Movie of the Week: The Kennedys

   

 

    Movie of the Week (11/24/13-11/30/13): As the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination comes to a close we end it on a nicer note with a very good miniseries. This was suppose to come on the History channel back in 2011, but it got turned away because of how controversial it was. The Kennedy family didn't like it because it was accurate to history and showed some of the bad doing in the Kennedy family dating back to the 1920's. Imagine that, History Channel not showing something that is accurate! So, Reelz Channel picked it up and aired it for all of us to see. This is The Kennedys.
    This week we step away from the assassination and the conspiracies around it, this week we have a biography. But, this is not a biography of JFK it is a biography of his whole family. It opens on election eve of 1960 and then from there it goes forward and backward by ways of flashbacks. But, every flashback is triggered by something that happens in the present. So, the flashbacks work great in this long movie. The flashbacks span several decades and goes into great detail about the lives of the Kennedy family and we find ourselves questioning the acts of the family several times, yet we still like them.
    I think one of the main reasons we do continue to like them is because of the cast. The cast here is absolutely wonderful, I can't really think of any other actors that would have been better for the roles. First we have Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy, although you will hear him being called Jack a lot through out the miniseries. But, Kinnear does a great job at becoming Kennedy and his development from his younger years to 1963 is great, but his accent does slip in and out and several times. But, that is not enough to detour us. Next, we have Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy, who is really the best in the miniseries, he fits Robert perfectly with how he researched the role and how he moved and talked like him. You will think that Robert is on screen and not Barry.
    The next best actor in this series is Tom Wilkinson who plays the father of the Kennedys, Joe Kennedy Sr. And he too gives us a power house performance as the character's urge to win office seemed to drive Wilkinson to make this role his own. Another truly wonderful performance here. The last main character that the show focuses on is Jackie Kennedy, who is played by Katie Holmes. Now, Katie isn't the best actress out there, but in this particular role she actually does a great job. Not only does she look like Jackie she did a good job at becoming her and making us believe we were watching Jackie. The rest of the supporting cast is almost unknown, but they also are fantastic in their characters.
    What makes this miniseries great is the writing. As I said the show drives on flashbacks that are keyed by some kind of event that has happened in the present. Because they did that the pacing is not hurt at all, in fact it helps it. We have great writing here that leads into each scene with perfect flow. Along with that the editing is great because of the flow and the flashbacks. The writing helped it but the editing is still top notch here and adds to the story. As does the cinematography, depending on the time period a scene takes place, it looks different to add to the feel of the time. The twenties look darker than the fifties and sixties. It helps with the feel of the series which gives it a more realistic feel.
    One thing that is rare about a miniseries is a director directing the whole thing all the way through, I think it only happened one other time, maybe, with Tom Hooper directing all of the miniseries John Adams. But, Jon Cassar directed this whole miniseries and does a great job. He took on a large task with this and brought to life critical events in America's history with great drama, from integration to the Cuban Missile Crises and all the mini-crises that the Kennedys go through. A fantastic job by a mostly unknown T.V. director.
    We also have great costumes here with each and every piece being recreated from history, from Jackie Kennedys popular dresses, to JFK's good looking suits and his hidden brace that he secretly wore, to even Marilyn Monroe's short appearance dresses that she could barely walk in. A good and accurate to history design team for the costumes. Set designs were also right on the money since they recreated several historical places from the Kennedys lifetime. The Oval office looks perfect and just like it was in the early 1960's down to the smallest detail on JFK's desk. The bringing back to life of the Kennedys home and the 1920's was also very well done.
    Now, this miniseries is no Band of Brothers or John Adams, but it is a good one because of the cast and good drama that we get. It has eight episodes that are each about forty five minutes long, so you can easily watch the entire miniseries in a week. But, remember this is biography of one of the riches families in American history and tells you things that most people might not want to know about one of our greatest presidents. The secret lives of the Kennedys are brought out in this miniseries in very good detail and adds to the drama. This is a good biography with good writing, great acting, and great direction that makes for great entertainment.
3.5/4 Stars.

