TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM

     This is a really fine documentary worth seeing whether or not you’ve read the notable American writer’s novels.  Toni Morrison’s beginnings were humble (her father read the Bible when it was illegal for a black man to do so, and moved north from Georgia to Ohio after witnessing two lynchings).  After her sister taught her to read when she was three years old, she amused herself by writing words on the sidewalk, and reading as much as she could.  When she got a job at the local library stacking books, she said she was slow because she couldn’t resist reading the books as she was putting them on shelves.

     After having grown up in Ohio, she enrolled in Howard University in Washington D.C., where she encountered segregated restaurants and buses for the first time. Even at Howard, she found one sorority for lighter skinned black women and another for darker skins.  

     After earning a B.A. at Howard University and an M.A. at Cornell University, Morrison taught English for a year at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. Thereafter, she became an editor at Random House, where she began getting praise for her work, and eventually started becoming known for her fiction.  Even after she won the Nobel Prize, she was criticized for writing only about the black experience, referring to it as “narrow” and “provincial.”  She defends herself by taking pride in writing to people of color rather than to white people; and, indeed, Hilton Als reported in The New Yorker that Morrison was influential in changing the writing of black authors.

     Toni Morrison’s achievements have been as novelist, editor, and teacher, having now attained the rank of professor emeritus at Princeton University. In addition to literary prizes (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Nobel Prize for Literature, and American Book Award), Toni Morrison received the National Humanities Medal, and President Obama bestowed upon her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

     Morrison’s life has been colorful—difficult at times (such as when raising two boys on her own)—but inspiring and rewarding for the most part, according to the documentary.  She notes that she has always been able to count on family, and she finds great peace in rising at dawn and writing for several hours on a pier by her lake house.

     Director/Producer Timothy Greenfield Sanders’ film about an American icon contains artistic renditions of scenes, entertaining comments from the famous Oprah Winfrey, Fran Lebowitz, Angela Davis, and others, as well as an intimate, warmly human picture of an amazing woman likely to be venerated for years to come.  If you haven’t already sampled some of her books, you are sure to want to after seeing this film.

An artistic and resonant portrait of a celebrated American writer.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

Tom Holland    Zendaya    Jon Favreau    Jake Gyllenhaal    Samuel L. Jackson

 Marissa Tomei     Cobie Smulders     Jacob Batalon     Angourie Rice

     At first, it looked like this, the seventh rendition of Spider-Man as the central figure, was going to have a clever twist, and it did for a while, but the follow-through was less inspired. Nevertheless, the action is captivating as usual (except when the battles go on too long), and the special effects are especially grand.  Peter Parker has always been a kind of “aw, shucks” kind of guy, but that trait is more emphasized here—perhaps because he has been charged with an assignment he is not quite ready for, at least in terms of self-confidence and other concerns.  That tendency wears thin over time.

     Peter (Holland) has a burning love interest, and he is beside himself with anticipation for the science trip his class is scheduled to take in Europe, when he plans to romance and declare his feelings for Michelle Jones (“MJ”) (Zendaya). So like many teenagers called to duty, when Nick Fury (Jackson) needs Spider-Man asap, Peter stalls, trying to get out of serving.  

     Hearing more, his enthusiasm for the task waxes and wanes, depending on who is talking to him, and although Fury goes with Peter’s resistance, he has a way of inserting his will at strategic times.  One of the incentives Peter is given is a set of special eyeglasses from Tony Stark that gives him access to technology that he can summon at any time without regard to cost.  Of course, Peter is thrilled; this is something he was yearning for in 2017’s Spider-Man Homecoming, to be Stark’s successor. But, curiously, deep down Peter now feels unworthy of the inheritance.  

     That, coupled with his adolescent passions, causes him to make a decision, the implications of which he is completely unaware.  Until later.

