A Bronx Tale (1993) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Robert DeNiro

Starring:  Chazz Palmintieri, Robert DeNiro, Lillo Brancato

When this film was first advertised upon its release, I thought I was in for a battle over a Bronx teenager's soul between the boy's father and a local mobster.    Because that never really materialized, I was rather disappointed in it and left it at that.    Upon more viewings, I liked it more.    The film is based on Palmintieri's autobiographical one-man play.   I'd be fascinated to see how he plays all of these unique characters.   

In A Bronx Tale, Palmintieri plays only one role, that of Sonny.   Sonny is a tough local mobster who takes a boy nicknamed C under his wing at an early age, becoming a street father figure to him.    C's actual father, played by DeNiro, is a straight-arrow bus driver who works hard for a living and wants to instill in his son that there are no shortcuts in life.    C's father warily eyes Sonny from a distance and fears his influence on his son.   Sonny dresses flashy and is feared.   When asked if he would rather be loved than feared, Sonny answers unequivocally that he would rather be feared.    Sonny is no-nonsense and exercises his power confidently.    It's easy to understand how C would want to emulate him.   Then again, C's father is a good man who does things the right way and if C emulated him, it wouldn't be such a bad idea.   Plus, he would likely avoid trouble,

A Bronx Tale captures a strong sense of time and place with its look at the 1960's Bronx.    The story centers more on C making wise choices with support from both his father and Sonny.   Both men love him and want to help him.    Sonny isn't using C or leading him down a sure path to hell.  In a way, C is the son he never had.    Sonny's father is frustrated by his perception that he is losing his son, but an insightful line of dialogue Dad tells Sonny near the end puts his feelings into perspective.    Both men have C's best interests in mind, despite going about the rest of their lives in much different ways. 

Sometimes movies don't click right away.   Expectations are different and it occasionally takes a viewing or more to understand and enjoy what is being presented.    Now that I think of it, I'd rather not see a story of two men fighting over a teenager's soul.     I find A Bronx Tale to be a strong example of a teenager who was able to make something of himself thanks to two very positive authority figures in his life.    Some kids are lucky even to have one. 

Lincoln (2012) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  Steven Spielberg

Starring:  Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader


Steven Spielberg's epic Lincoln focuses on the final few months of the President's life which ultimately would help shape and define his enduring legacy.    During this time, the Civil War was drawing to a close and Lincoln was pushing for the passage of the 13th Amendment to end slavery in the United States.    Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but this carried little legal weight and once the war ended, Lincoln believed that slavery would become a states' rights issue.   In a moving and revealing speech to his cabinet, Lincoln outlines that the Emancipation was an exercise of his undefined war powers and without an amendment abolishing slavery, the Emancipation would be held up for years in courts and slavery would continue.     It is during this speech we see that Abraham Lincoln would be portrayed in a way we hadn't seen before; as a plain-spoken man who understands the rules of politics and plays them to his advantage.   

Does this go against the "Honest Abe" persona that Lincoln has been given throughout history?  Yes it does, but it's ultimately more realistic.    Lincoln wasn't above quid pro quo in order to get the amendment passed.   He was a realist more than anything, knowing that a few rules would have to be bent in order for the greater good to prevail.   Another major player in the amendment vote is Pennsylvania senator Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), a staunch abolitionist who understands that he needs to secure votes to pass the amendment.   He sees that despite his feelings, the entire situation must be played very diplomatically.   

In that sense, Lincoln focuses on the chess game that is politics.   Very few movies have ever shown the political process in action like this one does.    It shouldn't come as a surprise that politics went on almost the same as it does today, with compromises as a major component.    I also saw Abraham Lincoln in a more intimate way than I ever have before.    Lincoln is performed by Day-Lewis not as a man who knows he will have a secure place as one of our greatest Presidents, but as a pragmatist who is weary to the bone due to the war and the need to pass the 13th amendment.     He has a folksy, self-effacing way of expressing himself, telling stories as a way to capture his audience enough to let his point sink in.    When Lincoln dies, I didn't get the feeling that a giant had passed, but a person I knew had died.  

