Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

 

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

This war drama is not in the league of The Deer Hunter or Hacksaw Ridge, but the narrative from black soldier’s perspective is compelling. The film has a talented ensemble, a breakout performance by Delroy Lindo and  innovative cinematic devices. Lee incorporates social commentary which is a hallmark of his films.

 Four black Vietnamese veterans return to Vietnam to ostensibly recover the body of their troop leader “Stormin Norman” played by Chadwick Bosman. They also want to recover lost gold bars the CIA  intended to pay local insurgents to fight the Vietcong. Delroy Lindo’s character, Paul, suffers from PTSD which becomes more acute from returning to Vietnam. Delroy Lindo is not a household name. He is a “character actor” usually playing the heavy as a thug or a special operations commando. Here he  gives a forceful  performance of a tormented solder slowly sinking into paranoia. He forcefully conveys his inner terror from his past.

The other solders are Otis played by Clarke Peters, Eddie played by Norm Lewis and Melvin played by Isaiah Whitlock Jr. With Bosman’s character they call themselves Da 5 Bloods. They all have personal stories interwoven in the plot. Jonathan Majors plays Paul’s  estrange son. Jean Reno (The Professional) is the fence who moves the gold. Ofcourse nothing goes right and the story gets complicated. There is also a land mind clearing team which demonstrate the continued peril to the  Vietnamese from the war.

In flashbacks Lee does not use younger versions of the solders, rather he uses the present day solders. This narrative device clearly links past transgressions to the soldiers. Bosman appeared intermittently in film as the dead Stormin Norman. It is prophetic his role is as a ghost.   

Lee pays homage to other seminal Vietnam movies in shape and form. The film has clips from infamous moments of the Vietnam war. Two old former Vietcong soldiers buy drinks for the Americans marking the change from the past and a bow from soldier to soldier.

Lee intersperses black history facts in the movie. Black soldiers made up 16% of those drafted and 23% of Vietnam combat troops, despite accounting for only roughly 11% of the civilian population. A poignant clip shows Muhammad Ali’s espousing  his opposition to the draft saying the Vietnamese never did anything to harm him.

All these parts rolled up make a good Joint.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)                                                                          December 20, 2020

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a multi-level film. It is about the blues of the 1920’s, about race, about ambition and defiance. It is an August Wilson play of the same name and the film has the intimacy of a play. The dialogue is powerful and  emotional. It reunites actors from another August Wilson play Fences. Viola Davis, who won an Academy Award for Fences, and Denzel Washington who is a producer in Ma Rainey.

Ma Rainey was a blues singer of the 1920’s. She was not a stereotypical black woman of her time; she was a force of nature. Viola Davis plays her with defiant energy. She knew the worth of her voce and that  white producers wanted to put it on their “race records”. Davis is absolutely amazing. She is in a fat suite and with grease paint make up sporting gold teeth making her look hideous. She is the definition of sass. If her demands are not met she did not sing; it is her arrangement or nothing.

Chadwick Bosemen is the other lead who is Levee, the trumpet player. This is his last performance. To think he was being treated for colon cancer and delivered this phenomenal energetic performance is mind boggling. If he wins the Oscar it will not be out of sympathy  but for his defining performance. Levee has ambitious plans to form his own band and clashes with Ma over and their artistic differences. His inner demons are rooted in the rape of his mother as a boy and his resentment of religion for failing him. His fury results in tragedy and he destroys him.

The supporting cast is outstanding. Whereas Bosemen is in constant revolt, the rest of the band just want their money and do what Ma says. They too have their tragedies and wounds but they internalize them maintaining the accepted stereotypes of the time. The two white actors represent the record company. They put up with Ma’s demands to get her voice recorded. They pay her $200 dollars for releasing the song to the record company without royalties and  pay Levee $5 for songs he wrote. Racism does not always need a cross.

Do not see this movie because it is Chadwick Bosemen’s last film. See it for the performances of Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 99.

