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R.I.P. Ed Koch: "The movie puts down film audiences with a pretentiousness that requires a kick in the rear end to all involved."

From May 2011. Carlos says, "I love the idea of Koch and Stern going to see Bridesmaids and ending up seeing The Big Bang."

“Hey, Boo:  Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’”

This remarkable documentary is devoted to the Pulitzer Prize novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee.  It is used as a primer in many schools, and over 50 million copies have been sold since its publication in 1960.  

Harper was born in Monroeville, Alabama.  For a time, Truman Capote lived there as well, and they became childhood friends.  After writing her book, Lee went to Kansas with Capote where he wrote “In Cold Blood,” a book about the 1959 murders of the Clutter family.  Lee conducted interviews of local residents regarding the slayings.  According to Harper’s 99-year-old sister, Alice, who still practices law, Harper and Truman later had a falling out because he was envious of her success.  However, Capote wrote to his friends in New York City asking that they look after Harper when she moved there.  They did indeed and gave her enough money allowing her to quit her job at an airline and write her book.  

Hand in hand with the triumph of her book was the movie of the same name in which the protagonist, Atticus Finch, a lawyer modeled on Harper’s father, was played by Gregory Peck.  Those of you who have either read the book or seen the film will recall his remarkable child, Scout, who had adult insights on the human condition, particularly the oppression of blacks.

Harper willingly gave interviews after the publication of her book.  She stopped doing so at a later date conveying she did not think she had been treated well by the media.  She also declined to be interviewed for this documentary.

“Hey, Boo” is one of the best documentaries I have seen in many years.

“The Big Bang” (-)

I regret having to write about absurd, god-awful movies week after week, but this is another ridiculous film.

When I arrived at the theater on a Friday evening after my Bloomberg radio show, I intended to catch the 8:30 p.m. screening of “Bridesmaids.”  Unfortunately, it was sold out, so I decided to see “The Big Bang” since tickets were available and it was about to begin.  I had not read any advance reviews of the movie.  Big mistake.  It is a shambles.       

A private investigator, Ned Cruz (Antonio Banderas), is hired by Anton Protopov (Robert Maillet), a giant boxer who has just been released from a life sentence in prison.  Anton, referred to as “the Pro,” is searching for Lexie Persimmon (Sienna Guillory), an ex-stripper with whom he corresponded while incarcerated. 

The film opens with Ned tied to a chair being interrogated by three men.  Through flashbacks we learn of the efforts of a mad scientist, Simon Kestral (Sam Elliott), to build a particle reactor.  He hopes to separate atoms and the smallest of nuclear particles and recreate the big bang that created the universe 13 billion years ago.  Somehow or other, never really explained, 30 million dollars worth of diamonds are also involved which Protopov received to take a dive in a prizefight with a gangster’s nephew. 

As I sat there listening to the narrator, I thought of the old radio stories like Ellery Queen during which a voiceover attempts to keep the audience informed.  When listening to the radio, your mind helps create the script and fantasy.  Not so with a movie scene where the script is created by the writers and the acting by the performers.  In this film, neither script nor acting were adequate.  

After seeing the movie I read Stephen Holden’s review in The Times.  He sees it much more as a parody and a highbrow effort to bring quantum physics into our lives in what would otherwise be a simple film noir.  Ridiculous.  The movie puts down film audiences with a pretentiousness that requires a kick in the rear end to all involved.  Moviegoers have responded to this picture in the best possible way by staying away.  There were only six other people in the theater the night I saw it. 

Henry Stern said:  “I agree that this movie is among the worst I have ever seen.  It was totally contrived, with random violence, periodic cursing and supernatural catastrophe.  The first half was a stereotypical private-eye story.  Then it morphed into Area 51 science-fiction, with a Howard Hughes type, aided by a gay geek, building a supercollider.  Banderas is tied up for most of the film and periodically slugged while he tells his tale, largely in confusing flashbacks.  It was strange to see modern technology and special effects used to illustrate such a trite film.  The producers must have known while making the movie that it was a bomb, but they kept on with the job.  “The Big Bang” lives up to its title, but it happens in a seedy motel room, which is scarcely the universe.”

