What classics did you see last week? (19 July to 25th July)

Deadpool 2 (2018).



Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004).



Clouds of Sils Maria (2014).

“The Old Guard”   Distributed by Skydance Media, 125 Minutes, Rated R, Released July 10, 2020:

It’s easy, maybe even tempting, to overlook Charlize Theron’s skills as a dramatic actress.

Often it seems as if Theron limits her natural beauty for her commercial appearances as a brand ambassador for J’Adore Dior fragrances...and for the occasional film part such as Lorraine Broughton in 2017’s “Atomic Blonde,” which seems either to spoof her own knockout good looks or blatantly exploit them as a sort of gimmick, an in-joke among fans. It seems to work--”Atomic Blonde” earned over $100 million in global box office receipts, and a sequel is in the works.

To compensate for her supermodel allure, Theron occasionally needs to don elaborate prosthetic makeup to earn legitimacy as a performer. The actress won the Academy Award for her heavily disguised characterization as serial killer Aileen Wuormos in “Monster” in 2003. And even in 2019’s “Bombshell,” in which latex appliances and makeup effects helped the actress achieve an astonishing likeness to newscaster Megyn Kelly (and earn another Academy Award nomination in the bargain), the transformation would’ve fallen flat without Theron’s spot-on characterization.

Charlize Theron does not indulge herself in prosthetics or elaborate makeup for the new action thriller “The Old Guard”...beyond simulations of various abrasions, wounds, and injuries (in the movie’s very first scene, her character sports a bullet wound in her forehead). In fact, during some shots and closeups throughout the picture, the actress doesn’t seem to be wearing makeup at all. Rather, at age 44 Theron allows her natural appearance to help her inhabit the role of an immortal warrior who over the course of a dozen centuries of unending battles, missions and crusades has grown weary, troubled, cynical...and suddenly, irrevocably older.

In “The Old Guard,” Theron stars as Andromeda the Scythian (“But you can call me Andy”), the leader of a team of four “immortals,” centuries-old warriors with regenerative healing abilities who over the years have acted anonymously as the guardians of mankind. When their secret is discovered by a rogue ex-CIA agent, the warriors are hunted by mercenaries who seek to capture them as test subjects for a pharmaceutical firm wishing to exploit their regenerative powers for anti-aging medications. Simultaneously, the immortals are attempting to recruit another human they’ve discovered with abilities similar to their own, and indoctrinate her into their ranks.

Adapted by Greg Rucka from his graphic novel of the same name and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Old Guard” like all comic book-based motion pictures is about 70% blarny. But earnest performances, a refreshingly mordant sense of humor, a few topical references, and some genuinely compelling filmmaking elevate the picture above a number of recent graphic novel adaptations. The movie’s only real weakness is its pervasive aura of portent.

Also the filmmaker behind 2000’s “Love & Basketball,” 2008’s “The Secret Life of Bees,” and “Beyond the Lights” in 2014, director Prince-Bythewood is wise enough to keep the narrative moving at a breathless pace for much of the picture...although screenwriter Rucka’s rules of thumb for the immortals seem to be a little kinetic, or at least vague on actual details. Possibly Rucka’s deliberate blurriness is a means of avoiding criticism about the minutiae which seems to obsess many aficionados of the science fiction genre, especially the comic book-based variety.

Sort of a combination of 2000’s “X-Men” and Netflix’ “Extraction” from earlier this year, “The Old Guard” despite its fast pacing and action sequences as well-staged as any Bruce Lee classic is never short of plot or character development. Where a 007 movie or any of their dozens of imitators will generally spend the first hour setting up the perimeter of their imaginary universe and the second hour milking the setup for all it’s got, “The Old Guard” keeps the narrative--and the surprises--coming from the first moments of the film until the last.

And that’s a good thing, because as a result the picture remains interesting and retains the viewer’s interest when even the most well-made action flicks--the “Fast & Furious” pictures, for example--often grow more than a little tedious by the third act. Intelligent and sometimes even insightful, “The Old Guard” is the rare comic book movie that plays like literature: If Tennyson or Mallory had written a screenplay for a comic book adventure movie, it might’ve looked like this.

