She's Gotta Have It.

Review #1976: She's Gotta Have It.

Cast: 

Tracy Camilla Johns (Nola Darling), Tommy Redmond Hicks (Jamie Overstreet), John Canada Terrell (Greer Childs), Spike Lee (Mars Blackmon), Raye Dowell (Opal Gilstrap), Joie Lee (Clorinda Bradford), Dennis Karika (The Trainer), S. Epatha Merkerson (Dr. Jamison), and Bill Lee (Sonny Darling) Directed, Written, and Produced by Spike Lee (#1255 - Do the Right Thing, #1543 - Inside Man, and #1643 - Malcolm X)

Review: 

"I'm a filmmaker. I know what I want to do. I'm not making movies to become famous or become filthy rich or to have 10 million beautiful women...I just want to present Black people as I know them-as I know they haven't been portrayed in Hollywood."

You know, for all of the attention I gave Spike Lee for classics such as Do the Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), I do wish I actually started at the beginning with his career, if only because it is far more interesting to go from point A to point B with seeing how a filmmaker evolves (or gets better) over time. Well, that, and because without She's Gotta Have It, who knows if one gets the films that came later from Lee? Of course, the real beginning (as probably mentioned before) is Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), as it was his master's degree thesis at the Tisch School of the Arts, which attracted attention. However, he couldn't find a major studio that wanted to work with him and his ideas on his terms, so when he did She's Gotta Have It, his first feature-length film, he did all on his own with funding from various sources (grants, deferred payments, and personal favors). It was shot over a dozen days on a budget of $175,000 in Brooklyn (which is where Lee grew up after his family moved from Atlanta). Of course, it only took screening the film at places such as New York University of a rough cut that pushed the film to completion (with Lee pitching himself at these screenings, obviously). The movie was a fair hit for the independent circuit, which helped set the stage for Lee doing further films in consecutive years such as School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), and Malcolm X (1992). Three decades later, a television adaptation of the movie was developed by Lee, who directed every episode of the two-season series that ran on Netflix.

Lee wanted to challenge sexual stereotypes that looked upon both African American men and women with frank honesty, which results in a distinct feature film debut. He took inspiration from seeing male friends of his boast about how many female friends they had and basically reversed it (while taking inspiration also from Rashomon (1950)). In fact, he came up with a questionnaire on the sexual habits of young women and asked women he knew about what answers made sense. In that sense, I think the movie works just fine as an indie comedy-drama that makes some steps forward in presenting distinct viewpoints in sexuality for a mostly compelling curiosity. With its black-and-white photography (except for one scene) and its habit of characters talking to the screen for 84 minutes, the movie is a lament for one's freedom to make choices on their own happiness, regardless of what the perception might be from others. This is the one defining role for Johns, a stage actress who had to be convinced over the course of months by Lee that he could make a compelling character. She does a reasonable job in portraying the dilemmas that come with one perspective of youth with hang-ups, a free spirit with agency. Terrell, Hicks, and Lee play the three suitors of distinct types: the high-class vain one, the "sensitive" one, and a joker.  Terrell amuses me the most in vanity, a stuck-up snob that has the timing required in showing just how much one really can (and in some ways, should) love themselves. Hicks and his vulnerable sensitivity is probably the one most relatable when it comes to seeing what really lurks behind the spoken and unspoken phrases, while Lee is fairly amusing. Probably the only scene that strikes a different chord from the rest is the rape scene, which Lee has expressed regret over, since he felt it made light of rape that he wishes he could take back. The movie is what Lee called a "free style" film, one that is a hybrid of narrative and documentary, one shot by future director Ernest Dickerson and edited by Lee. As a whole, the movie comes and go in trying to establish compelling points about true desires and expectations that will challenge the viewer the slightest bit, whether that involves them nodding their head or rolling their eyes the slightest bit (so yes, one either rolls with these folks or treats them amusingly). Lee wanted to present a compelling Black tale and I would say he succeeded in that respect considering what would come afterwards, which helps to shape plenty of reasons to give this a curious glance.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next up: Tongues Untied.

Redux: Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Redux Review #001: Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Cast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Edward Furlong (John Connor), Robert Patrick (T-1000), Earl Boen (Dr. Silberman), Joe Morton (Miles Dyson), S. Epatha Merkerson (Tarissa Dyson), Castulo Guerra (Enrique Salceda), Danny Cooksey (Tim), Jenette Goldstein (Janelle Voight), and Xander Berkeley (Todd Voight) Produced and Directed by James Cameron.

Review: 

A long time ago, I got the idea to review movies and write about them. I was fourteen and a pretty average viewer of action movies. The reviews weren't particularly good, but they generally still reflect my opinions on movies even after twelve years. In fact, I had originally planned to go back to the beginning and re-review this film way back in 2017. December 20, 2010 actually had eleven published reviews when I originally did them on a website called Star Pirates, which went like this: Terminator 2: Judgement Day, RoboCop, Rocky, RoboCop 2, Get Shorty, RoboCop 3, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, X-Men, Star Trek (2009), X2, and Fantastic Four. Four of those eleven actually have Redux Reviews already published, but I figured the best way to commemorate the 12-year anniversary of Movie Night is to make a loop from one James Cameron film to another. Enjoy.

From December 20, 2010:

Well, this film is a nice piece of work at 2 and a half hours long, and the Science Fiction is really put in first, along with the drama. The cast does an excellent job, especially Schwarzenegger and Patrick. This film has good use of CGI and great scenes that make you laugh and cry, as it qualifies for one of the best sci-fi films of all time. This film is probably the best sequel of any film as it does a great job.

"Even if we win the fight for our existence against the rise of machines, how do we define ourselves? Now it’s a real thing and a real concern and a real philosophical, existential question for the human race." - James Cameron

The Terminator (1984) is one of the best science fiction action films of its time. You already know that. Sure, Hemdale and Orion Pictures probably screwed up in promoting the film beyond what it clearly was: a classic in various genres. Of course, James Cameron became a prime name in directing because of the film, which he came up with the initial idea that eventually became fleshed out into what you saw. However, he did not actually feel that a sequel was particularly warranted - he went on to do films such as Aliens (1986) and The Abyss (1989), while the main star of the Terminator film in Arnold Schwarzenegger was always interested in making a sequel while continuing to become a film star on films such as Total Recall (1990). That film was funded by Carolco Pictures, and Schwarzenegger got the owners of the studio to try and negotiate with Hemsdale to buy the rights (they had half of the rights, while Gale Anne Hurd had the other half, since Cameron sold it to her for $1 as part of the deal for Hurd to advocate for Cameron). In 1990, Cameron agreed to join in, complete with asking William Wisher to help write the screenplay with him, for which they tasked to write it in six to seven weeks (because the release date was already set - July 1991). In the long run, it was one of the most expensive films of its time, made for roughly $94 million to $102 million. Interestingly, the idea of a liquid metal Terminator had actually been considered for the first film, as the original film had planned to have two Terminators sent by Skynet. Of course, trying to do a clay-animation Terminator in 1984 did not strike Cameron as effectively possible. It should be mentioned that this idea of two Terminators would find one key change: it wouldn't be a fight between two Terminators that happened to look just like Schwarzenegger (because Wisher thought it sounded like a boring idea). The idea of a Terminator that could take any shape it wants and strike from nowhere was originally intended in the first film, as you already might know. The fact that computer generated imagery (CGI) had managed to come along enough to actually be part of a film for longer than a few seconds surely helped this scenario (as evidenced by Cameron's previous effort in The Abyss). As such, the effects were done in various segments: Industrial Light and Magic (with Dennis Muren as supervisor) for the CGI effects, Stan Winston Studio for prosthetics and animatronics, Fantasy II Film Effects for miniatures and optical effects, and 4-Ward Productions and Pacific Data Images and Video Image for additional elements (such as a nuclear explosion effect). Muren has been quoted as saying that getting a convincing shot of a walking character that looks like it was made of chrome that had weight to it took months. Keep in mind, Cameron had to make sure the live-action shots matched with the effects that were being done by ILM, which meant plenty of takes needed to get the actors to hit their mark, and the final shots involving molten steel came down to the wire in getting them to render properly to reach the intended release date. In the end, the movie was a massive hit, receiving accolades for several members of its crew (such as Winston and Muren winning an Academy Award alongside Gene Warren Jr and Robert Skotak to go with wins for the makeup, sound and sound effects editing crew).

