Summer of Soul (Hulu)

 

Summer of Soul (Hulu)

This is a documentary of a forgotten musical festival in Harlem in 1969. It was formally known as the Harlem Cultural Festival and  was called the Black Woodstock. It took place over a six week period in Mount Morris Park in Harlem attended by  nearly 300,000. The concert film was overshadowed  by  Woodstock and relegated to 50 years of obscurity in a basement.

 The Harlem Cultural Festival was a series of music concerts held in Harlem during the summer of 1969 to celebrate African American music and culture and to promote the continued politics of black pride. The sounds were R&B, blues and jazz.

The film is directed by Ahmir Questlove Thompson (band leader of the Roots). It won the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the US Documentary Competition. It features Afro/Latin music from some of the great artists of the time. Some of the acts were Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, BB King, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Max Roach, Mongo Santamaria and Sly and the Family Stone. The performances are shown whole and not just clips along with enthusiastic reactions from the audience. It is worth seeing the film just to see Steve Wonders’ virtuoso drum solo. The Black Panthers provided security for Sly and the Family Stone when the police refused. The music is amazing and still fresh.

The film is also social commentary. 1969 was a heady year. Apollo 11 landed on the moon and the country was still raw after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in 1968. These assassinations erupted in riots in across major cities. New York City was spared from rioting in part due to the efforts Mayor Lindsay and the concert was seen as quelling emotions and show casing black pride. The Reverend Jessie Jackson spoke at the concert to offset the pain of the MLK assignation.

Regarding the moon landing the residents of Harlem had a more earthly opinion of the landing. They felt the money was better served addressing the poverty of their neighborhood. How can you be enthusiastic about the landing if you cannot afford a TV?

This documentary  is a resurrected jewel and is an important complement to black and American history.

Kajillionaire

 

Kajillionaire (HBO and HBO Max)

This is a funny and poignant film. It is in the style of the theater of the absurd. The family are grifters and petty criminals. They treat their daughter more as an accomplice rather than a daughter. They named her Old Dolio to entice a lottery winner of the same name dying of cancer to give them part of his winnings (unfortunately he spent the money on medicine) . The family code is to split everything one third each. Their home is an empty office adjacent to a soap factory. Every day the walls leak copious amount of soap suds. They owe back rent and their attempts to avoid the landlord are hilarious.

Their relationship is more like associates rather than a family. Old Dolio is emotionally stunted  from  lack of love from her family. She is played by Evan Rachael Wood (Westworld) who is emotionless and as drab as her tired track suit. She participates in the family’s schemes including stealing  blank checks from home bound elderly people and forging their signature.

The father, Robert Dyne, is played by the incomparable Richard Jenkins. He plays the role as a real low life without any redeeming values. He displays great comic timing in his usual understated performance. The mother is played by Debra Winger. Devoid of love for her daughter she is nearly transparent. She is the partner in crime to Old Dolio rather than a mother. The absence of motherly tenderness deeply affects Old Dolio.

Gina Rodriguez is the outsider who joins the family. She is a Latina, specifically Puerto Rican. Emotionally   she is the exact opposite of the family. She is sexual, demonstrative and engaging. She is also larcenous and awkwardly fits in with the family. Her performance was endearing and passionate serving as  a counterpoint to the family’s shallowness.

This film is a little jewel quarantined by Covid. It is worth seeing,  you will enjoy it.

 

A Quite Place Part II

 

A Quite Place Part II

A Quite Place Part II is the sequel to the original 2018 film. This takes place about a year later than the original.  It is less tense than the original film because we know about the sightless long legged monsters with hyper hearing terrorizing the locals. But there are still enough moments in the film to make you jump.

I thought this was going to be an origin movie. Aside from a brief appearance by John Krasinski and fire balls raining from the sky the main part of the film is the family’s struggle for survival. Emily Blunt is the heroic mother protecting her children played again by Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and a cute uncredited baby. New to the film are Cillian Murphy and Djmoun  Hounsou. Murphy takes on the male role after Krasinski death however Blunt is the family’s matriarch protecting the family. Jupe is still the boy terrified by the monsters and his sister the brave young girl who confronts them. The family is still trying to survive in the hostile environment where the monsters hunt humans attacking at the slightest sound. Besides caring for two older children Blunt has to take care of a baby which presents new obstacles. The contrast of a deaf girl battling monsters with super hearing is the main juxtaposition of the movie.

There were some clever elements in the script that kept the movie fresh. Some of the monsters’ vulnerabilities were revealed and the children’s bravery were showcased. These scenes highlighted Krasinski’s directorial skills.

All the actors were excellent. It is still intriguing how Simmonds uses signing to complement her expressive performance.  Cillian Murphy is the reluctant protector of the family. He gives a strong intense performance. Regrettably Djmoun  Hounsou  only has a brief appearance.

This clearly is a post pandemic film. Seeing this on a TV screen, even a large one, does justice to the film and especially to the sound effects. If there is a part three maybe unanswered questions will be resolved.  Why did the creatures come to earth, what is their purpose and who is keeping the lights on?

In the Heights (HBO Max)

 

In the Heights (HBO Max)

In the Heights is a delightful film. It is the cinematic version of the popular Broadway show. There are energetic dance numbers and lots of singing with typical immigrant stories of assimilation and reminiscing for a lost past. The pathos of the immigrant story is subsumed  by festive song and dance.

