Review: "A Soldier's Story" Still Fantastic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Soldier’s Story (1984)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison
WRITER: Charles Fuller (based upon his play, A Soldier’s Play)
PRODUCERS: Patrick J. Palmer, Ronald L. Schwary, and Norman Jewison
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Russell Boyd
EDITORS: Caroline Biggerstaff and Mark Warner
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/MYSTERY

Starring: Howard Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, Art Evans, David Allen Grier, David Harris, Dennis Lipscomb, Larry Riley, Robert Townsend, Denzel Washington, William Allen Young, Trey Wilson, and Patti LaBelle

In this gripping film that takes place near the end of World War II (1944), Captain Davenport (Howard Rollins, Jr.), a proud black army attorney, is sent to Fort Neal near Tynin, Louisiana to investigate the shooting death of Sergeant Waters (Adolph Caesar), who was murdered by unknown assailants near the black army base. Davenport’s interviews with the men under Sgt. Waters’ command reveal that he was a vicious man who despised Negroes who didn’t meet his exacting standards of speech, appearance, and duty. Although two bigoted white officers seem to be the lead and likely suspects, Davenport is sure that there is something going on behind the scenes that either he isn’t seeing or is being hidden from him. But what is it and who is hiding it?

When it was released back in late 1984, A Soldier’s Story received a lot of attention not only because of its large and mostly black cast, but also because the leads were also black actors (unlike The Cotton Club). The film featured the star turn by up and coming actors including Robert Townsend (who would go on to direct Hollywood Shuffle), David Alan Grier, a character actor best known for being on the early 90’s TV sketch comedy, “In Living Colour,” and also a young but not-so-raw Denzel Washington – two years from the role that would earn him his first Oscar nomination.

The film’s best roles belong to Howard Rollins, Jr. and Adolph Caesar (who were never on screen together), both of whom are now deceased. Rollins plays Captain Davenport with such gripping strength that he instantly commands the attention of the audience whenever he is on screen, even when he’s in the background. Rollins clearly understood that for Davenport to be a believable character in his particular situation, he would have to play Davenport as having a magnetic personality, an indomitable will, and a large amount of arrogance – if Davenport were to do his job while suffering the slings and arrows...

Caesar’s Sgt. Waters is a relentless force embodying the conflicting ideas of what a black man should be and how he should live in those particular times, a black America in an America on the verge of the Civil Rights movement. He wants black men to be proud, but he understands that a black man most live in a white world as an intelligent black man, although not as one who threatens white men. It’s this dichotomy of pride and deference that festers in Waters’ mind.

Charles Fuller adapted A Soldier’s Story from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, A Soldier’s Play. As good as the performances are, it’s this incredible script that is simultaneously a fine mystery, an amazing depiction of history, and precise social commentary. Although director Norman Jewison directs this at times as if it were a TV movie, he understands the complex issues brought forward by Fuller’s writing. Jewison allows the script’s flashbacks to define the elements of the murder mystery: the victim, the suspects, and the context. Through Rollins’ performance as Capt. Davenport, Jewison doesn’t intrude as Fuller’s script brings everything together into the present while dealing with the conflicting notions of what it means to be a black man. It’s spellbinding movie stuff. So what does it mean to be a real black man? Who knows? But A Soldier’s Story, a remarkable film ably performed by a fine cast, gives us something to think about.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1985 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Adolph Caesar), “Best Picture” (Norman Jewison, Ronald L. Schwary, and Patrick J. Palmer), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium” (Charles Fuller)

1985 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Adolph Caesar), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Charles Fuller)

Monday, February 20, 2006

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On Dennis Hopper

The actor and director, Dennis Hopper, died earlier today after a short battle with prostate cancer.  Hopper is probably best remembered for the film, Easy Rider.  He starred in that film, directed it, and co-wrote the screenplay with co-star Peter Fonda and writer Terry Southern.  The trio earned an Oscar nomination for writing the screenplay.  Hopper would later earn a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar nomination for his performance in the film, Hoosiers.

I will always have fond memories of Hopper because of Easy Rider, which I first saw over 20 years ago.  I love that film and heartily recommend it.

Dennis Lee Hopper, who was born in 1936, was 74-years-old.  This AP article via Yahoo provides a broad account of his life.