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "This is a remarkable movie, notwithstanding occasional slow scenes."

From February 2012. Carlos says, "He wants more sex."

“Albert Nobbs”

This film, based on a short story by George Moore, is a little slow but definitely worth seeing.  It would have been better if the script writers, one of whom was Glenn Close, had included more heterosexual and homosexual scenes, both of which are very limited. 

Glenn Close plays the role of Albert.  She pretends to be a man in order to obtain a waiter position in a Dublin hotel.  Her makeup and attire do not make her look totally masculine, but they are enough to fool the help living in the hotel as well as her employer, Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins).

When Hubert (Janet McTeer) is hired as a housepainter at the hotel, Albert is told that he must share a room with him.  Hubert discovers Albert’s true gender but does not reveal it since he too has a secret.  He, also a woman, is living with Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher), as husband and wife.  This is quite a shock to Albert who is thinking of opening a tobacco shop and finding a wife to work in it with him.   

Things heat up when an Irish hunk, Joe (Aaron Johnson), enters the picture and has an affair with one of the maids, Helen (Mia Wasikowska).  Albert is attracted to Helen and invites her to take a walk in the park which Joe encourages Helen to do.  Joe knows of Albert’s savings, and his motive is to rip him off. 

The script is poignant without being overly drawn, and the acting of Close and McTeer is a tour de force.  Every scene requires superb facial expressions by Close and she performs them superbly.  This is a remarkable movie, notwithstanding occasional slow scenes.   

I will never forget Glenn Close’s dramatic stage performance as Norman Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” and will now add her portrayal of Albert Nobbs to that special memory. 

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "I thought it was a ridiculous picture, even for teenagers."

From April 2012. An appearance by Henry Stern and this gem: "Those looking for erotic diversion will just have to rely on the Internet or their own devices."

“The Hunger Games” (-)

This film took in $155 million at the box office the weekend it opened, making it the third best debut of a movie in American cinema history.  I thought it was a ridiculous picture, even for teenagers.  Imagine a blockbuster film showing adolescents on the hunt to kill or be killed by other adolescents.

The audience was made up of teenagers and young adults in their 20’s.  Being four times or more the average age of the audience, people sitting near me must have wondered what I was doing there.  The truth is, there were no movies I was interested in seeing that weekend after reading the reviews of the opening films.  After reading Manohla Dargis’s long screed in The New York Times about this flick, which made it sound interesting, I decided to go. 

The plot of this sci-fi, futuristic film is simple.  The U.S. has been divided into zones.  Every year a male and female youth are chosen from each zone to contest.  In order to win, they must kill all other participants, including their own zone partner, an idea perhaps taken from ancient Greek mythology. 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is the young female killer.  Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is her partner.  As Katniss searches a forest for her quarry, she and the others are viewed in their native towns on large television screens.  A number of killings occur.  She and Peeta ultimately meet up and are then chased by huge dogs which they miraculously outrun. 

You should know that two sequels are scheduled to be filmed.  Even if I’m in town, I won’t be seeing of them.  My question is, “What has happened to our senses and culture?”

“Four Lovers” (-)

In his New York Times review of this film, Stephen Holden described it as “soft-core pornography.”  I found the whole thing boring.

Rachel (Marina Fois), a jewelry designer, is married to Franck (Roschdy Zem), a feng shui expert.  Teri (Elodie Bouchez), a former Olympic gymnast, is married to Vincent (Nicolas Duvauchelle), a website designer.  The couples, who appear to be in their 30’s and are good friends, decide to exchange spouses for sexual romps.

All four have superb bodies, but there was nothing erotic about their actions.  I found their behavior childish on at least one occasion when they covered themselves with flour.  It diminished the sexuality of their actions.

I would have expected a long line of people to be waiting to see a film described in the Times as soft-porn.  There were very few people in the theater.  Avoid.  (In French, with English subtitles).

Henry Stern said:  This picture created a situation I had never seen before:  an audience waiting impatiently for a porn film to end. 

The rather simple plot showed two consenting young couples, social friends, frolicking in bed.  They are just experimenting, not wishing to become emotionally involved with each other.  Of course, they do. 

