Movie Review - "Manchester by the Sea" (2016)

One thought was going through my head as I was leaving "Manchester by the Sea" - Boy, that sure was sad. And it would have been a lot happier if he actually talked about how he was feeling. The first thing my parents said to me as they were leaving the theater was, "When you have a wife, talk to her about your problems. Communication is key! You don't want to end up like Casey Affleck."

As I am writing this review, I have recently finished writing my thoughts on "Hidden Figures" and "The Pink Panther," both of which left a positive impact on my in one way or another. But because "Manchester by the Sea" was such a sad-sack from start to finish, the film means almost nothing to me. It was certainly well put together and Casey Affleck gives one of the most captivating performance of the year, but there no hope to hold on to, no joy to be had. Even "Hacksaw Ridge" at least had a good moral about fighting for what you believe in despite what everyone else might tell you or force on you, and that was a gruesome war flick.


But "Manchester by the Sea" is sad for the sake of being sad, to the point where it is almost depressing. Its main character certainly goes through a difficult journey that I sympathize with, but he is given every opportunity to improve and he refuses to take it like a stubborn child who doesn't want to eat his vegetables.


Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) works as a janitor and handy-man at a series of apartment complexes in Boston. Lee is unfriendly towards the tenants and obnoxious to everyone else, picking a fight with someone who might look at him the wrong way. When Lee finds out his brother (Kyle Chandler) has passed away, leaving his son Patrick (Lucas Hedges) all alone in Manchester, Lee does his best help Patrick settle in, despite having to deal with harsh looks and whispers of Manchester about Lee's past.

Casey Affleck is one of the more underrated actors, but I can see why. He usually gives performances that are quieter in his tone, more about the subtlety and facial expression than what he's saying (which might explain why most of his performance goes over my head). But that quality is what makes him perfect for this role, as a man trying to mask his pain and cannot deal with world when he can hardly handle himself. Affleck is in every scene of this movie, and he plays Lee as a man sitting on anger, ready to burst at a moments' notice and doesn't seem to know anything but anger.


My biggest complaint with "Manchester by the Sea" is that Lee never moves beyond this point. Anger is his default emotion and despite what happens between him and Patrick, the journey these two go through, he seems to have learned nothing. Even though he's clearly in a lot of pain, Lee refuses to talk about his feelings like a normal person would. This would be fine if Lee gave a reason outside of "I don't want to talk about it," but that's the most we get.

I am left in this strange place where I sympathize with Lee due to his past and Afflecks' performance, but I don't relate to him because of his inability to communicate, even with his loved ones. There are so many scenes that are infuriating, because they offer Lee and Patrick plenty of opportunities to talk about their pasts and the future they could share, but is instead filled with awkward silence.


Overall, I appreciate what "Manchester by the Sea" was going for and enjoyed Afflecks' performance, but this was slow, poorly-paced and frustrating to watch. If a scene wasn't about Lee refusing to change, it was about awkward moments of Lee's lack of social skills. The only reason to watch this one is for Casey Affleck's acting, which does elevate the film above its sad story.


Final Grade: C

Movie Review - "The Pink Panther" (1964)

Boy, 1964 was the year of fun movies wasn't it? "Goldfinger," "Mothra vs. Godzilla" and now "The Pink Panther." Screw 1939 or 1994, 1964 might be the greatest year of cinema.


These days, I hear little about the Pink Panther film series, at least anything good. Before watching this movie, my only exposure were the Steve Martin movies, who portrays the title character Inspector Clouseau as incompetent fool who doesn't seem to understand how the world works. And most people seem to agree with me. But after watching the original film, I can see why Steve Martin's performance is so infuriating to those who enjoyed the series.


In the 1964 film, Inspector Clouseau is played by Peter Sellers, a bumbling police officer who seems to be just a few steps behind the notorious jewel thief, the Phantom (David Niven). He travels the globe constantly searching for the next clue, alongside his wife Simone (Capucine). We quickly learn that Simone is working with the Phantom and stops the Inspector at every turn, but seems to have fallen in love with him, and at least two other men.

For all of his comedic antics throughout the film, what I enjoyed about Inspector Clouseau is that he was still great at his job. He was always on the trail and would set aside family and loved ones to complete his mission, always intelligently assessing the situation and coming to the best conclusion possible. His problem is that he doesn't always look where he's going and his body cannot keep up with his brain.


