The Cold War in Warm Rooms

The Cold War. Courtroom Drama. Spies. Individually, these elements have each produced some great works of cinema. We make think of Dr Strangelove or A Few Good Men or even Skyfall, but what happens when you take these three aspects, roll them all together, and put Spielberg behind the camera? This is Bridge of Spies.

When Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), a Russian spy, is captured by the FBI, it is extremely important for the image of the United States of America that he gets fair representation at trial and therefore someone must be appointed the lawyer for the most hated man in America. The lawyer that gets appointed is James B. Donavan (Tom Hanks), an insurance lawyer, and he has to convince the country not to kill his client. His argument begins to hinge on the notion that, should it be required, Abel could be used to trade for any similarly captured Americans. When a U-2 spy plane and its pilot are shot down over Russia as well as an American student getting arrested after crossing the Berlin Wall, suddenly having Abel alive becomes an appealing idea.

Abel (Mark Rylance) and Donavan (Tom Hanks)
 in the court room

Over the years, Tom Hanks has developed from a loveable young, romantic comedy star, into a serious award winning actor, and then into some sort of friendly and yet exceptional everyman. He continues that trend here in Bridge of Spies. Donavan is a family man who works in insurance and he is suddenly thrust into an extraordinary  situation and Hank's performance reflects this. He is charming yet firm and powerful. He is warm and loving, yet determined and authoritative. It is a hard balance to strike, but not for someone as accomplished as Hanks. Rylance, already an established presence on the stage, is the standout performance here though, and the film rests on this. The success on how the audience engage with the film's narrative is dependant on how they relate to Abel. As the soft spoken Russian spy, Rylance is absolutely delightful and, despite being a traitor to the United States, we root for him and against the American government.

Tom Hanks as Donavan's world begins to change

Spielberg's influence over Hollywood is vast. Year after year he makes brilliant, award-winning films. With Bridge of Spies, he continues in excellent form, but the film is undoubtably improved and made whole by Joel and Ethan Coen's tinkering with Matt Charman screenplay. In a film that is centred around talking and negotiating, the Coens pump life into a dialogue-heavy second act. They bring warmth to the Cold War in the form of Hank's Donavan, though never letting the intensity of the situation slip away. Accompanied by small yet spectacular set pieces, brilliantly captured by Spielberg's camera, the film's visual construction sometimes says more than the Coen's words ever could. A gentle foot chase through the rain, a train carriage of staring faces, a snowy and still Glienicke Bridge scattered with shadowy figures.

Whilst there are dips in pace, Bridge of Spies seamlessly combines several genres and exhibits some of the finest performances of the year. It also proves that Spielberg may not be revolutionising the cinematic world with the likes of Jaws and E.T., but he has not lost any of his film making power. 

Pirates of Somalia

True stories are always a draw for movie makers and lovers alike, especially when they involve exciting things like the military, heroism, or pirates. Today’s film involves all of the previously stated. This is Captain Phillips.

Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) is simply a man doing his job. Sailing his cargo ship round one of the most dangerous points of Africa, an area ripe with pirates. Unfortunately a group of these pirates decide to make Phillip’ ship their target, but the captain will not go down without a fight. Using everything he knows about boats and pirates, he resists their boarding as hard as he can. However, pirate leader (Barkhad Abdi) will not be put off so easily. With only three men, he storms Phillip's giant metal ship and what follows is a tense true story of one man’s bravery, or arguably, stupidity.

The irony of being led into a lifeboat at gun point...

There are few actors out there with the talent and experience of Hanks. From romantic comedies, to animation, to Oscars, he has done it all. And here he shines again. Phillips is a not extraordinary in any way. He is just a family man that just sticks to his training but Hanks brings him to life when disaster strikes. He creates an air of authority with his voice alone while his face shows the fear that he is experience. The pinnacle of his performance comes towards the end of the film in a truly intimate and devastating sequence of events that turns Phillips on his head. Captain Phillips shows all of Hanks' incredibly impressive range without a hitch. Abdi, in his debut in the acting world, is astonishing - and completely horrifying. Horrifying in two senses. Firstly, Abdi creates an entirely despicable man. Determined to do, what we would consider, evil and completely unrelenting. Secondly, he is terrifyingly human. Piracy and kidnapping are his only options, and in his time with Phillips in the hotbox of a lifeboat, there is a devastating sympathy developed for him. Together, Hanks and Abdi's chemistry forces the viewer to question the terrible cultural differences in our world.

