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Well, it is "Black" Friday...
Black Sister’s Revenge
AKA Emma Mae
Directed by Jamaa Fanaka.
1976. Rated R, 100 minutes.
Cast:
Jerri Hayes
Ernest Williams II
Charles D. Brooks III
Leopoldo Mandeville
Malik Carter
Eddie Allen
Following her mother’s death Emma Mae (Hayes) moves from Mississippi to Compton, CA to live with her aunt and her family. Her first day in town she tags along with her two female cousins and their boyfriends. Being just a naïve and ugly country girl, their words not mine, she’s having trouble meeting guys. Tired of the fifth wheel hanging around, he cousin’s beaus pawn her off on Jesse (Williams II), the local pill-popper who is constantly loaded up on “reds”. Well, like dumb ugly girls tend to do (again, their words), Emma Mae falls head over heels in love with him since he’s the first city-slicker to show her the least bit of attention. So smitten is she that when Jesse gets in a fist-fight with some cops she helps out by kicking away an officer’s gun as he draws. Of course, when Jesse flees the scene Emma Mae is right behind her man. By the way, all of this happens in about two days. Not that any of this makes a whole lot of sense but certainly nothing from this point forward mankes any whatsoever. By the way, director Jamaa Fanaka went on to direct the Penitentiary trilogy.
Blaxploitation flicks are know for being way over the top, are often (not always) poorly acted, funny both intentionally and unintentionally due to microscopic budgets and/or poor production values as well as the mere fact of seeing characters, fashions and hearing slang that’s so undeniably 1970s. For a great deal of them, these qualities give them a lovable silliness because no matter how simply constructed the plots may be or how outrageous the action there is a rhym and reason. Black Sister’s Revenge takes the overwhelming message of blaxploitation flicks and the civil rights movement that spawned them and completely misappropriates them. It renders itself a rambling mumbling fool too well exemplified by one of its own characters, Big Daddy (Carter). Both the movie and the character want to do the right thing but their understanding of what that is appears suspect. BSR is a mess and much less enjoyable than others of its ilk. We joke that these movies are about “stickin’ it to tha man” or “down with whitey” or another favorite piece of rhetoric, the vague “upliftment of the community”. However, these sayings give us something to hold on to. We know what all the nuttiness is about. Our black hero, heroine, has been wronged by someone in the establishment and/or by a black dope dealer or pimp. Both forces work against the betterment of the black community and have to be dealt with. Sometime, it’s a dope dealer or pimp realizing the error of their ways. The dynamics of good and evil remain the same. This movie uses that simple and effective formula so inefficiently that it crafts a very misguided point. It’s the equivalent of a person badly scorching every pot in the house while attemption to hard boil an egg.
What on earth am I carrying on about? Mainly, my gripe is with how the movie deals with Jesse, the object of Emma Mae’s desire. He’s a junkie. He’s not a revolutionary who happens to do drugs. He is just a junkie whom everyone knows is nothing more. Yet and still, when he goest jail Emma Mae is able to get all of Compton helping her to raise enough money to get him out. They carry on as if they’re trying to bail out Martin Luther King Jr. or some other great leader. All the while she’s spouting the same revolutionary rhetoric of other flicks. It feels like totally misplaced loyalty, like we should fall in line behind the “Free Jesse” movement merely because he’s black even though he’s not done a single thing worthy of our efforts.
When Jesse finally gets out, he’s aware of what’s been going on but he’s not changed at all. This is because he must stay this way for the real purpose of the film. Let’s just say its going for a “hell hath no fury like…” vibe. Even this feels anticlimactic because when Emma Mae finishes her big speech at the finale everyone else on the screen should’ve just turned and said “I told you so.” Why they all went through such trouble on his behalf is mind boggling. This includes an impromptu bank robbery, by the way. My thing is since they didn’t like him on the day he went to jail what changed?
Many of the tenets of the genre are present and will cause some laughs. Unfortunately, the script and the acting is ridiculously bad in a painful way. Honestly, some of the supporting cast was okay. Even the guy who plays Jesse isn’t that bad. The problem is Hayes as Emma Mae dominates the movie and she is horrible. She gives us lots of cring-worth lind deliveries. Indeed, this was the debut for our star and she never appeared in anything else. Mr. Williams had a couple of credits before this but never showed up on screen again, either. Sadly, it doesn’t quite complete the trick. It never gets to so bad it’s awesome territory. It’s just bad.
