movies Archives - Page 37 of 118 - Ramblin' with Roger

Best Black Movies of the 21st Century

Existentially true

George_Washington_Film Rotten Tomatoes came up with the 100 Best Black Movies of the 21st Century. They “defined Black films as those that centered on African American stories and African American characters, or – as in the case of Black Panther – were made by Black filmmakers and were embraced by African American audiences.” I could have split the list in half, but there are more films I saw in the upper half (23) than the lower half (7). So here’s #100-#31 today, and the Top 30 another time.

#100 – #96 Saw none of these. I wanted to see Drumline but didn’t. Ghost Dog seemed too dark. Yes, I know 2000 is the 20th century; it’s not my list.
#95 Dreamgirls (2006). I enjoyed chunks of it, but not throughout.
#94 GET ON UP (2014) – a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as singer James Brown I had intended to see.

#93 George Washington (2000) – I went to see it based on Roger Ebert’s glowing review, and it did not disappoint. Yes, as another critic pointed out, it was “visual poetry.
#92 MARSHALL (2017) a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall I had intended to see.
#91 RAY (2004) a biopic starring Jamie Foxx as singer Ray Charles I had intended to see. I saw bits and pieces on TV.

Jackie Robinson

#90 Love and Basketball (2000) – I recall enjoying the story of a young “couple navigates the tricky paths of romance and athletics.” Also, in retrospect, it reminds me of my niece Rebecca and her husband Rico.
#89 Barbershop (2002) – I saw this on commercial TV. Existentially true.
#88 – #86 – saw none of these. I only know of Hustle and Flow because of the music.
#85 42 (2013). A biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as baseball player Jackie Robinson I DID see.

#84 – #81 – saw none, though I thought to see Chi-Raq for Spike Lee’s direction, and American Gangster for Denzel.
#80 Monster’s Ball (2002) – I remember thinking it was very good, especially Halle Berry’s performance, but depressing.
#79 MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (2012) #78 BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (2020) – the premise of some movies just don’t interest me; Bad Boys is one.
#77 Akeelah and the Bee. It’s very sweet. BTW, while I was a good speller, I would be terrible at spelling bees.

#76 – #73 – I’m quite fond of Nina Simone’s music (#75 WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? (2015). The trailer to #74 Queen and Slim (2019) was intriguing but maybe too real.
#72 The Princess and the Frog (2009) – this may have been the first movie I took my daughter to in a theater. Unfortunately, she was five, and afraid of certain elements. She’s seen it since and she’s fine. I liked it more than I thought I would.

#71 PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW (2016) through #47 DAVE CHAPPELLE’S BLOCK PARTY (2006) – I saw NONE of these, save for #60 STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN (2002). The other ones about music – #68 MISS SHARON JONES! (2016); and #52 MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL (2019) were of interest, and I almost went to see #54 WHITNEY (2018). I REALLY wish I had seen #48 DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (2014). But I steered clear of #51 DETROIT (2017), which seemed far too real, just from the trailer.

Bryan Stevenson

#46 Just Mercy (2020). On those lists of black films that white people should see, this film often shows up. Yet some list-makers dismiss it because it took place in the past and in the South, as though it somehow doesn’t count. I’m mystified by that.
#45 CREED II (2018) #44 GOOD HAIR (2009) – I REALLY wanted to see Good Hair, because the issue of black females’ hair has been an issue much of my life.

#43 STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015) – I really had intended to see this when it was in theaters, but it didn’t happen.
#42 SUPPORT THE GIRLS (2018) #41 IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017) #40 LUCE (2019) – Luce was intriguing, but it didn’t stay long enough in theaters.
#39 DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) – I made the deliberate decision not to see this Tarantino film, which I discussed here.
#38-#33 I never got around to see Precious.

#32 Step (2017) – I did see this, maybe on TV. Inspiring.
#31 13TH (2016). In the summer of 2019, my daughter compelled me to watch 13th. She’d already watched it a half dozen times at that point, and more subsequently. It is one of those films on most everyone’s lists of black films to see. I’ve recommended it myself.

