The Post - Official Movie Review

The Post starring Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Alison Brie directed by Steven Spielberg is reviewed by Alonso Duralde (TheWrap, Linoleum Knife), Ben Mankiewicz (Turner Classic Movies ) and Christy Lemire (www.ChristyLemire.com).
Read what other critics had to say: www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_...
Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light. The Post marks the first time Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have collaborated on a project. In addition to directing, Spielberg produces along with Amy Pascal and Kristie Macosko Krieger. The script was written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, and the film features an acclaimed ensemble cast including Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Michael Stuhlbarg, Bradley Whitford and Zach Woods.
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[@dugfriendly]

Christy is such a pro at tech analysis of these movies. Always impresses.

[@nikosvault]

People complain that Spielberg has made oscar bait for 20 years. Then why does he never wins anything? Nothing for him or his movies since SPR. Babel and Crash is what oscar bait looks like.

[@TheGoldensbridge]

@@maxmessmer9524 thank you

[@denniszenanywhere]

I think after Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg actually stopped making so-called "Oscar-bait" (I hate the term) movies. This is not an Oscar-bait movie. It's good but not great.

[@MattCipolla]

[sees 15 minute video] "huh" [sees ben] "oh"

[@MarcosIsABaritone]

Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

[@WriterusAeternus]

Thank you, Christy for pointing out that scene at the Supreme Court. I cringed.

[@chungchi6318]

Can any people explain it to me? There are so many astonishingly talented film actresses come from Streep’s era, sissy spacek, Sally field, especially Jessica Lange. Their film career have all been thinned out except Streep. Why only Streep can get great film roles after 60? Why? Why why?

[@grayforester]

Training. Suitability for the work and the politics thereof.

[@CasiodorusRex]

I think some of those women may not be interested in Hollywood any longer. Streep is treated like a queen for some reason. I think Sally Field is under rated.

[@timothyw98]

Jessica Lange has made a home on TV now (Feud, American Horror Story).

[@llllllllll270]

Finally watched the movie. Feels nostalgic to watch What The Flick again..

[@joshufo9959]

Same here

[@stephennootens916]

This looks kind of interesting. While I have heard about the pentagon papers here and there I never really got the story of how they got out or for that matter how it showed the government lied to the people.

[@josephcarlbreil5380]

Where are the images?

[@lynnturman8157]

This looks good. Who plays Robert Redford in this version?

[@marshacreary9771]

6:20-6:45 Like 'On Golden Pond'?

[@marshacreary9771]

A revolving door between Fox and the RNC?

[@akash3464]

Academy Award for best picture : CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

[@Gavin48]

Dunkirk FTW Bro

[@aadityabhattacharya]

Gavin48 I really wish but Oscar voters r mostly actor and they support movie with actor & actress giving big performances

[@AndrewMorrisYouTubeChannel]

Aaditya Bhattacharya apparently Dunkirk is the fav though bc it has the box office and critical praise behind it

[@aadityabhattacharya]

Andrew Morris I would be really happy if academy supports it but I am not sure

[@ricky93100]

Aaditya Bhattacharya Dunkirk is #1 on a lot of critics top 10 lists. And it's predicted to win by award prediction experts. It has a good shot at this point unless it gets upset.

[@angelacarleton9575]

I remember the rumors and conversations around during the late 60s that the reason for the Viet Nam War was due to businesses trying to make money out of our soldiers' lives. That infuriate me but due to the kind of employment working with the government I couldn't protest against the war because I would have been fired. More to this why we were in Viet Nam.

[@squatch545]

Academy Award for Best Vodka Mug: Christy Lemire.

[@temshasanaie2478]

spotlight was way better. I'm kindof surprised that this was nominated for best picture. I guess it helps that it was directed by Spielberg and stared Streep and Hanks.

[@peggyolson6511]

10.45 you guys made a mistake: that was Ben Bradlee's first wife; it was not Sally Quinn.

[@marshacreary9771]

7:58-8:05 Like Mad Men?

[@PurushaDesa]

AKA "The Pentagon Papers."

[@coosoorlog]

Good film, important film, yes; I just found it quite formulaic and predictable and definitely corny. The strongest moments were when the film felt most real, most "non-contrieved", like the moment when Kat makes the call on phone to publish. Music and direction felt like it was from 90s. That's not bad in itself, of course :D.

[@porgesto8809]

I'd love to see this movie but don't know if I can handle the John Williams score. Barf!

[@bones23jones]

I miss this show. Bring it back!

