Critical MeMe

Time spent watching films, even crappy ones, is time well-spent.

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Location: Kansas City, MO, United States
    Post dates are when I watched, parenthetical dates are the year of US release (aka Oscar eligibility).

2/02/2009

Frost/Nixon (2008)

This movie just blew me away.

I'm not entirely sure why I had mentally prepared myself for a letdown: could've been the fact that I think of Ron Howard as a "for the masses" director rather than one who possesses subtlety; might've been that I'd been prejudiced by the flak the film had been getting for being less than 100% accurate. Whatever the reason, I wasn't expecting much more than an "alright" and I got a "wow."

Langella is superb as Nixon, feeling useless and growing bitter in his California "exile." Sheen is equally amazing as the lightweight TV personality putting his own cash and career on the line for an idea that no one else really believes in. They're amazing performances and Howard does right by them, turning in a tense, believable and emotionally compelling cut that had both Gary and I raving. We both think it's one of the best movies of the year.

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