3. "Was good, but didn't like it as much as I thought I would..." In response to Reply # 0
Love it's politics, didn't really love all of its filmmaking.
Personally I think this is one of Spielberg's weaker recent efforts, with both Bridge of Spies and Lincoln being better.
The middle section is outstanding, just takes a while to get going. I know they turned this movie around in no time, but the first act could have used some tightening up.
The kicker of an ending is lame. There are some really cringe-worthy shots of hipppies protesting that look like they're out of a network TV show. And all the intentional "THIS IS REALLY ABOUT TRUMP, OBVIOUSLY" lines grated on me despite how much I despise the president, and also weren't really even necessary. (Example: At the end, they say something to effect of "WELP, HOPE WE NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH ANY OF THIS FREEDOM-OF-THE-PRESS SHIT AGAIN.") There's also a super corny shot of a bunch of young women staring at Streep in awe like she's a glowing messiah while walking down court house steps.
Lot of (bad) Spielberg hallmarks like syrupy strings and sentimental push ins on characters while they make Bold Statements. Also a lot of (good) Spielberg hallmarks like a masterful building of tension and escalation of stakes. The shot of the floor rumbling under Odenkirk was a nice touch.
Of course this will get a boat load of Oscar nominations. The only one deserved is Streep, who is very good.
8. "it was (surprisingly) great" In response to Reply # 0
somehow I never think I'm gonna enjoy these recent Spielberg joints, but I have to admit he always does something interesting. This one had some hokey parts (Carrie Coon reading the SC opinion, strong meh), but I'll be damn if it wasn't lively and fun throughout. Didn't mind the too-obvious Trump parallels, IMO the movie could apply, unfortunately, to many eras. The matinee audience I saw it with applauded at the end, which shows this may have been partly cathartic for some.
Shit, I may even have to watch this Ready Player One thing now, even though I really wasn't a fan of the book.
Oh and I had zeeero idea there was a Sicaro pt 2 coming out, trailer had me hyped up texting my buddy who's a big fan as well. Feels like a bit too close to the first one but fuck it if Benicio and Brolin are back who am I to complain.
------------------------------ For the record, my teams: MLB: Mets / Soccer: PSG NCAA BB: Arizona / NCAA FB: Michigan NBA: Spurs / NFL: Jets
9. "Great movie, but Spielberg overly Speilberged it up. " In response to Reply # 0
That story and the people involved with it didn't need the in-your-face sentimentality Spielberg crammed into it. Mostly great acting, all the way around (Streep is an obvious master, but Bruce Greenwood was a spot-on Bob McNamara); I imagine nobody turned down any part in this. The score and soft lighting touches just irked me when the power and poignancy of this story should have been obvious, but, no, we have to have a sea of women outside the Supreme Court or those two totally unnecessary final scenes...
No other director could likely have pulled that cast together to do this but I sure wish a more subtle director got a stab at it.
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