Amy Ryan
Movie Review: Bridge of Spies
The Tom Hanks-starring period piece Bridge of Spies is Steven Spielberg’s best and most entertaining film since…well, his last Tom Hanks-starring period piece. In the decade-plus since the delightful Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg’s made good starchy period pieces (Lincoln), dull starchy period pieces (War Horse) and a few old-school adventure pictures that still can’t shake a certain sedateness (...[Read More]
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Revisit the Cold War in Bridge of Spies
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures’ Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pi...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Michael Keaton Loses his Mind in Birdman
Hello again, dear readers. I hope you’re enjoying the summer movie season. This week takes a break from the big blockbusters, with the two major releases being Clint Eastwood’s musical Jersey Boys and the completely unnecessary comedy sequel Think Like a Man Too. And in the spirit of offbeat releases, this week’s slightly-delayed installment of Trailer Trashin’ features the...[Read More]
Movie Review: Escape Plan
It’s safe to say that people already have a preconceived notion about Escape Plan. With its two main stars each in their late sixties, it’s easy to poke fun at this movie – especially when those two stars are 1980s action heroes Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you walk into Escape Plan expecting a cinematic masterpiece, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If, on the o...[Read More]
Movie Review: Win Win
A high-school wrestling comedy with perennial indie schlub Paul Giamatti coaching sounds like it could be an unbearable retread of recent bombs like Mr. Woodcock or Drillbit Taylor, but with a surefire ensemble cast and a tricky balance of humor and pathos more in line with Little Miss Sunshine, Win Win turns out to be one of the early sleeper surprises of 2011. Giamatti’s Mike Flaherty is a Couns...[Read More]
Interview with Thomas McCarthy, director of Win Win
It’s a movie that’s “hard not to enjoy on some level.” That’s how director Thomas McCarthy describes his latest film, Win Win. After seeing it, it’s hard to disagree with that statement. This writer is in full agreement. Win Win tells the story of a struggling small town lawyer and moonlighting high school wrestling coach, Mike Flaherty (played by Paul Giamatti), who stumbles upon a runaway teen w...[Read More]