Private Peaceful
Film Review by Kam Williams

Tommo (George MacKay) and Charlie Peaceful (Jack O’Connell) had a healthy sibling rivalry while growing up in Devon at the dawn of the 20th Century. The brothers were raised on a sprawling country estate owned by a family of aristocratic Brits.

Their father (Stephen Kennedy) was employed there as both gamekeeper and forester. In that capacity, he was able to afford to send his sons to a private school run with an iron fist by a sadistic headmaster (Richard Griffiths), a retired military colonel.

Everything changes when their dad dies in a logging accident. Since their homemaker mother (Maxine Peake) can no longer afford the rent or tuition, they soon lose the only life they’ve ever known. More importantly, the pubescent adolescents have to leave behind Molly (Alexandra Roach), a beautiful classmate both have a crush on.

Despite moving away, Tommo and Charlie venture back as teens to frolic in the forest with the irresistible object of their affection. A bit of a tease, Molly initially refuses to pick between her ardent admirers, instead only promising to marry one “Mr. Peaceful” while assuring that “We’ll be happy until the day we die.”

This is the premise underpinning Private Peaceful, a bittersweet love story based on Michael Morpurgo’s young adult novel of the same name. The book was previously adapted into a play which debuted at the Royal Theater in 2004.

Directed by Pat O’Connor (Sweet November), the screen version is an intriguing romance drama which takes a sharp turn about midway through when Tommo and Charlie enlist in the army and ship off to serve their country in Flanders’ fields. However, there remains concern about Molly who’d announced her unplanned pregnancy shortly before the outbreak of World War I.

Who’s the daddy? Will the Peacefuls survive? These are the pivotal questions left to be addressed between bombs bursting in air. Trench warfare as the backdrop for a tawdry love triangle about as incestuous as it gets.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated   

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: BBC America

To see a trailer for Private Peaceful, visit: http://www.privatepeacefulthemovie.com/

St. Vincent
Film Review by Kam Williams

Almost nothing is right in Vincent MacKenna’s (Bill Murray) life. The aging, Vietnam War vet is still suffering from PTSD. Plus, he’s fighting a losing battle against with booze, cigarettes and gambling, which has left him deeply indebted to a vicious loan shark (Terrence Howard).

In fact, Zucko is threatening to break Vincent’s kneecaps if he doesn’t come up with the cash in a couple weeks. Trouble is the miserable misanthrope doesn’t have a friend in the world, unless you count Daka (Naomi Watts), the pregnant prostitute he befriended at a neighborhood strip club. Unfortunately, Vincent can come up with no better solution to his money woes than wagering on long shots at his favorite haunt, Belmont race track.

Meanwhile, he’s also concerned about his wife, Sandy (Donna Mitchell), who’s been suffering from Alzheimer’s for the past eight years. He still visits her regularly at the elderly care facility, despite the fact that she no longer recognizes him.

The last thing you’d think Vincent might need would be a new, next-door neighbor who’s more of a burden than a help. But, that’s just what he gets in Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) a single-mom desperate enough for a babysitter that she’s willing to let him babysit her latchkey kid.

Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) attends Catholic school where the pint-sized 12 year-old is picked on by bullies. This makes the boy a prime candidate for the sort of toughening Vincent has to offer, lessons on everything from boxing to betting.

Written and directed by Theodore Melfi, St. Vincent is a bittersweet, unlikely-buddies flick which works more in terms of comedy than drama. There’s something a tad unconvincing about the ambitious adventure’s sentimental side.

The film has one glaring flaw, a rushed feeling resulting from the introduction of more plotlines than it has time to develop fully. So, when it asks us to empathize with this or that character’s plight, or to buy into the heartwarming resolution, there’s simply not much of a wellspring of emotion forthcoming.

Nevertheless, St. Vincent does work when going for the joke, especially Bill Murray’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor. He’s in rare form, here, as an irascible curmudgeon who exhibits an endearing vulnerability for the sake of an at-risk tween in need of a father figure.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, smoking, mature themes and substance abuse

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for St. Vincent, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5BVn-eyAxA    

Gina Prince-Bythewood
The “Beyond the Lights” Interview
with Kam Williams

 

Born on June 10, 1969, Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood studied film at UCLA before beginning her career as a writer for the TV sitcom, “A Different World.” In 2000, she made a noteworthy directorial debut with the critically-acclaimed Love & Basketball, which netted a dozen accolades during awards season, including a couple of NAACP Image Awards, a BET Award and several Black Reel Awards.

 

Gina’s next feature was The Secret Life of Bees (2008), which also earned its share of trophies, including Image Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. Here, she talks about making her third movie, Beyond the Lights, a romance drama co-starring Gugu Mbata-Raw and Nate Parker.

 

 

Kam Williams: Hi Gina, thanks for the interview. I’m honored to have this opportunity.

Gina Prince-Bythewood: Absolutely! Thank you, Kam.

 

KW: I have to start by asking: Why so long between films?

GPB: Well, I didn’t expect it to take this long. This one took a very long time. I started writing it in 2007. But I stopped to make The Secret Life of Bees, which took up a couple years, before coming back to this. Then, it was another four-year journey between the writing and setting it up. The project was turned down by everybody a couple times. I was fighting, fighting and fighting for it until BET and Relativity finally stepped up. 

 

KW: Beyond the Lights was obviously a labor of love. What was the source of your inspiration for the project?

GPB: A couple things. One, I knew I wanted to write a love story. And I’ve always wanted to write a music film. Some of my favorite films are musicals, like Walk the Line, The Rose and Lady Sings the Blues. I just love the way the music and the story fuel each other. I wanted to do that with Hip-Hop, since it had never been explored before. It was really marrying those two together. The next question was: What’s the story going to be? I was dealing with two things in my life at the time. Someone very close to me had tried to kill themselves, changed their mind halfway through, and was able to get themselves to the hospital, thankfully. Going through that with them, and researching suicide afterwards, I was amazed to learn that 60% of people who succeed at committing suicide try to change their mind. I thought that was a pretty important thing to explore. This character, Noni [played by Gugu Mbata-Raw], if she’d been successful on the balcony attempt, her life would’ve been over at that point. She could not see past all the pain she was feeling but, by having the second chance, she did get to change her life, find her voice and experience true love. I wanted to put out a movie that could let others in a similar position to take a chance know that there might be something positive past the pain. The other inspiration had to do with issues surrounding my finding my birth mother, who was white, and her not being the fantasy I expected, and my realizing what my life would’ve been if I’d grown up with her, in a home where I was loved and hated at the same time. Because I was black, her parents told her to abort me, and would not allow her to have me. I thought that was a fascinating thing to deal with, and served as the basis of Noni’s relationship with her mother [played by Minnie Driver].         

 

KW: So, who were you raised by?

GPB: I was adopted by two amazing people, a Salvadoran mother, and a white father who were incredibly supportive of me and my work. I am eternally grateful for them.

 

KW: Gee, I didn’t know any of that about you. This question is from Thelonious Legend. He says: I recently interviewed your husband [actor/writer/producer/director Reggie Rock Bythewood] and was very impressed with his passion for bringing diversity to film and with his using his talents for a cause bigger than himself. Do you ever feel a pressure from women or minority communities to “do the right thing,” and how does that influence your creative process?

GPB: I don’t feel any pressure because these are the stories I want to tell. People often ask me if I feel discriminated against as a black female director. I don’t. I’m actually offered a ton of stuff. But I only want to direct what I write. And I prefer to focus on black female characters. What’s most important to me is to put characters up onscreen who are not perfect, but who are human and flawed. 

 

KW: Sangeetha Subramanian says: I am a huge fan of Love & Basketball. I was just talking about the film the other day. The trailer for Beyond the Lights looks great, as well. She asks: Has your perspective of women’s struggle of career versus love changed over time?

GPB: [LOL] That’s a great question! Back then, as now, I want us to have it all, love and career. It’s a struggle sometime to achieve that, but I love the struggle.

 

KW: How did you come to cast Gugu in the lead? Did you feel like you were taking a big chance since she’s British and not a singer?

GPB: I found her in the auditions. My original plan was to go with a musical artist, but then I realized I needed an actress, given the depth of what her character goes through. She came in to audition two years ago, and she was phenomenal. I saw the movie when I watched her. She sang “Blackbird” as part of the audition, and she knocked that out of the park, too. After hearing her connection to the material, and her being raised by a single-mother, it became obvious that she was the one. It was a gut thing. I knew that she was a star. She just hadn’t been broken yet. That was exciting for me as a director, to be able to give her that opportunity. As far as Nate [co-star Nate Parker], I’d worked with him before on The Secret Life of Bees, and always felt like he was going to be the next Denzel. So, I’m really hoping that this is the breakout role for him, too. Once I put him and Gugu together, it was crystal clear that these two had amazing chemistry.

 

KW: I thought he also had great chemistry with Alicia Keys in The Secret Life of Bees. So, maybe you deserve a share of the credit for cultivating that between your leads.

GPB: Nate and I have a great trust with each other, and we had these live improvs on both pictures. I sent him and Alicia on a date in character that ended up lasting three hours and really connected them on such a deep level. With Beyond the Lights, we did a live improv early on in the process where I sent Nate and Gugu to a restaurant in character. I secretly told her not to take her sunglasses off. And I whispered to him to get her to take them off. They had no idea. I also hired about 30 paparazzi to show up and swarm all over her. They stayed in character and he protected her. The restaurant had no idea, either. They thought it was all real. That real-life experience bonded them throughout the shooting in a way that just rehearsing never would have.

 

KW: When I saw Love & Basketball, it was with an inner-city, all-black audience that yelled back at the screen. Did you get to see it that way?

GPB: Oh, my goodness! Yes, the very first time I played the film for an audience was at a mall in Crenshaw, so it was very scary. But once folks started talking to the screen, it was fun. It was great that the audience was that engaged.

 

KW: I included funny things people shouted out in my review. Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

GPB: [Chuckles] Not really.

 

KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What music have you been listening to? 

GPB: Beyonce’s “Drunken Love,” which came out right when I was in the middle of editing the film. I never thought I’d be able to afford it, so the fact that it ended up in the movie was such a shock to me.  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00IM0M72O/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20

 

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

GPB: Gone Girl. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307588378/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20

 

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

GPB: Salmon with barbecue sauce.

 

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

GPB: [LOL] Wow! I see a wife, a mom and a filmmaker.

 

KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

GPB: Honestly, happiness for my children.

 

KW: The Anthony Mackie question: Isthere anything that you promised yourself you’d do if you became famous, that you still haven’t done yet?

GPB: I hate to fly. I’m deathly afraid of it. And I keep promising myself to take a fear of flying course because I have to fly around to promote each film, but I still haven’t done it.

 

KW: The Viola Davis question: What’s the biggest difference between who you are at home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?

GPB: I’m much more comfortable at home.

 

KW: If you could have a chance to speak with a deceased love one for a minute who would it be?

GPB: Wow! I would say my Oma, my adoptive grandmother, who was Salvadoran but embraced me instantly despite my being black, and who encouraged my grandfather to follow suit.  

 

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

GPB: I remember standing up in a crib in an empty room. I think it was the first time my parents came to the orphanage to meet me.

 

KW: The Harriet Pakula-Teweles question: With so many classic films being redone, is there a remake you'd like to star in?

GPB: No, a classic is a classic for a reason. Let’s try to create new classics. The idea of repeating ourselves drives me a little crazy.

 

KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

GPB: Be passionate about your material, because you’re going to have to overcome a lot of “No’s,” and it’s that passion that fuels the fight. So, yeah, be passionate.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Gina. Best of luck with the film. Don’t take so long to make your next one. I look forward to speaking to you again in less than six years.

GPB: [LOL] Same here. Thank you very much, Kam. Take care.

To see a trailer for Beyond the Lights, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rvgJ2WbDsc

The Best of Me
Film Review by Kam Williams

The real test of a good tearjerker is whether or not it moves you to tears. And this movie managed to make me cry in spite of myself.

As this film unfolded, I frequently found myself criticizing its considerable structural flaws, from the questionable casting to the farfetched storyline to one humdinger of a reveal. Nevertheless, as the closing credits rolled, I found myself wiping my eyes, a sure sign that this manipulative melodrama calculated to open the floodgates had achieved its goal.

Directed by Michael Hoffman (The Last Station), the picture is loosely based on the Nicholas Sparks best seller of the same name published in 2011. Sparks is the prolific author of 18 romance novels, half of which have been adapted to the big screen, most notably Message in a Bottle and The Notebook, with a couple more already in the works.

Set in Oriental, North Carolina, The Best of Me stars James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan as Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier, former high school sweethearts who haven’t seen each in a couple decades. Strangely, the teenage versions of the very same characters are played in a series of intermittent flashbacks by look-un-likes Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato.

The point of departure is the present, where we learn that Dawson, who never married or attended college, is employed on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. He subsequently barely survives a deepwater explosion that blows him off the hundred-foot high platform and turns the Gulf of Mexico into a sea of fire. Meanwhile, miserably married Amanda is living in the lap of luxury in Baton Rouge where she has stuck it out for 18 years with an abusive alcoholic (Sebastian Arcelus) for the sake of their son (Ian Nelson).

Fate brings the two back to their tiny hometown for the funeral of Tuck (Gerald McRaney), a mutual friend with a posthumous agenda. He named them both in his will with the hope of orchestrating a reunion of the star-crossed lovers he considered meant for each other. Sure enough, sparks fly, but will they share more than a one-night stand?  

A syrupy, sentimental soap opera tailor-made for fans of the Nicholas Sparks franchise.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence, brief profanity and some drug use

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media

To see a trailer for The Best of Me, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrEvBiqoeRc        

Orgasm
Photographs & Interviews
by Linda Troeller and Marion Schneider
Book Review by Kam Williams

Daylight Books

Hardcover, $35.00

188 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-9897981-3-6

 

“Due to the repression and shame imposed by patriarchy, we are still at the onset of exploration of female sexuality and eroticism. Not only does this book reveal the power, divinity, originality and necessity of female orgasm, but by giving women agency and voice regarding their sexuality, it becomes a deeply erotic work in itself.

Each woman, a brave sex artist mapping a landscape of pleasure, explosion and mythic delight. The project makes it clear that orgasms not only liberate women’s lives, but can save the world as well.

This book is an orgasm.” 

-- Eve Ensler (page 69)

 

Given America’s Puritanical cultural roots, it’s no surprise that it’s considered déclassé even to mention the female orgasm in polite society. Sure, we might have all laughed at an exasperated Teri Garr joking in the movie Tootsie that “I’m responsible for my orgasm!” Or at that hilarious deli scene from When Harry Met Sally where a matronly patron told her waitress, “I’ll have what she’s having,” after watching Meg Ryan climax while eating a sandwich at an adjoining table.

But other than such humorous asides, the climax is rarely the topic of casual conversation let alone of serious clinical examination. Now, thanks to photographer Linda Troeller and historian Marion Schneider, who in 1998 published “The Erotic Lives of Women,” we have a groundbreaking book blowing the sheets off (pun very much intended) the taboo subject.    

For this collaboration the pair found 25 women of every age and ethnicity and from countries as far apart as Holland, France, Israel, Germany, Colombia, Portugal and the United States who were willing to be photographed while answering questions about a most intimate aspect of their sex lives. They were all asked to recount their first and their most powerful orgasms, as well as their greatest fantasies and what orgasms mean to them.

The responses varied wildly. Co-author Marion describes hers as “the building up of energy focused on a certain point: my vagina” where “the energy buildup becomes so great that… it needs to discharge into the universe.” By contrast, Dragonfly, an African-American, sees hers as “a pleasurable reflex, much like a sneeze or a hiccup, or when you jerk your knee when the doctor hits it with the hammer.” Keren from Israel defines hers as “the release of tension… related to some kind of emotional overflow” after which she feels both “clearer” and “emotionally cleansed.”

An eye-opening project that plunges with abandon into the deep chasm of sexual freedom and sexual identity.

Fury
Film Review by Kam Williams

It is April of 1945, and the Allies are making major inroads across the European theater. However, Adolf Hitler has responded to the attrition in the ranks of his army by exhorting women and children to take up arms in a desperate fight to the death.

This is the state of affairs awaiting Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) when he reaches Germany after engagements in Africa, Belgium and the Netherlands. Sergeant Collier is the commander of a Sherman tank that is part of a battle-hardened armored division being dispatched deep into enemy territory to help deliver the coup de grace to the Nazis.

We meet Wardaddy during a brief pause in the action taken to refuel, to restock ammo and to replace his recently-deceased “best damn gunner in the 9th battalion.” Now, he must make do with Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman), a private with no fighting experience just plucked out of the typing pool.

The other members of Collier’s motley crew include tank driver Trini Garcia (Michael Pena), Bible-thumping Boyd Swan (Shia LaBeouf) and a good ol’ boy who goes by Coon-Ass (Jon Benthal). Their next mission is to rescue some stranded GIs urgently in need of assistance.

But prior to shipping out, Collier wants to make sure his greenhorn is ready for the front. So, he forces him to shoot a captured SS officer in the head to show he has no qualms about killing.

That is the premise established at the outset of Fury, a fairly gruesome adventure written and directed by U.S. Navy veteran David Ayer (Training Day). Fair warning: this is a film you don’t so much watch as endure. Picture the sheer intensity of Saving Private Ryan coupled with the visual capture of The Thin Red Line, the harrowing claustrophobia of Das Boot, and the utter insanity of Apocalypse Now.

Brad Pitt exudes an endearing combination of confidence and charm as a calm leader who proves himself quite capable of generating a genuine camaraderie among his men despite the cramped quarters and constant close brushes of death. Moreover, he exhibits an uncanny ingenuity when forced by circumstances to survive by his wits as their resources dwindle.

The meat grinder that was World War II convincingly portrayed from the point-of-view of a band of brothers who were like sitting ducks stuck in a sardine can.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, graphic violence, grisly images and pervasive profanity

In English and German with subtitles

Running time: 134 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for Fury, visit:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q94n3eWOWXM 

Dear White People
Film Review by Kam Williams

The academics are tough enough at Winchester University, a mythical Ivy League institution. It’s too bad that black students there also have to worry about making themselves comfortable socially.         

That’s precisely the predicament we find a quartet of African-American undergrads facing at the point of departure of Dear White People, a sophisticated social satire marking the directorial and scriptwriting debut of Justin Simien. Earlier this year, the thought-provoking dramedy won the Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the Sundance Film Festival.  

The picture’s protagonists are as different from each other as night and day. Lionel Higgins (Tyler James Williams) is gay and uncomfortable around his own people because blacks teased him the most about his sexuality back in high school. So, he lives in a predominately-white dorm where he’s ended up being bullied anyway.

Then there’s Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P. Bell), a legacy admission to Winchester courtesy of his father (Dennis Haysbert), an alumnus and the current Dean of Students. Troy’s dating an equally-well connected white girl, Sofia Fletcher (Brittany Curran), the daughter of the school’s President (Peter Syvertsen).

Political activist Samantha White (Tessa Thompson) sits at the other extreme, being a militant sister who lives in the all-black dorm ostensibly serving as a refuge for the “hopelessly Afro-centric.” She also hosts a talk show on the college’s radio school’s station, “Dear White People” where she indicts Caucasians about everything from their racism to their sense of entitlement.  

Finally, we have Coco Conners (Teyonah Parris) who just wants to assimilate into mainstream American culture. In fact, she’s more concerned with whether she might make the cut for the reality-TV show conducting auditions on campus than with challenging the status quo, ala rabble rouser Samantha.

So, the premise is set by establishing that the four lead characters have little in common besides their skin color. And the plot subsequently thickens when Pastiche, a student-run humor publication, decides to throw a Halloween party with an “unleash your inner-Negro” theme.

Now they share the prospect of being stereotyped by white classmates cavorting around in blackface dressed as pimps and gangstas, and as icons like President Obama and Aunt Jemima. En route to a surprising resolution, director Simien pulls a couple of rabbits out of his hat while lacing his dialogue with pithy lines (“Learn to modulate your blackness up or down depending on the crowd and what you want from them.”) and touching on a litany of hot button issues ranging from Affirmative Action to Tyler Perry.

A delightful dissection of the Ivy League that stirs the pot in the way most folks mean when they a call for a national discussion of race. 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, ethnic and sexual preference slurs, sexuality and drug use

Running time: 106 minutes

Distributor: Roadside Attractions

To see a trailer for Dear White People, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMgWMzbM2Pk

The Judge

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Downey and Duvall Square-Off in Character-Driven Courtroom Drama

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a very successful, criminal defense attorney with a good reason to hide his humble roots. After all, he was a rebellious kid who frequently landed in trouble with the law while growing up in tiny Carlinville, Indiana.

That juvenile delinquency only served to alienate him from his father, Joseph (Robert Duvall), who just happened to be the town’s only judge. In addition, one of Hank’s more egregious missteps left him permanently estranged from his older brother, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio). And since their only other sibling, Dale (Jeremy Palmer), was mentally handicapped, Hank hadn’t been back in ages when he received word that his mother (Catherine Cummings) had died.

So, he only planned to make a perfunctory appearance at the funeral before quickly returning to Chicago where he had his hands full, between his high-flying career and a custody battle with his estranged wife (Sarah Lancaster) over their young daughter (Emma Tremblay). However, everything changes when Judge Palmer is suddenly arrested in the hit-and-run killing of a creepy convict (Mark Kiely) he’d publicly castigated in court before releasing back onto the street.

This shocking development conveniently forces Hank to stick around to represent his father, and simultaneously affords him the opportunity to mend a few fences. Plus, it gives him time to unwittingly seduce a woman he meets in a bar (Leighton Meester), who is not only the daughter of his high school sweetheart (Vera Farmiga), but might be the love child he never knew he had.     

Thus unfolds The Judge, a character-driven drama which is half-whodunit, half-kitchen sink soap opera that pulls another rabbit out of the hat every five minutes or so. A potentially farcical film remains rather well grounded thanks to Robert Duvall who plays the Palmer family patriarch with a sobering, stone cold gravitas.         

Both Robert Downey, Jr. and Billy Bob Thornton turn in inspired performances, too, as the opposing attorneys matching wits in a classic courtroom showdown. And the rest of the ensemble more than holds their own as well in service of a script that has a tendency to strain credulity.

A fanciful, thoroughly-modern variation on the parable of the Prodigal Son!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity and sexual references

Running time: 141 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for The Judge, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TA5Y86yAo4

Kill the Messenger

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Jeremy Renner Riveting in True Tale as Intrepid Investigative Journalist

            In August of 1996, the San Jose Mercury News published an eye-opening expose’ detailing exactly how the Central Intelligence Agency had orchestrated the importation of crack cocaine from Nicaragua as well as its distribution in the black community of South Central Los Angeles. Entitled “Dark Alliance,” the 20,000-word series was written by Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner), an investigative journalist who’d risked life and limb to release the incendiary information.

For, in the midst of conducting his research, he had been asked “Do you have a family?” by a CIA operative trying to intimidate him into killing the article. The spy agency was ostensibly determined to suppress any facts which might shed light on its covert dealings with the Contras, the rebels attempting to topple the government of Nicaragua.

But Webb, already a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, would not be intimidated and went with the piece. And even though he had supported his shocking allegations with declassified documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, the Establishment secretly enlisted the assistance of the New York Times, the Washington Post and the L.A. Times to discredit him.

These prominent papers pooh-poohed the very notion that the CIA could possibly be behind the dissemination of crack in the inner-city. Nevertheless, “Dark Alliance” became the biggest story of the year, especially among African-Americans, many of whom surfed the internet for the first time in order to read the damning report.    

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) took to the floor to warn that “Somebody’s going to have to pay for what they have done to my people.” Yet, the revelations seemed to take the greatest toll on Gary Webb, who lost his good name, his job, his career, his home, and even the love of his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt ) in due course.

This shameful chapter in American history is the subject of Kill the Messenger, a sobering biopic directed by Michael Cuesta and starring Jeremy Renner. The film features an A-list cast also including Ray Liotta, Barry Pepper, Tim Blake Nelson, Andy Garcia, Oliver Platt, Michael Sheen, Robert Patrick and Paz Vega.

However, make no mistake, this riveting thriller is a Renner vehicle, and the two-time Academy Award-nominee (for The Hurt Locker and The Town) delivers another Oscar-quality performance as a family man/respected writer slowly turned into a paranoid soul haunted by demons and hunted by Machiavellian mercenaries drunk with power.

 A cautionary tale about what might easily transpire whenever the Fourth Estate is willing to serve as the Fifth Column rather than as a government watchdog.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and drug use

Running time: 112 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Kill the Messenger, visit: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N2nuDtJX0M

One Chance

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Overcoming-the-Odds Biopic Recounts Rise of Aspiring Opera Singer

For as long as Paul Potts (James Corden) can remember, all he every wanted to do was sing. Blessed with a big voice, the chubby boy sang everywhere as a child, whether in the shower, walking down the street, riding the school bus, or in the church choir.

Sadly, this inclination didn’t sit well with the ruffians of Port Talbot, the blue-collar town where Paul was raised. The more he sang, the more they would bully him, and vice-versa.

Fast-forward to 2004 where we find Paul, at 34, pursuing the pipe dream of an opera career and still living at home with his supportive mom (Julie Walters) and skeptical dad (Colm Meaney). Meanwhile, he’s taken a job as a cell phone salesman in order to save up enough money for a master class in Venice with the legendary Luciano Pavarotti (Stanley Townsend). And he is lucky to have an understanding girlfriend in Julz (Alexandra Roach), a portly pepperpot he met over the internet.  

Thus unfolds One Chance, a delightful musical dramedy directed by Oscar-winner David Frankel (Dear Diary), best known for The Devil Wears Prada. Here, the Native New Yorker has fashioned an overcoming-the-odds biopic revolving around Potts’ real-life exploits as a contestant on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”

The film feels a lot like The Full Monty (striptease) and Billy Elliot (ballet) in terms of the protagonist’s pursuit of an unconventional art form. However, it also is evocative of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral in the way it wins your heart via a charming courtship.

A touching, true tale chronicling a talented troubadour’s televised triumphs.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexuality

In English and Italian with subtitles

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for One Chance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wtq5hN2eOE

Plastic

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Brit Hackers Hustle Gangster in High Octane, High Body Count Heist

            Sometimes, a film unfolds so fast and furiously that it’s hard to keep score. Such is the case with Plastic, a high-octane, high body count affair following the antics of a stolen credit card ring run by a brilliant and brazen computer hacker named Sam (Ed Speelers).

The movie opens with one of those “Based on a True Story” (google Saq Mumtaz) which might mean that what you’re about to see is the cinematic culmination of painstakingly-researched historical fact. However, it’s could just as easily be serving as a disclaimer designed to sucker you into believing a farfetched story since, well, somebody once said it happened.

I suspect that this tall tale belongs in the latter category. Regardless, I suppose all that matters in the end is whether the picture has any entertainment value. Plastic does throw a lot of testosterone-directed gore and sensuality at you, but not much for anyone outside of the eroticized violence demographic.

The fun starts when the gang of four steals the identity of Marcel (Thomas Kretschmann) to the tune of a couple hundred thousand pounds. Boy, does this sadistic gangster know how to hold a grudge. Soon enough, he turns the tables and has the college student punks promising to pay him back ten times the amount they stole, plus interest. 

 High-stylized piffle designed to titillate and satiate bloodlust while slowly turning your brain to mush! 

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, drug use, graphic violence and pervasive profanity 

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: Arc Entertainment

To see a trailer for Plastic, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6qJU5VtIVg       

Advance Style

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Iconoclastic Doc Focuses Lens on Ageless Fashion Plates

We live in a culture which unfortunately equates beauty with youth. Why else are so many women to make a joke of their own faces so long as the skin remains as tight as a ten year old’s? As the late Joan Rivers, a big fan of cosmetic surgery, might ask: Can we talk?

For, flying in the face of this conventional wisdom is Ari Seth Cohen, a street photographer who roams around Manhattan looking for flamboyant elderly females to capture with his camera. He even has a blog, Advanced Style (http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/) dedicated to portraits of these classy ladies ranging in age from 60 to 95.

The website generated so much interest that we now have Advanced Style, the movie, a documentary featuring some of his most attractive subjects. The picture marks the “Fabulous!” directorial of Lina Plioplyte who makes quite the splash simply by shedding light on seven, ageless fashion plates.

There’s Jackie Tajah Murdock, 81, who was a dancer at the Apollo during the famed theater’s heydays, and Lynn Dell Cohen, 80, the self-proclaimed “Countess of Glamour.” The baby of the group is Tziporah Salamon, 62 who rides around the city on a pimped-out bicycle. And at the other extreme we have the group’s elder stateswoman, Zelda Kaplan, 95, who has a good sense of humor about being a little addlepated.

Rounding out the crew are Ilona Royce Smithkin, 93; Joyce Carpati, 80; and Deborah Rapoport, 67. What they all seem to share is an infectious zest for life and for looking their best that they can’t help but share with anyone they meet. Ostensibly for the sake of a plot, the picture inexorably works its way to the ladies being feted, whether they’re landing a contract with Lanvin, making an appearance on Ricki Lake’s TV talk show, or just strutting their stuff during Fashion Week.

But it all seems secondary to the obvious fact that natural aging lines can look every bit as good if not better than Botox and face lifts. The best antidote around to America’s unhealthy obsession with youth!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 72 minutes

Distributor: Bond360

To see a trailer for Advanced Style, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX46yvihOGU

Believe Me
Film Review by Kam Williams        

Even though I was raised in the church and attended services religiously as a child, I was simultaneously warned by my skeptical grandmother that sometimes, “The closer supposedly to Christ, the further from God.” That sage old saying came to mind while watching Believe Me, an intriguing modern morality play written and directed by Will Bakke (Beware of Christians).

The story revolves around the ethical issues confronting Sam Atwell (Alex Russell), a law school-bound college senior, or at least he thought. Trouble is, his parents suddenly can’t afford to pay his final semester’s tuition which means he won’t be able to graduate on time or continue his education the following fall.

This is the predicament we find the handsome upperclassman facing at the picture’s point of departure, a time when he’d really rather be hazing pledges to his fraternity and hooking up with cute coeds he meets at keg parties. And after a futile visit with the unsympathetic school dean (Nick Offerman), Sam knows he simply has to come up with the $9,000 somehow, if he wants to get that degree in June.

Thinking outside the box, he concocts an elaborate scheme to separate gullible Evangelicals from their cash, figuring them to be a soft touch. So, he enlists the assistance of a few of his frat brothers in the nefarious endeavor, namely, Pierce (Miles Fisher), Tyler (Sinqua Wells) and Baker (Max Adler).

The plan is to prevail upon Born Again congregations by posing as a Christian charity assisting needy children in Africa. In due course, Sam proves to be such a good pitchman that the money starts flooding in.

That development is not lost on Ken (Christopher McDonald), a faith-oriented entrepreneur who offers to help take the boys’ burgeoning business to the next level. Soon, as the God Squad, they’re on the prayer meeting tent circuit and selling a Christian clothing line called Cross Dressing that includes “F-Satan” t-shirts and the like.

However, the sinful scheme begins to unravel when they have no place to send a kid (Chester Rushing) who wants to do missionary work with them in Lesotho. And the moment of truth arrives when the pretty tour coordinator (Johanna Braddy) Sam’s just started dating is given proof by a colleague (Zachary Knighton) that her new beau is a big fraud.

At this juncture, the jig is essentially up, whether or not the arrogant co-conspirators are too blinded by a combination of cynicism and greed to confess to the crime. After all, they’d taken such glee in exploiting foolish followers of Christ by strategically faking everything from appropriately-pious poses to the right religious buzzwords.

A thought-provoking, faith-based parable asking whether it’s ever too late to make a second impression, especially on God.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity

Running time: 93 minutes

Studio: Riot Studios / Lascaux Films

Distributor: Headline Features / Gravitas Features

To see a trailer for Believe Me, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emdGSSHujyo   

An Obama's Journey

My Odyssey of Self-Discovery across Three Cultures

by Mark Obama Ndesandjo

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Globe Pequot Press

Hardcover, $25.95

392 pages

ISBN: 978-1-4930-0751-6

 

“’My family will hate me for this book, baby,’ I explained [to my wife]. She hugged me and assured me they would not, while no doubt sensing I was right.

Later that day in Beijing, my brother replied to an interviewer’s question about our meeting: ‘I don’t know him very well. I met him for the first time only two years ago.’

Hearing myself referred to in the third person like that felt surreal… The pain in my heart disregarded any logic or excuse. After all, I had met him a number of times before…

At that moment, my brother scared me… He had become not my brother, but the President of the United States. This was the politicking Barack, in the media spotlight where politicians perform every day.

I’d thought there might be something about our family tie that would override the carefully bland, ready response, but the dismissive words were spoken… How naïve I had been.”  

-- Excerpted from the Prelude (pages xiv-xv)

 

President Obama barely knew the biological father who separated from his mother while he was still an infant. In fact, he only saw his dad once ever again, and that was during a brief visit to Hawaii in 1971.

By contrast, his half-brother, Mark Obama Ndesandjo, was in a far better position to take a measure of the man, given how he had spent his formative years with Barack, Sr. So, it would make sense that Barack might consult his younger sibling while conducting research in Kenya about their dad for a book during the summer of 1988.  

When they met, Mark matter-of-factly offered that, “He was a drunk, he beat my mother and us kids.” Nevertheless, Barack would wax romantic about his absentee parent in “Dreams from My Father,” painting a relatively-benign portrait that bears little resemblance to the womanizing, wife-beating alcoholic revealed in Mark’s own new autobiography.

An Obama’s Journey is a jaw-dropping memoir which casts a pall not only over Barack, Sr. but over Barack as well. In it, Mark calls his brother “a stuck-up asshole” and an “arrogant bastard” with a cold demeanor. Perhaps more chilling is his description of a “darker, more insidious presence that was as much a part of him as his DNA.”

That almost demonic side of Barack apparently came to the fore when he lied so cavalierly to the press about Mark, minimizing how long the two had known each other, ostensibly for purely political purposes. Mark felt hurt by this display of callousness reminiscent of how the President had similarly thrown Reverend Wright, the pastor of the church where he’d married and worshipped for 20 years, under the bus when it was expedient for his career to do so.

 Lesser character flaws highlighted here include “the faint smell of cigarettes” Mark detected upon meeting the President in Beijing at a time when he supposedly had kicked the habit. He also felt insulted when his brother stuck out a hand rather than hug him at that reunion.     

In spite of all of the above, Mark loves his brother dearly. After all, they have far more in common than their differences. Besides the same father, they both come from broken families, have white American mothers, brilliant minds, and attended Ivy League schools.

But I digress. For this tome has a larger purpose, and the trajectory of Mark’s own life is no mere footnote to that of the first African-American President. Rather it is fascinating in its own right, a riveting transcontinental tale of survival, accomplishment, adjustment, transformation and, ultimately, triumph taking the reader from Africa to America to China and back.

Lucky for us, the author happens to be blessed with a refreshingly-unguarded honest and introspective nature which in combination with a wonderful a way with words add up to a must-read regardless of how you feel about his very famous sibling.

To order a copy of An Obama's Journey, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1493007513/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

American Masters: The Boomer List
PBS-TV Review by Kam Williams

The United States witnessed a population explosion in the wake of World War II which came to be called the Baby Boom. Stretching from 1946 to 1964, the period was marked in such a surge of live births that by the time it ended 4 out of 10 Americans were under the age of 20.

This year, the youngest members of the massive generation are turning 50, a development that was not lost on Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, director of a trio of award-winning documentaries: The Black List, The Latino List and The Out List. And with about 8,000 now retiring a day, Timothy decided to mark the milestone by making a film recognizing the contributions of cultural icons, one born in each year of the Baby Boom.

Among the subjects of the show is best-selling novelist Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, who was born in my year, 1952. At the age of 15, she was deeply affected by the loss of her father and a brother a half-dozen months apart. Here, she reflects upon how she felt abandoned by her dad.

She also talks about what it was like growing up Chinese-American. Sadly, she recalls that, as a teenager, “I felt that I didn’t have dates because I was ugly, and that I was ugly because I was Chinese.” Unfortunately, that insecurity about her appearance was only reinforced by a mother who told Amy she wasn’t beautiful and to work hard in school since she’d “never get by in the world on her looks.”

She admits to actually having felt shame about her ethnicity, which she overcame in college with the help of Black Studies courses. Since there weren’t any in Asian-American Literature at her school, she felt drawn to African-American Literature since it appreciated alternative aesthetics to the mainstream. The world is grateful that she was in turn inspired to write fiction, which she sees as a way of meditating on a question.   

Other luminaries representing their respective years are Deepak Chopra (1947), Samuel L. Jackson (1948), Billy Joel (1949), Maria Shriver (1955) and Erin Brockovich (1960), to name a few. A poignant collection of personal remembrances amounting to a profound tribute to a memorable American era.          

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated TV-PG

Running time: 90 minutes

Studio: Perfect Day Films

Distributor: PBS

The Boomer List premieres on PBS from 9-10:30 PM ET/PT on Tuesday, September 23rd (check local listings)

To see a trailer for The Boomer List, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz0icyUEQtc

The Equalizer
Film Review by Kam Williams

On the surface, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a perfectly-pleasant, hail fellow well met. By day, the affable widower is employed as a sales associate at a hardware superstore where he jokes with co-workers who call him “Pops.” Evenings, he retires to a modest apartment in a working-class, Boston community, although bouts of insomnia often have him descending to a nearby diner to read a book into the wee hours of the morning.

The dingy joint looks a lot like the dive depicted by Edward Hopper in the classic painting “Nighthawks.” Among the seedy haunt’s habitués is Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a provocatively-dressed prostitute who hangs out there between clients.

Robert takes a personal interest in the troubled teen, a recent immigrant whose real name is Alina. He soon learns that she’d rather be pursuing a musical career than sleeping with stranger after stranger. Trouble is she’s under the thumb of Slavi (David Meunier), a sadistic pimp who’ll stop at nothing to keep a whore in check.

A critical moment arrives the night she arrives in the restaurant and hands Robert her new demo tape while trying to hide a black eye. But he becomes less interested in the CD than in the whereabouts of the creep who gave her the shiner.

What neither Teri nor anybody else in town knows is that Robert’s a retired spy who had cultivated the proverbial set of deadly skills over the course of his career. At this juncture, the mild-mannered retiree reluctantly morphs into an anonymous vigilante more than willing to dole out a bloody brand of street justice on behalf of Teri and other vulnerable crime victims with seemingly no recourse.

Thus unfolds The Equalizer, a riveting, relatively-gruesome adaptation of the popular, 1980s TV-series. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this version is actually more reminiscent of Death Wish (1974), as this picture’s protagonist behaves less like the television show’s British gentleman than the brutal avenging angel portrayed on the big screen by Charles Bronson.

Considerable credit must go to Oscar-winner Mauro Fiore’s (Avatar) visually-captivating cinematography for capturing Boston in a way which is somehow both stylish and haunting. Nevertheless, the eye-pleasing panoramas simply serve as a backdrop for Denzel who is even better here than in his Oscar-winning collaboration with Fuqua for Training Day.

Revenge as a dish best served cold by a sleep-deprived, diner patron equalizer!  

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for graphic violence, sexual references and pervasive profanity

In English and Russian with subtitles

Running time: 131 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures

To see a trailer for The Equalizer, visit:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP_FwE0Z7no

Pump
Film Review by Kam Williams

Why is the price of gasoline in the Untied States so artificially high? Much of the explanation lies in a corporate conspiracy to deny us access to alternative fuel sources. A few years ago, the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” illustrated how the auto industry had successfully lobbied politicians to discourage its development.

Now, this eye-opening expose’ shows how big oil has conspired to deny Americans fuel choice for the past century. This state of affairs has persisted in the face of a Supreme Court decision which forced John D. Rockefeller to break up the Standard Oil Company by declaring it a monopoly way back in 1911.

What alternative fuels might a car run on? Well, besides electricity, there’s solar power, methanol, ethanol and hydrogen, to name a few. Who knows what other new ideas might have been encouraged if Congress hadn’t discouraged development of competing energy options by granting the gas-guzzling car manufacturers a stranglehold on research and development via tax breaks and other measures.

This wholesale sellout of the American public is the subject of Pump, an eye-opening expose’ co-directed by Joshua and Rebecca Harrell Tickell. It is the husband-and-wife team’s sobering thesis that, “We have to come to grips with the fact that this is the end of the Oil Age.”

What more proof do you need than the sight of the devastation visited upon Detroit, a latter-day ghost town where, “the hope of the average person for a better life has disappeared” in the wake of its being abandoned by the car conglomerates for greener pastures? And the Motor City might just be the tip of the iceberg, if you believe the dire warnings issued intermittently during this powerful documentary by John Hofmeister, the former President of Shell Oil.

Today, as founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy, he indicts an unnecessary addiction to oil as the root cause of everything from political instability and war to climate change and environmental crises. His organization’s aim? A simple one, merely to make fuel choice a viable reality.

Food for thought the next time you cavalierly instruct the gas station attendant to “Fill ‘er up!”

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mature themes 

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Submarine Deluxe

To see a trailer for Pump, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTytxMdlazM      

Take Me to the River
Film Review by Kam Williams

A lot of great soul music came out of Memphis in the Sixties and early Seventies. Stax Records launched the careers of acts like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. and the MGs while its cross-town rival Hi Records had Al Green, Ann Peebles and O.V. Wright. Take Me to the River is a reverential retrospective which is a combination tribute to the city’s impressive legacy and a tip of the cap to some up-and-coming artists still recording in the region.

The movie marks the directorial debut of Martin Shore, who tapped Terrence Howard to narrate the documentary. The Oscar-nominated actor also raps and sings in the picture which features the reflections of hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg who pays tributes to the trailblazers that paved the way for him.

But what makes the movie worth its while is hearing such soul greats as Booker T., Mavis Staples, David Porter and Charlie Musselwhite wax romantic about the good ole days. We learn that the bands were often integrated at a time the rest of Memphis was still strictly segregated.

Some of the reminiscing relates how the local cops would deliberately profile and harass them as they exited the studio after late-night sessions, being not only racist but jealous of the groups’ newfound fame and fortune. We also hear about how the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis cast a pall over the entire town that ultimately took a toll on the music business, too. Stax executive Al Bell refers to his company’s early demise as an economic lynching.

An overdue homage to a city that for close to a decade was home to the second largest black business in America.   

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG for smoking, mild epithets and mature themes

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: Abramorama

To see a trailer for Take Me to the River, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZzqsvV_Oyk     

Hector and the Search for Happiness
Film Review by Kam Williams

Hector (Simon Pegg) is a funny duck, as they say. The eccentric neat freak is lucky to have a gorgeous girlfriend like Clara (Rosamund Pike) who’s willing to put up with his odd requests, such as arranging everything in perfect order, from his socks to his sandwiches. He’s even more fortunate to have a thriving psychiatric practice, given the barely-contained contempt he routinely exhibits for the folks lying on his couch.

A moment of truth arrives the day one of them (Veronica Ferres) finally summons up the courage to tell him to his face that he’s transparent, inauthentic, and just going through the motions. Conceding that he’s become so jaded that he isn’t helping his equally-miserable patients anymore, Hector decides to embark solo on a globe-spanning, spiritual quest for the fulfillment that has somehow escaped him.

After all, how could he not have joy, when surrounded by all the trappings of success? Hector’s plans have Clara concerned about whether the relationship is on shaky ground, since she’s been reluctant to start a family and she’s also aware that he has an ex (Toni Collette) in the U.S. he still cares about.

Unfolding like the alpha male answer to Eat Pray Love (2010), Hector and the Search for Happiness is an alternately introspective and action-oriented travelogue played mostly for laughs. Simon Pegg exhibits an endlessly-endearing naïvete as the peripatetic protagonist, whether misreading the flirtations of a prostitute (Ming Zhao) in China or taking a while to realize that his cab has been carjacked by the underlings of an African crime boss (Akin Omotoso).

Such perils notwithstanding, our intrepid hero persists in posing his pressing question “What is happiness?” at each port-of-call as he circumnavigates the globe. Taking copious notes on a writing pad, he records the answers he receives, like “Being loved for who you are,” “Answering your calling,” and “Feeling completely alive.”

Eventually, Hector experiences that elusive “Eureka!” epiphany he needs so dearly, which allows him to rush home revitalized to Clara and a career and clients who might not be so annoying after all. A feel-good meditation on the meaning of life, guaranteed to leave you counting your many blessings as you walk up the aisle.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and brief nudity

In English, French and German with subtitles

Running time: 114 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media

To see a trailer for Hector and the Search for Happiness, visit

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
Film Review by Kam Williams

Between Theodore (1901-1909) and Franklin (1933-1945), a Roosevelt was in the White House for 20 years of the 20th Century. It is not surprising, then, that they, in conjunction with FDR’s wife Eleanor, would reshape not only Americans’ relationship with the federal government but even the U.S.’ own standing in the rest of the world.

You probably think of Teddy as the tough-talking President whose foreign policy was reduced to, “Walk softly and carry a big stick!” And his cousin Franklin had his own iconic catchphrase, namely, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!” which was generally credited for buoying the country’s spirits during the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, Eleanor might be best remembered for having publicly resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution when the organization prevented Marian Anderson from staging a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC because of her skin color. The First Lady subsequently took it upon herself to invite the snubbed opera singer to perform both at the White House (the first black ever to do so there) and on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in front of  a crowd of 75,000.

What you might not know is that Eleanor Roosevelt was a staunch African-American advocate who insisted that housing, employment and equal education were basic human rights that this society had a moral obligation to provide to all its citizens. Fortunately, Ken Burns 14-hour series, The Roosevelts, fully fleshes out Eleanor, FDR and Teddy into the complex human beings they really were, including their triumphs, their transformations, their flaws, and their failings.

For example, we see how Franklin suffered from polio for most of his adult life, and how he went to great lengths to hide from the nation the toll the debilitating affliction was taking on his body. Covering over a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962, this revealing biopic paints a fascinating portrait, not to be missed, of perhaps America’s most influential political dynasty.

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated TV-PG

Running time: 14 hours

Studio: Florentine Films

Distributor: PBS

The Roosevelts airs on PBS from 8-10 PM ET/PT from Sunday, September 14th through Saturday September 20th (check local listings)

To see a trailer for The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcmGpZppPwA

To order a copy of The Roosevelts on DVD, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00JKJ0XJU/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

DVD Extras: 13 bonus videos; The Making of The Roosevelts; and deleted scenes with an introduction by Ken Burns.  

This Is Where I Leave You
Film Review by Kam Williams

When Mort Altman (Will Swenson) passes away, his children return home reasonably expecting to remain in town briefly. After all, despite being raised Jewish, they have no reason to expect to sit shiva, since their dad was an avowed atheist and their psychologist mom (Jane Fonda) is a gentile.

However, after the funeral, Hillary Altman informs her offspring of the dearly-departed’s dying wish that they mourn him for a week in accordance with religious tradition. And then, she announces that they’ve all just been grounded for seven days, as if they’re still children.

This development doesn’t sit well with any of the siblings, since they don’t get along and this is the first time they’ve all been sleeping under the same roof in ages. Furthermore, their dad’s death couldn’t have come at a more inopportune moment, since each is in the midst of a midlife crisis.

Judd (Jason Bateman) has just learned that his wife (Abigail Spencer) is having an affair with his boss (Dax Shepard). Meanwhile, brother Paul’s (Corey Stoll) marriage is in jeopardy because his wife’s (Kathryn Hahn) biological clock is ticking very loudly but she’s been unable to get pregnant.

Then there’s playboy baby brother, Philip (Adam Driver), a narcissist with unresolved oedipal issues, judging by the fact that he’s dating a shrink (Connie Britton) old enough to be his mother. He’s such a self-indulgent womanizer, he doesn’t think twice about shamelessly flirting with an old flame (Carly Brooke Pearlstein) right in front of his mortified girlfriend.

Finally, we have only-sister Wendy (Tina Fey). Superficially, she seems to be the most stable of the four as a doting mother of two with a devoted, if emotionally distant, husband (Aaron Lazar) who at least is a great provider.

Barry’s obsession with his career on Wall Street has come at the cost of preserving the passion and intimacy in the relationship. So, the last thing Wendy needs now is the temptation of a duplicitous dalliance being dangled in front of her eyes in the form of Horry (Timothy Olyphant). However, her hunky high school sweetheart is still single, still in shape, and still right across the street, even if he’s brain-damaged and lives with his mother (Debra Monk).

All of these sticky situations serve primarily as fodder for a sophisticated brand of humor in This Is Where I Leave You, an alternately droll and laugh out loud dramedy directed by Shawn Levy (Date Night). Adroitly adapted to the screen by Jonathan Tropper, author of the best seller of the same name, this relentlessly-witty film features some of the funniest repartee around as it simultaneously explores a laundry list of sobering themes ranging from religion and mortality to love and betrayal.

A character-driven examination of a dysfunctional Jewish family about as wacky as they come.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and drug use

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for This Is Where I Leave You, visit

No Good Deed
Film Review by Kam Williams

It is usually a bad sign when a movie studio decides not to preview a picture for film critics. In the case of No Good Deed, Screen Gems claimed that it was refraining from doing so in order to prevent the spoiling of a surprising plot twist. Well, the butler did it! (Just kidding.)

Skeptical, I had to wait until opening day to see it. And while the movie is by no means a masterpiece, I’m happy to report that it’s nevertheless a tautly-wound nail-biter which keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. And yes, there is a humdinger of a revelation during the denouement, not a totally preposterous development but rather a plausible one which was merely cleverly-concealed.

The movie marks the theatrical directorial debut of Sam Miller, who is best known for Luther, the brilliant BBC-TV series featuring Idris Elba in the title role for which he won a Golden Globe in 2012. The two collaborate again here, with Idris playing Colin Evans, a serial killer who, at the point of departure, slays a couple of prison guards during a daring escape from a Tennessee prison.

He makes his way to his girlfriend Alexis’ (Kate del Castillo) house in Atlanta only to murder her, too, when he learns she’s already involved with another man. Colin remains so blinded with rage as he drives away that he crashes his stolen car into a tree along a suburban country road.

He subsequently knocks on the door of Terri Granger (Taraji P. Henson), an attorney-turned-stay at home mom whose husband (Henry Simmons) has conveniently just left town with his father away for a weekend golf getaway. Against the former prosecutor’s better judgment, she lets the tall, dark and handsome stranger enter the house, and it isn’t long before there’s trouble in paradise.

After all as the proverb suggested by the title warns, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Accordingly, Terri and her two young kids find themselves in the clutches of a desperate maniac until the protective mother’s maternal and survival instincts kick into high gear.

No Good Deed was ostensibly inspired by The Desperate Hours, a suspiciously-similar Broadway play starring Paul Newman which was first adapted to the big screen in 1955 starring Humphrey Bogart, and remade in 1990 with Sir Anthony Hopkins. Thanks to Mr. Elba’s menacing intensity, a potentially mediocre variation on the theme ends up elevated into a tension-filled gutwrencher his loyal fans won’t want to miss.

The urban-oriented audience at the screening I attended talked back at the screen a lot in the way that engaged black folks do, and they even applauded heartily as the closing credits rolled, surefire signs that the studio has a hit on its hands, conventional critics notwithstanding.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence and profanity

Running time: 84 minutes

Distributor: Screen Gems

To see a trailer for No Good Deed, visit: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5VeowxERwM    

I Am Eleven
Film Review by Kam Williams

11 is that awkward age when most boys are bashful and self-conscious about their cracking voices while the girls are gangly and getting their first period. If you’re wondering what today’s kids are thinking about as they negotiate their way through that stage of life, you can easily find out from I Am Eleven, a delightful documentary marking the directorial debut of Genevieve Bailey.

The peripatetic Australian circumnavigated the globe to talk to children about everything from family to teasing to romance to war to intolerance to poverty to nature to their hopes for the future. Ms. Bailey found 22 young subjects to focus on over the course of her travels which took her to 15 countries.

Art Linketter coined the phrase, “Kids say the darnedest things,” ages ago and that hasn’t changed much, judging from the quotable bon mots served up in this film. Among the movie’s stars are Remi, an introspective boy from France who doesn’t mince words. “I don’t like racists,” he announces sternly, adding, “To know that there are still some people who differentiate between humans depending on race, that’s completely absurd.”

Relatively-innocent, but equally-endearing, is Remya, an orphan from India who freely admits that she didn’t even know what an interview was before being approached to participate in the project. In fact, Bailey is the first foreigner she ever met. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long for the vulnerable waif to open up how she feels hurt whenever “someone is bullying me or shouting at me or telling lies about me.”

One adolescent I found particularly fascinating was Jack, an elephant whisperer from Thailand. He explains how the behemoths he works with are capable of healing. “Elephants can change the chemicals in your brain,” he suggests matter-of factly. “If you have a headache, all you’ve got to do is put your head to an elephant’s head and, within seconds, your headache just goes away.”

Pearls of wisdom from the mouths of babes uttered with such heartfelt conviction that you want to believe them, even when you’re a little skeptical.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In English, French, Japanese, Mandarin, German, Swedish, Berber, Thai, Malayalam, Hindi, Dutch and Bulgarian with subtitles.

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: International Film Circuit

To see a trailer for I Am Eleven, visit

Wetlands
(Feuchtgebiete)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Helen Memel (Carla Juri) has had hemorrhoids for as long as she can remember, an unfortunate affliction she probably developed as a result of a combination of probing herself and practicing very poor hygiene. For the headstrong rebel has made a habit of ignoring her mother’s (Meret Becker) sensible advice, such as to not sit on a public toilet seat.

Instead, Helen tends to go to the opposite extreme, taking a kinky pleasure in coming in contact with whatever bodily fluids might have been left behind by strangers in the ladies’ room. The sexually-insatiable 18 year-old also enjoys experimenting with everything from cucumbers to carrots to pulsating shower heads in a neverending quest for the next climax.

She even flirts shamelessly with her BFF, Corinna (Marlen Kruse), who’s straight and already has a boyfriend, Mike (Bernardo Arias Porras). But Helen is so curious and driven by lust that she fantasizes about seducing him as well.

What’s behind all the bizarre behavior? It might be explained by the trauma the poor child suffered as a consequence of her parents’ divorce. She’s desperate for the two of them to reconcile, and has been acting out since the separation, filling the void by deliberately seducing boys with a whiff of her very carnal feminine scent.

Directed by David Wnendt, Wetlands is a surreal, coming-of-age adventure which keeps you guessing whether what you’re watching is real or merely the product of the horny heroine’s fertile imagination. The picture is based on Charlotte Roche’s erotic thriller, “Feuchtgebiete” which was the best-selling novel in the entire world for the month of March, 2008. 

A non-stop sexcapade revolving around a literally and figuratively filthy hedonist who puts a whole new spin on the term “dirty girl.”

 

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In German with subtitles

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

To see a trailer for Wetlands, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3PRY13WiwM

The Identical
Film Review by Kam Williams

What if Elvis Presley’s stillborn twin had survived his mother’s pregnancy rather than passed away during delivery back in January of 1935? That is the alternate reality contemplated by The Identical, a faith-based musical marking the underwhelming directorial debut of Dustin Marcellino.

Unfortunately, Dustin tapped an Elvis impersonator to star in his revisionist version of events, a dubious decision that comes back to bite him whenever Blake Rayne isn’t singing and shaking his hips onstage. The first-time actor plays both Ryan Hemsley and his identical sibling, Drexel (Elvis), in this fictionalized account of the life of the King of Rock and Roll.

The speculative endeavor’s point of departure is Decatur, Georgia during the Depression, which is where we find poverty-stricken sharecroppers Helen (Amanda Crew) and William Hemsley (Brian Geraghty) fretting about how they’re going to provide for their twin newborns. The answer to their prayers arrives soon thereafter, at a revival meeting pitched under a big tent by Reverend Reece Wade (Ray Liotta), a Pentecostal preacher with a soulful of hope and a barren wife (Ashley Judd).

The Wades’ desire to start a family conveniently dovetails with the Hemsleys’ having one more baby than they can reasonably afford. So, with God as their witness, Reece and Louise agree to adopt Ryan before surreptitiously slipping out of town and back to Tennessee. Meanwhile, Helen and William announce the missing boy’s death to friends and relatives, and stage a faux funeral, complete with an empty casket.

Reece proceeds to raise Ryan in the church with a career in ministry in mind although, given his great vocal chords, the kid proves more comfortable in the choir than the pulpit. He finally rebels in his teens entirely by enlisting in the military, leaving not only his domineering dad but a budding sweetheart (Erin Cottrell) behind. By contrast, Drexel, who was also blessed with powerful pipes, is allowed by the Hemsleys to pursue his passion, and naturally blossoms into the nation’s next singing sensation.

Will the twins ever learn of each other’s existence? If so, will they be able to forgive their folks for having separated them at birth? And will Ryan ever enjoy an opportunity to take his own shot at fame and fortune?

These are the probing questions posed by a production so flawed in terms of plot, dialogue and performances that it ends up unintentionally funny at practically every juncture. Regrettably, The Identical flunks the basic plausibility test, whether in terms of its farcical reimagining of race relations in the Jim Crow South or its equally-silly staging of sophomoric car chases straight out of The Dukes of Hazzard.

To paraphrase a Presley classic: Wise men say, only fools rush in to see a one-trick pony revolving around an annoying Elvis look-a-like.

Fair (1 star)

Rated PG for smoking and mature themes

Running time: 107 minutes

Distributor: Freestyle Releasing

Altina
Film Review by Kam Williams

Altina Schinasi (1907-1999) was lucky enough to be born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth. The youngest of three girls, her parents were Sephardic Jews of humble origin who immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey in the late 19th Century.

Thanks to the tobacco fortune soon amassed by their industrious father, the sisters were raised in the lap of luxury on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Although headstrong Altina wanted for nothing, she proved to be something of a rebel, opting to study art in Paris after graduating from a prestigious prep school, rather than follow the conventional path of a pampered debutante.

That was just the first of many unorthodox choices on the part of the free-spirited trendsetter en route to making her mark on the world not only as an artist and inventor, but as a feminist and civil rights advocate who would march with Dr. Martin Luther King. She was also a bit of a Bohemian in terms of her private affairs, being admittedly driven by insatiable urges stronger than the societal taboo against adultery.

Tawdry scandals aside, Altina accepted four proposals of marriage over the course of her life, the last from the Cuban artist Tino Miranda, a handsome hunk less than half her age. Though then well into her golden years, she had her Latin lover marveling at her “stamina of a 25 year-old.”

Besides a healthy libido, Altina was perhaps best known for designing the harlequin eyeglass frame, a cultural contribution for which she won the 1939 American Design Award. Still, the talented Renaissance woman‘s accolades for her innovations and sculptures brought her less satisfaction than doting on her two sons, Dennis and Terry.

All of the above is recounted in entertaining fashion in Altina, a reverential biopic directed by Peter Sanders (The Disappeared). The fascinating documentary’s only flaw is that it leaves you wanting to learn more about its intriguing subject.

A frustrating tease of a tribute that seems to merely scratch the surface of an overprotected child of privilege-turned-irrepressible bon vivant.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and Spanish with subtitles

Running time: 80 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features

To see a trailer for, visit:

http://www.altinathefilm.com/trailer/

Rocks in My Pockets
Film Review by Kam Williams

Signe Baumane hails from a dysfunctional Latvian family whose females have historically been haunted by suicidal thoughts and bouts of depression to a disturbing degree. Signe traces the inherited predisposition back to her grandmother who tried to drown herself in a river in Riga but failed because she forgot to put rocks in her pockets.

That aborted attempt explains the title of this animated misadventure written, directed and narrated by Ms. Baumane in her heavy Latvian accent.

Intriguingly illustrated courtesy of an arresting mix of drawings and paper mache, the production is basically a captivating group portrait of weird women, each with a definite death wish

“Her body had a stronger will to live than her mind had a will to die,” Signe reflects about one relative’s unsuccessful attempt on her own life. Later, during a lesson on the etiquette of hanging oneself, the director suggests donning a pair of adult diapers because you‘ll otherwise poop and pee in your pants and leave a heck of a mess for loved ones to clean up.

Such gallows humor is par for the course in this relentlessly-dark comedy, and this offbeat departure into depravity is engaging enough, provided you’re in the mood to look at the lighter side of suicide. At least the story ends on a high note, namely, with Signe expressing gratitude to her mother for forcing her to socialize instead of just sitting around the house and listening to the self-destructive voices inside her head.

Who knew that hara-kiri was such a hilarious subject?

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 89 minutes

Distributor: Zeitgeist Films

Don Lemon

The “Ferguson, Missouri” Interview

with Kam Williams

 

Anchoring the National Conversation on Race

CNN’s Don Lemon has anchored and reported many breaking on-the-scene news stories, including the George Zimmerman trial, the Boston marathon bombing, the Philadelphia building collapse, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Colorado Theater Shooting, the death of Whitney Houston, the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, the death of Michael Jackson, Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

In 2009, Ebony Magazine dubbed Don one of the 150 most influential Blacks in America. Furthermore, he has won an Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of the capture of the Washington, D.C. snipers, and an Emmy for a special report on real estate in Chicagoland.

Don earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Brooklyn College where he currently serves as an adjunct professor, teaching and participating in curriculum designed around new media. Here, he talks about CNN’s coverage of the recent shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

 

Kam Williams: Hi Don, thanks for another opportunity to interview you.

Don Lemon: Hey, Kam, thanks for asking me.

 

KW: I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me, since you seem to be on CNN 24/7 lately. It’s been wall-to-wall Don Lemon from Ferguson, Missouri.

DL: [Chuckles] I don’t know about that. It’s been a tough go, but it’s an important story. I wanted to make sure I got it on and got it right.

 

KW: I have a ton of questions sent in for you by viewers. Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: Do you think your ability to report from Ferguson, Missouri was adversely affected by your almost becoming a part of the story like when you got shoved or punched by that racist cop [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDyOvrwYo5Q] or when rapper Talib Kweli [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktv6IcDaozk ] put you in the awkward position of having to defend CNN’s coverage on the air?

DL: Well, I don’t know if I became part of the story. I just think we had so many resources devoted to it that we were way ahead of the competition. So, everyone tuned in to CNN, and they were watching us. [Regarding Talib Kweli] I’m not the only one on the air who’s been put in a position of defending our reporting. If someone comes on and criticizes it, we’re there to tell them the truth. [Regarding Officer Dan Page] I got pushed by an officer live on television, but that was just me doing my job. He pushed me, so it wasn’t as if I’d injected myself into the story. We were standing where we’d been instructed to stand, and he came around the corner and shoved me when I just happened to be doing a live shot on The Situation Room. I don’t think that made me part of the story. It was more that everyone was watching when news was breaking live around me.

 

KW: Do you still teach as an adjunct? What grade would you give yourself on the reporting of this story overall? 

DL: Yes, I still teach occasionally at Brooklyn College, but I’m now more than an adjunct. I’m on the board of trustees. I would have to give CNN an A+. I think we did a really good job. No one compared to us, resource-wise. We had every angle of that story covered. That’s why people saw it and felt it as if they were there. We did a great job bringing people there. And that’s that.  

 

KW: Editor Lisa Loving asks: Were there any teachable moments for you as a journalist covering the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting?

DL: I think there’s always a lesson you can learn from any situation. In this case, I learned how tightly people hold onto their beliefs. And, here, people had really strong beliefs about this story on both sides. People supporting the officer felt Michael Brown did something wrong. Those supporting Michael Brown said the cop did something wrong. There was very little that you could do to convince either side otherwise, or simply to be objective and not jump to conclusions. So, if you were just reporting the facts, and said “Michael Brown did this…” you’d be challenged by his supporters asking, “How do you know that?” By the same token, if you said, “Witnesses say the cop did this…” the officer’s supporters would challenge you with “Well, how do you know that?” It reconfirmed that I have to be objective in my reporting and allow viewers to read into it whatever they want. So, the teachable moment for me was a reminder that I just have to state the facts.    

 

KW: Aaron Moyne asks: Are you satisfied that CNN has covered the Michael Brown case objectively, devoid of bias and sensationalism?

DL: Absolutely! My answer is “yes” and I’m so happy that Aaron asked this question because that means that people are paying close attention. So, it’s incumbent upon us not only to be objective but to be passionate about our reporting… meaning wanting to be there… wanting to tell the truth… and wanting to tell the story from all sides.

 

KW: A crowd control police officer overtly referred to protesters as “animals” on CNN. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQuo5-ewDR8] Is that sound bite an accurate reflection of the state of relations between Ferguson’s police officers and the African-American community?

DL: I can’t answer that because I’m not a resident of Ferguson. I can only tell you what, from being there, people are saying to me. And I know that there are some good officers in the Ferguson Police Department, and then there are some bad ones, just as in any police department around the country. But I don’t know if someone calling protesters “animals” is an accurate reflection of the Ferguson Police. You’d have to ask the police and the people of Ferguson. I know they have issues with the department. That’s what you saw playing out on television. They are passionately distrustful of the police. Many people are. There’s a disconnect between the police and the community. And so that’s a question that’s better answered by those who live there.   

 

KW: Has the court of public opinion already outweighed any opportunity for Officer Wilson to voice his rationale for shooting Michael Brown so many times?

DL: No, I don’t think it’s outweighed his rationale. The officer is yet to tell the public and the media what he did. I’m sure he’s already spoken with investigators. What everyone else is really waiting on is to hear his side of the story. But he can do that at any point. So, if anyone feels there’s been some bias in the reporting of the story that’s because only one side is telling their story. The officer hasn’t told his story in the first person. In the beginning, the Ferguson Police gave a version. Then they turned it over to St. Louis County. And then there’s an alleged friend of the police officer who called a radio station to tell her side of the story. But that’s really been it. So, you haven’t heard much from the officer’s side. However, you have heard from witnesses on the scene who have a lot to say about what they saw happen to Michael Brown. So, if you don’t have the officer or someone speaking on his behalf, how do you tell his story? You can’t.    

 

KW: In your opinion, was there a sufficient threat against the police for them to don riot gear, use teargas and make such a show of deadly force?

PH: I don’t know about a sufficient threat, but I do know there were agitators in the crowd. We saw some of them. Come on! We saw people get shot in front of us. I wasn’t at every scene that turned into a violent situation, but I did see protesters instigating in some instances. Still, the overwhelming majority of people said they were doing nothing but exercising their right to protest and to march on the street when all of a sudden they came up against a heavy police presence pushing them out of the way. I take them at their word that this was true. The police said to us that we didn’t see everything that’s going on... that people were throwing bottles of water and urine at them, and that when something’s flying through the air they have no idea whether it might be a Molotov cocktail. So, while I might tend to agree with the conventional wisdom that it looks like an overly-militarized presence, just judging from the optics of it, I would nevertheless take both sides at their word, because I’m not the police and I wasn’t in the crowd 100% of the time. I think there was some instigating by police, and I think there was some instigating by some of the people who were out in the crowd.  

 

KW: How has all the looting affected the public perception of the Mike Brown case? Did the optics of that serve to divide the country along color lines?

DL: I think in a way it distracted us from the real issues: first, the killing of Mike Brown and, secondly, the police’s relationship with certain members of the community. When you saw people stealing, that changed the narrative of the story. But it also showed how upset people are. I think you’d be hard-pressed to go back in history and find any sort of major change achieved without some sort of upheaval. Even during the peaceful, non-violent Civil Rights Movement, something would break out. There are often people in a crowd who will do things they’re not supposed to, even during the celebration of winning the Stanley Cup, the World Cup or the NBA championship. We see it all the time. It was no different in Ferguson. But it doesn’t suggest that the people there are different from anyone else. It’s just that there were a few agitators in the crowd. And yes, I do think it did take our focus off of what’s really important.    

 

KW: Do you have any qualms about the black community making Michael Brown the poster child for police brutality, assuming he had robbed a store and roughed up its owner just minutes before his confrontation with Officer Wilson?

DL: Listen, I can’t make people act or react a certain way. They’re going to do whatever they’re going to do. As with any situation, I would just urge caution and that people reserve judgment until all the facts are out. But I do know that, regardless of what happens with Michael Brown, it’s important that we get to the truth. That doesn’t take away the distrust of the police and the way certain people are treated by them in our society. This has really opened up that line of conversation. So, if anything comes out of this, hopefully it’s a conversation that encourages police departments around the country to look at themselves and to figure out ways to serve their communities better.    

 

KW: Ray Hirschman asks: Based on the evidence surrounding the case now, do you have a gut feeling whether the police officer will walk or be charged with homicide and found guilty?

DL: You never know how these things are going to turn out. But, and I say this knowing people are going to get upset, if you look back at the history of similar cases, it’s very tough to convict a police officer in a situation like this. Juries often decide that it’s easy for people to armchair quarterback when they don’t know what a cop has to deal with out there on the streets. I think the grand jury will have that in the back of their minds. But I just want justice, whatever that is, whether the Michael Brown or the police officer is right. And I think that’s what most people want. However, history has shown that it’s very hard to convict a police officer under circumstances like this. That’s not to say it’s not going to happen, but it’s going to be tough.

 

KW: Steve Kramer asks: Is there any chance CNN would consider devoting an equal amount of coverage to the horrific black-on-black killings being committed by gangs against other gangs and innocent bystanders that occur daily in so many inner-cities in places like Chicago, Detroit, Philly and Newark?

DL: Steve may have a short memory, because we do devote a lot of attention to that. We cover Chicago, black-on-black crime, and violence in big cities a lot. The only reason people probably bring it up is because this is a flashpoint, so you see it on the news now. Ordinarily, we spend more time covering daily violence in big cities than we do covering a story like this. I devote entire newscasts to what happens on the streets in major cities all the time. It’s just that people might not have tuned in to see it, or it might not draw the attention, because you don’t see any rioting or teargas. But we do it all the time.

 

KW: Have you been the victim of a profile stop by police?

DL: I have had interaction with police officers, yes. What man of color hasn’t? That’s the reality. I was also detained for “shopping while black.” Listen, I live in America. If I live in this country, things are going to happen to me, especially as a black man. I’ve talked about my experiences before, but I don’t really want to be the story.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Don, and keep up the good work.

DL: You’re welcome. Sorry, if I sounded tired.

 

KW: You must feel exhausted. You’re on the air every time I turn on CNN. But no need to apologize. This was another great interview. Get some rest.

DL: Will do. Thank you very much, Kam. I appreciate talking to you.

As Above, So Below
Film Review by Kam Williams

The late alchemist, Dr. Marlowe (Roger Van Hool) lost his mind and then committed suicide over a futile quest for the Philosopher’s Stone supposedly hidden somewhere in the cryptic maze of catacombs beneath Paris. Now, his headstrong young daughter, Scarlet (Perdita Weeks), has decided to follow in daddy’s footsteps by mounting her own search for the sacred talisman said to turn metal into gold.

The determined Brit has prepared herself for the dangerous trek by earning not only Ph.D.s in archeology and symbology, but a black belt in karate to boot. She’s being assisted in this dangerous endeavor by a team comprised of her linguist ex-boyfriend (Ben Feldman); an African-American cameraman (Edwin Hodge); a graffiti artist familiar with the caves (Francois Civil); plus a couple of other local yokels (Marion Lambert and Aly Marhyar).

The motley crew’s descent starts out unremarkably enough, despite a little gallows humor and worries about whether they might encounter any bats or rats. The most concerned participant is George whose little brother Danny (Samuel Aouizerate) drowned in the cave at a young age. Adding fuel to the fear is the fact that the last time George accompanied Scarlet on an expedition he ended up in Turkish prison.

This is the ominous point of departure of As Above, So Below, a found-footage horror flick written and directed by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine). The film has all the hallmarks of the genre inaugurated by The Blair Witch Project back in 1999, from the claustrophobia created by incessant, extreme close-ups to the seasick cinematography coming courtesy of handheld cameras.

Credit Perdita Weeks as the intrepid protagonist for keeping her audience enthralled even after the production morphs into a farfetched cross of Tomb Raider (2001) and The Da Vinci Code (2006). Whether crawling across piles of skeletons, deciphering ancient Aramaic messages, or fearlessly repelling down uncharted shafts, spunky Scarlet has the ‘tude and charisma to keep you rooting for her as others meet their fate, one-by-one.

A harrowing tale of survival revolving around an endearing heroine every bit as brainy as she is resourceful.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for terror, graphic violence and pervasive profanity

Running time: 93 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for As Above, So Below, visit

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears
Film Review by Kam Williams

Dan Kristensen (Klaus Tange) could find no sign of his wife Edwige (Ursula Bedena) when he returned home from a business trip. Moreover, the communications executive’s suspicions were aroused by the fact that the chain was across the door when he unlocked their apartment, suggesting that someone ought to be inside.

Inquiring of neighbors only served to compound the mystery, between his landlord who suggested that his wife had a reason to disappear, and the provocatively-dressed elderly senior who tries to seduce him after saying that her husband had disappeared, too. As he makes his way around the building, Dan gradually discovers that the place is a den of iniquity where people participate in all sorts of bizarre sexuality.

With each flat he enters, the sadomasochistic displays revealed are increasingly kinky, eventually even rising to the level of a bloodbath replete with decapitation. Co-directed by Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani, The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears is not so much a mystery with a linear plotline as a surreal thriller designed for cinephiles with a taste for abstraction and eroticized violence.

Undeniably artistic, yet gruesome and harrowing, this atmospheric adventure has a dark, ominous air about it which keeps you braced for something bad for the duration of the entire endurance test. A difficult to decipher whodunit guaranteed to have you still scratching your head even after its confounding resolution.

Good (2 stars)

Unrated  

In French, Danish and Flemish with subtitles

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

To see a trailer for The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXXpT11WtM

The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears
Film Review by Kam Williams

Dan Kristensen (Klaus Tange) could find no sign of his wife Edwige (Ursula Bedena) when he returned home from a business trip. Moreover, the communications executive’s suspicions were aroused by the fact that the chain was across the door when he unlocked their apartment, suggesting that someone ought to be inside.

Inquiring of neighbors only served to compound the mystery, between his landlord who suggested that his wife had a reason to disappear, and the provocatively-dressed elderly senior who tries to seduce him after saying that her husband had disappeared, too. As he makes his way around the building, Dan gradually discovers that the place is a den of iniquity where people participate in all sorts of bizarre sexuality.

With each flat he enters, the sadomasochistic displays revealed are increasingly kinky, eventually even rising to the level of a bloodbath replete with decapitation). Co-directed by Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani, The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears is not so much a mystery with a linear plotline as a surreal thriller designed for cinephiles with a taste for abstraction and eroticized violence.

Undeniably artistic, yet gruesome and harrowing, this atmospheric adventure has a dark, ominous air about it which keeps you braced for something bad for the duration of the entire endurance test. A difficult to decipher whodunit guaranteed to have you still scratching your head even after its confounding resolution. 

Good (2 stars)

Unrated  

In French, Danish and Flemish with subtitles

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

To see a trailer for The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXXpT11WtM

Second Opinion
Film Review by Kam Williams

If you’ve ever wondered whether the cancer industry is truly interested in developing a cure for the disease, you might want to check out this eye-opening expose’ confirming your worst fears. Directed by Eric Merola, the shocking documentary blows the covers off a shameful chapter in the history of Sloan-Kettering hospital, a revered institution long-trusted to have the best interest of its patients at heart.

Apparently, that wasn’t the case back in July of 1974 when one of its top researchers, Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura, announced that an experimental drug named Amygdalin, also known as Laetrile, had proved highly effective in treating certain types of cancers in laboratory mice. Instead of heralding the discovery as a major inroad in the fight against malignancies, the Sloan-Kettering brass, ostensibly at the direction of the American Cancer Society, moved swiftly to discredit Dr. Suguira’s findings.

Not only did they issue a “Second Opinion” disputing the notion that Laetrile might reduce tumors, but they even went so far as to suggest that its side effects were much worse than chemotherapy, which was “an out and out lie.” That is the contention of Dr. Ralph Moss, a colleague of Suguira who was also on the Sloan-Kettering staff at the time.

Moss was so offended by the disinformation being disseminated in the press by his bosses that he eventually decided to turn whistleblower. Truth be told, Laetrile was “better than all the known cancer drugs” then available.

However, Sloan-Kettering came down on Moss like a ton of bricks, too. He was summarily terminated, losing both his job and career in the process.

Furthermore, he was unable to interest any mainstream media outlets in the cover-up, despite the overwhelming data in favor of Laetrile. In fact, the New York Times proceeded to publish a front-page story denigrating the drug.

Dr. Moss’ only satisfaction is that the three hypocritical superiors who fired him, Dr. Robert Good, Dr. Lewis Thomas and Dr. Chester Stock, all MDs, all died of cancer, ironically. Whatever happened to the Hippocratic Oath to “First, do no harm?”

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 75 minutes

Distributor: Merola Productions

To see a trailer for Second Opinion, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcCyawsaWZQ

The Calling

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Susan Sarandon Stars as Small Town Detective in Adaptation of Cat-and-Mouse Murder Mystery

            Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) was thinking about retiring from the Port Dundas police force because of the herniated disc which left her addicted to both booze and painkillers. But the hobbled detective decided to put those plans on hold the day she stumbled upon the body of an elderly neighbor whose throat had been slit from ear-to-ear by a deranged intruder.

After all, this was her beloved hometown’s first homicide in years, and there’s no way she could leave the investigation on the shoulders of the only other two detectives on the force, veteran Ray Green (Gil Bellows) and newcomer Ben Wingate (Topher Grace). Soon, the three unearth evidence which indicates that the murder might very well be the work of the same serial killer responsible for several other recent slayings elsewhere around Ontario. .

Apparently, the creepy lapsed Catholic was practically taunting the authorities by leaving clues online, which is where he preys on each of his vulnerable victims. The question is whether, with the help of a priest (Donald Sutherland), the police will be able pinpoint the prime suspect’s locale in time to prevent him from striking again.

That is the intriguing setup of The Calling, a multi-layered mystery marking South African Jason Stone’s chilling directorial debut. Based on the Inger Ash Wolfe best seller of the same name, the film unfolds less like a whodunit than a cat-and-mouse caper, given how the perpetrator’s identity is confirmed about midway through the movie.

Still, the picture proves compelling, thanks to a powerful performance on the part of Susan Sarandon. The talented Oscar-winner (for Dead Man Walking) is uncharacteristically unappealing playing a familiar archetype, one of those substance-abusing souls in decline who summons up the strength to solve one last case.      

Fair warning: the film is tarnished slightly by periodic displays of grisly crime scenes apt to upset audience members averse to gratuitous gore. Otherwise, the picture earns accolades as a taut thriller about a religious zealot on a ritualistic killing spree.

Bless me father for I have slain!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for violence, profanity and disturbing content

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures

To see a trailer for The Calling, visit:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCDg5Ij6e0  

The November Man

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

 It’s Spy vs. Spy in Labyrinthine Espionage Thriller

Director Roger Donaldson is probably most closely associated with No Way Out, one of the best espionage thrillers ever made. The accomplished Australian revisits the genre with The November Man, though this picture pales in comparison to his ingenious, 1987 classic.

Nevertheless, Roger has crafted another labyrinthine, cat-and-mouse caper which miraculously manages to keep you on the edge of your seat despite an often-incoherent plotline, slapdash action sequences, and an inscrutable cast of characters with difficult to discern motivations. Overall, the adventure amounts to a dizzying head-scratcher which takes you on one helluva roller coaster ride, even if it might take a scorecard to keep the profusion of players straight.

Based on the Bill Granger best seller “There Are No Spies,” the movie stars Pierce Brosnan in the title role as Peter Devereaux, an ex-CIA Agent once code named “The November Man.” While he retired to Switzerland five years ago, it doesn’t take much to coax him out of the rocking chair to help extract Natalia (Mediha Musliovic), a Russian double agent ready to come in out of the proverbial cold.

After all, they share a secret past which produced Lucy (Tara Jevrosimovic), a love child he misses terribly. However, the prospects of a father-daughter reunion are reduced significantly when Natalia is shot in the head by a team of assassins led by David Mason (Luke Bracey), Peter’s former protégé in the CIA.

What’s up with that? Did the Agency really want Natalia dead? Or did David go rogue? These are the questions left unanswered as Peter accepts another dangerous assignment, namely, the exfiltration from Moscow of Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko).

Alice is a pivotal witness for the prosecution set to testify in front of a war crimes tribunal about all the atrocities committed in Chechnya by Arkady Federov (Lazar Ristovski). Trouble is Federov is Russia’s ruthless President-elect and isn’t about to let some social worker abort his rendezvous with destiny.

So, it’s not long after making Alice’s acquaintance that Peter realizes she has no shortage of angry adversaries, both Soviet, such as Federov’s acrobatic henchwoman (Amila Terzimehic), and American, like the CIA mole giving David his marching orders. Regardless, the peripatetic pair proceed to leave a messy trail of bloody bodies behind as they pick up long-lost Lucy before making a daring escape to the West.

            Vintage Brosnan!

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for rape, profanity, sexuality, nudity, graphic violence and brief drug use

In English and Russian with subtitles

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media

To see a trailer for The November Man, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0-uN5l1Z2I  

Are You Here

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis Return to Roots in Irreverent Buddy Comedy

Sometimes you can appreciate what a movie might have been shooting for, even though the final cut falls far short of the mark. Such is the case with Are You Here, a cringe-inducing buddy comedy co-starring Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis.   

The movie marks the eagerly-anticipated directorial debut of nine-time, Emmy-winner Matthew Weiner who fails in his first attempt to find the same magic which served him so well writing scripts for both Mad Men and The Sopranos. Unfortunately, something ostensibly got lost in the translation from TV to the big screen, as this picture proves to be an annoying test of patience.

            The problem probably emanates from the ill-advised pairing of the wry Wilson and goofy Galifianakis, whose personas mix about as well as oil and water. Sorry, Weiner doesn’t get any extra credit for effort for crafting an ambitious adventure that bites off more than it could chew cinematically, since all that matters to an audience is execution.

And while Are You Here revolves around an intriguing enough premise and features plenty of surprising twists, the comedy portion of the production simply flunks the “Make me laugh” test. At the point of departure, we’re introduced to roommates/BFFs Ben Baker (Galifianakis) and Steve Dallas (Wilson). The former is an infantile eccentric incapable of functioning in society, while the latter is a stoner and popular TV weatherman for a local network.

When Ben’s dad dies, the two decide to drive the thousand miles back to their idyllic hometown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the recently deceased has left behind property worth millions of dollars. Also showing up for the funeral is Ben’s only sibling, Terry (Amy Poehler), a greedy shrew who clearly expects to inherit half of her father’s estate.

At the reading of the will, however, she learns that the old man only left her $350,000, and cut his trophy second-wife, Angela (Laura Ramsey), out of the will entirely, with the bulk of his cash plus a grocery store and 144-acre farm going to Ben. But her brother’s so dysfunctional, there’s no way he’d ever be able to manage the family businesses, given such bizarre behavior as visiting their Amish neighbors in his birthday suit.

Based on the scenario I’ve just described, one would naturally expect the tension to build around a fight over the inheritance. However, writer/director Weiner earns high marks for creativity in that regard, as he’s fashioned a novel plot that’s hard to predict.

Rather than spoil any of the subsequent developments, suffice to say that its unique storyline can’t save a picture that breaks a cardinal rule of comedy by failing to be funny. Have Wilson, Galifianakis and Poehler ever been better? Gosh, I certainly hope so.  

   

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, profanity and drug use    

Running time: 114 minutes

Distributor: Millennium Entertainment

 

To see a trailer for Are You Here, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMtNpu6xBvU

Police State U.S.A.
How Orwell’s Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality

by Cheryl K. Chumley
Book Review by Kam Williams

WND Books
Hardcover, $26.95
288 pages
ISBN: 978-1-936488-14-8

“People have liberty; people take their liberty for granted; people become apathetic; people lose their liberty. We are on that track, but detouring back to the freedom road is still possible…

The data in this book concerns me and should concern you… The coming signs of tyranny are all around us. Fortunately, they can be stopped before it is too late, but not without a courageous effort… We can still save liberty for our children if, and only if, America awakens.”

-- Excerpted from the Foreword (pages xi-xii)

Anybody tuning in to the media coverage of the daily protests of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri can’t help but notice the intimidating police presence that makes the city look more like a battlefield than a suburban enclave. The frightening militarization has featured everything from armored Humvees and tanks rolling down the streets, to helmeted officers flanked shoulder-to-shoulder behind body-length armored shields, to snipers in camouflage fatigues training their M16 rifles on marchers through night-vision scopes, to the use of teargas, rubber bullets, smoke bombs and flash grenades to disperse demonstrators.

What are we to make of such a disturbing show of force on the part of local, state and federal authorities? To Cheryl K. Chumley it is merely further evidence of a burgeoning abuse of power on the part of a government already hell bent on trampling its citizens’ Constitutional rights.

In her book, Police State U.S.A.: How Orwell’s Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality, the veteran journalist indicts present-day America as a “total surveillance society.” She argues that tyrannical rule has come as a consequence of the Patriot Act’s creation of secret data collection centers and the employment of the IRS, NSA phone taps, drones, tracking devices, warrantless searches, traffic light cameras and the like to nefarious ends.

For example, the author cites the case of Scottsdale, Arizona, whose city council approved the purchase of a building to house its police investigative unit, “but refused to disclose the facility’s location” in order to “protect the lives” of detectives working undercover. She says it’s certifiably scary, when the nation has arrived at a point where taxpayers are no longer privy to such previously public information.

In a timely chapter devoted to “The Rise of Militarized Police,” Ms. Chumley states that the technology cops now have at their disposal “is the stuff of science fiction,” like guns that fire darts embedded with a GPS. Though such draconian measures should supposedly be of no concern to the law-abiding, it’s still of little comfort when you think of the seemingly neverending state of siege for folks in Ferguson trying to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Food for thought for anyone who fervently believes our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes from God, not the government.

Jersey Shore Massacre
Film Review by Kam Williams

When Teresa (Danielle Dallacco) and her girlfriends arrive at their rental house on the Jersey Shore, they’re shocked to learn that their sleazy stoner landlord (Ron Jeremy) already let someone else have the place for the weekend. Luckily, Teresa’s mobster Uncle Vito (Dominic Lucci) happens to have a summer home sitting empty in the nearby Pine Barrens, since he’s stuck in Staten Island under house arrest with an ankle bracelet.

After picking up five hot-looking guys on the beach, the six cute coeds get back into their convertible and make their way to a clearing in the godforsaken the forest. Turns out Uncle Vito has a pretty posh mansion with a built-in pool.

The bimbos slip into their bikinis and begin flirting with the buff boy-toys, blissfully unaware that a couple of Mafia hit men were just murdered in the same neck of the woods by a deranged maniac. If you’re familiar with high body-count slasher flicks, you have a good idea what’s in store for the unsuspecting revelers.

The killer soon starts picking them off one-by-one, dispatching each victim in very grisly fashion, whether that death be by baking in a tanning bed, by decapitating with a bicycle chain, by stabbing in a shower Psycho-style, by whipping, hanging, wood chipper, or run through by sword. Much of the violence is highly eroticized ostensibly to satiate the bloodlust of fans who like their slaughter with a little titillation on the side.

Written and directed by Paul Tarnopol, Jersey Shore Massacre is a gruesome horror flick not for the faint of heart. And the picture also paints a pretty pathetic picture of Italian-Americans, since the principal players are the sort of vapid, vain characters featured on the reality-TV series Jersey Shore.

While the film fails to break any new ground in terms of the splatterflick genre, it’s still entertaining enough to recommend, provided you have a strong stomach for vivisection and Italian stereotypes.

Good (2 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, profanity, drug use, ethnic and homophobic slurs, and graphic violence

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Attack Entertainment

To see a trailer for Jersey Shore Massacre, visit

Jersey Shore Massacre

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Weekend Getaway Turns Gory in High Body-Count Slasher Flick 

            When Teresa (Danielle Dallacco) and her girlfriends arrive at their rental house on the Jersey Shore, they’re shocked to learn that their sleazy stoner landlord (Ron Jeremy) already let someone else have the place for the weekend.  Luckily, Teresa’s mobster Uncle Vito (Dominic Lucci) happens to have a summer home sitting empty in the nearby Pine Barrens, since he’s stuck in Staten Island under house arrest with an ankle bracelet.

After picking up five hot-looking guys on the beach, the six cute coeds get back into their convertible and make their way to a clearing in the godforsaken the forest. Turns out Uncle Vito has a pretty posh mansion with a built-in pool.

The bimbos slip into their bikinis and begin flirting with the buff boy-toys, blissfully unaware that a couple of Mafia hit men were just murdered in the same neck of the woods by a deranged maniac. If you’re familiar with high body-count slasher flicks, you have a good idea what’s in store for the unsuspecting revelers.   

The killer soon starts picking them off one-by-one, dispatching each victim in very grisly fashion, whether that death be by baking in a tanning bed, by decapitating with a bicycle chain, by stabbing in a shower Psycho-style, by whipping, hanging, wood chipper, or run through by sword. Much of the violence is highly eroticized ostensibly to satiate the bloodlust of fans who like their slaughter with a little titillation on the side.

            Written and directed by Paul Tarnopol, Jersey Shore Massacre is a gruesome horror flick not for the faint of heart. And the picture also paints a pretty pathetic picture of Italian-Americans, since the principal players are the sort of vapid, vain characters featured on the reality-TV series Jersey Shore.

            While the film fails to break any new ground in terms of the splatterflick genre, it’s still entertaining enough to recommend, provided you have a strong stomach for vivisection and Italian stereotypes.

 ood (2 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, profanity, drug use, ethnic and homophobic slurs, and graphic violence

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Attack Entertainment 

To see a trailer for Jersey Shore Massacre, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDcw8L_M3S4

If I Stay

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

A Life Hangs in the Balance in Adaptation of Bittersweet Best-Seller

            Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a bright 17 year-old full of the bloom of youth. Between playing the cello purely for pleasure and dating the doting boy of her dreams (Jamie Blackley), the happy high school senior considers herself truly blessed.

            She is even lucky enough to have the perfect parents (Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard) who support the idea of her majoring in classical music, whether she gets into Juilliard or simply sticks around Portland to attend Lewis & Clark College. Mia is also very close to her only sibling, Teddy (Jakob Davies), a cute kid who absolutely adores his big sister.

However, fate intervenes, or so it seems, one snowy day during a family outing when a car coming in the opposite direction veers across the highway’s double lines. Right then, in the blink of an eye, their fortunes are irreversibly altered by an unavoidable head-on crash.

By the time the ambulances and paramedics come to the rescue, all four are in grave condition, and there is a chance that none might survive the tragic accident. Mia, who has suffered a collapsed lung, a broken leg and internal bleeding, slips into a coma.

At that instant, her spirit miraculously separates from her body, and she is suddenly able to observe situations and eavesdrop on conversations like an invisible ghost. While a team of doctors struggle to stabilize her vital signs in the hospital, she watches a nurse (Aisha Hinds) lean over and whisper that “Living or dying is all up to you” into her ear.

This suggests that Mia, ultimately, must choose between ascending to Heaven and returning to Earth to face a host of challenges on the road to recovery. And suspended in this state of limbo, she’s afforded the unusual opportunity to reflect and reminisce during the critical next 24 hours before making a decision.

That is the surreal setup of If I Stay, a bittersweet flashback flick based on Gayle Forman’s young adult novel of the same name. Although this unapologetically sentimental tearjerker will undoubtedly resonate with teens in the target demographic, the film’s surprisingly-sophisticated, thought-provoking exploration of such themes as family, friendship, love and spirituality ought to readily endear it to audiences in general.

Directed by R.J. Cutler, the movie basically revolves around introspective Mia’s contemplation of her future while factoring in her family’s grim prospects, nostalgia, and the bedside manner of visitors like her grandfather (Stacy Keach), boyfriend and BFF (Liana Liberato). Although reminiscent of The Lovely Bones (disembodied teen narrator), The Notebook (love story with a syrupy finale) and Twilight (star-crossed romance set in the Pacific Northwest), If I Stay is nevertheless a unique adventure with a tale to share all its own.  

A poignant portrait of a life precipitously hanging in the balance which pushes all the right buttons to open the emotional floodgates.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality and mature themes

Running time: 106 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for If I Stay, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH6PNeTy6Nc     

Abuse of Weakness
Film Review by Kam Williams

Catherine Breillat is a feminist filmmaker famous for shooting sexually-explicit films bordering on porn, although arguably from a woman’s perspective. Romance (1999), Fat Girl (2001) and Anatomy of Hell (2004) are among her highly-controversial offerings . Abuse of Weakness marks a bit of departure for the controversial iconoclast, as it is a semi-autobiographical drama revisiting an unfortunate chapter in her own personal life.

In 2004, she suffered a stroke which left her partially paralyzed on the left side and in that very vulnerable position soon fell prey to a notorious charlatan. While pretending to be her knight in shining armor, the creep proceeded to pressure Catherine to write him checks totaling over a million dollars.

The experienced thief was such a smooth operator that he managed to drain all the cash out of her bank account before what was transpiring came to the attention of any of her children. The philanderer simultaneously toyed with Catherine’s affections for over a year, seducing her despite his having an expecting wife and then a newborn at home.

All of the above is recounted in heartbreaking detail in Abuse of Weakness, a fictionalized screen version of director Breillat’s book of the same name. The poignant, character-driven drama co-stars Isabelle Huppert as Maud (aka Catherine) and Kool Shen as her duplicitous Casanova, Vilko.

The picture paints a plausible picture of how a patient attempting to recover from a life-threatening illness might be easily exploited by a conniving con artist without a functioning conscience. In this case, the arrogant Vilko never exhibits the slightest contrition, even when a humiliated Maud confronts him after finally facing up to the truth. He’s more worried about his wife (Laurence Ursino) finding out about their affair than about leaving his victim in such dire financial and medical straits.

A cautionary tale depicting a shocking example of man’s inhumanity to (wo)man.

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

In French with subtitles

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

The Giver
Film Review by Kam Williams

Despite being born in the same year and enjoying overlapping enduring careers, Oscar-winners Meryl Streep (for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady) and Jeff Bridges (for Crazy Heart) never made a movie together prior to The Giver. Such a long overdue collaboration proves well worth the wait in this haunting, sci-fi adventure set in a deceptive dystopia masquerading as heaven on Earth.

The film is based on the Lois Lowry best-seller of the same name which won the Newbery Award as America’s best children’s book of 1994. This author-approved adaptation was directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games) who tapped fellow Aussie Brenton Thwaites to portray the young hero, Jonas.

The picture’s point of departure is the young protagonist’s graduation day, when he participates in a coming-of-age ritual during which 18 year-olds are assigned a profession by the elders of their idyllic community. Jonas’ BFFs Asher (Cameron Monaghan) and Fiona (Odeya Rush) soon learn that they’ll be trained as a drone pilot and a nurturer, respectively.

Jonas, however, long recognized as special, because of an uncanny ability to see things differently, is designated the “Receiver of Memories,” the protégé of the “Giver” (Bridges). In that capacity, he quickly becomes aware that the whole society is a charade which shields its citizens from the fact that there is suffering in the world by injecting them once a day with a drug which keeps them naïve, obedient and blissfully content.

Truth be told, evil does exist in their midst, though invariably veiled, such as how the sick and the old are “Released” in a fashion that gives no hint that they’re actually being euthanized. And Jonas experiences a crisis of conscience in choosing whether to obediently follow in the Giver’s footsteps or to upset the apple cart by letting the cat out of the bag about how everybody’s mind is being controlled.

Among the factors influencing his critical decision is the unexpected pleasure associated with the “Stirrings,” the formerly-suppressed pangs of sexual awakening he suddenly feels for Fiona. Another involves the impending euthanizing of a baby with a birth defect (Alexander Jillings) he’s already bonded with.

Besides the historic pairing of Streep and Bridges, the film features sterling performances by the trio of emerging thespians playing the leads, as well as by Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift in support roles. A thought-provoking meditation on mind control offering a valuable lesson about the virtue of challenging any totalitarian authority.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for action, violence and mature themes

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for The Giver, visit

Wesley Snipes
“The Expendables 3” Interview
with Kam Williams

 

Yipes, it’s Snipes!

 

Wesley T. Snipes is a globally celebrated actor, film producer, master in various martial arts, and a loving father and husband. Born in Orlando, Florida on July 31, 1962, he spent his childhood between Orlando, Florida and Bronx, New York while attending the High School of Performing Arts in NYC and graduated from Jones High School in Florida.

 

While attending the High School for Performing Arts, Wesley started appearing in Off-Broadway productions where he started to fine-tune his craft as a drama and musical theater artist. He later founded with friends a bus-n-truck street troupe called “Struttin Street Stuff” which took him into Central Park, dinner theaters, and regional productions around Florida before his college years at the State University of New York at Purchase.

 

Wesley’s work onstage and in TV commercials soon caught the attention of Joe Roth who cast him as an Olympic boxing hopeful in Streets of Gold. He was then handpicked by Martin Scorsese and Quincy Jones to play the gang leader in Michael Jackson’s Bad music video. And he subsequently joined the cast of Wildcats (1986) as well as Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and Jungle Fever (1991).

 

The unique diversity of Wesley’s charisma, acting ability, and proficiency in the martial arts led to roles alongside some of showbiz’s biggest names – Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Dennis Hopper and Sylvester Stallone. These roles include Major League (1989), Passenger 57 (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Boiling Point (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Drop Zone (1994), The Fan (1996), Future Sport (1998), and Undisputed (2002), all of which made him a most favored African-American action star not only in Hollywood, but internationally, as well.

 

Wesley has pleasantly surprised audiences with his versatile dramatic acting skills, evident in his award winning roles in The Water Dance (1992) and as a drag queen in the drama To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Other notable dramatic roles include Disappearing Acts (2011), One Night Stand (1997), Murder at 1600 (1997) and US Marshals (1998).

 

In 1998, although faced with strong opposition and concerns, Wesley recognized the need for an urban action hero. Hence Blade, a lesser known Marvel character, was adapted and released. The Blade Trilogy is still one of the highest grossing adaptations at over $1.5 billion worldwide.

 

Wesley ranks among the highest paid African American actors with gross earnings worldwide estimated at over $2 billion. He has been married to Korean artist Nikki Park since 2000, and has four children with her and an older son from a previous marriage.

 

Here, Wesley talks about his latest outing as Doc alongside Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, Terry Crews and Kelsey Grammer in The Expendable 3.

 

 

Kam Williams: Hi Wesley, thanks for the interview.

Wesley Snipes: How’re you doing, Kam?

 

KW: Great! What interested you in The Expendables 3?

WS: [Sarcastically] Really, it was the filming location, the food, and the wonderful hotel suite that they could give me. [Laughs] No, honestly man, it was the opportunity to work again with Sly, and the chance to be a part of that ensemble with a lot of the best of the best of this particular genre. 

 

KW: Documentary director Kevin Williams asks: Did you enjoy watching this genre of film growing up?

WS: Oh yeah! All the way back to The Seven Samurai. I’m a big fan of this type of film. And hearing about all the heavyweights they were bringing back only made it even more attractive. It was a blessing, Kam, just to be on the set with some of these iconic actors, to see how they perform, to have a chance to get up close and personal with them, and to crack a joke or two or three or four with them.

 

KW: Was it ever trouble making any elbow room with so many egos on the set?

WS: Not really. What would make you think that?

 

KW: So many matinee idols having to share the limelight might make for sharp elbows.

WS: [Chuckles] Yeah, but you’re talking about some of the best in the game. They’re all veterans who bring a certain level of sophistication and professionalism to the table. For what it’s worth, this action hero/action star genre is a small clique. There aren’t a lot of guys that do it.And there aren’t many guys who have excelled at it. There’s an appreciation for what it takes to pull it off, and for the durability reflected in being able to survive after all these years.

 

KW: Director Rel Dowdell says: Wesley, You are one of the few marketable African-American actors who can be effective in any genre, including comedy. Are you aware of any up-and-coming black actor who is as versatile as you have been?

WS: Well, I think they’re out there, but I don’t know whether they’ve been given the opportunity to shine like I have. I hope there are. It’d be great to work with them. But, hey, it’s been a blessing. I was fortunate enough to be trained in the theater. Coming from the theater background, you’re schooled to play diverse roles in preparation for the repertory environment, or the repertory type of lifestyle. So, to me, going back and forth from genre to genre is only keeping true to the way I was trained in the theater. And I’m really an action fan. I’m a movie fan in general, but I’m definitely an action fan, as well. I appreciate all the work and thought it would be cool if it could be one of the tricks that I could bring to the table.

 

KW:  Tony Noel asks: Wesley, what styles of martial arts have you studied, and how do you feel about Mixed Martial Arts?

WS: I appreciate Mixed Martial Arts, Tony. I’ve been training for a long time. I started training in the Japanese system, when I was 12, in Goju and Shotokan. From there, I was exposed to Grandmaster Moses Powell which is the Aiki-Jujutsu form. And after that, I got into capoeira, and I got ranking in three different systems: Indonesian, African and Japanese. And I’ve done Tae Kwon. So, I’ve done pretty well.

 

KW: Publisher Troy Johson asks: Wesley, was it difficult to produce the documentary, John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk?

WS: Thank you for asking, Troy. No, that was a very personal project which meant a lot to me because Dr. Clarke was a teacher and mentor of mine. I made the movie because I wanted future generations to learn about him and read his books, too. I’d love to make more films like that.

 

KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: What was the toughest stunt you had to do for this movie?

WS: Hanging onto the side of a truck. That was pretty hard. Another that was tough, because of the horrible air quality on the set, was the wild scene we shot inside a big, abandoned building. A lot of us had respiratory issues for a couple of weeks afterwards because of all the stuff flying around.

 

KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls says: Wesley, how did you feel about getting to play Blade, one of the first black superheroes?

WS: I don’t remember getting that excited at first, because it hadn’t been done before. So, the reception was all a big surprise.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Wesley, and best of luck with the film.

WS: Thank you, Kam.

To see a trailer for The Expendables 3, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTte6BQndTQ

Into the Storm
Film Review by Kam Williams

The skies are deceptively serene over Silverton, Oklahoma, offering no reminder of the fact that four people recently perished in a deadly tornado that touched down in a neighboring city. Consequently, we find the townfolk blissfully unaware of the rough weather bearing down on the area threatening to ruin high school graduation day.

Vice Principal Gary Morris (Richard Armitage), who is in charge of the commencement festivities, has assigned his sons, Trey (Nathan Kress), a sophomore, and Donnie (Max Deacon), a junior, the thankless task of filming the ceremony in order to preserve it for posterity in a buried time capsule. His younger boy complies with the request, but the elder is immediately distracted from the task at hand by an opportunity to assist acute classmate (Alycia Debnam Carey) salvage her own video project.

Meanwhile, a team of storm chasers is rushing towards Silverton at the direction of its meteorologist, Allison Stone (Sarah Wayne Callies), since her computer data has predicted that the next funnel cloud is likely to form somewhere in that vicinity. But because she’s a single-mom with a 5 year-old (Keala Wayne Winterhalt) back home, she’s a lot less enthusiastic about her job than their leader, Pete Moore (Matt Walsh).

Like a latter-day Captain Ahab, Moore is maniacal in his quest to capture the mother of all cyclones on camera. So, he exhorts Allison and the rest of the crew to risk life and limb in search of that elusive dream shot from inside the eye of a storm.

At least they have a couple of vehicles specially outfitted for such an occasion, including a glass turreted tank with grappling claws that can withstand winds of up to 170 mph. That’s more than can be said about local yokels Donk (Kyle Davis) and Reevis (John Reep), fate-tempting daredevils who have decided to try to capture footage by riding around in a pickup truck emblazoned on the back with a hand-painted sign that reads “TWISTA HUNTERZ.”

Once the colorful cast of soon-to-be imperiled archetypes has been introduced, Allison’s dire forecast proves uncannily accurate as ominous clouds form overhead. That’s when the fun starts in Into the Storm, a Seventies-style disaster flick reminiscent of such unnerving classics as Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

This update of the genre benefits immeasurably from state-of-the-art CGI, a worthwhile investment for the eye-popping special f/x alone. A campy and cheesy yet visually-captivating roller coaster ride that makes Sharknado look like Sharknado 2!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, and scenes of intense peril and destruction

Running time: 89 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Into the Storm, visit

Into the Storm

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Tornado Wreaks Havoc on Tiny Oklahoma Town in Thrill-a-Minute Disaster Flick

The skies are deceptively serene over Silverton, Oklahoma, offering no reminder of the fact that four people recently perished in a deadly tornado that touched down in a neighboring city. Consequently, we find the townfolk blissfully unaware of the rough weather bearing down on the area threatening to ruin high school graduation day.

Vice Principal Gary Morris (Richard Armitage), who is in charge of the commencement festivities, has assigned his sons, Trey (Nathan Kress), a sophomore, and Donnie (Max Deacon), a junior, the thankless task of filming the ceremony in order to preserve it for posterity in a buried time capsule. His younger boy complies with the request, but the elder is immediately distracted from the task at hand by an opportunity to assist acute classmate (Alycia Debnam Carey) salvage her own video project.

Meanwhile, a team of storm chasers is rushing towards Silverton at the direction of its meteorologist, Allison Stone (Sarah Wayne Callies), since her computer data has predicted that the next funnel cloud is likely to form somewhere in that vicinity. But because she’s a single-mom with a 5 year-old (Keala Wayne Winterhalt) back home, she’s a lot less enthusiastic about her job than their leader, Pete Moore (Matt Walsh).

Like a latter-day Captain Ahab, Moore is maniacal in his quest to capture the mother of all cyclones on camera. So, he exhorts Allison and the rest of the crew to risk life and limb in search of that elusive dream shot from inside the eye of a storm.

At least they have a couple of vehicles specially outfitted for such an occasion, including a glass turreted tank with grappling claws that can withstand winds of up to 170 mph. That’s more than can be said about local yokels Donk (Kyle Davis) and Reevis (John Reep), fate-tempting daredevils who have decided to try to capture footage by riding around in a pickup truck emblazoned on the back with a hand-painted sign that reads “TWISTA HUNTERZ.”

Once the colorful cast of soon-to-be imperiled archetypes has been introduced, Allison’s dire forecast proves uncannily accurate as ominous clouds form overhead. That’s when the fun starts in Into the Storm, a Seventies-style disaster flick reminiscent of such unnerving classics as Airport (1970), The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

This update of the genre benefits immeasurably from state-of-the-art CGI, a worthwhile investment for the eye-popping special f/x alone. A campy and cheesy yet visually-captivating roller coaster ride that makes Sharknado look like Sharknado 2!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, and scenes of intense peril and destruction

Running time: 89 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Into the Storm, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_kj8EKhV3w   

 

30 Years at Ballymaloe

by Darina Allen

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Foreword by Alice Waters

Photographs by Laura Edwards

Kyle Books

Hardcover, $35.00

320 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-909487-13-0

 

“Ballymaloe is Ireland’s longest established cookery school and a Mecca of international acclaim for those with a passion for food. Since it first opened in 1983, it has played host to an internationally diverse range of pupils from 16-69 years old and an impressive array of guest chefs…

Over the past 30 years the School has expanded its repertoire and now offers over 100 courses… Students can learn how to cure meat, make gluten-free meals and sushi, as well as discover forgotten skills such as producing butter and cheese, and beekeeping…

Featuring over 100 recipes, this book showcases the best of the Cookery School... [It] is a tribute to this unique place and the people that teach work and learn there.” 

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (page vii)

 

What is an Irish seven-course meal? If you grew up prior to the arrival of political correctness, you probably know that the punch line of that ethnic joke is “A six-pack of beer and a potato.”

Of course, the Irish aren’t all alcoholics and they eat a lot more than taters when they sit down at the dinner table. Still, most of us are undoubtedly influenced in our thinking by the very limited menu most restaurants offer on St. Patrick’s Day, specifically, spuds, corned beef and cabbage, and Irish Soda Bread.

Truth be told, their cuisine is much more refined than mere meat and potatoes. In fact, corned beef and cabbage is an American invention which most Irish natives never try before arriving in the States.

            If you want to get a sense of the best that Ireland has to offer in terms of culinary delights, check out 30 Years at Ballymaloe, a combination memoir and cookbook replete with recipes, history lessons and glorious photographs of both mouth-watering dishes and lush photographs of the Emerald Isle’s verdant countryside. 

            The elegant and practical coffee table opus is the labor of love of Darina Allen, co-founder with her brother Rory of the famed Ballymaloe Cookery School. Long esteemed as the Julia Child of Ireland, Darina staked her career ages ago on a health-oriented, “Slow Food” approach emphasizing organic, locally-grown, seasonal produce and cooking in wood-burning stoves.    

            So, the sort of Irish food you’ll see trumpeted here ranges from “Ballycotton Shrimp with Watercress and Homemade Mayonnaise” to “Carrageen Moss Pudding with Poached Apricot and Sweet Geranium Compote.” The author also offers tips on keeping cows which, in turn, enables her to make such fresh favorites as “Virgin Jersey Butter” and “Caramel Ice Cream.”

Darina has a fruit garden, too, of course, where figs, gooseberries, raspberries, figs, plums and green almonds can be found in abundance. And she bakes everything from brown bread to a chicken pot pie that sticks to the ribs, although the irresistible entrée that I just have to attempt is the pizza with roast peppers, olives and gremolata.

A practical primer on the farm to fork philosophy proving Irish culinary fare to be far more sophisticated than the sorry slop and green beer celebrated all across the U.S. every St. Patty’s Day.  

To order a copy of 30 Years at Ballymaloe, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1909487139/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

Rich Hill

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Rust Belt “New Normal” Chronicled in Diminished Dreams Documentary   

            Rich Hill, Missouri is a ghost town on hard times. Located about seventy miles south of Kansas City, the population of this once-thriving mining metropolis has dwindled down to 1,393 since the last of the coal was unearthed from the ground.

The lack of a sufficient tax base to maintain the city’s infrastructure is reflected in such urban blight as boarded up storefronts, potholed roads, abandoned farms, and the corner pharmacy and company bank reduced to rubble. Today, the remaining residents find themselves stuck in a godforsaken no man’s land marked by social dysfunction and high unemployment.

Nevertheless, there is an undeniable optimism among young Andrew, Harley and Appachey. These three boys are the subject of Rich Hill, a heartbreaking expose chronicling Rich Hill’s new normal in terms of the American Dream.

Co-directed by Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos, the picture won the 2014 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in the Best Documentary category. As the cousins’ camera follows the trio around, you can’t help but notice the crumbling exoskeleton in the background that looks almost post-apocalyptic. Could this really be the good ole U.S. of A?    

Meanwhile, each kid has a quite compelling story to share. 13 year-old Andrew worries about his family subsisting when not practicing the latest dance steps with his sister. Appachey, 12, wants to teach art in China when he grows up. But first, he has to repeat the 6th grade. And 15 year-old Harley has a great sense of humor despite the fact that he misses his convict mother imprisoned for the attempted murder of the sick stepfather who’d molested him.

The Rust Belt’s “New Normal” depicted as a desolate, depressed dystopia dotted with street urchins a tad too naïve to appreciate their dire life prospects.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated 

Running time: 91 minutes

Distributor: The Orchard

To see a trailer for Rich Hill, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHml65Du-Ug 

Web Junkie
Film Review by Kam Williams

How long do you think you could you survive without access to a cell phone or computer? A few hours? A day? A week? How about three months? That’s the degree of deprivation awaiting adolescents diagnosed as addicted to the internet over in China, the first country to officially recognize the burgeoning malady as a clinical disorder.

The Rx for the afflicted is 90 days of rehab at one of 400 paramilitary boot camps where one must adhere to a Spartan daily regimen sans any electronic stimuli. Going cold turkey is not an easy thing to adjust to for kids used to playing video games for hours on end.

But that is precisely the goal of the shrinks in Web Junkie, a cautionary tale making one wonder whether America might not be far behind. The documentary was directed by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia who were afforded extraordinary access to the intervention and treatment of a trio of teenage boys whose exasperated parents sought help from a facility in Beijing.

The film traces the transformation of Hope, Hacker and Nicky from insufferable, anti-social jerks who barely communicate with their families, teachers and classmates into sensitive souls truly changed by therapy and the period offline. It’s nothing short of miraculous to see the same kid who couldn’t be bothered to talk to his father eventually melt into a touchy-feely hugger who upon reuniting tearfully says, “I love you, Dad.”

Overall, the movie makes a convincing case that cell phone use ought to be limited during a child’s formative years when the social part of the brain is still developing. For, the subjects of this telling expose certainly seem to suffer from stunted development due to too much time spent playing computer games and surfing the ‘net.

A tough love remedy from the Orient designed for impressionable young minds which prefer virtual reality to relating in the flesh.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In Mandarin with subtitles

Running time: 76 minutes

Distributor: Kino Lorber

To see a trailer for Web Junkie, visit

Get on Up

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Chadwick Channels James Brown in Nostalgic Jukebox Musical

            Just last year, Chadwick Boseman successfully channeled the spirit of Jackie Robinson in 42, a powerful biopic about the Hall of Fame great who made history when he integrated Major League Baseball in 1947. In Get on Up, the gifted young actor is already impersonating another legendary African-American, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown (1933-2006).

Unfortunately, this revisionist fairytale works better as a jukebox musical than as an accurate recitation of the late crooner’s checkered past. The problem is that Brown simply is hard to portray sympathetically, despite his overcoming abject poverty and a dysfunctional childhood on the road to superstardom.

            Yes, he was abandoned by abusive parents (Viola Davis and Lennie James) at the home of an aunt (Octavia Spencer) in Augusta, Georgia who did her best to raise him in the absence of a father figure. Nevertheless, James dropped out of school in the 7th grade, took to the streets, and spent several years behind bars for an armed robbery committed at just 16.  

Upon parole, he made a foray into showbiz after joining the Famous Flames, the first of numerous R&B groups he would headline over the course of a career marked again and again by bad break-ups due to disagreements he had over salary with disgruntled sidemen. Brown would also have further run-ins with the law, ranging from repeated arrests for domestic violence against three different battered wives, to embezzlement, tax evasion and bankruptcy, to another three years in prison for illegal drug and weapons possession, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.   

Somehow, Tate Taylor (The Help) has figured a way to put a positive spin on the tarnished legacy of this terribly-flawed figure. Rather than have the film unfold chronologically, the inventive director has crafted an oft-confusing flashback flick which jumps backwards and forwards in time in dizzying fashion with no apparent rhyme or reason.

That scattershot approach ostensibly enables Get on Up to sidestep the more tawdry episodes on Brown’s resume without appearing to leave gaping holes in his life story. Consequently, the movie sits on solid ground during gyrating Boseman’s lip-synched, onstage performances of such James Brown hits as “I Feel Good,” “It’s a Man’s World,” “Super Bad” and “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” but not so much whenever it shifts its focus to its morally-objectionable protagonist’s poor people skills.

A nostalgic indulgence which, like the cinematic equivalent of a fluffy fanzine, eschews serious criticism of a revered icon in favor of a pleasant parade of his most memorable classics.  

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, drug use, profanity and violence

Running time: 138 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Get on Up, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guOS6ev6hQ0

Behaving Badly
Film Review by Kam Williams

Rick Stevens (Nat Wolff) is a socially-awkward virgin experiencing pangs of sexual awakenings. That explains why he is trying to summon up the courage to make a play for Nina Pennington (Selena Gomez), the cute, high school classmate he’s had a crush on since the 6th grade.

Trouble is she already has a boyfriend, Kevin Carpenter (Austin Stowell), a handsome hunk who’s very jealous and possessive. Moreover, Rick is so distracted by his dysfunctional family that it’s hard for him to even have time for dating.

He’s mercilessly teased and abused by his deadbeat dad (Cary Elwes), and his alcoholic mother (Mary-Louise Parker) is recovering in the hospital after recently trying to kill herself. And to add insult to injury, she only left a suicide note addressed to Lucy, her pet dog.

Rick’s siblings have their issues, too. His sister, Kristen (Ashley Rickards), has secretly started working as a stripper, and his closeted brother, Steven (Mitch Hewer), is gay and afraid to come out.

Nevertheless, Rick is determined to summon up the nerve to approach the girl of his dreams, and finally jumps at the chance when their Latin teacher (Charles C. Stevenson, Jr.) drops dead during class, ironically while conjugating “vivo,” the verb for live. Nina accepts his offer to drive her to the funeral which, in his mind at least, will be their first date.

So unfolds Behaving Badly, a screwball comedy directed by Tim Garrick that’s far more raunchy than it is funny. This tasteless teensploitation flick serves up generous helpings of gratuitous nudity and profanity but precious little that elicits any laughter.

Director Garrick throws everything at the screen but the kitchen sink in an almost desperate attempt to shock, forgetting in the process to craft a plausible plotline that might hold the attention of anyone with an I.Q. above room temperature. Before Rick is allowed to win Nina’s heart, he acts out repeatedly, prematurely ejaculating with a stripper and sleeping with his best’s friend’s (Lachlan Buchanan) mom (Elisabeth Shue) en route to sharing an incestuous moment in a men’s room with his own mother’s seductive alter ego.

He also gets mixed up with Lithuanian mobsters and lands in jail along with most of his guests after throwing a wild party in the house while his folks are away. The bottom-feeding production squanders the services of a star-studded cast featuring Oscar-nominees Elisabeth Shue (for Leaving Las Vegas) and Gary Busey (for The Buddy Holly Story), pop icons Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber, Dylan McDermott, Jason Lee, Heather Graham and Patrick Warburton.

A misfiring misadventure not even recommended for diehard Selena Gomez fans.

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for crude sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use and pervasive profanity

Running time: 96 minutes

Distributor: Vertical Entertainment

To see a trailer for Behaving Badly, visit

The Almost Man
(Mir Eller Mindre Mann)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Henrik Sandvik (Henrik Rafaelsen) is a slacker who’s never had to grow up. The 35 year-old underachiever is still doted on by a helicopter mom (Anne Ma Usterud) willing to wait on him hand-and-foot.

His equally-immature BFFs are the same guys he’s hung around since high school. Their boorish behavior ranges from snapping towels on each other in locker room showers, to getting wasted at parties where they proceed to pee off the balcony, flick their boogers, and engage in fistfights and homoerotic horseplay.

None of the above sits well with Henrik’s girlfriend, Tone (Janne Heltberg Haarseth), given how she recently learned that she’s expecting a baby. Her hope is that her beau will finally grow up, now that he’s on the brink of becoming a father. But that might prove easier said than done, considering that his favorite book is Peter Pan.

The impending arrival of the couple’s bundle of joy lurks over the horizon in The Almost Man, a sublime social satire written and directed by Martin Lund. Unfolding against the backdrop of a variety of visually-captivating Norwegian settings, the film focuses mostly on Tone’s escalating frustrations with Henrik, even after he grudgingly takes a confining corporate job.

It’s not enough that he’s bringing home the bacon, when he blames a temptress he’s caught kissing for having seduced him. He even has the temerity to suggest that Tone have an abortion. But that ain’t happening.

And with only a few months to make over a philanderer who freely admits that “I’m not sure how to behave,” the mad mommy-to-be has her work cut out for her. Will Tone run out of patience before reluctant Henrik is ready to accept his responsibilities?

A droll dramedy examining the male metamorphosis from bachelor to family man.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In Norwegian with subtitles

Running time: 77 minutes

Distributor: Big World Pictures

The Purge: Anarchy
Film Review by Kam Williams

Dateline: America, 2023. It’s now nine years since the country voted the New Founders of America into power. High on that elitist political party’s agenda was designating March 21st as the Purge, a day on which all law is suspended, meaning anything goes, rape, robbery, even murder.

Most citizens opt to stay inside for the duration of the annual ordeal, battening down the hatches with a Bible or a weapon in hand, since they can’t call upon the cops to come to their assistance in the event of an emergency. Yet, many turn vigilante to rid the streets of the dregs of humanity, others seize on the opportunity to even the score with someone they have a grievance against.

A couple of hours before the “fun” starts, we find Eva (Carmen Ejogo) rushing home from her job at a diner to be with her teen daughter, Cali (Zoe Soul). In the process, the attractive waitress ignores the crude passes of both a co-worker (Nicholas Gonzalez) and her apartment building’s custodian (Noel Gugliemi).

Elsewhere, Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford) are driving to his sister’s while debating about whether to inform her that their marriage is on the rocks. But the two soon land in desperate straits when their car conks out on the highway only minutes before the siren sounds signaling the beginning of the Purge.

That moment can’t come soon enough for revenge-minded Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) who’s itching to get even with the drunk driver (Brandon Keener) that not only killed his son, but got off scot-free on a legal technicality. However, soon after the Purge starts, the police sergeant reflexively comes to the assistance of Eva, Cali, Liz and Shane, all of whom are on the run from a bloodthirsty death squad.

So, he puts his plan on the backburner temporarily to protect the frightened foursome. That endeavor proves easier said than done in The Purge: Anarchy, a stereotypical horror sequel in that it ups the ante in terms of violence, body count, pyrotechnics and gratuitous gore.

Unfortunately, the film pales in comparison to the original, which was a thought-provoking thriller raising questions about poverty and privilege. This relatively-simplistic installment pays lip service to that intriguing theme in almost insulting fashion, envisioning instead a nihilistic U.S. which has merely degenerated into a decadent dystopia where blood-thirsty rich snobs relish slaying the poor purely for sport.

It is, thus, no surprise to witness the rise of an African-American guerilla leader (Michael K. Williams) who’s exhorting the masses to revolt by indicting the Purge as racist. An entertaining enough, if incoherent, splatterfest which unapologetically lifts familiar elements from such apocalyptic classics as The Hunger Games (2012), V for Vendetta (2006), The Warriors (1979), Escape from New York (1981) and Hard Target (1993).

A perhaps prophetic satire celebrating senseless slaughter as a natural national holiday in such a gun-loving country!

Good (2 stars)

Rated R for profanity and graphic violence

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for The Purge: Anarchy, visit

Wish I Was Here
Film Review by Kam Williams

As an actor, Zach Braff is most closely associated with the character J.D. from Scrubs, the Emmy-winning sitcom which enjoyed a nine-year run on network television from 2001 to 2010. As a director, he’s best known for Garden State, the quirky, semi-autobiographical feature film where he played a struggling actor who returns to his hometown in Jersey for his mother’s funeral.

Wish I Was Here is more akin to the latter, being another delightful, dysfunctional family dramedy which Zach directed and stars in. He also co-wrote it with his brother, Adam, and the offbeat adventure milks much of its mirth from Jewish culture in a manner often evocative of Joel and Ethan Coen’s A Serious Man (2009).

The point of departure is suburban L.A. which is where we find 35 year-old Aidan Bloom (Braff) in the midst of a midlife crisis. The fledgling actor is on anti-depressants and in deep denial about his dwindling career prospects, despite the fact that he last worked ages ago in a dandruff commercial.

What makes the situation problematical is that he futilely fritters away his time auditioning, oblivious to his breadwinner wife’s (Kate Hudson) resentment. She hates being stuck like a rat on a treadmill in a stultifying government job where she’s being sexually harassed on a daily basis by the pervy creep (Michael Weston) who shares her cubicle.

But she can’t quit her job because their kids, Grace (Joey King) and Tucker (Pierce Gagnon), won’t have food on the table or a roof over their heads. As it is, they’ve already sacrificed some luxuries, like the built-in pool that sits empty in the backyard.

Something’s gotta give when grandpa Gabe (Mandy Patinkin) suddenly announces that his cancer has returned, so he can no longer afford to subsidize his grandchildren’s expensive private education. Not wanting to subject them to the substandard, local public schools, Aidan grudgingly agrees to abandon his pipe dream of Hollywood stardom in order to homeschool them.

However, this affords him an unexpected opportunity to not only share some much-needed quality time with them, but to orchestrate an overdue reconciliation between his long-estranged brother (Josh Gad) and their rapidly-declining dad, as well. Soon, adolescent Grace develops the confidence to blossom from a repressed wallflower into a show off sporting a metallic purple wig, and 6 year-old Tucker finds fulfillment toasting marshmallows in the desert with his more attentive father.

By film’s end, expect to be moved to tears by this poignant picture’s bittersweet resolution and sobering, universal message about the importance of family. And don’t be surprised if the weeping persists way past the closing credits.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Wish I Was Here, visit

America: Imagine the World without Her

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Revisionist Documentary Speculates about Alternative U.S. Reality

 

What would the U.S. look like today if the Minutemen had lost the Revolutionary War to England? That query is the launching pad of America: Imagine the World without Her, an unapologetically right-wing documentary written, directed and narrated by Dinesh D’Souza.

D’Souza, a political pundit who immigrated here as a teenager back in the Seventies, proudly wears his patriotism on his sleeve, announcing at the outset, “I love America! I chose this country!” before launching into a full-frontal attack on such controversial left-leaning leaders and public intellectuals as Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Ward Churchill, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Eric Dyson, Bill Ayers, Howard Zinn, Saul Alinsky and Hillary Clinton.

But he levels his most caustic remarks at Barack Obama whom he indicts as a liar by playing a number of incriminating comments from “If you want to keep your doctor, you can keep your doctor” to “Nobody is listening to your phone calls.”  D’Souza goes on to explain the President’s behavior as merely part of a strategic socialist conspiracy to destroy the capitalist system.

The movie is basically an attempt to prove that the United States is a great nation with no reason to be ashamed of its past, as suggested by its supposed detractors like Reverend Wright who is heard again in his most notorious sound bite, “No! No! No! Not God bless America… God damn America!” D’Souza brushes aside shameful chapters in our history like slavery and the slaughter of the Indians by arguing that there were just as many black slave owners as white ones, and that Native Americans had fought with each other for millennia prior to the arrival of European settlers.   

His goal is to inspire the masses to rise up and save the country before it’s too late. I suspect that the picture will serve as red meat to arch-conservatives already inclined to dismiss Obama and other progressives as communists in liberals’ clothing. Unfortunately, it also won’t do much to encourage civil discourse or to bridge the intractable stalemate between Democratic and Republicans sitting on opposite sides of the aisle.

            Divisive D’Souza: Imagine an America without him!

 

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violent images   

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

 

To see a trailer for America: Imagine the World without Her, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7r3Ef7Ssy8

Rage

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Shades of “Taken” Abound in Gruesome Nicolas Cage Vigilante Vehicle

            In recent years, Nicholas Cage has made a lot of mediocre movies, and Rage is no exception. This B-movie action flick might be best thought of as an unapologetic rip-off of the Liam Neeson vigilante vehicle Taken. 

            But where Neeson was a retired CIA agent, Cage plays a reformed ex-con. And while the former was frantically searching for his missing daughter, the latter is looking for whoever fired a fatal bullet into the head of his sweet, 16 year-old daughter. As for the villains, Taken’s were Albanian sex traffickers while Rage’s are Russian mobsters. 

            Otherwise, the stories are similar enough to warrant a comparison. At the point of departure we find Paul Maguire (Cage) and his trophy wife, Vanessa (Rachel Nichols), bidding his daughter (Aubrey Peeples) adieu for the evening as they head out to dinner at a local restaurant. The overprotective father makes a point of impressing upon Caitlin’s boyfriend, Mike (Max Fowler), that he doesn’t want any hanky-panky on the premises in his absence.   

            However, what actually transpires proves to be far worse than anything he imagined, for he gets a call from Detective St. John (Danny Glover) informing him of a break-in back at the house. Turns out that Caitlin’s been kidnapped and, based on the clues supplied by Mike, Paul suspects that her abductors might be the same ruthless Russian gang he’d had the temerity to rip off 19 years earlier.

            Sadly, her lifeless body is soon discovered, and all the evidence points to the posse’s kingpin, Chernov (Pasha D. Lychnikoff). So, rather than let the police solve the crime, Paul opts to take the law into his own hands, and rounds up a couple of his tough buddies (Max Ryan and Michael McGrady) before embarking on a revenge-fueled reign of terror armed to the teeth.

Gritty and gruesome, Rage is an unapologetic splatterfest featuring pyrotechnics, pistol-whipping, stabbing and slow-motion senseless slaughter murders via sawed-off shotgun. The body count gets pretty high en route to the protagonists’ surprising showdown with Chernov, a barrel-chested Vladimir Putin lookalike.

Think Taken with a heckuva twist!

Good (2 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: RLJ/Image Entertainment

To see a trailer for Rage, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3FVLRN7Nzc     

School Dance

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Nick Cannon Makes Directorial Debut with Help of Star-Studded Cast

            Nick Cannon is a versatile entertainer known as an actor, comedian, rapper, radio DJ, TV host and as the husband of pop dive Mariah Carey. With School Dance, Nick steps behind the camera to add filmmaker to his extensive resume.

His jaw-dropping directorial debut is a raunchy romantic comedy that might be best thought of as Romeo and Juliet gone completely gangsta’. Set at an inner-city high school in Los Angeles, the irreverent romp revolves around diminutive Jason Jackson (Bobb’e J. Thompson), a modestly-endowed virgin with a crush on a cute and curvy classmate.

Trouble is Anastacia (Kristina DeBarge) has never even noticed the nondescript nerd. A bigger complication is that he’s black, she’s Chicano, and their respective ethnic groups don’t mix, let alone get along. Nevertheless, Jason accepts a dare from the dudes in his posse to get into her proverbial panties by the end of the semester.

To that end, he hatches an elaborate plan to impress the girl of his dreams by winning their high school’s annual talent show which features a grand prize of $2,000. But of as much import as the outcome of that contest is the raucous road the flick en route to that fait accompli.

Director Cannon apparently had no trouble casting his first picture, since the screen is filled with top comedians at every turn, from the man of the year Kevin Hart to the resurrected Katt Williams to “Yo’ Momma’s” Wilmer Valderrama to the irrepressible Luenell to the incomparable Mike Epps to George Lopez and Patrick Warburton. All of the above found the elbow room to do their thing, although the production might have benefited from editing out some of their most offensive remarks.

For example, the blasphemous rap, “F*ck the President, Barack f*cking Obama. F*ck that n*gger” was a bit much for this critic to stomach, even if the euphoria of historic Election Night 2008 is just a distant memory. Equally off-putting was this line uttered by Lopez as Anastacia’s overprotective father. “I don’t want some little black baby with a big penis running around this house touching all my shit.”

Still, I suspect that such shocking fare will find a ready audience in a Hip-Hop Generation weaned on a profusion of profanity and fond of the N-word. A 21st Century update of the beloved Shakespeare classic about a pair of star-crossed lovers from the opposite side of the tracks.

Good (2 stars)

Rated R for crude humor, graphic sexuality, underage drug use, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity

Running time: 85 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for School Dance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qKXSL2N0RQ 

Earth to Echo

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Coming-of-Age Sci-Fi Features Shades of E.T. 

Most people know E.T. revolves around several kids who befriend an alien stranded on Earth and eager to return home before ill-intentioned adults can do him any harm. That coming-of-age classic landed four Academy Awards back in 1983, and was even voted the best sci-fi of all time in a recent survey by Rotten Tomatoes.    

But if you’re too young to remember Steven Spielberg’s heartwarming adventure, or if it’s been so long since you saw it that the storyline’s a little fuzzy, have I got an homage for you. Much about Earth to Echo just screams remake, starting with the picture’s vaguely-familiar promotional poster which similarly features a human hand reaching out to touch an extra-terrestrial.

Still, this delightful variation on the theme endeavors to refresh the original by incorporating current cultural staples, ranging from texting shorthand to social media. So, when the protagonists here communicate with each other, they often rely on inscrutable slang apt to befuddle fuddy-duddies unfamiliar with the lexicon employed by today’s average adolescent.

At this found-footage flick’s point of departure, we find narrator Tuck (Astro) lamenting the impending separation from his BFFs Alex (Teo Halm) and Munch (Reese Hartwig) when their Nevada neighborhood is razed in a week to make way for a turnpike. The plot thickens after all their cell phones inexplicably “barf” simultaneously, and they decide to discern the source of the mysterious malfunction.

Equipped with a camcorder and state-of-the-art spyglasses, the youngsters ride their bikes into the desert in the middle of the night accompanied by a cute rebel (Ella Wahlestedt) with her own reason for running away from home. GPS sends the sleuths to a site in the desert where, lo and behold, they find Echo, a cuddly visitor from another galaxy with pressing issues akin to the aforementioned E.T.

The kids, of course, kick it into high gear on his behalf, keeping just a step ahead of the untrustworthy authorities. Their noble efforts inexorably lead to a satisfying resolution every bit as syrupy as Spielberg’s.

An unapologetic retread bordering on plagiarism that nevertheless provides the perfect, popcorn summer escape for the tyke and ‘tweener demographics.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for action, peril and mild epithets

Running time: 92 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media

To see a trailer for Earth to Echo, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMlcdEtAiBA

Blind Boys of Alabama and Taj Majal

Concert Review by Kam Williams

 

A Glorious Night of Gospel and Blues at N.J. State Theatre

            The Blind Boys of Alabama opened for Taj Majal on June 18th at the New Jersey State Theatre, where they easily managed to eclipse the headliner in terms of intensity and audience appeal. “Boys” is a bit of misnomer for the six-time Grammy-winning gospel group formed way back in the 1930s by 9 year-old students attending the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind, located in Talledega.

            Sadly, only a couple of the founding members are still alive, Jimmy Carter and Clarence Fountain, and the latter’s participation in concerts is limited to the extent his failing health allows. But in the early decades, the talented ensemble crisscrossed the country, often going on tour with The Blind Boys of Mississippi, with whom they would share the stage in a friendly battle of the bands.

The show I attended featured a mix of traditional, classic and modern spirituals, ranging from “I Shall Not Be Moved,” to Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready,” to Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky,” to a novel arrangement of “Amazing Grace” set to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun.”

Despite now being in their 70s and 80s, the hard-working harmonizers maintained their high energy for the duration of the hour-plus set, with Jimmy being guided up and down the aisles for hugs, handshakes and photo ops during a lively encore that brought down the house.

By contrast, the Taj Majal trio was relatively-subdued, and fed his fans a steady diet of blues, blues and more blues, ignoring the jazz, reggae, rock and R&B in his repertoire, except for a brief incursion into his African roots. Otherwise, his playlist included such standards as Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Corinna, Corinna,” T-Bone Walker’s “Mean Old World,” Muddy Waters’ “Honey Bee,” John Lee Hooker’s “Annie Mae,” and Mississippi John Hurt’s “Satisfied and Tickled Too.”

Taj was backed by drums and bass while he played guitar (dobro, electric, 12-string acoustic, and so forth) on all but a number where he sat at an electric keyboard. At 72, I was concerned that he might have lost his voice, but it sounded as powerful as ever, and he definitely delivered, provided you came content to hear the brother sing the blues.

To hear “Clara: St. Kitts Woman” by Taj Majal, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4wcBzRE44Y

To see a vintage video of The Blind Boys of Alabama, visit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr5FmYvWNhc

To order a copy of The Blind Boys’ new album, “I’ll Find a Way,” visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00CZ1TMXI/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

Begin Again
Film Review by Kam Williams

Greta (Keira Knightley) followed her college sweetheart (Adam Levine) to Manhattan when he was signed to a lucrative record deal with a major music label. However, the overnight fame went to Dave’s head and he soon started to stray. This development signaled not only the end of their romantic relationship but the demise of their promising partnership as songwriters, too.

Nevertheless, Greta is still very talented in her own right, which she readily proves when pushed by a pal to perform at a Greenwich Village dive on open mic night. The haunting strains of “A Step You Can’t Take Back” catch the ear of Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo), a legendary talent scout who happens to be sitting in the audience.

He proceeds to imagine how great Greta would sound accompanied by a full band instead of simply by her acoustic guitar. So, right after the diamond in the rough steps offstage, he offers to help turn her into the next singing sensation.

But Greta is initially reluctant for a couple of logical reasons. First of all, she’d just decided to abandon her silly pipe dream of superstardom and was on brink of moving back to England. Secondly, the solicitous stranger standing in front of her reeks of alcohol and looks homeless, and nothing like a veteran A&R exec.

Truth be told, disheveled Dan is in the dumps because he was recently fired from Distress Records by the Harvard classmate (Mos Def) he’d co-founded the company with. Furthermore, he’s being missing his estranged wife (Catherine Keener) and daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) since being kicked out of the house a year ago.

