John’s Horror Corner: REC 3: Genesis (2012), an extremely fun zombie movie featuring wedding crashing zombies and a dash of humor.
MY CALL: This film was short, sweet and persistently effective, with some of the best blood work, tactfully sharp color-correction and beautiful filming of any zombie film since 28 Days Later. If you see one zombie movie this decade, make this it! [A] HARDLY A SEQUEL: There are loads of negative reviews out there of this movie. It seems that all such reviews are based on inconsistencies between this and the previous two REC films-especially the zombies’ behavior. So, folks. Just stop doing that, get over your judgmental self (not that I’m typically any better), treat this movie as a stand-alone zombie film and enjoy! IF YOU LIKETHIS WATCH: 28 Days Later (2002) and The Walking Dead (2010-2013) have both brought new levels of cinematography and pragmatic humanity to zombie cinema. TRAILER: Click here to see my Trailer Talk.
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An infected wedding guest.
In the first five minutes I realized that this film was accomplishing something that very few of the recent horror (or sci-fi-horror) movies managed–to present the characters and get you to like them in a manner such that, were you not told beforehand, you wouldn’t know this was a horror movie until something awful happened. Chernobyl Diaries (2012) tried, but the premise and setting was too blatant. But Cloverfield (2008) really succeeded using the same found footage style. For those of you who dislike found footage horror, this movie shifts to normal filming and presentation after about 20 minutes. Until which our lead couple is very sweet, credibly humbled, and have an adorably choreographed first dance on their wedding day.
This first dance really was the cutest thing. I want to do this when I get married!
After a zombie outbreak initiates with patient zero in during their wedding reception, Koldo (Diego Martin) and Clara (Scream Queen Leticia Dolera; Imago Mortis, Los Últimos Días) are separated and their resolve is tested. Clara is more than just a pair of big bright eyes and innocence wrapped up in a snug wedding dress. She turns into a credibly tough chick fighting for her future with Koldo, who I find to be sincere, but a much less effective character (than Clara) until the final scenes.
“Those zombies were NOT invited!”
While having no effect on the “zombie movie dynamic” that we’ve come to expect, REC 3 takes a Biblical approach to its zombiism complete with holy water, flecks of gospel, and occasional imagery. Combined with the personable introductory scenes of this film, I find this to have a more welcomed and original flavor than most zombie flicks.
The zombie action is quality, the gore is festive, the survivors’ sense of terror and urgency feels very real, and no one has ever made a chainsaw look so damned sexy as Leticia Dolera!
This also may be the most beautifully shot zombie film I’ve seen since 28 Days Later (2002) and the color-corrected crispness of the blood occasionally borders on artistry. The blood work was truly fantastic on all levels. And the ending…GREAT. The whole film was short, sweet and effective. Oh, and don’t worry if you haven’t seen the other REC films. This is a solid stand-alone sequel.
If you see one zombie movie this decade, make this it!
REMAKE SIDEBAR Paco Plaza wrote (at least in part) and directed all three REC films (2007, 2009, 2012) and wrote both remake Quarantine films (2008, 2011). While Quarantine 2 was less of a remake, I’m left to wonder if there won’t be a Quarantine 3 to complement REC 3. Normally I’m all for more iterations and re-imaginings of the same movie. However, REC 3 was so amazing I fear that no budget could possibly duplicate the perfection I witnessed…and I couldn’t imagine replacing Scream Queen Leticia Dolera with anyone! She was phenomenal!
Also, get ready for REC 4: Apocalypse [Apocalipsis], which continues where REC 2 left off.
Here’s what they look like in the mirror; their fallen Biblical demon form.
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
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I’m not sure what people were expecting with The Hobbit. Spoiled cinemaphiles are complaining that it is too cheeky, too long and the 48 FPS were too realistic. The Hobbit does not feel like a cash grab or light romp. It feels like it was created by a team that loves the world and want to tell a bigger story. After the billions of dollars earned I think that Peter Jackson can do whatever he wants with The Hobbit. What has he accomplished? He cast Martin Freeman as the perfect Bilbo, created a wonderfully dangerous world and made sure the characters are likable and iconic. When watching you will feel the same way Bilbo does when he is leaving the shire and yells “I’m going on an adventure!”
