Tag Archives: Drama

A Million Miles Away (2023)

08 Monday Apr 2024

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(For Day 8 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem about a relationship between two people or things that should never have met. The encounter of an aspiring astronaut with the notoriously inhospitable vacuum of space seemed like a good odd couple to serve as inspiration.)
_________________________

Hello, space! I’ve waited.

You don’t know me, but I’m a fan.
I’ve loved you from afar.
You wink your stars at every man,
But only few can follow.
I know your history, your rules,
And where your dangers are.
But I can’t claim the finest schools
Or have much pride to swallow.

You’re wonderfully indifferent
To the differences in man.
You don’t say, “It’s an immigrant!
An indigent, so kill it!”
Oh, no, you want to kill us all
Quite equally, and can.
But knowing that will neither stall
Nor stop our trespass, will it?

I’ve only ever craved a chance
To challenge you up close,
To prove that I was worth your glance,
Your open invitation.
I dreamed the scheme at which they scoffed
And begged them more than most.
While they looked down, I looked aloft
To touch a constellation.

Hello, space! I made it.
_________________________

MPA rating:  PG

Hidden Figures became the gold standard for “inspiring true story of underrepresented group excelling and beating the odds,” particularly when it came to NASA. So perhaps that’s why A Million Miles Away didn’t make much of a splash upon its Amazon Prime Video release. It’s a shame, though, because this biopic of migrant-farm-worker-turned-astronaut José Hernández provides an exemplary dose of underdog aspiration and one of Michael Peña’s finest performances.

Hernández grew up in a migrant family picking grapes, but, through the wonder of Apollo 11 footage and the encouragement of a supportive teacher, the boy turns his gaze upward to the stars. Many people are forced to wait on their dreams, and the film shows how life goes on while Hernández made gradual steps toward being the person NASA wanted – meeting his wife Adela (excellent Rosa Salazar) and opening a restaurant even as he gets pilot experience and scuba certification. With his repeated applications and rejections to NASA’s training program, it’s a testament to the power of persistence, one that anyone with yet-distant dreams can admire.

A Million Miles Away excels as both space-program biopic and touching family drama, setting José’s achievements as the culmination of the journey to a better life undertaken by so many migrant workers. With its shuttle-era time period, it also prominently features the 2003 Columbia disaster, a tragedy rarely acknowledged in NASA-themed movies. Streaming releases are easy to write off as unworthy of big-screen attention, but this underdog story is well worth your time.

Best line: (José, to his cousin) “Who better than a migrant? Somebody that knows what it’s like to dive into the unknown. Who better than that… to dare leave this planet, man?”

Rank:  List Runner-Up (might be higher after a rewatch)

© 2024 S.G. Liput
791 Followers and Counting

Leave the World Behind (2023)

06 Saturday Apr 2024

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(For Day 6 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem based on some “weird wisdom” given to you, so I opted for the advice of preppers, who may be onto something.)

You’ll need a sturdy bunker
With a strong hermetic seal
And a good amount of space
In case you’ll be in there a while.
I’d choose a generator
Over wind or water wheel,
But in that case, I’d stock up
On the solar panel aisle.

Buy more shelves, then fill with food
That’s good for twenty years,
And if you don’t know how to can,
You definitely should.
Learn how to sew and shoot a bow
And maybe fashion spears,
And how to navigate by stars
And tell what shrooms are good.

Do you have gold? Don’t answer that,
But buy what’s in your budget,
And cigarettes and booze to trade
Once currency is bust.
Hoard herbs and spices for the taste.
How much? I’ll let you judge it.
If you have pets, then be prepared
To eat them if you must.

