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Documentary review: Ascension

Jessica Kingdon

I recently watched, on Paramount Plus, the documentary Ascension. The film shows that the people of China are also seeking their version of the American Dream.

Some of the workforce is enticed by factory jobs that may involve no standing, though other jobs require being upright. Lots of propaganda about being team players are sometimes administered harshly. The factory workers include women working on the exacting standards for sex dolls; make sure the color of the areola is right.

We see people training to serve the wealthy in their increasingly capitalistic country. Perhaps they would be servants in fancy homes that require fine dining; Downton Abbey was specifically namechecked. Or maybe they’ll become bodyguards, protecting their would-be employers from assassins.

There are lessons on how to smile, how to be positive that you’ll make lots of money. They too can become influencers. For good and for ill, today’s China is looking a lot like the United States.

Before I saw the film, I watched director Jessica Kingdon interviewed on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He noted that there was no narration by someone trying to steer a particular point of view, which allowed the viewer to see the larger cultural shift.

Ascension is Oscar-nominated as one of the best documentary films of the past year. It’s a little slow in the beginning, but it proves to be a fascinating take on the economic rise of China.

Lynching Postcards

After I watched Ascension, Paramount Plus directed me to a short documentary Lynching Postcards: ‘Token of A Great Day’. Perhaps more unsettling than the lynchings of over 4,000 African Americans by white mobs were the public, festive occasions these murders became. Men, women, and children out having a picnic while watching a hanging and/or burning. The burnings were particularly popular in Texas.

These lynchings were commemorated through souvenir postcards. And people would send messages pointing themselves out in the crowd. ‘Hey, that’s me, third from the right” with the corpse hanging in the background.

One of the images from the film that caught my attention was The Dogwood Tree, a poem that begins
This is only the branch of a Dogwood tree;
An emblem of WHITE SUPREMACY.

The film is only about 15 minutes. Worthwhile.

Movie review -Spider-Man: No Way Home

multiverse

Is there a point in reviewing a film that has already grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, and in only 12 days? Who knows? Still, I need to discuss the movie Spider-Man: No Way Home.

It has to do with my great affection for Spider-Man, and even more for Peter Parker. I even edited an issue of a magazine about the web-slinger.

In the past few years, I had scurried to see all of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I haven’t, to date, seen any of the ones in this current crop: Black Widow, Shang-Chi, or The Eternals, though I probably will eventually.

It’s not necessary to have seen all of the earlier Spider-Man films to appreciate the new one. Still, in 2020, I watched four I had not viewed before. I do think it enhanced my enjoyment, especially the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

For you non-comics fans, the broad idea of a multiverse is that there are a lot of Spider-Man stories that exist over nearly 60 years. Invariably internal inconsistencies arise. So some stories are about Spider-Man in OTHER universes. If you get that, you can appreciate No Way Home just fine.

Peter Parker is Spider-Man!

The secret of our Peter (Tom Holland) is out, as we learned at the very end of the previous film, Spider-Man: Far From Home. Daily Bugle blowhard J. Jonah Jamison (J.K. Simmons) accuses him of a heinous crime. This puts the people he cares about, girlfriend MJ (Zendaya), best pal Ned (Jacob Batalon), and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), in danger. Can Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell to erase people knowing that Peter is Spidey? But wait, not everyone…

We end up with villains engaging with Spider-Man. But he’s not THEIR Peter Parker. They can be sent back to their own universes. But don’t they deserve a shot of redemption? If by chance you haven’t seen it, just about everything I could say further would be a spoiler. If you HAVE seen the movie, read how it was shaped by its casting.

I can report that I loved this movie. There’s a scene, reminiscent of a part of another film but with a different outcome that made me a little teary-eyed. (It’s the storyline from Amazing Spider-Man #121, the second issue of the comic I ever purchased.) By the end, the reset button has been hit for our friendly, neighborhood hero, and that is a good thing. And, maybe because it was the season, elements of It’s A Wonderful Life came to mind.