     Peter is far from home, jaunting off to Venice, Italy, the Austrian Alps, Berlin, and London.  With filming taking place in all those sites, the visuals are heightened.   But Peter will not be on a sightseeing tour; danger and intrigue erupts at every stop.  He is relieved to find a potential ally in one of the heroes from another dimension named Quentin Beck/Mysterio (Gyllenhaal), who suddenly appears on the scene and who is able to thwart a huge new shape-shifting “elemental” threat that creates tornados and earthquakes on earth.  Gyllenhaal and Parker have a natural chemistry that charges up every scene they’re in together.  In all the goings on, Peter is caught up in complexities that take a while for him to figure out.

     Interestingly, beginning with the 2017 film when Peter’s friend Ned (Batalon) learns about his identity, MCU has decided in this version to be more public about who he is.  This makes for charming interchanges between Peter and MJ.  Zendaya’s character is so interesting in her deadpan expressions; and their pairing is a delightful part of the story.

Except for one new element, Far from Home resembles previous versions; but for Spider-Man fans, this one is likely to be fun and exciting.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN

Alec Baldwin     Morena Baccarin     Josh Charles

     This is a fascinating documentary about perhaps the most famous wannabe carmaker in history, John Delorean.  Well, he was able to produce some cars, but when he thought he was hitting it big, most of the Deloreans being produced had major flaws.  Couple that with sudden competition from Japan’s Volkswagens (and the trend toward smaller cars) and a major change in British government (enter Margaret Thatcher) when he had taken his company to Ireland, he is in a tight spot.  

     It’s a tale of a golden boy destined to be the head of General Motors, the major car company of the time.  He moves up rapidly from a simple engineer, taking calculated risks like producing and marketing the Pontiac GTO, (aka, “muscle car”), which other GM executives thought would never sell.  It did, big time.  Now, GM is in a dilemma; Delorean is GM’s biggest moneymaker for the company, but the elders cannot condone his lifestyle (party boy).  There is a move to oust him from GM, and when one of his planned speeches gets leaked to the public, he is let go.  However, Delorean being who he is, turns the fracas into a hero win for himself.

     It gives Delorean the opportunity to go off on his own, taking one of GM’s foremost engineers, Bill Collins, with him, and forming the Delorean Motor Car Company. It’s when Delorean starts having financing troubles that he begins to cut corners and abandon any ethical principles he had before.  He makes a deal that involves a new engineer, Colin Chapman (edging out Collins) and a shady financing company, and decides to locate his company in Belfast, Ireland.  

     Once again, time pressures were on to build the factory, hire workers, and turn out a quality product.  But although the company was able to turn out thousands of DMC-12s, the cars had major flaws.  Moreover, there were other concerns related to a change in UK government (enter conservative Margaret Thatcher) that would not grant them the government concessions they had been promised before and were counting on. 

     Delorean’s desperation coinciding with President Ronald Reagan’s war on drugs is epitomized in his being arrested for drug trafficking, a deal set up by U.S. agents, but he is not convicted by a jury which objects to the government’s interventions.  Delorean does not escape home free; other charges will be filed about his financial shenanigans. 

     This is a story about a rising star with all the promise to succeed big time, but events partly of his own doing and partly having to do with an international economy, thwart his fondest dreams.  

     The decision of documentary filmmakers to insert actors into a documentary is puzzling.  For instance, the efforts in showing the make-up necessary to convert Baldwin into the visage of Delorean is interesting, but turns out to be more of a distraction and beside the point than a help, because there is so much archival footage available.  I can see more the usefulness of having Morena Baccarini portray Delorean’s wife, Cristina Ferrare, because we need to see the beauty that must have captivated Delorean and caused him to divorce his first wife, but this addition is not really necessary either.

     In sum, Framing John Delorean is an interesting foray into an examination of his personality and the inside and outside forces that determined his ultimate fate.