And get a first-aid kit (or ten);
You’ll thank me when you need it.
And candle tapers, pens and paper,
Books, and one machete.
Oh yes, invest in fertile land
And seeds with which to seed it.
You ask when will you need all this?
Who knows, but you’ll be ready.
______________________

MPA rating:  R

Releasing late last year, based on a popular novel, and featuring A-list stars and a timely message, Leave the World Behind seemed like it was poised for potential Oscars contention. Yet its flash-in-the-pan interest yielded to a mixed reception from Netflix viewers, and it was odd seeing at least half of the people online lambasting a critically well-received film as frustrating and pointless. Evidently, it was not what some people want from a typical disaster movie, but it offered something scarier and (mostly) more realistic.

After an opening monologue showing the misanthropic outlook of mother Amanda (Julia Roberts), she and her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke) take their two kids (Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans) outside the city for a little vacation, renting a fancy house near the seashore. Strange things begin happening, like a Wi-Fi outage and an oil tanker running aground near them, and they are further perturbed when a well-dressed black man named G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) show up, claiming to be the owners of the house and asking to stay the night. While there is some initial racial tension between the families, it soon becomes evident that larger problems are happening in the world, threatening their very survival.

Whatever people thought of Leave the World Behind, it should be said that it is quite well-made, with some excellent cinematography, clever details, and strong performances, from Ali and Hawke especially. Although the film got some people talking due to the implicit racism exhibited by Amanda toward the visitors and echoed even more by Ruth toward white people in general, that is hardly the point of the film. With the divisions in the world today, it’s understandable that mistrust would manifest like that, and, as the film illustrates, mistrust runs rampant when nobody has any answers.

Indeed, the film never actually gives a clear explanation for what is happening to cause the EMP-like power outages, the strange high-pitched noise that causes health problems, or the unusual behavior in animals. Many found this made the film an irksome waste of time, but the movie is far more interested in the effect of these phenomena than their cause. There are indicators of various bad actors to blame – flyers in Arabic pointing to jihadists, rumors of North Korean attacks – and with no Internet, no news channel, blocked roads, and low supplies, I doubt the average person would respond any better than the characters do. At one point, Clay begs a man far more prepared (Kevin Bacon) for assistance and gives voice to the helplessness that would spread like wildfire if all of our modern advantages were stripped away from us.

Considering the admittedly abrasive characters and inexplicably weird use of CGI animals, I can’t say Leave the World Behind is a perfect film or even an Oscar-worthy one. But it does feel like an important warning, one that seems to have been missed by all those complaining about wasted time and an unsatisfying ending. And I liked the ending quite a bit since it demonstrates how small pleasures can be a source of comfort amid the chaos. This is not a disaster movie with heroic rescues or easy solutions, but it brings to light just how close civilization can be to collapse, which is more unnerving.

Best line: (G.H.) “A conspiracy theory about a shadowy group of people running the world is far too lazy of an explanation, especially when the truth is much scarier.”
(Amanda) “What is the truth?”
(G.H.) “No one is in control. No one is pulling the strings.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
791 Followers and Counting

Living (2022)

05 Friday Apr 2024

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(For Day 5 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem describing how two or three different things perceive the same thing, with the example being how an old woman, a tulip, and a dog view being blessed. In keeping with this film, I imagined how those connected to a playground would view that place of fun.)

What is a playground?
Depends on who answers.

For kids, it is joy,
A chance to get higher
Than a small girl or boy
Ever could on their own,
To conquer the jungle,
To swing to the sky, or
To know they won’t crumble
When tripped by a stone.

For a parent, it’s peace,
Even for a short respite,
Like shepherds releasing
Their flock to the field.
A simple distraction
If ever they’re desperate,
They bask in inaction
And keep their eyes peeled.

