"Margin Call" Sure as Heck Ain't Marginal

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Margin Call (2011)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: J.C. Chandor
PRODUCERS: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, and Zachary Quinto
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Frank G. DeMarco
EDITOR: Pete Beaudreau
COMPOSER: Nathan Larson
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Aasif Mandvi, and Mary McDonnell

Margin Call is a 2011 ensemble drama written and directed by J.C. Chandor. This independent film takes place over a 36-hour period and is set in an investment firm during the early days of the 2008 financial crisis.

At an unnamed investment firm, a typical morning in 2008 turns atypical with a round of layoffs. One of these fired employees, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), passes a USB drive to one of his former subordinates, Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). While perusing the data on the drive, Sullivan makes a shocking discovery, so he alerts the firm’s trading desk bosses, Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) and Will Emerson (Paul Bettany). The news goes to more senior executives, including division head, Jared Cohen (Simon Baker), and finally to CEO John Tuld (Jeremy Irons). How they fix this crisis could damage the firm, to say nothing of the damage done to people and entities outside the firm.

Not only is Zachary Quinto a cast member of Margin Call, but his production company, Before the Door Pictures (owned with fellow Margin Call producers, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa), is also one of the companies behind this film. Because he produced this movie, I think it means that Quinto may have a good sense for quality screenplays. Margin Call is sharply written, and rather than bogging down the audience in the jargon of mortgage back securities and investment trading, the script looks at the characters, personalities, and people behind the decisions that rock the financial foundations of both our nation and also of the entire world.

Writer/director J.C. Chandor has earned an Oscar nomination for this screenplay, but the more impressive feat is directing this cast. There are three Oscar wins between Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons and a lot of superb work on the theatre stage. Stanley Tucci has years of excellent performances behind him, and he deserves an Oscar. The rest of the cast is rock solid.

Chandor gives each actor a chance not only to shine as an individual performer, but also to help bring all the performances together to tell a riveting story. Chandor and his cast turn this character drama into a Wall Street thriller. There are some hiccups in the script, and there are also moments when the performances seem like stiff dialogue reading, but they don’t hurt this excellent film. Overall, Margin Call has a better story and screenplay than Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987), although Margin Call doesn’t have a monster performance like what Michael Douglas gives Wall Street. Thus far, however, Margin Call is this new century’s signature film about the callous greedy.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (J.C. Chandor)

Friday, February 10, 2012

2012 Grammy Awards - Complete Winners List

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 54th Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS.  Adele won six awards including the big three: Album, Record, and Song of the Year.

54TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS (2012) – Complete List of Winners:

1. Record of the Year
"Rolling in the Deep" - Adele

2. Album of the Year
"21" - Adele

3. Song of the Year
“Rolling in the Deep” - Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)

4. Best New Artist
Bon Iver

5. Best Pop Solo Performance
"Someone Like You" - Adele

6. Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"Body And Soul" -Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

7. Best Pop Instrumental Album
"The Road From Memphis" - Booker T. Jones

8. Best Pop Vocal Album
"21" - Adele

9. Best Dance Recording
"Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" - Skrillex

10. Best Dance/Electronica Album
"Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" - Skrillex

11. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
"Duets II" - Tony Bennett & Various Artists

12. Best Rock Performance
"Walk" - Foo Fighters

13. Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
"White Limo" - Foo Fighters

14. Best Rock Song
"Walk" - Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters)

15. Best Rock Album
"Wasting Light" -Foo Fighters

16. Best Alternative Music Album
"Bon Iver" - Bon Iver

17. Best R&B Performance
"Is This Love" - Corinne Bailey Rae

18. Best Traditional R&B Performance
"Fool For You" - Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

19. Best R&B Song
"Fool For You" - Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim, Jack Splash, songwriters (Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona)

20. Best R&B Album
"F.A.M.E." - Chris Brown

21. Best Rap Performance
"Otis" - Jay-Z & Kanye West

22. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"All of the Lights" - Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie

23. Best Rap Song
"All of the Lights," Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie)

24. Best Rap Album
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" - Kanye West

25. Best Country Solo Performance
"Mean" - Taylor Swift

26. Best Country Duo/Group Performance
"Barton Hollow" - The Civil Wars

27. Best Country Song
"Mean" - Taylor Swift, songwriter (Taylor Swift)

28. Best Country Album
"Own The Night" - Lady Antebellum

29. Best New Age Album
"What's It All About" - Pat Metheny

30. Best Improvised Jazz Solo
"500 Miles High" - Chick Corea, soloist

31. Best Jazz Vocal Album
"The Mosaic Project" - Terri Lyne Carrington & Various Artists

32. Best Jazz Instrumental Album
"Forever" - Corea, Clarke & White

33. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
"The Good Feeling" - Christian McBride Big Band

34. Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance
"Jesus" - Le'Andria Johnson

35. Best Gospel Song
"Hello Fear" - Kirk Franklin, songwriter (Kirk Franklin)

36. Best Contemporary Christian Music Song
"Blessings" - Laura Story, songwriter (Laura Story)

37. Best Gospel Album
"Hello Fear" - Kirk Franklin

38. Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
"And If Our God Is For Us..." - Chris Tomlin

39. Best Latin Pop, Rock, Or Urban Album
"Drama Y Luz" - Maná

40. Best Regional Mexican Or Tejano Album
"Bicentenario" - Pepe Aguilar

41. Best Banda Or Norteño Album
"Los Tigres Del Norte And Friends" - Los Tigres Del Norte

42. Best Tropical Latin Album
"The Last Mambo" - Cachao

43. Best Americana Album
"Ramble At The Ryman" - Levon Helm

44. Best Bluegrass Album
"Paper Airplane" - Alison Krauss & Union Station

45. Best Blues Album
"Revelator" - Tedeschi Trucks Band

46. Best Folk Album
"Barton Hollow" - The Civil Wars

47. Best Regional Roots Music Album
"Rebirth Of New Orleans" - Rebirth Brass Band

48. Best Reggae Album
"Revelation Pt 1: The Root Of Life" - Stephen Marley

49. Best World Music Album
"Tassili" - Tinariwen

50. Best Children's Album
"All About Bullies... Big And Small" - (Various Artists); Jim Cravero, Gloria Domina, Kevin Mackie, Steve Pullara & Patrick Robinson, producers

51. Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)
"If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't)" - Betty White

52. Best Comedy Album
"Hilarious" - Louis C.K.

53. Best Musical Theater Album
"The Book Of Mormon" - Josh Gad & Andrew Rannells, artists; Anne Garefino, Robert Lopez, Stephen Oremus, Trey Parker, Scott Rudin & Matt Stone, producers; Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)

54. Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
"Boardwalk Empire: Volume 1" (Various Artists); Stewart Lerman, Randall Poster & Kevin Weaver, producers

55. Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
"The King's Speech" - Alexandre Desplat, composer

56. Best Song Written For Visual Media
"I See The Light (From Tangled)" Alan Menken & Glenn Slater, songwriters (Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi)

57. Best Instrumental Composition
"Life In Eleven" - Béla Fleck & Howard Levy, composers (Béla Fleck & The Flecktones); Track from: Rocket Science

58. Best Instrumental Arrangement
"Rhapsody In Blue" - Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band); Track from: That's How We Roll

59. Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
"Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" - Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Tony Bennett & Queen Latifah); Track from: Duets II

60. Best Recording Package
"Scenes From The Suburbs" - Caroline Robert, art director (Arcade Fire)

61. Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
"The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" - Dave Bett & Michelle Holme, art directors (Bruce Springsteen)

62. Best Album Notes
"Hear Me Howling!: Blues, Ballads & Beyond As Recorded By The San Francisco Bay By Chris Strachwitz In The 1960s" - Adam Machado, album notes writer (Various Artists)

63. Best Historical Album
"Band On The Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection - Deluxe Edition)" Paul McCartney, compilation producer; Sam Okell & Steve Rooke, mastering engineers (Paul McCartney & Wings)

64. Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
"Paper Airplane" - Neal Cappellino & Mike Shipley, engineers; Brad Blackwood, mastering engineer (Alison Krauss & Union Station)

65. Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Paul Epworth:

1. Call It What You Want (Foster The People) (T)
2. I Would Do Anything For You (Foster The People) (T)
3. I'll Be Waiting (Adele) (T)
4. Life On The Nickel (Foster The People) (T)
5. No One's Gonna Love You (Cee-Lo Green) (S)
6. Rolling In The Deep (Adele) (T)

66. Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
"Cinema (Skrillex Remix)" - Sonny Moore, remixer (Benny Benassi); Track from: Electroman

67. Best Surround Sound Album
"Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (Super Deluxe Edition)" - Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer; Bill Levenson & Elliot Scheiner, surround producers (Derek & The Dominos)

68. Best Engineered Album, Classical
"Aldridge: Elmer Gantry" - Byeong-Joon Hwang & John Newton, engineers; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (William Boggs, Keith Phares, Patricia Risley, Vale Rideout, Frank Kelley, Heather Buck, Florentine Opera Chorus & Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

69. Producer Of The Year, Classical
Judith Sherman:

1. Adams: Son Of Chamber Symphony; String Quartet (John Adams, St. Lawrence String Quartet & International Contemporary Ensemble)
2. Capricho Latino (Rachel Barton Pine)
3. 85th Birthday Celebration (Claude Frank)
4. Insects & Paper Airplanes - Chamber Music Of Lawrence Dillon (Daedalus Quartet & Benjamin Hochman)
5. Midnight Frolic - The Broadway Theater Music Of Louis A. Hirsch (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
6. Notable Women - Trios By Today's Female Composers (Lincoln Trio)
7. The Soviet Experience, Vol. 1 - String Quartets By Dmitri Shostakovich & His Contemporaries (Pacifica Quartet)
8. Speak! (Anthony De Mare)
9. State Of The Art - The American Brass Quintet At 50 (The American Brass Quintet)
10. Steve Reich: WTC 9/11; Mallet Quartet; Dance Patterns (Kronos Quartet, Steve Reich Musicians & So Percussion)
11. Winging It - Piano Music Of John Corigliano (Ursula Oppens)

70. Best Orchestral Performance
"Brahms: Symphony No. 4" - Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

71. Best Opera Recording
"Adams: Doctor Atomic" - Alan Gilbert, conductor; Meredith Arwady, Sasha Cooke, Richard Paul Fink, Gerald Finley, Thomas Glenn & Eric Owens; Jay David Saks, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

72. Best Choral Performance
"Light & Gold" - Eric Whitacre, conductor (Christopher Glynn & Hila Plitmann; The King's Singers, Laudibus, Pavão Quartet & The Eric Whitacre Singers)

73. Best Small Ensemble Performance
"Mackey: Lonely Motel - Music From Slide" - Rinde Eckert & Steven Mackey; Eighth Blackbird

74. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
"Schwantner: Concerto For Percussion & Orchestra" - Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Christopher Lamb (Nashville Symphony)

75. Best Classical Vocal Solo
"Diva Divo" - Joyce DiDonato (Kazushi Ono; Orchestre De L'Opéra National De Lyon; Choeur De L'Opéra National De Lyon)

76. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
"Aldridge, Robert: Elmer Gantry" - Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein

77. Best Short Form Music Video
"Rolling In The Deep" – Adele; Sam Brown, video director; Hannah Chandler, video producer

78. Best Long Form Music Video
"Foo Fighters: Back And Forth" - Foo Fighters; James Moll, video director; James Moll & Nigel Sinclair, video producers

http://www.grammy.com/

2012 Black Reel Awards Nominations - Complete List

The Black Reel Awards annually honor African-Americans in feature, independent and television film. The awards were launched in 2000, and this is the 12th year the awards will be handed out. The Black Reel Awards are now given out by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF).

More 50 film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet comprise the voting members of the Black Reel Awards. 2012 winners were announced on Friday, February 10, 2012 in ceremony held in Washington D.C.  I'll have the results soon.

