The Story of a Three-Day Pass.

Review #2354: The Story of a Three-Day Pass.

Cast: 

Harry Baird (Turner), Nicole Berger (Miriam), and Hal Brav (Turner's Captain) Written and Directed by Melvin Van Peebles (#1970 - Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and #2184 - Watermelon Man)

Review: 

"I never did decide to become a director. That’s very flattering and nice, but I never decided to become a director. I just decided to show folks, especially minorities, like I saw them, not like they kept being shown around in cinema."

Melvin Van Peebles had made a handful of short films and looked for a job in Hollywood. He received a job offer as an Elevator operator or dancer. He elected to go to Amsterdam to study for a PHD in astronomy (as one does when having the GI Bill). But his films got shown in France (as aided by avantgarde ciné-club founder Amos Vogel) that had attracted curiosity. He moved to France and taught the language to himself. Evidently, he found that he could get a temporary director's card to bring one's work to the screen. He became a journalist and published his own novels before getting the director's card to bring one of his works to fruition with La Permission (which he wrote as a screen treatment and published as a novel before the film was released). He got enough funding by the French government and shot it in six weeks. The movie initially premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival (representing France) in October of 1967 before getting a release in later months. The film had a star-crossed starring duo. It was the last movie role of Berger, who had performed in film in her native France for a handful of years before suffering a tragic car accident that saw her die at the age of 32 in April of 1967. Baird (born in British Guiana and educated in Canada and Britian) had done a handful of movies and TV since the late 1950s but this was his one notable lead role prior to glaucoma sidelining him by the 1970s and his death in 2005 at the age of 73. The movie attracted attention in Hollywood (go figure) and from that Van Peebles got an offer to do Watermelon Man, and the rest is history.

It is a curious love story, mainly because it features flawed beings trying waywardly to cope with the idea of being with anyone. The nightclub sequence in which one gets to see quite the curious shot of our lead has to be seen to be believed in the apparent talent of its director, complete with expectation versus the actual reality. It isn't too far from a French New Wave movie when you get down to it. Baird and Berger are a curious pair to see play out, namely because they each have scenes where they are imagining the other in scenarios distinctly different from each other (one as an aristocrat and the other as a tribal man). The inner voice of Baird talks at times during the film about the conflict that arises with staying in the system (the military - incidentally, Van Peebles served in the Air Force) in the face of nagging difficulties. Berger is shaky in gracefulness that comes with one's own challenges in ambition versus reality, particularly since they only see Baird through a specific prism that can only be surprised at how Baird reacts to specific incidents because of his race (such as being called a certain phrase or being seen by his white comrades). Brav makes for an effective side presence in condescending authority when it comes to trust (imagine saying any of what is heard for a newly "promoted" person). Their double act together can only go so far in a time and place that still reminds them of who they are - one black, one white, complete with a varied understanding of oneself and the languages (you get both English and French). There is no hope of just having an easy out (nothing such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, for example) within a movie that can be tender just as much as it can be subversive. As a whole, it shows the potential of its director in what one can accomplish with a cast and style all to oneself. 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Foxy Brown.

Review #2353: Foxy Brown.

Cast: 

Pam Grier (Foxy Brown), Antonio Fargas (Lincoln "Link" Brown), Peter Brown (Stevie Elias), Kathryn Loder (Miss Katherine Wall), Terry Carter (Dalton Ford / Michael Anderson), Harry Holcombe (Judge Fenton), Sid Haig (Hays), Juanita Brown (Claudia), Bob Minor (Oscar), and Tony Giorgio (Eddie) Written and Directed by Jack Hill (#1654 - Blood Bath, #1740 - Spider Baby, and #2352 - Coffy)

Review: 

Sure, maybe one can't make a sequel to a successful hit, but they can sure make one that sounds right on the same wavelength. The resulting hit of Coffy made it easy to want to make another Grier movie involving action, albeit not as a sequel that Hill envisioned because American International Pictures apparently believed sequels did not do well with audiences.  Evidently, this was released by AIP as a double feature with Truck Turner. While it wasn't nearly as substantial a hit as Coffy (released thirteen months prior), it was generally well-liked enough and Grier continued her run in movies the following year with Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster. Evidently, Foxy Brown apparently became more of a cult curiosity than Coffy although Hill felt the earlier effort was better, particularly with the character he envisioned that could use their sexuality just as much as using down and dirty street fighting. Hill actually had two films released in 1974, with The Swinging Cheerleaders coming out a month after this movie; apparently, AIP treated Hill lousy enough to not even invite him to a screening of the film, which he shot in less than three weeks (the movie, which runs at 92 minutes, apparently was made on the same budget as Coffy at $500,000, albeit with a raise to both its director and star).

Admittedly, it is funny to make a movie that isn't quite a sequel while also not exactly having time to say the profession of the lead. She just kicks ass and seeks revenge against the scuzziness of the street (which even involved would-be politicians). Instead of a sister that fell to heroin addiction, now we have someone with a scuzzy brother and a dead government boyfriend who, interestingly enough, faces off against a couple involved in a drug/prostitute syndicate (strangely enough, it has a similar ending to the other movie in having a man get castrated). At least you get flashier wardrobe from Grier to go with plenty of violence and skin? I have to agree with Hill that Coffy was the better of the two movies, mainly because of the actual shock value that comes in a kickass lead that doesn't need to be a karate expert but instead is, well, Pam Grier. Sure, she may not get much to actually do that is particularly different from before with a little less guilt in the whole "vengeance" thing, but she still commands the screen just as well as before for obvious reasons. It is clear empowerment, and one is having fun while doing it, what more could you want? This actually was the last (of three) movies where Loder appeared, as she died of diabetes at the age of 38 in 1978. She grips the role with the right amount of chewing, at least compared with Brown (mostly known for Western roles), who dawdles a bit in showing menace. Haig actually appeared in both this and Coffy (where he played a heavy pretty well), and while he may have small time to do comedy, it works out fine I suppose. It definitely tries to up the ante in sheer audacity, whether that means a barroom fight or our lead lighting a farm (and two people) on fire after being sexually assaulted, or the appeal to a "neighborhood committee" to not only get revenge but to, well, play with a knife on a man's lower section. As a whole, it definitely is a slicker movie than Coffy that for better or worse does exactly what you would expect in shameless entertainment that will likely deliver the goods for what you want from a movie of its time.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Coffy.

Review #2352: Coffy.

Cast:

Pam Grier (Nurse Flower Child "Coffy" Coffin), Booker Bradshaw (Howard Brunswick), Robert DoQui (George "King George"), William Elliott (Officer Carter), Allan Arbus (Arturo Vitroni), Sid Haig (Omar), Barry Cahill (Officer McHenry), Lee de Broux (Officer Nick), Ruben Moreno (Captain Reuben Ramos), Lisa Farringer (Jeri), and Carol Locatell (Priscilla) Written and Directed by Jack Hill (#1654 - Blood Bath and #1740 - Spider Baby)

Review: 

It probably has been long enough to finally cover a Pam Grier movie, isn't it? Well, I figured it would be best to go with the one with the catchy enough title, which was in the middle of Grier's tenure with American International Pictures. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Grier got involved in stage productions as a teenager before going to Los Angeles to work the switchboard at American International Pictures. Anybody who makes their debut (in a bit role) with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) clearly has good fortune on their side. Jack Hill soon casted her among the leads for New World Pictures' The Big Doll House (1971) when he liked what he heard and saw when she participated in a "cattle call" for actors sent to read for parts (he has been quoted as citing her "authority"). The movie was a hit, and Grier was soon cast in the not-quite sequel The Big Bird Cage (1972), which was sandwiched between a handful of supporting roles. Coffy came about because Larry Gordon lost the rights to the film Cleopatra Jones (1973) and AIP wanted to make a movie to beat it to the market. This one was released in May, two months before the release of Cleopatra Jones. This would be the first non-prison lead movie for Grier that would lead to a handful of further feature roles for the remainder of the 1970s. While her leading roles dwindled in the next couple of years, there have still been enough highlights for a lifetime, as evidenced by Jackie Brown (1997). This was the third of four movies made with Hill. They returned to make Foxy Brown (1974), one that Hill had less control over as a movie that was initially aimed to be a follow-up to Coffy.

I find myself wondering just how much fun one can have with movies of this time period, one that dance the line between timeliness and allure with their style and character presence. As it turned out, there is plenty of each to be found with this movie, which manages to excel in general excitement with a snappy lead that exudes charm and style from the get-go while managing to have a tight conviction in showing a system in all of its bleak facets that would make one go for the idea of trying to strike back at it. It is lurid enough to actually make a quality vigilante movie for 90 minutes of sheer pulp that can't just be labeled as sleazy. Unlike certain movies of its time, you've got a lead who isn't a certain type of expert or playing it for humor but instead one wrapped in the terrors of what they believe themselves is important to do versus the conflict in seeing it actually play out. So yes, Grier kicks ass and looks good doing it, but there is more to her in terms of timing and conscience for how she handles herself that is quite curious to see play out on screen. It just so happens the supporting cast around her is scuzzy enough to make the experience worth seeing vigilance play out all the way to the grisly end (this is a movie that has a character killed by being dragged around with a rope before saving the gnarly-ness for last: shotgun to the groin). It isn't even a movie that wraps itself up in a neat bow, because at the end of the day, the disgusting drug trade and other purveyors of the sewer known as crime will still be around somewhere the law can't quite reach (whether by chance or deliberately) but so it goes. As a whole, it is pretty easy to see how Grier became such a star to see and hear with how much she is wrapped up in making this role more than just straight exploitation by playing it as an avenging angel with resilience that is devastatingly breathtaking in more ways than one.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Barbershop.

Review #2351: Barbershop.

Cast: 

Ice Cube (Calvin Palmer Jr.), Anthony Anderson (J.D.), Cedric the Entertainer (Eddie Walker), Keith David (Lester Wallace), Michael Ealy (Ricky Nash), Sean Patrick Thomas (Jimmy James), Eve (Terri Jones), Troy Garity (Isaac Rosenberg), Leonard Earl Howze (Dinka), Jazsmin Lewis (Jennifer Palmer), Lahmard Tate (Billy), Tom Wright (Detective Williams), Sonya Eddy (Janelle), Jason Winston George (Kevin), and DeRay Davis (Ray Ray) Directed by Tim Story (#011 - Fantastic Four and #013 - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Review: 

Barbershop was the first prominent movie directed by Tim Story. A Los Angeles native who made home movies from a young age, he graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts before turning his attention to filmmaking, which debuted with One of Us Tripped (1997), a $30,000 movie that he made when he read a story about how Clerks (1994) was made on its modest budget; his second film failed enough for him to have to music videos before Barbershop came along. Over the course of his career, Story has directed fifteen movies of varying quality, ranging from the Fantastic Four films (2005, 2007), to the Think Like a Man features (2012, 2014) to a few Kevin Hart concert films and The Blackening (2022). Mark Brown (previously a writer on Two Can Play That Game and How To Be a Player) wrote the story for the movie and co-wrote the screenplay with Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd. Producers George Tillman Jr and Robert Teitel (who had previously worked together on Soul Food [1997]) spearheaded the production and brought in Story, who impressed them with his prepardness. Incidentally, the dialogue expressed by the character played by Cedric the Entertainer about Civil Rights leaders apparently stoked a bit of controversy because it is apparently true that Jesse Jackson cannot take a joke at his own expense (the bit about Rosa Parks is a bit funny for those who are truthers about Claudette Colvin); predictably, calling for a boycott of a movie (cough cough Al Sharpton) did little to hurt the film. As it turned out, this was the first of four films in what you might call a franchise, with two direct sequels (and a spinoff) coming out between 2004 and 2016; some of the cast reprised their roles for those films, although each had a different director behind it.

You've got your movies or shows about bars or the neighborhood, but it does help to see one come around about the odds and ends of a barbershop. For me, I don't know a lick about barbershops, but I'm sure you get the gist of a workplace with plenty to look and listen about. For the most part, this works out to a casual work comedy, having a worthwhile ensemble for 102 minutes of generally interesting stuff. It comes and goes in amusement that has a familiar haircut (Car Wash comes to mind), which is generally helpful for those who like their movies to have a little bit of insight sprinkled with gags and subplots. Cube has the commitment required to sell the movie as one to look within oneself and realize again what community means besides the money (don't get it twisted, the money matters, particularly for its latter half, but, well, there's more to life than daydreams and schemes). He maneuvers the movie with general commitment that plays it straight enough, at least when compared to Cedric, who manages to sell the wayward "elder statesman" part with good timing. The rest of the ensemble (Ealy, Thomas, Eve, Gairty, Howze) are also pretty game in being pretty distinct in that certain kind of worker group that one can see in all the facets that matter (opinionated, argumentative, useful, what have you). Anderson and Tate play the long reaching subplot of the film (an ATM that can't quite find a place to be opened in peace) for a bit of physical jokes that are serviceable. David makes for quite the craven figure to pop in and out of the background, that much is for sure. The movie coasts along with a laid-back style of entertainment that manages to not override its welcome because of a game cast that have at least some part of it that will remind someone of a memory long ago or to just have a neat chuckle for the hell of it.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Mo' Better Blues.

Review #2350: Mo' Better Blues.

Cast: 

Denzel Washington (Minifield "Bleek" Gilliam), Spike Lee (Giant), Wesley Snipes (Shadow Henderson), Joie Lee (Indigo Downes), Cynda Williams (Clarke Bentancourt), Giancarlo Esposito (Left Hand Lacey), Bill Nunn (Bottom Hammer), Jeff "Tain" Watts (Rhythm Jones), Dick Anthony Williams (Mr. "Big Stop" Gilliam), Abbey Lincoln (Lillian Gilliam), John Turturro (Moe Flatbush), Nicholas Turturro (Josh Flatbush), Robin Harris (Butterbean Jones), with Samuel L. Jackson (Madlock), Leonard L. Thomas (Rod), and Charlie Murphy (Eggy) Produced, Written, and Directed by Spike Lee  (#1255 - Do the Right Thing, #1543 - Inside Man, #1643 - Malcolm X, #1976 - She's Gotta Have It, #2181 - School Daze)

Review: 

"I always knew I would do a movie about the music. When I say the music, I’m talking about jazz, the music I grew up with. Jazz isn’t the only type of music that I listen to but it’s the music I feel closest to."

Believe it or not, this was the first collaboration between Spike Lee and Denzel Washington on film. 

The inspiration for the movie came from Lee's interest to do a jazz movie with his own perspective after seeing Bertrand Tavernier's 'Round Midnight (1986) and Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988). The script for the film came up when Lee was working on Do the Right Thing (1989), with the first-draft screenplay being written in fifteen days. The fourth feature film directed and written by Lee, the movie was shot in roughly eight weeks with a budget of $10 million. The movie features the music of the Branford Marsalis quartet with Terence Blanchard doing the trumpet, with Delfeayo Marsalis lending assistance to Bill Lee with the producing of the music recordings (this was the last of four films where the Lees worked together, as they soon had a falling out). One isn't actually seeing the actors (most, anyway) playing the instruments, but they sure do a good job looking the part in imitation, which is more than enough. The first of nine movies Lee directed in the 1990s, it was a mild success at the time; the next movie directed by Lee after this one was Jungle Fever (1992).

Overlooked or not, there is something quite soothing about the way the movie flows in looking at the edges that come with trying to work at one's craft at the expense of relationships. It is hard to show maturity and know what one really wants when one could be working on something else, you might say. It is a movie based on mood and energy that is a curious one in basically reflecting its introduction and ending when it comes to parents and their son when it comes to shaping them and making a choice for them (in a movie where the rest of it is comprised of fallout from certain choices made, naturally). There is a crushing pressure one can feel in trying to hold on to themselves and not burn out into the night while also trying to think that everything is totally normal with how they do things within "fundamentals", and that includes one's love life. Undeniably, the sequence involving Washington opposite the two women in bed (at different times, obviously) is the most striking when it comes to misplaced ideas about people. Washington does pretty well with all of that in mind, mainly because he glides from place to place with weary disposition for what he seems to really want in life beyond that smooth facade of confidence (it takes more than talent to be a saint of jazz, shall we say). Basically, he treats the two women (C.Williams and J.Lee, the former making their film debut) in his life like they were items to check out at the store (incidentally, Lee called it a movie specifically about relationships and not a love story). The two women are only seen in that lens but each handle it with clear differences when it comes to timing and, well, allure. The Turturro brothers pop in from time to time to provide a few chuckles in the business interest side (if one ever believed the current times are weird for stereotypes, inquire further about this movie being called "anti-Semitic" and look to now when it comes to how much people like to waste time looking for stereotypes that aren't there). Lee also does pretty well in shaky stature (as one does when finding new ways to play characters in one's own story, which he did for his first nine movies). By the time the movie has its reckoning with certain decisions made in and out of good reason, one has found a pretty good time with the rhythm that the film has accomplished for itself, one filled with worthwhile interest in showing the power of human contact and making one's mind besides drawing it all in the craft. The relationships matter all around us: the music and the people we hold to us and how it matters so much to hold it tight to us as long as we can, which in this sense works out pretty neatly in the long run.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

Review #2349: I'm Gonna Git You Sucka.

Cast: 

Keenen Ivory Wayans (Jack Spade), Bernie Casey (John Slade), Ja'net Dubois (Belle Brown-Spade), Isaac Hayes ("Hammer"), Jim Brown ("Slammer"), Antonio Fargas (Flyguy), Steve James (Joe "Kung Fu Joe"), John Vernon ("Mr. Big"), Dawnn Lewis (Cheryl Spade), Kadeem Hardison (Willie), Damon Wayans (Leonard), Kim Wayans (Nightclub Singer), Nadia Wayans (Bar Patron), Chris Rock (Rib Joint Customer), Anne-Marie Johnson ("Cherry"), and Eve Plumb (Kalinga's Wife) Written and Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Review: 

Nothing really stays out of style, particularly when it comes to silly movies making light of, well, "blaxploitation movies". This was the directorial debut of Keenen Wayans. The second of ten children that grew up in New York. He actually studied engineering on a scholarship at Tuskegee University but found that entertaining his friends at college made him more interested to pursue comedy and dropped out of school. He performed on the stage in both New York and Los Angeles; in collaboration with Robert Townsend, who had helped him learn about the comedy business, the two did Hollywood Shuffle (1987), each appearing in the film along with writing it. The resulting hit got Wayans money to make what became this film. Evidently, it was Eddie Murphy who came up with the original idea (including the title) that Wayans got permission to use for what became this film (which featured the film debuts of his brothers Marlon and Shawn) that eventually became a mild success with audiences. To put it mildly, this would be the first of a handful of movies involving the Wayans family, with several Wayans members being featured on television (In Living Color, most notably) and films, with Keenan directing five further movies, most notably doing the first two Scary Movie films.

 

Some movies are better at the hit-or-miss targeting than others, particularly one that starts with an introduction to "Any Ghetto, U.S.A." It plays with the stuff you would probably already know from previous movies of the decade before (why else cast faces as familiar as Brown?) to varying effect in how much one will chuckle at silly lines and sillier situations for the most evident of setups, whether that involves a certain music choice or an early scene seeing a character be swapped out for a white person when doing a stunt involving kicks. You get the pastiches and chuckle if you like thinking about the fact that people really did just think of the most absurd scenarios for inner city mayhem (I haven't had to see Super Fly [1972], but that apparently has a cocaine dealer who used karate, and the third Shaft movie sent the hero to Africa, just for example). Wayans at least is playing a wannabee hero (i.e. he plays a veteran...secretary) rather than just a bland hero to forget about, and he does relatively well in inspiring some chuckles. You've got your three familiar faces with Casey, Hayes, and Brown that each generate a chuckle in their general timing of just rolling with routine stuff, which mostly involves straight-faced play by Brown that probably works the best among the group, although Hayes comes pretty close with one scene opposite Rock about cheapskates in "oh, yes, that is damn funny". Vernon doesn't exactly have much to do for a role that requires sitting and gruff voicework, but since I happen to like Vernon and his workmanlike precision to hard-assery, I accept it. It might not exactly compare in actual sheer audacity seen in, say, Trouble Man (1972), but it'll still play anyway in throwing gags and people on just for the hell of it. In general, the 89-minute runtime has some silly charm and sillier execution that is funny in parts in rolling with familiar attitudes and just chuckling as if the one thing that matters is just rolling without worrying about stereotypes or whatever people claim to think about for certain comedies. Silly stuff really can just work for me if it at least seems committed to the hustle, basically. It proves an adequate little comedy you might find right up your alley in familiar smooth-talking chuckling vibes, so take that for what it is worth.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Hollywood Shuffle.

Review #2348: Hollywood Shuffle.

Cast: 

Robert Townsend (Bobby Taylor), Anne-Marie Johnson (Lydia), Craigus R. Johnson (Stevie Taylor), Helen Martin (Bobby's Grandmother), Starletta DuPois (Bobby's Mother), David McKnight (Uncle Ray), Keenen Ivory Wayans (Donald), Lou B. Washington (Tiny), Brad Sanders (B. B. Sanders/Batty Boy), John Witherspoon (Mr. Jones), Eugene Robert Glazer (Director), Lisa Mende (Casting Director), and Dom Irrera (Writer) Directed by Robert Townsend (#1315 - Eddie Murphy Raw)

Review: 

There is always enough time to do a movie where with an actor-star double threat, and this time is no different here. Born in Chicago, Robert Townsend found an interest in acting as a teenager, even in the face of studying at Illinois State University, as he found that his passion for acting, whether in workshops, standup, or appearances in movies such as Cooley High [1975] and A Soldier's Story [1984]. Incidentally, Townsend auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 1980 only to be passed over for Eddie Murphy. When it came to this movie, Townsend shifted interest into directing by the early 1980s and he would bring the help of Keenan Ivory Wayans (who he had known for a handful of years) into writing the film together, which was funded by a row of pre-approved credit card applications. The movie was shot over the course of nearly two years (while actually only having filming done in fourteen days) because Townsend had to make sure the budget would not go under by going on tour with his standup routines. As it turned out, the scene in the film involving looking for “Eddie Murphy-type,” was so amusing to Murphy that when he saw the movie, he asked for Townsend to direct the concert film Eddie Murphy Raw, which was released a few months after Shuffle. In his career, Townsend has directed seven theatrical films to go along with occasional acting roles and work in television, as highlighted by works such as The Five Heartbeats and The Parent 'Hood.

Technically the movie could be thought of as a sketch movie, because there are a handful of vignettes dedicated to making light of certain experiences and viewpoints, whether that involves a "Black Acting School" or, well, making light of Siskel & Ebert with "Sneaking into the Movies". One finds a clear passion by Townsend in poking at people who seem to believe that people have look and act a certain type of way just to even be considered for movies, right down to having a character even remark that it isn't about the art for them but the "sequel". It stings to see the depths people will go in treating people as cogs to throw in and out on a whim and asks the question of what it takes to "play the game" when it really is a matter of one's soul on the selling line. Sure, it comes and goes in getting its target down with bite to match, but it manages to hold together for 78 minutes with pretty game people for those bits spent in mockery, such as the vignette about a private eye is particularly funny to play with the cliches in sharp energy. Others come and go in varying levels of interest, whether that involves the interludes spent in dead-end nature with Witherspoon/Wayans/Washington or the sharp seasonable presence in Martin or most significantly, the one-scene wonder with the helpful McKnight. I like the last sequences in showing a key message not merely by preaching to the pulpit but by just showing how it looks to people around them (and one callback about making a honest living). Life will crush you down regardless of one's race, but that doesn't mean you have to let your dream pass you by. In that sense, Hollywood Shuffle has relevant chuckles at the expense of an industry that likes to pigeon-hole people in a certain way that can only be remedied by looking at the options laid in front of them and moving forward on one's own path. In short: it is a biting movie with a good deal of laughs.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

The Monkey.

Review #2347: The Monkey.

Cast: 

Theo James (Hal and Bill Shelburn; Christian Convery as young Hal and Bill), Tatiana Maslany (Lois Shelburn), Colin O'Brien (Petey), Rohan Campbell (Ricky), Sarah Levy (Ida), Adam Scott (Capt. Petey Shelburn), Elijah Wood (Ted Hammerman), Oz Perkins (Chip), and Danica Dreyer (Annie Wilkes) Directed by Oz Perkins (#2230 - Longlegs)

Review:

"The thing with this toy monkey is that the people around it all die in insane ways. So, I thought: Well, I'm an expert on that.' Both my parents died in insane, headline-making ways. I spent a lot of my life recovering from tragedy, feeling quite bad. It all seemed inherently unfair. You personalize the grief: 'Why is this happening to me?' But I'm older now and you realize this shit happens to everyone. Everyone dies. Sometimes in their sleep, sometimes in truly insane ways, like I experienced. But everyone dies. And I thought maybe the best way to approach that insane notion is with a smile."

Well, everybody dies. As I recall, 1000 Ways to Die put a bit of spooking in my mind when it came to strange deaths, exaggerated or not (well, as much as one can do when on a network named "Spike" that rolled with accidents such as exploding breast implants or death by sex); yes, some people die weird rather than, say, diabetes or murder. So anyway, The Monkey. The original story, as written by Stephen King, came out as a booklet in Gallery magazine in 1980. A lazy reading of a synopsis of the story (by me) reveals that it actually didn't have a twin brother in the first place, merely having flashbacks to an only child finding a monkey (which banged cymbals rather than drums) that clapped its cymbals before a calamity followed before he foolishly believes he can throw it in a well to stop it. Of course, that one had the curse strike animals (cats, and, uh, fish). It isn't often a director mentions their parents dying in "headline-making ways", but here we are. Perkins elected to eschew the proposal to make a serious adaptation of the story for his screenplay, listing various "patron saints" from Richard Donner to John Landis, to Chuck Jones and most specifically, Robert Zemeckis' Death Becomes Her (1992). 

