#28DaysofBlack Review: DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST

[A landmark film in Black cinema, Daughters of the Dust is what the Library of Congress says about it: “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”  I would change the word “or” to “and.”  However, its unconventional form means that it hasn't been on television the way African-American film fare that appeal to conventional tastes have.  Still, Daughters of the Dust remains vibrant, ready to be discovered by new viewers who will pass it on to the next generation.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2021 (No. 1745) by Leroy Douresseaux

Daughters of the Dust (1991)
Running time:  112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Julie Dash
PRODUCERS:  Julie Dash, Arthur J. Fielder, and Steven Jones
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Arthur Jafa (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Joseph Burton and Amy Carey
COMPOSER:  John Barnes

DRAMA/HISTORY

Starring:  Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbara-O, Trula Hoosier, Umar Abdurrahamn, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Tommy Redmond Hicks, Adisa Anderson, Eartha Robinson, Bahni Turpin, Cornell Royal, Kaycee Moore, M. Cochise Anderson, and Kai-Lynn Warren

Daughters of the Dust is a 1991 independent drama and historical film written, directed and produced by Julie Dash.  Daughters of the Dust was the first feature film directed by an African-American woman that was distributed theatrically in the United States.  In 2004, it was inducted into the “National Film Registry.”  Daughters of the Dust, set largely over one day in 1902, focuses on three generations of Gullah Geechee women as their family prepares to migrate off the Sea Islands of the South to the North.

Daughters of the Dust is partly narrated by the “Unborn Child” (Kai-Lynn Warren) and is set among members of the Peazant family.  The film opens on August 18, 1902 near Ibo Landing on Dahtaw Island (St. Simons Island) off the coast of the state of Georgia.  This is the home of the Gullah or Geechee people, who live a relatively isolated life away from the mainland.  This isolation allows the Gullah to develop a creole culture and language that retains much of their African culture and linguistic heritages.

Arriving at Ibo Landing by canoe is Peazant family outcast, Mary Peazant (Barbara-O), also known as “Yellow Mary” and her companion, Trula (Trula Hoosier).  Awaiting Mary is her cousin, Viola Peazant (Cheryl Lynn Bruce), a devout Christian who has already moved away from the island.  With Viola is the man she plans to marry, Mr. Snead (Tommy Hicks), a photographer who has come to document the Peazants' life on Dahtaw before they leave.

The majority of the Peazant family is ready to embark for the mainland and move to the northern United States in order to live a modern way of life.  August 18, 1902 is the day of a grand family get together and feast in which members of the family celebrate their last day on Dahtaw Island before they leave on the morning of August 19, 1902.  The Peazant matriarch, Nana Peazant (Cora Lee Day), who practices African spiritual rituals and maintains the history of the family, plans on staying on the island.  She wants those who are leaving to remember and to honor their ancestors as they leave for new homes.  Nana wants them to take a part of her with them, much to the chagrin of some.

Haagar Peazant (Kaycee Moore), who married into the family, is leading the migration north.  She is determined to take her daughters, Iona (Bahni Turpin) and Myown (Eartha Robinson), with her, and she wants to leave the old ways and also the ancestors behind on the island.  However, Haagar does not know that Iona wants to stay on the island and marry her secret lover, St. Julian Last Child (M. Cochise Anderson), a young Cherokee Native American man who lives on the island.

At the top of the family drama is Eula Peazant (Alva Rogers), who is pregnant from being raped (apparently by a white man from the mainland).  Her husband, Eli (Adisa Anderson), is Nana's grandson, and he grieves for the situation in which he finds himself.  Eli is torn between traveling north and staying on the island, and he also believes that his dreams have ended because his wife Eula is carrying the child of the man that raped her.  Meanwhile, the Unborn Child, Eula and Eli's future daughter, finds her voice influenced by the stories of her ancestors.

