2012: Week 47: Lincoln

Lincoln

Genre: Drama, Biography, History

Main Players: Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones

General Gist: The story of Lincoln’s struggle to emancipate the slaves, during the civil war. 

Deb's Take: 
I am one of the least political person’s out there.  I think I have mentioned this before.  That being said, the first half of the movie was a little slow for me, I didn’t enjoy all the political bantering, games and negotiations.  I know it was all a recounting of our history, and I think that is what kept me interested.  I really was impressed with Daniel Day Lewis and his portrayal of Lincoln.  I will guess that a lot of research was done about Lincoln’s personality, and I feel like the personality came through loud and clear.  The movie was most impressive in that it covers a very short period of time, yet captures an amazing pivotal historical event, and the days around that event.  What a burden that man took on, and what a strategic way of bringing the events into play.  I did feel the acting in this movie was exceptional.  I always like Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones was different in this role, not as convincing as some, but good. 

I think this movie would be most suited for those people who love history, love politics and love biographies.  I am not necessarily this type of person, but the greatness of this movie was not lost on me, I know it was exceptional and give it credit, even though it wasn’t my favorite..many of you will love it!

Deb's Rate: Matinee for me, but Friday night for most

Tiff's Take:
This movie was very different from what I expected.  I thought it was more of a war movie but it was so not.  It was really about passing (is that the right term?) the 13th amendment.  It just so happens it was around war time.  So needless to say, this was not an action packed movie.  Yes, it was long and a little slow.  Yes, my dad may or may not have fallen asleep during it.  BUT, it was very interesting.  At least to me.  I'm always surprised to find that political stuff really does interest me more than I think.   

I felt like this movie really captured the behind the scenes of what may have been going on way back then.  It was fascinating to see Lincoln's personality portrayed.  What an amazing individual?!  Daniel Day Lewis totally nailed it.  As Deb said, if you're a history buff you'll probably really enjoy this.  If you're looking for action this isn't your movie. 

Tiff's Rate: Hmm...Matinee or Friday Night.  Why not, Friday Night.

Preview:  More to come as we catch up!

2012: Week 45: Argo

Argo

Genre: Drama, Thriller, History 

Main Players: Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Victor Garber

General Gist: Six Americans are trapped in hiding in the Canadian embassy in Iran.  In an effort to get them back home, the CIA creates a fake movie as an excuse to get in the country and get them out by saying they are a film crew.  Based on a true story in the late 70's early 80's.

Tiff's Take: 
This movie was based on a true story which I love.  And it has Ben Affleck who I'm always rooting for.  He doesn't have the best track record in my mind as being the best actor in the world but I've always really liked him.  This character really fit him well.  Maybe it helped that he was the director.  Who knows.  What I do know is this story was so interesting.  It makes you wonder what movie will be made 30 years from now about something happening right now that we have no idea about.  That's a little unsettling so maybe we shouldn't think about that.

This was a pretty serious movie with a big emphasis on suspense.  The whole time I was on the edge of my seat wondering if they were going to get out.  Now, if I knew the story from way back in the day I would know the answer to that but I didn't.  I was only like 2 and to be honest I probably wouldn't know too much about it if I was 18 at the time.  Since I didn't really know exactly what was going to happen it was even more nail biting.  And just to give my heart a little break there was comedic relief by John Goodman and Alan Arkin's characters.  Just the right amount.

I really enjoyed this and so did Russ.  Russ thought this would be interesting but I don't think he thought he would like it quite so much.  (I mean it's no James Bond movie but...) Great date night movie.  Both parties will enjoy this one.       

Tiff's Rate: Opening Night

Deb's Take: 
I am not much of a history buff either.  I married a history buff so that he could give me all the details of the things I have missed in life.  Brian said he remembered this, and I don't know if he told me, or I just assumed, but I knew from the beginning they were getting out, so I wasn't in as much of a suspenseful stupor as some, but I agree this movie was suspenseful.

I think Ben Affleck did a great job as both director and actor of this film.  After watching a true story based movie I always go and do a little hunting around to see how the film was different from the real situation.  This movie was good about trying to get the story accurate, while making it "Hollywood".  I, like my sister, am amazed at the things that happen in this world without the general public knowledge.  Well,,maybe not that surprised. 

I really think you will like this movie if you like history, or even if you just like movies that include real life events.  There was plenty of suspense, light humor and action, with enough drama to round it all out.

Deb's Rate: Opening Night

Preview: Skyfall and Breaking Dawn 2 both in the same week.  Oh, and maybe we'll throw a bonus review in the mix as well. 

2012: Week 14: Titanic

Titanic re-released in 3D

Genre: Drama, Historical Fiction

Main Players: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart

General Gist: Do I really have to explain? I think not.

Tiff's Take:
It's probably not a shock to hear that we went to see the re-release of Titanic in 3D last week. I was really excited to see it again. And by again, I mean the 10th time in a theater. You heard me right. I saw this marathon of a movie 9 times in the theater when it originally came out in 1997. What can I say? I was an impressionable, college teenager who loved a good tragic story. Apparently a slightly more cynical, 30 something mother of two can enjoy a good tragic story just as well. At least this one can.

