Cinema Dave with Tony Nathan.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

When I wrote my end-of-the-year review column, I started by acknowledging Class Acts – people I met at festivals, press junkets and conventions. These individuals were in the spotlight and handled their situation with grace, humility and a sense of humor. Though it has been over 25 years since I last talked with him, Tony Nathan definitively deserves a spot on the Class Act list. Tony Nathan’s teenage years are the subject of Woodlawn, a new movie that opened last weekend in local theaters.

Woodlawn opens and closes with images from a Reverend Billy Graham Crusade in 1972. Forced busing has created conflict in Woodlawn, AL as federal desegregation laws are being enforced across America. Woodlawn High School football coach Tandy Geralds (Nic Bishop) goes to work with a revolver strapped to his ankle.

The school year begins in chaos and the first football team meeting begins with self-imposed segregation. When the gnome-like Hank (Sean Astin) asks to speak to the team, Coach Geralds allows it. After Hank talks about his faith in Jesus Christ for an hour, the team becomes unified.

Woodlawn provides enough football action scenes to fulfill sport movie expectations; however, this historical movie is not clichéd. Woodlawn is a movie about character growth and development. In the center of the change is Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille), a high school student whose nickname is “Touchdown Tony”.

Caleb Castille’s performance captures the quiet dignity of Tony Nathan. Castille is supported by Sheri Shepard as Mama Nathan. Having portrayed FDR and Howard Cosell in the past, Jon Voight adds Paul “Bear” Bryant to his quiver of celebrity impersonations. Gifted actor that he is, Voight manages to bridge the gap between the man and the legend. The actor’s ensemble is worthy of the Woodlawn High School football team.

The issues raised in Woodlawn are just as relevant today as they were in 1973. There is a direct correlation between rioting for justice and finding common ground in sharing one’s faith. Woodlawn is a good family movie or a film that can be used for a school field trip.

For those planning on attending the 30th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, catalogs will be available at the entrance of Deerfield Beach Percy White Library on a first come, first served basis.

105.9 WAXY FM Radio Promotion at the old Eckerds at the Publix Shopping Plaza, where Five Guys is today. Featured in the photo are Cinema Dave, his dad, Jerry; his mom, Mary, and Rick Riley from the 105.9 WAXY FM morning show. Front row – Coach Tony Nathan and John Bosa, defense for the 1988 Miami Dolphins.

The Walk is a simple cinematic experience that deserves its box office success and critical acclaim. Told with exuberant energy, this film celebrates the core feeling of what it is to be a New Yorker.

The film opens with Frenchman Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) narrating his story from the torch of the Statue of Liberty. As Petit explains his early adventures as a wire walker, the camera pans back and reveals the old New York skyline, with the Empire State Building in the background and the Twin Towers in the foreground.

After years as a street performer, Petit assembles a team of like-minded individuals to manage high profile challenges. Petit gains notoriety in Paris when he crosses the bell towers of the Notre Dame cathedral. After being arrested and being put in jail for public disturbance, Petit sees himself on the cover of a Paris newspaper. After flipping the newspaper open, he reads that the World Trade Center Twin Towers would soon be nearing completion. Seeing this coincidence as a divine sign, Petit assembles an international team to walk a wire between the Twin Towers.

Released seven years ago, Man on Wire was an Oscar award-winning documentary about the same subject. The Walk is a complimentary film experience that provides cinematic detail as to the nuances of wire walking that stock documentary footage is unable to present. It is a full cinematic experience that needs to be seen on the big screen for full effect.

The 30th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLiFF 30) begins in three weeks. FLiFF 30 will feature visits from Christopher Lloyd, Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan, and Gil Bellows, known for Ally McBeal and Shawshank Redemption, among others. Loretta Swit, from the television version of M*A*S*H, will be involved in a special Veteran’s Day screening and event.

