'Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House'

'Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House'

'Mark Felt'

Posted on Oct. 20, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017)

It’s 1972, and Mark Felt (Liam Neeson) is getting ready for work while listening to the news, most of which is about President Richard Nixon and his campaign reelection. We see Mark standing outside by his pool silently smoking a cigarette.

We cut to Washington D.C. as we drive by all the familiar sites, including the White House, which has protesters outside its gates demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Mark, the FBI’s Deputy Associate Director, comes in the office of the Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs. John Dean (Michael C. Hall) tells Mark that the President wants the head of the F.B.I., J. Edgar Hoover, to resign, with the implication that he would be promoted to Hoover’s slot as John Mitchell (Stephen Michael Ayers) and John Ehrlichman (Wayne Pere) look on. Mark tells them that any gossip, dirty deeds or secrets that are found by the F.B.I. are given to Hoover, and he decides to either act on it or just put it away in his personal file. Mark tells the three men that as long as Hoover is in power; their secrets are safe and he exits the room, leaving behind three defeated men.

Mark arrives at his home, where agent Ed Miller (Tony Goldwyn) and his wife (Kate Walsh) are having drinks on the couch with Mark’s wife, Audrey (Diane Lane). It’s evident that the two couples do this a lot as they joke, drink and dance away the night.

The next morning, Mark arrives back at work, greeted by his loyal secretary; Carol (Wendi McLendon-Covey) gives him the latest updates. Ed walks in giving a briefing to Mark, handing him paperwork on the terrorist group the Weather Underground. Another agent walks in and announces that “Mr. Hoover is dead.” Mark tells the men “Put everything in motion. No mistakes, not one.” We see F.B.I agents gathering boxes after boxes of paperwork and then burning them or shredding them. Ed nods to Mark that the job is done.

The Assistant Attorney General, Pat Grey (Marton Csokas) enters the building, telling Mark how the seating at the funeral will be done. Mark replies that the funeral will be handled by the F.B.I. “in the F.B.I. way.” Mr. Grey is taken aback by this statement and then tells Mark that he has been instructed by the White House to gather all of Hoover’s personal files to which Mark replies “What Files?” The Assistant Attorney General wants the secret files of Hoover, to which Ed tells him there are no files.

We cut to Mark sitting in Hoover’s darkened office, soaking in the moment. We then see the memorial service that is in the rotunda of the Capital building. After the ceremony Bill Sullivan (Tom Sizemore), comes up to Mark. It’s evident that Mark doesn’t like Bill, and they share a history, one which Mark doesn’t care for. Bill, after 30 years in the F.B.I. was let go, but now is working for the White House. Bill tells Mark that he is finished, Mark won’t get Hoover’s job.

Mark, back at his office, gets a phone call from the Attorney General. Carol listens in, thinking Mark is about to be offered the Hoover’s job, but it’s evident from her body language that Mark did not get the job that he dearly wanted. Not getting Hoover’s job will set Mark on a path that will bring down the President and shock a nation.

Writer/director Peter Landesman brings us a tale of secret policies, double tricks, payoffs and backdoor politics that ultimately cost President Nixon his job in 1973 and put people in jail. Ever since the book/movie All the President’s Men, people have been wondering and guessing just who was ‘Deep Throat,’ the person that fed damming information to the Washington Post correspondents Woodward and Bernstein. It wasn’t until 2005 that Vanity Fair figured out that the information leak was Mark Felt. The movie is based on the 2006 book A G-Man’s Life that Felt wrote.

The film wants to make Mark Felt a hero, but the problem is that he was Hoover’s right-hand man after many years working under a man who kept secret files on every politician, digging up dirt on each one of them, using those secrets to remain in power until he died. We never really know why Felt gave the Washington Post the information to bring down a presidency. Was it revenge for not giving him the top job and replacing Hoover with a pro-Nixon supporter or was it truly because he wanted to take down a corrupt administration, Felt comes across on the screen as a man who feels that the F.B.I. is the last bastion in the country to keep America together in those turbulent years of the Vietnam War? The film never creates the tension that is needed for this genre; it tries to with all the back door politics, but the tension never builds as the story plods along, lacking a sense of urgency.

