STAN and OLLIE Biopic Comedy with Steve Coogen and John C Riley is Hardley Worth Laurels

STAN & OLLIE is a biopic comedy duo about Laurel (b UK 1890-1965) & Hardy (b US 1892-1957) is best described by the characters when criticizing each other as "hallow" & "lazy."  The film directed by John Baird (b Scotland) covers the pair from their pinnacle of fame in 1937 in Hollywood to the UK 1953 on a 2nd tier tour as their popularity waned.  The movie doesn't spotlight how the two came to together to become one of the most popular acts in its heydays (1930s).  Their style was slapstick, bumbling comedy schtick.  Rather, the focus is on the years of dimming notoriety as their act grows stale while other comics are riding the rails to stardom.  (Note:  Stan & Ollie standing in front of a large billboard advertising a film with Abbott & Costello).  Was the film funny?  No.  Was it any fun?  Not really.  It was dreary watching Stan maintain a sanguine facade to cover the cracks in the veneer of fading success.  The two stayed too true to their winning formula which goes out of favor.  Stan (a superb Steve Coogen) appears as the brains & force behind the scenes while Ollie (the always imperturbable John C Riley) remains the bulky, frustrated fall guy.  Nina Arianda as Stan's wife steals every scene & pumps some vitality into this somewhat charming but ultimately disappointingly dull dramatization.  Stan had a heavy drinking hand, Ollie a ruinous gambling habit and both had a soft spot for the ladies.   The film shines on their love for their wives in their golden years.  The women have an ongoing hate/love relationship with each other.  The greatest love of all seems to be between Stan & Ollie which slides all the way down from touching to too sentimental.  I have to scratch my head on STAN and OLLIE.  It certainly is - NOT - a big hit.

Lewis Black Brought Everyone together with Laughter - Live from Santa Rosa THE JOKE'S ON US TOUR

Lewis Black performed stand-up comedy last night at the Luther Burb in Santa Rosa, CA.  Black's wry observational comedy on American culture is astute.  He finds the humor in frustrations & experiences that connect us.  The laughter he elicits through his wit is a healing salve which serves to salvage our humanity.  "Laughter is the closest distance between 2 people". (V. Borge)  Black is also known for his sharp political commentary that comes spewed with cunning & profanity.  His jokes are artfully structured & well orchestrated.  He studied playwriting @ NC Univ., written over 40 plays and earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.  Black won the Grammy ('07) for Best Comedy Album.  His extemperaneous bellowing is well thought out and brilliantly played out.  Asked if he could perform his stand-up without so much foul language, "Are you fucking kidding me.  I don't have to but I wouldn't want to."  And, you wouldn't want to mess with his rare comic genius so essential to our sanity.  The first 50 minutes of Black's profane pundits took aim at our pathetic need for instant gratifications; "2 day free shipping!"  The absurdity of prescription ads & their purported healing powers like Prevagen for memory, fake news and caring for the ever increasing geriatric population including his own parents, both centenarians.  Black said when his parents turned 83, they moved into a brand new assisted living center with an entire community of friends.  "They've outlasted all of them."  When the director contacted Black for further payment he told him "You don't understand.  They've won.  They've outlasted everyone.  They get to continue to live there for free."  Just prior to a non-stop hour of roller coaster laughter he checked his watch and noted "You can see I've managed to avoid talking about him.  I get asked often if it's tough to be funny now? Are you fucking kidding me?"  Trump was LOL lambasted along with Kelly Anne & her "alternate facts."  Compelling comedic brilliance brought the packed house down & spirits up.  Mr. Black was sensitive to the massive fires and destruction in our area. He took comments from audience members & locals on a live televised broadcast.  The audience's absurdist commentaries were hilarious & Black derived immense enjoyment reading them aloud.  He also read a news article about an octogenarian who brought his gun to church & accidentally shot himself & his wife having forgotten the gun was loaded (& his Prevagen.) The meeting was to discuss whether guns should be brought into church.  Black referred to a study correlating I.Q. and cursing.  Higher I.Q.'s are noted with "people who curse more often as they are associated with the love for language & a bigger vocabulary."  Black paid homage to comic legends Carlin & Pryor.  Now 70, Black is a living legend in comedy & social commentary. While on THE JOE'S ON US TOUR, don't miss his stand-up that has you laughing & feeling great.

