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American Pastoral (2016)
"American Pastoral" Captures the Vietnam War Era
With the 2016 Presidential Election from Hell, mercifully, running out of gas, there's a new movie out that reminds us that things could always be worse. "American Pastoral," a film about the turbulent-Vietnam War era, reveals in suspense-filled details the conflict's damning effects on one, middle-class family.
It stars (Ewan McGregor) as Seymour Levov, Jewish, a Newark, NJ-based entrepreneur, high school star athlete and WWII veteran. He's contently married to a Catholic girl, Dawn Dwyer (Jennifer Connelly.) She's a pretty, former "Miss New Jersey." He's a happy go-lucky political liberal. His friends call him "Swede."
The Swede's factory makes gloves in what's left of Newark's industrial base. After the assassination of MLK, Jr., the riots of 1968 strike the town hard. It's fair to say that Newark, and the Swede's business and home life, were badly shaken by the experience.
Nevertheless, the Swede's family, residing out in the patrician-dominated countryside, soldier on. They are enjoying the good life out on their farm/home, in suburbia New Jersey.
The Levovs have one daughter, Merry. As a child, she's played impressively by (Ocean James, age 8; and Hannah Nordberg, age 12). When she reaches that late teenage time of open rebellion, the fine actress, (Dakota Fanning), enters the frame.
Merry, a blonde, is a little on the spoiled side growing up. She also has a serious stuttering, and "dad problem."
The movie is based on a popular novel of the same name, authored by the controversial Philip Roth. In 2012, he declared, a la J.D. Salinger, that he was going to fade from the literary scene. (Oh, my, these testy writers! Sometimes they can be worse than those larger-than-life egos on the TV show, "The View!")
The novel, "American Pastoral," came out in 1997. I haven't read it. I prefer to review a movie without forever comparing it to how the book portrayed this or that subject, which can be so distracting. I understand the film is true to the spirit of the book.
In any event, the screenplay for the flick was written by John Romano, and he gets the job done. It's McGregor, himself, (the Swede), who very skillfully, directs the movie. His acting is compelling, too.
The Levov family is soon shaken again. As the Vietnam War heated up in the 60/70s, their daughter Merry, now age 16, is pulled into the most extreme antiwar politics of the day. She starts associating with violence-prone antiwar radicals in New York City.
The generation gap in families is all too familiar. But, when you toss in a very unpopular war, the mix can be toxic. The Swede and his wife try, but have a tough time dealing with Merry. Meanwhile, she has developed a smart-ass, know-it-all attitude.
Backstory: The Vietnam War (1964-1975) literally ripped the country apart. After the murder of President John F. Kennedy, his successor, the shadowy Lyndon B. Johnson, launched the conflict based on a false flag op, k/a "The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution." Close to 58,000 of our finest sons and daughters died; many more were wounded. The Vietnamese casualties ran into the millions.
Protesters in the U.S. hit the streets. Vietnam birthed the modern day, "Antiwar Movement." It also brought out the crazies, the ultra-militant, "Weathermen," aka "The Weather Underground."
The chant, "Hey, Hey, LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?" regularly rang out at demonstrations across the county. The torching of the American flag was also a frequent occurrence at these demonstrations.
Matters begin to speed up in the film when a bomb goes off in the Swede's local Post Office. It brings the war home for him and his family. The postmaster is killed in the blast. Merry is implicated in the act of terrorism and suddenly goes missing. The FBI is on her trail. Her devastated father tries to track her down, too, which takes up about the last half of the movie.
Much of the story is told in a narrative form by an ex-classmate of the Swede, Nathan Zuckerman, ably played by (David Strathairn). A sounding board for Zuckerman is the Swede's brother Jerry (Rupert Evans), a doctor. They relate how the years had burst the bubble of Swede, the one-time high school jock.
The Swede's search for Merry brings him into the mean streets of Newark's ghetto. One day at the glove factory, he visited by a young woman, Rita Cohen (Valorie Curry). She purports to be a friend of Merry's from the underground movement. Is this a setup? Is she just looking to shake him down and then do him harm?
In any event, some of Roth's views on the Vietnam War period come off as too far removed from the struggle itself. It's like he relied mostly on headlines, and stereotypes, from that period to craft two of his most important characters: the Swede's daughter, Merry; and the extremist radical, Rita Cohen.
For one, Merry's evolving, so quickly, into a full fledged bomb maker doesn't compute. The mysterious Cohen character, I must add, is totally incredulous. Despite those objections, the movie, still works as first-rate entertainment. The film was shot in Pittsburgh, PA.
