Pineapple Express, written by Seth Rogen and others

Pineapple Express, written by Seth Rogen and others

Pineapple Express has some good parts, but it seems that the misplaced jokes and events are pre-eminent.

In fact, it is surprising to find James Franco nominated for a Golden Globe, in the same category with:

Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road, where he gave an excellent performance or Sean Penn in Milk…these nominations were for drama.

Javier Bardem in Vicky Cristina Barcelona was many times better than what Saul Silver reflects on screen.

Evidently, the way to take this comedy is by trying to enjoy it, without making the effort to find themes and values.

““The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven...” – John Milton

Seth Rogen has contributed as a writer to this film in which he plays Dale Denton, a young stoner.

His appearance and persona are likeable.

Therefore, there is a positive trait here.

Let us try to find more.

There is some humor involved in the first part, wherein he delivers official papers to people of all kinds.

He enters an operation room, where he throws the envelope with the notice to the surgeon who is ready to do his job.

He buys drugs from a dealer called Saul Silver.

Silver is portrayed by the real life friend and capable artist James Franco.

This motion picture intends to combine humor with drama.

Therefore, Dale Denton happens to park his car, get the weed out and look at the house near to witness…

A murder

The killers are one crooked police officer and a drug lord.

They see Dale as he tries to get away from the “crime scene”.

Furthermore, Dale had been smoking a special product, a powerful strain of marijuana that is called:

Pineapple Express

The drug lord killer takes the thrown joint from the ground and he recognizes what it is and follows the lead.

Since this is rare, the murderer can send his ridiculous gunmen to question the intermediary and find the witness.

If not textbook thriller, viewers have seen this scenario before.

Only here it is meant to be humorous and the tough men involved make all sorts of mistakes and stupid acts.

Dale and Saul become friends but they are also preposterous in many of the things they do, like immobilizing adversaries.

At a certain moment, they sell the Express to…children.

The guard from the school catches Dale.

Maybe she wants to help, I am not sure on that point, but Saul interferes and jumps in front of the car the guard drives.

An accident takes place.

After this, Saul drives the official car, at times with a foot hanging out of the windshield of the vehicle.

Is this funny? The jury is still out on that.

There are fight scenes, between rival gangs, heroes and drug dealers that may have been intended to be thrilling…

Or maybe hilarious?

Victory, directed by John Huston

Victory, directed by John Huston

Given the stellar cast and the name of the director, this film could be categorized as a disappointment

Of course, the alternative is to see this as an opportunity to see all these super stars in action and in unusual circumstances:

Michael Caine, Max von Sydow (and I am less enthusiastic about Sylvester Stallone) are in the company of

Pele, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles and other great footballers

Sylvester Stallone has only impressed me in Copland.

That is a film where I could see this acclaimed performer act and do it well.

Otherwise, Rocky one through eleven, or whatever the final number is, together with Rambo and other action movies are proof of serious challenges for an actor who seems to talk like a red neck.

In Victory, Stallone is Captain Robert Hatch, an officer of the United States Army and prisoner of war.

In the Nazi camp, he tries to escape repeatedly.

Michael Caine plays another captain, John Colby.

He is asked by the commander of the German Camp to organize a team that would face the Nazi squad.

Max von Sydow, another wasted talent in this motion picture, portrays Major Karl Von Steiner.

Although a Nazi commander, this officer becomes a protagonist with some human features and positive traits.

When the famous Pele, considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time, scores a great goal…

Major Karl Von Steiner is up in the audience and the only German to applaud and appreciate the performance.

Robert Hatch, as an American, has little idea about the European favorite game…perhaps we could say no clue.

He is given the chance to be the goalkeeper and when there is a corner kick, he asks what that is.

However, given the nature of this movie, which is often ridiculous let us be clear, the goalie performs some…miracles.

I will not spoil it for the reader who wants to see it, albeit there is one chance in a billion to find that person.

Escape plans are combined with the effort to put up a great fight in the game between the Allies and the Nazi on the soccer field.

In fact, there is a “heroic” moment, at half time, where Robert Hatch has a chance to escape from the stadium.

Nevertheless, his teammates talk about…Victory.

-          We need to win! Come back to help us gain victory!...or words to that effect

Consequently, the “hero” goalkeeper-captain returns to parade in front of the German players.

We see Michael Caine playing football.

That is fun.

Overall, this is a weird proposition.

As a film, it offers little entertainment.

