Review: Yes, "Pink Flamingos" is Culturally Significant (Happy B'day, John Waters)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 154 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Water’s Pink Flamingos (1972)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – NC-17 for a wide range of perversions in explicit detail (re-rating for 1997 re-release)
PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Waters
EDITOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Waters

COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills, Edith Massey, Channing Wilroy, Cookie Mueller, Paul Swift, Susan Walsh, and Linda Olgierson

Pink Flamingos is a 1972 black comedy and exploitation film from director John Waters. Controversial upon its initial release, because of its depiction of perverse acts, Pink Flamingos went on to become a cult film because of its notoriety. The film follows a notorious female criminal and underground figure who resists attempts to both humiliate her and to steal her tabloid reputation.

Divine (Divine) lives on the outskirts of Baltimore in a trailer with her degenerate son, Crackers (Danny Mills), her dim-bulb mother, Edie (Edith Massey), and her “traveling companion,” Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce). She lives under the pseudonym Babs Johnson, and in local outsider community and to its news press is known as the “Filthiest Person Alive.” However, local couple, Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary), also vies for that title. The vile Marble clan launches an unbridled assault on Babs Johnson’s reputation and on her home. But Babs and her family fight back in a small war that breaks just about every taboo in the book: incest, drug trafficking, bestiality, castration, murder, cannibalism, etc.

It seems impossible that (regardless of what other films he has directed in the past or may direct in the future) John Waters will be best remembered for any film other than Pink Flamingos. Cheaply made with a cast of amateur actors and locals from the Baltimore area (from where Waters originates), this is the kind of film that would normally merit a review of “no stars” or a grade of “F,” simply because it isn’t like a “normal” film (at least not one from Hollywood). However, Pink Flamingos may be the ultimate low budget trash movie, the ultimate camp experience, and a supreme ode to bad taste. Fun, vile, and also disgusting to the point that many people might turn off the TV early in the film (or walk out the theatre), Pink Flamingos is an object – a piece of art by someone who wants to put his thumb in the eye of American values. It doesn’t matter if its working class, middle class, church-going, God-fearing, or baseball-mom-and-apple pie American values, John Water made Pink Flamingos an assault on decency.

New Line Cinema, the film company that distributed the movie in 1972, released a trailer for Pink Flamingos that did not include scenes from the film, so in that vein, I won’t give away more about the movie. I will say that no serious fan of movies can go without seeing it.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

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Kevin Hart Shameless in Shameless "Soul Plane"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 85 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


Soul Plane (2004)
Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, language and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Jessy Terrero
WRITERS: Bo Zenga and Chuck Wilson
PRODUCERS: David Scott Rubin and Jessy Terrero
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jonathan Sela
EDITOR: Michael R. Miller
COMPOSERS: Christopher Lennertz and RZA

COMEDY

Starring: Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, Method Man, Snoop Dogg, K.D. Aubert, Godfrey, Brian Hooks, D.L. Hughley, Arielle Kebbel, Mo’Nique, Ryan Pinkston, Missi Pyle, Sofia Vergara, Gary Anthony Williams, Karl Malone, Li’l John, and John Witherspoon

The subject of this movie review is Soul Plane, a 2004 jiggaboo comedy. Kevin Hart stars as a young man who starts his own Black-centric airline, and the story focuses on the maiden voyage of the sole plane in his non-existent fleet.

That white writers (usually from upper middle class backgrounds) wrote sketch comedy making fun of black culture used to piss me off. Why the hell couldn’t Hollywood just hire black writers, I rhetorically asked, to write about blacks since white film and TV executives felt that only whites could write about whites. Well, if the best that black writers and filmmakers can do is Soul Plane, never let a nigga touch another sheet of paper.

When Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) wins a $100 million settlement for negligence from an airline, he decides to start his own airline: NWA. Lest you confuse yourself, this NWA is not that N.W.A.; for the sake of this movie the acronym stands for “Nashawn Wade Airline.” In flight meals can be anything from Cristal and filet mignon to Colt .45 and Popeye’s fried chicken. The airline’s one plane is purple and rolls on dubs, and the stewardesses are big booty ho’s in Daisy Dukes. When his cousin (badly played by rapper Method Man) hires an ex-con (Snoop Dogg) to fly the plane, you know there’s going to be trouble and hilarity ensues.

