Pedophile Priests, James Bond & Rocky Balboa

I was in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving.  There are 20 or 30 multiplexes in Las Vegas and they all seem to show the films.  Mockingjay, Spectre and Creed were well screened.  I've run out of steam w.r.t. The Hunger Games series so I'll probably skip the latest installment.  On three consecutive nights, I watched:

Spotlight starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams & Liev Schreiber; directed by Tom McCarthy; (2015) - Official Website
Spectre starring Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz & Léa Seydoux; directed by Sam Mendes; (2015) - Official Website
Creed starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone & Tessa Thompson; directed by Ryan Coogler; (2015) - Official Website

All three of these films have been well reviewed.

Spotlight has been receiving Oscar buzz.  It's well made and well acted but somehow it doesn't seem to be an Oscar caliber film to me.  To bastardize a phrase better suited to Creed, Spotlight "punches below its weight."  The film begins with the Boston Globe investigating pedophile priests in 2001 and quickly expands to uncover the Boston Archdiocese's enabling and cover-up of the incidents.  Michael Keaton plays the editor of Spotlight, the Globe's publication specializing in investigative reporting.  A lifelong Bostonian, Keaton's Walter "Robby" Robinson leads a three reporter squad played by Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams & Brian d'Arcy James.  As they start to ask questions, they encounter institutional resistance from the Catholic Church, it's attorney & other civic institutions.  If there was one take away from the film, it is that although the Boston Archdiocese shoulders much of the blame, many people & organizations (including the Globe) were complicit either by their actions or lack thereof.  Stanley Tucci has a nice turn as the eccentric lawyer representing many of the victims.  Liev Schreiber is also memorable as the Jewish, new-to-Boston editor of the Globe.  With the exception of an outburst by Ruffalo's character, Spotlight shows restraint in not giving the audience's outrage an onscreen outlet.  It makes the story more powerful.

Spectre may be Daniel Craig's last turn as James Bond.  I could nitpick some of the more contrived plot points and that this film tried too hard to tie together the last three Bond films (all starring Craig) but this is 007 afterall.  Bond films have always been (and should always be) judged on their stunts and action sequences.  Spectre doesn't disappoint.  I can recall three outstanding sequences with no trouble.  The opening is set in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead.  Bond assassinates a few people, avoids a falling building and gets into a fight while in a helicopter...and that's in the cold opening.  Wrestler Dave Bautista plays the evil henchman quite well.  He and Bond engage in a thrilling car chase in Rome.  Finally, Bautista & Craig have a hellacious fight scene in a moving train.

Christoph Waltz plays Blofeld the head of SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), a criminal organization which has put into motion all the troubles Bond has had in the past three films.  He also happens to an old friend of Bond.  I'm a big fan of Waltz and he's not quite a flamboyant as past villains (I'm thinking of Javier Bardem in particular) but does quite well in the role.  By giving a subtler performance (relatively), Waltz gives Blofeld more nuance and even seemingly genuine congeniality at times.

To best enjoy Spectre, it helps to be familiar with the James Bond franchise and in particular, the last three films of the series.  I would characterize myself as a modest fan of Bond films but enjoyed Spectre quite a bit.  Of the four Daniel Craig films, Casino Royale is still my favorite (primarily because of Mads Mikkelsen & Eva Green) but Spectre is a solid entry.  Sean Connery is still my favorite Bond with Daniel Craig being my second favorite by a large margin.  He played Bond a tad too sullen and self-pitying for my tastes but his portrayal was fascinating at times.  His relationship with M (Judi Dench) was particularly interesting.

People are raving about Sylvester Stallone's performance in Creed.  I have to admit that Stallone's Rocky Balboa is the best part of Creed which is otherwise a rehash of the original Rocky with Michael B. Jordan as the young boxer and Stallone as the wise boxing trainer.  The story has come full circle.  Jordan plays Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Rocky's opponent and close friend, Apollo Creed.  Angry & resentful at having been abandoned by his father, the younger Creed takes his frustrations out on his opponents in the ring.  Self-taught and raised by his father's widow (Phylicia Rashād) in a mansion, "Donny" Creed quits his white collar job in LA and moves to Philadelphia to train under his father's greatest opponent.  Unfortunately, he forgot to ask Rocky if he would train him.  Being a Rocky film, you know they have to get together and overcome some adversity before Creed (improbably) gets a shot at the title.  Real life British boxer Tony Bellew is effective as the champ "Pretty" Ricky Conlan.  Creed reunites director Ryan Coogler and Jordan who previously worked together in Fruitvale.  Jordan is adequate in the role but never quite convinces me he could be a professional boxer.  Of course, the fight scenes in the Rocky films were outlandish but there was something about Stallone that suggested a broken down pug.  Burgess Meredith conveyed that sense also.  Coogler deftly intersperses some homage scenes to the previous Rocky films.  I surprised myself by catching a reference to a third Balboa-Creed fight which is the fade out scene in Rocky III (the action freezes and transforms into a painting by noted painter Leroy Neiman).

