, took the franchise in such a cartoonish direction (putting Phildelphia's favorite son right at the front lines of the Cold War, to say nothing of the subplot about Paulie getting a robot for his birthday) that the sheer emotional power of the original was forgotten, even if it never truly lost its entertainment value. But considering that Rocky Balboa succeeded so decisively in ending the series with class and dignity, Stallone was taking a big risk by not only bringing the Italian Stallion back for one more round, but for the first time letting someone else write the screenplay. But Sly's trust in Ryan Coogler was well-placed. Creed is a big success.

The story is such a strong and obvious one that it's a wonder Stallone didn't come up with it himself: Rocky comes out of retirement to train the son of the late Apollo Creed. What's surprising is that Stallone had the savvy and humility to let Creed the younger (actually named Adonis Johnson) take center stage, making Rocky Balboa a supporting character for the first time in seven films. It pays off wonderfully, allowing both actors to shine and to demonstrate first-rate chemistry with each other. But while Jordan demonstrates he's a talented and charismatic actor with real potential as a leading man, this is still Stallone's show, and it's always at its best when he takes the spotlight. We would assert that no other actor and character of the 20th Century are as synonymous with each other as Stallone and Balboa, and he's never played the role better than he does here. At this age, Rocky may still be a simple guy, but there's a great deal of wisdom and maturity in that big, brutish but lovable package, and the aging icon imbues his signature role with so much sincerity and emotion that it's hard to not place harsh judgement on anyone who doesn't tear up at least a couple of times, especially in relation to film's biggest dramatic complication:

SPOILER ALERT, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS 
IN THE TRAILER, SO IT'S NOT REALLY A SPOILER, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMEBODY WHO'S UPSET ANYWAY . . .

Are you still there? Okay.

Rocky's battle with cancer. Rocky's reaction to the news is a very powerful scene that may be the superstar's finest on screen acting, but most of all the final scene, set in what Rocky calls his favorite place, ranks among the most emotional in the franchise's history. And considering its pop culture significance, it's even more than that.

The weakest aspect of the film is probably the romance between Adonis and a young musician named Bianca (Tessa Thompson). It's not a bad romantic subplot, and it's likely younger audiences who are less familiar with the series will enjoy it more than we did. But while both Jordan and Thompson are likable and talented, during those scenes it was hard not to just want to get back to Adonis and Rocky.

Director Coogler makes it clear from the beginning that he's making a contemporary Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan film, but he balances that with a loving respect and devotion to the source material that makes for a highly satisfying and thrilling combination. Coogler not only handles the drama very well and seems to have a lot of talent for working with actors, he pulls off some truly impressive visuals. In particular Adonis' first on-screen fight, filmed in one continuous shot, is a triumph of staging and cinematography, and it's no mere gimmick. The long take adds a great deal to the feeling of being in the ring with Adonis without feeling distractingly flashy. While this summer's Southpaw, capably directed by Antoine Fuqua, left us feeling there was no new way left to shoot a boxing match, Coogler proved us wrong. The Fruitvale Station auteur promises to be to be a major new talent. He and composer Ludwig Gorannson also know exactly when and where to use Bill Conti's iconic theme to maximum effect, which is no small part of making the film work as near-perfectly as it does.

In the end, the best compliment that can be paid to Creed may be that it leaves us just hoping The Force Awakens will be as good a Star Wars movie as this is a Rocky movie. Coogler, Stallone and Jordan have succeeded marvelously at creating a major new chapter in a franchise that conventional wisdom says should have sputtered out long ago. But never count  a true champion out until the final bell rings.

THE PEANUTS MOVIE

THE PEANUTS MOVIE
Starring Noah Schnapp, Alexander Garfin, Bill Melendez, Kristin Cheoweth
Based on the Comic Strip by Charles M. Schulz
Screenplay Bryan Schulz & Craig Schulz and Cornelius Uliano
Directed by Steve Martino
Rated G

Reviewed by Paul Gibbs & Patrick Gibbs



Of all the Charlie Brown movies in the world, this one is the Charlie Browniest.

