BITE-SIZED REVIEW: The Josephine Baker Story (Brian Gibson, 1991)

Directed by Brian Gibson, who would go on to make the Oscar-nominated What's Love Got To Do With It, this HBO TV movie tells the story of Josephine Baker, the first African American star to gain international fame. Originally famous for her erotically charged dance shows, Baker went on to buy a castle, adopt 12 kids, become a member of the French Resistance and work in the civil rights movement.

The film charts Baker's life, from dancing on the chitlin circuit in the American South, to her rise to megastardom in Europe and beyond.

HBO movies of this period are generally pretty good visually, and this one is no exception. The twenties and thirties sequences are sumptuously photographed and the score by Georges Delerue is wonderfully evocative. 

Because the movie has to crush so much into the running time, there are times when the movie feels like a montage. There are beats early on where certain characters, particularly Reuben Blades' character, feel like Basil Exposition. Overall director Gibson navigates the story well, juxtaposing sequences to create a sense of dramatic causality: One example is the scene where Josephine learns that she cannot have children, which is followed by a sequence where Baker integrates an audience of American servicemen who she is performing for. Rather than letting the tragedy play out, it feeds into her realisation of a higher purpose.

The whole thing is tied together by Lynn Whitfield's performance. Even as the plotting blasts through decades, she anchors the whole enterprise: Flighty, brave and terrified, her Josephine is always believable. Despite her success, the little girl from St Louis is still there. This is extremely apparent whenever Baker is confronted with shades of her past -- from the embarrassment of her Broadway show flopping, through to any time she is confronted with barriers due to her race (the sequence where she has to enter a hotel through the kitchen).

With the quality of television today, it is easy to overlook the good work the medium has produced in the past. The Josephine Baker Story is a fine example of HBO's past work, and a great showcase for the underrated LynnWhitfield.

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Black Dynamite (Scott Sanders, 2009)

If this is America in the 70s, and you need someone to take down the Man, there is only one hero for the job: Black Dynamite (Michael Jai White).

I love this movie so much. Parody movies are so hard to pull off -  most of them just feel like lazy riffs on whatever genre they are spoofing. Like Airplane!, Black Dynamite is a lovingly crafted, laugh-out-loud skewering/tribute that also functions as a great comedy.

And a lot of its success is down to its co-writer/star Michael Jai White.

Back in the nineties, Jai White gained prominence after playing Mike Tyson in a TV biopic and playing one of the first African American comic book movie heroes in 1997's Spawn. That movie did not do that well, but Jai White has continued to work, popping up in various big movies (The Dark Knight), and carving out a solid career in DTV action flicks.

With Black Dynamite, I think he has found cinematic immortality. Because this movie is a masterpiece.

There are so many great scenes to pick from - the meeting of the pimp council; Black Dynamite learning of his brother's death; the fight with Fiendish Dr Wu; the final battle between Black Dynamite and Richard Nixon - but my personal favourite is the Eureka moment where Black Dynamite uses a series of inane clues to figure out the plot. I won't go into detail but it is the highlight of the movie.

Jai White's performance is so brilliant it is a real indictment against Hollywood that he did not get some bigger breaks. What makes his performance so good is that there is no attempt to play into the joke. White plays every scene totally straight.

What makes his portrayal even funnier is that he is not even playing Black Dynamite: in a nod to the action stars (Fred Williamson, Jim Brown) of the genre, he is playing an ex-footballer playing Black Dynamite. If you pay attention (and I only caught this after hearing White on the Nerdist podcast), Jai White works in moments where this 'offscreen' character breaks character (like the fact that the reason Black Dynamite can only turn his head one way is because of a neck injury the actor sustained during his football career).

Even if you are not paying attention, it is not hard to catch the broader meta-narrative going on 'off-screen': an angry actor is replaced mid-scene when a fake punch connects; a boom mike appears in the frame during Dynamite's big speech; an actress talks over Dynamite's line, causing him to break character; the same stuntman dies five times throughout the movie... the movie is filled with nuggets like this.

Along with Jai White and the rest of the cast, director/co-writer Scott Sanders deserves kudos for his pitch-perfect balancing of making a movie that both evokes the period of its 'making' while simultaneously making fun of it.

One of the best comedies of the last decade, Black Dynamite is highly recommended.

BITE-SIZED REVIEW: Think Like A Man (Tim Story, 2012)

Based on a self-help book by comedian Steve Harvey, Think Like A Man is another one of those ensemble rom coms ala What To Expect When You're Expecting and He's Just Not That Into You. Directed by Tim Story, the movie boasts a great cast and, while predictable, is better than those movies I've already mentioned.

Comedian Steve Harvey (playing himself) has released an advice book offering women an insight into the male psyche. A group of women in various kinds of relationships decide to follow the book's advice. Hilarity ensues.

This movie has the good fortune to have a really strong cast. The standout of the male cast members is Romany Malco (The 40 Year Old Virgin). This is the first time I've seen him in something in a while, and he's really good as a player forced to change his ways when his latest would-be pickup (Meagan Good) puts the brakes on his usual strategy.

Because the movie's premise, the movie ends up being more female-centred (although it does feel like we spend more time on the guys as a group). It helps that this side of the cast are legitimately terrific. Actually, it does often feel like the movie is a little lopsided: Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union and Regina Hall really take the movie on their shoulders.

Like a lot of people, my first introduction to Regina Hall was her roles in the Scary Movies. Here she is far more subdued as a mom re-entering the dating scene. She is very sweet and believable, and made me wish this character had a movie to herself.

This movie really reaffirmed how good Gabrielle Union is. She is such a good actress she makes you believe that she could be in a longterm relationship with friggin' Turtle from Entourage.

The one story that feels a bit pat is the romance between Taraji P. Henson's career woman and daydreamer Michael Ealy. It involves the most contrived premise (poor guy pretends to be rich to get a woman out of his league) and is not developed enough to become more original. Henson is also so good as this hyper-independent woman that it makes no sense why she would fall for Ealy - he's okay but their romance never really convinces.

In the end, Think Like A Man is a solid rom com that does exactly what it says on the tin. Amid the dross clogging up Netflix, it is actually worth a look. 

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IN THEATRES: The Commuter

Michael MacCauley (Liam Neeson) is a worker bee in the big city. Every day for the last 10 years he has taken the train to and from work. Every day has been the same boring routine - until today. Today, his train journey will be more eventful than irate fellow-travellers and bad smells = bad guys, broken bones and explosions.

I kinda loved this movie. Not enough to remember it in a year, or make this review longer, but still, this movie hit me the right way.

Jaume Collet-Serra has been earmarked for bigger things (Akira; Suicide Squad 2) but thankfully he has never graduated to the A List. Because it would deprive us of gems like this. With Liam Neeson as his muse, Collet-Serra is quickly turning into this century's version of Budd Botticher and Randolph Scott. Where those low budget luminaries favoured the western, Collet-Serra and Neeson have carved out a niche as purveyors of mid-budget high-concept action thrillers. 

Neeson's late-career detour into elder action hero has become a bit of a joke, but of all the b-movies he has taken on post-Taken, his collaborations with Collet-Serra have been the best.

And I think this one might be the best.

The plot is a load of contrived bollocks but Collet-Serra handles the material so deftly it never matters. He brings much needed style and visual panache to material that a) does not deserve it b) would be completely unwatchable.

The standout sequence is a one-take fight scene between Neeson and one of the villains in a train car. It is a stylistic exercise, but the lack of cutting works to increase the sense of peril. For once Neeson feels like an ordinary guy trying to stay alive, rather than a superman.

Of course by the end of the movie, after he has been punched through windows, jumped between carriages and ducked another falling carriage, any sense of verisimilitude has got off a few stops back.

While the movie goes off the rails (har har) in the third act,  it adds to the fun. Once again, Collet-Serra's sure hand at the tiller ensures that this escalation does not come out of nowhere.

The acting by all concerned is solid - Neeson gets to play a more vulnerable version of his usual persona (hard to believe someone with a pedigree like his has a 'persona'), and everyone does what they have to, and they all seem to know what kind of movie they are in.

On this evidence, I hope Collet-Serra gets more and bigger opportunities to stretch his skills - but not before he has popped off a few more gems like this. He is the real star here.

Overall, The Commuter is a fun, well-made potboiler from one of the best working genre filmmakers around. It does everything you expect, but with enough style and panache to make it entertaining.

IN THEATRES: The Post

In 1971, the Washington Post, a local paper in the US Capital, found itself at war with the US Government when it received the Pentagon Papers, a secret report on the history of America's decades-long involvement in Vietnam.

This movie hit me in so many different ways. As a history buff, as an ex-pat and as someone who trained as a journalist - this movie resonated in a lot of ways.

