The Favorite

The Favorite

This movie is described as a drama/comedy. Since this is a British film drama beats out comedy. This is a period piece during the reign of Queen Anne in  17^th century England. Queen Anne played by Olivia Colman is in a feeble state  manipulated by her ladies in waiting and ministers petitioning her for their  rival campaigns. In her bedchamber the Queen keeps  17 rabbits in memory of the seventeen children she lost.

I do not know Olivia Colman. She appears in British television and film. She played Queen Anne as an insecure easily manipulated person, but when  angered or hurt turns forceful and absolute. She could be a fawning person cuddling bunnies and the help. There are many layers to the queen, for the most part she is manipulated and disinterested. She is the antithesis of Elizabeth I.

The real action is between Abigail Masham, Emma Stone, and Sarah Churchill, Rachel Weisz. They are battling vipers. Sarah Churchill  was the favorite of the Queen and used her position to manipulate her. Weisz played role with absolute confidence and resolve; crushing anyone in her way. Abigail Masham is her rival, they are cousins. Abigale fell on hard times when her father lost his fortune and gambled her away in a card game to a German (enter English humor). These two were having so much fun playing their roles they should fortieth their salary. The rivalry escalates to dangerous levels while see sawing for the Queen’s affection.  What they do to win her over would make Machiavelli blush.

Nicholas Hault (“About a Boy”) played the 1^st Earl of Oxford. He was always wearing a wig and had make up and enjoyed it (more British humor). He uses Abigale to win over the Queen . He played the aristocratic snob well.

This being a period piece the costumes were flamboyant. I think I saw RuPaul in the credits. With the puffed wigs and high heels, the men grew about eight inches in height. Their makeup was like pancake and their moles moved to different positions. It would be great to speak to a dance historian because the dances in the movie were outrages and kinetic. It was not your usual starchy curtsy and bow you see in British film.

 One thing I never saw before in a film is the extreme wide angle lens shots. Straight doorways were curved, hallways bent around themselves. Sometimes a shot will be at an angle to emphasis evil or foreboding, but here I did not understand the shots.

There is much I am not saying for fear of backlash. If you like the hilarity of Downton Abby, this is your movie.

  

Green Book

The Green Book

A fabulous movie. This film is more than road trip/buddy movie. There are revelations from both sides of the racial divide. The Green Book  refers to “The Negro Motorist Green Book”, a guidebook for African-American travelers to help them find motels and restaurants in the south that accept them. Tony Lip (a.k.a.-Tony Vallelonga), Viggo Mortensen, is the driver and bodyguard hired by Dr. Don Shirly, Mahersharla Ali, accompanying him on his two month piano recital tour in the deep south.

Viggo Mortensen inhabits his character. He gains copious amounts of weight. For all of Tony’s faults and crudeness he is  sincere and loyal. He says what he means and means what he says. Viggo plays the role confidently and with ease. However, when some one has to have their face busted Tony does a good job. He is a prodigious eater. In one scene Tony folds up an entire pizza and chomps down it. I never saw no one on Mulberry street eat a whole pizza like that… maybe half.

Ali plays Dr. Shirly (PhD)  a person deeply uncomfortable in his own skin. He is highly educated, a virtuoso and eccentric. His world is insulated. He knows Chopin and Liszt, but never heard of Little Richard. His performance is tense and has an unsettled persona. He initially disdains  Tony’s manner and petty larceny. Their relationship evolves from employer/employee to two guys on the road. For all his refinement  Dr. Shirly lacks a sureness that comes naturally to Tony. In one scene they stop on the highway and across the road share croppers are tending the field. The share croppers incredulously  stare at Dr. Shirly, a black man in a suit driven by a white man. Shirly is transfixed but he cannot relate; he does not want to relate. The share croppers  are a lineage he disdains. Dr. Shirly has his demons which are tamed  nightly drinking a bottle of Cutty Sark.

This is basically a two character movie, which makes it great. The magic of the film is that during their journey these two polar opposites come to respect and care for each other. Both have their faults. Given Tony’s working class background and his association with the “Boys” he harbors  prejudices accepted by his class. With Dr. Shelby’s lofty position it is natural for him to look down at his lessors. Overcoming these limitations is the heat of the film.

p.s. The movie is a dramatization of actual people.

