Review: Christopher Reeve Still Shines in "Superman II"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Superman II (1980)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Richard Lester
WRITERS: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman; from a story by Mario Puzo (based upon the characters and situations created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)
PRODUCER: Pierre Spengler
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Geoffrey Unsworth and Bob Paynter
EDITOR: John Victor-Smith
COMPOSER: Ken Thorne

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of comedy and sci-fi

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Terrence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Jack O’Halloran, Valerie Perrine, Leueen Willoughby, Clifton James, E.G. Marshall, Marc McClure, and Susannah York

The subject of this movie review is Superman II, a 1980 superhero drama and action film from director Richard Lester. This movie is based on the DC Comics character, Superman, created by comic book writer Jerry Siegel and comic book artist Joe Shuster. Superman II is also a direct sequel to the 1978 film, Superman: The Movie.

There was some controversy surrounding Superman II upon its release. It was originally being film simultaneously with Superman: The Movie by director Richard Donner. Donner ended up being fired by the Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who controlled the Superman film franchise at the time. Some of the film Donner shot for Superman II was apparently re-shot and some of it reused. Donner’s replacement, Richard Lester, is credited as the director of Superman II. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz is credited as a “creative consultant” for his contributions to the screenplay for Superman II.

Putting that aside, is Superman II a good movie? When I first saw Superman II, I considered it to be a better movie than Superman: The Movie. I no longer think so, but more on that later.

Superman II opens by going back in time to Superman’s birth planet, Krypton, prior to its destruction. There, the criminals: General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his followers, Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O'Halloran), are sentenced by Jor-El (Superman’s Kryptonian father) to banishment into the Phantom Zone for insurrection and other crimes. After traveling through the galaxy for many years, the Phantom Zone, represented as a spinning, picture frame-like segment of space, is shattered near Earth by the detonation of a hydrogen bomb.

Meanwhile, Daily Planet reporters, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), who is Superman, leave Metropolis for an undercover story. In Niagara Falls, Lois and Clark pretend to be a married couple, which brings them closer, physically and emotionally, than they usually are. Suddenly, Lois thinks she knows Superman’s secret identity. That leads Clark to make a monumental decision just when Earth most needs Superman.

I once told a friend that I preferred Superman II over Superman: The Movie and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn over Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He responded that people liked the sequels because they were “kick-ass.” That is true, to an extent, but Star Trek II is better than the first Trek film.

At the time I first saw it, I did like the fight scenes in Superman II, but there were many other elements that caught my attention. When I saw Superman II in a theatre, there was a woman a few rows in front of me who yelled, “Superman had sex,” when the film cutaway to a scene with Lois and Clark in bed, apparently post-coitus. I think what I liked about Superman II was that it confronted me with things I thought of has wrong in relation to Superman, especially Superman having sex with Lois, which also intrigued me. However, as a film critic said at the time of the film’s initial release, Superman and Lois should not have actual physical sex, because their version of sex was Superman carrying Lois in his arms as they fly over Metropolis.

Beside the sex, I found General Zod and company to be good villains, and, in a sense, they were the beginning of a series of things that endangered all that was great and good about Superman for me. They attacked the civilians that Superman protected, were disrespectful of the President of the United States of America, and they invaded Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. All these conflicts, dilemmas, and obstacles made for an exciting movie.

Years later, I find Superman II’s occasional campy moments and scenes a bit annoying, although its mostly those featuring Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). There is quite a bit to like about this movie, but the main reason to like this is the late Christopher Reeve. Here, he is eternally youthful. As Clark Kent, he is humble and even sly. As Superman, Reeve is both a champion and a man for seasons.

Now, I think Superman: The Movie is the better film and a blueprint for what a superhero movie can be. Still, Superman II is memorable.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, June 06, 2013

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

New "Transformers 4" Car Revealed - June 7 2013

MICHAEL BAY HAS UNVEILED YET ANOTHER SURPRISE FROM TRANSFORMERS 4

Meet the extraordinary and exhilirating 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe:

OFFICIAL SITE: WWW.TRANSFORMERSMOVIE.COM

Review: "Superman: The Movie" and Christopher Reeve Are Still Great

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 148 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Superman: The Movie (1978)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
WRITERS: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton; from a story by Mario Puzo (based upon the characters and situations created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)
PRODUCER: Pierre Spengler
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Geoffrey Unsworth
EDITORS: Stuart Baird and Michael Ellis
COMPOSER: John Williams
Academy Award winner

