Boxing Day Perfect For Verbal Sparring

Saw my first new movie of the Christmas season. And it was a doozy. Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters, a fictionalized account of the historic Miley College debate team of 1935. The story is entirely inspiring. Mr. Washington shines on-screen as the coach and behind the camera in his directorial debut. Nice to see him pull off a great role without a gun in his hands; although, he is impressive in American Gangster. The supporting cast (including Forest Whitaker) were stellar, especially Denzel Whitaker's (not related to Forest) performance as the "Dougie Howser" of the team. It brought back memories of debating in the high school and perhaps that helped me appreciate the competition sequences. I'd have to say though that anyone should be able to get behind a movie that is the Hoosiers of Forensics, with depression-era civil rights and workers' rights subplots thrown in for good measure. Here's hoping that a film like this finds a large audience and maybe some Oscars for better measure.

Peace & Disco Beats

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Norman's Rockwell

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