Killing Lincoln (2013)

Waste of Money.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

I think that this is a good movie. As for myself not being a huge documentary fan, that aspect of he film wasn't so much to my liking. I wish it had been more of a movie with a plot and storyline, without all of the narrating. However for the purpose that I was to watch it (a history class assignment) I learned a lot through it, and despite my negative feelings toward he narration, Tom Hanks does a wonderful job setting the viewer up and giving them a sufficient amount of background knowledge to be able to understand the happenings of the movie. Also at some points throughout the movie, the way that certain scenes were filmed seemed a bit shaken almost, unprofessional-like. Now whether that was done on purpose or not, I was not very pleased with that. I did like the way that before a new event began in the movie, or a new scene, the time, place and date were shown. Again providing the viewer with background information so they don't get too lost in following the story. As for the story itself, the story of the assassination of President Lincoln, in my opinion, was told very well through this movie. I liked the way that it seemed to take an objective approach and just told the story how it happened, without seeming to really advocate for either side more than the other. It was very informative and I thought that the casting was done well too. John Wilkes Booth's character especially fit, I think, because he just seems creepy the whole way through the movie, with his mustache and the journal entries he writes of his self justification for the terrible thing he has done. All in all I think that this movie was a good movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the story of Lincoln's assassination or who particularly enjoy historical documentaries.

Based on Bill O'Reilly's book of the same name, this is a documentary of Abraham Lincoln (Billy Campbell) and John Wilkes Booth (Jesse Johnson) as they head into the history books. Coming so close to Daniel Day-Lewis' amazing performance, Billy Campbell is unable to measure up. Booth is suppose to be a great actor. I wish they got somebody more well known than Jesse Johnson. He does a capable job but he needs a more powerful presence. The surprise comes from Tom Hanks' narration. When it first starts, I thought it was a grave mistake. After some time, his narration grows on me. And I really like the constant repetition of "Lincoln has ______ to live". It's a great way to build tension as the clock counts down. The production is good for a TV movie. I can't really vouch for its academic accuracy. I do wish for more on Booth. Lincoln's story could be trimmed but there is a good sequence of him visiting Richmond after its fall. It's a good watch.

Tom Hanks hosts this drama/documentary about the assassination of Lincoln. As one can imagine, it's a dark and sad story, but I found some of it very interesting. I don't consider myself the last word on the assassination -- if you are, you're not going to enjoy this as I doubt there was anything new there.The focus initially is the Booth family, especially John Wilkes, as he plots to kill the President, the Secretary of State, and the Vice President. It also covers his earlier foiled attempt. Apparently you just couldn't kill William Seward -- the man not only was nearly killed by a co-conspirator, but at the time, he was ill.Billy Campbell plays Lincoln. He has a naturally high, light voice, so I suspect after Daniel Day-Lewis' research of descriptions of Lincoln's voice, this will become the norm. I found moments before the actual assassination, with Lincoln's last words to his wife, "They won't think anything about it," quite touching.The dramatization then covers Wilkes and his co-conspirators' attempts to escape, Booth's death, the capture of the others, and their varying prison/death sentences.It's interesting material if you're not all that familiar with it.

Just like the forces of al Qaida 150 years later, John Wilkes Booth had visions of decapitating the United States government.This made-for-TV adaptation of Bill O'Reilly's bestseller is an interesting account of the multi-pronged plot against Lincoln, his secretary of state, and his vice president one epochal night in 1865.Though no dead-ringer for the 16th president, Billy Campbell does a creditable job of portraying an ever-humble leader who seemed to genuinely care for the common man. "You are a free citizen; kneel to no one but God," Lincoln advises a freed slave.Jesse Johnson (son of Patti D'Arbanville of Cat Stevens fame) is believable as Booth, whose histrionics bordered on megalomania ("I stand with Brutus!").As in any drama about the assassination, this one might prompt you to wonder whether Lincoln had a death wish. Sure, he spoke of fearing rumors more than snipers, but riding alone at night through an isolated farm field when you are the most hated man in the South does seem a bit suicidal. Similarly, he was a true sitting duck at Ford's Theater. (And why was it initially a mystery who had fired the shot? I thought Booth was one of the most famous actors in America!)This drama mentions a number of interesting side players traceable on Wikipedia. Consider reading about Sgt. Boston Corbett, the military man who shot and killed Booth against orders. Now there's an intriguing bio!