Read Time:1 Minute, 24 Second
Until recently, I didn’t really know much about the Cuban Missile Crisis — other than it was a crisis involving both Cuba and missiles. But this movie tricked me into enjoying a history lesson.
Thirteen Days, named for the book, written by Bobby Kennedy, about the Crisis and based on The Kennedy Tapes, a book of transcribed recordings of meetings and phone calls that took place throughout the thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, this movie, complete with its occasional archive footage, has an intentional documentary feel to it (though I’m sure it’s got its own little Hollywood twist to it). It tells the story of the critical days of the Kennedy administration — in 1962 — when American planes found that Russia was secretly arming Cuba with more than enough missiles to destroy the US. JFK (played by Bruce Greenwood) — aided by his brother and Attorney General, Robert (Steven Culp) and his assistant, Kenny O’Donnell (Kevin Costner) — was forced to act fast, secretly working with (and often against) the pro-war military leaders to ensure the country’s safety and to avoid nuclear war.
While there were a few things about this movie that I found annoying — like how I kept forgetting which one was supposed to be JFK and which one was supposed to be Bobby, or how the movie kept switching from black and white to color to apparently give it a more authentic feel – I really enjoyed it. The story was captivating, and though it was pretty long (around two and a half hours), it held my attention.
If my high school American history classes had been this interesting, I wouldn’t have dreaded going…
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Happy
0
0 %
Sad
0
0 %
Excited
0
0 %
Sleepy
0
0 %
Angry
0
0 %
Surprise
0
0 %
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
0
0
