Spotlight

Genre: Drama
Certification: 15
Duration: 128 minutes
Directed by: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattrery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci
KRS Releasing Ltd

The Oscar-nominated film follows the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that led to a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions.

When the newspaper’s tenacious Spotlight team of reporters delved into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovered a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world.

Although isolated cases of sex abuse by Catholic priests had been reported by the Boston Globe prior to the Spotlight investigation, the team’s in-depth, scrupulously fact-checked exposé revealed the scope of clergy-perpetrated crimes and the Church’s involvement in protecting their clergy from the criminal justice system with never-before-seen precision.

Producers Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust spearheaded the effort to transform the dramatic story of the Boston Globe’s sex-abuse investigation into a movie. Additionally, the Spotlight effort offered an opportunity to craft a cinematic love letter to long-form journalism.

The team is made up of boss Walter ‘Robby’ Robinson, portrayed in the film by Oscar winner Michael Keaton, star reporter Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), reporter Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), reporter Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James), Boston Globe executive editor Marty Brown (Liev Schreiber) and deputy managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr (John Slattery).

It is reported that Ruffalo, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of wrestler David Schultz in 2014’s Foxcatcher, received the Spotlight script from director McCarthy on a Friday, read it that night and agreed to take the part the following day. As a preparation for his role, he shadowed Rezendes for weeks to shape his interpretation of the tenacious reporter.

Where Ruffalo’s character focuses on legal aspects of the investigation, McAdams’s Pfeiffer specialises in interviewing the victims of clergy sex abuse. Her conversations with Pfeiffer informed some of the film’s most moving sequences, as the reporter gently encourages abuse survivors to tell their stories.

Meanwhile, former Globe deputy managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr says in the production notes that he connected easily with the actor who portrays him on screen – Slattery, known to millions as glib ad-agency partner Roger Sterling on the Emmy-winning Mad Men series.

Spotlight might be seen as a bookend of sorts to All the President’s Men. When that film about Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation of the Watergate scandal came out in 1976, it earned Jason Robards an Oscar for his portrayal of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, the father of Spotlight’s Ben Bradlee Jr. It also inspired a new generation of journalists to examine institutions once seen as off limits.

Spotlight has been nominated for six Oscars, including best drama, best performer for an actor and actress in supporting roles, best director and best screenplay.

Ratings
IMDB: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Empire Magazine: 4 stars

13 hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

John Krasinski plays a security contractor in 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

Genre: Action thriller
Certification: 12A
Duration: 144 minutes
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini
KRS Releasing Ltd

Action thriller 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, produced and directed by Michael Bay of Transformers fame, is based on the 2013 book 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff.

It tells the true story of six members of a security team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, after a terrorist attack on the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2012.

The CIA security contractors – military veterans who served with the Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon and Army Special Forces – undertook a desperate defence of the American Ambassador and his staff within the diplomatic compound.

13 Hours was filmed in Malta and Morocco. Locally, most of the filming took place in Mosta but scenes were also shot in Valletta, Corradino and Manoel Island.

The film has become embroiled in the ongoing political controversy over the tragic events of that night. The US Republican Party, in particular, has been a vociferous critic of Hillary Clinton’s role as Secretary of State in the events that led to the death of However, US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

Actor John Krasinski, who plays security contractor Jack Da Silva in the drama, criticised both Democrats and Republicans for politicising the film and accused both sides of using the movie to score “political points” against one another.

13 Hours is replete with action and has been described as “violent and diffult”. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote: “Michael Bay likes to go bold and likes to go bonkers, fattening his often-outrageous material with crazed visual strokes and thunderous explosions, helter-skelter angles and scattershot editing.”

Paul Asay, of the Plugged In website, commented: “13 Hours is a well-made, violent, profane, difficult movie. The fact that it depicts real, important events makes it no less difficult.”

Ratings
IMDB: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 58%
Empire Magazine: 3 stars

Capture the Flag

Genre: Animation
Certification: U
Duration: 94 minutes
Directed by: Enrique Gato
Starring: Dani Rovira, Michelle Jenner, Carme Calvell, Javeier Balas, Camilo Garcia, Toni Mora
KRS Releasing Ltd

Spanish 3D Film Capture the Flag is inspired by the 1960s space race and sees a ruthless billionaire bent on exploiting the source of Helium 3 – the clean energy of the future. His plan involves rewriting history to excise the feats of the Apollo XI astronauts and the moon landing.

Enter Mike Goldwing, a plucky, determined 12-year old boy, who is the son and grandson of Nasa astronauts. His grandfather Frank, a once-revered but now forgotten retired astronaut, lives his days isolated from his family after missing out on his big chance to fly to the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as a part of the Apollo XI mission. When the billionaire sets the evil plan to fly to the moon and destroy the American flag planted by the Apollo XI team, Mike embarks on a magnificent adventure as a stowaway on the space shuttle. Accompanied by his grandfather, best friends Amy and Marty, and a clever chameleon, Mike blasts off to the moon to capture the flag and reunite his family.

Critics have said that preteens and tweeners should enjoy the wild ride provided by the film, while grown-ups can be amused by some of the inside jokes and historical allusions. However, some commented that in terms of animation and production values, Capture the Flag falls somewhat short of the gold standard set by Pixar, DreamWorks and other Hollywood movies.

Ratings
IMDB: 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: N/A
Empire Magazine: N/A