As central to the effectiveness of “The Old Guard” as the writing or direction is the performance by Charlize Theron. As Andromeda of Scythia--Andy--Theron more or less blends her characterization as Imperator Furiosa from 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” with the icy, humorless Lorraine Broughton in 2017’s “Atomic Blonde.”  Theron doesn’t do any heavy lifting dramatically in her role as Andy, especially for an actress who reputedly cracked several teeth from clenching her jaw in intensity for another role, but her weary but indomitable persona as Andy keeps the picture humming right along.

In supporting roles, Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, who played the laconic suitor in 2015’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” and the laconic convict in 2019’s “The Mustang,” nearly matches Theron’s level in his role as the laconic Booker, Andy’s closest colleague among the immortals. Kiki Layne is appropriately callow as Nile, the new immortal on the block, and the versatile Chiwetel Ejiofor is wholesomely duplicitous as Copley, the ex-CIA agent who recruits the team. Harry Melling as Merrick, the Big Pharma CEO (the ID letters on his personal jet read G-MRCK--get it?) is as crazy as any James Bond movie villain, if not half as charismatic.

Also produced by Theron through her Denver and Delilah Productions and filmed on a modest budget of $70 million, “The Old Guard” was released on July 10 for streaming on Netflix. With an anticipated viewership of 72 million households over the first four weeks of circulation, the movie is among the ten most successful original debuts in Netflix history. “The Old Guard” is also earning admiring reviews from the critics, including an approval rating of 81% from Rotten Tomatoes against an average score of 70% from Metacritic.

Filmed in Morocco, the United Kingdom, and at Shepperton Studios near London, “The Old Guard” is rated R for sequences of graphic violence and for language concerns. The movie is presently streaming on Netflix.



“The Bye Bye Man”   Distributed by STX Entertainment, 96 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released January 13, 2017:

No, he’s not married to “The Goodbye Girl.”

In “The Bye Bye Man,” a trio of college students move into a spooky old house in an off-campus neighborhood. When creepy events begin to occur in their new home and strange objects begin to appear, the new roomies with the help of a psychic acquaintance deduce that the house is haunted by the titular entity, a malevolent and homicidal spirit who’s summoned and unleashed when his name is spoken. You won’t need a psychic friend to help you deduce the rest.

Despite the use of various familiar conventions of the genre and a plot that bears an unsettling resemblance to 1992’s “Candyman,” “The Bye Bye Man’ through sympathetic characters, likable performances, and skillful filmmaking becomes a better-than-average little chiller. The movie’s not great, but it’s miles above dozens of other horror pictures released every year that do very well at the box office.

Starring Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, and Cressida Bonas as the roommates, “The Bye Bye Man” also features performances by Jenna Kanell as the psychic friend and Carrie-Anne Moss as an ineffectual police detective. Onetime Academy Award-winning actress Faye Dunaway has a small but showy part as the widow of a newspaper reporter who tangled with the title fiend during an earlier incarnation.

Based on the “The Bridge to Body Island” segment of Robert Damon Schneck’s supernatural horror novel “The President’s Vampire,” “The Bye Bye Man” was directed by Stacy Title from a screenplay by Jonathan Penner, a husband-and-wife team of filmmakers who also collaborated on a 1992 horror-based reframing of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” entitled “Let the Devil Wear Black.”

Screenwriter Penner was a three-time contestant on the reality-based television show “Survivor,” and also plays a small peripheral role in the picture...as does fellow horror writer and director Leigh Whannell, a co-creator of 2004’s “Saw” and the filmmaker behind the recent “The Invisible Man.” When the Bye Bye Man is finally revealed, he closely resembles actor William Sadler in his role as Death in 1991’s “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.”

Currently streaming on Netflix, “The Bye Bye Man” is rated PG-13 for sequences of terror and horror, violence, bloody images, and some language concerns. The film was edited from a slightly more graphic R-rated version.



“I See You”   Distributed by Saban Films, 96 Minutes, Rated R, Released December 06, 2019:

The “oh, come on” quotient is high indeed in “I See You,” a 2019 chiller from Saban Films that was barely released to movie theaters at the beginning of the 2019 Christmas season and is now streaming on Amazon Prime and a few pay-per-view sites.

In “I See You,” a police detective and his psychologist wife are estranged as a result of the wife’s recent infidelity, but still living together in their well-appointed home in an upscale neighborhood. The troubled couple is further distressed when a series of unsolved abductions of young children from years ago seems to be resuming...and all clues point to their teenage son, who’s displaying aggressive tendencies as a result of his parents’ alienation.

