Killing Kennedy (2013)

Touches You

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

his performance is the best part of film. and, maybe, the only motif to see it. because it is a conventional film, using only well known facts, but in not inspired manner. a film who remains prisoner of clichés and superficiality. the bad thing is not exactly the easy manner to present Warrner report but the desire to impress, without the right tools. because the parallel Kennedy - Oswald is not convincing. because the ambition to give a docudrama falls in a strange state of confusion. so, a try. maybe, not so nice.

For those unfamiliar with that fateful day, this ridiculous Brothers Grimm fable does nothing but provide an outlet for those wishing to waste 2 hours. O'Reilly the so-called historian did nothing with his ' Killing Kennedy ' book turned into film except brutally murder the truth by parroting the completely discredited Warren Commission lie. Remember Bill O the one time Inside Edition reporter at large? The same guy who said he was present in Florida the moment Oswald confidant and probable CIA handler George De Morherenschilt committed suicide only to later discover the following day in was in a taped telephone conversation with the late and reputable JFK assassination researcher Gaton Fonzi asking what had happened to old George? In the JFK case alone, O'Reilly has about as much credibility for honesty as Bill or Hillary Clinton testifying under oath. Just as one example of the numerous preposterous scenes on full display, we have non-convicted assassin LHO STANDING while demonstrating his yet to be duplicated marksman proficiency gunning down JFK and wounding the Governor. Too bad the TBD 6th floor SE window at the time was only open 14 inches which meant that not only was LHO a superb marksman, he also managed to fire through a glass window three times without shattering it or leaving any trace of bullet holes. This pathetic vomit inspiring film was steered toward those completely clueless of the entire case or those clinging lone-nutter syncopates who are blind to reality of what really happened. This doesn't even take into account the illegal theft of JFK's remains from Parkland hospital later spirited away on AF-1 to its eventually place in Bethesda where the most inept, illegal and fraudulent so-called autopsy in history occurred. There isn't enough time or space available to address this case on this board. But suffice it to say that all the moronic film accomplished was nothing more that typical O'Reilly, Hanks, Posner, and Bugliosi lies to continue the dishonesty in certain halls of the US government and their lemmings in the media.

First I will state the disclaimer that I am a Kennedy and Kennedy Assassination historian, have been for a very, very long time and am generally considered a worthwhile voice in the Kennedy community (not bragging just stating my background...and maybe bragging a little!) I scramble to see every Kennedy film, bio and documentary I can so I was thrilled to see this one. I had reasonable expectations though and knew that it would be a very straight forward/non-controversial telling of the events leading to Kennedy's assassination and it is exactly that. It brings nothing new or shocking to the table but rather follows the generally accepted history of Kennedy and the Assassination. There is a lot of good to this TV made film but there is also a lot of missed potential. I dream of the day that someone with true brilliance makes a full fledged TV Series (four seasons would be great.) There is far too much history, drama, and major events to cram it all into an hour and a half. That being said they do the very best they can in the time frame given. The cast is brilliant, one of the best "Camelot" era casts I have seen in a film (more on that in a moment.) Some of the scenes where they recreate intimate Kennedy moments was powerful and just really moving to see dramatized. It was a nearly perfect representation of the story but due to the time constraint it comes across as just a little dry and underdeveloped.Rob Lowe...wow. He absolutely nails his role as John Kennedy. He looks the part, nails the voice (without sounding cheesy), has good charisma and just really embodies the part. He is easily one of the top three JFK actors I have ever seen. The problem is (and this extends to the entire cast) is that because of the time constraint he and the rest of the cast don't get enough time to really shine in the roles. Everything is so fast and so by the book that their brilliance is hampered just a little bit. Ginnifer Goodwin is the perfect example of this because I think she was terrific as Jackie (though her chemistry with Lowe was okay and not great.) She also tries just a little too hard to imitate Jackie but 99% of the time she does an amazing job and I think given hours to unfold the character she could have been amazing. Will Rothhaar is mesmerizing as Lee Harvey Oswald. He gets the most development as a character and he makes the most infamous killer in modern day history come alive on screen like you are there with him trying to understand him. Michelle Trachtenberg gives an absolutely stunning, Emmy worthy performances as Marina Oswald. As one reviewer pointed out, she is a little too pretty to be Marina but outside of that she is amazing. Her Russian sounds flawless and her chemistry with Rothhaar is perfect. I would have watched an entire film about the two of them (another great idea for Hollywood.) Jack Noseworthy has an achingly small role as Bobby Kennedy but I think given a much bigger role he would have been great at it too because in his couple of scenes he really captures the look and voice of Bobby. Casey Siemaszko and Francis Guinan are also decent in extremely small roles as Jack Ruby and Lyndon Johnson.Director Nelson McCormick is probably a great choice to helm this film. He does a good job with the information and tells the story exactly as its presented to him. He has a long history in TV and I think if they did stretch this out into an actual series he would be a good choice. As I said before he recreates some really interesting scenes in the Kennedy family and it was the first time I have seen these particular scenes recreated. One reviewer pointed out a particular scene of nudity (a woman's backside as she gets out of the pool) and pointed it out as disappointing and pointless. They were jumped all over by people (of course) but I agree! For a film that nearly anyone could watch and history classes of all ages should see, to have that single moment of nudity was completely gratuitous and pointless. Still as a history buff and as a Kennedy buff even moreso I was impressed by the film, had a great time watching it but fell just shy of being blown away. The historical accuracy was definitely there and I thought it interesting (as a conspiracy theorist) that I thought their tried and true by the book story only made it look even more implausible but that's a story in itself. Absolutely check this out because its well worth your time. 8/10

To learn about the truth I recommend the producers of this awful and goofy movie watching the documentaries from Nigel Turner, The Men Who Killed Kennedy (parts 1 to 9)and Oliver Stone's JFK.This movie ignores all facts pertaining to the conspiracy already acknowledged by the US supreme court, that came to the conclusion that there was a conspiracy involved in the assassination. The producers of this junk decided to openly ignore what everybody already knows because of the supreme court's findings after the Warren report.And please Hollywood, stop trying to fool us into believing the lone assassin bluff after 50 years!. We all know Oswald was a patsy and John and Robert Kennedy where killed by the evil empire.