Bridge of Spies– A solid ‘based on true events ‘ Steven Speilberg movie. Tom Hanks plays insurance company lawyer James Donovan in the late 50’s during the Cold War. He’s recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court. The government wants to put on a respectable show to the world that the U.S. following the judicial system while behind the scenes fast tracking the court to a guilty verdict. Donovan stands up for his client as best as he can and due to this, he’s asked to be a negotiator with the Soviets (and Germany sneaks in there) to make a trade for a U.S. U2 spy plane pilot. The man Donovan kept out of the electric chair is the only bargaining chip they have. A testament to Tom Hanks acting chops, the movie rides on his shoulders and it works so well because of him (have to mention Mark Rylance as the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel as well). Visually, I think the lighting design is far and away the most striking element. Not since The Hateful Eight have I admired the careful, sumptuous and subtle storytelling placement of  such a specific and largely underappreciated skill in film production. Also very apparent in this movie is Speilberg’s love of the tracking shot. An enjoyable movie if a little long in runtime.

Paper Towns– Caught this one from a trailer with Me, Earl and the Dying Girl. I like Me more (they’re kinda similar, being about making it through life during high school), but this is a solid movie. Quentin’s life is stirred up by his neighbor Margo and when she skips town and leaves clues behind to find her, Q and his best friends go on a quest to find her. Interesting story with a solid message at the end. I dug the cast too, not a bad way to spend an hour forty.

Kung Fu Panda 3– The Dragon Warrior returns, this time, to fight back an ancient foe that’s found a way out of his spirit realm banishment. I think the KFP movies are a lot of fun and this third sequel checks all the boxes. It’s funny and touching but doesn’t push any story boundaries. You can see the markers of each act and my biggest disappoint is that Po’s brothers (and sisters) in arms are pushed aside almost entirely for this movie. They barely get any dialog let alone screen time. Po’s father, Li takes up much more of that space (thankfully he’s very good). That complaint aside, I found this to be a good movie. DreamWorks Animation has really stepped up their game in recent years, The fight choreography and animation for this franchise has also been great, but the lighting and other special effects like particles, environment destruction/cloth simulation are phenomenal.

Sicario– The drug war has reached a new level on the New Mexico/Mexico border. The violence has pushed farther into the US and a special government task force looks to push back. FBI agents Kate Macer and her partner Reggie Wayne are on the front lines of a drug operation that goes south and reveals some awful new evidence that all the work they’ve been putting in isn’t doing anything. The special task force finds out about these two and brings them in (more Kate than Reggie) to help out. The task force isn’t exactly forthcoming about what they’re doing when they first come calling and oh what a ride it is. Dug this movie a lot. Seems like I don’t see much of Benicio Del Toro these days so it was great to see him strut his stuff in this. Emily Blunt holds it down as Kate and I’m all for watching Josh Brolin act too. This movie gets pretty intense and if you enjoy spec ops/drug war movies, you’re sure to like this.