Captain Spaulding's Cinematic Catalogue

Super Fly
(Gordon Parks Jr., 1972)

So far my experience with blaxploitation is limited. I've seen a few of the more popular films, like Shaft, Coffy, Foxy Brown, and the hilarious 2009 spoof Black Dynamite, but, outside of those few films, I'm still just a jive turkey when it comes to this particular sub-genre. Sadly, I didn't find Super Fly to be all that fly, but I did enjoy the rough, gritty, 70's aesthetic, as well as the role reversals within the film, which sees a cocaine dealer as the protagonist and the cops--- or "The Man"--- as the antagonists. The best part of the film is the excellent soundtrack, with Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman" being a particular highlight. (Super Fly is one of the rare, albeit appropriate, instances where the soundtrack outgrossed the film.) There's a fight scene near the end of the film that is so badly choreographed that it becomes hilarious. There's also a sex scene that had me cracking up due to all the awkwardly extreme close-ups. I wasn't too impressed with Ron O'Neal's performance as the titular character. He looks cool and he acts cool, but he lacks the screen presence required for the role. In a better film, his character would've been the sidekick. I still enjoyed Super Fly despite its numerous faults, but it's nowhere near as entertaining as the few other blaxploitation films I've seen.


Robin and Marian
(Richard Lester, 1976)

My knowledge of Robin Hood is mostly relegated to the 1973 animated Disney film (which I haven't seen since I was five or six years old), so I'm not sure if that helped or hampered my enjoyment of this entertaining, rarely discussed film. I'm guessing the former, since the bold decision to revisit such legendary characters when they're older and slower and less efficient might tarnish their heroic image in the eyes of some fans. (You know, kind of like watching Michael Jordan play for the Washington Wizards. Or, for an analogy more apropos to this forum: like watching Travis Bickle ham it up in Meet the Fockers.) However, despite my ignorance with the folklore legend, I really enjoyed Robin and Marian. The presence of Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn elevates the quality of the movie. Thanks to their wonderful chemistry, I enjoyed the romance in the film just as much as I enjoyed the action/adventure aspects. There's a lot of good-natured fun and humor throughout the film. (When Marian, after not seeing Robin for twenty years, says, "You never wrote," he responds, "I don't know how!") The fights and swordplay are appropriately awkward and clumsy, since Robin, with his stiffening joints, is slowly losing his battle with Father Time. It's both sad and humorous to see his heroic spirit hindered by an aging body. The ending is very touching and bittersweet. Robin and Marian won't make any 70's lists, but it's a fun, enjoyable movie.


All That Jazz
(Bob Fosse, 1979)

The musical is my least favorite genre, but after seeing Cobpyth recommend All That Jazz a few times on this forum, and especially after reading his excellent write-up about it in his Favorite Movies thread, I decided to disregard my musical bias and give it a try. At least the song-and-dance numbers in All That Jazz are within the context of Broadway instead of the random everyone-burst-into-song! moments that I hate so much in traditional musicals. The dance choreography throughout All That Jazz is spectacular. Roy Scheider gives a soul-baring performance as the over-worked, over-sexed, over-drugged director/choreographer. I admire the increasingly strange, dreamy nature of the second half. I've yet to see any of Bob Fosse's other work, but, from what I understand, All That Jazz is essentially Fosse holding up a mirror to examine his own demons and faults, since much of the movie reflects his own reality. All That Jazz is a personal, one-of-a-kind movie that mixes song and dance with a dark character study and adds a tinge of Fellini-esque surrealism. Having said all of that, however, I respect All That Jazz much more than I actually like it. Apparently I'm only a big fan of musicals that feature Tim Curry in drag.

The Monuments Men
(George Clooney, 2014)

When trailers for The Monuments Men first aired, a lot of people expected it to be a potential Best Picture nominee. Then the release was delayed until February, a time when studios typically dump their cinematic waste into theaters. According to reports, the postponement was so Clooney could have extra time in post-production to tweak the tone of the picture. I call bullsh!t. I think they pushed back the release date to lower expectations. Oscar buzz? Not for this waste of potential. The based-on-true-events story in Monuments Men is fascinating stuff, so why is the movie so damn dull? Things happen, but there's never any tension or danger or forward momentum. The death of a character is received with a shrug, since the characterization is too uninspired to make us care. I expected the talented, likable cast to share a sense of camaraderie and fun, but they never get the opportunity to do so since they're rarely on screen together. At the core of the movie is the provocative question of whether or not art is worth the risk of human lives, but instead of examining that question with depth or thoughtfulness, The Monuments Men treats it in the same haphazard fashion as its plot and pace and characters. This isn't a terrible movie (although my comments probably make it seem that way), but it is a major disappointment.


Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
(Thor Freudenthal, 2013)

It feels like a lifetime ago since I watched the first Percy Jackson movie, and although I can't recount a single thing that happened in it, I do remember being marginally entertained by it. The premise behind the books--- Greek gods and goddesses have modern-day human offspring--- is kind of cool. If I was younger, I probably would have read the books and enjoyed them. Unlike the first movie in the series, though, Sea of Monsters seems to exist solely for those who are already familiar with the books. Watching this movie was a bit like returning to class after several days of absences, since numerous references to other characters and events went over my head. Sea of Monsters relies heavily on exposition and special effects, the latter of which varies wildly in quality. The movie is structured as if it's one short chapter after another, with the characters continuously finding themselves in a dangerous predicament, only to conveniently discover a useful gadget or previously hidden power that allows them to escape. This pattern repeats itself until the credits, so there's never any real sense of excitement or tension. Even dead characters magically spring back to life, so the stakes are non-existent. If I was ten-years-old or if I had grown up reading the books, I probably would've enjoyed Sea of Monsters. Instead, though, I was mostly just asking myself, "Why the hell am I watching this?"


Pompeii
(Paul W.S. Anderson, 2014)

Like with Sea of Monsters, I probably should've been asking myself the same question: "Why the hell am I watching this?" After all, when you see "Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson" in the opening credits, you know the movie isn't going to be very good. But at least his movies don't strive to be anything but the mindless schlock they are. For that reason, Mortal Kombat will always be one of my favorite guilty pleasures, and I've enjoyed a few of Anderson's other movies in the turn-off-your-brain-and-just-have-fun sense. Pompeii can now be added to that list, despite how derivative, formulaic, clichéd and poorly-acted it is at times. In Pompeii, Anderson gives us a poor-man's attempt at Gladiator-style action sequences, a doomed romance in the vein of Titanic, and a bombardment of CGI-laden destruction that would make even Roland Emmerich squeal in delight. Like the inevitable volcanic eruption, you can predict everything that happens in this movie, yet it still delivers occasional thrills and excitement. Kiefer Sutherland hams it up as the dastardly villain. Emily Browning exists as the damsel in distress. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko from Lost) is a bad ass with an axe. It's unfortunate that the lead--- Kit Harington--- is too concerned with being a pretty boy to bother acting. He's a bland presence with zero personality, and he is unconvincing as both a warrior and as a love interest. Replace him with a more charismatic actor and Pompeii could've been a halfway decent popcorn flick. I wouldn't willingly watch Pompeii again, but thanks to the movie's brisk pace and my low expectations, I still had fun with it.