By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The National Endowment for the Arts has placed Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima on “The Big Read” list, along with titles like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Maltese Falcon.”

Given the brevity of the novel, the deep themes about religion, folklore and Latino Culture, it was only a matter of time that a movie would be produced. Set in New Mexico during World War II, the film opens with Antonio (Luke Ganalon) narrating the story about his childhood. He is a boy caught between his mother’s Roman Catholicism and his father’s dreams of being a cowboy

in the tradition of Mexican “vaquero.” When Grandma Ultima (Miriam Colon) moves into the house, Antonio finds an elder who can explain the complications of life.

In the Latin Culture, Ultima would be considered a “curandero;” in an Italian Culture, she would be considered a “strega;” to ignorant cultures, Ultima would be considered a “witch.” In fact, Ultima uses nature’s bounty to solve both physical and spiritual ills and mentor Antonio about good, evil, acceptance and understanding. Director Carl Franklin has created visual poetry within the narrative framework in this film. Without 3-D imagery, this motion picture features vibrant cinematography that will inspire the New Mexico tourist board.

Despite the inherit drama of Bless Me Ultima, the actors are understated and provide a truthful performance. As young Antonio, Ganalon provides the maturity often found with children found in rural settings. As Ultima, Colon captures the character’s transcendental tendencies.

Given the attention the Oscar-nominated films will see this weekend, Bless Me Ultima may get lost in a crowd of motion pictures with big marketing budget; this is sad. Like most great literature dealing with a child’s “coming- of-age” (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mockingbird), this film features fine family entertainment.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Of the nine Best Picture Nominations, “Silver Linings Playbook” is the most domestic motion picture. It has a leading man (Bradley Cooper) who was once People Magazine’s sexiest man of the year, the hottest young actress in the movies today (Jennifer Lawrence), a master thespian (Robert DeNiro) and Jacki Weaver, an actress who has become an overnight sensation after four decades of film work in Australia. Throw in Director David O. Russell and the Weinstein brothers’ marketing blitz and Silver Linings Playbook has the potential to garner a few Oscars.

This film is a comedy drama about a Philadelphia family. Pat Jr. (Cooper) is released from a mental institution and moves in with his parents, Pat Sr.(DeNiro) and Dolores (Weaver). As part of his therapy, he takes therapeutic dance classes with Tiffany (Lawrence), a woman with her own self-esteem issues.

Silver Linings Playbook is a lively film with genuine moments. As the bipolar Pat Jr., Bradley Cooper invites the audience to ride the emotional roller coaster from sorrow to joy.

Benh Zeitlin spent almost two years writing his script for Beasts of the Southern Wild. With practically no money, Zeitlin cast New Orleans locals and directed his movie in approximately 36 days. After a successful screening at the Sundance Film Festival, his film became an overnight sensation when the print was purchased by Fox Searchlight.

While the trailer leaves one wondering if they are watching a poor man’s Godzilla featuring giant Pot-Bellied pigs and a haunted child, “Beasts of Southern Wild” is a simple coming-of-age film shot documentary style.

Quvenzhané Wallis portrays Hushpuppy, a feral 6- year-old little girl who lives in the swamps with her angry, but dying father (Dwight Henry). As she copes with the reality of floods, fires and hurricanes, Hushpuppy finds more terror in her nightmares involving rampaging Beasts.

Last, but not least, The 2nd Annual Blues Film Festival will commence Feb. 16-17 during the Riverwalk Blues Festival in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale. F o r d e t a i l s and showt i m e s , v i s i t www.riverwalkbluesfestival.com and www.bluesfilmfest.com

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Based on a graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, “Bullet to the Head” has all the elements of a pulp noir crime drama. When you factor 66- year-old Sylvester Stallone as your noir protagonist, one expects a world-weary perspective about the mean streets.

Ironically, Stallone seems to be the most energetic actor in the movie.

He portrays a hit man in New Orleans. After shooting a corrupt policeman, his partner is killed. Given that it was a police shooting, a federal investigator (Sung Kang) gets involved with the muddled investigation. Through happenstance, the New Orleans hit man and the federal investigator realize it is better to work together for mutual survival.

Given we spent last weekend watching the beauty of New Orleans from Super Bowl 47 coverage, Bullet to the Head presents sights not approved by the Louisana Tourist Board. Prostitutes, perversions and pain are the focus of the Big Easy in this film.

