Joker

Joker

This is a depressing bleak movie; however Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is outstanding and sublime. This is an origin movie of the Joker whose real name is Arthur Fleck. He works for a clown agency sending clowns to hospitals, out of business stores and children’s party’s. Gotham City is based on 1970’s New York City with graffiti covered subways, porno theaters and roaming gangs. This gritty violent environment is the perfect backdrop for someone going mad.

Phoenix is a portrait in progress of a person descending into madness. Sad eyes and vacant face, anyone who suffered from mental illness can relate. He sees himself as a comedian but he is not funny. Phoenix has the  Joker’s trademark laugh. His laughing is uncontrollable and puts him some traumatic situations. He suffers from a real medical condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA). The condition can be triggered by stressful or awkward situations and the laughter can be mistaken for mockery. Phoenix uses laughter as a precursor of violence. His Joker is emaciated in this movie; his ribcage and shoulder blades jut out. I am not sure what method acting this was supposed to represent but there are chubby killers.

 He does not start out violent but as a victim of violence and ridicule becomes violent. The violence becomes more frequent and brutal. There has been much said in the press about this film’s violence. Quentin  Tarantino’s movies have ten times the violence than this film. Maybe here the violence is specific to  a madman and is more relatable to current events. As he commits more murders his violence becomes more nonchalant.

The movie is a bit slow. It took about one hour for the action to start. This is more of a dark drama rather than a superhero flick with  lighthearted banter. In two hours there was only one screen that was funny and clever.

The other actor of note was Robert De Niro who portrayed a parity of late night host Johnny Carson. The stage set was a fateful reproduction of Carson’s show down to the same open curtain. Compared to his other performances this was a cake walk for DeNiro. De Niro’s performance is not the impetus to see this film.

I am not deep into the Batman lore but the Wayne’s appear in the film and Bruce Wayne is portrayed  as a young boy. In this script there is tangled relation between Arthur Fleck and the Wayne’s.

This year’s crop of Academy bound films has not yet blossomed so it is difficult to compare Joker to its competition. At minimum I think Phoenix will get a nomination for best actor. Anyway given the film’s big box office the award would be a nice to have.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino found a time capsule opened it and made a movie. The time was the 60’s and the place was Hollywood. Tarantino has fun, visiting old haunts, seeing old movies, long gone TV shows and 60’s music. Of his audience he is the one most entertained. The movie has vignettes of bad acting scenes which make up a part of the movie. After a while they become boring.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in the same movie naturally elevates expectations. DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, an actor whose career is sliding down the peak. DiCaprio does most of the overacting in the movie. Dalton suffers  anxiety over his declining  career. Brad Pitt is cool, Ocean’s Eleven cool. Pitt is the stunt double who works for Rick Dalton. Pitt sports scars  of his profession. He plays well a tanned buffed middle aged man with his usually laidback ease. Margo Robbie plays Sharon Tate. She plays Tate almost childlike. Tate delights with glee seeing herself in her own movie.

There is a profusion of supporting actors. Al Pacino plays a Hollywood producer; he is becoming a caricature of himself. Timothy Olyphant plays a bad guy (that’s a stretch). Lena Dunham as a member of the Manson family; she is the one in the moo moo. Bruce Dern is nearly unrecognizable except  for his gravelly voice. Kurt Russell plays a stunt coordinator boss. Dakota Fanning plays Squeaky Fromme, totally unrecognizable. Some guy plays Bruce Lee, this had to be the funniest scene in the movie. This is a comedy drama crime film.

The movie is schizophrenic. Aside from aging  actors peering into the abyss, the Manson murders provide the movie’s tension . Tarantino’s signature uber violence manifests itself in the tail end of the film. You go from a breezy self-indulgent movie to Reservoir Dogs violence.

Once upon a time is the tag line for a fairy tale. Tarantino weaves a revisionist story about the Manson murders. The murders were a savage heinous crime; almost sacrosanct.  For those of us who witnessed the demented brutality the Family the murders were disturbing and indelible.  They deserve more respect than Tarantino’s script.   

Hoobs and Shaw

I was a bit reluctant seeing another Fast and Furious movie. How many ways can you split a pie? What is this the 47^th F&F movie? The movie turned out to be quite entertaining. Aside from all the motor chases and fist fights the film has a familial theme.

In the early F&F movies Hobbs and Shaw really tried to kill each other. Now they are more like bickering brothers trying to show up one another. As the movie progresses the bickering lessens and comradery develops. It has a great cast. Besides Dwyane Johnson and Jason Statham, there is Idris Elba, Helen Mirren and Venessa Kirby. Johnson has more muscle, Statham more stubble and Mirren more wrinkles.

Helen Mirren is Shaw’s imprisoned mother. I can not tell you who Venessa Kirby is but she has a critical role. There are other two cameos by well known actors who I will not identify but are very funny and worth waiting for (stay after the credits).

Hobbs and Shaw are reluctant partners still harboring old grudges. They are such has hams they would be barred from a kosher deli. Ibis Elba is part human part cyborg. He has superhuman abilities and is controlled by a terrorist organization. A talented actor reduced to scowls and grunts; but he looks good in leather.

What about the plot? The plot is just an excuse for mayhem and pyrotechnics and there is plenty. Shaw drives an awesome McLaren at high speeds through the streets of London; a feat in itself. There is a scene with a helicopter and a bunch of trucks which is a scene stealer. Elba has an autonomous motorcycle that comes at his beck and call. You know some of the stunts are CG but they are impressive.

The film has a PG-13 rating so thank goodness there is no sex. The closest thing to sexy is a hot Mexican actress Eiza Gonzales. I was so distracted by her outfit I am uncertain if she was a good guy or a bad guy.

If you want to spend a mindless two hours, this is your movie. There are  some chuckles. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film  67%. It is estimated opening weekend it will clear $600m box office (budget $200m). So when is Fast and Furious 48^th coming out?

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.