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      <title>Film:Amistad</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/films/Amistad/114665/default.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<table width='100%' style='font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><tr><td><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t03868uwjen.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' /></td>
<td>
<strong>Title:</strong> Amistad<br/>
<strong>Year:</strong> 1997<br/>
<strong>Director:</strong> Steven Spielberg<br/>
<strong>Plot:</strong> This <a href="/players/P___112325/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Steven Spielberg</a>-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and captures the complex political maneuverings set in motion by the event. Filmed in New England and Puerto Rico, the 152-minute drama opens with a pre-credit sequence showing Cinque (<a href="/players/P____33391/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Djimon Hounsou</a>) and the other Africans in a violent takeover of the Amistad. Captured, they are imprisoned in New England where former slave Theodore Joadson (<a href="/players/P____90514/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Morgan Freeman</a>), viewing the rebels as "freedom fighters," approaches property lawyer Baldwin (<a href="/players/P___196967/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Matthew McConaughey</a>), who attempts to prove the Africans were "stolen goods" because they were kidnapped. Running for re-election, President  Martin Van Buren (<a href="/players/P____31147/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Nigel Hawthorne</a>) overturns the lower court's decision in favor of the Africans. Former President John Quincy Adams (<a href="/players/P____94812/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anthony Hopkins</a>) is reluctant to become involved, but when the case moves on to the Supreme Court, Adams stirs emotions with a powerful defense. The storyline occasionally cuts away to Spain where the young Queen Isabella (<a href="/players/P___198605/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Anna Paquin</a>) plays with dolls; she later debated the Amistad case with seven U.S. presidents. The character portrayed by <a href="/players/P____90514/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Morgan Freeman</a> is a fictional composite of several historical figures. For authentic speech, the Africans speak the Mende language, subtitled during some scenes but not others. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide<br/>
<strong>Times Tagged:</strong> 6<br/>
<strong>Number of Lists:</strong> 20<br/>
<strong>Number of blog posts:</strong> 3<br/>
<strong>SpoutRating:</strong> 3<br/>
</td></tr></table>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:23:05 GMT</pubDate><spout:Title>Amistad</spout:Title><spout:Year>1997</spout:Year><spout:Director>Steven Spielberg</spout:Director><spout:Plot>This &lt;a href="/players/P___112325/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Steven Spielberg&lt;/a&gt;-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and captures the complex political maneuverings set in motion by the event. Filmed in New England and Puerto Rico, the 152-minute drama opens with a pre-credit sequence showing Cinque (&lt;a href="/players/P____33391/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Djimon Hounsou&lt;/a&gt;) and the other Africans in a violent takeover of the Amistad. Captured, they are imprisoned in New England where former slave Theodore Joadson (&lt;a href="/players/P____90514/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Morgan Freeman&lt;/a&gt;), viewing the rebels as "freedom fighters," approaches property lawyer Baldwin (&lt;a href="/players/P___196967/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Matthew McConaughey&lt;/a&gt;), who attempts to prove the Africans were "stolen goods" because they were kidnapped. Running for re-election, President  Martin Van Buren (&lt;a href="/players/P____31147/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Nigel Hawthorne&lt;/a&gt;) overturns the lower court's decision in favor of the Africans. Former President John Quincy Adams (&lt;a href="/players/P____94812/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Anthony Hopkins&lt;/a&gt;) is reluctant to become involved, but when the case moves on to the Supreme Court, Adams stirs emotions with a powerful defense. The storyline occasionally cuts away to Spain where the young Queen Isabella (&lt;a href="/players/P___198605/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Anna Paquin&lt;/a&gt;) plays with dolls; she later debated the Amistad case with seven U.S. presidents. The character portrayed by &lt;a href="/players/P____90514/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'&gt;Morgan Freeman&lt;/a&gt; is a fictional composite of several historical figures. For authentic speech, the Africans speak the Mende language, subtitled during some scenes but not others. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide</spout:Plot><spout:TimesTagged>6</spout:TimesTagged><spout:taglevel>Taggedy Taggged (6-10)</spout:taglevel><spout:Numberoflists>20</spout:Numberoflists><spout:NumberOfBlogPosts>3</spout:NumberOfBlogPosts><spout:SpoutRating>3</spout:SpoutRating><spout:FilmCoverURL>http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t03868uwjen.jpg</spout:FilmCoverURL><spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL>http://www.spout.com/films/Amistad/114665/default.aspx</spout:SpoutFilmDetailURL><spout:type>Film</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: 10 Most Convincing Portrayals of World Leaders</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/3/37896.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t03868uwjen.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/9325/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/default.aspx'>SpoutBlog on spout.com</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 12/3/2008 3:00:52 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick.
Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders.
As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations.



