That’s right – or they will hunt you down and kill you or make you sit through a looooooong film about hunting down and killing people. Seriously, that was one of the more memorable lines in Spielberg’s new film Munich. And don’t take this to mean that I didn’t like the film or don’t like Jews – its comedy people! I saw an opening and took it.

I was actually surprised that it wasn’t the story I expected. It wasn’t about how hard life has been on the chosen people – it was actually about how hard the chosen people can be on their enemies. It took an honest look at how governments can make good people do bad things in the name of patriotism. (I am sure the timing is unintentional – right?)

Spielberg delivered a strong tale about a pivotal moment in world history. He did with the honesty and he did it with fairness. The film also featured two of my favorite actors Eric Bana and Daniel Craig. Good stuff.

RATING 8 out of 10


And while we are on the subject of political intrigue, I also caught Syriana last week. George Clooney turns in a pretty decent performance despite a sometime confusing and disconnected script. The intrigue, while wound a bit too much in on itself, does serve to point out the lack of black and white or right and wrong when dealing with political issues. In the end, there is so much gray that the audience is left with no real message.

Kudos to Stephen Gagan for tackling a very important subject, but I can’t help but feel this story would have been more powerful, more resonant, and more understandable as a documentary.

RATING 7 out of 10