Heaven Help Us - a decent reboot

 HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN (2021)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Highway to Heaven" is one of those completely disarming movies that is impossible to dislike. Ostensibly a reboot of the heavenly 1980's Michael Landon TV show of the same name, this is one reboot that perhaps nobody asked for but that I am inclined to say, it works (and if it becomes a TV series, I am okay with that, too.)

R & B singer Jill Scott is Angela, the angel on Earth who is on a mission from her boss ("God" of course) to travel to towns across America and rectify broken relationships and provide solace and relief and a touch of redemption. Her latest job is to become a temporary guidance counselor of a seemingly upper-class high school. Principal Bruce (Barry Watson) interviews her and is amazed at her measured sense of hope and how approachable she is - a person with a sunnier side of disposition than most. Almost immediately, Angela spots a troubled student she can help, Cody (Ben Daon). Cody predictably doesn't want to talk to anyone or be counseled and is insular in his own private anguish over the death of his mother. He's also failing math and unless he improves his grade, he will repeat 8th grade. Angela can change all that and practically does. Cody opens up slowly, and also discovers photos, letters, unopened Christmas presents and other items from his mother in his closet which alarms his father. I might add that Cody's father has difficult emotional issues with his sister-in-law whom he feels abandoned his wife when she was dying (he's also trying to open his dream restaurant). Then there is the principal's own emotional woes though all this seems overloaded for any one angel now matter how much she is willing to take on (even Clarence, the angel, in "It's a Wonderful Life" could earn his wings as long as he just helped poor George Bailey).

Talk about a heavenly, charming presence on screen, Jill Scott makes all this sappy material work. When Jill is on screen (which is 95 percent of the time), she radiates with such beaming phosphorescence that you can't help but be overjoyed - you really believe she is an angel. I have not seen a more pleasing presence in any film or TV show in years. The rest of the cast is merely adequate and that is because the sheer nature of Jill Scott steals the movie from everyone.

Despite the film's lapses into silliness and one too many hasty resolutions, "Highway to Heaven" is an engaging, emotionally centered tale that I thankfully never found stifling with the occasional musical overtures to remind us that a miracle has occurred. The filmmakers may not always trust their own instincts because Jill Scott doesn't need extraneous mojo to work her magic - she carries this movie on her back and makes us believe in the potential for human kindness.  

Yuletide tale with rodents and ducks

 MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1983)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

There are some goofy moments, maybe too few, in Disney's own 1983 short animated version of Christmas Carol, one of many incarnations of the Charles Dickens classic novel. Scrooge McDuck (voiced by Alan Young) is annoyed by his nephew, Fred (played by Donald Duck) and kicks him out the door with such velocity that you expect Donald to have landed somewhere on the Thames. Donald returns a second later and reminds Scrooge to have a Merry Christmas. There is also another goofy moment with Goofy himself as the ghost of Marley who is forever dragging those heavy chains and tormenting Scrooge. Goofy trips over his own chain and it made me laugh. 

Beyond that, "Mickey's Christmas Carol" follows step-by-step the original Dickens classic, clearly in abbreviated form at 26 minutes. There is no major surprise or twist other than having familiar Disney characters dominating the London tale including the unusual choice of Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past and sloppy Willie the Giant as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Daisy Duck as Scrooge's lost love is wonderful, though why Minnie Mouse as Cratchit's wife has no lines of dialogue is odd. Mickey Mouse is always a pleasure to watch, this time as Bob Cratchit who feels threatened by his boss, Scrooge.

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" is a sweet little confection that still works and hits all the right marks and makes you love Christmas all over again, that is if you are in a Bah, Humbug mood. Why this was never done as a full-length feature I can't say. 

