ModestGeniusXL

Iron Man 3

Normally I'm not too keen on sequels.  They just don't have that great of a track record in Hollywood.  Especially when you start talking about the third installment.  By that time there's a very good chance that the franchise has started to grow stale or very well on its way.  Don't get me wrong though...there have been exceptions like "Lord of the Rings".  When I saw that some critic had called this one "the best Iron Man yet" I tried to be optimistic that there would be hope for this one too.

In "Iron Man 3" Tony Stark/Iron Man  (Robert Downey, Jr.) faces a new foe known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark brazenly invites Mandarin to bring the fight to him, he finds his personal world destroyed.  Tony has to get back to the basics as he tries to hunt down the Mandarin for revenge as well as anyone else that is responsible.  

There was something that I noticed right away in the superhero franchises where the heroes wear a mask.  The longer the series go on, the less time you see the hero in the mask.  My theory is that as the franchise goes on and gets more and more popular, the actor wants more face time.  So they start coming up with more excuses as to why they need to have the mask off.  It happened in the Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire.  "Iron Man 3" is another prime example.  But they took it to another level here.

Stark spent WAY too much time outside the suit.  They purposely wrote the script so that there was a need for it.  With most of his homebase and the only suit he had being inoperable, we got to see nothing but Tony for a great portion of the film.  Sorry, but I have a problem with that.  I want to see an Iron Man movie.  Not a Tony Stark movie.  Then the moment when he single-handedly infiltrates the Mandarin's hideout took the cake.  I just found it hard to believe that a place that was supposedly so heavily guarded would have very little electronic surveillance and security guards that were so inept. 

That disappointment was nothing compared to how they handled the Mandarin.  **SPOILER ALERT** I was stoked the moment I saw the clips of Kingsley in that role.  He certainly didn't have the mass to be somene physically imposing, but he is such a gifted actor that he can easily convey the persona of a psychopath.  However, the problem is they drastically altered the Mandarin character.  He wasn't an actual villain at all.  He was just a puppet.  Mandarin was an actor?!  They had a chance to make one of the most epic movie villains ever and instead they belittled him making him borderline corny.  Was not diggin' that at all.

Naturally, Iron Man was going to need some type of physical villain to match up against since they hollowed out Mandarin.  Enter Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce).  I will admit that the power that they gave him was pretty interesting.  And at least they didn't have him a tacky costume.  It also helped that Pearce made him somewhat charismatic which is a key ingredient for a villain to have.  So I guess he wasn't all that bad as the latest Iron Man adversary.  It's just too bad it had to be done at the expense of ruining what good have been an even more epic bad guy.

Once they FINALLY gave us some actual Iron Man action, it finally picked up.  The highlight of any Iron Man movie is always seeing the suit in action.  It doesn't even matter who's in it.  Which is why even Don Cheadle's scenes as Iron Patriot were fun to watch.  And they took it up several notches here with a climatic battle that featured all of the Iron Man suits.  Now granted, it is rather incredulous to accept that all of these suits are able to operate in full battle mode on their own.  Do you know how much tech would be involved with that??  But it's an action movie so remember you're not supposed to be think reasonably.

So was "Iron Man 3" the best Iron Man yet?  Not by a longshot.  "Iron Man" is in no jeopardy of losing that distinction.  As much as I did like the underlying storyline here that Tony was still struggling with the demons from the "Avengers" battle, there other problems the flick has that distracted from that.  Unless they intend to make the Mandarin the right way, they would be wise to stop the Iron Man franchise now.


My rating:  B -

 

 

 

42

I can't stand baseball.  I understand that certainly won't endear me with those baseball fanatics that senselessly go nuts over the start of the season.  I'm perfectly fine with that.  There's just not enough action in it for me.  However, I always appreciated the significance of what Jackie Robinson accomplished as his pioneering effort to become the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball.  Seeing his movie  was a no-brainer.

"42" tells the story of not only the legendary Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) but also of visionary Brookly Dodgers GM Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford).  Rickey became an integral part of history in 1946 when he signed Robinson to the Dodgers, forever penetrating MLB's infamous color line.  Naturally, the move also endangered the two of them.  It would have been easy for Robinson to lash out against the criticism he received for his groundbreaking move.  But it was his courage to stand strong by showing restraint that made him so courageous.  This flick attempts to depict just what a difficult chore that would end up being.

