The Song [2014]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  RE.com (2 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (4+ Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
RE.com (S. Wloszczyna) review


The Song [2014] (written and directed by Richard Ramsey) IMHO continues the LOVELY, OFTEN VERY CREATIVE RENAISSANCE in Christian / Bible-based (North)-American film-making that (I do believe) began or certainly caught notice and traction with the release of Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life [2011] to both public and critical acclaim.

Films that I'd include in this Christian Cinematic Renaissance would be such diverse projects as (1) the lovely catechetical and happily racially inclusive The Bible [2013] / Son of Man [2014] project; (2) the Baptist based Courageous [2011], et al, series; (3) the simultaneously more artistic, more blockbuster-like "the LOTR films meet the Bible," Noah [2014]; (4) more pedestrian but always lovely family-friendly testimonials like Heaven is For Real [2014]; to even (5) the more adult oriented "let's talk frankly IN LANGUAGE AND IMAGES THAT ONE WOULD UNDERSTAND TODAY about the 'Wages of Sin' in the realm of personal morality" films like Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor [2013] and the post-Spring Breakers [2012], pro-Life story Gimme Shelter [2014].

Viewers of the current film will find obvious stylistic influences of Malick's Tree of Life [2011] / To the Wonder [2012], a thematics that most closely resembles that of Tyler Perry's Temptation [2013] mentioned above, and finally a willingness to experiment with the presentation of a biblical text as in the manner made by the makers of the The Bible [2013] / Son of Man [2014] project.  I simply can not but applaud the willingness of film-makers here to "look around," learn-form and build-on the experiences (and I'd stress SUCCESSES) of previous Christian / faith based projects of recent memory!


Okay, so what is this film about?  Well, it's a REMARKABLE adaptation of the story of the Biblical King Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) to contemporary middle/rural "red state" America (Readers note here, that this film was NOT made "by Hollywood" but rather "by Nashville":

The "Solomon" figure in this story is Jed King (played by Allen Powell [IMDb] of the Nashville originating Christian music group Anthem Lights).  Jed is introduced to us in the story as the son of a veritable if at times morally-flawed (at times hard-drinking, at times womanizing) "country music superstar" named (both tellingly and amusingly ;-) DAVID KING (played briefly by Aaron Benward).   Indeed, Jed is the son of David and David's SECOND WIFE (who pop had stolen from a band member / until that point best friend of his).

Readers note here, of course, that while the Biblical David (1 Sam 13 - 2 Sam 24) was certainly beloved by both God and the People of Israel, he was portrayed in the Bible as something like "Israel's 'Good ole Boy' King" (In years past, I've honestly called him "The Bill Clinton of the Bible" ;-).  David was remembered (1) as the youngest son of an insignificant shepherd from "a little town" called Bethlehem, (2) as a musician (traditionally, he's remembered as the author of most of the SONGS found in the Bible's Book of Psalms), and  (3) as NOT being too proud to "dance before the Ark" to the consternation of his first wife (who had been, after all, the daughter of Israel's first king, Saul).  The Biblical David was ALSO (in)famously remembered as having stolen the wife, Bethsheba, of an officer of his, and the BIBLICAL SOLOMON was David's and Bethsheba's child...

Well, the beginning of the current film has "sonny boy," also a musician, Jed, trying to get past the LONG SHADOW (both good and bad) cast by his "Legendary" father DAVID (KING ;-).

To do so, in the beginning of his story, Jed tries really hard TO BE BETTER than his "old horn dog" father.  That is, HE TRIES REALLY HARD TO BE _WISE_.  (And folks, what is the Biblical King Solomon famous for? ... OF COURSE, HIS _WISDOM_).  The rest of the story unspools from here ...

Now, as the Biblical David has been traditionally taken to be the one responsible for most of the Psalms, the Biblical Solomon has been traditionally taken to be the author / the one responsible for the first three Wisdom books of the Bible that is, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (also known as Qoeleth) and The Song of Songs (the title of the last being the inspiration for the title of the film here).

Readers of these three Biblical books would certainly note that though they traditionally have the same authorship -- the Biblical King Solomon -- they each have a very different tone.  No matter, BY TRADITION, they were understood to have been written / commissioned by the Biblical King Solomon in different stages of his life: 

(1) The quite lovely / romantic Song of Songs is said to have been written by King Solomon when he was still "young and dashing" full of romance, 

(2) the pragmatic Book of Proverbs was to have been written / compiled during King Solomon's "high time as King" (during his middle age), and

(3) the far more despondent Ecclesiastes/Qoeleth is said to have been written/commissioned by Solomon in the latter part of his life, when reflecting on his life and HIS MISTAKES IN LIFE -- 1 Kings is NOT kind to Solomon in the latter stages of his life -- he asks "what was it all worth?" and comes to the somber, somewhat depressing conclusion: "Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity" (Eccl 1:2).

Parts of all three of these books play out in the course of the film:

The Song of Songs plays out near the beginning when Jed meets a good, virtuous, dare one say WISE, woman named Rose (played by Ali Faulkner) who had been mistreated before and Jed comes to her defense.  For HER he writes "their Song."

BUT ... with this "Song" he becomes very popular and his career takes off.  On tour, he is teamed up by his veritable SNAKE of a manager (played by Gary Jenkins) with a raven-haired, tatoo covered, "mean violin playing" Shelby Bale (played by Caitlin Nicol-Thomas).  She begins as Jed's tour's "opening band" but soon she makes her way onstage during Jed's performance, violin pressed against her chin, playing, you guessed it "Jed and Rose's Song."  Well, this can't possibly go well ...

This entrance of "Shelby" into the story is actually fascinating because HER introduction moves the story from its initial "Song of Songs" innocence to the competition between "Lady Wisdom" (personified by Rose) and "Lady Folly" (personified by Shelby) present in the first ten chapters of Proverbs.