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA with elements of comedy and sci-fi

Starring: Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Valerie Perrine, Jeff East, Marc McClure, and Susannah York

The subject of this movie review is Superman: The Movie, a 1978 superhero drama and action film from director Richard Donner. This movie is based on the DC Comics character, Superman, created by comic book writer Jerry Siegel and comic book artist Joe Shuster. Superman: The Movie is a very good film, but more important is this film’s influence on the superhero movies that followed it. Superman: The Movie took its subject matter seriously and played it straight, rather than campy, proving that superhero movies could be more than silly comedies looking for cheap laughs.

Superman: The Movie is the first of four films starring the late actor, Christopher Reeve, in the role of Superman and also his civilian identity, Clark Kent. Although he does not receive a screenwriting credit, Tom Mankiewicz wrote Superman: The Movie’s final draft script. The father-son team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind produced this movie along with Pierre Spengler. The movie depicts Superman’s origin, from his birth on a distant planet to his youth in a rural small town, Smallville. The movie also begins to chronicle his adult life as a big city newspaper reporter and as Superman.

Mild-mannered Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) works as a reporter at The Daily Planet, one of the major newspapers in the city of Metropolis (a stand-in for New York City). He has a crush on fellow ace reporter, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), but Lois has a crush on the flying, impossibly strong hero, Superman (Christopher Reeve). Superman, however, is the alter ego of Clark Kent, and Kent also has many other secrets. He’s from another world, the planet Krypton, and before Krypton exploded, his father, Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sent baby Clark, whose birth name is Kal-El, in a starship on a three-year journey to Earth. Shortly after the star ship carrying Kal-El crashes in a Kansas field, a middle-aged couple, Martha and Jonathan Kent (Phyllis Thaxter and Glenn Ford), takes Kal-El as their own and names him Clark Kent.

Not long after Superman reveals himself to the world, he runs up against the nefarious genius, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), who has launched a plan to destroy much of western California in a real estate scheme that will make him perhaps the richest man on earth, although it will kill millions of people. Superman has met his match. Not only must he save millions of lives, but he must also save his friends Lois and cub reporter, Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure), and even Superman might not have enough time to do that.

Nearly 30 years after its first release, many critics and fans still consider director Richard Donner’s (The Omen) Oscar-nominated film, Superman: The Movie, to be the definitive big screen version of DC Comics’ venerable superhero. Christopher Reeve, a then unknown when cast to play Clark Kent/Superman, also remains for many the definitive screen Superman, be it TV or film (I personally prefer George Reeves of the 1950’s “Superman” TV series).

This version of Superman is an example of producer spending a large sums of money on a film and actually getting superior results. A talented director and crew of good writers took a cast that included a few great actors and movie stars, quality character actors, and some up and coming new talent and told an epic story that fills the viewer with the same kind of wonder of which the film itself is made. Everything works: Marlon Brando is a solemn, otherworldly, mystic-like figure that presides over the first half of the film like a grand marshal in an ambitious parade.

Gene Hackman is a smooth, scene-stealing, genius wise guy as Lex Luthor (and though I’m a big fan of Hackman, I’ve always had slight misgivings about Hackman as Luthor). Other cast members also resonate: Jackie Cooper is pitch-perfect tart as Planet boss, Perry White; Margot Kidder as Lois Lane is both tomboyish and girlish with a touch of feminism; and Marc McClure is spot-on as a Jimmy. Simply put, Reeve seems to embody both Clark and Superman. It’s as if he stepped out of a classic Superman comic book, and that’s enough to make it all work.

Superman’s technical aspects were also high quality. The visual effects are actually still good; they stand up to much of the high-priced, over-the-top computer effects done today. Using a harness and cranes to lift Christopher Reeve and give him the illusion of flying was and still is great stuff. As the film’s tagline says, “You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly.”

