This is an intense film, but I it starts out a little cheesy.  I had forgotten about the opening and closing scenes, in which an elderly man visits a military cemetery.  I don't think it was necessary, and it immediately dates the film (with all the 90s clothing) which otherwise feels like it could have … Continue reading Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Manchester By the Sea (directed by Kenneth Lonergan) starts off with a happy memory of Lee (Casey Affleck) on a boat with his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) and his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges).  We then move on to see what Lee's life is like now.  He's a lonesome figure (something Casey Affleck is good at … Continue reading Manchester By the Sea (2016)

I can't tell if Amistad is a good movie.  It's a serious movie, sure, but serious doesn't always mean good.  Spielberg's trajectory as a filmmaker feels like it's going from pure entertainment with undertones of seriousness to a lecture about the history of the world with an occasional joke thrown in.  He used to be the fun … Continue reading Amistad (1997)

Early in La La Land (directed by Damien Chazelle), Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) declares himself to be a phoenix, rising from the ashes of a broken relationship and the aftermath of a financial swindling at his expense.  In many ways he is broken and down on his luck, but he would hardly see it that way.  He … Continue reading La La Land (2016)

One of the writers of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), I think it was Lawrence Kasdan, spoke negatively of the film's sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), calling it mean-spirited.  That film was a relative disappointment (though it still made plenty of money), and that's fairly common for movie sequels.  Now, The Lost World … Continue reading The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Okay, Jesus, what a movie.  I guess I should've known how deep into the Holocaust this film was was going to thrust its audience, but I probably wasn't prepared.  I read somewhere, years ago, someone had said the best way to teach children about the Holocaust is to have them know nothing for years until they … Continue reading Schindler’s List (1993)

Jurassic Park is the closest movie to Jaws, I'd guess.  It's kind of the same story, but the themes and characters adapt to fit the different circumstances, a bit like the movie's theme of life adapting to survive. In both films there is a monster that needs to be stopped, but unlike Jaws, this monster was man-made. … Continue reading Jurassic Park (1993)

Hook is a film made for children, so I think that's why I didn't like it.  If other Spielberg films, say Jaws or The Sugarland Express, are more advanced foreign language courses, Hook is the most basic of those courses.  God, that's a pretty terrible description.  Hook is the Rosetta Stone of Spielberg films. Look, there's a formula to … Continue reading Hook (1991)

In Always, Richard Dreyfuss plays a pilot named Pete who has to cope with his own death (after the fact) and help guide a young pilot named Ted (Brad Johnson) learn the profession as well as fall in love with Pete's girlfriend, Dorinda (Holly Hunter). Like plenty of other Spielberg films, it toes the line between … Continue reading Always (1989)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade borrows a few tricks from Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Indy finds himself searching for a religious artifact (The Holy Grail) while also fighting off a bunch of Nazis.  It's a pretty simple plot, and its similarities to Raiders suggests this is more of a do-over, replacing or erasing Temple of Doom … Continue reading Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)