Guilermo Del Toro presents Mama, a ghost story in the vein of The Orphanage, The Devil’s Backbone and Don’t be Afraid of the Dark. There are genuine scary moments that will make audience members jump, but Mama is also a personal story about the family dynamic.

Raised in a forest with a dubious past, two feral girls are adopted by Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his punk rock girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Lucas harbors guilt about the children’s current disposition; his brother (also played by Coster- Waldau) tried to kill the girls.

When Lucas is hurt in a mysterious accident, the punk rock girlfriend (with NO maternal instinct) becomes an instant nanny. Through querulous circumstances, the punk rock nanny learns that these two children have a guardian devil.

While not Oscar quality, both Bullet to the Head and Mama exemplify genre expectations. Of the two movies, Mama is the better produced and most thought provoking.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Stand Up Guys opens tomorrow and it seems to be a film that is designed for our South Florida neighborhood. The film opens with the style and cinematography of an early low budget exploitation film from the 1970s. It features actors who developed a cult following for their performance from this era of motion pictures: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. With a touch of Rip Van Winkle, Stand Up Guys will be a contemporary hit.

Val (Pacino) is released from prison after many decades. He is met by Doc (Walken), a former partner-in-crime. While the two greet each other warmly, both know that Doc is assigned to kill Val. Instead of turning this event into a maudlin moment, these two Stand Up Guys decide to party hearty.

Director Fisher Stevens styles Stand Up Guys with a sense of swansong darkness. This noir set-up provides a life-affirming movie about old guys who teach a new generation how to be a Stand Up Guys. The center section provides the most humor, in which Pacino and Walken rescue Arkin from a nursing home.

Arkin is currently in the race for a Best Supporting Oscar for his work in Argo, directed and starring Ben Affleck. Much like Dustin Hoffman’s Oscar-nominated performance in Wag the Dog, Arkin portrays Lester Siegel, a veteran showbiz producer who must pretend to produce a movie in Iran, circa 1979. For those needing a history lesson, during the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government held Americans hostage during the Carter Administration for 444 days. While the 52 hostages were the headline story, eight potential hostages slipped away and hid at the Canadian Embassy.

With Hollywood hocus pocus, CIA operative Mendez (Affleck) devises a plan. Working with award-winning makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman), Mendez poses as a Hollywood producer who wants to film a Star Wars inspired movie with Islamic sympathies. The Trojan horse is daring, and Argo truly deserves its Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Last weekend, the motion picture box office suffered. But, many Oscar nominated films are still playing on the big screen, and there are some good motion pictures, like Stand Up Guys, opening on the big screen.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Six years ago at the library where I worked, a colleague presented a picture of a man being water boarded. With condescension, my colleague said, “THIS is what our government is doing.”

“He is lucky,” I replied, “If he threatened to kill my family and friends, I would not be so nice.”

Our conversation about enhanced interrogations stopped. Yet, with the release of Zero Dark Thirty, the debate will begin anew. Zero Dark Thirty is director Kathryn Bigelow’s procedural about the Central In-

telligence Agency’s hunt for terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The highlight is the Navy Seal Team 6’s raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Given the Obama Administration’s lack of transparency on the subject, Kathryn Bigelow provides an important public service and has created a criticproof movie.

At 157 minutes, the story leading up to the raid is fascinating for historians and true crime aficionados. Supposedly based on fact, only the names (and possible genders) have been changed to protect the those involved.

As seen through the eyes of Maya (Jessica Chastain), the film opens in darkness as we hear the voices of the victims from the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. In 2003, Maya takes part in the enhanced interrogations and gleans a very important clue. However, under bloated bureaucracy and political pressures, this clue won’t be realized for seven years.

Zero Dark Thirty provides a good review of recent international history. While the United States homeland was kept safe after 9/11 (to focus on things like “reality television”), Bin Laden’s terrorist network bombed innocent people in London, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. From this history lesson alone, one sees the Bush Administration vindicated by his tactics in fighting terrorism.

If there is a flaw in Mark Boal’s screenplay, it is the presentation of Bin Laden. Instead of presenting a man, we are presented a mythical figure. Bin Laden’s execution is presented in shadows and blocked camera angles. It is as if Columbia and Universal pictures feared reprisal from Bin Laden’s demons.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Opening tomorrow is the Oscar-nominated best foreign language film A Royal Affair, a good motion picture that works on so many levels: the story is fascinating – yet contemporary; the cinematic details support the narrative and the Danish-speaking actors provide enough non-verbal communication for American audiences to empathize with their characters, regardless of subtitles. This film is history, minus the boring academic lecture.

Caroline Mathilda (Alicia Vikander) is courted by Danish King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), an immature man who is actually insane. The two marry and she begins to breed. Enter Dr. Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), a man of science, who becomes the King’s favorite adviser.

Under Dr. Struensee’s influence, reforms are made and people are happy. However, the Danish elite fear losing power and they challenge the King’s authority. While the King entertains himself in the brothel, Struensee and Caroline find comfort in each other’s arms.

Soon to be known as the new Hannibal Lechter and best known as the James Bond villain in Casino Royale, Mikkelsen creates a realistic sympathetic character. His Struenesse appears stoic, but Mikkelsen reveals the good doctor’s many shades of grey. As Caroline, Vikander matches Mikkelsen much like Ginger Rogers matched steps with Fred Astaire.

Despite Spike Lee’s ill wishes, Quentin Taratino’s Django Unchained has become a Golden Globe Awardwinning box office success. Even though this western suffers from his superfluous Taratino touches, it is the director/ writer’s most entertaining movie yet.

Clocking in at almost three hours, Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave separated from his wife, Brumhilda (Kerry Washington), who lives on a Mandingo Plantation owned and operated by cruel Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his equally nasty manservant Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson). After sharing adventures and life experiences with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), Django learns enough life lessons to attempt to rescue his beloved.

Django Unchained is full of little interesting details with some creative violence and first rate performances from Jackson, Waltz and DiCaprio.

However, if one is seeking a good story with strong character motivations and a sense of history, go see A Royal Affair opening this weekend.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Oscar nominations were announced this morning and it is business-as-usual for the Hollywood industry.

It is the earliest Oscar season and the ceremony will commence Feb. 24th. Expect to read about local Oscar parties that particular Sunday night.

To help launch the U.S. theatrical release of Nicky’s Family tomorrow, the Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education (CHHRE) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Menemsha Films are bringing Nick Winton, the son of Sir Nicholas Winton, from London to speak with students at area schools and movie-goers. Nick will be joined by a survivor from The Florida Chapter of Kindertransport Association.

A lighter version of Schindler’s List, Nicky’s Family presents Sir Nick’s one-man crusade to rescue Jewish children from Nazis in Czechoslovakia. Now in their seventies and eighties, many of the 600+ survivors speak fondly of their mysterious benefactor.

As Sir Nick celebrates his 100th birthday, he is greeted by thousands of the Czechoslovakia offspring that he helped create. Given the dark history of the Nazi Holocaust, the optimism of Sir Nick reigns supreme in the modern day.

The sleeper hit of the holiday season, Parental Guidance is a Billy Crystal comedy in the vein of The Cosby Show and Everybody Loves Raymond that is familyfriendly. Crystal and Bette Midler portray the grandparents of three uptight children (Bailee Madison, Joshua Rush, Kyle Harrison Brietkopf) whose parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) are overworked neurotic messes.

The comedy is broad and includes successful slapstick sequences. One of the funniest gags involves the three children’s first taste of sugar with drunken results. Yet, there is much heart with individual moments of personal pain. In particular is Joshua Rush’s transitional performance as the son with a speech disorder.

Bailee Madison and Maverick Moreno (He portrays “Cody,” Bailee’s first onscreen love interest) attended a recent Friday night screening at Muvico Broward 18.

It was a wonderful night with a big crowd that concluded with the community shooting a viral video.

You don’t need to attend the Orange Bowl or fly to Hollywood to be entertained. Just go outside and visit local venues in our neighborhood to have a good and rewarding time.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

In last year’s Flicks column, the Amazing Randi accurately predicted that the Mayan prediction was wrong and the world did not end in 2012.

Given that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, the 84-year-old magician has been producing his documentary, An Honest Liar, which is in its final phase of production in Broward County and will feature interviews with Bill Nye the Science Guy, Penn Jillette and Alice Cooper.

Given recent doomsday scenarios and fiscal cliffs, Edge of Salvation seems to be a timely independent movie. Director Luciano Saber will host the South Florida premier at Muvico Broward 18 on Sunday, Jan. 13 with cast members expected to attend the special screening.

It will be business as usual for corporate Hollywood this year as X Men, Die Hard, Scary Movie and Paranormal Activity can add the number “5” to their sequels. Only The Lone Ranger and Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim present any originality for 2013.

Sadly, it will be in early 2013 that we will be seeing some of the best movies of 2012 as Oscar season begins. Many will be surprised by the omissions from my list (Les Misérables, Zero Dark Thirty); there was not enough time to screen them all.

