graupepillard Reviews

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Terrific love-letter to Hollywood bygone years.

[9/10 · 7 August 2019]

Quentin Tarantino makes my heart race. Every film is overflowing with visual and aural references to the movie industry and the era that he venerates - the necessity of staying alert to barely hidden signs/symbols can be gleefully exhausting. ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD is about blurred boundaries - how the brutality and bloodshed spewing out of TV boxes and Movie Theaters intersects with and abets real-life drama. Tarantino also targets personal and intimate concerns, mindful of the aging process - particularly in the airless Hollywood environment of illusion and make-believe, celebrating the fantasy of eternal youth and beauty. Tarantino's work is known for being excessively violent - but that violence is often interrupted by a rivulet of dialogue hovering over the action - words that can make you burst out laughing - while you gasp and suck in your breath with repulsion witnessing through half-shut eyes some hard-hitting body pummeling.

The director, Quentin Tarantino is one of a kind - and kind he often is not. But the latest film in his "historical revision trilogy" ( INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, DJANGO UNCHAINED) and now ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD has a sweetness that permeates through the oft feeling of menace and exhilaration running through the 1960's decade which experienced Viet Nam, Apollo 11 - putting a man on the Moon, the Stonewall riots, Woodstock and the focus of Tarantino's latest twisting of historical fact into digestible pop-culture fables - the Manson Murders.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton an increasingly insecure TV star floundering in "feature" movies, who spends most of his days with his loyal doppelganger, stunt-man, chauffeur, and best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt - better than ever) speeding along with music blaring, curving around the Hollywood Hills from Dalton's plush home to his acting job on the location set - driving cars that are as shiny and handsome as the two leading men. The loquacious Di Caprio exhibiting an occasional hesitant stutter, is pitted against the literally strong, silent Booth who is an authentic, confident macho hero - a man with a "past" - devoted to Dalton who is in the midst of an existential crisis spurred on by a meeting with a a sleazy agent (Al Pacino) who utters some callous truths making Dalton realize that "time" and "hard living" is taking its toll on his celebrity and a career move to Rome is advisable. This gives Tarantino an opportunity to pay homage to "spaghetti-western" directors like Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci.

Tarantino who never lacks for humor and irony, weaves into the film a particularly emotional moment exposing Rick Dalton who is recovering from a drunken, chain-smoking night, croaking and hacking - sitting with a book next to a precocious 8 year old "method actor" quietly rehearsing her lines for a scene they will be doing together (a wonderful Julia Butters.) The contrast could not be more evident. Their conversation and the subsequent filming of that scene is powerfully poignant revealing to Rick Dalton the possibilities of "greatness" as an actor. Leonardo DiCaprio's potency as a cinematic "idol" also prevails.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD spotlights a Tarantino fairy-tale event where historical facts are altered and subverted. Living right next door to Rick Dalton in the film are Roman Polanski, his wife Sharon Tate and her ex-lover Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch.) The actual vicious mass murder of Tate, Sebring and two friends on the night of August 8-9th,1969 is emblematic of the 60's era: of hippiedom, cult living, gurus, drugs - all crystallized into the person of Charles Manson with his band of mainly middle-class female followers who serve as a blueprint from which to pivot true life into myth. Interwoven throughout the film are glimpses of the Manson "women" - presences that flicker in and out of our awareness, hitchhiking, dumpster diving, etc. their youthful, lithe bodies enjoying one another's company like fresh sprites on the horizon - just barely in our view.

Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) in what will be a classic movie moment to be remembered picks up a 17 year old cult hitchhiker and drives her to the Manson compound - a directorial flash of brilliance as Tarantino plays with the pictorial barrenness of the locale and the theater audience's knowing-what-we-know, creating an intensity that is palpable involving a striking cameo scene with Bruce Dern.

At Eternity's Gate (2018)

Director and fellow artist Julian Schnabel reviews artist Vincent Van Gogh

[10/10 · 19 December 2018]

Julian Schnabel's new film AT ETERNITY'S GATE is indelibly moving from the moment we hear murmuring voices in the first darkened frame - portending the interior struggle, and psychic agitation of the painter, Vincent Van Gogh, a haunted artist who tames the turbulence of his mind by the act of painting, assuaging "nature" into patterned marks of tactile, luminous beauty merging his whole being physically and piously with the subject. Since Schnabel is an artist himself, this "portrait" of Van Gogh is different from previous depictions, particularly in the singular way the film is shot, and the understanding of his character. We "see" Vincent as a man who is sanely insane; a man who has the clarity to organize and penetrate the world around him, and a man who is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness - one which he achingly endures. The movie instills in the viewer a profound empathy and recognition of his persistence in creating exquisite paintings despite a life of bleakness and despair; making art was digesting and breathing in life.

Willem Dafoe's performance as Vincent Van Gogh is heart-wrenchingly melancholy as we literally step into his shoes - (the camera often attached to him) as he rushes wildly through the reeds, blinded by the mistral winds howling, the dry, dying sunflowers with bent heads streak and fly around in front of our eyes as we sense the brutality of the elements and the dank coldness of desolation. Often the camera lens is foggy as if the artist's tears obscure and humanize his vision.

We first meet Vincent in Paris as he dreams of a community of artists that live and work together, a yearning that is totally unrealistic given his idiosyncratic temperament. Except for the deeply felt relationship with his devoted patron/businessman brother Theo, only Paul Gauguin is responsive to his artwork which seems "ugly" and "unrealistic" to other onlookers. Gauguin played by Oscar Isaac, (regrettably did not seem well cast - lacking the charisma and heft of a Gauguin) recommends that he leave Paris and go south to Arles. He listens to his advice and is flung into the most passionate period of his short artistic life.

Schnabel conveys Vincent's love of southern France as the camera pauses, lingers and then meanders through the countryside - the blinding light is contrasted with the "yellow" room that Van Gogh rents, monastically furnished with finished wet paintings, hung on the wall. Like an animal that has found his natural habitat, Vincent spends most days outdoors and we observe him sensuously outstretched flat on his back, intoxicatedly dribbling moist soil over his face and body - an animate internment. Being productive and frenetically heady as the sun beat down on him, Van Gogh's periods of lapses of memory, and whatever incidents occurred during those spells become more prevalent. After several episodes which are never depicted or explained - a mystery to Vincent and to us - he is sent to Saint-Rémy de Provence an asylum for the mentally ill where he spends one year feverishly painting.

Throughout AT ETERNITY'S GATE, I delightedly watched Dafoe's slender long fingers, his skull-like face encasing dark, vivid eyes working - the brush touching the canvas with a "lightness of being." Julian Schnabel has unearthed some new information as to how Vincent Van Gogh died so the end is perhaps a revelation, perhaps fiction, but I sensed the truth of it - in light of Van Gogh's steamy affair with art. Whatever demons he desperately fought, Van Gogh was able to paint the surrounding world with a directness and lucidity of a man in control of his destiny. I left the theater thinking this was no romanticized/mythologized bio-pic but a person that I, as a fellow artist could relate to - could understand and could (dare I say) love.

Leave No Trace (2018)

Coming Of Age Story set in the Pacific Northwest

[9/10 · 17 July 2018]

LEAVE NO TRACE, a film co-written and directed by Debra Granik opens with an aerial shot of dense green foliage, a beautifully constructed spider web catching the sun's silken rays of light, and hanging wet moss dripping water as the camera caresses nature's exquisiteness in the Pacific Northwest landscape - a few miles outside of an alternate world - Portland Oregon. And then we glimpse a man and young girl almost camouflaged among the lush fronds - invisible as they wish to be.

A father named Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) are "survivalists" who have tamed a small area of this wild beauty into a home. Their relationship with "nature" is respectful; they are both comfortable with living outdoors - cooking, tending to a fire, and getting clear water from the canopy of foliage that envelops them. The relationship with one another is both tender and loving but not equal. Tom, is clearly a teenage girl who is deferential and appreciative of the father who raised her but longing to know more about her mother who died when she was very young. We soon glean that Will is a veteran with PTSD symptoms whose dreams often jolt him awake shaken, gasping shallow breaths against the vast ceiling of stars in the deep black umbrella of space.

The beginning of LEAVE NO TRACE depicts how Will and Tom live day-to-day gathering food, playing chess, caring for a garden - all done with a delicate affection that one cannot help but envy, both tending to what is needed to live a life "off the grid" - untouched by contemporary life's amenities. Suddenly everything changes when Tom is spotted by a Ranger and police with dogs arrive, violating their intimate island in the midst of the vast protective forest.

The outside world has finally permeated their lives, including the assignment of a social worker who gets them situated in pre-fab housing complete with a television, a stove, electricity, and warm shelter. The film is replete with people touching Will and Tom's lives who are very kind, concerned individuals, but are unable to comprehend living a "homeless" existence under the light of the moon; an existence which demands nothing from civic institutions, where self-reliance and the ability to live isolated from others is a form of freedom - no matter the cost.

Thomasin McKenzie portraying the daughter is a lovely young actor with her pale face and sharply curious dark eyes who adores and understands her father's psychological frailties, however once she comes into contact with the world around her she, unlike her father, embraces all living creatures with an innocence and compassion that is exquisite to observe.

Ben Foster gives a moving performance as Will whose wounded, shaken psyche, torn apart by the brutality of war, softens immeasurably whenever he is with his daughter, who he has raised to be self-reliant, strong and gentle - a captivating mixture. As for the rest of society, Will's close-set suspicious eyes reveal the inner turmoil of an untamed colt, jittery and ready to bolt at any unwanted intrusion.

All the characters that Will and Tom meet on their journeys, exhibit a sensitivity that belies outward appearances. Director Debra Granik is almost idyllic in her view of community and humanity's goodness all nestled under the light and ambiance of the majestic Pacific Northwest. LEAVE NO TRACE is an honest, unpredictable, quiet film - a coming of age story that touched me to the point of stifling audible sobs while viewing the vulnerable delicacy of human fragility.

