Posts tagged Joel Coeh
MOVIE REVIEW: Bridge of Spies
MOVIE REVIEW: Bridge of Spies

Sewn with care to document an unopened storybook file on little-rememberd, forgotten Cold War heroics and theatrics, "Bridge of Spies" is the kind of historical drama that Steven Spielberg can make in his sleep.  In a way, this is Spielberg's throwback answer to "Argo," three years after Ben Affleck's film swept the top Oscars away from Spielberg's own "Lincoln."  He doesn't need that one-upmanship for his ego.  "Bridge of Spies" is more a reminder that the master is still capable of making a winner with ease.  

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2015, MOVIE REVIEW, 3 STARSDon ShanahanAMC River East 21Bridges of Spies, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Austin Stowell, Dakin Matthews, James B. Donovan, Milan Miskovsky, Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution, Bridge of Spies, Janusz Kaminski, Michael Kahn, Thomas Newman, John Williams, Mark Rylance, Lincoln, War Horse, Argo, David Fincher, 1960 U-2 incident, Francis Gary Powers, Gary Powers, Rudolf Abel, Hollow Nickel Case, CIA, Matt Charman, Joel and Ethan Coen, Ethan Coen, Joel Coeh, historical drama, Berlin, Brooklyn, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, movie commentary, film commentary, movie review, film review, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Oscar contenders, Oscar hopefuls, 2015, 2015 Fall MoviesComment
MOVIE REVIEW: Unbroken
MOVIE REVIEW: Unbroken

The scope of this year's slate of biographical films culminates with "Unbroken," the story of Olympian and World War II veteran Louis "Louie" Zamperini.  Of all of this year's biopics, this is the one with the highest profile that you've been hearing about for the better part of two years.  This is the one getting the widest release, right here on Christmas Day.  This is the one with the most continuous Oscar hope since the end of last year's Academy Awards.  Even on this very website, in an editorial of long-range Oscar picks for 2015, on the day after the 2014 Oscars, I handicapped and predicted "Unbroken" as the most likely eventual Best Picture frontrunner.  Was all of the hype and all of the anticipation rewarded?  Would it rank a success or a failure as a biographical film?

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2014, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanLouis Zamperini, Louie Zamperini, Angelina Jolie, Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleason, Jai Courtney, The Bird, The Railway Man, Unbroken, Ethan Coen, Joel Coeh, The Coen Brothers, Japanese prison camps, Olympics, World War II, Roger Deakins, Alexandre Desplat Comment