It's the superb acting, which keeps "American Pastoral" together. It sustain your interest throughout. This sad film recreates, at times, insightfully, via the highly-fictionalized history of one impacted family in suburbia New Jersey, the trauma, anxiety and grief of that horrific Vietnam War era.
I'm not only recommending "American Pastoral," I'm giving it six out of ten stars.
The Girl on the Train (2016)
"The Girl on the Train" is a Bumpy Ride, but Worth Seeing
British-born actress, Emily Blunt, is on a roll. I thought she was terrific in the 2015 crime- thriller film, "Sicario." She played an FBI agent, Kate Macer, a difficult part to pull off. It gave her some considerable attention in the U.S. for her acting ability. Blunt has experience in both stage and film work and is also known as a pretty good singer. She will be filming in 2018, "Mary Poppins Returns," a sequel to the 1964 musical classic.
Enter the 2016 bumpy ride, "The Girl on the Train."
First, this is not an easy film to sit through. I hate seeing a fragile, complex woman, in this case (Rachel), played superbly by Blunt, get sloppy drunk and then act out on top of it by smashing mirrors and tossing cupcakes around. It's hard to sympathize with such a character. So, in my situation, I had to just stay with it and let the movie play itself out: one long, train ride; one quick flashback after another. Also, Rachel narrates her solo parts.
As the title suggests: a train ride is central to the shaky plot in this movie. It's a commuter train that riders, such as Rachel, a divorcée, take daily into Manhattan for work, and back to the suburbs at night. The scenic Hudson River is often a backdrop. (In Rachel's case, we find out much later that this typical reason for taking the train doesn't really apply to her.)
Rachel's ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux), still lives along the train route in a very nice single family home he and Rachel once shared. Tom's new wife's is (Anna), played by Rebecca Ferguson. She's a blond. Rachel, a brunette, likes to spy on Tom's young family from the train. She also gets off sometimes and stalks Anna, Tom and their young child.
Why don't Tom and Anna have Rachel prosecuted for her threatening behavior? This would be the logical thing to do. They don't and this makes the contrived plot even harder to accept.
To complicate matters, Rachel also intrudes on another home, two doors away from Tom and Anna's. The gal who lives there is a blond-headed hottie, Megan (Haley Bennett.) Her husband is Scott (Luke Evans), who's built like a halfback for the LA Rams. Like Rachel, Megan narrates her solo part.
Megan works part time as a nanny for Tom and Anna. Tom is also screwing the hell out of her every chance he gets. Then, Megan becomes pregnant! (You see how darn complicated all of this is?)
Most of the time, however, the depressed Rachel is walking around NYC City lit up with booze, or slouched deep down in her train widow seat, or sticking her mug up against the glass pane, or simply sitting there mumbling to herself.
Rachel usually appears badly hung over, the result of a huge bender the night before. Some of her alcoholic-induced flashbacks border on the incredulous. It's difficult to take her rants seriously.
It's about eighty-five percent through the movie, when it mercifully picks up steam, with some consistent logic. Megan, the hottie, goes missing! Where is she? Did she run off with a new lover? What about that shrink she's been seeing? Can he be trusted? Did her hot-headed hubby, Scott, find out that she was cheating on him behind his back and stuff her down some deep well? Scott becomes a person of interest, and, so does our gal - Rachel!
It's time for the New York City police to make a dramatic appearance. The suspense really begins to build after that happens, as more revealing flashbacks come zooming by.
Blunt carries the movie in a performance worthy of a rising Hollywood starlet. She has a lot of help, too, from a very strong supporting cast. Keep an eye out for Ms. Haley Bennett. She is very easy to look at and has stardom written all over her.
I was also very taken by the compelling performance of character actor, Allison Janney (Officer Riley). As a former Baltimore city prosecutor, I can tell you that Riley comes off as the real, let's- get-to-the-bottom-of-this mess detective.
Summing up, It's the powerful acting, not the flawed script/directing that makes "The Girl on the Train" worth seeing. I'm giving it six out of ten stars.
Our Kind of Traitor (2016)
"Our Kind of Traitor" is Solid Entertainment
It's an espionage film, via the remarkable wordsmith, John Le Carre. "Our Kind of Traitor" opened in July, 2016.
I love the spy genre. And, this film, shot with stunning backdrops depicting Russia, Morocco, Switzerland, France and England, has a lot of positive aspects to it.
"Our Kind of Traitor" is solid entertainment, but not by any stretch in the top entertainment category. It is more than just an okay flick however. In particular, It has some fine acting, especially from Ewan McGregor (as Perry, a university poetry professor); and, Naomie Harris, (as his girlfriend, Gail, a barrister.)
Perry is the good, innocent guy in this movie, who inadvertently opens up a can of worms by getting too close to the wrong crowd. Harris is just along for the ride, with not a lot to do.
Yes, you're right if you were thinking that Harris is that same gal that played a "hottie" (Moneypenny), in that last James Bond movie - "Spectre." As for McGregor, a fine Scottish actor, he's been on a roll as a rising international movie star, since taking on the lead in Roman Polanski's award-winning flick, "The Ghost Writer."
The movie's story line for "Our Kind of Traitor," I must say, is seriously flawed. I didn't read the book, so I don't know if the adaptation is off or if I should blame it on the screenplay.
The crux of the problem is that the film is set up to have you concerned mostly about the fate of a Russian Mafia gangster, "Dima," played brilliantly by Stellan Skarsgard. He fears for his life, and for the well being of his young family.
Dina is desperate for a way to make a deal with MI6, British Intelligence, in order to gain sanctuary in England for himself and his brood. But, who really gives a good damn what happens to an operative for the Mob? Dina is likable fellow, but still he's a bloody gangster, who favors the "f" word. This is the rub in my opinion.
Dima's Mafia boss, an Oligarch, k/a "The Prince," (Grigoriy Dobrgin), is planning to knock him off, just as he had whacked Dima's predecessor, who had also acted as his banker. Trust me, the scene where that slaughter takes place, on a lonely, icy Russian road, will make you - cringe.
Ruthless doesn't begin to describe "The Prince" and his crime family. They are not only amoral killers but they treat their women like disposable chattel. They make our Mafia, with a tip of the hat to the late John Gotti, look like altar boys in comparison.
Background: Since the fall of Communism in Mother Russia, a new class of predators have emerged there - the Oligarchs. Some of them have been systematically looting the country - stealing billions of dollars of assets and natural resources. A few have been caught and prosecuted - most haven't.
A lot of the anti-Vladimir Putin propaganda that you witness in the Establishment Media in U.S. can be attributed to the fact that he, and his government, have taken a hard line against the lawbreakers in this clique of vultures. The vultures, however, know how to play the game and they play hard.
Getting back to the movie. Perry and Gail, Londoners, are on a holiday in Morocco. Perry ends up partying with Dima, where Dima asks him to act as a courier for him. He wants Perry to pass off a memory stick to MI6, when he returns home. Unbeknown to Perry, it contains loads of inside information exposing high level Brit banking/corporate officials, including politicos, in crooked deals and payoffs with the Russian Mob.
Perry makes it to London, meets with the MI6 honcho (Hector), played capably by Damian Lewis, and gives him the memory stick. This end of the tale gets complicated fast, since Hector's boss doesn't think Dima is such a good catch for the agency.
Also, there's a wirepuller in the House of Lords, who is close to this evolving scheme, and the power-shakers in MI6. He despises Hector. Think House of Cards/Pefidious Albion!
There are some interesting scene shifts from Morocco to London; then on to Paris; with a stopover in Bern, Switzerland; and later on to the the French Alps. As for tension/suspense, there's plenty, but not nearly enough to keep you hanging on the edge.
"Our Kind of Traitor" will entertain you, but it's not in the forever-memorable thriller category. I'm giving it seven out of ten stars.
Multiple Maniacs (1970)
"Multiple Maniacs" Returns to the Scene of the Crime - Baltimore!
The iconic filmmaker John Waters told the capacity audience at the Charles Theatre that in 1969, he had to borrow money from his dad to make the trashy cult classic, "Multiple Maniacs." It didn't go over that big with moviegoers when it was released in 1970, but it did somehow slide by the Maryland Censor Board.
Waters then had a running feud over censorship with the Board and its then chairlady, the late Mary Avara. How this film, with its scenes of sickening depravity, serial murders and shocking blasphemy, got pass her could be the making of yet another flick.
But, "Multiple Maniacs," has always had its niche audience with comedy/horror lovers. In any event, the movie featuring the late Divine has been restored and is headed for national re- circulation, via Janus Films.
Divine was played superbly by the actor Harris Glenn Milstead. He was a boyhood buddy of Waters. He died on March 7, 1986. Milstead was known not only as an actor but also as a singer and drag queen. Before launching his acting career, he had been a hairdresser in Baltimore. He's buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Towson, Maryland.
The movie was filmed mostly in and around the Baltimore area. Fell's Point, a wee bit trashy itself in that bygone era, was in a lot of the shots. It brought in just over $25,000 at the box office. Some of the opening scenes, Waters said, were filmed in his back of his parents' home in Baltimore County.