Does it have too much insider humor? A negative review notes: “There’s no attempt to hide that the film is pure fan service, a greatest-hits mashup of Spider-Man’s cinematic legacy.” If it’s a fan service project – and the writers are clearly fans -then it succeeded wildly. But I think the non-initiated can enjoy it too.

I saw No Way Home at Spectrum 8 in Albany, a Landmark Theatre, in the last week of 2021. That was before I realized, per an SNL cold open, that Joe Biden blamed ‘Spider-Man’ for all of the nation’s problems.

The Battle at Lake Changjin

The movie market in China

I was falling down a rabbit hole, looking at 2021 box office grosses for movies. I knew Spider-Man: No Way Home had the largest gross sales.
DOMESTIC (45.3%) $627,428,198
INTERNATIONAL (54.7%) $759,000,000
WORLDWIDE $1,386,428,198

It’s interesting how well the film did in so many countries: $44.7M in France, $61.4M in the UK, and almost $41M in South Korea. But not in China.

Whereas for The Battle at Lake Changjin, almost all of the revenue is from China.
DOMESTIC (–) (Released Nov 19, 2021) $342,390
INTERNATIONAL (100%) $902,198,524
United Kingdom (Nov 19, 2021) $63,392
Australia (Dec 2, 2021) $138,739
Hong Kong (Nov 11, 2021) $2,596,393
China (Oct 1, 2021) $899,400,000
WORLDWIDE $902,540,914

And what IS this film? “Set in the Second Phase Offensive of the Korean War, ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’ tells an epic historical tale: 71 years ago, the People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) entered North Korea for battle. Under extreme freezing conditions, the troops on the Eastern Front pursued with fearless spirit and iron will, as they courageously fought the enemy at Lake Changjin (also known as Chosin Reservoir). The battle was a turning point in the Korean War and demonstrated the courage and resolve of the PVA.”

In fact, 108 of the 200 top-grossing films have 0% sales in the United States. Another five got 0.1% of its box office from the US. Six of the eight critics in Rotten Tomatoes panned it.

Time travel

Number 3 on the list is Hi, Mom: “A woman travels back in time to befriend her own mother in an attempt to make her life better.” Though it had a limited box office in Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, $821M of the $822M in sales were in China, with none from the US. The four critics in RT liked it a lot.

The fourth film was No Time To Die, the most recent James Bond film
DOMESTIC (20.8%) $160,772,007
INTERNATIONAL (79.2%) $613,262,000
WORLDWIDE $774,034,007
The list of countries is lengthy and broad.

F9: The Fast Saga ranks number 5.
DOMESTIC (23.8%) $173,005,945
INTERNATIONAL (76.2%) $553,223,556
WORLDWIDE $726,229,501
Lots of countries are represented as well, though China is quite important with almost $217M in ticket sales.

Movies into musicals

I started thinking about this when I read what Mark Evanier wrote about movie musicals. “There are 27 (!) stage musicals which are ‘in development’ as movies.” Given the lackluster box office of In the Heights and West Side Story, most of these films probably won’t be made.”

West Side Story
DOMESTIC (54.4%) $30,271,174
INTERNATIONAL (45.6%) $25,331,328
WORLDWIDE $55,602,502
Nothing from China

In the Heights
DOMESTIC (68.1%) $29,879,041
INTERNATIONAL (31.9%) $14,000,000
WORLDWIDE $43,879,041
Ditto

China

I read that This Year, Hollywood’s China Relationship Finally Unraveled. It doesn’t matter how accommodating the industry may be — the next phase of the Xi Jinping era may be defined by less space for Western content.

“Despite attempts to make it past China’s censors, Space Jam: A New Legacy never received a release in China this summer and scored just $162.8 million worldwide… — Disney received the same cold shoulder when it came to its Marvel tentpoles Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and The Eternals, films that were built around Chinese talent in order to make a giant showing in the market. But to no avail.