Striking a Balletic Blow in Northern England

 BILLY ELLIOTT (2000)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original Review from 2000

To be honest, I approached this movie with a certain dread. The advertisements called it: uplifting! Oscar-worthy! Finally, a bloody good film about the human soul and the triumph of the human spirit! Well, a bloody good film about the human soul is "Taxi Driver" but I know what people want
from the cinema nowadays. Sentiment and in equal doses with a touch of heavy syrup added to make you feel not so much uplifted but weepy. I resent when manipulative tearjerkers exist because there is rarely much soul or humanity in them. Think of the countless Lifetime TV movies-of-the-week, or for that matter, the absurdly awful "The Evening Star," which led us to believe that a huge mortality rate equals emotion. Not so. But I digress. "Billy Elliot" could have been a contender for most sentimental hogwash of the year but it is not: it is a humane, positively uplifting film guaranteed to at least
place a smile on your face.

Billy Elliot (the extraordinary Jamie Bell) is a young boy living in the poor section of Northern England with his tough-as-nails father, Jackie (Gary Lewis), and Billy's older, rougher brother, Tony (Jamie Draven). Billy takes care of his grandmother, who also lives with him, while his father and brother protest the town's ongoing mine strike and the scabs. The last thing they need to hear is that Billy is thinking of becoming a ballet dancer! But the macho ethic of Jackie and Tony does not allow for fairies or swans, so to speak. Billy actually takes up boxing but lacks the drive and the attitude. One day, he observes a ballet class taking place in the same gymnasium where he boxes. Billy is transfixed and decides to learn ballet. Why? Even he doesn't know but it does bring some energy and enthusiasm to the kid - he feels alive when he dances. The gum-chewing teacher (Julie Walters) instructs the boy, despite stern objections from Jackie and Tony. Billy loves ballet and the movement of the body swaying to the strains of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Ballet" - it is definitely an escape for the boy from the horrors at home. The teacher is so impressed with the boy that she tells him to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London.

"Billy Elliot" is essentially the well-traveled road about a kid from a poor town who plans to make a difference by following his dreams. The tale is nothing new but of course, what matters is how it is told. What remains questionable is the amount of time invested in Jackie and Tony's lives, which
breaks the tension and charisma of watching Billy practice his ballet. The widowed Jackie is so fed up with life and all it has to offer that to help Billy, he sadly chooses to become a scab (this turns out be short lived). This no doubt affects Billy, but the movie follows the formula to the hilt without ever following its heart. Sure, Jackie is disapproving of his son's artistic intentions but he comes around. The gritty realism we are given about a father torn by his love for his long-lost wife and by his desire to not work doesn't wash, nor does Tony's sudden change-of-heart (if I am not mistaken, he even wears an apron in one scene!)

These plot changes do not qualify as spoilers because if you've seen "Rocky" or "Flashdance," you've seen this same tale woven by many. What does wash are the beautifully choreographed ballet scenes - this Jamie Bell is one hell of a dancer, and a fine actor to boot (Haley Joel Osment, watch out!) He is charismatic, soulful, determined, enthusiastic, and a fighter - he will not quit until he gets those dance moves right. It is sheer bliss to watch any scene with Bell, and his moments with Julie Walters are
awe-inspiring (not as good though as the similar tale with Shirley MacLaine in "Madame Sousatzka"). There also some wonderful scenes between Billy and his best friend, Michael (Stuart Wells), who wears his mother's clothes. I also like the tender scenes between Billy and the teacher's daughter (Nicola
Blackwell). But whenever the film dwells on the mine strike, it is as if we were watching another film entirely. One has the grit and the other has the fantasy, and the two do not mesh evenly.

"Billy Elliot" doesn't succumb to the overt sentimentality of typical Hollywood fare by reminding us when to weep. It builds on the charismatic Jamie Bell, who uplifts us in spite of the cliches and uneven subplot surrounding him. He reminds us of how we can follow our dreams wherever they take us.