He's not a mindless idiot, just uncoordinated and a little too dedicated to the job.


Originally, "The Pink Panther" was mostly going to be about the Phantom and his nephew attempting to steal the largest diamond in the world, the pink panther diamond. But as the filmming progressed, Peter Sellers stole more and more of the show and cracked up everyone on set with his bumbling personality. This convinced the studio to put Sellers in more scenes, until he ultimatley became the main character and got top billing. David Niven later noted that, while he played a jewel thief, it was Peter Sellers who stole the movie.


And while Niven does well with his role, playing the suave yet pompous gentlemen, Sellers gives us some great scenes in the later parts of the film.


My biggest complaint with "The Pink Panther" is how slow it starts out. There are small moments of goodness sprinkled throughout the first hour, especially between Niven and the princess who owns the diamond, but nothing substainial. But once it gets to an uproarious scene where Clouseau, the Phantom, his nephew and Simone keep going back and forth through the same hotel room and Simone attempts to hide everything from her husband, the film gets great, with one great joke after another leading to a hilarious punchline.


Overall, "The Pink Panther" may start out slow but it has one of the greatest comedic endings I have seen, which makes the whole journey worth it. Peter Sellers is wonderful in every scene, whether he is solving a crime or bumbling his way through answering the phone. It is not hard to see why this verison of Inspector Clouseau is so beloved and why Peter Sellers stole top billing for this movie.


Final Grade: B+

Movie Review - "Hidden Figures" (2016)

Boy, this was a film that tried to appeal to everyone - A film about launching the first astronauts into space, while also a civil rights movie at the same time. And it's based on true events.


On the one hand, "Hidden Figures" is bare-bones and is about as predictable as you can get. Every emotional note is hit right when you'd expect it and it is filled to the brim with speeches about race, equality, perseverence, and getting into space. This makes the film hoaxy and cheesy in its execution.


And yet, the hoaxyness of "Hidden Figures" makes the film endearing, because of the intensity and tenacity behind its many great performances. I left the theatre with a smile on my face, just like any great feel-good movie should.


Set during the space-race between the Soviet Union and America shortly after the Soviets launch Sputnik, NASA has now become determined to put a man into space and orbit around the planet. To do this, they hire the best minds and engineers they can find, which include mathematician Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson), engineer Mary Jackson (Janeele Monae) and mathematician/supervisor Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer). All three not only face the problems of being the first people to launch someone out of our atmosphere in a flaming ball of hot metal, but also the constant struggles of racial discrimination and gender inequality in the heat of the civil rights movement, in an environment surrounded by white men.

This film would not have worked if it were not for its three lead actresses. In the hands of less capable or convincing talents, "Hidden Figures" would fly apart at the seams.


Henson is quiet and reversed, yet is so strong and determined to show her worth that her intensity cannot be ignored. There's a fire in her eyes that made her performance so captivating, which I did not expect from the opening that showed her character as this hyper -intelligent child that did not like people, similar to Sherlock Holmes. Yet Henson plays Katherine as a woman desperately trying to earn her place in a world she knows that she belongs in.


Monae is fiesty and independent, which leads her to being the funniest of the three as she stands up to her husband and friends. While she gets the least amount of screentime of the three, Monae packs each scene with charm and a little bit of sass as she bucks the system. Her stand out scene comes when she confronts a county judge, as she lists off his accomplishments and how he has always supported change.

Spencer, as always, is a wonderful actress here - killing her enemies with kindness. She has the quiet quality of Henson and the sass of Monae when she needs it, but her tenacity and willingness to learn is what gets me. She has a motherly quality to her character, as someone who cares more about the well-being of others over herself, which makes Spencer perfect for this role.


Together these three ladies show different sides to handling racial discrimination, while also trying to contribute to the world. Their chemistry with each other comes off as three supportive sisters who realize the world is not going to change over night and they need to take care of each other. All three carry the difficult task of making these over-the-top lines carry the weight they need without overselling it.


While I can say I have seen stories like "Hidden Figures" a dozen times before, I cannot say I've seen performances quiet like the ones these three gave.

Overall, "Hidden Figures" accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do through its feel-good performances and story that reflects all the charms and curses of the 1960s. It made me laugh, cheer, and think, which is a great thing for any movie to do.


Final Grade: B

Movie Review - "Intolerance" (1916)

It is amazing how much of a damn I didn't give about "Intolerance."