Far too often, modern incarnations of beloved childhood cartoons rob the source material of its original charm (if it actually had any, which is not always the case in this age where we view every last 1980's property through the veil of rose colored nostalgia) by adding a hip feel or a sarcastic edge. Neither of those things has any place in the world of Charles Schulz, which is so innocent and square it makes Happy Days look like a Todd Solondz creation (Todd Solondz is ... never mind). The cartoons and comic strips are beloved to millions, but not because they were cool, or even uproariously funny. There is an unmistakable charm, and a relatability to the characters that makes them an indelible part of childhood for many of us. Fortunately, Schulz' family was heavily involved in The Peanuts Movie, and the result is a film which captures and is true to the tone and spirit of the material. The only concession to modernization is the soundtrack, which includes the sort of songs you'd expect to hear from Disney Channel stars, but they are never more than mildly distracting and actually fit the film better than you might expect. Plus, there's plenty of Schroeder's piano to balance them out.

The story deals with our protagonist, the hapless Charlie Brown (nicely voiced by Noah Schnapp, who played Tom Hanks' son in Bridge of Spies), experiencing one of the defining moments of his life: the legendary Little Red- Haired Girl (Francesca Capaldi) has just moved in across the street and started going to his school. Charlie Brown (why does no one ever just call him Charlie?) is instantly smitten, but he's afraid to even speak to her for fear that he's too much of a loser and a nobody. After receiving typically dubious psychiatric advice from Lucy Van Pelt (Hadley Bell Miller), he decides to prove himself worthy by impressing her with a major accomplishment, but this is easier said than done. Meanwhile, his dog Snoopy (voiced by archival recordings from animator/original Snoopy Bill Melendez) has started fantasizing about being a World War I Flying Ace who fights infamous Red Baron and romances a poodle named Fifi (Broadway legend and would-be Helium spokeswoman Kristin Chenoweth, who has quite frankly, in our opinions, never really been successfully utilized in a major film before, whether due to bad casting choices, direction or writing, but a perfect and hilarious choice to provide a high pitched, feminine "drop kick dog" counterpart to Snoopy's vocalizations.).

The story doesn't amount to much more than this, but Peanuts was never about intricately plotted stories. And all of the classic elements are here: the Kite Eating Tree, Linus' blanket, Lucy and the football, etc.  In fact, it's all so true to these classic elements that it may feel to some like they're just repeating old material, and that's a fair observation. But for those of us who grew up on it, there's a delightful nostalgia to the proceedings, and it should easily be entertaining enough for younger viewers who are less familiar with Charlie Brown and company. And there's a good message about learning to like yourself for who you are. It's also an excellent choice not over-plot the film or add an unnecessary and out of place villain. It is what it always was, and that's what it should be.

The choice to take 2D animation and convert it to 3D CGI with characters who maintain the look of 2D, then present it in Real D 3D, is an odd one, but it works. The characters are exactly their old selves, and the 3D gives the sensation of being inside Charlie Brown's world, something most of us probably wished we could do (the film would also certainly play well in 2D presentations).

All in all, The Peanuts Movie is an overwhelming success that's about as close to perfect as a Peanuts movie could hope to be. Our childhood memories not only remain intact, they've been enhanced by this welcome chance to revisit them.

SPECTRE

 


SPECTRE

Starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, 
Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes
Screenplay by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade
Directed by Sam Mendes
Rated PG-13 (violence, profanity, sexuality)
Reviewed by Paul Gibbs and Patrick Gibbs

Perhaps the greatest danger in making a great franchise movie is that if the next one is merely good, it will be seen by many as a major disappointment. It happened to Joss Whedon earlier this year with Age of Ultron, and it's happening to Sam Mendes now. If Spectre had immediately followed the disappointing Quantum of Solace it probably would have been seen as a triumph. Following Skyfall, it may be tempting to go too hard on what is in its own right a very entertaining, solid franchise entry that just doesn't hit the same level of inspiration.


We first encounter James Bond in Mexico City for a Day of the Dead festival, where he is following a mysterious figure name Sciarra. Mendes has once again given us a thrilling and eye-popping teaser sequences which shows off his considerable directorial skill, including an extended opening shot that's a marvel of staging, and some spectacular stunt work. Upon returning to the U.K., 007 finds himself in hot water with the new M (Ralph Fiennes), who would be sick to death of defending his antics to the commissioner if this was a cop movie instead of a spy film. The 00 program has merged with MI5, and their new Boss, C (Andrew Scott, best known as Moriarty on the BBC's Sherlock) wants to dissolve the license to kill group. But Bond has a personal assignment that supercedes orders, and this causes him to push his way into investigating a mysterious secret organization run by the enigmatic Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz), a figure from his distant past.

