The Peanuts Movie

I finally got around to seeing The Peanuts Movie, and I'm glad I did.  It was charming and emotional and nostalgic in all the best ways.  They really nailed all the characters and gave each one just enough screen time (though Linus probably could've used more).

It's been a long time since I've seen a move that gets remarkably better as it goes on.  By the third act, you are invested in Charlie Brown's dilemmas, and it is so satisfying to see him score a win.  Snoopy's Red Baron sequences are intercut at great moments to parallel the Charlie Brown story.  They don't distract from it, and the find a way to draw you in and get you emotionally invested in them as well.

There's just enough Vince Guaraldi music to satisfy classic Peanuts fans like me and just enough modern music to hook a younger generation.

The comedy was that great blend of slap-stick humor for young ones and existential heartache for adults.  It has plenty of references to the old jokes, but plenty of new owns to let it stand on its own.

One thing I've always respected about Peanuts is its ability to create drama without any real antagonist.  Sure Lucy can be a little intense sometimes, but she's never "the bad guy."  I normally don't like stories without an antagonist, but, for some reasons, Peanuts has the charm and existential insight to pull it off.  Life itself is hard enough for Charlie Brown;  he doesn't need some villain actively working against him to give him challenges.  Charlie Brown represents many of the best qualities in all of us, and that's what draws us back, what makes us cheer for him again and again, no matter how many times Lucy pulls that football away.  Charlie Brown keeps trying, and, if he can keep his outlook positive, so can we.

Spectre of Disappointment

I knew that Spectre couldn't live up to the awesomeness that was Skyfall for me.  I knew that, but gosh was I still disappointed.  Now, there are good Bond films and bad ones, and there are ones that are just okay.  Spectre was still better than films like Quatum of Solace or A View to a Kill, but it suffers from a couple of major sins.

A movie can be bad; it can be downright terrible, but the one thing a movie should never be is boring, especially a James Bond movie.  Spectre had a great opening shot.  That one-er was beautiful, interesting, and really well-done, unlike everything that came after it.  Bond's hanging from a helicopter over Mexico, and I didn't care.  Bond blows up a Spectre base in a sequence so carelessly put together that it only lasts a minute.  There's no dramatic countdown.  No self-destruct sequence.  He basically tosses a cigarette aside as he walks away and lets the base Michael Bay itself to death.  Almost every action sequence in the film receives this little emotional investment.  I cared so little about anything happening throughout the entire film, and it felt like Daniel Craig and Sam Mendez felt the same way.

I'll be honest, I wrote some myself some bad fan fiction when I was in middle and high school. . . but I never tried to sell it as a Hollywood feature film.  [SPOILER ALERT] Blowfeld in Bond's adopted brother?  Seriously?  Let's just rename him James Coincidence or Fraternal Bond.  Oh, and let's just retcon the last three movies so Blowfeld was pulling the strings all the time.  Quantum was a part of Spectre?  I guess I could buy that if I didn't know that Quantum was invented to replace Spectre during the whole Spectre/Blowfeld rights debacle.  Silva is a Spectre agent?  I could maybe buy it, again if it had actually been set up instead of retconned later.

Also, I was not impressed with Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall."  It set the tone for the whole move:  BORING.  I know Bond films don't always work the name of the film into the song.  A lot of the time it doesn't even make sense when they do.  But you couldn't work with Spectre?  Seriously?  Even just as nonsensical as "Your love is like a Spectre."  Boom.  Bond song.  Uses the title of the movie.  Done.

Basically, I wish we could all just pretend this Bond film didn't happen, let it fade away like a spectre.

Bridge of Spies

There's a reason Steven Spielberg has the reputation he does. The man just understands storytelling. He understands characters. He understands film. There's a certain caliber of director where even their weakest films are proficiently crafted and still a cut above the average flick.

Bridge of Spies is incredibly engaging. Stellar performances by all the cast (even the kids!), along with Spielberg's superb directing help you care about these characters. Good writing and use of set-up--pay-off structure create a level of tension that keeps you in the world of the movie from start to finish. You may already know the ending; you know Tom Hanks is never in any real danger, because you know how movies work. But Spielberg keeps us wondering "How is he gonna pull it off?"

Bridge of Spies also uses its themes of Constitutional values and what we believe in as Americans to transcend time and keep a modern audience invested in this period piece about a time that many would (incorrectly) argue is behind us.  It calls on one of humanity's favorite stories: the underdog, the man who stands up even when his closest friends and family members beg for him to sit. In a greatly appreciated reprieve from today's nihilistic film and television landscape, Spielberg uses Bridge of Spies to present us at our best, to make us all see how good we can be if we stand by our principles. I can really see why it's being compared to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and why Tom Hanks is being heralded as "the James Stewart of our time."

TLDR: It's a damn good movie that should make you want to be a better person and make this world a better place.