An examination of a man who could be king but for human flaws.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

YESTERDAY

Himesh Patel     Lily James     Kate McKinnon     Ed Sheeran     Joel Fry

     Clever fantasies require a little bit of tongue in cheek, and if you can go with it, you’re in for a treat.  In this one, something major happens all over the world that creates holes in people’s memory, such as for Coca Cola, cigarettes, and the Beatles. The Beatles?  Only one man, a failing British singer-songwriter, remembers them or their songs.  When his friends don’t seem to get his references to them, he sings “Yesterday”; but indeed, not only do they not recognize it, they think it’s great.  

     Many things happen by chance rather than design in this story, partly because the man who remembers, Jack Malik (Patel), is so unassuming and artless.  All he has to do is play a few songs and they catch on like wildfire (a testament to the Beatles’ music).  He maintains an air of disbelief throughout.  Soon, he is contacted by Ed Sheeran (the real Sheeran), runs with his group for a while, and gets to Hollywood, with the aptly named Debra Hammer (McKinnon) as his agent.  All these interactions are funny, because they capture some of the real world of entertainment today. 

     Most notable in this respect and ultimately the star of these sequences, Kate McKinnon as the Hollywood agent is sizzling in her best Saturday Night Live persona. I have to wonder if she contributed to some of her lines.  In this movie, she helps propel Jack to world stardom, but always with hilarious ways of expressing herself, e.g., to Jack’s parents, she asks, “And when did you learn your son was too good for you?”  Always a put-down within a show of support.  Double meanings are a McKinnon specialty.

     In the story, Jack becomes a world sensation backed up by the Hollywood machine, and plays to screaming fans in the thousands.  He’s more than a little bewildered, is racking his brain constantly to remember all the songs, and has pangs of conscience, but it’s like a moving train propelling him forward.  Himesh Patel (known for his work on British television for “Eastenders”) embodies his character seamlessly, showing his talent in music as well as acting. 

     The film elicits many chuckles, such as the times Jack tries desperately to Google anything connected to the Beatles and only comes up with “Beetle”, and for John and Paul he gets “Pope John Paul.”  Another time, when he is asked how he comes up with so many songs so quickly, he replies with sincerity, “I don’t know; it’s almost like they’re written by someone else.”

     During the film, I wondered how the filmmakers would wrap up this incredible fantasy. They did it partly by incorporating a triangular love story involving Lily James as Ellie, Jack’s first agent—which I thought could have been dispensed with—but the resolution of which, for some, might be the point.  But the way in which they wrapped up the Jack Malik’s career story is paramount, most of which I think is very clever, minus a few maudlin scenes with a couple and someone from the past.

     Directed by the admirable Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Yesterday can be praised for its clever premise written by Jack Barth and Richard Curtis, its renditions of Beatles music by Daniel Pemberton, and its casting actors Patel, James, and McKinnon.  A Beatles fan like me can just sit back and enjoy the music and the jokes without dwelling on reality considerations.

A story about when a serious bicycle accident and stroke of fate coincide to provide the opportunity of a lifetime.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

ANNABELLE COMES HOME

Vera Farmiga     McKenna Grace     Patrick Wilson

Madison Iseman     Katie Sarife     Michael Cumino

     There is really not much to be said about this version of Annabelle, so much of it is seeing people walking around the house in a scared state.  There are a few real, jolting scares along the way, but mostly there are just weird incidents.   Most of the action is only during the last half-hour.   

     The film starts with Lorraine and Ed Warren (Farmiga and Wilson) coming home at night with Annabelle in the back seat, when they have to take a detour and their car breaks down.  Ed knows how to fix it, but they are by a cemetery, and we become apprehensive when “ghosts” appear from time to time.  But the Warrens make it home just fine, and the priest is there to exorcise the demon inside Annabelle and bless the house.  She is secured in a locked cabinet to “contain the evil.”

     Soon, the Warrens have to leave again, and have engaged their usual babysitter Mary Ellen (Iseman) to look after their daughter Judy (Grace).  After a newspaper lauding the Warrens for their work in the occult, Judy is getting teased at school, and Mary Ellen’s friend(?) Daniela (Sarife) seems to have an uncommon interest in the Warrens and their house. Mary Ellen has let her know she is not invited to come over, but she barges in anyway, and invites herself to stay.  She soon manipulates Mary Ellen and Judy to go out skating while she has free run of the house.

     Now, the Warren’s have a workroom in the house with a sign on it clearly warning of danger and forbidding anyone to enter.  Daniela is not one to follow rules (plus we learn that her father has died and she has a burning interest in contacting him; hence, her curiosity about the Warrens and their house).  You can guess what follows.  Daniela snoops, and havoc ensues.

     In addition to there being long periods of nothing happening, as with many horror movies, we have to watch people doing stupid things.  First off, why would the knowledgeable Warrens leave a high school student in their landmine of a house to babysit their daughter? Why wouldn’t the responsible Mary Ellen call the Warrens at the first sign of weird goings on?  Why wouldn’t she as an asthmatic not keep her inhaler with her constantly?  

     Another problem I have with the film is depicting Daniela as someone you are eventually supposed to feel sorry for, aftert she has committed all kinds of infractions that make us thoroughly dislike her.  And seeing Lorraine Warren let her off the hook after all the pain and fear she has caused, also does not make sense.

     It seems that a young Lothario is inserted just to spice things up.  He’s Bob (Cimino), the naïve nerd with a crush on Mary Ellen—stoked by Daniela—who comes to serenade her, egged on by the pizza deliveryman.  He also gets terrorized, but this insertion is just another sub-plot that makes no sense, and is probably included for purely fan-pandering reasons.

     The young actors (we really don’t see Farmiga and Wilson much at all) are probably the only strong points of this film.  McKenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, and Michael Cimino (as lovesick Bob) fill their roles nicely; it’s just the script by writer-director Gary Dauberman that lets the production down.  Well, that and he and the producers thinking they can milk the Annabelle story so many times (seven, I think!).

     Unless the viewer is a never-say-die fan of theAnnabelle movies—regardless of their content—I would recommend staying away from Annabelle Comes Home.

One more time—the 7^th—to see the infamous Annabelle doll do its damage.  Still Interested?

Grade:  D+                                    Donna R. Copeland

TOY STORY 4

Tom Hanks     Keanu Reeves     Christina Hendricks     Annie Potts

Joan Cusack     Tim Allen     Tony Hale     Madeleine McGraw     Emily Hahn 

     After the toys have said goodbye to their previous child, Andy, they are getting used to their new child, Bonnie (Hahn).  Woody (Hanks) is hurt that he is not the favorite toy for Bonnie like he was for Andy, but he still has protective feelings toward her, as he has come to have toward all the toys.  It’s kindergarten time for Bonnie, but she is loath to go. Woody sees that she will need his help, so stows away in her backpack to keep an eye on her.  Sure enough, after her parents leave, Bonnie is sad, and when a boy shuns her and grabs her art materials, she is really about to cry.  Woody steps up, rummages through the trashcan, and finds materials she can use to make something. It turns out, he has thrown on Bonnie’s table a fork and other little things like plastic eyeballs which she promptly makes into a toy.  She is so pleased and proud, she names her toy “Forky”.

     The problem is, Forky (Hale) doesn’t want to be a toy (something foreign to him) and keeps charging back to any trashcan he can find.  This will now be Woody’s primary responsibility:  Retrieving Forky for Bonnie every time he runs away. He also has to teach him many things about his new world.  Adventures follow when Bonnie’s family takes a trip in an RV, ending up at a park with a carnival.  Woody’s job is cut out for him, as Bonnie has become so attached to Forky and he keeps running away.  Not only are there adventures and challenges on the road and at the carnival, some of the scariest moments take place in an antique store!  Woody goes to the store when he recognizes a lamp in the window that reminds him of his old friend Bo Peep (Potts).

