You may have noticed an increase in the number of documentaries reviewed recently. I suppose it's like when people crave vegetables (that rarely happens to me, but I've heard about it); I just wanted something MORE in my film watching, and the fictional films were proving to be more miss than hit. So, using MELSA's Interlibrary Loan program (man, I love that), I have been binge watching documentaries. The downside to that is I feel like I've had my heart broken, even when I look for some glimmer of hope.
12/21/16 I am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School, Best Documentary, 1993
I always hope that when I watch an older documentary that whatever the 'issue' that is being addressed, by the time I watch the film, it's been 'fixed' or 'improved'. I don't think that is unreasonable, especially when the film is about the education of children in the inner city. I mean, that has to get better, right? I am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School takes a closeup look at the Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia in the early 1990s. North Philadelphia is mostly black, mostly poor, and made up of children from single parent homes, fighting drugs and gangs on every corner. The principal is Dr. Deanna Burney, a white woman, with a passion for 'her kids' and education, equitable education for inner city kids, who often get so much less funding than their suburban, white counterparts. Dr. Burney walks through the playground, calling out to the kids by name, asking about their families, how they're feeling, are they going to do good work, etc. The movie focuses on a few of the children, their interaction with Dr. Burney, and the interaction with the parents. School can be hard enough, but when you add hunger, potentially violent conditions, a single parent doing their best to work and take care of their children, but falling short, attention and behavior issues, plus inadequate funding, it's a Sisyphean task. Dr. Burney and her staff do their best to educate the kids between and among the distractions, but it is so hard. We watch as parents breakdown as they struggle to get the children to understand that school may be the difference between breaking the cycle of poverty and drugs and just giving up due to desperation. Teachers are frustrated with having to be disciplinarians instead of educators. I watched the film and saw such potential that would probably go untapped because the children and the teachers just didn't have the resources. It makes me very angry, because it seems like some of the issues could be addressed so easily. I did find my little light of hope because you could see the love that most of the staff had for the children, and the love that was given back. The DVD didn't have any special features to show us where the kids or teachers are today, but I did see that one of the young girls went to college and was opening her own business. The filmmakers filmed over the course of the school year, and you feel that they understand and know the children and teachers, and are personally invested in the school and the people. I think this is a must watch for educators, new and veteran, and really anyone interested in education issues in our country.
12/22/16 Poster Girl, nominated for Best Documentary Short, 2010
12/22/16 Iraq Paper Scissors, Documentary, 2010
America has got to do better by its veterans. Period. After watching documentaries like The Invisible War, and now Poster Girl and Iraq Paper Scissors, I believe that even more strongly. Poster Girl and Iraq Paper Scissors are companion pieces by the same director, Sara Neeson, and they both tell the story of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Robynn Murray is the focus of Poster Girl; Murray, a former sergeant in the Army, suffers from physical ailments from her service, but also, and harder to quantify, are the emotional and mental injuries she has. The problem with PTSD is you can't see it on an x-ray or MRI, maybe they're faking. But it's real, and we watch as Robynn struggles with life after the military, trying to get benefits from the Veterans' Administration, navigate the bureaucracy, and trying to cope with her angry outbursts. Robynn finds help from other veterans and art therapy. She finds a group called the Combat Paper Project which turns the veterans' uniforms and manuals into paper and then into art. The whole process, from cutting up their uniforms, to making the paper and then their art, and sharing the art with their comrades as well as family, friends and others just interested in the project is cathartic and allows the vets, including Robynn, to begin healing. They find their voices and an outlet for their anger, anger at the military, the government for not listening or helping, and their anger at themselves for participating in the brutality of war. Many of the soldiers we meet in Iraq Paper Scissors, including Robynn, joined the military when they were kids, 18, 19 or 20, and they come back as adults who have seen and done too much, some things they can't even put into words. But they can put into art. Poster Girl lets us focus on the story of one person, and Iraq Paper Scissors introduces us to the Combat Paper Project and the men and women who participate. We hear their stories and feel their pain, but also their hope and rebirth as they address their demons head on, leaning on each other, really the only other people who can understand their experiences. The Combat Paper Project teams with Warrior Writers, another veterans group, that focuses on the written word. Twenty two veterans commit suicide every day. EVERY DAY. That's not acceptable, it should never be acceptable. These projects, and others like them that are growing around the country, can help pull vets back from the brink. There is also a suicide hotline specifically for veterans. These men and women answered their country's call; it's our turn to be there for them. As one of the veterans said, 'We don't want you to stand behind us, we want you beside us. We want your empathy.'
Resources:
Facts about PTSD
Warrior Writers
Combat Paper Project
Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 1-877-4AID-VET
12/23/16 Robert Kennedy Remembered, Best Live Action Short, 1968
Directed by Charles Guggenheim (who directed 11 Oscar nominated documentaries, winning four times), this all-too brief film relies on footage of Robert 'Bobby' Kennedy, and not direct interviews with him or any family. The film was put together after Kennedy's assassination in 1968; it was narrated by Richard Burton. The footage includes news footage as well as home movies from the Kennedys. Bobby Kennedy was John Kennedy's younger brother, who served as JFK's confidante, and the U.S. Attorney General. I knew a little about Robert Kennedy, but not as much as I probably should, and it was really interesting to learn more about his passion for civil rights and his strong sense of right and wrong and duty to his country, and the world. Listening to some of his speeches, it is easy to see how people were so moved by him. When you hear people like the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, who inspire without inciting, you realize how far we have come, in the wrong direction. The film is not an exhausting examination of Kennedy, but it is a wonderful primer on him, and a glimpse into the America of the mid to late 1960s. The discussion of race relations is one of those sad moments (for me) when I realize that we have not advanced as much as we should have, and in some parts of the country, we have taken backwards steps. We need Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy more than ever.
12/23/16 Dark Horse, 2016 not yet nominated
Who doesn't like a good horse tale? Who doesn't like a good horse tale told with a Welsh accent? Exactly...nobody. Dark Horse is about Dream Alliance and the people who loved him. In a small Welsh mining town, Janet Vokes came up with the idea to create a syndicate to breed and race a horse. She teamed up with Howard Davies, an accountant by profession, to start the syndicate by asking people in the town to join, paying ten pounds a week for care and training of the yet unborn horse. The documentary tells the story from the beginning: the acquisition of Dream's mother, his birth, training, and first races. We meet members from the syndicate as they tell their story directly to the camera, we hear how racing, in the United Kingdom like in the U.S., is considered a sport for the elite, and that they were looked down on by the racing establishment as well as the sporting press. In some ways, they may have relished the role of the outsiders, but other times, the lack of respect seemed to grate on them; they just weren't taken seriously. At least, not until Dream started to win. Of course, it wouldn't be a compelling story without a bump in the road, and since the movie is fairly new, I really don't want to ruin anything. It isn't ruining it, however, to say that the members of the syndicate were more than just owners, they really love Dream Alliance, and he became a point of pride for the townspeople, whether they were owners or not. I read online, somewhere, that Dark Horse may be a contender for Best Documentary; it has the elements that people like, so we'll see. It's a wonderful story, and we get a few views of the beautiful Welsh countryside, and gorgeous horses. You really can't go wrong.
12/23/16 Kon-Tiki, Best Documentary, 1950
In today's world of 500 television channels and dozens of adventure reality shows, the idea of a group of men building a raft and sailing across the Pacific would fit right it. Kon-Tiki is the documentary of Thor Heyerdahl and his international crew who, in 1947, sailed from Peru to Polynesia in the Pacific, on a handmade raft of balsa wood logs, and no engine. This was before satellites or Go-Pro cameras, they had a 16mm camera and a regular camera. Heyerdahl was trying to prove his theories about human migration patterns and what could have been possible with limited technology. It is pretty amazing that there were no major disasters or incidents in the three plus months of the journey, but since this was filmed by the actual crew, if there storms or rough weather (Heyerdahl alludes to one rough patch where they lost their parrot), the crew couldn't be expected to actually film, they would be working to keep sailing. If you have an adventurous spirit, like sailing, or want to see a real reality show, you should try and find this (interlibrary loan, it's not available on Netflix), and also watch the 2012 dramatized version which was nominated for Best Foreign Film. Heyerdahl was a man of big ideas who was pretty determined and fearless when it came to trying them out in the real world; there are not too many real adventurers any more (there are debates about his scientific conclusions which I am not qualified to evaluate, but the adventure was real).
Documentaries: Maya Lin, Inocente, Anne Frank Remembered, The Thin Blue Line
12/14/16 Maya Lin: A strong clear vision, Best Documentary, 1994
If you are old enough to remember when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was commissioned and created, you may recall the controversy around it. It was created by a very young woman, of Chinese parentage and was in stark contrast to what most people thought a memorial should be. If anyone was up to these challenges, sometimes very insulting and aggressive dissension, it was Maya Lin. Maya Lin was a young student when she entered a contest to find the design for a memorial to the veterans of the Vietnam War. She designed a memorial of long walls with the names of those men and women killed in the war etched into it in chronological order. The walls are sunk into the ground. Having been there, I can attest to the powerful feeling I had as a citizen; the documentary shows veterans being overwhelmed by their emotions and memories. In the documentary, Lin is interviewed about her though process for the design of the memorial, explaining her decisions from the order of the names, to the positioning of the walls to why the memorial is sunken below ground. The film allows the viewer insight into her other works, the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, Women's Table at Yale University (her alma mater). While Lin is well-spoken in the film sharing her visual ideas, and passionate about her visions, she seems very uncomfortable when receiving accolades or presenting her work to an audience. She believes that the work should be the focus, whether it is the memories of Vietnam for the veterans, or the participants of the Civil Rights Movement, it is the work and the viewers' interpretations that are important. If people are moved, then she has done her job. The movie spends the most time on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the controversy of Lin's selection, the reaction of the veterans, as well as Lin's insights; it also follows her as she works on newer pieces, in her home state of Ohio, as well as throughout the United States. It was very interesting to watch her work, especially because I have wondered how large pieces get done, it's not just the artist, that's for sure. Maya Lin recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. She is an American treasure and I totally recommend watching this documentary.
12/16/16 Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1948, #48 BBC, National Film Registry
So many thoughts went through my head as I watched Letter from an Unknown Woman, starring Joan Fontaine (Rebecca) and Louis Jourdan (Gigi), co-produced by John Houseman and directed by Max Ophuls. One thought was, why I have never heard of this movie? Two, how come Hollywood has not remade it (a Chinese remake was done in the early 2000s)? And three, not that receiving an Oscar, or being nominated, means a movie is great, how did this movie not get nominated for any Oscars? Set in the early 20th century, Joan Fontaine is Lisa, a Viennese teenager who lives in the same apartment building as Stefan Brand (Jourdan), a concert pianist. Brand really doesn't notice Lisa, but she is completely smitten with him, and moons after him, ignoring and neglecting everything else. Her mother remarries, and the family moves to Linz, against Lisa's wishes. In Linz, Lisa is wooed by Johann, a young soldier, and both families have hopes of wedding bells, except for Lisa. She upsets that applecart and runs back to Vienna, hoping to find Stefan again. They do meet, but although Stefan is immediately smitten by her, he does not recall Lisa from the apartment building. They spend the entire night together, and Stefan promises more evenings and days and dinners together, except he forgot he had to leave on tour for two weeks. He also left Lisa with a permanent reminder of their night together, a child. In our 21st century world, that is probably not shocking or scandalous, but in the early 1900s, that was a pretty big deal, and having this as a significant plot point in the 1940s would also be outrageous (perhaps that is why there were no Oscar nominations?). Whether through luck, brains, guile or something else, Lisa and her child are not thrown into destitution, and she eventually reconnects with Johann, who has moved up in the military and is quite successful, and he is also forgiving of her past, to a point. I liked the movie, and when I tried to watch it as someone would back in 1948, I thought it was groundbreaking; I thought Lisa was unrealistic and she annoyed me (as a character), but I did like Joan Fontaine, and Louis Jourdan was handsome, dashing and a bit of a rogue. It's not necessarily a date night movie (or perhaps it is, I'm not the best judge), but if you are looking for something different from 'the usual', give this a try, if you can find it.
12/17/16 Anne Frank Remembered, Best Documentary, 1995
The Diary of Anne Frank was a dramatized telling of the Frank family's time in hiding in Amsterdam. Anne Frank Remembered is more about Anne as she grew up, her friends who knew her as a little girl, family friends, including Miep Gies, the woman who worked for Otto Frank, helped set them up in the attic and found Anne's diary after the family was captured by the Nazis. We get a look at how her friends saw Anne and her sister Margot; Margot was serious and studious, while Anne was mischievous, spoiled (some said), argumentative, and as several of her friends said, a regular teenager. The documentary begins before the Second World War, even before Anne was born, with the Frank family living in Germany, through their move to The Netherlands, trying to escape the rising anti-Semitism in Germany. I really enjoyed this documentary, especially for the fact that it does not try and paint Anne as a saint, she's a teenager, a young girl, who has arguments with her parents and other adults. She is eminently relatable to other teenagers, whether those who read her story in the 1950s or the 2000s. We hear from her friends who survived the camps, who knew Anne and her sister in their last days. I strongly recommend watching this documentary, with your kids, with a group of friends. It's important that Anne's story, and the story of her friends and family, not be forgotten, especially today.