At the showing on Monday, September 12th, there were some talented folks, like Pat Moran, Susan Lowe, Mink Stole, Vincent Peranio and George Figgs, in the audience. They had worked on the film in various capacities and were known as the "Dreamland" acting troupe.
George Figgs took on the role of Jesus Christ - a high calling - under any circumstances. He was more than adequate. And, Mink Stole nailed it as the Religious Whore. While, Divine carried the flick in the demanding, hilarious role of Lady Divine.
As for Peranio, he also designed the giant lobster, known as "Lobstora," for the movie. They said it cost about $20 for the material. It looked real to me and that's the bottom line.
Waters introduced each of actors present to warm rounds of applause. To learn more about the film's restoration, check out the article in "Variety" dated, August 6, 2016.
Rotten Tomatoes, a movie review website, Walters reminded the audience, has given "Multiple Maniacs," a hundred percent rating. It is his "highest rated film." Who knew?
The restored version will carry the tagline, "Restored! Reviled! Revolting." It opened in early August of this year at one of the Waters' fave hangouts, the Provincetown Film Festival.
You can still catch this "celluloid atrocity" at the Charles for a 9 pm showing on this coming Thursday evening, September 15, 2016. This is your final warning!
What kind of reaction did "Multiple Maniacs" get on September 12th? Let me put it this way: It was a non-stop laughing event.
(By way of full disclosure, this writer has had cameo roles in two of Waters' films, "Dirty Shame" and "Pecker.")
American Hercules: Babe Ruth (2015)
Babe Ruth Hits Yet Another Home Run
During his legendary major league baseball career, Babe Ruth, aka George Herman Ruth, one of Baltimore's greatest sons, hit 714 home runs. Well, he just hit another one out of the ball park! And, this one fits a popular phrase from automobile mega-sales gal, Krystal Koons, "We're gonna to WOW ya!"
A riveting documentary on the Babe, inducted in the Hall of Fame, in 1936, has just been released. It paints his fabulous sports career, and his life as a global celebrity, on a huge canvas with a wide brush. Using Greek mythological tones, writ large, its title is "American Hercules: Babe Ruth." It also spotlights his flaws.
On Thursday evening, September 8, 2016, a private screening of the compelling documentary was shown at the Charles Theatre in Baltimore. Michael Gibbons, Executive Director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, did a fine job hosting the program. He set the stage for the viewing of the film before a near capacity audience.
The special viewing, contributions required, benefited the "Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation."
Ably assisting Gibbons in the program were Nick Trotta, an official with Major League Baseball (MLB), and Charles Poe (no relation to our beloved Edgar), from the Smithsonian. The MLB and the Smithsonian are the film's co-producers. The DVD is available online. The Smithsonian will be broadcasting the documentary on its cable channel. Trotta was the brainchild for the project.
The producers wisely picked actor Martin Sheen (and not bad boy Charley) to narrate the film. Martin is a real pro and his voice is just right to capture all the magic and heroics that was the Babe's. He lived 53 years on the planet and died in New York City, in 1948.
The Babe had a rough childhood. He was born and reared, until age seven, in Southwest Baltimore, and baptized at St. Peter the Apostle RC Church, (now closed), His mom was an alcoholic and his father had emotionally abandoned him. He spent his formative years, from age 7 to 19, at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, (where Cardinal Gibbons HS is located today), under the mentorship of the wise and caring Brother Matthias of the Xaverian Order.
Baseball was the Babe's way out of his personal Hell. After a stint with the minor league Baltimore Orioles, Babe started his major league career; first with the Boston Red Sox, and then moved onto the New York Yankees. He played from 1914-35 in the big leagues.
When the Babe arrived on the major league baseball scene, it was still recovering from the "Black Sox Scandal." It was also an era of the "dead ball," where home runs were few and far between. The Babe's mighty swing for the fences would transfix the sport, and bring millions of new fans into the seats at ball parks across the country. One of the Babe's nicknames was "The King of Swat."
This documentary, with its archival material, is not for everyone. You won't see and hear that pompous Neocon pundit, George Will, pontificating on baseball insider trivia. Lord, I'm so happy for his exclusion. Think more Joseph Campbell!
It is, however, a brilliant study on how the Babe and his saga, patterned after the exploits and struggles of the Greek's Hercules, impacted, on a mythical level, not only baseball, but America and the world at large. And, the wonder of it all is how the Babe, (like another sports' hero, Muhammed Ali), has become part of our collective psyches. Indeed, the colossal, timeless figure of the superhero Babe, continues to persist and grow.
