Gosling is Stephen, an idealistic campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a presidential hopeful.
After explosive secrets surface, Meyers finds himself entangled in a web of betrayal and corruption.
This is a great study of political idealism shattered, anchored bystrong performances and subtle writing.
Image via Columbia Pictures
Stone was nothing if not committed to this project.
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there’s more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
8’Munich' (2005)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
“Were supposed to be righteous.
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Thats a beautiful thing.
But were losing it.”
On the other end of the spectrum isSteven Spielberg’sMunich, a much more measured recreation of history.
The Ides of March is a drama film that sees Ryan Gosling star as Stephen Meyers, an employee of Governor Mike Morris' campaign trying to run for president. Though Morris' ideas could present a significant shift in the world, one primary goes south, leaving Stephen to rush to try to pick up the pieces. Stephen’s morality and integrity and challenged when he realizes the only way to help his candidate win is to play as dirty as his opponents.
The narrative momentum flags at times, butMunichis still an impressive achievement.
Few directors would have pulled it off this well.
Its a good scream."
A youngJohn Travoltaturns ina fantastic performancein thisBrian De Palmamasterwork.
The movie’s admirers includeQuentin Tarantino, who has consistently ranked it among his all-time favorites.
He borrows the structure of a crime caper but fleshes out the setting with ’80s espionage and geopolitics.
The result is entertainment for adults done right.
Not for nothing, the actor once namedThe Conversationas his favorite of all the movies he’s appeared in.
Coppola’s layered script gives him a lot to work with.
Hanks’s gravitas and everyman likability keep everything grounded, whileMark Rylancecontributes an Oscar-winning performance as Soviet spyRudolf Abel.
It works because the characters are front and center.
It’s further proof that Spielberg is one of the best historical storytellers.
Tom Hanks stars in the 2015 historical drama based on the true story.
Overall,The Manchurian Candidatehas aged well and is still engaging today.
Political thriller junkies ought to give it a try if they haven’t already.
Image via Warner Bros.
An American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
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New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there’s more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
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Image via Filmways Pictures
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Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Image via HBO
A former American intelligence specialist was given the longest sentence for the unauthorized release of government information to the media about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections via an email operation.
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A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
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Directed by Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies follows American lawyer James Donovan, who is recruited by the CIA to negotiate the release of a U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down over the Soviet Union. Tom Hanks stars in the 2015 historical drama based on the true story.
Image via United Artists