The thing that worried the most without having viewed a single scene was exactly how far back they would go with Robinson's life.  Would it be like "Ray" where it goes all the way back to his childhood and we had to wait for them to get to the meat of the film?  It worked for "Ray", but I couldn't see it in this case.  Fortunately, the writers didn't either.  They spared us all or Robinson's childhood memories as it jumped right into what we all wanted to see. 

I went into this one expecting to not only see Jackie's struggle with trying to break the color barrier, but also feel it.  There's always a fine line when trying to achieve that type of emotion in a movie.  Since it's been done so often you run the risk of being cliche.  There were plenty of moments like that here.  You know the ones...where the white guy realizes he's wrong then does that nod of approval to Jackie like "you're alright with me".  I lost count of how many times it took place.  That served as a distraction.

What I wanted to see more of was some of the life-threatening moments that Jackie avoided while off the road.  They gave us one instance where he and his personal handler Wendell (Andre Holland) helped him escape a lynch mob of sorts.  But it wasn't much of a close call at all.  There had to have been moments where Jackie faced some serious jeopardy off the field.  I just never got the sense of that in this flick.  "42" makes it seem like the most adversity he ever faced was while he was actually playing.  I just find that hard to believe.

Having a relatively unknown actor in the starring role as Robinson was a smart move.  We weren't preoccupied with trying to imagine some big name star trying to pull off the character of a lifetime.  All I could think of when I saw Boseman was that I was really watching a young Jackie Robinson pave the way for future generations of minority athletes.  There were a few moments where Chadwick may have laid it on a bit thick, but he still served the purpose of making Robinson himself the focal point.

But surprisingly enough, it was Ford that stole the show here.  It's been a while since I have seen him so immersed in a character.  Of course we all know who Han Solo/Indiana Jones is.  Easily one of the most recognizable actors on the planet.  However, he transformed himself into someone entirely different when he took over that Rickey role.  Complete from his appearance to his accent to his mannerisms.  I had no idea who Branch Rickey was before this movie, but after seeing Ford play that part, he WAS Rickey.

The best part about "42" was having a visual way to relay to G precisely how impactful Jackie Robinson was.  I went in there HOPING they didn't cheapen such a historical moment the way that "Red Tails" did They did not.  Far from it.  Instead, we were left with a movie that did an excellent job of appealing to all age groups and even non-baseball fans while telling Robinson's story.  It wasn't powerful enough to get me to start liking baseball.  No movie will ever do that.  But "42" was good enough for me to swell with pride even more thinking about Robinson's sacrifices as an unassuming hero.


My rating:  A-

 

 

Y? Because we LIKED Her!

You'd have to be up there in years a bit to get that title.  Or at least be up on your Mickey Mouse Club knowledge.  But trust me...it could have not be more appropriate for this latest bit of sad news.  Anyone who knows anything about the Mikey Mouse Club will quickly tell you she was the best of the bunch.

Original Mousekateer Annette Funicello passed away Monday due to complications from multiple sclerosis.  She was 70-years-young.

I have to make sure to make this one of my best tribute posts for selfish reasons.  For one, Mom instructed me to do so.  Annette was her favorite Mousekateer out of the whole bunch.  For more than just her stint on that show though. Also for the several beach party movies she made in later years.  But another reason being that I rather dug Annette myself.  She was a class act that remained true to an unblemished image for years and years.  Not many stars, especially those that were former child actors, can make that same claim.

My first real exposure to Annette was when I was just a shorty.  Not even in junior high yet.  Teandra and I would summer at Popoo and Grandma's place.  Every daily afternoon, channel 41 would show reruns of a the original Mickey Mouse Club.  This was before cable so we had to watch it on a 13-inch grainy tv.  Annette immediately caught my eye.  She easily had that certain something that all the others lacked.  And to this day, I couldn't remember the name of any of the others except for her.  Okay...well maybe Jimmie too because he just looked disturbingly older than all of the other kids on the show. 

It would be much later that I would grow to appreciate the whole beach party craze that Annette created in conjunction with Frankie Avalon.  But it wasn't because of the movies they did when they were in their 20s or so.  I wasn't even born when those hit back the 60s.  It was when they did a reunion movie of sorts with the 1987 flick "Back to the Beach".  Here was a cheesy 80s flick that was reincarnating the cheesy fun they originated in the 60s.  And what stood out to me was how well Annette had kept herself up after all those years.  She was in her mid-40s by that time looking better than most of the 20-somethings that were cast alongside her.