Lady Bird (2017)

Mothers and Daughters and growing up in Sacremento.

[6/10 · 19 November 2017]

Greta Gerwig, usually disappoints me - as an actress and now in her writing and directorial debut, LADY BIRD, a coming-of-age film about a seventeen-year-old girl growing up in Sacramento "…the Midwest of California…" (the best line in the film,) and the love/hate relationship she has with her working-class family and peers. Social distinctions figure prominently in Gerwig's cinematic world of "ironic class strivers." I keep wondering why I am left cold by her words and her characters and eventually understood that LADY BIRD is too self-consciously trying to be inclusive - inclusive of every contemporary issue - touching upon a diversity of characters and situations with momentary episodic flashes.The touch is light, illustrating concerns rather than delving into them, giving us tokenism - glossing over deep pain and longing with a CliffsNotes diminution.

Saoirse Ronan is excellent as Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson - a nickname she gives herself to appear distinctive. I am sympathetic to the aspirations of a young, self- involved teenager searching for a path to glamour and excitement. Youth is an innocent time - one open to endless fantasies - reality has not yet penetrated the hermetic world of dreams. The "firsts" of the teen years - first kiss, first sexual experience leading to the loss of virginity, first self-awareness of one's own ethical and moral values, and the critical realization that the world is not always spinning for you alone - solely for your personal gratification.

The film opens with Lady Bird and her mother - a wonderful performance by Laurie Metcalf - who is driving and listening to Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath on audio tape - both simultaneously weeping, moved by the beauty of the spoken words; their mirrored responses reflect their enduring affection. And suddenly the mood is shattered and we see the other side of their relationship - a mother who works double shifts as a psychiatric nurse to supplement the family income so that her daughter can go to a private Catholic school; the burden of monetary expenses weighs heavily on her shoulders. The ever-present resentment that comes with sacrifice is often unleashed on her oblivious daughter in a torrent of sarcasm, humiliation, and disparagement.

Greta Gerwig is at her best in the scenes between mother/father and daughter. A lovely tenderness exists which is often choked and stifled by the exigencies of financial straits.The underpinnings are there for a truly fine movie, but in the rush to cast a wide net, Gerwig compromises her subjects' humanity, placing a veil of bromides over what could have been profound interactions. Maybe next time. I hope so.

Wonder Woman (2017)

Warrior Woman meets Man and loses her Innocence

[6/10 · 11 June 2017]

25 years ago I created a 'Wonder Women Wall" for The Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC made up of an installation of pastels/cutouts on canvas drawings of powerful women - women whose courage and toughness is discernible in the pursuit of their dreams; women who negotiate the daily struggles of life's conflagrations; women who are mothers, sisters and daughters who endure the everyday grind of work, and fight for what they believe in with tenderness and tenacity. They are all flesh and blood, vulnerable Wonder Women who prevail; not immortal, but dealing with their mortality without the aid of super-human powers, lacking a sword and shield, steel wrist band bracelets, and breast plates. They are the breathing, conscious descendants of the mythic phenomenal Wonder Woman - the D.C. comics Amazon warrior who has the physical prowess of the greatest male warriors - a woman who captured my imagination as a young girl, when I was fighting to be seen and treated as the equal of the boys around me.

From the DC Comic database - some history on the origins of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman:

Diana is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, the first child born on Paradise Island in the three thousand year history that the immortal Amazons lived there. The Amazons had been created around 1200 B.C. when the Greek goddesses drew forth the souls of all women who had been murdered by men and placed them on the island. One soul was held back from creation, the one that would be born as Diana. That soul originally belonged to the unborn daughter of the first woman murdered by a man (whom Hippolyta was the reincarnation of). In the late 20th Century, Hippolyta was instructed to mold some clay from the shores of Paradise Island into the form of a baby girl. Six members of the Greek Pantheon then bonded the soul to the clay, giving it life. Each of the six also granted Diana a gift: Demeter, great strength; Athena, wisdom and courage; Artemis, a hunter's heart and a communion with animals; Aphrodite, beauty and a loving heart; Hestia, sisterhood with fire; Hermes, speed and the power of flight. Diana grew up surrounded by a legion of sisters and mothers. When she was a young woman, the gods decreed that the Amazons must send an emissary into Man's World…Before embarking on her mission, Diana was given the Lasso of Truth, forged by Hephaestus himself. She was also given the Sandals of Hermes, which allowed her to instantly traverse great distances in seconds. Diana's mission was one of peace, but part of it initially involved defeating a mad plot by Ares to destroy the world. http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Wonder_Woman_(Diana_Prince)

Patty Jenkins the director of WONDER WOMAN charmingly recreates the idyllic Paradise Island - a peaceful enclave,where for many years the Amazons have been preparing and honing their battle skills for the return of Ares, the God of War - and the inevitable final clash between Good and Evil. We first view Diana - the future Wonder Woman - as a young mischievously headstrong child practicing in pantomime, echoing the slashing movements of swordplay, already fully confident of her own destiny.

Once Diana has grown into the beautiful, shapely Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot, a former model whose acting skills regrettably do not provide the "gravitas" or range of emotions that would have elevated her role from being a 2-D cartoon character,) the commercial Hollywood block-buster entertainment industry takes over the movie. They do so by placing Diana in the midst of The Great War (W.W. I) complete with flaming infernos, British spies and German villains experimenting with chemical substances to be unleashed upon the civilian populations. And just to brighten the mood, lame sex jokes playing on Diana's naiveté are regularly interspersed throughout the dialogue, revealing an innocence derived from being sheltered on a remote Island safeguarded from life's realities.

Meeting her first man, Steve Trevor, an American pilot (a baby-faced blue-eyed Chris Pine played cute) - tumbling out of the sky with his plane diving through the barrier mist that enshrouds this secret enclave from interlopers (a Freudian interpretation might be relevant,) he crashes into the surrounding waters, and is saved by Diana from drowning. This archetype of a "strange species" called "man," both fascinates and confuses our heroine; nonetheless she is quickly captivated by this handsome soldier and accompanies him outside of her insulated universe in order to fulfill her destiny and bring "good" back into the Ares-corrupted world. Having bitten from the apple in the Garden of Eden, she becomes acutely aware of the destructive malevolence of a landscape outside her own.

The final scene in the movie is a spectacular light show of hell erupting with super-woman vaulting from one combat zone to another silhouetted against the glaring heat of combustion, as she saves humankind from the evils of darkness. We women can relate to that and applaud along with the audience in support of Wonder Woman's fight - though the special effects which attend the cataclysm resemble an amalgam of horror creatures and a wet, melting super monster. Diana's last words made me audibly groan and giggle: "Only love can save the world." What??? WONDER WOMAN's final message trivialized a film which had a lot of potential beyond redemption. Please Diana Prince go back to your Paradise and live among those other terrific Amazons - perhaps then you might regain my respect.

The Keepers (II) (2017)

Indictment of Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore Md.

[9/10 · 28 May 2017]

The seven-part Netflix documentary series THE KEEPERS is a scathing indictment of the Baltimore Maryland Archdiocese and its cover-up of abuse by priests in collusion with other locals, leading to the murder of a 27 year old nun, Cathy Cesnik, a popular English and Drama teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in 1969. Forty-seven years later, the murder still haunts some of her students, particularly Abbie Schaub and Gemma Hoskins - two women whose fierce devotion to their former teacher transforms them into "senior Nancy Drews" who have spent the intervening time trying to make sense of what happened, long after the brutal extermination of Cesnik became an official "cold case". Their loyalty and unflinching determination to discover the "truth" was and is an on-the-job learning curve; their use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other investigative methods, including old- fashioned footwork and interviews, begins to unearth an impenetrable darkness that enshrouds the case with widening implications. Buried execrable secrets eventually thrust themselves into the light making us gasp at the physical and mental sufferings of these young people - an agony that time never can expunge along with confusion and guilt - accessory weights that profoundly settle over our spirit.

We discover early on that the police and assisting governmental officials ignored salient facts during their investigation - reports are missing, records are transferred and now gone - all indications of the dominant influence of the Catholic Church in Baltimore on many of the institutions of power. Our "detectives" uncover a pattern of horrific child abuse by Cesnik's colleague, Priest Joseph Maskell who would target the most vulnerable students; young girls who had a history of family trauma, and call them into his office for "counseling." The beauty of innocence is also its bane; to navigate through corruption requires an armor that the tender skin of youth has not yet developed - those who scald that fragile shield are craven reprobates.

Director Ryan White intersperses the past and present - through newspaper headlines, interviews with people whose lives touched on Sister Cathy and those who were victimized in Archbishop Keough High School, and eventually feel compelled to speak up - still believing that their oppressor, the Catholic Church would be their savior - not their foe in the daunting fight for truth and justice. We witness the long-arm of the Archdiocese which utilizes its power to quash dissent, quietly protecting the offending clergy by transferring them from school to school compounding the abuse. A hushed pall of silence - a cloud large enough to hover over medical personal, the police, and governmental agencies sanctioned a fog of evil to multiply and continue to destroy lives.

THE KEEPERS speaks with great sensitivity and directness to the wounds of molestation that never heal, and to the courage of those who are the true heroes - exposing their personal agonizing history to the vicious cross-examination of those in authority - in order to protect future generations from the enduring effect that the despoilment and loss of childhood naiveté has on an individual. We also observe a crime story and the pursuit of "truth" - over decades - an inquiry that becomes an avocation - a razor sharp spotlight on what might seem like a minutiae of evidence that with time and patience piles up into a penetrating narrative, with the potential to bring down an Empire. These are "the keepers."