After a promising beginning, this atmospheric little dud estranges the audience by going off in too many directions--the movie can’t seem to decide whether it wants to be a domestic drama, a horror picture, or both. Very well-photographed, with excellent production values, the movie nicely establishes the sense of tension between the policeman and his wife despite performances which never seem quite natural...although the actors seem to be trying as hard as they can to contribute their best efforts.

But at about the halfway point, the filmmakers introduce a new element into the mystery, and then reprise the entire first half of the picture from another perspective. When the narrative resumes, the plot becomes so preposterous, and the characters have become so unsympathetic, that the picture forfeits its logic...and the audience loses its interest. During the final half hour, the movie’s aura of suspense does battle with a competing sense of silliness...and the silliness wins. Worse, the picture’s scare ratio hovers at around zero.

Written by Devon Graye and directed in his feature filmmaking debut by Adam Randall, “I See You” loses most of its credibility during the scene in which the estranged couple buries the corpse of a recent victim in the nearby woods as means of covering their son’s tracks. Hey, at least they’re enjoying social activities together again.

Starring one-time Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt as the errant psychologist wife, “I See You” features performances from John Tenney as her cuckolded police detective husband, Judah Lewis as their son, and Owen Teague and Libe Barer as a pair of trollish teenage home invaders who define the movie’s title. Teague has a nifty career going with roles in quality pictures like 2018’s charming “Every Day,” and 2017’s “It” and its 2019 sequel, and shouldn’t be appearing in junk like this. Helen Hunt’s cosmetic enhancements are also a distraction...before she disappears almost entirely from the picture’s final act.

Filmed in Cleveland, Chagrin Falls, and Lakewood, Ohio in June 2017, “I See You” premiered last March at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas and was released briefly to theaters in early December, but was barely promoted or circulated by Saban Films. Despite encouraging critical reviews, the film ended its theatrical run with only $77,668 in box office receipts against a bare-bones budget of $5 million.

Streaming on Amazon Prime, “I See You” is also available for a fee on YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu. The picture is rated R for violence and language concerns.



“Wish Upon”   Distributed by Orion Pictures, 90 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Released July 14, 2017:

Probably we’ve all known someone like Clare Shannon at one time or another--a girl whose personality is bigger than her confidence.

Not the prettiest, the smartest, or the most popular girl in school, and possibly even quite shy, Clare (Joey King) compensates for her insecurities by trying harder than anyone else to fit in, and develops an oversized personality as a result—broad gestures, animated facial expressions, swooping vocal tones, sometimes even singing a phrase or two of a conversation as if trying to persuade herself the tragedy of her life is actually a musical comedy.

As the main character in the new horror picture “Wish Upon,” Clare Shannon is also something of a born loser—once a golden child with a charmed life...until the preschool age when she accidentally happened to witness the suicide of her mother. Since that time, life’s been different. To say Clare’s ordeal as a high school student is difficult is a triumph of understatement.

Despite her best efforts, everything in Clare’s life goes wrong. Persecuted, ostracized, and bullied at school by the more popular and entitled kids, even her best attempts at fitting in or displaying school spirit are rejected, sabotaged, and mocked And although she’s the kind of girl who tries to perceive a silver lining around every dark cloud, eventually every silver lining in Clare’s life develops another dark cloud behind it.

Clare’s dad (Ryan Phillippe!), evidently too distracted to keep reliable hours or summon the self-discipline to maintain a job, has taken to dumpster-diving to earn expense money—collecting salvageable junk from other peoples’ trash for resale or recycling. In one cringe-worthy scene dad rummages through the dumpster outside Clare’s school, an image lost on neither Clare nor her classmates—photos containing rude captions appear almost instantly on social media.

But one day dad recovers from a dumpster an unusual object—an ornate octagonal tumbler-locked case inscribed with Chinese lettering. Dad has the rare clarity of mind to clean up the strange box, and brings it home as a gift for his daughter.

Clare, who coincidentally is studying the Chinese language in school, is able to translate enough of the ancient characters on the case to decipher precisely one phrase—“Seven wishes.” And in a combination of desperation, despair, frustration, hurt, anger, and hope, Clare that night closes her eyes and idly wishes her main antagonist at school “would just rot.”

The next morning, Clare learns to her astonishment that the school bully has somehow mysteriously been stricken, literally overnight, with Epidermolysis Bullosa—an aggressive, flesh-wasting disease with no known cure. But that evening, Clare’s beloved pet dog is discovered dead.

It gets worse—Clare whimsically in the presence of the Chinese lockbox wishes that the most popular boy in school will fall madly in love with her. And he does…with the operative word being “madly”--the boy begins to act in an irrational manner, and eventually even begins to stalk the hapless girl. Plainly Clare’s personal genie either possesses a mordant sense of humor or has studied contract law with an eye toward loopholes and liabilities. And that’s just the beginning of Clare’s problems.

Alert viewers will quickly perceive in “Wish Upon” a combination of author W.W. Jacobs’ famous 1902 short story “The Monkey’s Paw” and TV’s classic “The Twilight Zone” mixed with a generous helping of Stephen King’s novel “Carrie.” In other words, the movie’s a morality fable wrapped inside a horror picture, a warning to be careful what we wish for.

Written by Barbara Marshall and directed by “Annabelle” filmmaker John R. Leonetti, “Wish Upon” develops with laughable punctuality a trend of introducing peripheral characters who have no plot function except to die. Eventually the audience can predict which secondary characters will be around for only a moment or so before being dispatched in mostly unimaginative ways…although there’s a nifty scene in which a character is shown cooking a meal while virtually oblivious to the lethal devices contained in every kitchen.

But the bright spot in “Wish Upon” is the empathetic performance of young Joey King in the central role as Clare. A seasoned showbiz pro at age 18, young King had at the time of “Wish Upon” already had contributed noteworthy turns as Ramona in 2010’s delightful “Ramona and Beezus” and as the granddaughter in 2017’s “Going in Style,” in which she held her own against movie legends (and veteran scene stealers) Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Ann-Margret. King was also the shaven-headed child who managed to escape from the remote desert prison in the 2012 megahit “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Now 20, Joey King seems to have found the means for a successful transition from child phenomenon to successful grownup actress. Discerning audiences are beginning to realize that any picture containing a performance from King has at least one reason to buy a ticket. And in the 2019 Hulu miniseries “The Act,” King also finally attracted the attention of the critics...and earned Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations for her difficult performance as the real-life Gypsy Rose Blanchard, forced by her mother to fabricate disabilities for financial gain.

“Wish Upon” was distributed by a resurrected incarnation of the old Orion Pictures company, which despite releasing such Oscar-winning blockbusters as “Dances With Wolves” and “The Silence of the Lambs” somehow managed to go financially kaput in 1999.

In fact, Orion Pictures was built from Filmways Studios, a television production company which expanded into motion pictures through a 1977 merger with none other than the old American-International Pictures corporation. In this way, there’s a direct historical link between “Wish Upon” and the legendary drive-in classics of the 1950s.

“Wish Upon” is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images, thematic elements, and language concerns. The picture is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.



“Hamilton”   Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 160 Minutes, Rated PG-13, Streaming July 03, 2020:

Whenever he was complimented on his signature performance in the beloved 1955 motion picture classic “Mister Roberts,” actor Henry Fonda would usually demur, “Well, thanks...but the Broadway show was even better.”

Movie versions of popular Broadway shows, especially musicals, are often a tricky item: When they work well--as with “The Music Man” in 1962, “My Fair Lady” in 1964, and the imaginative re-staging of Bob Fosse’s “Chicago” in 2002 (which in itself was adapted from a 1927 silent picture)--the adaptations sometimes become movie classics, beloved by generations. Both “My Fair Lady” and “Chicago” actually won Best Picture Academy Awards.

On the other hand, when a Broadway adaptation fails, it usually fails big. Although his stage productions have continued to sell out performances on Broadway and London’s West End, there’s never been a successful movie adaptation of a musical by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. In fact, the $100 million 2019 movie version of Lloyd-Webber’s legendary “Cats” became known as one of the most notoriously bad pictures ever made. Audiences expecting the poignant, melancholy lyricism of the stage show were instead effectively subjected to a 110-minute musical horror pageant.

Appearing about halfway between the two extremes is “Hamilton,” the new movie version of the gigantically popular 2015 Broadway production “Hamilton: An American Musical.” The winner of eleven Tony Awards, eight Drama Desk Awards and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “Hamilton” was still selling out every night at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theater at the time the Covid-19 pandemic closed down live entertainment around the world. Filmed on a shoestring budget of $12.5 million, the film version premiered on July 3 and is currently playing on the Disney+ subscription video and on-demand computer streaming service.

With music, lyrics, and book by the talented, versatile, and prolific Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton” is an adaptation of writer Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography “Alexander Hamilton,” and tells the story of one of the United States’ Founding Fathers in contemporary musical terms embracing elements of hip-hop, rhythm and blues, rap, pop, and soul music, as well as traditional Broadway-style show tunes. Because of its modern storytelling methods, “Hamilton” has been advertised as “a tale of America then, as told by America now.”

Rather than a traditional motion picture adaptation, “Hamilton” is a live recording of the actual Broadway musical, featuring the original cast and edited together from three performances of the show filmed on consecutive evenings in June 2016.  Directed by Alex Kail, while the film includes a few setup shots and the use of Steadicam, crane, and dolly-mounted camera movements, the picture is essentially a filmed record of an actual live performance, right down to the stage announcements which precede the opening curtain. A sellout audience is present, and can be heard but not seen. At times, the film seems almost as if Kail had simply pointed a camera at the stage, turned it on, and allowed the film to run for the duration of the show's performance.

As a result of the style of filming, this version of “Hamilton” reveals the stagecraft a movie would’ve hidden, disguised, or reframed the narrative to exclude: The actors plainly wear microphones, the circular center of the stage revolves with certain complicated music and dance segments...and the audience’s frequent cheering and applause is always present to remind television viewers when we’re supposed to be impressed, and how much.

While “Hamilton” breathes new life into history by placing into contemporary musical terms the events which occurred during the formation of the United States of America, the film does not attempt to revise or modify the story’s foundation any more than Chernow’s excellent biography did. Rather, the show refreshes history and brings dusty, arid museum portraits to vivid life...and then makes them sing and dance. From some perspectives, “Hamilton” is a modernized and more irreverent remake of the 1972 musical “1776”...which in itself was based on a 1969 Broadway show.

But unlike “1776,” which was weighted toward emphasizing Thomas Jefferson’s importance to the formation of the United States, “Hamilton” is a show in which all roads lead to Alexander Hamilton. America’s future Secretary of the Treasury and model for the $10 bill is presented in the show as an eager young immigrant (Alexander Hamilton was born in the British Leeward Islands, now the Virgin Islands) who’s determined to become a figure of history even if he needs to create the history around him. The character defines himself with the lyric, “I’m like our country--young, scrappy, and hungry.”

Portrayed by Lin-Manual Miranda, even when Hamilton is not onstage--which isn’t often--the other characters are usually talking about him. Calculating, manipulative, coldly ambitious, Alexander Hamilton longs to be a hero, and not the hero’s secretary. Also the play’s author and central driving force, Miranda in addition to his prodigious artistic talent possesses enormous quantities of what was once known as “star power”--charisma, rapport with the audience, and enough plain old likeability to enable the actor (and his play) to more or less skate past the knowledge that Alexander Hamilton is just not a very likable character.

Standing nose-to-nose with Miranda’s Hamilton, if not matching his performance volt-for-volt, is Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr--politician, lawyer, future New York senator, America’s third vice president, and damned by history as a traitor and an accused murderer. In “Hamilton,” Aaron Burr fulfills precisely the same function as Judas Iscariot did in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and Antonio Salieri did in “Amadeus.” As coldly ambitious, cunning, and manipulative as Hamilton, the “bastard, orphan, son of a whore” Burr agrees with his one time friend and colleague on his proposed political ends of the new nation...but not the means of getting there.

In addition to a performance which is more studied, contemplative, and subdued than Miranda’s as Hamilton, Odom as Aaron Burr possesses enough raw talent, energy, and acting chops to fill some awkward shoes indeed. All Odom really lacks are Miranda’s charisma...and his puppy dog eyes. The winner of the 2016 Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in the show and also a prolific television actor with credits that include recurring roles in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Smash,” and “Person of Interest,” Odom as Aaron Burr would be the star of “Hamilton” if Lin-Manuel Miranda weren’t in it.

