The Green Book

Hi Film Fans!

It's the holiday season and the movies beckon!  Let's talk a bit about an excellent film, The Green Book.

What is the Green Book, you ask?  Check out the picture above.

Back in the segregated 40s', southern states published a list of hotels and restaurants for African-Americans only.  Or, to put it differently, people of color traveling to the south could not stay in a hotel or eat at a restaurant of their choice.

Yeah, hard to believe!  This is the land of the free?  What a shameful and disgusting chapter in American history.

Anyway, this is the setting for the film.  We are taken on a painful and daunting voyage to the south, back in the days of "separate but equal," as the southerners used to say.

The plot involves a master pianist, an African-American, who is so famous he has played in the White House.  He purposely books gigs in the South, where he hopes to enlighten the bigoted.

For the trip, he knows he will need protection, so he hires a driver who is a man of character, tough, street-smart, but woefully uneducated and simple.

No more details, but just imagine what will happen!

Acting:  Wow!  Viggo Mortensen is SO fantastic as the driver.  He has proven his mettle in many films.  My favorite, by the way, is a western, Appaloosa, where he plays the serious and quiet lawman opposite Ed Harris.

Viggo is the perfect Italian driver/protector, whose basic sense of right and wrong are beautifully juxtaposed to a system of evil inequity.

Then there's Mahershala Ali.  Known for some great acting in Moonlight, The Hunger Games, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he nails the role of the distinguished, driven, brilliant pianist. Watch how he evolves from a stick figure to a full-fledged, troubled genius throughout the film.

The friendship that evolves between the two is touching and real.

Just to further pique your curiosity about the film, think of Driving Miss Daisy (with black and white roles reversed) combined with Goodfellas.

Huh?  You'll find out when you see the film!

Bottom line:  a MUST see.

Roma

Every so often a film comes along that sears our minds.  We come away from the viewing recalling poignant, troubling, powerful scenes that we cannot easily forget.

Roma is an arthouse wonder.  Don't expect amazing action scenes or extreme plot twists.  Don't expect to be hit over the head with messages, Hollywood-style.

Expect instead amazing black and white cinematography that pulls you completely into a very dark world.

Expect a shaded, nuanced, measured portrait of the rich and the poor.

As in Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs, there's trouble brewing among the upper crust and the disadvantaged.  In this film, we are concerned for both.

Without giving away the details, the plot basically involves a young, poor helper, pictured above, who works in the service of a well-to-do family. You can see that she has a sweet smile.  She is naive and pure of heart.

The story shows us a family:  We see a mother with four fairly unruly kids, who lives in a nice home with multiple rooms.  In this part of Mexico, where many folks don't live in such luxury, the family enjoys a very nice life.

With the family are two or more caretakers, who cook the meals and tend to the kids.  Cleo, pictured above, is the main protagonist, the nanny and housekeeper who has been with the family for a while.

We come to care about both the comfortable family and working class helper, because the problems they face are so very human.  The mother of four struggles to do her best in a crumbling marriage.  The helper struggles to do her best in a superficial romantic relationship.

Dialog is sparse.  Most of the tension is brilliantly conveyed through silence.  On this note, the New Yorker panned the movie, claiming that the protagonist, Cleo, says so little.  I would have to disagree.  It's Cleo's lack of verbal expression that so brilliantly captures her angst.

What does the title Roma mean?  On the surface, it refers to a very poor district in Mexico City. But I would suggest that the filmmaker also wanted us to think of ancient Rome.  The society was advanced, but beneath the surface lurked a lack of morals that eventually led to its decline.

So it is with this movie.  Check out the driveway in the family's home, always littered with dog excrement.  Check out the water images, that suggest an effort to cleanse the decay that pervades both social classes.  Check out the street riots and wanton death.  Check out the party scene where guests randomly shoot pistols.  There is decadence everywhere.

We feel the pain of the women in the film.  We loathe the behavior of the men.  We're never hit over the head with feminism, however.  We find that life is just that way in this part of the world.

Roma is a masterpiece.  But it requires work.  If you want a very different movie experience, a film  with real messages that are masterfully and subtly conveyed, be sure not to miss this one.

It's a winner!

Mary Poppins Returns

Did you grow up watching the 1964 version of Mary Poppins, either as a kid, parent, or grandparent? I did!  As the proud grandpa of two little ones, I most likely watched the original some twenty or thirty times!