I also admired Tommy Lee Jones' work as the crotchety Stevens, who has his own reasons to want the 13th Amendment passed.    He and Lincoln have a chat at a party in which both understand without saying it that the failure to pass the amendment wasn't an option.    There are plenty of moments in Lincoln in which much depends on what isn't said vs. what is said.   Another wrinkle is presented by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Lincoln's eldest son who wants to join the Army despite the objections of his mother (Field), who is still grieving the loss of her younger son a few years before.    Lincoln is truly caught in the middle between his son's desires and his wife's grief, which has kept a hold on her.     This is yet another example of Lincoln's world being shown as one big gray area.

It would've been easy for Spielberg to present Lincoln as an overwrought historical drama with Lincoln delivering thundering speeches and everyone being in awe as if they read about him in history books that were printed 100 years later.    By showing Lincoln as sometimes unsure, vulnerable, pragmatic, and human, it delivers a portrait of the man as well as the President that is touching. 

U2: Rattle and Hum (1988) * *

Directed by: Phil Joanou

Starring:  Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr, BB King


U2: Rattle and Hum would've been a better movie if it was decided early on whether it was going to be a concert film or a documentary.    The film is both and moves back and forth between the two very uneasily.    If the behind-the-scenes footage was nearly as compelling as the concert footage, we would've really had something here.   

The film follows the Irish band through its 1987 Joshua Tree tour, documenting its shows and its stops along the way.    The Joshua Tree was a milestone in the band's evolution to the mainstream.    I saw their concert at the Spectrum in September 1987 and they really put on a strong show.   In some cases, as with Where The Streets Have No Name filmed in Tempe, AZ, the live version of the song hits emotional arcs that the album version doesn't.     Live versions of Bad and With Or Without You are also stronger than the original album versions.    The original songs written for the film are also very good.   

The "revealing" behind-the-scenes stuff leaves plenty to be desired.    The scenes don't reveal much at all about the band.    They have such a guarded feel to them that one wonders why they were filmed at all.    The years that have passed since the film have shown Bono to be an interesting, compassionate man whose charity work is never ending.    The Bono shown here is none of those things.    The group is displayed in the same vein as a magician who doesn't want to reveal the secrets to his tricks.    

Then comes the concert footage, shot in slick visuals and even in black & white at certain points.   U2 is a great live band and Rattle and Hum does little to change that impression.   Then, cut to the band backstage or at rehearsal sitting around trying not to be boring.    Is there a belief that performers are always "on" while performing and relish in the chance to veg out?    That's very likely and I certainly understand it, but it doesn't make for a good documentary.

Argo (2012) * * * *

Directed by: Ben Affleck

Starring:  Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin

Argo is "based on a declassified true story" according to the ads.    I don't how much of what happens in Argo actually happened, but what's here is taut, suspenseful, and thrilling.   Movies takes plenty of dramatic license with "true stories", but since the idea is to entertain first and foremost, I have no issue if the finished product is done well.    Argo is done extremely well.

The Iran hostage crisis is the backdrop for Argo.    In late 1979, Iranian protesters stormed the US Embassy and took its workers hostage for what turned out to be a 444-day ordeal.    The protesters were angry that the recently deposed Shah was being treated in New York for terminal cancer and the US refused to deliver him back to Iran to face charges of crimes against humanity.    It's funny.    Back in 1979-1980, the Shah was seen as a harmless ally to the US deposed by an "extremist" Islamic regime led by Ayatollah Khomeini.    In reality, the Shah was a despot who oppressed his people, but since he was good for American business interests in Iran, he was "the good guy" and treated as such. 

During the raid, six American embassy workers escaped and found refuge in the Canadian ambassador to Iran's home.   Knowing that the Americans would soon be discovered and likely killed, the CIA tasks agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) to rescue the six Americans.   Since there were tense diplomatic negotiations ongoing to release the hostages, it could never be made known that the CIA was involved at all in attempting to smuggle the Americans out of Iran, nor was Canada involved in order to protect the ambassador's status.  

