At eight days, the Transsiberian Express from Beijing to Moscow is the longest train journey in the world. So why wouldn’t it be the perfect backdrop to one of the most suspenseful journeys in quite some time? Paul Anderson’s (Beirut, The Machinist) presents the Transsiberian in a way that makes you think of Alfred Hitchcock. It’s dark. It’s moody. It’s twisted. It’s purposeful. It’s rooted. It’s intense. It makes you feel like a fellow passenger on this train, watching everything unfold next to you rather than on a screen projected in front of you. Oh. And it’s cold. It’s like an Arctic cold. We feel that sense of dread in the deepest of winter in the coldest places. Yet, it never feels like we are even close to approaching freezing. So it certainly adds to the ambiance of our film.
All posts by bryanbuser
Lost in Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides, The Bling Ring) struck gold with the Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansson dramedy Lost in Translation, one of the most original films of all time and one of the best movies of 2003. This instant cult classic explores themes of isolation, loneliness, broken relationships, boredom, cultural shock, existentialism, and instantaneous friendship, all in a quick 102-minute gem where each scene matters and every word carries a vast amount of weight.
Gold (2017)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyer’s Club, Mud) stars as a balding, crooked-toothed, potbellied Nevada gold prospector in a movie that, without his acting talent, would have been completely sifted through the Hollywood stream of consciousness. Instead, while flawed, Stephen Gaghan’s (Syriana, Abandon) Gold is a watchable experience that takes audiences on a wild goose chase along with most of its stars. It ultimately makes the destination an endpoint and the journey worthwhile.
Rocketman (2019)
Dexter Fletcher’s (Sunshine on Leith, Eddie the Eagle) Rocketman will be compared to 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody. So, I will get that comparison out of the way early. And it’s pretty easy. There is no real comparison. Bohemian Rhapsody was a sound accomplishment in acting, directing, sound mixing, sound editing, cinematography, and more. It created a new audience of music lovers of the band Queen. It reacquainted fans of the band with the music and, for many, reminded them of why they loved the music, the band, and the man (Freddy Mercury) who provided the vocals for all of their songs.
Long Shot (2019)
Long Shot is a terrible title for a not-so-terrible movie. I won’t mention too much more about the title other than to say that it’s a difficult title to remember and to associate with a film about a Secretary of State (who isn’t really a long shot) and her political campaign and run for the presidency after the incumbent president decides that he won’t be seeking reelection. Nevertheless, Jonathan Levine’s political rom-com (50/50, The Night Before) packs in the laughs while cutting into today’s political landscape just enough to be edgy but not so over the top that it will divide audiences. Long Shot may not be remembered for its title. Still, it will be remembered for its intelligent, timely writing, witty banter, crunch-worthy predicaments, and solid performances from its two leads.