Of course, perhaps like most people (and perhaps like the Biblical King Solomon who in the Bible becomes, if for a while, something of a Superstar in his own right, with even the Queen of Sheba arriving "from the end of the Earth" to meet him), Jed, suddenly "at the top-of-the-charts," does not manage things particularly well ...

... and like the Biblical King Solomon, Jed stands to lose much if not ALL of what he previously had and attained.  And so the voice of Ecclesiastes/Qoeleth starts to enter with that searingly depressing conclusion: Vanity, vanity all things are vanity ... like chasing after the wind. (Eccl 1:2, 14)

I HONESTLY STAND IN AWE OF THE CREATIVITY OF THIS FILM.  And I would honestly recommend to my readers here to go and flip through the pages of Song of Songs, Proverbs 1-10 and Ecclesiastes.  None of these books are particularly long (only about 10-12 pages) and beyond helping one to appreciate better this film, their wisdom can help one through the whole of one's life ;-)

Great job folks!  Great job!


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Brotherly Love [2015]

MPAA (R)  AALBC (3/4 Stars) Examiner (5/5 Stars)  M Report (3/5 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing

BET coverage

AALBC (K. Williams) review
Atlanta Voice (P. Dowels) review
Chicago Defender (S. Jobson) review
L.A. Sentinel (D. Cralle) review
N.Y. Examiner (B. Taylor) review
Philadephia Citypaper (M. Bevilacqua) review
SWGRus (T. Johnson) review
The M Report (M. Wallace) review

Brotherly Love [2015] (screenplay and directed by Jamal Hill) produced by Queen Latifah's [IMDb] Flavor Unit is an African American teen-oriented film that could be described as John Hughes [IMDb] meets Tyler Perry [IMDb] meeting the Boyz in the Hood [1992].  This makes for an _interesting_ if at times problematic (but ever _thought provoking_) combination.

The story largely plays-out at Overbrook High School in the largely African American Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia (the film's title is clearly in part a play on meaning of Philadelphia's name as "The City of Brotherly Love" ...).  The neighborhood turns out to be quite well-suited for this story because even though it is almost entirely African American it is divided into two sections, the quite wealthy "Hills" and the much poorer "Bottoms."  (As a matter of note, actor Will Smith [IMDb], as well as basketball star Wilt Chamberlain both attended Overbrook High School in their teens).  As such, the film is able to include a fairly large cross-section of African American teenagers.

The story centers around three siblings ("brothers" in the most general sense, hence another "play" present in the title): The oldest is June (played by Cory Hardrict) in his early 20s. Next was Sergio (played by Eric D. Hill, Jr) a Senior at Overbrook High and a rising basketball star.   Finally, there was the "baby", Jackie (played by Keke Palmer), who I'm guessing was a sophomore or junior at the high school and part of its cheerleader squad.  Interestingly enough, the story is told largely through the perspective of Jackie whose voice-over at the beginning of the film helps set the stage and occasional further voice-overs help to quickly introduce further information (again, from her perspective) to continue the story.  Together, with their mom (played by Macy Gray) they lived in a house in the "Bottoms," that is, poorer part of the neighborhood.

So far so good... We're told then by Jackie's voice-over that June was a gangster, that he dropped-out of school at 15-16 after their father, also a gangster, was shot and killed, to take care of the family.  Jackie informs us of this with both the matter-of-factness and arguably _the innocence_ of a 15-16 year old, telling us, "As June would say, 'sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do."  We learn later that June had some talent with the basketball as well..., but sacrificed _his future_ for the sake of the others.

The film then shows June and his two buddies making a good deal of money, carrying around and stowing away a good deal of money, shaking down local (illegal) gambling houses and businesses.  One would imagine that June's work would have been even seedier than that..., but a point was being made.  It was clear that June was NOT making money by his being "a nice guy."  He was making money by being A FEARED GUY.  And if anyone doubted who he was, or his rank / position in the neighborhood, he wore a rather impressively THICK (and hence noticeably HEAVY) gold chain _around his neck_, instantly indicating to anyone who _he's stop_ that he's someone to be reckoned with (again to be FEARED) ... even as he cared for ma' and his little brother and sister ... and as time goes on, that gold chain "around his neck" starts to be understood (by the film's Viewers) ALSO ... _as a noose_ ...

June appears to be something of a young 20-something African American "Vito Corleone" character (a la The Godfather [1972]), someone who "if circumstances were different, would also be different" and wished that circumstances would become different for his family.   But it's clear that even within June's family, there were people who didn't like / rejected the reasoning of the choices that he's made.  The kids have an uncle, Ron (played by Faizon Love), a barber, who pointedly reminded (a la Tyler Perry [IMDb]), his stars-in-his-eyes / hoop-dreaming nephew Sergio: "Look son, after a while you get to see that the people who really succeed in life, don't really succeed because of their talents.  They succeed because of their character."

And that then becomes the message of the film.

June is not necessarily an evil guy but he has chosen an evil path, and it's more or less clear that it can't end well for him.  Yes, thanks to June's sacrifice, Sergio and Jackie have more choices.  But then this is high school, BOTH "a time of innocence" AND "a time when one's choices begin to matter." How do they do?  The rest of the story follows ...

This film is a discussion inviting film.  I do think that the film's portrayal of June will be problematic to many viewers of all stripes.  But I do think that he was _intentionally_ drawn that way both to make the rest of the story more "real" (more visceral) and to remind viewers that even gangsters have their (back)stories as well as people who they care about.

