Downton Soap (actually: Downton Abbey)

In the past, I have been a Downton Abbey enthusiast.  I have marveled at the wit, historical setting, costuming, plotting, and overall charm of the British masterpiece.

But this season the series has taken a serious downturn.  I now feel like I'm watching a daytime soap opera, with gut-wrenching scenes meant to pull at the viewers' heartstrings.

Just as too much soap can spoil a load of laundry, too much soap can decimate an otherwise great drama.

Points in fact:  Dying spouses, pregnant daughters, and deathly-ill granny.  Yeah, even Maggie Smith, pictured above, is not above getting overly dour in the now-maudlin, unctuous, often annoying show.

Doesn't Maggie look unhappy?  Well, you should see me!  Haha!  What happened to her clever witticisms that made me admire the British aristocracy with shameless abandon?

Let's hope the series gets back on track, lest it go the way of so many wonderful dramas that begin on the high road and end up mired in the mud.

My Sweet Pepper Land

OK, readers, get out your glasses and get ready for subtitles!  That is, unless you speak fluent Kurdish!

Right, as you might have guessed, this film is foreign.  That's what makes it such a marvel.

Where did I see it?

In Santa Barbara, at the 29th year of the great film festival.  If any of you have not experienced a real film festival, full of celebrities and offbeat films, you might consider venturing to the beautiful city on the California coast.  I had the privilege of watching Leo DiCaprio and Marty Scorcese sit on stage and discuss the making of their big hit, Wolf of Wall Street.  I also saw Johah Hill. But enough celebrity talk.  What really impressed me were the amazing independent films from all over the world that were in all the theaters in the small city north of L.A.

My Sweet Pepper Land provides an incredible look into a very different culture.  The story is about a former freedom fighter, who voluntarily moves to a small, corrupt city in the north, where he takes on the job of Police Chief.  There, he hopes to keep order and impose some form of justice.

Problem is, the city is run by a ruthless mobster.  Bullies run rampant, and women are regarded with the utmost disdain.  In fact, the pretty school teacher, pictured above, finds herself the victim of vicious rumors and lies.  Before long, the baddies threaten the new town marshall.

Our hero is brave: he takes on the powers that be, much as Cary Cooper fought the bad guys in High Noon.  And like Cooper, the police chief has a lady in the wings, who stands by as the violence in the small town unfolds.

Enough on the plot.  I will never be a spoiler.  Suffice it to say that this film is anything but a boring documentary of rural Kurdish life.  It is a slam-bang, rugged, daring, realistic look at a tough man who stands by his guns, literally and figuratively.

Where can you see the film?  Probably in an artsy theater near you.  The film had so much buzz in Santa Barbara, that word went out that it would go mainstream very soon.

Watch for this Indy masterpiece.  It will teach and captivate you.

I guarantee it!

Inside Llewyn Davis

Two words:  hated it.

This was probably the most joyless film I have ever seen.  Gives new meaning to the word slooooow.  Started at the end.  Went nowhere.  Not one character I cared about or liked.  Cold winter of New York and Chicago.  Didn't come near capturing the flavor of the folk music era.  I didn't even find Burnett's soundtrack memorable.

Cohen brothers, where are all the qualities you normally bring to the screen?  Oh, Cohen brothers, where art thou?

(d'ya like that one?  -wink- )

Killing Kennedy

The made-for-TV special on the anniversary of Kennedy's death was no masterpiece.  Reviewers called it "bland" and "boring."

I'd have to concur.  I was amazed at how flat and uninteresting the movie was, given the highly entrancing subject matter, the passing of one of our most popular presidents and the portrait of Camelot in all its glory.

I'd like to address the one aspect of the movie that was the most captivating:  the extent to which the actors captured the real players in the great American tragedy.   Check out the pictures above.  That's where we need to begin.

Top pic:  Jackie and Ginnifer Goodwin.  Yes, both pretty and the resemblance is remarkable.  You might remember Ginnifer from Big Love, where she excelled as one of three wives.  She does a fine job of bringing an emotional Jackie to life.  But she never quite achieves the Camelot lady in all her splendor and stature.

Then there's Lee Harvey Oswald, played by Will Rothhaar.  Who?  Yeah, I said the same thing.  I looked him up, and he has mostly done small theater productions back east.  The casting agent must have noted the similarity in looks and chosen the little known actor.  Rothhaar is average, yet the movie gives us a nice story of how the ex-Marine emigrated to Russia only later to return disgruntled to the USA.  Rothhaar does not rise to the infamous heights of the real Oswald.  He's unidimensional and shallow as an actor.

OK, on to the main man, Rob Lowe.  There are moments when Lowe really seems Kennedy-esque.  His mannerisms are occasionally reminiscent of the beloved president.  But overall, he's a weak second to JFK.  He seems to push too hard to get into the role, wavering between grinning foolishly to show off his good looks and wallowing aimlessly into the muddy waters of emotionalism.

Now to my favorite:  Michelle Trachtenberg.  She's so much prettier than Marina Oswald that I dared not post a picture of the wife of the assassin.  Michelle soars as the abused, misdirected, immature young bride who falls for the expat in the Soviet Union only to end up in a land that is foreign and hostile to her, with a violent madman as a husband.

Grade of B-.  Somewhat entertaining, definitely educational, historically accurate, and DULL!

I'd suggest seeing JFK and Jackie themselves in documentaries if you wish to revisit this happy and sad time in U.S. history.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Cheers!  Skol!  Salut!

Leo and Margot, go ahead and make that toast!  You have a lot to celebrate!  You created a masterpiece!  You really, really did!

