Tag: fred dalton thompson

  • Fred Dalton Thompson, U. S. Senator, actor and more, has died

    Fred Dalton Thompson, U. S. Senator, actor and more, has died

    Fred Dalton Thompson as “Admiral Painter” in ‘The Hunt for Red October’

    Freddie “Fred” Dalton Thompson was an attorney, a United States Senator from Tennessee, a lobbyist, a candidate for the U. S. Presidency in 2008, an actor who worked in movies and television, and a radio talk-show host, died today. Reports are that he died at the age of 73 from lymphoma.

    He was born in Alabama but grew up in Lawrenceburg, TN, a small town known as the “Crossroads of Dixie.”  Following his graduation from law school in 1967 he became an assistant U. S. attorney and worked as the minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee during its investigation of the Watergate Scandal.  Some credit Thompson as the author of a question asked by Senator Howard Baker during the investigation, “What did the president know and when did he know it.”

    Fred Dalton Thompson and U. S. Senator Howard Baker during the 1973 Watergate Hearings
    Fred Dalton Thompson and U. S. Senator Howard Baker during the 1973 Watergate Hearings

    His acting career began when he played himself in the 1985 movie Marie and from there went on to 1987’s No Way Out where or portrayed the director of the CIA.   He followed that up with roles in The Hunt for Red October, Die Hard II, In the Line of Fire, and many others.  Then after playing an FBI agent in 1994’s Baby’s Day Out, Fred Thompson became the junior U. S. Senator from Tennessee, being elected to replace Al Gore.  He won reelection in 1996.

    Aside from taking one voiceover movie part and a guest-appearance on TV’s Sex and the City, he did not resume acting until his March 2002 announcement that he would not seek reelection to his U. S. Senate seat.  Months later it was announced that he would be joining the cast of NBC’s Law & Order as “Arthur Branch” the Manhattan District Attorney.  It was a role he would continue in until 2007 when he left to begin his campaign for the presidential nomination of the Republican party in 2008.  A campaign that did not last long as he withdrew from the race in January of 2008.

    Former U. S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson during his campaign for the 2008 Presidential Nomination
    Former U. S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson during his campaign for the 2008 Presidential Nomination

    Fred Dalton Thompson was the only sitting U. S. Senator to ever portray someone other than themselves on television as his first appearance on Law & Order occurred before the expiration of his term in the U. S. Senate.  He remains the only actor appearing on the show and its various spin-offs who was a prosecutor in real-life.  Married twice, he is survived by his wife Jeri and five of his six children.

  • ‘Sinister’ is a creepy chiller that could have used more fright

    ‘Sinister’ is a creepy chiller that could have used more fright

    Ethan Hawke in 'Sinister'
    Ethan Hawke in ‘Sinister’

    To clear something up, despite having a villain that targets children, Sinister is not about Jerry Sandusky. It is a requisite Halloween movie that delivers some scares, but hardly anything more.

    Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves with his wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance), son Trevor (Michael Hall D’Addario), and daughter Ashley (Clare Foley) into a new home. An author of true crime books, Ellison is not taken all that kindly to by the sheriff (Fred Dalton Thompson), who holds him responsible for a killer going free in a past case due to the theory in one of his books. This house has a certain significance to Ellison, one that he keeps from his family but the town knows all too well: it’s the scene of a mass murder.

    The previous family, minus one child, was hung from a tree in the backyard; that child has since gone missing. And someone managed to record the whole thing. In the attic, Ellison finds a box with film reels and a projection machine. Firing it up, he sees for himself how it all happened, though there is no ostensible sign of the killer. Moving on to the next film, he witnesses a family being burned alive in their car. Again, no killer. He goes through them all and, sure enough, they all depict the murder of a family at their home.

    The creepy kids of 'Sinister'
    The creepy kids of ‘Sinister’

    But of course, when it comes to videos like these, one viewing is never enough. On re-watches, he begins to notice bizarre symbols and a strange, demonic face. He also finds a piece of artwork, simple drawings of all the murders and attributing them to a figure called “Mr. Boogie.” And, as always, odd things are happening around the house at night. The deputy (James Ransone), a fan of his who offers to help research the cases, suspects the supernatural at work and put him in touch with Professor Jonas (Vincent D’Onofrio). From the professor, Ellison learns just what he’s up against.

    From the opening that shows the footage of the family being hanged, the presence of dread is very strong. This is really due to the films. With a home movie “quality” to them, they are highly unsettling and (warning: corny pun ahead) sinister. The performances are pretty good too. Hawke, not really one associated with the genre, does an admirable job, as does Rylance in a breakthrough performance. D’Onofrio , Thompson, and Ransome offer great support, though should have been used much more.

    But it all builds towards a truly weak and unsatisfying conclusion. There’s no real fight or struggle to be had here, as well as containing a “reveal” that was fairly obvious all along. This is difficult to discuss without treading into spoiler territory, so I’ll just say this: the enjoyment for a film like this is seeing the characters put into a hole, and then seeing how they dig themselves out. Here, they don’t even try to leave.

    Ellison’s career trajectory was that he achieved high success and interest early on, but eventually ran out of steam and failed to generate triumph. That’s just about the right description for Sinister as a whole.