Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, the "Mother of the Blues," is the title character of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Her band is there to perform the music her way. Viola Davis perfectly embodies Ma's dominating personality, but Chadwick Boseman, in his final role, equally dominates the film as her trumpeter, Levee.

Anyway, it's Chicago in 1927. Levee and the other members of Ma's band, Cutler (Colman Domingo), Slow Drag (Michael Potts) and Toledo (Glynn Turman) assemble to record Ma's latest album. Levee is looking to strike out on his own. He wants to re-arrange the title song to something jazzier. But the others aren't won over by his attitude. Neither is Ma, who arrives late to the session with her girlfriend, Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige) and nephew, Sylvester (Dusan Brown). The conflicts within the band eventually explode.

The film was directed by George C. Wolfe, who, among his theatre credits, directed both parts of Angels in America. The screenplay was adapted by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who also starred in Wolfe's Jelly's Last Jam. The resulting ninety-four minutes are dynamic. No scene or bit of dialogue is wasted in the transition. We get to know the characters and how life treated them. You'll barely notice the story's stage play origins. 

Boseman as Levee leaves the strongest impression. He's introduced as a swaggering dreamer ready to hit it big. He's so full of himself that he doesn't care how he'll make it. But he's not some naïve fool. We understand his persona with some intense monologues. He's just waiting to erupt with rage and he finally does so. The climax sees him at his scariest and most unreasonable. 

Now for the title character. The film wastes no time establishing her persona. We see her argue with a cop after a traffic accident outside the studio. We see her march in over her manager, Irvin, and producer Sturdyvant. She quickly shoots down Levee's arrangement idea. She's difficult, but we understand her. We see her world-weariness in her disheveled face (great makeup work). She needs to be heard by the uncaring world. And if she'll be a diva, so be it. Davis's performance gives the film another strong note.

There are some great technical stars. Editor Andrew Mondsheim opens the film with a great montage establishing Ma's presence in the 20's. The recording of the title song is an excellent musical sequence … which amplifies the disappointment when it's revealed the microphone is busted! Cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler draws a contrast between the claustrophobic recording studio and the vibrant Chicago outside. He and production designer Mark Ricker paint an apt metaphor for Levee's situation near the end. Nowhere to go. Costume Designer Ann Roth and the sound designers also deserve whatever praise comes their way.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is another strong addition to an unusual film year. The next Oscars are in April, so you have plenty of time to see it on Netflix. I mean, neither you or Oscar will forget its stars. They won't let you forget. Keep in mind that it doesn't end happily for all. 

Wonder Woman 1984

While Zack Snyder finishes his version of Justice League, Patty Jenkins continues the adventures of one of the League's best. Wonder Woman goes straight from World War I to the Cold War in the aptly named Wonder Woman 1984. It's not as awful as some reviews have stated. Let's see why.

In the titular year, Diana (Gal Gadot) works at the Smithsonian as an anthropologist. She also fights crime as Wonder Woman. The two professions meet when, after a robbery, the FBI hands Diana a bunch of stolen goods. One of them is a "Dreamstone" which grants wishes the Monkey's Paw way. She accidentally wishes Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), who perished in World War I, back from the dead. But it's in another man's body. And also, because of her wish, her formidable physical powers vanish.

Meanwhile, dirt broke businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) merges with the stone and becomes the world's richest genie. But the Monkey's Paw rule brings the world straight into World War III. The only way to undo the damage is to get everyone to renounce their wishes. It's painful for Diana, but easier for her than her co-worker, Barbara (Kristin Wiig), who wished herself some confidence and won't give it up without a fight.

Jenkins and her co-writers Geoff Johns and Dave Callaham keep it going decently for 151 minutes. It starts off with young Diana participating in her home island, Themyscira's version of the Olympics. It does thematically set-up the film's McGuffin. The "present day" opening gives Diana plenty of comical superheroics on the way to the robbery. Diana thwarting the robbery is a spectacular sequence. The film spends its time developing its characters in some engaging scenes. It's a slow plot, but it's got some good ideas.

Perhaps the best ideas come from the villains. Pascal as Lord starts off as a vapid 80s tycoon. But we see how he's trapped by his public persona. He becomes an misguided megalomaniac when he merges with the stone. But fortunately, Diana is able to make him see the error of his ways. Wiig as Barbara goes from likable to vicious during the movie. She makes a great personal antagonist for Diana, especially when she becomes The Cheetah. 

Gadot is still engaging as Diana/Wonder Woman. We see her as lonely and world weary; seems understandable for someone as long-lived as her. We can understand why she would hesitate to renounce her wish. Whether one can empathize with it is apparently a deal breaker for some reviewers. But her taking action as Wonder Woman is awesome. Her chemistry with Steve is still endearing.

Production Designer Aline Bonetto, Cinematographer Matthew Jensen and Costume Designer Lindy Hemming return to produce a vibrant world for Diana to inhabit. The film looks great whether it's on Themyscira or a Washington DC Mall. The Cheetah was created with CGI, but it looks so much like prosthetic makeup. It's just that good. Hans Zimmer adds to the aural excellence with his score. It's mostly subdued but it amplifies the emotional moments.

Wonder Woman 1984 is a good diversion from the dour real world. It's a spectacular blockbuster even if it's not as resonant as the first film. I'd say it's worth the price of an HBO Max subscription. It's also wherever there are movie theaters. See it whichever legal way you can. Nothing can top the dreariness of the current news cycle.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

It's Christmas time, again. So let's finally look at another rendition of a Charles Dickens novel. David Copperfield, essentially Dickens' autobiography, has been rendered many times before. This time, it's Armando Iannucci's turn to tell The Personal History of David Copperfield.