After decades of putting it off, I finally watched Daughters of the Dust in its entirety, on my own.  I previously watched much of it in a college class, which isn't necessarily conducive to gaining an understanding of the film.  Watching Daughters of the Dust is an intimate experience, something to be done by oneself, giving total focus to the film.

Daughters of the Dust feels like a living thing, a story that lives even when no one is watching it.  I think that is because of one of the film's dominant themes – the importance of the past and the future.  That is exemplified when Nana Peazant says that the two most important things are the old souls (the past) and the children (the future).  Whatever the Peazant family may have now, they must take the ancestors and their history with them to their new home – the future.

Nana emphasizes keeping the family together; celebrating the old ways, and carrying memories with us.  We exist in the present because of the past (our parents, grandparents, ancestors, etc.), and we will be lost in the future if we don't know from where we came.  I think Daughters of the Dust feels so alive to me because I understand the idea of the present as being a vehicle by which we travel from the past to the future.  Time flows in the film, which has a non-linear narrative, sprinkled with stories of Peazants past and with stories of slaves and Africans.  In a way, writer-director Julie Dash makes August 18 her film narrative, a fluid and living and expanding thing, like a story with a beginning far in the past and continuing into the future.  August 18th is not chopped off and frozen, which fits in with two of the film's other themes – reunion and connection.

Daughters of the Dust, with its lush visuals and Arthur Jafa inquisitive cinematography, is one of the most beautifully photographed films that I have ever seen.  The performances are outstanding, and it is difficult for me to pick out particular ones for praise.  However, I am drawn to Cora Lee Day as Nana, Aval Rogers as Eula, and Barbara-O as Yellow Mary.

Released to film festivals and theaters mostly in 1991, Daughters of the Dust is as much a work of cinematic high art as the most honored films of that year and of 1992, including such films as Silence of the Lambs, Bugsy, Unforgiven, and Howard's End, to name a few.  Julie Dash's film, however, goes beyond its subject matter.  The viewer does not need to be Gullah or a descendant of African slaves to feel Daughters of the Dust's pull.  If you have ancestors and a future, then, you are alive and Daughters of the Dust is telling you a familiar and universal story.

10 of 10

Wednesday, February 3, 2021


NOTES:
1993 Image Awards (NAACP):  1 nomination: “Outstanding Motion Picture”

2004 National Film Preservation Board:  National Film Registry


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-----------------------------

Review: "Barton Fink" is Something ... Else (Happy B'day, John Turturro)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 72 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Barton Fink (1991)
Running time:  116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some scenes of violence
DIRECTOR:  Joel Coen
WRITERS:  Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
PRODUCER:  Ethan Coen
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Roger Deakins (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Roderick Jaynes (The Coen Brothers)
COMPOSER:  Carter Burwell
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring:  John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney, Tony Shalhoub, Jon Polito, and Steve Buscemi

The subject of this movie review is Barton Fink, a 1991 period drama co-written and directed by Joel Coen and co-written and produced by Ethan Coen, although both brothers likely shared in producing and directing the film.  Barton Fink focuses on a renowned New York playwright who is enticed to Hollywood to write film scripts for a film studio only to discover hellish truths about his new job and home.

In 1991, The Coen Brothers, co-writer/director Joel and co-writer/producer Ethan, took the Cannes Film Festival by storm with their film Barton Fink, winning the Golden Palm as Best Picture and the award for Best Direction (an award that Joel has since won twice more).  John Turturro also won the Best Actor award for his role as the title character.  As much as I like the Coens' work, this is by far my least favorite film of theirs.

In 1941, intellectual New York playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) moves to California to write a B-movie script for a major studio.  His new boss, Jack Lipnick (Michael Lerner) wants that Barton Fink touch for a new Wallace Beery wrestling movie.  Fink takes up residence in the Hotel Earle, a rundown establishment with a sheen of faux-grandeur.  He eventually meets his neighbor, the blustery, strange, and mysterious Charlie Meadows (John Goodman), who claims to be a traveling insurance salesman.  Although he meets many interesting characters, Fink is busy fighting writer’s block, and his new home becomes a hell for him as his deadline to deliver a script looms.

