Cooper’s Impressive A STAR IS BORN

Actor Bradley Cooper makes a strong directorial debut with his remake of the classic Hollywood story, A Star Is Born. Not only does he star and co-write the screenplay, but proves an adept singer/songwriter.   

Jackson Maine (Cooper), a superstar singer, discovers Ally (Lady Gaga), a talented singer/writer who languishes in obscurity under superficial makeup until Jack looks deep in her soul.  When the recording industry takes notice and grooms her for stardom, Jack’s personal, family demons catch up to him and drag him to an alcoholic spiral much to Ally’s embarrassment as she celebrates success and accolades.  Through their struggles and pain, all that remains is their bond of love.

Early on, you can tell this film is directed with a sure hand, and it actually elevates to another level in the second half.  Ironically it was slated for director Clint Eastwood, whose collaboration on American Sniper may have benefitted Cooper. Nothing feels phony or forced here, and the sharp screenplay depicts the price of fame and the anguish of addiction and rehab.   

The performances are authentic; Gaga convincingly embodies a yearning artist with vulnerability and strength, and her musical moments particularly in the finale are standouts.  Cooper, a pretty good singer in his own right (who knew?), gives one of his best displays of acting. Sam Elliott has his best role in years as Jack’s older brother.

Major Oscar nominations are likely (especially director Cooper and actress Gaga), and the question is not if it will win Best Song, but rather how many songs will get nominated. With actors Ben Affleck and John Krasinski becoming legitimate directors, Cooper joins their ranks with this labor of love, a bona fide hit.

***1/2 of **** stars (add ½ * for Cooper and Gaga fans)

Hawaii Five 0 celebrates the Big 50

It is the 50th anniversery of the crime show Hawaii Five 0. For a record 12 seaaons, Jack Lord and his elite detectives faced all manner of criminals and masterminds in the stunning backdrop of Hawaii. It was a landmark show (with imaginative storylines and tough action especially in its early years) shot on location and paved the way for shows like Magnum P.I. and it's own reboot going strong at 9 seasons and with easter egg reverence to the original. Through it all, Morton Stevens' signature theme has stood the test of time. "Book 'em Danno."

MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention 2018

The latest edition of The MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention was a solid success.  Despite the absences of Barbara Eden, Peter Marshall, and Loni Anderson (who may come next year), the show featured many celebrities including a Hart to Hart reunion of stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. There was a WKRP in Cincinnati reunion of Tim Reid, Howard Hesseman, and Jan Smithers. Oliver!, the Oscar winning film of 1968 was represented by its stars, Mark Lester and Shani Wallis. Original Creature from the Black Lagoon monster Ricou Browning, St. Elsewhere TV star Ed Begley Jr., Diahann Carroll TV's first black female solo star, Falcon Crest TV star Morgan Fairchild, Emmy winner Kristy McNichol from TV's Empty Nest and Family, and several others.

There were Q&A sessions with many of the group of celebs.  I also met Wagner (I was a huge fan of his first TV show, It Takes a Thief) who was very accommodating with his fans. He looked great at 88 and so did Powers. Fairchild was and still is a beauty. Carroll was almost unrecognizable under sunglasses on Day 1, but that changed on the following days when she removed them. Yes it cost a fee to get autographs and pictures, but the prices were reasonable by industry standard as well as at the door. The celebs were all generous with their fans and it showed.  There also were continuous movie/TV showings and even a radio show reenactment.

As usual, there were many memorabilia vendors selling posters, stills, trading cards, comics, toys, games, dvds, and other imaginative tie-ins.  Daughter Laura had her vinyl creations and jewelry and was able to meet several celebs too. This was Linda's first convention on Friday and she came the next day dressed as her favorite star, Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy! I was able to see friends and family attend for the first time and reunited with others even from Facebook. I also made new friends even in line who shared mutual interests. Martin Grams and his team have done it again. Cannot wait to see his lineup build for next year!