I don't think I need to go into the movie itself and the actors and how wonderful everything was. Either you've seen it or you haven't. And if you haven't you probably won't go this time around. If you have seen it and wondering if you should see it this time around I would say go for it. (Oh, and if you were too young to see it the first time, then definitely go this time. It would be interesting to hear what a younger generation thinks.) I was curious if I would feel the same awestruck, tragic sadness I felt first time around. Let me tell ya, I was surprised by how much I did. I had forgotten how much I really love this movie. I mean really love it. I will say though that the 3D aspect of it didn't really do a whole lot for me. It was just as good without it.

Tiff's Rate: First time around definitely an Opening Dayer. This time around still worth a Friday Night rating.

Deb's Take: As you know from my list of favorite movies, this movie was one, and I have to say I am pretty sure it is actually my number 1 movie of all time. Unlike Tiff, however, I didn't see it 9 times in the movie theatre, actually, I own this movie, and have watched it through once in the theatre, and several bits and pieces at home. So..this was only my second full viewing.

What can I say about this movie to give it justice? The actors were perfect. The chemistry between Kate and Leonardo was amazing. The sound track is captivating. If you haven't seen this movie, you really missed out on something special. My 8 year old is enthralled with it. She is a hopeless romantic just like me, and the first time she saw it she had so many questions and was so interested in the details of the Titanic. I do have to remind her the actors aren't real. It probably isn't the best movie for an 8 year old, but she is in love with it now. We went to an exhibit about the Titanic because of this movie. The story is so heart wrenching yet so interesting. We knew we couldn't go wrong with this movie. I still cry when I see it....

Deb's Rate: Opening day, then of course, that would have been 15 years ago.

Preview: Not sure yet! But mom comes in town this weekend!! YEAH

2012: Week 2: War Horse

War Horse

Genre: History, Drama/Based on true events

Main Players: Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson..and the Horse, (of course)

General Gist: This is a story that follows the life of a horse during World War I. The story captures its' many travels, and the people he encounters and touches through-out his journey.

Deb's Take:

Well...this movie was ok. It was long and very drawn out, to the point of losing my interest early on. I really like the idea of the movie and thought that maybe it would be like the "Black Beauty" of this time. In actuality, it wasn't. The story itself was touching, heartbreaking and pretty amazing when you consider all this horse had to go through in life. The hard part was, I just didn't feel a real connection to any particular character, and just couldn't find myself connected to the horse. I am a total animal lover. I had thought I would fall in love with this horse looking at the previews, but I really didn't. I did feel sorry for the horse a lot of the time, and was disgusted with the idea that horses were so brutally treated during the war, however, I just had a hard time not feeling like the story was drawn out and lengthy. I feel like the actors did a pretty good job, again though, nothing extraordinary. All in all I would recommend this movie as a renter, and although it appears to be made for all ages, I think the kiddos would be mighty bored..not to mention the parents.

Tiff's Take:
Wow.  I'm really surprised in the difference in opinion with Deb and I on this one.  She wrote her review first so I had the luxury of reading what she had to say before I did mine.  I actually went into this movie thinking I would feel almost the exact way Deb ended up feeling.  But I didn't.  This movie was long, I'll admit, but I didn't ever feel like I was looking at my watch wondering when it was going to wrap up.  There was a lot to the story but I enjoyed the journey.  I, like Deb, am an animal lover so I was concerned about the movie being too much.  Because, let's face it, something not so pleasant almost always happens in a movie about an animal.  This one was no different but for some reason the horse actually felt more like a person to me.  So it wasn't so sad.  (Not that I like seeing bad things happen to people but...)  I would agree with Deb that the actors were good but nothing special.  None of them really stood out to me.  I'm not even sure I can say the horse did a fantastic job because well, how do you rate a horse's acting abilities?  But I loved the history and connection between all the people that the horse's life touched.  Another thing I found interesting about this movie was the different perspective it gave on a war.  It was almost shocking how non-strategic everything seemed back then.  How did anyone ever survive at all?  It could have also been because most of the war movies I've seen are about WWII or later.  No matter the reason, it was very interesting to me.  So my rating would definitely be higher then just a rental.  I've actually already recommended it to someone who was on the fence.         

Week 3: The King's Speech

This week we opted for a movie that has been out a little while. And boy am I glad we did. Wow. What a movie. The King's Speech was right up my alley in almost every way. I love all things British, historical (not American though ironically) and anything about a royal family. The whole subject fascinates me. I didn't realize going into the movie that it was set in the 30's and 40's. (I said I like history, not that I know much about it.) Another point in it's favor. Even if the movie was bad I think I still would have liked it. Luckily, it was not bad at all. It was actually really great. I will be rooting for it when the award shows come up.

This movie wasn't full of action or progressed very fast at all but everything about it made me want to keep watching. First of all, Colin Firth did a wonderful job. I'm not sure I've seen him in many movies that weren't comedies. He was so believable. And let me say Helena Bonham Carter was equally good. She doesn't normally play a role that's so understated. Actually, she usually does the opposite. She sure pulled this one off well. At the end of the movie I actually had to hold back tears after his speech and it gave me goose bumps. Again, wow.

After the movie let out I realized that me and Deb were probably the youngest ones in the theater. It made me think that if my niece had gone with us she would have agonized about sitting through the most boring movie of her whole life. But I have to say that it was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I'm so glad we saw this instead of The Green Hornet or The Dilemma.

To sum it up: wonderfully acted, touching and the makes of an award winner.