If listed as a documentary with great football moments and the participation of Michael Caine and Max von Sydow it might have done better.

I’m Swiss by Bill Maher

I’m Swiss by Bill Maher

                I’m Swiss is outstanding!

                One of the greatest discoveries of the past years is Bill Maher.

He can be sarcastic, sound negative and offend so many with his shows, from Politically Incorrect to the present

Real Time on HBO

However, his humorous take on politics, films, moeurs, morals and trends in American and International Affairs is so intelligent and meaningful.

For religious people, the comedian sounds like Lucifer, but his criticism is most often accurate and worthwhile.

On the other hand, the thinker could make the effort and consult some of the more articulate religious scholars.

Karen Armstrong explains that the Bible and other holy texts must not be explained and taken literally.

In this show, Bill Maher talks about the security in America and compares it with what happens in casinos:

“In you can’t make math in your head before you are taken out and buried in the desert by Joe Pesci”

On some issues, the conservatives deserve being ridiculed with suggestions like: “let us put the fetus on the dollar bill”…

With Ronald Regan

On optimism, one could disagree with Maher, who seems to think that many exaggerate and a negative view is more intelligent.

A leader must not be a “man of the people” – this assertion is again perfectly sensible and we only to look at Trump to get the point.

“I’m Swiss” comes from the impatience, frustration and finally detachment that Bill Maher feels for America.

In his other films and books, the comedian speaks about the stupidity of America and if they want him to stop…

Well, they must meet him half way.

On George Bush, analysis is intertwined with comedy, as in the segment on his dressing as a cowboy:

“Memo- there are no more cowboys, so he might as well dress as Sherlock Holmes or a pirate…the president is wearing a costume”- it is not an exact quote

The concepts of the talking snake, the virgin mother, Adam and Eve, the arch of Noah are outrageous for Bill Maher.

In addition, if we just take them per se, or look at the Creationists or other fundamentalists it is preposterous.

The 9/11 terrorist attack is also a religious act, with fanatics killing thousands in the name of Allah.

In his takes on religion, Islam has a place apart, considering the violence that it inspires, granted in the extreme adepts.

As Maher says in other comedy acts, he attacks Catholics, but there is absolutely no danger of the…

Pope sending the Swiss guards with stripes and spears to attack and inflict pain or death on the critic.

George W. Bush is destroyed for the seven minutes it took him to act after being told the country is under attack.

The administration’s wrongheaded insistence on prosecuting minor drug related offences is also satirized here.

Bill Maher is often declaring his belief that mild drugs, marijuana in particular, do no harm and on the contrary help people find joy and treatment for their various illnesses and conditions.

The hypocrisy of legislators, some of whom have been caught using “official, doctor recommended drugs”, is indeed revolting.

Moreover, there are those who shout their outcry over same sex relationships or marriage and then are “outed” and have to come out of the closet.

Bill Maher is not only a magnificent performer, but he is also a heavy weight analyst, thinker and activist.

Ponette, written and directed by Jacques Doillon

Ponette, written and directed by Jacques Doillon

                How did they film this motion picture?

               

This was a question that haunted me during many of the scenes of this very good movie, found here:

http://www.listchallenges.com/new-york-times-best-1000-movies-ever-made/checklist/17

This is the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movie Ever Made List.

In addition, Ponette is definitely an outstanding work of art.

Having said that, I must say that the idea that a little child, perhaps only five years old, is suffering makes the viewer uneasy.

This is a best guess.

The alternative would be that the child actor, Victoire Thivisol is so magnificent that she can play with emotions.

The girl at the center of the story, Ponette is crying a lot and trying to figure how they filmed that, I thought of this:

Maybe they just let kids play, and there is a lot of that in the narrative of the film, and then they just record.

This would be improvisation for adult actors and in this case, I can only hope that children just enjoyed themselves.

During the games, it is inevitable that accidents happen, quarrels take place and that is when we see pain on screen.

We cannot envisage that they just inflicted torment on the children and hence they made them show grief…

Can we?

A scene comes to mind, wherein Ponette id playing with other children and she has to stay within a bin.

Closed in for some minutes.

The other participants in the game even consider leaving and letting the poor playmate suffer inside.

Children can be so cruel…this is one sad conclusion I took out of the film, explaining in part what they do as adults.

Again, the thought of how they put that on stage gave me the version where someone inside accompanies the girl.

The main theme of the motion picture is the death of the mother, because of a car accident that we do not see.

The father is very upset and condemns the dead wife for what happened and the injury suffered by the daughter.