The first warning to a viewer before he sees Barton Fink is that the film is surrealistic, a situation in which the story contains lots of symbolism.  This is not standard, linear filmmaking, so the viewer has to closely watch the film for visual hints and listen to the soundtrack for audio clues to understand the story in lieu of having literal, obvious story details.  Don’t read this sentence as it may spoil the surprise of unraveling this film’s mysteries:  Hotel Earle is hell, the hell in which Barton suffers writer’s block, and Charlie Meadows is not only a killer, but he may well be “the devil.”  If you try to take this film literally, you will find it atrocious and boring.  Creative people, especially writers, will certainly understand, through Barton, the intense frustration that writer’s block can cause a scribe.

Still, for all its pretensions to art and its portrayal of the intellectual’s strong need to produce “something good,” Barton Fink is a misstep.  I will give a hearty nod to the Coens' ambitious intentions.  The acting is very good.  It’s less technical and more show.  It’s flamboyant and colorful and immediately describes the characters to the audience, none of this serious method stuff, just old-fashioned, grand pretending that fills the screen.  I really liked the film’s element of suspense and mystery.  The hotel is automatically creepy, but it’s nothing compared to the unusual landscape of the relationship between the characters.  One thing that certainly kept my interest was trying to figure out what these people had going on amongst themselves.  I could understand when two people were connected, but the joy was figuring out why they had a relationship.

Overall, the film is slow and occasionally plodding, especially in between moments of drama and intrigue, but the brothers have a way of waking you up just when you think that their film is loosing steam.  I recommend this to fans of the Coens’ films and to people who like that different kind of film that is called “art,” the ones that are about something other than just entertaining you.

No sirree, Bob.  The Coens might entertain you, but never at the cost of giving you cheap candy, not when they can use their talents to make a complicated confection, even if the end result doesn’t quite taste right.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
1992 Academy Awards, USA:  3 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Michael Lerner), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Dennis Gassner and Nancy Haigh), and “Best Costume Design” (Richard Hornung)

1992 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (John Goodman)

1991 Cannes Film Festival:  3 wins: “Best Actor” (John Turturro), “Best Director” (Joel Coen), and “Palme d'Or” (Joel Coen-won unanimously)

Updated:  Friday, February 28, 2014

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

----------------------

Review: "The People Under the Stairs" Got Woke Decades Ago (Happy B'day, Wes Craven)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs (1991)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for terror/violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
PRODUCERS: Marianne Maddalena and Stuart M. Besser
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sandi Sissel
EDITOR: James Coblentz
COMPOSER: Don Peake

FANTASY/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Brandon Quintin Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen, Bill Cobbs, Jeremy Roberts, and Kelly Jo Minter

The subject of this movie review is The People Under the Stairs, a 1991 horror and fantasy film from director Wes Craven. The film has elements of the folk tale and urban legend. It focuses on an African-American boy who steals into a mysterious house to look for gold and finds that some of the stories about the house are true.

A young boy nicknamed Fool (Brandon Adams) assists two thieves, Leroy (Ving Rhames) and Spenser (Jeremy Roberts), so they can break into the fortified home of a reclusive and mysterious couple (Everett McGill and Wendy Robie), who are reportedly very rich. However, Fool ends up trapped inside the house, where he learns the couple’s horrifying secret. In the basement of their home, they have imprisoned a group of young men they kidnapped when they were boys. Fool also befriends the couple’s abused daughter, Alice (A.J. Langer), and together they try to free the people under the stairs.

Many people might scoff at the idea that the wealth of any ghetto or neighborhood is hidden in some rich, reclusive family’s house. However, it is not unusual that one family or small group of families and business interests own most of the businesses and property in a particular neighborhood or small town. Sometimes, the owners of most wealth in a poor neighborhood are people that live outside of the area. Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs takes this idea and turns it into a horror movie told as if it were an urban legend or folktale. For decades, one inbred, crazy family has been overcharging people for coffins and other funeral services and also growing fat and wealthy as slum landlords. This kind of family makes an ideal movie villain; put the concept in Wes Craven’s (known for directing A Nightmare on Elm Street and all three Scream movies) hands and you have the makings of a creepy thriller.