A Star is Born

A Star is Born

The music was outstanding. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper have great chemistry, but as the professional actor Cooper displayed more emotion and pathos. This being her first movie role and Gaga did a good performance playing Gaga with different levels of makeup. She starts out as a struggling singer/waitress sans make up. If you saw her walking down the street you would look like any other young women. As her career takes off there is more make up and in the last set she is the full blown Gaga, the one we know and love.

This is the fourth iteration of this movie. Alley’s, the Gaga character, stardom is on a rocket. With  help from Jackson, Cooper’s character, she shots right into stardom. There is no blood, sweat and tears. Her character would have been more compelling  if her stardom was more of a struggle. She did a good job playing herself. As an inside joke much is made of her nose, as being too big a drag on her career. This is reminiscent of her acting teacher at NYU saying she was too ethnic.

Cooper is a double threat. Besides staring he directed the film. The film was cohesive and conveyed a strong story. Jackson is a tortured soul who is an acholic/ pill popper. He also suffers from tinnitus, which for a musician can be career ending. There are  demons in his past which he drowns with alcohol and pills. Cooper delivers a captivating performance.

There are wonderful supporting stars. Sam Elliot plays his brother. Elliot is the older brother who raised Jackson after their father died. It is hinted that Elliot’s music ambitions were eclipsed by his brother. Elliot uses his throaty voice to project his love and frustration for this brother.

It was a delight to see Dave Chappelle and Andrew Dice Clay. Both were meatier and not easily recognizable. Chappelle was a friend of Jackson, and it is implied that Jackson had crashed  at Chappelle’s home a few times. Clay was Gaga’s father, a prefect role for Clay. He claimed he could sing better than Sinatra but is a limo driver now. His scenes were brief but he showed some good acting chops.

If you are a fan of  the Star is Born movies  definitely see this movie. If you are a Little Monster, enough said. Coopers performance is a good enough reason to see the film plus he is a dam good director.

BlackKlansman

BlackKlansman                                                                                                                                  8/29/18

I am only familiar with a few of Spike Lee’s movies but I think this must be one of his most powerful movies. It tackles race issues in the 60’s and 70’s. In the present political upheaval it’s poignancy remains relevant.  It is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first black cop at Colorado Spring. His conflict is how to the support the burgeoning black power movement and be a cop protecting  both blacks and whites at the same time.

The movie starts with a racial harangue  delivered by Dr. Kennebrew Beauregad, played by Alex Baldwin. He nearly spits out his racial epitaphs and almost busts a vein. Ron, played by John David Washington,  is a rookie in the intelligence unit. Ron contacts the KKK from an ad in the paper. Using his white voice he manages to secure a meeting. Obviously he can not go the meeting so they recruit a white cop named Flip Zimmerman, played by Adam Driver.  Ironically Flip is Jewish, another favorite target of the Klan.

Aside from infiltrating the Klan, Ron finds himself in the rise of black power with Stokely Carmichael, aka Kwame Ture, giving a passionate speech. He is conflicted by two forces empathizing with the black power movement and his duty as a police officer.  He does not see them as mutually exclusive.

The Klansmen are stereotypical rednecks. Castigating anyone not white Christian, drinking beer and shooting guns. One  gun range had metal cut outs of racist black targets riddled with bullets. As the camera pulls back the cut outs look like slaves on a march. An almost comical scene is when black Ron, using his white voice, elitists compliments from David Duke.

John David Washington plays the role confidently cool. He keeps his pride and anger in check even when  he is disparaged  on the force. He is not discouraged and keeps his swagger in check. Adam Driver, who plays white Ron in his usual laid back style, finds himself in some perilous situations with the Klan. His wit and acting like a bigot gets him through some life threating situations.

The great Harry Belafonte has a cameo as a civil rights  activist from the 60’s telling a true story of a past lynching. By showing past racial violence Lee is making a connection to current white supremacists.

 At a Klan gathering there is the rallying cry of “America First”. This is an unvarnished reference to Trump and his supports. In the end of the movie there is news footage of the  2017 melee at Charlottesville. Transitioning  from movie to news footage makes the Klan visceral.

