Kevin Kline

Turkey Day Entertainment

/ / Top Tens & Lists

Although not as numerous as Christmas themed programs, there quite a few Thanksgiving specials and movies worth a look. Aside from some NFL football, Thanksgiving always makes me pull out some old favorites to watch.  There are two things I make time to watch every Thanksgiving. The first is a very special episode of WKRP and the second is Home for the Holidays. Here’s a little about them and some other Thanksgiving themed fun you might enjoy.

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Silverado

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Silverado
  • IMDb: link

Silverado movie reviewToday’s throwback Thursday post takes us on the road to Silverado. Lawrence Kasdan‘s post-modern western about four strangers (Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, and Danny Glover) coming together to fight injustice in a western town ruled over by corrupt sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and greedy landowner (Ray Baker) is as entertaining today as when it was released in theaters 32 years ago.

Shot on location New Mexico by cinematographer John Bailey and set to the Academy Award nominated score by Bruce Broughton, Silverado is a love letter to the classic western focusing on themes of frontier justice, hard choices, and standing up for what’s right. Each of the four characters is given their own arc as Paden (Kline) finds his loyalties tested, Emmett (Glenn) and Mal (Glover) both stand up for family, and Jake (Costner) fights his own impulsive nature. The film is peppered with entertaining supporting roles from the likes of John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, Lynn Whitfield, Amanda Wyss, and Jeff Fahey as the menacing Tyree.

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Emma Watson and the Beast

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Beauty and the Beast
  • IMDb: link

Beauty and the Beast movie reviewDisney’s new Beauty and the Beast isn’t so much an adaptation of their 1991 animated film as a live-action reproduction of the original. The new film follows the pattern so closely that when it diverges at any point something feels a bit off. In a loving remake, director Bill Condon and his team bring the magic of the original back to the big screen in a way which should please fans.

After the brief interlude which sets up the film’s plot involving the curse, we’re reintroduced to Belle (Emma Watson) and the small French town in which the modern woman sticks out like a sore thumb. Watson’s casting is pure genius. The actress shines, delivering everything the role calls and more (including a singing performance far more impressive than another Emma who just took home an Academy Award). Effortlessly, she brings Belle to life.

As in the first movie, Belle’s father (Kevin Kline) is held captive by the Beast (Dan Stevens). One of the changes to the film is to flesh out Belle and Maurice‘s relationship a bit more, and add in some backstory to fill in for Belle’s missing mother.

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The Conspirator

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Conspirator
  • IMDB: link

the-conspirator-dvdDirector Robert Redford examines the trial of the first woman put to death by the Unites States Government through the eyes of a reluctant young lawyer (James McAvoy) who ended up ruining his career with search for justice in a court that wanted nothing more than a quick conviction.

The story concerns Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) who was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln (Gerald Bestrom) and Secretary of State William Seward and the attempted assassination of Vice President Andrew Johnson (Dennis Clark).

Redford assembles a first-rate cast to tell an engaging story, but it never reaches the level of storytelling you would expect. Although the screenplay by James D. Solomon showcases the how Suratt was railroaded into the gallows and strongly suggests her innocence, the film never takes a definitive stand on her guilt. This means we aren’t subject to Suratt’s experiences but only those filtered through those of her lawyer.

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No Strings Attached

/ / Home Video
  • Title: No Strings Attached
  • IMDB: link

no-strings-attached-blu-rayThe subject of friends with benefits usually makes for lackluster Hollywood scripts. No Strings Attached is no exception. Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher star as acquaintances who meet occasionally over the years and eventually get together in as sex friends who “use each other for sex at all hours of the day and night.” The story obviously wants us to root for these two wacky kids to get together in a real relationship, but gives us no real reason to do so.

There are also subplots about his career as a hopeful writer in show business and his father (Kevin Kline) dating his former girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond), but neither of these amount to much. And, in true Apatowian homage (nicer than saying rip-off), we also get several scenes with and his friends (Jake M. Johnson, Ludacris) and and her friends (Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling) discussing relationships, sex, and menstruation with slightly inappropriate (but only occasionally funny) ways.

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