The thing about those beach movies is even though Annette was in a bikini they were still tastefully done.  This is he 60s we're talking about.  AND she was a former Disney icon.  No way were they going to have her disgracing the Disney brand.  But more importantly, there was no way she was going to have it either.  That's the difference between the Mousekateers of that time and the ones that would star in the later incarnations of the show.  Hard to believe that the likes of Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera came from the same television background that brought us Annette.  Her wholesome image that remains consistent throughout the years is one that only comes around once a lifetime.

Unfortunately, that 1987 film would end up being Annette's last major starring role.  We would eventually finding out that's the same year she had been diagnosed with MS.  It wasn't actually made public until 1992.  That made it all the more special when she made a cameo in the made-for-TV movie about her life called "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes".  

It's pretty amazing that Funicello was able to live with MS for 25 years.  There's no doubt that's why she had been out of the public eye for the past several recent years.  We know MS weakens a person as it makes them a shell of their former self.  Annette most likely wanted us all to remember her for the smile that lit up the screen with that matching personality that exuded joy.  Mission accomplished.  We thank you for the memories. 

Toodles.

Rest in peace, Annette.

Temptation : Confessions of a Marriage Counselor

I feel a little schmucky (yes..just made up that word) doing this review now after just doing a tribute to Roger Ebert.  And I really shouldn't.  It's just that he was a cat who was legendary with his reviews then I follow that up with my attempt at one.  Like I am really somebody.  Like my viewpoint is going to make an impact with the dozen people that read my stuff.  Regardless..I had a lot to say about this one so here we are.

In "Temptation", Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) is an ambitious young woman working a thankless job as she strives towards her goal of having her own marriage counselor business.  Her pharmacist husband Brice (Lance Gross) is trying to be financially realistic about their dreams while the two attempt to make ends meet.  When billionaire internet entrepreneur Harley (Robbie Jones) visits Judith's workplace looking for a potential business venture, Judith finds herself addressing temptation for the first time.  Harley threatens to not only disrupt her marriage but also alter her life forever.

First off, you may have noticed (or not) that I intentionally left off the whole "Tyler Perry's" at the beginning of the title.  I am quite frankly tired of seeing that.  Is it really necessary for him to do that with every movie that he makes?  We all know it's him.  There's no need to infuse his name in every single title.  It just seems a little self-gratuitous to me.  Especially for someone who's supposed to be so God-fearing.  Yes, I know that will open up a whole other bottle of worms when dealing Tyler and his contradictions with Christianity so I have no intentions in going there with this review. 

I liked how they didn't just jump right into Judith's character being a cheating wife right off the bat.  We could see the gradual progression as she went from total uninterest to utter obsession.  There were little things along the way that got her to that point.  That's how you would expect it to be with someone so strong-willed.  However, not all the things that caused her to eventually take that forbidden step made perfect sense.  Like the most controversial one for instance.

*SPOILER ALERT* Judith goes on a business trip with Harley on his private jet.  By this time, it's obvious she's attracted to him but she's still being faithful.  At least physically.  But Harley knows he just needs to make the right move.  So he forces himself on her.  She says "no" a few times before eventually acquiescing.  The scenario itself sounds like rape, huh?  Yeah...it looked like it too.  Especially when she storms off when he drops her off.  What I didn't get is what she then gets mad when he ignores her.  Like she tells him to. It DEFINITELY sends the wrong message to women out there.  It's like Tyler is saying women are too weak-minded to disregard when they've been violated if they were attracted to the man.  Or at least that's how this woman was. 

The acting was surprisingly good throughout the entire flick.  Even from Jones since this appears to be his first major motion picture release.  I really enjoyed Jurnee though.  She always had the perfect emotions conveyed through her eyes and face without having to say anything at all.  I wasn't particularly feeling Ella Joyce in her minister role, but it was good just seeing her on screen again.  I miss that show "Roc".  And as for Kim Kardashian?  Well what do you expect?  She served her eye candy purpose.

The story of "Temptation" itself was very predictable.  It certainly didn't help that the trailers pretty much gave up the entire storyline.  The best parts even.  The only thing they didn't reveal was the twist at the end.  And of course I should have picked up on it but wasn't paying attention.  I'm sure most of you will.  As usual, Tyler gives us another formulaic story with a few good chuckles here and there as well as a good "Girl...I heard that!" moments.