“Neither film was given a release in the country that continues to take heat for reported human rights abuses. Hollywood’s silence on those abuses has become deafening as other industries and entities have begun to confront China. In fact, 2021 — with its diminishing economic returns in the country — might mark the year that finally cooled the Hollywood-China romance.

“The reversal of fortunes in China has begun to accelerate in the past year. In 2021, just 25 U.S. movies were released theatrically in the country, many of which were minor indie titles instead of studio tentpoles. By contrast, some 45 Hollywood movies were shown on Chinese screens in 2019. That is forcing the major studios to pivot on their China ambitions, mostly because there is little to no growth to be attained in the country in the current climate… “

Movie review: West Side Story

There’s a place for us

Of course, my wife my daughter, and I HAD to go see the new movie West Side Story. Not only have we all seen the original film a number of times, but we’ve all attended at least three stage productions of the musical.

First, we loved the physical setup of the opening. The signage suggests the future location of Lincoln Center. It makes sense. “April 21, 1955: The Mayor’s Slum Clearance Committee chaired by Robert Moses is approved by the New York City Board of Estimate to designate Lincoln Square for urban renewal.” Nine years later, buildings began opening. The rubble in the new film was more believable.

Thus, this iteration is in keeping with the timeframe of the original musical (1957) and movie (1961). Of course, the vintage cars would tip one off as well.

This Tony (Ansel Elgort) has a rap sheet, less the dewy-eyed kid from film #1. So his Something’s Coming is less a certainty than a need. But he has the support of Valentina (executive producer Rita Moreno), who is the widow of Doc, who had run the store in the first movie. Valentina is a more substantial character and gets the most affecting song late in the story.

Fancy colors

My daughter noted the color schemes of the Jets (blues, greys) and Sharks (reds, browns). Though I wasn’t consciously aware of this, I must have subliminally picked up on the motif.

This Anita (Ariana DeBose) is at least as feisty as her predecessor, as Bernardo (David Alvarez) finds out. The “eyes lock across the room” between Tony and Maria (Rachel Zegler) isn’t as dramatically corny as in the first film.

What I loved about Tony singing the song Maria afterward is that other people notice, some with admiration, others with disdain, which was occasionally funny.

America was enhanced by dancing in the streets, with passersby occasionally getting a line. Gee, Officer Krupke really works in the new setting, with the ultimate musical payoff. One Hand, One Heart is lovely.

I always found Cool to be the weakest song in the show. In the musical, it’s before The Rumble, but afterward in the original film. It’s before here, but serving a very different purpose, showing a rift between Tony and Riff (Mike Faist).

The Tonight Quintet is the piece that first made me fall in love with West Side Story. The set of The Rumble, with the long shadows, worked well. So did the Gimbels, an old competitor of Macy’s in the day, for I Feel Pretty.

Opera?

My nutritionist said that WSS is an opera. No more so than A Boy Like That/I Have A Love. The scene at Doc’s with Anita and the Jets was stronger this time.

It seems that from where Chino (Josh Andrés Rivera) shoots Tony, he could have also wounded Maria as well. This Chino was better developed. So was Anybodys (Iris Menas). This is a very talented cast.

If not every note feels as it did when I saw the original nearly six decades ago, it’s OK. Some folks complained that there was some dialogue in Spanish that was not translated. Given the fact that people throughout – the cops, and even Bernardo – were insisting people “speak English”, it was no big deal to me. But I will allow there was occasionally a bit too much talking altogether, IMO.

Still, we’re glad we saw the new film. The critics mostly agree. The box office was rather anemic. Did that have anything to do with allegations against Elgort?

A more fundamental question is whether there should be a remake at all. Did we NEED another version of A Star Is Born a couple of years ago? I dunno, but I don’t spend much time thinking about it.

I’m glad that WSS lyricist Stephen Sondheim got to see this film before he died. He said that he loved it. My family saw it at the Spectrum Theatre in Albany on December 30.