12/17/16 Inocente, Best Documentary Short, 2012
It has been a real challenge trying to balance, fun and entertaining movies, with educational and enlightening films that may be a bit heavy and sad. Inocente is a little bit of everything, all packed into forty minutes. Inocente Izucar is a young, homeless girl living in San Diego with her mother and two brothers. She finds solace and relief in her art, starting the day by creating wearable art on her face. Inocente and her family have been homeless for many years, never staying in one place for more than three months. She's ashamed to let her classmates know that she is homeless, so she doesn't tell them. Inocente goes to ARTS (A Reason To Survive) in San Diego where she finds mentors and encouragement to pursue her painting. I think it is so easy to look down on the homeless, or undocumented workers and blame them for their circumstance, but a child (Inocente is 15 at the time of filming, but she has been living under these conditions for most of her life) has very little say in their conditions. As Inocente says, nobody wakes up and says they want to be homeless. She blames herself for the violent explosion of her father, which is a very common (and misplaced) sentiment from kids. But she doesn't use being homeless as an excuse, she uses it to propel her forward, and as inspiration in her art. Her art is colorful, hopeful, but also thoughtful and thought-provoking. I cried, I smiled, I learned. I think you may do the same.
12/17/16 The Thin Blue Line, 1988, National Film Registry
I've been learning more about our justice system (it's broken) and about men and women sentenced to life in prison or death sentences and that it's not always about proof or evidence or the pursuit of truth. I suggest reading Just Mercy by attorney and advocate Bryan Stevenson and the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, which while fiction is a fair representation of the legal system and the noblesse oblige of life in the South in the 1940s. This may seem like a digression, but it's not really. The Thin Blue Line is a documentary by Errol Morris about Randall Dale Adams and his sentence, first of death, later commuted to life in prison; the conviction was later overturned. Adams was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer after the police relied on evidence from a sixteen year old young man who had picked up Adams after his car ran out of gas; David Ray Harris later confessed to the shooting. The police also relied on 'eye witness' testimony by people who turned out later to not be very reliable, and in fact, may have been more interested in the reward money than helping solve crime. Eye witness testimony has been demonstrated to be highly unreliable under most circumstances. Morris interviews Adams in a Texas prison, who emphatically denied his guilt. He also interviewed Harris in prison; while Adams is angry about his situation, Harris seemed to me not to really care, admitting his past bad behaviors (although not immediately to killing the police officer). Adams's original defense attorneys are interviewed, as well as the judge, detectives and the witnesses who testified against Adams. The movie was released in 1988 and Adams's conviction was overturned in 1989; Harris was not charged with the death of the Dallas police officer. Neither Adams nor Morris could know the conviction would be overturned when the film was being made (Morris did not want it labeled a 'documentary'). The Thin Blue Line has informed and influenced many later documentaries, which is reflected in its place on the National Film Registry.
If you are old enough to remember when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was commissioned and created, you may recall the controversy around it. It was created by a very young woman, of Chinese parentage and was in stark contrast to what most people thought a memorial should be. If anyone was up to these challenges, sometimes very insulting and aggressive dissension, it was Maya Lin. Maya Lin was a young student when she entered a contest to find the design for a memorial to the veterans of the Vietnam War. She designed a memorial of long walls with the names of those men and women killed in the war etched into it in chronological order. The walls are sunk into the ground. Having been there, I can attest to the powerful feeling I had as a citizen; the documentary shows veterans being overwhelmed by their emotions and memories. In the documentary, Lin is interviewed about her though process for the design of the memorial, explaining her decisions from the order of the names, to the positioning of the walls to why the memorial is sunken below ground. The film allows the viewer insight into her other works, the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, Women's Table at Yale University (her alma mater). While Lin is well-spoken in the film sharing her visual ideas, and passionate about her visions, she seems very uncomfortable when receiving accolades or presenting her work to an audience. She believes that the work should be the focus, whether it is the memories of Vietnam for the veterans, or the participants of the Civil Rights Movement, it is the work and the viewers' interpretations that are important. If people are moved, then she has done her job. The movie spends the most time on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the controversy of Lin's selection, the reaction of the veterans, as well as Lin's insights; it also follows her as she works on newer pieces, in her home state of Ohio, as well as throughout the United States. It was very interesting to watch her work, especially because I have wondered how large pieces get done, it's not just the artist, that's for sure. Maya Lin recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama. She is an American treasure and I totally recommend watching this documentary.
12/16/16 Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1948, #48 BBC, National Film Registry
So many thoughts went through my head as I watched Letter from an Unknown Woman, starring Joan Fontaine (Rebecca) and Louis Jourdan (Gigi), co-produced by John Houseman and directed by Max Ophuls. One thought was, why I have never heard of this movie? Two, how come Hollywood has not remade it (a Chinese remake was done in the early 2000s)? And three, not that receiving an Oscar, or being nominated, means a movie is great, how did this movie not get nominated for any Oscars? Set in the early 20th century, Joan Fontaine is Lisa, a Viennese teenager who lives in the same apartment building as Stefan Brand (Jourdan), a concert pianist. Brand really doesn't notice Lisa, but she is completely smitten with him, and moons after him, ignoring and neglecting everything else. Her mother remarries, and the family moves to Linz, against Lisa's wishes. In Linz, Lisa is wooed by Johann, a young soldier, and both families have hopes of wedding bells, except for Lisa. She upsets that applecart and runs back to Vienna, hoping to find Stefan again. They do meet, but although Stefan is immediately smitten by her, he does not recall Lisa from the apartment building. They spend the entire night together, and Stefan promises more evenings and days and dinners together, except he forgot he had to leave on tour for two weeks. He also left Lisa with a permanent reminder of their night together, a child. In our 21st century world, that is probably not shocking or scandalous, but in the early 1900s, that was a pretty big deal, and having this as a significant plot point in the 1940s would also be outrageous (perhaps that is why there were no Oscar nominations?). Whether through luck, brains, guile or something else, Lisa and her child are not thrown into destitution, and she eventually reconnects with Johann, who has moved up in the military and is quite successful, and he is also forgiving of her past, to a point. I liked the movie, and when I tried to watch it as someone would back in 1948, I thought it was groundbreaking; I thought Lisa was unrealistic and she annoyed me (as a character), but I did like Joan Fontaine, and Louis Jourdan was handsome, dashing and a bit of a rogue. It's not necessarily a date night movie (or perhaps it is, I'm not the best judge), but if you are looking for something different from 'the usual', give this a try, if you can find it.
12/17/16 Anne Frank Remembered, Best Documentary, 1995
The Diary of Anne Frank was a dramatized telling of the Frank family's time in hiding in Amsterdam. Anne Frank Remembered is more about Anne as she grew up, her friends who knew her as a little girl, family friends, including Miep Gies, the woman who worked for Otto Frank, helped set them up in the attic and found Anne's diary after the family was captured by the Nazis. We get a look at how her friends saw Anne and her sister Margot; Margot was serious and studious, while Anne was mischievous, spoiled (some said), argumentative, and as several of her friends said, a regular teenager. The documentary begins before the Second World War, even before Anne was born, with the Frank family living in Germany, through their move to The Netherlands, trying to escape the rising anti-Semitism in Germany. I really enjoyed this documentary, especially for the fact that it does not try and paint Anne as a saint, she's a teenager, a young girl, who has arguments with her parents and other adults. She is eminently relatable to other teenagers, whether those who read her story in the 1950s or the 2000s. We hear from her friends who survived the camps, who knew Anne and her sister in their last days. I strongly recommend watching this documentary, with your kids, with a group of friends. It's important that Anne's story, and the story of her friends and family, not be forgotten, especially today.
12/17/16 Inocente, Best Documentary Short, 2012
It has been a real challenge trying to balance, fun and entertaining movies, with educational and enlightening films that may be a bit heavy and sad. Inocente is a little bit of everything, all packed into forty minutes. Inocente Izucar is a young, homeless girl living in San Diego with her mother and two brothers. She finds solace and relief in her art, starting the day by creating wearable art on her face. Inocente and her family have been homeless for many years, never staying in one place for more than three months. She's ashamed to let her classmates know that she is homeless, so she doesn't tell them. Inocente goes to ARTS (A Reason To Survive) in San Diego where she finds mentors and encouragement to pursue her painting. I think it is so easy to look down on the homeless, or undocumented workers and blame them for their circumstance, but a child (Inocente is 15 at the time of filming, but she has been living under these conditions for most of her life) has very little say in their conditions. As Inocente says, nobody wakes up and says they want to be homeless. She blames herself for the violent explosion of her father, which is a very common (and misplaced) sentiment from kids. But she doesn't use being homeless as an excuse, she uses it to propel her forward, and as inspiration in her art. Her art is colorful, hopeful, but also thoughtful and thought-provoking. I cried, I smiled, I learned. I think you may do the same.
12/17/16 The Thin Blue Line, 1988, National Film Registry
I've been learning more about our justice system (it's broken) and about men and women sentenced to life in prison or death sentences and that it's not always about proof or evidence or the pursuit of truth. I suggest reading Just Mercy by attorney and advocate Bryan Stevenson and the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, which while fiction is a fair representation of the legal system and the noblesse oblige of life in the South in the 1940s. This may seem like a digression, but it's not really. The Thin Blue Line is a documentary by Errol Morris about Randall Dale Adams and his sentence, first of death, later commuted to life in prison; the conviction was later overturned. Adams was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer after the police relied on evidence from a sixteen year old young man who had picked up Adams after his car ran out of gas; David Ray Harris later confessed to the shooting. The police also relied on 'eye witness' testimony by people who turned out later to not be very reliable, and in fact, may have been more interested in the reward money than helping solve crime. Eye witness testimony has been demonstrated to be highly unreliable under most circumstances. Morris interviews Adams in a Texas prison, who emphatically denied his guilt. He also interviewed Harris in prison; while Adams is angry about his situation, Harris seemed to me not to really care, admitting his past bad behaviors (although not immediately to killing the police officer). Adams's original defense attorneys are interviewed, as well as the judge, detectives and the witnesses who testified against Adams. The movie was released in 1988 and Adams's conviction was overturned in 1989; Harris was not charged with the death of the Dallas police officer. Neither Adams nor Morris could know the conviction would be overturned when the film was being made (Morris did not want it labeled a 'documentary'). The Thin Blue Line has informed and influenced many later documentaries, which is reflected in its place on the National Film Registry.
A Christmas Story, The Departed, Bogart in In a Lonely Place
12/24/16 The Departed, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, 2006
I saw The Departed around the time it first came out, hard to believe it was ten years ago, but I wanted to watch it again. I was surprised at how suspenseful it still was to me. Martin Scorsese told a tight, tense story, with a couple twists and turns. Set in Boston, the story follows Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) as an undercover cop trying to get into the mob, lead by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson in a truly twisted role) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) who is Costello's own mole in the State Police. The supporting cast includes Alec Baldwin as Captain George Ellerby, Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, Mark Wahlberg as Staff Sargeant Sean Dignam, Ray Winstone as one of Costello's right hand men, French; and Vera Farmiga as Dr. Madolyn Madden, who gets involved with both Costigan and Sullivan. Queenan and Wahlberg are the only people who know about Costigan. The Departed is a story about double-crosses, who can you trust, and is anyone who they say they are. It won Best Picture and Scorsese won his first Best Director Oscar; longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker won an Oscar for Best Film Editing. I liked the movie, I thought the performances were good, you really felt Costigan's stress and anxiety at getting caught as a mole; Costello (Nicholson) comes across as you would expect a ruthless mob boss to be, perhaps using Whitey Bulger as a reference. It's not your typical Christmas movie, that's for sure.
12/24/16 In a Lonely Place, 1950 #89 BBC, National Film Registry
As much as I have had my issues with the BBC list of 100 Best American films, I have also had some interesting surprises, like my first Nicholas Ray film Johnny Guitar, my second Ray film, In a Lonely Place, was definitely not anything I expected. Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame star in this film noir (do they make film noir movies anymore?) that stars Bogart as Dixon Steele (really, that's his name), a Hollywood screenwriter who is living off of his past successes, waiting for inspiration to strike; Grahame is Laurel Gray, his neighbor who becomes much more. Steele falls under suspicion for the murder of a young coat check girl. It's kind of hard to talk about the movie without giving too much away, and because I want you to see it, I don't want to spoil anything. Here is what I will tell you: Steele has a bit of a temper and can be a bit possessive and needy; Gray inspires him to start writing again, but does she think that Steele committed the murder, or is even capable of such a thing? Over the course of this movie project, I have watched a lot of film noir movies, and I am rarely disappointed; there is something that is so different from more recent movies that seems refreshing, maybe it's seeing actors from a bygone era, some we know, many we don't, maybe it's the lack of special effects and explosions and CGI, maybe it's watching a movie where the characters don't have smart phones, computers or any kind of modern technology. Maybe try a double feature, In a Lonely Place and Laura with Gene Tierney? Step back in time, put the phone down and enjoy.
12/25/16 A Christmas Story, 1983, National Film Registry
I don't know what they do in other countries on Christmas Day, but here in the U.S., we have A Christmas Story on television for 24 hours. No matter when you turn on TNT (the home of the marathon) over the Christmas holiday, you will enter 1940s middle America and the family of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley). Some people hate this tradition, but I happen to love it. It's not so much a nostalgic feeling, because, while I am old, I am not that old; but it is a loving look back on a simpler time, told from the viewpoint of Ralphie, a somewhat clumsy and awkward nine year old. Storyteller and creator of A Christmas Story, Jean Shepherd is also the narrator, and he adds the right level of drama and irony. Ralphie's big wish for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun (you'll shoot your eyes out), and he dreams about it, asking Santa, trying to manipulate his parents, using it to save his parents from marauders. During the movie, we see Ralphie play and fight with his classmates, especially Scut Farkus, things that nine years may still do today. Ralphie's brother Randy (Ian Petrella) doesn't have a lot of speaking lines, but he does get some of the funnier physical bits, including eating like a pig at the table, at his mother's (Melinda Dillon) prodding (according to Ralphie, Randy hasn't voluntarily eaten in three years), and being dressed up so snugly he cannot get up once knocked down. Ralphie's parents Dillon and the wonderfully curmudgeonly Darren McGavin seem perfect in their imperfection. Mrs. Parker has it a little more together and she lovingly tolerates Mr. Parker's swearing outbursts (portrayed with nonsense words) and his penchant for entering contests in his quest to win the big prize. McGavin plays Mr. Parker with no sense of irony or self awareness, and I mean that in the best possible way. I could recount all of the scenes that make me laugh out loud, but I think you should watch for yourself. To me, A Christmas Story is a lot like Young Frankenstein, where everyone knows those iconic scenes, and you just have to say "You'll shoot your eyes out" or "I double-dog dare you" or "Fragile. It's Italian" and people know what movie you're talking about.A Christmas Story holds a special place for me for another reason; key scenes were filmed in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. The scenes showing downtown were shot in Public Square, around the Soldiers and Sailors monument and Higbee's Department Store; the Parker house is now known as "A Christmas Story House" on the West Side of Cleveland and you can visit. As I write this, I am watching it for the 3rd time in a row. I'll move on to other things, eventually.