Norman (2016)

Rise and Fall of a "macher"

[7/10 · 8 May 2017]

Watching the esteemed Israeli director Joseph Cedar's new film NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER, I kept thinking that the wardrobe expenses for the main character was quite a bargain, as Richard Gere wears the same camel-hair coat and grey cap throughout the movie with a very occasional change into a suit. The character Norman is the Bernie Madoff of the political and social set - building exotic schemes and dreams upon the sludge of greed and desire, but as his clothing indicates in a spare and pared down manner.

Norman is a cipher - we have no idea where he lives; his personal life is a mystery; whether he gets any financial remuneration out of his zany deals; or whether he gets satisfaction in just being accepted by men-in-power that are as secretive and cagey as he is. This is the tragic tale of a man who has come to believe in his own lies, a man passionate about making connections - hooking up people with one another - a "shadchan", the Yiddish word for matchmaker, but for the marriage of political and business elites. This sycophantic "nebbish" is both sympathetic and pathetic. Norman need not fear "invisibility," since he is vociferously insensitive to his own behavior, annoyingly pestering and nudging his "marks," like a mosquito that keeps on biting and never feels being squatted away - a gambler, rolling the dice for a jackpot without any money to cover his bets.

Richard Gere, in a defining career move, sheds the glamor of previous roles, to play Norman, a person intensely driven to pushing and cajoling his way into the lives of the power brokers; surprisingly when he does gain some notoriety, his approach to life remains unchanged. Norman continues to wear the identical outfit; his office still consists of wandering the streets of Manhattan making promises on the phone; a loner who remains an enigma who cannot control his need to "help" despite being helpless.

This film is a character study of an older man who unintentionally has an enormous impact on people in his immediate circle, and internationally - particularly Israel's peace talks in the Middle East. The bare bones of the plot focuses on an early decisive encounter between Norman and an Israeli Deputy Minister, who 3 years later becomes the Prime Minister of Israel. The impact of their initial meeting reverberates throughout the film.

There is an innocence and an affability to the soft-spoken Norman; oftentimes he looks confused and fails to understand that his schemes can lead to dire consequences. Small moments in the film are incredibly moving; Norman sneaking into a synagogue's back room to dip into a jar of Vita herring which he deftly balances on crackers, underscoring the bleakness and isolation of his life in the very space where he goes to for sanctuary and comfort. Steve Buscemi is excellent portraying the Rabbi of this large Congregation, surprising even himself by reaching out in desperation to Norman, the "fixer" to help save the Synagogue's building from being wrested away due to lack of funds.

NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER, is a fascinating study of someone with a bad case of logorrhea, who clearly has no influence or prestige, with a reputation built on quicksand - who shockingly does affect events and temporarily succeeds. Sound familiar without the empathy?

Elle (I) (2016)

Horro Porn

[8/10 · 3 February 2017]

In director Paul Verhoeven's new film, men are brutes. The men in ELLE, a psycho/sexual/sadistic thriller, are cheaters, liars, wife-beaters, and "gamers' who produce video games that are an extension of their puerile fantasies - bloody and savage. The movie begins with a close-up of a cat's vertical eyes - narrowed and expressionless observing a violent rape scene; we hear the pounding and stifled screams of struggle, but do not witness the scene until later when the victim relives it…over and over. We eventually meet the rapist, costumed in anonymity who can only reach ejaculation's pinnacle of pleasure through rough, furious acts of inflicting pain as his launching platform for intense sexual rapture.

Isabelle Huppert plays Michelle - a stylishly successful business woman who with her good friend runs a company which produces wildly graphic, titillating videos - where women are attacked by creatures who invade every orifice of their body with monstrous tentacles, etc - the more horrific the better. Safe from the fantasies that she peddles, Michelle has now become a victim of an uncontrollable psychotic - and like her cat, she does not reveal any emotion, nor does she report the event, preferring to plot revenge in her own distinctive way as she attempts to search out her attacker.

The film slowly reveals the psychological underpinnings of Isabelle - her relationship with a father who was imprisoned when she was a young child for heinous crimes, her mother whose desperate relationships with very young men, in an attempt to maintain her youth, is broadcast on her taut stretched face - the scars of surgery. And Michelle's handsome adult son, who has not yet found his way and is about to become a father, though still being supported by Michelle.

Sexual tension, desire and intimacy permeate this film. Isabelle Huppert is cool, amoral and calculating, seduced by the power of a sadomasochistic urgency into a dangerous situation which is audaciously grotesque. Walking a tightrope over lies and deceit creates collisions that pull and strain one's conception of self.

When I left the theater, I kept wondering if I just saw a horror-porn movie or a titillating morality tale? Is Isabelle a victim or a participant? Ethical ambiguity permeates ELLE - and Isabelle Huppert is at the center of every scene - the ELLE of the movie - dominating every moment; a beautiful woman who is an enigma, rarely giving any indication of her thoughts or feelings, as we witness her shell slowly cracking.

Moonlight (I) (2016)

Moonlight - Journey Into Adulthood

[8/10 · 16 November 2016]

MOONLIGHT, directed by Barry Jenkins is an exquisitely written and delicately acted tale of how a young African-American boy navigates through the covertness of childhood isolation, into the reticence of adulthood. Three actors portray Chiron at different stages of existence - all maintain the silent presence of a person with a deep secret viewing a world of abuse and neglect with the curiosity of innocence. The young Chiron/aka "Little" (wonderfully acted by Alex R. Hibbert) realizes at an early age, that he should keep the pain and turbulence that is cloaked behind his dark-intelligent eyes hidden - it is best to stay silent and remain an enigma to others. Desire is tucked away from the periscope of one's peers, under a translucent sheet of manhood, thereby avoiding some of the emotional lacerations that kids inflict on one another, particularly if you are "different" and happen to be gay, and poor, living in Miami with a drug addicted single mother.

Life changes when "Little", chased by a group of stone-throwing boys, finds refuge in an empty shack , breathless, curling up on the floor, bony arms flung around his thin body for protection. Juan (the wonderful performer Mahershala Ali), who happens to be the local drug dealer, enters the room and sees this young boy silhouetted against the wall, a small warrior standing erect refusing to utter a word, and an unspoken bond is forged - a connection based on Juan's memories of his own childhood. "Little", unwilling to talk, but willing to accompany this tall, powerfully built potential "father figure" to Juan's house for a home-cooked meal by Teresa ( Janelle Monae), the woman he lives with. Teresa instinctually recognizes a "wounded" child, and provides "Little" with a patina of kindness and warmth momentarily allaying the scars incurred by years of bullying and abuse.

MOONLIGHT gives us some lovely moments between Juan and his pre-teen protégé - particularly one involved with learning to swim and the oft-used metaphor of the power of water to cleanse; but this scene is so beautifully filmed that it erases any notion of banality.

In the next chapter, we meet the adolescent Chiron (Ashton Sanders) and witness the anguish of being a loner. Bullies take advantage of those they sense can be tormented and the High School years can be agonizing to a sensitive, fragile young man moving into adulthood. Innocence is slowly eroded; the protective veneer of armor and detachment are easily pierced, yet a sense of wonder remains. Chiron experiences moments of joy particularly in the company of a childhood friend, Kevin (Jaden Piner,) who is practiced in the art of subterfuge and easily glides through his fellow teenagers' posturing mentality - appearing to be part of a group, but in reality attracted to Chiron's desolate stillness. Their relationship is restrained, but undercurrents of sexual yearning - the physicality of touch - a tender finger grazing a hand - can transform years of misery and sorrow into the confusion of love.

The last chapter occurs 10 years later when a powerfully built Chiron (alluringly portrayed by Trevante Rhodes,) returns home to Miami - his wordlessness remains, but the years have altered his appearance, and for a moment we believe we are seeing Juan again - the man who helped shepherd "Little" through the turmoil of childhood. Chiron having maneuvered through sphere's of hate and humiliation, is eventually able to reconcile with those who have previously cracked his world; a mother who could not see beyond her own aching needs, and his former confidant Kevin ( Andre Holland, depicting the sensuous, and elegant, adult Kevin.) A guileless candor belies Chiron's rugged presence; the passage of time is complex, paving over the self-inflicted wounds of longing, but also re-igniting the desire to embrace the future.

Café Society (2016)

Boy Meets Girl/Glamour/Hollywood/NYC comedy????

[2/10 · 13 August 2016]

Woody Allen's latest film CAFE SOCIETY is another lightweight effort by the Director, who feels that he has to put out a new second-rate movie every year. I am sick of Allen's Jewish jokes; his quips walk a tightrope, often falling into the net of anti-semitism. Jesse Eisenberg might be a smart guy in "real life," but he made a bad decision to be involved with CAFE SOCIETY. The character he plays is whiningly predictable, and Eisenberg is unable to give heft to an undeveloped role.

The often terrific actress - Kristen Stewart whose gorgeous expressive eyes can usually make me a captive audience, tried her best, but could not pull this one out of the pool of mediocrity.

No one is given a chance to act because the screenplay is so love-at-first sight/older man falls for younger woman/infatuation with tawdry glamorous trappings - clichés that the characters who are paper thin can be upended by a whisper.

And I only giggled once!

Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014)

Prohibition Era Consequences

[10/10 · 7 August 2016]

I regret to say I have finally finished watching "epic" television in the five seasons (56 hours) of BOARDWALK EMPIRE. The scope of history - from the adoption of the 18th Amendment's prohibiting the making, transporting, and selling of alcoholic beverages passed in 1919 through its repeal in 1933, and how it generated an industry run by criminals - names of gangster's that are still familiar to us, their brutality romanticized over time in film and television; Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, etc. set against the backdrop of Atlantic City with satellite locations in NYC, Chicago and Miami.

