Garden State
Pretty good offering from the Zach Braff triple threat (actor, writer, director). He does a decent job as the over drugged (lithium, zoloft, prozac) struggling actor, Andrew, returning home to a dead mother and cold father. But -are you ready for the best part?- Natalie Portman rocks the house as the neurotic spaz. Honestly some of her greatest work, and the scene when she introduces Andrew to her hamster obsessed family is perhaps the best moment of her entire career. We all know I'm a sucker for N.P. but this is the real deal. The only downside of the movie is that it turns into an awkward romance, clearly borrowing from The Graduate, instead of the coming of age film I (and perhaps Braff) wanted it to be. (B+)
Lee dropped a notch in my book, when he tried to stop the "Spike" TV channel, citing that they were trying to use the Spike name he "created". He was also notorious at my film school, were he still owes thousands of dollars in editting fees.
He hasn't done anything spectacular since "Mo Better Blues" anyways....
Girl 6, Get On the Bus (Isaiah Washingtons Gay Black Republican coupled with the "Homicide cameos of Richard Belzer and Andre Braugher were all brilliant), Summer of Sam ,Bambozzled (Mos Defs "Know what I mean Know What Im sayin character") were all more recent Spike fare that I enjoyed.
He has no idea how or when to stop talking to the press, but at least he is good at his day job.
Side Note: If you haven't seen the Criterion Edition DVD of Do The Right Thing, By all means Netflix it or borrow it from me. The cinematographer take s a tour of the same on location sites they used in the film 10 years later, unedited Public Enemy videos circa 1989 (!), home videotapes of the original cast doing script rehearsals, Cannes film festival footage. and lotsa commentaries and goodies. One of the best DVDs I have IMHO...
(I'm assuming) Sam Raimi has different politics than Spike Lee. Does a Raimi movie have different politics than a Lee movie (er, joint)? Maybe it's not so much Raimi's politics, but that Raimi's politics are less apparent in his films. Spike Lee definitely uses elements of pure cinema, but he's also laying on the social commentary pretty thick, if you disagree with his standpoint, does that subtract from the experience?
Is "Do The Right Thing" a better film if you agree the Mookie is morally justified in vandalizing Sals' storefront?
(OK, I'm assuming that's what Spike Lee's sentiment is).
When I say I dont agree with Spike's politics though, Im mainly refering to personal points he enjoys making to the press to such things as his "ownership" of the word Spike which cable networks dont have (my Lawsuit for all of The Dicks recordings to cease and desist until they can rettitle them something other than my nickname is still pending). I also have a beef with his 1992 advocacy of children with families skipping school to see Malcolm X, as somehow a day of school is less important than seeing filmed entertainment.
More recently, I saw an article from the Tampa Tribune http://tampatrib.com/baylifenews/MGB5WYW55XD.html
just yesterday that reeks of the stuff Im talking about in terms of his personal politics that he leaks to the press. Everyone has freedom of speech, but c'mon spike, stick to making movies, your college lectures http://www.thepolypost.com/story.php?story=1327 aren't going to win you any awards.... : >>>>>>>>>>>>>>I'm very nervous about this election, because we're all going to go to hell if George Bush wins,'' Lee says, pointing out recent job losses suffered by Whoopi Goldberg and Linda Ronstadt after they spoke up against Bush.
He's also concerned that Moore needs to have bodyguards because his life has been threatened.
``Michael Moore would not need armed guards around him 24 hours a day if that film had no impact,'' says Lee, who spoke to Moore a few days ago.
``This is a very serious time, man. They're squashing down,'' Lee sighs.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(End of Post 1 of 2 on this subject)
I admire that he does what it takes to get his films released (i.e. switching distributors, pushing on with controversial subject matter and images when studios want to exclude this - such as in Bambozzled with the montage sequence showing a lot of the derogatory things African Americans have endured in Hollywood such as the clip of Shirley Temple in blackface )
His takes on corruption in Sports (He Got Game), demonstrating how hard it is to stay honest and keep your integrity.
His casting and acting performances he illicits from his cast are usually top notch(interracial adultery as a movie theme was something I wasn't very interested in in Jungle Fever, but I have never seen a more effective documentation of the ravaging effects of crack cocaine as in the scene where Wesley Snipes has to find his brother Gator (Samuel L Jackson) in a crack hotel
DW Griffith's "Birth Of a Nation" is a brillant film, but I am not a KKK sympathizer. Rather than agree with the NAACP that it should never be screened because it will foster more racism, I would argue that as many people as possible need to see it to a) be familiar with its racist content and to dispel misconceptions and understand the malicious intent to make sure it is prevented in the future and b) appreciate the new cinematic techniques Griffith brought to the arsenal of early 20th century filmmakers.
People will always continue to whine about freedom of speech until something is said or done that offends them personally, and then look out.....
Stereotypes: Hey, Koreans do own a lot of bodegas in New York City. I don't get to caught up in them (stereotypes, not bodegas), unless they are mean-spirited.
If parents want to take their kids out of school to see a movie ("Malcom X", "Schindler's List", come to mind), then who is to stop them? Rich, are you advocating that Big Government enforce truant policy more forcefully in this area? *nudge*
Fun thread. Droppin' rosettas like Galileo.