By depicting the start of the black power movement and ending with the Charlottesville riot, Lee is almost asking  has anything changed? Wearing chinos, polo shirts and marching with tiki torches is superficial but hate is intractable.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Sometimes movie critics are idiots. This movie earned some negative reviews and an underated 51% from Rotten Tomato. Critics said there was more dino chasing and poor character development. This is the fifth movie of this franchise; the audience has a pretty good idea of what to expect. Critics need to manage their expectations. This is not a great movie but for the genre it is still entertaining. There is action, rampaging dinosaurs, villains, lingering romance and comic relief.  A common element of these movies is duplicity; some seemingly good guy with ulterior motives . From an evolutionary perspective these films are about what can go wrong will go wrong. This perspective takes over the movie and causes mayhem. It is an old formula but it works.

On one level this is a simple movie. You have a good idea which bad guys are going to be dino chow. Their anticipated demise keeps your attention. You also have a pretty good guess which dinosaur is the good or bad.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard have good chemistry and are nicer to each other in this film. There are some funny scenes mostly from a new character played by Justice Smith. His character  shrieks a lot as do the others. Another hallmark of these movies are kids. Isabella Sermon plays Maisie, the granddaughter of Sir Benjamin Lockwood (former partner of John Hammond). Aside from running away from dinosaurs and shrieking, there is a subplot regarding her which comes in a bit late and is a throwaway. A greyer Jeff Goldblum has  brief appearances in the beginning and ending of the movie, mumbling his dour predictions. Geraldine Chaplin has a small roll as Maisie’s nanny. The woman is ageless, she still looks 100 years old.

For fans of this franchise this is a fun movie. Critics need to lighten up This film is not aiming for the Oscars, rather its target is the box office. The film cost $170m to produce and has an international box office north of $1b. With this type of revenue sequels are hard to resist. What will be cloned next, cavemen?

Infinity Wars

Infinity Wars

I was skeptical that this movie would work. With the confluence of super heroes there were too many egos to manage. But the narrative worked and this was the glue that kept this movie together. The story shifted from different scenes and different battles but you could follow the connections.

There are too many super heroes to mention, but some featured more than others. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy had more leading roles. On one level the story is simple. The bad guy, Thanos, wants to collect the six mythical stones giving him tremendous power threatening the universe. Each stone is in a different location in the galaxy, including earth, and this is where the battles take place. Thanos is played by a computer generated avatar of Josh Brolin, nearly unrecognizable except for his voice. The movie does not take itself too seriously, with banter and good natured jabs contributing to the movie’s enjoyment. The film ties in prior movies giving it recognizable reference points.

The special effects were of course amazing. They had to be to maintain the nearly three hours attention span needed to watch the film. Honestly, it did not feel like three hours because the movie was well paced. The production budget is between $300m-$400m meaning they have to clear about $1b in box office to make a profit. I attended the 9:30 am Imax show and the theater was nearly full.

As for the ending, I am not even going to talk about the ending. When I got up to leave I noticed no one else was leaving. So I sat through the credits. There were so many credits it turned the screen white. The reward was coming attractions, albeit quite short but they portend a sequel.

For fan boys and fan girls a must see. For you civilians you could do worse.

A Quiet Place

This is a little movie with good suspense and moments of sheer freight. The movie is about a family that must silence all sources of noise to survive. There are monsters who attack upon hearing sounds. To quash noise the family walk in bare feet on sand, they eat their meals on leaves using their hands and play monopoly using crocheted pieces. They use sign language to speak. The monsters are hideous with huge ear canals and are mindless eating machines.

The family lives on a farm. The father is played by John Krasinski, who also directed the film. Emily Blunt plays his wife and they have three kids. They live in a state of pervasive fear.  Every motion has to be though out as life or death situation. This is especially hard with kids who unwittingly are prone to noise. One of those kids Millicent Simmonds, who is actually deaf, gives an outstanding performance. The entire cast is great. Emily Blunt has some tense scenes that will make you cringe.

My knowledge of directing is limited but I think Krasinski has done a fine job for his maiden outing.

The films has some plot holes. Where did the creates come from, where is everybody, how are corn fields still well tended, who keeps the electricity going? With a modest $17m production budget the film went to the heart of the story and peripherals are left to the audience’s imagination.

This movie is a spiritual successor to the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits. It felt more like a novella rather than a complicated script. I think Rotten Tomato was over generous giving the film a 95% (this is not the Godfather or Deer Hunter). That said the box office is to date $88m. Guess Kraninski will get more directing gigs.

At $15+ a ticket you may want to watch this On Demand. By all means, go to the movies if you wish, but keep the noise down.