The Splendor of DOWNTON ABBEY

The prestigious PBS show, Downton Abbey, is given a full cinematic treatment, and the results are a dazzling valentine to fans.

In the 1920s, the stately Downton Abbey is about to be visited by the King and Queen, and feverish preparations and power struggles ensue that impact the family and its servants. When a mysterious heir to the Downton legacy appears, a major showdown brews with some revealing surprises and truths. Old relationships are rekindled and new ones are forged as the whirlwind royal event takes center stage with a whiff of conspiracy. 

For those unfamiliar with the show, it works as a marvelous period drama, but there are numerous subplots and familiar faces whose histories have become such canon that faithful legions will be rewarded as it sets up intriguing situations going forward. The returning cast has retained its endearing chemistry and is highlighted by Maggie Smith as the matriarch who gets some juicy moments. 

This film adaptation is more lavish in scale (a royal ball is a magnificent set piece,) with beautiful, fluid camerawork and extremely well-paced editing.  The set designs and period costumes are complemented by a magistral score.  

Julian Fellowes’ (Gosford Park) sharp screenplay juggles interweaving storylines (each of which could serve as a TV episode), effortlessly shuffling back and forth among a dozen sets of characters while contrasting the lives of aristocracy and servant class.  Above all, there is the honor, pride, tradition, and family.  The film never minimizes its grandeur nor does it glamorize at the expense of its rich characters and themes.  

The film effectively conveys the sense of a grand era about to recede in wake of a modern world and new beginnings. A splendid adaptation of a beloved show.

***1/2 of **** stars (add ½* for Downton Abbey fans)

Batman 80 Years Old!

80 years ago, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created pop culture phenomenon Batman, a super hero who was more grounded in dark reality than the extraordinary powers of his contemporary, Superman. Here was a non traditional hero whose villainous adversaries were bizarre yet also realistic.

In 1966, when Batman premiered on ABC as a twice weekly cliffhanger series with its POW BIFF SPLAT and colorful sets and villains, it was a revelation! Batmania swept the nation. (I had the model batmobile too.)

When Tim Burton made his stylish Batman in 1989 with of all people, Michael Keaton as the lead, it was bold. And what sets and an over the top Jack Nicholson as The Joker.
(The sequels degenerated into all star messes though.)

Then when Christopher Nolan cast Christian Bale as the Dark Knight, part of a trilogy, things changed for filmic super heroes (including Marvel) that resonates to this day.

Local Cosmic Comix celebrated with some nice freebies today.
So happy 80th anniversery on Batman Day.

2019 MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention

The 2019 MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention is in the books and was fun for returning fans and new ones!  Martin Grams and his hard working team have done it again.

There were James Bond female stars Britt Ekland and Maud Adams, Tv stars Loni Anderson and Loretta Swit, West Side Story actors George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn, Film stars Nancy Kwan and Tatum O'Neal, and several others.

Film star Tom Berenger came last minute and was a terrific guest.

Karolyn Grimes who played Zuzu in It's a Wonderful Life signed ornaments. What a treat.

Despite some last minute cancellations hopefully rescheduled for next year, the rest of us had a very nice time. It was also cool to see rhe celebrities interact with each other as mutual fans. The vendors had memorabilia of all kinds. There were seminars with the guests and films all day. It is a community experience with memories and fandom uniting us. Next year promises to be bigger and better.

Lynley Was Child Star Grown Up

 Actress Carol Lynley passed away suddenly at 77. She was a well known star of movies.and guest TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. Many will remember her in the disaster movie blockbuster The Poseídon Adventure. She was one of the first guests I met at a film convention. Nice person with no pretense.

Living ‘The Boss’ in BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Based on a true story, Blinded by the Light is an uplifting, emotional journey of identity and self-discovery as directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham). This is one of several musical themed dramas highlighted by classic pop artists’ music (Yesterday, Bohemian Rhapsody).

Set in 1980s England, teenager Javed (Viveik Kalra) and his Pakistani family live in a small town and face bigotry and economic hardships.  Javed yearns for a life beyond his small town, and when a schoolmate introduces him to the songs of Bruce Springsteen, his life is transformed. His hope of going to college to be a writer and find his own happiness is stifled by his strict, overbearing father. Springsteen’s music and words speak to and inspire him, and, encouraged and challenged by his English teacher, Miss Park (Hayley Atwell), Javed’s passion for writing and expressing his inner voice leads to opportunities and even love.  As his father objects to his desires, it threatens to tear the family apart.

The film garners well-earned heart and goodwill. It never strays far from the concept of the importance of family and the challenges and pains of struggling for a life in a foreign land.  It is also an interesting look into aspects of Pakistani youth and culture in England at the time.  The core conflict is a clash between old, traditional, homeland values and the newer, progressive, youthful independence.  The mostly unknown cast is uniformly excellent, and Atwell registers in support. 1980s hairstyles and clothes are in full, period display.

The film, with its strong, emotional finish, is a testament to following your dreams while holding onto family values. Of course, there’s a healthy dose of The Boss’ songs sprinkled throughout. A winning film.

***1/2 of **** stars (for Springsteen fans)

TV's Wise Cracking Bestie

Some of my best memories were watching TV Saturday nights and The Mary Tyler Moore Show with its precious, priceless ensemble of actors and writers. I had never heard of Valerie Harper til that pilot episode in 1970 and fell in love with her as Rhoda, the no nonsense best friend for Mary and adversary to landlord Phyllis. Her spinoff show was fun and she had some success in film (Chapter Two). This multi Emmy winner had been diagnosed with cancer years ago and she continued to hang in there until passing at 80. Rest easy, your fans remember you lovingly.

The King of Broadway

Broadway producer / director Harold Prince passed away at 91, leaving a body of work unrivalled on the Great White Way with a record 21 Tony Awards and including such classic shows as Damn Yankees, West Side Story, Candide, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Evita, and countless more. A true giant in musical theater.

Idyllic Homage in ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s personal love letter to old Hollywood that recreates a rich pastel of movie marquees of the day and a fable that mixes fact and fiction amid the turbulent sixties.

In 1969 Los Angeles, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a TV star whose career is in freefall while his buddy and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) struggles to find work. While Rick’s work takes him overseas filming Spaghetti westerns, Cliff befriends a hippie girl who belongs to a commune run by Charles Manson. As the decade comes to a close, Rick and Cliff share a fateful drink as actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her friends gather next door. Meanwhile, Manson followers approach with murderous intent.

The film crosscuts among the principals, tied together by circumstance, and contrasts the class disparity between the wealthy elite and the lowly stuntman. Few writers can write dialogue like Tarantino, and his sharp screenplay methodically builds character relationships and standout sequences including a Playboy mansion party, a TV western shoot, a wildly tense meeting at a remote ranch, and the violent finale in a Hollywood home.

DiCaprio is outstanding as the hard drinking, insecure actor, but it is Pitt who excels in a choice role as a pragmatist with a shady past.  The excellent supporting cast, stocked with Tarantino’s repertory actors, includes Julia Butters as a child actress who excels in a scene with DiCaprio.

Pop culture references abound with legendary hotspots, styles, and music, and special effects seamlessly blend actors with actual footage.  This is fascinating, revisionist cinema that is ultimately Tarantino’s self-fulfilling, reinvented version (think Inglourius Basterds) of a Hollywood fairy tale.  (There is an amusing end credit scene.)

***1/2 of **** stars (add ½* for Tarantino fans)      

Rutger Hauer's Shining Star

Handsome Dutch actor Rutger Hauer passed away at 75. Making a sensation in the war film Soldier of Orange, he went on to major films and TV including the underrated Nighthawks, Ladyhawke, The Hitcher, The Osterman Weekend (Sam Peckinpah's last film), and his crowning achievement as the replicant in Blade Runner. Who could forget his vicious killer who held a dove at the most poignant moment of that film? He made a great TV movie, Escape from Sobibor and had numerous character roles in films like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Batman Begins, Sin City, and much more.  Gone much too soon.

Captain Crane and the Many Roles of David Hedison

 

 

Actor David Hedison passed away at 92 leaving a substantial body of TV and movie work to complement his theatrical experience. Among his famous roles was in the original The Fly and as Felix Leiter not once but twice in different James Bond films, Live and Let Die and License to Kill.