HALE COUNTY this MORNING, this EVENING Ramell Ross' Award Winning Doc. that Leaves me at a Loss

"Hale County this Morning, this Evening" is the artfully shot, hypnagogic doc. that most critics will hail.  This critic says hell no, don't go to this interminable & somnambulistic doc. of an African Amer. community in a rural AL town.  Ramell Ross is a professional photography who went to Hale County to coach boy's high school basketball.  Ross remained in Hale County 5 years and his relentless and standoffish filming of the day to day morphed into a film.  There is lyrical beauty to the cinematography with stunning celestial shots, tempests brewing and life's yearnings that remained tethered and encumbered.   The film's loose structure with minimal dialogue and surreal sequencing  give the film a dreamlike quality.  However, individuals in the community become blurred and distant leaving the viewer detached & uncaring.  Ross' lens that creates a visceral response to scenes of earth, wind & fire. There are memes that re-loop;  religious faith, hoop dreams & youthful potential.  However, the cycle of poverty, teen pregnancy and apathy is mired throughout the lives of Hale County residents.  Ross relies on various artistic motifs, shadows, time lapse, sharp & obscure focus but he forges a chasm that distances the locals.  A sullen & sombre teen tells the camera "I'm living day to day, not going to worry about tomorrow, a day at a time."  HALE COUNTY lapses into surreal imagery that distorts reality and lingers on scenes of pent up charged energy.  Ross seems at a loss for a clear goal or objective to his doc.  He steps in front of the camera in one shot where he's speaking as a basketball coach to his player with constructive criticism and a stern warning.  I appreciate the artistic genius to Ross' craft but his lax of gravitas leaves the film to drift out of orbit.  "Where does time reside?"  In a perpetual picturesque stratosphere that resides in purgatory.  See HALE COUNTY?  Hell no!

Not Enraptured by BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY but it Captured and Bows to Queen's Musical Masterpieces

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is a biopic rock & roll flick that's more discordant than in harmony with itself.  The film pays tribute to the legendary music composed & recorded by the rock band Queen.  Sadly, it's a disjointed biopic/historic account of Freddy Mercury's (FM) life and the rock group Queen from 1970 - 1985 LIVE AID Concert aired world wide from Wimbly Stadium.  The movie does hit several high notes.  The first being the crescendo performance by Rami Malek as FM along with his an exceptional cast.  Special shout outs to FM's bandmates Guilym Lee (Brian May), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and Jim Beach (Tom Hollander) the band's atty./manager.  The performances raise this incoherent story from a D to a C sharp.  The major problem lies with the screenplay written by Anthony McCarten (b New Zealand 1961).  McCarter is responsible for the award winning biopic films "The Theory of Everything" and "The Darkest Hour".  Nonetheless, I will attack the film from all fronts for its historical inaccuracies and abrupt shifts.  ROLLING STONE has been vocal about the fallacies in the chronology of the film.  Director/actor Fletcher Dexter (b UK 1966) took over directing after Bryan Singer dropped out & Rami Malek stepped into the lead role after Sacha Baron Cohen originally slated in 2013.  Dexter, better known for his acting versus directing ("Band of Brothers") defends the film's inexactness by claiming artistic license and disclaiming itself as a documentary.  Still, there are major missteps that detour way off key.  Queen never disbanded and the reunion before the LIVE AID CONCERT 1985 while touching is a gross fabrication.   FM wasn't diagnosed with AIDS until at least a year after the '85 Concert.  The film takes too many shortcuts.  It fumbles with domestic scenes of FM with his family.   that bookend the movie.  This artistic choice was an odd overture and weak encore.  FM's grandiose personality is in sharp contrast with his sexuality.  FM is painted as a pathetic, lonely gay man seeking sexual exploits in bathrooms or groping the help.  The enduring relationship between FM and his wife Mary (Lucy Boynton) is ambiguous & the kumbaya offstage love feast at the '85 concert was mawkish.  Still, Queen's innovative musical compositions which crossed boundaries & mixed genres.  FM's incredible vocal chops & the bravado to experiment & pave their own path proved legendary.  BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is not a champion platinum picture.  It didn't deserve the numerous Golden Globe nominations except in the acting categories.  Queen's operatic manifesto is overrun with a misfit, syrupy story.  It did not did not rock me.