Others in the talented and versatile cast, all of whom enjoy one or moments in the spotlight (and some who occupy multiple roles) include Phillipa Soo as Hamilton’s wife Eliza, Daveed Diggs as both Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Jonathan Groff as King George III, Okieriete Onaodowan as James Madison and Hercules Mulligan, Sasha Hutchings as Sally Hemmings, and Anthony Ramos as both Phillip Hamilton and John Laurens.

In a supporting role, Christopher Jackson’s George Washington,“the pride of Mount Vernon,” is presented almost as a figure from a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. The Father of Our Country even references the Victorian-era theatrical partners with the lyric, “I’m the model of a modern Major General.” Drafted as the leader of America’s military during the looming conflict with England and attempting to recruit the ambitious young Hamilton to his personal staff despite his longing for battlefield glory and possible martyrdom, Washington advises him, “Dying, young man, is easy--living is harder.”

The show’s pointedly, determinedly, and at times emphatically multi-racial and multi-ethnic cast reminds us implicitly that with the exception of Native Americans we’re a nation descended from immigrants. Some of our ancestors fled oppression and persecution in other countries...and some were conscripted and kidnapped, transported to the New World to find maltreatment as slave labor during the foundation and establishment of the Land of Liberty. Leslie Odom, Jr is African-American, for example, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is descended from Puerto Rican grandparents.

Since “Hamilton” is so filled with historical information as well as entertainment, it’s recommended for “Hamilton” novices (those among us who couldn’t afford the $849-and-higher price of a premium ticket to the Broadway show) that the closed-captioning feature on your TV be kept on. The show’s literate and informative lyrics are often delivered at breakneck rap music rhythms, and the absence of post-production looping for clarity sometimes renders the words unclear. You’ll be able to follow the plot without close-captioning, but not savor it.

Described at one point by playwright Lin-Manual Miranda as “a flawed play about flawed people,” “Hamilton” in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement is attracting an enormous amount of controversy for its alleged positive portrayal of Alexander Hamilton and the United States’ other Founding Fathers, many of whom were slave-owners. Because of its characterizations, the #CancelHamilton organization is actually advocating the play’s closure prior to Broadway’s scheduled reopening in 2021, as well as ending its streaming on Disney+.

In response to the controversy, the staunchly liberal Miranda took to Twitter on July 06 to address the outcry. “Appreciate you so much,” Miranda tweeted. “All criticisms are valid. The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It’s all fair game.”

Incidentally, the tearful, surprised, guttural gasp uttered by Phillipa Soo’s Eliza Hamilton at the very end of the play, although originally unscripted, has become a tradition of the play and has no real relevance to the narrative. Still, the gasp has become a source of fierce speculation by “Hamilton” viewers. Since the sound occurs just after Soo as Eliza sings the lyric “I can’t wait to see you again--it’s only a matter of time,” some interpret the sound as Eliza experiencing a sight of Heaven, while others theorize the character caught a glimpse of her late husband’s ghost. Author Miranda’s cryptic answer: “The Gasp is The Gasp is The Gasp--I love all the interpretations.” In other words, never turn your back on free publicity.

While the filmed stage performance of Broadway’s “Hamilton” is flawed and often rough, flaws are part of the charm and allure of any live stage presentation, and therefore the lack of cinematic nuance is easy to overlook. Every performance is a star-turn and every song is a show-stopper, and the show is well worth viewing...although whether or not it excuses the $7.41 per month price of a Disney+ subscription is subject to the viewer’s individual taste and budget. Originally planned for a theatrical release on October 15, 2021, the show’s distribution was moved forward for worldwide digital presentation and streaming by Walt Disney Studios in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Still, considering Disney’s history of frequently recycling their own product--turning animation into live-action and vice-versa--it’s probably inevitable that “Hamilton” will eventually be produced again by the studio in a streamlined, souped-up new super-version that takes full advantage of the cutting-edge, world-class production facilities that produced original movie musical classics from “Mary Poppins” in 1964 to...well, 2018’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” another movie featuring an entertaining and ingratiating performance from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

But until that time, as rough as it is, this version of “Hamilton” will do nicely. Check it out.

“Hamilton” is rated by the MPAA for language and some offensive material (author and star Miranda actually edited two F-bombs from the soundtrack of the film to avoid an R rating).