MY SCORE: 2/10Comment
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The Dilemma
Directed by Ron Howard.
2011. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Vince Vaughn
Kevin James
Winona Ryder
Jennifer Connelly
Channing Tatum
Queen Latifah
Chelcie Ross
Amy Morton
Eduardo N. Martinez
What should you do if you find out your best friend’s wife is cheating on him? That question is at the heart of The Dilemma. The conflicted guy is Ronny (Vaughn). He’s not really conflicted, though. He has a pretty brief period of doubt then decides he’s definitely going to tell his pal Nick (James) about his wife’s indiscretions. It’s a matter of timing. Not only are Ronny and Nick best friends they are also business partners in the midst of trying to secure the biggest deal of their lives. The stress of this has already caused Nick’s ulcer to flare up again. Understandably, Ronny fears that news like this would completely break his friend. When he confronts Geneva (Ryder), the guilty party, with his knowledge and plans she offers up some interesting justifications. What ensues is Nick following around both of them while ignoring Beth (Connelly), his own girlfriend. He’s also sort of torn about whether or not to pop the big question to her.
Vince Vaughn gives the same performance we’ve come to expect from him. You can decide for yourself it that’s a positive or a negative. He’s ably assisted by Ryder, Connelly and even a refreshingly subdued Kevin James. There are also interesting turns by Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah. Overall, it shapes up to be a nice little drama with a few funny moments sprinkled in. It’s not mind-blowing or anything, but a decent time-passer.
Expectations is what dooms The Dilemma. If you’ve paid any attention to the marketing campaign for the film and are even slightly familiar with the two male leads you should reasonably expect a screwball comedy. It is not anything of the sort. That people would be severely disappointed only makes sense. It’s like ordering a thick, juicy steak and being given a salad with a few strips of beef within. Sure, that can be good on most days, but today you had your heart set on that steak.
The question that arises is this: Is The Dilemma not really that funny because it’s not trying or are the jokes falling flat? I’ll own up to having trouble discerning. There are some jokes that definitely fail. There are plenty of other spots where I didn’t think they were going for laughs at all, but attempting to make Ronny (and occasionally the others) both a pathetic and sympathetic figure. I thought it worked. However, for audiences craving steak, this salad just won’t do.
MY SCORE: 6/10Comment
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Have you reviewed Attack The Block yet? Didn't see it in the first post. Definitely check it out asap.
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Rio
Directed by Carlos Saldanha.
2011. Rated G, 96 minutes.
Cast:
Jesse Eisenberg
Anne Hathaway
Leslie Mann
Rodrigo Santoro
George Lopez
Jamie Foxx
Will.i.Am
Jermaine Clement
Wanda Sykes
Bernardo de Paula
Tracy Morgan
As a wee little baby bird Blu (Eisenberg) is snatched from his habitat in the wilds of Rio de Janeiro and winds up in Minnesota as pet to Linda (Mann). One day, ornithologist Tulio (Santoro) shows up and informs Linda that Blu is the last male of his species, the blue macaw. He needs Blu to mate with Jewel (Hathaway) in order to save said species. Of course, they have to go back to Rio for this to happen. Once there, we find out a few things. Jewel is very interested in escaping Tulio’s lab and not at all interested in Blu (she has no use for humans). Smugglers are also interested in our not-so-in-lovebirds, realizing that these are the last two of their kind and very valuable. Finally, Linda and Tulio seem very interested in each other. Chasing, match-making and singing ensues.
What also ensues is little more than an hour’s worth of blandness. It finds its comfort zone in a paint-by-numbers tale that doesn’t hold any real surprises and is more than happy bing cute and slipping in a slightly risqué joke every now and again. Occasionally, something pretty funny happens, it moves along at a nice pace and at a total length of just a bit over 90 minutes it never overstays its welcome. Howerver, it never really differentiates itself from the scores of other animated kiddie flicks made in the last half decade, positively or negatively. Even the songs are kind of ho-hum, not particularly memorable with the exception of the villainous Nigel’s (Clement) tune. This is a shame because you have both Jamie Foxx (Nico) and Will.i.Am (Pedro) in the cast. Love them or hate them, they’ve both made a killing by delivering catchy numbers to pop radio. Most of what we get here feels ripped off from Madagascar.
