Soy Harry, tus locos, mis muy bonita tio Miguel soy escribe about all sorts of cine y Senor Spike Lee y mucho mas. Yeah yo conozco mis espanol suckie suckie, but so does yours I bet. Vaya con tio mis campaneros!
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Hola, Gringo Grande!!
Soy yo, Tio Miguel again, with yet another (slightly more detailed) report on the goings on around the San Jose Film Fest (aka Cinequest). I, too, was at the Spike Lee Q & A and I took quite a few notes.
Shall we??
The moderator was the city editor of the Village Voice (he was also the producer of The Hurricane).
Basically, this thing was a love fest for Mr. Lee. Everything that came out of his mouth was either uproariously laughed at or applauded vigorously, with a few "Amen!!"s and "Tell it!!"s scattered about.
Mr. Lee basically said that he was just a storyteller (in my opinion, one of the best, but still) and he had a need in him to tell stories. Positive or negative, he is just telling the truth as he sees it.
He gave up some props to Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle" as being one of the first modern films to address the black experience (in showbiz).
He says he hasn't watched "She's Gotta Have It" since he made it. That it's just too painful to watch, simply because he was a much more immature filmmaker at that point. Technically, claims he, it's too "primitive."
He mentioned a very humbling quote from Kurosawa (in his eighties at the time): "There is a universe of film I have yet to learn."
Regarding "She's..." he also stated that the rape scene shouldn't have been there. Looking back that is the one change he would make to the film. That scene was unnecessary. Much applause to that.
He also made an interesting comment regarding all the hoopla surrounding the ending of "Do The Right Thing," when Lee's character throws the garbage can through the pizzeria window. He pointed out that many critics were much more upset about the destruction of property than over the death of Radio Raheem, thereby making quite clear the whole theme of the movie.
Muy interesting, no?
Another point he made was that we have been lulled into thinking that blacks have progressed tremendously (i.e., Denzel getting millions, Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, etc.). But, he said, "We (blacks) need to become The Gatekeepers." Meaning, there needs to be much more diversity amongst the people who actually make the decisions about what movies get made, what music gets played, what tv shows get on. That was one of the points of "Bamboozled."
On the other hand, he said "We've been 'bamboozled'" so many times, I thought I was going to puke. He switched to 'hornswaggled' near the end of the Q & A, thereby preventing a nasty spill.
I left out some other things (the 'mystical negro' comments, comments about QT) since Dorm Log wrote about them as well.
I will close with something that happened near the end of the session: at one point the moderator (who happened to black, I must point out), referred to the ability of blacks to "make it," and flat out said "[Hollywood] is not a closed club." At that point Spike just grinned, rolled his eyes, and shook his head sadly.
Point. Game. Match.
Part III of my Cinequest report, detailing most if not all of the other movies and shorts I've been a witness to, will be coming shortly.
Until then, mis amigos, keep the cerveza cold and the tamales hot.
Adios gingros,
Tio Miguel
And now for the film reviews our wacky cousin sings away....
Hola Harry!
'Tis I, Tio Miguel, again reporting from the San Jose Film Fest (Cinequest). I was able to squeeze in 8 films this past weekend, and a few of them were pretty darn good.
Shall we?
THE GOOD FILMS:
SHOE SHINE BOYS: Written and Directed by Mikki Willis. Labeled as "A black comedy by white trash for all colors," this is one effing funny movie. A couple of 17-year-old idiots (Matt and Eddy) decide to pull off a great prank/publicity stunt: they're going to steal the Olympic torch and hold it for ransom. The famous runner carrying it, however, won't let it go. They're forced to kidnap her and hide her in Eddy's parent's basement. Just for a while. Frankly, any movie that features cameos of Hank The Angry Drunken Dwarf (lip-synching "Take My Breath Away") and of Rudy Ray Moore (DOLEMITE!!) already has my money in its hip pocket. The direction is tight and intelligent and the script is well-written and hilarious (sample: "Why does everyone think I'm a racist?? Just because I'm a white skinhead who has guns and a black hostage??") This was the best movie I saw all weekend. The director will be shooting a horror film next, "The Meek." In the meantime, check out shoeshineboys.com.
