Tormented (Unforgiven, 1992)

One night in a small town, local ranch hands are visiting the local whorehouse. One of the ranch hands becomes enraged with the girl he is with and brutally attacks her, leaving her scarred. When the Sheriff, Little Bill, arrives, he sets the penalties for the ranch hand. The Madam, Strawberry Alice, finds his verdict horribly insufficient. They start to pool their money to hire a gunslinger to kill the man.

Elsewhere, we meet Will Munny. He is a pig farmer with two kids. When a young man calling himself the Scofield comes to try and recruit him for help with killing the ranch hand, Munny explains he does not live that way anymore. His late wife cured him of drinking and his evil ways. But the lure of much needed reward money cause him to rethink his refusal. Bringing along (much to the Kid’s annoyance) his friend Ned, they start to make their way to the town. Meanwhile, Little Bill has discovered the prostitutes’ plan. He makes it clear that nobody will be allowed to kill the ranch hand.

Gene Hackman’s Little Bill is both charming and scary. A former outlaw, he brutalizes an old cohort named English Bob. Bob is followed by a writer who puts his exploits into tabloid books. He starts to be won over by Little Bill, who humiliates English Bob by revealing the truth behind the stories English Bob told the writer.

When the film came out, many people expressed discomfort watching Eastwood struggle to get on a horse or fire a gun. But this is a strength of the film. Unforgiven is an exploration of the effects of violence. As things spiral out of control, Bill finds it harder to fight the darker nature he has put aside all these years.

The Scofield Kid is exuberant and excited, claiming to have killed several men. Munny, of course, sees right through him and has little patience for the Kid’s bravado. Eastwood is not interested in presenting violence as a heroic act. When Munny proves himself to be every bit the frightening killer the Scofield kids expects him to have been, it is tragic. As much as you the viewer may desire to see Little Bill pay a price, it comes at a great cost to Munny.

Personally, I consider Unforgiven to be one of the all time great westerns.

March 26, 2018 0

Rage Against the Machine (The Dark Knight Rises,2012)

It was becoming clear that Nolan was planning to form a trilogy. The Dark Knight ended with Batman on the run, taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s death. It suggested Batman would be hiding in the shadows in his fight against crime. There were no real casting controversies this time. Generally, people seemed okay with announcements of Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway.

After the Dark Knight, people seemed to trust the team making these films. So there was much anticipation when the Dark Knight Rises arrived four years later.

And right from the start? The film kicks off with a nice little plane hijacking by the villain Bane. This Bane appears to be a pretty brilliant criminal and Occupy Terrorist. And yet? The terrific setup from the Dark Knight is not used at all. The film picks up eight years later with Bruce Wayne having retired Batman. The police did their job, so Bruce retired the persona shortly after the events of the Dark Knight. Apparently, no weird bad guys appeared after the Joker. Wayne is in rough shape, physically speaking. The years as Batman took a real toll. He catches Selina Kyle busting into his safe during a party, Kyle is a morally ambiguous character. She is a thief of course, but she is not entirely without conscience.

Commissioner Gordon is deemed a hero, but this is eating away at him…and he keeps a letter on himself at all times confessing what really happened to Harvey Dent. This certainly could have been a real damning situation. Admittedly, I felt it would have been better to bring Two Face back as the central villain, out to humiliate and expose (and destroy) Gordon and the Batman.

Bane starts to wreak havoc on Gotham’s social and financial districts. Forcing Batman out of retirement and into a confrontation, Bane breaks Batman’s back and tosses him in hole. Ultimately Bruce Wayne must climb to the top to get free. The film is a bit on the nose.

It turns out that Bane is teamed up with another villain, who is revealed to have ties from the first film. And their plan just makes no sense. They trap the entire police force underground and plan to blow up a bomb.

What makes the Dark Knight Rises so disappointing as a followup is that it is incredibly sloppy in it’s storytelling. How and why things occur are not fully thought out. The film is full of exciting sequences…but they don’t bring the film together. The film is heavily focused on being a “last Bruce Wayne” story for the Nolan version. But the villains activities don’t really have a satisfying connecting moment. There is, technically, an “Ah HA!” moment. But it still leaves a lot of Bane’s overly elaborate scheming kind of pointless.

As a follow up to the Dark Knight (and Batman Begins) this is a well cast movie full of plot-holes to the point of Swiss Cheese. Catwoman is a fun character, and Hathaway’s performance is great, without drawing on earlier film versions. Freeman, Cain and Oldman are great in their roles, vital to the enjoyment of this film. As a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he is always welcome, and his tenacious cop Blake (in spite of a “groaner” of a name reveal at the end) is likable…he is also pretty obvious the out of they wanted to make a fourth film without Bale, as the Bale Batman seems to have run it’s course. That Bat Voice starts to grate on a viewer, especially after three movies.

