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Ghosts of Mississippi – nf – Michael stumbled on this movie on HBO which is available on Netflix. Initially I thought it was another Law & Order or Cold Case TV program. I may have seen before but am very glad I came across it. This 1996 stunning movie directed by Rob Reiner is the story of the persistence of a Jackson Mississippi Assistant District Attorney, played by Alec Baldwin, to retry white supremacist Bryon De La Beckwith played by James Woods who received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of this despicable man who assassinated civil rights activist Medgar Evers in 1963. Whoopie Goldberg plays Myrlie Evers the widow who never gave up her quest to see justice served for this crime and actually was a consultant for this film. The cast also included James Nelson, William Macy and Virginia Madsen. The film was made two years after the front-page courtroom drama, which rectified the failure of two previous trials 30 years previously. It is a reminder of the racism, which existed in the south, at that time and how there are persistent remnants of it. But it also showed how there was change in an evolving south and in our justice system. The American Film Institute in 2008 chose the courtroom scene to be included in its all time list of best courtroom movie scenes. The entire film should be mandatory viewing for new law graduates and probably even for all high school students. The movie certainly touched my emotions. (1996)

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Brief Interviews With Hideous Men – sp – This is a somewhat unusual film which uses a mostly non narrative style of brief interviews with men plus a series of disjointed scenes of interaction mostly between the young women researcher played by Julianne Nicholson and various men. There appears to be an attempt to provide insight into these men’s relationships with women and perhaps into their sexual feelings. The screenplay was written and directed by John Krasinski in his first movie who also acted in it. The content was taken from the writings of David Forster Wallace an essayist and novelist who died last year by suicide at the age of 46. He apparently has a large following that meet regularly on the Internet to discuss his obtuse writings. The acting in the movie was quite good and included Tim Hutton. The Director of Photography was renowned cinematographer John Bailey who was a guest at our screening. He described how three different editors all tried their hand at putting together this movie. In our opinion we don’t see the threads that this final version used. There was one small segment in the film, which seemed unrelated to the others but was quite riveting. It showed an older black man recounting the inner life and feelings of his father who worked for many years as an attendant in a high-end hotel men’s room. We will be surprised if this movie generates much momentum and may not even make it to your local screen. (2009)

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Gotta Dance – sp – When the New Jersey Nets Professional Basketball team decided that they wanted to include a senior dance group among their half time entertainment, they advertised that they were holding open auditions. Film Producer and documentary filmmaker Dori Berinstein saw the ad and grabbed her camera equipment and decided this was the subject of a film that she wanted to make. The rest is history. 11 women and one man ranging in age from the sixties to the eighties made the team. This documentary film is about these people, their individual stories and how they came together. It showed how it is never too late to do something you really love doing and do it well. It could have been anything, but in this case it was dancing and much to even the dancer’s surprise they were molded into a cohesive group with a main feature of hip hop dancing. The film maker skillfully weaved the dancer’s interesting personal vignettes with the story of their training to ultimately perform in front of 20,000 people in a packed arena. There were moments of suspense and moments where you could share their jubilation. The film succeeded not only in telling this unusual and inspiring story but also by appearing to touch the emotions of most of the audience who gave six members of the group who visited our screening a standing ovation. (2009)