[@tommysmith4117]

Yay social commentary

[@JAContes]

Yep, I am in :)

[@MarcosIsABaritone]

Simply because Hanks and Streep, I have faith, can elevate the story and material to more than obvious liberal, pro-feminist, anti-establishment, self-congratulatory treacle. It seems sincere enough.

[@JAContes]

@@MarcosIsABaritone Finally got around to watching today, and I have to say I came away disappointed. This could have been much better in my opinion.

[@anndrezzz4483]

I’m still Wating For Star Wars Review

[@CasiodorusRex]

This movie is a 6 at best!

[@eustacequinlank7418]

"Official Movie Review"?

[@sarthak5281]

This movie is so amazing

[@CasiodorusRex]

Not!

[@TheNetflixNook]

Amazing movie!

[@subversivelysurreal3645]

Props go to Barbara Streisand without whom, Dan Ellsberg said, he was: Saved. She sang and had a dinner for Ellsberg’s Legal Team, before he had one, and waaaaay before #GoFundMe. She just took it upon herself to do that, he explained on DemocracyNow. #ThankYouBarbra !!

[@nathanielpetricca6007]

Is Meryl Streep ever in a non oscar baity movie?

[@Gavin48]

Mama Mia. And that was 10 years ago

[@FrancoisDressler]

Ricki and The Flash?

[@pickinboogers4u]

Nope she needs to be told how wonderful she is at least once a year and then tell all us little people how awful we are.

[@iansmart4158]

Oscar Bait is a phrase we should collectively STOP using.

[@tylerjhunter]

Ian Smart Why?

[@junkazama50]

Ben in a YAPPER

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

Spielberg is the greatest cinematic director because he is the amalgamated sum innovation on nearly every great classical formalist cinematic storyteller that preceeded him. Spielberg is Alfred Hitchcock (Duel, Jaws), Frank Capra (E.T., The Terminal), David Lean (Empire of the Sun), Stanley Kubrick (A.I.), Orson Welles/Carol Reed/Vittorio De Sica (Schindler's List), William Wyler/Samuel Fuller (Saving Pvt Ryan), Michael Curtiz (Bridge of Spies), George Stevens (Tin Tin), Anthony Mann (War Horse), Raoule Walsh (Indiana Jones), Victor Flemming (Always), John Ford (Lincoln), Billy Wilder (Catch Me If You Can), Alan J Pakula (Munich), Don Segal/Hal Ashby (The Sugarland Express), Robert Mulligan (Amastad), Fred Zinnemann (The Color Purple), Ronald Neame (BFG), Walt Disney (Hook), Ray Harryhausen (Jurassic Park), Robert Wise (Close Encounters Of The Third Kind), George Pal (War Of The Worlds), Sidney Lumet (The Post). Spielberg doesn't do "corny", he does Capra and Flemming. Don't ask him not to, it's part of who he is. Film is fetishized pastiche as mythic religion, lose that thread and you've lost the whole tapestry.

[@shingingmoon]

Meryl Streep not only deserved a nomination but also a win ....Meryl FTW

[@TheNeufin8tor]

overrated

[@megamoviez]

Nay Tham Go watch Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri! Francis McDormand will and should win! Also Margot Robbie in I, Tonya! Or Sally Hawkins for Shape of Water! Meryl does not stand a chance and that's fine because she has so many already!

[@evaburnz]

are you kidding me, you can't even tell what emotion she is expressing with that plastic face of hers...she is so stale now.

[@EntropyGuardian]

A love story between Hollywood and journalism. This should resonate with middle America.

[@aadityabhattacharya]

EntropyGuardian after net neutrality sure

[@Shadowman4710]

Like "middle America" goes to the movies anymore.

[@SkolneyVikings]

Fuck middle America

[@cnote3598]

REALLY? Did you just say fuck the middle class?

[@dmc8092]

You think you're insightful but you're actually the problem.

[@schmoab]

This was an important story to tell, but the wrong people were telling it. Spielberg botched this, Hanks is a bit too big of a star to play Ben Bradlee, and Meryl Streep was good but she’s playing herself in everything now. They make a big deal about the IPO at the beginning, then that storyline is totally dropped by the third act. By the time they got to the printing presses at the end, the story really picked up steam and got interesting. But that middle act dragged and I fell asleep. Worth watching but skip the middle hour.

[@grahepo]

won't be wasting money on this movie

[@CasiodorusRex]

Good move. Go see Jumanji.

