Lone Survivor, Laura, The Song of Bernadette and The Eleanor Roosevelt Story

Believe it or not, I was supposed to see more movies this weekend, but I hit the wall.I was probably pushing my luck anyway, because I would give all four movies thumbs up, and with number five, whatever that might have been, probably would have disappointed me. Anyway, I had to watch the Golden Globes on Sunday (okay, I didn't have to) but I wanted to see if there were any movies I missed (as in unaware of), so it was good to update my Netflix queue. On to the reviews.

Blogger's Note: Damn, I hate writer's block. You just look at the screen and nothing comes, nothing, nada, zip, zilch. I really wanted to get the reviews posted before today, but I couldn't. So, I'm going to try again. Also, the Oscar nominations were announced today, and I'm happy to say I have seen a good number of the 'mainstream' nominations, and I even called one of the movies I will be reviewing, but I'm publishing after the fact, but I hope you believe me. More on that later. So, let's try this again:

Blogger's Note 2: Wow, I am losing it. I don't usually go back to a blog to edit, but I find myself doing it a little more frequently. In this case it is to add some information to the Lone Survivor review, like the names of the other characters. I was remiss in doing that last night, so I am correcting that now (in my defense, it was after 9:30 which is my bedtime).

1/11/14 The Song of Bernadette, Best Actress, Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, B&W, Best Cinematography, B&W, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, 1943

I had heard of The Song of Bernadette before, but had never seen it, I don't even think I'd seen a little clip, and it's probably one I would have overlooked if it wasn't for this list (the list giveth and the list taketh away). Well, I am very glad I saw it. The Song of Bernadette is a dramatization of the life of Saint Bernadette Soubirous who is associated with the miracle at Lourdes. Jennifer Jones stars as the young Bernadette in her first major film role, and she won the Oscar for Best Actress. The only movie that I have seen from that year was For Whom the Bell Tolls with Ingrid Bergman. You may remember that review - I hated that movie. Jones is wonderful, she embodies a patience and serenity that was captivating. I was actually surprised that I enjoyed the movie so much, but I did. Bernadette suffers from asthma and misses a lot of school and her family struggles to eke out a living, but after Bernadette sees a vision of 'The Lady', things begin to change. As is often the case, many people believed Bernadette and her visions and what she told them, there were many others who were skeptical and vigorously opposed to her; typically it is the established church and those in political power. Bernadette patiently answers their questions, criticisms and accusations of blasphemy with grace. To highlight the antagonism between Bernadette and the authorities, the 'bad guys' are played with a very heavy handed. Vincent Price plays Prosecutor Dutour who is one of Bernadette's opponents. He is very smooth and condescends to the simple country girl, but she does not bite and maintains her peace. The story is set in Lourdes, France, in the mid-1800s, and it is interesting to see the attitudes of the time, especially those of the 'skeptics' who base their opinions on the science of the time, and the rational mind versus those who believe who don't need any intellectual validation. I don't think a lot has changed between the 1850s to the 1940s when the movie was made to the 21st century, we still have the same debates faith versus fact, medicine versus prayer, the old order versus non-traditional. The movie won a few other awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Music. If you're looking for a good family movie, especially in time for the upcoming springtime holidays, I would recommend The Song of Bernadette, and I would like to think you don't have to be Catholic to enjoy it (I'm not and I enjoyed it, so there). It's certainly different from The Ten Commandments or Jesus of Nazareth.

1/11/14 Laura, Best Black & White Cinematography, 1944 National Film Registry

Laura was directed by Otto Preminger (Porgy and Bess, Advise and Consent, Anatomy of a Murder) and stars Gene Tierney as the enigmatic protagonist, Laura, Clifton Webb as her admirer, mentor, friend, Waldo Lydecker (what a great name), Dana Andrews as Detective Mark McPherson and Vincent Price as Shelby Carpenter (two Vincent Price movies on one day, what are the odds?). Dame Judith Anderson also appears in the film,she appeared in another mystery with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, Rebecca. The movie opens with columnist Waldo Lydecker narrating and telling us about Laura and how he met her, and introducing us to the characters in Laura's life. There are some interesting twists and turns, and at first I thought it was a Hitchcock film. Laura is found killed in her apartment and Detective McPherson begins interviewing the various suspects, including Shelby, Laura's fiance. I actually thought the movie was going to go in another direction and be a little more suspenseful, and maybe I'm just jaded. I don't know if other people are like me, but when I'm watching a mystery, I do not want to figure it out, I want to be surprised and outsmarted, not 'tricked', but outwitted by good writing (if you like mysteries, you probably know what I mean, don't concoct and manipulate the facts so you can have an ending, but write a good story and good characters), anyway, I digress. Anyway, if you like classic movies, film noir, if you will, and old Hollywood, I would suggest watching Laura, Gene Tierney was one of the Hollywood starlets of the time, appearing in many other Oscar-nominated movies, and Clifton Webb is a treat (he is very dapper and appeared in the Mr. Belvedere films, The Razor's Edge again with Tierney, and others), and Vincent Price who plays a character totally different to Prosecutor Dutour from The Song of Bernadette and very different from the horror films he is known to many audiences.

