Category: Movie Reviews

Movie Review: “AmericanEast”

EmmaLeave a comment

ae_poster

Hi all,

You may not have heard about this film; it premiered last year at the Arab American Film Festival in NYC.  Tony Shalhoub (Wings, Big Night, Monk, etc.) spoke about  AmericanEast on opening night.  I wanted to go to see him, but didn’t reserve a ticket early enough.  Tony acted and executive produced this movie.

The main character is an Egyptian immigrant/father of 2/small businessman named Mustafa (Sayeed Badreya: both a director and actor; recently seen in Iron Man).  He owns and runs Habibi’s Cafe in the Little Arabia neighborhood in West Los Angeles.  Mustafa prays on Fridays at the mosque and tries to keep the old cuture alive; he ALSO believes strongly in “The American Dream” and in cooperation between religions/races/etc.  His future dream is to make “real Egyptian food” in a big upscale restaurant with his close friend Sam (Tony Shalhoub), a successful Jewish-American businessman.

Mustafa is honest, hard-working, and protective of his friends and family.  He approaches life with a big smile.  He isn’t comfortable with religious/political discussions at his little cafe.  But since 9/11, life has become very difficult for his community…

Mustafa’s  young friend Omar (Kais Nashif: a handsome Paul Rudd-type), a cabdriver/actor, keeps getting cast in terrorist roles.    The degrading, stereotypical roles are “killing my soul,” Omar admits to his agent.  Fikri- an Iraqi Christian (Erick Avari- a veteran of many films) and Murad (Anthony Azizi)- who favors hip-hop styles discuss Middle East conflicts at the cafe, somtimes too loudly.  Sam, who is often harrassed by the angry Murad, tells Mustafa that “certain elements” will not be welcome at the new restaurant.  “It’s not a social club,” Sam says, but this group of people care for and support each other.

Son (after stepping away from prayer): Who’s a good Muslim?

Mustafa: Muhammad Ali is a good Muslim!

Son (exasperated): He’s a black guy!  Who’s like me?

Mustafa (slowly and softly): “I’m Egyptian… and… I’m a Muslim.  Doesn’t your father count?”

On the family front, Mustafa’s pre-teen son feels conflicted about being Muslim.  His younger sister Salwah- a nurse and beautician (Sarah Shahi) is not quite ready for arranged marriage to an older first cousin (fresh from Egypt).  Tensions at home and in the wider world (w/ police, customers, etc.) slowly wear away at Mustafa.

If this sounds interesting to you, then check out AmericanEast.  (There is even a cool animated sequence explaining the birth of Islam and the roots of the Middle East crisis.)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808148/

Movie Review: “Fanny” (1961)

EmmaLeave a comment

Put a little smile on your face…

 

It’s a movie that stands on its own. It’s sentimental but in a very endearing way, not sickeningly sweet.  I recommend this movie highly for charm, humor and a look at parental domination, a relevant issue even today.

-A reviewer on IMDB.com

 

fanny_poster

 

Hey all,

This is for those of you who need some cheering up- like me.  I’ve pretty much become a cranky/depressed/couch potato these past few weeks.  I know I need to start working out again, but the economy and my job situation are keeping me down.  

 

So, I felt a bit better when I saw Fanny, nominated for Best Picture in 1961.  It’s about young love, community (set in Marseille, France), friendship, and MORE!    The title character is Fanny (Leslie Caron- also see in Gigi, Damage, and Chocolat), a sweet/honest/beautiful teen girl who helps her widowed mother sell fish on the waterfront.  She’s deeply in love with a young man (a bartender who works with his dad) she grew up with, but he desperately wants to go to sea.  Will he choose love or ambition? 

 

This film has GREAT music, too!

 

fanny_poster21

 

All the best,

EMMA.

Movie Review: “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1961) starring Paul Newman & Geraldine Page

EmmaLeave a comment

Hey readers!

Are we all ready for MORE Paul Newman?  He’s not a straight-shooting hero in this picture- he’s immoral, ambitious, and even… desperate.  He still looks SUPER-HOT!

dvd3

I saw this film last week on TCM; it’s based on a Tennessee Williams play, but not as well-known as say A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on aHot Tin Roof, or The Glass Menagerie.  This film is a MUST-SEE for anyone who likes snappy dialogue, complex characters, and SMART classic stuff!

bed_hotel

Chance Wade (Paul Newman) drives into his little hometown (a tropical Southern locale near the sea) with drunken/depressed actress Alexandra Del Lago (Broadway star Geraldine Page).  At a large/fancy hotel, he checks her in as “Princess.”  He has to carry her up to the room; the staff starts to gossip about them (of course).  Then Chance sets off to locate his boyhood love, Heavenly Finley (a very blonde and thin Shirley Knight; you may’ve seen her in As Good As It Gets).

But getting together w/ Heavenly is NOT easy; her father Boss Finley (a wealthy/powerful politician) keeps tabs on her every move.  Her older brother Tom (Rip Torn- back then he didn’t have red hair) is a violent thug in a suit.  Heavenly’s maiden aunt is the only sympathetic one in the bunch.  Even the servants on the Finley estate warn Chance to stay away.

chance_love

We learn (via flashbacks) that Chance was very friendly with the Finleys growing up.  He and Waverly fell in love, and planned to marry.  But her father had other ideas… 

chance_abs

Chance: I had my picture on the cover of Life magazine! Woo-ha!  And at the same time I was… employing my other talent…

Why is Chance with Princess if he STILL can’t forget Heavenly?  What does he want from her?

princess

Chance: I like you. You are a nice monster.

I pondered on these questions as I watched:

Why do we find it odd when men use their handsome faces/great bodies to get ahead? 

Why can’t women be in charge of their own bodies?  