In The People Under the Stairs, the house is the star. Filled with many nooks and crannies, crawlspaces between the walls that are like pathways, a huge attic, a massive cellar, hiding spaces behind the paneling, soundproof windows and walls, barred windows, electrified doorknobs and other sadistic security devices, lots of empty rooms, the house is a great space for a chase scenes in which a desperate little black boy runs from the big, mean white man.

Craven chose Brandon Adams, a young black actor, as the hero for The People Under the Stairs because (he said in an interview) African-Americans made up a big part of the audience for horror movies, so he figured he should cast one as a lead. Adams is spunky and certainly up for the effort, even if he isn’t a stellar actor. Ving Rhames makes the most of his small part, adding a nice presence to the film. Everett McGill and Wendy Robie are delightful, campy trash as the villains and make the parts theirs alone.

The People Under the Stairs isn’t classic horror, but it’s a fun, small horror movie that holds up (at least for me) to repeated viewings. It’s certainly an example of why Wes Craven can take just about anything and make it an amusing horror flick or credible thriller.

6 of 10
B

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Review: "Point Break" is Still On-Point (Happy B'day, Gary Busey)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 146 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Point Break (1991)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and adult language
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow
WRITERS: W. Peter Iliff; from a story by Rick King and W. Peter Iliff
PRODUCERS: Peter Abrams and Robert L. Levy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Donald Peterman (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Bert Lovitt and Howard E. Smith

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Julian Reyes, Daniel Beer, Chris Pedersen, Vincent Klyn, and Anthony Kiedis

The subject of this movie review is Point Break, a 1991 action film and crime drama from director Kathryn Bigelow and starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The title, “Point Break,” refers to a surfing term, and the film follows an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a band of bank robbers who are also surfers.

Keanu Reeves wasn’t a good actor early in his career, but it was obvious from the moment he started appearing in films in the mid to late 1980’s, that he had star quality – that something, that essence that makes the camera love him. A skillful director can manage a real movie star’s deficiencies and make a credible film, which is what director Kathryn Bigelow did in the 1991 summer action flick, Point Break.

Young FBI Special Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover and joins a group of surfers while searching for a gang of bank robbers. Calling themselves the “Ex-Presidents,” each member of a bank-robbing quartet wears a Halloween rubber mask of one of four former presidents, and they’ve successfully pulled off 30 robberies in the Los Angeles area in three years without being caught. The FBI is puzzled, but Utah and his veteran partner, Angelo Poppas (Gary Busey, being a ham and generally acting nuts), believe they have an angle on catching the robbers. Angelo is sure that the thieves are surfers, and he convinces Utah to take up the sport.

Johnny meets girl surfer, Tyler Ann Endicott (Lori Petty), and convinces her to teach him to surf. Johnny eventually meets Tyler’s former boyfriend, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the leader of a small circle of local surfers. Bodhi takes a liking to Utah and quickly draws him into the surfing subculture. Entangled in this new lifestyle, Utah earns the ire of his boss, FBI Agent Ben Harp (John C. McGinley), and when Utah later discovers the identity of the Ex-Presidents, he finds himself ensnared in a trap of his own making.