"It's Complicated" is Complicated

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


It’s Complicated (2009)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for some drug content and sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers
PRODUCERS: Nancy Meyers and Scott Rudin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll
EDITORS: Joe Hutshing and David Moritz
COMPOSERS: Heitor Pereira and Hans Zimmer

COMEDY/DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Mary Kay Place, Rita Wilson, Alexandra Wentworth, Hunter Parrish, Zoe Kazan, Caitlin Fitzgerald, and Emjay Anthony

Whatever it may have seemed like in the commercials and trailers, It’s Complicated, a film from writer/director Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give), is not simply a bubbly comedy about a divorced woman having sex on the side with her ex-husband, while her new boyfriend is caught in the middle. This movie is a family melodrama, romantic comedy, relationship drama, soap opera… well, it actually is complicated.

A divorced mother of three grown children, Jane (Meryl Streep) doesn’t date much. Self-reliant, she focuses her attention on her thriving Santa Barbara bakery and restaurant. After a decade of divorce, Jane has an amicable relationship with her ex-husband, attorney Jake (Alec Baldwin), although Jane still feels uncomfortable in the presence of Jake’s hot young wife, Agness (Lake Bell). For her son’s college graduation in New York City, Jane finds herself staying at the same hotel as Jake, and an innocent meal with him ends with the two having sex.

Thus, begins an unimaginable affair between ex-wife and ex-husband that features frequent sexual encounters. Jake is cheating on Agness, and Jane is sort of cheating on Adam (Steve Martin), an architect hired to remodel Jane’s home. Adam is also healing from a divorce, and he is starting to fall in love with Jane. Jane finds herself forced to confront a number of issues, including if she really is in love with Jake, again.

Early on in It’s Complicated, in particularly the scenes that detail the beginning of Jane and Jake’s “affair,” the movie tries to come across as a bubbly romantic/screwball comedy. I say try because everything seems forced. Early in the movie, Meryl Streep, who hasn’t starred in many comedies, makes a vain attempt at playing the flighty heroine. Streep’s attempts at playing someone caught in comically awkward situations look ridiculous – all that laughing makes her sound like a horse. It is as if the only thing she can think to do with her character is laugh.

Alec Baldwin is usually next to Streep, also forcing it just as hard, doing his schtick. In this film, he just looks like a fat, middle-aged guy desperately trying to pass a reluctant turd. At this point, I have probably made It’s Complicated seem like an awful movie, but it really isn’t.

When the story leaves New York and returns to Santa Barbara, It’s Complicated seems to mature, leaving the silliness behind. The comic tone turns lighter, and the story gets serious about the implications of Jane and Jake’s affair. That is when Streep and Baldwin seem more like themselves, and the better parts of their talents show themselves. Suddenly, the NYC sequence seems like a bad dream, and the real story begins.

Once she makes the other major characters aware of the affair, Nancy Meyers really begins to play with the complications and story angles and situations such an almost taboo romance as depicted here offers. At that point, the audience can do more than just “Ooh” and “Ah” at the scandalous and embarrassing moments. They will feel engaged, because when Meyers really gets to the heart of this complicated matter, she forces the viewer to do more than just be a voyeur looking for easy chuckles. Meyers makes the viewer think: How do Jane and Jake get out of this? Should they do this? How does this affect everyone else? Whom should Jane choose?

It’s Complicated isn’t anyone’s best work – not Meyers, Streep, Baldwin, or even the passive Steve Martin. Still, it is good to see a thoughtful romantic comedy and love story in which the love interests are all over 50.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Supporting Actor” (Alec Baldwin)

2010 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Meryl Streep), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Nancy Meyers)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

On Gary Coleman (1968-2010)

Gary Coleman, the former child star, best known for the late 1970s and 1980s television series, Diff'rent Strokes, died Friday, May, 28, 2010.  This AP article via Yahoo is a good place for readers to go.

I felt sorry for Coleman, mainly because Hollywood ignored him after "Diff'rent Strokes," which surprised me.  I always thought he had a persona tailored may to entertain us on TV and in film for decades, but that never happened.  I must say that I was shocked to learn that "Diff'rent Strokes" ran for 8 seasons (7 on NBC and the last on ABC), from 1978 to 1986.  I thought that it had only lasted a few seasons.

Anyway, Coleman was 42 years old.

