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Poster for Bridge of Spies.
Poster for Bridge of Spies.

Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg (PG-13, 135 minutes)

A complicated story, Bridge of Spies is rendered understandable and intriguing by a director who has come to know how to handle a project like this. Based on actual events, the film features the excellent Tom Hanks as James Donovan, a Brooklyn-based insurance-settlement lawyer who, through a series of circumstances, becomes the chief negotiator in working for the release of U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers, shot down over Russia during the waning early 1960s-era of the Cold War.

More than carrying his weight in the success of this effective morality drama is British stage actor Mark Rylance, who plays Rudolf Abel, the imprisoned Russian spy that the U.S. hopes to exchange for Powers, with brilliant understatement. With Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch.

Our Brand Is Crisis (R, 108 minutes) Directed by Little Rock native David Gordon Green, this passable black comedy is inspired by Rachel Boynton’s 2005 documentary of the same name. It stars Sandra Bullock as Jane Bodine, a back-in-the-game political consultant who gets involved in a Bolivian presidential campaign in support of the country’s former president. The election pits her in a ruthless competition with her nemesis, James Carville-ish Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton, a native of Malvern), who works for the opposing candidate. Please forgive the corny ending. With Anthony Mackie, Ann Dowd, Zoe Kazan, Scoot McNairy.

Suffragette (PG-13, 106 minutes) An earnest, melodramatic history lesson, Suffragette is a grim and grimy period piece about the struggle for women’s suffrage in England in the early 20th century. Protagonist Maud Watts (Carey Mulligan) is a vivid creation of quiet gumption, desperation and terror. She starts out apolitical, a competent working-class laundrywoman in love with her husband, Sonny (Ben Whishaw), and young son, George. Sonny works in the same laundry as Maud, but he’s better paid and works shorter hours, even though he’s less skilled.

After she sees co-worker Violet Miller (Anne-Marie Duff ) participating in a rock-throwing demonstration, Maud’s interest in politics is piqued. She is conscripted to speak on her co-worker’s behalf after Violet is beaten by her husband on the eve of her testimony before the Chancellor of Exchequer Lloyd George (Adrian Schiller). Gently, the official coaxes Maud’s story out of her — she’s optimistic that he might be sympathetic to their cause. His ultimate decision to oppose them further radicalizes the suffragettes.

Meryl Streep has a brief turn as movement leader Emmeline Pankhurst, in which she delivers the key line, “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave,” and Helena Bonham Carter appears as bomb-making pharmacist Edith Ellyn, based on Edith Garrud, a martial arts expert who trained other suffragettes in ju-jitsu and carried a wooden club in her hand-warming muff.

Take Me to the River (PG, 98 minutes) Narrated by Terrence Howard, this 2014 documentary — directed by Martin Shore, who moonlights as the drummer for Cody Dickinson’s Hill Country Revue — takes a loving look at Memphis’ soul music tradition via footage from and interviews conducted during recording sessions for an album spotlighting the city’s sound. So we are treated to such tasty moments as Bobby Blue Bland teaching young rapper/actor Lil P-Nut how to sing “I Got a Woman”; a dialogue between Al Kapone and Booker T. Jones; and Mavis Staples improvising beautifully. While it’s really more concert film than history lesson, and we could have done without the musical contributions of Snoop Dogg and Howard (it’s the old folks who shine here), all in all it’s a pleasant and poignant tour, and a sweet valedictory for Bland, Otis Clay and Hubert Sumlin, legends who died shortly after contributing to the film.

Truth (R, 121 minutes) This well-acted political thriller recounts the efforts of CBS news producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and managing editor/anchorman Dan Rather (Robert Redford) to tell the truth about President George W. Bush’s Vietnam-era service in the Air National Guard. Mapes believes she has convincing evidence that Bush shirked his duty and went AWOL. But she can’t get any of Bush’s former superiors to go on the record.

Then Lt. Col. Bill Burkett (Stacy Keach), a National Guard veteran, comes forward with memos in which Bush’s commanding officer criticizes the young pilot’s nonperformance and notes the pressure being put on him to cover up for the son of privilege. Now they’ve got him. They put the memos on TV.

And, within minutes, they’re being crushed. Bloggers allege the memos are forgeries. CBS starts backpedaling, the focus shifts from whether the president shirked his responsibilities to how Mapes and Rather and their team were snookered by documents they couldn’t prove were genuine.

The film is highly sympathetic to Mapes, suggesting that while she may have made mistakes, her heart was pure and the story she and Rather reported worthy and fair. That wouldn’t be a problem if too many viewers didn’t accept movies “based on a true story” as reliable history.

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