Point Break was the movie that established Keanu Reeves as a convincing action star, when up to the time of this film, he’d mostly played naïve and/or goofy boys in a series of comedies and dramas (including Dangerous Liaisons, believe it or not). Overall, the acting here is mostly mediocre to bad, and the dialogue is a combination of hokey surf philosophy and the kind of phony law enforcement dialogue frequently found in cop movies. All of it sounds the worst coming from Reeves. However, the film features striking aerial photography and beautiful cinematography. Bigelow skillfully stages all the actions scenes to get the most out of them – including a thrilling scene when Utah chases Bodhi on foot. Point Break isn’t great, but the surfing and masked bank robbers angles make it memorable and definitely worth a view.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Review: "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" Gets Better with Age (Happy B'day, Star Trek)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 233 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Meyer
WRITERS: Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn; from a story by Leonard Nimoy and Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal (based upon the TV series “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry)
PRODUCERS: Steven-Charles Jaffe and Ralph Winter
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Hiro Narita
EDITORS: Ronald Roose with William Hoy
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/MYSTERY

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee Whitney, Brock Peters, Leon Russom, Kurtwood Smith, Christopher Plummer, Rosanna DeSoto, David Warner, Michael Dorn, Iman, and Christian Slater

The cast of the original “Star Trek” (1966-69) returned for its sixth and final feature film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (also known as TUC).

After the explosion of its moon, Praxis, the Klingon Homeworld has only a 50-year supply of oxygen left. The subsequent economic and environmental instabilities mean that the Klingons won’t be able to continue their long-running hostilities with the Federation, so they sue for peace. Starfleet, the diplomatic, exploration, military defense, and research arm of the Federation, sends the U.S.S. Enterprise to meet the Klingon ship Kronos One, which is carrying Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to Earth for negotiations. The Enterprise’s Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is not only upset about escorting a Klingon ship, but also about peace with them because it was a Klingon officer that murdered his son.

While en route to Earth, the Enterprise appears to fire on Kronos One, and assassins, apparently from the Enterprise, murder Gorkon. The Klingons arrest Kirk and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for the death of Gorkon and imprison them on the penal mining colony, Rura Penthe. Gorkon’s daughter, Azetbur (Rosanna DeSoto), becomes the new chancellor, and she vows to continue negotiations with the Federation.

Meanwhile, Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) assumes command of the Enterprise. Spock must discover how or if the Enterprise fired on Kronos One when the ship’s computer says it did, but no weapons were expended, and he must clear Capt. Kirk of Gorkon’s murder. With the aid of the U.S.S. Excelsior, commanded by former Enterprise crewman, Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Spock must also rescue Kirk and Dr. McCoy from their imprisonment. The heroic Enterprise crew is running out of time to discover the identities of the Gorkon’s assassins and of the traitors aboard the Enterprise before they strike again to stop peace negotiations between the Federation and Klingon Empire.

An allegory for the fall of communism in Eastern Europe (which had occurred around 1990, just before this film went into production), Star Trek VI is a poignant expression of the need to end cold wars, constant hostilities, and old grudges. It emphasizes letting go of yearnings to avenge personal and painful losses that come about because of war (the death of Kirk’s son).

The film also has a melancholy edge because the Enterprise is to be decommissioned after this adventure, and this is the last time the original crew would be together. The performances, all of which are good (especially Christopher Plummer as Klingon General Chang), portray the essence of something grand coming to an end. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is not the best Star Trek feature film, but its sense of purpose and determination, and the engaging mystery that hangs over the narrative make this a nice farewell.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1992 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (George Watters II and F. Hudson Miller) and “Best Makeup” (Michael Mills, Ed French, and Richard Snell)

---------------------------

Review: "The Last Boy Scout" is Still Cool (Happy B'day, Tony Scott)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Tony Scott
WRITERS: Shane Black; from a story by Shane Black and Greg Hicks
PRODUCERS: Joel Silver and Michael Levy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ward Russell
EDITORS: Stuart Baird, Mark Goldblatt, and Mark Helfrich

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA with elements of comedy

Starring: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Noble Willingham, Chelsea Field, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry, Bruce McGill, Chelcie Ross, Joe Santos, Bill Medley, Verne Lundquist, Dick Butkus, Lynn Swann, Billy Blanks, Morris Chestnut, Badja Djola, and Eddie Griffin

As the 1990’s opened, the skyrocketing budget of Hollywood film productions was the story about which the entertainment news media couldn’t stop talking. The Bruce Willis headliner, The Last Boy Scout, was the talk of the town from the moment screenwriter, Shane Black, became the first person to sell a script for one million dollars, which he did with The Last Boy Scout Script. After the Hudson Hawk debacle, which saw that super expensive flick, also starring Willis, become a box office dud (although it’s one of my favorite movies), The Last Boy Scout looked like another over-priced dud. However, released during the 1991 holiday season, it became a modest hit, grossing just under $60 million against an estimated production budget of about that much.

Willis is Joseph Cornelius Hallenbeck, Joe for short, a disgraced Secret Service agent who now moonlights as a private detective – a down and out, cynical private dick. Damon Wayans is James Alexander Dix, Jimmy Dix for short, a disgraced former MVP quarterback for the pro football team, the L.A. Stallions, thrown out of the league because he gambled. They meet when Joe accepts a job acting as a bodyguard for Jimmy’s girl friend Cory (Halle Berry), a stripper who dates rich men.

When Cory is murdered in a gangland style hit and a friend of Joe’s is killed by a car bomb, the two come together to solve the murders. What they discover is that both their former employers: Senator Calvin Baynard (Chelcie Ross) who got Joe fired and Sheldon “Shelly” Marcone (Noble Willingham) who owns the Stallions, are united in a shady and deadly deal to legalize gambling on professional football. What Joe and Jimmy find themselves in is a deadly game of life and death that is as bone-crushing and bruising as any football game, and it’s a game that also comes with bullets flying.

The script by Shane Black, who reinvented the cop-buddy action flick with his script for Lethal Weapon, penned a script for The Last Boy Scout that is all over the place. Set in Los Angeles, it shows his love for Raymond Chandler’s private eye stories, but this is more a crime drama than a film noir-ish detective tale. It’s a violent action comedy, and buddy action flick like 48 Hours, in which two men are forced into the situation of being partners and have a hard time warming up to one another.

Besides, it’s genre pedigree, the script is mostly haphazard, as it tries to shoehorn serious human drama into a violent detective/conspiracy framework. The movie jumps around a lot. Sometimes, it’s a melodramatic tale of a broken family. Sometimes, it’s a high-octane action comedy. Sometimes, it’s a shootout picture. Then, it’s a drama again, but a few minutes later, someone has to be shot in the head. A few minutes later, everyone has jokes.

What makes this movie work, ultimately, is director Tony Scott. Riding high off such late 80’s action hits as Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II, he was one of Hollywood’s very top action directors, but he was (and still is) an all-around, very skilled filmmaker. Scott is the one who makes just about every one of Black’s genre conventions work. The film comes together slowly, but when it does, it’s with a bang. By the end, The Last Boy Scout is fun and exciting, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor because Black is somewhat spoofing the sub-genre he helped to create. Shamelessly and gratuitously violent, it’s the gun violence that keeps this from being an exceptional film.

Willis and Wayans have tolerable film chemistry, and like the film, it takes a bit for them to warm up to each other and get in synch. When all comes together, it’s a doozy – rollicking, hilarious fun for men who love movies. Their performances, like this movie, aren’t worthy of a long-cinematic memory, but when the appetite calls for an action flick, there are worse choices… much worse.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

-----------------------

Review: Walt Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is Still Glorious Three Decades Later

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
WRITERS: Linda Woolverton; from a story by Brenda Chapman, Burny Mattinson, Brian Pimental, Joe Ranft, Kelly Asbury, Christopher Sanders, Kevin Harkey, Bruce Woodside, Tom Ellery and Robert Lence (based upon the story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont)
PRODUCER: Don Hahn
EDITORS: John Carnochan with Bill Wilner
COMPOSER: Alan Menken
SONGS: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Academy Award winner

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ROMANCE/COMEDY with elements of action

Starring: (voices) Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, Bradley Pierce, Rex Everhart, and Jesse Corti

Until a few days ago, I hadn’t watched the entirety of Walt Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 19 years, and after enjoying it as much as I did recently, I can say that this tale did not grow old with time. Beauty and the Beast is still dazzling… and timeless.