     Toy Story 4 comes through for children in its addressing—and making an adventure of—some of their deepest fears (abandonment, uselessness, rejection) and the means of coping with them (asking for help, turning to friends, being loyal to one’s own people).  Normal fears are countered with encouragement (“C’mon, you can do this!”) and, sometimes, (“Let it go; it’s not important”). And, ultimately, the film models the value in taking calculated risks in life for the goals of exploration of self and the world, and letting go of comfort and security, at least temporarily.  I have to admit that “Yes, we can-ada!” brought a smile to my face every time.

     Director Josh Cooley lives up to his reputation for Inside Out, Up, and Rataouille in making a film that is appealing to children and adults and, most importantly, speaking to children about important issues.  Production design by Bob Pauley and music by Randy Newman—along with the excellent cast—make this follow-up to previous Toy Storyiterations worthwhile.  

     Cooley and the producers must have had unbelievable influence to pull in A-list actors like Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, Jordan Peele, Annie Potts, Mel Brooks, Joan Cusack, Tim Allen, Laurie Metcalf, and Betty White for voicing the major characters.  Music by Randy Newman and production design by Bob Pauley, along with the animation and art crews boost the production to high quality film—shocking for a fourth version of a movie.  Cheers to Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures.

An adventurous, fun children’s movie with substantive messages for kids, and still entertaining for adults.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

Alexandre Landry     Maripier Morin     Remy Girard     Louis Morisette     Maxim Roy     Pierre Curzi

     Nowadays, we seldom get an intelligent comedy—not only in the sense of being well constructed—but one sprinkled throughout with philosophical and literary references that are to the point yet still funny, at least in the way the main character quotes them, and to whom (like a bank teller who hasn’t the foggiest notion of what he’s talking about).  Witty statements and unexpected encounters will make you chuckle throughout the film, e.g., “Help me; I have too much money” and “I’m a delivery man with a Ph.D. because I earn more money driving a truck than I would teaching.”

     Alexandre Landry is key to the film’s appeal and success in his character as Pierre-Paul, who has a PhD in philosophy and has succeeded in internalizing his lofty education and applying it to the practicalities of contemporary life. That is, he quotes John-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Jonathan Swift in one short conversation when he’s explaining how he looks at life today.  But he’s not just an intellectual nerd; the man volunteers at a homeless shelter where he has real conversations with the people there and genuinely seems to care about them and their stories.  His sincerity contrasts with the cynicism and duplicity shown by others.  Landry successfully pulls off the character of a well-educated man who can relate to everyone he meets and is still open to and chasing after new experiences.  (I figure most women will have a crush on him and his boyish charm and good heart by the end of the film.)

     The story is a cat-and-mouse game concerning a large amount of money being stolen, with both the police and gangsters trying to track it down.  When Pierre-Paul, the philosopher, is confronted with the temptation of large sums of money dropped in bags at the crime scene—where he just happened to be—this record-free good citizen succumbs, and stuffs two enormous bags into his delivery truck.  What happens to that huge amount of cash forms the central plot of the film.

     In the process of Pierre-Paul safe-keeping the cash and using an ex-convict (Curzi) an elegant call girl (Morin), and an esteemed hedge-fund investor to dispense with the money, writer-director Denys Arcand weaves in points about economic inequality, off-shore accounts and tax avoidance, immigration, and police misconduct in a riveting tale where the police and gangsters are constantly trailing the suspects (and doing horrible violence in some cases), but where social values pre-empt the nefarious strategies of law and crime.

     Arcand injects optimistic notes into his condemnations, like the generosity of lowly people versus the wealthy and the possibility of reform for ex-cons and call girls.  His basic message is about the corruption of values in favor of money that has led to the fall of the American empire, but he is not restricting it to the United States. The setting of the film is in Montreal, Canada.

     Much of the subtle intellectual humor may be lost on most viewers, but I found it deliciously entertaining, although a tad too long.

Writer-director Arcand submits an impressive follow-up to his previous films (The Decline of the American Empire, The Barbarian Invasions, and Jesus of Montreal).

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland