Skip to main content

The Courier

What I liked: I liked the friendship that developed between the main characters. I like to believe that they had the same resolving interactions as were in the movie. I liked the trade craft when we got to see it, much less flashy than in fiction films but apparently effective. I like that the probability of me ever ending up in a Russian prison is very very low. Kind of like the probability of me ever being on a nuclear submarine. These are both things that I very much want to avoid. I also liked that, probably in keeping with history, there were more than two spies in the movie. Admittedly, it did look a bit unbalanced East vs West but I did appreciate that there were spies, plural, and some degree of counter intelligence. 

What I didn't: Is that really how you get recruited to the CIA? It seems awfully...mundane and risky. Like maybe they contact you first with someone who isn't in charge of the Europe office. I also think it is quite risky to have very high ranking intelligence personnel involved in field work, immunity or no. I also think it would be a good idea to have an extraction plan developed for a high placed defector sometime before you need it. 

Who should watch this? People who like spy movies. People who like Benedict Cumberbatch. People who will not be crushed that not everything in the Cold War was nice. 

Would I watch it again? I was glad to see it, like most spy movies the rewatch potential is low. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Annihilation

  What I liked: I liked the crystal trees and the creepy people plants. The multi colored lichen and flowers were cool too. I liked how disorienting the loss of time and flashbacks were, they did a good job of maintaining the disquiet and suspense. I liked that they remembered that mutation and evolution has no goal, it's just a thing that happens with all kinds of side effects. I liked their little boat trip in giant crocodile infested swamp. I'm not sure if I loved the silver skin suit but I can't deny that it was interesting.  What I didn't: The heroes are all scientists who go on a mission to find out what is going on inside the "shimmer". For being all scientists they don't draw very well on their test one variable at a time training. If nothing has ever come out of the shimmer, try sticking a stick in and see if you can pull it out. Step inside with a harness on so if you don't come back they can try and pull you back. Walk in a little ways and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vengeance

What I liked: The premise is absurd. A complete dumpster fire of a person from New York teams up with a Texan red neck to avenge the death of the sister. ... by making a podcast. If that approach to revenge is not the most terrible revenge plan I'm not sure what is. Oh wait, it's Dracula kidnapping a historian to catalog his personal book collection, but that is off topic. Along they way the character gets wildly out of his depth and does things that are definitely bad plans. Like meet with a cartel leader alone in a shed, drive a Prius, visit a music producer, more than once, and give an off the cuff eulogy. Certainly at the beginning it carries the awkward discomfort of The Office but it quickly expands to explosions and the conviction to a podcast found only among the certain portion of the coffee shop population. I thought they did a good job of picking fun at both the rural Texans and the big city New Yorkers. I think they really nailed the "intellectual" bros in...
Post a Comment
Read more