Month: October 2016

MR. CHURCH

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Mr. Church (Eddie Murphy), Marie (Natascha McElhone) and Charlotte (Britt Robertson).

MR. CHURCH

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

“Mr. Church” is not a tragedy, rather it is more about love and compassion. Eddie Murphy elevates this niche, but every time he attempts a drama, he is ignored.

This film’s theme focuses on the predicament of being poor in America, and about how it gives us the opportunity to nurture each other in its finest sense.

The story features a single mom, Marie (Natascha McElhone), who has one daughter, Charlotte (Britt Robertson as the older Charlotte and Natalie Coughlin as young Charlotte).

Mr. Church (Eddie Murphy) was hired by Richard, Marie’s deceased, married, ex-lover, to cook for her for six months, by which time, Marie is expected to die of cancer.

In return, Mr. Church will not have to worry about his finances for the rest of his life, receiving a lifetime salary.

The little girl, Charlotte, is not provided for in Richard’s will.

By taking this role, Murphy is sure to offend everyone. The racist white will not want him to care for two white women, and the racist Black population will not understand why he would even consider such a subservient Black role.

I get why Murphy’s serious acting is ignored. Except, everyone who sees this film, comes out enthralled by the amount of love that is displayed by every single character in this film.

Little Charlotte grows up to make her own mistakes, coming to the realization that Mr. Church is the only family she has.

Charlotte does pull her moral weight in this story. A poor, white young man, Larson (Christian Madsen) finds that she is his only friend, and allows her to pull him out of his deepest despair.

Mr. Church has his own demons, but through service to others (not just Charlotte and Marie), he redeems himself.

This story rings true. Having been raised by a single mom myself, I found that I could really relate.

We live in a country that worships riches above all else. This can really play havoc on the self-esteem of those who do not make it in such a world.

You usually do not get asked to the prom. You may remember, who cared enough to teach you how to drive a car. And, the belief that you are not worthy of love is hard to shake.

The truth is that we all matter in each other’s lives. We all matter, and we all have the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Mr. Church is a 2016 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Susan McMartin that is well worth the price of admission. Hopefully, it will be out on DVD soon

10/24/16 # Mr. Church

THE ACCOUNTANT

the-accountant

Dana (Anna Kendrick) watches in amazement as the accountant, Chris (Ben Affleck), solves a complex problem.

THE ACCOUNTANT

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

Ben Affleck breaks the geek mold in “The Accountant” as an autistic, mathematics savant. If you know anything about high functioning autism, you may find this an interesting human study.

One of the things that doctors are very careful not to suggest in autism is that it is not caused by poor parenting. This film, however, is very politically incorrect.

In this film, our main character (Ben Affleck as Christian “Chris” Wolff) and his normal brother (Jon Bernthal as Braxton “Brax”) are deserted by their mother, and their colonel father has child abuse badges on his uniform.

The accountant, Chris, has the typical autistic focus and detail orientation, which suits him to a career as an accountant. And, thanks to his father, both brothers develop exceptional abilities in the self-defense arts.

Autistics are famous for feelings disconnect, so it is not surprising that Chris and his brother, equally share this quality, when it comes to killing or hurting others.

Chris’s skillset suits him for working with some pretty shady and powerful types. The world he creates for himself is as a loner, who needs to recover from human interaction and who can disappear at a moments notice.

Autistics are blunt and honest to a fault, and so is our accountant, Chris. His blunt communication style gives rise to many humorous moments in the film. The climax of this film is also such a moment.

His odd behavior is accepted by a sweet, Mid-West couple, who are very grateful for his tax help. They humorously discover his other skills, when he takes up their invitation to come to their property to shoot.

There is romance in this film. Anna Kendrick, of the Twilight film series, plays an accountant, Dana Cummings, who discovers a discrepancy in the books. Chris is called in to track it down. She expresses amazement of his focus and skill.

Our accountant, Chris, responds to kindness. Because of his tendencies, I found their relationship very similar to the vampire series, Twilight, very romantic and very dangerous. I loved the scene where Chris slowly closes the door, as he watches her sleep.

