TheRetroCritic

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With the current political climate the way it is, there couldn't have been a better time to release The Post , Steven Spielberg's dramatic account of when The Washington's Post released leaked documents exposing a massive cover-up linked to the Vietnam War in the early 70's. Meryl Streep plays Katharine Graham, who became the owner of The Washington Post following her husband's death, and Tom Hanks is the newspaper's editor in chief Ben Bradlee. The latter is looking to elevate The Post beyond dealing with relatively trivial stories and constantly reacting to other publications' breaking news. When an ex-military analyst leaks documents to The New York Times proving current and past Presidents knew the Vietnam War was a disaster and still sent troops despite it being a lost cause, Richard Nixon's administration attempts to intimidate The Washington Post into not releasing more files. As Bradlee and his team rush to gather the rest of the leaked doc

Following the runaway success of both Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind , Steven Spielberg directed war-themed comedy 1941 back in 1979 and, although it wasn't technically a box-office bomb, it wasn't exactly a hit and it's only years later that it gained a cult following. The film is very loosely based on a mix of real yet mostly disconnected events as it explores the growing paranoia post-Pearl Harbor with US citizens fearing that Japan would attempt another attack and dealing with it in various ways. As an enemy submarine slowly tries to make its way to Los Angeles with the unlikely goal of destroying Hollywood, chaos builds in the city and we follow a variety of characters, each of them doing their own thing, with everything culminating in a cartoonish battle around Santa Monica pier. This is very much an ensemble piece in the vein of Dr Strangelove or American Graffiti with some characters having a very clear goal and others just kind of wandering i

Steven Spielberg directs this live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl's timeless story in a film that may not have done all that well domestically but was a success everywhere else. The Summer release may not have been a good fit for what seemed like more of a Christmas-friendly film but it did OK. The BFG stars Mark Rylance in the titular role and follows young orphan girl Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) as she is taken by The Big Friendly Giant one night because she knows about his existence and can never reveal it. On paper, this may sound like a somewhat creepy synopsis but the film couldn't be sweeter as Sophie and The BFG become friends and the latter shows her where dreams literally come from. Unfortunately, some man-eating giants who live nearby start sensing a human in the vicinity and The BFG fears for Sophie's safety. The motion-capture and visual effects used to bring the giants and their world to life are impressive and make something like Jack The Giant Slayer look

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Always is a 1989 romantic comedy/drama starring Richard Dreyfuss as an aerial firefighter who is killed while trying to save someone else and who then comes back as a spirit to guide another pilot in his life. Loosely based on WWII drama  A Guy Named Joe , Always tends to be one of Spielberg's most forgotten films mostly due to the fact it's arguably his cheesiest effort so those not too keen on sentimental stories or those expecting an action film won't exactly go wild for this one. Having said that, this is still a gorgeous-looking film with a lot going for it. The criminally underrated Richard Dreyfuss is at his most charming and cocky here as reckless pilot Pete who constantly worries his girlfriend Dorinda (played by Holly Hunter) with his careless flying. Pete almost crashes on her birthday and, while this leads to a heartfelt romantic moment, it also leads to Dorinda giving him an ultimatum to get him to stop risking his life at ev

Based on Richard Matheson's short story, Duel is a 1971 TV movie about a guy being taunted by a big truck on the road for no apparent reason. It stars Dennis Weaver and is directed by then newcomer Steven Spielberg who made the film on a 500K budget. Duel is often quoted as being the best TV movie out there and, although on paper it doesn't sound like much, it's easy to see why once you do check it out. It's not so much the story which makes Duel as memorable as it is but the suspense and the cinematography, Spielberg using every Hitchcockian trick in the book to not only keep the film entertaining but make the vehicular antagonist into a convincing threat. The movie opens with everyman David Mann (Weaver) driving across the Californian desert for a business trip in his red Plymouth Valiant casually listening to a radio show where Dick Whittington can be heard conducting silly interviews. Eventually, a rusty tanker truck pulls up in front of him, blocking his way,

Steven Spielberg directs this new Cold War-set thriller which sees a lawyer (played by Tom Hanks) being tasked with defending a caught suspected Soviet spy. After War Horse and Lincoln , it feels like a long while since Spielberg had a little fun, the last time probably being The Adventures Of Tintin , a film which, at this rate, should be getting its planned sequel some time in the next two or three decades. That said, even in serious mode, Spielberg somehow manages to knock it out of the park and Bridge Of Spies is no exception. Painter and suspected spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) is caught by the FBI and is soon put on trial but when an opportunity presents itself to possibly exchange the prisoner for one of America's own, lawyer James B. Donovan (Hanks) has to make a decision whether to leave his family and oversee the whole process himself thereby hopefully redeeming himself popularity-wise or wash his hands of the whole business. Donovan is sent to East Germany where