I wish Nolan’s series could have ended on a higher note, but that was not meant to be. We have a movie with some fine performances, some good action scenes and a rather hard to buy into massive plan by villains even taking into account this is a movie about a guy dressed as a bat.

August 26, 2016 0

It Was a Dark and Stormy Knight (the Dark Knight, 2008)

The recasting of Rachel Dawes with Maggie Gyllenhaal might have been the biggest casting controversy if not for the announcement of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Oh, the internet exploded. And then the movie came out and made a lot of people eat crow. The late Heath Ledger gave one of the best takes on the Joker. An anarchist who just wants to watch the world burn, The Joker starts out appearing like he is trying to take over the mob, only for them to be shocked as he proves he does not care about their goals at all.

The Dark Knight improves on the action scenes, showing how much Nolan learned. The story is mostly quite strong. They introduce the heroic Harvey Dent, a new DA with no fear of the mob…causing Bruce Wayne to question if Batman will be necessary any more. Of course, Dent is doomed to be twisted into a brutal caricature of justice.

The Dark Knight is full of twists and turns, as well as challenging questions in regards to spying and information gathering. How far do you go to stop someone? Admittedly, the film tries to have it both ways, allowing Batman to go to far, but for it to be a one time deal.

The film also struggles a bit with exactly what it wants to do with Two Face…and it really squanders an opportunity that could have played into the next film. While the Joker story line seems so carefully plotted, the Two Face story line just feels rushed. But in the end, the overall film ties together nicely.

As noted, Ledger’s Joker borders on brilliant. The performance is downright unnerving, helped by musical queues that make it feel all the more disturbing. The returning cast are all excellent, and Gyllenhaal holds her own (as pretty much the only woman of consequence in the film) with heavyweights like Oldman, Freeman and Caine.

Nolan has shown Great vision for Batman, and only improved on Batman Begins. It is an intense and exhilarating ride of a film.

August 25, 2016 0

When I Was a Kid (Batman Begins, 2005)

It took until 2005 for Batman to return to the big screen. From the start, we knew this was going to be a more serious take on the character than the previous films. They were starting over and taking their inspiration from Batman: Year One. Warner Brothers brought in Christopher Nolan (director of Following and Memento) to craft a Batman for the modern movie age. They started to announce their cast and people started to get excited. Christian Bale. Gary Oldman. Liam Neeson. Literally the most controversial casting choice was Katie Holmes…and that was more after the film was released.

Batman Begins is a refreshing take on the character. It followed closely the stories such as Year One. And instead of going with villains we had already seen, they opted for two that had not been used in film before. Ra’s Al Ghul was a longstanding comic book Bat Nemesis who ruled over the elite league of assassins.

Young Bruce Wayne struggles to come to terms with the death of his parents at the hands of low level thug Joe Chill. He plots to kill Chill, but is convinced by Rachel Dawes (Holmes) to not give into the revenge. So Bruce drops off the grid and wanders the planet getting into scrapes and apparently lots of prisons…until he meet Ducard, the mysterious emissary to Ra’s Al Ghul. After training with the league of assassins, Bruce discovers that the League has plans to erase Gotham off the map, believing it is beyond saving.

When Bruce returns to Gotham, he decides that he needs to use his training to combat the decay of the mob and other criminal activity. The film also focuses on Detective Jim Gordon and his attempts to deal with corruption inside and outside his force. As Batman, Bruce Wayne realizes he has an ally. Of course, the League of Assassins has no intention of giving up their plan.

Nolan was not known for being an action film director prior to this, and it shows. Sometimes things are to tightly framed making the action hard to follow. There are great action sequences, but there are times where they are not as easy to follow.

The story is not hard to follow, and unlike previous Batman films, the multiple villains does not ruin the pacing. And how the villains are tied together makes sense. Nolan and his time understand how to intertwine the elements of a tale.

The film is also nearly perfectly cast. Bale sells the notion of a man with a singular purpose. Michael Caine’s Alfred is a new and unique take on the character in film and television. He is a bit rougher and has a military background. You can see he was hired as much for his strength as his support. He can be tough, wise and gentle when it is called for.