Today I still find myself singing the great classics from the movie:  A Spoonful of Sugar, Let's Go Fly a Kite, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, Chim-Chim-Cheree, and more!

A few more comments on the original.  To me, it was a masterpiece.  Julie Andrews was perfect, and Dick Van Dyke was close, in spite of his strange American/Cockney accent!  The song and dance numbers were exquisite. The cartoons were innovative.  The themes were delightful.  Need I say more?

So, if you agree that the first Mary Poppins was great, you can understand how daunting a task it is to follow perfection.

Yet, the new film comes close, that is, to most viewers.

Emily Blunt is a truly remarkable Mary.  She approaches Julie Andrews:  She has the same impish grin, the same charm, the same magic, the same beauty....in fact, she is a shoo-in for a Best Actress nomination.

Similarly, Lin-Manuel Miranda is top-notch.  How could he be otherwise?  After all, he was the writer and principal actor of Hamilton, one of Broadway's biggest hits ever.

Don't forget about some fun cameos as well:  Dick Van Dyke can still dance.  Meryl Streep is her usual talented self.  Angela Lansbury shows she's still got a lot of spunk.

The dances are beautifully costumed and choreographed.  The songs, laden with positive messages of encouragement, will no doubt become classics some day.  The story held our interest, and the pacing was excellent.  Not a dull moment, in other words.

YET:  Something was clearly lacking.  The plotline, for one thing, was a tad dour.  While in the original, Mr. Banks was a bit grumpy, our current Mr. Banks is downright unlikable.  Worse, the kids stand to lose their home if Mary Poppins does not turn things around.  Disney likes to scare kids, I think, but it's tough to laugh and smile when a family could end up in the streets.

What else was lacking?  Charming characters, I'd say.  There was no Glynis Johns, playing the wacky Mrs. Banks, no Arthur Treacher playing the well-meaning cop, no Ed Wynn drinking tea on the ceiling.  Truth to tell, there was no Julie Andrews carrying the film.

But hey, we can't always turn back the clock.  Many film viewers want new, not old.

Guess I'm a bit too nostalgic to really laud this film.  I will leave that to others, because the production, to them, is no doubt worthy.

Bottom line:  It's a toss-up.  Please see the film and let us know what you think.

Homecoming (TV series)

Hi movie fans!

Have you been looking for a gripping TV series...something really different, and really well done?  Then consider Julia Roberts in Homecoming.

Check out the pics above.  Note how Julia has aged. Yeah, it's a bit of a shocker to compare the two pics.  But hey, we all get older, even movie stars!  Yet, Julia looking older is perfect for this very serious role.

Never the spoiler, I'll try to provide a brief review that suggests why this series is gripping.

The storyline centers around returning vets who suffer PTSD.  Looks like Julia, as Heidi Bergman, is a counselor doing great things for the traumatized soldiers.  She seems to care deeply for their welfare as she helps them cope with feelings of angst after time overseas.

But wait!

There's something nefarious afoot!  Why does Heidi's supervisor hound her to keep better records?  Why do soldiers seem to be getting better so easily?  Why does Heidi sense she's doing something terribly wrong?

Is Julia Roberts effective in her role as the troubled therapist?  She is spot-on!  If you thought she is shallow because of past roles in Mystic Pizza or Pretty Woman, think again!  Julia Roberts demonstrates a depth of character that dazzles!

Don't be surprised at closeups of the actress with no makeup, with a sad, dour look that underscores her ethical dilemma at being involved in a process that does not "feel" right.  Her character, Heidi Bergman, digs deep into your soul.

Then there's Heidi's boss and mentor, the sleezy, bully type played perfectly by Bobby Cannavale.  The actor is best-known for his bad-guy role on Boardwalk Empire.  He is soon to reprise his usual gangster persona with Al Pacino on Martin Scorsese's forthcoming thriller, The Irishman.

In Homecoming, Cannavale has a certain unsettling infamy about him that keeps us glued to the screen.  He is the guy we come to despise.

A final comment:  The photography in this series could well be the most original I've seen.  There are closeups of actors that let you see the very pores of their skin. There are shots from above, and shots from below, and shots in shadows, and simply the most stylized scenes you can imagine.  Watch for the the unique camera work when you enjoy the series.

Bottom line:  If you decide to view this imaginative, crazy-original made-for-TV series, don't plan on doing much else.  We binge-watched it 'til all hours, and then wondered if we should sleep at all rather than watch the rest of the night!  Haha.

Homecoming is a winner.