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It is fantastic to behold and when the movie is over you are all in on the adventure. You want to punch a spider, whittle a piece of wood into a shield and have rabbits pull you around in a sleigh. The 48 FPS takes a while to get used to and it does look like a BBC version of The Hobbit. However, no matter how annoyed you are with the visuals your trepidation will disappear once they reach Rivendale and it’s CGI beauty. There are visual moments that can stand up to Avatar, Hugo and House Party 3.
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I think people forget that The Hobbit is not as dark as The Lord of the Rings. I found myself a little grumpy when the dwarves were flipping dishes around Bilbo’s house. The whole thing felt too childish. However, when I heard the kids behind me laughing and saying that happened in the book I appreciated the goofy flow of the film. You will see flaming pine cones, bird poop and you can guess what will happen next.
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The thing people need to realize is that evil hasn’t decimated the world yet and the time of men is still far away. The Hobbit features a world that is headed towards the journey to destroy the ring. War and darkness are coming so enjoy the dazzling scenery while it lasts.
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The Hobbit centers around 13 dwarves who are attempting to reclaim their homeland with the assistance of Bilbo and Gandalf. Along the way they will battle trolls, goblins, wolves, orcs and the dragon Smaug. What I loved most about the dwarves is that they fully support their leader Thorin Oakenshield. Their unwavering allegiance will take them to hell and back. I love movies about tough people who are outnumbered, outgunned and overpowered. Movies like 13th Warrior, Predator, Aliens, Rocky 4 and Saving Private Ryan are some of my favorites because of the huge odds the characters have to overcome. By the end of The Hobbit you will be cheering for the surly and bearded dwarves.
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It is nice to see recognizable faces back in Middle earth. Frodo, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman and Lindir (Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords) are all back for more adventures. The most welcome return is that of Andy Serkis and Gollum. Bilbo’s game of riddles with Gollum is a highlight of the film and provides humor and suspense. Andy Serkis (King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) fully captures all of Gollum’s movements and WETA are the best in the motion capture business.
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The Hobbit is an iconic book and Peter Jackson knows this. No matter what the faults are it is still an extraordinary experience. You love the characters, appreciate the visuals and plan on buying whatever four disc, two disc, blu-ray and special editions that will eventually be released. I can’t wait to see it again in 24 FPS and I’m stoked Bilbo accepted the impossible mission.
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Silver Linings Playbook
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While driving to the Philadelphia Eagles football stadium a father gives his son some advice. The father has been banned from the stadium for drinking too much and hitting multiple people. He needs his son at the game so he can give the Eagles some positive “juju.” The son, recently released from a mental hospital is already on edge and worried about missing dance practice with a widow whom he has befriended. What is the advice?
“Don’t drink too much, don’t hit anybody, you’ll be fine.”
Silver Linings Playbook walks a tightrope that Philippe Petit would have stayed away from. The film makes unlikable likable and proves Philly is a great town for sports movies (Invincible, Rocky). I’m amazed that the studio allowed this film. Grantland writer Zach Baron explains the pitch as this:
There’s this guy … he’s violently bipolar, hits his mother in the face … he meets a promiscuous widow … also, there is a dance competition … and everyone is obsessed with one of the most cursed and plagued and insular sports franchises in human history …
Silver Linings Playbook is dysfunction done well. An optimism flows above the depression. The movie is about understanding your issues and dealing with them. It plays like a screwball comedy with it’s dance contest and trash bag wearing yet hits home with some wonderful acting and stellar cast. Complaints have been made about the Hollywood ending to a difficult real condition but I don’t think the ending is too easy.
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Nothing about this film is easy. David O’Russell (The Fighter, I Heart Huckabees) cast a 22 year old Jennifer Lawrence to play a widow who was married 3 1/2 years. Russell also managed to get a fantastic performance out of DeNiro who has been sleepwalking the past 12 years since his role in Meet the Parents. The revelation of this film is Bradley Cooper. The guy can act but so far has exuded smarm, charm and more smarm in Limitless, Hangover and Wedding Crashers. The director gave Cooper the role because of the anger he showed in Crashers. In SLP Cooper is intelligent, manic, imposing and immature. He balances the mood swings and monologues with aplomb.
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Sidenote: Woody Allen cast Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams in Midnight in Paris because of Wedding Crashers. Also, Russell originally wrote the role in SLP for Vince Vaughn. The Crashers love is universal!