And then there is Gary Oldman’s Detective Gordon. He is struggling to try and keep things together, but not out of incompetence, but simply because Gotham is falling apart and the seems, and at times, he seems alone in trying to stem the tide. It is great to see the movies finally elevate his presence. He is a far more important to the Bat Mythos than Burton or Schumacher ever seemed to realize.

As Ducard, Neeson brings an self righteous arrogance that sees him in a role of dangerous judge and jury. Lucius Fox is played by Morgan Freeman in one of those Freeman roles where he is wise and underestimated. Cillian Murphy’s psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane is creepy, even before he dons his Scarecrow mask. Holmes is the weakest link. It is not that she is terrible, but she is out of her depth with the rest of the cast.

Gotham is no longer a hyper stylized city with crazy architecture. Instead, it is a rundown city, with a recognizable look that could be the streets of a large metropolis. It is very effective.

Batman Begin’s is a solid start to a new series of films. It is the path I wish Bryan Singer had followed with Superman. We are introduced to an exciting world with much potential (as hinted in the final moments of the film).

August 24, 2016 0

Diversify

So, last Sunday’s Oscars happened. There was much questioning in advance of how Chris Rock would address the #OscarsSoWhite controversies. Some felt he should drop out. Some felt he should use the the night to stick it to Hollywood racism. And, he did pretty good. Rock had some good jokes that called out the racism at play…Hollywood’s “Sorority style Racism” as Rock noted. But Rock’s bits could have been better.

It started to become apparent that Rock’s calls to diversity were somewhat single dimensional. In fact people on twitter started noting that Diversity is a bit bigger than Rock’s focus. Aasif Mandvi tweeted:

hey #Oscars, diversity is not just #black and #white.

He was met with a response that stated that because Chris Rock is black, he was focusing on black performers. Which, to be frank, is a pretty bullshit excuse. Rock was hosting the Oscars to a broader public. Asians and Latinos (just to name two groups left out) had every right to be frustrated by Rock’s extraordinarily narrow observations.

In a bit of irony, Rock’s race themed bits all highlighted white versus black. He only spoke of black actors vs white actors. There was a distinct lack of diversity. Heck, it even looked as if he and his writers lifted the Martian Gag from the Nightly Show.*

All of Rock’s bits would have been funnier with an expanded racial scope. Of course, pointing this out has gotten some hit with accusations of saying the same thing as “All Lives Matter”. Which is absolutely false. Let me cut folks off at the pass. This is false. Period. There is no discussion to be had. Pointing out that other races were not recognized by Rock is not the equivalent of saying all lives matter. Why don’t we look at some facts about Oscar Diversity. It is not a pretty picture.

There has not been an Asian Best Actor nomination since Ben Kingsly in 2003. There has not been an Asian Winner since 1982, which was also Ben Kingsly. It was 26 years earlier that there was another Asian nominated. That was Yul Brenner in 1956. And he won. You have two Asian winners in the Best Actor category. There was one Asian woman nominated for Best Actress. Merle Oberon in 1935. Not a single Asian Actress has been nominated since. Not even from the Joy Luck Club, which got no nominations for it’s actors.

Surely it is better for the supporting roles, right? Between 1957 and now? Best Supporting actor has nominated Asian Actors six times. Of those six? Two are Ben Kingsly. The only win was Haing S. Ngor for the Killing Fields in 1984. The last nomination was Ken Watanabe in 2003.

Supporting Actress? Since 1957? Again, six. The last being Hailee Standfield in 2010’s True Grit. Only one win, that was to Miyoshi Umeki in 1957.

So, what about Latinos? Surely, they fared way better in acting nominations and wins, right?

Well, for best actor? Five since 1950. Last nomination was Demián Bichir in 2011. Last win? 1950’s José Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac. For supporting role, there six nominations. One was for José Ferrer in 1948. Anthony Quinn was nominated and won twice. Andy Garcia and the other two went to Benicio del Toro, who won in 2000 for Traffic.

Best Actress had three nominations between 1998 and 2004. That is all, no wins. Just three nominations in the history of the Oscars. Supporting Actress? Six nominations between 1954 and 2013. And I bet that 2013 nomination would catch people off guard, because it is Lupita Nyong’o. She and Rita Moreno are the only wins.

Native Americans have three nominations in the history of the Oscars. Three.

While looking for that last one I found this article which sums all the information up nicely.

Chris Rock focused heavily on the lack of Black actors. Since 1958, there has been 18 nominations. This includes Will Smith (Twice), by the way. Morgan Freeman was nominated three times. Denzel Washington four times. There have been four wins (Sidney Poitier, Washington, Jamie Fox and Forrest Whitaker). Best actress has only had ten nominations since 1954 and only a single win (Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball in 2001).