[@spencerkindra8822]

I saw this movie in Tuesday. To be fair it's not a partisan movie. Spielberg takes numerous jabs at the media's friendship with the the Democrat white house during the 60s. Kay Graham is close friends with Robert McNamara, she was friends with LBJ sometimes even going to his ranch in Texas, and Ben Bradlee has a framed picture of himself, his wife, JFK and Jackie. Bradlee even admits how his friendship with Kennedy prevented him form doing his job as a journalist on numerous occasions during the Kennedy years. Nixon might be the villain of the moment (1971) but ultimately the villains also include Kennedy, Johnson and McNamara for lying to the American people for eight years. Graham at one point starts yelling at McNamara for his lying which steered the country deeper into the Vietnam war. Had Bradlee and Graham actually down their jobs during the Kennedy/Johnson years and questioned what was happening in Vietnam and how the government was mishandling it, things probably would've been different. That's one of the messages of the movie. But Ben Mankiewicz here seems to miss the whole point of the movie. The reason the press feels like they're under attack now that Trump's in office is because they're actually doing their jobs. Of course the media liked Obama, he didn't go after them, because they never questioned any of the shady things that occurred during his administration. What's happening now is what happens when journalists don't just blindly believe everything the White house tells them.

[@CasiodorusRex]

I saw the movie and find what you say disturbing. The media is clearly one sided. The left is so angry they lost the 2016 that they are using all of their platforms to attack the President. You'd have to have blinders on to not see this. Everything that Trump has been accused of has come to out to be false accusations. The DNC and Clinton actually paid Russia to create a fake dossier so it could issue FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. The FBI colluded with them. That's crazy. How can you still side with the left after this came out? Trump is by far from the most Presidential candidate, but his political inexperience makes him perfect for America. He's not playing ball with DC and it's corruption and they HATE it. The country is doing remarkably well under Trump and the media has REFUSED to acknowledge this. Lastly and on another note, I'm still quite pissed the 59 people were shot and killed in Las Vegas and the media reported on the incident less than three days. Meanwhile if Trump eats two scoops of ice cream they talk about it for weeks. True journalism is dead!

[@spencerkindra8822]

Whoa! When did I ever say the media wasn't one sided? I guess I was giving them too much credit by saying "They're actually doing their jobs not that a republican is president" but you make a good point about all the stuff they're making up.

[@starr0401]

It's an important story with interesting characters. Too bad the movie is corny af, really did not do the story justice. Probably because they were in a hurry shooting this film in order to chase the oscar season. Not good.

[@bruno3]

Why do you always use the word "Official" in your movie reviews? What the hell does that mean? Do you have any non-official reviews?

[@TheDragonflyDoji]

just watched this. ok not to pick apart one meaningless scene... but wtf was up with that protest? was that shot indoors or something? was that suppose to be mario savio's "bodies on gears of the machine" epic rant? why not just use real footage or at least make it look halfway real? this is the detail that can make or break a period peice... and for that reason, i'm out. no oscar.

[@savancollins5032]

She knew

[@Generalbas1972]

This movie is SUCH an oscar bait movie, and it seems to work. But it's not worth it

[@PurushaDesa]

Funkmaster K I loved the adult restraint and quiet determination of Spotlight. From the trailer this seems to be mawkish, broad, ra-ra-America for me.

[@Generalbas1972]

totally agree, but it seems to work, it has already been nominated for golden globes and i just bet you will see it at the oscar nominations too

[@omarsalkamusic]

I think you are right

[@CasiodorusRex]

Sucked! BOOOORRRIINNNGGG!

[@sarthak5281]

Funkmaster K every great film coming out right now is considered Oscar bait ..huh

[@somakkamos]

I hateee ben..he is smug

[@sudevsen]

This looks like Oscar bait

[@PhantasmagoricSplend]

It was dull. But I loved being educated about this. I don't think this will win anything.

[@MyPreciousKitty]

The irony in this video review of The Post is thick. I lost track of the number of times Alonso in particular, interrupted Christy, and mansplained-wait for it--why her rating is wrong. Alonso and Ben, I imagine you consider yourselves woke to the #metoo movement, but I suggest you watch this video objectively (or ask your wives to) and contemplate.

[@stevenmccormack4673]

How SMUG you critics, on the Panel and in Comments, have become. Oscar Worthy shouldn't equate with Oscar Bait, and I'm not taking your BS Bait on this one.