You find early on that Bradley Cooper’s character had been living with an undiagnosed bipolar condition that reared it’s ugly head when he beat his wife’s lover close to death. After an eight month stint in a mental hospital in which he befriends Chris Tucker he is released into his parent’s custody.
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He moves back in with his parents and they find themselves awake at 4 AM while he complains about A Farewell to Arms and constantly runs so he can clear his head and get in shape for his ex-wife. Eventually, he is introduced to Jennifer Lawrence’s promiscuous widow and they form a bond due to their no filter discussions, mutual hurt and protection of each other. You can tell they like each other but are not in the mental state to express it because they have their own problems to deal with. However, once they do realize their love they are still too damaged to express it. They are pushing away the person they want close. The scene where Lawrence rattles off why she is lucky to the family is fantastic and she totally earned the SAG and Golden Globe nominations.
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A lesser director would have turned this film into a fluffy little piece of fluff that featured quirky characters and a magical cure for bipolar attractive people. The ending does have a “happily ever after” feel but the characters have earned it. They are aware of their problems and have a lot of work to do. However, a mutual understanding has been formed, demons have been excised and love has been found. I’d love to see a sequel of where they go next. David O’Russell has crafted a fine film and most importantly has created memorable characters and a movie that can spark conversations and arguments.
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Killing Them Softly
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“This isn’t a country, this is America. And America is a business.”
Killing Them Softly is an interesting experiment. It dives into the financial crisis of 2008 and features a plethora of alcoholics, killers and mid level mafia negotiators. The film is an adaptation of George Higgins 1974 book Cogan’s Trade. A book that the New York Times described as “the seamy nether-world of the savage seventies.” Here is it transported to the financial dealings of the 2000s. It hammers home the message and somewhere along the way Ray Liotta’s character has been compared to Saddam Hussein. The film has unfairly earned a “F” cinemascore from movie goers. I’d wager people were expecting an action packed gangster film but instead got a plethora of conversations and Gandolfini’s heavy breathing. I appreciated the film but watching an Australian director and various millionaires tell us about the economy isn’t ideal.
The majority of the press has been centered around Brad Pitt’s icy cool Jackie Cogan. He is a killer who blends in among the muck yet never gets dirty. He kills but is never killed. He exists with the worst but never gets dragged down. He also says some very cool things.
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What surprises me is that none of the critics have been talking about Scoot McNairy (Monsters, Argo) and Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom). They are the life of this film and create some of the most memorable characters of 2012. Their card game robbery sets the film in motion and sets the bar so high so early that the rest of Killing Them Softly has a hard time maintaining.
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You can smell the stink coming off of these guys. Their conversations are hilarious and Mendlesohn’s telling of his trip to Florida to sell stolen dogs is hilarious. It features a fantastic scene where they try to light a car on fire and it shoots forward and hits one of the unlucky crooks. Their unearned confidence almost gets them killed. The come up with a dumb plan to make money, get away with it and it almost gets them killed.
The film goes off the rails whenever James Gandolfini is on screen. He is a fantastic actor but his character brings the film to a crawl and makes you want more Ben and Scoot. He is an aging alcoholic whom Pitt brings in to kill a mark. The problem is that his heavy breathing and slow speech hurt the soul and fill the ears with talk about what will happen if his wife divorces him.
I’d recommend the film for Ben Mendelsohn and Scoot McNairy’s performances. They are two men who can hold the screen and excel in supporting roles. Watching Scoot interrogate a stoned Mendelsohn is a marvel of cheeky characters and witty dialogue.
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Killing Them Softly is not easy. It can infuriate many, excite a few and entertain those who understand it.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Stolen
Stolen is a perfect bad movie. Bad wigs, big stars and Nic Cage grimacing every time he runs. Stolen is the story of a man recently released from prison who has to rescue his daughter from Josh Lucas. The movie features slow car chases in parking garages, complaints about CCR and dialogue so bad it left me convinced somebody jumped on a keyboard and got lucky. Is this a bad thing? Nope. It is an wonderful experience that provides a cornucopia of fantastic badness and memorable Cagisms.
I am not going to dig into the finer points of this film. Instead, I am only going to cover the stupendous and over the top moments and dialogue that make this movie such a treat.
What is Cage’s best weapon? He has perfected elbowing people in the face. Many times in the movie police have Cage cornered and he wallops them with a massive elbow. In the picture below the two cops are about to catch massive elbows of doom.
