By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The motion picture industry is having a fine spring with Rampage, A Quiet Place and Ready Player One dominating the box office. It will be eight days before the most hyped and most secretive movie of the year opens, Avengers: Infinity War. In the meantime, check out an indie film or a selection from IMAX’s Museum of Discovery & Science (MODS) in Ft. Lauderdale.

A French, Yiddish, Russian and German movie with English subtitles, A Bag of Marbles is a simple film about a Jewish Family trying to evade the encroaching Nazis in France and Italy during WW2. The use of European landscapes creates beautiful cinematography, which add to the innocent perspective of the young boys. When the boys are outside traveling, the film feels like a Mark Twain Adventure with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

It is in the indoors that one feels the tension and witnesses the cruelty of Adolph Hitler’s goons. Moments of family joy celebrating a Mom’s violin solo is interrupted by Nazis who complain about hearing Jewish music. Situations get darker when the boys are brutally captured and interrogated by a commandant who wants them medically examined for circumcision.

Though a title works as a dramatic piece of symbolism, A Bag of Marbles is a very humane motion picture. The boys are not superheroes, they bicker and cry for the most immature reasons. Early in the motion picture, the youngest boy befriends a German soldier because the soldier is “cool.” Based on a true story from Holocaust survivors, A Bag of Marbles is a movie about growth.

Deep Sea 3D has returned to MODS. Narrated by Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp, Deep Sea 3D is a 45-minute documentary about the creatures that live in the darkest and deepest oceans on Planet Earth. The most monstrous creature of Deep Sea 3D has to be the Humboldt Squid, a vicious character. With tentacles that can extend up to 6 ft., this carnivore has superior underwater vision and can rip its prey to shreds with its beak.

My favorite character had to be the Mantis Shrimp. This scrappy fighter defends his turf from an over-reaching octopus. While the octopus has the advantage of eight tentacles and a slimy disposition, the Mantis Shrimp manages to out box his predator with his attitude, front claws and speed. As scary as the Humboldt Squid is, the Mantis Shrimp provides the best comic relief and a moment to cheer.

Both A Bag of Marbles and Deep Sea 3D present big screen entertainment, sharing the theme of survival. With decent box office numbers, perhaps big screen entertainment will survive another summer.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Women of Venezuelan Chaos and Beruit are two serious and timely movies that open this weekend at local theaters. Both films are riveting dramas. Beruit is based on terrorist drama that began in 1972, while Women of Venezuelan Chaos is a documentary based on recent news from South of the Border.

Directed by Margarita Cadenas, Women of Venezuelan Chaos interviews five women of various economic status of post-Chavez Venezuela.

• Kim (who attended an Apr. 9 screening at Silverspot Cinema in Coconut Creek) is married with children and is also a nurse. We see her providing healthcare, but many medicinal supplies are lacking.

• Maria is a community manager who works from her home. She talks about bartering milk for diapers and how the Venezuelan economy is turning the population into a community of hoarders.

• Eva is unemployed, therefore, she must wait in line to receive a lottery number to get rice and flour from the black market.

• Luisa is a retired police officer whose grandson is imprisoned for being critical of the Venezuelan government.

• Olga is a waitress with a tragic story to tell about government oppression and the murder of children.

Spoken in Spanish with English subtitles, Women of Venezuelan Chaos is newsworthy. When it was “cool” to mock President Bush, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was upheld as a poster boy for socialized healthcare by some. When Chavez died and his house of cards crumbled, Nicolas Maduro became president. As poverty increased, the main stream media seemingly lost interest in the plight of the Venezuelan people. Through the voices of these five women, this documentary sheds some light upon their struggles for survival under the rule of graft politics and thug leaders.

Beirut deals with the growing world of terrorist thugs. In 1972, Diplomat Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) hosts a party in which he states, “Christians are in one corner; Muslims in the other corner with Jack Daniels in the middle.”