The nominations for the 2012 Black Reel Awards:

Outstanding Film
Pariah
Shame
The Help
Attack the Block
Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Director
Steve McQueen – Shame
Dee Rees – Pariah
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Salim Akil – Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Actor
John Boyega – Attack the Block
Demián Bichir– A Better Life
Laz Alonso – Jumping the Broom
Oliver Litondo – The First Grader
Evan Ross – Mooz-Lum

Outstanding Actress
Viola Davis – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Zoe Saldana – Columbiana
Nia Long – Mooz-Lum
Naomie Harris – The First Grader

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Anthony Mackie – The Adjustment Bureau
Don Cheadle – The Guard
Isiah Whitlock Jr. – Cedar Rapids
Laurence Fishburne – Contagion
Mike Epps – Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Maya Rudolph – Bridesmaids
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Pernell Walker – Pariah
Angela Bassett – Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted
Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan – Shame
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Dee Rees – Pariah
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs – Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
John Boyega – Attack the Block
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Larry Crowne

Outstanding Ensemble
Pariah
Attack the Block
The Help
Mooz-Lum
Fast Five
Jumping the Broom

Outstanding Original Song
The Living Proof – Mary J. Blige (The Help)
Walkin’ Blues – Cee-Lo Green featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Footloose)
Furiously Dangerous – Ludacris (Fast Five)
Fly Love – Jamie Foxx (Rio)
My Last Day Without You – Nicole Beharie (My Last Day Without You)

Outstanding Score
Harry Escott – Shame
Steven Price – Attack the Block
Misha Segal – Mooz-Lum
Thomas Newman – The Help
Alex Heffes – The First Grader

Outstanding Foreign Film
Attack the Block
The First Grader
Kinyarwanda
Life, Above All
Viva Riva!

Outstanding Feature Documentary
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey – Constance Marks
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest – Michael Rapaport
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – Goran Olsson
Undefeated – Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin
The Interrupters – Steve James

Outstanding Independent Feature Film
My Last Day Without You – Stefan C. Schaefer
The Tested – Russell Constanzo
Mamitas – Nicholas Ozeki
Besouro – João Daniel Tikhomiroff
Billy – Winston Washington Moxam

Outstanding Independent Short Film
Fig – Ryan Coogler
Wolf Call – Rob Underhill
Wake – Bree Newsome
The Abyss Boys – Jan-Hendrik Beetge
The Tombs – Jerry Lamonthe

Outstanding Independent Documentary
Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door – Christine Acham and Clifford Ward

Gang Girl: A Mother’s Journey to Save Her Daughter – Valerie Goodloe

Brown Babies – Regina Griffin

Zero Percent – Tim Skousen

The Manuscripts of Timbuktu – Zola Maseko

Burn: The Evolution of An American City – Harold Jackson III

Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male
Idris Elba – Luther
Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood
Samuel L. Jackson – The Sunset Limited
Eric Benet – Trinity Goodheart
Mykelti Williamson – Have A Little Faith

Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female
Taraji P. Henson – Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Anika Noni Rose – Bag of Bones
Rosario Dawson – Five
Jenifer Lewis – Five
Tracee Ellis Ross – Five

Outstanding Television Documentary
Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation – VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)

Pray the Devil Back to Hell – PBS (Gini Reticker)

The Fab Five – ESPN (Jason Hehir)

Black in Latin America – PBS (Henry Louis Gates)

The Latino List – HBO (Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)

Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film
Thurgood – HBO (Michael Stevens)
Luther – BBC (Katie Swinden)
Five – Lifetime (Nellie Nugiel)
The Sunset Limited – HBO (Barbara A. Hall)
Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story – Lifetime (Harvey Kahn)

2012 BAFTAs Name "The Artist" Best Film

The Orange British Academy Film Awards (also known as the BAFTAs) are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British counterpart of the Oscars.

The 2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at London's Royal Opera House.  To no one's surprise, the black and white, silent film, The Artist, was the big winner, capturing the best film prize and winning in 7 of the 12 categories in which it was nominated.

