Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge Of Spies is a historical drama film starring Tom Hanks, co-written by the Coen brothers, and directed by Steven Spielberg. Even though its subject matter of the Cold War is something I know very little about, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am now more interested than ever to learn more about it. I rank it among the best of Spielberg's most recent movies.

In a story based on true events, Hanks plays James Donovan (diverging somewhat from reality here) as an insurance lawyer dragged by his firm into defending Rudolf Abel, the accused Soviet spy played exquisitely by British stage acting legend Mark Rylance. Against this backdrop, the international blue touch paper is about to be lit by the shooting down over Russia of Gary Powers (Austin Stowell from "Whiplash") in his U-2 spy plane (sorry – "article"). Donovan becomes instrumental in unofficially negotiating on behalf of the US government the release of Powers in East Berlin. The deal is jeopardized by his boy-scout tendencies to also want to help another US captive Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers).

Spectre (2015)

Casino Royale and Skyfall are my two favorite Bond movies. Unoriginal I know, but whether you like Daniel Craig as Bond or not, you can't deny he has been an integral part of the series' highest points. Following the magnificent Skyfall, Spectre had some huge shoes to fill, and for the most part, it delivers exactly what you'd want. An attention-grabbing, tense opening fight scene, a lovely title sequence (whether the song is good is debatable), and an elaborate sinister plot surrounding James Bond that puts him up against his inner demons more than ever. Does it surpass Casino Royale or Skyfall? I don't think so, but as far as reintroducing the villainous organization SPECTRE into Bond canon after 40+ years, the film hits the nail on the head, pulls it back out, then slams it in even harder.

SPECTRE is revealed to have been affiliated with some of Bond's biggest threats - Mr. White, Le Chiffre, Raoul Silva - all under the control of one puppeteer, the head of SPECTRE and one of the most iconic villains of all time, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. It isn't much of a spoiler, as speculation was rampant ever since the first trailer (and hell, when the name of the movie was released). What's important is its execution, and Spectre leaves breadcrumbs for you to follow all the way through the belly of the beast. Not only is Bond under SPECTRE's crosshairs, but MI6 itself is experiencing a merger led by Max Denbeigh (Andrew Scott) who wants to eliminate the 00 division and focus solely on global intelligence. It's apparent early on that Blofeld has eyes everywhere, and while he works primarily in the shadows (Christoph Waltz only having 20 or so minutes of screen time), he poses a looming threat to Bond because of his sheer cunning and a past secret that unravels itself when the two finally meet.

The End of the Tour

The End of The Tour was a beautifully done movie that will not be widely seen or even heard of. This movie doesn't have explosions, or side splitting humor, or sex, or anything that sells in Hollywood these days. What this movie does have is a well written plot with fantastic dialogue, a great story, wonderful performances, and thought provoking themes that make you ponder what is really important. The End of The Tour is about the five day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (played by Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel). This five day interview took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's epic 1,000 page novel called Infinite Jest. An interview that would later turn out to be never published and not really heard about until Wallace's 2008 suicide.

This sounds like a very simple story, but it is much deeper than that. The End of the Tour not only shows the struggles that a writer can have, but it also has many different themes, particularly about jealousy, the sense of betrayal, and how much fame a person could have. All of these themes lead to some very heartbreaking moments, as well as the film talking about the culture that we live in. I don't want to say how, because I'm afraid that I might spoil scenes, for those who have yet to see this movie, but for movie that's nothing more than a conversation between 2 people, it really is consistently engaging, deep, and entertaining.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

I had heard of the 60's television show "The Man from UNCLE", but like most of us under the age of 60, never got the chance to see an episode. I know, I know, there have been countless re-runs, it just never grabbed my attention. I am not familiar with the original show, it was way before my generation. However, with the dark tones of many blockbusters nowadays, it's refreshing to return to a lighter and more vibrant movie in the spy-genre. On top of that with Guy Ritchie directing, known for his witty dialogue and often odd humour, I had to check out his latest effort.

Let me start by saying, this is a good movie. The star of the show is undoubtedly the director, Guy Ritchie and like most film buffs, was more curious than excited about U.N.C.L.E.'s arrival. I was curious to see what Ritchie could do with a television program that has been dead and buried for over fifty years

Crimson Peak (2015)

Guillermo del Toro is a director and artist whose films fall into two distinct categories: big budget English language blockbusters like "Hellboy" and "Pacific Rim" and lesser known, low budget Spanish language horror films like "Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth". His latest film, "Crimson Peak" is what happens when these two worlds collide, in other words, a big budget English language horror film.

"Crimson Peak" is set in the late 19th century, first in New York, then in rural England. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is a young budding writer who is intelligent, beautiful, and strong willed, refusing to allow Victorian sensibilities dictate what she can and cannot do, and as a result butts heads with those around her. Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) is an English aristocrat and inventor who is in New York seeking financial backing for his mechanized clay mining business back home. When tragedy strikes, Thomas marries Edith and brings her to his home, Allerdale Hall in Cumberland, where his sister Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain) is waiting. As Edith tries to fit into her new surroundings, she discovers that secrets abound and nothing is as it seems.

American Ultra (2015)

This late summer movie 'American Ultra' mixes a good stoner comedy with high octane action with a great cast and some decent laughs throughout. You can add to that a good amount of bloody violence in the second half of things. That all being said, 'American Ultra' seems to lose its steam far from the climax of the movie, and seems to just go through the motions until the end. Still, it's a fun popcorn film to end the summer on. Director Nima Nourizadeh, whose only previous film was the found footage party movie, 'Project X', leaves the hand-held camera on the table here, and delivers some decent long shots of violence and action, which is a step up in his career.

Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is an everyday small-town stoner, who works a bland job at a market, with the goal of marrying his girlfriend, Phoebe (Kirsten Stewart) but what he doesn't know, is that he's actually an experiment conducted by a CIA agent named Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) and that the CIA has put out a hit on him. With lots of time and money invested in Howell, Lasseter goes out to his little town and "activates" him, turning him into a stone-cold killer. But while he's the perfect killer, he's also a sweet guy who just wants to be with his girlfriend. Phoebe Larson (Stewart) didn't add much to the plot, but she was very believable as Mike's (Eisenberg) girlfriend. There was never a moment when the audience didn't believe they were dating. Although Kristen Stewart still hasn't proved she can act extremely well and she can be funny and all.

2015 AFI FEST LINE UP

The American Film Institute has put the finishing touches on AFI FEST 2015 by announcing the titles that will make up its final five screening programs: World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight, Shorts and Cinema's Legacy.

According to AFI, "World Cinema showcases the most acclaimed international films of the year; Breakthrough highlights true discoveries of the programming process; Midnight selections will grip audiences with terror; and Cinema’s Legacy highlights classic movies and films about cinema. World Cinema and Breakthrough selections are among the films eligible for Audience Awards. Shorts selections are eligible for the Grand Jury Prize, which qualifies the winner for Academy Award consideration."