Okay, work with me on this one. This film is basically Final Destination (2000) if it was actually competent. Death is an unseen force in both movies, if you think about it...except this film at least leans in with having a sop for a lead presence that you might expect from someone troubled with the specter of death that they get to see around them that you cannot really truly beat. Truthfully, the gore in violence is sometimes more amusing to see play out more than the actual attempts at humor, and this seems apparent here, which is still a compliment for a movie that manages to find new ways to turn the screw on looking at the strange qualities that come with death rather than try to chill it to the bone. In short: guilt all you want, sometimes it can be amusing to see weird stuff happen to people for no reason, such as say, cutting to a funeral after someone has used the drum that resulted in someone getting trampled to death. Spooky or not, it at least hits enough to strike for some queasy amusement to be had for 98 minutes to at least make for a suitable viewing alongside certain Stephen King adaptations. Even with its twin settings of 1999 and 2024, one does have this weird, warped feeling where it isn't exactly beholden to a specific time or place (for instance, a phone book page gets used at one point). It is interesting to see twins played by the same person in two different ages with James and Convery, to see those differences in what one does in the face of impulse at the expense of being alone with the pit of one's soul. Others are there for bits and pieces, such as a semi-amusing Maslany or O'Brien, who does fine with playing the one stuck in the middle of what you might call a family tradition in "choices" (the intro features Scott in a semi-amusing cameo after all). It sets up its misfortunes of death with stark execution that doesn't just splatter some red on the screen for the sake of it but instead makes its moments zing with cruel efficency, particulaly for its final cut. Admittedly, its hit-or-miss attitude can be a bit cloying enough to where I get where someone could just find it fine, because not everyone will find bemusement at two pathetic brothers that spend much time with a toy and playing the man of death. To each their own. As a whole, The Monkey is a worthwhile horror comedy in slick execution that has a few zingers within the terror in the randomness of death that will prove right up the alley of people who can chuckle with the best of them for gooey times.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

To Sleep with Anger.

Review #2346: To Sleep with Anger.

Cast: 

Danny Glover (Harry), Paul Butler (Gideon), Mary Alice (Suzie), Carl Lumbly (Junior), Vonetta McGee (Pat), Richard Brooks (Babe Brother), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Linda), DeVaughn Nixon (Sunny), Reina King (Rhonda), and Cory Curtis (Skip) Written and Directed by Charles Burnett (#1975 - Killer of Sheep)

Review: 

"There’s always been this issue of the black middle class’s responsibility to continue to be a force in the black community. One of To Sleep with Anger‘s themes deals with that issue, of the middle class abandoning the rest of the race, deserting the culture and then returning to it. The film is really about connecting the past to the present."

Admittedly, Charles Burnett deserved better as a filmmaker when it comes to actual attention for such a worthwhile debut. Killer of Sheep (1978) had the reputation of a classic for years before actually getting a real release decades later. Burnett's second feature suffered worse: My Brother's Wedding (1983) got screened to a film festival by foolish producers before he could finish editing that scared off distributors when the movie got mediocre reviews. It took until *2007* before the movie could even be re-released to considerable attention. And yet, To Sleep with Anger (1990) had its own fate. The movie apparently came out of the failure of producing a PBS film about irony and tragedy (yes, even the Corporation for Public Broadcasting can be picky with how they want their money spent). Instead, he sought out to do a movie about folklore and "the Black experience"; you have to remember Burnett was raised in Watts as the family moved from Mississippi when he was three years old. According to Burnett, the character played by Glover is based on a folk story called "the Hairy Man", which evidently refers to a part-devil, part African spirit, part-conjure doctor. Made on a budget of $1.1 million for distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company...the movie was not a financial success, which Burnett attributed to distribution, stating that it never got shown in more than 18 theaters. Apparently, it did not get a DVD release even as late as 2011, but hey, one can even find a Criterion DVD of this movie nowadays. Burnett's next film would come with The Glass Shield in 1994.

 

Within folklore and slow building curiosity is what happens when one really can just get under one's skin in the strangest ways possible. The 102-minute runtime is palpable enough for tension that wraps around an entire family because certain things really can upset the illusion of stability. Past and present are wrapped in a tug-of-war that should be pretty clear when you see the introduction that has a guy in flames while “Precious Memories" plays in the background. There have been quite a few movies and stories about the perils that come with looking upon tradition versus roots (I'm reminded of the Alice Walker short story "Everyday Use" in that sense), but with this one, family really can be forever in the folk sense. The movie probably benefits best from looking at it unfold its layers with its intriguing ensemble. Butler was more of a stage presence than a regular film actor, but he manages to do well in those moments spent toiling as a patriarch that we can relate to in terms of someone who clearly has something of the old place in their ways, which goes just as much for Alice and her carefully stated homespun charm. Glover's character basically has the shadow of the Devil around him with that worthwhile charm that manages to do so much or a movie that grounds itself in what you can and can't see around its odd atmosphere (admittedly, the high-rolling friends that arrive in the shadow of Glover that never leave will be pretty relatable for some in more ways than one). He is the stirring of the part of the soul that we think we have buried down there. It proves pretty clear with the simmering animosity one sees between Lumbly and Brooks (the latter is the youngest son, which naturally leads to the nickname "Babe") when it comes to how one approaches tasks in the family that are totally real to see play out because of the commitment on screen. The simmering discontent between a family that is more tightly wound than tightly knit before the arrival of a certain harry presence makes for a neat enough conclusion in playing things out to the crispest joke of them all in togetherness and resilience. As a whole, the tapestry of a family can wither or grow depending on how one sees the face of superstitions and things around them, and To Sleep with Anger makes for a fairly clever broiler with plenty of charms to go around.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Petey Wheatstraw.