If you're not already a Tyler Perry fan, "Temptation" certainly isn't going to win you over.  If you are, then he can do no wrong and you will think this is his greatest movie ever.  If you're like me and would just wish he would use some of his big money clout to bring up other aspiring Black directors/writers to promote their own work, then this movie is the prime example of why he needs to get off his butt and make it happen.


My rating:  C+

 

 

Everyone's a Critic, But There Was Only One Roger

The kids today don't know how good they got it.  There's some yahoo on every website (yours truly included), cable channel, podcast, you name it spouting off to give their review of some movie.  All of them profess to know what they're talking about.  But in our day, there two cats that set the standard for movie reviews:  Siskel and Ebert.  First Siskel passed years ago leaving just one of the legendary duo.  But no more.

Renown film critic Roger Ebert passed away today just two days after announcing his cancer had returned.  He was 70-years-old.

I will never forget that Saturday night line-up that prominently featured the "Siskel & Ebert at the Movies" followed promptly by "The Muppet Show".  I probably started watching it just because it was the lead-in to "The Muppets".  But then I started watching it more when I realized that they were talking about hot movies coming out that I wanted to see.  It didn't matter that I had no clue who these older cats were.

Naturally, I always didn't see eye-to-eye with Siskel on some of his reviews.  He seemed to have a penchant for classic Hollywood.  Didn't seem to care too much for the popcorn fluff that kids my age wanted to see.  That was to be expected though.  Nevertheless, I always appreciated his honest approach towards every review.  More than that, even though I may not have appreciated some of the flicks he revered back then, I learned to as I grew older.

Siskel & Ebert quickly became the standard for movie reviews.  Anyone could do it, but no one would ever have the same pop culture impact that those two did.  Name one famous film critic that's around now?  You can't.  If you can, it's someone that only a select few have heard of.  Not with Siskel & Ebert.  Millions new them by their name only.  We knew them better than we knew most of the movies that were out.  And they definitely had a much more lasting impression.

As the internet started getting more and more momentum, things begin to shift drastically.  Siskel ended up getting  brain tumor and dying in 1999.  Some guy tried to replace him on the show but didn't have near the same chemistry with Roger. Not to mention that by that time there were so many more channels and viewing options that their show wasn't as effective as it used to be.  It was clear the writing was on the wall for Ebert.  It's a good thing he always had his writing to fall back on though.

I still remember when I first saw how different Ebert looked after he lost his voice and even his jaw from battling thyroid and salivary gland cancer.  I didn't think he would have much longer after that. But he managed to hang on.  All the time remaining in good spirits.  Still, we all knew that it was only a matter of time.  Cancer is just a little punk like that.  It took his voice and took him, but it will never take away the memories that we have of Roger and his entertaining movie reviews.  He will always be thumbs up with me.

Rest in peace, Mr. Ebert.

G.I. Joe : Retaliation

Has it really been 4 years since the first "G.I. Joe" movie came out?  I guess so.  Apparently they were waiting that long to make sure they got the second one right.  Pretty smart move since they did NOT get off to a good start with that first one.  Yes, I know I gave it a B- in my review of it, but that may have been more inspired by the fact that there was that sentimental attachment to the G.I. Joe brand.  I would be more objective this time around.

In "G.I. Joe: Retaliation", the Joe forces find themselves facing a Cobra organization that has stepped up its efforts to be a world threat.  Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) may have been captured but Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) is still on the loose.  Thanks to his impersonation of the President, he has framed the Joes and doomed them for extinction.  It's up to Roadblock (The Rock) and a few remaining Joes to thwart Cobra's most diabolical world domination plan to date.

My best guess is that apparently Navy SEALs don't exist in the world where G.I. Joes do.  Or maybe the Joes are supposed to be an even more advanced fighting force than them.  Whatever the case, after seeing "Zero Dark Thirty" all I could think about when watching the Joes in their first assault is how ridiculous it all looked.  Not a single one of them had on protective head gear.  They were able to land an entire force of Joes on the roof of an enemy base without any detection whatsoever.  They repel down from the ceiling into a swarm of hostile enemies and not one Joe gets wounded.  Needless to say, things just didn't start off good for me.

Then there was the whole issue with the President getting impersonated.  It's never explained to us how it happened.  The movie opens and Zartan's already there.  How in the world would that even be possible?  Because in order for it to occur, not only would he have the problem of getting that close to the President to do it, but he would have to successfully infiltrate the Secret Service to make it happen.  Maybe I was just being too overly critical after "Olympus Has Fallen" had clearly made a more succesful attempt to make a White House infiltration look more convincing.

My favorite scene in the movie wasn't even action-oriented.  Well..at least not entirely.  It's when Roadblock and Duke (Channing Tatum) are playing one of those Call of Duty video games and Duke can't operate the controls worth a dang.  The irony behind the fact that his character is a beast doing the real thing but can't effectively play the video game doing the same thing was pretty funny.  I know exactly how he feels since I can't play those games to save my life.  Of course, I can't do the combat skills in real life either, but still.

**SPOILER ALERT** One of the biggest problems I had was how easy they made Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) switch sides to help the Joes.  Dude had JUST freed Cobra Commander and just like that he's going to work with the Joes to get revenge?  Umm..how about if you didn't help him get free in the first place you wouldn't have that problem?  Only two G.I. Joe movies and they have a bad guy switching sides in both of them.  That's really the best writing they could come up with?

I was looking forward to seeing how Bruce Willis's role would play out in this one.  Supposedly, he was the very first Joe.  The one who was the inspiration behind the entire fighting force getting started.  True to form, Willis was his normal "Die Hard" self.  Because let's face it...isn't he pretty much Joe McClane in every action movie?  At least he was a little better in this one than he was in the latest "Die Hard" installment though.  And that wasn't an easy task given the material he had to work with.

The one saving grace "Retaliation" had was the action.  They managed to stay away from the hokey stuff that plagued the first "Joe" movie like those ridiculous acceleration suits.  The fighting sequences were handled much better.  Even in spite of how far-fetched some of them were.  Like the mountain fighting sequence.  Or how the Rock is able to avoid larger tank fire in a much smaller assault vehicle.  But hey...the cartoon was all about over-the-top unrealistic action so I wouldn't expect anything less in the movie.  I'm just glad they improved their efforts since the first one 4 years ago.


My rating:  C+

 

 

Olympus Has Fallen

This one snuck up on me a little bit.  I hadn't heard anything about it until I went to the movie and saw a trailer for it a month ago.  I guess that's what I get for failing to keep up with the Hollywood scene like I used to.  But it only took that one trailer for me to know that it was my kind of flick.  Mainly because I wanted to see how in the world it was possible for terrorists to take over and nearly destroy the White House.

In "Olympus Has Fallen", Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is a disgraced Secret Service agent who finds himself doing crap details ever since his efforts to save the President (Aaron Eckhart) cost the First Lady (Ashley Judd) her life.  He finds himself with an opportunity for redemption 18 months later when terrorists launch an all out assault on the White House.  As our national security team scrambles to respond, Banning is the one person on the inside with the knowledge and skills to retake the White House and save the kidnapped President.

Let me get these critiques out the way first.  Because honestly, they are trivial and there was very little not to like about this one.  But they were bugging me nonetheless.  The first being (SPOILER ALERT) the first phase of the attack with the bomber that was used.  We all know that the White House has a no-fly zone, so of course fighter jets were right there warning the bomber to leave the air space.  First of all, why would there even be need for a warning?  It's a freaking bomber flying to DC.  Obviously something is wrong.  Secondly, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be flying right alongside it which would not allow them to get a good shot if and when they had to shoot it down.

Additionally, would our military intelligence suck that bad that no one had knowledge that that many anti-American professionally trained commandos were ALL mobilized in the nation's capital at the same time?  It could be feasible that maybe a few could have slipped through the cracks, but an entire battalion's worth?  And all you Obama-haters can save your venom.  Movies about fictional terrorist attacks on our soil have been around before he was in office.  Anyway, this is an action flick so you have to have some reality oversight in order to appreciate the entirety of the film.

I have always thought that Rick Yune would make the perfect villain ever since his small part in "The Fast and the Furious".  I'm glad someone else finally saw the same thing and allowed him to have the starring role as a lead villian.  He straight owned the role as Kang.  He brings a suave ultra-cool demeanor that the classic bad guy should have.  He's got the charismatic personality that you would expect from a hero but the killer mentality that everyone is expendable that the ultimate villain should have.  

