TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Drama

Showing posts with label Drama. Show all posts

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Review: "OPPENHEIMER" Runs on the Atomic Power of Its Cast

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2025 (No. 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Oppenheimer (2023)

Running time: 180 minutes (3 hours)

MPA – R for some sexuality, nudity and language

DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan

WRITER: Christopher Nolan (based on the book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin)

PRODUCERS: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Hoyte Van Hoytema (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Jennifer Lame

COMPOSER: Ludwig Goransson

Academy Award Best Picture winner

DRAMA/BIOPIC/HISTORICAL

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tony Goldwyn, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Conti, Josh Hartnett, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Casey Affleck, James Remar, Rami Malek, and Gary Oldman

Oppenheimer is a 2023 biographical drama and historical film from director Christopher Nolan. The film is based on the 2005 biography, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The film is a fictional depiction and dramatization of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. In Oppenheimer the movie, the most famous man in America looks back on his life as he faces a hearing to determine the fate of his security clearance.

Oppenheimer opens with two important events. In 1954, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the man who is sometimes known as “the father of the atomic bomb,” is facing a private security hearing before a Personnel Security Board. The hearing is in regards to the renewal of Oppenheimer's “Q clearance” with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which gives the holder access to “top secret restricted data.” During the hearing, Oppenheimer's loyalty to the United States is questioned and his past affiliation with and ties to communist friends and associates are raised. Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt), wants Robert to fight such charges more aggressively, but he seems to be concerned about the potential of collateral damage to friends and allies.

Springing forward several years: it is 1959, and Rear Admiral Levi Strauss (Robert Downey, Jr.) is facing a confirmation hearing concerning his nomination to the cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Strauss desperately wants that cabinet position, but his past activities regarding J. Robert Oppenheimer are coming back to complicate matters.

Meanwhile, the film goes back to Oppenheimer's early days as a student overseas in England and Germany and moves to his teaching job at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he meets communists, marries Kitty, and has an intermittent affair with the troubled Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). Eventually U.S. Army Colonel Leslie Groves (Matt Damon), the director of the Manhattan Project, recruits Oppenheimer to be the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. There, he will lead a team that is part of a nationwide effort to develop an atomic bomb during World War II before Nazi Germany does. Along the way Oppenheimer makes friends and also makes friends into enemies – all of which will come back to haunt him.

I decided that since tonight (as of this writing) is the ceremony for the 2025 / 97th Academy Awards (March 2, 2025), it is a good time to finally write a review of Oppenheimer, the winner of the “Best Motion Picture of the Year” Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards. I had been putting it off, and, at one point, decided against seeing it. Not long into watching Oppenheimer, I was reminded of director Terrance Malick's 2011 film, The Tree of Life. Like Malick's film, Oppenheimer features a non-linear narrative, and director Christopher Nolan largely succeeds in using the non-linear form to make Oppenheimer a thoroughly engaging film. At times, I think one could call this film a thriller as much as one might call it a drama, historical, or biographical film. I think what really makes this film work is the large number of excellent performances given by Oppenheimer's cast, but the two that stand out are Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Robert Downey, Jr. as Levi Strauss. They both deserved their respective Oscar wins – “Best Actor” for Murphy and “Best Supporting Actor” for Downey.

Like many of the lead characters in Nolan's films, J. Robert Oppenheimer takes on the forces of nature, which includes mankind and its activities. Oppenheimer, also like many of Nolan's heroes, pays a heavy price, and I am convinced because Cillian Murphy, in a career best performance, sells me on the idea that he is a J. Robert Oppenheimer in a constant state of conflict and struggle. Murphy's performance is not so much a tour-de-force as it is the portrayal of the tour-de-force life and times of Oppenheimer. Murphy doesn't impersonate Oppenheimer; he summons a manifestation of the man that brings him to life in a dramatic performance.

As Levi Strauss, Robert Downey Jr. offers an insecure man seemingly made insecure by each subsequent success in his journey of social climbing. It is as if he cannot achieve any victory without attaching to it a perceived slight. Downey performance and Nolan's screenwriting make me wonder why there couldn't be a Levi Strauss biographical film that is also quite engaging.

Christopher Nolan also gets superb production values and creative assistance from his collaborators. The sound, the cinematography, the costumes, the hair and make-up, the visual effects, and Ludwig Goransson supernatural score help Nolan bring this film to the finish line of excellence and of movie award season triumph. It certainly does not feel like a three-hour film, and it nearly has that much narrative because the end credits are short. Oppenheimer is not only superb cinema, but it is also a highly entertaining film that would make for a good movie night or two.

9 of 10

A+

Sunday, March 2, 2025

NOTES:

2024 Academy Awards, USA: 7 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Jennifer Lame), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Score” (Ludwig Goransson); 6 nominations: “Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling” (Luisa Abel), “Best Sound” (Willie D. Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo, and Kevin O'Connell), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Emily Blunt), “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Ruth De Jong-production designer and Claire Kaufman-set decorator), and “Best Achievement in Costume Design: (Ellen Mirojnick)

2024 BAFTA Awards: 7 wins: “Best Film” (Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas); “Best Director” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Leading Actor” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Supporting Actor” (Robert Downey Jr.), “Best Cinematography” (Hoyte Van Hoytema), “Best Editing” (Jennifer Lame), “Original Score” (Ludwig Göransson); 6 nominations: “Best Screenplay-Adapted” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Supporting Actress” (Emily Blunt), “Best Costume Design” (Ellen Mirojnick), “Best Make Up & Hair” (Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, and Ahou Mofid), “Best Production Design” (Claire Kaufman and Ruth De Jong), “Best Sound” (Richard King, Kevin O'Connell, Gary A. Rizzo, and Willie D. Burton)

2024 Golden Globes, USA: 5 wins: “Best Motion Picture, Drama,” “Best Director, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan), “Best Original Score, Motion Picture” (Ludwig Göransson), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama” (Cillian Murphy), “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Robert Downey Jr.); 3 nominations: “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture” (Christopher Nolan) and “Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture” (Emily Blunt), and “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement”

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Monday, February 3, 2025

Review: Christian Film, "PARALLEL - THE TRIAD," Keeps it Real

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 of 2025 (No. 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

Parallel – The Triad (2024)

Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)

MPA – no rated

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jason Aleman

PRODUCER: Jason Aleman

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Mike Wilson

EDITOR: Jason Aleman

COMPOSER: Robin Hannibal

FAITH/SCI-FI/DRAMA

Starring: Chad Garrett, Lizzie Camp, Terry Weaver, Marley Aleman, Troy Garza, Sharen Andrea White, Liam Robert Noack, Josh Thigpen, Marcus Luttrell, V.R. Norbert Maduzia, Michael T. Adams, Kieth Noack, and Jason Aleman

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Parallel – The Triad is a faith-based film with some intriguing science fiction ideas about the war between good and evil

The film is far from perfect and is clunky at times, but its message and motivations seem genuine.