I saw The Departed around the time it first came out, hard to believe it was ten years ago, but I wanted to watch it again. I was surprised at how suspenseful it still was to me. Martin Scorsese told a tight, tense story, with a couple twists and turns. Set in Boston, the story follows Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) as an undercover cop trying to get into the mob, lead by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson in a truly twisted role) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) who is Costello's own mole in the State Police. The supporting cast includes Alec Baldwin as Captain George Ellerby, Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, Mark Wahlberg as Staff Sargeant Sean Dignam, Ray Winstone as one of Costello's right hand men, French; and Vera Farmiga as Dr. Madolyn Madden, who gets involved with both Costigan and Sullivan. Queenan and Wahlberg are the only people who know about Costigan. The Departed is a story about double-crosses, who can you trust, and is anyone who they say they are. It won Best Picture and Scorsese won his first Best Director Oscar; longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker won an Oscar for Best Film Editing. I liked the movie, I thought the performances were good, you really felt Costigan's stress and anxiety at getting caught as a mole; Costello (Nicholson) comes across as you would expect a ruthless mob boss to be, perhaps using Whitey Bulger as a reference. It's not your typical Christmas movie, that's for sure.
12/24/16 In a Lonely Place, 1950 #89 BBC, National Film Registry
As much as I have had my issues with the BBC list of 100 Best American films, I have also had some interesting surprises, like my first Nicholas Ray film Johnny Guitar, my second Ray film, In a Lonely Place, was definitely not anything I expected. Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame star in this film noir (do they make film noir movies anymore?) that stars Bogart as Dixon Steele (really, that's his name), a Hollywood screenwriter who is living off of his past successes, waiting for inspiration to strike; Grahame is Laurel Gray, his neighbor who becomes much more. Steele falls under suspicion for the murder of a young coat check girl. It's kind of hard to talk about the movie without giving too much away, and because I want you to see it, I don't want to spoil anything. Here is what I will tell you: Steele has a bit of a temper and can be a bit possessive and needy; Gray inspires him to start writing again, but does she think that Steele committed the murder, or is even capable of such a thing? Over the course of this movie project, I have watched a lot of film noir movies, and I am rarely disappointed; there is something that is so different from more recent movies that seems refreshing, maybe it's seeing actors from a bygone era, some we know, many we don't, maybe it's the lack of special effects and explosions and CGI, maybe it's watching a movie where the characters don't have smart phones, computers or any kind of modern technology. Maybe try a double feature, In a Lonely Place and Laura with Gene Tierney? Step back in time, put the phone down and enjoy.
12/25/16 A Christmas Story, 1983, National Film Registry
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| Fragile. - The infamous Leg Lamp |
The latest Star Trek, a Joan Crawford Western and an inspiring documentary short
12/10/16 Star Trek Beyond, not yet nominated 2016
Every time a new Star Trek movie comes out (specifically the last iteration), I feel a sense of dread. I can't help it, especially because I know it will probably be nominated for an Oscar and I'll have to watch it anyway. And, I suppose the thing is, that the movies really aren't that terrible, in fact, I usually end up enjoying them. That's what happened with Star Trek Beyond. I enjoy the banter, sarcasm and jokes between the crew, especially Dr. McCoy and Spock, as well as some pretty great special effects. We get a look at Starbase Yorktown (I don't think that has been shown in other films), because the crew of the USS Enterprise is on leave. The Enterprise and crew take off to help rescue a ship that is caught in a nebula. It's probably not giving away too much to say it's a trap! (you were shocked, right?). Idris Elba is the 'villain' Krall/Captain Bathalzar Edison, the former commander of the USS Franklin who has mutated. He and Kirk (Chris Pine) have a pretty intense battle towards the end of the movie. Since the movie just came out on DVD, I don't really want to give away too much about the different plot points (well, except that the rescue of the ship in the nebula was a trap, but that was obvious). When I watch Star Trek movies, I don't look for a sophisticated themes or meanings, I just want a fun movie, hopefully with great effects, maybe some snappy dialog. Based that very generous criteria, I enjoyed it. My guess is it will be nominated for at least one of the technical Oscars (effects, sound mixing, editing). If you are looking for a fun movie this weekend or over the holiday time, this would be a good choice. Oh, a word about Idris Elba: he is a good bad guy, and I still think he would make a kick ass James Bond.
12/11/16 Johnny Guitar, National Film Registry, #64 BBC 1954
A Joan Crawford western? That could be interesting. In fact, I liked Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Joan Crawford as Vienna, a saloon keeper out west who is battling with cattle ranchers over the impending railroad and the farmers that will come with it. The two real stars of the movie are the only two female roles, Vienna and Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge), who are bitter rivals, over men and over control of the town. In preparation for the trouble, Vienna hires Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), who used to be known as Johnny Logan, a gunslinger (I didn't really spoil it, if you've seen even two westerns, you have seen this trope many times). There is also The Dancin' Kid (I'm not making this up), who is the object of affection for Emma and Vienna. Offscreen, Emma's brother is killed and it's blamed on The Dancin' Kid and his gang, but there is no real proof; it doesn't matter, Emma works up the other landowners into a lather, and they threaten the Kid and Vienna unless they leave. Johnny and Vienna get caught in a precarious situation and try to escape, but this really comes back to a battle between Vienna and Emma. Crawford and McCambridge go toe to toe in many scenes, neither one backing down. I do not think this type of casting or story happens very often (ever?) in westerns or other genres, for that matter, which is a shame. It was fun to watch. In too many westerns, women are portrayed as fragile and in need of men for support; they don't often strap on a holster with every intention of using the gun. There was something that was a bit campy, and sometimes I wasn't sure if I should laugh or not, but that feeling passed. After so many meh movies from the BBC list, it's nice to be so pleasantly surprised.
12/11/16 King Gimp, Best Documentary Short, 1999
King Gimp is a documentary short that follows Daniel Keplinger, a young artist with cerebral palsy. Daniel wrote the documentary and narrates it through typing and speaking. The filmmakers followed Dan from the age of 12 for around 13 years, going to a school for handicapped kids, through being mainstreamed at a local high school where he discovered his talent for art. His mother was determined to give Dan the same opportunities and experiences that other kids his age were having, as much as she was able, including going to a regular school. Dan also went, and graduated from, Towson University in Maryland, getting a degree in Art. He struggled with some of the professors who told him that he would not succeed and could not be an artist, until he found a professor who believed in his ability and talent. King Gimp' may have a negative connotation to some, but to Daniel and his friends, it's a badge of honor, representing his strong spirit. To me, the sign of a good short film is that you want more, and I wanted more.
Every time a new Star Trek movie comes out (specifically the last iteration), I feel a sense of dread. I can't help it, especially because I know it will probably be nominated for an Oscar and I'll have to watch it anyway. And, I suppose the thing is, that the movies really aren't that terrible, in fact, I usually end up enjoying them. That's what happened with Star Trek Beyond. I enjoy the banter, sarcasm and jokes between the crew, especially Dr. McCoy and Spock, as well as some pretty great special effects. We get a look at Starbase Yorktown (I don't think that has been shown in other films), because the crew of the USS Enterprise is on leave. The Enterprise and crew take off to help rescue a ship that is caught in a nebula. It's probably not giving away too much to say it's a trap! (you were shocked, right?). Idris Elba is the 'villain' Krall/Captain Bathalzar Edison, the former commander of the USS Franklin who has mutated. He and Kirk (Chris Pine) have a pretty intense battle towards the end of the movie. Since the movie just came out on DVD, I don't really want to give away too much about the different plot points (well, except that the rescue of the ship in the nebula was a trap, but that was obvious). When I watch Star Trek movies, I don't look for a sophisticated themes or meanings, I just want a fun movie, hopefully with great effects, maybe some snappy dialog. Based that very generous criteria, I enjoyed it. My guess is it will be nominated for at least one of the technical Oscars (effects, sound mixing, editing). If you are looking for a fun movie this weekend or over the holiday time, this would be a good choice. Oh, a word about Idris Elba: he is a good bad guy, and I still think he would make a kick ass James Bond.
12/11/16 Johnny Guitar, National Film Registry, #64 BBC 1954
A Joan Crawford western? That could be interesting. In fact, I liked Johnny Guitar, directed by Nicholas Ray, starring Joan Crawford as Vienna, a saloon keeper out west who is battling with cattle ranchers over the impending railroad and the farmers that will come with it. The two real stars of the movie are the only two female roles, Vienna and Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge), who are bitter rivals, over men and over control of the town. In preparation for the trouble, Vienna hires Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden), who used to be known as Johnny Logan, a gunslinger (I didn't really spoil it, if you've seen even two westerns, you have seen this trope many times). There is also The Dancin' Kid (I'm not making this up), who is the object of affection for Emma and Vienna. Offscreen, Emma's brother is killed and it's blamed on The Dancin' Kid and his gang, but there is no real proof; it doesn't matter, Emma works up the other landowners into a lather, and they threaten the Kid and Vienna unless they leave. Johnny and Vienna get caught in a precarious situation and try to escape, but this really comes back to a battle between Vienna and Emma. Crawford and McCambridge go toe to toe in many scenes, neither one backing down. I do not think this type of casting or story happens very often (ever?) in westerns or other genres, for that matter, which is a shame. It was fun to watch. In too many westerns, women are portrayed as fragile and in need of men for support; they don't often strap on a holster with every intention of using the gun. There was something that was a bit campy, and sometimes I wasn't sure if I should laugh or not, but that feeling passed. After so many meh movies from the BBC list, it's nice to be so pleasantly surprised.
12/11/16 King Gimp, Best Documentary Short, 1999
King Gimp is a documentary short that follows Daniel Keplinger, a young artist with cerebral palsy. Daniel wrote the documentary and narrates it through typing and speaking. The filmmakers followed Dan from the age of 12 for around 13 years, going to a school for handicapped kids, through being mainstreamed at a local high school where he discovered his talent for art. His mother was determined to give Dan the same opportunities and experiences that other kids his age were having, as much as she was able, including going to a regular school. Dan also went, and graduated from, Towson University in Maryland, getting a degree in Art. He struggled with some of the professors who told him that he would not succeed and could not be an artist, until he found a professor who believed in his ability and talent. King Gimp' may have a negative connotation to some, but to Daniel and his friends, it's a badge of honor, representing his strong spirit. To me, the sign of a good short film is that you want more, and I wanted more.
Woody Allen, The Chronicles of Narnia, Love Streams
11/25/16 Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1989 #57 BBC
Crimes and Misdemeanors is one of the few Woody Allen films I saw in the theater; I think the only other one was Scoop, which I saw in Paris (in English, thank god). I remember liking it and the moral questions that Allen raised, and loving the performances by some of my favorite actors: Sam Waterston, Jerry Orbach, Martin Landau and Alan Alda (the rest of the cast is stellar, but I will watch almost anything these guys are in). Martin Landau is Judah Rosenthal, a successful ophthalmologist who has a very big secret; Woody Allen is Clifford Stern, a documentary filmmaker. I found the story about Judah and his secrets and lies (the name of a film by a totally different director, Mike Leigh) more interesting than Clifford's. Judah is having an affair with a flight attendant, Dolores (Anjelica Huston), and while it seems to dying out for him, Dolores wants to tell Judah's wife, Miriam (Claire Bloom). Judah, who is receiving a big award as the movie opens, is scared of Dolores spilling the beans and ruining the myth and illusion that he has created of being the perfect husband and citizen of the world. Judah brings his brother, Jack (Jerry Orbach) into the picture, to 'take care of things'. For a while, Judah suffers pangs of his conscience and feelings of guilt and fear of a different secret coming out. Clifford, who is struggling to make pet documentary film on a Holocaust survivor, takes on the job of doing a documentary on his brother-in-law, Lester (Alan Alda), a successful, obnoxious television producer. Saying that Clifford has zero enthusiasm for his subject is a minor understatement; Lester is everything that Clifford isn't, nor does he want to be. Clifford tries to begin a relationship with Halley (Mia Farrow), Lester's assistant producer. Clifford is about as successful at that as he is at everything else. Clifford's other brother-in-law, Ben (Sam Waterston), is a rabbi who is slowly losing his sight, and is a patient of Judah's. If you are waiting for the boors and bad guys to get their comeuppance, you may be waiting for a long time. If you think that guilt will eat away at Judah like he is in a Dostoevsky story, I hope you're not too disappointed. Sometimes, the good guys don't win. This is more of a drama than a comedy, but it does have its moments, especially when Clifford and Lester share the screen. Ingmar Bergman is one of Allen's influences, and this definitely could have been something that Bergman did, in fact, he probably did (without the Jewish influence), but I cannot come up with a specific movie at the moment.