 

 

When producer Irwin Allen came calling for The Lost World remake, he would evenrually take on the role of Captain Lee Crane in the long running mid sixties TV scifi series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with costar Richard Basehart. Mostly broadcast on Sundays at 7pm EST, it was, for a young boy, must see TV before VCRs, and my family would eat out for dinner and rush back so I wouldn't miss my show. Decades later at the first MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention, I got a chance to meet him and it was truly surreal. What a nice guy. So glad I met him. What fond memories I have for the man and the show.

A Thrilling Moment in History

50 years ago today, man landed on the moon. I remember as a child watching with endless fascination the constant coverage on tv especially with news legend Walter Cronkite every step of the way. Even a black and white image on tv carried such high drama. This never ever happened before. You were watching history in the making as the whole family sat rapt in attention. I couldn't believe this was happening for real, yet it was. My dad was an astrophysicist who had ties to the space program, and even he was captivated.
There is a true story how sci-fi writer Arthur C Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) made a bet in the 1950s that we would land a man on the moon by June 1969. He lost the bet by one month.
I join everyone in celebrating a milestone accomplishment in history that not only Americans can be proud, but as a pinnacle of human experience and wonder. Here's to that and the men and women who helped make it happen especially heroes Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins.

Loving Lies in THE FAREWELL

Written and directed lovingly from her memories, Lulu Wang has brought to the screen a deeply personal story of Chinese culture at odds with modern convention in The Farewell. Featuring a game changing role for comedian actress Awkwafina, it is a significant, early entry to the awards season.

Billi (Awkwafina) is a young, Chinese woman in America who loves her grandmother, Nai Nai, who lives in China.  When the family learns that Nai Nai has terminal cancer, they elect to keep the truth from her and gather for a reunion on the pretense of a family wedding. Billi wrestles with her family’s wishes and the love for her grandmother as the wedding approaches.

Amid a fine ensemble, Awkwafina, in a major change of pace, nails the emotional anguish her character feels  There is not one false note in her performance.  Her Billi is independent, proud, fallible, and wears her emotion on her sleeve.  

Throughout the story, a somber undercurrent runs counter to a supposed happy occasion as the film contrasts Chinese tradition with modern thinking where East meets West.  It realistically portrays the Chinese, familial experience and what we pass along to our children.  It also explores the levels of deception or half-truths among family members and reassessing revelations from the past.   

The film is methodically paced, balancing the delicate drama with fleeting moments of humor and really hits the spot with three, final shots that are memorable. Its portrayal of an Asian family may be old school, but its themes are universal.  The film is partly in English and primarily Mandarin Chinese with subtitles. Stay with it, and it will make a lasting impression. It’s a thoughtful, important film by a director and actress just beginning to make their mark.

**** of **** stars

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME and Transition

Officially the bookend for Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 which climaxed in Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home (with repeat director Jon Watts) is an enjoyable adventure which sets a course for the future of not only Spider-Man, but the Marvel universe. 

Months after the traumatic events of The Avengers’ battle with Thanos, people are adjusting to a new normal including high schooler Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and his friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) who all go on a class trip to Europe. With the world moving to an uncertain future and needing heroes to protect it, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) attempts to recruit Spider-Man to fight a monstrous threat. Meanwhile, a new super powered hero, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), befriends Peter, and after the monster is seemingly defeated, Peter wants to resume his trip and get closer with MJ. But shocking, new dangers emerge from within that threaten his friends.

The cast including Marisa Tomei as Aunt May and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan lend strong support.  Holland is always a joy to watch as he struggles with personal loss, his responsibility as a super hero, and teen angst particularly his endearing relationship with MJ.  The film explores themes of trust and betrayal and contrasts what is real and what is illusion (timely subjects). Ultimately, it is Peter’s willingness to trust his own abilities and his own ‘Spider Sense’ which may be the difference.

This well paced film balances humor and action and will satisfy Marvel fans (especially with many references to previous Marvel films), and with no Marvel films later this year, it hints at Marvel’s future.  (No more Stan Lee cameos, but do not miss two game changing end credit scenes.)

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