"Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens."

If only "nothing ever happens." Rather, RFK was assassinated and nothing was ever the same it would seem. Emilio Estevez's BOBBY is gripping. From Anthony Hopkins and Harry Belafonte's first lines about the Grand Hotel through the end of the credits, it is excellent filmmaking. The characters are real, the emotions are universal, the war stories are current. This is what the film industry should be. Always. No exceptions. It was beautiful and tragic, sweeping and innocent. More, it is timely and wholly relevant.

I was pleased as punch with Ms Lohan, of whom you may recall I haven't always been so thrilled. Her performance, and Elijah Wood's eyes (they were bluer than mine for chrissake), surprised the heck out of me. And maybe it wasn't her performance so much as the events surrounding her, and the epic scale of the finale ultimo in the kitchen. But anyway, at least she was comprehendable.

The very funny, very clever actors Shia LaBeouf and Brian Geraghty took their scenes and flew ... sky high. "Look at me." "I am." "Now, look at me ... through my eyes." Pass eyeglasses. Brilliant.

I was captivated by Mr Fishbourne's early scene over cobbler. Talk about taking the text, chewing it up, mulling it around, making it speak on so many levels and at twelve different volumes at once, spitting back out, and having all of that captured in the lens. He did excellent work in his scenes, of which I think there were a total of two? Both bursting with talent, however. Such a marvelous performance.

Hopkins is at the door to welcome the Senator in a really human moment. He's king of the screen in my book -- what I wouldn't give to simply watch him work. He is a fascinating (and terribly imposing, in that you're-my-hero sort of way) persona on screen, and I imagine him to be a real genuine soul in life, too.

So, of course, then there's the end. Again, the filmmaking is rich. Camera work, audio, file footage, editing, et al. are terrific. Kudos to the team behind the screen for making this sequence happen. I'm so thrilled to really agree with JJ about a film. He loved BOBBY and so did I. And I didn't love it because he did, or because I was trying to see in it what he saw weeks before. I really found it incredibly wonderful on my own. As I've hinted at before, to me, it was sad and uplifting at the same time. It's a film of these sort of oxymorons, I think.

It's really important for people to see movies like this, and for Hollywood and the razzle dazzles out there to make them. It's fantastic, because yesterday, I wrote about the hate that PRIMETIME exploited of minorities in our world. I found myself making comparisons here... such beautiful words for these actors to say, such crippling images for our eyes to see... all about the dangers and results of hatred and anger, war and rebellion. What a time to be alive--when in the face of such fear and doubt that Vietnam brought to America, there was someone who wanted to lead, someone who was willing to actually say (in much more eloquent words), "Gosh, we're in a heap o' trouble. Let's figure out what's wrong and fix it. We have to accept and acknowlege our mistakes, then move on and try to do good."

Knowing nothing about the film or Kennedy, I found myself transfixed and contemplative, wanting to know more. And yet, maybe, wishing I wouldn't have to look to the past for a leader who would be frank with the American people. In Prestonburg, Kentucky (not Prestonsburg, which is quite a distance from the other, as I found out this spring), Kennedy told the truth. Things were bad. People were not doing well. Everyone already knew it, so that wasn't the shock, but perhaps that he was man enough to say it to them. AND, he went on to say it didn't have to be like that, it could be better. It was a shame that in a country so blessed with riches as we are, there were places still like Prestonburg. And it's STILL TRUE. Things haven't changed that much. We need now someone who can affect change, who can accept our mistakes, seriously consider the suggestions and criticism of colleagues. We need a visonary, a leader, a go-getter, a person, a human being with a personality that rings true with all of us.

I wonder if it will ever happen. But, I wonder thanks to BOBBY. Go see it. Do yourself a favor.