Where to begin?  Well, first with my usual caution that I will strive not to be a spoiler.  That said, what is the film?  It's a brilliant, one-of-a-kind, over-the-top portrait of 80's gluttony and hedonism.

Based on a true story, the film follows the amazing career of a loudmouthed, self-centered, master of deception who builds a financial empire based on empty promises and schemes.  In a word, he's a Madoff before his time.

He's a young orator with the gift of persuasion who shouts his way to the top, getting eager sales folks to do his bidding over the phones and prey on the meek and innocent.  He combines the spark of Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry, the razz-matazz of Vin Diesel in Boiler Room, and the power of Al Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross to reach the heights of the GREAT CON.

Is Leonardo a "wolf"?  YES!   And one helluva wolf he is!  Hard to believe he's the same slow-to-learn-to-act pretty boy to whom, when he finally went down with the Titanic, some of us said, "Good riddance!"

Hahaha.

Under Marty Scorsese's brilliant direction, DiCaprio rises in stature like a meteor, acting up a storm, and making this reviewer believe he will take home the Best Actor Oscar this March.

Wow!

Margot Robbie plays DiCaprio's love interest with heat!  The two create a spark, a chemistry that is searing!  Her prior claim to fame was as a stewardess in the short-lived TV loser, Pan Am.  Somehow, Scorsese saw more in her than sheer beauty....and what a choice he made.  She will very possibly get Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film as the stupid, beautiful blonde who lives life in the fast lane with Leonardo.

Matthew McConaughey has a short but fantastic role as the senior broker who tells the young Leo what being a cheat is all about.  He is GREAT!  And to round out the mix, watch Jonah Hill play Leo's Jewish sidekick with wondrous comic effect.

This film is gritty, tough, hard to watch.  The language is foul.  The drugs are rampant.  The sex is everywhere.  But it's an absolute gem.

A++  grade.   So......RUN out and see Scorsese and DiCaprio bring home a winner!

I guarantee you won't forget this flick for a long time to come....and when you think of human excess, you will cite this amazing work of art.

The Attack

The Attack is a film that takes place in Israel, where nearly every movie being made today deals with the Palestinian-Israeli disconnect.  This film is no exception.

The couple above seem happy enough.  They should.  Having grown up in Nablus, a town taken by Israel in the 1967 War, the two Arabs emerged from poor surroundings and became beautiful people:  he's a prominent surgeon practicing in Tel Aviv, living in a fantastic home, and receiving awards for his work;  and she's, well, just beautiful.

Then the unthinkable happens.  There's an explosion.  A terrorist suicide bomber attacks a restaurant.  There are 17 dead.  Many are maimed.  The surgeon tries to save as many as he can.  After all, that's his profession.

Someone special dies.

No spoiler, of course.  But as the film unfolds, we learn about how hopeless peace still seems amid those who hate and kill.   We get glimpses of life in Israel and the Arab cities.  We get to know players in a very sordid war.

Here's a plus:  The film does not take sides.  Both Arab and Jew appear bigoted and flawed.  No one comes out looking like a winner.

Is the film good?  Sort of.  Well, maybe not.

Parts of it grab the viewer.  Other parts put the viewer to sleep.  The flick is more educational than entertaining.  We never really get to know the characters, because there is no true character development.  We never get too deeply emerged in the plot, because it's superficial.  We never feel tense, because there is no tension.

Yet, the film cloys.  It hangs onto you.  The images stay in your mind.  You end up thinking about the movie long after you've seen it.

Grade of B.  Unless you are intrigued by the Arab-Israel conflict, you may not find this film so interesting.

On the other hand....

OK, give it a go.  You might like it.

American Hustle

Remember The Sting?  Remember Ocean's 11?  Or how about TVs Mission Impossible?  All those shows portray teams of scammers who pull off a heist under the very noses of less-than-savory dudes.

American Hustle is a fine example of the genre.  Never the spoiler, I can't say much, but I will give you the general gist, lest you turn your back on an excellent film.

Back in the 80's, there was a true story of a bunch of politicos, senators and others, who accepted bribes tied to the visit of an Arab sheik to the U.S.  The whole event is known as ABSCAM.

Interested?  No?  Me neither!  Booooring!  But then this film comes along and all of a sudden jsut another little political brouhaha involving corrupt politicians becomes fun!

See, the hustlers hustle the hustlers, and soon we are in the middle of a very intriguing story!

So why the picture of Jennifer Lawrence being slinky and sexy?  Easy.  She steals the show.  You might remember when she wowed audiences in Winter's Bone.  In that dark backwoods flick, she deftly played a hillbilly in search of a louse of a father.  Then came her brilliant performance in Silver Lining, for which she earned a well-deserved Oscar as Best Actress.  Of course she's fantastic as Katniss the Survivor in The Hunger Games.

But if that's not enough, this starlet extraordinaire acts up a storm in American Hustle.  She plays the ditsy blonde with so much pizazz it'll knock your socks off!  She's more than a moll:  She's the epitome of the charming idiot with the perfect looks!

A shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress?  Absolutely.

Other stars:  Christian Bale.  He was soooo scary as the Yuppie businessman monster in American Psycho.  Now he plays a Jewish scammer to perfection.  Amy Adams.  Did she impress you in Doubt?  She's always great, in my book.

Caution:  The first half of the film confuses, drags, and nearly drives the audience to head for the Exit signs.  The second half is the redeemer.  Because of this inconsistency, the film is not worthy, in my mind, of Best Film.

But if you want superb entertainment, this one is a winner.