Mark-P
Senior HTF Member
So does it surpass Wind River as your pick for the year’s best film?My affinity for newspaper movies goes back to my childhood, long before I ever heard of the word "Watergate". Some of those early films I watched in my childhood were Five Star Final, Deadline U.S.A., His Girl Friday and Calling Northside 777. A few years later while in high school back in the early 1970's, I used to go to my school library and read the NYT every single school day. One news story that fascinated me during those times was the publishing of The Pentagon Papers. Everyday, I would read those published stories and the legal battle that took place over them. Personally, I had a personal interest because I had an older brother that served two tours in Vietnam, who luckily survived those two years over there.
When I found out this movie was about the Washington Post involvement in this controversy, I was naturally concern that the NYT wouldn't get the proper credit for being the first newspaper to publish The Pentagon Papers. I'm very happy to say that my concerns were resolved very satisfactory.
I was one of only four people in my 9:40 p.m. showing. This film captivated my attention and I didn't once look at my phone to see what was the time. The film was well written and directed. Furthermore, it had splendid performances from not only Streep and Hanks, but all of the supporting actors. I'm not a big Streep fan. I don't hate her like some other people hate certain actors because it's not my thing to personalize my feelings towards actors. I just wasn't a fan of many of her movies and especially the ones in which she had some kind of accent. I'm not saying they weren't good films, but some of them weren't my cup of tea. After saying that, I must say she is a great actress and she was wonderful in this film. She really brought to life Kay Graham and her journey from being a stay-at-home wife/mother to a widow in which circumstances thrust her into running the family business, a business that isn't for the meek in any way. This film isn't just about the fight over The Pentagon Papers, but about some issues that are still being fought today, more than 46 years later. I actually had tears in my eyes the last 5-10 minutes of the film. I walked out of the theater tonight, proud to be an American.
Newspapers and media aren't right all the time and they make their share of mistakes, but this film illustrates without a doubt, that they are a necessary ingredient in maintaining our system of government in order to protect the people and our values. I give this film 5 on the basis of a 1-5 with 5 being the best grade. I used my Movie Pass tonight and I'm going to use it again to revisit this film.
At that time and still today, I thought she was one of the most beautiful actresses I ever seen in any movie. Man, she knew how to cry in movies with those beautiful eyes and trembling lips. 