Liam Neeson does his best to make Mark Felt compelling, and try as hard as he does, he is let down by the script. The best scenes of Neeson’s in this film are when Felt is confronted head-on. The scene where Felt slowly lets John Dean know that they can’t do anything about Hoover because he has dirt on all of them is compelling and well done. I just wish there were more scenes like that in the film. The supporting cast is a fantastic group of actors. Diane Lane is terrific as Mark Felt’s wife, a woman who has nobly supported her husband for thirty years but worries that his devotion to Hoover and the F.B.I. will bring him down. Tony Goldwyn does an admirable job as Felt’s friend and number two. Wendi McLendon-Covey isn’t given much to do as Felt’s secretary, though I did like her scene when Felt is informed he didn’t get Hoover’s job. Tom Sizemore is perfect in the role of Bill Sullivan, a sleazy ex-F.B.I. agent who would like nothing more than seeing Felt go down. The supporting cast also includes some excellent actors who only have one or two scenes, including Kate Walsh, Bruce Greenwood, Noah Wyle and Michael C. Hall as John Dean.

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House never entirely lives up to the actual events of Watergate, giving us a film that just can’t find its footing. It’s hard to do a movie on this subject matter because one of the greatest films of all time already covers it, the 1976 Oscar winner All the President’s Men. I don’t think Mark Felt will be seeing any Oscar love next year.     My Rating: Bargain Matinee

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Mark Felt Website

"Christine"

"Christine" Movie Review

"Christine"

Posted on Nov. 11, 2016 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

“Christine” (2016)

When we first see Christine (Rebecca Hall), a reporter for a small television station in Sarasota, Florida, she is sitting at an empty table in front of some Television cameras. She is practicing her interview techniques pretending to question President Nixon about Watergate. A back door opens and in is wheeled a new piece of equipment, being received by Jean (Maria Dizzia), a producer at the station. Christine questions Jean if she thinks on her last report she was too sympathetic. Jean replies that “You can never be too sympathetic.”

We cut to Jean and Christine watching a report that Christine is getting ready to go on air within tonight’s newscast. Christine keeps nitpicking her performance, where Jean keeps telling her that her performance is fine. The news director (Tracy Letts) stops by and tells the two women that they have a meeting in five minutes. As soon as he leaves the two women make fun of him, doing bad imitations of what he just told them.

In the meeting, the news director gets into an argument with Christine because she wants to work more on her zoning story and not go out and cover a fire. Christine argues that the news should be more issue oriented and not just cut and dried news stories.

The team gets ready for the newscast, and Christine is still making changes to her piece. She decides three minutes before her piece is to air to use a bit on film that she had cut earlier. Christine gets Jean to cut the piece as she puts on her blazer, grabs her copy and heads to the studio, arriving seconds before she is introduced. She intros the piece and then sits back, pleased with how it all came together, even getting a wink from the anchor of the news, George (Michael C. Hall).

We cut to Christine singing loudly and passionately with a John Denver song as she drives down the road. When she passes a car, she checks to see if her window is all the way up. We then see that Christine is performing a puppet show for some sick kids. After her show, she talks with a nurse about problems she has been having with her stomach.

She meets with her mom (J. Smith-Cameron) for dinner at a local restaurant. We see that their relationship seems more like two sisters than a mother/daughter relationship. At home, we see that they live together and Christine doesn’t want to talk about celebrating her birthday.

The next day, Christine gets into a heated discussion with the news director over the direction of the station’s news product. He wants them to start doing stories that will get ratings, citing the term “If it bleeds, it leads.” Christine sees this as the wrong way to go, believing that news should inform and tackle issues, not just air reports about car wrecks and house fires. The news world is changing, and Christine is going to have to make compromises if she wants to stay in the news game, compromises she might not be able to handle.

