Film: The Post

GENRE: Drama, Biography

RATING: PG-13 for language & brief violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 56 minutes

STARRING: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady, Devil Wears Prada)

Tom Hanks (Bride of Spies, Sully), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)

DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies, Lincoln, Amistad)

WRITERS: Liz Hannah (newcomer) & Josh Singer (West Wing, Spotlight)

PLOT: True story about a battle between journalists and the government about publishing The Pentagon Papers.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: Was eager to see this group of actors shine.

STORY STUFF: Could this story be more relevant right now? A president trying to silence journalists? Women in power second-guessed by every man in the room? History really does repeat itself, or sometimes never goes away. This film lays out a compelling true story that will hopefully inspire you and make you think. If you like that sort of thing.

ACTING STUFF: Streep and Hanks are simply amazing. Like that’s a shock. They play each question, victory and defeat with such intensity and heart. But that’s not all, they are surrounded by an amazing supporting cast. Take all the top shows from all the networks/cable and put them all together. You’ll find folks from The Americans, Fargo, Breaking Bad, West Wing, The Leftovers, Silicon Valley, Arrested Development, Community, The People v OJ Simpson. It’s a plethora of awesomeness.   

ARTISTIC STUFF: Spielberg does a deft job of directing this powerful story. One of the aspects that I found interesting was that he would focus on the old technology, especially rotary phones. I guess it shows the contrast that even though the tech may be old, we are still dealing with the same mentality and biases as we did back then.

VERDICT: Four and half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You appreciate journalism and want to see great acting.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Lady Bird, Three Billboards . . .