ON THE BASIS of SEX - Our Beloved Justice Ginsburg Early Battles for Equality Break Barriers

The film ON THE BASIS of SEX is a biopic film of the iconic Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG).  The screenplay is written by Daniel Stiepleman, Justice Ginsburg's nephew.  Justice Ginsburg edited the script allowing for some artistic license.  The movie takes on a reverential viewpoint for both his famous aunt & uncle and depicts a loving & supportive marriage. The film is constrained from 1956, the Ginsburgs years at Harvard Law through 1972 & the mostly forgotten but groundbreaking, precedent setting tax case intended to make gender discrimination & stereotyping outdated. "The law is a work in progress and will never be finished."  Justice Ginsburg (a feisty Felicity Jones "The Theory of Everything" ) & her husband Marty Ginsburg (Armie Hammer "Call Me by Your Name") represented the petitioner Charles E. Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue.  This tax case in CO (1972) was a flagstone ruling that helped pave the way for gender equality.  This was the first case that RBG was given the opportunity to argue in court.  RBG had applied to 12 law firms which all turned her down with sexist deprecations.  Ironically, Mr. Moritz was discriminated against for claiming a tax deduction for hiring home healthcare for his disabled mother.  The law stipulated that tax deductions were allotted only to women, widowers or a husband whose wife is incapacitated or institutionalized.  Mr. Moritz had never been married.  He claimed a deduction for the expenses for hiring care for his elderly, dependent mother which was denied by the IRA which accused him of tax fraud.  The Ginsburgs argued the law was arbitrary, unlawful, irrational and denied due process.  The courts ruled for the petitioner.  Solicitor Gen. Griswold, former Dean of Harvard Law School (Sam Watterson) represented the IRA with the intention of "putting to bed the idea once & for all that gender equality is not a civil right."  Justice Ginsburg maintained "...unconscious bias is one of the hardest things to get at".  This biopic picture is directed by film & Emmy winning TV director Mimi Leder. The movie falls into several genres:  an inspirational biopic & civil liberties story, a court room drama and tenderhearted love story.  If there weren't already a plethora of convictions for bestowing accolades on RBG, this spirited and personal reflection on her life, accomplishments towards equality and endearing marriage will convince any strident tribunal that Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg has erected radical social changes to our country's sexist culture of designated gender roles with her tenacity & knowledge of our judicial system.  I rule in favor of seeing this film.  I don't think those who see the film would disagree.  "You can disagree without being disagreeable." (RBG)

IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Based on James Baldwin's novel Directed by Barry Jenkins

The brilliant Acad. Award winning director/screenwriter Barry Jenkins ("Moonlighting") has adapted James Baldwin's novel "If Beale Street Could Talk" (1974) into an artisan testament of racism, blind hatred and omnipotent love.  Baldwin (b Amer. 1924-1987) was one of America's most prominent writers & outspoken activist for social equality.  Baldwin was born & raised in Harlem where he sets his novel during the 1970's.  It's a love story between a young black woman, Tish (a tour-de-force  performance by Kiki Layner) and Fonnie (Stephan James "Homecoming" opposite Julia Roberts.)  This isn't a star crossed lovers story but a tragedy non-the-less of omnipresent oppression in the US since the years of slavery, the Jim Crowe South, the Civil Rights movement and a repugnant resurgence of white supremacy & bigotry today.  Jenkins magnificently captures a beautiful love between Tish (the film's narrator) and Fonnie.  Tish can't remember a time without Fonnie "...{we are} part of each other, flesh to flesh."  Tish is 19 and Fonnie 22 when she becomes pregnant.  Both are excited to celebrate new life.  Tish's is surrounded by a loving & supportive family; doting big sis and magnanimous supporting parents played by Regina King and Colman Domingo.  Both King & Domingo should receive supporting Oscar nominations.  Fonnie's family is represent the haughty, snobbish side of racial hierarchy within the black community.  Fonnie's father aligns with his son & Tish and her family.  The real threat to the hopefulness & joyous anticipation of Tish & Fonnie's baby is the vicious cycle of racism, oppression and poverty.  Daniel, an old friend from the hood tells Tish & Fonnie, "The white man has got to be the devil."  Daniel was recently released from 3 years in prison on trumped up charges and for which he took an unjust plea deal.  "They can charge you with whatever.  They were playing with me cause they could.  They can do whatever they want.  This country really do not like niggers."  Daniel's incarceration foreshadows Fonnie's arrest on false accusations instigated by a white officer in retaliation after Fonnie was defended by a white woman.  Tish & her family desperately work to get Fonnie released to no avail.  Pain, injustice & devotion are seared in the faces of Tish & Fonnie seen through the glass partition that separates them in prison.  Baldwin wrote "It is certain, in any case that ignorance, allied with power is the most ferocious enemy that justice can have."  "If Beale Street Could Talk" is a masterpiece and speaks volumes in its long lingering looks of both hope, love & despair.  Archival period black/white photos & gleaming cinematography add immense poignancy. The ensemble cast is flawless.  There is compassion & kindness to be found amidst misery & hatred.  Tish's sentiment at the end of the film lingers.  "Trust love.  Trust it all the way."