A classic - The Blackboard Jungle, Depp in Black Mass and Alice through the Looking Glass

12/25/16 The Blackboard Jungle, 1955, National Film Registry

My first recollection of hearing about The Blackboard Jungle was in reference to it being the first (or one of the very first) feature films to include a rock and roll song, "Rock around the clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. I recently watched a documentary about a school struggling with violence, poverty and hopelessness, so I watched The Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford and a very young Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow, with the kids of Stanton Elementary School in mind. In I am a Promise, one of the teachers bemoans the fact that children don't respect their teachers like they used to, but then you watch The Blackboard Jungle, set in the 1950s, and you wonder if kids ever respected their teachers or parents. Sometimes the acting seemed a bit clunky and unbelievable, over the top, but overall, the story of an inner city trade school that is ethnically diverse, although it seems to be male-only, set the stage for later films and television shows set in unruly high schools. Glenn Ford is Richard Dadier, a new teacher at North Manual Trades High School, who is taken aback by the apparent chaos by the students and the crass indifference by some of the teachers. Dadier tries to connect with the students, but he is aggressively thwarted by Gregory Miller (Poitier) and Artie West (Morrow). West seems pretty hopeless, but Dadier sees a glimmer of hope in reaching Miller. Richard Kiley is Joshua Edwards, a fellow rookie teacher who tries to get some of the students to understand mathematics by listening to music. Unfortunately, it does not go quite as planned. I think we have a picture of the 1950s represented by the television show Happy Days, but The Blackboard Jungle shatters that, with gang violence and attacks on teachers. Younger audiences may only know Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent from the Superman movie franchise with Christopher Reeves, but he was in over 30 movies by the time he made The Blackboard Jungle. This was Sidney Poitier's breakthrough role and nine years later he won an Oscar for Lilies in the Field. I don't think the movie is great, but it has some very good performances, and it is considered groundbreaking, it's worth a look.

12/25/16 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, nominated Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, 2011
When it comes to movies about 9/11, I usually run the other way. Having lived through "the worst day" as young Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) refers to it, I don't feel the need to watch movies about it. Oskar's father, Thoms Schell (Tom Hanks) is killed when the towers collapsed. He leaves several voice messages for Oskar and his wife, Linda (Sandra Bullock), but they never speak to one another. Oskar and his father have a strong relationship; Thomas was one of the few people who could engage and relate to Oskar. After Thomas died, Oskar finds a key that he thinks was left for him. The envelope that held the key had 'Black' written on it. This leads Oskar on a hunt across New York City, meeting people with the last name of 'Black' (including one played by Viola Davis) which make for some very touching, emotional and funny scenes. For part of his journey, Oskar is joined by his grandmother's lodger, only called 'The Renter' (Max von Sydow in an Oscar nominated role). Oskar's quest is eventually rewarded, but I won't spoil it by telling you how. It's almost a week later and I still don't now if I liked the movie; I liked certain scenes and certain story lines, but I don't know if I would recommend it or watch it again (in fact, I have been avoiding this movie for five years). It was nominated as Best Picture, and this was the year that I lost a lot of faith in the Oscars; this was the year that The Artist won Best Picture when I was pretty sure The Help or Hugo or maybe even War Horse should have won. Von Sydow lost Best Supporting Actor to Christopher Plummer, whom I love, but I could not stand The Beginners, but I wasn't overly impressed with the other nominees, at least as far as being Oscar caliber.

12/28/16 Black Mass, 2015

I feel like I have seen a lot of mob/mafia movies and television lately, and I wasn't overly keen to watch Black Mass, but my younger brother kept recommending it. Johnny Depp is Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, the crime boss in Boston, who was also an FBI informant. Benedict Cumberbatch is William Bulger, Whitey's brother; Joel Edgerton is FBI Agent John Connolly, who also grew up with the Bulgers. The movie is told interspersed with flashbacks as various members of Whitey's crew are interrogated and some become informants. We see Whitey in all of his violent glory; ruthlessly killing anyone he perceives as a threat, and if he can't do it, he has someone else do it. Connolly uses Bulger to raise his profile at the Bureau, and is eventually shown to be as corrupt as Bulger is sadistic. I thought Black Mass was something to be endured and didn't really enjoy it.


12/29/16 Alice through the Looking Glass, not yet nominated, 2016

I am always intrigued when a new Tim Burton movies comes, intrigued, but cautious. I don't think I have ever seen a Burton film in the theater because I'm never sure if I'll like it or not. Since I have started doing this blog, I have watched several Tim Burton movies, and some I've liked and some I have not (I could not make it through Sweeney Todd, but I really enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, and so it goes). Burton makes colorful, big, special-effects filled movies that are often nominated (and sometimes win), and I was curious to see Alice through the Looking Glass. Many of the characters from Alice in Wonderland reprise their roles: Mia Wasikowska as Alice, although a little older and tougher; Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen; Alan Rickman as Absolem the Butterfly; Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter (to name a few). Sacha Baron Cohen (as Time) is introduced. We catch up with Alice as she is sailing her father's ship "The Wonder" through high sea adventures, only to return to England and face the choice of giving up the ship to reclaim her family home from Hamish Ascot (her former fiance). While at the Ascots, she returns to Underland where she meets her friends, including the Hatter who seems to be dying from sadness. Alice thinks changing the course of past events is the key to helping him, and to do that she must meet Time. She finds a very cool gadget that will help her move through the past, but that upsets the balance of Time. It's all very fast and frenetic, and a blast back to the childhoods of the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter. We learn why the Red Queen's head is shaped the way it is and why she is so bloody angry!! The actual story line seemed very scattered and too all encompassing, like it was trying to do too much. I was turned off by Baron Cohen; I just found him and his accent annoying. However, I did enjoy the movie as a visual treat; Burton and his production team get the best colors and effects not seen in a science fiction film. I could watch the other characters from Underland just have a tea party; Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas) are pretty funny; Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat is delightfully snide and acerbic; the problem is there are SO many characters.  I really loved the score by Danny Elfman, and the song at the end of the film by Pink "Just Like Fire" was really good as well. Wasikowska is pretty fearless as Alice, willing to do anything to help her friends and family; not quite as selfish as she was when she was younger. Depp is Depp. He seems very adept and at home behind the garish Hatter makeup. I liked him, I can't help it, I liked the humanity he brought to the Hatter. I would say the same for the Red Queen/Bonham Carter. I think if the script could have left out Time, maybe it wouldn't have been so frantic. So, my guess is that there will be a few nominations for the film around the production, visual effects and makeup, possibly for the score and long shot for the song. I liked it and was entertained.