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filmclingon · 5 years

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I did learn a few things from this article. But I refuse to believe that Julie Andrews using a compact filled with chimney soot to apply as makeup foundation was meant to be anything but a parody of women conforming to be like everyone else -- more slave of fashion than reference to actual slavery. I remember the "Hottentot" line from the original film; but it was said by (as this article is good enough to describe him) a "buffoon." I haven't read the books, am not surprised that they are filled with the racial stereotypes of the time they were written (shades of Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas). Uncle Remus will take me off on a tangent: Yes, problematic, Disney's "Song of the South" never getting shown these days because of that (but characters still on Splash Mountain log ride at Disneyland); but that means we never get to see a rather lovely performance by James Baskett (first African-American man to win an Oscar, albeit honorary so it is overshadowed by Sidney Poitier's) -- and what of Jerry Pinkney's (African-American illustrator) perfectly exquisite "Tales of Uncle Remus"? Hmm, Hyacinth Macaw (there is also a talking macaw on Mary's umbrella handle - shall we snap that off?): I watched that "Returns" clip and am at a loss to see what was so offensive about the hut on a desert island and someone marooned there wearing a minimum of clothing, EVEN if there was some racist precedent in the books. This writer would likely freak out at Yosemite Sam as a coconut-eating Robinson Crusoe, have a STROKE at the Judy Garland-Margaret O'Brien "Under the Bamboo Tree" number in "Meet Me in St. Louis" (maybe correctly about the last one, but the film was made by Vincent Minnelli, who ALSO made the groundbreaking "Cabin in the Sky" that gave a lot of GREAT African-American performers a showcase). I won't justify "Dumbo"'s crows, but let’s admit that they are portrayed as reciting VERY clever lyrics: "I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band / I seen a needle that winked its eye ...I seen a front porch swing, heard a diamond ring / I seen a polka-dot railroad tie ... I saw a clothes horse, he r'ar up and buck / And they tell me that a man made a vegetable truck / I didn't see that, I only heard / Just to be sociable, I'll take your word / I heard a fireside chat, I saw a baseball bat / And I just laughed till I thought I'd die / But I be done seen 'bout ev'rything / When I see a elephant fly..." Understand this: I don't wish to defend Disney, or Travers, or Hollywood, or anyone. And believe me, I did a double-take at a character called Topsy (played by La Streep, no less). But this article is not only so "culture of grievance," it also maligns a film -- the original Disney "Mary Poppins" -- that I have long considered to be a completely subversive masterpiece. Mary as portrayed by Andrews "has it all": Job, kids, complete freedom. "First of all, I never explain anything": WHAT woman gets to say that? She IS the liberated woman that Mrs. Banks is militating for. And "Feed the Birds": As a kid I listened to that lovely song and knew the priority was to be charitable, especially with nature, NOT to put money with the Dawes Tomes Mousely Grubbses of the world. Walt Disney was the no doubt racist creator of a capitalist and imperialist entertainment juggernaut. But the 1964 film? I don't think it was a coincidence that the "bird lady" was portrayed by Jane Darwell, whose most memorable screen performance was as Ma Joad in the John Ford film of Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath."

#discrimination

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kayskasmoviereviews · 6 years

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Movie Review Catch-Up: April - May 2018

Isle of Dogs - It doesn’t come as a surprise, but Wes Anderson has made another wonderful masterpiece of a film. This film returns to the stop-motion animation style of Fantastic Mr. Fox, but feels like a significant progression in the continuing development of Anderson’s overall aesthetic. Yes, many of his trademark visual and dramatic elements are present, but there are also elements of worldbuilding and action like we’ve never seen from him before. There’s no film quite like this one, and it’s a genuine thrill to watch.

Toni Erdmann - A thoroughly excellent German comedy drama that is one of the sharper recent character studies. The film unfolds over three hours and veers between purposefully tedious scenes of realistic business dialogue and bouts of outrageous humor, all in service of a worthwhile philosophical reflection. There are comedic scenes here that just keep escalating far past what you might expect, and the effect is amazing.

A Quiet Place - A perfect example of what I would consider an excellent movie, though not a great one. The movie is a smart, well-crafted genre exercise that uses tons of cinematic devices to wring as much suspense and dread as possible out of its clever horror premise. It doesn’t have anything particularly original or profound to say, but darn if it isn’t a great ride while you’re on it.

Blade of the Immortal - This is the 100th film by the Japanese director Takashi Miike, though I think it’s only like the 5th or so that I’ve seen myself. If you want to know what a live-action anime would look like, here’s your film. It’s a silly, over-the-top, exceedingly violent samurai adventure. Sometimes you just want to see bad guys mowed down with swords by the dozens.

Cold in July - A weird, twisty, not-fully-plausible-but-that’s-ok thriller. I have a soft spot for grimy, violent, lower-budget American thrillers, and this one fit the bill. It starts off seeming to go in one direction, and doing so very effectively, before completely changing track. I’m not sure the ultimate result would withstand much scrutiny, but it’s worth checking out for the sheer unpredictability of the story.

Secretary - A fascinating psychological study of a couple of truly fucked-up people. Some of the movie’s recent marketing has tried to position it as a precursor to 50 Shades of Grey because both are about sadomasochism and happen to feature characters named Mr. Grey, but the comparison is misleading. This film is not meant to be particularly titillating; it is far less concerned with its protagonist’s body than her mind.

All Is Lost - This is a solid movie, though I wasn’t quite as entranced with it as some critics were. Robert Redford plays a man whose boat starts to sink out in the middle of the ocean, and who spends the entire movie doing what he has to to survive. The movie is very methodical and single-minded in its approach, but I’m not sure what I really take away from it other than a desire never to go out on the ocean. It’s a bit like reading Robinson Crusoe in the way its attention to literal, practical detail kind of overwhelms anything else.

College - A decently funny little movie, though far from Buster Keaton’s best. It’s basically an excuse for Keaton to do a bunch of sports-themed stunts. It’s worth a look if you’re already a Keaton fan, but if not, definitely start with The General.

Table 19 - This movie suffers from a serious case of not knowing what it wants to be. The story was written by the Duplass brothers, and you can get glimpses of the heartfelt, emotionally earnest little indie film they wanted to make; but the other elements brought in by co-writer and director Jeffrey Blitz, as well as by the casting of a bunch of major comedy names, are clearly reaching for more of a broad comedy. The movie would have been better off had it committed to either approach, but trying to split the difference ultimately means it wasn’t as funny or as emotionally affecting as it meant to be. However, one of my former students has a line right at the end of the movie, which was pretty neat.

The Call of Cthulhu - I admire the general approach of this film - adapting the classic H.P. Lovecraft story as a deliberately old-fashioned black-and-white silent film - but the result ultimately doesn’t work that well. The story doesn’t actually lend itself to film adaptation particularly well, and it was hard to get invested in the film.

Ready Player One - This fun little bit of escapism is actually an improvement on the book that inspired it, likely because Steven Spielberg is a better filmmaker than Ernest Cline is a writer. There are a lot of really fun sequences and ideas here, particularly one that pays homage to one of Spielberg’s main inspirations in a really technically fascinating way. It’s minor Spielberg, sure, and there are definitely some flaws; but even here his fluency with the camera and easy rapport with his actors really shine.

Boyz N the Hood - This movie is both an important time capsule of a particular time and place (African-American neighborhoods in early 1990s Los Angeles) and a drama that still works. Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, and Laurence Fishburne all give performances as good as anything they’ve ever done here. The story is a bit predictable, but still affecting and authentic-feeling.

Eve’s Bayou - This is a great, truly original film that deserves to be remembered more widely than it is. It tells the complicated story of an African-American family living in rural Louisiana in the mid-20th century, a story made more complex by layers of possibly unreliable narration. Jurnee Smollett’s performance as the child protagonist is excellent, and Samuel L. Jackson gives one of his best and most down-to-earth performances ever. There are a couple of odd subplots that don’t do all that much here and there, but overall, this film is genuinely something special.

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