Promised Land

A decent cast wasted on a heavy-handed movie that alternates between schmaltzy sentimentality and broad strokes environmentalist preaching.

Lincoln

“Lincoln” is mildly mistitled… It is not a Lincoln biopic.

Instead, the film specifically examines the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which permanently abolished slavery. Certainly Lincoln is the primary character, but the movie features an enormous cast and focuses not on the life of the man but on the action in Congress surrounding the passage of the surprisingly controversial amendment.

Regardless, Daniel Day-Lewis gives a biopic performance for the ages, completely bringing our common image of Lincoln to life. And for a movie revolving around legislative action, “Lincoln” manages to be intense, moving, spirited and surprisingly humorous.

The 2012 Holiday Movie Season Preview

Ok, folks, here we are! One of the major movie release seasons of the year is upon us, The Holiday Movie Season!

The Holidays started a little early this year, with “Skyfall” (undeniably a major release) opening in the first week of November. So we’re underway! Between now and the end of the year, we’ll see some of the biggest films on the 2012 docket get released, including the conclusion to the “Twilight” Saga, “The Hobbit”, and “Django Unchained”!

Click through to check out what the Holidays hold in store!

Small Roles, Big Performances Blog-A-Thon: Hal Holbrook, “All the President’s Men”

Our buddy Ruth Maramis over at Flixchatter has a blog-a-thon going on right now, focusing on smaller roles with big impact.

“The idea of this blog-a-thon is to… Shine a spotlight on the ‘unsung heroes’ if you will, the overlooked performers who add so much richness & entertainment value to the film no matter how brief their appearance is, but yet they don’t get the credit they so deserve.”

Took me awhile to latch on to one to write-up, especially seeing as my first choice was taken (Damn you, Cap! 😀 ), but I found a good one, I believe, with Hal Holbrook in “All the President’s Men”. It’s a small, but pivotal role in one of the greatest movies ever. The true story of how two Washington Post reporters exposed corruption in the Nixon White House and toppled an American President. The role of “Deep Throat”, though small, gives the film at least 50% of its intensity…

Click through to read more!

Movies That Everyone Should See: “All the President’s Men”

When I first watched this film, I had no idea about any of the details of Watergate whatsoever. I mean, I was a burnout in high school, I barely paid attention. I knew the broad strokes, and that was it. Richard Nixon was impeached for spying on and sabotaging his political rivals and it all came to light because a handful of burglars got caught breaking in to National Democratic Headquarters, which were located in an apartment complex known as “Watergate”. The story was revealed due to a couple of reporters at the Washington Post, Woodward and Bernstein. That’s it, that’s all I knew. I didn’t even know Woodward and Bernstein’s first names. Just the bare minimum (I mean, I think ANY American should know that much, no?).

Now, of course, I know more than your average person. Eventually my love for this movie would lead me to read the book, and I’m a sucker nowadays for anything related to Watergate on PBS or the History Channel or wherever. Which is a nice compliment to the flick in and of itself, right? That my love for the movie led me to explore its subject more deeply, yada yada. But that’s not where I’m going with this.

What I’m saying is, I fell in love with this movie without having any idea what the %#$& was going on.