Having been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the World’s Longest Film Festival”, FLiFF 30 will kick off with special pre-fest screenings. Brooklyn features Saoirse Ronan as an Irish Immigrant involved in a forbidden romance with an Italian man during the 1950s. Produced by Ty Flowers, Time Simply Passes is a 53-minute documentary about a man wrongly imprisoned for killing his own children. 3:13 is a documentary about a man who lost his fortune in the Great Recession and how he became a street person in Miami. With sunnier cinematography, Single in South Beach deals with the relationship issues of a material girl.

For late breaking FLiFF30 news, updates and schedule, visit www.fliff.com.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Run Boy Run opens tomorrow in local theaters. This film won 10 U.S. Film Festival Awards and is based on a true story about how a boy survived Nazi aggression from 1942 through the end of World War II. With English subtitles, this foreign movie does not need much language translation; it relies on the visual imagery to tell this riveting story.

Srulik (played by twin actors – Andrzej and Kamil Tkacz) has escaped a concentration camp with his father. With guards in hot pursuit, the father tells his son the most important thing to remember, if he loses memories of his father, mother and siblings, is that he is a Jew.

While on the lam, Srulik attempts to pass himself off as a Christian. He goes from farm to farm offering free labor in trade for room and food. If a farmer beats Srulik, the boy moves on. Sometimes a temporarily content life is ruined when children his own age discover, because he is circumcised, that this vagrant farm boy is a Jew.

Much like Homer’s Odyssey, Run Boy Run is a rollercoaster ride that swings from bucolic moments to frantic action scenes in which the child uses his wits to survive deadly violence. Director Pepe Danquart provides enough attention to detail rival Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s best suspenseful thrillers.

Surlik does not survive his ordeal unscathed. Due to a farming accident, Surlik’s medical situation goes from bad to worse due to the prejudice of Nazi laws. This is a strong memory to take away from this film; however, this film is life-affirming. After surviving such atrocity, ticket buyers will enjoy roaming the European countryside with the likable Surlik.

Adventurers in Charity 3 was held last weekend and “Cinema” Dave was there. This annual event brings together fans of the now closed Adventurers Club, formerly located at Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney. Since it closed seven years ago, Downtown Disney has become Disney Springs, with more stores and restaurants but fewer locations for human interaction. The annual event contributes to several charities.

While A Better Life Pet Rescue earned the majority of the contributions, Adventurers in Charity shed light on Dravet syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy that begins in childhood (www. dravetfoundation.org). The Starkey Hearing Foundation conducts hearing missions in the United States and around the world. This foundation plans to fit 10,000 hearing aids annually to children in need.

Adventurers in Charity is a rewarding weekend for those who contribute, and Adventures in Charity 4 is on the drawing board.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Every generation of ticket buyers learns about the underbelly of society through the movies. In the 1930s, Al Capone was represented by movies like The Public Enemy, Little Caesar and Scarface. The Genovese Family was a direct influence on The Godfather movies.

In recent times, the Boston thug and FBI informant James “Whitey” Bulger has been represented by award winning motion pictures set in Boston, most notably Mystic River and The Departed. Each of these motion pictures presents its protagonist as an anti-hero who defies society’s conventions and is defeated by his own character flaws.

As portrayed by Johnny Depp, Black Mass details the 40-year rise and fall of Whitey Bulger. Already a sociopath thug in the Southie section of Boston, Bulger fathers a son with girlfriend Lindsey Cyr (Dakota Johnson). When this son retaliates against a bully in the schoolyard and gets suspended from school, Bulger advises him to avenge himself “when no one is looking.”

Despite his criminal activities, Bulger is deeply connected with the legitimate world through his brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch), a member of the state legislature, and FBI Agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). The legend of Whitey Bulger grows as he becomes the criminal lord of Boston. Bulger’s criminal empire expands to Ireland and Miami.

Johnny Depp is getting his best notices in years. Like a grey-haired cobra, Depp performs with steely restraint. A comforting friend one moment, Depp’s Bulger can easily knife an acquaintance in the back a moment later. While Depp is the master of ceremonies, Black Mass is a full ensemble piece featuring good performances from Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson and Benedict Cumberbatch.

While it does not match the artistic heights of The Godfather movies, Black Mass does provide an interesting chapter in Hollywood made gangster movies. Scott Cooper’s Black Mass is a fine companion piece to Ridley Scott’s American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe headlining a fine ensemble cast. These movies walk a fine line between fantasy and reality.

