pahvou

I just watched the Netflix documentary of John Gotti. It held my attention and left me wanting more. So what's better than a movie titled "Gotti". If I had not just watched the documentary, I would have no idea what was going on in the movie. In simple terms, it was a complete mess. It was one of those movies where for some strange reason it has to time travel. It travels back and forth, back and forth. The only way to keep track of any semblance of time was by the color of John Travolta's hair. As to Travolta he occasionally did a fair job, but there were too many scenes where it appeared he was on a talk show giving his impersonation of Gotti. There was also too much attention to one of his sons. It made it confusing. In fact, the movie should have been titled, "Son of Gotti".

I once heard the Kennedy motorcade in Dallas had a last minute change. Instead of continuing down Main Street it would take a right turn at Dealey Plaza and continue on Elm Street, and would pass directly in front of the school depository. Later I heard stories that the change was simply part of the many right wing conspiracy theories. In the documentary, Buel Frazier stated when he and Oswald arrived at the depository they had been informed, by another employee, that the route had been changed, that the motorcade would travel in front of the building. So if Oswald was the shooter, someone must have told him in advance of the change, since a shot from the sixth floor window of the depository would be impossible if the motorcade continued down Main Street.

Another interesting part of the documentary was a witness who recounted hearing the shots fired, that went, "bang, pause, bang, bang." I've heard this before from other witnesses. The problem is an Italian Carcano, M91/38, doesn't go "bang, pause, bang, bang." Maybe if it was a semi-automatic weapon, but not a very clumsy bolt action. I own a Carcano, and it's probably the worse military weapon ever produced. I also don't think anyone has been able to duplicate the three shots supposedly fired from the sixth floor window with a Carcano.

Last, is the false impression that Oswald, as a Marine Marksman, was an above average rifleman, and could have easily made those shots. Marksman is not an indicator he was an excellent shot. Marksman is one of three categories when qualifying with a rifle in boot camp, or basic training. The best riflemen are given an expert rating. The average is given a sharpshooter rating. The ones that can barely hit the targets, are given a Marksman rating. I know, I was a Marksman, and could barely hit the broadside of a barn.

I can't believe I'm the first to review this movie. To begin I had to decide, do I give it nine stars or ten stars. I want to give it ten stars, but then everyone will think I'm the directors' cousin, or some other relative, and giving it a high score only to boost his career. I can assure you that is not the case. I'm not going into any details, because I don't want to spoil any part of the plot, I'm just going to say it is very cleaver, well written and well acted. All the actors are great and their characters well crafted. But Traci Lords' character stands out, as well her portrayal of her character. It's a fun movie. There are a lot of twists, turns, and surprises. Well worth watching.