Review: "DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES" Goes Ape Sh*t

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 of 2024 (No. 1965) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Running time:  130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language

DIRECTOR:  Matt Reeves

WRITERS:  Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (based upon characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver)

PRODUCERS:  Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Michael Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  William Hoy and Stan Salfas

COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring:  Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Toby Kebbell, Nick Thurston, Karin Konoval, and Judy Greer

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction-thriller, action, and drama film directed by Matt Reeves.  It is a direct sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and is also the second installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot film series.

It is the eighth entry in the overall Planet of the Apes film series, which began as an adaptation of the 1963 French science fiction novel, La planète des singes, by Pierre Boulle.  In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, apes and humans are thrown together for the first time in years, and a fragile peace is threatened by mistrust and betrayal.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens ten years after the birth of “The Simian Flu” pandemic (as seen in Rise of the Planet of the Apes).  Deadly to humans, the flu has reduced the worldwide human population, and only 1 in 500 humans (.20 percent) are genetically immune to it.  Human civilization has been destroyed after societal collapse.

There was a large group of apes that were all bestowed with genetically enhanced intelligence by the virus.  They established a colony in the Muir Woods National Monument near San Francisco.  Their leader is the chimpanzee, Caesar (Andy Serkis), who protects the colony with his lieutenants.  Among them is the sinister and treacherous bonobo, Koba (Toby Kebbell).

One day, for the first time in years, apes and humans meet.  A group of humans, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), unknowingly enters the apes' territory in search of a hydroelectric dam that could restore power to a rag tag human community living in the ruins of San Francisco.  As level-headed as Malcolm is, there are hotheads among the humans, like their leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), an ex-police officer.  Among the apes, Koba is the hothead, but a fragile peace develops between the two tribes.  However, mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both humans and apes in a terrible war for control of the San Francisco area and ultimately, for dominance over the Earth.

I have been a fan of the Planet of the Apes film ever since I saw the original film, Planet of the Apes (1968), back in the day when CBS broadcast it on a regular basis.  Its sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), thrilled and chilled me.  I also enjoyed Tim Burton's 2001 Planet of the Apes, a remake and re-imagining of the original film.

I was skeptical of Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it was first release, but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first saw it.  I could not believe how exceptionally well made it was.  As we all prepare for the impending release of the franchise's latest film, 2024's Kingdom of the Planets of the Apes, I am going back to watch and review, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a really entertaining film.  Director Matt Reeves has spearheaded a pulpy, post-apocalyptic drama that thrives on inter-tribal conflict.  However, I don't think Dawn's drama is quite as substantive as its predecessor, mainly because this film focuses so much on the apes that, except for Malcolm, the film glosses over the human characters that have the most potential.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a true Planet of the Apes film.  The apes are more important, and the humans exist mainly to cause conflict among the apes.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes's drama was more grounded in reality, and its subplots mattered beyond being fuel to light the flames of conflict.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is very well made and is fun to watch.  Still, I feel like I'm waiting for a bigger and more important film.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, May 5, 2024

NOTES:

2015 Academy Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, and Erik Winquist)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination:  “Best Special Visual Effects” (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Erik Winquist, and Daniel Barrett)

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Review: "GODZILLA" 2014 is Still Awesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2024 (No. 1951) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla (2014)

Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, three minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence

DIRECTOR:  Gareth Edwards

WRITERS:  Max Borenstein; from a story by Dave Callaham

PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Seamus McGarvey (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Bob Ducsay

COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY/THRILLER

Starring:  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Richard T. Jones, and Victor Rasuk

Godzilla is a 2014 science fiction-monster film and military thriller directed by Gareth Edwards.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie was the first in the “MonsterVerse” film series, and it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla film franchise.  Godzilla 2014 focuses on the reappearance of monstrous creatures that have the power to destroy human civilization, but one of them may be humanity's only hope for survival.

Godzilla opens in 1999.  Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), two scientists from “Project Monarch,” are investigating the skeleton of a monstrous creature that was unearthed in the Philippines.  Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the supervisor at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, prepares for another day of work with his wife, Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche).  Something odd has been happening in and around the power plant, and before the day is over, the plant will collapse due to what seems to be an earthquake.  It is an incident that will leave Joe Brody broken and haunted.

Fifteen years later, Lt. Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a U.S. Navy EOD officer (United States Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal).  The son of Joe and Sandra, Ford has moved on with his life and is now on-leave in San Francisco with his wife, Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen), a nurse, and their son, Sam (Carson Bolde).  However, Ford is forced to return to Japan when he learns that his father has been detained for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone (Q zone).  Joe is determined to find the cause of the meltdown 15 years ago at the Janjira power plant.  Ford thinks his father is crazy and does not believe anything he tells him.

However, what Ford is about to witness will introduce him to the world of the MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism).  One such MUTO has the power to disrupt human civilization by emitting an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and now, it's headed for the United States.  Monarch's Dr. Serizawa believes that the only thing that can stop the MUTO is an ancient alpha predator he calls “Gojira.”  But Gojira is also a MUTO...

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  Godzilla (which is the subject of this review), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).  I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but I have not previously reviewed them.

I watched parts of Godzilla 2014 more times than I can remember over the last decade.  It is a fascinating American “kaiju” film.  “Kaiju” is a Japanese sub-genre of science fiction that features giants monsters, and the term can also be used to refer to the giant monsters themselves.  Godzilla 2014 is very well directed by Englishmen, Gareth Edwards, who first came to notice because of his excellent 2010 film, Monsters, and later gained notoriety as the director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).  Edwards is a natural when it comes to big monsters and big monster conspiracies and threats.

The film includes some good performances, although Bryan Cranston is the real standout with his intense, heartbreaking turn as Joe Brody.  Elisabeth Olsen as Elle Brody is sidelined and wasted, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gamely plays Lt. Ford Brody as the film's ostensible lead, who is more dragged along by the film's action than leading it.

What makes this modern Godzilla film exceptional to me is the work of the technicians, artisans, and crew that don't always get credit for making a film work.  Godzilla's camera work, the lighting, the film editing, the film score, the visual effects, the sound editing and mixing combine to create a film that is successful in what it conveys.  What this film is pushing to us is a deep and abiding sense of mystery.  It is in the shadows that hides the monsters and incredible battles.  It is in the mood altering and heartbeat pacing score by the great Alexandre Desplat.

The mystery is in the sound and in the silence.  It is in the flitting light and frequent flares and in the subtle film editing that hides itself while controlling the film's pace and mood.  Godzilla's technical skill is the art of cinematic craftsmanship coming together, and that is best exemplified in the beautiful, breathtaking “Halo drop” sequence.

Godzilla's sense of mystery keeps the film from coming across like lowbrow, popcorn entertainment, which was the fate of director Roland Emmerich's 1998 film, Godzilla.  Godzilla 2014's characters are in the dark almost as much as the audience is.  By maintaining a sense of mystery, the film's narrative could convince me that humanity may be on the precipice of extinction, and it did.  I highly recommend the MonsterVerse Godzilla, and I'll keep watching it.