Soul Plane is a poorly made collection of stereotypes, blaxtiploitation, riffs on hip hop culture, deplorable acting, and feeble musical tracks. Except for a few moments, the film is painfully unfunny. In fact, 9.5 of every ten minutes of this film is not funny, although the few good scenes are both shocking, painfully embarrassing, and outrageously hilarious – kind of like Scary Movie 3, but with way fewer yucks. Frankly, it’s more saddening than bad.

The cast is either extraordinarily untalented or just misused. Kevin Hart is a Sambo version of Chris Tucker, and his performance is like a frantic and desperate crackhead trying to be funny. Mo’Nique isn’t in the movie enough, and Tom Arnold (practically the lone salvation of this film) may have his name at the front of the credits, but this is (quite unfortunately) not his film.

1 of 10
D-

Animated "Wonder Woman" Thunders

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wonder Woman (2009) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 74 minutes (1 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence throughout and some suggestive material
DIRECTOR: Lauren Montgomery
WRITERS: Michael Jelenic; from a story by Michael Jelenic and Gail Simone (based on characters created by William M. Marston)
PRODUCER: Bruce W. Timm
EDITOR: Rob Desales
COMPOSER: Christopher Drake
ANIMATION STUDIO: Moi Animation Studio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madsen, Vicki Lewis, Marg Helgenberger, Oliver Platt, and Skye Arens

Wonder Woman is a 2009 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation. Starring DC Comics character, Wonder Woman, this is also the fourth feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. The movie pits the most famous comic book super-heroine, Wonder Woman, against Ares, and is loosely based upon the stories by acclaimed comic book writer/artist, George Perez.

Wonder Woman begins during an epic battle between the proud and fierce race of warrior women, the Amazons, and the forces of Ares (Alfred Molina), the Greek god of war. After Amazon Queen Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen) defeats Ares, the gods force a peace. The Amazons are granted an island, Themyscira, where they can be eternally youthful and isolated from men, but Ares will also be imprisoned on the island.

Over a 1000 years later, United States Air Force pilot, Colonel Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) crashes on Themyscira. Modern man’s trespass of the island also leads to events that enable the imprisoned Ares to escape with the help of an Amazon who betrays her sisters. Princess Diana (Keri Russell), daughter of Hippolyta, wins the right to return Trevor to his world and to also recapture Ares. However, Ares plans to not only regain his former powers, but also to bring total war to Earth. Will Princess Diana triumph and become Wonder Woman?

First, I must say that I am surprised at the amount of violence in Wonder Woman, and I’m not just talking about standard science fiction and fantasy violence. Although it is not explicitly depicted, murder and killing are prominent in the film from beginning to end. That doesn’t offend me, but does surprise me, and I thought that I should mention it.

Anyway, this is a terrific movie, and although I have many films to go in the series, I think this is the best of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies I’ve seen. The animation is good, but even better is the action. Wonder Woman’s action set pieces are like having the Lord of the Rings films and the 2007 hit, 300, turned into animation for our viewing pleasure, and it’s pleasurable, indeed. The writing is solid, especially the character development, which emphasizes the relationship between Diana and Steve and also allows both characters to go on a journey of growth.

The voice acting is good; you know that voice acting is good when you see the animated character and voice actor as one. I know that not all DC Universe Animated Original Movies are going to be as good as Wonder Woman. How could they since Wonder Woman is so good.

9 of 10
A+

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Review: "Ghost Protocol" the Best "Mission: Impossible" Since First M:I Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for scenes of intense action and violence
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
WRITERS: Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (based upon the television series created by Bruce Geller)
PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Elswit (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Paul Hirsch
COMPOSER: Michael Giacchino

ACTION/ADVENTURE/SPY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Samuli Edelmann, Ivan Shvedoff, Anil Kapoor, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Pavel Kriz, Miraj Grbic, and Ilia Volok, with Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, and Tom Wilkinson

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 action thriller and espionage film directed by Brad Bird and starring Tom Cruise. It is the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible film franchise, which is based on the U.S. television series, Mission: Impossible, created by Bruce Geller and aired on CBS from 1966 to 1973 (and revived on ABC from 1988-90).