Directed by the grandfather of filmmaking, D.W. Griffith, "Intolerance" was made as a snide comeback to the critical response to Griffith's previous film, "The Birth of a Nation." For those unaware, that was the first feature-length movie ever made in 1915 and it has aged about as well as wet bread sitting out in the sun for a month - Offensively racist in terms of storytelling and filmmaking, "The Birth of a Nation" is a chore to sit through nowadays.

"Intolerance" is not racist like Griffith's predecessor, but it is equally as tedious while remaining impressive for 1916. This three-and-a-half hour long movie tells four different tales of intolerance throughout different periods in time, including ancient Babylon, a brief period on Jesus, a French renaissance tale and one set during modern American times.

Any movie that has a network narrative, like "Cloud Atlas" or "Love Actually," owes a lot to "Intolerance." And for being a silent black-and-white movie made only a year after the feature film was created, it does have a distinctive way to inform the audience when and where we are through different-tinted screens. Most of the French story has a green tint, while the Babylonian era is a stained yellow. Any time violent acts occur, no matter the time period, the screen is tinted red.

There is also a fifth time period, in which the "mother of time" rocks a craddle back and forth, and mankind is the symbolic baby in the craddle. The mother is played by Lillian Gish, who would go on to have one of the longest careers in Hollywood and be one of the silent eras greatest actresses.

Outside of that, nothing about "Intolerance" stuck with me. I couldn't tell you what happened, because I really didn't care about anything that was happening.

When you watch as many different types of movies as I do, you come across a film that never attempts to pull you in and get you invested in what they're trying to do or say. "Intolerance" is one of those movies.

I appreciate one of the first attempts at an movie epic and the creation of the network narrative, but multiple stories about hatred and injustice throughout time isn't compelling or worthwhile when done as a silent film. That is something you need active dialogue for, and unfortunately that wouldn't be invented for another eleven years.

So I give "Intolerance" a pass for being ahead of its time, but like "The Birth of a Nation" this one was a chore to sit through.

Final Grade: C-

Movie Review - "Hoop Dreams" (1994)

There is a moment in 1994's "Hoop Dreams" that turns this documentary from a tale about dreaming for the NBA into a story about finding a relatable middle ground between your dreams and reality. It comes about halfway through the film when it becomes clear to one of the two high school-aged boys that he cannot continue on this path, due to a lack of money, and thus will not get into a proper school that will be noticed by the NBA.


At that point, you think the rest of the movie is going to be a downer as we watch his dreams fall apart and everything unravels. But he loves basketball so much that he will not let a little thing like that stop him. If anything, it motivates him further to stand out even more.


"Hoop Dreams" is a documentary that follows the lives of William Gates and Arthur Agee, both aspire to become the best basketball players they can be and be in the NBA. Gates and Agee both live in small poor neighboorhoods just outside Chicago, but they manage to join St. Joseph's high school, the premier basketball school that can serve as a jumping off point to any major college they want to attend. The film chronicles their four-year journey through high school, their ups and downs, steps forward and their mishaps, whether that is a insufficient income, a fractured knee or losing power at home.

Part of the reason I had little interest in seeing "Hoop Dreams" was because of my knowledge of sports, yet never hearing the names William Gates and Arthur Agee associated with the NBA. But as I watched the film, I realized it was not just about these kids but the almost impossible journey one must take to get into professional sports. It's just being the best you can be, nor is it being the best player on your team, but being the best out of a million people trying get into a professional sport. Whether that's the MLB, NFL, or NBA, you have to stand above literally everyone else trying to get in.


And that's just to get in the door, let alone staying there and making an impact. Everyone trying to get into a sport thinks they are the next Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning or Babe Ruth, but the truth is a player like that only comes along once every decade.


This makes "Hoop Dreams" a cautionary tale about the consequences of setting your dreams for an impossible goal, and the inevitable fall. But what gives the film its heart is how these two get up from that fall and find new ways to pursue their passion and love of basketball. They learn to translate that joy for sports into their lives, and to watch these real boys go through that transformation is one of the most uplifting experiences I've seen.


Final Grade: A-

Movie Review - "Moonlight" (2016)

Cinema tends to exaggerate some aspects of reality, even in some of the better movies. We see this all the time in science fiction when asked what makes us human, or in romantic dramas related to the need for love and companionship. But then a film like "Moonlight" comes along that handles the weight and complexity of reality in just a way that doesn't feel ham-fisted or over the top and makes for one of the closest experiences to reality I've seen in a long time.


