Daily Archives: August 13, 2007
Street Fight (NR, 2005)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Raising hard questions about American politics, democracy and race, Marshall Curry’s incisive Oscar-nominated documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the Newark, N.J., cutthroat mayoral race in 2002. The candidates: young Ivy League upstart Cory Booker vs. incumbent Sharpe James, an old-timer who’s not above employing questionable tactics to achieve victory. The gloves come off as the contenders lock horns in their battle to win voters.
REVIEW: Not to be confused with the kick-ass video game series by Capcom (ahem), this documentary employs some physicality of its own.
After this, you’ve got to be completely convinced that local campaigns and elections can be as electrifying, perhaps more so, than their national counterparts. No budgets for mass marketing, blanketing of TV commercials, or much resistance and, in fact, illegal tactics from the incumbent when you do. No 80 different political advisers or press secretaries speaking on your behalf so that the voters never get to hear a direct statement from your mouth in person. No folks, in this “Street Fight” we get to meet the candidates up close and personal, in all their idealism (Booker) and entrenched “incumbentism” (Sharpe).The documentary is expert at showing the day-to-day of Cory Booker’s campaign, including the energy and idealism that fuel it, the anticipation, disappointment or jubilation and constant monitoring of polls, talking to folks on the streets, the reality of financing and getting out the word. I know I’ll never feel so blase about writing checks to campaigns again – the one scene where they’re laboriously counting check by check ($20 here, $20 there) and keeping a running tally of their funds really hits home at how crucial fundraising is.
We also get good inside footage of Sharpe’s campaign, though some of the best moments of the film are when the documentary cameraman and Sharpe’s handlers get in continuous spats over filming.
The documentary is meant to showcase the uphill battle that Cory Booker had in unseating the incumbent mayor of Newark, but I wasn’t prepared for the at best questionable, and in all reality, illegal, tactics deployed by James Sharpe in staving off Booker’s campaign.
While I’m not naive enough to think that elected officials don’t deploy certain questionable tactics to retain their offices come election time, the degree of coercion, manipulation, and pressure put upon Booker and his supporters was astounding (i.e., pulling government contracts from businesses supporting Cory Booker unless campaign donations were made to Sharpe’s campaign and Booker campaign signs were taken down). Also, I would hope that James Sharpe is operating in a league of his own here, well, along with the likes of Duke Cunningham et al. Mr. Sharpe was, as of a few weeks ago, indicted on 33 counts of bribery, a number I’m sure is astonishing to even the hoariest, most senior of politicians!
While the display of questionable tactics is definitely interesting, to me the more interesting theme here is the broader one of the future and direction of black politics in the United States. James Sharpe came to elected office in the NAACP and Civil Rights era, and you see him flanked by others of that era who support him – jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton etc. when being a viable black candidate meant that everything, your policies, your platform etc., centered around being black and supporting those who are black, understandably.
Cory Booker strikes me as representative of the future of the black politician in the United States, a bigger tent politician whose policies aren’t necessarily race-centric. I personally found it very refreshing and inspirational, while still not ignoring the very real race-related problems that continue to occur in our country. It didn’t surprise me that one of the criticisms latched onto by James Sharpe supporters was that Booker “wasn’t black enough” (which I find ridiculous), a theme still very much relevant today in that the same charges are being leveled against other black candidates for office who are highly educated and grew up after the Civil Rights Era (Ford in Tennessee, Obama in the presidential race). The other refreshing thing was that Cory Booker, and others like him, while veering away from the race-centric, specifically black-centric, policies before them, affirmatively and repeatedly acknowledges that the Civil Rights movement and those who fought (including his parents) and died for it are what gave him the ability to be able to attend Stanford on a full football scholarship, attend Yale Law and have a chance to run for elected office in the United States. He continuously gives his parents much credit for being one of the first black employees hired by IBM on the East Coast and for raising him with an ingrained idea of what the Civil Rights movement gave him and his family. In other words, while forging a new path into the future Booker does not ignore or gloss over the contributions of the past.
An Oscar nom for best documentary in 2005, Street Fight isn’t like any other political documentary. It’ll give the non-politically- inclined an entertaining, informative experience and give the politically-inclined and -savvy a unique viewing experience of a kind of campaign that’s no longer conducted anymore in the age of Youtube, campaign finance reform and mass media, along with a picture of a very interesting candidate to watch for in Cory Booker. It also reflects an interesting divide in the direction of black politics in the United States.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars.
Audrey
Happy Feet (PG, 2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Living with his colony in the Antarctic, young emperor penguin Mumble is aptly named: While his friends use their singing skills to attracts mates, his caterwauling sends potential sweethearts waddling in the opposite direction. But Mumble is blessed with an unusual gift — he can tap dance in a way that would make Fred Astaire jealous! Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Robin Williams and Hugh Jackman lend their voices to this spirited Oscar-winning tale.