THE X FILES Celebrates 25 Years

It's the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking TV classic The X Files. For 11 seasons and 2 films this scifi series about paranormal and unexplained phenomenon dealt with a myriad of subjects and some long story arcs with extraterrestrials. Told with conviction by top flight writers (including Vince Gilligan before his Breaking Bad) and acted with genuine chemistry by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (who won an Emmy Award), it was influenced by everything from The Outer Limits, Kolchak:The Night Stalker, and Twin Peaks, and inspired a generation of films and shows (Stranger Things, Black Mirror). What was special about it was that the shows were written up to an audience. It had its monster of the week but it dealt in science and myth for an educated viewer. And the repartee and dark humor from its stars was perfect. When it was on its game, it was as good as anything on TV. "The Truth Is Out There."

Goodbye Bandit

 

Movie star Burt Reynolds passed at 82. A shock since he was one of those iconic box office mega stars from the 1970s and 1980s having turned down many super roles that others would gain fame from Star Wars to Terms of Endearment to Die Hard and many more. But before you feel badly, he was top box office longer than most stars in Hollywood history for several consecutive years starting with the classic Deliverance through Smokey and the Bandit to the Longest yard to directing efforts like the underrated Sharky's Machine and serious roles in Starting Over and later a career revival and Oscar nomination in Boogie Nights.

His TV career spanned many decades from Gunsmoke to his Dan August detective to the comedy ensemble Evening Shade. He was just as appealing on numerous talk shows especially the great Johnny Carson. Although his health (he also suffered through doing many physical stunts) and finances suffered in recent years, he was actively filming projects including Tarentino's latest right up to the end. Who could forget his smile and laugh? Goodbye Bandit.

 

CRAZY RICH ASIANS and Universal Love

Chinese culture and tradition clash in the thoroughly entertaining Crazy Rich Asians, based on a best- selling trilogy.  This marks a rare American studio film featuring a predominantly Asian cast (directed by Jon M. Chu) and signals a further cinematic resurgence in recent years of heretofore underrepresented groups e.g. Wonder Woman and Black Panther. 

When college students, Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick (Henry Golding) fall in love in New York, they plan to attend his best friend’s wedding in Singapore, where Nick’s family, the Youngs, are spectacularly wealthy.  Surrounded by a collection of family members and friends, some with hidden agendas, Rachel is anxious to make a good impression especially with Nick’s strong willed mom (Michelle Yeoh).  It becomes a battle of wills as loyalties are tested and secrets revealed.  Can true love survive?

The well-paced film exudes confidence in its performances with Yeoh and Awqwafina (as a college friend) as standouts. There is a Pretty Woman vibe with Rachel as a resourceful underdog fighting for respect and acceptance.  The cityscape of Singapore, beautifully shot, serves as a stunning backdrop to the festivities including a lavish wedding and reception, and the sumptuous displays of Asian cuisine are simply mouthwatering. 

The film is an old fashioned love story with a modern sensibility.  It is an interesting contrast in classes of wealth as well as Chinese familial tradition with its struggle between old and new.  It will resonate with audiences as it successfully crosses cultural boundaries with its universal themes of love and its display of female empowerment.  With more than a passing kinship to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it’s a feel good film with heart and a sense of humor to boot. (There is a mid-credit scene with future implications.)

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

The Remarkable Truth of BLACKkKLANSMAN

Controversial director Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) is back with BlacKkKlansman, the unbelievable, true story of role reversal during the height of the civil rights movement and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan.

Set in the 1970s, a black man, Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), applies to join the Colorado Springs police force and on a whim calls a newspaper recruitment ad for the KKK posing as a white bigot. The Klan shields itself as a legitimate organization which belies its racist agenda and purpose, and when they want to meet him, he must substitute an undercover white cop, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver). With the constant threat of being discovered, both detectives must improvise on the fly, and Stallworth also infiltrates a black student rally while confronting racism in his own department. This leads to a meeting between Zimmerman and the Klan’s national director, David Duke (Topher Grace). Meanwhile, radical elements within the Klan chapter are plotting a major act of violence.