And what of the no-name
Who built that location,
Who garners no fame
Yet has brought joy and peace?
He sits at a distance
In gratification
To watch their elation,
Such a simple foundation,
And knows his existence
Will only increase.
______________________

MPA rating:  PG-13 (mainly for poignant subject matter but quite tame)

I know I probably should have first watched Ikiru, Akira Kurosawa’s classic film about a government bureaucrat dealing with his own mortality, but I was on my plane to Ireland last year and had a prime chance to watch Living, the British remake with Bill Nighy in the same situation. Nighy is undoubtedly a fine actor, with memorable roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean series and About Time, so it really is surprising that he had never received an Oscar nomination before this film. But he excels in the role on which the entire film rests, as Rodney Williams, a stuffy bureaucrat in post-War Britain, solemn and dour, his workplace “rather like church,” according to his chatting coworkers. His strict routine of coming and going to work on the train each day is disturbed by a sudden cancer diagnosis, and he is forced to come to terms with the fact his life has likewise come and gone with little in the way of joy or meaning. Buoyed by the companionship of a young friend (Aimee Lou Wood), the waning pencil pusher decides on a small way he can break from his inflexible mold.

Living is a laudable prestige picture, shot and acted with a noble dignity reminiscent of yesteryear classics and boasting an elegant screenplay by acclaimed author Kazuo Ishiguro. Nighy exemplifies how complacent routine yields to personal regret, and even if he couldn’t compete with Brendan Fraser in The Whale, he certainly gives an Oscar-worthy performance. It may be easily overshadowed by the flashier Oscar bait, but Living is a subtly meaningful film that puts our daily grind into much-needed perspective.

Best line: (Williams) “I wonder if you ever stop on the way home and watch the children playing. In the street, or in the yard. And when the time comes and their mothers call them in, they’re often reluctant. They, they get a little contrary, but that’s as it should be. Far better than to be the child you occasionally see, he’s sitting by himself in the corner not taking part, not happy, not unhappy, merely waiting for his mother to call him in. I’ve become afraid that I might end up like that child. And I so very much do not wish to do so.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
791 Followers and Counting

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

04 Thursday Apr 2024

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(For Day 4 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to draw inspiration from the quirky natural phenomena detailed in the 1958 book The Strangest Things in the World, such as “Uganda’s Miniature Dinosaur,” “Enigma of Evolution,” “The World’s Biggest Sneeze,” and “The Forest that Time Forgot.” What could be stranger than a dinosaur in the present day?)

We talk of chickens, geckos, gators
Like they’re mini-dinosaurs,
DNA perpetuators
Winning evolution’s wars.

Look at what they’ve lost, however,
Dwindling to humans’ scale.
Those survivors truly clever
Never would have grown so frail.

Something dodged the diminution,
Surely kept its ancient reign,
Some enigma evolution
Cannot fathom to explain.

The biggest teeth to leave man shaken,
Biggest sneeze and appetite,
The biggest ire none should waken,
Gorged on centuries of spite.

Where this scourge of sighs is lurking,
Deep where time itself forgot,
None can say; its guise is working.
Pray it never leaves the spot.
___________________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

If someone had told me last year that one of my favorite films from 2023 would be a Godzilla movie, the 37th Godzilla movie at that, I would never have believed it. I’ve only seen a handful of the more modern versions of the beloved monster, including two of Legendary Pictures’ American films and Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla. The latter film was praised by fans upon release, who indicated it was a step above the typical cheesy destruction of the older movies, and while it was good, it still had some cringey effects and lackluster scenes. So when similar rumbles of “dude, this is good” started to spread about Godzilla Minus One, I didn’t fully believe them. Yet as weeks passed, practically everyone who saw it seemed to be singing its praises until I finally relented and caught a late screening of the black-and-white rerelease, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color. And I must admit, dudes, it is good.

In contrast to the worldwide monster-hunting organizations of other Godzilla movies, Minus One goes back to the creature’s roots, representing the threat of nuclear destruction in Japan shortly after the end of World War II. Yet allegory and disaster porn can only carry a film so far, and this film finally manages to tell a compelling human story in the shadow of its titan. That story belongs to Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot who bears the shame of having survived what should have been glorious death for his country. After yet another close encounter saddling him with even greater survivor’s guilt, he returns to civilian life, trying to pick up the pieces of his hometown devastated by the war. With time, he finds a semblance of normalcy alongside a woman (Minami Hamabe) and a little girl (Sae Nagatani), lone survivors like him, yet his PTSD strains his relationships and self-worth. When he and a crew of mine disposal sailors encounter a certain overgrown lizard, the survival of both his nation and makeshift family are threatened.

It’s hard to pin down why Minus One succeeds where others are “just another Godzilla movie.” Usually, they throw in a threatened family to garner audience sympathy, but it never goes as deep as Shikishima’s trauma and the natural way he bonds with others while grappling with it. Beyond that, Godzilla himself is far from a zipper-backed suit, but a hulking CGI monstrosity that becomes genuinely scary as we see the scale of destruction he can muster, with innocent civilians utterly powerless beneath him. He’s truly a monster and a force of nature, hardly the benevolent protector from the American version. While I tend to think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 deserved the prize a little more for the extent of its CGI, I was not upset when Godzilla Minus One managed to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, a first for Japan reflecting how impressive the film is despite a piddling budget compared with Hollywood’s blockbusters.

If ever a film proved how a good story and characters can refresh a well-trodden franchise, Godzilla Minus One deserves that claim. Its themes of survival and endurance denounce the culture of death that Japan had become during the war, and put Shikishima’s struggle on a level beyond a single man’s battle. The ending even brought a tear to my eye, and I’ve heard stories from others who said they wept in the theater. A crowdpleaser to rival any American production, Minus One was the biggest pleasant surprise the cinema has given me in a while, and even if I consider it a fluke for the Godzilla series (please don’t let a sequel ruin things!), I’m grateful for it.

Best line: (Noriko) “Is your war finally over?”

Rank:  List-Worthy

© 2024 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

03 Wednesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 3 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write a surreal prose poem a la Kafka’s meanderings, though that’s hardly a poem anymore to me. I’m not sure if this quite fits the intent, but I did my best. At least Birdman seemed like a good fit for some surreal introspection.)

____________________________

Everybody wants to be a genius, a starlet, a celebutante, a household name, as long as all the households are complimentary and not those dismissive sorts who wonder “Why is he/she famous?” If we reach an age that missed our chance at being a wunderkind, we will gladly accept the title of “late bloomer,” so long as we can chuckle in interviews about how long we’ve waited to be taken seriously by the fickle masses. Everybody included Riggan, and so this mindset applied to him as well.

The difference with Riggan was that he had already made his mark on the collective psyche of humanity and was increasingly bothered by that mark scarring over and healing by the day. If only he had made it deeper… If only he had aimed for the head rather than the clay feet. He had been a superhero; he was recognized on the streets, but by whom? By tourists snapping photos to be stuffed in dustbound albums, not by the people who claimed to matter, his archnemeses: the critics.

Yes, critics are the true villains of this world, the ones who tear down towers that might have stood for decades with a bit of support, who nibble like termites at the corners of confident actors and make them question whether they even deserve to be appraised. To see such denigrators scurry away at his approach and question themselves whether they could editorialize well enough to capture his triumphant return, that was his dream, which even superpowers are no help in achieving. He craved to be taken seriously. “Everybody wants that,” Riggan thought, flying over the streets where critics and tourists comingle. His enemies were also aiming for his head, but only ever hitting those clay feet.

____________________________

MPAA rating:  R

I’ve been catching up on some Oscar darlings that I skipped back when they made their initial splash, and here we have the Best Picture winner of 2014, Alejandro Iñárritu’s cinematographic wonder filmed as if it were all a single take. As some may know, I have a soft spot for marveling at long tracking shots, so I will absolutely sing the director’s praises as an artist. If only the story appealed to me as much…

As the “poem” above describes, the plot revolves around washed-up superhero actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton, perfectly cast to reflect his past as Batman) who is desperate to make a comeback on Broadway, with his own stage adaptation of Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” Amid his own internal arguments with his Birdman persona, he must deal with the headaches caused by his floundering relationship with daughter Sam (the lovely-as-ever Emma Stone), a temperamental diva of a new actor (Edward Norton), and the derision of a respected critic (Lindsay Duncan).