What little drama there was in the movie followed this revelation and their attempts to deal with the situation.  The film was not sexually arousing.  It looked as if it had been shot through gauze.  The tired actors could have been auditioning at a strip club. 

          Because of the pretensions of artistry, there wasn’t even a decent serving of meat and potatoes.  Those looking for erotic diversion will just have to rely on the Internet or their own devices. 

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "I thought the whole shebang was ridiculous"

From April 2012. Carlos says, "Jah rules!"

“Marley” (+)

Stephen Holden of The New York Times loved this film as did my friend, Peter Aschkenasy, who urged me to see it.  I didn’t think it was as fantastic as they did, but I certainly enjoyed it and came away with a deep appreciation of Marley’s talent and an understanding of his fans’ devotion to him and his music.  The movie is definitely worth seeing.

In his Times review Holden wrote that Marley “was the son of a young black woman, Cedella Marley Booker, who had a passing relationship with the much older Norval Marley, a British Army man of mixed race who was considered a white Jamaican.  Because of his racially mixed parentage Bob Marley found himself a social outcast.” 

Interestingly, the film makes the point that while Marley was beloved by blacks around the world, and particularly in Jamaica where he was born, he never caught on with black Americans.  His followers in the U.S. were overwhelmingly white.  I saw the film at the Landmark Sunshine Theater on East Houston Street in Manhattan and was surprised that the audience was 90 percent or more white.         

The film shows clips of Marley’s concerts but no songs are sung in their entirety.  His style of music was Reggae which someone in the film defines as a mixture of Gospel, Soul, Rhythm and Blues, a touch of Jazz, and a host of other musical strains.  I enjoyed listening to his music and particularly liked watching him dance during a concert.  He dominated the stage the way Mick Jagger does during his shows. 

Marley, a Rastafarian, was a short man with dreadlocks.  He died of cancer at the age of 36.  Apparently he did not seek adequate treatment when he was diagnosed a few years earlier with malignant melanoma in one of his toes.  He feared amputation which would affect his ability to dance.  When his hair fell out during cancer treatment, according to one observer, he became very tiny. 

Whether or not you are familiar with Marley’s music, you will enjoy this film.  A lot of details about his life are provided by his friends and by Cynthia Breakspeare, the mother of Marley’s son Damian, also a musician.  Marley left a permanent mark on life and it was clearly a positive one.

“Bully”

I was deeply disappointed after seeing this documentary, because it didn’t adequately discuss or portray the agonies suffered by children who are bullied.  Nevertheless, because few if any other movies have tackled this important topic, this picture should be seen by as many people as possible in order to give its subject matter the attention it deserves and get people thinking and talking about what has to be done.

Children can be cruel, and bullying is a common situation in many schools.  The movie portrays some of the emotional problems that five children in different schools in various states are experiencing after being harassed.  Most children surviving such torment will suffer enormous psychological pain that may remain with them and affect their adulthood.  In some cases, the intimidation causes the victim to commit suicide. 

It is important that youngsters not subject to bullying for whatever reasons – size, wealth, athleticism, etc. – be made aware of their obligation to immediately assist a child being harassed or, if they lack the strength to put the individual in his/her place, then to immediately report the incident to school authorities, so as to provide help to the victimized child.

Every state should adopt a model program to deal with the problem of bullying.  Some states have.  This picture makes it clear that many teachers and administrators do not know how to deal with the situation, often not being able to distinguish between the victim and the predator. 

Do see this movie.

“The Moth Diaries” (-)

The critics are divided about this movie.  I made a mistake and relied on the review of The New York Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis who made it sound interesting.  I hadn’t yet read the capsule review in the Daily News which stated, “Another teenage goth tale about a new student at a creepy prep school suspected by her classmates of being a vampire.  The moths that emerge from a room could just as easily come from the hoary, ridiculous script.”  That analysis made it clear that this picture is a stinker, and I concur, having seen the film.   

There are three major characters in the picture which has as its setting a girls boarding school.  An innuendo is made of a “crush” between two of the girls, Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) and Lucie (Sarah Gadon), but at that age, it is foolish to call it lesbianism which several critics do.  The mystery deepens with the introduction into the school of a new student, Ernessa (Lily Cole), who looks peculiar.  Rebecca believes she is a vampire intent on stealing Lucie’s affections. 

