Review: JFK (1991)

I watched this film over the weekend. It took me three attempts to actually get through the entire thing, which requires me to make a mental note. No, several mental notes. (OK - three)

1) Don't get out films that are 198 minutes long.
I should repeat this to myself over and over: I do not like long movies. I do not buy into Roger Ebert's (I think he said it) saying that no good movie is long enough and that no bad movie is short enough. Movies should never overstay their welcome. I don't care if you're The Godfather. I have a short attention span.

There are a few exceptions to the rule: Nashville clocks in at 159 minutes, Magnolia at 188, Boogie Nights at 156 and I'm sure there's some more that I'll admit to liking that are over 150 minutes.

The kicker for JFK was that I rented out the director's cut. So what started out as a three hour movie had an extra 20 minutes tacked on.

2) Kevin Costner is Satan
I have this thing about Kevin Costner, I have a theory that it all stemmed from when I studied Dances With Wolves back in high school. Dear lord, I hated that movie so much. Since then no Costner movie has stood a chance.

3) Conspiracy Theories Are Only Fun If Bill Hicks Is Telling Them...
I remember once upon a time when watching a friend's Bill Hicks DVD that Hicks did his own summary of the "Magic Bullet" which was so much better than anything in this movie - I should find a youtube video. Doesn't matter that much anyway - Wikipedia says that the Magic Bullet scene (my favourite of the movie) isn't actually based on fact. Oh well, it was still funny.

One last thing - while reading I found this web site interesting - "One Hundred Errors of Fact and Judgment in Oliver Stone's JFK" almost reminds me of the web sites that attacked Bowling For Columbine such as this one.

Overall: 5/10 for the film. Also note that is in the book, 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die.