Ghost Protocol finds the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) accused of a terrorist act and its agents forced to go rogue to clear the organization’s name. Stylish, humorous, and fast-paced, Ghost Protocol is the best Mission: Impossible movie since the 1996 original.

Super spy/secret agent and IMF team leader, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is locked in a Moscow prison. IMF sends agents from another team, Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), to extract him. Hunt is then assigned to lead Carter and Dunn on a mission to infiltrate the Moscow Kremlin archives in order to learn the identity of Cobalt, a terrorist determined to start worldwide nuclear war. When the Kremlin is bombed, however, IMF is blamed, and the Russians call the attack an undeclared act of war.

The President of the United States activates “Ghost Protocol,” which effectively disavows IMF and disbands it. The IMF Secretary (Tom Wilkinson) allows Hunt and his team to escape government custody so that they can track down Cobalt. The Secretary’s chief analyst, William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), who doesn’t seem to fit with the team, joins the mission. Without the vast resources of IMF, Ethan Hunt and his team are on their own as they try to stop Cobalt and restore IMF.

Simply put, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a terrific thriller. The filmmakers filled it with giant, action set pieces, which grabbed my attention and turned me into a pliant zombie. Despite the fact that many of these action scenes are just plain ludicrous, they are entertaining and thrilling. I used the rewind button to watch some of them a few more times. Perhaps, this movie thrives on the magic of Brad Bird, the Oscar-winning genius behind such Pixar Animation classics as The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Ghost Protocol certainly isn’t anywhere near reality, but Bird will not only make you suspend disbelief, but also hang it high just so that you can really enjoy this flick without thinking about all the ways it doesn’t make sense.

The cast is good, and Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and Jeremy Renner’s characters have more to do than the supporting characters in the earlier Mission: Impossible films. Still, as ever, this is a Tom Cruise movie, so the big scenes, especially the fantastical action set pieces focus on Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Cruise’s Mission: Impossible movies are not like the TV series, which was an ensemble espionage drama. If you find Ethan Hunt as annoying as other characters Cruise has played, you may not like this or like it as much as I do.

But I can’t complain. For 15 years, Cruise has delivered the crackerjack action movie that I expected each time I sat down to watch a Mission: Impossible installment. Cruise’s high-wire act over the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai is just one of the improbable parts that make Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol a thrilling thriller.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, April 19, 2012

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Televsion Pioneer Dick Clark Dies at 82

Dick Clark, who was best known for hosting the long-running, classical musical variety show, "American Bandstand" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," died yesterday, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Los Angeles, reportedly after suffering a massive heart attack.  He was 82 years old.  This IMDb news item has the details about Clark's life (such as that he had one older brother who was killed during World War II).

My mother was a huge fan of Bandstand when she was a teenager.  Before her family had a TV set at home, she would go to her cousin's house to watch.  She told me that she would be stomping through the living room, as she danced to the music.  As I child, I made a point to watch the show every Saturday morning.  I remember seeing Prince, who made his television debut on Bandstand.

Thanks for the memories and rest in peace, Mr. Clark.

Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" Gets Soundtrack Release on May 8th

Danny Elfman’s Dark Shadows Original Score to Be Released May 8

Film Marks 14th Collaboration Between Composer Danny Elfman And Director Tim Burton

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WaterTower Music will release Dark Shadows – Original Score digitally and in stores on May 8, 2012. The album features original music by Grammy Award-winning and four-time Oscar®-nominated composer Danny Elfman, which is featured in director Tim Burton’s new gothic comedy Dark Shadows.

For more than 25 years, Burton and Elfman have collaborated on some of the cinema’s most beloved and recognizable films and soundtracks, including Big Fish, for which Elfman received an Oscar® nomination; Beetlejuice; Batman; Edward Scissorhands; Sleepy Hollow; Corpse Bride; and, more recently, Alice in Wonderland.

