Schindler's List (1993)

It's the twenty-fifth anniversary of Schindler's List and Steven Spielberg introduces his masterwork as a story for modern times. And it is a behemoth of a movie, running over three hours. I'm glad to have seen it, but I never have to see it again. It is hard to watch. Not an easy movie to revisit, but now is as good a time as any as anti-semitism seems to never go away.

I find it daunting to comment on such epic films. I could maybe tackle small parts of it. John Williams's score, brought to life by Itzakh Perlman, is hauntingly beautiful. The liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto is a brutal scene, filmed with such horror and control. The scene in the showers at Auschwitz is extremely powerful for turning the audience's anticipatory expectations on its head. And there is so much emotion in the final scene when the war finally comes to an end. The directorial choice to close the film with the Schindlerjuden at Schindler's grave at Yad Veshem is striking, pulling the audience to the "present". It continues to evoke emotion twenty-five years later, during which I'm sure many of the film's characters have since passed away. Holocaust survivors are few today, but it's important for their stories to live on. The black-and-white cinematography contributes to the documentary-feel of the movie. It tells the audience that even the most unbelievable atrocities are not exaggerations.

Ready Player One (2018)

Ready Player One is a very entertaining ball of fun, abound with clever references (in homage?) to pop culture high and low. I can only imagine the legal nightmare it was to acquire rights to use all of these references. I think there is perhaps a little disconnect with the audience. No one is going to understand all of the references, it simply runs too wide from Citizen Kane to Minecraft.  The book was originally written by a man of a certain time for whom these references were very relevant to his life. A lot of these references were dropped or changed or made anew and now even a man of his age would not understand all of the references. The target audience of children and teens will not understand many of the references that predate their births. And it's a real shame because a lot of the fun is spotting the Easter eggs. I'm almost certain Samantha's birthmark is a reference to something, but I've yet to figure it out (it is otherwise an oddly specific character trait that doesn't really matter to the plot).

The plot is a quest, to acquire the three keys and win the game (quite similar to Spy Kids 3 plus a dystopian future with debtors prison and trailer park cities). From what I understand, the plot was condensed and simplified from the book. And for the most part, it was pretty cohesive. There was not much lag time between discoveries--it's constantly moving forward, but the consequence of that is they figure out the clues too quickly to be believable. Something I really appreciated was the emphasis on research. There is no brute forcing through this game. You have to hunker down at the library and do some good old fashioned research.

The best part of the movie is the middle. The quest for the second key in a recreation of The Shining. I've read a lot of criticism about character development and plot. The most fully developed character is the dead one, Halliday, the tragic Wozniak. The plot of the movie interestingly builds his character as we discover more about him by advancing in the quest, and in that sense the plot is actually quite clever. Though I can understand that we don't know too much about the rest of the characters, including the protagonist. We don't fully understand what drives him other than the purity and sanctity of nerd culture. Oh, and the immersive CGI is pretty cool.

The Post (2017)

If there was one thing I learned in college, it was how to study historical films as primary sources (Thanks Professor Mason!). This is a perfect example. While the movie takes place in the Nixon era, it is a product of its own time, the Trump era. What can this movie about the 1970s tell us about 2017?

It can tell us that our society is still uncomfortable with a woman in charge, even if she's Meryl Streep. She has an excellent monologue towards the end in which she tries to explain why. Katharine Graham discusses her own lack of confidence and distrust in herself. Her own development was influenced by society. It was no one's fault, it was simply the unquestioned norm. It's difficult to wrap your mind around this idea but she articulates it brilliantly. The movie is not about Katharine changing society. Though she's a trailblazer, women in business still face abundant discrimination. Her important decision to publish was surely brave, but ultimately it was the Supreme Court that stood up to the President. Alone, she could only do so much. It will take a joint effort to truly create change.

This is not a movie about journalism, it's about press. Comparisons to All the President's Men and Spotlight are inappropriate because this is not about the investigation. It's not about uncovering the contents of the Pentagon Papers. It is about the act of publishing them. The other message? Our newspapers must remain diligent and hold the President's feet to the fire. The Washington Post in particular has taken a bold stance ("Democracy dies in darkness" is poignant). Thank god Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee have made the Post the national authority it has become today. And when the President tries to ban the press, an integral part of democracy, the newspapers must come to each others' support in solidarity.

This is an important movie for 2017. It's powerfully acted and orchestrated. Even though we know how it ends, there is plenty of drama. And the production design is very 70s. The inside of a newspaper is pretty cool.

Five Came Back (2017)

This is a movie for cinephiles and for history buffs and especially for those who love film history like me Films have an important role in history. I took a course on history and film. In war, they played a big role as propaganda, but not everything was propaganda. This three-part documentary tells the stories of five famed Hollywood directors during their service in WWII and their work before and after the war. Legendary directors Frank Capra, George Stevens, John Ford, John Huston and William Wyler all answered the call to service during WWII and they made enormous contributions by documenting the war, not always honestly but always powerfully to effect for the war effort. Modern directors heap praise on their idols, demonstrating their love for the art and their admiration for their cinematic accomplishments. Meryl Streep narrates the documentary.There are some really powerful, emotional moments when the reality of war sets in. They discuss how the war influenced their postwar work, and how their war experiences will always live with them. 

The BFG (2016)

I don't really remember the book very well, but I do recall that it was one of my favorites growing up because of its imaginative story. Roald Dahl was always very creative. On the whole though, I was kind of unimpressed by the film. It was alright, but I didn't think it was anything special. Didn't excite me. Children's movies nowadays are not so simple. Even family films have depth, and the BFG was sort of shallow.

Mark Rylance plays the BFG and the motion capture technology is quite incredible. Fresh off his Oscar-winning collaboration with Spielberg in Bridge of Spies, he continues to do fine work. It's a good thing that we can capture his expressions and likeness because he's a theater actor and he expresses a lot more than he did as the low-key spy.

Jurassic World (2015)

The newest installment in the Jurassic Park series is a lot like the original. It is a solid movie, but lacks originality. It understandably introduces Jurassic Park to a younger generation unfamiliar with the original. But having seen Jurassic Park, this seemed a little too safe. Even the dinosaurs were not very imaginative. The whole premise of the movie is that the dinosaurs are genetically engineered. But they still look like dinosaurs the way we know them. Where's the creativity? I guess the Mosasaurus is kind of cool. The new, terrifying Indominus Rex looked almost indistinguishable from the T Rex to me. Spielberg's dinosaurs were so lifelike to begin with that the advancements in computer technology and special effects did not produce anything that really impressed me. The original animatronics were perhaps even scarier.

That being said, it is still a fun movie, if a little predictable. There is lots of action. I particularly liked the gyrosphere ride, that lets the park attendees roam among the dinosaurs in the safety of a hamster ball. It would make for an enjoyable real ride, and it is really cool. Chris Pratt is a very likable hero  even if just two years ago I would've never picked him for a hero-type. Michael Giacchino does a good job with the score, integrating John Williams's memorable themes into his own original music.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

This is not just an espionage thriller, but a political thriller.  It does a great job of explaining the complex political theater of Eastern Europe during the Cold War as well as the complex American justice system.  We have the Coen brothers to thank for the easy-to-follow screenplay, which is saying something considering the infamous U2 incident is quite complicated.  Steven Spielberg glorifies American values with soapbox speeches by the fantastic all-American Tom Hanks. As the idealistic and principled lawyer defending a Soviet spy, James Donovan upholds the Constitution by mounting a valiant defense in the face of public scrutiny taking his case all the way up to the Supreme Court. The spy is Mark Rylance who does not get much screen time, but plays a calm man ready to face whatever fate may come to him.  The production design is also praiseworthy.  It paints a gloomy picture of the ruinous East Berlin at the height of the Cold War as the Berlin Wall is being erected.  The music was not composed by John Williams, the first Spielberg movie that has not featured his frequent collaborator since 1985's The Color Purple.