Does the film glorify June's choices (and, look it's not much of a SPOILER to say that his story can't end well)?  That's certainly one aspect of the film that invites discussion.  But precisely because his life does not end well, and _clearly_ does not end well, IMHO, I don't think the film glorifies his path.  Better alternatives are offered in the film throughout.

But if nothing else, the film leaves plenty to talk about, especially among teens, when it ends.

So overall, good job Mr Hill, and Queen Latifah [IMDb], as well as the cast / crew!  Good job ;-)


FINALLY, there's a scene near the end of the film that probably would deserve a whole second article / review to explore.  In it, A WHITE POLICE OFFICER is shown saving an AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN from a CAREER ENDING / LIFE ALTERING "bad choice."  Readers remember that this is an African American oriented film made from top-to-bottom by an African American director, cast, crew and an African American owned production company.   SO A STATEMENT WAS INTENTIONALLY BEING MADE HERE: Cops of all races/ethnicities are GENERALLY GOOD and THEY ARE APPRECIATED. 

I live in a city-worker parish at the south edge of a far rougher part of Chicago, home to, actually A LOT of Chicago Police Officers, about evenly split 1/2 and 1/2 between white and Hispanic.  I also REGULARLY CELEBRATE MASS in the Parishes north of us (the parishioners being mostly Hispanic or African American, with even some Haitians) and I know that THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS APPRECIATE THE PRESENCE OF THE POLICE.  If anything, they wish there'd see more of them.

Yes, no doubt there are SOME "bad cops" as there'd be bad (and RACIST) people in all Professions ... INCLUDING in the Catholic Priesthood ... but here is AN AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM that's saying THANK YOU TO THE GOOD ONES.

And I know for certain that the good ones appreciate it.  ONCE AGAIN, GOOD JOB. 



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2012 Denny Awards - Part 2 - Most Compelling Performances (Male)

Part 2/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)

CHILD (male)
    Winner:
          Tom Holland (P) as the 10 year old Lucas in The Impossible [2012] (R - 4 Stars) who has to take care of his mother following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.   
Honorable Mentions:
           Charlie Tahan (V/P) and Atticus Shaffer (V/P) as young Victor Frankenstein and Edgar E. Gore in Frankenweenie [2012] (PG / A-I - 3 1/2 Stars).
           Kodi Smit-McPhee (V/CR) as Norman and Tucker Albrizzi (V/P) his friend Niel in ParaNorman [2012] ( PG - 3 Stars)
           Daniel Huttlestone (P) as the little boy Gavroche who gets killed in Les Miserables (musical) [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars)  


TEEN (male)
    Winners: 
             Logan Lerman (P) as Charlie and Ezra Miller (P) as Patrick in the teenage high school drama The Perks of Being a Wall Flower [2012] (PG-13 - 4 Stars).  Along with Patrick's step-sister Sam (played by Emma Watson) the three prove the value of friendship in those high school years..

    Honorable Mentions:   
             Dane DeHaan (P), Alex Russell  (P) and Michael B. Jordan (P) as the three friends Andrew, Matt and Steve in the more sci-fi-y teenage high school drama Chronicle [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Sometimes even "super powers" can't compensate for a tough life in a troubled home.
             Taylor Lautner (P) as Jacob Black in Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Jacob didn't get the girl in the story but from what I can gather from watching these films in the theaters, he definitely has an adoring fan base of his own ;-).


YOUNG ADULT (male)
    Winner:
             Zac Efron (P) in the film's title role as a directionless young man who at the beginning of the film had to return home to his parents in 1960s Florida after being expelled from college for some unclear offense in The Paper Boy [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).
     Honorable Mentions: 
              Karan Soni (P) as the talented but somewhat nerdy college student Arnou who needed to be reminded that he's "not going to be 21 forever" in Safety Not Guaranteed [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).
            Robert Pattison of "Twilight Saga" fame as a young "corporate vampire" who spends most of his time riding in the back of coffin-like limo while making decisions that "effect millions" in Cosmopolis [2012] (R - 4 Stars).
              Wojciech Zielinski [IMDb][FPL][ENG-trans] (P) as Michal who almost "made it" in today's Poland and Tomasz Schuchardt [IMDb][FPL][ENG trans] (P) as his childhood best friend Janek who has to watch him crash in The Christening (orig. Chrzest) [2010] (UR would be R - Poland / subtitled - 3 1/2 Stars)
              Bradley Cooper as a struggling young writer who finally got his break by cheating in The Words [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars).  He comes to regret it, but how to fix things now? 
              Muhammad Afzal (P) as the 20-something Afzal, a humble water taxi operator in the Kashmir but with  many deep thoughts in his mind Valley of Saints [2012] (UR would be PG-13 - subtitled - 4 Stars.
             Ovanes Torosian (P) as a young Bulgarian college student traveling to his best friend's funeral in Avé [2011] (UR would be R - Bulgaria/subtitled - 4 Stars) with many questions about what life is all about.
             Onur Tukel (P) as the somewhat irreverent (and unemployed) young man living in New York nicknamed "Tuna" heading to his best friend's wedding in Richard's Wedding [2012] (UR would be R - 3 Stars) 
              Paul Dano as a young writer who's both lonely and suffering from writer's block in Ruby Sparks [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars).  Finally, he gets inspired in his writing (about a woman, literally "of his dreams") and BOOM she appears.  But now even if she is truly "his creation" wouldn't she be happier/better off if he let her be free?
             Jake Johnson (P) at the far end of "young adulthood", this 30-something journalist takes two rudderless interns under his wing in Safety Not Guaranteed [2012] (R - 3 1/2 Stars)


ADULT (male/unattached/no kids)
    Winners:
              Daniel Craig (P) as Agent 007 James Bond in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars).  Can there really be anybody else?  Well, maybe ... ;-)

             Liam Neeson (P) as the rifleman Ottway, stranded with seven others in the wilds of Alaska in The Grey [2012] (R/L - 3 1/2 Stars. Honestly, given the recent tragedies in Neeson's life perhaps, his current "Answer to Job."
    Honorable Mentions:
             Denzel Washington (P) as veteran airline pilot "Whip" Whitaker in Flight [2012] (R / O - 3 1/2 Stars) in a great Parable about someone who is both very talented and a mess.  Can even a "Miracle Worker" be Saved if he doesn't deal with his Demons first?
             Adel Yaraghi (P) as Adel, an amiable 40-something Iranian "ad exec" living in Tehran and getting married for the first time who doesn't understand why Leila, his fiancee' would be so insistent on him "quitting smoking" in Meeting Leila (orig. Ashnaee ba Leila) [2011] (UR would be PG-13 - Iran/Subtitled - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Tyler Perry (P) as Wesley Deeds, a good son, and a future good husband, who uses his position as a wealthy man to help young mother who comes into his life who is in need in Tyler Perry's Good Deeds [2012] (PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars).  His involvement changes his life but changes it for the better allowing him to become "Good' Deeds.
              

ADULT (male/married/parent)
    Winner:
            Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, two cops, one single later engaged, the other married with a family in End of Watch [2012] ( R / O - 4 Stars).  In a parish with some 100 families of police officers, I can attest, their dialogue is authentic ;-).


    Honorable Mentions:
           Liam Neeson (P) as the tough guy Brian Mills, a former CIA assassin trying to work his way back into his estranged family in Taken 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars).  Okay, he was rarely "there" for his wife and daughter in the past, but did they have any @$%# idea what he went through to "put dinner on their table?" ;-)  
           Hugh Jackman (P) as Jean Valjean, himself saved by a kindly grandfatherly Bishop, serving as the good adoptive father to Cossette in Les Miserables (musical) [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars)
            

ELDER (male)
    Winner:
              Jonithen Jackson (P) as Jacob the grandfatherly patriarch of a family of Marshall Islanders who he had in good part moved from the Marshall Islands to the Big Island of Hawaii during his lifetime in The Land of Eb [2012] (UR would be PG-13 - 3 Stars).  Now Jacob was dying (of cancer) and has to come to terms with the fact that he's not going to be able to finish the various projects that he's started. 
    Honorable Mentions:
             Ian McCellen (P) as the Grand Wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [2012] (PG-13 / A-II - 4 Stars) who calls the reluctant hobbit Bilbo Baggins on "an Adventure."
             Frank Langella (P) as Frank in Robot & Frank [2012] ( PG-13 / 3 1/2 Stars). Okay, he wasn't the best of fathers.  Indeed, he spent most of his adult life in jail.  Now he's "out" but he's old and alone and his kids live far away.  At least his son though bought him "a robot" to take care of him... ;-).
             Billy Crystal (P) as Arty in Parental Guidance [2012] (PG / A-I - 3 Stars).  During most of his adult life, Arty "ruled" his family.  A radio announcer, Arty had dreamed of becoming the "voice" of his beloved (first New York then San Francisco) Giants.  Now near the end of his life, even he realizes that this isn't going to happen.  But what of his relationships wife, who did not mind traveling around the country as Arty pursued his dream, and now adult daughter with a family of her own, who did?




HERO / VILLAIN (male)
    Winner:
              Chris Evans (P) as Captain America and Robert Downey, Jr (P) as Tony Stark in The Avengers [2012] ( PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars) two great visions of "America" (The United States) personified.
    Honorable Mentions:
             Javier Bardem (P) as the Julian Assange-like character Silva in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Liam Neeson (P) as former CIA assassin Brian Mills just trying trying to be accepted by his wife and daughter again in Taken 2 [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars).
             Daniel Craig (P) as Agent 007 James Bond in Skyfall [2012] (PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars)
             Ian McCellen (P) as the Grand Wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [2012] (PG-13 / A-II - 4 Stars).


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The Star [2017]

MPAA (PG)  CNS/USCCB (A-I)  RogerEbert.com (2 Stars)  AVClub (C-)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
Los Angeles Times (K. Walsh) review
RogerEbert.com (S. Wloszczyna) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review


The Star [2017] (directed by Timothy Rekart, screenplay by Carlos Kotkin, story by Simon Moore and Carlos Kotkin) is a cute star-studded film about Jesus' birth taken from the point of view of the animals in the story, notably from the POV of the donkey (voiced by Steven Yeun) on which the very pregnant Mary (voiced by Gina Rodriguez) rode to Bethlehem where she gave birth to Jesus.  Also in the story are the camels (voiced by Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan and Oprah Winfrey) who amusingly seem to more about what's going on than "the three kings" (voiced by Joel Osteen, Phil Morris and Fred Tatasciore) did ;-).  There's also a lovable sheep (voiced by Aidy Bryant) who interestingly seems to "herd" everybody in the story "together."

I have to say that I LIKED THE STORY.  Sure, it's kinda cutesy, but it's also aimed for FIVE YEAR OLD KIDS.  In that regard, it's a lovely story.  And I did appreciate that SO MANY STARS and from a truly _wide_ cross-section of American society took part in it.

All in all, though it's not going to win many awards, it never intended to.  Instead, it tells the story of the birth of Jesus from a novel and interesting point of view and -- to kids ;-).

Good job!  Very good job!


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2011 Denny Awards - Part 3 - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

Part 3/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

CHILD (female)
    Winner:
        Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Rosie in We Bought a Zoo
    Honorable Mentions:
        Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda in Life Above All
        Mélusine Mayance as Sarah in Sarah’s Key
        Elle Fanning as Alice Dainard in Super 8
        Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle in Hugo
        Amara Miller as Scottie in The Descendants


TEEN (female)
    Winner:
        Freida Pinto as Miral in Miral
    Honorable Mentions:
        Shailene Woodley as Alex in The Descendants
        Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, Pt 1
        Emma Roberts as Sally in The Art of Getting By
        Nikohl Boosheri as Atefah in Circumstance
        Marie Ferét as Narnel in Mozart's Sister 
        Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy in Beastly
        Lily Collins as Karen in Abduction
        Stella Schnabel as Lisa (Miral’s Israeli friend) in Miral
        Analeigh Tipton as Jessica in Crazy, Stupid, Love
        Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2


YOUNG ADULT (female)
    Winner:
        Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, in Martha Marcy May Marlene
    Honorable Mentions:   
        Felicity Jones as Anna in Like Crazy
        Zoe Saldana as Cataleya in Colombiana
        Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre
        Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
        Brit Marhling as Rhoda Williams in Another Earth
        Carey Mulligan as Sissy in Shame
        Taissa Farmiga, young-adult Corrine in Higher Ground
        Bingbing Li as Nina in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
        Sarah Gadon as Emma Jung in A Dangerous Method
        Rashida Jones as Cindy in My Idiot Brother
        Keira Knightly as Sabina Spielrein A Dangerous Method
        Katie O’Grady as Meris Canfield in Rid of Me   
        Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary in Young Adult
        Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth Halsey in Bad Teacher
        Natalie Portman as Emma in No Strings Attached
        Anna Kendrick as Katherine in 50/50


ADULT (female)
    Winner:
        Jessica Chastain as Samantha in Take Shelter
    Honorable Mentions:
        Sarah Paulson as Lucy in Martha Marcy May Marlene
        Kirsten Dunst as Justine in Melancholia
        Dagmara Dominczyk as Annika in Higher Ground
        Jessica Chastain as Mrs. O'Brien in Tree of Life
        Vera Farmiga as Corine in Higher Ground       
        Rachel Weisz as Kathryn Bolkovac in The Whistleblower
        Elizabeth Reaser as Charlotte in The Art of Getting By
        Kristen Scott Thomas as Julia Darmond in Sarah’s Key
        Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn

      
ELDER (female)
    Winner:
        Loretta Divine as Shirley in Madea’s Big Happy Family
    Honorable Mentions:
        Helen Mirren as the elder Rachel Singer in The Debt
        Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady
        Judy Dench as J.Edgar Hoover’s Mother in J.Edgar
        Viola Davis as Abileen Clark in The Help
        Angelica Houston as Diane (mom) in 50/50


HERO / VILLAIN (female)
    Winner:
        Milla Jovovich as Milady de Winter in Three Musketeers
    Honorable Mentions:
        Zoe Saldana as Cataleya in Colombiana
        Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
        Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mistique in X-Men: First Class
        Amanda Seyfried as Valerie in Red Riding Hood
        Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
        Amanda Seyfried as Silvia Weis in In Time
        Bryce Dallas Howard as Rachel in 50/50
        Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly Holbrook in The Help
        Tyler Perry as Madea in Madea’s Big Happy Family


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Cantinflas [2014]

MPAA (PG)  RE.com (2 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)

IMDb listing
ChicagoTribune/LA Times (B. Sharkey) review
RE.com (A. Aradillas) review

LaOpinion-LosAngeles coverage*
Hoy-Chicago coverage*


Cantinflas [2014] (directed and cowritten by Sebastian del Amo along with Edui Tijerina) is a Hispanic family oriented film (the PG rating is absolutely appropriate) about the life of beloved Mexican comic Cantinflas ("Mexico's Charlie Chaplin") [en.wikip] [es.wikip]* [IMDb]. 

Fully bilingual (the parts of story that are in English are presented with Spanish subtitles, the parts in Spanish are with English ones), the film's box-office success (despite having almost NO COVERAGE in the English language press in the U.S. and hence relying almost entirely on Spanish language media for publicity in the U.S.) on the heals of the even more financially successful Instructions Not Included [2013] which utilized the same bilingual formula and also relied on the Spanish media for outreach suggests that Lionsgate Films have found a way of replicating Tyler Perry's [IMDb] success in reaching African American audiences to reach Hispanic audiences here.

While clearly directed to Hispanic families, non-Hispanic audiences could benefit in taking-in this film because it can serve to introduce (or reintroduce) Cantinflas [en.wikip] [es.wikip]* [IMDb] (played in the film by Óscar Jaenada) to them.  For he really was, IMHO, a comic genius.

My first exposure to him was 6 days after arriving in Guadalajara to take an intensive Spanish language course some 15-20 years ago.  Part of taking such a course is not simply learning the language but also to learn about the culture.  Well that day, the instructor brought in a few clips from Cantiflas' circa 1940s films.  The scene that I remember from that day was Cantinflas (who almost always played a "simple Mexican everyman") arriving at a Mexico City pool-hall, late, explaining to his friend what had happened to him: "Well I was walking along the street, making good time, when this lady came running out of a shop, screaming POLICE! POLICE! ..." Well when good old, simple Continflas, calls out "Police! Police!" (while calmly adjusting his pool cue ...) recounting the story, THE CROWDED POOL HALL'S PATRONS just start RUNNING (AWAY) IN EVERY DIRECTION, OUT DOORS, THROUGH WINDOWS, TRYING TO HIDE UNDER / BEHIND POOL TABLES AND CHAIRS, while Continflas, unphased, continues his story, to the horror of his (perhaps also shaking in his boots) friend!

I LAUGH TO THIS DAY recalling of that scene ;-) ... and, thinking of his diminutive posture and manner of motion, remember IMMEDIATELY THINKING "My gosh, THIS GUY'S MEXICO'S CHARLIE CHAPLIN" (which is, in fact, _exactly_ how he is remembered all across the Spanish speaking world).

So I'm happy that this film was made, and I'm also happy that, _more or less_, Cantinflas's [en.wikip] [es.wikip]* personal life was worth remembering _positively_:

Though the film does indicate that when his success did come, he was certainly tempted, and probably (indeed almost certainly) fell in his personal life, he did remain "till death did they part" with his wife, a Russian immigrant to Mexico named Valentina Ivanova (played in the film by Ilse Salas) WHO HE DID LOVE and WHO HE MET VERY EARLY IN HIS CAREER when both were still dirt poor and were (both) working as CIRCUS ACTS.

Indeed, to (North) American audiences perhaps the most controversial scene in the film comes from that early period in his life, when the film shows that Cantinflas BEGINNING his acting career (before that, he tried his hand at both BOXING and BULL FIGHTING ;-) doing a BLACK-FACE ROUTINE (he liked to dance ...) BUT ... (and this is true) HE CAME TO REALIZE VERY QUICKLY THAT HE GOT A LOT MORE LAUGHS FROM HIS MEXICO CITY AUDIENCES WHEN HE SIMPLY PLAYED HIMSELF: A POOR YOUNG STREETWISE MEXICAN MAN WHO WAS "FAST ON HIS FEET" AND EVEN FASTER WITH HIS TONGUE ;-).

To bring the Continflas' story to the States, the current film recalls his participation in the 50's era United Artists (notably the studio CO-FOUNDED BY CHAPLIN) film Around the World in Eighty Days [1956] which won various Academy Awards including Writing and Best Picture and for which Continflas received a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

The film recalls the difficulty that producer Michael Todd [IMDb] (played in the film by Michael Imperioli) had in putting together "international cast" to make his film based on Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, including getting Cantinflas to do the film.  Indeed, Todd needed Charlie Chaplin's (played in the film by Julian Sedgwick) help to get Cantinflas to accept.

Why would that be?  Well, the film shows quite well that Cantiflas was an authentic superstar in Mexico by then, and indeed, the head of Mexico's version of the Screen Actors' Guild.  He didn't need to go up the States to play a bit role in some Hollywood film ;-).

All in all, this is honestly a very nice film, again deserving of its family friendly PG rating and one that honestly will put a smile on everybody in the audience's faces (and probably many times ;-)

So good job folks, honestly good job!  And it serves me right.  I have to read the Spanish papers here more often ;-)


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser.

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Moonlight [2016]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB ()  RogerEbert.com (4 Stars)  AVClub (A)  Fr. Dennis (0 Stars w Expl)

IMDb listing

Ebony (D.S. Daniels) review
TheSource interview w. actors

CNS/USCCB () review

Los Angeles Times (K. Turan) review
RogerEbert.com (B. Tallerico) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review


Moonlight [2016] (written / directed by Barry Jenkins) is an APPALLINGLY TENDENTIOUS FILM and IT WILL BE A TRAVESTY IF _THIS_ FILM becomes THE ONLY African American Film that gets nominations at the Oscars this year.

Why?  Call this film Boyz in the Hood [1991] meets Brokeback Mountain [2005].

Dear Readers, I've reviewed and FAVORABLY all kinds of LGBT THEMED FILMS (from Carol [2015] to Stranger by the Lake [2013]) over the years as well as all kinds of African American produced films (from Tyler Perry productions to films that would generally only play at film festivals like the annual and _excellent_ Black Harvest Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago).  It seems almost A JOKE to me that THIS AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM is somehow "catching the eye of the Liberal Media Establishment."

And honestly, IT MIGHT EVEN BE A JOKE from the perspective of the writer/director ... "Okay, Hollywood, you can't seem to SEE our films.  So let me make a film about a confused / sensitive and possibly gay 'gangbanger' AND MAYBE YOU'LL _SEE_ THAT ONE ..."

And wow, has the critics-sphere done so and ... GUSHED. 

Now folks, it's not _just_ the "confused / sensitive and possibly 'gangbanger'" who's presented to us in this film.  His father is, of course, ABSENT, and his mother's DRUG ADDICTED and "earns her keep" as a TWO BIT / FREELANCE PROSTITUTE. 

This film could honestly win awards at a "diversity section" of a KKK / "Alt-Right" film festival: "Exploring _the very horizons_ of why your white virginal daughter ought not be hanging-around with black dudes..."  

Honestly, if THIS FILM gets Oscar nominations and Hidden Figures [2016] and Fences [2016] (both far more positive / honest) do not, then the Academy should just go to Hell.   And honestly, the Academy Awards are _not_ the only game in town.  There are at minimum the BET Awards as well as the NAACP Image Awards. 

I have no doubt that the current film will probably do well at one or both of these programs as well BUT IT WILL NOT BE STANDING _ALONE_ THERE.  

But for now ... ZERO STARS.


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Alex Cross [2012]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  Roger Ebert (2 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB review
Roger Ebert's review


Alex Cross (directed by Rob Cohen, screenplay by Marc Moss and Kerry Williamson based on the novel by James Patterson) is about the exploits of an African American detective and psychologist named Dr. Alex Cross (played in the film by Tyler Perry).  In the novels, he lives and works in the South East quadrant of Washington D.C. In the current film he and his family live in Detroit, MI. In both cases these are both "tough" generally crime ridden areas but with some more upscale sections where wealthier/upper middle class African Americans (like Alex Cross and his family) live.

The film concerns itself with Alex Cross' hunting down a particularly sadistic criminal who is given the nick-name "Picasso" (played by Matthew Fox) because he tends to leave charcoal drawings of his victims (often wrything in pain) at the scenes of the crimes.  This criminal apparently sees killing as an "art form" and he also _enjoys_ seeing his victims in pain.

After a particularly brutal murder of the woman of an otherwise unsavory gangster, Alex Cross and his partner Tommy Kane (played by Edward Burns) are brought in on the case.  After "Picasso" finds out that Alex Cross is on his tail, he of course takes enjoyment in "playing" with him and finding some very awful ways to cause Cross and his family (Alex Cross' wife Maria played by Carmen Ejogo, daughter Janelle played by Yara Shahidi, son Damon played by Sayeed Shahidi, and mother played by Cicely Tyson) pain.

IMHO it all makes for a rather good crime thriller and I like the development of Alex Cross' family.  However, PARENTS I would definitely warn you that the film should really be rated R.  There are definitely some very graphic/violent scenes present.  IMHO that does not necessarily make it a bad film, just at times a rather violent one and parents/families ought to know what they are walking into in that regard.


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Young Adult

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB (L)  Roger Ebert (3 1/2 Stars)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing -
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/
CNS/USCCB review -
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/movies/11mv152.htm
Roger Ebert's review -
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111207/REVIEWS/111209991

The first thing that viewers should know about Young Adult (directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody) is that though, IMHO, the film is excellent, it follows a trend of young adult oriented "comedies" that are both funny and "not really that funny" / "more than just funny." (One thinks of recent "comedies" / "rom/coms" like Love and Other Drugs [2010], The Dilemma [2011], Tyler Perry's Big Happy Family [2011], Something Borrowed [2011], One Day [2011], or 50/50 [2011]).  Sure there's plenty of humor in the film, but the humor's there to keep the audience engaged (and arguably not crying) as some fairly tough stuff is presented in the midst of the laughs.

Both Reitman (Thank You for Not Smoking [2005], Juno [2007], Up in the Air [2009]) and Cody (Juno [2007], Jennifer's Body [2009]) have made careers of humor that is often both funny and pointed.  And there has been a long tradition extending from medieval courts to the films of present day actor Robin Williams (of whom I've been a lifelong fan) where it was left to the "court jester" to bring-up matters (always indirectly and with a smile) which would have been difficult to impossible to talk about otherwise.

So Young Adult falls in this tradition of being both funny and "hey, wait a minute, wasn't this film supposed to be funny?"  And it is perhaps because of the serious aspects of the film that an often serious actress, Charlize Theron (Cider House Rules [1999], Monster [2003]), decided to take it on.

But let's get to the movie ... Young Adult is about late-30 something (no longer so young) former popular girl / high school beauty queen Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron) who had long ago left the small town (Mercury, Minnesota) of her youth for the glamour of the "big city" (Minneapolis).

Life in the big city hasn't altogether so glamorous.  True she's "made it" (sort of) as a writer and lives in a high rise condo.  But she lives alone, divorced; her condo's strewn with garbage as it's clear that she's working (as a ghost writer for a "past its prime" young adult romance series) under a great deal of pressure; and when she's not staring at her laptop or listening in on conversations (and picking-up new jargon) among teens/young adults of today (at fast food joints and malls) she's drinking, heavily.  But at least she's not living back home in Mercury, and she (by-and-large rightly) assumes that most of her former kinfolk and classmates remain jealous of her.

So what makes her want to return home?  Well, she gets a seemingly innocuous e-mail from her old high school flame Buddy Slade (played by Patrick Wilson) informing her and the rest of "the gang" that he and his wife, Beth (played by Elizabeth Reaser) just had a baby girl.  After years of not thinking much of her small town past, she decides to go back to Mercury, Minnesota to take back Buddy (even though he is clearly married and with a child) to "save" him from his "awful fate."  Is she nuts?

Much of the movie plays along with the thesis that she is radically self-absorbed and, yes, crazy.

The first person she meets, when she returns home is Matt Freehauf (played by Patton Oswalt) who she does not remember even though they had lockers next to each other through all four years of high school, and he certainly remembers her.  After much prodding she finally remembers, sort of: "Wait, aren't you the hate crime guy?"  He shakes his head somewhat in agreement and reminds her of the story.  During his junior year, he was savagely beaten up by "the jocks" (among them, her friends) because they thought he was gay.  It turned out that he wasn't even gay ("so it wasn't even a hate crime...") but the beating left him half-crippled and all but sexually impotent ever since (yes parents, though this is largely only discussed, the movie is rated appropriately R).

After this embarrassing and painful introduction after years of not having to think much about each other, Matt asks Mavis the obvious question: "What the heck are you doing back in town, now?"  She tells him of her plan.  Matt tells her the obvious: Buddy by all accounts seems happily married and now has a kid.  Matt and his mousy sister Sandra (played by College Wolfe) appear then repeatedly as the story progresses, playing the role of a traditional "Greek Chorus," repeatedly telling Mavis what we, the audience would like to tell her, mostly: "You're nuts, leave Buddy alone."  Of course she does not / can not ...

Near the end of the movie, we find out why Mavis can not let it go.  And it does make one want to cry and _may_ offer parents a teachable moment with their teens.  TO EXPLAIN, I HAVE TO REVEAL A KEY SPOILER but parents certainly should know and it actually enhances the value of the picture:  It turns out that "back in the day" (I don't remember now whether it was in late High School or College) Buddy had gotten Mavis pregnant.  Yet, three months into her pregnancy, she lost the child to a miscarriage.