10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995)
The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments.



9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008)
Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month.



8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003)
Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award.



7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998)
Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen.



6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000)
Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race.



5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995)
The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures.



4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004)
It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination.



3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982)
A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in.



2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006)
Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around.



1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983)
Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:00:52 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>SpoutBlog</spout:postby><spout:postto>SpoutBlog on spout.com</spout:postto><spout:postdate>12/3/2008 3:00:52 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick.
Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders.
As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations.



10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995)
The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments.



9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008)
Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month.



8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003)
Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award.



7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998)
Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen.



6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000)
Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race.



5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995)
The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures.



4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004)
It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination.



3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982)
A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in.



2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006)
Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around.



1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983)
Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: WTF, Spielberg?</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/jakestevens/archive/2007/10/11/20724.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t03868uwjen.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/98071/default.aspx'>JakeStevens</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/jakestevens/default.aspx'>JakeStevens Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 10/11/2007 4:43:12 PM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong> Very torn about this film. I think the power of the story is undeniable, but Steven Spielberg&#39;s direction is maudlin and oversentamentalized, which takes away the power of the statement. The best moment of this film is Anthony Hopkins&#39; 10 minute monologue, which is truly inspired, the worst is Anna Paquin&#39;s terrible Spanish accent. I found John Williams&#39; score distracting at times, particularly the French Horns (don&#39;t get me wrong, I love French Horns) that would be playing underneath some important exposition. Cinque&#39;s backflash of his journey to America is horrifying, much like Schindler&#39;s List, but those moments are few and far between. And could Morgan Freeman be more underutilized? Sheesh! A big, fat Hollywood movie that should have been lean and mean.<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:43:12 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>JakeStevens</spout:postby><spout:postto>JakeStevens Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>10/11/2007 4:43:12 PM</spout:postdate><spout:body>Very torn about this film. I think the power of the story is undeniable, but Steven Spielberg&amp;#39;s direction is maudlin and oversentamentalized, which takes away the power of the statement. The best moment of this film is Anthony Hopkins&amp;#39; 10 minute monologue, which is truly inspired, the worst is Anna Paquin&amp;#39;s terrible Spanish accent. I found John Williams&amp;#39; score distracting at times, particularly the French Horns (don&amp;#39;t get me wrong, I love French Horns) that would be playing underneath some important exposition. Cinque&amp;#39;s backflash of his journey to America is horrifying, much like Schindler&amp;#39;s List, but those moments are few and far between. And could Morgan Freeman be more underutilized? Sheesh! A big, fat Hollywood movie that should have been lean and mean.</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Post: Amistad</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/2/24/5737.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div><img align='left' src='http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t03868uwjen.jpg' hspace='10' style='height:80px;' />
<strong>Post By:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/members/7717/default.aspx'>JimBell</a><br/>
<strong>Post To:</strong> <a href='http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/default.aspx'>JimBell Blog</a><br/>
<strong>Post Date:</strong> 2/24/2007 2:36:00 AM<br/>
<strong>Body:</strong>             Amistad (1997) deftly side-steps the stereotype of a slavery movie. Through three successive trials the issue expands into a battle between doing the right thing and being political expedient&mdash;a theme that resonates today from the nearest bureaucracy to federal governments. The photography is top notch, Steven Spielberg keeps things moving along, and Anthony Hopkins, as John Quincey Adams, shows what great acting is all about. There are a few awkward bits which probably kept the movie from winning many awards even though it was nominated for several. But there are some really excellent aspects. The way in which the African slaves can speak to no one and no one can make themselves understood drives home the enormous initial difficulty of developing any understanding between races. The way in which the macho African cannot understand the slimy American judicial system dramatizes a culture clash. We see the advantages of being macho&mdash;tearing your chains out of the ship&rsquo;s timbers and killing the crew to gain your freedom&mdash;and we witness the disadvantages&mdash;being unable to forgive your white lawyer for a misunderstanding even though he goes to the trouble to learn your African language. Similarly, we see the advantages of the American judicial system where fair-minded men are convinced by evidence, and we suffer through the corrupt political interference that would undermine the courts&rsquo; work. This movie has heft..Jim Bell<br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2007 07:36:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:postby>JimBell</spout:postby><spout:postto>JimBell Blog</spout:postto><spout:postdate>2/24/2007 2:36:00 AM</spout:postdate><spout:body>            Amistad (1997) deftly side-steps the stereotype of a slavery movie. Through three successive trials the issue expands into a battle between doing the right thing and being political expedient&amp;mdash;a theme that resonates today from the nearest bureaucracy to federal governments. The photography is top notch, Steven Spielberg keeps things moving along, and Anthony Hopkins, as John Quincey Adams, shows what great acting is all about. There are a few awkward bits which probably kept the movie from winning many awards even though it was nominated for several. But there are some really excellent aspects. The way in which the African slaves can speak to no one and no one can make themselves understood drives home the enormous initial difficulty of developing any understanding between races. The way in which the macho African cannot understand the slimy American judicial system dramatizes a culture clash. We see the advantages of being macho&amp;mdash;tearing your chains out of the ship&amp;rsquo;s timbers and killing the crew to gain your freedom&amp;mdash;and we witness the disadvantages&amp;mdash;being unable to forgive your white lawyer for a misunderstanding even though he goes to the trouble to learn your African language. Similarly, we see the advantages of the American judicial system where fair-minded men are convinced by evidence, and we suffer through