In fact, he was actually contemplating suicide until Greta’s voice gave him a new reason to live. Well, will he be able to revive his career and launch Great’s simultaneously, or will the ambitious endeavor fail miserably? And, will the two fall in love, despite the age difference, or might they merely return to their respective exes? Those are the alternate scenarios contemplated by Begin Again, an absorbing, character-driven, musical drama written and directed by John Carney.

The movie is most reminiscent of Carney’s earlier offering Once, which won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Song (“Falling Slowly”) en route to the Broadway stage where it subsequently swept the Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Begin Again similarly revolves around a pair of losers down on their luck whose close collaboration yields a cornucopia of mellifluous melodies.

Who knew that Keira Knightley could carry a tune let alone in such a dulcet tone? Or that she was capable of generating palpable screen chemistry? Kudos are also in order for her top-flight, supporting cast, especially Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine, Mos Def, James Corden, Catherine Keener, Hailee Steinfeld and CeeLo Green.

An enchanting musical adventure amounting to the best kept cinematic secret of the summer! At least until now.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Begin Again, visit

Think Like a Man Too
Review by Kam Williams

The surprise hit Think Like a Man was #1 at the box-office over its opening weekend back in April of 2012. Inspired by Steve Harvey’s best-selling, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” the original explored some of the serious issues tackled by the popular, relationship advice book by examining the angst of four couples in relationship crisis.

This go round, director Tim Story has abandoned the source material in favor of a screwball adventure that unfolds more like a blend of “The Hangover” and “Bridesmaids,” madcap movies about a bachelor and bachelorette party, respectively. Think Like a Man Too endeavors to increase the ante by featuring both a bachelor and bachelorette party.

Unfortunately, this relatively-tame sequel fails to measure up to either of those side-splitting descents into debauchery, being basically a vehicle for Kevin Hart’s kitchen sink brand of comedy. Here, the motor-mouthed comedian serves as an omniscient narrator who calls the battle-of-the-sexes’ play-by-play.

Director Story deserves credit for reassembling the principal cast members, thereby easily maintaining the ensemble’s continuity and chemistry. The reason for the reunion is that Candace (Regina Hall) and Momma’s Boy Michael (Terrence J), are tying the knot, so they’ve invited his meddling mother (Jenifer Lewis) and all their friends to Las Vegas for the nuptials.

Just past the point of departure, we find chef Dominic (Michael Ealy) and corporate executive Lauren (Taraji P. Henson) still struggling with whether to put career ahead of romance. Meanwhile, settled-down Kristen (Gabrielle Union) and Jeremy (Jerry Ferrrara) are thinking about having a kid. And Mya (Meagan Good) is having a hard time trusting her beau, Zeke (Romany Malco), given how his ex-girlfriends seem to surface at inopportune moments.

Eventually, all of the above plus Sonya (La La Anthony), Tish (Wendi Mclendon-Covey), Bennett (Gary Owen), Isaac (Adam Brody) and Terrell (David Walton) separate by gender the night before the wedding ceremony. The plot thickens when the bridesmaids carouse around Sin City in search of stimulation by bulging biceps, and just as best man Cedric and the groomsmen get the bright idea of entering a male stripping contest dressed as the Village People.

It’s not very hard to guess what happens next, or how it will all end after the wedding is almost cancelled. A pleasant, if predictable, diversion peppered with incessant chatter on the part of the irrepressible Kevin Hart.

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, drug use, crude humor, sexual references and partial nudity

Running time: 106 minutes

Distributor: Screen Gems

The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne
Film Review by Kam Williams

Doris Payne was born black back in 1930 in Slab Fork, West Virginia where she was raised during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation. Besides having to withstand withering bigotry and racial discrimination as a child, she grew up in a dysfunctional family where her father routinely beat her mother right in front of her face.

That might help explain her turning to crime at an early age, starting with stealing a diamond from a department store, fencing it, and using the funds to help her mom escape the abusive marriage. Unfortunately, Doris didn’t stop there, but took to jewel thievery like a fish to water, gradually escalating to seven figure takes by targeting upscale retailers like Cartier and Tiffany.

Her modus operandi involved gaining the confidence of a gullible store clerk before resorting to distracting devices such as sleight of hand and dizzying hand jive. That reprehensible behavior kept the sticky-fingered felon forever on the run from authorities as she netted millions in gems over the course of a checkered career spanning six decades and counting.

Specializing in identity theft, Doris was an expert at impersonating wealthy socialites in exotic locales, as she did on Monaco where she passed herself off as the wife of movie director Otto Preminger. Overall, she‘s employed at least 20 aliases, 11 Social Security numbers and 9 passports in pursuit of ill-gotten gems. Brief stints in prison couldn’t cure Doris’ compulsive kleptomania, which is why she’s presently doing time behind bars for purloining a precious stone worth 22Gs just last year.

Co-directed by Matthew Pond and Kirk Marcolina, The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne is a documentary of dubious intentions which futilely endeavors to paint an empathetic picture of an unrepentant octogenarian who simply fails to earn the audience’s respect. After all, her odious line of work has serious consequences not only for herself but for others, as was the case with a tearful clerk seen here who was fired for being fleeced by the wily old recidivist.

Doris Payne, an unappealing, un-role model who stole millions from the rich and simply frittered it away on herself in decadent fashion.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 74 minutes

Distributor: Film Forum

Panathenee 
EP by Jim Cassady & Pablo
Review by Kam Williams

Sounding like a compelling cross of the Kraftwerk and Bryan Ferry, a couple of young Frenchmen based in Berlin, Jim Cassady & Pablo, have collaborated to produce an album of mesmerizing electronic music. Recently released on the European label Humble Musique, the ethereal EP contains a quartet of instrumentals augmented by just enough human backing vocals to ground the otherwise otherworldy tracks with a sultry, softening human touch.

The smooth grooves are definitely danceable, yet reflect the complexity of the talented combo’s eclectic influences, ranging from Mozart to Monk to Coltrane to Hendrix. Keyboardist Jim’s job is to endlessly explore pleasant melodies while also maintaining the rhythm. Improvisation is the ostensibly the passion of Pablo, a self-taught guitarist who breaks all the rules he’s better off having never learned.

Since beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, but in the ear of the behearer, may I simply suggest you click on the links below to check out these talented, hi-tech troubadours. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do, so that they might be venture to these shores to stage their first concert in the U.S.

Appreciate Jim Cassady & Pablo now and avoid the rush!

To hear a sample of Jim Cassady & Pablo’s music, visit

To see a live performance by Jim Cassady & Pablo, visit

To order a copy of singles from Panathenee or the entire EP, visit

Cold in July
Cannes Film Festival Review by Dorian Rolston

In the opening scene of Jim Mickle’s “Cold in July,” a dark thriller adapted from Joe R. Lansdale’s eponymous novel, clattering breaks the silence of a warm, languid country night. Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall), a prudish Texan awoken in a panic, tremulously loads a pistol and edges down the hall to the living room where, as if guided by external forces, he shoots and kills an unarmed intruder. Later, the town sheriff (Nick Damici) tries to assuage Richard’s shock: “Sometimes the good guy wins.” But the blood on the picture framer’s hands leaves a permanent mark, splattering a pastoral mantelpiece, a pastoral life.

When the deceased intruder is identified as a wanted felon named Freddy Russell, Richard is recast as a modest businessman-turned-vigilante hero. But the down-home everyman shrinks from local celebrity, learning that Freddy’s father Ben (Sam Shepard) has been paroled from prison. Wary of revenge but still ridden with guilt, Richard observes Freddy’s funeral from the safety of his Mercury station wagon when, in a neo-noir turn, Ben appears at his window, terrifyingly subdued, gleaming in the setting East-Texas sun. “Quiet and peaceful, isn’t it?” the ex-con offers.

Clouds roll in over Mickle’s homespun late-80s countryside (more accurately that of upstate New York). As thunder and lightning syncopate Jeff Grace’s chilling, synthesized score, Ben, wearing a menacing rictus, skulks around Richard’s son. The threats escalate until Ben is apprehended, which only peels back a deeper conspiracy: the Danes were bait. In the cover of darkness, police drag Ben from a holding cell and leave him lying on a railroad track. But Richard, having grown suspicious, manages to witness the foul play and, just in time, to save Ben from pulverization.

Ill at ease, the two hoodwinked men bind together until, with near-derailing levity, a third musketeer breezes in behind the wheel of a scorching red Cadillac convertible, its grill mounting longhorns and its vanity plate flashing RED BITCH. That would be Jim Bob (Don Johnson)—pig farmer, howdy-doody gunslinger, private eye. With Jim Bob at the helm, the unlikely trio follow a putrid scent through police corruption, Mafia gangbanging, snuff movies, and a culminating bloodbath a la mode.

As a moody, stylized, genre-bending thriller, “Cold in July” exhibits deft handiwork. But as a character study, which is ultimately what drives the plot, its layering is thin. Richard’s deeper motivations for vigilante justice remain opaque—even, somehow, to his wife Anne (Vinessa Shaw), an insipid rendering of a female character whose concerns are limited strictly to interior décor. That even the most warm-blooded among us have cold-blooded potentiality, as the title suggests, is insinuated, if not exhaustively probed. Nevertheless, the pulpy twists and turns ratchet up suspense and unspool mystery that is a ride all its own.

Postscript

My wife in heels, I had to run. Two Invitations—Place Réservées—to “Cold in July” were being kept in a blank envelope held by a man waiting outside the Théâtre Croisette, in Cannes. Perhaps it was the enchanting Cote d’Azur, the deep blue sea heard softly lapping, the liminal profiles glimpsed through tinted car windows, the reveries indulged of passersby straining to place our stardom, which had relaxed our stride. Nevertheless, we were late. As I bounded down the Promenade de la Croisette, scattering coteries of refinement, I recalled the last email from the man with the envelope: “Should be fine, look for me when you arrive and I will look for you!” Likely, he would see me first.

It was our first time at the Cannes Film Festival and, for that matter, at any film festival. I had inquired, complained, and generally made a fuss about my press credentials, which, due to hardly unforeseen circumstances (neglecting to submit an application), had never arrived. While being shuffled between accreditation staff, though, I was intercepted by a gregarious Aussie who introduced himself as a music producer and then divulged that, the night before, he had attended a party that was “not to be missed.” The party was hosted by Schweppes on a yacht, he said, running through precise directions. Lacking any navigational sensibility for the luxury yachts of Le Vieux Port, or any official documentation of my business being there, I could do little else but look begrudgingly. “Don’t worry,” he assured, with a wink. “Things have a way of working themselves out.”

We received warm greetings as we descended the red carpet: trois cent quatre, trois cent cinq. Inside the Théâtre Croisette, a wood-paneled aerie of eight hundred and twenty velvet seats nestled within the five-star JW Marriott, my wife and I unknowingly happened to sit next to Karen Lansdale, wife of Joe, author of “Cold in July.” (At the time, we took her to be merely a woman with a southern accent who was kindly watching the coat of an absent stranger.) Handsome ushers in black suits and red neckties were showing a regal couple to their seats—the woman in lapidary raiment adorned with a snowy white tunic and shimmering drop earrings, the man honey-tanned and sporting two thick slabs of leather-strapped wristwatch. (Trois cent six, trois cent sept.) This was not, evidently, the Cannes of the bundled-up man who slept in the pool of light in the bank lobby just off the Promenade and who, the previous night, had drawn a phalanx of Police Municipale and a rowdy dog. This was the Cannes of auteurs.

A spotlight bathed the stage to celebrate cast and crew, and applause filled the theatre. Jim Mickle appeared in a dark suit and sneakers with red laces. Reading “Cold in July” a few years ago was “terrifying, seductive, violent, emotionally-shaking,” he said. “I couldn’t get it out of my head.” Then he added, “And hopefully the film makes you guys feel the same way I did.”

Dorian Rolston is a freelance writer covering cognitive science and the arts.

To see an interview with Cold in July director Jim Mickle, visit

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Film Review by Kam Williams

X-Men: Days of Future Past represents the 7th episode in the storied mutant series, and is the third directed by Bryan Singer who also helmed X-Men 1 and 2. This installment is loosely based on the 1981 Marvel Comics (issues #141-142) of the same name, a convoluted tale in which one of the superheroes is sent back in time to prevent an impending disaster threatening the present.

The story unfolds in a dystopian future where we find a race of robots called Sentinels slaying mutants and subjugating humanity. X-Men founder/leader/brain of the operation Dr. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) summons his surviving protégés to a meeting in a monastery in China to hatch a plan to preserve the planet.

With the help of “phasing” Shadowcat’s (Ellen Page) quantum tunneling ability, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) slips through a portal to a parallel universe in 1973. His mission there is to stop fellow mutant Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from murdering Trask (Peter Dinklage), the diabolical genius who invented the Sentinels.

Why would you want a vanquished villain to be reincarnated? Don’t ask. After all, that’s one of the easier leaps of faith this flick’s farfetched plot expects you to make. If you need a plausible plot, then you might be too close-minded for this imaginative sci-fi.

Try on for size the novel notion that President Kennedy was killed “because he was one of us.” OK, let’s see, so JFK was assassinated for being a mutant? Why not? Just a couple of years ago we learned from another movie that Abraham Lincoln was a vampire slayer. Revisionist history? Or little known fact? You be the judge. What’s next, Dwight Eisenhower as an alien?

But I digress. Fortunately, X-Men 7 audience members will be very richly rewarded for taking flights of fancy, provided they succeed in suspending their disbelief. Don’t try to make sense, for instance, about how you go back in time, reverse a long-deceased person’s demise, and not simultaneously unravel myriad aspects of reality which have already subsequently transpired.

Instead, simply sit back and enjoy a sophisticated period piece unfolding against a nostalgic backdrop littered with staples of the Seventies ranging from lava lamps to waterbeds. This adventure even brings out of mothballs a number of favorite characters we haven’t seen in awhile, such as Storm (Halle Berry), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Cyclops (James Marsden), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore).

Don’t forget to sit through all of the credits for a decent-length teaser about X-Men 8: Apocalypse, coming to theaters in May of 2016. X-Men, a fabled franchise that like a fine wine, just keeps improving with age.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for nudity, profanity, suggestive material and intense violence

In English, French and Vietnamese with subtitles

Running time: 131 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past, visit

Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story ... and Why It Matters Today

by Edouard Kayihura and Kerry Zukus
Book Review by Kam Williams
BenBella Books
Hardcover, $24.95
296 pages
ISBN: 978-193785674-8

“Hotel Rwanda was ‘promoted as a story about ‘the quiet heroism of one man, Paul Rusesabagina, during the Rwandan Genocide.’ I knew Paul Rusesabagina. All the people who survived inside the hotel… knew Paul Rusesabagina.

No one among us has ever thought of him as altruistic, let alone heroic. On the contrary, of all the people who were within the hotel during the genocide, he would quite possibly be considered the furthest from a hero…

Rusesabagina had been a war profiteer, a friend to the architects of the genocide, a man willing to starve those without money while hoarding piles of food, drink and riches for himself.”

Excerpted from the Introduction (page xxx)

In 2004, the film Hotel Rwanda received widespread acclaim for its heartrending account of how one man had singlehandedly shielded over a thousand Tutsi refugees from certain death during the Rwandan Genocide by hiding them in the hotel he managed. Don Cheadle earned an Academy Award nomination for his powerful portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina, an apparent modern-day saint suddenly mentioned in the same breath as Oskar Schindler, the German factory owner who had saved so many Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.

Rusesabagina was subsequently celebrated by Amnesty International and other organizations as he embarked on a world tour during which he collected countless prizes and honorary degrees, including the Wallenberg Medal, the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to name a few. And, to this day, he’s remained in demand as a revered icon and inspirational speaker sought to recount his uplifting tale of unparalleled bravery in the face of ethnic cleansing.

What a difference a decade makes! Over the intervening years, telltale cracks gradually appeared in the image Rusesabagina had so carefully cultivated with the help of Hollywood and the human rights community. Those swirling rumors came out into the open when Rwandan President Kagame referred to the supposed paragon of virtue as a total fraud.

Now, Hotel Rwanda survivor Edouard Kayihura has collaborated with journalist Kerry Zukus to set the record straight once and for all. Their book, “Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story… and Why It Matters Today” painstakingly deconstructs Rusesabagina’s self-serving myth about what transpired.

Truth be told, he was never a hero but rather a Hutu sympathizer and war profiteer who had extorted money from the frightened folks seeking refuge on the grounds of his hotel. According to Kayihura, “He treated… us as his personal cash register… Refugees were refused entrance unless they could pay him.”

Furthermore, “The hotel was protected by UN peacekeepers and any attempt to kill was aborted by them… Paul Rusesabagina had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.“ Kayihura‘s damning assertions are supported by the recollections of many of his fellow countrymen who had sought refuge at the hotel for the duration of the bloody conflict.

Assuming this eye-opening opus is accurate, a debt of gratitude is owed Kayihura and Zukus for belatedly exposing a very slippery character as a shameless charlatan.

Blended
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jim Friedman (Adam Sandler) is a widower who’s raising three daughters on his own. Since the macho man’s man is clueless about girls, he’s been slowly turning them into tomboys, between the Prince Valiant haircuts and referring to them by the masculine nicknames Larry (Bella Thorne), Lou (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and ESPN (Emma Fuhrmann).

By contrast, Lauren Reynolds’ (Drew Barrymore) plight is practically the polar opposite. The frazzled, very feminine divorcee is being driven crazy by her testosterone-sodden sons, pubescent Brendan (Braxton Beckham) and hyperactive ‘tween Tyler (Kyle Red Silverstein). The former’s hormones are raging, while his little brother’s pyromania has his mother seriously considering starting him on a Ritalin regimen.

Neither Jim nor Lauren had been on a date in ages until they made each other’s acquaintance online. They agreed to meet for drinks, and the prospects looked promising, given how her sons’ need for a father figure conveniently dovetailed with his daughters’ for maternal guidance.

Unfortunately, rendezvousing at Hooters turned out to be a bad idea, due to Jim’s paying more attention to the waitresses and to the basketball game on TV than to Lauren. So, the two chalked the unmitigated disaster up to experience, and went their separate way, never expecting to see each other ever again.

But, through a highly-improbable series of coincidences, both of their families end-up booked on the same flight to South Africa for an all expenses-paid vacation where they’ll have to share a hotel suite at a luxury resort. Will Jim take advantage of his second chance to make a first impression?

That is the quandary established at the outset of Blended, the third romantic romp revolving around an Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore collaboration (along with The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates). But before the audience has an answer, the pair and their progeny must first indulge in the sort of stupid-funny fare that made Sandler famous.

The kitchen sink comedy then proceeds to throw anything up on the screen for a laugh (especially pecs-popping, scene-stealer Terry Crews as the irrepressible local entertainer), regardless of whether or not a skit fits into the plot or furthers the storyline. As dumb as the jokes were (and they are often plenty dumb), I have to admit that I frequently found myself laughing in spite of myself.

Call me bwana, but it’s three times a charm for Sandler and Barrymore on this totally-silly surfin’ safari!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and crude humor

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Blended, visit

Godzilla
Film Review by Kam Williams

Godzilla made its debut in 1954 when the mythical, man-eating monster, inadvertently created by an atomic blast, emerged from the Pacific Ocean to carve a path of death and destruction across Japan, much to the chagrin of the country’s overmatched military. A couple of years later, Raymond Burr narrated a documentary-style, English-language remake which was basically a dubbed version of the original with his lines spliced in.

Despite relying for decades on terribly-stilted scripts and a guy in a rubber suit towering over a scale model of a toy-sized Tokyo, the B-movie franchise has remained popular enough to spawn thirty-something sequels and counting. This relatively-upscale reboot of the series, however, abandons the campy dialogue and cheesy trick photography in favor of an emotionally-engaging plot as well as state-of-the-art special f/x.

Furthermore, while the 2014 edition Godzilla still looks like a fire-breathing, mutated iguana, he behaves more like a benign, anthropomorphic ally of humanity than its evil adversary. The villains, here, are a couple of nuclear waste-ingesting MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) that are not only threatening to level San Francisco but are poised to unleash a litter of their equally-hostile offspring.

In case you’re wondering, there’s plenty of precedent for Godzilla’s squaring-off against fellow behemoths. Consider such classic showdowns as King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), to name a few.

Although, this one’s finale is well worth the wait, it sure takes its sweet time getting around to that spectacular battle royal. In fact, we don’t even get a peek at Godzilla during the film’s first hour, which is instead devoted to developing characters and filling in the back story.

The picture was directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters) who assembled a surprisingly-sophisticated ensemble for an action-oriented, summer blockbuster. The cast includes Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Academy Award-winner Juliette Binoche (for The English Patient), and nominees David Strathairn (for Good Night, and Good Luck), Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).

The adventure revolves around the Brody family whose plight provides the audience with the incentive to invest emotionally in the outcome. Widowed patriarch Joe (Cranston) is driven to learn the truth behind the catastrophe at a Japanese nuclear power plant that claimed his late wife’s (Binoche) life 15 years earlier. Their son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Navy explosives disposal expert, agrees to accompany his dad to the Orient, leaving behind a worried wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and son (Carson Bolde) behind in San Francisco.

Of course, all hell eventually breaks loose back home when anthropomorphic Godzilla selflessly rises to the occasion in defense of the city. Will the MUTOs meet their match? Will the separated Brodys manage to survive the apocalyptic mayhem for a tearful reunion?

A surprisingly haunting and panoramic picture exploring universal themes like loss and yearning, yet with all the fixins for first-rate action entertainment. Hey, why didn’t they make monster movies like this when I was a kid?

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense violence and scenes off destruction

Running time: 123 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Godzilla, visit

Breastmilk

Film Review by Kam Williams

Precious few mothers in America follow the World Health Organization’s recommendation that newborns be breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life. Why the rush to formula, when nursing is not only natural and healthier, but cheaper and fosters the baby-mom bond?

Unfortunately, we live in a culture which discourages women from breastfeeding at every turn, starting soon after birth where infants are often introduced to the bottle right in the hospital. After all, formulas are a billion-dollar business, and it is in a manufacturer’s financial interest to wean a little one off mommy’s nipple, and the sooner the better.

That’s why most mothers are provided a starter kit of bottles and formula upon being discharged. Even those exhibiting an interest in breastfeeding are pressured by their doctors to at least purchase a $300 pump, the subtle suggestion being that they might not be able to produce enough milk on their own.

Truth be told, lactation is an uncomplicated bodily function which rarely needs any assistance. But we live in a culture where corporate interests and Puritanical values have conspired to shame females away from following their instincts. Yes, it’s may be legal to breastfeed in public, yet so many moms feel guilty anyway about exercising their right to do so.

Directed by Dana Ben-Ari, Breastmilk is a most enlightening documentary which extols a variety of nursing’s benefits, ostensibly with the goal of mainstreaming what sadly remains taboo in so many social circles. The film’s primary focus is the daily regimen of about ten breastfeeding families, though it also features interviews with a few of the age-old practice’s more eloquent, academic advocates.

An empowering reminder of a woman’s body’s remarkable ability to provide sustenance in abundance.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 91 minutes

Studio: Aleph Pictures

Distributor: Cavu Pictures

To see a trailer for Breastmilk, visit 

Half of a Yellow Sun
Film Review by Kam Williams

Twins Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) and Olanna (Thandie Newton) hail from a well-to-do Nigerian family well-enough connected to send them overseas to college where they majored in business and sociology, respectively. Ironically, while the sisters were acquiring a first-rate Western education in England, the independence movement back home was seeking to sever its ties with Great Britain.

After graduating in the early Sixties, they returned to Lagos to launch their careers, only to land in distracting love affairs. Attractive Olanna became the mistress of Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an outspoken college professor who’d caught the anti-colonial fever, whereas willful Kainene entertained the advances of Richard (Joseph Mawle), a white expatriate writing a book about African art.

Sibling rivalry moves Kainene to tease her twin about the philanderer disdainfully referred to as “The Revolutionary.” Nevertheless, Olanna relocates to the bush to be with Odenigbo and his loyal manservant, Ugwu (John Boyega). However, upon subsequently learning that Odenigbo has been unfaithful, she readily rationalizes seducing her sister’s suitor for a one-night stand.

The resulting strain on the siblings’ relationship leads to their drifting apart, a development dwarfed by the bloody, three-year civil war which erupts all around them when Biafra secedes from the union. All of the above elements add fuel to the fires of Half of a Yellow Sun, the highly-anticipated screen version of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie‘s best-selling novel of the same name.

The film marks the impressive directorial debut of Biyi Bandele, who also adapted the 543-page opus into a 113-minute saga that walks a fine line between romance drama and sprawling epic. That being said, the picture’s examination of the country’s explosive Christian-Muslim tribal tensions proves to be both timely and compelling, given how they’ve recently resurfaced during the radical group Boko Haram’s current reign of terror.

A steamy soap opera unfolding against the backdrop of a cautionary history lesson reminding us that in Nigeria, the more things change, the more they stay insane.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for violence and sexuality

Running time: 113 minutes

Distributor: Monterey Media

To see a trailer for Half of a Yellow Sun, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq2dNtP-2hU&list=UUJT0RwcR7HRLljiEEvF4x9A

Neighbors
Film Review by Kam Williams

When Kelly (Rose Byrne) and Mac Radner (Seth Rogen) decided to settle down in suburbia, they reasonably expected to raise their newborn in a quiet community. But that dream was threatened soon thereafter, when the local chapter of Delta Psi Beta bought the house next-door.

As a precautionary measure, the concerned couple introduced themselves to their new neighbors and asked for assurances that there wouldn’t be any wild partying on the premises. Delta Psi’s President, Teddy (Zac Efron), and Vice President, Pete (Dave Franco), did agree to keep the noise down in exchange for a promise from the Radners not to call the police.

Nevertheless, it’s not long before the situation spirals out of control. After all, the infamous frat has a well-established reputation for rowdiness, having invented the toga party back in the Thirties and then beer pong in the Seventies.

So, today, Teddy feels pressure to match his predecessors’ checkered past. This means he’s inclined to up the ante in terms of outrageous antics, which can only spell trouble for Kelly and Mac once they go back on their word about complaining to the cops, and Delta Psi is placed on probation by the university’s dean, Carol Gladstone (Lisa Kudrow).

At that point, all bets are off, and the frat and the newlyweds proceed to square-off in an ever-escalating war of attrition with more losers than winners. That is the point of departure of Neighbors, a relentlessly-raunchy revenge comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek).

Unfortunately, the sophomoric parties prove to be more cruel than clever in their attempts to get even, and the shocking behavior displayed onscreen is invariably more smutty than funny, as it features plenty of prolonged frontal nudity. Plus, the picture’s only good gag, when the office chair jettisons Mac into the ceiling, was totally spoiled by the TV commercials.

Otherwise, the film is memorable mostly for its homoerotic humor, as director Stoller is fond of seizing on any excuse to lampoon gay sexuality. First, Kelly kisses a college coed she’s recruiting as a confidante. Then, fraternity pledges are forced to parade naked in a circle while clutching the penis of the guy in front of him.

On another occasion, a male student is raped by a classmate seemingly in his sleep, only to later admit that he was aware and welcomed the rude intrusion. And when Teddy and Pete fight over a girl (Halston Sage), they settle their differences in bizarre fashion, namely, by massaging each other’s genitals to see who climaxes first, while appropriating the gangsta’ rap mantra, “Bros before hos!”

Throw in the gratuitous use of the “N-word” twice, of anti-Semitism (“You Jews and your f*cking mothers!”), as well as a profusion of misogynistic comments like referring to breasts as “udders,” and there’s little left to recommend about this ugly descent into depravity.

Poor (0 stars)

Rated R for crude humor, graphic sexuality, full frontal nudity, pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs, and drug and alcohol abuse

Running time: 97 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Boz Scaggs

Concert Review by Kam Williams

 

Boz Brings His Mellow Brand of Blue-Eyed Soul to the Garden State

            Boz Scaggs will be turning 70 next month, but you’d never know it judging by his demanding two-hour set, including three encores, at New Jersey’s legendary State Theatre in New Brunswick on May 7th. The legendary singer/songwriter/guitarist brought his unique brand of blue-eyed soul to town on a cross-country tour promoting “Memphis,” his first studio album in five years.

            The show featured the best of Boz tunes released over the course of an enduring career which has spanned a half-century thus far and counting. Believe it or not, this critic first caught him in concert 45 years ago at the Fillmore East when he was a sideman in the Steve Miller Band as the opening act for Neil Young.

            Last night, Boz’s group was the only one on the bill, and it performed inspired renditions of his much-beloved hits like “Lido Shuffle,” “What Can I Say,” “Harbor Lights” and “Lowdown” which won the Grammy for Best R&B Song of 1976. They also played an array of popular standards ranging from “Rainy Night in Georgia” to “Proud Mary” to “Corrina, Corrina” to Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mic Elf Agin).”

            Since he was fresh from the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Boz decided to do “Sick and Tired” in tribute to Big Easy native son Fats Domino. And he played “Cadillac Walk” and “Mixed Up Shook Up Girl” from the new CD, too.

            Boz’s velvety voice was backed by a very talented ensemble ostensibly well-schooled in creating the trademark lush ambience his fans came to hear. A truly soothing, mood-setting treat by a smooth crooner who like a fine wine just gets better with time.

To hear “Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-hKBmTAADo 

To order a copy of Memphis, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00AYR2FOI/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Film Review by Kam Williams

If the idea behind a sequel to a summer blockbuster is to up the ante in terms of bombast and intensity, then The Amazing Spider-Man 2 certainly fits the bill. This installment is bigger and better and louder and longer, featuring more villains, next generation special f/x, more captivating action sequences, and even a fully-blossomed romance between Spidey’s alter ego Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).

The picture’s point of departure is a flashback filling in a bit of the back story about how Peter became an orphan. We learn that his parents’ (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz) died aboard a doomed private plane hijacked by an assassin (Bill Heck) with an agenda, but not before his scientist father managed to email an explanatory message and critical computer file via satellite.

Fast-forward to the present, Peter and Gwen’s high school graduation day. We see a frustrated Gwen searching the audience for her boyfriend as she delivers a sentimental valedictory speech at the podium.

We soon learn that he’s been delayed in Manhattan where as Spider-Man he’s trying to retrieve a shipment of stolen plutonium from a Russian mobster named Aleksei Sytsevich (Paul Giamatti). In the middle of the chase, he coincidentally saves the life of Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), an engineer at Oscorp, the company responsible for supplying the city with electricity.

After securing the vials and apprehending the perpetrator for the police, Peter rushes off to his commencement ceremony, arriving right in the nick of time to receive his diploma. However, he has no idea that he hasn’t seen the last of Aleksei and Max who are fated to return later in the adventure after a combat suit of armor and a freak accident enable them to morph into the villainous Rhino and Electro, respectively.

But first, he grudgingly ends his relationship with Gwen in deference to her dad (Denis Leary) who doesn’t want his daughter dating a trouble-seeking vigilante. Next, Peter finds himself summoned to the offices of childhood pal Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), who has just inherited Oscorp Industries, but is suffering from the same hereditary affliction which claimed the life of his recently-deceased father (Chris Cooper).

Harry futilely solicits Peter’s help in locating Spider-Man, hoping that a blood transfusion might cure his affliction. Of course, that ain’t gonna happen. So, instead, he has to settle for the venom of genetically-altered spiders, which transforms him into another diabolical Spidey nemesis, the Green Goblin.

That makes a trio of worthy adversaries for the webslinging superhero to dispatch in creative fashion before the curtains come down. Provided you’re patient enough to sit through the closing credits after 2½ hours, you’ll even be treated to a tease of X-Men: Days of Future Past, opening later this month, courtesy of a Jennifer Lawrence cameo as Mystique.

A “Marvel”-ously entertaining franchise that miraculously just keeps on giving and giving!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for PG-13 for action and sci-fi violence

Running time: 142 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures

To see a trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, visit

Moms' Night Out
Film Review by Kam Williams

Allyson Field (Sarah Drew) really can’t complain. After all, her life is the epitome of the American Dream. She has a handsome husband who adores her and is an excellent provider, too. She has a beautiful home in suburbia and her own minivan for shopping and shuttling around their hyperactive children, Beck (Zion Spargo), Bailey (Shiloh Nelson) and Brandon (Michael Leone).

Yet, she’s still overwhelmed by her domestic duties sometimes, especially when Sean’s (Sean Astin) work takes him out of town. Consider Mother’s Day, for example, which Ally recently spent cleaning up messes rather than being pampered like a princess.

Not alone in feeling frazzled, Ally hatches a plan with her BFFs, Sondra (Patricia Heaton) and Izzy (Andrea Logan White) to treat themselves to an evening of bowling and fine dining in a fancy restaurant next Saturday, assuming that their hubbies can babysit for a few hours without incident. That erroneous assumption jumpstarts the comedy of errors which ensues soon after Sean and the other hapless spouses (Alex Kendrick and Robert Amaya) do their best to fill-in.

Yet, when a baby turns-up missing, guess who’s recruited to join the frantic search party. With the help of a buff biker with a heart of gold (Trace Adkins) and an impatient cabbie (David Hunt) with a British accent, the girls put their getaway on hold as their maternal instincts kick-in.

Co-directed by Jon and Andrew Erwin, Moms’ Night Out is a wholesome, PG-rated comedy that’s actually fun for the whole family. It’s also a faith-based film, though not heavy handed, ostensibly-designed with the Christian Evangelical community in mind.

By the madcap misadventure’s happy resolution, sanity and safety are satisfactorily restored. More importantly, the wives are no longer taken for granted, but elevated to the lofty status envisioned by William Ross Wallace in the appreciative refrain “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

A timely testament to motherhood that just might make the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG for mild action and mature themes

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures

To see a trailer for Moms' Night Out, visit

Simon and the Oaks
(Simon och ekarna)
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Set in Sweden in 1939, Simon & the Oaks is a surrealistic, coming-of-age saga which unfolds against the backdrop of World War II. The title character, Simon (played by Jonatan S. Wachter, younger, then by Bill Skarsgard) is a youngster who, at the point of departure, has no idea he’s half-Jewish.

He was adopted at an early age by a working-class, Swedish couple (Helen Sjoholm and Stefan Godicke) who have not only hidden his roots, but done their best to shield him from the horrors unfolding across Europe. However, despite their love and support, Karin and Erik can’t help but notice their son’s growing discontent with his lowly lot in life.

Simon gradually evidences an insatiable curiosity that, as farmers, they simply aren’t sophisticated enough to address satisfactorily. In fact, he becomes so lonely that he starts talking to an oak tree in the yard and fantasizing about the rest of his natural surroundings.

Finally, his frustrated folks finally decide to enroll him in an upscale grammar school where he is likely to receive the intellectual stimulation he craves. There, he soon meets Isak (played by Karl Martin Eriksson, younger, then by Karl Linnertorp), a Jewish classmate bullied about his ethnicity whose relatively well-to-do family has recently escaped Nazi Germany.

The boys become fast friends, and their families also make acquaintances, despite the difference in social status. The plot thickens when Simon learns the truth about his ethnic background and proceeds to make the most of the opportunity to pursue an academic path. Isak, meanwhile, disappoints his dad (Jan Josef Leifers) by showing more of a desire to work with his hands than his head.

Directed by Lisa Ohlin (Seeking Temporary Wife) Simon and the Oaks is an ethereal, introspective escapade inspired by the Marianne Fredriksson novel of the same name. Besides the visual capture of some breathtaking cinematography, what makes the film engaging is the stark contrast in the personas of the blossoming, young protagonists.

A sensitive character study chronicling the considerable challenge of coming-of-age Jewish with the specter of the Third Reich lurking just over the horizon.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In Swedish, German, Hebrew and English with subtitles

Running time: 122 minutes

Distributor: RLJ Entertainment

DVD Extras: None.

Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women:

Race and Beauty in the 20th Century South

by Blain Roberts

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

University of North Carolina Press

Hardcover, $39.95

378 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-4696-1420-5

 

“[This book] tells us how Jim Crow and civil rights were expressed in southern women’s bodies. Using female beauty as a lens, the book brings into focus an untold social and cultural history of southern women and of the South generally...

I argue that female beauty in the American South was, more so than in the rest of the country, deeply racialized…I also emphasize the complexity inherent in the pursuit of beauty… I approach beauty as an expansive category that encompasses ideals, practices, labor, and even spaces…

Underscoring almost every conversation about beauty in the region were worries about morality and sexuality… Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women provides a fresh perspective on the anxieties that plagued southerners from the late 19th C. through the mid-20th C. Or, put another way, it reveals how the female body both informed and reflected the challenges of life during Jim Crow.” 

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pages 6 -10)

 

            America has a long, ugly legacy of promoting diametrically opposed images of black and white females. This can be traced all the way back to Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson, an adulterer who had a white wife, but fathered a half-dozen children with Sally Hemmings, one of his hundreds of slaves.

            Yet, in his only book, “Notes on the State of Virginia,” the hypocritical third President of the U.S. frowned upon race-mixing while denouncing black women as unattractive on account of their hair texture and skin color. He actually went so far as to pronounce sisters so promiscuous that they would just as soon mate with an ape as a human.

            Sadly, such racist notions continued to shape popular attitudes about African-American femininity after Emancipation, especially in the South with its strictly-enforced color line. In the wake of the Civil War, Caucasian women “were transformed into symbols of white supremacy and, eventually, massive resistance,” to integration and equal rights.

            That is the proposition put forth by Blain Roberts in Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the 20th Century South. Roberts, a History Professor at California State University, Fresno, discusses at great length the role which beauty played in maintaining the racial divide.

            For, the enduring plantation myth still propagated post slavery placing white women on pedestals as paragons of virtue in need of protection proved to be the ideal tool for justifying the persistence of white supremacy ad infinitum. And Jim Crow Era bigots found affirmation in the Miss America beauty pageant which would for many decades be not only lily-white but dominated by entrants from former Confederate States.  

            The opus also delineates the black female struggle to escape the stranglehold of their stereotype as “sexually licentious” and “innately depraved and dirty.” They fought back by turning to skin lighteners and straightening combs until finally being freed by the Sixties’ “Black is beautiful!” movement to embrace their natural hair and skin tones.

            A far more sophisticated examination of black and white pulchritude than Gone with the Wind’s long unquestioned suggestion that it’s as simple as Mammy vs. Scarlett O’Hara.

To order a copy of Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women, visit:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00JN8AQLS/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

Belle
Film Review by Kam Williams

Born in the West Indies in 1761, Dido Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) was the product of the taboo union of Mary Belle, an African slave, and John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), a British ship captain. Upon Mary’s death, the concerned father brought his 8 year-old daughter to England to see whether his well-heeled aunt and uncle might be willing to take her in.

After all, Lady (Emily Watson) and Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson).

had just adopted another niece whose own mom had passed away. Plus, since Dido and Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) were about the same age, the orphaned girls could conceivably keep each other company.

Captain Lindsay further argued that his daughter was entitled to live on the family estate by virtue of her noble birthright. This prompted a skeptical Lady Mansfield to speculate about whether skin color ranked above or below bloodline in polite society.

Ultimately, she did agree to raise Dido, and the young cousins proceeded to forge a close friendship that would last a lifetime. In fact, proof of their enduring bond would be preserved for posterity in a striking portrait of the pair commissioned in 1779.

That famous painting apparently served as the source of inspiration for Belle, a mesmerizing biopic based on a speculative script by Misan Sagay. Directed by Amma Assante, the riveting historical drama continues the recent cinematic trend of reexamining race from the black perspective, ala Django Unchained, The Retrieval and Oscar-winner 12 Years a Slave.

Here, the picture focuses primarily on Dido and Elizabeth’s coming-of-age against the backdrop of a country increasingly uneasy about its involvement in the slave trade. After being fairly protected during childhood, racism rears its ugly head when the boy-crazy girls start entertaining the overtures of appropriate suitors outside the safe confines of the family manse.

Meanwhile, tension builds around a legal decision set to be handed down by their uncle in his capacity as Chief Justice of England’s Supreme Court. The case revolved around a trading company that was seeking compensation from its insurance company for the loss of over a hundred Africans who had been deliberately drowned.

The question Judge Mansfield was being asked to settle was whether or not slaves should be considered human or mere cargo that could be thrown overboard for financial gain at the whim of the owner. The longer he agonizes over the ruling, the more pressure he feels to issue a far-reaching, landmark opinion likely to signal the death knell of an odious institution.

An 18th C. tale of race and romance told in a sophisticated fashion reminiscent of the best of Jane Austen.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for smoking, mature themes and ethnic insensitivity.

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

To see a trailer for Belle, visit

The M Word
Film Review by Kam Williams

Menopause apparently affects women differently, even if they happen to share the same genes, as is the case with Carson (Frances Fisher), Rita (Mary Crosby) and Louise (Eliza Roberts). Each of these sisters is struggling to maintain her dignity while dealing with the fallout from the so-called “Change of Life.”

Frustrated Carson describes feeling for months on end “like I don’t have any control.” By contrast, Rita’s body chemistry is so confused by the assortment of medicines and creams she uses that she wants to murder her husband, one minute, and to make love to him, the next. Meanwhile, relatively-macabre Lulu relies on humor to cope with her constant obsession with death.

At an informal gathering with her siblings, Carson announces that she just impulsively left her husband (Gregory Harrison) and moved in with her daughter (Tanna Frederick). But that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be able to avoid Mack entirely, since he’s a sportscaster at the same local television station where Moxie plays a dog on a wacky kiddie series.

The plot thickens when network executive Charlie Moon (Michael Imperioli) arrives in town from New York with plans to implement programming changes to reverse the station’s plummeting ratings. However, he is distracted at first sight by foxy Moxie who is not above using her powers of seduction to save her own neck, if not her struggling show. Further complicating matters is the fact that she not only recently missed her period, but is stuck in an unsatisfying relationship with her producer (Corey Feldman).

That is the incestuously-intriguing point of departure of The M Word, a sophisticated ensemble dramedy written and directed by the legendary Henry Jaglom (Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?). The picture’s soap opera-style premise basically serves as a launching pad for frank discussions about the biologically-determined plight of women of a certain age.

As humorous as it is sobering, Jaglom proves as masterful as ever at creating fascinating characters designed to make you both laugh and reflect. His raw tale of female empowerment revolves around uncompromisingly-realistic discussions of menopause ranging from night sweats to mood swings to depression to atrophied vaginas to cramps to forgetfulness to a loss of skin elasticity.

After venting their angst interminably, our heroines eventually get around to resolving their crises in entertaining fashion before the curtain comes down on a decidedly upbeat note (“There is nothing like being a girl!”), thus allowing the audience to exit the theater with a big smile on its collective face.

Such a satisfying cinematic treat that the M Word might very well be “Marvelous!”

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and sexual references

Running time: 111 minutes

Distributor: Rainbow Releasing

The Triple Package:
How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America
by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld
Book Review by Kam Williams

 

The Penguin Press

Hardcover, $27.95

332 pages

ISBN: 978-1-59420-546-0

 

“Despite America’s ideas about equality, some groups in this country do better than others. Mormons have recently risen to astonishing business success. Cubans in Miami climbed from poverty to prosperity in a generation.

Nigerians earn doctorates at stunningly high rates. Indian and Chinese Americans have much higher incomes than other Americans; Jews may have the highest of all.

Why do some groups rise? Drawing on groundbreaking original research and startling statistics, The Triple Package uncovers the secret to their success.” 

Read the rest of this story »

The Machine
Film Review by Kam Williams

Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) is an English computer genius conducting experiments in Artificial Intelligence with the assistance of Ava (Caity Lotz), a brilliant scientist recently arrived from the United States. He’s highly motivated because he hopes to mend his mentally-disabled daughter.

However, Vincent’s research is being underwritten by Britain’s Ministry of Defense which might have less peaceful plans for the fruits of his labors. The plot thickens soon after Ava perishes in an accident, and he implants her brain in the body of a robot which looks just like her and… Voila! A babelicious cyborg is born!

Ava 2.0 is so naïve she can neither understand the concept of death nor appreciate her own superhuman strength. That innocence taps into Vincent’s protective parental instincts.

Unfortunately, the army is only interested in weaponizing what they see as an invention with unlimited military potential. After all, it’s currently in an arms race with a resurgent China, and Ava will give the West the competitive edge.

Written and directed by Caradog W. James, The Machine is a very compelling sci-fi thriller, for a film resting on a preposterous premise. The film is blessed with shadowy cinematography and just the right pseudo-scientific babblt to make this critic think maybe it’s all possible.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the title character is cute and curvy and not a confounding concatenation of nuts and bolts. This cautionary tale also has a sobering message to share about the perils of allowing technology to fall into the wrong hands.

Beware, the Manchurian android!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for violence and profanity

Running time: 91 minutes

Distributor: XLrator Media

From the Rough
Film Review by Kam Williams

Catana Starks was serving as the female swim coach at Tennessee State University (TSU), when she learned that the school’s Athletic Director, Kendrick Paulsen, Jr. (Henry Simmons), was planning to form a golf team. Since golf had always been her first love, she approached him about becoming the new squad’s head coach.

Her first hurdle, however, was convincing him that despite being female, she’d be able to field and manage an all-male squad. Second, she’d have to fill the roster with some promising prospects.

The latter might prove to be quite a challenge, since TSU, as an HBCU (Historically-Black College/University), had an overwhelmingly African-American student body. That might make it hard to recruit good golfers. Try naming me a good black one besides Tiger Woods.

So, Catana had her work cut out for her when A.D. Paulsen did decide to give her a shot. She began by widening her search beyond the school’s normal pool of African-American candidates.

She looked near and far, even overseas, and by the beginning of the season she‘d assembled a motley, international quintet comprised of an African-American, a Frenchman, a South Korean, an Australian and a Brit. While they all were talented, each arrived on campus carrying some sort of emotional baggage.

Ji-Kyung (Justin Chon) is a wannabe gangsta who wears his pants and speaks Ebonic slang. Meanwhile, Bassam (Ben Youcef), an Algerian from Paris, is bitter about the fact that he had to matriculate in America because of discrimination against Arabs back in his homeland.

Then there’s Edward (Tom Felton), an English juvenile delinquent with a criminal record. Rounding out the crew are Cameron (Paul Hodge), an Aussie with allergies, and Craig, a black kid suffering from the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Of course, Catana proceeds to whip the boys into shape, intermittently turning to the sage school janitor (the late Michael Clarke Duncan) for advice whenever she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders. The flick also features an interracial romance between bad boy Ed and a Goody Two-Shoes (Letoya Luckett) on her way to medical school.

So, unfolds From the Rough, an inspirational overcoming-the-odds biopic co-written and directed by Pierre Bagley. The tale of female empowerment unfolds in fairly formulaic fashion, which means it’s designed for youngsters unfamiliar with the shopworn sports genre.

A well-deserved, if syrupy sweet, overdue tribute to an African-American role model and trailblazer.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated PG for mild epithets and mature themes

Running time: 97 minutes

Distributor: Freestyle Releasing

To see a trailer for From the Rough, visit

Tanzania: A Journey Within
Film Review by Kam Williams

After finishing high school, Venance Ndibalema made the most of an opportunity to leave Tanzania to study physics and philosophy at the University of Miami. Now, he’s ready to visit his homeland for the first time in years, a trip likely to prove traumatic, given the changes both he and the country have undergone during the interim.

Accompanying him on the eventful return to Dar es Salaam is Kristen Kenney, a fellow Miami alumnus who’s never been to Africa. A child of privilege, she must brace herself for the culture shock involved in adjusting to modest accommodations sans most of the modern conveniences she’s always taken for granted.

The subsequent sojourn is the subject of Tanzania: A Journey Within, a documentary chronicling Venance and Kristen’s emotional and physical challenges long the way. Directed by Sylvia Caminer, the picture is worth watching for the spectacular visuals and anthropological insights alone, given the off-road trekker’s point-of-view it affords the audience of everything from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti Plains.

However, proving just as compelling is the badinage between Venance and Kristen, as well as their chats with everyone they encounter. He enjoys a reunion with his BFF William, and searches for a sibling he hasn’t seen in over a decade. Meanwhile, Kristen experiences a sense of exhilaration at exploring new places and at being so close to nature, at least until she becomes deathly-ill during a bout with Malaria.

Nevertheless, she has to admit that she’d grown up in the lap of luxury, so spoiled, in fact that she never even had to cook her own food. By contrast, Venance reflects upon the harshness of formative years spent fatherless in abject poverty exacerbated by his HIV+ mother’s being shunned by her neighbors until the day she finally lost her battle with AIDS.

Lessons? “We learn through hardship,” Ven rhapsodizes, adding, “If there were no fathers on the planet, I would never have known I needed a father to be a man.” As for Kristen, she finds it hard to leave Africa, “because you get so close to the people so fast.” She also comes away appreciating that “they don’t care about status. They just care about you.”

“I was soulless before this trip,” the grateful debutante concedes. “This is the real world I was searching for.” Africa from the perspectives of a “Native Son” returning to his roots and of a blue-eyed sister transformed by an unexpected catalyst for spiritual growth.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Heretic Films

To see a trailer for Tanzania: A Journey Within, visit

A Haunted House 2
Film Review by Kam Williams

A Haunted House, an irreverent spoof of Paranormal Activity, co-starred Marlon Wayans and Essence Atkins as Malcolm and Kisha, a couple whose home was invaded by demonic forces. Along the way, she became possessed by the devil and turned on her man, despite the best efforts of an exasperated exorcist (Cedric the Entertainer).

All of the above are back for A Haunted House 2, a jaw-dropping sequel which ups the ante in terms of gratuitous gore, sexuality, nudity, profanity and use of the N-word. Nevertheless, the review-proof teensploitation flick is apt to appeal to the same folks who made the original such a runaway hit.

At the point of departure, Kisha perishes in a car accident, which Malcolm and his cousin Ray-Ray (Affion Crockett) survive. Fast-forward a year and Malcolm’s married to Megan (Jaime Pressly) and moving into a new home, along with her kids, Becky (Ashley Rickards) and Wyatt (Steele Stebbins), and his dog, Shiloh.

The shopworn cliché of a safe literally falling from the sky and flattening the pooch is the first sign that something suspicious might be afoot on the premises. The mysterious goings-on only escalate after an inconsolable Malcolm tries to join his dearly departed pet in the grave.

Turns out jealous Kisha’s ghost is determined to wreck the newlyweds’ relationship. Spells subsequently provide the convenient cover for disgusting skits ranging from Malcolm’s mating with a doll, to flatulent Wyatt’s farting in his sister’s face, to projectile vomiting, to promiscuous Becky’s having a penis lodged in her throat.

Eventually, the priest is summoned again, leading to another finale serving as a set up for a sequel. A kitchen sink comedy more shocking than funny and strictly recommended for rabid fans of the bottom-feeding franchise.

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for violence, graphic sexuality, frontal nudity, drug use, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity

Running time: 87 minutes

Distributor: Open Road Films

To see a trailer for A Haunted House 2, visit

Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe a la Hache

Film Review by Kam Williams

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig owned and operated by British Petroleum (BP), exploded, spilling over 50 million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico before it was finally capped weeks later. In June, President Obama announced that the company had set aside $20 billion in cash designated to help those deleteriously affected by the ecological disaster.

Kenneth Feinberg’s law firm, which had previously handled the distribution of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, was retained at a rate of $850,000/month to handle the BP one also. Although the TV commercials running in the company’s highly-saturated PR campaign would have you believe that it was contrite and committed to undoing any damage, truth be told, that carefully-cultivated corporate image bore little relation to how it was actually treating many of the victims seeking restitution.

Take, for example, Pointe a la Hache, an African-American enclave located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. For generations, the men of that Gulf shore village of less than 300 had supported their families by plying their trade as oyster fishermen. However, the BP spill put the brothers out of business and by 2012 the tiny black community had effectively been turned into a ghost town.

Its little-known ordeal is the subject of Vanishing Pearls, a heartbreaking documentary directed by Nailah Jefferson. The film retraces the blight visited upon Pointe a la Hache by focusing primarily on the plight of a local leader named Byron Encalade.

Mr. Encalade was the owner of Encalade Fisheries, a family business which employed his brother, his nephew and five of his cousins. In the wake of the spill, he filed a claim and very patiently awaited a check from BP.

But when he finally received a letter stating, “Your file is denied,” his whole world was turned upside-down. Now, a proud provider who had never in his life looked to the government for a handout suddenly found himself dependent on food stamps. His relatives also needed help from friends, charities and subsidies to survive, and had trouble understanding why no one cared about their predicament.

Meanwhile, Attorney Feinberg, ostensibly running interference for the profit-driven polluter, publicly stated “I see no evidence of anything other than fair treatment by BP. I think they wanted to do the right thing, and they did.”

His conclusion was a far cry from that of embittered Byron who lamented, “They’ve destroyed us… The world must know what BP did to this community.” Sadly, the devastation visited upon Pointe a la Hache is most likely a microcosm of a scenario being played out again and again in working-class communities all along the Gulf Coast.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 80 minutes

Distributor: AFFRM

To see a trailer for Vanishing Pearls, visit

The China Study: All-Star Collection
Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes from Your Favorite Vegan Chefs
by LeAnne Campbell, Ph.D.
Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Foreword by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.

BenBella Books

Paperback, $19.95

316 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-193952997-8

 

“In many ways, the world has changed dramatically since The China Study was released in 2005. Ten years ago, more doctors thought the idea that diet might solve serious health problems was fantasy. Now I hear more and more doctors actually recommending a plant-based diet to their patients…

In over five decades of biomedical research, I have learned, in so many ways, that a whole food, plant-based diet promotes optimal health and the prevention even reversal, in many cases, of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and brain disorders.

I’ve received overwhelming feedback from people who’ve seen incredible health results… But I’m still often asked… ‘What do I eat?’ In this follow-up, [my daughter] LeAnne has gathered some of the most popular and influential plant-based chefs to share their best dishes, all following the nutrition principles laid out in The China Study.”

-- Excerpted from the Foreword (pages 9-10)

Read the rest of this story »

The Address

PBS-TV Review by Kam Williams

 

Students Memorize Gettysburg Address in Latest Ken Burns Documentary

            On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to dedicate a cemetery at the site of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The President kept his remarks to a mere two minutes, paling in length to that of the relatively long-winded Edward Everett, a former Secretary of State whose keynote speech lasted a couple hours.

            Although one newspaper reporter would derisively dismiss Lincoln’s 272-word sermon as “silly, flat, dish-watery utterances,” it would prove to be a soliloquy for the ages. After beginning with the icon phrase, “Four score and seven years ago,” he proceeded to recount the lofty ideals which had inspired the Declaration of Independence before cleverly repositioning the Civil War as less a struggle to save the Union as a God-ordained fight for human rights.   

            “The Address” represents a bit of a departure for Ken Burns, a director long associated with painstakingly-researched, historical documentaries. For, this picture is set in the present at the Greenwood School in Putney, Vermont, an institution founded in 1978 for boys with learning disabilities ranging from dyslexia to dysgraphia to ADHD to executive function.

            Nevertheless, the school has a tradition whereby every student is expected to comprehend and commit the Gettysburg Address to memory by the end of the school year in order to recite it individually in front of an auditorium filled with parents, guests and staff. This is no mean feat, given how the school serves as a refuge of last resort for kids who have basically been labeled unteachable everywhere else they’ve enrolled.

            Burns’ camera was apparently afforded unusual access to the classrooms at Greenwood over the course of the year. So, we’re able to observe how a dedicated team of educators and therapists managed to instill enough confidence in all 50 members of the student body, no matter how crippling the fear or handicap.

            The transformations are so remarkable by the day of the assembly that tears will reflexively roll down your cheeks in admiration of the children’s achievement. Moreover, don’t be surprised to come away from the experience with a deeper appreciation of the Gettysburg Address and maybe even a determination to memorize it yourself.

            A current-day, Ken Burns PBS production every bit as moving as any of his nostalgic classics

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated TV-PG

Running time: 85 minutes

Studio: Florentine Films

Distributor: PBS

The Address premieres on PBS on Tuesday, April 15th @ 9 pm ET/PT (check local listings)

To see a trailer for The Address, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR2MIxjB_4c  

To learn more about the Gettysburg Address and to video record yourself reading or reciting it, visit: http://www.learntheaddress.org/

small time

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

H.S. Grad Considers Skipping College to Sell Used Cars in Fact-Based Father-Son Saga

            Although Freddy Klein (Devon Bostick) is about to finish high school, he still hasn’t decided whether to attend college in the fall. That’s because he’s considering taking a job as a salesman on his father’s (Christopher Meloni) used car lot.

            The very idea of it frustrates Freddy’s mother (Bridget Moynahan) to no end, since she divorced Al years ago for being such a slippery character and poor provider. For that reason, she raised her son without her ex’s involvement.

            Consequently, she’s dismayed at the prospect of his serving as a role model upon belatedly coming back into the picture on graduation day. Predictably-unreliable Al even proceeds to screw up that occasion, arriving with his girlfriend (Garcelle Beauvais) too late to see his son walk across the stage. Nevertheless, Freddy opts to work and live with his long-estranged dad, an ill-advised decision which prompts his mom to warn, “I will hang myself, if he ends up like you.”

            This is the intriguing point of departure of small time, a compelling, coming of age tale ostensibly inspired by a true story. The movie marks the directorial debut of veteran scriptwriter Joel Surnow, who is best known for the Emmy-winning TV series “24.”

            Putting a unique spin on the “last summer before college” genre, the film revolves around a father-son bonding opportunity as opposed to the familiar escapist theme of hedonistic teens nostalgically reminiscing while bidding each other farewell in wanton fashion. Instead, we have Al and his partner (Dean Norris) showing Freddy the slimy tricks of the trade as the kid immediately takes to the sleazy profession like a fish to water.

            Of course, this development is not lost on his worried mom who hates seeing her son emulating those slippery con artists. Ultimately, it all boils down to whether Freddy will continue down this checkered path or wise up and start school in September?

            A refreshingly-realistic, slice-of-life drama highlighting the plight of a teen with a hole in his soul who’s understandably torn between moving on with his life and making up for lost time.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for sexual references.

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Anchor Bay Films/Freestyle Releasing

To see a trailer for small time, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hurvmhuwa1k 

The Railway Man
Film Review by Kam Williams

Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) served as a signals officer in the British Army during World War II. His unit was dispatched to the Pacific theater where it was captured by the Japanese when Singapore fell in 1942.

They soon joined the 60,000+ POWs subsequently forced to build the Burma Railway stretching from Bangkok to Rangoon. The Allies came to call the 258-mile construction the Death Railway, because so many soldiers perished along the way, including 6,318 of Lomax’s fellow Brits pressed into slave labor by their barbaric captors.

Their grueling ordeal has been brought to the big screen before, most notably in The Bridge on the River Kwai, the Academy Award-winning classic starring Sir Alec Guinness which swept the Oscars in 1958. That fictional adventure revolved around the daring exploits of some heroic saboteurs in the face of overwhelming odds.

By contrast, The Railway Man is a relatively-introspective affair. This poignant character study is based on Lomax’s moving memoir of the same name. And although he survived the war, he remained mentally scarred long after his physical wounds healed.

For, he had been subjected to unspeakable torture ranging from brutal beatings to waterboarding, especially at the direction of one particularly-sadistic interrogator, Nagase Takeshi (Tanroh Ishida). Eric had aroused the suspicion of the Japanese when he was caught with detailed drawings of sections of the railroad on which he was working.

Truth be told, he’d always been fascinated by trains while growing up in Edinburgh and had sketched such maps throughout childhood. But since the frustrated Nagase still suspected otherwise, the punishment only escalated.

Upon the cessation of hostilities, Lomax returned home a broken man unable to readjust to civilian life. Sure, he could commiserate with former platoon mates at the veterans club, yet the memories of Burma nevertheless continued to haunt him.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (Better than Sex), The Railway Man is a heartrending, flashback flick set both during World War II and in 1980 which is when Lomax’s loyal wife, Patti (Nicole Kidman), urges him to track down Nagase. Her hope is that a meeting might help her traumatized husband exorcise his demons and thereby recover from his severe psychological afflictions.

Eric’s ensuing sojourn back to the Orient inexorably leads to a confrontation with the tormentor whose face he’s never been able to erase from his mind over the intervening decades. But the question is whether he’ll be able to resist the desire for revenge in favor of reconciliation.

A remarkable illustration of the human capacity to find peace through forgiveness.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for disturbing violence

Running time: 116 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for The Railway Man, visit

The Retrieval
Film Review by Kam Williams

It is 1864, and the bloody conflict between the Union and the Confederacy is raging. Against the ominous backdrop of battle and cannon fire in the distance, we are introduced to Will (Ashton Sanders), a 13 year-old orphan ostensibly wrapped up in his own struggle to survive near the front lines.

Separated at birth from the mother he’s never known, the vulnerable black boy is trying to save enough money to track down his long-lost dad. He works as the assistant to Burrell (Bill Oberst, Jr.), a bounty hunter in the fugitive slave business. Will does the white Southerner’s bidding by first ingratiating himself with unsuspecting escapees, and then betraying them once they confess to being runaways.

Today, we find him on a mission in search of an ex-slave named Nate (Tishuan Scott). Will gains his confidence by offering to escort him back below the Mason-Dixon Line for a deathbed visit with a dying brother.

That establishes the absorbing premise of The Retrieval, a riveting road saga with escalating tension. Will Nate catch on before he’s turned over to Burrell? Or might the kid have second thoughts about striking a bargain with the devil?

Written and directed by Chris Eska, The Retrieval made a splash on the festival circuit including at South by Southwest last year where Tishuan Scott won the Special jury Prize in the Breakthrough Performance category. Besides being blessed with great acting, this atmospheric mood piece features eerie cinematography that manages to transport you back to the Civil War era more convincingly than either 12 Years a Slave or Django Unchained.

Slavery revisited as a sick institution making for strange bedfellows.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for violence and ethnic slurs.

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: Variance Films

To see a trailer for The Retrieval, visit

Thomas Keating: A Rising Tide of Silence
Film Review by Kam Williams

Father Thomas Keating is a very influential theologian despite the fact that his is not as much of a household name as some of his contemporaries like the Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra. That’s because the 91 year-old cleric got a late start after having spent the bulk of his life under the radar as a Trappist Monk withdrawn from the world and operating under a vow of silence.

How exactly did he land on that Spartan path? Well, as a sickly 5 year-old, Thomas had promised God to enter the priesthood if he were allowed to survive a life-threatening childhood disease. So, upon completing his studies at Yale University, he kept his word by joining an ascetic order located in rural Rhode Island.

However, he would resign in 1981 and start talking again in order to be able to share his unique brand of Eastern-influenced Catholicism with the masses. He subsequently moved to an abbey in Colorado where he founded the Contemplative Outreach program.

Over the intervening years he also wrote 30+ books about his meditative approach to spirituality. His Earth-friendly philosophy basically suggests that “The more we know about nature, the more we know about God.” In that regard, it reminded this critic of a passage from Shakespeare’s As You Like It which reads “And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”

Co-directed by Peter Jones and Elena Mannes, Thomas Keating: A Rising Tide of Silence is an endearing biopic whose only flaw is a slight tendency at times towards hero worship. For, although the endearing documentary’s humble subject obviously has little interest in such glorification, the filmmakers can’t help but gush, cinematically, in the process of placing him atop a virtual pedestal he probably wants no part of.

The picture is at its best during relatively-introspective interviews conducted with Thomas which intermittently arrive between glowing accolades from colleagues and distracting reminders that, as an Ivy League grad, he could’ve written his own ticket had he gone the conventional materialistic route.

But it was apparently hard for the directors to leave well enough alone and just let Thomas speak for himself. A poignant portrait of a transcendent figure for the ages with a simple message that ”Forgiveness is at the very center of Christianity.”

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 75 minutes

Distributor: Temple Rock

To see a trailer for Thomas Keating, visit

Being Ginger
Film Review by Kam Williams

Everybody knows blondes have more fun, but what about redheads? They have the least pleasure according to Scott Harris, the producer, director and primary subject of Being Ginger. In this bittersweet expose, the ostracized underdog explores his plight in particular as well as that of his fellow, so-called “Gingers” in general.

We learn that the 31 year-old filmmaker has apparently been saddled with low self-esteem ever since being mercilessly teased about his hair during his formative years. He sets about illustrating that point by confronting one of his former schoolteachers who, rather than stepping in to stop the torture, had joined in the bullying.

The inept educator even admits on camera to having threatened to hang Scott on a hook, if he didn’t stop blubbering, so that his classmates could pummel him like a piñata. As a result of such repeated mistreatment, the poor boy ended-up an adult lacking in self-confidence, especially when it comes to the ladies.

Scott claims women don’t find redheads appealing due to a basic look which is more goofy than virile. Consequently, he’s never been in a long-term relationship. Convinced that his soul mate must be out there somewhere, he decided to shoot a movie chronicling his desperate search for the girl of his dreams.

To that end, Scott looks for Ms. Right everywhere he goes, whether in a nightclub, on a college campus, at a redhead convention, online (at www.DateGinger.com), or by boldly walking down the street wearing a sandwich board advertising that he’s available. Which, if any, of these approaches works? Far be it from me to ruin the resolution of a delightful documentary’s denouement.

Actually, as a black man born with red hair and freckles, what I found far more thought-provoking was the question of whether I might have been emotionally scarred during my own childhood in a way similar to Scott. After all, I’d often been referred to as “Carrot Top” and “Kraut” as a kid, and was not particularly popular with the opposite sex.

Ultimately, I’ve come to the conclusion that those hair-related nicknames never bothered me as much as being the brunt of racial epithets. And I doubt that most females are so superficial as to reject a guy out of hand just because of his hair color.

Nevertheless, I don’t want to minimize the trauma Scott suffered since he did such a fine job, here, of illustrating the source of his angst. Ronald McDonalds of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your Cheetos-colored coiffures!

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 69 minutes

Distributor: Garden Thieves Pictures / Quad Cinema

To see a trailer for Being Ginger, visit

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Film Review by Kam Williams

Wes Anderson films are sui generis, one of a kind affairs as easy to identify as, say, a Thelonious Monk piano solo or a Frank Sinatra vocal. You can spot one of his works by watching just a snippet of celluloid.

Anderson’s latest offering, The Grand Budapest Hotel, not only stays true to his vibrant visuals and tongue-in-cheek narrative style but rates right up there with the best of the bunch, including Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Darjeeling Limited which was this critic’s pick as the #1 film of 2007.

Ralph Fiennes seems perfectly cast to play the picture’s protagonist, and he is ably assisted in that endeavor by a dramatis personae comprised of an abundance of Anderson alumni, including Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, George Clooney, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel, Waris Ahluwalia and Scott Rudin.

The droll dramedy is set in 1932 in the fictional Eastern European nation of Zubrowka which is where we find unctuous concierge Monsieur Gustave (Fiennes) playing his trade at the eponymous titular establishment. There, he lavishes his attention and affections on vulnerable ladies, provided they’re rich, blonde, elderly and needy. Narrating the blow-by-blow is Gustave’s game protégé, Zero (Tony Revolori), a loyal, lowly “Lobby Boy” learning the tricks of the trade.

Just past the point of departure, we learn that one of the hotel’s guests, Madame D. (Swinton), has just died mysteriously. A swarm of relatives, close and distant, show up for the reading of the wealthy widow’s will by her attorney (Brody), each hoping for a sizable chunk of the estate.

However, it turns out that the dearly departed left “Boy with Apple,” the only valuable painting in her entire art collection to the gigolo Gustave. So, when an autopsy reveals that Madam was poisoned with strychnine, he is summarily arrested and charged with murder.

It’s no long before he hatches an elaborate jailbreak with the help of Zero, and soon the chase is on, with the heirs, the authorities, a hired assassin (Dafoe), and even Nazis in hot pursuit, as Gustave desperately attempts to clear his badly-besmirched name so he can hold onto the priceless portrait.

A sublime whodunit designed for cinephiles with sophisticated palates.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and violence

Running time: 100 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

To see a trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel, visit

Noah
Film Review by Kam Williams

Anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible is undoubtedly familiar with the story of Noah and the Ark. That scriptural passage, found in Genesis, revolves around a righteous patriarch recruited by God to build a big boat before the arrival of a flood being meted out as divine punishment for man’s many wicked ways.

Heeding the word of the Lord, he proceeded to construct the mammoth vessel before herding two of each species of animal into the hold. It subsequently rained for 40 days and 40 nights, with water covering the entire Earth’s surface, thereby drowning all of humanity except for his family.

So, until now, the tale of Noah was basically a simple one about God’s decision to completely wipe the planet of sinners and start over. Leave it to Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky (for Black Swan) to come up with a novel and intriguing reinterpretation of the popular parable recasting Noah as a complicated soul wrestling with inner demons during his quest to do the Lord’s bidding ahead of the impending deluge. The movie also has an ecological angle, plus some computer-generated monsters ostensibly designed to holds the kids’ interest.

The film stars Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe (for Gladiator) in the title role, and features a talented supporting cast which includes fellow Oscar-winners Jennifer Connelly (for A Beautiful Mind) and Anthony Hopkins (for The Silence of the Lambs), three-time nominee Nick Nolte (for Warrior, Affliction and The Prince of Tides), as well as Emma Watson and Ray Winstone.

The picture opens with what is essentially a Sunday school lesson, a refresher course about the creation of Adam (Adam Griffith) and Eve (Ariane Rinehart) who begat three sons: Cain, Abel and Seth. The evil one, Cain, slew his sibling Abel, and those descending from Cain’s demon seed continued to do the devil’s work by generally exploiting the planet’s natural resources.

Noah, by contrast, as a son of Seth, learned how to live in harmony with nature. He and his wife (Connelly) raised their sons, Shem (Douglas Booth), Japheth (Leo McHugh Carroll) and Ham (Logan Lerman), with the same eco-friendly philosophy.

Eventually, of course, Noah gets his marching orders from God, and the plot thickens when the steady drizzle develops into a neverending downpour. Suddenly, his nosy neighbors no longer see constructing an ark as such a nutty idea anymore, and it’s going to take a miracle like an army of animatronic angels to keep the desperate hordes from climbing aboard.

Meanwhile, a visibly-anguished Noah agonizes over what’s about to transpire, and consults his sage, berry-imbibing grandfather, Methuselah (Hopkins). But anticipatory survivor’s guilt ain’t about to alter God’s plan one iota.

An alternately introspective and breathtaking Biblical epic, every bit cerebral as it is panoramic!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive content and disturbing images

Running time: 138 minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

To see a trailer for Noah, visit

Jews of Egypt
Film Review by Kam Williams

Did you notice that the ascension of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt a few years ago was followed soon thereafter by the torching of churches and the persecution of the Coptic Christians still residing in the country? This development would not be surprising to anyone familiar with the nation’s history, since Jews there had received even worse treatment at the hands of that fundamentalist group starting as far back in 1935.

Brotherhood spokesman Aly Naouito then proclaimed that, “When Jews live somewhere, they spread like cancer, and the economy only belongs to them.” His hateful propaganda campaign went on to accuse all Egyptian Jews of supporting the burgeoning Zionist Movement in neighboring Palestine.

Muslim Brotherhood-inspired anti-Semitism subsequently fomented widespread rage, leading to riots and the razing of synagogues. By 1948, a law had been passed directing Jews to convert to Islam. Those who failed to do so were jailed, lost their homes and businesses, and were pressured to apply for political asylum in Europe and elsewhere.

In October of 1956 the exodus escalated in the wake of a tripartite attack on an Egyptian port by England, France and Israel, ostensibly in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal. At that juncture, any remaining Jews were stripped of their citizenship, and deported with no passport, nationality or birth certificate.

This harrowing ordeal is recounted in surprising detail via a combination of archival footage and present-day interviews in Jews of Egypt, a heartbreaking documentary directed by Amir Ramses. Most of the movie’s subjects are aging survivors who had been children when banished many decades ago. Yet, some still bemoan the fact that they remain barred from even visiting the once-beloved homeland where they spent their formative years.

The focus of this fascinating film is not merely the religious tensions in Egypt which unfolded over the course of the first half of the 20th Century. The picture devotes just as much attention to the considerable contributions made by Jews to the country’s cultural and industrial development.

A priceless history lesson for anyone interested in understanding the back story explaining how formerly-tolerant Egypt evolved into the religious state it is today.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In Arabic and French with subtitles

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: ArtMattan Productions

To see a trailer for Jews of Egypt, visit

American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs
Film Review by Kam Williams

Born on June 27, 1915, Grace Lee was raised in New York by modest immigrant parents from a humble Chinese background. Her mother couldn’t read or write English, although her business-minded father did save up enough cash by 1924 to open up his own restaurant, Chin Lee’s, on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Grace was a precocious wunderkind who entered Barnard College at just 16. And after graduating, she went on to earn a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr in philosophy.

However, when she subsequently attempted to pursue a professional career, prejudice reared its ugly head, as she found her horizons severely limited by the fact that she was Asian and female. She ended up moving to Chicago where she could barely make ends meet, eking out a living on $10/ week as a librarian. As for housing, the best she could afford was a rat-infested basement apartment in the ‘hood.

That experience help served to radicalize Grace who developed a lifelong empathy for the downtrodden. In the Midwest, she also met and married Jimmy Boggs an African-American activist from the South who shared her progressive political agenda.

The couple settled in Detroit where, as local civil rights leaders, they lobbied on behalf of the poor. In addition, they brought such black icons to speak there as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Even after Jimmy passed away, Grace has, for decades, remained resolutely committed to both The Movement and her adopted hometown.

All of the above is lovingly chronicled in American Revolutionary, a reverential biopic directed by Grace Lee (no relation). Though now nearly 99, the incendiary centenarian remains as fiery as ever and has made precious few concessions to age.

The picture includes glowing tributes from fellow firebrands like Angela Davis and Bill Ayers. But what most makes the movie worthwhile is merely watching Grace wax romantic about the good ole days while walking around the ruins of a devastated Motor City.

A cinematic primer on how to make a mark on the world.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 82 minutes

Distributor: First Pond Entertainment

To see a trailer for American Revolutionary, visit

Why Every Black Woman Should Marry a Jewish Man

by Dr. Nazaree Hines-Starr

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

CreateSpace

Paperback, $16.99

202 pages

ISBN: 978-1490341972

 

“How many times have we heard successful African-American women complain they can’t find a good man? Everyone has an opinion on the black man shortage, but none of the so-called relationship experts offer real solutions…

Is it possible that we have been missing an important match? Yes! Jewish men make wonderful husbands… as well as fantastic lovers. This book… sheds light on why successful black women, and career gals in general, and Jewish men are very compatible…

In summary, to find Mr. Right, women must date with quality in mind, such as character traits and values, they should be open to interracial dating, and apply faith in dating.”

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pages xiii-xiv)

 

            Sometimes, a sister has to kiss a lot of frogs before finding her soul mate. In Dr. Nazaree Hines-Starr’s case, she had to date a lot of “scumbags,” as she puts it.           As a black woman, she had trouble meeting single guys who were at her level “emotionally, academically or professionally. Unfortunately, most of the available African-American men she met “had managed to waste years that should have been spent in college or developing a career, chasing skirts, getting arrested, or playing video games.”

            Moreover, many had “accumulated baggage” such as “rap sheets” and “baby-mama drama.” And even the rare brother who had his act together was never serious about settling down and starting a family.

            So, rather than lower her standards by entertaining the advances of commitment-phobic losers from a lower socioeconomic class, Nazaree decided to expand her pool of potential suitors to include men who might not be Christian or African-American.

             Lo and behold, she met her future husband over the internet at an online dating website. Although Michael was white and Jewish, love blossomed across the color and religion lines, and the couple has since married and even been blessed with the birth of a beautiful baby boy, Hayden.

            Nazaree chronicles her perils in the battle-of-the-sexes and exactly how she emerged victorious with the perfect alpha male on her arm in Why Every Black Woman Should Marry a Jewish Man. The author, a gifted writer but a pharmacist by trade, is surprisingly forthcoming in her combination memoir/how-to tome whose title pretty much speaks for itself.

            Begging with Chapter One, “Scumbag Files,” she takes delight in delineating the lessons she learned from a string of dates from hell. By Chapter Eight she’s done with dishing the dirt and is ready to extol the virtues of taking a dip in the snow, so to speak, meaning entering a relationship with a proverbial good Jewish boy.

            Why? First of all, you don’t have to worry that he might be on the down-low, because Jewish culture isn’t homophobic. Secondly, Jewish men generally graduate from college, and they aren’t looking for someone to support them.

            Furthermore, they “marry BEFORE making babies,” and “they don’t display their underwear in public.” Plus, they’re practical financially and don’t have a need to preen in macho fashion. And last but not least, they know how to please a partner in bed.

            A proven approach for open-minded sisters in search of their Prince Charming.

To order a copy of Why Every Black Woman Should Marry a Jewish Man, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1490341978/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20  

Guilty of Romance
Film Review by Kam Williams

Crime Saga Chronicles Descent into Depravity of Bored Housewife Moonlighting as Hooker

Written and directed by Sion Sono, Guilty of Romance is the final chapter of his “Hate Trilogy” which has already included the equally-dark offerings Exposure and Cold Fish. This installment is loosely based on a true tale ripped right out of the tabloids, namely, the 1997 strangulation of Yasuko Watanabe, a well-paid power company employee from a prominent Japanese family who had nevertheless been secretly moonlighting as a prostitute in Tokyo’s red light district.

The arguably-feminist flick film revolves around three independent women, a police detective, a hardened whore, and her late protégé new to the streetwalking trade. At the point of departure, we find officer Yoshida (Miko Muzuno) collecting clues at a grisly crime scene in Tokyo’s Red Light District.

On the ground lies the mutilated body of a woman which has been hacked in half, with her upper torso replaced by that of a department store mannequin. Furthermore, the victim was not only sexually assaulted, but her clitoris and labia have been removed, too.

As the story further unfolds, we are introduced by way of flashback to 29 year-old Izumi (Megumi Kagurazaka), a frustrated housewife married to a celebrated romance novelist (Kanji Tsuda) known for his steamy bodice-rippers. Too bad the couple’s bland love life bears little resemblance to the content of his salacious page-turners. Otherwise, Izumi might not be so driven to indulge the sordid urges she’s fighting so hard to suppress.

Her slow descent to depravity starts when she decides to take a job as nude model. And it isn’t long before she’s simulating coitus in front of the camera, and not long after that that she’s actually sleeping with strangers for money. At that juncture, she’s taken under the wing of Mitsuko (Makoto Togashi), a full-time professor/part-time prostitute with a good head for business.

Plenty of gratuitous nudity is on display onscreen as the plot marches inexorably back to the gruesome opening scene. Fortunately, the film does feature a humdinger of twist that makes up for the rest of the predictable developments.

A cautionary morality play offering a new take on the world’s oldest profession.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 114 minutes

Distributor: Olive Films

The Anonymous People
Film Review by Kam Williams

Once an addict always an addict? Or is substance abuse an affliction one can kick completely? That’s the subject tackled by The Anonymous People, a groundbreaking documentary which seeks to radically revise the way we view the over 23 million folks in recovery.

For decades, Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-Step programs have mandated that their members hide their identities, as if to suggest that there’s a reason to be ashamed about their disease. But according to first-time director Greg Williams, himself in long-term recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, former addicts would help remove the stigma by going public about their woes rather than remain in the shadows.

The film makes a persuasive case that addiction is a disease deserving of as much empathy as AIDS or cancer. The problem is that the 12-Step approach of secretly declaring oneself powerless against booze, crack and the like, makes imbibing look more like a character flaw than an illness.

People capable of holding their liquor might ask: What’s the fuss? Isn’t the difference just semantics? After all, AA has a proven track record. And if another approach works for you, you’re perfectly free to follow that path without needing to diss the conventional method.

Regardless, director Williams has enlisted the assistance of a number of celebrities, including ex-congressman Patrick Kennedy, actress Kristen Johnston and former TV news anchor Laurie Dhue, all of whom talk about battling their personal demons. Unapologetically designed to shift popular consciousness, this passionate polemic might very well go down in history for transforming public opinion about recovery movement.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Kino Lorber

To see a trailer for The Anonymous People, visit

Shirin in Love
Film Review by Kam Williams

Shirin (Nazanin Boniadi) has never really found the courage to pursue her own dreams. For example, after graduating from college and law school, instead of going into practice, she moved back home and began writing book reviews for BH Style, a magazine owned by her domineering mother (Anita Khalatbari). The deferential daughter knows her problems stem from livings under the same roof as her very traditional Iranian-American parents. Furthermore, they’re members of a tight-knit community located in a section of L.A. known as Tehrangeles.

Consequently, more out of obligation than love, she accepted the marriage proposal of Dr. Joon (Maz Jobriani), a successful, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who shares the same background. But with the wedding day fast approaching, Shirin is belatedly questioning the wisdom of tying the knot with a man she’s not passionate about just because everyone else considers him to be Mr. Right.

A fly lands in the prenuptial ointment the night she spots a handsome hunk (Riley Smith) across a crowded room at a publishing party. Trouble is she’s tipsy at the time, and he’s too much of a gentleman to make a pass, given the situation. And since he lives far away in the coastal town of Mendocino, they seem fated to pass like ships in the night and never see each other again.

However, thanks to a frankly farcical series of coincidences they cross paths once more when Shirin ventures to Northern California on a writing assignment in search of an interview with a notoriously-reclusive, best-selling author (Amy Madigan). This time around, she and William do make a love connection, leaving the blushing bride-to-be in quite a quandary.

Thus unfolds Shirin in Love, a formulaic romantic comedy that eschews breaking new ground in favor of resorting to a slew of shopworn Hollywood clichés. For that reason, the most amusing aspect of this otherwise predictable romp is the presumably-authentic peek offered into Iranian culture. Nevertheless, you’re left with a nagging a sense of déjà vu that’s hard to shake.

My Big Fat Iranian Wedding!

Good (2 stars)

Unrated

In English and Farsi with subtitles

Running time: 104 minutes

Distributor: Sideshow Releasing

To see a trailer for Shirin in Love, visit

Veronica Mars
Film Review by Kam Williams

Veronica Mars was a critically-acclaimed TV series which enjoyed a three-year run from 2004 until 2007. Kristen Bell starred in the title role as a smart aleck teen detective who spent most of her free time solving crimes committed in her mythical hometown of Neptune, California.

Fans of the franchise will delighted to learn that Kristen and eight other principal cast members have returned for the big screen version of their much-beloved program. Written and directed by the show’s creator, Rob Thomas, this faithful reboot was substantially funded by a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

At the point of departure, we find Veronica happy to be living in New York City, where she’s preparing for the bar exam, having recently graduated from Columbia Law School. She’s also now in a long term relationship with Stosh “Piz” Piznarski (Chris Lowell) and expects to be offered a job with a prestigious Manhattan firm.

But fate intervenes when pop singer Bonnie De Ville’s (Andrea Estrella), body is found lying in her bathtub and Veronica’s ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) is the prime suspect. So, she impulsively returns to Neptune only to help him find a good attorney, since she’s convinced he’s innocent.

However, her super sleuth instincts soon kick-in and it’s not long before, just like old times, she’s uncovering clues with the help of her Private Investigator father (Enrico Colantoni). Her arrival back in town conveniently coincides with her 10th high school reunion where many of her classmates have congregated to catch-up and reminisce.

The gathering also proves to be the best place to interrogate persons of interest in the unsolved murder. For, Bonnie had attended Neptune High, and several alums seem to have had a reason to want her silenced. That’s as far as it’s fair to spoil this nostalgic whodunit delicately laced with surprising twists each step of the way.

Though back by popular demand, consider this edition of Veronica Mars compelling enough even to hold the attention of folks unfamiliar with the original TV show.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violence, profanity and drug use

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Veronica Mars, visit

300: Rise of an Empire
Film Review by Kam Williams

The bloody epic 300 (2007) chronicled the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. when a badly outnumbered band of 300 soldiers were sent on a suicide mission to defend Sparta against a horde of over 100,000 Persian invaders. Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name, that minimalist, monochromatic adventure was shot almost entirely against blue screens on assorted soundstages.

300: Rise of an Empire is one of those rare sequels which actually improves on an original’s formula. This relatively-expansive, higher body-count affair arrives replete with sweeping seascapes and panoramic mob scenes. It also ups the ante in terms of sensuality, especially by exploiting the visual appeal of Eva Green.

At the point of departure, we find the previous picture’s triumphant King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) plotting to lead the Persian army against forces led by Greek General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton). The play-by-play is narrated by Sparta’s Queen Gorgo (Headey) who devotes considerable time to a detailed lesson in ancient history to set the table for the wanton slaughter about to ensue.

Among other things, we learn that the commander of the Persian 1,000-ship armada is the warrior goddess Artemisia (Green), a Greek traitor who turned against her own people for good reason. In her youth, she’d been brutally raped and sold into slavery after being forced to witness the murder of her entire family.

The revenge-minded orphan was freed and raised as a warrior by Xerxes late father, Darius (Yigal Naor). Today, she has blossomed into a ravishing fighting machine as likely to subdue an adversary with her womanly wiles as with her sword. In perhaps the movie’s most memorable moment, she decapitates a foe before planting a kissing on his skull’s lips.

Such gruesome displays are par for the course, as scene after scene seizes on any excuse for stomach-churning depictions of torture and gore. A revisionist tale of female empowerment suggesting the fairer sex was the equal of any man even when engaged in mortal hand-to-hand combat.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, profanity and pervasive violence

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

To see a trailer for 300: Rise of an Empire, visit

Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

by Misty Copeland

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Touchstone Books

Hardcover, $24.99

286 pages, illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-4767-3798-0

 

“As the only African-American soloist dancing with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has made history. But when she first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, anxious thirteen year-old to become a groundbreaking ballerina.

When she discovered ballet, Misty was living in a shabby motel room, struggling with her five siblings for a place to sleep on the floor. A true prodigy, she was dancing en pointe within three months of taking her first dance class, and performing professionally in just over a year: a feat unheard of for any classical dancer.

From behind the scenes at her first auditions to her triumphant roles in some of the most iconic ballets… Misty opens a window into the life of a professional ballerina… Life in Motion is a story of passion and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.  

-- Excerpted from the inside book jacket

 

            Who would ever have guessed Misty Copeland would one day become a world-class ballerina with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre? After all, she had a rocky childhood as one of six kids born to a struggling mother and several different fathers.

            Plus, Misty and her siblings were raised in a rough L.A. ‘hood ruled by the Crips where you had to be careful to wear the right colors, not the sort of upscale locale one ordinarily associates with ballet. Furthermore, Misty couldn’t afford any lessons, let alone accoutrements such as shoes which alone can cost as much as $80 a pair. Then there was the fact that she was African-American and didn’t start training until the age of 13 when she enrolled in a class being offered by her local Boys and Girls Club.

            Nevertheless, Misty miraculously managed to leap over or, should I say pirouette past, all of those hurdles in pursuit of a career in ballet as a featured soloist. And, ala Tiger Woods in golf and the Williams sisters in tennis, she’s blossomed into a black rarity excelling in a field where being white and from a privileged background are ordinarily prerequisites just to have a shot at making it.

            Upon arriving in New York City at 16, Misty found herself ostracized by fellow ballerinas in the company on account of her color. Thus, it only makes sense that “This is for the little brown girls” might be an inspirational refrain repeated intermittently throughout her moving memoir.

            A poignant primer proving the power of perseverance in the face of adversity.      

To order a copy of Life in Motion, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1476737983/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20  

HairBrained

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Boy Wonder Befriends Late Bloomer in Odd Couple Comedy

            On the drive with his mother (Parker Posey) to his new school, precocious Eli Pettifog (Alex Wolff) is fretting about fitting-in with his classmates. After all, it’s not the 13 year-old’s first day of high school, but rather of college.

            The clown-haired boy genius is entering Whittman College, an elite institution catering to students not quite bright enough for the Ivy League. Eli had hoped to attend Harvard, and is still bitter that he had to settle for his safety school.

            Upon moving into the dorm, he makes the acquaintance of Leo Searly (Brendan Fraser), a fellow freshman living across the hall. Long in the tooth Leo is 41, and has belatedly matriculated less to crack the books than to recapture his fading youth.

            Nevertheless, these two fish out of water forge a fast friendship as they make the awkward adjustment to campus life. Early on, we find the pair partying, with late bloomer Leo generally making a fool of himself while prepubescent Eli’s seduced by an attractive blonde (Elisabeth Hower) after being plied with alcohol.

            The plot bifurcates and sobers a bit when Eli takes an interest in an eccentric townie (Julia Garner) his own age and Leo’s long-estranged daughter (Lizzy DeClement) shows up unexpectedly. But HairBrained is at its most inspired from the point Eli joins the trivia team representing his alma mater in the Collegiate Mastermind competition against other top schools like Stanford, Michigan and Princeton.

            Not surprisingly, all roads lead to a big showdown with Harvard. Thus, the burning question becomes whether the pint-sized brainiac will be able prove the exclusive school made a mistake by sending him a rejection letter.

            Far more quirky than it is comical, HairBrained is an uneven, unlikely-buddies flick that’s only funny in fits and starts. Think a poor man’s cross of Napoleon Dynamite (2004) and Old School (2003) where a coming-of-age tale merges with a midlife crisis.

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, nudity, crude humor, and teen smoking, drug use and alcohol consumption

Running time: 97 minutes

Distributor: Vertical Entertainment 

To see a trailer for Hair Brained, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJicQHKB4p0 

Or: http://www.hairbrainedthemovie.com/trailer/

Repentance

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Psychological Thriller Traces Grief-Stricken Man’s Slow Descent into Insanity

            Therapist Thomas Carter (Anthony Mackie) has just published a popular self-help book about the near death experience which helped him turn his life around. He is proud of the fact that after almost perishing in a horrific, alcohol-related car crash in his teens, he eventually not only earned graduate degrees in World Religion and Clinical Psychology but went on to wed his soul mate, Maggie (Sanaa Lathan).

            Today, Tommy has a happy marriage and a flourishing practice founded on a spiritual philosophy combining faith and positive thinking. But sadly, his enviable fortunes have proven to be the polar opposite of his wayward brother Ben’s (Mike Epps) lot.

            The recently-paroled ex-con was barely back on the streets before word of a $12,000 bounty being placed on his head spread around their native New Orleans. So, when Ben approaches his successful sibling for enough cash to keep his bloodthirsty adversaries at bay, empathetic Thomas opts to raise the ransom by extending the best-selling tome’s publicity tour.

            At a local book signing, he is approached for an autograph by a fan also urgently in need of 1-on-1 counseling. Against his better judgment, the literary rock star agrees to see Angel Sanchez (Forest Whitaker) as a patient, since the $300/session fee definitely will put a dent in brother Ben’s debt.

            Even worse is Dr. Carter’s fateful decision to make house calls to the home of this loner left devastated by the death of his mother (Adella Gautier). For, although it might be easy to diagnose the source of the deeply-disturbed man’s anguish, the only hint that he’s at the end of his emotional rope is his estrangement from his wife (Nicole Ari Parker) and young daughter (Ariana Neal).

            The plot thickens when Angel takes his new shrink hostage, tying him up in his basement-turned-makeshift torture chamber. The psycho proceeds to behave sadistically while conveniently managing to keep up appearances for the sake of any visitors and passersby.

            Directed by Philippe Caland (Ripple Effect), Repentance is a momentarily-intriguing psychological thriller that establishes a compelling premise only to morph into an otherworldly horror flick. Over the course of this rudderless adventure, Forest Whitaker ultimately finds himself abandoned by an implausible script.

             The Silence of the Butler!

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, violence and torture

Running time: 90 minutes

Studio: Code Black Films

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Repentance, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBgGZIzliw

The Bag Man
Film Review by Kam Williams

Courier Delivers Package for Crime Boss in Multi-Layered Neo-Noir

At first blush, The Bag Man reads a lot like The Transporter, the 2002 action film about a courier hired by a mobster to deliver a mysterious package without opening it. After all, the title character of this adventure has been asked by a crime boss to pick up a bag for him without examining its contents.

However, besides sharing that basic premise, the two pictures don’t have all that much in common. Where The Transporter is a special-effects adventure peppered with car chases and pyrotechnics, The Bag Man is a relatively-cerebral affair, a multi-layered mystery featuring unpredictable twists and turns as a well as a femme fatale with inscrutable intentions.

At the point of departure, we find a powerful gangster named Dragna (Robert De Niro) aboard his private plane where he’s giving very precise instructions to the protagonist. Jack’s (John Cusack) assignment is to take possession of an ostensibly priceless satchel and then wait for Dragna inside Room 13 at a seedy motel located somewhere in the country.

Of course, this proves easier said than done, when a cornucopia of colorful characters commence to covet the very valise he’s been asked to protect. The fun starts when Jack’s shot in the hand by Bishop (Danny Cosmo), the gangster who just handed him the package.

Then, while checking in, he alarms the paraplegic desk clerk (Crispin Glover) by assuming the suspicious name “Smith” and by paying in cash. Next, he has to deal with curious cops who have decided to stake out the premises.

But his biggest challenge of all is presented by Rivka (Rebecca Da Costa), a gorgeous damsel-in-distress on the run from a couple of goons herself. Will the scantily-clad stranger in need of a knight in shining armor be Jack’s undoing?

That’s the burning question for the balance of the madcap, high body-count adventure once the two opt to join forces.

An intriguing enough whodunit to keep you guessing, thanks to a decent script and game performances by De Niro, Cusack and newcomer Rebecca Da Costa.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and profanity

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: Cinedigm Entertainment

To see a trailer for The Bag Man, visit:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKBLfwVEKP8

About Last Night
Film Review by Kam Williams

Released in 1986, About Last Night revolved around the yearlong effort of a couple of Chicago yuppies (played by Rob Lowe and Demi Moore) to forge a solid relationship on the shaky ground of a one-night stand. The movie was adapted from “Sexual Perversity in Chicago,” a dialogue-driven drama by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet (for Glengarry Glen Ross).

Loosely based on the original, this raunchy remake is a romantic comedy ostensibly serving as a vehicle for popular comic-turned-actor Kevin Hart. After all, his character, Bernie, the sidekick in the source material, is now the leading man. Furthermore, the setting has been shifted to L.A., where much of the humor caters to the African-American palate, since the principal cast members are now all black.

The film happens to be at its best when over the top Bernie’s talking trash. For instance, he brags about leaving a recent sexual conquest’s “edges nappy,” an inside joke insinuating that the session was so steamy it literally uncurled his partner’s straightened hair.

Directed by Steven Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), the picture co-stars Regina Hall opposite Hart as his love interest, Joan. Rounding out the principal cast are Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant as Danny and Debbie, the aforementioned twosome who decide to give serious commitment a go.

At the point of departure we are introduced to Bernie and Danny, best friends and co-workers at a restaurant supply company. The former recounts a purely lustful escapade he shared with Joan, prior to introducing the latter to her roommate. Danny goes gaga over Debbie, and the cinematic table is set.

Bernie and Joan remain incessantly in heat, and can’t keep their hands off each other. By contrast, Danny and Debbie prove to be introspective enough to move in together, buy furniture, adopt a pet, and generally map out a future.

The plot thickens when Danny loses his job and ends up tending bar at Casey’s, a saloon frequented by his stalker ex-girlfriend (Paula Patton). It doesn’t help that Bernie’s already been pressuring his suddenly-domesticated pal to revert to sowing his wild oats.

Regardless, the resulting relationship tensions still take a back seat to lighthearted banter in this superficial adventure laced with one-liners like, “If this bitch were any dummer, you’d have to water her.” Look for quickie cameos by NFL great Terrell Owens as well as by Rob Lowe and Demi Moore courtesy of a clip from original.

ALN 2.0, a bawdy variation on the theme establishing Kevin Hart as a bona fide box-office attraction.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and brief drug use

Running time: 110 minutes

Distributor: Screen Gems

To see a trailer for About Last Night, visit

Lucky Bastard
Film Review by Kam Williams

Dave (Jay Paulson) thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he learned that he’d won the monthly “Lucky Bastard” contest run by the adult entertainment website. He was informed by the site’s owner, Mike (Don McManus), that his name had been picked from all the entries to sleep with his favorite porn star, Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue).

However, the prize came with just one hitch, namely, that he’d have to sign a release so that the lusty liaison could be videotaped from every angle. After all, the promotion was designed to give the site’s subscribers a chance to see an Average Joe enjoying a roll in the hay with a gorgeous goddess who would never normally give him the time of day.

Bespectacled Dave definitely fit the bill in that regard, between his awkwardness and anxiety attempting to perform on cue on camera, even with the woman of his wet dreams. However, the skin flick’s director (Chris Wylde) obviously had a lot more to worry about than a limp nerd in need of Viagra.

For, something else would go horribly wrong after Dave’s arrival and by the time the police arrived, they would find the dead bodies of numerous males and females slain either by gunshot or blunt force trauma. The investigating officer (Lukas Kendall) was grateful to discover that the walls had been outfitted with 18 cameras which not only recorded Dave and Ashley’s fondling, foreplay and frustrated fornication, but the ensuing slaughter which subsequently turned the den of debauchery into a bloody crime scene.

So, cracking the case simply involved rewinding the tapes, and watching what transpired from start to finish. And that’s precisely the point-of-view shared with the audience in Lucky Bastard, a found-footage flick which puts a salacious spin on the “no surviving witnesses” cinematic device first effectively employed by The Blair Witch Project back in 1999.

The movie marks the impressive directorial debut of Robert Nathan, who also co-wrote the cleverly-constructed script with Lukas Kendall. Their novel storyline unfolds like your typical horror film, except instead of taking place inside a Gothic haunted house it unfolds on a sleazy set inside the bedroom of a nondescript suburban home rented for the day from a realtor (Deborah Zoe) out to make a quick buck.

Besides Dave and Ashley, the suspects include director Kris, cameraman Nico (Lanny Joon), Ashley’s regular co-star, Josh (Lee Kholafai), producer Mike and his considerably-younger girlfriend, Casey (Catherine Annette), an aspiring porn star. However, the perpetrator might not be a cast or crew member, since Mike also has issues with the alarmed real estate agent as well as with his estranged ex-wife.

It’s no surprise Lucky Bastard landed an NC-17 rating, given the fairly-explicit displays of carnality, though the production is as much a riveting murder mystery as it is a raunchy sex romp. A compelling, high body-count whodunit for folks willing to watch a lot of kinky cavorting while trying to unravel clues leading to the killer.

Very Good (3 stars)

NC-17 for violence, profanity, full frontal nudity and explicit sexuality.

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: Cavu Pictures

Winter's Tale

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Cat Burglar Courts Sickly Heiress in Searing Exploration of Undying Love

            Peter Lake’s (Colin Farrell) parents had hoped to immigrate to the U.S. but were turned away at Ellis Island upon their arrival early in the 20th Century. Denied their shot at the American Dream, the Russian couple decided to leave their baby behind, setting him adrift in a tiny model of a ship called the “City of Justice.”         

            The infant was carried by the tide to the shores of Bayonne, New Jersey where he was found and raised by compassionate clam-diggers. Upon coming of age, the teen moved to Manhattan and earned an honest wage as a mechanic until succumbing to the pressure to join a gang of ruffians led by the ruthless Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe).

             Peter was subsequently schooled in thievery under Pearly’s tutelage, though the two would become mortal enemies once the protégé tired of doing his malevolent mentor’s bidding as a cat burglar. Even after severing his ties to the criminal enterprise, the exasperated orphan was forever looking over his shoulder while on the run from the burly bully.  

            A critical moment of truth arrives when Peter finds himself surrounded by his former partners in crime and is somehow spirited away by a winged white stallion. Another turning point in the lad’s life transpires the fateful night he enters a well-fortified mansion’s second-floor window with felonious intentions.      

            For, before he has a chance to ransack the premises, Peter comes face-to-face with Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a sickly young heiress suffering from tuberculosis. And despite her impending demise, he becomes hopelessly smitten with the frail, philosophical free-spirit. Over the objections of her skeptical father (William Hurt), the star-crossed lovers proceed to embark on an otherworldly romance as enduring as it is ethereal.  

            Thus unfolds Winter’s Tale, a delightful flight of fancy marking the directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman, who won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of A Beautiful Mind. Akiva also wrote the script for this film which is based on Mark Helprin’s flowery best-seller of the same name.

             Does this movie measure up to the source material? Can’t say, since I haven’t read it. Nevertheless, I found this well-crafted piece of magical realism quite imaginative and intriguing, though I suspect fans of the book might be a bit disappointed, given how much is ordinarily lost in translation bringing any 700-page book to the big screen.

            A searing, supernatural exploration of the human soul suggesting not only that love is real but that miracles happen, too!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sensuality and violence

Running time: 118 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Winter's Tale, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBSj1MKwx6A

The New Black
Film Review by Kam Williams

The African-American community has been slow to get on the gay rights bandwagon, at least according to exit polls conducted on election days in states like California where the narrow defeat of same-sex marriage in 2008 was blamed on black folks. What’s up with that? After all, one would expect blacks, as the long-suffering victims of segregation and discrimination, including miscegenation laws forbidding race-mixing, to be quick to support LBGT equality.

But that hasn’t been the case according to The New Black, an eye-opening documentary directed by Yoruba Richen. The film follows the recent effort of African-American activists to rally support for Proposition 6, a Maryland same-sex referendum. This was to be no mean feat, given the way that the Black Church has dragged its feet in terms of LGBT issues.

The gay rights movement was apparently up against walking around money greasing the palms of black pastors coming courtesy of Mormons and white Evangelicals eager to sway the African-American vote. The Born Again crowd pressed for a literal interpretation of scriptures that leave no doubt about God’s will. Still, Bible-thumping bigots are ostensibly at odds with the open-minded attitude advocated by George Gershwin’s heretical hymn, “It Ain't Necessarily So” which warns that “The things that you’re liable to read in the Bible ain’t necessarily so.”

As far as conservative black ministers, some have called homosexuality “a white man’s disease,” and shunned members of their congregation who have come out of the closet. This even happened to Tonex, a Grammy-nominated Gospel singer who found his homosexual “perversions” criticized by colleague Reverend Donnie McClurkin, a convert to heterosexuality who has come to reject what he refers to as the gay lifestyle.

Nevertheless, most brothers seem to be coming around to a more tolerant attitude, despite the homophobia previously permeating black culture. For example, as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama narrowly defined marriage “as a union between a man and a woman,” only to arrive last year at a belief that “our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

The African-American community collectively jumps the broom over its last big taboo!

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 75 minutes

Distributor: Film Forum

To see a trailer for The New Black, visit

Kids for Ca$h
Film Review by Kam Williams

Anybody who needs a new reason to hate lawyers ought to check out this shocking documentary chronicling a pay-to-play scheme whereby a couple of crooked judges, Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, enriched themselves at the expense of adolescents unlucky enough to be arrested in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The evil pair’s plan involved first condemning the existing juvenile detention center owned by the county.

Next, they took millions of dollars in kickbacks from the private corporation hired to build and then run a larger facility. Furthermore, they secretly signed a contract with the company in which they agreed to continue to help the firm maximize profits by keeping the cells filled with juvenile delinquents.

They subsequently accepted additional checks for each child sent to the prison, most for long stretches of time and for the flimsiest of infractions. Punishment was meted out not only for antisocial behavior like cursing at a bus stop, making fun of the principal on a webpage, and fighting at school, but in cases where the accused was totally innocent, like the boy arrested for riding a stolen scooter that had inadvertently been purchased by his parents, and another arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia that had admittedly been planted by the local police.

These youthful offenders as young as 12 were generally denied their right to an attorney and so fared poorly in the kangaroo court, and far worse behind bars. It comes as no surprise that they often suffered from a combination of depression, anxiety, mood swings and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, even years after being paroled. Some would become trapped in the criminal justice system’s revolving door and eventually ended-up in an adult penitentiary.

All of the above is recounted in distressing detail in Kids for Ca$h, a heartbreaking expose directed by Robert May about two of the slimiest creeps to ever walk the Earth. Conahan and Ciavarella’s shady shenanigans finally came to light after the Juvenile Law Center took up the cause of the falsely accused.

But the unrepentant jurists’ have never shown any remorse, with their stints in country club federal prisons amounting to a slap on the wrist, given the thousands of lives they’ve ruined. We can only pray that a special room in Hell has been reserved for these “scumbags,” as they were called on the steps of the courthouse by the grieving mother of one of their innocent victims who had committed suicide.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity and mature themes

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: SenArt Films

To see a trailer for Kids for Ca$h, visit

The Monuments Men
Film Review by Kam Williams

Most people are probably unaware that while Hitler was sweeping across Europe during World War II, he simultaneously directed his army to plunder any priceless works of art found in the course of its pillaging. For, believe it or not, the cultural rape of the beleaguered continent was all a part of the Fuhrer’s diabolical plan which not only included conquest and ethnic cleansing but turning his Austrian hometown into the cultural capital of the Third Reich.

Consequently, millions of artifacts were looted from museums, churches and private collections and transported to subterranean sites such as salt mines where they’d be safe from aerial attacks. However, the madman’s demented scheme also called for the destruction of any treasures he deemed degenerate if they conflicted with his propaganda campaign touting Germany’s racial purity and manifest destiny.

So, towards the end of the war, when the Allies caught wind of what was afoot, they assembled a team of curators, archivists and art historians whose stated mission was to retrieve and preserve as many of the stolen items as possible. With time of the essence, the seven experts started scouring the ravaged countryside in search of missing masterpieces.

That urgent effort is the subject of The Monuments Men, a bittersweet adventure directed by George Clooney. This tragicomic account of the crack platoon’s heroics is very loosely-based on Robert Edsel’s relatively-sober best seller of the same name, a meticulously-researched, 512-page opus encyclopedic in scope.

The film adaptation, which understandably conflates events and characters as a concession to the cinematic formula, was essentially designed with the masses in mind. Clooney, who stars as Frank Stokes, surrounded himself with a talented cast capable of convincingly executing with perfect aplomb a script which tends to veer back and forth recklessly between suspense and gallows humor.

His A-list ensemble features fellow Academy Award-winners Matt Damon (for Good Will Hunting), Cate Blanchett (for The Aviator) and Jean Dujardin (for The Artist), and nominees Bill Murray (for Lost in Translation) and Bob Balaban (for Gosford Park), as well as John Goodman and Hugh Bonneville. Given the palpable chemistry generated by their characters’ camaraderie, it’s a little sad that they don’t all survive the perilous trek behind enemy lines.

A history lesson about an obscure chapter of World War II successfully turned into entertaining Hollywood fare.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence and smoking

In English, French, German and Russian with subtitles

Running time: 118 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for The Monuments Men, visit

Demi-Soeur
(Half-Sister)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Nenette (Josiane Balasko) never left home because of her mentally-disability. So, you can imagine the shock when her mother, the loving, lifelong caretaker who had shielded her from the cruel world for over a half-century, suddenly passes away.

Finding herself in desperate straits, the autistic orphan decides to search for Antoine Berard, the long-lost father she’s never known. So, with her pet turtle Tootie in tow, Nenette sets out on foot for Angers, the town where he’s rumored to run the local pharmacy.

En route, however, she becomes lost in the woods and is lucky to stumble upon punk rock ravers inclined not only to protect her from the elements but to give Nenette a ride to her destination. Unfortunately, the disheveled drifter soon discovers that her dad has been dead for over 15 years.

The good news is that the business was inherited by his son, Paul (Michel Blanc), a half-brother Nenette didn’t know she had. The bad news is that he’s an irascible misanthrope who doesn’t get along with his customers, his staff, or even his own family.

Worse, when Nenette shows up unannounced, the miserly curmudgeon is initially more worried about protecting his inheritance than his vulnerable sibling’s welfare. Therefore, he starts circling the wagons instead of welcoming her with open arms.

First, he consults an attorney about cutting her out of their father’s estate. Then, he hastily makes arrangements to ship her right back where she came from.

That plan goes totally awry when well-meaning Nanette accidentally spikes his coffee with a couple of hits of Ecstasy. The mood-altering drug puts Paul into a euphoric state for an eventful day of redemption during which he proceeds to mend fences with estranged friends and relatives. Thus, the burning question becomes whether the narcotic will have a temporary or salutary effect on him.

Written and directed by, and starring Josiane Balasko, Demi-Soeur is a touching tale which might best described as an engaging blend of Nebraska (2013) and Amelie (2001). For, Nenette exhibits the same dogged determination as Bruce Dern in the former film, as well the endearing naivete which enabled Audrey Tautou’s title character’s ability to touch the hearts of everyone she encountered in the latter.

A poignant parable which puts what matters most in proper perspective.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In French with subtitles

Running time: 86 minutes

Distributor: Rialto Pictures / StudioCanal

Cavemen

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

            Dean (Skylar Austin) lives in L.A. with three buddies in a warehouse converted into a windowless loft they call “The Cave.” The appellation is apropos since these twenty-something slackers behave like cavemen, spending most of their free time at local haunts bars trying to lure women back to their bachelors’ lair for wanton liaisons with no strings attached.

            For instance, African-American Andre (Dayo Okeniyi) has been sleeping with a luscious Latina (Fernanda Romero) as well as an attractive Asian (Victoria Park) who have no idea that each other exists. That state of affairs is a recipe for disaster destined to blow up in the two-timing brother’s face.

            Meanwhile, Andre’s roommates, Jay (Chad Michael Murray) and Pete (Kenny Wormald), have been behaving just as badly, inspired by the macho mantra, “Get out there and take what’s yours.” Dean, however, has finally tired of the string of shallow conquests after sharing pneumatic bliss with Sara (Megan Stevenson), a cutie-pie who means nothing more to him than another notch in the bedpost.

            Over lunch the next day, he cries on the proverbial shoulders of his BFF Tess (Camille Belle) and his nephew Jimmy (Kaden Gibson) about wanting to find a meaningful relationship. Because the cozy confidantes sitting at the table seem very well-suited, the precocious 9 year-old asks whether they’ve ever dated.

            Dean and Tess awkwardly admit that they once kissed long ago, but purely by accident. However, instead of now considering each other romantically, the obvious soul mates continue to look elsewhere for a love connection.

            Soon, Tess starts sleeping with inveterate womanizer Jay, which leaves the audience impatiently wondering when Dean will wake up and confess his deep feelings before it’s too late? At which point the question will be whether she’s inclined to reciprocate?

            Those are the pivotal plot points driving Cavemen, an amusing romantic comedy exploring the mating habits of male members of the Millennial Generation in superficial fashion. Written and directed by Herschel Faber, the otherwise entertaining picture suffers from a flaw reflected in its failure to develop its characters beyond recognizable clichés.

            Best thought of as a 21st Century update of the Little Rascals’ He-Man Woman Hater’s Club episode where Alfalfa wises up and woos Darla, his Neanderthal pals’ protestations notwithstanding.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 86 minutes

Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment

To see a trailer for Cavemen, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoAi-SZccf0    

Frozen

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Princess Saves the Day in Musical Adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen Classic

            Given the toll the polar vortex has been exacting on the continental U.S. lately, I think plenty of people can relate to the frigid predicament of the people living in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle. Disney’s Frozen is an animated adventure loosely based on “The Snow Queen,” a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale first published in 1845.

            This delightful musical stars Kristen Bell as the voice of Anna, the young princess who takes it upon herself to save the day after her sister, recently-crowned Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), inadvertently plunges Arendelle into a permanent winter before disappearing. You see, Elsa was born with a superpower similar to Batman’s adversary Mr. Freeze as well as the character Sub-Zero in Mortal Combat, namely, the ability to freeze things in an instant.

            Complicating matters is the fact that Elsa, empowered in the wake of their parents’ demise, had just put the kaibosh on her sister’s plans to marry handsome Prince Hans (Santino Fontana). So, Anna, accompanied by an anthropomorphic snowman (Josh Gad) and a rugged mountain man (Jonathan Groff) with a trusty reindeer, embarks on an epic journey in hope of finding her sibling with hopes of not only reversing the curse but of reconciling their differences.

            En route, Anna and company are afforded ample opportunities to belt out a tune when not proving their mettle in playful plights of peril. The enchanting picture is as memorable for its pleasant luminescence and catchy soundtrack (including the Best Song Oscar-nominated “Let It Go”), as for its unpredictable resolution.

            To its credit, Frozen puts a novel spin on the hackneyed nursery rhyme plotline which has the prince arriving in the nick of time to save the damsel-in-distress. A touching tale of sisterhood with a priceless message about blood being thicker than an ill-advised crush.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for action and mild rude humor

Running time: 102 minutes

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

To see a trailer for Frozen, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jw-AeaU5WI     

Life of a King

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Ex-Con Opens Chess Club for At-Risk Kids in Ghetto-Based Biopic

            Eugene Brown (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) was so worried about returning to his neighborhood in inner-city Washington, DC after serving 17 years for bank robbery that he shared his concern with his cellmate Searcy (Dennis Haysbert). The wise, old elder responded by making an analogy between life and the game of chess amounting to the simple suggestion “Take care of the king.”

            He also handed Eugene a chess piece, hoping it might serve as a constant reminder to avoid trouble by employing fundamental game strategy. And that practical piece of advice would come in handy, especially since landing employment would turn out to be quite a challenge, given his criminal record.

            But rather than break the law again for a quick buck, Eugene displayed the patience to wait until he found a legit job as a janitor. Working at the same high school his children had attended, he was afforded an opportunity to redeem himself when asked by the principal (LisaGay Hamilton) to monitor detention, too.

            Instead of just having the students stand at the blackboard and write, “I will not be late for class” or “I will not forget my homework” 50 times, Eugene came up with the inspired idea of teaching them how to play chess each afternoon. Soon, he founded a chess club as a regular afterschool activity and viable alternative to the gangsta ways so many of the troubled youth found attractive.

            Meanwhile, Eugene needed to mend fences with his estranged offspring, college coed Katrina (Rachae Thomas), and black sheep Marcus (Jordan Calloway), a juvenile jailbird following in his father’s footsteps. That proves easier said than done since the absentee-dad wasn’t around for either’s formative years. 

            Written and directed by Jake Goldberger (Don McKay), Life of a King is a warts-and-all biopic based on the downfall and resurrection of the real Eugene Brown. As raw and realistic as it is predictable and cliché-ridden, this modern morality play does at least drive home a pertinent message for adolescents in the targeted demographic.

            A Sunday school-style parable which makes very effective use of chess mastery as a metaphor for negotiating the perilous gauntlet of possible ghetto pitfalls.

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for drug use, violent images and mature themes

Running time: 100 minutes

Distributor: Millennium Entertainment

To see a trailer for Life of a King, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24bM9kZp9NQ         

Speed

Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster--

and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down

by Stephanie Brown, Ph.D.

Book Review by Kam Williams

Berkley Publishing Group

Paperback, $16.00

334 pages

ISBN: 978-0-425-26473-7

“This is a book about a new kind of addiction that I believe has taken hold in our culture… I call it the addiction to speed… I’m talking about a culture-wide phenomenon that is snatching people up and carrying them along, convincing them that doing ‘more, better, and faster’ is the path to happiness.

Some people see it as a result of our increasingly wired society… I believe technology is only part of the story, however… what I am seeing in my practice as an addiction specialist is that, especially in urban areas, this speed trap is outstripping people’s ability to manage, to fulfill all their responsibilities, and even to cope…

You do not have the ability to be on 24/7 like a computer, but… you push yourself incessantly, creating an addictive spiral. You can’t stop... I do want to ask if we can slow things down…

I want to identify how so many of us have become addicted to speed, how this is encouraged and reinforced by our culture, and how seeing speed through the lens of addiction can help people reclaim their lives. ”

-- Excerpted from the Prologue (pages 4-16)

There’s a lot more to life than accelerating its pace, but you wouldn’t know it judging by the everyday behavior of most folks lately. People have become so hopelessly dependent on smart phones, computer tablets and the like, that they can’t go for more than a few minutes without texting, checking their messages or looking something up online, however trivial.

I first recognized this phenomenon a few years ago when I was invited to friend’s house for Passover. During the Seder, while his family and friends were taking turns reading from the holy Haggadah, he was secretly texting away under the table. Despite being contrite and embarrassed when I pointed out to everybody that our host was ignoring the sacred ritual, he was right back at it less than five minutes later.

Back then, I had no words for such behavior besides rudeness, but thanks to Dr. Stephanie Brown we now have a diagnosis of addiction to speed. In her groundbreaking book, “Speed: Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster--and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down,” she bemoans the fact that the culture has morphed into a ramped-up dystopia where machines lead and humans follow.

What’s particularly unhealthy about that state of affairs is that we simply can’t keep pace with demanding electronic stimuli that never need to rest. Hence, we’re fated to fail without the resolve to say “Enough is enough!” and then set reasonable limits.

How do you know if you’re hooked? The author has 20 questions which will help you discern whether you have a problem, including: Do you want to slow down, but cannot? Do you work longer and longer hours, but don’t ever finish? Do you check your email and reach for your phone first thing and last? Do you feel nervous without your tech gear in hand or pocket?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, there is still hope, provided you are willing to redefine success to include “delay, endurance and enough.” The goal is to cultivate a new way of thinking via willpower and reflection to put you on a healthier, less stressful path.

A viable, step-by-step guide to sane cell phone use.

Jamesy Boy
Film Review by Kam Williams

James Burns (Spencer Lofranco) ended up behind bars in spite of his frustrated mother’s (Mary-Louise Parker) best efforts to keep him on the straight and narrow path. When he was 14, she took him down to the police station for a good talking to after she found a pistol in his possession.

But that early intervention failed to scare the cocky juvenile straight, and he would join a street gang setting up shop in his suburban Denver neighborhood. Eventually, the law caught up with James and, tried as an adult, he was convicted of vandalism, robbery and assault before being shipped off to a maximum security penitentiary where he immediately found his manhood being challenged at every turn.

He soon landed in trouble with a security guard (James Woods) for coming to the assistance of another newcomer (Ben Rosenfield) being picked on by a hardened con (Taboo) looking for trouble. And he was warned that continued fighting was likely to jeopardize his chances of getting off early for good behavior to be reunited with the girl of his dreams (Taissa Farmiga).

James finally finds inspiration in an unlikely friendship forged with a fellow inmate (Ving Rhames) doing life for murder. Wise old Conrad takes the kid under his wing, convincing him to find another outlet for the aggressive urge to retaliate. “Keep writing,” he suggests upon learning of James’ love of poetry. “It doesn’t even matter if it’s good or not.”

That is the pivotal plot development in Jamesy Boy, a fact-based tale of redemption marking the noteworthy directorial and scriptwriting debut of Trevor White. While the overcoming-the-odds biopic might not break any new ground in terms of the genre, it makes up in earnestness what it might lack in originality, thanks to a talented cast which includes veterans Ving Rhames, Mary-Louise Parker and James Woods as well as fresh faces Spencer Lofranco, Taissa Farmiga (Vera’s sister) and hip-hop star Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas.

The picture’s postscript informs the audience that the real-life James Burns, now 25, lives in New York City where he studied poetry in college. A modern morality play about a young felon who, after paying his debt to society, left the slammer rehabilitated with more of a fondness for rhyme than robbery.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 109 minutes

Distributor: Phase 4 Films

Black Coffee
Film Review by Kam Williams

Robert’s (Darrin Dewitt Henson) whole world collapses the day he’s fired from the business founded by his late father only to come home to an unsympathetic girlfriend (Erica Hubbard) who has decided to dump him because he can’t afford to take care of her. To add insult to injury, Mita drops the bomb that she’s been cheating on him with Nate (Josh Ventura), the guy who just terminated him.

But the jilted housepainter isn’t down in the dumps for long, since he soon crosses paths with Morgan (Gabrielle Dennis), a gorgeous attorney he falls head-over-heels for at first sight. The available divorcee happens to be moving into a drab office that’s crying out for a makeover, a condition which conveniently dovetails with housepainter Robert’s need for a job.

He closes the deal by offering the “pretty woman discount,” so it looks like clear sailing at first blush. Not so fast, Kimosabe, since the tired-and-true modus operandi of the stock romantic comedy is to keep the leading man and woman apart until the very end when they disappear into the sunset together.

Such is the case with Black Coffee, a pleasant, if predictable affair written and directed by Mark Harris (Black Butterfly). For, every time Robert and Morgan appear ready to take the relationship to a deeper level, a monkey wrench is thrown into the works, like the return of her ex-husband (Lamman Rucker) who wants to reconcile.

Too bad much of the dialogue strains credulity here, such as Morgan’s cruel cross-examination of Robert when she asks whether he can read, why black people always have to talk while they’re working, and whether he’s a man of God. Of course, the perfect gentleman passes the test with flying colors, but isn’t there a less antagonistic method for a sister to find her soul mate?

A pat, if unconvincing, romantic romp determined to march inexorably to an implausible, happily ever after finale, whether you like it or not.

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG for mild epithets, sexual references and mature themes

Running time: 85 minutes

Distributor: RLJ Entertainment

The Global Obama

Crossroads of Leadership in the 21st Century

Edited by Dinesh Sharma and Uwe P. Gielen

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Routledge Books

Paperback, $59.95

364 pages

ISBN: 978-1-84872-626-0

“Barack Obama [has] garnered higher approval ratings in most parts of the world than in the United States. What a paradox. The first black president, loved by people around the world, yet struggling for approval for his policies at home—whether it be the healthcare initiative, the stimulus to bail out the economy, or his ‘leading from behind’ on foreign policies.

We wanted to explore the stark contrast between Obama’s popularity abroad and his suboptimal ratings at home… Why the inverse correlation between the public image at home versus abroad?

You can’t be a prophet in your own land, Obama suggested… Thus, the idea was hatched to publish The Global Obama… It is only appropriate that we try to grasp the total Obama…

Clearly, part of Obama’s worldwide appeal is due to his international biography… Barack Hussein Obama’s rise from his early life as a multiracial and multicultural outsider in a broken family… to assuming the world’s most powerful executive position is as improbable as it is global in its trajectory and in its implications for the evolving 21st Century.

Read the rest of this story »

Lone Survivor
Film Review by Kam Williams

On June 28, 2005, a team of Navy SEALs based in Afghanistan were issued orders in accordance with Operation Red Wings to locate and terminate a Taliban leader whose militia had been targeting coalition troops in the Kush Mountains of Kunar Province. The four were then dropped by helicopter line into rugged terrain outside the tiny village suspected of harboring Al-Qaida sympathizers.

Soon, the soldiers crossed paths with several shepherds and, against their better judgment, allowed the seemingly innocuous civilians to continue on their way in accordance with the U.S. military’s rules of engagement. Unfortunately, about an hour later, the SEALs found themselves ambushed by over a hundred Taliban fighters who had apparently been tipped off as to their whereabouts.

The ensuing, epic battle is the subject of Lone Survivor, a gruesome war flick based on Marcus Luttrell’s (Mark Wahlberg) memoir of the high attrition-rate, harrowing ordeal. Adapted and directed by Peter Berg (Battleship), the picture is most reminiscent of Black Hawk Down, another grim film about an American, overseas helicopter operation gone bad.

Given this movie’s title, there isn’t any suspense about how the disastrous misadventure is going to end. Consequently, the viewing experience amounts to little more than squirming in your seat while watching members of Luttrell’s unit perish, as well as over a dozen of the reinforcements sent to try to rescue them.

A practically-pornographic tribute to fearless, fallen heroes strictly for patriots with a strong stomach for gratuitous violence, however accurate.

Good (2 stars)

Rated R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity

Running time: 121 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Lone Survivor, visit

August: Osage County
Film Review by Kam Williams

In 2008, August: Osage County not only won a Pulitzer Prize, but it also took home a quintet of Tony Awards, including Best Play. However, the screen version of Tracy Letts’ haunting tale about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family is unlikely to be as well-received, given the tawdry tale’s relentlessly-morose plot. Who goes to the movies to get depressed?

That being said, the picture nevertheless does boast a very impressive, stellar cast headed by Meryl Streep, even if in service of a kitchen sink soap opera. She turns in another Oscar-quality performance as Violet, the substance-abusing, cancer-stricken matriarch of the Weston clan.

The film revolves around the return home of that downer of a character’s three daughters in the wake their suicidal father’s (Sam Shepard) sudden disappearance. As the action unfolds, we find each of her offspring involved in a relationship more bizarre than the next.

Eldest Barbara (Julia Roberts) arrives from Colorado escorted by her estranged husband, Bill (Ewan McGregor), even though the philandering college professor is dating one of his students. Along for the ride is their 14 year-old daughter, Jean (Abigail Breslin), a sullen stoner ostensibly upset about the state of her parents’ disintegrating marriage.

Youngest sister Karen (Juliette Lewis) shows up with her creepy fiancé, Steve (Dermot Mulroney), a successful businessman whose money has her deep in denial (until he hits on her niece) about his being a pedophile. Meanwhile, middle child Ivy’s (Julianne Nicholson) issue is the incestuous affair she’s carrying on with her first cousin, Charlie, Jr. (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Then there’s Violet’s sister/Charlie’s mom, Mattie Fae (Margo Martindale), a shrew who openly abuses both her son and hubby, Charlie, Sr. (Chris Cooper). She’s has a humdinger of a skeleton hidden in her closet just waiting to trump everybody else’s shocking developments.

A movie featuring so many sensational storylines certainly lends itself to melodrama, which is what August: Osage County proceeds to serve up in spades. Thus, the film frequently feels more like an adaptation of a dime-store romance novel than of an award-winning Broadway production.

An overplotted, feel-bad flick saved by a host of compelling performances, most notably those of Meryl Streep and Margo Martindale.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexual references and drug use

Running time: 121 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for August: Osage County, visit

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

by Malcolm Gladwell

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Little, Brown and Company

Hardcover, $29.00

320 pages

ISBN: 978-0-316-20436-1  

 

“Three thousand years ago on a battlefield in ancient Palestine, a shepherd boy felled a mighty warrior with nothing more than a stone and a sling, and ever since then, the names David and Goliath have stood for battles between underdogs and giants. David’s victory was improbable and miraculous. He shouldn’t have won.

In David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks.”

-- Excerpted from the Inside Book Jacket

 

In best-sellers like “Blink,” “Outliers” and “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell has proven himself quite adept at breaking down complex psychological, scientific and political concepts in such a way that they are readily digestible for mass consumption. This popular public intellectual and veritable man of the people has done it again with “David and Goliath,” an earnest examination of why so many manage to flourish in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.

He opens with a discussion of the classic showdown from which the opus borrows its Biblical title. There, he suggests that, contrary to legend, diminutive David might not really have been at a disadvantage to the giant Philistine at all. For, the author points out that even a muscle-bound soldier armed with a sword and a shield would probably still be no match for a civilian skilled at hurling rocks with a sling from a safe distance.

The balance of the book is basically an exploration of illustrative examples of the triumphs of real-life underdogs in supposedly lopsided conflicts. Again and again, in case studies ranging from the African-American fight for civil rights in the segregated South to the Irish Catholic struggle for freedom from the British, we learn that military might was no predictor of the eventual outcome.

Gladwell also relates the triumphs of several successful individuals as further proof of his central thesis, such as dyslexic David Boies who became one of the country’s leading lawyers, and orphaned Emil Jay Freireich who grew up to become a top medical doctor.

Persuasive, if counterintuitive, food for thought surmising that a child might be better off having to surmount a considerable life challenge rather than being born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth.

To order a copy of David and Goliath, visit

Her
Film Review by Kam Williams

A few years ago, Joaquin Phoenix released I’m Not Here, a novel mockumentary which chronicled his supposed retirement from acting in favor of a career in rap music. What made the movie mesmerizing was how hard it was to tell whether or not he’d really had it with Hollywood. For the three-time Oscar-nominee (for Gladiator, Walk the Line and The Master) threw himself into the role so convincingly that we had to wait for word of his next picture to know whether or not his new hip-hop persona was a fake.

Joaquin’s latest offering, Her, is another mindbending adventure very dependent on his committing to a bizarre character. In this case, he plays Theodore Twombly, a lonely nerd who makes his living writing love letters for tongue-tied lonely hearts.

Just past the point of departure, we find him being served with divorce papers by his estranged wife, Catherine (Rooney Mara). The suddenly single geek subsequently searches for a new mate and finds one not at an online dating website but right inside his computer.

Sultry and seductive Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) is an operating system that comes equipped not only with state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence but with a velvety voice to boot. Programmed to please, she’s ever evolving and adapting herself to fulfill her owner’s fantasies, and it’s not long before Theodore falls for her, computer headset over heels.

After all, Sam gives good phone sex, going so far as to simulate the most inspired screen climax since Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. Soon, the man and software are an item, and smitten Theodore starts introducing his libidinous laptop to friends as his girlfriend.

Sorry, but I have a problem buying into such a farfetched premise, especially since the eccentric protagonist keeps up the charade when he has a chance to date his gorgeous BFF (Amy Adams) after she’s dumped by her husband (Matt Letscher) and needs a shoulder to cry on. But no, we’re expected to believe he’d rather remain in a frustrating, metaphysical relationship with a piece of software that becomes possessive and jealous of women with bodies.

Listen, this silly sci-fi storyline probably would have made a terrific, Twilight Zone TV episode back in the day, but it’s a little much to ask folks well grounded in reality to suspend their disbelief for a couple of hours for the sake of such a preposterous plot. That being said, I suppose there’s a good chance that the screen-weaned youngsters of the Millennial Generation might find the idea of dating a computer perfectly plausible.

What’s in your laptop?

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and brief nudity

Running time: 126 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Her visit

American Hustle
Film Review by Kam Williams

In the late Seventies, a half-dozen Congressmen along with a United States Senator were caught on camera taking bribes from FBI agents posing as wealthy Arab sheiks. The elaborate sting in which the disgraced politicians became ensnared was code named Abscam, a contraction of Arab Scam.

American Hustle is a visually-dazzling retro dramedy revolving around a fictionalized account of that embarrassing chapter of the nation’s history, Set in New York and New Jersey against the gaudy backdrop of the decadent Disco Music era, the film was written and directed by David O. Russell, Hollywood’s go-to guy blessed with the golden touch in recent years.

His Silver Linings Playbook landed eight Academy Award nominations and netted Jennifer Lawrence 2013’s Best Actress Oscar. That picture arrived close on the heels of The Fighter, which had garnered seven Oscar nominations en route to trophies for both Christian Bale and Melissa Leo in acting categories.

Here, David O. has produced another engaging and entertaining production featuring a plethora of powerful performances. This one co-stars Christian Bale as con artist Irving Rosenfeld and Amy Adams as his equally-mischievous British mistress, Sydney. They play a pair of small-time crooks pressured to help the Feds catch bigger fish in order to avoid prosecution.

Reluctantly, they cooperate with Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious, if flamboyant, FBI agent who draws attention to himself by curling his straight hair and wearing trendy clothes. Self-protective Sydney flirts shamelessly with the fashionable G-Man, feeling little loyalty towards her partner in crime who’s dragging his feet about filing for a divorce from his wife.

But when blowsy Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence) realizes that her philandering hubby has been cheating, the trashy loudmouth decides to bring the drama, getting even by seducing a shady character (Jack Huston) she has no idea is under government surveillance. Generating great hilarity, these tawdry love triangles escalate into attention-grabbing distractions that threaten to wreck the supposedly covert operation.

Meanwhile, the naive Mayor of Camden (Jeremy Renner) is being manipulated by Irving to introduce a notorious mob boss (Robert De Niro) as well as the aforementioned corrupt politicians to Sheik Abdullah (Michael Pena). However, the hapless FBI looks more like the Keystone Cops when the agent trying to pass as an Arab can’t speak his native language when challeneged.

Who knows whether any of the ridiculous incidents recreated here ever actually transpired? But guess what? You don’t really worry about the truth when the laughs just keep coming and the witty repartee remains so inspired.

Another memorable masterpiece cleverly crafted by the oh so talented David O!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, pervasive profanity and brief violence.

Running time: 138 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Saving Mr. Banks
Film Review by Kam Williams

P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) was the pen name of Helen Lyndon Goff (1899-1996), the creator of the children’s classic “Mary Poppins.” When his daughters were young, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) promised to turn their favorite book into a movie, since they were so enchanted by the British nanny with magical powers.

Little did he know that the effort to secure the film rights would drag on for a couple of decades due to the uncompromising author’s inflexibility, as she insisted that any adaptation remain faithful to the source material. The protracted courting process finally proved fruitful in 1961, when Walt wined and dined the reluctant writer at his Hollywood studio while making an elaborate sales pitch to turn the story into a musical.

He would succeed in wooing Travers with the assistance of his screenwriter (Bradley Whitford) and songwriting team (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman), although the deferential chauffeur (Paul Giamatti) assigned to drive her around during her stay would also play a pivotal role.

That productive two-week visit is revisited by Saving Mr. Banks, a dramatization directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side). The picture’s title is a reference to Mary Poppins’ employer George Banks, who was among the many characters Travers was trying to protect.

Credit consummate thespians Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson for approaching their lead roles in such convincing fashion that a period piece about a contract negotiation actually proves entertaining. Hanks pours on the folksy charm impersonating the legendary Disney opposite the chameleon-like Thompson who takes her sweet time as the steely Travers to soften from skeptical to enthusiastic about the proposed project.

While Saving Mr. Banks certainly waxes sentimental and ends on an upbeat note, a Mary Poppins sequel was not to be, despite the fact that the original won five Academy Awards. For, Travers and Disney had such a big falling out prior to the picture’s release that she wasn’t even invited to the premiere.

Furthermore, she remained so enraged about her book’s mistreatment at the hands of the studio that she went to her grave refusing to entertain overtures for another adaptation, even reaffirming that preference in her will. However, the truth never seems to get in the way of a syrupy cinematic send-up with a stock, “happily ever after” ending.

To paraphrase Mary Poppins, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps revisionist history go down,” and in a most delightful way!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for mature themes and unsettling images

Running time: 125 minutes

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

To see a trailer for Saving Mr. Banks, visit

Philomena
Film Review by Kam Williams

Philomena Lee (Dame Judi Dench) made a big mistake as a teenager, namely, having unprotected sex with a cute boy (D.J. McGrath) she had just met at a carnival. The naive girl was left pregnant by the one-night stand, which was no minor matter in Ireland in 1952.

Before she had a chance to disgrace her family by showing signs of bearing an illegitimate child, she was shipped off to a convent to have the baby away from public view. There, she was forced to sign a document not merely relinquishing her parental rights but promising to never even ask to see her son again.

Without her being afforded an opportunity to say goodbye, he was adopted by a wealthy family from the United States at the age of 3 and whisked away to the city Chicago. Meanwhile, Philomena remained beholden to the abbey where, like a latter-day indentured servant, she continued to serve at the beck-and-call of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart order. Although she would eventually escape the convent and pursue a career in nursing, Philomena remained forever haunted by the conspicuous emptiness left by Anthony’s absence.

Fast-forward to his 50th birthday, and she was still consumed with worry about his fate. So, she enlisted the help of Martin Hixsmith (Steve Coogan), a recently-disgraced investigative journalist conveniently in need of a shot at redemption. And, after being denied access to any of the convent’s adoption records, the unlikely pair departed for America together with just a few clues to follow.

Directed by two-time Oscar-nominee Stephen Frears (for The Queen and The Grifters), Philomena is a true tale of overwhelming regret based on “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee,” Hixsmith’s heart-wrenching account of their desperate quest. Dame Judi Dench turns in another inspired performance as a wayward woman from a humble background who belatedly summons up the strength to search for her son and to take on the sadistic Mother Superior (Barbara Jefford) who had been the bane of her existence.

As much a poignant meditation on motherhood lost as a searing indictment of the Catholic Church’s antiquated attitude about what might be in the best interests of an adopted child.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, mature themes and sexual references.

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Philomena, visit

Nebraska
Film Review by Kam Williams

77 year-old Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is an addlepated alcoholic whose brain is so bent out of shape that he’s convinced he’s struck it rich after getting one of those mass-produced letters in the mail announcing that you’ve just won a million dollars in a magazine sweepstakes. Nevertheless, he soon sets out on foot by himself from Billings, Montana to collect his grand prize in Omaha, Nebraska.

Once it’s clear that the cantankerous curmudgeon can’t be talked out of that foolhardy endeavor, son David (Will Forte) opts to drive his dad there. This doesn’t sit well with Woody’s acid-tongued wife, Kate (June Squibb), who’s too well-grounded in reality to indulge the old coot’s nonsense.

However, as futile as the quest might sound, the pair’s ensuing sojourn across four states does prove rather fruitful. After all, not only does it afford father and son a chance to spend some quality time together, but they also get to catch up with lots of long-lost friends and relatives they visit along the way.

Eventually, Kate and elder son, Ross (Bob Odenkirk), join them en route, grudgingly making the long jaunt a family affair. It’s understandably hard for them to be enthusiastic about an outing inspired by a fraudulent marketing scheme.

Still, sometimes, getting there is all the fun, as is the case with Nebraska, a nostalgic road trip unfolding against the barren backdrop of the heartland’s crumbling infrastructure. The film was directed by two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne (for writing Sideways and The Descendants) whose decision to shoot the picture in black-and-white was nothing short of a stroke of genius.

For the lack of color only serves to further emphasize the absence of hope in a rural region left devastated by the failure of its factory, farm and small town life. It’s no wonder, then, that some of the pour souls the Grants encounter might seize on Woody’s pipe dream as a way of alleviating their own misery.

Featuring a career performance by Bruce Dern destined to be remembered during awards season, Nebraska is a lighthearted character study which, ironically, offers a stone, cold sober look at the downsizing of the Midwest’s American Dream.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity

Running time: 115 minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

To see a trailer for Nebraska, visit

A Madea Christmas
Film Review by Kam Williams

Mabel “Madea” Simmons is the moralizing, motor-mouthed senior citizen created and first introduced on stage by the incomparable Tyler Perry. The compulsive granny is a self-righteous vigilante who can’t help but intervene on the spot whenever she sees an innocent victim being bullied by a sadistic villain.

At the point of departure in A Madea Christmas, the eighth screen adventure in the popular film series, we find her working as Mrs. Santa Claus in a downtown Atlanta department store. The seasonal job affords the politically-incorrect impersonator an opportunity to shock kids and their ears-covering parents with a profusion of her trademark off-color asides and English-mangling malapropisms.

Soon after she’s unceremoniously relieved of her duties, Madea decides to drive with her niece, Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford), to tiny Bucktussle, Alabama to spend the holidays with the latter’s daughter, Lacey (Tika Sumpter), the local schoolmarm.

What neither of them knows is that Lacey recently eloped with a likable local yokel, but failed to inform her mom about the marriage because Conner (Eric Lively) is white. She fears her mother might object to the interracial liaison. Complicating matters further is the fact that coming along for the ride is Oliver (JR Lemon), Lacey’s ex-boyfriend who’d like to rekindle a little romance.

Meanwhile, Oliver has told his parents, Buddy (Larry the Cable Guy) and Kim (Kathy Najimy) about the nuptials, and they are arriving soon from Louisiana, so something’s gotta give. But rather than come clean, Lacey enlists her new in-laws’ help in hiding the truth.

Unfolding in accordance with the age-old “One Big Lie” TV sitcom formula, A Madea Christmas is a pleasant, if predictable, modern parable peppered with plenty of humorous asides. Tika Sumpter and Eric Lively manage to generate just enough chemistry to be convincing as shy newlyweds.

But the production is at its best when Madea and equally-outrageous Buddy are trading barbs toe-to-toe. For instance, when he tries to tell “the one about the two rabbis and the black dude,” he’s cut off by Madea asking if he’s heard “the one about the stray bullet that kills the redneck for telling the story about the two rabbis and the black dude.”

Sassy sister squares-off against backwoods hillbilly for lots of harmless laughs!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, crude humor and sexual references

Running time: 105 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for A Madea Christmas, visit

Inside Llewyn Davis
Film Review by Kam Williams

It’s Greenwich Village in the middle of the winter of 1961, and Llewyn Davis (Oscar Issac) is so down on his luck that he can’t afford an overcoat, let alone a place to live. The fledgling folksinger’s fortunes have gone into a tailspin ever since the other half of his musical duo committed suicide in spite of the modest success of their debut album, “If We Had Wings.”

Nowadays, Llewyn devotes less time to launching his solo career than looking for the next place to spend the night. For, the feckless freeloader really knows how to wear out his welcome, whether by letting his hosts’ (Ethan Phillips and Robin Bartlett) house cat escape onto the street, or by sleeping with the wife (Carey Mulligan) of a pal (Justin Timberlake) who let him crash on the couch.

The plot thickens when Jean let’s Llewyn know she’s pregnant and doesn’t know whether he or her husband is the father. So, while he’s constantly caught up in drama of his own making, other aspiring troubadours, like the young Bob Dylan (Benjamin Pike), are busy making the most of opportunities to impress producers and to cultivate a following at trendy nightclubs.

Written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis is a genre-bending adventure that’s impossible to pigeonhole. Part-musical, part-comedy, part bittersweet portrait of a lovable loser, the enigmatic masterpiece unfolds over the course of a couple of very eventful weeks in the life of a hopeless slacker who can’t seem to get out of his own way.

The film features such familiar hallmarks of a Coen Bros production as a profusion of quirky characters, a compelling storyline, humorous asides ranging from subtle non-sequiturs to simplistic slapstick, and an original soundtrack by the incomparable T-Bone Burnett (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) seamlessly sewn into the painstakingly-recreated period piece.

Yet, Inside Llewyn Davis is also refreshingly unique, thanks to an endlessly-inventive script which there’s no reason to anticipate. Instead, just sit back and bask in the glow of a nostalgic cinematic treat best served unspoiled.

Manhattan ’61 revisited!

Excellent (4 stars)

R for profanity and some sexual references

Running time: 105 minutes

Distributor: CBS Films

To see a trailer for Inside Llewyn Davis, visit

Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey
Film Review by Kam Williams

700 Buddhist monks and nuns decided to embark on a 500-mile trek across the Himalayas to bring attention to the ecological devastation being visited upon the region’s glaciers by climate change. That perilous journey across treacherous terrain and at altitudes as high as 17,000 feet is the subject of Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey, an Earth-friendly documentary marking the directorial debut of Wendy J.N. Lee.

Ms. Lee, an Asian American, shot the visually-captivating adventure with a solar-powered camera, and subsequently enlisted actress Daryl Hannah to provide the picture’s voiceover. The ascetic march was led by a guru named Ngawang Sodpa, whose devotees were quite photogenic, outfitted in brightly-colored robes, as they negotiated narrow paths through the mountains and valleys.

Along the way, the hardy band of travelers deal with frigid temperatures, illness, injuries and starvation while periodically stopping at villages to preach about preserving the planet. At one port-of-call, they encounter an obnoxious German tourist intent on purchasing some of a monastery’s ancient artifacts.

Wendy’s sister, Carrie, an attorney also making the pilgrimage, informs the European interloper that the priceless spiritual items aren’t for sale. But instead of taking “no” for an answer, the would-be looter asks to speak to the white person in charge. When resolute Carrie insists that the buck stops with her and reiterates her decision, the guy gets so incensed that he starts hitting her with a stick.

Otherwise, the well-intentioned Pad Tatra proves to be a peaceful walk effectively warning about global warming from the top of the world.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and Tibetan with subtitles

Running time: 72 minutes

Distributor: Quad Cinema

Out of the Furnace

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Ex-Con Searches for Missing Sibling in Gruesome Revenge Thriller

            Russell Baze’s (Christian Bale) is stuck in a dead-end job at a rural Pennsylvania steel mill rumored to be closing soon. He’s not in a position to abandon the Rust Belt in search of greener pastures, between having to care for his terminally-ill, widowed father (Bingo O’Malley) and a kid brother (Casey Affleck) suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

            Military veteran Rodney, Jr. hasn’t been able to make the adjustment back to civilian life following several tours of duty over in Iraq. In fact, he hasn’t been the same since their mother died.

            Because of a burgeoning gambling debt, Rodney has agreed to participate in fixed street fights being staged by the bookie (Willem Dafoe) he owes a lot of money. Trouble is he becomes so blinded with rage after being punched, that he can’t be relied upon to throw a contest as promised.

            Russell is so desperate to save his troubled sibling that he’s even willing to pay off Rodney’s I.O.U. in increments on his modest salary. But even that plan goes up in smoke the day Russell is arrested for manslaughter after driving under the influence.

            By the time he’s paroled, Rodney’s disappeared, and is rumored to have been abducted out of state by a ruthless gang of drug dealers led by a sadistic Ramapo Indian (Woody Harrelson) with a short fuse. The local police chief (Forest Whitaker) is sympathetic, but has no jurisdiction in Jersey, which leaves Russell no choice but to take the law into his own hands with the help of hard-nosed Uncle Red (Sam Shepard).

            Written and directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), Out of the Furnace is a gritty revenge thriller unfolding against the telling backdrop of a decaying American landscape. Thus, almost overshadowing the desperate search at the center of the story is the sobering specter of an aging national infrastructure irreversibly past its prime.

            While the gratuitous violence goes over the top occasionally, the film nevertheless remains highly recommended, at least for folks with a cast iron stomach. For, the veteran cast of this character-driven splatterfest proves to be as adept at delivering dialogue as dispensing street justice.

            A gruesome showdown between warring clans reminiscent of an old-fashioned, backwoods feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, drug use and graphic violence

Running time: 116 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media 

To see a trailer for Out of the Furnace, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhsGY8jZnR4 

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Film Review by Kam Williams

Nelson “Mandiba” Mandela (Idris Elba) secretly started writing his autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom” while still serving what he had every reason to believe might very well be a life sentence on Robben Island. The lawyer-turned-spokesman for the outlawed African National Congress had been convicted of treason for trying to dismantle South Africa’s racist regime.

But he was indeed freed following 27 years in prison of imprisonment when the bloody civil war was on the brink of bringing an end to Apartheid. At that point, Mandela assured the apprehensive white minority that despite the fact that, “Fear has made you an unjust and brutal people, when we come to power, there will be no revenge.”

Soon thereafter, he was democratically elected the nation’s first black president, assuming the reigns of power in 1994. And that transition to majority rule did prove to be smooth, with the help of pardons for crimes against humanity being granted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to guilty parties from both sides of the conflict.

Directed by Justin Chadwick, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is an epic biopic chronicling the rise, incarceration and ultimate redemption of the revered political icon. Versatile British actor Idris Elba exhibits the requisite combination of outrage, dignity, empathy and steely resolve needed to portray the picture’s complex title character convincingly.

Still, since Mandela spends the bulk of the movie behind bars, much of the action revolves around his wife Winnie’s (Naomie Harris) efforts to raise their children while serving as a leader of the movement in her husband’s absence. Sadly, the decades-long separation eventually took a toll on their marriage, between the denial of conjugal visits and Winnie’s resorting to ruthless methods to silence suspected snitches.

This film easily eclipses a biopic covering the same subject-matter called Winnie Mandela. Released just a couple of months ago, that relatively-pathetic disappointment co-starring Terence Howard and Jennifer Hudson as Nelson and Winnie, respectively, was marred by the protagonists’ atrocious accents as well as by a godawful script.

By contrast, this inspirational adaptation of Mandiba’s autobiography more than does justice to the legacy of the triumphant freedom fighter who made so many selfless sacrifices on behalf of his people.

Excellent (4 stars)

PG-13 for sexuality, intense violence, disturbing images and brief profanity

In English, Afrikaans and Xhosa with subtitles

Running time: 146 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, visit

Black Nativity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Naima (Jennifer Hudson) is a single-mom struggling to pay the rent on the apartment she shares with son Langston (Jacob Latimore), 15, who’s the same age she was when she had him. Back then, she was as headstrong as he is now, which explains why she ran away from a good home in Harlem to raise him alone in Baltimore.

Today, upon receiving an eviction notice, cash-strapped Naima reluctantly sends the rebellious adolescent in need of a father figure to New York to live with her parents, Aretha (Angela Bassett) and Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker), prominent members of the black community. But Langston lands in trouble even before they have a chance to pick him up at the bus station, so they end-up having to bail him out of jail.

Is it too late for anyone to make a difference in the rebellious juvenile delinquent’s life? Can the Cobbs mend the fractured relationship with their long-estranged daughter? Will Langston belatedly bond with the absentee father he’s never known?

These are the pivotal questions raised in Black Nativity, a modern morality play based on the Langston Hughes musical of the same name. Adapted and directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou), the film features an engaging soundtrack sprinkled with evocative onscreen performances by cast members including Mary J. Blige, Nas and Tyrese, though all pale in comparison to those by Jennifer Hudson.

Fair warning to theatergoers ordinarily operating on CPT. Don’t take the risk of arriving too late to catch the incomparable diva’s unforgettable opener, “Test of Faith,” a showstopper every bit as memorable as her heartfelt rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” as Effie in Dreamgirls.   

A timeless parable as memorable for its uplifting spirituals as for its moving message about the importance of faith and family.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for menacing, mature themes and mild epithets

Running time: 93 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

To see a trailer for Black Nativity, visit

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Sequel Finds Katniss Forced to Compete in Another Death Match

            Despite only being introduced in 2008, The Hunger Games trilogy has so captured the collective imagination of kids the world over that it has already eclipsed Harry Potter as the best-selling children’s book series of all time. Suzanne Collins’ post-apocalyptic adventure is set in Panem, a disturbing dystopia marked by the brutal subjugation of the overwhelmingly-poor majority by the very powerful, privileged few.

            In the first installment, heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) grudgingly participated in a winner-take-all death match against other teens, each representing his or her home district. Known as the Hunger Games, the annual competition is staged as entertainment ostensibly designed to distract the masses from their pitiful plight.

            Wise beyond her years, underdog Katniss emerged triumphant at the end of the first episode by virtue of a combination of craftiness, compassion and her skills as an archer. However, she did break a cardinal rule by sparing the life of her co-winner, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), her friend and male counterpart from District 12.

            At the second installment’s point of departure, we find the pair embarking on a government-sponsored victory tour around the country. However, when their speeches stir up revolutionary fervor in the crowds, a vindictive President Snow (Donald Sutherland) breaks a promise by drafting them to take part in the Quarter Quell, a tournament of champions comprised entirely of former Hunger Games winners.

            So, it’s not long before they’re back in training for another free-for-all, this time engaging elite opponents blessed with gifts ranging from fang-like teeth to uncanny intuition to chameleon-like camouflage to the ability to harness electricity. Each of the entrants, known as tributes, is introduced by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), the festivities’ unctuous master of ceremonies.

            Once the pomp and circumstance of the decadent opening ritual are out of the way, the relatively-gruesome main event begins. Allegiances are forged, and bargains are made, followed by literal and figurative backstabbing in a desperate contest which ultimately mandates a cruel betrayal of any loyalties.

            For all its frenetic action, this uneventful installment nevertheless suffers slightly from a classic case of inbetweenie-itis, since it basically serves as a bridge to the trilogy’s exciting conclusion. A water-treading sequel that achieves its goal of satiating the fans’ bloodlust while whetting their appetite for the franchise’s grand finale.

Very Good (3 stars)

PG-13 for profanity, intense violence, frightening images, mature themes and a suggestive situation

Running time: 146 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNDBJtGw3Pc 

Finding Mr. Right
Film Review by Kam Williams

JiaJia (Wei Tang) is expecting and hopes to marry her wealthy boyfriend, Lao Zhong (Yiwei Liu), even though the two-timing philanderer already has a wife and family. But the miffed multimillionaire is so worried about the unplanned pregnancy creating a scandal that he’s willing to send his high-maintenance mistress all the way from Beijing to America to give birth.

Because JiaJia loved the movie Sleepless in Seattle, she asks him to arrange for her to fly there. Upon landing, she’s met at the airport by a mild-mannered limo driver (Xiubo Wu) who quietly endures her verbal abuse for arriving late.

What JiaJia doesn’t know is that Frank happens to be a famous heart surgeon who once operated on her own father back home. Currently, he’s moonlighting behind the wheel and caring for an ailing daughter while waiting for his credentials to be approved so he can practice medicine in America.

As directed, he deposits JiaJia at a maternity center catering to Asian women planning anchor babies with automatic U.S. citizenship. Soon, she finds herself at odds with just about everybody around besides Frank, who has the patience of a saint.

This is the point of departure of Finding Mr. Right, a charming romantic comedy featuring likeable leads and a colorful enough supporting cast to hold your attention in spite of its predictability. Written and directed by Xiao Lu Xue, the film is hitting these shores after enjoying a phenomenal run in China earlier this year.

The movie is unlikely to make as much of a mark here, given that several developments in the derivative storyline are apt to strike a domestic audience as vaguely familiar. Nevertheless, the plot thickens when the spoiled-rotten heroine stops behaving badly after being dumped by her baby-daddy and starts to exhibit a sensitive side.

A pat, paint by numbers romp that telegraphs its every punch.

Good (2 stars)

Unrated

In English and Mandarin with subtitles

Running time: 121 minutes

Distributor: China Lion Features

To see a trailer for Finding Mr. Right, visit

Dallas Buyers Club

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Matthew McConaughey Delivers Oscar-Quality Performance in Bittersweet Biopic

            Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) was informed that he had just 30 days to live when he was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1986. At that time, the Food and Drug Administration was dragging its feet in terms of finding a cure, perhaps because AIDS was still considered by many to be a gay disease.

            While pharmaceuticals elsewhere around the world were studiously testing hundreds of chemical compounds in hopes of developing an antidote, the only one approved for distribution in America was AZT, a medication so toxic to Ron’s system that it almost killed him. Rather than resign himself to a quick demise, the tough as nails Texan resolved to fight for his life.

            First, he visited a clinic in Mexico promoting a promising cocktail of alternative therapies, purchasing a supply sufficient to test the experimental regimen on himself. When the trial proved effective, he snuck back across the border, posing as a priest, to smuggle a trunk full of pills out of the country.

            Soon thereafter, the enterprising electrician founded the Dallas Buyers Club as a viable way of skirting the law to distribute unapproved substances such as Interferon, Peptide T and Compound Q. A mere $400 per month would afford members access to a variety of state-of-the-art, AIDS remedies. 

            Despite his homophobia, the gruff, good ol’ boy went into business with a partner with deep roots in the gay community. Flamboyant Rayon (Jared Leto), an HIV+ transsexual, played a pivotal role in attracting a loyal clientele of fellow AIDS patients, since Ron was a given to employing offensive slurs when referring to homosexuals. Together, the unlikely pair built the fledgling enterprise into an economic success which provided a priceless service for patients frustrated by the FDA’s delayed response to the epidemic.

            Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Café de Flore), Dallas Buyers Club recounts Ron Woodroof’s desperate struggle to survive in the face of a governmental bureaucracy that appeared to not care. The movie was inspired by “Buying Time,” an article by Bill Minutaglio which appeared in the Dallas Morning News on August 9, 1992.

            Riddled with historical inaccuracies, the bittersweet biopic frequently plays fast and loose with the facts in favor of fashioning an entertaining tale as dictated by the Hollywood fantasy formula. Truth be told, the real-life Ron was apparently not as intolerant of homosexuality as depicted. Furthermore, he was initially given a two-year life expectancy by his doctor, not the mere month stipulated in the picture.

            Perhaps most importantly, some of the overpriced drugs he imported were banned for very good reason. Nevertheless, the fairytale related here is a terrific tour de force likely, at last, to land Matthew McConaughey that elusive Oscar nomination.

            For, not only does the lanky thespian convincingly convey the acute mental anguish of an AIDS-ravaged soul but he even shed about 50 pounds for the role. Sexual politics make strange bedfellows, too!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for nudity, drug use, graphic sexuality, pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs and homophobic slurs

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features  

To see a trailer for Dallas Buyers Club, visit: 

http://www.focusfeatures.com/video/dallas_buyers_club_trailer?film=dallas_buyers_club 

Morris Chestnut
“The Best Man Holiday” Interview
with Kam Williams

The Best Chestnut!

Morris Chestnut was born on New Year’s Day 1969 in Cerritos, California, where he was a student-athlete in high school, en route to majoring in finance and drama at California State University. He made his big screen debut opposite Ice Cube in John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood, and subsequently enjoyed his breakout role as the groom-to-be in Malcolm Lee’s The Best Man.

The handsome heartthrob has been a much-in-demand leading man ever since, starring in hits like The Call, Think Like a Man, Identity Thief, The Brothers, Not Easily Broken, Kick Ass 2, Two Can Play That Game, Breakin’ All the Rules, The Perfect Holiday, Half Past Dead, Like Mike, Ladder 94 and The Game Plan. A dedicated family man away from work, Morris and his wife, Pam, live in suburban L.A. with their son, Grant, and daughter, Paige.

Here, he talks about reprising the memorable role of Lance Sullivan in the eagerly-anticipated sequel, The Best Man Holiday.

Read the rest of this story »

Dear Mr. Watterson
Film Review by Kam Williams

The comic strip Calvin & Hobbes enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity soon after first appearing in newspapers on November 18, 1985. Drawn and written by Bill Watterson, it was voted Best Syndicated Cartoon 7 years in a row over the course of a decade-long run which also twice netted its talented author the coveted Cartoonist of the Year award.

The reclusive Watterson so cherished his privacy that he shied away from the spotlight despite constant clamor for him to cash in on his success. But he had no trouble resisting the temptation to license his characters to product manufacturers ostensibly out of a fear that mass merchandising might cheapen his comic.

Moreover, in 1995, Watterson stopped publishing the column on his own terms the day he decided it was time, and quietly slipped back into obscurity. This was easy to achieve, since he still lived in tiny Chagrin Falls, the idyllic Ohio town where he’d been raised from the age of 6.

Directed by Joel Allen Schroeder, Dear Mr. Watterson is a reverential retrospective which seeks to flesh out its inscrutable, impossible to find subject. The film features a flurry of accolades from colleagues and fans, including the widow of Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts.

Again and again, the contributors roll out superlatives, uniformly expressing their admiration of the enigmatic Watterson in glowing detail, whether appraising his rich artwork or deeply philosophical storytelling which helped shape a whole generation of impressionable young minds. Conspicuous in his absence, the only person missing from the movie is the Watterson himself, an inveterate introvert who, of course, didn’t participate in the project.

Nevertheless, this illuminating documentary does manage to paint a compelling picture of a modest genius who used his beloved, kid-friendly cartoon to convey the timeless message that there’s magic in everyday life, provided you’re young enough at heart to look for it.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Gravitas Ventures

To see a trailer for Dear Mr. Watterson, visit

Go for Sisters
Film Review by Kam Williams

Bernice Stokes (LisaGay Hamilton) is a parole officer in Los Angeles where her job routinely places her in close proximity with the dregs of society. She normally has no reason to associate with such miscreants after hours, being very straitlaced and coming from a solid, middle class background.

However, everything changes the day the single-mom’s only child (McKinley Belcher, III) suddenly vanishes without a trace. Rodney, an Iraq War veteran hadn’t been the same since serving overseas.

Bernice was aware that he’d been hanging out with some unsavory characters recently, including a suspected drug dealer who was just murdered. Desperate to find her son, she strikes an unspoken bargain with Fontayne Scott (Yolonda Ross), a new client who has just flunked a urine test.

Rather than report Fontayne to her superior, Bernice enlists the streetwise addict’s assistance in the search. Complicating matters a bit is the fact that the two had been close friends back in high school. So, while unearthing clues pointing to Tijuana, the former BFFs are afforded an opportunity to deconstruct the events leading to their falling out over a boy they both wanted.

Besides Fontayne’s help, Bernice also retains the services of Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos), a disgraced, LAPD detective whose investigative experience and fluent Spanish are likely to come in handy south of the border. Packing a guitar and singing in the car, the unlikely trio heads for Mexico, posing as a musical group in order to not arouse suspicion.

Written and directed by two-time, academy Award-nominee John Sayles (for Passion Fish and Lone Star), Go for Sisters is a deliberately-paced crime drama which benefits as much from absorbing character development as from the intrigue surrounding solving the underlying whodunit. Credit charismatic Edward James Olmos for keeping the movie compelling, although Yolonda Ross and LisaGay Hamilton manage to fold their own opposite the Oscar-nominated thespian (for Stand and Deliver).

A dangerous border town as no country for old men or middle-aged sisters either.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 122 minutes

Distributor: Variance Films

Last Vegas
Film Review by Kam Williams

Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline), inseparable since growing up in Flatbush back in the Fifties, have managed to remain close over the years despite the demands of families and careers. That’s why, when never-married Billy finally decides to tie the knot, the others agree to throw him a bawdy bachelor party in Las Vegas, hoping to rekindle a little of the macho magic of their glory days.

But even before arriving in Sin City, the long-in-the-tooth senior citizens are forced to face up to the fact that they’re no spring chickens. After all, Archie is still recovering from a mild stroke, and has to tell his son (Michael Ealy) he’s attending a church retreat to sneak out of the house.

Meanwhile, Sam, who suffers from a futile case of erectile dysfunction, packs Viagra and condoms for the trip with his frustrated wife’s (Joanna Gleason) blessing. And recently-widowed Paddy has entirely lost his zest for life since the passing of his childhood sweetheart (Olivia Stuck).

Even groom-to-be Billy seems to be having second thoughts about walking down the aisle with a woman half his age (Bre Blair), especially after his head is turned at first sight by the hotel’s sultry, lounge singer (Mary Steenburgen). Consequently, the reassembled Rat Pack’s highly-anticipated reunion turns out to be less a licentious last hurrah than a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane. For the guys end up spending more of their time reminiscing and teasing each other than in pursuit of potential sexual conquests.

Directed by Dan Turtletaub (National Treasure 1, 2 and 3), Last Vegas is a laff-a-minute comedy, with most of the humor coming at the expense of members of this self-effacing quartet as they grudgingly make concessions to old age. They remain good sports, whether being the butt of jokes about hair transplants, hair color, medications, looking old or mistakenly flirting with transvestites.

Not surprisingly, the principal cast (featuring four Academy Award-winners in Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline) has no trouble generating a convincing sense of camaraderie onscreen. What is more remarkable is how another Oscar-winner, Mary Steenburgen, makes the most of her support role, upstaging he male co-stars by exhibiting an endearing vulnerability in a most memorable performance.

The Hangover, geezer style!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

PG-13 for profanity and sexuality

Running time: 105 minutes

Distributor: CBS Films

Sweet Dreams
Film Review by Kam Williams

The 1994 Civil War left the beleaguered African nation of Rwanda a bloody mess, both literally and figuratively. Not only had the warring tribes, the Hutus and the Tutsis, hacked each other to death with machetes to the tune of about a million bodies scattered across the countryside, but to this day many of the survivors of the ethnic cleansing remain totally traumatized by the slaughter they’d witnessed.

Consequently, much of the populace still walks around in a daze sporting blank, 1,000 yard stares some refer to as battle fatigue or shell shock which shrinks refer to clinically as post-traumatic stress syndrome. For, it is understandable that it might hard to get over a conflict which pitted neighbor against neighbor, and even relative against relative.

One survivor, theater director Kiki Katese, determined to do something to alleviate the suffering, asked, “How do you rebuild a human being?” So, she founded Ingoma Nshya (meaning “new drum, new kingdom”), an all-female drumming troupe comprised of both Tutsis and Hutus, with admission being conditioned on checking ones tribal allegiance at the door. Besides affording the 60-strong membership an opportunity to pound rhythmically on congas, the gathering simultaneously served as a support group offering healing and reconciliation.

In 2010, Kiki came up with another innovative idea, namely, opening Rwanda’s first ice cream parlor. This time, she enlisted the support of Jennie Dundas and Alexis Miesen, proprietors of a place located half a world away in Brooklyn called Blue Marble Ice Cream.

The game New Yorkers answered the call, traveling to Rwanda to help Kiki realize that dream. Together they created Sweet Dreams, a shop owned and operated cooperatively by a number of the women from Ingoma Nshya.

All of the above is affectionately recounted in Sweet Dreams, an uplifting documentary co-directed by Lisa and Rob Fruchtman. Kiki and her companions cut a sharp contrast to the bulk of their fellow countrymen peppering the desolate background, lost souls who seem broken in spirit between mourning murdered kin and facing bleak prospects for a better tomorrow.

A female empowerment flick featuring a blend of ice cream and drumming as a viable path to rehabilitation and reconciliation.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and Kinyarwanda with subtitles

Running time: 84 minutes

Distributor: International Film Circuit / Liro Films

To see a trailer for Sweet Dreams, visit

The Counselor
Film Review by Kam Williams

It’s easy to see why this crime thriller got greenlit by Hollywood. First of all, it was written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Cormac McCarthy whose relatively-riveting “No Country for Old Men” won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Secondly, Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott (for Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and Thelma & Louise) was brought aboard, as well as an A-list cast topped by Academy Award-winners Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, nominees Brad Pitt and Rosie Perez, and versatile character actors Michael Fassbender and Goran Visnjic.

Furthermore, since the story is set in Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, it made sense to sign several leading Latino thespians in Cameron Diaz, Edgar Ramirez, John Leguizamo and Ruben Blades. Nevertheless, The Counselor turned out to be one of those curious head scratchers that somehow adds up to way less than the sum of its parts.

The film is crippled primarily by a pair of fatal flaws, namely, a glacial pace and a talky script laced with awkward dialogue. For, while it waits for something, anything of consequence to transpire, the audience is force fed lots of inexplicably stilted lines like, “You are a man of impeccable taste” and “I intend to love you ‘til the day I die.”

Worse, these corny quips are generally delivered with so little conviction that you never know whether you’re supposed to laugh or take them seriously. The actors’ inscrutably-flat affect invariably comes off as tongue-in-cheek impersonations of characters right out of a typical Damon Runyon yarn.

The picture’s farfetched plot revolves around a nameless lawyer, referred to only as “The Counselor” (Fassbender), a guy whose greed is getting the better of him. At the point of departure, we find the avaricious attorney head-over-heels in love with Laura (Cruz), an exotic beauty he plans to propose to with an expensive diamond ring he can’t really afford.

For reasons that never quite make sense, this man of few words soon seeks to supplement his income by getting mixed up in a dangerous Mexican drug trade known for its ever-escalating body count. He’s offered a start in the business by Reiner (Bardem), a flamboyant dealer with a flashier girlfriend (Diaz).

Ignoring repeated warnings from a low-key middleman (Pitt) that entering the narcotics underworld is akin to stepping in quicksand, the Counselor decides that the extra cash is worth a one-time risk. The game plan is to deliver a sewage truck with over 20,000 ounces of coke across the border and North to Chicago in return for a big payday.

But the pivotal question remains: will he be able to avoid becoming a statistic in a bloody turf war where ruthless gangs don’t give a second thought about beheading a rival? A highly-stylized borefest featuring blasé individuals overindulging in gratuitous violence and a coarse brand of casual sensuality.

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality, graphic violence and grisly images

Running time: 111 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

When I Walk
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jason DaSilva was vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in 2006 when he fell down on the beach and couldn’t get up. The 25 year-old filmmaker was diagnosed with primary progressive Multiple Sclerosis, an incurable inflammatory disease eventually leading to blindness, as well as a loss of balance and muscle control.

Nevertheless, his hopeful mother refused to let her son feel sorry for himself, encouraging him to seek help and to employ positive affirmations like, “It’s mind over matter,” and “You’ll find a way.” Unfortunately, by 2008, Jason’s health deteriorated to the point where he had become dependent on a walker to get around.

Feeling the frustration of his body slowing down while his mind raced, he decided to make a video record of his day-to-day life during the inexorable decline. The fruit of that effort is When I Walk, an alternately heartbreaking and uplifting tale highlighting the indomitability of the human spirit.

For, in spite of DaSilva’s desperate attempt to alleviate his affliction through prayer, yoga, ayurvedic medicine and trans-meditation, he continued to be betrayed by a deteriorating immune system. Thanks to his ever-present camera, he is able to afford the audience an intimate look at his brave battle against MS.

Shot mostly in the director’s adopted hometown of New York City, the movie is actually much more than a mere chronicle of the subject’s health concerns, as it also devotes considerable attention to his romantic relationship. Jason is suddenly in a rush to start a family, but the object of his affection, Alice, has reasonable reservations about marriage.

After all, bringing a baby into the world with a husband with such a dire prognosis might ultimately mean raising a child while simultaneously caring for a virtual invalid. So, she consults her dad, who just happens to be dating a woman with MS, for a little fatherly advice.

Will Alice and Jason tie the knot, when his legs fail entirely and his walker has to be replaced by a scooter? Rather than spoil this bittersweet biopic’s surprising resolution, just let me say Hollywood execs would probably dismiss this sentimental tearjerker as farfetched if pitched as a piece of romance fiction.

An unblinking look at a life and love irreversibly altered by the onset of MS.

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 85 minutes

Distributor: Long Shot Factory

To see a trailer for When I Walk, visit

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete
Film Review by Kam Williams

It’s the last day of school for 8th grader Mister Winfield (Skylan Brooks), who comes home to the projects where he lives with his single-mom (Jennifer Hudson), Gloria, a hooker with a heroin habit. His best friend, 9 year-old Pete (Ethan Dizon), isn’t any better off, since his mother (Martha Millan) works out on the corner for the same abusive pimp (Anthony Mackie).

When both their moms disappear, it looks like the Housing Cops will cart them away to Riverview, an institution with a horrible reputation in terms of foster care. So, the boys decide to hide in Mister’s apartment, occasionally venturing down to the tough streets where they must forage and fend for themselves over the course of a particularly, sweltering, New York City summer.

This is the opening salvo of The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, a gritty, slice-of-life saga directed by George Tillman, Jr. (Notorious). The compelling coming- of-age drama plays out like an inner-city answer to The Kings of Summer, a similarly-themed story featuring a suburban setting.

Here, although Pete is Korean-American, Mister, who is black, refers to his BFF as “my nigga.” And as the two unsupervised adolescents negotiate their way around the ‘hood, no one seems to take much notice of their age or ethnic differences.

Meanwhile, despite being 3,000 miles away from California, aspiring actor Mister harbors a secret dream of auditioning at an upcoming casting call with the hopes of landing a role that will enable them to relocate to Hollywood. He prepares for his make-or-break moment by reenacting a scene from Fargo that he’s memorized verbatim.

However, before that opportunity arrives, a host of frightening ordeals lay in wait in an unforgiving ghetto littered with the scum of the Earth. Will he survive, let alone escape to L.A.? If so, it’ll make for one heck of a “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” essay come September.

A picture which proves it’s hard in the ’hood not only for pimps, but for kids, too.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, ethnic slurs, drug use and sexuality

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, visit

I'm in Love with a Church Girl
Film Review by Kam Williams

Rapper Ja Rule was paroled from prison earlier this year after spending a couple of years behind bars for a weapons violation and tax evasion. In a case of art imitating life, he now stars in a faith-based tale of redemption revolving around a hip-hop producer endeavoring to go straight following his release from jail.

I'm in Love with a Church Girl was actually inspired by a true story, but not Ja Rule’s. Rather, the autobiographical screenplay was penned by convicted coke dealer-turned-preacher Galley Molina while incarcerated in a California penitentiary. The movie is set in the San Jose native’s hometown where the ex-gangsta now serves as youth pastor at the Evergreen Valley Church.

Narrated by Ja, the picture’s protagonist is a fictional character called Miles Montego. As the flashback flick unfolds, we find Miles returning to the ‘hood after a stint in the slammer.

He immediately gets a good piece of advice from his Bible-thumping mom (Marjorie Mann), namely, to attend services on Sunday in order to meet a good God-fearing woman who might help keep his nose clean. Sure enough, he soon falls in love at first sight with Vanessa (Adrienne Bailon), a clerk at a store specializing in Christian-oriented products.

The two hit it off, despite her concern about all the bling and his degenerate-looking posse. Eventually, Vanessa becomes convinced that he’s left the life of crime behind, but the same can’t be said about the DEA Agent (Stephen Baldwin) still tailing Miles him with hopes of arresting him again.

Given the film’s spoiler of a title, there’s a sense of inevitably about I'm in Love with a Church Girl. This easy to predict morality play is certain to resonate with the Evangelical demographic, and it even has a chance of attracting a mainstream audience because of the presence of the charismatic Ja Rule in the lead role.

A faith-based modern parable with a positive message for both believers and wayward souls ripe for redemption.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for PG for violence, suggestive content, mild epithets and mature themes

Running time: 118 minutes

Studio: Reverence Gospel Media Films

Distributor: Film District

To see a trailer for I’m in Love with a Church Girl, visit

Captain Phillips
Film Review by Kam Williams

On April 9, 2009, the Maersk Alabama, an American container ship headed for Mombasa, Kenya, was hijacked on the high seas in an area that had become very popular with Somali pirates preying on international commerce. Despite having recently practiced evasive maneuvers in the event of just such an attack, the vessel’s 20-man crew’s flare gun and fire hoses proved no match for the fearless, heavily-armed quartet high on an herbal stimulant called chat.

After climbing aboard, the drug-emboldened buccaneers abandoned the idea of commandeering the cumbersome, 500+ foot-long craft carrying 17,000 metric tons of cargo, since all they were really after was a multimillion-dollar ransom. Instead, they opted to take Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) hostage on one of his own lifeboats as a very valuable bargaining chip.

However, when their demands fell on deaf ears, a standoff ensued in the middle of the ocean. Soon, a destroyer stationed near the Gulf of Aden, the USS Bainbridge, was dispatched to the scene, and its Captain, Frank Castellano (Yul Vasquez), feigned negotiating while simultaneously securing permission from President Obama to hatch a daring rescue plan.

Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93), Captain Phillips is certain to invite comparison to the somewhat similarly-plotted Zero Dark Thirty, given how both recount a real-life mission mounted by a crack team of Navy SEALs. The difference, however, is that this adventure amounts to little more than a high-anxiety orgy of worry unfolding from the perspective of the imperiled kidnap victim, while the relatively-cerebral Zero Dark Thirty devoted most of its attention to delineating the intricate details involved in the complicated manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

Curiously, this movie repeatedly makes the presumably politically-correct point of reminding us that these madmen are not Muslim terrorists, but without offering much of a hint as to their motivations besides money. Nevertheless, Tom Hanks does bring his A-game here, even if he’s cooped-up in close quarters acting opposite a B-support cast (Barkhad Abdirahaman, Mahat M. Ali, Barkhad Abdi and Faysal Ahmed) for the bulk of the picture.

Unfortunately, his one-note abductors are painted as soulless, primitive natives right out of a typical Tarzan flick. Sure, the bloodlust payoff is bigger when the bad guys are the frightening embodiment of pure evil with no redeeming qualities. Yet, this production would’ve benefited immeasurably from just a little development of the villains’ characters.

Shades of Cast Away (2000), with Tom Hanks being tortured by sadists as opposed to talking to a volleyball for over an hour while waiting for the cavalry to arrive.

Very Good (3 stars)

PG-13 for intense violence, sustained terror, bloody images and drug abuse In English and Somali with subtitles

Running time: 134 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for Captain Phillips, visit

Gravity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is set to retire following a distinguished career as a NASA astronaut. The veteran captain is currently in command of his final flight of the Space Shuttle Explorer with a primary mission to replace solar panels on the Hubble Telescope.

Upon rendezvousing, the spacewalk proceeds so routinely that devastatingly-handsome bachelor is comfortable engaging in flirtatious chitchat with attractive Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical engineer on her maiden voyage. But then Mission Control urgently orders them back into the capsule because the debris field from a damaged Russian satellite is headed in their direction at the speed of a bullet.

However, it causes catastrophic damage to the shuttle before they have a chance to reenter it, killing all their crewmates and destroying the vehicle beyond repair. Suddenly, Kowalski and Stone find themselves floating in space, no longer in radio contact with Houston, and with a very limited amount of oxygen left in their tanks.

This is the intriguing premise established practically at the point of departure of Gravity, a gripping sci-fi thriller written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Pan’s Labyrinth). What ensues is a desperate race against time in which the unflappable Kowalski does his best to keep the frightened rookie calm while trying to survive more by his wits than by the book.

The impromptu plan involves using their thrusters to reach the International Space Station 100 kilometers away before the shrapnel returns upon completing another orbit of Earth. This is just the first of many challenges to be faced successfully if the protagonists’ are ever to feel solid ground under their feet again.

Rather than ruin the plot’s unpredictable developments for you one iota, permit me to heap praise on a pair of nonpareil performances by Oscar-winners George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Of equal note are the picture’s breathtaking 3D cinematography and the magical way in which weightlessness is convincingly created onscreen.

Buckle up for a relentlessly-riveting, roller coaster ride through a deceptively-close outer space you can virtually reach out and touch!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense peril, disturbing images and brief strong profanity

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Gravity, visit

Rush
Film Review by Kam Williams

Back in the Seventies, a couple of racecar drivers as different from each other as Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash became sworn adversaries on the Formula 1 circuit. England’s James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) was a brash daredevil willing to put his life at risk every time he drove around the track. By contrast, Austria’s Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) was a technical genius who invariably employed a relatively-scientific strategy.

The pair were also polar opposites afterhours, with handsome Hunt being a flamboyant playboy who liked the limelight, while relatively low-key Lauda preferred to spend his free time in peace and quiet with his socialite wife, Marla Knaus (Alexandra Maria Lara). The bitter rivalry between the two came to a head during the 1976 season, when both were in contention for the coveted title of world champion.

That cutthroat quest is the subject of Rush, a character-driven drama

directed by two-time Academy Award-winner Ron Howard (for A Beautiful Mind). Based on a screenplay by two-time Oscar-nominee Peter Morgan (The Queen and Frost/Nixon), the picture’s engaging plotline repeatedly juxtaposes the personas of the leads, painting the hunky Brit as a lovable bon vivant on a crusade to wrest the crown from a defending champ portrayed as just too methodical a nerd to root for.

The movie masterfully depicts the cat-and-mouse mental as well as racecar jockeying which transpires, with the tension mounting at adrenaline-fueled contests staged in international ports-of-call ranging from Brazil to Spain to Monaco to Germany and inexorably leading to a white-knuckle showdown in Japan.

Along the way, we’re treated to the sight of chain-smoking Hunt’s substance abusing and womanizing, as he all but makes a mockery of uptight Lauda’s Spartan regimen. The emotional build-up subtly suggests that getting the checkered flag at Fuji will serve as a confirmation of the eventual victor’s approach.

A compelling, high-octane thriller, literally and figuratively!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, nudity, sexuality, smoking, disturbing images and brief drug use

In English, German, Italian and French with subtitles

Running Time: 123 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Rush, visit

Linsanity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jeremy Lin came very close to abandoning his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA after a couple of unremarkable seasons spent mostly in the developmental league as an undrafted free agent. He had been released by both Golden State and Houston after brief stints, but was picked up by the New York Knicks in December of 2011 when the team was suddenly in need of a backup point guard due to an injury.

Still, at fourth on the depth chart, it looked very unlikely that Lin would ever get to play except during garbage time when the outcome of a contest was no longer in doubt. But he did get a chance in a February 4th game against the then New Jersey Nets where he made the most of the opportunity, scoring a surprising 25 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and making 7 assists.

Furthermore, he went on to prove that that feat was no fluke, as he averaged over 20 points per game while leading New York on a 13-game winning streak. As a Harvard grad and the only Asian-American in the NBA, Jeremy caused quite a stir as fans flocked in droves to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks’ new sensation.

Directed by Evan Jackson Leong, Linsanity chronicles the Palo Alto product’s path from high school standout to Harvard Ivy League star to obscure journeyman in the pros until miraculously becoming a household name virtually overnight. An Evangelical Christian, Jeremy freely credits the Lord for his unprecedented emergence in the NBA, saying “I know that God orchestrated this… There was just too much out of my control.”

A moving biopic about a humble underdog who surmounted overwhelming odds with the help of family, friends and a strong faith.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In English and Mandarin with subtitles

Running time: 88 minutes

Distributor: Ketchup Entertainment

To see a trailer for Linsanity, visit

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Eco-Conscious Sequel Pits Flint and Friends against Evil Agri-Corporation

            When we first met Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader), he lost control of a contraption which turned water into food and triggered a foodalanche which wreaked havoc all across Swallow Falls before being turned off. At the point of departure of this worthy sequel, we find the young inventor being duped into relocating from his hometown to the impersonal confines of San FranJose based on a promise of employment as a “thinkquanaut” from his idol, Chester V (Will Forte), the Chairman of Live Corporation.

            Flint is so gullible that he is initially blissfully unaware of his new boss’ secret agenda. But Chester has emptied Swallow Falls entirely of its residents under the guise of cleaning up the once idyllic island.

            Truth be told, the conniving CEO has managed to get Flint’s food machine going again, and has hatched a diabolical plan to repopulate the place with about 40 varieties of sentient creatures. Each of these “foodimals” has a name which is a punny play on words, such as shrimpanzees, watermelophants, cheespiders, hippotatomuses, pb & jellyfish, flamangos, buffaloaves and wildebeests, to name a few.

            Eventually, Flint wises up to the fact that he’s been manipulated and that something evil is afoot. Soon, accompanied by his pals and his meteorologist girlfriend, Samantha (Anna Faris), he returns to Swallow Falls where they find themselves attacked by tacodiles and stampeded by a flock of bananostriches.

            Will Flint and company figure a way to subdue the menacing, manmade menagerie before their beloved city is totally ruined? That is the question at the heart of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, another inspired animated adventure with an eco-conscious theme.

            Co-directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, the film features the distinctive voice work by a veteran cast which includes returnees Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Will Forte and Benjamin Bratt, as well as a critical new addition in Terry Crews as the motor-mouthed Earl Deveraux.

            A dazzling and delightful sequel every bit as charming as the original!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mild rude humor

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures  

To see a trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNiVB_d_z4k

Men at Lunch

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

30 Rock Doc Unearths Untold Story behind Iconic Photograph

            During the construction of Rockefeller Center in 1932, a photo was taken of 11 ironworkers taking a break from their arduous labors to eat, drink, smoke and talk to each other. Because they were sitting on a steel beam dangling perilously some 69 stories in the air with Central Park and the Manhattan skyline in the background, the iconic image would soon sear itself permanently into the country’s subconscious.

            But who took the picture called “Lunch atop a Skyscraper,” how was it staged, and who were the guys posing for the camera? These are the questions which nagged director Sean O’Cualain ever since the day he and his brother saw the famous photo hanging on the wall while hoisting a few a world away in Whelan’s pub in Shanaglish, Ireland. A note next to the stunning snapshot identified a couple of emigrants to America from County Galway, Sonny Glynn (1903-1953) and Matty O’Shaughnessy (1901-1978), as the bookends on the far left and far right of the girder, respectively.

            That chance encounter in the bar was the source of inspiration for Men at Lunch, an enlightening documentary narrated by Fionnula Flanagan which unearths a cornucopia of factoids about the picture’s previously unheralded subjects. Perhaps more importantly, the film also tells the greater story of the thousands of ironworkers who built skyscrapers during the Depression, a very dangerous undertaking indeed given the 2% annual mortality rate along with a 2% permanent disability rate.

            Still, given the dire state of the economy back then, any able-bodied man was likely happy just to have a $1.50 an hour job, even if it was as thankless as it was treacherous. Plus, perched so close to the heavens, they seemingly enjoyed an elevated social status relative to the working-class men making an honest day’s pay down on street level.

            A posthumous testament to the intrepid crew of immigrants who risked their lives in the sky over New York City to erect 30 Rock.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 67 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features

To see a trailer for Men at Lunch, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJaoSD3tAxs 

Prisoners

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Parents and Police Search for Kidnapped Kids in Mesmerizing, Multi-Layered Mystery

            Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is a rugged outdoorsman and family man with deep roots in rural Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Grace (Maria Bello), are raising their kids, 6 year-old Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) and teenage Ralph (Dylan Minnette) in the tiny town of Dover, an idyllic oasis seemingly far removed from big city afflictions.

            It is Thanksgiving morning, and the doting dad has decided his son is ready to shoot his first deer, a rite-of-passage he’d shared with his own father upon coming-of-age a generation earlier. And after a telling tableau dripping with Christian symbolism reflected in a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and a cross dangling from their pickup truck’s rearview mirror, we find the two deep in the woods where the boy does, indeed, bag his first buck.

            “Be ready,” Keller ominously advises Ralph on the return trip, not because he has a premonition about any impending disaster, but due to the vague sense of paranoia he has cultivated over the years as an amateur survivalist. Still, a basement stocked with years’ worth of provisions would prove to be of no use in the calamity about to unfold later that day.

            First, the Dovers travel to the home of Nancy (Viola Davis) and Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard), neighbors with a couple of kids around the same age as theirs. However, after sharing a satisfying Thanksgiving dinner, youngsters Anna and Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) vanish without a trace while playing outside unsupervised.

            The only lead is a suspicious RV parked down the street which the police trace to Alex Jones (Paul Dano), the mentally-challenged village idiot (Paul Dano) ostensibly incapable of pulling off such an abduction. With no other clues to follow, the investigating officer (Jake Gyllenhaal) puts the case on a back burner, much to the chagrin of the missing girls’ anguished parents.

            Given that time is of the essence, it is no surprise when a very desperate Keller takes the law into his own hands, with his manic behavior cutting a sharp contrast to the relatively-measured approach of deliberately-paced Detective Loki. Will the frustrated father or the laid-back cop crack the case first? Or will they join forces and pool their resources? Will Anna and Joy be rescued alive, or found too late to save them? Or will the whodunit simply go unsolved. 

            That is the mystery at the heart of Prisoners, a mesmerizing, multi-layered masterpiece brilliantly directed by Dennis Villeneuve. Screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski deserves equal credit for the film’s intricately-plotted script which oh so slowly ratchets-up the tension in a compelling fashion guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat every step of the way.

            A compelling character study of the emotional toll exacted by a kidnapping on the psyche of the victims’ loved ones.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for pervasive profanity and disturbing violence

Running time: 153 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers  

To see a trailer for Prisoners, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXfcTF6iVk      

Crazy Rich:

Power, Scandal, and Tragedy inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty

by Jerry Oppenheimer

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

 

St. Martin’s Press

Hardcover, $27.99

504 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-312-66211-0

 

“Heirs to a Band-Aid and Baby Powder fortune, the Johnsons have enjoyed unimaginable wealth since Johnson & Johnson was founded in 1886—but their personal lives have been marred by bitter feuds, violent and costly divorces, sexual aberration, and myriad tragedies…

Their entrepreneurial prowess has brought them enormous power and success in business, but their private lives have been haunted by misfortunes through the generations… This scrupulously researched biography… places the Johnson & Johnson family under a journalistic microscope… [and] reveals the secrets behind their immense power, their extraordinary wealth, and their provocative dramas…

Based on exclusive on-the-record interviews with family, friends, business associates, lovers, and detractors, Crazy Rich serves up the first definitive and objective look at a platinum dynasty that was once termed ‘perhaps the most dysfunctional family in the Fortune 500.’”

-- Excerpted from the book jacket

 

            If you’re curious about how the other half lives, have I got a book for you! While Robin Leach would have us believe that it’s all “champagne wishes and caviar dreams” for the well-to-do, the truth might be far afield from the fluff pieces the terminally-exuberant host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous routinely served up on his syndicated TV show.      

            By contrast, Jerry Oppenheimer is a journalist just as obsessed with celebrity, but he’s staked his career on exposing the ugly underbelly of fame and fortune. He’s written unauthorized biographies of such public figures as the Clintons, Martha Stewart, the Hiltons, Barbara Walters, Jerry Seinfeld and Ethel Kennedy, to name a few.

            The super sleuth’s latest expose’ is a warts-and-all biography of the Johnsons, heirs to the mammoth Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid fortune. While the multigenerational opus opens with a chapter on the heir who is currently most-visible, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, the 500-page tome is fairly encyclopedic in nature, as it covers the history of the enduring dynasty from its inception right up to the present.

            Listen, any family tree that stretches back to the mid-19th Century is bound to have its share of tragedy. After all, if immortality were something that money could buy, the rich would live, and only the poor would die.

            Nevertheless, the Johnsons do seem to have been burdened with a Job’s worth of adversity, to make a Biblical allusion. For instance, you may remember the drug-related death of Woody’s 30 year-old daughter Casey, which was widely-reported in the tabloids in January of 2010. At the time, the openly-bisexual celebutante was engaged to Tia Tequila, the flamboyant star of her own reality television series.

            You might find it interesting to learn that Casey’s parents divorced, and that while Woody acquired a pro football team, his ex, Sale, married a former football star, Ahmad Rashad.  And Ahmad isn’t the only African-American mentioned in the book, somehow this critic ended up featured on a few pages. But you’ll have to shell out the bucks to buy it to find out exactly why.

            Overall, Crazy Rich is a riveting page-turner you won’t want to put down, provided salacious stories about the bizarre behavior of the Jet Set are your cup of tea.

To order a copy of Crazy Rich, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312662114/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 Johnson

Winnie Mandela
Film Review by Kam Williams

Winnie Mandela (Jennifer Hudson) is a controversial figure in the annals of South Africa history. For not only was she the first wife of freedom fighter-turned-President Nelson Mandela (Terrence Howard), but she was also convicted of ordering numerous human rights violations.

At the height of the anti-apartheid movement, she headed a goon squad which doled out street justice to blacks suspected of collaborating with the white establishment. With Winnie’s blessing, snitches would be sentenced to death by necklace, meaning by having a gasoline-soaked tire placed on their shoulders and set on fire.

And after the fall of Apartheid, she confessed before the country Truth and Reconciliation commission to “the murder, torture, abduction and assault of numerous men, women and children.” So, it’s understandably hard to put a sympathetic spin on such an infamous political figure.

That is the challenge tackled by director Darrell Roodt in Winnie Mandela, a warts-and-all biopic which focuses on its subject’s childhood, college days and marriage while making short shrift of her transition into a war criminal. Along the way, we learn that she was a headstrong tomboy who blossomed into the irresistible beauty that Nelson fell in love with at first sight.

Sadly, the two were separated for 27 years while he was imprisoned on Robben Island for treason because of his call for an end of Apartheid. And perhaps that was what led Winnie to rationalize resorting to fighting the government and stool pigeons by any means necessary.

As for the acting, Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard do their best to adopt appropriate accents, but they both sound fake since they’re surrounded by a cast comprised of actual South Africans. The production’s most glaring flaw, nevertheless, is that the poorly-scripted screenplay simply fails to give the audience much of a reason to invest in unlikable Winnie’s life story.

Winnie Mandela, less an honorable “Mother of the Nation,” than a disgraceful, “bad mother-[shut your mouth]!”

Fair (1 star)

R for violence and profanity

Running time: 107 minutes

Studio: RLJ Entertainment

Distributor: Image Entertainment

To see a trailer for Winnie Mandela, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGnc4FP6eII

Best Kept Secret
Film Review by Kam Williams

Janet Mino teaches at JFK High in Newark, a public school for students with special education needs. By 2012, she had been working with the same small group of autistic boys for four years, which meant that they would all be graduating together in the spring.

Understandably, Ms. Mino had grown quite fond and rather protective of her class, given how autistic kids are generally sweet souls of unfathomable innocence. In addition, she knew that upon aging out of the system and receiving their diplomas, they would essentially be forced to fend for themselves in a hard, cruel world not inclined to lend a helping hand.

For that reason, she devoted much of their senior year to preparing them for life beyond the protective cocoon that she had so lovingly created. That’s why she asked them where they would like to work, whether in a fast food restaurant, a factory or elsewhere, with the hope that she might be able to help them avoid ending up vegetating at home, institutionalized, or even out on the streets.

Therefore, after school hours, she would visit various local establishments to pressure potential employers to take a chance on a child with autism. Otherwise, without the daily stimulation of a structured environment, they were likely to lose the communication and interpersonal skills she’d so carefully cultivated.

Ms. Mino’s heroic efforts are the subject of Best Kept Secret, as uplifting a documentary as you are likely to see this year. The picture was directed by Samantha Buck whose camera captures each of Janet’s pupils so intimately that you feel like you know them by the time that closing credits start to roll.

Furthermore, as the tears stream down your cheeks, you can’t help but worry about how each might be faring today. If this movie’s aim is to find the deepest spot in the audience’s heart, then bull’s eye!

A magnificent tapestry of touching relationships more like mother and child than student-teacher. When scientists figure out how to clone humans, they ought to start with Janet Mino.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 85 minutes

Studio: Argot Pictures

Distributor: IFC

To see a trailer for Best Kept Secret, visit

Things Never Said
Film Review by Kam Williams

Miserably-married Kalindra (Shanola Hampton) hasn’t yet found the strength to leave her abusive husband, Ronnie (Elimu Nelson), even though the last time the creep put his hands on her, she ended up in the hospital. Trouble is, it’s hard for her to figure a way out of the situation, given that she’s been struggling just to keep a roof over their heads on a truck stop waitress’ salary ever since her hot-headed hubby lost his job at a gas station after breaking a tardy co-worker’s (Yorke Fryer) arm in a fit of rage.

Beleaguered Kalindra copes by crying on the shoulder of her BFF Daphne (Tamala Jones) and by secretly dreaming of moving alone from L.A. to New York where she hopes to make it as a spoken word poet. Meanwhile, she tries to summon up the courage to test out some of her emotional rhymes down at the local café on open mic night.

Everything changes for Kal the day she meets Curtis Jackson (Omari Hardwick) at a slam. No, he’s not the rapper 50 Cent, but a gifted wordsmith, nonetheless, and willing to take her under his wings, literally and figuratively. Soon, the two are sleeping together, but the hunky Mr. Wonderful has no idea that his gorgeous new girlfriend has a husband with anger management issues.

This recipe for disaster is the ominous point of departure of Things Never Said, a poetry-driven drama marking the directorial debut of veteran TV scriptwriter Charles Murray (Third Watch). Unfortunately, between the campy melodrama and cheesy sex scenes, the film unfolds more like a television soap opera than a feature film.

Most problematical, however, is the lousy poetry that’s force fed on us at every turn. For instance, “Roses are red. Violets are blue. Get your ass up. I’m still working on the end.” Equally-underwhelming was this variation on “This Little Piggy Went to Market.” “This little piggy’s brokenhearted. This little lady turns to stone. This little lady Cupid darted. This little lady’s alone. This little lady goes ‘Wee! Wee! Wee!’ all the way to the poem.”

To this critic, the staccato-style of poetry performed in this picture is the equivalent of rap sans the music. Consider lines like “I am the wife of a piece of [expletive]” and “My [expletive for genitalia] does taste like chocolate.” So, if you have a strong stomach for crudity, the N-word and lots of cussing, this foul-mouthed flick might be right up your alley.

An uplifting tale of female empowerment tarnished by its crude method of delivering a positive message.

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for sexuality, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity

Running time: 111 minutes

Studio: Ohio Street Pictures

Distributor: Codeblack Entertainment

To see a trailer for Things Never Said, visit

Getaway

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Taken Meets Speed Meets Ransom in High-Octane Thriller

            Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) is a former racecar driver who recently moved with his wife, Leanna (Rebecca Budig), from the U.S. to her hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria. But any plans for a quiet retirement are rudely interrupted when she’s kidnapped at the height of the Christmas season.

            First, he gets a call from a mysterious madman (Jon Voigt) announcing that the only hope of seeing her alive again is to follow his instructions without calling the police. Then, he’s ordered to steal a specific, custom-built Ford Mustang parked in a nearby garage.

            Only after settling behind the wheel does he realize that the auto has already been outfitted with cameras and microphones. Soon, he finds himself being pressured by the mastermind of the diabolical plot to execute a series of dangerous maneuvers at breakneck speed through a crowded market, across a rink filled with skaters, up onto a stage and down a flight of steps.

            The one-car wrecking ball attracts the attention of the cops, of course, who set up a dragnet to try to put an end to the impromptu Demolition Derby. Brent, however, relies on his professional skills to elude the authorities, although he still has no idea of his wife’s whereabouts or what crazy stunt is coming next on her inscrutable abductor’s bizarre agenda. 

            So unfolds Getaway, a high-octane thriller that might be best described as Taken meets Speed meets Ransom, since it borrows popular elements from each of those adrenaline-fueled adventures. Unfortunately, the execution, here, leaves a lot to be desired, since the picture is basically an hour and a half of chase scenes punctuated by crashes and pyrotechnics.

            For some reason, director Courtney Solomon (Dungeons & Dragons) opted to forego character development in favor of incessant action and special f/x. Hence, the audience is never able to invest emotionally in the plight of the anguished protagonist or his imperiled spouse. Instead, we’re repeatedly treated to the sight of careening cars crashing, rolling over, almost hitting pedestrians, and my personal favorite, flying off a bridge in flames.  

            Along the way, Brent encounters the hijacked GT’s true owner (Selena Gomez), a spoiled rich kid who initially just wants her graduation present back. Lucky for him, the tech-savvy debutante turns sympathetic and is willing to use her laptop to help him find his spouse.

            Too bad the script’s abysmal dialogue never rises above trite lines like “Why is this happening?” “You’re running out of time. Tick-tock!” and “You don’t have to do this.” A frenetically-paced Selena Gomez vehicle, apt to satisfy her diehard fans, despite being full of sound and fury and ultimately signifying nothing. 

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, rude gestures, mayhem and pervasive violence

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers  

To see a trailer for Getaway, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBcVxXwFowI       

King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Oscar-Nominated, 1970 Documentary Chronicling Career of Dr. Martin Luther King Returns to Theaters

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person. Four days later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the recently-ordained minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church decided to organize a boycott of the city’s buses.

“When the history books are written in the future,” he predicted that evening that “somebody will have to say, ‘There lived a race of people, of black people, who had the moral courage to stand up for their rights.’” After citing both the Constitution and the Bible as the source of inspiration, the 26 year-old pastor explained to the congregation that embracing a philosophy of non-violent resistance was critical in order to be able to live with white people as brothers “when the day comes that segregation is completely crumbled.”

And with that, the Civil Rights Movement was launched. A wave of Ku Klux Klan bombings simultaneously ensued, but Dr. King remained confident about his prospects for success, even after his own home had been blown up. He did hope, however, that future generations would appreciate “that these new privileges did not come without somebody suffering for them.”

The most powerful, cinematic reminder of those many sacrifices is King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis. Produced by Ely Landau and associate Richard Kaplan, this poignant account of Dr. King’s tireless crusade was nominated for an Academy Award in 1971 in the Best Documentary category.

The monumental, B&W epic is a compelling collage cobbled together from a mix of newsreels and rare footage of marches, speeches, protests and arrests. This newly-restored, HD version co-produced by the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art was narrated by a number of celebrities, including Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones, Ruby Dee and Paul Newman, to name a few.

But those luminaries merely played a support role in service of the stirring story of how the Birmingham boycott blossomed into a nationwide effort to end Jim Crow segregation. Whether it’s the sit-ins, freedom rides or voter registration drives, again and again, we witness a determined people undeterred by police dogs, teargas, billy clubs, firemen’s hoses and the constant threat of state-sanctioned, vigilante attacks.

Dr. King’s followers were perhaps comforted by their charismatic leader’s mild-mannered assurances that, “Once you conquer the fear of death, you’re free.” The picture’s high points are invariably his words, whether in a letter written behind bars in a Birmingham jail, in a spellbinding speech delivered before hundreds of thousands at The March on Washington, or in a prophetic address in Memphis on the night before his assassination in 1968.

A timeless tribute to a selfless martyr who led his people to the Promised Land by holding fast to his fervent faith that their willingness to endure suffering along the way would exceed their enemies’ capacity to inflict suffering.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 181 minutes

Distributor: Kino Lorber / Kino Classics

To see a trailer for King: A Filmed Record, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIDGX-TIZ9I

To check local listings for theatrical screenings of King: A Filmed Record in your area, see below, or visit: http://www.kingdocumentary.com/

Alabama

Crescent Theater Mobile AL August 28th ONLY

Hollywood Stadium 18 Huntsville AL August 28th ONLY

Mobile Stadium 18 Mobile AL August 28th ONLY

Arizona

Sedona Film Society Sedona AZ August 28th ONLY

The Loft Cinema Tucson AZ August 28th ONLY

Arkansas

Market Street Cinema Little Rock AR August 28th ONLY

McCaine Mall Stadium 12 North Little Rock AR August 28th ONLY

California

L.A. Live Stadium 14 Los Angeles CA August 28th ONLY

Jack London 9 Oakland CA August 28th ONLY

Colorado

Sie Film Center Denver CO August 28th ONLY

Chief Theater Steamboat Springs CO August 28th ONLY

Florida

O Cinema Miami FL August 28th ONLY

All Saints Cinema/Tallahassee Film

Society Tallahassee FL August 28 and September 1 ONLY

Waterford Lakes Stadium 2 Orlando FL August 28th ONLY

River City Marketplace St Jacksonville FL August 28th ONLY

Southland Mall Stadium 16 Miami FL August 28th ONLY

Georgia

Atlantic Station Stadium Atlanta GA August 28th ONLY

Gem Theater Calhoun GA August 28th ONLY

Illinois

City North Stadium 14 Chicago IL August 28th ONLY

Indiana

Circle Center 9 Indianapolis IN August 28th ONLY

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Notre Dame IN October 12th ONLY

Louisiana

Citiplace Stadium 11 Baton Rouge LA August 28th ONLY

Maryland

Majestic Stadium 20 + IMAX Silver Spring MD August 28th ONLY

Massachusetts

Fenway Stadium 13 & RPX Boston MA August 28th ONLY

Montana

Roxy Theatre Missoula Missoula MT September 20th – 23rd

New York

Film Forum New York NY August 28th ONLY

Cinema Arts Centre Huntington NY August 28th ONLY

North Carolina

Grande Stadium 16 Greensboro NC August 28th ONLY

North Hills Stadium Raleigh NC August 28th ONLY

Starlight Stadium 14 Charlotte NC August 28th ONLY

Oklahoma

Circle Cinema Tulsa OK August 28th ONLY

Oregon

Clinton Street Theater Portland OR August 28th ONLY

Pennsylvania

Riverview Plaza 17 Philadelphia PA August 28th ONLY

South Carolina

Columbiana Grande Stadium Columbia SC August 28th ONLY

Tennessee

Hollywood Stadium 27 - Nashville Nashville TN August 28th ONLY

Texas

Texas Theatre Dallas TX August 28th ONLY

Greenway Grand Palace Stadium Houston TX August 28th ONLY

Cielo Vista Stadium 18 San Antonio TX August 28th ONLY

Virginia

Macarthur Center Stadium Northfolk VA August 28th ONLY

Short Pump 14 Stadium 14 Richmond VA August 28th ONLY

Washington

Grand Cinema Tacoma Tacoma WA August 28th ONLY

SIFF Cinema Seattle WA August 28th ONLY

Washington DC

Gallery Place Stadium 14 Washington DC August 28th ONLY

The Grandmaster

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Majestic Costume Drama Chronicles Career of Legendary Martial Arts Fighter

            Yip Oi-dor (1893-1972), aka Ip Man, was a legendary martial arts teacher perhaps best remembered for some of the prominent protégés who attended his kung fu school, most notably, Bruce Lee. But this influential icon has finally been getting his due in recent years as the subject of several reverential biopics.

            The latest, The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), is a majestic epic chronicling Ip Man’s life from the womb to the tomb. He’s very capably played by Tony Leung who just happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to President Obama, for what that’s worth.

            At the picture’s point of departure, we learn that Ip hailed from Foshan, a city in Guangdong province where he started studying martial arts at an early age. By the time he was a young man, he had already developed a reputation as a formidable fighter, and was enlisted by his region’s elders to represent all of Southern China in a match against Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang), the best from the North.

            Yip prevails in a showdown more mental than physical by employing an innovative combination of his trademarked “Spade,” “Pin” and “Sheath” techniques which prove to be far simpler than the 64 moves relied upon by his aging opponent. Soon thereafter, Gong finds himself dealing with dissension in the Northern ranks, between betrayed by an aggressive heir apparent (Zhang Jan) and being disappointed by his daughter’s (Zhang Ziyi) decision to practice medicine rather than follow in his footsteps.

            That enables Yip Man to fill the void and eventually emerge as the greatest grandmaster in all of China. Director Kar-wai resorts to flying harnesses, slow motion and other state-of-the-art trick photography to showcase his hero’s considerable skills. If you’re familiar with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, then you have a decent idea what to expect in terms of gravity defying kick and fisticuffs.

            The overly-ambitious production’s only flaw rests with its occasionally-confusing editing, which unnecessarily resorts to flashbacks in recounting the decades-spanning tale when the movie might have worked just as well if allowed to unfold chronologically. Regardless, this comprehensive combination history lesson, love story and action flick features all the fixin’s necessary to entertain any fan of the martial arts genre.

            Yip Man lives!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity, smoking and brief drug use

In Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 108 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company 

To see a trailer for Grandmaster, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO1yfTfozhk

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

by Jeanne Theoharris  

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Beacon Press

Hardcover, $27.95

320 pages

ISBN: 978-0-8070-5047-7

 

“Described by the New York Times as ‘the accidental matriarch of the civil rights movement,’ the Rosa Parks who surfaced in… nearly every [obituary] was characterized as ‘quiet,’ ‘humble,’ ‘dignified,’ and ‘soft-spoken.’ Her public contribution as the ‘mother of the movement’ was repeatedly defined by one solitary act on the bus… and linked to her quietness.

Held up as a national heroine but stripped off her lifelong history of activism and anger at American injustice, the Parks who emerged was a self-sacrificing mother figure for a nation who would use her death for a ritual of national redemption… This limited view of Parks has extended to the historical scholarship as well… [Today] Rosa Parks continues to be hidden in plain sight, celebrated and paradoxically relegated to be a hero for children…  

What I have endeavored to do is begin the job of going behind the icon of Rosa Parks to excavate and examine the scope of her political life… [to] tell a fuller accounting of her life, a ‘life history of being rebellious,’ as she put it.” 

-- Excerpted from Introduction (pages viii, ix and xv)

 

            Rosa Parks’ (1913-2005) contribution to the Civil Rights Movement has been conveniently reduced by most historians to that fateful day in December of 1955 on which she inspired the Montgomery bus boycott by refusing to surrender her seat to a white person. According to legend, the revered heroine’s act of civil disobedience came as a consequence of her just being tired rather than as a result of any political strategy or sense of social conscious.

            Truth be told, Rosa Parks had already been involved in the African-American struggle for equality for over a decade. Even as a child, she picked up a brick to defend herself when a racist boy tried to bully her. And as a teenager, she fought back against a white man who was sexually assaulting her, explaining, “If he wanted to kill me and rape a dead body, he was welcome, but he’d have to kill me first.”

            In marrying Raymond Parks, Rosa later found the perfect partner, a strong black man who shared her passion for questioning the status quo. Frustrated by the unfulfilled promises of American democracy, they joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to lobby for voting and other rights long denied, and against Jim Crow segregation and the legal system’s tacit approval of the lynching and rape of blacks by whites.

            In fact, Rosa was serving as the secretary of the NAACP’s Montgomery branch at the time of her boycott-launching arrest. Soon after being thrust into the national limelight, however, she and her husband paid a heavy price, losing their jobs and living with constant death threats until relocating to Detroit.

            There, Rosa’s commitment to social justice continued, especially since she found the North to be anything but a Promised Land. Over the ensuing half-century she would speak out against police brutality and the Vietnam War, as well as against racial discrimination in housing, education and employment.

            An overdue biography fully fleshing out a civil rights icon’s lifelong commitment to the progress of her people.

To order a copy of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0807050474/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 

You're Next

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Masked Maniacs Wreak Havoc at Family Reunion in Harrowing Horror Flick

            Paul Davison (Rob Moran) recently retired after receiving a generous golden parachute from KPG, the defense contractor with which he’d enjoyed a long career as an executive. Hoping to spend their golden years in the country, he and his wife Aubrey (Barbara Crampton) purchased a sprawling Tudor mansion in need of a little TLC.

            The couple moves into the mammoth fixer-upper on their 35th anniversary with plans to celebrate by hosting a family reunion that very same weekend. Their arriving guests include son Crispian (AJ Bowen) and his girlfriend Erin (Sharni Vinson); son Drake (Joe Swanberg) and his wife Kelly (Margaret Laney); son Felix (Nicholas Tucci) and his girlfriend Zee (Wendy Glenn); and daughter Aimee (Amy Seimetz) and boyfriend Tariq (Ti West).

            But the revelers at the rural retreat are initially blissfully unaware that their only neighbors (Kate Lyn Sheil and Larry Fessenden) for miles around have just been murdered in a brutal home invasion by an ax-wielding maniac. This means Erin is in for the shock of her life when Mrs. Davison innocently asks her to run next-door to borrow some milk. What she finds is the aftermath of the slaughter, and the words “You’re Next” written in blood on a sliding glass door.

            Then, as night falls, the Davisons, find their phones inoperable as they come under attack by a masked madman armed with a crossbow. They immediately begin to barricade the premises and to take precautionary measures while trying to figure out who would want them dead and why.

            Thus unfolds You’re Next, a high attrition-rate horror flick directed by wunderkind Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die). The Mumblecore maven tapped a talented cast featuring several actors associated with the genre, including Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz and Lane Hughes.

            This tautly-edited, harrowing adventure that kept this critic on the edge of my seat and constantly reminding myself that “It’s only a movie.” It even had me shrieking at the top of my lungs in reaction to a number of shocking developments, precisely as the best in fright fare ought to do.

            Rather than risk spoiling a cleverly-concealed mindbender one iota, suffice to say that the summer of 2013 has been a great season for horror fare, from The Purge to The Conjuring to this spine-tingling scare fest not for the squeamish.   

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and graphic violence

Running time: 96 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films  

To see a trailer for You're Next, visit: http://lionsgatepublicity.com/theatrical/yourenext/

Or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufUQWpEkbf0     

Kick-Ass 2

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Shocking Splatterflick Ups the Ante on Original’s Gratuitous Gore

            It’s very rare indeed for a matinee idol to trash his or her own picture prior to its release, no matter how horrible the film is. Instead, they tend to just bite the bullet and participate in the press junket praising it to high heaven. For that reason, audiences should have considered themselves warned when Jim Carrey decided to distance himself from Kick-Ass 2, going so far as to apologize to his fans for the splatterflick’s shocking “level of violence.”

            But upping the ante on gratuitous gore is just one of a host of this sorry vigilante sequel’s fatal flaws. Another is that the rubber-faced comedian was not only crippled by a script with no funny lines for him but also required to keep his most valuable asset covered with a mask for most of the movie.

            Replacement director Jeff Wadlow takes the hit here for miscasting Carrey in a dramatic role in a comedy. What’s wrong with playing to a thespian’s strengths, especially when you have at your disposal one of the funniest comics to ever grace the silver screen?   

            If you remember Kick-Ass 1, what really made the movie magical was Hit-Girl (Chole Moretz) and Big Daddy’s (Nicolas Cage) bizarre but tender father-daughter relationship. Unfortunately, Big Daddy bit the dust in the original, and the title role of Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has been expanded this go-round, mostly at the expense of Hit-Girl’s screen time.

            In fact, as the film unfolds, we learn that Hit-Girl has hung up her mask and stretchy pants to focus on her freshman year at Millard Fillmore high school as alter ego Mindy McCready. Senior David Lizewski, however, still moonlights as Kick-Ass and soon joins Justice Forever, a ragtag team of self-proclaimed superheroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Carrey).

            Their evil nemesis is The Mother [expletive] (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the richest kid in all of New York. This diabolical orphan has inherited the bucks to assemble the best bloodthirsty, band of villains money can buy.

            The ensuing epic battle between good and evil for the fate of the city eventually forces Hit-Girl out of retirement, and just in the nick of time to turn the tide. Too bad the picture’s pathetic attempts at humor fall flat, its special f/x are cheesy, its characters never generate any chemistry, its preposterous plot fails to engage, and it features a morally-reprehensible “level of violence,” most of it involving teenagers.

            Oh, but the ending does set up the franchise’s next installment, for folks who get their kicks vicariously, via the observation of explicit vivisection. A relentlessly-gruesome bloodfest of no redeeming value that at least Jim Carrey had the decency to ‘fess up about.  

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for sexuality, graphic violence, crude humor, pervasive profanity, and brief nudity

In English, Mandarin and Russian with subtitles

Running Time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures 

To see a trailer for Kick-Ass 2, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nje6dcArZrI         

The Happy Sad

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Couples’ Lives Serendipitously Intertwine in Bifurcated Brooklyn Drama

            Stan (Cameron Scoggins) and Annie (Sorel Carradine) are a young couple in crisis. She recently informed him over brunch in a Brooklyn bistro that she wanted to take a break “to figure things out.”

            Flabbergasted Stan pressured her for an explanation, so she lied and said that she was already sleeping with a fellow schoolteacher, Mandy (Maria Dizzia). Believing the fib, he decided on the spot to end the relationship.

            The bitter breakup frees Stan to explore his own curiosity about bisexuality, so he makes the online acquaintance of a tall, dark and handsome stranger (LeRoy McClain). The two agree to meet, and end up mating on the first date. Only after Stan has given away his gay virginity does he learn that that Marcus has a live-in boyfriend.

            What makes the situation even messier, his life mate, Aaron (Charlie Barnett), just happens to be a waiter Stan and Annie know from their favorite restaurant. Marcus and Aaron do have an open relationship that’s lasted six years. Trouble is, their only rule is you’re not allowed to develop feelings for anybody you cheat with.

            That’s a problem since Marcus falls in love at first sight with Aaron. However, Stan isn’t quite inclined to reciprocate. He’s not even sure that he’s bi, let alone ready to come out of the closet to be in an interracial homosexual relationship.

            Not one to give up easily, Aaron informs Marcus that “I want to take my jaw, unhinge it, and swallow your head whole.” Meanwhile, odd woman out Annie does seduce her cute colleague Mandy, but when lesbianism doesn’t work out proceeds to lick her wounds at a local watering hole where she turns the head of a two-bit comedian.

            So unfolds The Happy Sad, a gender-bending romantic romp directed by Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother). You almost need a score card to keep track of all the coupling, uncoupling, and re-coupling, but the out-of-the-closet antics are amusing enough to intrigue.    

            Who will end up with whom? The possibilities are endless when the players are this open-minded and so confused about their identities!

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 86 minutes

Distributor: Miasma Films 

To see a trailer for The Happy Sad, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKp_fZ4M-zE 

Spark: A Burning Man Story

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Visually-Captivating Documentary Chronicles Annual Bohemian Gathering  

            Every summer, about 60,000 free-spirited fugitives of civilization descend on an empty spot in the Nevada desert and dub it Black Rock City to participate in an annual ritual known as Burning Man. The gathering basically affords a horde of artistic, ex-hippie hedonists a week of fun in the sun free from the dictates of otherwise humdrum lives divided between being stuck in stultifying suburbia and commuting to boring, corporate desk jobs.

            Braving nightly windstorms and sweltering 100+ degree days, these would-be bohemians are mostly aging flower children looking to recreate the magic they once enjoyed at counter-cultural concerts like Woodstock before finally making major concessions to conformity. Here, they make the most of the opportunity to shed their societal facades (and maybe even their clothes) and to get in touch once again with their primal selves.

            Not that absolutely anything goes at Burning Man. The event does have ten guidelines encouraging: “Radical Expression,” “Communal Effort” and “Gifting,” to name a few. And “Participation” is mandatory, since no spectators are allowed. 

            Co-directed by Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter, Spark: A Burning Man Story is a visually-captivating documentary which chronicles the goings-on at last year’s gathering. We learn that the love fest is called Burning Man because the climax of the conclave involves setting on fire a 35 foot-tall, 3,000 pound effigy of a guy. 

            Many attendees work on their costumes, floats and/or constructions for months prior to their arrival, much like participants in New Orleans Mardi Gras or Philly’s Mummers’ Parade. But Burning Man seems to have a distinctly anti-establishment agenda, evidenced by the torching of 70 foot-tall models of skyscrapers called “Merrill Lynched,” “Goldman Sucks” and Bank of Un-America.”  

            Why Occupy Wall Street when you can occupy the desert?   

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Paladin Films

To see a trailer for Spark: A Burning Man Story, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0XGiOnuxO8  

The Speech

The Story behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream

by Gary Younge  

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Haymarket Books

Paperback, $19.95

192 pages

ISBN: 978-1-60846-356-5

 

“A great speech is both timely and timeless. First and foremost, it must touch and move its immediate audience… But it must also simultaneously reach over the heads of the assembled to posterity.

The ‘I Have a Dream’ speech qualified on both counts. It was delivered in a year that started with Alabama Governor George Wallace, standing on the steps of the state capitol, declaring ‘Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!’ 

The speech starts, both literally and metaphorically, in the shadow of Lincoln, ends with a quote from a Negro spiritual, and in between quotes the song ‘America the Beautiful’ while evoking ‘a dream rooted in the American dream’ and drawing references from the bible and Constitution…

Fifty years later, the speech endures as a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement… This gripping book unearths the fascinating chronicle behind ‘The speech’ and the revealing events surrounding The March on Washington.” 

-- Excerpted from Introduction

 

            On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, an unapologetically poetic appeal for the elusive equal rights long denied African-Americans. Unfortunately, over the years, the late martyr’s historic address has all but been reduced to his wish that “my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

            A half-century later we find that “content of character” phrase being appropriated, quoted out of context and willfully misrepresented by arch-conservatives from Glenn Beck to Herman Cain in service of a right-wing agenda. For this reason, it is rather refreshing to find an opus like this being published on the 50th anniversary to remind us of the true meaning of Dr. King’s moving remarks.

            The author of the book is Gary Younge, a broadcaster and columnist based in Chicago. Here, the award-winning journalist does a masterful job of not only dissecting Dr. King’s words, but of filling in much of the back story to the events leading up to his taking the podium.

            We learn that “I Have a Dream” was not the planned focus of the speech, in fact, that divinely-inspired, emotional crescendo was substantially improvised on the spot as an afterthought. King’s intended theme merely revolved around an earnest explanation that blacks had descended on the District of Columbia “to cash a promissory note for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  

            For, while preparing his speech on the eve of the march, King had been advised by a colleague to cut out the lines about his having a dream. “It’s trite… It’s cliché,” Reverend Wyatt Tee Walker warned.

            But, the next day on the National Mall, as Dr. King came close to finishing reading from his prepared text, gospel great Mahalia Jackson started prompting him to go off script. “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” she shouted repeatedly, referring to a familiar refrain she’d heard her dear friend eloquently riff about in sermons several times before.

            Fortunately, Martin did indeed heed Mahalia, and began waxing romantic about his prophetic vision. “Aw, sh*t, he’s using the dream,” Reverend Walker moaned. Yet, as Coretta Scott King would recall, “At that moment, it seemed as if the Kingdom of God appeared.”

            And the rest, as they say, is history.

To order a copy of The Speech, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1608463222/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Forest Whitaker Delivers Oscar-Quality Performance in Emotionally-Searing Civil Rights Saga

            Eugene Allen (1919-2010) served eight presidents over the course of an enduring career in the White House during which he rose from the position of Pantry Man to Head Butler by the time he retired in 1986. In that capacity, the African-American son of a sharecropper felt privileged to be an eyewitness to history, since his tenure coincided with the implementation of most of the landmark pieces of legislation dismantling the Jim Crow system of racial segregation.

            Directed by two-time Oscar-nominee Lee Daniels, The Butler is a father-son biopic relating events in Allen’s life as they unfolded against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. This fictionalized account features Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker in the title role as Cecil Gaines, and his A-list supporting cast includes fellow Oscar-winners Cuba Gooding, Jr., Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams and Melissa Leo, as well as nominees Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey.

            The point of departure is a plantation in the Deep South, where Cecil witnesses his father’s (David Banner) murder on the cotton field for protesting his mother’s (Mariah Carey) rape at the hand of an overseer. Because the perpetrator was never brought to justice, the youngster gets the message at an early age that “Any white man could kill us at any time and not be punished for it.”

            Therefore, eager to avoid the same fate as his dad, he skips town as a teenager, settling in Washington, DC where he lands steady work as a bartender in a hotel catering to an upscale clientele. There he also meets Gloria (Winfrey), the maid he would one day marry and start a family with.

            Cecil’s sterling reputation as a polite and deferential black man eventually reaches the White House, where he takes a position on the express understanding that “You hear nothing. You see nothing. You only serve.” Although he manages to maintain an inscrutably apolitical façade on the job, the same can’t be said for the home front, where current events are freely debated.

            There, Cecil finds himself increasingly at odds with his elder son, Louis (David Oyelowo), a civil rights activist inclined to participate in voter registration marches, sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and freedom bus rides. The simmering tension between the two builds over the years to the boiling point when Louis derisively refers to his as father an Uncle Tom.

            At that juncture, Cecil’s protective spouse intervenes to slap her son before uttering the moving line likely to land Oprah Winfrey another Academy Award nomination: “Everything you have, and everything you are, is because of that butler.” However, Forest Whitaker is even more deserving of accolades, delivering a nonpareil performance as a humble provider understandably reluctant to rock the boat. 

            Kudos to Lee Daniels for crafting such a gut-wrenching tour de force which never hits a false note while chronicling critical moments in the African-American fight for equality.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, smoking, profanity, ethnic slurs, disturbing images and mature themes

Running time: 132 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company 

To see a trailer for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, visit:

http://www.twcpublicity.com/video_popup.php?id=108

Elysium

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Sick Seek Help at Utopian Space Station in Futuristic Sci-Fi Thriller

            It’s 2154, a time when the Earth has become so polluted and overpopulated that all of the idle rich have abandoned the planet to loll in the lap of luxury on a state-of-the-art space station. Their decadent enclave, Elysium, looks suspiciously similar to Beverly Hills, being dotted with palm trees, mansions and built-in swimming pools.

            Down below, the teeming masses of poor people struggle to survive, with escape to Elysium being their only hope for a decent existence. Of course, that’s easier said than done, since you have to be able to afford a ride aboard an expensive rocket ship just to get there. And, even after arriving, you have to provide the authorities proof of citizenship in order to stay.

            The job of preventing illegal immigrants from entering Elysium falls to its steely Secretary of Defense Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster), a heartless ice princess who has no qualms about shooting unauthorized space shuttles right out of the sky. She ostensibly does the bidding of John Carlyle (William Fitchner), the nefarious CEO of Armadyne Corporation, much to the chagrin of the orbiting outpost’s president (Faran Tahir).

            For, it’s impossible for any politician to reign in the powerful defense contractor, a fact which humble everyman Max Da Costa (Matt Damon) is about to learn the hard way. He only has five days to live after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation in an industrial accident.

            After his request for medical treatment readily available on Elysium is summarily denied, he becomes determined to breach the border of the remote oasis by hook or by crook. He also wants to bring along his childhood friend, Frey (Alice Braga), and her young daughter (Emma Tremblay) who is suffering from acute leukemia. Standing in their way, however, is Kruger (Sharlto Copley), a blood-thirsty, heavily-armed mercenary deputized by Delacourt to patrol Los Angeles make sure no unworthy earthlings ascend to her exclusive abode.

            Directed by Neill Blomkamp, Elysium is a distinctly disappointing sophomore effort from the South African wunderkind who‘d made such a spectacular splash in 2009 with the sleeper hit District 9. This film feels like he’s all out of ideas, between the exploration of similar themes revolving and a cliché-ridden script filled with hack, action flick lines like: “That’s what I’m talking about,” “You have no idea,” and “I’m just getting started.”

            An underwhelming, sci-fi adventure more akin to After Earth than District 9.

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for pervasive profanity and graphic violence

Running time: 109 minutes

Distributor: Tri-Star Pictures 

To see a trailer for Elysium, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBtePb-dGY 

When Comedy Went to School

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Borscht Belt Documentary Revisits the Rise of Legendary Jewish Comics

            What do such legendary comics as Danny Kaye, Jerry Stiller, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason, Don Rickles, David Brenner, Buddy Hackett, Henny Youngman, Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Woody Allen, Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, Alan King and Rodney Dangerfield have in common? They all got their start in showbiz doing stand-up in the Catskill Mountains at any number of the lush farm region’s hundreds of hotel resorts.

            Starting in the late Thirties, the so-called Borscht Belt began catering to a clientele predominantly comprised of Jewish immigrants in need of a summer retreat where they could get a break from the sweltering tenements of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. After all, they had little interest in vacationing in Europe, a place most were lucky to have escaped.

            So, they instead made an annual exodus to upstate New York for fresh air, good food and some fun in the sun. Each establishment there also had a nightly stage show where aspiring entertainers could ply their trade, including the aforementioned icons.

            What made working the Catskills unique was that it served as a proving ground allowing a comedian to hone his or her skills en route to the big time, namely, movies and TV. As narrator Robert Klein puts it, “It was a laboratory. Comics had a place to be bad.” 

            This slice of Jewish history is the focus of When Comedy Went to School, an alternately informative and hilarious documentary co-directed by Mevlut Akkaya and Ron Frank. The film features reflections by surviving greats, as well as the insights of some members of the next generation, most notably, Jerry Seinfeld.

            Sprinkled in amidst the enlightening history lessons are lots of one-liners preserved on vintage footage of yesteryear’s stars of tomorrow. To wit, Alan King: “My wife takes 40 minutes to lipstick her face because she has a big mouth.” And Joan Rivers: “I was the last girl in Larchmont to get married. My mom had to put up a sign saying, ‘Last girl before freeway.’” And Woody Allen: “This watch I’m wearing is a family heirloom. My grandfather, on his death bed, sold me this watch.”

            Priceless!              

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 77 minutes

Distributor: International Film Circuit 

To see a trailer for When Comedy Went to School, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwr-U1z1F60   

Race, Philosophy, and Film

Edited by Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo and Dan Flory

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group

Hardcover, $125.00

250 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-415-62445-9  

 

“This collection of original essays investigates one of the least-explored topics in the philosophy of film and the philosophy of race: the nexus of our ideas and attitudes toward race and how they arise in cinematic narrative and viewership… As the first anthology to focus on this intersection of topics, its chapters explore issues in epistemology, aesthetics, moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, and technology and the body.

The essays… aim to illuminate not only the philosophical perspectives employed but also the cinematic examples analyzed. This anthology offers a timely… consideration of race, including ethnicity and whiteness and their connections to sex, gender, and the body, through a variety of film genres.”

-- Excerpted from Foreword (pg. i)

 

            Would the Batman trilogy have been as popular with mainstream audiences had the title character been portrayed by a black man instead of a Caucasian? In Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry played a wanton woman so desperate for sex and affection that she slept with her husband’s executioner. Why was that performance the first ever by a black female to win an Oscar in the Best Lead Actress category? Did it have anything to do with the role’s feeding the patriarchal fantasies of the Academy’s predominantly white male membership?

            These are the sort of intriguing questions tackled in Race, Philosophy, and Film, a fascinating collection of essays compiled by Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo and Dan Flory, professors at Washington State and Montana State Universities, respectively. The other fourteen contributors to this enlightening opus are also professors, whether teaching film studies, philosophy, literature, critical culture, gender and race studies, or other disciplines.

            The timely tome arrives on shelves at a propitious moment, for 2013 has proven to be a banner year in African-American cinema, with historical dramas like 42, Fruitvale Station, Big Words and Lee Daniels’ The Butler already garnering critical acclaim for avoiding stereotypes in favor of fresh perspectives of the black experience.

            But this book focuses on how Hollywood has handled race in the past.

For instance, in a chapter entitled “What’s So Bad about Blackface?” the author explains that the problem with that outmoded practice is that it has a tendency to misinform audiences by reinforcing false beliefs about race that are only true in a fictional world.

            By contrast, in a chapter called “Hardly Black and White,” the movies Manderlay and Black Snake Moan are assailed for embodying every last racial cliché, from black men embodying sexuality, to all blacks looking alike to whites, to black Southerners singing the blues, to white Southerners being beer-drinking rednecks.

            Other pictures analyzed include Avatar, The Help, The Matrix, The Princess and the Frog, Twilight, and Trading Places, to name a few. Because the writers are all academics, the sophisticated material might have you reaching for the dictionary occasionally. Still, making the effort will be richly rewarded since it’s in service of an in-depth analysis of the images disseminated by a very powerful, belief-shaping medium.

To order a copy of Race, Philosophy, and Film, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0415624452/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20  

We're the Millers
Film Review by Kam Williams

David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer with a big problem. He’s just been robbed of all of his cash and stash, leaving him indebted to an impatient drug kingpin (Ed Helms) to the tune of $44,000.

Now, David’s only hope of wiping the slate clean rests with accepting a proverbial “offer you can’t refuse” from skeptical Brad, namely, to smuggle a couple of tons of marijuana across the Mexican border. Figuring a family in an RV would look a lot less suspicious trying to get through customs than a single guy with a panel truck, he starts looking for folks down on their luck willing to pose for a few bucks as his wife and kids.

All he can find on such short notice are Kenny (Will Poulter), a naïve, home alone kid who lives down the hall; Rose (Jennifer Aniston), a struggling stripper at the local gentlemen’s club; and Casey (Emma Roberts), a streetwise teen runaway. But will the faking foursome be able to pass themselves off as a typical suburban family over the course of their 4th of July weekend jaunt?

That is the intriguing premise of We’re the Millers, a raunchy road comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball). Of course, the faux family has a really hard time maintaining their cover, such as when supposed mother and daughter are spotted making out by a DEA Agent (Nick Offerman) they unwittingly befriend en route.

While certifiably funny in spots, consider this a fair warning: much of the movie relies on a coarse brand of humor apt to shock fans of co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis, given the relatively-tame, TV fare they’re known for. For instance, there’s the hilarious, if graphic, sight gag featuring a swollen testicle that’s been bitten by a tarantula.

The dialogue can be crude, too, especially when characters discuss their sexuality and bodily functions. But betwixt and between the bottom-feeding jokes, director Thurber continues to ratchet up the tension as we watch the Millers do their best to deliver the weed despite alarming the authorities and being trailed by a vicious mobster (Tomer Sisley) with a claim on the contraband.

Picture Cheech & Chong on a National Lampoon Vacation!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for pervasive profanity, crude sexuality, drug use and full-frontal male nudity

Running time: 110 minutes

Distributor: New Line Cinema

Rising from Ashes

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Bike Racing Documentary Chronicles Rise of Rwanda Cycling Team

            Over the course of a hundred days in 1994, the East African nation of Rwanda experienced an ethnic cleansing which consumed the lives of nearly a fifth of the population. The mass slaughter came as a consequence of a revolt by the majority tribe, the Hutus, against the Tutsis, a minority which, with the help of the country’s European colonizers, had enjoyed a higher social and economic status for centuries.

            A few years after the cessation of the civil war, American bike racing legend Jock Boyer was looking for a chance at redemption in the wake of being paroled after serving time in prison for lewd behavior. He found that opportunity he needed upon moving to Rwanda at the suggestion of a friend.

            There, he took on the unenviable challenge of coaching the national cycling team. And over the next six years he trained them while teaching them how to compete on the level of World-Class athletes with the hope of one day qualifying for the Olympics.

            That seemingly impossible quest is the subject of Rising from Ashes, an uplifting, overcoming-the-odds documentary directed by T.C. Johnstone. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, the film introduces us to the ragtag crew of raw recruits, including prima donna Abraham, mischievous Nathan and strongman Nyandwi, that Jock had to try to whip into fighting shape.

            But besides athleticism, the intrepid coach had to worry about his young protégés equipment, since they were riding on quarter century-old, brakeless, wooden bikes ordinarily employed as taxis or to deliver huge sacks of produce. An even bigger hurdle had to do with the fact that each was also still suffering from deep, psychological turmoil caused by the mass slaughter they’d witnessed of a million fellow citizens.

            For instance, the team’s star, Adrien, had lost sixty members of his family, including six brothers and everyone on his mother’s side of the clan. For that reason, besides salaries, health care and education, some of the squad’s funds were devoted to addressing daunting mental health issues.

            An inspirational illustration of how the Olympics came to serve as a unifying step in terms of exorcising the demons ever haunting Rwanda’s grisly killing fields.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and Kinyarwanda with subtitles

Running time: 80 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features 

To see a trailer for Rising from Ashes, visit:   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfq0DxS4KM  

The Wolverine
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jackman Journeys to Japan for Latest Adventure as Metal-Clawed Mutant

Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), is a mutant with retractable claws and a self-healing, metal skeleton. As a member of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, he has appeared in all five of the franchise’s prior screen adaptations, most notably, the eponymous installment exploring his origin.

At this episode’s point of departure, we find him in Alaska and awaking from the clever cinematic contrivance of a nightmare within a nightmare. In the haunting dream, he’d been confronted by Jean Grey, aka Phoenix (Famke Janssen), the lover/colleague gone bad he’d been forced to stab to death in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Here, she makes him feel so guilty about gutting her belly and aborting their baby that he promises never to hurt anyone ever again. Trouble is, Logan has anger management issues which cause him to morph into feral Wolverine whenever he loses his temper, and he proceeds to break the vow the very next day in a bar fight with a bunch of inconsiderate local yokels.

However, the film’s setting changes from the Yukon to the Orient soon after the arrival in town of bottle red-head Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a capable bodyguard sent by Ichiro Yashida (Haruchiko Yamanouchi), the terminally-ill CEO of Japan’s biggest corporation. Since Logan saved Ichiro’s life when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, you’d think he was being summoned for a grateful, fond farewell. Think again.

The old man suddenly wants to live forever and has hatched a plan to steal Wolverine’s secret to immortality. And he’s assisted in this diabolical endeavor by and army of ninjas as well as by Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), an evil temptress with an immunity to toxins.

Meanwhile, Logan is lucky that Yukio has decided to shift loyalties from her boss to him. At this juncture, the picture launches into a ballet-like display of non-stop martial arts fare, the highlight being a breathtaking Kabuki dance to the death atop a careening locomotive.

When the dust settles, Logan of course not only emerges victorious but will have to choose whether to ride off into the Land of the Rising Sun’s proverbial sunset with two-fisted, tomboy Yukio or with gorgeous Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Ichiro’s granddaughter. Provided you’re not suffering from blockbuster fatigue in this summer of sequels, this engaging and enchanting Asian adventure definitely deserves to be added to your “Must See” list.

Crouching Viper, Hidden Wolverine!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity and intense violence

In English and Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 126 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia
Film Review by Kam Williams

Some of the most brilliant people I’ve ever interviewed have been dyslexic, including film directors like Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects), Joe Wright (Anna Karenina) and Guy Ritchie (Snatch), as well as matinee idol Channing Tatum, who opened up to me about the pain he felt about his grades in school until he found fulfillment in a number of artistic pursuits such as dance, sculpting, painting, photography, and of course, acting.

Each of the aforementioned is a nonconformist with a knack for thinking out of the box, a trait also shared by most of the subjects of The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia. Among the icons who appear in this enlightening documentary directed by James Redford are self-made, billionaire Richard Branson, investment house CEO Charles Schwab, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, and A-list attorney David Boies.

After hearing them weigh-in about their supposed affliction, one can’t help but wonder whether dyslexia might actually be considered by some to be a blessing. Boies points out his learning disability’s positive correlation with creativity, which helps explain why so many born with it have blossomed in unique fashion in their respective fields. Branson says dyslexics are trustworthy because “We say what we mean,” while Newsom believes their brains enjoy the advantage of being able to see “The Big Picture.”

Besides the rich and famous, the film focuses on youngsters (in grammar school, junior high, high school and college) and their parents as they share what life is like after a diagnosis of dyslexia. What’s abundantly clear is that each has managed to overcome the combination of low expectations and frustrations with spelling and reading to prove themselves capable of competing with classmates on the highest level, so long as some slight accommodations are made which take their condition into consideration.

An admirably informative and empathetic effort clearing up common misconceptions, essentially explaining that dyslexia is not a character flaw but merely a neurological issue affecting as many as one out of five individuals.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 60 minutes

Distributor: Shadow Creek Films / HBO Films

To see a trailer for The Big Picture, visit

R.I.P.D.
Film Review by Kam Williams

Veteran detective Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is very content between his 15-year career with the Boston Police Department and being happily-married to the love of his life, Julia (Stefanie Szostak). However, his American Dream is irreversibly ruined the fateful day he is assigned to bring down a drug cartel conducting business out of an abandoned factory along the waterfront.

For, greed gets the best of his partner, Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon), after the ensuing shootout, when they discover a stash of gold artifacts. And instead of taking the antique ingots back to headquarters, he decides to shoot Nick dead and blame the murder on the bad guys. To add insult to injury, Bobby consoles Julia and even has the temerity to put the moves on the grieving widow.

Meanwhile, Nick finds himself neither in Heaven nor Hell, but in a police purgatory where a proctor (Mary-Louise Parker) offers him a chance to return to Earth as a member of a squad of zombie cops called the Rest in Peace Department (R.I.P.D.). He leaps at the opportunity, and is immediately paired with a late, Old West lawman, a salty cowboy named Roycephus Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges).

The grizzled gunslinger grudgingly agrees to work with a partner for the first time, and in the blink of an eye the two are teleported back to Beantown to round up renegade dead souls who have somehow evaded the afterlife. There, Nick conveniently also has an opportunity to check in on Julia and plot his revenge on Bobby.

Like a poor man’s version of Men in Black, R.I.P.D. is a disappointing action comedy both in terms of action and comedy. Think “ghost” instead of “alien” adversaries and you have the basic idea of what director Robert Schwentke is going for.

Unfortunately, the obsolete special f/x leave a lot to be desired, and the corny jokes fall flat. Another major structural flaw is the lack of chemistry between the protagonists, a no-no in any unlikely-buddies adventure. Ryan Reynolds looks lost opposite the drawling, generally unintelligible Jeff Bridges who behaves like he’s still on the set of True Grit.

R.I.P.D. is D.O.A.!

Fair (1 star)

Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity, sensuality and sexual references

Running Time: 96 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

 

Israel: A Home Movie
Film Review by Kam Williams

Most people’s general impressions of Israel come as a result of watching news stories prepared by professional journalists. If you’re interested in getting a more intimate feeling of the country untainted by politics, you might want to check out this documentary by Eliav Lilti.

The movie is basically a collage of home movies shot by amateur shutterbugs on Super 8 film between the Thirties and the Seventies. Besides reminding us of mundane fare like birthdays and bar mitzvahs, it covers subject-matter ranging from euphoric Romanian refugees dancing on the deck of a boat as they arrive in Israel, to a nurse comforting a wounded private who has just lost three limbs in battle, to settlers building in the occupied territories.

Together, these assorted images prove fascinating, since they paint the melancholy, collective psyche of a haunted homeland hopelessly caught in cycles of conflict where the next crisis might lurk just around the corner. For, here, we see a Jewish family grieving a young man murdered in a terrorist attack. And there, we hear a shell-shocked soldier declare, “God bless morphine!”

The tableau that perhaps says it all unfolds at a Yom Kippur beach party whose festivities are suddenly disrupted when a jet fighter is shot down over the sea. Israel captured through the eyes of ordinary citizens as a vulnerable refuge where tragedy has become the norm, and where peace invariably leads back to war.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In Hebrew with subtitles

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: Film Forum

Big Words
Film Review by Kam Williams

It’s November 4, 2008, and Brooklyn is bristling with anticipation about the impending election returns to see whether or not Barack Obama will be the nation’s first African-American president. But the magic of the moment is pretty much lost on John aka MC Wordsmith (Dorian Missick), James aka Jay-V (Gbenga Akinnagbe) and Terry aka DJ Malik (Darien Sills-Evans), despite the fact that they’re black and hail from the ‘hood.

Back in the early Nineties, the three shared a brief promising career as the Down Low Poets, a fledgling hip-hop group which produced a video, two singles and an unreleased album before disappearing from the record-biz radar. The band disbanded, went their separate ways and lost touch entirely.

Today, with Obama poised to make history, we find each consumed by a personal crisis. John has just been laid off from his job as an IT technician. James is now a book publicist in a stagnant relationship and considering seducing his handsome, young intern (Zachary Booth). Only Terry is still an aspiring rap star, and stubbornly refuses to see the handwriting on the wall after a couple of decades squandered desperately trying to make it in the music business.

By a twist of fate, their paths cross at an election night party where Obama’s achievement only serves as a distracting backdrop. Proving far more compelling are the personal questions being raised. What are John’s chances with the stripper (Yaya Alafia) he just picked up at a go-go bar?

Will out-of-the-closet James’ once-hidden homosexuality remain a block to repairing relationships with his former pals, especially his cousin, John? Will Terry drop the hip-hop moniker, pull up his pants, and get a real job?

Written and directed by Neil Drumming, Big Words is a perfectly plausible, character-driven drama with only one glaring flaw. Why bother to set an African-American tale on Election Night 2008, if you plan to give Obama’s triumph such short shrift?

A poignant portrait of a very eventful day in the lives of a trio too self-absorbed to care about who was about to win the White House.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: AFFRM / Twice Told Films

The Conjuring
Film Review by Kam Williams

In 1952, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) founded the New England Society for Psychic Research. Back then, the couple also began devoting a wing of their home to a museum of occult artifacts they would collect over the course of their long career.

Lorraine was a celebrated clairvoyant and medium while her World War II veteran husband was the only non-ordained demonologist recognized by the Catholic Church. As a team, they would investigate thousands of reports of haunted houses over the years, most notably, The Amityville Horror.

The Conjuring, directed by James Wan (Saw), revisits one of the Warrens’ lesser-known cases. Set in 1971, the film unfolds in Harrisville, Rhode Island where they were summoned to the secluded, lakefront home of Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn Perron (Lily Taylor).

The Perrons had recently moved into the old farmhouse with their five young daughters (Mackenzie Foy, Joey King, Hayley McFarland, Shanley Caswell and Kyla Deaver), initially ignoring several, telltale signs that the place had bad energy, such as their pet pooch’s refusal to enter the premises. In addition, the smell of rotting meat would periodically permeate the air, and they would awaken every morning to discover that their clocks had stopped running at precisely 3:07 AM.

Nevertheless, as optimistic new owners, the Perrons did their best to adjust to the disconcerting disturbances, only to have the supernatural spirit gradually up the ante. Before long, it was shaking paintings off the wall, toying with an antique music box, and knocking loudly three times in the middle of the night, an ostensible insult to the Holy Trinity.

Mr. Perron was particularly frustrated by these developments, given that as a truck driver he often had to be away from his family for as long as a week at a stretch. The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back arrived when the evil escalated from annoyances to the demonic possession of a loved one.

And when the Vatican dragged its feet about sending an exorcist to the scene, the Perrons enlisted the assistance of the Warrens out of sheer desperation. What ensues is a classic battle between God and the devil heavily laden with lots of Christian symbolism.

Provided you aren't offended by an obvious, faith-based agenda suggested by exchanges like “Are you baptized?” “No.” “You might want to rethink that.” this film otherwise proves to be a deceptively-frightening, old-fashioned screamer which does a masterful job of ever so slowly ratcheting up the terror. The most spine-tingling exorcist flick since, well, since The Exorcist!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for disturbing violence and scenes of terror

Running time: 112 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for The Conjuring, visit  

Turbo
Film Review by Kam Williams

Theo (Ryan Reynolds) is routinely ridiculed by his friends for entertaining what they see as the impossible dream of one day competing in the Indianapolis 500. Even his brother, Chet (Paul Giamatti), suggests that, “The sooner you accept the reality of your existence, the happier you’ll be.”

After all, Theo is just your garden variety, suburban snail and thus so slow he can barely get out of the way of a lawnmower or a kid on a tricycle. But that hasn’t stopped him from permanently painting the number “5” and racing stripes right on his shell.

Theo whiles away his days dining on tomatoes that have ripened on the vine and fallen to the ground. At night, however, he retreats to his lair to watch TV and see drivers like his hero, Guy Gagne (Bill Hader), fly around racetracks at over 200 miles per hour.

Everything changes the day Theo is inadvertently sucked into the engine of a passing automobile and accidentally injected with nitrous oxide. By the time he is deposited back on the ground somewhere in the inner city, the slowpoke slug has been transformed into the speed demon, Turbo, thanks to the luminescent laughing gas now coursing through his veins.

Soon, the motoring mollusk becomes the latest internet sensation and is welcomed to the ‘hood by a posse of streetwise slugs led by mellow Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), trash-talking Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson) and seductively sultry Burn (Maya Rudolph). He also finds human benefactors in the kindly co-owners of Dos Bros Tacos, a mobile Mexican restaurant.

Not surprisingly, all of the above, including the food cart, make their way from L.A. to Indiana, with altruistic Angelo (Luis Guzman) and Tito’s (Michael Pena) life savings covering the Indy 500 entrance fee. At the track, it’s no surprise that the race ultimately morphs into an exciting showdown between Turbo and his idol, Gagne.

Marking the masterful directorial debut of David Soren, Turbo is a visually- captivating and inspirational modern parable guaranteed to keep the tykes perched on the edge of their seats for the duration. For, besides its uplifting, overcoming the odds message, the movie fills the screen with a memorable menagerie of colorful characters who keep the laughs coming en route to the satisfying resolution.

A hilarious, high-octane variation of Aesop’s fable about The Tortoise and the Hare!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mild action and mature themes

Running time: 96 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for Turbo, visit

Ain't Nothing Like Freedom

by Cynthia McKinney

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

 

Clarity Press

Paperback, $19.95

290 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-9853353-1     

“Elected six times to the House from the state of Georgia, Cynthia McKinney cut a trail through Congressional deceit like a hot ember through ash. She discovered legislators who passed laws without reading them… [and] black-skinned individuals shilling for the white status quo.

She excoriated government lassitude over Hurricane Katrina… [and] held the only critical Congressional briefing on 9/11… She read truth into the Congressional Record, held town hall and hearings, led protests, showed up while others played along to get along…

This is the Cynthia McKinney saga as it stands to date—what she saw, what she learned, and how she fought for change.”

--Excerpted from the book jacket

 

            Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is a fearless firebrand who always seemed to be sitting in the middle of controversy, both during her tenure in the House of Representatives, and since. Whether it’s questioning the legitimacy of the 2000 Presidential Election, suggesting that the U.S. had advance knowledge of the 9/11 terror attack, punching a Capitol police officer who asked to see her I.D., blaming a failed reelection bid on the Israel lobby, insinuating that there might be more to the murder of gangsta’ rapper Tupac Shakur than an East-Coast-West Coast turf battle, running for the Presidency against Barack Obama in 2008 as the Green Party candidate, being aboard a boat torpedoed by Israel as it tried to run a blockade of Gaza or, most recently, intimating that the Boston Marathon bombings might have been an inside job on the part of the local police, she’s never been one afraid to speak her mind.

            Dismissed by some, present company included, as simply too nutty to take seriously, Cynthia has languished lately at the lunatic fringe of American politics. Frankly, I’d long since written her off as a hopelessly-paranoid conspiracy theorist in the wake of her staff’s treatment of an innocuous journalist like me as suspicious when I innocently asked for an interview.

            Here, the marginalized iconoclast makes a decent attempt at resurrecting her terribly-tarnished image with this self-serving autobiography, Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom. The book doesn’t touch much on her personal life beyond several sincere expressions of affection for her parents and son, Coy.

            Instead, the author focuses squarely on her checkered career, conveniently putting a positive spin on many of its dubious and debatable highlights. For example, in a 20-page chapter on her presidential campaign, not once does she mention the fact that she rubbed a lot of people the wrong way by potentially spoiling Obama’s historic bid, the same way that 3rd party candidate Ralph Nader had done to Gore in 2000.

            Basically, McKinney paints herself as a woman of the people and a tireless advocate of such causes as Hurricane Katrina victims, reparations for African-Americans, and the preservation of the planet. Along the way, she repeatedly indicts her fellow black politicians as sellouts, including the President, predicting that folks will tire of his speeches and symbolic gestures if they remain “unattached to real gains and material change in the community’s conditions.”

            Among her advocates is anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who asserts that Cynthia was more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than just-elected President Obama. McKinney, wacky or wise? You be the judge.

            A classic case of revisionist history walking a fine line between inspired and insanity.           

To order a copy of Ain’t Nothing Like Freedom, visit:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0985335319/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20

Pacific Rim

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

It’s Giant Robots vs. Subterranean Sea Monsters in Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Showdown

            When an undersea earthquake ripped a massive fissure along a fault line beneath the Pacific Ocean, it left a crevice wide enough for a race of subterranean sea monsters to escape and rise to the surface. Dubbed Kaiju, these Godzilla-looking creatures quickly launched a series of assaults on cities all across the planet.

            With millions of lives lost and many major metropolitan areas devastated, we find civilization teetering on the brink of oblivion as the world’s decimated nations decide to pool their dwindling military resources. That desperate collaboration leads to the creation of giant robots known as Jaegers.

            Each of these high-powered weapons is simultaneously operated by two pilots whose minds are connected by a neural bond enabling them to share their every thought and emotion. The only problem with these state-of-the-art killing machines is that they’re soon being lost in battle faster than more replacements can be built.

            The challenge of figuring a way to turn the tide in the war falls to Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), Commanding Officer of the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. “We’re not an army anymore,” he laments, looking at the depleted, ragtag team of soldiers and scientists representing the last hope of humanity. “We’re a resistance.”

            Foremost among his intrepid crew members are Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a grizzled, American vet recently coaxed back into the cockpit. He’d retired after his co-pilot brother (Diego Klattenhoff) perished at the hands of a bloodthirsty Kaiju.

            At the other extreme, we have Mako Mori (Rinko Kinkuchi), an inexperienced trainee who has proven herself on a fight simulator but is yet to see any real combat. However, as the sole survivor of a Kaiju ambush that leveled her hometown and claimed the lives of her entire family, the revenge-minded rookie is more then ready to confront the enemy. And so forth.

            After establishing the motivations of each of the simplistically-drawn characters, Pacific Rim morphs dramatically into a spectacular, special f/x showdown. Written and directed by Oscar-nominee Guillermo del Toro (for Pan’s Labyrinth), the visually-captivating sci-fi is most likely to be compared, and favorably, to the Transformers franchise for, here, it proves far easier to keep the good guys (robots) and bad guys (monsters) straight.

            A mesmerizing, if mindless, apocalyptic adventure that doesn’t ask anything more of an audience than to enjoy the action and root heartily for the heroes while consuming a copious amount of popcorn.     

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for pervasive violence and brief profanity

In English and Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 131 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Pacific Rim, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkOy1C8eX6o

Despicable Me 2

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Action-Packed Animated Sequel Finds Reformed Gru Joining Forces with Anti-Villain League

            When we last saw Gru (Steve Carell), the diabolical bad guy had abandoned his plan to steal the moon and turned over a new leaf, settling in suburbia to raise the three adorable orphans he had decided to adopt. At this action-packed adventure’s point of departure, we find the new family man content to dote on his demanding daughters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Kate Fisher) with the help of his loyal army of minions.

            But while in the midst of throwing toddler Agnes a medieval-themed birthday party, he is asked to come out of retirement by Agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) of the Anti-Villain League (AVL). It seems that a research lab has totally vanished where scientists had been developing a top secret transmutation potion.

            Lucy further explains that the substance, PX-41, could be the most devastating weapon on Earth, should it fall into the wrong hands. And since it takes a villain to catch a villain, it is her hope that Gru will spearhead AVL’s effort to track down the serum-snatching scoundrel.

            First, he must weigh his fatherly duties against the urgent call to apprehend a ne’er-do-well bent on world domination. Another consideration is the fact that he’s quickly developing a crush on the cute spy seeking his assistance.

            So, it’s not long before the two are on the trail of El Macho (Benjamin Bratt), a Mexican madman intent on morphing Gru’s own minions into man-eating monsters. Complications ensue when the mendacious outlaw’s handsome son, Antonio (Moises Arias), starts seducing Margo after meeting her in the mall. 

Therefore, Gru’s challenging mission involves not only retrieving the vials of PX-41 but protecting his teenager’s virtue and wooing the love of his life to boot.

            Again directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, Despicable Me 2 is as inspired a sequel as one might have hoped for. Far from a mere rehash of the winning elements which made the animated original such a hit, this episode features enough fresh ideas and funny moments to stand on its own and warrant a further extension of the franchise.

            Sure, the pat Hollywood ending is a foregone conclusion, but nobody’s complaining when the roller coaster ride is so thoroughly enjoyable!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated PG for crude humor and mild action

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures 

To see a trailer for Despicable Me 2, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwXbtZXjbVE   

 

What Money Can’t Buy

The Moral Limits of Markets

by Michael J. Sandel  

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Paperback, $15.00

254 pages

ISBN: 978-0-374-53365-6

 

“We live at a time when almost everything can be bought and sold... Over the past three decades, markets—and market values—have come to govern our lives as never before… As the Cold War ended, markets and market thinking enjoyed unrivaled prestige.

And yet, even as growing numbers of countries around the world embraced market mechanisms in the operation of their economies, something else was happening. Market values were coming to play a greater and greater role in social life…

Today, the logic of buying and selling no longer applies to material goods alone but increasingly governs the whole of life. It is time to ask whether we want to live this way.” 

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pages 5-6)

 

            Economists have been referred to by cynics as emotional cripples who know the price of everything but appreciate the value of nothing. Increasingly, the same might be said of people in general as we’ve come to embrace the commodification of virtually every aspect of human existence.

            For example, nowadays, you can pay an East Indian woman to serve as a surrogate mom for $6,250. Or you can shoot a rhinoceros on the endangered species list for $150,0000; or rent out the space on your forehead as corporate ad space for $777.

            In Europe, the cost to pollute is $18 per metric ton. In California, you can upgrade your prison cell for $82 a night. And a mercenary soldier of fortune collects $1,000 a day to fight in Afghanistan.  

            Do you find this state of affairs unsettling, or are you so jaded that you accept the notion that everything has a price. If that is the case, where does it end? Will we soon not only be hiring strangers as friends and lovers, but even to be our spouses?

            This is the dire dystopia contemplated by Michael J. Sandel in What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, a thoughtful opus examining a cornucopia of ethical questions touching areas ranging from medicine to law education to personal relations. Should society intervene and, for instance, prevent a fertile female from renting out her womb to another who is barren? Or does everything have its price as suggested by Red Foxx ages ago in an off-color skit on a Laff Record lp.

            How we answer that question collectively will determine whether there’s any hope of reversing capitalism’s runaway exploitation of the human condition.             

To order a copy of What Money Can’t Buy, visit:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374533652/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 

The Heat

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Bullock and McCarthy Paired as Unlikely Partners in Good Cop-Bad Cop Comedy

            FBI Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has been dispatched to Boston where she’s assigned to apprehend a ruthless drug kingpin. However, her boss is concerned about the uptight, 12-year veteran’s horrible habit of rubbing her relatively-relaxed colleagues the wrong way.

            Sure enough, upon arriving in Beantown, the proper Yale grad manages to irritate her new partner even before they’re formally introduced, when the two have a spat over a spot in a police precinct parking lot. Sarah subsequently meets foul-mouthed Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), a hard-nosed city cop working a beat on a rough side of town.

            They still grudgingly agree to investigate the narcotics case together, and it doesn’t take long for their contrasting law enforcement styles to generate a lot of friction. Nerdy Sarah tends to play it by the book while Dirty Harry-like Shannon could care less about following the rules or respecting suspects’ rights. Nevertheless, they’re soon following a trail of clues that takes them from a seedy nightclub to a rundown tenement to an abandoned warehouse along the waterfront.

            Thus unfolds The Heat, a good cop-bad cop comedy reuniting director Paul Feig with Melissa McCarthy, the relentlessly-raunchy scene-stealer who upstaged the rest of the ensemble in his equally-hilarious Bridesmaids. Here, McCarthy holds her own in a lead role opposite Sandra Bullock, with the pair generating just the right chemistry as terminally-mismatched partners.

            Though the talented supporting cast includes Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport and Jane Curtin, make no mistake, this flick is all about the witty repartee between the protagonists. Typical is this salty exchange coming in close quarters, where Sarah’s complaint “Your breast is invading my space.” is met by Shannon’s fair warning to “Keep your finger off my areola.”

            In another scene, Sarah blushes while Shannon plays a game of Russian roulette with a pistol pointed directly at a perp’s gonads. Despite all the bawdy jokes, The Heat is grounded by a sensitive storyline that actually has you investing emotionally in the characters.

            So, don’t be surprised to shed a few tears as the curtain comes down on this two-fisted tale of female empowerment about a pair of polar-opposite lady lawmen who eventually set aside their differences to get their man while forging an enduring friendship worthy of a sequel.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for violence, crude humor and pervasive profanity

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for The Heat, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0HWlvP1xdk  

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain  

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Hottest Stand-Up Comic Wows Sold-Out Garden in Concert Tour Finale  

            Move over Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Steve Harvey and Katt Williams, the hottest black comic around right now is Kevin Hart. The diminutive, 5’ 2” funnyman has skyrocketed to the heights of showbiz ladder lately, making myriad memorable performances on both TV and film.

            This year on TV alone, he’s hosted Saturday Night Live and launched a sitcom spoofing reality shows called Real Husbands of Hollywood. On the big screen, he can currently be caught in the ensemble comedy This Is the End, which comes close on the heels of hits like Think Like a Man and The Five-Year Engagement.   

            Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is a concert flick featuring the best of his recent concert tour across North America and Europe, with stops at ports-of-call as far afield as Vancouver, Toronto, Oslo, Copenhagen and Amsterdam and Birmingham, England. The film opens at a Mix and Mingle party where a frustrated Kevin finds himself accused of letting success go to his head.

            That confrontation eventually dissolves into a series of post concert shots all over the world of fawning foreign fans with thick accents gushing about how much they enjoyed his performance. But the bulk of the material was captured on camera in front of a standing room only crowd at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, the final stop on the circuit.

            Kevin’s irreverent brand of observational humor involves opening up his private life for public scrutiny. Employing the recurring theme, “Don’t judge me, let me explain,” he reflects upon subjects ranging from being happily-divorced (“I cheated. Do I regret it? No!”), to whether he likes dark-skinned girls (Yes), to humping a bean bag while on Ecstasy, to dating advice (“The only thing you don’t want in your house is a female who doesn’t trust you.”).

            Be forewarned, Kevin curses liberally and gratuitously sprinkles in the N-word occasionally for further dramatic effect. The personal anecdotes he relates are routinely engaging with satisfying payoffs, the only disappointment being that the picture only lasts less than an hour if you subtract all the time devoted to audience reaction shots.

            Nevertheless, you know a comedian has indeed arrived when his punch lines are periodically punctuated by pyrotechnics on stage. And you know he’s still humble enough to remember where he came from when tears can be seen streaming down his face as he takes bows at Madison Square Garden.  

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity

Running time: 75 minutes

Distributor: Summit Entertainment  

To see a trailer for Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, visit:      

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69cdWclv9I 

Who Owns the Future?

by Jaron Lanier

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

Simon & Schuster

Hardcover, $28.00

416 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-4516-5496-7  

 

“The rise of digital networks led our economy into recession and decimated the middle class. Now, as technology flattens more and more industries—from media to medicine to manufacturing—we are facing even greater challenges to employment and personal wealth.

But there is an alternative to allowing technology to own our future. In this ambitious and deeply humane book, [Jaron] Lanier charts the path toward a new information economy that will stabilize the middle class and allow it to grow.”

Excerpted from the inside dust jacket

 

            How do you explain the nagging, unusually-high unemployment rate in the United States? Is it merely that millions of manufacturing and white-collar positions have been outsourced overseas, or might there be another explanation? According to author Jaron Lanier, automation is a big part of the problem.

            He points out, for example that Kodak, which once employed 145,000 people, went bankrupt and has ostensibly been replaced by Instagram, a billion-dollar company with an operating staff of just 13. He argues that “technology is making jobs obsolete—but not replacing them,” a trend which does not bode well for humanity’s prospects.

            We would do well to heed the words of this sage visionary, a Renaissance Man in the truest sense of the term. For besides being a philosopher, he’s a musician, composer and, perhaps most notably for these purposes, the computer scientist credited with coining the term “Virtual Reality” back in the Eighties.

            As an architect of the internet, Lanier co-created start-ups now better known as Oracle, Adobe and Google, accomplishments for which he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2010.

But like a latter-day Dr. Frankenstein, he has come to regret how the fruits of his and fellow innovators’ labors have been appropriated by corporate America in a way which is making most of us extinct.

            In this groundbreaking book, Lanier describes in detail how digital networks like Google and Facebook are destroying the middle class while simultaneously concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few. Furthermore, he lays out a viable blueprint for reversing that frightening trend, a solution revolving around the novel notion that everyone deserves to be compensated with royalties for sharing their personal information online.

            After all, “the value of companies like Instagram and Facebook comes… from the millions of unpaid users who contribute their… creativity to them.” Food for thought, for the next time you tune in to the latest Youtube sensation generating millions of hits for nothing more than 15 minutes of fame.

To order a copy of Who Owns the Future?, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1451654960/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20   

A Band Called Death

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Reverential Rockumentary Amounts to a Very Good Movie about a Very Bad Band

            After hearing some heavy metal in the early Seventies, Dannis, Bobby and David Hackney decided to make a big change in the type of music they were performing. Up until then, the African-American siblings from Detroit had been playing a blend of R&B and rock as the Rock Fire Funk Express.

            Then, the guys came up with a new name, Death, and a new sound perhaps best described as an atonal precursor of punk, although the genre hadn’t yet come into existence as of yet. They signed a record deal with a prominent local promoter (not Motown), but the album was deep-sixed before it ever got pressed into vinyl. No surprise to this listener, judging by the demos.

            Searching for a viable alternative career path in music, the trio eventually moved to Vermont where they did get to release a couple of gospel albums as The 4th Movement. But when that dream of superstardom failed to materialize, David moved back home, while Dannis and Bobby remade themselves as a reggae group, Lambsbread, with Bobbie Duncan replacing their brother on guitar.

            Lambsbread failed to capture the fans’ imagination, too. In 2000, chain-smoker David passed away of lung cancer, and that might’ve been the end of the story, given that Hackneys had barely registered a bleep on Rock & Roll’s radar.

            However, Death is now belatedly being put on the map with the help of such rock icons as Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Questlove along with actor Elijah Wood. Are you a big fan of punk? Neither am I. Nor was I during my formative years when the atonal genre came of age.

            Listen, the personal anecdotes in A Band Called Death are extremely entertaining, and often touching, especially when Dannis and Bobby express their irrepressible fondness for their dearly departed sibling. I suppose music is in the ear of the behearer, but as for the suggestion that this average garage band were somehow visionaries ahead of their time, I just don’t think so.                      

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated   

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: Drafthouse Films

To see a trailer for A Band Called Death, visit:    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDPDm9_nX0o  

How to Make Money Selling Drugs

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Tongue-in-Cheek Documentary Offers Tips on Dope Dealing

            “Are you unemployed or stuck in a dead-end job? Don’t worry, we have an answer!” That is the dubious proposition made by How to Make Money Selling Drugs, a tongue-in-cheek (I pray) documentary about the art of dope dealing. The film arrives accompanied by proven provenance, as it features appearances by celebs with street cred like 50 Cent, Eminem, Rick Ross and Russell Simmons.

            This fairly thorough training guide focuses on marijuana and cocaine, although its advice undoubtedly could be applied to heroin, ecstasy and numerous other narcotics as well. However, we learn that pot is probably the easiest way to get started, given that it’s a weed that all you need is water, lamps and electricity to grow. In fact, it is now the most profitable farm product in the U.S., easily outstripping tobacco, cotton and even corn as the country’s top cash crop.

            According to one former kingpin, the possibility of jail time is actually worth the risk, provided you’re Caucasian, since 90% of the million Americans arrested annually for drugs are black or Latino. So, this illicit profession isn’t highly recommended for minorities, since the authorities not only target their communities, but employ tactics like profile stops which make apprehension all the more likely.

            As hip-hop mogul Simmons explains it, “If you’re a blonde fashion model, you’re not going to jail. But if you’re a black kid from the ‘hood, you’ll go away for twenty years.” He is a big advocate of an overhaul of the laws implemented as part of the War on Drugs which has really been waged in the ghetto while lily-white suburbia has benefitted from a pass, by and large.

            If you do decide to traffic in narcotics, and land behind bars, the picture has a chapter on “How to Beat an Arrest.” But, permit me in closing to urge any viewers of How to Make Money Selling Drugs to resist the temptation to attempt anything illegal you see here and to watch the flick strictly for entertainment purposes.

            A step-by-step instruction video I fear might inadvertently influence some impressionable young minds to try an ill-advised line of work that will only land them in a lot of trouble.            

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: TriBeCa Film

To see a trailer for How to Make Money Selling Drugs, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxRVhgbVN9o  

World War Z

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Harrowing Horror Flick Pits Pitt vs. Zombies in Dire Planetary Scenario

            After a career spent risking his life on location in international hotspots like Bosnia and Liberia, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) recently resigned from a dangerous post at the United Nations to devote himself to his family. As the story unfolds, we find him assuring his wife (Mireille Enos) and young daughters (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) that he quit his job to spend more quality time with them as a stay-at-home husband and father.

            Meanwhile, that same morning on TV, network news anchors are busily downplaying rumors of a rapidly-spreading rabies outbreak overseas. Eventually, all hell starts to breaks loose in the U.S., too, where the president perishes and the vice president goes missing.

            By the time the Emergency Broadcast System finally takes over the airwaves, the escalating zombie scourge can no longer be covered-up or contained. And the pandemic which started in Taiwan has already overrun a dozen countries and counting. 

            Given the utterly desperate state of affairs, Gerry has no choice but to answer the call when he is begged by U.N. Deputy Secretary General Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena) to come out of retirement. He agrees to join a crack team of researchers whose mission is to find Patient Zero and develop a vaccine.

            But first, he secures berths for his family aboard a quarantined Navy ship sitting safely in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Our intrepid protagonist then boards a plane headed for parts unknown, and what ensues is a harrowing, high body-count adventure making “Pitt”-stops in South Korea, Jerusalem and Wales.

            At each exotic port of call, Gerry and company encounter wave after wave of voracious zombies, which in accordance with age-old cinematic lore, can only be destroyed by burning or headshots. Of course, they ultimately figure out how to turn the tide, though the resolution conveniently leaves a loophole setting up the sequel in a planned trilogy.

            Directed by Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball), World War Z is a bona fide summer blockbuster any way you slice it. From hordes of man-eating creatures, to mob scenes of panicked citizens, to tension-maximizing editing, to captivating special f/x, to breathtaking panoramas of the collapse of civilization, to a buff matinee idol as the hero, the film features all the fixin’s to assure any audience its money’s worth of viewing pleasure and excitement.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images and pervasive horror violence

Running time: 115 minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures  

To see a trailer for World War Z, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md6Dvxdr0AQ  

This Is the End

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Celebrities Play Themselves in Zany Apocalyptic Comedy

            When Jay Baruchel was picked up at L.A. airport by his close friend and fellow Canadian Seth Rogen, he was disappointed to learn that, instead of unwinding, the plan was to attend a housewarming party at James Franco’s mansion where a lot of A-list celebrities would be in attendance. For, despite having achieved his own measure of success, low-key Jay still lives in Montreal, in part to avoid the trappings of such shallow Tinseltown gatherings.

            Upon their arrival, Jay awkwardly exchanges pleasantries with the host and Jonah Hill, both of whom he secretly suspects hate him. Furthermore, he’s overwhelmed to find himself surrounded by so many famous faces he’s never seen in person before, icons like including Kevin Hart, Channing Tatum, Jason Segel, Emma Watson and Mindy Kaling, to name a few.

            Jay also feels uncomfortable about the booze, drugs and bawdy behavior typified by Michael Cera’s playfully slapping Rihanna on the rump only to get smacked in the face by the pop diva. Then there’s Craig Robinson who sits down at the piano to sing a tune called “Take Your Panties Off,” while sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the same phrase.

            However, all of the above is irreversibly rendered irrelevant when an earthquake registering 9.7 on the Richter scale rocks the city and rips a giant fissure right in front of Franco’s place. The guests scatter in all directions as a widening sinkhole starts to swallow some of the revelers at the same time that blue beams of light lift others heavenward.

            Meanwhile, James, Jay, Seth, Emily, Craig and Jonah beat a hasty retreat and barricade themselves inside to await rescue. Eventually it dawns on them that the cavalry might never be coming, since what’s unfolding all across Los Angeles looks more like Judgment Day than the fallout from a momentary shift in tectonic plates.

            Thus unfolds This Is the End, a zany apocalyptic comedy marking the directorial debut of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the writing team previously responsible for Superbad and Pineapple Express. This novel adventure proves to be every bit as side-splitting as their earlier offerings, with much of the inspired humor coming courtesy of actors willing to be the butt of the joke despite playing themselves.

            Armageddon never looked like so much fun!

Excellent (4 stars)

R for crude humor, coarse sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use, violence and pervasive profanity

Running time: 107 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures  

To see a trailer for This Is the End, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYlQOutbjZA 

Twenty Feet from Stardom
Film Review by Kam Williams

Do the names Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Darlene Love, Claudia Lennear, Tata Vega or Lynn Mabry ring a bell? Probably not, yet you are undoubtedly very familiar with their stellar work as backup singers for a variety of musical icons.

For example, it’s Merry’s powerful voice which adds a memorable touch of soul to the Rolling Stones’ classic “Gimme Shelter” in the brief interlude where she makes the most of the opportunity to belt out the bizarre lyrics “Rape! Murder! It’s just a shot away!” The same can be said of Darlene who not only handled backup duties on hundreds of hits by everyone from Elvis Presley to The Beach Boys to Tom Jones to Sonny & Cher, but even anonymously ghost recorded the lead vocals on such Sixties anthems as “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “He’s a Rebel” and “It’s in His Kiss,” without getting credit or decent compensation.

Sadly, despite their amazing talents, folks pursuing this profession generally have precious little to show financially for their considerable contributions to the annals of rock, soul and other genres. For most of the backups are black and female with gospel backgrounds, and have stories to share about being underpaid, underappreciated and/or outright exploited. In fact, Darlene confesses to having to clean houses as a maid between gigs in order to survive at a low point in her career.

Most backup singers are frustrated artists who spend years helping others shine while waiting for that big break that might never come that could catapult them into the limelight. Finally, thanks to Twenty Feet from Stardom, these neglected sisters are finally getting their props, if not the fortune and mega fame that has eluded them for so long.

Directed by Morgan Neville, this very entertaining and illuminating documentary includes testimonials by the likes of Sting, Springsteen, Bette Midler, Sheryl Crow and other greats freely paying tribute. A reverential retrospective representing the first tip of the cap to backups I can remember since Lou Reed warbled “And the colored girls go!” on the gritty ditty “Walk on the Wild Side.”

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexuality

Running time: 91 minutes

Distributor: Radius-TWC

To see a trailer for Twenty Feet from Stardom, visit

Man of Steel
Film Review by Kam Williams

To my generation, Superman was just “a strange visitor from another planet” who was “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound“ in “a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.” But in this age of information, audiences want to know a lot more about a superhero’s backstory.

Furthermore, what passed for special f/x on the original TV show were cheesy flying sequences in which support wires were plainly visible to the naked eye. And the underwhelming fight scenes generally ended when the bumbling villain with little imagination ran out of bullets and threw his pistol at the Man of Steel’s chest in sheer frustration.

Over the intervening years, Superman has been revived twice on television (Lois & Clark and Smallville) and five times on the big screen. This sixth film version stars Henry Cavill in the title role opposite Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Laurence Fishburne as a black Perry White, and Rebecca Buller as a gender-bent Jenny, not Jimmy, Olsen.

Director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) has ostensibly envisioned Man of Steel as a reboot of the storied franchise, given that plans are already in the works for the character to reappear in an adaptation of DC Comics’ Justice League slated for 2015. Thus, like a lot of other origins tales, this episode devotes considerable attention to an explanation of Superman’s roots.

The picture’s point of departure is Krypton where we find the parents (Crowe and Ayelet Zurer) of the planet’s first naturally-conceived child in centuries secretly sending their newborn on an otherwise unmanned spaceship headed to Earth. This development doesn’t sit well with genetic engineer General Zod (Michael Shannon), a megalomaniac in charge of deciding which of Krypton’s bloodlines are allowed to continue, and this renegade’s definitely isn’t one of them.

The rocket crash lands in the cornfields of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane), a kindly couple who proceed to raise the baby as their own. Of course, Clark isn’t like other boys, and he does his best to harness and hide his superpowers, although they occasionally come in handy like when he rescues a school bus full of students that’s sinking in a river.

The plot thickens when aliens arrive from Krypton with annihilation in mind. Not surprisingly, they’re led by none other than the diabolical Zod, who commandeers the mass media, spouting typical invasion malarkey warning the “People of Earth” that resistance is futile. Not if Superman has something to say about it.

