Movie Review - The Fabelmans

 Dear Steven Spielberg

        I love your movies sir and your reputation as a filmmaker is impeccable. The Fabelmans is your semi-autobiographical salute to your family, your youth, and to the love of film. We watch Sammy Fabelman (you) grow from  odd kid to odd youth, to an odd, enthusiastic creative young man. Your young man self  well played by Gabriel LaBelle realizes he has the touch, the eye, the magic to make films. With your eye behind the lens and the film churning, you can watch via your home films, the dissolution of your parents marriage. Your beloved father Burt (a superb Paul Dano) has worked hard. He loves you and the family and his quiet genius has perhaps missed some clues in regards to his wife. 

The creative bubbly mother, Mitzi (a glowing wistful Michelle Williams) is your muse. She can clown and she can collapse. And there's just a little  something  about "Uncle Bennie" (Seth Rogen) that doesn't seem quite right. 

I liked The Fabelmans. The acting was great, the filmmaking  solid (duh, you are  Steven Spielberg after all), and it was a good ode to the magic of cinema. 

However, one complaint.  Edit.  Edit. Edit.   This movie was  too long. We did not need 2-1/2 hours. Tighten things up sir. 

Your  fan

Joanne

Movie Review Madness - The Post

I admit I am a sucker for movies about journalism. Old fashioned nose for news, knock on doors, make phone calls, and then clack in some letter type and let those presses roll…..hum and rumble and watch old fashioned newspapers roll off the presses. Oh my. I can smell the ink.

That’s what The Post, Stephen Spielberg’s latest time capsule, is all about.  From Time Magazine 1/15/18 -  This historical drama about the 1970s publication of the top-secret Pentagon Papers is swooningly  in love with journalism.

Basically the Papers detailed the scope of the Vietnam War in vast detail – the US was mired in a mess and the top brass knew it, but did not reveal the problems, and dug deeper into war. This was a grave mistake for the public.  The NY Times broke the story, got stymied by courts, and the Washington Post took the ball and ran with it.  This was a huge decision by Katherine Graham, the owner of The Post, who was trying to take the company public. Lots of conflicts. The movie explores internal back story, while the news is breaking.  The pace of the movie is intense.

Meryl Streep, as Katherine Graham, is amazing as an actress. You can see her thinking, weighing options, affected by her Washington connections (i.e. the Defense Secretary, etc), and then choosing publication come hell or high water.  Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) is the salty chief who is for publication all the way.  The movie has many a conversation and argument in regards to publish or perish. This movie is a bit old school, but in a good way. Spielberg knows his audience

I loved a quote near the end of the movie. Katherine says that her late husband stated, “The press is the first draft of history.”  Think about that as it pertained to the early 1970s, the upcoming Watergate era, and now the press today and all the talk of “fake” news.  No matter what – we need the fourth estate to report and keep us in the loop. The Post is a cinematic take on history and also a commentary on today.

Go watch…and think!

Movie Review: Lincoln

A movie about the sixteenth President of the United States, Lincoln, couldn't be more timely. Director Steven Spielberg looks at January 1865 in great depth and from it we get a portrait of a caring man, a concilliator, a smart politician, a family man, a compromise, and a key to American history. The Civil War was winding down and the Union would prove victorious. Lincoln (played by a genius actor, Daniel Day-Lewis) wants an amendment to the Constitution to abolish slavery. He feels this is very important for closure to this long bloody mess.

Thus we see the behind the scenes meetings in the House of Representatives - the arm twisting, the cajoling, and yes, compromises. Much like today, there has to be some wheeling and dealing to get things done. Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens is excellent. James Spader provides some comic relief, as he visits members and takes count. Sally Field is haunting as Mary Todd Lincoln - still mourning the death of son Willie, still dealing with other young son Tad, and worrying about eldest son Robert who wants to enlist.

Lincoln is quite enthralling. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Lincoln as we imagine - his walk is perfect for a very tall man (rather gangly), his eyes twinkle as he tells a story with a meaning, his pauses and gestures reflect a man who speaks with purpose. It is an amazing performance. Lincoln gives depth to the holiday movie season.