Butler was another surprise altogether.  Ever since "300" I have been waiting for him to come back with a movie that could be just as legendary.  Something where his character could be one just as bad-arse as Leonidas.  I would venture to say that he may have even topped it here.  Only because Banning is a more realistic character that makes him somewhat more relatable.  I don't know about any of you, but I've had a job where I was more or less demoted (okay...terminated) and had to learn to reacclimate.  Of course, mine wasn't because I saved the President, killing the First Lady in the process.  But still more relatable than having to fight off thousands of Persians.

What I liked most about "Olympus" was that it seriously keeps you on the edge of your seat.  The action was so intense that I was sitting up in that theater sweating.  It was as if the fate of the nation really did depend on Banning and I was getting nervous watching everything transpire hoping that he would come through.  Let's face it...you KNOW he's going to come through, but the anxiety comes from seeing how he's going to make it happen.

I had totally forgotten until the closing credits that "Olympus Has Fallen" was directed by Antoine Fuqua.  The same guy that brought us the genius of "Training Day".  I should have known.  This brotha more than knocked it out of the park with this one.  He went and gave us a flick that has become the forerunner for the best film of 2013.


My rating:  A

 

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Somehow I knew this one was going to get terrible reviews the minute I saw the first trailer.  Steve Carell's movies usually get lukewarm reviews at best.  But it was Carell, Jim Carrey AND Steve Buscemi.  There was no WAY I was not going to see this movie.  I just had to make sure to keep my expectations at a somewhat moderate level.

In "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone", Wonderstone (Carell) and his partner Anton Marvelton (Buscemi) have ruled the Las Vegas strip for years with their illusions.  But lately, Wonderstone's ego has gotten the better of him and puts a strain on their friendship.  It doesn't help matters that a younger up and coming illusionist Steve Gray (Carrey) is beginning to steal their thunder with his guerilla street magic.  Burt and Anton have one last chance to salvage their career and their friendship if Burt can get back in touch with what made him love magic in the first place.

One has to understand that when you're going to see a Carell movie there's a good chance there will be a  corniness aplenty.  That's what he has made his living on.  And let us not forget that Carrey has too.  So of course I was going in expecting to see an abundance of it here.  That's exactly what I got.  It didn't always hit.  Mainly the parts that the trailers already gave away, but that parts that did were golden.  Simple things like that little dance that Wonderstone and Marvelton did to open their show every night.

My favorite scene was the one when Burt tried to do their Vegas act on his own when it clearly had to be a two person show.  And to top it all off, he was drunk.  Easily the best laugh out loud moment in the whole flick.  Granted, there weren't many like that, but there were still enough chuckles here and there to be had throughout "Wonderstone".  Again, it really helps if you appreciate that type of humor.

There was actually a nice little message the movie was conveying too.  Something that several actors and actresses need to be paying attention to.  At some point, a lot of these folks have been in the game so long that they start going thru the motions.  They don't put their all into their performances because they feel they can rest on their laurels.  But when they do that, the fans suffer.  I'm sure that message will go overlooked since so many critics panned this one.

Occasionally I will come across a movie that is widely criticized by the professional critics and I end up loving it.  I wouldn't go as far as to say that "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" falls in that category.  However, it did have me laughing.  There have been plenty of so-called comedies that have failed to accomplish that.  It probably could have waited for a Redbox release for me, but it wasn't near as bad as folks have made it out to be.


My rating:  C+

 

 

Temptations Forever

After watching the "Unsung" special on Johnny Gill, I was reminded once again of how and why I have such an affinity for New Edition.  But that pales in comparison to the infatuation I have with the group that spearheaded the way for groups like NE.  If it weren't for the Temptations, the New Editions would have no bar to which they could measure.  But unfortunately, the more time that passes, the fewer Temptations we still have around.  And losing two in one month was NOT good.

The first to go was Otis "Damon" Harris.  He passed away February 18th after losing his battle with prostate cancer.  He was 62-years-old.

That name didn't ring a bell with me as far as Tempts singers go.  When I looked him up, the face didn't either.  I had to read the bio to find out more about where he fell in the Temptations lineage.  Turns out he was the one that ended up taking Eddie Kendricks' place when he left the group.  I had no idea.  I thought that was that one light-skinned cat who I remember from their 80s line-up.  Guess I was wrong.

After finding  getting more clarification on which one Damon was, I felt a little bad for him.  Not for the cancer part because obviously that sucked.  I mean having to follow in the footsteps of Kendricks.  Let's face it..Dennis Edwards did a decent enough job filling that void that David Ruffin left, but NOBODY could do that tenor falsetto like Kendricks.  He was in a tough spot from the beginning.  And now he's reunited with the man who laid that foundation.