Black Panther

Black Panther                                                                                                               February 20, 2018

Black Panther achieved several mile stones. The box office over the President’s weekend will be north of $200m and with some estimates of $1b, including forgein markets, projected. The film has been lauded for its positive portrayal of black super heroes and the uplifting effect for Afro-American youth. This film establishes a new “tentpole” for this Disney which can generate sequels and character spinoffs under the Black Panther franchise. With this potentially huge box office this is clearly a cross over movie.

The film it is a spectacle. It has all the super hero elements. Handsome hero with super powers, bad guys, one handsome the other not. Beautiful women; some bald carrying electro charge spears. A wise mouth sister who is a science wiz.

Chadwick (Chad to his friends) Boseman is the Black Panther. Boseman is a versatile actor playing various roles: Jackie Robison, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. He plays Black Panther, or his royal name T’Challa, with an air of seriousness subverted by sibling jabs. His powers lie in an impenetrable suite made of a rare mineral called vibranium. The vastly advanced scientific achievements of Wakanda are at his disposal. There are plenty of fight scenes and battles featuring a mélange of new and old weapons.

Michael B. Jordan (Creed) is the main villain. With all the modernity of Wakanda the fights between Boseman and Jordon are hand to hand combat which harkens more traditional films. The uniqueness of this film is combining traditional African motifs with advanced scientific achievements created by the proud indigenous population.

Lupita Nyong’o is T’Chatta’s former lover and warrior who displays fighting chops. Forrest Whitaker is a sort of shaman. This a cream puff role for Whitaker, but great performances is not mandatory for super hero movies. Martin Freeman is a recognizable face and plays a CIA agent who is an ally of T’Challa. Andy Serkis is a South African actor, he is the ugly bad guy. I cannot say anything about Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), without being attacked as a plot spoiler. One comment about Angela Bassett, Queen Mother, she is an ageless beauty. The star power of this movie is impressive but with so many stars their air time is limited, except for Boseman.

For authenticity in the movie they speak the South African language isiXhosa. This was the langue of Nelson Mandela.

This movie more like an experience than just a film. At some point you should catch it.

p.s.-As with other Marvel movies there is the “Where’s Waldo” gambit; here Waldo is Stan Lee.

Get On Up

For a movie with fancy choreography, there are some missteps. However, Chadwick Boseman was fabulous. To go from the stoic and reserved Jackie Robinson role to the extroverted James Brown is the ultimate definition acting range. Boseman’s embodiment of Brown was so complete his mimicked speech pattern made it difficult to understand him. His role is more than just an impression but is rather very challenging and encompasses the spectrum of Brown’s life from the back woods shack of his birth to the private jet of the Godfather of Soul. The hardest working man in show business had a very hard life and as a result was not the nicest person. James Brown constantly uses the first person to describe himself. In this a way he reaffirms his success and keeps the ghosts of his past at bay. James Brown was a force of nature and his signature showmanship defined him.

The movie benefited from other great actors. Viola Davies plays his mother and even in her brief appearance gives a touching and forceful performance. The movie would have been stronger with her character longer on screen. She is very influential in the development of Brown. Octavia Spencer played a warm comforting auntie type. She is a proxy mother, but she too is relegated to a brief appearance. Dan Aykroyd is a national treasure. He has the acting range of a pimple, but you gotta love him. Nelsan Ellis plays James Brown’s wingman, Bobbie Bryd. This is a classic love hate relationship engendering pity, arrogance and resolution. Ellis was perfect for the role.

The dancing is signature James Brown. I hope Boseman already has children, since those splits are lethal. Boseman lip syncs the songs but he does it with such bravado, sweat pours down his grimacing face. Boseman’s make up is dead on.

The movie has some problems; flash backs and asides. Flash backs are valuable if used sparingly. In this movie the flash backs give you motion sickness and are very distracting. They bounce back and forth in a non-liner manner. Asides are annoying. If the actor has to tell the audience what is going on followed with a big wink, something is lacking. If the script is written correctly the audience gets it. Another sore point is the use labels in the movie.  They looked like exit signs on a highway and were silly for a drama.

This movie is imperfect. Boseman’s chameleon performance of James Brown deserves at least an Oscar nomination. All round there are wonderful acting gems, but sometimes the settings are not quite good. Go see it, but bring Dramamine.