The Boatstreet Boys are back and grittier than ever.

This, of course, is helped hugely by Billy Ray's screenplay and Paul Greengrass' direction. A brilliant adaptation of Phillips' book by Ray which is then paced perfectly by Greengrass to keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the two hour runtime. Greengrass roots the story where it is; it does not cut away to side plots or stories, just what we need to see. The pirates preparing, the ship sailing, the attack, the navy's response. Even these scenes are only kept to the essentials, the moments that matter. There is never a wasted second of film. An impressively claustrophobic atmosphere is created as well, despite being out in the open sea. The camera is rarely on the exterior of the ship, and inside we see the cramped rooms, full of seamen tucked into corners. Even on the bridge, the place with the most room, still seems to have no space with close ups of Phillips, and any shots of the outside of the bridge filmed through the windows or binoculars. The message is clear: there is no escape - no where to go. 

A thrilling adventure of courage, fear, bravery, heroism, stupidity, honour, humanity, and culture. Captain Phillips does more than tell a true story of a pirate attack, it looks at the people involved. It develops all the characters and blurs the lines of evil acts.

Best Bit? In terms of Hank's performance, the very end of the film. But the true desperation we see in Phillips when he makes a bid for freedom is hauntingly powerful. 

Timey-Wimey Stuff

The 'un-filmable', when referring to books, seems to be considered more of a challenge these days than a suggestion. We have seen it time and time again. Think American Psycho or Life Of Pi. In fact, 2012 also saw the release today's film, also deemed 'un-filmable'. This is Cloud Atlas.

Where to start?

At its essence, Cloud Atlas is six tales of six people throughout time. Across the six tales, there are, primarily, thirteen actors covering all of the main characters. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, and Hugh Grant play seven characters each. Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, and Doona Bae play six each. Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Xun Zhou, David Gyasi, and Susan Sarandon also all play several important roles over most of the stories. The stories consist of a man saving a slave and vice-versa in the 1800s, a young composer trying to create a masterpiece in the 1936, a reporter trying to reveal something huge in the 70s, a publisher getting in lots of trouble with his brother, a nursing home, and thugs in the present day, a Korean clone made purely to serve food longing for more meaning in life in the far future, and a tribal man in post-apocalyptic Hawaii.  All the stories interlink in some way, as Sonmi-451, the Korean clone, says: 'Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.'

Smashing 

There is one thing that is almost a certainty with Cloud Atlas: you will be surprised in the credits when the images of all the characters are shown with the actors names. The versatility of all of the performers is simply astounding. It is hard to pick a stand out amongst such a variety of performances and it is hard to dive into too much depth on such a wide topic. What is also worthy of high praise here is the make-up, hair, and costume departments on the film for making everyone almost unrecognisable across the six storylines. These, often horribly overlooked, departments were clearly a huge catalyst in developing the way in which the actors developed their characters; they were literally transformed into someone else. This is a whole new league of multi-roles and will take some work to top in years to come.

Well this sucks.

But Cloud Atlas' indescribable nature does not end with the acting. Trying to explain Cloud Atlas to someone is a lot like trying to theoretical physics to a seven year old; you can describe it perfectly, but it still will not quite make sense. But when all the stories link and tie together, it is masterful. Wonderfully adapted from David Mitchell's novel by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings, Cloud Atlas skilfully blends the six stories with such grace and brilliant editing that one cannot help but be sucked simultaneously into each one. The near three hour runtime seems like half that as climaxes come periodically throughout the film, releasing catharsis and then building up to the next one. A mix of all genres, stretching from period drama to sci-fi action, and all in between to create something truly unique.