1/12/12 The Eleanor Roosevelt Story, Best Documentary, 1965

Younger generations may think that all First Ladies have been as active and involved in the affairs of the country, like Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, but that has not always been true. But that was true with Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of four-term president, Franklin Roosevelt. The Eleanor Roosevelt Story traces Eleanor's life from her upbringing in a family with very high expectations to her marriage to the young Roosevelt, an ambitious up and comer for the Democrats to the wheelchair-bound progressive, reformer during the Depression and second World War. Yes, that is quite a list, but she was quite a woman. I don't think we are at a point in American history (or world history) yet, where a woman leading worldwide initiatives should be taken for granted, there is still a long way to go, so when you look at what Eleanor Roosevelt did over 70 years ago, it is even more amazing. She traveled around the country during the Depression, meeting with Americans all over, trying to find out what they needed, lending her voice to causes, even when it was unpopular, especially when it was unpopular, and that was quite a feat. During World War II, she continued her travels, to different countries, visiting soldiers, Allies, telling jokes, stories and representing her husband's policies. The Republicans at the time were very unkind, although at that time, there was still such a thing as civil discourse. One of the things that was included in the documentary was her work on the United Nations (the League of Nations had essentially collapsed under its own weight in the 1930s) and the way she handled the challenges from different countries, especially the USSR, seemed very graceful; she had an understanding of how to deal with people, even when they disagreed. It could be courteous and yet strong and determined. Yes, Virginia, there was a time of public civility. We don't talk enough about Eleanor Roosevelt, and that's a damned shame. She really is an inspiration and role-model, a woman who overcame the preconceptions about what being a woman of society in the early 1900s meant (be pretty - she wasn't, do as you're told - she didn't, limit your ideas to china patterns and how you can support your husband - she supported her husband, but I don't think that's what her family had in mind) to a trailblazer, independent thinker and an inspiration to many. There were parts of the documentary my mind wandered, especially in the beginning, but those early years were very formative for her, so I probably should have paid better attention (oops).

1/12/14 Lone Survivor, nominated Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, 2013

And here we are: after I saw it, I said to several people, Lone Survivor will probably be nominated for the sound awards and possibly visual effects or makeup, and dang if I wasn't correct on the sound awards. It's not like I'm omniscient, because if I was, I would use my powers in a little different way, but that's for another time. It's just that war movies or movies with a lot of explosions seem to get nominated a lot because it takes a lot to make sure the sound is synced with the action, otherwise it probably turns into a really bad comedy. So, enough kudos for me.

Lone Survivor is based on the book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson that depicts the events surrounding the unsuccessful SEAL mission in Afghanistan to track down a Taliban leader. Lately, there have been several shows or segments on a variety of networks about Luttrell and his comrades (he was the Lone Survivor) and the story is so amazing, that I really wanted to see it (Luttrell is played by Mark Wahlberg in the film), I want to read the book as well. Lone Survivor was directed by actor/director Peter Berg (actor in Chicago Hope, directed Friday Night Lights, Battleship) and also featured Emile Hirsch (Danny Dietz), Taylor Kitsch (Michael Murphy), Eric Bana (Erik Kristensen) and Ben Foster (Matthew Axelson). The movie pretty much grabs you by the throat from the beginning by showing footage of real-life SEALS going through their training, ringing out and graduating from the program; if you didn't have any idea how intense the training is, these few minutes give you a pretty good glimpse. The intensity takes a break as we get introduced to the team, but it picks back up again as the team preps for the mission. There are bits of humor and funny stuff as the SEALs tease and haze one of the newcomers (Luttrell makes a few appearances in the movie as one of the SEALs), but also glimpses of the planning that goes into one of these missions. Even though the outcome of the movie/real life has been shared and is common knowledge, I was still caught up in the story and the action, and there is a lot of action. Some of the scenes are so frenetic and crazy, I felt like I was in it, as the team falls down a steep cliff made up of sharp rocks, I felt myself recoil (as if my ass would ever do that). One of my issues, and this happens to me during military/war movies, is the tactical piece, when the characters start their 'military-speak', and I have no idea what the heck is going on; I am spatially-challenges, so I struggle when the characters plan their attacks, giving directions and stuff. It hurts my head. That's my own issue, but, it's frustrating. The other thing is, for this movie (and a few others I can think of), some of the characters all look the same (dark hair and scruffy), it took me a while to figure out who Taylor Kitsch and Emile Hirsch were (again, I'm sure that's my problem, and I had it in Lincoln as well, annoying). I saw this movie with one-third of my movie-going family as we were screening it for the fourteen-year old, and my friend and I both walked out feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and amazed at what those guys went through. So, should you see it? Well, yes, you should. But, it is very intense and to me, because I knew it was real and based on true events (even if they were modified for film), made it even more intense and emotional. The four men who played the real soldiers were very believable and while the acting wasn't Oscar-worthy, it was still good and didn't detract from the story, and there is a humanity that they bring (sometimes the story and intent is good, but the acting is not up to par). The swearing: oh yes, there is swearing, this ain't a tea party, and the f-bomb is dropped with stunning regularity, although probably not as much as in The Wolf of Wall Street, and if Wahlberg said 'oh darn, I think we're in trouble' you probably wouldn't believe it. The violence: I hope I can convey my thoughts on this so it makes sense. A Quentin Tarantino movie, like Django Unchained had more blood and violence than Lone Survivor, but when you watch Tarantino, even if the movie has elements of history in it, it is so overdone that you don't really take it seriously; you just think, ah, red dye number 5; it's almost satirical. In a movie like Lone Survivor, there was definitely blood, but when someone was shot through the head, it was just a splurt of blood, not like a melon exploding, so it wasn't really gory, but it was more realistic, and in that way, it was more troubling. There is a scene where one of the Taliban leaders is cutting off the head of an Afghani who was accused of helping the Americans; you don't see the actual decapitation, i.e., the head being cut off, but you see the chopping action; again, to me, that is more upsetting because you're left to your imagination. One of the things my friend and I discussed was would this be less upsetting if you watched on television; after the movie and upon consideration, I think if you were to watch it with your teenager, I would say the small screen might be the ticket; the other thing is, if you are watching it on DVD, you could pause and take a break or discuss, and you wouldn't be so surrounded by the action. There are a lot of movies out there this time of year, but I am so glad I saw this one.