Lincoln

Go see this movie.  Don't let this movie be the one you say you're going to see but then don't.  Hire a sitter and just go.  You won't regret it.  Yes, I was paid to go see it last week (thank you, TAHG!), but that has nothing to do with my opinion of the movie.  I'll be honest.  I went into the theater as a skeptic, afraid this movie would focus more on battles and gore than a man I've learned to truly admire thanks to my grant travels.  Oh, how greatly was this one of those times of preconceived notions being so terribly wrong.  Lincoln the movie focuses on a man who loved his nation and wanted to save her from herself.  Daniel Day-Lewis was phenomenal.  Sally Field was an excellent Mary.  James Spader tries valiantly to steal the show as W.N. Bilbo, Lincoln's political operative who tries to convince various congressmen to vote for the passage of the 13th amendment.  The crowning jewel to me though was Tommy Lee Jones.  He portrayed abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens with passionate decorum that is unmatched by the rest of the cast.  I know I especially have a habit of romanticizing history because it moves me so much, and maybe Spielberg is as guilty as I am, but this story is worth it.  Thank you Abe for your insight and devotion to America.