Word: reckonings
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Being quite a provincial foreigner, however, he does not reckon with the power of American pragmatism. Having eluded the invaders, the President (who, we are informed, won a Congressional Medal of Honor piloting a rescue chopper in Vietnam) is stalking the surprisingly capacious byways of the plane, armed mainly with native wit and a "Don't tread on me" philosophy. There is good--sometimes witty--suspense in Marshall's single-handed efforts to coordinate a rescue effort by his Washington staff with his own attempts to set his people free using whatever modest tools--a table knife, a cell phone...
...California. This guy's stock has gone up a ton after he lost 19 pounds since his tubby showing at the scouting combine. He has also taken nearly half a second off his 40 time. If he keeps working hard like this, he'll be a force to reckon with since he is young...
...Blade" creates a fascinating protagonist but never fully decides what to do with him. Thornton is nonetheless a wonder to behold in the role, the rare actor who turns obvious mannerisms into a palpable personality. Karl ends all of his sentences with a guttural self-affirmation ("I don't reckon I got no reason to kill nobody, mmmhmmm") as though all of his statements contained a deeper truth that he alone fully appreciates...
...picture was born as a short film and probably should have stayed that way, since I reckon no conclusion this certain needs a build-up this long, mmm-hmmm. To its credit, though, "Sling Blade" plays out among real human beings, a welcome break in a year of airborne cows and impossible missions. A few swift cuts in the editing room and Thornton could have had a real winner. As is, "Sling Blade" is a worthy runner...
Sling Blade may be too scrupulously attentive to the rhythms and speech of the small-town South; it easily breaks the all-time record for use of the word reckon. But as incarnated in writer-director Thornton's laconic bass voice and wonderfully shambling gait, Karl is a memorable, affecting creature--so gentle he daren't sleep on an offered bed for fear of spoiling the room's perfect primness, so righteous he will consider killing to protect his adoptive family. Sling Blade meanders when Karl isn't driving it, but for the first half-hour and the last...