....a movie portraying just a portion of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Link
This film has received a Best Picture nomination from The Academy and has a favorable score on 99& from Rotten Tomatoes.
That's the highest RT evaluation of any of this year's BP nominees.
It also has a chance to win Best Song, but received no other Academy Awards nominations.
So I went to my local multiplex to check it out and I was personally disappointed.
Here's why:
This movie only covered the three month period from the lead up to the historic and pivotal Selma-Montgomery march until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law.
I would have appreciated a movie which included more of Dr. King's life and his struggle.
I remember the 1978 TV series "King" starring Paul Winfield.
For me, that presentation was more balanced and memorable.
For the record, when I reviewed "12 Years a Slave" last year, I mentioned how I thought "Roots" did a better job for me of depicting slavery's African/American saga.
I felt "Selma" was OK, but the story it told was too short and incomplete to serve as a full telling of the Civil Rights struggle that I personally witnessed, sympathized with and vividly remember.
I do realize that the name and scope of the movie was "Selma," so for me to have wanted more to be shown is my fault.
Maybe Bill O'Reilly will write "Killing King" and they'll make a flick from it.
I'd probably like that better.
The other thing that disappointed me was the portrayal here of Lyndon Baines Johnson.
I thought British actor Tom Wilkinson's portrayal of LBJ failed to fully show the positive impact which his Presidency finally had on civil rights and voting rights.
This film depicted LBJ as an obstructionist and even a racist, when I thought he was the very politician and leader who deserved credit for getting the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act passed and implemented.
I admit, I think that, besides getting us bogged down in Vietnam {which was a really, really, really big and costly failing on his part), LBJ should be remembered as one of our most effective Presidents.
I believe this movie gave LBJ am undeservedly (in the final analysis) bad rap concerning his involvement in the fight for Civil Rights.
That's just my opinion, others may see things differently, but that's how I remember those events and times.
Anyway, decent acting and good direction delivered a powerful, though I felt a flawed, film.
Your thoughts?
The Link
This film has received a Best Picture nomination from The Academy and has a favorable score on 99& from Rotten Tomatoes.
That's the highest RT evaluation of any of this year's BP nominees.
It also has a chance to win Best Song, but received no other Academy Awards nominations.
So I went to my local multiplex to check it out and I was personally disappointed.
Here's why:
This movie only covered the three month period from the lead up to the historic and pivotal Selma-Montgomery march until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law.
I would have appreciated a movie which included more of Dr. King's life and his struggle.
I remember the 1978 TV series "King" starring Paul Winfield.
For me, that presentation was more balanced and memorable.
For the record, when I reviewed "12 Years a Slave" last year, I mentioned how I thought "Roots" did a better job for me of depicting slavery's African/American saga.
I felt "Selma" was OK, but the story it told was too short and incomplete to serve as a full telling of the Civil Rights struggle that I personally witnessed, sympathized with and vividly remember.
I do realize that the name and scope of the movie was "Selma," so for me to have wanted more to be shown is my fault.
Maybe Bill O'Reilly will write "Killing King" and they'll make a flick from it.
I'd probably like that better.
The other thing that disappointed me was the portrayal here of Lyndon Baines Johnson.
I thought British actor Tom Wilkinson's portrayal of LBJ failed to fully show the positive impact which his Presidency finally had on civil rights and voting rights.
This film depicted LBJ as an obstructionist and even a racist, when I thought he was the very politician and leader who deserved credit for getting the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act passed and implemented.
I admit, I think that, besides getting us bogged down in Vietnam {which was a really, really, really big and costly failing on his part), LBJ should be remembered as one of our most effective Presidents.
I believe this movie gave LBJ am undeservedly (in the final analysis) bad rap concerning his involvement in the fight for Civil Rights.
That's just my opinion, others may see things differently, but that's how I remember those events and times.
Anyway, decent acting and good direction delivered a powerful, though I felt a flawed, film.
Your thoughts?