12/2/16 Mighty Aphrodite, Best Supporting Actress, 1995
I was beginning to think I would never get to watch this 1995 Oscar winner by writer/director/actor Woody Allen. The first time I got the movie from the library, it wouldn't play; I think it might have even been a VHS tape, not even a scratched disk. Then it was gone from circulation, and it's in the 'unknown' category on Netflix. But, ta-da, Interlibrary Loan has come into my life and all kinds of things I thought I would never see are now possible. Mira Sorvino won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Linda Ash, a call girl with a heart of gold, or at least acting ambitions. Linda has a baby and gives him up for adoption. Max's adoptive parents are Amanda Sloane Weinrib (Helena Bonham Carter) and Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen); Amanda is an art gallery curator and Lenny is a New York sportswriter. Lenny seems far more obsessed with learning about his new baby's birth parents than Amanda, and he goes to some questionable lengths to do it. In a Woody Allen movie, questionable very often means funny, and that is true here. Allen uses the idea of the Greek chorus to help tell his tale and question Lenny's motives and actions, in a very humorous way, I was reminded of Mel Brooks. F. Murray Abraham is the Chorus Leader, and we also get commentary from Cassandra and Tiresius, both prophets, and others from Greek mythology. I thought it was a clever and unusual way (in films, at least) to break the wall between the audience and the actors. Lenny winds up tracking down Linda and goes on 'dates' with her, but not for sex, to learn more about her, but he doesn't tell her why. I'm not overly familiar with Sorvino's other films, so I don't know if this is a typical performance, but in the context of the film, she was really good; she was funny, she wasn't overshadowed or overpowered by Allen. Allen was not overly annoying, either; sometimes his 'schlemiel' characters can be too much, but not in this case. Being a fan of Bonham-Carter, I did think she was kind of wasted here; maybe 'wasted' isn't the right word, but I didn't get enough. I would love to see her in the type of role that Cate Blanchett played in Blue Jasmine. But anyway, that's a different story. I think this movie has probably been forgotten by a lot of people, but it's worth a look (if you can find it). An interesting tidbit: Dianne Wiest won the Best Supporting Actress the year before in Woody Allen's Bullets over Broadway.
12/3/16 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Best Makeup, 2005
I never read the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis even though a lot of my classmates did. I don't know why, but I just didn't, so in some ways I'm not tied by emotion or nostalgia to them. When I watch the movies or television representations, I just enjoy them for what they are, which are wonderful, fantastic adventures. The movie starts off in war time England, with bombs raining down on London, so families begin sending their children off to live in the country, many times with total strangers. That is the case for the four Pevensie children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. During a game of hide and seek in the large house owned by the reclusive professor Digory Kirke (Jim Broadbent), Lucy falls through the wardrobe and into the magical world of Narnia. Narnia is made up of fauns, talking animals like beavers, foxes, wolves and a really big lion, Aslan (Liam Neeson). Oh, and the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Lucy comes back from her visit to her skeptical older brothers and sister, until the next time, they all go through to Narnia. The Narnians refer to the siblings as Daughters and Sons of Adam, and it seems that the children may bring with them a changing tide in Narnia, perhaps ridding them of the evil witch. Of course, nothing is as straightforward as that, and there are crazy escapes from the witch's rabid wolves, coming of age for the children as they learn more about themselves and the world they now inhabit, and battle of epic proportions. Neeson was made to be the voice of Aslan, who I think may be one of my favorite characters. Swinton is so fun as Jadis, the White Witch. She totally embraces the role and Jadis's villainous nature, but shows her campy side as well. After watching her in many different movies and roles, I'm convinced she could play any type of role or character she wants. Lewis's Christian theology can be seen in his writings, and much is made of the use of allegory and symbolism in The Chronicles of Narnia, but I honestly cannot intelligently comment on how that comes through in the film, or if it even does. If it did for you, then I missed it. Please don't interpret the previous comments as pejorative or anti-theological; they are not, I just enjoyed the movie as a fun, fantastiscal interpretation of a childhood classic. I think it's a wonderful cinematic experience, with beautiful visuals, very talented actors, and a story that I think a lot of children will enjoy. There were two subsequent movies, but I seem to recall that they were not necessarily as successful at the box office.
12/3/16 Mississippi Burning, Best Cinematography, 1988
I would love to say that Mississippi Burning is a snapshot from a long ago time, and that we have moved forward in this country to a point where your race is as little a factor in daily life as whether you are right-handed or left-handed. Maybe that is naive or just plain dumb, I like to think that was hopeful. Sadly, as events have played out over the past 18 months, racism in this country is not a thing of the past. Perhaps I will just say I hope things never get as bad as they were in the South in the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement was gaining momentum, and civil rights workers, as well as ordinary citizens, were subjected to harassment and violence in pursuit of equality for black Americans. Mississippi Burning is a dramatization of the murder of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. Gene Hackman (in an Oscar-nominated role) and Willem Dafoe star as the two lead FBI agents looking into the disappearance, later determined to be murder, of three college students trying to register black voters in the deep South. Hackman is Rupert Anderson, born and raised in Mississippi and Dafoe is Alan Ward, a northerner who is by the book and seemingly unaware of how to navigate the social and political minefield they have entered. The movie is as much about Anderson and Ward's relationship as it is about examining the events of the day. The two agents run into a brick wall made of up of corrupt law enforcement and politicians, who may also be Klansman, who have no interest in finding the missing students or getting justice for them. Director Alan Parker (Fame, Birdy, Evita, Bugsy Malone) does not sugarcoat the violence that the black community experienced, or the fear people had in speaking out. There is an element of a mystery story as Ward and Anderson peel back the layers on the onion: who knew what, who did what, where are they in the power structure of the town or the Klan. The cast is comprised of many familiar faces: Frances McDormand and Brad Dourif are Mrs. Pell and her husband, Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (McDormand was nominated for Best Supporting Actress); R. Lee Ermey played Mayor Tilman; Michael Rooker (now in the Guardians of the Galaxy films) played Frank Bailey, a particularly violent man; Darius McCrary, is Aaron Williams, a young man who preaches and tries to encourage his community. It's not an easy movie to watch, but it is very well done and should be seen and used as a platform to discuss the Civil Rights Movement then and now.
12/9/16 Love Streams, 1984, #63 BBC
I seem to question myself and my chosen hobby of movie blogging when I watch a film that is critically acclaimed, called inspirational, and I can't stand it, don't get it and want to turn it off. Am I missing something? Would I 'get it' if I studied film? These were my thoughts as I slogged through over two hours of (in my opinion) self-indulgent, wandering film-making called Love Streams. The later actor, writer and director John Cassavetes filled all three roles in Love Streams. For film savants (not me), that should be all you need to know to bow down and be inspired by the lack of pretense, the laying bare of the soul, the raw nature of the main characters, Robert Harmon (Cassavetes) and his sister, Sarah Lawson (Gena Rowlands). Sadly, I am not one of those people, and it didn't resonate with me at all. Harmon is a playboy, writer, who uses women as his muse; he drinks too much, is a reluctant father and unreliable boyfriend/lover. His sister, Sarah, is at the tail end of a divorce, and is not handling it all that well, in fact, previous visits to mental institutions are referenced by her soon to be ex-husband. Sarah takes a trip to Europe to try and get better, but comes back a little more lost, confused and unfocused, and without her daughter, who makes it clear she would rather live with her father. Sarah heads out to California to be with Robert. Sarah goes through manic episodes, and Robert is not all that certain how to handle them, but he is afraid of losing her and upsetting her. As an example, Sarah takes a cab out somewhere, a small farm or something, looking for something cuddly, and comes home with miniature horses and a goat (I think) - all in the cab. It seems the cab driver didn't think any of this was weird. Rowlands' Sarah reminded me of her performance in Woman Under the Influence, also directed by Cassavetes, and the woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown persona. There were a few moments where I felt some compassion, but very few; most of the time I just found the whole thing unbelievable (I know it's just a film), and rambling. These two people are hurting and lost and need each other, but to me, the poor dialog and lack of focus (I'll put that down to the improvisational techniques used) just didn't reach me. This is not the first time, and certainly not the last, that I have disagreed with the BBC 100 list.
Saved by Spider-Man after Blue Velvet and Leaving Las Vegas
11/26/16 Blue Velvet, 1986 #60 BBC
Many people claim this to be one of David Lynch's best films. I'm not expert enough to say that. I will say there were some intriguing moments, well-laid out elements of film noir, but at the end of the day, I really didn't like it. I thought Dennis Hopper's sadistic character of Frank was way over the top; perhaps crazy sadists are like that, I don't know. It did put Hopper back in the public eye. I think Lynch lost me at the beginning when Jeffrey's (Kyle MacLachlan) father is stung (I think) by something and falls down and is then hospitalized with some pretty devastating injuries. It made no sense, and from that point (which was really like five minutes into the movie) I was really skeptical about everything. I'm not a huge fan of Isabella Rossellini who played Dorothy Vallens, the femme fatale and whipping girl of Frank Booth, and object of lust for Jeffrey. I don't think she's a great actress, and she seems to overdo everything here. This was more time than I planned to spend on a movie I didn't like. I don't have the energy to give you anything else. If you like sado-masochism, you'll probably enjoy this.
11/27/16 Spider-Man 2, Best Visual Effects, 2004
"Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can." Spider-Man is omnipresent in the Marvel universe; whenever I go through my comic books looking for photo opportunities, I find that I have a lot of Spider-Man comics, almost more than any other. I think that's because the Spider-Man of the comics and the animated series is fun, filled with action and a wonderful palette of villains. Sadly, I don't think that always translates so well on the big screen (or as well and as amazing as I would like); it might be a case of being spoiled with too many options. Having said all of that, I did enjoy watching Toby McGuire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the second film of this particular franchise. In the story, Peter finds it very difficult to find that work/super hero balance that every masked hero desires. He is falling behind in school, not keeping up with photo ops for The Daily Bugle, or his promises to his friend/girlfriend, Mary Jane (Kristen Dunst). Peter also gets the opportunity to meet one of his heroes, Dr. Otto Octavius/Dr. Ock (Alfred Molina) who creates, and is later taken over by his own invention. Of course, the mad scientist wreaks havoc on New York and Peter's personal life as his beloved Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and Mary Jane are threatened. So, Spider-Man is back in action. Not only does Spider-Man have to battle Doc Ock, but he has to fight Harry Osborn (James Franco), who is Peter's best friend, but who has sworn to destroy Spider-Man. The effects and action sequences are great, and still hold up ten years later (so much has changed in visual effects, you never know if they'll look dated). Personally, I don't think McGuire/Parker is as wise-cracking as I would like and what I'm used to, I think Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man got better lines and was more Spidey than McGuire's version. I also think the problem/challenge with introducing new villains all the time (this is true for any super hero movie) is that sometimes so much time is spent on the origin story of the villain, there isn't enough time left for the good stuff; and since there's a new villain all the time, this happens with every new film. I like origin stories, but sometimes it seems like a vicious cycle. I think that's why I still like the animated versions of the super hero universe, because they are shorter stories, that pack a lot into each episode. This may make sense only to people who watch too many super hero movies and television shows (which is not a bad thing at all).
11/28/16 Leaving Las Vegas, Best Actor, 1995
Sometimes I think there is a reason I didn't see a movie when it first came out. This is one of those times. Nicholas Cage won the Best Actor for his role as Ben Sanderson a writer whose life has been taken over by his alcoholism and desire for self-destruction. Between this movie and Blue Velvet, I kind of found myself wallowing in the cesspool of human frailties. Elisabeth Shue is Sera, a prostitute who forms a not all together healthy relationship with Ben. I almost turned off the movie, which I try not to do, to honor the list, but I was close. The last twenty minutes were some of the best acted and intense scenes I have watched; why I had to slog through the earlier scenes, I'll never know. This is another movie that I do not have the interest to review more in depth or offer any other insight (limited as it is).
Sometimes I just try to get through the list. This entry is an example of that.
Remaining on the list:
Oscar winners: 765
AFI 100: 4
BBC 100: 26
National Film Registry: 500
Documentary shorts and Mrs. Doubtfire
I want to say that I love my library system. I've been able to get so many movies for free, or just $1, from my county system, but I have reached the point where they don't have some of the movies I need. But then I discovered Interlibrary Loan which lets me borrow (without leaving my chair) videos from other library systems within Minnesota - for FREE (well, tax dollars, but such a deal!). So, almost everything reviewed in the next few entries is an ILL (as we call it in the biz). Onward.
11/25/16 Music by Prudence, Best Documentary Short, 2010
11/25/16 The Blood of Yingzhou District, Best Documentary Short, 2006
I feel like it's been a long time since I last watched a documentary, so my brain got nourished as well as my stomach over the Thanksgiving holiday. I watched Music by Prudence a couple of years ago, but like so many of those already watched films, I wanted to take another look. I still love it. "Prudence" is Prudence Mabhena, a young woman who was born with arthrogryposis, a disease that affects the joints, and has left her wheelchair-bound. The movie is about Prudence and her friends at King George IV's School for the Disabled in Zimbabwe who find an outlet for their feelings and observations in music. In Zimbabwe, as in many countries, the disabled are feared and ostracized, so for Prudence and her friends, Honest, Energy, Goodwell, Marvelous and the others, to form a band, Liyana, and perform for diverse audiences is quite something. I really liked the music, which has about five types of percussion, keyboards and a few vocalists. The spirit is pretty uplifting, and while there a few tearful moments, I found myself smiling quite a bit. I don't know if this is available online, but it is on Netflix and through Interlibrary Loan in Minnesota.
