All the President's Men (1976)

A political thriller about the 1972 United States Watergate scandal. It's not something I have any real interest in, but actors Hoffman and Redford are eminently watchable in their portrayal of the two real-life Washington Post reporters who were instrumental in uncovering and publicly exposing the conspiracy, namely Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, respectively.
Dir. Pakula's camera positioning and split focus techniques give the busy office environments a real sense of presence, to such a degree that the meticulously constructed set feels like an actual, functioning office - it wasn't until afterwards that I found out those scenes weren't shot on location.
I don't know how faithful to the truth the events depicted in the story are, but as a film it's a clear-cut success that's worthy of its accolades.

4 pages polished out of 5

The Devil's Own (1997)

Provisional IRA member Frankie McGuire shaves his Irish beard and goes to America to buy weapons that’ll help him murder more people than he already has. Thankfully, it doesn't ask us to sympathise too much with a killer, but then it doesn't ask very much of us at all.
Harrison is his usual dreary self, exhibiting his default emotional state that’s good for little other than being Dekard.
Brad half-heartedly plays a flimsy version of Brad with a well-spoken Irish lilt to his voice. It’s not a role that'll feature in a list of Best Brad roles.
Natascha McElhone fares better with her accent, but her character doesn't get very much to do in a politically-arse movie from Follywood.

2 earthly works out of 5