Lincoln Review

Lincoln is one of the best films of 2012, and it also is one of the most important.

Director Steven Spielberg has long had a passion for Lincoln the man, infusing references or quotes from the 16^th President into several of his previous films. The “Letter from Mrs. Bixby” scene from Saving Private Ryan, in particular, is one of my favorites.

With Lincoln, Spielberg finally has the opportunity to tell a story from the amazing life of one of the most unique figures in American history. Lincoln’s life was spectacular and filled with many interesting moments spanning from his youth in Illinois all the way to his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth in 1865. Spielberg had a lot of dramatic material from which to craft an interesting story. Wisely, he keeps the focus narrow to only one brief period of history, which keeps the narrative tight and tidy. This isn’t a broad sweeping epic the likes of The Iron Lady. It’s a much more intimate affair that showcases the life and personality of a great man during an important moment in time.

The story Spielberg chooses for his biopic focuses on the last four months of Lincoln’s life. A lot of things were going on at that time – the Civil War was in its fourth year, Lincoln had just been re-elected to a second term, and there was immense pressure on the man to end the conflict that had cost hundreds of thousands of lives and destroyed much of the nation’s infrastructure. However, chief among Lincoln’s concerns was passage of the 13^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, an act that officially abolished slavery. As you might imagine, that wasn’t the most popular move back in 1864/65.

Lincoln is an extremely political film. Most of the film is spent in chambers with politicians debating ideology rather than out on the battlefield with soldiers firing guns. There is a little bit of civil war battle, which was a brutal and bloody affair, but these moments are not the point of the film. If you want to know about the battles of the Civil War, check out Ken Burns’ documentary The Civil War. Lincoln is mostly a talky film, but that’s not to say that it’s without drama. It plays like a really good episode of The West Wing; only it’s set in the 1860s with actors sporting awesome muttonchops. I wouldn’t be surprised if Aaron Sorkin took a pass at the script at some point in development. Crisp dialog and quick wits define the screenplay. The story is gripping and compelling, and the characters are superbly created and acted.

The cast of Lincoln is amazing. Leading the pack are stellar performances from Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, a Congressman who fought hard for racial equality.

Day-Lewis gives a mesmerizing performance, one of many fine roles in his Academy Award-winning career. If not for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in The Master, it would be another walk-away win for Day-Lewis come awards season (I think Phoenix gets a bunch of hardware this year). Day-Lewis’ portrayal of Lincoln is spectacular. The way he moves, the way he talks, his mannerisms, the way he displays a quick wit and humorous but serious nature all serve to draw the audience in to the experience. It’s hard to imagine the real Lincoln as any different than the way Day-Lewis portrays him. It’s as if Day-Lewis traveled back in time and lived the events of the film alongside the real Lincoln. Day-Lewis is known as a serious method actor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has a small role as one of Lincoln’s sons, said during an interview that he had not heard Day-Lewis’ real voice or seen his real walk until after filming concluded. He stayed in character the whole time they were shooting. The cast and crew referred to him on set as “Mr. President”. It is, in part, this extreme level of dedication to craft that sets Day-Lewis apart from other actors. He quite literally became Lincoln, and his attention to detail elevates his performance to stellar heights. Superb.

Sally Field also puts in a great performance as the mentally strained wife of the President. She is a tortured soul, struggling with the many hardships that her life has thrust upon her. The loss of her young son, an older son who wants to join the war, watching her husband manage the war and try to pass important legislation. All these things and more weigh heavily on Mary Todd Lincoln; she feels the pressure more than anyone else in the household. Field does a great job of showing the anguish of a woman/wife/mother facing so many traumas.

Lincoln will be ranked by many critics as one of the best films of 2012 on the basis of great acting and great story. It will definitely make my Top 10 of 2012 list. However, Lincoln isn’t simply a good movie. I also think it is one of the most important major studio films to come out I quite some time.

It is a film that reminds us how far we have progressed as a society in the last 150 years. In the 1860s slavery was a legal and relatively common practice. Minorities were not allowed to vote. Neither were women. Equality was an ideal that few thought was attainable.

Social equality – the concept that all citizens, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or perceived handicap, should have a voice to advance society to a more enlightened state – is an area in which society has made great strides since the time of Lincoln. Many of the barriers that were in place back then have been removed. In today’s society there is more equality in society than there has ever been.

Is there more to be done? Sure. In many cases, women still aren’t paid on equal terms as men. Minorities still struggle to find opportunities to succeed. There are a host of issues to be addressed before we achieve true equality across all levels of society. But these are relatively minor steps to take. The major barriers have been cast aside; now we must fine-tune the formula.

I have hope for greater equality in the future.

Today, we have amazing opportunities to achieve a balance in society that couldn’t have been dreamed of in Lincoln’s time. The connectivity among people today is unprecedented in all of human history, and I feel that this will do more good to achieve universal equality than anything. Once we realize that every person on Earth is fundamentally the same with similar dreams, desires, aspirations, inspirations, needs, joys, and sorrows, then it becomes easy to think of our world as a community of individuals. With social media outlets, the thoughts of someone living in Belize, Israel, India, Japan, Kenya, and every other point on the globe become instantly accessible to everyone else on the planet. News and information from all over the globe is only as far away as a smartphone or computer. We can now see in real time exactly how human every other person on Earth truly is. Once we recognize the humanity of every individual on Earth, how can we justify oppressing his or her rights?