The choreographer is  Andy Blankenbuehler. The dance numbers are like La La Land with  large groups of synchronized dancers. One sequence in a public pool is a homage to Busty Berkley (for does under 40 you can google him). The songs are typical Broadway narrative renditions of hopes, dreams and lose. There is a smattering of rap which is  mercifully  comprehensible unlike Hamilton’s version of rapid rapping.

Some actors will be recognizable, other will be new. Marc Antony makes a minor appearance as an alcoholic negligent father. Jimmy Smit has a larger role as the aspirational father. All the actors do a great job.

The film is a sanitized version of the Heights. There is no crime, no drugs and the closest thing to sex is some modest dirty dancing. I can’t help making a comparison to West Side Story. Both are about tough Manhattan ethnic neighborhoods. West Side Story is kinetic and gritty whereas In the Heights is mellow and a fantasied version of reality.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is brilliant. To go from Hamilton to the Heights displays his range of  talent. Given the predictable onslaught of summer testosterone block busters, the Heights is a refreshing reprieve.  

Those Who Wish Me Dead (Netflix)

 

Those Who Wish Me Dead (Netflix)

I first took notice of Angelina Jolie in the 1998 HBO film “Gia”. She gave an impressive performance. Then in 1999 she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Girl Interrupted”. Jolie is a serious accomplished actress. Then came Lara Croft, Maleficent and Salt. Everyone needs to pay the bills. This film is lacks luster and makes no demands on her acting skills. In this movie you know from the start who dies and who survives.

Jolie plays a hotshot fire fighter who is suffering from post-traumatic stress as a consequence of the death of three children during a forest fire. Later on she encounters a boy fleeing assassins who killed his father and are after him because he is carrying incriminating  information. It is a bit shady who the bad guy or organization is, but professional killers are the main antagonists. This film is supposed to be an action thriller, but it does not have the right vibes. There are no dare devil car chases like in the Fast and Furious movies or a Jason Statham round kicking a bad guy in the head. There is a lot of Jolie out running a forest fire.

The bad guys are brothers played by Aidan Gillen and Nicholas Hoult. Gillian is becoming the perennial bad guy as he proves in this movie. Nicholas Hoult is the grown up version of the sweet little boy in the film “About a Boy”. It is just incongruous to see him as a heartless assassin.

Let’s wait for Tomb Raider 4.

 

Woman in the Window

 

Woman in the Window (Netflix)

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Alfred Hitchcock would take a pass. This film is near a rip off of his “Rear View Window”. In Rear View Window Jimmy Stewart uses his binoculars to spy on a neighbor across courtyard who he suspects of murder. Amy Adams is also spying at neighbors across the street who she suspects of murder using binoculars. Like Stewart she takes clandestine photos of the neighbors. Stewart is stuck in his apartment because of a busted leg; Adams suffers from agoraphobia and is home bound. In “Rear View Window”, Raymond Burr is the bad guy with bleached white hair. Here too one of Adam’s antagonists has a head of white hair. In both movies there is a mysterious murder.

The imitations here did not produce a good film. Ironically, the film features an outstanding ensemble of actors. Besides Amy Adams there is Gary Oldman, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Anthony Mackie. Aside for Adams neither of the other stars have much screen time. Great performers can not save a film with a weak script and mediocre direction. This is a psychological thriller but the suspense of the film is not orchestrated well. Hitchcock’s method for building suspense was like slow fuse. Here key elements are like firecrackers, they just happen and are uncoordinated. The film would have benefited from more revealing back stories. There are even web sites trying to explain the ending.

As the protagonist Amy Adams is an emotional wreak isolated in her home. Her acting range is limited by her character’s depression and isolation. She looks frumpy  wearing a rob all day and stuck in a rambling house. Depending on one main character to carry a film is a gamble which did not pay off here.

Do your self a favor and watch “Rear View Window” instead.    

 

Without Remorse (Amazon Prime)

 

Without Remorse (Amazon Prime)

Michael B. Jordan has a twenty inch waistline and no body hair, which is weird. He is more buffed than a ’67 Chevy. However, this film is just an excuse for carnage and car wrecks. This is a Tom Clancy pot boiler which is better left to paper back. The film substitutes action for suspense.

I first saw Jordan in “Creed” for which I did not expect much. But I was impressed with his acting. He also gave an effective performance in “Just Mercy”. He can do better than this film. He has the body of an action figure but the potential of a serious actor. The film starts out as revenge movie but morphs into a conspiracy . The full conspiracy is revealed in the tail end of the film. The movie would have been more suspenseful if parts of the plan were introduced earlier in the film.

Jodie Turner-Smith is Lieutenant Commander Karen Greer. She is an attractive navy Seal. She seemed uncomfortable in the role and her acting was stiff. Originally a model her languid long legged body is more suited to the runway than to a Seal’s obstacle course. She was more effective in “Queen and Slim” as a fugitive girlfriend.

Guy Pierce plays Secretary of Defense Thomas Clay. Although a catalyst player, his scenes are limited. This is an under utilization of a talented actor who came to prominence for his well-received performance in the film “Momento”. Also his suits were ill fitted.

Jamie Bell is the CIA operative. His character is unlikeable and he plays it well. Jordan and he have good chemistry, even if it is toxic.

Mercifully if you have Amazon Prime you can watch the film for free without remorse.