A

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, February 10, 2024

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Review: "What We Do in the Shadows" Does It Good

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 of 2022 (No. 1853) by Leroy Douresseaux

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violent content, some sexual material and language
WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
PRODUCERS:  Emanuel Michael, Taika Waititi, and Chelsea Winstanley
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Richard Bluck and D.J. Stipsen
EDITORS:  Tom Eagles, Yana Gorskaya, and Jonathan Woodford-Robinson
COMPOSER:  Plan 9

COMEDY/FANTASY

Starring:  Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh, Stu Rutherford, Ben Fransham, Jackie Van Beek, and Elena Stejko

What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand comic vampire film and mockumentary (mock documentary) written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi.  The film focuses on three vampires who live together in a flat while trying to deal with the mundane aspects of modern life in Wellington, New Zealand.

What We Do in the Shadows introduces four vampires living as housemates in a flat in a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand.  They are 379-year-old Viago (Taika Waititi), 862-year-old Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), 183-year-old Deacon (Jonny Brugh), and 8000-year-old Petyr (Ben Fransham).  A documentary film crew follows them as they prepare for “the Unholy Masquerade,” a ball held by some of the monster secret societies of Wellington.

The vampires struggle with the ordinary aspects of modern life:  overcoming flatmate conflicts, keeping up with chores, dealing with demanding familiars (human servants), etc.  Most of all they struggle to navigate the city's nightclub scene where they hunt for human victims who will become their food.  One of their victims-to-be is Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), the ex-boyfriend of Deacon's familiar, Jackie (Jackie Van Beek).  Nick is unexpectedly turned into a vampire, and the new bloodsucker brings complications into the older vampires' lives.  Nick even brings his human friend, Stu (Stu Rutherford), whom everyone wants to eat, but likes too much to eat, into the vampire world.

Plus, they still have to attend “the Unholy Masquerade” where they will meet “the Beast.”

The most famous example of a mockumentary and perhaps, the most beloved is director Rob Reiner's 1984 film, This is Spinal Tap.  With the exception of that film, I am usually bored of mockumentaries by the second half of such films.  I was surprised to discover that except for a few places, I found myself thoroughly engaged with What We Do in the Shadows.

I think the combination of the script and the acting really brings the film to life.  The actors seem to create fully functioning people by emphasizing the ordinary aspects of the human character and personality.  Although the film's leads are vampires, they manage to be only a little special, amazing, horrible, and fantastic.  They are interesting and lovable by being only a little above ordinary.  They are not too bright, not smart enough to be conniving, and rather short-sighted, and that all makes them endearing to me.

I also like that What We Do in the Shadows quotes from or references a number of vampire films, including the Blade film series, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, and Twilight, to name a few.  That helps to make it feel like a genuine vampire film, rather than being only a documentary and horror comedy.  I actually started watching (on and off) the FX cable television series, also titled “What We Do in the Shadows,” that is based on the film.  Truthfully, the film is such a delight, it feels like something that has a lot more to offer, so we are lucky to have a TV series.

I would not recommend What We Do in the Shadows to everyone who enjoys the mainstream work of the film's co-writer and co-director, Taika Waititi, such as his Thor films for Disney/Marvel Studios.  I will recommend it to film audiences who are always searching for something different, offbeat, and/or daring in modern independent and foreign films.  For being another in a long, long line of vampire films, What We Do in the Shadows manages to be fresh blood.

7 of 10
A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, July 7, 2022


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#28DaysofBlack Review: GET ON UP

[The late Chadwick Boseman portrayed four African-American historical figures, three of them as the lead actor.  His performance as James Brown in “Get on Up” is an example of why so many are devastated by his passing and also by the loss of what could have been.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2021 (No. 1752) by Leroy Douresseaux

Get on Up (2014)
Running time:  139 minutes (2 hours, 19 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, drug use, some strong language, and violent situations
DIRECTOR:  Tate Taylor
WRITERS:  Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth; from a story by Steven Baigelman and Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth
PRODUCERS:  Brian Grazer, Erica Huggins, Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman, and Tate Taylor
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Stephen Goldblatt
EDITOR:  Michael McCusker
COMPOSER:  Thomas Newman

BIOPIC/MUSIC/DRAMA

Starring:  Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Jamarion and Jordan Scott, Viola Davis, Lennie James, Fred Melamed, Jamal Batiste, Craig Robinson, Jill Scott, Octavia Spencer, Josh Hopkins, Brandon Mychal Smith, Tika Sumpter, Aunjanue Ellis, Tariq Trotter as Pee Wee Ellis, John Benjamin Hickey, and Allison Janney

Get on Up is a 2014 biographical film and musical drama directed by Tate Taylor.  The film is a fictional depiction of the life of singer, songwriter, recording artist, and concert performer, James Brown (1933-2006).  Get on Up chronicles the rise from extreme poverty of one of the most influential musical performers in history.

Get on Up opens in Augusta, Georgia, the year 1988.  James Brown (Chadwick Boseman), one of the world's most famous recording artists and performers, gets high on mix of marijuana and PCP.   He visits one of his businesses and discovers that someone from a nearby seminar has used his private restroom.  Furious, Brown confronts the seminar attendees while carrying a shotgun, which he accidentally fires into the ceiling.

The film then uses a nonlinear narrative, following James Brown's stream of consciousness, as he recalls events from his life.  We meet young James Brown (Jamarion and Jordan Scott), living in poverty with his mother, Susie Brown (Viola Davis), and abusive father, Joseph “Joe” Brown (Lennie James).  Eventually abandoned by both his parents, young James lives in a brothel run by his Aunt Honey Washington (Octavia Spencer).

Later, James joins “The Flames,” a gospel singing group fronted by his new friend, Bobby Byrd (Nelsan Ellis).  Soon, they become “The Famous Flames” and sing R&B songs, but within a decade James Brown is ready to go solo.  It would not be the last time James is willing to go it alone on the way to becoming one of the most influential singer, songwriters, musicians, producers, dancers, bandleaders, and recording artists of all time.

Director Tate Taylor and screenwriters Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth have fashioned of a story that looks at two sides of James Brown:  his musical talent and performances and his personal and professional relationships.  This allows Get on Up to give audiences what they want – lots of James Brown on stage – and to also tell a behind-the-music-like story of a complicated man.

Get on Up takes its title from a chorus in James Brown's 1970 hit, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine.”  Brown does indeed “get on up” every time he experiences something personally or professionally that could have brought him down and kept him down.  The thing that I can respect about this film is that it does not only portray Brown as someone who overcomes, but also portrays him as someone who does not appreciate that he was never alone in creating his success.  Late in the film, Brown breaks the fourth wall (one of many times he does this) to tell the audience that he “paid the cost to be the boss.”  However, he did not pay the cost alone, to which wives, girlfriends, lovers, children, band mates, and employees can certainly testify.

Through the impressive work of Get on Up's film editor, Michael McCusker. Tate Taylor jumps around time to show the many faces of this artist who was, in a way, a chameleon as a performer.  We see moments from the years:  1939, 1949, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1988, and 1993.  This time-shifting of the film's narrative also reveals the many dark times of Brown's life.

Everyone's work would not mean much without a great performer giving a great performance as James Brown, and Chadwick Boseman certainly does that.  Boseman fashions a James Brown that is perfect for the story that Get on Up tells, creating a Brown that is an inspired genius and a dictatorial general.  Boseman nearly buries himself in the role, and I often found myself forgetting that Get on Up is not a documentary and that the James Brown on screen was a portrait not the real man.  However, Boseman's dynamic performance gives us both sides, the public persona known as James Brown, the musical revolution, and the private James Brown, unyielding to family, friends, collaborators, and partners and beset by demons.

