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So, what are my thoughts?
Anyhoo, Jennifer Lawrence did well in the lead, but again parallels in real life can be drawn with Shalene Woodley in the Divergent series in the sense that an entire franchise seems to rest singularly on their shoulders. Both though, are more than up to the task.
This last installment certainly readdresses the lack of action in Mockingjay Part 1, but to be honest little else. Mockingjay part 2 is a dark final chapter as one would expect. However I did not expect it to be so boring, flat and predictable. I really wanted Part 2 to rise above the relative mediocrity of the series thus far, but alas it does not. 
As I say the best part of the movie is the middle act, as our band of rebels do their best to navigate the Capital as the games makers throw obstacles in their path called "Pods". These pods take the shape of several things such as a wave of tar, underground monsters known as "Mutts" and a wall of fire. All very nice I'm sure but not really original and rather bland. It's very much the case of the best bits are in the trailer.
All other central returning characters like Gale, Finnick, Cressida, Ross and Henson get their share of screen time as does newcomer Michelle Forbes (Star Trek's Ro Laren) But the big hitters are woefully brushed over. Donald Sutherland's deliciously evil President Snow is rendered impotent in this movie, his gravitas is missing. This trend of under using the main returning actors does not stop with Sutherland. Woody Harrelson, Jeffrey Wright and Elizabeth Banks all fall into this camp. Finally, as for Stanley Tucci's brilliantly creepy TV host Caesar Flickerman, he is literally just shoehorned in for a few scenes. 
Far from the rousing finale, Mockingjay part 2 is a let down with a very anticlimactic ending. It features a descent series of action sequences in the middle chapter but that's all really. Jennifer Lawrence continues to hold this franchise together with sticky tape. I was very disappointed with the under utilisation of the major players in particular President Snow. If you've watched the previous entries then you might as well see this last chapter. However for any of you thinking of checking this one as a movie in its own right, avoid it. It's more lukewarm than flaming hot.
So, what are my thoughts?
Bridge of Spies marks the fourth time Spielberg has directed a movie starring Tom Hanks. The others being, Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me if You Can (2002) and finally The Terminal (2004). 
So, what do I make to their fourth collaboration? Well I enjoyed it, based on a true story, Bridge of Spies is an excellent film which perfectly captures the tense existence during this unprecedented time in history. One of the beauties of this movie is I knew very little about it going in, so this really aided to the general level of suspense. Although the movie clocks in at a lengthy 2 hours 20 mins, for a drama based on the Cold War, it flew by.
Bridge of Spies also features a great cast, with the likes of Alan Alda and Amy Ryan but without doubt the star player is Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel the Russian spy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was shortlisted as Best Supporting Actor come the awards season. Such an understated but subtle performance.
The movie looks stunning and is very well shot, this is no surprise when you learn it was shot by Janusz Kaminski who has provided some of the most startling and memorable images from Spielberg's movies such as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List. Kaminski has done for the Cold War in this movie what he did for the beach landings in Ryan and the concentration camp in Schindler's List. The movie is extremely evocative of the Cold War era.
As for the movie itself, it essentially has two main acts, Hanks defending Rylance and then the story of the shot down U2 Spy plane Air Force Pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) and how the two are exchanged by the authorities. Bridge of Spies is very much a Spielberg movie for adults, not for the masses. There is hardly any "action" as you might call it but there are welcome sprinklings of humour.
Bridge of Spies is as good as I had hoped it would be. Featuring assured confident direction from Spielberg with an equally assured central performance from Tom Hanks, this movie did not disappoint. Add to that a strong quality cast with a great performance by Mark Rylance in support, and a movie that is so evocative of the era, this is one movie which I hope you will enjoy. It will prove too slow for some people and given the nature of the movie, is equally effective on the small screen as the big, but if you are looking for a classy quality drama this month, you will do well to check this out. You won't catch a cold.
So, in a nutshell?
Heck, I'll not beat about the bush, I'll come right out and say it, The Martian is my Film of the Year so far. Front and centre is Matt Damon who gives one of the best performances of his career. Having read the book and visualised all the characters in my head, no more so of course than Watney, Damon is PERFECT. He totally and utterly embodies this character and what horrendous physical and psychological highs and lows Watney has to endure. The actor himself had to undergo dramatic weight loss Tom Hank's style for his role. Hey, that gives me idea if I had to boil the The Martian down to three words it would be Castaway meets Contact.
The rest of the cast are on fine form. There is not one member who does not bring their A-game to the table. There is no phoning in performances here. Of all the cast (Excluding Damon) my favourites were Jeff Daniels as Teddy Sanders Director of NASA and Jessica Chastain as Commander Lewis, the commander of Hermes the crew's main ship. Chiwetel Ejiofor is also excellent as Mars Mission Director Venkat Kapoor. Side bar on his role, Irrfan Khan (Last seen in Jurassic World) was cast to play Kapoor but owing to a Bollywood contract obligation, it meant Ejiofor was cast only three weeks before filming commenced. It's ironic as after listening to R.C Bray's Kapoor on the audio book I always thought Khan would have been cast, and so he was, but it was not to be. Sorry I have strayed off the beaten track, let's carry on...
The movie has Ridley Scott written all over it, huge credit also must go to Drew Goddard who adapted Weir's 369 page novel. Having read the book, I of course knew what to expect, and one could say therefore that this lessened my experience, as there were no surprises. On the contrary, it heightened the experience, as I knew what was coming. The Martian is also extremely accessible for the layman, the one criticism the book came under was that it was too heavy on the science. This is not the case in the movie, Scott and Goddard have managed to make it available to all, one of the things last years Interstellar fell short on.
My Rating
So, what are my thoughts?
Sicario get's off to an explosive start, literally but unfortunately it then loses it's way in the world of Mexican Cartels. From a technical standpoint the movie is extremely impressive. Featuring thrilling sequences, that are well shot, lit and edited. My favourite of them being a high speed convoy in and out of Mexico to bring back a captured drug lord. The movie also features some beautiful aerial shots that are near perfection. All of this is aided by Jóhann Jóhannsson's chilling score that helps raise the tension to a steady series of crescendos that well never really happen.
And well, that's the problem, the movie walks the walk but it does not talk the talk. The movie is very well cast though with Blunt further proving her acting credentials front and centre as a plausible tough central heroine. Del Toro (My favourite character by far) is on fine form as the mysterious Alejandro. A sidebar on his character by the way, I read in the news that there may well be a sequel to Sicario with Del Toro's character taking centre stage. Del Toro's bad cop-bad cop partner is Josh Brolin who is also excellent as the hard hitting "Take no prisoners" Matt. Daniel Kaluuya who plays Blunt's on screen partner Reggie holds his own against more experienced hands and provides the much needed comic relief at times. Victor Garber and John Bernthal are the only actors that a really underused.
So all the ingredients are in place, but the movie just doesn't come though the way it should. With the quality of directing, cinematography, acting and film scoring on offer, Sicario whilst successfully hard hitting enough to distance itself from the popcorn summer fayre, never really hits it out of the park. The movie provides you with a series of set pieces that never really pay off. In style, one could say that at times it felt like several episodes of a TV series pinned together. They could have even called it CSI Mexico. 
My Rating