Bridge of Spies
Not only is Bridge of Spies the fourth collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it features the Coen Brothers as screenwriters — meaning that this film better be good, as we’ll hopefully enjoy as much of Spielberg’s epic visuals and storytelling as the Coens’ satirical, irreverent humor. Based on a true story and set during the height of the Cold War, the plot is quite complex. Hanks plays James Donovan, an everyday lawyer who takes on the task of representing a Soviet agent during a trial and gets flack from the public for actually attempting to defend the guy simply because he believes in due process. “Everyone matters,” he says. When he is later tasked by the CIA with negotiating the agent’s exchange for a detained US soldier in East Germany, he defies orders and attempts to rescue a second American whom the CIA doesn’t care about. The “bridge” refers to the Glienicke Bridge spanning East and West Germany, where three prisoner exchanges took place during the Cold War.
Crimson Peak
With the abundance of uninspired haunted house flicks of recent years, it’s easy to be skeptical about Guillermo del Toro’s latest piece about said subject, which took nine years to make. But hey, when horror master Stephen King tweets that a film is “gorgeous and f—ing terrifying” and claims that it is as electrifying as the 1981 classic The Evil Dead, well, you have to stop and listen. It’s more than just a haunted house story — Del Toro says it’s actually more of a gothic romance tale, as it features a young woman (who can see ghosts) whose new husband takes her to live in his ancestral home, which, ahem, has its dark secrets that make up the premise of the story. It’s filmed in a classic, period-piece throwback style, which is a very refreshing break from the hand-held camera horror that’s so popular nowadays. Just be warned: you will see blood. Tons of it.
No Escape
The critics hate this one, featuring a white American family who moves to an unnamed Southeast Asian country (for the record, it was filmed in Thailand) only to get caught up in a violent uprising. With the bloodthirsty natives killing each other and every foreigner they see, Owen Wilson must lead his family to safety, with their only salvation being a mysterious Brit played by Pierce Brosnan. Inevitably, cries of racial insensitivity and exploitation arise, one critic comparing it to a World War Z with Asians instead of zombies. Each person is entitled to their own opinion, but there really doesn’t seem to be much more to the plot as the directors reportedly hide any factual, cultural or political context as to not directly offend anybody. Directors John and Drew Dowdle are known for their people-attacked-by-scary-things horror films, but some things just don’t seem to work when you try to root the story in reality.
The Green Inferno
Interestingly, this gory exploitation film, about bloodthirsty cannibals in the Amazon forest attacking and eating a group of college students who travel there to protest the forest’s destruction, has garnered mostly positive reviews, despite there also being accusations of racism against the area’s indigenous tribes. Maybe it’s so unreal and over the top that it’s seen as a legit throwback to the campy cannibal horror films of the 70s, which provides an actual reason to make or like this film? Or maybe it’s because director Eli Roth seems to always know that he’s being offensive, or that the white protagonists turn out to actually be quite unlikeable, unlike No Escape where they try to escape in earnest and we’re supposed to feel sympathetic. Also, Roth managed to convince an actual Amazonian tribe to play the part of the cannibals, which is, at best, morally questionable. Oh, by the way, Stephen King likes this film as well.
Bodybuilder
The third directorial effort by French actor Roschdy Zem is a classic estranged father and son tale, but one revolving around lots of muscle. Troublemaking 20-year-old Antoine is on the run from a gang he owes money to, and his mother and brother send him to live with his father, who despite his old age is running a gym and training for a national bodybuilding competition. What could make this film unique is the endeavors of the father, who is played by a 58-year-old former world champion bodybuilder with no prior acting experience. Through this authentic casting, we get a matter-of-fact peek into the everyday lives of bodybuilders and what it takes to succeed as the gradual reconciliation between father and son unfolds.
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