Medal of Freedom Awardees

Comedian-in-Chief

Lincoln the Icon

Anybody who knows me knows of my admiration for Abraham Lincoln.  I even have Doris Kearns Goodwins' book, Team of Rivals, the source material for Tony Kushner's screenplay for Lincoln.  We know so much about the 16th President's life, but it was genius to focus on this great man's fight to abolish slavery.  What made it even more poignant was that he did it in the last few months of his life.

The cinematography is beautiful, the screenplay full of humor.  Lincoln was a very funny man, after all. (The movie shows even his Cabinet members were getting tired of his folksy stories. One even admits to not understanding what the Prez was talking about.)  It is a gripping history lesson as well.  There's the usual gridlock, partisan politics, even bribery and patronage jobs. (I would watch C-Span all day if politicians still talked the way they do in the movie.) And it was interesting to see how ordinary folk could just go to the White House and  speak to the POTUS.

What was appalling was the prevailing attitudes and ideas of the day about slavery and equality of the races.  To modern ears, the politicians' arguments against the 13th Amendment would make you cringe.  According to IMDB, Mr. Spielberg "has explained that during the movie's climactic scene in which the names of House of Representative members are being called to vote on the 13th Amendment, the names of many of the men who voted 'No' --for various reasons--were actually changed in the film so as not to embarrass the living descendants of these men whose reputations might have been stained by their negative vote-casting."  The scene where Lincoln quotes Euclid to his telegraph operators will make you reach for the tissues. He is clearly anti-slavery, but surprisingly, there is a later scene that expressed his conflicted feelings about racial equality.

Daniel Day Lewis is certain to get an Oscar nomination (if not outright win) for his portrayal of our 16th President.  He is our era's Lincoln.  We see a pragmatic, masterful politician.  We learn that even Honest Abe would resort to a little misinformation to get those votes.  I see possible Oscar nods for Sally Field ( I'm feeling more sympathetic towards Mary Todd Lincoln after this.), and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican who truly believes that blacks are equal to whites.  The outstanding supporting cast includes David Strathairn as William Seward, Hal Holbrook as Preston Blair,  Bruce McGill as Edwin Stanton, Lee Pace as Fernando Wood, James Spader as W.N. Bilbo ( a lobbyist working to get the Amendment passed), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Lincoln.  His insistence on joining the Union Army leads to a startling, heartbreaking confrontation with his father.

 I was afraid Steven Spielberg's film would come out too fawning (although I admit it would be hard for any director to make anything but a too-reverential film about the President.), but the result is a riveting political thriller that humanizes an iconic figure.  We need more statesmen like Lincoln, who just wanted to do the right thing.

Unite

RIP

"...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain..." President Abraham Lincoln.



Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the Libyan US Embassy employees who were killed by protesters.

Lincoln

A Boy and his Horse

Nothing like a saccharine sweet film like War Horse to brighten up Christmas Day. Jeremy Irvine plays Albert Narracott, son of Ted (Peter Mullan), a Boer War veteran who drinks to forget his war time experiences. Ted becomes locked in a bidding war at auction with his cartoonishly evil landlord Lyons (David Thewlis) and makes the impractical decision of buying a race horse instead of a plow horse like his wife Rose (Emily Watson) wanted. Albert bonds with the horse, and volunteers for the impossible task of training him to work the land.

As Britain goes to war against Germany, horse and boy get separated. Albert promises to find his equine friend. Along the way, Joey meets a kind cavalry captain (Tom Hiddleston), two German brothers, and a too-precocious French girl Emilie (Celine Buckens) and her loving grandfather (Niels Arestrup). He also forms a touching friendship with another horse, Topthorn. The horses give wonderful performances. The movie would not have worked if it weren't for the animals and their trainers.

Mr. Spielberg clearly wanted to do an epic film. Shot in film stock, the colors and images are vivid and magnificent. Pair it up with a sweeping score by long-time collaborator John Williams, and there you have it: a movie evocative of the Technicolor films of old. The palette of the final scenes especially reminded me of Gone with the Wind. Clocking in at 146 minutes, the film could have used some trimming, especially in the beginning with the long, lingering shots of Albert watching the horse. It picks up when the horse finally goes to war.


The battle scenes and the horrors of trench warfare will make you flinch. I could almost sense how those soldiers got shell-shocked. The movie's anti-war sentiment is evident. But the affecting scene at No-Man's Land is enough to redeem human nature. If you want a heartrending tale of a boy and his horse, go see this story of friendship and love. You will need tissues and you will feel manipulated by the filmmakers. But that didn't stop me from enjoying this overly sentimental movie.






(photo from Collider)

Super 8's Kinda Super

Seeing the trailers for Super 8, I wasn't really that interested in seeing it, although a collaboration between J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg sounded intriguing. Using a gift card, I went to see it on its opening weekend. And I actually enjoyed it. In the spirit of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Goonies, Stand by Me, this coming-of-age film tells the story of a group of friends in small town America. They are making a Super 8 zombie film, and inadvertently witness and document a horrific train crash. The mystery deepens when the United States Air Force swoops in, people and dogs disappear, along with electrical appliances and car engines. Answers aren't forthcoming from sinister Air Force Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich). (I have to admit, I thought of the smoke monster from Lost once or twice during the movie.)

Kyle Chandler is the recently widowed deputy sheriff Jackson Lamb trying to parent Joe (a sensitive Joel Courtney). Joe, who loves to make models and is in charge of makeup for their little movie, is best friends with budding filmmaker Charles (Riley Griffiths). The grieving Joe forms a forbidden friendship with Alice (the very talented sister of Dakota Fanning, a captivating Elle Fanning), daughter of town troublemaker Louis Dainard (Ron Eldard), who may have had something to do with his mother's untimely demise.

Hats off to the rest of the zombie film's crew and cast: Martin (Gabriel Basso), Cary (Ryan Lee), and Preston (Zach Mills). I loved the natural friendship, seemingly improvised banter, and the bickering between the boys. Set during summer vacation, I could feel their carefree, adventuresome spirits. 1979 comes vividly to life: Walter Cronkite, Walkmans, even "My Sharona". I cared so much for the kids' stories that the final act with all its special effects and action, felt anti-climactic to me. This film is a love letter to auteurs and movie-lovers. Stay for the credits, and you'll see the children's very entertaining horror flick.

(photo from Movieline)