Lee Daniels' The Butler

DRAMA

Part of History

8.0 out of 10 | DVD

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Rated: PG-13 Thematic elements, sexual material, language, disturbing images, smoking and some violence
Release Date: August 16, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes

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Director: Lee Daniels
Writers: Danny Strong, from an article by Wil Haygood
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Redgrave, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, John Cusack, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Alan Rickman

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SYNOPSIS: An African-American's eyewitness accounts of notable events of the 20th century during his tenure as a White House butler.

REVIEW: Precious director Lee Daniels tackles desegregation, the Civil Rights movement, and the election of the nation's first black president from the point of view of a cotton picker-turned-White House butler, his wife, and children. Written by Danny Strong (Game Change) from the article "A Bulter Served By This Election" written by Wil Haygood.

Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker, The Last Stand) finds himself alone after the death of his father and the growing instability of his mother (Mariah Carey, Precious). Taken in by a kindly plantation owner widow (Vanessa Redgrave, Anonymous), Cecil is taken away from the cotton fields and raised to serve in the house. After several years as a butler, Cecil leaves the plantation and finds work as a server in a hotel in the Washington, D.C. area. In 1955, Cecil is invited to work as a butler in the nation's White House under the Eisenhower (Robin Williams, The Big Wedding) administration. As desegregation issues and Civil Rights become more important to the minorities of America, Cecil finds himself a fly on the wall of several presidents' administration, including Kennedy (James Marsden, Straw Dogs), Johnson (Liev Schreiber, The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Nixon (John Cusack, The Raven), and Reagan (Alan Rickman, Harry Potter series). At the same time as Cecil is privy to the inner sanctum and inner dialogues of the nations political machine, he finds he is unable to relate to a wife (Oprah Winfrey, The Princess and the Frog) and his oldest son Louis (David Oyelowo, Jack Reacher) who strives to become a part of the civil rights movement.

In the 1920s in Macon, Georgia young Cecil work's alongside his father and mother in the fields. Tragedy alone allowed Cecil to learn more than he would have and allow him the ability to venture out prepared into a harsh world. Raised and conditioned to be neither seen nor heard other than to serve Whitaker's Cecil slowly ascends to be pristine position in the presidental White House.

Based on a true story of real White House butler Cecil Gaines, the story revolves around his duties and his family who serve as a backdrop to the trials and tribulations of the decades of the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even the new millennium where African-Americans suffer under segregation as second-class citizens. Cecil shows the audience firsthand what he had to show is his career, his home life, and the politics that he claims he doesn't take part in. Cecil gives the utmost importance to his job, leaving behind his family to struggle through the times for themselves. His wife turns to alcohol-filled infidelity to fill the void that Cecil leaves behind. By trying to make a life better for his family by doing what he was trained to do, Cecil finds that he's unable to relate to his educated and civic-minded son Louis.

The director Lee Daniels puts together all-star cast for this film. Whitaker is no stranger to fine drama. He was riveting in The Last King of Scotland. Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, and Cuba Gooding Jr.  dig into their roles with passion. Robin Williams, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, John Cusack, and Alan Rickman all add their own personal spin on their individual roles as President.

This film, in a little over two hours, tries to balance political evolution with the personal impact that decisions had on the nation's African-American population. There is a lot to experience with over almost 80 year of American history to follow, and Lee Daniels' The Butler serves it well.

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Jack Reacher

Hard Corp

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee and DVD

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Rated: PG-13 - Violence, some drug material and language.

Release Date: December 21, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes

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Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, based on the novel 'One Shot' by Lee Child
Cast:  Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall, Michael Raymond-James, Alexia Fast

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SYNOPSIS: An ex-Army drifter who served as a military investigator in the service is drafted into service again as a civilian when a defense attorney asks him to look into the evidence against a sniper Reacher dealt with before.

REVIEW: Christopher McQuarrie, screenwriter of The Tourist and director of the 2000 The Way of the Gun, writes and directs the first Lee Child novel adaptation of his popular loner anti-hero Jack Reacher, based on the novel 'One Shot'.

A man sets up in a parking garage across the river from the major league ballpark. He selects several targets and fires. In the aftermath, all evidence points to an ex-Army sniper with a classified history of unstable violence. When James Barr (Joseph Sikora, Safe) is arrested, instead of a confession he writes 'Get Jack Reacher'. While the district attorney Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins, Killing Them Softly) and the top Pittsburgh police detective Emerson (David Oyelowo, Lincoln) can not find the ghost named Reacher, Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise, Rock of Ages) appears in Pittsburgh after seeing Barr's face on the news. The daughter of the district attorney, Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike, Wrath of the Titans), is set to get Barr a fair trial and enlists Reacher to be her lead investigator to prove why Barr was so eager to kill so many innocent people. But as Reacher digs deeper and finds the evidence too perfect, he is targeted by seen and unseen menaces with their own hidden agenda.

Lee Child has written several stories centered around his loner drifter anti-hero who wants to be left alone but seems to always find himself in trouble. In Jack Reacher, based on Lee Child's 'One Shot', the writer/director Christopher McQuarrie introduces Jack Reacher through quick narrative to get us caught up with the titular character. While Child's 'The Killing Floor' is Jack Reacher's first appearance, 'One Shot' does introduce Reacher well enough. Lovers of the books may be disappointed in the choice of story, but it serves as a well-suited suspense action and suspense tale.

Another issue that has come to light is the choice of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. While not the prototypical look and physique that the readers had expected, Child put enough faith in Cruise's star power, box-office draw, and talent to give him the go-ahead. And, in my opinion, Cruise delivers. His stoic, squared-jawed, ripped abs, driven performance should be enough to sway most fans of the books. Also, I think Cruise's more handsome, more diminutive stature allows him to seem the underdog in every situation instead of the obvious victor.

Joining Cruise are Richard Jenkins as the secretive and stern district attorney. Rosamund Pike served as the DA's daughter and opposing council who wants to provide Barr a fair trial while thinking that she cannot win. David Oyelowo joins as the lead Pittsburgh police detective, pulling off his best Sydney Poitier, sympathizing with Rodin and Reacher but keeping his eye in all of the evidence against Barr. Partially hidden in shadows, Reacher may not be capable enough to handle the digit-less man only known as The Zec (Werner Herzog, Invincible), his grim ruthless unnamed buzz-cut lieutenant (Jai Courtney, Spartacus: Vengeance), and some local Pittsburgh thuggery led by a man named Linsky (Michael Raymond-James, True Blood).

From the intense shooting gallery scene at the beginning of the film to the climatic showdown in a rainy quarry, Jack Reacher should appeal to the staunchest of action fans. Lovers of the intrigue genre will also be satisfied. there are familiar vignettes as reminders of Lethal Weapon, A Few Good Men, Bullitt, and even The Blues Brothers, letting you know there is action, suspense, and laughs. Yes, laughs! There is great stoic humor in the dialogue and physicality and situations. One particular bathroom brawl is so absurd that it should bring out a tear of laughter.

Jack Reacher would entertain with spills, thrills, intrigue, action and humor. The Lee Child book series fans should get enough from Cruise's characterization of the titular anti-hero to have them clamoring for more of the series to be adapted. "Remember, you wanted this!" 

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Red Tails

Flyboys

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Rated: PG-13  Scenes of war violence and language
Release Date: January 20, 2012
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 min

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Director: Anthony Hemingway
Writers: Jon Ridley, Aaron McGruder
Cast: Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Bryan Cranston, Gerald McRaney

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SYNOPSIS: African American pilots from the Tuskegee training program find themselves in Italy hundreds of miles away from the war front relegated to strafing runs against trains and supply trucks. Under Col. A. J. Bullard's command, these pilots are finally given the opportunity to escort US Air Force heavy bombers into enemy territory.

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REVIEW: Small screen director Anthony Hemingway (The Closer, CSi: NY) makes a move to the big screen and the number one director slot with a film involving Tuskegee Airmen still struggling against racial segregation during World War II. Based on a story and screenplay from John Ridley (Justice League TV cartoon, The Wanda Sykes Show) and screenwriting partner Aaron McGruder (The Boondocks TV cartoon), and based on true events, Red Tails takes the Tuskegee Airmen into the heart of battle and the war.

In Italy, hundreds of miles away from the front line of the war with Germany, the African American fighter pilots from the Tuskegee Airmen training program spend their time running strafing runs against German supply trucks and munition trains that the white fighter pilots have passed over as unworthy of their talents. As the US military in the Pentagon, led by Major William Mortamus (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad), try to mothball the entire program, Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard, Iron Man)  fights his superiors to give his squadron the opportunity to prove themselves on the frontline. Back in Italy, Marty "Easy" Julian (Nate Parker, The Secret Life of Bees) leads his squadron of fighter pilots, including best friend and glory hound Joe 'Lightning' Little (David Oyelowo, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), young gun Ray 'Junior' Gannon (Tristan Wilds, Half Nelson), Samuel 'Joker' George (Elijah Kelley, Dirty Sexy Money), and Andrew 'Smokey' Salem (Ne-Yo, Battle: Los Angeles).

When discussing Air Force pilots in World War II, one of the important components is aerial combat. And using LucasFilm, the aerial dogfights are something of wonder. Hails of bullets, streaking German and American fighter planes, and Flying Fortress bombers, the choreography of the midair chases, disintegrating and exploding planes, falling debris, and more provide the white-knuckle spectacle of battle that serve as the cornerstone of the film. With P-51 Mustangs against the Messerschmitt Bf-109 and the jet propulsion Messerschmitt Me-262, even ace Air Force pilots face overwhelming odds.

The technology that powers the gorgeous aerial battles, also serves to fill in the backdrops and backgrounds throughout the rest of the film. Unfortunately, the glamour in the clouds looks forced on the ground, leading to slightly distracting scenes that would be better served with actual scouted locations. The most real location is the actual base of operations for the squadron, dirty and muddy and tangible.

The supreme challenges that the African American fighter pilots faced on a daily basis, from segregation from the 'whites only' officers' club to the concept that African Americans are inferior soldiers, simply proved that they were superior warriors. Where other fighter pilots escorting the 'heavies', the Flying Fortress bombers, looked to get another downed enemy plane on their resumes, the Tuskegee squadron sacrificed their personal glory and well-being to protect the bombers with little regard for themselves. Protecting the 10-man bombers en route to their bombing targets would save lives and planes.

While the aerial maneuvers are slick, cool and adrenalized, the rest of the story is a little drawn out and spotty. Some scenes are barely there and randomly placed to push the story along. When the 'Red Tails' escort their first bomber convey, the pilots' dialogue tells us that they feel the African American pilot will not be of much support. The audience is smart enough to know enough of the racial issues the pilots faced to not need the concept spelled out to them in forced dialogue. And while most of the chatter between the squadron members is appropriately dramatic or funny, some is stilted and forced.

I cannot express enough the contributions that all of the soldiers of the Second World War sacrificed for their squadron, their service, and their country. Red Tails is visually appealing in the air and interesting enough on the ground, but with some story holes, obvious dialogue, and missed opportunities, it works well for period war popcorn entertainment. If you are looking for deeper drama, this film may leave you grounded.

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WORTH: Matinee or DVD