Posts tagged 2011
“The Conspirator” Times of War
Apr 24th
“TIMES OF WAR”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Conspirator is a very good film about a little-known aspect of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, but it is not an exciting film.
In other words, there are no sensational car chases, no loud explosions, and no amazing special effects. Nor does it have any super heroes, it is not based on a video game, and it has no animated characters whatsoever, all ingredients that the kids today seem to be fascinated with.
What it does have is a compelling story, fine acting, and a producer and director by the name of Robert Redford.
The story is about the trial of Mary Surratt, played by Robin Wright, who owned a boarding house in Washington, DC, and who was a Southern sympathizer, a widow, and the mother of a son and a daughter.
Mary is on trial as a co-conspirator of the plot to assassinate Lincoln, because the men who planned to kill Lincoln along with the Vice-President and the Secretary of State were suspected of meeting in her boarding house to make their plans.
Her lawyer is Capt. Frederick Aiken, played by James McAvoy, who had served in in the Union army during the war. Aiken is reluctant to defend her and at one point even says, “I am eager to put the war behind me.”
Senator Johnson from Maryland tells Aiken that Mary is entitled to a defense and that Aiken should obey his oath as an attorney and do his job to defend her.
However, the prosecution had four months to prepare its case, and Aiken has only one day. Also, he knows that if she is found guilty, people will say that he was not up to the task of defending her.
Mary is also not cooperative with Aiken. Her son is more likely to have been one of the conspirators than she was, but her son is missing, and if Mary knows where he is hiding, she won’t tell anyone where he is.
So, not only is the film a courtroom drama, but it is also a period piece with the actors wearing clothing that is unfamiliar to the audience. In fact, you might not even recognize some of the actors whom you know and admire.
The Conspirator, however, is a good film that shows in times of war, the law falls silent.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Conspirator – Movie Trailer
Apr 21st
In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.
“Your Highness” Your Lowbrowness
Apr 18th
(“Your Lowbrowness”)
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Your Highness looks like a stoner comedy, walks like a stoner comedy, and quacks like a stoner comedy, but the only way that audiences would laugh while watching this mess of a movie would be if they actually were on drugs.
Sure, James Franco is listed in the credits, but I am more inclined to believe that it is his evil twin, Frank Jameso, who is in this failure of a film. You know, the one who hosted the Academy Awards in 2011.
In fact, Franco doesn’t even get top billing in the credits. That dishonor goes to Danny McBride, who also wrote the movie and not so coincidentally gave himself the bigger role.
And rounding out this trio of turpitude is Natalie Portman, whose two distinguishing characteristics in this film are reminders of what she lost in order to make her next film, the excellent 2010 Black Swan.
But I procrastinate.
The story begins with a mildly amusing sight gag of a hanging that fails to succeed because the hangers are little people and they forgot to adjust the gallows for the height of the normal-sized hangee.
He is Prince Thadeous of the Kingdom of Mourn, played by McBride, younger and less accomplished brother of Prince Fabious, played by Franco–I mean, by the evil twin Jameso.
In fact, Thadeous is so weak that when he eventually expresses his overpowering obsession, it comes out only as the tepid, “It would be nice to be king.”
The main plot is that Belladonna, the bride-to-be of Prince Fabious and who is played by Zooey Deschanel, is captured by an evil wizard, and so Prince Fabious goes on another quest to rescue her, this time taking his stumbling, bumbling brother, Prince Thadeous, along with him, which is the second prince’s first quest.
Along the way they encounter Isabel, played by Portman, who is on her own quest. And so they join forces.
In other words, this is a sword and sorcery spoof.
However, mostly it is a waste of time that is lowbrow, knuckle dragging, tasteless, overblown, too over the top and too gross. No, make that three over the top and three gross and therefore four tedious and five unfunny.
Your Highness could even be called “Your Lowbrowness,” but then that would give it more credit than it deserves.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”