There are other good performances.  Viola Davis packs her own power into every scene in which she appears as Brown's mother, and Octavia Spencer's displays the naturalism of her acting that charms her audiences as well as her fellow thespians.  Nelson Ellis offers a rich and layered performance as Brown's longtime collaborator, Bobby Byrd, and twins Jamarion and Jordan Scott damn near steal Get on Up with their performances as young James Brown.

Because of Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing in 2020, Get on Up will largely be remembered for his performance.  That's a shame because Get on Up is a really good film and is one of the best contemporary biographies of an African-American figure and of an icon figure in popular music in recent memory.  So, I'll take both.  Get on Up captures the music and the madness of James Brown, and the film captures a truly great performance by an actor who was becoming great and greater still before he died.

9 of 10
A+

Monday, February 15, 2021


NOTES:
2015 Black Reel Awards:  3 nominations: “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), :Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture” (Nelsan Ellis), and “Outstanding Ensemble” (Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee)

2015 Image Awards (NAACP):  5 nomination: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Chadwick Boseman), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jill Scott), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Octavia Spencer), and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Viola Davis)

The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "John Wick" Still Burns

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Wick (2014)
Running time:  101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong and bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use
DIRECTORS:  Chad Stahelski and David Leitch
WRITER:  Derek Kolstad
PRODUCERS:  Basil Iwanyk, David Leitch, Eva Longoria, and Michael Witherill
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jonathan Sela
EDITOR:  Elisabet Ronalds
COMPOSERS:  Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard

ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane, Bridget Regan, Clarke Peters, Randall Duk Kim, Kevin Nash, David Patrick Kelly, and Lance Reddick

John Wick is a 2014 action and crime-thriller starring Keanu Reeves.  It is directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch (although only Stahelski is credited on screen as director).  The film tells the story of an ex-hit man who comes out of retirement to kill the man who viciously wronged him.

Once upon a time, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) was a legendary hit man, a seemingly unstoppable killer.  He was the boogeyman who killed the boogeyman.  Not long after his wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), dies of a terminal illness, John receives a puppy that she had bought John to help him cope with her death.  He grows to love the puppy, which he names “Daisy.”

At a gas station, a young gangster named Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) sees John and Daisy in John's vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1.  Later, Iosef and two of his henchman break into John's home, beats him unconscious, and kills Daisy, before stealing the Mach 1.  Now, John Wick the boogeyman is back, determined to kill Iosef.  The problem is that the young hood is the son of Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City, a syndicate that John Wick himself helped the elder Tarasov establish.

I have been a fan of Keanu Reeves since I first encountered him the 1980s in film like Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and River's Edge (1986), although I am not a fan of his popular 80s film, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989).  I have never thought of Reeves as a great or even good actor; he is either way too stiff or too wooden as a performer.  Still, I enjoyed him in films like the original Point Break (1991) and in The Matrix films.  Reeves' star has dimmed in recent years, and he has said that he no longer gets offered the kind of projects an A-list white male actor would.

When I first saw a television commercial for John Wick, I knew that I would like the film.  However, I never got around to seeing it until early last year when I caught it on one of the premium cable movie channels.  I could not believe how good I thought it was (and I still can't).  Because of the release of the sequel (John Wick: Chapter 2), I decided to watch the first film again.

John Wick is simply a flashy, visually cool shoot-em-up movie with some good set pieces from the hit man movie wheelhouse.  This film, however, works because of Keanu Reeves.  I honestly believe that very few other actors could have made this movie memorable.  Without Keanu, John Wick would have probably ended being straight-to-DVD or VOD (video-on-demand).

If you like Keanu Reeves, you will want to see this, and you will probably want to see it a second time.  It's the magic of Keanu Reeves.  What more can I say?  That magic must have worked on a lot of movie fans because Jack Wick did get a sequel.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, March 12, 2017


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Review: "Nightcrawler" an L.A. Crime Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Nightcrawler (2014)
Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence including graphic images, and for language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Dan Gilroy
PRODUCERS:  Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, and Michel Litvak
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Elswit
EDITOR:  John Gilroy
COMPOSER:  James Newton Howard
Academy Award nominee

CRIME/THRILLER/DRAMA

Starring:  Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton, Kevin Rahm, Ann Cusack, Michael Hyatt, and Price Carson

Nightcrawler is a 2014 neo-Noir drama and crime-thriller from writer-director Dan Gilroy.  Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the film focuses on a Los Angeles man who enters the world of freelance video journalism and then begins to manipulate events in order to create more lurid stories.

Nightcrawler opens in Los Angeles.  It introduces Louis “Lou” Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a thief always looking to convert his stolen merchandise into quick cash.  One night, Bloom is driving back to his apartment when he comes across the scene of a car crash.  He pulls over to witness the chaos, but most of his attention is taken by the “Stringers,” freelance cameramen who are filming live footage of the crash scene with the intent of selling that video footage to local television news stations.

Fascinated and inspired, Bloom buys his first camcorder and a police radio scanner and begins driving the streets of L.A. at night.  He looks for accidents, emergencies, and crime scenes that he can film.  He makes his first sale to KWLA, a bottom-rung television station, where he catches the notice of the station's morning news director, Nina Romina (Rene Russo).  As he muscles his way into the world of L.A. crime journalism, however, Bloom's dark side quickly emerges.

On the surface, Nightcrawler might seem like it is only a slick crime film, especially because of Robert Elswit's gorgeous cinematography.  What writer-director Dan Gilroy also offers, however, is a mean, edgy film that is classic L.A. crime story.  This film is high-quality neo-Noir that recaptures the classic, black and white L.A. Film-Noir, without being a prisoner to style and expectations.

Nightcrawler might not be the excellent film it is without Jake Gyllenhaal's marvelous performance as the sociopathic and murderously ambitious Lou Bloom.  It is now official; doubting that Gyllenhaal is a supremely talented and skilled actor is no longer okay.  I must also throw some cheer Rene Russo's way.  Hell, yeah, she's good, but Hollywood industry ageism now keeps her away from audiences.  She takes a throwaway character like Nina and makes her crucial to the execution of the narrative.  Also, I must not forget Riz Ahmed.  As Rick, Bloom's desperate-for-money assistant, Ahmed delivers a star-turn that just comes out of nowhere.

It might be easy to focus on Louis Bloom's sociopathic tendencies; one might call him an outright sociopath.  However, I think Nightcrawler speaks to the world that creates the Lou Blooms.  The world of L.A. local television news is little better than rogue capitalism.  The movie is rife with characters that are me-first and win-at-all-costs, to say nothing of the anal obsession with acknowledging achievement that comes from literally walking over dead bodies.