2012 Orange British Academy Film Awards winners:

BEST FILM
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Thomas Langmann

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
WINNER: TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
WINNER: TYRANNOSAUR - Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

DIRECTOR
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Michel Hazanavicius

DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: SENNA - Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Manish Pandey

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Michel Hazanavicius

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
WINNER: TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
WINNER: THE SKIN I LIVE IN - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

ANIMATED FILM
WINNER: RANGO - Gore Verbinski

LEADING ACTOR
WINNER: JEAN DUJARDIN - The Artist

LEADING ACTRESS
WINNER: MERYL STREEP - The Iron Lady

SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER - Beginners

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: OCTAVIA SPENCER - The Help

ORIGINAL MUSIC
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Ludovic Bource

CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Guillaume Schiffman

EDITING
WINNER: SENNA - Gregers Sall, Chris King

PRODUCTION DESIGN
WINNER: HUGO - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

COSTUME DESIGN
WINNER: THE ARTIST - Mark Bridges

SOUND
WINNER: HUGO - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
WINNER: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery

MAKE UP & HAIR
WINNER: THE IRON LADY - Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland, Marese Langan

SHORT ANIMATION
WINNER: A MORNING STROLL - Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
WINNER: PITCH BLACK HEIST - John Maclean, Gerardine O'Flynn

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
WINNER: ADAM DEACON

ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
Martin Scorsese

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
John Hurt

A Round of Lost Stars - Peter Breck and Whitney Houston

Coming off the losses of Grammy-winning singer Etta James and Soul Train founder and host, Don Cornelius, comes word of the death of two more people who brought me joy and happiness with their work and performances.

I was not a big fan of Whitney Houston's work in movies, but I am a big fan of her music.  Ms. Houston (who was born in 1963) was found dead (at the age of 48) in a room at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, yesterday (Saturday, February 11, 2012).  My favorite Whitney Houston album is My Love is Your Love (1998), her last multi-platinum studio album.  Ms. Houston was set to appear in a remake of the 1976 film, Sparkle, which is currently slated for an August 2012 release.  R.I.P. Whitney.

I've also learned that American actor, Peter Breck, died Monday, February 6, 2012 at the age of 82.  I am a big fan of Breck because of his work in the 1960s ABC Western television series, The Big Valley, playing hot-tempered Nick Barkley, the middle son of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck).  The handsome, rugged, dark-haired Breck was perfect for the part of Nick, playing a character that is basically the ramrod and de factor boss of the Barkley ranch.  Breck also played "Doc Holliday" on six episodes of the ABC Western television series, Maverick.  Thanks to MeTV, I can watch Breck at least five times a week on The Big Valley, forever young and strapping.  R.I.P. Mr. Breck.

Review: "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America" is Unforgettable

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 198 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Kevin Willmott
PRODUCER: Rick Cowan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matt Jacobson
EDITORS: Sean Blake and David Gramly

COMEDY/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Evamarii Johnson, Larry Peterson, Patti Van Slyke, and Rupert Pate

Writer/director Kevin Willmott’s blistering comedy, C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, is a so-called “mockumenatry” (a mock documentary). Willmott (an assistant professor at the University of Kansas) puts forth a provocative vision in which the South (or the Confederacy or the Confederate States of America) won the Civil War (the War Between the States?), and slavery is still legal and liberals and free blacks have fled to Canada.

In this film within a film, a C.S.A. television station, Channel 6, decides to show the controversial British documentary, C.S.A., a documentary history of the Confederate States of America, which begins with the Civil War and ends in present day C.S.A. In between the documentary, the station broadcasts commercial advertisements for a number of products with racist brand names and logos and/or inherently racist in nature as they are geared towards pacifying slaves (including a prescription drug available from veterinarians, Contrari, which makes troublesome darkies docile). The C.S.A. documentary features archival footage of the capture of the disposed Union President Abraham Lincoln (in black face and on the run with Harriet Tubman), of the C.S.A. conquering Latin America and exporting its own brand of apartheid there, and of a C.S.A. alliance with Adolf Hitler, among other things.