The history of race relations, women's rights, workers rights, corrupt public servants and rigged elections are woven through the plot as broken, disillusioned soldiers return home from fighting in WW I; Presidential elections come and go as the nation slides into dissolution and the chaos of financial ruin. Names that are familiar to us such as J. Edgar Hoover, Eddie Cantor, Joe Kennedy (father of Jack) are characterized but not caricatured by a wonderful cast. When one great actor gets written out of the series, and I feel a deep disappointment, another one appears and gives an equally compelling performance.

Ambition, greed, sex, love and marriage - the range of uniquely varied personal interactions propels the plot into new directions as we witness the ebb and flow of time on a character's persona.There is an authenticity to the sense of place - from the shacks in the "negro" part of town to the lavishly decorated mansions of the power-brokers - each set design has intricate details that help delineate an accurate, sociological study of southern NJ coastal towns.

The cinematography is often exquisitely breathtaking, such as choreographed scenes of violence in the darkened light of night; the infinite expanse of water touching the Atlantic City shoreline with bursts of gunfire spawning fireworks of sharp white flashes, a resounding thunder of sound and visual effects, and then the quiet of death, red blood slowly puddling on the ground.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE has a superb cast: doe-eyed Steve Buscemi in the role of his life portraying Nucky Thompson - the "overlord" of Atlantic City - a man who "tried to be good" but reached for more and more money to maintain the lifestyle that he envied as a child, and eventually achieves at a terrible cost; Bobby Cannavale - great as the clinically insane gangster Gyp Rosetti whose id is let loose in horrific acts of violence; Michael K. Williams is heartbreaking - hard and pragmatic in business with a poetic, "romantic" side as "Chalky White" the son of a carpenter who was lynched by the very white men he was building cabinets for - Chalky runs the black part of town and teams up with Nucky in the bootlegging business; Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Valentin Narcisse, a disciple of Marcus Garvey whose actions belie his philosophical beliefs; the always terrific Michael Shannon as a fanatically religious federal Agent who loses his way; Stephen Graham as the explosive, vicious mobster, Al Capone; Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Thompson married to Nucky whose beauty blossoms while her innocence fades away; Gretchen Mol- a tragic figure as Gillian Darmody mother and lover of her son Jimmy played by Michael Pitt - a tragic tale of a woman who had to face life alone as a child battling sexual abuse among other acts that vulnerable children with no protectors are forced to endure; and a personal favorite Jack Huston-grandson of great director John Huston who comes home from the War with half his face blown off - hidden behind a mask - a complicated person whose sharp-shooting skills are put to use by the mob, but whose goodness prevails - if anyone takes the time to "look" at him.

I encourage you to take the time to view this series - it is true to the historical figures which are intertwined into this grand tale of the Prohibition era - post WWI up to pre WWII where money and power contaminated those who were supposed to be the guardians of the populace. Relationships between family members, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, sisters and brothers are all impacted by the vicissitudes of an age that tried to stamp down profligate behavior and ironically encouraged a much deeper amorality.

Room (I) (2015)

Room - a film about the ineffable bond between Mother and child despite horrific circumstances

[8/10 · 14 February 2016]

Kidnapped at fourteen and locked up in a room for seven years with a five year old child conceived through violence, director Lenny Abrahamson's film inspired by Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name - a composite of true events - is titled ROOM; a delicate and harrowing story of two people caught in a private space, where they live a life of extreme tenderness and tension. The actors are excellent, Brie Larson as Ma and Jacob Tremblay as Jack create a home/neighborhood/community/country inside a small, cluttered "room" with occasional shafts of light beaming down from a skylight that displays the stars and moving clouds - the outside "world" a dream beyond their reach.

A television sputtering on the blink allows that other "world" entry, but for young Jack, what he sees flickering on the screen is both real and "make believe" ; distinctions have been erased and are unknowable. The relationship between mother and child is stunning - the connection between them is acutely poignant, as if the umbilical cord had never been severed. Days are spent exercising, running back and forth- sharp turns are necessary after a few steps, making us aware of the claustrophobic feel of the space; and Ma's attempt to teach her son to read and maintain a somewhat "normal" existence is impressive and heart-rending. Jack's poetic and descriptive use of words to describe his circumscribed environment invokes the originality and charm of expressing and interpreting what we see and feel through language tailored to one's unique cosmos. We also witness the chilling visits of "Old Nick" her captor whose step on the stairs on his way to the "room" is a sign for little Jack to hide and feign sleep behind a shuttered closet door - the presence of "evil" glimpsed through cracks in the battered and weatherworn slats.

When Jack turns five his mother decides he is old enough to participate in an escape plan involving resilience and courage which eventually succeeds. Mother and child are hospitalized and the second half of ROOM begins. How to acclimate one's self to being separate individuals, after the powerful link between them is sundered - a tie which was both nourishing and restrictive? Accommodation to "freedom" begins, and the aching awareness of the familiar becoming unfamiliar, as well as the unfamiliar becoming familiar, are daunting and formidable.

ROOM is an exquisitely fragile story of the pliancy of the human resolve to survive and adapt to suffocating circumstances and adjust to the shock of change after flight and rescue. A child's ability to embrace the magic of his new environs - as one Dr. mentioned in examining Jack, "he is still plastic"; and an adult's more complex road to acclimatization which includes grieving the loss of a singular bond where the "other" completes you to the exclusion of everyone else.

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Hateful Eight is quintessential Tarantino - I am a big fan.

[8/10 · 10 January 2016]

Quentin Tarantino's films are wildly original, despite his cinematic homage to great directors. I know there will be an excess of violence, blood will hemorrhage, splatter and "spritz" over everything and everyone, while the characters keep on talking literally to their dying breath. Dialogue which is both amusing and penetrating is the linchpin of his movies - refreshing in its fearlessness in talking about issues of hate, misogyny, and racism that have oozed under society's surface veneer of civility, over the centuries. Tarantino's approach is not to preach but to show through his characters their appetite for revenge, greed and the conceit of self- interest.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT opens up with panoramic shots of horses galloping in rhythm pulling a stagecoach silhouetted against vast mounds of white snow; an infinite vista emptied of form with only a white light flooding the screen. We are blinded by the beauty and the calm stillness of the landscape; short-lived - the drama begins. Words slice through the silence and language becomes a weapon; Tarantino's unique verbiage becomes a tool that wounds and spills blood setting the stage for physical slaughter.

Bounty hunting for the most ruthless, becomes the chosen profession of both former Union and Rebel fighters who are skilled in bringing "accused criminals" - those WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE back to small frontier towns to be hung. Trials are an afterthought - the reward is in the successful transport of prisoners to the "hangman." In this movie, there are at least 7 men and one woman who are itching to shoot each other down with very little pretext. All the lives of the "hateful eight" converge and ignite at Minnie's Haberdashery - a cabin with a stable and outhouse set like a punctuation mark in the center of the pristine snow-covered terrain - a warm space serving food and drinks for drivers and passengers and a shelter for the exhausted horses.

Like a lot of Tarantino's movies, his characters are mysterious - past lives and actions are questionable - truth weaves in and out of the picture; the agility of "the talk", the facility of the tongue to deceive is always hovering in the fetid air. The first person we see emerging from the all-encompassing blanket of snow is Samuel L. Jackson halting a stagecoach speeding to keep ahead of the blizzard, and confidently hitches a ride - frozen prisoners - all dead in tow. Jackson gives a terrific performance as Major Marquis Warren - a grizzled legend in the land, not only for bringing in his bounties "dead" rather than alive, but for being a pen pal and confidante of President Abraham Lincoln, a letter from Ole Abe reverently folded up in his breast pocket - the letter being a catalyst for discussion and a symbol of the former black Union soldier's stature. THE HATEFUL EIGHT bristles with post Civil War disputes - the war might have ended a few years before but a peace treaty does not allay animosities that run deep from generation to generation to this very day.

We next meet the wagon's occupant, John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell) handcuffed to a swollen, blackened eye Daisy Dormergue (great performance by one of my favorite actors - Jennifer Jason Leigh) being brought into Red Rock - for the $10,000 reward. We are never told what Daisy was charged with, but the racist venom spewing out of her mouth reveals a grotesque spirit which is palpably visible on her battered face. Tarantino's over-the-top violence does not coddle women and it is difficult to watch Daisy being a punching bag and receiving the brunt of "the hangman's" brutality, but Tarantino literally does not pull any punches especially when he is dealing with a fanatical bigot. Another passenger, who is frozen by the extreme elements, is added to the group - Walter Goggins plays Chris Mannix an ex-Confederate soldier and the newly appointed sheriff of the town where the hanging will take place.

Upon arriving at the rest stop, the action begins - 4 men are already there waiting out the blizzard - with a mesmerizing performance by Bruce Dern as Confederate General Sanford Smithers - an elderly man whose claim to fame is the slaughter of a black Union Calvary Division. To round out the "hateful eight" picture we have Tim Roth (always a favorite of mine) as the actual Hangman of Red Rock complete with a phony British accent, suave and ironic (reminding me of Christoph Waltz's character in Django Unchained,) and Michael Madsen - a Tarantino ensemble regular as Joe Gage - a laconic stranger lurking in the background, quietly observing the scene. And then there is Bob (Demian Bichir ) dubbed "The Mexican" who seems to be running the joint - claiming that Minnie is out of town. For Major Marquis Warren who misses nothing - it all does not add up.

What ensues in this darkly lit claustrophobic space with occasional bursts of light from the door opening and closing by the storm's wind is mayhem. Tarantino's ability to use language is irresistibly seductive and I was never bored. Shards from words piercing the atmosphere infuse the room with a straining tension. Rapier wit together with brutish violence dominate the expansive monologues. THE HATEFUL EIGHT is interesting in that of all Tarantino's movies - this one is intentionally the most constrained by the oppressive limited space; ultimately there is only the outside and the inside.

The Big Short (2015)

Housing Crisis which almost wrecked World's economy.

[8/10 · 27 December 2015]

I do not grasp what Hedge Fund Managers do, or what Collateralized Debt Obligations (CODs), Credit Default Swaps, Mortgage Backed Securities (MPS) and subprime mortgages are, and what it means to "short" something, but director Adam McCay's THE BIG SHORT based on Michael Lewis' book is an excellent film - both comedic and forcefully tragic with many fine actors making this a movie that is both entertaining and deceptively poignant. Surprisingly we do get to understand a lot of what was going on in the fiscal system without having to take a course in the particulars. This is accomplished through visuals - quick flashes of TV shows, cinema and pop stars, artworks, news headlines, sports figures, etc. all subliminally flashing before our eyes embedding the culture of money into our psyches. Throughout the film, there are witty respites whereby the camera exits the narrative, and various actors in wildly strange settings explain Wall Street jargon with idiosyncratic humor to make the "wheeling and dealing" more comprehensible.

I left the theater with an abysmal feeling of sadness, my voice cracking and tears in my eyes - not wanting to betray my emotions and my fierce anger at a capitalist system gone completely awry; rigged and fraudulent in handing the money of everyday working people whose pensions, domiciles, and livelihoods were placed into the hands of manipulative, raptor-like greedy banks and money managers. Billions - not millions - of dollars are just abstract numbers to be gambled with as the "party" keeps blasting upwards and onwards, monetary gains piling up, until it all implodes with aftershocks eventually destroying the income, employment and shuttering the homes of millions in the US and globally.

Many of the main characters are based on real people who worked for Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns among other firms. Christian Bale is terrific as Dr. Michael Burry, a Cassandra-like figure, an eccentric - characterized by walking around barefooted - who foresaw the mortgage collapse early on, watching banks bundle mortgages which were being given AAA ratings by Moody's and Standard and Poor's without proper examination of the underlying financial integrity of the lenders and borrowers. Burry decides to "short" - to bet on a future housing crisis debacle and is ultimately proved correct.

Steve Carrell portrays Mark Baum, an irascible individual, who was one of the few conscience stricken players in the "money game", trying to make participants aware of the looming future cataclysm, but also wrestling with his own hypocrisy in personally profiting from the 2008 world economic bankruptcy. He is an anguished "truth teller" antithetical to most characters engaging in this closed world of financial gains and losses, whose egos get propped up by the insubstantial glint of wealth.

The director McCay includes every type of trader - from self-centered, sophomoric "masters of the universe" to those with some integrity and concern for their clients. The editing is quick and incredibly entertaining for a subject that could easily put many of us to sleep. In THE BIG SHORT we are made painfully aware of the collusion of institutions and governmental agencies, all profiting from the deception that the housing market was one of the best and most secure investments to be made. We see the social and human ramifications of this delusion that brought world markets to the brink of financial collapse.

Unlike previous films about Wall Street, this is a true story - a tale that is still resonating in our minds and pocketbooks. Many ordinary persons were encouraged and seduced by the easy access to home ownership, low interest rates that often skyrocketed a few years later to the bewilderment of landlords and tenants who had to flee their properties. This drama showed how the Banks were "brought down", but today we are still wondering were they ever punished? Cynicism persists as new ploys and risky gambits continue to be placed before a gullible public by corruptible institutions functioning without legislated safeguards.

Timbuktu (2014)

TIMBUKTU - a short review of a large subject -oppression

[7/10 · 30 November 2015]

TIMBUKTU 11/29/15 I saw TIMBUKTU directed by ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO - the film was both poetic in its depiction of a sense of place and the relationship of an isolated cattle herder living peacefully and contentedly with his family in a tent under the stars in a sea of sand, herding cows, gently and playfully interacting with his wife and adored 12 year old daughter (who often reaches to the sky to attempt getting a signal for her cell phone - technology has permeated all our lives,) and devastating in its description of what people have to endure living under (AQIM) Al Queda in the Islamic Maghreb in 2012 Mali, particularly when they find themselves in direct conflict with this government.

TIMBUKTU shows the brutal rule of Jihadists (as they called themselves) - the hypocrisy, the legal capriciousness in the administration of "justice" and the total disregard for fellow Muslims under their authority - who are equally devout, but in contrast to those now in power, humane in the interpretation of their beliefs. Arbitrary orders concerning dress, (gloves and socks must be worn by all women), the banning of music and sports such as Soccer - edicts loudly proclaimed for all to hear from a megaphone proscribing and narrowing those very actions that allow for the breadth of life's beauty and individuality.

Spotlight (I) (2015)

Docudrama of The Boston Globe's The Boston Globe's Investigation of Catholic Church's Clergy pedophile scandal and the cover-up.

[8/10 · 25 November 2015]

if you want to understand the process by which four investigative reporters - each with his/her own expertise - function as a team working for the "Spotlight" unit of The Boston Globe's newspaper in 2001, exposing what will become a Pulitzer Prize (2003) winning probe of the Catholic Church's furtive silence and the Boston Archdiocese's cover up of pedophile priests who molested guileless young boys and girls in their Massachusetts' parishes, see the movie SPOTLIGHT, a docudrama written and directed by Tom McCarthy. A film that is not histrionic in its presentation, but slowly and methodically builds a case which unearths the horrific breach of trust between "believers" and those who are anointed as their spiritual sentinels in the secular world. The aftermath of the newspaper's disclosures reverberated beyond its local sphere of examination into an international autopsy exhuming shame and dishonor upon the Church and its leaders.

SPOTLIGHT opens with a feeling of tension; we sense the apprehension of a close-knit circle of reporters - the Spotlight investigative division of The Boston Globe - a small corps of journalists who focus on one important story oftentimes for over a year - when an "outsider", Marty Baron (a self-possessed, beautifully understated performance by Liev Schreiber) is recruited from The Miami Herald to become their new Editor. Baron realizes the potential of Spotlight to substantially examine an issue and shifts their target unto a story that over the years had been buried deep into the paper, occasionally surfacing to be interred again - eruptions of accusations appearing in print expeditiously extinguished. Marty Baron understands the need to look at the Institution itself - not just pinpointing individual perpetrators and victims, but examining the Catholic Church and its powerful influence on other authoritative organizations in predominantly Irish Catholic Boston, well aware that there will be attempts to stifle any exploration that cuts deeper into the skin of corruption.

The meticulous and disciplined search for the "truth" of a story involves interviewing victims now in adulthood, who reveal lacerating facts on their loss of innocence at the hands of the very people they trusted most to protect them - a spiritual shock as well as a physical one. Sacha Pfeiffer (a non-glamorous Rachel McAdams who is turning into a wonderful actor) conducts many of the painful interviews excavating devastating memories - her empathy and concern are both convincing and authoritative. One weeps for the hidden secrets that are divulged and the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness that these young people must covertly endure.

Michael Keaton, who stars as Walter "Robby" Robinson, communicates through expressive facial nuance, and the hunch of his shoulders, the conflicted burden and courage that being leader of the Globe's coverage exacts on his innate view of himself - an Irish Catholic member of the church; a man who rubbed shoulders with the Cardinal and other politically connected elite Church officials; a person who despite the distressing revelation that while he was Editor of the Metro Section years before - the glimmerings of this scandal were literally kicked underground into files gathering dust in the storage bins of the newspaper.

Mark Ruffalo, another terrific actor is frenetic as Mike Rezendes - a Spotlight columnist who is in constant motion, a whirlwind of physical movement - ascetic in his dedication to spending long hours following leads, questioning defense attorneys, ferreting out important documents, petitioning court papers, and at the same time imbued with an equally impassioned integrity in lifting the lid on this pressure cooker of deceit. I responded to his innate decency and inexorable belief in the need for Spotlight to yield a scalpel of precision in cleansing the fetid decades old duplicity of the Church.

The fourth participant of Spotlight is the numbers man, Matt Carroll, (Brian d'Arcy James,) an individual who makes sense of the mounds of accumulated data, once the stick has pierced the hornet's nest. Carroll intuitively makes necessary connections and has the tough "unglamorous" job of putting fact to "fiction."

SPOTLIGHT has an ensemble cast ie: Ben Bradlee Jr. (played by John Slattery of Mad Men fame), son of Ben Bradlee of The Washington Post Watergate scandal fame) supervises the Spotlight team; Stanley Tucci excellent as Mitchell Garabedian who is portrayed as a querulous, cantankerous attorney whose firm to date has represented more than 1000 victims and survivors of clergy abuse. In 2001 Garabedian played a pivotal part in The Boston Globe's explosive revelations.

What sets SPOTLIGHT apart from other movies that dramatize political "cover-ups" is the directness and restrained tone of its presentation. There are no "deep throats", midnight trysts lurking in the background, but rather a deliberate, efficient system of operation which slowly yields results that withstand legal scrutiny - conclusions backed by strong research that will detonate Institutional complicity and dissimulation - echoing around the globe generating further investigations like a chain of illuminations in a tunnel of obfuscation, lighting up the shrouds of darkness.

Mediterranea (2015)

The Migrant Experience - from Africa to Calabria, Italy

[7/10 · 21 November 2015]

MEDITERRANEA written and directed by Jonas Carpignano who has been working on this film for 5 years. Initially in 2010, he intended the project to be a short documentary on the African immigrants who were mainly farm workers in the town of Rosarno in Calbria, Italy protesting against their discriminatory treatment and horrific squalid living conditions.

