7 years ago
Tom Cruise 10
The Endless Vitality of Steven Spielberg
On the eve of Steven Spielberg's 70th birthday, Josh Spiegel writes this essay on three of his modern classics released within 18 months of each other.
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Mousterpiece Cinema, Episode 268: “The Color of Money”
On this episode of Mousterpiece Cinema, Josh and Gabe celebrate the 30th anniversary of Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money" with guest Noel Murray.
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The Long Take: Spielberg’s 21st-Century Experiment
Josh Spiegel analyzes Steven Spielberg's penchant for long takes in his 21st-century films, including his latest, "The BFG."
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On The Rhythms of Sorkinese
In Steve Jobs, director Danny Boyle’s most overt visual showcase is relegated to the film’s transitions. Set backstage at three different tech product launches, the film makes two major leaps forward in time between 1984 and 1988 and again between 1988 and 199...
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The Cult of Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise imbues every performance with an exciting amount of personality and charisma. There is no one more fun to watch onscreen on a consistent basis. Yet the world remembers: He still jumped on Oprah’s couch.
Despite a prolific career, years of apologizi...
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“Rogue Nation” Is The Best “Mission: Impossible” Film So Far
Ethan Hunt (the 53-going-on-35 Tom Cruise) may not be considered a superhero, but he undoubtedly possesses powers that appear to be superhuman. He may not have a web to sling and his most impressive gadget continues to be a ludicrously transformative face-mask...
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Birth of the Uncool: The Mind and Movies of Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe is a romantic. Since 1989, he’s made eight features as writer and director, and they’re all broadly similar, featuring sensitive white men in search for identity in a world that, to them, has temporarily lost meaning. But there’s more to Crowe’s ...
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The Exceptional Characters in Brad Bird’s Films
Brad Bird is, to date, among a handful of mainstream filmmakers with a Midas touch. Though his new film Tomorrowland represents the closest thing to an exception to the rule--it's big, bold, messy, and never quite able to deliver any kind of satisfying payoff ...
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Going Glib: On Alex Gibney’s Fleet, Tactless Scientology Exposé
The Church of Scientology is famously thin-skinned as institutions go, but you can’t really fault them for wanting to take a collective hit out on Alex Gibney’s Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. If the film isn’t quite the polemic its title su...
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Ranking the Films of Michael Mann
Michael Mann is largely known for directing crime thrillers, but a closer look at his body of work reveals a much wider range. Beginning with Thief in 1981, his output has included period pieces, biopics, and even a horror fantasy alongside epic stories of cop...
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