16 Comments

  1. Dawn Denham

    Brilliant. I saw it last night and you’ve made me see what I missed, lulled, no doubt, by the masses, the expected, into a non discerning stupor. I felt sad at the end, thinking, we’re no better. We’re no better! And nostalgic as this was my childhood (and I was living it outside DC, born of two natives), this was my paper. How our press does not carry this weight or respect any more. Thanks, Leah

    • Thanks, Dawn! I liked it too. I was all in until the end, when the cheesy scenes took me out of it and disappointed me. But overall, you’re right. It does make you nostalgic for what newspapers were, and it makes me regret I was never part of one in those days.

  2. Patrick

    I’ve always thought Spielberg’s most egregious example of hitting you over the head with something was colorizing the girl’s coat in “Schindler’s List”, as soon as you see that you know exactly what’s coming. I think he was pretty straightforward in “Bridge of Spies”, at least I don’t remember anything of that sort. Haven’t seen “The Post”.

    • Yes, that was a really bad move, though I admit it didn’t annoy me as much as his music. Amistad was torture, which was a shame given how good some of the writing was. I’m glad to hear that about Bridge of Spies. I was afraid to see it. Hanks is wonderful, but I like him better in comedy/as a supporting figure, and he’s not one to counter Spielberg’s overdramatic style.

  3. Rachel E Williams

    I agree on all of this…BUT…be careful what you say about Lifetime. It’s good shit 🙂

  4. JWebb

    Agree that the scene of Meryl leaving the Supreme Court in front of an all-female, adoring chorus line was a very, very poor directorial choice. It also seemed to time-jump the film out of place to something wishfully contemporary. Was jarringly out of place and tone with the film. Would have been much better (more powerful) to have the character of Graham ignored as she was leaving the Supreme Court, anonymous to both men and women bystanders as would have been more true to the moment and time.

    Nevertheless, Spielberg is positively restrained these days to how he was years ago. Back then he would have had all the women bystanders salute Graham.

    • Well expressed. And I agree–anachronistic too. True! He has been less melodramatic than he was. But his very old material was actually more subtle. He is, perhaps, moving back in the right direction; he’s just not there yet:)

  5. Julie

    Spielberg injects his pictures with schmaltz and sledgehammer dramatic moments punctuated by John Williams’ swelling over-the-top scores (which he often “borrows” from other composers — go listen to Korngold’s score for the 1942 film ‘Kings Row’ then tell me which Williams score you instantly think of!) because that’s who Spielberg is. William Goldman’s take-down of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is legendary — Google it. Ultimately, filmmakers who don’t trust moviegoers often will bring out the sledgehammer.

    • Thank you for the recommendation! I will definitely check that review out. It would bother me less if Spielberg didn’t have so much potential, and if his work weren’t occasionally excellent. I have to admit that I’ve avoided Saving Private Ryan. I’ve heard a lot about how on the nose it is, and thought that would outdo my appreciation of how visceral it is.

  6. Michael

    His best ending is the last shot of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is still his best film by a mile.

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