Page Eight

Reviews

Peter McGinn
I enjoyed this espionage movie a lot. It followed a major unwritten rule of spy thrillers, which is to have the hero not know who he can trust at any time, but still they kept the plot from spinning off into confusion and paranoia that feeds some espionage films. I have come to appreciate Bill Nighy’s acting more and more as I see his work. He reminds me of Mark Rylance, an actor equally skilled as the lead or in a supporting role, who doesn’t shout a lot or violently emote, but rather nails his part in the quiet, convincing moments. There is no supervillain here, no Mr. Big or Goldfinger to defeat in a climactic special effects-laden final scene. In a way, the American government is the bad guy, or even the head of the department our hero works for. I couldn’t quite decide if it irritated me that our nearly frail, nearly elderly hero could still effortlessly cause a beautiful young woman to attach herself to him, but it surprisingly (to me) remained just a flutter in the plot, not very serious in the end. I have been meaning to watch this movie for a few years and I am glad I did.
Movie Recommendation
- Turks & Caicos2014-03-20The second movie in David Hare's Johnny Worricker trilogy. Loose-limbed spy Johnny Worricker, last seen whistleblowing at MI5 in Page Eight, has a new life. He is hiding out in Ray-Bans on the Caribbean islands of the title, eating lobster and calling himself Tom Eliot (he’s a poet at heart). We’re drawn into his world and his predicament when Christopher Walken strolls in as a shadowy American who claims to know Johnny. The encounter forces him into the company of some ambiguous American businessmen who claim to be on the islands for a conference on the global financial crisis. When one of them falls in the sea, their financial PR seems to know more than she's letting on. Worricker soon learns the extent of their shady activities and he must act quickly to survive when links to British prime minister Alec Beasley come to light.More...
- Kansas City1996-08-16A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.More...
- Bambola1996-09-01Her name is Mina, but she is called Bambola (doll). Upon the death of her mother, she and her homosexual brother, Flavio, open a pizzeria. A man named Ugo loans Bambola the money, but is then killed in a fight with another one of her boyfriends, Settimio. While visiting Settimio in jail, she meets a sadistic man named Furio, and they begin a relationship.More...
- I Believe in Miracles2015-10-13Documentary following the history making Nottingham Forest football team led by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor that won back to back European cups.More...
- The Knowledge1979-01-01Four men attempt "The Knowledge" examination to qualify as London taxi drivers.More...
- November2020-11-04Julien, thirty years old, wanders through his life without belonging to it. He disappears in the memories of his lost childhood, of his distant kisses, of his unanswered discussions.More...
- Hello I Must Be Going2012-09-07An affair with a 19-year old actor helps reinvigorate life for thirty-something Amy after she moves home to her parents’ house following her divorce.More...
- Rigor Mortis2013-10-23When a former actor moves into an apartment building with the intention of commiting suicide, he is saved by a Taoist priest who used to specialize in hunting Chinese hopping vampires: or Jiāngshī. Elsewhere in the building, a woman turns to a specialist in black magic to bring her husband back to life.More...
- Confidentially Yours1983-08-10Claude Massoulier is murdered while hunting at the same place as Julien Vercel, an estate agent who knew him and whose fingerprints are found on Massoulier's car. As the police discover that Marie-Christine Vercel, Julien's wife, was Massoulier's mistress, Julien is the prime suspect. But his secretary, Barbara Becker, while not quite convinced he is innocent, defends him and leads her private investigations.More...
- The Bishop's Wife1947-12-25An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.More...
- Private Life2018-10-05Richard and Rachel, a couple in the throes of infertility, try to maintain their marriage as they descend deeper and deeper into the insular world of assisted reproduction and domestic adoption.More...
- Quiz Show1994-08-25Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.More...
- Loro 12018-04-24"Loro", in two parts, is a period movie that chronicles, as a fiction story, events likely happened in Italy (or even made up) between 2006 and 2010. "Loro" wants to suggest in portraits and glimps, through a composite constellation of characters, a moment in history, now definitively ended, which can be described in a very summary picture of the events as amoral, decadent but extraordinarily alive. Additionally, "Loro" wishes to tell the story of some Italians, fresh and ancient people at the same time: souls from a modern imaginary Purgatory who, moved by heterogeneous intents like ambition, admiration, affection, curiosity, personal interests, establish to try and orbit around the walking Paradise that is the man named Silvio Berlusconi.More...
- Death to 20202020-12-272020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn't make it up… but that doesn't mean they don't have a little something to add. This comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? The documentary-style special weaves together some of the world's most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage.More...
- Shallow Grave1994-12-22When David, Juliet, and Alex find their new roommate dead with a large sum of money, they agree to hide the body and keep the cash. However, this newfound fortune gradually corrodes their friendship.More...
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011-06-11Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.More...
- The Age of Innocence1993-09-10In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.More...
- A Christmas Story1983-11-18The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.More...
- The Report2019-09-12The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.More...
- The Pelican Brief1993-09-17A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.More...
Similar Movies
Sleeping with the Dev...
1997-04-22Professional nurse Rebecca Dubrovich is swept off her feet by charming millionaire Dick Strang, and the two begin a passionate romance. Only when it is too late does Rebecca discover that Strang has a very dark side...Tough Enough
2006-03-09From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.Marnie
1964-07-17Marnie is a thief, a liar, and a cheat. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, catches on to her routine kleptomania, she finds herself being blackmailed.Love Actually
2003-09-07Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.Dial M for Murder
1954-05-29When American writer Mark Halliday visits the very married Margot Wendice in London, he unknowingly sets off a chain of blackmail and murder.North by Northwest
1959-08-06Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.The Godfather Part II...
1974-12-20In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.Live and Let Die
1973-06-27James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.The King of Comedy
1982-12-18Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.Notorious
1946-08-21In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.Insomnia
2002-05-24Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.Inside Man
2006-03-17When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.No Diamonds for Ursul...
1967-08-06A beautiful, but naive, young woman kills a rapist in self defense. But her degenerate, crippled uncle, senses an opportunity and weaves a complex web of blackmail around her to steal a stash of diamonds.Annaluise & Anton
1999-03-11Luise, called Pünktchen, and Anton are closest of friends. Being the daughter of a wealthy surgeon, young Pünktchen lives in a great house. Her mother, who always travels through the world more for public relation reasons than for the social tasks she pretends to fulfill, is never available to her as a mother. Anton, son of a single and sick mother in financial trouble, does his best to help her out of it by working late. Pünktchen decides to help her only friend (as nobody else would anyway) and starts singing in public places. Trouble arises when Anton can't resist stealing a golden lighter and Pünktchen's secret life is discovered by her parents. Two troubled families finally can see the need for actions to be taken.Hell on the Beach
1966-03-30Alex, a former mercenary out of business, lives on a yacht anchored off Antibes with his wife, the beautiful and tight Helen and John, a former lover of it. Around this trio, revolves Heidi, an angelic blonde catalyst tragic events that will succeed when his troubled past catches up Alex.Ghashiram Kotwal
1976-01-01A stylized version of Vijay Tendulkar’s radical Marathi play chronicling the Peshwa regime in western India, a collective effort of direction and cinematography made by an independent group of young filmmakers.Entrapment
1999-04-29Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.Marlowe
1969-09-19Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.Poodle Springs
1998-07-25Private eye Philip Marlowe and his bride move to a desert town, where he uncovers a land scheme.Reclaim Your Brain
2007-09-11Frustrated, because he is forced to produce bad TV-shows, a manager of a TV-station, enters the station and manipulates the ratings, to initiate a TV-revolution.