When I attended the Friday afternoon screening of Black Mass, the packed auditorium was full of men wearing T-shirts representing Al Pacino’s Scarface, Giancarlo Espositio’s faux fast food chicken shack from Breaking Bad and older men wearing black. This bizarre experience was like going to the opening day of a Marvel comic movie, except that Black Mass does not celebrate heroes.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Opening tomorrow, The Second Mother kicks off Hispanic Heritage month. With dialogue in Portuguese and English subtitles, this film is a two-hour drama with humorous moments about family life and the social caste system in Brazil.

Val (Regina Case) is the devoted housekeeper to a doctor and his high class wife. She dotes upon their son, Fabinho (Michel Joelsas), who feels a special attachment to his “Second Mommy.” Early in the film, Val is babysitting Fabinho at the pool when the telephone rings. When Val answers the phone and talks to her estranged daughter Jessica (Camila Mardila), Fabinho becomes confused.

As the years past, Val becomes as much of the fixture of the doctor’s house as the living room sofa. When Jessica arrives in town to take a series of entrance exams, the doctor impulsively offers to let Jessica stay in the guest room. Complications arise as Jessica observes Val’s intimate relationship with Fabinho.

The Second Mother is a fresh motion picture about the rites of passage for a mother transferring from middle age, a wealthy family adjusting to empty nest syndrome and two young people confronting responsibility in the world. It’s contemporary and is likely to be remade as an American sitcom.

From France comes The New Girlfriend, a film that is being promoted as an Alfred Hitchcock-style thriller. The film is much more related to Hitchcock’s later, more personal work, like Marnie, Spellbound and Rebecca, three films that rely more on psychological revelations than cliffhanging action sequences.

Stonewall is a slice of contemporary American history much like Straight Outta Compton and Black Mass. Directed by Roland Emmereich (Independence Day), Stonewall details the birth of the Gay Liberation movement from the riots in New York City.

Despite the televised distractions caused by football, baseball and the Republican debates, the motion picture box office is enjoying its best September in over a decade. Expect 2015 to close out as a memorable movie-going year.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With the start of couch potato season (that is, the opening of college and professional football, U.S. Open Tennis, and baseball pennant runs), the motion picture industry has become more strategic about releasing films in September. Nineteen years ago Paramount Pictures found box office gold by releasing The First Wives Club as a counter to non-stop programs of televised sports.

Last week, War Room ended Straight Outta Compton’s August box office domination. Produced for a mere $3 million, War Room has grossed over $39 million, creating a comfortable profit margin. War Room is a faith-based movie about the power of prayer healing a family’s domestic woes.

With little fanfare beyond some cheesy television commercials, 90 Minutes from Heaven opened last weekend. This film is a quiet, thought provoking piece of Christian cinema.

In 1989, Pastor Don Piper (Hayden Christensen) gets into a car accident and is pronounced dead for 90 minutes. Despite the dire situation, another preacher demands he be allowed to pray with the corpse. When he sings What a friend I have in Jesus, Pastor Don Piper is revived.

Enter Don’s wife Eva (Kate Bosworth). Besides being the pastor’s wife, she is also a school teacher with three children. With the support of the family, the community and the medical staff, Eva holds down the house as her husband makes a painful recovery.

90 Minutes in Heaven is a simple drama. Deliberately slow-paced at times, the film accurately presents how medical recovery can be a depressing experience. Eva Piper, Kate Bosworth, absorbs the brunt of the pain and only reveals her vulnerable character when she is alone, away from her children and friends. Considering the bad rap he has endured for his role as “Young Darth Vader” in the Star Wars prequels, Hayden Christensen enjoys career redemption with this film.

Before the screenings of War Room and 90 Minutes in Heaven began, there was a series of interesting trailers about other upcoming faith-based motion pictures, including Captive starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Kate Mara, and Woodlawn, starring Sean Astin and Jon Voight, as the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Woodlawn should spark local interest because it features the story of Young Tony Nathan, former Miami Dolphin utility player under Don Shula.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

There is a saying that national politics begin after Labor Day. While we are still a year away from when the national media begins to dissect the potential presidency of Joe Biden or Donald Trump, etc. this is a great time to review American history and ask the question “How did we get here?”

Best of Enemies is an 87-minute documentary about an experiment that third place ABC New Broadcast attempted, circa 1968. It was the time when President Johnson’s administration went up in flames and he announced that he would not seek a second term. Robert F. Kennedy was supposed to be a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination, but he was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan earlier in the year. As home television transitioned from black-andwhite to color, the nuclear family unit witnessed the United States losing the Vietnam War on CBS News with Walter Cronkite and NBC News with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.

Both NBC and CBS provided gavel-to-gavel coverage with multiple camera angles at the Republican Convention in Miami and the Democratic Convention in Chicago during the summer of 1968.

Lacking the financial resources of NBC and CBS, the ABC National News bureau decided to use fewer cameras, cover the major speeches and provide political commentary from political experts representing Democratic and Republican perspectives. Given their public sophistication and that both men were writers, Gore Vidal was chosen to represent political left and William F. Buckley was chosen to represent the political right for a series of 10 debates at both conventions.

As we learn from this documentary, both Buckley and Vidal had a deep-seated hatred for each other that was masked by their media training, poise and education. Through the series of debates, we see two master debaters spar with each other with minor tweaks and taunts. When in the sunshine of the Miami convention, the first five debates seem as jovial as a checkers match on Collins Avenue.

Yet, as the location transfers to the notorious convention in Chicago, the oppressive atmosphere outside the convention hall permeates the political discourse between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley. Directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville wisely let Buckley and Vidal speak for themselves. The 10 debates grow in intensity and by the final debate, the sophisticated faÇades melt into raw anger.

Given the manufactured controversy of today’s news cycle with broadcast news, cable news, websites and personal blogs, Best of Enemies is an important historical documentary that explains the rise of modern journalism. With fewer resources and celebrity news readers, and working in a broken down studio, ABC News set into motion the way the news media today covers political conventions each leap year.

Best of Enemies features some intriguing behind the scenes outtakes. It is an entertaining documentary with much humor. Yet, it is the intellectual showdown between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley that you will remember long after viewing it.

For more information on the film, including theaters where it is playing, visit www.magpictures.com/bestofenemies.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Opening tomorrow, Walt Before Mickey is about the pursuit of happiness. It is not necessarily about avoiding hardship, poverty and betrayal, but it is about the life of the American Business legend, Walt Disney (Thomas Ian Nicholas). One can guess the (spoiler alert) happy ending when Walt Before Mickey concludes.

During his childhood, being raised on a Missouri farm, young Walt would compulsively draw characters on barn doors and walls. As a young adult, Walt and his friends Ub Iwerks (Armando Gutierrez) and Rudy Ising (David Henrie) form their own animation studio and produce Laugh- O-Grams for the Newman cinema chain. However, the high cost of producing the animation forces Walt Disney’s first business into bankruptcy. His future business dealings get even worse.

It is refreshing to see a modern day movie that celebrates entrepreneurship and moral values. Disney’s perseverance is directly proportional to both his creativity and his loyalty to friends and family. With nary a cuss word, Walt Before Mickey is a fine family movie to go see this Labor Day weekend.

It was made in South Florida by Floridans. For screening locations, visit www.waltbeforemickey.com

Despite cultural differences, Straight Outta Compton shares similar business values about loyalty and entrepreneurial success. We watch three young men Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr. – who is actually the son of the real Ice Cube) and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) crawl out of a Los Angeles ghetto and form the pioneer rap group – NWA.

While enjoying the fruits of their success, the three young men are manipulated by the suspicious business dealings of Jerry Heller, portrayed by Paul Giamatti – who has added depth to similar roles that he played in Rock of Ages and Love & Mercy.

For peers my age who enjoyed the music of Bruce Springsteen, and Huey Lewis and the News, Straight Outta Compton provides a history lesson about the rise of rap music.

The film presents Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E as the next generation’s Rat Pack. Like Frank Sinatra’s connections to the mafia, Straight Outta Compton reveals these artists’ connections to some pretty vicious thugs with pit bulls.

The film has earned $130 million during the month of August, the only box office success of the month. Modestly produced with a great attention to detail, one sees the financial model for films like Straight Outta Compton setting a trend on the big screen in the future.

During the next couple of months, we can look forward to some fascinating motion pictures from Guillermo Del Toro, Johnny Depp, James Bond 007 and Disney’s first Star Wars feature at Christmas time. In the meantime, have a safe Labor Day.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

After retiring from the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneer Superbowl Champion Simeon Rice attended a New York film school to prepare to become a filmmaker.

After directing his first short subject, When I was King, Simeon poured his energies into writing Unsullied, a gritty thriller that follows Reagan Farrow (Murray Gray), a track star, who is kidnapped by a pair of sociopaths after her car breaks down on a deserted road.

Being a student of Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Quentin Tarantino, Rice’s latest film feels like a cross between The Most Dangerous Game, Apocalypto and Deliverance.

“Seeing Deliverance, I was on edge. Time is standing on its own high sense of tension and anxiety. With film, once you see an image, you cannot un-see it!” said Rice.

Deliverance shares the same rural landscape as Unsullied.

Rice and his crew spent more time scouting rural locations near Tampa Bay than the actual production of the film, which was shot in 23 days last autumn. Simeon has high praise for his production crew and he acknowledges the contributions of his leading actors.

“Murray Gray is a deep thinker and is wise beyond her years.

Rusty Joiner, who plays Noah Evans, is the consummate Southern gentleman, often holding the door for a lady. On screen, he entered another dimension and created Satan personified, the kind of church boy you do not trust,” he explained.

Given that he chose to film Unsullied in Florida and had a good experience with the community, perhaps he can become an advocate for the Florida film industry; he defiantly has a streak of independence about him.

But Rice did not come from Florida originally. He grew up in the South Side of Chicago in the worst part of town.

Of his youth, he said, “Being a kid on the street with gang violence, you have to think. You become a straight shooter. It prepared me to make quick decisions on the set.”

Rice has already completed another script titled Full Tilt, a tense drama about backroom poker.

Although he has delved now into film, he still thinks about his previous career.

When asked if he misses football, he said, “Yes! Maybe not a preseason game, but I miss the game itself. It is something that is hotwired in me.”

The film will be shown at selected locations on August 28. To find out more about the film and where film is shown, visit http://unsulliedthefilm.com.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

In Spanish Language with English subtitles, Marshland (La isla mínima) opens tomorrow in area theaters. It is a gritty crime procedural that is simplistically presented with static cinematography. This simplicity is deceptive.

The setting is a marshland near Villafranco, Spain, circa 1980. Though Generalissimo Francisco Franco had been dead for five years, the ghost of his dictatorship remains. There seems to be a seasonal crime wave during harvest season. During an annual festival, two teenage girls disappear.

Two detectives are called in to investigate. While both detectives have different political views about law enforcement, both individuals also have unrelated skeletons in their closet. However, when the two girls are found brutally and shamefully murdered, the two detectives put aside their differences to catch the killer.

Is this the work of a singular serial killer or a systematic ritual from organized crime? These two plot threads unravel into a logical climax. Like any good mystery, multiple clues and red herrings are placed within the storyline. The two detectives propel the narrative, but part of the fun of this film is the quirky characters that detour the investigation.

The world of Marshland feels like the south of the border version of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Writer/Director Alberto Rodriquez makes this his personal film noir, filled with gothic detail. One can see the nightmarish visualization of Spanish Master Francisco Goya in Marshland’s visualization.

This film is definitely a vacation from the dog days of the August box office releases. This simple film will create haunted memories.

Javier Gutiérrez, one of the actors who played one of the detectives, is expected to visit the Movies at Lake Worth and Cinema Paradiso this weekend.

For more details, contact Cinema Paradiso at 954-525- FILM (3456) and the Movies at Lake Worth 561-968-4545.