After the huge success that Jurassic Park was, director Steven Spielberg confidently followed the film four years later with sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park , spinning off Jeff Goldblum's character in the original into his own movie. With the lead bringing his usual brand of irresistible stuttering charm and Spielberg back on directing duties, The Lost World seemed like a clear winner. While it certainly was a winner at the box-office (I mean, who wouldn't go see a Jurassic Park sequel?) it didn't exactly wow critics who delivered mixed reviews. The original film was ground-breaking in terms of special effects, bringing believable-looking dinosaurs to wide-eyed 90's audiences, but it was also a masterpiece of suspense and schlocky popcorn movie action. It walked a fine line between family-friendly fare and gory horror but it made it all work effortlessly. Making Dr. Ian Malcolm the main character in this one was a good call: his wry quips and chilled-out

At first, Jurassic "anything" sure didn't sound like the best idea seeing how unpopular both sequels to Steven Spielberg's genial 90's blockbuster Jurassic Park were. Then the idea of a Jurassic World popped up and, suddenly, we all perked up about the project a little. The trailers had a lukewarm flavour to them, though, so who knew if this reboot/sequel was going to be any good. Especially sans Goldblum! Having the doors of the Park actually open and allowing guests to go on (mostly unsupervised) prehistoric rides certainly offered a lot of opportunities for mindless dino-destruction and an unparalleled body count for the franchise. In that sense, Jurassic World delivers exactly what we needed: pure Summer blockbuster chaos complete with people getting chewed-up by fab-looking CGI dinosaurs, tons of suspense and that iconic John Williams score (arranged by Michael Giacchino) punctuating the show throughout. The plot sees two kids whose parents are go

Few films captured my imagination quite as much as Hook  did back in the day. It was a live-action Peter Pan which was decidedly kid-friendly and crazily whimsical yet it felt more grown-up somehow. Even as a kid, I vastly preferred it to the animated Disney flick and... ...it almost made me believe in Julia Roberts fairies. Damn you Spielberg, you lying genius. Re-watching it now, some of the film's whimsy is sadly lost on natural cynicism and busy kid-full scenes have become kinda exhausting to watch. Hook's cheesier moments like the little girl randomly singing or the whole let's-touch-Robin Williams'-face scene have become a tad distracting rather than just instantly charming and yet the film still mostly works if you're willing to buy into it. Spielberg's NeverLand is brought to life beautifully. A surreal world full of crude pirates, sword-wielding children, sexy mermaids, hungry crocodiles and several moons, it's simply an enchanting, perfec

Based on true events, Catch Me If You Can would have made a compelling film regardless of who directed it. A compelling documentary, even. But with Steven Spielberg behind the camera, the film was a sure-fire hit and was a thrilling, fast-paced rollercoaster ride of creative conmanism. Set in the 1960's, the film follows teenager Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo Di Caprio) who learns that not only is his father (Christopher Walken) ruined but his parents are getting a divorce. Looking to find a way to fix that somehow, financially at least, Frank sets out to assume various identities and con banks with the help of fake cheques. He becomes co-pilot for an airline, a doctor and a lawyer among other things. Along the way, he is pursued by Tom Hanks' FBI agent Carl Hanratty whom he manages to trick over and over, always leaving him one step behind. It's a relentless cat and mouse game right up until the movie's final shot and although the film takes time-outs here and the

Sequels aren't easy. Especially when they come like 20 too late! A lot has been said about this delayed installment of the Indiana Jones franchise which came after years and years of rejected scripts and on-and-off shenanigans. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg eventually brought us an Indiana Jones flick which, from its release onward, has received all sorts of criticisms, most of them absolutely understandable. This movie has problems, for sure. But for me, it all comes down to one simple flaw: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull doesn't feel like a genuine Indy movie. It feels more like clunky fan-fiction with the odd spot-on moment that works made by completely different filmmakers. Yes, strangely, this movie doesn't even feel like a Spielberg film, it feels like someone trying to imitate Spielberg's style: lots of smoky, backlit set-ups, playful stylistic nods but there's just something missing. The plot of this one is all over the place. We start with