"… several thousand immigrants live in and around Rosarno while helping with the harvest of oranges and clementines…On the Gioia Tauro plain which encompasses Rosarno, they are collected each morning by overseers and driven into citrus groves for work that can last from dawn to dusk…"They earn €25 a day", said Father Ennio Stamile of the Roman Catholic charity Caritas. 'They have to send money to their countries to maintain their families and also live here. Not much is left for them. The economic crisis has exacerbated their situation…On the plain, there are about 2,000 African immigrants who sleep the night crowded together in a former paper mill and another large building, said Monsignor Pino de Masi, the vicar-general of the Oppido-Palmi diocese. 'If anyone from central government were to see the conditions in which they live, without sanitation, electricity, water or heating, they would not be surprised by what has happened.' " (The Guardian, John Hooper 1/2/2010)

Nights of violence between the migrants and the Italian locals led to many injuries and during the day demonstrators - marched on Town Hall to demand an end to racial intolerance. Into this highly-charged milieu, the Director Carpignano met an Aftrican migrant, Koudous Seihon from Burkina Faso whose powerful presence changed the trajectory of his original concept - from a short documentary to a full-length feature film based on the life and stories told to him by Seihon who also agreed to play the lead character, Ayiva - a beautiful, nuanced performance conveying steadiness of character with a deep longing for his homeland and the seven year old daughter he left behind, combined with an optimistic view of a future that is fraught with barriers based on color, and economic bleakness.

MEDITERRANEA follows the well worn path to "the promised land" which unknowingly is often seeded with hopelessness and despair. In this fictional dramatization of Koudous Seihon's own trek, Ayiva must first obtain the money to leave Burkina Faso and is forced to pay unscrupulous brokers high fees to get a seat on a truck filled with fellow travelers - herded together like lambs going to slaughter.

I am an artist whose focus has been on refugees and migrants for the past 14 years and the images on the screen reflected my paintings like a mirror - literally pictures moving. I wanted to cry out "hold that frame, and the next one, and the one after, etc. etc!!!!" Once on their journey to Europe the exhausted bands of wanderers have to go through many difficult and life threatening trials - all on foot - over Algiers; stumbling through the dry vast seemingly limitless Libyan desert, where bandits/ human vultures prey on the vulnerable; and the final "labor" - maneuvering a small boat without a seasoned navigator through the volatile waters of the Mediterranean Sea exposed to nature's moods - be they light-filled or threatening storms - until those that endure arrive in Calabria - the toe of Italy where the local welcome is wary and impassive and often downright aggressive and dangerous.

Wyatt Garfield's cinematography is immediate and intimate. The hand-held camera bounces along with the fleeing characters contributing to the chaotic climate and the confusion of flight - we don't know where we are; there are moments when the lens is in and out of focus, an arm, a leg an eye bounces on the screen, distance is compressed - near and far become a blur, and we in the audience experience the tension and agitation of the approaching unknown.

We follow Ayiva and his best friend Abas (Alassane Sy), a languid, narcissistic, spoiled man envisioning Europe as a huge Hollywood fantasy with a dream of sexy women responding to his "handsome charms" - who smashes up against reality filling him with anguish at the fetid and wretched circumstances he and his friend are forced to occupy, falling into depression and despondency, eventually striking back in frenzied frustration.

MEDITERRANEA is not delusional cinema - it is a heard-hitting view of displacement, contrasting cultures with moments of shared humanity. The flight from the homeland - is a painfully difficult one which requires a steeliness of will and some humor. That humor is injected by a teenaged Italian boy Pio (Pio Amato), a consummate tradesman who barters with the African immigrants and is a dead-panned comic. In contrast the immigrant women are often exploited by theItalian men, and we catch a glimpse of how they are sexually abused -barely witnessed by the camera, silhouettes in the act of fellatiobehind a dim, closing door.

The film climaxes with the immigrants' fierce uprising on the streets of the city after the destruction and collapse of their tawdry makeshift "homes" - demolished by the Italian Police - Carabinieri. The locales in the community are brutal in their response - a retelling of the original Rosarno outbreak, where Director Jonas Carpignano first met Seihon (Ayiva) who would galvanize this movie; an attempt to narrate crossing borders without any simple answers to what we see daily in the "headlines".

Suffragette (2015)

British Women's Fight for Right To Vote

[7/10 · 11 November 2015]

The struggle for the right of women to vote is an international one and the bruising fight continues to this day. The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution: Women's Right To Vote was ratified in August 18, 1920 after decades of civil disobedience, strife, marching, humiliation, hunger strikes and incarceration - a battle with simple but enormously important consequences - the necessity for women to have a voice in who represents them in making the laws of the land and how those laws which often affects a woman's life are interpreted. Without the vote, we are ignored, invisible and betrayed. Here is a link to a Library of Congress' paper Why Women Should Vote written sometime after 1896 by Alice Stone Blackwell giving 16 compelling and poignant reasons why women should vote - as relevant today as ever:

http://tinyurl.com/l3hbvf4

SUFFRAGETTE directed by Sarah Gavron focuses on a group of both working class and wealthy British women in 1912 whose ideologies and wretched situations at home propel them to risk jobs and marriages in order to crack the male shell of resistance to the idea of women's equality. Led by Emmeline Pankhurst, (a cameo performance by Meryl Streep) who in 1903 founded the more militant Women's Social And Political Union (WSPU) - participating in demonstrations and hunger strikes where she herself was violently force-fed - acts that contributed to her mystique and the adoration of her followers. The bleak ambiance of SUFFRAGETTES characterizes with historical accuracy the streets of London, the wardrobes, and homes of women in different socio-economic groups, just before the advent of World War I - a time when women were more expendable and vulnerable to their male bosses; wages were a mere pittance and escape, a mirage. Husbands had absolute control over wives and children - both through physical abuse and the power of the British legal system.

Films distort by the very nature of their structural limitations which are usually 2 hours. In that compressed amount of time and a director's subjective view of history, we follow the political radicalization of a laundress who labors under deplorable conditions (having begun as a mere child) named Maud Watts (an actual composite of a suffragette named Hannah Mitchell - http://www.biography.com/news/suffragette-movie-history) beautifully played by Carey Mulligan, coming to the realization that she has no legal recourse over her detestable working environment, and in her personal world no claim over the welfare and future of her child. Maud comes to the conclusion, along with a group of fellow activists after hearing Mrs. Pankhurst speak, that years of peaceful protests had not altered their situations; shocks of violence were the only means of getting the attention of the government controlled Press and Parliament. The consequences of these menacing actions are woven into the film's drama. The wonderful actor Brendon Gleeson plays an Inspector Jarvert-type police official who is relentless in the prosecution and strategy of dealing with political "agitators" personifying the authority of the British legal system which enveloped ALL women who were subjugated to the daily slog of male dominance vitiating their every breath.

SUFFRAGETTE is not a great film, but the inequities that befall the heroine and her "co- conspirators" made me fiercely conscious of society's injustice to those who are seen as defenseless. I was overcome by the overwhelming powerless of an individual to enact change without organizational support. Transformationis possible where there is courage and the remaining choices have been eliminated - when one is caged there are few alternatives other than shattering the bars.

At the very end of the movie there is a timeline listing when women got the right to vote and the list was astonishing. There are many country's that in 2015 still do not grant women that right such as Saudi Arabia where it is still pending!!!!

Timeline of Women's Suffrage Granted, by Country 1893 New Zealand 1902 Australia1 1906 Finland 1913 Norway 1915 Denmark 1917 Canada2 1918 Austria, Germany, Poland, Russia 1919 Netherlands 1920 United States 1921 Sweden 1928 Britain, Ireland 1931 Spain 1934 Turkey 1944 France 1945 Italy 1947 Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan 1949 China 1950 India 1954 Colombia 1957 Malaysia, Zimbabwe 1962 Algeria 1963 Iran, Morocco 1964 Libya 1967 Ecuador 1971 Switzerland 1972 Bangladesh 1974 Jordan 1976 Portugal 1989 Namibia 1990 Western Samoa 1993 Kazakhstan, Moldova 1994 South Africa 2005 Kuwait 2006 United Arab Emirates 2011 Saudi Arabia3 NOTE: One country does not allow their people, male or female, to vote: Brunei. 1. Australian women, with the exception of aboriginal women, won the vote in 1902. Aborigines, male and female, did not have the right to vote until 1962. 2. Canadian women, with the exception of Canadian Indian women, won the vote in 1917. Canadian Indians, male and female, did not win the vote until 1960. Source: The New York Times, May 22, 2005.

3. Women in Saudi Arabia will not be eligible to vote until 2015.

Steve Jobs (2015)

Shallow biopic of Steve Jobs

[7/10 · 1 November 2015]

Watching the STEVE JOBS biopic directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin was a nostalgic experience, bringing me back in time to 1992 when I purchased my first Apple Computer which regretfully turned out to be a "rotten apple with so many problems that Apple's headquarters sent a technician to my home in NJ to change the "motherboard." This was the "dark phase" of the company when it was on the downswing - the percentage of Apple users were declining and IBM's P.C.'s were on the rise. Because my "mentor" was a rabid supporter - never wavering in his belief in Steve Jobs and Apple products, I too followed his lead despite the fact that Jobs was not with the company having been "fired" in 1985. The film STEVE JOBS gives us a glimpse into the man who today is considered a visionary having changed the way we communicate and navigate the world.

I once wrote a Letter to the NY Times extolling the power of film "… to re-vise, re-invent and re-position history and historical figures within popular culture… Too often ideas, whether they be political or cultural, permeate into the general consciousness through the membrane of a director…" And this holds true for director Danny Boyle's depiction of Steve Jobs. There is a frenetic pace to the film - and Boyle uses the moments before the presentation of new products to an audience of devotees as a vehicle "exposing" the complexity of Steve Jobs' personal and professional history.

