Atomic Blonde

First Hit:  Action filled with Charlize Theron showing strong fighting skills.

Although this film is done in a flashback mode, following the story is not hampered. Although, as the film unfolded and after the end, I wondered how it would have played out if it was done sequentially?

The film begin by showing agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) being interviewed by her boss Eric Gray (Toby Jones) and CIA department head Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman) while Gray’s boss Chief ‘C’ (James Faulkner) watches this behind glass. Lorraine is badly bruised but being sure of her story, she begins telling it.

She starts the interview with talking how she was sent to Berlin to find and obtain “The List” which has been put on microfiche and stored inside a watch. The list has information about each agent in British Intelligence and possibly the CIA, where they are and their possible covers.

Immediately after getting to West Berlin she gets attacked by Russians who what to kill her because they are the ones who are trying to obtain "the list" at all costs. Her contact and co-agent is David Percival (James McAvoy), however, the audience sees that Percival is sabotaging Lorraine’s attempt to obtain the watch (list). The one who put this list together and stored it in a watch has a code name and it’s Spyglass (Eddie Marsan). He’s doing this because he wants to trade giving up the list for freedom to West Berlin.

As the story unfolds and until the end, the audience thinks David is on multiple sides but so is Lorraine, it is just that the audience doesn't know how many she’s on.

Lorraine gets involved in so much fighting, shooting and stabbing that I can only imagine that she was really sore after doing this film.

One of the things I loved about this film was the color mood used to present this film. Everything was muted down from a color perspective. This in honor of being in both West and East Berlin at the time the wall comes down between the two parts of the city.

Theron was amazing in how she used her body and gave the audience a perception that she fights for a living. I loved her character and at times I laughed out loud in the audacity of some of the scenes. McAvoy was strong and his smart-alecky version of the character worked for me. Jones was perfect as Lorraine’s boss. Marsan was very good as the meek Spyglass. Goodman was very good as the CIA connection. Kurt Johnstad wrote an wild and fun screenplay. David Leitch had a clear vision in mind and for me it clearly worked well.

Overall:  It was a fun film and Theron was a joy to watch.

Anthropoid

First Hit:  This was a strong, well-presented, and interesting film about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich the architect of the holocaust.

The story follows a small group of men who parachute into Czechoslovakia with the goal of assassinating Reinhard Heydrich who had been sent to Czechoslovakia to ensure that the country supplies Germany with the war materials they expect.

There is a resistance movement in Prague which has been decimated by German soldiers publicly killing people who do not fall in line with German leader wishes. Heydrich had come up with the plan and process for killing all European Jews and was Hitler’s number 3 guy so he was Hitler's guy to get Czechoslovakia in line.

The film mainly follows two of the men, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik (Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy respectively) who parachuted into the republic, and find themselves in Prague being helped by the resistance led by Uncle Hajsky (Toby Jones). Both Jan and Josef are coupled with two women Marie Kovarnikova and Lenka Fafkova (Charlotte Le Bon and Anna Geislerova respectively) as a way to help them blend into Prague city life while they plan the assassination.

The film is graphic about the struggle and occasionally uses actual footage. The scene of the actual assassination was well staged in that it felt risky and real. The suspense was palpable.

The end scene with the battle in the church was very well done and very heroic in nature. Watching this film was like watching an important piece of history, which means the filmmakers did an excellent job of bringing this story to life.

Dornan was wonderful as the guy who struggled to pull the trigger but when the chips were down he was a reliable member of the team. His romance and connection with Marie was palpable. Murphy was fantastic and the driver of the mission. His ability to be strong, yet apologize for his focus, was truly heartfelt. Jones was really good as the main contact and leader of the underground. Le Bon was really good in the way she was supportive of the mission and her love for Kubis. Geislerova was truly amazing. Her strength of character shone through in this role. Sean Ellis and Anthony Frewin wrote a very strong script and Ellis’ direction was spot on.

Overall:  This was a truly interesting and well-acted film about a historical event.

The Man Who Knew Infinity

First Hit:  An interesting film about a fascinating individual whom I knew nothing about.

I knew nothing about and had never heard about Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel) a young Indian man who, without any formal mathematical education, spewed out amazing mathematical theorems.

For him they were intuitive. natural and were derived directly from God. Being Hindu, vegetarian, and supremely focused on the formulas that came to him through long sessions that were combined with praying, he was an anomaly in the world of mathematics.

Being buried in the poorest sections of Madras, unable to get a job so that he could have a home with this wife Janaki (Devika Bhise), and no one believing what he was creating as valid, he thought his work would die with him. On this third letter to scholar mathematicians in England, G. H. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), a Fellow at Trinity College in Cambridge, saw potential greatness and sponsored Ramanujan to visit him in England.