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1979 Academy Awards, USA: 1 win: “Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects” (Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys N. Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic); 3 nominations: “Best Film Editing” (Stuart Baird), “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams), and “Best Sound” (Gordon K. McCallum, Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, and Roy Charman)

1979 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles” (Christopher Reeve); 4 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (Geoffrey Unsworth), “Best Production Design/Art Direction” (John Barry), “Best Sound” (Chris Greenham, Gordon K. McCallum, Peter Pennell, Mike Hopkins, Pat Foster, Stan Fiferman, John Foster, Roy Charman, Norman Bolland, Brian Marshall, Charles Schmitz, Richard Raguse, and Chris Large), and “Best Supporting Actor” (Gene Hackman)

1979 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (John Williams)

Friday, July 14, 2006

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

Cinemark Classics Presents "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Cinemark’s Classic Series to Feature Four Steven Spielberg

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on June 9 and 12, 2013

Plano, TX – Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), one of the world’s largest motion picture exhibitors, is pleased to announce the next film in our Classic Series will feature director Steven Spielberg’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK on June 9 and 12. Other future films to play in this current series line-up will be E. T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL on June 16 and 19, and SCHINDLER’S LIST on June 23 and 26. Performances will be on Sundays at 2pm, and Wednesdays at two separate show times, 2 pm and 7pm.

Individual tickets for Cinemark’s Classic Series are now available at www.cinemark.com or at the participating theatre box office. For a full list of participating Cinemark locations, advance ticket purchases and show time information go to the Cinemark web site.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, ranked 66 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Greatest American Films, was a collaborative effort between Spielberg and George Lucas. The 1981 classic eventually spawned three sequels: INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984), INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989), and INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008).

“Steven Spielberg’s work as a director is unparalleled. But as a humanitarian and through his endeavor with the Shoah Foundation, his work takes on new breadth and depth. Cinemark is proud to present his films on the big screen, and to partner with his charity, the USC-Shoah Foundation, by donating all proceeds from SCHINDLER’S LIST on June 23rd and 26th,” states James Meredith, VP of Marketing & Communications for Cinemark Theatres.


ABOUT CINEMARK HOLDINGS, INC.
Cinemark is a leading domestic and international motion picture exhibitor, operating 467 theatres with 5,259 screens in 39 U.S. states, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and 10 other Latin American countries as of March 31, 2013. For more information go to www.cinemark.com.

Review: "Gangster Squad" Ain't Wangsta

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Gangster Squad (2013)
Running time: 113 minutes; MPAA – R for strong violence and language
DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer
WRITER: Will Beall (based on the book Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman)
PRODUCERS: Dan Lin, Kevin McCormick, and Michael Tadross
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dion Beebe (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Alan Baumgarten and James Herbert
COMPOSER: Steve Jablonsky

CRIME/ACTION

Starring: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Nick Nolte, Sullivan Stapleton, Holt McCallany, Mireille Enos, Austin Abrams, and Jon Polito

Gangster Squad is a 2013 action and crime film from director Ruben Fleischer. The film is based on Paul Lieberman’s 2012 book, Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles. Gangster Squad the movie follows a secret crew of police officers trying to end mob king Mickey Cohen’s reign over Los Angeles.

The reality is that Gangster Squad the movie is mostly fictional. It takes the Los Angeles Police Department’s real “Gangster Squad unit” and its efforts to protect the city from Mickey Cohen and his gang in the 1940s and 50s and turns it into a fanciful tale of two-fisted cops and one crazy mutha of gangster. But Gangster Squad is a hugely entertaining fanciful tale of cops and robbers.

Gangster Squad opens in Los Angeles, 1949. In post-World War II L.A., gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is the most powerful figure in the California criminal underworld. In fact, Cohen does not intend on letting anyone from “back east,” especially Chicago, interfere with his bid to expand his criminal enterprise across the Western United States.

In the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) wants to end Cohen’s influence over the city, which extends into the police department, the courts, and City Hall. Parker personally chooses Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin), a WWII veteran with a special operations background, to wage guerilla warfare on Cohen. With the help of his reluctant wife, Connie (Mireille Enos), O’Mara recruits fellow officers into his secret squad.

They choose the hard-headed African-American detective, Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie); wire-tap expert, Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi); and legendary gangster-killer and cowboy-type, Max Kennard (Robert Patrick). Kennard’s Latino partner, Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), is not initially picked, but he manages to bargain his way into the squad.

