Daniel Day-Lewis takes the titular role in Spielberg’s masterful film about the iconic president and his struggle to pass the 13th Amendment in support of his Emancipation Proclamation, even as the Civil War continues to tear the country apart. Filled with themes and ideas that are still sad, and frighteningly relevant, this looks at a…
Tag: history
Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) – Steven Spielberg
If the Indiana Jones films that were set in the 30s were to pay homage to the serials of the time, then by moving Indy (Harrison Ford) into the 50s it makes sense, from a cinematic historical point of view that the film would include nuclear weapons, aliens and UFOs. That doesn’t mean it translated…
Amistad (1997) – Steven Spielberg
Spielberg returns to another examination of humanity and history with his 1997 film Amistad. Based on an actual event in 1839, the film explores a revolt of Mende captives aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad. When the captives take over the ship they demand that the surviving crew take them back to Africa, but instead,…
Robin Hood (2010) – Ridley Scott
Director Ridley Scott does away with the romp and romantic adventure that has permeated the Robin Hood myth down through the ages, and through a number of onscreen iterations to tell a more historical-based version of the tale. He packs it with stars, but the lack of derring-do may have kept audiences away, who knew…
Inferno (2016) – Ron Howard
Tom Hanks returns for a final outing as Dan Brown’s brilliant symbologist Robert Langdon in Inferno. This time out, Langdon is operating on the back foot from the beginning when he awakes in a hospital and is told by Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) that he was grazed by a bullet, and has suffered a…
TIFF ’22: Hunt
South Korean action star Lee Jung-jae makes his directorial debut with the brilliant action thriller, Hunt. Set in the 1980s when tensions were heightened between North and South Korea, the film is a white knuckle ride that sees two government rivals, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park (Lee) and Domestic Unit head Kim (Jung Woo-sung) working…
The Da Vinci Code (2006) – Ron Howard
Director Ron Howard pairs with Tom Hanks to bring Dan Brown’s incredibly popular novel, The Da Vinci Code to the screen. Hanks portrays symbologist Robert Langdon, who previously popped up in Brown’s novel Angels and Demons, but it was the subject matter, and the way it tied into art and some historical moments that really…
Event Horizon (1997) – 4K 25th Anniversary Edition Review
There’s something about Event Horizon. I saw it in the theatre during its original release, and it has stayed with me since that time. Every couple of years I revisit it and enjoy it anew, catching little things and details I may have missed previously and just taking pleasure from a spooky story set in…
Fringe (2009) – The No-Brainer, and The Transformation
No-Brainer, written by David H. Goodman and Brad Kane first aired on 27 January, 2009. Olvia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson), and Walter (John Bishop) get called into a strange case that involves the death of two people whose brains seem to have liquified. The only connection between the two is a strange computer file…
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) – Jon Turteltaub
Benjamin Gates (Nicholas Cage), Abigail (Diane Kruger) and Riley (Justin Bartha) are back for a second go round, with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Joining them this time around is a returning Jon Voight as Ben’s father, Harvey Keitel as Sadusky, and new additions the amazing Helen Mirren as Ben’s mother, Bruce Greenwood as the…
The Mind Reels 