The Butler and Jobs

Two current movies, neither of them moved me like Cate Blanchett did in Blue Jasmine. However, I’m just a reporter sometimes, so here you have it.

Jobs was as expected, especially given that you could have followed the story as it unfolded, as I did. By that, I mean, in real time, as Apple came into existence, I researched Steve Jobs and followed along as he rose to fame, flamed out, did the Phoenix, became a superstar, then a supernova. In short, the movie was predictable and could not possibly be complete. Jobs is one of those people who simply leaves me lamenting. You fill in the blanks here.

The Butler, more a movie about civil rights than anything else, left me flat. Not that it did not meet expectations; it did. But, “meets expectations” is not a stellar review. See it, anyway. The mingling of actual footage from history makes it interesting. The human interest angle was almost lost on me. There is also one huge flaw in the plot - as far as I’m concerned - where too many things come together in one scene. “Only in the movies,” I’m likely to say.

Here are two examples of why great movies deserve more attention. These are not.