Philosophical, dramatic, action packed, and touching. Cloud Atlas is a truly spectacular piece of cinema that will no doubt be a talking point for years to come. Some of the best performances in years, though focus is required. Set aside a solid three hours with snacks and drinks, and enjoy.

Best Bit? Jim Broadbent's Timothy Cavendish's story line goes from strength to strength but climaxes with one of the most entertaining escapes in years as some O.A.P.s and himself have to break out of a nursing home and, naturally, go to a pub straight after.

9/11 Happened And It Was Sad

Movies often use worldwide events as a basis for their plots. Look at any war film ever made. The issue with these sorts of movies is they must be handled right. Think about [Robin Williams’ movie] about the holocaust. It was not handled right and therefore was not very good. Unlike Schindler’s List which handled the holocaust right and is considered a masterpiece in film. Today’s film takes a heavy and recent event that shocked the world: September 11^th. This is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) loses his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) who was in a meeting when the World Trade Centre was hit. This leaves him alone with mother, Linda, (Sandra Bullock) and his Grandmother (Zoe Caldwell). Thomas used to set up little missions for Oskar to carry out which would teach him plenty as well as encouraging him to talk to more people, something he found hard. Oskar is a bright kid but also a very emotional one. After his father dies, he doesn’t enter Thomas’s room for a year. When he eventually does, he finds an envelope with a key. The only clue to where it leads is the name Black. Hoping that it’ll lead to something his father left - as a mission, perhaps – Oskar sets off to find what the key opens. Along the way he meets hundreds of people and gains some help from a man he simply knows as ‘The Renter’, who does not talk.

Oskar's social issues meant he couldn't talk to people normally.

I want to start with the good aspects of the acting. Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow Are absolutely brilliant. It really is a pity that they all have fairly small parts. Hanks perfectly captures the emotions of his character. Half of his performance is voice and through his voice you can hear every thought and every emotion. Max Von Sydow is really the star of this movie and is rightly nominated for Best Supporting Actor with a good chance of winning.  The lack of speech makes it far harder to portray what he wants and yet he makes it seem effortless. The most in depth character of the film. Unfortunately, there is one large let down for the acting/ characters in this movie. Doubly unfortunately, that is the protagonist. Oskar is one of the most frustrating and annoying characters I have come across. He is rude, loud, and believes he is superior to everyone he talks to. He’s horrible to his mother, extremely rude to his doorman, and completely controlling of The Renter, despite his attempts to help. This may not be Horn’s fault. It may be more to the writers/director. I mean, who gives a kid a tambourine? They’re incredibly annoying on their on their own, let alone when a kid is shaking them constantly. I feel no emotional attachment to him, which is what the film relies on.

How to make the worlds most annoying child:
Give him social issues and a tambourine.

As I mentioned a moment ago, I feel the negative aspects of this movie are almost completely down to the writers and the director. I’ve not read the book, so I cannot speak for how it has transferred to the screen. But I must say, I don’t like the way they used the disaster that was 9/11. I don’t mind movies using it, as long as it is used well and handled rightly. This isn’t. Tom Hanks’ character could have died in a car crash and the story would have made just as much sense. The use of 9/11 was for completely emotionally exploitive reasons. It was like the movie was screaming: ‘THIS IS SOMETHING REALLY SAD THAT HAPPENED! FEEL SAD!’ It was just trying too hard to evoke an emotional reaction but instead it simply became uncomfortable to watch. The film was too long for such a simple premise. I found myself really bored and there was nothing special in any of the technical elements.

Honestly, I don’t recommend this. I’m actually rather angry that it was nominated for Best Picture over the likes of Drive, Tintin, Shame and, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. There is something good here; a decent premise done completely wrong. Three or four great performances but a horridly annoying protagonist. It just all comes together wrong. A more accurate name for it would be Extremely Long and Incredibly Dull.

Best Bit? The phone call between Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock is probably the most emotional scene in the entire film. Genuine emotion and some great acting. Also, when The Renter and Oskar visit a particularly angry Black together and The Renter has a little bit of fun ringing the doorbell over and over again.