The elbows allow Cage to run and grimace.
He then uses cutting edge technology to break into places.
How do you know Cage is the greatest thief ever? Somebody says “Bad idea to steal from America’s greatest bank robber.”
He steals the gold and runs (while grimacing) to save his daughter from the evil Josh Lucas. How do you know he is evil? Because he has “evil” tattooed on his hand.
Here is a close up of Mr. Lucas. He hates CCR, good wigs and people ignorant of New Orleans culture.
Josh Lucas seems miserable. Malin Ackerman looks confused. MC Gainey makes misogynist statements and Danny Huston wears strange hats.
Jason Segel’s character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall could have used Stolen’s score for his Dracula musical. It is bombastic and often distracting from the film. Watching Nic Cage running on top of cars while music from Transylvania plays is kinda fantastic.
Stolen is perfect for a bad movie night. It is funny, never boring and often confusing. It makes me hope for a Season of the Witch 2 with Josh Lucas as the bad guy.
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Savages
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There are no good guys in Savages. There are drug dealers, murderers and corrupt agents. They all have an angle which will get them killed, imprisoned or kidnapped. Savages tries to fit in with the recent explosion of bad guys carrying shows but it has a major flaw. Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Sons of Anarchy are all ratings blockbusters with shady characters that people love. In fact, beloved movies like The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas and Casino are revered by practically everyone. Anti-heroes, sociopaths and killers have all had their moments to shine in cinema and television. The difference between these shows and the film adaptation of Savages is that the characters are likable and relatable. They may be bad but you understand how they got there. The biggest problem with Savages is that there is zero reason to support any of the characters so you are stuck watching stylized violence explode in trippy Oliver Stone ways.
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Here is the set up. Blake Lively has been kidnapped by a menacing Benicio Del Toro. She has a bed and television privileges The Mexican cartel has been known to chop off heads and torture their captives. Is Blake Lively worried about rape, torture or death? Nope. She is complaining that she has to eat pizza. She asks “can I get a salad?” Savages is a film about rich Californians who sell marijuana, share girlfriends and hate pizza.
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How did Lively get caught? She had to go shopping before she fled with her two boyfriends. Along the way her guard is killed while she is getting deals on Versace. I get that the film is about the rich drug dealing counter culture. However, there are ways to make them interesting. Showtime made a serial killer intriguing in Dexter because he has a code and works for the police. The characters in the film don’t go past two dimensional. Aaron Johnson is peaceful, Taylor Kitsch is a killer and Lively is mellow. However, there is nothing about the three characters that makes you care. This is a shame because they’ve all done very good work (Kick-Ass, Friday Night Lights, The Town).
Is the movie bad? Nope. Good? Nope. It exists in front of your eyes then is over. The movie is bloody, brutal and features John Travolta with dyed eyebrows. Oliver Stone has been long known for his memorable films like Platoon, NBK, Wall Street, JFK and Born on the Fourth of July. Those movies were angry pieces of work that covered war, greed and corruption. His latest forays into film have focused on people putting themselves into bad situations (Wallstreet 2) instead of being thrust into them (Platoon). This makes the characters infinitely less interesting. The reasons for all the problems are greed and want. The moral of the story is if the Mexican mafia sends you a tape of decapitated heads then requests a partnership you better not turn it down.
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Savages is wildly uneven and introduces the word “wargasm.” There is zero excitement and many questions about Del Toro’s wig. It seems like Oliver Stone is trying to go back to his Natural Born Killer days of crazy editing, ultra violence and over the top acting. The problem is that the actors play it too safe and Stone seems to think by going back to his roots everything will be good again.
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Ruby Sparks
This has been an interesting review for me to write. I appreciate Zoe Kazan’s script yet didn’t enjoy spending time with the characters. I understand them and what she was going for but I had zero interest in Paul Dano’s character. I dig the idea of our lives being in constant rewrite and attempts to edit others never works. However, by telling the story from the perspective of a punk manboy who blames his dog for his writer’s block kept me away from the story.
Paul Dano plays a one hit wonder writer who wrote a book that is still celebrated ten years later. However, writing the follow up book has been nothing but years of staring at a typewriter, going to a psychiatrist and self pity. A dream comes to him in the form of the lovely Zoe Kazan. He writes a story and she comes alive.
