Miracle At St. Anna by James McBride

Ever get so caught up in someone else's story that you are there? You feel yourself a participant or bystander in the action. Your heart races when danger is imminent and you're awash with relief when the group reaches relative safety. James McBride's Miracle at St. Anna does just that. Descriptions of war and beauty and human suffering that can only be experienced in one's innermost parts reverberate in the mountains and foothills of the Italian landscape. The dramatic, descriptive prose manages to maintain an element of suspense that keeps the reader/partaker feeling as though the novel is perpetually leading up to something (in a good way). The Buffalo Soldiers, like McBride's proud uncle who inspired the book, aren't simply characters, they are undeniably human with flesh that wounds and bleeds red blood, hearts that pound with joy in pleasant moments and sorrow at loss, and minds that are forced by circumstance to grapple with unholy realities. Read Miracle at St. Anna and experience an oft-ignored part of the Good War.

P.S. – Then watch Spike Lee directed movie adaptation released in 2008 with the tagline - World War II has its heroes and its miracles.

Untraceable

I found traces of the predictable in Untraceable. We all knew the good guy would die and that the game would prove a pivotal factor but predictability is par for the course in suspense thrillers. I easily forgave this misstep because the movie has gruesome killing and a plot, with an Asian false lead no less (or am I giving too much credit here?). Attempts at serious reflection rendered trite dialogue that interrupted the flow like Crazy Eddie commercials during The Cosby Show but were few enough in number to keep me from screaming insanely. This anemic moviegoer welcomed the touches of irony, especially when presented subtly in the settings (pay attention, you must!) though I didn’t know if I should blame the film’s editor (David Rosenbloom) or screenwriters (Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker, and Allison Burnett) for the fill-in-the-blank style plot progressions. Someone suggested the director Gregory Hoblit, omitted these expendable details. Altogether, the 21st century Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes in each of us can enjoy this modern murder mystery.

Citizen Kane

Sometimes we look at lists of the greatest anythings of all time and openly wonder why certain old films, movies, ballplayers, etc. make those lists. After watching Citizen Kane again the other night it’s still abundantly clear why it’s considered one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, film of all time. Orson Welles’ classic still holds up to the test of time and is worthy of all the praise it’s earned. Following an intrepid reporter seeking the real back story of who Charles Foster Kane was in order to create a proper story on his life we get all the information about Kane at the same time the reporter does with no extra details until the very end. There are dozens of examples of why this film is great, one of my favorites is a beautiful illustration of how distant Kane was from his second wife. The two sit at opposite ends of a room nearly a hundred feet from each other, he in his chair and she by the fireplace, with nothing but space between them, and have a conversation the only way they can, by shouting. Everything about Citizen Kane is on point. If you haven’t seen it you owe it to yourself to find a time to.

Live Free or Die Hard

Action seekers will find much in this the fourth installation of the previously thought retired Die Hard series. Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis), Mr. Analog living in the digital age, is probably the only anti-hero capable of stopping an American cyber-terrorist plot with his cool humor, calm demeanor, and McGyver-esque tactics. Each of the characters were well chosen including: the nerdy hacker suspect turned indispensable assistant Matt Farrell (Justin Long); the sassy, street-smart teenaged daughter of the hero, Lucy McClane (Mary Elizabeth Winstead); the exotic cyborg? killing machine and mate of the evil genius, Mai Lihn (Maggie Q); and the mildly cartoonish villain himself, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant). Two hours of shots blasted, disasters averted, panicked escapes, jets, planes, and automobiles and I rushed home to brew some green tea to calm my frazzled senses. I do hope director Len Wiseman made sure Mr. Willis had his vitals thoroughly inspected before and after filming. Men his age shouldn't entice the grim reaper with such shocks to their biomechanical systems.

Transformers - Sum's Review

This summer was starting to look like total torture in the world of comic and cartoon adaptations for the big screen. Two hours of Jessica Alba prancing around in tights on botox cocktails wasn’t enough to cut it for The Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and although there’s still hope for the Spiderman series, the last installment was a pain in the ass. Then came Transformers…. Director Michael Bay weaves the epic tail of Autobots vs. Decepticons on a collision course for the Allspark with a huge budget, dope images, explosive altercations and best of all HUMOR. There may have been just a little too much folly, but the fact that we could see Optimus Prime introduce himself with his original voice, or hear Megatron tell Starscream that he’s ‘failed him again’ made up for the few missteps. Add an urgent plot, John Turturro, and some robots with great acting coaches, and you have the beginning of possibly the best adaptation since Batman Begins. Bring on the sequels...this is a must see for the kid in all of us.

Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty, the not quite sequel to Bruce Almighty stars God himself, Morgan Freeman, and one of his funniest straight men, Steve Carell. In this rendering, God touches a vain mortal in a life changing way but, give or take a pop-culture reference, the similarities end here. Release your notions of Jim Carrey’s Bruce and let Steve as Noah, uh Evan, tickle your senses with his personal brand of physical humor. Ok, it isn’t what some expected, but should the Almighty’s sequel be predictable? I think not. The world was long overdue for a light family comedy that doesn’t require us to explain to the kids the thinly veiled violence and sexual innuendo; we get enough of that from commercials and cartoons, green CGI monsters included. Thanks Almighty and the Almighty’s crew for another winner, even though the hipsters weren’t pleased that you didn’t really doom us all.

Waitress

‘Waitress’ is a little bit country, and a little bit off-kilter funk, tragic-romantic, dysfunctional comedy. An amalgamation of peculiar characters that converge into a brilliant, well balanced blend of interesting human ingredients, sorta like those edible ones Jenna (Kerri Russell) uses to create the magnificent pies she’s known for. Jenna’s husband Earl (Jeremy Sisto) is quite disturbing. Veteran actor, Andy Griffith who plays the role of Old Joe, is a certified scene stealer, while Ogie’s (Eddie Jemison) ‘spontaneous poems’ will indeed put a smile on your face. Nathan Fillion as Dr.Pomatta is convincing as mister nice guy awkward, gradually building to become the picture of a slightly flawed knight in shining armor. Dawn (Writer/Director; Adrienne Shelly R.I.P.) is big screen ‘Ugly Betty’ incarnate. Becky (Cheryl Hines; Curb Your Enthusiasm) is satisfyingly humorous. And Cal (Lew Temple) is a side order cook slash restaurant manager who’s much smarter then he let’s on. ‘Waitress’ is a film about, pies, marriage, infidelity, growth, interestingly strange relationships and more pie.

The Hip-Hop Project

The Hip-Hop Project is the latest in a long line of Hip-Hop documentaries. This one follows Chris “Kazi” Rolle in his quest to both work within the arts scene in New York City and point Hip-Hop in a more creative direction. Starting as a group of kids simply wanting to be involved in rap music, The Hip-Hop Project didn’t set out just to create a group, but rather took years to develop the artists involved and really make them complete MCs rather than one dimensional rappers. The film goes in depth with Kazi and two members of the group, Princess and Cannon, illustrating how everyone has their own struggles and no matter how unique those struggles may be, be they teen abortion (Princess), abandonment (Kazi), or the loss of a loved one and subsequent attempted eviction (Cannon), in the end they act as a common bond that unites us all. The growth these young artists go through in the film is impressive and shows that with a little bit of work, and a little bit of introspection, rap music can be just as strong as ever. Inspiring as a whole, The Hip-Hop Project is worth your time.


For more information check out: www.hiphopproject.com.