Director: Doug Liman
Running Time: 115 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: December 26th 2017 (UK)
Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is working as a pilot for TWA in the late 70s when she’s spotted by CIA agent Monty ‘Schafer’ (Domhnall Gleeson). Schafer wants Barry to fly reconnaissance missions in Central America, where the Soviet Union is backing Communist militias. His success at that leads to missions where he acts of the CIA courier to General Noriega in Panama, as well as helping to arm the anti-Communist Nicaraguan Contras in Honduras.
All this leads him to some dodgy places, including into the sphere of the Medellin Cartel, who get Barry to help them smuggle drugs into the US on his return trips. The CIA turn a blind eye to his side job as long as he still gets results. However, not every US law enforcement agency is as keen to ignore Barry’s smuggling. [Read more…]
Back in March news emerged not just that Steven Spielberg was working on a film about the Pentagon Papers, but that he’d already got Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks onboard to star. Now the director has been filling out the acting ensemble, as Variety reports that Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Alison Brie, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Zach Woods have all signed onto the movie. There’s no news on the exact roles they’ll play.
It’s certainly been a good year for gay-themed films amongst the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards, the pre-eminent indie awards ceremony (films are only eligible if they have a budget of less and $20 million), which takes place ahead of the Oscars each year. Leading the way is the acclaimed Moonlight, Barry Jenkins’ film about a young, gay African-American, which picked up six noms, equal with the Shia LaBeouf starrer, American Honey.
Other People got a lot of buzz when it debuted at Sundance, but also sparked a little controversy after reports that people walked out during a gay sex scene featuring Jesse Plemons’ character. Plemons reacted by saying, “I’d love to talk to them and figure out what it was about that scene that made them leave.”
The moment it became clear Lance Armstrong was finally going to admit to doping during his cycling career, Hollywood immediately jumped in and put several biopics in the works. The first to arrive is The Program, directed by Stephen Frears and with Ben Foster in the lead role.
Battleship and Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons has booked himself a new role (which will hopefully take the sting off the fact that for months he was rumoured to be the lead in the new Star Wars film, but ultimately won’t be in the movie at all).