I like that Zoe Kazan is playing with the manic pixie girl that Hollywood idolizes. They leave out the flaws that made them fancy free. Creating the perfect woman is not enough. You need to grow with them and remember why you love them. In too many relationships people fall in love first then get to know each other. The true test is staying by each others side long enough to grow together. Editing is a dangerous thing. The problem with the film is that the editing comes from a man who only wants things his way. I wanted to put Paul Dano in a time machine and introduce to Daniel Day-Lewis’s justifiably confused character from There Will Be Blood.
This is the story of a man who wrote the woman of his dreams then realized he had to do work on his end. Is she the perfect woman? He wrote her as a flawed thing who has years of baggage and doesn’t blend well with the sheltered writer and his dog. The two have a lovely montage then things get real. She strays away and he rewrites her to his liking. When that doesn’t work he keeps editing to keep her close. He changed the perfect woman because she grew and he didn’t.
The idea for this film is better than the execution. Whenever an individual writes and stars in a film there is a certain push and pull that cannot be avoided. Zoe Kazan is a sparkplug yet she wrote the other characters with stock prose. Coogan is Coogan. Chris Messina is the jocky bro, and Dano is nothing more than a sullen brat.
Was she making a statement about the manic pixie girls (Garden State, Elizabathtown) whom inhabit writers brains? Did she simply want to give herself a good roll? The film has an interesting premise that feels by the books. The film goes dark but the plot stays the same. the biggest problem is that you don’t enjoy spending time with a neurotic, depressed author whom blames his dog for his writing problems.
I appreciate this film because it strives for something new. The idea is there but the the characters are not. Dano’s characer arch is so predictable that there is never anything at stake. Ruby Sparks is a nice little indie and Kazan will become a better writer with the learned experience. Roger Ebert said this about the film:
“The movie’s intriguing in its fanciful way, and there are times when both Calvin and Ruby seem uncannily like they’re undergoing revision at the hands of some uber-writer above them both. If the film has a message, and I’m not sure it does, it may be: As long as you’re alive, you’re always in rewrite.”
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Life of Pi
Stunning visuals, nifty 3D and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Life of Pi was directed by Ang Lee and features some of the most visually stunning moments of 2012. It is a visual cornucopia filled with eye candy and little substance.
The movie focuses on a teenager named Pi spending 227 days on a lifeboat that he is sharing with a bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The freighter that was transporting his family hit a gnarly storm and the following ten minutes are a mixture of sadness and survival. On the lifeboat Pi is joined by a zebra, hyena, orangutan and tiger. I’d hate to give away what happens next the because the viewer should be able to appreciate the journey without spoilers. I will say that Richard Parker is never humanized and the partnership between the two is a mixture of fear and eventual companionship. Together, they see some beautiful sights, a whale almost crushes them and they navigate storms better than Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney.
Pi’s character is explained in a neat little scene where he sneakily gets the students in his new school to stop mocking his name Piscine (named after a beautiful swimming pool). After years of bullying he shortens his name to Pi and writes out the 3.14 as far as he can to firmly establish his nickname at the new school. The quick thinking proves helpful when he has to survive on the open seas while a tiger threatens to eat him at any moment.
The book/movie has a way of simplifying the the big issues. I won’t give away the twist but it is not as deep as it thinks. I’m always wary of over simplifying major issues. It seems like the movie thinks it is pushing major ideals on you but it all comes down to surface issues disguised as life changing. I like that it has an open mind but that makes for a great feeling with empty calories.
Lee was able to avoid the open seas by filming in a massive 1.3 million gallon wave generating tank in Taiwan. Hopefully, he sent a thank you card to Kevin Costner for his trials and tribulations filming on sea for Waterworld. Lee found his leading man among 3,000 other actors. The interesting thing is that Suraj Sharma was only accompanying his brother when the casting agent saw his face and told him to try it out. You can tell the film was crafted by the best in the world and that care was taken to not annoy the nearly nine million people who have read the book. Life of Pi belongs with Avatar and Hugo in regards to using 3D to create beautiful worlds. The world is immersive and the 3D works perfectly while on the water. Take a look at the picture below and imagine it on a huge screen and in 3D. The CGI for the bengal tiger is nothing short of amazing too. In order for the film to work the tiger had to be believable and fluid looking. The creators succeeded because my fiancee and I sat in the theater in amazement and also missing our cat whom looks like a miniature version of Richard Parker.