My viewing of Creed is noteworthy because it was the first time I saw a film at a drive-in movie theater in over 37 years.  I was driving in a part of Las Vegas I typically don't go to and saw a drive-in theater.  I went back to see it just to experience the drive-in theater experience.  The sound is now transmitted via a short range FM signal so you listen to the film on the car radio.  By scanning, I was able to listen to the other films at the six screen complex.

Rocky vs. Apollo by Leroy Neiman

End of Watch

While visiting my father in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving, we saw End of Watch.

End of Watch starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña; directed by David Ayers; some Spanish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website

Visiting Las Vegas a several times over the past 15 years, I notice the differences in cinematic options. There are no rep houses in Las Vegas.  Nothing akin to PFA, Castro Theater, Landmark Theaters, Stanford Theater, Roxie Theater, etc.  It's strictly metroplex - Cinemark and Regal with only one AMC location.  That is interesting to me.  In SF and the Peninsula, it's most Cinemark & AMC with only the Stonestown as a Regal outlet (UA or United Artists is part of Regal).  There are a few more location in East Bay - Jack London Square in Oakland, the UAs in Emeryville and Downtown Berkeley.  For whatever reasons, Regal is weak in the Bay Area and AMC is weak in Las Vegas.

In general, this means I can't see anything but general release films when I go to Las Vegas.  There are a few exceptions such as That Evening Sun which never screened in the Bay Area.  A more common occurrence is to see films that have left the Bay Area chains still playing in Las Vegas.  End of Watch is one of those films.

According to Fandango, End of Watch was not screening in the Bay Area during Thanksgiving week with the exception on daily 9:10 PM screening at Bluelight Cinemas, a second run theater in Cupertino. It had dedicated screens at AMC and Regal locations in Las Vegas that week.  These difference in demographics and audience preferences interest me but I'd still rather live in the Bay Area than Las Vegas.

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LAPD Officers Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Michael Peña) are partners.  Over the opening credits we see them (via a dashboard camera) pursue a car and have a shootout with two suspect.  Cleared of any wrongdoing, the film opens with Taylor & Zavala back on duty in the precinct.  Taylor is the smarter and more ambitious one.  Zavala is the sidekick but holds his own.  Taylor is single and a ladies man.  Zavala has been married to his high school sweetheart since graduation and was pushed by his wife into marriage and the police force.  He's not weak willed but is susceptible to suggestion from people he loves and respects.  Taylor & Zavala have a serious "bromance" going on which can only occur when people risk their lives for each such as in military combat or patrol cops in South Central LA.

The rapport with the two characters is really the heart of End of Watch   There are lot of shots from within the police cruiser of the two talking about all sorts of things.  I began to like both men; particularly Zavala who is more well-adjusted of the two probably due to the influence of his wife and family.  Actually both men are a bit of envious of the other.  Zavala wants to hear about the women in Taylor's life and Taylor's admires the relationship Zavala has with his wife.

The sidekick designation flips back and forth between the two although Gyllenhaal is considered the lead.  Early on Zavala challenges an African American suspect to fight in response to racial comments. He wins the fight (I would have insisted take off his bullet-proof vest) but doesn't report the incident which could have resulted in assault charges against the suspect.  This earns Zavala some respect among the Crips (or was he a Blood?).  As the film goes on to show, it's a new world in South Central. Later Zavala runs into a burning house to retrieve three children.  Hesitatingly, Taylor follows him in.  Both receive medals for their actions.

The real power in South Central is held by Mexican drug cartels (the Sinaloa Cartel in this film).  Taylor and Zavala make an arrest which produces some blinged out weapons including a gold plated assault rifle.  No one in the LAPD seems to follow up on the leads so Taylor decides to follow the leads because he wants to make detective.  Using the house fire as leverage, he gets Zavala to back his play.  They raid a house where they find human smuggling going on.  Within minutes, ICE shows up and tells Taylor that he interfered with an ongoing investigation.  Taking Taylor and Zavala aside, the ICE agents cautions them that they just took down a Sinaloa safe house and they should "power down" for their safety.

Events conspire against them.  Following up on a report of an old woman who hasn't been heard from for several days, they kick down the door to find drugs, the woman dead and tortured/mutilated remains of several other bodies.  The arrest makes the evening news which gets the attention of the Sinaloan shotcallers.  They put a hit on Taylor and Zavala.

One night, they see a car run a red light and they pursue it but it's a trap.  They chase the suspect into an apartment with the hit squad is waiting.  After escaping the initial attack, the two cornered on the street an Zavala thows himself on the wounded Taylor.  End of Watch ends with Taylor giving a eulogy at Zavala's funeral.  Actually there is a hilarious postscript in the patrol car where Zavala recounts his unsuccessful attempt to lose his virginity with his wife.  The scene is tinged with sadness because the audience knows what happens to him.

