Movie Review- Charlie Bartlett with Robert Downey, Jr.

This film is a unique look at today's high schools and the choices/pressures faced by todays students.. Think of it as today's "Rock and Roll High School" but on designer drugs. The big difference is that this movie has a message and draws a conclusion.

As seen thru the eyes of a former prep school boy suddenly thrust into a Public High School, Charlie Bartlett comes to understand power and the great responsibility that goes with it. At the same time he and the Principal, played by Downey, both come to understand that we are all equally screwed up. And that can be a strength, rather than a weakness, when we let it serve to unite us.

With crisp and clear performances by all this is a very unusual film and worth the time.

Today Is My Birthday!

This is me the day I was born. At 3 AM my Mom woke my Dad and they had to get a cab to take them to the hospital. We wouldn't have a car until I was about 3 years old. My Dad, having waited on my older brother's arrival for 12 hours, figured he had enough time to go out and get something to eat and pick up a present for my Mom. He got back and fell asleep in the waiting room, waking up at about 10:30AM and wondering how my Mom was doing.

Approaching a nurse, he asked, in that timid way that only expectant Fathers can,how my Mom was doing. She looked at him as if he were the dumbest thing she had ever laid eyes upon when she informed him that my Mom had given birth to me several hours ago at about 7:47 AM.

I know this story as my Mom told it to me every year for the 30 years of my life that she was here. I never got tired of hearing it and I never get tired of telling it. Hell, I was almost born in the taxi! And to top it off I was a full breech baby- arriving feet first- ready to hit the road. You can see it in the picture, my fists are all balled up and I'm leading with my left, holding back that right until it's needed.

Here I am today, at 55. I don't see much of a difference. However,feel free to draw your own conclusions. I just know that I wouldn't be who I am if it hadn't been for all of the colorful,and not so colorful, people that I have met along the way.

So, from all of me to all of them- Happy Birthday to all of us! And thanks...

Movie Review- Nanking with Mariel Hemingway and Woody Harrelson

This is a movie that needs to be seen. The Rape of Nanking has been covered in many books and documentaries before. But never with the intensity of this one.

Mariel Hemingway and Woody Harrelson potray the 2 American Diplomats who refused to close the Embassy and flee. Along with Stephen Dorff playing the Nazi businessman who also found himself morally bound to remain and help, this documentary reaches out and draws you in. It becomes real to you.

The insanity of war aside, the horrors of war crimes are particularly applicable today, when all sides seem to have lost their collective reason.

Remember, this is a documentary, not a movie as I had expected. The stars mentioned appear only as characters reading from their own diaries and letters. It is an intensley researched film. Also of note is that the Chinese witnesses and diplomats speak in Chinese with English subtitles. This adds to the multi-national color of the story.

And the back story is the co-operation betwen the Nazi run German Embassy and the United States as they try to avert the impending tragedy. A strange alliance considering what would take place in only a few short years.

A worthwhile experience, this docu-drama will affect you. And that's what makes this film so important.

Movie Review- A Man For All Seasons with Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw

I'm not much of a fan of old English Royalty type films. This movie however is an exception. It explores the battle of wills between Sir Thomas Moore and King Henry the Eighth. The battle, of course, stemmed from the King wanting his childless marraige to his wife Anne annulled.

Sir Thomas' silence on the subject was tantamount to a rebuke of the King as well as the hypocrisy of the aristocracy. Retribution was sure to come. And come it does.

With strong performances from Shaw as the King (he positively roars at times)and equally matched by Paul Scofield as his quiet but firmly defiant Royal Adversary,this film will keep you engaged and interested.

The direction keeps the film flowing and the portrayal of Oliver Cromwell by Orson Welles will chill you with it's utter ruthlessness.

This film was first released in 1966 and won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. I don't know how I missed this one...

And I hope you don't.

Movie Review: Kind Hearts and Coronets with Dennis Price and Alec Guiness

Dennis Price plays Louis Descoyne in this brillant British send up of murder mysteries. He plays 13 parts. Narrated by Alec Guiness,this movie is a gem.

When his mother is cast out of the family her son is denied his rightful title of Earl. This leads him to not getting the woman he loves who is only interested in money and power.

When his Mother dies he vows to attain his righful place as Earl. To do this he must ingratiate himself with his estranged family.(All played by Dennis Price.) After becoming acquainted with them one by one,he kills them, one by one,each murder bringing himself one step closer to the title he so eagerly covets.

When he is accused of the one murder he didn't commit, he is sentenced to hang. Recognizing the irony of it all he proceeds to pen his memoirs the night before his execution. When dawn arrives and with it a Pardon, he joyfully leaves the cell a free man.

But a last minute twist of fate, which rivals anything by O. Henry, leaves you with no doubt that crime- while attractive- does not always pay. And things are never quite what they appear to be.

Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascomb

Neal Bascomb writes in a pulse pounding way that brings urgency to the topic at hand.

When he opens this book on Garibaldi Street outside of Buenos Aires, we already know what is going to happen. But as you are waiting for the bus to arrive you find yourself worried when it is late, that something has gone wrong. This is writing at it's best.

In recounting the tale of one of the largest manhunts in history Mr. Bascomb provides background on all of the lead characters. He also skillfully weaves in and out of the politics that wrought these events.

I was 7 years old and living in Brooklyn, New York when Israels' Mossad kidnapped Eichmann from Argentina and tried him for murder. He was found guilty and hung. I had seen the documentaries about his capture and trial but never gave much thought as to exactly how he got to Argentina in the first place.

I always assumed that Eichmann, along with thousands of other former Nazi's, went there immediatley after the war was over. This is not true.

Eichmann wound his way through several American detention camps in Europe at the close of the war, escaping several times. He carefully kept his identity hidden through the use of false documents provided by an extensive network of former Nazi's.

Mr. Bascomb takes us on a journey through the mountains of Germany and Austria showing us Eichmann on the run. He works as a lumberjack for 18 months before finally making his way to Genoa. From there he obtains the necessary Visa's and Passport to travel to Argentina. His new name is Ricardo Klement.

Carefully woven into the story is the subplot of why Argentina became the haven for former Nazi's. This involved Juan Peron's government and their quest for industrial leaders to become a major power in South America. Ironically, the Argentine government declared war on Germany a few weeks before the war ended. In this way they would remain unlinked to the war crimes trials that were going to take place. Argentina had been the main intelligence gathering point for the Germans during the war, while carefully retaining "neutrality."

This book reads like a master spy thriller. With the Haganah team tracking every possible lead Eichmann still manages to board the Giovanna C in Genoa and actually makes it to Argentina. There he uses his experience as an Architect to gain some employment with the government.

Simon Weisenthal plays a large role in keeping the fires lit so that the search will not die. His efforts are instrumental in bringing Eichmann to justice. A group of Israeli operatives, who have a very personal stake in this chase, are relentless in their pursuit and capture of Eichmann in Argentina.

This book covers the years 1945 through the trial and verdict in 1961. During those 16 years there was always someone looking for Eichmann. With every false report of his death Eichmann hopes that he has eluded his past. He rationalizes his role in the Final Solution as having only obeyed orders.

His wife and children eventually arrive in Argentina. Mr. Bascomb gives us an up close look at the family and how they coped with living this secret life.

This book is the result of painstaking research - even utilizing some of Eichmanns' own account of his time on the run.

Eichmann was transported out of Argentina in a steamer trunk aboard an El Al flight to Israel. There he was tried, convicted and hung for his role in the murder of 6 million Jews.

This book lives up to everything I have come to expect from this author. He lures you in, keeps you interested and then delivers the goods.

Movie Review: Talk To Me with Don Cheadle

This is one of those movies based on real life events that we often take for granted.

AM Radio was king in the early 1960's. With fast paced DJ's rapping between songs and commercials often done by the DJ's themselves there was something more intimate about radio back then. But as the Nation changed so did the expectations of the average listener. They wanted something more relevant to what was happening in the community. At Radio Station WOL- 1460 AM in Washington D.C. this was apparent in the falling ratings.

Into this vacumn comes former Inmate Petey Greene. A chance meeting with the Program Director of WOL during the latters' visit to a relative in prison leads Greene to believe that he has a job waiting for him at WOL when he gets out. He has been doing "broadcasts" inside the Correctional Facility and fancies himself to be a top notch DJ.

When he is released after a very comical situation he heads straight back to D.C. and his old girlfriend (played by Taraji P. Henson and you gotta love her in this role!) Together they invade WOL to claim His job.

WOL is a Black Soul station run by a stuffed shirt white guy, played by Martin Sheen. The black Program Director, Dewey Hughes,is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.He
promises,and then manages to deliver,the job as DJ. The repurcussions of this dramatic change are worth seeing.

The lead DJ at the station, "The Hawk",is played with great effect by Cedric the Entertainer. His story could provide a whole other movie! And his potrayal of the "Nighthawk" is right on the money. He has issues with the new DJ that ultimatley get worked out to everyones satisfaction.

With the racial divisions of the 1960's as a backdrop and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Greene rises quickly to fame. He is changing the way radio is done. He is the precursor to Richard Pryor, Howard Stern, even George Carlin.

But the forces of commercialism and profit propel Greene on a stairway to stardom that he neither wants nor is looking for. It all comes apart when he appears, unwillingly, on The Tonite Show and realizes that he has nothing to say to white America. So he fades away at the height of his popularity.

But he left his mark forever on the media in the form of the freedoms we take for granted today. The movie is very fast paced and with a tremendous soundtrack of Motown and Soul Music this movie is worth the time. First released in 2004 I don't know how I missed this one!