During the party, Mason learns that a student they are sponsoring is the brother of the No. 1 terrorist involved in the murders in Munich during the 1972 Olympics. That night, the terrorist invades the party and the student is abducted.

Ten years later, the CIA recruits Mason for a hostage negotiation in Beirut. The simple negotiation becomes an elaborate affair when many greedy organizations haggle over the hostage fee. During this complication, Mason learns that his old student is now grown and is involved in the kidnapping.

The summer movie blockbuster season is almost upon us. However, don’t let the serious fare like Beirut and Women of Venezuela Chaos get lost in the crowd.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Anything older than 21 years old is considered “the good old days.” As a child, I remember my parents’ generation refer to the big band music of Glenn Miller and how it influenced the music of the 1960s and 1970s. It should be noted that when my parent’s generation were listening to Big Band Music, they were in their 20s. For my generation, we were in our 20s during the 1980s, which has become our “good old days.”

The 1980s is a major reference point for Steven Spielberg’s new movie Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s book which was sold as a screenplay to Warner Brothers studio within 24 hours of first print. Cline created a cyber universe that has been fashioned by the software and computer games of the past 30 years. Given the corporate involvement, it’s worth noting that most of these cultural references are licensed by Warner Brothers studio.

This film begins in a multi-level trailer park in Youngstown, Ohio, circa 2045. Given their dismal reality, most of the population escapes to the Virtual Reality of the Oasis. The Oasis is a vast and detailed universe created by James Halliday (Mark Rylance, Spielberg’s favorite actor as of late). Halliday is a cross between Steve Jobs, Walt Disney and Ben Bernanke. A single man with no heirs, Halliday dies — leaving the fate of the Oasis in a state of flux.

In his will, Halliday made sure to transfer the Oasis to the people who understood his vision. In the cyber games, Halliday planted three keys for people to find to unlock three magic gates. Two years post mortem, no one has yet found the missing keys. Enter Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), who goes by his avatar name — Parzival, who spends most of his waking hours in the Oasis. Parzival makes friends with other avatars and, together, form a team to locate the three keys.

The plot for Ready Player One is that simple. It is the overwhelming detail that could confuse some ticket buyers. Having lived through the cultural references of the Bee Gees, Duran Duran and A-Ha, I found a connection that people (a few years older than me) could find it hard to relate to. Beyond the bells and whistles of cyberspace icons and avatars, Ready Player One reveals an important theme about human relations and friendship.

Spielberg is still a master storyteller with a great visual eye. Having eschewed the naive wonder of Close Encounters of a Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Spielberg’s science fiction flicks since the turn of the century have taken on a darker hue with films like A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report and War of the Worlds. Ready Player One feels like a compromise between the two contrasting visions of light and darkness.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It took a poorly reviewed Pacific Rim sequel to slow down the box office juggernaut known as Black Panther, which became the No. 1 box office movie in comic book history. In the following weeks, Ready Player One and Avengers: Infinity War will attempt to achieve Black Panther’s lofty box office height.

With more subtle box office numbers, The Death of Stalin opened as a modest hit. A dark comedy about the transition of Soviet dictators, this film could be seen as a chapter of Monty Python presents Masterpiece Theater. While a Monty Python cast member has a supporting role (Michael Palin), it is Steve Buscemi’s performance as Nikita Khrushchev that steals the show. A conspiracy plotter who coldly exploits the weaknesses of his comrades (especially Jeffrey Tambor as a Stalin sycophant), Bescemi’s Khrushchev is given moments of slow burn comedy as he becomes the leader of thugs and idiots.

Given Russia’s brutal history, there are plenty of gruesome moments that are given dark comedic spin. For example, a medical examiner performs an autopsy of Stalin’s brain, in front of a quibbling government committee trying to determine foul play. The grossness of the scene is punctuated by Stalin’s children walking into the room while their father is literally getting his head examined. The absurdity of human misbehavior is truly revealed in this film.