Ponette cannot come to terms with her mother’s departure and she tries to meet with her again.

An aunt is explaining religion to the little girl, talking about Jesus and paradise, where the parent surely went.

The heroine prays to God and this is heart breaking and so resplendent, admirable at the same time.

I have appreciated these emotional, mesmerizing scenes in the motion picture and not the rest.

Notwithstanding the innocence and interesting exchanges taking place during the children’s games, it feels…

Déjà vu

The father appears to have an inappropriate behavior when faced with the unusual behavior of the daughter.

Ponette takes longer to deal with the Trauma of losing her mother and she stays in a state of denial.

She acts in an outré manner.

However, to call her crazy is too much.

Even if she does think that, the late parent finally comes back to earth or life and talks to her at the cemetery.

-          Alternatively, maybe she did return?

-          Moreover, it was not the girl hallucinating.

The Happening, written and directed by Night Shyamalan

The Happening, written and directed by Night Shyamalan

                Night Shyamalan is a controversial moviemaker.

In a documentary aired some years ago, actors talked about the difficult, outré relationship they have had with the director.

In order to appear in his movies, artists declared that some outrageous conditions were asked.

Having said that, it must be stated that so many of the productions of this writer, producer are mesmerizing.

Night Shyamalan has been twice nominated for the Academy Awards and he has been acclaimed for films like:

The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, Lady in the Water or The Village

The Happening has a Metascore of only 34, which means that most of the critics either hated or dismissed it.

This is not the take of the undersigned.

For all the exaggeration and the apparently outlandish science tests and evidence proposed, we might experience…

The Happening in one form or another

Mark Wahlberg was the highest paid actor in 2017 and one wonders why- part of the answer is male artists are paid more than women…much more

In The Happening, he plays the role of Elliot Moore.

Elliot is a science professor that talks to his class, in the first scenes, about the disappearance of bees.

Millions of bees are simply vanishing!

This is not just artistic license and what they call today “fake news „for there is a major problem with bees.

Moreover, their issues are the planet’s, human kind’s trouble, as they are paramount for the reproduction of plants.

Various science inserts in the film are meant to create a credible background for the plot.

People have various energies and Elliot Moore has a ring that changes color for the different states of the wearer.

When he met his wife, Alma Moore aka Zooey Deschanel, the ring on her finger suggested a state of

Excitement

For Elliot, the color was blue, which signifies…tranquility.

That sounded strange, but then this is part of the core of this film that as mass suicide at the center of the plot

People just stop in the street and kill themselves with whatever they find: gun, glass, rope to hang and even…mower machines.

In the first place, the authorities are sure that this is a terrorist attack, with a virus that attacks the brain.

This hypothesis is eliminated and then various scenarios are advanced, none of which is confirmed.

One version accuses plants, which are scared by the people and their threatening behavior and they produce the toxins in response.

Notwithstanding the fact that this is outlandish, humans are working to destroy their planet and in this, the script sends a meaningful, tragic message.

The Happening is mostly a Scary Movie.

However, I can think of a humorous moment, where Professor Elliot Moore is talking to a… plant.

In addition, it is a plastic one, which the teacher tries to sooth and prevent from releasing the toxin.

-          “I am talking to a plant. In addition, it is plastic. I still do it” says the hero

People die in large numbers, in the northwestern part of the United States and some children are killed in terrible circumstances.

If confusing and maybe to a great degree misplaced, the horrifying message of The Happening does sound some legitimate alarm bells:

Are we facing a Final Countdown? Is the human race…racing towards its own destruction?

Get Shorty, written by Scott Frank, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard, 10 out of 10

Get Shorty, written by Scott Frank, based on the novel by Elmore Leonard

10 out of 10

                What an exuberant film!

                Get Shorty is exhilarating, smart, funny and a wonderful entertainment!

                The acting is outstanding!

Indeed, this formidable motion picture could be recommended as therapy for depressed individuals.

Humor is part of the Science of Happiness and the Positive Psychology course at Harvard has a lecture on it.

John Travolta as Chili Palmer reminds the audiences of his classic role in Pulp Fiction, although in a different register.

Vincent Vega is a criminal like Chili Palmer, but the methods used by the two characters are so different.

