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Reviews
The Butler (2013)
A story that needs to be told and retold
I simply do not understand the poor reviews this movie is receiving from some of the folks reviewing the film. I, and the three others attending the movie with me, loved the movie. I don't know what a film has to accomplish for some to consider it a success. This movie had everything: brilliant performances from Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker, a stellar supporting cast (Terrence Howard was perfect), an American story that needs to be told and retold, humor, gut-wrenching family tension (what family during the 60s and 70s didn't experience that great generational divide?) and a truly beautiful love story.
I, and the others who were attending the film with me, lived through the Civil Rights era and Viet Nam as high school students and then college students. (My husband and I were attending Kent State on May 4th.) We were all amazed at how much we had forgotten. I don't mean the formal history of the era, but the very feeling of the times. This movie brought it back and brought it back so clearly that my heart was pounding.
Just as the Jews of Nazi Germany know the importance of continuing to tell the story of the Holocaust to the children who will follow them, so the story of our Civil Rights movement, in all its ugliness, and beauty, should be shared with the generations that follow. Showing "The Butler" to students in middle schools, and high schools across the country will keep the discussion alive in a way that textbooks, and lectures cannot. For that reason alone, this is an important film.
Those of you who panned the film, or were so overly concerned that the life of the man Whitaker's character was built on, was quite different from the movie's portrayal (it was a movie after all), or were fixated on the miscasting of some of the presidents (I agree), have missed the point of the film, and more sadly you've missed the great gift that "Lee Daniels, the Butler" has give all of us for generations to come.
The Equalizer (1985)
Greatest show of all time!
The Equalizer truly was an absolutely wonderful TV show. I've watched many shows and none have hit me like EQZ. Of course it was Edward Woodward who anchored this drama and made it different than anything on TV then and now. He had talent and the ability to make your hair stand on end in some of the scenes from the show. He could be tender and unbelievably vulnerable one minute and then turn into hell on wheels with a simple look. This was certainly a series that ended before its time. The location shots and the wide variety of characters that made frequent appearances on the show made it all the more realistic. There was also a great pool of NYC actors that lent a realism to the show. It was also refreshing to get away from the typical Hollywood slickness.I think this show will always be my number one !!