This is the amazing feat of Lincoln. It makes the audience think about things that are broader in scope than just a two-hour, fifteen-minute movie. In addition to being incredibly entertaining, it has a depth that transcends film. Lincoln illustrates for us that a few brave and determined souls can affect great change in society, even when there are large portions of society who are content to limit the rights of others. Lincoln shows that the path to true social equality will be difficult but that those efforts are worthwhile.

It's an amazing film.

5 out of 5

The Hobbit Soundtrack Online Early

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in theaters on December 14 in 2D, 3D, 48 frame-per-second 3D (a high frame-rate format intended to enhance the 3D experience), and IMAX 3D. You’ll have lots of options for watching Bilbo Baggins and the 13 dwarves (and Gandalf the Grey!) begin their quest to rid the dwarfish homeland under The Lonely Mountain of the dragon Smaug.

The film, of course, is directed by Peter Jackson and involves many of the same crew and cast from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

One of the best things about the three Lord of the Rings films were the scores from Howard Shore. The scores fit those films perfectly and were one of the key components to building a cohesive world in Middle Earth. Shore is back with the conductor’s baton for The Hobbit trilogy, and fans of his are in for a real treat.

The entire score for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is available online right now through Empire. If you like what you hear, you can pick up the regular or special edition (which has 4 extra tracks) of the soundtrack on December 11.

Full disclosure: I actually haven’t listened to the soundtrack yet. Since sound and music are large parts of the film viewing experience for me, I don’t want to risk spoiling the film by hearing the score first. Also, I find that the names of tracks can often give away parts of the film. I don’t think Shore, Jackson, and company would spoil the film with names on the soundtrack, but, just in case, I’m taking the safest option available and avoiding it until after I see the movie.

Still, it’s a cool opportunity to listen to the soundtrack before it hits the market. I understand from those that have heard it that the score is very good, and I wanted to pass it along to the three of you who might read my blog.

If you take a listen and like what you hear, let me know in the comments below or on Twitter.

World War Z Trailer

I’m a big fan of Max Brooks’ novel World War Z. It’s a fun, episodic, fractured-narrative story that tells multiple accounts from the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Each chapter features a new character (sometimes the stories tie together) who tells his/her experiences during the war against the zombies. The narrative hops across the globe recounting stories from soldiers who fought in the war, survivors holed up in remote locations, even an astronaut who was stranded on the space station during the global conflict.

In other words, it’s nothing like the upcoming film, which appears to focus on a single story line of one lead character.

The film adaptation stars Brad Pitt and boasts a big budget, but it has faced a lot of troubles. It had massive reshoots, changed directors, went way over budget, and suffered virtually every misfortune a production can have. Well, I don’t think the sets washed away in a storm a la Waterworld, but it’s still had a rough go of things.

Here's the new trailer:

The trailer looks surprisingly good. It’s got some big shots that show off a large scope of action. Hopefully, the big overhaul behind the scenes will yield an entertaining film in June 2013.

The History of Film Graphic

Here is a cool thing.

The guys over at Movies.com dug up a neat print by artists Larry Gormley and Bill Younker. These guys create unique visualizations of interesting topics combining history and graphic design. They have a bunch of cool prints, but one of the neatest for cinema fans is “The History of Film”.

The print features more than 2000 films, 20 genres, spanning 100 years.

The basic 42” x 22” print runs $36.00 and depending on the paper used and framing options goes up to $271.00.

It looks to be a neat thing to play with, finding your favorite film or watching your favorite genre come and go. Plus, it would probably look nice on your living-room wall.

The F1 Steering Wheel for your BMW

The Formula One series is one of the most technologically advanced automobile racing series in the world. F1 cars are packed to the brim with high-tech gadgets, sensors, and exotic materials. The cars are not only super-fast, beautiful works of art, they also are testing grounds for innovations that can ultimately find their way into your street car. One of the main reasons why manufacturers such as Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, McLaren, Renault and the like compete in F1 is to test out new technology during the series’ 20 grueling events.

My weekend ride

Technology in engines, transmissions, suspension components, safety gear, construction materials and more has made it in to your car. Power, reliability, safety, and performance have all been improved in the cars you and I drive thanks to Formula One. Now, BMW is bringing cool tech from steering wheels into its street cars.

In case you don’t know, the Formula One steering wheel is a technical marvel.

From the 2006 BMW F1 machine

It has all sorts of buttons, toggles, switches, lights, knobs, indicators, and displays to provide the driver with information about the car and allow him to make adjustments while zipping around the racetrack. Not only do these drivers place these beastly machines precisely where they want them on the track lap after lap, they also find time to fiddle with dials and knobs as they go. Amazing.

A few years ago we saw paddle-style shifters, tech first developed in racing cars, show up in exotic automobiles. The little toggles on the left and right side of the steering wheel allows the driver to shift gears up or down without taking his hands of the wheel. It was a cool trick for Ferrari owners initially, but paddle shifters are now showing up in more accessible car manufacturers such as Lexus, Nissan, etc.

