News of the World (2020)

As Tom Hanks' movies go, this is a solid continuation of his work. The pace was a bit slow in some parts but I like that this was the kind of movie that had multiple sub-stories going at once that all were started and completed during the course of 15 to 20 minutes. I kept waiting for something 'devastating" to happen but that never really came about. A bit predictable at the end but hey, when I compare it to the movie I watched on HBO Max a couple of days earlier (WW1984) this movie belongs up there with Gone with the Wind (tongue in cheek and sarcastic).

But all in all, a good, decent, entertaining move but not one I would ever seek out to watch again.

Fmovies: I did enjoy watching this film on Amazon Prime's early release because Tom Hanks was excellent. But it's hard to watch how horrible the people were depicted in the post Civil War Texas. You have a lynching. You have greedy capitalists who destroy the buffalo and abuse their workers. You have evil men at every turn down the road. You have a little girl who just wants to go back to her Indian kidnappers because she likes being an Indian. Several times, I felt like the best thing for her would be to grant her wish to return to them instead of subjecting her to the American settlers. The little girl describes how everything is connected in nature in a big circle of life, while Tom Hanks says that Americans just go in a straight line and look ahead. The movie infers that there is no time to appreciate nature for the settlers. One character even says that there is no time for stories. He needs to focus on working the fields.

This is not a Clint Eastwood film like Unforgiven where I found myself rooting for the most evil man in the West to kill Little Bill. The film hints that Tom Hanks' character may not be a great guy, but I never saw proof of this. I just saw someone who did his duty during the war. This is more of a story of how horrid people of Texas treated each other and the native population. It shows the resentment of the townsfolk for the Northern soldiers and the Northern President after the war ended. It was interesting how the army took away the Texans' guns and only allowed them buck shot weapons. It's a story of how the natural resources were abused with an awful scene showing an endless field of skinned buffalos.

Tom Hanks is very believable as an aging man just scraping out a simple living reading the news. I thought the film was shot with a gritty reality in mind. The gun fight scenes did remind me a bit of Unforgiven in the way that it's not like Hollywood depicts when it's real people fighting for their lives. It showed us a dangerous road and an unforgiving terrain. It was worth watching, but it's a very tough message to stomach even if that's the reality of those times.

It wasn't unreasonable for me to be properly excited for News of the World. The newest Hollywood western, and the first new theatrical release in about five months that felt worth taking a trip to the cinema to see, News of the World had two big talents on board: star Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass. If there were anyone to put a little blind faith in, it would be two men behind some of the great films of the last three decades. The Greengrass-Hanks pairing, so fruitful in Captain Phillips, is, however, pretty barren in their second outing. News of the World is a considerable disappointment from these two great artists.

Based on the novel by Paulette Jiles, News of the World is simplistic to a fault. Tom Hanks is Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who currently makes a living reading newspapers to busy townspeople in a sort of theatrical storytime across the country. Kidd stumbles one day upon an orphaned German girl named Johanna (Helena Zengel). Johanna was taken in by Kiowa Indians as a youngin' and has completely assimilated to their ways. Kidd figures out that she needs to be transported to her surviving German relatives, and Kidd... takes her there. That's the story for ya. Cross country road trips are not new to the Western genre, but Jiles' story strikes me as unusually thin. The attempts to create tension along the way are woeful. At two separate points along the trail, two separate groups of men show up out of nowhere just to announce to Kidd, in so many words, that they will be the bad guys for the next bit. Obviously, these characters aren't the important ones. Kidd and Johanna are.

Their relationship is the centerpiece, and I can't really fault it. Hanks, the ever-reliable professional, rolls up his sleeves and says his lines with conviction as he always does. Zengel has an appropriate look; she isn't an annoying little cutie or smug growler as so many movie kids are these days, and she gives a good performance. I might even call it impressive. A scene or two or three of their growing bond hits home. These are the moments when you can see that director Greengrass kind of knows what he's doing.

Elsewhere, things aren't as pretty. Greengrass' reputation is with visceral shaky cameras and documentary-style filmmaking. That's not what News of the World needs, and it's not exactly what the movie is. But Greengrass is no hack. He's also one of the preeminent masters of immediacy and excitement. Those qualities are what I miss. That is what is glaringly lacking with the approach he brings to News of the World. This isn't a United 93-esque docudrama, brimming with that sort of intensity. News of the World is a traditional story and it is shot like a traditional "movie". Just not as painterly or carefully composed as some. However, the only thing that directorial restraint creates is a limp, boring visual look. I think I would have respected a full lean into documentary authenticity here, or conversely, a full lean into John Ford-ian grandeur, but what we get instead is a hesitant attempt to be a little (but not too much) different from Greengrass' other works. For the most part, it's soft-focused, claustrophobic and close-up heavy, with only the occasional drone shot to highlight some dull Texan exteriors. Weaksauce. There's a way to envelope an audience in verisimilitude that Greengrass has perfected in his oeuvre (make it tight, immediate, suspenseful), and there's a way to do it on a giant canvas (l

News of the World fmovies. Even Castaway had two characters (Wilson), but the lack of dialogue from the girl gave us almost no insight as to what was going on for her. We only see the Captain's story, and that is a shame. Even The Captain's story isn't really revealed until the very end. It's a good enough Western, but won't move people much.

It's hard to recommend this film because the beginning is so great. But as the story progresses, the story and the world both seem shallow and ridiculous.

With that said, cinematography, acting and directing were excellent throughout.

Tom Hanks is a 19th century newsman who reads newspaper stories to townsfolk in Texas. On his route of numerous locations, he comes across a young German-born girl who has been living under the care of native Americans who have been slaughtered. He takes it upon himself as her new guardian to escort her across the countryside to safety in the hope of finding her a new home. Along the way, they achieve an expected bond as two lonely souls in a treacherous world of danger of adversity.

Hanks is great as always, as the film is told from his weary, anguished eyes. But newcomer Helena Zengel steals the film from right underneath him with a mesmerizing performance as a young girl traumatized by personal tragedy, untrusting of the world around her and just beginning to learn her communication. Together, they bring this rugged journey to life. Director Paul Greengrass makes a vivid recreation of 19th century American wilderness, a land of difficult terrain and occasionally bitter climate. Through it all, it becomes a battle for survival for both the old man and the child he is protecting. An old school tale of American grit, this one is expertly crafted and highly recommended.