Like so many favorites of the Academy, I appreciated the talent behind Birdman more than I enjoyed watching it. While I admired its forays into the nature of the creative process, the vast majority of the film consists of the characters hurling insults at each other and nearly everyone deserving it. In lieu of likable characters, the seamless camerawork becomes the real star, following conversations down hallways, swooping from the theater rafters down to the stage, and documenting one memorably awkward stroll through Times Square.

Iñárritu’s wins for Best Director and Original Screenplay were well-deserved, but I can now confidently criticize the Academy’s other choices that year. For me, Boyhood deserved Best Picture more as a time-capsule testament to an entire childhood, while Michael Keaton probably should have won Best Actor over Eddie Redmayne’s performance in The Theory of Everything. Birdman had its unexpected virtues, including a strong script and symbolically uplifting final scene, but most of it made me glad to not be behind the curtains of Broadway.

Best line: (Norton’s Mike Shiner) “Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

The Whale (2022)

02 Tuesday Apr 2024

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(For Day 2 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a platonic love poem directed toward the object of affection. Love of food is both platonic and universal, so I took it in a self-destructive direction based on this movie.)

Most might say they love a meal,
But I do not discriminate.
I love you, burgers, hot dogs, fries,
Cakes and shakes of every size,
Every snack they advertise,
Pizza boxes; hold the plate.

I never needed Mom’s reproach
To clean the plate, the bowl, the platter.
You were there to keep me full,
Flavor in a world so dull,
Spice to make it bearable,
Comfort where pain didn’t matter.

You were there for my mistakes,
Soothing me in guilt’s affliction.
People hand out blame and spite;
You just offered one more bite.
You were solace in the night.
That is love and not addiction.

You were there to catch my tears
Where empty wrappers now remain.
Every bite and every pound
Follows me and weighs me down.
Still I crave what love I’ve found.
Why is too much love such pain?
_______________________

MPAA rating:  R

As a fan of Brendan Fraser back in his Mummy days, one who frequently lamented his less-than-prestigious choice of movie roles throughout the 2010s, I was utterly delighted that he finally found awards buzz and critical love for 2022’s The Whale, which won him a Best Actor Oscar on his first nomination. Like many actors, I think Fraser just needed the right role to prove his acting chops, and Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of a Samuel D. Hunter play proved to be it. Having now seen the movie, I can confirm how deserving Fraser’s win was, playing morbidly obese English professor Charlie to devastating effect.

Charlie is a recluse in his tiny apartment, only teaching online classes with the camera off and barely able to get up from his couch, even with help from his nurse friend Liz (Oscar-nominated Hong Chau). Racked by guilt over abandoning his family for his gay lover years ago, he struggles to maintain optimism and connect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink of Stranger Things), who never hesitates to make her anger and bitterness toward him known. His past comes to light when a visiting missionary (Ty Simpkins) tries to evangelize him, much to the indignation of everyone around him and Charlie himself.

The Whale is not an especially enjoyable watch, considering the vitriol flung by Ellie and Liz and the pitiable character at its center, but it is a showcase for outstanding performances from all involved, as well as how film can make the most of a small space originally suited for the stage. Being a Christian, I was saddened by how negative the film was toward religion, yet it also found nuance and slivers of sympathy amid what everyone can agree is a tragedy. In keeping with Charlie’s self-destructive eating, a key theme seemed to be that some people don’t want to be saved, instead finding whatever meager source of redemption they can find. Despite the seamless prosthetics weighing him down, Fraser brings the necessary human touch to make the tragedy heartbreakingly effective.