A passionate tribute to the Fourth Estate, The Post is a movie moulded in the dumpster fire of Trump's America. It might be the most urgent and pointed film in Steven Spielberg's career.

A companion piece to Alan J Pakula's classic All The President's Men, The Post is both a thematic sequel and a narrative prequel. The movie even includes an easter egg at the climax that literalizes the connection between the two films.  

In an era defined by over-stuffed runtimes and empty exercises in visual style, The clarity of Speilberg's direction and the script by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer is a breath of fresh air. There are a few scenes involving long takes which are completely seamless - they are never used as mere technical exercises, but are completely functional within the context of the story. The camera tracks editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) through offices, newsrooms, and - in one of the film's standout scenes - his house, as he bats away the paper's lawyers while reporters pour through sections of the Pentagon papers.

The performances are terrific. Hanks is good as Bradlee. I was not blown away, but he handles the role well. Bradlee is an important character, but he is not the central figure, which might be why he did not stand out to me.

Bob Odenkirk is great as Ben Bagdikian, the journalist who tracks down Daniel Ellsberg (The Americans' Jonathan Rhys), the whistle-blower responsible for smuggling the report out to the public. He lends the dogged reporter a jittery everyman quality that works to ram home the danger the Post is in.  His awkwardness and lack of overt bravery makes his ethical stand for publishing the report far more impactful. He knows what's at stake (and appears to be genuinely terrified of the consequences), but he is still willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

Bruce Greenwood is also good as former Secretary of State Robert McNamara (star of Errol Morris's classic documentary The Fog of War). Greenwood is always great at playing intelligent authority figures, and that fits this conflicted, divisive figure to a T.

And now time for one of the great cliches of our time when it comes to movies starring Meryl Streep.

This movie starring Meryl Streep belongs to Meryl Streep. Playing publisher Kay Graham, if The Post has a central character it is her. The movie is as much about Graham learning to assert herself over the multitude of male voices telling her what to do. Beyond her performance, this storyline is the backbone of the movie - if the movie was not based around her, I don't know if the movie would resonate as much.

One of the main delights of the film is how it characterises this transformation. The expectation would be a sudden expression of steely resolve. Instead, Streep leans into the character's natural hesitance. The scene where she awkwardly decides to publish the findings from the Pentagon Papers, abruptly terminating a teleconference with various board members and paper staff, is brilliant. The Post never feels like a powerpoint of historical bullet points. Like Spielberg's Lincoln, it feels like people stumbling through significant moments without the audience's understanding of their significance.

The Post is a terrific and timely film that deserves a massive audience. Not just because of its message, but because it delivers its message with such power and precision. It is the best press the press could have right now.

On a related note, if you are interested in Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, check out the 2009 documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.

IN THEATRES: Menashe

A Hasidic widower, Menashe (Menashe Lustig), is determined that his son live with him. However this goes against a ruling from his rabbi that the boy grow up in a 'proper' home (i.e. with a mother). Unwilling to remarry, Menashe is caught between love for his son and his beliefs.

A small scale character piece, Menashe is the kind of movie that I like to soak in. There is no real plot; just a locale, a mood and a deeply human anchor in its central character. Featuring a cast of Hasidic non-actors, and inspired by his leading man's real life, Joshua Z. Weinstein's film is warm, empathetic portrait of a community that is rarely portrayed onscreen. 

As the lead, Lustig is great - he is naturalistic in his interactions with his son Rieven (Ruben Niborski) and is extremely affecting during the dramatic moments. Weinstein often lets his camera stay on Lustig, letting moments play out. The film's most affecting sequence is when Menashe, post-date, eats takeaway at a convenience store while the clerk awkwardly stares at him.

Because it takes place almost entirely in Yiddish, there is a layer of distance that might be shielding some of the performances, but the movie lives and dies on Lustig's performance. There is a weariness and a sadness to Lustig's performance that never feels telegraphed or shoved in our faces.

Like Malglutit which I reviewed last year, Weinstein makes no overt attempts to explain any aspects of Hasidic culture, instead letting the audience put the pieces together. Beyond the matter-of-fact presentation of Hasidic culture, the movie's strength is its emotional through-line.  

When you take away the context, the movie is just a story about a single parent trying move on in his life and raise his son. The movie only has a hair of a plot: Menashe takes it upon himself to make the preparations for the anniversary of his wife's death - if he succeeds, the Rabbi will consider letting him keep his son; if he fails, he will go to live with his brother-in-law. 

