Birth of a Nation

Lincoln is, quite simply, one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. In Lincoln, Daniel Day Lewis does not play Abraham Lincoln, he is Abraham Lincoln, living, breathing, taking decisions, running a family. The leadership qualities of Lincoln come to the fore as he balances ending a war and abolishing slavery, with a few decisions that err towards choosing the greater good and associated realpolitik. This is a movie for posterity, and one for your collection. Suffice to say that I cannot remember a movie in memory that moved me quite as much, Steven Spielberg dramatic effect notwithstanding

17.5/20

Robber, Robbed

Master of heists Will Montgomery (Nicholas Cage) does what he needs to do and injures fellow partner in crime Vincent (Josh Lucas) in an attempt to flee a crime scene without any collateral damage. Will however does not make it far, and, after eight years of incarceration, looks forward to being re-united with daughter Alison (Sami Gayle). Vincent has other plans, however, and a highly skeptical FBI led by Tim Harlend (Danny Huston) does not help either. With a little help from ex-con-woman Riley (Malin Akerman), Will races against time and the ghosts from his past. Stolen is your average unmemorable entertainer that is easy on the eye and your time, without even remotely aspiring towards the spectacular

11.5/20

Non Sleazy Sex Line

 

 

What happens when two single women in New York need to pool their resources, post layoffs breakups and other assorted tragedies, and find themselves a place to live. Simple – they start a sex chat line to start paying the bills. Well, on that front, Katie Steele (Ari Graynor) is the original entrepreneur, and Lauren (Lauren Miller) is the initially reluctant but eventually highly successful partner. The line of business, expectedly, does not sit well with parents and sundry others, and fights ensue between the partners as well. For a Good Time Call is a light take on using unconventional means to get by, and on friendship. And while not an outstanding movie by any means, it is definitely not titillating as the suggestive title would imply

 

11.5/20