By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Two new films open this weekend, one full of sound and fury from the Walt Disney marketing machine, the other quietly garnering awards on the film festival circuit. There will be no contest as to who the box office champion will be this weekend. Through contrasting filmmaking, there is no mistaking the variety of good films opening this weekend.

1945 opens when a train drops off an Orthodox Jew and his full grown son at a Hungarian village in August in 1945. The United States has dropped the atomic bomb in Japan and battles of World War II have subsided. It is the wedding day for the town clerk, but his focus seems distracted by the two visitors. Could these two men be heirs to the Jews who were deported during the Holocaust?

In the Hungarian language with English subtitles and clocking in at 90 minutes, 1945 is the most unique epic on the big screen. Shot in black & white film stock, 1945 echoes many great American Westerns, most notably 3:10 to Yuma and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It is a story about the Holocaust, but with an emphasis upon living with the consequences of surviving this horrible time.

Black Panther is the 18th film in the Marvel Comic Universe, the penultimate film before Avengers: Infinity War opens this May 4. While this information provides subtext and an appreciation for the vast tapestry of these Marvel movies, Black Panther is a stand-alone movie whose lead character was introduced two years ago in Captain America: Civil War.

With the demise of his father and king, Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the heir to the throne of Wakanda, a legendary country in the hidden jungles of Africa. Isolated for thousands of years, Wakanda is considered a third-world country. In fact, it is a country with hidden technical and medical superiority. Through ritual and tradition, Prince T’Challa is proclaimed King and is given the additional title of “Black Panther” — protector of the kingdom.

As the Black Panther, King T’Challa’s first job is to bring Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) to justice. Besides being implicated with the death of Black Panther’s father, Klaue has been selling Wakanda weapons to terrorist organizations throughout the world. One customer — Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) — has had a grudge with the Wakanda leadership since the Rodney King riots of 1992. This conflict leads to a satisfying climax that works as a big comic book epic, while focusing on a human story about two men who qualify as the modern day version of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper.

1945 and Black Panther create contrasting forms of escapism this weekend.

After the Olympics, South Florida’s longest standing film festival, The Miami International Film Festival, kicks off its 35th year. Writer/Director Jason Reitman will be presenting Tully, starring Charlize Theron, and Isabelle Huppert will be receiving the Precious Gem – Icon Award for her body of work. For a list of films and times, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

While best known for her Oscar-winning leading role in Gone With The Wind, Vivien Leigh earned her second Oscar as Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire.

A reliable British actress on both stage and screen, Leigh’s award-winning performances created an indelible image of a young and aged Southern belle.

Last Sunday night, Australian actress Cate Blanchett earned her second Oscar for playing a DuBois-inspired character in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. While Jasmine (Blanchett) is no Southern belle, she does suffer from similar delusions with that of Blanche Dubois.

The film opens with Jasmine flying into a San Francisco airport to spend time with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins). During the long flight, Jasmine annoys the people around her with constant chattering. We learn that the selfabsorbed Jasmine was once married to a Bernie Madoff-like character, Hal (Alec Baldwin), a successful money manager. Being a trophy wife, Jasmine lives a charmed life in the Hamptons, while ignoring Hal’s indiscretions.

Blue Jasmine shares DNA with A Streetcar named Desire. In a way, the travails of Blue Jasmine seem to be the back story of DuBois. After enjoying the debutante’s life for so long, both women’s fall from grace is tragic to watch.

While his family scandals from 21 years ago are still vivid, there is no denying that Woody Allen is a very literate filmmaker. When inspired by the literary masters. Woody Allen’s humor is at its sharpest … with films like Hannah and her Sisters influenced by Chekhov’s 3 Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors influenced by Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment …

The Woody Allen ensemble of New York actors (Alec Baldwin, Bobby Carnvale) are appropriately cast. Best Supporting actress nominee Sally Hawkins provides the most transitional performance as Jasmine’s sister. Yet, Blue Jasmine is Cate Blanchett’s movie from beginning to end. Jasmine is an unlikeable character, but Blanchett creates a unique sympathy for the fallen woman.

Oscar season is now officially concluded, but a new season has begun. The Miami International Film Festival opens this weekend with 100 films from 40 countries. Of note, the 2013 Oscar winner for best documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom, premiered at the Miami International Film Festival last year.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

August Osage County is your typical Hollywood contender for an academy award. It features serious award-winning actors like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper. The story is based on a Pulitzer Award-winning play and it has the Weinstein Brothers marketing machine behind it. The film is finely directed by John Wells with an emphasis on symbolic cinematography, contrasting the beautiful landscapes of Oklahoma with the spider’s lair of the Weston Family.

We are introduced to Pa Weston (Sam Shepard), who has hired a caregiver. Pa disappears and Ma (Streep) summons her family. With children portrayed by Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Julianne Nicholson, one can expect shouting matches around the subjects of drug abuse, suicide and incest. In between this dysfunctional family feud, this film features moments of comedy and laughter.

The problem is that it does not feel like a slice of life. For all of its technical beauty, it’s an ugly film to watch. Streep and Roberts reveal their inner barnacles and give excellent, but disturbing, performances.

Disturbing best describes the ensemble cast in Dallas Buyers Club. Directed by Jean- Marc Vallee, this film features extreme close-ups of the AIDS epidemic from the perspective of both patient and caregiver. Yet given its gloomy premise, it has many redemptive moments.

Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is a roughhousing rodeo cowboy. After an orgy, Ron contracts the HIV virus and is given 30 days to live. During this month, he runs afoul the medical community and dislikes being associated with the homosexual community. When he survives past his original death sentence, he challenges the medical community when he learns about AZT – a drug that can postpone full blown AIDS. McConaughey gives the performance of his career and is likely to take home an Oscar Sunday night.

Dallas Buyers Club and August Osage County are performance- driven movies with the best actors of the age.

For 31 days, Turner Classic Movies has been presenting Oscar-nominated and winning films from the previous 85 years. Given the distance of time, one can see that performances can become outdated. Though Oscar-nominated, Sir Laurence Olivier gave an unintentionally comic performance as Othello complete in blackface minstrel. How I wish I caught James Earl Jones’ performance in Othello at Parker Playhouse 30 years ago. Christopher Plummer, who portrayed Iago in that stage production, will be honored at the Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), which begins March 7. Mike Myers, Shirley MacLaine, John Turturro and Andy Garcia are expected to attend.