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Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in full body makeup |
The Butler - A Lot of Hype But No History
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Fonda/Rickman as Nancy/Gibber |
Having said that, The Butler, as a movie, is a cliché. It offers no new perspective as it journeys through the life of Cecil Gaines, a civil service employee that worked as a White House butler through 6 U.S. administrations (Ike's, JFK's, LBJ's, Dick's, Jimmy's, and The Gipper's). Forest Whitaker's portrayal of Gaines is a mix of Hank's Forest Gump and Seller's Chance the Gardener. A middle-class family man dedicated to a cause (his job) which is disrupted by outside forces he can not control.
The Butler tries to cover too much history, resulting in a film that is peripheral to the issues it raises. For example, Gaines is only marginally involved in the civil rights movement and to believe that President after President would ask a WH Butler for advice on complex domestic issues and seem to be awe inspired by the very humble advice given by Gaines is ludicrous. I can't imagine Ike, JFK, LBJ, or The Gipper asking a butler for advice on any issue of national importance. Jimmy Carter was left out of The Butler, I guess the only civil unrest under him was taking place in Iran with the U.S. hostages and I guess Cecil didn't have any answers to that dilemma.
Regardless of the 'expected' Weinstein hype, The Butler, to be fair, is a decent drama but it brings very little historic reality to the screen.
2015 Could Be The BIGGEST Box Office Ever
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In looking out at what is in production it struck me that 2015 was shaping up to be the year of the blockbuster - as it has a very heavy slate of 'sure thing' sequels of franchises that never stop giving. The 2015 lineup includes:
- Avengers-Age of Ultron / Release Date May 2015
- Untitled Superman/Batman Movie / Release TBA
- Star Wars: Episode VII / Release TBA
- Independence Day-2 / Release July 2015
- Jurassic Park 4 / Release TBA
- Terminator 5 / Release June 2015
- Assassin's Creed / Release June 2015
- Ant-Man / Release Nov. 2015
- James Bond 'Solo' / Release Nov. 2015
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Park II / Release Nov.2015
Best
Jim
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