The Haddonfield Mob out for justice

 HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Any time a new "Halloween" flick is announced, there is the chill of anticipation, the hope someone achieves more than a third of what made the original 1978 film a classic in its disreputable genre. Of all the run-of-the-mill sequels and reboots that have come and gone, "Halloween: H20" was the best and moderately entertaining if for no reason other than the return of reliable Jamie Lee Curtis. I am not excluding the bloody "Halloween II" from 1981 but "H20" had more psychological depth. The 2018 sequel, simply called "Halloween," was mediocre though what made it rise above the others was, again, the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as the tormented Laurie Strode who actually becomes the hunter, the one that wants to vanquish Michael Myers from existence. She's back in "Halloween Kills" though it is largely an extended cameo. Boo! Still I think "Halloween Kills" is a marked improvement over the 2018 flick, quite entertaining with a few surprises yet the gory killings are more over-the-top than usual. 

Starting right from where we last left off, Michael Myers has survived an inferno started by Laurie Strode (who has a bad stab wound in her gut). So Laurie is off to the Haddonfield hospital to be operated on and, before you can say "oh, shades of 'Halloween II' here", the movie shifts to Michael Myers killing unsuspecting people left and right. The victims include an interracial couple in their late 60's and a gay couple with an affinity for John Cassavetes films who are residing in the old Mike Myers residence, you know Halloween fans, where Mikey used to live and stabbed his older sister! Mikey at the start of the film doesn't waste time as he kills firefighters in what may or may not be an homage to the opening of "The Bride of Frankenstein." Speaking of Universal Horror by way of Frankenstein, the local townsfolk are sick of Michael Myers and so is Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) who rouses their killer instincts and forms a mob to hunt and kill Mikey! They don't come out with torches but they are ready to shoot, kill and destroy the boogeyman.

Some of the kills linger too lovingly on the bloody viscera, including that interracial couple whom Mikey kills - he stabs the husband over and over shown from the point of the wife who has a fluorescent bulb in her throat. This killing makes little sense - why did Mike come after them? The gay couple (*SPOILERS*) is killed by Mikey and the fact that they live in the former Myers residence makes some sort of sense - that is his turf after all. Yet these killings are far too grisly, far grislier than any of the sequels ever showed (and that includes the 1981 sequel). One mental patient is ridiculously mistaken for Mike Myers by the Haddonfield mob and the scared patient jumps to his death from one of the upper floors of the hospital - we see what a bloody splatter mess it is including a nearly severed arm and brain detail. Was that really necessary? I know these horror directors have to up the ante on gore yet none of these sequels, well to some degree this one excepted, ever matched what the original did - the power of atmosphere and the power of suggestion.  

Despite these gory moments that made my heart sink a little, I actually enjoyed this movie more than I expected. Some of "Halloween Kills" does have the effectiveness of the first two "Halloweens" in terms of atmospheric night shots where we never know what lurks around the street corner or alleyways. There is a neat flashback to the 1978 era that looks like lost footage shot by John Carpenter and it includes the return of Dr. Loomis (there is also flashback footage from "Halloween II," odd because the filmmakers have stated they were ignoring everything after 1978). Judy Greer is terrific as Laurie's daughter, especially as she taunts Michael Myers towards the powerful finale. I liked seeing the return of Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace and the wonderful Charles Cyphers who played the Sheriff in the first two Halloweens. Anthony Michael Hall gives the most intense performance of his career as Tommy, armed with his Huckleberry bat. I'd never thought I'd say this but I look forward to the next installment. 

Footnote: Nancy Stephens is back as former nurse Marion Chambers. Her character returned in 1981's "Halloween II" and in the opening sequence of "Halloween: H20" where she was killed by Mikey. In this film, she returns and is still living in Haddonfield and hanging out with Lindsey and Tommy at a bar. Why would this woman still live in this town and hang out with these two when she presumably never knew them as kids in the 1978 original? 

He has a real knack for survival

 OCTOPUSSY (1983)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Back in 1983, I was so excited to see a new James Bond adventure at the theater down the street from where I lived that I ran and climbed a fence facing a gas station. I climbed it thinking I was James Bond and got a small cut from the spikes at the top of the fence. I still have a small scar below my chest to remind me of the excitement of a 12-year-old seeing "Octopussy." After all these years, "Octopussy" is technically one of the oddest of the Bond films because of its far more exotic locales, action scenes that seem that carry a slight Indiana Jones vibe, an island full of gorgeous women dressed in red jumpsuits, and near-parodic moments that will tickle your funny bone. The plot isn't complicated though I am not sure how much sense it makes. 