It has been 42 years since I, Claudius premiered on American Public Broadcasting Television. Shot in soap opera style on videotape and based on Robert Grave’s historical novels I,Claudius and Claudius The God, the 13-part miniseries, presented early days of Roman History, full of political speeches, bloodshed, sex and a surprising amount of nudity for broadcast television. The series ignited the careers of Patrick Stewart, the late John Hurt, John Rhys-Davies and Derek Jacobi as the title character who lived in the time of Christ.

With four months of hype and promotion on NBC, the musical Jesus Christ, Superstar Live in Concert will commence at 8 p.m. on Easter Sunday. With music from Andrew Lloyd Weber and lyrics by Tim Rice lifted from their hit Broadway musical and 1972 motion picture, this production has always been controversial.

Given the counter culture movement of the 1970s, Weber and Rice sought to present a view of an alternative Jesus, in contrast to sword and scandal epics that featured Charlton Heston, Jeffrey Hunter and Max Von Sydow. They chose to present Jesus as a celebrity to be envied. This envy led to betrayal by one of his disciples, Judas. Thus, Jesus Christ Superstar has been referred to as The Gospel of Judas.

Regardless, this musical about Jesus has endured, with a soaring musical score and a popular song, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” which will be sung by Sara Bareilles. John Legend will carry the cross for this three-hour live event. In a small, but showy role, expect Alice Cooper to steal the show as King Herod. [See more on Cinema Dave’s adventure to see Alice Cooper perform recently in Orlando at www.observernewspaperonline.com].

Happy Passover & Happy Easter!

As a prodigal Roman Catholic, I avoid eating meat during Lenten Fridays, which was appropriate when meeting legendary soul singer Smokey Robinson last Friday, March 16, at a special event held in Miami. Best known for his “oldies” hits like “The Tears of a Clown,” “The Tracks of My Tears” and “Going to a Go Go,” Smokey was in town to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Jazz in the Gardens, sharing the stage with Chaka Khan and Anita Baker, but also stopped at a special event that showcased his wine label, “Smokey Robinson Wines.”

Learning that Smokey has been a vegan for two and a half years, I asked him what I should eat with with his wines, to which he said, “People like the reds and the whites with meat and fish, but I would have a salad.”

Gouda cheese was provided for the wine sampling, for which the Riesling was fully  complimentary.  However, it was the Cabernet Sauvignon that made me long for Mom’s macaroni sauce or the eggplant parmigiana meal from Nick’s [in Deerfield Beach].

His looks, energy and vitality belie the fact that Smokey Robinson is 78 years old. Besides his Smokey Robinson Vineyards, the man still performs a two and a half hour show with a North American Tour planned through August. His timeless music has generated an audience both youth and old. When asked about his “Timeless” appeal, Smokey modestly answered, “It is a blessing, man, living a life doing what I love.”

As both a Motown singer and songwriter, the secret about Smokey’s music is inclusion that surpasses generations.  A Smokey Robinson concert is a family event that grandparents, parents and children can attend and have a good time together.

There is something “old school” about Smokey that is endearing. At the press junket, my colleagues took pictures and recorded interviews with their cell phones. As I prepared my equipment, I mentioned to Smokey that I missed my old tape recorder.  Smokey replied back with a teachable moment, “Tape is reliable. I wish I could get into the Motown vault.  I’ve got so much unreleased stuff in there by artists that I recorded or myself. I wish I could get in there!”

Even though Motown is under new ownership, I can see Smokey finding a way to get into the vault. All he  needs to bring to the front desk is some gouda cheese, macaroni sauce with a bottle of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, respectively!

Photos by Cendino Teme.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Between a week before Christmas in 1997 until a week after Easter in 1998, Titanic ruled the box office. The Black Panther juggernaut feels similar, as films like Tomb Raider, A Wrinkle in Time and Red Sparrow were poised to take the weekend box office crown only to fall short. Perhaps Steven Spielberg’s much hyped Ready Player One might take the Box Office crown Easter weekend, but this weekend features a slew of independent movies arriving at a theater near you.

