The Conspirator (2010)

First, kudos to the "new" American Film Company.  This film is their debut of an ambitious mission to make films depicting American history.  Robert Redford directs a dream cast with pleasing results.  To date they have made back less than half of their $25M investment, which is sad, but I pledge to see and rate every movie they make.

James McAvoy and Robin Wright do a great job.  The story is really about them but the rest of the cast are spot on.  Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, and Colm Meaney play the government's men is this compelling story.  the rest are too numerous to mention.  Suffice it to say that as period works go, this is one of my new favorites.  Savannah, GA looks a lot the an old DC - clearly.

With one little exception, the film feels as authentic as can be.  In one scene however, a character is coming out of a bathroom and the sounds of a flushing toilet is heard.  I don't know when flushing toilets were common in Washington, DC or what they sounded like, but I'm pretty sure some liberties were taken here.

This movie is mostly dialogue and wondering what will happen next, so don't set your sights on an action thriller.  What would you do to preserve a fragile nation?

Watch this movie with someone who likes American history.

Boogie Woogie

The bad news is that this movie is full of self-serving, egotistical, London art snobs. They lie cheat and steal. The good news is that they appear to only prey on each other. They other good news is that there actually IS a story. You just have to wait for it.

The other good news is that there are some great names and wonderful performances. There is also a very disturbing scene involving a removed body part that has little or nothing to do with the story.

Gillian Anderson, Heather Graham, Amanda Seyfried, and Gemma Atkinson lead a strong stunning female ensemble. Danny and Jack Huston, Stellan Skarsgård, Simon McBurney, Alan Cumming, and the legendary Christopher Lee all give the male gender a bad bad name. Very bad name.

The story, as such, is about a fictional painting that everyone appears to want. The story ends with as many questions as it poses. What really happened to the painting? Where did the money go? And where did it come from? Oh, and why do some characters appear to have different names depending on the scene. I clearly didn't have the score card to keep track.

Watch this if you are really really really into art, hard-R for sexual content movies, and vague story lines.