Movie of the Week: JFK

   

 

    Movie of the Week (11/16/13-11/23/13): This coming Friday is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. So, this week I'd figure I would pick my favorite movie about the assassination and the conspiracies surrounding it. This is the movie that should have won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1992 and among the other awards it was nominated for. This is a movie that brought in all of the conspiracies in one film and made for a wonderful drama that is one of the most controversial movies of all time. This is JFK.
    Even though it is called JFK the movie doesn't not follow Kennedy, in fact it takes place three to five years after the assassination. It follows the District Attorney of New Orleans, Jim Garrison, as he and his crew investigate the Warren Report, interview witnesses, and interview other suspicious men around the New Orleans area that they believe had something to do with Oswald. They fear that a much larger conspiracy was part of the assassination than what the government had told the American people. They finally go to trial to try and prove that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the shooting.
    This is a very large movie and with that we have a very large cast. Kevin Costner plays Jim Garrison and gives us one of his best performances because emotions take over several times. Gary Oldman plays Lee Harvey Oswald who also gives us a fantastic character performance because he literally becomes Oswald. Joe Pesci plays David Ferrie as a man who is associated with the communist regime and who is scared for his life. Tommy Lee Jones plays Clay Shaw in a fantastic Oscar nominated performance, who is believed to be at the head of the conspiracy. Kevin Bacon plays Willie O'Keefe, a witness to Shaw, Oswald, and Ferrie. And Sissy Spacek plays Liz Garrison, Jim's wife. There is also Jay O. Sanders, Ed Asner, Jack Lemmon, Brian Doyle-Murray, Wayne Knight, Michael Rooker, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Grubbs, Walter Matthau, John Candy, Dale Dye, and Donald Sutherland in one of the best supporting cast in a film.
    One thing that stands out the most about this film, after the cast, is the editing. The editing in this film has to one of the best ever. The film opens with a seven minute archival montage of footage describing what Kennedy had been through in his presidency before ending with a mix of archival and actual movie footage about a women screaming about how somebody is going to kill Kennedy. Then the assassination takes place. The editing doesn't end there as the film is full of flashbacks as very long monologues describe what is going on. Most of the flashback footage is in black and white. One scene about two hours into the movie, which is my favorite scene, features a man named Mr. X explaining to Garrison what the Government did before, during, and after the assassination. That scene is beautifully edited as is the last scene of the movie which is a moving, yet long, monologue by Costner.
    Oliver Stone is the mind behind this beautifully made film, he directed it, which is probably his best job, and he also wrote it. The screenplay is absolutely phenomenal, the scenes were written perfectly and the dialogues were written perfectly. I've already mentioned the two monologues that are probably the best on film. Stone researched this film from top to bottom hiring several historians to read books, watch film, and study pictures on how the conspiracies came about. Using all those resources, true or not, he brought it all into one fantastic screenplay that should have won an Oscar. Stone also read about twenty books himself to contribute to the script. This is one of the best writing jobs I've ever seen.
    Not only is this film written perfectly, it also looks beautiful. The cinematography is also among the best in film because of how they made certain parts look like archival footage in the flashbacks and how it looks in the recreation of the assassination. It was just beautifully mixed into this epic picture. One final thing that completes this film is the haunting, exciting, and moving score. John Williams did a wonderful job and gave this film the perfect score that gives it an eerie feeling and then turns into a moving score. This is the perfect score.
    If you are into all the conspiracies about the JFK assassination and you haven't seen this film then you must see this film! Even if it is not true, it will make you think and sweat all at once and you will love it. At the same time this film is set in 1966-1968 and is based on information that they knew back then, so some of it might be wrong now, but that doesn't mean that you can't sit and enjoy this controversial drama. When you watch it, watch the Director's Cut, it is about twenty minutes longer and clocks in at 3 hours and 25 minutes, but trust me, it is worth it! This is a film that raised eyebrows in 1991 and still does today.
4/4 Stars

Enjoy the trailer below!

Movie of the Week: Parkland

 

 