A student of Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Soderbergh was “the man” in 2000 for releasing two Oscar-winning motion pictures, Traffic and Erin Brockovich. Through the years, Soderbergh has enjoyed mainstream success with films like Logan Lucky and his Ocean’s 11 trilogy. Yet, one forgets that Soderbergh was a founding father of the independent film movement nearly 30 years ago with the release of Sex, Lies and Videotape.

Opening tomorrow, Unsane returns Soderbergh to his “auteur” filmmaking roots. Shot with iPhone technology, Unsane presents creative use of shot composition with natural lighting, presenting hyper-reality of the everyday world. From the opening narration to the character revealing confessions in the blue padded room, Unsane feels like an Alfred Hitchcock B-movie like Psycho and Vertigo.

Sawyer (Claire Foy) has started a new life with a good job in Pennsylvania. She departed her New England home to escape David (Joshua Leonard), a man Sawyer claims is stalking her. Her pain is deep and, one day, Sawyer seeks counseling. Upon her first consultation, Sawyer is told that she is staying overnight in the institution.

Despite her protests, Sawyer is confined to the ward with Violet (Juno Temple), a disgusting cornrow-haired patient who goads Sawyer into violent actions. Sawyer forms an alliance with Nate (Jay Pharoah), who has managed to smuggle a cell phone into the clinic. As her stay becomes prolonged, Sawyer spots her stalker, David, working as an orderly.

Combining conspiracy theories with a debate about the nature of sanity, Unsane is a film that will be talked about for many years. While the story does not hold up for the full 98 minutes, there are many nifty Easter eggs for film fans, including a cameo appearance from Jimmy Kimmel’s arch rival.

The Death of Stalin opens this weekend at the legendary Gateway Theater in Ft. Lauderdale and features broad comic performances from Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor and Michael Palin. For more info., keep an eye on http://classicgateway.com/gateway.

This Saturday afternoon, March 24, film director Pablo Solarz will be visiting The Living Room Theater at the FAU Boca Raton campus. He will introduce his film, The Last Suit, about an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who goes on one last adventure to resolve his past. Keep an eye on www.fau.livingroomtheaters.com for movie times and more info.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

During the Oscar ceremony, a film that wins a Screenplay award (either Best Adaptation or Most Original) usually goes on to win the Best Picture Award. That did not happen this year as Call Me by Your Name won Best Adaptation (based on the novel by André Aciman) and Get Out won the Original Screenplay, but lost the Best Picture Award to The Shape of Water.

It feels appropriate that The Shape of Water and Get Out are two movies that will be entwined with each other, since they both represent two motion pictures that would regularly be nominated for the Rondo Hatton Award, an honor coveted by Monster Mavens like myself and Guillermo Del Toro in the past. With his recent Oscar win, writer/director Jordan Peele has joined the “Rondo Hatton Appreciation Society” for Get Out. [For more on Rondo Hatton, visit http://rondoaward.com].

A satirical terror flick with comedy overtones, Get Out can be construed as an explanation of a black man’s paranoia. It is the story of an African American named Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his white girlfriend Rose Armitrage (Allison Williams). Rose invites Chris to meet her parents in the suburbs. “Wishing that Obama could have had a third term as president,” Daddy Armitrage (Bradley Whitford) and Mommy Armitrage (Catherine Keener) greet Chris warmly.

Behind the smiles, something sinister lies beneath the surface. Mommy Armitrage is a hypnotherapist and she unlocks Chris’ repressed memory. The Armitrage suburban home seems to transform into a gothic Southern Plantation and the African American servants appear to transform into the “Stepford slaves.”