Going into more detail would run too much risk of spoiling the typically convoluted plot (not to mention the least surprising twist since Star Trek Into Darkness), so instead let's focus on how the story is told. Mendes is an extremely talented director, and his staging and pacing remain first-rate, if lacking in quite as many jaw droppingly inspired bits (such as Javier Bardem's slow approach to Bond from across the room and coming into focus while monologuing, Bond getting shot off the train by Moneypenny or the glorious elevator sequence, to name just a few moments of sheer perfection from the previous film.). Visually this movie is certainly strong, but it's hard not to miss genius cinematographer Roger Deakins, who was unable to continue from Skyfall to Spectre due to other commitments. Hoyt Van Hoytema (a name which sounds like Bond villain from the Roger Moore era) does good work, but Deakins created shots which looked and felt like paintings and this time the photography doesn't quite measure up. . Lee Smith edits the film with finesse, and the team combines to create some wildly entertaining action sequences, highlighted by a plane and car chase sequence and some great fights with Dave Bautista as henchman Mr. Hinx.  All of the elements are there, but as much fun as it is, it just doesn't all click into place as perfectly as before.

Craig remains the most complex and multilayered Bond, though he won't make you cry in this one. What he's accomplished with the character places him right alongside Sean Connery as one of the defining faces of the franchise. His Bond could outfight and out think most of the others, and his character goes far deeper. He's defined more by his complex emotions than by how he likes his vodka martinis prepared. This time, Craig is ably supported here by a stellar cast. Lea Seydoux (Midnight in Paris, Blue Is The Warmest Color and Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol) as Madeline Swann is a rare Bond girl with an actual character who provides some drama to go along with the eye candy, and she and Craig achieve a genuine chemistry that has been this Bond's weakest area in the past. It's also an utter delight to see M, Q (Ben Whishaw)  and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) getting into some of the action (Fiennes in particular brings a dramatic intensity that lifts every scene he's in, and Whishaw provides some endearing comic moments.). Somewhat surprisingly, the one truly disappointing performance comes from Waltz, who could have played this character in his sleep and basically does. It's not that it's a bad performance, but it feels phoned in compared to Javier Bardem's electrifying turn in Skyfall. Oberhauser amounts to little more than a standard one-note Bond villain, and he could have been so much more. It feels like a paycheck gig Waltz crammed in between Oscar bids, and that's a shame when the casting feels like such a perfect fit. But if Waltz is underutilized, than the highly publicized "oldest Bond girl" Monica Belucci is just plain screwed over in every possible way (yes, every possible way.). Her "blink and you'll miss it" extended cameo plays like someone said "Monica Belucci has never been in a Bond film? That's impossible!" and she was merely thrown in out of a strange sense of obligation.

Meanwhile, the script, by John Logan, Jez Butterwerth and long time Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, tries too hard to tie too much together, including the not entirely convincing link between Bond and Oberhauser. Like most Bond films it ends up feeling like it could be tightened considerably in the midsection, though at least the quality of the acting elevates the potentially sluggish sequences.

The film also completes the transition that began in Skyfall from being the "Bond Begins" franchise to simply being Bond, complete with the opening "walk, turn, draw and fire" shot, and other standard trappings. The good news is that Q's gadgets don't even approach the level of cartoon silliness we got in the Roger Moore films; the bad news is that they are not as memorable as the best ones we got in the Pierce Brosnan films. They're believable but very mundane, but they are an obligatory element of the iconography, and as such the feeling that they needed to show up eventually was inevitable and not entirely unwelcome. Some will doubtless be saying that this is overall the most by the numbers, Brosnan-esque entry in the Craig series, and they won't be entirely wrong, but despite it's edgy trappings,  in our opinions, Quantum of Solace still has it beat when it comes to combining laziness with reliance on formula and even downright cheesiness (Strawberry Fields? A hidden fortress? Please.).

Whatever shortcomings Spectre has don't stop it from being an immensely enjoyable spy movie thrill ride, and in the overall context of the 007 franchise we'd rank it just in or just outside the top 10. It doesn't quite achieve the greatness it's shooting for, but if it does turn out to be the final outing for Daniel Craig, it's a worthy one, and it's a rousing good time at the movies. It's just too bad it isn't as great as it could have been.

STEVE JOBS

GRADE: A+

Starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jeff Daniels

Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Directed by Danny Boyle

Rated R (Profanity)

Reviewed by Paul & Patrick Gibbs

 

We don't really care anything about Apple or Steve Jobs. Paul marginally prefers the Mac operating system to the PC (particularly if that's the one he's currently used to using), but isn't passionate about it, and that's about as close as we come to giving a flying hard drive about the whole Apple revolution, the state of the computer industry today, and what Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Murray Bozinsky or anyone else contributed to it. We recognize that nearly everything we do is shaped by the work these people did to create the computers of today, but just don't really care. It's not our thing. 