GWTW, Song of the South, and race

the highest-grossing movie ever

Song of the South.Aunt Tempy — Hattie McDaniel as Aunt Tempy

When Gone With the Wind was temporarily shelved by HBO Max before returning with an intro by a black scholar, I knew I had to make a confession. I have actually never seen the movie. Ever.

Oh, I tried a couple times. After all, adjusting for inflation, the 1939 film is the highest-grossing movie ever. Its appearance on commercial television, in two parts in 1976, were both in the Top 10 of the highest-rated broadcasts of all-time.

But nope. It was frankly boring to me. I just didn’t give a damn about watching it.

The GWTW news reminded some of us about the indignities faced by Hattie McDaniel. She played “Mammy” in the movie, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Know that she became the FIRST African American to win an Oscar. “She and her escort were required to sit at a segregated table for two… The discrimination continued after the award ceremony as well as her white costars went to a ‘no-blacks’ club, where McDaniel was denied entry.”

She was philosophical about her movie roles. “Why should I complain about making $700 a week playing a maid? If I didn’t, I’d be making $7 a week being one.”

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Now, this very year, I DID finally see Hattie McDaniel in the movie Song of the South (1946), in which she played Aunt Tempy. “The kindhearted storyteller Uncle Remus tells [children] stories about trickster Br’er Rabbit, who outwits Br’er Fox and slow-witted Br’er Bear.”

Its controversial history is well known. Walter Francis White, the Executive Secretary, said in 1946 that the organization “recognizes in Song of the South remarkable artistic merit in the music and in the combination of living actors and the cartoon technique. It regrets, however, that in an effort neither to offend audiences in the north or south, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery. Making use of the beautiful Uncle Remus folklore, Song of the South, unfortunately, gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts.”

A couple of clarifications. I never got the sense that the story took place during slavery, but rather during Reconstruction. Yes, Uncle Remus does the Magic Negro thing near the end, but it was the times. And the film itself was well done, as the NAACP chief noted, with the usual solid Disney animation and fine acting by James Baskett.

While the narrative of the Uncle Remus stories in cartoon form made me uncomfortable, I’ve seen so much worse. The Abraham scene in Holiday Inn (1942), which I wrote about seven years ago. Alas, the link no longer works. But A.O. Scott in his 2008 Critics’ Picks for the New York Times, provides a snippet.

Here’s something awful: Judy Garland in blackface in Everybody Sing (1938). Chuck Miller notes Warner Bros. cartoons that should stay out of circulation.

In that context, I didn’t find Song of the South nearly as offensive as I had built it up in my mind. Judge for yourself.

Finally, on my DVD: Coco (2017)

Best Animated Feature Film

Coco Not that long after it came out on DVD, I received Coco (2017) for Christmas or my birthday, since I never had a chance to see it at the cinema. Surely, we could get ONE of the three DVD players in our house to operate, couldn’t we? Well, no, not for about two years.

Finally, a friend of my daughter’s figured how to get me to work, just in time for the pandemic. I now have dozens of DVDs to watch. But I’ve found time to watch only the one, so far.

That choice was most worthwhile. Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming a famous musician. He wanted to be like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt).

Through a narrative that makes sense to the story, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. Along the way, he meets a trickster named Hector (Gael García Bernal). Together, they unravel the complex story behind Miguel’s family history.

Pixar

This Pixar product, like most, is a reflection of quality filmmaking. The animation is extraordinary, with its dazzling colors. It is also a story with a lot of heart and passion which has been praised for its respect for Mexican culture.

The screenplay by Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich is based on an original idea by director Lee Unkrich. It is an excellent redemption tale. The voice actors are wonderful, including Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mamá Socorro “Coco” Rivera, Miguel’s great-grandmother.

No wonder Coco won Best Animated Film at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and from several other entities. It won the Oscar for Best Song, Remember Me, written by the prolific songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the fine score.

