New additions to the Movies You Might Not Know list…
“Can Mr. Smith Get To Washington Anymore?” is a well-made documentary about Jeff Smith, a St. Louisan who ran for the congressional seat vacated by Richard Gephardt when he retired. Like “The War Room,” this doc takes you behind the scenes with the young candidate and his even-younger campaign staff, as they go door-to-door and day by day in their efforts to win votes and raise money, while taking on a candidate with more name recognition and cash (Russ Carnahan).
“The Astronaut Farmer” is a quiet little Billy Bob Thornton movie about a Texas rancher name Farmer who was once in the astronaut corps, but is now a private citizen who still dreams of going into space. Well, he more than dreams of it. He actually builds a rocket in his barn, but when he tries to buy fuel for it, the FBI and FAA come poking around and try to put a stop to his efforts. Virginia Madsen gives another solid performance as Mrs. Farmer, and Bruce Willis has a small role, too (in his third movie with Thornton). This is a quality family movie, even if it gets a little corny at the end.