At this juncture, the action the kids have been waiting for finally kicks into high gear, with a spectacular battle royal replete with dizzying technical wizardry and acrobatic dexterity mercifully replacing the pretentious dialogue laced with lots of pseudo-scientific babble. Ultimately, good triumphs over evil, ala the American way, and Superman survives to defend truth and justice in upcoming sequels and spinoffs.

A righteous, riveting relaunch leaving no doubt that, even after 80 years, you still don’t tug on Superman’s cape!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sci-fi violence and intense action sequences

Running time: 143 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

Hannah Arendt
Film Review by Kam Williams

I’m not sure whether there’s a term for the Jewish equivalent of an Uncle Tom but, if there is, it would probably be applicable to Hannah Arendt (Barbara Sukowa). Born in Germany in 1906, Hannah studied philosophy at the University of Marburg, where she became both the protégé and the mistress of Professor Martin Heiddegger (Klaus Pohl), “the greatest love of her life,” a Nazi who went to his grave without ever apologizing for his support of Hitler.

In response to the rise of anti-Semitism across Deutschland, Arendt fled first to France in search of sanctuary, and later escaped to the United States with her mother and husband, Heinrich (Axel Milberg), on illegal visas secured from an American diplomat. She became a citizen in 1950 and subsequently made history as the first female lecturer at Princeton University.

However, as Shakespeare suggested in Julius Caesar, “The evil that men do lives after them: The good is oft interred in their bones.” Such is apparently the case with women, too, as Hannah appears fated to be forever remembered for a series of articles she wrote for the New Yorker magazine while covering the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.

Like one of those weirdoes who falls for an inmate, she inexplicably sided with Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust, buying hook, line and sinker his “I only followed orders” defense. Her coverage created a huge uproar as soon as it started hitting the news stands.

This is understandable because instead of calling Eichmann a monster, she merely referred to him as “a clown, a foolish little servant of Hitler who didn’t have a mind of his own.” The blowback from this “banality of evil” theory was deservedly severe since Hannah simultaneously had the temerity to indict Jewish leaders for supposedly cooperating with the Nazis.

A fascinating character study of an arrogant, cold-hearted, self-hating Jew who had the nerve to blame 6,000,000 of her own people for their extermination in concentration camps.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In English, French, Hebrew, Latin and German with subtitles

Running time: 113 minutes

Distributor: Zeitgeist Films

Man Up!
Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence
by Ross Mathews
Foreword by Gwyneth Paltrow
Afterword by Chelsea Handler
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover, $25.00
238 pages
ISBN: 978-1-455-50180-9

Book Review by Kam Williams

“This is how I define ‘man up’: you are what you are and the sooner

you stop hating what makes you unique, and start celebrating it and

using it to make you stand out from the crowd, the better your life will

be. For some reason, I was lucky enough to figure that out at an early

age…

This book, like my life, will be a bit of a roller coaster—you’ll

experience ups and downs, fits of laughter—and who knows, you

might even throw up! So keep your arms and legs inside the ride

at all times and, for goodness sake, stay seated until we come to

a complete stop.”

-- Excerpted from Prologue and Epilogue (pages xvi and 204)

In 2001, Ross Mathews was working as an unpaid intern for The Tonight Show when he was plucked from obscurity by Jay Leno and brought onstage as a last-minute fill-in for a no-show guest. The flamboyant ham made the most of the opportunity, instantly ingratiating himself with folks all across the country as bubbly, over-the-top “Ross the Intern.”

A natural in front of the camera, he’s been entertaining audiences ever since, whether on special assignment for The Tonight Show, guest-hosting for Chelsea Handler on Chelsea Lately, or interviewing celebrities on the red carpet for the E! Entertainment Network. And Ross recently landed his own talk show, Hello Ross, which is set to debut in the fall.

Now, he’s has published Man Up! Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence, a laugh riot about his meteoric rise to fame. Inter alia, he recounts how he got the shock of his life when Gwyneth Paltrow said “Yes” when he asked her to be his best friend. They’ve remained close ever since.

Besides gushing about the celebrities he’s met, star struck Ross is fond of delivering heartfelt pep talks to youngsters who might be social outcasts. For he recalls having been the butt of teasing and homophobic slurs growing up in a tiny, rural town as a chubby, effeminate kid with a voice that squeaked.

But he relocated to the more tolerant environs of L.A. where he not only found the strength to come out of the closet but combined his Rubenesque figure and nasal whine into the recognizable trademark that’s endeared him to millions. The pages of this delightful tome are filled with plenty of personal anecdotes fleshing out Ross that will really leave fans feeling like they know him.

The revealing autobiography covers its subject’s love life in fairly intimate fashion, from his first girlfriend, Becky, a fifth grade classmate who “didn’t seem to mind my physical deformities,” to his longtime companion, Salvador, with whom he’s been in a committed relationship for the last five years.

An inspirational opus about a “boy least likely” who has achieved the American Dream without a makeover or having to compromise his integrity one iota.

To order a copy of Man Up!, visit

Evocateur: The Morton Downey, Jr. Movie

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Warts and All Biopic Revisits Rise and Flameout of Controversial Flash in the Pan

            Morton Downey, Sr. was a wealthy, well-connected film and recording star who settled down with his family on Cape Cod in a lavish mansion located right next-door to the Kennedys. Although son Morton, Jr. was raised a liberal in the lap of luxury and tried for years to make it as a rock musician, in 1987 he made himself over as an arch-conservative populist presuming to be the voice of angry white males.

            Over the next two years, he would enjoy a meteoric rise as the host of an eponymous, nationally-syndicated, TV talk show. However, because the chain-smoking conservative-come-lately was an obnoxious loudmouth who cared more about ratings than an honest discussion of political issues, his hate-spewing, in your face interviewing style would grow tiresome just as fast as it brought him to the top of the Hollywood food chain.

            The stunt that proved to be Mort’s downfall transpired in a San Francisco airport bathroom where he cut his hair and his shirt with scissors and drew a swastika on his face in a bathroom before claiming to have been attacked by a gang of neo-Nazi skinheads. What’s ironic about the incident is the fact that a frequent guest on his show was Reverend Al Sharpton, a staunch defender of Tawana Brawley, who was similarly disgraced after being exposed as a fraud for falsely fingering a white district attorney for rape.

            Directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger, Evocateur is a mix of archival footage and reflections by family, friends, fans and folks who made appearances on the program like Pat Buchanan and Gloria Allred. The old videos of Mort, who succumbed to lung cancer in 2001, remain every bit as compelling today as they were in his heyday.

            A riveting biopic about a rich kid-turned-rabid bully and pathological liar desperate enough for the limelight to sell his soul to the devil.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and nudity

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures  

To see a trailer for Evocateur, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw0cbBQrnDk     

The Kings of Summer
Film Review by Kam Williams

Freshman year of high school has just ended for Patrick (Gabriel Basso) who isn’t looking forward to spending the summer under the same roof as his helicopter parents (Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson), given their monitoring his every move and their merciless teasing about his raging hormones. The situation’s even worse for Joe (Nick Robinson) whose widowed father’s (Nick Offerman) way of grieving involves belittling and grounding him at the drop of a hat.

One night at a keg party, the best friends come up with a viable solution to their predicament when they discover a clearing in the middle of the forest. Why not build themselves a house out in the woods where they will finally be free from the abuse and control of meddling adults?

Swearing each other to secrecy, the malcontents hatch an impromptu plan to live off the land. And they are joined in the clandestine endeavor by classmate Biaggio (Moises Arias), a mysterious weirdo wiling to tag along and utter an occasional, odd non sequitur.

Next thing you know, they’re building a shack out of materials found on a construction lot, and also foraging for food by diving into a dumpster behind a restaurant. Meanwhile, their worried folks are calling the cops, convinced the missing boys must have been kidnapped.

That is the absorbing point of departure of The Kings of Summer, a quirky, coming-of-age comedy marking the magnificent directorial debut of Jordan Vogt-Roberts. His laugh-a-minute adventure is reminiscent of some the best of the rebellious adolescent genre, ala Stand by Me (1986), Superbad (2007), Ghost World (2001), Super 8 (2011) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).

The picture’s clever script by first-timer Chris Galletta is laced with lots of hilarious scenes like when Biaggio attempts to throw the police off their trail with a ransom note from the fictitious “Jamal Colorado” inspired by a combining a black first name with one of the fifty states. But human oddity Biaggio is basically around to provide intermittent comic relief.

At heart, the movie is about the intrepid trio’s struggle to survive while eluding the frantic search party. The plot thickens upon the sudden arrival of Kelly (Erin Moriarty) at the lad’s lair, a cutie pie Joe’s interested in dating.

Will the fetching femme fatale prove to be the boys’ undoing? Or will their bond remain intact? No spoilers here. Suffice to say that between a host of memorable performances by a cast of relative newcomers, and a haunting, grungy score by Ryan Miller, The Kings of Summer is a bona fide sleeper not to be missed.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and underage alcohol consumption

In English and Italian with subtitles

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: CBS Films

To see a trailer for The Kings of Summer, visit

After Earth
Film Review by Kam Williams

In recent years, the name M. Night Shyamalan has become synonymous with mediocre movies with a humdinger of a twist tacked on at the very end. Meanwhile, Will Smith has been so successful as the perennial star of a string of summer blockbusters, that he’s been crowned “Mr. July.”

Thus, when the two former Philadelphians decide to collaborate on a film project, something ostensibly has to give. Will Shyamalan stem his decade-long decline or will Will’s winning streak come to an abrupt end?

Looking a little more like a Shyamalan than a Smith production, this cheapo, post-apocalyptic adventure suffers from a combination of miscasting and cheesy special f/x (reminiscent of Lost in Space, the Sixties TV series). Consequently, After Earth pales in comparison with a couple of other sci-fi pictures presently in theaters, specifically, Star Trek 12 and Iron Man 3.

At least this futuristic, Shyamalan offering doesn’t turn on rabbit-out-a-hat resolution. In fact, quite to the contrary, the predictable ending of this stranded and I want to go home saga is an exercise in the obvious established by the premise.

As for the acting, Will Smith is normally good for a little comic relief even in his dramatic outings. Here, however, that trademark flair for the flamboyant he regularly exhibited on TV as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is nowhere in sight.

Instead, he displays a sober stoicism from start to finish as General Cypher Raige, the forbidding father of Kitai (Jaden Smith), an aspiring ranger eager to prove his worth as a soldier. He gets his chance when they are the only survivors of an intergalactic expedition crash-landing on Earth, a planet abandoned by humanity a millennium earlier.

With the General wounded and the spaceship crippled, it is up to Kitai to embark on a hundred-kilometer trip through the jungle alone to retrieve the emergency beacon from the detached tail section. This proves to be no mean feat, since the forest is covered with a variety of voracious, man-eating creatures.

Will Smith proceeds to spend the balance of the movie sitting in the damaged fuselage surrounded by unspooled reams of what looks like toilet paper. Unbudgeted scenery aside, this film is really designed as a vehicle for his real-life son, Jaden, whose performance in front of the blue screen is tarnished a tad by a high-pitched voice yet to crack.

They say, there comes a time in every black comedian’s career when he’s asked to put on a dress. Well, it seems the same can be said about appearing in a campy sci-fi as demonstrated by Billy Cosby in Leonard Part 6, Eddie Murphy in The Adventures of Pluto Nash and John Witherspoon in Cosmic Slop.

A simplistic, father-son morality play strictly for little kids and diehard Will and Jaden Smith fans. Destined to be added to the pantheon of inadvertently-funny blaxploitation flicks with a devoted cult following.

Good (2 stars)

PG-13 for action violence and disturbing images

Running time: 100 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for After Earth, visit

Fast & Furious 6
Film Review by Kam Williams

It’s important to note that this edition of Fast & Furious is every bit as funny as it is adrenaline-fueled. Most of the laughs come courtesy of comic relief provided by Tyrese, who is back in an expanded role as trash-talking Roman Pearce, a card-carrying member of the fugitive gang of auto thieves led by macho Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel).

Like a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, Roman revives a slew of offensive African-American stereotypes, behaving in an alternately shallow, jive, flamboyant, lecherous, felonious and cowardly manner, doing everything but put on a dress to make a joke work. To Tyrese’s credit, the campy performance somehow works, either because the character is so ingratiating, or because of the presence of several respectable other blacks in the principal cast.

Whether entertaining a bevy of scantily-clad beauties on his personal jet (with “It’s Roman, bitches!” emblazoned on the fuselage) or making money literally rain out of an ATM to the delight of a crowd of appreciative strangers picking the bills up off the ground, the scene-stealing cynosure is always the center of attention. Well, except during the action, chase and fight scenes when the muscle cars and muscle heads take charge.

Other than Tyrese’s, the acting is uniformly wooden and unconvincing. Not to worry, this stunt driven-spectacular is all about the eye-popping special effects, and boy does it deliver in terms of the wow factor!

The plot of F&F 6 is little more than a lame excuse to pit an army of bad guys against an army of worse guys, both as simplistically-drawn as tag teams of opposing professional wrestlers. Here’s the storyline in 25 words or more. Dominic coaxes his cohorts (Tyrese, Paul Walker, Ludacris, Sung Kang and Gal Gadot) out of retirement for one last adventure, after rumors surface that his late-ex, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), might miraculously still be alive.

They hatch a plan to rescue the damsel in distress who’s suffering from amnesia and currently in the clutches of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), a worthy adversary specializing in vehicular warfare. His posse’s recent attack on a Russian military convoy explains why Diplomatic Security Service agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is desperately seeking the assistance of Dominic’s crew.

They agree on the condition that, should this mission succeed, they’ll be granted clemency for the host of crimes committed in F&F episodes 1-5. Hobbs okays the deal, and soon, a dogfight featuring fisticuffs, pyrotechnics and plenty of cartoon physics unfolds all over London, involving not only souped-up autos and state-of-the-art gadgetry, but a tank and a plane, to boot.

The epitome of a summer blockbuster, complete with a post-credits set-up of F&F 7 (already slated to be released in July of 2014). Just remember to check your brain at the box office, and you won’t be disappointed.

Excellent (4 stars)

PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, mayhem, violence and intense action

Running time: 130 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Fast & Furious 6, visit

The Hangover Part III
Film Review by Kam Williams

When we last left the wolfpack, the boys were over in Thailand for the wedding of Stu (Ed Helms) and Lauren (Jamie Chung).Of course, before the bride and groom could tie the knot (Justin Bartha), the men found themselves separated from Doug and suffering from amnesia following a wild night of partying on the seedy side of Bangkok.

But that was two years ago and now everybody has settled down safely into humdrum, uneventful lives in suburban Los Angeles. Everybody except Alan (Zach Galifiniakis), that is. He went off his meds recently which might explain such bizarre behavior as driving down the freeway with a giraffe in a trailer.

Since the 42 year-old goofball is unlikely to get hitched any time soon, another bawdy bachelor party is not on the horizon. However, when Alan takes a turn for the worse after his father (Jeffrey Tambor) passes away suddenly, his pals stage an intervention and decide to drive him to a mental health facility in Arizona for the help he desperately needs.

But before they arrive, their car is run off the road and Doug is kidnapped for ransom by Chow (Ken Jeong), the modestly-endowed, trash-talking mobster you should remember from Hangover episodes I and II. He and his henchman (Mike Epps) demand that the wolfpack retrieve $21 million in gold stolen from them by Marshall (John Goodman), a ruthless rival who stashed the bars of bullion in the walls of a mansion located somewhere in Tijuana.

That is wacky point of departure of The Hangover Part III, a supposed trilogy finale which is an improvement over the decidedly derivative prior installment yet still pales in comparison to the zany original. At least you don’t develop a nagging sense of déjà vu watching this screwball adventure, even if it isn’t exactly laugh out loud funny.

The madcap antics take Phil (People Magazine’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive Bradley Cooper) and the rest of the road warriors south of the border and then on to Las Vegas, the place where it all started, for another round of raunchy male-bonding rituals. Stu stumbles upon his ex (Heather Graham) and Alan crosses paths with the woman of his dreams (Melissa McCarthy), a big hint that the trilogy is destined to be stretched into a fourple.

A nutty kitchen sink comedy ending on a cliffhanger designed to keep diehard fans of the depraved franchise in suspense about whether yetta nudder sequel might be in the works.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, drug use, violence, brief nudity and pervasive profanity

Running time: 100 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for The Hangover III, visit

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
TV Review by Kam Williams

Melvin James Kaminsky was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on June 28, 1926, but found fame under the stage name you know him by, Mel Brooks. He started out in showbiz as a jazz drummer while still in his early teens, but encountered more success on stage alone upon trying his hand at stand-up at the urging of the owner desperately in need of a fill-in comedian at a resort up in the Catskills.

After a stint serving the country in the army during World War II, he returned home and eventually found work as a writer for Sid Caesar’s TV series “Your Show of Shows” alongside such future greats as Carl Reiner, Woody Allen and Neil Simon. Mild-mannered Simon remembers how “He drove some of us crazy,” and even Mel confesses to having been “an arrogant, obnoxious, little [beep]-head who had patience for nothing but his own thoughts” back then.

So, it’s no surprise that after almost a decade in that capacity, he struck out on his own, thus launching a phenomenal career which would ultimately land him on the short list of the eleven entertainers (including Rita Moreno, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir John Gielgud and Audrey Hepburn) in history to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy. Mel Brooks: Make a Noise captures the 86 year-young genius in all his irrepressible glory as he reminisces about his many impressive accomplishments as a writer/director/actor/lyricist/composer/producer, ranging from Get Smart to The Producers to Blazing Saddles to Young Frankenstein to High Anxiety and beyond.

Besides the larger-than-life public persona, this engaging documentary devotes equal attention to intimate aspects of Mel’s private life, such as revelations like “I was never religious but always very Jewish.” He also talks about how he met his late wife, actress Anne Bancroft, and how they enlisted a black stranger, Samuel Boone, to be the best man at their City Hall wedding on August 5, 1964.

As for Mel’s more introspective side, he concedes that having his father die when he was still a toddler “was a brushstroke of depression that never left me.” And he shows a surprising vulnerability to criticism in admitting, “Every bad review is a like a knife plunging through your heart,” concluding “I don’t even know if I’m talented. I’m not sure.”

A poignant profile of a bona fide Renaissance Man’s six decades and counting on the cutting edge of show business.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated TV: G

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: PBS

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise an American Masters profile is set to premiere nationwide on PBS on Monday, May 20, 2013 at 9 pm (ET/PT). [Check local listings]

To see a trailer for Mel Brooks: Make a Noise, visit

To order a copy of The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy on DVD, visit

Star Trek into Darkness
Film Review by Kam Williams

Star date: 2259. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has just been called on the carpet following an expedition to a primitive planet where, in the course of saving Spock’s (Zachary Quinto) life, he violated the Starfleet’s strict sanction against interfering with alien civilizations. Consequently, he is demoted in rank and summarily stripped of the command of the USS Enterprise.

He is replaced by his predecessor, Rear Admiral Pike (Bruce Greenwood) who reminds his headstrong protégé about the importance of following the rules. Soon thereafter, however, Pike is slain by friendly fire in a gunship attack launched by John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a fellow officer ostensibly gone rogue.

The tragedy affords Kirk a second chance in the captain’s chair, as well as an opportunity to track down the intergalactic menace and to exact a measure of retribution for his late mentor. As it turns out, Harrison isn’t really a disgruntled colleague but, lo and behold, the reincarnation of Khan, a recurring villain who has appeared before in both television and movie Star Trek episodes.

Here, the slightly tweaked character is the recently-defrosted leader of a race of genetically-enhanced super-beings who’ve been cryogenically frozen for a few hundred years. The pseudo-scientific explanation of his dormancy and revival is of less import than the fact that he’s just fled to Kronos, home of the Klingons, another regular nemesis of Captain Kirk and his crew.

Thus unfolds Star Trek into Darkness, the twelfth big screen adaptation inspired by the classic, Sixties TV show originally starring William Shatner. It’s also the second installment directed by J.J. Abrams, who oversaw the reboot of the sci-fi series in 2009. Truth be told, Abrams’ semi-autobiographical thriller Super 8, which he shot between Star Treks 11 and 12, proved to be a far more scintillating summer blockbuster than either of those.

At least he did reunite the principal cast, including the aforementioned Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, along with Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty John Cho and Sulu and Karl Urban as Bones. Are the special f/x dazzling? Yes. However, the film’s fairly formulaic plot is apt to capture the imagination only of young’uns totally unfamiliar with Khan and the Klingons.

Still, Diehard Trekkies will probably appreciate all the inside jokes sporadically sprinkled into the dialogue for the benefit of loyal longtime fans. Overall, this safe sequel is certainly engaging and entertaining enough to recommend, though it fails to live up to the franchise’s daring, appointed mission “to explore strange new worlds” and “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense violence

Running time: 132 minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

To see a trailer for Star Trek into Darkness, visit

Bidder 70
Film Review by Kam Williams

The Bush administration’s announcement in 2008 of its intention to auction-off the mining rights to many square miles of virgin land located in national forests ignited waves of protests by environmental activists. But when picketing, petitioning and the lobbying of politicians failed, the government proceeded with its plan to grant oil and gas mega-corporations access to the pristine parcels.

Crashing the auction was Tim DeChristopher, a frustrated college student who had participated in the pro-nature preservation demonstrations. He impulsively joined in the bidding and by the end of the day had purchased the rights to 22,000 acres of real estate in the Utah wilderness for $1.7 million with the hope of somehow saving some soil from fracking.

Trouble is, he had neither funds nor the wherewithal to extract any minerals, which was a technical violation of federal law. And since the energy industry doesn’t cotton to tree-huggers interfering its their profit margins and inclination to “Drill, baby drill!” it prevailed upon the government to throw the book at Mr. DeChristopher.

By the time the dust settled several years later, the outspoken economics major was convicted and carted off to prison to serve a two-year sentence. While Tim’s trials and tribulations are the front story of Bidder 70, this eye-opening documentary co-directed by Beth and George Gage simultaneously issues an urgent call for non-violent civil disobedience on the part of citizens truly concerned about global warming and the unchecked consumption of non-renewable carbon.

A powerful, empathetic portrait of a selfless, planetary patriot willing to sacrifice his liberty for the sake of Mother Earth‘s long-term prospects.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 73 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features

To see a trailer for Bidder 70, visit

Venus & Serena
Film Review by Kam Williams

Richard Williams was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana where he was left traumatized by having a railroad spike driven through his leg for refusing to behave deferentially towards a gang of white racists. Understandably, that experience played a significant role in shaping the youngster into the highly-ambitious and fiercely-overprotective father he would later become.

In fact, well before his daughters Venus and Serena were even born, he hand wrote a 78-page game plan for their lives. Its foundation was laid in childhood, where they would not only be homeschooled but forged into professional tennis players.

Achieving that dream would be no small feat, given that the girls were to grow up poor in Compton, an L.A. ghetto far removed from the privileged background considered necessary to compete on the championship level. Sadly, upon turning pro, rather than being immediately embraced by California crowds, elder sister Venus was called the “N-word” by local fans who preferred to root for her European counterparts.

Nevertheless, having been prepared by their dad for just such a reaction to the presence on center court, both young ladies miraculously managed to rise in stature on the circuit. All of the above is chronicled in captivating fashion in Venus and Serena, an intimate biopic co-directed by Michelle Major and Maiken Baird who were allowed to follow the pair around with a camera for over a year.

Besides detailing the ups-and-downs of the turbulent, 2011 tennis season, this riveting and revealing documentary treats the audience to an intimate look at the close-knit sisters with the help of home movies from their adolescence. Featuring appearances by Chris Rock, Bill Clinton and Serena’s ex-boyfriend Common, this flick is at its best when Richard Williams is given the floor in archival footage to make audacious predictions about turning not one but two of his daughters into world-class tennis players.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 99 minutes

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

To see a trailer for Venus and Serena, visit

The Great Gatsby
Film Review by Kam Williams

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is an era-defining, literary masterpiece convincingly capturing the decadence, debauchery and self-destruction of privileged elites living in the lap of luxury at the height of the Roaring Twenties. Set out on Long Island over the course of a very eventful summer, the tragic tale of love and betrayal unfolds from the point-of-view of social-climber Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a nondescript bond salesman who fancies himself a celebrated writer someday.

At the point of departure, we find him renting a modest cottage sitting in the shadow of a sprawling waterfront mansion owned by Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), a self-made man given to throwing extravagant parties for fellow members of high society. Despite having his pick of a glittery litter of gold-digging flappers, the mysterious millionaire remains obsessed with Daisy (Carey Mulligan), an attractive young woman he had dated as a soldier before leaving the country to fight in World War I.

While he was overseas, she met and married Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), an abusive adulterer from an old money family whose own mammoth estate is located on the other side of the bay. Nick comes to play a critical role in the proceedings once Gatsby learns that he just happens to be a distant cousin of Daisy’s.

Soon, the lovelorn tycoon prevails upon his new, next-door neighbor to serve as a go-between by inviting her over for what she doesn’t know is a secret rendezvous with an ex-boyfriend. Sparks fly afresh, and it’s not long before all the morally-corrupted central characters end up taking a ride aboard an ill-fated, emotional roller coaster.

Perhaps more pertinent than recounting further the familiar plotline of a novel we all remember from high school is addressing its reimagining as a visually-captivating, ethereal fantasy by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge). The bodacious director not only shot the New York story in his native Australia, but infused the soundtrack with hip-hop tunes by the film’s executive producer, Jay-Z, and wife, Beyonce’.

Before you join the rush to indict the anachronistic inclusion of rap as blasphemous in a movie supposedly recreating the Jazz Age, consider the fact that historical costume dramas generally tend to tell us more about the period in which they were made than about the one in which they transpire. Why else would anyone see fit to mount a fifth version of Gatsby?

Reflecting the influences of both its producer and director, this riveting reinterpretation for the Hip-Hop Generation is apt to be best appreciated by fans of mind-numbing gangsta’ rap weaned on shallow videos featuring materialistic misogynists enjoying free-flowing champagne while surrounded by a bevy of gyrating beauties. Bravo to Baz for effectively lending his trademark lush and lurid touch to a cautionary classic chronicling the downside of the American Dream!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, smoking, violent images, partying and brief profanity

Running time: 143 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for The Great Gatsby, visit

Iron Man 3
Film Review by Kam Williams

This film represents the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series kickstarted by Iron Man 1 in 2008, and since followed in succession by The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. The sensible question I suppose you’re probably interested in having answered is whether the franchise is showing any signs of running out of steam or if it’s worth investing in yet another episode.

Great news! The movie more than lives up to its billing as the first blockbuster of this summer season. Yes, the plot remains true to the basic comic book adaptation formula in that it pits a superhero against a diabolical villain bent on world domination.

However, Iron Man adds a little more to the trademark mix of derring-do and visually-captivating special f/x thanks to Robert Downey, Jr.’s bringing so much charm to the title character. Downey again delights, delivering a plethora of pithy comments, whether playing bon vivant billionaire Tony Stark or his intrepid alter ego.

Also reprising their roles are People Magazine’s reigning Most Beautiful Woman in the World Gwyneth Paltrow as Iron Man’s love interest Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as his best friend Rhodey, and Jon Favreau (the director of episodes 1 and 2) as chauffeur-turned-obsessive chief of security Happy Hogan. And critical additions include Ty Simpkins as Harley, Iron Man’s prepubescent, new sidekick and Sir Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin, the maniacal spokesman for an international terrorist organization.

The point of departure is Bern, Switzerland on New Year’s 2000 which is where we find Tony Stark declining an offer to go into business being made by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a disabled scientist who ostensibly covets an experimental drug being developed by Stark Industries botanist Dr. Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall). The storyline immediately fast-forwards from Y2K to the present as a string of bombings are being ostensibly orchestrated by The Mandarin.

Against his better judgment, Tony dares the madman to a fight, and no sooner is his oceanfront home leveled by a barrage of incoming rockets. Fortunately, a number of Iron Man outfits were left unscathed and, with the help of precocious Harley and pal Rhodey (aka Iron Patriot), he proceeds to get to the bottom of who is really behind the attacks bombings.

Far be it from me to spoil the surprising developments which ensue en route to the big showdown, suffice to say brace yourself for an array of visually-captivating stunt work interrupted intermittently by comical, tongue-in-cheek comments courtesy of our smart aleck protagonist. Patient audience members willing to sit through the long (and I mean long) closing credits will be duly rewarded with a brief session of Iron Man decompressing on the shrink’s couch with Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo).

In sum, a worthy addition to the vaunted Marvel franchise.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense violence and brief sensuality.

Running time: 130 minutes

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios

To see a trailer for Iron Man 3, visit

Peeples
Film Review by Kam Williams

After dating for over a year, Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) is head-over-heels in love with his girlfriend, Grace (Kerry Washington). He’s ready to pop the question, and has even purchased a ring, but there’s a slight problem: he still hasn’t met her parents yet.

Because of her background, Grace is a little ashamed of her beau’s modest background. After all, she’s a high-powered Manhattan attorney with a proven pedigree, while he hails from the ‘hood and makes a living by performing at children’s birthday parties.

Concern about their class differences has Grace taking off alone to the tip of Long Island for a weekend getaway at her family’s waterfront mansion. Rather than sit at home licking his wounds, Wade decides to force the issue by crashing the gathering.

His unexplained presence gets under the skin of Grace’s father, Judge Virgil Peeples (David Alan Grier), an overbearing patriarch with a need to control. Furthermore, Grace is afraid to tell him the truth about the nature of her relationship with Wade, which serves to establish the familiar, sitcom scenario revolving around a big lie that must be kept hidden at all costs.

Written and directed by Tyler Perry protégé Tina Gordon Chism, Peeples is a fish-out-of-water comedy whose stock-in-trade is making fun of the contrast between po’ and bourgie black folks. Ala popular Perry TV programs like House of Payne and Meet the Browns, the production is littered with colorful, two-dimensional characters bordering on caricatures.

There’s Wade’s embarrassingly-ghetto brother (Malcolm Barrett) who also shows up announced. He’s an oaf who puts his foot in his own mouth by suggesting that Grace’s lipstick lesbian sister (Kali Kawk) “looks too good to be gay.” Wade conveniently loses his wallet upon arriving which means he looks like a total loser when he can’t pay for anything.

You get the idea. Is it funny? I suppose, provided you’re in the target demo and haven’t seen Jumping the Broom, another comedy set at a beachfront estate (on Martha’s Vineyard in that case) and pitting crass blacks from the wrong side of the tracks against the others with their noses in the air. From shoplifting to lip-synching to skinny-dipping to a sweat lodge to skeletons-in-the-closet, Peeples throws everything at the screen but the kitchen sink, and just enough sticks.

An amusing, if not exactly side-splitting, African-American-oriented variation on Meet the Parents.

Good (2 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and drug use)

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Peeples, visit

Unmade in China
Film Review by Kam Williams

Inspired by a Youtube video that went viral, Gil Kofman decided to make a movie about a lonely girl trapped in a basement. The L.A. director subsequently contracted to shoot the thriller, Case Sensitive, in China, the nation now with the third largest film industry behind the United States and India.

Unfortunately, Gil forgot to factor into the equation that not only is the government there thoroughly corrupt, but dissent is not allowed. Consequently, the production would be plagued by delays due to bureaucratic red tape and the presence on the set of government censors who demanded everything from seven, politically and cultural-correct rewrites of the script to the replacement of cast members with actors approved by the Communist Party.

Worse, Gil’s complaints about any of the above only fell on deaf ears, and he was even warned that he would lose should he try to assert any legal rights. The frustrated filmmaker failed to find any sympathetic shoulder among the locals since, as he puts it, “The whole country has been benevolently brainwashed.”

In the end, however, the picture was a hit, at least in China, where it was released on 2,000 screens. But Gil never saw a dime of that money. And to add insult to injury, bootleg copies of the film were being sold in Asian bodegas all over the U.S. within a few months, rendering it worthless theatrically upon his return to the States.

His anguish as a result of the extended nightmare is carefully captured in Unmade in China, a flick which is a horrible advertisement for entering any business enterprise with the Communists. Still, while watching this gullible American get rolled for his work product, you can’t help but wonder why he didn’t cut his losses and give up after the first week of being given so much grief.

A comical account of a year-long, money-burning party which ought to serve as a sobering warning for any equally-naïve entrepreneur considering investing in China.

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

In English and Mandarin with subtitles

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: 7th Art Releasing / Antidote Films

To see a trailer for Unmade in China, visit

Aroused
Film Review by Kam Williams

Have you ever been curious about how a woman became a porn star? Was it because of a drug habit? Or maybe out of desperation for money? How did she pick her stage name? Does she feel any shame about such a taboo line of work?

Is she really a nymphomaniac, or just a bad actress? Does she enjoy having sex with total strangers in front of the camera? Is there a stigma attached to her profession, or is she able to enjoy a normal romantic relationship in her private life? Is she worried about STDs? What does she think of her fans? Does she have an exit plan, or is she just winging it?

These are among the topics discussed by 16 of the most successful porn stars in Aroused, an intimate biopic directed by Deborah Anderson. Don’t be surprised if none of their sultry sobriquets rings a bell, since one of the fascinating factoids shared here is that their careers are of terribly short duration.

“The porn stars of 2005 are already gone,” one remarks. “They’re shot out,” which is how industry insiders refer to over the hill performers.

But the bevy of curvaceous beauties interviewed in Aroused represents the current cream of the crop. That includes Misty Stone, Ash Hollywood, Asphyxia Noir, Belladonna, Kayden Kross, Lisa Ann, Katsuni, Lexi Belle, Brooklyn Lee, Allie Haze, April O’Neil, Jesse Jane, Alexis Texas, Francesca Le, Tanya Tate and Teagan Presley.

The film is far from explicit, though it does feature each subject in a state of undress as she prepares for a still photo shoot for a relatively-tasteful coffee table book, clad in nothing but a pair of high heels by shoe designer Jimmy Choo. What proves far more compelling than seeing a little skin is hearing what makes each of them tick.

Money seems to be the common motivation, although they admit that once you go XXX you can’t go back, because being in pornography leaves a scarlet letter on you socially. It’s also interesting that most of these females crave attention more than casual carnality, with an absentee father during childhood being credited as a contributor factor.

They generally don’t date “civilians,” meaning people outside the porn industry, since ordinary people tend to be prudes about promiscuity, even when their mate explains that it’s just a job. By film’s end, you feel sorry for these females in denial, despite defensive-sounding statements like, “I get paid to have sex. Why doesn’t everybody do that?” Maybe because some of you admit to needing a steady flow of narcotics to mask the shame and the pain.

An eye-opening expose about the surprisingly-conventional concerns of some of the most hyper-sexualized women in the world.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and French with subtitles

Running time: 73 minutes

Distributor: Ketchup Entertainment

To see a trailer for Aroused, visit

The Big Wedding
Film Review by Kam Williams

This picture is such a wholesale disaster that it’s hard to decide where to start in critiquing it. I could talk about how it is just the latest case of Hollywood remaking a French farce (Mon Frère se Marie) which somehow lost all of its charm in the translation into English. Or I could point out how it’s a slight variation of Meet the Parents and even has Robert De Niro reprising his role as a macho father-in-law less inclined to reason than to threaten to bust a kneecap or tweeze a guy’s gonads off.

Or I could focus on how the production squandered the services of a talented cast including a quartet of Oscar-winners in De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams and Diane Keaton, as well as that of such seasoned comedians as Topher Grace, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried and SNL alum Christine Ebersole. Or I might mention the telling fact that the movie sat on the shelf for over a year before the studio made the ill-advised decision to pump up the marketing and dump it on the gullible public.

Then there’s the homophobia and racism, reflected in disparaging offhand, remarks about lesbian and Colombian characters. Equally-objectionable is the picture’s frequent resort to sophomoric sight gags ranging from projectile vomiting to sucker punches to the face.

Perhaps most offensive of all is the film’s coarse, off-color humor featuring a life-size sculpture of a nude woman masturbating, a seductive wedding guest pleasuring her seatmate under the table during the reception, and a relentlessly-lurid script laced with salacious lines like “I can’t believe I’m being cock-blocked by my own mom,” “Go [expletive] a yak!” and “My father had his penis in your mom.”

All of the above amounts to a bitter disappointment, especially given the pedigree of the elite ensemble. Blame for this fiasco rests squarely on the shoulders of writer/director/producer Justin Zackham, who ostensibly was trying to replicate the lowbrow nature of his only other feature-length offering, Going Greek, a raunchy teensploitation flick released back in 2001. 

As for the storyline, Mr. Zackham lazy relies on “The Big Lie” cliché, a hackneyed plot device popular on TV sitcoms since the Golden Age of Television. It basically revolves around characters going to increasingly great lengths to hide an embarrassing fact from someone until the ruse blows up in their faces and the truth comes out anyway.

Here, we have Missy (Amanda Seyfried) and Alejandro (Ben Barnes) on the verge of tying the knot in Connecticut, when they learn that his birth mother, Madonna (Patricia Rae), is unexpectedly flying in from Colombia to attend the wedding. Because she’s a devout Catholic, they don’t want her to know that the adoptive parents (De Niro and Keaton) have been divorced for a decade.     

So, instead of simply explaining the changed state of affairs to Madonna, everybody agrees to participate in an elaborate cover-up to make it appear that Don and Ellie are still together, even though he’s currently in a committed, long-term relationship with Bebe (Sarandon). What a patently-preposterous premise!  

The escalating concatenation of calamities adds-up less to a sidesplitting, screwball comedy than to an incoherent string of crude skits, the crudest being a scene where an undignified De Niro sheepishly sports a substance-eating grin after getting caught in the act of performing cunnilingus between a widespread pair of naked legs.

Look! A falling star! Make a wish!

Poor (0 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and brief nudity

In English and Spanish with subtitles

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for The Big Wedding, visit

King's Faith
Film Review by Kam Williams

Brendan King (Crawford Wilson), a kid raised in the foster care system, was sent away at the age of 15 after being caught dealing drugs and running guns as a member of a notorious gang known as Avenue D. Upon parole a few years later, the juvenile offender was released to the custody of Vanessa (Lynn Whitfield) and Mike Stubbs (James McDaniel), a couple still struggling with the loss of their police officer son in a senseless act of violence while he was on duty.

The emotionally-wounded foster parents see taking Brendan in as an opportunity to not only help rehabilitate an at-risk youth but to perhaps restore their faith in humanity, too. Because the boy became Born Again behind bars, the prospects for his future are very bright indeed, despite a checkered past marked by 18 different foster home placements, 9 felony and 11 misdemeanor arrests, and 4 convictions.

After all, he’s now settling into a new school, Northside High, and living in a relatively-upscale suburban enclave located a safe distance from the bad influences rampant around the ‘hood. Furthermore, to keep Brendan on the straight and narrow, the Stubbs give him a curfew, find him a part-time job, and even encourage him to join The Seekers, a Christian community service group for teenagers.

Everything goes well until the fateful day he rescues a classmate from a car wreck. Natalie (Kayla Compton), a girl most likely-type, happens to be president of the school’s student council. However, she ends up in trouble when the police find drugs in the car at the scene of the accident.

But Brendan’s role as the hero lands him in the limelight, which has the unfortunate side effect of notifying his former partners in crime of his present whereabouts. Soon, they show up looking for the fruit of the valuable contraband he’d hidden before being sent up the river, and they threaten to put a hurtin’ on him if he doesn’t deliver or rejoin their ranks.

Will Brendan revert to his old outlaw ways? Or will the convert put his trust in the Lord and avoid temptation this time around? Thus unfolds King’s Faith, a very relevant morality play written and directed by Nicholas DiBella.

Carefully crafted with Evangelicals in mind, this modern parable will certainly resonate with the faith-based demographic as well as secular individuals interested in an entertaining, wholesome family flick with a sobering message. The cinematic equivalent of a thought-provoking Bible study likely to ignite further discussion about a variety of real-life challenges folks face today.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, drug use and mature themes

Running time: 107 minutes

Distributor: Faith Street Film Partners

To see a trailer for King's Faith, visit

Paradise: Love
(Paradies: Liebe)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Paradise: Love is the initial offering in a trilogy of incendiary dramas from the Austria-born director Ulrich Seidl. Each of the three installments focuses on a different female from the same family.

This episode revolves around Teresa (Magarete Tiesel), an unremarkable single-mom whom we find tired of her Vienna existence at the point of departure. The jaded 50 year-old divides her time between raising an adolescent (Melanie Lenz) and working with the mentally-handicapped.

Needing a break from that humdrum routine, Teresa leaves her daughter in the care of a sister (Maria Hofstaetter) before flying alone to Kenya for a much-needed vacation. However, she’s planning for a little more than fun in the sun, since her destination is a resort that caters to the carnal desires of European sex tourists.

Specifically, it’s older white women looking to get their groove back, so to speak, with help of African men, the younger and better endowed the better. The goal, obviously, is less to find romance than to mate with any hunks who find them attractive.

Upon arriving, Teresa checks into the hotel where she makes the acquaintance of several fellow Austrians with the same goal in mind. What soon unfolds is a series of lusty liaisons approached by the consenting parties with a compatible set of competing expectations.

The women want to be wined and dined a bit prior to seduction, while the local lads are more than happy to oblige with the unspoken understanding that they will be tipped generously for providing stud service. Given the language, age and cultural differences, it is no surprise that complications still ensue for first-timer Teresa as she awkwardly attempts to negotiate her way with fellows with hidden agendas.

Will her cravings be satiated? Will she be respected in the morning? Will she be fleeced out of every last pfennig by the local Romeos? Those are the basic questions raised over the course of this intriguing character study, a female empowerment flick which harks back to Heading South (2005), a similarly-themed film set in Haiti starring Charlotte Rambling.

Fair warning: the film does feature graphic nudity and indiscriminate coupling, as the ladies sensuously sample a veritable smorgasbord of native cuisine. When all is said and done, Teresa returns home revitalized enough to resume her unfulfilling life, but ostensibly having to keep her assorted sexual conquests a secret.

After all, as the saying goes: What happens in Nairobi, stays in Nairobi!

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated R for violence, profanity, graphic sexuality and frontal nudity

In German, Swahili and English with subtitles

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

To see a trailer for Paradise: Love, visit

Pain & Gain
Film Review by Kam Williams

Michael Bay is a director whose name has mostly come to be associated with mindless, stunt-driven action flicks such as Armageddon, Bad Boys and the Transformers franchise. His latest offering, however, Pain & Gain, represents a relatively-cerebral departure in that it tones down the special effects and pyrotechnics in favor of credible plot and character development.

Based on a true tale that transpired in Florida back in the Nineties, the alternately comical and gruesome crime caper revolves around the felonious exploits of a trio of bodybuilders who hatched a kidnap for ransom plot that went terribly awry. The mastermind of the ill-fated scheme was Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), an ex-con employed as a personal trainer at Sun Gym in Miami.

A regular there was Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), an arrogant businessman from Colombia with an oversized ego and a temper to match. That condescending attitude makes it easy for Daniel to consider extorting cash from his client, especially given how rich the guy is.

So, he enlists the assistance of couple of equally-buff cronies, recently-paroled Paul (Dwayne Johnson) and steroid-addicted Adrian (Anthony Mackie).

But the seat-of-the-pants plan has little chance of success, despite the pea brains of the operation’s assurances that “I know what I’m doing” because “I’ve watched a lot of movies.”

One complication is Born Again Paul’s reservations, since he’s turned his life over to Jesus. Meanwhile, Adrian himself is very distracted himself by a case of juice-induced erectile dysfunction.

Nevertheless, the three still proceed with the conspiracy, abducting Victor and taking him to an abandoned warehouse where they torture him mercilessly to figure out where his fortune is hidden. The grisly goings-on are repeatedly presented as humorous onscreen, effectively masking the fact that the participants in truth landed stiff prison sentences for their evil deeds.

Credit the convincing performances by the leads, especially Dwayne Johnson (cast against type here as a fairly sensitive soul), for actually inducing the audience to empathize and laugh at the wacky antics of some despicable miscreants. Ditto Tony Shalhoub who plays such a dislikable victim that he makes it easy to roots for his captors.

A reminder ripped right out of the tabloids that while crime does not pay, it sometimes serves as fodder for lurid headlines and hilarious hijinks.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for graphic nudity, bloody violence, crude sexuality, drug use and pervasive profanity

Running time: 129 minutes

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

To see a trailer for Pain & Gain, visit

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Annoying Narration Ruins Jay-Z Produced Romantic Romp

            When a gangsta rapper like Jay-Z decides to dabble in filmmaking, it only makes sense that the flick might remind you more of his genre of popular music than a typical movie. That’s precisely the case with An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, an unorthodox romance drama produced by the incomparable hip-hop icon.

            Written, directed, edited, scored, narrated by and animated by Terrence Nance (How Would You Feel?), the surreal adventure co-stars Renaissance Man Nance opposite Namik Minter as friends in a platonic relationship on the verge of turning venereal. The ambitious, multi-media undertaking not only mixes cartoon and live-action images, but it also walks a fine line between drama and documentary.

            While the protagonists try to sort out their feelings, the picture poses some thought-provoking questions, such as, “How do you balance logic and emotions?” Unfortunately, the film is afflicted with a fatal flaw, namely, a virtually non-stop narration of the play-by-play which starts to get on your nerves after about five minutes.

            Granted, this could just be an age thing, since the Hip-Hop Generation is already used to hearing incessant, mindless, staccato-style chatter in their favorite songs. So, it might not be that big a jump for them to have to listen to a non-stop voiceover for the duration of a movie. Nevertheless, the slick poetry slam approach definitely didn’t do it for this critic.

             Another annoying aspect of the experience was how the audience is addressed directly by the disembodied voice, as in “You arrive at your home,” “You empty your pockets,” “You have no bed and no money,” “You possess no means of personal transportation,” and so forth. Granted, Jay McInerney effectively employed the 2nd person in his best-selling novel “Bright Lights, Big City,” but it simply fails to work here as a cinematic device.

            Ghetto psychobabble strictly for the attention-deficit, Jay-Z demographic. 

Fair (1 star)

Unrated

Running time: 93 minutes

Distributor: Variance Films

To see a trailer for An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7UB0QjTRjA      

Kon-Tiki
Film Review by Kam Williams

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the conventional wisdom was that Polynesia had been settled by Asians arriving from the Far East. But it’s one thing for a pompous professor to simply sit in an ivory tower and speculate about who might have discovered the island group some 1,500 years ago, and quite another to go about proving a theory correct by attempting to replicate the putative pioneers’ perilous feat.

While doing research in the Marquesas on the Isle of Fatu Hiva in the mid-Thirties, a Norwegian anthropologist named Thor Heyerdahl (Pal Sverre Hagen) came up with a novel idea about the roots of the natives. After studying the local fauna and flora, watching the flow of the tides, and listening to aborigine folklore about their ancestors’ arduous trek towards the setting sun, he reasoned that the region must have been settled by tribes migrating there from South America.

Then, when his iconoclastic notion was roundly ridiculed by scholarly colleagues back in academia, Thor decided to prove his detractors wrong by mounting a 5,000-mile expedition from Peru to Polynesia. And although he knew nothing about sailing and couldn’t even swim, he did have the sense to assemble a team capable of assisting him in the dangerous endeavor.

The plan was to build a balsa wood raft identical to the type used by indigenous people in pre-Columbian times, painstakingly following their methods of construction down to the smallest detail. And since they would not be able to steer this vessel christened the Kon-Tiki, Thor estimated it would take about three months for the currents and winds to take them to their destination.

His intrepid crew was comprised of four fellow Norwegians and a Swede, including childhood friend, Erik Hesselberg (Odd Magnus Williamson), the navigator; radioman Knut Haugland (Tobias Santelmann), a decorated World War II veteran; Torstein Raaby (Jakob Oftebro), another radio expert; Herman Watzinger (Anders Baasmo Christiansen), an engineer; and Bengt Danielsson (Gustaf Skarsgard), the Swedish steward.

Co-directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, Kon-Tiki faithfully chronicles their historic, transoceanic voyage. Despite the fact that most of the picture’s dialogue is English, it somehow earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category earlier this year.

The men set sail in the spring of 1947, encountering storms, shark attacks, ship rot, insubordination and a host of other challenges en route. The deliberately-paced production repeatedly harks back to a bygone era when much of the Earth’s surface was yet to be explored.

Replete with breathtaking Pacific panoramas shot on location, Kon-Tiki is worth watching for the captivating visuals alone. However, the storytelling is solid, too, with all adding up to a fitting tribute to the enviable exploits of the legendary Thor Heyerdahl.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence

In English, Norwegian, Swedish and French with subtitles

Running time: 118 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Kon-Tiki, visit

Scary Movie 5
Film Review by Kam Williams

What do Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Mike Tyson, Katt Williams and Snoop Dogg have in common? They’re all celebrities whose names have been splashed across the tabloids in connection with controversy. But in a macabre gesture ostensibly intended to exploit their notoriety, this motley collection of the craziest people currently in the public eye was tapped to make cameo appearances in Scary Movie 5.

The picture was directed by Malcolm Lee (Undercover Brother) who opted for an overhaul of the series with a fresh set of characters rather than a sequel. That shouldn’t be a problem for purists, since each of the earlier installments has basically been a string of disconnected skits spoofing the latest horror movies.

Among the fright flicks lampooned here are Paranormal Activity, The Black Swan, Evil Dead, Sinister and Mama. However, this equal opportunity offender also takes potshots at offerings from other genres like The Help, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection, Planet of the Apes and 127 Hours.

Unfortunately, the disappointing production is little more than a crummy appeal to the lowest common denominator employing generous helpings of scatological humor. Worse, none of the sketches elicited even a perfunctory pity laugh from the audience I watched the movie with.

The point of departure is a sex scene in which Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan are joined in bed by a colorful menagerie of oddballs, animals and objects. The kinky copulating is sped-up in corny fashion ala a typical Benny Hill episode, and the action’s even underscored by the familiar strains of that frenetic melody routinely employed on the classic British comedy show.

But Charlie fails to survive the session, leaving his three orphaned children to be raised by his brother (Simon Rex) and girlfriend (Ashley Tisdale), and their hairy-armed housekeeper (Lidia Porto). The bodily function fare that ensues around the premises includes sight gags involving farting, projectile vomiting, poop disguised as a banana, a monkey tossing feces at a mirror, a woman putting a urine-soaked cell phone to her face, a dog with a toothbrush stuck in its tush, a child playing with a vibrator, a dog licking his own gonads, and a gay man with the hots for a fifth grader.

This vapid, vulgar insult to the intelligence couldn’t possibly have been tested on any focus groups. Can we all now agree that we’ve reached the cinematic saturation point with this rapidly-expiring franchise?

Poor (0 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, gore, drug use, nudity, ethnic slurs, cartoon violence and crude humor

Running time: 85 minutes

Distributor: Dimension Films

To see a trailer for Scary Movie 5, visit

Herman's House
Film Review by Kam Williams

72 year-old Herman Wallace has been imprisoned at Louisiana’s infamous Angola penitentiary since he was found guilty of committing bank robbery back in 1967. His sentence was later lengthened to life after he was convicted of stabbing a prison guard to death solely on the testimony of a fellow inmate.

Was he a political prisoner who’d been railroaded on account of his membership in the Black Panther Party, or had he actually committed the murder? Unfortunately, that question is not the focus of Herman’s House, an unlikely-couple documentary directed by Angad Singh Bhalia.

Mr. Singh instead devotes his attention to the friendship forged between Herman and a woman half his age. “Jailbirds and the naïve girls who love them” has served as the theme of many a TV talk show, but rarely have any gangsters’ molls had the pedigree, sophistication or undying dedication of Jackie Sumell.

Sumell, an activist who once presented anti-abortion President Bush a quilt woven from hundreds of pro-choice feminist’s pubic hair, was a grad student in the Art Department at Stanford when she took an interest in Herman. What really rankled her was the fact that he held the record for solitary confinement in the country, currently at 40+ years and counting.

Over that period, he’s been cooped up in a 6 x 9 foot cell, which Jackie felt was a violation of the 8th Amendment’s sanction against cruel and unusual punishment. So, she struck up a long-distance correspondence with Herman via a combination of letters and phone calls.

And that led to a decision to draw attention to his plight by mounting an art exhibition featuring a full-scale replica of his prison cell. But this is where it gets weird. She also asked Herman what his dream home would look like, prior to then moving down to New Orleans, buying some land, and consulting architects to draw up plans for a place the two would ostensibly share should he ever be paroled.

Listen, this biopic basically revolves around Jackie’s earnest effort to turn Herman into a cause célèbre, but it carefully tiptoes around the more compelling elephant in the tiny cell, namely, whether there’s a romantic aspect to their relationship? A fascinating flick as much about a possible miscarriage of justice as about a case of arrested development who looks like a little girl playing house with an imaginary mate.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 81 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features

To see a trailer for Herman's House, visit

Lucky Bastard
Film Review by Kam Williams

Dave (Jay Paulson) thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he learned that he’d won the monthly “Lucky Bastard” contest run by the adult entertainment website. He was informed by the site’s owner, Mike (Don McManus), that his name had been picked from all the entries to sleep with his favorite porn star, Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue).

However, the prize came with just one hitch, namely, that he’d have to sign a release so that the lusty liaison could be videotaped from every angle. After all, the promotion was designed to give the site’s subscribers a chance to see an Average Joe enjoying a roll in the hay with a gorgeous goddess who would never normally give him the time of day.

Bespectacled Dave definitely fit the bill in that regard, between his awkwardness and anxiety attempting to perform on cue on camera, even with the woman of his wet dreams. However, the skin flick’s director (Chris Wylde) obviously had a lot more to worry about than a limp nerd in need of Viagra.

For, something else would go horribly wrong after Dave’s arrival and by the time the police arrived, they would find the dead bodies of numerous males and females slain either by gunshot or blunt force trauma. The investigating officer (Lukas Kendall) was grateful to discover that the walls had been outfitted with 18 cameras which not only recorded Dave and Ashley’s fondling, foreplay and frustrated fornication, but the ensuing slaughter which subsequently turned the den of debauchery into a bloody crime scene.

So, cracking the case simply involved rewinding the tapes, and watching what transpired from start to finish. And that’s precisely the point-of-view shared with the audience in Lucky Bastard, a found-footage flick which puts a salacious spin on the “no surviving witnesses” cinematic device first effectively employed by The Blair Witch Project back in 1999.

The movie marks the impressive directorial debut of Robert Nathan, who also co-wrote the cleverly-constructed script with Lukas Kendall. Their novel storyline unfolds like your typical horror film, except instead of taking place inside a Gothic haunted house it unfolds on a sleazy set inside the bedroom of a nondescript suburban home rented for the day from a realtor (Deborah Zoe) out to make a quick buck.

Besides Dave and Ashley, the suspects include director Kris, cameraman Nico (Lanny Joon), Ashley’s regular co-star, Josh (Lee Kholafai), producer Mike and his considerably-younger girlfriend, Casey (Catherine Annette), an aspiring porn star. However, the perpetrator might not be a cast or crew member, since Mike also has issues with the alarmed real estate agent as well as with his estranged ex-wife.

It’s no surprise Lucky Bastard landed an NC-17 rating, given the fairly-explicit displays of carnality, though the production is as much a riveting murder mystery as it is a raunchy sex romp. A compelling, high body-count whodunit for folks willing to watch a lot of kinky cavorting while trying to unravel clues leading to the killer.

Very Good (3 stars)

NC-17 for violence, profanity, full frontal nudity and explicit sexuality.

Running time: 94 minutes

Distributor: Vineyard Haven Films

To see a trailer for Lucky Bastard, visit

Not Today
Film Review by Kam Williams

Lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family, Caden Welles (Cody Longo) is living the American Dream. With money to burn at his disposal, the spoiled 20 year-old took off on a whim for a vacation in Hyderabad, India, along with some of his equally-irresponsible friends.

Before Caden left, his mom (Shari Rigby) packed a Bible in his suitcase with a note tucked in the pages asking God to help her son appreciate his blessings while on the subcontinent. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for that prayer to be answered.

For, upon landing, Caden experiences quite a cultural shock when he finds himself in the midst of abject poverty he never knew existed. And instead of being able to participate in the non-stop partying they’d planned, he ends up feeling guilty about all the suffering he’s surrounded by.

He specifically regrets having cynically refused to help a beggar with a little girl claiming to be starving. In fact, he becomes so haunted that he goes back to look for them, only to learn that Kiran (Walid Amini) had reluctantly sold Annika (Persis Karen) into slavery to survive.

Determined to reunite father and daughter, Caden decides to try to track down the 7 year-old, a search which leads to the ugly underworld of sex trafficking. There, he discovers that Annika’s freedom will come at considerable cost, since the pimp who had purchased her expects to make a tidy profit to part with her.

Thanks to cell phone technology, Caden can both cry on the shoulder of his empathetic girlfriend (Cassie Scerbo) back home and ask his dad (John Schneider) to wire him $20,000 fast. There’s no hesitation, when the request is for such a worthy cause, as opposed to underwriting another one of the reformed slacker’s trademark self-indulgences.

Thus unfolds Not Today, a compelling, modern morality play marking the noteworthy directorial debut of Jon Van Dyke. Without getting too heavy-handed, the faith-based cautionary tale does a decent job of delivering its sobering message about a widespread form of exploitation of millions which no one ever talks about.

A searing indictment of India’s shameful caste system as a means of enslaving females based on the color of their skin.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for mature themes

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Not Today, visit

Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal
Film Review by Kam Williams

Once the darling of the art world, Lars Olafssen (Thure Lindhardt) is down on his luck after developing the painter’s equivalent of writer’s block. He’s been reduced to taking a teaching position at a college in rural Koda Lake, Canada, a mythical town located outside Ottawa.

There, he shares an apartment with Eddie (Dylan Smith), a mentally-challenged mute. Lars quickly learns that his untalented student obviously only gained admission to the school because he’s the relative of a generous alum.

However, Eddie has bigger issues than being utterly unqualified, for he not only sleepwalks at night, but attacks and devours humans while in that somnambulant state. But rather than have the cannibal arrested, Lars lets his roommate embark on a reign of terror, since the bloodletting has simultaneously provided the spark of inspiration he’s been missing as a painter.

Soon, with his popularity restored, Lars even finds himself pursued by an attractive colleague (Georgina Reilly). Will he ever help the police (Paul Braunstein) crack the case, or does his man-eating muse merely mean too much to his revitalized career?

That is the question at the heart of Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, a dark comedy written and directed by Boris Rodriguez. While a tad too understated and perverted to make this critic laugh, the film’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor is nevertheless likely to resonate with cerebral types blessed with a taste for the droll and the bizarre.

An unlikely-buddy horror flick which figured a viable way of walking a fine line between the sadistic and the sublime.

Good (2 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Music Box Films

To see a trailer for Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, visit

Temptation
Film Review by Kam Williams

I’ll be honest, when I heard that Lionsgate wasn’t screening Temptation for critics, I really expected it to be a dreadful mess. But after entering the theater with very low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the latest morality play from Tyler Perry.

No advance peek meant I had to wait until opening day to see the melodramatic soap opera, which in my case was in a sold-out house with a crowd that was about 90% black and female. As far as what the sisters thought of the picture, all I needed to hear was the chorus of Amen’s and the robust round of applause during the closing credits.

Still, it’s debatable whether the Christian-themed cautionary tale’s simplistic sermonizing will attract a broader audience beyond that loyal demographic, but I’d guess that it very well might resonate with Evangelicals in general. Plus, don’t discount the box office appeal of reality show sensation Kim Kardashian who holds her own here in a quite comical supporting role as an opinionated fashionista.

Loosely based on Perry’s 2008 stage production “The Marriage Counselor,” Temptation is a flashback flick revolving around 26 year-old Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a naïve country bumpkin employed in Washington, D.C. by Janice (Vanessa Williams), a crafty love guru with a bad French accent but a thriving matchmaking service.

Judith’s been married for six long years to loyal but boring Brice (Lance Gross), her childhood sweetheart and the only man she’s ever slept with. He runs a modest pharmacy in the city that never seems to have any customers. Nevertheless, the place’s atmosphere is kept pretty lively between comic relief coming courtesy of his gossipy, sticky-fingered cashier (Renee Taylor) and the ominous air created by a new employee (Brandy) hiding a big (and I mean BIG!) secret.

College educated Judith dreams of opening her own psychotherapy practice someday, but doesn’t have sufficient funds to do so, presently. That predicament makes her all the more vulnerable to Harley (Robbie Jones), an unscrupulous, dot.com billionaire with money to burn and sexual conquests to make.

The predatory home wrecker zeroes in on Judith while deciding whether to acquire her boss’ business. And before you can say “Mark Zuckerberg” she’s got dollar signs in her eyes and decides to leave her husband for a life of drugs and debauchery with suave Mr. Moneybags.

Brice offers to pay more attention to his wife and to spice up their love life, but is it too late? Can this marriage be saved? A present-day parable preaching to the choir with sobering warnings about the love of money and taking your mate for granted.

The Gospel according to Tyler Perry!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and drug use

Running time: 112 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Temptation, visit

Olympus Has Fallen
Film Review by Kam Williams

While serving as the President’s (Aaron Eckhart) personal bodyguard, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) grew very close to the First Family. During his tenure at the White House, the dedicated, detail-oriented Secret Service agent also familiarized himself with every aspect of the building’s layout.

Nevertheless, Banning was reassigned to a desk job after failing to rescue the First Lady (Ashley Judd) before the presidential limo plunged off a bridge into an icy river en route to a Christmas party. Although the accident wasn’t his fault, he was left agonizing over a snap decision that might have been the difference between her living and dying.

A year and a half later, we find Banning still riddled with guilt despite receiving assurances from the Secret Service Director (Angela Banning) that there was nothing he could have done. However, he soon gets that sorely needed shot at redemption when a swarm of ninjas from North Korea attack the White House, taking the President and his Cabinet hostage.

With the President and Vice President (Phil Austin) abducted, the line of succession dictates that the Speaker of the House (Morgan Freeman) assume power from a well-fortified bunker. Meanwhile, the maniacal leader (Rick Yune) of the bloodthirsty terrorists proceeds to torture his hostages, hoping to learn the codes controlling America’s nuclear arsenal.

The unfolding crisis is not lost on Banning who observes the slaughter of his former colleagues from an office window across the street. The disgraced agent springs into action and surreptitiously enters the White House armed only with a handgun and a walkie-talkie. But he still enjoys the advantage over an army of heavily-armed intruders by virtue of his knowledge of the premises’ every nook and cranny.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Olympus Has Fallen is a derivative action flick which might be best described as a cross of Die Hard (1988) and In the Line of Fire (1993), except that instead of Bruce Willis or Clint Eastwood, we have Gerard Butler playing the invincible, two-fisted protagonist. The fast-paced film is engaging and entertaining enough to come recommended provided you’re willing to put your brain on hold and not question any of the picture’s implausible plot developments.

Featuring pyrotechnics worthy of a 4th of July fireworks display, Olympus Has Fallen is an eye-popping, patriotic, high-octane adventure that leaves no doubt about who’s the vindicated hero that kept the world safe for democracy. The Butler did it! Gerard Butler, that is.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity

In English and Korean with subtitles

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: Film District

To see a trailer for Olympus Has Fallen, visit

Admission
Film Review by Kam Williams

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) has worked for 16 years in the admissions office at Princeton, the college regularly rated the best in the country by experts. Because of her pivotal role in picking prospective students for the highly-selective Ivy League institution, the highly-principled administrator often finds herself approached by pushy, helicopter parents seeking preferential treatment for their children.

That’s why she prides herself on never having compromised the integrity of the application process, a commitment also appreciated by the outgoing Dean of Admissions (Wallace Shawn). In fact, he’s recently indicated that upon his impending retirement, he’s prepared to recommend either her or the equally-dedicated Corinne (Gloria Reuben) as his replacement.

That announcement jumpstarts a fierce competition between the two colleagues which soon has Portia venturing to New Hampshire in search of qualified candidates. There, she visits an alternative high school whose handsome principal, John Pressman (Paul Rudd) had been a classmate of hers at Dartmouth. Sparks fly, but nothing transpires, because she’s in a committed relationship.

Instead, John just pressures Portia to interview Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), a bright but underachieving student with a woeful academic transcript. She has no problem dismissing the kid out of hand until the headmaster slips her a birth certificate showing that he’s the son she surrendered for adoption as a baby.

Suddenly, Portia’s maternal instincts kick in and she finds herself on the horns of a dilemma. Should reject this candidate who is clearly not Princeton material, or should she bend the rules for her own flesh and blood? After all, it’s the least she could do, since she played no part in raising him.

That is the conundrum at the heart of Admission a delightful, romantic dramedy directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie). Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s best seller of the same name, the film offers a very revealing peek at the cutthroat, college entrance process from the gatekeepers’ point of view.

Besides the temptation of nepotism, the film revolves around the tender romance between Portia and John which conveniently has a chance to blossom when she’s abandoned by her philandering boyfriend (Michael Shannon) upon returning home from New Hampshire. Meanwhile, intriguing subplots abound involving a cornucopia of colorful support characters.

For instance, itinerant bachelor John has an adopted African son (Travaris Spears) who craves the sort of predictability his settling down with a stable woman might provide. And Portia needs to mend fences with her estranged mother (Lily Tomlin), a breast cancer survivor who in turn might benefit from the attention of an ardent admirer (Olek Krupa). Additional sidebars feature memorable cameos by Roby Sobieski (Leelee’s little brother), Asher Muldoon (author Korelitz’s son) and an emerging ingénue in Nadia Alexander.

An alternately comical and thought-provoking cautionary tale that’s every bit as hilarious as it is sobering.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity and some sexuality

Running time: 117 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Admission, visit

The Croods
Film Review by Kam Williams

Are you better off than you were four million years ago? That’s the evolutionary question playfully posed by The Croods, a visually-captivating, action-oriented cartoon revolving around an agoraphobic clan of cave dwellers that summons up the courage to abandon their home in the face of impending climate change.

The enchanting message movie was co-directed by Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) and Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) who assembled an ensemble featuring Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Cloris Leachman to breathe life into a colorful array of prehistoric characters. Besides the talented voice cast, the film makes a most effective use of 3-D technology guaranteed to keep the tykes enthralled for the duration, whether they’re ducking projectiles aimed directly at their heads or trying to touch objects dangling just out of reach.

At the point of departure we find the Croods huddled inside their dank, dark cave where they sleep in a pile to keep warm at night. The family is presided over by Grug (Cage), an overprotective patriarch whose mantra is the double-negative “Never not be afraid!”

The other members of his primitive brood include naggy mother-in-law Gran (Leachman), long-suffering wife Ugga (Catherine Keener) and their three kids: feral baby Sandy (Randy Thom), man-child Thunk (Clark Duke) and rebellious teen Eep (Stone). Grug feels it is his duty to remind them on a daily basis of the many dangers lurking just beyond the entrance of their boulder-fortified abode.

That’s why he’s so fond of telling bedtime stories in which any curiosity about the outside world invariably proves fatal. Grug’s scare tactics work until the fateful day Eep sneaks off to explore on her own only to encounter a boy (Reynolds) about her own age.

Not only has handsome Guy figured out how to harness fire to keep hungry creatures at bay but he forecasts imminent doom for any humans who fail to move to higher ground. When Eep brings word of this frightening development to her Neanderthal of a dad, it becomes abundantly clear that it’s going to take more than a little convincing to get him to lead the family out of the cave on a perilous trek to safety.

Mother Nature plays a part in nudging him to grudgingly join forces with Guy, and the ensuing sojourn across a vast wasteland to Shangri-La allows for a priceless lesson about risk-taking as relevant in the 21st Century as it must have been back in the Stone Age. A side-splitting, thrill-a-minute adventure reminiscent of the best of The Flintstones. Wilma!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for scenes of peril

Running time: 98 minutes

Studio: Dreamworks Animation

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for The Croods, visit

"This three-hour record of Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s work in the civil-rights movement is a genuine spiritual epic—a chronicle of public action that’s suffused with passion, reason, and understanding. The movie brilliantly orchestrates extraordinary footage of marches, rallies, and church services and complements these precious pieces of history with poetic readings by artists and entertainers—including Harry Belafonte and, yes, Charlton Heston—who marched with King."

The New Yorker

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Film Review by Kam Williams

Back in 2003, Jim Carrey was upstaged as the title character of Bruce Almighty by a scene-stealing Steve Carell as motor-mouthed, TV newscaster Evan Baxter. Consequently, Carrey wasn’t even around for the sequel, Evan Almighty, a spinoff which completely revolved around Carell’s expanded role.