Sure, it is a sci-fi action film just like its predecessor from seven years ago, but it is a successor that hits every mark that you would expect from a film of its kind, sequel or not. It isn't executed in the style of a slasher film as before, instead reaching for new heights of thrills in action and drama that shows both a profound sense of entertainment along with profound sense of humanity. Cameron has called the relationship between the characters of John Connor and the T-800 as the heart of the film, equating it to the Wizard of Oz with the Tin Man getting a heart. If the first film was considered to be bleak within its depiction of a cyborg that would stop at nothing to strike at one of the future keys of humanity, there is a strike of hope within this film, where the progressive humanity shown by the T-800 alongside the resurgence of humanity with Sarah Connor is what drives everything together. Cameron has called it as the "world's most violent anti-war movie", and he does have a pretty good point there, if only because he has made a diverting movie that shows just how far one could possibly go with the basic urge of violence without becoming a movie simply for the thrill hounds (not that there's anything wrong with that, unless you are a pedantic critic – hell, did they not see how violent the first film was?). 

Hamilton clearly was ready for the assignment of playing a character now ravaged by post traumatic stress, which means a role that requires great timing in aggressive behavior and wavering humanity. Her paranoia is our paranoia, and it makes for a lean and effective evolution from her vulnerability all those years ago. Schwarzenegger says quite a few more sentences as before, but it is the progressive humanity seen through his scenes with Furlong that make the movie work as well it does when it isn't just about the action, and he shows his habit for making the audience smile in his expressions without needing to strain credibility. Furlong had never acted in a film before this film. He is the surly key in finalizing this offbeat, fractured family that we see for the film. It is natural honesty that never seems to grate on one's nerves in false notes. His scenes with Schwarzenegger when it comes to bonding with each other, whether that involves promising not to kill (instead going around throwing folks or kneecapping them) or trying to teach him to smile or their last scene together in the mill, which is definitely the most striking. Did you know that Cameron had Billy Idol in mind for the villain role? Well, his "look and presence" made him a brief favorite, but a motorcycle accident ended up opening the door for a mostly unknown actor. Interestingly enough, the one chosen to do the film after successful auditions was Robert Patrick, who had acted in a couple of Roger Corman movies (and even did his own stunts). He basically honed his performance in the film on what he did in the audition from what the casting directors were telling him, which basically was "You’re sense-aware. You’re tracking.” In fact, it was his idea to have the character run around with his fingers outstretched, which goes well with his physicality that reminds one of a snake, one who slithers through the film with worthy distinction. You would think the fact that Schwarzenegger is present during the film would make it distracting for Patrick to be a worthy title threat for the sequel, but he manages to hold his own, and this is in a movie where a good chunk of screen time has him away from the action, but he always makes his impression count. Morton is the one key supporting presence needed, playing an accidental Dr. Frankenstein with shock that makes a useful impression to sell the tragic part of this modern sort of fable when it comes to seeing where one's curiosity with machines can lead, regardless of the intent.

Brad Fiedel returns to do the musical score, which is quite fantastic in its usage of several sounds (organic and acoustic) that he had done through recently available technology, whether that means real air moving in a room in order to generate a sound. Any appreciator of the synth sound of the original will be satisfied with how Fiedel has managed to elevate his sound here. It is a great looking movie, one that is expertly edited (by three people) along with being expertly handled in its effects that have managed to still look quite effective in the art of being cutting-edge without seeming in-organic. It set the stage for future visual blockbusters such as Jurassic Park, that is a testament to the staying power of this film, There are two alternate versions of the film. The original version of the movie runs at 137 minutes long. The "Special Edition" is fifteen minutes longer and includes several scenes not used in the original cut, such as a sequence with Kyle Reese (Cameron prefers the theatrical releases while calling the extended versions just opportunities to see depth restored that couldn't be done with the current runtime). There also exists an "Extended Cut" that includes a scene of the T-1000 inspecting a room along with an alternate ending where an elderly Sarah Connor is watching her grown-up son, now a United States Senator. I ended up watching the Special Edition, primarily because of my memory being with that particular Reese scene (since who doesn’t love to see a little more Michael Biehn), but I imagine that the original cut will be just fine regardless of that fact. There are plenty of scenes one could highlight, but it always ends up being the fact that the movie has multiple potential climaxes (building explosion, the nitrogen chase, and the steel mill), which it handles with precision to where nothing seems dragged beyond comprehension. 

As a whole, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a prime example of how to hone one’s craft in elevated storytelling, weaving a sci-fi action parable of humanity with expert filmmaking that has endured as a key moment for both effects work and for its time after over three decades since its release. The debate over which Terminator film ends up with the same result: you can't go wrong with either classic to pick.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.