“Da 5 Bloods”   Distributed by Netflix, 154 Minutes, Rated R, Released June 12, 2020:

Any new film from director Spike Lee is a cause for celebration among movie fans:

Not only does Lee remain the most reliable arbiter of our nation’s moral and ethical boundaries--he’s also able to present his ideas in a manner which is sufficiently innovative to please the critics while still entertaining enough to be attractive to the mainstream moviegoing audience. Spike Lee as a filmmaker has a way of challenging the viewer...while the viewer is too entertained to realize he’s being challenged.

Lee’s new picture, “Da 5 Bloods,” is not a disappointment. In fact, with the new picture the director rises above his perch on the vanguard of modern cinema and the cutting edge of contemporary culture to join the immortals of epic filmmaking--David Lean, Francis Coppola, John Huston...and yes, even the vilified and excoriated D.W. Griffith, who despite the controversy which has always surrounded his best-known picture was also responsible for some of the very first cinematic epics.

In “Da 5 Bloods,” four aging former American GIs--all successful and prosperous businessmen, all African-American--return to the jungles of Vietnam to locate the remains of a fallen comrade...and simultaneously recover a cache of lost CIA gold they’d discovered five decades earlier, after being deployed on the suicide mission which claimed their friend’s life.

The fifth Blood--Sgt. Norman Earl Holloway, “Stormin’ Norman” to his friends--was cut down by an enemy sniper during the 1971 mission and buried by the Bloods in an unmarked grave in the jungle. In the half-century since his death, Norman has become an iconic figure to the men--”Our Malcolm and our Martin,” an almost Christ-like countenance in the Bloods’ collective memory. The survivors intend to recover Holloway’s remains and have them reinterred in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Originally written in 2013 by “Company of Heroes” screenwriters Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo, the basic plot of “Da 5 Bloods” looks like it might once have been intended as a standard adventure film not unlike 1970’s “Kelly’s Heroes.” But filtered through the sensibilities of Spike Lee and his occasional writing partner Kevin Willmott--a University of Kansas film professor who’s also collaborated with Lee on the scripts for both “BlacKkKlansman” and 2015’s “Chi-Raq”--the picture instead becomes Lee’s epic vision of the Vietnam Experience...and possibly the director’s masterpiece.

Containing elements of war movies from “The Bridge on the River Kwai” to “Apocalypse Now,” “Da 5 Bloods” is at heart a reimagining of John Huston’s 1948 masterpiece “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” in which a trio of impoverished prospectors are driven to inhuman measures by their quest for and discovery of gold. One of the characters in “Da 5 Bloods” even echoes the celebratory dance performed by actor Walter Huston in the 1948 picture when discovering the gold...and later, another reprises that movie’s most iconic line: ”We don’t need no stinkin’ badges.”

Like all Spike Lee’s pictures, “Da 5 Bloods” is filled with the director’s signature cinematic flourishes. Especially during the film’s opening segments, when a character makes a historical reference a period photo or film clip is helpfully displayed onscreen. But far from being pretentious, coy, or a personal conceit, such embellishments are Lee’s way of explaining the historical relevance of the scene or the exchange, as well as emphasizing the importance to contemporary culture of the ordinary individual and placing our own contemporary priorities, values, and even our feelings and emotions into the context of history.

Although epic in vision and scope, “Da 5 Bloods” is a work of enormous intimacy and personal moments. If Lee’s picture contains a message, it’s not an encouraging or reassuring one, although good does triumph in the end over evil, in a fashion. Apparently along with other Western priorities, values, luxuries, and commercial goods exported by the Americans during the Vietnam War, we shared our intolerances and prejudices--both the racial and xenophobic varieties.

During the picture, one of the men learns for the first time that after his tour of duty he left behind an Amerasian child--a brown one, who because of skin color has been vilified and persecuted by Vietnamese society. Even the returning Bloods are troubled with a form of bigotry: During one scene the men are perplexed by the sullen behavior of one Vietnamese man...until one of the Bloods explains, “He knows what ‘gook’ means.” And when their French connection requests a larger slice of the treasure, the man patiently endures from the Bloods a salvo of nationalistic abuse. His measured response--a subdued “Vive La France.”

“Da 5 Bloods” also contains director Lee’s signature flashes of dark humor. While the individual Bloods were united in war, during peacetime they’ve grown in different directions--personally, professionally...and politically. In middle age, the men find to their surprise that they cannot even fully agree on their opinion of the present occupant of the Oval Office. And toward the end of the picture, as Delroy Lindo’s haunted Paul finally succumbs to madness he pointedly, and significantly, pulls on a red MAGA ballcap.

