The Help

Remember what good movies used to be like?  You fell in love with the characters (or hate)?  You became totally absorbed in the stories and when the movie ended you felt like a better person?

So few movies like that these days.  I can't tell you how many movies I've gotten from Netflix, only to eject them from my DVD recorder because they were too violent, stupid and offensive (like "The Bridesmaids"), or poorly cast (why is Brad Pitt in just about EVERY major movie).

Last night was the exception.  I watched "The Help".  I had heard a lot about this movie and frankly, was expecting an overly sentimental version of "Poor Blacks Mistreated By Evil Whites."  Well, I'm glad to say I was WRONG.

This movie had everything.  Perfect casting from Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Allison Janney, and (surprise of all surprises) Bryce Dallas Howard; daughter of the former child actor and now successful director Ronnie Howard!  I didn't know who she was until the end of the film.  Boy was I surprised because usually children of actors aren't that good.  Bryce has it!

One of my biggest disappointments in movies is that movies that have a good story are poorly cast.  Studios usually go with the tried and true so as not to take any chances with the box office.  This movie, all the casting was perfect even down to the smallest role.  This is so unlike American movies.  I usually only see balanced casting like this in foreign made films, especially British films.  It was so refreshing to see the American actors in this film not be threatened by the smaller roles played by excellent actors and actresses.

Which brings up another point I want to make.  I didn't realize until I was finished watching this movie that it was a "Woman's Movie."  All the major roles are women!  I loved it.  Not that there weren't some good male roles too but they were minor.

The Academy Award suspense is over-
Octavia Spencer - Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis - Best Actress

And another tip of my hat  to the casting director because she (or he) got the two young male parts just right.  Both of the guys are Southern Eye Candy.  I grew up in the Sixties (not in the South) but My Bill (my partner) is from the South (Georgia).

Bill grew up in the late Twenties and Thirties.  Not the time period of this film but his household also had a black housekeeper who he loved.  When Bill grew up he left home and joined the service.  He was in the service for nine years until he had to leave to take care of his ailing mother.  After her funeral he suggested to his family that they give his mother's old cloths to their former maid.  His sister vehemently protested. I won't repeat what she said but it was as bad as you could imagine.

Bill left Georgia and his family that day and returned home to the North (New Jersey) where he lived at that time. I met him about a year later (1964).  When I met him he said he had no family. It wasn't until many years later that I found out why.  He had cut off communication with his family because of that ugly incident.

He probably won't like me putting this on my blog and I'll probably have to take it out when he reads it but I feel responsible for putting it out there that not all white folks in the South had the attitude towards 'the help" that Hilly had in this movie.  I am proud to say that this is the man I have lived with for the past forty-seven years, a man of character.

Hilly would not have liked him.

Film Noir Bad Girls

Recently a fellow blogger posted about the death of a couple of 40's B-list movie stars.  I'm always sad to see this part of my personal history plus American history pass by.  

Back in the late 40's and early 50's I used to go to the local movie house down the street from where I lived in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  The movie house was called the Roosevelt Theater.  It was formerly the Downingtown Opera house, something which I did not discover until many years later when a childhood friend sent me a picture of it when it was an opera house.

Back in those days the price of admission for a kid under 12 years of age was 15 cents.  I dreaded reaching the "adult" age of 12 and over because then I would have to pay a whole 45 cents.  An astronomical sum in those days for a poor kid running around barefoot all summer.  

Some of my fondest memories was seeing the black and white films called film noir.  Of course I didn't know what film noir meant back in those days.  I only knew that the action in most of these films usually took place at nighttime.  They were almost always dark unless the scene was in a smoky nightclub with sparkling, sequined encrusted dresses of the females actresses.  Of course all the men, including the Bad Guy, wore suits and hats.  Even then I knew that wasn't real.  All I ever saw my father wear was a sweaty, grease streaked T-shirt.  Where was the reality?  But when I watched these films I was transported into another world, a world of Dames.  Hard, wise-cracking, no-nonsense Dames.  It was wonderful!

Of course we all know the Usual Suspects:  Bette, Joan and Barbara.  No, I'm talking about those Other Dames.  You've all seen them but perhaps don't know there names. Well, here they are in all their film noir glory.  Ladies please:

Ruth Roman

Lizabeth Scott               

Marie Windsor

Patricia Medina

Hillary Brooke

Beverly Michaels

A Tale of Two Movies

"Death at a Funeral" - American version

Last week I watched the movie "Death at a Funeral" with Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence.   I had high expectations for this movie because Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence are two of my favorite comedians.  It was one of the worse movies I've seen this year.