Review: Perfect for Memorial Day Weekend: "THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Running time: 172 minutes (2 hours, 52 minutes)
DIRECTOR: William Wyler
WRITER: Robert E. Sherwood (from the novel by MacKinlay Kantor)
PRODUCER: Samuel Goldwyn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gregg Toland
EDITOR: Daniel Mandell
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O’Donnell, Hoagy Carmichael, Harold Russell, Gladys George, Roman Bohnen, Ray Collins, Minna Gombell, Walter Baldwin, and Steve Cochran

The Best Years of Our Lives is a quasi-epic film about three veterans who return from World War II to small-town America and discover that the war irreparably changed their lives and their families. The three vets didn’t know each other before the war, but they meet and become associates then friends, bonded by the horrors they experienced in overseas.

Al Stephenson (Fredric March) is an alcoholic who returns to his bank job and finds that adjusting to civilian life only fuels his addiction. Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) has trouble obtaining gainful employment. Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) is a Navy man who lost both his arms in an on-ship explosion while he was below deck. Adding to the melodrama, Fred’s wife’s Marie (Virginia Mayo) is a good-time gal, and she refuses to give up the loose and carefree life she had while Fred was at war. Bruised by Marie’s surface-only interest in him, Fred begins a fling or light affair with Al’s daughter, much to Al and his wife’s chagrin. Homer’s old girlfriend Wilma Cameron (Cathy O’Donnell) is still in love with him, but he won’t marry her because he thinks that she feels sorry for him, as he thinks all his family does. Thus, in a fit of pride, he won’t marry Wilma and does whatever he can to discourage the young woman.

The Best Years of Our Lives won several “best film of the year awards” awards including the “Best Picture” Oscar®, one of its seven Academy Award wins. Other Oscars® wins included Best Actor for Fredric March and Best Director for William Wyler (his second of three wins and his sixth of 12 nominations). For his role as the handicapped vet, Homer Parrish, Harold Russell won for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and he was awarded an Honorary Oscar® for bringing hope to other veterans through his role. See, Russell’s handicap was real; he’d lost both his hands and lower arms when TNT exploded in his hands when he was training paratroopers while stationed in the United States. Ironically, the accident occurred on D-Day.

The film is nearly perfect, from direction to acting (except for a little histrionics and melodrama from some of the actresses). Wyler makes the drama palatable without making it overwrought; it’s a masterful job of subtly. The actors easily convey the veterans’ sense of confusion and sadness, as well as the misunderstandings that come from their readjustment to civilian life. The film is hard-hitting; it doesn’t flinch from stating quite bluntly how much the veterans sacrificed only to return to America and find that most people show no special consideration for them. The country won’t adjust to them or their physical and psychological wounds; the veterans have to adjust and make their own way. It’s because of the help of people who care that they make it, if the vets are willing to reach out and meet their concerned loved ones half the way.

The Best Years of Our Lives is a great American film – timeless in its portrayal of postwar civilian life. I heartily recommend it.

10 of 10

NOTES:
1947 Academy Awards: 7 wins: “Best Picture,” “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Fredric March), “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Harold Russell), “Best Director” (William Wyler), “Best Film Editing” (Daniel Mandell), “Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture” (Hugo Friedhofer), and “Best Writing, Screenplay” (Robert E. Sherwood); 1 nomination: “Best Sound, Recording” (Gordon Sawyer-Samuel Goldwyn SSD); 1 Honorary Award (Harold Russell for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives)

1948 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Film from any Source”

1947 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” and 1 Special Award (Harold Russell for Best Non-Professional Acting)

1989 National Film Preservation Board, USA: National Film Registry

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Warner Bros Announces "Something Borrowed"

Warner Bros. Pictures Press Release:

ALCON ENTERTAINMENT'S "SOMETHING BORROWED" BEGINS PRODUCTION IN NEW YORK

ROMANTIC COMEDY, BASED ON BEST-SELLING NOVEL, STARS GINNIFER GOODWIN, KATE HUDSON AND JOHN KRASINSKI

BURBANK, CA - May 26, 2010 - Production has begun in New York on Alcon Entertainment's romantic comedy "Something Borrowed," starring Ginnifer Goodwin ("He's Just Not That Into You," HBO's "Big Love"), Academy Award(R) nominee Kate Hudson ("Almost Famous," "Nine"), Colin Egglesfield (TV's "Melrose Place"), Steve Howey ("Bride Wars") and John Krasinski (TV's "The Office," "It's Complicated").

Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a talented attorney at a top New York law firm, a generous and loyal friend, and, unhappily, still single...as her engaged best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson) is constantly reminding her. But after one drink too many at her 30th birthday party, perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in bed with the guy she's had a crush on since law school, Dex (Colin Egglesfield)...who just happens to be Darcy's fiance. When Rachel and Darcy's lifelong friendship collides with true love, it leads to unexpected complications and potentially explosive romantic revelations.

