The Final Take with Parker Mott

Lincoln roams the ruins of Petersburg at the climax of the American Civil War in Steven Spielberg's masterful "Lincoln".

Lincoln is a bold and monumental achievement in filmmaking craftsmanship, and solidifies two irrefutable outcomes: Daniel Day-Lewis will win Best Actor at the Oscars for his role as the United States’s 16th president, and Janusz Kaminski will also take the Academy’s accolade for Cinematography. Both add depth, intrigue, and beauty to what may be Steven Spielberg’s finest, or at least most assured film. Its humanity and politics are remarkably brilliant. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(146 minutes)

A firm bond between man and horse in "War Horse".

War Horse is a film that seems to have bypassed its story for the spectacle. But this is okay when in the nifty hands of Steven Spielberg. His new film is a proficient work of filmmaking passion, but not necessarily narrative. Based on the 1982 book by Michael Morpurgo and the 2007 stage play by Nick Stafford, War Horse is a faithful, perhaps overly earnest homage to classic Hollywood craft that pays every tribute to John Ford except the lasso. (continue reading…)

2 Stars out of 4
(152 minutes)

Jamie "Jim" Graham: one of Christian Bale's first performances.

Steven Spielberg has called Empire of the Sun the story of Peter Pan turned backwards. The boy in this case grows up too quickly. I’ve always admired films that look at catastrophic events through naive point of views (Life Is Beautiful, Germany Year Zero) but Empire of the Sun just isn’t right. It exists too much in fantasy, clouding moments of tragedy with transparent expression. It’s not the boy who seems naive it is the movie. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(122 minutes)

More trouble in the new Indiana Jones.

I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull like I wear an old hat. It constitutes fine memories, a similar texture, and maybe worn out around the edges. Yes, this fourth instalment is far from perfect but it reminds us that Indiana has still got it. Despite his age he is still tackling impossible scenarios and effortlessly eluding them. Indiana, regardless of his age, will always be our favourite archeologist hero. Remember that line from Raiders of the Lost Ark? “It’s not about the years, but the mileage.” (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(125 minutes)

Hands up: like father, like son.

Steven Spielberg lightens up in The Last Crusade. After the notions of child slavery and racism in Temple of Doom (of which I still enjoyed), The Last Crusade kicks it up a notch with an opening that is so genius it belongs in even a better film than this third instalment. The opening is of course an action frenzy but it serves the purpose of reminding this is – again – a story of wild adventure, but Indiana now has a father. Wicked. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(118 minutes)

Kate Capshaw and Harrison Ford as the unlikely couple in Temple of Doom.

Temple of Doom, judging by its title, is the evil twin to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Where Raiders was so up on its heels and happy-go-lucky in its action, Doom embodies fear and the macabre. It does not exactly work as a dark adventure the way Empire Strikes Back did for Star Wars, but this is another excuse for fans to watch the legendary Indiana Jones conquer China and India with the whip by his side. (continue reading…)

3.5 Stars out of 4
(115 minutes)

Spielberg calls Indiana Jones "James Bond without the hardware."

It was maybe a decade or so after the Western had been revised replacing the Classic Westerns of Howard Hawks and John Ford. Two visionaries of the 1970s, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, combined their creative talents to consummate another Western genre that embraced cliché over complexity and action over drama. Lucas thought of Indiana Smith in 1973, but would soon be convinced that “Smith” did not have the right punch to it. Jones, Lucas then submitted. Jones it would be. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(145 minutes)

Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

Minority Report represents and homages a plethora of iconic films: Total Recall, Blade Runner, Fahrenheit 451, and Metropolis. And its genre engine is mastered under the dexterity of director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Schindler’s List). Minority Report mesmerized me conceptually, but its narrative was a particular struggle. In terms of story, I do not think Spielberg is breaking much ground here, but he creates a world that spawns from the potential of cinema. Even still, the film is rather engaging. (continue reading…)

3.5 Stars out of 4
(124 minutes)

Jaws: A classic poster.

The shark, we will call Jaws, is a vicious fish attacking a Moby Dick town. What I mean is this resort town is harmless, cosmopolitan, safe, and recreational. It means well, encourages tourism, and its greatest attraction and economical backbone is its beaches. The beach in this town is like the Wall Street of New York.

When Jaws attacks, people panic. Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) claims there has not been one shooting or murder in the town in 25 years. That makes this shark their first assailant. The shark Jaws is cunning, devious, and huge. He is this town’s worst possible criminal because of these advantages: he is bigger, inhuman, and submerged. This is not a thug you can apprehend on the streets. (continue reading…)