Fellow WWII vet, Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), turns down O’Mara’s offer, and focuses his attention on having an affair with Mickey Cohen’s girlfriend, Grace Faraday (Emma Stone). After he witnesses Cohen’s ruthlessness, Wooters joins O’Mara’s “Gangster Squad,” but these lawmen have no idea how truly sadistic Cohen can be when it comes to protecting his empire.

Gangster Squad has Oscar-nomination quality cinematography, art direction-set decoration, costume design, and perhaps, even sound editing. This movie’s cops vs. gangsters story is familiar material and, to some extent, is just retread. But Gangster Squad’s retread sure is entertaining. Somehow, cast, story, and action come together, and it is a combination that is a recognizable, yet tasty cinematic dish.

I rented Gangster Squad through Netflix. Normally, I watch my movie rentals over two days (or maybe even three). However, I couldn’t stop watching this mesmerizing crime/action movie. Gangster Squad is like a cool, color and colorful version of the old television series, “The Untouchables” (1959 to 1963 on ABC).

The performances are good. Sean Penn and Josh Brolin each do interesting takes on deranged, with Nick Nolte throwing in a cup of crazy, here and there. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, there is indeed excellent chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in this film. Actually, the supporting characters played by Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert Patrick are the most interesting in the movie. I think they are what keep Gangster Squad from being just another wanna-be-great, gangster period film.

Inevitably, Gangster Squad will end up on cable television, where it will receive countless repeat plays. I’ll be watching quite a few of those repeats.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, June 07, 2013

Henry Cavill to Host Special "Man of Steel" Screening

Warner Bros. Pictures and Henry Cavill Join Forces to Honor U.S. Men and Women in Uniform

“Man of Steel” ™ Star Kicks Off Nationwide Advance Screenings for Military Personnel and Families

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Henry Cavill, who stars in the title role of the upcoming action adventure film “Man of Steel” from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, will make a special appearance in Lancaster to welcome the men and women of Edwards Air Force Base to a special advance screening of the movie on Saturday, June 8. Cavill will introduce the film and greet the military in attendance, many of whom played extras in the movie, a portion of which was shot on the base.

In appreciation of our troops, and in recognition of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces), the Studio will also host advance screenings throughout the weekend at over three dozen military bases across the country. A video greeting from Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden, thanking those in the audience for their service, will play ahead of the film.

The two “Man of Steel” screenings for the Edwards AFB personnel and guests will take place on June 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cinemark 22 Theater in Lancaster, California. The additional screenings for the servicemen and women and families who are currently stationed at Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard bases across the country will take place on either Saturday or Sunday at the following locations:

•Army: Ft. Meade, Baltimore, Maryland; Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Ft. Lewis, Tacoma, Washington; Ft. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Ft. Campbell, Clarksville, Tennessee; Ft. Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina; Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Georgia; Ft. Hood, Killeen, Texas; Ft. Polk, Leesville, Louisiana; and Ft. Leonardwood, Waynesville, Missouri.

•Air Force: Hanscom AFB, Bedford, Massachusetts; Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi; Dover AFB, Dover, Delaware; Travis AFB, Fairfield, California; Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas; Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas; Schofield AFB, Wahiawa, Hawaii; Hickam AFB, Watertown, New York; Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas; and McGuire AFB, Wrightstown, New Jersey.

•Navy: SUBASE Bangor, Bangor, Washington; NSWC Dahlgren, Dahlgren, Virginia; NAS El Centro, El Centro, California; NAS Fallon, Fallon, Nevada; NAS JRB Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; SUBASE New London, Groton, Connecticut; NAB Little Creek, Little Creek, Virginia; NAS North Island, North Island, California; NAS Patuxent River, Patuxent River, Maryland; MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California; and NAS Whidbey Island, Whidbey Island, Washington.

•Marine Corps: MCAG 29 Palms, 29 Palms, California; MCAS Cherry Point, Cherry Point, North Carolina; MCB Kaneohe Bay, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; MCAS New River, New River, North Carolina; and MCB Yuma, Yuma, Arizona.

•Coast Guard: USCG in Petaluma, California; and USCG in Astoria, Oregon.

“Man of Steel” opens nationwide in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX® on June 14, 2013. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language.