Some of the narrative is so outrageous (complete with racial epithets) that it borders on being laughable if it weren’t true. The film also serves as a time capsule of the civil rights struggle of its time and a revisionist take on popular culture with its clips from Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind. At times it feels like an independent film which works in its favor; it recreates its period with contemporary songs and styles.

It’s a fascinating, engrossing story with eerie parallels to current news headlines (with an amusing intro featuring Alec Baldwin and a bittersweet postscript). Lee has lost none of his passion and fire and is back to doing what he does best: articulating his rage against racial and social injustice. 

**** of **** stars

The Scribe of Stage and Screen

 Neil Simon passed away at 91 and he leaves a bountiful treasure trove of plays and movies that cover decades of romantic comedy at its best. Once part of the classic writers of Your Show of Shows along with Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks and many others, he brought forth such classics as The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, The Goodbye Girl, and Murder by Death, and much, much more.

His output was matched by his uncanny ability to connect with mainstream audiences. He wrote Broadway hits and later movie blockbusters.

We have a body of written entertainment to sustain decades more. Thank you Mr. Simon.

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS and Its Hidden Agenda

This fascinating documentary from director Tim Wardle chronicles the incredible, true story of three young men who by chance realize they have much in common. It’s a chronicle that takes you on an unbelievable journey from fame and discovery to a deep mystery involving subterfuge and deception. 

This story starts over 50 years ago and comes into the public eye in 1980. What starts as an unusual case of coincidence, becomes much more as three males, Eddie, David, and Robert, who seemingly have no relation, are actually identical triplets with similar tastes and preferences. This uncanny trio becomes a media sensation appearing on every major talk show and news report.  But as their adoption background emerges, a fantastic truth is revealed. The subsequent cover up is only part of the story as we see the lasting effects on them psychologically and those closest to them.

Told from the point of view of the brothers in present day with interviews of other principals in their lives including family and spouses, it’s a study in manipulated lives and stolen childhoods with a cloak of secrecy that rivals anything on The X Files.  It raises serious questions on morality and the responsibility of tampering with human lives, and it makes one wonder how many other people have been affected?  How much do family and environment determine human outcome, and how much is genetically predestined? Is there such a thing as free will?

The film is successful in plunging the viewer in the middle of this story that becomes a personal search for the truth. Its images and impressions will stay with you long after the newsreel footage closes out the credits. Memorable and disturbing.  

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

Cruise Triumphs in Superior MISSION IMPOSSIBLE:FALLOUT

Tom Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (and a standout cast) strike gold again with Mission Impossible:Fallout, a superb action thriller, the best of the series. 

Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his Impossible Missions Force of Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) desperately search for stolen plutonium. With a monitoring CIA watchdog, Walker (Henry Cavill), the trail leads to a mysterious female and an old nemesis with a plot to detonate nuclear bombs with a horrifying purpose. Who can the team trust as Hunt and his team race to prevent catastrophe?

The film effortlessly globe hops from Belfast to Berlin to Paris and beyond while jumping from extended chases to the tense climax.  Briskly paced editing, beautiful camerawork, and an effective update of the classic TV theme highlight several superb action sequences including a high altitude halo jump, a hair raising motorcycle chase, a crazy helicopter duel, and a brutal restroom beat down any of which could cap off one film; here, it is an embarrassment of riches. It really makes a difference that Cruise, the movie star, does his own incredible stunts for the sake of realism.

Featuring their usual bag of tricks and effective disguises, the team works together especially at the end with some special help. There are references to the previous films that resonate emotionally, particularly in the grand finale and surprise appearances from the past that increase the personal stakes for Hunt, a man of conscience and fierce loyalty to his team no matter what the odds.

Although this Mission may be “impossible’ to top, it shows there is still a lot of life in this franchise. It’s a real crowd pleaser (at 148 minutes) and an example of stellar, movie making entertainment in the best sense.

**** of **** stars

The Redux of MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

A followup to the hit Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again shows that the songs of megahit group Abba are the gift that keeps on giving even if they are lesser known tunes. Acting as prequel and sequel, it’s an entertaining film that merges past and present in a satisfying mixture of romance, song, and memories.

Decades earlier, a young, wide-eyed Donna (Lily James), eager to experience the world, meets three lovers and settles on a stunning, Greek island paradise. In present day, in honor of adult Donna, (Meryl Streep), daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) plans to reopen their villa as a hotel overseen by suave Fernando (Andy Garcia) and invites all the principals from before including her surrogate fathers, Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgård), and Harry (Colin Firth), Donna’s best friends Rosie (Julie  Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski), and husband Sky (Dominic Cooper) among others.

The actors do a credible job singing (even Brosnan) while Cher plays a mysterious connection to the past (who can still belt out a song). 

The story flashes back and forth, awash in fluid camerawork, colorful costumes, and those wonderful tunes.  Streep is sorely missed through much of the film, but as various characters of the inner circle arrive, the party’s just getting started. Its main theme resonates about family, and how coming together can elevate the spirit and soul.

While it never quite matches the infectious enthusiasm of the original, by the end, it’s one big finale with a particularly affecting moment between mother and daughter.  It’s an old fashioned, feel good film for those with fond memories of the previous film.  Sure, it can be silly and over the top, but it’s all in good fun. 

*** of **** stars

The Tandem of ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

A breezy, enjoyable caper film that cleanses the palette after Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp is director Peyton Reed’s sequel to Ant-Man that maintains and expands the fun and heroics.   

Decades earlier, as the original Ant-Man and Wasp, a young Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) loses his wife, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), in the quantum realm where time and space are skewed. Fast forward to events post Captain America: Civil War as Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest and trying to maintain a meaningful relationship with his daughter. But Lang has a strange dream that suggests Janet may still be alive, and Pym and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), try to build a portal to reach the quantum realm. Meanwhile Lang and Hope run into a mysterious, ghost-like figure and black market thieves who are both after the quantum technology. Add the FBI monitoring Lang, and you have essentially one long chase that culminates in a race against the clock to save Hope’s mom.

In addition to nice action scenes, there is a playful, almost comedic quality to this adventure without becoming silly.  (It is the most kid friendly Marvel film yet.)  Michael Peña and the rest of Ant-Man’s wonderful supporting cast returns (though there is not really a supreme supervillain).  Rudd, always a joy, shares equal billing with Lilly who shines as a Marvel hero.

While it could have benefitted from a bit more emotional bonding among the Pym family at the climax, this film serves as a nice setup for next year’s Captain Marvel and the concluding Avengers film.  There is a significant mid credit scene and, yes, a Stan Lee cameo.

*** of **** stars (add ½ * for Marvel Fans)

The Brilliant Rebel of SciFi Is Gone

Science fiction author Harlan Ellison has passed in his sleep at 84. He was a prolific, brilliant writer whose at times abrasive personality and opinions could elicit controversy. He burst into TV with a couple Outer Limits classics, Soldier and Demon with the Glass Hand which bear more than a passing similarity to the Terminator films, whereby Ellison sued and won credit for. He wrote the greatest Star Trek Episode, City on the Edge of Forever. Some of his talent was wasted on standard TV fare, but he lent his consulting voice to the classic Babylon 5 and the glorious Twilight Zone revival in the 1980s while he loved the X Files.  He was not afraid to express his opinion on a myriad of topics.

I met him at a book signing 20 years ago for Harlan Ellison's Watching and as much as he dominated his line of fans, he could be gentle and playful with kids as he offered them peeps candy.
This winner of 8 Hugo SciFi awards and countless others including the Writers Guild of America has been silenced, yet his words live on mightily.