Review #2345. Petey Wheatstraw.

Cast: 

Rudy Ray Moore (Petey Wheatstraw; Danny Poinson as Young Petey Wheatstraw and Clifford Roquemore II as Baby Petey Wheatstraw), Jimmy Lynch (Jimmy), Leroy Daniels (Leroy), Ernest Mayhand ("Skillet"), Ebony Wright (Nell / Pet, The Devil's Daughter), Wildman Steve (Steve), G. Tito Shaw (Lucifer / The Devil), and Ted Clemmons (Ted) Directed by Cliff Roquemore (#1974 - The Human Tornado)

Review: 

Honestly, I forgot that it has nearly been five years since I stumbled across Dolemite (1975), which starred the one and only Rudy Ray Moore, which was gloriously ridiculous from the top all the way down in terms of filmmaking and general execution in a way that you can't really hope to replicate. But of course, Moore continued to appear in movies, such as 1976's The Human Tornado and The Monkey Hustle (where he basically was doing a cameo) ...which did not go great. But you can't blame Moore for continuing to dip the toe in doing movies when the time seems right to do them. Cliff Roquemore (who, well, directed the Dolomite follow-up) is credited as having written the film as "based on the character created by R. R. Moore", one in which the movie also has a subtitle of "The Devil's Son in Law". Moore would headline one more theatrical film with Disco Godfather (released in 1979 that Roquemore co-wrote) before a string of appearances ranging from bit parts to "direct-to-video" would occur for the rest of his career. Okay, get this: our title character is one who came out of the womb as basically a six-year-old that turns to kung fu and, well, nightclub comedian. In the first twenty minutes, one gets to see our lead have his vehicle nearly robbed before he does a chase on foot to beat them up and make them re-assemble his car, for example. It doesn't take too long for him to do a line pretty similar to Dolemite, what with a line such as, "you no-business, barn rat, soup-eating, son of a- (well you get the idea)". This goes right in hand with, uh, a child getting shot and murdered as part of the thrown-together plot of extortion that yes, does deal with a guy dying and coming back to life with help of the Devil. Actually, I almost forgot, right after the, you know, child murder, the funeral party is *shot at with machine guns in broad daylight*. At least this Devil story has its own twist: the Devil will grant our hero the chance for revenge (which starts by rewinding the whole "murder in broad daylight" thing) ...as long as he marries the Devil's daughter and gets busy. 

Did I mention the magic pimp cane? At any rate, the nicest thing I can say about this movie is that it might be the kind of movie one watches for sheer curiosity. Just describing scenes that happen in the movie for a review seems like a futile way to talk about a movie that doesn't exactly take itself seriously in the first place, as if being a piece of schlock is the worst thing imaginable. For the most part, it is committed to just throwing gags to the wall and living by what seems to stick, which is basically hit and miss for its 95-minute runtime, where Moore is amusing here and there. I just wish Shaw was a more interesting figure when it comes to, you know, playing the Devil, because even a moderate foil to go against Moore would be helpful rather than a movie that drifts in commitment from moment to moment. Daniels and Mayhand were actually a comedy duo in their time and even did a bit of television together (hey, ever heard of Sanford and Son?), so the bumbling they do is about on point moment to moment. You get a few silly fights and some tricks with rewinding/fast forwarding to go with one joke about scaring someone right in the pants. The ending is probably about as appropriately half-assed as possible: you get a bit of "fighting" to go along with a fake-out ending, which I suppose works better than the Devil being brought down by a comedian that loves the hell out of a cane. As a whole, the rule of diminishing returns doesn't apply as severely here with Moore because one can at least appreciate the brazen energy displayed on screen while noting that a hit-or-miss comedy is in the eye of the beholder and sometimes you might just get lucky with what you find. I can't say it's "good enough" to win out, but if you can dig what the movie is selling, well, start digging...

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.