Disney’s film is based on the fairy tale La Belle et la Bête by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont and also takes a view elements from the 1946 French film based upon the same fairy tale. This animated take on a classic fairy tale is set in 18th century France and focuses on two characters.

First, there is Beast (Robby Benson). He was once a cold-hearted young prince transformed by an enchantress into a monster. Now, he is virtually a prisoner inside his forlorn castle. The second is Belle (Paige O’Hara), an unusual young woman who lives in nearby village with her inventor father, Maurice (Rex Everhart). Belle spends her days reading books and yearning for a life beyond her provincial village. She does have a suitor, Gaston (Richard White), a conceited local hero and fearsome hunter, but Belle has no interest in him.

When her father becomes the Beast’s prisoner, Belle offers herself in his place. Although she is cold and aloof to the Beast, Belle warms to his servants, a large group of magical, talking furniture and household times, including Lumière (Jerry Orbach), the candelabra and maître d’; Cogsworth (David Ogden Stiers), the clock and majordomo, and Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury), the teapot and head of the castle’s kitchens. They all hope that Belle falls in love with the Beast, because only love can unravel the curse that hangs over them and the castle. But time is running out!

Beauty and the Beast is a Broadway style musical like the 1989 Walt Disney animated feature, The Little Mermaid. Here the songs, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, both move the narrative forward and embellish the story’s mood and themes. In fact, the moods, emotions, and colors of the songs themselves are vivid and clear; on their own, they’re memorable numbers that will stay with you long after you’ve seen this movie.

The quality of the songs actually symbolizes everything that is terrific about this movie. The mix of hand-drawn animation and computer-generated imagery and computer-aided coloring blend seamlessly and do nothing to keep Beauty and the Beast from looking like it belongs with Disney’s animated classics of the past. The lush, sparkling colors and lavish set designs bring the fairytale to life and make it feel magical.

The fluid animation, the hallmark of Walt Disney animation (often described as creating the illusion of life) is clearly evident in this film. Combine that quality of animation with the excellent performances of the voice actors and the endearing characters not only spring to life; they are also hard to forget – even after 19 years. I am sure that I will continue to watch Beauty and the Beast, but this time I won’t wait so long to visit my friends again.

10 of 10

NOTES:
1992 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Music, Original Score” (Alan Menken) and “Best Music, Original Song” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Beauty and the Beast"); 4 nominations: “Best Picture” (Don Hahn), “Best Music, Original Song” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Belle"), “Best Music, Original Song” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Be Our Guest"), and “Best Sound” (Terry Porter, Mel Metcalfe, David J. Hudson, and Doc Kan)

1993 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Original Film Score” (Alan Menken and Howard Ashman) and “Best Special Effects” (Randy Fullmer)

1992 Golden Globes: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical, “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken) and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Beauty and the Beast"); 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Alan Menken-music and Howard Ashman-lyrics for the song "Be Our Guest")

Saturday, January 08, 2011

---------------------------

Review: Thandie Newton Makes Star Turn in "Flirting" (Happy B'day, Thandie Newton)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Flirting (1991)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Australia
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for scenes of teen sexuality
WRITER/DIRECTOR: John Duigan
PRODUCERS: Terry Hayes, George Miller, and Doug Mitchell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Geoff Burton
EDITOR: Robert Gibson

DRAMA/ROMANCE

Starring: Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, Nicole Kidman, Bartholomew Rose, Felix Nobis, Josh Picker, Kiri Paramore, Marc Gray, Kiri Paramore, Jeff Truman, Marshall Napier, Kym Wilson, and Naomi Watts

Danny Embling (Noah Taylor) is a free-spirited young man attending St. Alban’s, an all-boys prep school in rural Australia, circa 1965. Called “Bird” by his classmates, Danny is an outcast. He meets Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton), a sophisticated girl from Uganda, the daughter of Ugandan dissidents living in Australia. Thandiwe is a student at Cirencester Ladies College, an all-girls prep school across the lake from St. Albans. Danny and Thandiwe began an interracial romance that blossoms despite some prejudice they face from fellow students. Nicole Kidman plays Nicola Radcliffe, at first a rival, then eventual confidant of Thandiwe.