Nightcrawler is not perfect; some of it seems a bit far-fetched.  Louis Bloom gets away with things that stretch credulity, although I won't be specific in order to avoid spoilers.  Still, I was destined to like Nightcrawler because I like neo-Noir set in Los Angeles.  I think that what makes Nightcrawler so fascinating to watch are the things that sometimes make it hard to watch.  Dan Gilroy's gem is blunt about a morally bankrupt society in which class status is everything and in which society treats actual people as nothing more than commodities.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, February 6, 2016


NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Dan Gilroy)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  4 nominations: “Best Leading Actor” (Jake Gyllenhaal), “Best Supporting Actress” (Rene Russo), “Best Editing” (John Gilroy), and “Best Original Screenplay” (Dan Gilroy)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jake Gyllenhaal)


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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2016 Grammy Award Winners - Complete List; Kendrick Lamar Leads with 5 Wins

The Grammy Awards (or Grammys) are given out by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States. The Grammy is an accolade that recognizes outstanding achievement in the music industry. It is the music industry equivalent to the Academy Awards for film, the Emmy Awards for television, and the Tony Award for stage.

The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards were held on Monday, February 15, 2016, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.  The ceremony was broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).  The 58th Annual Grammy Awards recognized the best musical (and some spoken word and video) recordings, compositions, and artists for the eligibility year that began on October 1, 2014 and ended on September 30, 2015.

2016 / 58th Grammy Award winners:

Record of the Year
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson, featuring Bruno Mars

Album of the Year
“1989,” Taylor Swift

Song of the Year
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran)

New Artist
Meghan Trainor

Pop Solo Performance
“Thinking Out Loud,” Ed Sheeran

Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson, featuring Bruno Mars

Traditional Pop Vocal Album
“The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern,” Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap

Pop Vocal Album
“1989,” Taylor Swift

Dance Recording
“Where Are Ü Now,” Skrillex and Diplo With Justin Bieber

Dance/Electronic Album
“Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü,” Skrillex and Diplo

Contemporary Instrumental Album
“Sylva,” Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest

Metal Performance
“Ghost,” Cirice

Rock Performance
“Don’t Wanna Fight,” Alabama Shakes

Rock Song
“Don’t Wanna Fight,” Alabama Shakes (Alabama Shakes)

Rock Album
“Drones,” Muse

Alternative Music Album
“Sound & Color,” Alabama Shakes

R&B Performance
“Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey),” the Weeknd

Traditional R&B Performance
“Little Ghetto Boy,” Lalah Hathaway

R&B Song
“Really Love,” D’Angelo & Kendra Foster (D’Angelo and The Vanguard)

Urban Contemporary Album
“Beauty Behind the Madness,” The Weeknd

R&B Album
“Black Messiah,” D’Angelo and the Vanguard

Rap Performance
“Alright,” Kendrick Lamar

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“These Walls,” Kendrick Lamar, featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat

Best Rap Song
“Alright,” Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears and Pharrell Williams (Kendrick Lamar)

Rap Album
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” Kendrick Lamar

Country Solo Performance
“Traveller,” Chris Stapleton

Country Duo/Group Performance
“Girl Crush,” Little Big Town

Country Song
“Girl Crush,” Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose (Little Big Town)

Country Album
“Traveller,” Chris Stapleton

New Age Album
“Grace,” Paul Avgerinos

Improvised Jazz Solo
“Cherokee,” Christian McBride

Jazz Vocal Album
“For One to Love,” Cécile McLorin Salvant

Jazz Instrumental Album
“Past Present,” John Scofield

Large Jazz Ensemble Album
“The Thompson Fields,” Maria Schneider Orchestra

Latin Jazz Album
“Made in Brazil,” Eliane Elias

Gospel Performance/Song
“Wanna Be Happy?,” Kirk Franklin (Kirk Franklin)

Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“Holy Spirit,” Francesca Battistelli (Francesca Battistelli)

Gospel Album
Israel and Newbreed, Covered: Alive Is Asia” [Live] (Deluxe)

Contemporary Christian Music Album
“This Is Not a Test,” Tobymac

Roots Gospel Album
“Still Rockin’ My Soul,” The Fairfield Four

Latin Pop Album
“A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition),” Ricky Martin

Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album TIE
“Hasta La Raíz,” Natalia Lafourcade
“Dale,” Pitbull

Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
“Realidades — Deluxe Edition,” Los Tigres Del Norte

Tropical Latin Album
“Son De Panamá,” Rubén Blades With Roberto Delgado and Orchestra

American Roots Performance
“See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” Mavis Staples

American Roots Song
“24 Frames,” Jason Isbell (Jason Isbell)

Americana Album
“Something More Than Free,” Jason Isbell

Bluegrass Album
“The Muscle Shoals Recordings,” The Steeldrivers

Best Blues Album
“Born to Play Guitar,” Buddy Guy

Folk Album
“Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn,” Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn

Regional Roots Music Album
“Go Go Juice,” Jon Cleary

Reggae Album
“Strictly Roots,” Morgan Heritage

World Music Album
“Sings,” Angelique Kidjo

Children’s Album
“Home,” Tim Kubart

Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling)
“A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety,” Jimmy Carter

Comedy Album
“Live at Madison Square Garden,” Louis C.K.

Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” Julian Raymond, compilation producer

Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
“Birdman,” Antonio Sanchez, composer

Song for Visual Media
“Glory,” from “Selma,” Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith and John Stephens (Common & John Legend)

Musical Theater Album
“Hamilton”

Instrumental Composition
“The Afro Latin Jazz Suite,” Arturo O’Farrill (Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, featuring Rudresh Mahanthappa)

Arrangement, Instrumental or a Cappella
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” Ben Bram, Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado and Kevin Olusola (Pentatonix)

Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
“Sue (Or in a Season of Crime),” Maria Schneider (David Bowie)

Recording Package
“Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys,” Sarah Dodds, Shauna Dodds and Dick Reeves, art directors (Asleep at the Wheel)

Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package
“The Rise & Fall Of Paramount Records, Volume Two (1928-32),” Susan Archie, Dean Blackwood and Jack White, art directors (Various Artists)

Album Notes
“Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, a Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced,” Joni Mitchell (Joni Mitchell)

Historical Album
“The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11,” Steve Berkowitz, Jan Haust and Jeff Rosen, compilation producers; Peter J. Moore & Mark Wilder, mastering engineers (Bob Dylan and the Band)

Engineered Album, Non-Classical
“Sound & Color,” Shawn Everett, engineer; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Alabama Shakes)

Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
“Uptown Funk (Dave Audé Remix),” Dave Audé, (Mark Ronson, featuring Bruno Mars)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
Jeff Bhasker

Surround Sound Album
“Amused To Death,” James Guthrie, surround mix engineer; James Guthrie and Joel Plante, surround mastering engineers; James Guthrie, surround producer (Roger Waters)

Engineered Album, Classical
“Ask Your Mama,” Leslie Ann Jones, John Kilgore, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Justin Merrill, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (George Manahan and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra)

Producer of the Year, Classical
Judith Sherman

Orchestral Performance
“Shostakovich: Under Stalin’s Shadow — Symphony No. 10,” Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

Opera Recording
“Ravel: L’Enfant Et Les Sortilèges; Shéhérazade,” Seiji Ozawa, conductor; Isabel Leonard; Dominic Fyfe, producer (Saito Kinen Orchestra; SKF Matsumoto Chorus and SKF Matsumoto Children’s Chorus)

Choral Performance
“Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil,” Charles Bruffy, conductor (Paul Davidson, Frank Fleschner, Toby Vaughn Kidd, Bryan Pinkall, Julia Scozzafava, Bryan Taylor & Joseph Warner; Kansas City Chorale & Phoenix Chorale)

Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
“Filament,” Eighth Blackbird

Classical Instrumental Solo
“Dutilleux: Violin Concerto, L’Arbre Des Songes,” Augustin Hadelich; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)

Classical Solo Vocal Album
“Joyce & Tony — Live From Wigmore Hall,” Joyce DiDonato; Antonio Pappano, accompanist

Classical Compendium
“Paulus: Three Places of Enlightenment; Veil of Tears & Grand Concerto,” Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer

Contemporary Classical Composition
“Paulus: Prayers & Remembrances,” Stephen Paulus, composer (Eric Holtan, True Concord Voices & Orchestra)

Music Video
“Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift, featuring Kendrick Lamar

Music Film
“Amy,” Amy Winehouse

-----------------------

2016 Grammy Award Nominations; Kendrick Lamar Leads with 11

The Grammy Awards (or Grammys) are given out by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States. The Grammy is an accolade that recognizes outstanding achievement in the music industry. It is the music industry equivalent to the Academy Awards for film, the Emmy Awards for television, and the Tony Award for stage.