[@dondraper3898]

Okay- 2 reviews in a row I've seen on this channel where personal politics have seemed to have clouded judgements of the quality of a movie. Now I understand the reason behind those surprisingly high scores for Wonder Woman (a movie I enjoyed but it wasn't THAT good). At what point does a critic stop being a critic and turns into a sycophant? I think it's about time for you all to realize you have

[@vercoda9997]

Don Draper I’m a journalist. And editor. And critic. Personal experience and insight is key to being a critic, and providing a review - context and comparison and key tools in the art of providing insight. A pity you don’t grasp that core concept.

[@dondraper3898]

Ver Coda I am a Sous Chef. I have insight to how a kitchen works. That doesn't make me love the movie Burnt.

[@vercoda9997]

Don Draper The difference is, nobody's wandering around calling chefs poisoners, restaurants deathtraps, etc etc.

[@dondraper3898]

Ver Coda- Luckily, no place I've worked, but have you ever watch Kitchen Nightmare? I'm just kidding. Though, I didn't need my own context or insight to appreciate movies like Drugstore Cowboy and Trainspotting. I liked them before I had my own struggle with opiate addiction

[@ropl3083]

This was a really bad movie... It was very boring, uninspiring, and it was trying too hard to be a PC feminist female empowerment tale, and not a political thriller that leaves you on the edge of your seat like it should've been. This movie had the potential to be a political thriller. Steven Spilberg is the director. Tom Hanks and Bob Odenkirk... The Vietnam War... Nixon... And there have been plenty of movie before it that took similar historical-political controversies and turned them into cult movies - Nixon, Frost Vs. Nixon, Charlie Wilson's War, Burn After Reading and many more... They should've let Oliver Stone direct that movie, and they should've never let ol' Meryl Streep next the set... Tom Hanks and Bob Odenkirk did good though.

[@TT-qc2mu]

RoPl ❄ ❄ ❄

[@CasiodorusRex]

Yup Yup, just got back from seeing it and you hit the nail on the head. It was a snoozefest for me and like you said pushed the feminist agenda. Like when Streep walked out of the courthouse and all those young girls were staring at her as if she were a hero. What was that all about. The movie even carved out 10 minutes towards the end to let Streep do her Oscar performance pitch which was an unnecessary scence IMO. Good call, sounds like we have similar taste. I thought The Darkest Hour was really good, how about you?

[@311Essie]

We won Iraq though, how does that rival Vietnam?

[@grayforester]

Many would disagree. Winning Iraq would have looked different.

[@311Essie]

How would it look different?

[@lovedaddybelieve]

Ben is a shill

[@MarcosIsABaritone]

For whom?

[@iont8172]

lovedaddybelieve I HATE BEN

[@SCharlesDennicon]

Although Spielberg has been disappointing me for more than ten years now, I usually give every one of his movies a chance, for old time's sake... sadly, I couldn't watch it because I decided, one year ago, to boycott every new Meryl Streep movie after I heard her mind-numbingly moronic speech at the GG. I'm glad to hear that the movie fits its actress. If TYT agree with a movie politically, I'm probably not missing anything by not watching it.

[@michaelbailey876]

This wasn't Oscar bait because of the very nuanced gender politics. And tracking shots. Not enough tracking shots. Would've been better if felt an episode of West Wing.

[@CasiodorusRex]

This movie was boring as fuck! Two hours of boredom and only a stab at Trump. The media is garbage in 2018 and not what it was in the 60's. The Darkest Hour was twice as good.

[@wgjung1]

Another propaganda piece by Steven Spielberg.

[@memorandom7484]

I don't think you know what the word _propaganda_ means.

[@TheHolyMackarel]

bawwww

[@doubllechief7034]

I'm sure he does. Anyone can perceive something as propaganda, it's subjective

[@TheHolyMackarel]

"propoganda is subjective" might as well be the GOP's official slogan

[@doubllechief7034]

The sad thing is politicians are so indoctrinated they rarely know they're putting out propaganda

[@user-vc7te4sr6x]

Will pass on it... looks boring. Tom and meryl .. no more

[@rogersjgregory]

This movie was a snooze-fest. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep were boring and looked like they were phoning it in. All The President’s Men is way better, with better performances. This movie had zero tension and had no build up to Meryl Streep’s decision to publish. It felt like it came out of nowhere. Up to that turning point, her character was weak and very wishy-washy, and kept asking others to think for her. There was so little emotion in this movie, that I just didn’t believe any of the performances, and it kept taking me out of the movie. Such a wasted opportunity here.