It's kind of a long title. But nowhere near as long as the novel's full title: The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account).

David Copperfield (Dev Patel) tells the audience, both in-story and the real world, about his life. Born to a widowed mother, young David (Jairaj Varsani) is abused by his stepfather, Mr. Murdstone (Darren Boyd), who sends him away to a workhouse. His family there is the eccentric debt-ridden Micaawbers. When David's mother dies, he tells the Murdstones off and he goes to his also eccentric Aunt Betsey (Tilda Swinton). David soon finds employment with Mr. Spenlow (Matthew Cottle), falls for his daughter, Dora (Morfydd Clark), then rises to become a famous storyteller.

Iannucci and co-writer Simon Blackwell re-arrange or edits out bits of the novel for a nicely paced two hours. The storytelling devices make it a fun and unique take. David's introduction, addressing a Victorian audience, calls to mind Dickens' live-readings of A Christmas Carol. He literally walks through the first years of his life. Flashbacks are projected on the walls like movies. There's even a bit of silent movie undercranked wackiness. Mr. Micawber's (Peter Capaldi) introduction sees him deftly evade creditors like Chaplin or Keaton. Still, Murdstone abusing David wasn't fun at all. 

Dev Patel as David is very much the hero of his own story, and an engaging one at that. But the eccentric characters along the way are quite memorable. Swinton as Betsey is hysterical, as is Hugh Laurie as her friend, Mr. Dick. Clark is great as Dora, as well as David's mother, Clara. Boyd as Murdstone is a cruel and contemptible villain. Ben Whishaw stands out as the sniveling, scheming Mama's boy, Uriah Heep. Capaldi as Mr. Micawber, though, is the best of the ensemble. Bennett Wong and Rosalind Eleazar are also good as Mr. Wickfield and his daughter, Agnes. There's just so many highlights in this great ensemble. 

It's also a great looking and sounding film. The costume designs by Suzie Harman and Robert Worley are striking, but the best is Mr. Micawber's stylish wardrobe. The cinematography and production design is just as vibrant as the costumes. The boat house is a wonderfully unique locale. Christopher Willis's grand score adds to the film's larger-than-life story.

This is certainly Iannucci's most optimistic film. The Personal History of David Copperfield is a crowd-pleasing (even if that crowd is just a household now) film with a wonderful cast of characters. Its lighthearted tone hasn't forgotten how serious Dickens can get, though. But it turns out all right in the end. Although it came out in August, this film is sure to make a great holiday movie. 

The Witches

 What happened to my good movie year? I had a lot of good movies lined up to see this year and now, zilch. My movie year's been cursed. Must have been a witch.

Yeah, witches.

Now that my family has HBOMax, it's time to make my comeback with another Roald Dahl cinematic rendering. The Witches was already conjured to the cinematic plane in 1990. A film best remembered for its main villain, creepy PG-rated special effects and makeup work and driving the terminally ill Dahl to publicly protest its altered ending. Wonder how he'd take to this rendering?

The unnamed narrator (Chris Rock) tells the audience about his youth. As an orphan boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno), he's sent to his also unnamed grandma (Octavia Spencer) in Alabama. He encounters an obviously evil lady offering him candy, but he doesn't fall for it. Good call. The lady, as grandma explains, is a witch who seek to rid the world of kids. Grandma and Grandson head for a hotel for safety.

Unfortunately, they arrive in time for a convention of witches led by The Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) herself. She plans to turn all the kids in the world into mice. She demonstrates her new mousifying potion on another kid, Bruno (Codie-Lei Eastick) and then, the narrator himself. The rest of the movie is about them, a fellow mousified kid named Mary (Kristin Chenoweth), and Grandma as they prevent the witches from enacting their plot even further.

Director Robert Zemeckis cowrote the film with Guillermo Del Toro and Kenya Barris. Anyone who's seen the first film will recognize the same story beats albeit with some divergences. Its ending is closer to Dahl's. Its first 45 minutes or so go by pretty quickly thanks to good acting from Spencer and Bruno. Its special effects whiplash the film's tone, though. Some scenes are scary (see Grandma's friend Alice get chickenized), while some are silly (mousified victims get rocketed into the air). The digital creatures are just too obvious. Overall, it's nowhere near as nightmarish as the first film.

The other technical elements mix together better. Gary Freeman's production design and Don Burgess's cinematography paint a suitably gothic picture. The Hotel and Grandma's house make for memorable locations. The makeup department conjurs up creepy images for the Witches' true forms. While their three-clawed hands and fanged Glasgow grins are CGI, I can't tell if their toeless feet are. Let's not forget another great score from Alan Silvestri to set the intended tone.

Let's talk about some of the stars. Hathaway as The Grand High Witch is best when she's subtle. She vaporizes a Witch who asked her about the logistics of her plot and only a second later considers it a valid point. Her Grand High Villain Speech a bit earlier is a bit much, especially with her flying and her Glasgow fangs. Spencer as Grandma is equally warm and formidable. As stated before, her bonding with her Grandson helps make the time go by. And finally, Stanley Tucci makes the most of his smaller screentime as hotel manager Mr. Springer.

If anything, this version of The Witches is an ok enough representation of the story. A bit more work on the visual effects could've helped the verisimilitude. But there's still some creepiness in the cauldron. It's a decent home matinee if you have HBOMax. For everyone else, there's regular HBO or eventual physical media.