I thought the whole shebang was ridiculous and regretted having to stay to the end of the movie to fulfill my obligations as a critic.  Do avoid unless you are a masochist.

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "Michelle Williams... reminded me in looks and talent of a young Shirley MacLaine."

From July 2012. Carlos says, "Surprise! He likes Magic Mike!"

“Take This Waltz” (+)

While I waited to enter the theater, I asked a few people leaving the earlier show what they thought of the film.  One woman said she loved it.  Another said it was interesting but she found it difficult to understand.  I didn’t love the movie, but I definitely enjoyed it, even though I was initially confused about the ending.  

The story involves a young married couple, Margot (Michelle Williams) and Lou (Seth Rogen), who live in Toronto.  On a flight to Nova Scotia without her husband, Margot meets Daniel (Luke Kirby) and becomes obsessed with him.  Her fixation intensifies when she learns that Daniel lives across the street from her in Toronto.   

The balance of the movie focuses on how the romance plays out and its affect on Margot’s marriage.  The ending zeroes in on Margot’s love affair with Daniel and involves a ménage a trios with Margot, Daniel and an unknown woman and another scene with Margot, Daniel and an unknown man.

My first thought was that the ending was surreal but a discussion with friends following the movie made it clear that it was reality.  In either case the writer and director, Sarah Polley, brilliantly makes the point that humans are very complicated beings, and love and sex can take an unlimited toll upon them. 

I think you will enjoy this picture as much as I did.  The acting is very good, particularly that of Michelle Williams who reminded me in looks and talent of a young Shirley MacLaine.

“Magic Mike” (+)

A brief description of this movie would be that it is about a strip club and its male performers.  It is, however, much more than that.  It also includes an interesting story and characters, superb acting, and riveting, pulsating music.  If you are looking for a good time, this picture will deliver.  

Eighteen-year-old Adam (Alex Pettyfer), who is out of funds, is living with his sister, Brooke (Cody Horn).  Adam secures a construction job where he meets and befriends another worker on the site, Magic Mike (Channing Tatum).  Mike introduces Adam to the Xquisite dance club, owned by a sleazy character, Dallas (Matthew McConaughey).  Adam becomes a stripper at the club where the women enthusiastically cheer and applaud Dallas’s spiel and the gyrations of the male dancers.   

In her New York Times review, which is worth reading, Manohla Dargis provides a lot of psychological background about the film as well as some interesting facts.  She writes that Channing Tatum, a co-producer of the film, has said that “the story is loosely based on his stint as a stripper in Florida, starting when he was 18, a college dropout and flopping on his sister’s couch.” 

Dargis gives most of the film’s credit to its director Steven Soderbergh, but he could not have done it without the enormous talent of all the actors involved.  They are all terrific.  I particularly enjoyed Cody Horn who becomes involved with Magic Mike.  Her facial expressions wonderfully conveyed every nuance of emotion.

 I think you will enjoy this picture.

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "I enjoy films that contain violence, blood and gore."

From July 2012.

“The Amazing Spider-Man” (+)

I normally don’t like cartoon movies, which I consider this picture to be, but I actually thought this one was interesting.

Andrew Garfield, who in real life is 28-years-old, is a little too old to play the role of Spider-Man, a high school student with a teenage girlfriend, Gwen (Emma Stone).  But that doesn’t affect the movie. 

The picture begins by telling the story of Peter’s early life.  It focuses on his childhood when his father and mother suddenly left him in the custody of his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field).  It also shows Peter visiting his dad’s former laboratory partner, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who is missing his right arm.  We later learn that Peter’s father and Connors, both scientists, were hoping to discover a way for the human body to reproduce new limbs, the way some animals do, e.g. lizards. 

Peter is bitten by a spider at the lab.  Suddenly he is able to jump to enormous heights and hurl silk cords from wrist devices enabling him to swing through the streets of New York City.  When Dr. Connors begins experimenting with drugs, the film turns into a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  He turns into a lizard when taking the drugs and reverts back to a human when he stops them.  An extended fight to the death takes place between Dr. Connors as the lizard and Spider-Man. 

