“A History of Violence” – don’t let the name turn you off.This movie is as much about blood as it is about a family that stays together despite outrageous mayhem.
It opens as 2 men go to great lengths to avoid paying a motel bill and the plot escalates from there.
We meet an owner of a small diner, played by Viggo Mortensen, who comes to the aid of his employees when they are threatened by the 2 motel thugs and becomes something of a hero. His violent response is so quick, so natural and so effective, like second nature?
He becomes a local celebrity and his extreme action in self defense gains interest even outside of his small community. Some guys from out of town pop up to look him over, the accomplished actor Ed Harris is great as the leader, and insist on calling our hero by another name, which he denies, but, he gets this haunted look in his eyes. (Whenever I get to these “UhOh!” moments in any movie, the theme from “Jaws” starts to play softly in my head for a few seconds.)
So, who is he really? These sinister men, former “friends”, refuse to go home. Are they threatening him, are they threatening his wife, played by Maria Bello, and kids? What becomes clear is that our small town diner guy does not want to be found and does not want his family to know how he got his skills.
The family rallies around their dad, or rather they rally against those that want to take him away even though they’re not quite sure why – they want him to remain the man he is in their lives, not go back to whoever he was. As a father, he also wants to protect his family and the nice quiet life he has invented for himself.
Who is tracking him down and why? He closes the diner and takes a trip. He drives back East into his old life to erase it however he can, which is easier said than done. We are introduced to his evil, vengeful brother, played with much fun by William Hurt – and the battle is on.
After much chasing, fighting, and shooting, the father returns home to have breakfast with his family. No one asks where he’s been or why he looks like he’s been put thru a meat grinder. They just pass the eggs.
Written by Josh Olsen and directed by David Cronenberg, the cast is terrific. I enjoyed “A History of Violence”, 2005 (now on DVD) – good movie!
Film remakes – why? If it ain’t broke, why “fix” it? The classic movie in question is “The Women” – from the 1936 play written by Clare Boothe Luce, and then the 1939 screenplay by Anita Loos.
The original, directed by George Cukor, is great fun, with Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, and a whole slew of other terrific actresses. Any attempt to update, revamp, revisit, recreate the magic of this clever, witty film – about a husband who strays and how his wife handles the betrayal – is fraught with danger. The audience (me) may come away with a feeling of disappointment.
Yes, the scenario is still a familiar one, unfortunately, and the situations may seem dated, but the story is also about friendship among “women”, not girls, women. (The concept did not originate with “Sex & the City”.) Some of the aid/advice given is successful, some disastrous, but, that is what makes the movie entertaining.
The current remake of “The Women”, directed by Diane English, comes to theaters in September, 2008. The stellar cast includes, Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett Smith. I’m hoping whatever was done to bring this story into the 21st century, that it still remains a great story for adults and it still makes me laugh.
BTW – In 1956, the movie was made into a musical called, “The Opposite Sex” with June Allyson playing the wronged wife.
There will be another revival of this ground breaking musical as a celebration of its 50th birthday. Previews will begin at the National Theatre in WashingtonDC on 12/16/08, the same theater where it first opened in 1957. It will then move on to Broadway in March 2009.
I love “West Side Story” and I love that I can revisit the ‘61 film on DVD, on CD and at the occasional theater revival. Based on Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, it was transplanted to the 50’s west side of Manhattan with music by Bernstein, lyrics by Sondheim, choreography and direction by Robbins.
On its Broadway opening night, Sept. 26, 1957, there was a question as to whether this musical was a hit or a miss. Neither the critics nor the audience were sure of what they had just seen. But in its existing 50 years, it has proven itself to be the perfect meld of dialogue, music and dance. A supreme example of the Broadway musical, “West Side Story” is a successful vehicle for a much used, tragic scenario.
Many of the songs, “Something’s Coming”, “Maria”, “America“, “Somewhere”, “Tonight”, are still being heard today at weddings, song recitals and Jazz venues. Some are universal love songs, but others are just fun – “Dear Sgt. Krupke”, “I Feel Pretty”.
(“When you’re a Jet you’re a Jet all the way – from your 1st cigarette ‘til your last dying day…”)
We’ve been used to hearing that China has the largest population in the world, 1.3 billion people. However it is still difficult to get your mind wrapped around that number. It sounds like the national debt, mind boggling.
Olympics Opening Ceremony-Jeff Gross/Getty Images
To actually see 15,000 performers begins to put things into perspective. Lets face it “Cats” is a big production by our standards.
Through out the day, radio and T.V. commentators were bubbling about this spectacle (meant in the most positive of terms) almost to the point that I was willing to let it pass by, a little pissed off that NBC would not show it live.
One of the fun things about our new media art, the internet, is that everyone gets a chance to participate. Some of the work has been criticized as amateurish, childish etc. These views miss their mark in my opinion. I think the goal always is to play, otherwise you don’t create projects like First Person Impression or Post Secrets.
You got a story, there are plenty of places for people to hear what you’ve got to say.
A National Competition for Memoir and Documentary Writers, Videographers and Photographers.
Each day countless stories unfold. Take a real life experience of your own and tell it in a way that only you can. Craft your story with words, photos or video. Make the ordinary magical, or the exotic familiar. Shock us, amaze us or make us pause to reflect. The only rule is that it is real.
In this age of email and text messages, every once in awhile you need a stamp! Why not choose one that is pretty, historical and a celebration of black movies?
Ms Josephine Baker’s 1935 movie, “Princess Tam-Tam”, is one of only 4 films she made.It is included in 5 presented on a sheet of 42 cent U.S. postage stamps released on 7/16/08 to highlight black cinema of the 20’s and 30’s. The images are copies of the posters used in black only movie theaters back in the day to announce the coming attractions.
Other stamps in this 42-cent group are:
“The Sport of the Gods”, 1921, the poster proclaims, is based on a book by Paul Laurence Dunbar, “America‘s greatest race poet,” and it adds that the film has “an all-star cast of colored artists.”
“Black and Tan”, a 19-minute film released in 1929 featuring Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra.
“Caldonia”, is another short at 18 minutes, which was released in 1945. It showcased singer, saxophonist and bandleader Louis Jordan.
“Hallelujah”, a 1929 movie released by MGM. It was one of the first films from a major studio to feature an all-black cast.