Director Antonio Campos brings us this film based on a real person, Christine Chubbuck, a troubled and awkward reporter who had lofty goals but was probably destined to work in small markets for the rest of her career. Campos does the almost impossible, making Christine a sympathetic character, humanizing a very complicated person who had a lot of problems. The year the film takes place is 1974, due to the Vietnam War and Watergate, the news world was changing, and Christine was trying to adapt, but not very well. Like the film camera that Christine uses, she is out of date with a world that is changing quickly.

Much of the credit for making a rigid and sometimes unlikable person come to life is Rebecca Hall. Her performance is dazzling, as she makes this socially awkward, determined person come to life. Hall has Christine’s mannerism down, making her a person who has trouble relating to ideas such as dating or dealing with a boss you don’t agree with. Hall works well with the other actors in the film, especially Michael C. Hall, who plays George, the cocky anchor that Christine is so enamored with. Hall’s body language changes when Christine is in the room with George as if she doesn’t quite know how to inhabit the same space. Maria Dizzia, has excellent chemistry with Hall, playing Christine’s one and only friend. J. Smith-Cameron is tremendous as Christine’s mom who is self-centered and never actually sees how troubled her child is.

The production design by Scott Kuzio and art direction by Molly Bailey are impressive, as they recreate a small TV station in the mid-70s down to the details of working quad tape machines and hand cranking film viewers. The dialogue, by screenwriter Craig Shilowich, is sharp and energetic, giving the newsroom a look and feel that seems real.

While I did not enjoy the final scenes of the film, those can be overlooked because of the Academy Award level performance by Rebecca Hall. You may not always like Christine, but because of Hall, you get to know her and understand why she ultimately did what she did.    My Rating: Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

“Christine” Website

The film is playing in Atlanta at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and Lefont Sandy Springs

"Cold in July" Movie Review

My review of "Cold in July" starring  Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson.

"Cold in July"

Published on June 6, 2014 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of IFC Films

“Cold in July”

A young wife, Ann (Vinessa Shaw) is awakened at home by a noise.  She wakes her husband (Michael C. Hall), telling him “I think I hear something.” The husband, Richard, very nervously loads a handgun and then proceeds to find an intruder with a flashlight in his den. Richard tells the man to stop, the man moves and Richard shoots him, killing the man with one very unsteady shot.

It turns out the burglar is a known felon who has a long track record of committing crimes. The police determine that Richard will not be charged with anything as he had the right to defend his family from attack. The dead man has only one known relative, his father who has just been released from prison himself. The family tries to get back to normal, getting rid of the blood spattered furniture and cleaning the carpet. They go back to their ordinary life in the small Texas town, Richard with his frame shop, Ann teaching school and their young son in kindergarten.

But things don’t go back to normal. Richard learns that the father of the dead man, Russel (Sam Shepard), might be heading to their small town. Soon after, Richard gets a phone call where the person on the other end doesn’t say anything. Richard, feeling guilty over the killing, goes to the dead man’s funeral and meets the father, who menacingly mentions what a nice young boy Richard has.

Thus begins director Jim Mickle’s suspense filled cat and mouse game of a film that has a significant twist that I didn’t see coming. Writer Nick Damici has brought us a world where Richard from the start of the film is out of his elements. After he has shot the burglar, one of the characters in the film remarks that “he didn’t think he had it in him.” Richard is a family guy, used to dealing with mowing the grass and having to go to PTA meetings, not dealing with ex-cons who threaten his family. Cinematographer Ryan Samul, keeps the suspense going with creating a 1980’s Texas neighborhood that seems to change very quickly from a nice family neighborhood, to one that contains numerous shadows that give criminals a way to get to your backdoor.

The strength of this film is its cast. Michael C. Hall gives an incredible performance as Richard, a man  struggling to keep his family safe.  It’s a multilayered performance that shows Hall’s versatility.  Sam Shepard is perfect as the father who has revenge on his mind. Shepard fills the screen with a man who is wound way too tightly and could explode at any moment. Vinessa Shaw isn’t asked to do much other than play the supporting wife who cares deeply about her family. Easily, my favorite part in this film is the role played by Don Johnson. Johnson plays an outlandish private detective who wears ten gallon hats (white, of course,) and drives around in a country music blaring convertible that’s as big and bright as the western shirts he wears. This is a role that Johnson can run with, and boy does he, delightfully chewing up scenery. His boorish P.I. makes an excellent contrast to the reserve Richard and the quiet, slow talking Russel.