But we loved Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs. 

 As with The Social Network, the clear spiritual father to this film, it's a matter of brilliant writing, filmmaking, storytelling and acting pulling us into a film based on a subject matter which does nothing to interest us.  Whether or not he's fair or accurate (and we are not the people to judge this), Sorkin has a gift for turning modern tech moguls into Shakespearean tragedies. This time he's employed a unique narrative structure: three acts, each taking place backstage as Jobs is getting ready

to debut a new product. In 1984, the Macintosh computer. In 1988, the NeXT box. And in 1998, the iMac.  The interaction between jobs and his associates reveals him to be brilliant (though more with vision than actual technical know-how) but to see the least difficult to get along with. Michael Fassbender's Jobs has an ego which may even eclipse his remarkable talents, and he clashes with everyone, from close associate Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet) to tech wizard to Apple II designer Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) to team member Andy Herzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg) to Apple CEO and surrogate father figure John Sculley (Jeff Daniels), and most especially with his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston). Jobs' most complex relationship (and the one at the heart of the film) is with Brennan's young daughter Lisa (played by different actresses at three ages) who Chrisann and a blood test claim is Steve's daughter even if he refuses to acknowledge it.

Sorkin's supremely witty and insightful dialogue is as strong as it's ever been. As usual, it's a minor distraction that everyone in the film (sometimes even young Lisa) would qualify as one of the more clever members of the Algonquin Roundtable, but it's difficult to complain about dialogue, and Sorkin always manages to add enough depth to his characterizations to avoid his work feeling phony. And his work here is more than ably enhanced by the excellent direction of Oscar-winner Boyle and a phenomenal cast that doesn't miss a single note. Fassbender will get the lion's share of the accolades, and nothing said will be undeserved. It's among the best performance he's ever given, and when you consider such work as his supporting turn in 12 Years A Slave that's high praise indeed.  His Steve is charismatic enough to make us understand the mogul's magnetism and yet repellant much of the time (as Rogen's Wozniak declares "It's not binary: you can be decent and gifted."). Underneath the egotism there's a layer of insecurity, beneath that is more egotism, bemath that there's neurosis, and beneath that there's more egotism. What's beneath that? The film doesn't definitively answer, nor should it.

Fassbender is more than capably supported by the rest of the cast. It's very difficult to pick the stand outs among such a talented ensemble: Daniels brings gravitas and credibility to his role, Winslet matches Fassbender's intensity and magnetism in every scene, and Rogen shows presence and dramatic chops never hinted at in films like The Green Hornet. And we always have to draw special attention to Stuhlbarg, our pick as the most underappreciated actor working in film today. Boyle's direction is both more restrained and just as inventive as ever. He's taken a script he feels like a wordy stage play and directed it as a visual, visceral film without ever letting his directorial touches become self-indulgent or overbearing. And he helps bring a heart to the film in a way few other directors can. There are moments in Steve Jobs which would probably plays too hokey and sentimental coming from almost anyone else, but Boyle has developed a sincerity (most prominently on display in Slumdog Millionaire) which reminds us of us Steven Spielberg. He can make even contrived or seemingly sappy moments feel genuine.

There's sure to be a lot of debate about whether the film is fair or accurate. We don't know and honestly don't care that much. We still don't care about Steve Jobs, but we care a lot about Steve Jobs because it's an excellent film.

BRIDGE OF SPIES

GRADE: A+
Starring Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda
Screenplay by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Rated PG-13 (violence, profanity)
Reviewed by Paul & Patrick Gibbs

It's common knowledge that the filmmaker whose work we most eagerly anticipate is Steven Spielberg. To us every new Spielberg film is a major event, bigger than most of our favorite geek franchises. And if Spielberg has been our biggest influence among directors (which he certainly has), the Coen brothers are likely the screenwriters who have influenced us most. To have Ethan and Joel writing a Spielberg film is simply too good to be true. Now we understand how sports fans felt in the early '90s when they saw Magic Johnson passing the ball to Michael Jordan at the Olympics. But Spielberg and the Coens have very different styles, and the question has always been how well they would mesh. And would the Coens distinctive voice survive in Spielberg's hands? The answer to the first question is that they have meshed very well to create an excellent film. The answer to the second is that, as with any Spielberg film, his creative voice is easily the most prominent and apparent. You're never going to confuse Bridge of Spies in style or content with The Big Lebowski. But the Coen's touch is still unmistakable to those fans willing to look for it. This is far and away the best script the brothers have written for another director, and Spielberg and his first-rate cast have brought it to memorable life.

