How I got over my hate of “The Help”.

Now that the Academy Awards are over and Octavia Spencer grabbed an Oscar but Viola Davis didn’t. I thought it was time to reflect on the movie, “The Help”.  When it first came out, I was determined not to see it.  My whole attitude was, “Oh no, not another ‘ White-Person-Cures-Racism-With-The-Assistance-Of-A-Magical-Negro’ movie”. In my defense, it wasn’t something that I imagined. Just a couple of years before, Hollywood trotted out “The Blindside” and even gave Sandra Bullock an Academy Award for it. So yeah, I was a little bitter and not ready to see “The Help” at all.

Let’s face it, when it comes to portraying racial conflict, Hollywood rarely gets it right. Either its too heavy-handed (Crash), or brushed aside in favor of a more palatable plot point (The Long Walk Home). Even with black filmmakers at the helm, they often miss the mark. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been shaking my head at the closing credits while asking myself, “What in the hell did I just watch?”

But I’m one of those people who feels like in order for me to hate something, I have to actually see it or read it. So the other night I rented “The Help”.  I didn’t hate it. I really liked Octavia’s performance. I thought Viola Davis brought a quiet dignity to her role. That’s not to say that I didn’t have MAJOR problems with this movie. As good as the two leads were, they were still examples of characters that I had seen before in previous movies. The noble, quiet, suffering mammy type figure and her sassy sidekick. The thing is, those two were better than most of the white characters. Bryce Dallas Howard’s Hilly was “Mean Girls Racist”, while Jessica’s Chastain’s Celia was a nothing more than a rejected character from “Steel Magnolias”. I won’t even get into Emma Stone’s Skeeter; the least interesting character of the whole bunch. However, there were still some funny lines and a couple of really touching moments.

The movie was a major success because it made a lot of people feel good. I guess that’s the point with movies like “The Help”. It’s supposed to make you feel good and not think about history. You’re supposed to cheer for Skeeter’s success and not dwell on the fifty eleventh injustice heaped on Abilene. You’re supposed to applaud Celia for sticking it out with her husband and not feel a tinge of bitterness that the only reward for Minnie is the opportunity to cook more chicken.

I still didn’t hate it. I was really rooting for Octavia and Viola to win. As problematic as the movie was, I still feel they deserve the awards due them. It’s not being hypocritical, it’s understanding that it’s the way the game is. If an African-American actress manages to break through and win a round from time to time, it’s okay to celebrate that. My hope is that in the future, both Octavia and Viola get great roles that defy stereotypes that tell our stories with clarity and truth.

 

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review

It was with breathless anticipation that I took my seat in the movie theater last night to catch the latest installment in the Harry Potter celluloid franchise. I’m not ashamed to admit it, I’m a Potterphile, at Pot Freak, a Harry lover–whatever fans of the books (and movies) call themselves. But after seeing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I’m going to call myself disappointed.

The good stuff first. The film looks great.  The art direction, costumes, special effects and cinematography are first rate. I was also impressed with the casting. Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn was a brilliant choice. Unlike the book’s version of Slughorn-a corpulent and self-deluded blowhard; Broadbent portrayed Slughorn as a twitchy, insecure, and rather pathetic creature. He brought energy and realism to a movie that was surprisingly short of both.  Newcomer Jesse Cave was delightfully manic as Ron’s girlfriend, Lavendar Brown, but the casting director gets the biggest kudos for his choices of Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane who share the role of Tom Riddle (Voldemort). Both young actors bear a striking resemblance to Ralph Fiennes who plays the adult Voldemort and both turn in very effective performances. With Fiennes-Tiffin’s creepy bad seed and Dillane’s dark angel, the movie goer is reminded of just how powerful an enemy Harry is up against.