Parallel – The Triad is 2024 Christian science fiction film and faith-based drama from director Jason Aleman. The film follows a mechanic who joins three souls sent to Earth by God to fulfill His plan.

Parallel – The Triad introduces Cyrus Dooley (Chad Garrett), a hot-rod mechanic and automobile restoration expert. Cyrus has been grieving the loss of his father nearly a year earlier in an accident for which he blames himself. So lost in his grief is Cyrus that he does not notice that one of his employees, T.J. (Lizzie Camp), has fallen under the spell of Abimelech (Terry Weaver), a scheming businessman who becomes a servant of “the evil spirits that sway humans.”

God sends three souls: Briella (Marley Aleman), Urie (Troy Garza), and Sarie (Sharen Andrea White) to Earth from “the Parallel” on a mission to fulfill His plans. That means that they have to help Cyrus after more tragedy befalls him and he continues to lose his way in life. Can “The Triad” help Cyrus understand that he must “trust God's plan?”

I certainly do not belong to any of the target audiences for Parallel – The Triad, but I discovered the film's existence via social media. Although I have reviewed a few films that depict Jesus Christ, the only faith-based, Christian drama, or evangelical film that I have reviewed to date is 2014's Son of God, a really good movie which hails from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's empire of Christian schmaltz, Lightworkers Media.

Something about Parallel – The Triad piqued my interest. Structurally, in terms of narrative and character, Parallel – The Triad has some major problems. I don't know if the dialogue is really as bad as it seems or if it is good and cast is simply not professional. The special effects are at least three decades behind current standards. The film's robotic villains, the “demon droids,” look like they were created for the original Mortal Kombat (1995) film.

However, Parallel – The Triad, for all its faults, seems genuine in what it has to say. This movie does not seem like corporate movie product meant to sell merchandise and ancillary products, as much as it sells tickets. Parallel – The Triad wants to spread the good news about God's plan and about trusting God's plan. The film does not shy away from portraying the high costs of the wages of sin and about how hard it is to get away from the “evil one” the more a person has invested in evil. I do find that the film's emphasis on technology, media, and “pharmacology” as spreaders of negative energy to be cringe-inducing, although there may be some truth to that notion.

I like “Cyrus Dooley” as the lead character; actor Chad Garrett really sells Cyrus' grief and guilt. Also, Lizzie Camp gives a tight performance as T.J., allowing her to have a nice character arc. These two characters steady the occasional rickety nature of the film's structure.

My criticisms aside, I found myself fascinated by Parallel – The Triad, and I think fans of faith-based films will find this movie's character drama to be every bit as intriguing as its sci-fi “Holy War” side. I'd like to see a sequel to Parallel – The Triad, hopefully one with a bigger VFX budget. If this concept had the CGI budget of even a small scale Hollywood film, it would rock the heavens... or the Parallel.

B-

5 of 10

★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, February 3, 2025

"Parallel - The Triad" is available for rent or purchase at Amazon Prime Video. And yes, this blog does participate in Amazon's "affiliate advertising program," so I will get paid a small fee if you click on this link and actually rent it or purchase something from Amazon.

https://www.youtube.com/@ParallelFilmsStudio

https://bsky.app/profile/parallel-films.bsky.social

https://www.facebook.com/parallel.films.studio

https://x.com/ParallelTriad

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Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Review: "STARMAN" Retains Its Charms (Celebrating John Carpenter)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Starman (1984)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR: John Carpenter

WRITERS: Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon

PRODUCER: Larry J. Franco

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald M. Morgan (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Marion Rothman

COMPOSER: Jack Nitzsche

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Phalen, and Tony Edwards

Starman is a 1984 American science fiction drama and romantic film from director John Carpenter. The original screenplay was written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, with Dean Riesner committing re-writes for which he did not received a screen credit. Although the film was not a box office success, it inspired the short-lived “Starman” television series (ABC, 1986-87). Starman the movie focuses on a young Wisconsin widow; the alien who takes the form of her late husband; and their cross-country drive to help the alien make a rendezvous with the space ship that will take him home.

Starman begins with an alien being who finds his space probe shot down by the U.S. Air Force, causing the probe to crash land in Wisconsin. A pulsating, levitating blue orb, the alien enters the home of widow, Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), where he jury-rigs or clones a body from the remains of Jenny’s late husband, Scott (Jeff Bridges). After much confusion and fear, Jenny helps the alien Scott travel to Arizona where he is to rendezvous with the mother ship in 3 days or die. Meanwhile, Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith), a SETI scientist who works for the government, and George Fox (Richard Jaeckel), a military officer, hotly pursue the peculiar pair of Scott and Jenny.

Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as an alien who crash lands on earth and assumes the form of young woman’s recently deceased husband. Starman is also in the fine tradition of road pictures that feature a mismatched couple learning about one another before discovering love. Bridges is superb as the awkward, not-quite-childlike alien visitor. He completely sells the idea that the alien is struggling to learn and to understand this world. Everything about him: the way he walks and stands, his speech pattern, the way he answers questions (or doesn’t), and the way he dresses is peculiar and calls attention to him. Having the alien Scott dress in red flannel shirt and wear a red cap makes him stand out in a film in which the photography emphasizes earth tones and the nights are murky.

Karen Allen is also good as the grieving widow; she reveals in her facial expressions the big lump of pain still in Jenny Hayden. Director John Carpenter does well to simply allow his leads to build their characters and nurture their screen chemistry so that by the end of the film, this otherworldly romance resonates.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, April 22, 2006

EDITED: Tuesday, January 14, 2025

NOTES:

1985 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Jeff Bridges)

1985 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama (Jeff Bridges) and “Best Original Score-Motion Picture” (Jack Nitzsche)

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Friday, January 10, 2025

Review: First "DEN OF THIEVES" Brought the Heat, Man

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2025 (No. 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux

Den of Thieves (2018)

Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

DIRECTOR: Christian Gudegast

WRITERS: Christian Gudegast; from a story by Christian Gudegast and Paul Scheuring

PRODUCERS: Gerard Butler, Mark Canton, Alan Siegel, and Tucker Tooley

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: David S. Cox, Joel Cox, and Nathan Godley

COMPOSER: Cliff Martinez

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackon, Jr., Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Maurice Compte, Brian Van Holt, Evan Jones, Mo McRae, Kaiwi Lyman, Dawn Olivieri, Cooper Andrews, Jermaine Rivers, and Eric Braedon

Den of Thieves is a 2018 American action thriller, crime drama, and heist film from writer-director Christian Gudegast. Den of Thieves focuses on the clash between an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a very successful bank robbery crew.

Den of Thieves opens at night and informs the viewer that Los Angeles, California is the “bank robbery capital of the world.” In the city, there are 2400 bank robberies a year; 44 per week; 9 committed every day, which comes to about 1 every 48 minutes. That same night, Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber) leads a team of fellow ex-MARSOC Marines (United States Marines Special Operations Command) to hijack an armored truck that stops at a donut shop. The ensuing shootout leaves several people dead, including one of Merrimen's crew.

Responding to the incident is Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Nick “Big Nick” O'Brien (Gerard Butler) and his “Major Crimes Unit” team. O'Brien and his team have Merrimen as their lead suspect in hijacking. O'Brien and his crew are a “clique” or what is known as a “deputy gang.” Acting like gang members, O'Brien and his crew kidnap Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.), an ex-marine who has been associated with Merrimen in the past, in order to coerce info on Wilson's alleged current association with Merrimen.

As his personal life falls apart, O'Brien gets more involved with Merrimen and his crew, even becoming more confrontational. When Merriment targets the Federal Reserve Bank – Los Angeles Branch for a seemingly impossible heist, O'Brien finds himself in a complicated game of cat and mouse. However, the reality of who is the cat and who are the mice is ever shifting.

I did not know that the Den of Thieves movie existed until I saw a commercial for its upcoming sequel, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025), about two weeks ago (as of this writing). I decided to watch the first film and found it on the “Max” streaming service. It was not long into watching the film that I realized how much it heavily resembles director Michael Mann's classic heist film, Heat (1995). One of the stars of Heat was the late actor, Tom Sizemore (1961-2023), and for some reason, Den of Thieves made me think of a short-lived television series in which Sizemore starred. That would be “Robbery Homicide Division” (CBS, September 2002 to April 2023), for which Mann was also an executive producer. [I really liked that show, by the way, and was sad when it was canceled.] However, “Robbery Homicide Division” focused on the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), rather than the L.A Sheriff's Department (LASD).

Den of Thieves is a very entertaining film, and will likely delight fans of Los Angeles-set crime films (although the film was actually mostly shot in and around Atlanta, Georgia). However, Den of Thieves' story and concept, which was created by writer-director Christian Gudegast and his now former partner, Paul Scheuring, would have been put to better use for a television series. Den of Thieves is filled with characters that have interesting back stories, but the film only shows us glimpses of that – mostly concerning Gerard Butler's Nick O'Brien.

For the most part, the Den of Thieves' character writing relies on types rather than on depicting fully developed characters. I can also say that the film's actors pretty much give one-note performances. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson's Enson Levoux has one great moment, one good moment, and mostly one-note moments the rest of the time. Evan Jones' striking facial features with the help of the Den of Thieves' hair and make-up team saves his one-note character, “Bosco.” By the end of the film, the viewer might realize that O'Shea Jackson, Jr.'s Donnie Wilson is a missed opportunity.

That said – I enjoyed the hell out of Den of Thieves, which makes me think that Hollywood never really maximized the rip-off potential of Michael Mann's Heat. Den of Thieves is engaging, and the big shoot-outs are a blast to watch. This film is alluring in what its potential offers – even in the times that it does not deliver on that potential. It is a good film made very good by its last act, which is full of twists and turns, surprises, and shocking reveals. I am not sure that I will see its sequel in a movie theater, but I will very likely re-watch Den of Thieves in the future.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, January 10, 2025

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Thursday, January 2, 2025

Review: Skadoosh! "KUNG FU PANDA 3" Finds Itself in the End

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 of 2025 (No. 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)

MPAA – PG for martial arts action and some mild rude humor

DIRECTORS: Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni

WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger

PRODUCER: Melissa Cobb

EDITOR: Clare Knight

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

ANIMATION/MARTIAL ARTS/COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: (voices) Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, J.K. Simmons, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Kate Hudson, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, and Jackie Chan

Kung Fu Panda 3 is a computer-animated, martial arts and comic-fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third entry in the Kung Fu Panda film series. In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po must finally discover if he is really the legendary Dragon Warrior when faced with a threat to everything dear to him.

Kung Fu Panda 3 opens in the Spirit Realm. There, Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) fights General Kai (J.K. Simmons), his former friend, who has attacked him. Kai is a yak and spirit warrior who has defeated all the other deceased kung fu masters and has also stolen their vital energy or “chi” (here, personified at a flat jade stone). Kai steals Oogway's chi, but Oogway warns Kai that someone is destined to stop him. Kai returns to the Mortal Realm where he plans to destroy Oogway's legacy.

Meanwhile, in the Valley of Peace, Po (Jack Black), the giant panda, is living his best life as the legendary “Dragon Warrior.” Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) surprisingly announces that he is retiring from teaching and names Po as his successor. Although he does not believe that he can replace his master, Po finds that he is suddenly supposed to teach his friends and fellow kung fu masters, the legendary Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan).

Another surprise comes with the arrival of Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), a giant panda who turns out to be Po's father, which upsets Mr. Ping (James Hong), the Chinese goose who is Po's adoptive father. The excitement is tempered by the fact that Kai has begun his assault, but Po and company learn that Kai can only be defeated by a true master of chi. Po and Ping follow Li to the secret panda village where Li claims he can teach Po to master Chi. Now, Po must learn who he really is? Is he truly the Dragon Warrior and does he know himself enough to reach the Dragon Warrior's legendary destiny?

Like Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda 3 does have some really nice fight scenes. I had avoided it until I realized that I really wanted to see Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024), which meant I had to see the third film first. The film has the requisite visual splendor of dazzling colors, impressive production design, and superb character animation, However, this third part in the series is more about growth and development and about the transformation and inner journey of a character that is also known as the “character arc.”

Kung Fu Panda 3 is about Po finding out who he is and also about him learning to embrace what he can do – his destiny. He is meant to be the Dragon Warrior, he simply needs to believe it and also to understand that he cannot do it alone. Along the way, Kung Fu Pa 3 embraces the idea of families – traditional and blended. This film also has plenty of playful new characters (Kate Hudson's Mei Mei, the ribbon dancing panda) and rascally young'uns characters that are meant to engage younger audience members.

