Lincoln (2012):

Starring:

Daniel Day-Lewis - Abraham Lincoln

Sally Fields - Mary Todd Lincoln

David Straithairn - William Seward

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Robert Lincoln

James Spader - W.N. Bilbo

Hal Holbrook - Preston Blair

Tommy Lee Jones - Thaddeus Stevens

John Hawkes - Robert Latham

Jackie Earl Haley - Alexander Stephens

Bruce McGill - Edwin Stanton

Tim Blake Nelson - Richard Schell

Joseph Cross - John Hay

Jared Harris - Ulysses S. Grant

Lee Pace - Fernando Wood

Director:

Steven Spielberg (You Should Know His Work)

Synopsis:

A revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Review:

Daniel Day-Lewis. Widely considered one of, if not THE greatest living actor. I mean the man makes cinematic GOLD. I'm a HUGE fan of Gangs Of New York & The Last Of The Mohicans. Both are incredible historical movies with great stories & acting. Lincoln is more historically accurate film which does have it slight downfalls. Because it is based on arguably the greatest president in the history of America it has to follow a specific line of plot. Which involves A LOT of conversations in a room full of people. Not always the most entertaining aspect of a film. But I figured that would happen going into it considering the movie is about Lincoln's battle to free the slaves. Bill The Butcher, Daniel Plainview, Nathaniel Poe, Christy Brown all great roles portrayed by DDL, however I think his powerful performance as Lincoln might be his best to date. It must be hard for other actors to look at the years upcoming releases & see that DDL is coming out with a new movie. Because he is almost guaranteed to be in Oscar contention. In my opinion this years Oscar is his to loose. The only credible contention for it, according to me, is from Sir Anthony Hopkins in "Hitchcock" but again it will be DDL's to lose. Now let's talk about the fact that this movie has an INCREDIBLE cast of supporting characters. From academy award winners in Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field & David Straithairn to several of my favourite character actors in Tim Blake Nelson, John Hawkes, Jared Harris, James Spader & Jackie Earl Haley it's all over the place great. One thing that did sit slightly off with me was the fact that sure it's a historical piece full of drama, drawn out dialogue that ultimately doesn't involve the plot or storyline for some unknown reason. Now some movies need to add in a little bit of comedic relief to keep you from falling asleep....which is fine it adds to the enjoyment. This film however had the weirdest attempts at comedic relief, which were straight up Tommy Lee Jones in the supreme court house legit telling a joke that then everyone would start laughing out loud about. Completely unacceptable. Overall perfectly acted but slightly boring at times with too much unnessisary dialogue throughout. James Spader is SO FAT!

Budget: Between $50,000,000 & $65,000,000

Box Office (To Date): $68,365,208

Profit: Yes

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

Flixster: 88%

85%

Lead Acting: 15/15

Supporting Cast: 13/15

Plot: 8/10

Compared To The Genre: 9/10

Cinematography: 18/20

Intrigue: 12/20

                                                                       Extra: 10/10