Life of Pi is full of hope, wonder and visual splendor. However, the final message feels too easy. Comment below. I’d love to talk about the film.
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Lawless
Bloody and uneven. Characters are underdeveloped and others grunt. Lawless is a beautifully shot film that holds nothing back and leaves you wanting more. It is a rare combination of decent and fantastic. Based on the book by Matt Bondurant called “The Wettest County in the World.” The film follows three brothers during the prohibition years as they bootleg alcohol and beat up people with brass knuckles.
It doesn’t match the intensity of John Hillcoat’s Proposition or bleakness of The Road but it is great to look at and gives you enough to appreciate the insanity unfolding before your eyes.
The movie never mixes into a cohesive whole but it has moments that make it worthwhile. Tom Hardy steals the show as a man who is incredibly violent yet painfully shy. He knows he can kill at a moment’s notice and doesn’t need to act like a tough guy. His cardigans and mellow demeanor mask a man who knows what his life will lead to. He explains this in a fantastic scene to Shia.
It is not the violence that sets men apart. It is the distance they are prepared to go. We are survivors We control the fear. Without it we are dead.
The problem is that Guy Pearce comes into town and he is not afraid of the “hillbillies.” Instead he and his shaved eyebrows wage war on the invincible Bondurant brothers. What follows is ultra violence and more ultra violence.
This may sound strange but I love how quick and brutal the violence is in Hillcoat’s films. It is real, spontaneous and bloody. One punch can knock you out and a bullet does real damage It is an unpredictable world that is deadly and harsh. To live you need to be prepared go far and know you might end up with a massive stream of blood shooting out your neck after a bullet wound.
Grantland writer Zach Baron covered this film in his Summermetrics series and made an interesting observation. He wrote “I’m not saying LaBeouf’s method as an actor is to take a potent cocktail of cocaine and methamphetamines and start screaming at his director to roll film; I’m just saying I can’t think of another explanation for why his performances from movie to movie are identically loud and twitchy and irritating.”
Shia’s manic mode doesn’t gell with the oddities of this film. His ambition seems out of place in a world where ambition will get you killed. After the film you’ve forgotten about Shia and can only think about Tom Hardy’s Cardigans (Hardigans), Guy Pearce’s non-existent eyebrows and a surprise moment with Jessica Chastain.
Sidenote: Speaking of violence. In this scene he literally finds testicles in a brown bag at his doorstep.
Lawless has too much going for it for you to ignore. However, if you were expecting a brutal masterpiece like The Proposition watch The Proposition again. Lawless seems to be a film that lets it’s cast get away with too much (Hardy wanting to be motherly, Shia drinking and scaring Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce wanting shaved eyebrows) while letting the story get out of hand. As disjointed as it may be it still creates a memorable experience and a new fashion craze.
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Lincoln
Entertaining, educational and features a plethora of Oscar winners/nominees. Lincoln is a beautiful looking film that will be played in classrooms for years to come. It will appease Lincoln nerds and the people who only know him as the funny guy in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Richard Corliss from Time called the film “brain food.” What I love about Lincoln’s story is you think you know it all but there is always something to learn. The best thing about this film is that everybody is clearly enjoying telling his story. The job wasn’t easy, his life hard and the weight on his shoulders would crush anyone but him. The backroom deals, government maneuvering and James Spader acting cheeky were all necessary for the 13th amendment to pass. If the war ended Lincoln wouldn’t have been able to free the slaves without a massive governmental battle. He needed to postpone the peace treaty in order to free the slaves. So, he devised a scheme to pass the amendment under the guise of an act of war.
You know how it ends but you don’t know the backroom dealings that went into the 13th Amendment. Hundreds of men with unique facial hair yelled, schemed and bartered to have their beliefs known.
Tommy Lee Jones steal the show as Thaddeus Stevens. His character wanted nothing more that the independence of slaves and his veteran prowess steal the show away from the reliable incredible Daniel Day-Lewis. Jones captures the spirit of a man whom has fought in vain for many years and he wears it on his face. He will still fight with every fiber of his being but is forced to momentarily abandon his beliefs for the betterment of the world. His performance is my favorite because it seems as if Jones is actually trying and not looking for a paycheck or Spielberg credit.
Between Argo and Lincoln unmotivated teachers will have plenty of material to teach a quick lesson and entertain their classes with solid film making and wonderful hair.
Movies, Films & Flix 