GIBTOWN: A documentary about Gibsonton, Florida, the place where all the carnies/showpeople go between December and May (when they're not on the road). Nothing really new here, but the carnies (more so than in other documentaries) come off as very natural and normal people who have had extraordinary lives. The thing that struck me after watching this film was that most of the people interviewed were in their 60's and 70's. The traveling carnival/10in1/whatever you call it is quickly fading from existence in America, and not many youngsters are growing up ready to run away and join the circus. Ultimately this becomes a slightly sad tale of the death of an American tradition, symbolized by a senior citizen midget wearing a hearing aid, still eating fire.
ASHES TO ASHES: This was in the "Mindbenders" shorts program, and it was terrific. A rather morose couple (both named "Ashley Carter") attend funerals, wakes, and will readings, while having a rather, ahem, dead sex life. At one will reading they discover that they have been left a wonderful gift by someone they never even knew. Directed by Mike Stamm, I highly suggest you track this puppy down.
LOVE, SEX, AND KUNG FU and THE OFFICE PARTY: These were both two shorts from the "Comedy Favorites" program. "Kung Fu" is, basically, two guys sitting around, flipping channels and making comments on what they see. Kind of MST3K-like, but you never see the guys, just hear their voices. Only 7 minutes, and very funny. "Office Party" stars some very familiar faces (Dave Atell, Jon Stewart, Carol Kane) and flashes back and forth between a wild office party and the next morning's aftermath. Terrific short flick--that Robertson Memo's good shit, man.
BUNNY: Two immigrants have trouble finding jobs in America until someone hooks them up with this strange city-funded project where they dress up as bunnies, stand on street corners, and wait for people to approach them. Some people spill their problems all out, some just pat their heads, some start sobbing and hold onto them tightly, and one or two just rub them...sensually.... This movie started slowly, and made me more and more engrossed minute by minute. Even though I thought the ending was a tad melodramatic, it was still quite powerful. Give it a chance.
LADY IN THE BOX: Darren Burrows (from Northern Exposure) plays a bartender who has a weird customer make him a weird proposition: dump this old crate out into the bay for $500.00. He agrees and instantly regrets it. After the deed is done, he goes back to his house to find that his very new girlfriend is missing and there's about a gallon and a half of blood splashed everywhere (along with a hunk or two of hair--yuck). Is she dead? Was that her body? How did that customer know her? And why him, of all people? By the end of this movie, all of the loose ends have been tied up and you've enjoyed a fairly fun roller coaster. A couple of illogical things (i.e., blood dripping from a corpse that's been dead a long time) are just plain dumb, but overall this is a good flick.
THE CRAPPY FILMS:
LANSDOWN: This thing was like "Fargo LITE" as performed by the Bumfuck Iowa Repertory PLayers. Man being cheated on hires two stupid mooks to rub her out, but they kill the wrong person. Hee yuck. Very unfunny, badly acted, with some very clunky dialogue (and outrageous accents) coming out of their mouths. Left this bastard early.
G MEN FROM HELL: Oh, how I wanted to like this movie. I really really wanted to like it. Based on Michael Allred's "Grafik Muzik." comic book, this is the story of two G Men who get killed and then escape from hell and set up as private detectives to try and clear their name. I mean, Chris Coppola directing, with Robert Goulet as the devil and Bobcat Goldthwait as a bad guy--how could this go wrong?? By being boring, that's how, kids. It's a shame when you can say that the credits are better than the rest of the movie. And they are. William Forsyth does his G Man well by playing incredibly straight and narrow. Tate Donovan as the other G Man, however, couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. This is a mess.
That's it for now, my little chihuahuas. Pour me a tall cold one and vamos al Titty Twister!
Arriba! Andale!
Adios,
Tio Miguel
