Category Archives: Based on a True Story

When Billie Beat Bobby (2001)

Posted on March 22, 2014 by tom

Just about any sports fan today has at least heard of the famous tennis match between women’s champion Billie Jean King and the 55-year-old hustler and former champion Bobby Riggs. Few know about the build up to the match: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Based on a True Story, Films, Films Watched in 2014, Sports, Television | Leave a comment

Thirteen Days (2000)

Posted on February 3, 2014 by tom

“Thirteen Days” is a thriller about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how things were worked out, both officially, and through back-channels. President John F. Kennedy had much of his meetings’ dialogue taped, so the screenplay is almost dead-on. Also, Bruce … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Films Watched in 2014 | Leave a comment

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

Posted on January 22, 2014 by tom

  “Good night, and good luck.” That’s how legendary CBS News icon, Edward R. Murrow, ended each of his broadcasts. It started when he was in London when the Nazi’s were bombing the b’jeezus out of England. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Based on a True Story, Films, Films Watched in 2014 | 1 Comment

Serving Life, 2011

Posted on December 23, 2013 by tom

This documentary’s title—Serving Life—is a pun, in essence. It’s about a group of men at Angola State Prison in Louisiana, one of the most legendarily horrible prisons in the USA. Most of them are in for life sentences without parole. … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Documentaries, Films | Leave a comment

Reds (1981)

Posted on November 28, 2013 by tom

There’s something about the historical epic that allows movie fans to forgive them being incredibly long. “Gandhi” was three hours, eleven minutes long. “Lawrence of Arabia” clocked in at a bladder-busting three-and-a-half hours. “Gone With the Wind” is four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Based on a True Story, Films, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | 2 Comments

Eight Miles High (Das Wilde Leben) (2007)

Posted on August 28, 2013 by tom

(note: I chose to watch “Eight Miles High,” because it dawned on me that I’d watched movies with the number Eight in their title two consecutive nights. Could I make it a third? You betcha. The good thing is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Foreign | Leave a comment

Eight Men Out (1988)

Posted on August 25, 2013 by tom

One of my favorite scenes in “Eight Men Out” comes near the final act. The baseball owners—all of whom have figured out that the 1919 World Series was fixed—have selected Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis to be the new Baseball Commissioner, … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | 6 Comments

Zodiac (2007)

Posted on August 22, 2013 by tom

In Vallejo, California, July 4th, 1969, was more than a simple Independence Day. It was a door, behind which lay some incredible history for two young people like Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau. Woodstock would happen the following month, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Mystery/Police Procedural | 5 Comments

All The President’s Men (1976)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by tom

Two Washington Post reporters–Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein–brought down the President of the United States. This is their story. The Watergate scandal is old hat to most Americans today. Nearly everyone knows about the bungled burglary at the Watergate office … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Based on a True Story, Classics, Films | 9 Comments