The problem wasn't with the stars.  The problem was with the writing and direction.  As is usually the case with American comedy movies, the writers feel that they have to telegraph the funny lines with a sledge hammer.  They don't know the meaning of subtleness.


Watching this movie, I felt like I was watching a cartoon produced for a five year old.  I was insulted.  I was bored.  I was angry that I wasted my time watching this dreck.


When I wrote the review on Netflix for the movie, I happened to read another review.  That review advised to watch the original English version of this movie.


That's what I did last night.  I watched "Death at a Funeral" that was made in 2007 in England with English actors.  What a difference!  Ironically many of the scenes were verbatim and much of the dialogue was the same.  However, the lines were delivered with a subtle, dry humor that most American actors and American made movies are incapable of producing.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching this English version of "Death at a Funeral" last night.  I had a lot of LOL moments.  Now that is what I call a funny movie.

"Death at a Funeral" - English version

Avatar Take Two

One thing I got from the movie “Avatar” was a reminder that we are all inhabiting bodies which are “avatars” for our true selves.




From my earliest memory I have always had the feeling that I was on the inside looking out of my body.



Some years ago I saw a movie called “Being John Malkovich” which explored this very theory of transporting ones soul into another’s body and looking out through that body.



This is a view I haven’t expressed very often because I a personal basis. When contrary views are expressed they feel threatened and feel compelled to “save” me from myself by kicking into their evangelical mode to pray for forgiveness of my “sin.” They default to the obedience factor of their religion.



My time in this body shell which I have inhabited for the past 68 years is coming to an end. The old body isn’t what it used to be. Like an old car, it’s starting to show its rust spots. Different parts are showing weakness and starting to fail.



What happens now? Our culture has taught us to hang on until we run out of steam completely and stop. Hopefully this process isn’t too painful and we’re not a burden on others. That is a bridge that is yet to be crossed.



Looking back over the past 68 years I have to see I have been very happy with the “avatar” that was supplied for me. Early on I was somewhat disappointed by my bodily image but as I grew older I realized that attitude was caused more by others towards me (read “father”) than reality. Once I got away from the smothering, negative influences of my home life and out on the world stage I discovered that I wasn’t as bad and I was constantly told by my father.



Would I have made changes if I were to repeat the past 68 years again? I probably would. But that isn’t the way life works. We’re given this one body (avatar) to use during the learning process that is our earthly existence. What we do with it is our own free will.



We can choose a path that is dictated by others either through their manipulation by book (Bible) or force of character. That is our choice. We can choose to do good or evil. It is my belief that most of us are hard wired not to do evil but rather provide a balance to those forces of evil that do exist in the world.



That is what I got from the movie “Avatar”, the forces of good against evil. That is the genius of this movie. Not only did it show how humans can slip into another body but how they can triumph over evil. Yes, the movie “Avatar” to me was more than special effects, it was about Life.

Avatar

Yesterday I finally succumbed to all the hype and saw the most popular movie of all time, Avatar.



I was not disappointed. Avatar was perhaps the best movie I have ever seen in my life.



Avatar contains all the qualities I like in a great movie:



• Great production values – the special effects are spectacular

• Riveting story line

• Good character development

• Excellent direction, all the scenes flow together smoothly

• Super pacing – even though the movie is long, it moves fast

• Superior casting and acting - everyone was perfect for their role



I could go on about many of the wonderful aspects of this movie but suffice it for me to say that this is one great movie.



This is the first 3-D movie I’ve ever seen and I’m ruined now. It’s going to be hard to go back to two dimensional movies. There were times when I almost had to bat away the floating mayfly type insects that almost touched my nose. And a couple of times I almost ducked when a weapon was pointed at me!

This is a movie I have to see and will see again. And again.  I want to go back into that world.

Moon

Last night I saw “Moon.” This was my latest Netflix movie rental.




The first few scenes of this movie reminded me of “2001 – A Space Odyssey.” A few of the reminders:



1) the space station with its long, pristine, light and shadow corridors

2) the cool talking robot (Hal in “2001”, Gerty in this movie (which is the voice of Kevin Spacey

3) the slightly off balance astronaut

4) the endless star studded black skies of space



But there the similarities ended. Without giving away too much about the story line to spoil the movie for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, I want to say that his was one of the most thought provoking movies I have seen in years.



After watching this movie I felt like I had an “experience.” Remember the movies of old when we left the movie theater with that feeling? Too many movies these days are predictable and not very entertaining. Either they’re movies with excesses of violence and blood or silly romantic comedies in which the principal characters have no chemistry at all.



Not so this movie. Directed by the son of David Bowie (remember “Major Tom?”), this is a movie you won’t forget for a long time after you see it.



I like a movie that I cannot predict and make me think. This is one of those rare movies.