The dramatic focus of the movie STEVE JOBS hinges upon 3 major "computer launch" events - the original Macintosh in 1984 in competition with the Apple II - the commercial bedrock of the company; the unveiling of NeXT cube in 1988 - what it did is still a mystery; and the beautifully designed iMac in 1998 - the start of the "iEra". The products were an extension of the man himself - a person who controlled every aspect of his brand - obsessively committed and single-minded - never one to compromise - as witnessed by his battles with childhood friend and co-founder Steve Wozniak - Seth Rogan doing a great job as this decent, burly "nuts and bolts" man who actualizes Jobs' idealistic concepts. Michael Fassbender is excellent as Jobs - cool, detached and charismatic encased in armor that is rarely penetrated except by the always-by-his side assistant Joanna Hoffman (a staid and respectful Kate Winslet with a weird undertone of an accent) and his daughter Lisa, (whose paternity he once renounced,) - a pivotal character functioning as a catalyst and humanizing foil to the self-absorbed and fervid Jobs.

There is a claustrophobic feel to the film - an undercurrent of acute tension created by Job's contentious and truculent interactions with his colleagues and family; the need to micro- manage every one of life's moments leaving no room for respite - we the audience suffer from the lack of air. I also left the theater wondering WHAT exactly did Jobs do as co-founder of Apple Inc.outside of being a genius marketing promoter?

I recommend reading Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs, particularly after seeing a movie which gives you a narrow, surface view of an impassioned man who deserves to be seen more fully to understand his historical importance as that rare individual whose accomplishments touched people all over the globe. Regrettably STEVE JOBS gives very little inkling of the man who anticipated much of the 21st century's technological innovations.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

America - the good, the bad and the ugly.

[8/10 · 17 October 2015]

Director Steven Spielberg is the conscience of American film-makers, delving into the dark places of our history - the morally shaky ground of policymaking in a country that prides itself on its belief in upholding the principles of the U.S.Constitution. In his latest film, BRIDGE OF SPIES, he pokes a stick into the headlines of Cold War events - the 1960 U-2 Spy plane incident, in order to shed air and light into the dark reaches of official myth-making. Aware that this can be done most powerfully through precise direction, detailed sets, soaring soundtracks, and cinematography that echoes the dreary mood of the times - bright sunshine recedes behind the shadows of deception. The audience is always entertained, despite the subject matter's depiction of the murkiness of ethics and morality. Like the great illustrator Norman Rockwell - we are seduced by an "apple pie" ethos, except there are worms wriggling around in the crust.

Tom Hanks is perfectly cast - an actor who I cannot remember ever playing a "bad" guy - as James Donovan, an insurance lawyer conscripted by the CIA in 1957 during the height of the Cold War hysteria to defend the arrested Soviet mole, Rudolf Abel, (an academy award winning performance by Mark Rylance,) and participate in a US government programmed "kangaroo-court" trial. Except James Donovan believes in the right of an individual to the best defense as the bedrock of our democracy, not willing to compromise his deeply held integrity.

BRIDGE OF SPIES begins with a panning of a dreary Brooklyn street with the Manhattan Bridge in the background looming over the landscape, the camera eventually lands upstairs in a tenement building where Mark Rylance/Rudolf Abel is looking at himself in a mirror painting a quite good traditional self-portrait. This double view is our introduction to the personality of a seemingly Walter Mitty-like individual, his physiognomy imprinted with a haunting and magnetic expressiveness, conveying adversity and conviction. Rylance's sympathetic portrayal of Abel is seductive and thrilling; this spy is a mystery and remains so.

Tom Hanks/James Donovan - a reincarnation of Jimmy Stewart (thicker in physique) lives a 1950's dream life in suburbia; three children and a clueless stay-at-home wife and mother (played by Amy Ryan in a thankless part.) Women are just accessories in this movie - indicative of how they were considered at the time. Thank goodness for the Feminist Movement 20 years later! Getting involved with cloak and dagger politics does not change Donovan - he is incorruptible and strongly rooted to the ideals of American values as put forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

At the same time as the Abel trial - America is preparing to send a U-2 spy plane equipped with surveillance equipment over Soviet territory and the Central Intelligence Agency recruits a young pilot Francis Gary Powers (a bland, handsome Austin Stowell) to complete the reconnaissance mission. In 1960, the operation is implemented and shortly thereafter the U-2 spy plane is shot down by a Soviet surface-to-air missile and Powers parachutes unto Russian soil still alive and is captured and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment and hard labor. A politically heated issue and an embarrassment for the Eisenhower administration - the incident was vigorously denied by the USA and a cover-up was attempted, but the covert military maneuver was ultimately exposed.

Attempts are made to return Gary Francis Power to the USA in order to interrogate him about how much classified information he revealed to the Soviets. The authorities turn again to Attorney James Donovan to negotiate the exchange of spies on Glienicker Bridge in East Germany - Rudolf Abel for Gary Francis Powers; the tension and drama of BRIDGE OF SPIES begins against the backdrop of the Wall being erected in East Berlin - a bleak city in contrast to its counterpart in the Western sector.

Pragmatic political behavior by officials in the KGB, CIA and FBI are all stick figures in the chess game of diplomacy and Tom Hanks deftly navigates his way through the labyrinth of innuendo and deceit. Espionage, duplicity, betrayal are at the heart of this film. What makes it palatable is the humanity of both Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance's characters who bond with mutual respect, despite their opposing ideological viewpoints. Director Spielberg can be sentimental, but is able to tunnel through the sappiness with humor and affection. He really likes his two leading men and so do we.

The Martian (2015)

Bring our Boy Home

[7/10 · 13 October 2015]

I am fascinated by films that show how people survive in impossible situations. THE MARTIAN is an old- fashioned "feel good" movie directed by Ridley Scott who knows how to make blockbusters and hold your attention - though here he goes "off course" from his usual dystopian science fiction-y horror movies like his breakthrough thriller "Alien."

THE MARTIAN is basically about Mark Watney, (a breeze-through performance by Matt Damon,) as an affable brilliant, but down-to-earth botanist/scientist on a manned flight mission to Mars who is left stranded on the "red planet", after a fierce storm untethers him from the rest of the crew. Dramatic footage of sand and flying debris slamming the spaceship upending its stability, forces Jessica Chastain (performing in a minor role as Melissa Lewis, the flight Commander) to make the agonizing decision to abandon their fellow crew member - assuming he was killed by some space junk that pierced his body - to continue their NASA mission.

The quiet after the storm shows us a steadfast Matt Damon awakening to his dire predicament, and the knowledge that death is almost a certainty, but never panics; rather he is optimistic, immediately going into survivalist mode - step by step using all that science and life experience has taught him in order to figure out how to live on a planet without water or food. One advantage is the artificial space vehicle/living habitat, or Hab which is still intact - providing oxygen and dietary supplies including his fellow astronauts' personal effects, along with a trove of "bad" music that becomes a continuing joke in the film. The lighthearted likability of Matt Damon, who relates his daily chores and mundane skirmishes with the airless "elements" via a video diary - a technique that keeps the film buoyantly hopeful; psychological depression never sets in - so we know that Hollywood has cast a rosy net of oblivion around THE MARTIAN. And by doing so, it feeds directly into the hearts of Rocky Balboa, and sports viewing fans - we love to see America's can-do spirit triumph.

This is intrinsically a story about man's ability to endure in the face of terrible odds - which makes for great theater, and we in the audience cheer him on. Who cannot get caught up in this existential dilemma and not feel the intensity of Mark Watney's battle to exist? He is not alone - eventually there are others who join the fight to aid him in his heroic efforts to stay alive in an "alien" atmosphere; everyone realizing that there is a looming deadline when necessities will be depleted. Lots of actors contribute to the ensuing drama and add to the film's tension, which involves the diminished "window of opportunity" - to bring Astronaut Watney home while he is still alive, as the months glide by.

The supporting actors were chosen to exemplify a "type" in the movie: Jeffrey Daniels as NASA's Director, caught in the vise of the political ramifications of his decisions; Michael Pena, a fellow space traveler who is the jesting buddy; Chiwetel Ejiofor, an assistant at NASA who is a catalyst for getting things done; and a surprisingly wonderful scene-stealing performance by Donald Glover as a young "idiosyncratic" Jet Propulsion Lab scientist whose mathematical computations lead to innovative approaches in the rescue attempt to bring Watney home. Being a bit of a wonk, even though I don't understand the mathematics and physics involved in the computations, I am thrilled seeing numbers and formulas no longer sitting abstractly on notebook papers, but put to use to change the world we live in- another example of what a group's inventiveness and a resilient outlook can accomplish.

Sicario (2015)

Idealism vs. realism

[8/10 · 3 October 2015]

What are the rules of engagement in fighting the Mexican drug cartels especially if US law enforcement agencies go into foreign territories where they have no jurisdiction; does the end justify any means? Denis Villeneuve's intense new film SICARIO (which means hit man in Spanish) takes us into the tactical underbelly of those cryptic individuals who carry out US policy decisions "from on high", cloaked in legitimacy, though they are prohibited maneuvers that would be considered illegal in any court of law.

The atmosphere is beautifully filmed - either pale, washed out ochers depicting the long dusty border between US and Mexico, or the rich deep blues and blacks of the evening with night - vision goggles irradiating the world around them into skeletal images. Put a young, female FBI agent into this mix - Emily Blunt as Kate, a dedicated officer, former head of a kidnap-response unit based in Phoenix, who is forced to question all that she has practiced and been taught in the Bureau; her fiercely held personal values are turned upside down by the reality of being recruited into the midst of anti- cartel "warriors" who can behave as dark and dirty as their enemy - the drug lords that control the populous by murdering and slaughtering men, women and children, stringing up body parts hanging them from electricity wires like abandoned baggage on clothes-lines.

