Amelia (2009)

No, not Amelie. It's Amelia as in Earhart. The story is familiar enough, so there's no use in recounting it. Amelia is a historical drama that simply illustrates Amelia Earhart's rise to fame, her love life, and her famous final flight. There's no twist, no passion, nothing remotely interesting at all. I would rather it had sacrificed historical accuracy - having Amelia run into a pack of ninjas riding pterodactyls, for example - and made a better movie. Seriously, it's boring. It seems as if the whole movie is supposed to ride off on Hilary Swank's acting chops, but she's so awkward in this movie. And manly. Which is good for when she plays manly characters (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby) but Amelia is supposed to be not only a determined, independent role model for girls, she's also supposed to be the romantic interest of Richard Gere. It doesn't play out well. Her emotional range is somehow directly tied to her bad Kansas accent. I don't believe any of it.

Months and months ago, I saw Amelia on several lists for possible Oscar nominations. That was obviously before anyone had watched it. It wasn't nominated for any Oscars. I think a lot of people are suckers for historical dramas because they're based on true stories, so the drama seems more real. This movie takes what, I guess, could have been a powerful, inspirational story and turns it into a bad documentary with history channel actors.

Writing: 2/10
Acting: 2/10
Plot: 1/10
Visuals: 8/10