Best line: (Charlie) “I need to know that I have done one right thing with my life!”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

Great Expectations (1946)

01 Monday Apr 2024

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(For Day 1 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write a plot summary of a novel you haven’t read in a long time. This blog began with writing movie plot summaries in verse, so this felt like going back to my roots.)

There once was a boy born to low expectations,
And Pip was his name, not that anyone cared.
Unfortunate orphans resigned to their stations
Could rarely progress, limitations Pip shared.

One day in the country, a convict caught Pip
And bade him to aid him in getting away.
So Pip held his tongue, no alarm or hot tip,
And Magwitch escaped with a debt yet to pay.

Soon Pip was a guest at Miss Havisham’s mansion,
Where dust covered her and her old bridal dress.
She treated the boy like a half-approved grandson,
While her ward Estella approved even less.

But though Pip was taunted, he fell quite in love
With Estella and grieved when he left her employ.
He grew into manhood, and, as if from above,
A mystery patron supported the boy.

He found he had money, a gentleman rising,
But who is behind all these kindly donations?
I’d tell you the twists that you might find surprising,
But I’d hate to spoil your great expectations.
__________________________

MPAA rating: Approved (basically G)

I was thinking I hadn’t bothered to review an older film in a while, and, luckily, this month’s first prompt pointed me toward this 1946 classic from director David Lean. I remember reading an abridged version of Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, but I had largely forgotten the plot except for a boy named Pip and a dusty spinster named Miss Havisham. So watching this movie was like a trip to the library, conjuring up a rags-to-riches tale with distinguished British aplomb.

I won’t go into the plot since it’s above, but I will praise the unexpected actors who showed up, including a young John Mills as the older Pip, a young Alec Guinness as Pip’s friend Herbert (his first of six collaborations with Lean), and a very young Jean Simmons as the child Estella. Finlay Currie is especially good as the convict Magwitch, able to seem both threatening and sympathetic as needed, while Martita Hunt as Miss Havisham brings a vaguely creepy craftiness to the part, especially when surrounded by her dark, cobweb-covered mansion. The main complaint for me would be the character of Estella, whose insulting tsundere treatment of Pip gives little reason to like her or want the besotted Pip to end up with her. Despite the romance not really landing, Lean’s Great Expectations is an admirable Dickens adaptation.

Best line: (Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer) “Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There is no better rule.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

2023 Blindspot Pick #6: 8½ (1963)

28 Thursday Mar 2024

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Every life is a movie in pre-pre-production,
Awaiting the blockbuster stars and bestsellers.
We live building lives that await deconstruction,
In hopes we’ll get one of the good storytellers.

The artists and soldiers and key politicians,
The dazzling minds are all ripe for the picking.
They’ll woo the awards with their subtle omissions
And screw their renown to the places worth sticking.

But what of us peasants who lack reputations,
In search of that hook of the story to sell it?
I think even your life is worth celebrations.
My friends, it depends upon how well you tell it.
_______________________

MPAA rating:  Not Rated (PG-13 seems right, due to some sexual content)

I included Federico Fellini’s 8½ on last year’s Blindspot list for the same reason as I watched 2001 or Bicycle Thieves, because it’s one of those films that any self-proclaimed cinephile is supposed to see. Sitting through two-plus hours of an Italian director’s introspection and daydreaming isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, but 8½ has had such an impact on these kinds of life-summarizing stories that it’s worth watching if only for historical value. And, this being my first foray into Fellini’s filmography, I can certainly appreciate his eye for framing and innovative non-linear structure, fueled by self-analysis and dream logic.

The avant-garde plot follows Fellini’s self-insert, Italian director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), as he struggles to focus on directing an ambitious sci-fi opus that increasingly mirrors his own life and churning emotions. It weaves in and out of Guido’s past and present, particularly his relationships with various women, from his mistrusting wife (Anouk Aimée) and her level-headed friend (Rosella Falk) to Guido’s brazen mistress (Sandra Milo) and a prostitute known as La Saraghina (Eddra Gale), who danced for him and his friends when he was a child. Throughout the runtime, Guido wrestles with his strained relationship with the Catholic Church, the weight of expectation for his increasingly expensive film project, and what he wants out of female love, the last theme epitomized in an extended sequence where he fantasizes a harem of all the women in his life worshiping him before inevitably rebelling against his tyranny.