Roger Moore still returns as the dapper James Bond, 007 with a license to kill and a license to charm your socks off. Opening pre-title sequence is almost as good as any Moore Bond film, in fact probably just as exciting as the goofy "Moonraker," with Bond in disguise as a Latin American general whose mission is to blow up a military base. The minijet that Bond escapes in while being chased by a tracking missile is truly exciting enough to make you grab the arms of your seat. Following that dazzling opener, we get an agent 009 dressed as a clown who is killed by twin assassins who can throw a knife like nobody's business. Apparently 009 was clutching a fake Faberge egg and Bond attends an auction where the same Faberge egg is to be sold. Needless to say, after some swapping of eggs, the mission is to find out why an Afghan prince named Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan, as suave as Moore) bid and won the egg and what all this has to do with a mad Soviet general (Steven Berkoff) and the aforementioned island of women (and crocodiles) where a jewel smuggling operation exists - essentially, priceless jewels in exchange for fake ones. There is also a nuclear bomb threat where a probable scenario of the Soviet Union arming itself while the U.S. is blamed for the bomb and NATO removes nuclear weapons from Europe, and blah and blah and blah. Truth be told, the hotbed of political strife is a bit tough to digest so let's say, it is one country being scapegoated over an international incident. 

I don't necessarily watch James Bond movies for political intrigue in as much as spirited, inspired action, a few gadgets from our lovable Q, and a hero we can root for. Roger Moore fits the bill with wit and poise - he's not my favorite Bond yet he was always an inspired choice. Bond ultimately has to disarm a bomb and only has minutes to do it in. That makes more sense than the mad general thinking he might be seen as hero for the Soviet Union. In terms of action scenes, they are extraordinary and virtually implausible. Whether it is Bond fighting villains on board a fast train, hiding inside a gorilla costume to evade an enemy, dressed as a clown at a circus, hanging on for dear life at high elevations on a small Cesna-like plane, beating Kamal Khan at backgammon (okay, that is probable), or being driven inside a three-wheeled "company car" in New Delhi while being chased by the bad guys where a camel almost does a double take, or the yo-yo saw that could slice our Bond into four different Bonds and so on. You know what to expect and the movie delivers expertly on all sorts of thrills, chills and spills. The humor quotient is higher than usual too including having Vijay (played by real-life tennis player Vijay Amritraj), an MI6 ally, play the 007 theme with a flute! Say what? Or Bond telling a ferocious tiger to "Sittttt!" Or Q being kissed by those voluptuous women!

The villains are engaging though not as dangerous as in previous Bond films (or for that matter, Klaus Maria Brandeur who appeared in that same 1983 summer's other Bond film, "Never Say Never Again"). I should not exclude mentioning Maud Adams as Octopussy, the wealthy jewel smuggler on that island of women, who definitely holds our attention - she's good company with Roger Moore. Jordan is the very essence of a dry martini - he can be stirred but not shaken. Kudos to Walter Gotell as KGB General Anatol Gogol, a familiar presence since he played this same character in a few of Moore's Bond pictures. And I do like the fierce, haunting eyes of Kabir Bedi as Gobinda, Khan's bodyguard who can crush dice into fine powder. Not enough to crush Bond's face because Bond survives with almost no scratches through one cliffhanging episode after another. He survives virtually unscathed (except for a broken arm and leg which miraculously does not stop him from making love to Octopussy). This is not a serious James Bond movie but it is definitely delicious buckets of fun. 

Eye Sore in the face of Katrina

 CLOSED FOR STORM (2020)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Having seen many of director Jake Williams' "Abandoned" short subject films on Youtube, I had a pretty good sense of what to expect from his feature-length documentary "Closed for Storm." It is a fascinating subject - an abandoned Six Flags amusement park that was almost swept away by Hurricane Katrina - and what makes it potent and illuminating is how the park was a metaphor for the destruction of most of New Orleans. Like most of the city, the park was left it in the dark except for the French Quarter with no interest in rebuilding for posterity. 