I would like to focus on some positive aspect of The Blood of Yingzhou District, but it was hard and heartbreaking. The last 10 minutes or so gave me a little relief, but getting there was difficult and made me so angry. "The blood" is blood that people from the Yingzhou District sell to make money; while you cannot get AIDS from donating blood under normal and safe conditions, these poor villagers sold blood, had important components 'extracted' and then their blood was returned to their bodies after it was mixed with other people's and thereby contaminated (I'm doing this from memory, so I am trying to capture the process as best as I can). The movie focuses on the children of these villagers, many of whom are orphaned or neglected by their families after their parents die. Even though their relatives may love them and want to care for them, they are afraid that if they associate with the kids (who may or may not even be sick) that nobody will want to be near them. It really is an education issue which is not easily overcome. The movie focuses on three sets of children: Gao Jun is a little boy of undetermined age who is very isolated after his primary caregivers die and his uncles are afraid to get too close; Nan Nan was being raised by her older sister before being placed in an orphanage where she gets some medical care and affection, but still has contact with her sister; the Huang children are three siblings who have been shunned, teased, and bullied by their village. We do see a few outreach workers trying to educate villagers about HIV/AIDS, and how it cannot be spread by casual contact. It's ten years later and I do not know if it is any better or worse or how the children are doing. I'd like to think things are better, but I don't know.
11/26/16 Mrs. Doubtfire, Best Makeup, 1993
I'm not sure what kind of review to do. Is it lazy to just say that Mrs. Doubtfire starring Robin Williams is still funny twenty-four years later? It is funny, he is funny, the situations are funny. Williams is Daniel, newly divorced from his wife, Miranda (Sally Field), and even though he tries to be there for his three kids, he doesn't always do it to Miranda's expectations. This sets the stage for an unpleasant custody agreement where Daniel can only see the kids once a week. Any other dad might have just settled for that, but not Daniel. Miranda advertises (she thinks) for a housekeeper/nanny for the kids, which Daniel sabotages in a pretty funny way. He then takes the job for himself, or rather Euphegenia Doubtfire. It just gets hilarious from there, as Daniel and his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein) and Frank's partner, Jack, who are makeup artists, to come up with a disguise. The disguise is what won the Best Oscar for Makeup. Mrs. Doubtfire embodies the traits and behaviors that Miranda had told Daniel that she wanted from him. The kids are not all that thrilled at first, but Miranda is, and gradually everyone loves Mrs. Doubtfire. Miranda starts dating one of her clients and old friends, Stu Dunmire (Pierce Brosnan) which is a little awkward for Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire. A series of events transpire that release the kracken, and it gets a little crazy. If I only watched the scenes where Williams cuts loose, Mrs. Doubtfire dancing, running between the kitchen and the bedroom to make a cup of tea, and on and on, and I would have been happy. The fact that there is a nice, fun, touching story wrapped around his frenetic behavior is a huge plus. I think families could watch this movie today and still enjoy it as much as they did twenty years ago. Chris Columbus, who directed a couple of the Harry Potter films, Home Alone 1 and 2, Night at the Museum and many others, shows his comic chops here, in one of his earliest directorial efforts. If you're looking for something the whole family can watch over the holidays, you might consider this (there is some innuendo because Mrs. Doubtfire has to wear prosthetic body parts, so some people may think it's not okay for little kids, and that's probably true, but older kids 11/12 could watch; there are more offensive things in commercials).
11/25/16 Music by Prudence, Best Documentary Short, 2010
11/25/16 The Blood of Yingzhou District, Best Documentary Short, 2006
I feel like it's been a long time since I last watched a documentary, so my brain got nourished as well as my stomach over the Thanksgiving holiday. I watched Music by Prudence a couple of years ago, but like so many of those already watched films, I wanted to take another look. I still love it. "Prudence" is Prudence Mabhena, a young woman who was born with arthrogryposis, a disease that affects the joints, and has left her wheelchair-bound. The movie is about Prudence and her friends at King George IV's School for the Disabled in Zimbabwe who find an outlet for their feelings and observations in music. In Zimbabwe, as in many countries, the disabled are feared and ostracized, so for Prudence and her friends, Honest, Energy, Goodwell, Marvelous and the others, to form a band, Liyana, and perform for diverse audiences is quite something. I really liked the music, which has about five types of percussion, keyboards and a few vocalists. The spirit is pretty uplifting, and while there a few tearful moments, I found myself smiling quite a bit. I don't know if this is available online, but it is on Netflix and through Interlibrary Loan in Minnesota.
I would like to focus on some positive aspect of The Blood of Yingzhou District, but it was hard and heartbreaking. The last 10 minutes or so gave me a little relief, but getting there was difficult and made me so angry. "The blood" is blood that people from the Yingzhou District sell to make money; while you cannot get AIDS from donating blood under normal and safe conditions, these poor villagers sold blood, had important components 'extracted' and then their blood was returned to their bodies after it was mixed with other people's and thereby contaminated (I'm doing this from memory, so I am trying to capture the process as best as I can). The movie focuses on the children of these villagers, many of whom are orphaned or neglected by their families after their parents die. Even though their relatives may love them and want to care for them, they are afraid that if they associate with the kids (who may or may not even be sick) that nobody will want to be near them. It really is an education issue which is not easily overcome. The movie focuses on three sets of children: Gao Jun is a little boy of undetermined age who is very isolated after his primary caregivers die and his uncles are afraid to get too close; Nan Nan was being raised by her older sister before being placed in an orphanage where she gets some medical care and affection, but still has contact with her sister; the Huang children are three siblings who have been shunned, teased, and bullied by their village. We do see a few outreach workers trying to educate villagers about HIV/AIDS, and how it cannot be spread by casual contact. It's ten years later and I do not know if it is any better or worse or how the children are doing. I'd like to think things are better, but I don't know.
11/26/16 Mrs. Doubtfire, Best Makeup, 1993
I'm not sure what kind of review to do. Is it lazy to just say that Mrs. Doubtfire starring Robin Williams is still funny twenty-four years later? It is funny, he is funny, the situations are funny. Williams is Daniel, newly divorced from his wife, Miranda (Sally Field), and even though he tries to be there for his three kids, he doesn't always do it to Miranda's expectations. This sets the stage for an unpleasant custody agreement where Daniel can only see the kids once a week. Any other dad might have just settled for that, but not Daniel. Miranda advertises (she thinks) for a housekeeper/nanny for the kids, which Daniel sabotages in a pretty funny way. He then takes the job for himself, or rather Euphegenia Doubtfire. It just gets hilarious from there, as Daniel and his brother Frank (Harvey Fierstein) and Frank's partner, Jack, who are makeup artists, to come up with a disguise. The disguise is what won the Best Oscar for Makeup. Mrs. Doubtfire embodies the traits and behaviors that Miranda had told Daniel that she wanted from him. The kids are not all that thrilled at first, but Miranda is, and gradually everyone loves Mrs. Doubtfire. Miranda starts dating one of her clients and old friends, Stu Dunmire (Pierce Brosnan) which is a little awkward for Daniel/Mrs. Doubtfire. A series of events transpire that release the kracken, and it gets a little crazy. If I only watched the scenes where Williams cuts loose, Mrs. Doubtfire dancing, running between the kitchen and the bedroom to make a cup of tea, and on and on, and I would have been happy. The fact that there is a nice, fun, touching story wrapped around his frenetic behavior is a huge plus. I think families could watch this movie today and still enjoy it as much as they did twenty years ago. Chris Columbus, who directed a couple of the Harry Potter films, Home Alone 1 and 2, Night at the Museum and many others, shows his comic chops here, in one of his earliest directorial efforts. If you're looking for something the whole family can watch over the holidays, you might consider this (there is some innuendo because Mrs. Doubtfire has to wear prosthetic body parts, so some people may think it's not okay for little kids, and that's probably true, but older kids 11/12 could watch; there are more offensive things in commercials).
Ace in the Hole, Fantastic Beasts and The Shining
11/19/16 Ace in the Hole, 1951 #100 BBC
Ace in the Hole was not what I thought it would be; actually, I had no preconceptions whatsoever as I had never heard of the movie before. And after watching it, that really surprises me. I really enjoyed this movie produced, directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and starring Kirk Douglas as an overly ambitious and self-centered reporter, Chuck Tatum. Tatum has bounced around newspapers because of his drinking, womanizing and other inappropriate behavior. He winds up in New Mexico and joins a local paper there, the Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, seemingly reformed, until he is sent off to cover a rattlesnake hunt, but instead stumbles across a man who is buried in a collapsed cave. Well, that's a story. An even better story would be if the man, Leo Minosa, stayed down there for a few more days so Tatum can build up a bigger story and negotiate a huge paycheck from the larger national papers. He gets support from Leo's unhappy and dissatisfied wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling), who is tired of the dusty, poor life she leads. Before long, the town is bursting with gawkers and has a carnival atmosphere as everyone wants to see what happens to Leo. Tatum keeps Leo to himself, not letting other reporters near him. Tatum seems possessed by the glare of the spotlight on him and has visions of relaunching his career with no regard for Leo or his parents. Wilder shines a cynical light on the media, and this is before the advent of cable television, satellite tv, the internet and the 24 hour news cycle. It seems rather prescient with the news circus we have all around us. Douglas is fantastic as Tatum. Wilder is known for movies like The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity and Stalag 17 (among many others), perhaps what's why Ace in the Hole is so overlooked. If you are looking for a movie off the beaten track, I strongly recommend Ace in the Hole.
11/24/16 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, not yet nominated, 2016
I think a lot of people are going to be unhappy with my take on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but I did not love it, I'm not even sure I liked it. I know that I looked at my phone (for the time) at least four times, which is not something I normally do. I just didn't really care that much. Eddie Redmayne (who is one of my favorite actors these days) is Newt Scamander an English wizard traveling in New York City with a magical case with fantastic beasts he has collected from around the world. As far as I'm concerned, the beasts are the stars of the movie, since it seemed to me that over half of the movie focused on them, with little or no dialog to interrupt their gliding and flying.Newt meets Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a wizard who works for MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States), who has been demoted to wand licenses or some such. Newt also meets a muggle or no-maj (which does not trip off the tongue) named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and the adventures start when the two accidentally swap their suitcases and three of the creatures get loose in New York City. Jacob takes the fancy of Tina's sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Colin Farrell is Percival Graves, Director of Magical Security. And then there's this whole thing with Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), the leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, who takes in kids and forces them to hand out anti-magic leaflets, she is not above physical punishment, especially towards Credence (Ezra Barebone). This train of thought just annoyed me, it seemed like an afterthought, but it was used to pull everything together at the end. Oh, wait, and then there is the character of Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard, whom we just hear of through chatter at MACUSA and newspaper headlines, until the very end. I have to say that even though J.K. Rowling wrote the script (oh, sorry, I didn't mention that this is a prelude to the Harry Potter series), it didn't seem to hang together very well; it seemed awkward and forced to me. Visually, the movie is spectacular, the beasts are creative and unique; the sets are fabulous. There could definitely be nominations for production/set design, visual effects, and some of the other technical awards. Anyway, if you are a true blue Harry Potter fan, you will probably love this; and I guess a lot of people will love it. Sadly, I did not.
11/25/16 The Shining #62 BBC
Oh my god. I'm so glad that's over. I really dislike/hate horror movies. I have told you this. But The Shining by Stanley Kubrick (book by Stephen King) was on the BBC list (damn it), so I had to watch. I intentionally watched it during the day because I am honestly afraid of having nightmares, so I will follow this up with Mrs. Doubtfire. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a wannabe writer and a bit of an arsehole; Shelly Duvall is his wife, Wendy, and Danny Lloyd plays their son Danny. In order to focus on his writing, Jack moves the family to an isolated hotel in Colorado to act as caretakers in the offseason. Danny has a telepathic ability which is more creepy than fun; in fact, most things are creepy in this movie. The hotel has a history of violence, which is brought to Jack's attention early on, as well as to Danny's by his new friend Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), who is the chef at the hotel and shares Danny's gift. There is a lot of analysis ofn this movie, as there is with all of Kubrick's movies; there are also comparisons to the book by King, which I have not read. I am in no position to analyze, compare or contrast, as it was all I could do to just get through it. The last 30-40 minutes were pretty intense, ok, really scary to me. So, this is all I've got. I made it.
Ace in the Hole was not what I thought it would be; actually, I had no preconceptions whatsoever as I had never heard of the movie before. And after watching it, that really surprises me. I really enjoyed this movie produced, directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and starring Kirk Douglas as an overly ambitious and self-centered reporter, Chuck Tatum. Tatum has bounced around newspapers because of his drinking, womanizing and other inappropriate behavior. He winds up in New Mexico and joins a local paper there, the Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, seemingly reformed, until he is sent off to cover a rattlesnake hunt, but instead stumbles across a man who is buried in a collapsed cave. Well, that's a story. An even better story would be if the man, Leo Minosa, stayed down there for a few more days so Tatum can build up a bigger story and negotiate a huge paycheck from the larger national papers. He gets support from Leo's unhappy and dissatisfied wife, Lorraine (Jan Sterling), who is tired of the dusty, poor life she leads. Before long, the town is bursting with gawkers and has a carnival atmosphere as everyone wants to see what happens to Leo. Tatum keeps Leo to himself, not letting other reporters near him. Tatum seems possessed by the glare of the spotlight on him and has visions of relaunching his career with no regard for Leo or his parents. Wilder shines a cynical light on the media, and this is before the advent of cable television, satellite tv, the internet and the 24 hour news cycle. It seems rather prescient with the news circus we have all around us. Douglas is fantastic as Tatum. Wilder is known for movies like The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity and Stalag 17 (among many others), perhaps what's why Ace in the Hole is so overlooked. If you are looking for a movie off the beaten track, I strongly recommend Ace in the Hole.