Now to the bad stuff, and there was a lot. First, although the new characters were dynamite, the regulars were underused and as dull as dirt. From Michael Gambon’s lifeless (huh huh) Dumbledore to Maggie Smith’s listless McGonagall, the main players drifted in and out and left absolutely no lasting impression on me. Even the excellent Helene Bohnam-Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange looked bored out of her mind. Of course Alan Rickman is exempt because he’s the frigging man and Snape is the most awesome character ever. I will say that the filmmakers made the first of many mistakes by failing to stress the underlying conflict between Harry and Snape. Their interactions were limited in the film and their final battle left me more than a little cold.

As for the main players, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermoine they have grown immensely as actors. Radcliffe and Grint especially have developed a well timed comic chemistry. They did their best in scenes dealing with the abundance of teenage  angst. They fell flat though when trying to get through the more salient plot points. Most of the time though they were caught looking expressionless in some of the movie’s most pivotal scenes. I was most disappointed with Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley. She was neither spunky nor intriguing (the traits we Potter fans love about Ginny) and I was at a loss as to what Harry could have possibly seen in her. Tom Felton was passable as Draco Malfoy. He did manage to show a couple of new expressions other than his usual sneer. And he did look very natty in his black suit. I would say something about Oliver and James Phelps who play George and Fred Weasley if they were in the film long enough. They weren’t though so I won’t.

The biggest gripe I have with the film is the storyline. Now I know that it’s next to impossible to add every scene to the book in the film. I wasn’t to upset with the deviations (the muggle bridge destruction, the attack at The Burrow). I had little problem with what they put in because  I had a such a big problem with everything they left out. Now if you haven’t seen the movie and plan to go, you might as well stop here because I’m getting into some spoiler territory. Not too much-but enough…

Firstly, I knew from the fourth film that the writers and the director were painting themselves into a corner with their heavy ass edits. Now, with the end of the 6th film I know why they opted to split the 7th book into two films. It’s going to take both of them to try to explain everything they chose not to in the previous films. In Half Blood, David Yates and company seemed determined to rush the story to the cave scene so that they could show all the cool fire effects. What they fail miserably at is convincing the audience why Harry and Dumbledore had to get to the cave in the first place. Very little attention was made in trying to show how Dumbledore was  preparing Harry to fight Voldemort. No thought was given in trying to portray Harry’s realization that he alone (with no help from the Ministry or even the Anti-Voldemort wizards) HAD to be the one to end Voldemort because he was the one who possessed the weapons in order to do it–something J.K. Rowling did so effectively in the book.

But the one thing that gets my knickers in a twist is the omission of the most important moment in the book. At risk of being called a total spoiler loser, all I will say is this: I deserved this scene. We who adore Dumbledore deserved this scene. I feel cheated and I just don’t understand the filmmakers’ reasoning behind not including it. As tragic as it was, that scene was a beautiful end to a chapter in Harry’s life and it provided a certain degree of closure that he never had before. The true meaning of leaving childhood behind and facing one’s mortality seemed to be completely lost in the quest to make things go boom. What a travesty.

So I give Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince a thumbs down. I never thought I could dislike a Potter movie more than Chamber of Secrets, but there you go.

Lady V’s Black Belt Theater

Remember back in the day on Saturday afternoons after American Bandstand and Soul Train went off, how eager you were to see what would be showing on “Black Belt Theater”? Didn’t you just love the fast and furious fighting, the clever acrobatics, the costumes, the weapons, and especially the bad dubbing? It’s no secret that I love Kung Fu movies, (hence my moniker) so I decided to share my list of best Kung Fu movies of all time.