Best supporting actor has seen sixteen nominations and four wins since 1969. The wins were Louis Gossett Jr., Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr and Morgan Freeman. Best supporting actress? Eighteen nominations with six wins (Hattie McDaniel, Whoopie Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson, Mo’Nique, Octavia Spencer and Lupita Nyong’o) between 1939 and 2013.

Going by the actual numbers, those individuals who were telling Asians, Native Americans, Latinos and other minority groups to just accept that they were being ignored? They have the bigger gripe. Asians, Latinos, Native American performances are far less recognized. In comparison, black performers are getting more of the opportunities.

Hollywood needs more diversity. Hollywood needs to expand it’s recognition. But Rock made his bits all about black actors, every single bit featured only black actors (or in one case Black “Man on the Street” interviewees), and Rock gave no recognition to the lack of diversity other races (who have had even less recognition in Oscar History). But he did manage a racist Asian joke. Way to go with the appeal to diversity.

*The Nightly show did the “What if Mark Watney Was Black” gag a few weeks back. It is entirely possible that the Oscar version was recorded in “competition” and it was coincidence…but it was the exact same joke, just the Oscar version got the original white actors.

March 3, 2016 0

The Animals Went In Two by Two (Evan Almighty, 2007)

Bruce Almighty was a hit, and the studio wanted a sequel. The most admirable thing Tom Shadyac and his crew did? They avoided doing a total retread. They told Bruce’s story, and they did not want to just make a total formula sequel.

In some ways, this film owes more to the Oh God Franchise than the first film. This one has a focus set on Evan getting a mission from God. And it borrows heavily from movies like the Santa Clause. Evan does not just get a Noah-like mission, he grows instant beards. Animals flock to him. He has to build a really big boat.

Carrell was a standout performer by then, and they opted to follow Evan Baxter and his family. While Freeman is back in the Mercy Seat, the film’s option to look at how the personal can impact the bigger picture never quite comes together as effectively as the first film.

In addition, the original story of Noah is one of judgement and punishment on a grand scale. But while I appreciate the environmental conservation message the film tries to convey, Evan is not trying to stop an immediate extinction level threat, and the stakes that should be there simply are not. By being a bit more bigger picture, the film fails to hold up as effectively as the previous film which stayed local and personal.

November 6, 2015 0

Hail to the King (Bruce Almighty, 2003)

After lukewarm receptions to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Carrey went back to where his bigger successes occured. High concept comedies. And you do not get more high concept than Bruce Almighty.

A couple decades after the Oh God series, we see George Burns replaced by Morgan Freeman in the role of God. Carrey plays Bruce Nolan, a sad sack who does not appreciate what he has, rather wanting more, believing he will be happy once he achieves his goals. And his biggest goal? To try and move from doing puff pieces for the local news station to the anchor desk. He tries to be positive, but is dealt a crushing blow when the job goes to his rival Evan Baxter (Steve Carrell).

Angry and at the end of his rope, he ends up getting a meeting with God. God is not really impressed with Bruce’s complaints and makes him a deal. Bruce has the omnipotent power of God for a week. Bruce agrees, and initially relishes the power.

This is a fairly entertaining bit, as we see Bruce experiment with what he can do. And at first it seems awesome…until he starts discovering some of the drawbacks…like hearing everyone’s prayers. Bruce starts to find things getting harder, and he is chasing away his girlfriend Grace, who is tired of Bruce being so focused on himself and his unwillingness to see what he has as enough. Bruce tries to use his powers to fix his personal problem, and quickly tries to find shortcuts for the responsibility stuff (like prayers from people). Of course, it ends up only being made worse.

Even with the powers of a supreme being, Bruce’s life is more messed up than ever. Bruce hits bottom, even though he can move the moon.

And this is where the film works so well. It is very focused, with a very simple point. Don’t be a self centered jerk. Bruce begins to look outside himself…he starts to help people in regular human ways. Rather than worrying about what is just out of his grasp, Bruce focuses on what is right there in front of him.

Freeman makes a pretty nice avatar for God. He is kind, gentle, loving and patient. He is not there to accuse Bruce, he is there to open Bruce’s eyes. Like Oh God before it, Bruce Almighty’s God does try and tackle some of the tough questions about existence. They do it best when they keep it simple.

While you can predict the happy ending on it’s way, the film manages to earn it’s happy ending. It does not cheat. Bruce does not have to just say he is sorry and everything is awesome. No, he has to work to get there. He has to give up dreams and find a new path.

November 4, 2015 0