11/24/16 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, not yet nominated, 2016
I think a lot of people are going to be unhappy with my take on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but I did not love it, I'm not even sure I liked it. I know that I looked at my phone (for the time) at least four times, which is not something I normally do. I just didn't really care that much. Eddie Redmayne (who is one of my favorite actors these days) is Newt Scamander an English wizard traveling in New York City with a magical case with fantastic beasts he has collected from around the world. As far as I'm concerned, the beasts are the stars of the movie, since it seemed to me that over half of the movie focused on them, with little or no dialog to interrupt their gliding and flying.Newt meets Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a wizard who works for MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States), who has been demoted to wand licenses or some such. Newt also meets a muggle or no-maj (which does not trip off the tongue) named Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and the adventures start when the two accidentally swap their suitcases and three of the creatures get loose in New York City. Jacob takes the fancy of Tina's sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Colin Farrell is Percival Graves, Director of Magical Security. And then there's this whole thing with Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton), the leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, who takes in kids and forces them to hand out anti-magic leaflets, she is not above physical punishment, especially towards Credence (Ezra Barebone). This train of thought just annoyed me, it seemed like an afterthought, but it was used to pull everything together at the end. Oh, wait, and then there is the character of Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard, whom we just hear of through chatter at MACUSA and newspaper headlines, until the very end. I have to say that even though J.K. Rowling wrote the script (oh, sorry, I didn't mention that this is a prelude to the Harry Potter series), it didn't seem to hang together very well; it seemed awkward and forced to me. Visually, the movie is spectacular, the beasts are creative and unique; the sets are fabulous. There could definitely be nominations for production/set design, visual effects, and some of the other technical awards. Anyway, if you are a true blue Harry Potter fan, you will probably love this; and I guess a lot of people will love it. Sadly, I did not.
11/25/16 The Shining #62 BBC
Oh my god. I'm so glad that's over. I really dislike/hate horror movies. I have told you this. But The Shining by Stanley Kubrick (book by Stephen King) was on the BBC list (damn it), so I had to watch. I intentionally watched it during the day because I am honestly afraid of having nightmares, so I will follow this up with Mrs. Doubtfire. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a wannabe writer and a bit of an arsehole; Shelly Duvall is his wife, Wendy, and Danny Lloyd plays their son Danny. In order to focus on his writing, Jack moves the family to an isolated hotel in Colorado to act as caretakers in the offseason. Danny has a telepathic ability which is more creepy than fun; in fact, most things are creepy in this movie. The hotel has a history of violence, which is brought to Jack's attention early on, as well as to Danny's by his new friend Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers), who is the chef at the hotel and shares Danny's gift. There is a lot of analysis ofn this movie, as there is with all of Kubrick's movies; there are also comparisons to the book by King, which I have not read. I am in no position to analyze, compare or contrast, as it was all I could do to just get through it. The last 30-40 minutes were pretty intense, ok, really scary to me. So, this is all I've got. I made it.
The Lion King, Thelma and Louise, The Conversation and Hail, Caesar!
11/11/16 The Lion King, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, 1994 #86 BBC
I would hope that twenty-two years after the film was released (plus the theatrical musical) nobody really needs a synopsis of The Lion King. But, I could be presuming. So, the short version is that Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick are the voices) is the son of Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), the king of the pride. Mufasa has a jealous and power-hungry brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons) who does not have much time for his young nephew, or anyone else for that matter. A stampede of epic proportions sets the scene for Mufasa's death, seemingly because of Simba, but really because of Scar (I hope I didn't ruin it for the five of you who have not seen the movie). Simba runs off and meets two of the craziest characters a person, or a lion, could ever meet: Timon, a meerkat (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa, a warthog (Ernie Sabella). Timon and Pumbaa become Simba's family and they make their way through the jungle together. The due also teach Simba about "Hakuna Matata" - no worries. Meanwhile, back in the pride, Scar is wreaking havoc and misery throughout the jungle, no hakuna matata there. The cast of characters is rounded out by Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), Simba's mother; Nala, Simba's friend and later wife; Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), a hornbill, who is Mufasa's right hand bird; Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a wise mandrill, who is a shaman and provides blessings to the animals; and the three hyenas voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings. It seems to be a Disney trope to have one (or both) of the parents die early in the story; it seems to fast-track any character and story development. So, I'm sure grown-ups were not all that surprised when it happened, although they may not have been thrilled to have their kids watch it. It has characters that have become almost iconic, like Scar, Timon and Pumbaa (honestly, to me, Simba is kind of meh). And of course it has great songs by Tim Rice and Elton John, including "Can You Feel The Love Tonight, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song; "Circle of Life" and the previously mentioned "Hakuna Matata". I have no doubt that little kids all over the world are still being introduced to The Lion King as I write.
11/12/16 Thelma and Louise, Best Original Screenplay, 1991, #81 BBC
Thelma and Louise is one of a very limited number of female buddy movies, right now, I'm having a tough time coming up with another one. This probably explains its place of reverence in feminist cinematic history. Thelma and Louise (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, respectively) are supposed to just be going out for a long weekend, which then turns into the weekend from hell. Thelma is married to Darryl, who, while he isn't as enlightened as we would like, isn't a total jerk; Louise is in a relatively satisfactory relationship with Jimmy, who later goes out on a limb to help Louise and Thelma. At their first stop, Thelma meets Harlan, a fun-loving guy who doesn't take 'no' for an answer, and begins to sexually assault Thelma until Louise steps in, and lets him know what 'no' means. Unfortunately, that sets Detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) on their trail. They have other adventures (or misadventures), including a sexy, but costly, encounter with J.D. (a very young Brad Pitt) a con-man trying to hitch a ride to anywhere, really. There is a bank robbery; the F.B.I. gets involved; a state trooper in the wrong place at the wrong time; and a very rude truck driver. Louise is clearly the more mature and worldly of the two women, with Thelma being painfully naive, and occasionally just plain dense (that may be harsh, but she ticked me off a couple of times); but as the movie goes on, Thelma comes into her own, and shows a lot of strength, and at times when Louise needs the support. Slocumb tries to build a rapport with the women, ostensibly to bring them in safe, but neither women believe they will be treated with any kind of understanding by the predominately male authorities. The first time I saw Thelma and Louise, it didn't resonate with me, but this time around, it did. It was serious when it needed to be, but it also had good banter between Davis and Sarandon who seemed like they really were friends. Roles like Thelma and Louise do not come around very often for women (perhaps a little more these days, but not enough), and I think that's why it is so popular with women, even today, at least as a cultural reference. I'm glad I watched it again.
11/14/16 Hail, Caesar!, 2016, not yet nominated
I don't know where to begin. Hail, Caesar! is a Coen Brothers film, which for me means I might like it, love it, or have mixed feelings. At this particular moment, I have mixed feelings. As with many Coen Brothers movies, there are several different plot lines, and sometimes they work and sometimes they just seem to be left hanging out there. Hail, Caesar! is set during the 1950s, the period of the big set epic pictures like Spartacus, Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, The Robe, etc., and movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is working on just such an epic called Hail, Caesar! when he is kidnapped by a group of Communist supporters, including many screenwriters from Hollywood. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a 'fixer' for Capitol Studios and he is responsible for finding Baird, but also for taking care of any other scandals that might affect the studio including aquatic star DeeAnn Moran's (Scarlett Johanssen) unplanned pregnancy; coaching Hobie Doyle, (Alden Ehrenreich) a young Western star in his first real dramatic acting role; and placating the dueling twin gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker (played by Tilda Swinton). All of these story lines happen concurrently, and periodically, they cross over. As this is going on, Mannix is being wooed by Lockheed Corporation for a high level job, less stress, better hours and better pay. Oh yeah, there's also a story line with Channing Tatum and a German submarine. I was surprised by Tatum's tap dancing skills, seriously. That was a surprisingly great dance routine, worthy of a Gene Kelly movie. So, put all of these subplots in a movie, add the Baird Whitlock plot, and that's the movie. Was this of any value? Probably not. For that, I am sorry. How about, I sort of liked it? Does that help? You can't win them all, but if this is nominated for Best Original Screenplay, or Best Cinematography, then it's already taken care of.
11/15/16 The Conversation, 1974, #33 BBC, National Film Registry
The Conversation, written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, is a tense, psychological thriller with a lot nuance, driven primarily by the main character, Harry Caul, played by one of my favorites, Gene Hackman. Caul is a surveillance expert, and the movie follows him on one particular job that involves a young couple (Frederic Forrest and Cindy Williams), an older man (Robert Duvall) and a lot of fragmentary conversation. Caul spends the movie trying to piece together not only the conversation of the couple, but also tries to attach some kind of context to the situation. It's kind of like sitting on the train and picking up bits of conversations and trying to figure out what is really being discussed. I know I make up scenarios that may or may not be near the truth, or reality. Caul is a private, serious loner, and very paranoid. It must be hard to eavesdrop on people, perhaps hear things that are intimate, personal, and perhaps dangerous or illegal. This particular case seems to take its toll on Harry as we watch his paranoia increase as he thinks he is figuring out what the conversation is about. It is a little hard to believe that The Conversation was done by the same man who did Apocalypse Now (Coppola), but when I think that in The Conversation we watch the slow unraveling of Harry Caul and the same for Captain Benjamin Willard and Colonel Walter Kurtz, it doesn't seem so far fetched. I don't know why The Conversation is not talked about more as a great movie. If you are looking for a mystery/film noir movie with a stellar performance by Gene Hackman, I totally recommend The Conversation.
I would hope that twenty-two years after the film was released (plus the theatrical musical) nobody really needs a synopsis of The Lion King. But, I could be presuming. So, the short version is that Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick are the voices) is the son of Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones), the king of the pride. Mufasa has a jealous and power-hungry brother, Scar (Jeremy Irons) who does not have much time for his young nephew, or anyone else for that matter. A stampede of epic proportions sets the scene for Mufasa's death, seemingly because of Simba, but really because of Scar (I hope I didn't ruin it for the five of you who have not seen the movie). Simba runs off and meets two of the craziest characters a person, or a lion, could ever meet: Timon, a meerkat (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa, a warthog (Ernie Sabella). Timon and Pumbaa become Simba's family and they make their way through the jungle together. The due also teach Simba about "Hakuna Matata" - no worries. Meanwhile, back in the pride, Scar is wreaking havoc and misery throughout the jungle, no hakuna matata there. The cast of characters is rounded out by Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), Simba's mother; Nala, Simba's friend and later wife; Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), a hornbill, who is Mufasa's right hand bird; Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a wise mandrill, who is a shaman and provides blessings to the animals; and the three hyenas voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings. It seems to be a Disney trope to have one (or both) of the parents die early in the story; it seems to fast-track any character and story development. So, I'm sure grown-ups were not all that surprised when it happened, although they may not have been thrilled to have their kids watch it. It has characters that have become almost iconic, like Scar, Timon and Pumbaa (honestly, to me, Simba is kind of meh). And of course it has great songs by Tim Rice and Elton John, including "Can You Feel The Love Tonight, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song; "Circle of Life" and the previously mentioned "Hakuna Matata". I have no doubt that little kids all over the world are still being introduced to The Lion King as I write.
11/12/16 Thelma and Louise, Best Original Screenplay, 1991, #81 BBC
Thelma and Louise is one of a very limited number of female buddy movies, right now, I'm having a tough time coming up with another one. This probably explains its place of reverence in feminist cinematic history. Thelma and Louise (Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, respectively) are supposed to just be going out for a long weekend, which then turns into the weekend from hell. Thelma is married to Darryl, who, while he isn't as enlightened as we would like, isn't a total jerk; Louise is in a relatively satisfactory relationship with Jimmy, who later goes out on a limb to help Louise and Thelma. At their first stop, Thelma meets Harlan, a fun-loving guy who doesn't take 'no' for an answer, and begins to sexually assault Thelma until Louise steps in, and lets him know what 'no' means. Unfortunately, that sets Detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) on their trail. They have other adventures (or misadventures), including a sexy, but costly, encounter with J.D. (a very young Brad Pitt) a con-man trying to hitch a ride to anywhere, really. There is a bank robbery; the F.B.I. gets involved; a state trooper in the wrong place at the wrong time; and a very rude truck driver. Louise is clearly the more mature and worldly of the two women, with Thelma being painfully naive, and occasionally just plain dense (that may be harsh, but she ticked me off a couple of times); but as the movie goes on, Thelma comes into her own, and shows a lot of strength, and at times when Louise needs the support. Slocumb tries to build a rapport with the women, ostensibly to bring them in safe, but neither women believe they will be treated with any kind of understanding by the predominately male authorities. The first time I saw Thelma and Louise, it didn't resonate with me, but this time around, it did. It was serious when it needed to be, but it also had good banter between Davis and Sarandon who seemed like they really were friends. Roles like Thelma and Louise do not come around very often for women (perhaps a little more these days, but not enough), and I think that's why it is so popular with women, even today, at least as a cultural reference. I'm glad I watched it again.
11/14/16 Hail, Caesar!, 2016, not yet nominated
I don't know where to begin. Hail, Caesar! is a Coen Brothers film, which for me means I might like it, love it, or have mixed feelings. At this particular moment, I have mixed feelings. As with many Coen Brothers movies, there are several different plot lines, and sometimes they work and sometimes they just seem to be left hanging out there. Hail, Caesar! is set during the 1950s, the period of the big set epic pictures like Spartacus, Ben Hur, Quo Vadis, The Robe, etc., and movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is working on just such an epic called Hail, Caesar! when he is kidnapped by a group of Communist supporters, including many screenwriters from Hollywood. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a 'fixer' for Capitol Studios and he is responsible for finding Baird, but also for taking care of any other scandals that might affect the studio including aquatic star DeeAnn Moran's (Scarlett Johanssen) unplanned pregnancy; coaching Hobie Doyle, (Alden Ehrenreich) a young Western star in his first real dramatic acting role; and placating the dueling twin gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker (played by Tilda Swinton). All of these story lines happen concurrently, and periodically, they cross over. As this is going on, Mannix is being wooed by Lockheed Corporation for a high level job, less stress, better hours and better pay. Oh yeah, there's also a story line with Channing Tatum and a German submarine. I was surprised by Tatum's tap dancing skills, seriously. That was a surprisingly great dance routine, worthy of a Gene Kelly movie. So, put all of these subplots in a movie, add the Baird Whitlock plot, and that's the movie. Was this of any value? Probably not. For that, I am sorry. How about, I sort of liked it? Does that help? You can't win them all, but if this is nominated for Best Original Screenplay, or Best Cinematography, then it's already taken care of.
