Hostiles: In the late 1800’s, Army Capt. Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to their tribal land in Montana. Soon they find a young widow (Rosamund Pike) whose family was killed on the plains. The travelers must now band together to survive a punishing landscape that’s crawling with hostile Comanches and vicious outliers.
This is probably one of the good films that’s coming out right now that won’t get much recognition from movie goers. But it should, the performances from both Christian and Rosamund are really outstanding in this one. I liked how even with very soft spoken dialogue the words they were speaking were very powerful. The story, and action that went along with it, was very intriguing. And what can I say about the cinematography??? Mother Nature was definitely the best co-star here.
If there was one down side, I would have to say it was the length of the film. I think there was plenty they could have done under two hours, but maybe that’s just me. This is, for me, still A Must See Movie, so take the time to do so.
Hostiles is playing in select theaters in the valley this weekend.
The Post: Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper — The Washington Post. With help from editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), Graham races to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. Together, they must overcome their differences as they risk their careers — and very freedom — to help bring long-buried truths to light.
Hollywood’s big guns came out for this one and they didn’t mess around. Talk about a movie that keeps you fascinated from beginning to end, this is it. Maybe because it was so relate able to what we see in the news today. Whether by design or just coincidence, this was a great look inside what was going on then, during the Nixon administration, and what the news media had to do to stand up to the government that was trying to keep them quiet.
What, I thought, was more amazing was that even though we know how it all played out, there were still the anxious moments that made you tense up, feel relief and be excited just like the people we were watching. This was very much an enjoyable history lesson that is A Must See Movie.
It’s playing exclusively this weekend at the Harkins Camelview At Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale.