The 'Activist Who Became an Artist'

Harry Belafonte has passed at 96. This singer/musician, actor, and activist devoted his life for causes particularly for civil rights. Yet his career crossed over TV and films as well as music. This is the originator of "The Banana Boat Song" with its Day-O lyrics used in such films as Beetlejuice. He is arguably the greatest Calypso singer ever and most popular artist of his time being the first recording artist to sell a million LPs.  He starred in musicals like Carmen Jones and dramas like Island in the Sun. He more recently appeared in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman. He won every major performing arts award including three Grammys, an Emmy, a Tony and The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Oscars. A life well lived and served.

The Equalizer and Its Humanity

I had to do a shout out for The Equalizer. I was a big fan of the  original series and love the film versions, but Queen Latifah's current series in year three has already been renewed season four. It combines action with drama in a special way. Tonight's episode No Way Out dealt primarily with domestic abuse and the trauma on others close by. It was not a perfect episode but it was affecting as it attempted to tell an important story that has relevance. Bravo and keep on this path. This show is by far more than standard fare.

CHEVALIER and Its Historic Figure

Previously unknown to most, Chevalier tells the true story of a remarkable Renaissance man whose racial background clashes with his ambitions at a significant point in history. 

Set in Paris, France, in the years preceding the French Revolution, young Joseph Bologne (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.), a proud man full of self-confidence and bravado, is biracial and possesses excellent skills as a composer, violin virtuoso, expert fencer, poet, and more while bestowed the title of Chevalier courtesy of his friendship with Queen Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton).  Yet for all his impressive abilities and despite being popular in elite circles and captivating to women, he faces the cruel backlash of racism and political upheaval as rebellion builds in the streets. When he is reunited with his black mother after many years apart, he learns to embrace his heritage and sets out to become director of the Paris Opera by composing an original opera starring Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving) a married, progressive-minded woman. When the two are drawn closer to each other, the repercussions threaten to undo everything they have worked to achieve amid a country falling into the fervor of revolution. 

The story focuses on love and betrayal amid historic upheaval, and with this lesser known story, the narrative builds audience engagement and suspense.  What impresses are the period recreations in lush costumes amid authentic set designs and effective scenes such as an opening violin duel between Bologne and Mozart.

Harrison is quite good with a solid supporting cast; you get the feeling that with a stronger, name cast, this could have made a bigger film experience. It remains a good story that reveals some fascinating events that draw you in accompanied by some societal allegories. With a telling postscript, this film delivers a compelling, untold story.

***1/2 of **** stars (for fans of period drama)

Inspired Story of BIG GEORGE FOREMAN

 

The life of boxing legend, George Foreman, is dramatized in an inspiring tale of overcoming hopeless beginnings and adversity to becoming one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

Deep South in 1960, young George Foreman (Khris Davis is quite convincing) grows up as an angry boy with his loving, religious mom and siblings in poor circumstances.  As a young man, desperate for money, he signs with the Job Corps in hopes of better opportunities.  There he meets Doc Broadus (Forest Whitaker giving strong support) who channels Foreman’s rage into boxing where he learns the skills to become competitive and eventually compete as a 19 year old in the Olympics and subsequently to greater glory professionally.  When he suffers major setbacks in boxing and his personal life, he is compelled to look to his faith and preach to the masses.  After enormous, financial misfortune, he is forced to attempt a boxing comeback at age 45, and an improbable story has an astonishing ending.

Foreman’s life deserved a film treatment, and key events are on display here including famous bouts with Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali which are well staged, and other famous moments are recreated with authenticity.  While the film never leans too much into religious perspectives, its even-handed approach works well by showing different sides to Foreman including his flaws and how he handled success and failure including a nearly fatal, life changing experience.  It also focuses on his love for and sometimes, misguided trust of other people.

The film doesn’t disappoint, and while it avoids exploring the many aspects of his life too deeply, consider this a well-paced sketch of a remarkable man whose deep faith and commitment accomplished so much despite overwhelming odds. 

*** of **** stars (add ½* for Foreman fans)

The Dark Delights of Schmicago

 

Schmicago is a sequel to Scmigadoon as our troubled couple (Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong) revisit the musical world that now pays homage to the darker musicals of the 1960s and 1970s including Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Chicago, and more. Fortunately, nearly all the talented supporting cast from before returns. The first two episodes bode well for the next four. On Apple TV.

Self Taught Cinematographer

 

Cinematographer Bill Butler has passed at 101. You may not know this self-taught, Emmy winning, Oscar nominated legend, but you know the films he shot and assisted on. He lensed Jaws, Grease, Ice Castles, Rocky II, III, and IV, Stripes, and many more.  (He did additional and second unit work on One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, The Godfather, Deliverance, and The Conversation.) His TV work encompassed Raid on Entebbe, The Thorn Birds, and The Execution of Private Slovik. He was awarded the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement.

Budding Youth in ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET

Based on the popular novel by Judy Blume, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a coming of age story that recalls female youth in detail and tells a heartwarming tale. 

Set in 1970, Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson), a sixth-grader, has to adjust to a new home in New Jersey and school and finds growing up is a challenge being raised by her Christian mom (Rachel McAdams is quite good) and Jewish dad.  She is close to her Jewish grandmother (Kathy Bates is a hoot) and yearns, like her classmates, to mature physically into a woman.   All the while confused and anxious, she talks to God as she questions her religious faith and place in the world.  

The narrative centers on maturing adolescence and self-discovery including the awkward feeling of making new friends and discovering the early pangs of love.  The film captures the atmosphere of grade school classrooms and the stress and anxiety of trying to fit in with other girls (not unlike a would-be prequel of Mean Girls), some of whom resort to lies and exaggeration amid peer pressure where ‘spin the bottle’ and buying a bra can be traumatic experiences. While she struggles with her faith and deals with change, it’s also about how Margaret learns who her real friends are.  In addition, a parallel subplot highlights Margaret’s mom having her own moments of growth.

The film packs in a lot of story but avoids being episodic with a thoughtful screenplay.  The cast is stout with Fortson shining as Margaret.  It’s a rite of passage, a slice of life that rings true and has affecting, even funny moments.  Fans of the novel (and subject matter) will find an entertaining tale that may hit close to home. 

***1/2 of **** stars

Canadian Actress of the Sixties and Seventies

 

Canadian actress Sharon Acker has passed at 87. A star of stage, screen, and TV, she guested on many shows of the 1960s and 1970s including The Wild Wild West, Mission Impossible, It Takes a Thief, and Star Trek. She was Della Street in a reboot of Perry Mason, but her most memorable role was as Lee Marvin's wife in Point Blank, an important sixties film. She had a unique screen presence. I was a fan.