11/15/16 The Conversation, 1974, #33 BBC, National Film Registry
The Conversation, written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, is a tense, psychological thriller with a lot nuance, driven primarily by the main character, Harry Caul, played by one of my favorites, Gene Hackman. Caul is a surveillance expert, and the movie follows him on one particular job that involves a young couple (Frederic Forrest and Cindy Williams), an older man (Robert Duvall) and a lot of fragmentary conversation. Caul spends the movie trying to piece together not only the conversation of the couple, but also tries to attach some kind of context to the situation. It's kind of like sitting on the train and picking up bits of conversations and trying to figure out what is really being discussed. I know I make up scenarios that may or may not be near the truth, or reality. Caul is a private, serious loner, and very paranoid. It must be hard to eavesdrop on people, perhaps hear things that are intimate, personal, and perhaps dangerous or illegal. This particular case seems to take its toll on Harry as we watch his paranoia increase as he thinks he is figuring out what the conversation is about. It is a little hard to believe that The Conversation was done by the same man who did Apocalypse Now (Coppola), but when I think that in The Conversation we watch the slow unraveling of Harry Caul and the same for Captain Benjamin Willard and Colonel Walter Kurtz, it doesn't seem so far fetched. I don't know why The Conversation is not talked about more as a great movie. If you are looking for a mystery/film noir movie with a stellar performance by Gene Hackman, I totally recommend The Conversation.
Dar Williams at The Cedar - I am the Others
The Babysitter's Here (not me singing)
Dar has had some great opening acts over the years like Angel Snow, Haley Bonar, Mouths of Babes, and tonight she had a local Twin Cities author read one of her short stories. Lesley Nneka Arimah, originally from Nigeria, came onstage and read from her 2017 collection What It Means When a Man Falls Out of the Sky. It was a pretty heavy story (Arimah mentioned that her stories tend to be mostly about death and mortality) about the complex relationship a young woman had with her parents, especially her dead mother. I think the audience liked it, but it was not what we were expecting (from comments I heard). I'm not big into spoken word, either sing to me or let me read, but I appreciated the story's twist and look forward to reading the book.
I had never been to the Cedar Cultural Center before; I hate driving in Minneapolis, those turns seem to come out of the blue; one wrong turn and I could be back on the freeway. I'm glad I took a test drive on Sunday and had some idea where I was going. The Cedar is a non-profit venue for all ages that hosts all kinds of musical/dance events, from folk events to global to electronic music. It is very much a part of the community. There probably isn't a bad seat in the house, I was just 5 rows back on the left side and had a fabulous view of the stage. The sound (for Dar's show, at least) was really good, and I would go back for another show.
We did have a funny post-election moment as we were waiting for the doors to open. A car drove by, and young black man yelled out of the window "F*&* Donald Trump! F*&^ Donald Trump!" and kept going. We were all kind of shocked, only because Dar's audience leans heavily liberal/progressive, so, as one of the people in line said, we weren't going to disagree. It was kind of funny.
Review of Dr. Strange, A Braveheart: the Lizzie Velasquez Story and Truth
11/11/16 A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, 2015
Full disclosure - I supported this project on Kickstarter back in 2014. Lizzie Velasquez is a young woman who was very cruelly identified on Youtube as 'The World's Ugliest Woman' in a posting that went viral and was filled with abominable comments. Most people would have been devastated and hid themselves away. If you watch this documentary you will quickly learn that Lizzie is not like most people. When Lizzie was born, she was very, very tiny, and the doctors and her parents noticed very early on that she was not gaining weight the way she should, but they couldn't figure out why. For over 25 years, Lizzie was undiagnosed, but during the movie, she and her family do receive a diagnosis, one that removes the feelings of guilt her mother has carried for all of these years. Lizzie and her family developed ways to deal with teasing at school; and Lizzie made friends on her own merits (trying out and making the cheer squad much against her mother's fears of rejection). Lizzie fought back against the online bully by creating her own Youtube channel, which then led to a TEDtalk, which then led to speaking engagements around the country. There are so many things that I loved about this documentary: first of all, Lizzie herself, she is an indomitable spirit, who can laugh at herself, has a loving and strong relationship with her family (her parents are gems); the anti-bullying message is not a peripheral issue, it is prominent and honest and painful; and I think it is a great educational opportunity for kids and parents on dealing with people who are different from them in some ways, but not different in others. When Lizzie gives her talks, she stresses to the audiences that the power to change, to be beautiful, to be strong, is within them, which is a message I like to hear; Lizzie's messages of kindness are even more important now. I encourage you to watch this with your kids; if you're a teacher, maybe you could watch it with your students, I think it is really imperative to see this film (with or without kids).
11/12/16 Truth, 2015
I was very interested in seeing Truth starring Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes, a television news producer. Rather, Mapes and their research team were the focus of the news after issues with their story on President George W. Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard. The story became about the documents used in the story, as opposed to what President Bush did or didn't do. It was a behind the scenes look at how a news organization does research, checking sources, verifying the documents (I did not know that they had document researches), the politics behind the news. The movie follows the story of the the Killian documents (these are the documents that showed the favorable treatment that superior officers were allegedly asked to show George W. Bush), the research done, politics within CBS news/60 Minutes, to the implosion of the news team. I watched All the President's Men (also starring Redford) not too long ago, and I still had Oscar-winner Spotlight in the back of my head, so I felt something was missing here. It wasn't in the performances, but maybe the story. It was a huge deal when it happened back in 2004, but that was twelve years ago, and the anger I might have felt politically at John Kerry losing the presidential race to Bush was gone. And when I compare the current presidential situation with the one from 2004, 2004 seems to pale. Normally I say truth is better than fiction, but "Newsroom" is a fast-paced, current (relatively), biting television series that you can now get on DVD (and probably online).
11/13/16 Dr. Strange, 2016 not yet nominated
I just saw Dr. Strange today, in 3D, and the quick review is: I loved it. I almost never do 3D because I'm cheap and most times, I don't think it's necessary. I enjoyed the effects tremendously, and I feel like the movie will be nominated for visual effects and production awards. Benedict Cumberbatch is spot on as Dr. Stephen Strange, a world-renowned, egotistical surgeon, who seems to only take cases that can increase his fame. He's and ass, personally and professionally, and when he has an accident (that he caused - don't look at your phone when driving!) that irreparably damages his hands, he alternates between self-pity and anger with the one person who wants to help him, Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) before heading to Nepal in a desperate attempt to heal. He meets mystics/sorcerers Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and learns humility and to control his hubris, oh and how to do astral projection. The Ancient One and other mystics need help fighting Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a sorcerer who has gone to the dark side. The world of the magical arts works in parallel with the world of super heroes, like the Avengers, but they are different, so a lot of people may not be familiar with Dr. Strange; and the movie isn't the big explosion-driven fair that you might be used to, but that doesn't mean there isn't action. There is plenty of action, but balanced with sorcery, and you may be in a different place in the multiverse. Did I lose you? Yeah, I lost me too, I try not to think too much and just enjoy. Cumberbatch is great, and I loved Swinton as the Ancient One (there was some controversy because an Asian actor was not used, and I appreciate that, but she nailed it, I think), and I liked the idea of a woman being the Ancient One; along those lines, I would have liked to have seen perhaps Michelle Yeoh or Zhang Ziyi as the Ancient One. Mikkelsen may be more familiar to American audiences as a bad guy ("Hannibal", Le Chiffre in Casino Royale) and he doesn't disappoint (although, he can do far more, and is superb in The Hunt), he is a strong sorcerer and seemingly unbeatable. The effects are mind-blowing, and I felt transported as buildings tipped and rotated and blended into themselves, like an Escher drawing on steroids. I love that Marvel/Disney are making movies about characters that we may not know as well as Captain America, Iron Man and The Hulk, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Dead Pool and Dr. Strange. If you're skeptical, just go. You can thank me later.
Back to the Future, Close Encounters of the boring kind, Apocalypse Now
10/30/16 Back to the Future, Best Sound Effects Editing, 1985 #56 BBC, National Film Registry
I don't have any deep, insightful comments for Back to the Future. If there is some philosophical meaning, I've missed it. I can say that over 20 years later, it's still a fun movie. I can even say I understand why it's on the National Film Registry, but not so sure why it's on the BBC list (that list has to be the most perplexing of the four). Anyway, in case you have lived under a rock or are under thirty and you are not familiar with Back to the Future, a brief synopsis follows. Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, a sort of hip high schooler who is friends with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), a 'mad scientist' with a dream of building a time machine. Marty's parents, George and Lorraine (Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson) are less than average, schlumpy and defeated, especially in the eyes of Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), a high school classmate and George's boss. Doc Brown builds his time machine, in the form of a DeLorean and powers it with plutonium stolen from a group of Libyans. Doc Brown gets shot at by the Libyans as he his ready to test the DeLorean, and McFly jumps in trying to escape. Marty goes back to 1955, when his parents were in high school. Marty tries to fit in as the new kid and being a peer to his parents. All kinds of time shifting things can and do happen. Fox is perfect as McFly, with a wise-cracking and and engaging manner. Lloyd, who is also known to fans of the television show Taxi as Reverend Jim, is addled and compelling, the science teacher we all wish we had. The movie is fun and has fun with the time travel aspect, including Marty McFly influencing Chuck Berry and his duck walk. It also raises the question of what happens if you change one little thing in history - what else gets changed? The movie is fun and family friendly, and has tons of great trivia questions (like, do you know what a DeLorean is?). It won't go down as one of my favorite movies ever, but I also don't resent watching it again (see below).
11/4/16 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Best Cinematography, 1977 #75 BBC, National Film Registry
Oh my god. I didn't really get into this movie when I saw it the first time almost 40 years ago; I thought there was a chance that now that I'm older and wiser and appreciate things that I didn't before (early bed times, vegetables, Westerns), maybe I would like it now. Nope, no, uh-uh. I kind of liked the last 10 minutes, but honestly, I just didn't care. I just could not suspend my sense of disbelief for any length of time. In my opinion, not one of Steven Spielberg's best films, even though it's #75 on the BBC's 100 Best American Films, and it's on the National Film Registry as being of historical significance. Perhaps I'll give you that it was groundbreaking; I'm sure my dad would say that, in fact, I think he owned it, but he also made me watch Star Trek re-runs my entire childhood.
11/5/16 Apocalypse Now, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography 1979, #30 AFI, #90 BBC, National Film Registry
There are a couple of versions of Apocalypse Now, but I only watched the original cut, which is the one that was nominated for the Oscars and is on all three of the other lists. Apocalypse Now is set during the Vietnam War, but is based on Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, which is set in the Congo (I have not read the book, so I cannot do any kind of compare or contrast). The movie is seen through the point of view of Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), and follows his journey to find Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and kill him; Kurtz has created his own ideology, and in turn, amassed loyal and fanatical followers, some from the army, but some also from the indigenous Montagnards in Cambodia. He has become a threat to army and they want him eliminated. The time that Willard actually spends with Kurtz is far less than the time spent on the journey up river with members of the PBR Street Gang, led by the Chief, Chef, Mr. Clean (a very young Laurence Fishburne) and Lance Johnson. They're not all that thrilled with having to escort Willard and they have their own conflicts, with him, each other and others in the military. The group meets up with an Air Cavalry regiment, led by Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who admires Lance Johnson because of his reputation as a surfer (Kilgore/Duvall also utters the famous phrase 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'); Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist who seems to be under the spell of Kurtz. I was surprised that Sheen wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his role; it's through his eyes we experience the story, and the senselessness of the war and the death that surrounds the him and his comrades in arms, the twisted irony that is his mission: trying to kill a decorated U.S.Special Forces colonel in neutral country, a man who would otherwise be a hero. The movie is filled with complexities, a lot of dialogue, symbolism, multiple viewings reveal different things; it's also a movie that comes with its own legend and movie about the movie Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. None of this is surprising when you consider that Francis Ford Coppola directed, produced, co-wrote the screenplay and the score. I was shocked and a little upset that a movie this intense, well-acted (Hopper annoyed me and have the time I couldn't understand what he was saying, but aside from that), thought-provoking, only won two of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated. And, not to disparage Kramer v. Kramer, but really? Kramer v. Kramer won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (again, Sheen not even nominated), Best Adapted Screenplay. That's kind of like would you like a really good frozen pizza or a delicious pizza from (Twin Cities' own) Pizza Luce. Um, Pizza Luce please. Which one do people still talk about 35 years later? It's an investment in time and attention, but one that I think is totally worth it. It has far more of a place in cinematic and social history than many of the other films of that year.
I don't have any deep, insightful comments for Back to the Future. If there is some philosophical meaning, I've missed it. I can say that over 20 years later, it's still a fun movie. I can even say I understand why it's on the National Film Registry, but not so sure why it's on the BBC list (that list has to be the most perplexing of the four). Anyway, in case you have lived under a rock or are under thirty and you are not familiar with Back to the Future, a brief synopsis follows. Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, a sort of hip high schooler who is friends with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), a 'mad scientist' with a dream of building a time machine. Marty's parents, George and Lorraine (Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson) are less than average, schlumpy and defeated, especially in the eyes of Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), a high school classmate and George's boss. Doc Brown builds his time machine, in the form of a DeLorean and powers it with plutonium stolen from a group of Libyans. Doc Brown gets shot at by the Libyans as he his ready to test the DeLorean, and McFly jumps in trying to escape. Marty goes back to 1955, when his parents were in high school. Marty tries to fit in as the new kid and being a peer to his parents. All kinds of time shifting things can and do happen. Fox is perfect as McFly, with a wise-cracking and and engaging manner. Lloyd, who is also known to fans of the television show Taxi as Reverend Jim, is addled and compelling, the science teacher we all wish we had. The movie is fun and has fun with the time travel aspect, including Marty McFly influencing Chuck Berry and his duck walk. It also raises the question of what happens if you change one little thing in history - what else gets changed? The movie is fun and family friendly, and has tons of great trivia questions (like, do you know what a DeLorean is?). It won't go down as one of my favorite movies ever, but I also don't resent watching it again (see below).