How does aging affect women, particularly beautiful ones? 

How/why is a daughter’s behavior tied to family honor?  

chance_weed

Chance: This is pretty high-class pot. Where’d you get it?
Alexandra: You beautiful, stupid young man. That is not pot.  It’s hashish, Moroccan, and the finest.

Yes, they’re talking about drugs.  This movie deals w/ difficult ADULT matters; it’s NOT a feel-good film. But you definitely MUST check it out!

Best to all, EMMA. 

Movie Review: “Beyond the Sea”

Emma2 Comments

ks_bts1

Yes, Kevin Spacey (who plays Bobby Darin) sings ALL the songs in this movie.  (He’s a VERY good singer!)  He also wears several hairpieces (just as Darin did) and had his nose made bigger and broader (via clever makeup).  Spacey also directed, co-wrote, and produced this picture; he spent 5 years on the entire process.  Bobby Darin (real name: Walden Robert Cassuto) was one of Spacey’s fave singers growing up. 

Darin was a sickly boy from a working-class Bronx family who had a love for music and performing.  (There is an adorable child actor who plays the young Bobby!)  His mother Polly (Brenda Blethyn), a former performer herself, knew that he would someday be “bigger than Sinatra.”    It’s an unusual biography- not the typical format.

sd_mom

Above is a pic of Mary (tall and gorgeous Brit/Italian Greta Scacchi) with her daughter, Sandra Dee (young/up-and-coming Brit Kate Bosworth).  Sandy was an actress, and teen idol, who Bobby fell for while shooting a film in Italy.  They had a long, though sometimes dramatic, marriage. 

Darin’s brother-in-law (the great Brit character actor Bob Hoskins) and older sister also journey with the young man from “rags to riches.”  John Goodman plays the music producer who motivates and manages Darin’s career.

bd_sd

Here are the REAL Bobby and Sandy; they worked to overcome their “teen dream” public personas and be taken as serious performers. 

beyond_dance

There are several song and dance numbers in Beyond the Sea, reminding you of ’40s musicals.   These will put a smile on your face!  Spacey, always an interesting actor to watch (Seven, A Time to Kill, American Beauty, etc.), seems to relate very well to his character.  Like Darin, he loves performing live and connecting with an audience.  Also, Spacey enjoys acting, and always looks like he’s thinking about his character. 

Below are the songs (available on iTunes) I especially liked from the movie soundtrack:

As Long As I’m Singing

Beyond the Sea

Dream Lover

That’s All

Movie Review: “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1981)

Emma1 Comment

dvd2

 

This is a GREAT growing-up movie, directed by Taylor Hackford (who recently made Ray) that young people (older teens/20s) will easily relate to.  It’s full of (real-life) drama and characters who remain in your mind after the film is over.  It was shot on-location in Washington state.       

 

di_mayo1

 

You may know that Louis Gossett, Jr. won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Foley, the steel-tough drill instructor who serves as a father-figure to protagonist- young, undisciplined Zack Mayo (Richard Gere). 

 

lg_oscar

 

Zack lost his mother before his teens, tragically.  He flew to the Phillipines to live with his sailor father Byron (Robert Loggia); he’s an alcoholic, womanizer, and disinterested parent.  But he’s all that Zac has…  

 

Byron: I’m out at sea three weeks out of every month, and when I’m back at port I don’t have time for this daddy stuff ’cause that’s not who I am.

Young Zack: That’s okay, sir.

Byron: Wait a second, kid, you don’t understand. I’m too old for this. I don’t care what the Navy says. This is no place to bring up a kid like I told you on the telephone. You’re better off at that state school back in Virginia. 
     

Warms the heart, doesn’t it?

 

pals1

 

Though discouraged by his not-so-dear dad, Zack decides to try out for the Navy’s officer school.  His secret dream has been to become a pilot.  At the school, on Port Rainier, Zack becomes part of a motley crue of recruits.  Foley will serve as “mom and dad for the next 13 weeks,” one recruit comments.  As well as leading his group in various exercises, Foley warns the men about the “Puget Debs”, the local single girls who take the ferry each weekend in hopes of landing themselves a pilot husband.  

 

 

zac 

 

Zack (nicknamed Mayonaisse) quickly distinguishes himself in various physical trials, but struggles with certain lecture classes.  He even makes friends, including Sid Worley (David Keith), a sweet/enthusiastic young man from an Oklahoma military family.  (Last season, you may’ve seen Keith on an ep of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.)       

 

 

salute1

I’ve never had a girl.

 

Zack meets Paula (Debra Winger), one of the local girls who works at a paper factory, at a dance.  Zack flatly states that he’s not looking for a relationship, just “some fun.”  Paula insists that she’s not a husband-hunter.  But over time, they grow closer and closer.  (The former loner even goes over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner!)       

 

Gere and Winger have GREAT chemistry!  They are comfortable getting physically close, discussing personal issues, but also laugh and joke around.  (But a producer felt she was not HOT enough for the part!)  Strong, positive emotions are new to Zack; he admits that Paula is his first girlfriend.  Paula, who is wise and hopeful, encourages him in his endeavors.       

 

 

sad1

Zack is pushed by the training, and by Paula’s need to get emotionally closer.  In the meantime, Sid struggles with his own insecurities and a relationship of his own.  

 

Several men drop out of the program, including a VERY young David Caruso.  (He has a couple of GREAT scenes!)  One weekend, Foley (nearly) pushes Zack to his breaking point.  But he won’t give up…     

 

 

end1

 

Okay, so you may know the (fairy-tale-like) ending of the film!  Check out An Officer and a Gentleman– it has plenty of action and unexpected moments.  It’s not just a “chick-flick” as I read before.  (My mom, who got the DVD, really liked the story, too!)

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084434/