Mendez is a brilliant strategist.  Knowing that he can't simply helicopter in and rescue the Americans, nor could he lead them over hundreds of miles in the Iranian mountains, Mendez comes up with a scheme that was bold, tenuous, and had numerous opportunities to go wrong.    He plans on conjuring up a story that the six Americans are actually a Canadian film crew working on a science-fiction movie called Argo and the crew is scouting locations to shoot the film.    As Mendez puts it to his superiors, "This is the best bad idea we have."

In order to make the movie seem legitimate, Mendez hires an actual movie producer (Arkin) and a movie special-effects wiz (Goodman) to set up a phony production company and promote the film publicly.   They even use an unproduced script and print up business cards.     By the time Mendez goes to Iran to put the plan into motion, there are stories in the Hollywood trade papers about the film, which goes a long way in convincing the naturally suspicious Iranians.

Argo is tightly wound and edited.    It contains very little fat and concentrates only on things which push the story forward.    It has a sense of time and place which add to its effect.    It's much more suspenseful to see CIA agents having to rely on wits and ingenuity rather than just have to strike some computer keys to solve an issue.    Also, there is plenty of humor in the Hollywood scenes for effective comic relief before the main event, which is Mendez' efforts to rescue the Americans while undetected by the Iranians.    Mendez believes the going out via the Tehran airport is the best way to go.   It's almost like hiding in plain sight, but he sees this as the least risky option in an assignment riddled with risks.

Affleck has already directed two other movies, Gone Baby Gone and The Town.   Both were very good efforts.   Affleck showed he could move scenes along and worked at a brisk pace.   Argo not only masters pace, but also an intense focus which heightens the suspense.   The performances aren't flashy, but all the more powerful.   The final scenes at the Tehran airport are filled with nearly unbearable tension because Affleck was able to show that the human stakes were so high.    Normally, CIA films are by the numbers action thrillers.   Here we care about everyone involved personally.   It doesn't matter how much of Argo was true or not true, Argo is a memorable film. 

The Watch (2012) * *

Directed by:  Akiva Schaffer



Starring:  Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Billy Crudup

The Watch is a basic formula buddy comedy with plenty of dick jokes and potty mouth humor.  Oh, and it's also about an alien invasion of a small Ohio town.    Is it a terrible movie?  No, it has some laughs in it and the actors go over and above the material.    Is it memorable?  Not really.   It doesn't really rise to the level of great comedies because it really has no intention to do so.

Ben Stiller plays a manager of a local Costco where the overnight security guard is murdered one night.   Actually, what happens to him is more like what happens when a bug hits a windshield.   This inspires Stiller to form a neighborhood watch, in which he is joined by Vaughn, Hill, and Richard Ayadade as a black Englishman named Jamarcus.    

Soon enough, the guys stumble across a bizarre helmet which has the capability of blowing things to smithereens.   They do this to a cow, truck, car, etc.   This is done in a montage that is exhausted long after the point is made.   Then, Stiller seemingly kills the alien owner of the helmet.    What to do?  Vaughn sees the riches that could be made and many photos are taken of the guys with the alien.   It comes as no surprise that simulated anal sex is included as part the photo package.

It seems in more and more comedies lately, the humor is based on penis jokes and veiled homoeroticism.    Some of them get a good laugh, others are tiresome and there you have it.    Is any of the alien stuff really inspired?  No.  In fact, I think it would've been better if the story kept the neighborhood watch guys battling earthly issues.    By the end when the guys are battling hordes of alien creatures, it doesn't differ much from other battles in serious alien invasion movies.   This reminds of zombie movies; no matter how the material is approached, sooner or later it comes down to a battle between the humans and zombies.  

The actors do what they can.   Stiller is a grounded straight man, while Vaughn's approach is more of an improvisational feel.    They bring energy to a story that needs every bit of it.   But ultimately, it's not enough to make The Watch a not horrible, but rather pedestrian effort. 