Krasinski plays Ethan, who has been Rachel's constant confidante and sometimes conscience, and who has been harboring a secret of his own. Howey plays Marcus, an irrepressible womanizer, who can't keep his mind out of the gutter or his hands off any girl within reach.

"Something Borrowed" is being directed by Luke Greenfield ("The Girl Next Door"), from a screenplay written by Jennie Urman, Jennie Snyder and Jordan Roberts, adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Emily Giffin.

The film is being produced by Alcon Entertainment principals Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, who just earned a Best Picture Oscar® nomination for "The Blind Side"; Molly Smith ("The Blind Side," "P.S. I Love You"); two-time Oscar®-winning actress Hilary Swank ("Million Dollar Baby," "Boys Don't Cry"); Pamela Schein Murphy ("Purple Violets"); and Aaron Lubin ("The Groomsmen"). Ellen H. Schwartz ("The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement") is serving as executive producer.

Collaborating with Greenfield behind the scenes are director of photography Charles Minsky ("Valentine's Day"), production designer Jane Musky ("The Bounty Hunter"), editor John Axelrad ("Crazy Heart"), and costume designer Gary Jones ("Valentine's Day").

"Something Borrowed" is shooting entirely in New York, with locations in New York City, the Hamptons and on Long Island.

Slated for release in Summer 2011, "Something Borrowed" will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Review: Nicholson, Keaton Sparkle in Excellent "Something's Gotta Give"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 176 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and strong language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nancy Meyers
PRODUCERS: Bruce A. Block and Nancy Meyers (uncredited)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Ballhaus (director of photography)
EDITOR: Joe Hutshing
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of drama

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Amanda Peet, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Jon Favreau, and Paul Michael Glaser

In his new film, Something’s Gotta Give, Jack Nicholson plays Harry Langer, a 63 year-old New York City music executive with a taste for younger (than 30) women. He follows his latest trophy, Marin (Amanda Peet), to her mother’s East Hampton beach house, where he meets her 50-something mother, Erica Barry (Diane Keaton), who takes an immediate disliking to him. However, Harry’s world is turned upside down when he suffers a mild heart attack. When Marin goes back to the city, she leaves Harry at the beach house in the care of her mother and his doctor, Julian (Keanu Reeves). Soon Harry and Julian are competing with each other for Erica’s affections. For Harry, it’s a new stress in his life, as he’s never dated a woman Erica’s age, and Erica hasn’t loved in the decade since her divorce. Awkwardness and hijinks ensue as Jack’s film becomes Jack and Diane’s film.

Simply put, this is a fantastic film, and I enjoyed nearly every minute in; in fact, there are very few missteps in this film. Nancy Meyers, who directed the smash hit What Women Want, has proved herself to have a deft touch with romantic comedies made for the adult sensibilities. Her script is confident and exudes the assurance of a writer who knows exactly where she’s going. You can see the ending coming, but the trip there is a hoot. When it all wraps up, SGG will still surprise you with how it closes the curtain on this very nice love story amongst the senior set.

Jack Nicholson gives yet another of his great performances as an actor. This isn’t one of those times when “Jack’s being Jack.” He really tries to bring a character to life and yet still color it with the charm of his film personality. The surprise is a surprise that she’s a surprise – Diane Keaton. When it comes down to it, this is her film, and the character and situation are very similar to Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, which earned Keaton a Best Actress Oscar. She grabs Erica by the hair and gives it her all – funny, charming, witty, self-deprecating, smart, strong, vulnerable, and human.

Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand are very funny. Peet’s character is more or less just a vehicle to get the leads together, but Ms. Peet makes herself a strong presence in every scene in which she appears. The biggest pity is that Ms. McDormand could have made this film great; not only is she a fine actress, but her character is strong enough to steal scenes no matter who else is around. Each time she’s in the film, she leaves you wanting more. As for Keanu, he is what he is – a pretty face that tries hard, but fails half the time. It’s a good thing that his part is small; there’s no way he could have kept up with Nicholson and Ms. Keaton.

Something’s Gotta Give is a fine romantic comedy filled with love, loss, confusion, passion, and redemption. It’s about the surprises life, both painful and pleasurable, that life has. It’s a fun film for people with grown up minds.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Diane Keaton)

2001 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Diane Keaton) and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Jack Nicholson)

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