The second to depart was Richard Street.  He passed away February 26th after a short illness.  He was 70-years-old.

Now his name I recalled as soon as I heard it.  Mainly because I've seen that "Temptations" movie more times than I can count.  I clearly remember that he was the one that stepped in when Paul Williams left the group because of his trouble with alcohol addiction.  Richard was actually one of the original Temptations who was with the group even before the Paul and Eddie came on board.  For those of you aren't up on your Motown history (the Temptations in particular) you will have to forgive me as I geek out on all of this.

If I'm not mistaken, I remember Richard into the 80s as well.  It's not as though he had a lead voice that made him memorable, but his face was.  I can see his big smile getting it in that "Standing on the Top" video that remains one of my all-time favorite Temptations cuts.  I have to keep reminding myself that he and the other Tempts would have been around my current age at that time and they were straight groovin'!

All I keep thinking about whenever another Temptations passes is Otis is STILL there. And not just that he's still with us, but he's still performing with the group.  He's the last original Temptation and he seems to be outliving them all.  Although it would be terrible to keep watching your friends pass away, it's got to be a good feeling to know that he's part of a legacy that will continue to live on forever.  Even after he's gone.

Rest in peace, Temptations.

Oz the Great and Powerful

I am rather surprised that it took someone this long to tell the backstory of the Wizard himself.  Or at least to put it in the format of a movie.  Even the witches beat him to the punch with the Broadway musical "Wicked".  Or at least I think.  I haven't seen it so I can't speak from experience.  It was always my understanding it was the story told from the witch's perspective.  At any rate, we needed to get some type of background on the man behind the curtain.

"Oz the Great and Powerful" tells the story of small-time circus magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco).  When he is hurled away from Kansas in a twister to the fanciful Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot.  The people of Oz were told of a prophecy that a wizard bearing the name of the Land would come to inherit the throne as well as the fortune of the land.  But in order to do so, he must protect the inhabitants from an evil witch.  The problem is Oz has to discern which witch is good and which is evil.  Not to mention facing his own challenger of being a better man himself so that he can be in aposition to help the citizens of Oz.

"Oz" got off on the right foot by following a pattern made famous by the original "Wizard of Oz".  The story starts off in black and white until he gets to the Land of Oz.  Then it switches to color.  And they do it in a big way.  Especially in 3D.  It took some incredible imagination to come up with the images of all the different plants and creatures depicted in even that first sequence of the wizard discovering Oz.  You find your eyes traveling the length of the whole screen repeatedly trying to capture everything they've created.

The entire movie is actually like that.  It's a virtual smorgasbord of eye candy with all the effects and eye-popping visuals.  It seems that everywhere that Oz goes in the Land of Oz is even more amazing than the next.  So much so that you always look forward to him venturing out.  Simply because you want to see what they are going to come up with next.  We are discovering a brand new country along with him and can't wait to see what lies ahead.

I was rather surprised by Mila Kulnis's work as Theodora.  Would have never guessed she had that bipolar personality of sorts in her.  I think I may have just given away a spoiler right there.  In case you missed it, there's another one coming up.  The thing is, Kulnis did just as good in her good version as she did when she turned to the green evil witch we all know.  Although if memory serves me correctly, Theodora wasn't the name of the evil witch in the "Wizard of Oz". Maybe that gets explained in later movies.  But speaking of staying true to the witches, I really liked how when she cried, her tears permanently scarred her face. A little taste of what we know moisture will eventually do to her.

There are quite a few nods to the original "Oz" story in here that were very well done.  Like when Theodora first turns and she refers to someone as "My little pretty" for the very first time.  Or how they introduce some of the citizens of Oz whose only talent is to make a Scarecrow.  But best of all is how they take us behind the scenes of how the Wizard made his iconic face in the smoke and the impact it first has.

"Oz the Great and the Powerful" is definitely not a very intricate plot.  Maybe even a little cliche at times.  But that's how it should be if it's going to appeal to a broad audience.  I'm pretty sure director Sam Raimi's plan was to bring in those of us that still remember the freshness from "The Wizard of Oz" as well as a new generation that enjoys the current trend of sorcery and witchcraft in today's cinema.  He succeeds on both fronts.  If the story is true that there are more "Oz" movies to come then I will be looking forward to those.


My rating:  B+