Transporting, manufacturing, shipping and controlling the wildly lucrative drug industry necessitates making alliances - everyone is corruptible from the dealers to the federales and police on both sides of the border - all partaking of the spoils, while their interior sentiments become ghosts evaporating into the surroundings. "It is not personal" are words that exemplify the cool calculations of those in power whose humanity has been shredded, and who barricade themselves with bodyguards and fancy homes from the brutality that they inflict on nameless people.

Kate and her FBI partner ( a good performance by Daniel Kaluuya) are the two newcomers brought along on a mission that they were not briefed on - so the "fog of war" is indeed literally murky. Everything becomes clear with time, but meanwhile we in the audience are as mystified as the protagonists. We meet a team of hardened DEA operatives with Josh Brolin as Matt - the wise-cracking, gum chewing leader who is a cipher, offhandedly refusing to respond with a straight answer to any question put before him. Despite his Cheshire-like grin, there is a man beneath the lumbering, impenetrable veneer who is callously determined to fulfill the U.S. government's calculated goals no matter the toll.

Benicio Del Toro is the "star" of SICARO, brilliant as the mercenary Alejandro - a person whose face reveals little, but whose eyes and body language betray a passionate resolve for revenge, and a history of incomparable pain and suffering at the hands of the drug-lords becoming a person for hire with no longer a "soul" to lose. He is the "enforcer," expert at torture and killing, yet despite his horrific activities, every moment he is on the screen it is filled with his abundant presence and an acute sense of heartache.

Kate's sojourn from an idealistic FBI agent to an awareness of the brutal realities of the contaminated policies used by the United States to combat the "drug war" is a bit naive and inconclusive. We sense that she remains a staunch believer in the underlying principle of the "rule of law", but we know all-too-well that she is standing on shaky grounds.

Learning to Drive (2014)

Learning to Drive - a metaphor for relationships

[6/10 · 12 September 2015]

LEARNING TO DRIVE 9/12/15

I do not like to drive; actually I am scared of driving. My father used to say being behind the wheel of a car meant that you had one foot in the grave (or was it jail?) and the other in heaven. Those words still resonate with me loud and clear - the aberrant background of my fears. On the other hand, I love to be driven around and rely on the "kindness" of friends. My greatest wish would be to have a chauffeur at my beck and call - ahhh that would be divine! So the title of director Isabel Coixet's new lightweight comedy brought me into the theater to see LEARNING TO DRIVE.

I like Patricia Clarkson (Wendy), the heroine, an accomplished literary critic whose husband, a flat emotionless Jake Weber playing Ted the unsatisfied and straying husband, walks out on Wendy and their daughter Tasha (Grace Gummer) to again fulfill his dreams/libido. LEARNING TO DRIVE becomes a metaphor for becoming self-sufficient and not needing jerks to be part of your life. Of course there is a catalyst, the wise, calm, driving instructor/life tutor, Darwan (an always wonderful Ben Kingsley) to lead her on the path to liberation; a pretty straight- forward predictable romantic tale with some detours and insights tossed into the mundane mix.

We do get to see the social inequities in life-styles between the upper class, brownstone dwelling Wendy, and Darwan, a Sikh, who lives with three other landsman in one room, sharing the little space they have with camaraderie and resignation. Darwan had been a Professor in India, but was forced to flee, receiving political asylum and becoming an American citizen, earning a living as a cabbie and driving instructor.

I was dismayed to see Patricia Clarkson in an impassioned, frenzied moment, begging her errant husband to return to the hearth. I did my usual audible moaning and groaning in the theater - not having the heart to watch these appalling scenes of desperation. I restrained myself from shouting - It will get better, girl - it will! And it does! Meanwhile Darwan's sister in India arranges for him to marry a middle aged woman Jasleen (a lovely Sarita Choudhury,) self-conscious and unsure of herself, having no knowledge of English, who travels to the United States, where we witness the adjustments both she and Darwan need to make in order to fuse their mutual loneliness into an affectionate, respectful relationship.

I did get a few driving tips - my goal in seeing LEARNING TO DRIVE - but none as great as the crime fiction novelist Elmore Leonard's recommendation to never come to a stop too close to the car in front of you always leaving enough space to maneuver in case you are hemmed in - one never knows when one needs to exit quickly, particularly at night! Advice I have heeded and dispensed while sitting in the passenger seat -imperiously giving directions - having developed into an accomplished back seat driver.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

The rise of Gangsta Rap in Compton L.A. circa 1988

[7/10 · 19 August 2015]

Five young men - Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy E and DJ Yella - walking towards us, lined up in a row coming into the picture frame like modern-day gunslingers - full of swagger and the defiant air of adolescents that have grown up and experienced the brutality that comes with being black living in one of the poorest and most dangerous communities in 1980's America - the city of Compton, CA., south of downtown Los Angeles; these are the members of the pioneering "gangsta rap" and West Coast hip hop group N.W. A. (an abbreviation of Niggaz wit' Attitude) whose "rags-to-riches" story is told in the biopic STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON directed by F. Gary Gray.

A group of locals, some of whom had been friends since childhood band together to express the rage they feel at society's inequities; to bring to attention the destructive nature of racism practiced by the authorities in their neighborhoods; police who were the supposed "enforcers" of justice interacting with urban black men treating them like enemies with no regard for their civil rights. N. W.A. fought back with raw screaming authenticity - lyrics that told their stories, attacking with the rat-a-tat of drum-machine beats and rhythms - words sprayed out with the ferociousness of thundering cannons - gesticulating and shocking their audiences with facts that were harshly bitter, crude. and all too real. N.W. A. became heroes to an expanding audience - their voices had been unleashed - fighting back not with guns and flying bullets, but with music that had the power to slice souls.

I listened spellbound to N.W.A.'s sounds, inhaling their cries of intense fury, but at the same time cringing at the vitriolic lyrics aimed at women who were often referred to as "ho's and bitches" - buried in the same slimy abuse and disrespect, that the power structures so disdainfully thrust on them. The glamorized characterization of the relationship between the "perks" of fame - adulation, material acquisitiveness and indiscriminate sexual abandon - are depicted as becoming the roots of a Greek tragedy - hubris leads to nemesis.

The film follows the group's path to worldwide fame including the oft seen sleazy ups and downs of the managerial side of the performing business; the collaboration of the entrepreneurial Eazy - E (a terrific performance by Jason Mitchell) with a scheming white businessman Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) to form a production company called Ruthless Records. Once recruited into N.W.A., Dr. Dre (a fine Corey Hawkins) is portrayed as the anchor of the group handling the music, and Ice Cube (played by his son O'Shea Jackson, Jr. with an uncanny resemblance to his father) is the lyricist along with MC Ren, pen and notebook in hand constantly jotting down phrases for future use. All five members were uncompromising, never giving into pressure from institutions, (including the FBI), the press and other external forces to tone down their rhetoric, many of whom were shocked by the unrelenting capacity of street vernacular to propel the public into social awareness.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON also presents the personal battles and clashing egos among the rappers, with some quitting over "royalty" issues going off on their own, but over time we witness their strong "familial" bond which is unbreakable.The movie was not filmed in a vacuum - the turbulent history of the late '80's and early '90's is woven into the plot including the 1991 police battering of Rodney King, videotaped and seen on television by the whole country, and the subsequent acquittal of the four accused police officers in 1992 sparking riots in Los Angeles - clearly foreshadowing uprisings 22 years later, where a police culture is still too ready to shoot and destroy what they perceive as "threatening" men and women of color.

Jimmy's Hall (2014)

Director Ken Loach's tribute to Jimmy Gralton a Leitrim (Ireland) Socialist and his attempt to build a dance/meeting hall.

[7/10 · 23 July 2015]

Seventy-nine year old British director Ken Loach has been dealing with social issues in film since the early 1960's and JIMMY'S HALL is no exception, based on a 10 year period in the life of Jimmy Gralton, a Leitrim (County in Ireland) Socialist - the only Irishman ever deported from Ireland in 1933. The clash between the Catholic Church, intermixed with local politicians and what they considered Stalinist/Communist ideas brewing in a small village's Dance/Meeting Hall - built for the local community of farmers and laborers - teaching art, poetry, song, boxing classes, highlighting music and dance performances; a space to openly speak about landowner/working conditions.

I am a sucker for a good-looking Irishman, and Barry Ward is just that; he plays Jimmy who is expressive, passionate and a stirring advocate for basic individual freedoms. We meet him in 1932, after a forced 10 year exile in NYC, returning home to work on the family's small plot of land at a "hopeful" time, a new government has come into power. Set amidst the rolling green hills of an idyllic village, Jimmy plans to settle down and help his elderly mother, a former librarian who years earlier drove around the rural area, bringing books - catalysts for ideas - to her neighbors. Life in 1932 is and is not the same - personal relationships have changed - former love interest Oonagh who fought at his side in earlier days, having not heard from him for a long time after Gralton was forced to flee Ireland in 1921, married a "solid" man from the hamlet and bore 2 children. Despite the years gone by, their deep connection has never come untethered and the tenderness between these two intense fighters for human rights is filmed in a lovely scene where they slowly move together, swaying under the pale light of unrealized dreams; fulfillment impossible.

JIMMY'S HALL is a movie about the pervasive paranoia and corruption of Ireland's Government/Church partnership in maintaining "moral order" in a world that is absorbing new ideologies; where principles and tenets cannot be contained in ancestral and inbred receptacles. The community demonstrates an unrelenting courage and willingness to confront representatives of the power elite in their attempt to love, laugh, frolic, and examine doctrines that have been intrinsic to them - no longer isolated they dare to defy through unity thereby gathering courage. Director Ken Loach's radiant portrayal of Jimmy Gralton resurrects a fighter whose name was all but forgotten. The combat against a powerful, intransigent armed state in 1932 seemed desperately futile, but history has proved otherwise.