The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on Monday, February 15, 2016, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.  The ceremony will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

The 58th Annual Grammy Awards are recognizing the best musical (and some spoken word and video) recordings, compositions, and artists for the eligibility year that began on October 1, 2014 and ended on September 30, 2015.  There will be a “pre-telecast” ceremony, officially known as the “Premiere Ceremony,” in which the awards for most of the categories will be presented.  That will be held at the Microsoft Theater, which is near the Staples Center.

Below, I have included the nominees in select categories.

2016 / 58th Grammy Award nominees:

GENERAL FIELD

Album Of The Year:
Sound & Color — Alabama Shakes
To Pimp A Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar
Traveller — Chris Stapleton
1989 — Taylor Swift
Beauty Behind The Madness — The Weeknd

Record Of The Year:
“Really Love” — D’Angelo And The Vanguard
“Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
“Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran
“Blank Space” — Taylor Swift
“Can’t Feel My Face” — The Weeknd

Song Of The Year:

• “Alright” — Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)
• “Blank Space” — Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
• “Girl Crush” — Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose, songwriters (Little Big Town)
• “See You Again” — Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth)
• “Thinking Out Loud” — Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge, songwriters (Ed Sheeran)

Best New Artist:
Courtney Barnett
James Bay
Sam Hunt
Tori Kelly
Meghan Trainor

POP FIELD

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Ship To Wreck” — Florence + The Machine
“Sugar” — Maroon 5
“Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars
“Bad Blood” — Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“See You Again” — Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth

DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC FIELD

Best Dance Recording:
“We’re All We Need” — Above & Beyond Featuring Zoë Johnston
“Go” — The Chemical Brothers
“Never Catch Me” — Flying Lotus Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Runaway (U & I)” — Galantis
“Where Are Ü Now” — Skrillex And Diplo With Justin Bieber

ROCK FIELD

Best Rock Performance:
“Don’t Wanna Fight” — Alabama Shakes
“What Kind Of Man” — Florence + The Machine
“Something From Nothing” — Foo Fighters
“Ex’s & Oh’s” — Elle King
“Moaning Lisa Smile” — Wolf Alice

ALTERNATIVE FIELD

Best Alternative Music Album:
Sound & Color — Alabama Shakes
Vulnicura — Björk
The Waterfall — My Morning Jacket
Currents — Tame Impala
Star Wars — Wilco

R&B FIELD

Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Ego Death — The Internet
You Should Be Here — Kehlani
Blood — Lianne La Havas
Wildheart — Miguel
Beauty Behind The Madness — The Weeknd

RAP FIELD

Best Rap Performance
"Apparently" – J. Cole
"Back to Back" – Drake
"Trap Queen" – Fetty Wap
"Alright" – Kendrick Lamar
"Truffle Butter" – Nicki Minaj featuring Drake & Lil Wayne
"All Day" – Kanye West featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"One Man Can Change The World" – Big Sean featuring Kanye West & John Legend
"Glory" – Common & John Legend
"Classic Man" – Jidenna featuring Roman GianArthur
"These Walls" – Kendrick Lamar featuring Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat
"Only" – Nicki Minaj featuring Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown

Best Rap Song
"All Day"
        Ernest Brown, Tyler Bryant, Sean Combs, Mike Dean, Rennard East, Noah Goldstein, Malik Yusef Jones, Karim Kharbouch, Allan Kyariga, Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Victor Mensah, Charles Njapa, Che Pope, Patrick Reynolds, Allen Ritter, Kanye West, Mario Winans & Cydel Young, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney)

"Alright"
        Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar)

"Energy"
        Richard Dorfmeister, A. Graham, Markus Kienzl, M. O'Brien, M. Samuels & Phillip Thomas, songwriters (Drake)

"Glory"
        Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens, songwriters (Common & John Legend)

"Trap Queen"
Tony Fadd & Willie J. Maxwell, songwriters (Fetty Wap)

Best Rap Album:
2014 Forest Hills Drive — J. Cole
Compton — Dr. Dre
If Youre Reading This Its Too Late — Drake
To Pimp A Butterfly — Kendrick Lamar
The Pinkprint — Nicki Minaj

COUNTRY FIELD

Best Country Album:
Montevallo — Sam Hunt
Pain Killer — Little Big Town
The Blade — Ashley Monroe
Pageant Material — Kacey Musgraves
Traveller — Chris Stapleton

JAZZ FIELD

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:
My Favorite Things — Joey Alexander
Breathless — Terence Blanchard Featuring The E-Collective
Covered: Recorded Live At Capitol Studios — Robert Glasper & The Robert Glasper Trio
Beautiful Life — Jimmy Greene
Past Present — John Scofield

GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FIELD

Best Gospel Album:
Destined To Win (Live) — Karen Clark Sheard
Living It — Dorinda Clark-Cole
One Place Live — Tasha Cobbs
Covered: Alive Is Asia [Live] (Deluxe) — Israel & Newbreed
Life Music: Stage Two — Jonathan McReynolds

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:
Whatever The Road — Jason Crabb
How Can It Be — Lauren Daigle
Saints And Sinners — Matt Maher
This Is Not A Test — Tobymac
Love Ran Red — Chris Tomlin

LATIN FIELD

Best Latin Pop Album:
Terral — Pablo Alborán
Healer — Alex Cuba
A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition) — Ricky Martin
Sirope — Alejandro Sanz
Algo Sucede — Julieta Venegas

AMERICAN ROOTS FIELD

Best Americana Album:
The Firewatcher’s Daughter — Brandi Carlile
The Traveling Kind — Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Something More Than Free — Jason Isbell
Mono — The Mavericks
The Phosphorescent Blues — Punch Brothers

SPOKEN WORD FIELD

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
Blood On Snow (Jo Nesbø) — Patti Smith
Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, And Assorted Hijinks — Dick Cavett
A Full Life: Reflections At Ninety — Jimmy Carter
Patience And Sarah (Isabel Miller) — Janis Ian & Jean Smart
Yes Please — Amy Poehler (& Various Artists)

PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL FIELD

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:
Jeff Bhasker
Dave Cobb
Diplo
Larry Klein
Blake Mills

MUSIC VIDEO/FILM

Best Music Film:
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown — James Brown
Sonic Highways — Foo Fighters
What Happened, Miss Simone? — Nina Simone
The Wall — Roger Waters
Amy — Amy Winehouse

