Amistad

Is it possible to say anything less than adulatory about this generation's Roots without looking like the kind of creep who failed to weep for Mother Teresa? This epic reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding a bloody 1839 uprising aboard the ironically named Spanish slave ship La Amistad (it means friendship) is consistently earnest and well-intentioned but only occasionally moving, despite the efforts of a generally top-notch cast (Matthew McConaughey, of the unidentifiable accent and "dude from Texas" mannerisms, is, however, a liability). Much of the problem lies in the nature of the raw material. The Amistad rebels want only to retu...