From a Ferrari 458 Italia

BMW has recently introduced a steering wheel with some neat F1-inspired goodies embedded. It’s called the BMW Performance Steering Wheel. From the 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock positions, there are a series of LED indicators and a central screen that displays all sorts of data. A G-meter, stopwatch with lap timing, quarter-mile timer, engine temperature, and shift lights are all displayed on the wheel.

I don’t know who might use this, but it certainly looks cool. I like that an auto manufacturer is attempting to bring more F1 technology to consumers. I'll personally never be a F1 driver, but this sort of option can let me pretend. Actually, I think the light indicators, optimized for fuel efficiency, could be useful. It would be nice to see them incorporate the paddle shifters here too so that weekend racers can get the full F1 racer effect. Maybe we’ll see that in a future version. For now, we’ll have to settle for flashing lights and scrolling numbers.

Are you excited for this cool bit of tech? Will you be upgrading your BMW with a new steering wheel? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

Oz the Great and Powerful Poster

Next Spring, we'll be getting a rather cool film. Oz: The Great and Powerful will be coming from Disney on March 8, 2013, unless the Mayans were correct and the world ends on December 21, 2012. Barring an unlikely doomsday scenario attributed to a long-dead civilization, we will be returning to the Land of Oz with a prequel to The Wizard of Oz.

Here's a new poster to remind us how great this film will look.

The film stars James Franco as the Wizard of Oz and tells the story of how he found himself in that peculiar land so far from Kansas. It also tells how one of the three witch sisters, played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams, comes to be the Wicked Witch of the West. This poster is our first glimpse of the wicked witch and shows off a bit of the production design for the film. I think it's safe to say that with the talent involved (it's directed by Sam Raimi, the guy behind the original Spider-Man trilogy) and the look of the production design so far, that this will be one of the highlights of Spring 2013.

I really hope the world doesn't end before we can see this one.

Are you excited for a prequel to The Wizard of Oz? Do you think this will turn out to be Raimi's Alice in Wonderland? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!

Flight Review

Flight is a well-constructed film with a bizarre take-home message. It says that drink, drugs and reckless behavior can enable you to do great things.

Whip Whittaker (Denzel Washington) plays the world’s most amazing functional alcoholic. He can drink insane amounts of alcohol, run through grams of cocaine, entertain prostitutes all night long, and still manage to be the best pilot in the airline fleet. On a routine flight from Orlando to Atlanta, the plane Whip is piloting crashes. Nose down, full speed ahead, ground fast approaching, no hope for anyone to survive. Fortunately for everyone on board, Whip is still lit up like a Christmas tree from partying the night before and is able to pull off a miraculous maneuver. The plane still crashes, and six of the 102 passengers die, but Whip is labeled a hero for his excellent piloting skills. Without him at the controls, everyone on the plane would be dead. It turns out, however, that flying an airplane whilst drunk and high is frowned upon, even when your skills save almost everyone on board.

The ensuing investigation into the crash dives deeply into Whip’s behaviors leading up to the accident, and most of the film is a chronicle of Whip’s dangerous activities. I’m pretty sure that Flight wants us to sympathize with his troubles and make some big statements about the nature of alcoholics and alcoholism. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t quite come together. Whip’s character is unlikeable, since he’s either drunk or looking for his next fix for the entire film. We are sympathetic to his troubles, but it’s hard to root for the guy. He’s pretty much a punk. He says mean things to his girlfriend (Kelly Reilly), who is herself a recovering addict, downs twenty beers and a half bottle of vodka in a night, drives his car while swilling Budweiser on his way to see his dealer, and does all sorts of other despicable things.

But, he also only does great things when he’s drunk. Every good thing he ever did in his life was accomplished under the influence. In fact, he’s been able to do some incredible things when he dives heavily into drink and drugs. Rather than wishing he would get off the sauce, we instead hope he goes all in so that the “good” Whip can come out and do something special.

Drink up and do great things!

I don’t think that’s the message writer John Gatins and director Robert Zemeckis intended.

Robert Zemeckis returns to live-action directing after taking a brief hiatus in the motion-capture world. He finally got tired of fooling around with tech-heavy animated films such as The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol, which were expensive and time-consuming to make and only mild critical and commercial successes. He shows with Flight that he is still a great director in the live-action realm. It looks great, is well constructed, and showcases great acting. Washington is great in the lead role as usual, John Goodman gives a humorous, over-the-top turn as Whip’s dealer and best friend, and Don Cheadle should be cast as a lawyer in every film ever. All of the components are here for a solid film, but the undercooked story undermines their efforts.

Flight is an almost film. It’s almost something special. It almost has a strong message about the dangers of alcoholism. It almost combines great acting and solid direction to be a quality film. Unfortunately, the pieces never quite fit into place as they should. What we are left with is a deep look at a flawed character whose only saving grace is that, sometimes, he can do some impressive things despite his major character flaw.

2.5 stars out of 5

Do you think Flight was more of a cautionary tale than me? Did you sympathize with Whip’s plight more than me? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!