Kung Fu Panda 3 does meander quite a bit during its first act and also during quite a bit of its second or middle act. However, the film embraces it story of characters discovering that they are more than they know and that they can have more than one role in the lives of the people they love. This film has a scary villain in J.K. Simmons' General Kai, but he is just a side piece in the arc of Po's struggle. Kung Fu Panda 3 is really about the most difficult and consequential part of Po's journey – the journey into himself. Skadoosh!

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, January 2, 2024

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Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Review: "THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT" Delivers Potent Drama and Powerful History

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 of 2025 (No. 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Six Triple Eight (2024)

Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for language including racial slurs, thematic material and some war violence

DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

WRITER: Tyler Perry (based on the magazine article by Kevin Hymel)

PRODUCERS: Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, Nicole Avant, Carlota Espinosa, Keri Selig, and Tony L. Strickland

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

EDITOR: Maysie Hoy

COMPOSER: Aaron Zigman

DRAMA/HISTORICAL/WAR

Starring: Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Jeanté Godlock, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, Gregg Sulkin, Donna Biscoe, and Baadja-Lyne Odums

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

The Six Triple Eight is one of the most beautiful and powerful films about World War II that has ever been made.

Its true story about a battalion of Black women soldiers who broke the logjam of mail that kept overseas American servicemen and their families back home from connecting will bring tears to your eyes

The Six Triple Eight is one of the year's best films, and Kerry Washington gives the heroic performance of her career.

The Six Triple Eight is a 2024 wartime drama and historical film from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is based on the article, “WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion,” written by Kevin M. Hymel and published in the February 2019 issue of WWII History Magazine. The article details the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II.

The film is a Netflix Original,” and it began streaming on the service December 20, 2024, after a limited theatrical run that began December 6, 2024. The Six Triple Eight the movie focuses on battalion of Black women soldiers who go overseas and take on the forces that are keeping American service personnel and their families back home from simply exchanging mail.

The Six Triple Eight introduces high school students and longtime friends, Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian), a Black girl, and Abram David (Gregg Sulkin), a Jewish White boy. They are reckoning with the difficulties of their budding romance in Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, a small town outside Philadelphia, in the year 1942. David is enlisting in the U.S. military in order to serve in World War II, and he wants to be a pilot. David wants Lena to wait for him to return from the war when he will propose marriage to her, and, in the meantime, he gives her a promise ring.

Meanwhile, in rural West Virginia, a mother waits everyday for news about her two sons who are serving overseas in the war. She never gets any mail from her sons, and she later discovers that this is a problem all over the country. It turns out that there is a terrible backlog of undelivered mail. The mother approaches First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Susan Sarandon), and she approaches her husband, President Franklin Roosevelt (Sam Waterston), and philanthropist and civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune (Oprah Winfrey), to solve the overseas military mail problem.

Meanwhile, Lena has received terrible news, and it spurs her to join the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She travels to Georgia for basic training with the 6888th battalion – also known as “the Six Triple Eight” – where she meets her battalion commander, the indomitable Captain Chasity Addams (Kerry Washington). Despite being well trained, Capt. Adams and her battalion are never given any orders to serve from the War Department. Then, thanks to the efforts of the Roosevelts and Miss Bethune, the 6888th becomes “The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.”

Now, they must travel to Glasgow, Scotland where they have six months to sort through 17 million pieces of undelivered mail and packages. The must fight, however, a war on all fronts, fighting segregation and racism at home and abroad. Many White military commanders, officers, and soldiers do not believe they can sort through the backlog. Plus, some of these crackas will do everything to stop the Six Triple Eight from being successful.

If you, dear readers, wanted to watch World War II films based on on true events, you can find over eight decades of Hollywood films, including everything from recent films like Saving Private Ryan (1998), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), and Dunkirk (2017) to golden oldies like Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). However, the those films focus on White servicemen.

When it comes to the service of Black personnel during WWII, there is a virtual Hollywood wall of silence that has only rarely been broken by such films as the HBO television movie, The Tuskegee Airmen (1995); Spike Lee's Miracle at St. Anna (2008), and the George Lucas-financed Red Tails (2012). Director Budd Boetticher's Red Ball Express (1952) is about a racially integrated platoon, but the film's leads are White males.

Tyler Perry, a filmmaker whose TV and film work, has been reviled by both Black and White critics and detractors, breaks the wall of silence that exists in front of the story of African-American WWII personnel. He has done it with The Six Triple Eight, the first such film in over a decade.

The film is filled with star-making turns by a cast of young African-American actresses who could see this movie launch their careers. Ebony Obsidian as Lena Derriecott and Shanice Shantay as Johnnie Mae Burton are the most obvious, but though they shine, all the actors make the most of their roles in this film. I must say Dean Norris kills it as the Southern racist cracka-ass General Holt. However, Kerry Washington practically devours this film with her power-move turn as the wily, strong, survivor, Captain (later Major) Chasity Adams. In some ways, Adams is the co-lead with Derriecott, but there other times when the following point is clear. The real-life “Six Triple Eight” probably would have not survived without Adams, and The Six Triple Eight the film probably would not survive without Washington as Adams.

I like that Tyler Perry's direction captures the desperation of families on the home front and of the service personnel overseas who are not connecting because the mail isn't being delivered. Perry does not need to summon his usual melodramatic tropes to convey this to his audience, nor does he. Perry plainly states what his audience can clearly understand; the mail backlog is a desperate situation.

And what better way to portray how much the racist and segregated system was at work against the women of the 6888th than to detail how some thought it was more important to sabotage the women of this battalion than to actually let them do their jobs and get the mail through. Perry could have fallen back time and time again on depictions of verbal and physical racist violence, yet he didn't. The word, “nigger,” does not make many appearance in The Six Triple Eight. Perry merely had to show that in war we are sometimes our own worst enemy, and he showed the white devils who were against the “Six Triple Eight” in all their infamy.

The Six Triple Eight is Tyler Perry's best drama since 2010's For Colored Girls. Although there will likely be no Oscar nods for this film, The Six Triple Eight does not need them. It is more important that a Black filmmaker gets a chance or takes the opportunity to pierce the wall of silence about the honorable and heroic service of Black men and Black women during World War II. The Six Triple Eight is the soaring symphony that, at least for now, shatters that silence.

10 of 10

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

You can read Kevin M. Hymel's original article about the 6888th, "WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion," here.

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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Review: Tyler Perry's "DIVORCE IN THE BLACK" is Shamelessly Shameless

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 of 2024 (No. 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Divorce in the Black (2024)

Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)

MPA – R for language, some sexual content and violence

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

PRODUCERS: Will Areu, Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, Diane Ashford, and Meagan Good

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

EDITOR: Storm Evans

COMPOSER: Sheri Chung

DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Meagan Good, Cory Hardrict, Joseph Lee Anderson, Taylor Polidore, Shannon Wallace, Richard Lawson, Debbi Morgan, Mark Elliot Brewer, Rakeem Laws, Berry Williams, Jr., Jeffrey Creightney, and Ursula O. Robinson

Divorce in the Black is a 2024 drama and thriller from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is an Amazon “Prime Original,” and it began streaming on the service July 11, 2024. Divorce in the Black follows a young woman who is left heartbroken after her husband abandons their marriage.

Divorce in the Black introduces 37-year-old Ava (Meagan Good). She is the daughter of a preacher, Clarence (Richard Lawson) and a demur church-going woman, Gene (Debbi Morgan). Ava married Dallas Bertrand (Cory Hardrict), one of five sons from a family of trifling Negroes who were raised (not reared) by their obnoxious mother, Linda (Ursula O. Robinson)

Ava and Dallas's marriage was troubled from the start and is troubled now. The recent troubles begin with the funeral of Dallas' 39-year-old brother, Cody Bertrand, who had just been released from prison when someone he attempted to mug shot him to death. Ava's preacher father, Clarence, officiates the funeral, and he believes that he cannot lie and act as if Cody had been a decent person. Clarence's words about Cody lead the Bertrands to commit a horribly disgusting act in order to put an end to the funeral service.

Shortly after the funeral, Ava and Dallas return to their home in Atlanta. Dallas is feeling resentful, mainly egged on by his remaining brothers and his mother. He tells Ava that he wants a divorce and that he has already taken care of everything. He says all she needs to do is sign the divorce papers. Ava is heartbroken and grief-stricken by this terrible turn of events. She returns to her parents home in rural Georgia. Eventually, she finds solace and friendship by reuniting with an old friend, Benji (Joseph Lee Anderson), which could turn romantic. Dallas, however, starts to feel cheated when he discovers that Ava and Benji are seeing each other, and he begins to grow increasingly violent. Now, Ava will have to make the toughest decisions of her life.

I thought that Mea Culpa, a “Netflix Original” film released in February (2024), was likely Tyler Perry's craziest non-Madea film to date, being even wackier than his 2013 film, Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor. Now, I'm declaring that Divorce in the Black, released mere months after Mea Culpa, is Perry's craziest film. In many ways, Divorce in the Black is not a good film. After its jaw-dropping opening act, the film's narrative has a hard time finding its footing. It meanders, mostly focusing on Ava's grief over the sudden divorce announcement.

[Apparently, “divorce in the black” means a divorce in which you gain something or remain in the positive after the conclusion. “Divorce in the red” means to lose something or end up in the negative after it is all over.]

Divorce in the Black redeems itself with an entertainingly outrageous and outrageously entertaining last act. I wouldn't call Dallas' actions throughout the film over-the-top. They're quite believable, and, in fact, I've known or heard of men like him. What makes the ending of Divorce in the Black so satisfactory is Ava's change in attitude and Dallas' comeuppance. I can't remember the last time I so enjoyed an African-American male character suffering something similar to Dallas' fate. However, dear readers, you have to wade through a lot of mixed-bag storytelling and almost two hours of questionable runtime to get to the end's immense satisfaction.

I mainly watched Divorce in the Black because I wanted to do some Tyler Perry catch-up before I watched his latest “Netflix Original,” the historical drama, The Six Triple Eight. So I judge Divorce in the Black as mainly being fit for fans engaged in watching most of, if not all, of Perry's filmography.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

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Saturday, December 7, 2024

Review: Disney's "MOANA 2" Sails Towards New Horizons

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 55 of 2024 (No. 1999) by Leroy Douresseaux

Moana 2 (2024)

Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40)

MPA – PG for action/peril

DIRECTORS: David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller

WRITERS: Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller; Jared Bush & Dana Ledoux Miller and Bek Smith

PRODUCERS: Christina Chen and Yvette Merino

EDITORS: Michael Louis Hill and Jeremy Milton

ORIGINAL SONGS: Opetaia Foa'il, Mark Mancina, Abigail Barlow, and Emily Bear

COMPOSER: Mark Mancina

ANIMATION/FANTASY/MUSICAL and FAMILY/DRAMA

Starring: (voices) Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Hualalai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Amhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Gerald Ramsey, and Alan Tudyk

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

Moana 2 is not as inspired as the original film, but this sequel charts its own path towards adventure

The title character, Moana, is still a hero who takes her friends and the audience on the greatest of adventures, and that is more than enough reason for fans of the original film to come back for more in Moana 2

Moana 2 is a 2024 American computer-animated, fantasy-adventure, and musical film directed by David G. Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller. It is produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios – the 63rd full-length animated feature film produced by that studio, and it is a Walt Disney Pictures release. The film is a direct sequel to the 2016 animated feature, Moana. Moana 2 finds Moana and Maui on a journey to find a lost island that could reunite the people of the ocean.

Moana 2 opens three years after the adventures Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) had with the demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and the island goddess of Te Fiti (as seen in Moana). Moana is now officially her people's “wayfinder.” She has spent the time since then exploring the islands near her home island of Motunui in the hope that she will find other people connected to the ocean.

During a celebration, Moana has a vision of her wayfinding ancestor, Tautai Vasa (Gerald Ramsey). He reveals why none of those peoples are connected anymore. A long time ago, the malicious storm god, Nalo, wanted power over the mortals. To gain that power, Nalo sunk a legendary island called “Motufetu,” the island which connected all islands and the people of the sea, down to the depths of the ocean. Tautai also warns Moana that the people of Motunui will go extinct in the future if Moana cannot find a way to raise Motufetu.

Moana assembles a wayfinding crew of people from Motunui: the clever craftswoman, Loto (Rose Matafeo); the tribal historian and Maui fanboy, Moni (Haulalai Chung); and a grumpy elderly farmer, Keke (David Fane), alongside her pet pig, Pua, and pet rooster, Heihei. They set off in a boat designed and built by Loto, to follow the path of a meteor that Tautai says will blaze a trail across the ocean towards Motufetu. But first, Moana and her crew must find Maui, who just so happens is being held prisoner by the forces aligned against Moana's quest.

I wrote this in my recent review of the first film, Moana: I always struggle with writing reviews of modern Disney computer-animated feature films. The animation is always superb. The character design is consistently imaginative and inventive, and the character animation – regardless of whether the characters are human, animals, creatures of fantasy, or machines – is flawless. The production design, art direction, set decoration, and graphic design are so good that just about every Disney animated movie gets its own art book – deservedly so.

Well, I don't have to struggle with my review of Moana 2 because it looks just as good as the first film. While the tattoos on Maui's body are still good, they don't get as much screen time as they did in the original film, so they can't steal the show. Instead, Moana has a little sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert Tsuda), who does that in several scenes set on Motunui.

Moana 2 is very entertaining, but it is not quite as good as the original film. Because we know many of the characters, especially Moana and Maui, there is not the same joy of discovery. The call to adventure is not as complicated in Moana 2 as it was the first time. It is pretty straightforward here: find Motufetu. And the big showdown in Moana 2 is not quite the showdown the first film offered. Moana 2 simply lacks the inspiration of Moana.

That said, Moana 2 offers stunning imagery that overrides the moments when the story drags or goes adrift, and the film moves towards new horizons for the franchise. Moana, once again superbly given voice by actress Auli'i Cravalho, and Maui, once again made cool by Dwayne Johnson's voice performance, are still great characters. And they go on the best adventures.

Moana 2 is the kind of big, colorful, soaring animated adventure that we expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is not perfect, but it is the kind of film that keeps me loving the world's longest-running animation studio. Fans of Moana and of Disney Animation will not want to miss Moana 2.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, December 7, 2024

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Monday, November 25, 2024

Review: "GLADIATOR II" Happily Chases the Ghosts of the Original

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 of 2024 (No. 1996) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gladiator II (2024)

Running time: 148 minutes (2 hours, 28 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence

DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott

WRITERS: David Scarpa; from a story by Peter Craig and David Scarpa (based on the characters created by David Franzoni)

PRODUCERS: David Franzoni, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, and Ridley Scott

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Mathieson (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Sam Restivo and Claire Simpson

COMPOSER: Harry Gregson-Williams

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi,Yuval Gonen, Rory McCann, Matt Lucas, Alexander Karim, and Peter Mensah with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington

SUMMARY OF THIS REVIEW:

“Gladiator II” is slavishly devoted to its predecessor, 2000's “Best Picture” Oscar-winner, “Gladiator,” sometimes to its detriment.

The new film's lead, Paul Mescal, carries this film with help from Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Alexander Karim, and with a delightfully nutty turn by Denzel Washington.

Ultimately, “Gladiator II” does stand on its own because of big action set pieces, heart-stopping gladiator combat, and a crazy final duel.

Gladiator II is a 2024 drama and historical film from director Ridley Scott. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning “Best Picture of the Year” (2000), Gladiator. Gladiator II focuses on a soldier-turned-slave who must look to his past if he is going to return the glory of Rome to its people as his late grandfather once wished.

Gladiator opens sixteen years after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Rome is ruled by the corrupt twin brothers, Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), and the corruption is so terrible that the city of Rome seems near collapse.

Meanwhile, General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) lead's the Roman navy in an invasion of the North African province of Numidia. Acacius is unaware that Numidia is the home of Marcus Aurelius' grandson, Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), who now goes by the name “Hanno.” During the battle, Acacius orders the killing of Hanno's wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), and Hanno is taken prisoner.

Hanno is sold to Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a stablemaster who owns and trains gladiators, and Hanno proves to be a talented gladiator. In him, Macrinus sees an opportunity to position himself next to power in Rome, so he offers Hanno a path to revenge against Acacius. However, Acacius' wife is Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and she is starting to believe that she recognizes this alluring stranger who calls himself Hanno.

In anticipation of seeing Gladiator II, I decided to watch the original film, Gladiator (2000) in its entirety for the first time since I first saw it in a movie theater with some friends back in May of 2000. I have to be honest, Gladiator II is not nearly the film that Gladiator is, and that's okay.

Gladiator II is a very good film on its own. The “battle for Numidia,” which is in the film's first act, is as exciting and as gory as I expected it to be. The gladiatorial events in the new film are quite nice, although admittedly not as nice as the original's.

As the lead in Gladiator II, Paul Mescal as Hanno/Lucius is not as powerful as Russell Crowe was as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator. Crowe stood astride that film, using his dominating screen presence to carry Gladiator's straightforward, sword-and-sandals, revenge tale to box office and Oscar glory. Gladiator II does not give Mescal a straightforward, sword-and-sandals tale of revenge. The Rome of this new film is a hot mess of corruption, led by two homicidal narcissists. The Roman emperors of this film, Geta and Caracalla, are not as lusciously evil as Joaquin Phoenix's Emperor Commodus in the original film. They are simply petty, murderous, vain, egotistical tyrants. Thus, Hanno/Lucius' revenge story is overshadowed by the hot mess that is Geta/Caracalla's Rome, which is complicated by the shifting schemes of Denzel Washington's Macrinus.

Still, Mescal manages to make Hanno/Lucius the center of Gladiator II, even as director Ridley Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa chase the ghosts of the original film. Mescal brings balance to Hanno/Lucius rage with thoughtfulness and humility that truly makes the character not so much the lone hero, as he is one-of-the-people and a man of the people who can start Rome on a path to redemption.

Gladiator II is also helped by the fact that Denzel Washington, as Macrinus, delivers a dominating performance that makes his supporting character a co-lead. Paul Mescal may be a rising star, but Denzel Washington is the kind of established movie star and Hollywood icon whose presence is fuels a film's theatrical push.

Gladiator II won't get out of Gladiator's shadow, but its wild battle scenes and crazy gladiatorial spectacles combined with some key performances should allow the new film to casts its own shadow. Besides, if you have seen Gladiator, dear readers, you know that you are itching to see Gladiator II.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Monday, November 25, 2024

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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Review: First "GLADIATOR" Film is Still Rockin' the Colosseum

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 of 2024 (No. 1994) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gladiator (2000)

Running time: 155 minutes (2 hours, 35 minutes)

MPAA – R for intense, graphic combat

DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott

WRITERS: David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson (from a story by David Franzoni)

PRODUCERS: David Franzoni, Branko Lustig, and Douglas Wick

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Mathieson

EDITOR: Pietro Scalia

COMPOSERS: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard

Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, Ralf Moeller, Spencer Treat Clark, David Hemmings, and Tommy Flanagan

Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott. At the 73rd Academy Awards (March 2001), the film won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year 2000. Gladiator focuses on a Roman general who is reduced to slavery, becomes a gladiator, and takes on a corrupt Roman emperor in order to exact vengeance upon him.