I think you will enjoy this film.  The acting is excellent and the special effects are brilliant.  (I saw it in 3D). You can expect sequels. 

“Savages” (-)

The script of this film, directed by Oliver Stone, is based on a book of the same title.  Stone is a very talented and successful artist who has directed many wonderful movies.  Two of my favorites are “Platoon” and “Wall Street.”  Unfortunately, I thought “Savages” was a trashy picture not worthy of Stone’s involvement.   

The plot involves two friends living in Laguna Beach, California:  Chon (Taylor Kitsch), a special forces guy back from Afghanistan, and Ben (Aaron Johnson) a botanist.  They grow and sell high-quality marijuana made from Afghan seeds smuggled into the United States by Chon.  In addition to using the services of a “dirty” D.E.A. agent, Dennis (John Travolta), a Mexican cartel offers to partner with them.  The cartel is led by Elena (Salma Hayek) whose chief enforcer is Lado (Benicio Del Toro).

The story is narrated by O (Blake Lively), with whom Chon and Ben live.  Both men also share a bed with the O, short for Ophelia.

I enjoy films that contain violence, blood and gore.  I’m not squeamish when watching movies like Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs” or Robert Rodriquez’s “El Mariachi,” which I thought were works of art.  The violence in “Savages,” however, is not only extreme but also unbelievable as presented.  The movie for me was more cartoon than real. 

I recently watched an interview of Stone and the principal actors on the Charlie Rose show.  The cast conveyed that working with Stone was a life-changing experience.  Taken by their enthusiasm and description of the movie, I decided to see it.  I should have known better.  What made me think the cast would tell the truth about this picture which, in my opinion, is improbable, excessive and overall a bad film.

R.I.P. Ed Koch: "The theater has the most comfortable seats in town."

From July 2012. 

“Trishna” (+)

While this film is no “Slumdog Millionaire,” which I believe was one of the first major crossover films of India that was a huge hit in the U.S., it is good and worth seeing.  (If you haven’t seen “Slumdog Millionaire,” be sure to rent it.)       

A young woman, Trishna (Freida Pinto), works at a resort in her hometown.  Her family, which appears to be lower-middle-class, becomes impoverished when her father is seriously injured in an auto accident.  She meets a young man, Jay (Riz Ahmed), who secures a waitress job for her in one of the city hotels owned by his wealthy father (Roshan Seth). 

Trishna, who is romantically pursued by Jay, becomes pregnant and returns to her family.  Jay follows, asks her to live with him, and soon abandons her.  He returns once again and takes her to a hotel where she gets a job as a waitress and also serves Jay every day with food and sex.  He actually studies the Kama Sutra to provide variety in their physical relationship.  Trishna knows she is being used by Jay and that he enjoys degrading her.  The audience senses that she will find a way to repay him and she does. 

“Trishna” was directed by the highly-regarded British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom.  Among the many films he directed are “Welcome to Sarajevo” and “The Road to Guantanamo.” 

As in most Bollywood productions, “Trishna” contains song and dance numbers that have little or nothing to do with the storyline but are, nevertheless, enjoyable.  The movie is a wonderful virtual travelogue displaying India’s vastness in population, traffic, diversity, and the lifestyles of the very rich and the very poor.  It provides a good introduction to India, and I enjoyed the experience.

The movie is playing at the IFC Center on Sixth Avenue at West Third Street.  The theater has the most comfortable seats in town.

R.I.P. Ed Koch on Lawless

From September 2012. Carlos says, "Out of the hospital and at the movies…." The cinetrix is fond of the following: "The movie contains a lot of violence, Appalachia style."

"Lawless" (+)

The setting of this superb film is Franklin County, Virginia, in the early 1930s during Prohibition.

The story is based on a novel by Matt Bondurant entitled "The Wettest County in the World," allegedly based on a true story. It involves corrupt law enforcement officers seeking to put three brothers and their neighbors who are bootleggers out of business.

The brothers include Forrest (Tom Hardy) who is tough, smart and in charge; Howard (Jason Clarke) who is always drunk and aggressive; and, Jack (Shia LaBeouf) the youngest brother and the most interesting. The fourth member of the booty band, who is somewhat mentally disabled, is Cricket (Dan DeHaan).