The best-known “mockumentary” is probably This is… Spinal Tap. Christopher Guest, one of Spinal Tap’s co-creators, has also directed a trio of critically acclaimed mockumentaries including the recent Oscar-nominated A Mighty Wind (a fourth is due Fall 2006). Other examples of mockumentaries are CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat. While C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is in the tradition of the aforementioned films, it more closely resembles two Robert K. Weiss-produced comedies, The Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon both in tone and in temperament. The alternative racial history aspect of C.S.A. is very much like some of pseudo-historical sketches from Dave Chappelle’s now-defunct Comedy Central series, “Chappelle’s Show,” like the one in which black Americans received reparations for slavery.

C.S.A. is, in the end, its own beast. Using humor, some of it relentlessly scathing and much of it surprisingly droll, Willmott comments on more than just race (read: skin color), racism, and race relations in the United States with the C.S.A. as an allegorical stand in. Willmott also discusses imperialism, war, greed, nationalist propaganda, crass commercialism, and ethnic and religious bigotry. Many of the racist products featured in the faux commercials are actual racist products from American history including the ones for the fried chicken franchise, Coon Chicken Inn, and the furniture polish, the Gold Dust Twins.

Keeping in mind what George Bernard Shaw said about using comedy to tell truths because it keeps the audience from killing the storyteller (which Willmott quotes at the beginning of this movie), Willmott exposes the ugly truths about bigotry, doing it all with a disarming sense of humor. Some people will automatically be defensive about this film (especially hypersensitive white Southerners), but this is simply an excellent political and social comedy. It stumbles a bit, and its low budget only occasionally hurts the movie. Still, C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is an exceptional, offbeat film for those with a taste for black, bold and outspoken.

7 of 10
A-

Sunday, September 17, 2006

You can watch C.S.A. on Amazon's PRIME VIDEO.

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Review: Aniston is Money in "Friends with Money: (Happy B'day, Jennifer Aniston)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 196 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Friends with Money (2006)
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, some sexual content, and brief drug use
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nicole Holofcener
PRODUCER: Anthony Bregman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Terry Stacey
EDITOR: Robert Frazen

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Greg Germann, Simon McBurney, Jason Isaacs, Scott Caan, Ty Burrell, and Bob Stephenson

Set in present day Los Angeles, writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s bittersweet movie, Friends with Money follows the lives of four women in their late 30’s and early 40’s. Jane (Frances McDormand) is a financially secure designer of a popular clothing line, but she’s emotionally insecure and a bit shaky mentally. Her husband, Aaron (Simon McBurney), has little tolerance for her antics. Franny (Joan Cusack) is rich, and she and her husband, Matt (Greg Germann), spend lavishly on gifts and give generously to charity. Christine (Catherine Keener) and her husband, David (Jason Isaacs), are a husband and wife screenwriting team whose marriage and creative partnership is on the rocks. Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) is their single friend who is still struggling to find herself, while Jane, Franny, and Christine struggle with the complexities and annoyances of married life.

For many moviegoers, Friends with Money must be a shock to the system, being that it is a well-cast drama with skilled actors portraying adults in real life situations. Holofcener mines the film’s humor from that generous vein we know as human foibles. Not all of the characters are interesting (Franny and Matt are dullsville.), and some of the characters come across as standard oddballs added just to be oddballs (Scott Caan’s Mike, for instance). Overall, the film works, although even at 88 minutes, it tends to meander.

Jennifer Aniston makes this movie. Whenever she’s onscreen, Friends with Money springs to life like a J.V. football player who just learned he’s made the varsity squad. There’s something in Aniston’s performance as Olivia and in Holofcener’s writing for that character that makes both the story appealing and the rest of the characters relevant mainly in the context of Olivia’s struggles. I’m not ready to call her a great actress, but Aniston is pretty darn good. See this flick for her.

7 of 10
B+

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

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