Lincoln

 And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Lincoln!

Original image located here. Accessed 19th June 2026

Yep, another movie that had success in it's day but somehow passed me by. But then again, does anyone really care when you come to a movie?

You know, if you're going to make a movie about one of the most beloved US Presidents, then you may as well go all out and get the best people for the job: Steven Spielberg in the directors chair, John Williams for the score, Tony Kushner for the screenwriting, Janusz Kaminski for photography and as many character actors as one can muster. But really this is all Daniel Day-Lewis' show: He breathes new life into Lincoln, changing the perception of an actor inhabiting a role and into flat-out resurrection. 
I've heard that both Day-Lewis and Spielberg invested a lot of research into the Honest Abe and it shows. The Lincoln here has plenty of humanity brought to the forefront and is intent on breaking down the myth to show the man. 

As for the rest of the film, it's a mixed bag: On one hand it, there are signs it's operating like a heist movie with the 13th Amendment being the prize. But on another, it is political drama with all the skulduggery that comes with it.
But this is clearly the most Oscar-bait of movies, as it ticks all the right boxes: It is a historical drama. It has a lead with proven Oscar success. It has a stacked cast. It is telling the inspiring story of someone who changed history, stuck up for the oppressed and had to evade the nay-sayers to do so. 
Given such observations, they are hard to avoid and did effect my enjoyment of this movie. 

But let's be honest: is Day-Lewis' performance enough to make this film? Damn straight it is. 

Saving Private Ryan

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Saving Private Ryan!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th March 2022

Well it's Oscar season so now would be a good time as any to address a movie that was a hot favourite for Best Picture but got pipped at the post.
I remember this movie being a big deal back in 1998 but I never got around to seeing it (at least until now). And I also remember a lot of anger that Saving Private Ryan lost the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love. But conversely, i wasn't angered: I thought very highly of Shakespeare in Love - and still do - so i was delighted by the win. Sure it puts me in a minority position and yes it has since been revealed that grade-A douchebag Harvey Weinstein made an aggressive push to secure the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love but I regret nothing.
Which in turn places me in an interesting position to approach Saving Private Ryan.

When it comes to Spielberg I have found he only makes two types of films: Light Entertainment (ie ET, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones) and "Take me Seriously Dammit!". And Saving Private Ryan does indeed belong in the latter category. Much has been written about the opening half hour and how it has set a new standard for portraying war scenes in movies but what i got out of it was just how brutal Spielberg's approach is: It's not just the violence but the shaky cam and the grimness of the whole thing. Clearly this was an attempt to show the war as it really was and the plonk the viewer straight in the middle of it. And the gamble paid off.
So yeah, as stated above, this movie was indeed a big deal and, it would appear, for very good reason.

Ready Player One

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Ready Player One!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th April 2018

In a way i was dreading this movie: if the trailer was anything to go by, I was expecting it to be 'Pop Culture Reference: The Movie'. But thankfully that was not the case.

It may be kinda shallow but in terms of a rollicking adventure this does it's job. Being the geek that i am was able to pick a large number of the anime/gaming/movie references so clearly this is a movie that knows it's audience. Still, the action sequences are superb and the battle for the fortress at the climax is........jaw-dropping to say the least.
So yeah, a movie that genuinely surprised me by being kinda cool.
Oh and i-R0k is awesome.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Close Encounters of the Third Kind!

Original image located here. Accessed 2nd March 2018

Once again, this is a well-known/regarded movie that managed to escape my notice for nearly three decades. I did try to watch it in high school but I don't recall getting very far. Well not this time: I came, I saw and I......

......it seems to me that this movie's reputation lies largely on the final half-hour. I have to admit it was something for a slog to get there but DAMN what a climax. The special effects are incredible - even for a forty one year old movie - and the UFO itself is truly awe-inspiring - which honestly, leaves a lot of CGI-heavy movies of today for dead.
So yeah: Great movie. It may have been a journey to get there but what a pay-off

The BFG

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The BFG!

Original image located here. Accessed 10th November 2017

I have had a love for Roald Dahl ever since my primary school teacher read his stories to myself and the rest of her first year class. So i had high hopes with this one. Sure the adaptations of Dahl's work haven;'t been that great but having Spielberg handle this one showed promise.
Interestingly enough, this movie flopped in the US - which has led many to declare Spielberg's day as a box-office drawcard has come to an end. As fan of Dahl, such a frosty reception is puzzling - or perhaps people these days are more likely to associate the letters BFG with DOOM.

As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. It was visually interesting, inventive and I enjoyed seeing how things work in BFG's home. There may have been some awkward moments with the script, what with the issue of snozzcumbers, pacing issues, BFG not being that friendly at first and the absence of the Jack the Giant Killer joke. But in the end, of all the adaptations of Dahl's work, this is one of the better ones.

Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn!

Original image located here. Accessed 12th August 2012

Man was this a ride and half. It was fun, inventive and remarkably faithful to the source material. Having read the Tintin books when i was a kid, i picked up a lot of subtle references and I was particularly impressed with what was accomplished through the animation - that, lets be honest here, LA wouldn't have a hope of matching. Seriously I doubt I could ever see the continuous take that was the falcon chase done in LA.

You know, prior to his death, Herge said that Spielberg was the only one who could do Tintin justice. Seems such a declaration was right on the money

Schindler's List

Last week i was asked about my habitual Friday night movies and what happened to them. Well, I stopped doing them as I tied down elsewhere. But seeing as I enjoyed my Friday night movie, and talking about it, I see no reason to give it up completely. So, here is what will be, hopefully, a return to regularity:

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Schindler's List!

 Original image located here. Accessed 3rd June 2016

Much has been written about this film: The powerful resonance, the acting, the cinematography and the directing. But I won't talk about any of that. No: You see, i remember, back in the nineties, that this movie was a big deal. And I feel coming to it, from a distance of twenty years, has allowed me to approach with a fresh perspective.
And it is still, very much as powerful as ever.