The amusement park is the Jazzland/Six Flags park on the east side of New Orleans, the first of its kind in the city's history. The park was originally known only as Jazzland when it opened in 2000, looking much more like a historical park celebrating the city's heritage. Bankruptcy had threatened the park since it did not turn a profit and so in 2003, Six Flags invested $20 million to make modifications and added some new rides. Unfortunately before anything like a much desired water park could be built, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the entire region. The park was built on a concrete deck of more than 4 feet, important fact to know since it was quite stable and never cracked during the Katrina Storm. The damage was due to the adjacent Lake Pontchartrain which flooded all the drainage pipes. Sure, we all know the French Quarter was practically rebuilt yet most housing outside the city's limits were left to deteriorate. That included the Six Flags park and nobody did anything to repair the damage in 15 years.

Director Jake Williams deftly handles various interviews from former employees (one who wanted to work at the park forever) who never imagined the park would close, though we get the impression most felt the park would never reopen after Katrina. Ryan Bordenave, the parks' advertising manager, and Troy Henry, the developer who twice ran for Mayor and lost, outline the history of this park and the politics that later governed its current state. The park was so massive that it was nothing but an eye sore and we get a good sense of the financial strain it caused, including statements from residents that lived near it. The politicians indicated that the park was due for demolition but it never happened, knowing trespassers would scour the area. 

"Closed for Storm" also shows us the damage of the park, including the ruined and visibly damaged offices and the calendars with the date frozen in August of 2005. Most of the aerial footage by way of drones is terrific and visually the park looks like the land that time forgot. The musical score penetrates without ever overstating its importance. "Closed for Storm" is a riveting chapter of New Orleans post-Katrina history that should not be missed, and it succeeds as a tone poem where most of the city was left to rot. 

'I am in it for the money'

 GROSS ANATOMY (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Gross Anatomy" is formulaic to a tee and nothing in it is anything less than foreseeable. That is one of its weaknesses and one of its strengths is it that it has sincere performances and a snappy enough pace to maintain interest.

Aspiring to attend medical school, Joe Slovak (Matthew Modine) is the rebellious, jocose student type - he wants to be in medical school to make money yet he's mostly an average college student. Joe plays basketball in his spare time and studies in unorthodox ways such as memorizing boldface type in the textbooks (huh?) This is supposed to account for his retention and he finally succeeds at admittance to a medical school. One of his classes involves studying gross anatomy, you know studying real corpses and the superior vena cava and all that. This is where he meets Laurie (Daphne Zuniga), who is far more serious about med school than Joe seemingly is. The study group he joins also includes a pregnant student; a goal-incentivized student with a flattop haircut, and Joe's own schedule-specific roommate (Todd Field) who ingests speed to keep up. 

"Gross Anatomy" would be disposable if it weren't for the charming, sincere performances especially Matthew Modine who ignites the screen, when he is allowed to ("Full Metal Jacket" and "Short Cuts" are among his finer efforts). What especially makes this movie rise above the generic is the depiction of the work ethic involved in studying 3500 pages of medical textbooks a week! The fact that Joe merely glides by without much effort isn't always believable but we do root for him to succeed, in addition to the rest of the study group. Christine Lahti also brightens the proceedings as the anatomy teacher, Dr. Woodruff, who sees potential in Joe. She also has a secret that is absolutely predictable due to an earlier development involving Joe's studies of a medical patient, none of which will be revealed here. Nevertheless Lahti makes the revelation of this secret so emotional without sentiment that it feels real as opposed to forced.

The director here is Thom Eberhardt and he does a competent job though his gift is his handling of actors - he loves them and we see the humanity in each one of them. Todd Field is especially good at showing how an overworked student loses control of his mental faculties. Added to that is the believable chemistry between the compulsively watchable Modine and the dubious Zuniga - she is as good here as she was in "The Sure Thing." "Gross Anatomy" is an example of taking cliches from a formulaic concept and making them seem fresh and almost new all over again.