REVIEW: Happy Feet is March of the Penguins-A Musical. It is a great film with singing, dancing and a story line, though at times it felt like they could have moved it along a bit. There are some hysterically funny scenes but this may not be the movie for little ones. There was one section that has a sea lion chancing the penguin and it gets in your face, teeth and all it is a bit intense and even made me jump. Another scene is with killer whales, again teeth and some normal behavior but younger kids might be a bit scared. Check it out first without kids under the age of 7 or so, we did have some crying. I have to say Robin Williams is at his best as one of the penguins, it so picks up and you will be cracking up. For 80’s music people it is great but there is current music in there too. It is 87 mins and it flew by for the most part, one section kind of went on a bit too long for me but it still worked overall.
4 stars
Bear
Factory Girl (UR, 2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Director George Hickenlooper’s biographical drama charts the meteoric rise and subsequent fall from grace of Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller), an ambitious starlet who becomes the muse of Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce). Heading for New York City’s bright lights after dropping out of college in 1965, Edie meets pop-culture icon Andy, who turns her into the toast of the town. But she soon discovers that glamour and fame have a price.
REVIEW: Yet one more film to show us what a sleazy jerk andy warhol was – Factory Girl tells the sad, sordid, pathetic story of Edie Sedgwick, a wealthy blue blood from a truly twisted family who comes to NYC ready to be a serious artist but falls under Andy’s spell and makes sordid “movies” for no cash, is briefly caught up as fashion’s sixties “it” girl only to lose everything to drugs, booze, low self-esteem and being used by Andy’s factory and a thinly disguised Bob Dylan. Sienna Miller turns in a decent performance, Guy Pearce is not bad as Warhol and Hayden Christensen shows he can do a decent Dylan impression. But, in the end, this is another been there done that fragile girl gets used and abused story. The story hints at some darker elements in her family history and possibly a bit more depth to the vapid impression Edie gives off in public and that frankly would have made a better film. As it is – Factory Girl is yet another exploitative film about a sad drug addict. Not really much else to it. And sorry bob and harvey W. I don’t think Sienna would have gotten an oscar nod for this thing.
3 stars
Cheryl
Marnie (PG, 1964)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Blonde ice princess and habitual thief Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren) uses her looks to gain the confidence of Philadelphia playboy Mark Rutland (Sean Connery), who begins to fall for her only when he realizes she’s planning to embezzle money from his insurance company. He patiently spies on her and discovers that the root of her problem is embedded in serious psychological troubles induced by childhood trauma. Alfred Hitchcock directs.
REVIEW: In honor of Mr.Hitchcock’s upcoming birthday – I give you one of his most overlooked films: Marnie. She’s a frigid, manipulative, lying professional thief who changes jobs, names and haircolor with alarming regularity. And she gets away with it until she meets Mark, who is a bit of a male chauvinist pig but he’s also rich, her new employer, has a somewhat caring heart underneath the rough exterior and he’s played by Sean Connery ( in a nice turn during his Bond years). So, now she’s caught and gives into his blackmail and marries him. yes, he does blackmail her but to be fair he is trying to save her from herself. Only things go from bad to worse, she can’t deal with him touching her ( interesting trivia: when tippi hedren (marnie) took a look at connery and asked how she was supposed to play frigid next to him, Hitchcock replied: it’s called acting, darling) and her old boss and victim has now recognized her at one of Mark’s family parties, and Mark’s former sister in law (he’s a widower) is none too happy she’s been replaced. Lots of psychobabble, interesting flashbacks with the colors white and red and really solid performances between Hedren and Connery, not to mention some risque subject matter for the early sixites. Granted, you can tell some of the backdrops are fake but I think that adds to the psychological history of Marnie as a character. It’s definitely worth a look and I think Hedren does a much better job in her 2nd (and last) hitchcock than she did in the birds. Also, look for Bruce Dern in an early role as a really nasty sailor.
4.5 stars
Cheryl
Crank (R, 2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) tears through the streets of Los Angeles in a race to save his own life and his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) in this ticking time bomb of a thriller.
The freelance killer is poisoned when a mob job goes wrong, and the clock starts ticking when Chelios learns he can elude death if he keeps his adrenaline pumping. With no time to waste, Chelios rampages through the city hoping to save Eve and find an antidote.
REVIEW: A bit better than I expected, although I didn’t expect much. I thought the plot had a little something going for it — although it’s compared to Speed a lot, it actually seems like a modern day update of the noir classic (not the Dennis Quaid remake) DOA, wherein a man has the opportunity to find his own killer after being slipped a slow-acting poison. There was obviously plenty of action and eye candy for the fellas.
I didn’t like the constantly shaky camera much — it was like a heavy metal video gone wild (yes, kids, I know heavy metal is somewhat passe, but the movie draws the comparison by opening with Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health”). I also didn’t appreciate the misogynistic way the script treated the girlfriend, although I probably wouldn’t have been quite so disgusted before I had a daughter of my own (ah, perspective!).
Anyway, I watched the whole thing and I laughed a couple of times so I gave it 3 netflix stars although 2.5 is really more like it.
2.5 stars
Randy
Netflix Cinemajig 