Gladiator opens in the year 180 AD in the region known as Germania. Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) prepares to end his 17-year campaign against the barbarian tribes in their final stronghold in the region. The Roman general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), a Spaniard, intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against the barbarians. After the battle, Emperor Aurelius tells Maximus that he does not wish to make his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the next emperor because he is unfit to rule. Instead, the emperor wants Maximus, who is like a son to him, to succeed him and act as the regent who will restore the Roman Republic.

After secretly murdering his father, Aurelius, Commodus proclaims himself the new emperor. After Maximus spurns his request for loyalty, Commodus has Maximus arrested and orders him executed. Commodus also has the Spaniard's family murdered. After foiling the attempt to execute him, Maximus, badly wounded, is unable to save his family. Maximus is later found and sold into slavery and becomes the property of Proximo (Oliver Reed), a man who trains slaves to become gladiators whom he forces into fighting in gladiatorial events.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Commodus decides to stage 150 days of games, including gladiatorial events held at “The Colosseum.” Seeking newfound wealth, Proximo enters his gladiators, which now include Maximus and Juba (Djimon Hounsou), an African Maximus has befriended. Fate has brought Maximus to Commodus. Now, the general who became a slave is now a gladiator who just might save Rome when he exacts his vengeance upon the new emperor for murdering his family.

In anticipation of the upcoming, Gladiator II, I decided to watch the original film in its entirety for the first time since I first saw it in a movie theater with some friends back in May of 2000. Since then, I have re-watched parts of Gladiator of during cable broadcasts more time than I can remember, but I felt that it was time to watch the entire thing again and commit a review.

Gladiator is a great film because it recalls what Hollywood has always done well, historical epics that are more epic than they are history. The screenplay is a collection of familiar tropes (sword and sandals); stock characters (the crazy usurper; the put-upon woman; the wronged hero); and beloved settings (the Roman empire). The script is really nothing to write home about. The cast and crew and the director and his creative cohorts are the people who turn Gladiator into one of those truly great films that gave the twentieth century a grand Hollywood send-off.

Gladiator is probably director Ridley Scott's slickest and most polished Hollywood film. The film's narrative heart beats strong because Scott gets the best out of his film editor, film music composers, production designer and set decorator, and cinematographer. Everyone pulls together to make this film a visually sumptuous masterpiece, the kind that pounds audiences until they stop resisting and give into the bliss of a grand cinematic epic made in a true Hollywood style.

However, I think the actors are the true heart of Gladiator, delivering performances that make even the least famous of them seem like movie stars. Richard Harris is philosophical and earnest as the doomed Emperor Marcus Aurelius, while Joaquin Phoenix turns what could have been a clownish role into an unpredictable, but alluring reptilian super man-beast, the usurper Emperor Commodus. Oliver Reed, in his final role, made Proximo real and really lovable. And it's sad that Djimon Hounsou as Maximus' steady, philosophic friend, Juba, got almost no love from the various movie award-giving organizations.

The king – or emperor, if you will – of Gladiator is Russell Crowe. Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of Crowe's finest roles, even if it isn't one of his most subtle, graceful, and profound performances. Crowe carries this movie, and Gladiator defeats its own warts because Crowe is its true and one and only Gladiator. Crowe is the center and the beating heart of Gladiator, and the passage of a quarter-century has not changed that. Gladiator remains a great work of Hollywood cinema because it has what the great works of Hollywood must have – a movie star that radiates enough light to blind us to the blemishes of film with ambitions to be great.

9 of 10

A+

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

NOTES:

2001 Academy Awards, USA: 5 wins: “Best Picture” (Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, and Branko Lustig), “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe), and “Best Costume Design” (Janty Yates), “Best Sound” (Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Ken Weston, and John Nelson), and “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey); 7 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Joaquin Phoenix), “Best Director” (Ridley Scott), “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (David Franzoni-screenplay and story, John Logan-screenplay, and William Nicholson-screenplay), “Best Cinematography” (John Mathieson), “Best Film Editing” (Pietro Scalia), “Best Music, Original Score” (Hans Zimmer), and “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Arthur Max-art director and Crispian Sallis-set decorator)

2001 BAFTA Awards: 4 wins: “Best Film” (Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, and Branko Lustig), “Best Cinematography” (John Mathieson), “Best Production Design” (Arthur Max), “Best Editing” (Pietro Scalia); 10 nominations: “David Lean Award for Direction” (Ridley Scott), “Best Screenplay-Original” (David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Russell Crowe), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Joaquin Phoenix), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Oliver Reed-posthumously), “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard), “Best Costume Design” (Janty Yates), “Best Sound” (Ken Weston, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, and Per Hallberg), “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Tim Burke, Rob Harvey, and Neil Corbould), and “Best Make Up/Hair” (Paul Engelen and Graham Johnston)

2001 Golden Globes, USA: 2 wins: “Best Motion Picture-Drama” and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard); 3 nominations: “Best Director-Motion Picture” (Ridley Scott), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Russell Crowe), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Joaquin Phoenix)

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Friday, November 15, 2024

Review: "Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN" is a Serious and Sexy Standout

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 of 2024 (No. 1993) by Leroy Douresseaux

Y tu mamá también (2001)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Mexico; Language: Spanish

Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)

MPAA – initially not rated

DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón

WRITERS: Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón

PRODUCERS: Alfonso Cuarón and Jorge Vergara

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Emmanuel Lubezki (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Alfonso Cuarón and Alex Rodríguez

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Maribel Verdú, Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Ana López Mercado, Nathan Grinberg, Verónica Langer, María Aura, Silverio Palacios, Mayra Serbulo, and Daniel Giménez Cacho (narrator)

Y tu mamá también is a 2001 Mexican coming-of-age comedy-drama and road film from director Alfonso Cuarón. The title is Spanish for “And Your Mother Too.” Y tu mama también follows two teenage boys and an older woman as they embark on a road trip with Mexico's late 1990s political upheaval as a backdrop.

Before Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Children of Men (2006) brought him mainstream acclaim, Mexican film director Alfonso Cuarón burst onto the international film scene with Y tu mama también. It became one of the most talked about movies of 2002.

Y tu mamá también introduces rich teenage friends, Tenoch Iturbide (Diego Luna) and Julio Zapata (Gael García Bernal). Abandoned by their girlfriends for the summer, they are on the prowl for new sexual experiences. At a wedding, they meet the alluring Luisa Cortes (Maribel Verdú), the Spanish wife of one of Tenoch's relatives. Both boys are smitten with her and try to impress her by weaving tales of Boca del Cielo – Heaven’s Mouth, a beautiful, secret beach.

Of course, there is no such place, but the boys are trying to get Luisa to join them on a road trip to the fictitious locale. Although she at first declines the sweet offer, Luisa changes her mind when she receives two pieces of bad news practically simultaneously. Once on the journey, however, the trio finds that their little escapade is riddled with conflict and sometimes interrupted by moments of seduction.

Y tu mama también is an original take on the road movie. Occasionally harsh (lots of painful revelations and venomous quarrels between the two boys) and often funny (the good-matured ribbing and frank conversations among the trio), the film is filled with witty banter. The poignancy is found in the fact that this coming of age journey that both strengthens and builds bonds also means that things are coming to an end. The sense of death, finality, and dissolution infuses this film giving even the sun-drenched Mexican locale a melancholy air.

Y tu mama también is also politically astute, with Cuarón and his co-writer Carlos Cuarón nimbly and skillfully dropping in commentary about political corruption and fraud rampant throughout the corruption (via the narrator). Cuarón also presents the rampant and widespread poverty among Mexican citizens offering it as a veritable visual feast. Everywhere the boys go, there is abundant evidence of the impoverished lives of so many people.

Perhaps, Cunard's best choice as director is allow his film to feel so natural, especially in the acting of the three main actors: Maribel Verdú, Diego Luna, and Gael García Bernal who give smooth, flowing performances. Cuarón doesn’t portray anything as being stages, and he presents this film as if we were peaking through a window that gives us an intimate view of these three lives in transition. Cuarón doesn’t just put us there; he makes us feel. That makes Y tu mama también such a wonderfully entertaining film that reaches out to touch the viewer on a personal level.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, November 15, 2024

NOTES:

2003 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Film not in the English Language” (Alfonso Cuarón and Jorge Vergara) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Alfonso Cuarón and Carlos Cuarón)

2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Mexico)

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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Review: "DUNE: PART TWO: Rocks the Heavens

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 of 2024 (No. 1992) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Running time: 166 minutes (2 hours, 46 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material and brief strong language

DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve

WRITERS: Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (based on the novel by Frank Herbert)

PRODUCERS: Denis Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, Patrick McCormick, and Tanya Lapointe

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Greg Fraser (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Joe Walker

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

SCI-FI/DRAMA and ACTION/WAR/THRILLER

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Charlotte Rampling, Babs Olusanmokun, and Alison Halstead

Dune: Part Two is a 2024 epic science fiction and drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve. It is the second part of the two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel, Dune, written by author Frank Herbert. The first part is entitled Dune (or Dune: Part One) and was released in 2021. Dune: Part Two focuses on a vengeful young nobleman who unites the desert people of the planet Arrakis behind his war against the noble house that betrayed and murdered his father.

Dune: Part Two opens in the wake of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and House Harkonnen's destruction of Duke Leto Atreides and the House Atreides. Now, the Baron's nephew, Lord Rabban (Dave Bautista), has control over the desert planet, Arrakis, and over the production of the most valuable substance in the universe, which is known as “Spice.” A highly-addictive drug, Spice extends human vitality and life and is absolutely necessary for space travel. Spice is only found on Arrakis.

Meanwhile, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of Leto, and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who is pregnant, have joined the “Sietch Tabr,” a band of Fremen, the natives of Arrakis. While some of the Fremen consider Paul and Jessica to be spies, the Sietch Tabr leader, Stilgar (Javier Bardem), believes that they are the prophesied mother and son from the “Outer World” who will bring prosperity to Arrakis.

Jessica belongs to the Bene Gesserit, a powerful sisterhood who wield advance mental and physical abilities. The Bene Gesserit have a prophecy concerning a “superbeing,” called the “Kwisatz Haderach,” and Paul may be this superbeing because of the machinations of his mother. Stilgar believes that Paul is the prophesied Fremen messiah, the “Lisan al-Gaig.” This belief spread once Paul takes the name Paul Muad'dib Usul.

However, Chani (Zendaya), a young and rebellious Fremen warrior (“Fedaykin”), believes that the messianic prophecies are nothing more than a fabrication meant to manipulate the Fremen. However, as “the Battle for Arrakis” begins, Chani finds herself having strong feelings for Paul and follows him into battle against the Harkonnen, for better or worse.

Dune and Dune: Part Two combine to form the third screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel. The others were writer-director David Lynch's 1984 film, Dune, and writer-director John Harrison's 2000 television miniseries, also entitled “Dune.” Also, there is a French/U.S. documentary film, entitled Jodorowskys Dune, that chronicles director Alejandro Jodorowsky's doomed attempt to adapt the novel into film in the 1970s.

Because HBO is preparing to release its Dune television series, “Dune: Prophecy,” I decided to finally see Dune: Part Two. A horrible illness forced me to miss the film's theatrical release earlier this year. Having finally seen it, I wish I had watched it in a movie theater, although IMAX is not an option for me. Dune: Part Two should be seen on a screen in a movie theater. It is one of the most epic science fiction films that I have ever experienced. The production values, cinematography, film editing, production design, art direction and sets, hair and make-up, and costumes are separately some of the best seen in science fiction cinema thus far in the twenty-first century. Director Denis Villeneuve is more than well-served by these collaborators.

He is also well-served by his co-writers, as the screenplay captures the religious and spiritual dogma and messianic madness that drives much of Dune's narrative. As impressive as this film is from a storytelling point of view, the Fremen's faith is freaking scary and dominates the film. That's why I think Hans Zimmer's film score sounds like it belongs in a horror movie. Quite a bit of Zimmer's musical score is like the spiritual cousin of composer Henry Manfredini's “ch ch ch ah ah ah” sound effect for the 1980 film, Friday the 13th.

There are a number of great performances here. Austin Butler, who surprised in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022), does killer work in Dune: Part Two as Baron Harkonnen's psychotic nephew, na-Baron Fedy-Rautha. Dune's make-up artists serve him well as Butler fashions a character that is as impish and devilish as he is relentlessly homicidal.

But the stars are really Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. As Paul, Chalamet depicts both the manipulation and machinations of a rise to power and also the evolution and revelation of a religious cult leader. As Chani, Zendaya is the spiritual heart of this film. She is the center of calm and reason in the super-storm of madness that envelopes Arrakis. It is not hard to see why both actors are some of the most popular young stars in world cinema. For all Denis Villeneuve cinematic skills and tricks, a movie this grand needs that traditional tower of power, the movie star. Dune: Part Two has two shooting stars.

10 of 10

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

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