• Masked Avengers-This classic from Shaw Brothers features the legendary Venoms Mob doing what they do best. This film ranks so high with me mainly because of the final fight scene. It is absolutely bananas. The plot is similar to any Venoms film you may see, but fight choreography is some of the best these guys have ever done. People may jump up and down on the Yuen Woo-Ping bandwagon, but for my money, the team of Kuo Choi, Chiang Shiang, and Lu Feng were the best fight coordinating team ever.
• Fist of Legend- Starring Jet Li in a superior remake of Bruce Lee’s seminal “Fists of Fury”, this film without a doubt features the best hand to hand, wireless, final fight I ever seen on film. Jet Li really solidifies his status as THE top film martial artist (sorry Jackie Chan fans). Everything about this film is top notch: the acting, the plot, and the art direction. It’s just one of those films where no matter how many times you see it, you just say, “Wow!”.
• Eight Diagram Pole Fighter- What’s a list of best Kung Fu movies without having at least one from the “Master Killer”, Gordon Liu? This dark and moving film was both a tribute to the late Alexander Fu Sheng who died during filming and to Liu Chia Liang’s outstanding direction. This film has definitely has one of the strangest end fights that I can ever remember. Coffins, Mongols with Flexi-Straw staffs, and flying teeth are indeed things you don’t see often, but Liang makes it work mainly on the strength of Liu’s performance. His anger is unrelenting and his quest for vengeance is unforgettable.
• The Shaolin Prince-Most non Kung Fu movie freaks will more than likely think that this film is rather silly. It does have it’s share of slapstick and bargain basement special effects, but it also has the majestic Ti Lung and dagger -spewing chair. A dagger-spewing chair folks! Tang Chia only directed three movies but his style is unmistakable. Just look for the elaborate fighting formations, that’s his trademark. Oh, and the fact that cutie pie Derek Yee Tung Sing stars in this as well doesn’t hurt at all.
• Blade of Fury-I’ll tell you this now. I’ve never been a fan of the wire-fu Wushu epics that became popular in the mid to late ’90′s. I could suspend belief on some things (I’m a Harry Potter fangirl), but seeing people run up tree branches and fight 300 feet in the air is too much for even me. Also, the use of wires can never really cover up the lack of skill (I’m looking at you, Maggie Chung!). However, one film does stand out and that’s Sammo Hung’s “Blade of Fury”. Fans of Kung Fu movies should be well acquainted with Hung’s background. He’s a buddy of Jackie Chan’s and a supreme martial artist in his own right so naturally the fighting in this film is way above par anything that Tsui Hark in his “Once Upon A Time in China ” series could conjure up. Ti Lung co-stars as a heroic official but he doesn’t do much fighting. That’s fine. The other actors more than make up for Ti’s minimal fighting. The plot is standard but the performances are really good.
• Avenging Eagle- Yes, another Ti Lung movie but the man is a favorite of mine. Part melodrama, part revenge saga; Ti Lung excels as the anti-hero. He’s a trained killer who has a change of heart. Alexander Fu Sheng shines as well as a mysterious stranger with a secret. To me, this pairing of two Shaw Brothers greats was always more intriguing than the Ti Lung/David Chiang one that dominated the Chang Cheng directed films in the early ’70′s. With villains galore and more weapons than you can imagine, this film can be found on many a Kung Fu aficionado’s list.
• Shaghai 13- When Shaw Brothers films was on its last legs in the mid ’80′s, director Chang Cheh set out to make a last hurrah for the days of great old school Kung Fu by assembling some of the top stars of the genre. Everyone and I mean everyone is in this film: Jimmy Wang Yu, Chun Kua-Tai, David Chiang, Wang Chung, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng, Chen Tee-Chi, and of course Ti Lung. Even an extremely young Andy Lau makes an appearance. Wall to wall fights of the highest caliber dominate .So much so that you don’t even remember what the plot is about. If you must know, it’s about a whistle blower who needs protection from the infamous Shanghai 13. A rare classic for those who just love to see good old fashioned fighting.

Honorable mentions:

5 Superfighters

Come Drink With Me

The Prodigal Son

Pedicab Driver

Two Champions of Shaolin

Treasure Hunters

Hell’s Wind Staff

Fist of the White Lotus

My Young Auntie

Master Killer

The Deadly Mantis

Blood Brothers

5 Shaolin Masters

Crippled Avengers

5 Deadly Venoms

The Shaolin Temple

If you are interested in getting these films try HKFlix.com or Edaymovie.com. They have it all including the all the restored Shaw Brothers classics!