In fact, Chili Palmer, in spite of his profession, is admirable for the many Character Strengths that he possesses:

Persistence, Creativity- he even thinks of a screenplay- Curiosity, Open-mindedness, Love of Learning and

Perspective, not so much Citizenship though, Mercy in some moments, Self- regulation at others, plus

Bravery, Vitality, Social Intelligence, Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Gratitude, Hope and Humor

Chili Palmer is a loan shark with a very outré passion for the movies that he goes out to see whenever he has a chance.

He even knows dialogues by heart.

When Orson Wells is facing Charlton Heston and Marlene Dietrich in the classic A Touch of Evil, Palmer has all the lines.

The hero arrives in Hollywood, coming from Miami, to collect the debt of a silly man who had such incredible luck.

While waiting for his airplane in a bar, he can see it destroyed in a cascade of flames and fumes.

This man owed money and he wants to take advantage and pretend he died in that plane accident.

He was after all registered as being on board, only he was off for some time, due to the delay in takeoff.

Chili Palmer tracks him, but this is just a small part of the complex plot that includes the hero thinking of…

A script for film that actually includes this unbelievable narrative of the plane crash, the debt and the rest.

He wants the director Harry Zimm aka the otherworldly, always fantastic Gene Hackman involved, together with his companion Karen Flores aka Rene Russo and Martin Weir alias Danny DeVito.

There are other colorful, funny characters involved, from Bo Catlett to his muscle man Bear, played by the late James Gandolfini.

Another departed artist, the fabulous Dennis Farina has a role similar to the part he had in Snatch.

All these figures create a marvelous mosaic of competing loan sharks, movie actors and directors.

The result is mesmerizing.

Alas, it did not work so well for the sequel… Be Cool.

However, Get Shorty has all the elements of exquisite, intelligent, fresh, creative, even self-deprecating humor.

The Hollywood characters are depicted with friendliness, but there is satire and idiosyncrasies are exposed.

In addition, what a tremendous cast, again:

John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Dennis Farina, James Gandolfini are absolutely sensational!

-          “Hey, Harry! Look at me!”

Una, written by David Harrower, based on his play Blackbird

Una, written by David Harrower, based on his play Blackbird

                What a strange work!

Let me be clear: I do not think I understand what was going on in this film and what exactly the ensemble wanted to convey.

It may be one of those cases where this is actually an invitation to think and the artwork depends on the viewer…

It has been said that the onlooker is often, maybe always more important than the object of art itself

So if I dismiss this and say, well this is about a much older person who took advantage of a minor and his punishment, it could be a mistake.

Or not…

This film has some major attributes.

One of them is the actor in the leading role:

Ben Mendelsohn aka Ray

His work is outstanding, at least in two major productions that gave the public an idea of what this artist can do:

The phenomenal Animal Kingdom and more recently, the fabulous

Killing Them Softly

Having stated my admiration for the leading actor, I now must say that his contribution was nearly annulled by the other protagonist:

Rooney Mara

This artiste has a way of making me want to change the channel, even when she is in the company of big names.

Take Carol:

Even if the story was interesting, worthwhile and provoking, Rooney Mara has almost eliminated any pleasure.

It is also true that Cate Blanchet does not have the same appeal for this viewer as she used to possess.

Rooney Mara gives me the impression that she is over reaching; there is a sense of artificiality in her performance.

It is very likely that I am wrong and the parts require a certain awkwardness and what I call over the top is actually perfect planning.

Nevertheless, Una would have benefited from the presence of Eva Green or Kelly Reilly in my opinion.

Una comes to face Ray, many years after – I do not know how to describe this, the first impulse was to say-they have had an affair.

Una was very young, under age at the time and as aforementioned, it would be easy to dismiss this as an abuse.

Which in many ways it is, perhaps this is the main problem of this motion picture that it tries to complicate what seems so simple.

We have a much older man involved with a teenage girl and even if the latter thinks she loves him, it is a no go.

To try and analyze, tell the story could be liberal and open minded, but is it really the right thing to do?

Perhaps…

A comedian in disrepute-, which may highlight the problem of treating too lightly a serious, moral and life issue-, was talking about the need to understand and engage with a child kidnapper, if only to get to save the children involved.

In other words, Una may serve as a case study of what happens when a minor thinks she or he loves and older man.

Of course, it is much more complicated than that, for the film takes place more in the moment when the protagonists are adults and they look at this past, but I see the premise as paramount.

In many ways, it reminded me of Jagten aka The Hunt, wherein a much smaller child accuses a man of inappropriate behavior, almost ruining the life of an innocent person by just inventing a story.

Nevertheless, Jagten was in a completely different league, with a different take and a more meaningful subject.