To start off, part of me wanted to hate Rogue One.  I don't know why other than I tend to want to hate something when everyone sings its praises (except for La La Land which I love).  I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, but I enjoyed The Force Awakens, so I don't exactly know what it is that … Continue reading Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

"Fame is life, fame is death." "I never wanted fame, I just became a Kennedy." - Jackie Directed by Pablo Larrain, Jackie is a very intimate look at the wife of President John F. Kennedy in the time immediately after his assassination.  The story is troubling to watch, and it challenges our notions of who Mrs. Kennedy … Continue reading Jackie (2016)

The Adventures of Tintin is essentially Indiana Jones 5.  The story follows a young boy, Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) who goes on a wild mission to track down a miniature replica of a 17th century ship called The Unicorn.  This replica, one of three, contains clues to the location of Sir Francis Haddock's sunken treasure. … Continue reading The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

I don't what to say about the most recent Indiana Jones film, but that's not because it's bad.  It's just... kind of like the others.  It seems like filmmakers (or artists in general) often make a concerted effort to do something different, and when they do something that feels the same it's because they didn't try hard … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

  Munich feels like a James Bond film, and I think that's only partially due to Daniel Craig's role in the film.  The story is full of assassinations, bombs, guns, some sex (even a femme fatale!), sneaking around, lies and a bunch of other spy-genre things, but this film uses that excess to say something about … Continue reading Munich (2005)

I think War of the Worlds kicks off the latest stage of Spielberg's career.  Some people may say it started with his previous film, The Terminal or that it hasn't even begun yet.  And while I haven't seen all of his most recent films yet (I haven't seen any of his five most recent), this latest phase … Continue reading War of the Worlds (2005)

The Terminal is probably not a great film, but I love it.  I'm not exactly sure why, but it's an uplifting story about people getting together, like in a melting pot.  The airport is not the real world, just an introduction to the kinds of people who might be in the real world, so the … Continue reading The Terminal (2004)

Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can is a game of cat and mouse, until it isn't.  Frank Abagnale's (Leonardo DiCaprio) counterfeit spree across the United States is fun, but it is ultimately filling a deep hole left by the abandonment he feels from his parents.  So while Frank's life becomes more grand and more insane, … Continue reading Catch Me If You Can (2002)

A science fiction film like Minority Report or A.I. Artificial Intelligence before it requires a certain amount of world building.  The movie has to introduce us not only to the characters but to the society in which they live.  Every movie does this to a certain extent, but in a movie like... Pineapple Express, we recognize the world as one … Continue reading Minority Report (2002)

*EDIT: Since writing this post I have thought more about the movie and come to realize that I think I like it, dammit.  It's not the easiest viewing experience, in fact there are a lot of things I really didn't like, but the uneven pieces added to something whole.  Spielberg and Kubrick have said what … Continue reading A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)