To reveal more, would be a disservice to the shock, surprise and belly laughs found in Get Out. To his director’s credit, Jordan Peele does a great job with the film’s pacing. He fills his quiet scenes with tension that resolve with either a moment of terror or humor. Like Orson Welles, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (Oscar-winning screenplay writers who lost Best Picture Awards), Jordan Peele will be a force to reckon with for future movie awards seasons.

The 35th Annual Miami Film Festival wraps up this weekend. This festival’s awards will be revealed Saturday Night at the Olympia Theater, with the Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building hosting the night party. Sunday will be the last opportunity to see April’s Daughters on the big screen. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a documentary about Professor Fred Rogers, the man who created Mister Roger’s Neighborhood on PBS. While neither film is in contention for a Rondo Hatton Award, both are a fine way to quietly wrap up a St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

During the 35th Miami Film Festival (March 9 – 18), Jon Secada, Djimon Hounsou, Paul Schrader, Jason Reitman and Isabelle Huppert will be in town to discuss their latest projects. This festival features a diverse amount of feature films, documentaries and short subjects.

Carry That Weight: A Rockumentary is a short subject of local interest. Filmed with an all Florida crew, this film is Brian J. Letten’s documentary about Mr. Burris, a music teacher at Miami Senior High School, who created Rock Ensemble. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his third year of college, Mr. Burris taught music from his electric wheelchair.

As a short subject, the film ends and the viewer starts begging for more of the story. Fortunately, Letten is producing a full feature documentary and has earned the support of many of Mr. Burris’ Rock Ensemble students, many of whom are working in the entertainment field in Dade County.

While the re-teaming of Ivan Reitman and Diablo Cody for Tully is garnering most headlines this opening weekend, there are some unique motions pictures being screened, many of them from Latin America. In Spanish with English subtitles, April’s Daughter is a beautiful motion picture which presents dark gothic themes. The film opens with the sounds of people making love. A nude Valeria (Ana Valeria Becerril) emerges from the bedroom and we learn that she is seven months pregnant. Despite living with a matronly sister, Valeria is too immature to raise the baby and their mother April (Emma Suarez) comes to the rescue. Or does she? The strength of April’s Daughter is that character motivations drive this story, which echoes Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s later themes, including Spellbound, Vertigo and Marnie.

While the 90th Annual Academy Awards, which tanked in the ratings, has revealed a culture of smug narcissism, the recent films that I have seen at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and Miami Film Festival have made me optimistic for the future of filmmaking. These independent filmmakers are presenting good stories, interesting characters and brilliant cinematography on a budget that cost less than Ashley Judd’s Oscar swag bag.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

When part of the press junket focuses on the leading lady talking about her extended nude scenes, the film is likely to have problems and is not likely to maintain a sustainable box office. Opening tomorrow, March 2, Red Sparrow is supposed to be a spy thriller. However, given her topic of conversation on the talk show circuit, Jennifer Lawrence has spent more time talking about dressing and undressing then she has talking about Red Sparrow’s storyline or character development.

Death Wish opens tomorrow also. The film is a remake to a stark 1974 Charles Bronson movie about a husband who becomes a widower when his wife is brutally murdered by street thugs. Like in Batman, the protagonist becomes a vigilante and guns down the criminal element. Bruce Willis stars in the remake and there was some Oscar buzz about his performance. However, recent marketing has changed the tone from a stark drama to that off an action flick with quips and one liners.

Let Yourself Go is the most original movie that will open this weekend. An Italian movie with English subtitles, this film is a universal story about the mind and the body. When a Freudian psychoanalyst (Toni Servillo) starts to doze off during his sessions, his estranged wife suggests a regiment for exercise. Meet Claudia (Veronica Echegui), a personal trainer who believes in the perfection of the body.

The contrast between the old psychoanalyst and young Claudia creates enough conflict to move Let Yourself Go to an entertaining 90 minute realistic comedy. The drama is real.