Sex is often covered so superficially in the movies and on television, while "Mother Church" has always counseled caution with regard to premature (pre-marital) sexual activity (basically don't do it before marriage).  Here perhaps continuing where they left-off with Juno [2007] (another movie about teenage pregnancy) Reitman and Cody present another scenario that's both easily believable and heartrending: If miscarriage is difficult enough to deal with in the context of a happily married couple, how much more awful, difficult, confused this experience could be for a young woman, or couple, that had entered into the pregnancy outside the context of marriage and/or the maturity generally required to bring a child to term and then to raise him/her?  From my experience as a Catholic Priest in a parish, I can certainly attest to the fact that miscarriage can be a very difficult experience for even a married couple to deal with.

Thus a film that for the first 80% of it follows a "hah, hah, isn't she stupid, self-centered, etc?" trajectory becomes very different at the end. 

So congratulations Reitman and Cody (and Charlize Theron)!  On the other hand, if you were thinking of going to this movie for a "light evening" or "date"  think again.  There really isn't much that is "light" about it by the end.


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Gone Girl [2014]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB ()  ChicagoTribune (3 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (A-)  Fr. Dennis (4+ Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB () review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review

Gone Girl [2014] (directed by David Fincher, screenplay by Gillian Flynn [IMDb] based on her novel [GR] by the same name) is an appropriately R-rated film (for SOME measured, calibrated nudity and SOME measured, calibrated graphic violence) that SCREAMS a "Best Adapted Screen Play" Oscar nomination for Flynn.  And though it's still early in "Oscar Worthy" season, it's difficult for me to imagine ANY North American film still coming out this year to beat it for that award.   Other Oscar nomination possibilities would include (1) Fincher for Best Direction through this story of many twists and turns, (2) Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike for Best Actor and Actress Leading Roles as the film's formerly "on top of their world" lead couple Nick and Amy Dunne and (3) Carnie Coon for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as Nick's far more grounded (if also "underachieving") fraternal twin-sister Margo. 


The film begins with Nick, still strapping, good-looking 30-something Nick, coming into a bar, calling itself "The Bar", midday, that HE and HIS SISTER run in (say what?) "suburban Missouri" (??).  He sits down at the bar and asks "the bartender" (HIS SISTER again, mind you) for a Bourbon.  Why?  It's his and his wife's (Amy's) 5th wedding anniversary and it's clear that he's not looking forward to it.  It's clear, that as famous B.B. King "Mississsippi Blues" song goes "The Thrill is Gone..." THIS WHOLE SCENE, which remarkably telegraphs the central question explored in the film, is simultaneously PRETENTIOUS and BORING (RUN-OF-THE-MILL, AVERAGE, MUNDANE, FORGETTABLE (!)).

From voice-overs and flashbacks we're informed it wasn't always that way ...  Previously graced / lucky / even spoiled, we're told that Nick and Amy met in their mid to late-20s in New York as starting if already somewhat "limited" / "compromised" writers.  He was working at the time for a flashy (presumably) GQ style "Men's Magazine", she was writing "personality quiz" columns for another New York based commercial rag.  As the film unfolds, we come to realize that THIS was truly the high-point of both of their lives.  He was a strapping, good-looking, 20-something Midwesterner from "boring surburban Missouri" who had landed a job for a flashy GQ-style "Men's Magazine."  She, the daughter of doting, but "helicopter parents from Hell" also (kinda) made good.  Her parents, Rand and Marybeth Elliott (magnificently captured/played by and David Clennon and Lisa Banes), also writers, had MADE A FORTUNE off of a "Pippi Longstocking" [wikip] [GR] series of books called "Amazing Amy" BASED ON THEIR DAUGHTER'S LIFE (only BETTER than Amy's ACTUAL LIFE ... ;-) ... again "helicopter parents from HELL.").  So, for a while, she, writing those "personality test" columns for some New York magazine had (kinda) "succeeded" as well ...

... And then the Great Recession hit.  Soon both Nick and Amy, recently married (after a ridiculously pretentious/corny "proposal scene ...") ... lose their jobs.  Then Amy's parents turn out to not have been the best of financial managers either and come asking AMY for money -- MONEY THAT THEY MADE WRITING ABOUT HER, or ACTUALLY ABOUT A "BETTER THAN LIFE" RENDITION OF HER ... Amy as precocious girl scout explorer type, Amy as a "Doogie Houser" High School science prodigy, Amy as a Volleyball star, Amy as Homecoming Queen ... Amy as everything that _Amy_ NEVER WAS ABLE TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE IN HER OWN LIFE -- that they had put in her "trust fund," basically all but emptying it.  Then when Nick and Amy find out that Nick's mother was diagnosed with (already) STAGE-4 Breast Cancer, they, jobless, decide to come back to Nick's hometown (in suburban Missouri) to (somehow) try to save her.  Of course she dies soon afterwards.  But by then, they had spent the remainder of (AMY's) parent-given (and parent-largely-taken-away) "nest egg" on buying a house and opening-up the above mentioned "bar" with the idiotic, utterly un-evocative name "The Bar."

And so, it's Nick and Amy's fifth anniversary ... "the thrill," long, long gone ... Nick comes back home, mid-afternoon (again, a stupidly odd, BORING time ...) to find "his wife missing" ... What the heck happened?   The cops get involved (led by small-suburban town PD detective Rhonda Boney played by Kim Dickens), then (inevitably) so does the tabloid TV press (led by a dead-on Nancy Grace like personality played by Missy Pyle)... and later even a celebrity ever-smiling criminal attorney (played in truly inspired fashion by Tyler Perry). 

It all becomes one heck of a twisting tale, all (IMHO) ultimately driven by the "great horror of our (narcissistic) time": What to do when one's EXPECTED (and EXPECTING...) TO BE EXCEPTIONAL and one starts to realize that one's probably GONNA END UP PRETTY DARN AVERAGE.

GREAT, GREAT STORY, and a VERY SLICKLY EXECUTED FILM!  KUDOS ALL AROUND!



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