Flirting, a follow up (or sequel) to the 1987 John Duigan film, The Year My Voice Broke, is one of the best and least contrived depictions of first love ever put to film. Taylor and Newton bring verisimilitude to this tale of surprising and unexpected love. One can just feel the spark between them and how their love grows, so that as the relationship progresses, their actions seem so natural.

The film also has a numerous supporting performances; many are small, but add just the right touch for the film’s setting and narrative. Bartholomew Rose as Danny’s friend, Gilbert “Gilby” Fryer, is full of advice for Danny and perhaps a little envious of him (or has a “boy crush” on him as boys sometimes do have on particular male friends). Nicole Kidman also adds a nice touch in a small but motherly role as the “it” girl at Cirencester. John Duigan’s gentle film has touches of John Hughes’ teen romances (Pretty in Pink) with the dramatic narrative detail of a John Sayles (Passion Fish, Lone Star) film.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Review: Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood" is Flick Still Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Kevin Reynolds
WRITERS: Pen Densham and John Watson (from a story by Pen Densham)
PRODUCERS: Pen Densham, John Watson, and Richard B. (Barton) Lewis with Kevin Costner (no screen credit)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Douglas Milsome
EDITOR: Peter Boyle
Academy Award nominee

ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/DRAMA with elements of action and comedy

Starring: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Michael Wincott, Nick Brimble, and Soo Drouet with (uncredited) Sean Connery

Plagued by controversy, Kevin Costner’s reworking of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was the first blockbuster hit of 1991 and finished the year in the top five highest grossing films. On the way to the screen, Costner and his producing partners (Costner doesn’t actually get screen credit for his role as a producer) locked director Kevin Reynolds (Costner’s friend at the time) and editor Peter Boyle out of the editing room in order to cut their own version of the film.

Critics and fans panned Costner for his wooden acting, stiff speaking style, and bad English accent or half-accent, but the movie is entertaining. It’s not Errol Flynn’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (of which I find critical and fan opinion a tad bit overblown), but Prince of Thieves is rousing entertainment. Despite it’s almost television movie quality, Robin Hood is charming with its humor, slightly cheesy romance, and stirring adventure.

In this version, Robin of Locksley (Costner) returns from the Third Crusades with a foreign friend, the Moor Azeem (Morgan Freeman). Robin finds his father dead and his lands dispossessed to the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). Nottingham is starving the poor peasants and stealing their money, as well as gold and other treasures in order to create a large enough bribe to get the English barons to join him in a revolt against the still-missing King Richard the Lionhearted. Locksley becomes Robin Hood and joins a band of peasants hiding in Sherwood Forest. He convinces them to follow his lead in a revolt against Nottingham. Robin also has time to romance a childhood friend, Marian Dubois or “Maid Marian” (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who is also the flower of Nottingham’s eye.

Alan Rickman drew very favorable responses, even raves, for his performance as Nottingham, and he gives the film a decided edge with his gallows humor and his odd combination of self-deprecation and egotism. His Nottingham serves to make Costner’s stiff Robin Hood really seem like a bold and brave leader against Nottingham’s tyranny. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is a lovely presence and she brings enchantment to the Robin and Marian romance. This isn’t a great film, but Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a simple film that gives simple pleasures.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
1992 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Music, Original Song” (Michael Kamen-music, Bryan Adams-lyrics, and Robert John Lange-lyrics for the song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You")

1992 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Rickman) and 1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (John Bloomfield)

1992 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Michael Kamen) and “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Michael Kamen-music, Bryan Adams-lyrics, and Robert John Lange-lyrics for the song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You")

------------------