The story begins in 1957, with the capture of suspected Russian spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) after a tense and expertly staged chase which feels like Spielberg's homage to The French Connection.  Abel, a simple and soft-spoken man with a Northern England accent, isn't exactly Boris Badenov, but amidst the tension of the Cold War he instantly becomes the most hated man in America.  Insurance lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is drafted to defend able. While at first reluctant to take on such an unpopular task, Donovan quickly finds his conscience demands it. A firm believer in the constitution who insists "Every person matters," Donovan can't allow Abel to go without the best defense he can give, despite the disapproval from the public, friends and even Donovan's own family. Cold War fear and paranoia runs deep, and we glimpse it from varied points of view, including memorably from Donovan's 10 year old son Roger (Noah Schnapp), who panics after being shown a "duck and cover" cartoon at school featuring every silly 1950s "How to Survive a Nuclear Attack" cliche except climbing inside the refrigerator with Indiana Jones.

It's in this atmosphere that Donovan has to defend Abel, and without ever doing so as overtly as Robert Redford did in The Conspirator, Spielberg is relating this to 21st century debates about fair trials and how constitutional protections apply to a non-citizen who is accused of crimes against the United States. While the film takes a very definite and non-ambiguous stand, the clear War On Terror subtext is subtle and understated. Abel's defense makes up roughly the first half of the film, and it largely rests on the acting of Hanks and Rylance, who are not only excellent individually, but work together with perfect chemistry. Hanks' All-American nice guy role couldn't be called much of a stretch for the beloved actor, which may cause some viewers to wrongly undervalue what he brings to the film in terms of sincerity, emotional gravitas and sheer ability to carry a movie in a way few others can. Hanks causes us to instantly identify with Donovan, and as always he's an actor who makes everyone around him better. Rylance, a stage great just recently becoming familiar to film and television audiences, doesn't really need anyone making him better, and his performance will rightly earn Oscar buzz. Rylance's stage training shows in all of the best possible ways in a performance that uses every tool at an actor's disposal to dig deeply into the character, but at no time does his performance come across as stagey or theatrical. It's a masterpiece of understatement, and it's almost astonishing how much is conveyed in simple looks between the two characters. It's somewhat disappointing to see Amy Ryan and Alan Alda given relatively little to do in their scenes as characters who amount to little more than "The Wife" and "The Boss", but actors of their caliber always add to a film even in minor roles, and Spielberg is wise to keep the focus on Donovan and Abel, the heart and soul of the story.

At the same time that Abel is being tried, American pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) has his U2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union (in a harrowing action sequence featuring some dazzling Spielbergian money shots) , and is taken prisoner. A swap of Abel for Powers is soon proposed, and Donovan is asked to broker the exchange, which takes him to Berlin for the second half of the film, and here it remains compelling and also becomes surprisingly tense and even thrilling, considering that Donovan's cloak and dagger exploits consists primarily of negotiating with Russian and East German officials. The negotiations with Russian official Ivan Shischkin (Mikhail Gorevoy) are particularly unsettling, between his Peter Lorre accent and his vaguely ominous way of acting as if he's making this up as he's going along while it's clear he knows exactly what he wants. Stellar work from Spielberg's longtime cinematographer and editor Janusz Kaminsi and Michael Kahn adds immeasurably to the atmosphere, as does the musical score, which for once is by Thomas Newman (usual collaborator John Williams was temporarily sidelined by an illness). The score is a fascinating mix of Newman being Newman (especially in the moving end credits theme) and Newman being Williams. Every patriotic swell to punctuate a dramatic moment sounds as if the composer is thinking to himself "WWJWD?" or more likely Spielberg was was whispering it in his ear, as whether it feels like you're hearing Williams or Newman, the dominant voice of the soundtrack is clearly Spielberg, who knows what he likes and is clearly getting it. It's an effective and dramatic score that's good enough to own and listen to, but it's a little hard not to wonder what Newman would have done without the the specter of Williams hanging over him. But if the second half of the film has an MVP, it's Hanks. Without him as the anchor it wouldn't be nearly as compelling and powerful. This is the modern day Jimmy Stewart version of Tom Hanks we remember so well from his classic '90s performances, and he still does it as well as ever. Hanks manages to simultaneously convey an everyman relatability and a idealism that never feels forced or corny, and whatever he feels we feel. For all the strength of it's other excellent parts Bridge of Spies would come crashing down with anyone other than Hanks at it's center, and for that reason it's an Oscar caliber performance whether it feels especially new or not.

