Bridge of Spies (October 2015)

Official Australian release date: 22/10/15. Viewed: 24/10/15.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Austin Stowell

Genre: Drama

Rating: M       

‘Bridge of Spies’ is an espionage thriller at its finest. It’s set in the late 50s & early 60s and certainly looks the part – I always love seeing the old cars driving around New York, looking classy. Starts off like any classic spy film, but then Abel (Rylance) is caught. In comes Donovan (Hanks), an insurance lawyer who is asked to defend Abel, so he can receive due legal practice. The first 45min or so is a good courtroom drama and moves along fast enough, with Hanks giving a few great speeches and making some solid points about what’s right and what’s best.

The movie really captures well the Cold War tension in America and what families would’ve gone through. It helps that this is the best film Spielberg has made in a few years and the best film Hanks has been in for a while. Once the movie turns into political chess, with an exchange of Abel for Powers (Stowell) in Berlin, the stakes are raised and there’s plenty of great subterfuge.

Hanks basically owns the film, with everyone having some good moments (especially Rylance, with his “would it help?”s), but he really plays a great everyman who stands up to both Germany, Russia & his own country (mostly portrayed by the CIA/Shepherd) for what is morally right and just, not just what is politically acceptable at the current time.

Overall: Really well made Cold War true story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.   

The Martian (October 2015)

Official Australian release date: 1/10/15. Viewed: 2/10/15.

Director: Ridley Scott

Actors: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejifor

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Rating: M       

‘The Martian’ is based on Andy Weir’s excellent novel – one of my favourite books from last year. It’s a very simple concept – in the near-future, a manned-mission to Mars goes awry and Mark Watney (Damon) is presumed dead, as the rest of the team returns to Earth. However, rumours of Watney’s demise were exaggerated and he just manages to survive, only to be faced with the conundrum of how to stay alive on a freezing planet with almost no food, water or oxygen until he can be rescued?

It’s beautifully shot, with Jordan a good stand-in for Mars on most occasions, and the CGI doing the rest. And there’s obviously a few shots of Earth from space – always a great perspective to see. Scott directs well, with the pacing good, and time spread across the strong cast – Chastain, Peña, Mara, Stan and Hennie on the spaceship home; and Daniels, Ejifor, Bean and Wiig at NASA – showing how everyone involved deals with the initial tragedy and then attempted rescue mission(s).

However, the film belongs to Damon, who has to use all his charm and skills to make one man talking to a video journal interesting. The film’s possibly 15min or so too long, but luckily, it’s a great book & a good screenplay, so there’s plenty of levity to go along with the serious life-or-death/fingernail-chewing moments. Tense/great final 25min or so. Never quite reaches the heights of the book, but comes very close.

Overall: Great, realistic, space adventure.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.