After doing a little research on autism, I discovered that many famous individuals and NFL players have autism. Amadeus Mozart, Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, Andy Warholl, and Albert Einstein, were all famous autistic adults.

And, famous autistic athletes include Michael Phelps, Terry Bradshaw, Pete Rose, Bruce Jenner, Magic Johnson, Jackie Stewart, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Nolan Ryan, Jason Kidd, Greg Louganis, Andy LaRoche, Alex Trevino, Derek Lowe, Scott Eyre, and Tom Gorzelanny.

I found “The Accountant” to be very thought provoking and entertaining.

Famous autistic people:

http://autismmythbusters.com/general-public/famous-autistic-people/

Diagnosis, Causes & Symptoms of autism:

https://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services/tool-kits/100-day-kit/diagnosis-causes-symptoms

10/18/16 # The Accountant

THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK

Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.

THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK

By Marlene Ardoin

Having lived through the Beatle’s phenomena, I cannot believe that it only lasted for four years, 1962 to 1966. This documentary, “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week” beautifully captures their evolution as artists and as leaders, growing up before our eyes.

In the beginning, they appeared to be light-hearted and fun loving. As they traveled the world, 166 concerts in 15 countries and 90 cities, they bumped into existing moral dilemmas.

In the South, there was the question of segregation at one of their concerts, a war in Vietnam was raging and a very large generation of baby boomers were trying to come to terms with their own sexual repression.

By the end of their four years of touring, The Beatles were spent, exhausted and no longer light-hearted. They express sympathy for Elvis. “He had to do it all by himself, at least we had each other.”

In this documentary, they are compared to Mozart in terms of the sheer number of great songs that they wrote during the course of their career. Ringo Starr was the anchor, and each of the three guitarists, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, took turns writing songs. Their songs are timeless and were a reflection of the era in which they lived.

At the end of the documentary, we are treated to the 11 song live concert at Shea Stadium 1965.

The Beatles were the first performers to perform at a sporting arena. After the Ed Sullivan show, the crowds that they attracted were unprecedented. We even get to see their final concert in San Francisco 1966.

A big thank you to director Ron Howard, who completed this film in spite of the lawsuit over Shea Stadium performance.

10/10/16 – # The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years

SNOWDEN

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Edward Joseph Snowden – Real and unreal (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

SNOWDEN

By Marlene Ardoin

What stayed with me after seeing “Snowden”, was the fact that he did not finish high school and that his moral sensibilities were deeply offended while working for the U.S. government.

I am reminded while listening to a radio show, that so many lower income youths join the services to fix their teeth, have a place to live and to get an education. The caller pleads that the government does not have the right to ask them to go against their moral beliefs.

After looking into the reason for Snowden not finishing high school, I discover that his whole family worked for the government, and it just involved the family being relocated and a bad case of mononucleosis.

Snowden chose not to return to high school. He passes the GED test to get his diploma. He has a very high IQ. And, at this point, he decides to take online college courses from Britain, instead. This is not at all the impression I got from the film. In fact, his whole family is missing from this film.

Filmmaker, Oliver Stone, does a good job of playing at our heart strings in his most recent film, “Snowden.” I received the impression that the young Edward Snowden was a victim of circumstances.

As far as his moral beliefs go, he listed himself as a Buddhist, when he enlisted in the Armed Services. So, this is not your normal Ten Commandments kind of a moral upbringing. How could Stone explain this to the American public in his film?

I can relate to the real Snowden, but I wonder if it was decided that the truth may not be sympathetic enough. Stone appears to be on a mission to make Snowden heart-wrenching.

The broken legs, the epileptic seizures and the offending surveillance scenes really do make him worthy of sympathy. I for one, will never have a computer in my bedroom after seeing this film.

There are victims depicted in this film. Edward Snowden may not be one of them.

“Citizenfour,” which won the Oscar for Best Documentary, is recommended as a more truth filled source.

Wiki biography of Edward Snowden:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden

Preview of “Citizenfour”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKkF-X4QLB4