Two Quick Reviews: Lincoln and Flight

I was really hoping to get a review of Lincoln up before the movie was released wide today, but I ran into too many other things to do. I also had the opportunity to see the Denzel Washington movie Flight when it was released, so here now are two very short reviews on these two movies.

Flight comes from director Robert Zemeckis, best known for the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump. Flight is his first live-action film in more than a decade, and also his most adults-only film. Denzel Washington soars (sorry for the awful pun) as an airline pilot who becomes the center of an investigation after a plane crash reveals something disturbing about its crew. Without giving too much away, Washington plays the performance with great care for the material: not going overboard as he possibly could have. The crash in the beginning is amazing and one of the top scenes of the year. Special note goes to James Badge Dale, who only has one scene, but absolutely steals the show, and his words resonate throughout the rest of the movie, and probably deserves an Oscar nod for it. Washington is more than likely a sure fit for a nomination, but the subject matter and ending may keep it out of the bigger categories. A-

Lincoln is pretty much the movie I expected it to be. This is both good and bad. Daniel Day-Lewis is terrific as the 16th President, but the real star is Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. His work will more than likely get him a nomination, along with Day-Lewis. However, I have to say there really isn't anything fantastic about the movie other than the acting. Steven Spielberg really doesn't do anything all that extordinary with the movie, like I was hoping he would. I feel like if it wasn't Daniel Day-Lewis and Steven Spielberg attached to the movie, it wouldn't be getting half the attention it is, or half the praise for that matter. It's good, but not memorable. Lincoln will have its share of acting nominations for sure, and probably because of the star power it has attached, a Best Picture nomination as well. B+/B