the corrupt political interference that would undermine the courts&amp;rsquo; work. This movie has heft..Jim Bell</spout:body></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:murder</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/murder/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>murder</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 8748</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 157</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 831</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:42:29 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>8748</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>157</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>831</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:freedom</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/freedom/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/freedom/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>freedom</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 454</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 38</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 60</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:55:18 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>454</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>38</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>60</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:sucked</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/sucked/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/sucked/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>sucked</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 33</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 25</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 39</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:58:18 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>33</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>25</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>39</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:Spielberg</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Spielberg/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/Spielberg/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>Spielberg</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 30</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 22</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 49</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:14:12 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>30</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>22</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>49</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:ship</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/ship/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/ship/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>ship</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 319</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 17</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 32</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2009 13:03:14 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>319</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>17</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>32</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:slavery</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/slavery/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/slavery/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>slavery</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 584</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 15</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 23</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:27:19 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>584</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>15</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>23</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:mutiny</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/mutiny/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/mutiny/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>mutiny</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 113</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 6</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 6</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2009 13:02:12 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>113</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>6</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>6</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:trial-courtroom</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/trial-courtroom/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/trial-courtroom/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>trial-courtroom</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 639</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 4</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 5</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:02:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>639</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>4</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>5</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:gravitas</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/gravitas/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/gravitas/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>gravitas</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 1</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 1</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 1</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 May 2006 15:33:29 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>1</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>1</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>1</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:rebelleader</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/rebelleader/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/rebelleader/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>rebelleader</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 44</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 1</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 2</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:00:55 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>44</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>1</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>2</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:abolition-of-slavery</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/abolition-of-slavery/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/abolition-of-slavery/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>abolition-of-slavery</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 24</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 0</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 0</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:02:42 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>24</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>0</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>0</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:supremecourt</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/supremecourt/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/supremecourt/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>supremecourt</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 26</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 0</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 0</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:02:00 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>26</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>0</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>0</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
    <item>
      <title>Spout Tag:uspresidents</title>
      <link>http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/uspresidents/MemberTagFilms.aspx</link><description><![CDATA[<div style='display:block;height:120px;width:400px;font:10px/10px Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;'><a href='/members/0/tags/uspresidents/MemberTagFilms.aspx'>uspresidents</a>
<strong><br/> Number of films tagged:</strong> 45</br><br/>
<strong>Number of people who tagged:</strong> 0</br><br/>
<strong>Number of times used:</strong> 0</br><br/>
</div>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:02:15 GMT</pubDate><spout:numFilms>45</spout:numFilms><spout:numPeople>0</spout:numPeople><spout:timesUsed>0</spout:timesUsed><spout:type>Tag</spout:type></item>
  </channel>
</rss>