The strong and diverse personalities are well presented by each of the actors.

Charley Rakes (Guy Pearce) is a federal law enforcement officer from Chicago who is not only corrupt but sadistic as well.

The movie contains a lot of violence, Appalachia style. Every scene is gripping. The attention to detail in dress, cars, and lifestyles is meticulous, and the scenes of the countryside are wonderful to behold.

This is a very special picture not to be missed.

R.I.P. Mister Mayor

Ed Koch has been a Pullquote patron saint from before the beginning. I learned of his death from Facebook this morning, where a friend who grew up in Queens wrote, "When I was a kid I thought no one else was legally allowed to be the mayor of NYC." Oof. His "How'm I doin'?" persona punctuated the pages of SPY I devoured in the 80s/90s, astonished there was a place for smart, sarcastic writing about culture that seemed like a secret club, located in a mythic New York City ruled by this man who looked like odd admixture of Orville Redenbacher and a Muppet.

Since I began writing here [in 2003!], a friend I affectionately called Carlos would e-mail Ed's movie reviews to me as a way of keeping in touch. Over the past year or so, as my interest in this site lagged, they never made the leap from my inbox. Now there won't be any more. Which seems somehow impossible. To prolong the inevitable a little, I'll be posting some of Ed Koch's final film reviews here. Rest in peace, Mister Mayor. 

This one came from Carlos with the note "They don’t remove their underclothes…."

"Trouble With the Curve" (-)

I'm not a baseball fan, but I really enjoyed the 2011 film, "Moneyball," starring Brad Pitt. Unfortunately this baseball-themed movie, featuring Clint Eastwood, is really bad.

Gus (Clint Eastwood) is a scout at the end of his career. Barely able to see a few feet in front of himself, Gus relies on his ears, listening for the crack of the ball on the bat to make a decision about a prospective player. Gus's daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), tries desperately to help her dad recruit promising players. Mickey's love interest is Johnny (Justin Timberlake), but there is no chemistry on screen between the two of them.

Everything about this picture is wrong. At one point in the film Mickey and Johnny skinny dip - neither of them remove their underclothes. Avoid.

Clint Eastwood did not direct this film. (The director is Robert Lorenz.) Eastwood did, however, direct his skit during the Republican Convention when he had his 15 minutes in the sun. It was an embarrassment for those who watched it.

"Searching for Sugar Man" (+)

I hadn't read any reviews of this documentary. After a friend of mine told me that it is the best picture he has ever seen, I decided to see it. I wouldn't go that far in describing it, but it is good, interesting and a respite from the many documentaries now available which are more frenetic. 

This peaceful, comforting and occasionally lyrical film is about the U.S. singer-songwriter Rodriquez. He reminded me of Bob Dylan but has a far better voice than Dylan and you can comprehend every word he utters. He also reminded me in temperament of Cesar Chavez. Rodriquez's songs, written in the early 70's, were social commentaries which became big hits in South Africa. At the time South Africa had a civil war and was battling to end Apartheid and the white minority rule over the black majority. I believe there were at the time five million whites and 25 million or more blacks who did not have the right to vote. The rebellion ended with the election of Nelson Mandela.

This documentary doesn't cover the rebellion but rather the search of the Swedish filmmaker, Malik Bendjelloul, to find Rodriquez and understand why his success in South Africa was not followed by similar success in the U.S.

In order to support a family of three daughters, Rodriquez worked on construction sites demolishing buildings. A particularly wonderful portion of the movie includes an interview with one of his daughters who endured great poverty. She beautifully explains how it is that rich and poor people are so much alike which I won't spoil for you by setting forth her comments in this review. Rodriquez himself when interviewed is shy and not as verbal as one might have expected, but then neither is Bob Dylan. Both connect with our souls in their lyrics. ("Sugarman" is the title of one of Rodriquez's songs.)

"Searching for Sugar Man" is beautifully crafted and well-worth seeing if it reaches your neighborhood. I saw it at the Village East Cinema on Second Avenue and East 12th Street.