End of Watch is an extremely tense and violent film.  It would have been easy for this film to devolve into two adrenalin junkie cops kicking ass in da hood.  Writer & director David Ayers (who wrote the fabulous Training Day) spends considerable time fleshing out Taylor, Zavala and their relationship.  To the extent the audience likes and bonds with these two men, End of Watch will work.  I liked the two characters and thought End of Watch was incredible.  Michael Peña shines in the smaller of the two lead roles but the film is well cast - David Harbour as the dyspeptic cop, Natalie Martinez as Zavala's wife, Maurice Compte and Yahira Garcia as hardcore gangbangers and America Ferrara as a fellow cop.

I'm On Thin Ice

While visiting my father in Las Vegas two weeks ago, we saw Thin Ice. Las Vegas is truly the land of the metroplexes - 300 screens in the metropolitan area showing the same dozen or so films. I have noticed that there is always in Indian film screening on one screen in the newspaper listing. That indicates there is a sizable Indian immigrant population in Las Vegas which I haven't seen.

Also, we were driving on Spring Mountain Road which is called Las Vegas' Chinatown. That means the strip malls have Chinatown style tiled roofs with upturned corners. I was surprised that "Chinatown" went on for miles along Spring Mountain. I didn't think there was enough of an Asian community to support that many businesses. The "Chinatown" is Pan Asian as we stopped in a Korean supermarket next to a Filipino restaurant with Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese businesses within short distance.

Thin Ice starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin & Billy Crudup; directed by Jill Sprecher; (2011) - Official Website

Thin Ice is a great film...until the last 10 minutes. Greg Kinnear plays a shady insurance agent looking to steal a valuable violin from an elderly client (Alan Arkin). At each step along the way, Kinnear's character encounter setbacks including getting involved in a murder. Thin Ice is a black comedy which cashes in on Kinnear's greed, Arkin absent mindedness and Billy Crudup's manic energy as the small time hood who blackmails Kinnear.

The film reminded me of the Coen's Brothers' Fargo until Thin Ice pulls a switcheroo which essentially invalidates everything up until that point. I thought the film was great without the surprise ending and felt resentful afterwards. The San Francisco Chronicle review does not mention this surprise ending.

Sisters Jill and Karen Sprecher wrote and directed the film which was called The Convincer on the festival circuit which included the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film was edited without the Sprecher's involvement and re-titled Thin Ice. The Convincer received generally positive reviews; Thin Ice's reviews are mixed.

Greg Kinnear is great as a small time con man suddenly in over his head with no way to escape. I laughed out loud several times at his discomfort in certain situations. Billy Crudup also holds his own as the squirrelly murderer who drags Kinnear down with him.

If you like black comedies, the first 85 minutes of Thin Ice are definitely worthwhile. Even when it was The Convincer, Thin Ice had the aforementioned surprise, so I wonder if my distaste is with the surprise or the way that specific plot point was presented.

You Can Get (Almost) Anything in Vegas...

As the saying goes, you can get anything, anytime in Las Vegas...except a 35 mm projector.

A little over a week ago, I was in Las Vegas. Las Vegas has the reputation of being an entertainment mecca and perhaps that is true if you want to see Celine Dion, Blue Man Group or Cirque du Soleil. As far as movies go, Vegas is the land of the multiplex. There must be close to 200 screens in the Las Vegas metropolitan area and on any given week, they probably screen 15 unique films between them. In other words, every cineplex is playing the same film(s)...on multiple screens. I don't believe there is a single screen theater left in Vegas.

In late May, it was with some surprise I read that the Henderson Symphony Orchestra was performing the live orchestration to a screening of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights on Friday, June 3. I didn't know Henderson had an orchestra and I certainly didn't expect a screening of City Lights.

As I was reading the Las Vegas Review Journal article previewing the screening, I was dumbstruck by this sentence. "The film is being projected by a 35mm projector used during the times of the original film," [a Henderson spokesman] said. "The film industry switched over to digital film projection years ago, and the old projectors are hard to come by. We were unable to find this type of projector in Southern Nevada but were able to rent one from Hollywood (to show the film Friday)."

Call me an elitist or cinematic snob but I was not aware that 35 mm projectors were so hard to come by. It seems like every theater I go to in the Bay Area has not one but two 35 mm projectors in the booth. Considering how many screens there are in Las Vegas, it's amazing that all of them have converted to digital and that they didn't keep a 35 mm around. The University of Nevada at Las Vegas didn't have one? They offer a Bachelor of Arts in Film at the institution.

Then I wondered why they chose City Lights. The film was released in 1931 with a full soundtrack including scoring and sound effects but no dialogue. Why not choose one of Chaplin's silent films?

The most amazing part of the article was "Tickets are $10." Do you hear that San Francisco Silent Film Festival? The audience was treated to a philharmonic with over 60 musicians for 10 bucks!

According to Bethany Swain's post on the Henderson Symphony's Facebook page, the official ticket count was 1,217 which puts it on par with the SF Silent Film Festival's better attended screenings. Perhaps this will lead to more film projects by the Henderson Symphony. By the way, Swain is a cellist in the Henderson Symphony.