Music for Visual Media

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Empire: Season 1 – various artists
Fifty Shades Of Grey – various artists
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me – various artists
Pitch Perfect 2 – various artists
Selma – various artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Birdman - Antonio Sánchez, composer
The Imitation Game - Alexandre Desplat, composer
Interstellar - Hans Zimmer, composer
The Theory of Everything - Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
Whiplash - Justin Hurwitz, composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media

•     "Earned It" (from Fifty Shades of Grey) – Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Stephan Moccio & Abel Tesfaye, songwriters (The Weeknd)
•     "Glory" (from Selma) – Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens, songwriters (Common & John Legend)
•     "Love Me like You Do" (from Fifty Shades of Grey) – Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Tove Nilsson, Ali Payami, & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters (Ellie Goulding)
•     "See You Again" (from Furious 7) – Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz, songwriters (Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth)
• "Til It Happens to You" (from The Hunting Ground) – Lady Gaga & Diane Warren, songwriters (Lady Gaga)

------------------------------

Review: "Da Sweet Blood of Jesus" is Strange and Beautiful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review originally appeared on Patreon.]

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for brief violence, language and a disturbing situation
DIRECTOR: Spike Lee
WRITERS: Spike Lee and Bill Gunn
PRODUCERS: Spike Lee and Chiz Schultz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daniel Patterson
EDITOR: Randy Wilkins
COMPOSERS: Bruce Hornsby

FANTASY with elements of drama and romance

Starring:  Stephen Tyrone Williams, Zaraah Abrahams, Rami Malek, Elvis Nolasco, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Joie Lee, Felicia “Snoop” Pearson, Katherine Borowitz, Donna Dixon, Cinqué Lee, Jeni Perillo, Chiz Schultz, and Naté Bova

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is a 2014 African-American vampire drama and romance from director Spike Lee.  Lee financed the film using the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter.  A number of fellow filmmakers and celebrities gave money to Lee's crowdfunding campaign, and each of their contributions was large enough ($10,000, I think) to earn a film credit as an “associate producer.”  Some these associate producers include Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh; owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban; NBA star, Joakim Noah; and CNN's Soledad O'Brien, among others.  The film was released to select theaters and VOD (video-on-demand) by Gravitas Ventures.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is an unofficial remake and homage to Bill Gunn's 1973 film, Ganja and Hess.  Lee's film focuses on a wealthy anthropologist who becomes a vampire after being stabbed to death with an ancient African dagger.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus introduces Dr. Hess Greene (Stephen Tyrone Williams), a wealthy, young African-American anthropologist.  A collector of African art and artifacts, Hess has recently acquired a mysterious dagger originating in the ancient Ashanti Empire.  Hess shares his find with Lafayette Hightower (Elvis Nolasco), a colleague from the Museum of the Republic of Brooklyn.

After a brutal confrontation, Hess discovers that his body is invulnerable to physical harm, and that he also has an insatiable need for blood.  However, the manner in which he must satisfy his thirst is complicated and messy.  When Hightower's estranged wife, Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams), comes looking for her husband, Hess believes that he has found someone with whom to share his new life.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is a strange, melancholy film with wild shifts in mood.  One might even call it bipolar.  Even when one considers the oddities that are sprinkled throughout Spike Lee's filmography (Bamboozled and She Hate Me – to name a few), Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is the oddest.  Still, I found this movie quite watchable, in a weird way; it was as if I could not stop following this film's nonsensical narrative.  I think watching Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is like being ensnared by the alluring gaze of a vampire.

Lee sometimes has a problem unifying the messages and themes he presents in his films in a way that forms a coherent whole.  Lee has described this film as being about humans that are addicted to love and as being a new kind of love story.  Da Sweet Blood of Jesus offers themes of addiction, of HIV/AIDS, and of violence against women.  At one point in the film, Hess tells Ganja that people can be addicted to anything.  However, Hess' vampirism seems like a metaphor for addiction to crack, and his violence acts of women spread his affliction as if were spreading HIV/AIDS.

On the other hand, maybe Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is mostly Lee's tribute to the late Bill Gunn and his film, Ganja and Hess.  I have not seen that movie (and don't plan to), but Lee reportedly reproduces certain sections of the 1973 film shot-for-shot in Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.  If this is true, it would be fitting.  The misunderstood Spike Lee toasting another, perhaps misunderstood filmmaker.

Whatever the case, this unconventional, stubborn, obtuse movie impressed me.  I am always looking for a fresh take on vampires, and this detached, but gruesome, not-quite-a-fantasy film is bloody refreshing.  Also, fans of Lee's film, Red Hook Summer, will find that it is connected to Da Sweet Blood of Jesus via the Lil’ Peace of Heaven Church.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus has a lovely piano score by Bruce Hornsby and an invigorating and imaginative soundtrack featuring songs mostly performed by recording artists who are unsigned to major record labels or by music corporations.  One can enjoy this film's opening credit sequence in which dancer, Charles “Lil Buck” Riley, dances to the opening strains of Hornsby's lovely score.  The use of music in Da Sweet Blood of Jesus is indeed sweet.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, October 21, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: Gripping "Selma" is History Unfarnished

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review originally appeared on Patreon.]

Selma (2014)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Ava DuVernay
WRITER:  Paul Webb
PRODUCERS:  Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Oprah Winfrey
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bradford Young
EDITOR:  Spencer Averick
COMPOSER:  Jason Moran
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORY

Starring:  David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Giovanni Ribisi, Andre Holland, Stephan James, Wendell Pierce, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Colman Domingo, Omar Dorsey, Tessa Thompson, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, Lakeith Stanfield, Henry G. Sanders, Charity Jordan, Trai Beyers, Dylan Baker, Stephen Root, Niecy Nash, E. Roger Mitchell, Tim Roth, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alessandro Nivola, Michael Shikany, Brandon O'Dell, Nigel Thatch, and Oprah Winfrey

Selma is a 2014 historical drama from director Ava DuVernay.  Written by Paul Webb, the film chronicles the 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches and its leaders:  Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bevel, Hosea Williams, and John Lewis.  Brad Pitt is one of this film's executive producers.

Selma opens in 1964.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) accepts his Nobel Peace Prize.  King believes that after the passage of the “Civil Rights Act of 1964” (which outlawed discrimination), the next big effort for civil rights should be to secure voting rights for Black Americans, especially in the South.  He and the SCLC decide that the campaign to secure equal voting rights will be highlighted with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.

However, several forces gather to stop the march.  President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) wants Dr. King to hold off on seeking voting rights until after Johnson can push through his “War of Poverty” program.  Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) wants to bring an end to Civil Rights activism in his state, and decides to use force, including state police and local law enforcement, against marchers and protesters.

Meanwhile, Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo), Dr. King's wife, is concerned for her husband's safety and for the disruption to their marriage and danger to his family caused by his work.  Younger Black activists, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), are not happy with Dr. King and the SCLC's methods.  Worst of all, dark forces are gathering to keep the marchers from crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge, which will keep them from leaving Selma.

Like many Civil Rights films, documentaries, and television movies, Selma is an epic, but not by being grand.  Director Ava DuVernay composes the film as an intimate tale that closes in on its subjects.  Selma is not about the struggle of the Civil Rights movement at large, but about the struggle of the key players, especially Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a particular moment in time.

