King of the Hollywood blockbusters. If you like epic, sentimental and easily digestible big budget cinema then Spielberg is absolutely the man. He's been at the top for years and has consistently wooed audiences from around the world.
Movies
One of the best things Spielberg has done. Lots of the charm comes from Mark Rylance's voice work and the giant's quirky dialogue. Barnhill is annoying though and the whole episode with the queen isn't very interesting. Still, some nice bits to be enjoyed, just not enough for 2 hours of film.
A pretty standard Spielberg drama. The Color Purple is well-made, but it's also big, loud, and sentimental. It's not Spielberg's worst film I've seen, but it's typical Hollywood schmaltz that never comes off as genuine or heartfelt. The runtime also doesn't help, but I knew that even before going in. Celie is a poor young black woman who is driven into marriage with an older man. The man doesn't treat her right, but Celie is used to coping with very little, and she persists. When she meets the mistress of her husband, a lively blues singer, the two become good friends and Celie finally finds a way to enjoy life. The cinematography and score are competent, and the performances decent, but the film lacks the subtlety and depth of a good drama. A putrid whiff of sentimentality hangs over every scene and while there is a lot of plot to wade through, 150 minutes is way too long for this film. Not great.Read all
A rushed cry for freedom of press, as a reaction to the behaviour of president Trump. The film lacks relevance though and the execution is so dusty and uninspired that you have to wonder who Spielberg thought was his target audience. There's some core quality here, but both as a film as well as a political statement, this was a complete failure.
Exactly what you'd expect from Hollywood's most archetypical director doing a biopic of Abraham Lincoln. An important part of American history is turned into a cheesy drama with predictable build-ups and an overdose of sentimentality, saved only by a grand budget skillfully applied. Lincoln has devised a plan to end the war, to do that he has to get enough votes to push Amendment 13 through the House of Representatives. It's the Amendment that will abolish slavery, a key turning point in US history. The vote is close and Lincoln will have to be crafty to get what he wants. The performances are decent, the cinematography polished, but beyond craft there's very little on display here. The score is corny, the structure of the film feels manipulative and there are no characters of life and blood here, just glorified heroes. Your typical Spielberg production, in other words, I'm not a fan.Read all
If Spielberg has one real skill, it's turning something decent into something hellishly boring, especially when he tries to make a serious film. The acting is below par, the film looks professional but lifeless and the story never really managed to get interesting. Just bland and boring Hollywood film making.
One of the films I watched on a school trip, and one of the films that would end up setting back my love for cinema. I didn't care for it then and don't care for it now. It's a typical Spielberg project, overly cheesy and sentimental, with some misplaced exotic appeal, and at least 45 minutes too long. James is a spoiled little brat living in Shanghai. When the Japanese invade the city, chaos ensues and he gets separated from his parents. He stays behind in the city and he has to get by on his own. Eventually, he is taken to a Chinese camp, where he has to adapt to his new life. Bale's performance isn't great, the soundtrack is annoying and the plot isn't all that interesting, especially since the characters aren't all that likable. There's no reason why the film runs almost 150 minutes long, except to create a fake feeling of grandeur. The cinematography isn't the worst, but not classy enough to be anything but a band-aid. Not good.Read all
Spielberg's remake of the famous 60s musical. It's not much of an update though, Spielberg keeps the setting and songs pretty much identical. Apart from some slightly more contemporary technical achievements, it's just the same old thing. As someone who didn't care one bit for the original film, that's not great. Two rival gangs fight for their turf in the poorer quarters of New York. When Tony (of The Jets) starts dating Maria (part of The Sharks), all hell breaks loose. Tony wants out of The Jets, but that doesn't calm the situation down. Maria forces Tony to try and stop the fight, which only seems to make things worse. Basic stereotypes, a drawn out romance and a handful of familiar songs. The cinematography could've been better, the music feels very dated, and the performances are mediocre at best. Two and a half hours is way too long for a simple film like this, a very poor update of a terrible original.Read all
A full-on wankfest for fanboys, filled to the brim with references of crappy pop culture. I'm sure the film was expensive, but the CG and styling looked poor, the camera work was bad and the score was atrocious. But oooh, look at how many references I spotted. Was that a real Battletoad?
Very early Spielberg. Duel was a decent thriller, sadly Something Evil is a big step down. Its TV roots are way too apparent, the horror bits are laughable, the acting is dull and emotionless. There's not much positive to say here, apart from the fact that it's rather short, but even then that time isn't spent very well.