About the Film: From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes “Man of Steel,” starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, under the direction of Zack Snyder. A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

“Man of Steel” also stars Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni and Russell Crowe. The film is produced by Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Entertainment. Thomas Tull, Lloyd Phillips and Jon Peters serve as executive producers. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Zack Snyder Film, “Man of Steel.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

www.manofsteel.com

Review: "Cinderella Man" Ignores the Woman Next to the Man (Happy B'day, Paul Giamatti)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cinderella Man (2005)
Running time: 144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense boxing violence and some language
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
WRITERS: Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman; from a story by Cliff Hollingsworth
PRODUCERS: Brian Grazer, Penny Marshall, and Ron Howard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Salvatore Totino
EDITORS: Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/BIOPIC/SPORTS

Starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill, Ron Canada, Clint Howard, and Rufus Crawford

The subject of this movie review is Cinderella Man, a 2005 boxing drama and biographical film from director Ron Howard. The film is based on the life of heavyweight boxing champion, James J. Braddock (1935 to 1937), and the movie’s title is taken from Braddock’s nickname.

In 1928, James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) was an up-and-coming prizefighter. By the early 1930, Jim Braddock was an impoverished ex-boxer – broken-down, beat-up, and as unfortunate and out of luck as so many Americans were who had hit rock bottom during the Depression. Although his boxing career was seemingly over, Braddock and still had a wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and three children to support, and to him they were what mattered most. Braddock was unable to pay his bills and eventually had to seek Public Relief (kind of like modern welfare); he even begged for money when things got that desperate.

However, Braddock never gave up on his dream to be a great boxer, even when the Boxing Commission took away his license to fight, and chance brings him a one-time fight. With his manager, Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), at his side, Jim grabs the success of that fight and pushes his way back into boxing, each success keeping his family with a roof over their heads, food on the table, and light and heat. Eventually, he gets his dream match – a heavyweight championship fight with the reigning champion, the unstoppable Max Baer (Craig Bierko). Now, Jim, considered too old and finished by many in the boxing community, must face Baer, a man renowned for having killed two men in the ring.

Ron Howard’s biopic, Cinderella Man, based upon the real life of Depression-era boxing hero, Jim Braddock, was one of the best reviewed films of 2005, but considering the reviews and the pedigrees of the filmmakers involved, the film was not well attended. That’s a shame because Cinderella Man is one of those proverbial “good movies” of which many people, especially media watchers, complain there aren’t enough. This is actually Howard’s epic film, an ode to middle class values from a man, who as a child actor, played one of the ultimate Middle American children, Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” and later played the teenage version of that in Richie Cunningham of “Happy Days.”

Cinderella Man is a film where you can really root for the hero, Jim Braddock. He’s the (not so) little guy battling against doubters, haters, financial misfortune, poverty, unemployment, etc., but he believes in himself. Though his back is often against the wall, he never quits, and he ain’t too proud to beg – if it keeps his family fed and off the streets. Russell Crowe’s performance embodies that plucky American spirit, but he shows something else we Americans really like – grit – the kind of grit it takes to fight the tough times. In fact, Paul Giamatti’s Joe Gould is like that voice inside our heads that keeps pushing us, and just when we think that the voice has left us, it’s back in our corner when it sees that we’re willing to fight out of the bad times. That’s the acting dynamic between Crowe and Giamatti – the hero and the voice of encouragement.

Cinderella Man actually does a few things to keep from being a perfect film. The lighting and cinematography are too murky; everything looks like an Old Master painting covered in soot. The script by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman is good, but not great. One reason that it isn’t great is because it takes the easy road of turning Renée Zellweger’s Mae Braddock into the little wife at home fretting away for her man. I can imagine that Mae does as much to hold things together for the Braddocks, and Howard and his writers don’t have the imagination to really show her struggle – what she does to support the family unit. Mae is just a prop the filmmakers use when they need to send Jim home for scenes that don’t involve boxing or work.

Ultimately, this is Ron Howard’s Middle American fable, and he uses the elements of cinema to manipulate the audience as much as Steve Spielberg did in films like E.T. the Extraterrestrial and The Color Purple. However, Cinderella Man has many genuine and honest moments that speak to the American family and of the grit it takes for a family to keep it together. That’s enough to make me ignore the warts.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards, USA: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Giamatti), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill), “Best Achievement in Makeup” (David LeRoy Anderson and Lance Anderson)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman)

2006 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations “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” (Paul Giamatti)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

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