He lives an austere life and is set in his ways. Claudia is impulsive and her behavior often indebts her to the kindness of strangers. Both learn from each other; the old psychoanalyst forces himself to exercise more, while Claudia learns to think more.

As the psychoanalyst, Servillo has polished off his niche as “Italy’s Everyman.” Last seen in America in The Great Beauty, (Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language), he is introduced in a less flamboyant role. Like a blossoming cactus, Servillo transforms into a Freudian Superman that feels believable. As Claudia, Spanish actress Veronica Echegui is a constant delight.

See Let Yourself Go with some friends some afternoon and dine on Italian cuisine afterward; it will be a good experience.

The 90th Oscars Annual Academy Awards occurs this Sunday night, March 4. Steve Savor will be holding a black tie gala party that night at his Villa De Palma. Tickets are $150, but members of the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival pay only $100. For ticket information, contact Savor Cinema at 954-525-FILM or visit www.fliff.com.

Save the date: Starting Friday, March 9, the Miami International Film Festival begins. This columnist is honored to have been chosen to serve as a jurist for the Rene Rodriguez Critics Award. Next week, I, the “longest-standing film columnist in Broward County,” will create a special preview for the longest-standing film festival in South Florida, the 35th Annual Miami film Festival.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With very little surprise, Black Panther blew up the motion picture box office and is likely to be a juggernaut until the May releases of Avengers: Infinity Wars and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Not since Titanic 20 years ago have people purchased tickets for multiple screenings. Some people have seen Black Panther on the big screen each day since the film has been released.

Much like last year’s Wonder Woman, the timing was right for Black Panther. While both films contain likeable heroes, Black Panther offers more depth of characterization, especially for the villain, Killmonger, portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. The character of Killmonger does bad things, but like any successful fictional villain or monster, there are reasons behind his reprehensible actions. In fiction, there is sympathy for the devil. Yet in reality, we learned that the devil has no sympathy for our neighbors in Parkland.

The tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will stay with us for the rest of our lives; there is no denying that. On social media across the world, we are seeing political finger pointing with predictable political bias from the opposing sides. Unfortunately, what we do not hear or see on social or broadcast media are people working towards solutions. 

Yet, last Sunday, I saw something that made me feel better about the future.

While checking out some acoustic guitars at Guitar Center at Coconut Creek, I observed two young men strumming a guitar and a bass. Both had innate talent, playing music from the Beatles to Guns & Roses. While neither teenager spoke to each other, their guitars communicated with each other. The set ended, the bass player complimented the guitar player, who admitted that he was a student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and that one of his friends had died in the shooting. The two young men talked some more. Given that the two had not met before, I encouraged each other to exchange their names. As I told them, “This is how Paul (McCartney) met John (Lennon).” After a real trauma, it was heartening to watch this new generation reach out to each other, not by electronic resources, but through old fashioned conversation and their mutual interest.

While we shall remain vigilant, escapism is needed now. This Friday evening, Savor Cinema will be screening Ace — a short drama about first love, social norms and sexual identity. It stars 27-year-old Jonathan Lipnicki, whose best known role is that as “the Kid” in Jerry McGuire, starring Tom Cruise and Kelly Preston. 

Lipnicki, along with writer/director Jordan Gear, producers Ashley Kate Adams and Jim Kierstead are scheduled to appear. For reservations, call 954-525-FILM. www.FLIFF.com.

This Sunday, Feb. 25 and Wednesday, Feb. 28, Silverspot Cinema in Coconut Creek will be screening John Wayne’s Oscar winning performance in True Grit. If you have only seen this classic on television, take the time to see True Grit on the big screen. Besides big and broad performances from the Duke, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell and Robert Duvall, the big screen does justice to the Colorado scenery and great outdoors.

In contrast to the True Grit remake starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfield, the original True Grit is a redemptive film that is far more optimistic. Given today’s headline news, we need more optimism in our neighborhood.