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JackLind
Reviews
Carmen Jones (1954)
A fascinating experiment
I believe the other reviewer misses the point. This film was a fascinating experiment in restaging and updating an opera "warhorse." Imagine a Hollywood studio trying to do something like this today? Unthinkable.
The basic story line is classic - man, woman, betrayal, death. I find the musical renderings of Bizet's tunes most interesting. (Dmitri Tiomkin was one of the musical directors (uncredited).) The original lyrics aren't all that interesting, so re-writing the words doesn't seem to me of much consequence. I could wish, however, that the singing and acting were better. (Except for Carmen -- Marilyn Horne!!)
The race thing doesn't trouble me at all. The original 'Carmen' was set in the Seville underclass, so this transformation to America of the 1920s made perfect sense. And it gave a lot of black actors a good gig!
Opera stage directors and designers often set operas in modern times. Shakespeare's plays are often reset into modern times. Remember Ethan Hawkes' "Hamlet?" We should encourage these revitalization attempts. After all, they are, in a very real sense, truly creative works.
Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail, but films like 'Carmen Jones' exemplify a vital history of 'Americanizing' the sometimes stale European 'high art' ideal into more readily digestible fare. This maybe isn't the greatest movie ever made, but c'mon! Give Hollywood a break. They were trying to DO something, so let's give some credit for a good attempt.
The Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Nice Cave!
Living in New York City, I was struck by two scenes: one, near the top, where "Caveman" (Samuel L. Jackson) witnesses a young man scribbling graffiti on a wall. Thing is, all the other graffiti, and the wall itself, looked like an art director's idea of a "New York City graffiti wall" more than the real thing. The second scene that struck me the same way was supposed to be some slum street with garbage bags piled up on the sidewalk. Again, it was all a little too -- arranged -- to look real. ("Move that left bag 3 inches to the front .. no, no, back a little ...!" That sort of thing.
The entire movie struck me in much the same way. Jackson et al. were reading lines, and reading them very well, but I didn't believe a word of it. Jackson was supposed to be a crazed genius musician, living in a cave in upper Manhattan. Like most movies that deal with marginal people, all the crazy homeless people are, under all the grime, good at heart. Everyone else is evil, greedy, self-centered, etc. Caveman, of course, quickly gets a chance to play the piano and show off his stuff, and - guess what - carries it off perfectly - despite years of not playing a lick. Go figure.
Even if you can ignore the creaky plot and obvious scenery dressing, a great performance by Jackson is worth the admission. Caveman, unfortunately, is not one of Jackson's best roles. (See him as Ordell Robbie in "Jackie Brown", instead.) I see him more as a supporting actor than as a leading man; he is in every scene, but he just doesn't have the "star" magnetism it takes to carry a whole movie on the force of his charisma.
The one strong element of Caveman's Valentine was the music by Terence Blanchard, who has worked with director Kasi Lemmons before, in "Eve's Bayou." If the main theme is the start of a piano concerto, I'm anxious to hear the entire piece.
So, save your money. Buy the Blanchard CD when it comes out. And let's hope Jackson gets a better role next time.
Tigerland (2000)
Do we need yet another basic training movie?
Don't get me wrong. This is a quality movie with strong characters, interesting plot, good action - everything you want in a good movie. Problem is, you've seen it before.
How many ways can one "do" a film about a bunch of guys in basic training? How can filmmakers avoid the cliches - stock character types, macho rivalries, potato peeling scenes, etc.? The answer is, in this film at least, they can't. Even when, in a postmodern moment, the cliches are acknowledged within the film by the main character, you always know what's coming, who's gonna fight, and when the big climax will occur.
And so, in that sense, this movie was a disappointment.
But the acting was great, the camera work was intense, the music was effective, and I enjoyed myself. I especially enjoyed the "Chinatown" sense of not knowing what the title actually refers to, and yet suspecting something will happen there. It's well worth the cost of the ticket, but don't expect any surprises.
Fallen (1998)
Entertaining, if predictable
I often ask myself, when watching a film in which the incredible happens, would I recognize what's going on if I was in the middle of it? Denzel finally does, and we the film audience are treated to a nice, subtle bit of special effects in the process.
There isn't much plot here, and what little there is has been strongly telegraphed by the score. But Denzel shows some nice acting riffs, and the creepiness factor is fairly high, so I found the film intriguing. There is the inevitable showdown scene at the end - ho hum - but there's also a little twist.
OK entertainment. A solid 7.
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
It's ... synthetic!
I saw this movie only after hearing raves about it for years. Needless to say, the actual experience proved a bit anticlimactic. But still, Alec Guiness energetically leads a wonderful cast in a jolly, if formulaic, romp through industrial post-WWII England.
This is the familiar tale of the woes of inventing the perfect everyday product. Remember the car that runs on water? Remember the promise of nuclear energy? In this case, it's a fabric that doesn't wear out, wrinkle, or even get dirty! Of course, fabric manufacturers and their workers are horrified at the prospect of being put out of business, and so the plot gets a bit thick.
Guiness makes the whole enterprise worthwhile, and watching him blow up a factory research lab over and over again is quite a blast! (Those Brits ... always the stiff upper lip when under fire.) The film might chug along exactly like Guiness's goofy invention, but it's a good ride all the same.