Well, turnabout is fair play, and a decade later we find his titular performance overshadowed here by an inspired one on the part of a rejuvenated Carrey. Regardless, of far more import than which one’s funnier is the fact that the two have reunited and they’re better than ever as magicians competing to outdo each other in an escalating game of one-upmanship.

Directed by Don Scardino (NBC-TV’s 30 Rock), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone also features a stellar supporting cast comprised of Alan Arkin, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Brad Garrett and Jay Mohr, as well as the legendary David Copperfield, CNN’s Erin Burnett and MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe in amusing cameo appearances.

The picture’s engaging premise is fairly easy to follow. Burt Wonderstone (Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Buscemi) have been doing magic tricks together since childhood, when they first teamed up to entertain their classmates. After thirty years, they’re raking in millions at Bally’s in Las Vegas where they share top billing on the marquee as “Burt & Anton: A Magical Friendship.”

Truth be told, they’ve come to despise each other, primarily because of Burt’s massive ego. As a result, the pair’s act has grown stale, giving street performer Steve Gray (Carrey) a chance to steal a little of their thunder via bizarre stunts like not blinking and not urinating for days on end.

When the newcomer captures the public’s imagination, attendance at Burt and Anton’s shows declines, and it’s not long before they feel the pressure to match Gray in outrageousness. But after Anton breaks his ankles and some ribs during their first dangerous stunt, Burt is forced to go mano-a-mano against Gray solo.

More than magic, the ensuing illusion competition contrasts Carrey’s over-the-top antics with Carell’s relatively-droll, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, with the former’s sight gags bowling me over way more than the latter’s dry wit. A battle of competing comedy styles won hands-down by the rambunctious, rubber-faced run-a-muck!

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, dangerous stunts and a drug-related incident.

Running time: 100 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, visit

Dead Man Down
Film Review by Kam Williams

Grief-stricken Lazlo Kerick (Colin Farrell) never recovered from the gruesome murder of his wife (Beata Dalton). It came on orders from a vicious mob boss intent on preventing her from testifying in court. Amoral Alphonse Hoyt (Terrence Howard) also had the couple’s only child (Accalia Quintana) slain in her sleep, which left the disconsolate widower with nothing to live for except sweet revenge.

So, Lazlo changed his name to Victor, assumed a new identity, and infiltrated the ranks of the ruthless gangster’s crime syndicate. But rather than pouncing at the first opportunity, he opts to toy with his prey by playing a mind-bending game of cat and mouse. He starts by killing one of Hoyt’s favorite henchmen (Aaron Vexler), stuffing the corpse in the gangster’s freezer with a cryptic message (“719, now you realize”) clutched in its hand.

The plot thickens when Victor’s felonious activities are observed by a neighbor (Noomi Rapace) whose high-rise, Manhattan apartment sits directly across the courtyard from his. Instead of calling the cops, embittered Beatrice blackmails him into helping her even the score with the drunk driver responsible for her badly-disfigured face.

The two terminally-haunted anti-heroes proceed to forge an unholy alliance in the name of the God of retribution prior to dispensing a particularly grisly brand of vengeance all around a New York City that looks more like Philadelphia. I’ve lived in both cities, so it was a little weird to see Philly being passed off as The Big Apple.

Because he’s from Sweden, director Niels Arden Oplev must have naively figured that nobody would notice the urban switcheroo. But misattributed locales aside, Dead Man Down is a decent payback flick featuring all of the staples of the gruesome, high body-count genre.

Opley certainly knew what he was doing in tapping Noomi Rapace to play Beatrice, since he had already cast her as a similarly-tortured soul in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Though the wheels gradually come off the increasingly-preposterous production, all is forgiven on account of the convoluted adventure’s compelling storyline, arresting special f/x, and satisfying, if farfetched resolution.

The Girl with the Vigilante Agenda!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, violence and pervasive profanity

In English, French, Albanian and Spanish with subtitles

Running time: 110 minutes

Distributor: Film District

To see a trailer for Dead Man Down, visit

Rust and Bone
(De Rouille et D’os)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Alain (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a homeless street hustler barely eking out a living in his native Belgium when he is suddenly handed custody of a 5 year-old son, Sam (Armand Verdure). Overwhelmed by the unanticipated extra responsibility, the single-dad moves to Antibes in the South of France to dump the boy he barely knows on his obliging sister, Anna (Corinne Masiero).

Buff, imposing and blessed with formidable strength, Alain soon lands part-time work as a bouncer in a trendy nightclub. And he also starts leveraging his good looks into lustful liaisons of brief duration with attractive habitués of the haunt.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the seaside resort town, an attractive lass named Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) is gainfully employed at an aquarium as a trainer of Killer whales. She meets Alain one evening after he rescues her from a nasty brawl inside his cabaret.

The very grateful damsel-in-distress takes his phone number, but before she has a chance to call, she loses both of her legs in an unfortunate accident when she he is crushed against the side of the pool by a runaway Orca. So, by the time the two finally do rendezvous, she is confined to a wheelchair, and terribly depressed by her diminished life prospects.

Will this roaming Romeo befriend the blemished beauty, or will his roving eye have him right back out on the dating circuit where he invariably has his pick of the litter? That is the crux of the question at the heart of the deceptively-endearing Rust and Bone, a romance drama written and directed by Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips).

This piercingly-evocative love story ultimately proves far more poignant than one might expect of a picture that starts out with such a limited Neanderthal as a protagonist. Fortunately, his character definitely benefits from considerable development over the course of the engaging adventure.

For, he gradually gets in touch with his sensitive side to the point where he’s ready not only to abandon his womanizing ways but to spend some quality time with his neglected young offspring. Besides unfolding against an array of visually-stimulating backdrops, Rust and Bone is blessed by a couple of tour de force performances coming courtesy of Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard as the unlikeliest of lovers.

A “Salt of the Earth” saga plumbing the depths of the human soul.

Excellent (4 stars)

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

In French and English with subtitles

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

To see a trailer for Rust and Bone, visit

Hava Nagila: The Movie
Film Review by Kam Williams

To most Gentiles, Hava Nagila is just a catchy ditty you get to sing along with at a lot of sporting events. But who wrote the words and the music of this staple of Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs, and what is the cultural significance of the timeless tune?

These are the questions tackled in Hava Nagila: The Movie, a very entertaining and informative documentary directed by Roberta Grossman. The film features performances of the festive folksong by everyone from Connie Francis to Danny Kaye to Harry Belafonte to Chubby Checker. Also included are humorous renditions by comedians Allan Sherman and Jo Anne Worley and rock icon Bob Dylan.

But first, considerable attention is devoted to Hava Nagila’s derivation. Composed in Jerusalem in the early 20th Century, there is debate to this day whether the lyrics, ostensibly inspired by Psalm 118 Verse 24 of the Hebrew Bible, were written by choir director Abraham Zevi Idelsohn or by his 12 year-old protégé, Moshe Nathanson. At least there is no dispute about the melody, which can readily be traced from Palestine back to the Balkans.

Of far more consequence than the question of authorship is what Hava Nagila has meant to different generations of Jews. Initially, its upbeat message marked a distinct departure from the general tenor of their folk music, which had mostly been nostalgic and sad.

After World War II, the relatively-euphoric Hava Nagila spearheaded a virtual cultural reboot that was sorely needed in the wake of The Holocaust. Thus, for the postwar survivors, it came to represent the existence and resurrection of the Jewish people.

However, the picture points out that Hava Nagila lost some of its luster with the one step removed Baby Boomers who came to see the song less as a visceral reclamation of their roots than as a nostalgic reminder of an imagined past. And its being lampooned on TV shows like Laugh-In, The Simpsons and Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as on countless Youtube clips has left sage Jewish elders of today wondering whether the song still has a soul or if it has been reduced to a symbol of assimilation into the American mainstream.

Regardless, this once-sacred anthem seems destined to be forever revered as a song that, at a critical moment in Jewish history, provided joy in the face of loss and hope in the face of fear. Everything you ever wanted to know about Hava Nagila but were afraid to ask except, “What’s the deal with the ritual of raising a chair in the air like you don’t care?”

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 75 minutes

Distributor: Katahdin Productions

To see a trailer for Hava Nagila, visit

The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek
Film Review by Kam Williams

Over the years, Ken Burns has shot numerous historical documentaries covering such slices of Americana as Baseball as The Civil War. The latter is the subject of satire in this irreverent mockumentary mimicking the tone of the Emmy Award-winning director’s typical production.

The plot revolves around The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek, a mythical engagement said to have turned the tide in favor of the North. The film focuses on the roles played by four unlikely heroes that fateful day: a gay colonel (Matthew Ludwinski), a nerdy fugitive slave (Barron A. Myers), a geriatric Chinese launderer (Scooter MacRae) and a one-armed prostitute passing as a drummer boy (Mara Kassin).

Ala Burns, the picture features a profusion of talking heads, self-impressed experts who wax romantic while weighing-in about what transpired 150 years ago. Unfortunately, this one-trick pony isn’t very funny, as its running joke wears out its welcome after a half-hour or so.

It might have helped if the flick had a deeper message to deliver beyond one advocating inclusion regardless of age, gender, color or sexual preference. By comparison, the similarly-themed C.S.A. (The Confederate States of America) was a spoof which proved far more thought-provoking because it created an alternate universe where slavery still existed because the South won the war.

Even though the overambitious The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek misses the mark, first-time writer/director Wendy Jo Cohen exhibits sufficient potential to make me curious about her next venture. What’s next, a Glee-inspired, musical lampoon of World War II with black GIs serving alongside openly-gay GIs in an already integrated military?

Fair (1 star)

Unrated

Running time: 96 minutes

Distributor: Wide Sphere Films

To see a trailer for The Battle of Pussy Willow Creek, visit

Jack the Giant Slayer
Film Review by Kam Williams

When Jack (Nicholas Hoult) was a little boy, his imagination was whetted by a bedtime story about a mythical war waged ages ago against a fearsome race of giants that had descended from the sky. Before his mother (Caroline Hayes) died soon thereafter, she suggested that he might even be related to Erik the Great (Craig Salisbury), the brave monarch who had led the valiant defense of Earth against the gargantuan invaders.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the peaceable kingdom’ proverbial tracks, young Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) was being spoon-fed a similar tale about an epic showdown between good and evil. But she was read to at night by her doting father, King Brahmwell (Ian McShane), due to her mother’s (Tandi Wright) untimely demise.

A decade later, we find the lowly farmhand’s path crossing with that of the future queen the day the headstrong teenager sneaks out of the castle to rub shoulders with the hoi polloi. At a puppet show, Jack rushes to her assistance the moment she finds herself being accosted by a menacing gang of ruffians.

The damsel-in-distress becomes so smitten with the gallant lad that she informs her father of a desire to break off her arranged engagement to the insufferable Roderick (Stanley Tucci), an effete lout twice her age. Nonetheless, King Brahmwell would rather have his daughter marry a blue-blooded member of the Royal Court she doesn’t love than tie the knot with a mere commoner.

Before the moment of truth arrives, however, fate intervenes in the form of a monk (Simon Lowe) who hands Jack a few mysterious beans. During a secret visit from Isabelle, one slips through the floorboards, takes seed under his house, and starts to grow rapidly, sweeping the humble abode and the Princess way up into the heavens.

Soon, both of her suitors join the search party, scaling the mile-high beanstalk to an otherworldly realm in the clouds. Jack has no idea that the mammoth plant has also inadvertently reopened a gateway to the ground for an army of gigantic adversaries. And it’s not long before ancient hostilities are reignited over Isabelle and the fate of the planet below.

Directed by Bryan Singer, Jack the Giant Slayer is an alternately enchanting and eyepopping adventure which must be seen in 3-D to be appreciated fully. Between the breathtaking panoramas and the daring derring-do on display, the picture amounts to a captivating, cinematic treat guaranteed to enthrall tykes, ‘tweeners, and just about anyone interested in seeing a classic fairytale brought to life.

Fee! Fye! Foe! Fumm! I smell a hit with the little ones!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for frightening images, brief profanity and intense violence

Running time: 114 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Jack the Giant Slayer, visit

War Witch
Film Review by Kam Williams

Komona’s (Rachel Mwanza) life was irreversibly altered at the tender age of 12 when rebel forces led by the Great Tiger (Mizinga Mwinga) rampaged through her tiny African village. The unfortunate girl was forced at gunpoint to kill her own parents (Starlette Mathata and Alex Herabo) before being abducted and brainwashed into joining the cause.

Deep in the jungle, she was befriended by other kids orphaned by the conflict before being trained to use a weapon against government soldiers. However, more valuable than marksmanship, Komona developed an uncanny knack for sensing enemy positions, a skill which proved handy during encounters with deadly snipers and machine gun nests.

This supernatural ability came to the attention of her superiors, and by the time she turned 13, the so-called “War Witch” was appointed a personal advisor of General Tiger. In that capacity, Komona also had to work closely with Magician (Serge Kanyinda), an albino boy with extra sensory perception.

It’s been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Apparently there aren’t any celibates in foxholes either. For, it’s not long before the two seers fall madly in love. Magician proposes, they go AWOL, and Komona ends up pregnant by her 14th birthday.

Thus unfolds War Witch, a haunting drama chronicling an adolescent’s coming-of-age under the most trying of circumstances. Written and directed by Canadian Kim Nguyen who shot on location in the Congo, the moving character study was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category.

The picture is cleverly constructed as a series of vivid flashbacks narrated by Komona directly addressing the unborn baby growing in her belly. While the plucky protagonist easily earns our admiration for maintaining her sanity in the midst of the madness, there is still something slightly unsettling about a production so matter-of-fact about the endless atrocities providing the backdrop for such a touching front story.

21st Century Africa presented as a godforsaken wasteland conjuring up primitive images reminiscent of the ghoulish dystopia chronicled by Conrad in Heart of Darkness.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In French and Lingala with subtitles

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: TriBeCa Film

To see a trailer for War Witch, visit

A Good Day to Die Hard
Film Review by Kam Williams

When his wayward son lands in legal trouble in Russia, John McClane (Bruce Willis) makes his way to Moscow to spring Jack (Jai Courtney) from jail. But because the two have been estranged for a few years, the fretting father has no idea his ne‘er-do-well offspring has cleaned up his act and is now working undercover as a CIA Agent.

In fact, Jack has a very good reason for being in Eastern Europe, namely, to thwart a terrorist cell bent on world domination from getting its mitts on a stash of enriched uranium. And, once the truth comes out, father and son grudgingly join forces to keep the Free World safe for democracy.

That’s about all the plot you need to know to follow A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth installment in the storied franchise starring Bruce Willis. Unfortunately, the movie is basically a brainless indulgence in pyrotechnics, stunts and special f/x, marked by endless explosions, gun fights, car chases and death-defying leaps.

Diehard Die Hard fans will undoubtedly appreciate Willis’ trademark resort to smirking and sarcasm as effective weapons against evil adversaries whenever he’s faced with overwhelming odds. Plus, there’s the comical badinage between John and junior whenever embittered Jack belatedly endeavors to work out his childhood abandonment issues.

Macho John might muster up enough empathy to offer a hug, only to have the Kodak moment undermined by another wave of Soviet assassins armed to the teeth. So, don’t expect sophisticated dialogue and you won’t be disappointed. The best this simplistic script has to offer is professional wrestler-like villains asking: “Do you know what I hate about Americans? Everything!”

An implausible, action adventure featuring a couple of bomb and bulletproof protagonists more resilient than Wile E. Coyote, thanks to the miracle of cartoon physics!

Fair (1 star)

Rated R for profanity and violence

In English and Russian with subtitles

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for A Good Day to Die Hard, visit

Beautiful Creatures
Film Review by Kam Williams

Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) has lived his whole life in Gatlin, South Carolina, a tiny town in denial about the fact that the South lost the Civil War. The community is so backwards that it has banned books as seemingly innocuous as “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

This frustrating state of affairs has left the curious sophomore determined to attend a college far, far away from the Bible Belt. In the meantime, however, he is secretly reading any of the censored titles he can get his hands on.

For months, Ethan has also been haunted by a recurring nightmare in which he attempts to approach a gorgeous ghost, only to die right before reaching her. Consequently, he wakes up in a cold sweat every morning with a crush on an apparent apparition he thinks doesn’t really exist.

But, as luck would have it, a new transfer student who’s the spitting image of the girl of his dreams shows up in Ethan’s class on the first day of the fall semester. Recently-orphaned Lena (Alice Englert) has just been taken in by her Uncle Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons), the wealthy neighborhood weirdo whose family founded Gatlin generations ago.

Most of the locals know better than to trespass onto the unwelcoming, Gothic Ravenwood Estate, but not Ethan, who’s too smitten with Lena to care. It’s not long before he and Lena are an item, although the flirty 15 year-old does her best to warn her new beau that she’s nothing but trouble.

If only Ethan bothered to consult librarian/seer Amma Treadeau (Viola Davis), he’d know to steer clear of the entire Ravenwood clan. For, truth be told, they’re “Casters,” meaning otherworldly beings whose supernatural powers kick in when they turn 16. And with Lena’s impending 16th birthday just over the horizon, the burning question is whether she’ll be a good witch or drawn to the dark side by her cousin (Emmy Rossum) and late mother (Emma Thompson).

Thus unfolds Beautiful Creatures, a deliciously naughty adaptation of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s young adult novel of the same name. Directed by Richard LaGravenese, the picture’s plotline is a bit reminiscent of the vampire/human series Twilight, except with the human and non-human protagonists’ genders switched.

Between a talented cast and a compelling script, Beautiful Creatures is bound to do well with the targeted tweener/teen demo with which such cross-species romances seem to resonate nowadays. A viable jumpstart of yetta nudder escapist fantasy franchise.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and scary images

Running time: 118 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Beautiful Creatures, visit

Saving Lincoln
Film Review by Kam Williams

A bodyguard doesn’t have the luxury of making a single slip in the process of protecting the President, since a would-be assassin needs but one opportunity to succeed in his deadly mission. Ward Hill Lamon (Lea Coco) learned that lesson the hard way when John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head on April 14, 1865.

Ironically, that was the very same day on which Honest Abe created the U.S. Secret Service. For, up until then, Lincoln’s security detail essentially consisted of just one person, the self-appointed Lamon.

In fact, the former law partner was the only pal Lincoln had brought with him from Illinois to Washington, D.C. As a banjo-playing, joke-telling confidant, he not only served as a sounding board but periodically provided the President with some well-needed comic and musical relief from the strains of the taxing job.

After all, The Railsplitter had been in the White House but a month when the Civil War erupted. Thus, he was burdened his entire tenure in office by the stresses associated with the conflict. And while he was trying to preserve the Union, he narrowly survived numerous attempts on his life (including a bullet passing through his stovepipe hat), the first of which was thwarted before his inauguration early in 1861.

Written and directed by Salvador Litvak, Saving Lincoln is an intimate buddy biopic chronicling the pair’s enduring friendship. The film unfolds from the perspective of narrator Lamon, who ominously concedes that, “I never could be at ease when absent from Lincoln’s side.”

Among the many plots the ever-vigilant escort managed to foil was a Rebel kidnapping scheme to hold the President ransom for 200,000 Confederate POWs. Sadly, Lamon was conspicuously absent the fateful night of the cowardly ambush in the box at Ford theater during the Third Act of the performance of a farce called “Our American Cousin.”

Having previously dispatched his trusted bodyguard to Richmond, Virginia, Lincoln ill-advisedly ignored the warning, “Do not go out, particularly to the theater.” A grieving Lamon later waxed philosophical about the tragedy, concluding, “I did not save Mr. Lincoln, because he did not wish to be saved. He completed his work and earned his rest.”

A fresh take on The Great Emancipator from the point-of-view of a constant companion who had been at the President’s side at Gettysburg and many an historical moment except the day he died.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 101 minutes

Distributor: Quad Cinema

To see a trailer for Saving Lincoln, visit

Koch
Film Review by Kam Williams

Ed Koch (1924-2013) was the mayor of New York from 1978 to 1989, a three-term tenure over the course of which the city was beset by everything from racial strife to urban decay to the AIDS epidemic. To some, a feisty leader like Koch was precisely the right remedy for that mix of urban maladies. To others, he was simply too divisive a figure to forge a diverse coalition representative of every ethnicity.

To his credit, Koch did clean up Times Square and bring the city back from the brink of bankruptcy, even if he did irreversibly alienate the black community ab initio by closing Sydenham Hospital in Harlem right after entering office. That controversial move motivated Calvin Butts, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, to say: “He’s worse than a racist. He’s an opportunist!”

Ever the optimist, Koch was nevertheless fond of always asking his constituents: “How’m I doing?” Although the feedback he received was generally positive, another African-American detractor, Reverend Tim Mitchell was prompted to respond, “You’re not doing well, you’re racist, and the people know it!”

So unfolds Koch, a warts-and-all documentary directed by Neil Barsky.

Overall, the movie might strike the viewer as a bit of a hatchet job, but that’s only because it opened in theaters on the very day he passed away. And when somebody dies, that’s a time for obituaries which tend to focus on the positive, not on “the evil that men do.”

Therefore, fans of the film’s recently-deceased subject might be distressed to see their beloved hero posthumously pilloried. For, the tough-talking politician frequently takes it on the chin here, from the gay slurs “Vote for Cuomo, not the homo!” which surfaced during the 1977 campaign to the allegations of corruption which sank his futile attempt to win a fourth term in office.

At one juncture, when asked his sexual preference, Koch sort of loses it, responding, “It’s none of your [bleeping] business!” To deflect rumors from spreading, especially after a longtime associate, Richard Nathan, claimed to be his spurned lover, he began making plenty of public appearances with Bess Myerson, the first Jewish Miss America on his arm.

Ultimately, the coup de grace was delivered to Koch’s career when many Democratic machine bosses holding powerful positions in his administration were exposed as crooks. This forced the voters to face the fact that the man who had originally run as a reformer on a platform promising to clean up City Hall had himself tragically morphed like the characters in Orwell’s “Animal Farm” into just another hack politician with his hands in the cookie jar.

The rise and fall from grace of a good Jewish boy gone bad who ostensibly sold out the Big Apple but never summoned up the courage to come out of the closet.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Zeitgeist Films

To see a trailer for Koch, visit

Amour

Film Review by Kam Williams

Undying Love Explored in Poignant, Character-Driven Drama 

 

            Retired music teachers Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) have been married for over 60 years. But the frail octogenarians’ love for each other remains as strong as the day they met.

            The elderly couple lives in a Paris apartment surrounded by music and art and other indicia of an appreciation of culture. Unfortunately, with Anne’s health in sharp decline, their days are now mostly spent attending to her host of medical issues.

            For, she’s basically been bedridden since a stroke that left her right side paralyzed. And the poor woman’s biggest fear is not death but the prospect of returning to the hospital or being moved to a nursing home.

            It’s clear that doting Georges is so devoted that he would prefer to abide by his wife’s wishes. However, he’s no spring chicken either, and she’s gradually becoming more than he can handle as her health deteriorates. They do have a daughter, but Eva (Isabelle Huppert) is a travelling musician who can only visit occasionally because of her hectic touring schedule.

            So, when it becomes obvious that Anne has passed the point of no return, Georges finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. Does he abide by his life mate’s last request and let her live out her days in the familiar confines of home, or does he resign himself to the fact that he can no longer provide the quality care she so dearly needs to survive?       

            That is the crux of the critical question explored in Amour, a bittersweet romance drama which just tugs on the heartstrings. Written and directed by Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher), the flashback flick has deservedly been nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Foreign Film, Director, Actress and Original Script.

            Paradoxically, Haneke decided to hint at the resolution during an opening tableau during which Georges and Anne’s flat is found on fire. A poignant tale of undying love.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for mature themes and brief profanity

Running time: 127 minutes

Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics  

To see a trailer for Amour, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Hr3eJc88w 

Bullet to the Head
Film Review by Kam Williams

Sylvester Stallone is the only movie star to be #1 at the box-office in five straight decades, a record stretching from Rocky in the Seventies through last summer’s action hit The Expendables 2. And judging by Bullet to the Head, the gracefully-aging matinee idol need not retire to a rocking chair any time soon.

This riveting revenge thriller was directed by the legendary Walter Hill who, back in 1982, brilliantly cast Eddie Murphy in his big screen debut opposite Nick Nolte in 48 Hours. Here, his inspired pairing of Stallone and relative-newcomer Sung Kang as unlikely-buddies proves to be equally entertaining.

Based on Alexis Nolent’s graphic novel of the same name, Bullet to the Head revolves around two tough guys from opposite sides of the law who grudgingly team up to settle a score with a common adversary. Jimmy Bobo (Stallone) is a hit man operating in New Orleans whose protégé (Jon Seda) has just been gutted in a bar by a goon with a Bowie knife (Jason Momoa), while. Taylor Kwon (Kang) is a cop from Washington, DC in town to investigate the murder of his partner (Holt McCallany).

As it turns out, both slayings were ordered by Morel (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) an ambitious mobster who will stop at nothing in his quest for control of the Crescent City’s crime rackets. Because so many corrupt police and politicians are already in cahoots with Morel, double-crossed Detective Kwon almost ends-up dead when he tries to enlist the assistance of the local authorities in solving his pal’s slaying.

That betrayal leads him to reluctantly forge an unholy alliance with Jimmy. Together, they proceed to embark on a bloody rampage, dispensing a brutal brand of vigilante justice to the henchmen running interference for the ruthless Morel. Besides creating major mayhem, however, the two share many moments of levity during disagreements over about what weapons and tactics to employ.

Streetwise Jimmy repeatedly relies on his instincts and brute force, shooting first and asking questions never, an approach which grates on tech-savvy Kwon dependent on his cell phone and the internet. Kwon also finds time to develop a romantic interest in Jimmy’s estranged daughter (Sarah Shahi), an attractive tattoo artist with a parlor in a seedy neighborhood.

Still, make no mistake, this action-oriented affair is all about exacting vengeance and escalating body counts, and it won’t disappoint diehard Stallone fans in that regard. Vintage Sly in his best outing since Cop Land!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, nudity, drug use, graphic violence and bloody images

Running time: 91 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Bullet to the Head, visit

One Night Stand: Creating a Play in a Day
Film Review by Kam Williams

Anyone who grew up watching The Little Rascals remembers that some of the best episodes were where the kids attempted to put on a show, like the time they did Romeo & Juliet, and Buckwheat had to serve as a last-minute stand-in for Darla as Juliet, much to Alfalfa’s consternation. Well, if you can appreciate that sort of impromptu entertainment, then you are likely to enjoy One Night Stand: Creating a Play in a Day.

Co-directed by Trish Dalton and Elisabeth Sperling, the movie chronicles a Herculean, coordinated effort to write, cast, compose, rehearse and perform four musicals in less than a day. And it’s all for a good cause, too, The Exchange, a charity which supports innovative theater artists.

The movie stars a number of recognizable stage and screen actors, most notably, Richard Kind, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cheyenne Jackson, Tracie Toms and SNL alumna Rachel Dratch. And it also prominently features the playwrights and composers operating under pressure to produce scripts and scores, respectively, with little time to revise.

They began working at 8 PM and by 8 AM they handed over a quartet of freshly-minted musicals to the directors and cast members. What ensues is a sort of opening night bedlam, but greatly amplified, since they only have a few hours to memorize lines, lyrics and melodies.

Initially, I was admittedly a little put off by the assorted backstage banter and hysteria, especially since I was more than a little cynical about the ambitious endeavor’s prospects. Yet, all was forgiven when the pieces of the puzzle ultimately came together by show time. I couldn’t believe how polished and professional the final product was.

Rome might not have been built in a day, but One Night Stand proves that a captivating, Broadway-quality musical can be mounted in 24 hours. Who knew?

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 74 minutes

Distributor: Fathom Events

Studio: Incubation Films

To see a trailer for One Night Stand, visit

Special One-Night Event Nationwide:

One Night Stand will be in theaters on Jan 30, 2013 at 7:30pm local time

Movie 43
Film Review by Kam Williams

Movie 43 is a shallow shocksploitation flick which revels in raunchy lowbrow humor. What is supposed to elevate this terminally-crude comedy above your typical bottom-feeder is its A-list cast topped by Academy Award-winners Halle Berry and Kate Winslet, as well as Oscar-nominees Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard.

However, the picture fails miserably in this regard, as it merely ends-up dragging the entire ensemble into the mud. This scatterplot sketch flick features a dozen directors, including Peter Farrelly (There's Something about Mary), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour trilogy), Bob Odenkirk (The Brothers Solomon), to name a few.

The film is essentially a series of skits being pitched by a writer (Dennis Quaid) to a skeptical Hollywood producer (Greg Kinnear). After Charlie sets up each scene, the screen cuts away to an enactment of a fully fleshed-out production of his idea.

For example, the first vignette, "The Catch," revolves around a socialite named Beth's (Winslet) blind date from Hell with Davis (Jackman), a successful, eligible bachelor with a distracting drawback, namely, a hairy scrotum hanging from his neck in place of an Adam's apple. The sight gag serves as fodder for a running joke since Beth, inexplicably, is the only person in the restaurant able to see the deformity.

So, while Davis looks perfectly normal to everybody else, the poor woman finds herself forced to suffer such indignities as posing for a picture with sweaty gonads in her face. The subject matter goes from gross-out fare to incest and pedophilia in the next segment, "Homeschooled," which is about a mother's (Watts) taking her son's (Jeremy Allen White) virginity. Worse, the 13 year-old's perverted dad (Liev Schreiber) comes on to the kid, too.

Halle Berry's breasts co-star in "Truth or Dare," another bit about a blind date. In this tacky tableau, her character first exposes herself after accepting a challenge to make guacamole with her bosom. The oversexed exhibitionist bares her gargantuan mammaries again at the end of the evening, even though she's supposedly not attracted to Asian men.

Dating is also the theme of "Super Hero Speed Dating" where Batman's (Jason Sudeikis) sidekick Robin (Justin Long) attempts to charm both Super Girl (Kristen Bell) and Wonder Woman (Leslie Bibb). And "Middleschool Date" milks its mean-spirited mirth from a 7th grader's (Chloe Moretz) being mercilessly teased about getting her first menstrual period while sharing a kiss with a classmate (Jimmy Bennett) she has a crush on.

More creepy than comical, Movie 43 represents a disgusting, cinematic descent into depravity destined to leave its victims, sitting slack-jawed and speechless in stunned disbelief.

Poor (0 stars)

Rated R for violence, drug use, pervasive profanity, graphic sexuality, frontal nudity, crude humor and coarse dialogue.

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Relativity Media

To see a trailer for Movie 43, visit

Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary
Film Review by Kam Williams

Wesley Cook, aka Mumia Abu-Jamal, was born on April 24, 1954 in the City of Brotherly Love. There, he founded a branch of the Black Panthers at the age of 15 after being kicked by a cop at a rally for segregationist presidential candidate George Wallace.

After attending college in Vermont, he returned to Philly to pursue a career in journalism. He proceeded to provide a voice for the voiceless as a politically-progressive reporter while simultaneously moonlighting as a cab driver, until the fateful night in 1981 when he and his brother William crossed paths with a police officer named Daniel Faulkner.

The cop was killed during the traffic stop, when the bullets from a gun registered to Mumia were emptied into him at close range. Faulkner managed to get off a few shots, wounding Mumia.

At trial, the jury deliberated only a few hours in what seemed like an open-and-shut case, and the defendant was convicted and subsequently handed a death sentence. However, because of Mumia's previously clean record and his having served as such an articulate mouthpiece for the poor and disenfranchised, he soon became something of an international cause célèbre.

Was he indeed a murderer or had he been railroaded to prison because of his radical views? The left and the right would disagree strongly on the issue. Eventually his sentence was commuted to life with no parole, and the fundamental question of guilt or innocence was essentially left unanswered.

The same can be said after viewing Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary, a documentary which doesn't seek so much to clear the controversial figure's name as to showcase his intellect and longstanding defiance of The Establishment.

To director Stephen Vittoria's credit, he hauls out a long line of luminaries like Dr. Cornel West, Ruby Dee, Hurricane Carter, Alice Walker, Angela Davis, Dick Gregory and Amy Goodman to take turns heaping praise on his sympathetic subject.

While their heartfelt testimonials leave no doubt about Mumia's commitment to the struggle and considerable talents as a writer, none of them were eyewitnesses to the murder. Thus, this is not a biopic which seeks to poke holes in the prosecution's case or to indict the State of Pennsylvania for a rush to judgment.

Rather, it merely endeavors to highlight the squandered potential of a gifted, if fatally-flawed individual. Love him or hate him, no one watching this inconclusive piece can deny that Mumia has a way with words.

A film that wisely leaves the damning evidence on the back burner in favor of focusing on everything about Mumia Abu-Jamal except for what exactly transpired at the corner of 13th and Locust in the wee hours of December 9, 1981.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In English and Spanish with subtitles

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features

To see a trailer for Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary, visit

Opens February 1st at Cinema Village in New York City, with special appearances by the filmmaker and people appearing in the film. 

Les Miserables
Film Review by Kam Williams

Published by Victor Hugo in 1862, Les Miserables is generally recognized as one of the most important novels of the 19th Century. The socially-conscious, 1900-page opus explored a plethora of themes, particularly power, justice, monarchy and religion.

The moving morality play specifically shed light on the plight of the poor, especially women and children, with the hope of raising awareness about the insensitivity of a callous legal system. I digress by way of introduction only to remind readers that Les Mis' source material was a relatively-profound examination of France's prevailing issues of the day.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Tom Hooper (for The King's Speech), the screen adaptation is based on the long-running Broadway production which won 8 Tony Awards back in 1987. The film version has landed just as many Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman), Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway) and Best Original Song ("Suddenly").

Understandably, the novel's labyrinthine plot has been simplified considerably into a tale of love and redemption. Unfolding in Paris in 1815, the movie basically revolves around Jean Valjean (Jackman), a recently-paroled ex-con intent on turning a new leaf after serving 19 years in prison for the theft of a loaf of bread.

On the road to redemption, he promises a prostitute on her death bed (Hathaway) to raise her about to be orphaned young daughter (Amanda Seyfried). Meanwhile, he finds himself mercilessly haunted by a ruthless policeman (Russell Crowe) intent on putting him back behind bars. Officer Javert believes once a crook, always a crook, and accordingly devotes his days to a dogged pursuit of Valjean.

Les Mis is a cinematic rarity in that virtually every line of dialogue is sung. Furthermore, I suppose it might mean something to theater purists that the director eschewed dubbing in favor of having the cast sing live on set.

Entertaining enough to garner this critic's stamp of approval, Les Mis nevertheless pales in comparison to so many of those enchanting classics from my childhood like West Side Story, My Fair Lady and Guys & Dolls. I guess they don't make musicals like they used to anymore.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, mature themes and suggestive material

Running time: 158 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for Les Miserables, visit

 

The Pirogue
Film Review by Kam Williams

Senegalese Peasants Set Out for Spain in Seafaring Tale of Survival

You might find the title of this movie a little misleading, since to most people a "pierogi" is a puffy Polish delicacy stuffed with potatoes, sauerkraut and ground meat. However, the similar-sounding "pirogue" is also the name of the flat-bottomed, wooden boat used by West African fishermen for centuries.

Directed by Moussa Toure, the fact-based drama revolves around 30 Senegalese peasants, 29 men and 1 woman (Mame Astou Diallo), who make a break for Spain by sea in search of a better life. Because of their country's bad economy, even the fishing industry is dying, which means some ship owners have turned to using their vessels to smuggle needy refugees to Europe.

The story was inspired by the over 30,000 souls who attempted the transoceanic voyage between 2005 and 2010, and it is dedicated to the 5,000 of them that perished in the financial freedom flotillas. The captain of the pirogue at the center of the adventure is Baye Laye (Souleymane Seye Ndiaye), a married man who requests that his wife be paid his fee of a million Francs before his departure on the dangerous journey.

The boat is outfitted with a radio, a GPS device, 260 gallons of gasoline, 80 gallons of water and 300 pounds of rice. And the passengers have brought along musical instruments like bongos, bells and a kalimba to break up the monotony of what they expect to be long boring days.

Not so fast, kimosabe. After passing the point of no return, they encounter a host of horrifying ordeals ranging from homesickness to madness to sexual tension to infighting to a hurricane to leaks to starvation. Ultimately, their plight becomes so overwhelming that they end up praying to Allah for divine intervention.

A compelling cross of Life of Pi and Lifeboat, a seafaring tale of survival sans the Bengal tiger and Tallulah Bankhead.

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated: Unrated

In French with subtitles

Running time: 87 minutes

Distributor: ArtMattan

To see a trailer for The Pirogue, visit

Quartet
Film Review by Kam Williams

Sometimes a gem of a movie slips through the cracks that really has no business getting lost. Such is the case with Quartet, a delightful dramedy directed by Dustin Hoffman and starring Maggie Smith.

Since the film was released in late December by the esteemed Weinstein Company, one would naturally expect it to generate a lot of Academy Award buzz. But it was overlooked entirely, which means moviegoers might now be tempted to pass on the picture in favor of Oscar contenders. I just hope audiences don't dismiss Quartet because it lacks the Academy's stamp of approval.

The story is set at Beecham House, a sprawling estate in England which serves as a retirement home for accomplished classical musicians. At the point of departure, we are introduced to three of its residents Wilfred (Billy Connolly), Cecily (Pauline Collins) and Reginald (Tom Courtenay), opera singers who once shared the limelight as members of a famed quartet.

Melancholy Reggie is rather reserved in contrast to the comic relief coming courtesy of slightly senile Cissy and ladies man Wilf, a frisky codger quick to flirt with anything in a skirt. Otherwise, Beecham House is busy preparing to put on an annual concert, staged each year on Verdi's birthday.

The plot thickens when Jean Horton (Smith), a very demanding, former diva, moves in unannounced. For not only was she responsible for the breakup of the aforementioned quartet, but the adulteress was also to blame for the failure of her brief marriage to Reggie.

Jean is so narcissistic that she's initially oblivious to the effect that her arrival is having on her ex, who ostensibly never fully recovered from their divorce. Instead, she spends her time complaining about having to adjust to the relatively modest circumstances.

Will the two reconcile, let alone be able to even share the same space? And can the quartet be reunited to perform as headliners at the recital, a fundraiser suddenly critical to Beecham's remaining afloat? These are the pivotal concerns that will keep you entertained and engaged every step of the way to the glorious resolution.

A charming, romantic romp revolving around a couple of unexpected encores.

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for suggestive humor and brief profanity

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Quartet, visit

Gangster Squad
Film Review by Kam Williams

Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) was born and raised in Brooklyn where he started out as a prizefighter before moving to Chicago during Prohibition to become an enforcer for Al Capone. In the Forties, he was sent by Meyer Lansky to Los Angeles to establish extortion, gambling, prostitution and loan shark operations on behalf of the Jewish Mafia.

Mickey gradually began to make inroads, which didn't sit well with LA Police Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) who was determined to prevent any crime syndicate from gaining a foothold in his city. But that would prove easier said than done since the vicious mobster had already succeeded in bribing and/or intimidating many cops, judges and powerful politicians.

Given the frightening degree of corruption, Parker decided that the only way to bring down Mickey was to behave just as ruthlessly. So, he asked one of his most fearless officers, Sergeant John O'Mara (Josh Brolin), to form a top secret team whose mission would be to enforce the law by breaking it.

For, the so-called Gangster Squad's mission was simply to enter each of Cohen's establishments anonymously in order to break kneecaps and generally trash the place. Of course, if any of O'Mara's goons were killed or captured, the Commissioner would have to disavow any knowledge of their actions.

Thus unfolds Gangster Squad, a stylized costume drama with far more charm than one would ordinarily expect to find in an old-fashioned shoot ‘em up. Directed by Ruben Fleisher (Zombieland), the film is based on the clever Paul Lieberman best-seller of the same name.

The production was blessed with an A-list cast which includes Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena, Robert Patrick and Mireille Enos. Therefiore, there are no throwaway roles here, with even lesser characters benefitting from development as a consequence of veteran thespians putting their all into their performances.

As a result, you come to care not only about whether or not Mickey will ever be brought to justice, but about surprisingly-engaging subplots involving a lawman (Gosling) going gaga over the gangsta's moll (Stone), and about a pregnant wife's (Enos) worry about whether her gung-ho hubby's (Brolin) will live long enough to witness his baby's birth. Nevertheless, the front story does feature all the staples of the genre, from flashy Zoot suits to Tommy guns to street smart dialogue mixing slang and savoir faire in a manner reminiscent of Damon Runyon.

A high body-count showdown between rogue cops and the Kosher Nostra for the future of Los Angeles!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity and graphic violence

Running time: 113 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Gangster Squad, visit

The Impossible
Film Review by Kam Williams

On the day after Christmas in 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake, the third largest ever measured on the Richter scale, triggered a mammoth tsunami in the Indian Ocean which cost a quarter million people their lives. Thanks to the ubiquity of surveillance and cell phone cameras, the world was able to witness much of the tragedy, including tidal waves crashing ashore and creeping deep inland before sweeping humans, cars and everything else in its path back out to sea.

Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry Belon (Ewan McGregor), a married couple from Spain, had the misfortune to be vacationing in Thailand with their three sons (Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast) that fateful day. Because they had rented a ground level cottage at a luxurious beachfront resort, they were engulfed by water and separated from each other the moment disaster struck.

The family's ensuing ordeal is the subject of The Impossible, a harrowing tale of survival directed by Juan Antonia Bayona (The Orphanage). The Belons' nationality has admittedly been changed from Spanish to British for the sake of the film, but one can only assume that the rest of their terrifying experience has been accurately recreated here.

The film opens with a relatively serene tableau covering their uneventful, Christmas Eve flight to Khao Lak as well as their subsequent celebration of the holiday opening presents and snorkeling. Of course, that deceptively idyllic setup is just the quiet before the storm.

When the tsunami hits the following morning, their hotel is engulfed, and from that point forward the picture is presented primarily from Maria's point of view. We first witness her clinging to a palm tree, and then saving eldest son Lucas (Holland).

The kid eventually escorts his profusely bleeding mother through the chaos to a makeshift hospital for some urgently-needed medical attention. While she teeters between life and death, Lucas perambulates the devastated region for any sign, living or dead, of his missing father and siblings.

Did they make it? Sorry, far be it from this critic to spoil the resolution of any edge-of-your-seat thriller, even if based on actual events.

Forget National Lampoon, this flick chronicles the real vacation from Hell!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for brief nudity, disturbing images and intense disaster sequences

In English and Thai with subtitles

Running time: 114 minutes

Distributor: Summit Entertainment

To see a trailer for The Impossible, visit

Zero Dark Thirty
Film Review by Kam Williams

After 9/11, the United States intensified its efforts in the international manhunt for Osama bin Laden (Ricky Sekhon). Nevertheless, the elusive mastermind of the terrorist attack continued to orchestrate mass murders in Bali, Istanbul, London, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere around the world.

Dismayed by the ever-mounting death toll, the authorities rationalized the use of rough interrogation tactics bordering on torture in the hope of expediting the capture, dead or alive, of the slippery al-Qaida leader. He was ultimately tracked down to a walled compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where he died on May 2, 2011 during a daring, helicopter raid conducted by Navy SEAL Team Six,

Directed by two-time, Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow (for The Hurt Locker), Zero Dark Thirty (military speak for 12:30 AM) is a riveting, super-realistic account of the decade-long search for bin Laden. Bigelow has again collaborated with Oscar-winning scriptwriter Mark Boal (also for The Hurt Locker), with the pair apparently gaining access to classified materials in preparing the project.

The film is structured as a tale of female empowerment revolving around Maya (Jessica Chastain), a cool, calm and collected CIA agent who manages to keep her head even when so many around her seem to be losing theirs, literally and/or figuratively. She also has an uncanny knack for deciphering which clues might be worth following, cutting a sharp contrast in this regard to bumbling colleagues who fritter away most of their time on wild goose chases.

At the point of departure, we find Maya finally getting her first taste of fieldwork after starting her career boning-up on bin Laden behind a desk in Washington, D.C. She's been reassigned to participate in the questioning of al-Qaida members and sympathizers being detained at secret sites located outside the U.S. where the Geneva Conventions provisions relating to torture presumably don't apply.

Soon, Maya's chasing clues from Pakistan to Kuwait to Afghanistan and back, alongside tone-deaf bosses (Jason Clarke and Kyle Chandler) who could crack the case quickly if they weren't such male chauvinists suffering from Persistent Disbelief Syndrome. That's the shopworn plot device which pits a frustrated, unappreciated protagonist against an army of stubbornly skeptical naysayers.

Whether a convenient, cinematic contrivance or an accurate portrayal of what transpired, Zero Dark Thirty's version of history certainly makes for a very convincing piece of patriotic storytelling. Credit Jessica Chastain for imbuing her character, Maya, with a compelling combination of vulnerability, sagacity and steely resolve in a memorable, Oscar-quality performance.

CIA Agent Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love waterboarding!

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, disturbing images and graphic violence.

Running time: 157 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for Zero Dark Thirty, visit

Promised Land
Film Review by Kam Williams

In 2011, a disturbing documentary called Gasland was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary category. That eye-opening expose' chronicled how energy companies had duped landowners in Pennsylvania and Colorado into signing over the drilling rights on their property while downplaying the ecological risks.

For hydraulic fracturing, AKA fracking, the process employed to mine natural gas, has contaminated many a community's environment, thereby rendering homes virtually uninhabitable. In that movie, victims demonstrated with a match how their tap water had become flammable, and how their pets had inexplicably turned sickly and started shedding fur in patches.

Ostensibly inspired by Gasland, the Biblically-titled Promised Land is a cautionary tale tackling the same theme. This modern morality play reunites director Gus Van Sant with Matt Damon for their fourth collaboration which began back in 1997 with Good Will Hunting. The pair also worked together on Finding Forrester in 2000 and on Gerry a couple of years later.

Here, Damon stars as Steve Butler, a farm boy-turned-itinerant corporate pitchman employed by a gas conglomerate to fast-talk country folks into turning over their drilling rights. He and his partner's (Frances McDormand) latest assignment takes them to McKinley, a cash-strapped, if otherwise idyllic, rural community that stands to be polluted if tricked into signing on the dotted line.

Steve has a down-home way of insinuating himself with the locals which even turns the head of a pretty schoolmarm (Rosemarie DeWitt). Fortunately, a couple of gadflies in the ointment emerge in a skeptical science teacher (Hal Holbrook) and an outside agitator (John Krasinski) who urge everybody not to be blinded by dollar signs, but to do a little research into the potential fallout from fracking.

A transparent message movie which might deserve to be forgiven for moralizing and politicizing, given the urgency of the underlying environmental issue.

Very Good (3 Stars)

Rated R for profanity.

Running time: 106 minutes

Distributor: Focus Features

To see a trailer for Promised Land, visit

Django Unchained
Film Review by Kam Williams

There's a sensible reason why nobody ever wanted to be an Indian whenever we played Cowboys and Indians as kids. That's because the white man was invariably the hero of the Westerns on which we'd been weaned, while the red man had always been presented as a wild savage dismissed by the dehumanizing affirmation that, "The only good Injun is a dead Injun."

Sure, a few films, such as Apaches (1973), The Sons of Great Bear (1966) and Chingachgook: The Great Snake (1967), flipped the script by portraying Native Americans as the good guys and the European settlers as the bad guys. But those productions were few and far between.

Hollywood has also promoted a set of stereotypes when it comes to the depictions of black-white race relations during slavery, with classics like The Birth of the Nation (1915) and Gone with the Wind (1939) setting the tone. Consequently, most movies have by-and-large suggested that it was a benign institution under which docile African-Americans were well-treated by kindly masters, at least as long as they remained submissive and knew their place.

Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to put a fresh spin on the genre, much as he did in the World War II flick Inglourious Basterds (2009). With Django Unchained, the iconoclast writer/director again rattles the cinematic cage by virtue of an irreverent adventure that audaciously turns the conventional thinking on its head.

Set in the South in 1858, the picture is visually reminiscent of the Spaghetti Westerns popularized in the Sixties by Italian director Sergio Leone, being replete with both big sky panoramas and cartoonish, one-note villains who are the embodiment of evil. But instead of cattle rustlers, it's inveterate racists being slowly tortured or blown away to the delight of the audience.

The movie stars Jamie Foxx in the title role as a slave lucky enough to be liberated by a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz). Abolitionist Dr. Schultz altruistically takes Django on as an apprentice, and proceeds to teach him how to ride a horse and handle a gun.

The grisly business of tracking down outlaws "Wanted Dead-or-Alive" conveniently affords the revenge-minded freedman many an opportunity to even the score with folks responsible for his misery, from the scars on his back, to the "R" for "Runaway" branded on his cheek, to being separated from his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). As you might guess, the action gets pretty gruesome, as is par for the course for any Tarantino vehicle.

Slavery reimagined as a messy splatterfest where massa gets exactly what he deserves, and then some!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, nudity, ethnic slurs and graphic violence

Running time: 165 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Django Unchained, visit

Silver Linings Playbook
Film Review by Kam Williams

Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) completely lost it the day he came home early from work to find his wife (Brea Bee) naked in the shower with one of her colleagues (Ted Barba). In fact, he proceeded to beat up her lover so badly that the only way he avoided a prison sentence was by agreeing to enter a mental hospital.

That was eight months ago and now that he's being discharged he's eager to reconcile and reunite with Nikki. But that's not gonna happen, because she's so afraid of his temper that she sold their house and got a restraining order issued against him.

And she has good reason to be concerned, since her ex has been diagnosed as bipolar with depression and anger management issues. Consequently, with no wife, job or home to return to, the state releases Pat to the custody of his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver), although he considers the move temporary.

While suffering under the delusion that Nikki will come back to him soon, he is introduced to a recently-widowed neighbor (Jennifer Lawrence). As luck would have it, Tiffany happens to afflicted with a very compatible set of weird neuroses.

She confides in him that she's been very promiscuous as of late, and that she was fired for sleeping with just about everybody in her office. A Platonic friendship is gradually forged between the two, with chivalrous Pat protecting rather than further exploiting the vulnerable young woman. Meanwhile, Tiffany agrees to secretly deliver forbidden letters to his estranged wife so long as he promises to be her dance partner in an upcoming ballroom competition.

Adapted from the Matthew Quick novel of the same name, Silver Linings Playbook is a tenderhearted tale about two terribly wounded souls who survive by grudgingly leaning on each other's shoulder. Written and directed by Academy Award-nominee David O. Russell (for The Fighter), this charming little film has already landed four well-deserved Golden Globe nominations in the Best Picture, Screenplay, Lead Actor and Lead Actress nominations.

The protagonists are played by People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Bradley Cooper and Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence (For Winter's Bone) who again exhibits an impressive acting range in service of an emotionally-demanding role. The pair's stellar supporting cast is at its best when providing comic relief, especially Anupam Kher as Pat's eccentric shrink, Chris Tucker as his motor-mouthed pal, and Robert De Niro as his obsessive-compulsive father.

Credit director Russell for keeping the audience captivated and in suspense for the duration with the help of a cleverly-concealed script as well as a motley crew of colorful characters. A slice-of-life romantic romp revolving around a couple of unstable misfits who take forever to wake up and realize they've found one another.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality and nudity

Running time: 122 minutes

Distributor: The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for Silver Linings Playbook, visit

The Central Park Five
Film Review by Kam Williams

Around 9 PM on April 19, 1989, a 28 year-old, female jogger was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and left for dead in a wooded area of Central Park located off the beaten path. Because she was an investment banker with an Ivy League pedigree, the NYPD felt the pressure to apprehend the perpetrators of the heinous crime ASAP.

Within hours, cops had extracted confessions from Anton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam and Raymond Santana, Jr., teenagers who had been denied their right to an attorney. Although none of the five had ever been arrested before, they were all convicted of rape and attempted murder on the strength of those incriminating admissions alone.

Part of the explanation for the legal lynching was that the victim was a wealthy white woman while the accused were poor black kids from Harlem. The press was all too willing to exploit the hot button issues of color and class, and the media sensationalized the case's lurid details, coining the term "wilding" to describe the alleged behavior of the defendants.

Real estate magnate Donald Trump even took out full-page ads in every New York City daily newspaper, calling for the death penalty and saying that the boys "should be executed for their crimes." In the face of the vigilante-like demand for vengeance, no one seemed concerned that the suspects' DNA failed to match the only semen found at the scene.

Sadly, they were only exonerated in 2002 after having completely served sentences ranging from 6 to 13 years when Matias Reyes, a serial rapist whose DNA was a match, confessed to the crime because of his guilty conscience. This gross miscarriage of justice is recounted in The Central Park Five, a riveting documentary co-directed by the father-daughter team of Ken and Sarah Burns.

The film features reams of archival footage, including videotapes of the framed quintet's coerced confessions. Mixed in are present-day reflections by them, their lawyers, and relatives, as well as by politicians, prosecutors and other pivotal players.

A heartbreaking expose' about a rush to judgment which ruined five, innocent young lives.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 119 minutes

Distributor: Sundance Selects

To see a trailer for The Central Park Five, visit

This Is 40
Film Review by Kam Williams

When we first met Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) in Knocked Up (2007), the couple was in crisis, primarily on account of her controlling behavior. She unreasonably suspected her husband of cheating because of the odd hours he kept as a Rock and Roll talent scout.

Their subplot simply provided an amusing diversion from a front story revolving around the farcical plight of a popular TV host who ended-up impregnated by a slacker after a one-night stand. With This Is 40, miserably-married Pete and Debbie have graduated from peripheral characters to the protagonists of their own battle-of-the-sexes comedy.

At the point of departure, we find them both on the verge of turning 40 years-old. She's in denial, still trying to pass for 38, and generally dreading the impending arrival of her birthday.

Meanwhile, he's regressed behaviorally, and routinely undermines any potential romantic mood by flaunting unappetizing bodily functions ranging from flossing to flatulence. So, it comes as no surprise that the spark has gone completely out of their relationship.

This sad state of affairs is established during the picture's opening tableaus when see how, between work and raising two high-maintenance daughters (Maude and Iris Apatow), Pete and Debbie are too drained by the end of the day to even think about lovemaking. In fact, the most passion either exhibits is for their jobs.

He's the CEO of a struggling, retro record company representing obscure has-beens like Gram Parker, and she owns a trendy boutique facing its own financial woes following embezzlement on the part of a trusted employee (Megan Fox or Charlyne Yi). On top of the burning question "Can Pete and Debbie get their groove back?" this raunchy sitcom ratchets up the tension around the prospect of losing their multimillion-dollar McMansion.

It's important to note that This Is 40 was written and directed by Judd Apatow, master of the shocksploitation genre whose gross-out productions have basically glorified profanity, potty humor, graphic sexuality and gratuitous nudity. This offering won't disappoint his diehard fans in that regard, and even has the rudiments of a plot for folks whose IQs have reached room temperature.

A midlife crisis comedy marking the milestone with a tribute to immaturity!

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for sexuality, nudity, crude humor, drug use and pervasive profanity

Running time: 134 minutes

Distributor: Universal Pictures

To see a trailer for This Is 40, visit

Hitchcock
Film Review by Kam Williams

It wasn't long after the Hollywood premiere of North by Northwest in July of 1959 that Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) was already searching for his next project, since he was at his most content making movies. After passing on all the scripts being pitched by Paramount, the master of suspense became curious about a recently-published novel inspired by the gruesome exploits of a Wisconsin serial killer (Michael Wincott).

Hitchcock found the book "Psycho" captivating, and acquired the rights to the pulpy page-turner over the objections of his agent (Michael Stuhlbarg), accountant (John Rothman), assistant (Toni Collette) and studio's president (Richard Portnow). He even had a hard time convincing his skeptical wife, Alma (Helen Mirren), whose support was always critical as his longtime collaborator and sounding board.

But once the couple decided to finance the picture themselves, they turned their attention to casting. They settled on relatively-unknown Anthony Perkins (James-D'Arcy) in the pivotal role of Norman Bates, while opting for Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson) over a fading star (Jessica Biel) as their ill-fated leading lady.

However, pressures continued to mount after the filming got underway, with concerns ranging from the director having to massage actresses' egos to having to figure out how to get the graphic shower scene past the censors. Unfortunately, Albert's flirtatious behavior on the set would take a toll on the relationship with a fed-up Alma disappearing with a friend (Danny Huston) to a beachfront pied-a-terre he hid from his wife.

Will she cheat or choose to reconcile with her rotund hubby, despite his roving eye? That is the real tension at the heart of Hitchcock, since everybody knows that Psycho was completed and went on to be feted as a cinema classic.

Directed by Sacha Gervasi, this delightful docudrama is based on "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" by Stephen Rebello. What makes the movie so compelling is the badinage between Alma and Alfred as capably played by Oscar-winners Helen Mirren (for The Queen) and Anthony Hopkins (for The Silence of the Lambs).

Who knows whether their alternately acerbic and admiring interaction is accurate or pure fabrication? It almost doesn't matter when delivered oh so convincingly, ostensibly allowing the audience a rare "fly on the wall" opportunity to watch a genius and his better half weave movie magic together.

A cinematic treat offering rare peeks behind the scenes and behind the closed doors of a legendary director and the love of his life.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, violent images and mature themes

Running time: 98 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

To see a trailer for Hitchcock, visit

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.

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

Rise of the Guardians
Film Review by Kam Williams

When the Boogeyman (Jude Law) hatches a diabolical plan to dash the dreams of sugarplums dancing in tykes' heads and to steal baby teeth left under their pillows at bedtime, it's clear that something must be done. For, if left unchecked, it'll just be a matter of time before the evil schemer will quash kids' belief in the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) and the Sandman.

Fortunately, these beloved mythical figures have already united to fight their longtime adversary by forming the Guardians, an association dedicated to the preservation of the innocence, imagination and sense of wonder of children all over the world. And at the direction of their sage inspirational leader, the Man in the Moon, they proceed to implore Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to sign-on as an indispensable addition to their ragtag team.

Initially, Jack proves a rather reluctant superhero, between his immaturity and a traumatic feeling of inadequacy resulting from his invisibility. But he ultimately succumbs to his earnest confederates' relentless pressuring that, "You cannot say no!" and "It is destiny!"

With greatness thus thrust upon him, will Jack rise to the occasion to spearhead the charge against the Boogeyman? That is the pivotal question posed by the premise of Rise of the Guardians, an enchanting fairytale loosely based on "The Guardians of Childhood" series of best-sellers by William Joyce.

This action-oriented, animated adventure marks the auspicious directorial debut of veteran storyboard artist Peter Ramsey who makes novel enough use of state-of-the-art 3-D technology here to warrant an investment in goggles for an amplified enjoyment of all the eye-popping, special f/x. Nevertheless, at heart, the picture remains a sweet story with a universal message about the importance of protecting children's innocence.

Although aimed at the very impressionable, still-believing demographic, Rise of the Guardians is apt to resonate with kids of any age with an intact sense of wonder and awe. Yes, Virginia, there is not only a Santa Claus, but a Tooth Fairy, a Jack Frost, an Easter Bunny, and a Sandman, too.

 

Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated PG for mature themes and scary action sequences

Running time: 97 minutes

Distributor: Dreamworks Pictures

To see a trailer for Rise of the Guardians, visit

Lincoln
Film Review by Kam Williams

At the beginning of his presidency, Abraham Lincoln invited three of his political opponents to join his Cabinet to form a so-called "Team of Rivals" with the hope of preserving the Union. But the challenges proved to be insurmountable as the Southern states seceded anyway, leading to the outbreak of The Civil War.

By late 1864, much blood had been spilled and the sides seemed as bitterly divided as they had been at the start of the conflict. Even holding the contending factions inside the surviving coalition together came courtesy of compromise, which explains why the Emancipation Proclamation freed the Confederacy's slaves but none in any of the Union's four, remaining slave states.

Based on Harvard historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's 944-page opus "Team of Rivals," Lincoln telescopes tightly on the last five months of the Great Emancipator's life, a period during which he was desperately devoted to both abolishing slavery and reuniting the country by ending the Civil War. The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg, and bears many of the legendary director's trademark visual effects like blowing curtains and light flares.

The production is first rate in terms of cast, from Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role to a stellar supporting ensemble which includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, James Spader, David Strathairn, Gloria Reuben, S. Epatha Merkerson, Hal Holbrook, Tim Blake Nelson, John Hawkes, Jackie Earl Haley and Bruce McGill. Nor did Spielberg scrimp when it came to costuming or set design, which means the film feels authentic and never hits a false note plotwise.

The picture basically revolves around Lincoln's twisting elbows to get the two-thirds vote in Congress necessary to pass the 13th Amendment ending slavery. This means most of the movie focuses on his exercising his powers of persuasion, promising (sometimes with his fingers crossed) whatever it takes to induce reluctant fellow Republicans and adversaries from across the aisle to support his historic measure.

The President is helped in this regard by his Secretary of State, William Seward (Strathairn) who, in turn, enlists the assistance of Congressmen Bilbo (Spader), Latham (Hawkes) and Schell (Nelson). And already counted on for their votes are longtime liberals like Thaddeus Stevens (Jones) and James Ashley (David Costabile).

This flick doesn't feature any epic battle scenes or even Lincoln's assassination, but simply lots and lots of talk scenes. The conversation-driven docudrama winds what passes for tension around the fait accompli of whether or not the president's bill will pass.

While watching talking heads exchanging dialogue borrowed from "Team of Rivals" might delight history buffs, it's unfortunately likely to test the patience of kids without a 2½ hour attention span unless it involves action and special f/x. Is it still worth the investment? Yes, but not if you're expecting anything more than a poignant portrait of Lincoln's last days, time spent as a marked man making his appointed rounds en route to his rendezvous with destiny.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for gruesome images, brief profanity, ethnic slurs and an intense scene of war violence.

Running time: 149 minutes

Distributor: DreamWorks Pictures

To see a trailer for Lincoln, visit

Life of Pi
Film Review by Kam Williams

Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) was raised Hindu before converting to Catholicism and Islam all on his own. The spiritually-promiscuous, 16 year-old's parents reacted differently to the changes in the boy's unorthodox behavior which included going to church and praying facing east five times a day.

His frustrated father (Adil Hussain) warned, "You cannot follow three religions at the same time," while his more tolerant mother (Tabu) conceded that "Science cannot teach what is in here," touching her heart. Both shrug it off as probably just a passing phase, since they're busy planning the big move of the family household and zoo from India to Canada.

Then, tragedy strikes en route, when their cargo ship capsizes and sinks in the middle of the Pacific, leaving sole human survivor Pi in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Will the precocious believer remain true to his lofty ideals while having to play the faith-testing hand he's suddenly been dealt?

That's the pressing question posed in Life of Pi, a visually-captivating tale of spirituality and survival. Directed by Oscar-winner Ang Lee (for Brokeback Mountain), the movie was shot against a series of exquisite seascapes that look like glorious, hand-painted, pastel panoramas.

From the point of the shipwreck forward the picture is basically a one-man show, ala Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000). But instead of talking to a soccer ball, the protagonist here has to figure out how to coexist peacefully in very close quarters with a tiger who'd probably prefer to make him its next meal.

The burden of carrying the film falls on the shoulders of first-time actor Suraj Sharma, who does a magnificent job of conveying the existential angst of the beleaguered, ever-exasperated title character. But given the oceanic endurance theme, the picture still feels more like the Hitchcock classic, Lifeboat (1944), than Cast Away.

As for finding an audience, this remarkably richly-textured adaptation will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of the Yann Martel best-seller upon which it's based, as well as with audience members of any age just looking for an entertaining movie. It might be more important to note that during an opening sequence of this flashback flick, the audience is essentially told that what is about to unfold is a story that will make you believe in God.

For all its religious pretensions, however, the thrust of the production revolves less around any overt attempt to convert disbelievers than around Ang Lee's brilliant use of the screen as a cinematic canvas to narrate a compelling yarn for the ages. A critic and crowd-pleaser impossible to forget come Academy Award season.

Crouching tiger, hidden Siegfried! (sans Roy)

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mature themes and scary action sequences

In English, French and Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 127 minutes

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

To see a trailer for Life of Pi, visit

A Royal Affair
(En kongelig affaere)
Film Review by Kam Williams

If you are a fan of elaborate costume dramas of Shakespearean proportions, A Royal Affair is likely right up your alley. Nikolaj Arcel, who wrote the script for the Swedish-language version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, does double duty this time around, both directing and adapting Bodil Steensen-Leth's erotic novel, Prinsesse af blodet, to the big screen.

The epic tale revolves around the love triangle which develops when Denmark's 15 year-old Queen Caroline (Alicia Vikander) falls head over heels for a dashing doctor named Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen). This only makes sense since her considerably older husband she's just met is not only a clumsy lover but stark raving mad to boot.

She and the Royal physician are not only attracted to each other, but share some lofty ideals for the long-oppressed citizenry. So, casting their fate to the wind, the smitten lovebirds soon set about plotting to overthrow the cuckoo king.

Of course, no monarch takes kindly to a coup d'etat, and complications ensue. It doesn't help matters that the recently-arrived Caroline is a sister of Britain's King George III, and Johann is German, which means the insurgency has the potential to turn into an international incident.

While carrying on their torrid affair, the pair contemplates ushering in the Age of Enlightenment, a cultural movement that had already taken hold elsewhere around Europe. While folks familiar with Danish history might have an idea where this all leads, it was definitely fun for this uninformed critic to witness the intriguing play-by-play in the dark as to what was looming just over the horizon at each tawdry twist and turn.

A lust for power revealing, what else, but something rotten in the State of Denmark.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for sexuality and violent images.

In Danish, French, German and English with subtitles

Running time: 137 minutes

Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

To see a trailer for A Royal Affair, visit

The Sessions
Film Review by Kam Williams

Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) was left paralyzed from the neck down by the polio he'd contracted as a child. Consequently, he can only breathe with the assistance of an iron lung, although he can use a portable respirator for a few hours at a time.

Nonetheless, the condition has never stopped him from fantasizing, especially about his attractive attendants like Amanda (Annika Marks) who quit when he expressed his desire for her. The sexually-frustrated, 38 year-old decides that the only way he'll probably ever lose his virginity is by paying a woman to sleep with him.

However, this proves easier said than done, between the physical challenges presented by quadriplegia and his having to wrestle with a major moral issue as a devout Catholic. Since his religion forbids fornication outside the sanctity of marriage, Mark consults his parish priest for special dispensation.

Armed with the surprisingly-sympathetic Father Brendan's (William H. Macy) blessing, Mark retains the services of Cheryl (Helen Hunt), a professional sex surrogate with the bedside demeanor, or should I say bedroom demeanor, of a saint. Over the course of a half-dozen, romantic rendezvous, the sensitive therapist gradually helps her patient conquer problems with performance anxiety and premature ejaculation.

En route to consummation, the pair simultaneously forge a friendship in spite her fears that he might develop an attachment to her. After all, she is married. But Mark emerges from the experience, a changed man, as he develops the confidence to flirt with other women and he even ultimately finds a wife (Robin Weigert).

The Sessions' subject-matter might strike some as salacious, given the film's frequent, full-frontal nudity. But the picture actually plays out more as a compassionate tale exploring a variety of themes, including faith, friendship, relationships and the indomitability of the human spirit.

Written and directed by Ben Lewin, himself a polio victim, the movie is based on Mark O'Brien's (1950-1999) life story as chronicled in his autobiography "How I Became a Human Being: A Disabled Man's Quest for Independence." The late author was already the subject of Breathing Lessons, a biopic which won an Academy Award in 1997 in the Best Documentary category.

Rather than resort to manipulative sentimentality, the production resists the temptation to follow a Hollywood formula in favor of a realistic plot that Mark undoubtedly would have appreciated. As a journalist and longtime civil rights advocate, he never looked for pity but lobbied for legislation and equality on behalf of the handicapped.

Co-stars John Hawkes and Helen Hunt generate an endearing chemistry, here, turning in a couple of virtuoso performances deserving of serious consideration come Oscar season. A poignant, character-driven drama depicting the disabled as complicated individuals with a full range of emotions.

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for graphic sexuality, frontal nudity and frank dialogue

Running time: 95 minutes

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

To see a trailer for The Sessions, visit