Upon his arrival Hardy and Fellow mathematician Littlewood (Toby Jones) began to work with Ramanujan to learn how to prove and publish his theorems. As this was during the time of WWI, Cambridge was bombed and Ramanujan became ill with tuberculosis.

The film takes the audience through, his battle to prove his work, his loneliness of missing his wife, and finding a way to be seen as an equal to his mathematical peers.

Patel is excellent as Ramanujan. I believed his character and got an idea of the struggle Ramanujan must have had. Additionally, he looks a lot like the real person. Irons was strong as the socially awkward, atheist mathematician who believed in Ramanujan but also wanted this new mathematician to have the same scientific rigor that all mathematicians are held to. Bhise had a small role but her love, angst and loyalty to her husband was sincerely palpable. Jones was great as Hardy’s friend and mathematician side-kick. Matt Brown both wrote and directed this film and it was obvious that he cared about sharing this story.

Overall:  It was more of a learning lesson to me about this amazing mathematician whose work is still being used and explored.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

First Hit:  For a film labeled “Thriller”, I was not thrilled.

This very plodding overly complex with missing parts rendition of the John le Carre classic novel was, in essence slow to a fault.

However, the period photography, by graining up the film, was excellent.

This movie starts with a killing which takes place during the 15 minute long opening credits. It does set the tone for the film but the  tone is that this is going to be a plodding pragmatic film. There wasn’t one person (character) to care about during the whole thing.

I recall reading the book and finding it engaging but that was mostly because le Carre created something to care about. Here director Tomas Alfredson moves this thing along at the same confusing pace all the way through.

The gaps in the scenes were too large to enjoy putting the film puzzle together. It was at times as if I had to start all over again with each new segment, hold that piece and place it with another piece that might come later or came sometime before this scene. It was too much work for the payoff.

It was generally a flat plane of existence as were the performances by everyone. The stoic faces were suppose to engender intelligence and thought; but for me it only provoked boredom. What was worse was that they kept discussing how this mole was working at the highest places of British Intelligence.

However the mole didn’t seem to be causing much damage. It seem more about saving face (British face).

John Hurt as Control was the most dynamic of all the actors. His tired eyes said something. Gary Oldman as George Smiley (the point of the film) was so reserved that I wanted to reach out and way wake up! This, combined with his being a mindful pragmatic intelligence officer brought out of retirement to find the “spy” was almost unbelievable. Percy Alleline (played by Toby Jones) was one of the more amusing characters as he seemed to suffer from ego issues of being short and being seen. Colin Firth as Bill Haydon (the spy) didn’t do much spying in this film, obviously by design, but it seem hard to find out what he actually gave the Russians that were pissing the British off so much. Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan wrote this script which followed the lines of the book while Alfredson directed this in a cold (war) plodding way.

Overall:  Thrilled? No and for my money there was too much thinking and piecing together required to make this film interesting and fulfilling.

W.

First Hit: This could have been more hard hitting on the worst ever president to have lived in the White House during my lifetime. However, it did have some interesting and shining poignant moments.

With my own personal dislike of our President George W. Bush, I was hoping for something more devastating.

With that aside, W. seemed, at times, a fair representation of some of The President’s frustration of growing up the son of a powerful politico and his gullibility to listen to some of the people he surrounded himself with.

The film intersperses the years leading up to his decision to invade Iraq including snippets of his college hell raising days, his quitting numerous jobs, his less than honest and stellar military service, his meeting of Laura (played by Elizabeth Banks), and other events; most of them being seen as failures by his father.

Oliver Stone, the director, surrounds The President (played by Josh Brolin) with strong actors playing the parts of the cabinet. Richard Dreyfuss plays Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn plays Donald Rumsfeld, Toby Jones, plays Karl Rove, Thandie Newton plays Condoleezza Rice and Jeffrey Wright plays General Colin Powell. There are numerous characters in this film but the interchange between the aforementioned was the most interesting to me. Rove acted as a puppet master, Cheney was the bully, Rumsfeld was off the wall, Rice was silly and meaningless, and Powell as someone reluctant to go against the hard edge bully. Bush comes off as believing he actually knew something but because God wanted him to be President he is simply “The Decider”.

Brolin does an excellent job of capturing many of The President’s mannerisms and ways of speaking. Dreyfus “gets” Cheney and links the public views with the behind the scenes reality of him. Jones captures Rove well and as the non-assuming puppet master and intellectual. Newton plays Rice as a twit which is far different than the public Rice we’re given. Wright plays Powell with less assurance than the public Powell. Stone doesn’t go over the top like he has in other films but I would have like more understanding of how The President got his calling and how he felt he was doing God’s work.

Overall: This was a really good film although not a great film. I enjoyed watching it and it brought together many salient aspects as to why The President acts the way he does. In some ways it left me with the feeling that maybe each President needs to go through a psychological profile before he can serve the country; W. would have failed the profile.