“Cold in July” is a superb suspense film that will keep you guessing till the end, with a cast that will make you want more. It also has an ending that will certainly be talked about in the movie theatre parking lot after the film.     My Rating:  Full Price

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again  [twitter-follow screen_name=’Lastonetoleave’]

“Cold in July” is playing exclusively at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

“Cold in July” Website

"Kill Your Darlings" Movie Review

My review of "Kill Your Darlings" starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall.

"Kill Your Darlings"

Posted on Nov. 22, 2013 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Sony Pictures Classics

“Kill Your Darlings” (2013)

Recently, a slew of films have been exploring the Beat Generation, and it’s driving force it’s writers. Last year was “On The Road” (2012) which was based on the legendary Jack Kerouac book. This year at the Austin Film Festival I saw “Big Sur” (2013), which is about Jack Kerouac, played by Jean-Marc Barr, in his later life, 15 years after “On The Road” was released and how he is coping with the fame that came with the book. Now we have “Kill Your Darlings,” which stars Daniel Radcliffe as the poet Alan Ginsberg, Jack Huston as Jack Kerouac and Ben Foster as the eccentric writer, William S. Burroughs.

This movie takes place in 1944 New York as Allen Ginsberg has enrolled in Columbia University to become a poet like his father. Ginsberg is conflicted about going away to school as his mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is mentally unbalanced and it seems that only Allen can control and comfort her. At his father’s (David Cross) insistence, Allen decides to go to college and meets Lucien (Dane DeHaan) a charismatic boy who is the ringleader for a gang of young men who want to change the world of writing. Lucien drags Allen to a party where he meets William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster) and the party’s host, a friend of Lucien named David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall). Lucien decides that Allen is perfect to join his band of misfits, which includes a former football player and would be writer Jack Kerouac.  So begins the origins of the “Beat Generation”. Lucien is the idea man of the gang, the one that comes up with the plans for this new writing movement, which he calls “The New Vision”. Lucien, who seems to be all show because he isn’t a writer at all. In fact, David writes all his papers for college. There is something more to the relationship between David and Lucien as they seem to be almost rivals instead of friends, and we sense that this volatile friendship may end badly.

As Allen deals more with Lucian, he becomes under his spell and starts having feelings for him. Allen becomes so enamored with Lucian that he dreams of making a move on him, something he clearly has never acted on before. Lucien’s influence on Allen grows as the film progresses as Allen becomes more and more in love with Lucien and the ideas that he continually speaks about.

This film centers around Allen and Lucian’s complex relationship and Radcliffe does a fascinating turn as Ginsberg. At times, Radcliffe portrays Allen as a love sick puppy, willing to do just about anything to get the attention of Lucien, but at other times, we see that Allen does have a backbone as he stands up to professors who are stuck in the 19th century way of writing poetry. DeHaan is equally fascinating as the mesmerizing Lucien. He plays Lucien as a man who can easily win over anybody by just using his words and his charisma. There is great chemistry between Radcliffe and DeHaan, each showing the building attraction that they began feeling for each other. Ben Foster also stands out in this cast as the always weird William Burroughs, playing him as a man hell bent on trying every known narcotic as a way to expand his mind. Michael C. Hall as David is perfectly cast as the blustery and sometimes creepy older man who has a thing for the much younger Lucian.

The film moves at a fast pace under the direction of John Krokidas as the film doesn’t have the look or feel of a first time director. The film, through music and cinematography, captures the time when the world was at war, and it’s younger generation was looking for new ways to express themselves. All in all, the film is a fascinating look at the origins of a writing style that influenced not just America but the world. Just a bit of warning to the fans of Daniel Radcliffe’s “Harry Potter” series, the film deals with very adult issues such as drug addiction and contains a very graphic sex scene.

My Rating:  Full Price

“Kill Your Darlings” opens today at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and Lefont Sandy Springs