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Recount

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Recount (2008)

May. 25,2008
|
7.3
| Drama History TV Movie
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In 2000, the election of the U.S. Presidential boiled down to a few precious votes in the state of Florida — and a recount that would add "hanging chad" to every American's vocabulary.

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Stometer
2008/05/25

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

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AnhartLinkin
2008/05/26

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

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Invaderbank
2008/05/27

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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Loui Blair
2008/05/28

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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brandon burns
2008/05/29

Base on a true story of the 2000 president election Florida recount between Vice President Al Gore and The then Governor of Texas George W. Bush, at first we all think Gore wins Florida thus making him the 43rd President! but wait, now the state goes to Bush! And now both sides are at war over who actually won Florida? did Bush really won the state or was Gore the winner of Florida in the first place. Kevin Spacey plays ( Ron Klain ) Denis Leary plays ( Michael Whouley ) who uses more cuss words then any other actor in the movie.Laura Dern who plays the Secretary of State Katherine Harris won a Golden Globe award for her performance, and I think she deserved it To! Directed by Jay Roach of Austin Powers, Meet The Parents, Mystery Alaska, I thought he did a wonderful job of this HBO TV movie, this was also the time of Bush's last year in office and Obama's road to the white house.I give it ten stars because it is a great film!

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happipuppi13
2008/05/30

My local library has done it again. Placed on it's shelf another really great movie I've never heard of. Pretty easy pick when I saw it was about the 2000 Presidential election. Like most i was watching that November night when all measure of political insanity broke out. I was videotaping that night and now (even though Gore "lost"),I wish I'd saved that tape.Most of us out there know the storyline and has been covered here. I can commend the creators very highly on this for bringing a very detailed & as truthful as possible telling of all that went wrong. A lot of what went wrong existed before the election even began.The cast here plays each singular role in a manner that makes you feel you are watching exactly what these people felt at that time. They never makes the person their portraying into a 2 dimensional cartoon. Some here feel the movie is leaning in favor of the Democrats as the good guys & the GOP the bad. What I saw was that Gore's supporters wanted to play fair as possible and the GOP well,they didn't. I'm not trying to say "all" republicans are like that but given what happened that night and up until Nov. 2008,no one should be surprised at how they are depicted here. I still feel the storytelling was as fair as possible to both parties and former candidatesI honestly did feel the sense of loss all over again,when (on the phone) Gore tells Kevin Spacey "I can't win." "Even if I win,I lose". The end of the film is an unfortunate reminder of what was to come next for the U.S. , but if you haven't seen this,I wont give it away. I will say there have been good made for TV movies but for some reason,HBO seems to make better ones. 10 stars,count 'em 10. {END}

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bandw
2008/05/31

If you were paying attention to the United States presidential election in 2000, then I suppose you must have a streak of masochism in order to watch this recapitulation--it is bound to stir up the powerful emotions experienced at the time, no matter what side of the divide you were on. Just read some of the reviews and comments to verify what a hot button issue this still is. If you were not paying attention in 2000, or you are too young to remember, then this film will certainly introduce you to all the major events and issues: hanging chads, dimpled chads, recounts, court cases, accusations of voter suppression, confusing ballots, the status of military votes, and so forth. The major players in this high-stakes drama are all here too, and documentary footage is inserted for believability. The film is definitely more than loosely based on fact, since most of the public statements are taken from the record. It's the extrapolations to what went on behind closed doors that is open to question.This plays like a thriller, even for those who are familiar with the story. If none of this ever happened, then I think all would agree that this is a good movie with a great plot and fine cast. Laura Dern, as Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, creates a memorable character and Tom Wilkinson is a standout as Bush's legal adviser James Baker (Secratary of State under George H. W. Bush). Wilkinson captures Baker almost to the point where you could mistake him for the real person.I think it came as a surprise at the time that the United States election process could ever be so fouled up. If there is a non-partisan message to be had from this movie it is that measures should be taken to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. While the 2000 election led to the Election Reform Act of 2002, the process is still far from perfect, especially since implementation details are left up to the individual states. Much controversy still exists over electronic voting machines, requirements for user ID, and so forth. And the current Coleman vs. Franken senate contest in Minnesota, now in its fourth month and still undecided, proves that extremely close contests are still messy affairs. Since there are so many arguments to be made on either side in such cases, I often think that such close elections should be decided by a coin toss.It seems impossible to find a generally-accepted unbiased telling of the 2000 election. The reviews for all books I have looked into seem to split on party lines. Maybe it is impossible to be impartial on this one.

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fwomp
2008/06/01

Surprisingly entertaining but ultimately not very topical anymore (the two sides have stayed pretty much unchanged since the 2000 Presidential election debacle in Florida), RECOUNT is engaging thanks to the powerful performances of some high-caliber actors.Kevin Spacey (SUPERMAN RETURNS) leads the way as attorney Ron Klain. Pulled into the legal quagmire of Al Gore's attempt to get a recount done in Florida after several irregularities popped up, Spacey is easy to watch and makes the viewer feel at home with the character/man.By his side is the foul-mouthed but implacable Michael Whooley (Dennis Leary, ICE AGE 2) who fights tooth-and-nail to try and get the recount started, too, but is hamstrung by idiots within the Democratic Party and a surprise ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court (did you know that they basically elected George Bush?). Tom Wilkinson (THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE) hits the other side of the tables (i.e., the Republicans) as James Baker. Crafty and wise, Baker gets ahead of the game and wins for his side thanks to some unique legal maneuvers.I would be remiss, however, if I didn't give some serious kudos to Laura Dern who played the role of Katherine Harris, the former Secretary of State of Florida. Winning a surprising Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in a made-for-TV film, Dern's Harris was absolutely flawless. Her self-absorbed persona mixed with her powerful position made me shiver, which was exactly what I should've been doing.The sad part is that with a few more dollars I think this film could've been upgraded from 'made-for-TV' and had a decent showing at cinemas. But we have what we have. It's an interesting run at a nine-year-old subject, and it still eats at me, but it didn't deliver anything I didn't already know ...and loathe.

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