Snowden (2016)
Oliver Stone's 'Snowden' Strikes Deep into the American Psyche
Film director Oliver Stone is in a class by himself. He has dared to go into the political mine fields where only a few other Hollywood-based movie makers have ventured. Perhaps, the fact that the talented Stone was a Vietnam War U.S. Army veteran (1967-68), has toughen him up to take on the Establishment.
Earlier in his movie career, Stone caught a lot of flack for daring to challenge the "official" conspiracy version of how President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, in 1963, with his intriguing film - "JFK." His war-related dramas, "Platoon," in 1986; and, "Born on the Fourth of July," (1989), opened a wide vista for Americans to reflect on the horrific hell that is war. Incidentally, the "Born on the 4th of July" movie also proved that Tom Cruise could act!
Recently, Stone has been brave enough to also take on the Wall Street Bankers in two fine movies: "Wall Street" in 1987; and in 2010, "Money Never Sleeps." The Wall Street wise guys are the ones whose unbridled greed brought our America the draconian "Financial Collapse of 2008."
Enter, in 2016, Stone's "Snowden." It is a compelling movie about a young NSA whistleblower, Edward J. Snowden. It raises important Constitutional, national security and privacy issues which strike deep into the American psyche.
Snowden was a brilliant computer geek, whose career path led him first into the CIA and then the NSA. Later, he worked as a intelligence contractor, assigned to the NSA.
In 2013, Snowden revealed to the media, particularly the London-based newspaper, "The Guardian;" documentary-maker, Laura Poitras; and reporter, Glenn Greenwald, the massive global scope of the American surveillance state. Over the years, it had covertly devised "a bulk data collection system." That disclosure scene is set early in the film inside a hotel room in Hong Kong.
Presently, at age 33, Snowden is residing in Russia, under an umbrella of temporary asylum, thanks to Vladimir Putin. The U.S. Justice department has a warrant out for Snowden's arrest, charging him with violating the "1917 Espionage Act," and other related criminal offenses.
Stone's movie brings all of this suspense-filled drama to life. It jumps back and forth between Snowden's 2013 disclosure to the media in Hong Kong; to his short-lived life as a U.S. soldier; his hiring by the CIA/NSA; his sometimes rocky relationship with his girlfriend; to his awakening - a la Saint Paul on the road to Damascus - that there's something morally, legally and profoundly wrong with how his country was gathering intelligence on its citizens.
As Snowden, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a stellar performance, that is worthy of an Academy Award nomination. He masterfully shows him as a conservative, shy, goody-goody, cyber wizard, and supra-hacker dude, who when not playing with his Rubik's Cube, finally wakes-up to his part in the world of insidious surveillance.
(Shailene Woodley) is brilliant in the part of Linda Mills, Snowden's girlfriend. She knew how to turn the heat up in their bedroom scenes and to play the role, when required, of the wounded female. (Melissa Leo), whom I loved in Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana's "Homicide: Life on the Streets," is at the top of her game in portraying Laura Poitras.
(Rhys Ifans) gives a memorable, first-rate performance in the role of Corbin O'Brian, Snowden's CIA mentor. (Zachary Quinton) was cast as the hard-nosed reporter, Glenn Greenwald. He brings the added intensity needed to give the movie some dramatic edge.
Bringing up the rear in this very capable Snowden cast, is none other than the seasoned actor, (Nicolas Cage), as a crusty CIA functionary, Hank Forrester. Cage is very credible, and low-keyed, in that relevant role.
By the way, the real Greenwald, on September 16, 2016, blasted the "Washington Post" for "towering cowardice" for calling for Snowden's prosecution. Ironically, it was one of the newspapers that first carried Snowden's whistleblowing revelations and it even won a Pulitzer Prize for its stellar reporting. Go figure!
Other government whistleblowers, such as the courageous Thomas Drake, had previously shown Snowden the way forward on this matter.
The U.S. government doesn't see Snowden as a mere whistleblower. It has labeled him a "traitor. It wants to burn his ass! This includes elements within the U.S. intelligence community, President Barack Obama, a majority of the U.S. Congress and the hawk-ridden "Washington Post."
"Big Brother" is looking to bring Snowden down and down - hard. Shades of author George Orwell's prophetic "1984."
To check out just some of the classified intelligence programs, that Snowden has exposed, see, "The Intercenpt" website.
To learn more about Snowden's current status, and his bid for freedom, go to this Snowden-friendly website, at:
Snowden is now a man without a country.
If you care about your federal government spying on you, go see "Snowden," and, if inspired, then follow up by contacting your elected representatives on Capitol Hill with your concerns.
I'm giving Oliver Stone's "Snowden" ten out of ten stars.