I’m skipping film #31 for now. Sue me. This one is easier to write 🙂
Why is it easier? I wrote this film up for the Weekly Dig a few years ago and was lucky enough to speak with actor Bruce Greenwood during his promotional tour. So I don’t really have to do much more than point you to some prior art.
Here’s a taste:
Normally the presence of Kevin Costner is a sink or swim proposition for me. Sometimes, Bull Durham being the most noteworthy example, I like the guy and in turn I like the film. Other times, Prince of Thieves being the most notorious example (although The Bodyguard isn’t far behind), Costner drives me nuts and the film ends up in my “what a piece of crap” pile. Thirteen Days, surprisingly, is a movie that manages to do that which I thought was impossible, survive an onslaught by the “bad” Costner and come away relatively unscathed.
I’ll start off with the easy stuff- riffing on Costner, and then I’ll get into the positives.
Why does this guy insist on taking roles with accents? He can’t do them effectively and one would think he’d suffered through enough grief after all that Prince of Thieves silliness. Maybe he thinks if he affects an accent he’s really “acting.” Anyway, he’s got one in this film and, as you probably could have guessed, this one sucks too. Sounding like Mayor Quimby from the The Simpsons, Costner presents exactly what I didn’t want to hear; a caricaturish “Kennedy” accent.
Read my full review of Thirteen Days.
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By dansemy 2009/12/31 - 14:19
For what it’s worth, my older brother Ilya, who’s somewhat of a scholar on the Cuban Missile Crisis, told me 13 Days was one of the most historically inaccurate portrayals of real events he’s ever witnessed. Having said that, I haven’t seen it and want to anyway. -Dan
p.s. “for what it’s worth” and “having said that” are two expressions I could do without in the new year. Love to you and Jude!
By rob 2010/01/01 - 01:28
I’d love to know the differences. I know next to nothing about the Cuban Missile Crisis.