‘Bridge of Spies,’ ‘Crimson Peak,’ and ‘Pan’ On Local Screens (Tues., 10/20/15)

1) Bridge of Spies—It’s amazing to think there are now adults (under age 30) with no memory of the Cold War between America and the U.S.S.R. For much of the 20th century, America’s battle against the Soviets was the defining aspect of not just our foreign policy but also of the American character itself. Steven Spielberg takes a trip back to those days with this story based on the U-2 incident in which a CIA pilot was shot down over Russia, causing a huge crisis since the United States denied ever carrying out espionage in Russia. An American lawyer, James B. Donovan, was assigned to negotiate the exchange of the pilot for a spy living in America. The Coen Brothers wrote the screenplay, along with Matt Charman. Tom Hanks stars, with performances from Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, and Peter McRobbie. Check Fandango for local screens and times. (TH)

2) Crimson Peak—Guillermo del Toro takes a trip into the Gothic world of Poe and the Brontës with this fantasy horror film he directs and co-wrote with Matthew Robbins and Lucinda Coxon. Mia Wasikowska plays Edith Cushing, an aspiring novelist in Victorian England torn between two men: the upstanding Dr. Alan McMichael, played by Charlie Hunnam, and the seductive Sir Thomas Sharpe, played by Tom Hiddleston. Guess which one the dozy cow chooses! Sharpe takes her back to his country place in northern England where he lives with his sister, played by Jessica Chastain. Of course things start going badly, and Edith learns that Sharpe, his sister, and the house itself holds murderous secrets. Check Fandango for local screens and times. (TH)

3) Pan—J.M. Barrie was a novelist and playwright whose one big work was a story about a boy named Peter Pan. There’s been plays, books, movies, and musicals (even peanut butter!) based on this story about a boy who wouldn’t grow up. And here come another one. Joe Wright directs from a screenplay by Jason Fuchs based on Barrie’s characters. We meet an orphaned 12-year-old Peter who is snatched from the streets of London and taken to Neverland, a place besieged by the evil Captain Blackbeard. Peter and his new friends Tiger Lily and Hook (yes, as in Captain Hook) join forces to defeat Blackbeard…and along the way Peter turns into the legendary hero Peter Pan. Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Levi Miller, and Rooney Mara star. Check Fandango for local screens and times. (TH)

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