Celluloid Butter

Normally, I’m not the type of person that would sit down to watch “another horribly clichéd, emotionally charged, uplifting feel good Oprah movie”, but because I was on my high school debate team I thought I would give Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters a shot. Although it was everything that I thought it would be, Denzel Washington used the genre conventions perfectly, adding just the right amount of drama and powerful monologues to pull on the heartstrings of even a cynic like myself.

The film is loosely based on the true story of the first black college debate team to win the national championship. In addition to directing the film, Denzel Washington plays the radical professor, Melvin B. Tolson who puts together a debate team in at a small all black college in Texas in 1935. The three lead debaters on the team fall into your typical archetypes for an inspirational story such as this. There is the boy genius (Denzel Whitaker), the misunderstood bad boy (Nate Parker), and his love interest (Jurnee Smollett) who also happens to be the first female to ever be on the college debate team.

Although, the film has a rather simple plot, the subtleties of the subplots are what really make this film shine. Taking place in the deep south of the thirties, Washington is able to explore the relationship between racism, poverty, and the fear of communism in ways that other inspirational films would be too afraid to touch. There are scenes that show that even scholarly achievements mean nothing compared to the color or your skin. While showing that in the eyes of the rich landowners, money is the only thing that matters; poor whites are equally as worthless as poor blacks.

The Great Debaters marks Denzel Washington’s second film as director and he proves that he has talent here as well. He and writer Robert Eisele blend history and fiction (much more fiction than history) beautifully to work this story into an uplifting film that might teach as well as inspire.

Over all, I was pleasantly surprised by the film. Other than the few issues I had with the debate cases conveniently matching the real life struggles of the debaters, I thought the film was well written, greatly acted, and highly inspirational. Whether you are an extreme Oprah fan or not, chances are you will be moved by this film’s powerful messages.

The Great Debaters

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: The Great Debaters, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Oprah, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Review, Drama, Racism, Inspirational

Having been born in the early 80’s, like so many others in my generation, I grew up watching the Indiana Jones series. So of course I was both excited and a little concerned with Spielberg and Lucas reviving the series almost 20 years later, considering they are notorious for changing their previous masterpieces for the worse. However, after viewing the film, this Memorial Day weekend, my concerns were calmed and my excitement was satisfied. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that holds up to the high adventure standards of the first three.

One of my biggest concerns, going into this film, was Ford’s age being too much of an obstacle to overcome and we wouldn’t see the whip swinging, snake fearing, hero that we have come to love. Yet, despite Harrison Ford being in his mid 60’s, he proves not only can he act as suave as ever, he can still kick some bad guy ass as well. This can also be said for Karen Allen, who revives her role as Marion Ravenwood, from the first installment. As in Raiders, Marion is not afraid to jump right into action and drive a car at tremendous speeds through the jungle to do what needs to be done.

Just as in other films, the supporting roles were played wonderfully. Shia LaBeouf plays an overconfident, hair obsessed, greaser with relative ease, but then again it has to be hard to screw up that stereotype. The two supporting roles that stood out the most were played by two actors, whose combined talent proves that they are worthy to be in an Indiana Jones film. John Hurt plays “Ox”, an old friend of Indy’s, who has gone mad after discovering the Crystal Skull. His portrayal of a madman is one of the best I have ever seen in an adventure film. However, it was Kate Blanchett’s role as the psychic Russian villain which is most notable. She proves women can be just as evil and villainous as men and can hold a great challenge to even Dr. Jones himself.

One of my first thoughts, finishing the film, was that it was some what hoakey and extremely unbelievable. Yet, after pondering this for a minute, I remembered so were the first three. Like the others, it was full of cheesy one-liners, completely outlandish near death situations, and had a level of supernaturalism that no real archeologist would ever encounter, but that is what made it so great. This installment is just as fantastical as the first three. Rather than dealing with religious mysticism; Crystal Skull¸ takes a crack at science fiction, capitalizing on the era of the Roswell NM incident and the atomic age in which the film takes place. This offers Spielberg a chance to let loose and work in a genre he is great at portraying.

With this being one of the most hyped films of the summer, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed, whether you are a crazed Indy fan or not. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time and revives those magical times you had watching Indy when you were younger. Only this time, now that my mom won’t be around, I am going to have a hard time restraining myself from buying a bullwhip and acting out the movie, like I wanted to as a kid.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harisson Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Karren Allen, Kate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Action, Adventure, Blockbuster, Review