Don’t fret. This isn’t a bad watch. It’s a perfectly pleasant time-passer. There are some excellent visuals helped by the use of color and the absence of it, in Nigel’s case. Humor comes at a decent rate with the occasional punch line that goes over the kiddies’ heads. They’ll enjoy it and you probably will, also. I’m not sure either of you will love it, but I’m pretty sure you won’t hate it.
MY SCORE: 6/10Comment
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Hanna
Directed by Joe Wright.
2011. Rated PG-13, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Saoirse Ronan
Eric Bana
Cate Blanchett
Tom Hollander
Jessica Barden
Vicky Krieps
Tim Beckmann
Jason Flemyng
Olivia Williams
Hanna (Ronan) is not your typical teenage girl. Being raised in the forest by only your father in complete isolation tends to have that effect. We very soon learn there’s a lot more to it than that. Dad, Erik Heller (Bana) seems to be training her for a very dangerous mission. She fluently speaks numerous languages, has cat-like reflexes even in her sleep, fights viciously and is scarily proficient with firearms. We’re not the least bit surprised when she tells dad that she thinks she’s ready. With that, he digs up something that looks like he’s about to call Batman, shaves, cuts his hair, throws on a suit, gives Hanna a few last minute instructions and bails out. Apparently, the simple fact he’s alive is a threat to national security. Naturally, shortly after Hanna’s flipped the switch on the makeshift batphone a small army of government agents are making their way inside the cabin where she lives with guns drawn looking for pop. They only find her and she disposes of a few of them before letting herself be corralled and hauled off to a very sanitized facility for questioning.
At this point, we still don’t know what it is she’s ready for and why dad took off ahead of the action. Marissa (Blanchett) is wondering the same thing. She pretty much runs things in this particular government operation. The Heller’s plan slowly comes into focus for us while the action occurs rapidly enough. Our young heroine winds up on the run after some death-defying feats, death inducing to a number of those in her way, while dad is on an excursion of his own. Hanna’s introduction to the modern world and lack of social skill serves as comic relief. What exactly her father is doing and Hanna’s quest to reunite with him gives us both the action and the drama. It’s all woven into an intriguing and exciting tale. It’s also full of wonderful visuals that keep our eyes dazzled.
Detractors will note that Hanna engages in lots of hand-to-hand combat with grown men. Rest assured, all is explained. I might add that what we’re shown is well depicted. It never feels anywhere near as ridiculous as it might sound. It helps that Ronan handles the lead role superbly. She is a perfect mix of naivete and ruthlessness. The plot does its part by being mysterious enough to keep us interested, but not so much that it feels cryptic. There are some spots where it drags a bit, but the pace feels solid overall. It wisely borrows from another recent action movie with a female lead. If Salt is basically The Bourne Identity starring Angelina Jolie then Hanna is Salt with a teenager. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
MY SCORE: 7/10Comment
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I can't believe you liked bad education more than all about my mother
Bad Education AKA La Mala Educacion
2004. Rated NC-17, 106 minutes.
Director: Pedro Almodovar.
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Francisco Maestre.
Enrique (Martinez) is a famous film director who is struggling to come up with an idea for his next movie when an old friend of his suddenly shows up with a compelling screenplay. The friend doesn't want any money for the screenplay itself, but wants to star in the movie which is apparently autobiographical. Of course, things aren't quite as they seem. The movie the characters are making and the one you're watching are fascinating, disturbing and intertwine nicely. It throws us a couple of vicious curveballs we don't see coming and has a twisted sense of humor. Gael Garcia Bernal is fantastic in the lead role. This performance, combined with his stellar work in Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien have convinced me he is among the best actors of this generation. Sadly Americans, in general, know nothing of him. The movie as a whole is a winding, twisting and daring affair that never has the slightest inclination towards political correctness. It shocks you, not for the sake of shock but to advance the plot, which it does rather effectively. Both homophobes and subtitleophobes beware. Nearly every character is a gay man and yes, there are sex scenes. And the movie is in Spanish.
MY SCORE: 9/10
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You're still missing out on the best films of the year
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Houston, you ever hear of Shame?Comment
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