Review: Tombstone Rashomon

faux-documentary

Frank_Ike_02 - TOMBSTONE RASHOMON I got this email earlier in April: “TriCoast would like to offer Ramblin’ with Roger a review of the western mockumentary, ‘Tombstone Rashomon’, directed by Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid & Nancy).” I said yes. I waited a week, then wrote to the other rep in the email, who apologized and gave me the access key.

By then, I was busy. Still, I promised to review it, so I watched it yesterday. First off, inherently I love Rashomon constructs, based on the classic 1951 film. We do so often have eyewitness accounts that vary wildly in detail.

Surprise! The film actually shows up on the IMDB, with a release date of 2017. Alex Cox had started this project on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

From one review: “The opening text of Tombstone Rashomon tells the audience about a time-traveling camera crew who went back in time and accidentally got to Tombstone the day after the notorious gunfight,” i.e. October 28, 1881. We’re left with supposed eyewitness accounts. “This firmly tells the audience that… there’s going to be a little fun had with the story…”

No in-world consistency

Another reviewer admitted, “It might not make sense, but it might also be the best thing I’ve ever seen in any movie ever. I just don’t know.”

For instance, the “Hungarian born Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings, here simply known as Kate (Christine Doidge) assign the incorrect gender pronouns to the men she talks about.” This is apparently accurate, but it’s either funny or tiresome, or, for me, a bit of both.

More on target was the bit when the off-screen narrator asks Wyatt Earp to “Hold the book to your breast for a longer moment.” Later, Doc Halliday’s tale is interrupted in a manner consistent with what we historically know about the man.

Here are the two Rotten Tomatoes reviews. I agree with both of them.

“As a link to Rashomon, it doesn’t work because there have been so many mockumentaries throughout cinema that it feels like the attempt to link the two is yet another attempt to suggest the filmmakers are cleverer than they really are.”

“That’s the beauty of Tombstone Rashomon: despite having almost no budget, no stars, and no in-world consistency, it’s aggressively not content to fit into any one descriptor. It’s a faux-documentary-western-science-fiction-time-travel-homage.”

For those of you, like me, who isn’t greatly fond of bloodshed, for all the gunplay, it’s quite tame in this department.

“TriCoast Entertainment will release ‘Tombstone Rashomon’ onto DVD in store and online April 21st (Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Deep Discount DVD, DVD Planet, CC Video and more). Pre-order on Amazon.”
Wyatt_08 - TOMBSTONE RASHOMON

Movie: Call of the Wild (2020)

computer-generated dog

I’ve never read Jack London’s Call of the Wild. As far as I can remember, I’ve not seen any movie or television adaptations.

What drew me to the nearby Madison Theatre a few days before everything went into lockdown were two things: Harrison Ford’s presence and the $5 ticket price all day on Tuesdays.

An overly large pooch, a St. Bernard/Scotch Collie mix, seemed to have the run of a California home. Then he was dognapped and shipped north to Alaska.

He was purchased as part of a sled dog team operated by Perrault (Omar Sy) and Françoise (Cara Gee). Eventually, he crosses paths, for the third time, with John Thornton (Ford). Thornton protects Buck against the cruel Hal (Dan Stevens), who had stolen and beaten Buck.

Thornton and Buck go on an expedition further north practically to the Arctic Circle. In this environment, the once pampered Buck gets in touch with his primitive roots when interacting with a pack of wolves. The story was OK.

NOt a real dog

I was more curious whether I would buy the computer-generated dog in Call of the Wild as real. The answer is, “Sometimes.” The technique was less effective in the early narrative. Or maybe the storyline was just too goofy. But in his relationship with Perrault and Françoise, and later with Thornton, “he” usually resonated as a dog more believably.

I credit the fact that those performers were interacting with actor/stuntman Terry Notary, who modeled all of Buck’s actions. Those actors all expressed admiration for Notary’s work, giving them someone credible and emotive to perform with, rather than a blue screen.

There was a small audience for the 1 p.m. show. I ordered a burger, slightly overpriced but good.

It took SO long for the Madison Theatre to reopen. I hope it can withstand the current disruption. Good news is that it’s still selling food, pickup/delivery only. I’m inclined to order from them when I can.