Among the actors playing the five Bloods, Clarke Peters as Otis and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. as Melvin are probably the most familiar to audiences, as a result of their appearances on the popular HBO series “The Wire."  Norm Lewis as Eddie is a prolific stage actor who’s appeared in major roles in the Broadway productions of “Chicago,” “Les Miserables,” and “Porgy and Bess.” Jonathan Majors, who also appeared in 2018’s “White Boy Rick,” plays David, the estranged son of one of the Bloods, who follows his dad to Vietnam ostensibly for reasons related to reconciliation but in fact in pursuit of a piece of the action.

In a sort of extended cameo appearance during the movie’s frequent flashback sequences, movie superstar Chadwick Boseman appears as the martyred fifth Blood, Norm. It’s a plum role, invested with a sort of reverence richly enhanced by Boseman’s effortless natural charisma. During one significant scene, Boseman as Norm is photographed from a low angle framed by the sunset, which creates a nimbus around his head. Viewers will also note that the first names of the picture’s main characters correspond with the 1960s and 70s vocal group The Temptations and their producer Norman Whitield...although the movie’s song score is weighted toward Marvin Gaye.

But the real star of “Da 5 Bloods” is Delroy Lindo as Paul, the member of the reunited Bloods most troubled by PTSD (“I don’t do that ‘sit in a circle and whine about s**t’ thing,” he notes at one point). Long-noted for his rock-solid supporting performances in character roles in films from “Get Shorty” in 1995 to “The Cider House Rules” in 1999 to a voice in the Disney/Pixar movie “Up” in 2009, Lindo has rarely called attention to himself with his roles--the actor disappears so completely into his characterizations that audiences might’ve presumed he simply was what he was playing.

And the actor’s performance in “Da 5 Bloods” is no exception. Lindo disappears into his role of the troubled, haunted Paul in a way that the better-known actors considered for the role, including Samuel L. Jackson, could not have been: Audiences might never have forgotten Jackson was a celebrity practicing his profession. Lindo is successful in his characterization not only because of his superb acting, but because despite a motion picture career which dates from 1976, he’s still only well-known to a relative handful of movie fans.  That won't last long after this picture--Lindo's almost a sure thing to win an Academy Award for this role.

Critically, “Da 5 Bloods” is earning reviews which are among the best of Spike Lee’s career. Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 92% while Metacritic assigns a weighted average score of 82%, indicating universal acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes notes, “Fierce energy and ambition course through ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ coming together to fuel one of Spike Lee’s most urgent and impactful films.” The film, incidentally, was not diverted by the coronavirus pandemic from a theatrical release--rather, from February 2019 forward “Da 5 Bloods” was intended to be distributed by Netflix for online streaming.

“Da 5 Bloods” becomes not only Spike Lee’s take on the Vietnam War, but also comments on the nature of brotherhood, love, loyalty, heritage, family, history, tradition, and honor, all united by supremely moving performances by a talented cast, a talent crew of film technicians and artisans, and inspired direction. The filmmaker doesn’t have all the answers--he doesn’t pretend to, and never has. But as always, nobody clarifies the questions and their relevance to society better than Spike Lee.  This movie will win the 2021 Best Picture Oscar.

Filmed on authentic locations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Chiang Mai, Thailand, “Da 5 Bloods” is rated R for strong violence including grisly images related to war, and for pervasive language concerns throughout.

OOH! Cleo Moore!!!!!!!!! - OVEREXPOSED is a huge favourite - what did you think?

Overexposed is the type of film I wish had been more popular: taking those minor side characters in noir and crime films and telling their story.

In this case the nightclub photography girl: how many copies would you like of that, sir? Part time model, part time photographer, trying to stay out of porn and build a legit business. And achieving it at the risk of rubbing up against dangerous gangsters and getting ground up in their works.

We could make a list of other stories we'd like to see: cab driver, news-stand seller, night watchman, postman, ambulance driver, court stenographer, all those background characters.

Mediterraneo (1991)

7/10

Italian film about a small detachment of Italian soldiers sent to occupy a remote Greek island during WW2. Their radio breaks and their higher ups do not look for them. Years pass, and they are charmed by the island and its inhabitants.