Sidney Poitier: the first black movie star

Being real

It’s fair to say that Sidney Poitier was the first black movie star. There were a number of black performers actors who preceded him. But as the Hollywood Reporter noted, he was a “Regal Star of the Big Screen.” As a friend of mine noted, he had a “true presence.”

“Poitier was the first actor to star in mainstream Hollywood movies that depicted a Black man in a non-stereotypical fashion, and his influence, especially during the 1950s and ’60s as a role model and image-maker, was immeasurable.” I was generally aware when he put out a new film, whether I saw it or not. When I was in my AME Zion church growing up, I might overhear, “Sidney’s in a new picture,” as though he were family.

As the Vanity Fair piece noted: “Poitier knew that as Hollywood’s sole Black leading man, everyone was constantly watching him—looking for him to set an example. Poitier was ‘the only one… I felt very much as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made…’ While this responsibility may sound crushing, Poitier rose to the occasion, imbuing all of his roles with a dignity that stretched beyond whatever character he happened to be playing, whether doctor or prisoner.”

The flicks

Here are some of the films I’ve seen him in:

The Defiant Ones (1958) – on TV, I’ve seen big chunks of this prison break movie with Tony Curtis. He was the first black person to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
A Raisin in the Sun (1961) – I’ve seen several iterations of the story, including this one. I’ve long felt my father identified with Walter Lee Younger
Lilies of the Field (1963) – the first black man to win an acting Oscar. I caught it many years later. It’s a sweet clash of cultures. He played “an itinerant handyman who helps a flock of Central European nuns build a chapel”

In The Heat of the Night (1967) – when the witness slaps him, and he slaps him back, to the amazement of the local cop (Rod Steiger), I said, possibly aloud, omigodomigodomigod. This response was not in the original script, but as Poitier told Lesley Stahl of CBS, he insisted on it, even putting it into his contract. The movie’s most famous line, “They call me Mr. Tibbs!” is the name of the sequel, which I never saw.
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967) – I’m almost positive I saw this in a cinema with my mother and sisters. With Spencer Tracy, in his last role; Katharine Hepburn; and her niece, Katharine Houghton. The ad copy said, “A love story of today.”
Sneakers (1992), which I saw only last year. He has the gravitas to be ex-CIA.

I’ve caught parts of movies in the 1970s in which Sidney both directed and acted: A Piece of the Action (1977), Let’s Do It Again (1975), Uptown Saturday Night (1974), and Buck and the Preacher (1972). But my favorite film he directed is Stir Crazy (1980), with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. Gee, I need to see Blackboard Jungle, Porgy and Bess, A Patch of Blue, and To Sir With Love, though I know the title song.

The tributes

Watch the Kennedy Center Honors segment honoring Sidney Poitier in 1995, especially the film within. I remember watching the Oscars in 2002 in real time. Denzel Washington, who had won an Academy Award for Training Day, raised “his statuette to salute Poitier, who had won an honorary Oscar for his achievements ‘as an artist and a human being’ earlier that evening. “‘I’ll always be chasing you, Sidney,’ he said, speaking for many. ‘I’ll always be following in your footsteps. There’s nothing I would rather do, sir—nothing I would rather do.'”

Parade has 20 of Sidney Poitier’s Best Quotes “Acting isn’t a game of ‘pretend.’ It’s an exercise in being real.” Check out some of the tributes to Sidney Poitier here and here.

From the Boston Globe: “For much of the 20th century, Black America reserved a special term for its most esteemed public figures. They were ‘race men.’ Sidney Poitier… may well have been the last. The concept no longer applies as it once did, in part because of how successful in the larger culture Poitier was.

“A race man wasn’t defined just by being someone famous and successful. He was also conscious of presenting himself as an exemplar of probity and dignity. More than a role model, a race man was a living, breathing assertion that America might someday live up to its ideals.”

The Measure Of A Man: A Spiritual Autobiography, read by the author, can presently be heard here.