    Movie of the Week (11/10/13-11/16/13): As I'm sure most of you all know we are approaching the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. So, expect a lot of posts in the next few weeks of movies, shows, and even a book or two about him and the assassination. Since I'm a history buff this is a very interesting subject and event in American history to me because it has been told over and over again. The assassination has been looked at and investigated who knows how many times and there have been books written about it and films made about it, both documentaries and Hollywood films. You also know that there have been several conspiracy theories built up around it, but this film here does not focus on any of those, this film focuses what happened after the assassination in Dallas, Texas. This is Parkland.
    This film came out just a couple months ago in a limited release run in theaters because it was produced by the private studio, The American Film Company. They are still a new film company that produces historically accurate films with there first being The Conspirator, which focused on the Lincoln assassination. Parkland is the studio's second film. This film focuses on what happened after the assassination on its main focus is on Parkland Memorial Hospital, which was where Kennedy was taken after he was shot. It does not center around one or two characters it centers around several characters from the doctors who tried to save Kennedy, the secret service, the FBI, Abraham Zapruder, and the Oswald family.
    This film has a very good cast and all of who do a really good job at their parts because they all researched their characters very well. We have Paul Giamatti as Abraham Zapruder, Zac Efron as Dr. Charles Carrico, Marcia Gay Harden as Nurse Doris Nelson, Ron Livingston as James Hosty, James Badge Dale as Robert Oswald, Billy Bob Thornton as Forrest Sorrels, Tom Welling as the controversial Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman, Colin Hanks as Dr. Malcolm Perry, Jackie Earle Haley as Father Oscar Huber, and Jackie Weaver as Marguerite Oswald. The cast is really great here, we have veteran actors and younger actors working together. Two that stand out are Paul Giamatti and Billy Bob Thornton, who both do a fantastic job, despite how many other actors they are with, whenever they are on screen, they own it. We have a very good cast and performances here.
    This film was written and directed by first time director Peter Landesman, although he adapted the screenplay from Vincent Bugliosi's book. His direction is very good by giving it a very realistic, intense, and at times frightening look. His writing is okay, but at times it was a little bland, and by that I mean I felt like there could have been some more details to the characters themselves. However we do get very good and authentic details about what went on in the trauma room, Air Force One, and how they were able to look at the Zapruder film. That was really the only complaint I had about the film, there needed to be a more detail to some of the characters to add to the movie. They could have done that because the movie is only 93 minutes long.
    The film is also intense and keeps you on the edge at times, we can thank the actors for that especially Billy Bob Thornton in a couple scenes that you can't miss. This is also an authentic film when it comes to the costumes and props, they fit the time period perfectly and look great. What also looks great is the cinematography, the film looks great and was filmed very well and it really is beautiful to look at because it brings 1963 back to life very well. One final thing is the editing; this is a fast paced film at times and the editing adds to that as it brings intensity, but it is not the best.
    I did like this film and liked that it didn't bring up any of the conspiracy theories, that's for next week, it just focused on what people went through on that terrible day. The actions of everybody are not explained, just shown, and that makes the film more believable. The only problem I had was that it was too short and too bland at times. But, if you like history and enjoy a good drama with a great cast, you should give this film a watch, you might like it! There is more to come in the next couple weeks on films and books about JFK, but for now enjoy this film this week!
3/4 Stars.

Enjoy the trailer below!

Movie of the Week: Happy Gilmore

   

 

    Movie of the Week (11/3/13-11/9/13): I know I am way late this week, but I have been pretty busy with some other stuff. But, last week was Halloween and everybody got their scare on so why don't we take it back a notch this week. Lets lighten the mood with a comedy this week and not just any comedy, but a very popular comedy for my generation. This movie is one of Adam Sandler's better movies, but that's not saying much now, and it is a funny one! This is Happy Gilmore.
    Now, the movie doesn't have much of a plot, but then again many Adam Sandler movies don't, but we don't watch these kind of movies for the plot. But, nevertheless the film focuses on a man whose desire in life is the play hockey, but keeps getting rejected. He is then discovered that he has a nasty swing of the club by a golf trainer. He then joins the tour to play, but only to get enough money to pay off his grandmothers house before she loses it.
    The film is called Happy Gilmore because the main character's name is Happy Gilmore, who is played by Adam Sandler, but of course you already knew that. And believe it or not this is probably his second best performance of his career, just behind Click, and he does give us a funny performance. But, Christopher McDonald gives us probably the best performance in the movie as Shooter McGavin, who I'm sure you all know well too. He made me laugh more than Sandler did at times, but we get a good mix of comedy and seriousness form his character. We've all used the point and shoot gesture that McGavin made popular once in our life. We also have Carl Weathers as Chubbs, the guy who found Happy, and gives us funny performance too, but not his best.
    There is not much to say about this film because everything about it is average, the directing, the editing, the cinematography, the sound, and the music. This is not a movie to stand and cheer for at the end. It is a movie that you sit and laugh at with a bunch of your friends. And you will get quite a few laughs out of it. Every now and then they try and sneak in some seriousness but it just doesn't work well with the film. However, there are several moments that are pretty funny, but there are also several stupid funny moments. Those are the kinds that hurt this film because they went to far and it just became stupid at times. I mean it's no Wedding Crashers or The Hangover.    
    As I said I laughed at almost everything that Shooter did or said because his character is just great and it is the best part of the film. We also get a few good cameos from some funny celebrities, the Bob Barker one is one to remember. Ben Stiller's is quite funny too. Again, you will get your laughs out of this movie, but that is it, there is no message that it sends it is just a comedy that comes up just short of being too stupid. Overall though I liked it and I still think it is one of Adam Sandler's better films. But, again nothing special here with most everything being mediocre.
2.5/4 Stars