A to Z Challenge 2020 - M

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber
Brief Thoughts: Yes, the remake, not the original. Two of the very good reasons: Meryl Streep, before she entered Living Legend mode, both at awards ceremonies and the roles she took, filled with knowing winks to the audience (critics) about how great she is. At the time, her performance in Manchurian Candidate was considered a biting satire of Hillary Clinton, but I have the idea that now, not only would Streep not pursue such a role, but it would never be accepted as “a good thing” (a phrase used by someone in one of her later roles). Also: Liev Schreiber, folks. This movie is literally his closest shot at cinematic immortality, folks. He deserves it. He earned it. Don’t take it away because you’re horrified at the thought of remakes. And, of course, Denzel Washington. It’s always great to see him in a role that isn’t calculated based on his race, or one of his action movies. He’s a star. Let him be a star, at the magnitude he’s capable of reaching. Which is as high as anyone. And at least as interesting. This whole thing holds up better than the original. Of course it does.

Midnight Special (2016)
Director: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver
Brief Thoughts: This is one of those great cinematic experiences they tell you can’t be done anymore, thanks to all the remakes and sequels Hollywood pumps out. It is exactly equivalent to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and hails Jeff Nichols at exactly the level of Spielberg. But you wouldn’t know it. And that’s kind of the level of sophistication we have at the moment.

The Missing (2003)
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood
Brief Thoughts: This is exactly the kind of western that ought to be getting made at this point. Tommy Lee Jones completes a transformation into a kind of modern John Wayne (the poster always made me think the allusion was intentional). He plays an absent father who lived for years with Indians. The antagonist of the movie is a crazy Indian, but in no sense is the guy meant to represent all Indians. Jones, who is not being sold as appropriating the identity of an Indian but rather representing the idea that this is a character who thought that was the best way to live, even at the expense of his own family. And as counterpoint you’ve got, well, Cate Blanchett, who excels at making everything she touches compelling.

Munich (2005)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig
Brief Thoughts: This is one of my all-time favorites, and as far as I’m concerned, Spielberg’s finest achievement. As a sober reflection of the times, it’s second to none. And it’s Eric Bana’s best role, his absolute career peak. Also, Daniel Craig just before Bond, the unheralded final development of the style he had when he finally got there.