“Tim had some specific ideas about the music on Dark Shadows,” says Elfman. “I knew that the bigger dramatic scenes would be played in a rather grand theatrical manner, but the real treat was tapping into the retro pallet Tim had imagined. He wanted something that payed homage to both the original TV series and other '70s horror genres as well. For that we kept it minimal, eerie, and atmospheric with only electronics and a few solo instruments carrying the melodies.”

Elfman has also received Oscar® nominations for his scores for Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black, and Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting and Milk. Movie audiences worldwide have also heard Danny Elfman’s unique sound and style in some 80 film scores, including Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man; Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible; Martin Brest’s Midnight Run; Jon Amiel’s Sommersby; the Hughes Brothers’ Dead Presidents; Rob Marshall’s Academy® Award-winning Chicago; and Shawn Levy’s Real Steel.

In the year 1750, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin and the dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets.

Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, presents an Infinitum Nihil/GK Films/Zanuck Company production, a Tim Burton Film Dark Shadows in theaters and IMAX on May 11, 2012. “Dark Shadows” stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, Bella Heathcote and Gully McGrath.

The Dark Shadows -- Original Score on WaterTower Music will be available digitally and in stores on May 8, 2012; and on the same date, WaterTower Music will also be releasing the Dark Shadows –Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, containing eleven songs from the film.

http://www.darkshadowsmovie.com/

Film Critic Wesley Morris Wins Pulitzer Prize

Boston Globe's Wesley Morris Wins Pulitzer for Criticism

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Boston Globe film critic Wesley Morris was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his expansive and energetic work covering the world of film.

Morris’ work spans from the humorous to the serious, with reviews of films such as “Scream 4” and “The Help,” complemented by an appreciation of Apple CEO Steve Jobs and director Sidney Lumet, along with an essay on how a movie about car thieves, “The Fast and the Furious,” became a progressive force in American cinema. He artfully shares his movie experiences with readers in a unique and powerful way.

Of today's prize, Globe editor Martin Baron said, “Wesley’s writing can be playful, and it can be explosive. Always, there’s a boiling energy, informed by seemingly boundless knowledge. In one review after the next he helps us see the world in ways that might not come naturally. All of us at the Globe are immensely proud that Wesley has received our profession’s highest honor.”

This award marks the Globe's twenty-second (22) Pulitzer. In recent years, the Pulitzer Prizes awarded to the Globe include the Criticism Award, given to art critic Sebastian Smee in 2011 for his vibrant writing about art, and in 2005 the Explanatory Reporting Award, given to science reporter Gareth Cook for his coverage of the issues surrounding stem cell research, and the Public Service Award in 2003, for the Globe Spotlight Team's investigative reporting on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

The Globe has now won the Criticism category three (3) times in the last five (5) years. In addition to Smee and Morris, Mark Feeney won in the Criticism category in 2008 for his photography reviews.

Speaking today from The Boston Globe about his Pulitzer, Morris described his work. “Movies are visual, aural, they involve people, and life, and ideas and art, they are so elastic. They can hold anything, withstand everything, and make you feel anything. Other arts can do that, but movies are the only ones that can incorporate other media into cinema.”

Wesley Morris, a native of Philadelphia, is a film critic at the Boston Globe. Prior to that, he wrote film reviews and essays for the San Francisco Examiner, and later the San Francisco Chronicle. He is also a contributor to the ESPN-owned national sports website Grantland. Morris is a graduate of Yale University.

“This recognition for Wesley underscores the remarkable work our journalists are doing every day in our community,” said Christopher M. Mayer, publisher of The Boston Globe. “Wesley's distinctive voice and astute observations have been engaging Globe readers for years. His winning a Pulitzer Prize is a terrific honor that is a testament to the quality of his work.”

The award was one of thirteen (13) Pulitzers in journalism announced today. The New York Times was awarded a Pulitzer for Explanatory Reporting and International Reporting.


About The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is wholly owned by the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading, global multimedia news and information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, that includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com, About.com and related properties. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.