The Best of 2012

Skyfall

A Royal Affair

Robot & Frank

The Avengers

Prometheus

ParaNorman

Lincoln

The Life of Pi

The Dark Knight Rises

Cabin in the Woods

Honorable Mention

Queen of Versailles

Men in Black 3

The Hunger Games

The Haunting of Whaley House

Follow Me, the Yoni Netanyahu Story

The Expendables 2

Deadfall

Dark Amazon

Arbitrage

The Amazing Spider-Man

Since 1999, it has been my pleasure to remain the longest standing film columnist in Broward County. Thank you, Dear Reader, for sharing my Adventures in the Florida Motion Picture World. With Megacon, PBIFF, Spooky Empire and FLIFF on the horizon, I predict more adventures for 2013.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

As has been tradition for over a decade in this column, I name my Class Acts & Backstage Angles from this year.

PBIFF, MegaCon, Spooky Empire, Museum of Discovery and Science IMAX Theater and FLIFF are consistently successful, thanks to diligent individuals. However, the term “Angel” takes on certain poignancy this year given the loss of my DBHS classmate [fallen firefighter] Bill Elliott, Observer’s Senior Sales Advisor Karen Rice and my father.

I must acknowledge the Angels who helped ease my father’s transition on Columbus Day, especially VITAS staff from North Broward Hospital (I donated my book, “The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World,” to their waiting room library).

I am thankful for comforting e-mails that the Hunters sent me during some dark hours and am proud to be a contributor to their upcoming album, Manhattan Blues. I am thankful for witnessing a moment of silence before the first screening of The Dark Knight Rises after the Colorado shooting.

Whether it was devotion to their craft (Mucklebones Traveling Museum) or helping animals (K9 for Love Homestead Dogs Rescue), Class Acts quietly made this world better.

Local favorite Jack’s Hamburgers celebrated their 40th birthday with a month of parties for their community. Some Class Acts & Angels were just fun to be around, like 13-year-old actress Bailee Madison, who exhibited textbook Dale Carnegie style during FLIFF.

Class Acts of 2012:

• Caroline Williams – actress (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Hatchet 3)

• Peter Wein – host (“Peter’s Living Room,” WEI Network .com)

• Oliver Robbins – actor (Poltergeist)

• Stefan Ruzowitzky – director (Deadfall)

• Mucklebones Traveling

Museum – Spooky Empire exhibit

• Bailee Madison (& family) – actress (Parental Guidance, Bridge to Terabithia)

• June Lockhart – actress (Lost in Space, Lassie)

• Steve Hunter (and Karen) guitarist, (Manhattan Blues)

• Linda Hamilton – actress (Beauty and the Beast, The Terminator)

• Demmie Grimm – CosPlay actress extraordinaire

• Actresses Carroll (Giant, Baby Doll) & Blanche (Ruth Madoff Occupies Wall Street) Baker

• Peter Gererson, Donald Comiter – doctors

Next week’s column will feature my Top 10 list for 2012 and movies and events to look forward to in 2013. In the meantime, thanks, dear readers, for all of your kind words and support during such a challenging year.

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Based on the best-selling book by Yann Martel, The Life of Pi has been honored by The Golden Globes with three nominations – Best Picture, Best Score and Best Direction. Given his previous work (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Director Ang Lee is the perfect director to tell this simple story with amazing visual symbolism.

As a child growing up in India, Pi lives in zoo run by his parents. When finances dwindle, Pi’s family is forced to relocate the animals to Canada via boat. During rough weather, the ship sinks and the only survivor is the vegetarian Pi and the carnivorous tiger. In order to survive, the man and the beast must learn to share a small lifeboat for 227 days while cast adrift on the Pacific Ocean.

At 127 minutes, The Life of Pi opens at a leisurely pace with much humor. As the drama unfolds, the humor remains with a touch of danger. Like a good episode of The Twilight Zone or an O. Henry short story, the conclusion raises more questions about the nature of reality.

Based on Stephen Rebello’s excellent book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of “Psycho,” Hitchcock recycles the story, but puts emphasis on Hitchcock’s (Sir Anthony Hopkins) inspirations and psychic relationship with serial killer Ed Gein (Michael Wincott).

This film suffers from some historical errors, but director Sacha Gervasi captures the spirit of a typical Hitchcock flick. The film is a roller coaster ride from scares to laughs, though the domestic drama is a bit heavyhanded.

Merry Christmas!