"Moonlight" follows the life of Chiron, an African-American boy growing up in a poor drug-filled neighboorhood in Florida, as he deals with bullies, his addict mother (Naomie Harris), and a budding realtionship with his friend Kevin. The film is told through three different time periods, with Chiron as a little boy (Alex Hibbert), a young teenager (Ashton Sanders) and as an adult (Trevante Rhodes), while he finds out who he is and what he wants.


"Moonlight" reminds me of "Boyhood" in some ways, especially the on-going story of one persons' life told throughout the years, but takes it in an entirely different path. Mason from "Boyhood" was a simple boy with familiar problems that most people have. Chiron, on the other hand, comes from a world that never really cared about him, outside of a drug dealer and his girlfriend who showed him kindness, and slowly learns to build his identity, as well as learning that he's gay.

But Chiron never complains that he doesn't know who he is or what he's achieved in life, most of that goes unspoken. As a child and teenager, Chiron remains quiet and observant, taking in the world around him until others force him into action and his true feelings are revealed. As an adult, the only world he has known of violence and hatred has shaped him into a different man than he wanted to be, and his identity has been muddled.


When an adult Kevin asks Chiron who he is, Chiron responds with, "I'm me." But even he doesn't know "me" is. He just throught that would come naturally, when it most certainly does not.

This makes "Moonlight" the most personal film of the year. It is quiet on the outside, but speaks volumes about experiences and acceptance through its wise yet mellow performances. The great thing about "Moonlight" is it does exactly what films are supposed to do - open audiences to vastly different views and realities we so rarely see, and make us appreciate, understand, and empathize with them.


Final Grade: A-

Movie Review - "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

I would like to take a moment to address some glaring mistakes I've made in the past, in particular to my review of "Selma" and the terrible things I said. In that review, it came across like I said racism doesn't exist and shouldn't be an issue that is discussed when that shouldn't be the case. It came across like I was speaking from a white priveledged perspective and as someone who has never seen racism, which made me look insensitive and, for lack of a better term, racist.


While this is long overdue, I do apologize for what I said in that review and any other time I've said something that you have taken as offensive. While it was not my intention to come across that way, it was clear that my perspective was skewed, unfocused, and selfish. While my opinion of "Selma" has changed very little since my initial review, I should have made it clear that I respected the film for its brutal honesty and being unrelenting in the face of the truth, much like Martin Luther King himself, which certainly does strengthen the film and its history.


For without the fight for equal rights and treatment from heroes like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, the world would be much darker and prejudiced place.


This is what makes 1967's "In the Heat of the Night" one of the most important movies of all time. While this film claims to be a murder-mystery, the true star of the film is prejudice and intolerance, set in a hot small town in Mississippi after the one man who make this town big is murdered, and the police officers begin throwing around suspects like they were tickets to the state fair, including to a visiting African-American, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier). The sherriff, Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger), quickly learns Tibbs is a homocide detective from Philadelphia and is given this murder case by his superior.

The film is less about solving the crime and more about Tibbs and the sherriff fighting and clawing at one another, in the hope of recognition and respect - Tibbs to show that any man, no matter his color or creed, can achieve any job they want to, and the sherriff to show he is worthy of being in charge of the law in this town.


They both just want to be created as equals, whether as a man or as an officer.


This is compliemented perfectly by Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger's performances. Poitier is unflinching and unforgiving, and goes into the case expecting nothing but to prove his worth. Without scalding or hardly raising his voice above a whisper, he proves he is louder and stronger than anyone else.


Steiger, on the other hand, plays his role as a man who has laid back most of his life and let the answers come to him. This case is the first time he has been challenged, in more ways than one. He is quick to assume because it is easy, but he learns that police investigations are anything but easy. He comes across as a conflicted man, who wants to trust Tibbs but is torn by his prejudice.


Any scene between these two is racked with tense dialogue, each trying to dig in to the other. Any moment of silence is deadly as the two stare each other down, like a old western showdown.


I adore "In the Heat of the Night" for its timing, commentary on recognition and the tense atmosphere. The pacing moves just well enough to keep the mystery compelling, yet slow enough to let the quieter moments sink in. This is a quintessential picture for anyone who wants to understand and appreciate the evolution of mankind, myself included.


Final Grade: A