Review Thread info coming soon...

saw this last night. took awhile to grow on me, but when it did it became very good. the acting was just amazing. from Daniel Day to Tommy Lee, this will be up for many Oscars. i predict mostly acting and costume will win. Tommy was great and Daniel was just a whole nother level. Also, the supporting cast was great from Sally Field to James Spader who provided great comic relief to Gloria Rueben in an understated role.

it does drag and is very verbose and literal, seems like some fictionalizations as well, but oozes with acting bravada.

Movie:
Acting:

(Moved from casting thread on "Lincoln")

Daniel Day-Lewis owns this film, he brings not only a grand performance, but quite a fine embodiment of Lincoln. You have this feeling of seeing history unfold as it happened, not just watching a film of the events. Tommy Lee Jones also does quite well in his role as Rep. Stevens, brings a cantankerous sense of humor while standing his ground. That being said, I wasn't totally won over by the screenplay in how it handled Lincoln's wife and older son, though I understood why it was there to humanize the cost of the Civil War exacting on families, even the first family. Overall, Steven Spielberg handles the material quite well (probably gained a lot of experience from "War Horse" the year before, as well as other historical war films on his resume. Heh.)

I suspect Daniel Day-Lewis not only gets a Best Actor Oscar nomination, but brings home the statue as well. His performance is that riveting. Plus the subtle touches of his gait when he walked gave Lincoln a deliberate air of fortitude in spite of the urgency he felt in getting the 13th Amendment passed in order to heal the country. "Lincoln" is definitely a "don't-miss" for simply Day-Lewis's performance.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.

I loved it. Best serious acting movie I've seen in ages.

Am I the only one who thought they saw Harvey Keitel and Gene Hackman in the House of Reps wide shots?

Explain that part.

Movies that are based around indulgent (not a bad thing), wordy performances. Your Sexy Beast. Your Glengarry Glen Ross. Et al.

Lincoln is based around passing legislation to free the slaves. It's not an epic civil war movie. It's a bunch of guys. Sitting around. Talkin'.

It's a really good movie. But I don't know how it will click with regular audiences. I don't see it being a big movie.

Saw it. It was pretty lackluster. It really dragged in some parts.


Was well made, but I feel like it was a waste of 2.5 hours.

Too long. Had it stayed solely on the slavery amendment issue, it would have been a much tighter and better movie. The scenes with his wife and son added little and were a waste of Sally Field and Joseph Gordon Levitt. And the last ten minutes felt completely tacked on. There was a perfect parting shot that should have ended it, but it just keeps going.

Despite that, I really enjoyed it. Daniel Day-Lewis was incredible. He's a little awkward at first, the voice he chose is certainly not what you'd think Lincoln probably did sound like, but after about twenty minutes you completely are immersed in his performance. I really doubt I see a better acting job than his this year. Tommy Lee Jones was very good as well. And James Spader was tremendous.

Have you noticed that this seems to have become a Spielberg issue within the last 20 years with several of his movies?

I'm actually surprised this movie is doing as well as it is. Est $62m after tomorrow.

Spen the whole time trying to spot "The Wire" alumni. Marimow, Klebanow and The Greek (of course, he is not even Greek).

Day-Lewis rocks as always and I thought most of the politics scenes were done really well, it's amazing to see how raucous the House was. I particularly enjoyed watching Bilbo and others race over to the executive mansion to deliver a message.

As for the family stuff, meh. Sally Field seems to play the same character since Gump and Tad was a little brat. Gordon-Levitt was wasted in this role, not enough time to flesh out Robert Lincoln.

I feel this easily could've been two movies, one focusing on the family and one on politics... I suppose I'll be contributing to the Doris Goodwin retirement fund when i purchase "Team of Rivals".

Also is it just me or is it kind of weird that Sally Field is 20 years older than Mary was during the events in question. People complain about actors playing parts beyond their age, but this gets a pass.

Surprisingly, I found this movie quite tedious and uninspired. I went with a history buff and even he found it somewhat of a chore to sit through. Day-Lewis and Field's performances lacked any naturalism. Day-Lewis specifically was bordering on caricature in some spots for me. I found myself rolling my eyes at the praise both were receiving from various middle-aged intellectuals leaving the theater: "It was a revelation. My God, Daniel Day-Lewis WAS Lincoln." Please. If he gets the Oscar for this, I'll eat my stove top hat.

The bright spot in the cast for me was Hal Holbrook. It was a minor part, but quite memorable. Jones and Spader also did well in their supporting roles. And though he was playing an enormous douchebag, it's nice to see Lee Pace getting parts in more high-profile projects. Love that guy.

Quoted to check on after Oscar night. Please provide pics or video

Only if you provide the ketchup.

Ketchup is for bitches.

Like I said...bitches. You find me a pic w/ Bruce Lee and Ketchup...then I'll stand corrected.

Saw this today and I was a bit disappointed. The last 10 minutes of the film were completely unnecessary (either end it with Lincoln standing in the window after the amendment passes or hell, end it with Stevens' housekeeper reading the amendment's text).

My issue is probably with the source material itself because watching this film viewers would have no idea that black people actually played a role in the passing of the 13th amendment (which they did) you'd have no idea that Lincoln didn't view black folks as equal (which he originally didn't), hell you wouldn't know that Lincoln advocated shipping freed slaves off the continent. Lincoln's evolution on the questions of slavery and the equality of black folks is absolutely fascinating and inspiring and none of that is here. All you really get is that Lincoln had a sense of humor and told stories that went on a wee bit too long. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a bad film, it just fell flat. The only moment where I felt any connection to what Lincoln was trying to do and why he was doing it was the scene where he discusses the legal issues associated with the Emancipation Proclamation.

Daniel Day-Lewis gave a fine performance and I have no doubt he'll be nominated for an Oscar (though truth be told I found Denzel Washington's performance in Flight far more compelling). I loved Tommy Lee Jones here and hope that his performance is recognized and having just finished watching Pushing Daisies for the comedy challenge, I was blown away by Lee Pace in this film. Spader was slimy in a useful and cool sort of way and I thought Sally Field straddled that line between suffering wife and political operative quite well.

DDL's performance is quite a bit better than the movie itself. And while he did a job worthy of an Academy Award nomination, this is probably one of his worst performances. I doubt this film will win a single Oscar.

I think Sally Field is a front-runner for supporting actress. Her performance was excellent. I don't see DDL not getting at least a nomination as well. What other leading actor has put on a performance like that this year?

I heard Sally Field was cast in the role when they started trying to make the film way way back, and she still kept the role. there were some questions around the age difference, but I guess they were happy with how it turned out.

http://www.sheknows.com/entertainmen...ncoln-audition

Joaquin Phoenix turned in a far stronger performance in The Master, in my opinion. I've heard excellent things about Denzel in Flight, but I have yet to see the movie.

Despite my criticism of the movie, I didn't find the age difference with Sally Field to be a problem. Considering the worry and paranoia Mary Todd put herself through concerning her family (plus chronic ailments that plagued her throughout life), it makes sense she'd appear older than her years. Add on the make-up job they did on Day-Lewis and I thought they looked well-matched.

They couldn't get Mary Elizabeth Winstead back eh?