Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012 in the Movies: most fun at the movies

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William Friedkin's KILLER JOE

1.  This year I attended over ten screenings that were followed by Q & As with the filmmaker.  My favorite was the rip-snorting Killer Joe, followed by an hour with one of the great raconteurs, director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist).

2.  Sitting with other film geeks at the San Francisco International Film Festival, only to be surprised and delighted by the hilarious Norwegian comic thriller Headhunters.

3.  Watching the three-hour director’s cut of Margaret with The Wife and our friend Paula.

4.  Watching Bill W. (about the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous) in an audience that contained over 200 AA members,

5.  Enjoying the  classic Italian comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street for the first time.

6.  Discovering the political satire The Dark Horse and the workplace drama Employees Entrance from the early 1930s, both starring  Warren William, the King of Pre-Code.

7.  Revisiting classics like M, the 1979 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Exorcist and finding that they all hold up well today.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: John le Carre’s great whodunit

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the new film version of the classic John le Carre spy novel.  The British have learned that the Soviets have planted a mole – their own double agent – near the very top of British secret intelligence service.  Only the old spymaster George Smiley, having been forced out to pasture, is beyond suspicion.  Only Smiley has the intellectual brilliance, institutional knowledge and ruthless doggedness needed to ferret out the traitor.  Gary Oldman plays George Smiley.

It’s a great tale, and the movie is good.  Oldman is joined by an impressive cast, inlcuding Colin Firth Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch and Toby Jones.  Tom Hardy and Mark Strong are especially good.

I would be more enthusiastic about this film, but I harken back to the 1979 television miniseries version of the same book, starring Alec Guinness in perhaps his best role. That miniseries had even better performance by Guinness, of course, and Ian Richardson, Sian Phillips and Patrick Stewart.  It’s available on DVD, and I recommend that you rent it.

November Movies

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It’s time for the really promising movies of November and December.  On November 11, we’ll see J. Edgar,Clint Eastwood’s biopic of J. Edgar Hoover starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.  Armie Hammer, so good as the Winklevoss twins in A Social Network, plays Hoover’s (ahem) close friend Clyde Tolson.

The new version of John LeCarre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens on November 18.  Gary Oldman leads an impressive cast.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

But first, if you’re looking for a pure romance, there’s Like Crazy.  This long distance love story seems to be unadulterated by the irony and gross-out humor so prevalent.  Just good looking people and a weepy soundtrack.  Got good filmfest buzz at both Sundance and Toronto.  Opens October 28 in a limited release and more widely in November.  Here’s the trailer.

Movies to See Right Now

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Don Cheadle and Breandan Gleeson in THE GUARD

I went to see The Guard for a second time and it was well worth it.  The Irish dark comedy stars Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.   Sarah’s Key is an excellent drama starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a journalist investigating very personal aspects of a French episode in the Holocaust. The historical drama Amigo benefits from writer-director John Sayles’ typically excellent juggling of interconnected characters and from a fine cast. The Debt, with Helen Mirren, is a multigenerational thriller that addresses the costs of both truth and untruth.  Higher Ground (I’ll comment tomorrow) is Vera Farmiga’s provocative take on persons of faith.

Woody Allen’s sweet, funny and thoughtful comedy Midnight in Paris is continuing its long, long run. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2011 – So Far.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are excellent in the romcom Crazy Stupid Love. Despite Rachel Weisz’s performance, The Whistleblower is a misfire – a potentially riveting story clumsily told.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick is Road to Nowhere.  Other recent DVD picks have been Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (1979), Poetry, Queen to Play, Kill the Irishman, The Music Never Stopped and Source Code.

Movies to See Right Now

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Helen Mirren in THE DEBT

My top choice this week is still the Irish dark comedy The Guard, starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. Sarah’s Key is an excellent drama starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a journalist investigating very personal aspects of a French episode in the Holocaust. The historical drama Amigo benefits from writer-director John Sayles’ typically excellent juggling of interconnected characters and from a fine cast. The Debt, with Helen Mirren, is a multigenerational thriller that addresses the costs of both truth and untruth.

Woody Allen’s sweet, funny and thoughtful comedy Midnight in Paris is continuing its long, long run. It’s on my list of Best Movies of 2011 – So Far.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are excellent in the romcom Crazy Stupid Love. Despite Rachel Weisz’s performance, The Whistleblower is a misfire – a potentially riveting story clumsily told.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  Other recent DVD picks have been Poetry, Queen to Play, Kill the Irishman, and The Music Never Stopped.

DVD of the Week: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

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In this 1979 miniseries version of the classic John le Carre spy novel, there is a Soviet mole in the highest echelon of British intelligence.  It could be anyone except George Smiley, whom the other top spies have pushed out to pasture.  Smiley, in one of Alec Guinness’ greatest performances, begins a deliberate hunt to unmask the double agent.  Guinness is joined by a superb cast that includes Ian Richardson, Patrick Stewart, Ian Bannen and Sian Phillips.  It’s 290 minutes of pressure-packed whodunit.

The Labor Day weekend is a great opportunity to watch the old master spy drilling down through the characters of his former peers to expose the mole – one of the best mysteries ever on film.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has been remade into a much shorter theatrical version that will open in the US on November 18.  This new film version will also feature a top tier cast – Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Fassbender, Ciaran Hinds, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Jones and Stephen Rea.   The trailer is at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

Other recent DVD picks have been Poetry, Queen to Play, Kill the Irishman and The Music Never Stopped.