Moonstruck.

Review #1484: Moonstruck.

Cast:
Cher (Loretta Castorini), Nicolas Cage (Ronny Cammareri), Olympia Dukakis (Rose Castorini), Vincent Gardenia (Cosmo Castorini), Danny Aiello (Johnny Cammareri), Julie Bovasso (Rita Cappomaggi), Louis Guss (Raymond Cappomaggi), John Mahoney (Perry), Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Grandpa Castorini), and Anita Gillette (Mona) Directed by Norman Jewison (#127 - Rollerball, #273 - The Cincinnati Kid, #544 - In the Heat of the Night, and #691 - The Thomas Crown Affair)

Review:
"Directing, in many ways, is manipulation because you're dealing with a lot of egos. You have to manipulate people into thinking it was their idea, to get them to do what you see as being the best, to edit them without their knowing they're being edited."

Norman Jewison is one of Canada's most notable directors, made evident by the fact that he made a honest career of mostly successful films for four decades. He rose his way up from work in television in both Canada (with the CBC) and the United States (on NBC) before being inspired to branch into film, with his first few films being comedies for Universal Pictures, such as Forty Pounds of Trouble (1962) with Tony Curtis, or Send Me No Flowers (1964) with Doris Day. His first true breakthrough came with The Cincinnati Kid (1965), the first of his numerous challenging dramas, described by him as his "ugly duckling" film, which occurred after he was brought in for the fired Sam Peckinpah. Numerous highlights would follow in the next couple of years, such as the Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), In the Heat of the Night (1967, winner of Best Picture), the musical Fiddler on the Roof (1971), and the period drama A Soldier's Story (1984). The year after the release of this film, he founded the Canadian Film Centre, dedicated to helping Canadian professionals further work in advanced school training from film to digital media. Jewison was nominated for seven Academy Awards in his career (four for Best Picture, three for Best Director), and while he did not win any of them, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1999 for his body work as a creative producer, with his final work being The Statement (2003).

Sometimes there just comes a romance or comedy that hits you right where it matters most, and this is one of those films. Honest but sweet with a tremendous cast and direction, Moonstruck is a film that was surely destined to be a favorite that would make audience brim with warmth and mean every moment of it. There is just something in that script by playwright John Patrick Shanley that Jewison saw as fitting for these actors and these settings that are prime for entertainment of the heart. It is exactly the kind of family film for folks who enjoy dedicated material without overt sentimentalism but instead fair honesty. One might know where it could go with its romance, but it doesn't stop the fun. In a busy year for Cher, it should figure that her third role of that year was the one that received the most acclaim. She does a pretty good job with this role, inviting one in with modesty and good timing that resonates well whenever with Cage or with others, pulling off a compelling performance without artifice. Equally as compelling in energy and spirit is Cage in an early breakthrough role for the actor (having started his career just five years prior under his birth name of Coppola), one that reaches our attention and our passion without having to really do much (his whole bit with the story of how he lost his hand is a good example of that). Dukakis proves just as comforting in amusement in a solidly charming turn with a handful of lines to go with a well-rounded performance. Gardenia also proves just as endearing in his own way of humor. Aiello, even without much time on screen, is enjoyable in generating amusement for a well-meaning dope, while Chaliapin Jr nearly steals the show with reserved amusement. Film and stage actor (alongside acting coach) Bovasso proves a worthy supporting presence, both in charm alongside in helping Cher and Dukakis in doing Brooklyn accents. By the time the film rallies everybody to the kitchen table for its last turn under the sun, it already has proven a worthy time about detailing what it means to be struck in love, or at least the complications that can arise from what the heart and mind wants most. It brings itself together with charm without sacrificing any moment for a cheap gag or a cheap pull at the heart, which makes for a resounding winner to seek out as one of Jewison's best.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Eight Men Out.

Review #1287: Eight Men Out.

Cast: 
John Cusack (Buck Weaver), Clifton James (Charles Comiskey), Michael Lerner (Arnold Rothstein), Christopher Lloyd (Bill Burns), John Mahoney (Kid Gleason), Charlie Sheen (Happy Felsch), David Strathairn (Eddie Cicotte), D. B. Sweeney (Shoeless Joe Jackson), Michael Rooker (Chick Gandil), Don Harvey (Swede Risberg), and James Read (Lefty Williams) Written and Directed by John Sayles.

Review: 
Yes I know, not a horror film. However, today is the start of the World Series, which incidentally features my Houston Astros, so how could I resist covering a baseball movie? This one had been on my list for quite a while, so it only makes sense to do it now. Enjoy, and let's hope for a wonderful World Series result.

It is interesting to note the passing of 100 years since the Black Sox scandal, in which eight players of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing games in the 1919 World Series in conspiracy with gamblers. A public trial ensued in 1921, for which none of the accused players were convicted of any crime, although they were banned from playing professional baseball for the rest of their lives. A tale as old as time for baseball (a sport I adore) undeniably has inspired writers to adapt it into stories. Eliot Asinof wrote an account of the scandal in 1963, while W. P. Kinsella's wrote a magic realist novel with Shoeless Joe (1982, which was adapted into Field of Dreams the same year as this film). It isn't hard to say that baseball fans will certainly have interest in seeing this tale come to life in film while non-baseball fans will have a little harder time getting behind what this movie wants to show with this (questionably accurate) period drama. When it comes to baseball movies, this is probably safe middle ground stuff, doing just fine with its look and some of its ensemble moments while being a bit lacking when it comes to making everything really stick (particularly when it comes to some egregious liberties taken with real events, which is just as true with the novel and its combination of fictional characters into what is meant to be a non-fiction narrative). It clocks in at just a few seconds under two hours, for which the first half proves more favorable than the latter half (what better way to combine baseball cliches than courtroom cliches), seeming to have a few amusing moments with its cast. As such, the highlights include Cusack, Strathairn, Sweeney, and Rooker, with each actor of the conspiracy sticking out, such as Cusack and his bright disposition (even when faced with a bunch of crooked teammates), or the calmness of the others in their belief of that allure one calls more money. Minor highlights include James and Mahoney, making crucial points count just fine. How much guff can one give about accuracy about adapting the scandal to film with source material that took its own liberties with the facts (the Internet sure does help occasionally when it comes to finding tidbits of information, such as Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), who recently had made an article detailing numerous myths about the scandal, such as the White Sox actually having a high payroll (for 1919), or the gamblers being approached by the players (as opposed to the other way around), or the grand jury testimony being stolen (which they simply re-created later on anyway, which didn't have a big effect on the trial). If you really wanted to go further, the Internet is your friend for finding things to pick at (for better or worse). For me, it does tend to rankle me, in part because a film should know a little better about getting more than basic concepts right, especially stuff like Christy Mathewson (famed baseball legend) being the one that helped out the journalist investigation as opposed to Lardner (played by Sayles himself). In the end, I find that the film does best when letting the players speak for themselves along with its baseball action, with its foundation having quite a few cracks that can make this a hit-or-miss kind of movie. For me, it is a fair single, worth a look if one is curious enough for an old-timey but fair-minded day at an old ballpark.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.