Posts tagged Tommy Lee Jones
“Lincoln” about Our Greatest President
Nov 25th
“Our Greatest President”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Lincoln is an excellent film about the last few months of the life of our 16th president when he was faced with an almost impossible task: Get the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed by a lame-duck congress before the Civil War ends.
The 13th Amendment states simply, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitute, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
The time was January 1865, Lincoln had just been reelected to his second term, the resolution had been passed the previous year by the Senate, but defeated by the House, and Lincoln was trying to get it passed by the House so that it would become law before the Civil War ended and the Southern representatives rejoined Congress, in which case it would never be passed.
So, the film is about the wheeling and dealing in Washington in order to get something achieved, which makes it as timely as today’s Washington.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln, and at one point he tells his cabinet of officers, “As the preacher said, I could write shorter sermons, but once I start, I get too lazy to stop.”
We are told that it is not illegal to bribe Congressmen, because they starve otherwise, which may or may not be true, and we see many of the influences being peddled by the men who are working to get the amendment passed, which becomes complex and confusing, but don’t try to follow and understand everything. Just let the story and its details wash over you and admire them.
Especially admire the work of Day-Lewis as Lincoln, as well as the outstanding work of Sally Field, James Spader, and Tommy Lee Jones, among many others.
Also admire the directing of Steven Spielberg, although you might be distracted by the opening scene and think that it is too much of a reminder of the opening of the 1998 Saving Private Ryan.
In fact, there are many parallels in this film that are intended to make a point and a reference to our modern times, and that is perfectly acceptable.
Lincoln is a great film about whom many claim to be our greatest president.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Hope Springs” Has Some Nice Touches
Aug 21st
“Nice Touches”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Hope Springs is a comedy starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a couple who have been married 31 years and who spend a week taking intensive couples counseling.
You see, perhaps because they have been married 31 years, their marriage is in a deep rut. They sleep in separate bedrooms; every morning Kay cooks Arnold’s breakfast of one egg and one slice of bacon, which he eats while reading the newspaper and then leaves for work without saying anything; and every evening Arnold falls asleep in his easy chair while watching the golf channel on TV.
So, when Kay sees a book called You Can Have the Marriage You Want, by Dr. Bernard Feld, she signs up for Arnold and her to attend Dr. Feld’s Center for Intensive Couples Counseling, which is held in Great Hope Springs, Maine.
Kay says, “I want a real marriage again, Arnold.”
She tells him that she has already booked the flight, which leaves tomorrow, and when Arnold refuses to go, Kay calls a cab and leaves for the airport alone.
Well, of course, Arnold gives in, and when he shows up at the last minute and sits down next to her on the airplane, he says, “I hope you’re happy.”
Steve Carell plays Dr. Feld, but he is much more subdued than his usual comedic roles, and the laughs come from the situations that Kay and Arnold put themselves in and the things they say, as well as the things they don’t say.
In fact, Streep is a great actress without even saying anything, and Jones is no slouch, either. Carell must have picked up some acting tips from them, because even he holds his own in the Laughs Without Saying Anything category.
Kay tells Dr. Feld that Arnold doesn’t touch her anymore, when he used to touch her arm, her shoulder, just because he wanted to. And so Dr. Feld gives them an exercise for that evening back in their motel room to just put their arms around each other and hold each other.
Each session and each exercise gets more intense, and even though it might sound repetitious and boring, it isn’t.
Hope Springs has some nice touches in it–all puns intended–and this is one movie that is impossible to walk out during the closing credits.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Hope Springs – Movie Trailer
Aug 15th
Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.
