Movie ping list.
I was sitting down to post a heads up to the movie ping list. It’s been a subpar year for good new movies for which I can find and defend a “conservative” hook. Here’s one. Fortunately I remembered that search still works, so I will forward SeekandFind’s thread to those who may have missed it Friday.
This one is as old-fashioned a movie as you will find today. It’s from Angel Studios, so you already know it’s pushing against the usual Hollywood flow. (In fairness, “Hollywood” passed peak woke several years ago and at least some of the big players are trying to recenter, but that will be a long, slow process given the lead time on movies. Angel Studios was built to serve the underserved right half of the audience, and here it delivers.)
This movie is about the education and moral formation of the young George Washington from the loss of his father when he was still a boy through the Braddock expedition. Experience is a hard teacher. The movie depicts the forging of character through adversity.
Go see it. If possible, see it in a theater. No excuses please about bad audience behavior in theaters. The idiots don’t go see movies like this. They are, of course, precisely the people who would most benefit from seeing it ... at a time at which it might actually do them some good ... so I hope it will slip into the curriculum along about fourth grade through high school for those teachers and school districts that now and then incorporate recommended movies as supplementary materials.
The strongest part of the movie, btw, is the portrayal of the social context. In particular, there are very deft thumbnail portraits of Lord Fairfax, Governor Dinwiddie, Lawrence Washington, Thomas Gage, and several others; a couple of these actors steal every scene they’re in. These people weren’t dummies.
Even Braddock, who comes to an unhappy end, gets his moments. Yes, he was somewhat arrogant and disastrously underestimated the challenges of frontier warfare and the opponent. But he was an experienced soldier, not a fool. He underestimated his enemy — a mistake the British made from time to time over the course of empire, and usually they learned quickly. Braddock didn’t get a second chance.
Ben Kingsley plays Governor Dinwiddie, and this is as good as anything I’ve seen him in for a long time. Andy Serkis plays Braddock. Kelsey Grammer plays Lord Fairfax, and is delightful. Several of the other supporting actors are outstanding as well, though this is the first time I’ve seen them.
How does it compare the 1984 TV miniseries with Barry Bostwick? It’s based on Flexner’s book “Washington: the Indispensable Man (1974)”.
That series I have only only one major major complaint about. Who the hell is Caleb Quinn (Played by Lloyd Bridges!)? Why did they replace the real frontier Maryland hero\guide Christopher Gist with this Quinn character? That makes zero sense!
I rant about this every time i see this series!
That sounds wonderful—great cast! Can’t wait to see it! Thanks for your recommendation.
Ping!
” No excuses please about bad audience behavior in theaters. The idiots don’t go see movies like this.”
Yes, they do. Nothing but a Sea of Cell Phones™.
thsnk you
Maybe they can pay Gavin Newsom’s wife $3 million to show it in California public schools.
Sorry to be snarky. It’s a film I want to see hopefully it’s playing nearby this weekend. It’s gonna be a scorcher here in outskirts of the high desert $20 for 2 hours of air conditioning and entertainment seems like a deal.