The Loving Story
Film Review by Kam Williams

Soon after Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving tied the knot in Washington, DC on June 2, 1958, they decided to move back to their tiny hometown of Central Point, Virginia to settle down and start a family. The groom, a bricklayer by trade, even purchased a plot of land where he promised to build his bride a house.

However, Virginia was one of 24 states where interracial marriage was still illegal because of racist laws designed to rob minorities of their dignity and to keep them in a lower social and economic status. Since Richard was white and Mildred was a mix of black and Native-American, it was just a matter of time before the local sheriff would catch wind of their illicit liaison and crack down on the felons like a ton of bricks.

And in the middle of the night, he and a posse broke down the door, dragging the newlyweds off to jail while threatening to rape Mildred. Given that this was Virginia during the disgraceful days of Jim Crow, the Lovings were, of course, ultimately found guilty and each given a one-year sentence for the crime of marrying across the color line.

As their appeal dragged on, Mildred wrote to then Attorney General Bobby Kennedy for help avoiding incarceration. He declined, but suggested she approach the American Civil Liberties Union, which did decide to take the case.

"Just tell the Supreme Court I love my wife," Richard directed the ACLU attorneys as they prepared to argue before Chief Justice Warren and his associates. In the historic Loving v. Virginia decision handed down on June 12, 1967, the Lovings' convictions were overturned and their union finally garnered the blessing and government protection that had so eluded them for almost a decade.

All of the above is recounted in heartbreaking fashion in The Loving Story, a combination biopic and courtroom drama directed by Nancy Buirski. What makes the film so touching are the reams of archival footage of the unfortunate couple at the center of the controversy.

For the lovebirds are so young and so innocent, it's hard to fathom why anyone would even seek to separate let alone imprison them. A moving, must-see documentary about the Lovings' belated vindication and the elimination of one of the last vestiges of segregation.

Could it be more fitting that the litigants in the landmark case eradicating the crime of loving a person of a different color would be named Loving!

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 77 minutes

Distributor: Icarus Films

To see a trailer for The Loving Story, visit

In NYC, The Loving Story opens 12/10 at the Maysles Cinema.

Peter Ramsey
The "Rise of the Guardians" Interview
with Kam Williams

The Rise of Ramsey!

Rise of the Guardians is Peter Ramsey's first feature film after directing the hit DreamWorks Animation Halloween special, "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space." This project followed the feature film, "Monsters vs. Aliens" on which Ramsey served as Head of Story. While at DreamWorks Animation, Ramsey also served as a story artist on "Shrek the Third," and as a story board artist on "Shark Tale."

Before joining DreamWorks Animation in 2004, Ramsey's talent as a storyboard artist was on display while working on a notable number of live action feature films, including "Adaptation," "Minority Report," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Cast Away", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Fight Club," "Godzilla," "Men in Black," "Independence Day," "Batman Forever," "Far and Away," "Backdraft," and "Predator 2" amongst others.

Ramsey's directing skills were also honed early, as he served as Second Unit Director on live action feature films including "Godzilla," "Tank Girl," "Higher Learning," and "Poetic Justice." A lifelong resident of Los Angeles, California, Peter grew-up in Crenshaw, and graduated from Palisades High School before attending UCLA.

Here, he talks about his life and career, and about being the first African-American to direct a full-length, animated feature.

Kam Williams: Hi Peter, thanks for the interview. I'm honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.

Peter Ramsey: Oh, the pleasure's all mine, Kam. The pleasure's all mine.

KW: I really enjoyed Rise of the Guardians. Let me start by asking you what it meant to make history as the first African-American hired by a big studio to direct a full-length, animated feature?

PR: I thought about it a little bit when I first got the job, but then rapidly got lost in the work. It wasn't until later, when my mom and dad read that fact about me in the newspaper, and I saw how it affected them, that it came back to me. Since I talk to a lot of groups at schools, one good thing is that kids can look at me and have direct knowledge of someone who's doing something they might be dreaming of doing themselves.

Read the rest of this story »

Anna Karenina
Film Review by Kam Williams

First published in a literary magazine between 1873 and 1877 in a series of installments, Anna Karenina is a 1000+ page opus which chronicles the ill-fated affair between a St. Petersburg socialite and a strapping, young soldier. Despite the salacious soap opera at the heart of the story, the dense novel is actually much deeper, as it explores myriad motifs, ranging from feminism to family to forgiveness to fate.

Leo Tolstoy's tawdry tale of forbidden love has been brought to the screen over 20 times, most notably starring Greta Garbo (1935) and Vivien Leigh (1948) in the title role. Here, Academy Award-nominee Keira Knightley (for Pride & Prejudice) delivers a fresh interpretation of the flawed heroine in a bold adaptation directed by Joe Wright.

The movie marks the pair's third collaboration, along with the critically-acclaimed Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007), costume dramas which together netted a total of 11 Oscar nominations. End of year accolades are likely in store for this offering as well, primarily as a consequence of Knightley's powerful performance and Wright's daring and dazzling reimagining of the Russian classic.