There are no contrivances or subplots to clog up the 82 minute runtime. The only obstacles are banal and straightforward: Nosey relatives, uncaring employers and Menashe's own personal flaws. 

Leavened by touches of humour and heart, Menashe is a sweet little movie that is worth a look.

IN THEATRES: All the Money in the World

In 1973, John Paul Getty III (Charlie Plummer) was kidnapped and held for ransom. When his grandfather, the world's richest man John Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), refused to pay, it fell to Paul's mother Abigail (Michelle Williams) and Getty's hatchet man Fletcher Chase (Mark Wahlberg) to get her son back.

This movie was not on my radar until November, when original cast member Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual assault. In an un-precendented move, Ridley Scott declared that he was re-casting Spacey with Christopher Plummer AND that he would have the film finished by the film's release date in late December.

Movies with unusual production problems have always fascinated me. There is something incredibly arresting about watching a team of filmmakers struggle to bring a film to the screen. Recent examples include Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassuss (which coincidentally starred Plummer as the title character), or 2013's World War Z, where the filmmakers ended up re-shooting almost half of the movie.

Christopher Plummer fits in perfectly - there is one shot where the seams show, but other than that you would never guess that he was a late replacement who was added less than a month before the movie's release. 

Plummer is one of those actors who never quite disappears into a role - he makes recognisable choices in terms of the way he uses his body and voice. He has an affinity for playing amoral shits, and Getty is right in his wheelhouse. Unlike the performer he replaced, Plummer is able to leaven his characters with a sense of humour and charm in a way that allows him to remain just outside of a viewer's sympathies (think of General Chang in Star Trek 6 or his elderly patriarch in the Dragon Tattoo remake). He gives Getty just enough pathos that you can understand why people could overlook his complete ruthlessness and self-regard. 

It also helps that Plummer is closer to the age of the character he is playing. Besides verisimilitude, it also fits in with the bleakness of the mise-en-scene. There is something almost vulture-like about Plummer's profile, and almost cadaverous about his face in general, that adds to the sense of Getty as a purely selfish creature, drawing sustenance from the world around him.

Plummer is such a perfect fit for this movie that by the climax it is hard to imagine that another performer was in his place.

While Plummer was the draw, Michelle Williams is the real standout of the movie. Williams has been terrific in almost everything she has done for years now, and I am embarrassed that I forgot she was in it. 

Mark Wahlberg is fine as Getty's hatchet man, although I did not quite buy his character turn in the third act. Wahlberg is not quite old enough to give the role the gravitas and cynicism that the script intends. For most of the runtime, he seemed to fit in, but when it came to the character's biggest emotional shifts, he fails to convince.

Ridley Scott is on good form here. Following the meandering, bizarre Alien Covenant last year, All The Money In The World is a model of momentum and narrative focus. Oddly, it does end up feeling like a counterpart to that picture: it takes a microscopic lens to a situation in which human beings do terrible things to each other for terrible reasons. While that picture felt interesting but half-baked, All The Money In The World is extremely focused.

Due to the compressed time scale - and the logistical issues involved - All the Money in the World is a remarkable case study in Scott's skills as a filmmaker. When left to his own devices, he can be a sloppy story-teller (see Prometheus or Robin Hood for recent examples). Scott is not a creator in the traditional sense - he is a terrific interpreter, using his background as an art director and a designer to build worlds around his characters that feel like extensions of whatever his film is about: think of hellish future-scapes of Blade Runner or the lonely conman's sterile home in the underrated Matchstick Men.

All The Money In The World is all about the price of greed. Though he is present in less than half of the picture, Plummer's John Paul Getty is the centre of the film. The film's focus is his single-minded focus on accumulating wealth, building an empire and a dynasty, and the way his family are dragged into his schemes.

Darius Wolski's  sharp, cool photography is a major asset - even before Paul is kidnapped, the Gettys' world is dominated by the patriarch's miserly ways. It always feels like the vitality has been sucked out of the image. 

A testament to Ridley Scott's fascination with human beings doing terrible things to one another - and his talent for overcoming impossible production obstacles - All the Money in the World is a mature thriller for grown-ups. It might be a bit mournful for some people, and takes a bit of time to get going, but overall it is a really good film and one of Scott's best efforts in years.

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