Now, having seen the film, I cannot understand the controversy that surrounded Selma regarding its portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Some... what can I call them... fans, admirers, protectors of Johnson's legacy, etc. claimed that Selma played the late President as if he were a villain and an obstacle in the Civil Rights movement.  First of all, this film is a dramatization of the events surrounding the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, and, thus, the President Johnson that appears in the film is a fictional depiction of a real person.  Secondly, the doubts, reservations, objections that the fictional Johnson expressed here are the same expressed by other characters in Selma, including characters involved in the marches.

Paul Webb's screenplay for Selma depicts nearly all of the major characters and main supporting players as having feet of clay, of being fragile and vulnerable.  They are self-interested and self-serving, often to protect what they see as right for the Civil Rights movement, but also to protect themselves and loved ones in a time that was dangerous for many, but especially for people involved in the movement, in particular for Black people, but also for some White people.

Selma is not colorful and whimsical like fellow best picture Oscar nominee, The Grand Budapest Hotel.  It is not arty and guileful like the behind-the-scenes Birdman, with its sense of familiarity for actors.  Selma is meat-and-potatoes.  DuVernay does not compose the Selma to Montgomery march as a grand, historical event, as if it were a history-changing struggle taking place on the kind of wide-open battlefield that is perfect for an epic conflict.

DuVernay closes in on the players in this movement, showing the inner workings of a social movement.  This is not the stuff seen on television, like the march itself.  This is that unseen stuff, the details that are not glamorous, and sometimes seems petty and trivial, except to those making them and living with the consequences.  This intense focus on the interior workings creates a sense of claustrophobia, but also so of dread.  Selma often seems like a thriller, because DuVernay brings the audience in so close that they might feel as if they are there.  Watching this film, I felt endangered.

The one glitch in this film, I think, is that it sometimes feels disconnected from the larger Civil Rights movement.  It is as if nothing came before the marches or would come after it.  Sometimes, Selma simply seems out of context.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., David Oyelowo gives Selma its best performance.  Oyelowo's is both an imaginative and a bold presentation of Dr. King.  In the decades since his assassination, many people have made him both a martyr and, sadly, an idol of adoration.  This worship of a false idol is dangerous because it allows people who were or would have been against Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement to appropriate him and the movement.  It is as if he is a religious figure that can be reshaped for whatever cause or ideology that needs King's moral position.  Oyelowo makes Dr. King human, fragile, and self-serving or self-interested, if not quite selfish.  Thus, when Oyelowo brings out the best of Dr. King, it seems genuine and honest, rather than expected.

I think that Selma should have been a more popular film and that it should have received more Oscar nominations than it did (two).  In the end, box office and industry accolades don't matter because Selma will stand out as one of the truer cinematic expressions of the Civil Rights movement, which was a fight for freedom and for the soul of the United States of America.

9 of 10
A+

Friday, September 25, 2015

NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Common as Lonnie Lynn and John Legend as John Stephens for the song “Glory”); 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (John Legend and Common for the song, “Glory”);  3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Ava DuVernay), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (David Oyelowo)

2015 Black Reel Awards:  8 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Christian Colson), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (David Oyelowo), “Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture” (Wendell Pierce), “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Carmen Ejogo), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture? (Ava DuVernay), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Aisha Coley), “Outstanding Score” (Jason Moran), and “Outstanding Original Song” (John Legend as performer, writer and Common as performer, writer, and Rhymefest as writer for the song, “Glory”); 2 nominations: “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (André Holland) and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (Stephan James)

2015 Image Awards:  4 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (David Oyelowo), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Common), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Carmen Ejogo); 4 nominations: “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (André Holland), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Wendell Pierce), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Oprah Winfrey), and “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Ava DuVernay)


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Beck's "Morning Phase" is "Album of the Year" at 57th Grammys

[The nominations for the 58th Grammys were announced this morning, Monday, December 7, 2015.  It made me remember that I forgot to post the winners from the 57th Grammys.  What follows is a list of winners from select categories.]

The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards were held on "GRAMMY Sunday," February 8, 2015, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

2015 / 57th Grammy Award winners:

GENERAL FIELD

Album Of The Year:
Morning Phase — Beck

Record Of The Year:
"Stay With Me" (Darkchild Version) — Sam Smith

Song Of The Year:
"Stay With Me" (Darkchild Version) — James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith, songwriters (Sam Smith)

Best New Artist:
Sam Smith

POP FIELD

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
"Say Something" — A Great Big World With Christina Aguilera

DANCE/ELECTRONIC MUSIC FIELD

Best Dance Recording:
"Rather Be" — Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne

ROCK FIELD

Best Rock Performance:
"Lazaretto"— Jack White

ALTERNATIVE FIELD

Best Alternative Music Album:
St. Vincent — St. Vincent

R&B FIELD

Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Girl — Pharrell Williams

RAP FIELD

Best Rap Performance:
"I" — Kendrick Lamar

Best Rap Album:
The Marshall Mathers LP2 — Eminem

COUNTRY FIELD

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
"Gentle On My Mind" — The Band Perry

Best Country Album:
Platinum — Miranda Lambert

JAZZ FIELD

Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
"Fingerprints" — Chick Corea, soloist

GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FIELD

Best Gospel Album:
Help — Erica Campbell

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:
Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. — For King & Country

LATIN FIELD

Best Latin Pop Album:
Tangos — Rubén Blades

AMERICAN ROOTS FIELD

Best American Roots Performance:
"A Feather's Not A Bird" — Rosanne Cash

SPOKEN WORD FIELD

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
Diary Of A Mad Diva — Joan Rivers

COMEDY FIELD

Best Comedy Album:
Mandatory Fun — "Weird Al" Yankovic

Music for Visual Media

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
Frozen – various artists

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
The Grand Budapest Hotel: Original Soundtrack – Alexandre Desplat, composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media
"Let It Go" (from Frozen) – Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters (Idina Menzel)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical: Max Martin.

This year's GRAMMY Awards process registered more than 20,000 submissions over a 12-month eligibility period (Oct. 1, 2013 – Sept. 30, 2014). GRAMMY ballots for the final round of voting were mailed on December 17, 2014 to The Recording Academy's voting members. Ballots were due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by January 16, 2015, when they were tabulated and the results kept secret until the 57th GRAMMY Awards telecast.

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, like "The GRAMMYs" on Facebook, and join The GRAMMYs' social communities on Google+, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube.

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Review: As a Character Study, "Birdman" Has Wings

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review originally appeared on Patreon.]

Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)
MPAA – R for language throughout, some sexual content and brief violence
DIRECTOR:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu
WRITERS:  Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo
PRODUCERS:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, and James W. Skotchdopole
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Emmanuel Lubezki (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione
COMPOSER:  Antonio Sanchez (drum score)
Academy Award winner, including “Best Picture”

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifanakis, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough, and Amy Ryan with Lindsay Duncan

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a 2014 drama and black comedy film from director Alejandro G. Iñárritu.  The film focuses on a Hollywood actor, who once starred in a series of popular superhero movies, as he tries to forge a comeback with a Broadway play.  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), commonly known as Birdman, won four Oscars, including “Best Picture,” at the 87th Academy Awards (February 22, 2015).

Birdman introduces Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton).  He is a washed-up Hollywood actor and former movie star best known for playing the iconic superhero, Birdman, two decades ago in a series of blockbuster films.  Riggan hopes to reinvent his career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.  Riggan's play is a loosely based adaptation of “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” a short story written by the late Raymond Carver (and first published in the former literary journal, Antaeus, in 1981).

Unfortunately, Riggan's play is beset by complications.  The play is produced by Riggan's best friend and lawyer, Jake (Zach Galifanakis), who is very demanding and high-strung.  The film's two actresses are Riggan's girlfriend, Laura (Andrea Riseborough), who claims to be pregnant, and a first-time Broadway actress, Lesley (Naomi Watts), who has a worried mind.  Riggan's daughter, Samantha (Emma Stone), a recovering addict, serves as her father's assistant.  The other male actor in the play is Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), a brilliant actor who is also volatile, disruptive, and attention-seeking.  The biggest complication, however, is the spirit of Birdman, which haunts Riggan with a mocking, critical voice, and that voice wants another Birdman movie.

Taking what the movie gives us, which is a little over one hour and fifty minutes of film narrative, Birdman is an extraordinary character study about the life of a struggling actor in a particular moment in time.  This moment in time is a two-week period, of which we only observe in select pieces.  People who watch this movie have to take Riggan at face value because the film is vague about whatever happened to Riggan's life prior to the two-week period that it depicts.

This situation helps to make Birdman ambiguous, and I think the director and his co-writers wanted their film to have many ambiguities.  Is this film a true black comedy?  Is it a drama about domestic and professional failures?  Is it real, or surreal, or both (when considering Riggan's powers)?  Is the last act and the ending a resolution via rebirth or by closure?  Birdman is a complex, different and fascinating work of cinema.

Considering its subject matter, that of a failed movie star in the tailspin of a midlife crisis, it is fairly obvious why the film was so attractive to so many Oscar voters.  How many members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which votes on the Oscars, have experienced something similar to Riggan's experiences or how many know they will... eventually.  I think that this is a tremendous movie, and I can see why it won the Oscars that it did.

On the other hand, Edward Norton and Emma Stone are good in Birdman, but there is little in their work here, in terms of substance or character portrayal, that says that either one of them gave a top five performance in the respective categories for which they were nominated for Oscars.  I also find Michael Keaton a little uneven.  He is at his best when he is emoting without dialogue and when he is giving voice to Birdman.  When he tries to give voice to anger and frustration, he is over-the-top, in his now trademark manner, familiar to us who remember him as Batman and as Beetlejuice.

Many people seem to think that Keaton was perfect for the role of Riggan Thomson who played a superhero at the height of his career and fame in Hollywood because Keaton played the title role in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) at the height of his film career.  Keaton's career seemed to diminish after Batman, gradually though, until he had seemingly disappeared from Hollywood films.  The truth is Keaton is a good actor whose full talent has rarely been utilized.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) gives him a chance, and there are moments in which Keaton shines.  This film is unique and has many moments of brilliance, in which Alejandro G. Iñárritu shows us that cinematic magic is indeed real.  Birdman has it, revealing that drama need not be tied to the ground nor to be framed in notions of stiff realism.  Birdman has a sense of wonder and of curiosity, believing that it is as exciting to explore a man's life as it is to explore a faraway magical kingdom or an island full of dinosaurs.

9 of 10
A+

Tuesday, September 15, 2015


NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  4 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Alejandro González Iñárritu), “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo), and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki); 5 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Michael Keaton), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Edward Norton), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Emma Stone), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and Thomas Varga) and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Aaron Glascock and Martín Hernández)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Michael Keaton) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo); 5 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Alejandro González Iñárritu), “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Emma Stone), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Edward Norton) and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Antonio Sanchez)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  1 win “Best Cinematography” (Emmanuel Lubezki); 9 nominations: “Best Film” (Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole), “Best Leading Actor” (Michael Keaton), “Best Supporting Actor” (Edward Norton), “Best Supporting Actress” (Emma Stone), “Best Editing” (Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione), “Best Original Music” (Antonio Sanchez), “Best Sound” (Thomas Varga, Martín Hernández, Aaron Glascock, Jon Taylor, and Frank A. Montaño), “Best Original Screenplay” (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, and Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Alejandro González Iñárritu)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Citizenfour" Records the Revolution

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of the review first appeared on Patreon.]

Citizenfour (2014)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR:  Laura Poitras
PRODUCERS:  Mathilde Bonnefoy, Laura Poitras, and Dirk Wilutzky
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kirsten Johnson, Trevor Paglen, Laura Poitras, and Katy Scoggin
EDITOR:  Mathilde Bonnefoy
Academy Award winner

DOCUMENTARY – Politics, Society

Starring:  Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Ewan MacAskill, Jeremy Scahill, Jonathan Man, and Julian Assange with Laura Poitras and Barack Obama (archive)

Citizenfour (stylized as CITIZENFOUR) is a 2014 documentary film from director Laura Poitras.  The film focuses on Edward Snowden, who provided the information that revealed the illegal wiretapping of American citizens' communications by American intelligence agencies.  Citizenfour won the Oscar for “Best Documentary Feature” at the 87th Academy Awards (February 22, 2015).  Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh, is one of this film's executive producers.

Citizenfour's narrative begins in January 2013 when documentarian Laura Poitras receives an encrypted email from an unknown person who calls himself “Citizenfour.”  He offers her inside information about the illegal wiretapping practices of the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies.  The NSA was recording and observing the phone calls of American citizens beyond the scope of what the U.S. Congress had authorized.

In June 2013, accompanied by investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald and The Guardian intelligence reporter, Ewen MacAskill, Poitras travels to Hong Kong for the first meeting with Citizenfour, who identifies himself as Edward Snowden.  Edward Joseph Snowden works for the CIA via his employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, a job that gives him access to highly sensitive and classified information about the wiretapping practices of the NSA, both in the U.S. and abroad.

On Monday, June 3, 2013, Poitras uses her camera to begin filming what would be a four-day interview, in which Snowden reveals to Greenwald and MacAskill the details of domestic surveillance of American citizens.  When Snowden's information becomes “breaking news” around the world, however, none of the participants in this interview feel safe in The Mira, the Hong Kong hotel where Snowden is staying.

Although it chronicles a momentous time in American history, Citizenfour is strangely quiet, even intimate.  This movie is not an all-encompassing survey of domestic surveillance and spying; it is the story of the first quiet days and then, frantic weeks when Snowden whispered the sour nothings that fully revealed the deceitful face of the American government.  It is as if Snowden, Poitras, and Greenwald said to us that we, the people of the United States, should finally, finally and really pay attention to that man behind the curtain.

Even if one is familiar with Edward Snowden and the furious sound of his whistle-blowing, Citizenfour still feels shocking.  Perhaps, this is because Poitras is recording the revelations and the resulting media and political fallout in real time.  This immediacy makes paranoia seem like a more than sensible and reasonable state of mind for any American and even for the rest of the world.

Citizenfour is one of the best films of the year (2014), and it is probably the most important film of the year.  Poitras proves that the documentary and the non-fiction film narrative are more important than ever.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win “Best Documentary, Feature” (Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, and Dirk Wilutzky)

2015 BAFTA Awards:  1 win “Best Documentary” (Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, and Dirk Wilutzky)

Monday, September 7, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.