The highly-stylized production has a stagy feel to it rather reminiscent of Moulin Rouge! (2001). In fact, most of the film unfolds in a dingy, dilapidated theater, which might sound at first blush like a disappointing downsizing of the sweeping source material. But this surreal treatment, replete with stampeding horses and a host of other surprises lying in wait in the wings and up in the rafters, proves nothing short of magical without diminishing the Tolstoy epic one iota.

At the point of departure, we find miserably-married Anna selfishly falling in love at first sight with dashing Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a bachelor serving in the cavalry. The two proceed to carry on shamelessly, much to the chagrin of her cuckolded, considerably older hubby, Alexei Karenin (Jude Law), a boring government bureaucrat.

Besides that awkward triangle, the picture devotes its attention to a couple of lesser-developed subplots. One involves Anna's brother (Matthew Macfadyen), a womanizer who has been cheating on his wife, Dolly (Kelly Macdonald). The other revolves around wealthy Konstantin Levin's (Domhnall Gleeson) pursuit of Dolly's teenage sister Kitty (Alicia Vikander), a debutante who harbors hopes of being courted by Vronsky.

Ultimately, Anna's mind gradually unravels, being tragically undone by a mix of jealousy, bitterness and assorted social pressures. All of the above transpires against an audacious, visually-arresting backdrop as envisioned and brilliantly executed by the gifted Wright.

A sumptuous cinematic feast!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for sexuality and violence

Running time: 130 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Anna Karenina, visit

Deadfall
Film Review by Kam Williams

Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are in the midst of making a break for Canada after pulling a casino heist, when they encounter a blinding blizzard in Michigan. Their car careens down an embankment and flips over, leaving their getaway driver dead the second his head hits the windshield.

Soon, a state trooper arrives at the scene, unaware that the accident victims are actually felons on the run. Without hesitation, itchy-fingered Addison pulls out a gun and callously kills the unsuspecting officer.

Figuring that the cops might now be looking for a man and a woman, the brother and sister decide it might be wise for them to separate and reunite north of the border. He heads into the forest; she thumbs a ride with an ex-con (Charlie Hunnam) headed home for Thanksgiving.

And while Addison continues to create major mayhem with his every encounter with people he meets in the woods, Liza uses her womanly wiles to wrap Jay around her little finger. By pure coincidence, Addison's bloody trail leads to the humble country home of Jay's parents, June (Sissy Spacek) and Chet (Kris Kristofferson). Of course, Jay and Liza eventually arrive there, too, leading to a big showdown during the turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, Deadfall is a high body-count affair that's every bit a grisly splatterflick as it is a psychological thriller. What makes the film fascinating is the contrasting approach taken by the picture's protagonists.

For, Addison is a psychopath inclined to take no prisoners, while his sister's relatively-subtle style is that of a sultry femme fatale. The question is how long can they keep up the "good perp, bad perp" charade before their luck finally runs out?

An intriguing cat-and-mouse caper featuring both bullets and brains.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and graphic violence

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

To see a trailer for Deadfall, visit

Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning
Film Review by Kam Williams

John (Scott Adkins) was sadistically beaten with tire irons and left for dead by three assassins dressed like ninjas during a home invasion. When he came out of his coma nine months later, all he could remember about the attack was how his wife and daughter had been murdered right in front of his eyes by a creep who had the nerve to taunt him.

In fact, their assailant, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) even had the temerity to remove his mask and show his face. As he recovered from his wounds, John realizes he doesn't have much to live for with his family gone. So, he decides to take the law into his own hands, rather than wait for the police to bring the perpetrators to justice.

That is the deceptive point of departure of Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning, a high body-count splatterflick ostensibly revolving around an embittered vigilante bent on revenge, ala Charles Bronson in Death Wish. Directed by John Hyams, the film is the fourth in a grisly franchise launched way back in 1992.

The plot thickens while John is searching for Deveraux, when he finds himself being relentlessly hunted by a mysterious figure (Andrei Arlovski).

Furthermore, getting to Deveraux proves easier said than done, since he is protected by an army of rogue Universal Soldiers in his capacity as high priest of the Unisol Church of Eventualism.

Previously, these liberated Unisols had been remote-controlled sleeper agents, operating under the thumb of the government like latter-day Manchurian candidates. But trust me, trying to sort out this complicated storyline isn't worth the time, since just about everybody is about to get gutted or have his head lopped off.

Appreciation of this installment doesn't depend on any knowledge of what's transpired in the earlier episodes, since this bloody free-for-all is designed for that demo of film fans with an insatiable appetite for gratuitous gore. So gruesome, it makes Peckinpah look like Winnie the Pooh.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, graphic sexuality, frontal nudity and pervasive gruesome violence

Running time: 113 minutes

Distributor: Magnet Pictures

To see a trailer for Universal Soldier 4: Day of Reckoning, visit