 While the period piece espionage atmosphere occasionally brings to mind Spielberg's Munich, that was a much less overtly uplifting and more morally ambiguous film. Bridge of Spies feels like Spielberg following Lincoln with a film that is similarly character and dialogue oriented, and deals with many of the same themes: integrity, the U.S. constitution, and human worth. Donovan, like Lincoln (and like so many Spielberg protagonists before him) is a man of moral courage trying to do what's right while large forces pull him in different directions. Like Lincoln, Bridge of Spies benefits from a complex view of those different forces, but in the end has the moral certainty and sentimentality of Spielberg. As always, that can be a plus or a minus depending on your point of view. For us Bridge of Spies is a tense, compelling and ultimately moving story about the importance of being true to who you are and doing what's right. And it's ably told by the best storytellers in the business.

THE MARTIAN

GRADE: A+
Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, Michael Pena and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Screenplay by Drew Goddard
Based on the novel by Andy Weir
Directed by Ridley Scott
Rated PG-13
(Intensity, language, disco music) 

Reviewed by Paul and Patrick Gibbs
 

It's not easy to create a sci-fi film which appeals as much to devotees of real science as to the average moviegoer, but the makers of The Martian seem to have pulled it off in this extraordinarily entertaining and engrossing film. While there's a lot of credit to go around, three names stand out: director Ridley Scott, screenwriter Drew Goddard, and perhaps most of all, star Matt Damon. Of course, the story of The Martian actually began with novelist Andy Weir, who wrote a great book. But we all know a great book doesn't always inherently translate to a great movie (just as a great movie doesn't necessarily mean the book it came from was great), but this is a case where it has. 

Damon stars as Mark Watney, a crew member of the fictional Ares IIII Mars mission, who is apparently killed in an accident just as the rest of the crew is fleeing the planet to avoid a devastating storm. But Mark isn't dead. He is, however, alone on the red planet, with no way to contact NASA, and nothing to keep him alive but a small habitat shelter, limited supplies and his own intelligence.  If this sounds a little like Cast Away meets Apollo 13, it is, though instead of talking to a volleyball Mark keeps a videolog, where Damon's talent for  humor is allowed to shine. Damon is hilarious, making dry asides and generally reminding us what a remarkably engaging screen prescence he is and why he is one of the last true movie stars. And as funny as he is, he's equally adept at the dramatic elements of the film, making us feel his fear and loneliness at having a whole planet to himself, and his steely resolve that he will not die there.  It's a performance for the ages, and one that may surpass Jason Bourne as his definitive star turn, and absolutely should gain him another Oscar nomination.  

Damon is ably supported by a great cast, both on board the Ares III and at mission control. His crewmates include the always excellent Jessica Chastain as Commander Lewis, leader of the mission, and Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan and Aksel Hennie as the rest of the crew. Mission control is represented by top-notch veterans Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean and Kristen Wiig, along with rising star Donald Glover and appealing newcomer MacKenzie Davis. Every one of these performers manages to make an impression and adds greatly to the film, and yet the strong ensemble never overpowers the fact that it's Damon's movie. Much of the credit goes to Goddard's excellent screenplay. Goddard has stayed remarkably faithful to the novel, while still having the cinematic savvy to recognize that the structure has to be tweaked to fit the medium of film. And his sense of humor meshes seamlessly with Weir's. Of the many Oscar nominations the film deserves, Best Adapted Screenplay is high on the list.

Two more well deserved nominations would go to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and director Ridley Scott. Scott is one of cinema's great talents, but even fans like us have to admit his output in recent years hasn't exactly been stellar, with even his better recent films having some fairly serious problems. But The Martian ranks alongside classics like Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator as one of Scott's very best films, and certainly his best in over a decade. His visual talent is unsurpassed among living filmmakers, and he can be brilliant with actors, as he is here. But where his recent films have tended to ramble, even with a a nearly two and a half hour run time The Martian feels lean. No time is wasted. His more recent films have also had a dismal quality, but here Scott is clearly having fun, and that will translate to the audience.

As pure storytelling, The Martian may well be the best of the recent rush of astronaut films which in at least some way acknowledge actual science. It may not be 100% accurate, but it comes infinitely closer than most Hollywood sci-fi epics without sacrificing any of the entertainment value. It's a film that has something for nearly everyone, and will rank highly on our respective lists of the best films of 2015.