La La Land L

                                                                                          January 28, 2017

The title La La Land, means:

“the mental state of someone who is not aware of what is really happening. La-La Land —used as a nickname for Los Angeles, California”,

The film is a combination of traditional l Hollywood musicals and drama. To legitimize the film as a musical the opening scene has Angelinos stuck in traffic breaking out in joyous spontaneous song and dance. Would this work on the FDR?

The theme of the movie is “things that could have been”. Ryan Gosling is a pianist who loves jazz but compromises his principals to get steady work. Emma Stone is a barista/actress who feels defeated by dead end auditions. As with all musicals boy meets girl and hearts a flutter. For musical talents, Gosling took six months training to play the piano. He was impressive; his fingering was more complicated as the film progressed. His singing was more like those Grammy spoken word awards. Emma Stone has more of a singing voice and gives a solid Broadway rendition.

As for the dancing neither one was Fred Aster or Ginger Rogers. Their numbers were heavily choreographed. You could almost hear them saying, 123…123…123. In tribute to Busby Berkeley one number had them dancing in the air with stars courtesy of the Griffith Observatory.  

Gosling and Stone are outstanding dramatic actors and when the film focuses on their relationship without song and dance, they are in their element. The relationship is complicated as both pursue their dreams. They support each other and fall away from each other. The consequences of their actions give the film a complexity, with a ting of sadness, unusual for musicals.

Adulation for this film is wide spread. Unlike the Golden Globes the Oscars do not have a musical/comedy category. How do you compare this movie to the current crop great dramas? How do you nominate Ryan Gosling as best actor as opposed Denzel Washington or Andrew Garfield? How does Emma Stone compete with Viola Davis or Nicole Kidman or Taraji P. Henson?

Every few years Hollywood gets nostalgic. Back in 2011 the black and white silent screen film “The Artist” won best picture. This could be one of those years. 

Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures 

                                                                                           January 7, 2017

What a joyous and uplifting movie; but this is not a Disney movie. The movie tackles hard topics like racism, segregation and sex discrimination.

 This is a true story about three African-Americans mathematicians who worked on the space program at NASA Langley field Virginia in the 1960’s.They are: Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson-mathematical genius , Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, IBM programmer, Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, engineer.

This movie is referred to as a biographical comedy-drama film. It is humorous but certain parts are serious and historic. It never occurred to me there was discrimination NASA, but why not? It was in Virginia in the 1960’s where discrimination was accepted.   Mathematicians were called computers. These ladies were referred to as the colored computers. 

Henson is outstanding in her role. She could be submissive and stay in her place to advance but she had the courage to confront prejudice. She had to wrestle respect from her co-workers and bosses.  Her advantage was her mathematical genius, she even impressed the astronauts.  

Spencer was the over worked supervisor without a title or appropriate pay. In a quiet and relentless manner, she became the first Afro-American IBM programmer. She surreptitiously learning Fortran on her own. Spencer’s outward calmness underlies her tenacity and intelligence.

Monae was the squeaky wheel. Of the three she pushed the boundaries using moxie and her beauty. Through hard work and undiscouraged she became an engineer.

Kevin Costner played the director of the Space Task Group. Seemingly oblivious to racism until he needed his colored computers. He played a hardened bureaucrat with a heart deeply buried in his chest. Jim Parsons played the peevish head mathematician who was a racist and misogynistic. At every turn, he put up obstacles which Henson knocked down.

This movie is the flip side of The Right Stuff. These women boosted the space program with their No. 2 pencils. Hidden Figures shines a much need light on a neglected part of our history. Stick round for the credit roll to see the real-life people.

Silence

Silence

This is an epic movie. It is a clash of religions and cultures and the horrible consequences of ensuing conflict. It also has an epic run time of about three hours; this is a two-bathroom movie.

The film takes place in feudal Japan in the 16^th hundreds. The two main protagonists played by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield are Jesuit priests on a mission to Japan to find a renowned priest, Fr. Ferreira, played by Liam Neeson. They encounter hostile resistance from the Japanese feudal lords. The two Jesuits are in peril from the day they arrive in Japan. As in Roman times the Japanese Christens conceal their faith fearing retribution. When discovered they are subjected to horrible torture reminiscent to the martyrdom of the saints. To escape punishment, they are forced to apostatize their faith.

This is Martin Scorsese’s latest film which was ten years in the making. Scorsese had considered attending the seminary and if had this film would have been his dissertation. The Japanese see Catholicism as a threat to their society and will crush it. In Japan, the Emperor is a deity and deities do not like competition.  

Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield are the new breed of stars. Driver has had a range of roles from the narcissistic lover in the HBO series Girls to Kylo Ren in Rogue One. Here he is a tormented priest agonizing between keeping his faith and saving local Christians from gruesome torture.  He delivers a complex performance of terror and devotion.

Andrew Garfield’s character plays the pivotal role. He is Driver’s companion and is subjected to the same trials and torments. His conundrum is if he does not apostatize his devoted flock would be tortured to death or if he gives up his fate he will be dammed. The later part of the film give him full range of emotions. He is most compelling in these moments.

Liam Neeson comes in at the end of the movie. His character is the catalyst for the two Jesuits’ journey. His role is important and he delivers what is needed.

One wonderful things about this movie is the Japanese cast.  Although I am not familiar with them their acting was superb. One character, Kichijiro, unintentionally provided comic relief by asking for confession for sins he keeps repeating.   He thinks confession is his get out of jail card (I certainly hope so!). The Inquisitor is played by a grandfatherly type character who dispassionately dispenses torture like someone ordering tea. His banality portends future barbarity.  

The costumes and cinematography are outstanding. Scorsese uses an effective overhead shot.  An interviewer asked him what inspired him. Scorsese said when he lived in a tenement on the Lower East Side, he looked out the window that is how he saw the city. Yeah, been there.

This movie weights heavy on your shoulders. Jesuits are God’s storm troops and are the harbingers of colonialism. The movie is a feast for the eyes and all-round the acting is superb. But it is not a date movie.