I know I’m supposed to fawn over Fellini and how his filmmaking is a surreal monument of life affirmation (which I suppose it is), but I must admit that I also found it rather boring and self-absorbed, the kind of art meant for critics rather than the common man. There is still plenty to appreciate, particularly the script’s incisive musings on the creative process and the final scene that makes a lovely metaphor for life itself, which has been emulated by other life-encapsulating features like All That Jazz. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to fully connect with the artistry of 8½; it’s the sort of film that I’m glad to have seen but don’t plan to rewatch any time soon.

Best line:  (Guido, to his dream harem) “My dears, happiness consists of being able to tell the truth without hurting anyone.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2024 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

2023 Blindspot Pick #4: Jerry Maguire (1996)

06 Tuesday Feb 2024

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When you’re on top of the world,
It’s a long way down,
And heavy is the haughty head that’s lost its crown.

When people fall from favor
And drink a bitter cup,
They’re likely to do anything to climb back up.

When rugs are pulled from under
Someone in mid-fall,
They start to prize stability (or alcohol).

When people face their falling,
They break or crack or bounce.
You don’t know which ahead of time, but that’s what counts.
____________________________________

MPA rating: R (for language and one sex scene)

I don’t know why I can’t seem to spit out reviews like I used to, but I’m finally back to continue last year’s overdue Blindspot series. It feels like movies nowadays don’t quite leave the same cultural impact as they once did, with famous lines that everyone recognizes, though there are still some (Hunger Games and Endgame come to mind). Jerry Maguire is the poster child of such an impact, a 1990s rom com that introduced not one but at least three iconic lines into pop culture. So it seemed only right that I should learn the context of the likes of “Show me the money!” and “You complete me,” the Tom Cruise hit that won Cuba Gooding, Jr. an Oscar and showcased the cutthroat world of sports agents.

Being a big fan of writer-director Cameron Crowe’s later film Elizabethtown, I was able to recognize how he recycled elements of Jerry Maguire into that film, which may have factored into why it wasn’t as well received. The set-up is essentially the same: a young hotshot excelling in his field is suddenly brought low by a misjudgment on his part that costs him his job and his shallow girlfriend. The difference is that most of that happens to Orlando Bloom within the first ten minutes of Elizabethtown, while the self-destruction of Maguire (Cruise) is far more gradual, as his attempt at reawakening his conscience leaves him with only one loyal client in football player Rod Tidwell (Gooding) and one sympathetic employee in Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger in her breakout role).

In place of Kirsten Dunst’s manic pixie dream girl in Elizabethtown, Dorothy is a far more down-to-earth presence, a working single mother whose romantic relationship with Jerry carries more nuance while also being a bit hard to read at times. I feel like Bonnie Hunt’s role as her supportive sister is rather overlooked as well. Through all the lows and highs, from arguments over Rod’s obstinate demands to the uncertainty of dating a single mother and how to balance his devotion to both, Tom Cruise proves himself to be a winning leading man yet again, with a natural charisma that leaves no doubt as to how Jerry became such a superstar in his field. I do find it funny, though, that Cruise still hasn’t won an Oscar, while Gooding, Zellweger, Crowe, and fellow co-star Regina King have all gotten their golden statue eventually.

I can certainly see why Jerry Maguire was a hit, with an effective Cameron Crowe script full of passion and personality for its star power to embody, as well as a great soundtrack and plenty of fun cameos. Even though I see why the earlier film is more critically acclaimed, I can’t help but prefer Elizabethtown, which is more unrealistically quirky but also more streamlined in its character arc and generally cleaner and funnier. Maybe it’s just that I’m not into sports, but I’m still glad to have finally seen this ‘90s classic. It completes me (or at least my Blindspot list).

Best line (that I didn’t know originated in this movie): (Jerry, begging Rod to be more agreeable) “Help me help you.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2024 S.G. Liput
785 Followers and Counting

Journey to Bethlehem (2023)

25 Monday Dec 2023

Posted by in Christian, Movies, Music, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Merry Christmas, everybody!

____________________

At the turning of the centuries,
Though no one knew it then,
A babe was born to save the world,
Incarnate God. Amen!

But surely you have heard all this;
By now it might be trite,
The midnight clear, the first Noel,
That timeworn silent night.

It’s easy for familiar truths,
Traditions every year,
To not have quite the gleam they bore
When times were more sincere.

Perhaps we may have changed with time,
But truths stand hard and fast.
Traditions, like God’s promises,
Are comfort, for they last.

Although we know them all by heart,
We need reminding still,
That what the carols advertise
Rings true and always will.
____________________________

MPA rating: PG

To complete this trilogy of musical posts, here’s a more recent release from this year. I feel like someone, assumedly director and songwriter Adam Anders, watched The Nativity Story and thought to himself, “This would be even better as a musical” and then made it so. Journey to Bethlehem takes the well-trodden Biblical story of Jesus’ birth and injects a pop-music sensibility that both adds entertainment value while also slightly watering it down.

From the second song, in which Mary is bemoaning her expected role of marrying someone she’s never met, I thought that this was like the High School Musical version of the Christmas story, so I felt vindicated when I read that Anders co-wrote the script with Peter Barsocchini, who also wrote all three HSM movies (of which I remain a fan). So the character types and conflicts are all too familiar, yet the actors make the most of them, with Fiona Palomo as Mary and Milo Manheim (a recent Disney star from the Zombies franchise) as Joseph having an easy chemistry and excellent songs both together and solo. The soundtrack delivers on many levels, some better than others, but highlights include the opening title song and “Mother to a Savior and King,” which explores Mary’s own self-doubt. And I mustn’t forget Antonio Banderas as King Herod, who seems to be having fun mugging through his one song “Good to Be King.”

The plot of Journey to Bethlehem was clearly tweaked from the Biblical record to add peril to the climax and to better space out the musical numbers, so I can understand the decisions on a pure story basis.  Yet it felt at times like I was trying to keep track of how many deviations there were from the established narrative. In this film, Herod tries to ignore Rome’s census order but is persuaded to use it solely as a means to find the mother of the foretold Messiah, leading to several close calls where it’s assumed Mary would be immediately recognized as such if she were to be caught. It was also surprising to give a redemption arc to Herod’s son Antipater (Joel Smallbone of the band For King and Country), who gets one of the best songs as well.

Likewise, the wise men, here a trio of bickering comic relief figures (Rizwan Manji, Geno Segers, Omid Djalili), come to Herod even before the census or Jesus’ birth and then leave for Bethlehem (which isn’t far from Jerusalem) to hang out with the shepherds for months perhaps so that they also are witnesses to the heavenly angel chorus. Plus, there are odd omissions, like the absence of Mary’s acceptance of the role declared by Gabriel (Christian rapper Lecrae) during the Annunciation scene or the inclusion of Zechariah’s muteness without any subsequent depiction of his son’s birth.

Yet for all the little things that nagged at me, Journey to Bethlehem is still an entertaining Christmas film, and I never got the sense that the changes were intentionally trying to subvert or undermine the meaning behind the story, which is refreshing. It also boasts impressive costumes and choreography that are far better than they would have been if this were made ten or fifteen years ago. It’s proof of how far Christian films have come. While I’m not quite sure if this movie rises to the level of a perennial classic to watch every Christmas, it’s still a laudable version of the Nativity with a soundtrack that deserves appreciation even outside its target audience.

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2023 S.G. Liput
785 Followers and Counting