11/4/16 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Best Cinematography, 1977 #75 BBC, National Film Registry
Oh my god. I didn't really get into this movie when I saw it the first time almost 40 years ago; I thought there was a chance that now that I'm older and wiser and appreciate things that I didn't before (early bed times, vegetables, Westerns), maybe I would like it now. Nope, no, uh-uh. I kind of liked the last 10 minutes, but honestly, I just didn't care. I just could not suspend my sense of disbelief for any length of time. In my opinion, not one of Steven Spielberg's best films, even though it's #75 on the BBC's 100 Best American Films, and it's on the National Film Registry as being of historical significance. Perhaps I'll give you that it was groundbreaking; I'm sure my dad would say that, in fact, I think he owned it, but he also made me watch Star Trek re-runs my entire childhood.
11/5/16 Apocalypse Now, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography 1979, #30 AFI, #90 BBC, National Film Registry
There are a couple of versions of Apocalypse Now, but I only watched the original cut, which is the one that was nominated for the Oscars and is on all three of the other lists. Apocalypse Now is set during the Vietnam War, but is based on Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, which is set in the Congo (I have not read the book, so I cannot do any kind of compare or contrast). The movie is seen through the point of view of Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), and follows his journey to find Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and kill him; Kurtz has created his own ideology, and in turn, amassed loyal and fanatical followers, some from the army, but some also from the indigenous Montagnards in Cambodia. He has become a threat to army and they want him eliminated. The time that Willard actually spends with Kurtz is far less than the time spent on the journey up river with members of the PBR Street Gang, led by the Chief, Chef, Mr. Clean (a very young Laurence Fishburne) and Lance Johnson. They're not all that thrilled with having to escort Willard and they have their own conflicts, with him, each other and others in the military. The group meets up with an Air Cavalry regiment, led by Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who admires Lance Johnson because of his reputation as a surfer (Kilgore/Duvall also utters the famous phrase 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'); Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist who seems to be under the spell of Kurtz. I was surprised that Sheen wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his role; it's through his eyes we experience the story, and the senselessness of the war and the death that surrounds the him and his comrades in arms, the twisted irony that is his mission: trying to kill a decorated U.S.Special Forces colonel in neutral country, a man who would otherwise be a hero. The movie is filled with complexities, a lot of dialogue, symbolism, multiple viewings reveal different things; it's also a movie that comes with its own legend and movie about the movie Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. None of this is surprising when you consider that Francis Ford Coppola directed, produced, co-wrote the screenplay and the score. I was shocked and a little upset that a movie this intense, well-acted (Hopper annoyed me and have the time I couldn't understand what he was saying, but aside from that), thought-provoking, only won two of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated. And, not to disparage Kramer v. Kramer, but really? Kramer v. Kramer won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (again, Sheen not even nominated), Best Adapted Screenplay. That's kind of like would you like a really good frozen pizza or a delicious pizza from (Twin Cities' own) Pizza Luce. Um, Pizza Luce please. Which one do people still talk about 35 years later? It's an investment in time and attention, but one that I think is totally worth it. It has far more of a place in cinematic and social history than many of the other films of that year.
The original Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven 1960 and 2016
Ugh, I have had the worst writer's block as far as reviewing the following three movies. All I can say is that it's good this isn't my day job or I would have been fired. (Sigh). If you think this is a pre-excuse excuse, you are correct. Anyhoo, here we go.
10/8/16 Seven Samurai, 1954
10/9/16 The Magnificent Seven, 1960, Nation Film Registry
9/27/16 The Magnificent Seven, 2016, not yet nominated
On my recent trip home (not so recent now), I saw The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and others, with my brother. This led to the discussion that there were two earlier movies based on a similar premise (well, one WAS the original, and then the other the first remake).
The premise for all three films is that a town or village in Japan, Mexico or the Old West is under siege from a gang, and the townspeople set out to find the men who will fight for them. It's not like you go to Target and go down the row that has mercenaries or guns for hire. If it was that easy, they wouldn't have made three movies about it. The original movie in this collection is Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was really the first movie to employ the concept of assembling a collection of (usually men) from different backgrounds and circumstances to fight a common cause. Seven Samurau is set in the 16th century and is about a small village fighting to keep their crop, and they try to hire seven ronin for this purpose. Kurosawa spends a lot of time following the process of finding the right men, giving us a look into their potential motives for joining this possible deadly endeavor, the conflicts they experience before the real fight even starts. It gives us a depth that is lacking in the subsequent films, especially the newest one. Seven Samurai is not as reliant on fancy gun tricks or special effects as the other films, again, especially the latest. The seven samurai had less than 40 men to fight, whereas it seemed that there were hundreds in the 2016 film. Seven Samurai is over three hours old, and it may take a while to get into the rhythm of the subtitles and the pacing, but it is such an influential film, that it is well worth the effort.
The Magnificent Seven (1960), directed by John Sturges and starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz and Brad Dexter are the seven of the title. There is some resemblance to the inspirational characters of Seven Samurai, but finding the cast of characters isn't quite as detailed. Yul Brynner as Chris Adams is the leader of motley crew. Eli Wallach is most unlikable as the leader of the bandits, Calvera. I would have liked to learn more about the characters, because I really liked them, this one of my favorite casts. I have seen this movie three or four times. Charles Bronson was in another of my favorite 'motley crew' movies, The Dirty Dozen. I don't have a whole lot of insight to add (see above disclaimer), except that I like this movie and if you're looking for a good western, dip into this for a couple of hours. I should also mention that the score, by Elmer Bernstein, should be familiar to you because it is used frequently (including in the 2016 film). It's a great collection of actors with some good action with an underlying them of redemption (this is true for all three films).
The Magnificent Seven (2016) directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is an action explosion, pun intended, featuring a lot ammunition and explosives. In this version, a small mining town out West is being tormented by a sadistic industrialist, Bartholomew Bogue (sounds like a Marvel bad guy) played with great gusto by Peter Sarsgaard. A young widow sets out to find someone to help fight Bogue's impending destruction of the town and finds Sam Chisholm, a warrant officer (Denzel Washington), who is pretty handy with a gun. He reluctantly agrees, and begins collecting his team of six, including sharpshooters, warriors, and knife-throwing expert. The men in the 2016 version represent a diverse assembly - including a Korean, Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun); Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Mexican outlaw; Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), a Comanche Indian; Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), a mountain man who has fought Indians; Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), a veteran of the Confederate army. Chris Pratt rounds out the group as Joshua Faraday, a gambler. As Chisholm and crew try to prepare the town, they involve the townspeople, trying to help them shoot and also prepare some great surprises. There is a lot I liked about the movie: I did like the action, there are some great scenes as Bogue's men come in for the attack; I liked the different characters, although not as much as I did in the 1960 version. There is something quirky about D'Onofrio's character, he has a weird voice/speech pattern and you're not sure if he is mentally challenged, has had a brain injury or if he is from some part of the country where they speak like that, or perhaps he has been so isolated that he hasn't spoken very much. It's jolting at first, but he grows on you. The knife-wielding Billy Rocks is an artist with the assortment of weapons he has, he's also funny and the care-taker to Robicheaux who has a dependence on cannabis.Red Harvest doesn't have many lines, he gives the impression that he doesn't speak English, but he lets his actions speak for him. He has been cast-out from his tribe, and I may have missed it, but I don't think it's clear why. I had some issue with the endless number of men that Bogue seemed to have available to him, it was like the endless soup and salad at Olive Garden. Then he rolls out a Gatling gun, which is a huge game changer, and yet, the outcome is not what was expected. I read a review (which I try not to do) and it wasn't very favorable, citing the lack of character depth as one issue. I get that, especially after seeing how Kurosawa handled introducing the men to us, and I would have liked to have more understanding on Chisholm's motivation (if I had to pick), and we get little hints, but not much more until the end of the movie. But I guess the reason I still give this a thumb's up is it was entertaining. Pure and simple. I'm pretty sure Denzel Washington has not been in a bad movie; Chris Pratt is his wise-cracking self (my brother thought this was suppose to be a comedy); D'Onofrio is special as always; I could actually tolerate Ethan Hawke; and it was nice to see some new actors (to many of us) hanging out with the veterans, and very ably. I would suggest making a weekend of it and watching all three and make the comparison yourself.
10/8/16 Seven Samurai, 1954
10/9/16 The Magnificent Seven, 1960, Nation Film Registry
9/27/16 The Magnificent Seven, 2016, not yet nominated
On my recent trip home (not so recent now), I saw The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and others, with my brother. This led to the discussion that there were two earlier movies based on a similar premise (well, one WAS the original, and then the other the first remake).
The premise for all three films is that a town or village in Japan, Mexico or the Old West is under siege from a gang, and the townspeople set out to find the men who will fight for them. It's not like you go to Target and go down the row that has mercenaries or guns for hire. If it was that easy, they wouldn't have made three movies about it. The original movie in this collection is Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was really the first movie to employ the concept of assembling a collection of (usually men) from different backgrounds and circumstances to fight a common cause. Seven Samurau is set in the 16th century and is about a small village fighting to keep their crop, and they try to hire seven ronin for this purpose. Kurosawa spends a lot of time following the process of finding the right men, giving us a look into their potential motives for joining this possible deadly endeavor, the conflicts they experience before the real fight even starts. It gives us a depth that is lacking in the subsequent films, especially the newest one. Seven Samurai is not as reliant on fancy gun tricks or special effects as the other films, again, especially the latest. The seven samurai had less than 40 men to fight, whereas it seemed that there were hundreds in the 2016 film. Seven Samurai is over three hours old, and it may take a while to get into the rhythm of the subtitles and the pacing, but it is such an influential film, that it is well worth the effort.
The Magnificent Seven (1960), directed by John Sturges and starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Horst Buchholz and Brad Dexter are the seven of the title. There is some resemblance to the inspirational characters of Seven Samurai, but finding the cast of characters isn't quite as detailed. Yul Brynner as Chris Adams is the leader of motley crew. Eli Wallach is most unlikable as the leader of the bandits, Calvera. I would have liked to learn more about the characters, because I really liked them, this one of my favorite casts. I have seen this movie three or four times. Charles Bronson was in another of my favorite 'motley crew' movies, The Dirty Dozen. I don't have a whole lot of insight to add (see above disclaimer), except that I like this movie and if you're looking for a good western, dip into this for a couple of hours. I should also mention that the score, by Elmer Bernstein, should be familiar to you because it is used frequently (including in the 2016 film). It's a great collection of actors with some good action with an underlying them of redemption (this is true for all three films).
The Magnificent Seven (2016) directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is an action explosion, pun intended, featuring a lot ammunition and explosives. In this version, a small mining town out West is being tormented by a sadistic industrialist, Bartholomew Bogue (sounds like a Marvel bad guy) played with great gusto by Peter Sarsgaard. A young widow sets out to find someone to help fight Bogue's impending destruction of the town and finds Sam Chisholm, a warrant officer (Denzel Washington), who is pretty handy with a gun. He reluctantly agrees, and begins collecting his team of six, including sharpshooters, warriors, and knife-throwing expert. The men in the 2016 version represent a diverse assembly - including a Korean, Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun); Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Mexican outlaw; Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), a Comanche Indian; Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), a mountain man who has fought Indians; Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), a veteran of the Confederate army. Chris Pratt rounds out the group as Joshua Faraday, a gambler. As Chisholm and crew try to prepare the town, they involve the townspeople, trying to help them shoot and also prepare some great surprises. There is a lot I liked about the movie: I did like the action, there are some great scenes as Bogue's men come in for the attack; I liked the different characters, although not as much as I did in the 1960 version. There is something quirky about D'Onofrio's character, he has a weird voice/speech pattern and you're not sure if he is mentally challenged, has had a brain injury or if he is from some part of the country where they speak like that, or perhaps he has been so isolated that he hasn't spoken very much. It's jolting at first, but he grows on you. The knife-wielding Billy Rocks is an artist with the assortment of weapons he has, he's also funny and the care-taker to Robicheaux who has a dependence on cannabis.Red Harvest doesn't have many lines, he gives the impression that he doesn't speak English, but he lets his actions speak for him. He has been cast-out from his tribe, and I may have missed it, but I don't think it's clear why. I had some issue with the endless number of men that Bogue seemed to have available to him, it was like the endless soup and salad at Olive Garden. Then he rolls out a Gatling gun, which is a huge game changer, and yet, the outcome is not what was expected. I read a review (which I try not to do) and it wasn't very favorable, citing the lack of character depth as one issue. I get that, especially after seeing how Kurosawa handled introducing the men to us, and I would have liked to have more understanding on Chisholm's motivation (if I had to pick), and we get little hints, but not much more until the end of the movie. But I guess the reason I still give this a thumb's up is it was entertaining. Pure and simple. I'm pretty sure Denzel Washington has not been in a bad movie; Chris Pratt is his wise-cracking self (my brother thought this was suppose to be a comedy); D'Onofrio is special as always; I could actually tolerate Ethan Hawke; and it was nice to see some new actors (to many of us) hanging out with the veterans, and very ably. I would suggest making a weekend of it and watching all three and make the comparison yourself.
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Whiling away the time while staying at home
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