Crossfire Hurricane (2012) * *

Directed by:  Brett Morgen

Starring:  The Rolling Stones

To date, I can think of three major concert films starring the Stones (Gimme Shelter, Let's Spend The Night Together, and Shine A Light).   Throw in all kinds of documentaries, interviews, newspaper articles, and I'm wondering why Crossfire Hurricane was even necessary.   The documentary, which can be seen on HBO, is a meandering look at the Stones in the 60s and 70s.   Is there a part two on the way?  After all, the Stones did perform and make albums in the 80s as well.  

The voiceover portions by the members of the Stones are taken from recent interviews in which the cameras weren't allowed to record the interview.    I won't begin to speculate as to why this is.    But the film was made to commemorate the group's 50th anniversary and it starts off in 1962 showing early footage of early concerts.    If the film is to be believed, success came rather quickly for the group and they were soon rivaling The Beatles in popularity here and in the UK.   They started off playing small clubs and then moved on to big clubs and then TV faster than you can say Rolling Stones.    In Beatles documentaries, at least you see them toiling in British dungeon-like clubs and in Hamburg for a few years before getting their break.  There had to be a struggle, no?

The Stones were seen more as the anti-Beatles.   They weren't a very handsome bunch and weren't as big on hygiene, but their music resonated with fans as more edgy than what the Beatles were producing at the time.    The songs lacked polish, almost deliberately, because the Stones were happier being antiheroes to the masses.   In a sense, they were precursors to the punk movement.

Their place in rock history is obvious and can't be denied.    However, what more can be said about them that hasn't already been said.   There is nothing here that's fresh or hasn't been covered before.   Many of the songs have been played time and again.    There isn't even a benefit of seeing the Stones today:  wiser, older, weather beaten, but still rocking well for guys pushing 70.    Wouldn't it be something to see the guys performing today?   Maybe that will be in part two.  

I don't know.   The film's heaviest focus comes up to and including 1978, but I get the feeling that the movie ended just as it was really getting started.   How about some insight into the strained Jagger/Richards relationship?   Bill Wyman left and the group I'm sure had to struggle with maintaining relevance in the 80s.   Then again, maybe there's a sequel in the works.    Let's hope.

85th Academy Awards Predictions

Here are this year's Oscar nominees and predictions.   It's a strange year to say the least.

Best Picture

Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Amour
Les Miserables
Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Life of Pi

Prediction:  Argo.    Normally, a film nominated without its director also being nominated has little or no chance of winning.    However, this film has won at every awards show so far this season and I have little reason to believe it won't here. 

Best Director

Michael Haneke (Amour)
Benh Zietlin (Beasts Of The Southern Wild)
Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

Prediction:  Steven Spielberg.   Ben Affleck is inexplicably not nominated for Argo, so Spielberg will win his third directing Oscar as a consolation prize.  

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
Denzel Washington (Flight)

Prediction:  Daniel Day-Lewis.   This will be his third Oscar win.  

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Emanuelle Riva (Amour)
Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts Of The Southern Wild)
Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Prediction:  Jessica Chastain.  Despite Lawrence's win in the SAG awards, I'm sticking with the Golden Globe winner Chastain.   Plus as goofy as Lawrence has been acting lately, I have to wonder how much of her performance was actually acting. 

Best Supporting Actor:

Alan Arkin (Argo)
Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Prediction:  Tommy Lee Jones.   Won SAG award.  First time in which all nominees were previous Oscar winners.   Not a slam dunk.   

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (The Master)
Sally Field (Lincoln)
Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

Prediction:  Anne Hathaway.   Sally Field has two wins in two previous nominations, but her streak is broken here.   Anne sings well and when a pretty girl uglies herself up for a role, it warrants serious consideration. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction:  Argo.  A script that's full of wit and suspense, plus Hollywood gets to play hero!

Best Original Screenplay

Amour
Django Unchained
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty

Prediction:  Moonrise Kingdom .   Not a film I liked, but it's quirky and weird, which usually wins out in this category.