Television-wise, the only show I actually completed was the latest season of Reacher. I have been watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The West Wing, and The Critic, but lately, my viewing is pretty much down across the board.
What I’ve Caught Up With, April 2025
Film: The Wiz (1978)
An urban reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz keeps most of the story, albeit with changes and rewrites all of the songs to something completely new. It also seems to move a great deal more quickly than the original film. There’s plenty of Motown cred in this, with Diana Ross in the role of Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, plus Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man and Ted Ross as the lion. But this is directed by Sidney Lumet and a reworking of the original Broadway libretto by Joel Goddam Schumacher. The songs are good, but Diana Ross spends the entire movie talking like a 7-year-old girl, and her constant vocalizing becomes old quickly. Still, kids would get a huge kick out of this, and seeing both Lena Horne (as Glinda) and Richard Pryor (as The Wiz) is always worthwhile.
Film: Carlito’s Way (1993)
Puerto Rican criminal Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) is released from prison after five years of a 35-year stint due to a technicality exploited by his lawyer Dave (an afroed Sean Penn). Carlito wants to go straight and has a dream of joining a friend in a car rental business in the Bahamas, but he needs $75,000 to get there. Of course, he is quickly pulled back into the crime world, both by his past associations and Dave the lawyer. He also hooks back up with his old girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller). It’s obvious where this is going, but it’s a ride worth taking. The cast, which also includes Luis Guzman, James Rebhorn, Viggo Mortensen, and John Leguizamo is top-notch. It also helps that it’s right in the wheelhouse of Brian De Palma.
Film: The Shootist (1976)
The knock against John Wayne was that in all of his movies, he basically played John Wayne and never really acted. Anyone who has said this has never seen The Shootist, which is The Duke’s last film. An aged gunslinger named J.B. Books (Wayne) learns that he has cancer and only a few months to live. His death will be ugly and painful, so he chooses to try to go out fighting rather than dying in bed. It’s a hell of a send off for the man, and the accompanying cast—Lauren Bacall has his widowed landlady, Ron Howard as her son, plus James Stewart, Harry Morgan, Scatman Crothers, John Carradine, and more—is one for the ages. You never expect to see John Wayne vulnerable until he’s there on screen, laden with pathos.
Film: The Central Park Five (2012)
As many of us now live in a country where it seems like basic human rights like due process are no longer guaranteed, it’s important to remember that the system has always been biased, and has always worked exactly the way that it was designed to work. Despite their innocence, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise were convicted of a brutal rape that occurred in Central Park in 1989. This seems like it could be one part of a Ken Burns documentary about the American justice system (and it is a Ken Burns film) rather than a stand-alone documentary, but it would be difficult to sit through another 10 hours of cases like this one where the actual crime was not assault, but skin color.
Film: Sweetie (1989)
Mental illness isn’t that easy to portray in a way that isn’t unpleasant on screen, and Sweetie is plenty unpleasant in a lot of ways. Kay (Karen Colston) has a dysfunctional family controlled in many ways by her sister Dawn (Genevieve Lemon), nicknamed Sweetie. Kay wants a normal life despite her own dysfunctional relationship with Louis (Tom Lycos), but when Sweetie shows back up, everything goes to hell. There’s certainly some comedy to this, but it’s not the sort that you actually laugh at. Sweetie is an unpleasant character, and that’s the point—she controls the family, but never for anything good. It’s not a film I’ll watch again, but it’s a unique vision.
I own a copy of Sweet. Amazing film by Jane Campion. The Shootist and The Central Park Five are the only films on that list I haven't seen yet. The Wiz I have seen as it is an alright film though I think Diana Ross was too old to play Dorothy though Michael Jackson fucking ruled. Carlito's Way is quintessential de Palma. I will always remember the story about the production and how tense it was at first until de Palma was directing Luis Guzman for a scene. Guzman on set told de Palma "Brian, I don't act. I just do it". There was a brief moment of silent and then de Palma said, "OK, every body get ready. Luis is going to do it" and everyone became relaxed.
ReplyDeleteThe Shootist is good, mainly because it feels like a sort of swan song for a lot of people--so much of the cast is from the Golden Age of film, and it's great to see them still going.
DeleteThe Central Park Five is infuriating, which is exactly why it's worth watching.
I agree with you on Diana Ross. Someone younger was needed for that role, but it's hard to deny that she had the star power of the moment.
Fuckin' Luis Guzman. I love that guy.
The Duke brings a half century of experience both of moviemaking and life in general to “The Shootist” along with the knowledge that this was the end of the line for him and lays it all out there on the screen for the world to see. He’s magnificent, this is where his Oscar should have come from, it’s a shame he didn’t even score a nomination for what is unquestionably his best work. The film itself is a good one but terribly downbeat for repeat viewings.
ReplyDeleteI can’t say I hated The Wiz, but it left me cold. Not once during its runtime was I not aware that it was a much too old Diana Ross as Dorothy (her voice was good, her performance poor) and the whole thing had a shaggy ramshackle feeling. Many talented people put to work to negligible effect. A definite case of something being less than the sum of its parts.
I liked Carlito’s Way when I saw it in the theater but have never had any pull to give it another look. I agree that the cast was excellent though.
I hated “Sweetie.” Jane Campion is not a director for me; I have never genuinely liked a single film of hers that I’ve seen.
I haven’t seen “The Central Park Five” but I know it was a grave injustice.
I enjoyed The West Wing even if some of it feeds into wish fulfillment. It’s uniformly well-acted by an amazing cast. And I LOVE Miss Fisher Mysteries!!! Everyone around her is spot on but the series is made by Essie Davis as Phryne, she is sublime. Amazing set and costume design as well.
I agree on The Shootist. I don't hate Wayne's win for True Grit, but I don't love it, either. This is really his masterpiece, and it took an entire career to get there.
Delete"Ramshackle" is such a great way to describe The Wiz, and I wish I had thought of it. Much less than the sum of its parts, and I wanted to love it. It felt like a high school production of The Wizard of Oz, and not in any good way. It should have been so much more.
I don't hate Jane Campion, but Sweetie is a film that I'm pretty sure I won't watch again, mainly because of how awful the title character is.
The Central Park Five is worth your time. Carlito's Way might be worth a second viewing, but I don't know that it's essential.
The West Wing is absolutely wish fulfillment in so many ways--Bartlet wins the entire Midwest as a Dem? And Louisiana? C'mon. Still, Sorkin's writing is awfully good and the characters are really human, and that goes a long way in my book. I'm a little surprised it took into the 4th season for him to bring in Josh Malina, who has always been one of Sorkin's go-tos.